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.
Now therefore listen, O Israel, to the statutes and to the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that you may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers gives you.
2 Lingangezeleli kulokho engililaya khona njalo lingaphunguli loba yikuphi kwakhona, kodwa gcinani imilayo kaThixo uNkulunkulu wenu engilinika yona.
You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you diminish anything from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command 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 Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD your God has destroyed them from among you.
4 kodwa lina lonke elabambelela kuThixo uNkulunkulu wenu lilokhu lisaphila lalamuhla lokhu.
But you that did join to the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.
5 Liyabona sengalifundisa izimiso lemithetho uThixo wami angilaya ngazo, ukuze liyigcine elizweni elingena kulo ukuba lilithathe.
Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that you should do so in the land where you go to possess it.
6 Lizigcine ngonanzelelo ngoba lokhu kuzaveza obala ukuhlakanipha lokuzwisisa kwenu ezizweni ezizakuzwa ngalezizimiso njalo zitsho zithi, ‘Ngeqiniso lesisizwe esilodumo yisizwe sabantu abahlakaniphileyo njalo abazwisisayo.’
Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.
7 Yisiphi esinye isizwe esilodumo esilabonkulunkulu baso ababaseduze laso njengoThixo uNkulunkulu wethu oba lathi nxa sikhuleka kuye?
For what nation is there so great, who has God so near to them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call on him for?
8 Yisiphi esinye isizwe esilezimiso eziqondileyo lemithetho enjengale imithetho engiyethula phambi kwenu lamuhla na?
And what nation is there so great, that has statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
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 heed to yourself, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life: but teach them your sons, and your sons’ sons;
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.’
Specially the day that you stood before the LORD your God in Horeb, when the LORD said to me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.
11 Lasondela lema ngaphansi kwentaba ilavuka amalangabi eqonga phezulu, kulamayezi amnyama lomnyama owesabekayo.
And you came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire to the middle of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.
12 Ngakho uThixo wakhuluma lani ephakathi komlilo. Lezwa umdumo welizwi kodwa alizange libone lutho; kwaba yilizwi lodwa nje.
And the LORD spoke to you out of the middle of the fire: you heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only you heard a voice.
13 Wakhupha ilizwi lokubuyisana lesivumelwano sakhe, imiThetho eliTshumi, waselilaya ukuba liyilandele njalo wayiloba ezibhebhedwini zamatshe ezimbili.
And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them on two tables of stone.
14 Kungalesosikhathi lapho uThixo angiqondisa ukuba ngilifundise izimiso lemilayo okuzamele liyilandele ekuchapheni kwenu uJodani lisiya elizweni elizalithumba libe ngelenu.”
And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that you might do them in the land where you go over to possess it.
15 “Akulalutho loba yisimo bani elasibonayo mhla uThixo ekhuluma lani eHorebhi ephakathi kwelangabi lomlilo. Kunjalo-nje kumele lizinanzelele okuqinileyo,
Take you therefore good heed to yourselves; for you saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spoke to you in Horeb out of the middle of the fire:
16 ukuze lingaxhwali libe selizenzela isithombe, loba umfanekiso olesimo bani, loba ngesilesimo sesilisa loba esesifazane,
Lest you corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,
17 loba yiphi inyamazana emhlabeni loba inyoni endizayo emkhathini,
The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flies in the air,
18 loba yisiphi isinanakazana esihuquzelayo emhlabathini loba yinhlanzi ngaphansi kwamanzi.
The likeness of any thing that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath 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 lest you lift up your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, should be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD your God has divided to all nations under the whole 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, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be to him a people of inheritance, as you are this day.
21 UThixo wangithukuthelela ngenxa yenu, wafunga waphelela wathi angiyikuchapha uJodani ngingene elizweni uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu alinika lona ukuba libe yilifa lenu.
Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and swore that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in to that good land, which the LORD your God gives you for an inheritance:
22 Mina ngizafela kulelilizwe; angiyikuchapha uJodani, kodwa lina seliseduze ukuba lichaphe liyelithumba lelolizwe elihle.
But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan: but you shall go over, and possess that good land.
23 Nanzelelani ukuthi lingalibali isivumelwano sikaNkulunkulu wenu asenza lani; lingazenzeli isithombe loba singesesimo bani salokho uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu akwalileyo.
Take heed to yourselves, lest you forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD your God has forbidden you.
24 Ngoba uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu ungumlilo oqothulayo, uNkulunkulu olobukhwele.
For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
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,
When you shall beget children, and children’s children, and you shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD your God, to provoke him to anger:
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.
