1
Neno hili ndilo lililomjia Yeremia, kutoka kwa Bwana, kusema,
This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2
Simama langoni pa nyumba ya Bwana, ukatangaze hapo neno hili, ukisema, Sikilizeni neno la Bwana, ninyi nyote wa Yuda, mnaoingia katika malango haya ili kumwabudu Bwana.
“Stand in the gate of the house of the LORD and proclaim this message: Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who enter through these gates to worship the LORD.
3
Bwana wa majeshi, Mungu wa Israeli, asema hivi, Tengenezeni njia zenu, na matendo yenu, nami nitawakalisha ninyi mahali hapa.
Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel: Correct your ways and deeds, and I will let you live in this place.
4
Msitumainie maneno ya uongo, mkisema, Hekalu la Bwana, Hekalu la Bwana, Hekalu la Bwana ndiyo haya.
Do not trust in deceptive words, saying: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’
5
Maana kama mkitengeneza kabisa njia zenu na matendo yenu; kama mkihukumu hukumu ya haki kati ya mtu na jirani yake;
For if you really correct your ways and deeds, if you act justly toward one another,
6
kama hamwonei mgeni, wala yatima, wala mjane, wala kumwaga damu isiyo na hatia mahali hapa, wala kuifuata miungu mingine kwa hasara yenu wenyewe;
if you no longer oppress the foreigner and the fatherless and the widow, and if you no longer shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods to your own harm,
7
ndipo nitakapowakalisha mahali hapa, katika nchi hii niliyowapa baba zenu, tokea zamani hata milele.
then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers forever and ever.
8
Angalieni, mnatumainia maneno ya uongo, yasiyoweza kufaidia.
But look, you keep trusting in deceptive words to no avail.
9
Je! Mtaiba, na kuua, na kuzini, na kuapa kwa uongo, na kumfukizia Baali uvumba, na kuifuata miungu mingine ambayo hamkuijua;
Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known,
10
kisha mtakuja na kusimama mbele zangu katika nyumba hii, iitwayo kwa jina langu, na kusema, Tumepona; ili mpate kufanya machukizo hayo yote?
and then come and stand before Me in this house, which bears My Name, and say, ‘We are delivered, so we can continue with all these abominations’?
11
Je! Nyumba hii, iitwayo kwa jina langu, imekuwa pango la wanyang'anyi machoni penu? Angalieni, mimi, naam, mimi, nimeliona jambo hili, asema Bwana.
Has this house, which bears My Name, become a den of robbers in your sight? Yes, I too have seen it, declares the LORD.
12
Lakini enendeni sasa hata mahali pangu palipokuwapo katika Shilo, nilipolikalisha jina langu hapo kwanza, mkaone nilivyopatenda kwa sababu ya uovu wa watu wangu Israeli.
But go now to the place in Shiloh where I first made a dwelling for My Name, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel.
13
Na sasa, kwa sababu mmezifanya kazi hizi zote asema Bwana, nami nikasema nanyi, nikiamka mapema na kunena, lakini hamkusikia; nami nikawaita wala hamkuniitikia;
And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and because I have spoken to you again and again but you would not listen, and I have called to you but you would not answer,
14
basi, nitaitenda nyumba hii, iitwayo kwa jina langu, mnayoitumainia, na mahali hapa nilipowapa ninyi na baba zenu, kama nilivyopatenda Shilo.
therefore what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that bears My Name, the house in which you trust, the place that I gave to you and your fathers.
15
Nami nitawatupa ninyi mbali na macho yangu, kama nilivyowatupa ndugu zenu wote, yaani, wazao wote wa Efraimu.
And I will cast you out of My presence, just as I have cast out all your brothers, all the descendants of Ephraim.
16
Basi, wewe usiwaombee watu hawa, wala usiwapazie sauti yako, wala kuwaombea dua, wala usinisihi kwa ajili yao; kwa maana sitakusikiliza.
As for you, do not pray for these people, do not offer a plea or petition on their behalf, and do not beg Me, for I will not listen to you.
17
Je! Huoni wanavyotenda katika miji ya Yuda, na katika njia kuu za Yerusalemu?
Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
18
Watoto huokota kuni, na baba zao huwasha moto, na wanawake hukanda unga, ili kumfanyizia mikate malkia wa mbinguni, na kuwamiminia miungu mingine sadaka za kinywaji, wapate kunikasirisha mimi.
The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven; they pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger.
19
Je! Watu hawa wanikasirisha mimi? Asema Bwana; hawajikasirishi nafsi zao, na kuzitia haya nyuso zao wenyewe?
