U-Isaya 37
1 Kwasekusithi inkosi uHezekhiya isikuzwile, yadabula izigqoko zayo, yazembesa ngesaka, yangena endlini yeNkosi.
It came about that when King Hezekiah heard their report, he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of Yahweh.
2 Yasithuma uEliyakhimi umphathi wendlu, loShebina umabhalane, labadala babapristi bembethe amasaka, kuIsaya umprofethi indodana kaAmozi.
He sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, all covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah son of Amoz, the prophet.
3 Basebesithi kuye: Utsho njalo uHezekhiya: Lolusuku lusuku lohlupho lolokusolwa lolokweyiswa, ngoba abantwana sebefikile emlonyeni wesizalo, kanti akulamandla okubeletha.
They said to him, “Hezekiah says, 'This day is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace, like when a child is ready to be born, but the mother has no strength to give birth to her child.
4 Mhlawumbe iNkosi, uNkulunkulu wakho, izawezwa amazwi kaRabi-Shake, onkosi yeAsiriya, inkosi yakhe, emthume ukuthuka uNkulunkulu ophilayo, lokusola ngamazwi iNkosi uNkulunkulu wakho ewazwileyo. Ngakho phakamisa umkhuleko ngensali etholakeleyo.
It may be Yahweh your God will hear the words of the chief commander, whom the king of Assyria his master has sent to defy the living God, and will rebuke the words which Yahweh your God has heard. Now lift up your prayer for the remnant that is still here.'”
5 Ngakho inceku zenkosi uHezekhiya zafika kuIsaya.
So the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah,
6 UIsaya wasesithi kuzo: Lizakutsho njalo enkosini yenu: Itsho njalo iNkosi: Ungesabi amazwi owezwileyo, inceku zenkosi yeAsiriya ezingithuke ngawo.
and Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master: 'Yahweh says, “Do not be afraid of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have insulted me.
7 Khangela, ngizafaka umoya kuyo, njalo izakuzwa ihungahunga, ibuyele elizweni layo; njalo ngizayenza ukuthi iwe ngenkemba elizweni layo.
Look, I will put a spirit in him, and he will hear a certain report and go back to his own land. I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.”'”
8 URabi-Shake wasebuyela, wafica inkosi yeAsiriya isilwa imelene leLibhina; ngoba wayezwile ukuthi isisukile eLakishi.
Then the chief commander returned and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had gone away from Lachish.
9 Wasesizwa ngoTirihaka inkosi yeEthiyophiya kuthiwa: Uphumile ukuzakulwa lawe. Esekuzwile wathuma izithunywa kuHezekhiya esithi:
Then Sennacherib heard that Tirhakah king of Cush and Egypt had mobilized to fight against him, so he sent messengers again to Hezekiah with a message:
10 Lizakhuluma kanje kuHezekhiya inkosi yakoJuda lithi: UNkulunkulu wakho othembele kuye kangakukhohlisi esithi: IJerusalema kayiyikunikelwa esandleni senkosi yeAsiriya.
“Say to Hezekiah, king of Judah, 'Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you, saying, “Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.”
11 Khangela, wena usuzwile ukuthi amakhosi eAsiriya enzeni kuwo wonke amazwe ngokuwatshabalalisa. Wena-ke uzakhululwa yini?
See, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands by destroying them completely. So will you be rescued?
12 Onkulunkulu bezizwe bazikhulula yini obaba abazichithayo, iGozani leHarani leRezefi, labantwana beEdeni ababeseTelasari?
Have the gods of the nations rescued them, the nations that my fathers destroyed: Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden in Tel Assar?
13 Ingaphi inkosi yeHamathi, lenkosi yeArpadi, lenkosi yomuzi weSefavayimi, iHena, leIva?
Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the cities of Sepharvaim, of Hena, and Ivvah?'”
14 UHezekhiya wasesemukela izincwadi esandleni sezithunywa, wazifunda, wenyukela endlini yeNkosi; uHezekhiya wasezichaya phambi kweNkosi.
