Nahumu 3
1 Ole kwa mji uliojaa damu! Wote umejaa uongo na mali za wizi; wahanga wapo kwake daima.
Woe to the city of blood, full of lies, full of plunder, never without prey.
2 Lakini sasa kunasauti ya mijeledi na sauti za kugongesha matairi, farasi wakicheza, na magari ya vita yanaruka ruka.
The crack of the whip, the rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot!
3 Kuna wapanda farasi wanashambulia, Upanga unang'ara, mikuki inametameta, marundo ya maiti, mafungu makubwa ya miili; hakuna ukomo wa miili, washambuliaji wanajikwaa juu yake.
Charging horseman, flashing sword, shining spear; heaps of slain, mounds of corpses, dead bodies without end— they stumble over their dead—
4 Hii inatokea kwa sababu ya matendo ya tamaa ya kahaba mzuri, mzoefu wa uchawi, mwenye kuuza taifa kwa umalaya wake, na watu kwa njia ya matendo yake ya kichawi.
because of the many harlotries of the harlot, the seductive mistress of sorcery, who betrays nations by her prostitution and clans by her witchcraft.
5 “Tazama, mimi nipo kinyume na wewe- hili ni neno la Yehova wa majeshi- sketi yako nitaiinua juu ya uso wako na kuzionyesha sehemu zako za siri kwa mataifa, aibu yako kwa falme.
“Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will lift your skirts over your face. I will show your nakedness to the nations and your shame to the kingdoms.
6 Nitarusha uchafu wa kuchukiza na kukufanya uwe mbaya sana; nitakufanya uwe mtu wa kutazamwa na kila mmoja.
I will pelt you with filth and treat you with contempt; I will make a spectacle of you.
7 Itakuwa kwamba kila mmoja anayekutazama atakukimbia na kusema, “Ninawi ameharibika; ni nani ataomboleza kwa ajili yake?' Ni wapi nitampata mtu anayeweza kukufariji?”
Then all who see you will recoil from you and say, ‘Nineveh is devastated; who will grieve for her?’ Where can I find comforters for you?”
8 Ninawi, je wewe ni bora kuliko Noamoni, uliojengwa juu ya Mto Naili, uliokuwa umezungukwa na maji, ambao ulinzi wake ilikuwa bahari, ambao ukuta wake ilikuwa bahari yenyewe?
Are you better than Thebes, stationed by the Nile with water around her, whose rampart was the sea, whose wall was the water?
9 Ethiopia na Misri zilikuwa nguvu zake, na mwisho wake haukuwepo; Putu na Libya walikuwa rafiki zake.
Cush and Egypt were her boundless strength; Put and Libya were her allies.
10 Lakini Noamoni alichukuliwa; alikwenda kwenye mateka; watoto wake wadogo walivunjwa vipande vipande katika kila makao makuu ya mtaa; adui zake walipiga kura kwa watu wake wenye heshima na wakuu wake wote walifungwa minyororo.
Yet she became an exile; she went into captivity. Her infants were dashed to pieces at the head of every street. They cast lots for her dignitaries, and all her nobles were bound in chains.
11 Wewe pia utalewa; utajaribu kujificha, na utatafuta makimbilio kutoka kwa adui yako.
You too will become drunk; you will go into hiding and seek refuge from the enemy.
12 Ngome zako zote zitakuwa kama mitini yenye tini zilizoiva mapema: kama zikitikiswa, zitaangukia kwenye kimywa cha mlaji.
All your fortresses are fig trees with the first ripe figs; when shaken, they fall into the mouth of the eater!
13 Tazama, watu miongoni mwenu ni wanawake; malango ya nchi yako yamefunguliwa sana kwa ajili ya adui zako; moto umeharibu bawaba zake.
Look at your troops— they are like your women! The gates of your land are wide open to your enemies; fire consumes their bars.
14 Nenda ukachote maji kwenye boma iliyozingirwa; ziimarishe ngome zako; nenda kwenye udongo na kandamiza matope; finyanga kwa ajili ya matofali.
Draw your water for the siege; strengthen your fortresses. Work the clay and tread the mortar; repair the brick kiln!
15 Moto utakuteketeza pale, na upanga utakuangamiza. Utateketezwa kama nzige wachanga wanavyoteketeza kila kitu. Ninyi wenyewe mjitengeneze kuwa wengi kama nzige wachanga, na wengi kama nzinge waliopevuka.
There the fire will devour you; the sword will cut you down and consume you like a young locust. Make yourself many like the young locust; make yourself many like the swarming locust!
16 Umezidisha wafanyabiashara wako zaidi kuliko nyota mbinguni; lakini wapo kama tunutu: wanapora nchi na kisha kuruka kwenda mbali.
You have multiplied your merchants more than the stars of the sky. The young locust strips the land and flies away.
17 Wafalme wenu wapo wengi kama zinge, na wakuu wenu wa majeshi ni kama kundi la wadudu wenye kuweka kambi katika ukuta wakati wa baridi. Lakini jua linapowaka wanaruka kwenda mbali ambako hakuna anayepajua.
Your guards are like the swarming locust, and your scribes like clouds of locusts that settle on the walls on a cold day. When the sun rises, they fly away, and no one knows where.
18 Mfalme wa Ashuru, wachungaji wako wamelala; watawala wako wamejilaza chini kupumzika. Watu wako wametawanyika juu ya milima, na hakuna hata mmoja wa kuwakusanya.
O king of Assyria, your shepherds slumber; your officers sleep. Your people are scattered on the mountains with no one to gather them.
19 Hakuna uponyaji unaowezekana kwa ajili ya vidonda vyako. Vidonda vyako ni vikubwa. Wanaosikia habari juu yako watapiga makofi kwa furaha juu yako. Ni nani aliyejiepusha kwa uovu wako wa daima?
There is no healing for your injury; your wound is severe. All who hear the news of you applaud your downfall, for who has not experienced your constant cruelty?
