1 Mbono ya Isaya nkololo wa Amozi yaakabona ngekwe Juda ne Jerusalema mu misi yakabe kubusa Uziya ne ya Jothamu ne ya Ahazi ne ya Hezekiya bomambo be Juda.
Itjaba tje bapanduki
2 Hwilila iwe kudzimu, nawe shango zhula zebe,
ngoti Yahwe balebeleka bakati,
“Ndakalela bana abakudza,
koga bakandipandukila.
3 Ngabe inoziba mweni wayo,
donki ikaziba painojisigwa nge mweni wayo.
Koga Baiziraela abatoziba,
bathu bangu abatohwisisa.”
4 Yee mme wee! Mapalala imwi ludzi gunotjinya,
bathu banolemegwa nge zwibi,
ludzi gwe bashingi be bubi,
bana bakazwipa mbipo.
Bakafupatila Yahwe,
belasha Wakayengemala we Iziraela,
be ufupatila tjose.
5 Apa ini mungabe mutjalobgwa kene?
Ini mudwilila mupanduka kene?
Nsholo wose unogwadza,
ne moyo wose unotimbama.
6 Kudwila mu tshambo le gumbo kunoti ku nsholo uwo
akuna tjipenyu,
kuzhele mbonje ne kusubuka,
ne malonda akapubuka asakasukiwa,
kene kuli kuzwimbiwa nge tjimwe,
asina tjaakazhodziwa.
7 Shango yenyu yakashakadziwa,
mizi yenyu mikulu yakapisiwa nge moto,
minda yenyu inothukudziwa nge bataya mu mesho enyu,
yakashakadzika mukanga semakundiwa,
nge badwakule.
8 Nkololokadzi we Ziyoni wakasiyiwa
se nshasha umu nnda we mizhambi,
se thumba imu nnda we mabisi,
se nzi nkulu wakakombiwa nge zwita.
9 Kuzhe kwe kuti Yahwe Masimbawose
babe bakatisiyila malimbelimbe,
tingabe takanga Sodoma,
tikafanana ne Gomora.
10 Ihwani dama la Yahwe,
imwi babusi be Sodoma,
muteedze nlayo we Ndzimu wedu,
imwi bathu be Gomora.
11 Yahwe bakati,
“Bunjinji gwe zwibhayilo zwenyu godwani kundili kene?
Ndakaamutjila kunopinda tjilizanyo kwe zwibhayilo zwinopisiwa,
zwe nyundo ne tshulo dze zwithuwo zwakakodziwa.
Anditoshathila malopa e mikono
ne pkhwizi ne mbudzi.”
12 Amuzha mbeli kwangu,
ndiyani wakakushaka ikoku,
kutshamba tshamba misha yangu kene?
13 Misani kuzhisa zwibhayilo zwisina nshingo.
Motsha wenyu unoshimika kundili.
Mizano yenyu ye Mwedzi ugala,
ne mazhuba enyu e Sabata,
ne mishangano yenyu mibiibi andingamilane nayo.
14 Ndoshima Mizano yenyu ye Mwedzi ugala,
ne mimwe mizano yakabigwa mu misi yayo.
Yabe mitolo kundili,
ndanyala ngosengana nayo.
15 Mowoti mumilidza maboko enyu,
mutembezela ndowozwimba mesho angu,
kene mukatembezela mitembezelo minjinji,
anditowoteedza,
ngoti maboko enyu azhele malopa.
16 Ngulani mube babuyanana.
Dusani mishingo yenyu yakabipa,
mu mesho angu.
Misani kuthama mbipo,
17 muzwidiye kushinga zwakanaka,
shakani kutambunuka,
mubhatshe banotshambilidziwa.
Mumile fanilo dze siyang'wa,
ne tjilikadzi mudzilebelekele.
18 “Izhani sakuno tilebeleke koleba Yahwe.
Zwibi zwenyu kene zwili zwishaba se malopa,
zowobe zwitjena se kapuku,
kene zwili zwishaba kwakabondelela,
zowonga wulu.
19 Ha muda kakale muhwa,
mowoja zwibuya zwe shango,
20 koga ha mulamba mu panduka,
mowolobesiwa nge thumo,
ngoti Yahwe baleba.”
Nzi mbiimbi
21 Bonani nzi wakabe ugalikabgwe,
washanduka tjini ukabe fukula.
Wakatongobe una kusumikilisa nge malebeswa,
ndulamo yakatongobe ili yapo muuli,
koga ngwenu babulayi koga.
22 Siliva iyo yabe malala,
nkumbi uwo we zhambi washanganyiwa ne vula.
23 Babusi babo babe bapanduki,
babe bakwinya be mbava,
banoda kupiwa tjizwimba nlomo,
bakada kupiwa zwipo.
