A Warning for the People of Jerusalem
The Lord said:
1 Run for your lives,
people of Benjamin.
Get out of Jerusalem.
Sound a trumpet in Tekoa
and light a signal fire
in Beth-Haccherem.
Soon you will be struck
by disaster from the north.
2 Jerusalem is a lovely pasture,
3 but shepherds will surround it
and divided up,
then let their flocks
eat all the grass.
4 Kings will tell their troops,
“If we reach Jerusalem
in the morning,
we'll attack at noon.
But if we arrive later,
5 we'll attack after dark
and destroy its fortresses.”
6 I am the Lord All-Powerful,
and I will command these armies
to chop down trees
and build a ramp up to the walls
of Jerusalem.
People of Jerusalem,
I must punish you
for your injustice.
7 Evil pours from your city
like water from a spring.
Sounds of injustice and violence
echo within your walls;
victims are everywhere,
wounded and dying.
8 Listen to me,
you people of Jerusalem
and Judah.
I will abandon you,
and your land will become
an empty desert.
9 I will tell your enemies
to leave your nation bare
like a vine stripped of grapes.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have spoken.
Jeremiah's Anger
10 I have told the people
that you, Lord,
will punish them,
but they just laugh
and refuse to listen.
11 Your anger against Judah
flames up inside me,
and I can't hold it in
much longer.
The Lord's Anger Will Sweep Everyone Away
The Lord answered:
Don't hold back my anger!
Let it sweep away everyone—
the children at play
and all adults,
young and old alike.
12 I'll punish the people of Judah
and give to others
their houses and fields,
as well as their wives.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
13 Everyone is greedy and dishonest,
whether poor or rich.
Even the prophets and priests
cannot be trusted.
14 All they ever offer
to my deeply wounded people
are empty hopes for peace.
15 They should be ashamed
of their disgusting sins,
but they don't even blush.
And so, when I punish Judah,
they will end up on the ground,
dead like everyone else.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The People of Judah Rejected God's Way of Life
16 The Lord said:
My people, when you stood
at the crossroads,
I told you, “Follow the road
your ancestors took,
and you will find peace.”
But you refused.
17 I also sent prophets
to warn you of danger,
but when they sounded the alarm,
you paid no attention.
18 So I tell all nations on earth,
“Watch what I will do!
19 My people ignored me
and rejected my laws.
They planned to do evil,
and now the evil they planned
will happen to them.”
20 People of Judah,
you bring me incense from Sheba
and spices from distant lands.
You offer sacrifices of all kinds.
But why bother?
I hate these gifts of yours!
21 So I will put stumbling blocks
in your path,
and everyone will die,
including parents and children,
neighbors and friends.
An Army from the North
22 The Lord said,
“Look toward the north,
where a powerful nation
has prepared for war.
23 Its well-armed troops are cruel
and never show mercy.
Their galloping horses sound
like ocean waves
pounding on the shore.
This army will attack you,
lovely Jerusalem.”
24 Then the people said,
“Just hearing about them
makes us tremble with fear,
and we twist and turn in pain
like a woman giving birth.”
25 The Lord said,
“Don't work in your fields
or walk along the roads.
It's too dangerous.
The enemy is well armed
26 and attacks without warning.
So mourn, my people, as though
your only child had died.
Wear clothes made of sackcloth
and roll in the ash pile.”
The Lord's People Must Be Tested
The Lord said:
27 Jeremiah, test my people
as though they were metal.
28 And you'll find they are hard
like bronze and iron.
They are stubborn rebels,
always spreading lies.
* 29-30 Silver can be purified
in a fiery furnace,
but my people are too wicked
to be made pure,
and so I have rejected them.
