God Is Lord of the Future
1 Listen to this, people of Israel,
you that are descended from Judah:
You swear by the name of the Lord
and claim to worship the God of Israel—
but you don't mean a word you say.
2 And yet you are proud to say
that you are citizens of the holy city
and that you depend on Israel's God,
whose name is the Lord Almighty.
3 The Lord says to Israel,
“Long ago I predicted what would take place;
then suddenly I made it happen.
4 I knew that you would prove to be stubborn,
as rigid as iron and unyielding as bronze.
5 And so I predicted your future long ago,
announcing events before they took place,
to keep you from claiming
that your idols and images made them happen.
6 “All I foretold has now taken place;
you have to admit my predictions were right.
Now I will tell you of new things to come,
events that I did not reveal before.
7 Only now am I making them happen;
nothing like this took place in the past.
If it had, you would claim that you knew all about it.
8 I knew that you couldn't be trusted,
that you have always been known as a rebel.
That is why you never heard of this at all,
why no word of it ever came to your ears.
9 “In order that people will praise my name,
I am holding my anger in check;
I am keeping it back and will not destroy you.
10 I have tested you in the fire of suffering,
as silver is refined in a furnace.
But I have found that you are worthless.
11 What I do is done for my own sake—
I will not let my name be dishonored
or let anyone else share the glory
that should be mine and mine alone.”
Cyrus, the Lord's Chosen Leader
12 The Lord says,
“Listen to me, Israel, the people I have called!
I am God, the first, the last, the only God!
13 My hands made the earth's foundations
and spread the heavens out.
When I summon earth and sky,
they come at once and present themselves.
14 “Assemble and listen, all of you!
None of the gods could predict
that the man I have chosen would attack Babylon;
he will do what I want him to do.
15 I am the one who spoke and called him;
I led him out and gave him success.
16 “Now come close to me and hear what I say.
From the beginning I have spoken openly
and have always made my words come true.”
(Now the Sovereign Lord has given me his power and sent me.)
The Lord's Plan for His People
17 The holy God of Israel,
the Lord who saves you, says:
“I am the Lord your God,
the one who wants to teach you for your own good
and direct you in the way you should go.
18 “If only you had listened to my commands!
Then blessings would have flowed for you
like a stream that never goes dry.
Victory would have come to you
like the waves that roll on the shore.
19 Your descendants would be as numerous as grains of sand,
and I would have made sure they were never destroyed.”
20 Go out from Babylon, go free!
Shout the news gladly; make it known everywhere:
“The Lord has saved his servant Israel!”
21 When the Lord led his people through a hot, dry desert,
they did not suffer from thirst.
He made water come from a rock for them;
he split the rock open, and water flowed out.
22 “There is no safety for sinners,” says the Lord.
Kores ta pikululifa oshiwana shaIsrael
1 Udeni, onye vomeumbo laJakob, onye ava mwe lilukila edina laIsrael nomwa dja momeva aJuda, onye ava hamu ane medina lOmwene, ndele tamu pitifa Kalunga kaIsrael momakanya eni, ndele inamu shi ninga moshili nomouyuki, 2 osheshi ove lilukila oshilando shiyapuki, ndele tave lineekele Kalunga kaIsrael; edina laye Omwene womatanga ovakwaita.
3 Inya ikulu onde i holola nale, oya dja mokanya kange nonde i udifa. Ame onde i wanifa diva, ndele ye uya po. 4 Osheshi ame onda li ndi ku shii, oove omulundakani, nofingo yoye oi nomifipa doivela noshipala shoye oshikushu, 5 onghee hano nde i ku vilikila nalenale, nonde ku udifila fimbo inandi ku hanga, opo uha tye: osha ningwa koshikalunga shange noshitelekwafano shange oshe shi tonga. 6 Ove owa uda oinima ei. I tala aishe! Inamu hala oku ke i hepaulula? Okudja nena eli ohandi ku shiivifile ipe, oiholekwa wa li ino i shiiva. 7 Opo ya ningwa paife eshi, hanale, fiyo mefiku eli lonena ino i uda, opo uha tye: Tala, onda li ndi i shii nokuli! 8 Heeno, ove ino i uda nowa li uhe i shii, okutwi kwoye inaku i fitulukila shito, osheshi Ame onda li ndi ku shii, ove ku shii okulineekelwa nande, nowa ifanwa omutauluki, nghee wa dja medimo lanyoko. 9 Molwedina lange mwene ohandi poleke ehandu lange, nohandi lididimikile efimano lange molwoku ku ningila ouwa, ndihe ku dime po sheke. 10 Tala, Ame onde ku hemuna, hahemuno loshisiliveli; ndelenee Ame onde ku yelekela mediko loupongo. 11 Omolwange mwene, heeno, omolwange mwene, handi ke shi ninga, osheshi edina lange ola dinika ngahelipi! Efimano lange itandi li pe umwe.
12 Akutu Jakob naave Israel, pwilikinei nge, oove tuu ou, nda ifana, Aame ou; Aame omutete nomuxuuninwa yo. 13 Eke lange ola dika edu neke lange lokolulyo ola valela omaulu; ngeenge handi i ifana, opo tai uya po aishe. 14 Ongaleni nye amushe, nye mu pwilikine! Olyelye ou mokati keni ta hepaulula ei? Ou e holike kOmwene, ta ka wanifa ehalo laye muBabilon neenghono daye mOvakaldea. 15 Ame, Ame nde shi popya, Ame onde mu ifana, Ame onde mu ila nonde mu wapalekela ondjila yaye. 16 Ileni oku kwaame nye mu shi ude, nopehovelo inandi popya nande meholeko, nghee sha ningwa oko nda kala. Ndele paife Omwene, Omwene okwa tuma nge nOmhepo yaye.
17 Omwene Omukulili woye, Omuyapuki waIsrael ota ti ngaha: “Aame Omwene Kalunga koye, ou handi ku longo eshi tashi ku wapalele, ndele handi ku tula mondjila ei u nokweenda nayo. 18 Akutu, ngeno ove wa li wa diinina oipango yange, ngeno ombili yoye oya kala ngaashi omulonga tau tondoka, nouyuki woye ngaashi omakufikufi omefuta; 19 opo nee ngeno oludalo loye ola li li fike pehekedu, naava tava di molutu loye, vahapu ngaashi omawe edu ngeno edina loye itali ka dimwa po ndele itali ka kana moipafi yange.” 20 Djeni mo muBabilon, tembukeni mo muKaldea, shi hepaululeni pombada, shi udifeni, shi twaleni fiyo okominghulo dedu! Tyeni: “Omwene okwa kulila omupiya waye Jakob.” 21 Ndele vo inava fya enota, eshi e va endifa mombuwa; okwe va kungulukifila omeva memanya, okwa panda emanya nomeva okwa kunguluka mo.
22 Omwene ta ti: “Ava vehe na Kalunga kave na nande ombili.”
