Israel Is Corrupt
1 I feel so empty inside—
like someone starving
for grapes or figs,
after the vines and trees
have all been picked clean.
2 No one is loyal to God;
no one does right.
Everyone is brutal
and eager to deceive
everyone else.
3 People cooperate to commit crime.
Judges and leaders demand bribes,
and rulers cheat in court.
4 The most honest of them
is worse than a thorn patch.
Your doom has come!
Lookouts sound the warning,
and everyone panics.
5 Don't trust anyone,
not even your best friend,
and be careful what you say
to the one you love.
6 Sons refuse to respect
their own fathers,
daughters rebel against
their own mothers,
and daughters-in-law despise
their mothers-in-law.
Your family is now your enemy.
7 But I trust the Lord God
to save me,
and I will wait for him
to answer my prayer.
The Nation Turns to God
8 My enemies, don't be glad
because of my troubles!
I may have fallen,
but I will get up;
I may be sitting in the dark,
but the Lord is my light.
9 I have sinned against the Lord.
And so I must endure his anger,
until he comes to my defense.
But I know that I will see him
making things right for me
and leading me to the light.
10 You, my enemies, said,
“The Lord God is helpless.”
Now each of you
will be disgraced
and put to shame.
I will see you trampled
like mud in the street.
A Bright Future
11 Towns of Judah, the day is coming
when your walls will be rebuilt,
and your boundaries enlarged.
12 People will flock to you
from Assyria and Egypt,
from Babylonia
and everywhere else.
13 Those nations will suffer disaster
because of what they did.
Micah's Prayer and the Lord's Answer
14 Lead your people, Lord!
Come and be our shepherd.
Grasslands surround us,
but we live in a forest.
So lead us to Bashan and Gilead,
and let us find pasture
as we did long ago.
15 I, the Lord, will work miracles
just as I did when I led you
out of Egypt.
16 Nations will see this
and be ashamed because
of their helpless armies.
They will be in shock,
unable to speak or hear,
17 because of their fear of me,
your Lord and God.
Then they will come trembling,
crawling out of their fortresses
like insects or snakes,
lapping up the dust.
No One Is Like God
The people said:
18 Our God, no one is like you.
We are all that is left
of your chosen people,
and you freely forgive
our sin and guilt.
You don't stay angry forever;
you're glad to have pity
19 and pleased to be merciful.
You will trample on our sins
and throw them in the sea.
20 You will keep your word
and be faithful to Jacob
and to Abraham,
as you promised our ancestors
many years ago.
Ovayuki va pwa mo moshilongo
1 Woo ame, osheshi ame nda ningwa ngaashi mefimbo loiimati ye likolwa nongaashi mefimbo omashila omiviinyu a pupudululwa. Kape na vali nande eeviinyu dokulya, neenghwiyu dokulombo edi omwenyo wange we di hala. 2 Ovadiinini va pwa mo moshilongo, ndele kape nomuyuki vali mokati kovanhu. Vo aveshe ohava nangele va tileshi ohonde. Ohava kongo, keshe umwe, mukwao e mu yule. 3 Ohava longo owii nomake avali u wanifwe noupenda? Omupangeli ta fininike, nomutokoli ta tokolele oimaliwa, nomunaenghono ta popi olwisho lomomwenyo waye. Oinima ya tya ngaha tave i liningile. 4 Ou muwa unene muvo, oku li ngaashi ekiya, nomuyuki waaveshe, oye mwii e nonhele i dule ongubu yomano. Efiku la popiwa kovanangeli voye, efiku longhone otali uya. Okupiyaanekwa kwavo otaku va hange. 5 Inamu itavela omukweni, nye inamu lineekela ookaume. Omwalikadi ou e li mekolo loye mu umikila oshivelo shokanya koye. 6 Osheshi omona omumati ta dini xe, nomona okakadona otaka tu eemhata naina, noshitenya shomwalikadi otashi tu ondubo nainamweno. Ovanaita nomunhu, ovo ovaneumbo vaye.
Pomafiku oluhepo Israel ote ke lininipika, ndele te ke lineekela Omwene
7 Ndelenee ame ohandi lyaamene omesho ange kOmwene, handi teelele Kalunga kexupifo lange. Kalunga kange ota ka uda nge! 8 Omutondi wange, ino kala nokuhafela nge! Nande nda punduka, ohandi yambuka po vali. Nande ndi kale omutumba momilaulu, Omwene Oye ouyelele wange. 9 Nda hala okuhumbata ehandu lOmwene, osheshi ame nda nyona kuye; fiyo ta yukifa oshinima shange, ndele ta ningile nge ouyuki. Ye ota ka twala nge mouyelele nohandi mono omhito okutala ouyuki waye. 10 Nomutondadi wange yo, ote ke shi mona, nohoni otai ka tuvika ou, ta ti kwaame: “Omwene Kalunga koye oku li peni?” Nokuhokwa omesho ange otae ke mu tala, opo nee ota ka lyatwa ngaashi onhata yomomapandavanda. 11 Efiku tali uya lokutungulula omakuma oye. Mefiku tuu olo eengaba tadi ka ehena kokule. 12 Mefiku tuu olo vo otave ke uya kwoove tava di kuAsiria nomoilando yomuEgipiti, nokudja kuEgipiti fiyo okoshikandjo shaEufrat, nokefuta fiyo okefuta likwao, nokomhunda fiyo okomhunda ikwao. 13 Ndelenee edu tali ka ninga ofuka molwoonakukalamo mulo, omolwoilonga yavo.
14 Oshiwana shoye shi lifa nodibo yoye, ongudu youfita wefyuululo loye tai kala ya tongolwa moixwa yomuKarmel. Nai wandjele muBasan nomuGilead ngaashi pomafiku oshito. 15 Ngaashi pomafiku etembu loye, eshi wa dja muEgipiti ohandi ke mu talifa oilonga yoikumwifa. 16 Oiwana tai ke shi mona ndele tai fifwa ohoni meenghono davo adishe. Vo otave ke likwata komilungu, nomatwi avo otaa ka fita. 17 Vo otava ka lafa ondwi ngaashi eyoka ngaashi oilihedi otava ka holoka nokudja mo meehotengulu davo nokukakama, heeno, vo otave ke uya kOmwene Kalunga ketu nokukakama, ndele vo tave ke ku tila.
18 Olyelye ou e ku fa, Kalunga, ho dimi po owii, ndele to koya po omatauluko oshixupe shefyuululo loye? Ye ita handuka fiyo alushe, ndelenee Ye a hokwa ouwanghenda. 19 Ye ote ke tu filulula onghenda, noilonga yetu ii Ye ote i lyatele poshi. Heeno, omatimba avo aeshe Ove to ke a ekela mokule mwi mefuta. 20 Ove oto ka hololela Jakob oudiinini, nokuhololela Abraham ouwanghenda, ou Ove wa anenene ootatekulu vetu okudja mefimbo lonale.
