Isaya 33
1 Ole wako wewe, ee mharabu, wewe ambaye hukuharibiwa! Ole wako, ee msaliti, wewe ambaye hukusalitiwa! Utakapokwisha kuharibu, utaharibiwa; utakapokwisha kusaliti, utasalitiwa.
Terrible things will happen to you [people of Assyria]! You have destroyed [others], [but] you have not been destroyed [yet]. You have betrayed/deceived [others], [but] you have not been betrayed/deceived [yet]. When you stop destroying [others], others will destroy you. When you stop betraying/deceiving others, [others] betray you.
2 Ee Bwana, uturehemu, tunakutamani. Uwe nguvu yetu kila asubuhi na wokovu wetu wakati wa taabu.
Yahweh, be kind to us, because we have patiently waited for you [to help us]. Enable us to be strong every day, and rescue us when we have troubles.
3 Kwa ngurumo ya sauti yako, mataifa yanakimbia; unapoinuka, mataifa hutawanyika.
Our enemies run away when they hear your voice. When you stand up and show that you are powerful [IDM], the people of all nations flee.
4 Mateka yenu, enyi mataifa, yamevunwa kama vile wafanyavyo madumadu, kama kundi la nzige watu huvamia juu yake.
[And after our enemies have been defeated], we, your people, will take away all our enemies’ possessions like [SIM] caterpillars and locusts strip off all the leaves of plants.
5 Bwana ametukuka, kwa kuwa anakaa mahali palipoinuka, ataijaza Sayuni kwa haki na uadilifu.
Yahweh is greater than anyone else, and he lives in heaven, and he will rule justly and righteously in Jerusalem.
6 Atakuwa msingi ulio imara kwa wakati wenu, ghala za wokovu tele, hekima na maarifa; kumcha Bwana ni ufunguo wa hazina hii.
[When that happens], he will enable you to live securely/safely; he will fully protect your possessions, he will enable you to be wise and to know [all that you need to know]; and revering Yahweh will be [like] [MET] a valuable treasure for you.
7 Angalia, watu wake mashujaa wanapiga kelele kwa nguvu barabarani, wajumbe wa amani wanalia kwa uchungu.
[But now], look, our brave men are crying out in the streets; our ambassadors [have gone to other countries to make peace treaties], [but they will] cry bitterly [because they will not succeed].
8 Njia kuu zimeachwa, hakuna wasafiri barabarani. Mkataba umevunjika, mashahidi wake wamedharauliwa, hakuna yeyote anayeheshimiwa.
No one travels on our roads [DOU]. [The leaders of Assyria] have broken/disregarded their peace treaty [with us]; they despise the people who made those treaties, and they do not respect anyone.
9 Ardhi inaomboleza na kuchakaa, Lebanoni imeaibika na kunyauka, Sharoni ni kama Araba, nayo Bashani na Karmeli wanapukutisha majani yao.
The land [of Judah] is dry and barren. The [cedar trees in] Lebanon are drying up and decaying. The Sharon [Plain along the coast] is now a desert. There are no more leaves on the trees in the Bashan and Carmel [areas].
10 “Sasa nitainuka,” asema Bwana. “Sasa nitatukuzwa; sasa nitainuliwa juu.
Yahweh says, “Now I will begin to show that I am very powerful [DOU].
11 Mlichukua mimba ya makapi, mkazaa mabua, pumzi yenu ni moto uwateketezao.
You [people of Assyria] make plans that are [as useless as] [MET] chaff and straw. Your breath will become a fire that will burn you up.
12 Mataifa yatachomwa kama ichomwavyo chokaa, kama vichaka vya miiba vilivyokatwa ndivyo watakavyochomwa.”
[Your] people will be burned until only ashes remain [MET] like [SIM] thornbushes are cut down and burned up in a fire.
13 Ninyi mlio mbali sana, sikieni lile nililofanya; ninyi mlio karibu, tambueni uweza wangu!
You people who live far away and you people who live nearby, pay attention to what I have done and realize that I am [very] powerful.”
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 in Jerusalem will tremble because of being very afraid; godless people will be terrified. [They say], “None of us can [RHQ] remain alive because this fire is burning everything; it is like the fire on Yahweh’s altar that will burn forever!”
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 act honestly and say what is right, those who do not try to become rich by (extortion/forcing people to give them money), those who do not try to get bribes, those who refuse to listen to people who are planning to murder someone, those who do not join others who urge them to do what is wrong,
16 huyu ndiye mtu atakayeishi mahali pa juu, ambaye kimbilio lake litakuwa ngome ya mlimani. Atapewa mkate wake, na maji yake hayatakoma.
they are the people who will live safely [MTY]; they will find places to be safe in the caves in the mountains. They will have plenty of food and water.
17 Macho yenu yatamwona mfalme katika uzuri wake na kuiona nchi inayoenea mbali.
You [SYN] [people of Judah] will see the king wearing all his beautiful [robes], and you will see that he rules a land that extends far away.
18 Katika mawazo yenu mtaifikiria hofu iliyopita: “Yuko wapi yule afisa mkuu? Yuko wapi yule aliyechukua ushuru? Yuko wapi afisa msimamizi wa minara?”
When you see that, you will think about when you were previously terrified, [and you will say], “[The officers of Assyria] who counted the tax money that we were forced to pay to them [have disappeared] [RHQ]! Those men who counted our towers [are gone] [RHQ]!
19 Hutawaona tena wale watu wenye kiburi, wale watu wenye usemi wa mafumbo, wenye lugha ngeni, isiyoeleweka.
Those arrogant people who spoke a language that we could not understand are no longer here!”
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.
[At that time], you will see Zion Hill, the place where we celebrate our festivals; you will see that Jerusalem has become a place that is calm and safe. It will be [secure], [like] [SIM] a tent [that cannot be moved because] its ropes are tight and its stakes are firmly in the ground.
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.
Yahweh will be our mighty God; he will be [like] [SIM] a mighty river that will protect us because [our enemies] will not be able to cross it; no one will be able to row across it and no ships will be able to sail across it.
22 Kwa kuwa Bwana ni mwamuzi wetu, Bwana ndiye mtoa sheria wetu, Bwana ni mfalme wetu, yeye ndiye atakayetuokoa.
Yahweh is our judge; he is the one who gives us laws, and he is our king. He will rescue us.
23 Kamba zenu za merikebu zimelegea: Mlingoti haukusimama imara, nalo tanga halikukunjuliwa. Wingi wa mateka yatagawanywa, hata yeye aliye mlemavu atachukua nyara.
The ropes on our enemies’ boats will hang loose, their masts will not be fastened firmly, and their sails will not be spread out. The treasures that they have seized will be divided [among us, God’s people], and even lame [people among us] will get some.
24 Hakuna yeyote aishiye Sayuni atakayesema, “Mimi ni mgonjwa”; nazo dhambi za wale waishio humo zitasamehewa.
And the people in Jerusalem will no [longer] say, “We are sick,” [because Yahweh] will forgive the sins that have been committed by the people who live there.
