Ndzimwana we nkong'wana
(Matama 9:6-29)1 Kwakati bathu bebona kuti Mushe wanonoka kudeluka mu dombo, bakakubungana pana Aroni bakati kunli, “Milika utithamile midzimu inowotitungamila, ngoti Mushe iye wakati dusa mu shango ye Egipiti atitjaziba kuti kwashingikalani kunli.”
2 Aroni kabe ebadwa eti, “Dusani mang'ina e golide amu zebe dze bakadzi benyu ne dze bakololo benyu ne bakololokadzi benyu muazhise kundili.” 3 Ndizo bathu bose bakatola mang'ina e golide wose akabe ali mu zebe dzabo bakayisa kuna Aroni. 4 Ngono iye kaamutjila golide mu maboko abo kaibumba kathama nkong'wana, ndizo Baiziraela bakabe beti, “Eyi ndiyo midzimu iyo iwe Iziraela yakakudusa mu shango ye Egipiti.”
5 Kukati Aroni ebona ikoku, kabaka tjibeso tjinopisigwa zwibhayilo pa ifano itjetjo tje nkong'wana ebe epa zibiso eti, “Mangwana kowobe ne nzano wa Yahwe.” 6 Tjimuka bathu bakabinduka bakadusa zwibhayilo zwinopisiwa ne zwe mbakisano, ngono bakagala pasi bakaja bakang'wa bakamilika bakazana.
7 Yahwe bakadwa Mushe bakati, “Deluka ngoti bathu babo bawakadusa mu shango ye Egipiti bathama zwakabipa, 8 batjimbidza kupambuka mu zila yandakabapa, bazwithamigwa ifano tje nkong'wana ngono batjithigamila bakatjidusila zwibhayilo, bebe beti, ‘Eyi ndiyo midzimu iyo iwe Iziraela yakakudusa mu shango ye Egipiti.’ ” 9 Yahwe bakadwa Mushe bakati, “Ndatjibona bathu ibaba, bathu bana misholo yakawoma. 10 Ngwenu tjindiletja kuti bushongola gwangu gubathutile se moto ndibalobese, koga ndowothama ludzi lukulu kudwa mu kuli.”
11 Koga Mushe kakumbila Yahwe Ndzimu uwe kati, “Ini bushongola gwenyu gungalobesa bathu benyu bamakadusa mu shango ye Egipiti nge simba gulu nenge tjiazha tjakasima sa ikoku kene? 12 Baegipiti kana banowodwa beti, ‘Yahwe bakabadusa mu Egipiti nge nkumbulo mbi kuti benobabulayila mu matombo ne kubalobesa mu shango.’ Buzani moyo wenyu, bushongola gwenyu ngagupele musishingile bathu benyu mbipo iyeyi. 13 Kumbulani Abhurahama na Isaki na Iziraela balanda benyu bamakatuna ku bali muti, ‘Ndowowatsha bana benyu bakabe banji se nyenyedzi dze zhuzhugwi, shango yose iyeyi yandakamugadzabgwe ndowoyipa bana benyu, banowoyi thuwa nge kusingapele.’ ” 14 Ndizo Yahwe bakazwidziba mu mbipo yabakabe bakumbula kuishingila bathu babo.
15 Mushe kabe eshanduka edeluka dombo akabhata zwileiti zwe tjidumano, zwakakwagwa mukati na kuzhe zose. 16 Zwileiti izwezo zwakabe zwathamiwa ne Ndzimu ne nkwalo uli nkwalo we Ndzimu wakakobolegwa mu zwileiti.
17 Joshuwa kati ehwa zhoba ye bathu bemimila, kadwa Mushe kati, “Kuna zhoba ye ngwa mu bukotokelo.” 18 Mushe kanshandula eti, “Zhoba yandinohwa ate uli mpululu we kukunda kene guwo le kukundiwa, koga ndohwa zhoba ye bathu banomba.”
19 Kukati Mushe abe pejo ne makotokelo pa hwunde ye dombo, kabona nkong'wana ne bathu bezana, kazhala bushongola kwazo. Ipapo kaposa zwileiti zwaakabe akabhata zwikapkhwanyika. 20 Katola nkong'wana wabakabe bathama kaupisa kaukwiya kalonga nlota wawo mu vula kathama kuti Baiziraela bang'we vula iyeyo. 21 Ngono Mushe kabhuzwa Aroni kati, “Ibaba bathu bakuthamani tjayita kuti ubalonge mu tjibi tjingapangapa?”
22 Aroni kabe eti, “Musigwadze moyo kungapo tetshi wangu, moziba kuti bathu ibaba banokuligwa nge mbipo kungapani. 23 Bakandidwa bakati, ‘Mutithamile midzimu inowotitungamila, Mushe iye wakatidusa mu shango ye Egipiti atitoziba kuti kwatini nge kukwe.’ 24 Ngono imi abe ndibadwa nditi, ‘Iye una golide ngaaiduse’ ndizo bakabe bendipa iyo, ngono abe ndiilashila mu moto kube kubhuda nkong'wana iwoyu.”
