< U-Eksodusi 32 >

1 Abantu sebebonile ukuthi uMozisi uphuzile ukwehla entabeni, abantu babuthana kuAroni bathi kuye: Sukuma, usenzele onkulunkulu abazahamba phambi kwethu; ngoba uMozisi lo, indoda eyasikhuphula elizweni leGibhithe, kasazi ukuthi yehlelwe yini.
[(Moses/I) stayed on top of the mountain a long time]. When the people realized that he/I was not returning quickly, they gathered near Aaron and said to him, “We do not know what has happened to that man Moses who brought us here out of Egypt. So quickly, make us ([an idol/a statue of a god]) who will lead us!”
2 UAroni wasesithi kubo: Qamulani amacici egolide asendlebeni zabomkenu, zamadodana enu, lezamadodakazi enu, liwalethe kimi.
Aaron replied to them, “All right, [I will do that, but] tell your wives and your sons and your daughters to take off all their gold earrings and bring them to me.”
3 Bonke abantu basebeqamula amacici egolide ayesendlebeni zabo, bawaletha kuAroni.
So the people did that. They took off all their gold earrings and brought them to Aaron.
4 Wawemukela ezandleni zabo, walibumba ngesikhali sokukhanda, wawenza aba lithole elibunjwe ngokuncibilikisa. Basebesithi: Laba ngonkulunkulu bakho, Israyeli, abakukhuphule elizweni leGibhithe.
He took all those gold earrings and melted them in a fire. He [poured the gold into a mold and] made a statue that looked like a young bull. The people saw it and said, “This is the god of us Israeli people! This is the one who brought us up from the land of Egypt!”
5 UAroni eselibonile wakha ilathi phambi kwalo; uAroni wamemezela wathi: Kusasa kuzakuba khona umkhosi weNkosi.
When Aaron saw [what was happening], he built an altar in front of the [statue of the] young bull. Then he announced, “Tomorrow we will have a festival to honor Yahweh!”
6 Basebevuka ekuseni kakhulu, banikela iminikelo yokutshiswa, basondeza iminikelo yokuthula; abantu bahlala phansi ukudla lokunatha, basebesukuma ukudlala.
So the people got up early the next morning and brought animals to kill and burn as sacrifices on the altar. They also brought sacrifices to maintain fellowship with Yahweh. Then they sat down to eat and drink [wine]. Then they got up and started dancing in a very immoral way.
7 INkosi yasisithi kuMozisi: Hamba wehle, ngoba abantu bakho owabakhuphula elizweni leGibhithe bonakalisile;
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Go back down from the mountain, because your people, the ones that you brought up here from Egypt, have [already] (become very depraved/wicked)!
8 baphambukile masinyane endleleni engabalaya ngayo; bazenzele ithole elibunjwe ngokuncibilikisa, balikhonza, balihlabela, bathi: Laba ngonkulunkulu bakho, Israyeli, abakukhuphule elizweni leGibhithe.
They have already (left the road that I showed them/stopped obeying me)! They have made [a statue of] a young bull from melted gold. They have worshiped it and offered sacrifices to it. And they are saying, ‘This is the god of us Israeli people! This is the one who brought us up from Egypt!’”
9 INkosi yasisithi kuMozisi: Ngibabonile lababantu, khangela-ke, bangabantu abantamo zilukhuni.
Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “I have seen that these people are very stubborn.
10 Khathesi-ke ngiyekela ukuze ulaka lwami lubavuthele, ngibaqede; kodwa wena ngizakwenza ube yisizwe esikhulu.
I am very angry with them, and so I am going to get rid of them. Do not try to stop me! Then I will cause you and your descendants to become a great nation.”
11 Kodwa uMozisi wancenga ubuso beNkosi uNkulunkulu wakhe wathi: Kungani, Nkosi, ulaka lwakho lubavuthela abantu bakho owabakhupha elizweni leGibhithe ngamandla amakhulu langesandla esiqinileyo?
But Moses/I pleaded with his/my God, Yahweh, and said, “Yahweh, (you should not be very angry with your people!/why are you so angry with your people [RHQ]?) These are the people whom you rescued from Egypt with very great power [MTY, DOU]!
