Bathu banokumbila Jeremiya kuti abatembezelele
1 Ipapo batungamili be balauli be babhayani na Johanani nkololo wa Kareya na Azariya nkololo wa Hoshaya ne bathu bose kudwa kuna bakulu kunoti batukununu bakasedzela, 2 ngono bakadwa Jeremiya bakati, “Tongo hwa tjatinokumbila, tikati, utitembezelele Yahwe Ndzimu uwo, iswi ne malimbelimbe wose iyawa. Dumbu takabe tili banjinji ngono takasala tili bashumanana koga sekwa unotibona nge mesho awo. 3 Tembezela kuti Yahwe Ndzimu uwo batibudze kuti tiyende ngayi nekuti tithameni.”
4 Jeremiya nlebesambeli kabashandula eti, “Ndamuhwa, bonani ndowotembezela Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu kuyenda nge kumbila kwenyu, tjinowodabigwa ndi Yahwe ndowomuzibisa itjo, akuna tjandinomusumbikila.”
5 Ipapo bakadwa Jeremiya bakati, “Atshene Yahwe bangabe ntendeki we lebeswa kakale unogalikamoyo unotitilika nlandu ha tisingathame kuyendidzana ne matama wose a Yahwe Ndzimu uwo abanotituma. 6 Kene kubuya kene kubiibi, towoteedza hwi la Yahwe Ndzimu wedu ibo batinokutuma kubali kuti ndizo kutilulwamile ati teedza Yahwe Ndzimu wedu.”
7 Kwakati shule kwe mazhuba ali gumi dama la Yahwe likazha kuna Jeremiya. 8 Ipapo kadana Johanani nkololo wa Kareya ne batungamili be balauli be babhayani bakabe banaye ne bathu bose kudwa muna batukununu kunoti bakulukulu, 9 ngono kabadwa kati, “Yahwe Ndzimu we Iziraela ibo bamandituma kubali kuyisa zwamunokumbila bakati, 10 ‘Ha mugala mu shango iyeyi, ipapo ndowomubaka asimukwebele pasi, ndowomulima asimudzikunule ngoti ndobuza moyo wangu mu bubi gwandakamuthamila. 11 Musitje mambo we Bhabhiloni iye wamunotja, musitongo ntja, kojalo Yahwe, ngoti ndinamwi kumutjidza ne kumusunungula mu luboko gugwe. 12 Ndowomuhwila ngoni kuti ndizo na iye amuhwile ngoni ngono amuletje mugale mu shango yenyu. 13 Koga amuti, “Atingagale mu shango iyeyi,” musingateedze hwi la Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu, 14 muti, “Aa toyenda ku shango ye Egipiti, iko kwatisingowobona ngwa, kene kuhwa nsindo we lunyanga kene kube ne zhala ye zojiwa, ndiko kwatinonogala,” 15 ipapo ihwani dama la Yahwe, imwi limbelimbe le Juda. Yahwe Masimbawose Ndzimu we Iziraela bakati, “Ha makashingayilila kungina ku Egipiti ne kunogala ko, 16 ipapo bhamba lamunotja lowomukulila iko ku shango ye Egipiti ngono bhamba lamunotja lowomusala shule kwakabangalala ku Egipiti ngono mowofila ko. 17 Balume bose banoshingayilila kuyenda ku Egipiti kunogala ko banowobulawa nge thumo ne bhamba nenge bugwele, abatowobe ne limbelimbe kene watjila mu bubi gwandinowozhisa mu bali.” ’
18 “Ngoti Yahwe Masimbawose Ndzimu we Iziraela bakati, ‘Koga sekwa kugwadzamoyo kwangu ne bushongola gwangu zwakatebuligwa mu bagali be Jerusalema, ndizo bushongola gwangu gowotebuliligwa mu muli amungayenda ku Egipiti. Mowobe ne bhiso mukabe tjithu tjinotjisa ne madado. Amutjowobona pathu ipapa kakale. 19 Yahwe bakati kumuli, iwe limbelimbe le Juda, “Usiyende ku Egipiti.” Ziba kwe lebeswa kuti ndamutjenjedza mu zhuba la nasi. 20 Kana mazwidanila mbatsha ngekundituma kuna Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu muti, “Tokumbila utembezele Yahwe Ndzimu wedu, tjimwe ne tjimwe Yahwe Ndzimu wedu tjabanoleba towotjithama.” 21 Ndamubudza nasi, koga amuzoteedza Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu mu tjimwe ne tjimwe tjabakandituma kuti ndimubudze. 22 Ndizo ngwenu zibisisani woku: Mowobulawa nge thumo ne bhamba ne bugwele mu magalo amunoshaka kunogala.’ ”
The People Ask Jeremiah to Pray for Them
1 Then all the army leaders, including Johanan son of Kareah and Azariah son of Hoshaiah, came with people of every class 2 and said to me, “Please do what we ask you! Pray to the Lord our God for us. Pray for all of us who have survived. Once there were many of us; but now only a few of us are left, as you can see. 3 Pray that the Lord our God will show us the way we should go and what we should do.”
4 I answered, “Very well, then. I will pray to the Lord our God, just as you have asked, and whatever he says, I will tell you. I will not keep back anything from you.”
5 Then they said to me, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not obey all the commands that the Lord our God gives you for us. 6 Whether it pleases us or not, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are asking you to pray. All will go well with us if we obey him.”
The Lord's Answer to Jeremiah's Prayer
7 Ten days later the Lord spoke to me; 8 so I called together Johanan, all the army leaders who were with him, and all the other people. 9 I said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me with your request has said, 10 ‘If you are willing to go on living in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not pull you up. The destruction I brought on you has caused me great sorrow. 11 Stop being afraid of the king of Babylonia. I am with you, and I will rescue you from his power. 12 Because I am merciful, I will make him have mercy on you and let you go back home. I, the Lord, have spoken.’
13-15 “But you people who are left in Judah must not disobey the Lord your God and refuse to live in this land. You must not say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we won't face war any more or hear the call to battle or go hungry.’ If you say this, then the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says, ‘If you are determined to go and live in Egypt, 16 then the war that you fear will overtake you, and the hunger you dread will follow you, and you will die there in Egypt. 17 All the people who are determined to go and live in Egypt will die either in war or of starvation or disease. Not one of them will survive, not one will escape the disaster that I am going to bring on them.’
18 “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Just as my anger and fury were poured out on the people of Jerusalem, so my fury will be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will be a horrifying sight; people will make fun of you and use your name as a curse. You will never see this place again.’”
19 Then I continued, “The Lord has told you people who are left in Judah not to go to Egypt. And so I warn you now 20 that you are making a fatal mistake. You asked me to pray to the Lord our God for you, and you promised that you would do everything that he commands. 21 And now I have told you, but you are disobeying everything that the Lord our God sent me to tell you. 22 So then, remember this: you will die in war or of starvation or disease in the land where you want to go and live.”