Amanani 21
1 Kwathi inkosi yeAradi, umKhanani, eyayihlala eningizimu, isizwa ukuthi uIsrayeli uyeza ngendlela yabahloli, yalwa imelene loIsrayeli yathumba abanye kubo.
The king of Arad [city] lived in the area where the Canaan people-group lived, in the desert in the southern part of the land. He heard a report that the Israelis were approaching on the road to Atharim [village]. So his army attacked the Israelis and captured some of them.
2 UIsrayeli wathembisa isithembiso eNkosini wathi: Uba unikela lokunikela lababantu esandleni sami, ngizatshabalalisa imizi yabo.
Then the Israelis solemnly vowed: “Yahweh, if you will help us to defeat these people, we will completely destroy all their towns.”
3 INkosi yasisizwa ilizwi likaIsrayeli, yanikela amaKhanani, wawatshabalalisa lemizi yawo; ngakho wabiza ibizo laleyondawo ngokuthi yiHorma.
Yahweh heard what they requested, and he enabled them to defeat the army of the Canaan people-group. The Israeli soldiers killed all the people and destroyed their towns. [Ever since that time], that place has been called Hormah [which means ‘destruction’].
4 Basebesuka entabeni yeHori, ngendlela yoLwandle oluBomvu ukuze baceze ilizwe leEdoma; lomphefumulo wabantu wadinwa endleleni.
Then the Israelis left Hor Mountain and traveled on the road towards the Red Sea, in order to go around [the land of] Edom. But the people became impatient along the way,
5 Abantu basebekhuluma bemelene loNkulunkulu njalo bemelene loMozisi bathi: Lasenyuselani lisikhupha eGibhithe ukuze sifele enkangala? Ngoba kakulasinkwa njalo kakulamanzi, futhi umphefumulo wethu unengwa yilesisinkwa esilula.
and they began to grumble/complain against God and against Moses/me. They said, “Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in this desert [RHQ]? There is nothing to eat here, and nothing to drink. And we detest this lousy [manna] food!”
6 INkosi yasithuma inyoka ezilokutshisa phakathi kwabantu, zasezibaluma abantu, njalo kwafa abantu abanengi koIsrayeli.
So Yahweh sent poisonous snakes among them. Many of the people were bitten by the snakes and died.
7 Ngakho abantu beza kuMozisi bathi: Sonile, ngoba sikhulume simelene leNkosi njalo simelene lawe; khuleka eNkosini ukuze isuse izinyoka kithi. UMozisi wasebakhulekela abantu.
Then the people came to Moses/me and cried out, saying, “We [now know that we] have sinned against Yahweh and against you. Pray to Yahweh, asking that he will take away the snakes!” So Moses/I prayed for the people.
8 INkosi yasisithi kuMozisi: Zenzele inyoka elomlilo, uyibeke esigodweni; njalo kuzakuthi wonke olunyiweyo, nxa eyikhangela, uzaphila.
Then Yahweh told him/me, “Make a model/image of a poisonous snake, and attach it to the top of a pole. If those who are bitten by the snakes look at that model, they will (recover/get well).”
9 UMozisi wasesenza inyoka yethusi, wayibeka esigodweni; kwasekusithi lapho inyoka ilume loba nguwuphi umuntu, uba ekhangele inyoka yethusi, waphila.
So Moses/I made a snake from bronze and attached it to the top of a pole. Then, when those who had been bitten by a snake looked at the bronze snake, they recovered!
10 Njalo abantwana bakoIsrayeli basuka bamisa inkamba eObothi.
Then the Israelis traveled to Oboth and (camped/set up their tents) there.
11 Basuka eObothi, bamisa inkamba eIye-Abarimi enkangala emaqondana lakoMowabi lapho okuphuma khona ilanga.
Then they left there, and went to Iye-Abarim, in the desert on the eastern border of Moab.
12 Basuka lapho, bamisa inkamba esigodini seZeredi.
From there they traveled to the valley where the Zered riverbed is, and camped there.
13 Basuka lapho, bamisa inkamba ngale kweArinoni esenkangala ephuma emingceleni yamaAmori; ngoba iArinoni lingumngcele wakoMowabi, phakathi kweMowabi lamaAmori.
Then they traveled to the north side of the Arnon [River]. That area is in the desert next to the land where the Amor people-group lived. The Arnon [River] is the boundary between Moab and where the Amor people-group lived.
14 Ngakho kuthiwa egwalweni lwezimpi zeNkosi: IWahebi eseSufa, lezifula zeArinoni,
That is why in the book called ‘The Book of the Wars of Yahweh’ it tells about “Waheb [town] in the Suphah area, and the ravines there; and the Arnon [River]
15 leliwa lezifula elehlela endaweni yeAri, lisekele umngcele wakoMowabi.
and the ravines there, which extend as far as Ar [village] on the border of Moab.”
16 Basebesuka lapho baya eBeri; lo ngumthombo iNkosi eyakhuluma ngawo kuMozisi yathi: Buthanisa abantu, ngizabanika-ke amanzi.
From there, the Israelis traveled to Beer. There was a well there, where Yahweh previously had said to Moses/me, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.”
17 Khona uIsrayeli wahlabela lingoma ethi: Mpompoza, mthombo! Hlabelelani kuwo,
There the Israelis sang this song: “O well, give us water! Sing about this well!
18 umthombo ezawugebhayo iziphathamandla, ezawugebhayo izikhulu zabantu, ngomnikumthetho, ngendondolo zazo. Basebesuka enkangala baya eMathana.
