Jeremiah's Letter to the People of Judah in Babylonia
1-2 I had been left in Jerusalem when King Nebuchadnezzar took many of the people of Jerusalem and Judah to Babylonia as prisoners, including King Jehoiachin, his mother, his officials, and the metal workers and others in Jerusalem who were skilled in making things. So I wrote a letter to the priests, the prophets, the leaders, and the rest of our people in Babylonia. 3 I gave the letter to Elasah and Gemariah, two men that King Zedekiah of Judah was sending to Babylon to talk with Nebuchadnezzar. In the letter, I wrote 4 that the Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, had said:
I had you taken from Jerusalem to Babylonia. Now I tell you 5 to settle there and build houses. Plant gardens and eat what you grow in them. 6 Get married and have children, then help your sons find wives and help your daughters find husbands, so they can have children as well. I want your numbers to grow, not to get smaller.
7 Pray for peace in Babylonia and work hard to make it prosperous. The more successful that nation is, the better off you will be.
8-9 Some of your people there in Babylonia are fortunetellers, and you have asked them to tell you what will happen in the future. But they will only lead you astray with their dreams. And don't let the prophets fool you, either. They speak in my name, but they are liars. I have not spoken to them.
10 After Babylonia has been the strongest nation for 70 years, I will be kind and bring you back to Jerusalem, just as I have promised. 11 I will bless you with a future filled with hope—a future of success, not of suffering. 12 You will turn back to me and ask for help, and I will answer your prayers. 13 You will worship me with all your heart, and I will be with you 14 and accept your worship. Then I will gather you from all the nations where I scattered you, and you will return to Jerusalem.
15 You feel secure, because you think I have sent prophets to speak for me in Babylonia.
16-19 But I have been sending prophets to the people of Judah for a long time, and the king from David's family and the people who are left in Jerusalem and Judah still don't obey me. So I, the Lord All-Powerful, will keep attacking them with war and hunger and disease, until they are as useless as rotten figs. I will force them to leave the land, and all nations will be disgusted and shocked at what happens to them. The nations will sneer and make fun of them and use the names “Judah” and “Jerusalem” as curse words.
And you have not obeyed me, even though 20 I had you taken from Jerusalem to Babylonia. But you had better listen to me now. 21-23 You think Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah are prophets because they claim to speak for me. But they are lying! I haven't told them anything. They are also committing other horrible sins in your community, such as sleeping with the wives of their friends. So I will hand them over to King Nebuchadnezzar, who will put them to death while the rest of you watch. And in the future, when you want to put a curse on someone, you will say, “I pray that the Lord will kill you in the same way the king of Babylonia burned Zedekiah and Ahab to death!”
A Message for Shemaiah
24-25 The Lord All-Powerful, the God of Israel, told me what would happen to Shemaiah, who was one of our people in Babylonia. After my letter reached Babylonia, Shemaiah wrote letters to the people of Jerusalem, including the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and the other priests. The letter to Zephaniah said:
26 After the death of Jehoiada the priest, the Lord chose you to be the priest in charge of the temple security force. You know that anyone who acts crazy and pretends to be a prophet should be arrested and put in chains and iron collars. 27 Jeremiah from the town of Anathoth is pretending to be a prophet there in Jerusalem, so why haven't you punished him? 28 He even wrote a letter to the people here in Babylonia, saying we would be here a long time. He told us to build homes and to plant gardens and grow our own food.
29 When Zephaniah received Shemaiah's letter, he read it to me. 30 Then the Lord told me what to write in a second letter 31 to the people of Judah who had been taken to Babylonia. In this letter, I wrote that the Lord had said:
I, the Lord, have not chosen Shemaiah to be one of my prophets, and he has misled you by telling lies in my name. 32 He has even talked you into disobeying me. So I will punish Shemaiah. He and his descendants won't live to see the good things I will do for my people. I, the Lord, have spoken.
Waraga Yeremaya ro Yudai se Babelona ya ana ri
1 Ono ni waraga se Yeremaya kozobe kohanii, nebii, dri'bai lidri ro, ndi vona cini se Nebukadenezara kurube kamba'bai ro ni Yerusalema yasi le Babelona ya kai ri owo. 2 Nda egyite tuse äru 'Bädri'ba Jehoiakina, endre ndaro, dri'bai losi ro zo'desi miri ro ro, dri'bai Yuda ro ndi Yerusalema robe, logo ŋgaede'bai, ndi losioye'bai se tauniekye arube midiro ana vosi. 3 Ozo waraga se ana te Elasa ŋgwa Sapana ro ndi Gemaraya ŋgwa Ilekia robe rigye, se 'Bädri'ba Zedekia kabe ànya ozo Nebukadenezara 'Bädri'ba Babelona ro re kai. Waraga ana ya egyite nonye ekye:
4 “OPI Mbaraekye, Lu Yisaraele ro, ka ata lidri cini se nda ko'ba tana be Nebukadenezara ri urune kamba'bai ro ni Yerusalema yasi le Babelona ya kai ri ekye: 5 ‘Mìbe zoi ago mìri kigyesi. Nyìkyi'di ŋga ämvui amiro yasi ago mìnya ŋgase kabe omba kigye iyi. 6 Mìgye lagye ago nyà'do ŋgàga be. Ŋgàga amiro kogyeyi lagye tana ànya kiliti robe. Beṛo ämiri litine nyalakpa ago ko oti amiro ri egone vuru. 7 Mìye takado 'bakicii se mazo ami be kamba'bai ro kigyesi iyi yasi. Nyä̀mätu ma OPI ta ànyaro ta, tana ondro ka'do ànya ka'doyite kandrakado be, 'dooko nyà'dona kpa kandrakado be. 8 Ma, OPI Mbaraekye, Lu Yisaraele ro, ma miomba ozo ämiri mì'ba nebii se ami lako iyi ndi ànya se kayibe ata tori avo robe iyi kodoyi ami ko. Mìga bi ko ta tori ànyaro roya. 9 Ànya kayi koweoga ämiri ävuru maro si. Mazo ànya koni. Ma, OPI, matani.’
