U-Isaya 37
1 Kwathi lapho uHezekhiya, inkosi, esezwe lokhu, wadabula izigqoko zakhe wagqoka amasaka, wasesiya ethempelini likaThixo.
And it happened that, when king Hezekiah had heard this, he rent his garments, and he wrapped himself in sackcloth, and he entered the house of the Lord.
2 Wathuma u-Eliyakhimu umphathi wesigodlo, uShebhina umabhalane labaphristi abangabakhokheli, bonke begqoke amasaka, baya kumphrofethi u-Isaya indodana ka-Amozi.
And he sent Eliakim, who was over the house, and Shebna, the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah, the son of Amoz, the prophet.
3 Bathi kuye, “UHezekhiya uthi: ilanga lanamhla lusuku losizi lokusolwa kanye lehlazo njengalapho abantwana sekufike isikhathi sokuthi bazalwe kodwa amandla okubeletha engekho.
And they said to him: “Thus says Hezekiah: This day is a day of tribulation, and of rebuke, and of blasphemy. For the sons have arrived at the time for birth, but there is not enough strength to bring them forth.
4 Mhlawumbe uThixo uNkulunkulu wakho izawezwa amazwi omlawuli webutho, onkosi yakhe, inkosi yase-Asiriya, emthume ukuba athuke uNkulunkulu ophilayo, lokuthi uzamthuka ngenxa yamazwi uThixo uNkulunkulu wakho ewazwileyo. Ngakho-ke khulekela insali elokhu iphila.”
Perhaps, somehow, the Lord your God will hear the words of Rabshakeh, whom the king of the Assyrians, his lord, has sent to blaspheme the living God, and will rebuke the words that the Lord your God has heard. Therefore, lift up your prayers on behalf of the remnant which has been left behind.”
5 Kwathi izithunywa zenkosi uHezekhiya sezifikile ku-Isaya,
And so the servants of king Hezekiah went to Isaiah.
6 u-Isaya wathi kuzo, “Tshelani inkosi yenu lithi, ‘Nanku okutshiwo nguThixo: Ungesabi lokhu okuzwileyo, amazwi lawana izinceku zenkosi yase-Asiriya ezingithuke ngawo.
And Isaiah said to them: “You shall say this to your lord: Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid to face the words that you have heard, by which the servants of the king of the Assyrians blasphemed me.
7 Lalela! Ngizafaka umoya ozamenza athi nxa esizwa umbiko othile, afune ukubuyela elizweni lakhe, athi angafika khonale ngenze ukuba abulawe ngenkemba.’”
Behold, I will send a spirit to him, and he will hear a message, and he will return to his own land. And I will cause him to fall by the sword, in his own land.”
8 Kwathi lapho umlawuli webutho esezwile ukuthi inkosi yase-Asiriya yayisisukile eLakhishi, laye wasuka wayathola inkosi isilwa leLibhina.
Then Rabshakeh returned, and he found the king of the Assyrians fighting against Libnah. For he had heard that he had set out from Lachish.
9 USenakheribhi wemukela umbiko othi uThirihaka inkosi yaseKhushi, wayesiza ukuba amhlasele. Esezwe lokho wathumela izithunywa kuHezekhiya lombiko othi:
And he heard from Tirhakah, the king of Ethiopia: “He has gone forth so that he may fight against you.” And when he had heard this, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying:
10 “Tshela uHezekhiya inkosi yakoJuda ukuthi: Ungavumi ukuthi unkulunkulu omthembileyo akukhohlise esithi, ‘IJerusalema kaliyikunikelwa enkosini yase-Asiriya.’
“You shall say this to Hezekiah, the king of Judah, saying: Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying: ‘Jerusalem will not be given into the hands of the king of the Assyrians.’
11 Ngempela usukuzwile okwenziwa ngamakhosi ase-Asiriya emazweni wonke, ewabhidliza okupheleleyo. Wena-ke uzaphepha na?
Behold, you have heard about all that the kings of the Assyrians have done to all the lands that they have conquered, and so, how can you be delivered?
12 Onkulunkulu bezizwe ezatshabalaliswa ngokhokho bami bake bazikhulula na, onkulunkulu beGozani, iHarani, iRezefi kanye labantu base-Edeni ababeseThelasari?
Have the gods of the nations rescued those whom my fathers have conquered: Gozan, and Haran, and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were at Telassar?
