Yona 1

1 Yehova anayankhula ndi Yona mwana wa Amitai kuti,

Now the word of Yahweh came to Jonah son of Amittai, saying,

2 “Nyamuka, pita ku mzinda waukulu wa Ninive ndipo ukalalikire motsutsana nawo, chifukwa zoyipa zawo zafika pamaso panga.”

“Get up and go to Nineveh, that great city, and speak out against it, because their wickedness has risen up before me.”

3 Koma Yona anathawa Yehova ndi kulowera ku Tarisisi. Anapita ku Yopa, kumene anapeza sitima yapamadzi yopita ku Tarisisi. Atagula chiphaso, anakwera sitimayo kupita ku Tarisisi kuthawa Yehova.

But Jonah got up to run away from the presence of Yahweh and go to Tarshish. He went down to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare and boarded the ship to go with them to Tarshish, away from the presence of Yahweh.

4 Koma Yehova anatumiza chimphepo champhamvu pa nyanja, ndipo panauka namondwe wamphamvu amene anafuna kuphwanya sitimayo.

But Yahweh sent out a great wind on the sea and it became a mighty storm on the sea. Soon it appeared that the ship was going to be broken up.

5 Onse oyendetsa sitimayo anachita mantha ndipo aliyense anayamba kupemphera kwa mulungu wake. Ndipo anaponya katundu mʼnyanja kuti sitimayo ipepuke. Koma Yona pa nthawiyi nʼkuti atatsikira mʼkatikati mwa sitimayo kumene anagona tulo tofa nato.

Then the sailors became very afraid and each man cried out to his own god. They threw the ship's cargo into the sea to lighten it. But Jonah had gone down into the innermost parts of the ship, and he was lying there deeply asleep.

6 Mkulu wa oyendetsa sitimayo anapita kwa iye ndipo anati, “Kodi iwe, nʼchifukwa chiyani ukugona? Dzuka pemphera kwa mulungu wako! Mwina adzatithandiza, ndipo sitidzawonongeka.”

So the captain came to him and said to him, “What are you doing sleeping? Get up! Call upon your god! Maybe your god will notice us and we will not perish.”

7 Ndipo oyendetsa sitimayo anayamba kuwuzana kuti, “Bwerani, tichite maere kuti tipeze amene wabweretsa tsoka limeneli.” Iwo anachita maerewo ndipo anagwera Yona.

They all said to each other, “Come, let us cast lots, so that we may know who is the cause of this evil that is happening to us.” So they threw lots, and the lot fell to Jonah.

8 Tsono anamufunsa kuti, “Tatiwuze, tsoka limeneli latigwera chifukwa chiyani? Umagwira ntchito yanji? Ukuchokera kuti? Kwanu nʼkuti? Ndiwe mtundu wanji wa anthu?”

Then they said to Jonah, “Please tell us who is the cause of this evil that is happening to us. What is your occupation, and where did you come from? What is your country, and from which people are you?”

9 Iye anayankha kuti, “Ndine Mhebri, ndipo ndimapembedza Yehova, Mulungu Wakumwamba, amene analenga nyanja ndi mtunda.”

Jonah said to them, “I am a Hebrew; and I fear Yahweh, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land.”

10 Izi zinawachititsa mantha kwambiri ndipo anafunsa kuti, “Kodi wachita chiyani?” (Iwo ankadziwa kuti iyeyo amathawa Yehova, chifukwa nʼkuti atawawuza kale).

Then the men were even more afraid and said to Jonah, “What is this that you have done?” For the men knew that he was running away from the presence of Yahweh, because he had told them.

11 Namondwe ananka nakulirakulirabe pa nyanjapo. Tsono anamufunsa iye kuti, “Kodi tikuchite chiyani kuti nyanjayi ikhale bata?”

Then they said to Jonah, “What should we do to you so that the sea will calm down for us?” For the sea became more and more violent.

12 Iye anayankha kuti, “Nyamuleni ndi kundiponya mʼnyanjamu ndipo nyanjayi ikhala bata. Ndikudziwa kuti wolakwa ndine nʼchifukwa chake chimphepo champhamvuchi chabwera pa inu.”

Jonah said to them, “Pick me up and throw me into the sea. Then the sea will be calm for you, for I know that it is because of me that this great storm is happening to you.”

13 Komabe oyendetsa sitimayo anayesetsa kupalasa kwambiri kuti abwerere ku mtunda koma analephera ndithu poti nyanja inawinduka kwambiri kuposa poyamba paja

Nevertheless, the men rowed hard to get them back to the land, but they could not do it because the sea was becoming more and more violent against them.

14 Pamenepo iwo anafuwulira kwa Yehova nati, “Inu Yehova, musalole kuti ife tife chifukwa cha moyo wa munthu uyu. Musatizenge mlandu wa kupha munthu wosalakwa, pakuti ife tachita monga mwakufuna kwanu, Inu Yehova.”

Therefore they cried out to Yahweh and said, “We beg you, Yahweh, we beg you, do not let us perish on account of this man's life, and do not lay upon us the guilt of his death, because you, Yahweh, have done just as it pleased you.”

15 Ndipo anatenga Yona namuponya mʼnyanja, ndipo nyanja yowindukayo inakhala bata.

So they picked up Jonah and threw him into the sea, and the sea stopped raging.

16 Anthuwo ataona zimenezi anachita mantha akulu ndi Yehova, ndipo anapereka nsembe kwa Yehova nalumbira kuti adzatumikira Yehovayo.

Then the men feared Yahweh very much. They offered sacrifices to Yahweh and made vows.

17 Koma Yehova anatuma nsomba yayikulu kuti imeze Yona. Motero Yona anakhala mʼmimba mwa nsombayo masiku atatu, usana ndi usiku.

Now Yahweh had prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the stomach of the fish three days and three nights.