Isaya 17
1 Neno kuhusu Dameski: “Tazama, Dameski haitakuwa tena mji bali itakuwa lundo la magofu.
The oracle on Damascus, —Lo! Damascus, is to be removed from being a city, And shall become a heap of ruins:
2 Miji ya Aroeri itaachwa na itaachiwa mifugo ambayo italala huko, bila yeyote wa kuyaogopesha.
Forsaken, are the desolate cities, —For flocks, shall they serve, Which shall lie down and have none to make them afraid.
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.
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 “Katika siku ile utukufu wa Yakobo utafifia, unono wa mwili wake utadhoofika.
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 Itakuwa kama mvunaji akusanyavyo nafaka na kuvuna nafaka kwa mikono yake, kama wakati mtu aokotapo masazo ya masuke katika Bonde la Warefai.
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 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 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 Katika siku ile watu watamwangalia Muumba wao, na kuelekeza macho yao kwa yule Aliye Mtakatifu wa Israeli.
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 Hawataziangalia tena madhabahu, kazi za mikono yao, nao hawataheshimu nguzo za Ashera, na madhabahu za kufukizia uvumba zilizofanywa kwa mikono yao.
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 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, 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 Mmemsahau Mungu Mwokozi wenu, hamkumkumbuka Mwamba aliye ngome yenu. Kwa hiyo, hata ingawa mlipandikiza mimea iliyo mizuri sana na kuotesha mizabibu ya kigeni,
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 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.
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 Lo! Ghadhabu ya mataifa mengi, wanaghadhibika kama bahari iliyochafuka! Lo! Makelele ya mataifa wanavuma kama ngurumo za maji mengi!
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 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.
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 Wakati wa jioni, hofu ya ghafula! Kabla ya asubuhi, wametoweka! Hili ndilo fungu la wale wanaotupora, fungu la wale wanaotunyangʼanya mali zetu.
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.
