1 ǁNān ǂhanuoǃnâ ǂhanuga ra dīn ge ǀâxarexūsa, ǁnān nau khoena ra ǁgâiǀā ǂhanumāde ra dīna. 2 ǁNān ǂhâb ǃnâ hâna ǂhanu-aisiba xu ra ǁkhaebēn tsî ǀgâsana ǁîn di ǂhanuga ra ǀhanana. ǁÎn ge ǃoatarade xu ǃnari tsî ǃguniǀgôan xūna ra ǀhana. 3 ǀGoraǃgâtsēs ai tare-e du nî dī, hîkākāhes ga ǃnūseba xu hāo? Tari-i ǃoats kha ǃgomsib tsēs ai nî ǁhâ? Mâpa du sadu ǃkhūsiba nî sâu? 4 Sadu nî ǃkhoe ǃkhai-i ǀkhai, xawe du ǃkhōsaben ǀkha nî ǃhon tamas ka io ǃgamhe hân ǀkha nî ǃgamhe. Xawes tsînab ge ǃKhūb ǁaiba bē tide; ǁîb ǁôab ge sadu ǃoagu ǀhōǂuisase hâ.
Asiriab gao-aob Elob xa ǁâtanise ra sîsenūhe
5 Asiriatse, ti ǁaib di ǁnâuhaitse, ti ǁaixasib ǃnâ ta ra ǂnau-ū ǃnabatse! 6 Asiriaba ta ge eloxoresa ǁaes ǃoagu ge sî, ǁîba ta ge ǁaixa-ū ta hâ khoen ǃoagu ge mîmā. ǁÎnab nî ǀhana tsî ǃnari-aise, ǁînab ǃganni ǃnâ ǁgoe ǂgoab khami nî dāǃgâse.
7 Xawe Asiriab gao-aob ge nēs ǀkha ǃgûǀhao tama hâ, tamas ka iob ge ǁîba ǁnāti ǂâibasen tama hâ; ǁîb ǂâibasens ge ǁîna hîkākā tsîb ǂgui ǁaede hoaragase nî dītoasa. 8 Amaseb ǁîba ra mî xui-ao: “Ti ǂamsagu hoaga kha gao-ao tamaga? 9 Kalnosa ta Karkemis khami dan tama tsî Hamatsa Arpads khami? Samariasa ta Damaskus khami dan tama? 10 Ti ǁôaba ta ge ǁgôa-elogu xa ge gaoǂamhe hâ i gaosigu hoagu ǂama ge ǀhōǂui, ǁnā gaosigu Jerusalems tsî Samariab tsîra ǃnâ ge hâ i īgu xa ǂgui īga ge ūhâ iga. 11 Samariab tsî ǁîb īga ta ge hîkākā khami ta Jerusalems tsî ǁîs ǁgôa-elogu tsîna a dī-ū ǁoa?”
12 Xaweb ga ǃKhūba Sionǃhommi tsî Jerusalems tsîra ǃnâb ra dīn ǀkha toa, ob ge ǂnīǂnīsenxa koasens Asiriab gao-aob dis tsî ǁîb di karokarosens tsîna nî ǁkhara.
13 ǁÎb ra mî xui-ao: “Ti ǁôab di ǀgaiba xu ta ge nēsa go dītoa, ti ǁnâuǃāb tsî gā-aisib tsîkha ǀkha. Khoen ǁaegu ge hâ i ǃhūǀgorade ta ge ūbē tsî ǁîn di ǁuiba ge ǀhana; ǀgaisa danaob khami ta ge trondi ai ge ǂnôa ina ge ūǁnâ. 14 Ti ǃommi ge ǁaedi ǃkhūsiba aniron ani-omros ǃnâ hân khami ge hō tsî ǁnāxūhe hâ ǃupun ra ǀhaoǀhaohe khami hoaraga ǃhūbaiba ge ǀhaoǀhao. ǁÎ-i ǁgaboba ge ti ǃoagu ūkhâi tamas ka io amsa ge ti ǃoagu khowa-i tsîn ge ge ǀkhai i.”
15 Xaweb ge ǃKhūba ge mî: “ǃŌsa ǁîs di ǁhā-aob xa kai ǁkhās a, tamas ka io saxaba ǁîb di saxa-aob xa kai ǁkhāb a? Haiba ǁnā-i ǁîba ra ūkhâi-e sabu ǁkhāb a; tsî ǂāba ǁîba ra sîsenū-e ūkhâi ǁkhāb a?”
