Makombolelo e kuhwa
(Zwipo 26:3-13Matama 7:12-24)
1 “Ngono ha uhwa Yahwe Ndzimu uwo, una njele kulondolodza milayo yabo yose yandinokupa mu zhuba lino, Yahwe Ndzimu uwo banowokumilidza ukabe pezhugwi kwe njudzi dzose dze shango. 2 Ngono makombolelo wose iyawa anowozha kukuli akawanda ha uhwa hwi la Yahwe Ndzimu uwo:
3 “Unowokombolegwa mu nzi nkulu, ukakombolegwa mu shango. 4 Ntjelo we mbili unowokombolegwa ntjelo we mavu awo anowokombolegwa ne ntjelo we phuka dzidzo ne kuwanda kwe ng'ombe dzidzo ne ngubi dzidzo. 5 Zwitundu zwizo zowokombolegwa ne zwivangilo zwizo zwe tjiwunga. 6 Unowokombolegwa ha ungina ukakombolegwa ha ubhuda.
7 “Yahwe banowothama kuti zwita zwizo zwinokumukila uzwikunde, zowozha nge zila ing'ompela zwikakutizha nge zila dzili kutendeka. 8 Yahwe banowozhisa makombolelo mu matula awo ne mu tjimwe ne tjimwe tjaunothama, banowokukombolela mu shango iyeyi yaunopiwa ndi Yahwe Ndzimu uwo. 9 Yahwe banowomuthumbidza se bathu babo bakayengemala kubali, sekwa bakatuna kumuli ha mulondolodza milayo ya Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu kakale muyenda mu zila dzabo. 10 Ngono bathu bose be shango banowobona kuti iwe unodang'wa nge zina la Yahwe, ngono banowokutja. 11 Yahwe banowokupa kuwanda mu ntjelo we mbili uwo nemu ntjelo we ng'ombe dzidzo nemu ntjelo we mavu awo mu shango iyo Yahwe yabakatuna kuna bobatategulu babo kumupa iyo. 12 Yahwe banowokuzhulila kudzimu dula labo le fumwa, kukupa vula mu shango nge nsi wayo ne kukombolela mishingo yose ye maboko awo ngono unowoadzima njudzi njinji, koga iwe aatowoadzima. 13 Yahwe banowokuthama kube nsholo, abatowokuthama kube mwise ngono unowokulila pezhugwi koga autowobuyila pasi, ha uhwa milayo ya Yahwe Ndzimu uwo iyeyi yandinokupa nasi mu zhuba lino una njele kuyithama, 14 usingapambukile ntome kwe limwe le matama andinokupa mu zhuba lino, uyenda ku luji kene ku lumeshwe uyenda ku imwe midzimu kuyishingila.”
Mbhayilo ye kusahwa
(Zwipo 26:14-46)
15 “Koga ha ungasahwa hwi la Yahwe Ndzimu uwo kene ungasabe ne njele kushinga milayo yabo yose yandinokupa mu zhuba lino, ipapo bhiso lose ileli lowozha kukuli lakakukulila. 16 Uwobe ne bhiso uli mu nzi nkulu, ukabe ne bhiso uli ku shango. 17 Zwitundu zwizo zowobe ne bhiso ne mavangilo awo e tjiwunga anowobe ne bhiso. 18 Ntjelo ye mbili uwo unowobe ne bhiso ne ntjelo we mavu awo ne kuwanda kwe ng'ombe dzenyu ne bana be ngubi iyo. 19 Unowobe ne bhiso ha ungina ukabe ne bhiso ha ubhuda.
20 “Yahwe banowokutumila bhiso ne kuwumana ne kushangashangana muna kose kwaunoshinga kuswikila ulobesiwa upela tjinyolotjo kuyikhwa nge mbipo ye zwaunothama ngoti wandifupatila. 21 Yahwe banowothama kuti bugwele gukunamatile kuswikila bekupedza mu shango iyo yaunongina kuitola ne kuithuwa. 22 Yahwe banowokuloba nge bugwele kunowokukorotelesa ne gunokutetemesa ne gunopisa ne kupisa kunonga moto ne bhamba ne phori ne hwuzwi ne zwimbugwi, zowokusala shule kuswikila upela. 23 Ngono mazhuzhugwi apezhugwi kwe misholo iyo anowobe phangula ngono shango kusi kuko ikabe butale. 24 Yahwe banowothama vula ye shango iyo ikabe bgwisana ne hwuluba, ngono kowotebukila mukuli kudwa zhuzhugwi kuswikila walobesiwa.
