< UDutheronomi 4 >
1 “Zwana-ke khathesi, Oh Israyeli, izimiso lemithetho engizalifundisa yona. Ilandeleni ukuze liphile njalo libe lakho ukuyalithatha lelolizwe uThixo uNkulunkulu wabokhokho benu alinika lona.
And now give ear, O Israel, to the laws and the decisions which I am teaching you, and do them; so that life may be yours, and you may go in and take for yourselves the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
2 Lingangezeleli kulokho engililaya khona njalo lingaphunguli loba yikuphi kwakhona, kodwa gcinani imilayo kaThixo uNkulunkulu wenu engilinika yona.
Make no addition to the orders which I give you, and take nothing from them, but keep the orders of the Lord your God which I give you.
3 Lazibonela ngawenu amehlo okwenziwa nguThixo eBhali-Pheyori. UThixo uNkulunkulu wenu wabatshabalalisa bonke ababekhonza uBhali wasePheyori,
Your eyes have seen what the Lord did because of Baal-peor: for destruction came from the Lord on all those among you who went after Baal-peor.
4 kodwa lina lonke elabambelela kuThixo uNkulunkulu wenu lilokhu lisaphila lalamuhla lokhu.
But you who kept faith with the Lord are living, every one of you, today.
5 Liyabona sengalifundisa izimiso lemithetho uThixo wami angilaya ngazo, ukuze liyigcine elizweni elingena kulo ukuba lilithathe.
I have been teaching you laws and decisions, as I was ordered to do by the Lord my God, so that you might keep them in the land to which you are going to take it for your heritage.
6 Lizigcine ngonanzelelo ngoba lokhu kuzaveza obala ukuhlakanipha lokuzwisisa kwenu ezizweni ezizakuzwa ngalezizimiso njalo zitsho zithi, ‘Ngeqiniso lesisizwe esilodumo yisizwe sabantu abahlakaniphileyo njalo abazwisisayo.’
So keep these laws and do them; for so will your wisdom and good sense be clear in the eyes of the peoples, who hearing all these laws will say, Truly, this great nation is a wise and far-seeing people.
7 Yisiphi esinye isizwe esilodumo esilabonkulunkulu baso ababaseduze laso njengoThixo uNkulunkulu wethu oba lathi nxa sikhuleka kuye?
For what great nation has a god so near to them as the Lord our God is, whenever we are turned to him in prayer?
8 Yisiphi esinye isizwe esilezimiso eziqondileyo lemithetho enjengale imithetho engiyethula phambi kwenu lamuhla na?
And what great nation has laws and decisions so right as all this law which I put before you today?
9 Kodwa linanzelele, liqaphelisise ukuze lingakhohlwa izinto elizibonileyo loba zilibaleke ezinhliziyweni zenu ekuphileni kwenu konke. Fundisani abantwabenu ngalezizinto njalo labo babofundisa abantwababo labantwana babantwana abalandela emva kwabo.
Only take care, and keep watch on your soul, for fear that the things which your eyes have seen go from your memory and from your heart all the days of your life; but let the knowledge of them be given to your children and to your children's children;
10 Khumbulani usuku elema ngalo phambi kukaThixo uNkulunkulu wenu eHorebhi, lapho athi khona kimi, ‘Buthanisa abantu ukuze bezwe amazwi ami ukuze bakwazi ukungidumisa nxa belokhu besahlala elizweni njalo bafundise abantwababo.’
That day when you were waiting before the Lord your God in Horeb, and the Lord said to me, Make all the people come together, so that hearing my words they may go in fear of me all the days of their life on earth and give this teaching to their children.
11 Lasondela lema ngaphansi kwentaba ilavuka amalangabi eqonga phezulu, kulamayezi amnyama lomnyama owesabekayo.
And you came near, waiting at the foot of the mountain; and flames of fire went up from the mountain to the heart of heaven, with dark clouds, and all was black as night.
12 Ngakho uThixo wakhuluma lani ephakathi komlilo. Lezwa umdumo welizwi kodwa alizange libone lutho; kwaba yilizwi lodwa nje.