12 Kungani amaGibhithe ezakhuluma athi: Wabakhuphela ububi ukubabulala ezintabeni, lokubaqeda ebusweni bomhlaba? Phenduka ekuvutheni kolaka lwakho, uzisole ngobubi obumelene labantu bakho.
Do not [do anything that would] allow the people of Egypt to say, ‘Their god led them out from our country, but [he did that] only [because he wanted] to kill them in the mountains and get rid of them completely [RHQ]!’ Stop being so angry! (Change your mind/Do not do what you have told me that you will do)! Do not do to your people this terrible thing [that you have just said that you will do]
13 Khumbula uAbrahama, uIsaka loIsrayeli, inceku zakho, owazifunga wena kizo wathi kuzo: Ngizakwandisa inzalo yenu njengezinkanyezi zamazulu, lalelilizwe lonke engikhulume ngalo, ngizalipha inzalo yenu, njalo bazalidla ilifa lalo kuze kube nininini.
Think about your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You solemnly promised them, ‘I will enable you to have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky.’ You said to them, ‘I will give to your descendants all the land that I am promising to give them. It will be their land forever.’”
14 INkosi yasizisola ebubini eyayisithi izabenza ebantwini bayo.
So Yahweh changed his mind. He did not do to his people the terrible thing that he said he would do.
15 UMozisi wasetshibilika wehla entabeni, lezibhebhe ezimbili zobufakazi esandleni sakhe; izibhebhe zazibhalwe inhlangothi zazo zombili; zibhalwe ngapha langapha.
Moses/I turned away from God and went down the mountain, carrying in his hands the two stone slabs on which Yahweh had engraved his commandments. He had written on both sides of the slabs.
16 Lezibhebhe zazingumsebenzi kaNkulunkulu, lombhalo wawungumbhalo kaNkulunkulu, ubazwe ezibhebheni.
God [himself] had made the slabs, and he was the one who had engraved the commandments on them.
17 Kwathi uJoshuwa esezwile umsindo wabantu beklabalala, wathi kuMozisi: Kulomsindo wempi enkambeni.
Joshua heard the very loud noise of the people shouting. So when he and I got near the camp, Joshua said, “There is a noise in the camp that sounds like [the noise of] a battle!”
18 Kodwa wathi: Kakusumsindo wokuklabalala kokunqoba, njalo kakusumsindo wokuklabalala kokunqotshwa; ngizwa umsindo wokuhlabelela.
But Moses/I replied, [“No], that is not the shouting that people do when they have won a victory or when they have been defeated [in a battle] What I hear is the sound of [loud] singing!”
19 Kwasekusithi esesondele enkambeni walibona ithole lokugida; ulaka lukaMozisi lwaseluvutha, wasezilahla izibhebhe ezandleni zakhe, waziphahlazela phansi kwentaba.
As soon as Moses/I came close to the camp and saw the statue of the young bull and saw the people dancing, he/I became extremely angry. He/I threw the stone tablets that he/I was carrying down onto the ground, there at the base of the mountain.
20 Wathatha ithole ababelenzile, walitshisa emlilweni, walichola laze lacoleka, walivuvuzela emanzini, wabanathisa wona abantwana bakoIsrayeli.
Then he/I took the statue of the young bull that they had made and melted it in the fire. [When it cooled], he/I ground it into [fine] powder. Then he/I mixed the powder with water and forced the Israeli people to drink it.
21 UMozisi wasesithi kuAroni: Abantu laba benzeni kuwe ukuze ubehlisele isono esikhulu kangaka?
Then he/I said to Aaron, “What did these people do to you, with the result that you have made them commit such a terrible sin?”
22 UAroni wasesithi: Kalungavuthi ulaka lwenkosi yami; wena uyabazi abantu ukuthi batshekele ebubini.
Aaron replied, “Please do not be angry with me, sir. You know that these people are very determined to do evil things.
23 Ngoba bathi kimi: Senzele onkulunkulu abazahamba phambi kwethu; ngoba uMozisi lo, indoda eyasikhuphula elizweni leGibhithe, kasazi ukuthi yehlelwe yini.
They said to me, ‘As for that man Moses, the one who brought us up here from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him. So make for us an idol that will lead us!’
