2 Bakonzi 19
1 Tango mokonzi Ezekiasi ayokaki bongo, apasolaki bilamba na ye, alataki basaki mpe akotaki na Tempelo ya Yawe.
When King Hezekiah heard what they reported, he tore his clothes and put on clothes made of rough cloth [because he was very distressed]. Then he went to the temple [to ask God what to do].
2 Atindaki epai ya mosakoli Ezayi, mwana mobali ya Amotsi, Eliakimi, mobateli biloko ya ndako ya mokonzi; Shebina, mokomi mikanda, mpe Banganga-Nzambe ya mikolo; bango nyonso balata bilamba ya basaki.
He summoned Eliakim and Shebna and the (older/most important) priests, who were also wearing clothes made of rough sackcloth, and told them to talk to me.
3 Balobaki na ye: — Tala makambo oyo Ezekiasi alobi: « Mokolo ya lelo ezali mokolo ya pasi, mokolo ya etumbu mpe mokolo ya soni, pamba te tokomi lokola mwasi oyo azali na pasi ya kobota kasi azangi makasi ya kobimisa mwana.
He said to them, “Tell this to Isaiah: ‘King Hezekiah says that we are having great distress/trouble now. [Other nations are causing] us to be insulted and disgraced. We are like [MET] a woman who is about to give birth to a child, but she does not have the strength that she needs to do it.
4 Tango mosusu Yawe, Nzambe na yo, akoyoka maloba nyonso ya mokonzi ya basoda oyo bakengelaka mokonzi, oyo nkolo na ye, mokonzi ya Asiri, atindaki mpo na kosambwisa Nzambe na bomoi; mpe tango mosusu akopesa ye etumbu mpo na maloba oyo Yawe, Nzambe na yo, ayokaki. Boye, sambela mpo na ndambo ya bato oyo bazali nanu na bomoi. »
Perhaps Yahweh your God has heard everything that the official from Assyria said. Perhaps he knows that his boss/master, the king of Assyria, sent him to insult the all-powerful God, and that Yahweh will rebuke/punish him for what he said.’ And he requests that you pray for the few of us who are still alive [here in Jerusalem].”
5 Tango bakalaka ya mokonzi Ezekiasi bakomaki epai ya Ezayi,
When the messengers from Hezekiah came to Isaiah,
6 Ezayi alobaki na bango: — Boloba na nkolo na bino: « Tala liloba oyo Yawe alobi: ‹ Kobanga te mpo na makambo oyo oyoki, maloba oyo basali ya mokonzi ya Asiri bazali koloba mpo na kosambwisa Ngai.
Isaiah said to them, “[Go back to] your boss/master [and] tell him, ‘This is what Yahweh says: Those messengers from the king of Assyria have said evil things about me. But you should not be disturbed because of what they said.
7 Tala, nakotia molimo moko kati na ye mpo ete, tango akoyoka sango ya makambo oyo ezali koleka na mboka na ye, azonga na mokili na ye; mpe ekozala kuna, na mokili na ye, nde nakobomisa ye na mopanga. › »
Listen to this: I will cause Sennacherib to hear a rumor that will worry him, [that a foreign army is about to attack his country]. So he will return to his own country, and there I will cause him to be assassinated by [men using] swords.’”
8 Tango mokonzi ya basoda oyo bakengelaka mokonzi ya Asiri ayokaki ete mokonzi na ye alongwe na engumba Lakishi, azongaki mpe akutaki mokonzi na ye azali kobundisa engumba Libina.
The official from Assyria found out that the King of Assyria [and his army] had left Lachish [city], and that they were attacking Libnah, [which is a nearby city]. So the official went there [to report to him what had happened in Jerusalem].
9 Sima na Senakeribe koyoka sango na tina na Tiraka, mokonzi ya Kushi, ete azali koya kobundisa ye, atindaki bantoma epai ya Ezekiasi na maloba oyo:
Soon after that, King Sennacherib received a report that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was leading his army, and was coming to attack them. So before King Sennacherib left Libnah [to fight against the army from Ethiopia], he sent other messengers to King Hezekiah with a letter.
