1
Ikawa katika mwaka wa nne wa mfalme Dario, neno la Bwana lilimjia Zekaria, siku ya nne ya mwezi wa kenda, yaani, Kisleu.
In the fourth year of King Darius, the word of the LORD came to Zechariah on the fourth day of the ninth month, the month of Chislev.
2
Basi watu wa Betheli walikuwa wamewatuma Shareza na Regem-meleki, na watu wao, ili kuomba fadhili za Bwana,
Now the people of Bethel had sent Sharezer and Regem-melech, along with their men, to plead before the LORD
3
na kusema na makuhani wa nyumba ya Bwana wa majeshi, na hao manabii, ya kwamba, Je! Yanipasa kulia katika mwezi wa tano, na kujitenga na watu, kama nilivyofanya miaka hii mingi iliyopita?
by asking the priests of the house of the LORD of Hosts, as well as the prophets, “Should I weep and fast in the fifth month, as I have done these many years?”
4
Ndipo neno la Bwana wa majeshi likanijia, kusema,
Then the word of the LORD of Hosts came to me, saying,
5
Waambie watu wote wa nchi, na hao makuhani, ukisema, Hapo mlipofunga na kuomboleza katika mwezi wa tano na mwezi wa saba, katika miaka hiyo sabini, je! Mlinifungia mimi kwa lo lote; mlinifungia mimi?
“Ask all the people of the land and the priests, ‘When you fasted and mourned in the fifth and seventh months for these seventy years, was it really for Me that you fasted?
6
Na wakati mlapo chakula na kunywa, je! Hamli kwa ajili ya nafsi zenu, na kunywa kwa ajili ya nafsi zenu?
And when you were eating and drinking, were you not doing so simply for yourselves?
7
Je! Hayo siyo maneno aliyoyasema Bwana kwa vinywa vya manabii wa zamani, wakati Yerusalemu ulipokaliwa na watu na kufanikiwa, na miji yake iliyokuwa ikiuzunguka; na wakati ule ambao nchi ya Negebu na Shefela ilipokuwa ikikaliwa na watu?
Are these not the words that the LORD proclaimed through the earlier prophets, when Jerusalem and its surrounding towns were populous and prosperous, and the Negev and the foothills were inhabited?’”
8
Kisha neno la Bwana likamjia Zekaria, kusema,
Then the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying,
9
Bwana wa majeshi amesema hivi, ya kwamba, Fanyeni hukumu za kweli, kila mtu na amwonee ndugu yake rehema na huruma;
“This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another.
10
tena msimdhulumu mjane, wala yatima, wala mgeni, wala maskini; wala mtu awaye yote miongoni mwenu asiwaze mabaya juu ya ndugu yake moyoni mwake.
Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor. And do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.’
11
Lakini hao walikataa kusikiliza, wakageuza bega lao, wakaziba masikio yao ili wasisikie.
But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing.
12
Naam, walifanya mioyo yao kuwa kama jiwe gumu, wasije wakaisikia sheria na maneno ya Bwana wa majeshi, aliyoyapeleka kwa roho yake kwa mkono wa manabii wa kwanza; kwa sababu hiyo ghadhabu kuu ikatoka kwa Bwana wa majeshi.
They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of Hosts.
13
Ikawa kwa sababu alilia, wao wasitake kusikiliza; basi, wao nao watalia, wala mimi sitasikiliza, asema Bwana wa majeshi.
And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts.
14
Lakini nitawatawanya kwa upepo wa kisulisuli, katikati ya mataifa yote wasiowajua. Basi hivyo ndivyo ilivyokuwa ukiwa nchi baada yao, hata hapakuwa na mtu aliyepita kati yake, wala aliyerudi; maana waliifanya nchi iliyopendeza sana kuwa ukiwa.
But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known, and the land was left desolate behind them so that no one could come or go. Thus they turned the pleasant land into a desolation.”