A Warning to the Northern Kingdom
1 The kingdom of Israel is doomed! Its glory is fading like the crowns of flowers on the heads of its drunken leaders. Their proud heads are well perfumed, but there they lie, dead drunk. 2 The Lord has someone strong and powerful ready to attack them, someone who will come like a hailstorm, like a torrent of rain, like a rushing, overpowering flood, and will overwhelm the land. 3 The pride of those drunken leaders will be trampled underfoot. 4 The fading glory of those proud leaders will disappear like the first figs of the season, picked and eaten as soon as they are ripe.
5 A day is coming when the Lord Almighty will be like a glorious crown of flowers for his people who survive. 6 He will give a sense of justice to those who serve as judges, and courage to those who defend the city gates from attack.
Isaiah and the Drunken Prophets of Judah
7 Even the prophets and the priests are so drunk that they stagger. They have drunk so much wine and liquor that they stumble in confusion. The prophets are too drunk to understand the visions that God sends, and the priests are too drunk to decide the cases that are brought to them. 8 The tables where they sit are all covered with vomit, and not a clean spot is left.
9 They complain about me. They say, “Who does that man think he's teaching? Who needs his message? It's only good for babies that have just stopped nursing! 10 He is trying to teach us letter by letter, line by line, lesson by lesson.”
11 If you won't listen to me, then God will use foreigners speaking some strange-sounding language to teach you a lesson. 12 He offered rest and comfort to all of you, but you refused to listen to him. 13 That is why the Lord is going to teach you letter by letter, line by line, lesson by lesson. Then you will stumble with every step you take. You will be wounded, trapped, and taken prisoner.
A Cornerstone for Zion
14 Now you arrogant leaders who rule here in Jerusalem over this people, listen to what the Lord is saying. 15 You boast that you have made a treaty with death and reached an agreement with the world of the dead. You are certain that disaster will spare you when it comes, because you depend on lies and deceit to keep you safe. 16 This, now, is what the Sovereign Lord says: “I am placing in Zion a foundation that is firm and strong. In it I am putting a solid cornerstone on which are written the words, ‘Faith that is firm is also patient.’ 17 Justice will be the measuring line for the foundation, and honesty will be its plumb line.”
Hailstorms will sweep away all the lies you depend on, and floods will destroy your security. 18 The treaty you have made with death will be abolished, and your agreement with the world of the dead will be canceled. When disaster sweeps down, you will be overcome. 19 It will strike you again and again, morning after morning. You will have to bear it day and night. Each new message from God will bring new terror! 20 You will be like the person in the proverb, who tries to sleep in a bed too short to stretch out on, with a blanket too narrow to wrap himself in. 21 The Lord will fight as he did at Mount Perazim and in the valley of Gibeon, in order to do what he intends to do—strange as his actions may seem. He will complete his work, his mysterious work.
22 Don't laugh at the warning I am giving you! If you do, it will be even harder for you to escape. I have heard the Lord Almighty's decision to destroy the whole country.
God's Wisdom
23 Listen to what I am saying; pay attention to what I am telling you. 24 Farmers don't constantly plow their fields and keep getting them ready for planting. 25 Once they have prepared the soil, they plant the seeds of herbs such as dill and cumin. They plant rows of wheat and barley, and at the edges of their fields they plant other grain. 26 They know how to do their work, because God has taught them. 27 They never use a heavy club to beat out dill seeds or cumin seeds; instead they use light sticks of the proper size. 28 They do not ruin the wheat by threshing it endlessly, and they know how to thresh it by driving a cart over it without bruising the grains. 29 All this wisdom comes from the Lord Almighty. The plans God makes are wise, and they always succeed.
Ehanauko laEfraim nomatokolo Omwene
1 Woo oshishani shelinenepeko sheengholwe daEfraim. Woo onhemo yefimano lewapalo laye, oi li po tai kate, ya kala koxulo yomhunda, pokati kefilu liwa laava va kolwa komaviinyu. 2 Tala, okOmwene taku di umwe, omunaenghono e nepangelo, ngaashi oshikungulu sheemhawe nomhepo yehanauno. Ngaashi oshikungulu shinene shi neenghono nomeva efundja taa kunguluka, osho ta tileshi poshi neenghono. 3 Oshikoroni shelinenepeko sheengholwe daEfraim tashi ka lyatelwa poshi neemhadi; 4 ndele onhemo yefimano lewapalo laye, oi li po tai kate, ya kala koxulo yomhunda, pokati kefilu liwa, otai ningwa ngaashi onghwiyu ya tilyana tete, keshe ou te i mono, shimha tuu e i kwata meke laye, ote i pona po filu. 5 Mefiku tuu olo Omwene womatanga ovakwaita ota ka ninga oshishani sha wapala noshidingo shewapalo koonakuxupa voshiwana shaye, 6 nomhepo youyuki yaau ta tokola, neenghono daava hava taataa olwoodi poshivelo.
