Isaya 40
1 ''Faraja, faraja watu wangu,'' amesema Mungu.
Be comforted, be comforted, my people, saith your God.
2 ''Ongea kwa upole kwa Yerusalemu; na tangaza vita vimeisha, maana maovu yao yamesamehewa, maana alipokea mara mbili kutoka kwa mkono wa Yahwe kwa dhambi zao.''
Speak ye to the heart of Jerusalem, and call to her: for her evil is come to an end, her iniquity is forgiven: she hath received of the hand of the Lord double for all her sins.
3 Sauti inalia nje, ''Katika jangwa tengeneza njia ya Yahwe; njoosha njia ya Araba katika njia kuu ya Mungu.''
The voice of one crying in the desert: Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the wilderness the paths of our God.
4 Kila bonde litanyanyuliwa juu, kila mlima na kilima kitasawazishwa; na aridhi ya mwinuko itasawazishwa, mahali palipokwaruzwa patakuwa na usawa;
Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall become straight, and the rough ways plain.
5 na utukufu wa Mungu utafunuliwa, na watu wote wataona kwa pamoja; maana mdomo wa Yahwe umezungumza.
And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh together shall see, that the mouth of the Lord hath spoken.
6 Sauti inasema, ''Lia.'' Jibu lingine, ''Kwa nini nilie?'' ''Mwili wote ni nyasi na maagano yaliyoaminika ni kama ua kwenye shamba.
The voice of one, saying: Cry. And I said: What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of the held.
7 Nyasi zinanyauka na maua yanaperuka pale Yehwe atakapo puliza punzi yake juu yake; hakika ubinadamu ni nyasi.
The grass is withered, and the dower is fallen, because the spirit of the Lord hath blown upon it. Indeed the people is grass:
8 Nyasi hunyauka, maua hupepea, lakini neno la Yahwe litasimama daima.''
The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen: but the word of our Lord endureth for ever.
9 Nenda juu ya mlima mrefu, Sayuni, mbeba taarifa njema. waambie miji ya Yuda, ''Hapa ni Mungu wako!''
Get thee up upon a high mountain, thou that bringest good tidings to Sion: lift up thy voice with strength, thou that bringest good tidings to Jerusalem: lift it up, fear not. Say to the cities of Juda: Behold your God:
10 Angalia, Bwana Yahwe anakuja kama mpiganaji shujaa na jeshi imara linatawa juu yake. Ona, zawadi yako iko kwake, na wale walikombolewa wataenda mbele yake.
Behold the Lord God shall come with strength, and his arm shall rule: Behold his reward is with him and his work is before him.
11 Atalilisha kundi lake kama mchungaji, Atawakusanya kondoo katika jeshi lake, na kulichukua karibu na moyo wake, kwa upole atawongoza wake kuwauuguza watoto wao.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather together the lambs with his arm, and shall take them up in his bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young.
12 Ni nani aliyepima maji ya mashimo kwa mkono wake, anayepima anga kwa urefu wa mkono wake, na kuweka vumbi za nchi katika kikapu, kupima milima kwa mizani, au vilima kwa usawa?
Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and weighed the heavens with his palm? who hath poised with three fingers the bulk of the earth, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance?
13 Ni nani aliyeelewa akili za Yahwe, au kumuelekeza yeye kama mshauri?
Who hath forwarded the spirit of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor, and hath taught him?
14 Ni kutka kwa nani alipokea maelekezo milele? Nani alikufundisha njia sahihi ya kufanya vitu, kumfundisha yeye maarifa, au kumuonyesha njia ya ufahamu?
With whom hath he consulted, and who hath instructed him, and taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and shewed him the way of understanding?
15 Tazama, Mataifa ni kama tone katika ndoo, na kama mavumbi kwenye mizani; ona, na alipima kisiwa kama tundu.
Behold the Gentiles are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the smallest grain of a balance: behold the islands are as a little dust.
16 Lebanoni sio mafuta ya kutosha, wala wanyama pori wake hawatoshi kwa dhabihu ya kuteketezwa.
And Libanus shall not be enough to burn, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for a burnt offering.
