1 USamuyeli 20
1 UDavida wasebaleka esuka eNayothi eRama, wafika wathi phambi kukaJonathani: Ngenzeni? Isiphambeko sami siyini? Lesono sami siyini phambi kukayihlo ukuze adinge umphefumulo wami?
David ran away from [the] Naioth [section] of Ramah [city]. He went to Jonathan and asked him, “What have I done [to displease your father]? What did I do that was wrong? Why is he trying to kill me?”
2 Wasesithi kuye: Kakube khatshana! Kawusoze ufe; khangela, ubaba kenzi ulutho olukhulu loba ulutho oluncinyane engakuvezi endlebeni yami. Pho, ubaba uzayifihlelani kimi linto? Kayisikho.
Jonathan replied, “My father is surely not trying to kill you! He always tells me before he does anything that he is planning. He tells me about important things and unimportant things that he plans to do. (Why would he refuse to tell me [if he were planning to kill me]?/I am sure that he would not refuse to tell me [if he were planning to kill you].) [RHQ] So what you are saying cannot be true.”
3 UDavida wasefunga futhi wathi: Uyihlo uyakwazi lokwazi ukuthi ngithole umusa emehlweni akho; ngakho uthi: UJonathani kangakwazi hlezi abe losizi. Kodwa ngeqiniso, kuphila kukaJehova njalo kuphila komphefumulo wakho, kukhona inyathelo nje phakathi kwami lokufa.
Then David solemnly declared this to Jonathan: “Your father knows very well that you and I are very good friends, so he says to himself, ‘I will not tell Jonathan [what I am going to do]. If I tell Jonathan, he will be upset/distressed, [and then he will tell David].’ But just as certain as Yahweh lives and you live, I am only one step away from being killed.”
4 UJonathani wasesithi kuDavida: Lokho umphefumulo wakho okuloyisayo, ngizakwenzela khona.
Jonathan said to David, “I will do whatever you tell me to do.”
5 UDavida wasesithi kuJonathani: Khangela, kusasa yikuthwasa kwenyanga; mina-ke ngifanele ukuhlala lokuhlala ukuthi ngidle lenkosi; kodwa ngiyekela ngihambe ngiyecatsha egangeni kuze kube lusuku lwesithathu kusihlwa.
David replied, “Tomorrow we will celebrate the Festival of the New Moon. I always eat with the king at that festival. But tomorrow I will hide in the field, and I will stay there for one night. I will stay there until the evening of the day after tomorrow.
6 Uba uyihlo engiswela lokungiswela, uzakuthi: UDavida ungicelile lokungicela ukuthi agijimele eBhethelehema umuzi wakibo; ngoba kukhona lapho umhlatshelo weminyaka ngeminyaka owenzelwe usendo lonke.
If your father asks why I am not there at the festival, say to him, ‘David requested me to allow him to go to his home in Bethlehem, where his family will offer the sacrifice that they offer [during this festival] every year.’
7 Uba esitsho njalo: Kulungile; inceku yakho izakuba lokuthula. Kodwa uba ethukuthela lokuthukuthela, yazi ukuthi ububi buqondwe nguye.
If your father says ‘That is okay’, then I know I will be safe. But if he becomes extremely angry, you will know that he is determined to harm me.
8 Ngakho yenzela inceku yakho umusa, ngoba ulethe inceku yakho esivumelwaneni seNkosi lawe. Kodwa uba kulesiphambeko kimi, ngibulala wena; ngoba uzangiselani kuyihlo?
Please be kind to me. Yahweh heard you when you made a solemn agreement with me [that you and I will always be loyal friends]. If I deserve to be punished [MTY], kill me yourself. I do not want [RHQ] you to allow your father to punish [IDM] me.”
9 UJonathani wasesithi: Kakube khatshana lami! Ngoba uba bengisazi lokwazi ukuthi ububi buqondwe ngubaba ukuthi bukwehlele, mina bengingayikukutshela yini?
Jonathan replied, “I will never do that! But if I find out that my father is determined to harm/kill you, I will certainly warn you.” [RHQ]
10 UDavida wasesithi kuJonathani: Ngubani ozangitshela uba uyihlo ekuphendula ngolaka?
David asked him, “How will I find out if your father answers you harshly?”
11 UJonathani wasesithi kuDavida: Woza siphume siye emmangweni. Basebephuma bobabili besiya emmangweni.
Jonathan replied, “Come with me. We will go out into the field.” So they went together out into the field.
12 UJonathani wasesithi kuDavida: INkosi, uNkulunkulu kaIsrayeli, lapho sengimhlolile ubaba phose ngalesisikhathi kusasa loba ngomhlomunye, uba, khangela, kukuhle kuDavida, uba ngingathumeli kuwe ngalesosikhathi ngikuveze endlebeni yakho,
There Jonathan said to David, “I promise this while Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], is listening: At this time the day after tomorrow, I will find out what my father [is thinking about you]. If he is saying good things about you, I will certainly send a message to you to tell that to you [RHQ].