16 ǁNā-amagab ge ǃKhūb Hoaǀgaixaba ǂgausib ǃnâ hâ khoen ai ǀaeba ǁkharab ase nî mîmā. ǁÎb gao-aosi ǂkhaisib ge ǀanni khami nî khâi. 17 Israeli di ǃnâb ge nî ǀae kai tsî ǁîb di ǃAnuba nî ǀaeǁhabu kai; ǁîb ge ǂhubi tsî Asiriab gao-aob ǀkhininidi tsî ǁkhūn tsîna ǀgui tsēs ǃnâ nî ǂhubiǂui. 18 Îsa haiǀgoms tsî ǂûtanixa ǃhanagu tsîn ge hoaragase ǃKhūb xa nî hîkākāhe, ǀoms tsî soros tsîra tsîn, ǀaesen hâ khoe-i ra kā khami. 19 Kaise ǀoro haidi, ǀgôaro-i tsîn xa ǃgôahōhe ǁkhādi ǀguidi ge ǃgarob ǃnâ nî ǃgau.
Ûiǃgau gen ǀguin ge nî oahā
20 ǁNā tsēs ain ge Israeli ǃnâ ge ûiǃgau khoen tsî Jakob ommi din tsîna ǃaruǀî ǁîna gere ǁgaise ûi-ū ǃhao ǂgaeǂgui-aob ai ǂgomǃgâ tide, xawe amab ǃnâ ǃKhūb, Israeli di ǃAnub ai nî ǂgomǃgâ. 21 Ûiǃgau ge khoen Jakob ommi din ge ǀgaisa Elob ǃoa nî oahā. 22 Sadu khoen Israeli din ga hurib di ǃhūb khami ǃgôaheǁoase ǂgui, xawen ge ûiǃgau nî ǀoro khoen ǀguina nî oahā. Hîkākāhes ge ǀnai ǁguibēhe hâ; ǂhanu-ai ǀgoraǃgâs ge ǃnāǂamsase nî hā. 23 ǃKhūb Elob Hoaǀgaixab ge hoaraga ǃhūbab nî hîkākāse ǂhomisen hâ.
ǃKhūb ge Asiriaba nî ǁkhara
24 ǁNā-amagab ge ǃKhūb Elob Hoaǀgaixaba ra mî: “Ti khoedu Sions ǃnâ ǁan hâdo, tā Asiriaǁîn ga Egipteǁîn ge dī hâ i khami haib ǀkha ǂnau du, o ǃao. 25 ǂKhari ǁaerob ǀguibab ge ti ǁaixasiba nî toa tsîb ge ti ǁaiba ǁîna nî hîkākā. 26 Tita, ǃKhūta Hoaǀgaixata ge Midiaǁîna ta ge Orebǃgareǀuib tawa ǂnau khami ǁîna ti ǃnabas ǀkha nî ǂnau. Egipteb ǃnâ ta ge dī khami ta ge ǁîna nî ǂnau. 27 ǁNā ǁaeb ga hā, o ta ge Asiriaǁîn ǁgâiǀāba xu nî ore du tsî ǁîn ǃnaob ge ǃaruǀî sadu ai ǁgâi tide tsî nî hîkākāhe.”
ǁNāǂgâ-aob ra ǁnāǂam
28 ǁNāǂgâ-aob ge Aisa ǁnāǂam tsî Migrons ǃnâ-u ge ǃkharu, ǁîn ǃkham-ūxūnan ge Mikmas tawa ge sâu. 29 ǁÎn ge ǁharuǃkhaisa-u ǃkharu tsî Gebas tawa ǁnā ǃuisa ge ǁom; Ramas ge ǃaob xa ge xāǂgāhe tsî Gibeas Sauli dis di khoen ge ge ǃkhoeni. 30 Galims ôase ǂgaiǂui re! Laisase ǃgâise ǃgâ re! Anatotse ǃeream re! 31 Madmenas ge ra ǃkhoeni, Gebims ǁanǂgāsaben ge ǁîn ǃnorasasib ǃaroma ra ǃkhoeni. 32 Nētsēs ǂûs ain ge Nobs kōse nî sī; Sionǃhommi ôas, Jerusalems di ǃnâub ain ge ǃomdi ana ǀgapise ra ami.
