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 [God prevails], who came into Egypt [Abode of slavery] (every man and his household came with Jacob [Supplanter]):
2 uRubeni, uSimeyoni, uLevi, loJuda,
Reuben [See, a son!], Simeon [Hearing], Levi [United with], and Judah [Praised],
3 uIsakari, uZebuluni, loBhenjamini,
Issachar [Hire, Reward], Zebulun [Living together], and Benjamin [Son of right hand, Son of south],
4 uDani, loNafithali, uGadi, loAsheri.
Dan [He judged] and Naphtali [My wrestling], Gad [Good fortune] and Asher [Happy].
5 Njalo yonke imiphefumulo eyaphuma ekhalweni lukaJakobe yayiyimiphefumulo engamatshumi ayisikhombisa. Kodwa uJosefa wayeseGibhithe.
All the souls who came out of Jacob [Supplanter]’s body were seventy souls, and Joseph [May he add] was in Egypt [Abode of slavery] already.
6 UJosefa wasesifa labo bonke abafowabo, lalesosizukulwana sonke.
Joseph [May he add] 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 [God prevails] 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 [Abode of slavery], who didn’t know Joseph [May he add].
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 [God prevails] 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 us 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 were grieved because of the children of Israel [God prevails].
13 Njalo amaGibhithe abasebenzisa abantwana bakoIsrayeli ngochuku,
The Egyptians [people from Abode of slavery] ruthlessly made the children of Israel [God prevails] 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 [Abode of slavery] spoke to the Hebrew [Immigrant] 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 [Immigrant] 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 [Abode of slavery] ordered them, but saved the baby boys alive.
18 Inkosi yeGibhithe yasibiza ababelethisi, yathi kubo: Liyenzeleni linto ukuthi liyekele abafana baphile?
The king of Egypt [Abode of slavery] called for the midwives, and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and have 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 [Immigrant] women are not like the Egyptian [person from Abode of slavery] 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 enjoined all his people, saying, “You shall cast every son who is born into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.”
