UGWA­LO

LU­KAE­STA

Indlo­vu­ka­zi uVa­shi­ti iya­la uku­la­le­la inko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si

1Kwa­se­ku­si­thi nge­nsu­ku zi­kaA­ha­su­we­ru­sia, uA­ha­su­we­ru­si lo owa­bu­sa ku­su­ke­la eI­ndi­yab ku­ze ku­be seE­thi­yo­phi­yac, iza­be­lod ezi­li­khu­lu la­ma­tshu­mi ama­bi­li le­si­kho­mbi­sae,

2 nga­le­zo­nsu­ku la­pho inko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si wa­hla­la esi­hla­lwe­ni so­bu­kho­si so­mbu­so wa­khef esa­si­se­Shu­sha­ni isi­go­dlog,

3 ngo­mnya­ka we­si­tha­thu wo­ku­bu­sa kwa­khe we­nze­la izi­pha­tha­ma­ndla za­khe le­nce­ku za­khe zo­nke idi­lih. Ama­ndla ePe­ri­si­ya le­Me­de, izi­ndu­na la­ba­bu­si be­za­be­lo ba­be­pha­mbi kwa­khei,

4 la­pho etshe­ngi­sa ino­tho ye­nka­zi­mu­lo yo­mbu­so wa­khe lo­bu­gu­gu bo­bu­hle bo­bu­khu­lu ba­khe insu­ku ezi­ne­ngi, insu­ku ezi­li­khu­lu la­ma­tshu­mi ayi­si­fi­ca­mi­nwe­mbi­li.

5 Kwa­thi le­zo­nsu­ku se­zi­gcwa­li­se­ki­le, inko­si ye­nze­la bo­nke aba­ntu aba­tho­la­ka­la eShu­sha­ni isi­go­dlo idi­li, ku­su­ke­la ko­mkhu­lu ku­si­ya ko­mnci­nya­ne, insu­ku ezi­yi­si­kho­mbi­sa, egu­me­ni le­si­va­nde se­si­go­dlo se­nko­sij.

6 Kwa­ku­la­ma­le­mbu amhlo­phe, ama­le­mbu aco­le­ki­le­yo, la­lu­hla­za okwe­si­bha­ka­bha­ka, ebo­tshe­lwe nge­nta­mbo ze­le­mbu eli­co­le­ki­le­yo ka­khu­lu le­zi­yi­bu­be­nde ema­so­ngwe­ni esi­li­vak le­zi­nsi­ke­ni ze­li­tshe le-a­li­ba­sta*. Imi­bhe­da ya­yi­nge­ye­go­li­de le­si­li­va phe­zu kwe­nda­wo ega­nde­lwe nga­ma­tshe abo­mvu, le-a­li­ba­sta, la­ma­pha­re­le*, la­mnya­mal.

7 Ba­se­be­na­thi­sa nge­zi­tsha ze­go­li­de, le­zi­tsha za­zi­yi­zi­tsha eze­hlu­ke­ne­yo, le­wa­yi­ni le­si­kho­si­ni la­ba li­ne­ngi nje­ngo­kwe­sa­ndla se­nko­si.

8 Lo­ku­na­tha kwa­ku­ngo­ko­mthe­tho, ku­nge­kho oba­mba nga­ma­ndla; ngo­ba ngo­ku­nja­lo inko­si ya­yi­la­yi­le kwa­ba­khu­lu bo­nke be­ndlu ya­yo uku­thi be­nze nje­ngo­ku­fi­sa ko­mu­ntu lo­mu­ntu.

9 UVa­shi­ti indlo­vu­ka­zi la­ye we­nze­la abe­si­fa­za­na idi­li endli­ni ye­si­kho­si­ni inko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si aye­la­yo.

10 Ngo­su­ku lwe­si­kho­mbi­sa, inhli­zi­yo ye­nko­si isi­tho­ko­zi­le nge­wa­yi­nim, ya­thi ku­bo­Me­hu­ma­ni, uBhi­zi­tha, uHa­ri­bo­nan, uBhi­gi­tha, loA­bha­gi­tha, uZe­tha­ri, lo­Ka­ri­ka­sio, aba­the­nwa aba­yi­si­kho­mbi­sa aba­be­se­be­nza pha­mbi kwe­nko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si,

11 uku­thi ba­le­the uVa­shi­ti indlo­vu­ka­zi pha­mbi kwe­nko­si elo­mqhe­le we­si­kho­si­nip, uku­tshe­ngi­sa aba­ntu le­zi­pha­tha­ma­ndla ubu­hle ba­khe, ngo­ba wa­ye­kha­nge­le­ka ku­hle.

12 Ko­dwa indlo­vu­ka­zi uVa­shi­ti ya­la uku­bu­ya nge­li­zwi le­nko­si ela­li­nge­sa­ndla sa­ba­the­nwa. Nga­kho inko­si ya­thu­ku­the­la ka­khu­lu, lo­la­ka lwa­yo lwa­vu­tha pha­ka­thi kwa­yo.

