Isaiah 37

1 On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.

1 Mfalme Hezekia aliposikia haya, akararua nguo zake na kuvaa nguo ya gunia, naye akaenda katika Hekalu la Bwana.

2 And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz

2 Akawatuma Eliakimu msimamizi wa nyumba ya mfalme, Shebna mwandishi, na viongozi wa makuhani, wote wakiwa wamevaa nguo za magunia, waende kwa nabii Isaya mwana wa Amozi.

3 to tell him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them.

3 Wakamwambia, “Hili ndilo asemalo Hezekia: Siku hii ni siku ya dhiki, ya kukaripiwa na ya aibu, kama wakati watoto wanapofikia karibu kuzaliwa na kumbe hakuna nguvu ya kuwazaa.

4 Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives.”

4 Yamkini Bwana, Mungu wako atayasikia maneno ya jemadari wa jeshi, ambaye bwana wake, mfalme wa Ashuru, amemtuma kumdhihaki Mungu aliye hai, tena kwamba atamkemea kwa maneno ambayo Bwana, Mungu wako ameyasikia. Kwa hiyo omba kwa ajili ya mabaki ambao bado wako.”

5 So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah,

5 Maafisa wa Mfalme Hezekia walipofika kwa Isaya,

6 who replied, “Tell your master that this is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.

6 Isaya akawaambia, “Mwambieni bwana wenu, ‘Hili ndilo asemalo Bwana: Usiogope kwa hayo uliyoyasikia, yale maneno ambayo watumishi wa mfalme wa Ashuru wamenitukana nayo.

7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’”

7 Sikiliza! Nitatia roho fulani ndani yake ili kwamba atakaposikia taarifa fulani, atarudi nchi yake mwenyewe, nami huko nitafanya auawe kwa upanga.’”

8 When the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.

8 Jemadari wa jeshi aliposikia kwamba mfalme wa Ashuru ameondoka Lakishi, alirudi, akamkuta mfalme akipigana na Libna.

9 Now Sennacherib had been warned about Tirhakah king of Cush: “He has set out to fight against you.” On hearing this, Sennacherib sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

9 Basi Senakeribu akapata taarifa kwamba Tirhaka, Mkushi mfalme wa Misri, alikuwa anaenda kupigana naye. Aliposikia jambo hili akatuma wajumbe kwa Hezekia na neno hili:

10 “Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

10 “Mwambieni Hezekia mfalme wa Yuda: Usikubali huyo Mungu unayemtumainia akudanganye wakati anaposema, ‘Yerusalemu haitatiwa mkononi mwa mfalme wa Ashuru.’

11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries, devoting them to destruction. Will you then be spared?

11 Hakika umesikia yale ambayo wafalme wa Ashuru wametenda kwa nchi zote, wakiwaangamiza kabisa. Je, wewe utaokolewa?

12 Did the gods of the nations destroyed by my fathers rescue those nations—the gods of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and of the people of Eden in Telassar?

12 Je, miungu ya mataifa ambayo yaliangamizwa na baba zangu iliweza kuwaokoa? Yaani miungu ya Gozani, Harani, Resefu, na ya watu wa Edeni waliokuwa Telasari?

13 Where are the kings of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”

13 Yuko wapi mfalme wa Hamathi, mfalme wa Arpadi, mfalme wa mji wa Sefarvaimu, au wa Hena au wa Iva?”

14 So Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers, read it, and went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.

14 Hezekia akapokea barua kutoka kwa wale wajumbe naye akaisoma. Kisha akapanda katika Hekalu la Bwana, akaikunjua mbele za Bwana.

15 And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD:

15 Naye Hezekia akamwomba Bwana akisema:

16 “O LORD of Hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.

16 “Ee Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote, Mungu wa Israeli, uketiye juu ya kiti cha enzi kati ya makerubi, wewe peke yako ndiwe Mungu juu ya falme zote za dunia. Wewe umeumba mbingu na nchi.

17 Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see. Listen to all the words that Sennacherib has sent to defy the living God.

17 Tega sikio, Ee Bwana, usikie; fungua macho yako, Ee Bwana, uone; sikiliza maneno yote ambayo Senakeribu ametuma kumtukana Mungu aliye hai.

18 Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all these countries and their lands.

18 “Ni kweli, Ee Bwana, kwamba wafalme wa Ashuru wameyaangamiza mataifa haya yote pamoja na nchi zao.

19 They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.

19 Wameitupa miungu yao kwenye moto na kuiangamiza, kwa kuwa haikuwa miungu, bali miti na mawe tu, iliyotengenezwa kwa mikono ya wanadamu.

20 And now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God.”

20 Sasa basi, Ee Bwana Mungu wetu, tuokoe kutoka mkononi mwake, ili kwamba falme zote duniani zipate kujua kwamba wewe peke yako, Ee Bwana, ndiwe Mungu.”

21 Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to Me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria,

21 Kisha Isaya mwana wa Amozi akapeleka ujumbe kwa Hezekia, akasema: “Hili ndilo asemalo Bwana, Mungu wa Israeli: Kwa sababu umeniomba kuhusu Senakeribu mfalme wa Ashuru,

22 this is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: ‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head behind you.

