< Isaya 51 >
1 Nisikilizeni mimi, enyi mtendao haki, enyi mtafutaye Yahwe: Tazama katika mwamba uliouchonga nakuchimba kutoka pale ulipopakata.
Hearken to me, ye that pursue righteousness, that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence ye were hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye were dug up.
2 Mtazameni Ibrahimu, baba yenu, na Sara, aliyewazaa ninyi; maan alipokuwa na upweke yeye mwenyewe, Nilimuita yeye. Nikambariki yeye na kumfanya yeye kuwa wengi.
Look unto Abraham your father, and unto Sarah that bore you; for he was one when I called him, and I blessed him, and I increased him.
3 Ndio, Yahwe ataifariji Sayuni; Ataifariji miji yake yote iliyo na ukiwa; jangwa lake atalifanya kama Edeni, na jangwa lililo wazi pembeni ya bonde la mto Yordani kama bustani ya Yahwe; Furaha na shangwe vitakuwa kwake, shukrani, na sauti ya kuimba.
Yea, the Lord hath comforted Zion; he hath comforted all her ruins; and he hath made her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord: gladness and joy shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of song.
4 ''Kuwa makini kwangu, watu wangu; na nisikilizeni mimi, watu wangu! Maana nitatoa amri, na nitaifanya haki yangu kuwa sheria ya mataifa.
Listen unto me, my people; and O my nation, give ear unto me; for a law shall proceed from me, and my justice will I establish as a light of the people.
5 Haki yangu ipo karibu; wokovu wangu utaenda nje, na mikono yangu itahihukumu mataifa; Pwani itanisubiri mimi; maana wanashauku ya kuhusubiria mkono wangu.
My righteousness is near; my salvation goeth forth, and my arms shall judge the people: on me the isles shall wait, and for my arm shall they hope.
6 Nyanyueni macho yanu juu angani, na tazama nchi chini, maana mbingu zitatoweka mbali kama moshi, na nchi itachakaa kama vazi, na wenyeji wake watakufa kama inzi. Lakini wokovu wangu utaendelea daima, na haki yangu haitaacha kutenda kazi.
Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath; for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wear out like a garment, and they that dwell thereon shall die in like manner; but my salvation shall exist for ever, and my righteousness shall not be delayed.
7 Nisikizeni mimi, enyi mnaotambua ukweli, enyi watu wangu mliobeba sheria yangu katika mioyo yenu: Msiogope matusi ya watu, wala kukatishwa tamaa na unyanyasaji wao.
Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, O people in whose heart my law is: ye must not fear the reproach of men, and of their revilings shall ye not be in dread.
8 Maana Nonda watawala wao kama vazi, na minyoo itawala wao kama sufu; lakini haki yangu itakwa daima, na wokovu wangu katika vizazi vyote.''
For like a garment shall the moth eat them up, and like wool shall the worm eat them; but my righteousness shall exist for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation.
9 Amka, amka, jivishe wewe mwenyewe kwa nguvu, mkono wa Yahwe. Amka kama siku za zamani, kizazi cha nyaktii za kale, Je sio wewe uliyeangamiza mnyama wa baharini, na uliyemchoma joka?
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord: awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of olden times. Art thou not it that struck down Rahab, that pierced the crocodile?
10 Je haukukausha bahari, maji ya kina kirefu, na kufanya kina cha bahari kuwa nija ya ukombozi kupita?
Art thou not it that dried up the sea, the waters of the great deep; that rendered the depths of the sea a road for the redeemed to pass through?
11 Fidia ya Yahwe itarudi na kwenda Sayuni kwa kilio cha furaha na furaha ya milele itakuwa katika vichwa vyao, na huzuni na kuomboleza vitatoweka mbali.
And [so] shall the ransomed of the Lord return, and come to Zion with song, with everlasting joy upon their head; gladness and joy shall they obtain, while sorrow and sighing shall have fled away.
12 ''Mimi, mimi ndiye niwapae faraja. Kwa nini uwaogope watu, ambao wanakufa, watatoto wa wanadamu, waliofanywa kama majani?
