Jeremiah's Message in the Temple
(Jeremiah 7.1-15)1 Soon after Jehoiakim became king of Judah, the Lord said:
2 Jeremiah, I have a message for everyone who comes from the towns of Judah to worship in my temple. Go to the temple courtyard and speak every word that I tell you. 3 Maybe the people will listen this time. And if they stop doing wrong, I will change my mind and not punish them for their sins. 4 Tell them that I have said:
You have refused to listen to me and to obey my laws and teachings. 5 Again and again I have sent my servants the prophets to preach to you, but you ignored them as well. Now I am warning you that if you don't start obeying me at once, 6 I will destroy this temple, just as I destroyed the town of Shiloh. Then everyone on earth will use the name “Jerusalem” as a curse word.
Jeremiah on Trial
7 The priests, the prophets, and everyone else in the temple heard what I said, 8-9 and as soon as I finished, they all crowded around me and started shouting, “Why did you preach that the Lord will destroy this temple, just as he destroyed Shiloh? Why did you say that Jerusalem will be empty and lie in ruins? You ought to be put to death for saying such things in the Lord's name!” Then they had me arrested.
10 The royal officers heard what had happened, and they came from the palace to the new gate of the temple to be the judges at my trial. 11 While they listened, the priests and the prophets said to the crowd, “All of you have heard Jeremiah prophesy that Jerusalem will be destroyed. He deserves the death penalty.”
12-13 Then I told the judges and everyone else:
The Lord himself sent me to tell you about the terrible things he will do to you, to Jerusalem, and to the temple. But if you change your ways and start obeying the Lord, he will change his mind.
14 You must decide what to do with me. Just do whatever you think is right. 15 But if you put me to death, you and everyone else in Jerusalem will be guilty of murdering an innocent man, because everything I preached came from the Lord.
16 The judges and the other people told the priests and prophets, “Since Jeremiah only told us what the Lord our God had said, we don't think he deserves to die.”
17 Then some of the leaders from other towns stepped forward. They told the crowd that 18 years ago when Hezekiah was king of Judah, a prophet named Micah from the town of Moresheth had said:
“I, the Lord All-Powerful, say
Jerusalem will be plowed under
and left in ruins.
Thorns will cover the mountain
where the temple
now stands.”
19 Then the leaders continued:
No one put Micah to death for saying that. Instead, King Hezekiah prayed to the Lord with fear and trembling and asked him to have mercy. Then the Lord decided not to destroy Jerusalem, even though he had already said he would.
People of Judah, if Jeremiah is killed, we will bring a terrible disaster on ourselves.
20-24 After these leaders finished speaking, an important man named Ahikam son of Shaphan spoke up for me as well. And so, I wasn't handed over to the crowd to be killed.
Uriah the Prophet
While Jehoiakim was still king of Judah, a man named Uriah son of Shemaiah left his hometown of Kiriath-Jearim and came to Jerusalem. Uriah was one of the Lord's prophets, and he was saying the same things about Judah and Jerusalem that I had been saying. And when Jehoiakim and his officials and military officers heard what Uriah said, they tried to arrest him, but he escaped to Egypt. So Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Achbor and some other men after Uriah, and they brought him back. Then Jehoiakim had Uriah killed and his body dumped in a common burial pit.
