Slaves of Nebuchadnezzar
1-2 Not long after Zedekiah became king of Judah, the Lord told me:
Jeremiah, make a wooden yoke with leather straps, and place it on your neck. 3 Then send a message to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Some officials from these countries are in Jerusalem, meeting with Zedekiah. 4 So have them tell their kings that I have said:
I am the All-Powerful Lord God of Israel, 5 and with my power I created the earth, its people, and all animals. I decide who will rule the earth, 6-7 and I have chosen my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia to rule all nations, including yours. I will even let him rule the wild animals. All nations will be slaves of Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and his grandson. Then many nations will join together, and their kings will make slaves of the Babylonians.
8 This yoke stands for the power of King Nebuchadnezzar, and I will destroy any nation that refuses to obey him. Nebuchadnezzar will attack, and many will die in battle or from hunger and disease. 9 You might have people in your kingdom who claim they can tell the future by magic or by talking with the dead or by dreams or messages from a god. But don't pay attention if any of them tell you not to obey Nebuchadnezzar. 10 If you listen to such lies, I will have you dragged far from your country and killed. 11 But if you and your nation are willing to obey Nebuchadnezzar, I will let you stay in your country, and your people will continue to live and work on their farms.
12 After I had spoken to the officials from the nearby kingdoms, I went to King Zedekiah and told him the same thing. Then I said:
Zedekiah, if you and the people of Judah want to stay alive, you must obey Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. 13 But if you refuse, then you and your people will die from war, hunger, and disease, just as the Lord has warned. 14 Your prophets have told you that you don't need to obey Nebuchadnezzar, but don't listen to their lies. 15 Those prophets claim to be speaking for the Lord, but he didn't send them. They are lying! If you do what they say, he will have both you and them dragged off to another country and killed. The Lord has spoken.
16 When I finished talking to the king, I told the priests and everyone else that the Lord had said:
Don't listen to the prophets when they say that very soon the Babylonians will return the things they took from my temple. Those prophets are lying! 17 If you choose to obey the king of Babylonia, you will live. But if you listen to those prophets, this whole city will be nothing but a pile of rubble.
18 If I really had spoken to those prophets, they would know what I am going to do. Then they would be begging me not to let everything else be taken from the temple and the king's palace and the rest of Jerusalem. 19-21 After all, when Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiachin to Babylonia as a prisoner, he didn't take everything of value from Jerusalem. He left the bronze pillars, the huge bronze bowl called the Sea, and the movable bronze stands in the temple, and he left a lot of other valuable things in the palace and in the rest of Jerusalem.
But now I, the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, say that all these things 22 will be taken to Babylonia, where they will remain until I decide to bring them back to Jerusalem. I, the Lord, have spoken.
Juda inoshingila Nebukadineza
1 Mu kutangisa kwe kubusa kwa Zedekiya nkololo wa Josiya mambo we Juda, dama ileli likazha kuna Jeremiya lidwa kuna Yahwe liti, 2 Yahwe bakati kundili, “Zwithamile misungo ne majokwi ngono uatilike mu ntshibha uwo. 3 Utumile dama kuna mambo we Edomu ne kuna mambo we Moabu ne kuna mambo we Baamoni ne kuna mambo we Tire ne kuna mambo we Sidoni nge batumwa bakazha ku Jerusalema kuna Zedekiya mambo we Juda. 4 Ngono ubalaile kuna botetshi babo uti, ‘Yahwe Masimbawose Ndzimu we Iziraela bakati: Idwani botetshi benyu muti: 5 “Ndimi nge simba langu gulu nenge luboko gwangu kwakatambunuka ndakathama shango ne bathu bayo ne phuka dzimu ili, ndoipa mmwe ne mmwe wandinoshaka. 6 Ngwenu ndalonga shango idzedzi dzose mu luboko gwe nlanda wangu Nebukadineza mambo we Bhabhiloni, naikobo ndampa ne phuka dze shango kuti dzin'shingile. 7 Zwitjaba zose zowon'shingila kose ne bakololo babe ne bana be bakololo babe kuswikila tjibaka tje shango iye na itjobo tjaswika, ipapo zwitjaba zwinjinji nabo mambo bakulu banowon'thama nlanda wabo.
