< Judges 18 >

1 In those days there is no king in Israel, and in those days the tribe of the Danite is seeking for itself an inheritance to inhabit, for [that] hath not fallen to it unto that day in the midst of the tribes of Israel by inheritance.
Ngalezonsuku kwakungelankosi koIsrayeli; langalezonsuku isizwe sakoDani sazidingela ilifa lokuhlala, ngoba kuze kube ngalolosuku babengawelwanga yilifa phakathi kwezizwe zakoIsrayeli.
2 And the sons of Dan send, out of their family, five men of them, men, sons of valour, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, to traverse the land, and to search it, and they say unto them, 'Go, search the land;' and they come into the hill-country of Ephraim, unto the house of Micah, and lodge there.
Abantwana bakoDani basebethuma amadoda amahlanu avela kusendo lwabo esuka emaphethelweni abo, amaqhawe, evela eZora leEshitawoli, ukuhlola ilizwe lokuliphenya. Basebesithi kuwo: Hambani liphenye ilizwe. Asefika entabeni yakoEfrayimi, endlini kaMika, alala khona.
3 They [are] with the household of Micah, and they have discerned the voice of the young man, the Levite, and turn aside there, and say to him, 'Who hath brought thee hither? and what art thou doing in this [place?] and what to thee here?'
Esendlini kaMika wona alazi ilizwi lejaha umLevi; asephendukela khona athi kuye: Ngubani owakuletha lapha? Njalo wenzani lapha? Njalo ulani lapha?
4 And he saith unto them, 'Thus and thus hath Micah done to me; and he hireth me, and I am to him for a priest.'
Wasesithi kiwo: UMika ungenzele kanje lakanje; ungiqhatshile, sengingumpristi wakhe.
5 And they say to him, 'Ask, we pray thee, at God, and we know whether our way is prosperous on which we are going.'
Asesithi kuye: Ake ubuze uNkulunkulu ukuze sazi ukuthi indlela yethu esihamba ngayo izaphumelela yini.
6 And the priest saith to them, 'Go in peace; over-against Jehovah [is] your way in which ye go.'
Umpristi wasesithi kibo: Hambani ngokuthula. Indlela yenu elihamba ngayo iphambi kweNkosi.
7 And the five men go, and come in to Laish, and see the people which [is] in its midst, dwelling confidently, according to the custom of Zidonians, quiet and confident; and there is none putting to shame in the land in [any] thing, possessing restraint, and they [are] far off from the Zidonians, and have no word with [any] man.
Asehamba lawomadoda amahlanu, ayafika eLayishi, abona abantu abaphakathi kwayo, behlezi bonwabile, ngokwendlela yamaSidoni, belokuthula, bengethuki lutho, kwakungelamahluleli elizweni ukubathiba, babekhatshana lamaSidoni, bengasebenzelani lamuntu.
8 And they come in unto their brethren, at Zorah and Eshtaol, and their brethren say to them, 'What — ye?'
Asefika kubafowabo eZora leEshitawoli, abafowabo basebesithi kuwo: Lithini?
9 And they say, 'Rise, and we go up against them, for we have seen the land, and lo, very good; and ye are keeping silent! be not slothful to go — to enter to possess the land.
Asesithi: Sukumani asenyuke simelane labo, ngoba sibonile ilizwe, khangelani-ke, lihle kakhulu; pho lina lithule? Lingavilaphi ukuyangena ukudla ilifa lelizwe.
10 When ye go, ye come in unto a people confident, and the land [is] large on both hands, for God hath given it into your hand, a place where there is no lack of anything which [is] in the land.'
Ekufikeni kwenu khona lizafika ebantwini abonwabileyo lelizweni elibanzi inhlangothi zombili, ngoba uNkulunkulu ulinikele esandleni senu; indawo lapho okungasweleki lutho khona elizweni.
11 And there journey thence, of the family of the Danite, from Zorah, and from Eshtaol, six hundred men girded with weapons of war.
Asesuka lapho evela kusendo lwabakoDani eZora leEshitawoli amadoda angamakhulu ayisithupha ehlomile izikhali zempi,
12 And they go up and encamp in Kirjath-Jearim, in Judah, therefore they have called that place, 'Camp of Dan,' till this day; lo, behind Kirjath-Jearim.
enyuka amisa inkamba eKiriyathi-Jeyarimi koJuda. Ngenxa yalokho ayibiza leyondawo ngokuthi yiMahane-Dani kuze kube lamuhla; khangela isemuva kweKiriyathi-Jeyarimi.
13 And they pass over thence [to] the hill-country of Ephraim, and come in unto the house of Micah.
Asesedlula esuka lapho, aya entabeni yakoEfrayimi, afika endlini kaMika.
14 And the five men, those going to traverse the land of Laish, answer and say unto their brethren, 'Have ye known that there is in these houses an ephod, and teraphim, and graven image, and molten image? and now, know what ye do.'
Khona amadoda amahlanu ayehambile ukuhlola ilizwe iLayishi aphendula athi kubafowabo: Liyazi yini ukuthi kulezizindlu kukhona i-efodi lamatherafi lesithombe esibaziweyo lesithombe esibunjwe ngokuncibilikisa? Ngakho-ke cabangani elizakwenza.
15 And they turn aside thither, and come in unto the house of the young man the Levite, the house of Micah, and ask of him of welfare, —
Asephambukela khona, aya endlini yejaha umLevi endlini kaMika, ambuza impilo.
