Thumo la Yahwe
1 Dama la Yahwe lakazha kundili liti, 2 “Nkololo we nthu, lingisana ne Jerusalema usumikile ngekwe ng'umba ye Ndzimu. Lebesambeli ngekwe shango ye Iziraela 3 uti ku ili, ‘Yahwe tjabanoleba etji, bakati, Imi ndobhayana nawe. Ndowoshomola mu ikhata tjalo ngono mu muli abulaya balulwami ne babi. 4 Se ndowobulaya balulwami ne babi, thumo langu lowoshomolegwa mmwe ne mmwe kudwa mu burwa kuyenda ku bunandzwa. 5 Ipapo bathu bose banowoziba kuti imi Yahwe ndashomola thumo langu ku ikhata tjalo ngono andingaligwilize kakale.’
6 “Ndizo wali susuthika mbeli kwabo iwe nkololo we nthu nge moyo umu kuhwa zogwadza kukulu. 7 Ngono ha bekubhuzwa beti, ‘Unolililani?’ Iwe ubadwe uti, ‘Ndolidziwa nge thawu dzinozha. Moyo mmwe ne mmwe unowolobgwa nge hana, luboko gumwe ne gumwe gowotuthuka, mmwe ne mmwe unowotimbama ne tjidwi tjimwe ne tjimwe tjowotetema.’ Bonani, dzaswika ngono dzowozhadzisika. Koleba She Yahwe.”
8 Dama la Yahwe likazha kundili liti, 9 “Nkololo we nthu, lebesambeli uti, ‘Tjinoleba She etji,
“ ‘Thumo, thumo,
lakakuswiwa likakuyungiwa
10 Lakakuswigwa kubulaya,
likakuyungigwa kupenya se lupenyo gwe vula.
“ ‘Apa tingashathila swimbo ye nkololo wangu kene? Thumo lokunda kose. 11 Thumo lokuyungiwa kubhakhwa nge maboko, lokuswiwa likakuyungiwa, lilulwamisigwa luboko gwe mbulayi. 12 Lila ubokolele nkololo we nthu, nge kuti lobhayana ne bathu bangu, lakalingisana ne makomba wose e Iziraela. Babhayiwa nge thumo, kose ne bathu bangu. Ndizo bhata lutibatiba gugo.
13 “ ‘Kulikwa kowozha nge malebeswa, ngono kowobe tjini ha swimbo inokuligwa nge thumo isingadwilile? Koleba Yahwe.’
14 “Ndizo wali nkololo we nthu lebesambeli, ngono ulobe phande. Thumo ngalibhaye kabili kene katatu. I thumo le kubulaya, thumo le kubulaya kukulukulu, lobakomba midzibo yose. 15 Kobe kuthama kuti moyo itimbame, ngono banjinji bakawa. Ndabiga thumo pa mikoba yabo yose kubulaya. 16 Bhaya ku lubizho gwe luji, ushandukile kuna gwe lumeshwe, kumwe ne kumwe theswi kwayalinga. 17 Namibo ndowoloba phande, bushongola gwangu gowogutshika. Kwaleba imi Yahwe.”
18 Dama la Yahwe likazha kundili liti, 19 “Nkololo we nthu, tjwaya zila mbili dzinowotobegwa ndi mambo we Bhabhiloni ezha ne thumo lile, dzose dzitangise mu shango ing'ompela. Ubige tjilakidzo zila painopambuka ilinga ku nzi nkulu. 20 Tjwaya zila inowotogwa nge thumo linobhayana ne Rabha nzi nkulu we Baamoni, imwe ibe inotobegwa nge thumo linobhayana ne Juda ne nzi nkulu wakasima Jerusalema. 21 Nge kuti mambo we Bhabhiloni umile pa phalalano dze zila, pa phandana dze zila mbili kukandila. Unowokandila nge misebe, unowobhuzwa midzimu iye ye zwifano ebe elingisisa tjilopa. 22 Akata yawila ku lubizho gwe luji ngeye Jerusalema kwaanoyisa nyundo dzinokatsha ebe edusa ndaulo ye kubulaya, kumimila mima ye ngwa, kubiga nyundo dzinopkhwanya kulingisana ne mikoba, kubaka matuluthulu ne ngolo kuupoteleka. 23 Koga ku bathu be Jerusalema ngowonga kukandila kwe manyepkhwa ngekwe tjidumano tjabakathama, koga unowobakumbuludza nlandu wabo ebuya ebatapa.”
24 Ndizo wali Yahwe Masimbawose bakati, “Imwi bathu se makumbula nlandu wenyu nge kupanduka kwenyu, mu zwimbunula tjibi tjenyu mu tjimwe ne tjimwe tjamunothama. Se mathama ikoku, mowotapiwa.
25 “Iwe gombgwa le Iziraela biibi,
wapelegwa nge mazhuba,
tjibaka tje kulobgwa kuko ndiwo iyawa,
26 tjinolebgwa ndi She Yahwe ndietji,
Ambula tjiala, ambula hwutshe ye bumambo.
Zwithu azwitowodwilila zwigala sekwa zwigele.
Bapasi banowomilidziwa,
bapezhugwi bakayisiwa pasi.
27 Dongo! Dongo!
Ndouthama kuti ube dongo!
