Deuteronomy 32
1 Give ear, you heavens, and let me speak. Let the earth listen to the words of my mouth.
“Lalelani, we mazulu, ngizakhuluma, zwana, we mhlaba, amazwi omlomo wami.
2 Let my teaching drop down like the rain, let my speech distill like the dew, like the gentle rain on the tender grass, and like the showers on the plants.
Akuthi imfundiso yami inethe njengezulu kuthi amazwi ami ehle njengamazolo, njengemifefezo etshanini obutsha, njengezulu elinengi phezu kwamahlumela.
3 For I will proclaim the name of Yahweh, and ascribe greatness to our God.
Ngizaliphakamisa ibizo likaThixo. Yebo dumisani ubukhulu bukaNkulunkulu wethu!
4 The Rock, his work is perfect; for all his paths are just. He is the faithful God, without iniquity. He is just and upright.
UliDwala, imisebenzi yakhe iphelele, njalo zonke izindlela zakhe zilungile. UNkulunkulu othembekileyo ongenzi okubi, uqotho njalo ulungile yena.
5 They have acted corruptly against him. They are not his children. It is their disgrace. They are a perverted and crooked generation.
Sebenze okubi phambi kwakhe; balihlazo kabase bantwabakhe, kodwa isizukulwane esixhwalileyo lesingaqondanga.
6 Do you reward Yahweh in this way, you foolish and senseless people? Is he not your father, the one who has created you? He made you and established you.
Yiyonale na indlela yokubonga kwenu uThixo, lina ziwula zabantu abangelakuhlakanipha? KasuYihlo, uMdali wenu, owalenzayo njalo owalibumbayo na?
7 Call to mind the days of ancient times, think about the years of many ages past. Ask your father and he will show you, your elders and they will tell you.
Khumbulani insuku zakudala; likhumbule izizukulwane zasendulo. Buza uyihlo yena uzakutshela, abadala benu, njalo bazakuchasisela.
8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance— when he divided all of mankind, and he set the boundaries of the peoples, as he also fixed the number of their gods.
Kwathi oPhezukonke esephe izizwe ilifa lazo, eselwahlukanisile uluntu, walufakela imingcele, kusiya ngenani lamadodana ka-Israyeli.
9 For Yahweh's portion is his people; Jacob is his apportioned inheritance.
Ngoba isabelo sikaThixo ngabantu bakhe, uJakhobe yisabelo sakhe esikhethiweyo.
10 He found him in a desert land, and in the barren and howling wilderness; he shielded him and cared for him, he guarded him as the apple of his eye.
Wamfica elizweni eliyinkangala, indawo engatheli lutho njalo elodlame. Wamvikela, wamonga; wamsingatha njengegugu lakhe,
11 As an eagle that guards her nest and flutters over her young, Yahweh spread out his wings and took them, and carried them on his pinions.
njengokhozi lunyakazisa isidleke salo, beselundiza phezu kwamachwane alo, lwelule amaphiko alo ukuwagola, luwathwale ngamaphiko alo.
12 Yahweh alone led him; no foreign god was with him.
Nguye yedwa uThixo owamkhokhelayo; kungekho unkulunkulu wezizweni owayelaye.
13 He made him ride on high places of the land, and he fed him the fruits of the field; he nourished him with honey from the rock, and oil from the flinty crag.
Wamkhweza engqongeni yelizwe wamondla ngezithelo zeganga. Wamondla ngoluju olwaluvela edwaleni, langamafutha aphuma ezingoxweni zeliwa,
14 He ate butter from the herd and drank milk from the flock, with fat of lambs, rams of Bashan and goats, with the finest of the wheat— and you drank foaming wine made from the juice of grapes.
lezankefu langochago oluvela emihlambini yenkomo leyezimvu; lamazinyane anonisiweyo ezimvu lembuzi, lenqama zekhethelo zaseBhashani, kanye lengqoloyi elezinhlamvu ezinhle. Wanatha igazi eliphuphumayo lesithelo samavini.
15 But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked— you grew fat, you were too fat, and you had eaten your fill— he abandoned the God who made him, and he rejected the Rock of his salvation.
UJeshuruni wazimuka watshakala; esesuthi ukudla, wakhuluphala waba butshelezi. Wamlahla uNkulunkulu owamdalayo waliphika iDwala uMsindisi wakhe.
16 They made Yahweh jealous by their strange gods; with their abominations they angered him.
Bambangela ubukhwele ngabonkulunkulu babo bezizweni bamthukuthelisa ngezithombe zabo ezinengekayo.
17 They sacrificed to demons, which are not God— gods they had not known, gods that recently appeared, gods your fathers did not fear.
Benza imihlatshelo kuwo amadimoni, wona angasiNkulunkulu, onkulunkulu ababengazange babazi, onkulunkulu ababesanda kuvela, onkulunkulu ababengakhonzwa ngoyihlo.
