Isaya 40
1 Wafarijini, wafarijini watu wangu, asema Mungu wenu.
Comfort ye, comfort ye My people, saith your God.
2 Sema na Yerusalemu kwa upole, umtangazie kwamba kazi yake ngumu imekamilika, kwamba dhambi yake imefanyiwa fidia, kwamba amepokea kutoka mkononi mwa Bwana maradufu kwa ajili ya dhambi zake zote.
Bid Jerusalem take heart, and proclaim unto her, that her time of service is accomplished, that her guilt is paid off; that she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.
3 Sauti ya mtu aliaye: “Itengenezeni jangwani njia ya Bwana, nyoosheni njia kuu nyikani kwa ajili ya Mungu wetu.
Hark! one calleth: 'Clear ye in the wilderness the way of the LORD, make plain in the desert a highway for our God.
4 Kila bonde litainuliwa, kila mlima na kilima kitashushwa; penye mabonde patanyooshwa, napo palipoparuza patasawazishwa.
Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the rugged shall be made level, and the rough places a plain;
5 Utukufu wa Bwana utafunuliwa, nao wanadamu wote watauona pamoja. Kwa maana kinywa cha Bwana kimenena.”
And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.'
6 Sauti husema, “Piga kelele.” Nami nikasema, “Nipige kelele gani?” “Wanadamu wote ni kama majani, nao utukufu wao wote ni kama maua ya kondeni.
Hark! one saith: 'Proclaim!' And he saith: 'What shall I proclaim?' 'All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field;
7 Majani hunyauka na maua huanguka, kwa sababu pumzi ya Bwana huyapuliza. Hakika wanadamu ni majani.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the breath of the LORD bloweth upon it — surely the people is grass.
8 Majani hunyauka na maua huanguka, lakini neno la Mungu wetu ladumu milele.”
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand for ever.'
9 Wewe uletaye habari njema Sayuni, panda juu ya mlima mrefu. Wewe uletaye habari njema Yerusalemu, inua sauti yako kwa kupiga kelele, inua sauti, usiogope; iambie miji ya Yuda, “Yuko hapa Mungu wenu!”
O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah: 'Behold your God!'
10 Tazameni, Bwana Mwenyezi anakuja na nguvu, nao mkono wake ndio utawalao kwa ajili yake. Tazameni, ujira wake u pamoja naye, nayo malipo yake yanafuatana naye.
Behold, the Lord GOD will come as a Mighty One, and His arm will rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him.
11 Huchunga kundi lake kama mchungaji wa mifugo: Hukusanya wana-kondoo katika mikono yake na kuwachukua karibu na moyo wake, huwaongoza taratibu wale wanyonyeshao.
Even as a shepherd that feedeth his flock, that gathereth the lambs in his arm, and carrieth them in his bosom, and gently leadeth those that give suck.
12 Ni nani aliyepima maji ya bahari kwenye konzi ya mkono wake, au kuzipima mbingu kwa shibiri yake? Ni nani aliyeyashika mavumbi ya dunia katika kikapu, au kupima milima kwenye kipimio na vilima kwenye mizani?
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
13 Ni nani aliyeyafahamu mawazo ya Bwana, au kumfundisha akiwa kama mshauri wake?
Who hath meted out the spirit of the LORD? Or who was His counsellor that he might instruct Him?
14 Ni nani ambaye Bwana ametaka shauri kwake ili kumwelimisha, naye ni nani aliyemfundisha njia iliyo sawa? Ni nani aliyemfundisha maarifa au kumwonyesha mapito ya ufahamu?
With whom took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of right, and taught Him knowledge, and made Him to know the way of discernment?
15 Hakika mataifa ni kama tone ndani ya ndoo, ni kama vumbi jembamba juu ya mizani, huvipima visiwa kana kwamba vilikuwa vumbi laini.
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance; behold the isles are as a mote in weight.
