U-Eksodusi 1
1 La-ke ngamabizo amadodana kaIsrayeli afika eGibhithe loJakobe; afika, ileyo laleyo lomuzi wayo,
Now these are the names of the sons of Israel, who came into Egypt (every man and his household came with Jacob):
2 uRubeni, uSimeyoni, uLevi, loJuda,
Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
3 uIsakari, uZebuluni, loBhenjamini,
Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
4 uDani, loNafithali, uGadi, loAsheri.
Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
5 Njalo yonke imiphefumulo eyaphuma ekhalweni lukaJakobe yayiyimiphefumulo engamatshumi ayisikhombisa. Kodwa uJosefa wayeseGibhithe.
All the souls who came out of Jacob’s body were seventy souls, and Joseph was in Egypt already.
6 UJosefa wasesifa labo bonke abafowabo, lalesosizukulwana sonke.
Joseph died, as did all his brothers, and all that generation.
7 Njalo abantwana bakoIsrayeli bazalana, baba banengi, banda, baba lamandla kakhulukazi, ilizwe laze lagcwaliswa yibo.
The children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and grew exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.
8 Kwasekuvela inkosi entsha phezu kweGibhithe eyayingamazi uJosefa.
Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who didn’t know Joseph.
9 Yasisithi esizweni sayo: Khangela, isizwe sabantwana bakoIsrayeli sinengi, futhi silamandla kulathi.
He said to his people, “Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we.
10 Wozani, asisihlakanipheleni, hlezi sande, njalo kuzakuthi lapho kusehla impi, laso sihlangane lezitha zethu, silwe simelene lathi, senyuke sisuke elizweni.
Come, let’s deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it happen that when any war breaks out, they also join themselves to our enemies and fight against us, and escape out of the land.”
11 Ngakho bamisa phezu kwaso izinduna zesibhalo ukusihlupha ngemithwalo yabo. Njalo samakhela uFaro imizi eyiziphala, iPithoma leRamesesi.
Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with their burdens. They built storage cities for Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses.
12 Kodwa kwathi ekusihlupheni kwaso kwang'khona sisanda, kwang'khona sisabalala. Ngakho banengwa ngabantwana bakoIsrayeli.
But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and the more they spread out. They started to dread the children of Israel.
13 Njalo amaGibhithe abasebenzisa abantwana bakoIsrayeli ngochuku,
The Egyptians ruthlessly made the children of Israel serve,
14 aze enza impilo zabo zababa ngomsebenzi onzima, ngodaka langezitina, langawo wonke umsebenzi emasimini; ngomsebenzi wabo wonke, ababenza bawenza ngodlakela.
and they made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and in brick, and in all kinds of service in the field, all their service, in which they ruthlessly made them serve.
15 Inkosi yeGibhithe yasikhuluma lababelethisi amaHebherukazi, obizo lowokuqala lalinguShifira, lebizo lowesibili lalinguPhuwa,
The king of Egypt spoke to the Hebrew midwives, of whom the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah,
16 yasisithi: Nxa libelethisa amaHebherukazi, lapho libabona ezihlalweni zokubeletha, uba kuyindodana, liyibulale; kodwa uba kuyindodakazi, iyekeleni iphila.
and he said, “When you perform the duty of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birth stool, if it is a son, then you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, then she shall live.”
17 Kodwa ababelethisi babemesaba uNkulunkulu, kabenzanga njengalokho yakhuluma kubo inkosi yeGibhithe, kodwa babayekela abafana baphila.
But the midwives feared God, and didn’t do what the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the baby boys alive.
18 Inkosi yeGibhithe yasibiza ababelethisi, yathi kubo: Liyenzeleni linto ukuthi liyekele abafana baphile?
The king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said to them, “Why have you done this thing and saved the boys alive?”
19 Ababelethisi basebesithi kuFaro: Ngoba amaHebherukazi kawanjengabafazi bamaGibhithe; ngoba alamandla, umbelethisi engakafiki kuwo, asebelethile.
The midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women aren’t like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.”
20 Ngalokhu uNkulunkulu wabenzela ababelethisi okuhle, labantu banda, baba lamandla kakhulu.
God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied, and grew very mighty.
21 Kwasekusithi, ngoba ababelethisi bamesaba uNkulunkulu, wabakhela imizi.
Because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.
22 UFaro waselaya isizwe sakhe sonke esithi: Yonke indodana ezalwayo liyiphosele emfuleni, kodwa yonke indodakazi liyiyekele iphile.
Pharaoh commanded all his people, saying, “You shall cast every son who is born into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”
