Jeremiah's Letter to the People of Judah in Babylonia
1-2 I had been left in Jerusalem when King Nebuchadnezzar took many of the people of Jerusalem and Judah to Babylonia as prisoners, including King Jehoiachin, his mother, his officials, and the metal workers and others in Jerusalem who were skilled in making things. So I wrote a letter to the priests, the prophets, the leaders, and the rest of our people in Babylonia. 3 I gave the letter to Elasah and Gemariah, two men that King Zedekiah of Judah was sending to Babylon to talk with Nebuchadnezzar. In the letter, I wrote 4 that the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, had said:
I had you taken from Jerusalem to Babylonia. Now I tell you 5 to settle there and build houses. Plant gardens and eat what you grow in them. 6 Get married and have children, then help your sons find wives and help your daughters find husbands, so they can have children as well. I want your numbers to grow, not to get smaller.
7 Pray for peace in Babylonia and work hard to make it prosperous. The more successful that nation is, the better off you will be.
8-9 Some of your people there in Babylonia are fortunetellers, and you have asked them to tell you what will happen in the future. But they will only lead you astray with their dreams. And don't let the prophets fool you, either. They speak in my name, but they are liars. I have not spoken to them.
10 After Babylonia has been the strongest nation for 70 years, I will be kind and bring you back to Jerusalem, just as I have promised. 11 I will bless you with a future filled with hope—a future of success, not of suffering. 12 You will turn back to me and ask for help, and I will answer your prayers. 13 You will worship me with all your heart, and I will be with you 14 and accept your worship. Then I will gather you from all the nations where I scattered you, and you will return to Jerusalem.
15 You feel secure, because you think I have sent prophets to speak for me in Babylonia.
16-19 But I have been sending prophets to the people of Judah for a long time, and the king from David's family and the people who are left in Jerusalem and Judah still don't obey me. So I, the Lord All-Powerful, will keep attacking them with war and hunger and disease, until they are as useless as rotten figs. I will force them to leave the land, and all nations will be disgusted and shocked at what happens to them. The nations will sneer and make fun of them and use the names “Judah” and “Jerusalem” as curse words.
And you have not obeyed me, even though 20 I had you taken from Jerusalem to Babylonia. But you had better listen to me now. 21-23 You think Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah are prophets because they claim to speak for me. But they are lying! I haven't told them anything. They are also committing other horrible sins in your community, such as sleeping with the wives of their friends. So I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar, who will put them to death while the rest of you watch. And in the future, when you want to put a curse on someone, you will say, “I pray that the Lord will kill you in the same way the king of Babylonia burned Zedekiah and Ahab to death!”
A Message for Shemaiah
24-25 The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, told me what would happen to Shemaiah, who was one of our people in Babylonia. After my letter reached Babylonia, Shemaiah wrote letters to the people of Jerusalem, including the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and the other priests. The letter to Zephaniah said:
26 After the death of Jehoiada the priest, the Lord chose you to be the priest in charge of the temple security force. You know that anyone who acts crazy and pretends to be a prophet should be arrested and put in chains and iron collars. 27 Jeremiah from the town of Anathoth is pretending to be a prophet there in Jerusalem, so why haven't you punished him? 28 He even wrote a letter to the people here in Babylonia, saying we would be here a long time. He told us to build homes and to plant gardens and grow our own food.
29 When Zephaniah received Shemaiah's letter, he read it to me. 30 Then the Lord told me what to write in a second letter 31 to the people of Judah who had been taken to Babylonia. In this letter, I wrote that the Lord had said:
I, the Lord, have not chosen Shemaiah to be one of my prophets, and he has misled you by telling lies in my name. 32 He has even talked you into disobeying me. So I will punish Shemaiah. He and his descendants won't live to see the good things I will do for my people. I, the Lord, have spoken.
Orutuu rwa Jeremia kOvajuda mObabilon
1 Ami mba tjanga orutuu kovapristeri novaprofete novanane votjiwaṋa na kovandu avehe, mba twarerwe i Nebukadnesar otja ovahuurwa kObabilon okuza kOjerusalem. 2 Ami mbe ru tjanga indu ombara Jekonia na ina novahongore vondjuwo youhona, novanane va Juda nova Jerusalem, novahambure novaungure ozonongo tji va zire nokutwarewa kouhuura. 3 Orutuu ndwi mbe ru yandja ku Elasa, omuzandu wa Safan, na ku Gemarja, omuzandu wa Hilkija, mba tumwa i Sidkija, ombara ya Juda, ku Nebukadnesar, ombara ya Babilon. Norutuu rwa tja nai:
4 “Muhona Omunamasaaehe, Ndjambi wa Israel, ma tja nai kovandu avehe, mba twarewa i Nebukadnesar otja ovahuurwa okuza mOjerusalem nokuyenda kObabilon: 5 ‘Tungeye ozondjuwo mu ture mo. Kuneye ovikunino nu mu rye imbi mbi mavi hapa mu vyo. 6 Kupeye nu mu kwate ovanatje. Kupiseye ovanatje veṋu kutja owo wina ve kwate ovanatje. Takavareye, amu heṋuka motjivaro. 7 Ungurireye ouwa wehi ku mbe mu twara otja ovahuurwa. Kumbireye ro ku ami, orondu oro tji mari ṋingapara, eṋe wina mamu ṋingapara. 8 Ami, ngu mbi ri Muhona Omunamasaaehe, Ndjambi wa Israel, me mu rongo kutja amu ha wovisiwa i ovaprofete mbe tura mokati keṋu poo i ngamwa varwe mbe tja ve zuvarisa oviṋa vyoruveze ndu maru ya. Amu puratene ko ku ngamwa oturoto twawo. 9 Owo ve mu raera ovizeze mena randje, nu hi ve hindire. Ami, ngu, mbi ri Muhona, owami ngu mba hungire.’
