Blessings for Obedience
(Deuteronomy 7.12-24Deuteronomy 28.1-14)1 The Lord said, “Do not make idols or set up statues, stone pillars, or carved stones to worship. I am the Lord your God. 2 Keep the religious festivals and honor the place where I am worshiped. I am the Lord.
3 “If you live according to my laws and obey my commands, 4 I will send you rain at the right time, so that the land will produce crops and the trees will bear fruit. 5 Your crops will be so plentiful that you will still be harvesting grain when it is time to pick grapes, and you will still be picking grapes when it is time to plant grain. You will have all that you want to eat, and you can live in safety in your land.
6 “I will give you peace in your land, and you can sleep without being afraid of anyone. I will get rid of the dangerous animals in the land, and there will be no more war there. 7 You will be victorious over your enemies; 8 five of you will be able to defeat a hundred, and a hundred will be able to defeat ten thousand. 9 I will bless you and give you many children; I will keep my part of the covenant that I made with you. 10 Your harvests will be so plentiful that they will last for a year, and even then you will have to throw away what is left of the old harvest to make room for the new. 11 I will live among you in my sacred Tent, and I will never turn away from you. 12 I will be with you; I will be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I, the Lord your God, brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves. I broke the power that held you down and I let you walk with your head held high.”
Punishment for Disobedience
(Deuteronomy 28.15-68)14 The Lord said, “If you will not obey my commands, you will be punished. 15 If you refuse to obey my laws and commands and break the covenant I have made with you, 16 I will punish you. I will bring disaster on you—incurable diseases and fevers that will make you blind and cause your life to waste away. You will plant your crops, but it will do you no good, because your enemies will conquer you and eat what you have grown. 17 I will turn against you, so that you will be defeated, and those who hate you will rule over you; you will be so terrified that you will run when no one is chasing you.
18 “If even after all of this you still do not obey me, I will increase your punishment seven times. 19 I will break your stubborn pride; there will be no rain, and your land will be dry and as hard as iron. 20 All your hard work will do you no good, because your land will not produce crops and the trees will not bear fruit.
21 “If you still continue to resist me and refuse to obey me, I will again increase your punishment seven times. 22 I will send dangerous animals among you, and they will kill your children, destroy your livestock, and leave so few of you that your roads will be deserted.
23 “If after all of this punishment you still do not listen to me, but continue to defy me, 24 then I will turn on you and punish you seven times harder than before. 25 I will bring war on you to punish you for breaking our covenant, and if you gather in your cities for safety, I will send incurable diseases among you, and you will be forced to surrender to your enemies. 26 I will cut off your food supply, so that ten women will need only one oven to bake all the bread they have. They will ration it out, and when you have eaten it all, you will still be hungry.
27 “If after all of this you still continue to defy me and refuse to obey me, 28 then in my anger I will turn on you and again make your punishment seven times worse than before. 29 Your hunger will be so great that you will eat your own children. 30 I will destroy your places of worship on the hills, tear down your incense altars, and throw your dead bodies on your fallen idols. In utter disgust 31 I will turn your cities into ruins, destroy your places of worship, and refuse to accept your sacrifices. 32 I will destroy your land so completely that the enemies who occupy it will be shocked at the destruction. 33 I will bring war on you and scatter you in foreign lands. Your land will be deserted, and your cities left in ruins. 34-35 Then the land will enjoy the years of complete rest that you would not give it; it will lie abandoned and get its rest while you are in exile in the land of your enemies.
36 “I will make those of you who are in exile so terrified that the sound of a leaf blowing in the wind will make you run. You will run as if you were being pursued in battle, and you will fall when there is no enemy near you. 37 You will stumble over one another when no one is chasing you, and you will be unable to fight against any enemy. 38 You will die in exile, swallowed up by the land of your enemies. 39 The few of you who survive in the land of your enemies will waste away because of your own sin and the sin of your ancestors.
40 “But your descendants will confess their sins and the sins of their ancestors, who resisted me and rebelled against me, 41 and caused me to turn against them and send them into exile in the land of their enemies. At last, when your descendants are humbled and they have paid the penalty for their sin and rebellion, 42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob and with Isaac and with Abraham, and I will renew my promise to give my people the land. 43 First, however, the land must be rid of its people, so that it can enjoy its complete rest, and they must pay the full penalty for having rejected my laws and my commands. 44 But even then, when they are still in the land of their enemies, I will not completely abandon them or destroy them. That would put an end to my covenant with them, and I am the Lord their God. 45 I will renew the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I showed all the nations my power by bringing my people out of Egypt, in order that I, the Lord, might be their God.”
