UDutheronomi 9
1 “Zwana, We Israyeli. Khathesi ususiyachapha iJodani ukuze ungene uyethathela izizwe ezinkulu ezilamandla kulawe, ezilamadolobho amakhulu alemiduli etshaya emkhathini.
Give ear, O Israel: today you are to go over Jordan, to take the heritage of nations greater and stronger than yourselves, and towns of great size with walls as high as heaven;
2 Abantu bakhona balamandla njalo bade, ngama-Anakhi. Liyakwazi konke ngabo njalo selike layizwa indumela yabo yokuthi: ‘Ngubani ongamelana lama-Anakhi?’
A people great and tall, the sons of the Anakim, of whom you have knowledge and of whom it has been said, All are forced to give way before the sons of Anak.
3 Kodwa qinisekani lamuhla ngoba uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu nguye ozachapha phambi kwenu njengomlilo otshisa ubhuqe. UThixo uzababhubhisa; uzabanyathela phambi kwenu. Lizabaxotsha libabhubhise masinyane, njengokuthembisa kukaThixo.
Be certain then today that it is the Lord your God who goes over before you like an all-burning fire; he will send destruction on them, crushing them before you; and you will send them in flight, putting an end to them quickly, as the Lord has said.
4 Ngemva kokuba uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu esebanqobile phambi kwenu, lingabozikhohlisa lisithi, ‘UThixo ungilethe lapha ukuba ngilithathe libe ngelami lelilizwe ngenxa yokulunga kwami.’ Akunjalo, kungenxa yezono zalezizizwe okuzakwenza ukuthi uThixo azisuse phambi kwakho.
And after the Lord has sent them in flight from before you, say not in your heart, Because of my righteousness the Lord has given me this land; when it is because of their evil-doing that the Lord is driving these nations out before you.
5 Akusikho ukuthi kungenxa yokulunga kwakho loba ukuziphatha ngobuntu bakho okuzakwenza ungene kulelolizwe ulithathe; kodwa kungenxa yezono zalezozizwe, uThixo uNkulunkulu wakho uzazixotsha phambi kwakho lezizizwe ukuze kugcwaliseke isifungo uThixo wakho asenza kuboyihlo, u-Abhrahama, u-Isaka kanye loJakhobe.
Not for your righteousness or because your hearts are upright are you going in to take their land; but because of the evil-doing of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out from before you, and to give effect to his oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
6 Zwisisa manje, ukuthi akungenxa yokulunga kwakho ukuthi uThixo uNkulunkulu wakho ukunika lelilizwe ukuba libe ngelakho, ngoba lina simo senu lingontamozilukhuni.”
Be certain then that the Lord your God is not giving you this good land as a reward for your righteousness; for you are a stiff-necked people.
7 “Khumbulani lokhu njalo lingakhohlwa ukuthi lamthukuthelisa njani uThixo uNkulunkulu wenu enkangala waze wazonda. Kusukela ngosuku elasuka ngalo eGibhithe lize lizofika lapha, belilokhu lihlamukela uThixo.
Keep well in mind how you made the Lord your God angry in the waste land; from the day when you went out of Egypt till you came to this place, you have gone against the orders of the Lord.
8 EHorebhi lavusa ulaka lukaThixo ngalokho wazonda okokuthi wayezalibhubhisa.
Again in Horeb you made the Lord angry, and in his wrath he would have put an end to you.
9 Kwathi ekukhweleni kwami intaba ngisiyakwamukela izibhebhedu zamatshe, izibhebhedu zesivumelwano uThixo asenza lani, ngahlala entabeni okwensuku ezingamatshumi amane lobusuku obungamatshumi amane; angidlanga sinkwa njalo angizange nginathe amanzi.
When I had gone up into the mountain to be given the stones on which was recorded the agreement which the Lord made with you, I was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights without taking food or drinking water.
10 UThixo wanginika izibhebhedu zamatshe ezimbili okwakulotshwe kuzo ngomunwe kaNkulunkulu. Kulezizibhebhedu kwakulotshwe yonke imilayo eyayethulwe nguThixo kini phezu kwentaba ephakathi komlilo, ngosuku lombuthano.
And the Lord gave me the two stones with writing on them done by the finger of God: on them were recorded all the words which the Lord said to you on the mountain out of the heart of the fire, on the day of the great meeting.
11 Ekupheleni kwensuku ezingamatshumi amane njalo lobusuku obungamatshumi amane, uThixo wangipha izibhebhedu zamatshe ezimbili, izibhebhedu zesivumelwano.
Then at the end of forty days and forty nights the Lord gave me those stones, the stones of the agreement.
12 UThixo wangitshela wathi, ‘Suka lapha wehle ngokuphangisa, ngoba abantu bakho owabakhupha eGibhithe sebexhwalile. Sebephambukile masinyane kulokho engangibalaye ngakho njalo sebezibumbele isithombe.’
And the Lord said to me, Get up now, and go down quickly from this place; for the people you have taken out of Egypt have given themselves over to evil; they have quickly been turned from the way in which I gave them orders to go; they have made themselves a metal image.
13 UThixo wathi kimi, ‘Sengibabonile lababantu, njalo bangontamozilukhuni ngeqiniso!
And then the Lord said to me, I have seen that this people is stiff-necked:
14 Ngiyekela ukuze ngibabhubhise njalo ngesule amabizo abo ngaphansi kwamazulu. Njalo ngizakwenza ube yisizwe esilamandla futhi esikhulu kulesabo.’
