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.
When King Hezekiah heard what they reported, he tore his clothes and put on clothes made of rough cloth [because he was very distressed]. Then he went to the temple [to ask God what to do].
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.
He summoned Eliakim and Shebna and the (older/most important) priests, who were also wearing clothes made of rough sackcloth, and told them to talk to me.
3 Wakamwambia, “Hezekia wakisema, 'siku hii ni siku ya mateso, shutuma, na fedheha, kwa kuwa wakati umewadia watoto kuzaliwa, lakini hakuna nguvu ili wazaliwe.
He said to them, “Tell this to Isaiah: ‘King Hezekiah says that we are having great distress/trouble now. [Other nations are causing] us to be insulted and disgraced. We are like [MET] a woman who is about to give birth to a child, but she does not have the strength that she needs to do it.
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.”'
Perhaps Yahweh your God has heard everything that the official from Assyria said. Perhaps he knows that his boss/master, the king of Assyria, sent him to insult the all-powerful God, and that Yahweh will rebuke/punish him for what he said.’ And he requests that you pray for the few of us who are still alive [here in Jerusalem].”
5 Hivyo watumishi wa mfalme Hezekia wakaja kwa Isaya,
When the messengers from Hezekiah came to Isaiah,
6 na Isaya akawaambia, “Mwambieni bwana wenu: 'Yahwe asema hivi, “Usiyaogope maneno ambayo uliyoyasikia, pamoja na kwamba watumishi wa mfalme wa Ashuru wamenitukana.
Isaiah said to them, “[Go back to] your boss/master [and] tell him, ‘This is what Yahweh says: Those messengers from the king of Assyria have said evil things about me. But you should not be disturbed because of what they said.
7 Tazama, nitaweka roho ndani yake, na yamkini atasikia taarifa na kurudi kwenye nchi yake mwenyewe. Nitamfanya aanguke kwa upanga katika nchi yake mwenyewe."”'
Listen to this: I will cause Sennacherib to hear a rumor that will worry him, [that a foreign army is about to attack his country]. So he will return to his own country, and there I will cause him to be assassinated by [men using] swords.’”
8 Kisha amiri jeshi mkuu akarudi na kumkuta mfalme wa Ashuru akipigana dhidi ya Libna, kwa kuwa alisikia kwamba mfalme alikuwa ameenda kutoka Lakishi.
The official from Assyria found out that the King of Assyria [and his army] had left Lachish [city], and that they were attacking Libnah, [which is a nearby city]. So the official went there [to report to him what had happened in Jerusalem].
9 Kisha Senakeribu akasikia kwamba Tirhaka mfalme wa Kushi na Misri alihamasisha kupigana dhidi yake, hivyo akatuma wajumbe tena kwa Hezekia pamoja na ujumbe:
Soon after that, King Sennacherib received a report that King Tirhakah of Ethiopia was leading his army, and was coming to attack them. So before King Sennacherib left Libnah [to fight against the army from Ethiopia], he sent other messengers to King Hezekiah with a letter.
10 “Mwambieni Hezekia mfalme wa Yuda, 'Asikudanganye Mungu wako unayemwamini, kusema, “Yerusalemu haitawekwa kwenye mikono ya mikono ya mfalme wa Ashuru.”
[In the letter] he wrote this to Hezekiah: “Do not allow your god on whom you are relying to deceive you by promising that [the city of] Jerusalem will not be captured by my army [MTY].
11 Tazama, umesikia kwamba wafalme wa Ashuru wamemaliza nchi zote kwa kuziharibu kabisa. Kwa hiyo je utaokoka?
You have certainly heard what the armies of the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries. Our armies have completely destroyed them. So, (do you think that you will escape?/do not think that your god will save you!) [RHQ]
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 that were about to be destroyed by the armies of the previous kings of Assyria rescue them? Did those gods rescue the people in the Gozan region and in Haran and Rezeph [cities in northern Syria] and the people of Eden who had been (deported/forced to go) to Tel-Assar [city]? None of the gods of those cities were able to rescue them.
13 Je yuko wapi mfalme wa Hamathi, mfalme Arpadi, mfalme wa miji ya Sefarvaimu, wa Hena, na Iva?”'
What happened to the kings of Hamath and Arpad and Sepharvaim and Ivvah [cities] [RHQ]? [Most of them are dead, and the other people were deported]!”
14 Hezekia akapokea hii barua kutoka wale wajumbe na kuisoma. Kisha akapanda hata kwenye nyumba ya Yahwe na kuukunjua mbele yake.
Hezekiah took the letter that the messengers gave him, and he read it. Then he went up to the temple and spread out the letter in front of 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.
Then Hezekiah prayed, “Yahweh, the God whom to whom we Israelis belong, you are seated on your throne above the [statues of] creatures with wings, [above the Sacred Chest]. Only you are truly God. You rule all the kingdoms on this earth. You are the one who created [everything on] the earth and [in] the sky.
16 Tega sikio lako, Yahwe, na usikie. Fungua macho yako, Yahwe, na tazama, na sikia maneno ya Senakeribu, ambayo ameyatuma kumdhihaki Mungu aliye hai.
So, Yahweh, please listen to what I am saying, and look [at what is happening]. And listen to what King Sennacherib has said to insult you, the all-powerful God.
