A Warning for the People of Jerusalem
The Lord said:
1 Run for your lives,
people of Benjamin.
Get out of Jerusalem.
Sound a trumpet in Tekoa
and light a signal fire
in Beth-Haccherem.
Soon you will be struck
by disaster from the north.
2 Jerusalem is a lovely pasture,
3 but shepherds will surround it
and divided up,
then let their flocks
eat all the grass.
4 Kings will tell their troops,
“If we reach Jerusalem
in the morning,
we'll attack at noon.
But if we arrive later,
5 we'll attack after dark
and destroy its fortresses.”
6 I am the Lord All-Powerful,
and I will command these armies
to chop down trees
and build a ramp up to the walls
of Jerusalem.
People of Jerusalem,
I must punish you
for your injustice.
7 Evil pours from your city
like water from a spring.
Sounds of injustice and violence
echo within your walls;
victims are everywhere,
wounded and dying.
8 Listen to me,
you people of Jerusalem
and Judah.
I will abandon you,
and your land will become
an empty desert.
9 I will tell your enemies
to leave your nation bare
like a vine stripped of grapes.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have spoken.
Jeremiah's Anger
10 I have told the people
that you, Lord,
will punish them,
but they just laugh
and refuse to listen.
11 Your anger against Judah
flames up inside me,
and I can't hold it in
much longer.
The Lord's Anger Will Sweep Everyone Away
The Lord answered:
Don't hold back my anger!
Let it sweep away everyone—
the children at play
and all adults,
young and old alike.
12 I'll punish the people of Judah
and give to others
their houses and fields,
as well as their wives.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
13 Everyone is greedy and dishonest,
whether poor or rich.
Even the prophets and priests
cannot be trusted.
14 All they ever offer
to my deeply wounded people
are empty hopes for peace.
15 They should be ashamed
of their disgusting sins,
but they don't even blush.
And so, when I punish Judah,
they will end up on the ground,
dead like everyone else.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The People of Judah Rejected God's Way of Life
16 The Lord said:
My people, when you stood
at the crossroads,
I told you, “Follow the road
your ancestors took,
and you will find peace.”
But you refused.
17 I also sent prophets
to warn you of danger,
but when they sounded the alarm,
you paid no attention.
18 So I tell all nations on earth,
“Watch what I will do!
19 My people ignored me
and rejected my laws.
They planned to do evil,
and now the evil they planned
will happen to them.”
20 People of Judah,
you bring me incense from Sheba
and spices from distant lands.
You offer sacrifices of all kinds.
But why bother?
I hate these gifts of yours!
21 So I will put stumbling blocks
in your path,
and everyone will die,
including parents and children,
neighbors and friends.
An Army from the North
22 The Lord said,
“Look toward the north,
where a powerful nation
has prepared for war.
23 Its well-armed troops are cruel
and never show mercy.
Their galloping horses sound
like ocean waves
pounding on the shore.
This army will attack you,
lovely Jerusalem.”
24 Then the people said,
“Just hearing about them
makes us tremble with fear,
and we twist and turn in pain
like a woman giving birth.”
25 The Lord said,
“Don't work in your fields
or walk along the roads.
It's too dangerous.
The enemy is well armed
26 and attacks without warning.
So mourn, my people, as though
your only child had died.
Wear clothes made of sackcloth
and roll in the ash pile.”
The Lord's People Must Be Tested
The Lord said:
27 Jeremiah, test my people
as though they were metal.
28 And you'll find they are hard
like bronze and iron.
They are stubborn rebels,
always spreading lies.
* 29-30 Silver can be purified
in a fiery furnace,
but my people are too wicked
to be made pure,
and so I have rejected them.
1 Tizhani imwi bathu be Bhenjamini!
Tizhani mu Jerusalema!
Lidzani lunyanga mu Tekowa,
milidzani tjilakidzo ku Bhetehakeremu,
ngoti mbatsha dzakaangama kudwa ku bunandzwa,
ne golomodzo gulu.
2 Ndowokolomola nkololokadzi we Ziyoni
iye wakanaka unozwida.
3 Balisi ne ngubi dzabo banowon'nginilila,
banowobaka mishasha yabo kumpoteleka,
mmwe ne mmwe unowofudzila mu magalo awe.
4 “Lulwamisani ngwa kubhayana naye,
ngati n'nginilileni zhuba lili pa thongomana!”
“Yee mme wee! Tapalala ngoti zhuba lotjimila,
mitutshi ye matewuko yotjikula.”
5 “Milikani, ngatibanginilileni busiku,
tikolomole ng'umba dzidze dze bushe!”
6 Ngoti Yahwe Masimbawose bakati,
“Temani miti yayo,
mubake matathilo nge vu kupoteleka Jerusalema.
Ndiwo nzi nkulu wakafanila lobgwa shamu,
akuna tjimwe kuzhe kwe kutshambilidza koga muuli.
7 Koga se tshime libhata vula yalo mbuyanana,
ndizo unozwibigila vula mbuyanana mu bubi gugwe.
Ngwa ne golomodzo zohwika muuli,
bugwele ne mabanga zogala zwili mbeli kwangu.