10 “Muhona ma tja nai: ‘Ozombura omirongo hambombari zouhona wa Babilon tji za kapita, me rikendere eṋe nu me yenenisa omakwizikiro wandje wokumukotora konganda. 11 Ami me tjiwa omeripuriro ngu mbi na wo otja ku eṋe, omeripuriro wohange, nu nge he ri wotjiwonga, omeripuriro wokumupa oruveze ndu maru ya rwomaundjiro norwouṋingandu. 12 Tji mamu ku ku ami namu kumbu ku ami, ami me mu zuvire. 13 Nu tji mamu ndji paha, mamu ndji munu, tjinga amamu ndji paha nomitima vyeṋu avihe. 14 Ii, ami me tja mamu ndji munu, nami me mu yarura ko mehi reṋu. Me mu wongo moviwaṋa na movirongo avihe mu mbe mu rimba, nu me mu kotora kehi mu mbe mu rambera kouhuura. Ami, ngu mbi ri Muhona, owami ngu mba hungire.’
15 “Eṋe mamu tja Muhona we mu pendurira ovaprofete mObabilon wina. 16 Purateneye ku imbi Muhona mbi ma hungirire ombara, ndji mai honaparere ouhona wa David, na mbi ma hungirire ovandu votjihuro hi, okutja imba ovazamumwe veṋu mbe ha twarerwe otja ovahuurwa puna eṋe. 17 Muhona Omunamasaaehe ma tja nai: ‘Ami me eta ovita nondjara nomutjise omuzeu ku wo, nu meve sanisa komakuyu nga wora nga tji ye hi nokusora okuriwa. 18 Ami meve tezere novita nondjara nomutjise omuzeu, noviwaṋa avihe mouye mavi urumisiwa i imbi mbi mavi munu. Akuhe ami ku meve rimbire, ovandu mave handuka nu mave urumisiwa i imbi mbya tjitwa ku wo. Ovandu mave ve nyekerere, ave ve sengi nave ve hembe. 19 Ihi matji tjitwa ku wo tjinga ave ha karere nonḓuviro kombuze, ndji mba kara pokuhinda ku wo novinyo vyovakarere vandje, imba ovaprofete. Owo va panḓa okupuratena. 20 Amuhe mbu mba hinda kouhuura okuza kOjerusalem nokuyenda kObabilon, purateneye ku imbi ami, ngu mbi ri Muhona, mbi me hungire.’
21 “Muhona Omunamasaaehe, Ndjambi wa Israel, wa hungirira Ahab, omuzandu wa Kolaja, na Sidkija, omuzandu wa Maaseja, mbe mu ukira ovizeze mena re. Eye wa tja meve yandja mouvara wa Nebukadnesar, ombara ya Babilon, ngu meve zepere momeho weṋu. 22 Novandu mba mba twarewa otja ovahuurwa okuza kOjerusalem okuyenda kObabilon, tji mave vanga okusenga omundu ngamwa auhe, mave tja nai: ‘Muhona nge ku tjite otja tja tjita ku Sidkija na Ahab, mba ningiririsiwa nomuinyo i ombara ya Babilon!’ 23 Ihi matji rire otjiwonga tjawo, orondu owo va tura ondjo youvi ounene, owo va katuka otukupo, nu va hungira ovizeze mena ra Muhona. Inga kaya ri omarakiza wa Muhona; eye omuhongonone wawo. Muhona ongwa hungire.”
Orutuu rwa Semaja
24-25 Muhona Omunamasaaehe, Ndjambi wa Israel, we ndji pa ombuze ku Semaja, Omunehelam, ngwa hindire orutuu mena re omuini kovandu avehe va Jerusalem na komupristeri Sefanja, omuzandu wa Maaseja, na kovapristeri avehe ovakwao. Morutuu ndwi Semaja wa tjanga nai ku Sefanja: 26 “Muhona we ku zika omupristeri moruveze rwa Jojada, nu nambano oove ngu u ri omunane omunene otjiuru mondjuwo ya Muhona. Ihi otjiungura tjoye okongwi okumuna kutja omundu woviyoze ngamwa auhe ngu me ritjindi aayo omuprofete, a pandekwe nouketanga na tuwe ko otjipandeke tjotjitenda tjomosengo. 27 Okutjavi tji u ha tjitire nai ku Jeremia wa Anatot nguye ritjindi aayo omuprofete motjiwaṋa? 28 Eye ma sokutjaerwa tjinga a raera ovahuurwa mObabilon kutja owo mave kara mouhuura mo oruveze orure, nokutja mave sokutunga ozondjuwo, ave tura mo, ave kunu ovikunino nave ri imbi mbi mave kondo.”
29 Omupristeri Sefanja we ndji resera orutuu ndwi, 30 nu tjazumba Muhona we ndji raera 31-32 kutja mbi hinde ombuze ndji kovahuurwa avehe mObabilon, ndja hungirirwa Semaja, nu ndji mai tja nai: “Ami, ngu mbi ri Muhona, me vere Semaja nozondekurona ze azehe. Ami hi mu hindire, nungwari eye wa hungira ku eṋe aayo eye omuprofete, neye we mu pukisa kutja mu riyameke kovizeze. Eye ke nokukara nozondekurona mokati keṋu, nu ke nokuhupa kutja a mune oviṋa oviwa mbi me ka tjitira otjiwaṋa tjandje, orondu eye we tji raera kutja tji ndji pirukire. Ami, ngu mbi ri Muhona, owami ngu mba hungire.”
