1
Ikawa mfalme Hezekia aliposikia hayo, alizirarua nguo zake, akajivika nguo za magunia, akaingia katika nyumba ya Bwana.
On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.
2
Akamtuma Eliakimu aliyekuwa msimamizi wa nyumba yake na Shebna, mwandishi, na wazee wa makuhani, wamejivika nguo za magunia, waende kwa Isaya nabii, mwana wa Amozi.
And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz
3
Wakamwambia, Hezekia asema hivi, Siku hii ni siku ya dhiki, na aibu, na matukano; maana watoto wa tayari kuzaliwa, wala hapana nguvu za kuwazaa.
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.
4
Yamkini Bwana, Mungu wako, atayasikia maneno ya huyo amiri ambaye mfalme wa Ashuru, bwana wake, amemtuma ili amtukane Mungu aliye hai; na Bwana, Mungu wako atayakemea maneno aliyoyasikia; basi, inua dua yako kwa ajili ya mabaki yaliyobakia.
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.”
5
Basi, watumishi wa mfalme Hezekia wakaenda kwa Isaya.
So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah,
6
Isaya akawaambia, Mwambieni bwana wenu maneno haya; Bwana asema hivi, Usiyaogope maneno uliyoyasikia, ambayo watumishi wa mfalme wa Ashuru wamenitukana.
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.
7
Tazama, nitatia roho ndani yake, naye atasikia kivumi, na kurudi hata nchi yake mwenyewe, nami nitamwangusha kwa upanga katika nchi yake mwenyewe.
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.’”
8
Basi yule amiri akarudi, akamkuta mfalme wa Ashuru anafanya vita juu ya Libna; kwa maana alikuwa amesikia ya kwamba ameondoka, akaacha Lakishi.
When the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.
9
Naye alisikia habari ya Tirhaka, mfalme wa Kushi, ya kwamba, Ametoka ili kupigana nawe; naye aliposikia hayo, akatuma wajumbe kwa Hezekia, kusema,
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,
10
Mwambieni Hezekia, mfalme wa Yuda, maneno haya, mkisema, Asikudanganye Mungu wako unayemtumaini, akisema, Yerusalemu hautatiwa katika mikono ya mfalme wa Ashuru.
“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.
11
Tazama, umesikia habari ya mambo yote, ambayo wafalme wa Ashuru wamezitenda nchi zote, kwa kuziangamiza kabisa je! Utaokoka wewe?
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?
12
Je! Miungu ya mataifa, ambao baba zangu waliwaangamiza, wamewaokoa? Gozani, na Harani, na Resefu, na wana wa Adini waliokuwa katika Telasari?
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?
13
Yuko wapi mfalme wa Hamathi, na mfalme wa Arpadi, na mfalme wa mji wa Sefarvaimu, wa Hena, na wa Iva?
Where are the kings of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’”
14
Basi Hezekia akaupokea waraka katika mikono ya wale wajumbe, akausoma; kisha Hezekia akapanda, akaingia katika nyumba ya Bwana, akaukunjua mbele za Bwana.
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.
15
Hezekia akamwomba Bwana, akisema,
And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD:
16
Ee Bwana wa majeshi, Mungu wa Israeli, ukaaye juu ya makerubi, wewe, naam, wewe peke yako, ndiwe Mungu wa falme zote za dunia. Wewe ndiwe uliyeziumba mbingu na nchi.
“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.
17
Tega sikio lako, Bwana, usikie; funua macho yako, Bwana, uone; uyasikie maneno ya Senakeribu, aliyopeleka ili kumtukana Mungu aliye hai.
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.
18
Ni kweli, Bwana, wafalme wa Ashuru wameziharibu nchi zote, na mashamba yao,
Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all these countries and their lands.
19
na kuwatupa miungu yao motoni; kwa maana hao hawakuwa miungu, bali kazi ya mikono ya wanadamu; walikuwa miti na mawe, ndiyo sababu wakawaharibu.
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.
20
Basi sasa, Bwana, Mungu wetu, utuokoe na mkono wake, falme zote za dunia zipate kujua ya kuwa wewe ndiwe Bwana, wewe peke yako.
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.”