16 (and the six hundred men girded with their weapons of war, who [are] of the sons of Dan, are standing at the opening of the gate), —
Amadoda angamakhulu ayisithupha ayehlomile ngezikhali zempi, ayengabantwana bakoDani, asesima ekungeneni kwesango.
17 yea, the five men, those going to traverse the land, go up — they have come in thither — they have taken the graven image, and the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image — and the priest is standing at the opening of the gate, and the six hundred men who are girded with weapons of war —
Lawomadoda amahlanu ayehambile ukuhlola ilizwe enyuka angena lapho athatha isithombe esibaziweyo, le-efodi, lamatherafi, lesithombe esibunjwe ngokuncibilikisa, umpristi esemi ekungeneni kwesango lamadoda angamakhulu ayisithupha ayebhince izikhali zempi.
18 yea, these have entered the house of Micah, and take the graven image, the ephod, and the teraphim, and the molten image; and the priest saith unto them, 'What are ye doing?'
La-ke esengenile endlini kaMika athatha isithombe esibaziweyo, i-efodi, lamatherafi, lesithombe esibunjwe ngokuncibilikisa, umpristi wathi kiwo: Lenzani?
19 and they say to him, 'Keep silent, lay thy hand on thy mouth, and go with us, and be to us for a father and for a priest: is it better thy being a priest to the house of one man, or thy being priest to a tribe and to a family in Israel?'
Asesithi kuye: Thula, bamba umlomo wakho, uhambe lathi, ube ngubaba kithi lompristi. Kungcono yini ukuthi ube ngumpristi wendlu yomuntu oyedwa kumbe ukuthi ube ngumpristi wesizwe losendo lwakoIsrayeli?
20 And the heart of the priest is glad, and he taketh the ephod, and the teraphim, and the graven image, and goeth into the midst of the people,
Lenhliziyo yompristi yathokoza, wasethatha i-efodi lamatherafi lesithombe esibaziweyo, wangena phakathi kwabantu.
21 and they turn and go, and put the infants, and the cattle, and the baggage, before them.
Basebephenduka behamba, babeka abantwanyana lezifuyo lempahla phambi kwabo.
22 They have been far off from the house of Micah — and the men who [are] in the houses which [are] near the house of Micah have been called together, and overtake the sons of Dan,
Sebekhatshana lomuzi kaMika, amadoda ayesezindlini ezaziseduze lendlu kaMika abizelwa ndawonye abafica abantwana bakoDani.
23 and call unto the sons of Dan, and they turn round their faces, and say to Micah, 'What — to thee that thou hast been called together?'
Amemeza abantwana bakoDani. Basebephendula ubuso babo bathi kuMika: Ulani ukuze libuthane?
24 And he saith, 'My gods which I made ye have taken, and the priest, and ye go; and what to me more? and what [is] this ye say unto me, What — to thee!'
Wasesithi: Lithethe onkulunkulu bami engabenzayo, lompristi, lahamba; pho ngiseselani? Kuyini lokho elikutsho kimi: Uhlutshwa yini?
25 And the sons of Dan say unto him, 'Let not thy voice be heard with us, lest men bitter in soul fall upon you, and thou hast gathered thy life, and the life of thy household;'
Abantwana bakoDani basebesithi kuye: Ilizwi lakho kalingezwakali phakathi kwethu, hlezi amadoda alolaka akuhlasele, ulahlekelwe yimpilo yakho lempilo yabendlu yakho.
26 and the sons of Dan go on their way, and Micah seeth that they are stronger than he, and turneth, and goeth back unto his house.
Basebezihambela ngendlela yabo abantwana bakoDani. Lapho uMika esebonile ukuthi balamandla kulaye, waphenduka wabuyela endlini yakhe.
27 And they have taken that which Micah had made, and the priest whom he had, and come in against Laish, against a people quiet and confident, and smite them by the mouth of the sword, and the city have burnt with fire,
Bona basebethatha lokho uMika ayekwenzile lompristi owayelaye, bafika eLayishi ebantwini ababelokuthula bengethuki lutho, babatshaya ngobukhali benkemba, batshisa umuzi ngomlilo.
28 and there is no deliverer, for it [is] far off from Zidon, and they have no word with [any] man, and it [is] in the valley which [is] by Beth-Rehob; and they build the city, and dwell in it,
Njalo kwakungekho umkhululi, ngoba wawukhatshana leSidoni, bengasebenzelani lamuntu. Wawusesihotsheni esasingaseBeti-Rehobi. Basebesakha umuzi, bahlala kiwo.
29 and call the name of the city Dan, by the name of Dan their father, who was born to Israel; and yet Laish [is] the name of the city at the first.
Basebebiza ibizo lomuzi ngokuthi yiDani ngebizo likaDani uyise owazalelwa uIsrayeli. Kodwa ibizo lomuzi laliyiLayishi kuqala.
30 And the sons of Dan raise up for themselves the graven image, and Jonathan son of Gershom, son of Manasseh, he and his sons have been priests to the tribe of the Danite, till the day of the removal of [the people] of the land.
Abantwana bakoDani basebezimisela isithombe esibaziweyo. Njalo uJonathani indodana kaGereshoma, indodana kaManase, yena lamadodana akhe babengabapristi besizwe sakoDani kwaze kwaba lusuku lokuthunjwa kwelizwe.
31 And they appoint for them the graven image of Micah, which he had made, all the days of the house of God being in Shiloh.
Basebezimisela isithombe esibaziweyo sikaMika ayesenzile, zonke izinsuku indlu kaNkulunkulu iseShilo.

< Judges 18 >