A Lament and Call to Repentance
1Hear this word, Israel, this lament I take up concerning you:
2“Fallen is Virgin Israel,
never to rise again,
deserted in her own land,
with no one to lift her up.”
3This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Israel:
“Your city that marches out a thousand strong
will have only a hundred left;
your town that marches out a hundred strong
will have only ten left.”
4This is what the Lord says to Israel:
“Seek me and live;
5do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,
do not journey to Beersheba.
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.5:5 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see Hosea 4:15.”
6Seek the Lord and live,
or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire;
it will devour them,
and Bethel will have no one to quench it.
7There are those who turn justice into bitterness
and cast righteousness to the ground.
8He who made the Pleiades and Orion,
who turns midnight into dawn
and darkens day into night,
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.
9With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
and brings the fortified city to ruin.
10There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court
and detest the one who tells the truth.
11You levy a straw tax on the poor
and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,
you will not live in them;
though you have planted lush vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.
12For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.
There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes
and deprive the poor of justice in the courts.
13Therefore the prudent keep quiet in such times,
for the times are evil.
14Seek good, not evil,
that you may live.
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
just as you say he is.
15Hate evil, love good;
maintain justice in the courts.
Perhaps the Lord God Almighty will have mercy
on the remnant of Joseph.
16Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:
“There will be wailing in all the streets
and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers will be summoned to weep
and the mourners to wail.
17There will be wailing in all the vineyards,
for I will pass through your midst,”
says the Lord.
The Day of the Lord
18Woe to you who long
for the day of the Lord!
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?
That day will be darkness, not light.
19It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.
20Will not the day of the Lord be darkness, not light—
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?
21“I hate, I despise your religious festivals;
your assemblies are a stench to me.
22Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.
23Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.
24But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
25“Did you bring me sacrifices and offerings
forty years in the wilderness, people of Israel?
26You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
the pedestal of your idols,
the star of your god5:26 Or lifted up Sakkuth your king / and Kaiwan your idols, / your star-gods; Septuagint lifted up the shrine of Molek / and the star of your god Rephan, / their idols—
which you made for yourselves.
27Therefore I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,”
says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.
Maombolezo Na Wito Wa Toba
15:1 Yer 4:8; 7:29; Eze 9:1Sikia neno hili, ee nyumba ya Israeli, ombolezo hili ninalifanya kuwahusu ninyi:
25:2 2Fal 19:21; Yer 14:17; 50:32; Amo 8:14“Bikira Israeli ameanguka,
kamwe hatainuka tena,
ameachwa pweke katika nchi yake,
hakuna yeyote wa kumwinua.”
35:3 Amo 6:9; Isa 6:13Hili ndilo Bwana Mwenyezi asemalo:
“Wakati mmoja wa miji yako utakapopeleka watu elfu moja vitani kwa ajili ya Israeli,
mia moja tu watarudi;
wakati mji utakapopeleka mia moja,
kumi tu ndio watarudi hai.”
45:4 Kum 32:46-47; 4:29; Isa 55:3; 2Nya 15:2; Yer 29:13; Eze 18:9Hili ndilo Bwana asemalo kwa nyumba ya Israeli:
“Nitafuteni mpate kuishi;
55:5 1Sam 11:14; 7:16; 8:6; Mwa 21:31; Hos 4:15; Amu 8:14msitafute Betheli,
msiende Gilgali,
msisafiri kwenda Beer-Sheba.
Kwa maana kwa hakika Gilgali itakwenda uhamishoni,
na Betheli itafanywa kuwa si kitu.”5:5 Yaani Aveni kwa Kiebrania, kumaanisha Beth-Aveni, jina lingine la Betheli kwa dhihaka.
65:6 Sef 2:3; Amo 3:14; Law 18:5; Za 22:26; 105:4; Kum 4:24Mtafuteni Bwana mpate kuishi,
au atafagia nyumba ya Yosefu kama moto;
utawateketeza, nayo Betheli
haitakuwa na yeyote wa kuuzima.
75:7 Isa 5:20; Amo 6:12; 3:10; Hos 10:4Ninyi ambao mnageuza haki kuwa uchungu
na kuiangusha haki chini
85:8 Ay 38:31-34; Mwa 1:16; Isa 42:16; Za 104:6-9, 20; Yer 16:21; Amo 4:13(yeye ambaye alifanya Kilimia na Orioni,
ambaye hugeuza giza kuwa mapambazuko
na mchana kuwa usiku,
ambaye huyaita maji ya bahari
na kuyamwaga juu ya uso wa nchi:
Bwana ndilo jina lake;
9yeye hufanya maangamizo kwenye ngome
na kufanya mji uliozungushiwa ngome kuwa ukiwa),
105:10 Isa 29:21; Mwa 4:16; 1Fal 22:8; Gal 4:16mnamchukia yule akemeaye mahakamani,
na kumdharau yule ambaye husema kweli.