And the voice of the Lord came to you out of the fire: the sound of his words came to your ears but you saw no form; there was nothing but a voice.
13 Wakhupha ilizwi lokubuyisana lesivumelwano sakhe, imiThetho eliTshumi, waselilaya ukuba liyilandele njalo wayiloba ezibhebhedwini zamatshe ezimbili.
And he gave you his agreement with you, the ten rules which you were to keep, which he put in writing on the two stones of the law.
14 Kungalesosikhathi lapho uThixo angiqondisa ukuba ngilifundise izimiso lemilayo okuzamele liyilandele ekuchapheni kwenu uJodani lisiya elizweni elizalithumba libe ngelenu.”
And the Lord gave me orders at that time to make clear to you these laws and decisions, so that you might do them in the land to which you are going, and which is to be your heritage.
15 “Akulalutho loba yisimo bani elasibonayo mhla uThixo ekhuluma lani eHorebhi ephakathi kwelangabi lomlilo. Kunjalo-nje kumele lizinanzelele okuqinileyo,
So keep watch on yourselves with care; for you saw no form of any sort on the day when the voice of the Lord came to you in Horeb out of the heart of the fire:
16 ukuze lingaxhwali libe selizenzela isithombe, loba umfanekiso olesimo bani, loba ngesilesimo sesilisa loba esesifazane,
So that you may not be turned to evil ways and make for yourselves an image in the form of any living thing, male or female,
17 loba yiphi inyamazana emhlabeni loba inyoni endizayo emkhathini,
Or any beast of the earth, or winged bird of the air,
18 loba yisiphi isinanakazana esihuquzelayo emhlabathini loba yinhlanzi ngaphansi kwamanzi.
Or of anything which goes flat on the earth, or any fish in the water under the earth.
19 Njalo nxa likhangela phezulu esibhakabhakeni libona ilanga, inyanga kanye lezinkanyezi, zonke ezihlobise zacecisa isibhakabhaka, lingalingeki lizikhothamele beselikhonza izinto uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu azibekela izizwe zonke ngaphansi kwezulu.
And when your eyes are lifted up to heaven, and you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the army of heaven, do not let yourselves be moved to give them worship, or become the servants of what the Lord has given equally to all peoples under heaven.
20 Kodwa-ke lina, uThixo walithatha walenyula eziko lokuncibilikisa insimbi, walikhipha eGibhithe, ukuze libe ngabantu belifa lakhe, njengoba linje lamuhla.
But the Lord has taken you out of the flaming fire, out of Egypt, to be to him the people of his heritage, as you are today.
21 UThixo wangithukuthelela ngenxa yenu, wafunga waphelela wathi angiyikuchapha uJodani ngingene elizweni uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu alinika lona ukuba libe yilifa lenu.
And the Lord was angry with me because of you, and made an oath that I was not to go over Jordan into the good land which the Lord is giving you for your heritage:
22 Mina ngizafela kulelilizwe; angiyikuchapha uJodani, kodwa lina seliseduze ukuba lichaphe liyelithumba lelolizwe elihle.
But death is to come to me in this land, I may not go over Jordan: but you will go over and take that good land for your heritage.
23 Nanzelelani ukuthi lingalibali isivumelwano sikaNkulunkulu wenu asenza lani; lingazenzeli isithombe loba singesesimo bani salokho uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu akwalileyo.
Take care that you do not let the agreement of the Lord your God, which he has made with you, go out of your mind, or make for yourselves images of any sort, against the orders which the Lord your God has given you.
24 Ngoba uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu ungumlilo oqothulayo, uNkulunkulu olobukhwele.
For the Lord your God is an all-burning fire, and he will not let the honour which is his be given to any other.