13 Inko­si ya­si­si­thi kwa­ba­hla­ka­ni­phi­le­yoq aba­be­sa­zi izi­kha­thi (ngo­ba la­li­nja­lo ili­zwi le­nko­si pha­mbi kwa­bo bo­nke aba­zi­yo umthe­tho le­sa­hlu­le­lor,

14 la­la­bo aba­be­se­du­ze la­yo ba­be­ngo­Ka­ri­she­na, uShe­tha­ri, uA­di­ma­tha, uTa­rshi­shi, uMe­re­si, uMa­ri­se­na, uMe­mu­ka­nis, izi­pha­tha­ma­ndla ezi­yi­si­kho­mbi­sa ze­Pe­ri­si­ya le­Me­det, eza­zi­bo­na ubu­so be­nko­si, eza­zi­hla­la pha­mbi­li embu­swe­ni)u:

15 Ngo­ko­mthe­tho ku­nge­nzi­wa­ni nge­ndlo­vu­ka­zi uVa­shi­ti nge­nxa yo­ku­thi ka­ye­nza­nga ili­zwi le­nko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si nge­sa­ndla sa­ba­the­nwa?

16 UMe­mu­ka­ni wa­se­si­thi pha­mbi kwe­nko­si le­zi­pha­tha­ma­ndla: UVa­shi­ti indlo­vu­ka­zi wo­ni­le ku­nge­yi­si­kho enko­si­ni ku­phe­la, ko­dwa la­ku­zi­pha­tha­ma­ndla zo­nke le­ba­ntwi­ni bo­nke aba­se­za­be­lwe­ni zo­nke ze­nko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si.

17 Ngo­ba ise­nzo se­ndlo­vu­ka­zi si­za­phu­me­la ku­bo bo­nke abe­si­fa­za­na, ku­ze ku­thi ba­de­le­le omka­bo eme­hlwe­ni abo, nxa be­si­thi: Inko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si wa­tshe­la uku­thi ku­le­thwe uVa­shi­ti indlo­vu­ka­zi pha­mbi kwa­yo, ko­dwa ka­yi­za­nga.

18 Ye­bo mhla­lo­kho ama­kho­si­ka­zi ePe­ri­si­ya le­Me­de ezwe ise­nzo se­ndlo­vu­ka­zi aza­ku­thi ku­zo zo­nke izi­pha­tha­ma­ndla ze­nko­si, ku­be kho­na uku­de­le­la lo­ku­thu­ku­the­la okwe­dlu­li­sa­yo.

19 Uba ku­lu­ngi­le enko­si­ni ka­ku­phu­me umthe­tho we­si­kho­si­ni ku­yo, ka­ku­bha­lwe emi­the­thwe­ni ya­ma­Pe­ri­si­ya la­ma­Me­dev, onge­gu­qu­lwe, uku­thi uVa­shi­ti ka­yi­ku­nge­na pha­mbi kwe­nko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si; inko­si ini­ke-ke ubu­kho­si­ka­zi ba­khe ko­mu­nye onje­nga­ye ongco­no ku­la­ye.

20 Usu­zwa­ke­le umthe­tho we­nko­si eza­we­nza embu­swe­ni wa­yo wo­nke (ngo­ba mkhu­lu) bo­nke abe­si­fa­za­na ba­za­ni­ka inhlo­ni­pho ku­bo­mka­bow, ku­su­ke­la ko­mkhu­lu ku­si­ya ko­mnci­nya­nex.

21 Nja­lo inda­ba ya­yi­lu­ngi­le eme­hlwe­ni enko­si le­zi­pha­tha­ma­ndla; inko­si ya­si­se­nza nje­ngo­kwe­li­zwi li­ka­Me­mu­ka­ni.

22 Ya­si­thu­me­la izi­ncwa­di ku­zo zo­nke iza­be­lo ze­nko­siy, ku­sa­be­lo le­sa­be­lo nje­ngo­mbha­lo wa­so, la­ku­bo aba­ntu la­ba­ntu nje­ngo­ko­li­mi lwa­bo, uku­thi ile­yo la­le­yo­ndo­da ibe ngu­mbu­si endli­ni ya­yo, ikhu­lu­me nje­ngo­ko­li­mi lwa­ba­ntu ba­ki­bo.

UE­sta uba yi­ndlo­vu­ka­zi

2Emva kwa­le­zi­zi­nto, ula­ka lwe­nko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si se­lu­de­di­le, wa­mkhu­mbu­la uVa­shi­ti, la­lo­kho aye­kwe­nzi­le, la­lo­kho okwa­qu­nywa nga­yea.

2 Izi­nce­ku ze­nko­si eza­zi­yi­se­be­nze­la za­se­zi­si­thi: Ka­ku­di­nge­lwe inko­si ama­nto­mba­za­na, izi­nto­mbi ezi­kha­nge­le­ka ku­hle.

3 Inko­si imi­se-ke aba­bo­ni­si ku­zo zo­nke iza­be­lo zo­mbu­so, uku­ze ba­bu­tha­ni­se wo­nke ama­nto­mba­za­na, izi­nto­mbi ezi­kha­nge­le­ka ku­hle, eShu­sha­ni isi­go­dlo, endli­ni ya­be­si­fa­za­na, esa­ndle­ni si­ka­He­ga­yi, umthe­nwa we­nko­si, umlo­ndo­lo­zi wa­be­si­fa­za­na, lo­ku­ni­ka oko­ku­qho­la kwa­wo.

