< Isaya 51 >
1 “Nisikilizeni, ninyi mnaofuatia haki na mnaomtafuta Bwana: Tazameni mwamba ambako mlichongwa, na mahali pa kuvunjia mawe ambako mlichimbwa;
Hearken to me, ye that pursue righteousness. Ye that seek Jehovah! Look to the rock whence ye were hewn, To the pit-quarry whence ye were digged!
2 mwangalieni Abrahamu, baba yenu, na Sara, ambaye aliwazaa. Wakati nilipomwita alikuwa mmoja tu, nami nikambariki na kumfanya kuwa wengi.
Look to Abraham your father, And to Sarah that bore you! For I called him when only one, And blessed him, and multiplied him.
3 Hakika Bwana ataifariji Sayuni, naye atayaangalia kwa huruma magofu yake yote; atayafanya majangwa yake yawe kama Edeni, nazo sehemu zake zisizolimika ziwe kama bustani ya Bwana. Shangwe na furaha zitakuwako ndani yake, shukrani na sauti za kuimba.
Thus will Jehovah have pity upon Zion; He will have pity upon all her desolations. He will make her wilderness like Eden, Her desert like the garden of Jehovah. Joy and gladness shall be found therein; Thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
4 “Nisikilizeni, watu wangu; nisikieni, taifa langu: Sheria itatoka kwangu; haki yangu itakuwa nuru kwa mataifa.
Hearken to me, O my people! And give ear to me, O my nation! For a law shall proceed from me, And I will establish my statutes for the light of the nations.
5 Haki yangu inakaribia mbio, wokovu wangu unakuja, nao mkono wangu utaleta hukumu kwa mataifa. Visiwa vitanitegemea na kungojea mkono wangu kwa matumaini.
My help is near; my salvation goeth forth; My arm shall judge the nations; Distant lands shall wait for me, And in my arm shall they trust.
6 Inueni macho yenu mbinguni, mkaitazame dunia chini; mbingu zitatoweka kama moshi, dunia itachakaa kama vazi, na wakazi wake kufa kama mainzi. Bali wokovu wangu utadumu milele, haki yangu haitakoma kamwe.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, And look down upon the earth beneath! For the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, And the earth shall decay like a garment, And its inhabitants shall perish like flies. But my salvation shall endure forever, And my goodness shall not decay.
7 “Nisikieni, ninyi mnaojua lililo sawa, ninyi watu ambao mna sheria yangu mioyoni mwenu: Msiogope mashutumu ya wanadamu wala msitiwe hofu na matukano yao.
Hearken to me, ye that know righteousness, The people in whose heart is my law! Fear ye not the reproach of men, Nor be disheartened by their revilings!
8 Kwa maana nondo atawala kama vazi, nao funza atawatafuna kama sufu. Lakini haki yangu itadumu milele, wokovu wangu kwa vizazi vyote.”
For the moth shall consume them like a garment, And the worm shall eat them like wool. But my goodness shall endure forever, And my salvation from generation to generation.
9 Amka, Amka! Jivike nguvu, ewe mkono wa Bwana, Amka, kama siku zilizopita, kama vile vizazi vya zamani. Si ni wewe uliyemkata Rahabu vipande vipande, uliyemchoma yule joka?
Awake! awake! clothe thyself with strength, O arm of Jehovah! Awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old!
10 Si ni wewe uliyekausha bahari, maji ya kilindi kikuu, uliyefanya barabara katika vilindi vya bahari ili waliokombolewa wapate kuvuka?
Art thou not the same that smote Rahab, And wounded the dragon? Art thou not the same that dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep, —That made the depths of the sea a path for the redeemed to pass through?
11 Wale waliolipiwa fidia na Bwana watarudi. Wataingia Sayuni wakiimba; furaha ya milele itakuwa taji juu ya vichwa vyao. Furaha na shangwe zitawapata, huzuni na kulia kwa uchungu kutatoweka.
