Isaya 17
1 Tamko kuhusu Damaskasi.
This is the burden against Damascus: “Behold, Damascus is no longer a city; it has become a heap of ruins.
2 Miji ya Aroera itaharibiwa. Patakuwa na nafasi kwa ajili ya kutunzia mifugo, na hakuna hatakayeizuia.
The cities of Aroer are forsaken; they will be left to the flocks, which will lie down with no one to fear.
3 Miji ilioachwa itatoweka kutoka Efraimu, ufalme katuka Damskasi, na walobaki Aramu-watakuwa kama utukufu wa watu wa Israeli-Hili ni tamko la Yahwe wa majeshi.
The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the sovereignty from Damascus. The remnant of Aram will be like the splendor of the Israelites,”
4 Itakuwa siku hiyo utukufu wa Yakobo utapungua, utakuwa mwembamba na kunona kwa mwili wake utapungua.
“In that day the splendor of Jacob will fade, and the fat of his body will waste away,
5 Itakuwa kama mvuna ikusanyavyo mavuno, na mkono wake huvuna maganda ya mazao. Itakuwa kama mtu atoae maganda ya mavuno katika bonde la Refaimu.
as the reaper gathers the standing grain and harvests the ears with his arm, as one gleans heads of grain in the Valley of Rephaim.
6 Masalia yataachwa, hata hivyo, mti wa mzabibu utatingishwa: Mizeituni miwili au mitatu iliyo juu sana matawi yake yako juu, manne au matano katka tawi la juu katika mti unaozaa-hili ni tamko la Yahwe, Mungu wa Israeli.
Yet gleanings will remain, like an olive tree that has been beaten— two or three berries atop the tree, four or five on its fruitful branches,”
7 Siku hiyo watu watawangalia Muumba wake, na macho yatamuangalia Mtakatifu wa Israeli.
In that day men will look to their Maker and turn their eyes to the Holy One of Israel.
8 Hawatangalia madhabahu, kazi za mikono yao, wala hataangalia kile kinachofanywa na vidole vyao, nguzo za Ashera na picha ya jua.
They will not look to the altars they have fashioned with their hands or to the Asherahs and incense altars they have made with their fingers.
9 Siku hiyo miji yenye nguvu itakuwa kama msitu uliotelekezwa na juu ya kilele cha mlima, na palipo achwa kwa sababu ya wana wa Israeli patakuwa ukiwa.
In that day their strong cities will be like forsaken thickets and summits, abandoned to the Israelites and to utter desolation.
10 Maana mmemsahau Mungu wa wakovu wenu, na umeudharau mwamba wa nguvu zako. Hivyo basi umeotesha miti mizuri, na mizabibu mizuri iliyotoka ugenini,
For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and failed to remember the Rock of your refuge. Therefore, though you cultivate delightful plots and set out cuttings from exotic vines—
11 Siku hiyo uliootesha na fensi na kulima. Mbegu zako zitaota mapema na kukua, lakini mavuno yatashindikana siku hiyo itakuwa huzuni na kukata tamaa.
though on the day you plant you make them grow, and on that morning you help your seed sprout— yet the harvest will vanish on the day of disease and incurable pain.
12 Ole! Watu wenye ghasia, Kishindo chake ni kama mngurumo wa bahari, na kasi ya mataifa, wananguruma kama ngurumo ya maji mengi!
Alas, the tumult of many peoples; they rage like the roaring seas and clamoring nations; they rumble like the crashing of mighty waters.
13 Mataifa yataunguruma kama maji mengi yaendao kasi, lakini Mungu atawakemea.
The nations rage like the rush of many waters. He rebukes them, and they flee far away, driven before the wind like chaff on the hills, like tumbleweeds before a gale.
14 Watakimbia mbali sana na watafukuzwa kama pumba kwenye mlima mbele ya upepo, kama mavumbi yazungukayo kwenye dhoruba. Wakati wa usiku, ona, hofu! Na kabla ya alfajiri watakwenda; hili ndilo eneo la wale waliotupora, na wale wanaotunyang'anya mali zetu.
In the evening, there is sudden terror! Before morning, they are no more! This is the portion of those who loot us and the lot of those who plunder us.