18 You have deserted the Rock, who became your father, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.
Walihlamukela iDwala, elinguyihlo; wakhohlwa uNkulunkulu owakuzalayo.
19 Yahweh saw this and he rejected them, because his sons and his daughters provoked him so.
UThixo wakubona lokhu wabafulathela ngoba wathukutheliswa ngamadodana lamadodakazi akhe.
20 “I will hide my face from them,” he said, “and I will see what their end will be; for they are a perverse generation, children who are unfaithful.
‘Ngizabufihla ubuso bami kubo,’ watsho uThixo, ‘ngize ngibone ukuthi bazaphetha ngani; ngoba bayisizukulwana esixhwalileyo abantwana abangathembekanga.
21 They have made me jealous by what is not god and angered me by their worthless things. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; by a foolish nation I will make them angry.
Bangenza ngaba lobukhwele ngalokho okwakungasinkulunkulu njalo bangithukuthelisa ngezithombe zabo ezingasizi lutho. Ngizabavusela umhawu ngesizwe esingesibantu balutho; ngibazondise ngesizwe esingazwisisiyo.
22 For a fire is kindled by my anger and is burning to the lowest Sheol; it is devouring the earth and its harvest; it is setting on fire the foundations of the mountains. (Sheol h7585)
Ngoba umlilo usulunyathiswe yikuthukuthela kwami, wona otshisa ujule uze uyethinta ukufa ngaphansi. Uzahangula udle umhlaba kanye lesivuno sawo uthungele lezinsika zezintaba. (Sheol h7585)
23 I will heap disasters on them; I will shoot all my arrows at them;
Ngizabehlisela izigigaba, imitshoko yami iphelele phezu kwabo.
24 They will be wasted by hunger and devoured by burning heat and bitter destruction; I will send on them the teeth of wild animals, with the poison of things that crawl in the dust.
Ngizabathumela inkengane eqeda amandla, izifo ezibhubhisayo lomkhuhlane otshabalalisayo; ngizabathumela amazinyo abukhali ezinyamazana zeganga, ubuthi bezinhlangwana ezihuquzelayo emhlabathini.
25 Outside the sword will bereave, and in the bedrooms terror will do so. It will destroy both young man and virgin, the nursing baby, and the man of gray hairs.
Ezindleleni inkemba izabaswelisa abantwana, emizini kuzabusa uchuku. Amadodana lamadodakazi azabhujiswa aphele, abantwana abancinyane kanye lamadoda alenwele ezimhlophe.
26 I said that I would scatter them far away, that I would make the memory of them to cease from among mankind.
Ngithe ngizabachitha ngisuse imbali yabo bakhohlakale emhlabeni,
27 Were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy, and that their enemies would judge mistakenly, and that they would say, 'Our hand is exalted,' I would have done all this.
kodwa ngesaba ukweyisa kwesitha, funa isitha singezwisisi besesisithi, “Isandla sethu sinqobile, njalo uThixo kakwenzanga konke lokhu.”’
28 For Israel is a nation devoid of wisdom, and there is no understanding in them.
Bayisizwe esingelangqondo, akukho ukuqedisisa kubo.
29 Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their coming fate!
Ngabe kodwa bahlakaniphile njalo bezwisise lokhu, babe lokuqedisisa ukuthi sizakuba yini isiphetho sabo!
30 How could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their Rock had sold them, and Yahweh had given them up?
Kungenzeka njani ukuthi umuntu oyedwa axotshane lenkulungwane, loba ababili basukele izinkulungwane ezilitshumi zibaleke na, ngaphandle kokuthi iDwala labo nxa labathengisa; langaphandle kokuthi uThixo wabo esebahlanekele?
31 For our enemies' rock is not like our Rock, just as even our enemies admit.
Ngoba elabo idwala alinjengelethu iDwala, njengoba lezitha zethu zivuma.
32 For their vine comes from the vine of Sodom, and from the fields of Gomorrah; their grapes are grapes of poison; their clusters are bitter.
Iwayini labo livela esivinini saseSodoma lasemasimini aseGomora. Amagrebisi abo agcwele itshefu, lamaxha awo amunyu.
33 Their wine is the poison of serpents and the cruel venom of asps.
Iwayini labo liyibuthi bezinyoka, ubuhlungu obubulalayo bezinhlangwana.
34 Is not this plan secretly kept by me, sealed up among my treasures?
‘Kambe lokhu angikugodlanga na ngakugcikela eziphaleni zami na?
35 Vengeance is mine to give, and recompense, at the time when their foot slips; for the day of disaster for them is near, and the things that are to come on them will hurry to happen.”
Ukuphindisela ngokwami; ngizabuyisela. Ngesikhathi esifaneleyo unyawo lwabo luzatshelela; usuku lwabo lokubhujiswa luseduze, ukuchitheka kwabo kubalanda ngesiqubu.’
