1 Ndika olyo elaka ndyoka Omuwa e li pe Maleaki, opo e li lombwele oshigwana shaIsrael.
Ohole yOmuwa okuhola Israel
2 Omuwa ota ti kaantu ye: “Ondi mu hole aluhe.” Ihe oyo taa yamukula: “Ohole yoye owe yi tu ulukile mushike?”
Omuwa ta yamukula: “Esau naJakob oya li aamwayinathana, ihe ngame onda li ndi hole Jakob noluvalo lwe 3 nonda tondo Esau noluvalo lwe. Onda mbugaleke oondundu dhaEsau nevi lye onde li thigile iithitukuti.”
4 Ngele oluvalo lwaEsau, Aaedomi, taa ti: “Iilando yetu oya hanagulwa po, ihe otatu yi tungulula,” nena Omuwa ota yamukula: “Yi tungululeni e tandi ke yi kumuna po ishewe. Aantu otaa ke yi ithana ‘Oshilongo oshidhudhu’ na ‘Oshigwana shoka sha geelwa kOmuwa ndongo aluhe.’ ”
5 Oshigwana shaIsrael otashi ka tala iinima mbika nomeho gawo yene e taa ti: “Omuwa oye omunankondo nokiilongo yilwe.”
Omuwa ta nyenyetele aayambi
6 Omuwa Omunankondoawike ota lombwele aayambi ta ti: “Omumati oha simaneke he, nomupiya oha simaneke mwene gwe. Ongame ho — omolwashike itaamu simaneke ndje? Ongame mwene gweni, ndele oshike itaamu tundu ndje? Ne otamu nyeme ndje, nonando tamu pula: ‘Otwe ku nyeme ngiini?’ 7 Oshoka ohamu yamba poshiyambelo shandje iikulyandjambo inaayi yogoka. Nena otamu pula: ‘Otwa nyengwa ngiini oku ku simaneka?’ Oshoka otamu dhiladhila kutya otamu vulu okudhina oshiyambelo shandje. 8 Ngele tamu eta oshimuna oshiposi, mu shi yambele ndje, nani kape na epuko mpoka? Nongele tamu eta oshimuna oshilema nenge tashi alukwa, kali shi epuko ndyono? Yelekela utale, oshimuna sha tya ngaaka u shi faalele omuleli gwoshilongo shaandjeni! Ote ku taamba nuukuume nenge ote ku hokwa?”
9 Ngashingeyi ne aayambi, kambadhaleni okupula Kalunga, e tu sile ohenda. Sho itaa yamukula nando omagalikano geni, ombedhi oyeni. 10 Omuwa Omunankondoawike ota ti: “Onda hala, gumwe gweni e edhile omiyelo dhotempeli, opo e mu keelele, mwaa teme omulilo gwosima koshiyambelo shandje. Kandi na ombili nane; itandi taamba omayambo ngoka tamu etele ndje. 11 Okuza kuuzilo sigo okuuninginino aantu otaa simaneke ndje. Akuhe oyo taa fikile ndje omatsininondjambo notaa yamba oondjambo dhi shi okutaambwa. Ayeheyehe otaa simaneke ndje. 12 Ihe ne otamu shundula ndje, sho tamu ti, oshiyambelo shandje kashi na shilonga nasho tamu yambele ko iikulya yaa na omupondo gwasha. 13 Ne otamu ti: ‘Otwa loloka ngiini kwaayihe mbino, ee!’ One nomwa kenyanana ndje. Ngele tamu yambele ndje, otamu eta oshimuna sha yakwa nenge oshilema nenge tashi ehama. Otamu dhiladhila, otandi shi taamba? 14 Etulomutima nali adhe omukotokeli ngoka ta yambele ndje oshimuna kaashi na omwago, manga e na moshigunda she oshimuna oshiwanawa e shi uvanekela ndje. Oshoka ngame omukwaniilwa omunene, naantu yiigwana ayihe ohaa tila ndje.”
1 I am Malachi. And this is the message that the Lord gave me for Israel.
The Lord's Love for Israel
2 Israel, I, the Lord, have loved you. And yet you ask in what way have I loved you. Don't forget that Esau was the brother of your ancestor Jacob, but I chose Jacob 3 instead of Esau. And I turned Esau's hill country into a barren desert where jackals roam. 4 Esau's descendants may say, “Although our nation Edom is in ruins, we will rebuild it.”
But I, the Lord All-Powerful, promise to tear down whatever they build. Then everyone will know that I will never stop being angry with them as long as they are so sinful.
5 Israel, when you see this, you will shout, “The Lord's great reputation reaches beyond our borders.”
Judgment against Priests
6 I, the Lord All-Powerful, have something to say to you priests. Children respect their fathers, and servants respect their masters. I am your father and your master, so why don't you respect me? You priests have insulted me, and now you ask, “How did we insult you?”
7 You embarrass me by offering worthless food on my altar. Then you ask, “How have we embarrassed you?” You have done it by saying, “What's so great about the Lord's altar?”
8 But isn't it wrong to offer animals that are blind, lame, or sick? Just try giving those animals to your governor. That certainly wouldn't please him or make him want to help you. 9 I am the Lord God All-Powerful, and you had better try to please me. You have sinned. Now see if I will have mercy on any of you.
10 I wish someone would lock the doors of my temple, so you would stop wasting time building fires on my altar. I am not pleased with you priests, and I refuse to accept any more of your offerings. 11 From dawn until dusk my name is praised by every nation on this earth, as they burn incense and offer the proper sacrifices to me. 12 But even you priests insult me by saying, “There's nothing special about the Lord's altar, and these sacrifices are worthless.”
13 You get so disgusted that you even make vulgar signs at me. And for an offering, you bring stolen animals or those that are lame or sick. Should I accept these? 14 Instead of offering the acceptable animals you have promised, you bring me those that are unhealthy. I will punish you for this, because I am the great King, the Lord All-Powerful, and I am worshiped by nations everywhere.