4 Ku­thi into­mba­za­na enhle eme­hlwe­ni enko­si ibe yi­ndlo­vu­ka­zi esi­khu­ndle­ni si­ka­Va­shi­ti. Inda­ba ya­yi­lu­ngi­le-ke eme­hlwe­ni enko­si, ye­nza nja­lob.

5 Kwa­ku­kho­na indo­da engu­mJu­da eShu­sha­ni isi­go­dlo, obi­zo la­yo la­li­ngu­Mo­de­kha­yi indo­da­na ka­Ja­yi­ri indo­da­na ka­Shi­me­yic indo­da­na ka­Ki­shi, umBhe­nja­mi­nid,

6 owa­ye­thu­njwe eJe­ru­sa­le­ma ka­nye la­ba­thu­njwa aba­be­thu­njwe lo­Je­ko­ni­ya inko­si ya­ko­Ju­da, uNe­bhu­ka­di­ne­za­ri inko­si ye­Bha­bhi­lo­ni owa­ye­ba­thu­mbi­lee.

7 Nja­lo wa­ye­so­ndla uHa­da­sa, onguE­sta, umnta­ka­ma­lu­ma­khe, ngo­ba wa­ye­nge­la­yi­se ku­mbe uni­na; nja­lo into­mbi ya­yi­yi­nhle nge­si­mo nja­lo ikha­nge­le­ka ku­hle; eku­fe­ni-ke ku­ka­yi­se lo­ni­na uMo­de­kha­yi wa­yi­tha­tha ya­ba yi­ndo­da­ka­zi ya­khef.

8 Kwa­se­ku­si­thi se­ku­zwa­ke­le ili­zwi le­nko­si lo­mthe­tho wa­yo, la­pho se­ku­bu­tha­ni­swe izi­nto­mbi ezi­ne­ngi eShu­sha­ni isi­go­dlo esa­ndle­ni si­ka­He­ga­yi, uE­sta la­ye wa­tha­thwa wa­si­wa endli­ni ye­nko­si esa­ndle­ni si­ka­He­ga­yi, umlo­ndo­lo­zi wa­be­si­fa­za­nag.

9 Le­nto­mbi ya­yi­yi­nhle eme­hlwe­ni akhe, ya­zu­za umu­sa pha­mbi kwa­kheh; wa­se­hle eyi­ni­ka ama­kha ayo le­za­be­lo za­yo, la­ma­nto­mba­za­na akhe­thi­we­yo ayi­si­kho­mbi­sa uku­yi­ni­ka ave­la endli­ni ye­nko­si; wa­yi­su­sa wa­yi­fa­ka yo­na la­ma­nto­mba­za­na ayo enda­we­ni enhle ye­ndlu ya­be­si­fa­za­nai.

10 UE­sta wa­ye­nga­khu­lu­ma­nga aba­ntu ba­kwa­bo lo­mhlo­bo wa­khe, ngo­ba uMo­de­kha­yi wa­ye­mla­yi­le uku­thi anga­ku­khu­lu­mij.

11 La­nga­lo lo­nke usu­ku ngo­su­ku uMo­de­kha­yi wa­ye­ha­mba­ha­mba pha­mbi kwe­gu­ma le­ndlu ya­be­si­fa­za­na ukwa­zi impi­la­ka­hle kaE­sta lo­ku­thi ku­yi­ni oku­za­kwe­nze­ka ku­ye.

12 Le­ku­fi­ke­ni kwe­zo­pha le­nto­mbi nge­nto­mbi uku­nge­na enko­si­ni uA­ha­su­we­ru­si eku­ci­ne­ni se­kwe­nzi­we ku­ye nje­ngo­mthe­tho wa­be­si­fa­za­na, inya­nga ezi­li­tshu­mi la­mbi­li, ngo­ba ngo­ku­nja­lo kwa­gcwa­li­se­ka insu­ku za­ma­kha awo, inya­nga ezi­yi­si­thu­pha nga­ma­fu­tha emu­re*, le­nya­nga ezi­yi­si­thu­pha nga­ma­kha oku­qho­la, la­ngama­nye ama­kha abe­si­fa­za­na.

13 Nga­lo­kho-ke into­mbi ya­nge­na enko­si­ni; lo­ba ku­yi­ni eku­tsho­yo iza­ku­ni­kwa uku­thi iha­mbe la­kho isu­ka endli­ni ya­be­si­fa­za­na isi­ya endli­ni ye­nko­si.

14 Nta­mba­ma ya­nge­na, le­ku­se­ni ibu­ye­le endli­ni ye­si­bi­li ya­be­si­fa­za­na, esa­ndle­ni si­ka­Sha­shi­ga­zi umthe­nwa we­nko­si umlo­ndo­lo­zi wa­ba­fa­zi aba­nci­nya­ne; ka­yi­nge­na­nga fu­thi enko­si­ni nga­pha­ndle ko­ku­thi inko­si itho­ko­ze nga­yo, ibi­zwe nge­bi­zo.