13 Ingaphi inkosi yaseHamathi, inkosi yase-Ariphadi, angaphi amakhosi aseLayiri leSefavayimi, loba eyaseHena kumbe eyase-Iva?”
Where is the king of Hamath and the king of Arpad, or the king of the city of Sepharvaim, or of Hena and Ivvah?”
14 UHezekhiya wemukela incwadi eyeza lezithunywa wayibala. Emva kwalokho waya ethempelini leNkosi, wayichaya phambi kukaThixo.
And Hezekiah took the letter from the hand of the messengers, and he read it, and he went up to the house of the Lord, and Hezekiah spread it out in the sight of the Lord.
15 UHezekhiya wakhuleka kuThixo esithi:
And Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, saying:
16 “Thixo Somandla, Nkulunkulu ka-Israyeli osebukhosini phakathi kwamaKherubhi, wena kuphela nguwe onguNkulunkulu wemibuso yonke yasemhlabeni. Nguwe owenza izulu lomhlaba.
“O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel who sits upon the Cherubim: you alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
17 Beka indlebe Thixo, uzwe; vula amehlo akho Thixo, ubone. Lalela uzwe wonke amazwi uSenakheribhi awathumele ukuzathuka uNkulunkulu ophilayo.
O Lord, incline your ear and listen. O Lord, open your eyes and see. And hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to blaspheme the living God.
18 Kuliqiniso, Thixo, ukuthi amakhosi ase-Asiriya abatshabalalisa bonke lababantu kanye lamazwe abo.
For truly, O Lord, the kings of the Assyrians have laid waste to countries and territories.
19 Aphosele onkulunkulu bawo emlilweni abatshabalalisa, ngoba kungesibo onkulunkulu kodwa yizigodo lamatshe kuphela, okubunjwe ngezandla zabantu.
And they have cast their gods into the fire. For these were not gods, but the works of men’s hands, of wood and of stone. And they broke them into pieces.
20 Khathesi, Thixo, Nkulunkulu wethu, sikhulule esandleni sakhe, ukuze imibuso yonke emhlabeni ibekwazi ukuthi wena Thixo, nguwe wedwa onguNkulunkulu.”
And now, O Lord our God, save us from his hand. And let all the kingdoms of the earth acknowledge that you alone are Lord.”
21 U-Isaya indodana ka-Amozi wathumela ilizwi kuHezekhiya elithi, “Nanku okutshiwo nguThixo, uNkulunkulu ka-Israyeli: Ngenxa yokuthi ukhulekile kimi mayelana ngoSenakheribhi inkosi yase-Asiriya,
And Isaiah, the son of Amoz, sent to Hezekiah, saying: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Because of what you have prayed to me about Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians,
22 nanti ilizwi uThixo aselikhulume ngaye wathi: INdodakazi eGcweleyo iZiyoni iyakweyisa njalo iyakuklolodela. INdodakazi iJerusalema inqekuza ikhanda layo lapho wena ubaleka.
this is the word that the Lord has spoken over him: The virgin daughter of Zion has despised you and mocked you. The daughter of Jerusalem has shaken her head at you.
23 Ngubani lowo omthukileyo wamhlazisa? Ngubani lowo omphakamisele ilizwi lakho wamphakamisela lamehlo akho ngokuzigqaja na? NgoNgcwele ka-Israyeli!
Whom have you insulted? And whom have you blasphemed? And against whom have you lifted up your voice and raised up your eyes on high? Against the Holy One of Israel!
24 Ngezithunywa zakho umthukile uThixo. Utshilo njalo ukuthi, ‘Ngezinqola zami ezinengi ngikhwelile eziqongweni zezintaba iziqongo eziphezulu kakhulu zaseLebhanoni. Sengigamule ngawisa izihlahla ezinde zemisedari, izihlahla ezikhethiweyo zamaphayini. Ngifikile eziqongweni zalo ezikhatshana, emaguswini alo amahle kakhulu.
By the hand of your servants, you have reproached the Lord. And you have said: ‘With a multitude of my four-horse chariots, I have ascended the heights of the mountains adjoining Lebanon. And I will cut down its lofty cedars and its choice pine trees. And I will reach the top of its summit, to the forest of its Carmel.
25 Ngigebhile imithombo ezizweni nganatha amanzi khona. Ngezinyawo zami ngomisile zonke izifula zaseGibhithe.’
I dug deep, and I drank water, and I dried up all the river banks with the sole of my foot.’
