2 Wafalme 19
1 Ikawa kuhusu kwamba wakati Mfalme Hezekia aliposikia taazrifa zao, akararua mavazi yake, akavaa nguo za magunia, na kwenda kwenye nyumba ya Yahwe.
And it came to pass, when King Hezekiah heard, that he rent his clothes, —and covered himself with sackcloth, and entered the house of Yahweh;
2 Akamtuma Elkana, ambaye alikua msimamizi wa nyumba ya mfalme, na Shebna yule mwandishi, na wazee wa makuhani, wote walikuwa wamefunikwa na nguo za magunia, kwenda kwa Isaya mwana wa Amozi, yule nabii.
and sent Eliakim who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, —unto Isaiah the prophet, son of Amoz;
3 Wakamwambia, “Hezekia wakisema, 'siku hii ni siku ya mateso, shutuma, na fedheha, kwa kuwa wakati umewadia watoto kuzaliwa, lakini hakuna nguvu ili wazaliwe.
and they said unto him—Thus, saith Hezekiah, A day of trouble, and rebuke, and reviling, is this day, —for children are come to the birth, and, strength, is there none to bring forth!
4 Inaweza kuwa Yahwe Mungu wako atasikia maneno yote ya amiri jeshi mkuu, ambaye mfalme wa Ashuru bwana wake amemtuma kumkaidi Mungu aliye hai, naye atayakemea yale maneno ambayo Yahwe Mungu wako aliyasikia. Sasa inua maombi yako juu kwa ajili ya mabaki yaliyo bakia hapo.”'
It may be that Yahweh thy God will hear all the words of Rab-shakeh, whom the king of Assyria his lord hath sent, to reproach a Living God, and will rebuke the words, which Yahweh thy God hath heard, —Wherefore lift thou up a prayer, for the remnant that remaineth.
5 Hivyo watumishi wa mfalme Hezekia wakaja kwa Isaya,
So the servants of King Hezekiah came unto Isaiah.
6 na Isaya akawaambia, “Mwambieni bwana wenu: 'Yahwe asema hivi, “Usiyaogope maneno ambayo uliyoyasikia, pamoja na kwamba watumishi wa mfalme wa Ashuru wamenitukana.
And Isaiah said unto them, Thus, shall ye, say, unto your lord, —Thus, saith Yahweh—Be not thou afraid, because of the words which thou hast heard, wherewith the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled, me:
7 Tazama, nitaweka roho ndani yake, na yamkini atasikia taarifa na kurudi kwenye nchi yake mwenyewe. Nitamfanya aanguke kwa upanga katika nchi yake mwenyewe."”'
Behold me! about to let go against him, a blast, and, when he heareth the report, then will he return to his own country, —and I will cause him to fall by the sword, in his own land.
8 Kisha amiri jeshi mkuu akarudi na kumkuta mfalme wa Ashuru akipigana dhidi ya Libna, kwa kuwa alisikia kwamba mfalme alikuwa ameenda kutoka Lakishi.
So Rab-shakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria warring against Libnah, —for he had heard that he had broken up from Lachish.
9 Kisha Senakeribu akasikia kwamba Tirhaka mfalme wa Kushi na Misri alihamasisha kupigana dhidi yake, hivyo akatuma wajumbe tena kwa Hezekia pamoja na ujumbe:
And when he heard say of Tirhakah, king of Ethiopia, saying, Lo! he hath come forth to fight with thee, —then he again sent messengers unto Hezekiah, saying—
10 “Mwambieni Hezekia mfalme wa Yuda, 'Asikudanganye Mungu wako unayemwamini, kusema, “Yerusalemu haitawekwa kwenye mikono ya mikono ya mfalme wa Ashuru.”
Thus, shall ye, speak, unto Hezekiah king of Judah, saying—Let not thy God in whom thou art trusting beguile thee, saying, —Jerusalem shall not be given over, into the hand of the king of Assyria.
11 Tazama, umesikia kwamba wafalme wa Ashuru wamemaliza nchi zote kwa kuziharibu kabisa. Kwa hiyo je utaokoka?
Lo! thou thyself, hast heard, what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands, in devoting them to destruction, —and shalt, thou, be delivered?
12 Je wale miungu wa mataifa wamewaokoa, mataifa ambao baba zangu waliyaharibu: Gozani, Harani, Resefu, na watu wa Edeni katika Telasari?
Did the gods of the nations, deliver them, whom my fathers destroyed, Gozan, and Haran, —and Rezeph, and the sons of Eden, who were in Telassar?