I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that you shall soon utterly perish from off the land where you go over Jordan to possess it; you shall not prolong your days on it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
27 UThixo uzalihlakaza ezizweni, njalo abalutshwana benu yibo abazasinda ezizweni uThixo azalifuqela khona.
And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and you shall be left few in number among the heathen, where the LORD shall lead you.
28 Khonale lizakhonza onkulunkulu ababunjwe ngabantu ngezigodo langamatshe, abangeke babone loba bezwe loba badle loba bezwe ukunuka.
And there you shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
29 Kodwa nxa likhonale lingadinga uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu, lizamfumana nxa limdinga ngezinhliziyo zenu ezipheleleyo langemiphefumulo yenu yonke.
But if from there you shall seek the LORD your God, you shall find him, if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.
30 Nxa selisosizini zonke lezizinto sezilehlela, lapho-ke ngezinsuku ezizayo lizabuyela kuThixo uNkulunkulu wenu limlalele.
When you are in tribulation, and all these things are come on you, even in the latter days, if you turn to the LORD your God, and shall be obedient to his voice;
31 Phela uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu nguNkulunkulu olomusa; kayikulidela loba alibhubhise loba alibale isivumelwano sakhe asenza labokhokho benu, leso asiqinisa kubo ngesifungo.”
(For the LORD your God is a merciful God; ) he will not forsake you, neither destroy you, nor forget the covenant of your fathers which he swore to them.
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?
For ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven to the other, whether there has been any such thing as this great thing is, or has been heard like it?
33 Sikhona na esinye isizwe esake sezwa uNkulunkulu ekhuluma ephakathi kwelangabi lomlilo, njengalokhu eselikuzwile, saphila na?
Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the middle of the fire, as you have heard, and live?
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?
Or has God assayed to go and take him a nation from the middle of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?
35 Lakutshengiswa konke lokhu ukuze lazi ukuthi uThixo unguNkulunkulu; ngaphandle kwakhe kakho omunye futhi.
To you it was showed, that you might know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.
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 he made you to hear his voice, that he might instruct you: and on earth he showed you his great fire; and you heard his words out of the middle 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 he loved your fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought you out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt;
38 ukuxotsha zonke izizwe phambi kwenu, izizwe ezilamandla kulezenu lokulingenisa elizweni lazo ukuze aliphe lona libe yilifa lenu, njengoba kunjalo lamuhla.
To drive out nations from before you greater and mightier than you are, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.
39 Yamukelani njalo likugcine ezinhliziyweni zenu lamuhla ukuthi uThixo unguNkulunkulu ezulwini phezulu lasemhlabeni phansi. Kakho omunye.
Know therefore this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and on the earth beneath: there is none else.
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.”
You shall keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command you this day, that it may go well with you, and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days on the earth, which the LORD your God gives you, for ever.
41 Ngakho uMosi wasekhetha amadolobho amathathu empumalanga yeJodani,
Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sun rise;
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.
That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbor unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing to one of these cities he might live:
43 Amadolobho lawo kwakuyila: iBhezeri emagcekeni asenkangala, lingelabakoRubheni; iRamothi eGiliyadi, lingelabakoGadi; kanye lelaseGolani eBhashani lona lingelabakoManase.
Namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites.
44 Lo ngumthetho owethulwa nguMosi kwabako-Israyeli.
And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel:
45 Lezi kwakuyizilinganiso, izimiso lemithetho eyethulwa nguMosi kubo ekuphumeni kwabo eGibhithe
These are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spoke to the children of Israel, after they came forth 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 this side Jordan, in the valley over against Bethpeor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelled at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they were come forth out of Egypt:
47 Bathatha ilizwe lakhe kanye lelizwe lika-Ogi inkosi yaseBhashani, amakhosi ama-Amori womabili empumalanga yeJodani.
And they possessed his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, which were on this side Jordan toward the sun rise;
48 Ilizwe leli lalisuka e-Aroweri emaphethelweni ezindonga zase-Arinoni kusiya entabeni yaseSiyoni (khona kuyiHemoni),
From Aroer, which is by the bank of the river Arnon, even to mount Sion, which is Hermon,
49 kuhlanganisa layo yonke i-Arabha empumalanga yeJodani kuze kuyefika oLwandle lwe-Arabha, ngaphansi komthezuko wasePhisiga.
And all the plain on this side Jordan eastward, even to the sea of the plain, under the springs of Pisgah.
