Isaya 8
1 Yahwe ameniambia mimi, '' chukua meza kubwa na uandike juu yake, 'Maheri Shalal Hash Baz.'
Then the LORD said to me, “Take a large scroll and write on it with an ordinary stylus: Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
2 Nitachagua mashahidi waaminifu wanishuhudie mimi, kuhani Uria, Zakaria mototo wa Yeberekia.''
And I will appoint for Myself trustworthy witnesses—Uriah the priest and Zechariah son of Jeberekiah.”
3 Nilienda kwa huyo nabii mwanamke alipata mimba na kumzaa mtoto. Halafu Yahwe akaniambia, ''Muite jina lake Shalal Hash Baz;
And I had relations with the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. The LORD said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz.
4 Maana kabla mtoto ajajua kulia, 'Baba yangu, 'Mama yangu; utajiri wa Damaskasi, na mateka wa Samaria watachuliwa na mfalme wa Asiria.
For before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
5 Yahwe aliongea na mimi tena,
And the LORD spoke to me further:
6 Kwa sababu watu hawa wameyakataa maji ya Shiloa na ni furaha kwa Rezeni na mtoto wa Remalia,
“Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoiced in Rezin and the son of Remaliah,
7 Hivyo basi Bwana anakairbia kuwaletea maji maji ya mto, yenye nguvu na mengi, mfalme Asiria na utukufu wake utakuja juu na kupita juu ya mifereji yake atafurika juu ya kingo zote.
the Lord will surely bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates — the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and overrun its banks.
8 Mto utafurika kuelekea Yuda, utafurika mpaka kufika kwenye shingo yako. Mabawa yake yaliyonyooshwa utajaza upana wa nchi, Emanueli.''
It will pour into Judah, swirling and sweeping over it, reaching up to the neck; its spreading streams will cover your entire land, O Immanuel!
9 Nyie watu mtavunjika vipande vipande, Sikilizeni, nyote muishio nchi zilizo mbali; jiandaeni wenyewe na mtavunyika vipande vipande.
Huddle together, O peoples, and be shattered; pay attention, all you distant lands; prepare for battle, and be shattered; prepare for battle, and be shattered!
10 utatengeneza mpango, lakini haufanyiwa kazi; maana Mungu yuko pamoja nasi.
Devise a plan, but it will be thwarted; state a proposal, but it will not happen. For God is with us.”
11 Yahwe ameiniambia mimi, kwa mkono wake imara juu yangu, na amenikataza nisitembee katika njia za watu hawa. Nisiseme,
For this is what the LORD has spoken to me with a strong hand, instructing me not to walk in the way of this people:
12 Ni fitina habari ya mambo ambayo watu hawatasema, ni fitina msihofu wala msiogope.
“Do not call conspiracy everything these people regard as conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear; do not live in dread.
13 Yahwe wa majeshi ambaye mtakaye muheshimu kama mtakatifu; yeye ndie mtakayemuogopa na yeye ndiye mtakayemuhofia.
The LORD of Hosts is the One you shall regard as holy. Only He should be feared; only He should be dreaded.
14 mtakatifu; lakinia takuwa kama jiwe la kikwazo na mwamba wa kujikwaza kwa nyumba zote za Israeli. Na atakuwa mtego na mtego kwa watu wake Yerusalemu.
And He will be a sanctuary— but to both houses of Israel a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, to the dwellers of Jerusalem a trap and a snare.
15 Wengi watajikwaa juu yao na kuanguka na kuvunjika, na kutekwa na kukamata mateka.
Many will stumble over these; they will fall and be broken; they will be ensnared and captured.”
16 Ufunge huo ushuhuda, tia muhuri, na uwape wafuasi wangu,
Bind up the testimony and seal the law among my disciples.
17 Nitamsubiri Yahwe, afichaye uso wake kutoka nyumba ya Yakobo; Nitamsubiri yeye.
I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in Him.
18 Ona, Mimi na watoto ambaye Yahwe amenipa mimi ni ishara na maajabu tu katika Israeli kutoka kwa Yahwe wa Majeshi yeye aishiye mlima wa Sayuni.
Here am I, and the children the LORD has given me as signs and symbols in Israel from the LORD of Hosts, who dwells on Mount Zion.
19 Watakuambia wewe, ''tafuta habari kwa watu wenye pepo na wachawi'', walio kama ndege na kunong'ona dua. Lakini hawataacha kutafuta habari kwa Mungu wao? Je waenende kwa watu waliokufa badala ya walio hai?
When men tell you to consult the spirits of the dead and the spiritists who whisper and mutter, shouldn’t a people consult their God instead? Why consult the dead on behalf of the living?
20 Kwa sheria na kwa ushuhuda! kama hawatayasema mambo hayo ni kwa sababu hakuna mwanga wa alfajiri.
To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.
21 Nawatapita katikati ya nchi kwa shida kubwa na njaa. Walipokuwa na njaa, walipatwa na hasira na kumlaani mfalme wao na Mungu wao, na wakajeuza macho yao juu.
They will roam the land, dejected and hungry. When they are famished, they will become enraged; and looking upward, they will curse their king and their God.
22 Wataiangalia nchi na kuona dhiki, giza, na ukandamizaji wa viza. Watapelekwa kwenye nchi ya giza.
Then they will look to the earth and see only distress and darkness and the gloom of anguish. And they will be driven into utter darkness.