I, I am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a mortal that must die, and of a son of man who will wither as the grass?
13 Kwa nini umemsahau Yahwe Muumba, yeye azinyooshayembingu na kuweka misingi ya nchi? Nyie ambao mna hofu za mara kwa mara kila siku kwa sababu ya hasira ya moto ya wanyanyasaji anapo fanya maamuzi ya kuangamiza. Iko wapi hasira ya wanyanyasaji?
And thou forgettest the Lord, thy Maker, who hath spread out the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and thou dreadest continually, all the day, because of the fury of the oppressor, whenever he aimeth to destroy: and where is [now] the fury of the oppressor?
14 Yeye aliyeinama chini, Yahwe atafanya haraka kumuachia; hatakufa wala kwenda chini katika shimo, wala hatakosa mkate.
The exile will be speedily set free; and he shall not die in the dungeon, and his bread shall not fail.
15 Maana Yahwe Mungu wenu, anaye ifanya bahari itembee, hivyo mawimbi yake yavume kwa kishindo- Yahwe wa majeshi ndilo jina lake.
For I am the Lord thy God, who stirreth up the sea that its waves roar: the Lord of hosts is his name.
16 Niweka maneno yangu mdomoni mwako, na nimekufunika wewe kwa kivuli cha mkono wangu, ili niweze kupanda mbingu, kuweka misingi ya nchi, na kutamkia Sayuni, 'ninyi ni watu wangu.''
And I have placed my words in thy mouth, and with the shadow of my hand have I covered thee: to plant the heavens, and to lay the foundations of the earth, and to say to Zion, Thou art my people.
17 Amka, amka, simama juu, Yerusalemu, ewe unyweae katika kikombe cha hasira ya Yahwe kutoka mkononi mwako; umekunjwa katika kikombe, kikombe cha mateso, na umekunjwa na kumaliza.
Rouse up, rouse up, arise, O Jerusalem, thou who hast drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his fury: the deep cup of confusion hast thou drunk, hast thou drained.
18 Hakuna hata mmoja miongoni mwa watoto aliyewazaa wa kumuongoza yeye; hakuna hata mmoja miongoni mwa wote aliyewalea wa kumshika mkono wake.
There is none to lead her, from all the children whom she hath born; and there is none that taketh her by the hand, from all the children whom she hath brought up.
19 Shida hizi mbili ziliwatokea ninyi- ni nani atahuzunika pamja nanyi? - ukiwa na uharibifu, na njaa na upanga. Ni nani atakayekufariji wewe?
Two things are these which have befallen thee: who will have compassion for thee? desolation and destruction, and famine and sword—with whom shall I comfort thee?
20 Watoto wako walizimia; walilala kila kona ya mtaa, kama swala kwenye mtego; Wamejawa na hasira ya Yahwe, Laana ya Mungu wako.
Thy children have fainted, they lie at the entrance of all streets, as a wild bull caught in a net, [they are those] who are full of the fury of the Lord, the threatening of thy God.
21 Lakini sasa sikiliza hili, ewe uliodhulumiwa na kulewa, lakini sio kwa mvinyo:
Therefore hear now this, O thou afflicted, and drunken, but not with wine.
22 Bwana wenu Yahwe Mungu, anayewasihi watu wake, asema hivi, ''Tazama, Nimechukua kikombe cha ukubwa mkononi mwako- ukubwa wa kikombe cha hasira yangu - ili usiweze kunjwa tena.
Thus hath said thy Lord, the Eternal, and thy God, who will ever plead for his people, Behold, I have taken out of thy hand the cup of confusion, the deep cup of my fury: thou shalt never more drink it again.
23 Nitakuweka kwenye mikono ya watesaji, wale waliokuambia wewe, Lala chini, ili tutembee juu yako'; wameufanya mgongo wako kama uwanjwa na kama wao wa.''
And I will place it in the hand of those who have tortured thee, that have said to thy soul, Bend thee down, that we may pass over; and thou madest like the earth thy back, and like the street for those that passed over.