1 Yee mme wee! Bapalala ibabo banothama milayo yakabipa,
banokwala milayo inotshambilidza bathu,
2 kudzibila bashayi zwakabalingisana,
kutolela bashayi bapakati kwe bathu bangu fanilo dzabo kuti
bathame tjilikadzi thundu dzabatapa
betolela siyang'wa.
3 Mowothamani mu zhuba lamunolobgwa kene,
mu zhuba le mbatsha dzinozha dzidwa kule?
Mowotizhila kuna ani kuti mu bhatshiwe kene?
Fumwa yenyu kee, moisiya poni?
4 Akuna tjamusalila akusi kuzwiyisa pasi pakati kwe basungwa
kene pakati kwe babulawa.
Nenguba kwakajalo kugwadzamoyo kwabo akuzopela,
luboko gwabo gutjakamilikila kuloba.
Mambo we Asiriya
5 Yee mee wee! Wapalala iwe Asiriya lukombo gwe kugwadzamoyo kwangu,
iwe ikombo tje bushongola gwangu!
6 Ndontuma kubhayana ne itjaba tjisina Ndzimu,
ndontuma kubhayana ne bathu bandakagwadzila moyo
kutapa ne kutolela thundu ne
kubatshambila pasi se dope limu zila.
7 Koga Asiriya aizozwimisila ikoku,
aitokumbula saikoku,
koga mazwimisilo ayo hwukolomodza
ne kulobesa zwitjaba zwinjinji
8 ngoti unoti,
Apa batungamili bose be babhayani bangu ate bomambo bose kene?
9 Apa nzi nkulu Khalino autonga we Karikhemishi kene?
Nzi nkulu we Hamati autonga we Aripadi kene?
Apa nzi nkulu we Samariya autonga we Damasiko kene?
10 Se luboko gwangu gwakakunda mibuso ye midzimu ye zwifaniso
zwakabe zwili zwikulu kupinda zwe Jerusalema ne Samariya,
11 apa andingathame mu Jerusalema ne midzimu yawo ye manyepkhwa
tjandakathama mu Samariya ne zwifano zwawo kene?
12 Kowoti She bapedza nshingo wabo wose mu Dombo le Ziyoni nemu Jerusalema banowoloba mambo we Asiriya unozwikudza mu kuzwida kukwe.
13 Ngoti iye unoti,
“Ikoku ndakakuthama nge matatabuko angu
nenge butjenjedu gwangu ngoti ndina kuhwisisa.
Ndakakolomodza migathu ye zwitjaba
atapa fumwa dzabo,
ndakanga nkono wakasima adelusila pasi bagele mu zwigalo zwe bumambo.
14 Luboko gwangu gwawana fumwa se shaka
fumwa ye zwitjaba
ngono se bathu bekubunganya mabumbulu asiyiwa,
sayikoko ndakubunganya shango yose,
ngono akuna tjakazunguza bhapilo
kene tjikazhula nlomo kene tjikalila.”
15 Apa shathu linga zwikudza pana unotema nalo kene?
Kene saha inga zwikudza pana unoshinga nayo kene?
Apa shamu ingashingisa unoimilidza kene,
kene lukombo igo gungamilidza iye usi lukuni kene?
16 Ndizo wali She, Yahwe Masimbawose
banowotuma bugwele gunotjinya ku babhayani babe bakasima,
kusi kwe gudzo lile bakabhatidza moto unothuta.
17 Tjedza tje Iziraela tjowobe moto,
Wakayengemala wabo unowobe nthuto,
unowopisa ukalotesa
mihwa iye ne zwishosho zwizwe mu zhuba ling'ompela.
18 Gudzo le ishaka tjitje ne shango iye ina zwizwalo,
Yahwe banowokolomodza kose meya ne mmbili
kowofanana koga ne nthu unogwalilo fa.
19 Matshinde e miti ye ishaka tjitje anowobe ali mashomanana
kwaangabagwa ne mwana.
Malimbelimbe anowobuya
20 Mu zhuba ilelo malimbelimbe e Iziraela ne batjila be nsha wa Jakubo abatowobe batjabiga munli iwoyo wakabaloba, koga banowobiga muna Yahwe, Nyengemali we Iziraela mu malebeswa. 21 Malimbelimbe anowoshanduka, malimbelimbe a Jakubo eshandukila ku Ndzimu wakasima. 22 Nenguba bathu benyu Iziraela bali banjinji se nsetje we gungwa, kowobuya malimbelimbe koga. Golomodzo lakalauligwa, kukolomodza ikoku kuzhele ndulamo. 23 Ngoti She Yahwe Masimbawose banowothama bheledzo lizhele sekwakwakalaugwa pakati kwe shango yose.