26 Kawuzwanga na? Lokhu ngakumisa endulo. Ngakuceba ensukwini zasendulo; khathesi sengenze ukuba kufezeke, ukuthi usudilize amadolobho avikelweyo aba yizinqwaba zamatshe.
Have you not heard what I have done to it in past times? In ancient times, I formed it. And now I have brought it forth. And it has been made so that the hills and the fortified cities would fight together, unto its destruction.
27 Abantu bakhona, abangaselamandla, badangele njalo bayangekile. Banjengezilimo ensimini, njengamahlumela aluhlaza, lanjengotshani obuhluma ephahleni lwendlu bubuye butshe bungakakhuli.
Their inhabitants had unsteady hands. They trembled and were confused. They became like the plants of the field, and the grass of the pastures, and like the weeds on the rooftops, which wither before they are mature.
28 Kodwa ngiyakwazi lapho okhona, lalapho usiza uphinde uhambe; kanye lokuthi ungithukuthelela kangakanani.
I know your habitation, and your arrival, and your departure, and your madness against me.
29 Ngenxa yokungithukuthelela kwakho langenxa yokuthi ubuqholo bakho sebufikile ezindlebeni zami, ngizafaka umkhala wami emakhaleni akho lamatomu ami emlonyeni wakho, njalo ngizakwenza ubuyele ngendlela oze ngayo.
When you became angry against me, your arrogance rose up to my ears. Therefore, I will place a ring in your nose, and a bit between your lips. And I will turn you back on the road by which you arrived.
30 Lokhu kuzakuba yisibonakaliso kuwe, Hezekhiya: Lonyaka lizakudla okuzikhulela kodwa, ngomnyaka wesibili lidle umkhukhuzela wakhona. Kodwa ngomnyaka wesithathu hlanyelani livune, hlanyelani izivini lidle izithelo zazo.
But this shall be a sign for you: Eat, in this year, whatever springs up on its own. And in the second year, eat fruits. But in the third year, sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.
31 Futhi insali yendlu kaJuda izagxilisa njalo impande phansi ithele izithelo ngaphezulu.
And what will be saved from the house of Judah, and what is left behind, will form deep roots, and will bear high fruits.
32 Ngoba eJerusalema kuzavela insali, kuthi entabeni iZiyoni kuphume ixuku labasindayo. Ukutshiseka kukaThixo uSomandla kuzakwenza ukuba lokhu kufezeke.
For from Jerusalem, a remnant shall go forth, and salvation from mount Zion. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
33 Ngakho-ke mayelana lenkosi yase-Asiriya uThixo uthi: Kasoze angene kulelidolobho loba atshoke umtshoko lapha. Kasoze eze kulo elehawu kumbe akhe umduli wokulivimbezela.
For this reason, thus says the Lord about the king of the Assyrians: He will not enter this city, nor shoot an arrow into it, nor overtake it with a shield, nor dig a rampart all around it.
34 Uzabuyela ngendlela eza ngayo; kasoze angene kulelidolobho, kutsho uThixo.
He will return on the road by which he arrived. And into this city, he will not enter, says the Lord.
35 Idolobho leli ngizalivikela ngilihlenge, ngenxa yami langenxa kaDavida inceku yami!
And I will protect this city, so that I may save it for my own sake, and for the sake of David, my servant.”
36 Lapho-ke ingilosi kaThixo yasuka yayabulala abantu abalikhulu elilamatshumi ayisificaminwembili lanhlanu lezinkulungwane ezihonqweni zama-Asiriya. Kwathi lapho abantu bevuka ekuseni kwakhona bonke kwasekuyizidumbu kuphela!
Then the Angel of the Lord went forth and struck down, in the camp of the Assyrians, one hundred eighty-five thousand. And they arose in the morning, and behold, all these were dead bodies.
37 Ngakho uSenakheribhi inkosi yama-Asiriya wasuka ezihonqweni wahamba. Wabuyela eNiniva wahlala khona.
And Sennacherib, the king of the Assyrians, departed and went away. And he returned and lived at Nineveh.
38 Kwathi ngolunye usuku ekhonza ethempelini likaNisirokhi unkulunkulu wakhe, amadodana akhe u-Adrameleki loShareza ambulala ngenkemba asebalekela elizweni lase-Ararathi. U-Esarihadoni indodana yakhe yaba yinkosi esikhundleni sakhe.”
And it happened that, as he was adoring his god in the temple of Nisroch, his sons, Adramelech and Sharezer, struck him with the sword. And they fled into the land of Ararat. And Esarhaddon, his son, reigned in his place.