8 “ ‘ “Koga ha itjaba kene mbuso ungasishingile Nebukadineza mambo we Bhabhiloni kene kuli kulonga ntshibha wawo mu jokwi la mambo we Bhabhiloni, ndowoloba shamu itjaba itjetjo nge thumo nenge bhamba nenge bugwele, kojalo Yahwe, kuswikila ndatjikolomola tjose nge luboko gugwe. 9 Ndizo musiteedze balebesambeli benyu ne bakandili benyu ne bawoloti benyu ne hwosana dzenyu ne mashabi enyu banomudwa beti, Musishingile mambo we Bhabhiloni. 10 Ngoti manyepkhwa itjetjo tjabanolebela mbeli kumuli, kunoyita kuti bamuyise kulekule ne shango yenyu kuti bamutate ngono mukaloba. 11 Koga itjaba tjinowolonga ntshibha watjo mu jokwi la mambo we Bhabhiloni kakale kan'shingila, ndowoletja itjaba itjetjo tjikasala mu shango yatjo kuti tjiilime kakale tjigale muili.” ’ ”
12 Ndakapa ndayidzo iyeyi zwayo Zedekiya mambo we Juda nditi, “Longani mitshibha yenyu mu jokwe la mambo we Bhabhiloni kakale mu nshigile kose ne bathu babe ngono mutjile. 13 Ini iwe ne bathu babo mungafa nge thumo nenge bhamba nenge bugwele Yahwe sekwa bakaleba ngekwe itjaba tjisingawoshingila mambo we Bhabhiloni kene? 14 Musiteedze matama e balebesambeli banoti kumuli, ‘Musishingile mambo we Bhabhiloni,’ ngoti manyepkhwa abanomulebeselambeli. 15 Andizobatuma kojalo Yahwe koga banolebesambeli manyepkhwa nge zina langu, kunoyita kuti ndibatatile kutjena ngono bakaloba, iwe ne balebesambeli banomulebeselambeli.”
16 Ipapo ndakalebeleka ne bapirisiti ne bathu bose nditi, “Yahwe bakati: Musitongoteedza matama e balebesambeli banomulebeselambeli beti, ‘Bonani, zwija zwe Ng'umba ya Yahwe zwabe pejo ne bgwiliziwa kudwa mu Bhabhiloni,’ ngoti manyepkhwa abanolebesambeli ku muli. 17 Musibateedze, shingilani mambo we Bhabhiloni ndizo mutjile. Ini nzi nkulu iwoyu ungabe dongo kene? 18 Ha bali balebesambeli, ha kuna dama la Yahwe mu bali ngabakumbile muna Yahwe Masimbawose kuti zwitjaba zwakasala mu Ng'umba ya Yahwe ne mu ng'umba ya mambo we Juda ne mu Jerusalema zwisiyende ku Bhabhiloni. 19 Ngoti Yahwe Masimbawose bakati ngekwe phanda ne gungwa ne zwigadziko zwe makumbgwana ne zwija zose zwakasala mu nzi iwoyu nkulu, 20 zwakabe zwisatogwa ndi Nebukadineza mambo we Bhabhiloni paakatapa Jekoniya nkololo wa Jehoyakimu mambo we Juda ne makulukota e Juda ne Jerusalema kudwa mu Jerusalema ebayisa ku Bhabhiloni, 21 ee Yahwe Masimbawose Ndzimu we Iziraela bakati ngekwe zwija zwakasala mu Ng'umba ya Yahwe ne mu ng'umba ye mambo we Juda ne mu Jerusalema: 22 Zowotolegwa ku Bhabhiloni ngono zowogalako kudzina zhuba landinowobe ne hanya nge kwazo, kojalo Yahwe. Ipapo ndowozwibgwiliza azwibiga mu tjimo mu bugalo igogu.”