Let me send destruction on them till their very name is cut off; and I will make of you a nation greater and stronger than they.
15 Ngasengiphenduka ngehla entabeni yona ivutha ilangabi lomlilo. Kanti njalo izibhebhedu zombili zesivumelwano zazisezandleni zami.
So turning round I came down from the mountain, and the mountain was burning with fire; and the two stones of the agreement were in my hands.
16 Ngathi ngiyakhangela ngabona ukuthi lonile phambi kukaThixo uNkulunkulu wenu; laselizibumbele isithombe esibunjwe ngesimo sethole. Laseliphambukile masinyane lasuka endleleni uThixo ayelilaye ngayo.
And I saw that you had done evil against the Lord, and had made for yourselves a metal image of a young ox: you had quickly been turned from the way in which the Lord had given you orders to go.
17 Ngalokho ngathatha izibhebhedu zombili ezazisezandleni zami ngazisakazela phansi, zaphahlazeka zaba yizicucu phambi kwenu.
And I let the stones go from my hands, and they were broken before your eyes.
18 Kanti-ke njalo ngazilahla ngawa phambi kukaThixo okwensuku ezingamatshumi amane njalo lobusuku obungamatshumi amane; angidlanga sinkwa njalo angizange nginathe amanzi, ngenxa yezono zonke elaselizidalile, lisenza okubi emehlweni kaThixo njalo lamthukuthelisa waze wazonda.
And I went down on my face before the Lord, as at the first, for forty days and forty nights, without taking food or drinking water, because of all your sin, in doing evil in the eyes of the Lord and moving him to wrath.
19 Ngesaba intukuthelo lolaka lukaThixo, ngoba wayezonde kangangokuba wayengalibhubhisa. Kodwa-ke futhi uThixo wangilalela.
For I was full of fear because of the wrath of the Lord which was burning against you, with your destruction in view. But again the Lord's ear was open to my prayer.
20 UThixo wamthukuthelela u-Aroni kangangokuba wayengamtshabalalisa, kodwa-ke ngalesosikhathi laye u-Aroni ngamkhulekela.
And the Lord, in his wrath, would have put Aaron to death: and I made prayer for Aaron at the same time.
21 Ngabuye ngathatha into yokona kwenu, ithole leli elalilibumbile, ngalitshisa emlilweni. Ngasengilichoboza njalo ngalichola laba yimpuphu ecoleke njengothuli ngaluhaza esifuleni esigeleza entabeni.
And I took your sin, the image which you had made, and put it in the fire and had it hammered and crushed very small till it was only dust: and the dust I put in the stream flowing down from the mountain.
22 Laphinda njalo lamthukuthelisa uThixo eThabhera, laseMasa kanye laseKhibhrothi Hathava.
Again at Taberah and at Massah and at Kibroth-hattaavah you made the Lord angry.
23 Kanti uThixo wathi elisusa eKhadeshi Bhaneya, wathi, ‘Qhubekani njalo liyethatha ilizwe engilinike lona.’ Kodwa lahlamukela umlayo kaThixo uNkulunkulu wenu. Alizange limethembe loba ukumlalela.
And when the Lord sent you from Kadesh-barnea, saying, Go up and take the land which I have given you; you went against the orders of the Lord your God, and had no faith in him, and would not give ear to his voice.
24 Belivele limhlamukela uThixo kusukela ngiqalisa ukulazi.
From the day when I first had knowledge of you, you have gone against the word of the Lord.
25 Ngazilahla ngawa phambi kukaThixo okwensuku ezingamatshumi amane kanye lobusuku obungamatshumi amane ngoba uThixo wayethe uzalibhubhisa.
So I went down on my face in prayer before the Lord for forty days and forty nights as I did at first; because the Lord had said that he would put an end to you.
26 Ngakhuleka njalo kuThixo ngathi, ‘Oh! Thixo Wobukhosi, ungabhubhisi abantu bakho, ilifa lakho owalihlenga ngamandla akho amakhulu wabakhipha eGibhithe ngesandla sakho esilamandla.
And I made prayer to the Lord and said, O Lord God, do not send destruction on your people and your heritage, to whom, by your great power, you have given salvation, whom you have taken out of Egypt by the strength of your hand.
27 Khumbula izinceku zakho u-Abhrahama, u-Isaka kanye loJakhobe. Xola ebuqholweni balababantu, ebubini lasezonweni zabo.
Keep in mind your servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, not looking at the hard heart of this people, or their evil-doing and their sin:
28 Nxa kungenjalo ilizwe owasisusa kilo lizakuthi, “Ngoba uThixo wehluleka ukubangenisa elizweni ayebathembise lona, njalo langenxa yokuthi wayebazonda, wabakhupha ukuze bayefela enkangala.”
Or it may be said in the land from which you have taken them, Because the Lord was not able to take them into the land which he said he would give them, and because of his hate for them, he has taken them out to put them to death in the waste land.
29 Kodwa ngabantu bakho, abayilifa lakho owalikhupha ngamandla akho amakhulu langengalo yakho eyeluliweyo.’”
But still they are your people and your heritage, whom you took out by your great power and by your stretched-out arm.
