Jeremiah Warns Zedekiah
1 King Nebuchadnezzar had a large army made up of people from every kingdom in his empire. He and his army were attacking Jerusalem and all the nearby towns, when the Lord told me 2 to say to King Zedekiah:
I am the Lord, and I am going to let Nebuchadnezzar capture this city and burn it down. 3 You will be taken prisoner and brought to Nebuchadnezzar, and he will speak with you face to face. Then you will be led away to Babylonia.
4 Zedekiah, I promise that you won't die in battle. 5 You will die a peaceful death. People will mourn when you die, and they will light bonfires in your honor, just as they did for your ancestors, the kings who ruled before you.
6 I went to Zedekiah and told him what the Lord had said. 7 Meanwhile, the king of Babylonia was trying to break through the walls of Lachish, Azekah, and Jerusalem, the only three towns of Judah that had not been captured.
The People Break a Promise
8-10 King Zedekiah, his officials, and everyone else in Jerusalem made an agreement to free all Hebrew men and women who were slaves. No Jew would keep another as a slave. And so, all the Jewish slaves were given their freedom.
11 But those slave owners changed their minds and forced their former slaves back into slavery.
12 That's when the Lord told me to say to the people:
13 I am the Lord God of Israel, and I made an agreement with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, where they had been slaves. 14 As part of this agreement, you must let a Hebrew slave go free after six years of service.
Your ancestors did not obey me, 15-16 but you decided to obey me and do the right thing by setting your Hebrew slaves completely free. You even went to my temple, and in my name you made an agreement to set them free. But you have abused my name, because you broke that agreement and forced your former slaves back into slavery.
17 You have disobeyed me by not giving your slaves their freedom. So I will give you freedom—the freedom to die in battle or from disease or hunger. I will make you disgusting to all other nations on earth.
18 You asked me to be a witness when you made the agreement to set your slaves free. And as part of the ceremony you cut a calf into two parts, then walked between the parts. But you people of Jerusalem have broken that agreement as well as my agreement with Israel. So I will do to you what you did to that calf. 19-20 I will let your enemies take all of you prisoner, including the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the royal officials, the priests, and everyone else who walked between the two parts of the calf. These enemies will kill you and leave your bodies lying on the ground as food for birds and wild animals.
21-22 These enemies are King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia and his army. They have stopped attacking Jerusalem, but they want to kill King Zedekiah and his high officials. So I will command them to return and attack again. This time they will conquer the city and burn it down, and they will capture Zedekiah and his officials. I will also let them destroy the towns of Judah, so that no one can live there any longer.
Sedekia nOvajuda tava xunganekelwa ehandu
