1
Laiti kichwa changu kingekuwa maji, na macho yangu kuwa chemchemi ya machozi, ili nipate kulia mchana na usiku kwa ajili yao waliouawa wa binti ya watu wangu!
Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.
2
Laiti ningekuwa na mahali pa kukaa jangwani, kibanda cha wasafiri; nipate kuwaacha watu wangu, na kuondoka kwao! Maana wao ni wazinzi, wote pia, mkutano wa watu wenye hiana.
If only I had a traveler’s lodge in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a crowd of faithless people.
3
Huupinda ulimi wao, kana kwamba ni upinde, ili kusema uongo; nao wamepata nguvu katika nchi, lakini si katika uaminifu; maana huendelea toka ubaya hata ubaya, wala hawanijui mimi, asema Bwana.
“They bend their tongues like bows; lies prevail over truth in the land. For they proceed from evil to evil, and they do not take Me into account,” declares the LORD.
4
Jihadharini, kila mtu na jirani yake, wala msimtumaini ndugu awaye yote; maana kila ndugu atachongea, na kila jirani atakwenda huko na huko na kusingizia.
“Let everyone guard against his neighbor; do not trust any brother, for every brother deals craftily, and every friend spreads slander.
5
Nao watadanganya kila mtu jirani yake, wala hawatasema kweli; wameuzoeza ulimi wao kusema uongo; hujidhoofisha ili kutenda uovu.
Each one betrays his friend; no one tells the truth. They have taught their tongues to lie; they wear themselves out committing iniquity.
6
Makao yako ya katikati ya hadaa; kwa hadaa wanakataa kunijua mimi, asema Bwana.
You dwell in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the LORD.
7
Basi, kwa hiyo Bwana wa majeshi asema hivi, Tazama, nitawayeyusha na kuwajaribu; maana nisipotenda hivi, nitende nini kwa ajili ya binti ya watu wangu?
Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do because of the daughter of My people?
8
Ulimi wao ni mshale ufishao; husema maneno ya hadaa; mtu mmoja husema maneno ya amani na mwenzake kwa kinywa chake, lakini moyoni mwake humwotea.
Their tongues are deadly arrows; they speak deception. With his mouth a man speaks peace to his neighbor, but in his heart he sets a trap for him.
9
Je! Nisiwapatilize kwa mambo hayo? Asema Bwana; na nafsi yangu je! Nisijilipize kisasi juu ya taifa la namna hii?
Should I not punish them for these things? declares the LORD. Should I not avenge Myself on such a nation as this?”
10
Kwa milima nitalia na kulalama, Na kwa malisho ya nyikani nitafanya maombolezo; Kwa sababu yameteketea, hata hapana apitaye, Wala hapana awezaye kusikia sauti ya ng'ombe; Ndege wa angani, na wanyama wa mwituni, Wamekimbia, wamekwenda zao.
I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, a dirge over the wilderness pasture, for they have been scorched so no one passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they have gone away.
11
Nami nitafanya Yerusalemu kuwa magofu, Makao ya mbweha; Nami nitaifanya miji ya Yuda kuwa ukiwa, Isikaliwe na mtu awaye yote.
“And I will make Jerusalem a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals; and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”
12
Ni nani aliye na hekima, apate kuelewa na haya? Tena ni nani ambaye kinywa cha Bwana kimesema naye, apate kuyatangaza? Nayo ni nini maana yake nchi hii kuharibika, na kuteketea kama nyika, asipite mtu?
Who is the man wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of the LORD spoken, that he may explain it? Why is the land destroyed and scorched like a desert, so no one can pass through it?
13
Naye Bwana asema, Ni kwa sababu wameiacha sheria yangu niliyoweka mbele yao, wala hawakuitii sauti yangu, wala kuenenda katika hiyo;
And the LORD answered, “It is because they have forsaken My law, which I set before them; they have not walked in it or obeyed My voice.
14
bali wameenenda katika ushupavu wa mioyo yao wenyewe, na kuandamana na Mabaali, kama walivyofundishwa na baba zao.
Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts and gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.”
15
Basi, Bwana wa majeshi, Mungu wa Israeli, asema hivi, Tazama, nitawalisha pakanga, naam, watu hawa, nami nitawapa maji ya uchungu wayanywe.
Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will feed this people wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink.
16
Nami nitawatawanya kati ya mataifa, ambao wao hawakuwajua; wala baba zao, nami nitatuma upanga nyuma yao, hata nitakapowaangamiza kabisa.
I will scatter them among the nations that neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send a sword after them until I have finished them off.”
17
Bwana wa majeshi asema hivi, Fikirini ninyi, mkawaite wanawake waombolezao, ili waje; mkatume na kuwaita wanawake wenye ustadi, ili waje;
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Take note, and summon the wailing women; send for the most skillful among them.
18
na wafanye haraka na kutuombolezea, ili macho yetu yachuruzike machozi, na kope zetu zibubujike maji.
Let them come quickly and take up a lament over us, that our eyes may overflow with tears, and our eyelids may gush with water.
19
Maana sauti ya maombolezo imesikiwa toka Sayuni, Jinsi tulivyotekwa! tulivyofadhaika sana! Kwa sababu tumeiacha nchi, kwa kuwa wameangusha makao yetu.
For the sound of wailing is heard from Zion: ‘How devastated we are! How great is our shame! For we have abandoned the land because our dwellings have been torn down.’”
20
Lakini lisikieni neno la Bwana, enyi wanawake, Na masikio yenu yapokee neno la kinywa chake; Mkawafundishe binti zenu kuomboleza, Na kila mmoja jirani yake kulia.
Now, O women, hear the word of the LORD. Open your ears to the word of His mouth. Teach your daughters to wail, and one another to lament.
21
Kwa maana mauti imepandia madirishani mwetu, imeingia majumbani mwetu; Ipate kuwakatilia mbali watoto walio nje, na vijana katika njia kuu.
For death has climbed in through our windows; it has entered our fortresses to cut off the children from the streets, the young men from the town squares.
22
Nena, Bwana asema hivi, Mizoga ya watu itaanguka kama samadi juu ya mashamba, Na kama konzi ya ngano nyuma yake avunaye, wala hapana mtu atakayeikusanya.
Declare that this is what the LORD says: “The corpses of men will fall like dung upon the open field, like newly cut grain behind the reaper, with no one to gather it.”
23
Bwana asema hivi, Mwenye hekima asijisifu kwa sababu ya hekima yake, wala mwenye nguvu asijisifu kwa sababu ya nguvu zake, wala tajiri asijisifu kwa sababu ya utajiri wake;
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
24
bali ajisifuye na ajisifu kwa sababu hii, ya kwamba ananifahamu mimi, na kunijua, ya kuwa mimi ni Bwana, nitendaye wema, na hukumu, na haki, katika nchi; maana mimi napendezwa na mambo hayo, asema Bwana,
But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.
25
Tazama, siku zinakuja, asema Bwana, nitakapowaadhibu wote waliotahiriwa katika hali yao ya kutokutahiriwa;
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh—
26
Misri, na Yuda, na Edomu, na wana wa Amoni, na Moabu, na wote wenye kunyoa denge, wakaao nyikani; maana mataifa hayo yote hawana tohara, wala nyumba yote ya Israeli hawakutahiriwa mioyo yao.
Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair of their temples. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”