21
Ndipo Isaya, mwana wa Amozi, akapeleka ujumbe kwa Hezekia, akisema, Bwana, Mungu wa Israeli, asema hivi, Kwa kuwa umeniomba juu ya Senakeribu, mfalme wa Ashuru,
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,
22
tamko alilolitamka Bwana katika habari zake ndilo hili; Bikira, binti Sayuni, anakudharau, anakudhihaki sana; binti Yerusalemu anatikisa kichwa chake juu yako.
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.
23
Ni nani uliyemshutumu na kumtukana? Umeinua sauti yako juu ya nani, na kuinua macho yako juu? Juu ya Mtakatifu wa Israeli.
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!
24
Umemshutumu Bwana kwa watumishi wako, kwa kuwa umesema, Kwa wingi wa magari yangu nimepanda juu ya vilele vya milima, mpaka mahali pa ndani ya Lebanoni; nami nitaikata mierezi yake mirefu, na misunobari yake mizuri, nami nitaingia ndani ya mahali pake palipoinuka, palipo mbali sana, msitu wa shamba lake lizaalo sana.
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.
25
Nimechimba na kunywa maji, na kwa nyayo za miguu yangu nitaikausha mito yote ya Misri.
I have dug wells and drunk foreign waters. With the soles of my feet I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”
26
Je! Hukusikia? Ni mimi niliyeyatenda hayo tokea zamani, na kuyafanya tokea siku za kale; nikayatimiza sasa, iwe kazi yako kuangamiza miji yenye boma, ikawe chungu na magofu.
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.
27
Ndiyo sababu wenyeji wao wakawa hawana nguvu, na kufadhaika, na kuhangaika, wakawa kama majani ya mashamba, kama miche mibichi, kama majani juu ya dari, kama shamba la ngano kabla haijaiva.
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.
28
Lakini nakujua, kuketi kwako, na kutoka kwako, na kuingia kwako; na ghadhabu yako uliyonighadhibikia.
But I know your sitting down, your going out and coming in, and your raging against Me.
29
Kwa sababu ya kunighadhibikia kwako, na kwa sababu kutakabari kwako kumefika masikioni mwangu, nitatia kulabu yangu katika pua yako, na hatamu yangu midomoni mwako, nami nitakurudisha kwa njia ile ile uliyoijia.
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.’
30
Na kwako wewe dalili ndiyo hii; mwaka huu mtakula vitu vimeavyo vyenyewe; na mwaka wa pili mtakula mazao ya mbegu za vitu hivyo; na mwaka wa tatu pandeni mbegu, kavuneni; mkapande mizabibu katika mashamba, mkale matunda yake.
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.
31
Na mabaki yaliyookoka, yaliyobakia ya nyumba ya Yuda, yatatia mizizi chini, na kuzaa matunda juu.
And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah will again take root below and bear fruit above.
32
Maana katika Yerusalemu yatatoka mabaki, nao watakaookoka katika mlima Sayuni; wivu wa Bwana wa majeshi utatimiza mambo hayo.
For a remnant will go forth from Jerusalem, and survivors from Mount Zion. The zeal of the LORD of Hosts will accomplish this.
33
Basi, Bwana asema hivi katika habari za mfalme wa Ashuru, Yeye hataingia ndani ya mji huu, wala hatapiga mshale hapa, wala hatakuja mbele yake kwa ngao, wala hatajenga boma juu yake.
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.
34
Njia ile ile aliyoijia, kwa njia hiyo atarudi zake, wala hataingia ndani ya mji huu; asema Bwana.
He will go back the way he came, and he will not enter this city,’ declares the LORD.
35
Nami nitaulinda mji huu, niuokoe kwa ajili yangu mwenyewe, na kwa ajili ya Daudi, mtumishi wangu.
‘I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’”
36
Basi malaika wa Bwana alitoka, akaua watu mia na themanini na tano elfu katika kituo cha Waashuri, na watu walipoamka asubuhi na mapema, kumbe, hao walikuwa maiti wote pia.
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!
37
Basi Senakeribu, mfalme wa Ashuru akaenda zake, akarudi Ninawi, akakaa huko.
So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.
38
Ikawa alipokuwa akiabudu katika nyumba ya Nisroki, mungu wake, Adrameleki na Shareza, wanawe, wakampiga kwa upanga; wakakimbilia nchi ya Ararati; naye Esar-hadoni, mwanawe, akamiliki badala yake.
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.