36 For Yahweh will give justice to his people, and he will pity his servants. He will see that their power is gone, and no one remains, either slaves or free people.
UThixo uzakwahlulela abantu bakhe, abe lozwelo ezincekwini zakhe lapho esebona amandla abo ephela njalo kakho ozasala, isigqili loba okhululekileyo.
37 Then he will say, “Where are their gods, the rock in whom they took refuge?—
Uzakuthi: ‘Kanti bangaphi onkulunkulu babo, lelodwala ababephephela kulo,
38 The gods who ate the fat of their sacrifices and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up and help you; let them be your protection.
onkulunkulu abadla amafutha emihlatshelo yabo njalo banatha iwayini elingumnikelo wokunathwayo kwabo? Kabaphakame balincedise! Kabaliphe umthunzi wokuphephela!
39 See now that I, even I, am God, and that there is no god besides me; I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal, and there is no one who can save you from my might.
Angithi liyazibonela ukuthi Mina ngiNguye! Kakho omunye unkulunkulu ngaphandle kwami. Ngiyabhubhisa njalo ngiyaphilisa. Ngilimazile njalo ngizelapha, kakho ongaphunyuka esandleni sami.
40 For I lift up my hand to heaven and say, 'As I live forever, I will act.
Ngiphakamisela isandla sami ezulwini ngithi: Njengoba ngeqiniso ngiphila nini lanini,
41 When I sharpen my glittering sword, and when my hand begins to bring justice, I will render vengeance on my enemies, and I will pay back those who hate me.
nxa ngilola inkemba yami ephazimayo lesandla sami siyibamba ekwehluleleni, ngizaphindisela kuzozonke izitha zami, ngiphindisele kulabo abangizondayo.
42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood, and my sword will devour flesh with the blood of the killed and the captives, and from the heads of the leaders of the enemy.'”
Imitshoko yami izagava igazi, kanti inkemba izakudla enyameni: igazi lalabo ababulawayo labathunjwayo, amakhanda alabo abangabakhokheli bezitha.’
43 Rejoice, you nations, with God's people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants; he will render vengeance on his enemies, and he will make atonement for his land, for his people.
Jabulani, lina zizwe, kanye labantu bakhe, ngoba uzaphindisela igazi lezinceku zakhe, uzaphindisela ezitheni zakhe, njalo enzele ilizwe lakhe labantu bakhe indlela yokubuyisana.”
44 Moses came and recited all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he, and Joshua son of Nun.
UMosi weza loJoshuwa indodana kaNuni wethula wonke amazwi engoma le abantu bonke besizwa.
45 Then Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel.
UMosi wathi eqeda ukuwethula lamazwi phambi kwabo bonke abako-Israyeli,
46 He said to them, “Fix your mind on all the words that I have witnessed to you today, so that you may command your children to keep them, all the words of this law.
wathi kubo, “Alondolozeni ezinhliziyweni zenu wonke lamazwi engiwethule phambi kwenu ngesifungo lamuhla, ukuze libe lakho ukubalaya abantwabenu ukuba bawalalele ngonanzelelo amazwi alo umthetho.
47 For this is no trivial matter for you, because it is your life, and through this thing you will prolong your days in the land that you are going over the Jordan to possess.”
Akusimazwi alula nje kini, ayikuphila kwenu. Ngala amazwi lizaphila isikhathi eside elizweni eselingena kulo lichapha uJodani ukuba lilithathe libe ngelenu.”
48 Yahweh spoke to Moses on that same day and said,
Ngalolosuku uThixo watshela uMosi wathi,
49 “Go up into this range of the mountains of Abarim, up Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, opposite Jericho. You will look at the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel as their possession.
“Khwela uye okhahlamba lwezintaba zase-Abharimi eNtabeni yaseNebho kwelamaMowabi, ngaphetsheya kweJerikho, ukuze ubone iKhenani, ilizwe engilinika abako-Israyeli ukuba balithathe libe ngelabo.
50 You will die on the mountain that you go up, and you will be gathered to your people, as Aaron your fellow Israelite died on Mount Hor and was gathered to his people.
Phezu kwaleyontaba okhwele phezu kwayo uzakufa umbelwe uye kubokhokho bakho njengoba u-Aroni laye wafela entabeni yaseHori wembelwa kwabakibo.
51 This will happen because you were unfaithful to me among the people of Israel at the waters of Meribah in Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you did not treat me with honor and respect among the people of Israel.
Lokhu kungenxa yokuthi lina lobabili lalahla ithemba lenu kimi phambi kwabako-Israyeli emachibini aseMeribha Khadeshi, eNkangala yaseZini langenxa yokuthi alizange lime ngobungcwele bami phambi kwabako-Israyeli.
52 For you will see the land before you, but you will not go there, into the land that I am giving to the people of Israel.”
Ngenxa yalokho, ilizwe uzalibonela kude, awusoze ungene elizweni esengilinika abako-Israyeli ukuba bangene kulo.”