Jeremia ta pangulilwa okufya
1 Pehovelo lepangelo laJehoiakim yaJosia, ohamba yaJuda, ondjovo ei oya dja kOmwene: 2 “Omwene ota ti ngaha: Inda u ka kale ofika moluumbo lotembeli yOmwene, ove u popye nokupa oilando aishe yomuJuda oushima; ovo tave uya motembeli yOmwene okulinyongamena, va lombwela eendjovo adishe nde di ku lombwela u di tonge kuvo. Ino efa po nande ondjovo imwe. 3 Kashiimba tava ka pwilikina ndele tave lialuluka, keshe umwe, kondjila yaye ii, opo Ame ohandi lialuluka kowii ou nde u va diladilila molwowii woilonga yavo. 4 Ndele va lombwela: ‘Omwene ota ti ngaha: Ngeenge itamu pwilikine nge nokweenda pamhango yange ei nde i mu pa, 5 nongeenge itamu pwilikine eendjovo dovapiya vange ovaxunganeki, ngaashi inandi fya ounye oku va tuma kunye, ndele nye inamu pwilikina, 6 opo nee handi ka ninga otembeli ei ngaashi nda ninga Silo noshilando eshi ohandi shi ningi ondjovo yefingo koiwana aishe yokombada yedu.’ ”
7 Ndele ovapristeli novaxunganeki novanhu aveshe va uda eendjovo edi Jeremia e di popya motembeli yOmwene. 8 Ndele Jeremia eshi a xulifa okupopya adishe odo e di lombwelwa kOmwene e di lombwele ovanhu aveshe, ovapristeli novaxunganeki novanhu aveshe ove mu kwata nova popya mokule: “Ove ou nokufya shili. 9 Omolwashike we tu xunganekela medina lOmwene, ndele to ti: ‘Otembeli ei oi nokuningwa ngaashi Silo, noshilando eshi oshi nokuninga omakulukuma kashi novanhu’?” Novanhu aveshe va ongalela Jeremia motembeli yOmwene. 10 Ovakulunhu vomuJuda eshi va uda eendjovo edi, ova dja mo moshilongo ndele tave uya kotembeli yOmwene, ndele vo ova kala omutumba poshivelo shipe shOmwene. 11 Opo nee ovapristeli novaxunganeki ova lombwela ovakulunhu novanhu aveshe, ndele tava ti ngaha: “Omulumenhu ou okwa tula etimba lokudipawa, osheshi oye ota xunganekele nokutwa ondubo oshilando eshi, ngaashi nye vene mwe shi uda nomatwi eni.” 12 Ndelenee Jeremia okwa lombwela ovakulunhu aveshe novanhu aveshe ndele ta ti ngaha: “Omwene okwa tuma nge ndi popye eendjovo odo adishe domaxunganeko da twa ondubo otembeli ei noshilando eshi, ngaashi nye mwe di uda. 13 Hano paife wapekeni eendjila deni noilonga yeni, nye mu pwilikine ondaka yOmwene Kalunga keni, opo nee Omwene ote lialuluka kowii ou e u popya tau mu hange. 14 Ndelenee taleni aame, ngaashi ndi li, ondi li momake eni, ningei nge eshi sha wapala nosha yuka kunye.”
15 Ndelenee shimwe ashike mu kale mu shi shii, ngeenge tamu dipaa nge, otamu litwike ohonde ihe netimba, noshilando eshi noonakukalamo otamu va kwatifa ohonde oyo, osheshi Omwene okwa tuma nge shili kunye, ndi mu udifile eendjovo edi adishe momatwi eni.
16 Opo nee ovakulunhu novanhu aveshe ova lombwela ovapristeli novaxunganeki ndele tava ti: Omulumenhu ou ke netimba lokufya. Osheshi ye okwe tu lombwela medina lOmwene Kalunga ketu. 17 Novakulunhu vamwe vomoshilongo ova kala ofika tava lombwele ongudu aishe yovanhu tava ti: 18 Pomafiku aHiskia, ohamba yaJuda, opa holoka Mika Omumoreset, a xunganeka nokwa lombwela oshiwana ashishe shaJuda, ndele ta ti ngaha: Omwene womatanga ovakwaita ota ti ngaha:
“Sion otai limwa epya,
Jerusalem otashi ningi oshala shoimbodi
nomhunda yotembeli otai shituka oshikulundudu shi noixwa.”
19 Hiskia, ohamba yaJuda, nOvajuda aveshe ove mu dipaa vati? Vo inava tila Omwene nove mu handukulukifa, opo Omwene okwe lialuluka komupya winya a li e u va handukilila, manga fye tu li po twa hala tu litwike keemwenyo detu omupya u fike apa.
20 Ndelenee okwa li yo omulumenhu umwe Uria yaShemaia, Omukiriat-Jearim. Ye okwa xunganeka medina lOmwene ta popi okuhandukilwa kwoshilando eshi nedu eli ngaashi Jeremia. 21 Ohamba Jehoiakim novaladi vaye aveshe nomalenga aye aeshe omakulunhu, eshi va uda eendjovo odo, ohamba oya li tai mu kongo ya hala oku mu dipaa. Uria eshi e shi uda okwa tila, ndele ta i kuEgipiti. 22 Ndelenee ohamba Jehoiakim oya tuma ovalumenhu kuEgipiti: Elnatan yaAkbor novalumenhu pamwe naye kuEgipiti. 23 Ndele ova eta Uria muEgipiti ndele ve mu twala kohamba Jehoiakim, nohamba oye mu dipaifa neongamukonda, noshimhu shaye osha kupulwa moshilambo shovanhu vongaho, omo hamu pakwa ovafyoona. 24 Ndelenee eke laAhikam yaSafan ola amena Jeremia, opo ye ina yandjwa komake ovanhu a dipawe.
