Isaiah 59
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear.
Ngeqiniso ingalo kaThixo kayimfitshane ukuba isindise, lendlebe yakhe kayibuthundu ukuba izwe.
2 But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.
Kodwa ububi benu sebulahlukanise loNkulunkulu wenu; lezono zenu sezisithe ubuso bakhe kini ukuze angezwa.
3 For your hands are stained with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue mutters injustice.
Ngoba izandla zenu zingcolisiwe ngegazi, leminwe yenu ingcoliswe yibubi. Izindebe zenu zikhulume amanga lolimi lwenu luhlebeza izinto ezimbi.
4 No one calls for justice; no one pleads his case honestly. They rely on empty pleas; they tell lies; they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.
Kakho odinga ukwahlulela okuhle, kakho okhuluma ecaleni lakhe ngobuqotho. Bathembe ukuphika ngeze bekhuluma amanga; bemula uhlupho, bazale ububi.
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers and weave a spider’s web. Whoever eats their eggs will die; crack one open, and a viper is hatched.
Bachamisela amaqanda ezinhlangwana, beluke ubulembu besayobe. Langabe ngubani odla amaqanda azo uzakufa, njalo nxa elinye lawo lichanyiselwe kuphuma ibululu.
6 Their cobwebs cannot be made into clothing, and they cannot cover themselves with their works. Their deeds are sinful deeds, and acts of violence are in their hands.
Ubulembu babo kabusizi ekugqokeni; abangeke bazimboze ngabakwenzayo. Izenzo zabo yizenzo ezimbi, izenzo zodlakela zisezandleni zabo.
7 Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.
Inyawo zabo zigijimela ukona; bayaphangisa ukuchitha igazi elimsulwa. Imicabango yabo yimicabango emibi; ukuchitha lokubhubhisa kubonakalisa izindlela zabo.
8 The way of peace they have not known, and there is no justice in their tracks. They have turned them into crooked paths; no one who treads on them will know peace.
Indlela yokuthula kabayazi; akukho kulunga ezindleleni zabo. Sebenze zaba yimigwaqo ezombelezayo, kakho ohamba ngazo ozakwazi ukuthula.
9 Therefore justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We hope for light, but there is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in gloom.
Ngakho-ke ukwahlulela okuhle kukhatshana lathi, lokulunga akufiki kithi. Sidinga ukukhanya, kodwa kulobumnyama kuphela; sidinga ukucazimula, kodwa sihamba emathunzini amnyama.
10 Like the blind, we feel our way along the wall, groping like those without eyes. We stumble at midday as in the twilight; among the vigorous we are like the dead.
Njengeziphofu siphumputha silandela umduli, siphumputhe indlela yethu njengabantu abangelamehlo. Sikhubeka emini ingathi kukusihlwa; kwabalamandla, sinjengabafileyo.
11 We all growl like bears and moan like doves. We hope for justice, but find none, for salvation, but it is far from us.
Sonke siyahwabha njengamabhele, sibubule ngosizi njengamajuba. Sidinga ukwahlulela okuhle, kodwa kasikutholi; sidinga ukuhlengwa, kodwa kukhatshana.
12 For our transgressions are multiplied before You, and our sins testify against us. Our transgressions are indeed with us, and we know our iniquities:
Ngoba ukona kwethu kuwe kunengi, lezono zethu zifakaza okubi ngathi. Ukona kwethu kuhlezi kulathi; siyabuvuma ububi bethu,
13 rebelling and denying the LORD, turning away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lies from the heart.
ukuhlamuka lokungathembeki kuThixo, ukufulathela uNkulunkulu wethu, ukukhuthaza uncindezelo lomvukela, ukukhuluma amanga esiwacabange ngezinhliziyo zethu.
14 So justice is turned away, and righteousness stands at a distance. For truth has stumbled in the public square, and honesty cannot enter.
Ngakho ukwahlulela okuhle kufuqelwa emuva, ukulunga kume khatshana; iqiniso likhubekile ezindleleni, ubuqotho bungeke bungene.
15 Truth is missing, and whoever turns from evil becomes prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was no justice.
Iqiniso kalitholwa ndawo; oxwaya ububi uyahlaselwa. UThixo wakhangela wadaniswa yikuswelakala kokwahlulela okuhle.
16 He saw that there was no man; He was amazed that there was no one to intercede. So His own arm brought salvation, and His own righteousness sustained Him.
Wabona ukuthi kwakungelamuntu, wanengwa yikuthi kakho owayengalamula; ngakho waletha ukukhululwa ngamandla akhe, ukulunga kwakhe kwamqinisa.
17 He put on righteousness like a breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on His head; He put on garments of vengeance and wrapped Himself in a cloak of zeal.
Wagqoka ukulunga njengesivikelo sakhe sasesifubeni, lengowane yensindiso ekhanda lakhe; wagqoka izembatho zokuphindisela njalo wazigoqela ngokutshiseka njengokuzigoqela ngengubo.
18 So He will repay according to their deeds: fury to His enemies, retribution to His foes, and recompense to the islands.
Uzaphindisela ulaka ezitheni zakhe, kusiya ngalokho abakwenzileyo; lokujeziswa kwabamelana laye; izihlenge uzaziphindisela ngemfanelo yazo.
19 So shall they fear the name of the LORD where the sun sets, and His glory where it rises. For He will come like a raging flood, driven by the breath of the LORD.
Kusukela entshonalanga abantu bazalesaba ibizo likaThixo, njalo kusukela ekuphumeni kwelanga bazadumisa ubukhosi bakhe. Ngoba uzafika njengesikhukhula esifutheleneyo esifuqwa ngumoya kaThixo.
20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,”
“Umhlengi uzafika eZiyoni, kwabakaJakhobe abavuma izono zabo,” kutsho uThixo.
21 “As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and grandchildren, from now on and forevermore,” says the LORD.
“Mina lesi yiso isivumelwano sami labo,” kutsho uThixo. “Umoya wami okuwe, lamazwi ami engiwabeke emlonyeni wakho akuyikusuka emlonyeni wakho, kumbe emilonyeni yabantwabakho, loba emilonyeni yezizukulwane zabo kusukela ngalesisikhathi kuze kube nininini,” kutsho uThixo.
