Deuteronomy 7
1 When the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land where thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;
“Lapho uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu elingenisa elizweni alinika lona ukuba libe ngelenu uxotsha izizwe ezinengi phambi kwenu, amaHithi, amaGigashi, ama-Amori, amaKhenani, amaPherizi, amaHivi lamaJebusi, izizwe eziyisikhombisa ezinkulu njalo ezilamandla kulani,
2 And when the LORD thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor show mercy to them:
kuthi lapho uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu esezinikele ezandleni zenu lani selizinqobile kufanele lizitshabalalise ngokupheleleyo. Lingabi lesivumelwano lazo, njalo lingabi lesihawu kuzo.
3 Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give to his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take to thy son.
Lingendiselani lazo. Lingendiseli amadodakazi enu emadodaneni azo, kumbe lithathele amadodana enu amadodakazi azo,
4 For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the LORD be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.
ngoba azaphambula amadodana enu ekungikhonzeni abesekhonza abanye onkulunkulu, kuthi ulaka lukaThixo luvuthe lulitshabalalise.
5 But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.
Nanku okumele likwenze kulezi zizwe: Dilizani ama-alithare azo, libhidlize amatshe eziwakhonzayo, ligamule izinsika zika-Ashera njalo litshise izithombe zazo ngomlilo.
6 For thou art an holy people to the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people to himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
Phela lina lingabantu abangcwele kuThixo uNkulunkulu wenu. UThixo uNkulunkulu wenu ulikhethile phakathi kwabantu bonke emhlabeni ukuthi libe ngabantu bakhe, isipho sakhe esiligugu.
7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
UThixo kazange ehlisele uthando lwakhe phezu kwenu ngoba libanengi kulezinye izizwe, phela lina livele liyisizwe sabantu abalutshwana.
8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn to your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Kodwa kungenxa yokuthi uThixo walithanda wagcina isifungo asifunga kubokhokho benu walikhupha ngesandla esilamandla walihlenga ezweni lobugqili, emandleni kaFaro inkosi yaseGibhithe.
9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, who keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
Yazini-ke ukuthi uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu unguNkulunkulu; unguNkulunkulu othembekileyo, ogcina isivumelwano sothando kuze kufike esizukulwaneni senkulungwane salabo abamthandayo njalo begcina imilayo yakhe.
10 And repayeth them that hate him to their face, to destroy them: he will not be slack to him that hateth him, he will repay him to his face.
Kodwa labo abamzondayo uzaphindisela kubo ngokubabhubhisa; kayikuphuza ukuphindisela kulabo abamzondayo.
11 Thou shalt therefore keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them.
Kungakho, nanzelelani lilandele imilayo, izimiso kanye lemithetho engilinika yona lamuhla.
12 Therefore it shall come to pass, if ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, that the LORD thy God shall keep to thee the covenant and the mercy which he swore to thy fathers:
Nxa linanzelela limithetho njalo liyilandela, uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu uzagcina isivumelwano sakhe sothando kini, njengoba wafunga kubokhokho benu.
13 And he will love thee, and bless thee, and multiply thee: he will also bless the fruit of thy womb, and the fruit of thy land, thy grain, and thy wine, and thy oil, the increase of thy cattle, and the flocks of thy sheep, in the land which he swore to thy fathers to give thee.
Uzalithanda alibusise andise ubunengi benu. Uzabusisa izithelo zenzalo yezisu zenu, izilimo zamasimu enu, amabele enu, iwayini elitsha kanye lamafutha, amathole emihlambi yenkomo zenu kanye lamazinyane emihlambi yezimvu zenu elizweni afunga ukuthi uzalinika okhokho benu ukuba balinike lona.
14 Thou shalt be blessed above all people: there shall not be male or female barren among you, or among your cattle.
Lina lizabusiswa okungaphezu kwabanye abantu; kakho phakathi kwamadoda labafazi kini ozaswela umntwana, njalo lezifuyo zenu ngeke ziswele amankonyane.
15 And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.
UThixo uzaliphephisa emikhuhlaneni yonke. Kayikulehlisela imikhuhlane yonke eyesabekayo elaliyibona eGibhithe, kodwa uzayehlisela kulabo abalizondayo.
16 And thou shalt consume all the people which the LORD thy God shall deliver to thee; thy eye shall have no pity upon them: neither shalt thou serve their gods; for that will be a snare to thee.
Libobhubhisa bonke abantu uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu abanikela ezandleni zenu. Lingabazweli usizi, lingakhonzi onkulunkulu babo, ngoba lokho kuzakuba yisifu kini.
17 If thou shalt say in thy heart, These nations are more than I; how can I dispossess them?
Mhlawumbe lizakuthi: ‘Lezizizwe zilamandla kulathi. Sizazixotsha njani lapha?’
18 Thou shalt not be afraid of them: but shalt well remember what the LORD thy God did to Pharaoh, and to all Egypt;
Kodwa lingazesabi; khumbulani ukuthi uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu wenzani kuFaro kanye lakulo lonke elaseGibhithe.
19 The great temptations which thy eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do to all the people of whom thou art afraid.
Lazibonela ngawenu amehlo imilingo emikhulu, izibonakaliso zemilingo lezimanga, isandla esilamandla lokwelulwa kwengalo, khona okwasetshenziswa nguThixo wenu ukulikhupha. UThixo uNkulunkulu wenu uzakuphinda khonokho kubo laba abantu elibesabayo.
20 Moreover the LORD thy God will send the hornet among them, until they that are left, and hide themselves from thee, shall be destroyed.
Phezu kwalokho uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu uzathumela olonyovu phakathi kwabo kuze kuthi labasilileyo balicatshela babhujiswe.
21 Thou shalt not be terrified of them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible.
Lingabesabi, ngoba uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu ophakathi kwenu, nguThixo omkhulu njalo owesabekayo.
22 And the LORD thy God will drive out those nations before thee by little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts of the field increase upon thee.
UThixo uNkulunkulu wenu uzazidudula lezozizwe phambi kwenu kancanekancane. Aliyikuvunyelwa ukuzibhubhisa ngasikhathi sinye ngoba izinyamazana zeganga zinganda zilihanqe.
23 But the LORD thy God shall deliver them to thee, and shall destroy them with a mighty destruction, until they are destroyed.
Kodwa uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu uzabanikela kini, abaphazamise baze babhujiswe.
24 And he shall deliver their kings into thy hand, and thou shalt destroy their name from under heaven: there shall no man be able to stand before thee, until thou shalt have destroyed them.
Amakhosi azo uzawanikela ezandleni zenu, njalo lizakwesula amabizo awo ngaphansi komkhathi. Kakho ozakwenelisa ukumelana lani, lizababhubhisa.
25 The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it to thee, lest thou shouldest be snared in it: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.
Izithombe zabonkulunkulu bazo lizazitshisa ngomlilo. Lingahawukeli isiliva legolide eliphezu kwezithombe, lingazigcineli lona, ngoba lizabe selizibambisile emjibileni ngalo, ngoba liyisinengiso kuThixo uNkulunkulu wenu.
26 Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thy house, lest thou shouldest be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.
Lingalethi okunengisayo ezindlini zenu, ngoba lani njengakho lokho lizakhethelwa ukubhujiswa. Kwenyanyeni linengeke ngakho, ngoba kumiselwe ukutshabalaliswa.”