13 Je yuko wapi mfalme wa Hamathi, mfalme Arpadi, mfalme wa miji ya Sefarvaimu, wa Hena, na Iva?”'
Where are the king of Hamath, and the king of Arpad, and the king of the city of Sepharvaim, —of Hena, and Ivvah?
14 Hezekia akapokea hii barua kutoka wale wajumbe na kuisoma. Kisha akapanda hata kwenye nyumba ya Yahwe na kuukunjua mbele yake.
And, when Hezekiah had received the letter at the hand of the messengers, and had read it, then went he up to the house of Yahweh, and Hezekiah spread it out before Yahweh.
15 Kisha Hezekia akaomba mbele ya Yahwe na kusema, “Yahwe wa majeshi, Mungu wa Israeli, uketiye juu ya makerubi, wewe ni Mungu wa pekee juu ya tawala zote za dunia. Uliyeziumba mbingu na nchi.
And Hezekiah prayed before Yahweh, and said, O Yahweh, God of Israel, inhabiting the cherubim, thou thyself, art GOD, alone, for all the kingdoms of the earth, —thou, didst make the heavens and the earth.
16 Tega sikio lako, Yahwe, na usikie. Fungua macho yako, Yahwe, na tazama, na sikia maneno ya Senakeribu, ambayo ameyatuma kumdhihaki Mungu aliye hai.
Bow down, O Yahweh, thine ear, and hear, Open, O Yahweh, thine eyes, and see, —yea hear thou the words of Sennacherib, who hath sent—To reproach a Living God!
17 Ni kweli, Yahwe, wafalme wa Ashuru ameyaharibu mataifa na nchi zao.
Of a truth, O Yahweh, —the kings of Assyria have devoted to destruction the nations and their lands;
18 Wameiweka miungu yao kwenye moto, kwa kuwa hawakuwa miungu lakini ilikuwa kazi ya mikono ya watu, ilikuwa miti na mawe. Hivyo Waashuru wamewaharibu.
and have put their gods in the fire, —for, no-gods, were, they, but the work of the hands of men—wood and stone, and so they destroyed them.
19 Basi sasa, Yahwe Mungu wetu, tuokoe, nakusihi, kutoka kwenye nguvu zake, ili kwamba mamlaka zote za dunia zipate kujua yakwamba wewe, Yahwe, ndiye Mungu wa pekee.”
Now, therefore, O Yahweh our God, save us we pray thee, out of his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know, that, thou, Yahweh, art God, alone!
20 Kisha Isaya mwana wa Amozi akatuma ujumbe kwa Hezekia, akisema, “Yahwe, Mungu wa Israeli asema, 'Kwasababu umeomba kwangu kuhusiana na Senakeribu mfalme wa Ashuru, nimekusikia.
Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, —Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel, What thou hast prayed unto me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard.
21 Hili ndilo neno ambalo Yahwe ameliongea kuhusu yeye: “Bikira binti Sayuni amekudharau na kukucheka kwa dharau. Binti wa Yerusalemu akatikisa kichwa juu yako.
This, is the word that Yahweh hath spoken concerning him, —The virgin daughter of Zion, laugheth thee to scorn, mocketh thee, The daughter of Jerusalem, after thee, doth wag her head.
22 Je ni nani uliyemchokoza na kumtukana? Dhidi ya nani umeinua sauti yako na kuinua macho yako katika majivuno? Juu ya Mtakatifu wa Israeli!
Whom, hast thou reproached, and insulted? and, against whom, hast thou lifted high thy voice? yea thou hast proudly raised thine eyes, against the Holy One of Israel.
23 Kupitia wajumbe wako wamemdharau Bwana, na kusema, 'Pamoja na wingi wa magari yangu ya farasi nimeenda juu ya vilele ya milima, hata juu ya kilele cha Lebanoni. Nitaikata mierezi mirefu na kuchagua miti ya mivinje huko. Nitaingia sehemu za makazi yake yaliyo mbali, msitu wake uzaao sana.
Through thy messengers, thou hast reproached My Lord, and hast said—With my multitude of chariots, have I ascended the height of the mountains, the recesses of Lebanon, —and have cut down its tallest cedars, its choicest firs, and have entered the shelter of its summit, its thick garden forests.
24 Nimechimba visima na kunywa maji mageni. Nimekausha mito yote ya Misri chini ya soli ya miguu yangu.'
I, have digged, and have drunk foreign waters, —and have dried up, with the soles of my feet, all the streams of besieged places.
25 Je hukusikia jinsi nilivyoagiza tangu zamani, na kuyafanya tangu siku za zamani? Sasa ninalileta kupita. Uko hapa kupunguza miji isiyoingilika kwenye rundo la maangamizi.
