The Fate of Jerusalem
1 God's altar, Jerusalem itself, is doomed! The city where David camped is doomed! Let another year or two come and go, with its feasts and festivals, 2 and then God will bring disaster on the city that is called “God's altar.” There will be weeping and wailing, and the whole city will be like an altar covered with blood. 3 God will attack the city, surround it, and besiege it. 4 Jerusalem will be like a ghost struggling to speak from under the ground, a muffled voice coming from the dust.
5 Jerusalem, all the foreigners who attack you will be blown away like dust, and their terrifying armies will fly away like straw. Suddenly and unexpectedly 6 the Lord Almighty will rescue you with violent thunderstorms and earthquakes. He will send windstorms and raging fire; 7 then all the armies of the nations attacking the city of God's altar, all their weapons and equipment—everything—will vanish like a dream, like something imagined in the night. 8 All the nations that assemble to attack Jerusalem will be like a starving person who dreams he is eating and wakes up hungry, or like someone dying of thirst who dreams he is drinking and wakes with a dry throat.
Disregarded Warnings
9 Go ahead and be stupid! Go ahead and be blind! Get drunk without any wine! Stagger without drinking a drop! 10 The Lord has made you drowsy, ready to fall into a deep sleep. The prophets should be the eyes of the people, but God has blindfolded them. 11 The meaning of every prophetic vision will be hidden from you; it will be like a sealed scroll. If you take it to someone who knows how to read and ask him to read it to you, he will say he can't because it is sealed. 12 If you give it to someone who can't read and ask him to read it to you, he will answer that he doesn't know how.
13 The Lord said, “These people claim to worship me, but their words are meaningless, and their hearts are somewhere else. Their religion is nothing but human rules and traditions, which they have simply memorized. 14 So I will startle them with one unexpected blow after another. Those who are wise will turn out to be fools, and all their cleverness will be useless.”
Hope for the Future
15 Those who try to hide their plans from the Lord are doomed! They carry out their schemes in secret and think no one will see them or know what they are doing. 16 They turn everything upside down. Which is more important, the potter or the clay? Can something you have made say, “You didn't make me”? Or can it say, “You don't know what you are doing”?
17 As the saying goes, before long the dense forest will become farmland, and the farmland will go back to forest.
18 When that day comes, the deaf will be able to hear a book being read aloud, and the blind, who have been living in darkness, will open their eyes and see. 19 Poor and humble people will once again find the happiness which the Lord, the holy God of Israel, gives. 20 It will be the end of those who oppress others and show contempt for God. Every sinner will be destroyed. 21 God will destroy those who slander others, those who prevent the punishment of criminals, and those who tell lies to keep honest people from getting justice.
22 So now the Lord, the God of Israel, who rescued Abraham from trouble, says, “My people, you will not be disgraced any longer, and your faces will no longer be pale with shame. 23 When you see the children that I will give you, then you will acknowledge that I am the holy God of Israel. You will honor me and stand in awe of me. 24 Foolish people will learn to understand, and those who are always grumbling will be glad to be taught.”
Jerusalems ǀâxarexūhes
1 Arielse, Arielse ǀâxarexūsas ge a, Davidi ge xāǂgāhe hâ-i ǃāse! Kuriba xu kurib ǁga ǁâudī re; mîmâi du hâse ǁâudī re. 2 Tita ge Arielsa nî ǃaoǃao tsî ǁnāpa kha ge ǃoab tsî ǃgaeb tsîkha ǀguikha nî hâ tsîs ge Jerusalemsa Ariels khami nî ī. 3 Davidi khami ta ge sasa nî xāǂgā; toroǃkhamaogu ǀkha xāǂgā si tsî ta ge ǂnubiǂgoagu ǀkha nî omǂnami si. 4 Sas ge ǃhūbaib di ǃgamsiba xu nî ǃhoa, ǁgoeǃnâs hâ tsaraba xu di ge sa mîde nî ǂoaxa; ǀnore-i dommi khamib ge sa domma ǃhūba xu nî ǂoaxa tsî sa ǃhoab ge ǀhoese tsaraba xu nî ǁnâuhe.
5 Xawe sadu khākhoen ǂguisib ge ǂkhari tsararo-i khami nî ī tsî sadu ǁgauoǃnâ ǂgaeǂgui-aogu ge ǃgomhe hâ ǀhōb khami nî ī. Nēs ge kaise ǃhaese, mûǀapirob ǁaeb ǃnâ nî ī. 6 ǃKhūb Hoaǀgaixab ge sasa ǃgurub, ǃhūǂgubib tsî kai ǂkhupib tsîn ǀkha nî sari; kai sareb tsî ǁkhō ǂoab tsî hapu ra ǀaeǁhabub tsîn ǀkha. 7 Ariels ǃoagu ra ǃkham ǂnubidi hoa ǁaedi didi, hoan ǁîs ǃoagu tsî ǁîs ǁkhaubadi ǃoagu ra ǃkhamn, tsî ǁîsa ra ǃaoǃaon hoan ge ǁhapo-i tamas ka io ī-i khami nî ī. 8 Hoaraga ǁaedi ǂnubidi Jerusalemsa ra ǁnāǂamdi ge ge khoe-i hîa ǂû-i ra ti ra ǁhapo xawe ǃâsase ra ǂkhai-i tamas ka io ǁgâsa khoe-i ā-i ra ti ra ǁhapo xawe ǁgâsase ra ǂkhai-i khami nî ī.