8 Tjenjela iwe Jerusalema,
kuyita kuti ndisitongodwa ndikufupatila,
ndikadwa ndikuthama kuti uthukudzike,
ube shango isina bagali.”
9 Yahwe Masimbawose bakati,
“Kubunganyani limbelimbe le Iziraela kwazo se zhambi,
se ntjeli we zhambi yisani maboko enyu ku thabi dzawo.”
10 Ndiani wandakafanila lebeleka naye kuti ndintjejedze,
iye ungateedza kene?
Bona zebe dzabo dzakazhaligwa
kuti basiteedze,
bona, dama la Yahwe ntukano kubali,
abatobona shatho mu lili.
11 Ndizo ndizhele bushongola gwa Yahwe,
ndonyala nge kulibhatilila.
“Gutebulilani pezhugwi kwe bana mu dzizila,
na pezhugwi kwe makubungano wose e bazhuzha,
balume ne bakadzi banowobe mugulibo,
kose ne bawola ne sholotjena.
12 Ng'umba dzabo dzowokobegwa bamwe,
kose ne minda dzabo kose ne bakadzi babo,
ngoti ndowotambunudza luboko gwangu,
aloba bagali be shango,”
kojalo Yahwe.
13 “Kudwa mu ntukununu kunoti nkulukulu,
mmwe ne mmwe uzhele bugovu gwe kushaba nge kusakalulwama,
kudwa mu nlebesambeli kunoti ku mpirisiti,
mmwe ne mmwe unothama bupitipiti.
14 Bakapodza mabanga e bathu bangu kutukununu,
beti, ‘Kunyalala, kunyalala,’
koga akuna kunyalala.
15 Apa bakabe bana shoni abethama zwinoshimisa kene?
Aa, bose koga abana shoni,
abatolobgwa ne hana.
Ndizo banowofabo koga sa ibabo bakafa,
nge tjibaka tjandinobe ndibaloba shamu,
banowolobesiwa,”
kojalo Yahwe.
16 Ngoti Yahwe bakati,
“Imani hwunde ye zila mubone,
ngono bhuzwisisani ngekwe zila hwulukugwi,
iko kuna zila yakalulwama kwayiko, ngono muyende muili,
muwane kunyaluluka kwe meya dzenyu.
Koga banoti, ‘Atingayende muili.’
17 Ndakamubigila balindi kumutjengeta nditi,
‘Bhulutanani kulila kwe lunyanga!’
Koga banoti, ‘Atingabhulutane.’
18 Ndizo ke teedzani, imwi zwitjaba,
zibani imwi gubungano kuti banowoshingikaligwa ngeni.
19 Teedzani imwi shango, bonani, ndozhisa bubi mu bathu ibaba,
igo ntjelo we mikumbulo yabo,
ngoti abazobhulutana matama abo,
koga ngekwe nlayo wangu, bakaulasha.
20 Apa ndoshathila motsha unodwa ku Sheba,
kene pkhwe dzinodwa ku shango dzikule kene?
Zwibhayilo zwenyu zwinopisiwa hazwitoamutjilika,
ne zwipo zwenyu azwitondishathisa.
21 Ndizo Yahwe bakati,
‘Bonani ndobiga mbeli kwe bathu ibaba,
bgwe linokutha linowobakutha,
botate kose ne bakololo,
mbakidzani ne nkwinya banowoloba.’ ”
22 Yahwe bakati,
“Bonani, bathu baswika kudwa ku shango ye bunandzwa,
shango hwulu inodzonga kudwa phelelo dze shango.
23 Bakazwilulwamisa ne matati ne misebe,
bakasima mimoyo kakale abana ngoni,
nsindo wabo unonga wekuwona kwe gungwa,
banotatha mbizi,
bakalongoloka se balume banoyenda ku ngwa
kuwokunginilila iwe nkololokadzi we Ziyoni!”
24 Takahwa mbiko ngekwako,
tikatemeka mafupa tisina simba,
zogwadza zwakati ambadza,
zogwadza zwinonga nkadzi ali mu zwibhayo.
25 Musibhudile kuzhe ku minda,
kene kuyenda mu dzizila,
ngoti tjita tjina thumo,
lutjo gumu mabizho wose.
26 Iwe nkololokadzi we bathu bangu,
ambala zwiambalo zwe saka,
ubumbuluke mu nlota,
ulile se unolilila nkololo uwo uyega,
tjililo tjinogwadza,
ngoti tjinyolotjo nkolomodzi
unodwa ezha mutili.
27 “Ndakakuthama nliki we phangula ne bathu bangu,
kuti ndizo ulingisise kakale ulike zila dzabo.
28 Bose koga zwikomba zwe bapanduki,
bakanoyenda yenda beleba bung'wa,
bakasima se phangula kene butale,
bose koga banotjinya.
29 Vutho lothuta kwazo,
ntodo unojiwa nge moto,
kukuyunga kwakadwilila suli,
ngoti babi abatosukika.
30 Bo tjidang'wa siliva yakalashiwa,
ngoti Yahwe bakabalasha.”