Deuteronomy 9
1 Give ear, O Israel: today you are to go over Jordan, to take the heritage of nations greater and stronger than yourselves, and towns of great size with walls as high as heaven;
Zwana, Israyeli; uzachapha iJordani lamuhla, ukungenela ukudla ilifa lezizwe ezinkulu lezilamandla kulawe, imizi emikhulu ebiyelwe ngemithangala efika emazulwini.
2 A people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, of whom you have knowledge and of whom it has been said, All are forced to give way before the sons of Anak.
Abantu abakhulu labade, abantwana bamaAnaki wena obaziyo, wena osuzwile ngabo kuthiwa: Ngubani ongema phambi kwabantwana bakaAnaki?
3 Be certain then today that it is the Lord your God who goes over before you like an all-burning fire; he will send destruction on them, crushing them before you; and you will send them in flight, putting an end to them quickly, as the Lord has said.
Ngakho yazi lamuhla ukuthi yiNkosi uNkulunkulu wakho echapha phambi kwakho, engumlilo oqothulayo; yona izabachitha, njalo yona izabehlisela phansi phambi kwakho; njalo lizabaxotsha basuke elifeni labo, libabhubhise masinyane, njengokutsho kweNkosi kuwe.
4 And after the Lord has sent them in flight from before you, say not in your heart, Because of my righteousness the Lord has given me this land; when it is because of their evil-doing that the Lord is driving these nations out before you.
Ungakhulumi enhliziyweni yakho, lapho iNkosi uNkulunkulu wakho isibaxotshile phambi kwakho, usithi: Ngenxa yokulunga kwami iNkosi ingingenise ukudla ilifa lelizwe leli. Kodwa ngenxa yobubi balezizizwe iNkosi izixotsha zisuke elifeni lazo phambi kwakho.
5 Not for your righteousness or because your hearts are upright are you going in to take their land; but because of the evil-doing of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and to give effect to his oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Kakungenxa yokulunga kwakho kumbe ngenxa yobuqotho benhliziyo yakho ukuthi ungene ukudla ilifa lelizwe lazo; kodwa ngenxa yobubi balezizizwe iNkosi uNkulunkulu wakho izixotsha zisuke elifeni lazo phambi kwakho, lokuthi iqinise ilizwi iNkosi eyalifungela oyihlo, uAbrahama, uIsaka loJakobe.
6 Be certain then that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land as a reward for your righteousness; for you are a stiff-necked people.
Yazi-ke ukuthi kakungenxa yokulunga kwakho ukuthi iNkosi uNkulunkulu wakho ikunika lelilizwe elihle ukuthi udle ilifa lalo; ngoba uyisizwe esilentamo elukhuni.
7 Keep well in mind how you made the Lord your God angry in the waste land; from the day when you went out of Egypt till you came to this place, you have gone against the orders of the Lord.
Khumbula, ungakhohlwa, ukuthi wayithukuthelisa iNkosi uNkulunkulu wakho enkangala; kusukela osukwini owaphuma ngalo elizweni leGibhithe laze lafika kulindawo, beliyivukela iNkosi.
8 Again in Horeb you made the Lord angry, and in his wrath he would have put an end to you.
LeHorebe layithukuthelisa iNkosi, yaze yalithukuthelela iNkosi ukulichitha.
9 When I had gone up into the mountain to be given the stones on which was recorded the agreement which the Lord made with you, I was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights without taking food or drinking water.
Sengenyukele entabeni ukwemukela izibhebhe zamatshe, izibhebhe zesivumelwano iNkosi eyasenza lani, ngasengihlala entabeni insuku ezingamatshumi amane lobusuku obungamatshumi amane, angidlanga sinkwa, anginathanga manzi.
10 And the Lord gave me the two stones with writing on them done by the finger of God: on them were recorded all the words which the Lord said to you on the mountain out of the heart of the fire, on the day of the great meeting.
INkosi yasinginika lezozibhebhe ezimbili zamatshe zilotshwe ngomunwe kaNkulunkulu, laphezu kwazo kulotshiwe ngokwamazwi wonke iNkosi eyayiwakhulume lani entabeni, iphakathi komlilo ngosuku lokuhlangana.
11 Then at the end of forty days and forty nights the Lord gave me those stones, the stones of the agreement.
Kwasekusithi ekupheleni kwensuku ezingamatshumi amane lobusuku obungamatshumi amane, iNkosi yangipha izibhebhe ezimbili zamatshe, izibhebhe zesivumelwano.
12 And the Lord said to me, Get up now, and go down quickly from this place; for the people you have taken out of Egypt have given themselves over to evil; they have quickly been turned from the way in which I gave them orders to go; they have made themselves a metal image.
INkosi yasisithi kimi: Sukuma wehle ngokuphangisa usuke lapha, ngoba abantu bakho owabakhupha eGibhithe bonakalisile, baphambukile ngokuphangisa endleleni engabalaya yona, bazenzela isithombe esibunjwe ngokuncibilikisa.
13 And then the Lord said to me, I have seen that this people is stiff-necked:
INkosi yasikhuluma kimi isithi: Ngibabonile lababantu, khangela-ke, bangabantu abantamo zilukhuni.