10 « Boloba na Ezekiasi, mokonzi ya Yuda: Kotika te ete Nzambe na yo, oyo otielaka motema akosa yo na maloba oyo: ‹ Yelusalemi ekokweya te na maboko ya mokonzi ya Asiri! ›
[In the letter] he wrote this to Hezekiah: “Do not allow your god on whom you are relying to deceive you by promising that [the city of] Jerusalem will not be captured by my army [MTY].
11 Oyokaki makambo oyo bakonzi ya Asiri basalaki bikolo nyonso mpe ndenge nini babebisaki yango nye; okanisi ete yo nde okobika?
You have certainly heard what the armies of the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries. Our armies have completely destroyed them. So, (do you think that you will escape?/do not think that your god will save you!) [RHQ]
12 Tango batata na ngai babebisaki Gozani, Arani, Retsefi mpe bato ya Edeni oyo bazalaki kovanda kati na Telasari, boni, banzambe ya bikolo yango bakangolaki yango?
Did the gods of the nations that were about to be destroyed by the armies of the previous kings of Assyria rescue them? Did those gods rescue the people in the Gozan region and in Haran and Rezeph [cities in northern Syria] and the people of Eden who had been (deported/forced to go) to Tel-Assar [city]? None of the gods of those cities were able to rescue them.
13 Wapi mokonzi ya Amati, ya Aripadi, ya Layiri, ya engumba Sefarivayimi, ya Ena mpe ya Iva? »
What happened to the kings of Hamath and Arpad and Sepharvaim and Ivvah [cities] [RHQ]? [Most of them are dead, and the other people were deported]!”
14 Sima na Ezekiasi kozwa mokanda kowuta na maboko ya bantoma, atangaki yango, akendeki na Tempelo ya Yawe mpe afungolaki mokanda yango liboso ya Yawe.
Hezekiah took the letter that the messengers gave him, and he read it. Then he went up to the temple and spread out the letter in front of Yahweh.
15 Mpe Ezekiasi asambelaki Yawe: « Oh Yawe, Nzambe ya Isalaele, Yo oyo ovandi likolo ya basheribe, ozali Nzambe kaka moko na likolo ya mikili nyonso ya mabele, Yo nde osala Likolo mpe mabele.
Then Hezekiah prayed, “Yahweh, the God whom to whom we Israelis belong, you are seated on your throne above the [statues of] creatures with wings, [above the Sacred Chest]. Only you are truly God. You rule all the kingdoms on this earth. You are the one who created [everything on] the earth and [in] the sky.
16 Oh Yawe, pesa litoyi mpe yoka! Yawe, fungola miso mpe mona! Yoka maloba oyo Senakeribe atindi mpo na kosambwisa Nzambe na bomoi.
So, Yahweh, please listen to what I am saying, and look [at what is happening]. And listen to what King Sennacherib has said to insult you, the all-powerful God.
17 Oh Yawe, ezali ya solo ete bakonzi ya Asiri babebisaki bikolo oyo mpe mikili na bango,
“Yahweh, it is true that [the armies of] the kings of Assyria have completely destroyed many nations, and ruined their land.
18 bazikisaki banzambe na bango na moto, pamba te banzambe yango ezalaki Nzambe te kasi banzete to mabanga ya pamba oyo esalemi na maboko ya bato.
And they have thrown the idols of those nations into fires and burned them. But [that was not difficult to do, because] they were not gods. They were only statues made of wood and stone, idols that were shaped by humans, [and that is why they were destroyed easily].
19 Sik’oyo, oh Yawe, Nzambe na biso, bikisa biso na maboko na ye mpo ete mikili nyonso ya mabele eyeba solo ete Yo moko kaka, Yawe, nde ozali Nzambe! »
So now, Yahweh our God, please rescue us from the power [MTY] [of the king of Assyria], in order that the people in all the kingdoms of the world will know that you, Yahweh, are the only one who is truly God.”
