The Lord Helps Israel
1The Lord says, “People who live on the islands,
come and stand quietly in front of me.
Let the nations gain new strength
in order to state their case.
Let them come forward and speak.
Let us go to court and find out who is right.
2“Who has stirred up a king from the east?
Who has helped him win his battles?
I hand nations over to him.
I bring kings under his control.
He turns them into dust with his sword.
With his bow he turns them into straw blowing in the wind.
3He hunts them down. Then he moves on unharmed.
He travels so fast that his feet
don’t seem to touch the ground.
4Who has made that happen? Who has carried it out?
Who has created all the people who have ever lived?
I, the Lord, have done it.
I was with the first of them.
And I will be with the last of them.”
5The people on the islands have seen that king coming.
And it has made them afraid.
People tremble with fear from one end of the earth to the other.
They come and gather together.
6They help one another.
They say to one another, “Be strong!”
7One skilled worker makes a statue of a god.
Another covers it with gold.
The first worker says to the second,
“You have done a good job.”
Another worker smooths out the metal with a hammer.
Still another gives the statue its final shape.
The one who hammers says to the one who shapes,
“You have done a good job.”
Then they nail the statue down so it won’t fall over.
8The Lord says, “People of Israel, you are my servants.
Family of Jacob, I have chosen you.
You are the children of my friend Abraham.
9I gathered you from one end of the earth to the other.
From the farthest places on earth I brought you together.
I said, ‘You are my servants.’
I have chosen you.
I have not turned my back on you.
10So do not be afraid. I am with you.
Do not be terrified. I am your God.
I will make you strong and help you.
I will hold you safe in my hands.
I always do what is right.
11“All those who are angry with you will be put to shame.
And they will be dishonored.
Those who oppose you will be destroyed.
And they will vanish.
12You might search for your enemies.
But you will not find them.
Those who go to war against you
will completely disappear.
13I am the Lord your God.
I take hold of your right hand.
I say to you, ‘Do not be afraid.
I will help you.’
14Family of Jacob, you are as weak as a worm.
But do not be afraid.
People of Israel, there are only a few of you.
But do not be afraid.
I myself will help you,” announces the Lord.
He is the one who sets his people free.
He is the Holy One of Israel.
15He says, “I will make you into a threshing sled.
It will be new and sharp.
It will have many teeth.
You will grind the mountains down and crush them.
You will turn the hills into nothing but straw.
16You will toss them in the air.
A strong wind will catch them and blow them away.
You will be glad because I will make that happen.
You will praise me.
I am the Holy One of Israel.
17“Those who are poor and needy search for water.
But there isn’t any.
Their tongues are dry because they are thirsty.
But I will help them. I am the Lord.
I will not desert them.
I am Israel’s God.
18I will make streams flow on the bare hilltops.
I will make springs come up in the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water.
I will turn the dry and cracked ground into flowing springs.
19I will make trees grow in the desert.
I will plant cedar and acacia trees there.
I will plant myrtle and olive trees there.
I will make juniper trees grow in the dry and empty desert.
I will plant fir and cypress trees there.
20Then people will see and know
that my powerful hand has done it.
They will consider and understand
that I have created it.
I am the Holy One of Israel.”
21The Lord says to the nations and their gods,
“State your case.”
Jacob’s King says to them,
“Prove your case to me.
22Tell us, you false gods,
what is going to happen.
Tell us what happened in the past.
Then we can check it out
and see if it is really true.
Or announce to us the things that will take place.
23Tell us what will happen in the days ahead.
Then we will know that you are gods.
Do something. It does not matter whether it is good or bad.
Then we will be terrified and filled with fear.
24But you false gods are less than nothing.
Your actions are completely worthless.
I hate it when people worship you.
25“I have stirred up a king
who will come from the north.
He lives in the east.
He will bring honor to me.
He walks all over rulers as if they were mud.
He steps on them just as a potter stomps on clay.
26Which one of you false gods said those things
would happen before they did?
Who told us about them
so we could know them?
Who told us ahead of time?
Who told us so we could say,
‘You are right’?
None of you false gods told us about them.
None of you told us ahead of time.
In fact, no one heard you say anything at all.
27I was the first to tell Zion.
I said, ‘Look! The people of Israel are coming back!’
I sent a messenger to Jerusalem with the good news.
28I look, but there is no one
among the gods that can give me advice.
None of them can answer
when I ask them the simplest question.
29So they are not really gods at all.
What they do does not amount to anything.
They are as useless as wind.
Mulungu Thandizo la Israeli
1“Khalani chete pamaso panga, inu mayiko a mʼmbali mwa nyanja!
Alekeni ayandikire ndi kuyankhula;
tiyeni tikhale pamodzi
kuti atiweruze.
2“Ndani anadzutsa wochokera kummawa
uja amene ananka napambana kulikonse kumene ankapita?
Iye amapereka anthu a mitundu ina mʼmanja mwake
ndipo ndi lupanga lake anagonjetsa
ndi kusandutsa mafumu kukhala ngati fumbi
nawamwaza ngati mankhusu ndi uta wake.
3Amawalondola namayenda mosavutika,
mʼnjira imene mapazi ake sanayendemo kale.
4Ndani anachita zimenezi ndi kuzitsiriza,
si uja amene anayambitsa mitundu ya anthu?
Ine Yehova, ndine chiyambi
ndipo potsiriza pake ndidzakhalapo.”
5Mayiko amʼmbali mwa nyanja aona zimenezi ndipo akuopa;
anthu a ku mathero a dziko lapansi akunjenjemera.
