2 Imilando 15

1 Umoya kaNkulunkulu wehlela phezu kuka-Azariya indodana ka-Odedi.

And the spirit of God came on Azariah, the son of Oded;

2 Waphuma ukuba ayehlangabezana lo-Asa wasesithi kuye, “Lalela kimi, Asa labo bonke abakoJuda labakoBhenjamini. UThixo ulawe nxa wena ukuye. Nxa umfuna, uzamthola, kodwa nxa umlahla uzakulahla.

And he came face to face with Asa and said to him, Give ear to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin: the Lord is with you while you are with him; if your heart's desire is for him, he will be near you, but if you give him up, he will give you up.

3 Okwesikhathi eside abako-Israyeli babengelaye uNkulunkulu weqiniso, bengelaye umphristi wokufundisa njalo bengelawo umthetho.

Now for a long time Israel has been without the true God, and without a teaching priest and without the law;

4 Kodwa osizini lwabo baphendukela kuThixo, uNkulunkulu ka-Israyeli, bamdinga bamthola.

But when in their trouble they were turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, searching after him, he let their search be rewarded.

5 Ngalezonsuku, ngenxa yokuxokozela okukhulu kwezizwe, kwakungelula ukuhambahamba.

In those times there was no peace for him who went out or for him who came in, but great trouble was on all the people of the lands.

6 Kwakulencithakalo isizwe sichithwa ngesinye, umuzi uchithwa ngomunye, ngoba uNkulunkulu wabehlisela zonke inhlobonhlobo zosizi.

And they were broken by divisions, nation against nation and town against town, because God sent all sorts of trouble on them.

7 Kodwa wena, qina ungayekethisi, ngoba owakho umsebenzi uzakuba lomvuzo.”

But be you strong and let not your hands be feeble, for your work will be rewarded.

8 U-Asa wathi ewezwa lamazwi lesiphrofethi sika-Azariya indodana ka-Odedi umphrofethi, waqina waba lesibindi. Wasusa zonke izithombe ezinengisayo kulolonke ilizwe lakoJuda lelakoBhenjamini lasemizini ayeyithumbile emaqaqeni ako-Efrayimi. Wavuselela i-alithari likaThixo elaliphambi komkoto wethempeli likaThixo.

And Asa, hearing these words of Azariah, the son of Oded the prophet, took heart and put away all the disgusting things out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the towns which he had taken from the hill-country of Ephraim; and he made new again the altar of the Lord in front of the covered way of the Lord's house.

9 Wasebuthanisa bonke abakoJuda labakoBhenjamini kanye labantu ababevela ko-Efrayimi, lakoManase kanye lakoSimiyoni ababehlezi phakathi kwabo, ngoba babebanengi kakhulu abako-Israyeli ababethe ngokubona ukuthi uThixo uNkulunkulu wayelaye bathutha beza ngakuye.

And he got together all Judah and Benjamin and those of Ephraim and Manasseh and Simeon who were living with them; for numbers of them came to him out of Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

10 Babuthana eJerusalema ngenyanga yesithathu ngomnyaka wetshumi lanhlanu wokubusa kuka-Asa.

So they came together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the rule of Asa.

11 Ngalesosikhathi benza imihlatshelo kuThixo eyezinkomo ezingamakhulu ayisikhombisa lezimvu kanye lembuzi eziyizinkulungwane eziyisikhombisa kulezo ababezithumbe babuya lazo.

And that day they made offerings to the Lord of the things they had taken in war, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep.

12 Benza isivumelwano sokuba bamdinge uThixo, uNkulunkulu wabokhokho babo, ngezinhliziyo zabo ezipheleleyo langomoya.

And they made an agreement to be true to the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and all their soul;

13 Bonke ababengayi kumdinga uThixo, uNkulunkulu ka-Israyeli, babefanele babulawe, loba bebancinyane loba bebakhulu, loba kungowesilisa kumbe owesifazane.

And that anyone, small or great, man or woman, who was not true to the Lord, the God of Israel, would be put to death.

14 Benza isifungo kuThixo ngokuvungama, bememeza njalo bevuthela lamacilongo lempondo.

And they made an oath to the Lord, with a loud voice, sounding wind-instruments and horns.

15 AbakoJuda bathokoza bonke ngesifungo ngoba babesenze ngenhliziyo yabo yonke. Bamdinga uThixo ngokulangatha, wabavumela ukuthi bamthole. Ngakho uThixo wabanika ukuthula inxa zonke.

And all Judah was glad because of the oath, for they had taken it with all their heart, turning to the Lord with all their desire; and he was with them and gave them rest on every side.

16 Inkosi u-Asa yasusa ugogo wayo uMahakha esikhundleni sokuba yindlovukazi ngoba wayenze insika yokukhonzela unkulunkulukazi u-Ashera oyisinengiso. U-Asa wayidiliza insika, wayiqumaquma wayitshisela eSigodini saseKhidironi.

And Asa would not let Maacah, his mother, be queen, because she had made a disgusting image for Asherah; and Asa had her image cut down and broken up and burned by the stream Kidron.

17 Lanxa engasusanga izindawo zokukhonzela ko-Israyeli, u-Asa wayezinikele kuThixo ngenhliziyo yakhe yonke empilweni yakhe yonke.

But the high places were not taken away out of Israel; but still the heart of Asa was true to the Lord all his life.

18 Wangenisa ethempelini likaNkulunkulu isiliva legolide lezinto lezo yena kanye loyise ababezahlukanisele uThixo.

He took into the house of God all the things which his father had made holy and those which he himself had made holy, silver and gold and vessels.

19 Akusazange kube lempi kwaze kwaba ngumnyaka wamatshumi amathathu lanhlanu wokubusa kuka-Asa.

And there was no more war till the thirty-fifth year of the rule of Asa.