33 ǃKhūb Hoaǀgaixab ge ǁîna haisa xu ra ǃgaoǁnâhe ǁnâugu khami ǁîb ǃaoǃaosa ǀgaib ǀkha nî ǃgaoǁnâ. Gaxu tsî ǀgapi haideb ge ǁhāǁnâ tsî haiǃgaode nî ūbē. 34 Kai ǁau haideb ge ǃōs ǀkha nî ǁhāǁnâ tsî Libanonni ge ǁîb ǀgaisa haidi ǀkha ge nî ǁnā!
1 You are doomed! You make unjust laws that oppress my people. 2 That is how you keep the poor from having their rights and from getting justice. That is how you take the property that belongs to widows and orphans. 3 What will you do when God punishes you? What will you do when he brings disaster on you from a distant country? Where will you run to find help? Where will you hide your wealth? 4 You will be killed in battle or dragged off as prisoners. Yet even so the Lord's anger will not be ended; his hand will still be stretched out to punish.
The Emperor of Assyria as the Instrument of God
5 The Lord said, “Assyria! I use Assyria like a club to punish those with whom I am angry. 6 I sent Assyria to attack a godless nation, people who have made me angry. I sent them to loot and steal and trample the people like dirt in the streets.”
7 But the Assyrian emperor has his own violent plans in mind. He is determined to destroy many nations. 8 He boasts, “Every one of my commanders is a king! 9 I conquered the cities of Calno and Carchemish, the cities of Hamath and Arpad. I conquered Samaria and Damascus. 10 I reached out to punish those kingdoms that worship idols, idols more numerous than those of Jerusalem and Samaria. 11 I have destroyed Samaria and all its idols, and I will do the same to Jerusalem and the images that are worshiped there.”
12 But the Lord says, “When I finish what I am doing on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, I will punish the emperor of Assyria for all his boasting and all his pride.”
13 The emperor of Assyria boasts, “I have done it all myself. I am strong and wise and clever. I wiped out the boundaries between nations and took the supplies they had stored. Like a bull I have trampled the people who live there. 14 The nations of the world were like a bird's nest, and I gathered their wealth as easily as gathering eggs. Not a wing fluttered to scare me off; no beak opened to scream at me!”
15 But the Lord says, “Can an ax claim to be greater than the one who uses it? Is a saw more important than the one who saws with it? A club doesn't lift up a person; a person lifts up a club.”
16 The Lord Almighty is going to send disease to punish those who are now well-fed. In their bodies there will be a fire that burns and burns. 17 God, the light of Israel, will become a fire. Israel's holy God will become a flame, which in a single day will burn up everything, even the thorns and thistles. 18 The rich forests and farmlands will be totally destroyed, in the same way that a fatal sickness destroys someone. 19 There will be so few trees left that even a child will be able to count them.
A Few Will Come Back
20 A time is coming when the people of Israel who have survived will not rely any more on the nation that almost destroyed them. They will truly put their trust in the Lord, Israel's holy God. 21 A few of the people of Israel will come back to their mighty God. 22 Even though now there are as many people of Israel as there are grains of sand by the sea, only a few will come back. Destruction is in store for the people, and it is fully deserved. 23 Yes, throughout the whole country the Sovereign Lord Almighty will bring destruction, as he said he would.
The Lord Will Punish Assyria
24 The Sovereign Lord Almighty says to his people who live in Zion, “Do not be afraid of the Assyrians, even though they oppress you as the Egyptians used to do. 25 In only a little while I will finish punishing you, and then I will destroy them. 26 I, the Lord Almighty, will beat them with my whip as I did the people of Midian at Oreb Rock. I will punish Assyria as I punished Egypt. 27 When that time comes, I will free you from the power of Assyria, and their yoke will no longer be a burden on your shoulders.”
The Invader Attacks
28 The enemy army has captured the city of Ai! They have passed through Migron! They left their supplies at Michmash! 29 They have crossed the pass and are spending the night at Geba! The people in the town of Ramah are terrified, and the people in King Saul's hometown of Gibeah have run away. 30 Shout, people of Gallim! Listen, people of Laishah! Answer, people of Anathoth! 31 The people of Madmenah and Gebim are running for their lives. 32 Today the enemy are in the town of Nob, and there they are shaking their fists at Mount Zion, at the city of Jerusalem.
33 The Lord Almighty will bring them crashing down like branches cut off a tree. The proudest and highest of them will be cut down and humiliated. 34 The Lord will cut them down as trees in the heart of the forest are cut down with an ax, as even the finest trees of Lebanon fall!
