Madengu Awiri a Nkhuyu
1Nebukadinezara, mfumu ya ku Babuloni anatenga ukapolo Yekoniya mwana wa Yehoyakimu mfumu ya ku Yuda pamodzi ndi nduna zake, anthu aluso ndi akatswiri a ku Yuda ndi kupita nawo ku Babuloni. Pambuyo pake Yehova anandionetsa madengu awiri a nkhuyu atayikidwa pa khomo pa Nyumba ya Yehova. 2Mʼdengu limodzi munali nkhuyu zabwino kwambiri, ngati nkhuyu zoyambirira kucha. Mʼdengu linalo munali nkhuyu zoyipa kwambiri zosati nʼkudya.
3Yehova anandifunsa kuti, “Yeremiya, kodi ukuona chiyani?”
Ndinayankha kuti, “Ndikuona nkhuyu zabwino kwambiri ndi nkhuyu zoyipa zosati nʼkudya.”
4Tsono Yehova anandiwuza kuti, 5“Ine Yehova, Mulungu wa Israeli ndikuti, ‘Anthu a ku Yuda amene ndinawachotsa ku malo ano nʼkupita nawo ku ukapolo ku dziko la Ababuloni ndikuwafanizira ndi nkhuyu zabwinozi. 6Ndidzaonetsesa kuti ndiwachitire zabwino ndipo ndidzabwera nawonso ku dziko lino. Ndidzawamanga osati kuwapasula; ndidzawadzala osati kuwazula. 7Ndidzawapatsa mtima woti andidziwe kuti ndine Yehova. Adzakhala anthu anga ndipo Ine ndidzakhala Mulungu wawo, chifukwa adzabwerera kwa Ine ndi mtima wawo wonse.
8“ ‘Koma monga nkhuyu zoyipa zija, zomwe ndi zoyipa kwambiri zosati nʼkudya,’ Yehova akuti, ‘ndi mmene ndidzalangire Zedekiya mfumu ya ku Yuda, nduna zake pamodzi ndi otsala a mu Yerusalemu, kaya adzakhala ali mʼdziko muno kapena mʼdziko la Igupto. 9Ndidzawasandutsa chinthu chonyansa kwa maufumu onse a dziko lapansi, chinthu chonyozeka ndi chopandapake, chinthu chochitidwa chipongwe ndi chotembereredwa kulikonse kumene ndidzawabalalitsira. 10Ndidzawatumizira nkhondo, njala ndi mliri mpaka atawonongedwa mʼdziko limene ndinawapatsa iwo ndi makolo awo.’ ”
Two baskets of figs
1After Jehoiachin24:1 Hebrew Jeconiah, a variant of Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim king of Judah and the officials, the skilled workers and the craftsmen of Judah were carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, the Lord showed me two baskets of figs placed in front of the temple of the Lord. 2One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten.
3Then the Lord asked me, ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’
‘Figs,’ I answered. ‘The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad that they cannot be eaten.’
4Then the word of the Lord came to me: 5‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.24:5 Or Chaldeans 6My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. 7I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people, and I will be their God, for they will return to me with all their heart.
8‘ “But like the bad figs, which are so bad that they cannot be eaten,” says the Lord, “so will I deal with Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the survivors from Jerusalem, whether they remain in this land or live in Egypt. 9I will make them abhorrent and an offence to all the kingdoms of the earth, a reproach and a byword, a curse24:9 That is, their names will be used in cursing (see 29:22); or, others will see that they are cursed. and an object of ridicule, wherever I banish them. 10I will send the sword, famine and plague against them until they are destroyed from the land I gave to them and their ancestors.” ’
