The People Ask Jeremiah to Pray for Them
1 Then all the army leaders, including Johanan son of Kareah and Azariah son of Hoshaiah, came with people of every class 2 and said to me, “Please do what we ask you! Pray to the Lord our God for us. Pray for all of us who have survived. Once there were many of us; but now only a few of us are left, as you can see. 3 Pray that the Lord our God will show us the way we should go and what we should do.”
4 I answered, “Very well, then. I will pray to the Lord our God, just as you have asked, and whatever he says, I will tell you. I will not keep back anything from you.”
5 Then they said to me, “May the Lord be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not obey all the commands that the Lord our God gives you for us. 6 Whether it pleases us or not, we will obey the Lord our God, to whom we are asking you to pray. All will go well with us if we obey him.”
The Lord's Answer to Jeremiah's Prayer
7 Ten days later the Lord spoke to me; 8 so I called together Johanan, all the army leaders who were with him, and all the other people. 9 I said to them, “The Lord, the God of Israel, to whom you sent me with your request has said, 10 ‘If you are willing to go on living in this land, then I will build you up and not tear you down; I will plant you and not pull you up. The destruction I brought on you has caused me great sorrow. 11 Stop being afraid of the king of Babylonia. I am with you, and I will rescue you from his power. 12 Because I am merciful, I will make him have mercy on you and let you go back home. I, the Lord, have spoken.’
13-15 “But you people who are left in Judah must not disobey the Lord your God and refuse to live in this land. You must not say, ‘No, we will go and live in Egypt, where we won't face war any more or hear the call to battle or go hungry.’ If you say this, then the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says, ‘If you are determined to go and live in Egypt, 16 then the war that you fear will overtake you, and the hunger you dread will follow you, and you will die there in Egypt. 17 All the people who are determined to go and live in Egypt will die either in war or of starvation or disease. Not one of them will survive, not one will escape the disaster that I am going to bring on them.’
18 “The Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘Just as my anger and fury were poured out on the people of Jerusalem, so my fury will be poured out on you if you go to Egypt. You will be a horrifying sight; people will make fun of you and use your name as a curse. You will never see this place again.’”
19 Then I continued, “The Lord has told you people who are left in Judah not to go to Egypt. And so I warn you now 20 that you are making a fatal mistake. You asked me to pray to the Lord our God for you, and you promised that you would do everything that he commands. 21 And now I have told you, but you are disobeying everything that the Lord our God sent me to tell you. 22 So then, remember this: you will die in war or of starvation or disease in the land where you want to go and live.”
Otjiwaṋa matji ningire Jeremia kutja e tji kumbire
1 Ovanane avehe votjimbumba tjovita puna Johanan, omuzandu wa Kareak, na Asarja, omuzandu wa Hasaja, otji ve ya novandu pekepeke, ovanene nouṱiṱi, 2 nave tja nai ku ami: “Arikana, tjita imbi mbi matu ku ningire. Tu kumbira ku Muhona, Ndjambi wetu. Kumbira eṱe atuhe mbu twa sewa po. Rukuru twa ri ovengi; nungwari nambano oweṱe ouṱiṱi otja tji mo munu nomeho woye omuini. 3 Kumba kutja Muhona, Ndjambi wetu me tu urikire ondjira, ndji matu sokutwara, nu me tu tjivise imbi mbi matu sokutjita.”
4 Ami mba zira e tja: “Osemba! Ami me kumbu ku Muhona, Ndjambi wetu otja punga amwa ningire, nu ngamwa atjihe eye tji ma hungire, ami me mu tjivisa. Hi nokumuhorekera otjiṋa ngamwa atjihe.”
5 Owo otji va tja nai ku ami: “Muhona nga rire omuhongonone wetu watjiri nomuṱakame, tji tu hi nokukara nonḓuviro komarakiza aehe Muhona, Ndjambi wetu nge ku pera eṱe. 6 Kutja otjiṋa hi matji tjata ku eṋe, eṱe matu kara nonḓuviro ku Muhona, Ndjambi wetu ngu matu ku ningire kutja u tu kumbire ku ye. Avihe ku eṱe mavi pu, tji twa kara nonḓuviro ku ye.”