Akuyandikira pafupi, akubwera;
6aliyense akuthandiza mnzake
ndipo akuwuza mʼbale wake kuti, “Limba mtima!”
7Mʼmisiri wa matabwa amalimbikitsa mʼmisiri wa golide,
ndipo iye amene amasalaza fano ndi nyundo
amalimbikitsa amene amalisanja pa chipala.
Ponena za kuwotcherera iye amati, “Zili bwino.”
Iye amalikhomerera fanolo ndi misomali kuti lisagwe.
8“Koma Iwe Israeli mtumiki wanga,
Yakobo amene ndakusankha,
Ndiwe chidzukulu cha Abrahamu bwenzi langa.
9Ndinakutengani kuchokera ku mapeto a dziko lapansi,
ndinakuyitanani kuchokera ku mbali za kutali za dziko lapansi.
Ine ndinati, ‘Iwe ndiwe mtumiki wanga;’
Ndinakusankha ndipo sindinakutaye.
10Tsono usaope, pakuti Ine ndili nawe;
usataye mtima chifukwa Ine ndine Mulungu wako.
Ndidzakupatsa mphamvu ndipo ndidzakuthandiza,
ndidzakutchinjiriza ndi dzanja langa lamanja logonjetsa.
11“Onse amene akupsera mtima
adzachita manyazi ndithu ndi kunyazitsidwa;
onse amene akukangana nawe
sadzakhalanso kanthu, adzawonongeka.
12Udzafunafuna adani ako,
koma sadzapezeka.
Iwo amene akuchita nawe nkhondo
sadzakhalanso kanthu.
13Pakuti Ine Yehova, ndine Mulungu wako,
amene ndikukugwira dzanja lako lamanja
ndipo ndikuti, usaope;
ndidzakuthandiza.
14Usachite mantha, iwe Yakobo wofowoka ngati nyongolotsi,
iwe wochepa mphamvu Israeli,
chifukwa Ine ndidzakuthandiza,”
akutero Yehova Mpulumutsi wako, Woyerayo wa Israeli.
15“Taona, ndidzakusandutsa ngati chipangizo chopunthira tirigu
chatsopano, chakunthwa ndi cha mano ambiri.
Udzanyenya mapiri ndi kuwaphwanyaphwanya,
ndipo zitunda adzazisandutsa ngati mankhusu.
16Udzawapeta ndipo adzawuluka ndi mphepo komanso
adzamwazika ndi kamvuluvulu.
Koma iwe udzakondwera chifukwa Ine ndine Mulungu wako,
ndipo udzanyadira chifukwa cha Ine Woyerayo wa Israeli:
17“Pamene amphawi ndi osauka akufunafuna madzi,
koma sakuwapeza;
ndipo kummero kwawo kwawuma ndi ludzu.
Ine Yehova ndidzayankha pemphero lawo;
Ine, Mulungu wa Israeli, sindidzawasiya.
18Ndidzayendetsa mitsinje mʼmalo owuma,
ndi akasupe adzatumphuka mu zigwa.
Ndidzasandutsa chipululu kukhala dziwe la madzi
ndipo dziko lowuma kukhala akasupe a madzi.
19Mʼchipululu ndidzameretsa
mkungudza, kasiya mchisu ndi mtengo wa Olivi.
Mʼdziko lowuma ndidzaza mitengo
ya payini, ya mkuyu ndi ya mlombwa,
20kuti anthu aone ndi kudziwa;
inde, alingalire ndi kumvetsa,
kuti Yehova ndiye wachita zimenezi;
kuti Woyera wa Israeli ndiye anakonza zimenezi.
21“Yehova akuwuza milungu ina kuti, ‘Fotokozani mlandu wanu.’
Mfumu ya Yakobo ikuti, ‘Perekani umboni wanu.’
22Bwerani ndi milungu yanu kuti idzatiwuze
zomwe zidzachitike mʼtsogolo.
Tifotokozereni zinthu zamakedzana
tiziganizire
ndi kudziwa zotsatira zake.
Kapena tiwuzeni zimene zidzachitike mʼtsogolo,
23tiwuzeni kuti kutsogolo kuli zotani,
ndipo ife tidziwa kuti ndinu milungu.
Chitani chinthu chabwino kapena choyipa,
ndipo mutidabwitsa ndi kutichititsa mantha.
24Koma inu sindinu kanthu
ndipo zochita zanu nʼzopandapake;
amene amapembedza inu ali ngati chinthu chokanidwa chifukwa ndi choyipa.
25“Ndinawutsa munthu wina kumpoto ndipo anabwera,
munthu wochokera kummawa amene ndinamuyitana.
Amapondaponda olamulira ngati matope,
ngati ndi wowumba mbiya amene akuponda dongo.
26Ndani anawululiratu zimenezi poyamba pomwe, kuti ife tidziwe,
kapena kutiwuziratu zisanachitike kuti ife tinene kuti, ‘Analondola?’
Palibe amene ananena,
palibe analengeza zimenezi,
palibe anamva mawu anu.
27Ine ndinali woyamba kumuwuza Ziyoni kuti, ‘Taona, si awa akubwera apawa!’
Ndinatumiza mthenga wa nkhani yabwino ku Yerusalemu.
28Koma ndikayangʼana palibe ndi mmodzi yemwe,
palibe ndi mmodzi yemwe pakati pawo wotha kupereka uphungu,
palibe woti ayankhe pamene ine ndawafunsa.
29Taonani, milungu yonseyi ndi yachinyengo!
Zochita zawo si kanthu konse;
mafano awo ali ngati mphepo yachabechabe.
