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. Ye that seek Jehovah! Look to the rock whence ye were hewn, To the pit-quarry whence ye were digged!
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 to Abraham your father, And to Sarah that bore you! For I called him when only one, And blessed him, and multiplied 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.
Thus will Jehovah have pity upon Zion; He will have pity upon all her desolations. He will make her wilderness like Eden, Her desert like the garden of Jehovah. Joy and gladness shall be found therein; Thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
4 ''Kuwa makini kwangu, watu wangu; na nisikilizeni mimi, watu wangu! Maana nitatoa amri, na nitaifanya haki yangu kuwa sheria ya mataifa.
Hearken to me, O my people! And give ear to me, O my nation! For a law shall proceed from me, And I will establish my statutes for the light of the nations.
5 Haki yangu ipo karibu; wokovu wangu utaenda nje, na mikono yangu itahihukumu mataifa; Pwani itanisubiri mimi; maana wanashauku ya kuhusubiria mkono wangu.
My help is near; my salvation goeth forth; My arm shall judge the nations; Distant lands shall wait for me, And in my arm shall they trust.
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 down upon the earth beneath! For the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, And the earth shall decay like a garment, And its inhabitants shall perish like flies. But my salvation shall endure forever, And my goodness shall not decay.
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 to me, ye that know righteousness, The people in whose heart is my law! Fear ye not the reproach of men, Nor be disheartened by their revilings!
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 the moth shall consume them like a garment, And the worm shall eat them like wool. But my goodness shall endure forever, 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! clothe thyself with strength, O arm of Jehovah! Awake, as in the ancient days, in the generations of old!
10 Je haukukausha bahari, maji ya kina kirefu, na kufanya kina cha bahari kuwa nija ya ukombozi kupita?
Art thou not the same that smote Rahab, And wounded the dragon? Art thou not the same that dried up the sea, The waters of the great deep, —That made the depths of the sea a path 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.
Thus shall the ransomed of Jehovah return; They shall come to Zion with singing; Everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; They shall obtain gladness and joy, And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
12 ''Mimi, mimi ndiye niwapae faraja. Kwa nini uwaogope watu, ambao wanakufa, watatoto wa wanadamu, waliofanywa kama majani?
I, even I, am he that hath pity upon you; Who art thou, that thou art afraid of man, that shall die, Of the son of man, that shall perish like 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 forgettest Jehovah thy maker, That stretched out the heavens, And founded the earth, And fearest continually every day, On account of the fury of the oppressor, As if he were taking aim to destroy thee? Where now is the fury of the oppressor?
14 Yeye aliyeinama chini, Yahwe atafanya haraka kumuachia; hatakufa wala kwenda chini katika shimo, wala hatakosa mkate.
Soon shall the enchained be loosed; He shall not die in the pit, Nor shall his bread 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 Jehovah thy God, That rebuketh the sea when his waves roar; Jehovah 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.''
I have put my words into thy mouth, And have covered thee with the shadow of my hand, To establish the heavens, and to found 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.
Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem! Thou that hast drunk from the hand of Jehovah the cup of his fury, Thou that hast drunk to the dregs the cup of giddiness!
18 Hakuna hata mmoja miongoni mwa watoto aliyewazaa wa kumuongoza yeye; hakuna hata mmoja miongoni mwa wote aliyewalea wa kumshika mkono wake.
There is not one to lead her, of all the sons which she hath brought forth, Nor is there one to take her by the hand, of all the sons which she hath nurtured.
19 Shida hizi mbili ziliwatokea ninyi- ni nani atahuzunika pamja nanyi? - ukiwa na uharibifu, na njaa na upanga. Ni nani atakayekufariji wewe?
These two things have come upon thee, And who bemoaneth thee? Desolation and destruction, and famine and the sword; How 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 sons have fainted; they lie at the head of all the streets, Like a deer in the net; They are full of the wrath of Jehovah, Of the rebuke of thy God.
21 Lakini sasa sikiliza hili, ewe uliodhulumiwa na kulewa, lakini sio kwa mvinyo:
Therefore, hear this, thou afflicted, Thou drunken, and 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 saith thy Lord, Jehovah, And thy God, that defendeth the cause of his people. Behold, I will take from thy hand the cup of giddiness, The cup of my wrath; Thou shalt drink no more of it.
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 put it into the hand of them that have afflicted thee; That have said to thee, “Bow down, that we may pass over!” And thou madest thy body as the ground, And as the street, to them that passed over.
