Jeremiya mu ng'umba ye busungwa
1 Zedekiya nkololo wa Josiya wakathamwa mambo ndi Nebukadineza mambo we Bhabhiloni ngono kabusa mu bumo gwa Koniya nkololo wa Jehoyakimu. 2 Koga iye ne balanda babe kene bathu be shango bakateedza matama a Yahwe abakalebeleka nge Nlebesambeli Jeremiya.
3 Mambo Zedekiya wakatuma Jehukali nkololo wa Shelemiya na Zefaniya we mpirisiti, nkololo wa Maaseya kuna Jeremiya nlebesambeli kunoti, “Utitembezelele kuna Yahwe Ndzimu wedu.”
4 Ipapo Jeremiya wakabe atjakasununguka kuzha ne kuyenda yenda pakati kwe bathu ngoti wakabe asathu kalongwa mu ng'umba ye busungwa. 5 Babhayani ba Faro bakabhuda mu Egipiti, kukati Bakhaladiya bakabe bakakomba Jerusalema behwa mbiko nge kwabo bakabhuda mu Jerusalema.
6 Ipapo dama la Yahwe likazha kuna Jeremiya nlebesambeli liti, 7 “Yahwe Ndzimu we Iziraela bakati: Budzani mambo we Juda iye wamutuma kuwondibhuzwa muti, ‘Babhayani ba Faro bazha kowomubhatsha banowobgwilila ku shango yabo, ku Egipiti. 8 Ipapo Bakhaladiya banowoshanduka bakanginilila nzi nkulu iwoyu, banowotola bakaupisa.’ 9 Yahwe bakati, ‘Musizwitjebele muti, “Nge malebeswa Bakhaladiya banowogala kule naswi,” abangake. 10 Nenguba mungabe mungakunda babhayani bose be Bakhaladiya banogwa namwi kukasala balume koga bakakubala mmwe ne mmwe unobhuda mu nshasha uwe kawopisa nzi nkulu iwoyu nge moto.’ ”
11 Ipapo kukati babhayani be Bakhaladiya basinobhuda mu Jerusalema ngekwe babhayani ba Faro, 12 Jeremiya kabhuda mu Jerusalema kayenda ku shango ye Bhenjamini kunotola gobe lile le thundu mu bathu ikoku. 13 Koga wakati eswika pa Nkoba we Bhenjamini ntungamili we balindi wakabe edang'wa Irija nkololo wa Shelemiya, nkololo wa Hananiya bakansunga bakabe beti, “Unoshakathobela ku Bakhaladiya.” 14 Ngono Jeremiya kabe eti, “Ate malebeswa, anditopandukila ku Bakhaladiya.” Koga Irija kasinteedze kabhata Jeremiya kan'yisa ku makulukota. 15 Makulukota kagwadzila moyo Jeremiya ngono bakanloba bakanlonga mu ng'umba ye busungwa, mu ng'umba ya Jonathani nkwalili, ngoti yakabe yathamwa ng'umba ye busungwa.
16 Kukati Jeremiya asinongina mu ng'umba ye busungwa ikusi kusi, kagala ikoko mazhuba manjinji. 17 Ipapo Mambo Zedekiya kati an'danigwe ngono kan'amutjila. Mambo kan'bhuzwisisa mu kwakasumbikala mu ng'umba iye kati, “Apa kuna dama linodwa kuna Yahwe kene?” Jeremiya kashandula eti, “Ee, liyapo.” Ipapo kabe eti, “Mowolongwa mu luboko gwe mambo we Bhabhiloni.” 18 Jeremiya kakale kabe eti kuna Mambo Zedekiya, “Ndakamutjinyilani imwi ne balanda benyu kene bathu ibaba kunoyita kuti mundilonge mu ng'umba ye busungwa kene? 19 Bangayi balebesambeli benyu bakamulebesela mbeli beti, ‘Mambo we Bhabhiloni aatobhayana namwi nenge shango iyeyi kene’? 20 Koga ngwenu, tetshi wangu mambo, ndomukumbila nge kuzwiyisa pasi mbeli kwenyu, musindibgwilize ku ng'umba ya Jonathani nkwalili, pamwe swiyo ndingadwa ndinofila ko.”
21 Mambo Zedekiya kadusa ndaulo kuti Jeremiya alongwe mu nsha we balindi kakale apiwe tjiwunga tjing'ompela ne zhuba tjinozha ne batengesi be zila kuswikila tjiwunga mu nzi nkulu tjapela. Ndizo Jeremiya kagala mu nsha we balindi.
King Zedekiah Asks Jeremiah To Pray
1 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia had removed Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim from being the king of Judah and had made Josiah's son Zedekiah king instead. 2 But Zedekiah, his officials, and everyone else in Judah ignored everything the Lord had told me.
3-5 Later, the Babylonian army attacked Jerusalem, but they left after learning that the Egyptian army was headed in this direction.
One day, Zedekiah sent Jehucal and the priest Zephaniah to talk with me. At that time, I was free to go wherever I wanted, because I had not yet been put in prison. Jehucal and Zephaniah said, “Jeremiah, please pray to the Lord our God for us.”
6-7 Then the Lord told me to send them back to Zedekiah with this message:
Zedekiah, you wanted Jeremiah to ask me, the Lord God of Israel, what is going to happen. So I will tell you. The king of Egypt and his army came to your rescue, but soon they will go back to Egypt. 8 Then the Babylonians will return and attack Jerusalem, and this time they will capture the city and set it on fire. 9 Don't fool yourselves into thinking that the Babylonians will leave as they did before. 10 Even if you could defeat their entire army, their wounded survivors would still be able to leave their tents and set Jerusalem on fire.
Jeremiah Is Put in Prison
11 The Babylonian army had left because the Egyptian army was on its way to help us. 12 So I decided to leave Jerusalem and go to the territory of the Benjamin tribe to claim my share of my family's land. 13 I was leaving Jerusalem through Benjamin Gate, when I was stopped by Irijah, the officer in charge of the soldiers at the gate. He said, “Jeremiah, you're under arrest for trying to join the Babylonians.”
14 “I'm not trying to join them!” I answered. But Irijah wouldn't listen, and he took me to the king's officials. 15-16 They were angry and ordered the soldiers to beat me. Then I was taken to the house that belonged to Jonathan, one of the king's officials. It had been turned into a prison, and I was kept in a basement room.
After I had spent a long time there, 17 King Zedekiah secretly had me brought to his palace, where he asked, “Is there any message for us from the Lord?”
“Yes, there is, Your Majesty,” I replied. “The Lord is going to let the king of Babylonia capture you.”
18 Then I continued, “Your Majesty, why have you put me in prison? Have I committed a crime against you or your officials or the nation? 19 Have you locked up the prophets who lied to you and said that the king of Babylonia would never attack Jerusalem? 20 Please, don't send me back to that prison at Jonathan's house. If you do, I will die there.”
21 King Zedekiah had me taken to the prison cells in the courtyard of the palace guards. He told the soldiers to give me a loaf of bread from one of the bakeries every day until the city ran out of grain.