Isaya 59
1 Hakika mkono wa Bwana si mfupi hata usiweze kuokoa, wala sikio lake si zito hata lisiweze kusikia.
Behold, the hand of the Lord has not been shortened, so that it cannot save, and his ear has not been blocked, so that it cannot hear.
2 Lakini maovu yenu yamewatenga ninyi na Mungu wenu, dhambi zenu zimewaficha ninyi uso wake, ili asisikie.
But your iniquities have made a division between you and your God, and your sins have concealed his face from you, so that he would not hear.
3 Kwa maana mikono yenu imetiwa mawaa kwa damu na vidole vyenu kwa hatia. Midomo yenu imenena uongo, nazo ndimi zenu zimenongʼona mambo maovu.
For your hands have been polluted by blood, and your fingers by iniquity. Your lips have spoken lies, and your tongue utters iniquity.
4 Hakuna hata mmoja anayedai kwa haki; hakuna hata mmoja anayetetea shauri lake kwa haki. Wanategemea mabishano matupu na kusema uongo, huchukua mimba ya magomvi na kuzaa uovu.
There is no one who calls for justice, and there is no one who judges truly. For they trust in nothing, and they speak emptiness. They have conceived hardship, and they have given birth to iniquity.
5 Huangua mayai ya nyoka wenye sumu kali na kutanda wavu wa buibui. Yeyote alaye mayai yao atakufa, na wakati moja lianguliwapo, nyoka hutoka humo.
They have ruptured the eggs of asps, and they have woven the webs of spiders. Whoever will eat of their eggs will die. For what has been incubated will hatch into a king snake.
6 Utando wao wa buibui haufai kwa nguo; hawawezi kujifunika kwa kile walichokitengeneza. Matendo yao ni matendo maovu, vitendo vya jeuri vipo mikononi mwao.
Their weavings will not be for clothing, nor will they cover themselves with their handiwork. Their works are useless things, and the work of iniquity is in their hands.
7 Miguu yao hukimbilia kwenye dhambi, ni myepesi kumwaga damu isiyo na hatia. Mawazo yao ni mawazo maovu; uharibifu na maangamizi huonekana katika njia zao.
Their feet run to evil, and they rush to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are useless thoughts; devastation and destruction are in their ways.
8 Hawajui njia ya amani, hakuna haki katika mapito yao. Wameyageuza kuwa njia za upotovu, hakuna apitaye njia hizo atakayeifahamu amani.
They have not known the way of peace, and there is no judgment in their steps. Their paths have become crooked for them. Anyone who treads in them knows no peace.
9 Hivyo uadilifu uko mbali nasi, nayo haki haitufikii. Tunatazamia nuru, kumbe! Yote ni giza, tunatazamia mwanga, lakini tunatembea katika giza kuu.
Because of this, judgment is far from us, and justice will not take hold of us. We waited for light, and behold, darkness; we waited for brightness, and we walked in darkness.
10 Tunapapasa ukuta kama kipofu, tunapapasa katika njia zetu kama watu wasio na macho. Adhuhuri tunajikwaa kama wakati wa gizagiza; katikati ya wenye nguvu, tuko kama wafu.
We groped for the wall, like one who is blind, and we felt our way, like one without eyes. We stumbled at midday, as if in darkness; and in darkness, as if in death.
11 Wote tunanguruma kama dubu; tunalia kwa maombolezo kama hua. Tunatafuta haki, kumbe hakuna kabisa; tunatafuta wokovu, lakini uko mbali.
We will all roar like bears, and we will sigh like despondent doves. We hoped for judgment, and there is none; for salvation, and it is far from us.
12 Kwa sababu makosa yetu ni mengi machoni pako, na dhambi zetu zinashuhudia dhidi yetu. Makosa yetu yako pamoja nasi daima, nasi tunayatambua maovu yetu:
For our iniquities have been multiplied in your sight, and our sins have answered us. For our wickedness is with us, and we have acknowledged our iniquities:
13 Uasi na udanganyifu dhidi ya Bwana, kumgeuzia Mungu wetu kisogo, tukichochea udhalimu na maasi, tukinena uongo ambao mioyo yetu imeuhifadhi.
sinning and lying against the Lord. And we have turned away, not so as to go after our God, and so that we were speaking calumny and transgression. We have conceived, and spoken from the heart, words of falsehood.
14 Hivyo uadilifu umerudishwa nyuma, nayo haki inasimama mbali, kweli imejikwaa njiani, uaminifu hauwezi kuingia.
And judgment has been turned backwards, and justice has stood far away. For truth has fallen down in the street, and fairness was not able to enter.
15 Kweli haipatikani popote, na yeyote aepukaye uovu huwa mawindo. Bwana alitazama naye akachukizwa kwamba hapakuwepo haki.
And the truth has gone into oblivion. And he who withdraws from evil endures plunder. And the Lord saw this, and it seemed evil in his eyes. For there is no judgment.
16 Aliona kuwa hakuwepo hata mtu mmoja, akashangaa kwamba hakuwepo hata mmoja wa kuingilia kati; hivyo mkono wake mwenyewe ndio uliomfanyia wokovu, nayo haki yake mwenyewe ndiyo iliyomtegemeza.
And he saw that there was no good man. And he was astonished that there was no one to meet him. And his own arm brought salvation to him, and his own justice strengthened him.
17 Alivaa haki kama dirii kifuani mwake, na chapeo ya wokovu kichwani mwake, alivaa mavazi ya kisasi naye akajifunga wivu kama joho.
He clothed himself with justice as with a breastplate, and with a helmet of salvation upon his head. He put on the vestments of vengeance, and he was covered with zeal as with a cloak.
18 Kulingana na kile walichokuwa wametenda, ndivyo atakavyolipa ghadhabu kwa watesi wake na kisasi kwa adui zake, atavilipa visiwa sawa na wanavyostahili.
This was for vindication, as a repayment of indignation to his adversaries, and as a sudden reversal for his enemies. He will repay the islands in their turn.
19 Kuanzia magharibi, watu wataliogopa jina la Bwana na kuanzia mawio ya jua, watauheshimu utukufu wake. Wakati adui atakapokuja kama mafuriko, Roho wa Bwana atainua kiwango dhidi yake na kumshinda.
And those from the west will fear the name of the Lord, and those from the rising of the sun will fear his glory, when he arrives like a violent river, which the Spirit of the Lord urges on.
20 “Mkombozi atakuja Sayuni, kwa wale wa Yakobo wanaozitubu dhambi zao,” asema Bwana.
And the Redeemer will arrive in Zion, and to those who return from the iniquity within Jacob, says the Lord.
21 “Kwa habari yangu mimi, hili ndilo agano langu nao,” asema Bwana. “Roho wangu, aliye juu yenu, na maneno yangu ambayo nimeyaweka katika vinywa vyenu, havitaondoka vinywani mwenu, wala kutoka vinywani mwa watoto wenu, wala kutoka vinywani mwa wazao wao, kuanzia sasa na hata milele,” asema Bwana.
This is my pact with them, says the Lord. My Spirit is within you, and my words, which I have put in your mouth, will not withdraw from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your offspring, nor from the mouth of your offspring’s offspring, says the Lord, from this moment, and even forever.