25 “Yahwe banowokuthama kuti ukundiwe mbeli kwe zwita zwizo, unowoyenda nge zila ing'ompela kunozwinginilila ngono ukatizha nge zila dzili kutendeka mbeli kwabo ngono unowotjisa ku mibuso yose ye shango. 26 Ngono zwitumbu zwenyu zowobe zojiwa zwe nyuni dze phepo ne zwe zwibandana zwe shango ngono kowobe kusina mmwe unozwitata. 27 Yahwe banowokuloba nge thomba dze Egipiti ne malonda ne kukwangwanyuka ne gwenyakwenya kwausingowopodziwa. 28 Yahwe banowokuloba nge bupengo ne bupofu ne kushangashangana kwe nkumbulo. 29 Ngono unowoambaamba zila masikati makulu se bhofu liambaamba mu zhalima, ngono aatowowatshika mu zila iyo. Unowotshambiligwa ukadwilila utolegwa ngono kowobe kusina unokubhatsha. 30 Unowobigilidza nkadzi, ngono nlume mmwe kalala naye, unowobaka ng'umba koga ukasigale muili, unowolima nnda ye mizhambi ngono ukasishingise mitjelo yawo. 31 Ngabe iyo inowobulawa mu mesho awo ngono autoija, donki iyo inowotogwa nge masimba mbeli kuko ngono aitowobuziwa kukuli, pkhwizi iyo inowopiwa zwita zwizo, ngono akutowobe ne mmwe kumubhatsha. 32 Bakololo babo ne bakololokadzi babo banowopiwa bamwe bathu mesho awo akalinga zhuba ne zhuba ngono autowobe ne simba le kudziba ikoku. 33 Ludzi gwausakatongoziba gowoja ntjelo we mavu awo na kose kwawakashinga, unowotshambilidzwa ukathukudziwa kuyendila mbeli 34 kunothama kuti upengesiwe nge tjinowobe mesho awo etjibona. 35 Yahwe banowokuloba mu zwidwi ne mu makumbo nge malonda anohwisa zogwadza ausingake ukapodziwa, kudwila kusi kwe matshambo kunoti ku thong'omana ye nsholo uwo.
36 “Yahwe banokuzhisa, iwe na mambo uwo wawakabiga, ku ludzi gwausakatongo ziba na bobatategulu babo gwabasakatongo ziba, ngono ikoko unowoshingila midzimu mimwe ye lukuni ne ye mabgwe. 37 Ngono unowobe tjinotjisa, ukabe thawu ne tjiyeye pakati kwe bathu bose Yahwe kwabakakutatila. 38 Unowodzwala mbewu njinji mu nnda uwo, koga unowovuna kushomanana ngoti phashu dzowoja. 39 Unowolima nnda we mizhambi ukayishakulila, koga autong'wa nkumbi wayo kene kuli kutjela zhambi muuli, ngoti makonye anodzija. 40 Unowobe ne mitoba mu ntuthu wenyu wose, koga autowozhola mafuta ngoti thoba dzidzo dzowoshashamukila pasi. 41 Unowana bakololo ne bakololokadzi, koga abatowobe babo, ngoti banowoyenda ku butapiwa. 42 Miti iyo yose ne ntjelo we mavu awo kowobe kwe phashu. 43 Nlubili upakati kwenyu unowokula kamupinda etathila pezhugwizhugwi, ngono imwi mowo buyila pasipasi. 44 Unowokuadzima koga iwe autowon'adzima, unowobe nsholo, ngono iwe unowobe mwise. 45 Bhiso lose ileli lowozha kukuli likakutobelela ngono likakukulila kuswikila walobesiwa ngoti usahwa hwi la Yahwe Ndzimu uwo ngekusalondolodza nlayo wabo wabakamupa. 46 Lowobe tjilakidzo ne gaabadzo kukuli, lowobe ne mu bana babo nge kusingapele.