17 Ni kweli, Yahwe, wafalme wa Ashuru ameyaharibu mataifa na nchi zao.
“Yahweh, it is true that [the armies of] the kings of Assyria have completely destroyed many nations, and ruined their land.
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 they have thrown the idols of those nations into fires and burned them. But [that was not difficult to do, because] they were not gods. They were only statues made of wood and stone, idols that were shaped by humans, [and that is why they were destroyed easily].
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.”
So now, Yahweh our God, please rescue us from the power [MTY] [of the king of Assyria], in order that the people in all the kingdoms of the world will know that you, Yahweh, are the only one who is truly God.”
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 sent this message to Hezekiah: “This is what Yahweh, the God to whom we Israelis belong, says: 'I have heard what you prayed to me about Sennacherib, the king of Assyria.
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 what I say to him: “The people of Jerusalem [MTY] despise you and make fun of you. They wag/shake their heads to mock you while you flee from here.
22 Je ni nani uliyemchokoza na kumtukana? Dhidi ya nani umeinua sauti yako na kuinua macho yako katika majivuno? Juu ya Mtakatifu wa Israeli!
Who do you think that you are despising and ridiculing? Who do you think you were shouting at? Who do you think you were looking at very proudly/arrogantly? It was I, the holy God whom the Israelis worship.
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.
The messengers that you sent made fun of me. You said, 'With my many chariots I have gone to the highest mountains, even to the highest mountains in Lebanon. We have cut down its tallest cedar trees and its nicest pine/cyprus trees. We have been to the most distant/remote peaks and to its dense forests.
24 Nimechimba visima na kunywa maji mageni. Nimekausha mito yote ya Misri chini ya soli ya miguu yangu.'
We have dug wells in other countries and drank water from them. And by marching through [MTY] the streams of Egypt, we dried them all up [HYP]!”’
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.
[‘But I reply], “Have you never heard that long ago I determined [that those things would happen]? I planned it long ago, and now I have been causing it to happen. I planned that your army would have [the power to] capture many cities that were surrounded by high walls, and cause them to become piles of rubble.
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.
The people who lived in those cities have no power, and as a result they became dismayed and discouraged. They are as frail as plants and grass in the fields, as frail as grass that grows on the roofs of houses and is scorched by the hot east wind.
27 Lakini najua kuketi kwako chini, na kutoka kwako, kuingia kwako dhidi yangu.
“But I know [everything about you]. I know when you are in your house and when you go outside; I also know that you are (raging/speaking very angrily) 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.”
So, because you have raged against me, and because I have heard [MTY] you speak very proudly/arrogantly, [it will be as though] I will put a hook in your nose and an iron (bit/piece of metal) in your mouth [in order that I can lead you where I want you to go], and I will force you to return [to your own country] on the same road on which you came here, [without conquering Jerusalem].” '
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.
Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “This is what will happen to prove [that I am telling the truth]: This year and next year you [and your people] will be able to harvest only (wild grain/grain that grows without having been planted). But the following year, you [Israelis] will be able to plant grain and harvest it, and to plant vineyards and eat the grapes that you harvest.
30 Mabaki ya nyumba ya Yuda ambayo yataokoka yatachukua tena mizizi na kuzaa matunda.
The people [MTY] in Judah who remain alive will prosper and have many children; they will be like plants whose roots go deep down into the ground and which produce much [MET].
31 Kwa kuwa mabaki yatatoka Yerusalemu, kutoka Mlima Sayuni wenye kuokoka utakuja. Wivu wa Yahwe wa majeshi utafanya hivyo.
There will be many people in Jerusalem [DOU] who will survive, because Yahweh, the commander of the armies of angels in heaven, wants [PRS] it to happen.
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.
So this is what Yahweh, says about the king of Assyria: ‘His armies will not enter this city; they will not even shoot any arrows into it! His soldiers will not march outside the city gates carrying shields, and they will not even build high mounds of dirt against [the city walls] [to enable them to attack the city].
33 Njia ile ile aliyoijia ndiyo njia atakayoondokea; hatoingia mji huu - hivi ndivyo asemavyo Yahwe.”
Their king will return to his own country on the same road on which he came here. He will not enter this city! [That will happen because] I, Yahweh have said it!
34 Kwa maana nitaulinda huu mji na kuuokoa, kwa ajili yangu mwenyewe na kwa ajili ya Daudi mtumishi wangu.”'
I will defend this city and prevent it from being destroyed. I will do this for the sake of my own reputation and because of what I promised to King David, who served me well.'”
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.
That night, an angel from Yahweh went out to where the army of Assyria had put up their tents, and killed 185,000 of their soldiers! When the rest of their soldiers woke up the next morning, they saw that there were corpses everywhere!
36 Hivyo Senakeribu mfalme wa Ashuru akaondoka Israeli na kwenda nyumbani na kuishi katika Ninawi.
Then King Sennacherib left and went home to Nineveh, [the capital of Assyria].
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.
One day, when he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, two of his sons, Adrammelech and Sharezer, killed him with their swords. Then they escaped and went to [the] Ararat [region, northwest of Nineveh]. And another of Sennacherib's sons, Esarhaddon, became the king of Assyria.
