Jeremiah's Message to the Royal House of Judah
1-2 The Lord told me to go to the palace of the king of Judah, the descendant of David, and there tell the king, his officials, and the people of Jerusalem to listen to what the Lord had said: 3 “I, the Lord, command you to do what is just and right. Protect the person who is being cheated from the one who is cheating him. Do not mistreat or oppress aliens, orphans, or widows; and do not kill innocent people in this holy place. 4 If you really do as I have commanded, then David's descendants will continue to be kings. And they, together with their officials and their people, will continue to pass through the gates of this palace in chariots and on horses. 5 But if you do not obey my commands, then I swear to you that this palace will fall into ruins. I, the Lord, have spoken.
6 “To me, Judah's royal palace is as beautiful as the land of Gilead and as the Lebanon Mountains; but I will make it a desolate place where no one lives. 7 I am sending men to destroy it. They will all bring their axes, cut down its beautiful cedar pillars, and throw them into the fire.
8 “Afterward many foreigners will pass by and ask one another why I, the Lord, have done such a thing to this great city. 9 Then they will answer that it is because you have abandoned your covenant with me, your God, and have worshiped and served other gods.”
Jeremiah's Message concerning Joahaz
10 People of Judah, do not weep for King Josiah;
do not mourn his death.
But weep bitterly for Joahaz, his son;
they are taking him away, never to return,
never again to see the land where he was born.
11 The Lord says concerning Josiah's son Joahaz, who succeeded his father as king of Judah, “He has gone away from here, never to return. 12 He will die in the country where they have taken him, and he will never again see this land.”
Jeremiah's Message concerning Jehoiakim
13 Doomed is the one who builds his house by injustice
and enlarges it by dishonesty;
who makes his people work for nothing
and does not pay their wages.
14 Doomed is the one who says,
“I will build myself a mansion
with spacious rooms upstairs.”
So he puts windows in his house,
panels it with cedar,
and paints it red.
15 Does it make you a better king
if you build houses of cedar,
finer than those of others?
Your father enjoyed a full life.
He was always just and fair,
and he prospered in everything he did.
16 He gave the poor a fair trial,
and all went well with him.
That is what it means to know the Lord.
17 But you can only see your selfish interests;
you kill the innocent
and violently oppress your people.
The Lord has spoken.
18 So then, the Lord says about Josiah's son Jehoiakim, king of Judah,
“No one will mourn his death or say,
‘How terrible, my friend, how terrible!’
No one will weep for him or cry,
‘My lord! My king!’
19 With the funeral honors of a donkey,
he will be dragged away
and thrown outside Jerusalem's gates.”
Jeremiah's Message about the Fate of Jerusalem
20 People of Jerusalem, go to Lebanon and shout,
go to the land of Bashan and cry;
call out from the mountains of Moab,
because all your allies have been defeated.
21 The Lord spoke to you when you were prosperous,
but you refused to listen.
That is what you've done all your life;
you never would obey the Lord.
22 Your leaders will be blown away by the wind,
your allies taken as prisoners of war,
your city disgraced and put to shame
because of all the evil you have done.
23 You rest secure among the cedars brought from Lebanon;
but how pitiful you'll be when pains strike you,
pains like those of a woman in labor.
God's Judgment on Jehoiachin
24 The Lord said to King Jehoiachin, son of King Jehoiakim of Judah, “As surely as I am the living God, even if you were the signet ring on my right hand, I would pull you off 25 and give you to people you are afraid of, people who want to kill you. I will give you to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and his soldiers. 26 I am going to force you and your mother into exile. You will go to a country where neither of you was born, and both of you will die there. 27 You will long to see this country again, but you will never return.”
28 I said, “Has King Jehoiachin become like a broken jar that is thrown away and that no one wants? Is that why he and his children have been taken into exile to a land they know nothing about?”
29 O land, land, land!
Listen to what the Lord has said:
30 “This man is condemned to lose his children,
to be a man who will never succeed.
He will have no descendants
who will rule in Judah
as David's successors.
I, the Lord, have spoken.”
Ngekwe mambo we Juda
1 Yahwe bakati, “Delukila ku ng'umba ya mambo we Juda ikoko ulebe dama yeli, 2 uti, ‘Ihwa dama la Yahwe iwe mambo we Juda, iwe ugele mu tjigalo tje bumambo tja Dafite, iwe ne balanda babo ne bathu babo banongina ne mikoba iyeyi. 3 Yahwe bakati, “Shingani tjakatambunuka ne ndulamo musunungule iye watolegwa mu luboko gwe ntshambilidzi, musitange kene mukamusilana zhoba ne ntaya kene siyang'wa kene tjilikadzi kene kutebula lopa lisina nlandu pathu ipapa. 4 Ngoti nge malebeswa amubhulutana dama ileli bomambo banogala mu tjigalo tje bumambo tja Dafite banowozha bakangina nge mikoba ye ng'umba iyeyi bakatatha koloyi dze ngwa ne mbizi, ibo ne balanda babo ne bathu babo. 5 Koga ha musingabhulutane matama angu, ndotuna nge kwangu, koleba Yahwe, kuti ng'umba iyeyi inowobe dongo.” 6 Ngoti Yahwe bakati ngekwe ng'umba ye Juda,
“ ‘Monga Giliyadi kundili,
monga thongoma ye matombo e Lebanoni,
ngono nge lebeswa ndowomuthama tjilambanyika,
nzi nkulu usina bagali.