25 Ngemva kokuba selike laba labantwana, lesizukulwane njalo selihlale ezweni okwesikhathi eside, lingasuka libe selixhwala beselizenzela loba yisiphi isithombe, lisenza okubi emehlweni kaThixo uNkulunkulu wenu limthukuthelisa,
If, when you have had children and children's children, and have been living a long time in the land, you are turned to evil ways, and make an image of any sort, and do evil in the eyes of the Lord your God, moving him to wrath:
26 ngibiza izulu lomhlaba ukuthi libe ngufakazi wami ukuze libhujiswe masinyazana lingangeni elizweni elizachapha uJodani ukuze lilithumbe. Aliyikuhlala kulo isikhathi eside kodwa iqiniso yikuthi lizatshabalaliswa.
May heaven and earth be my witnesses against you today, that destruction will quickly overtake you, cutting you off from that land which you are going over Jordan to take; your days will not be long in that land, but you will come to a complete end.
27 UThixo uzalihlakaza ezizweni, njalo abalutshwana benu yibo abazasinda ezizweni uThixo azalifuqela khona.
And the Lord will send you wandering among the peoples; only a small band of you will be kept from death among the nations where the Lord will send you.
28 Khonale lizakhonza onkulunkulu ababunjwe ngabantu ngezigodo langamatshe, abangeke babone loba bezwe loba badle loba bezwe ukunuka.
There you will be the servants of gods, made by men's hands, of wood and stone, having no power of seeing or hearing or taking food or smelling.
29 Kodwa nxa likhonale lingadinga uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu, lizamfumana nxa limdinga ngezinhliziyo zenu ezipheleleyo langemiphefumulo yenu yonke.
But if in those lands you are turned again to the Lord your God, searching for him with all your heart and soul, he will not keep himself from you.
30 Nxa selisosizini zonke lezizinto sezilehlela, lapho-ke ngezinsuku ezizayo lizabuyela kuThixo uNkulunkulu wenu limlalele.
When you are in trouble and all these things have come on you, if, in the future, you are turned again to the Lord your God, and give ear to his voice:
31 Phela uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu nguNkulunkulu olomusa; kayikulidela loba alibhubhise loba alibale isivumelwano sakhe asenza labokhokho benu, leso asiqinisa kubo ngesifungo.”
Because the Lord your God is a God of mercy, he will not take away his help from you or let destruction overtake you, or be false to the agreement which he made by an oath with your fathers.
32 “Buzani khathesi ngezinsuku ezedlulayo, kudala lingakabi khona, kusukela ngosuku uNkulunkulu adala ngalo umuntu emhlabeni; buzani kusukela ngapha kwamazulu kusiya ngale kwamazulu. Kambe kukhona yini okukhulu kangaka okwedlula lokhu osekuke kwenzakala loba kwezwakala na?
Give thought now to the days which are past, before your time, from the day when God first gave life to man on the earth, and searching from one end of heaven to the other, see if such a great thing as this has ever been, or if anything like it has been talked of in story.
33 Sikhona na esinye isizwe esake sezwa uNkulunkulu ekhuluma ephakathi kwelangabi lomlilo, njengalokhu eselikuzwile, saphila na?
Has any people ever gone on living after hearing the voice of God out of the heart of the fire as you did?
34 Kukhona na unkulunkulu oseke wazama ukuzithathela esinye isizwe phakathi kwesinye, ngokuhlola, ngemilingo yezibonakaliso, lezimangaliso, lezimpi, ngesandla esilamandla langokwelula ingalo, loba izenzo ezinkulu ezesabekayo, njengakho konke uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu alenzela khona eGibhithe lizibonela ngamehlo enu?
Has God ever before taken a nation for himself from out of another nation, by punishments and signs and wonders, by war and by a strong hand and a stretched-out arm and great acts of wonder and fear, as the Lord your God did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes?
35 Lakutshengiswa konke lokhu ukuze lazi ukuthi uThixo unguNkulunkulu; ngaphandle kwakhe kakho omunye futhi.
All this he let you see, so that you might be certain that the Lord is God and there is no other.
36 Esemazulwini wakwenza ukuthi lilizwe ilizwi lakhe ukuze libe lobuntu. Emhlabeni walitshengisa amalangabi omlilo akhe omkhulu, njalo lawezwa amazwi akhe ephuma emlilweni.
