1
Enyi nyumba ya Israeli, lisikieni neno awaambialo Bwana;
Hear the word that the LORD speaks to you, O house of Israel.
2
Bwana asema hivi, Msijifunze njia ya mataifa, wala msishangae kwa sababu ya ishara za mbinguni; maana mataifa hushangaa kwa sababu ya ishara hizo.
This is what the LORD says: “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by the signs in the heavens, though the nations themselves are terrified by them.
3
Maana desturi za watu hao ni ubatili, maana mtu mmoja hukata mti mwituni, kazi ya mikono ya fundi na shoka.
For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut down a tree from the forest; it is shaped with a chisel by the hands of a craftsman.
4
Huupamba kwa fedha na dhahabu; huukaza kwa misumari na nyundo, usitikisike.
They adorn it with silver and gold and fasten it with hammer and nails, so that it will not totter.
5
Mfano wao ni mfano wa mtende, kazi ya cherehani, hawasemi; hawana budi kuchukuliwa, kwa sababu hawawezi kwenda. Usiwaogope; kwa maana hawawezi kutenda uovu, wala hawana uwezo wa kutenda mema.
Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any good.”
6
Hapana hata mmoja aliye kama wewe, Ee Bwana; wewe ndiwe uliye mkuu, na jina lako ni kuu katika uweza.
There is none like You, O LORD. You are great, and Your name is mighty in power.
7
Ni nani asiyekucha wewe, Ee mfalme wa mataifa? Maana hii ni sifa yako wewe; kwa kuwa miongoni mwa wenye hekima wote wa mataifa, na katika hali yao ya enzi yote pia, hapana hata mmoja kama wewe.
Who would not fear You, O King of nations? This is Your due. For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.
8
Lakini wote pia huwa kama wanyama, ni wapumbavu. Haya ni maelezo ya sanamu, ni shina la mti tu.
But they are altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!
9
Iko fedha iliyofuliwa ikawa mabamba, iliyoletwa kutoka Tarshishi, na dhahabu kutoka Ufazi, kazi ya stadi na ya mikono ya mfua dhahabu; mavazi yao ni rangi ya samawi na urujuani; hayo yote ni kazi ya mafundi yao.
Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz—the work of a craftsman from the hands of a goldsmith. Their clothes are blue and purple, all fashioned by skilled workers.
10
Bali Bwana ndiye Mungu wa kweli; Ndiye Mungu aliye hai, Mfalme wa milele; Mbele za ghadhabu yake nchi yatetemeka, Wala mataifa hawawezi kustahimili hasira yake.
But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and eternal King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His indignation.
11
Mtawaambia hivi, Miungu hiyo isiyofanya mbingu na nchi, hiyo itaangamia katika nchi, nayo itatoweka chini ya mbingu.
Thus you are to tell them: “These gods, who have made neither the heavens nor the earth, will perish from this earth and from under these heavens.”
12
Ameiumba dunia kwa uweza wake, Ameuthibitisha ulimwengu kwa hekima yake, Na kwa ufahamu wake amezitandika mbingu.
The LORD made the earth by His power; He established the world by His wisdom and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.
13
Atoapo sauti yake, pana mshindo wa maji mbinguni, Naye hupandisha mawingu toka ncha za nchi; Huifanyia mvua umeme, Huutoa upepo katika hazina zake.
When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar; He causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth. He generates the lightning with the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses.
14
Kila mtu amekuwa kama mnyama, hana maarifa; Kila mfua dhahabu amefedheheshwa na sanamu yake ya kuchonga; Maana sanamu yake ya kuyeyuka ni uongo, Wala hamna pumzi ndani yake.
Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.
15
Ni ubatili tu, ni kazi za udanganyifu; Wakati wa kujiliwa kwao watapotea.
They are worthless, a work to be mocked. In the time of their punishment they will perish.
16
Yeye, Fungu la Yakobo, siye kama hawa; Maana ndiye aliyeviumba vitu vyote; Na Israeli ni kabila ya urithi wake; Bwana wa majeshi ndilo jina lake.
The Portion of Jacob is not like these, for He is the Maker of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance—the LORD of Hosts is His name.
17
Haya! Kusanya bidhaa yako katika nchi, wewe ukaaye katika mazingiwa.
Gather up your belongings from this land, you who live under siege.
18
Maana Bwana asema hivi, Tazama, wakati huu nitawatupa wenyeji wa nchi hii kama kwa kombeo, nitawataabisha, wapate kuona taabu.
For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, at this time I will sling out the inhabitants of the land and bring distress upon them so that they may be captured.”
19
Ole wangu, kwa sababu ya jeraha yangu! Pigo langu laumia; lakini nalisema, Kweli, ni huzuni yangu mimi, nami sina budi kuivumilia.
Woe to me because of my brokenness; my wound is grievous! But I said, “This is truly my sickness, and I must bear it.”
20
Hema yangu umetekwa nyara, kamba zangu zote zimekatika; watoto wangu wameniacha na kwenda zao, pia hawako. Hapana mtu atakayenitandikia tena hema yangu, na kuyatundika mapazia yangu.
My tent is destroyed, and all its ropes are snapped. My sons have departed from me and are no more. I have no one left to pitch my tent or set up my curtains.
21
Kwa sababu wachungaji wamekuwa kama wanyama, wala hawakuuliza kwa Bwana; basi hawakufanikiwa, na makundi yao yote yametawanyika.
For the shepherds have become senseless; they do not seek the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.
22
Sauti imesikiwa, Tazama, inakuja; mshindo mkuu kutoka nchi ya kaskazini, ili kuifanya miji ya Yuda kuwa ukiwa, makao ya mbweha.
Listen! The sound of a report is coming—a great commotion from the land to the north. It will make the cities of Judah a desolation, a haunt for jackals.
23
Ee Bwana, najua ya kuwa njia ya mwanadamu haimo katika nafsi yake; kuelekeza hatua zake si katika uwezo wa mwanadamu.
I know, O LORD, that a man’s way is not his own; no one who walks directs his own steps.
24
Ee Bwana, unirudi kwa haki; si kwa hasira yako, usije ukaniangamiza.
Correct me, O LORD, but only with justice—not in Your anger, or You will bring me to nothing.
25
Hasira yako uwamwagie mataifa wasiokujua, na jamaa zao wasioliitia jina lako; kwa maana wamemla Yakobo, naam, wamemla kabisa na kumwangamiza, na kuyafanya makao yake kuwa ukiwa.
Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not acknowledge You, and on the families that do not call on Your name. For they have devoured Jacob; they have consumed him and finished him off; they have devastated his homeland.