< UGenesisi 50 >
1 UJosefa wasewela phezu kobuso bukayise, wakhala inyembezi phezu kwakhe, wamanga.
Joseph leaned close to his father’s face and cried over him and kissed him.
2 UJosefa waselaya inceku zakhe abelaphi ukuthi baqhole uyise ngomuthi; labelaphi bamqhola uIsrayeli ngomuthi.
Joseph commanded his servants who were morticians to (embalm his father’s body/put spices on his father’s body) to (preserve it/keep it from decaying), and then wrap it with strips of cloth.
3 Zagcwaliseka kuye insuku ezingamatshumi amane, ngoba ngokunjalo zazigcwaliseka insuku zabaqholwe ngomuthi. LamaGibhithe amlilela insuku ezingamatshumi ayisikhombisa.
So the morticians did that. It took 40 days to embalm Jacob’s body, because that is the amount of time that was always required for them to embalm a body. And the people of Egypt mourned for 70 days because of Jacob’s death.
4 Kwathi sezidlulile insuku zokumkhalela, uJosefa wakhuluma lendlu kaFaro esithi: Uba-ke ngithole umusa emehlweni enu, ake likhulume endlebeni zikaFaro, lisithi:
When the time of mourning was finished, Joseph said to the king’s officials, “If you are pleased with me, please take this message to the king:
5 Ubaba wangifungisa esithi: Khangela, ngiyafa; engcwabeni engazigebhela lona elizweni leKhanani, lapho ungingcwabe. Khathesi-ke, ake ngenyuke ngiyengcwaba ubaba, besengibuya.
‘When my father was about to die, he told me to solemnly promise that I would bury his body in Canaan, in the tomb that he himself had prepared. So please let me go up to Canaan and bury my father’s body. Then I will return.’”
6 UFaro wasesithi: Yenyuka uyengcwaba uyihlo njengokukufungisa kwakhe.
After they gave the king the message, he replied, “Tell Joseph, ‘Go up and bury your father’s body, as you (swore/solemnly promised) that you would do.’”
7 UJosefa wasesenyuka ukuyangcwaba uyise, kwenyuka kanye laye zonke izinceku zikaFaro, abadala bendlu yakhe, labo bonke abadala belizwe leGibhithe,
So Joseph went [up to Canaan] to bury his father’s body. All of the king’s officials, all the king’s advisors, and all the elders in Egypt went with him.
8 lendlu yonke kaJosefa, labafowabo, lendlu kayise; kuphela abantwana babo abancinyane lezimvu zabo lenkomo zabo bakutshiya elizweni leGosheni.
His own family’s small children and their sheep and goats and their cattle stayed in the Goshen region. But all the rest of Joseph’s family and his [older] brothers [and younger brother] and his father’s family went with him.
9 Kwasekusenyuka kanye laye konke izinqola labagadi bamabhiza, kwaba liviyo elinzima kakhulu.
Men riding in chariots [MTY] and on horses also went along. It was a huge group.
10 Kwathi sebefike esizeni seAtadi, eliphetsheya kweJordani, balila khona, isililo esikhulu lesinzima kakhulu, bamenzela uyise isililo insuku eziyisikhombisa.
They went to the east side of the Jordan [River] and arrived at Atad. There was a place there where people (threshed/beat the grain to separate the wheat from the chaff.) There they mourned loudly for Jacob for a long time. Joseph performed mourning ceremonies for his father for seven days.
11 Kwathi abakhileyo belizwe, amaKhanani, bebona ukulila esizeni seAtadi, bathi: Lesi yisililo esinzima samaGibhithe. Ngakho basebesitha ibizo laso iAbeli-Mizirayimi, eliphetsheya kweJordani.
When the Canaan people-group who lived there saw them mourning like that, they said, “This is a sad mourning place for the people of Egypt!” So they named the place Abel-Mizraim, [which sounds like the Hebrew words that mean ‘mourning of the Egyptians].’
12 Amadodana akhe asemenzela njalo njengalokhu ewalayile;
Then Jacob’s sons did for him what their father had commanded.
13 ngoba amadodana akhe amthwalela elizweni leKhanani, amngcwaba obhalwini lwensimu yeMakaphela, uAbrahama aluthenga lensimu, lube yindawo yakhe yokungcwabela, kuEfroni umHethi, eqondane leMamre.
