Amahubo 104
1 Bonga iNkosi, mphefumulo wami. Nkosi Nkulunkulu wami, umkhulu kakhulu; wembethe ubukhosi lodumo.
[I tell] myself that I should praise Yahweh. Yahweh, my God, you are very great! Like a king has on his royal robes [MET], you have honor and majesty/greatness all around you!
2 Ozembesa ngokukhanya njengesembatho, owendlala amazulu njengekhetheni.
You [created/caused] light to be like your robe [MET]. You spread out the sky like [a man sets up] a tent.
3 Owabeka imijabo yamakamelo akhe aphezulu emanzini, owenza amayezi abe yinqola yakhe, ohamba phezu kwempiko zomoya.
You made/put your home [in heaven], above the rain clouds in the sky, [like a man puts the] rafters of his house in place [MET]. You made/caused the clouds to be like chariots [to carry you].
4 Owenza izingilosi zakhe zibe yimimoya, izinceku zakhe zibe ngumlilo olamalangabi.
You caused the winds to be [like] your messengers [MET], and flames of fire to be [like] your servants.
5 Wamisa umhlaba phezu kwezisekelo zawo, kawuyikuzanyazanyiswa phakade laphakade.
You placed the world firmly on its foundation so that it can never be moved/shaken.
6 Wawugubuzela ngokujula njengesembatho; amanzi ema phezu kwezintaba.
[Later], you covered the earth with a flood, like a blanket, with the water that covered the mountains.
7 Ekukhuzeni kwakho abaleka; elizwini lokuduma kwakho aphangisa asuka;
[But] when you rebuked the water, the oceans receded; your voice spoke like thunder, and then the waters rushed away.
8 - zenyuka izintaba, zehla izihotsha - endaweni owawuwamisele wona.
Mountains rose up [from the water], and the valleys sank down to the levels that you had determined for them.
9 Wamisa umngcele angewudlule, kawayikubuya agubuzele umhlaba.
[Then] you set a boundary for the oceans, a boundary that they cannot cross; their water will never again cover the [whole] earth.
10 Othumela imithombo ezihotsheni, yahamba phakathi kwezintaba.
You make/cause springs to pour [water] into ravines; their [water] flows down between the mountains.
11 Yanathisa yonke inyamazana yeganga, obabhemi beganga bacitsha ukoma kwabo.
Those [streams] provide water for all the animals [to drink]; the wild donkeys [drink the water and] are no longer thirsty.
12 Inyoni zamazulu zakhela emaceleni ayo, zizwakalisa ilizwi ziphakathi kwezingatsha.
Birds make their nests alongside [the streams], and they sing among the branches [of the trees].
13 Uthelela izintaba esemakamelweni akhe aphezulu; umhlaba usuthiswa ngesithelo semisebenzi yakho.
From (your home in heaven/the sky) you send rain down on the mountains, and you fill the earth with many good things that you create.
14 Umilisela izifuyo utshani, lemibhida yokusiza umuntu, ukuveza ukudla emhlabathini,
You make/cause grass to grow for the cattle [to eat], and you make/cause plants to grow for people. In that way [animals and people] get their food from [what grows in] the soil.
15 lewayini elithokozisa inhliziyo yomuntu, ukwenza ubuso bukhanye ngamafutha, lesinkwa esiqinisa inhliziyo yomuntu.
We get [grapes to make] [MTY] wine to [drink and] make us cheerful, and we get [olives to make] [MTY] olive oil to [put on our] skin and cause it to shine, and we get [grain to make] [MTY] bread to give us strength.
16 Ziyasutha izihlahla zeNkosi, imisedari yeLebhanoni eyayihlanyelayo.
Yahweh, you [send plenty of rain to] water your trees, the cedar [trees] that you planted in Lebanon.
17 Lapho inyoni ezakhela khona izidleke; ingabuzane, izihlahla zefiri ziyindlu yalo.
Birds make their nests in those [trees]; even storks make their nests in pine/fir trees.
