UJakhobe 5
1 Minani-ke lina abanothileyo, khalani lilile ngenxa yenhlupheko zenu ezilehlelayo.
Listen to me, you rich men, weep and wail for the miseries that are coming upon you!
2 Inotho yenu ibolile, lezembatho zenu zidliwe yinundu;
Your riches have wasted away, and your clothes have become moth-eaten.
3 igolide lenu lesiliva kuthombile, lokuthomba kwakho kuzakuba yibufakazi kini, njalo kuzakudla inyama yenu njengomlilo. Lizibekela inotho ensukwini zokuphela.
Your gold and silver are rusted; and the rust on them shall be evidence against you, and shall eat into your very flesh. It was fire, so to speak, that you stored up for yourselves in these last days.
4 Khangela, umvuzo wezisebenzi ezigunde amasimu enu, ogodlwe yini ngokuqilibezela, uyakhala; lokukhala kwabavuni kungene endlebeni zeNkosi yamabandla.
I tell you, the wages of the labourers who mowed your fields, which you have been fraudulently keeping back, are crying out against you, and the outcries of your reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts!
5 Libusile ngokuzithokozisa emhlabeni, latamasa; linonise inhliziyo zenu njengosukwini lokuhlatshwa,
You have lived on earth a life of extravagance and luxury; you have indulged your fancies in a time of bloodshed.
6 lilahlile, labulala olungileyo; kamelananga lani.
You have condemned, you have murdered, the Righteous One! Must not God be opposed to you?
7 Ngakho bekezelani, bazalwane, kuze kube sekufikeni kweNkosi. Khangela, umlimi uyalindela isithelo somhlabathi esiligugu, asibekezelele, size sizuze izulu elokuqala lelokucina.
Be patient, then, Brothers, till the Coming of the Lord. Even the farmer has to wait for the precious fruit of the earth, watching over it patiently, till it has had the spring and summer rains.
8 Lani bekezelani, liqinise inhliziyo zenu, ngoba ukufika kweNkosi kuyasondela.
And you must be patient also, and not be discouraged; for the Lord’s Coming is near.
9 Lingasolani, bazalwane, ukuze lingalahlwa; khangela, uMahluleli umi emnyango.
Do not make complaints against one another, Brothers, or judgment will be passed upon you. The Judge is already standing at the door!
10 Thathani isibonelo sokuhlupheka, bazalwane bami, lesokubekezela, abaprofethi abakhuluma ebizweni leNkosi.
Brothers, as an example of the patient endurance of suffering, take the Prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11 Khangela, sithi babusisiwe ababekezelayo; lizwile ukubekezela kukaJobe, laselibona ukucina kweNkosi, ukuthi iNkosi ilesihawu esikhulu lobubele.
We count those who displayed such endurance blessed! You have heard, too, of Job’s endurance, and have seen what the Lord’s purpose was, for ‘the Lord is full of pity and compassion.’
12 Kodwa phambi kwakho konke, bazalwane bami, lingafungi, loba ngezulu, loba ngomhlaba, loba ngasiphi esinye isifungo; kodwa kakuthi uyebo wenu abe nguyebo, lohatshi nguhatshi; ukuze lingaweli ekulahlweni.
Above all things, my Brothers, never take an oath, either by heaven, or by earth, or by anything else. With you let ‘Yes’ suffice for yes, and ‘No’ for no, so that you may escape condemnation.
13 Kukhona ohluphekayo yini phakathi kwenu? Kakhuleke. Kukhona othokozayo yini? Kahlabele indumiso.
If any of you is in trouble, let him pray; if any one is happy, let him sing hymns.
14 Kukhona ogulayo phakathi kwenu yini? Kabizele kuye abadala bebandla, babesebekhuleka phezu kwakhe, bamgcobe ngamafutha ebizweni leNkosi;
If any one of you is ill, let him send for the Officers of the Church, and let them pray over him, after anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
15 lomkhuleko wokholo uzamsindisa ogulayo, leNkosi izamlulamisa; uba-ke enzile izono, uzazithethelelwa.
The prayer offered in faith will save the man who is sick, and the Lord will raise him from his bed; and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.
16 Vumani iziphambeko omunye komunye, likhulekelane, ukuze lisiliswe. Umkhuleko oqinileyo wolungileyo ulamandla kakhulu.
Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be cured. Great is the power of a good man’s fervent prayer.
17 UElija wayengumuntu olemizwa efanana leyethu, wasekhuleka lokukhuleka ukuthi lingani; njalo kalinanga emhlabeni okweminyaka emithathu lenyanga eziyisithupha;
Elijah was only a man like ourselves, but, when he prayed fervently that it might not rain, no rain fell upon the land for three years and a half.
18 wasebuya ekhuleka, lezulu lanika izulu, lomhlaba wathela isithelo sawo.
And, when he prayed again, the clouds brought rain, and the land bore crops.
19 Bazalwane, uba omunye kini ephambuka eqinisweni, lomunye angambuyisa,
My Brothers, should one of you be led astray from the Truth, and someone bring him back again,
20 yazi ukuthi obuyise isoni ekuduheni kwendlela yaso uzasindisa umphefumulo ekufeni, asibekele inkithinkithi yezono.
be sure that he who brings a sinner back from his mistaken ways will save that man’s soul from Death, and throw a veil over countless sins.