13 kayenze njalo iNkosi kuJonathani, langokunjalo yengezelele. Uba ububi phezu kwakho bulungile kubaba, ngizakuveza endlebeni yakho, ngikuyekele uhambe ukuze uhambe ngokuthula. Njalo iNkosi ibe lawe njengoba yayilobaba.
But if he is planning to hurt/kill you, I will enable you to know [IDM] that, and enable you to go away safely. I desire that Yahweh will punish me severely if I do not do that [for you]. I desire/hope that Yahweh will be with you [and help you] like he has helped my father.
14 Kawuyikungenzela yini umusa weNkosi, ngitsho, nxa ngisaphila, ukuze ngingafi,
But while I am still alive, please be kind to me in the same way that Yahweh is kind to me, and do not kill me [when you become king].
15 kodwa kawuyikuquma umusa wakho usuke endlini yami kuze kube phakade, njalo hatshi lapho iNkosi isiziqumile izitha zikaDavida, zisuke ngulowo lalowo ebusweni bomhlaba.
But [if I die, ] never stop being kind to my family, [even] after Yahweh has gotten rid of all your enemies all over the earth.”
16 Ngokunjalo uJonathani wenza isivumelwano lendlu kaDavida, esithi: INkosi kayikubize esandleni sezitha zikaDavida.
[David agreed]. So Jonathan made a solemn agreement with David. And he said, “I hope/desire that Yahweh will get rid of all your enemies.”
17 UJonathani wasephinda wamfungisa uDavida ngenxa yokumthanda kwakhe; ngoba wayemthanda njengoba ethanda umphefumulo wakhe.
And Jonathan requested David to repeat his solemn promise to be his close friend, because Jonathan loved David as much as he loved himself.
18 UJonathani wasesithi kuye: Kusasa yikuthwasa kwenyanga, njalo uzaswelwa ngoba isihlalo sakho sizakuba size.
Then Jonathan said, “Tomorrow we will celebrate the Festival of the New Moon. When you are not sitting at your place when we eat, my father will (miss you/see that you are not there).
19 Usuhlale insuku ezintathu uzakwehla masinyane, uze endaweni owacatsha khona ngosuku lwendaba leyo, uzahlala eduze lamatshe e-Ezeli.
The day after tomorrow, in the evening, go to the place where you hid before. Wait by the pile of stones.
20 Mina-ke ngizatshoka imitshoko emithathu eceleni, kungathi ngitshoka ibala.
I will come out and shoot three arrows as though I were trying to shoot at a target. [The arrows will hit the ground] close to the pile of stones.
21 Khangela-ke, ngizathuma umfana ngithi: Hamba uyeyidinga imitshoko. Uba ngisithi lokuthi emfaneni: Khangela, imitshoko inganeno kwakho, ithathe, ubuye; ngoba kulokuthula kuwe, njalo kakulandaba, kuphila kukaJehova!
Then I will send a boy to bring the arrows back to me. If you hear me say to him, ‘They are closer to me’, then as surely as Yahweh lives, you will know that everything is fine, [and that Saul will not kill you].
22 Kodwa uba ngisitsho njalo ejaheni: Khangela, imitshoko ingale kwakho; hamba ngoba iNkosi ikuyekele uhambe.
But if I tell him, ‘The arrows are farther away’, you will know that you must leave immediately, because Yahweh wants you to run away.
23 Mayelana lendaba esikhulume ngayo mina lawe, khangela, iNkosi iphakathi kwami lawe kuze kube nininini.
I hope/desire that Yahweh will watch you and me and enable us to never forget what we have promised each other.”
24 Ngakho uDavida wasecatsha emmangweni. Isithwasile inyanga, inkosi yahlala ekudleni ukuze idle.
So David went and hid in the field. When the Festival of the New Moon started, the king sat down to eat.
25 Inkosi yasihlala esihlalweni sayo njengezikhathi ngezikhathi, esihlalweni eduze lomduli; uJonathani wasesukuma, loAbhineri wahlala eceleni kukaSawuli; kodwa indawo kaDavida yayize.
He sat where he usually sat, close to the wall. Jonathan sat across from him, and Abner [the army commander] sat next to Saul. But no one was sitting in the place where David [usually sat].
26 Kodwa uSawuli katshongo lutho ngalolosuku; ngoba wathi: Okuthile kumehlele; kahlambulukanga, isibili kahlambulukanga.
On that day, Saul did not say anything about David, because he was thinking, “Something must have happened that caused David to become unacceptable [to worship God].”
27 Kwasekusithi kusisa, ngolwesibili lokuthwasa kwenyanga, indawo kaDavida yayize. USawuli wasesithi kuJonathani indodana yakhe: Kungani indodana kaJese ingezanga ekudleni ngitsho izolo lalamuhla?
But the next day, when David was not sitting at the place where he usually sat, Saul asked Jonathan, “Why has that son of Jesse not been here to eat with us yesterday and today?”
28 UJonathani wasephendula uSawuli wathi: UDavida wangicela lokungicela ukuthi aye eBhethelehema.
Jonathan replied, “David earnestly requested me that I permit him to go to Bethlehem.
