Deuteronomy 1
1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all Israel in the wilderness east of the Jordan—in the Arabah opposite Suph—between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab.
La ngamazwi akhulunywa nguMosi kubo bonke abako-Israyeli enkangala, empumalanga yeJodani, lokhu kuyikuthi, e-Arabha, maqondana leSufi, phakathi kwePharani leThofeli, eLabhani, eHazerothi kanye laseDizahabi.
2 It is an eleven-day journey from Horeb to Kadesh-barnea by way of Mount Seir.
(Loluhambo luthatha insuku ezilitshumi lanye ukusuka eHorebhi kusiya eKhadeshi Bhaneya ngomgwaqo odlula eNtabeni yaseSeyiri.)
3 In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses proclaimed to the Israelites all that the LORD had commanded him concerning them.
Ngomnyaka wamatshumi amane, ngosuku lwakuqala lwenyanga yetshumi lanye, uMosi wamemezela kwabako-Israyeli konke lokho uThixo ayemlaye ngakho ngabo.
4 This was after he had defeated Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and then at Edrei had defeated Og king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth.
Lokhu kwakungemva kokuba esenqobe uSihoni inkosi yama-Amori, owayebusa eHeshibhoni, njalo wayesenqobe e-Edreyi u-Ogi inkosi yaseBhashani, owayebusa e-Ashitharothi.
5 On the east side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying:
Empumalanga kweJodani elizweni laseMowabi, uMosi waqalisa ukufundisa ngalo umthetho, esithi:
6 The LORD our God said to us at Horeb: “You have stayed at this mountain long enough.
“UThixo uNkulunkulu wethu wakhuluma lathi siseHorebhi wathi, ‘Selihlale isikhathi eseneleyo kule intaba.
7 Resume your journey and go to the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the hill country, in the foothills, in the Negev, and along the seacoast to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great River Euphrates.
Dilizani izihonqo zenu ledlulele elizweni lamaqaqa lama-Amori; yanini kubo bonke abangomakhelwane e-Arabha, ezintabeni, emawatheni angentshonalanga, eNegebi lilandelele ukhumbi, liye ezweni lamaKhenani kanye laseLebhanoni, lidabule lize liyefika emfuleni omkhulu, iYufrathe.
8 See, I have placed the land before you. Enter and possess the land that the LORD swore He would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants after them.”
Khangelani, sengiliphile lelilizwe. Ngenani lilithumbe lelilizwe uThixo afunga wathi uzalipha okhokho benu, u-Abhrahama, u-Isaka, uJakhobe kanye lezizukulwane zabo emva kwabo.’”
9 At that time I said to you, “I cannot carry the burden for you alone.
“Ngalesosikhathi ngathi kini, ‘Lina lingumthwalo omkhulu kakhulu onzima ukuthi ngiwuthwale ngingedwa.
10 The LORD your God has multiplied you, so that today you are as numerous as the stars in the sky.
UThixo uNkulunkulu wenu usengezelele amanani enu okokuthi lamuhla selilingana lezinkanyezi zemkhathini.
11 May the LORD, the God of your fathers, increase you a thousand times over and bless you as He has promised.
Sengathi uThixo, uNkulunkulu wabokhokho benu, angalibusisa njalo alandise ngokuphindwe kankulungwane njengokuthembisa kwakhe!
12 But how can I bear your troubles, burdens, and disputes all by myself?
Kodwa ngingazithwala njani inhlupho zenu lemithwalo yenu kanye lezingxabano zenu ngingedwa na?
13 Choose for yourselves wise, understanding, and respected men from each of your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.”
Khethani amadoda akhaliphileyo, azwisisayo lahloniphekayo phakathi kwezizwana zakini zonke, mina ngizawabeka alikhokhele.’
14 And you answered me and said, “What you propose to do is good.”
Langiphendula lathi, ‘Lokho ofisa ukukwenza kulungile.’
15 So I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and respected men, and appointed them as leaders over you—as commanders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, and as officers for your tribes.
Ngakho ngathatha abakhokheli bezizwana zenu, amadoda akhaliphileyo njalo ahloniphekayo, ngabanika amandla phezu kwenu ukuze babe ngabalawuli bezinkulungwane, bamakhulu, bamatshumi amahlanu, betshumi kanye lokuba yizikhulu zezizwana zenu.