1 Nebukadnesar, ohamba yaBabilon eshi ya homona Jerusalem noilando ikwao aishe, ye mwene nomatanga aye aeshe noilongo aishe yomedu olo tali pangelwa kuye noiwana aishe, ondjovo ei yOmwene oya hanga Jeremia, tai ti: 2 “Omwene Kalunga kaIsrael ota ti ngaha: Inda u ka lombwele Sedekia, ohamba yaJuda u tye: ‘Omwene ota ti: Tala, oshilando eshi ohandi shi yandje momake ohamba yaBabilon, ndele tai shi xwike po. 3 Ndele ove mwene ito di mo onhapo momake aye, ndelenee oto kwatwa shili, ndele to yandjwa momake aye, nomesho oye otaa ka talafana nomesho ohamba yaBabilon, ndele tamu popyafana okanya nokanya, ndele ove to i kuBabilon.’ 4 Ndelenee pwilikina ondjovo yOmwene, oove Sedekia, ohamba yaJuda! Omwene ote ku popi ndele ta ti: ‘Ove ito fi keongamukonda. 5 Ove oto fi nombili nongaashi ooxokulu eehamba odo da li komesho yoye, nosho ove yo oto ka twiminwa pokufya kwoye noimbodi yedimba, ndele to lilwa eenghali tava ti: “Woo ohamba!” ’ Osheshi Ame nde di popya, Omwene osho ta ti.” 6 Ndele eendjovo odo adishe omuxunganeki Jeremia okwe di shiivifila Sedekia, ohamba yaJuda muJerusalem, 7 fimbo ovakwaita vohamba yaBabilon tava lwifa Jerusalem noilando aishe yomuJuda, ei ya fyaala po inai tewa, Lakis naAseka, osheshi oyo aike ya xupa yomoilando yomuJuda ya li ya pamekelwa oku i popila. 8 Ondjovo yOmwene oya hanga Jeremia, ohamba Sedekia eshi a ninga ehangano novanhu vaye aveshe vomuJerusalem, nokwe va ingidila emangululo, 9 nokutya, keshe umwe na lekele omupika waye omulumenhu nakeshe umwe omupika waye omukainhu; ovalumenhu Ovaheberi novakainhu Ovaheberi va efiwe, paha kale nande omunhu ta kaleke omumwaina Omujuda moupika. 10 Ndele ovalumenhu aveshe noshiwana ashishe osho sha hangika sha ya mehangano olo, osha uda kutya keshe umwe e nokumangulula omupika waye omulumenhu nomukainhu vaha kale vali ovapika nova dulika ndele tave va mangulula. 11 Ndelenee komesho ove lialuluka nova ka tala ko ovapika vavo ovalumenhu novakainhu, ve va mangululile, ndele ove va fininika vali va kale ovapika ovalumenhu novakainhu. 12 Opo nee ondjovo ei yOmwene ya dja kOmwene oya hanga Jeremia tai ti: 13 “Omwene Kalunga kaIsrael ota ti ngaha: Ame onda ninga ehangano nooxokulu, eshi nde va tembula mo medu laEgipiti nomonhele youpika nonda tya: 14 ‘Pexulilo lomudo omutiheyali, keshe umwe womunye u nokumangulula Omuheberi omukweni, ou a landifwa kwoove, ndele e ku longela omido hamano, mu efa a manguluke.’ Ndelenee ooxokulu ova li inava hala okuuda nge nokupwilikina eendjovo dange. 15 Ndelenee paife nye omwe lidilulula nomwa longa eshi sha wapala momesho ange, eshi mwa mangulula keshe umwe omupika waye, ndele mwa ninga ehangano koshipala shange motembeli ya lukilwa edina lange. 16 Ndelenee paife omwe lialuluka vali nomwa nyatekulula edina lange, eshi nye mwa alula nokufininika keshe umwe omupika waye omulumenhu nomukainhu, mwe va lekela, mwe va efa, nomwe va fininika va kale ovapika veni ovalumenhu novakainhu. 17 Onghee hano Omwene ota ti ngaha: Nye omwa kala inamu uda nge ndele inamu ingidila keshe umwe komumwaina nokomukwao emangululo. Tala, ohandi mu ingidile emanguluko. Omwene osho ta ti, mu yandjelwe eongamukonda noudu wolutapo nondjala, nohandi mu ningi oshitilifa shomoilongo aishe yokombada yedu. 18 Novalumenhu ovo va nyona ehangano lange, inava wanifa eendjovo dehangano lange, ve li ninga koshipala shange eshi va taula onhana yeyambo pokati nova enda pokati koinhimbu yayo ivali; ohandi ke va ninga ngaashi va ninga onhana; 19 ovanenenhu vomuJuda novakulunhu vomuJerusalem, omalenga omouhamba novapristeli novanhu aveshe vomoshilongo, ovo va endele mokati keenhumba donhana. 20 Ovo tuu ovo handi va yandje momake ovatondadi vavo, nomake avo va nangela eemwenyo davo, noimhu yavo otai ka ninga eendja deedila dokeulu nodoifitukuti yokombada yedu. 21 Ndele Sedekia, ohamba yaJuda, nomalenga aye ohandi ke a yandja momake ovatondadi vavo nomomake aava hava nangele eemwenyo davo, nokutya komatanga ovakwaita vohamba yaBabilon, ovovo ve mu fiya po. 22 Taleni, Omwene osho ta ti: Ame ohandi va lombwele nohandi ke va alulila koshilando eshi, ve shi lwife noku shi nangala ndele ve shi xwike po nomundilo, noilando yomuJuda ohandi i fefa ofuka ihe novanhu.”
