< Yeremia 46 >
1 Hili ni neno la Yahwe lililomjia Yeremia nabii juu ya mataifa.
This is the word of the LORD about the nations—the word that came to Jeremiah the prophet
2 Juu ya Misri; “Hili ni juu ya jeshi la Farao Neko, mfalme wa Misri aliyekuwako Karkemishi kando ya mto Frati. Hili ni jeshi alilolishinda Nebukadneza mfalme wa Babeli likishindwa katika mwaka wa nne wa Yehoyakimu mwana wa Yosia, mfalme wa Yuda:
concerning Egypt and the army of Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt, which was defeated at Carchemish on the Euphrates River by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah:
3 Wekeni tayari ngao ndogo na kubwa, na msonge vitani.
“Deploy your shields, small and large; advance for battle!
4 Watieni farasi lijamu na hatamu, na mpande juu yao, ninyi wapanda farasi. Jiwekeni mahali penu, mkiwa mmevaa helmeti vichwani mwenu. Inoweni mishale yenu na kuvaa silaha zenu.
Harness the horses; mount the steeds; take your positions with helmets on! Polish your spears; put on armor!
5 Ninaona nini hapa? Wana woga na wanakimbia, maana askari wao wameshindwa. Wanakimbia kwa usalama na hawaangalii nyuma. Kitisho kipo mahali pote - hili ni tamko la Yahwe -
Why am I seeing this? They are terrified, they are retreating; their warriors are defeated, they flee in haste without looking back; terror is on every side!”
6 wepesi hawawezi kukimbia, na askari hawezi kukwepa. Wana jikwaa kaskazini na kuanguaka kando ya mto Frati.
“The swift cannot flee, and the warrior cannot escape! In the north by the River Euphrates they stumble and fall.
7 Ni nani hawa wainukao kama Nile, ambao maji yao yanaruka juu na chini kama mito?
Who is this, rising like the Nile, like rivers whose waters churn?
8 Misri huinuka kama mto Nile, na maji yake yanaumuka juu na chini kama mito. Anasema, 'nitapanda juu; nitaifunika nchi. Nitaiharibu miji na watu wake.
Egypt rises like the Nile, and its waters churn like rivers, boasting, ‘I will rise and cover the earth; I will destroy the cities and their people.’
9 Inukeni, farasi. Mwe na hasira, ninyi vibandawazi. Askari na waende, Kushi na Putu, watu walio na ujuzi wa ngao, na Ludimu, watu wenye ujuzi wa kupiga pinde zao.
Advance, O horses! Race furiously, O chariots! Let the warriors come forth— Cush and Put carrying their shields, men of Lydia drawing the bow.
10 Siku hiyo itakuwa siku ya kisasi kwa Bwana Yahwe wa majeshi, naye atajilipizia kisasa juu ya adui zake. Upanga utararua na kujirishisha. Utakula na kujishibisha kwa damu yao. Kwa maana kutakuwa na sadaka kwa Bwana Yahwe wa majeshi katika nchi ya kaskazini kando ya mto Frati.
For that day belongs to the Lord GOD of Hosts, a day of vengeance against His foes. The sword will devour until it is satisfied, until it is quenched with their blood. For the Lord GOD of Hosts will hold a sacrifice in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.
11 Panda Gileadi ujipatie dawa, binti wa Misri uliyebikra. Haifai kwamba unaweka dawa nyingi juu yako. Hakuna uponyaji kwako.
Go up to Gilead for balm, O Virgin Daughter of Egypt! In vain you try many remedies, but for you there is no healing.
12 Mataifa wamesikia kuaibika kwako. Nchi imejawa na maombolezo yako, maana askari anajikwaa juu ya askari; na wote wawili uanguka pamoja.”
The nations have heard of your shame, and your outcry fills the earth, because warrior stumbles over warrior and both of them have fallen together.”
13 Hili ndilo neno Yahwe alilomwambia nabii Yeremia wakati Nebukadneza mfalme wa Babeli alipokuja na kushambulia nchi ya Misri:
This is the word that the LORD spoke to Jeremiah the prophet about the coming of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to strike the land of Egypt:
14 Toa taarifa kwa Misri na isikiwe katika Migdoli na Memfisi. Wamesema katika Tapenesi, wekeni kituo na mwe imara, kwa maana upanga unakula wote kati yenu.
“Announce it in Egypt, and proclaim it in Migdol; proclaim it in Memphis and Tahpanhes: ‘Take your positions and prepare yourself, for the sword devours those around you.’
15 Kwa nini Apisi mungu wenu amekimbia? Kwa nini ng'ombe dume mungu wenu hakuweza kusimama? Yahwe amemwangusha chini.
Why have your warriors been laid low? They cannot stand, for the LORD has thrust them down.