47 “Ngekuti auzoshingila Yahwe Ndzimu uwo nge kushatha ne kushaladuka mu moyo nge kuwatshika kwe zwithu zose, 48 ngono unowoshingila zwita zwizo Yahwe zwabanowotumila kubhayana nawe, unowozwishingila uli mu zhala ne nyota, uli mbujo kakale una zhala ye zwithu zose, ngono banowokutilika jokwi le butale mu ntshibha uwo kuswikila bekulobesa. 49 Yahwe banowozhisa ludzi gunodwa kule kubhayana nawe, kudwa ku phelelo dze shango, bana lubilo se dzu liwuluka, ludzi gwe lulimi gwa usingahwe, 50 ludzi gwakabangalala gusina hanya ne sholotjena kene kube ne ngoni kuba tjetjana. 51 Banowoja bana be ng'ombe dzidzo ne ntjelo we mavu awo, kuswikila walobesiwa. Abatowokusiyila mathunde kene nkumbi we zhambi kene mafuta kene bana be ng'ombe dzidzo kene be ngubi iyo kuswikila bathama kuti mupelele. 52 Banowokukomba nge ngwa mu mizi iyo yose kuswikila makuma e mizi iyo ye matizhilo yaunogalabgwe malefu akasima ewa mu shango iyo yose, banowokukomba nge ngwa mu mizi iyo yose mu shango iyo yose yamapiwa ndi Yahwe Ndzimu uwo. 53 Ngono unowoja bana babo, unowoja nyama ye bakololo neye bakololokadzi babo ibo bawakapiwa ndi Yahwe Ndzimu uwo, unowobaja tjibaka tjaunowobe makakombiwa nge ngwa muli mu kudziyila kwamunowodziyidziwa nge zwita zwenyu. 54 Nlume wakadzikama wakatebama mukuzwagwa kukwe pakati kwenyu unowonyima mwana wa tate babe zojiwa, kanyima nkadzi uwe waanoda ne bana babe batjatjila. 55 Ndizo aana wabo waanowopa nyama ye bana babe yaanoja ngekuti aana yansalila mu kukombiwa nge ngwa ne mu kudziyidziwa kwamunowodziyidziwa ndiko nge zwita zwenyu mu mizi yenyu yose. 56 Nkadzi wakadzikama wakatebama mukuzwagwa kukwe pakati kwenyu, iye hwoyu usingake katshamba pasi nge gumbo lile ngekuti wakadzikama kakale wakatebama unowonyima nlume uwe waanoda zojiwa, kanyima nkololo uwe ne nkololokadzi uwe, 57 unowobanyima mbeleko yakadwa mu tjibumbilo tjitje ne bana baakazwala ngoti unowobajila pakasumbikala nge zhala ye zwithu zose mu kukombiwa nge ngwa ikoku ne kudziyila kwamunodziyidziwa ndiko nge zwita zwenyu mu mizi yenyu.
58 “Ha usina njele dze kushinga tjinolebgwa nge matama e nlayo iwoyu akakwagwa mu lukwalo igogu anoti utje zina ileli lina gudzo kakale lidzidzimusa la Yahwe Ndzimu uwo, 59 ipapo Yahwe banowozhisa kukuli ne mu bana benyu kudziyidzika kukulu, kudziyidzika kusingapele ne njigwele dzinohwisa zogwadza dzinogalila tjose. 60 Kakale banowozhisa mumuli njigwele dze Egipiti dzamakabe mutja ngono dzowomunamatila. 61 Yahwe banowozhisabo ne bugwele gumwe ne gumwe ne kudziyidzika zwisakakwagwa mu lukwalo igogu gwe nlayo iwoyu, Yahwe banowozwizhisa mumuli kudzina malobesiwa. 62 Mowoti makafanila kunga nyenyedzi dze zhuzhugwi nge bunji, mowosala mabe bashomanana ha mubagwa, ngoti amuzohwa hwi la Yahwe Ndzimu wenyu. 63 Ngono sekwa kati Yahwe bakashathila kumuthamila bubuya bakamuwandisa, saikoko Yahwe banowoshathila kumuzhisila tjinomutjinya tjimulobesa ngono mowodusiwa mu shango iyeyi yamunongina kuithuwa. 64 Ngono Yahwe banowomupaladza nge njudzi dzose, kudwa mu lubizho gwe shango kunoti ku gumwe lubizho, ngono ikoko mowoshingila midzimu mimwe ye lukuni neye mabgwe isakatongo zibgwa ndimwi kene ndi bobatategulu benyu. 65 Ngono pakati kwe njudzi idzedzo amutowowana kudzikama, akutowobe ne kunyaluluka kwe makumbo enyu, koga ikoko Yahwe banowomupa moyo unotetema ne mesho asingabonesese ne meya yakanyala. 66 Bupenyu gwenyu gowobe gwakabhakhwa nge kududumwa, siku ne sikati mowobe mulogwa nge hana, musina malebeswa ngekwe butjilo gwenyu. 67 Mu mangwanana mowobe muti, ‘Ungati kungabe kuli madekwana.’ Ngono mu madekwana mowoti, ‘Ungati kungabe kuli mangwanana.’ Kuyikhwa nge hana inowotjisa moyo uwo nenge zwinowobe zwibong'wa nge mesho enyu. 68 Yahwe banowokubgwiliza nge zwikepe ku Egipiti, gwendo gwandakagadzabgwe kuti usitongo gutola kakale, ngono ikoko unowozwipa kutengwa ku zwita zwizo se nlandalume ne nlandakadzi, koga akuna unowokutenga.”
