Sefania 2
1 Kusanyikeni pamoja ninyi wenyewe mkutano wa hadhara na kusanyikeni, taifa lisilokuwa na aibu -
Assemble yourselves together, be gathered together, O nation not worthy to be loved:
2 kabla amri kuchukua madhara na siku hiyo kupita kama makapi, kabla hasira kali ya ghadhabu ya Yahwe kuja juu yenu, kabla siku ya ghadhabu ya Bwana kuja juu yenu.
Before the decree bring forth the day as dust passing away, before the fierce anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the Lord’s indignation come upon you.
3 Mtafuteni Yahwe, ninyi watu wote wanyenyekevu duniani mnaozitii amri zake! Tafuteni haki yake. Tafuteni unyenyekevu, na labda mtalindwa katika siku ya ghadhabu ya Yahwe.
Seek the Lord, all ye meek of the earth, you that have wrought his judgment: seek the just, seek the meek: if by any means you may be hid in the day of the Lord’s indignation.
4 hivyo Gaza utatelekezwa, na Ashkeloni utageuka kuwa uharibifu. Watauondoshea mbali Ashdodi wakati wa mchana, na wataung'oa Ekroni!
For Gaza shall be destroyed, and Ascalon shall be a desert, they shall cast out Azotus at noonday, and Accaron shall be rooted up.
5 Ole kwa wanaokaa kando ya bahari, taifa la Wakerethi! Yahwe amesema dhidi yenu, Kanaani, nchi ya Wafilisiti. Nitawaangamiza hakuna mkazi atakayebakia.
Woe to you that inhabit the sea coast, O nation of reprobates: the word of the Lord upon you, O Chanaan, the land of the Philistines, and I will destroy thee, so that there shall not be an inhabitant.
6 Hiyo nchi ya kando ya bahari itakuwa malisho kwa wachungaji na kwa mazizi ya kondoo.
And the sea coast shall be the resting place of shepherds, and folds for cattle:
7 Nchi ya kando ya bahari itakuwa mali ya mabaki ya watu wa nyumba ya Yuda, watakaochungia makundi yao huko. Watu wao watalala jioni katika nyumba ya Ashikeloni, kwa kuwa Yahwe Mungu wao atawatunza na kurejesha wafungwa wao.
And it shall be the portion of him that shall remain of the house of Juda, there they shall feed: in the houses of Ascalon they shall rest in the evening: because the Lord their God will visit them, and bring back their captivity.
8 Nilizisikia dhihaka za Moabu na wakiwatukana watu wa Amoni wakati walipowadhihaki watu wangu na kujitukuza mipakani mwao.
I have heard the reproach of Moab, and the blasphemies of the children of Ammon, with which they reproached my people, and have magnified themselves upon their borders.
9 Kwa hiyo, kama ninavyoishi - hili ni tamko la Yahwe wa majeshi, Mungu wa Israeli, - Moabu itakuja kuwa kama Sodoma, na watu wa Amoni kama Gomora; mahali pa viwavi na shimo la chumvi, jangwa la daima. Lakini watu wangu waliosalia watawateka mateka, na watu wa taifa langu waliobaki watachukua umiliki wao.'
Therefore as I live, saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel, Moab shall be as Sodom, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrha, the dryness of thorns, and heaps of salt, and a desert even for ever: the remnant of my people shall make a spoil of them, and the residue of my nation shall possess them.
10 Hili litatokea kwa Moabu na Amoni kwa sababu ya kiburi chao, tangu walipowadhihaki na kuwatukana watu wa Yahwe wa majeshi.
This shall befall them for their pride: because they have blasphemed, and have been magnified against the people of the Lord of hosts.
11 Ndipo watamwogopa Yahwe, kwa kuwa ataidhihaki miungu yote ya dunia. Kila mmoja atamwabudu yeye, kila mmoja kutoka mahali pake, kutoka kila upande wa pwani.
The Lord shall be terrible upon them, and shall consume all the gods of the earth: and they shall adore him every man from his own place, all the islands of the Gentiles.
12 Ninyi Wakushi pia mtakufa kwa upanga wangu,
You Ethiopians, also shall be slain with my sword.
13 na mkono wa Mungu utaishambulia kaskazini na kuiangamiza Ashuru, Kwa hiyo Ninawi utatelekezwa kwa kuteketezwa, kuwa pakavu kama jangwa.
And he will stretch out his hand upon the north, and will destroy Assyria: and he will make the beautiful city a wilderness, and as a place not passable, and as a desert.
14 Ndipo makundi ya wanyama yatalala pale, kila mnyama wa mataifa, wote kirukanjia na nungunungu watapumzika juu ya safu zao. Sauti itasikika kutoka madirishani; kifusi kitakuwa milangoni; nakshi za mwerezi wao mihimili itakuwa imeifunua.
And flocks shall lie down in the midst thereof, all the beasts of the nations: and the bittern and the urchin shall lodge in the threshold thereof: the voice of the singing bird in the window, the raven on the upper post, for I will consume her strength.
15 huu ni mji wa kushangiliwa ambao umekaa pasipo hofu, ambaye husema moyoni mwake, “Mimi niko, na hakuna mwingine wa kufanana na Mimi”. Kwa namna ulivyokuwa wa kutisha, mahali pa kulala wanyama ndani yake. Kila mmoja ambaye hupitia kwake huuhisia na kutingisha ngumi kwake.
This is the glorious city that dwelt in security: that said in her heart: I am, and there is none beside me: how is she become a desert, a place for beasts to lie down in? every one that passeth by her, shall hiss, and wag his hand.
