UDutheronomi 31
1 UMozisi wasehamba wakhuluma lamazwi kuIsrayeli wonke,
When Moses/I finished saying all that to the Israeli people,
2 wathi kubo: Ngileminyaka elikhulu lamatshumi amabili lamuhla; kangiselamandla okuphuma lokungena. LeNkosi yathi kimi: Kawuyikuyichapha le iJordani.
he/I said to them, “Now I am 120 years old. I am no longer able to go everywhere [that you go] (OR, to be your leader). Furthermore, Yahweh has told me that I will not cross the Jordan [River].
3 INkosi uNkulunkulu wakho, yona izachapha phambi kwakho, yona izachitha lezizizwe zisuke phambi kwakho, ukuze udle ilifa lazo. UJoshuwa, yena uzachapha phambi kwakho, njengokutsho kweNkosi.
But Yahweh our God will go ahead of you. He will [enable you to] destroy the nations that are living there, in order that you can occupy their land. Joshua will be your leader, which is what Yahweh already told me.
4 LeNkosi izakwenza kuzo njengokwenza kwayo kuSihoni lakuOgi, amakhosi amaAmori, lelizweni lawo, ewachithileyo.
Yahweh will do to those nations what he did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amor people-group when he destroyed their armies [MTY].
5 INkosi izazinikela-ke phambi kwenu, ukuze lenze kuzo njengokwemilayo yonke engililaye yona.
Yahweh will enable you to conquer those nations, but you must [kill all of the people of those nations, which is] what I have commanded you to do.
6 Qinani, lime isibindi, lingesabi, lingatshaywa luvalo ngenxa yazo; ngoba iNkosi uNkulunkulu wakho, yiyo ehamba lawe; kayiyikukulahla, kayiyikukudela.
Be brave and confident. Do not be afraid of those people. [Do not forget that] it is Yahweh our God who will go with you. He will always help [LIT] you and never abandon you.”
7 UMozisi wasembiza uJoshuwa, wathi kuye phambi kwamehlo kaIsrayeli wonke: Qina, ume isibindi; ngoba wena uzangena lalababantu elizweni iNkosi eyalifungela oyise ukubanika lona; uzabenza badle ilifa lalo.
Then Moses/I summoned Joshua, and while all the Israeli people were listening, he/I said to him, “Be brave and confident. You are the one who will lead these people into the land that Yahweh promised to our ancestors that he would give to them, and you will enable them to occupy it.
8 Njalo iNkosi, yiyo ehamba phambi kwakho; yona izakuba lawe, ingakulahli, ingakudeli; ungesabi, ungakhathazeki.
It is Yahweh who will go ahead of you. He will be with you. He will always help [LIT] you. He will never abandon you. So do not be afraid or dismayed.”
9 UMozisi wasewubhala lumlayo, wawunika abapristi, amadodana kaLevi, ababethwala umtshokotsho wesivumelwano seNkosi, lakubo bonke abadala bakoIsrayeli.
Moses/I wrote down all these laws [on two scrolls] and gave [one scroll] to the priests, who carried the chest containing the Ten Commandments, and [gave the other scroll] to the Israeli elders.
10 UMozisi wasebalaya esithi: Ekupheleni kweminyaka eyisikhombisa, ngesikhathi esimisiweyo somnyaka wenkululeko, emkhosini wamadumba,
Moses/I told them, “At the end of every seven years, at the time that all debts are canceled, [read this to the people] during the Festival of [Living in Temporary] Shelters.
11 lapho uIsrayeli wonke esefike ukubonakala phambi kweNkosi uNkulunkulu wakho endaweni ezayikhetha, uwubale lumlayo phambi kukaIsrayeli wonke endlebeni zabo.
Read it to all the Israeli people when they gather at the place that Yahweh chooses for them to worship him.
12 Buthanisa abantu, abesilisa labesifazana labantwana, lowemzini wakho ophakathi kwamasango akho, ukuze bezwe, lokuze bafunde, bayesabe iNkosi uNkulunkulu wenu, bagcine ukwenza wonke amazwi alumlayo.
Gather together everyone—men, women, children, even the foreigners [who are living] in your towns—in order that they may hear [these laws] and learn to revere Yahweh our God, and to faithfully obey everything that is written in these laws.
13 Labantwana babo abangaziyo bezwe, bafunde ukuyesaba iNkosi uNkulunkulu wenu, zonke izinsuku zokuphila kwenu, elizweni elichapha iJordani lisiya kulo ukudla ilifa lalo.
[If they do that], your descendants who have never known these laws will hear them and will also learn to revere Yahweh our God, during all the years that they live in the land that you are about to cross the Jordan [River] to occupy.”
14 INkosi yasisithi kuMozisi: Khangela, insuku zakho zokufa sezisondele; biza uJoshuwa, zimiseni ethenteni lenhlangano ukuze ngimlaye. UMozisi loJoshuwa bahamba-ke, bazimisa ethenteni lenhlangano.
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Listen carefully. You will soon die. Summon Joshua, and you go to the Sacred Tent with him, in order that I may appoint him [to be the new leader].” So Joshua and Moses/I went to the Sacred Tent.
15 INkosi yasibonakala ethenteni ensikeni yeyezi; lensika yeyezi yema phezu komnyango wethente.
There Yahweh appeared to them/us in a pillar of cloud, and that cloud was close to the door of the tent.
16 INkosi yasisithi kuMozisi: Khangela, uzalala laboyihlo; lalababantu bazasukuma baphinge ngokulandela onkulunkulu bezizweni belizwe, lapho abaya khona phakathi kwabo, bangitshiye, bephule isivumelwano sami engisenze labo.
