< U-Isaya 33 >
1 Maye kuwe ochithayo, kodwa ungachithwanga! Lowenza ngenkohliso, bengenzanga ngenkohliso kuwe! Lapho usuqedile ukuchitha, uzachithwa; lapho usucinile ukwenza ngenkohliso, bazakwenza ngenkohliso kuwe.
Woe to you, destroyer who has not been destroyed! Woe to the betrayer whom they have not betrayed! When you stop destroying, you will be destroyed. When you stop betraying, they will betray you.
2 Nkosi, woba lomusa kithi, sikulindele; woba yingalo yabo ekuseni konke, losindiso lwethu ngesikhathi socindezelo.
Yahweh, be gracious to us; we wait for you; be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble.
3 Emsindweni wokuhlokoma abantu babaleka; ekuziphakamiseni kwakho izizwe zahlakazeka.
At the loud noise the peoples flee; when you arise, the nations are scattered.
4 Lempango yenu izabuthwa njengokubutha kwecimbi, njengokugijima kwentethe uzagijima phezu kwayo.
Your spoil is gathered as the locusts gather; as locusts leap, men leap on it.
5 INkosi iphakeme, ngoba ihlala phezulu; igcwalise iZiyoni ngesahlulelo langokulunga.
Yahweh is exalted. He lives in a high place. He will fill Zion with justice and righteousness.
6 Lenhlakanipho lolwazi kuzakuba yikuqina kwezikhathi zakho, amandla ezinsindiso; ukwesaba iNkosi kuligugu lakhe.
He will be the stability in your times, abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge; the fear of Yahweh is his treasure.
7 Khangela, amaqhawe abo azakhala ngaphandle; izithunywa zokuthula zizakhala inyembezi kabuhlungu.
Look, their envoys cry in the streets; the diplomats hoping for peace weep bitterly.
8 Imigwaqo emikhulu ize, owedlula ngendlela kakho; wephule isivumelwano, udelele imizi, kananzi muntu.
The highways are deserted; there are no more travelers. Covenants are broken, witnesses are despised, and mankind is not respected.
9 Ilizwe liyalila lidangele; iLebhanoni ilenhloni iyabuna; iSharoni injengenkangala; njalo iBashani leKharmeli kuyakhithiza.
The land mourns and withers away; Lebanon is ashamed and withers away; Sharon is like a desert plain; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
10 Khathesi ngizavuka, kutsho iNkosi; khathesi ngizadunyiswa; khathesi ngizaphakanyiswa.
“Now will I arise,” says Yahweh; “now I will be lifted up; now I will be elevated.
11 Lizakhulelwa ngamakhoba, beselizala izibi; umoya wenu, njengomlilo, uzaliqeda.
You conceive chaff, and you give birth to stubble; your breath is a fire that will consume you.
12 Njalo abantu bazakuba njengokutshisiweyo kwekalaga; njengameva aqunyiweyo bazatshiswa emlilweni.
The peoples will be burned to lime, as thornbushes are cut down and are burned.
13 Zwanini, lina elikhatshana, engikwenzileyo; lani eliseduze, vumani amandla ami.
You who are far away, hear what I have done; and, you who are near, acknowledge my might.”
14 Izoni zeZiyoni ziyesaba, ukuthuthumela kubabambile abazenzisi. Ngubani phakathi kwethu ongahlala lomlilo oqothulayo? Ngubani phakathi kwethu ongahlala lokutshisa okuphakade?
The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has seized the godless ones. Who among us can sojourn with a raging fire? Who among us can sojourn with everlasting burnings?
15 Yena ohamba ngokulunga, akhulume ngobuqotho, odelela inzuzo yezincindezelo, othintitha izandla zakhe ekubambeni isivalamlomo, ovala indlebe yakhe ekuzweni ngamacala legazi, ocimeza amehlo akhe ukuze angaboni okubi;
He who walks righteously and speaks honestly; who despises the gain of oppression, who shakes his hand so that it will not accept a bribe, who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed, and who shuts his eyes from looking on evil—
16 yena uzahlala ezindaweni eziphakemeyo; izinqaba zamadwala zibe yisivikelo sakhe; isinkwa sakhe asinikwe; amanzi akhe athembeke.
this is the man who will dwell on the heights, his place of defense will be the fortress among the cliffs, his food will be given, and his water will be in steady supply.
17 Amehlo akho azabona iNkosi ebuhleni bayo; abone ilizwe elikhatshana kakhulu.
Your eyes will see the king in his beauty; they will see a land off in the distance.
18 Inhliziyo yakho izazindla ukwesabisa. Ungaphi umbhali? Ungaphi umlinganisi? Ungaphi obala imiphotshongo?
Your heart will recall the terror; where is the scribe, where is he who weighed the money? Where is he who counted the towers?
19 Kawuyikubona abantu abayiziqholo, abantu abenkulumo ejule okokuthi ungeyizwisise, abolimi olugagasayo ongeluqedisise.
You will no longer see the defiant people, a people of a strange language that you do not understand.
20 Khangela iZiyoni, umuzi wemikhosi yethu emisiweyo; amehlo akho azabona iJerusalema, indawo yokuhlala elokonwaba, ithente elingayikusuka, ozikhonkwane zalo ezizasitshulwa phakade, kakuyikuqamuka leyodwa yezintambo zalo.
Look at Zion, the city of our feasts; your eyes will see Jerusalem as a quiet habitation, a tent that will not be removed, whose stakes will never be pulled up nor will any of its cords be broken.
21 Kodwa lapho iNkosi izakuba ngelobukhosi kithi, indawo yemifula, yezifula ezibanzi; umkolo olamaphini okugwedla ongahambi khona, lomkhumbi olamandla ongedluli khona.
Instead, Yahweh in majesty will be with us, in a place of broad rivers and streams. No warship with oars will travel it, and no large ships will sail by.
22 Ngoba uJehova ungumahluleli wethu, uJehova ungumnikumthetho wethu, uJehova uyinkosi yethu, yena uzasisindisa.
For Yahweh is our judge, Yahweh is our lawgiver, Yahweh is our king; he will save us.
23 Ingoda zakho ziyaxega; kaziyikuqinisa iqonde insika yazo yomkolo, zingeyelule iseyili; khona kuzakwabiwa impango yempango enengi, abaqhulayo baphange impango.
Your riggings are slack; they cannot hold the mast in place; they cannot spread the sail; when the great spoil is divided, even the lame will drag off the spoil.
24 Lomhlali kayikuthi: Ngiyagula. Abantu abahlala kuyo bazathethelelwa iziphambeko.
The inhabitants will not say, “I am sick;” the people who live there will be forgiven for their iniquity.