Autowomusiwa kuswikila ezha
iye wakalingisana nge kuti ube uwe,
ngono iye ndowompa iwo.”
28 “Ngono iwe nkololo we nthu lebesambeli uti, ‘Tjinolebgwa ndi She Yahwe ngekwe Baamoni ne masapa abo ndi etji,
“ ‘Thumo, thumo,
lashomolegwa kubulaya,
lakuyungigwa kulobesa
ne kupenya se lupenyo gwe vula!
29 Lisina tjimwe nge mbono dze manyepkhwa ngekwenyu
ne manyepkhwa e kukandila ngekwenyu,
lowobigwa mu mitshibha
ye babi banowobulawa,
mazhuba abo azha,
tjibaka tje kulobgwa kwabo nditjo itjetji.
30 Bgwiliza thumo mu ikhata tjalo.
Mu magalo amakabumbigwa,
mu shango ya botate benyu,
ndiko kwandinowo musumikilisilako.
31 Ndiko kwandinowo shingisa bushongola gwangu mumuliko,
ndiko kwandinowo mulakidza bushongola gwangu gunopisa se moto.
Ndowomulonga mu maboko e zwilalume,
balume bana bunyambi gwe kukolomodza.
32 Mowobe hwuni dzinothutisa moto,
malopa enyu anowotebuligwa mu shango yenyu,
amutjawo kumbugwa kakale,
nge kuti imi Yahwe ndalebeleka.’ ”
The Lord's Sword
1 The Lord spoke to me. 2 “Mortal man,” he said, “denounce Jerusalem. Denounce the places where people worship. Warn the land of Israel 3 that I, the Lord, am saying: I am your enemy. I will draw my sword and kill all of you, good and evil alike. 4 I will use my sword against everyone from south to north. 5 Everyone will know that I, the Lord, have drawn my sword and that I will not put it away.
6 “Mortal man, groan as if your heart is breaking with despair. Groan in sorrow where everyone can watch you. 7 When they ask you why you are groaning, tell them it is because of the news that is coming. When it comes, their hearts will be filled with fear, their hands will hang limp, their courage will fail, and their knees will tremble. The time has come; it is here.” The Sovereign Lord has spoken.
8 The Lord said to me, 9 “Mortal man, prophesy. Tell the people what I, the Lord, am saying:
A sword, a sword is sharpened and polished.
10 It is sharpened to kill,
polished to flash like lightning.
There can be no rejoicing,
for my people have disregarded every warning and punishment.
11 The sword is being polished,
to make it ready for use.
It is sharpened and polished,
to be put in the hands of a killer.
12 Howl in grief, mortal man;
this sword is meant for my people
and for all the leaders of Israel.
They are going to be killed
with all the rest of my people.
Beat your breast in despair!
13 I am testing my people,
and if they refuse to repent,
all these things will happen to them.
14 “Now, mortal man, prophesy. Clap your hands, and the sword will strike again and again. It is a sword that kills, a sword that terrifies and slaughters. 15 It makes my people lose courage and stumble. I am threatening their city with a sword that flashes like lightning and is ready to kill. 16 Cut to the right and the left, you sharp sword! Cut wherever you turn. 17 I also will clap my hands, and my anger will be over. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
The Sword of the King of Babylonia
18 The Lord spoke to me. 19 “Mortal man,” he said, “mark out two roads by which the king of Babylonia can come with his sword. Both of them are to start in the same country. Put up a signpost where the roads fork. 20 One will show the king the way to the Ammonite city of Rabbah, and the other the way to Judah, to the fortified city, Jerusalem. 21 The king of Babylonia stands by the signpost at the fork of the road. To discover which way to go, he shakes the arrows; he consults his idols; he examines the liver of a sacrificed animal. 22 Now! His right hand holds the arrow marked ‘Jerusalem’! It tells him to go and set up battering rams, to shout the battle cry, to place battering rams against the gates, to throw up earthworks, and to dig trenches. 23 The people of Jerusalem won't believe this because of the treaties they have made. But this prediction is to remind them of their sins and to warn them that they will be captured. 24 This then is what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying: Your sins are exposed. Everyone knows how guilty you are. You show your sins in your every action. You stand condemned, and I will hand you over to your enemies.
25 “You wicked, unholy ruler of Israel, your day, the day of your final punishment, is coming. 26 I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken. Take off your crown and your turban. Nothing will be the same again. Raise the poor to power! Bring down those who are ruling! 27 Ruin, ruin! Yes, I will make the city a ruin. But this will not happen until the one comes whom I have chosen to punish the city. To him I will give it.
A Sword and the Ammonites
28 “Mortal man, prophesy. Announce what I, the Sovereign Lord, am saying to the Ammonites, who are insulting Israel. Say to them:
‘A sword is ready to destroy;
It is polished to kill, to flash like lightning.
29 The visions that you see are false, and the predictions you make are lies. You are wicked and evil, and your day is coming, the day of your final punishment. The sword is going to fall on your necks.
30 “‘Put up the sword! I will judge you in the place where you were created, in the land where you were born. 31 You will feel my anger when I turn it loose on you like a blazing fire. And I will hand you over to brutal men, experts at destruction. 32 You will be destroyed by fire. Your blood will be shed in your own country, and no one will remember you any more.’” The Lord has spoken.