Yeremia 14
1 Neno la Bwana lilimjia Yeremia kuhusu ukame,
This is a message from the Lord that came to Jeremiah regarding the drought:
2 “Wayahudi waomboleze; basi milango yake ianguke. Wao wanaomboleza kwa ajili ya ardhi; Kilio chao kwa Yerusalemu kimepaa juu.
Judah is in mourning; her towns are wasting away. Her people are weeping for the land, and a cry for help comes from Jerusalem.
3 Wenye nguvu huwatuma watumishi wao kwa ajili ya maji. Wanapoingia kwenye visima, hawawezi kupata maji. Wote wanarudi hawajafanikiwa; Wao hufunika vichwa vyao na aibu.
Rich people send their servants to get water. They go to the cisterns, but don't find any water. They return with empty jars, disappointed and ashamed, covering their heads.
4 Kwa sababu hii ardhi imepasuka, kwa maana hakuna mvua katika nchi. Wakulima huwa na aibu na kufunika vichwa vyao.
The ground has dried up because there hasn't been any rain in the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.
5 Kwa maana hata kunguru huwaacha wanawe katika mashamba, kwa maana hakuna nyasi.
Even the deer abandons her newborn fawn because there's no grass.
6 Punda mwitu husimama kwenye mabonde yaliyo wazi na hupiga upepo kama mbweha. Macho yao yanashindwa kufanya kazi, kwa maana hakuna mimea.
Wild donkeys stand on the bare hills, panting like jackals. Their eyesight fails because they have nothing to eat.
7 Hata ingawa maovu yetu yanatushuhudia, Bwana, tenda kwa ajili ya jina lako. Kwa sababu matendo yetu yasiyo na imani yamezidi; tumekutenda dhambi.
Even though our sins give evidence against us, Lord, please do something for us because of your good nature. Yes, we have rebelled against you so often; we have sinned against you.
8 Matumaini ya Israeli, yule anayemwokoa wakati wa dhiki, kwa nini utakuwa kama mgeni katika nchi, kama mtu akaaye nchi ya kigeni ambaye hujinyoosha na kutumia hutumia usiku mmoja tu?
You are the hope of Israel, our Savior in times of trouble. Why do you act like a foreigner in our country, like a traveler who only stays a night?
9 Kwa nini utakuwa kama mtu aliyechanganyikiwa, kama shujaa ambaye hawezi kuokoa mtu yeyote? Kwa maana wewe u katikati yetu, Bwana! Jina lako limetangazwa juu yetu. Usiondoke
Why do you act like someone caught unawares, like a powerful warrior who can't help? You are here among us, Lord, and we are known as your people. Please don't give up on us!
10 Bwana awaambia hivi watu hawa “Kwa kuwa wanapenda kutanga tanga, hawakuzuia miguu yao kufanya hivyo.” Bwana hafurahi nao. Sasa anawakumbusha uovu wao na ameadhibu dhambi zao.
This is what the Lord says about his people: They really love to wander away from me—they don't even try to stop themselves. So the Lord refuses to accept them. Now he'll remember their guilty actions and punish them for their sins.
11 Bwana akaniambia, Usiombe kwa ajili ya watu hawa.
The Lord told me, Don't pray for the welfare of this people.
12 Maana ikiwa wanafunga, sitasikiliza kulia kwao; na wanapotoa sadaka za kuteketezwa na sadaka za unga, sitawafurahia. Kwa maana nitawaangamiza kwa upanga, njaa, na tauni.
Even if they fast, I won't listen to their cry. Even though they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I won't accept them. On the contrary I will wipe them out by sword and famine and plague.
13 Ndipo nikasema, “Ee Bwana, Bwana! Angalia! mabii wanawaambia watu, 'Huwezi kuona upanga; hakutakuwa na njaa kwako, kwa kuwa nitakupa usalama wa kweli mahali hapa.'”