18 Intaba eziphakemeyo zingezamagogo, amadwala ayisiphephelo sezimbila.
High up in the mountains the wild goats live, and hyraxes/badgers live in the crags/crevices in the rocks.
19 Inyanga wayenzela izikhathi ezimisiweyo; ilanga liyazi ukutshona kwalo.
[Yahweh], you made the moon to indicate the times for our festivals, and you made the sun that knows when to go down.
20 Wenza umnyama, kube sebusuku, phakathi kwabo kuphume yonke inyamazana yehlathi.
You bring darkness, and it becomes night, when all the animals in the forest prowl around, [looking for food].
21 Izilwane ezintsha zibhongela impango, lokudinga ukudla kwazo kuNkulunkulu.
At night the young lions roar as they seek their prey, [but] they depend on you to give them food.
22 Ilanga liphuma, zibuthane, zilale ezikhundleni zazo.
At dawn, they go back to their dens and lie down.
23 Umuntu uphuma aye emsebenzini wakhe lemtshikatshikeni wakhe kuze kuhlwe.
And during the daytime, people go to their work; they work until it is evening.
24 Minengi kangakanani imisebenzi yakho, Nkosi! Yonke uyenze ngenhlakanipho; umhlaba ugcwele inotho yakho.
Yahweh, you have made so many different kinds of things! You were [very] wise as you made them all. The earth is full of the creatures that you [made].
25 Lolulwandle olukhulu lolubanzi ngezinhlangothi, lapho okulezihuquzelayo khona ezingelakubalwa, izinto eziphilayo ezincinyane kanye lezinkulu.
[We see] the ocean which is very large [DOU]! It is full of many kinds of living creatures, big ones and little ones.
26 Kuhamba khona imikhumbi, uLeviyathani owambumbela ukuthi adlale kulo.
We see the ships which sail along! We see the huge sea monster, which you made to (splash around/play) in the sea.
27 Zonke lezi zilindele kuwe, ukuthi uzinike ukudla kwazo ngesikhathi sazo.
All of those creatures depend on you to give them the food that they need.
28 Uyazinika, zibuthe; uvula isandla sakho, zisuthe okuhle.
When you give them the food that they need, they gather it. You give them what you have in your hand, and they [eat it and] are satisfied.
29 Ufihla ubuso bakho, zikhathazeke; ususa umoya wazo, zife, zibuyele ethulini lwazo.
[But] if you refuse to give food to them, they become terrified. And when you cause them to stop breathing, they die; their bodies [decay and] become soil again.
30 Uthumela umoya wakho, zidalwe; wenze bube butsha ubuso bomhlaba.
When you cause newborn creatures to begin to breathe, they start to live; you give new life to all the living creatures on the earth.
31 Udumo lweNkosi kalume kuze kube nininini; iNkosi kayithokoze ngemisebenzi yayo.
I want the glory of Yahweh to last forever. I want him to rejoice about [all] the things that he has created.
32 Ikhangela umhlaba, uthuthumele; ithinta izintaba, zithunqe.
He causes the earth to shake [just] by looking at it! By [merely] touching the mountains he makes/causes them to pour out fire and smoke!
33 Ngizahlabelela iNkosi ngisaphila; ngizahlabelela indumiso kuNkulunkulu wami nxa ngisekhona.
I will sing to Yahweh (as long as I live/throughout my entire life). I will praise my God until the day that I die.
34 Ukuzindla kwami ngaye kuzakuba mnandi; mina ngizathokoza eNkosini.
I want Yahweh to be pleased by all those things that I have thought [about him], because I rejoice about [knowing] him.
35 Izoni kaziqedwe emhlabeni, kungabe kusaba khona ababi. Bonga iNkosi, mphefumulo wami. Dumisani iNkosi!
[But] I desire that sinners will disappear from the earth, so that there will be no more wicked [people]! [But as for] me, I will praise Yahweh! (Praise him/Hallelujah)!
