U-Isaya 42
1 Khangela inceku yami, engiyisekelayo, umkhethwa wami, othokoza ngaye umphefumulo wami; ngibekile uMoya wami phezu kwakhe; uzavezela izizwe isahlulelo.
Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen one, in him I take delight. I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring justice to the nations.
2 Kayikumemeza, kayikuphakamisa ilizwi, kayikwenza ilizwi lakhe lizwakale esitaladeni.
He will not cry out nor shout, nor make his voice heard in the streets.
3 Umhlanga ofecekileyo kayikuwephula, lentambo yesibane ethunqayo kayikuyicitsha; uzaveza isahlulelo ngeqiniso.
A crushed reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench: he will faithfully execute justice.
4 Kayikudinwa, kayikwephulwa, aze amise isahlulelo emhlabeni; lezihlenge zizalindela umlayo wakhe.
He will not grow faint nor be discouraged until he has established justice on the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.
5 Utsho njalo uNkulunkulu iNkosi, owadala amazulu, wawelula, owendlala umhlaba lalokho okuphuma kuwo, onika abantu abakuwo ukuphefumula, lomoya kulabo abahamba kuwo.
This is what God Yahweh says— the one who created the heavens and stretched them out, the one who made the earth and all that it produces, the one who gives breath to the people on it and life to those who live on it:
6 Mina Nkosi ngikubizile ngokulunga, ngizabamba isandla sakho, ngikulondoloze, ngikunike ube yisivumelwano sabantu, ube yikukhanya kwabezizwe.
“I, Yahweh, have called you in righteousness and will hold your hand. I will keep you and set you as a covenant for the people, as a light for the Gentiles,
7 Ukuthi uvule amehlo eziphofu, ukuthi ukhuphe izibotshwa entolongweni, labahlezi emnyameni endlini yezibotshwa.
to open the eyes of the blind, to release the prisoners from the dungeon, and from the house of confinement those who sit in darkness.
8 NgiyiNkosi, lelo libizo lami; lodumo lwami kangiyikulunika omunye, kumbe indumiso yami ezithombeni ezibaziweyo.
I am Yahweh, that is my name; and my glory I will not share with another nor my praise with carved idols.
9 Khangela, izinto zamandulo sezifikile; sengimemezela izinto ezintsha; zingakahlumi ngilitshela ngazo.
See, the previous things came to pass, now I am about to declare new events. Before they begin to occur I will tell you about them.”
10 Hlabelelani iNkosi ingoma entsha, indumiso zayo kusukela emkhawulweni womhlaba; lina elehlela elwandle, lokugcwala kwalo, zihlenge, labahlali bazo.
Sing to Yahweh a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth; you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, the coastlands, and those who live there.
11 Kakuthi inkangala lemizi yayo kuphakamise ilizwi, lemizi uKedari ahlala kuyo; kakuthi abahlali bedwala bahlabelele, bamemeze besengqongeni yezintaba.
Let the desert and the cities cry out, the villages where Kedar lives, shout for joy! Let the inhabitants of Sela sing; let them shout from the mountaintops.
12 Kabayinike udumo iNkosi, bamemezele indumiso yayo ezihlengeni.
Let them give glory to Yahweh and declare his praise in the coastlands.
13 INkosi izaphuma njengeqhawe, ivuselele ukutshiseka njengendoda yempi; izamemeza, yebo iklabalale, izinqobe izitha zayo.
Yahweh will go out as a warrior; as a man of war he will stir up his zeal. He will shout, yes, he will roar his battle cries; he will show his enemies his power.
14 Kwasendulo ngithule, ngathi zwi, ngazibamba; ngizakhala njengowesifazana obelethayo; ngiphefuzele, ngikhefuzele kanyekanye.
I have kept quiet for a long time; I have been still and restrained myself; now I will cry out like a woman in labor; I will gasp and pant.
15 Ngizabhidliza izintaba lamaqaqa, ngomise konke okuluhlaza kwazo, ngenze imifula ibe yizihlenge, ngomise amachibi.
I will lay waste mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation; and I will turn the rivers into islands and will dry up the marshes.
16 Njalo ngizakwenza iziphofu zihambe ngendlela ezingayaziyo, ngizikhokhelele emikhondweni ezingayaziyo; ngizakwenza umnyama ube yikukhanya phambi kwazo, lezinto ezigobileyo ziqonde; lezizinto ngizazenza kuzo, ngingaziyekeli.
I will bring the blind by a way that they do not know; in paths that they do not know I will lead them. I will turn the darkness into light before them, and make the crooked places straight. These things I will do, and I will not abandon them.
17 Bazabuyiselwa emuva, bayangeke ngenhloni abathembela ezithombeni ezibaziweyo, abathi ezithombeni ezibunjwe ngokuncibilikisa: Lingonkulunkulu bethu.
They will be turned back, they will be completely put to shame, those who trust in carved figures, who say to cast metal figures, “You are our gods.”
18 Zwanini lina zacuthe, lani ziphofu likhangele, ukuze libone.
Listen, you deaf; and look, you blind, that you may see.
19 Ngubani oyisiphofu ngaphandle kwenceku yami, kumbe oyisacuthe njengesithunywa sami engisithumayo? Ngubani oyisiphofu njengopheleleyo, loyisiphofu njengenceku yeNkosi?
Who is blind but my servant? Or deaf like my messenger I send? Who is as blind as my covenant partner, or blind as Yahweh's servant?
20 Wena ubona izinto ezinengi, kodwa ungaziqaphelisi; yena uvula izindlebe, kodwa kezwa.
You see many things, but do not comprehend; ears are open, but no one hears.
21 INkosi iyathokoza ngenxa yokulunga kwayo; ikhulise umlayo, iwenze ube lodumo.
It pleased Yahweh to praise his justice and to make his law glorious.
22 Kodwa laba ngabantu abantshontshelwayo baphangwa, bonke bathiyiwe emigodini, bafihlwa ezintolongweni; bangabokuphangwa, njalo kungekho okhululayo; bayimpango, njalo kungabikho othi: Buyisela.
But this is a people robbed and plundered; they are all trapped in pits, held captive in prisons; they have become a plunder with no one to rescue them, and no one says, “Bring them back!”
23 Ngubani phakathi kwenu ozabeka indlebe kulokhu, ozalalela azwe esikhathini esizayo?
Who among you will listen to this? Who will listen and hear in the future?
24 Ngubani owanikela uJakobe ekuphangweni, loIsrayeli kubaphangi? Kwakungeyisiyo yini iNkosi esone kuyo? Ngoba bengavumanga ukuhamba endleleni zayo, njalo bengalalelanga umlayo wayo.
Who gave Jacob over to the robber, and Israel to the looters? Was it not Yahweh, against whom we have sinned, in whose ways they refused to walk, and whose law they refused to obey?
25 Ngakho yathululela phezu kwakhe ukuvutha kolaka lwayo, lamandla empi; njalo kwamthungela ngomlilo inhlangothi zonke, kodwa kakwazanga; kwamtshisa, kodwa kakubekanga enhliziyweni.
Therefore he poured out on them his fierce anger and the violence of war, Its flames encircled them, yet they did not understand; it consumed them, but they did not take it to heart.
