Isaya 23
1 Tamko kuhusu Tiro, Ombolezeni, enyi kondoo wa Tarishishi;
[I received] this message [from Yahweh] about Tyre [city]: You [sailors on] [APO] ships from Tarshish, weep, because [the harbor of] Tyre and all the houses [in the city] have been destroyed. The reports that you heard in Cyprus [island] about Tyre [are true].
2 maana hakuna nyumba wala bandari; kutoka katika nchi ya Kyprusi wamefunuliwa hilo.
You people who live along the coast [near Tyre], and merchants of Sidon [city], mourn silently. Your sailors went across the seas [to many places like Tyre].
3 Na juu ya maji mengi ni nafaka za shiho, mazao ya Nile, na uzalishaji wao; mlikuwa wafanya biashara wa kimataifa.
They sailed across deep seas to buy grain in Egypt and [other] crops that are grown along the Nile [River]. Tyre became the city where people from [all] nations bought and sold goods.
4 Kuwa na aibu, Sidoni; maana bahari imenena, mkuu wa bahari. Amesema, ''Sijafanya kazi wala kuzaa wala kukuza vijana wadogo wala kuwalea mabinti.
But now you people in Sidon should be ashamed, because [you trusted in Tyre], which has been a strong fortress [on an island] in the sea. [Tyre is like a woman who is saying], “[Now it is as though] I have not given birth to [any] children, or raised [any] sons or daughters.”
5 ''Pale taarifa ilipofika Misri, watauzunika kuhusu Tire.
When [the people of] Egypt hear what has happened to Tyre, they will grieve very much.
6 Katiza juu ya Tarshishi; Ole wenu, enyi wakazi wa pwani.
Sail to Tarshish [and tell them what happened]; weep, you people who live along the coast.
7 Je hili limeshawahi kuwatokea, mji wenye furaha, ambao kwa asili yake umetoka katika kipindi cha kale. Ambapo miguu yake imempeleka mbali kuishi kwenye maeneo ya ugenini?
[The people in] the very old city [of Tyre] were [RHQ] previously joyful. Traders [PRS] from Tyre established colonies in many distant nations.
8 Ni nani aliyepanga haya dhidi ya Tire, mtoa mataji, ambao wafanyabiashara wake ni wakuu, ambao wafanyabiashara ni watu wa kuheshimika duniani?
People from Tyre appointed kings [over other places]; their traders were wealthy; they were [as powerful and wealthy as] [MET] kings. [So], who [RHQ] caused the people of Tyre to experience this disaster?
9 Yahwe wa majeshi amepanga kuharibu kiburi chake na utukufu wake, na kuwahaibisha waheshimiwa wote wa dunia.
It was the Commander of the armies of angels who did it; he did it in order to cause [you people in] Tyre not to be proud any more, to humiliate you men who are honored all over the world.
10 Lima katika shamba lako, kama mtu alimavyo Nile, ewe binti Tarishishi. Maana hakuna tena eneo la soko huko Tite.
You people of Tarshish, you must grow crops in your land [instead of trading]; spread out over your land like [SIM] the Nile [River] spreads over the land [of Egypt] when it floods, because there is no harbor [in Tyre for your ships] now.
11 Yahwe amenyoosha mkono wake juu ya bahari, na ametingisha falme; na amepewa amri juu ya Fonensia, kuziharibu ngome.
[It is as though] Yahweh stretched out his hand over the sea and shook the kingdoms of the earth. He commanded that in Phoenicia/Canaan all its fortresses must be destroyed.
12 Amesema, ''Hamtofurahia tena, binti bikira wa Sidoni uliyenyanyasika; nyanyuka, pitia Kyprusi; lakini wala hapatakuwa na punziko.''
He said to the people of Sidon, “You will never rejoice again, because you will be crushed; even if you flee to Cyprus [island], you will not escape destruction.”
13 Tazama nchi ya Wakaldayo. Hawa watu wamesitisha kuishi pale; Waasiria wamelifanya jangwa la wanyama pori. Wameizingira minara; wameliharibu eneo lao; wamelifanya kuwa chungu cha uharibifu.
Think about what happened in Babylonia: the people who were in that land have disappeared. [The armies of] Assyria have caused that land to become a place where wild animals from the desert live. The Assyrians built dirt ramps to the top of the walls [of the city of Babylon]; [then they entered the city and] tore down the palaces and caused the city to become [a heap of] rubble.
14 Omboleza ewe kondoo wa Tarishishi; maana kimbilio lako limeharibiwa.
[So] wail, you [sailors on the] ships of Tarshish, because the harbor [in Tyre where your ships stop] is destroyed!
15 Katika siku hiyo, Tire itasaulika kwa miaka sabini, kama siku za mfalme. Baada ya miaka sabini kuisha huko Tire kutatokea kitu kama wimbo wa malaya.
For seventy years, which is as long as kings usually live, people will forget about Tyre. [But then it will be rebuilt]. What will happen there will be like what happened to a prostitute in this song:
16 Chukua kinubi, nenda zunguka mji, mmewasahau malaya; cheza kinubi vizuri, imba nyimbo nyingi, ili uweze kukumbuka.
“You harlot, whom people had forgotten, play your harp well, and sing many songs, in order that people will remember you again.”
17 Itatokea baada ya miaka sabini, Yahwe ataisaidia Tire, na wataanza kututafuta pesa tena kwa kufanya kazi ya umalaya, na atafanya utumishi wake katika falme za dunia.
[It is true that] after seventy years Yahweh will restore Tyre. Their merchants will again earn a lot of money by buying things from and selling things to many [other] nations [HYP].
18 Faida yake na mapato yake yatatengwa kwa ajili ya Yahwe. Hayatahifadhiwa wala hayatakuwa na hazina, maana faida yao watapewa wale wanoishi mdhebauni mwa Yahwe na yatatumika kuwasambazia chakula cha kutosha na kupata mavazi yenye viwango bora.
[But] their profits will be given to Yahweh. [The merchants] will not hoard their money; instead, they will give it to Yahweh’s priests in order that they [can] buy food and nice clothes.