46 All these are the laws and commands that the Lord gave to Moses on Mount Sinai for the people of Israel.
Makombolelo muna banohwa Ndzimu
(Matama 7:12-24Matama 28:1-14)1 “Musitongo zwithamila midzimu yakabezhiwa kene zwifano zwakabezhiwa kene mabgwe akabigwa akashongoloka, kene mbumbiko ye bgwe, kuzwinamata, ngobe ndimi Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu. 2 Mulondolodze bo Sabata bangu kakale mutje bugalo gwangu gwakayengemala, ndimi Yahwe.
3 “Ha mutobela ndaulo dzangu mubuya mulondolodza milayo yangu, 4 ndowomunisila vula nge tjibaka tjayo, kuti ndizo minda ibe ne zojiwa ne miti izwale mitjelo. 5 Mowovuna mu minda kudzina kunobe tjibaka tje kutjela zhambi, mukatjela zhambi kudzina kunobe tjibaka tjolima minda. Mowoja mukaguta mukagala mu shango yenyu yakatjengeteka.
6 “Ndowozhisa mbakiso mu shango yenyu, ngono moyizela ngono akuna unowomutjisa. Ndowodusa zwibandana zwakabipa mu shango yenyu ne thumo alitowopalama shango yenyu. 7 Mowotatamila zwita zwenyu, mukazwiligila mbeli kwenyu nge thumo. 8 Bali bashanu benyu banowotatana ne bali zana (100), bali zana benyu banowotatana ne bali zwiwulu zwili gumi (10 000), ngono mowoligila zwita zwenyu mbeli kwenyu nge thumo. 9 Ndomukombolela amupa mbeleko abuya amuwatsha, kakale ndowolondolodza tjidumano tjangu namwi. 10 Mowoja zwikulukugwi zwetjinga zwakalaluka mu matula, mukadusa zwikulukugwi mu matula munotebula zwisedzela zwitshwa. 11 Ndowogadza bugalo gwangu pakati kwenyu, ngono andinga munyunde. 12 Ndowoyenda pakati kwenyu, ndowobe Ndzimu wenyu, ngono mowobe bana bangu. 13 Ndimi Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu wakamudusa ku shango ye Egipiti, kuti musibe balanda babo, ndakavuna jokwi ye bulanda kuti muyende makatambunuka.”
Lobgwa shamu kwe basingahwe Ndzimu
(Matama 28:15-68)14 “Koga ha musingandihwe, kakale musingatobele milayo iyeyi, 15 ha mulamba milayo yangu, mufupatila ndaulo dzangu, kuti ndizo musilondolodze milayo yangu yose, koga mutjinya tjidumano tjangu, 16 nami ndomuthamila yetji, ndomuzhisila lutjo ne njigwele dzinowomukukuna ne luzhazhamo gunowomutjinya mesho kowothama kuti mukorotele. Ngono mowodzwalila mbewu yenyu suli, ngobe zwita zwenyu zowoija. 17 Ndowomushandukila, ngono zwita zwenyu zowomukunda, banomubenga banowomubusa, ngono mowotizha nenguba kusina wakamutatamila.
18 “Ngono pezhugwi kwa ikoku ha mungadwilila musingandihwe, ndowopaphidzila shamu katendeka ngekwe zwibi zwenyu. 19 Ndowopedza mazwikudzo enyu, athama zhuzhugwi kwenyu kukanga tshipi ne shango yenyu ikawoma se tshipi ye tshipi ye phangula. 20 Mowoshingila masimba malashe, ngobe minda yenyu aitodwa tjimwe ne miti ye mitjelo aitozwala.
21 “Ndizo ha muyenda mulambana nami, musingandihwe, ndowotathikanya magwadzi pezhugwi kwenyu katendeka se kunoshakika nge zwibi zwenyu. 22 Ndowotumila zwibandana pakati kwenyu, zwinomujila bana, zwibe zwimupedzela zwithuwo, zwimusiya muli bashomanana, ndizo zila dzenyu dzifubale.