15 Kwa­thi se­li­fi­ki­le izo­pho li­kaE­sta, indo­da­ka­zi kaA­bi­ha­yi­li uma­lu­ma­khe ka­Mo­de­kha­yi owa­ye­mthe­the wa­ba yi­ndo­da­ka­zi ya­khek, lo­ku­thi ange­ne enko­si­ni, ka­ce­la­nga lu­tho nga­pha­ndle kwa­lo­kho uHe­ga­yi umthe­nwa we­nko­si umlo­ndo­lo­zi wa­be­si­fa­za­na aku­tsho­yo. UE­sta wa­ye­se­mu­ke­la-ke umu­sa eme­hlwe­ni abo bo­nke aba­mbo­na­yo.

16 Ngo­ku­nja­lo uE­sta wa­si­wa enko­si­ni uA­ha­su­we­ru­si endli­ni ya­yo ye­si­kho­si­ni nge­nya­nga ye­tshu­mi, eyi­nya­nga ka­Te­be­thi, ngo­mnya­ka we­si­kho­mbi­sa wo­ku­bu­sa kwa­yo.

17 Inko­si ya­si­mtha­nda uE­sta okwe­dlu­la bo­nke abe­si­fa­za­na, we­mu­ke­la umu­sa le­si­he pha­mbi kwa­yo okwe­dlu­la zo­nke into­mbi, ya­si­be­ka umqhe­le wo­bu­kho­si ekha­nda la­khe, ya­me­nza indlo­vu­ka­zi esi­khu­ndle­ni si­ka­Va­shi­ti.

18 Inko­si ya­si­se­nze­la zo­nke izi­pha­tha­ma­ndla za­yo le­nce­ku za­yo idi­li eli­khu­lu, idi­li li­kaE­sta. Ye­nze­la iza­be­lo ikhe­ful, ya­pha izi­phom nje­ngo­kwa­ma­ndla enko­sin.

19 Kwa­thi into­mbi se­zi­bu­tha­ni­si­we okwe­si­bi­lio, uMo­de­kha­yi wa­ye­hle­zi esa­ngwe­ni le­nko­sip.

20 UE­sta wa­ye­nga­khu­lu­ma­nga umhlo­bo wa­khe la­ba­ntu ba­ki­bo, nje­ngo­ba uMo­de­kha­yi wa­mla­yaq, ngo­ba uE­sta we­nza umla­yo ka­Mo­de­kha­yi nje­nga­la­pho eso­ndli­wa ela­yer.

UMo­de­kha­yi utshe­la uE­sta uku­thi ku­kho­na abe­nza ugo­be nge­nko­si

21 Nga­le­zo­zi­nsu­ku uMo­de­kha­yi ehle­zi esa­ngwe­ni le­nko­si, oBi­gi­tha­ni lo­Te­re­shi aba­the­nwa aba­bi­li be­nko­sis, aba­li­ndi bo­mbu­ndu, ba­thu­ku­the­la, ba­di­nga uku­yi­the­la isa­ndla inko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si.

22 Nja­lo uda­ba lwa­zi­wa ku­Mo­de­kha­yi, wa­se­lu­tshe­la uE­sta indlo­vu­ka­zi; nja­lo uE­sta wa­yi­tshe­la inko­si ebi­zwe­ni li­ka­Mo­de­kha­yit.

23 Lo­lo­da­ba se­lu­hlo­lwa, lwa­tho­la­ka­la lu­nja­lo; nga­kho bo­ba­bi­li ba­pha­nye­kwa esi­hla­hle­ni. Kwa­se­ku­bha­lwa egwa­lwe­ni lwe­mi­la­ndo pha­mbi kwe­nko­siu.

Ugo­be lu­ka­Ha­ma­ni lo­ku­bu­la­la ama­Ju­da

3Emva kwa­le­zi­zi­nda­ba inko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si ya­mkhu­li­sa uHa­ma­ni indo­da­na ka­Ha­me­da­thaa umA­ga­gib, ya­mpha­ka­mi­sa, ya­be­ka isi­hla­lo sa­khe phe­zu kwa­zo zo­nke izi­pha­tha­ma­ndla eza­zi­la­yec.

2 Nga­kho zo­nke ince­ku ze­nko­si eza­zi­se­sa­ngwe­ni le­nko­si za­kho­tha­ma za­mkho­nza uHa­ma­ni, ngo­ba inko­si ya­yi­la­ye ngo­ku­nja­lo nga­ye. Ko­dwa uMo­de­kha­yi ka­kho­tha­ma­nga ka­kho­nza­ngad.

3 Izi­nce­ku ze­nko­si eza­zi­se­sa­ngwe­ni le­nko­sie za­se­zi­si­thi ku­Mo­de­kha­yi: Ku­nga­ni use­qa umla­yo we­nko­sif?

4 Kwa­se­ku­si­thi zi­khu­lu­ma la­ye insu­ku nge­nsu­ku, ko­dwa enga­zi­zwa­nga, za­mtshe­la uHa­ma­ni uku­ze zi­bo­ne uku­thi ama­zwi ka­Mo­de­kha­yi aza­ku­ma yi­ni; ngo­ba wa­ye­zi­tshe­li­le uku­thi ungu­mJu­da.

5 UHa­ma­ni ese­bo­ni­le uku­thi uMo­de­kha­yi ka­kho­tha­ma­nga nja­lo ka­kho­nza­nga ku­yeg, uHa­ma­ni wa­gcwa­la intu­ku­the­loh.