Oshiwana tashi ka nyonaunwa po molwokuhelidilulula kwasho
1 MuJerusalem djeni onhapo, onye Ovakwabenjamin! Shikeni enghuma muTekoa, nye mu dikile muBet-Hakerem edidiliko lomundilo, osheshi koumbangalanhu otaku di oshiponga nehanauno lidjuu! 2 Omona okakadona kaSion muwa, ye a yakulwa unene, ohandi mu hanauna po. 3 Otapa ka dja ovafita noimuna yavo tave uya kuye, ndele tava ongo eenhanda, tava lifa keshe tuu umwe ponhele yaye. 4 Lilongekideni, va kuwileni onghuwo, fikameni tu ka fike ko pokati komutenya! Woo, osheshi etango otali toka nokuli. Omididimbe donguloshi tadi i kokule. 5 Fikameni, tu ka fike ko oufiku, tu ka xwike po eengulu daye doupuna. 6 Osheshi Omwene womatanga ovakwaita ota ti ngaha: Ka keni omiti nye mu umbe ongubu ya dingilila Jerusalem! Oshilando osho tuu osho oshi nokuhandukilwa, sho shi yadi oukolokoshi meni lasho. 7 Ngaashi ondungu hai fuluka omeva ayo mawa, osho yo nasho hashi fuluka owii washo. Omahepeko nomahanauno haa udika nomayehamo noipute oku li alushe koshipala shange. 8 Jerusalem, dulika nokulidilulula, opo omwenyo wange uhe ku liteeke, opo ndihe ku shitukife eputu, edu lihe novanhu. 9 Omwene womatanga ovakwaita osho ta ti: Ekongololo loixupe ngaashi omuviinyu tau endululwa pekolo, osho tashi kala oixupe yomuIsrael. Kumifa eke loye komashila ngaashi omukoli ha ningi. 10 Olyelye ngeno ndi tonge sha kuye noolyelye ava ndi va londwele ngeno va ude ko? Tala, omatwi avo inaa pitifwa etanda, vo ihava dulu okuuda. Tala, ondjovo yOmwene oya ninga oiyolifa yavo inave i hala. 11 Opo nee ame onda yada oupyuhandu wOmwene, itandi dulu oku u kelela. U tila hano kombada younona vomomapandavanda nokombada yeengudu dovanyasha, kombada yaaveshe, osheshi omulumenhu nomukainhu ove nokukwatwa, nomunyeumbo pamwe nomukulunhu weenghwakutoka. 12 Omaumbo avo otaa ningi ovanhu vamwe, omapya novakainhu vavo yo, osheshi Ame ohandi aneke eke lange nokuhanyena oonakukalamo moshilongo, Omwene osho ta ti. 13 Osheshi vo aveshe, ounona vavo novakulunhu, ve hole eliko loipupulu, ovaxunganeki novapristeli aveshe ve nekonda. 14 Ndele vo ova hala okuhakula noupu oshiponga shomona okakadona koshiwana shange, eshi tava ti: Ombili, ombili. Nande kape nombili. 15 Vo otava ka fifwa ohoni, shaashi ova longa oixuna, voovene inava shiiva okufya ohoni, vehe neudito lohoni, onghee ove nokufila pamwe noonakudipawa. Pomafiku enya nge handi va handukile, otava ka xutuka, Omwene osho ta ti.
16 Omwene osho okwa popya: Indeni ko keendjila, nye mu tale, mu pule omalila enya oshito, a endwa nale, oo okwa li ondjila yelao, nye mu ende nayo, ndele nye otamu ka monena eemwenyo deni etulumuko. Ndelenee vo ova nyamukula: Inatu hala okweenda nado. 17 Ndele Ame onde mu nangekela ovanangeli, onda tya: Pwilikineni oshihomo shomanghuma. Ndelenee vo ova nyamukula, Inatu hala okupwilikina. 18 Onghee hano pwilikineni, onye oiwana! Neongalo kala u shi shii, eshi tashi ka ningwa mokati kavo! 19 Edu pwilikina! Tala, ovanhu ava ohandi va umbu omupya, owo oshiimati shomadiladilo avo, osheshi vo inava pwilikina eendjovo dange nomhango yange ve i ekelashi! 20 Hano etwimino loimbodi tali di kuSheba, otali kwafa nge shike, nolumbungu lakalmus tali di koilongo yokokule? Omaxwikiloyambo eni inandi a hokwa nomatomenoyambo eni inaa wapalela nge. 21 Onghee Omwene ota ti: Oshili, ovanhu ava onda hala okuumba emanya lepundukifo mondjila yavo, tava pundukile ko, ooxe novana mumwe, omushiinda nomushiinda tava nyonauka po.
22 Omwene osho ta ti: Otapa di ovanhu kedu lokoumbangalanhu, noshiwana shinene tashi djuuka, tashi di kominghulo dedu. 23 Ove nomauta nomaonga, ovapwidi, vehe nonghenda. Eweelelo lavo ongaashi engungumo lefuta ndele tava londo eenghambe, ve lilongekida ngaashi ovakwaita, ve ku tondokele, ove omona okakadona kaSion. 24 Eenghundana dasho otwe di uda, omaoko etu okwa wa, oumbada we tu kwata, tu nouyehame ngaashi omudali. 25 Ino ya nande okokule moixwa, ove ino enda momalila, osheshi eongamukonda lomutondadi oli li ko, oixuna yongaho keembinga adishe! 26 Akutu, omona okakadona, oshiwana shange! Lidika oikutu yeefya, ove u alangate momute. Shiva eenghali, ove u lile ngaashi ewifa hali lilwa eenghali nokulililila, osheshi omuhanauni ote ku faukile diva.
27 Ame onde ku tula mokati kovanhu vange omupashukili nepopilohote, opo u shiive ndele u yeleke okweenda kwavo. 28 Aveshe ovanandubo ve dule ovanandubo vamwe. Ve hole omalundilo. Vo oshikushu noivela, aveshe va nyonauka. 29 Omupepo tau pepele neenghono momundilo tau di oholo aike, ndele ya hemunwa nokuhemununwa oshimha, ndelenee oyo ii oyo anya okutongoka mo. 30 Vo otava ka ifanwa oshisiliveli kashi noshilonga, sha ekelwashi, osheshi Omwene okwe va ekelashi.
