1 USamuyeli 6
1 Lomtshokotsho weNkosi wawuselizweni lamaFilisti inyanga eziyisikhombisa.
The people of Philistia kept God’s sacred chest in their area for seven months.
2 AmaFilisti asebiza abapristi labavumisi, esithi: Sizawenzelani umtshokotsho weNkosi? Saziseni ukuthi singawuthumeza lani endaweni yawo.
Then they summoned their priests and their (diviners/men who practice rituals to find out what would happen in the future). They asked them, “What should we do with the sacred chest of Yahweh? Tell us how we should send it back to its own land.”
3 Basebesithi: Uba lingawuthumeza umtshokotsho kaNkulunkulu wakoIsrayeli, lingawuthumezi uze, kodwa libuyisele lokubuyisela kuye umnikelo wecala. Khona-ke lizasiliswa, njalo kuzakwaziwa kini ukuthi kungani isandla sakhe singasuki kini.
Those men replied, “Send with it an offering [to show Yahweh that you know that you are] guilty [for having captured the chest], in order that the plague will stop. If you do that, and then if you are healed, you will know that Yahweh is the one who caused you to experience the plague.”
4 Basebesithi: Uzakuba yini umnikelo wecala esizawubuyisela kuye? Basebesithi: Amathumba ophayo egolide amahlanu lamagundwane amahlanu egolide, njengokwenani leziphathamandla zamaFilisti; ngoba bekulenhlupheko eyodwa kini lonke lakuziphathamandla zenu.
The people of Philistia asked, “What kind of offering should we send?” The men replied, “Make five gold models of the tumors on your skin, and five gold models of rats. Make five of each because that is the same number as the number of your kings, and because the plague has struck both you people and your five kings.
5 Ngakho lizakwenza imifanekiso yamathumba enu ophayo lemifanekiso yamagundwane enu alonayo ilizwe, limnike udumo uNkulunkulu kaIsrayeli; mhlawumbe angenza lula isandla sakhe sisuke phezu kwenu sisuke laphezu kwabonkulunkulu benu sisuke laphezu kwelizwe lenu.
Make models that represent the rats and the tumors that are ruining your land. Make them in order to honor the god of the Israeli people. If you do that, perhaps he will stop punishing [IDM] you, and your gods, and your land.
6 Lenzelani-ke inhliziyo zenu zibe lukhuni njengamaGibhithe loFaro benza inhliziyo zabo zaba lukhuni? Emva kokuthi esenze kabuhlungu kubo kabavumelanga yini ukuthi bahambe, basebehamba?
Do not be [RHQ] stubborn [IDM] like the Egyptians and their king were. [They did not do what the Israelis’ god told them to do, so he punished them]. After the Israelis’ god finished punishing them very severely, they were glad to allow the Israelis to leave their country [RHQ].
7 Ngakho-ke thathani lilungise inqola entsha lamankomokazi amabili amunyisayo okungezanga jogwe phezu kwawo, liwabophele amankomokazi enqoleni, liwabuyisele ekhaya amankonyana awo asuke emva kwawo.
“So you must build a new cart. Then get two cows that have very recently given birth to calves. They must be cows that have never been hitched to a cart [MTY]. Hitch those cows to the new cart, and take the calves away from their mothers.
8 Lithathe umtshokotsho weNkosi, liwubeke enqoleni, lempahla zegolide elizibuyisela kuye zibe ngumnikelo wecala, lizifake ebhokisini eceleni kwawo; liyithumeze ihambe.
Put the Israelis’ god’s sacred chest on the cart. Also put in the cart the five gold models of the tumors on your skin and the five gold models of rats. Put them in a small box alongside the sacred chest. They will be an offering to show that you know that you deserved to be punished [for capturing the sacred chest]. Then send [the cows] down the road, [pulling] the cart.
9 Libone aluba isenyuka ngendlela yomngcele wawo eya eBeti-Shemeshi, yiyo esenzele lobububi obukhulu; kodwa uba kungenjalo, sizakwazi ukuthi kakusiso isandla sayo esisitshayileyo, sehlelwe yingozi nje.
[Watch the cart as the cows pull it]. If they pull it to Beth-Shemesh [town] in Israel, we will know that it was the Israelis’ god who caused us to experience this plague. But if they do not take it there, we will know that it was not the god [MTY] of the Israelis who has punished us. We will know that it just happened.”
10 Abantu basebesenza njalo, bathatha amankomokazi amabili amunyisayo, bawabophela enqoleni, bawavalela amankonyana awo ekhaya.
So the people did what the priests and men who predicted what would happen in the future told them to do. They [made] a cart [and] hitched two cows to it. They took the calves from their mothers.
