Isaya 40
1 ''Faraja, faraja watu wangu,'' amesema Mungu.
Comfort ye, comfort ye 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.''
Bid Jerusalem take heart, and proclaim unto her, that her time of service is accomplished, that her guilt is paid off; that she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.
3 Sauti inalia nje, ''Katika jangwa tengeneza njia ya Yahwe; njoosha njia ya Araba katika njia kuu ya Mungu.''
Hark! one calleth: 'Clear ye in the wilderness the way of the LORD, make plain in the desert a highway for 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 lifted up, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the rugged shall be made level, and the rough places a 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 shall see it together; for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.'
6 Sauti inasema, ''Lia.'' Jibu lingine, ''Kwa nini nilie?'' ''Mwili wote ni nyasi na maagano yaliyoaminika ni kama ua kwenye shamba.
Hark! one saith: 'Proclaim!' And he saith: 'What shall I proclaim?' 'All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field;
7 Nyasi zinanyauka na maua yanaperuka pale Yehwe atakapo puliza punzi yake juu yake; hakika ubinadamu ni nyasi.
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; because the breath of the LORD bloweth upon it — surely the people is grass.
8 Nyasi hunyauka, maua hupepea, lakini neno la Yahwe litasimama daima.''
The grass withereth, the flower fadeth; but the word of our God shall stand for ever.'
9 Nenda juu ya mlima mrefu, Sayuni, mbeba taarifa njema. waambie miji ya Yuda, ''Hapa ni Mungu wako!''
O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain; O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah: '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 will come as a Mighty One, and His arm will rule for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense 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.
Even as a shepherd that feedeth his flock, that gathereth the lambs in his arm, and carrieth them in his bosom, and gently leadeth those that give suck.
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 meted out heaven with the span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, 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 meted out the spirit of the LORD? Or who was His counsellor that he might instruct 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 took He counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of right, and taught Him knowledge, and made Him to know the way of discernment?
15 Tazama, Mataifa ni kama tone katika ndoo, na kama mavumbi kwenye mizani; ona, na alipima kisiwa kama tundu.
Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance; behold the isles are as a mote in weight.
16 Lebanoni sio mafuta ya kutosha, wala wanyama pori wake hawatoshi kwa dhabihu ya kuteketezwa.
And Lebanon is not sufficient fuel, nor the beasts thereof sufficient for burnt-offerings.
17 Mataifa yote hayatochelezi mbele yake; wanachukuliwa na yeye kama hakuna kitu.
All the nations are as nothing before Him; they are accounted by Him as things of nought, and vanity.
18 Ni nanibasi utayemlingalisha na Mungu? Ni kwa sanamu ipi utakayomfananisha nayo?
To whom then will ye liken God? Or what likeness will ye compare unto Him?
19 Sanamu! ambayo fundi ameitupa: Mfua dhahabu ameka pamoja na mikufu bandi ya fedha.
The image perchance, which the craftsman hath melted, and the goldsmith spread over with gold, the silversmith casting silver chains?
20 Kuafanya sadaka hii mtu atachagua kuni ambayo haiozi; anamtafuta fundi mwenye ujuzi wa kutengeneza sanamu ambayo haitaanguka.
A holm-oak is set apart, he chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning craftsman to set up an image, that shall not be moved.
21 Je hamkujua? Je hamjasikia? Je hamkuambiwa tokea mwanzo? Je hamkuelewa toka misingi ya nchi?
Know ye not? hear ye not? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye 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 above the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, 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.
That bringeth princes to nothing; He maketh the judges of the earth as a thing of nought.
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.
Scarce are they planted, scarce are they sown, scarce hath their stock taken root in the earth; when He bloweth upon them, they wither, and the whirlwind taketh them away as stubble.
25 Ni nani tena utakayemfananisha na mimi, ni nani ninayefanan nae?'' amesema mtakatifu.
To whom then will ye liken Me, that I should be 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? He that bringeth out their host by number, He calleth them all by name; by the greatness of His might, and for that He is strong in power, not one faileth.
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 right 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.
Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? His discernment is past searching out.
29 Anawapa nguvu waliochoka; na atawapa nguvu mpya waliowadhaifu.
He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might He increaseth strength.
30 Hata vijana wadogo watapatwa na uchovu na kuchoka, vijana wadogo watapata mashaka na kuanguka:
Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall;
31 Lakini wale watakao mngojea Yahwe watapewa nguvu mpya; na watapaa kwa mbawa kama malaika; watakimbia wala hawatachoka; watatembea wala hawatazimia.
But they that wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.