6 We­se­de­le­la eme­hlwe­ni akhe uku­mthe­la isa­ndla uMo­de­kha­yi ye­dwa, ngo­ba ba­be­mtshe­li­le aba­ntu ba­ki­bo ka­Mo­de­kha­yi, nga­kho uHa­ma­ni wa­di­nga uku­chi­tha wo­nke ama­Ju­da, aye­se­mbu­swe­ni wo­nke kaA­ha­su­we­ru­si, aba­ntu ba­ki­bo ka­Mo­de­kha­yi.

7 Nge­nya­nga yo­ku­qa­la, eyi­nya­nga uNi­sa­nii, ngo­mnya­ka we­tshu­mi la­mbi­li we­nko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si, ba­pho­sa iPu­rij, eli­yi­nka­tho, pha­mbi ku­ka­Ha­ma­ni, ku­su­ke­la osu­kwi­ni ku­si­ya osu­kwi­ni, nja­lo ku­su­ke­la enya­nge­ni ku­si­ya enya­nge­ni ye­tshu­mi la­mbi­lik, eyi­nya­nga uA­da­ril.

8 UHa­ma­ni wa­se­si­thi enko­si­ni uA­ha­su­we­ru­si: Ku­kho­na aba­ntu aba­thi­le aba­hla­ka­ze­ke ba­sa­ba­la­la pha­ka­thi kwa­ba­ntu eza­be­lwe­ni zo­nke zo­mbu­so wa­kho; le­mi­la­yo ya­bom ye­hlu­ki­le kwe­ya­bo bo­nke aba­ntun, le­mi­la­yo ye­nko­si ka­ba­ye­nzi; nga­kho ka­ku­fa­ne­la­nga enko­si­ni uku­thi iba­ye­ke­le ba­hla­le.

9 Uba ku­lu­ngi­le enko­si­ni, ka­ku­bha­lwe uku­thi ba­chi­thwe, nja­lo ngi­za­li­nga­ni­sa ama­tha­le­nta* esi­li­va azi­nku­lu­ngwa­ne ezi­li­tshu­mi eza­ndle­ni za­be­nzi bo­mse­be­nzi, uku­ze afa­kwe ko­ku­li­gu­gu kwe­nko­si.

10 Inko­si ya­si­khu­pha inda­nda­tho yo­pha­wu lwa­yo esa­ndle­ni sa­yo, ya­yi­ni­ka uHa­ma­ni indo­da­na ka­Ha­me­da­thao umA­ga­gip, isi­tha sa­ma­Ju­da.

11 Inko­si ya­si­si­thi ku­Ha­ma­ni: Isi­li­va usi­ni­ki­we, la­ba­ntu, ukwe­nza nga­bo nje­ngo­ku­hle eme­hlwe­ni akho.

12 Kwa­se­ku­bi­zwa aba­bha­li be­nko­siq nge­nya­nga yo­ku­qa­la ngo­su­ku lwe­tshu­mi la­nta­thu lwa­yor; kwa­se­ku­bha­lwa nje­nga­kho ko­nke uHa­ma­ni aye­ku­la­yi­le, ezi­khu­lwi­ni ze­nko­sis la­ku­ba­bu­si aba­be­phe­zu kwe­sa­be­lo le­sa­be­lot, la­ku­zi­pha­tha­ma­ndla ze­si­zwe le­si­zwe se­sa­be­lo le­sa­be­lo, nje­ngo­ko­mbha­lo wa­sou, la­ba­ntu nga­ba­ntu ngo­ko­li­mi lwa­bo; kwa­bha­lwa ebi­zwe­ni le­nko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­siv, kwa­na­nya­thi­se­lwa nge­nda­nda­tho yo­pha­wu lwe­nko­si.

13 Incwa­di za­thu­nye­lwa nge­sa­ndla se­zi­gi­ji­miw ku­zo zo­nke iza­be­lo ze­nko­si uku­chi­tha, uku­bu­la­la, lo­ku­bhu­bhi­sa wo­nke ama­Ju­da, ku­su­ke­la ko­mu­tsha ku­si­ya ko­mda­la, aba­ntwa­nya­na la­be­si­fa­za­nax, nga­su­ku lu­nyey, ngo­lwe­tshu­mi la­nta­thu lwe­nya­nga ye­tshu­mi la­mbi­li, eyi­nya­nga uA­da­riz, lo­ku­thi ku­pha­ngwe impa­hla ya­woa.

14 Ikho­phi yo­mbha­lo yo­ku­thi umla­yo uni­kwe ku­so so­nke isa­be­lo nge­sa­be­lo ya­yi­so­ba­la ku­bo bo­nke aba­ntu uku­ze ba­lu­nge­le lo­lo­su­kub.

15 Izi­gi­ji­mi za­phu­ma zi­pha­ngi­si­swa yi­li­zwi le­nko­sic, lo­mthe­tho wa­ni­kwa eShu­sha­ni isi­go­dlo. Inko­si lo­Ha­ma­ni ba­se­be­hla­le­la uku­na­tha, ko­dwa umu­zi iShu­sha­ni wa­wu­sa­nga­ni­se­ki­led.

