U-Isaya 17
1 Umthwalo weDamaseko. Khangela, iDamaseko izasuswa, ingabi ngumuzi, kodwa ibe lunxiwa oludilikileyo.
The oracle on Damascus, —Lo! Damascus, is to be removed from being a city, And shall become a heap of ruins:
2 Imizi yeAroweri izatshiywa, ibe ngeyemihlambi elala phansi, njalo kungabi lomethusi.
Forsaken, are the desolate cities, —For flocks, shall they serve, Which shall lie down and have none to make them afraid.
3 Lenqaba izaphela koEfrayimi, lombuso weDamaseko, lensali yeSiriya; bazakuba njengodumo lwabantwana bakoIsrayeli, itsho iNkosi yamabandla.
Then shall the fortress cease from Ephraim, And the kingdom from Damascus and the remnant of Syria, —Like the glory of the sons of Israel, shall they be, —Declareth Yahweh of hosts.
4 Kuzakuthi-ke ngalolosuku udumo lukaJakobe lwehliselwe phansi, lokuzimuka kwenyama yakhe kucakiswe.
And it shall come to pass in that day, That the glory of Jacob, shall be diminished, And, the fatness of his flesh, shall be wasted;
5 Njalo kube njengomvuni evuna amabele amiyo, lengalo yakhe iqume izikhwebu; yebo, kube njengomuntu edobha izikhwebu esigodini seRefayimi.
And it shall come to pass—That, as the harvestman gathereth standing corn, And with his arm—the ears, he reapeth, Yea it shall come to pass—That, so, shall he be who gleaneth ears, in the vale of Rephaim;
6 Kodwa umkhothozo uzasala kukho, njengokunyikinyeka kwesihlahla somhlwathi, imihlwathi emibili loba emithathu engqongeni yogatsha oluphezulu, emine loba emihlanu engatsheni zaso ezithelayo, itsho iNkosi uNkulunkulu kaIsrayeli.
Yet shall there be left therein, a gleaning. As in the beating of an olive-tree, —Two-three berries in the head of the tree-top, —Four—five, among her fruitful boughs, Declareth Yahweh God of Israel.
7 Ngalolosuku umuntu uzajolozela kuMenzi wakhe, lamehlo akhe akhangele koNgcwele kaIsrayeli.
In that day, shall the son of earth look to him that made him, —And his eyes unto the Holy One of Israel, be turned;
8 Njalo kayikujolozela emalathini, umsebenzi wezandla zakhe; njalo kayikukhangela kulokho iminwe yakhe ekwenzileyo, loba izixuku loba amalathi elanga.
And he shall not look unto the altars the work of his own hands, —Nor to what his own fingers have made, shall his eye be turned, Whether Sacred Stems or Sun-pillars.
9 Ngalolosuku imizi yabo eqinileyo izakuba njengegusu elideliweyo lengqonga yogatsha abaludelileyo ngenxa yabantwana bakoIsrayeli; njalo kuzakuba yincithakalo.
In that day, shall his fortified cities become Like a neglected bough and a topmost branch, Which they neglected because of the sons of Israel, —So shall there be desolation.
10 Ngoba umkhohliwe uNkulunkulu wosindiso lwakho, kawukhumbulanga idwala lamandla akho; ngenxa yalokho uzahlanyela izithombo ezinhle, uyihlanyele ngamahlumela angejwayelekanga.
Because thou didst forget the God of thy salvation, And thy Rock of refuge, thou didst not remember, For this cause, shalt thou plant very pleasant plants, And, the slip of a stranger, shalt thou set:
11 Ngosuku lokuhlanyela kwakho uzakwenza kuhlume, lekuseni wenze inhlanyelo yakho ikhuphe impoko; kodwa isivuno sizakuba yinqumbi ngosuku lomkhuhlane lobuhlungu obungelaphekiyo.
In the day when thou plantest, fence thou in, And in the morning, cause thou, thy slip, to blossom, —A harvest will have waved in the day of destiny, and mortal pain.
12 Yeka ukuhlokoma kwabantu abanengi abahlokoma njengokuhlokoma kwezinlwandle, lokuduma kwezizwe eziduma njengomdumo wamanzi amanengi!
Alas! the booming of many peoples, Like the booming of the seas, shall they boom, —And the rushing of nations! Like the rushing of mighty waters, shall they rush.
13 Izizwe ziduma njengomdumo wamanzi amanengi, kodwa uzazikhuza ukuze zibalekele khatshana, zixotshwe njengamakhoba ezintaba phambi komoya, lanjengokugiqikayo phambi kwesiphepho.
Though nations like the rushing of many waters, shall rush, Yet shall one rebuke him, And he shall flee far away, —And be chased As the chaff of the mountains before a wind, And as whirling stubble before a storm!
14 Ngesikhathi sokuhlwa, khangela-ke, ukuthuthumela, kungakasi kasekho. Yiso isabelo sabasiphangayo lenkatho yabasihlaselayo.
At eventide, lo! terror, Before morning, he is not! This, is the portion of them who plunder us, And the lot of them who make of us a prey.