Out of heaven itself his voice came to you, teaching you; and on earth he let you see his great fire; and his words came to your ears out of the heart of the fire.
37 Ngenxa yokuthi wabathanda okhokho benu wakhetha izizukulwane zabo ezalandela ngemva kwabo, walikhipha eGibhithe ngoBukhona bakhe kanye langamandla akhe amakhulu,
And because of his love for your fathers, he took their seed and made it his, and he himself, present among you, took you out of Egypt by his great power;
38 ukuxotsha zonke izizwe phambi kwenu, izizwe ezilamandla kulezenu lokulingenisa elizweni lazo ukuze aliphe lona libe yilifa lenu, njengoba kunjalo lamuhla.
Driving out before you nations greater and stronger than you, to take you into their land and give it to you for your heritage, as at this day.
39 Yamukelani njalo likugcine ezinhliziyweni zenu lamuhla ukuthi uThixo unguNkulunkulu ezulwini phezulu lasemhlabeni phansi. Kakho omunye.
So today be certain, and keep the knowledge deep in your hearts, that the Lord is God, in heaven on high and here on earth; there is no other God.
40 Gcinani izimiso zakhe lemilayo yakhe, engilinika yona lamuhla, ukuze kulihambele kahle lina kanye labantwabenu lokuthi liphile isikhathi eside elizweni eliliphiwa nguThixo uNkulunkulu wenu ukuze libe ngelenu kokuphela.”
Then keep his laws and his orders which I give you today, so that it may be well for you and for your children after you, and that your lives may be long in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for ever.
41 Ngakho uMosi wasekhetha amadolobho amathathu empumalanga yeJodani,
Then Moses had three towns marked out on the far side of Jordan looking to the east;
42 ukuze kuthi wonke oyabe ebulele omunye abalekele khona nxa eyabe ebulele umakhelwane kungekho mona kodwa kube yingozi. Bangabalekela kwelinye lala amadolobho ukuze baphephise impilo zabo.
To which anyone causing the death of his neighbour in error and not through hate, might go in flight; so that in one of these towns he might be kept from death:
43 Amadolobho lawo kwakuyila: iBhezeri emagcekeni asenkangala, lingelabakoRubheni; iRamothi eGiliyadi, lingelabakoGadi; kanye lelaseGolani eBhashani lona lingelabakoManase.
The names of the towns were Bezer in the waste land, in the table-land, for the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead for the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan for Manasseh.
44 Lo ngumthetho owethulwa nguMosi kwabako-Israyeli.
This is the law which Moses put before the children of Israel:
45 Lezi kwakuyizilinganiso, izimiso lemithetho eyethulwa nguMosi kubo ekuphumeni kwabo eGibhithe
These are the rules and the laws and the decisions which Moses gave to the children of Israel after they came out of Egypt;
46 njalo babesesigodini esiseduzane leBhethi-Pheyori empumalanga yeJodani elizweni likaSihoni inkosi yama-Amori, yena owabusa eHeshibhoni njalo wehlulwa nguMosi labako-Israyeli bephuma eGibhithe.
On the far side of Jordan, in the valley facing Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who was ruling in Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel overcame after they had come out of Egypt:
47 Bathatha ilizwe lakhe kanye lelizwe lika-Ogi inkosi yaseBhashani, amakhosi ama-Amori womabili empumalanga yeJodani.
And they took his land for a heritage, and the land of Og, king of Bashan, the two kings of the Amorites, whose lands were on the other side of Jordan to the east;
48 Ilizwe leli lalisuka e-Aroweri emaphethelweni ezindonga zase-Arinoni kusiya entabeni yaseSiyoni (khona kuyiHemoni),
From Aroer on the edge of the valley of the Arnon as far as Mount Sion, which is Hermon,
49 kuhlanganisa layo yonke i-Arabha empumalanga yeJodani kuze kuyefika oLwandle lwe-Arabha, ngaphansi komthezuko wasePhisiga.
And all the Arabah on the far side of Jordan to the east, as far as the sea of the Arabah under the slopes of Pisgah.