Judges 4
1 After Ehud died, the Israelis again started doing things Yahweh said were very evil.
Abantwana bakoIsrayeli basebebuya besenza okubi emehlweni eNkosi esefile uEhudi.
2 So he allowed the army of Jabin, one of the kings of Canaan land, who ruled in Hazor [city], to conquer the Israelis. The commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-Haggoyim.
INkosi yasibathengisa esandleni sikaJabini inkosi yeKhanani owayebusa eHazori. Lenduna yebutho lakhe yayinguSisera, owayehlala eHaroshethi labezizwe.
3 Sisera’s [army] had 900 chariots. For 20 years he oppressed the Israelis. Then they pleaded to Yahweh to help them.
Abantwana bakoIsrayeli basebekhala eNkosini, ngoba wayelezinqola zensimbi ezingamakhulu ayisificamunwemunye, wabacindezela ngamandla abantwana bakoIsrayeli iminyaka engamatshumi amabili.
4 At that time Deborah, who was the wife of Lappidoth, was a prophetess who had become the leader in Israel.
UDebora umfazi owayengumprofethikazi umkaLapidothi yena wahlulela uIsrayeli ngalesosikhathi.
5 She would sit under her palm tree at a place between Ramah and Bethel, in the hilly area where the descendants of Ephraim lived, and people would come to her and ask her to settle disputes between them.
Wayehlala ngaphansi kwesihlahla selala sikaDebora phakathi kweRama leBhetheli entabeni yakoEfrayimi. Abantwana bakoIsrayeli basebesenyukela kuye ukwahlulelwa.
6 One day she summoned Barak, the son of Abinoam, when he was in Kedesh, in the area where the descendants of Naphtali lived. She said to him, “This is what Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis worship, is commanding you to do: ‘Take with you 1,000 men, some from the descendants of Naphtali and some from the descendants of Zebulun, and lead them to Tabor Mountain.
Wasethuma wabiza uBaraki indodana kaAbinowama eKedeshi koNafithali, wathi kuye: INkosi uNkulunkulu wakoIsrayeli kayilayanga yini isithi: Hamba usondele entabeni yeThabhori, uzithathele amadoda azinkulungwane ezilitshumi ebantwaneni bakoNafithali lebantwaneni bakoZebuluni?
7 Yahweh will lure Sisera, the commander of King Jabin’s army, to come with his chariots and his army, to the Kishon River, [a few miles away]. I will enable your men to defeat them there.’”
Njalo ngizadonsela kuwe esifuleni iKishoni uSisera induna yebutho likaJabini lenqola zakhe lexuku lakhe, ngimnikele esandleni sakho.
8 Barak replied, “I will go only if you go with me.”
UBaraki wasesithi kuye: Uba uhamba lami, ngizahamba; kodwa uba ungahambi lami, kangiyikuhamba.
9 She replied, “Okay, I will go with you. But because that is what you have decided to do, Yahweh will enable a woman to defeat Sisera, and the result will be that (you will not be honored/people will not honor you) [for doing that].”
Wasesithi: Ngizahamba lokuhamba lawe, kodwa udumo kaluyikuba ngolwakho ngendlela ohamba ngayo, ngoba iNkosi izathengisa uSisera esandleni sowesifazana. Wasesukuma uDebora, wahamba loBaraki waya eKedeshi.
10 So Deborah went with Barak to Kedesh. There he summoned men from Zebulun and Naphtali. Ten thousand men came to him, and then they went together with Deborah [to Tabor Mountain].
UBaraki wasebizela oZebuluni loNafithali eKedeshi. Kwasekusenyuka amadoda azinkulungwane ezilitshumi amlandela, loDebora wenyuka laye.
11 At that time Heber, one of the descendants of the Ken people-group, had moved [with his wife Jael] from the area where that group lived, and set up his tent near the big oak tree at Zaanannim, near Kedesh. Heber was a descendant of Moses’ brother-in-law Hobab.
UHeberi umKeni wazehlukanisa-ke lamaKeni, abantwana bakaHobabi uyisezala kaMozisi, wamisa ithente lakhe kwaze kwaba sesihlahleni se-okhi eZahananimi eseduze leKedeshi.
12 Someone told Sisera that Barak had gone up on Tabor Mountain [with an army].
Basebebikela uSisera ukuthi uBaraki indodana kaAbinowama usenyukele entabeni yeThabhori.
13 So he gathered his troops with their 900 chariots, and they marched from Harosheth-Haggoyim to the Kishon River.
USisera wasebiza zonke izinqola zakhe, inqola ezingamakhulu ayisificamunwemunye zensimbi, labo bonke abantu ababelaye, kusukela eHaroshethi labezizwe kuze kufike esifuleni iKishoni.