16 Lebanoni hautoshi kwa moto wa madhabahuni, wala wanyama wake hawatoshi kwa sadaka za kuteketezwa.
And Lebanon is not sufficient fuel, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for burnt-offerings.
17 Mbele yake mataifa yote ni kama si kitu, yanaonekana yasio na thamani na zaidi ya bure kabisa.
All the nations are as nothing before Him; they are accounted by Him as things of nought, and vanity.
18 Basi, utamlinganisha Mungu na nani? Utamlinganisha na kitu gani?
To whom then will ye liken God? Or what likeness will ye compare unto Him?
19 Kwa habari ya sanamu, fundi huisubu, naye mfua dhahabu huifunika kwa dhahabu na kuitengenezea mikufu ya fedha.
The image perchance, which the craftsman hath melted, and the goldsmith spread over with gold, the silversmith casting silver chains?
20 Mtu aliye maskini sana asiyeweza kuleta sadaka kama hii huuchagua mti usiooza. Humtafuta fundi stadi wa kusimamisha sanamu ambayo haitatikisika.
A holm-oak is set apart, he chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning craftsman to set up an image, that shall not be moved.
21 Je, hujui? Je, hujasikia? Je, hujaambiwa tangu mwanzo? Je, hujafahamu tangu kuumbwa kwa dunia?
Know ye not? hear ye not? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood the foundations of the earth?
22 Anakaa kwenye kiti cha enzi juu ya duara ya dunia, nao watu wakaao ndani yake ni kama panzi. Huzitandaza mbingu kama chandarua, na kuzitandaza kama hema la kuishi.
It is He that sitteth above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in;
23 Huwafanya wakuu kuwa si kitu, na kuwashusha watawala wa dunia hii kuwa kitu bure.
That bringeth princes to nothing; He maketh the judges of the earth as a thing of nought.
24 Mara baada ya kupandwa, mara baada ya kutiwa ardhini, mara baada ya kutoa mizizi yao ardhini, ndipo huwapulizia nao wakanyauka, nao upepo wa kisulisuli huwapeperusha kama makapi.
Scarce are they planted, scarce are they sown, scarce hath their stock taken root in the earth; when He bloweth upon them, they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble.
25 “Utanilinganisha mimi na nani? Au ni nani anayelingana nami?” asema yeye Aliye Mtakatifu.
To whom then will ye liken Me, that I should be equal? saith the Holy One.
26 Inueni macho yenu mtazame mbinguni: Ni nani aliyeumba hivi vyote? Ni yeye aletaye nje jeshi la nyota moja baada ya nyingine na kuziita kila moja kwa jina lake. Kwa sababu ya uweza wake mkuu na nguvu zake kuu, hakuna hata mojawapo inayokosekana.
Lift up your eyes on high, and see: who hath created these? He that bringeth out their host by number, He calleth them all by name; by the greatness of His might, and for that He is strong in power, not one faileth.
27 Kwa nini unasema, ee Yakobo, nanyi ee Israeli, kulalamika, “Njia yangu imefichwa Bwana asiione, Mungu wangu hajali shauri langu?”
Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel: 'My way is hid from the LORD, and my right is passed over from my God'?
28 Je wewe, hufahamu? Je wewe, hujasikia? Bwana ni Mungu wa milele, Muumba wa miisho ya dunia. Hatachoka wala kulegea, wala hakuna hata mmoja awezaye kuupima ufahamu wake.
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? His discernment is past searching out.
29 Huwapa nguvu waliolegea na huongeza nguvu za wadhaifu.
He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might He increaseth strength.
30 Hata vijana huchoka na kulegea, nao vijana wanaume hujikwaa na kuanguka,
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall;
31 bali wale wamtumainio Bwana atafanya upya nguvu zao. Watapaa juu kwa mbawa kama tai; watapiga mbio wala hawatachoka, watatembea kwa miguu wala hawatazimia.
But they that wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.