7 Naava yo tava i oshidungwe komaviinyu, noikolwifa tai va pungaukifa, omupristeli nomuxunganeki otava i oshindungwe koikolwifa, omaviinyu e va etela oshitelele, ova pungaukifwa koikolwifa. Otava puka momamoniko, ndele tava i pomunghulo mokutokola. 8 Osheshi oililo aishe oya yada onghungo neenyata, pehe na nande onhele ya yela. 9 “Oolyelye mbela ta diladila oku va pukulula? Oolyelye ngeno te va longo nomaudifo aye? Mbela vo opo va tova, va kufwa komavele oina? 10 Oshipango okoshipango, oshipango okoshipango, onghedi okonghedi ikwao, onghedi okonghedi ikwao, oku kanini, kwinya kanini!” 11 Heeno, Ye ota ka popifa oshiwana eshi nomilungu tadi kokoma nokuduma nelaka loshikwailongo; 12 Oye ou e va lombwela ta ti: Etulumuko oleli, tulumukifeni ou a loloka, onhele yetulumuko oyo ei. Ndelenee vo ova li inava hala okuuda ko. 13 Opo nee ondjovo yOmwene otai ka kala kuvo: Oshipango okoshipango, oshipango okoshipango, onghedi okonghedi ikwao, onghedi okonghedi ikwao, oku kanini, kwinya kanini, opo mokweenda va punduke ongali ndele va teke, opo va yulwe kongodi, vo va kwatwe. 14 Onghee hano pwilikineni ondjovo yOmwene, onye ovasheki, novapangeli voshiwana eshi muJerusalem. 15 Osheshi ohamu ti: Fye otwa hangana nefyo, otwa pangela omhangela noshovafi; omupya nau tondoke po ngaashi efundja, itau tu hange, osheshi oipupulu otwe i ninga eameno letu notwa hondama momakoto.
Emanya lekanghameno
16 Onghee hano Omwene Kalunga ota ti ngaha: “Tala, Ame ohandi dikile muSion emanya lekanghameno, emanya la yelekwa, omutwe u nondilo womokolonela, wa dikwa wa pama; ou ta itavele, ita i onhapo. 17 Ndele omatokolo a yuka ohandi a ningi eyelekongodi, nouyuki ohandi u ningi oshiyelekifo,” eemhawe otadi hanauna po eameno loipupulu neyelu otali yelula, tali twala onhele yokuhondama. 18 Ndele ehangano leni nefyo otali ka teka po, nomhangela yeni noshovafi itai ka kala po; omupya ngeenge tau tondokele po ngaashi efundja, otamu ka lyataulwa kuwo. 19 Shamha tuu tali tondoka, nye tali mu kwata, shaashi otali tondoka ongula nongula, tali uya oufiku nomutenya. Ndele oshili, elongo leudifo eli tali eta ehaluko. 20 Osheshi omutala otau ka ninga muxupi kwaau ta tandavele ko, nonhanga otai kala inini okulitonyena mo. 21 Osheshi Omwene ota ka fikama ngaashi komhunda yaPerasim, opo Ye ota ka handuka ngaashi mefiku laGibeon, opo a longe oshilonga shaye, oshilonga shaye shikumwifa! Ye a wanife oshilonga shaye, oshilonga shaye inashi monika nale! 22 Hano, inamu kala nokusheka, eenghadja deni diha shilwe, osheshi ame onda uda kOmwene Kalunga komatanga ovakwaita etokolo ola wana olehanauno tali uya kombada yedu alishe. 23 Pwilikineni, nye mu ude ko ondaka yange; didilikeni, nye mu ude ko ondjovo yange! 24 Omupululi ota pulula tuu efiku alishe, ye ita kunu, ndele ta tataula ndele ta holoka tuu alushe? 25 Ndi shi: ngeenge a lalakanifa ota undu mo ombuto yokumina ilaula, ndele ta undu mo ombuto yokumina younyenye, omahangu omonhele yao, ndele ta kunu, oilyavala momifinda, okalya ka toka kominghulo? 26 Ndele Kalunga kaye okwe mu ulikila nhumbi hashi ningwa, Ye ote mu longo. 27 Osheshi okumina ilaula ihai xuwa nomushi, nokuulu kwetemba ihaku ende kombada yokumina younyenye; ndelenee okumina ilaula ohai dengwa noikulumbwati nokumina younyenye ohai xuwa noshivalati. 28 Oilya yomungome ohai xuwa fiyo tai ningi oufila? Ahowe, itai xuwa fiyo fiyo. Ndele nande hava shingi okuulu kwetemba neenghambe itave di xwifa fiyo ya nyanyauka po. 29 Heeno, naasho yo osha dja mOmwene Kalunga komatanga ovakwaita. Oye omukumwifa mokupukulula, eendunge daye odinene unene.