14 Then Deborah said to Barak, “Get ready! This is the day that Yahweh will enable your [army] to defeat the army of Sisera. Yahweh is going ahead of you!” So Barak led his men as they descended from Tabor Mountain.
UDebora wasesithi kuBaraki: Vuka! Ngoba yilo lolusuku iNkosi enikele ngalo uSisera esandleni sakho. Kayihambanga yini iNkosi phambi kwakho? Ngakho uBaraki wehla entabeni iThabhori lamadoda azinkulungwane ezilitshumi ngemva kwakhe.
15 As they advanced, Yahweh caused Sisera and all his chariots and his army to have great difficulty maneuvering/moving around. So Sisera jumped down from his chariot and ran away.
INkosi yasimsanganisa uSisera lazo zonke izinqola lebutho lonke ngobukhali benkemba phambi kukaBaraki, kwaze kwathi uSisera wehla enqoleni wabaleka ngenyawo zakhe.
16 But Barak and his men pursued the other chariots and the enemy soldiers as far as Harosheth-Haggoyim. They killed all of the men in Sisera’s army. Not one man survived.
UBaraki wasexotshana lezinqola lebutho, waze wafika eHaroshethi labezizwe; ibutho lonke likaSisera laselisiwa ngobukhali benkemba; kakusalanga loyedwa.
17 But Sisera ran to Jael’s tent. He did that because [his boss], King Jabin of Hazor [city], was a good friend of [Jael’s husband] Heber.
Kodwa uSisera wabaleka ngenyawo zakhe waya ethenteni likaJayeli umkaHeberi umKeni, ngoba kwakulokuthula phakathi kukaJabini inkosi yeHazori lendlu kaHeberi umKeni.
18 Jael went out to greet Sisera. She said to him, “Sir, come into my tent! Do not be afraid!” So he went into the tent [and lay down], and she covered him with a blanket.
UJayeli wasephuma ukuhlangabeza uSisera, wathi kuye: Phambuka, nkosi yami, phambukela kimi, ungesabi. Wasephambukela kuye ethenteni, wamembesa ngengubo.
19 He said to her, “I’m thirsty; can you give me some water?” So she opened a leather container of milk, and gave him a drink. Then she covered him with the blanket again.
Wasesithi kuye: Akunginathise amanzi amalutshwana ngoba ngomile. Wasesibukula igula lochago, wamnathisa, wamembesa.
20 He said to her, “Stand in the entrance of the tent. If someone comes and asks ‘Is anyone else here?’, say ‘No.’”
Wasesithi kuye: Mana emnyango wethente; kuzakuthi-ke, uba kufika umuntu kuwe ekubuza esithi: Kulomuntu lapha yini? Uzakuthi: Kakulamuntu.
21 Sisera was very exhausted, so he soon was asleep. While he was sleeping, Jael crept quietly to him, holding a hammer and a tent peg. She pounded the peg into his skull, and all the way through his head into the ground, and he died.
Kodwa uJayeli umkaHeberi wathatha isikhonkwane sethente, wafaka isando esandleni sakhe, wamnyenyela, wabethela isikhonkwane enhlafunweni yakhe sangena emhlabathini, ngoba yena wayelele ubuthongo obukhulu, ediniwe, wasesifa.
22 When Barak passed by Jael’s tent to look for Sisera, she went out to greet him. She said, “Come in, and I will show you the man you are searching for!” So he followed her into the tent, and he saw Sisera lying there, dead, with the tent peg through his head.
Khangela-ke, uBaraki waxotsha uSisera; uJayeli wasephuma ukumhlangabeza wathi kuye: Woza, ngizakutshengisa umuntu omdingayo. Wasengena ethenteni lakhe, khangela-ke, uSisera wayelele efile, lesikhonkwane sasisenhlafunweni yakhe.
23 On that day God enabled the Israelis to defeat [the army of] Jabin, the king of the people of Canaan.
Ngakho ngalolosuku uNkulunkulu wamehlisela phansi uJabini inkosi yeKhanani phambi kwabantwana bakoIsrayeli.
24 From that time, the Israeli people continued to become stronger, and [the army of] King Jabin continued to become weaker. Finally the Israelis were able to completely subdue the people ruled by the king of Canaan.
Isandla sabantwana bakoIsrayeli saqhubeka-ke saba nzima phezu kukaJabini inkosi yeKhanani, baze bamchitha uJabini inkosi yeKhanani.