Eziriro ra Muhona kongumbiro ya Jeremia
7 Kombunda yomayuva omurongo Muhona wa hungira na ami. 8 Ami otji mba woronganisa Johanan, omuzandu wa Kareak, novanane avehe votjimbumba tjovita, mba ri puna ye, novandu avehe, ovanene nouṱiṱi, 9 ne tja nai ku wo: “Muhona, Ndjambi wa Israel, ku mwe ndji hinda nomaningiriro weṋu, ma tja nai: 10 Tji mu nombango okutura mehi ndi mohange, ami me mu tungu, nu hi nokumuhaṋa; me mu kunu, nu hi nokumuzukura. Orondu ami mbi noruhoze orunene mena rotjiwonga tji mba tjita ku eṋe. 11 Iseye okutira ombara ya Babilon! Amu i tira! Ami mbi ri puna eṋe, nu me mu yama momake wayo. 12 Ami tjinga ambi ri omunatjari, otjinga ame i tjiti kutja i mu ṱirotjari, nu i mu ese mu yaruke kozoyeṋu. Ami, ngu mbi ri Muhona, owami ngu mba hungire.”
13-15 “Nungwari eṋe, tjiwaṋa, mbu mwa sewa mehi ra Juda, mamu sokukara nonḓuviro ku Muhona, Ndjambi wa Israel, nu amu panḓa okutura mehi ndi. Amu tja nai: ‘Kako, eṱe matu katura mehi ra Engipte, ku tu hi nokukamuna ovita rukwao poo ku tu hi nakukazuva ombosiro yohiva yokuyenda kovita poo ku tu hi nakukaṱondjara.’ Tji mamu tja nai, Muhona Omunamasaaehe, Ndjambi wa Israel, ma tja nai: Tji mwe rimana okukatura mehi ra Engipte, 16 ovita, mbi mu tira, mavi mu vaza, nondjara, ndji mu mumaparisa, mai mu tezere, neṋe mamu kaṱira ngo mehi ra Engipte. 17 Ovandu avehe mbe rimana okukatura kOengipte otja ovozonganda mave kaṱa movita, nu mave kaṱa i ondjara nomutjise omuzeu. Kape na umwe wawo ngu ma kahupa, kape na umwe ngu ma taurire otjiwonga ami tji me kaeta kombanda yawo.
18 “Muhona Omunamasaaehe, Ndjambi wa Israel, ma tja nai: ‘Otja omazenge nomapindi wandje punga aya tirirwa kovature va Jerusalem, omapindi wandje wina opunga amaye tirirwa kombanda yeṋu, tji mwa i kOengipte. Mamu rire ombunikiro ondirise kovandu; owo mave mu nyekerere, nu mave mu sengi. Nehi ndi kamaamu ri munu ko rukwao.’ ”
19 Tjazumba otji mba hungira komurungu e tja: “Muhona wa raera eṋe mbu mwa sewa mehi ra Juda kutja amu ha i kehi ra Engipte. Nambano ami otji me mu rongo 20 kutja mamu tataiza tjinene. Eṋe mwe ndji ningira kutja mbi mu kumbire ku Muhona, Ndjambi wetu, neṋe mwa kwizika kutja mamu tjiti avihe eye mbi ma rakiza. 21 Ami ndino mbe mu tjivisa oviṋa avihe Muhona Ndjambi wetu, mbye ndji hindira kutja mbi mu raere, nungwari eṋe kamu nonḓuviro ku vyo. 22 Nambano, tjiri, tjiweye nawa otjiṋa hi: Mamu kaṱa movita, nu mamu kaṱa i ondjara nomutjise omuzeu kehi ku mamu vanga okukatura.”
