Slaves of Nebuchadnezzar
1-2 Not long after Zedekiah became king of Judah, the Lord told me:
Jeremiah, make a wooden yoke with leather straps, and place it on your neck. 3 Then send a message to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon. Some officials from these countries are in Jerusalem, meeting with Zedekiah. 4 So have them tell their kings that I have said:
I am the All-Powerful Lord God of Israel, 5 and with my power I created the earth, its people, and all animals. I decide who will rule the earth, 6-7 and I have chosen my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia to rule all nations, including yours. I will even let him rule the wild animals. All nations will be slaves of Nebuchadnezzar, his son, and his grandson. Then many nations will join together, and their kings will make slaves of the Babylonians.
8 This yoke stands for the power of King Nebuchadnezzar, and I will destroy any nation that refuses to obey him. Nebuchadnezzar will attack, and many will die in battle or from hunger and disease. 9 You might have people in your kingdom who claim they can tell the future by magic or by talking with the dead or by dreams or messages from a god. But don't pay attention if any of them tell you not to obey Nebuchadnezzar. 10 If you listen to such lies, I will have you dragged far from your country and killed. 11 But if you and your nation are willing to obey Nebuchadnezzar, I will let you stay in your country, and your people will continue to live and work on their farms.
12 After I had spoken to the officials from the nearby kingdoms, I went to King Zedekiah and told him the same thing. Then I said:
Zedekiah, if you and the people of Judah want to stay alive, you must obey Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonians. 13 But if you refuse, then you and your people will die from war, hunger, and disease, just as the Lord has warned. 14 Your prophets have told you that you don't need to obey Nebuchadnezzar, but don't listen to their lies. 15 Those prophets claim to be speaking for the Lord, but he didn't send them. They are lying! If you do what they say, he will have both you and them dragged off to another country and killed. The Lord has spoken.
16 When I finished talking to the king, I told the priests and everyone else that the Lord had said:
Don't listen to the prophets when they say that very soon the Babylonians will return the things they took from my temple. Those prophets are lying! 17 If you choose to obey the king of Babylonia, you will live. But if you listen to those prophets, this whole city will be nothing but a pile of rubble.
18 If I really had spoken to those prophets, they would know what I am going to do. Then they would be begging me not to let everything else be taken from the temple and the king's palace and the rest of Jerusalem. 19-21 After all, when Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiachin to Babylonia as a prisoner, he didn't take everything of value from Jerusalem. He left the bronze pillars, the huge bronze bowl called the Sea, and the movable bronze stands in the temple, and he left a lot of other valuable things in the palace and in the rest of Jerusalem.
But now I, the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, say that all these things 22 will be taken to Babylonia, where they will remain until I decide to bring them back to Jerusalem. I, the Lord, have spoken.
Jeremia ma toora otjiyoke tjonduwombe
1 Kamanga Josija, omuzandu wa Sidkija, tja za nokurira ombara ya Juda, Muhona arire tje ndji raere 2 kutja mbi riungurire otjiyoke pomuti nomivya nu mbi tji twe kosengo yandje. 3 Tjazumba Muhona otje ndji raera kutja mbi hinde ombuze kombara ya Edom noya Moab noya Amon noya Tirus noya Sidon puna ovakuramenepo vomahi wazo mbe ere kOjerusalem okuyekuhakaena nombara Sidkija. 4 Muhona Omunamasaaehe, Ndjambi wa Israel, we ndji raera kutja mbi ve rakize okukaraera ozombara zawo omambo wa Muhona nga: 5 “Ami mba utire ouye novandu novipuka avihe mbi ri kombanda yehi mouvara na momasa wandje; nu me vi yandja ku ngamwa auhe ngu mba toorora. 6 Nambano owami ngu mba twa oviwaṋa avihe mbi mouvara womukarere wandje Nebukadnesar, ombara ya Babilon, nowami ngu mba twa nangarire ovipuka vyokuti kehi youkarere we. 7 Oviwaṋa avihe mavi mu karere, novyo mavi karere omuzandu we nomuzandu womuzandu we, ngandu oruveze rwokuwa kwotjiwaṋa tje omuini tji rwa yenene. Nu otjiwaṋa tje matji karere oviwaṋa ovinauvara nozombara ozonamasa.
