1
Ole wangu! Maana mimi ni kama hapo walipokwisha kuyachuma matunda ya wakati wa hari, kama zabibu zichumwazo baada ya mavuno; hapana shada la kuliwa; roho yangu inatamani tini iivayo kwanza.
Woe is me! For I am like one gathering summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster to eat, no early fig that I crave.
2
Mtu amchaye Mungu ametoweka, asionekane katika nchi, wala hapana mtu mwenye adili katika wanadamu; wote huotea ili kumwaga damu; kila mtu humwinda ndugu yake kwa wavu.
The godly man has perished from the earth; there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for blood; they hunt one another with a net.
3
Mikono yao inayashika mabaya wayatende kwa bidii; mtu mkuu aomba rushwa, kadhi yu tayari kuipokea; mtu mkubwa hunena madhara yaliyomo rohoni mwake; hivyo ndivyo wayafumavyo hayo pamoja.
Both hands are skilled at evil; the prince and the judge demand a bribe. When the powerful utters his evil desire, they all conspire together.
4
Mtu aliye mwema miongoni mwao ni kama mbigili; mtu aliye mwenye adili miongoni mwao ni mbaya kuliko boma la michongoma; hiyo siku ya walinzi wako, yaani, siku ya kujiliwa kwako, imefika; sasa kutatokea kufadhaika kwao.
The best of them is like a brier; the most upright is sharper than a hedge of thorns. The day for your watchmen has come, the day of your visitation. Now is the time of their confusion.
5
Msimwamini rafiki, msimwekee kiongozi tumaini; ilinde milango ya midomo ya kinywa chako ili mkeo alalaye kifuani mwako asijue habari.
Do not rely on a friend; do not trust in a companion. Seal the doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms.
6
Kwa maana mwana humwaibisha babaye, na binti huondoka ashindane na mamaye; na mwanamke aliyeolewa hushindana na mavyaaye; adui za mtu ni watu wa nyumbani mwake mwenyewe.
For a son dishonors his father, a daughter rises against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. A man’s enemies are the members of his own household.
7
Lakini mimi, nitamtazamia Bwana; nitamngojea Mungu wa wokovu wangu; Mungu wangu atanisikia.
But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
8
Usifurahi juu yangu, Ee adui yangu; niangukapo, nitasimama tena; nikaapo gizani, Bwana atakuwa nuru kwangu.
Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.
9
Nitaivumilia ghadhabu ya Bwana, kwa kuwa nimemwasi; hata atakaponitetea teto langu, na kunifanyia hukumu; atanileta nje kwenye nuru, nami nitaiona haki yake.
Because I have sinned against Him, I must endure the rage of the LORD, until He argues my case and executes justice for me. He will bring me into the light; I will see His righteousness.
10
Ndipo adui yangu ataliona jambo hilo, na aibu itamfunika, yeye aliyeniambia, Yuko wapi Bwana, Mungu wako? Macho yangu yatamtazama; sasa atakanyagwa kama matope ya njia kuu.
Then my enemy will see and will be covered with shame—she who said to me, “Where is the LORD your God?” My eyes will see her; at that time she will be trampled like mud in the streets.
11
Ni siku ya kujengwa kuta zako! Siku hiyo mpaka utasongezwa mbali.
The day for rebuilding your walls will come—the day for extending your boundary.
12
Siku hiyo watakujia kutoka Ashuru na miji ya Misri, na kutoka Misri mpaka huo Mto, na kutoka bahari hii mpaka bahari hii, na kutoka mlima huu mpaka mlima huu.
On that day they will come to you from Assyria and the cities of Egypt, even from Egypt to the Euphrates, from sea to sea and mountain to mountain.
13
Hata hivyo nchi itakuwa ukiwa kwa sababu ya hao wakaao ndani yake, kwa sababu ya matunda ya matendo yao.
Then the earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants, as the fruit of their deeds.
14
Walishe watu wako kwa fimbo yako, kundi la urithi wako, wakaao peke yao, mwituni katikati ya Karmeli; na walishe katika Bashani na Gileadi, kama siku za kale.
Shepherd with Your staff Your people, the flock of Your inheritance. They live alone in a woodland, surrounded by pastures. Let them graze in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
15
Kama katika siku zile za kutoka kwako katika nchi ya Misri nitamwonyesha mambo ya ajabu.
As in the days when you came out of Egypt, I will show My wonders.
16
Mataifa wataona, na kuzitahayarikia nguvu zao zote; wataweka mikono yao juu ya vinywa vyao, masikio yao yatakuwa na uziwi.
Nations will see and be ashamed, deprived of all their might. They will put their hands over their mouths, and their ears will become deaf.
17
Watayaramba mavumbi kama nyoka, kama vitu vitambaavyo juu ya nchi watatoka katika mahali walimojificha, wakitetemeka; watakuja kwa Bwana, Mungu wetu, kwa hofu, nao wataogopa kwa sababu yako.
They will lick the dust like a snake, like reptiles slithering on the ground. They will come trembling from their strongholds in the presence of the LORD our God; they will tremble in fear of You.
18
Ni nani aliye Mungu kama wewe, mwenye kusamehe uovu, na kuliachilia kosa la watu wa urithi wake waliosalia? Hashiki hasira yake milele, kwa maana yeye hufurahia rehema.
Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance—who does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in loving devotion?
19
Atarejea na kutuhurumia; atayakanyaga maovu yetu; nawe utazitupa dhambi zao zote katika vilindi vya bahari.
He will again have compassion on us; He will vanquish our iniquities. You will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea.
20
Wewe utamtimilizia Yakobo kweli yako, na Ibrahimu rehema zako, ulizowaapia baba zetu tangu siku za kale.
You will show faithfulness to Jacob and loving devotion to Abraham, as You swore to our fathers from the days of old.