UDutheronomi 6
1 Lale yimilayo, izimiso, lezahlulelo iNkosi uNkulunkulu wenu elaya ukulifundisa, ukuthi lizenze elizweni elichaphela kulo ukuthi lidle ilifa lalo,
“These are the commandments and rules and regulations that Yahweh our God commanded me to teach to you. He wants you to obey them in the land that you are about to enter and occupy.
2 ukuze uyesabe iNkosi uNkulunkulu wakho, ukugcina zonke izimiso zayo lemithetho yayo engikulaya yona, wena lendodana yakho lendodana yendodana yakho, zonke izinsuku zempilo yakho, ukuze insuku zakho zelulwe.
He wants you to revere him, and he wants you and your descendants to always obey all these rules and regulations that I am giving to you, in order that you may live for a long time.
3 Ngakho zwana, Israyeli, unanzelele ukuzenza, ukuze kukulungele, ukuze wande kakhulu, njengokuthembisa kweNkosi uNkulunkulu waboyihlo kuwe, elizweni eligeleza uchago loluju.
So, you Israeli people, listen to them carefully and obey them. If you do that, things will go well with you, and you will become a nation with a very large population when you are living in that very fertile [IDM] land. That is what Yahweh, the God whom our ancestors [worshiped], promised [would happen].
4 Zwana, Israyeli, iNkosi uNkulunkulu wethu, yiNkosi yinye.
“You Israeli people, listen! Only Yahweh is our God.
5 Njalo wothanda iNkosi uNkulunkulu wakho ngenhliziyo yakho yonke langomphefumulo wakho wonke langamandla akho wonke.
You must love him with all your inner being and with all that you feel and with all that you do.
6 Njalo amazwi la engikulaya ngawo lamuhla azakuba senhliziyweni yakho;
Never forget [IDM] these commands that I am giving to you today.
7 njalo uzawafundisa abantwana bakho ngokukhuthala, uzakhuluma ngawo lapho uhlezi endlini yakho, lalapho uhamba endleleni, lalapho ulala, lalapho uvuka.
Teach them to your children again and again. Talk about them [all the time]: When you are in your houses and when you are walking outside; talk about them when you are lying down and when you are doing things.
8 Uzawabophela esandleni sakho abe luphawu, njalo abe ngamafilakteriyu phakathi laphakathi kwamehlo akho.
[Write them on tiny scrolls and] fasten them to your arms/wrists, and write them on bands that you fasten to your foreheads [to help you to remember them].
9 Njalo uzawabhala emigubazini yendlu yakho, lemasangweni akho.
Write them on the doorposts and on the gates of your houses.
10 Kuzakuthi lapho iNkosi uNkulunkulu wakho ikungenisa elizweni eyafunga kuboyihlo, kuAbrahama, kuIsaka lakuJakobe, ukukunika imizi emikhulu lemihle, ongayakhanga,
“Yahweh our God vowed to your ancestors Abraham and Isaac and Jacob that he will give you a land that already has in it large and prosperous cities that you did not build.
11 lezindlu ezigcwele zonke izinto ezinhle, ongazigcwalisanga, lemithombo eyagejwayo ongayigebhanga, izivini lezihlahla zemihlwathi ongazihlanyelanga, lapho udlile wasutha,
He said that the houses in those cities will already be full of many good things that [others put there]; you did not put them there. There will be wells that others have dug. There will be vineyards and olive trees that others planted. So when Yahweh brings you into that land, and you have all that you want to eat,
12 ziqaphele, hlezi uyikhohlwe iNkosi eyakukhupha elizweni leGibhithe, endlini yobugqili.
be sure that you do not forget Yahweh who rescued you from being slaves [in Egypt and gave all these things to you].
13 Uzayesaba iNkosi uNkulunkulu wakho, uyikhonze, ufunge ngebizo layo.
“You must revere Yahweh our God, and you must serve only him and say that he should [MTY] punish you if you do not do what you have promised.
14 Lingalandeli abanye onkulunkulu, babonkulunkulu bezizwe ezilizungelezeleyo.
You must not worship any other gods, the gods that the people-groups who will live near you worship.
15 Ngoba iNkosi uNkulunkulu wakho inguNkulunkulu olobukhwele phakathi kwakho, hlezi ulaka lweNkosi uNkulunkulu wakho lukuvuthele, ikuchithe usuke ebusweni bomhlaba.
Yahweh our God, who lives among you, (will not accept/will punish) people who worship anyone or anything else. So if you worship any other god, Yahweh will be very angry with you, and he will get rid of you completely.
16 Lingayilingi iNkosi uNkulunkulu wenu njengalokhu layilinga eMasa.
Do not do sinful things to find out if you can do them without Yahweh our God punishing you, like your ancestors did at Massah.
17 Ligcine lokugcina imilayo yeNkosi uNkulunkulu wenu, lobufakazi bayo, lezimiso zayo, ekulaye zona.
Be sure that you always obey all the laws, the commandments, the rules, and the regulations that he has given to you.
18 Njalo wenze okuqondileyo lokulungileyo emehlweni eNkosi, ukuze kukulungele, lokuthi ungene udle ilifa lelizwe elihle, iNkosi eyalifungela oyihlo,
Do what Yahweh says is right and good. If you do that, things will go well with you. You will be able to enter and occupy the good/fertile land that Yahweh vowed to give to our ancestors.
19 ukuxotsha zonke izitha zakho phambi kwakho, njengalokhu iNkosi ikhulumile.
He will do that by expelling your enemies from that land, just like he promised to do.
20 Lapho indodana yakho ikubuza esikhathini esizayo isithi: Buyini ubufakazi lezimiso lezahlulelo iNkosi uNkulunkulu wethu elilaye zona?
“In the future, when your children ask you, ‘Why did Yahweh our God command us to obey all these rules and regulations?’
21 Khona uzakuthi endodaneni yakho: Sasiyizigqili zikaFaro eGibhithe, leNkosi yasikhupha eGibhithe ngesandla esilamandla.
tell them, ‘Our ancestors were slaves of the king in Egypt, but Yahweh brought them out of Egypt by his great power [MTY].
22 Njalo iNkosi yenza izibonakaliso lezimangaliso ezinkulu lezimbi eGibhithe, phezu kukaFaro laphezu kwendlu yakhe yonke, phambi kwamehlo ethu.
They saw him do many kinds of miracles [DOU] and do terrifying things to the people of Egypt and to the king and his officials.
23 Yasikhupha khona ukuze isingenise, ukusinika ilizwe eyalifungela obaba.
He rescued our ancestors from Egypt and brought them here to give them this land, just like he vowed that he would do.
24 INkosi yasisilaya ukwenza zonke lezizimiso, ukwesaba iNkosi uNkulunkulu wethu, ukuze kusilungele insuku zonke, ukusilondoloza siphila njengalamuhla.
And he commanded us to obey all these laws and to revere him, for our own good and in order that he would protect our nation and enable us to prosper, as he is doing now.
25 Kuzakuba yikulunga kithi, uba sinanzelela ukwenza limilayo yonke phambi kweNkosi uNkulunkulu wethu, njengokusilaya kwayo.
Yahweh our God will (approve of us/consider us to be righteous) if we carefully obey everything that he has commanded us to do.’”
