< 2 Imilando 24 >

1 UJowashi wayeleminyaka eyisikhombisa esiba yinkosi, wabusa iminyaka engamatshumi amane eJerusalema. Lebizo likanina lalinguZibiya weBherishebha.
Joash was seven years old when he became the king [of Judah], and he ruled in Jerusalem for 40 years. His mother’s name was Zibiah; she was from Beersheba [city].
2 UJowashi wasesenza okuqondileyo emehlweni eNkosi insuku zonke zikaJehoyada umpristi.
Joash did what pleased Yahweh as long as Jehoiada was [the Supreme] Priest.
3 UJehoyada wasemthathela abafazi ababili; wasezala amadodana lamadodakazi.
Jehoiada chose two women to be Joash’s wives. And they bore Joash sons and daughters.
4 Kwasekusithi emva kwalokho kwaba senhliziyweni kaJowashi ukuvuselela indlu yeNkosi.
Some years later, Joash decided that the temple should be repaired.
5 Wasebuthanisa abapristi lamaLevi, wathi kibo: Phumani liye emizini yakoJuda, liqoqe kuIsrayeli wonke imali yokulungisa indlu kaNkulunkulu wenu umnyaka ngomnyaka; lina-ke, luphangiseleni udaba. Kodwa amaLevi kawaphangisanga.
He summoned the priests and other descendants of Levi and said to them, “Go to the towns in Judah and collect from the people the tax money that they are required to pay each year, and use that money to pay for repairing the temple. Do it immediately.” But the descendants of Levi did not do it immediately.
6 Inkosi yasibiza uJehoyada inhloko, yathi kuye: Kungani ungabizanga kumaLevi ukuthi alethe esusa koJuda laseJerusalema umthelo kaMozisi inceku yeNkosi, lowebandla lakoIsrayeli okwethente lobufakazi?
So the king summoned Jehoiada and said to him, “Why have you not required the descendants of Levi to bring to Jerusalem from various places in Judah the annual/yearly tax that Moses said that the people of Judah must pay, for taking care of the Sacred Tent?”
7 Ngoba amadodana kaAthaliya okhohlakeleyo afohlela endlini kaNkulunkulu, futhi-ke ayesebenzisele oBhali zonke izinto ezingcwele zendlu yeNkosi.
[The temple needed to be repaired] because the sons of that wicked woman Athaliah had entered into the temple [and had wrecked some of the things], and had also used some of the sacred items that were in it for [the worship of] Baal.
8 Inkosi yasilaya, asesenza ibhokisi elilodwa, alibeka esangweni lendlu kaJehova phandle.
So, obeying what the king commanded, the descendants of Levi made a chest and placed it outside the temple, at one of the entrances.
9 Asesenza isimemezelo koJuda laseJerusalema ukuthi balethe eNkosini umthelo kaMozisi inceku kaNkulunkulu owabekwa phezu kukaIsrayeli enkangala.
Then the king sent letters everywhere in Judah, requesting everyone to bring their tax money to the temple, like Moses had required the Israeli people to do [when they were] in the desert.
10 Zonke iziphathamandla labo bonke abantu basebethokoza, baletha baphosela ebhokisini baze baqeda.
All the officials and the other people [agreed, and they] brought their contributions gladly. They put the money into the chest until it was full.
11 Kwakusithi-ke ngesikhathi eletha ibhokisi kumhloli wenkosi ngesandla samaLevi, lalapho ebona ukuthi kulemali enengi, umabhalane wenkosi lenduna yompristi oyinhloko beze balithulule ibhokisi, balithathe balibuyisele endaweni yalo. Benza njalo-ke insuku ngensuku, baqoqa imali ngobunengi.
Whenever the descendants of Levi brought the chest to the king’s officials, and they saw that there was a lot of money in it, the king’s secretary and the assistant to the [Supreme] Priest would take all the money from the chest, and then put the chest back in its place. They did this frequently, and they collected a huge amount of money.
12 Inkosi loJehoyada basebeyinika abenzi bomsebenzi wenkonzo wendlu kaJehova, baqhatsha abakha ngamatshe lababazi ukuvuselela indlu kaJehova, njalo labakhandi bensimbi lethusi ukuqinisa indlu kaJehova.
The king and Jehoiada gave the money to the men who were supervising the work of repairing the temple. Those men hired stoneworkers and carpenters to repair the temple. They also hired men who worked with iron and bronze to repair things in the temple [that were broken].
13 Ngakho abenzi bomsebenzi basebenza, kwaze kwathi ukuvuselelwa komsebenzi kwaqhubeka ngesandla sabo, bayimisa indlu kaNkulunkulu ngesilinganiso sayo, bayiqinisa.
The men who did the repair work worked hard, and the work of repairing the temple progressed. They rebuilt the temple so that it was like it was originally, and they even made it stronger.
14 Kwathi sebeqedile baletha imali eseleyo phambi kwenkosi loJehoyada, abenza ngayo izitsha zendlu kaJehova, izitsha zenkonzo lezokunikela, lezinkezo, lezitsha zegolide lezesiliva. Basebenikela njalonjalo iminikelo yokutshiswa endlini kaJehova zonke izinsuku zikaJehoyada.
When they had finished the repair work, they brought to the king and to Jehoiada the money that they had not used for the repairs. That money was used to make things to use for offering the sacrifices that were completely burned [on the altar], and to make bowls and other gold and silver things for the temple. As long as Joash lived, the people continually brought to the temple sacrifices that were to be completely burned on the altar.