Hezekiah received this letter from hand of the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the house of Yahweh and spread it before him.
15 UHezekhiya wasekhuleka eNkosini, esithi:
Hezekiah prayed to Yahweh:
16 Nkosi yamabandla, Nkulunkulu kaIsrayeli, ohlala phakathi kwamakherubhi, nguwe wedwa onguNkulunkulu wayo yonke imibuso yomhlaba; wena wenze amazulu lomhlaba.
“Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, you who sit above the cherubim, you are God alone over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.
17 Thoba indlebe yakho, Nkosi, uzwe, vula amehlo akho, Nkosi, ubone; uzwe wonke amazwi kaSenakheribi awathumele ukuklolodela uNkulunkulu ophilayo.
Turn your ear, Yahweh, and listen. Open your eyes, Yahweh, and see, and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God.
18 Qiniso, Nkosi, amakhosi eAsiriya achithile zonke izizwe lamazwe azo;
It is true, Yahweh, the kings of Assyria have destroyed all the nations and their lands.
19 aphosela onkulunkulu bazo emlilweni, ngoba babengeyisibo onkulunkulu, kodwa umsebenzi wezandla zabantu, izigodo lamatshe; ngalokho bababhubhisa.
They have put their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but the work of men's hands, just wood and stone. So the Assyrians have destroyed them.
20 Ngakho-ke, Nkosi Nkulunkulu wethu, sisindise esandleni sakhe, ukuze yonke imibuso yomhlaba yazi ukuthi wena wedwa uyiNkosi.
So now, Yahweh our God, save us from his power, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you are Yahweh alone.”
21 UIsaya indodana kaAmozi wasethumela kuHezekhiya, esithi: Itsho njalo iNkosi, uNkulunkulu kaIsrayeli: Lokho okukhuleke kimi ngoSenakheribi inkosi yeAsiriya,
Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah, saying, “Yahweh, the God of Israel says, 'Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria,
22 leli yilizwi iNkosi elikhulume ngaye: Intombi emsulwa, indodakazi yeZiyoni iyakudelela, iyakuklolodela; indodakazi yeJerusalema inikina ikhanda ngemva kwakho.
this is the word that Yahweh has spoken about him: “The virgin daughter of Zion despises you and laughs you to scorn; the daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head at you.
23 Ngubani omeyisileyo wamhlambaza? Njalo uphakamisele bani ilizwi, waphakamisela amehlo akho phezulu? Umelene loNgcwele kaIsrayeli.
Whom have you defied and insulted? Against whom have you exalted your voice and lifted up your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel.
24 Uklolodele iNkosi ngesandla sezinceku zakho, wathi: Ngobunengi bezinqola zami mina ngenyukele endaweni ephakemeyo yezintaba, ezinhlangothini zeLebhanoni. Njalo ngizagamula imisedari yayo emide, ikhethelo lezihlahla zamafiri ayo, ngingene ekuphakameni kwemingcele yayo, igusu leKharmeli layo.
By your servants you have defied the Lord and have said, 'With the multitude of my chariots I have gone up to the heights of the mountains, to the highest elevations of Lebanon. I will cut down its tall cedars and choice cypress trees there, and I will enter into its farthest high places, its most fruitful forest.
25 Mina ngagebha, nganatha amanzi, langengaphansi yenyawo zami ngomisa yonke imifula yendawo evinjelweyo.
I have dug wells and drunk water; I dried up all the rivers of Egypt under the soles of my feet.'
26 Kawuzwanga yini ukuthi ngakwenza endulo, ngakubumba ensukwini zendulo? Khathesi ngikufikisile, ukuthi ube ngowokudiliza imizi evikelweyo ibe zinqumbi zamanxiwa.
Have you not heard how I determined it long ago and worked it out in ancient times? Now I am bringing it to pass. You are here to reduce impregnable cities into heaps of ruins.
