UHezekheli 29
1 Ngomnyaka wetshumi, ngenyanga yetshumi, ngolwetshumi lambili lwenyanga, ilizwi leNkosi lafika kimi, lisithi:
In the tenth year, in the tenth month, on the eleventh day of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2 Ndodana yomuntu, misa ubuso bakho bumelene loFaro inkosi yeGibhithe, uprofethe umelene laye, njalo umelene layo yonke iGibhithe.
“Son of man, set your face against Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and you shall prophesy about him and about all of Egypt.
3 Khuluma uthi: Itsho njalo iNkosi uJehova: Khangela, ngimelane lawe, Faro, nkosi yeGibhithe, umgobho omkhulu olele phakathi kwemifula yawo, othi: Umfula wami ngowami, ngazenzela wona.
Speak, and you shall say: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I am against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, you great dragon, who rests in the midst of your rivers. And you say: ‘Mine is the river, and I have made myself.’
4 Kodwa ngizafaka izingwegwe emihlathini yakho, ngenze inhlanzi zemifula yakho zinamathele emaxolweni akho, ngikukhuphule phakathi kwemifula yakho, lazo zonke inhlanzi zemifula yakho zizanamathela emaxolweni akho.
But I will place a bridle in your jaws. And I will adhere the fish of your rivers to your scales. And I will draw you out of the midst of your rivers, and all your fish will adhere to your scales.
5 Njalo ngizakutshiya enkangala, wena lazo zonke inhlanzi zemifula yakho; uzawela ebusweni beganga; kawuyikuhlanganiswa, kawuyikubuthwa; ngizakunikela ube yikudla kuzo izilo zeganga lenyoni zamazulu.
And I will cast you into the desert, with all the fish of your river. You will fall upon the surface of the earth; you will not be taken up, nor gathered together. I have given you to the beasts of the earth and to the birds of the air, to be devoured.
6 Labo bonke abahlali beGibhithe bazakwazi ukuthi ngiyiNkosi, ngoba bebeludondolo lomhlanga kuyo indlu kaIsrayeli.
And all the inhabitants of Egypt shall know that I am the Lord. For you have been a staff made of reed to the house of Israel.
7 Lapho bekubamba ngesandla, wephula wadabula lonke ihlombe labo; lalapho beseyama kuwe, wephuka, wenza zonke inkalo zabo zama.
When they took hold of you with the hand, you broke, and so you wounded all of their shoulders. And when they leaned on you, you shattered, and so you injured all of their lower backs.
8 Ngakho itsho njalo iNkosi uJehova: Khangela, ngizaletha inkemba phezu kwakho, ngiqume kusuke kuwe umuntu lenyamazana.
Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will lead the sword over you, and I will destroy both man and beast from among you.
9 Lelizwe leGibhithe lizakuba yincithakalo lenkangala. Khona bezakwazi ukuthi ngiyiNkosi. Ngoba uthe: Umfula ngowami, mina-ke ngiwenzile.
And the land of Egypt will be a desert and a wilderness. And they shall know that I am the Lord. For you have said, ‘The river is mine, and I have made it.’
10 Ngakho, khangela, ngimelene lawe, ngimelene lemifula yakho; ngenze ilizwe leGibhithe libe yizincithakalo isibili lenkangala, kusukela emphotshongweni kusiya eSevene kuze kube semngceleni weEthiyophiya.
Therefore, behold, I am against you and against your rivers. And I will make the land of Egypt into a wilderness, destroyed by the sword from the tower of Syene all the way to the borders of Ethiopia.
11 Kakulanyawo lomuntu oluzadlula kilo, kakulanyawo lwenyamazana oluzadlula kilo; futhi kaliyikuhlalwa okweminyaka engamatshumi amane.
The foot of man will not pass through it, and the foot of cattle will not walk in it. And it will be uninhabited for forty years.