Sing about this well which our leaders dug; they dug out [the dirt] with their royal scepters and their walking sticks.” Then the Israelis left that desert and went through Mattanah,
19 Besuka eMathana baya eNahaliyeli; besuka eNahaliyeli baya eBamothi;
Nahaliel, and Bamoth [villages].
20 besuka eBamothi esigodini esisemhlabeni wakoMowabi, engqongeni yePisiga ekhangele inkangala.
Then they went to the valley in Moab where Pisgah [Mountain] rises above the desert.
21 UIsrayeli wasethuma izithunywa kuSihoni inkosi yamaAmori, esithi:
Then the Israelis sent messengers to Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group. This was the message [that they/we gave him]:
22 Ake ngidabule elizweni lakho; kasiyikuphambukela emasimini loba ezivinini; kasiyikunatha amanzi omthombo; sizahamba ngomgwaqo wenkosi, size sedlule imingcele yakho.
“Allow us to travel through your country. We will stay on the king’s highway, [the main road that goes from the south to the north], until we have finished traveling through your land. We will not walk through any field or vineyard, or drink water from your wells.”
23 Kodwa uSihoni kamvumelanga uIsrayeli ukudabula umngcele wakhe, kodwa uSihoni wabuthanisa bonke abantu bakhe, waphuma ukumelana loIsrayeli enkangala, wafika eJahazi, walwa emelene loIsrayeli.
But King Sihon refused. He would not allow them to walk through his land. Instead, he sent his whole army to attack the Israelis in the desert. They attacked the Israelis at Jahaz [village].
24 UIsrayeli wamtshaya ngobukhali benkemba, waba ngumnikazi welizwe lakhe kusukela eArinoni kuze kube seJaboki, kuze kube sebantwaneni bakoAmoni, ngoba umngcele wabantwana bakoAmoni wawuqinile.
But the Israelis completely defeated them and occupied their land, from the Arnon [River in the south] to the Jabbok [River in the north]. They stopped at the border of the land where the Ammon people-group lived, because [the Ammon army was defending] the border strongly.
25 UIsrayeli wasethatha yonke le imizi; uIsrayeli wasehlala emizini yonke yamaAmori, eHeshiboni layo yonke imizana yalo.
So the Israelis occupied all the cities and towns where the Amor people-group lived, and some of the Israelis began to live in them. They occupied Heshbon [city] and the nearby villages.
26 Ngoba iHeshiboni yayingumuzi kaSihoni inkosi yamaAmori, owayelwe emelene lenkosi yamandulo yakoMowabi, wayethethe ilizwe lonke layo esandleni sayo, kwaze kwafika eArinoni.
Heshbon was the capital of the country. It was the city where King Sihon ruled. His army had previously defeated the army of the king of Moab, and then his people had begun to live in all of the land of Moab as far as the Arnon [River in the south].
27 Ngakho abasebenzisa izaga bathi: Wozani eHeshiboni! Umuzi kaSihoni kawakhiwe, umiswe.
For that reason, one of the poets wrote long ago, “Come to Heshbon, the city where King Sihon [ruled]. We want the city to be restored/rebuilt.
28 Ngoba umlilo waphuma eHeshiboni, ilangabi emzini kaSihoni, laqothula iAri loMowabi, amakhosi endawo eziphakemeyo zeArinoni.
A fire blazed from Heshbon; it burned down Ar [city] in Moab, it destroyed [everything on] the hills along the Arnon [River].
29 Maye kuwe, Mowabi! Selibhujisiwe, bantu bakaKemoshi! Unikele amadodana akhe aba ngababaleki, lamadodakazi akhe ekuthunjweni kuSihoni, inkosi yamaAmori.
You people of Moab, terrible things have happened to you! You people who [worship your god] Chemosh have been (annihilated/wiped out)! The men who [worshiped] [MET] Chemosh have run away and are now refugees, and the women [who worshiped him] have been captured by [the army of] Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group.
30 Sesibatshokile; iHeshiboni ibhubhile kuze kube seDiboni; sesibachithile kuze kube seNofa, efika eMedeba.
But we have defeated [Sihon and] those descendants of Amor, all the way from Heshbon [in the north] to Dibon [city in the south]. We have completely obliterated/destroyed them as far as Nophah and Medeba [towns].”
31 UIsrayeli wasehlala elizweni lamaAmori.
So the Israeli people began to live in the land where the Amor people-group lived.
32 UMozisi wathuma ukuyahlola iJazeri; basebethumba imizana yalo, baxotsha amaAmori ayehlala khona.
After Moses/I sent some men to explore the area near Jazer [city], Israeli people began to live in all the towns in that region and expelled the Amor people-group who lived there.
33 Basebephenduka, benyuka ngendlela yeBashani. UOgi inkosi yeBashani wasephuma ukumelana labo, yena labantu bakhe bonke, empini eEdreyi.
Then they turned [north] toward the Bashan region, but King Og of Bashan and all his army attacked them at Edrei [town].
34 INkosi yasisithi kuMozisi: Ungamesabi; ngoba ngimnikele esandleni sakho, labantu bakhe bonke, lelizwe lakhe; njalo uzakwenza kuye njengokwenza kwakho kuSihoni inkosi yamaAmori owayehlala eHeshiboni.
Yahweh said to Moses/me, “Do not be afraid of Og, because I am going to enable your men to defeat him and his army, and to take possession of all his land. You will do to him what you did to Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, who ruled in Heshbon.”
35 Basebemtshaya, lamadodana akhe, labantu bakhe bonke, akwaze kwasala ophilayo kuye. Badla ilifa lelizwe lakhe.
And that is what happened. We Israelis defeated Og’s army, and killed King Og and his sons and all his people. Not a person survived! And then we Israelis began to live in their land.
