Nahumu 3
1 Ole kwa mji uliojaa damu! Wote umejaa uongo na mali za wizi; wahanga wapo kwake daima.
Woe to the bloody city! Full of lies and plunder, without end is the spoil.
2 Lakini sasa kunasauti ya mijeledi na sauti za kugongesha matairi, farasi wakicheza, na magari ya vita yanaruka ruka.
Hear the crack of the whip, hear the rattle of wheels. Galloping horses, jolting chariots.
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.
Horsemen charging, swords flashing, spears glittering, a multitude of slain, a heap of bodies, no end to the corpses over which people stumble!
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 you acted like a whore, bewitching the nations, enticing the peoples,
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.
I am against you, Nineveh’ the Lord of hosts declares. ‘I will strip your clothes and show the nations your nakedness, and the kingdoms your shame.
6 Nitarusha uchafu wa kuchukiza na kukufanya uwe mbaya sana; nitakufanya uwe mtu wa kutazamwa na kila mmoja.
‘I will fling loathsome filth at you, and make you an object of contempt, a spectacle,
7 Itakuwa kwamba kila mmoja anayekutazama atakukimbia na kusema, “Ninawi ameharibika; ni nani ataomboleza kwa ajili yake?' Ni wapi nitampata mtu anayeweza kukufariji?”
so that everyone who sees you will flee from you and say: “Nineveh is laid waste, who will mourn for her?”
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 any better than Thebes, which stood on the banks of the Nile, with waters around as a rampart, whose wall was the sea of waters?
9 Ethiopia na Misri zilikuwa nguvu zake, na mwisho wake haukuwepo; Putu na Libya walikuwa rafiki zake.
Her strength was Ethiopia and Egypt. The Libyans were her helpers, and Put with its countless people.
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 was exiled and made captive. On all corners of the streets her infants were dashed to pieces. Lots were cast for her nobles, all her great ones were bound in chains.
11 Wewe pia utalewa; utajaribu kujificha, na utatafuta makimbilio kutoka kwa adui yako.
‘You too, Nineveh, will be drunk with fear; you too will seek a place of escape from the foe.
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; if 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.
Your troops are weak as women before your foes; the gates of your land are wide open; your defenses burned down.
14 Nenda ukachote maji kwenye boma iliyozingirwa; ziimarishe ngome zako; nenda kwenye udongo na kandamiza matope; finyanga kwa ajili ya matofali.
‘Draw water for the siege, strengthen your forts. Go to the clay pits and tread the clay; take up the brick moulds.
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 consume you, the sword will cut you down. Multiply like the locust or a swarm of grasshoppers.
16 Umezidisha wafanyabiashara wako zaidi kuliko nyota mbinguni; lakini wapo kama tunutu: wanapora nchi na kisha kuruka kwenda mbali.
Increase the numbers of your merchants until they are more than the stars of heaven,
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.
until your watchmen are locusts, and your scribes like grasshoppers, which swarm in the hedges on a cold day; but when the sun rises they fly away, 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.
‘King of Assyria: your princes slumber, your nobles 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 hurt, your wound is incurable. All who hear of your fate clap their hands in joy, for who has escaped your limitless cruelty?’
