Amahubo 78
1 Ihubo ka-Asafu Zwanini imfundiso yami, bantu bami; lilalele amazwi omlomo wami.
An Instructive Psalm. Asaph’s. Give ear, O my people, to mine instruction, Bend your ear to the sayings of my mouth;
2 Ngizavula umlomo wami ngemifanekiso, ngizakutsho izinto ezifihlekileyo, izinto zekadeni,
I will open, in a parable, my mouth, I will pour forth enigmas out of antiquity; —
3 esakuzwayo lesikwaziyo esakutshelwa ngokhokho bethu.
Which we have heard, and come to know, And, our fathers, have recounted to us;
4 Kasizukuzifihlela abantwana babo; sizasitshela isizukulwane esizayo ngemisebenzi emangalisayo kaThixo, amandla akhe, lemimangaliso aseyenzile.
We will not withhold [them] from their children, To a later generation, recounting the praises of Yahweh, Even his might and his wonders which he wrought;
5 Wamisela uJakhobe imithetho wabeka umlayo ko-Israyeli, walaya okhokho bethu ukuthi bawufundise abantwababo,
When he set up a testimony in Jacob, And, a law, appointed in Israel, —Which he commanded our fathers, That they might make them known to their children;
6 ukuze aziwe yisizukulwane esilandelayo, kanye labantwana abazazalwa, kuthi labo batshele abantwababo.
To the end, A later generation, might come to know, Children who should be born, Who should arise, and recount [them] to their children;
7 Yikho-ke bazabeka ithemba labo kuNkulunkulu njalo abasoze bakhohlwa izenzo zakhe kodwa bagcine imilayo yakhe.
That they might set, in Elohim, their confidence, —And not forget the doings of El, But, his commandments, might observe;
8 Kabayikuba njengabokhokho babo ababeyisizukulwana esilobuqholo lesihlamukayo, onhliziyo zabo zazingazinikelanga kuNkulunkulu omoya yabo yayingathembekanga kuye.
And not become, like their fathers, a generation stubborn and rebellious, —A generation that fixed not their heart, Neither was their spirit, faithful with GOD.
9 Amadoda ako-Efrayimi, loba ayehlomile ngemitshoko, afulathela mhla welanga lempi;
The sons of Ephraim—armed bowmen, Turned in the day of battle;
10 kabasigcinanga isivumelwano sikaNkulunkulu, bala ukuphila ngomthetho wakhe.
They kept not the covenant of God, And, in his law, refused to walk;
11 Bakhohlwa lokho ayekwenzile, izimanga ayebatshengise zona.
And forgat His doings, And his wonders which he had showed them:
12 Wenza imimangaliso oyise bekhangele elizweni laseGibhithe, esigodini saseZowani.
In presence of their fathers, wrought he, wondrously, —In the land of Egypt—the field of Zoan:
13 Walwahlukanisa ulwandle wabahola bachapha; wenza amanzi ema aqina saka njengomduli.
He clave the sea, and caused them to pass through, And reared up the waters like a mound;
14 Wabahola ngeyezi emini njalo ngokukhanya komlilo ubusuku bonke.
And led them, by a cloud, in the daytime, And all the night, by a light of fire;
15 Wawaqhekeza amadwala enkangala wabapha amanzi amanengi njengolwandle;
He used to cleave rocks in the desert, And let them drink as out of mighty deeps;
16 wantshazisa impophoma emadwaleni amawa wenza amanzi ageleza njengemifula.
And he brought forth streams out of the cliff, And caused waters to flow down, like rivers.
17 Kodwa baqhubeka besona phambi kwakhe, bamhlamukela enkangala yena oPhezukonke.
But again, once more sinned they against him, Resisting the Most High in a land of drought:
18 Bamlinga uNkulunkulu ngabomo ngokucela ukudla ababekutshisekela.
They put GOD to the proof in their heart, By asking food to their mind:
19 Bamchothoza uNkulunkulu besithi, “Kambe uNkulunkulu angendlala itafula lokudlela enkangala na?
Yea they spake against Elohim, —They said, Can GOD prepare a table in the desert?
20 Wathi lapho etshaya idwala, amanzi antshantshaza, kwageleza amanzi amanengi. Kodwa angasipha njalo lokudla na? Angabalethela inyama abantu bakhe na?”
Lo! he hath smitten a rock, And waters, have gushed out, Yea, torrents, have rushed along, —Food also, can he give? Or provide flesh for his people?
21 UThixo wathi ebezwa wathukuthela kakhulu; umlilo wakhe wavuthela kuJakhobe, ulaka lwakhe lwaqina ku-Israyeli,
Therefore, Yahweh hearkened, and became wroth, —And, a fire, was kindled against Jacob, Moreover also, anger, mounted against Israel;
22 ngoba kabamkholwanga uNkulunkulu njalo kabawathembanga amandla okuhlenga kwakhe.
Because, They believed not in God, Nor trusted in his salvation;
23 Loba kunjalo walaya umkhathi ngaphezulu wavula iminyango yamazulu;
Though he had commanded the skies above, And, the doors of the heavens, had opened;
24 wanisa imana ukuthi badle abantu, wabapha amabele asezulwini.
