Isaya 33
1 Ole wako wewe, ee mharabu, wewe ambaye hukuharibiwa! Ole wako, ee msaliti, wewe ambaye hukusalitiwa! Utakapokwisha kuharibu, utaharibiwa; utakapokwisha kusaliti, utasalitiwa.
Tragedy is coming to you, you destroyer who has not experienced destruction yourself, you deceiver who has not experienced deception yourself! When you have finished with your destroying, you will be destroyed yourself. Then you are finished with your deceiving, you will be deceived yourselves.
2 Ee Bwana, uturehemu, tunakutamani. Uwe nguvu yetu kila asubuhi na wokovu wetu wakati wa taabu.
Lord, please be kind to us; we put our confidence in you. Be the strength we rely on every morning; be our salvation in times of trouble.
3 Kwa ngurumo ya sauti yako, mataifa yanakimbia; unapoinuka, mataifa hutawanyika.
When you roar, the peoples run away; when you prepare for action, the nations scatter!
4 Mateka yenu, enyi mataifa, yamevunwa kama vile wafanyavyo madumadu, kama kundi la nzige watu huvamia juu yake.
You plunder defeated enemy armies like caterpillars eating up plants; like an attack of swarming locusts.
5 Bwana ametukuka, kwa kuwa anakaa mahali palipoinuka, ataijaza Sayuni kwa haki na uadilifu.
The Lord is praised for he lives in highest heaven; he has filled Zion with justice and right.
6 Atakuwa msingi ulio imara kwa wakati wenu, ghala za wokovu tele, hekima na maarifa; kumcha Bwana ni ufunguo wa hazina hii.
He will be your constant support throughout your lives an abundant source of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. Reverence for the Lord is what makes Zion rich.
7 Angalia, watu wake mashujaa wanapiga kelele kwa nguvu barabarani, wajumbe wa amani wanalia kwa uchungu.
But look! Even your bravest soldiers are crying loudly in the street; the messengers you sent to ask for peace are weeping bitterly.
8 Njia kuu zimeachwa, hakuna wasafiri barabarani. Mkataba umevunjika, mashahidi wake wamedharauliwa, hakuna yeyote anayeheshimiwa.
Your highways are deserted; nobody's traveling on your roads anymore. He breaks the treaty; he despises the witnesses; he doesn't care about anybody.
9 Ardhi inaomboleza na kuchakaa, Lebanoni imeaibika na kunyauka, Sharoni ni kama Araba, nayo Bashani na Karmeli wanapukutisha majani yao.
Israel is in mourning and fades away; Lebanon withers in shame; the fields of Sharon have become a desert; the forests of Bashan and Carmel have shed their leaves.
10 “Sasa nitainuka,” asema Bwana. “Sasa nitatukuzwa; sasa nitainuliwa juu.
“But now I'm going to intervene!” says the Lord. “I'm prepared to act! I will show myself to be above all others!
11 Mlichukua mimba ya makapi, mkazaa mabua, pumzi yenu ni moto uwateketezao.
All you give birth to is only dry grass, all you deliver is just stubble. Your breath is a fire that will burn you up.
12 Mataifa yatachomwa kama ichomwavyo chokaa, kama vichaka vya miiba vilivyokatwa ndivyo watakavyochomwa.”
You people will be burned to ashes like thorns that are cut down and thrown into the fire.
13 Ninyi mlio mbali sana, sikieni lile nililofanya; ninyi mlio karibu, tambueni uweza wangu!
Those of you who are far away, recognize what I have accomplished; those of you who are nearby, recognize how powerful I am.”
14 Wenye dhambi katika Sayuni wametiwa hofu, kutetemeka kumewakumba wasiomcha Mungu: “Ni nani miongoni mwetu awezaye kuishi na moto ulao? Ni nani miongoni mwetu awezaye kuishi na moto unaowaka milele?”
The sinners who live in Zion tremble with fear; those who are irreligious are overcome with terror. They ask, “Who can live with this fire that consumes everything? Who can live among such everlasting burning?”
15 Yeye aendaye kwa uadilifu na kusema lililo haki, yeye anayekataa faida ipatikanayo kwa dhuluma na kuizuia mikono yake isipokee rushwa, yeye azuiaye masikio yake dhidi ya mashauri ya mauaji, na yeye afumbaye macho yake yasitazame sana uovu:
Those who live right and speak the truth, those who refuse to profit from extortion and refuse to take bribes, who don't listen to plots to kill people, who close their eyes rather than look at evil.
16 huyu ndiye mtu atakayeishi mahali pa juu, ambaye kimbilio lake litakuwa ngome ya mlimani. Atapewa mkate wake, na maji yake hayatakoma.
They will live on high; they will be protected by the mountain fortresses; they will always be provided with food and will always have water.
17 Macho yenu yatamwona mfalme katika uzuri wake na kuiona nchi inayoenea mbali.
You will see the king in his wonderful appearance, and you will view a land that stretches into the distance.
18 Katika mawazo yenu mtaifikiria hofu iliyopita: “Yuko wapi yule afisa mkuu? Yuko wapi yule aliyechukua ushuru? Yuko wapi afisa msimamizi wa minara?”
In your mind you will think about the terrifying things that were expected, and then ask yourself, “Where are the enemy officials—the scribes who were to record events, the treasurers who were to weigh the looted money, the surveyors who were to count and destroy the towers?”
19 Hutawaona tena wale watu wenye kiburi, wale watu wenye usemi wa mafumbo, wenye lugha ngeni, isiyoeleweka.
You won't see these offensive people anymore with their barbaric language that sounds like someone stammering and is impossible to understand.
20 Mtazame Sayuni, mji wa sikukuu zetu; macho yenu yatauona Yerusalemu, mahali pa amani pa kuishi, hema ambalo halitaondolewa, nguzo zake hazitangʼolewa kamwe, wala hakuna kamba yake yoyote itakayokatika.
On the contrary, you'll see Zion as a festival city. You will view Jerusalem as a quiet and peaceful place. It will be like a tent that's never taken down, whose tent-pegs are never pulled up, whose guy ropes never snap.
21 Huko Bwana atakuwa Mwenye Nguvu wetu. Patakuwa kama mahali pa mito mipana na vijito. Hakuna jahazi lenye makasia litakalopita huko, wala hakuna meli yenye nguvu itakayopita huko.
Right here our majestic Lord will be like a place of broad rivers and waters that no enemy ship with oars can cross—no great ship can pass.
22 Kwa kuwa Bwana ni mwamuzi wetu, Bwana ndiye mtoa sheria wetu, Bwana ni mfalme wetu, yeye ndiye atakayetuokoa.
For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king. He is the one who will save us.
23 Kamba zenu za merikebu zimelegea: Mlingoti haukusimama imara, nalo tanga halikukunjuliwa. Wingi wa mateka yatagawanywa, hata yeye aliye mlemavu atachukua nyara.
The rigging on your ship hangs loose so the mast isn't secure and the sail can't be spread. Then all the looted treasure you're carrying will be divided among the victors—even those who are lame will have their share.
24 Hakuna yeyote aishiye Sayuni atakayesema, “Mimi ni mgonjwa”; nazo dhambi za wale waishio humo zitasamehewa.
Nobody in Israel will say, “I'm sick,” and those who live there will have their guilt removed.
