Ole Wa Efraimu
128:1 Isa 7:2; Law 10:9; Amo 6:6; Isa 10:5; 9:9; Hos 7:5; Isa 5:11; 8:7Ole kwa lile taji la maua, kiburi cha walevi wa Efraimu,
kwa ua linalosinyaa, uzuri wa utukufu wake,
uliowekwa kwenye kichwa cha bonde lenye rutuba:
kwa ule mji, kiburi cha wale walioshushwa na mvinyo!
228:2 Isa 30:30; 40:10; Yos 10:11; Eze 13:11; Isa 29:6; 8:7; Dan 9:26Tazama, Bwana anaye mmoja aliye na uwezo na nguvu.
Kama dhoruba ya mvua ya mawe na upepo uharibuo,
kama mvua inyeshayo kwa nguvu na mafuriko yashukayo,
atakiangusha chini kwa nguvu.
328:3 Ay 40:12; Isa 5:5Lile taji la maua, kiburi cha walevi cha Efraimu,
kitakanyagwa chini ya nyayo.
428:4 Wim 2:13; Nah 3:12; Hos 9:10Lile ua linalosinyaa, uzuri wa utukufu wake,
uliowekwa kwenye kichwa cha bonde lenye rutuba,
litakuwa kama tini iliyoiva kabla ya mavuno:
mara mtu aionapo, huichuma na kuila.
528:5 Zek 9:16; Eze 21:26; Isa 10:20; 1:9; 29:18; Yer 13:18; Eze 16:12; Isa 62:3Katika siku ile, Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote
atakuwa taji la utukufu,
taji zuri la maua
kwa mabaki ya watu wake.
628:6 Amu 9:44-45; 2Sam 14:20; 2Nya 32:8; Yn 5:30; Isa 11:2-4Atakuwa roho ya haki
kwa yeye aketiye katika kiti cha hukumu,
chanzo cha nguvu
kwa wale wazuiao vita langoni.
728:7 Law 10:9; Isa 56:10-12; Efe 5:18; Za 107:27; Isa 24:2; 3:12; 22:13; 9:15Hawa pia wanapepesuka kwa sababu ya mvinyo,
wanayumbayumba kwa sababu ya kileo:
Makuhani na manabii wanapepesuka kwa sababu ya kileo,
wanachanganyikiwa kwa sababu ya mvinyo;
wanapepesuka wanapoona maono,
wanajikwaa wanapotoa maamuzi.
828:8 Yer 48:26Meza zote zimejawa na matapishi
wala hakuna sehemu hata ndogo
isiyokuwa na uchafu.
928:9 Yer 6:10; 1Pet 2:2; Za 32:8; Ebr 5:12-13; Yer 31:34; Isa 30:20; 48:17; 54:13“Yeye anajaribu kumfundisha nani?
Yeye anamwelezea nani ujumbe wake?
Je, ni kwa watoto walioachishwa kunyonya?
Je, ni wale ambao ndipo tu wametolewa matitini?
1028:10 Isa 29:13Kwa maana ni:
Amri juu ya amri, amri juu ya amri,
kanuni juu ya kanuni, kanuni juu ya kanuni;
hapa kidogo, kule kidogo.”
1128:11 Yer 5:15; 1Kor 14:21; Mwa 11:7; Eze 3:5; Isa 33:19Sawa kabisa, kwa midomo migeni
na kwa lugha ngeni,
Mungu atasema na watu hawa,
1228:12 Yos 1:13; Mt 11:28-29; 2Nya 14:7; Kut 14:14; Ay 11:18; Isa 11:10wale ambao aliwaambia,
“Hapa ni mahali pa kupumzika,
waliochoka na wapumzike,”
na, “Hapa ni mahali pa mapumziko,”
lakini hawakutaka kusikiliza.
1328:13 Mt 21:44; Isa 8:14-15Hivyo basi, neno la Bwana kwao litakuwa:
Amri juu ya amri, amri juu ya amri,
kanuni juu ya kanuni, kanuni juu ya kanuni,
hapa kidogo, kule kidogo:
ili waende na kuanguka chali,
wakijeruhiwa, wakinaswa na kukamatwa.
