U-Amosi 8
1 Nanku engakutshengiswa nguThixo Wobukhosi: isitsha esilezithelo ezivuthiweyo.
Thus hath the Lord GOD shown to me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.
2 Wangibuza wathi, “Kuyini okubonayo, Amosi?” Mina ngaphendula ngathi, “Yisitsha esilezithelo ezivuthiweyo.” UThixo wasesithi kimi, “Isikhathi sabantu bami bako-Israyeli sesifikile; kangisabaxoleli futhi.
And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the LORD to me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.
3 Ngalolosuku, izingoma zethempelini zizaphenduka zibe yikulila. Izidumbu ezinengi kakhulu zidaklazelwe indawo yonke! Thulani!” Kutsho uThixo Wobukhosi.
And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord GOD: [there shall be] many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast [them] forth with silence.
4 Zwanini lokhu, lina elincindezela abaswelayo njalo lichitha labayanga elizweni,
Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
5 lisithi, “Ukuthwasa kweNyanga Entsha kuzaphela nini ukuze sithengise amabele, leSabatha lidlule ukuze sithengise ingqoloyi na?” Sinciphise isilinganiso, sikhweze intengo siqilibezele ngezilinganiso zenkohliso,
Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
6 sithenge abayanga ngesiliva, abaswelayo sibathenge ngamanyathelo, sithengise lamakhoba ngengqoloyi.
That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; and even sell the refuse of the wheat?
7 UThixo ufungile ngokuziQhenya kukaJakhobe wathi, “Angisoze ngakhohliswa loba yini abayenzileyo.
The LORD hath sworn by the excellence of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.
8 Ilizwe kaliyikuthuthumela ngalokhu yini labo bonke abahlala kulo kabayikulila na? Ilizwe lonke lizaqubuka njengeNayili; lizadungeka beselitshona phansi njengomfula waseGibhithe.
Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth in it? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood: and it shall be cast out and drowned, as [by] the flood of Egypt.
9 Ngalolosuku,” kutsho uThixo Wobukhosi, “ngizakwenza ilanga litshone emini, ngenze emhlabeni kube mnyama emini ekhanyayo.
And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:
10 Ngizaphendula imikhosi yenu yokukhonza ibe yikulila lokuhlabelela kwenu konke kube yikukhala. Lonke ngizalenza ligqoke amasaka, njalo liphuce amakhanda enu. Lesosikhathi ngizasenza sifane lokulilela indodana eyiyo yodwa lokuphela kwaso kube njengosuku olubuhlungu.
And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only [son], and the end of it as a bitter day.
11 Insuku ziyeza, kutsho uThixo Wobukhosi, lapho engizathumela khona indlala elizweni hatshi indlala yokudla kumbe ukomela amanzi, kodwa indlala yokuzwa amazwi kaThixo.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
12 Abantu bazaphamazela besuka elwandle besiya elwandle, njalo bazule kusukela enyakatho kusiya empumalanga, bedinga ilizwi likaThixo, kodwa kabayikulithola.
And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find [it].
13 Ngalolosuku izintombi ezinhle lezinsizwa eziqinileyo zizaqaleka ngenxa yokoma.
In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.
14 Bona labo abafunga ngesono seSamariya, loba bathi, ‘Ngeqiniso njengoba unkulunkulu wakho ephila, wena Dani,’ loba bathi, ‘Ngeqiniso njengoba unkulunkulu waseBherishebha ephila,’ bazakuwa, bangaphindi bavuke futhi.”
They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beer-sheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise again.