14 Let me send destruction on them till their very name is cut off; and I will make of you a nation greater and stronger than they.
Ngiyekela ukuze ngibabhubhise, ngesule ibizo labo lisuke ngaphansi kwamazulu; njalo ngizakwenza ube yisizwe esilamandla lesikhulu kulabo.
15 So turning round I came down from the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire; and the two stones of the agreement were in my hands.
Ngasengiphenduka ngisehla entabeni, lentaba yayivutha umlilo; lezibhebhe zombili zesivumelwano zazisezandleni zami zombili.
16 And I saw that you had done evil against the Lord, and had made for yourselves a metal image of a young ox: you had quickly been turned from the way in which the Lord had given you orders to go.
Ngasengibona, khangelani-ke, lalonile eNkosini uNkulunkulu wenu, lalizenzele ithole elibunjwe ngokuncibilikisa, laliphambukile ngokuphangisa endleleni iNkosi eyayililayile.
17 And I let the stones go from my hands, and they were broken before your eyes.
Ngasengibamba izibhebhe zombili, ngazilahla ezandleni zami zombili, ngazibulala phambi kwamehlo enu.
18 And I went down on my face before the Lord, as at the first, for forty days and forty nights, without taking food or drinking water, because of all your sin, in doing evil in the eyes of the Lord and moving him to wrath.
Ngasengiziwisela phansi phambi kweNkosi njengakuqala, insuku ezingamatshumi amane lobusuku obungamatshumi amane, ngingadli sinkwa, nginganathi manzi, ngenxa yaso sonke isono senu elisonileyo, lisenza okubi emehlweni eNkosi, liyithukuthelisa.
19 For I was full of fear because of the wrath of the Lord which was burning against you, with your destruction in view. But again the Lord's ear was open to my prayer.
Ngoba ngangisesaba ukuthukuthela lolaka iNkosi eyayilithukuthelela ngakho ukulibhubhisa; kodwa iNkosi yangizwa langalesosikhathi.
20 And the Lord, in his wrath, would have put Aaron to death: and I made prayer for Aaron at the same time.
INkosi yasimthukuthelela kakhulu uAroni ukuze imbhubhise; kodwa ngamkhulekela loAroni ngalesosikhathi.
21 And I took your sin, the image which you had made, and put it in the fire and had it hammered and crushed very small till it was only dust: and the dust I put in the stream flowing down from the mountain.
Ngasengithatha isono senu, ithole elalilenzile, ngalitshisa ngomlilo, ngalichoboza, ngalicholisisa laze laba lincinyane njengothuli; ngaphosa uthuli lwalo esifuleni esasisehla entabeni.
22 Again at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you made the Lord angry.
LeTabera, leMasa, leKiribothi-Hathava laliyithukuthelisa iNkosi.
23 And when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, Go up and take the land which I have given you; you went against the orders of the Lord your God, and had no faith in him, and would not give ear to his voice.
Lalapho iNkosi yalithuma lisuka eKadeshi-Bhaneya isithi: Yenyukani, lidle ilifa lelizwe engilinike lona, laselihlamukela umlayo weNkosi uNkulunkulu wenu, kaliyikholwanga, kalilalelanga ilizwi layo.
24 From the day when I first had knowledge of you, you have gone against the word of the Lord.
Lalivele liyivukele iNkosi kusukela osukwini engalazi ngalo.
25 So I went down on my face in prayer before the Lord for forty days and forty nights as I did at first; because the Lord had said that he would put an end to you.
Ngasengiziwisela phansi phambi kweNkosi insuku ezingamatshumi amane lobusuku obungamatshumi amane, engaziwisela phansi ngazo, ngoba iNkosi yayithe izalichitha.
26 And I made prayer to the Lord and said, O Lord God, do not send destruction on your people and your heritage, to whom, by your great power, you have given salvation, whom you have taken out of Egypt by the strength of your hand.
Ngasengikhuleka eNkosini ngathi: Nkosi Jehova, ungabachithi abantu bakho lelifa lakho, obahlenge ngobukhulu bakho, owabakhupha eGibhithe ngesandla esilamandla.
27 Keep in mind your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not looking at the hard heart of this people, or their evil-doing and their sin:
Khumbula inceku zakho, uAbrahama, uIsaka, loJakobe; ungakhangeli inkani yalababantu lobubi babo lesono sabo,
28 Or it may be said in the land from which you have taken them, Because the Lord was not able to take them into the land which he said he would give them, and because of his hate for them, he has taken them out to put them to death in the waste land.
hlezi ilizwe owasikhupha kilo lithi: Ngenxa yokuthi iNkosi yayingelamandla okubangenisa elizweni eyabathembisa lona, langenxa yokuthi ibazonda, yabakhupha ukuze ibabulalele enkangala.
29 But still they are your people and your heritage, whom you took out by your great power and by your stretched-out arm.
Kube kanti bangabantu bakho lelifa lakho, owabakhupha ngamandla akho amakhulu langengalo yakho eyeluliweyo.