20 Ezayi, mwana mobali ya Amotsi, atindelaki Ezekiasi maloba oyo: « Tala liloba oyo Yawe, Nzambe ya Isalaele, alobi: Nayoki losambo na yo na tina na Senakeribe, mokonzi ya Asiri.
Then Isaiah sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what Yahweh, the God to whom we Israelis belong, says: 'I have heard what you prayed to me about Sennacherib, the king of Assyria.
21 Tala liloba oyo Yawe alobi mpo na kotelemela ye: ‹ Siona, mboka kitoko, ezali kotiola yo mpe koseka yo; Yelusalemi, mboka kitoko, ezali koningisa moto mpo na kotiola yo.
This is what I say to him: “The people of Jerusalem [MTY] despise you and make fun of you. They wag/shake their heads to mock you while you flee from here.
22 Nani oyo ofingaki mpe otiolaki? Nani oyo omatiselaki mongongo mpe otalaki na miso ya lolendo? Ngai, Mosantu ya Isalaele!
Who do you think that you are despising and ridiculing? Who do you think you were shouting at? Who do you think you were looking at very proudly/arrogantly? It was I, the holy God whom the Israelis worship.
23 Na nzela ya bantoma na yo, ofingaki Nkolo mpe olobaki: ‘Na lisungi ya ebele ya bashar na ngai, namataki kino na basonge ya bangomba, na basonge oyo eleki likolo kati na Libani, nakweyisaki banzete na yango ya sedele oyo eleki milayi, banzete na yango ya sipele oyo eleki kitoko, mpe nakomaki kino na songe na yango ya suka, na zamba na yango oyo eleki kitoko,
The messengers that you sent made fun of me. You said, 'With my many chariots I have gone to the highest mountains, even to the highest mountains in Lebanon. We have cut down its tallest cedar trees and its nicest pine/cyprus trees. We have been to the most distant/remote peaks and to its dense forests.
24 natimolaki mabulu ya mayi kati na mikili ya bapaya mpe namelaki mayi kuna. Na matambe ya makolo na ngai, nakawusaki miluka nyonso ya Ejipito.’
We have dug wells in other countries and drank water from them. And by marching through [MTY] the streams of Egypt, we dried them all up [HYP]!”’
25 Oyoka nanu yango te? Nasalaki mabongisi ya makambo oyo wuta kala, nabongisaki yango wuta na mikolo oyo eleka kala; sik’oyo nde nakokisi yango; esengeli na yo kokomisa bingumba ya makasi mipiku ya mabanga.
[‘But I reply], “Have you never heard that long ago I determined [that those things would happen]? I planned it long ago, and now I have been causing it to happen. I planned that your army would have [the power to] capture many cities that were surrounded by high walls, and cause them to become piles of rubble.
26 Bato na yango bazangi makasi, balengi na somo mpe bakomi na soni, bakomi lokola matiti ya bilanga, lokola matiti ya langi ya mayi ya pondu, lokola matiti oyo ebotaka na mitondo ya bandako, ekawuka liboso ete ekola.
The people who lived in those cities have no power, and as a result they became dismayed and discouraged. They are as frail as plants and grass in the fields, as frail as grass that grows on the roofs of houses and is scorched by the hot east wind.
27 Nayebi esika nini ozalaka, tango nini obimaka, tango nini ozongaka, mpe tango nini otombokelaka Ngai.
“But I know [everything about you]. I know when you are in your house and when you go outside; I also know that you are (raging/speaking very angrily) against me.