1428:14 Isa 1:10; 2Nya 36:16Kwa hiyo sikieni neno la Bwana, enyi watu wenye dharau
mnaotawala watu hawa wa Yerusalemu.
1528:15 Dan 11:22; Isa 9:15; 10:26; Ay 5:23; Isa 8:19; Amu 9:35; Isa 29:15; Yer 23:24Ninyi mnajisifu, “Tumefanya agano na mauti,
tumefanya mapatano na kuzimu.
Wakati pigo lifurikalo litakapopita,
haliwezi kutugusa sisi,
kwa kuwa tumefanya uongo kuwa kimbilio letu
na miungu ya uongo kuwa mahali petu pa kujificha.”
1628:16 Zek 12:3; Efe 2:20; Rum 9:33; 1Pet 2:6; Isa 54:4; 14:32; Za 118:22; Isa 8:14-15; Dan 2:34-45; Mdo 4:11; Yer 51:26; 1Kor 3:11Kwa hiyo hivi ndivyo Bwana Mwenyezi asemavyo:
“Tazama, ninaweka jiwe katika Sayuni,
jiwe lililojaribiwa,
jiwe la pembeni la thamani kwa ajili ya msingi thabiti.
Yeye atumainiye kamwe hatatiwa hofu.
1728:17 Isa 5:16; Za 11:7; 2Fal 21:13; Yos 10:11Nitaifanya haki kuwa kamba ya kupimia
na uadilifu kuwa timazi;
mvua ya mawe itafagia kimbilio lenu, huo uongo,
nayo maji yatafurikia mahali penu pa kujificha.
1828:18 Isa 63:18; Dan 8:13; Isa 7:7Agano lenu na kifo litabatilishwa,
patano lenu na kuzimu halitasimama.
Wakati pigo lifurikalo litakapowakumba,
litawaangusha chini.
1928:19 2Fal 24:2; Ay 18:11; Za 5:3Kila mara lijapo litawachukua,
asubuhi baada ya asubuhi,
wakati wa mchana na wakati wa usiku,
litawakumba tangu mwanzo hadi mwisho.”
Kuuelewa ujumbe huu
utaleta hofu tupu.
2028:20 Isa 59:6Kitanda ni kifupi mno kujinyoosha juu yake,
nguo ya kujifunikia ni nyembamba mno
mtu hawezi kujifunikia.
2128:21 2Sam 5:20; Mwa 38:29; 1Nya 14:11-16; Lk 19:41-44; Yos 9:3; Isa 65:7Bwana atainuka kama alivyofanya kwenye Mlima Perasimu,
ataghadhibika kama alivyofanya katika Bonde la Gibeoni:
ili kufanya kazi yake, kazi yake ya ajabu,
ili kutimiza kazi yake, kazi yake ngeni.
2228:22 Isa 10:22; Yer 29:18; 2Nya 36:16; Mao 2:15; Sef 2:15Sasa acheni dharau zenu,
la sivyo minyororo yenu itakuwa mizito zaidi.
Bwana, Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote, ameniambia
habari za maangamizi yaliyoamriwa dhidi ya nchi yote.
2328:23 Isa 32:9Sikilizeni msikie sauti yangu,
tegeni masikio na msikie niyasemayo.
2428:24 Mhu 3:2Wakati mkulima alimapo ili apande,
je, hulima siku zote?
Je, huendelea kubomoa ardhi
na kusawazisha udongo?
2528:25 Kut 9:32; Mt 23:23; Eze 4:9Akiisha kusawazisha shamba,
je, hatapanyi mbegu za bizari na kutawanya jira?
Je, hapandi ngano katika sehemu yake,
shayiri katika eneo lake,
na nafaka nyingine katika shamba lake?
2628:26 Za 94:10Mungu wake humwelekeza
na kumfundisha njia iliyo sahihi.
2728:27 Isa 21:10; Ay 41:30; Isa 10:5Iliki haipurwi kwa nyundo,
wala gurudumu la gari halivingirishwi juu ya jira;
iliki hupurwa kwa fimbo,
na jira kwa ufito.