10 “OPI ka ata ekye: ‘Ondro ndroa Babelona ro se 'butenjidrieri 'do kokyete oko, mikyina 'da amire ago mätina tao'ba maro 'da ago mologona ami 'da kovole 'bäru. 11 Mäni tavoora maro ta amiro ta ni, tavoora se kandrakado eziza ayani ko rriti, tavoora ta tamileya rota ndi mio'ba be. 12 'Dooko mìzina ma 'da, nyìkyina 'da ago nyä̀mätuna ma 'da, ago mazana tadri amiro 'da. 13 Mìṛina ma 'da, ago nyùsuna ma 'da ondro mìṛi ma te ya cini amiro si owo. 14 Nyusuna ma 'da, ago mago mologona kandrakado amiro 'da. Mokotona ami 'da ni vo 'bädri cini ro yasi ago ni vo cini se mepere ami be kigyesi iyi yasi, ago mezina ami 'da kovole wari se mazo ami be ni kigyesi midiro 'do ya. Ma, OPI, matani.’
15 “Nyà ata mikye OPI ozo nebii te ämiri Babelona ya. 16 Oko nyèri tase OPI kabe atana ta 'bädri'ba se kabe 'bädri se Dawidi kimiribe mirina ono rota ago ta lidri cini se 'bakici ya ono rota, 'didirii amiro se äru kote kamba'bai ro tro ami yibe iyi. 17 OPI Mbaraekye ka ata ekye: ‘Ma oye kyila, mä'bu, ndi adravo kozi be ezine ànya dri, ago ma'bana ànya 'da a'done oso kyi'du se koŋgwa be koziro se si kote onyane ana ronye. 18 Malanjana ànya 'da kyila, mä'bu, ndi adravo kozi be si, ago ya tu'dei cini 'bädri ro osona 'da ànya lomvo. Vose cini mabe ànya pere kigyesi, lidri na otrinayi ànya 'da ago a'donayi 'da turiro ago lä'bilä'biro ago ugunayi ànya 'da ta tase ka'dobe ànyari ono rota. 19 Ta ono a'dona 'da ànyari tana ànya royi lazo se mugu ezona be ànyari ruindu'bai maro nebii si ana kote. Ànya gayitezo tana erine. 20 Vo ami cini ro se mazobe midiro Babelona ya ono, nyèri tase, Ma, OPI, mabe atana ono.’
21 “OPI Mbaraekye, Lu Yisaraele ro, atate ta Aba ŋgwa Kolaya ro ndi Zedekia ŋgwa Manase robe rota, se kayibe koweoga ämiri ävuru maro si. Nda atate ekye yozona ànya 'da drì Nebukadenezara 'Bädri'ba Babelona ro ro ya, ago nda ufuna ànya 'da mile amiro yasi. 22 Tana lidri se ärube kamba'bai ro ni Yerusalema yasi le Babelona ya iyi otrinayi latri 'da ekye: ‘Lu koye mi oso koye Zedekia ndi Aba be be ronye, se 'bädri'ba Babelona ro lo'bi ànya te asi si lidriidriro!’ 23 Tana ànya yeyi takozi te Yisaraele ya, ànya yeyi ronyi te 'ditoko ànyaro drisi ago gayi kowe te ävuru OPI rosi. 'Do ko ole OPI ro; nda ni tase ànya koyeyibe ana te, ago nda orivoya tazevoedre'ba yi ànya lomvo. OPI atani inye.”
Taegyi Semaya ro
24 OPI Mbaraekye, Lu Yisaraele ro, ezo lazo te ma Yeremaya ri ozone Semaya Nehelama'ba ri, 25 se zo waraga te ävuru modo ndaro rosi lidri cini Yerusalema ro ago kohani Zefanaya ŋgwa Maseya ro ndi kohanii cini be ri se ekye: 26 “OPI 'ba mi te a'done kohani ro vo Jehoiada roya, a'done drikaca be Yekalu ya, 'dise cini amaamaro kayibe iyi o'ba miomba si a'done nebii ro iyi kyembe na embene nyori se taŋbiri be 'do si. 27 Oko tana e'di mi'bidri Yeremaya Anatota'ba ro se ka'dobe atavoya oso nebi ronye ono roko niya? 28 Yeremaya ititate lidri se Babelona ya ana ri ekye: ‘Mi'ba zoi ago mìri kigyesi. Nyikyi'di ŋga ämvui amiro yasi ago mìnya ŋgase kabe omba kigye iyi.’ ”
29 Kohani Zefanaya zi waraga se ana te ma Yeremaya ri, 30 ago 'dooko OPI atate märi ekye: 31 “Mizo lazo ono kamba'bai se cini orivoya Babelona ya ana ri ta Semaya ro ono ta ekye: ‘Tana Semaya atate ämiri oso ago nda nebi yi, oko se mazo nda koni ago 'ba ami te omane kowe ya. 32 Ta'dota ma OPI mezana Semaya 'da ndi zelevoi cini ndaro yibe. Nda unina ko a'done zelevoi be ami lako. Nda unina ko orine lidriidriro takado se ma oyebe oyene lidri maro ri ono ondrene, tana nda atate ànyari ogbone mabe. Ma, OPI, matani.’ ”