16 Ameongeza idadi ya waliojikwaa. Kila askari anaanguka kinyume cha anayefuata. Wanasema, “Inuka. Haya twende nyumbani. Haya na turudi kwa watu wetu, katika nchi yetu ya asili. Na tuuache upanga huu unaotuuwa.”
They continue to stumble; indeed, they have fallen over one another. They say, ‘Get up! Let us return to our people and to the land of our birth, away from the sword of the oppressor.’
17 Walitangaza pale, “Farao mfalme wa Misri ni kelele tu, ameuacha wasaa wake mbali.”
There they will cry out: ‘Pharaoh king of Egypt was all noise; he has let the appointed time pass him by.’
18 Kama niishivyo - hili ni tamko la mfalme - Yahwe wa majeshi kwa jina, kuna mtu atakuja aliye kama Mlima Tabori na Mlima Karmeli kando ya bahari.
As surely as I live, declares the King, whose name is the LORD of Hosts, there will come one who is like Tabor among the mountains and like Carmel by the sea.
19 Wekeni masanduku yenu kuyachukua uhamishoni, binti mwishio Misri. Kwani Memfisi haitafaa, magofu. Hakuna atakayeishi huko.
Pack your bags for exile, O daughter dwelling in Egypt! For Memphis will be laid waste, destroyed and uninhabited.
20 Misri ni mtamba mzuri sana, lakini mdudu aumaye anakuja kutoka kaskazini. Anakuja.
Egypt is a beautiful heifer, but a gadfly from the north is coming against her.
21 Askari wake wakukodiwa ni kama dume la ng'ombe lililonona kati yake. lakini wao pia watageuka na kukimbia. Hawatasimama pamoja, kwani siku yao ya madhara inakuja kunyume chao, wakatik wa kuadhibiwa kwao.
Even the mercenaries among her are like fattened calves. They too will turn back; together they will flee, they will not stand their ground, for the day of calamity is coming upon them— the time of their punishment.
22 Misri anatoa sauti kama ya nyoka na kuondoka kwa kutambaa. maana adui yake anajiandaa kinyume chake. Wanamkabili kama mkata miti aliye na shoka.
Egypt will hiss like a fleeing serpent, for the enemy will advance in force; with axes they will come against her like woodsmen cutting down trees.
23 Wataangusha misitu - japokuwa ni mingi sana - hili ni tamko la Yahwe. Kwa maana adui watakuwa wengi kuliko nzige, wasiohesabika.
They will chop down her forest, declares the LORD, dense though it may be, for they are more numerous than locusts; they cannot be counted.
24 Binti Misri ataaibishwa. Atawekwa mkononi mwa watu kutoka kaskazini.”
The Daughter of Egypt will be put to shame; she will be delivered into the hands of the people of the north.”
25 Yahwe wa majeshi, Mungu wa Israeli, asema, “Tazama, niko karibu kumwadhibu Amoni wa Thebesi, Farao, Misri na miungu yake, Farao mfalme wake, na wote wanaomtumaini.
The LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I am about to punish Amon god of Thebes, along with Pharaoh, Egypt with her gods and kings, and those who trust in Pharaoh.
26 Nitawaweka katika mkono wa wanaoyaona maisha yao, na katika mkono wa Nebukadneza mfalme wa Babeli na watumishi wake. Kisha baada ya haya Misri itakaliwa kama mwanzo - asema Yahwe.”
I will deliver them into the hands of those who seek their lives—of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and his officers. But after this, Egypt will be inhabited as in days of old, declares the LORD.
27 Lakini, wewe Yakobo mtumishi wangu, usihofu. Usifadhaike, Israeli, maana tazama, nitakurudisha kutoka mbali, na uzao wako kutoka nchi ya mateka. Kisha Yakobo atarudi, tafuta amani, na kuwa salama, na hapatakuwa na wa kumwogofya.
But you, O Jacob My servant, do not be afraid, and do not be dismayed, O Israel. For I will surely save you out of a distant place, your descendants from the land of their captivity! Jacob will return to quiet and ease, with no one to make him afraid.
28 Wewe, mtumishi wangu Yakobo, usiogope - asema Yahwe - kwa maana nipo nawe, hivyo nitaleta maangamizi makamilifu dhidi ya mataifa yote nilikokupeleka. Lakini sitakuharibu kabisa. Hata hivyo nitakuadhibu kwa haki na hakika sitakuacha bila adhabu.”
And you, My servant Jacob, do not be afraid, declares the LORD, for I am with you. Though I will completely destroy all the nations to which I have banished you, I will not completely destroy you. Yet I will discipline you justly, and will by no means leave you unpunished.”