Isaya 17
1 Neno kuhusu Dameski: “Tazama, Dameski haitakuwa tena mji bali itakuwa lundo la magofu.
This is the burden against Damascus: “Behold, Damascus is no longer a city; it has become a heap of ruins.
2 Miji ya Aroeri itaachwa na itaachiwa mifugo ambayo italala huko, bila yeyote wa kuyaogopesha.
The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be left to the flocks, which will lie down with no one to fear.
3 Mji wenye ngome utatoweka kutoka Efraimu, nao uweza wa ufalme kutoka Dameski; mabaki ya Aramu yatakuwa kama utukufu wa Waisraeli,” asema Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote.
The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the sovereignty from Damascus. The remnant of Aram will be like the splendor of the Israelites,”
4 “Katika siku ile utukufu wa Yakobo utafifia, unono wa mwili wake utadhoofika.
“In that day the splendor of Jacob will fade, and the fat of his body will waste away,
5 Itakuwa kama mvunaji akusanyavyo nafaka na kuvuna nafaka kwa mikono yake, kama wakati mtu aokotapo masazo ya masuke katika Bonde la Warefai.
as the reaper gathers the standing grain and harvests the ears with his arm, as one gleans heads of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.
6 Hata hivyo baadhi ya masazo yatabaki, kama vile mti wa mzeituni unavyopigwa, kukiachwa zeituni mbili au tatu juu ya matawi kileleni, nne au tano katika matawi yazaayo sana,” asema Bwana, Mungu wa Israeli.
Yet gleanings will remain, like an olive tree that has been beaten— two or three berries atop the tree, four or five on its fruitful branches,”
7 Katika siku ile watu watamwangalia Muumba wao, na kuelekeza macho yao kwa yule Aliye Mtakatifu wa Israeli.
In that day men will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
8 Hawataziangalia tena madhabahu, kazi za mikono yao, nao hawataheshimu nguzo za Ashera, na madhabahu za kufukizia uvumba zilizofanywa kwa mikono yao.
They will not look to the altars they have fashioned with their hands or to the Asherahs and incense altars they have made with their fingers.
9 Katika siku ile miji yao iliyo imara, ambayo waliihama kwa sababu ya Waisraeli, itakuwa kama mahali palipoachwa pa vichaka na magugu. Nayo yote itakuwa ukiwa.
In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken thickets and summits, abandoned to the Israelites and to utter desolation.
10 Mmemsahau Mungu Mwokozi wenu, hamkumkumbuka Mwamba aliye ngome yenu. Kwa hiyo, hata ingawa mlipandikiza mimea iliyo mizuri sana na kuotesha mizabibu ya kigeni,
For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and failed to remember the Rock of your refuge. Therefore, though you cultivate delightful plots and set out cuttings from exotic vines—
11 hata kama siku ile unapoipandikiza, unaifanya iote na asubuhi ile ile unayoipanda, unaifanya ichipue, hata hivyo mavuno yatakuwa kama si kitu katika siku ile ya ugonjwa na maumivu yasiyoponyeka.
though on the day you plant you make them grow, and on that morning you help your seed sprout— yet the harvest will vanish on the day of disease and incurable pain.
12 Lo! Ghadhabu ya mataifa mengi, wanaghadhibika kama bahari iliyochafuka! Lo! Makelele ya mataifa wanavuma kama ngurumo za maji mengi!
Alas, the tumult of many peoples; they rage like the roaring seas and clamoring nations; they rumble like the crashing of mighty waters.
13 Ingawa mataifa yanavuma kama ngurumo za maji yanayofanya mawimbi, wakati anapoyakemea yanakimbia mbali, yanafukuzwa mbele ya upepo kama makapi juu ya milima, kama jani livingirishwapo na dhoruba.
The nations rage like the rush of many waters. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweeds before a gale.
14 Wakati wa jioni, hofu ya ghafula! Kabla ya asubuhi, wametoweka! Hili ndilo fungu la wale wanaotupora, fungu la wale wanaotunyangʼanya mali zetu.
In the evening, there is sudden terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us and the lot of those who plunder us.
