Shandukilani kuna Yahwe
1 Kwakati mu mwedzi we buzhanakadzi we gole le bubili la Dariyasi, dama la Yahwe likazha ku Nlebesambeli Zakhariya nkololo wa Bherekiya, Bherekiya ali nkololo wa Ido liti,
2 “Yahwe bakabe bakagwadzila moyo bobatategulu benyu kwazo. 3 Ndizo ngwenu ubadwe uti Yahwe Masimbawose bakati, ‘Shandukilani kundili,’ kojalo Yahwe Masimbawose, ‘ngono namibo ndowoshandukila kumuli,’ Yahwe Masimbawose baleba. 4 Musidwe mufanana na bobatategulu benyu ibo bakati balebesambeli beti Yahwe Masimbawose bakati, ‘Shandukilani bubi gwenyu ne zila dzenyu dzakabipa,’ koga ibo bakasinditeedze kene kundibhulutana, koleba Yahwe. 5 Bangayi sakuno bobatategulu benyu? Apa ne balebesambeli banotjilila tjatjose kene? 6 Koga matama angu ne milayo yangu yandakapa balanda bangu balebesambeli apa azwizokulila bobatategulu benyu kene? Apa abazodwapo bakashandukila matjinyo abo kene beti, ‘Yahwe Masimbawose batiloba shamu yakalingisana ne zwiyito zwedu zwatakathama koga sekwa bakabe bakazwimisila thama.’ ”
Zibiso ngekwe bataswi be mbizi
7 Mu zhuba le bumakumi mabili ana manna le mwedzi we bugumi lina nng'ompela mwedzi we Shebati, mu gole le bubili le mbuso wa Dariyasi dama la Yahwe lakazha kuna Nlebesambeli Zakhariya nkololo wa Bherekiya, Bherekiya ali nkololo wa Ido liti,
8 “Mu busiku, ndakabe ne mbono. Bonani ndakabona nlume akatatha mbizi shaba, wakabe ali mile pakati kwe nshangule mu gorokoro ngono shule kukwe kwakabe kuna mbizi shaba ne thukwa ne tjena. 9 Ngono abhuzwa nditi, ‘Zwini izwezwi She wangu?’ Ngono ntumwa we kudzimu wakabe elebeleka nami kashandula eti, ‘Ndowokulakidza kuti zwini izwezwi.’ 10 Nlume wakabe ali mile pakati kwe nshangule kadabila eti, ‘Aba ndibo bakatumwa ndi Yahwe kuyendayenda beshola shango.’
Dabilo ye ntumwa we kudzimu
11 “Ngono ipapo bakadabila ntumwa we kudzimu wa Yahwe wakabe ali mile pakati kwe nshangule beti, ‘Tayenda yenda mu shango, ngono bonani tawana shango yose ili gele nge kunyalala.’ 12 Ntumwa we kudzimu wa Yahwe kalebeleka eti, ‘Imwi Yahwe Masimbawose, kowotola tjibaka tjingapani kuti muhwile ngoni Jerusalema ne mizi ye Juda kene? Iyo yamakagwadzila moyo kwe makole ali makumi ali kutenda (70) kene?’
Dabilo ya Yahwe
13 “Ngono Yahwe bakashandula ntumwa we kudzimu wakabe elebeleka nami nge matama mabuya, matama e nyaladzo. 14 Ipapo ntumwa we kudzimu wakabe elebeleka nami kabe eti kundili, ‘Lebeleka uti Yahwe Masimbawose bakati: Ndobinda kwazo ngekwe Jerusalema ne ngekwe Ziyoni. 15 Gwadzamoyo kwangu kukulukulu kumu zwitjaba zwigele zwakaliga makumbo, ngobe ndakabe ndakagwadza moyo kutukununu koga bakapandusa mbipo. 16 Ndizo ke, Yahwe bakati, Ndakashandukila ku Jerusalema nge ngoni, Ng'umba yangu inomusiwa mu Jerusalema. Nsungo unolizanya unowotambunudziwa mu Jerusalema,’ ” koleba Yahwe. 17 Lebeleka kakale uti Yahwe Masimbawose bakati: “Mizi mikulu yangu inowotebukana kakale nge kubhudilila, Yahwe banowohwila ngoni Ziyoni kakale ngono banowozwishaluligwa Jerusalema.”
Mbono ye manyanga manna ne bathuli be butale banna
18 Ndakati ndimilidza mesho abona manyanga manna. 19 Ngono ndakabhuzwa ntumwa wakabe elebeleka nami nditi, “Ini ikoku?” Ngono kandishandula eti, “Iyawa manyanga ndiwo akapaladza Juda ne Iziraela ne Jerusalema.” 20 Ipapo Yahwe bakandilakidza bathuli be butale bali banna. 21 Ngono ndikabhuzwa ati, “Ibaba bazha bewoshingani?” Kandishandula eti, “Iyawa manyanga akapaladza Juda, kuti ndizo kusale kusina ndodwa ne nthu unomusa nsholo, balume ibaba bazha kuwobatjisa ne kulobesa manyanga e zwitjaba zwakabe zwamukila shango ye Juda ne kuipaladza.”
Turn to the Lord
1 I am the prophet Zechariah, the son of Berechiah and the grandson of Iddo.
In the eighth month of the second year that Darius was king of Persia, the Lord told me to say:
2-3 Israel, I, the Lord All-Powerful, was very angry with your ancestors. But if you people will return to me, I will turn and help you. 4 Don't be stubborn like your ancestors. They were warned by the earlier prophets to give up their evil and turn back to me, but they paid no attention.
5 Where are your ancestors now? Not even prophets live forever. 6 But my warnings and my words spoken by the prophets caught up with your ancestors. So they turned back to me and said, “Lord All-Powerful, you have punished us for our sins, just as you had planned.”
First Vision: Horses and Riders
7-8 On the twenty-fourth day of Shebat, which was the eleventh month of that same year, the Lord spoke to me in a vision during the night: In a valley among myrtle trees, I saw someone on a red horse, with riders on red, brown, and white horses behind him. 9 An angel was there to explain things to me, and I asked, “Sir, who are these riders?”
“I'll tell you,” the angel answered.
10 At once, the man standing among the myrtle trees said, “These are the ones the Lord has sent to find out what's happening on earth.”
11 Then the riders spoke to the Lord's angel, who was standing among the myrtle trees, and they said, “We have gone everywhere and have discovered that the whole world is at peace.”
12 At this, the angel said, “Lord All-Powerful, for 70 years you have been angry with Jerusalem and the towns of Judah. When are you ever going to have mercy on them?”
13 The Lord's answer was kind and comforting. 14 So the angel told me to announce:
I, the Lord All-Powerful, am very protective of Jerusalem. 15 For a while I was angry at the nations, but now I am furious, because they have made things worse for Jerusalem and are not the least bit concerned. 16 And so, I will have pity on Jerusalem. The city will be completely rebuilt, and my temple will stand again. 17 I also promise that my towns will prosper—Jerusalem will once again be my chosen city, and I will comfort the people of Zion.
Second Vision: Animal Horns
18 Next, I saw four animal horns. 19-21 The angel who was sent to explain was there, and so I asked, “What do these mean?”
His answer was, “These horns are the nations that scattered the people of Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem, and took away their freedom.”
Then the Lord showed me four blacksmiths, and I asked, “What are they going to do?”
He replied, “They are going to terrify and crush those horns.”