Isaiah 33

1 Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed.

1 Ole wako wewe, ee mharabu, wewe ambaye hukuharibiwa! Ole wako, ee msaliti, wewe ambaye hukusalitiwa! Utakapokwisha kuharibu, utaharibiwa; utakapokwisha kusaliti, utasalitiwa.

2 O LORD, be gracious to us! We wait for You. Be our strength every morning and our salvation in time of trouble.

2 Ee Bwana, uturehemu, tunakutamani. Uwe nguvu yetu kila asubuhi na wokovu wetu wakati wa taabu.

3 The peoples flee the thunder of Your voice; the nations scatter when You rise.

3 Kwa ngurumo ya sauti yako, mataifa yanakimbia; unapoinuka, mataifa hutawanyika.

4 Your spoil, O nations, is gathered as by locusts; like a swarm of locusts men sweep over it.

4 Mateka yenu, enyi mataifa, yamevunwa kama vile wafanyavyo madumadu, kama kundi la nzige watu huvamia juu yake.

5 The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

5 Bwana ametukuka, kwa kuwa anakaa mahali palipoinuka, ataijaza Sayuni kwa haki na uadilifu.

6 He will be the sure foundation for your times, a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge. The fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.

6 Atakuwa msingi ulio imara kwa wakati wenu, ghala za wokovu tele, hekima na maarifa; kumcha Bwana ni ufunguo wa hazina hii.

7 Behold, their valiant ones cry aloud in the streets; the envoys of peace weep bitterly.

7 Angalia, watu wake mashujaa wanapiga kelele kwa nguvu barabarani, wajumbe wa amani wanalia kwa uchungu.

8 The highways are deserted; travel has ceased. The treaty has been broken, the witnesses are despised, and human life is disregarded.

8 Njia kuu zimeachwa, hakuna wasafiri barabarani. Mkataba umevunjika, mashahidi wake wamedharauliwa, hakuna yeyote anayeheshimiwa.

9 The land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is ashamed and decayed. Sharon is like a desert; Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.

9 Ardhi inaomboleza na kuchakaa, Lebanoni imeaibika na kunyauka, Sharoni ni kama Araba, nayo Bashani na Karmeli wanapukutisha majani yao.

10 “Now I will arise,” says the LORD. “Now I will lift Myself up. Now I will be exalted.

10 “Sasa nitainuka,” asema Bwana. “Sasa nitatukuzwa; sasa nitainuliwa juu.

11 You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble. Your breath is a fire that will consume you.

11 Mlichukua mimba ya makapi, mkazaa mabua, pumzi yenu ni moto uwateketezao.

12 The peoples will be burned to ashes, like thorns cut down and set ablaze.

12 Mataifa yatachomwa kama ichomwavyo chokaa, kama vichaka vya miiba vilivyokatwa ndivyo watakavyochomwa.”

13 You who are far off, hear what I have done; you who are near, acknowledge My might.”

13 Ninyi mlio mbali sana, sikieni lile nililofanya; ninyi mlio karibu, tambueni uweza wangu!

14 The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling grips the ungodly: “Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?”

14 Wenye dhambi katika Sayuni wametiwa hofu, kutetemeka kumewakumba wasiomcha Mungu: “Ni nani miongoni mwetu awezaye kuishi na moto ulao? Ni nani miongoni mwetu awezaye kuishi na moto unaowaka milele?”

15 He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity, who refuses gain from extortion, whose hand never takes a bribe, who stops his ears against murderous plots and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—

15 Yeye aendaye kwa uadilifu na kusema lililo haki, yeye anayekataa faida ipatikanayo kwa dhuluma na kuizuia mikono yake isipokee rushwa, yeye azuiaye masikio yake dhidi ya mashauri ya mauaji, na yeye afumbaye macho yake yasitazame sana uovu:

16 he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.

16 huyu ndiye mtu atakayeishi mahali pa juu, ambaye kimbilio lake litakuwa ngome ya mlimani. Atapewa mkate wake, na maji yake hayatakoma.

17 Your eyes will see the King in His beauty and behold a land that stretches afar.

17 Macho yenu yatamwona mfalme katika uzuri wake na kuiona nchi inayoenea mbali.

18 Your mind will ponder the former terror: “Where is he who tallies? Where is he who weighs? Where is he who counts the towers?”

18 Katika mawazo yenu mtaifikiria hofu iliyopita: “Yuko wapi yule afisa mkuu? Yuko wapi yule aliyechukua ushuru? Yuko wapi afisa msimamizi wa minara?”

19 You will no longer see the insolent, a people whose speech is unintelligible, who stammer in a language you cannot understand.

19 Hutawaona tena wale watu wenye kiburi, wale watu wenye usemi wa mafumbo, wenye lugha ngeni, isiyoeleweka.

20 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts. Your eyes will see Jerusalem, a peaceful pasture, a tent that does not wander; its tent pegs will not be pulled up, nor will any of its cords be broken.

20 Mtazame Sayuni, mji wa sikukuu zetu; macho yenu yatauona Yerusalemu, mahali pa amani pa kuishi, hema ambalo halitaondolewa, nguzo zake hazitangʼolewa kamwe, wala hakuna kamba yake yoyote itakayokatika.

21 But there the Majestic One, our LORD, will be for us a place of rivers and wide canals, where no galley with oars will row, and no majestic vessel will pass.

21 Huko Bwana atakuwa Mwenye Nguvu wetu. Patakuwa kama mahali pa mito mipana na vijito. Hakuna jahazi lenye makasia litakalopita huko, wala hakuna meli yenye nguvu itakayopita huko.

22 For the LORD is our Judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our King. It is He who will save us.

22 Kwa kuwa Bwana ni mwamuzi wetu, Bwana ndiye mtoa sheria wetu, Bwana ni mfalme wetu, yeye ndiye atakayetuokoa.

23 Your ropes are slack; they cannot secure the mast or spread the sail. Then an abundance of spoils will be divided, and even the lame will carry off plunder.

23 Kamba zenu za merikebu zimelegea: Mlingoti haukusimama imara, nalo tanga halikukunjuliwa. Wingi wa mateka yatagawanywa, hata yeye aliye mlemavu atachukua nyara.

24 And no resident of Zion will say, “I am sick.” The people who dwell there will be forgiven of iniquity.

24 Hakuna yeyote aishiye Sayuni atakayesema, “Mimi ni mgonjwa”; nazo dhambi za wale waishio humo zitasamehewa.