U-Eksodusi 8
1 UThixo wathi kuMosi, “Buyela njalo kuFaro uthi kuye, ‘UThixo uthi, Vumela abantu bami bahambe bayengikhonza.
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go back to the king and tell him, ‘Yahweh says that you must let my people go, in order that they can worship me [in the desert].
2 Ungala ngizathumela uhlupho lwamaxoxo elizweni lakho.
But if you refuse to let them go, I will punish you by sending frogs to cover your country.
3 Umfula uNayili uzagcwala amaxoxo. Azangena esigodlweni sakho lasendlini yakho yokulala, lasembhedeni wakho; angene lezindlini zezikhulu zakho lezabantu bakho. Azagcwala ezindaweni zenu zokuphekela, lasemiganwini yenu yokuvubela izinkwa.
[Not only] will the Nile [River] be full of frogs, [but] the frogs will come up [out of the river] into your palace. They will come into your bedroom and onto your bed. They will be in the houses of your officials and all [the rest of] your people. They will even get into your ovens and your pans for mixing the materials for baking bread.
4 Amaxoxo la azakuba phezu kwakho laphezu kwabantu bakho kanye lezikhulu zakho.’”
The frogs will jump up on you and your officials and [all the rest of] your people.’”
5 UThixo wasesithi kuMosi, “Tshela u-Aroni akhombele intonga emifuleni, lasezifudlaneni lasezizibeni zonke zaseGibhithe ukuze kube lamaxoxo ezindaweni zonke zelizwe.”
Yahweh [also] said to Moses/me, “Say this to Aaron: ‘Hold your stick in your hand and stretch it out [as though you were stretching it] over the river, the canals, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up [from all this water and] cover the land of Egypt.’”
6 U-Aroni welulela isandla sakhe emanzini eGibhithe, amaxoxo agcwala ilizwe lonke.
[After Moses/I told that to] Aaron, he stretched out his hand [as though he were stretching it] over all the water in Egypt. And the frogs came up [from the water and] covered Egypt.
7 Kodwa-ke izanuse lazo zenzanjalo ngemilingo yazo yensitha, zenza kwaba lamaxoxo elizweni lonke leGibhithe.
But the men who performed magic did the same thing, and they caused [more] frogs to come up [from the water onto the land].
8 UFaro wabiza uMosi lo-Aroni wathi kubo, “Ncengani uThixo asuse amaxoxo kimi lebantwini bami, lami ngizavumela abantu bakhe ukuba bahambe bayenikela imihlatshelo kuThixo.”
Then the king summoned Moses/me and said, “Ask Yahweh to take away these frogs from me and my people. After that happens, I will allow your people to go, in order that they can offer sacrifices to Yahweh.”
9 UMosi wathi, kuFaro “Ngikutshiya kuwe ukuba ubeke isikhathi sokuthi ngikukhulekele wena lezikhulu zakho labantu bakho ukuze lina lezindlu zenu lilanyulelwe emaxoxweni, ngaphandle kwalawo azasala kuNayili.”
Moses/I said to the king, “I will be glad to pray for you and for your officials and for [the rest of] your people. [I will ask Yahweh] to get rid of the frogs from all your houses. The only frogs left will be [those] in the Nile [River]. Just tell me when I should pray.”
10 UFaro wathi, “Kwenze kusasa.” UMosi wasesithi, “Kuzakuba njengokutsho kwakho ukuze ukwazi ukuthi kakho omunye onjengoThixo uNkulunkulu wethu.
He replied, “Tomorrow.” So Moses/I said, “[I will do] what you say, and then you will know that Yahweh God, the one we [worship, is the only true god], and that there is no other god like him.
11 Amaxoxo azasuka kini lezindlini zenu lezezikhulu labantu benu abesesala emfuleni uNayili kuphela.”
The frogs will leave you and your officials and all [the rest of] your people. The only ones left will be in the Nile [River].”
12 UMosi lo-Aroni basuka kuFaro. UMosi wakhala kuThixo ukuba asuse amaxoxo ayewathumele kuFaro.
Aaron and Moses/I left the king. Then Moses/I prayed to Yahweh, [asking him to take away] all the frogs he had [brought to the king’s land].
13 UThixo wenza lokho uMosi ayekucelile. Amaxoxo afa ezindlini lemagumeni lemasimini.
And Yahweh did just what Moses/I [asked him to do]. As a result, all the frogs in the houses, in their courtyards, and in the fields died.
14 Bawabuthelela aba zinqwabanqwaba; ilizwe lonke lanuka phu ngamaxoxo.
The people gathered together all the dead frogs into big piles, and the land stank [from the smell].
15 Kodwa uFaro ebona ukuthi udubo soluphungukile womisa inhliziyo yakhe wala ukulalela uMosi lo-Aroni njengokwakuvele kukhulunywe nguThixo.
But when the king saw that [the problem] was ended, he became stubborn [IDM] [again]. And just as Yahweh had predicted, he would not pay attention to what Aaron and Moses/we told him.
16 UThixo wasesithi kuMosi, “Tshela u-Aroni uthi, ‘Phakamisa intonga yakho utshaye uthuli lomhlabathi,’ uthuli luzaphenduka lube zintwala elizweni lonke laseGibhithe.”
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Tell Aaron to strike the ground with his stick. [When he does that], all the fine particles of ground/dust will become gnats, all over the land of Egypt.”
17 Benza njengokulaywa kwabo, kwathi u-Aroni eselule isandla sakhe ephethe intonga watshaya uthuli, intwala zahlasela abantu lezifuyo zabo. Uthuli lonke eGibhithe lwaphenduka lwaba zintwala.