29 Wasesithi: Akungivumele ukuthi ngihambe; ngoba usendo lwakwethu lulomhlatshelo emzini, lomfowethu ungilayile. Khathesi-ke uba ngithole umusa emehlweni akho, ake ngikhululeke ukuthi ngiyebona abafowethu. Ngenxa yalokho kezanga etafuleni lenkosi.
He said, ‘Please allow me to go, because our family is going to offer a sacrifice. My [older] brother insisted that I be there. So please allow me to go to be with my [older] brothers.’ [I allowed David to go], and that is the reason that he is not here eating with you.”
30 Khona intukuthelo kaSawuli yamvuthela uJonathani, wathi kuye: Ndodana yomfazi owonakeleyo lovukelayo! Kangazi yini ukuthi uyikhethile indodana kaJese, kube lihlazo lakho, njalo kube lihlazo lobunqunu bukanyoko?
Saul was (furious/very angry) with Jonathan. He yelled at him, “You stupid bastard [EUP]! I know that you are being loyal to that son of Jesse. By doing that, you will bring shame to yourself and to your mother.
31 Ngoba zonke izinsuku indodana kaJese iphila emhlabeni, kawuyikuma wena lombuso wakho. Ngakho-ke thuma umlethe kimi, ngoba uyindodana yokufa.
As long as Jesse’s son is living, you will never become the king, and you will never rule over a kingdom! So now, summon David, and bring him to me. He must be executed!”
32 UJonathani wasephendula uSawuli uyise wathi kuye: Uzabulawelwani? Wenzeni?
Jonathan asked his father, “Why should David be executed? What wrong has he done?”
33 USawuli wasephosa umkhonto kuye ukumtshaya. Ngalokho uJonathani wakwazi ukuthi kwakuqondwe nguyise ukumbulala uDavida.
Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan in order to kill him, [but the spear did not hit him]. So Jonathan knew that his father really wanted to kill David.
34 Ngakho uJonathani wasuka etafuleni ekuvutheni kwentukuthelo, njalo kadlanga ukudla ngosuku lwesibili lokuthwasa kwenyanga, ngoba wayedabukile ngoDavida, ngoba uyise emyangisile.
Jonathan was very angry, and he left the room. On that second day of the festival, he refused to eat anything. He was disgusted about what his father had done, and he was worried about David.
35 Kwasekusithi ekuseni uJonathani waphuma waya emmangweni ngesikhathi esimisiweyo loDavida, lomfanyana elaye.
The following morning Jonathan went out to the field to give a message to David, like he had agreed that he would do. He took a young boy with him.
36 Wasesithi emfaneni wakhe: Gijima, ake udinge imitshoko engiyitshokayo. Umfana wagijima, yena wasetshoka umtshoko ukuze umedlule.
Jonathan said to the boy, “Run and find the arrows that I shoot.” The boy started running, and Jonathan shot an arrow ahead of the boy.
37 Lapho umfana esefikile endaweni yomtshoko uJonathani awutshokileyo, uJonathani wamemeza emva komfana wathi: Umtshoko kawuphambi kwakho yini?
When the boy ran to the place where the arrow hit the ground, Jonathan called out, “The arrow is further away!” [RHQ]
38 Njalo uJonathani wamemeza emva komfana wathi: Phangisa, ukhawuleze, ungemi. Umfana kaJonathani waseyiqoqa imitshoko, wabuya enkosini yakhe.
Then he shouted to the boy, “Act quickly; do not wait! Do not stop!” The boy picked up the arrow and brought it back to Jonathan.
39 Kodwa umfana wayengazi lutho, kuphela uJonathani loDavida babelwazi udaba.
But the boy did not understand the meaning of what Jonathan had said; only Jonathan and David knew.
40 UJonathani wasenika umfana owayelaye izikhali zakhe, wathi kuye: Hamba, uzise emzini.
Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows to the boy and told him, “Go back to the town.”
41 Esehambile umfana, uDavida wasukuma ngaseningizimu, wathi mbo ngobuso bakhe emhlabathini, wakhothama kathathu; basebesangana, bakhala inyembezi omunye lomunye, uDavida waze wedlulisa.
When the boy left, David came out from the south side of the pile of stones behind which he had been hiding. He went to Jonathan and bowed [in front of Jonathan] three times, with his face touching the ground. Then David and Jonathan kissed each other [on the cheek/neck], and they cried together. But David cried more than Jonathan.
42 UJonathani wasesithi kuDavida: Hamba ngokuthula; lokhu esikufunge sobabili ngebizo leNkosi, sisithi: INkosi ibe phakathi kwami lawe, laphakathi kwenzalo yami lenzalo yakho, kakube kuze kube nininini. Wasesukuma wahamba, loJonathani waya emzini.
Jonathan said to David, “May things go well for you as you go. Yahweh has heard what we solemnly promised to always do for each other, and what we said that our descendants must do for each other.” Then David left, and Jonathan went back to the town.
