< Isaya 56 >
1 Hili ndilo asemalo Bwana: “Dumisheni haki na mkatende lile lililo sawa, kwa maana wokovu wangu u karibu na haki yangu itafunuliwa upesi.
Thus says the Lord: Preserve judgment, and accomplish justice. For my salvation is close to its arrival, and my justice is close to being revealed.
2 Amebarikiwa mtu yule atendaye hili, mtu yule alishikaye kwa uthabiti, yeye ashikaye Sabato bila kuinajisi, auzuiaye mkono wake usifanye uovu wowote.”
Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds to this, keeping the Sabbath and not profaning it, guarding his hands and not doing any evil.
3 Usimwache mgeni aambatanaye na Bwana aseme, “Hakika Bwana atanitenga na watu wake.” Usimwache towashi yeyote alalamike akisema, “Mimi ni mti mkavu tu.”
And let not the son of the new arrival, who adheres to the Lord, speak, saying, “The Lord will divide and separate me from his people.” And let not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”
4 Kwa kuwa hili ndilo asemalo Bwana: “Kwa matowashi washikao Sabato zangu, ambao huchagua kile kinachonipendeza na kulishika sana agano langu:
For thus says the Lord to the eunuchs: They will keep my Sabbaths, and they will choose the things that I will, and they will hold to my covenant.
5 hao nitawapa ndani ya Hekalu langu na kuta zake kumbukumbu na jina bora kuliko kuwa na watoto wa kiume na wa kike: nitawapa jina lidumulo milele, ambalo halitakatiliwa mbali.
I will give them a place in my house, within my walls, and a name better than sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name, which will never perish.
6 Wageni wanaoambatana na Bwana ili kumtumikia, kulipenda jina la Bwana, na kumwabudu yeye, wote washikao Sabato bila kuinajisi na ambao hushika sana agano langu:
And the sons of the new arrival, who adhere to the Lord so as to worship him and to love his name, shall be his servants: all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it, and who hold to my covenant.
7 hawa nitawaleta kwenye mlima wangu mtakatifu na kuwapa furaha ndani ya nyumba yangu ya sala. Sadaka zao za kuteketeza na dhabihu zao zitakubalika juu ya madhabahu yangu; kwa maana nyumba yangu itaitwa nyumba ya sala kwa mataifa yote.”
I will lead them to my holy mountain, and I will gladden them in my house of prayer. Their holocausts and their victims will be pleasing to me upon my altar. For my house will be called the house of prayer for all peoples.
8 Bwana Mwenyezi asema, yeye awakusanyaye Waisraeli waliohamishwa: “Bado nitawakusanya wengine kwao zaidi ya hao ambao wamekusanywa tayari.”
The Lord God, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, says: Even now, I will gather his congregation to him.
9 Njooni, enyi wanyama wote wa kondeni, njooni mle, ninyi wanyama wote wa mwituni!
All beasts of the field, all the beasts of the forest: approach and devour!
10 Walinzi wa Israeli ni vipofu, wote wamepungukiwa na maarifa; wote ni mbwa walio bubu, hawawezi kubweka; hulala na kuota ndoto, hupenda kulala.
His watchmen are all blind. They are all ignorant. They are mute dogs without the ability to bark, seeing empty things, sleeping and loving dreams.
11 Ni mbwa wenye tamaa kubwa, kamwe hawatosheki. Wao ni wachungaji waliopungukiwa na ufahamu; wote wamegeukia njia yao wenyewe, kila mmoja hutafuta faida yake mwenyewe.
And these very imprudent dogs have never known satisfaction. The shepherds themselves do not know understanding. All have turned aside in their own way, each one to his own avarice, from the highest even to the least:
12 Kila mmoja hulia, “Njooni, tupate mvinyo! Tunywe kileo sana! Kesho itakuwa kama leo, au hata bora zaidi.”
“Come, let us take wine, and be filled by inebriation. And as it is today, so shall it be tomorrow and for a long time.”