UZefaniya 2

1 Zibuthaniseni, lizibuthanise, lina sizwe esingaloyisekiyo,

Be you gathered and closely joined together, O unchastened nation;

2 isimiso singakazali, lalolosuku lwedlule njengamakhoba, intukuthelo yolaka lweNkosi ingakalehleli, usuku lolaka lweNkosi lungakalehleli.

before you become as the flower that passes away, before the anger of the Lord come upon you, before the day of the wrath of the Lord come upon you.

3 Dingani iNkosi, lina lonke abamnene bomhlaba, elenze isahlulelo sayo; dingani ukulunga, lidinge ubumnene; mhlawumbe lingafihlwa ngosuku lolaka lweNkosi.

Seek you the Lord, all you meek of the earth; do judgement, and seek justice, and answer accordingly; that you may be hid in the day of the wrath of the Lord.

4 Ngoba iGaza izadelwa, leAshikeloni ibe lunxiwa; bazaxotsha iAshidodi emini enkulu, leEkhironi isitshunwe.

For Gaza shall be utterly spoiled, and Ascalon shall be destroyed; and Azotus shall be cast forth at noon-day, and Accaron shall be rooted up.

5 Maye kwabakhileyo belizwe lolwandle, isizwe samaKerethi! Ilizwi leNkosi limelene lani. Wena Khanani, lizwe lamaFilisti, ngizakuchitha, kuze kungabi lomhlali.

Woe to them that dwell on the border of the sea, neighbours of the Cretans! the word of the Lord is against you, O Chanaan, land of the Philistines, and I will destroy you out of [your] dwelling-place.

6 Lelizwe lolwandle lizakuba ngamadlelo alemigodi yamanzi yabelusi, lezibaya zezimvu.

And Crete shall be a pasture of flocks, and a fold of sheep.

7 Njalo ilizwe lizakuba ngelensali yendlu kaJuda; bazakudla kulo; kusihlwa bazalala ezindlini zeAshikeloni; ngoba iNkosi uNkulunkulu wabo izabahambela, iphendule ukuthunjwa kwabo.

And the sea cost shall be for the remnant of the house of Juda; they shall pasture upon them in the houses of Ascalon; they shall rest in the evening because of the children of Juda; for the Lord their God has visited them, and he will turn away their captivity.

8 Ngiyizwile inhlamba kaMowabi, lokuthuka kwamadodana kaAmoni, abahlambaze ngakho abantu bami, bezikhulisa bemelene lomngcele wabo.

I have heard the revilings of Moab, and the insults of the children of Ammon, wherewith they have reviled my people, and magnified themselves against my coasts.

9 Ngakho kuphila kwami, itsho iNkosi yamabandla, uNkulunkulu kaIsrayeli, isibili uMowabi uzakuba njengeSodoma, labantwana bakaAmoni njengeGomora, indawo yezimbabazane, lemigodi yetshwayi, lencithakalo kuze kube phakade. Insali yabantu bami izabaphanga, labaseleyo babantu bami badle ilifa labo.

Therefore, [as] I live, says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Moab shall be as Sodoma, and the children of Ammon as Gomorrha; and Damascus [shall be] left as a heap of the threshing floor, and desolate for ever: and the remnant of my people shall plunder them, and the remnant of my nations shall inherit them.

10 Lokhu bazakuba lakho endaweni yokuziphakamisa kwabo, ngoba bathuka, bazikhulisa bemelene labantu beNkosi yamabandla.

This is their punishment in return for their haughtiness, because they have reproached and magnified themselves against the Lord Almighty.

11 INkosi izakwesabeka kubo, ngoba izacakisa bonke onkulunkulu bomhlaba; njalo bazakhothama kuyo, ngulowo lalowo esendaweni yakhe, zonke izihlenge zezizwe.

The Lord shall appear against them, and shall utterly destroy all the gods of the nations of the earth; and they shall worship him every one from his place, [even] all the islands of the nations.

12 Lani maEthiyophiya, lizakuba ngababuleweyo ngenkemba yami.

You Ethiopians also are the slain of my sword.

13 Njalo izakwelula isandla sayo imelene lenyakatho, ichithe iAsiriya, ibeke iNineve ibe lunxiwa, yome njengenkangala.

And he shall stretch forth his hand against the north and destroy the Assyrian, and make Nineve a dry wilderness, [even] as a desert.

14 Njalo imihlambi izalala phansi phakathi kwayo, zonke izinyamazana zezizwe; lalo iwunkwe kanye lenhloni kulale ezidukwini zayo; ilizwi lizahlabela ewindini, incithakalo ibe sembundwini; ngoba ezakwembula umsebenzi womsedari.

And flocks, and all the wild beasts of the land, and chameleons shall feed in the midst thereof: and hedgehogs shall lodge in the ceilings thereof; and wild beasts shall cry in the breaches thereof, and ravens in her porches, whereas her loftiness was [as] as cedar.

15 Lo ngumuzi ojabulayo, obuhlezi ngokuvikeleka, owawusithi enhliziyweni yawo: Yimi, njalo kakho omunye ngaphandle kwami. Yeka ukuba kwawo yincithakalo, indawo yokulala yezinyamazana! Wonke owedlula kiwo uyancifa, anyikinye isandla sakhe.