27 Ngakho abahlali bayo babelesandla esifitshane, besaba, baba lenhloni, baba njengotshani beganga, lemibhida eluhlaza, utshani bempahla, lamabele ahanguliweyo engakami.
Their inhabitants, of little strength, are shattered and ashamed. They are plants in the field, green grass, the grass on the roof or in the field, before the east wind.
28 Kodwa ngiyakwazi ukuhlala kwakho, lokuphuma kwakho, lokungena kwakho, lokungithukuthelela kwakho.
But I know your sitting down, your going out, your coming in, and your raging against me.
29 Ngenxa yokungithukuthelela kwakho, lokuthi umsindo wakho wenyukele endlebeni zami, ngizakufaka umkhala wami emakhaleni akho, letomu lami endebeni zakho, ngikwenze ubuyele ngendlela oweza ngayo.
Because of your raging against me, and because your arrogance has reached my ears, I will put my hook in your nose, and my bit in your mouth; I will turn you back the way you came.”
30 Lokhu-ke kuzakuba yisibonakaliso kuwe; lonyaka uzakudla okuzikhulelayo; langomnyaka wesibili umkhukhuzela; kuthi ngomnyaka wesithathu lihlanyele, livune, lihlanyele izivini, lidle izithelo zazo.
This will be the sign for you: This year you will eat what grows wild, and in the second year what grows from that. But in the third year you must plant and harvest, plant vineyards and eat their fruit.
31 Lokuphephileyo kwendlu yakoJuda okuseleyo kuzaphinda kugxumeke impande phansi, kuthele izithelo ngaphezulu.
The remnant of the house of Judah that survives will again take root and bear fruit.
32 Ngoba kuzaphuma eJerusalema insali, lokuphephileyo entabeni yeZiyoni. Ukutshiseka kweNkosi yamabandla kuzakwenza lokhu.
For from Jerusalem a remnant will come out; from Mount Zion survivors will come. The zeal of Yahweh of hosts will do this.'”
33 Ngakho, utsho njalo uJehova ngenkosi yeAsiriya: Kayiyikungena kulumuzi, kayiyikutshoka umtshoko khona, kayiyikuza phambi kwawo ilesihlangu, kayiyikubuthelela idundulu maqondana lawo.
Therefore Yahweh says this about the king of Assyria: “He will not come into this city and he will not shoot an arrow here. He will not come before it with shield or build up a siege ramp against it.
34 Ngendlela eyeza ngayo, ngayo izabuyela, njalo kayiyikungena kulo umuzi, itsho iNkosi.
The way by which he came will be the same way he will leave; he will not enter this city—this is Yahweh's declaration.
35 Ngoba ngizawuvikela lumuzi ukuwusindisa, ngenxa yami, langenxa kaDavida inceku yami.
For I will defend this city and rescue it, for my own sake and for David my servant's sake.”
36 Khona kwaphuma ingilosi yeNkosi, yatshaya enkambeni yamaAsiriya abazinkulungwane ezilikhulu lamatshumi ayisificaminwembili lanhlanu. Kwathi bevuka ekuseni kakhulu, khangela-ke, bonke babeyizidumbu ezifileyo.
Then the angel of Yahweh went out and attacked the camp of the Assyrians, putting to death 185,000 soldiers. When the men arose early in the morning, dead bodies lay everywhere.
37 Ngakho uSenakheribi inkosi yeAsiriya wasuka, wahamba ebuyela, wahlala eNineve.
So Sennacherib king of Assyria left Israel and went home and stayed in Nineveh.
38 Kwasekusithi ekhonza endlini kaNisiroki unkulunkulu wakhe, oAdrameleki loSharezeri amadodana akhe bamtshaya ngenkemba; bona basebephephela elizweni leArarathi. UEsarihadoni indodana yakhe wasebusa esikhundleni sakhe.
Later, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisrok his god, his sons Adrammelek and Sharezer killed him with the sword. Then they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.
