Yona 1
1 Ndipo neno la Bwana lilimjia Yona mwana wa Amittai, kusema,
And the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying:
2 “Simama uende Ninawi, mji kuu, na ukapaze sauti dhidi yake, kwa sababu uovu wao umeinuka mbele yangu.”
Rise and go to Nineveh, the great city, and preach in it. For its malice has ascended before my eyes.
3 Lakini Yona akaondoka kukimbia kutoka mbele ya Bwana na kwenda Tarshishi. Akatelemka mpaka Yafa na akaona melikebu inayokwenda Tarshishi. Kwa hiyo alilipa nauli na akapanda melikebu kwenda nayo Tarishishi, mbali na uwepo wa Yahweh.
And Jonah rose in order to flee from the face of the Lord to Tarshish. And he went down to Joppa and found a ship bound for Tarshish. And he paid its fare, and he went down into it, in order to go with them to Tarshish from the face of the Lord.
4 Lakini Bwana akatuma upepo mkubwa juu ya bahari, ikawa tufani juu ya bahari. Hivi karibuni ikaonekana kwamba meli ilikuwa inataka kuvunjika.
But the Lord sent a great wind into the sea. And a great tempest took place in the sea, and the ship was in danger of being crushed.
5 Wale baharia waliogopa sana na kila mtu alilia kwa mungu wake mwenyewe. Wakatupa mizigo bahari iliyokuwa merikebuni ili kuifungua. Yona alikuwa ameshuka hapa pande za ndani ya melikebu, naye alikuwa amelala huko usingizi.
And the mariners were afraid, and the men cried out to their god. And they threw the containers that were in the ship into the sea in order to lighten it of them. And Jonah went down into the interior of the ship, and he fell into a painful deep sleep.
6 Basi nahoza akamwendea akamwambia, “kwa nini unalala? Amka! ukamwombe mungu wako! Labda mungu wako atatutambua na hatutapotea.”
And the helmsman approached him, and he said to him, “Why are you weighed down with sleep? Rise, call upon your God, so perhaps God will be mindful of us and we might not perish.”
7 Wote wakaambiana, 'Njoni, tupige kura, ili tujue ni nani ndiye sababu ya mabaya haya yanayotupata.' Basi wakapiga kura, na kura ikaangukia kwa Yona.
And a man said to his shipmate, “Come, and let us cast lots, so that we may know why this disaster is upon us.” And they cast lots, and the lot fell upon Jonah.
8 Kisha wakamwambia Yona, “Tafadhali tuambie ni nani ndiye sababu ya mabaya haya yanayotupata. Unafanya kazi gani, na umetoka wapi? Nchi yako ni ipi, na kutoka kwa watu wa kabila gani?”
And they said to him: “Explain to us what is the reason that this disaster is upon us. What is your work? Which is your country? And where are you going? Or which people are you from?”
9 Yona akawaambia, Mimi ni Mhebrania; Nami namuogopa Bwana, Mungu wa mbinguni, aliyeifanya bahari na nchi kavu.
And he said to them, “I am Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of heaven, who made the sea and the dry land.”
10 Ndipo watu hao waliogopa zaidi, wakamwambia Yona, Ni jambo gani hili ulilolifanya? Kwa maana hao watu walijua kwamba alikuwa akikimbia mbele ya Bwana, kwa sababu alikuwa amewaambia.
And the men were greatly afraid, and they said to him, “Why have you done this?” (For the men knew that he was fleeing from the face of the Lord, because he had told them.)
11 Ndipo wakamwambia Yona, Tukufanyie nini ili bahari iweze kutulia? Kwa maana bahari ilikuwa imechafuka zaidi na zaidi.
And they said to him, “What are we to do with you, so that the sea will cease for us?” For the sea flowed and swelled.
12 Yona akawaambia, “Nikamateni na nitupeni baharini. Kisha bahari itatulia kwa ajili yenu, kwa maana najua kwamba ni kwa sababu yangu kwamba tufani hii kubwa iwapate.”
And he said to them, “Take me, and cast me into the sea, and the sea will cease for you. For I know that it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.”
13 Hata hivyo, watu hao wavuta makasia kwa bidii ili kurudi nchi kavu, lakini hawakuweza kufanya hivyo kwa sababu bahari ilikuwa imechafuka zaidi dhidi yao.
And the men were rowing, so as to return to dry land, but they did not succeed. For the sea flowed and swelled against them.
14 Basi wakamwomba Bwana, wakasema, Tunakuomba, Bwana, tunakuomba, usiache tuangamize kwa sababu ya maisha ya mtu huyu; wala usituwekee hatia ya kufa kwake, kwa kuwa wewe, Bwana, umefanya kama ulivyopenda.
And they cried out to the Lord, and they said, “We beseech you, Lord, do not let us perish for this man’s life, and do not attribute to us innocent blood. For you, Lord, have done just as it pleased you.”
15 Basi wakamchukua Yona wakamtupa baharini, nayo bahari ikaacha kuchafuka.
And they took Jonah and cast him into the sea. And the sea was stilled from its fury.
16 Ndipo watu wale wakamuogopa Bwana sana. Wakamtolea dhabihu Bwana na kuweka nadhiri.
And the men feared the Lord greatly, and they sacrificed victims to the Lord, and they made vows.
17 Bwana alikuwa ameandaa samaki mkubwa kummeza Yona, na Yona alikuwa ndani ya tumbo lasamaki siku tatu na usiku wa tatu.
And the Lord prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights.