28 Lokola otombokelaka Ngai, mpe lofundu na yo ekomi kino na matoyi na Ngai, nakotia lopete na Ngai na zolo na yo, nakokanga yo singa na bibebu ndenge bakangaka mpunda monoko, mpe nakozongisa yo na nzela oyo oyelaki. ›
So, because you have raged against me, and because I have heard [MTY] you speak very proudly/arrogantly, [it will be as though] I will put a hook in your nose and an iron (bit/piece of metal) in your mouth [in order that I can lead you where I want you to go], and I will force you to return [to your own country] on the same road on which you came here, [without conquering Jerusalem].” '
29 Oh Ezekiasi, tala oyo ekozala elembo mpo na yo: Na mobu oyo, bokolia biloko oyo ekobima na nkona oyo ekweyaki na mabele; na mobu oyo ekolanda, bokolia biloko oyo ebotaka yango moko. Kasi na mobu ya misato, bokolona mpe bokobuka bambuma, bokolona banzete ya vino, mpe bokolia bambuma na yango.
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “This is what will happen to prove [that I am telling the truth]: This year and next year you [and your people] will be able to harvest only (wild grain/grain that grows without having been planted). But the following year, you [Israelis] will be able to plant grain and harvest it, and to plant vineyards and eat the grapes that you harvest.
30 Bato ya Yuda oyo bakobika, oyo bakotikala, bakozala lisusu lokola nzete oyo ekotisi misisa na yango ya sika kati na mabele mpe eboti bambuma.
The people [MTY] in Judah who remain alive will prosper and have many children; they will be like plants whose roots go deep down into the ground and which produce much [MET].
31 Pamba te, na Yelusalemi, ndambo ya bato bakotikala; mpe na Siona, mwa ndambo bakobika. Bolingo makasi ya Yawe, Mokonzi ya mampinga, nde ekokokisa yango.
There will be many people in Jerusalem [DOU] who will survive, because Yahweh, the commander of the armies of angels in heaven, wants [PRS] it to happen.
32 Yango wana, tala liloba oyo Yawe alobi na tina na mokonzi ya Asiri: ‹ Akokota na engumba oyo te, akobeta kuna ata mbanzi moko te, akobundisa yango na banguba te mpe akomatisa ata mabele te liboso na yango mpo na komibomba;
So this is what Yahweh, says about the king of Assyria: ‘His armies will not enter this city; they will not even shoot any arrows into it! His soldiers will not march outside the city gates carrying shields, and they will not even build high mounds of dirt against [the city walls] [to enable them to attack the city].
33 akozongela na nzela oyo ayelaki mpe akokota na engumba oyo te, elobi Yawe.
Their king will return to his own country on the same road on which he came here. He will not enter this city! [That will happen because] I, Yahweh have said it!
34 Nakobatela engumba oyo mpe nakobikisa yango, mpo na lokumu ya Kombo na Ngai mpe mpo na lokumu ya Davidi, mosali na Ngai. › »
I will defend this city and prevent it from being destroyed. I will do this for the sake of my own reputation and because of what I promised to King David, who served me well.'”
35 Na butu wana, anjelu na Yawe abimaki mpe abomaki bato nkoto nkama moko na tuku mwambe na mitano kati na molako ya bato ya Asiri. Tango bato balamukaki na tongo ya mokolo oyo elandaki, bakutaki kaka bibembe.
That night, an angel from Yahweh went out to where the army of Assyria had put up their tents, and killed 185,000 of their soldiers! When the rest of their soldiers woke up the next morning, they saw that there were corpses everywhere!
36 Boye Senakeribe, mokonzi ya Asiri, alongolaki molako, azongaki na Ninive mpe akomaki kovanda kuna.
Then King Sennacherib left and went home to Nineveh, [the capital of Assyria].
37 Mokolo moko, wana azalaki kogumbamela nzambe na ye, Nisiroki, kati na tempelo ya nzambe yango, bana na ye ya mibali, Adrameleki mpe Saretseri, babomaki ye na mopanga mpe bakimaki na Ararati. Bongo mwana na ye ya mobali, Esari-Adoni, akitanaki na ye na bokonzi.
One day, when he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, two of his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, killed him with their swords. Then they escaped and went to [the] Ararat [region, northwest of Nineveh]. And another of Sennacherib's sons, Esarhaddon, became the king of Assyria.
