Ndzimu unolamba kukumbila kwa Zedekiya
1 Dama lakazha kuna Jeremiya lidwa kuna Yahwe, tjibaka tja Mambo Zedekiya tjabakatumila Pashihuri nkololo wa Malikhiya na Zefaniya we mpirisiti nkololo wa Maasiya kunli liti, 2 “Tibhuzwile Yahwe, ngoti Nebukadineza mambo we Bhabhiloni unogwa naswi, pamwe swiyo Yahwe banowotithamila mishingo yabo yose inotjenamisa bakathama kuti atiletjedze.”
3 Ipapo Jeremiya kati kubali, 4 “Idwani Zedekiya muti, ‘Yahwe Ndzimu we Iziraela bakati, “Bonani, ndowoshandusa mathumo e ngwa amu maboko enyu amunoshingisa kugwa na mambo we Bhabhiloni ne kugwa kwe Bakhaladiya bakamukomba kuzhe kwe makuma, ngono ndowobakubunganyila pakati kwe nzi iwoyu nkulu. 5 Imi nge kwangu ndowogwa namwi nge luboko gwakatambunuka gwakasima mu kugwadzamoyo kunothuta ndina bushongola gwakabangalala. 6 Ndowobulaya bagali be nzi iwoyu, bathu kose ne zwithuwo zowobulawa nge bugwele bukulu kwazo. 7 Kudwa ipapo, koleba Yahwe, Zedekiya mambo we Juda ne makulukota awe ne bathu be nzi iwoyu nkulu banowobe basiya bugwele ne thumo ne bhamba, ndowobalonga mu maboko a Nebukadineza mambo we Bhabhiloni, mu maboko a ibabo bagala beshaka butjilo gwabo. Unowobaloba nge mpitsho we thumo, aatowobe ne ngoni mu bali kene kubasiya kene kubahwilazogwadza.” ’
8 “Ngono ku bathu ibaba ubadwe uti, ‘Yahwe bakati, “Bonani, ndobiga zila ye butjilo ne zila ye lufu mbeli kwenyu. 9 Iye unogala mu nzi iwoyu nkulu unowofa nge thumo nenge bhamba ne bugwele koga iye unobhuda kazwipa ku Bakhaladiya bakamukomba unowotjila kawana butjilo gugwe guli igo mbhailo we ngwa. 10 Ngoti ndakalingisana ne kubhayana ne nzi nkulu iwoyu we mbipo usi we bubuya, kojalo Yahwe. Unowolongwa mu maboko a mambo we Bhabhiloni ngono akawupisa nge moto.” ’
11 “Kakale udwe be ng'umba ya mambo we Juda uti, ‘Ihwa dama la Yahwe, 12 Iwe ng'umba ya Dafite! Yahwe bakati,
“ ‘Sumikilisani nge ndulamo mu mangwanana,
munsunungule mu luboko gwe ntshambilidzi,
iye wakatolegwa,
kuyita kuti bushongola gwangu gusithute se moto,
kungadwa kusheta ungagudzima,
ngekwe mishingo yenyu mibiibi.’
13 Bona ndobhayana nawe, iwe n'gali we nkuku,
iwe shongwe yakawala, koleba Yahwe,
iwe unoti, ‘Ndiyani ungazha katinginilila,
kene ungangina mu magalo edu wali?’
14 Ndowokuloba shamu kuyendidzana nge mitjelo ye mishingo iyo, koleba Yahwe.
Ndowobhatidza moto mu ishaka tjitje,
ngono unowoja tjimwe ne tjimwe tjakampoteleka.”
Jerusalem's Defeat Is Predicted
1 King Zedekiah of Judah sent to me Pashhur son of Malchiah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah with this request: 2 “Please speak to the Lord for us, because King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and his army are besieging the city. Maybe the Lord will perform one of his miracles for us and force Nebuchadnezzar to retreat.”
3 Then the Lord spoke to me, and I told those who had been sent to me 4 to tell Zedekiah that the Lord, the God of Israel, had said, “Zedekiah, I am going to defeat your army that is fighting against the king of Babylonia and his army. I will pile up your soldiers' weapons in the center of the city. 5 I will fight against you with all my might, my anger, my wrath, and my fury. 6 I will kill everyone living in this city; people and animals alike will die of a terrible disease. 7 But as for you, your officials, and the people who survive the war, the famine, and the disease—I will let all of you be captured by King Nebuchadnezzar and by your enemies, who want to kill you. Nebuchadnezzar will put you to death. He will not spare any of you or show mercy or pity to any of you. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
8 Then the Lord told me to say to the people, “Listen! I, the Lord, am giving you a choice between the way that leads to life and the way that leads to death. 9 Anyone who stays in the city will be killed in war or by starvation or disease. But those who go out and surrender to the Babylonians, who are now attacking the city, will not be killed; they will at least escape with their life. 10 I have made up my mind not to spare this city, but to destroy it. It will be given over to the king of Babylonia, and he will burn it to the ground. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
Judgment on the Royal House of Judah
11-12 The Lord told me to give this message to the royal house of Judah, the descendants of David: “Listen to what I, the Lord, am saying. See that justice is done every day. Protect the person who is being cheated from the one who is cheating him. If you don't, the evil you are doing will make my anger burn like a fire that cannot be put out. 13 You, Jerusalem, are sitting high above the valleys, like a rock rising above the plain. But I will fight against you. You say that no one can attack you or break through your defenses. 14 But I will punish you for what you have done. I will set your palace on fire, and the fire will burn down everything around it. I, the Lord, have spoken.”