So they/we did that. Aaron struck the ground with his stick, and all over Egypt, the fine particles of ground/dirt became gnats. The gnats covered the people and all [their] animals.
18 Izanuse lazo zazama ukwenza intwala ngemilingo yazo, kodwa zehluleka. Njengoba intwala zazisebantwini lezinyamazaneni,
The men who worked magic tried to cause gnats to appear, but they were unable to do it. So the gnats [stayed] on the Egyptian people and on their animals.
19 izanuse zathi kuFaro, “Lokhu kungumunwe kaNkulunkulu.” Kodwa inhliziyo kaFaro yayilukhuni, kabalalelanga njengoba uThixo wayevele etshilo.
The men who worked magic said to the king, “It is God who has done this with his power [MTY]!” But the king continued to be stubborn [IDM], and he would not pay attention to us, just as Yahweh had predicted.
20 UThixo wasesithi kuMosi, “Kusasa ubovuka ekuseni kakhulu uhlangabeze uFaro lapho esiya emanzini. Ubokuthi kuye, ‘Vumela abantu bami bahambe bayengikhonza.
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Get up early [tomorrow] morning. [Go down] to the river and wait for the king. [When he comes to bathe] [MTY], say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh says to you: “Let my people go, in order that they may worship me [in the desert].
21 Ungala, ngizathumela umtshitshi wempukane kuwe, ebantwini bakho lezindlini zenu. Izindlu zabantu baseGibhithe zizagcwala impukane lomhlabathi ugcwale zona.
[I warn you that] if you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies to you. They will come down on you and on your officials and on [the rest of] your people. The houses of all you Egyptians will be full of flies. They will [even] cover the ground.
22 Kodwa ngalolosuku akuyikuba njalo eGosheni lapho okuhlala khona abantu bami. Akuyikuba lemitshitshi yempukane khona. Ngakho uzakwazi ukuthi mina nginguThixo womhlaba wonke.
But when that happens, I will treat the Goshen region, where my people live, differently. There will be no swarms of flies there. In that way, you will know that I, Yahweh, am doing these things [here] in this land.
23 Ngizakwenza kube lomahluko phakathi kwabantu bami labantu bakho. Lesisimangaliso sizakwenzakala kusasa.’”
I will distinguish clearly between [how I act toward] my people and [how I act toward] your people. And this plague is going to happen tomorrow!”’”
24 UThixo wenza njengoba wayetshilo. Umtshitshi wempukane ezinengi okwesabeka kakhulukazi zagcwala esigodlweni sikaFaro lasezindlini zezikhulu zakhe, lakulo lonke ilizwe laseGibhithe; zalitshabalalisa.
[Early the next morning, Moses/I told that to the king, but the king would not pay any attention]. So Yahweh did what he said he would do. He sent great swarms of flies into the palace of the king and into the houses of his officials. The whole country of Egypt was ruined by the flies.
25 UFaro wabiza uMosi lo-Aroni. Wathi kubo, “Hambani liyehlabela uNkulunkulu wenu likhonapha kulelilizwe.”
Then the king summoned Aaron and Moses/me and said, “You Israeli people can go and offer sacrifices to your god, [but you must do it] here in [this] land.”
26 UMosi waphendula wathi, “Lokho akulunganga. Imihlatshelo yethu esinikela ngayo kuThixo uNkulunkulu wethu iyanengeka ebantwini beGibhithe. Singanikela ngeminikelo abayizondayo kambe kabayikusitshaya ngamatshe na?
But Moses/I replied, “It would not be right [for us] to do that, because we will be offering sacrifices that are very offensive to the Egyptian people. If we offer sacrifices that the Egyptian people think are disgusting, they will kill us by throwing stones at us [RHQ]!
27 Kumele sithathe uhambo lwezizinsuku ezintathu siye enkangala siyemhlabela khonale uThixo uNkulunkulu wethu njengokusilaya kwakhe.”
No, we need to travel for three days into the desert. There we will offer sacrifices to Yahweh, the God we worship, just as he commands (OR, has commanded) us.”
28 UFaro wathi, “Ngizalivumela lihambe liyenikela imihlatshelo kuThixo uNkulunkulu wenu enkangala, kodwa lingayi khatshana. Khathesi ngikhulekelani.”
So the king said, “I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to Yahweh, your god, in the desert. But you must not go very far. [Now] pray for me!”
29 UMosi waphendula wathi, “Ngizakuthi ngisanda kusuka ngikhuleke kuThixo, njalo kusasa umtshitshi wempukane uzasuka kuFaro, ezikhulwini zakhe lebantwini bakhe. Kodwa uFaro kangasikhohlisi futhi asuke angasavumeli abantu ukuba bahambe bayenikela imihlatshelo kuThixo.”
Moses/I said, “Listen [to me]! After I leave you, I will pray to Yahweh, [asking] that tomorrow [he will cause] the swarms of flies to leave you and your officials and [the rest of] your people. But do not deceive us again by refusing to let our people go to offer sacrifices to Yahweh!”
30 Emva kwalokho uMosi wasuka kuFaro wasekhuleka kuThixo.
Then Moses/I left the king and prayed to Yahweh.
31 UThixo wenza lokho okwakucelwe nguMosi, umtshitshi wempukane wanyamalala kuFaro lezikhulu zakhe labantu bakhe, akwaze kwasala leyodwa.
And Yahweh did what Moses/I asked, and he got rid of the swarms of flies from [around] the king and his officials and [the rest of] his people. No flies remained.
32 Kodwa langalesosikhathi uFaro wenza inhliziyo yakhe yaba lukhuni kazabavumela abako-Israyeli ukuba bahambe.
But the king was stubborn [IDM] this time also, and he did not allow the Israeli people to go.
