Isaiah 17
1 The burden of Damascus. Lo, Damascus is taken away from [being] a city, And it hath been a heap — a ruin.
Umthwalo weDamaseko. Khangela, iDamaseko izasuswa, ingabi ngumuzi, kodwa ibe lunxiwa oludilikileyo.
2 Forsaken are the cities of Aroer, For droves they are, and they have lain down, And there is none troubling.
Imizi yeAroweri izatshiywa, ibe ngeyemihlambi elala phansi, njalo kungabi lomethusi.
3 And ceased hath the fortress from Ephraim, And the kingdom from Damascus, And the remnant of Aram are as the honour of the sons of Israel, The affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts!
Lenqaba izaphela koEfrayimi, lombuso weDamaseko, lensali yeSiriya; bazakuba njengodumo lwabantwana bakoIsrayeli, itsho iNkosi yamabandla.
4 And it hath come to pass, in that day, Wax poor doth the honour of Jacob, And the fatness of his flesh doth wax lean.
Kuzakuthi-ke ngalolosuku udumo lukaJakobe lwehliselwe phansi, lokuzimuka kwenyama yakhe kucakiswe.
5 And it hath come to pass, As the gathering by the reaper of the standing corn, And his arm the ears reapeth, And it hath come to pass, As the gathering of the ears in the valley of Rephaim,
Njalo kube njengomvuni evuna amabele amiyo, lengalo yakhe iqume izikhwebu; yebo, kube njengomuntu edobha izikhwebu esigodini seRefayimi.
6 And left in him have been gleanings, As the compassing of an olive, Two — three berries on the top of a branch, Four — five on the fruitful boughs, The affirmation of Jehovah, God of Israel!
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 doth man look to His Maker, Yea, his eyes to the Holy One of Israel look,
Ngalolosuku umuntu uzajolozela kuMenzi wakhe, lamehlo akhe akhangele koNgcwele kaIsrayeli.
8 And he looketh not unto the altars. The work of his own hands, And that which his own fingers made He seeth not — the shrines and the images.
Njalo kayikujolozela emalathini, umsebenzi wezandla zakhe; njalo kayikukhangela kulokho iminwe yakhe ekwenzileyo, loba izixuku loba amalathi elanga.
9 In that day are the cities of his strength As the forsaken thing of the forest, And the branch that they have left, Because of the sons of Israel, It also hath been a desolation.
Ngalolosuku imizi yabo eqinileyo izakuba njengegusu elideliweyo lengqonga yogatsha abaludelileyo ngenxa yabantwana bakoIsrayeli; njalo kuzakuba yincithakalo.
10 Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, And the rock of thy strength hast not remembered, Therefore thou plantest plants of pleasantness, And with a strange slip sowest it,
Ngoba umkhohliwe uNkulunkulu wosindiso lwakho, kawukhumbulanga idwala lamandla akho; ngenxa yalokho uzahlanyela izithombo ezinhle, uyihlanyele ngamahlumela angejwayelekanga.
11 In the day thy plant thou causest to become great, And in the morning thy seed makest to flourish, A heap [is] the harvest in a day of overflowing, And of mortal pain.
Ngosuku lokuhlanyela kwakho uzakwenza kuhlume, lekuseni wenze inhlanyelo yakho ikhuphe impoko; kodwa isivuno sizakuba yinqumbi ngosuku lomkhuhlane lobuhlungu obungelaphekiyo.
12 Woe [to] the multitude of many peoples, As the sounding of seas they sound; And [to] the wasting of nations, As the wasting of mighty waters they are wasted.
Yeka ukuhlokoma kwabantu abanengi abahlokoma njengokuhlokoma kwezinlwandle, lokuduma kwezizwe eziduma njengomdumo wamanzi amanengi!
13 Nations as the wasting of many waters are wasted, And He hath pushed against it, And it hath fled afar off, And been pursued as chaff of hills before wind, And as a rolling thing before a hurricane.
Izizwe ziduma njengomdumo wamanzi amanengi, kodwa uzazikhuza ukuze zibalekele khatshana, zixotshwe njengamakhoba ezintaba phambi komoya, lanjengokugiqikayo phambi kwesiphepho.
14 At even-time, lo, terror, before morning it is not, This [is] the portion of our spoilers, And the lot of our plunderers!
Ngesikhathi sokuhlwa, khangela-ke, ukuthuthumela, kungakasi kasekho. Yiso isabelo sabasiphangayo lenkatho yabasihlaselayo.