11 Bawubeka umtshokotsho weNkosi enqoleni lebhokisi elilamagundwane egolide lezithombe zamathumba abo ophayo.
They put in the cart Yahweh’s sacred chest and the box with the models of the gold rats and the tumors.
12 Amankomokazi aseqonda endleleni, ngendlela eya eBeti-Shemeshi, ahamba ngomgwaqo omkhulu ehamba ebhonsa, engaphambukeli ngakwesokunene loba ngakwesokhohlo, leziphathamandla zamaFilisti zawalandela kwaze kwaba semngceleni weBeti-Shemeshi.
Then the cows started walking, and they went straight toward Beth-Shemesh. They stayed on the road, and were mooing all the time. They did not turn to the left or to the right. The five kings of the Philistia area followed the cows until they reached the edge of Beth-Shemesh.
13 AbeBeti-Shemeshi babevuna isivuno sengqoloyi esigodini; lapho bephakamisa amehlo abo, bawubona umtshokotsho, bathokoza ukuwubona.
At that time, the people of Beth-Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley [outside the city]. [When the cows came along the road], they looked up and saw the sacred chest. They were extremely happy to see it.
14 Inqola yasingena ensimini kaJoshuwa weBeti-Shemeshi, yema khona, lapho okwakulelitshe elikhulu khona; basebebanda izigodo zenqola, basebenikela amankomokazi aba ngumnikelo wokutshiswa eNkosini.
The cows pulled the cart into the field of a man named Joshua, and they stopped alongside a large rock. Several men from the tribe of Levi lifted from the cart the sacred chest and the box containing the gold models of the rats and the tumors, and they put them all on the large rock. Then the people smashed the cart and kindled a fire with the wood [from which the cart had been made]. They slaughtered the cows and burned their bodies/carcasses on the fire to be an offering for Yahweh that would be completely burned. That day the people of Beth-Shemesh offered to Yahweh [many] sacrifices that were completely burned, and [other] sacrifices.
15 AmaLevi asewethula umtshokotsho weNkosi lebhokisi elalilawo, okwakukulo impahla zegolide, akubeka phezu kwelitshe elikhulu. Labantu beBeti-Shemeshi banikela iminikelo yokutshiswa, bayihlabela iNkosi imihlatshelo ngalolosuku.
16 Iziphathamandla ezinhlanu zamaFilisti sezikubonile, zabuyela eEkhironi ngalolosuku.
The five kings from the Philistia area watched all this, and then they returned to Ekron, that same day.
17 Lala ngamathumba ophayo egolide amaFilisti awabuyisela abe ngumnikelo wecala eNkosini, eleAshidodi elilodwa, eleGaza elilodwa, eleAshikeloni elilodwa, eleGathi elilodwa, eleEkhironi elilodwa.
The five gold models of tumors that they sent to be an offering to Yahweh to show that they knew that they deserved to be punished were gifts from [those five kings who were rulers of] Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron [cities].
18 Lamagundwane egolide njengokwenani lemizi yonke yamaFilisti yeziphathamandla ezinhlanu, kusukela emizini ebiyelweyo kuze kube semizaneni yemaphandleni kuze kube selitsheni elikhulu likaAbeli, lapho ababeka khona umtshokotsho weNkosi, elisensimini kaJoshuwa umBeti-Shemeshi kuze kube lamuhla.
The models of the five gold rats were gifts from the people of those five cities and the surrounding towns. The large rock at Beth-Shemesh, on which the [men of the tribe of Levi] set the sacred chest, is still there in the field that belonged to Joshua. When people see it, they remember [what happened there].
19 Yasitshaya amadoda eBeti-Shemeshi ngoba ayekhangele phakathi komtshokotsho weNkosi; yebo, yatshaya phakathi kwabantu amadoda azinkulungwane ezingamatshumi amahlanu lamatshumi ayisikhombisa. Abantu basebelila ngoba iNkosi yayitshaye ngokutshaya okukhulu phakathi kwabantu.
But seventy men from Beth-Shemesh looked into Yahweh’s sacred chest, and because of that, Yahweh caused them to die. Then the people mourned very much because Yahweh punished [IDM] those men like that.
20 Ngakho abantu beBeti-Shemeshi bathi: Ngubani olakho ukuma phambi kweNkosi, lo uNkulunkulu ongcwele? Uzakwenyukela kubani esuka kithi?
They said, “No one [RHQ] can (resist the power of/stand in the presence of) Yahweh, our holy God, [and remain alive]! Where can we send the sacred chest?”
21 Basebethuma izithunywa kubahlali beKiriyathi-Jeyarimi besithi: AmaFilisti asewubuyisile umtshokotsho weNkosi; yehlani liwenyusele kini.
They sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-Jearim [city] to tell them, “The people of Philistia have returned Yahweh’s sacred chest to us! Come here and take it away!”
