UDutheronomi 33
1 Lalesi yisibusiso uMozisi umuntu kaNkulunkulu abusisa ngaso abantwana bakoIsrayeli engakafi.
This is the blessing, with which Moses, the man of God, blessed the sons of Israel before his death.
2 Wasesithi: INkosi yavela eSinayi, yenyukela kubo ivela eSeyiri, yakhanya isentabeni yeParani, yabuya lenkulungwane ezilitshumi zabangcwele; ngakwesokunene sayo kwakulomlayo ovuthayo kibo.
And he said: “The Lord went forth from Sinai, and he arose for us from Seir. He appeared from Mount Paran, and thousands of holy ones were with him. The fiery law was in his right hand.
3 Yebo, yathanda abantu. Bonke abangcwele bayo babesesandleni sakho; labo bahlala enyaweni zakho, ngamunye emukele okwamazwi akho.
He loved the people; all the holy ones are in his hand. And those who approach his feet shall receive from his doctrine.
4 UMozisi wasilaya umlayo, ilifa lebandla likaJakobe.
Moses instructed us in the law, the inheritance of the multitude of Jacob.
5 Yaba yinkosi eJeshuruni, lapho inhloko zabantu zibuthene, ndawonye lezizwe zakoIsrayeli.
The king shall have great righteousness, at the gathering of the princes of the people with the tribes of Israel.
6 URubeni kaphile, angafi, lamadoda akhe abe linani.
Let Ruben live, and not die, and may he be small in number.”
7 Lalokhu ngokukaJuda, wasesithi: Zwana, Nkosi, ilizwi likaJuda, umlethe kubantu bakhe, izandla zakhe kazimlwele, njalo kawube ngumsizi ezitheni zakhe.
This is the blessing of Judah. “Hear, O Lord, the voice of Judah, and lead him to his people. His hands shall fight for him, and he shall be his helper against his adversaries.”
8 LakuLevi wathi: IThumimi yakho leUrimi yakho ngokwendoda, eyingcwele yakho, owayilinga eMasa, waphikisana layo emanzini eMeriba;
Likewise, to Levi he said: “Your perfection and your doctrine are for your holy man, whom you have proven by temptation, and whom you have judged at the Waters of Contradiction.
9 eyathi kuyise lakunina: Kangimbonanga; kabananzanga abafowabo, kabazanga abantwana bakhe. Ngoba balalela ilizwi lakho, bagcina isivumelwano sakho.
He has said to his father and to his mother, ‘I do not know you,’ and to his brothers, ‘I will disregard you.’ And they have not known their own sons. Such as these have kept your word and have observed your covenant:
10 Bazamfundisa uJakobe izahlulelo zakho, loIsrayeli umlayo wakho; bazabeka impepha phambi kwamakhala akho, lomnikelo wonke phezu kwelathi lakho.
your judgments, O Jacob, and your law, O Israel. They shall place incense before your fury and a holocaust upon your altar.
11 Busisa, Nkosi, amandla akhe, wemukele umsebenzi wezandla zakhe; tshaya inkalo zalabo abamvukelayo lezabamzondayo, ukuze bangasukumi.
O Lord, bless his strength, and receive the works of his hands. Strike the backs of his enemies, and do not let those who hate him rise up.”
12 KuBhenjamini wathi: Othandwayo weNkosi uzahlala evikelekile ngakiyo; izamsibekela usuku lonke, uzahlala phakathi kwamahlombe ayo.
And to Benjamin he said: “The most beloved of the Lord will live confidently in him. He shall remain all day long, as if in a bridal chamber, and he shall rest amid her arms.”
13 LakuJosefa wathi: Ilizwe lakhe kalibusiswe yiNkosi, ngokuhlekazi kwamazulu, ngamazolo, langokujula okulele ngaphansi,
Likewise, to Joseph he said: “His land shall be from the blessing of the Lord, from the fruits of heaven, and from the dew, and from the abyss which lies below,
14 langokuhlekazi kwezithelo zelanga, langokuhlekazi kwezinto ezivezwa zinyanga,
from the fruits of the crops under the sun and the moon,
15 langekhethelo lentaba ezindala, langokuhlekazi kwamaqaqa aphakade,
from the heights of the ancient mountains, from the fruits of the everlasting hills,
16 langokuhlekazi komhlaba lokugcwala kwawo, lomusa walowo owahlala esihlahleni. Izinto lezi kazize ekhanda likaJosefa, lenkanda yalowo owehlukaniswa labafowabo.
and from the fruits of the earth with all its plenitude. May the blessing of him who appeared in the bush, settle upon the head of Joseph, and upon the top of the head of the Nazarite among his brothers.
