Isaya 8
1 Bwana akaniambia, “Chukua gombo kubwa, uandike juu yake kwa kalamu ya kawaida jina: Maher-Shalal-Hash-Bazi.
And Yahweh said unto me: Take thee a large tablet, —and write thereon in plain characters, To Maher-shalal-hash-baz. ["Speed-spoil-hurry-prey".]
2 Nami nitawaita kuhani Uria, na Zekaria mwana wa Yeberekia kama mashahidi wangu waaminifu.”
That I may take in attestation, faithful witnesses, —even Uriah the priest, and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.
3 Kisha nikaenda kwa nabii mke, naye akapata mimba, akazaa mwana. Kisha Bwana akaniambia, “Mwite huyo mtoto Maher-Shalal-Hash-Bazi.
Then approached I unto the prophetess, and she conceived and bare a son, —and Yahweh said unto me, Call his name Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
4 Kabla mtoto hajaweza kusema ‘Baba yangu’ au ‘Mama yangu,’ utajiri wa Dameski na nyara za Samaria zitachukuliwa na mfalme wa Ashuru.”
For before the boy shall have knowledge to cry, My father! and, My mother! the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.
5 Bwana akasema nami tena:
And again Yahweh spake unto me yet further saying:
6 “Kwa sababu watu hawa wamekataa maji ya Shilo yatiririkayo taratibu wakamfurahia Resini na mwana wa Remalia,
Because this people hath refused the waters of Shiloah which flow softly, —and are rejoicing with Rezin and the son of Remaliah,
7 kwa hiyo Bwana yu karibu kuleta dhidi yao mafuriko makubwa ya Mto: yaani mfalme wa Ashuru na fahari yake yote. Yatafurika juu ya mifereji yake yote, yatamwagikia juu ya kingo zake zote,
now therefore, lo! the Lord is about to bring up against them the waters, strong and many, of the River ["Euphrates"], even the king of Assyria and all his glory, —and he shall rise over all his channels, and flow over all his banks;
8 na kufika hadi Yuda, yakizunguka kwa kasi juu yake, yakipita katikati na yakifika hadi shingoni. Mabawa yake yaliyokunjuliwa yatafunika upana wa nchi yako, Ee Imanueli!”
and roll on throughout Judah—overflow and pass along, till unto the neck, he shall reach, —and it shall be, that, the stretching out of his wings, shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel!
9 Inueni kilio cha vita, enyi mataifa, na mkavunjwevunjwe! Sikilizeni, enyi nyote nchi za mbali. Jiandaeni kwa vita, nanyi mkavunjwevunjwe! Jiandaeni kwa vita, nanyi mkavunjwevunjwe!
Rage, O ye peoples, —and be overthrown, And give ear, all ye distant parts of the earth, —Gird yourselves and be overthrown, Gird yourselves, and be overthrown:
10 Wekeni mikakati yenu, lakini itashindwa; fanyeni mipango yenu, lakini haitafanikiwa, kwa maana Mungu yu pamoja nasi.
Determine a plan, —and it shall be frustrated, —Speak a word, and it shall not stand, For With-us-is-GOD!
11 Bwana alisema nami mkono wake wenye nguvu ukiwa juu yangu, akinionya nisifuate njia za taifa hili. Akasema:
For, thus, spake Yahweh unto me like a firm grasp of the hand, —when he admonished me, not to walk in the way of this people, saying:
12 “Usiite fitina kila kitu ambacho watu hawa hukiita fitina, usiogope kile wanachokiogopa, wala usikihofu.
Ye shall not say—A confederacy! of everything of which this people may say. A confederacy! And their fear, shall ye not fear or regard as awful:
13 Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote ndiye peke yake ikupasaye kumheshimu kuwa mtakatifu, ndiye peke yake utakayemwogopa, ndiye peke yake utakayemhofu,
Yahweh of hosts, him, shall ye hallow, —And let, him, be your fear, and let, him inspire you with awe;
14 naye atakuwa mahali patakatifu; lakini kwa nyumba zote mbili za Israeli atakuwa jiwe lile linalosababisha watu kujikwaa na mwamba wa kuwaangusha. Kwa watu wa Yerusalemu, atakuwa mtego na tanzi.
So shall he become a hallowed asylum, —But a stone to strike against, and a rock to stumble over unto both houses of Israel A trap and a snare to the dweller in Jerusalem;
15 Wengi wao watajikwaa; wataanguka na kuvunjika, watategwa na kunaswa.”
And many, shall stumble among them, —and fall and be torn, and snared, and captured.
16 Funga ushuhuda na kutia muhuri sheria miongoni mwa wanafunzi wangu.
Bind thou up the testimony, —Seal the instruction amongst my disciples.
17 Nitamngojea Bwana, ambaye ameificha nyumba ya Yakobo uso wake. Nitaliweka tumaini langu kwake.
I will therefore long for Yahweh, Who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, —And will wait, for him.
18 Niko hapa, pamoja na watoto ambao Bwana amenipa. Sisi ni ishara na mfano wake katika Israeli, kutoka kwa Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote, anayeishi juu ya Mlima Sayuni.
Lo! I and the children whom Yahweh hath given me, are for signs and for wonders in Israel, —from Yahweh of hosts, who is making his habitation in Mount Zion.
19 Wakati watu wanapowaambia ninyi kutafuta ushauri kwa waaguzi na wenye kuongea na mizimu, ambao hunongʼona na kunungʼunika, je, watu wasingeuliza kwa Mungu wao? Kwa nini watake shauri kwa wafu kwa ajili ya walio hai?
But, when they say unto you—Seek ye unto the necromancers and unto the wizards, who chirp, and who mutter, Should not a people seek, unto its God? In behalf of the living, [should it seek] unto the dead?
20 Kwa sheria na kwa ushuhuda! Kama hawatasema sawasawa na neno hili, hawana mwanga wa mapambazuko.
To the law and to the testimony! If they speak not according to this word, [It is], because they have no dawning day.
21 Watazunguka katika nchi yote, wakiwa na dhiki na njaa. Watakapotaabika kwa njaa, watapatwa na hasira kali, nao, wakiwa wanatazama juu, watamlaani mfalme wao na Mungu wao.
Therefore shall they pass through it hard pressed and hungry, —And it shall be when they hunger, then will they rage and revile their king and their god and turn their faces upwards;
22 Kisha wataangalia duniani na kuona tu dhiki na giza, hofu na huzuni tupu, nao watasukumiwa kwenye giza nene kabisa.
And unto the land, shall they look hard, And lo! distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, driven away!
