1
Angalieni, namtuma mjumbe wangu, naye ataitengeneza njia mbele yangu; naye Bwana mnayemtafuta atalijilia hekalu lake ghafula; naam, yule mjumbe wa agano mnayemfurahia, angalieni, anakuja, asema Bwana wa majeshi.
“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple—the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight—see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.
2
Lakini ni nani atakayestahimili siku ya kuja kwake? Au ni nani atakayesimama atakapoonekana yeye? Kwa maana yeye ni mfano wa moto wa mtu asafishaye fedha, ni mfano wa sabuni ya mtu afuaye nguo;
But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.
3
naye ataketi kama asafishaye fedha na kuitakasa, naye atawatakasa wana wa Lawi, atawasafisha kama dhahabu na fedha; nao watamtolea Bwana dhabihu katika haki.
And He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. Then they will present offerings to the LORD in righteousness.
4
Wakati ule ndipo dhabihu za Yuda na Yerusalemu zitakapopendeza mbele za Bwana, kama katika siku za kale, na kama katika miaka ya zamani.
Then the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will please the LORD, as in days of old and years gone by.
5
Nami nitawakaribieni ili kuhukumu; nami nitakuwa shahidi mwepesi juu ya wachawi, na juu ya wazinzi, na juu yao waapao kwa uongo; na juu yao wamwoneao mwenye kuajiriwa, kwa ajili ya mshahara wake, wamwoneao mjane na yatima, na kumpotosha mgeni asipate haki yake, wala hawaniogopi mimi, asema Bwana wa majeshi.
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. And I will be a swift witness against sorcerers and adulterers and perjurers, against oppressors of the widowed and fatherless, and against those who defraud laborers of their wages and deny justice to the foreigner but do not fear Me,” says the LORD of Hosts.
6
Kwa kuwa mimi, Bwana, sina kigeugeu; ndio maana ninyi hamkuangamizwa, enyi wana wa Yakobo.
“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
7
Tokea siku za baba zenu mmegeuka upande, mkayaacha maagizo yangu, wala hamkuyashika. Nirudieni mimi, nami nitawarudia ninyi, asema Bwana wa majeshi. Lakini ninyi mwasema, Turudi kwa namna gani?
Yet from the days of your fathers, you have turned away from My statutes and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD of Hosts. “But you ask, ‘How can we return?’
8
Je! Mwanadamu atamwibia Mungu? Lakini ninyi mnaniibia mimi. Lakini ninyi mwasema, Tumekuibia kwa namna gani? Mmeniibia zaka na dhabihu.
Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you ask, ‘How do we rob You?’ In tithes and offerings.
9
Ninyi mmelaaniwa kwa laana; maana mnaniibia mimi, naam, taifa hili lote.
You are cursed with a curse, yet you—the whole nation—are still robbing Me.
10
Leteni zaka kamili ghalani, ili kiwemo chakula katika nyumba yangu, mkanijaribu kwa njia hiyo, asema Bwana wa majeshi; mjue kama sitawafungulia madirisha ya mbinguni, na kuwamwagieni baraka, hata isiwepo nafasi ya kutosha, au la.
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour out for you blessing without measure.
11
Nami kwa ajili yenu nitamkemea yeye alaye, wala hataharibu mazao ya ardhi yenu; wala mzabibu wenu hautapukutisha matunda yake kabla ya wakati wake katika mashamba, asema Bwana wa majeshi.
I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your land, and the vine in your field will not fail to produce fruit,” says the LORD of Hosts.
12
Na mataifa yote watawaiteni heri; maana mtakuwa nchi ya kupendeza sana, asema Bwana wa majeshi.
“Then all the nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight,” says the LORD of Hosts.
13
Maneno yenu yamekuwa magumu juu yangu, asema Bwana. Lakini ninyi mwasema, Tumesema maneno juu yako kwa namna gani?
“Your words against Me have been harsh,” says the LORD. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we spoken against You?’
14
Mmesema, Kumtumikia Mungu hakuna faida; na, Tumepata faida gani kwa kuyashika maagizo yake, na kwa kwenda kwa huzuni mbele za Bwana wa majeshi?
You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What have we gained by keeping His requirements and walking mournfully before the LORD of Hosts?
15
Na sasa twasema ya kwamba wenye kiburi ndio walio heri; naam, watendao uovu ndio wajengwao; naam, wamjaribuo Mungu ndio waponywao.
So now we call the arrogant blessed. Not only do evildoers prosper, they even test God and escape.’”
16
Ndipo wale waliomcha Bwana waliposemezana wao kwa wao. Naye Bwana akasikiliza, akasikia; na kitabu cha ukumbusho kikaandikwa mbele zake, kwa ajili ya hao waliomcha Bwana, na kulitafakari jina lake.
At that time those who feared the LORD spoke with one another, and the LORD listened and heard them. So a scroll of remembrance was written before Him regarding those who feared the LORD and honored His name.
17
Nao watakuwa wangu, asema Bwana wa majeshi, katika siku ile niifanyayo; naam, watakuwa hazina yangu hasa; nami nitawaachilia, kama vile mtu amwachiliavyo mwanawe mwenyewe amtumikiaye.
“They will be Mine,” says the LORD of Hosts, “on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.
18
Ndipo mtakaporudi, nanyi mtapambanua kati ya wenye haki na waovu, na kati ya yeye amtumikiaye Mungu na yeye asiyemtumikia.
So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”