24 Ngasengisithi kubo: Loba ngubani olegolide, kabaliqamule. Basebenginika lona. Ngasengiliphosela emlilweni, kwasekuphuma lelithole.
So I said to them, ‘Everyone who is wearing [gold earrings] should take them off.’ So they [took them off and] gave them to me. I threw them into the fire, and out came this statue of a young bull!”
25 Kwathi uMozisi esebonile abantu ukuthi babengabambeki (ngoba uAroni wabayekela bangabambeki ukuze bayangeke kwababengabavukela),
Moses/I saw that Aaron had allowed the people to become completely out of control and to do things that would make their enemies think the Israeli people were foolish.
26 uMozisi wasesima esangweni lenkamba, wathi: Loba ngubani ongoweNkosi, keze kimi! Kwasekubuthana kuye wonke amadodana kaLevi.
So he/I stood at the entrance to the camp and shouted, “Everyone who is loyal to Yahweh should come [closer] to me!” So the descendants of Levi gathered around him/me.
27 Wasesithi kuwo: Itsho njalo iNkosi uNkulunkulu kaIsrayeli ithi: Ngulowo lalowo kahlome inkemba yakhe ethangazini lakhe, adabule aphenduke esuka esangweni esiya esangweni enkambeni, langulowo lalowo abulale umfowabo, langulowo lalowo umngane wakhe, langulowo lalowo umakhelwane wakhe.
Then he/I said to them, “Yahweh, the God of us Israeli people, commands that every one of you should fasten your sword to your side, and then go through the camp from this entrance to the other one, and kill some of your relatives and your companions and your neighbors.”
28 Amadodana kaLevi asesenza njengelizwi likaMozisi; njalo kwawa ebantwini ngalolosuku abantu abangabazinkulungwane ezintathu.
The descendants of Levi did what Moses/I told them to do, and they killed 3,000 men on that day.
29 UMozisi wasesithi: Lizehlukanisele iNkosi lamuhla, ngoba ngulowo lalowo ubemelene lendodana yakhe amelane lomfowabo, ukuze aphe isibusiso phezu kwenu lamuhla.
Moses/I said to the descendants of Levi, “Today you have dedicated yourselves to serving Yahweh by (killing/not sparing) [even] your own sons and brothers, and as a result Yahweh will bless you.”
30 Kwasekusithi kusisa uMozisi wathi ebantwini: Lina lenze isono esikhulu; khathesi sengizakwenyukela eNkosini; mhlawumbe ngingenza inhlawulo yokuthula ngesono senu.
The next day, Moses/I said to the people, “You have committed a terrible sin. But I will now climb up the mountain again to talk with Yahweh. Perhaps I can [persuade him] to forgive you for sinning [like this].”
31 UMozisi wasebuyela eNkosini wathi: Maye! Lababantu bonile isono esikhulu, bazenzele onkulunkulu begolide.
So Moses/I went back up the mountain and said to Yahweh, “I am sorry to admit that these people have committed a terrible sin. They have made for themselves a gold idol and have worshiped it.
32 Khathesi-ke, uba uthethelela isono sabo - kodwa uba kungenjalo, ake ungesule egwalweni lwakho olubhalileyo.
But now I ask you to please forgive them for having sinned. If you will not forgive them, then erase my name from the book in which you have written [the names of your people].”
33 INkosi yasisithi kuMozisi: Owonileyo kimi ngizamesula egwalweni lwami.
But Yahweh said to Moses/me, “It is [only] those who have sinned against me whose names I will erase from that book.
34 Kodwa hamba-ke, ukhokhele abantu baye lapho engikhulume lawe ngakho; khangela, ingilosi yami izahamba phambi kwakho. Kanti mhla ngiphindisela ngizaphindisela isono sabo phezu kwabo.
Now you go back down and lead the [Israeli] people to the place that I told you about. Keep in mind that my angel will go in front of you. But, at the time that I determine, I will punish them for their sin.”
35 INkosi yasibatshaya abantu ngoba babenze ithole, uAroni ayelenzile.
[Later] Yahweh caused a plague to strike the people because they had told Aaron to make the gold [statue of a] young bull.

< U-Eksodusi 32 >