UE­sta uvu­ma uku­khu­lu­me­la aba­ntu ba­ki­bo

4UMo­de­kha­yi ese­kwa­zi­le ko­nke okwe­nzi­we­yo, uMo­de­kha­yi wa­da­bu­la izi­gqo­ko za­khea, wa­gqo­ka isa­kab lo­mlo­thac, wa­phu­ma wa­nge­na pha­ka­thi ko­mu­zi, wa­kha­la uku­kha­la oku­khu­lu lo­ku­ba­ba­yo,

2 we­za wa­ze wa­ba pha­mbi kwe­sa­ngo le­nko­si, ngo­ba kwa­ku­nge­kho onga­nge­na esa­ngwe­ni le­nko­si egqo­ke isa­ka.

3 La­ku­so so­nke isa­be­lo le­sa­be­lo, inda­wo la­pho ili­zwi le­nko­si lo­mthe­tho okwa­ku­fi­ka kho­na, kwa­ba lo­ku­li­la oku­khu­lu ku­ma­Ju­da, lo­ku­zi­la uku­dla, lo­ku­kha­la inye­mbe­zi, lo­ku­li­la; ama­ne­ngi ala­la ema­sa­ke­ni le­mlo­the­ni.

4 Kwa­se­ku­fi­ka ama­nto­mba­za­na kaE­sta la­ba­the­nwa ba­khe ba­mtshe­la; indlo­vu­ka­zi ya­si­da­bu­ka ka­khu­lu, ya­thu­me­la ize­mba­tho zo­ku­gqo­ki­sa uMo­de­kha­yi, lo­ku­su­sa ku­ye isa­ka la­khe, ko­dwa ka­ze­mu­ke­la­nga.

5 UE­sta wa­se­bi­za uHa­tha­ki omu­nye wa­ba­the­nwa be­nko­si eya­yi­mmi­se­le ye­nad, wa­mla­ya ngo­Mo­de­kha­yi uku­thi azi uku­thi ku­yi­ni lo­ku­thi ku­nga­ni.

6 UHa­tha­ki wa­se­phu­ma wa­ya ku­Mo­de­kha­yi egce­ke­ni lo­mu­zi ela­li­pha­mbi kwe­sa­ngo le­nko­si.

7 UMo­de­kha­yi wa­mtshe­la ko­nke okwe­nze­ke ku­ye, le­ngca­ze­lo ye­ma­li uHa­ma­ni athi uza­yi­li­nga­ni­se­la ko­ku­li­gu­gu kwe­nko­si nga­ma­Ju­da uku­wa­chi­thae.

8 Wa­se­mni­ka ikho­phi yo­mbha­lo wo­mthe­tho eya­ni­kwa eShu­sha­ni uku­wa­chi­tha uku­thi ayi­tshe­ngi­se uE­sta, lo­ku­thi amtshe­le, lo­ku­thi amla­ye uku­thi ange­ne enko­si­ni, uku­mnce­nge­la, lo­ku­ce­le­la aba­ntu ba­ki­bo pha­mbi kwa­khef.

9 UHa­tha­ki wa­se­si­za wa­mtshe­la uE­sta ama­zwi ka­Mo­de­kha­yi.

10 UE­sta wa­se­khu­lu­ma lo­Ha­tha­ki, wa­mni­ka umla­yo usi­ya ku­Mo­de­kha­yi wo­ku­thi:

11 Zo­nke ince­ku ze­nko­si la­ba­ntu be­za­be­lo ze­nko­si ba­ya­kwa­zi uku­thi, lo­ba ngu­ba­ni, owe­si­li­sa lo­ba owe­si­fa­za­na, onge­na esi­ya enko­si­ni egu­me­ni eli­nga­pha­ka­thi, enga­bi­zwa­nga, ku­lo­mthe­tho owo­dwa nga­ye wo­kumbu­la­la, nga­pha­ndle ko­ku­thi inko­si ime­lu­le­le into­nga yo­bu­kho­si ye­go­li­de, uku­ze aphi­le; ko­dwa mi­na ka­ngi­bi­zwa­nga uku­nge­na enko­si­ni le­zi­nsu­ku ezi­nga­ma­tshu­mi ama­tha­thu.

12 Ba­se­be­mtshe­la uMo­de­kha­yi ama­zwi kaE­sta.

13 UMo­de­kha­yi wa­se­si­thi ephe­ndu­la uE­sta: Unga­ca­ba­ngi engqo­ndwe­ni ya­kho uku­thi uza­phe­pha endli­ni ye­nko­si okwe­dlu­la wo­nke ama­Ju­da.

14 Ngo­ba uba uthu­la lo­ku­thu­la nga­le­si­si­kha­thi, usi­zo le­nku­lu­le­ko ku­za­me­la ama­Ju­da ku­ve­la kwe­nye inda­wo, ko­dwa we­na le­ndlu ka­yi­hlo li­za­bhu­bha. Ngu­ba­ni ka­mbe owa­zi­yo uku­thi ufi­ki­le embu­swe­ni nge­nxa ye­si­kha­thi esi­nje?