17 Ulobukhosi bezibulo benkunzi yakhe, lempondo zakhe zimpondo zenyathi; uzahlaba ngazo izizwe ndawonye zize zifike emikhawulweni yomhlaba. Lezi zinkulungwane ezilitshumi zakoEfrayimi, lalezi zinkulungwane zakoManase.
His excellence is like that of a first-born bull. His horns are like the horns of a rhinoceros; he shall brandish these against the Gentiles, even to the ends of the earth. These are the multitudes of Ephraim, and these the thousands of Manasseh.”
18 LakuZebuluni wathi: Thokoza, Zebuluni, ekuphumeni kwakho, lawe Isakari, emathenteni akho.
And to Zebulun he said: “Rejoice, O Zebulun, in your departure, and Issachar, in your tabernacles.
19 Bazabizela izizwe entabeni, lapho bahlabe iminikelo yokulunga. Ngoba bazamunya inala yezinlwandle, lamagugu afihlwe etshebetshebeni.
They shall summon the peoples to the mountain. There, they shall immolate the victims of justice, who feed on the flood of the sea, as if on milk, and on the hidden treasures of the sands.”
20 LakuGadi wathi: Kabusiswe owandisa uGadi. Uhlala njengesilwane, uklebhula ingalo, yebo inkanda.
And to Gad he said: “Blessed is Gad in his breadth. He has rested like a lion, and he has seized the arm and the top of the head.
21 Wazinakekela ngekhethelo, ngoba lapho isabelo somnikumthetho salondolozwa; weza lenhloko zabantu, wenza ukulunga kweNkosi, lezahlulelo zayo loIsrayeli.
And he has seen his own pre-eminence, which his teacher has stored up as his portion. He was with the princes of the people, and he accomplished the justices of the Lord, and his judgment with Israel.”
22 LakuDani wathi: UDani ngumdlwane wesilwane; uzakweqa evela eBashani.
Likewise, to Dan he said: “Dan is a young lion. He shall flow plentifully from Bashan.”
23 LakuNafithali wathi: Nafithali, eneliswa ngomusa, ugcwele isibusiso seNkosi, dlana ilifa lentshonalanga leningizimu.
And to Naphtali he said: “Naphtali shall enjoy abundance, and he shall be full of the blessings of the Lord. He shall possess the sea and the Meridian.”
24 LakuAsheri wathi: UAsheri kabusiswe ngabantwana, abe ngowemukelekayo kubafowabo, agxamuze unyawo lwakhe emafutheni.
Likewise, to Asher he said: “Let Asher be blessed with sons. Let him be pleasing to his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil.
25 Insimbi lethusi kuzakuba yizicathulo zakho, lanjengensuku zakho azakuba njalo amandla akho.
His shoe shall be of iron and of brass. As were the days of your youth, so also shall be your old age.
26 Kakho onjengoNkulunkulu, Jeshuruni, ogade amazulu kusizo lwakho, lomkhathi ngobukhosi bakhe.
There is no other god like the God of the most righteous one. He who rides upon the heavens is your helper. His magnificence scatters the clouds.
27 UNkulunkulu waphakade uyisiphephelo, langaphansi kulengalo ezingelakuphela. Uxotsha isitha phambi kwakho, athi: Bhubhisa.
His habitation is above, and the everlasting arms are below. He shall cast out the enemy before your face, and he shall say: ‘Be utterly broken!’
28 Ngakho uIsrayeli uzahlala evikelekile eyedwa; ilihlo likaJakobe lizakuba elizweni lamabele lewayini elitsha; yebo, amazulu akhe azathontisa amazolo.
Israel shall live in confidence and alone, as the eye of Jacob in a land of grain and of wine; and the heavens shall be misty with dew.
29 Ubusisiwe wena, Israyeli! Ngubani onjengawe, isizwe esisindiswe yiNkosi, isihlangu sosizo lwakho, loyinkemba yobukhosi bakho? Lezitha zakho zizakuthobela ngokuzenzisa, lawe unyathele endaweni zazo eziphakemeyo.
Blessed are you, O Israel. Who is like you, the people who are saved by the Lord? He is the shield of your assistance and the sword of your glory. Your enemies will refuse to acknowledge you, and so you shall tread upon their necks.”
