1 Dama la Yahwe lakazha kuna Zefaniya nkololo wa Khushi, Khushi ali nkololo wa Gedaliya, Gedaliya ali nkololo wa Amariya, Amariya ali nkololo wa Hezekiya mu misi ya Josiya nkololo wa Amoni mambo we Juda.
Zhuba la Yahwe le kusumikilisa
2 “Ndowolobesa tjoselele tjimwe ne tjimwe
tjimu shango,” koleba Yahwe.
3 “Ndowolobesa nthu ne phuka,
ndowolobesa nyuni dze phepo
ne hwobe dze gungwa.
Babiibi banowobe matuluthulu e malala,
andikolomodza lutshinga gwe nthu mu shango,” koleba Yahwe.
4 “Ndowomilidza luboko gwangu kubhayana ne Juda,
ne kubhayana ne bagali bose be Jerusalema.
Ndowokolomodza limbelimbe la Bhaale mu magalo iyawa,
ne zina le bapirisiti banothigamila midzimu ipoga,
5 ibo banothigamila ku matenga e ng'umba,
benamata zwedza zwe kudzimu,
ibo banonamata kakale betuna na Yahwe,
ili ibo zwabo betuna na Milikomo.
6 Ibabo bakafupatila kutobela Yahwe,
ibo basingashake Yahwe kene kuli kushakisisa nge kwabo.”
7 Unyalale mbeli kwa She Yahwe,
ngobe zhuba la Yahwe lasendela.
Yahwe balulwamisa tjibhayilo,
bayengemadza bakokiwa babo.
8 Ngono mu zhuba le tjibhayilo tja Yahwe,
“Ndowoloba shamu makulukota ne bakololo ba mambo,
na bose banoambala zwiambalo zwe bathu be shango dzipoga.
9 Mu zhuba ilelo ndowoloba banoshudzila ku lutombo,
banozhadza ng'umba dza botetshi babo nge phipiti nenge kutjebela”
10 Yahwe bakati, “Mu zhuba ilelo,
kowohwika tjililo kudwa ku Nkoba we Hwobe,
kowohwika tjililo ku Bugalo gwe Bubili,
ne kukwiyana ku matuthu.
11 Bokolelani imwi bagali be ku matengeselo
ngobe bashabi bose bawobulawa,
bose banoshaba ne siliva banowolobesiwa.
12 Nge tjibaka itjetjo, ndowofunyungudza Jerusalema nge mavone,
Ndowoloba shamu bathu bagedzikane mu zwibi zwabo
ibo banokumbula beti, ‘Yahwe akuna tjabanosothama tjili tjibuya kene tjibiibi.’
13 Fumwa yabo inowotapiwa
ne ng'umba dzabo dzowokolomogwa.
Banobaka ng'umba koga abatowogala mudzili,
banowolima minda dze mizhambi koga abatowong'wa nkumbi we zhambi.”
14 Zhuba gulu la Yahwe lasendela,
labe pejo kakale lozha ngolibilidza!
Tjililo tje zhuba la Yahwe tjowobe tjibhaya pa moyo,
babhayani bakasima banowolila ikoko.
15 Kowobe kuli zhuba le bushongola,
zhuba le mang'oni ne buyendasi,
zhuba lekulobesa ne manikano,
zhuba le zhalima ne zogwadza
zhuba le makole akati zwititi,
16 zhuba le kulila kwe lunyanga ne tjililo tje ngwa
kusumikilisa kowila mizi mikulu ye matizhilo ne thungamakole.
17 Ndowozhisa buyendasi mu bathu,
gunowoti bathu bakayenda bekwebiwa se mapofu
ngoti bakatjinyila Yahwe,
malopa abo anowotebugwa se hwuluba
ne zwitumbu zwabo se ndobe.
18 Akuna siliva kene golide yabo ingabatjidza
mu zhuba le bushongola gwa Yahwe.
Shango yose inowokolomogwa nge moto we bushongola gwabo.
Tjinyolotjo banowozhisa bhelelo muna bose banotjila mu shango.
1 I am Zephaniah, the son of Cushi, the grandson of Gedaliah, the great-grandson of Amariah, and the great-great-grandson of Hezekiah.
When Josiah son of Amon was king of Judah, the Lord gave me this message.
Judgment on Judah
2 I, the Lord, now promise
to destroy everything
on this earth—
3 people and animals,
birds and fish.
Everyone who is evil
will crash to the ground,
and I will wipe out
the entire human race.
4 I will reach out to punish
Judah and Jerusalem—
nothing will remain
of the god Baal;
nothing will be remembered
of his pagan priests.
5 Not a trace will be found
of those who worship stars
from their rooftops,
or bow down to the god Milcom,
while claiming loyalty
to me, the Lord.
6 Nothing will remain of anyone
who has turned away
and rejected me.
7 Be silent! I am the Lord God,
and the time is near.
I am preparing
to sacrifice my people
and to invite my guests.
8 On that day I will punish
national leaders
and sons of the king,
along with all who follow
foreign customs.
9 I will punish worshipers
of pagan gods
and cruel palace officials
who abuse their power.
10 I, the Lord, promise
that on that day
noisy crying will be heard
from Fish Gate, New Town,
and Upper Hills.
11 Everyone in Lower Hollow
will mourn loudly,
because merchants
and money changers
will be wiped out.
12 I'll search Jerusalem with lamps
and punish those people
who sit there unworried
while thinking,
“The Lord won't do anything,
good or bad.”
13 Their possessions will be taken,
their homes left in ruins.
They won't get to live
in the houses they build,
or drink wine from the grapes
in their own vineyards.
A Terrible Day
14 The great day of the Lord
is coming soon, very soon.
On that terrible day,
fearsome shouts of warriors
will be heard everywhere.
15 It will be a time of anger—
of trouble and torment,
of disaster and destruction,
of darkness and despair,
of storm clouds and shadows,
16 of trumpet calls
and battle cries
against fortified cities
and mighty fortresses.
17 The Lord warns everyone
who has sinned against him,
“I'll strike you blind!
Then your blood and your insides
will gush out like vomit.
18 Not even your silver or gold
can save you on that day
when I, the Lord, am angry.
My anger will flare up
like a furious fire
scorching the earth
and everyone on it.”