Isaya 59
1 Tazama, mkono wa Yahwe sio mfupi ambao hautweza kukuokoa wewe; wala sikio lake sio zito, ambalo haliwezi kusikia.
Behold, Jehovah's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, Nor is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear;
2 Matendo yako ya dhambi, hata hivyo, zimekutenga wewe na Mungu, na dhambi zenu zimemfanya aufiche uso wake msimuone wala kumsikia yeye.
But your iniquities have separated you from your God, And your sins have hidden his face from you, that he doth not hear.
3 Maana mikono yenu ina madoa ya damu na vidole vyenu vimejaa dhambi. Midomo yenu inazungumza uongo na ulimi wenu unazungumza kwa nia mbaya.
For your hands are polluted with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips speak falsehood, And your tongue muttereth wickedness.
4 Hakuna hata mmoja aitae haki, na hakuna anayewasihi kesi yake katika haki. Wanayamini maneno yasiyo ya haki, maneno ya uongo; wanashika matatizo na kuzaa dhambi.
No one bringeth his suit with justice, And no one pleadeth with truth; They trust in vain words, and speak lies; They conceive mischief, and bring forth destruction.
5 Wanetotoa mayai ya nyoka wenye sumu na hufuma mtandao wa buibui. Yeyote alaye mayai yake atakufa, na ikiwa yai litavunjika, litatotoa nyoka mwenye sumu.
They hatch the eggs of the basilisk, And weave the web of the spider; He that eateth of their eggs dieth, And when one of them is crushed, a viper breaketh forth.
6 Mitando yao haitatumika kama mavazi, wala hawawezi kujifukia wenyewe kwa kazi yao. Kazi zao ni kazi za dhambi, na matendo ya vurugu yako mikononi mwao.
Of their webs no garment is made, Nor can one cover himself with their work; Their works are works of iniquity, And the deed of violence is in their hands.
7 Miguu yao inakimbilia uovu, na wanakimbilia kumwaga damu isiyo na hatia. Mawazo yao ni mawazo ya dhambi; vurugu na uharibifu ndio njia yao.
Their feet run to evil; They make haste to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are evil thoughts; Oppression and destruction are in their paths.
8 Njia ya amani hawaijuyui, na hakuna haki katika njia zao. Wametengeneza njia njia zlizopotoka; yeyote atakaye safiri kupitia njia hizi njia hizi hazijui amani.
The way of peace they know not, Nor is there any justice in their steps; They have made for themselves crooked paths; Whoso goeth in them knoweth not peace.
9 Hivyo basi haki iko mbali a sisi, wala haki haijatufikia sisi. Tunasubiri mwanga tunaona giza; tunatafuta mwangaza, lakini tunatembea gizani. Tunapapasa kwenywe ukuta kama kipofu, kama wale wasiona,
Therefore is judgment far from us, And deliverance doth not overtake us. We look for light, and behold obscurity; For brightness, and we walk in darkness.
10 Tuna mashaka mchana kweupe kama kwenye mwanga unaofifia; miongoni mwa wenye nguvu tuko kama watu waliokufa.
We grope for the wall, like the blind; We feel our way, like those that are deprived of sight; We stumble at noonday as in the night; In the midst of fertile fields we are like the dead.
11 Sisi tunaunguruma kama dubu na kuomboleza kama njiwa; tunasubiria haki, lakini hakuna kitu; kwa ukombozi, lakini uko mbali na sisi.
We groan, all of us, like bears, And like doves we make a continued moan; We look for judgment, and it cometh not; For salvation, and it is far from us.
12 Maana makosa yetu mengi yako mbele zako, na dhambi zetu zinatushuhudia sisi; maana makosa yako pamoja na sisi.
For our transgressions are multiplied before thee, And our sins testify against us! For our transgressions are not hidden from us, And our iniquities we know.
13 Tumeaasi, kumkana Yahwe na kuacha kumfuata Mungu. Tulizungumzia ulafi kujeuka nyuma, na kuanza kulalamika kutoka moyoni na maneno ya uongo.
We have rebelled, and proved false to Jehovah; We have departed from our God; We have spoken violence and rebellion; Our hearts have conceived and brought forth words of falsehood.
14 Haki imerudishwa nyuma, wenye haki wamesimama mbali sana; maana ukweli uko mashakani katika mraba wa umma, haki haiwezi kuja.
And justice is turned back, And equity standeth afar off, For truth falleth in the gate, And rectitude cannot enter.
15 Waaminifu wamenda zao, na yeyote anayegeuka mbali na maovu anajiathiri mwenyewe. Yahwe aliliona hilo na hakupendezwa maana hakuna haki.
Truth is not to be found, And he that departeth from evil is plundered; And Jehovah saw it, And it displeased him that there was no justice.
16 Aliona kwamba hakuna mtu, na akastaajabu kwamba hakuna mtu wa kuoma. Hivyo basi mkono wake uliletao wakovu kwake, na haki yake unamtosheleza yeye.
He saw that there was none to help, And wondered that there was none to interpose; Then his own arm wrought salvation for him, And his righteousness it supported him.
17 Huivaa haki kama ngao kifuani na kofia ya chuma ya wokovu kichwani mwake. Anajivika mwenyewe kwa mavazi ya kisasi na kuvaa vazi la bidii.
He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And the helmet of salvation upon his head; He put on garments of vengeance for his clothing, And clad himself with zeal, as with a mantle.
18 Analipa tena kwa kilichotokea, hukumu ya hasira kwa adui zake na kwa adui atairidisha adhabu ya kisiwa kama zawadi yao.
According to their deeds will he repay them, —Wrath to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies; To the distant coasts will he repay a recompense.
19 Hivyo wataliogopa jina la Yahwe kutoka magharibi na utukufu wake kutoka mashariki; maana atakuja kama mkondo wa mto, inaendeshwa na pumzi ya Yahwe.
They in the west shall fear the name of Jehovah, And they in the rising of the sun his glory, When he cometh like a river straitened in its course, Which a strong wind driveth along.
20 Mkombozi atakuja Sayuni na wale watkaojeuka kutoka matendo yao ya uasi katika nyumba ya Yakobo- Hili ni tamko la Yahwe.
Yet shall a redeemer come to Zion, For them that turn from their transgressions in Jacob, saith Jehovah.
21 Na kama mimi, hili ni agano langu pamoja nao- asema Yahwe- Roho yangu iliyo juu yenu, na maneno yangu niliyoyaweka kinywani mwenu, hayataondoka midomo mwenu au kuodoka mbali na midomo wajukuu wenu, au kwenda mbali asema Yahwe- kuanziia sasa na hata milele.''
And as for me, this is my covenant with them, saith Jehovah: My spirit, which is upon thee, And my words, which I have put in thy mouth, They shall not depart from thy mouth, Nor from the mouth of thy sons, Nor from the mouth of thy sons' sons, saith Jehovah, From this time forth forever.
