A Song about a Vineyard
The Lord said:
1 I will sing a song
about my friend's vineyard
that was on the side
of a fertile hill.
2 My friend dug the ground,
removed the stones,
and planted the best vines.
He built a watchtower
and dug a pit in rocky ground
for pressing the grapes.
He hoped they would be sweet,
but bitter grapes
were all it produced.
3 Listen, people of Jerusalem
and of Judah!
You be the judge of me
and my vineyard.
4 What more could I have done
for my vineyard?
I hoped for sweet grapes,
but bitter grapes
were all that grew.
5 Now I will let you know
what I am going to do.
I will cut down the hedge
and tear down the wall.
My vineyard will be trampled
and left in ruins.
6 It will turn into a desert,
neither pruned nor hoed;
it will be covered
with thorns and briars.
I will command the clouds
not to send rain.
7 I am the Lord All-Powerful!
Israel is the vineyard,
and Judah is the garden
I tended with care.
I had hoped for honesty
and for justice,
but dishonesty
and cries for mercy
were all I found.
Isaiah Condemns Social Injustice
8 You are in for trouble! You take over house after house and field after field, until there is no room left for anyone else in all the land. 9 But the Lord All-Powerful has made this promise to me:
Those large and beautiful homes will be left empty, with no one to take care of them. 10 Four hectares of grapevines will produce only 27 liters of juice, and 180 liters of seed will produce merely 18 liters of grain.
11 You are in for trouble! You get up early to start drinking, and you keep it up late into the night. 12 At your drinking parties you have the music of stringed instruments, tambourines, and flutes. But you never even think about all the Lord has done, 13 and so his people know nothing about him. That's why many of you will be dragged off to foreign lands. Your leaders will starve to death, and everyone else will suffer from thirst.
14 The world of the dead has opened its mouth wide and is eagerly waiting for the leaders of Jerusalem and for its noisy crowds, especially for those who take pride in that city. 15 Its citizens have been put down, and its proud people have been brought to shame. 16 But the holy Lord God All-Powerful is praised, because he has shown who he is by bringing justice. 17 His people will be like sheep grazing in their own pasture, and they will take off what was left by others.
18 You are in for trouble! The lies you tell are like ropes by which you drag along sin and evil. 19 And you say, “Let the holy God of Israel hurry up and do what he has promised, so we can see it for ourselves.” 20 You are headed for trouble! You say wrong is right, darkness is light, and bitter is sweet.
21 You think you are clever and smart. 22 And you are great at drinking and mixing drinks. But you are in for trouble. 23 You accept bribes to let the guilty go free, and you cheat the innocent out of a fair trial.
24 You will go up in flames like straw and hay! You have rejected the teaching of the holy Lord God All-Powerful of Israel. Now your roots will rot, and your blossoms will turn to dust.
25 You are the Lord's people, but you made him terribly angry, and he struck you with his mighty arm. Mountains shook, and dead bodies covered the streets like garbage. The Lord is still angry, and he is ready to strike you again.
Foreign Nations Will Attack
26 The Lord has signaled for the foreign nations to come and attack you. He has already whistled, and they are coming as fast as they can. 27 None of them are tired. They don't sleep or get drowsy, and they run without stumbling. Their belts don't come loose; their sandal straps don't break. 28 Their arrows are sharp, and their bows are ready. The hoofs of their horses are hard as flint; the wheels of their war chariots turn as fast as a whirlwind.
29 They roar and growl like fierce young lions as they grab their victims and drag them off where no one can rescue them. 30 On the day they attack, they will roar like the ocean. And across the land you will see nothing but darkness and trouble, because the light of day will be covered by thick clouds.
Lumbo gwe Nzhambi
1 Ngwenu ndowombila n'diwa wangu
ngekwe nnda uwe we mizhambi:
N'diwa wangu wakabe ana nnda we mizhambi
pezhugwi kwe duthu pana mavu akanaka.
2 Wakawutsha kadusa mabgwe;
kadzwala mizhambi yakanaka muuli.
Kabaka ngadziNgadzi pakati kwawo,
kabaka ne panoswinigwa nkumbi we zhambi muuli.
Kaumilila kuzwala zhambi
koga kukazwagwa zhambi dzinoshababa.
3 Ndizo wali imwi bagali be Jerusalema
namwi bathu be Juda,
sumikilisani pakati kwangu
ne nnda wangu we mizhambi.
4 Ini tjimwe tjingabe tjakathamigwa nnda wangu we mizhambi
tjandisakathama kene?
Ndabe ndakalinga kuwana zhambi dzakanaka
koga ini wakazwala zhambi dzinoshababa?
5 Ndizo wali ndowomubudza
tjandinowothamila nnda wangu we mizhambi.
Ndowodusa lukuta gwawo
ngono unowobe mafulilo,
ndowoliga guma lawo
ngono unowotshambatshambiwa.
6 Ndowouletjedza ukabe gula,
autowosunuligwa kene kuli kuushakulila,
unowozhala kungubo ne mihwa.
Ndowodziba makole
kasinise vula muuli.
7 Ngoti nnda we mizhambi wa Yahwe Masimbawose
ing'umba ye Iziraela,
bathu be Juda
tjidzwalo tjabo tjinobashathisa.
