2 USamuyeli 17

1 UAhithofeli wasesithi kuAbisalomu: Ake ngikhethe amadoda azinkulungwane ezilitshumi lambili, ngisukume ngixotshane loDavida ngalobubusuku.

Then Ahithophel said to Absalom, Let me take out twelve thousand men and this very night I will go after David:

2 Ngizamehlela esakhathele ebuthakathaka ezandleni, ngimethuse; labo bonke abantu abalaye bazabaleka; ngizatshaya inkosi kuphela.

And I will come up with him when he is tired and feeble, and make him full of fear: and all the people with him will go in flight; and I will make an attack on the king only:

3 Ngizabuyisela abantu bonke kuwe. Umuntu omdingayo ufanana lokubuya kwabo bonke. Bonke abantu bazakuba sekuthuleni.

And I will make all the people come back to you as a bride comes back to her husband: it is the life of only one man you are going after; so all the people will be at peace.

4 Lalelilizwi lalilungile emehlweni kaAbisalomu lemehlweni abo bonke abadala bakoIsrayeli.

And the saying was pleasing to Absalom and to the responsible men of Israel.

5 UAbisalomu wasesithi: Bizani-ke loHushayi umArki, sizwe ukuthi laye uthini ngomlomo.

Then Absalom said, Now send for Hushai the Archite, and let us give ear to what he has to say.

6 UHushayi esefikile kuAbisalomu, uAbisalomu wakhuluma kuye esithi: UAhithofeli ukhulume ngalindlela: Senze ilizwi lakhe yini? Uba kungenjalo, khuluma wena.

And when Hushai came, Absalom said to him, This is what Ahithophel has said: are we to do as he says? if not, what is your suggestion?

7 UHushayi wasesithi kuAbisalomu: Iseluleko uAhithofeli aselulekileyo ngalesisikhathi kasisihle.

And Hushai said to Absalom, Ahithophel's idea is not a good one at this time.

8 UHushayi wathi futhi: Wena uyamazi uyihlo labantu bakhe ukuthi bangamaqhawe, ukuthi bathukuthele enhliziyweni, njengebhere elithathelwe imidlwane egangeni. Futhi uyihlo yindoda yempi; kayikulala labantu ebusuku.

Hushai said further, You have knowledge of your father and his men, that they are men of war, and that their feelings are bitter, like those of a bear in the field whose young ones have been taken from her: and your father is a man of war, and will not take his night's rest with the people;

9 Khangela, khathesinje ucatshile komunye wemigodi, loba kwenye yezindawo. Kuzakuthi lapho abanye babo bewile ekuqaleni, kuthi loba ngubani ozwayo athi: Bekulokubulawa ebantwini abalandela uAbisalomu.

But he will certainly have taken cover now in some hole or secret place; and if some of our people, at the first attack, are overcome, then any hearing of it will say, There is destruction among the people who are on Absalom's side.

10 Kuthi laye olobuqhawe, onhliziyo yakhe injengenhliziyo yesilwane, ancibilike lokuncibilika; ngoba uIsrayeli wonke uyazi ukuthi uyihlo uliqhawe, lalabo abalaye balobuqhawe.

Then even the strongest, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will become like water; for all Israel is conscious that your father is a man of war, and those who are with him are strong and without fear.

11 Ngakho ngiyeluleka ukuthi uIsrayeli wonke abuthane, abuthane kuwe kusukela koDani kuze kufike eBherishebha, ngangetshebetshebe eliselwandle ngobunengi, wena ngokwakho ubususiya empini.

But my suggestion is that all Israel, from Dan as far as Beer-sheba, comes together to you, a great army like the sands of the sea in number; and that you yourself go out among them.

12 Ngakho sizamehlela kwenye yezindawo lapho angatholakala khona, simehlele njengamazolo ewela emhlabathini; njalo kungasali kuye lebantwini bonke abalaye loyedwa.

Then we will come on him in some place, wherever he may be, falling on him as the dew comes on the earth: and of him and all the men who are with him not one will get away with his life.

13 Uba-ke engena emzini, uIsrayeli wonke uzaletha amagoda kulowomuzi, siwuhudulele esifuleni, kungabe kusatholwa lalitshana khona.

And if he has gone into some town, then let all Israel take strong cords to that town, and we will have it pulled into the valley, till not one small stone is to be seen there.

14 UAbisalomu lawo wonke amadoda akoIsrayeli basebesithi: Iseluleko sikaHushayi umArki singcono kuleseluleko sikaAhithofeli. Ngoba iNkosi uNkulunkulu yayilayile ukuthi kufutshiswe iseluleko esihle sikaAhithofeli ukuze iNkosi imehlisele okubi uAbisalomu.

Then Absalom and all the men of Israel said, Hushai's suggestion is better than that of Ahithophel. For it was the purpose of the Lord to make the wise designs of Ahithophel without effect, so that the Lord might send evil on Absalom.

15 UHushayi wasesithi kuZadoki lakuAbhiyatha abapristi: UAhithofeli weluleke uAbisalomu labadala bakoIsrayeli kanje lakanje; mina-ke ngeluleka kanje lakanje.

Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, This is the suggestion made by Ahithophel to Absalom and the responsible men of Israel, and this is what I said to them.

16 Ngakho-ke thumani masinyane litshele uDavida lithi: Ungalali emagcekeni enkangala kulobubusuku, futhi chapha lokuchapha, hlezi inkosi iginywe labantu bonke abalayo.

So now send the news quickly to David, and say, Do not take your night's rest by the way across the river to the waste land, but be certain to go over; or the king and all the people with him will come to destruction.

17 OJonathani loAhimahazi babemile-ke eEnirogeli; incekukazi yeza yabatshela, bona-ke bahamba babikela inkosi uDavida; ngoba babengelakubonwa bengena emzini.

Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting by En-rogel; and a servant-girl went from time to time and gave them news and they went with the news to King David, for it was not wise for them to let themselves be seen coming into the town.

18 Kodwa umfana othile wababona, wabikela uAbisalomu; kodwa bahamba masinyane bobabili, bayafika endlini yomuntu eBahurimi, owayelomthombo egumeni lakhe; behlela khona.

But a boy saw them, and gave word of it to Absalom: so the two of them went away quickly, and came to the house of a man in Bahurim who had a water-hole in his garden, and they went down into it.

19 Owesifazana wasethatha wendlala isimbombozo phezu komlomo womthombo, wachaya amabele agigiweyo phezu kwaso; ngakho linto kayaziwanga.

And a woman put a cover over the hole, and put crushed grain on top of it, and no one had any knowledge of it.

20 Lapho zifika izinceku zikaAbisalomu kowesifazana endlini, zathi: Bangaphi oAhimahazi loJonathani? Owesifazana wasesithi kizo: Bachaphe isifula samanzi. Sezidingile, zingabatholanga, zabuyela eJerusalema.

And Absalom's servants came to the woman at the house and said, Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said to them, They have gone from here to the stream. And after searching for them, and seeing nothing of them, they went back to Jerusalem.

21 Kwasekusithi sezihambile, benyuka emthonjeni baya bayitshela inkosi uDavida, bathi kuDavida: Sukani lichaphe amanzi masinyane, ngoba uAhithofeli weluleke njalo emelene lani.

Then after the servants had gone away, they came up out of the water-hole and went to give King David the news; and they said, Get up and go quickly over the water, for such and such are Ahithophel's designs against you.

22 UDavida wasesuka, labo bonke abantu ababelaye, bachapha iJordani; kuze kube sekukhanyeni kokusa kwakungasalanga loyedwa, ongayichaphanga iJordani.

So David and all the people who were with him went up over Jordan: when dawn came, every one of them had gone over Jordan.

23 Lapho uAhithofeli ebona ukuthi iseluleko sakhe asilandelwanga, wabophela isihlalo kubabhemi, wasuka waya endlini yakhe emzini wakhe, walaya indlu yakhe, waziphanyeka, wafa, wangcwatshelwa engcwabeni likayise.

Now when Ahithophel saw that his suggestion was not acted on, he got his ass ready, and went back to his house, to the town where he came from, and having put his house in order, he put himself to death by hanging; so he came to his end and was put in the resting-place of his father.

24 UDavida wasefika eMahanayimi; uAbisalomu wasechapha iJordani, yena lamadoda wonke akoIsrayeli kanye laye.

And David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom, with all the men of Israel, went over Jordan.

25 UAbisalomu wayebeke-ke uAmasa phezu kwebutho esikhundleni sikaJowabi. Njalo uAmasa wayeyindodana yomuntu obizo lakhe lalinguIthira umIsrayeli, owangena kuAbigali indodakazi kaNahashi, udadewabo kaZeruya, unakaJowabi.

And Absalom put Amasa at the head of the army in place of Joab. Now Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite, who had been the lover of Abigail, the daughter of Jesse, sister of Zeruiah, Joab's mother.

26 Ngakho uIsrayeli loAbisalomu bamisa inkamba elizweni leGileyadi.

And Israel and Absalom put up their tents in the land of Gilead.

27 Kwasekusithi uDavida esefikile eMahanayimi, uShobi indodana kaNahashi weRaba yabantwana bakoAmoni, loMakiri indodana kaAmiyeli weLodebari, loBarizilayi umGileyadi weRogelimi,

Now when David had come to Mahanaim, Shobi, the son of Nahash of Rabbah, the Ammonite, and Machir, the son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,

28 baletha amacansi, lemiganu, lendiwo zebumba, lengqoloyi, lebhali, lempuphu, lamabele akhanzingiweyo, lendumba, lamalentili, lokunye okukhanzingiweyo,

Came with beds and basins and pots, and grain and meal, and all sorts of dry foods,

29 lenyosi, lamasi, lezimvu, letshizi yenkomo, kusenzelwa uDavida labantu ababelaye ukuze badle; ngoba bathi: Abantu balambile badiniwe bomile enkangala.

And honey and butter and sheep and milk-cheeses, for David and his people: for they said, This people is in the waste land, needing food and drink and rest.