Hast thou not heard—that, long ago, that, is what I appointed, and, from days of old, devised it? Now, have I brought it to pass, that thou mightest serve to lay waste, in desolate ruins, fortified cities;
26 Makazi yao, ya nguvu kidogo, imevunjwa vunjwa na aibu. Wamekuwa mimea katika shamba, majani ya kijani, majani juu kwenye dari au kwenye shamba, lililochomwa kabla halijakua.
And, their inhabitants, being powerless, were overthrown and put to shame, —they became grass of the field, and young herbage, grass on housetops, and seed withered before it came up.
27 Lakini najua kuketi kwako chini, na kutoka kwako, kuingia kwako dhidi yangu.
Howbeit, thine abode, and thy coming out and thy going in, I know, —and thy raging against me.
28 Kwasababu kiburi chako kimeyafikia masikio yangu, Nitaweka kulabu yangu kwenye pua yako, na hatamu yangu kwenye mdomo wako; nitakurudisha nyuma kwa njia ile ile uliyoijia.”
Because, thy raging against me, and thy contempt, have come up into mine ears, therefore will I put my ring in thy nose, and my bit in thy lips, and will turn thee back by the way by which thou camest.
29 Hii ndiyo itakuwa ishara kwako: Mwaka huu mtakula vitu viotavyo porini, na katika mwaka wa pili vile vikuavyo katika huo. Lakini katika mwaka wa tatu ni lazima mpande na kuvuna, kupanda mashamba ya mizabibu na kula matunda yake.
And, this unto thee, is the sign—Eating, this year, the growth of scattered seeds, and, in the second year, that which groweth after, —then, in the third year, sow ye and reap, plant ye vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof;
30 Mabaki ya nyumba ya Yuda ambayo yataokoka yatachukua tena mizizi na kuzaa matunda.
Then shall the escaped of the house of Judah that remain, again—take root downward, and bear fruit upward;
31 Kwa kuwa mabaki yatatoka Yerusalemu, kutoka Mlima Sayuni wenye kuokoka utakuja. Wivu wa Yahwe wa majeshi utafanya hivyo.
For, out of Jerusalem, shall go forth a remnant, and that which hath escaped—out of Mount Zion, —the jealousy of Yahweh of hosts, will perform this.
32 Kwa hiyo Yahwe asema hivi kuhusu mfalme wa Ashuru: “Hatakuja kwenye huu mji wala kupiga mshale hapa. Wala hatakuja mbele yake na ngao au kujenga boma dhidi yake.
Therefore—Thus, saith Yahweh, concerning the king of Assyria, He shall not enter this city, nor shoot there, an arrow, —nor attack it with shield, nor cast up against it, a mound;
33 Njia ile ile aliyoijia ndiyo njia atakayoondokea; hatoingia mji huu - hivi ndivyo asemavyo Yahwe.”
By the way that he cometh in, by the same, shall he return, —and, into this city, shall he not enter, declareth Yahweh!
34 Kwa maana nitaulinda huu mji na kuuokoa, kwa ajili yangu mwenyewe na kwa ajili ya Daudi mtumishi wangu.”'
Thus will I throw a covering over this city, to save it, —for mine own sake, and for the sake of David my servant.
35 Ikawa kuhusu usiku huo ambao malaika wa Yahwe alitoka na kuvamia kambi ya Waashuru, akawaua maaskari 185, 000. Kisha watu wakaamka asubuhi na mapema, miili ya watu waliokuwa wamekufa ilikuwa imelala kila mahali.
And it came to pass, during that night, that the messenger of Yahweh went forth, and smote, in the camp of the Assyrians, a hundred and eighty-five thousand. And, when men arose early in the morning, lo! they were all, dead bodies!
36 Hivyo Senakeribu mfalme wa Ashuru akaondoka Israeli na kwenda nyumbani na kuishi katika Ninawi.
So Sennacherib king of Assyria brake up, and went his way, and returned, —and remained in Nineveh.
37 Baadaye, alipokuwa akiabudu kwenye nyumba ya Nisroki mungu wake, watoto wake Adramaleki na Shareza wakamuua kwa upanga. Kisha wakakimbilia kwenye nchi ya Ararati. Kisha Esarhodani mwanaye akawa mfalme katika mahali pake.
And it came to pass, as he was bowing down in the house of Nisroch his god, that, Adrammelech and Sharezer [his sons], smote him with the sword, howbeit, they, escaped into the land of Ararat, —and Esarhaddon his son, reigned, in his stead.
