Ntumwa unozha
1 “Bonani, ndotuma ntumwa wangu kululwamisa zila mbeli kwangu, ngono She wamunoshaka unowozha tjinyolotjo ku Ng'umba iye. Ntumwa we tjidumano wamunoshathila, tjoselele unozha. Koleba Yahwe Masimbawose.
2 “Koga ndiani kene ungamilana ne zhuba le kuzha kukwe? Ndiani ungama ha embona ezha kene? Ngoti iye unofanana ne moto we vutho, unofanana ne isipa tje nsuki. 3 Unowogala pasi se nsuki ne ntjenesi we siliva ngono unowotjenesa bana ba Levi kabasuka se golide ne siliva kuswikila bezhisa zwibhayilo kuna Yahwe nge ndulamo. 4 Ndiko tjibhayilo tje Juda ne Jerusalema tjowoshathisa Yahwe se mu mazhuba a ntolo nemu makole akapinda.
5 “Ipapo ndowosedzela pejo namwi kusumikilisa, ndowolibilidza kupa butendeki kunyanyayidzana ne baloyi ne phombgwe ne banotuna manyepkhwa ne banotjebela bashingi mu mibhayilo yabo, betshambilidza tjilikadzi ne siyang'wa, beshalawula bataya, ngono basinganditje. Koleba Yahwe Masimbawose.
Kutjebela Ndzimu
6 “Ngoti imi Yahwe anditoshanduka, ndizo wali imwi bana ba Jakubo musakaloba. 7 Kudwila tjose mu mazhuba a bobatategulu benyu makapambuka mu milayo yangu, amuzoyilondolodza. Shandukilani kundili, namibo ndowoshandukila kumuli. Koleba Yahwe Masimbawose. Koga imwi moti, ‘Tingashanduka tjini?’
8 “Apa nthu ungatolela Ndzimu kene? Koga imwi monditolela. Koga mobhuzwa muti, ‘Tomutolela tjini?’ Muna zwe bugumi ne zwipo. 9 Makalongwa bhiso ngoti ludzi gwenyu mose monditolela. 10 Zhisani tjebugumi tjizhele mu dula kuti ndizo kube ne zojiwa mu ng'umba yangu, ngojalo mundilike mubone kene ndisingo womuzhulila mafesitere e kudzimu amutebulila makombolelo manjinji amunowosheta ne pamungaabiganya. Koleba Yahwe Masimbawose. 11 Ndowotjemela phashu kuti dzisije zwidzwalo zwenyu ne mizhambi yenyu mu minda inowozwala. Koleba Yahwe Masimbawose. 12 Ipapo njudzi dzose dzowomudana bakakombolegwa ngoti shango yenyu inowobe shango yakashatha. Koleba Yahwe Masimbawose.
13 “Makaleba matama akabangalala nge kwangu. Koleba Yahwe. Koga imwi moti, ‘Takalebani tjakabangalala nge kwenyu?’ 14 Makati, ‘Madatha koga kushingila Ndzimu. Tobuyigwa ngeni ngolondolodza nlayo wawo kene ne kuyenda se balili mbeli kwa Yahwe Masimbawose? 15 Totola banozwikudza kuti bakakombolegwa, bashingi be mbipo abatowatshika koga ne banolika Ndzimu banosiya.’ ”
Mbuyilo ye banogalamoyo
16 Ipapo ibabo banotja Yahwe bakalangana ngono Yahwe bakateedza bakabahwa. Ndizo lukwalo gwe ikumbuludzo gukakwagwa mbeli kwabo ngekwa ibabo banotja Yahwe kakale bekumbula ngekwe zina labo. 17 “Banowobe bangu. Koleba Yahwe Masimbawose. Banowobe bashalugwa bangu mu zhuba landinowobe nditola thambo, ngono ndowobatjidza se nlume etjidza nkololo uwe unonshingila. 18 Ipapo mowobona kakale kuthubukana pakati kwe balulwami ne babi, pakati kwe unoshingila Ndzimu ne usingaushingile.”
1 The Lord Almighty answers, “I will send my messenger to prepare the way for me. Then the Lord you are looking for will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger you long to see will come and proclaim my covenant.”
2 But who will be able to endure the day when he comes? Who will be able to survive when he appears? He will be like strong soap, like a fire that refines metal. 3 He will come to judge like one who refines and purifies silver. As a metalworker refines silver and gold, so the Lord's messenger will purify the priests, so that they will bring to the Lord the right kind of offerings. 4 Then the offerings which the people of Judah and Jerusalem bring to the Lord will be pleasing to him, as they used to be in the past.
5 The Lord Almighty says, “I will appear among you to judge, and I will testify at once against those who practice magic, against adulterers, against those who give false testimony, those who cheat employees out of their wages, and those who take advantage of widows, orphans, and foreigners—against all who do not respect me.
The Payment of Tithes
6 “I am the Lord, and I do not change. And so you, the descendants of Jacob, are not yet completely lost. 7 You, like your ancestors before you, have turned away from my laws and have not kept them. Turn back to me, and I will turn to you. But you ask, ‘What must we do to turn back to you?’ 8 I ask you, is it right for a person to cheat God? Of course not, yet you are cheating me. ‘How?’ you ask. In the matter of tithes and offerings. 9 A curse is on all of you because the whole nation is cheating me. 10 Bring the full amount of your tithes to the Temple, so that there will be plenty of food there. Put me to the test and you will see that I will open the windows of heaven and pour out on you in abundance all kinds of good things. 11 I will not let insects destroy your crops, and your grapevines will be loaded with grapes. 12 Then the people of all nations will call you happy, because your land will be a good place to live.
God's Promise of Mercy
13 “You have said terrible things about me,” says the Lord. “But you ask, ‘What have we said about you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It's useless to serve God. What's the use of doing what he says or of trying to show the Lord Almighty that we are sorry for what we have done? 15 As we see it, proud people are the ones who are happy. Evil people not only prosper, but they test God's patience with their evil deeds and get away with it.’”
16 Then the people who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord listened and heard what they said. In his presence, there was written down in a book a record of those who feared the Lord and respected him. 17 “They will be my people,” says the Lord Almighty. “On the day when I act, they will be my very own. I will be merciful to them as parents are merciful to the children who serve them. 18 Once again my people will see the difference between what happens to the righteous and to the wicked, to the person who serves me and the one who does not.”