2828:28 Isa 21:10Nafaka lazima isagwe ili kutengeneza mkate,
kwa hiyo mtu haendelei kuipura daima.
Ingawa huendesha magurudumu ya gari lake la kupuria juu yake,
farasi wake hawasagi.
2928:29 Yer 32:19; Za 92:5; Rum 11:33; Isa 9:5Haya yote pia hutoka kwa Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote,
mwenye mashauri ya ajabu, na anayepita wote kwa hekima.
Woe to the leaders of Ephraim and Judah
1Woe to that wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards,
to the fading flower, his glorious beauty,
set on the head of a fertile valley –
to that city, the pride of those laid low by wine!
2See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong.
Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind,
like a driving rain and a flooding downpour,
he will throw it forcefully to the ground.
3That wreath, the pride of Ephraim’s drunkards,
will be trampled underfoot.
4That fading flower, his glorious beauty,
set on the head of a fertile valley,
will be like figs ripe before harvest –
as soon as people see them and take them in hand,
they swallow them.
5In that day the Lord Almighty
will be a glorious crown,
a beautiful wreath
for the remnant of his people.
6He will be a spirit of justice
to the one who sits in judgment,
a source of strength
to those who turn back the battle at the gate.
7And these also stagger from wine
and reel from beer:
priests and prophets stagger from beer
and are befuddled with wine;
they reel from beer,
they stagger when seeing visions,
they stumble when rendering decisions.
8All the tables are covered with vomit
and there is not a spot without filth.
9‘Who is it he is trying to teach?
To whom is he explaining his message?
To children weaned from their milk,
to those just taken from the breast?
10For it is:
do this, do that,
a rule for this, a rule for that28:10 Hebrew / sav lasav sav lasav / kav lakav kav lakav (probably meaningless sounds mimicking the prophet’s words); also in verse 13;
a little here, a little there.’
11Very well then, with foreign lips and strange tongues
God will speak to this people,
12to whom he said,
‘This is the resting-place, let the weary rest’;
and, ‘This is the place of repose’ –
but they would not listen.
13So then, the word of the Lord to them will become:
do this, do that,
a rule for this, a rule for that;
a little here, a little there –
so that as they go they will fall backwards;
they will be injured and snared and captured.
14Therefore hear the word of the Lord, you scoffers
who rule this people in Jerusalem.
15You boast, ‘We have entered into a covenant with death,
with the realm of the dead we have made an agreement.
When an overwhelming scourge sweeps by,
it cannot touch us,
for we have made a lie our refuge
and falsehood28:15 Or false gods our hiding-place.’
16So this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
‘See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who relies on it
will never be stricken with panic.
17I will make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb-line;
hail will sweep away your refuge, the lie,
and water will overflow your hiding-place.
18Your covenant with death will be annulled;
your agreement with the realm of the dead will not stand.
When the overwhelming scourge sweeps by,
you will be beaten down by it.
19As often as it comes it will carry you away;
morning after morning, by day and by night,
it will sweep through.’
The understanding of this message
will bring sheer terror.
20The bed is too short to stretch out on,
the blanket too narrow to wrap around you.
21The Lord will rise up as he did at Mount Perazim,
he will rouse himself as in the Valley of Gibeon –
to do his work, his strange work,
and perform his task, his alien task.
22Now stop your mocking,
or your chains will become heavier;
the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me
of the destruction decreed against the whole land.
23Listen and hear my voice;
pay attention and hear what I say.
24When a farmer ploughs for planting, does he plough continually?
Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil?
25When he has levelled the surface,
does he not sow caraway and scatter cummin?
Does he not plant wheat in its place,28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
barley in its plot,28:25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
and spelt in its field?
26His God instructs him
and teaches him the right way.
27Caraway is not threshed with a sledge,
nor is the cartwheel rolled over cummin;
caraway is beaten out with a rod,
and cummin with a stick.
28Grain must be ground to make bread;
so one does not go on threshing it for ever.
The wheels of a threshing-cart may be rolled over it,
but one does not use horses to grind grain.
29All this also comes from the Lord Almighty,
whose plan is wonderful,
whose wisdom is magnificent.
