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 Blessings of Obedience
(Leviticus 26.3-13Deuteronomy 7.12-24)1 “If you obey the Lord your God and faithfully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, he will make you greater than any other nation on earth. 2 Obey the Lord your God and all these blessings will be yours:
3 “The Lord will bless your towns and your fields.
4 “The Lord will bless you with many children, with abundant crops, and with many cattle and sheep.
5 “The Lord will bless your grain crops and the food you prepare from them.
6 “The Lord will bless everything you do.
7 “The Lord will defeat your enemies when they attack you. They will attack from one direction, but they will run from you in all directions.
8 “The Lord your God will bless your work and fill your barns with grain. He will bless you in the land that he is giving you.
9 “If you obey the Lord your God and do everything he commands, he will make you his own people, as he has promised. 10 Then all the peoples on earth will see that the Lord has chosen you to be his own people, and they will be afraid of you. 11 The Lord will give you many children, many cattle, and abundant crops in the land that he promised your ancestors to give you. 12 He will send rain in season from his rich storehouse in the sky and bless all your work, so that you will lend to many nations, but you will not have to borrow from any. 13 The Lord your God will make you the leader among the nations and not a follower; you will always prosper and never fail if you obey faithfully all his commands that I am giving you today. 14 But you must never disobey them in any way, or worship and serve other gods.
The Consequences of Disobedience
(Leviticus 26.14-46)15 “But if you disobey the Lord your God and do not faithfully keep all his commands and laws that I am giving you today, all these evil things will happen to you:
16 “The Lord will curse your towns and your fields.
17 “The Lord will curse your grain crops and the food you prepare from them.
18 “The Lord will curse you by giving you only a few children, poor crops, and few cattle and sheep.
19 “The Lord will curse everything you do.
20 “If you do evil and reject the Lord, he will bring on you disaster, confusion, and trouble in everything you do, until you are quickly and completely destroyed. 21 He will send disease after disease on you until there is not one of you left in the land that you are about to occupy. 22 The Lord will strike you with infectious diseases, with swelling and fever; he will send drought and scorching winds to destroy your crops. These disasters will be with you until you die. 23 No rain will fall, and your ground will become as hard as iron. 24 Instead of rain, the Lord will send down duststorms and sandstorms until you are destroyed.
25 “The Lord will give your enemies victory over you. You will attack them from one direction, but you will run from them in all directions, and all the people on earth will be terrified when they see what happens to you. 26 When you die, birds and wild animals will come and eat your bodies, and there will be no one to scare them off. 27 The Lord will send boils on you, as he did on the Egyptians. He will make your bodies break out with sores. You will be covered with scabs, and you will itch, but there will be no cure. 28 The Lord will make you lose your mind; he will strike you with blindness and confusion. 29 You will grope about in broad daylight like someone blind, and you will not be able to find your way. You will not prosper in anything you do. You will be constantly oppressed and robbed, and there will be no one to help you.
30 “You will be engaged to a young woman—but someone else will marry her. You will build a house—but never live in it. You will plant a vineyard—but never eat its grapes. 31 Your cattle will be butchered before your very eyes, but you will not eat any of the meat. Your donkeys will be dragged away while you look on, and they will not be given back to you. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and there will be no one to help you. 32 Your sons and daughters will be given as slaves to foreigners while you look on. Every day you will strain your eyes, looking in vain for your children to return. 33 A foreign nation will take all the crops that you have worked so hard to grow, while you receive nothing but constant oppression and harsh treatment. 34 Your sufferings will make you lose your mind. 35 The Lord will cover your legs with incurable, painful sores; boils will cover you from head to foot.
36 “The Lord will take you and your king away to a foreign land, where neither you nor your ancestors ever lived before; there you will serve gods made of wood and stone. 37 In the countries to which the Lord will scatter you, the people will be shocked at what has happened to you; they will make fun of you and ridicule you.
38 “You will plant plenty of seed, but reap only a small harvest, because the locusts will eat your crops. 39 You will plant vineyards and take care of them, but you will not gather their grapes or drink wine from them, because worms will eat the vines. 40 Olive trees will grow everywhere in your land, but you will not have any olive oil, because the olives will drop off. 41 You will have sons and daughters, but you will lose them, because they will be taken away as prisoners of war. 42 All your trees and crops will be devoured by insects.
43 “Foreigners who live in your land will gain more and more power, while you gradually lose yours. 44 They will have money to lend you, but you will have none to lend them. In the end they will be your rulers.
45 “All these disasters will come on you, and they will be with you until you are destroyed, because you did not obey the Lord your God and keep all the laws that he gave you. 46 They will be the evidence of God's judgment on you and your descendants forever. 47 The Lord blessed you in every way, but you would not serve him with glad and joyful hearts. 48 So then, you will serve the enemies that the Lord is going to send against you. You will be hungry, thirsty, and naked—in need of everything. The Lord will oppress you harshly until you are destroyed. 49 The Lord will bring against you a nation from the ends of the earth, a nation whose language you do not know. They will swoop down on you like an eagle. 50 They will be ruthless and show no mercy to anyone, young or old. 51 They will eat your livestock and your crops, and you will starve to death. They will not leave you any grain, wine, olive oil, cattle, or sheep; and you will die. 52 They will attack every town in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and the high, fortified walls in which you trust will fall.
53 “When your enemies are besieging your towns, you will become so desperate for food that you will even eat the children that the Lord your God has given you. 54-55 Even the most refined man of noble birth will become so desperate during the siege that he will eat some of his own children because he has no other food. He will not even give any to his brother or to the wife he loves or to any of his children who are left. 56-57 Even the most refined woman of noble birth, so rich that she has never had to walk anywhere, will behave in the same way. When the enemy besieges her town, she will become so desperate for food that she will secretly eat her newborn child and the afterbirth as well. She will not share them with the husband she loves or with any of her children.
58 “If you do not obey faithfully all of God's teachings that are written in this book and if you do not honor the wonderful and awesome name of the Lord your God, 59 he will send on you and on your descendants incurable diseases and horrible epidemics that can never be stopped. 60 He will bring on you once again all the dreadful diseases you experienced in Egypt, and you will never recover. 61 He will also send all kinds of diseases and epidemics that are not mentioned in this book of God's laws and teachings, and you will be destroyed. 62 Although you become as numerous as the stars in the sky, only a few of you will survive, because you did not obey the Lord your God. 63 Just as the Lord took delight in making you prosper and in making you increase in number, so he will take delight in destroying you and in bringing ruin on you. You will be uprooted from the land that you are about to occupy.
64 “The Lord will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will serve gods made of wood and stone, gods that neither you nor your ancestors have ever worshiped before. 65 You will find no peace anywhere, no place to call your own; the Lord will overwhelm you with anxiety, hopelessness, and despair. 66 Your life will always be in danger. Day and night you will be filled with terror, and you will live in constant fear of death. 67 Your hearts will pound with fear at everything you see. Every morning you will wish for evening; every evening you will wish for morning. 68 The Lord will send you back to Egypt in ships, even though he said that you would never have to go there again. There you will try to sell yourselves to your enemies as slaves, but no one will want to buy you.”