16 At that time I charged your judges: “Hear the disputes between your brothers, and judge fairly between a man and his brother or a foreign resident.
Njalo ngapha isiqondiso kubahluleli ngalesosikhathi ngathi: ‘Hluzani ingxabano phakathi kwabafowenu njalo lahlulele ngokufaneleyo, kungakhathalekile ukuthi yingxabano phakathi kwabako-Israyeli bodwa loba kungowako-Israyeli oxabana lowezizweni.
17 Show no partiality in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be intimidated by anyone, for judgment belongs to God. And bring to me any case too difficult for you, and I will hear it.”
Lingathathi hlangothi ekwahluleleni; hluzani amacala abancinyane labakhulu ngokufananayo. Lingesabi loba ngubani, ngoba ukwahlulela ngokukaNkulunkulu. Kuthi icala elinzima lililethe kimi, ngizalihluza ngilahlulele.’
18 And at that time I commanded you all the things you were to do.
Njalo ngalesosikhathi ngalitshela konke okwakumele likwenze.”
19 And just as the LORD our God had commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites, through all the vast and terrifying wilderness you have seen. When we reached Kadesh-barnea,
“Kwathi-ke, njengoba uThixo wethu wayesilayile, sasuka eHorebhi saqonda ezweni lama-Amori elilamaqaqa sadabula inkangala enkulu eyesabekayo eseliyibonile, saze sayafika eKhadeshi Bhaneya.
20 I said: “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us.
Ngakho ngathi kini, ‘Selifikile elizweni lama-Amori elamaqaqa, ilizwe uThixo uNkulunkulu wethu asinika lona.
21 See, the LORD your God has placed the land before you. Go up and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has told you. Do not be afraid or discouraged.”
Khangelani, uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu uselinike lelilizwe. Hambani lilithumbe njengoba uThixo, uNkulunkulu wabokhokho benu alitshela. Lingesabi; lingadangali.’
22 Then all of you approached me and said, “Let us send men ahead of us to search out the land and bring us word of what route to follow and which cities to enter.”
Kusenjalo lina lonke leza kimi lathi, ‘Asithumeni amadoda ahambe phambili ayehlola lelolizwe abuye azositshengisa indlela esizangena ngayo kanye leyokuthumba amadolobho esizafikela kuwo.’
23 The plan seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men from among you, one from each tribe.
Lokho kwakhanya kungumbono omuhle kimi; lakanye ngakhetha abalitshumi lababili phakathi kwenu, indoda eyodwa esizwaneni ngasinye.
24 They left and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol and spied out the land.
Basuka baya ezweni lamaqaqa njalo bafika bahlola isihotsha sase-Eshikholi.
25 They took some of the fruit of the land in their hands, carried it down to us, and brought us word: “It is a good land that the LORD our God is giving us.”
Bathatha ezinye izithelo zelizwe babuya lazo kithi, njalo bethula umbiko othi, ‘Yilizwe elihle uThixo uNkulunkulu wethu asipha lona.’”
26 But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God.
“Kodwa lina lalingazimiselanga ukuhamba; lahlamukela uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu ngokungalaleli umlayo wakhe.
27 You grumbled in your tents and said, “Because the LORD hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to be annihilated.
Lina lakhonona lisemathenteni enu lathi, ‘UThixo uyasizonda; kutsho ukuthi wasikhipha eGibhithe ukuze asinikele ezandleni zama-Amori ukuthi asibhubhise.
28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying: ‘The people are larger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the heavens. We even saw the descendants of the Anakim there.’”
Singaya ngaphi na? Abafowethu sebesithelele ubuthakathaka. Bathi bona, “Abantu bakhona balamandla njalo bade kulathi; amadolobho akhona makhulu, alemiduli etshaya emkhathini. Size sabona lama-Anakhi khonale.”’
29 So I said to you: “Do not be terrified or afraid of them!
Mina ngasengisithi kini, ‘Lingethuki; lingabesabi.