15 UE­sta wa­se­si­thi ephe­ndu­la uMo­de­kha­yi:

16 Ha­mba ubu­tha­ni­se wo­nke ama­Ju­da atho­la­ka­la eShu­sha­ni, li­ngi­zi­le­le uku­dla, li­nga­dli li­nga­na­thi insu­ku ezi­nta­thu ubu­su­ku le­mi­ni; la­mi la­ma­nto­mba­za­na ami si­za­zi­la uku­dla ngo­ku­fa­na­na­yo; ngo­ku­nja­lo-ke ngi­za­nge­na enko­si­ni, oku­nga­nje­ngo­ko­mthe­thog; nja­lo uba ngi­bhu­bha, ngi­za­bhu­bhah.

17 UMo­de­kha­yi wa­se­qhu­be­ka we­nza nje­nga­kho ko­nke uE­sta amla­ye kho­na.

UE­sta we­nze­la inko­si lo­Ha­ma­ni idi­li

5Kwa­se­ku­si­thi ngo­su­ku lwe­si­tha­thu uE­sta wa­gqo­ka ezo­bu­ndlo­vu­ka­zia, we­ma egu­me­ni eli­nga­pha­ka­thi le­ndlu ye­nko­si, ma­qo­nda­na le­ndlu ye­nko­si. Inko­si ya­yi­hle­zi esi­hla­lwe­ni so­bu­kho­si so­mbu­so wa­yo endli­ni ye­si­kho­si­ni iqo­nde­ne lo­mnya­ngo we­ndlub.

2 Kwa­se­ku­si­thi inko­si ibo­na uE­sta indlo­vu­ka­zi emi egu­me­ni, wa­zu­za umu­sa eme­hlwe­ni ayoc; inko­si ya­si­me­lu­le­la uE­sta into­nga yo­bu­kho­si ye­go­li­de eya­yi­se­sa­ndle­ni sa­yo. Wa­se­so­nde­la uE­sta wa­thi­nta isi­hlo­ko se­nto­nga yo­bu­kho­sid.

3 Inko­si ya­si­si­thi ku­ye: Ula­ni, ndlo­vu­ka­zi Esta? Le­si­ce­lo sa­kho si­yi­ni? Uza­si­ni­kwa ngi­tsho ku­ze ku­be yi­ngxe­nye yo­mbu­soe.

4 UE­sta wa­se­si­thi: Uba ku­ku­hle enko­si­ni, ka­yi­ze inko­si lo­Ha­ma­ni edi­li­ni engi­ye­nze­le lo­na.

5 Inko­si ya­si­si­thi: Pha­ngi­si­sa­ni uHa­ma­ni uku­thi enze ili­zwi li­kaE­sta. Nga­kho ye­za inko­si lo­Ha­ma­ni edi­li­ni uE­sta aye­le­nzi­le.

6 Inko­si ya­si­si­thi kuE­sta edi­li­ni le­wa­yi­nif: Si­yi­ni isi­ce­lo sa­kho? Nja­lo uza­si­ni­kwa. Si­yi­ni-ke isi­fi­so sa­khog? Ku­za­kwe­nzi­wa ngi­tsho ku­ze ku­be yi­ngxe­nye yo­mbu­soh.

7 UE­sta wa­se­phe­ndu­la wa­thi: Isi­ce­lo sa­mi le­si­fi­so sa­mi yi­lo­khu:

8 Uba ngi­tho­le umu­sa eme­hlwe­ni enko­si, fu­thi uba ku­ku­hle enko­si­ni uku­pha isi­ce­lo sa­mi lo­kwe­nza isi­fi­so sa­mi, inko­si lo­Ha­ma­ni ka­be­ze edi­li­ni engi­za­le­nze­la bo­na. Ku­sa­sa-ke ngi­za­kwe­nza nje­ngo­kwe­li­zwi le­nko­sii.

Uku­zi­pha­ka­mi­sa ku­ka­Ha­ma­ni lo­ku­thu­ku­the­la kwa­khe

9 UHa­ma­ni wa­se­phu­ma mhla­lo­kho etho­ko­za ele­nhli­zi­yo enhlej. Ko­dwa uHa­ma­ni ebo­na uMo­de­kha­yi esa­ngwe­ni le­nko­si uku­thi ka­su­ku­ma­nga lo­ku­thi ka­mthu­thu­me­le­la­nga, uHa­ma­ni wa­gcwa­la ula­ka ngo­Mo­de­kha­yik.

10 Ko­dwa uHa­ma­ni wa­zi­thi­nta, wa­fi­ka endli­ni ya­khe; wa­se­thu­ma wa­la­nda aba­nga­ne ba­khel lo­Ze­re­shi umka­khem.

11 UHa­ma­ni wa­se­ba­la­ndi­se­la udu­mo lwe­no­tho ya­khe, lo­bu­ne­ngi ba­ma­do­da­na akhen, la­kho ko­nke inko­si eya­yi­mkhu­li­se nga­khoo, le­ya­mpha­ka­mi­sa nga­kho phe­zu kwe­zi­pha­tha­ma­ndla le­nce­ku ze­nko­sip.