ǁAe-ūhe tama ǃkhâikhomdi
9 Gâredīsen, î gârese hâ, ǂgīǂgīsen, î ǂgīse hâ! ǀHoro, xawe ǂauxûiba xus ose; ǁnākeǁgapi, xawe ǂauxûi-e xus ose! 10 ǃKhūb ge sas ai gagab ǃgam ǂoms diba ǁhōǂui amaga; sago di kēbo-aogu mûdeb ge ge ǂganam, tsî sago di mû-aogu danade ge ǃgū-ai. 11 Nē xūn hoan īb ge ǂganamsa ǂkhanis mîdi khami ī. ǁNāb khomai ǁkhā aba mā tsîts ga ǁîb ǃoa mî: “Nēsa khomai,” ti, ob ge “ǂGanamsa a tsî ta a khomai ǁoa,” ti ra mî. 12 Khomai ǁoan ga māhe tsî “Nēsa khomai,” ti a mîbahe, on ge “Khomai ǁoa da a,” ti ra mî.
13 ǃKhūb ge ge mî: “Nē khoen ge ǁîn amdi ǀkha tita tawa ra ǀgūǀgūsen tsî ǁîn amǁgaugu ǀkha ra ǃgôa te, ǁîn ǂgaogu tita xu a ǃnū hîa tsî ǁîn ra tita ǀgoreǀî ǃkhais ge khoesi ǀgauba xu hâ. 14 ǁNā-amaga ta ge buruxa xūna nē khoen ǀkha nî dī, ǃhuriǃhurisa tsî buruxana. ǁÎn gā-ai khoen di gā-aisib ge nî toa tsî ǁnâuǃāxan ǁnâuǃāb ge nî kā.”
ǃGoaxaǁaeb ǃâubasens
15 ǁNān ǁîn ǃgam ǀapede ǃKhūba xu ra gaugaun ge ǀâxarexūsa, ǃkhaeb dīxūna ūhâ tsî ra mîna: “Tari-e sida ra mû-e? Tari-e sida a ǂan-e?” 16 Sadu ge xūna ge dabaǃkhuni! Sūǂnubi-aoba ǂgoab ase ǃgapaǀîhe ǁkhāb a? Kuruhe ge xū-e ǁî-i kuru-aob ǃoa “ǁÎb kuru te tama” ti mî ǁkhā-e? tamas ka io xū-i hîa ge garohe-e, ǁî-i garo-aob ǃoa mî ǁkhā i a: “ǁÎb ge ǁnâuǃā-i xare-e ūhâ tama hâ” ti?
17 Libanonna kha ǃnubu ǁaero-i ǃnâ ǂûtanixa ǃhanase ǃgapaǀîhe tide tsî ǂûtanixa ǃhanaba haiǀgoms ase?
18 ǁNā tsēs ain ge ǂganaǂgae khoena ǂkhanis mîde nî ǁnâu tsî ǀhoporob tsî ǃkhaenasa xu di ge ǂgīn mûde nî mû. 19 Tsauraǃnân ge ǃKhūb ǃnâ ǀasa ǃgâiaǂgaoba nî hōbasen tsî ǂhâb ǃnâ hân ge Israeli di ǃAnub ǃnâ nî ǀgapiǀgapihe. 20 ǁKhōǁkhōsa ǂgaeǂgui-aon ǃaruǀî hâ tide xui-ao tsî ǃhō-aon ge ǃaruǀî hâ tide; tsî ǂkhabadī-aon hoan ge nî dītoahe. 21 ǁNān khoe-i ǃoagu ǂhumib ǀkha ra ǀhûǀguin, ǁnān dao-ams tawa ǂkhabadī-aon di ǁkharaba ra ǂhanin tsî ǃgāsasi-i ose ǂhanu-ai khoe-i ǂhanu-aisiba ra mâǃoana. 22 ǁNā-amagab ge ǃKhūb Abrahamma ge oreba Jakob ǀaokhoen xa ra mî: “Jakob ge ǁkhawa taotaohe tide, ǁîb ais ge ǁkhawa ǃan kaihe tide. 23 ǁÎb ôanab ga mû, ti ǃommi ǀkha ta ge kuruna ǁîb ǁaegub ǃnâ, on ge ti ǀonsa nî ǃgôa; ǁîn ge Jakob di ǃAnuba ǃgôasiba mā tsî Israeli Eloba nî ǃaoǃgâ. 24 Gâren ge nî ǁnâuǃāxa; tsî ǃgae ran ge ǁguiǂamde nî ǃkhōǃoa.”
