Zekaria 7
1 Mwaka wa minne wa utawala mfalme Dario, siku ya nne ya mwezi wa Kisleu(ambao ni mwezi wa tisa), neno la Yahwe lilimjia Zekaria kusema.
And it came about in the fourth year of King Darius, that the word of the Lord came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month Chislev.
2 Watu wa Betheli wamemtuma Shareza, Regemu Meleki na watu wao kuomba mbele ya uso wa Yahwe.
Now they of Beth-el had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech to make a request for grace from the Lord,
3 Wakaongea na makuhani waliokuwa katika nyumba ya Yahwe wa majeshi na kwa manabii; wakasema, “Je niomboleze katika mwezi wa tano kwa njia ya kufunga, kama nilivyofanya miaka mingi hii?”
And to say to the priests of the house of the Lord of armies and to the prophets, Am I to go on weeping in the fifth month, separating myself as I have done in past years?
4 Ndipo neno la Yahwe wa majeshi liliponijia kusema,
Then the word of the Lord of armies came to me, saying
5 “Ongea na watu wote wa nchi na makuhani uwaambie, “Mlipofunga na kuomboleza katika mwezi wa tano na wa saba katika hii miaka sabini, je kweli mlifunga kwa ajili yangu?
Say to all the people of the land and to the priests, When you went without food and gave yourselves to grief in the fifth and the seventh months for these seventy years, did you ever do it because of me?
6 Na mlipokula na kunywa, hamkula na kunywa kwa ajili yenu wenyewe?
And when you are feasting and drinking, are you not doing it only for yourselves?
7 Je hayo siyo maneno aliyosema Yahwe kwa vinywa vya manabii wa zamani, mlipokuwa bado mnaishi Yerusalemu na miji ya kandokando yenye mafanikio na iliyokaa Negebu, na upande wa magharibi chini ya vilima?”
Are not these the words which the Lord said to you by the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem was full of people and wealth, and the towns round about her and the South and the Lowland were peopled?
8 Neno la Yahwe likamjia Zekaria kusema,
And the word of the Lord came to Zechariah, saying,
9 “Yahwe wa majeshi asema hivi, 'Hukumuni kwa haki, uaminifu wa agano, na rehema. Kila mtu na amtendee hivi ndugu yake.
This is what the Lord of armies has said: Let your judging be upright and done in good faith, let every man have mercy and pity for his brother:
10 Juu ya mjane na yatima, mgeni, na masikini - usiwanyanyase, na asiwepo miongoni mwenu anayepanga madhara yoyote dhidi ya mwingine mioyoni mwenu.
Do not be hard on the widow, or the child without a father, on the man from a strange country, or on the poor; let there be no evil thought in your heart against your brother.
11 Lakini waliyashupaza mabega yao na hawakujari. Waliziba masikio yao ili wasisikie.
But they would not give attention, turning their backs and stopping their ears from hearing;
12 Waliifanya mioyo yao kuwa migumu kama mwamba ili wasiisikie sheria au neno la Yahwe wa majeshi. Alipeleka ujumbe kwa watu nyakati za zamani kwa Roho wake, kwa vinywa vya manabii. Lakini watu hawakusikia, hivyo Yahwe wa majeshi aliwakasirikia sana.
And they made their hearts like the hardest stone, so that they might not give ear to the law and the words which the Lord of armies had said by the earlier prophets: and there came great wrath from the Lord of armies.
13 Hata ikawa alipoita hawakusikia. Vilevile,” asema Yahwe wa majeshi, “wataniita, lakini sitasikiliza.
And it came about that as they would not give ear to his voice, so I would not give ear to their voice, says the Lord of armies:
14 Kwa maana nitawatawanya kwa upepo wa kisurisuri katika mataifa yote ambayo hawajawai kuyaona, na baada yao nchi itakuwa wazi. Kwa kuwa hakuna hata mmoja atakayepita au kukaa katika hiyo nchi kwa kuwa wameigeuza nchi yao yenye kupendeza kuwa isiyofaa.
But with a storm-wind I sent them in flight among all the nations of whom they had no knowledge. So the land was waste after them, so that no man went through or came back: for they had made waste the desired land.