They [crossed the Jordan River and] carried Jacob’s body to Canaan. They buried it in the cave in the field at Machpelah, east of Mamre [town]. That was the field that Abraham had bought from Ephron, who was one of the Heth people-group, to use as a burial place.
14 UJosefa wasebuyela eGibhithe, yena labafowabo labo bonke abenyuka laye ukuyangcwaba uyise, esemngcwabile uyise.
After he had buried his father, Joseph and his [older] brothers [and younger brother] and all the others who had gone up to Canaan with him for the funeral returned to Egypt.
15 Kwathi abafowabo bakaJosefa sebebonile ukuthi uyise usefile bathi: Mhlawumbe uJosefa uzasizonda, ngoqotho asiphindisele ububi bonke esabenza kuye.
After Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers became worried. They realized what might happen. They said, “Suppose Joseph hates us and tries to get revenge for all the evil things that we did to him many years ago?”
16 Basebenika isilayezelo kuJosefa besithi: Uyihlo walaya engakafi, esithi:
So they sent someone to tell this to Joseph for them: “Before our father died, he told us this:
17 Lizakutsho kanje kuJosefa lithi: Ngiyakucela, akuxolele isiphambeko sabafowenu lesono sabo, ngoba bakwenzela okubi; khathesi-ke ake uxolele isiphambeko sezinceku zikaNkulunkulu kayihlo. UJosefa wasekhala inyembezi nxa bekhuluma kuye.
‘Say to Joseph, “Please forgive your [older] brothers for the evil thing that they did to you, for their terrible sin against you, because what they did to you was very wrong.”’ So now we, who are servants of your father’s God, ask you, please forgive us for what we did to you.” But Joseph just cried when he received their message.
18 Labafowabo labo beza, bawa phansi phambi kwakhe, bathi: Khangela, siyizinceku zakho.
Then his [older] brothers themselves came and threw themselves on the ground in front of Joseph, and one of them said, “Please listen. We will just be your servants.”
19 Kodwa uJosefa wathi kibo: Lingesabi, ngoba kanti ngisendaweni kaNkulunkulu yini?
But Joseph replied to them, “Do not be afraid! [God is the one who punishes people]; (am I God?/I am not God!) [RHQ]
20 Kodwa lina laceba okubi kimi, uNkulunkulu waceba ngokuhle, ukuze enze njengalamuhla, ukuze alondoloze abantu abanengi bephila.
As for you, yes, you wanted to do something very evil to me. But God caused something good to come from it! He wanted to save many people from dying of hunger, and that is what happened! Today they are alive!
21 Khathesi-ke lingesabi; mina ngizalondla lina labantwanyana benu. Wasebaduduza, wakhuluma labo ngomusa.
So I say [again], do not be afraid! I will make sure that you and your children have enough to eat.” In that way he reassured them and made made them feel much better.
22 UJosefa wasehlala eGibhithe, yena lendlu kayise. Njalo uJosefa waphila iminyaka elikhulu letshumi.
Joseph lived with his father’s family in Egypt until he was 110 years old.
23 UJosefa wasebona abantwana bakaEfrayimi abesizukulwana sesithathu; labantwana bakaMakiri indodana kaManase bazalelwa emadolweni kaJosefa.
He lived long enough to see Ephraim’s children and grandchildren. The children of Joseph’s grandson Machir, who was Manasseh’s son, were born before Joseph died, and were adopted by Joseph to be his own children [IDM].
24 UJosefa wasesithi kubafowabo: Ngiyafa, kodwa uNkulunkulu uzalihambela isibili, alenyuse kulelilizwe alise elizweni alifungela oAbrahama, uIsaka loJakobe.
One day Joseph said to his [older] brothers, “I am about to die. But God will certainly (help/take care of) you. And [some day] he will lead your [descendants] up out of this land and take them to Canaan, the land that he solemnly promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
25 UJosefa wafungisa amadodana kaIsrayeli esithi: UNkulunkulu uzalihambela isibili, njalo lizakwenyusa amathambo ami asuke lapha.
Then Joseph said, “When God enables you to do that, you must take my body back to Canaan.” He made his older brothers solemnly promise to do that.
26 UJosefa wasesifa, eleminyaka elikhulu letshumi; basebemqhola ngomuthi, wafakwa ebhokisini eGibhithe.
So Joseph died in Egypt when he was 110 years old. His body was embalmed and put in a coffin there.