24 Ndizo She, Yahwe Masimbawose bakati, “Imwi bathu bangu banogala mu Ziyoni, musitje Baasiriya ha beloba nge lukombo, bemumilidzila swimbo sekwakathama Baegipiti. 25 Kohwoti mu tjibaka tjifutshwanana kugwadzamoyo kwangu kowopela, bushongola gwangu gowolingisanyiwa nge golomodzo labo. 26 Yahwe Masimbawose banowobaloba nge rwabha kube kufanana nge sekwabakaloba Midiyani pa shongwe ya Orebhu, lukombo gwabo gowobe pezhugwi kwe gungwa, banowogumilidza sekwabakathama mu Egipiti. 27 Ngono mu zhuba ilelo ntolo wabo unowodwa mu mathudzi enyu ne jokwi labo lowodusiwa mu mitshibha yenyu.”
Bakamilika bebhuda mu Rimoni,
28 bakazha mu Ayati
bakapinda bepalama Migironi,
ku Mikimashi bakabiganya thundu yabo,
29 bakatjuluka zila,
bakapitsha busiku mu Geba.
Rama ikatetema,
Gibiya nzi wa Saulo wakatizha.
30 Lilila pezhugwi iwe nkololokadzi we Galimu!
Hwilila iwe Layishi!
Undabile iwe Anatoti!
31 Madimena unotizha,
bagali be Gebimu banotizha kunobgwata.
32 Munalino zhuba banowoma mu Nobhu,
banowozunguzila veisi yabo
dombo le nkololokadzi we Ziyoni,
duthu le Jerusalema.
33 Lingani She, Yahwe Masimbawose
banowovuna thabi nge masimba anotjenamisa.
Miti yakakula milefu inowotemegwa pasi,
milefulefu inowoyisiwa pasi.
34 Banowotema nge shathu miti yakalobana mu ishaka.
Lebanoni ne miti yayo yakakula inowowa.
1 You people are in for trouble! You have made cruel and unfair laws 2 that let you cheat the poor and needy and rob widows and orphans. 3 But what will you do when you are fiercely attacked and punished by foreigners? Where will you run for help? Where will you hide your valuables? 4 How will you escape being captured or killed? The Lord is still angry, and he isn't through with you yet!
The Lord's Purpose and the King of Assyria
5 The Lord says:
I am furious! And I will use the king of Assyria as a club 6 to beat down you godless people. I am angry with you, and I will send him to attack you. He will take what he wants and walk on you like mud in the streets. 7 He has even bigger plans in mind, because he wants to destroy many nations.
8 The king of Assyria says:
My army commanders are kings! 9 They have already captured the cities of Calno, Carchemish, Hamath, Arpad, Samaria, and Damascus. 10-11 The gods of Jerusalem and Samaria are weaker than the gods of those powerful nations. And I will destroy Jerusalem, together with its gods and idols, just as I did Samaria.
12 The Lord will do what he has planned against Jerusalem and Mount Zion. Then he will punish the proud and boastful king of Assyria, 13 who says:
I did these things by my own power because I am smart and clever. I attacked kings like a wild bull, and I took the land and the treasures of their nations. 14 I have conquered the whole world! And it was easier than taking eggs from an unguarded nest. No one even flapped a wing or made a peep.
15 King of Assyria, can an ax or a saw overpower the one who uses it? Can a wooden pole lift whoever holds it? 16 The mighty Lord All-Powerful will send a terrible disease to strike down your army, and you will burn with fever under your royal robes. 17 The holy God, who is the light of Israel, will turn into a fire, and in one day you will go up in flames, just like a thornbush. 18 The Lord will make your beautiful forests and fertile fields slowly rot. 19 There will be so few trees that even a young child can count them.
Only a Few Will Come Back
20 A time is coming when the survivors from Israel and Judah will completely depend on the holy Lord of Israel, instead of the nation that defeated them. 21-22 There were as many people as there are grains of sand along the seashore, but only a few will survive to come back to Israel's mighty God. This is because he has threatened to destroy their nation, just as they deserve. 23 The Lord All-Powerful has promised that everyone on this earth will be punished.
24 Now the Lord God All-Powerful says to his people in Jerusalem:
The Assyrians will beat you with sticks and abuse you, just as the Egyptians did. But don't be afraid of them. 25 Soon I will stop being angry with you, and I will punish them for their crimes. 26 I will beat the Assyrians with a whip, as I did the people of Midian near the rock at Oreb. And I will show the same mighty power that I used when I made a path through the sea in Egypt. 27 Then they will no longer rule your nation. All will go well for you, and your burden will be lifted.
28 Enemy troops have reached the town of Aiath. They have gone through Migron, and they stored their supplies at Michmash, 29 before crossing the valley and spending the night at Geba. The people of Ramah are terrified; everyone in Gibeah, the hometown of Saul, has run away. 30 Loud crying can be heard in the towns of Gallim, Laishah, and sorrowful Anathoth. 31 No one is left in Madmenah or Gebim. 32 Today the enemy will camp at Nob and shake a threatening fist at Mount Zion in Jerusalem.
33 But the Lord All-Powerful
will use his fearsome might
to bring down the tallest trees
and chop off every branch.
34 With an ax, the glorious Lord
will destroy every tree
in the forests of Lebanon.