Thus shall the ransomed of Jehovah return; They shall come to Zion with singing; Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; They shall obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12 “Mimi, naam mimi, ndimi niwafarijie ninyi. Ninyi ni nani hata kuwaogopa wanadamu wanaokufa, wanadamu ambao ni majani tu,
I, even I, am he that hath pity upon you; Who art thou, that thou art afraid of man, that shall die, Of the son of man, that shall perish like grass,
13 kwamba mnamsahau Bwana Muumba wenu, aliyezitanda mbingu na kuiweka misingi ya dunia, kwamba mnaishi katika hofu siku zote kwa sababu ya ghadhabu ya mdhalimu, ambaye nia yake ni kuangamiza? Iko wapi basi ghadhabu ya mdhalimu?
And forgettest Jehovah thy maker, That stretched out the heavens, And founded the earth, And fearest continually every day, On account of the fury of the oppressor, As if he were taking aim to destroy thee? Where now is the fury of the oppressor?
14 Wafungwa waliojikunyata kwa hofu watawekwa huru karibuni; hawatafia kwenye gereza lao, wala hawatakosa chakula.
Soon shall the enchained be loosed; He shall not die in the pit, Nor shall his bread fail.
15 Kwa maana Mimi ndimi Bwana, Mungu wako, ambaye huisukasuka bahari ili mawimbi yake yangurume: Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote ndilo jina lake.
For I am Jehovah thy God, That rebuketh the sea when his waves roar; Jehovah of hosts is his name.
16 Nimeweka maneno yangu kinywani mwako na kukufunika kwa uvuli wa mkono wangu: Mimi niliyeweka mbingu mahali pake, niliyeweka misingi ya dunia, niwaambiaye Sayuni, ‘Ninyi ni watu wangu.’”
I have put my words into thy mouth, And have covered thee with the shadow of my hand, To establish the heavens, and to found the earth. And to say to Zion, “Thou art my people!”
17 Amka, amka! Simama, ee Yerusalemu, wewe uliyekunywa kutoka mkono wa Bwana kikombe cha ghadhabu yake, wewe uliyekunywa mpaka kufikia machujo yake, kikombe kile cha kunywea kiwafanyacho watu kuyumbayumba.
Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem! Thou that hast drunk from the hand of Jehovah the cup of his fury, Thou that hast drunk to the dregs the cup of giddiness!
18 Kati ya wana wote aliowazaa hakuwepo hata mmoja wa kumwongoza, kati ya wana wote aliowalea hakuwepo hata mmoja wa kumshika mkono.
There is not one to lead her, of all the sons which she hath brought forth, Nor is there one to take her by the hand, of all the sons which she hath nurtured.
19 Majanga haya mawili yamekuja juu yako: ni nani awezaye kukufariji? Maangamizi, uharibifu, njaa na upanga: ni nani awezaye kukutuliza?
These two things have come upon thee, And who bemoaneth thee? Desolation and destruction, and famine and the sword; How shall I comfort thee?
20 Wana wako wamezimia, wamelala kwenye mwanzo wa kila barabara, kama swala aliyenaswa kwenye wavu. Wamejazwa na ghadhabu ya Bwana na makaripio ya Mungu wako.
Thy sons have fainted; they lie at the head of all the streets, Like a deer in the net; They are full of the wrath of Jehovah, Of the rebuke of thy God.
21 Kwa hiyo sikiliza hili, wewe uliyeteswa, uliyelewa, lakini si kwa mvinyo.
Therefore, hear this, thou afflicted, Thou drunken, and not with wine!
22 Hili ndilo asemalo Bwana Mwenyezi wako, Mungu wako, yeye ambaye huwatetea watu wake: “Tazama, nimeondoa mkononi mwako kikombe kilichokufanya uyumbayumbe; kutoka kikombe hicho, kikombe cha kunywa cha ghadhabu yangu, kamwe hutakunywa tena.
Thus saith thy Lord, Jehovah, And thy God, that defendeth the cause of his people. Behold, I will take from thy hand the cup of giddiness, The cup of my wrath; Thou shalt drink no more of it.
23 Nitakiweka mikononi mwa watesi wako, wale waliokuambia, ‘Anguka kifudifudi ili tuweze kutembea juu yako.’ Ukaufanya mgongo wako kama ardhi, kama njia yao ya kupita.”
And I will put it into the hand of them that have afflicted thee; That have said to thee, “Bow down, that we may pass over!” And thou madest thy body as the ground, And as the street, to them that passed over.