115:11 Mik 6:15; Amo 8:6; 3:15; 9:14; Amu 9:27; Sef 1:13Mnamgandamiza maskini
na kumlazimisha awape nafaka.
Kwa hiyo, ingawa mmejenga majumba ya mawe ya fahari,
hamtaishi ndani yake;
ingawa mmepanda mashamba mazuri ya mizabibu,
hamtakunywa divai yake.
125:12 Ay 5:4; 36:18; Isa 29:21; 5:23; 1:23; Hos 5:3; Eze 22:12; Yer 5:28; Amo 2:6-7Kwa kuwa ninajua hesabu ya makosa yenu
na ukubwa wa dhambi zenu.
Mmewaonea wenye haki na kupokea rushwa
na kuzuia haki ya maskini mahakamani.
13Kwa hiyo mtu mwenye busara hunyamaza kimya nyakati kama hizo,
kwa kuwa nyakati ni mbaya.
145:14 Za 34:12-16; Mit 7:7; 11:27; Isa 1:16, 17; Mik 3:11; 6:8; Rum 2:7-9Tafuteni mema, wala si mabaya,
ili mpate kuishi.
Ndipo Bwana Mungu Mwenye Nguvu Zote atakuwa pamoja nanyi,
kama msemavyo yupo nanyi.
155:15 Rum 12:9; Yoe 2:14; Kut 32:30; Za 52:3; 97:10; Mik 5:7-8; 7:18; Mwa 18:25Yachukieni maovu, yapendeni mema;
dumisheni haki mahakamani.
Yamkini Bwana Mungu Mwenye Nguvu Zote
atawahurumia mabaki ya Yosefu.
165:16 Yer 9:17; 7:34; Sef 1:10; Yoe 1:11Kwa hiyo hili ndilo Bwana, Bwana Mungu Mwenye Nguvu Zote, asemalo:
“Kutakuwepo maombolezo katika barabara zote
na vilio vya uchungu katika njia kuu zote.
Wakulima wataitwa kuja kulia,
na waombolezaji waje kuomboleza.
175:17 Kut 12:12; Isa 16:10; Yer 48:33Kutakuwepo kuomboleza katika mashamba yote ya mizabibu,
kwa kuwa nitapita katikati yenu,”
asema Bwana.
Siku Ya Bwana
185:18 Isa 2:12; 5:19, 30; Yoe 1:15; Ay 20:28; Yer 30:7; 1Sam 2:9Ole wenu ninyi mnaoitamani
siku ya Bwana!
Kwa nini mnaitamani siku ya Bwana?
Siku hiyo itakuwa giza, si nuru.
195:19 Mhu 10:8; Kum 32:34; Ay 20:24; Mao 3:10; Eze 12:22; Mal 3:1; 2Pet 3:4; Isa 24:17-18; Yer 15:2-3Itakuwa kama vile mtu aliyemkimbia simba
kumbe akakutana na dubu,
kama vile mtu aliyeingia nyumbani mwake
na kuupumzisha mkono wake kwenye ukuta,
kumbe akaumwa na nyoka.
205:20 Oba 1:15; Eze 7:7; 1Sam 2:9; Isa 13:10; Sef 1:15Je, siku ya Bwana haitakuwa giza, na si nuru:
giza nene, bila mwonzi wa mwanga?
215:21 Law 26:31; Hos 2:11; Yer 44:4; Isa 1:11-16; Eze 23:18“Ninachukia, ninazidharau sikukuu zenu za dini;
siwezi kuvumilia makusanyiko yenu.
225:22 Yer 14:12; 7:21; Mik 6:6-7; Isa 1:11-16; 66:3; Za 40:6; Amo 4:4Hata ingawa mnaniletea sadaka zenu za kuteketezwa na sadaka za nafaka,
sitazikubali.
Ingawa mnaniletea sadaka nzuri za amani,
sitazitambua.
23Niondoleeni kelele za nyimbo zenu!
Sitasikiliza sauti za vinubi vyenu.
245:24 Yer 22:3; Mik 6:8; Isa 45:8Lakini acheni haki itiririke kama mto,
na uadilifu uwe kama kijito kisichokauka!
255:25 Isa 43:23; Mdo 7:42; Kum 32:17; Kut 16:35“Je, mliniletea dhabihu na sadaka
kwa miaka arobaini kule jangwani,
ee nyumba ya Israeli?
265:26 Eze 18:6; 20:16Mmeyainua madhabahu ya mfalme wenu,
Sikuthi mungu wenu mtawala,
na Kiuni mungu wenu wa nyota,
ambao mliwatengeneza wenyewe.
275:27 Yer 38:17; Amo 6:7; Mdo 7:42-43; Mik 1:16; Kum 32:17-19Kwa sababu hiyo nitawapeleka uhamishoni mbali kupita Dameski,”
asema Bwana, ambaye jina lake ni Mungu Mwenye Nguvu Zote.