15 UJehoyada waseguga wenela ngezinsuku, wafa; wayeleminyaka elikhulu lamatshumi amathathu ekufeni kwakhe.
Jehoiada lived to become very old. He died when he was 130 years old.
16 Basebemngcwabela emzini kaDavida lamakhosi, ngoba wayenze okulungileyo koIsrayeli lakuNkulunkulu lendlu yakhe.
He was buried where the kings had been buried, in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’. [He was buried there] because of the good things that he had done in Judah for God and for God’s temple.
17 Emva kokufa kukaJehoyada iziphathamandla zakoJuda zasezisiza zakhothama phambi kwenkosi; khona inkosi yazilalela.
After Jehoiada died, the leaders of Judah went to Joash, bowed in front of him, and persuaded him to do what they wanted.
18 Basebeyitshiya indlu yeNkosi, uNkulunkulu waboyise, bakhonza izixuku lezithombe. Kwasekusehlela ulaka phezu kukaJuda leJerusalema ngenxa yalelicala labo.
So they and the other people stopped worshiping at the temple, and they started worshiping the poles dedicated to [the goddess] Asherah and other idols. Because of their doing those sinful things, God was very angry with the people of Jerusalem and [with the people in other places in] Judah.
19 Kodwa yathuma abaprofethi phakathi kwabo ukubabuyisela eNkosini; basebefakaza bemelene labo, kodwa kababekanga indlebe.
Although Yahweh sent prophets to persuade them to return to him, and although the prophets told them about the evil things that they had done, the people would not pay attention.
20 UMoya kaNkulunkulu wasesembesa uZekhariya indodana kaJehoyada umpristi owema ngaphezu kwabantu, wathi kibo: Utsho njalo uNkulunkulu: Kungani liseqa imilayo yeNkosi ukuze lingaphumeleli? Ngoba liyitshiyile iNkosi, layo ilitshiyile.
Then God’s Spirit came upon Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the [Supreme] Priest. He stood up front of the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why are you disobeying what I, Yahweh, have commanded? You have abandoned me, so I will abandon you.’”
21 Basebemenzela ugobe, bamkhanda ngamatshe ngomlayo wenkosi, egumeni lendlu kaJehova.
But the people planned to kill Zechariah. And the king joined them in doing it. The people killed Zechariah by throwing stones at him in the temple courtyard.
22 Ngokunjalo uJowashi inkosi kawukhumbulanga umusa uJehoyada uyise ayemenzele wona, kodwa wabulala indodana yakhe. Lalapho esifa wathi: INkosi kayibone ikufune.
King Joash had forgotten about how Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had been kind to him. That’s why he gave orders for the people to kill Jehoiada’s son Zechariah, who said as he was dying, “I hope that Yahweh will see [what you are doing to me] and punish [you for doing it].”
23 Kwasekusithi ekuthwaseni komnyaka ibutho leSiriya lenyuka lamelana laye; basebefika koJuda leJerusalema, babhubhisa zonke iziphathamandla zabantu ebantwini, bathumela yonke impango yazo enkosini yeDamaseko.
Near the end of that year (OR, early in the following year), the army of Syria marched to attack [the army of] Joash. They invaded Judah and attacked Jerusalem and killed all the leaders of the people. They [seized many valuable things and] sent them to their king in Damascus, [their capital city.]
24 Lanxa ibutho lamaSiriya leza lilamadoda amalutshwana, kanti iNkosi yanikela esandleni sawo ibutho elikhulu kakhulu, ngoba babeyitshiyile iNkosi uNkulunkulu waboyise. Ngalokho benza izigwebo kuJowashi.
The army of Syria [that came to Judah] was very small, but Yahweh allowed them to defeat the large army of Judah, because he was punishing Joash and the other people of Judah for having abandoned him, the God whom their ancestors worshiped.
25 Kwathi sebesukile kuye, ngoba bemtshiye esemikhuhlaneni emikhulu, inceku zakhe zamenzela ugobe ngenxa yegazi lamadodana kaJehoyada umpristi, zambulalela embhedeni wakhe, wasesifa; basebemngcwabela emzini kaDavida, kodwa kabamngcwabanga emangcwabeni amakhosi.
Before the battle ended, Joash was severely wounded. Then his officials decided to kill him for murdering Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the [Supreme] Priest. They killed him while he was in his bed. He was buried in [the part of Jerusalem called] ‘The City of David’, but they did not bury him in the place where the other kings had been buried.
26 Lalaba yibo ababemenzele ugobe: OZabadi indodana kaShimeyathi umAmonikazi, loJehozabadi indodana kaShimirithi umMowabikazi.
Those who conspired to kill him were Zabad the son of Shimeath, who was a woman from the Ammon [people-group], and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith, who was a woman from the Moab [people-group].
27 Mayelana lamadodana akhe, lobukhulu bomthwalo phezu kwakhe, lokumiswa kwendlu kaNkulunkulu, khangela, kubhaliwe endabeni yogwalo lwamakhosi. UAmaziya indodana yakhe wasesiba yinkosi esikhundleni sakhe.
An account of the things that were done by the sons of Joash and the many prophecies about Joash and what he did to repair the temple are written in the scroll called ‘the History of the Kings [of Judah and Israel]’. Then after Joash died, Amaziah his son became the king.

< 2 Imilando 24 >