The Lord Will Bless You if You Obey
Moses said to Israel:
1-2 Today I am giving you the laws and teachings of the Lord your God. Always obey them, and the Lord will make Israel the most famous and important nation on earth, and he will bless you in many ways.
3 The Lord will make your businesses and your farms successful.
4 You will have many children. You will harvest large crops, and your herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats will produce many young.
5 You will have plenty of bread to eat.
6 The Lord will make you successful in your daily work.
7 The Lord will help you defeat your enemies and make them scatter in all directions.
8 The Lord your God is giving you the land, and he will make sure you are successful in everything you do. Your harvests will be so large that your storehouses will be full.
9 If you follow and obey the Lord, he will make you his own special people, just as he promised. 10 Then everyone on earth will know that you belong to the Lord, and they will be afraid of you.
11 The Lord will give you a lot of children and make sure that your animals give birth to many young. The Lord promised your ancestors that this land would be yours, and he will make it produce large crops for you.
12 The Lord will open the storehouses of the skies where he keeps the rain, and he will send rain on your land at just the right times. He will make you successful in everything you do. You will have plenty of money to lend to other nations, but you won't need to borrow any yourself.
13 Obey the laws and teachings that I'm giving you today, and the Lord your God will make Israel a leader among the nations, and not a follower. Israel will be wealthy and powerful, not poor and weak. 14 But you must not reject any of his laws and teachings or worship other gods.
The Lord Will Put Curses on You if You Disobey
(Leviticus 26.14-46)
Moses said:
15 Israel, today I am giving you the laws and teachings of the Lord your God. And if you don't obey them all, he will put many curses on you.
16 Your businesses and farms will fail.
17 You won't have enough bread to eat.
18 You'll have only a few children, your crops will be small, and your herds of cattle and flocks of sheep and goats won't produce many young.
19 The Lord will make you fail in everything you do.
20 No matter what you try to accomplish, the Lord will confuse you, and you will feel his anger. You won't last long, and you may even meet with disaster, all because you rejected the Lord.
21-23 The Lord will send terrible diseases to attack you, and you will never be well again. You will suffer with burning fever and swelling and pain until you die somewhere in the land that you captured.
The Lord will make the sky overhead seem like a bronze roof that keeps out the rain, and the ground under your feet will become as hard as iron. Your crops will be scorched by the hot east wind or ruined by mildew. 24 He will send dust and sandstorms instead of rain, and you will be wiped out.
25 The Lord will let you be defeated by your enemies, and you will scatter in all directions. You will be a horrible sight for the other nations to see, 26 and no one will disturb the birds and wild animals while they eat your dead bodies.
27 The Lord will make you suffer with diseases that will cause oozing sores or crusty itchy patches on your skin or boils like the ones that are common in Egypt. And there will be no cure for you! 28 You will become insane and go blind. The Lord will make you so confused, 29 that even in bright sunshine you will have to feel your way around like a blind person, who cannot tell day from night. For the rest of your life, people will beat and rob you, and no one will be able to stop them.