30 The LORD your God, who goes before you, will fight for you, just as you saw Him do for you in Egypt
UThixo uNkulunkulu wenu ohamba phambi kwenu uzalilwela, njengalokho alenzela khona eGibhithe lizibonela ngamehlo enu,
31 and in the wilderness, where the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way by which you traveled until you reached this place.”
njalo lasenkangala. Khonale lazibonela ukuthi uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu walithwala, njengobaba ethwala indodana yakhe, uhambo lwenu lonke laze lafika lapha.’
32 But in spite of all this, you did not trust the LORD your God,
Lanxa kunjalo, kalizange limethembe uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu,
33 who went before you on the journey, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day, to seek out a place for you to camp and to show you the road to travel.
yena owahamba phambi kwenu kuloluhambo, elikhokhela ngomlilo ebusuku kanti kusiba leyezi emini, elidingela izindawo zokumisa izihonqo zenu lokulitshengisa lapho okumele liye khona.
34 When the LORD heard your words, He grew angry and swore an oath, saying,
Kwathi uThixo esezwile elalikutsho, wathukuthela, wafunga wathi:
35 “Not one of the men of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your fathers,
‘Kakho loyedwa kulesisizukulwane esingalunganga ozalibona lelolizwe engafungela ukulipha okhokho benu,
36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land on which he has set foot, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly.”
ngaphandle kukaKhalebi indodana kaJefune. Yena uzalibona, njalo ngizamupha yena lesizukulwane sakhe lelolizwe azafikela kilo, ngoba walalela uThixo ngenhliziyo yakhe yonke.’
37 The LORD was also angry with me on your account, and He said, “Not even you shall enter the land.
Ngenxa yenu uThixo wangithukuthelela lami njalo wathi, ‘Wena lawe awuyikungena khona.
38 Joshua son of Nun, who stands before you, will enter it. Encourage him, for he will enable Israel to inherit the land.
Kodwa umsekeli wakho, uJoshuwa indodana kaNuni, uzangena kulelolizwe. Umkhuthaze yena, ngoba uzakhokhela abako-Israyeli kulo ukuba libe yilifa labo.
39 And the little ones you said would become captives—your children who on that day did not know good from evil—will enter the land that I will give them, and they will possess it.
Kanti njalo lalabo abancane elalisithi bazathunjwa, abantwabenu abangakehlukanisi phakathi kokubi lokuhle, bazangena kulelolizwe. Ngizabapha lona njalo bazalithatha libe ngelabo.
40 But you are to turn back and head for the wilderness along the route to the Red Sea.”
Kodwa lina, phendukani njalo lisuke liqonde enkangala lilandele indlela eya oLwandle oluBomvu.’
41 “We have sinned against the LORD,” you replied. “We will go up and fight, as the LORD our God has commanded us.” Then each of you put on his weapons of war, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country.
Lina laphendula lathi, ‘Sonile kuThixo. Sizahamba siyekulwa, njengokulaywa kwethu nguThixo uNkulunkulu wethu.’ Ngalokho lonke lahloma ngezikhali linakana ukuthi kulula ukungena elizweni lamaqaqa.
42 But the LORD said to me, “Tell them not to go up and fight, for I am not with you to keep you from defeat by your enemies.”
Kodwa uThixo wathi kimi, ‘Wothi kubo, “Lingayi ukuyakulwa, ngoba kangiyikuba lani. Lizakwehlulwa yizitha zenu.”’
43 So I spoke to you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the command of the LORD and presumptuously went up into the hill country.
Ngakho ngalitshela, kodwa kalizange lilalele. Lahlamukela umlayo kaThixo kwathi ngobuqholo benu layangena elizweni lamaqaqa.
44 Then the Amorites who lived in the hills came out against you and chased you like a swarm of bees. They routed you from Seir all the way to Hormah.
Kwathi ama-Amori ayehlala kulawomaqaqa alihlangabeza alihlasela; alixotsha njengomtshitshi wenyosi, alibhuqa kusukela eSeyiri indlela yonke kusiya eHoma.
45 And you returned and wept before the LORD, but He would not listen to your voice or give ear to you.
Laphenduka lafika lakhala phambi kukaThixo kodwa kazange alalele ukukhala kwenu walifulathela.
46 For this reason you stayed in Kadesh for a long time—a very long time.
Ngakho lahlala eKhadeshi okwensuku ezinengi, okwesikhathi sonke elasichitha likhonale.”