22 hili ndilo neno ambalo Bwana amelisema dhidi yake: “Bikira binti Sayuni anakudharau na kukudhihaki. Binti Yerusalemu anatikisa kichwa chake unapokimbia.

23 Whom have you taunted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel!

23 Ni nani uliyemtukana na kumkufuru? Ni nani uliyeinua sauti yako dhidi yake, na kumwinulia macho yako kwa kiburi? Ni dhidi ya yule Aliye Mtakatifu wa Israeli!

24 Through your servants you have taunted the Lord, and you have said: “With my many chariots I have ascended to the heights of the mountains, to the remote peaks of Lebanon. I have cut down its tallest cedars, the finest of its cypresses. I have reached its farthest heights, the densest of its forests.

24 Kupitia kwa wajumbe wako umelundika matukano juu ya Bwana. Nawe umesema, ‘Kwa magari yangu mengi ya vita, nimepanda juu ya vilele vya milima, vilele vya juu sana katika Lebanoni. Nami nimeiangusha mierezi yake mirefu, misunobari yake iliyo bora sana. Nimefikia sehemu zake zilizoinuka juu sana, misitu yake iliyo mizuri sana.

25 I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”

25 Nimechimba visima katika nchi za kigeni na kunywa maji yake. Kwa nyayo za miguu yangu nimekausha vijito vyote vya Misri.’

26 Have you not heard? Long ago I ordained it; in days of old I planned it. Now I have brought it to pass, that you should crush fortified cities into piles of rubble.

26 “Je, hujasikia? Zamani sana niliamuru hili. Siku za kale nilipanga hili; sasa nimelifanya litokee, kwamba umegeuza miji yenye ngome kuwa malundo ya mawe.

27 Therefore their inhabitants, devoid of power, are dismayed and ashamed. They are like plants in the field, tender green shoots, grass on the rooftops, scorched before it is grown.

27 Watu wa miji hiyo wameishiwa nguvu, wanavunjika mioyo na kuaibishwa. Wao ni kama mimea katika shamba, kama machipukizi mororo ya kijani, kama majani yachipuayo juu ya paa la nyumba, ambayo hukauka kabla ya kukua.

28 But I know your sitting down, your going out and coming in, and your raging against Me.

28 “Lakini ninajua mahali ukaapo, kutoka kwako na kuingia kwako, na jinsi unavyoghadhibika dhidi yangu.

29 Because your rage and arrogance against Me have reached My ears, I will put My hook in your nose and My bit in your mouth; I will send you back the way you came.’

29 Kwa sababu unaghadhibika na ufidhuli dhidi yangu, na kwa sababu ufidhuli wako umefika masikioni mwangu, nitaweka ndoana yangu puani mwako na hatamu yangu kinywani mwako, nami nitakufanya urudi kwa njia ile uliyoijia.

30 And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah: This year you will eat what grows on its own, and in the second year what springs from the same. But in the third year you will sow and reap; you will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

30 “Hii ndiyo itakuwa ishara kwako, ee Hezekia: “Mwaka huu utakula kile kiotacho chenyewe, na mwaka wa pili utakula kutoka machipukizi yake. Lakini katika mwaka wa tatu panda na uvune, panda mashamba ya mizabibu na ule matunda yake.

31 And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root below and bear fruit above.

31 Mara nyingine tena mabaki ya nyumba ya Yuda wataeneza mizizi chini na kuzaa matunda juu.

32 For a remnant will go forth from Jerusalem, and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.

32 Kwa kuwa kutoka Yerusalemu watakuja mabaki, na kutoka Mlima Sayuni kundi la walionusurika. Wivu wa Bwana Mwenye Nguvu Zote, ndio utatimiza jambo hili.

33 So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria: ‘He will not enter this city or shoot an arrow into it. He will not come before it with a shield or build up a siege ramp against it.

33 “Kwa hiyo hili ndilo asemalo Bwana kuhusu mfalme wa Ashuru: “Hataingia katika mji huu wala hatapiga mshale hapa. Hatakuja mbele yake na ngao wala kupanga majeshi kuuzingira.

34 He will go back the way he came, and he will not enter this city,’ declares the LORD.

34 Kwa njia ile aliyoijia ndiyo atakayorudi; hataingia katika mji huu,” asema Bwana.

35 ‘I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”

35 “Nitaulinda mji huu na kuuokoa, kwa ajili yangu mwenyewe, na kwa ajili ya Daudi mtumishi wangu!”

36 Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!

36 Ndipo malaika wa Bwana akaenda, akawaua wanajeshi 185,000 katika kambi ya Waashuru. Wenzao walipoamka asubuhi yake, walikuta maiti kila mahali!

37 So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.

37 Basi Senakeribu mfalme wa Ashuru akavunja kambi na kuondoka. Akarudi Ninawi na kukaa huko.

38 One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer put him to the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esar-haddon reigned in his place.

38 Siku moja, alipokuwa akiabudu katika hekalu la mungu wake Nisroki, wanawe Adrameleki na Shareza wakamuua kwa upanga, nao wakakimbilia nchi ya Ararati. Naye Esar-Hadoni mwanawe akawa mfalme badala yake.