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 with Jacob; every man came with his household:

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.

And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls; and Joseph was in Egypt already.

6 UJosefa wasesifa labo bonke abafowabo, lalesosizukulwana sonke.

And Joseph died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.

7 Njalo abantwana bakoIsrayeli bazalana, baba banengi, banda, baba lamandla kakhulukazi, ilizwe laze lagcwaliswa yibo.

And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and waxed exceeding 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 knew not Joseph.

9 Yasisithi esizweni sayo: Khangela, isizwe sabantwana bakoIsrayeli sinengi, futhi silamandla kulathi.

And he said unto his people: 'Behold, the people of the children of Israel are too many and too mighty for us;

10 Wozani, asisihlakanipheleni, hlezi sande, njalo kuzakuthi lapho kusehla impi, laso sihlangane lezitha zethu, silwe simelene lathi, senyuke sisuke elizweni.

come, let us deal wisely with them, lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there befalleth us any war, they also join themselves unto our enemies, and fight against us, and get them up out of the land.'

11 Ngakho bamisa phezu kwaso izinduna zesibhalo ukusihlupha ngemithwalo yabo. Njalo samakhela uFaro imizi eyiziphala, iPithoma leRamesesi.

Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh store-cities, 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 abroad. And they were adread because of the children of Israel.

13 Njalo amaGibhithe abasebenzisa abantwana bakoIsrayeli ngochuku,

And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour.

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 manner of service in the field; in all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigour.

15 Inkosi yeGibhithe yasikhuluma lababelethisi amaHebherukazi, obizo lowokuqala lalinguShifira, lebizo lowesibili lalinguPhuwa,

And 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 ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, ye shall look upon the birthstool: if it be a son, then ye shall kill him; but if it be 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 did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men-children alive.

18 Inkosi yeGibhithe yasibiza ababelethisi, yathi kubo: Liyenzeleni linto ukuthi liyekele abafana baphile?

And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them: 'Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men-children alive?'

19 Ababelethisi basebesithi kuFaro: Ngoba amaHebherukazi kawanjengabafazi bamaGibhithe; ngoba alamandla, umbelethisi engakafiki kuwo, asebelethile.

And the midwives said unto Pharaoh: 'Because the Hebrew women are not as the Egyptian women; for they are lively, and are delivered ere the midwife come unto them.'

20 Ngalokhu uNkulunkulu wabenzela ababelethisi okuhle, labantu banda, baba lamandla kakhulu.

And God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty.

21 Kwasekusithi, ngoba ababelethisi bamesaba uNkulunkulu, wabakhela imizi.

And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that He made them houses.

22 UFaro waselaya isizwe sakhe sonke esithi: Yonke indodana ezalwayo liyiphosele emfuleni, kodwa yonke indodakazi liyiyekele iphile.

And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying: 'Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.'