Isaiah 17
1 This is the burden against Damascus: “Behold, Damascus is no longer a city; it has become a heap of ruins.
Umthwalo weDamaseko. Khangela, iDamaseko izasuswa, ingabi ngumuzi, kodwa ibe lunxiwa oludilikileyo.
2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be left to the flocks, which will lie down with no one to fear.
Imizi yeAroweri izatshiywa, ibe ngeyemihlambi elala phansi, njalo kungabi lomethusi.
3 The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the sovereignty from Damascus. The remnant of Aram will be like the splendor of the Israelites,”
Lenqaba izaphela koEfrayimi, lombuso weDamaseko, lensali yeSiriya; bazakuba njengodumo lwabantwana bakoIsrayeli, itsho iNkosi yamabandla.
4 “In that day the splendor of Jacob will fade, and the fat of his body will waste away,
Kuzakuthi-ke ngalolosuku udumo lukaJakobe lwehliselwe phansi, lokuzimuka kwenyama yakhe kucakiswe.
5 as the reaper gathers the standing grain and harvests the ears with his arm, as one gleans heads of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.
Njalo kube njengomvuni evuna amabele amiyo, lengalo yakhe iqume izikhwebu; yebo, kube njengomuntu edobha izikhwebu esigodini seRefayimi.
6 Yet gleanings will remain, like an olive tree that has been beaten— two or three berries atop the tree, four or five on its fruitful branches,”
Kodwa umkhothozo uzasala kukho, njengokunyikinyeka kwesihlahla somhlwathi, imihlwathi emibili loba emithathu engqongeni yogatsha oluphezulu, emine loba emihlanu engatsheni zaso ezithelayo, itsho iNkosi uNkulunkulu kaIsrayeli.
7 In that day men will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
Ngalolosuku umuntu uzajolozela kuMenzi wakhe, lamehlo akhe akhangele koNgcwele kaIsrayeli.
8 They will not look to the altars they have fashioned with their hands or to the Asherahs and incense altars they have made with their fingers.
Njalo kayikujolozela emalathini, umsebenzi wezandla zakhe; njalo kayikukhangela kulokho iminwe yakhe ekwenzileyo, loba izixuku loba amalathi elanga.
9 In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken thickets and summits, abandoned to the Israelites and to utter desolation.
Ngalolosuku imizi yabo eqinileyo izakuba njengegusu elideliweyo lengqonga yogatsha abaludelileyo ngenxa yabantwana bakoIsrayeli; njalo kuzakuba yincithakalo.
10 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and failed to remember the Rock of your refuge. Therefore, though you cultivate delightful plots and set out cuttings from exotic vines—
Ngoba umkhohliwe uNkulunkulu wosindiso lwakho, kawukhumbulanga idwala lamandla akho; ngenxa yalokho uzahlanyela izithombo ezinhle, uyihlanyele ngamahlumela angejwayelekanga.
11 though on the day you plant you make them grow, and on that morning you help your seed sprout— yet the harvest will vanish on the day of disease and incurable pain.
Ngosuku lokuhlanyela kwakho uzakwenza kuhlume, lekuseni wenze inhlanyelo yakho ikhuphe impoko; kodwa isivuno sizakuba yinqumbi ngosuku lomkhuhlane lobuhlungu obungelaphekiyo.
12 Alas, the tumult of many peoples; they rage like the roaring seas and clamoring nations; they rumble like the crashing of mighty waters.
Yeka ukuhlokoma kwabantu abanengi abahlokoma njengokuhlokoma kwezinlwandle, lokuduma kwezizwe eziduma njengomdumo wamanzi amanengi!
13 The nations rage like the rush of many waters. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweeds before a gale.
Izizwe ziduma njengomdumo wamanzi amanengi, kodwa uzazikhuza ukuze zibalekele khatshana, zixotshwe njengamakhoba ezintaba phambi komoya, lanjengokugiqikayo phambi kwesiphepho.
14 In the evening, there is sudden terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us and the lot of those who plunder us.
Ngesikhathi sokuhlwa, khangela-ke, ukuthuthumela, kungakasi kasekho. Yiso isabelo sabasiphangayo lenkatho yabasihlaselayo.