“Oh Lord God!” I answered, “Look what prophets are telling them, claiming to be speaking for you: ‘You won't see war or suffer from famine, but I will give you peace that lasts here in this place.’”
14 Bwana akaniambia, 'manabii wanatabiri uongo kwa jina langu. Sikuwafukuza, wala sikuwapa amri au kusema nao. Lakini maono ya udanganyifu na ya maana, uchawi wa udanganyifu unaotokana na akili zao ndicho wanachowahubiria.”
The prophets are prophesying lies in my name, replied the Lord. I didn't send them or choose them or speak to them. It's a lying vision, an empty prediction, a deluded, deceitful product of their own minds that they are prophesying to you.
15 Kwa hiyo Bwana asema hivi, “Kwa habari ya manabii wakihubiri kwa jina langu, ambao mimi siwakutuma; wale wanaosema kuwa hakutakuwa na upanga wala njaa katika nchi hii mabii hawa wataangamia kwa upanga na njaa.
So this is what the Lord says about such prophets who prophesy in my name: I didn't send them, but even so they say, “This country won't suffer war or famine.” These same prophets will die from war or famine!
16 Na watu waliopewa utabiri watafukuzwa nje ya barabara za Yerusalemu kwa sababu ya njaa na upanga; kwa kuwa hakuna mtu wa kuwazikas-wao, na wake zao, na wana wao, wala binti zao; kwa maana nitamwaga uovu wao wenyewe juu yao.
The bodies of the people they prophesied to will be thrown into the streets of Jerusalem because of famine and war. There won't be anyone to bury them or their wives, their sons or their daughters. I will pour out their own evil on them.
17 Sema neno hili kwao 'Acha macho yangu yatokwe machozi, usiku na mchana. wala yasikome, kwa kuwa kutakuwa na kuanguka kwa bikira, binti ya watu wangu - jeraha kubwa lisilotibika.
This is what you are to tell them: Tears flow from my eyes without stopping day or night, because my people have been crushed by a heavy blow, a really serious wound.
18 Ikiwa nitatoka kwenye shamba basi angalia! kuna wale waliouawa kwa upanga. Na kama nitakuja mjini, basi, tazama! kuna wale walio na ugonjwa wa njaa. Hata nabii na kuhani wote wanatembea juu ya nchi bila maarifa.'”
If I go out to the countryside, I see those killed by the sword; if I go into the city, I see those dying by famine. Both prophets and priests wander around the country—they don't know what they're doing.
19 Je! Umemkataa kabisa Yuda? Je, unaichukia Sayuni? Kwa nini umetupiga wakati hakuna uponyaji kwetu? Tulitumaini amani, lakini hapakuwa na kitu kizuri-na kwa wakati wa uponyaji, lakini tazama, kuna hofu tu.
Have you really rejected Judah? Do you hate Zion so much? Why have you wounded us so badly that we can't be healed? We hoped for peace, but instead nothing good has come; we hoped for a time of healing, but instead there was only sudden terror.
20 Tunakubali, Bwana, makosa yetu, uovu wa babu zetu, kwa kuwa tumekukosea.
Lord, we admit our wickedness, the guilt of our forefathers as well as our own sins against you.
21 Usitukatae! Kwa ajili ya jina lako, usikifedheheshe kiti chako cha enzi cha utukufu. Kumbuka na usivunje agano lako na sisi.
Because of your own reputation please don't hate us; don't bring dishonor on your glorious throne. Please remember your agreement with us; don't break it.
22 Je, kuna miongoni mwa sanamu za mataifa yeyote zinazoweza kuifanya mbingu kutoa mvua? Je, si wewe, Bwana Mungu wetu, ambaye hufanya jambo hili? Tunatumaini kwako, kwa kuwa umefanya mambo haya yote.
Can the false gods of the other nations bring rain? Can the skies themselves send showers? No, it's you, Lord our God. So we put our hope in you, because only you can do all this.
