Isaya 8
1 Yahwe ameniambia mimi, '' chukua meza kubwa na uandike juu yake, 'Maheri Shalal Hash Baz.'
And Yahweh said unto me: Take thee a large tablet, —and write thereon in plain characters, To Maher-shalal-hash-baz. ["Speed-spoil-hurry-prey".]
2 Nitachagua mashahidi waaminifu wanishuhudie mimi, kuhani Uria, Zakaria mototo wa Yeberekia.''
That I may take in attestation, faithful witnesses, —even Uriah the priest, and Zechariah son of Jeberechiah.
3 Nilienda kwa huyo nabii mwanamke alipata mimba na kumzaa mtoto. Halafu Yahwe akaniambia, ''Muite jina lake Shalal Hash Baz;
Then approached I unto the prophetess, and she conceived and bare a son, —and Yahweh said unto me, Call his name 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 shall have knowledge to cry, My father! and, My mother! the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be carried away before the king of Assyria.
5 Yahwe aliongea na mimi tena,
And again Yahweh spake unto me yet further saying:
6 Kwa sababu watu hawa wameyakataa maji ya Shiloa na ni furaha kwa Rezeni na mtoto wa Remalia,
Because this people hath refused the waters of Shiloah which flow softly, —and are rejoicing with 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.
now therefore, lo! the Lord is about to bring up against them the waters, strong and many, of the River ["Euphrates"], even the king of Assyria and all his glory, —and he shall rise over all his channels, and flow over all his banks;
8 Mto utafurika kuelekea Yuda, utafurika mpaka kufika kwenye shingo yako. Mabawa yake yaliyonyooshwa utajaza upana wa nchi, Emanueli.''
and roll on throughout Judah—overflow and pass along, till unto the neck, he shall reach, —and it shall be, that, the stretching out of his wings, shall fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel!
9 Nyie watu mtavunjika vipande vipande, Sikilizeni, nyote muishio nchi zilizo mbali; jiandaeni wenyewe na mtavunyika vipande vipande.
Rage, O ye peoples, —and be overthrown, And give ear, all ye distant parts of the earth, —Gird yourselves and be overthrown, Gird yourselves, and be overthrown:
10 utatengeneza mpango, lakini haufanyiwa kazi; maana Mungu yuko pamoja nasi.
Determine a plan, —and it shall be frustrated, —Speak a word, and it shall not stand, For With-us-is-GOD!
11 Yahwe ameiniambia mimi, kwa mkono wake imara juu yangu, na amenikataza nisitembee katika njia za watu hawa. Nisiseme,
For, thus, spake Yahweh unto me like a firm grasp of the hand, —when he admonished me, not to walk in the way of this people, saying:
12 Ni fitina habari ya mambo ambayo watu hawatasema, ni fitina msihofu wala msiogope.
Ye shall not say—A confederacy! of everything of which this people may say. A confederacy! And their fear, shall ye not fear or regard as awful:
13 Yahwe wa majeshi ambaye mtakaye muheshimu kama mtakatifu; yeye ndie mtakayemuogopa na yeye ndiye mtakayemuhofia.
Yahweh of hosts, him, shall ye hallow, —And let, him, be your fear, and let, him inspire you with awe;
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.
So shall he become a hallowed asylum, —But a stone to strike against, and a rock to stumble over unto both houses of Israel A trap and a snare to the dweller in Jerusalem;
15 Wengi watajikwaa juu yao na kuanguka na kuvunjika, na kutekwa na kukamata mateka.
And many, shall stumble among them, —and fall and be torn, and snared, and captured.
16 Ufunge huo ushuhuda, tia muhuri, na uwape wafuasi wangu,
Bind thou up the testimony, —Seal the instruction amongst my disciples.
17 Nitamsubiri Yahwe, afichaye uso wake kutoka nyumba ya Yakobo; Nitamsubiri yeye.
I will therefore long for Yahweh, Who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, —And will wait, for 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.
Lo! I and the children whom Yahweh hath given me, are for signs and for wonders in Israel, —from Yahweh of hosts, who is making his habitation in 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?
But, when they say unto you—Seek ye unto the necromancers and unto the wizards, who chirp, and who mutter, Should not a people seek, unto its God? In behalf of the living, [should it seek] unto the dead?
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 speak not according to this word, [It is], because they have no dawning day.
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.
Therefore shall they pass through it hard pressed and hungry, —And it shall be when they hunger, then will they rage and revile their king and their god and turn their faces upwards;
22 Wataiangalia nchi na kuona dhiki, giza, na ukandamizaji wa viza. Watapelekwa kwenye nchi ya giza.
And unto the land, shall they look hard, And lo! distress and darkness, the gloom of anguish, driven away!