But am I the One they are provoking? declares the LORD. Is it not themselves they spite, to their own shame?
20
Kwa hiyo, Bwana MUNGU asema hivi, Tazama, hasira yangu na ghadhabu yangu zitamwagwa juu ya mahali hapa, juu ya wanadamu, na juu ya wanyama, na juu ya miti ya mashamba, na juu ya mazao ya nchi; nayo itateketea, isizimike.
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Behold, My anger and My fury will be poured out on this place, on man and beast, on the trees of the field and the produce of the land, and it will burn and not be extinguished.
21
Bwana wa majeshi, Mungu wa Israeli, asema hivi, Tieni sadaka zenu za kuteketezwa pamoja na dhabihu zenu, mkale nyama.
This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices and eat the meat yourselves!
22
Maana sikusema na baba zenu, wala sikuwaamuru kwa habari za sadaka za kuteketezwa na dhabihu, siku ile nilipowatoa katika nchi ya Misri;
For when I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt, I did not merely command them about burnt offerings and sacrifices,
23
lakini naliwaamuru neno hili, nikisema, Sikilizeni sauti yangu, nami nitakuwa Mungu wenu nanyi mtakuwa watu wangu; mkaende katika njia ile yote nitakayowaamuru mpate kufanikiwa.
but this is what I commanded them: Obey Me, and I will be your God, and you will be My people. You must walk in all the ways I have commanded you, so that it may go well with you.
24
Lakini hawakusikiliza, wala kutega sikio lao, bali walikwenda kwa mashauri yao wenyewe, na kwa ushupavu wa mioyo yao mibaya, wakaenda nyuma wala si mbele.
Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but they followed the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.
25
Tokea siku ile baba zenu walipotoka katika nchi ya Misri hata leo, nimewatuma watumishi wangu wote manabii kwenu ninyi, nikiamka mapema kila siku, na kuwatuma.
From the day your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have sent you all My servants the prophets again and again.
26
Lakini hawakunisikiliza, wala kutega sikio lao; bali walifanya shingo yao kuwa ngumu; walitenda mabaya kuliko baba zao.
Yet they would not listen to Me or incline their ear, but they stiffened their necks and did more evil than their fathers.
27
Nawe utawaambia maneno hayo yote; lakini hawatakusikiliza, nawe utawaita; lakini hawatakuitikia.
When you tell them all these things, they will not listen to you. When you call to them, they will not answer.
28
Nawe utawaambia, Taifa hili ndilo lisilosikiliza sauti ya Bwana, Mungu wao, wala kupokea mafundisho; uaminifu umepotea, umekatiliwa mbali na vinywa vyao.
Therefore you must say to them, ‘This is the nation that would not listen to the voice of the LORD their God and would not receive correction. Truth has perished; it has disappeared from their lips.
29
Zikate nywele zako, Ee Yerusalemu, uzitupe, Ukafanye maombolezo juu ya vilele vya milima; Kwa maana Bwana amekikataa na kukitupa Kizazi cha ghadhabu yake.
Cut off your hair and throw it away. Raise up a lamentation on the barren heights, for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.’
30
Maana wana wa Yuda wametenda yaliyo maovu machoni pangu, asema Bwana; wameweka machukizo yao ndani ya nyumba hiyo, iitwayo kwa jina langu, hata kuitia unajisi.
For the people of Judah have done evil in My sight, declares the LORD. They have set up their abominations in the house that bears My Name, and so have defiled it.
31
Nao wamepajenga mahali palipoinuka pa Tofethi, palipo katika bonde la mwana wa Hinomu, ili kuwateketeza wana wao na binti zao motoni; jambo ambalo mimi sikuliagiza, wala halikuingia moyoni mwangu.
They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.
32
Basi angalieni, siku zinakuja, asema Bwana, ambazo katika siku hizo halitaitwa tena Tofethi, wala Bonde la mwana wa Hinomu bali litaitwa, Bonde la Machinjo; maana watazika watu katika Tofethi, hata hapatakuwapo mahali pa kuzika tena.
So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place will no longer be called Topheth and the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. For they will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room.
33
Na mizoga ya watu hawa itakuwa chakula cha ndege wa angani, na cha wanyama wa nchi; wala hapana mtu atakayewafukuza.
The corpses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to scare them away.
34
Ndipo katika miji ya Yuda, na katika njia kuu za Yerusalemu, nitaikomesha sauti ya kicheko na sauti ya furaha, sauti ya bwana arusi na sauti ya bibi arusi; kwa maana nchi hiyo itakuwa ukiwa.
I will remove from the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of the bride and bridegroom, for the land will become a wasteland.”