Abatobhatsha siyang'wa,
kene kuli kukumbula tjilikadzi.
24 Ndizo wali She, Yahwe Masimbawose,
ibo Masimbawose be Iziraela banolebeleka beti,
“Ee, ndowolakidza bushongola mu zwita zwangu,
ndowozwibgwilizilila mu zwita zwangu.
25 Ndowokutolela thambo,
ndowodusa manyiri awo nge buzhalo,
adusa shambgwa iyo yose.
26 Ndowobuza basumikilisi babo bakanga ibabaje be kutanga,
bakumbuludzi babo babe se be kutanga.
Shule kwa ipapo unowodang'wa nzi nkulu we ndulamo,
nzi nkulu unogalamoyo.”
27 Ziyoni unowodzutunugwa nge kwakatambunuka,
muuli banoshanduka banowodzutunugwa nge ndulamo.
28 Koga bapanduki ne babi banowolobesiwa,
naibabo banosiya Yahwe banowopedzisiwa.
29 Mowobhakhwa nge shoni ngekwe mioko,
yamunoshathila,
mowobhatisiwa shoni ngekwe minda,
ya makashalula.
30 Mowofanana ne n'oko
unobuna mazhani,
mukanga nnda usina vula.
31 Nthu wakasima unowonga bushwa gwakawoma,
mishingo iye ikanga sasi,
ndizo kose kowotshwa,
kusina unokudzima.
1 I am Isaiah, the son of Amoz.
And this is the message that I was given about Judah and Jerusalem when Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were the kings of Judah:
A Guilty Nation
2 The Lord has said,
“Listen, heaven and earth!
The children I raised
have turned against me.
3 Oxen and donkeys know
who owns and feeds them,
but my people won't ever learn.”
4 Israel, you are a sinful nation
loaded down with guilt.
You are wicked and corrupt
and have turned from the Lord,
the holy God of Israel.
5 Why be punished more?
Why not give up your sin?
Your head is badly bruised,
and you are weak all over.
6 From your head to your toes
there isn't a healthy spot.
Bruises, cuts, and open sores
go without care
or oil to ease the pain.
A Country in Ruins
7 Your country lies in ruins;
your towns are in ashes.
Foreigners and strangers
take and destroy your land
while you watch.
8 Enemies surround Jerusalem,
alone like a hut
in a vineyard
or in a cucumber field.
9 Zion would have disappeared
like Sodom and Gomorrah,
if the Lord All-Powerful
had not let a few
of its people survive.
Justice, Not Sacrifices
10 You are no better
than the leaders and people
of Sodom and Gomorrah!
So listen to the Lord God:
11 “Your sacrifices
mean nothing to me.
I am sick of your offerings
of rams and choice cattle;
I don't like the blood
of bulls or lambs or goats.
12 “Who asked you to bring all this
when you come to worship me?
Stay out of my temple!
13 Your sacrifices are worthless,
and your incense disgusting.
I can't stand the evil you do
on your New Moon Festivals
or on your Sabbaths
and other times of worship.
14 I hate your New Moon Festivals
and all others as well.
They are a heavy burden
I am tired of carrying.
15 “No matter how much you pray,
I won't listen.
You are too violent.
16 Wash yourselves clean!
I hate your filthy deeds.
Stop doing wrong
17 and learn to live right.
See that justice is done.
Defend widows and orphans
and help the oppressed.”
An Invitation from the Lord
18 I, the Lord, invite you
to come and talk it over.
Your sins are scarlet red,
but they will be whiter
than snow or wool.
19 If you willingly obey me,
the best crops in the land
will be yours.
20 But if you turn against me,
your enemies will kill you.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Lord Condemns Jerusalem
21 Jerusalem, you are like
an unfaithful wife.
Once your judges were honest
and your people lived right;
now you are a city
full of murderers.
22 Your silver is fake,
and your wine
is watered down.
23 Your leaders have rejected me
to become friends of crooks;
your rulers are looking
for gifts and bribes.
Widows and orphans
never get a fair trial.
24 I am the Lord All-Powerful,
the mighty ruler of Israel,
and I make you a promise:
You are now my enemy,
and I will show my anger
by taking revenge on you.
25 I will punish you terribly
and burn away everything
that makes you unfit
to worship me.
26 Jerusalem, I will choose
judges and advisors
like those you had before.
Your new name will be
“Justice and Faithfulness.”
The Lord Will Save Jerusalem
27 Jerusalem, you will be saved
by showing justice;
Zion's people who turn to me
will be saved
by doing right.
28 But those rebellious sinners
who turn against me, the Lord,
will all disappear.
29 You will be made ashamed
of those groves of trees
where you worshiped idols.
30 You will be like a grove of trees
dying in a drought.
31 Your strongest leaders
will be like dry wood
set on fire by their idols.
No one will be able to help,
as they all go up in flames.