12 Ngoba ngizakwenza ilizwe leGibhithe libe yincithakalo phakathi kwamazwe wonke achithekileyo; lemizi yalo phakathi kwemizi engamanxiwa izakuba yincithakalo okweminyaka engamatshumi amane; njalo ngizahlakaza amaGibhithe phakathi kwezizwe, ngiwasabalalise emazweni.
And I will set the land of Egypt in desolation, in the midst of desolate lands, and its cities in the midst of overturned cites. And they will be desolate for forty years. And I will scatter the Egyptians among the nations, and I will disperse them among the lands.
13 Ngoba itsho njalo iNkosi uJehova: Ekupheleni kweminyaka engamatshumi amane ngizabutha amaGibhithe ebantwini abahlakazekele khona.
For thus says the Lord God: After the end of forty years, I will gather the Egyptians from the peoples among whom they had been scattered.
14 Njalo ngizabuyisela abathunjwa beGibhithe, ngibenze babuyele elizweni lePatrosi, elizweni lokuzalwa kwabo; lapho-ke bazakuba ngumbuso ophansi.
And I will lead back the captivity of Egypt, and I will collect them in the land of Pathros, in the land of their nativity. And in that place, they will be a lowly kingdom.
15 Lizakuba phansi kulayo imibuso, futhi kalisayikuziphakamisa phezu kwezizwe; ngoba ngizabanciphisa ukuze bangabuyi babuse phezu kwezizwe.
It will be the lowest among the other kingdoms, and it will no longer be exalted above the nations. And I will diminish them, lest they rule over the Gentiles.
16 Njalo kalisayikuba lithemba kuyo indlu kaIsrayeli, eletha ukukhunjulwa kwesiphambeko, lapho bephenduka ukulandela bona. Kodwa bazakwazi ukuthi ngiyiNkosi uJehova.
And they will no longer be the confidence of the house of Israel, teaching iniquity, so that they may flee and follow them. And they shall know that I am the Lord God.”
17 Kwasekusithi ngomnyaka wamatshumi amabili lesikhombisa, ngenyanga yokuqala, ngolokuqala lwenyanga, ilizwi leNkosi lafika kimi, lisithi:
And it happened that, in the twenty-seventh year, in the first month, on the first of the month, the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
18 Ndodana yomuntu, uNebhukadirezari inkosi yeBhabhiloni wenza ibutho lakhe lakhonza inkonzo enkulu limelene leTire; lonke ikhanda laphucwa, lalo lonke ihlombe lasutshulwa; kanti yena kalamvuzo, lebutho lakhe, ngenxa yeTire, ngenxa yenkonzo ayikhonza emelene layo.
“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, has caused his army to serve with great servility against Tyre. Every head was shaven, and every shoulder was stripped of hair. And wages have not been paid to him, nor to his army, for Tyre, for the service by which he served for me against it.
19 Ngakho itsho njalo iNkosi uJehova: Khangela, ngizanikela ilizwe leGibhithe kuNebhukadirezari inkosi yeBhabhiloni; njalo uzathatha ixuku layo, athumbe ukuthunjwa kwayo, aphange impango yayo; njalo kuzakuba liholo lebutho lakhe.
Because of this, thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will station Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, in the land of Egypt. And he will take its multitude, and he will prey upon its profits, and he will plunder its spoils. And this shall be the wages for his army
20 Ngimnike ilizwe leGibhithe kube ngumvuzo akhonza ngawo kulo, ngoba bangisebenzela, itsho iNkosi uJehova.
and for the work by which he has served against it. I have given to him the land of Egypt, because he has labored for me, says the Lord God.
21 Ngalolosuku ngizakwenza uphondo lwendlu kaIsrayeli lukhahlele, ngikunike ukukhamisa komlomo phakathi kwabo. Njalo bazakwazi ukuthi ngiyiNkosi.
In that day, a horn will spring forth for the house of Israel, and I will give to you an open mouth in their midst. And they shall know that I am the Lord.”
