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 pangulwa
1 Petameko lyelelo lyomukwaniilwa Jehoiakim yaJosia, omukwaniilwa gwaJuda, oohapu dhOmuwa odhe ya kungame. 2 Omuwa okwa lombwele ndje a ti: “Thikama mehale lyotempeli, u uvithe oohapu adhihe nde ku lombwele u dhi lombwele aantu mboka taa zi komikunda dhaJuda ye ya kelongelokalunga. Ino thiga po sha. 3 Pamwe aantu taa pulakene, ye ethe oondjila dhawo oombwinayi. Ngele taye shi ningi, otandi ki itedhulula kombinga yehanagulo ndyoka nde ya dhiladhilile molwiilonga yawo yuukolokoshi.”
4 Omuwa okwa lombwele ndje, ndi lombwele aantu ndi tye: “Ongame, Omuwa, nda ti, vulikeni kungame ne mu dhiginine ompango yandje nde yi mu pe. 5 Pulakeneni oohapu dhaapiya yandje aahunganeki, mboka nda dhiginine oku mu tumina, nando inamu vulika kushoka ya popi. 6 Ngele otamu tsikile okwaavulika, nena otempeli ndjika otandi ke yi ninga, ngaashi nda ningi Shilo, niigwana ayihe yomuuyuni otayi ka tumbula edhina lyoshilando shika, ngele tayi thingana.”
7 Aayambi, aahunganeki naantu ayehe oyu uvu ndje tandi uvitha iinima mbika motempeli. 8 Sho nda hulitha ayihe mbyoka Omuwa a lombwele ndje, ndi yi popye, oya kwata ndje noyi igidha ya ti: “Ou na okudhipagwa! 9 Omolwashike to popi medhina lyOmuwa kutya otempeli ndjika otayi ka fa Shilo, noshilando shika otashi ka hanagulwa po nokaku na ngoka ta ka kala mo?” Aantu noya gongalele ndje.
10 Aawiliki yaJuda sho ye shi uvu, oya zi ko kuuwa, ye ya kotempeli e taa kuutumba pOsheelo oshipe. 11 Aayambi naahunganeki oya lombwele aawiliki naantu ayehe taa ti: “Omulumentu nguka okwi ilongele egeelo lyokusa, oshoka ota hunganeke a tsa ondumbo noshilando shetu. Omwe mu uvu nomakutsi geni yene.”
12 Ngame onda ti: “Omuwa okwa tumu ndje, ndi uvithe ashihe shoka mu uvu tashi popi otempeli ndjika noshilando shika. 13 Opalekeni ano ngashingeyi omikalo niilonga yeni, ne mu vulike kOmuwa, Kalunga keni. Ngele otamu shi ningi, Omuwa oti itedhulula noite mu etele ehanagulo ndyoka a li e li dhiladhila. 14 Kombinga yandje, ondi li miikaha yeni! Ningii ndje shoka sho opala noshu uka momeho geni. 15 Ihe shi tseyeni ashike, ngele otamu dhipaga ndje, one naantu yomoshilando shika otamu kala mu na ondjo yedhipago lyomukeenandjo, oshoka Omuwa oye a tumu ndje, ndi mu pe elondodho ndika.”
16 Nena aawiliki naantu ayehe oya lombwele aayambi naahunganeki taa ti: “Omulumentu nguka okwe tu uvithile medhina lyOmuwa Kalunga ketu; ke na okudhipagwa andola.”
17 Konima yaambika yamwe yomaawiliki oya thikama e taa lombwele aantu mboka ya li ya gongala taa ti: 18 “Hiskia sho a li omukwaniilwa gwaJuda, omuhunganeki Mika gwokuMoreshet okwa lombwelele aantu ayehe kutya Omuwa Omunankondoawike okwa ti:
‘Sion ota papulwa a fa eputa,
Jerusalem otashi ka ninga ondumba yomakulukuma,
nondundu yotempeli otayi ka shituka okuti.’
19 Omukwaniilwa Hiskia nAajuda inaa dhipaga Mika. Peha lyasho Hiskia okwa tila Omuwa nokwe mu geulukitha. Omuwa nokwi itedhulula ye ine eta oshiponga shoka kwa li e na oku ya undulila. Ngashingeyi otatu iyetele oshiponga oshinene tse yene.”
20 (Okwa li ku na omulumentu gulwe, edhina lye Uria waShemaja gwokuKiriat Jearim, ngoka a popi medhina lyOmuwa nokutsa ondumbo noshilando noshigwana, ngaashi naanaa Jeremia a ningi. 21 Omukwaniilwa Jehoiakim, aakwiita ye nomalenga sho yu uvu Uria shoka a ti, omukwaniilwa okwa kambadhala oku mu dhipagitha. Ihe Uria okwe shi uvu, okwa tila e ta yi ontuku kuEgipiti. 22 Omukwaniilwa Jehoiakim okwa tumu Elnatan lyaAkbor naalumentu yamwe, ya ka tale ko Uria kuEgipiti. 23 Oye mu eta komukwaniilwa Jehoiakim, ngoka e mu dhipagitha, nomudhimba gwe ogu umbilwa moombila dhaantu yowala.)
24 Ihe molwashoka nda li megameno lyaAhikam yaShafan, inandi gandjwa miikaha yaantu, ndi dhipagwe.