23 “Ngono ha musingashandukile ku ndili pezhugwi kwa ikoku, koga muyenda mulambana nami, 24 ipapo nami ndowolambana namwi, ngono imi ndowomuloba shamu katendeka ndimulobela zwibi zwenyu. 25 Ngono ndowozhisa thumo mu muli, linowoshingikadza mbuzuludzo ye tjidumano, ngono ha mungakubungana mu mizi yenyu, ndowotumila bugwele pakati kwenyu amulashila mu maboko e zwita zwenyu. 26 Ndowokwamula tjiyelo tje zojiwa zwenyu, kunowoti bakadzi bali gumi bakabhika pa tjibeso tjing'ompela, ngono banowomuzhisila zojiwa nge tjilizanyo, mukaja musingagute.
27 “Ngono ha kungati pezhugwi kwa ikoko mukasindihwe, mukalambana nami, 28 ndizo ndowolambana namwi nge bushongola, ngono amutjemela nge kumuloba shamu katendeka ndimulobela zwibi zwenyu. 29 Mowobhakhwa nge zhala isishoma kwamunowodza mukaja bana benyu. 30 Ngono ndowokolomola magalo enyu anonamatigwa midzimu, ndibe ndiligila zwibeso zwenyu zwe motsha pasi, ndibe ndilashila zwitumbu zwenyu pezhugwi kwe zwitumbu zwe midzimu yenyu, ngono ndowomunyunda. 31 Ndowoshandula mizi yenyu matongo, ndibe ndikolomola ng'umba dzenyu dze kunamata, ngono Anditoamutjila minuhwo ye zwibhayilo zwenyu inonuhwa zwinozipa. 32 Ndowothukudza shango yenyu, kuti zwita zwenyu zwinogala muili zwiitjenamile. 33 Ndowomupaladza nge zwitjaba, amutatamila nge thumo, shango yenyu ikasala ili tjilambanyika ne mizi yenyu ikasala ili matongo. 34 Ndipo shango painowozipigwa nge makole ayo e Sabata ipapa imwi mutji mu shango ye zwita zwenyu, ndizo shango inowonyaluluka ikabe mu nsi wayo we Sabata. 35 Inowoti itjakathukudzika ikanyatutuka, kunyatutuka kwaisakatongobe mu kuli muli mu Sabata pamakabe muligele muili.
36 “Ngono muna ibabo banowobe batjila, kowoti bali mu shango ye zwita zwenyu azhisa lutjo mu mimoyo yabo, kowoti behwa zhani lizunguziwa nge phepo bakatizha se nthu etizha thumo, kwabanowa kusina wakabatatamila. 37 Banotimbana se bathu betizha thumo nenguba kusina unobatatamila, ngono mowopelegwa nge simba mbeli kwe zwita zwenyu. 38 Ngono mowofila pakati kwe zwitjaba, mujiwa nge shango ye zwita zwenyu. 39 Malimbelimbe anowobe asala mu shango ye zwita zwenyu banowokorotela ngekwe matjinyo abo nenge matjinyo a bobatategulu babo.
40 “Koga abezwileba zwibi zwabo ne zwibi zwa bobatategulu babo, zwabakandithamila nge kusagalikabgwe kwabo ne kudwilila bendifupatila, 41 ikoku kwakayita kuti ndibashandukile ndibe ndibazhisa mu shango ye zwita zwabo, ha mimoyo yabo isakathumbigwa ingatebamisiwa, bebe beshandukila matjinyo abo, 42 ndizo ndowokumbula tjidumano tjangu na Jakubo ndibe ndikumbula tjidumano tjangu na Isaki ne tjidumano tjangu na Abhurahama, ngono ndowokumbula shango. 43 Koga shango yabanowosiya, ishathile nsi wayo we Sabata itjakathukudzika basipo muili. Banowolipila matjinyo abo, ngobe bakalamba ndaulo dzangu, bakabuya bakafupatila milayo yangu. 44 Nenguba kwakajalo, kowoti bali mu shango ye zwita zwabo, anditowobalamba nenguba kuli kubanyunda, kene kubalobesa tjoselele ne kumisa tjidumano tjangu nabo, ndimi Yahwe Ndzimu wabo. 45 Koga nge kubada ndowokumbula tjidumano tjandakathama na bobatategulu babo, bandakadusa ku shango ye Egipiti mu mesho e zwitjaba, kuti ndibe Ndzimu wabo, ndimi Yahwe.”
46 Eyi ndiyo milayo ne ndaulo dzakapiwa Mushe ndi Yahwe ali pezhugwi kwe Dombo le Sinai, kuti ilondolodziwe ne bathu be Iziraela.