30 A man will be engaged to a woman, but before they can get married, she will be raped by enemy soldiers. Some of you will build houses, but never get to live in them. If you plant a vineyard, you won't be around long enough to enjoy the first harvest. 31 Your cattle will be killed while you watch, but you won't get to eat any of the meat. Your donkeys and sheep will be stolen from you, and no one will be around to force your enemies to give them back. 32 Your sons and daughters will be dragged off to a foreign country, while you stand there helpless. And even if you watch for them until you go blind, you will never see them again.
33 You will work hard on your farms, but everything you harvest will be eaten by foreigners, who will mistreat you and abuse you for the rest of your life.
34 What you see will be so horrible that you will go insane, 35 and the Lord will punish you from head to toe with boils that never heal.
36 The Lord will let you and your king be taken captive to a country that you and your ancestors have never even heard of, and there you will have to worship idols made of wood and stone. 37 People of nearby countries will shudder when they see your terrible troubles, but they will still make fun of you.
38 You will plant a lot of seed, but gather a small harvest, because locusts will eat your crops. 39 You will plant vineyards and work hard at taking care of them, but you won't gather any grapes, much less get any wine, because the vines themselves will be eaten by worms. 40 Even if your olive trees grow everywhere in your country, the olives will fall off before they are ready, and there won't be enough olive oil for combing your hair.
41 Even your children will be taken as prisoners of war.
42 Locusts will eat your crops and strip your trees of leaves and fruit.
43 Foreigners in your towns will become wealthy and powerful, while you become poor and powerless. 44 You will be so short of money that you will have to borrow from those foreigners. They will be the leaders in the community, and you will be the followers.
More Curses for Disobedience
Moses said:
45 Israel, if you don't obey the laws and teachings that the Lord your God is giving you, he will send these curses to chase, attack, and destroy you. 46 Then everyone will look at you and your descendants and realize that the Lord has placed you under a curse.
47 If the Lord makes you wealthy, but you don't joyfully worship and honor him, 48 he will send enemies to attack you and make you their slaves. Then you will live in poverty with nothing to eat, drink, or wear, and your owners will work you to death.
49 Foreigners who speak a strange language will be sent to attack you without warning, just like an eagle swooping down. 50 They won't show any mercy, and they will have no respect for old people or pity for children. 51 They will take your cattle, sheep, goats, grain, wine, and olive oil, then leave you to starve.
52 All over the land that the Lord your God gave you, the enemy army will surround your towns. You may feel safe inside your town walls, but the enemy will tear them down, 53 while you wait in horror. Finally, you will get so hungry that you will eat the sons and daughters that the Lord gave you. 54-55 Because of hunger, a man who had been gentle and kind will eat his own children and refuse to share the meal with his brother or wife or with his other children. 56-57 A woman may have grown up in such luxury that she never had to put a foot on the ground. But times will be so bad that she will secretly eat both her newborn baby and the afterbirth, without sharing any with her husband or her other children.
Disobedience Brings Destruction
Moses said to Israel:
58 You must obey everything in The Book of God's Law. Because if you don't respect the Lord, 59 he will punish you and your descendants with incurable diseases, 60 like those you were so afraid of in Egypt. 61 Remember! If the Lord decides to destroy your nation, he can use any disease or disaster, not just the ones written in The Book of God's Law.
62 There are as many of you now as the stars in the sky, but if you disobey the Lord your God, only a few of you will be left. 63 The Lord is happy to make you successful and to help your nation grow while you conquer the land. But if you disobey him, he will be just as happy to pull you up by your roots.
64 Those of you that survive will be scattered to every nation on earth, and you will have to worship stone and wood idols that never helped you or your ancestors. 65 You will be restless—always longing for home, but never able to return. 66 You will live in constant fear of death. 67 Each morning you will wake up to such terrible sights that you will say, “I wish it were night!” But at night you will be terrified and say, “I wish it were day!”
68 I told you never to go back to Egypt. But now the Lord himself will load you on ships and send you back. Then you will even try to sell yourselves as slaves, but no one will be interested.