Isaya 17
1 Tamko kuhusu Damaskasi.
The oracle on Damascus, —Lo! Damascus, is to be removed from being a city, And shall become a heap of ruins:
2 Miji ya Aroera itaharibiwa. Patakuwa na nafasi kwa ajili ya kutunzia mifugo, na hakuna hatakayeizuia.
Forsaken, are the desolate cities, —For flocks, shall they serve, Which shall lie down and have none to make them afraid.
3 Miji ilioachwa itatoweka kutoka Efraimu, ufalme katuka Damskasi, na walobaki Aramu-watakuwa kama utukufu wa watu wa Israeli-Hili ni tamko la Yahwe wa majeshi.
Then shall the fortress cease from Ephraim, And the kingdom from Damascus and the remnant of Syria, —Like the glory of the sons of Israel, shall they be, —Declareth Yahweh of hosts.
4 Itakuwa siku hiyo utukufu wa Yakobo utapungua, utakuwa mwembamba na kunona kwa mwili wake utapungua.
And it shall come to pass in that day, That the glory of Jacob, shall be diminished, And, the fatness of his flesh, shall be wasted;
5 Itakuwa kama mvuna ikusanyavyo mavuno, na mkono wake huvuna maganda ya mazao. Itakuwa kama mtu atoae maganda ya mavuno katika bonde la Refaimu.
And it shall come to pass—That, as the harvestman gathereth standing corn, And with his arm—the ears, he reapeth, Yea it shall come to pass—That, so, shall he be who gleaneth ears, in the vale of Rephaim;
6 Masalia yataachwa, hata hivyo, mti wa mzabibu utatingishwa: Mizeituni miwili au mitatu iliyo juu sana matawi yake yako juu, manne au matano katka tawi la juu katika mti unaozaa-hili ni tamko la Yahwe, Mungu wa Israeli.
Yet shall there be left therein, a gleaning. As in the beating of an olive-tree, —Two-three berries in the head of the tree-top, —Four—five, among her fruitful boughs, Declareth Yahweh God of Israel.
7 Siku hiyo watu watawangalia Muumba wake, na macho yatamuangalia Mtakatifu wa Israeli.
In that day, shall the son of earth look to him that made him, —And his eyes unto the Holy One of Israel, be turned;
8 Hawatangalia madhabahu, kazi za mikono yao, wala hataangalia kile kinachofanywa na vidole vyao, nguzo za Ashera na picha ya jua.
And he shall not look unto the altars the work of his own hands, —Nor to what his own fingers have made, shall his eye be turned, Whether Sacred Stems or Sun-pillars.
9 Siku hiyo miji yenye nguvu itakuwa kama msitu uliotelekezwa na juu ya kilele cha mlima, na palipo achwa kwa sababu ya wana wa Israeli patakuwa ukiwa.
In that day, shall his fortified cities become Like a neglected bough and a topmost branch, Which they neglected because of the sons of Israel, —So shall there be desolation.
10 Maana mmemsahau Mungu wa wakovu wenu, na umeudharau mwamba wa nguvu zako. Hivyo basi umeotesha miti mizuri, na mizabibu mizuri iliyotoka ugenini,
Because thou didst forget the God of thy salvation, And thy Rock of refuge, thou didst not remember, For this cause, shalt thou plant very pleasant plants, And, the slip of a stranger, shalt thou set:
11 Siku hiyo uliootesha na fensi na kulima. Mbegu zako zitaota mapema na kukua, lakini mavuno yatashindikana siku hiyo itakuwa huzuni na kukata tamaa.
In the day when thou plantest, fence thou in, And in the morning, cause thou, thy slip, to blossom, —A harvest will have waved in the day of destiny, and mortal pain.
12 Ole! Watu wenye ghasia, Kishindo chake ni kama mngurumo wa bahari, na kasi ya mataifa, wananguruma kama ngurumo ya maji mengi!
Alas! the booming of many peoples, Like the booming of the seas, shall they boom, —And the rushing of nations! Like the rushing of mighty waters, shall they rush.
13 Mataifa yataunguruma kama maji mengi yaendao kasi, lakini Mungu atawakemea.
Though nations like the rushing of many waters, shall rush, Yet shall one rebuke him, And he shall flee far away, —And be chased As the chaff of the mountains before a wind, And as whirling stubble before a storm!
14 Watakimbia mbali sana na watafukuzwa kama pumba kwenye mlima mbele ya upepo, kama mavumbi yazungukayo kwenye dhoruba. Wakati wa usiku, ona, hofu! Na kabla ya alfajiri watakwenda; hili ndilo eneo la wale waliotupora, na wale wanaotunyang'anya mali zetu.
At eventide, lo! terror, Before morning, he is not! This, is the portion of them who plunder us, And the lot of them who make of us a prey.