17 Mataifa yote hayatochelezi mbele yake; wanachukuliwa na yeye kama hakuna kitu.
All nations are before him as if they had no being at all, and are counted to him as nothing, and vanity.
18 Ni nanibasi utayemlingalisha na Mungu? Ni kwa sanamu ipi utakayomfananisha nayo?
To whom then have you likened God? or what image will you make for him?
19 Sanamu! ambayo fundi ameitupa: Mfua dhahabu ameka pamoja na mikufu bandi ya fedha.
Hath the workman cast a graven statue? or hath the goldsmith formed it with gold, or the silversmith with plates of silver?
20 Kuafanya sadaka hii mtu atachagua kuni ambayo haiozi; anamtafuta fundi mwenye ujuzi wa kutengeneza sanamu ambayo haitaanguka.
He hath chosen strong wood, and that will not rot: the skillful workman seeketh how he may set up an idol that may not be moved.
21 Je hamkujua? Je hamjasikia? Je hamkuambiwa tokea mwanzo? Je hamkuelewa toka misingi ya nchi?
Do you not know? hath it not been heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have you not understood the foundations of the earth?
22 Yeye ndiye aketie juu ya upeo wa macho ya nchi? na wenyeji wake ni kama panzi mbele yake. Akijinyoosha nje ya mbingu ni kama pazia na kutawnya nje kama hema la kuishi.
It is he that sitteth upon the globe of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as locusts: he that stretcheth out the heavens as nothing, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.
23 Anawapunguza viongozi kuwa si kitu na amewafanya viongozi wa nchi kwa sio wenye umuhimu.
He that bringeth the searchers of secrets to nothing, that hath made the judges of the earth as vanity.
24 Tazama wamekuwa wagumu kuotesha; tazama wamekuwa wagumu kupanda; imekuwa ni vigumu kuchukua mzizi katika nchi, kabla ajapuliza juu yao, na wakanyauka, na upepo unawaondosha mbali kama majani.
And surely their stock was neither planted, nor sown, nor rooted in the earth: suddenly he hath blown upon them, and they are withered, and a whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
25 Ni nani tena utakayemfananisha na mimi, ni nani ninayefanan nae?'' amesema mtakatifu.
And to whom have ye likened me, or made me equal, saith the Holy One?
26 Tazama juu kwenye anga! Nani aliyeziumba nyota hizi zote? Analileta nje jeshi na anawaita kwa majina yote. Kwa ukuu wa nguvu zake na kwa uimara wa nguvu zake, hakuna hata mmoja atakayekosa.
Lift up your eyes on high, and see who hath created these things: who bringeth out their host by number, and calleth them all by their names: by the greatness of his might, and strength, and power, not one of them was missing.
27 Kwa nini unasema, Yakobo, na kutangaza, Israeli, ''Njia yangu imefichwa Yahwe asione, na Mungu wangu hakuwekwa wazi kuhusiana na uthibitisho wangu''?
Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel: My way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?
28 Je hakufahamu? Mungu wa milele, Yahwe, Muumbaji wa miisho ya nchi, apatwi na uchovu wala hachoki; hakuna mipaka katika ufahamu wake.
Knowest thou not, or hast thou not heard? the Lord is the everlasting God, who hath created the ends of the earth: he shall not faint, nor labour, neither is there any searching out of his wisdom.
29 Anawapa nguvu waliochoka; na atawapa nguvu mpya waliowadhaifu.
It is he that giveth strength to the weary, and increaseth force and might to them that are not.
30 Hata vijana wadogo watapatwa na uchovu na kuchoka, vijana wadogo watapata mashaka na kuanguka:
Youths shall faint, and labour, and young men shall fall by infirmity.
31 Lakini wale watakao mngojea Yahwe watapewa nguvu mpya; na watapaa kwa mbawa kama malaika; watakimbia wala hawatachoka; watatembea wala hawatazimia.
But they that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall take wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
