< UGenesisi 15 >
1 Emva kwalezizinto ilizwi leNkosi leza kuAbrama ngombono, lisithi: Ungesabi Abrama, ngiyisihlangu sakho, umvuzo wakho omkhulu kakhulu.
Some time later, Abram had a vision in which Yahweh spoke to him and said, “Do not be afraid of (anything/your enemies). I will protect you [MTY], and I will give a great reward.”
2 UAbrama wasesithi: Nkosi Jehova, uzangiphani, njengoba lokhe ngingelamntwana, lendlalifa yendlu yami ingoweDamaseko uEliyezeri?
But Abram replied, “Yahweh God, how can you give me what I truly want, because I have no children, and the one who will be like a son and inherit all my possessions is my servant Eliezer from Damascus!”
3 UAbrama wasesithi: Khangela, kimi kawuphanga nzalo; njalo khangela, ozelwe endlini yami uzakuba yindlalifa yami.
Abram added, “You have not given me any children, so think about this: A servant in my household will inherit all I own!”
4 Khangela-ke ilizwi leNkosi laba kuye lisithi: Lo kayikudla ilifa lakho, kodwa ozaphuma emibilini yakho, yena uzakudla ilifa lakho.
Yahweh replied, “No! He will not be the one who will inherit it. Instead, you yourself will be the father of the one who will inherit everything you own.”
5 Wasemkhuphela phandle wathi: Khangela-ke emazulwini, ubale izinkanyezi uba ungazibala. Wasesithi kuye: Izakuba njalo inzalo yakho.
Then Yahweh took Abram outside [of his tent] and said, “Look up at the sky! Can you count the stars? No, you cannot count them because there are so many of them, and your descendants will be as numerous as the stars.”
6 Wasekholwa eNkosini. Yasimbalela lokhu kube yikulunga.
Abram believed that what Yahweh said would happen. And because of that, Yahweh considered that Abram was righteous.
7 Yasisithi kuye: NgiyiNkosi, eyakukhupha eUri yamaKhaladiya ukukunika ilizwe leli libe yilifa lakho.
Yahweh also said to him, “I am Yahweh. I am the one who brought you from Ur in Chaldea land. I brought you here to give you this land to possess.”
8 Wasesithi: Nkosi Jehova, ngizakwazi ngani ukuthi lizakuba yilifa lami?
But Abram replied, “Yahweh God, how can I know for sure that this land will belong to me?”
9 Yasisithi kuye: Ngithathela ithokazi elileminyaka emithathu, lesibhuzikazi esileminyaka emithathu, lenqama eleminyaka emithathu, lejuba, lephuphu lenkwilimba.
God said to him, “Bring a three-year-old heifer and a three-year-old goat to me, and a dove and a pigeon.”
10 Wasesisa kuyo zonke lezizinto, wazidabula phakathi, wabeka leyo laleyongxenye yazo ikhangelene lenye; kodwa inyoni kazidabulanga.
So Abram brought all of them and killed them and cut each of the animals in half. He arranged the halves of each one, side by side. But he did not cut the pigeon and dove in half.
11 Inyoni ezidla inyama zasezisehlela phezu kwezidumbu, uAbrama wasezixotshela khatshana.
Birds that eat dead flesh came down to eat the carcasses, but Abram shooed them away.
12 Kwasekusithi ilanga selitshona, ubuthongo obukhulu bajuma uAbrama; khangela-ke, uvalo lomnyama omkhulu lwehlela phezu kwakhe.
As the sun was going down, Abram fell sound asleep, and suddenly everything around him became dark and frightening.
13 Yasisithi kuAbrama: Yazi lokwazi ukuthi inzalo yakho izakuba yisihambi elizweni elingeyisilo layo, njalo bazabasebenzela, besebebahlupha iminyaka engamakhulu amane.
Then God said to Abram, “I want you to know that your descendants will become foreigners living in a land that does not belong to them. They will become slaves of the owners of that land. The owners of the land will mistreat them for 400 years.
14 Kodwa lesizwe abazasisebenzela ngizasigweba; lemva kwalokho bazaphuma lempahla enengi.
But then I will punish the people of that country that made them become slaves, and then your descendants will leave that country, taking many possessions with them.
15 Kodwa wena uzakuya kuboyihlo ngokuthula, uzangcwatshwa ekuluphaleni okuhle.
But as for you, you will die [EUP] peacefully when you are very old.
16 Isizukulwana sesine sizabuya-ke lapha; ngoba isono samaAmori kasikapheleli.
After your descendants have been slaves for 400 years, they will return here, and take control of this land and defeat the Amor people-group. Those people will, because those people have not yet sinned enough to deserve to be punished now.”
17 Kwasekusithi ilanga selitshonile sekumnyama, khangela-ke, imbawula ethunqayo lesihlanti somlilo esadabula phakathi kwalezozingxenye.
When the sun had set and it had become dark, [unexpectedly] a blazing torch and a clay pot containing burning coals from which smoke was rising appeared and went between the halves of the animals.
18 Ngalolosuku iNkosi yenza isivumelwano loAbrama isithi: Enzalweni yakho nginikele lelilizwe, kusukela emfuleni weGibhithe kuze kube semfuleni omkhulu, umfula iYufrathi,
And on that day Yahweh made an agreement with Abram. Yahweh told him, “I will give to your descendants all the land between the river that is on the eastern border of Egypt to the south, and north to the huge Euphrates River.
19 amaKeni lamaKenizi lamaKadimoni
That is the land where the Ken, the Keniz, the Kidmon,
20 lamaHethi lamaPerizi lamaRefa
the Heth, the Periz, the Repha,
21 lamaAmori lamaKhanani lamaGirigashi lamaJebusi.
the Amor, the Canaan, the Girgash, and the Tebus people-groups live.”