25 Ngono Mushe kati ebona kuti bathu bapanduka ngoti Aroni abaletja bakapanduka kakale bazwilengudza mu zwita zwabo, 26 ipapo Mushe kama pa nkoba we bukotokelo kati, “Iye umile na Yahwe ngaazhe kundili.” Ngono bakololo ba Levi bose bakakubungana panli. 27 Ngono kabadwa kati, “Yahwe Ndzimu we Iziraela bakati, ‘Mmwe ne mmwe ngaadedele bukanu gugwe ayende ebuya buya mu bukotokelo kudwa ku nkoba kuyenda ku mmwe, abulaye nkololo wa tate babe, abulaye nkwinya uwe abulaye ne mbakidzani uwe.’ ” 28 Bakololo ba Levi bakashinga sekwa badwiwa ndi Mushe, mu zhuba ilelo kukafa bathu bali zwiwulu zwili zwitatu (3 000). 29 Ipapo Mushe kati, “Nasi mazwitshwayila kushingila Yahwe mmwe ne mmwe wenyu nge kubulaya nkololo uwe ne mwana wa tate babe kuti Yahwe bamukombolele mu zhuba lino.” 30 Tjimuka Mushe kadwa bathu kati, “Makathama tjibi tjikulu kulu kwazo. Ngono ngwenu ndowoyenda kuna Yahwe, pamwe ndingamuthamila gadzano ngekwe tjibi tjenyu.” 31 Ndizo Mushe kabgwilila kuna Yahwe kabe eti ku bali, “Bathu ibaba bakathama tjibi tjakabangalala. Bakazwithamigwa midzimu nge golide bakabuya bakayithigamila. 32 Mubazwiibhatigwe zwibi zwabo, koga amusingabazwiibhatigwe, ndomukumbila bukushani zina langu mu lukwalo gwenyu gwa makakwala.”
33 Koga Yahwe bakadwa Mushe bakati, “Iye wanditjinyila ndiye wandinobukusha mu lukwalo gwangu. 34 Yenda ngwenu wali utungamilile bathu ibaba kwandakakubudza, ntumwa wangu we kudzimu unowokutungamila. Koga mu zhuba landinowoloba, ndowobalobela jinyo labo.” 35 Yahwe bakabaloba bathu ibaba ngoti bakathama nkong'wana beuthamigwa ndi Aroni.
The People Make an Idol To Worship
(Deuteronomy 9.6-29)1 After the people saw that Moses had been on the mountain for a long time, they went to Aaron and said, “Make us an image of a god who will lead and protect us. Moses brought us out of Egypt, but nobody knows what has happened to him.”
2 Aaron told them, “Bring me the gold earrings that your wives and sons and daughters are wearing.” 3 Everybody took off their earrings and brought them to Aaron, 4 then he melted them and made an idol in the shape of a young bull.
All the people said to one another, “This is the god who brought us out of Egypt!”
5 When Aaron saw what was happening, he built an altar in front of the idol and said, “Tomorrow we will celebrate in honor of the Lord.” 6 The people got up early the next morning and killed some animals to be used for sacrifices and others to be eaten. Then everyone ate and drank so much that they began to carry on like wild people.
7 The Lord said to Moses:
Hurry back down! Those people you led out of Egypt are acting like fools. 8 They have already stopped obeying me and have made themselves an idol in the shape of a young bull. They have bowed down to it, offered sacrifices, and said that it is the god who brought them out of Egypt. 9 Moses, I have seen how stubborn these people are, 10 and I'm angry enough to destroy them, so don't try to stop me. But I will make your descendants into a great nation.
11 Moses tried to get the Lord God to change his mind:
Our Lord, you used your mighty power to bring these people out of Egypt. Now don't become angry and destroy them. 12 If you do, the Egyptians will say that you brought your people out here into the mountains just to get rid of them. Please don't be angry with your people. Don't destroy them!
13 Remember the solemn promise you made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You promised that someday they would have as many descendants as there are stars in the sky and that you would give them land.
14 So even though the Lord had threatened to destroy the people, he changed his mind and let them live.
15-16 Moses went back down the mountain with the two flat stones on which God had written all of his laws with his own hand, using both sides of the stones.
17 When Joshua heard the noisy shouts of the people, he said to Moses, “A battle must be going on down in the camp.”
18 But Moses replied, “It doesn't sound like they are shouting because they have won or lost a battle. It sounds more like a wild party!”
19 As Moses got closer to the camp, he saw the idol, and he also saw the people dancing around. This made him so angry that he threw down the stones and broke them to pieces at the foot of the mountain. 20 He melted the idol the people had made, and he ground it into powder. He scattered it in their water and made them drink it. 21 Moses asked Aaron, “What did these people do to harm you? Why did you make them sin in this terrible way?”
22 Aaron answered:
Don't be angry with me. You know as well as I do that they are determined to do evil. 23 They even told me, “That man Moses led us out of Egypt, but now we don't know what has happened to him. Make us a god to lead us.” 24 Then I asked them to bring me their gold earrings. They took them off and gave them to me. I threw the gold into a fire, and out came this bull.
25 Moses knew that the people were out of control and that it was Aaron's fault. And now they had made fools of themselves in front of their enemies. 26 So Moses stood at the gate of the camp and shouted, “Everyone who is on the Lord's side come over here!”
Then the men of the Levi tribe gathered around Moses, 27 and he said to them, “The Lord God of Israel commands you to strap on your swords and go through the camp, killing your relatives, your friends, and your neighbors.”
28 The men of the Levi tribe followed his orders, and that day they killed about 3,000 men. 29 Moses said to them, “You obeyed the Lord and did what was right, and so you will serve as his priests for the people of Israel. It was hard for you to kill your own sons and brothers, but the Lord has blessed you and made you his priests today.”
30 The next day Moses told the people, “This is a terrible thing you have done. But I will go back to the Lord to see if I can do something to keep this sin from being held against you.”
31 Moses returned to the Lord and said, “The people have committed a terrible sin. They have made a gold idol to be their god. 32 But I beg you to forgive them. If you don't, please wipe my name out of your book.”
33 The Lord replied, “I will wipe out of my book the name of everyone who has sinned against me. 34 Now take my people to the place I told you about, and my angel will lead you. But when the time comes, I will punish them for this sin.”
35 So the Lord punished the people of Israel with a terrible disease for talking Aaron into making the gold idol.