7 Ndowolulwamisa bakolomoli kubhayana namwi,
mmwe ne mmwe akabhata thumo lile,
banowotema misida yenyu yakanaka,
ngono banoilashila mu moto.
8 “ ‘Zwitjaba zwinjinji zowopinda ne pa nzi nkulu iwoyu ngono nthu mmwe ne mmwe unowoti ku mbakidzani uwe, “Ini Yahwe bathama kwakajali ngekwe nzi nkulu iwoyu?” 9 Ngono banowodabila beti, “Nge kuti bakafupatila Tjidumano tja Yahwe Ndzimu wabo, bakanamata midzimu ipoga kakale bakaishingila.” ’ ”
10 Musililile nfi,
kene kuli kube mu buyendasi ngekukwe,
koga lililani kwazo iye unoyenda,
ngoti aatjowobuya,
kuwobona shango ya kanyi kukwe.
11 Ngoti Yahwe bakati ngekwa Shalumu nkololo wa Josiya mambo we Juda, iye wakabusa mu bumo gwa Josiya tate babe ibo bakadwa pathu ipapa bakati, “Aatjowobuya, 12 ngono unonofila mu bugalo gwabaka ntapila ko, aatjobona shango iyeyi kakale.”
13 “Wapalala iye unozwibakila ng'umba ngoshaya ndulamo,
ne ng'umbana dzidze dzipezhugwi nge kusatambunuka,
ethama kuti mbakidzani ashingile suli,
kudwapo asingampe ndipo iye,
14 iye unoti, ‘Ndowozwibakila ng'umba hwuluhwulu,
ina ng'umbana dzi pezhugwi dzakazhuka,’
ndizo kaithamila mafesitere,
ana makwasayile e misida,
kaidzulula nge bushaba.
15 “Apa unozwidwa uti u mambo
kube ne misida minjinji kene?
Apa tate babo bakabe basingaje bakang'wa,
bakathama tjakatambunuka nenge ndulamo kene?
Ngono zose zwikabalulwamila.
16 Bakasumikilisa ndebo ye bashayi ne basheti,
ngono kukabe kwakalulwama.
Apa ate ili iko kundiziba ikoku kene?”
Koleba Yahwe.
17 “Koga una mesho ne nkumbulo,
wekushaba zwe bupitipiti,
wekutebula malopa asina nlandu,
ne kutshambilidza ne ngwa.”
18 Ndizo Yahwe bakati ngekwa Jehoyakimu nkololo wa Josiya mambo we Juda,
“Basingon'lilila beti,
‘Yee mme wee hazwadzi yangu,’
Basingon'lilila beti,
‘Tetshi wangu kene bushe gwangu!’
19 Unowobiganyiwa se kunotshigwa donki
banokukweba bakanokulashila seli kwe mikoba ye Jerusalema.”
20 “Tathila ku Lebanoni umimile,
umilidze hwi lilo mu Bhashani,
ulile kudwa mu matombo e Abarimu,
ngoti badiwa babo bose bakolomogwa.
21 Ndakalebeleka nawe utjakabhudilila,
koga wakati, ‘Anditowoteedza!’
Hwoku kwagala kuli mpanga uwo kudwa mu butjetjana gugo,
auzotongofa ukanditeedza.
22 Phepo inowotutudzila balisi babo kutjena,
badiwa babo banowotapiwa,
ipapo unowobhakhwa ne shoni ukalengudzika,
ngekwe bubi gugo gose.
23 Imwi bagali be Lebanoni,
bakazwibakila mashaka pakati kwe misida,
mowogomela tjini ha mbambo dzimubhaya,
zwibhayo zwikanga zwe nkadzi unotshibama.”
24 “Ha nditjatjila,” koleba Yahwe, “nenguba Koniya nkololo wa Jehoyakimu ne mambo we Juda bangabe bali ring'i mu luboko gwangu gwe luji, ndabe ndowokupalulanya, 25 ha kulonga mu maboko a ibabo banoshakana ne butjilo gugo, mu maboko a ibabo banotja nenge mu luboko gwa Nebukadineza mambo we Bhabhiloni ne mu maboko e Bakhaladiya. 26 Ndowomulashila ku shango ipoga yamusaka zwaligwa muili iwe na mmeyabo bakakuzwala ngono mowonofila ko. 27 Amutjowobgwilila ku shango yamunoyemula kubgwilila kuili.”
28 Apa nlume iwoyu ndi Koniya wakalengudzika, hali yakapkhwanyika,
tjija tjisina ntjengeti kene?
Ini iye ne bana babe baposegwa bakalashigwa,
ku shango yatisinga zibe kene?
29 Iwe shango, shango, shango,
ihwa dama la Yahwe!
30 Yahwe balebeleka bakati,
“Kwalani ngekwe nlume iwoyu,
muti, aana bana, nlume usingake kabhudilila mu butjilo gugwe,
ngono akuna we bana babe unowobhudilila,
akuna wabo unowogala tjigalo tje bumambo tja Dafite,
kene kabusa mu Juda.”