1
Neno la Bwana likanijia, kusema,
Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2
Mwanadamu, mzabibu una sifa gani kuliko mti mwingine, au tawi la mzabibu lililokuwa kati ya miti ya msituni?
“Son of man, how does the wood of the vine surpass any other branch among the trees in the forest?
3
Je! Mti wake waweza kutwaliwa, ili kufanya kazi yo yote? Watu waweza kufanya chango kwa huo, ili kutundika chombo cho chote?
Can wood be taken from it to make something useful? Or can one make from it a peg on which to hang utensils?
4
Tazama, watupwa motoni kwa kuni moto umeziteketeza ncha zake zote mbili, nao umeteketea katikati, je! Wafaa kwa kazi yo yote?
No, it is cast into the fire for fuel. The fire devours both ends, and the middle is charred. Can it be useful for anything?
5
Tazama, ulipokuwa mzima, haukufaa kwa kazi yo yote; sembuse ukiisha kuliwa na moto, na kuteketea; je! Waweza kufaa kwa kazi yo yote?
Even when it was whole, it could not be made useful. How much less can it ever be useful when the fire has consumed it and charred it!
6
Basi Bwana MUNGU asema hivi; Kama mzabibu kati ya miti ya msituni, niliyoupa moto uwe kuni, ndivyo nitakavyowatoa wakaao Yerusalemu.
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Like the wood of the vine among the trees of the forest, which I have given to the fire for fuel, so I will give up the people of Jerusalem.
7
Nami nitaukaza uso wangu juu yao; nao watatoka motoni, lakini moto utawateketeza; nanyi mtajua ya kuwa mimi ndimi Bwana, nitakapoukaza uso wangu juu yao.
And I will set My face against them. Though they may have escaped the fire, yet another fire will consume them. And when I set My face against them, you will know that I am the LORD.
8
Nami nitaifanya nchi kuwa ukiwa, kwa sababu wamekosa, asema Bwana MUNGU.
Thus I will make the land desolate, because they have acted unfaithfully,’ declares the Lord GOD.”