Yahweh said to Moses/me, “You will soon die [EUP]. Then these people will become unfaithful [MET] to me. They will abandon me and (break/stop obeying) the agreement that I made with them. They will begin to worship the foreign/pagan gods [that are worshiped by the people] of the land that they will enter.
17 Lentukuthelo yami izabavuthela ngalolosuku, ngibatshiye, ngibafihlele ubuso bami, ukuze babe yikudla, behlelwe ngokubi okunengi lezinhlupheko, baze bathi ngalolosuku: Angithi lobububi busehlele ngoba uNkulunkulu wethu kakho phakathi kwethu?
When that happens, I will become very angry with them. I will abandon them [DOU] and I will no longer help them [IDM], and I will destroy them {they will be destroyed}. Many terrible things will happen to them, with the result that they will say, ‘[We are certain that] [RHQ] these things are happening to us because our God is no longer with us.’
18 Lami ngizafihla lokufihla ubuso bami ngalolosuku ngenxa yobubi bonke ababenzileyo, ngoba bephendukele kwabanye onkulunkulu.
And because of all the evil things that they will have done, and [especially because] they will have started to worship other gods, I will refuse to help [IDM] them.
19 Ngakho-ke zibhaleleni lingoma, uyifundise abantwana bakoIsrayeli; uyifake emlonyeni wabo ukuze lingoma ibe yibufakazi kimi obumelene labantwana bakoIsrayeli.
“So, [I am going to give you] a song. Write it [on a scroll] and teach it to the Israeli people and cause them to memorize it. It will be like a witness that accuses them.
20 Lapho sengibangenisile elizweni engalifungela oyise, eligeleza uchago loluju, sebedlile basutha, bazimuka, bazaphendukela kwabanye onkulunkulu, babakhonze, bangidelele, bephule isivumelwano sami.
I am about to take them into a very fertile [IDM] land, a land that I solemnly promised their ancestors that I would give to them. There they will have plenty to eat, with the result that their [stomachs] will [always] be full and they will become fat. But then they will turn to other gods and start to worship them, and they will despise me and (break/stop obeying) the agreement that I made with them.
21 Kuzakuthi-ke, nxa sebehlelwe ngokubi okunengi lezinhlupheko, lingoma izaphendula phambi kobuso babo ibe yibufakazi; ngoba kayiyikukhohlakala emlonyeni wenzalo yabo. Ngoba ngiyawazi amacebo abo abawenzayo lamuhla, ngingakabangenisi elizweni engifunge ngalo.
And they will experience many terrible disasters. After that happens, their descendants will never forget this song, and it will be like a witness [that says, ‘Now you know why Yahweh punished your ancestors].’ I will soon take them into the land that I vowed that I would give to them; but now, before I do that, I know what they are thinking [that they will do when they are living there].”
22 UMozisi wasebhala lingoma ngalolosuku, wayifundisa abantwana bakoIsrayeli.
So on the day that [Yahweh gave Moses/me this song], he/I wrote it down, and he/I taught it to the Israeli people.
23 Yasilaya uJoshuwa indodana kaNuni yathi: Qina, ume isibindi, ngoba wena uzabangenisa abantwana bakoIsrayeli elizweni engabafungela lona; lami ngizakuba lawe.
Then Yahweh (appointed/set apart) Joshua and said to him, “Be brave and confident, because you will lead the Israeli people into the land that I vowed that I would give to them. And I will be with you.”
24 Kwasekusithi uMozisi eseqedile ukubhala amazwi alumlayo egwalweni, aze aphela,
Then Moses/I finished writing on a scroll all the laws that Yahweh had told to him/me.
25 uMozisi walaya amaLevi ayethwala umtshokotsho wesivumelwano seNkosi esithi:
Then Moses/I told the descendants of Levi, who were carrying the Sacred Chest that contained the Ten Commandments,
26 Thathani lolugwalo lomlayo, lilubeke eceleni komtshokotsho wesivumelwano seNkosi uNkulunkulu wenu, ukuze lube khona, kube yibufakazi obumelene lawe.
“Take this scroll on which these laws [are written], and place it beside the Sacred Chest that contains the agreement that Yahweh our God made with you, in order that it may remain there to testify [about what Yahweh will do] to the people [if they disobey him].
27 Ngoba mina ngiyazi umvukela wakho, lentamo yakho elukhuni; khangelani, ngisaphila lani lamuhla, belingabavukeli beNkosi; pho, kangakanani emva kokufa kwami?
[I say this] because I know that these people are very stubborn [DOU]. They have rebelled against Yahweh all during the time that I have been [with them], and they will rebel much more after I die!
28 Buthanisani kimi bonke abadala bezizwe zenu lenduna zenu ukuze ngikhulume lamazwi endlebeni zabo, ngibize amazulu lomhlaba ukuba ngabafakazi bamelane labo.
So gather all the elders of the tribes and your officials, in order that I can tell them the words [of this song], and request all those who are in heaven and on the earth to be witnesses to testify against these people.
29 Ngoba ngiyazi ukuthi emva kokufa kwami lizakona lokona, liphambuke endleleni engililaye yona; lizakwehlelwa ngokubi ngensuku ezizayo, ngoba lizakwenza okubi emehlweni eNkosi, liyithukuthelise ngomsebenzi wezandla zenu.
I say that because I know that after I die, the people will become very wicked. They will turn away from doing everything that I have commanded them to do. And in the future, because of all the evil things that they will do, they will cause Yahweh to become angry with them. And he will cause them to experience disasters.”
30 UMozisi wasekhuluma amazwi alingoma endlebeni zebandla lonke lakoIsrayeli, aze aphela.
Then, while all the Israeli people listened, Moses/I sang/recited this entire song to them:
