Jeremia ta kala naGedalia
1 Omuwa okwa popi nangame, sho elenga ekuluntu lyaalangeli Nebusaradan lya mangulula ndje muRama. Onda li nda tulwa momalyenge pamwe naantu mboka ya zile kuJerusalem naJuda, oomboka ya li ye na okufalwa oonkwatwa kuBabilon.
2 Elenga ekuluntu olyi ikalekele ndje e tali ti: “Omuwa Kalunga koye okwa uthile ehala ndika oshiponga shika. 3 Ngashingeyi okwa gwanitha shoka a tile ote shi ningi. Ayihe mbika oya ningwa, oshoka aantu yoye oya yono kOmuwa noinaa vulika kuye. 4 Ngashingeyi otandi ku kutha omalyenge gomomaako e tandi ku mangulula. Ngele owa hala okuya kuBabilonia pamwe nangame, shi ninga, notandi ke ku sila oshimpwiyu. Ihe ngele ino hala okuya ko, kala po. Oto vulu okuhogolola, noto vulu okuya mpoka wa hala.”
5 Manga inaandi yamukula, Nebusaradan okwa ti: “Shuna kuGedalia yaAhikam, omutekulu gwaShafan, ngoka omukwaniilwa gwaBabilonia e mu ningi omuleli gwaJuda. Oto vulu okukala naye, u kale mokati kaantu mbaka, nenge oto vulu okuya shaa mpoka pwe ku opalela.” Okwa pe ndje omagano niikulya, ndi ye nayo, nokwa laleke ndje, ndi ye nondjila yandje. 6 Onda yi ndi ka kale puGedalia muMispa mokati kaantu mboka ya thigalele moshilongo.
Gedalia, Omuleli gwaJuda
(2 Aak. 25:22-24)7 Omalenga gamwe omajuda naakwiita mboka inaayi igandja, oya kundana kutya omukwaniilwa gwaBabilonia a langeke Gedalia a ninge omuleli gwoshilongo ye a tonatele ayehe mboka inaa falwa kuBabilon — oohepele dhomoshilongo. 8 Ismael yaNetania, Johanan yaKarea, Seraia yaTanhumet, aana yaEfai yokuNetofa naJaazania gwokuMaaka oya yi pamwe naantu yawo kuGedalia kuMispa. 9 Gedalia okwa ti kuyo: “Otandi mu lombwele kutya inamu tila mu igandje kAababilonia. Kaleni moshilongo shika, longeleni omukwaniilwa gwaBabilon, notamu kala nawa. 10 Ngame mwene otandi kala muMispa notandi mu kalele po, uuna Aababilonia naa ke ya huka. Ihe ne otamu vulu okugongela nokupungula omaviinu, iiyimati nomagadhi gooholivi, ne mu kale momikunda mwe dhi lala.” 11 Aaisraeli ayehe mboka ya li muMoab, Ammon, Edom nomiilongo yilwe, oyu uvu kutya omukwaniilwa gwaBabilonia okwa zimine Aajuda yamwe ya kale muJuda nokwa ningi Gedalia omuleli gwawo. 12 Oya thigi po omahala ngoka ya li ya halakanene mo, e taa shuna kuJuda. Oye ya kuGedalia kuMispa, noya kolo omaviinu nokugongela iiyimati oyindji.
Gedalia ta dhipagwa
(2 Aak. 25:25-26)13 Konima yaambika Johanan yaKarea naawiliki yaakwiita mboka inaayi igandja, oye ya kuGedalia muMispa 14 e taa ti kuye: “Ou shi shi tuu kutya Baalis, omukwaniilwa gwaAmmon, okwa tuma Ismael yaNetania e ku dhipage?” Ihe Gedalia ine shi itaala. 15 Nena Johanan okwe mu lombwele muuwike ta ti: “Etha ndje, ndi ka dhipage Ismael, nokape na ngoka te shi tseya kutya olye e shi ningi. Omolwashike ta zimininwa e ku dhipage po? Shika otashi ka halakanitha Aajuda ayehe mboka ya gongala pungoye, notashi etele aantu ayehe mboka ya hupile muJuda, omupya.”
16 Ihe Gedalia okwa yamukula a ti: “Ino shi ninga! Oto lundile Ismael.”
Jeremiah Is Set Free
1 I was led away in chains along with the people of Judah and Jerusalem who were being taken to Babylonia. Nebuzaradan was the officer in charge of the guard, and while we were stopped at Ramah, the Lord caused him to set me free. 2 Nebuzaradan said:
Jeremiah, the Lord your God warned your people that he would bring disaster on this land. 3 But they continued to rebel against him, and now he has punished them just as he threatened.
4 Today I am taking the chains off your wrists and setting you free! If you want to, you can come with me to Babylonia, and I will see that you are taken care of. Or if you decide to stay here, you can go wherever you wish. 5 King Nebuchadnezzar has chosen Gedaliah to rule Judah. You can live near Gedaliah, and he will provide for you, or you can live anywhere else you choose.
Nebuzaradan gave me a supply of food, then let me leave. 6 I decided to stay with the people of Judah, and I went to live near Gedaliah in Mizpah.
The Harvest Is Brought In
7-8 Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, together with Johanan and Jonathan, the two sons of Kareah, had been officers in Judah's army. And so had Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth, the sons of Ephai the Netophathite, and Jezaniah from Maacah. They and their troops had been stationed outside Jerusalem and had not been captured. They heard that Gedaliah had been chosen to rule Judah, and that the poorest men, women, and children had not been taken away to Babylonia. So they went to Mizpah and met with their new ruler.
9 Gedaliah told them, “There's no need to be afraid of the Babylonians. Everything will be fine, if we live peacefully and obey King Nebuchadnezzar. 10 I will stay here at Mizpah and meet with the Babylonian officials on each of their visits. But you must go back to your towns and bring in the harvest, then store the wine, olive oil, and dried fruit.”
11-12 Earlier, when the Babylonians had invaded Judah, many of the Jews escaped to Moab, Ammon, Edom, and several other countries. But these Jews heard that the king of Babylonia had appointed Gedaliah as ruler of Judah, and that only a few people were left there. So the Jews in these other countries came back to Judah and helped with the grape and fruit harvest, which was especially large that year.
Gedaliah Is Murdered
13 One day, Johanan got together with some of the other men who had been army officers, and they came to Mizpah and met with Gedaliah. 14 They said, “Gedaliah, we came to warn you that King Baalis of Ammon hired Ishmael to murder you!”
Gedaliah refused to believe them, 15 so Johanan went to Gedaliah privately and said, “Let me kill Ishmael. No one will find out who did it. There are only a few people left in Judah, but they are depending on you. And if you are murdered, they will be scattered or killed.”
16 Gedaliah answered, “Don't kill Ishmael! What you've said about him can't be true.”