And had rained on them manna to eat, And, the corn of the heavens, had given to them:
25 Abantu badla isinkwa sezingilosi; wabathumela konke ukudla ababengakudla.
The food of the mighty, each one did eat, Nourishment, sent he them to the full;
26 Wawukhulula umoya wempumalanga uvela emazulwini, wawukhulula umoya weningizimu ngamandla akhe.
He let loose an east wind in the heavens, Then guided he, in his might, a south wind;
27 Wanisela inyama kubo njengothuli, izinyoni eziphaphayo zaba njengetshebetshebe ogwini lolwandle.
And rained upon them flesh as the dust, And, like the sand of the seas, birds of wing;
28 Wazenza zehlela phakathi kwezihonqo zabo, indawana yonke emathenteni abo.
And let them fall in the midst of their camp, —Round about their habitations.
29 Bazitika baze bakhangela, ngoba wayebaphe ababekade bekukhalela.
So they did eat and were abundantly filled, When, what they longed for, he had brought them: —
30 Kodwa bengakakutshiyi lokho kudla ababekukhalela belokhu besakunambitha emilonyeni yabo,
They had not turned away from what they had longed for, Yet was their food in their mouth,
31 ulaka lukaNkulunkulu lwavutha kubo; wabulala zona iziqwabalanda zabo, wawahemula amajaha ako-Israyeli.
When, the anger of God, mounted against them, And he slew of their vigorous youths, And, the choice young men of Israel, caused he to bow down in death.
32 Phezu kwakho konke lokhu baqhubeka besona; phezu kwezimanga zakhe, kabazange bakholwe.
For all this, sinned they still, And believed not in his wonders;
33 Ngakho wenza insuku zabo zaphelela ezeni njalo leminyaka yabo yagcwala ukwesaba.
So he ended, in a breath, their days, And their years, in a sudden terror!
34 Kwakusithi uNkulunkulu angababulala, bamdinge; baphendukele kuye njalo ngokutshiseka.
If he slew [of] them, then they sought him, Yea they turned, and did earnestly seek GOD;
35 Bakhumbula ukuthi uNkulunkulu wayelidwala labo, ukuthi uNkulunkulu oPhezukonke wayenguMhlengi wabo.
And remembered that, Elohim, was their rock, Yea, EL Most High, their Redeemer:
36 Kodwa-ke kwakuyikumyenga ngemilomo yabo, beqamba amanga kuye ngendimi zabo;
So they spake him fair with their mouth, And, with their tongue, did promise him falsely;
37 inhliziyo zabo zazingabambelelanga kuye, babengathembekanga esivumelwaneni sakhe.
But, their heart, was not fixed with him, Nor were they trusty in his covenant:
38 Kodwa wayelesihawu; wazithethelela izono zabo kaze ababhubhisa. Isikhathi ngesikhathi waluthoba ulaka lwakhe akaze akuqubula konke ukuthukuthela kwakhe.
Yet, he, full of compassion, would put a propitiatory-covering over iniquity, and not destroy, —Yea, many a time, turned he back his anger, And would not stir up all his wrath.
39 Wakhumbula ukuthi babeyinyama nje intshongolo eyedlulayo nje ingabe isabuya.
So then he remembered, That, Flesh, they were, A Wind departing, that returneth not.
40 Kodwa ukuthi bamhlamukela kanengi njani enkangala, bamdabukisa egwaduleni!
How often they, Resisted him in the desert, Vexed him, in the waste:
41 Baphindaphinda ukulinga uNkulunkulu; bamthukuthelisa oNgcwele ka-Israyeli.
Yea they again put GOD to the test, And, to the Holy One of Israel, caused they sorrow:
42 Kabawakhumbulanga amandla akhe usuku abakhulula ngalo kumncindezeli,
They remembered not his hand—The day, When he ransomed them from the adversary;
43 usuku lapho aveza khona izibonakaliso zakhe ezimangalisayo eGibhithe, izimanga zakhe esigodini saseZowani.
When he set, in Egypt, his signs, And his wonders, in the plain of Zoan;
44 Waguqula imifula yabo yaba ligazi; behluleka ukunatha ezifuleni zabo.
When he turned, into blood, their Nile-streams, And, their own rivers, could they not drink;
45 Wathumela imihlambi yezibawu zabantinya, lamaxoxo ababhuqayo.
He sent among them, The gad-fly, and it devoured them, And the frog, and it despoiled them;
46 Amabele abo wawathela izintethe, izithelo zabo isikhongwane.
When he gave to the corn-locust their produce, And their toil, to the swarming locust;
47 Wathintitha amavini abo ngesiqhotho lemikhiwa yabo yesikhamore wayitshazisa ngongqwaqwane.
He killed, with hail, their vine, And their sycomores, with frost:
48 Inkomo zabo wazithela ngesiqhotho, izifuyo zabo zadliwa yizikhatha zombane.
When he gave up, to hail-storms, their beasts, And their cattle, to pestilent fevers;
49 Wabathululela ulaka lwakhe oluvuthayo, intukuthelo yakhe, ukucunuka lenzondo ixuku lezingilosi ezibhubhisayo.
He sent among them the heat of his anger, Wrath and indignation and distress, —A mission of messengers of misfortune:
50 Wayilungisa indlela yolaka lwakhe; kabaphephisanga ekufeni kodwa wabanikela emikhuhlaneni.
He leveled a path for his anger, Withheld not, from death, their soul, But, their life—to the pestilence, he delivered:
51 Wawabulala wonke amazibulo aseGibhithe, izithelo zabo zokuqala zokuba ngamadoda emathenteni kaHamu.
So he smote, Every first-born in Egypt, The beginning of their strength, in the tents of Ham;
52 Kodwa wabakhupha abantu bakhe njengomhlambi wezimvu; wabahola njengezimvu bedabula inkangala.
And he set forth, like sheep, his people, And guided them, like a flock in the desert;
53 Wabakhokhela ngonanzelelo, ngakho babengesabi; kodwa ulwandle lwazigubuzela izitha zabo.
Yea he led them securely, and they dreaded not, And, their enemies, the sea did cover.
54 Kanjalo wabaletha emngceleni welizwe lakhe elingcwele, elizweni lamaqaqa ayelithethe ngesandla sakhe sokunene.
Then brought he them within his own holy bounds, The mountain-range, which his right hand made his own:
55 Wazixotsha izizwe phambi kwabo wabahlukanisela ilizwe lazo laba yilifa; wahlalisa izizwana zako-Israyeli emizini yazo.
So he drave out, before them, [whole] nations, And allotted them, by line, an inheritance, And caused to dwell, in their own homes, the tribes of Israel.
56 Kodwa bamlinga uNkulunkulu, bamhlamukela oPhezukonke; kabayigcinanga imilayo yakhe.
But they tested and resisted God Most High, And, his testimonies, did not observe;
57 Njengabokhokho babo babengathembekanga bengakholwa, ungeke wathemba njengedandili elenziwe kubi.
But drew back and dealt treacherously, like their fathers, They turned aside, like deceitful bowmen;
58 Bamvusa ulaka ngezindawo zabo eziphezulu; baqubula ubukhwele bakhe ngezithombe zabo.
And provoked him to anger with their high places, And, with their images, used to move him to jealousy.
59 Wathi uNkulunkulu ngokukuzwa lokho, wathukuthela kakhulu; wamlahla qobo lokumlahla u-Israyeli.
God heard and was wroth, And greatly abhorred Israel;
60 Walidela ithabanikeli lakhe eShilo, ithente ayelakhile phakathi kwabantu.
So he gave up the habitation of Shiloh, The tent he had set up among Men;
61 Umphongolo wakhe wamandla wawusa ekuthunjweni, inkazimulo yakhe ezandleni zesitha.
Yea he gave up, into captivity, his strength, And his beauty into the hand of an adversary;
62 Abantu bakhe wabanikela ukudliwa yinkemba; wayethukuthele kakhulu ngelifa lakhe.
And delivered up, to the sword, his people, And, with his own inheritance, was he wroth;
63 Umlilo waziqeda izinsizwa zabo, izintombi zabo zaswela izingoma zomtshado;
His young men, were devoured by fire, And, his virgins, were not praised in song;
64 abaphristi babo babulawa ngenkemba, abafelokazi babo behluleka ukulila.
His priests, by the sword, did fall, And, his widows, were not able to bewail.
65 INkosi yasivuka njengokade esebuthongweni, njengomuntu ephaphama ekudakweni yiwayini.
Then awoke, as one that had slept, Adonay, As a warrior exulting with wine!
66 Wazitshaya zahlehla izitha zakhe; waziyangisa okungapheliyo.
So he smote his adversaries in the rear, Reproach age-abiding, laid he upon them.
67 Khonapho-ke wawakhalala amathente kaJosefa, akaze asikhetha isizwana sika-Efrayimi;
Howbeit he rejected the tent of Joseph, And, the tribe of Ephraim, did not choose:
68 kodwa wakhetha isizwana sikaJuda, iNtaba iZiyoni ayeyithanda.
But made choice of the tribe of Judah, The mountain of Zion, which he loved;
69 Wakha indlu yakhe engcwele njengeziqongo, njengomhlaba awumisela ingunaphakade.
And built, like the heights, his sanctuary, Like the earth, he founded it to times age-abiding.
70 Wakhetha uDavida inceku yakhe wamthatha ezilugwini zezimvu;
And made choice of David his servant, And took him from among the folds of the sheep:
71 wamsusa ekweluseni izimvu wamletha ukuba ngumelusi wabantu bakhe uJakhobe, baka-Israyeli ilifa lakhe.
From after the sucking ewes, he brought him in, —To be shepherd to Jacob his people, And to Israel, his inheritance.
72 Njalo uDavida wabelusa ngobuqotho benhliziyo; wabakhokhela ngesandla sobungcitshi.
So he did shepherd them, according to the singleness of his heart, And, with the discernment of his hands, used he to guide them.
