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 to pass, in the fourth year of Darius the king, that the word of Yahweh came unto Zechariah, on the fourth of the ninth month, in Chisleu;
2 Watu wa Betheli wamemtuma Shareza, Regemu Meleki na watu wao kuomba mbele ya uso wa Yahwe.
yea when Bethel sent Sherezer and Regemmelech, and his men, —to pacify the face of Yahweh:
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?”
to speak unto the priests that pertained to the house of Yahweh of hosts, and unto the prophets, saying, —Shall I weep in the fifth month, separating myself, as I have done these so many years?
4 Ndipo neno la Yahwe wa majeshi liliponijia kusema,
Then came the word of Yahweh of hosts unto 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?
Speak thou unto all the people of the land, and unto the priests, saying, —When ye fasted and lamented in the fifth and in the seventh, even these seventy years, did ye, really fast, unto, me?
6 Na mlipokula na kunywa, hamkula na kunywa kwa ajili yenu wenyewe?
And, when ye used to eat and when ye used to drink, was it not, of your own accord, ye did eat, and, of your own accord, ye did drink?
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?”
Should ye not [have been doing] the things which Yahweh, had proclaimed, by the hand of the former prophets, while yet Jerusalem was inhabited and in peace, with her cities round about her, —and the South and the Lowland were inhabited?
8 Neno la Yahwe likamjia Zekaria kusema,
And the word of Yahweh came unto Zechariah, saying:
9 “Yahwe wa majeshi asema hivi, 'Hukumuni kwa haki, uaminifu wa agano, na rehema. Kila mtu na amtendee hivi ndugu yake.
Thus, spake Yahweh of hosts, saying, —With true justice, give ye judgment, and, lovingkindness and compassions, observe ye, one with another;
10 Juu ya mjane na yatima, mgeni, na masikini - usiwanyanyase, na asiwepo miongoni mwenu anayepanga madhara yoyote dhidi ya mwingine mioyoni mwenu.
And, the widow and the fatherless, the sojourner and the humbled, do not ye oppress, —and, wickedness between one man and another, do not ye devise in your hearts.
11 Lakini waliyashupaza mabega yao na hawakujari. Waliziba masikio yao ili wasisikie.
Howbeit they refused to give heed, but put forth a rebellious shoulder, —and, their ears, made they hard of hearing, that they might not hear;
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, their heart, turned they into adamant, that they might not hear the law, nor the words which Yahweh of hosts sent by his spirit, through the former prophets, —and so there came great wrath from Yahweh of hosts.
13 Hata ikawa alipoita hawakusikia. Vilevile,” asema Yahwe wa majeshi, “wataniita, lakini sitasikiliza.
Therefore came it to pass that—just as he cried out and they hearkened not, so, used they to cry out, and I used not to hearken, saith Yahweh of hosts;
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 I whirled them over all the nations whom they had not known, and, the land, was made desolate after them, that none passed through and returned, —Yea they made of a delightful land—a desolation.