8 “Nungwari omuhoko auhe poo ouhona ngamwa auhe tji u hi nokukara kehi younane wombara Nebukadnesar nokutjinda otjiyoke kosengo yawo, ami me vere omuhoko mbo novita nondjara nomutjise omuzeu, ngandu ndi owo tji wa kara kehi youvara we. 9 Amu puratene ko kovaprofete na kovamune na kovarote veṋu na kozombuke na kozondjai zeṋu. Owo avehe ve mu raera kutja amu ha kara kehi younane wombara ya Babilon. 10 Owo ve mu wovisa, nu ve vanga kutja eṋe mu twarewe kokure nehi reṋu; orondu ami me mu ramba, neṋe mamu yandekwa. 11 Nungwari omuhoko ngamwa auhe tji wa kara kehi yotjiyoke tjombara ya Babilon nau i karere, ami me u kareke mehi rawo ouini okuungura ro nokutura mu ro. Ami, ngu mbi ri Muhona, owami ngu mba hungire.”
12 Ami mba hungira otjiṋa tjingetjo ku Sidkija, ombara ya Juda notjiwaṋa tje, e tja: “Kareye kehi youkarere wombara ya Babilon. Karereye yo notjiwaṋa tjayo, neṋe mamu kara nomuinyo. 13 Okutjavi ove notjiwaṋa tjoye tji mamu ṱu movita nokuṱa i ondjara nomutjise omuzeu? Otjiṋa hi Muhona otja hungira kutja matji tjitwa komuhoko auhe ngamwa mbu hi nokuriwisa kehi younane wombara ya Babilon. 14 Amu puratene ko kovaprofete mbe tja amu riyandja kombara Nebukadnesar. Owo mave mu wovisa. 15 Muhona omuini wa tja eye ke ve hindire, nokutja owo ve mu korera ovizeze mena re. Eye otji me mu ramba neṋe mamu ṱu puna ovaprofete mbe mu ukira ovizeze mbi.”
16 Tjazumba otji mba raera ovapristeri notjiwaṋa atjihe kutja Muhona wa tjere nai: “Amu puratene ko kovaprofete mbe uka kutja oviungurise oviyapuke vyondjuwo ya Muhona mavi kotorwa tjimanga okuza kObabilon. Owo ve mu ukira ovizeze. 17 Amu puratene ko ku wo! Riwiseye kehi yombara ya Babilon, notji mamu kara nomuinyo. Okutjavi otjihuro hi tji matji rire otjitambatundu? 18 Ndoovazu owo ovaprofete vakatjotjiri, nu ndoovazu ve nombuze yandje, atjave ndji ningira, ngu mbi ri Muhona Omunamasaaehe, kutja e ha yandjere oviungurise mbi mbya sewa mondjuwo ondjapuke ya Muhona na mondjuwo youhona, okutwarewa wina kObabilon.”
19-20 Ombara Nebukadnesar tja twara Jekonia, ombara ya Juda, omuzandu wa Jojakim, novarumendu ovatengwandu va Juda nova Jerusalem kObabilon otja ovahuurwa, otja isa ozongunḓe, noruungu rwongoporo, noutemba, noviungurise ovikwao tjiva vyondjuwo ya Muhona mOjerusalem.
21 “Purateneye ku imbi ami, ngu mbi ri Muhona Omunamasaaehe, Ndjambi wa Israel, mbi me hungirire oviungurise oviyapuke mbya sewa mondjuwo ya Muhona na mondjuwo youhona mOjerusalem: 22 Ovyo mavi twarewa kObabilon, nu mavi kakara ngo ngandu ndi ami tji mba kara ko na tja na vyo. Tjazumba otji me vi kotora ne vi ziki rukwao moṋa mwi. Ami, ngu mbi ri Muhona, mba hungire.”