Yahwe bakabe beda kubona malebeswa
koga bakabona kutebuka kwe lopa.
Be yemula kubona ndulamo
koga bakabona tjililo tje buyendasi.
8 Yee mme wee! Ibabo banopaphidza ng'umba dzabo nge dzimwe ng'umba
bepaphidza minda nge mimwe minda
kuswikila kusala kusina bugalo gwe mmwe,
mube mugala mulimoga mu shango.
9 Yahwe Masimbawose bakalebeleka beti,
“Nge malebeswa ng'umba idzedzi hwuluhwulu dzowobe matongo,
dzose ng'umba idzedzi whuluwhulu dzowosala dzisina bagali.
10 Ndima dzili gumi dze mizhambi dzowobuza galoni dzili tathatu,
saka le mbewu likabuza sakana le mathunde.”
11 Yee mme wee! Bapalala ibabo banobindukila zwing'o,
ibabo banoyedzisa kuswikila pakati kwe busiku,
kuswikila balaladza.
12 Mu mizano yabo bana dende ne tjilidzo tje misungo ili gumi
ne thamborini nyele ne nkumbi we zhambi,
koga abana hanya nge mishingo ya Yahwe,
kene kubona mishingo ye maboko abo.
13 Ndizo wali bathu bangu banotapiwa ngekusawisisa.
Bana mamo mu bali banowofa nge zhala,
banjinji banowoma nge nyota.
14 Ndizo wali ikumbu tjomidza mate
tjitalabudzika kusingapele.
Bakudziwa be Jerusalema ne bunjinji gumuili banodelukila mutjili
kang'ompela ne bakashatha muili.
15 Nthu unoisiwa pasi,
ne banozwikudza banoyisiwa pasi.
16 Koga Yahwe Masimbawose banokudziwa ngo sumikilisa kwabo kwakatambunuka,
Ndzimu Wakayengemala unolakidza kuyengemala kwawo nge ndulamo yawo.
17 Ipapo pkhwizana dzowofula sedzimu mafulo adzo,
zwakakodziwa ne mbudzana dzowofula mu matongo e bafumi.
18 Yee mme wee! Bapalala ibabo banokweba zwibi zwabo nge misungo ye manyepkhwa,
bekweba bubi gwabo se bakakweba koloyi nge mitjili.
19 Ibabo banoti, “Ndzimu ngaulibilidze,
ngaulibilidze kuthama nshingo wawo
kuti tiubone.
Ngaizhe, ndongoloso ye Wakayengemala we Iziraela ngaizhe,
kuti tiizibe.”
20 Yee mme wee! Bapalala ibabo banodana tjakabipa beti tjakanaka,
bedana tjakanaka beti tjakabipa,
banotola zhalima bakalithama tjedza
bakatola tjedza bakatjithama zhalima,
banobiga tjinobaba
mu bumo gwe tjinozipa, tjinozipa mu bumo gwe tjinobaba.
21 Yee mme wee! Bapalala ibabo bakatjenjela mu mesho abo,
beti batjenjedu nge kubona kwabo.
22 Yee mme wee! Bapalala ibabo banozibika nge kung'wa nkumbi we zhambi,
nyambi mu kushanganya mikumbi.
23 Mosunungula nthu una nlandu nge tjizwimba nlomo,
usina nlandu kalashikigwa nge fanilo dzidze.
24 Ndizo wali se moto upisa mashanga
ne bushwa gulota mu nthuto,
saikoko midzi yabo inowobola
ne maluba abo anowuluka se hwuluba,
nge kuti bakalamba nlayo wa Yahwe Masimbawose,
bakalengudza dama le Wakayengemala we Iziraela.
25 Ndizo wali Yahwe bakagwadzila moyo bathu babo,
ngono bamilidza luboko gwabo bakabaloba.
Matombo akazunguzika,
ne zwitumbu zwabo zonga malala mu dzizila.
Nenguba kwakajalo kugwadza moyo kwabo akuzopela,
luboko gwabo gutjakamilika.
26 Yahwe banowomilidzila zwitjaba zwikule tjilakidzo,
banoweba nge nlidzo ibabo baku phelelo dze shango.
Ibile ababa baswika tjinyolotjo,
baswika belibilidza.
27 Akuna wabo unonyala kene unotshatsharika.
Akuna wabo unotshumwayila kene unoyizela.
Mimwandabula yabo akuna wakademba mu thunji
ne shangu dzabo akuna ina ntjili wakathubuka.
28 Misebe yabo inopitsha
ne matati abo akalulwamila kuposa.
Thozo dze mbizi dzabo dzakasima se bgwe
ne makumbgwana e koloyi dzabo dze ngwa anopoteleka se tjampupudze.
29 Tjibombo tjabo tjonga tje shumba,
banobomba se shumba tjetjana,
dzobomba ha dzibhata tjadzinovima,
dzotjisenga kusina tjingadzitolela.
30 Mu zhuba ilelo, dzowoubombela
kukanga kuwona kwe gungwa.
Ngono kowoti nthu elinga shango,
unowobona zhalima ne buyendasi,
tjedza tjowomidziwa nge zhalima le makole.