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.
Eyonuko lyaIsrael
1 Yaye ngame! Onda fa omuntu a sa ondjala ngoka itaa matha nando iiyimati yomakukila komiti, nomandjembele komiviinu. Omandjembele agehe noonkwiyu dhoondhiye adhihe odha toononwa ko. 2 Moshilongo kamu nomwiinekelwa, kamu na nando omuvuliki kuKalunga. Shaa ngoka ota kongo ompito, opo a dhipage. Shaa ngoka ota langele mukwawo, e mu nene ko. 3 Ayehe otaa kongo okulonga uuwinayi. Aambala naatokolihapu otaa pula oombumbo. Omunenentu ote ya hokololele shoka a hala, nosho ngeyi taa pangele kumwe. 4 Nokuli ngoka omwaanawa nomwiinekelwa gwomokati kawo ke na shilonga.
Esiku olye ya, uuna Kalunga ta geele aantu, ngaashi e ya londodhitha kaahunganeki. Ngashingeyi oye li mevundakano. 5 Ino inekela mushiinda shoye, nenge u itule kuume koye. Kotokela oohapu dhoye, nando ou kale to lombwele mukadhoye. 6 Momasiku ngaka aamati otaa tala oohe oyo aagoya, aakadhona notaa kondjitha ooyina, naafuko otaa tamanana nooyinamweno; aatondi yomusamane oyo aangandjawo.
7 Ihe ngame otandi tegelele Omuwa; ondi inekela Kalunga, ngoka ta hupitha ndje. Kalunga otu uvu ndje.
Omuwa ta hupitha
8 Yatondi yandje, inamu kala nokunyanyukilwa ndje. Nando nda punduka, otandi yambuka ishewe. Ngashingeyi ondi li momilema, ihe Omuwa ota ka minikila ndje. 9 Onda yono kOmuwa, onkee ondi na okwiidhidhimikila ondjahi ye okathimbo. Ihe pehulilo ota popile ndje notu utha uuwinayi mboka wa ningilwa ndje. Ota fala ndje puuyelele; otandi kala ndi na omwenyo notandi ka mona ehupitho lye. 10 Nena aatondi yandje otaye ke shi mona e taa sithwa ohoni — oomboka ye tu nyenkele ya ti: “Omuwa Kalunga keni oku li peni?” Otandi ke ya mona ya dhengwa noya lyatelwa pevi ngaashi uuhoho muuyanda.
11 Yantu yaJerusalem, ethimbo lyokutungulula omakuma goshilando otali ya. Pethimbo ndyoka oshilongo sheni otashi ka tamunuka. 12 Oshigwana shoye otashi ka galukila kungoye tashi zi koombinga adhihe — kuAssur muuzilo, kuEgipiti muumbugantu, kombinga yaEufrat, komafuta gokokule nokoondundu. 13 Ihe evi otali ka ninga ombuga omoluuwinayi waamboka ya kala mo.
Omuwa u uvitile Israel ohenda
14 Omuwa, kala omusita gwoshigwana shoye, aantu we yi ihogololele. Nando oyi ikalela mombuga, oku na evi ewanawa lye ya kunduka. Ya fala, u ya napithe momanapelo omanene gaBaasha naGilead, ngaashi ya li haa ningi nale.
15 Tu longela iikumitha, Omuwa, ngaashi wa ningile nale, sho we tu tembudha muEgipiti. 16 Iigwana otayi ke shi mona e tayi ka sa uunye, nonando oyo iinankondo. Mokutyololoka otaa ka mutika omakana gawo e taa thitike omakutsi gawo. 17 Otaa ki igonyena montsi ya fa omayoka; otaa ka za moohote dhawo taa ningi omahwilili e taa kwatwa kuumbanda. Muumbanda wawo otaa ka galukila kOmuwa Kalunga kawo.
18 Kaku na kalunga kalwe e ku fa, Omuwa; ongoye to dhimi po omayono gaantu yoye mboka ya hupu po. Ngoye ito kala u na ondjahi sigo aluhe, ihe ngoye oto nyanyukilwa okuholola ohole yoye yashili. 19 Oto tu sile ohenda ishewe. Oto ka lyatagulila omayono getu kohi yoompadhi dhoye e to gu umbile kondaandelo yefuta. 20 Oto ka hololela aantu yoye uudhiginini woye nohole yoye yashili, koluvalo lwaAbraham nolwaJakob, ngaashi wu uvanekele ootatekulu monalenale.