12 UHa­ma­ni wa­se­si­thi: Ye­bo, uE­sta indlo­vu­ka­zi ka­nge­ni­sa­nga mu­ntu ka­nye le­nko­si edi­li­ni ale­nzi­le­yo nga­pha­ndle kwa­mi; nja­lo la­ku­sa­sa ngi­nxu­se­lwe ku­ye le­nko­siq.

13 Ka­nti ko­nke lo­khu ka­ku­nge­ne­li­si nga­lu­tho nga­so so­nke isi­kha­thi ngi­bo­na uMo­de­kha­yi umJu­da ehle­zi esa­ngwe­ni le­nko­si.

14 UZe­re­shi umka­khe la­bo bo­nke aba­nga­ne ba­khe ba­se­be­si­thi ku­ye: Ka­kwe­nzi­we ugo­do ubu­de obu­zi­nga­lo ezi­nga­ma­tshu­mi ama­hla­nu; ku­sa­sa-ke uthi enko­si­ni ka­ba­le­ngi­se uMo­de­kha­yi ku­lo, ubu­su­nge­na le­nko­si edi­li­ni utho­ko­zi­le. Nja­lo lo­lu­da­ba lwa­lu­lu­ngi­le pha­mbi ku­ka­Ha­ma­ni, wa­se­lwe­nza ugo­dor.

UHa­ma­ni ula­ywa uku­thi ani­ke uMo­de­kha­yi udu­mo

6Nga­lo­bo­bu­su­ku ubu­tho­ngo be­nko­si ba­ba­le­ka; ya­si­si­thi ka­ku­le­thwe ugwa­lo lwe­zi­khu­mbu­zo lwe­mi­la­ndo; ya­si­ba­lwa pha­mbi kwe­nko­sia.

2 Kwa­se­ku­tho­la­ka­la ku­bha­li­we uku­thi uMo­de­kha­yi wa­bi­ka ngo­Bi­gi­tha­na lo­Te­re­shi, aba­the­nwa aba­bi­li be­nko­si, aba­li­ndi bo­mbu­ndu, aba­be­di­nge ukwe­lu­le­la isa­ndla enko­si­ni uA­ha­su­we­ru­sib.

3 Inko­si ya­si­si­thi: Du­moc lo­bu­khu­lu ba­ni obe­nzi­wa ku­Mo­de­kha­yi nga­lo­khud? Izi­nce­ku ze­nko­si eza­zi­yi­kho­nza za­se­zi­si­thi: Ka­kwe­nzi­wa­nga lu­tho ku­ye.

4 Inko­si ya­si­si­thi: Ngu­ba­ni ose­gu­me­ni? UHa­ma­ni wa­ye­se­nge­ne egu­me­ni eli­nga­pha­ndle le­ndlu ye­nko­sie uku­khu­lu­ma enko­si­ni uku­thi ile­ngi­se uMo­de­kha­yi ego­dwe­ni aye­mlu­ngi­se­le lo­naf.

5 Izi­nce­ku ze­nko­si za­se­zi­si­thi ku­yo: Kha­nge­la, uHa­ma­ni umi egu­me­ni. Inko­si ya­si­si­thi: Ka­nge­ne.

6 UHa­ma­ni wa­se­nge­na; inko­si ya­si­si­thi ku­ye: Kwe­nzi­we­ni ku­mu­ntu inko­si etho­ko­za ku­du­mo lwa­khe? UHa­ma­ni wa­se­si­thi enhli­zi­ywe­ni ya­khe: Ngu­ba­ni inko­si enga­tho­ko­za ukumni­ka udu­mo okwe­dlu­la mi­na?

7 UHa­ma­ni wa­se­si­thi enko­si­ni: Umu­ntu inko­si etho­ko­za ku­du­mo lwa­khe,

8 ka­ku­le­thwe ise­mba­tho so­bu­kho­si inko­si uqo­bo esi­gqo­ka­yo, le­bhi­za inko­si eli­ga­da­yo, lo­ku­thi umqhe­le wo­bu­kho­si ube­kwe enhlo­kwe­ni ya­log;

9 le­se­mba­tho le­bhi­za ku­ni­kwe esa­ndle­ni so­mu­nye we­zi­pha­tha­ma­ndla ze­nko­si ezi­hlo­ni­phe­ka­yo, lo­ku­thi ba­gqo­ki­se lo­wo­mu­ntu inko­si etho­ko­za ku­du­mo lwa­khe, ba­mga­di­se ibhi­za ada­bu­le igce­ke lo­mu­zi, ba­me­me­ze pha­mbi kwa­khe ba­thi: Kwe­nzi­wa nje emu­ntwi­ni inko­si etho­ko­za ngo­du­mo lwa­kheh.

10 Inko­si ya­si­si­thi ku­Ha­ma­ni: Pha­ngi­sa tha­tha ise­mba­tho le­bhi­za nje­ngo­ku­tsho kwa­kho, we­nze nja­lo ku­Mo­de­kha­yi umJu­da ohla­la esa­ngwe­ni le­nko­si; ku­nga­wi la­li­zwi ku­kho ko­nke oku­khu­lu­mi­le­yo.

11 UHa­ma­ni wa­se­tha­tha ise­mba­tho le­bhi­za, wa­gqo­ki­sa uMo­de­kha­yi, wa­mga­di­sa wa­da­bu­la igce­ke lo­mu­zi, wa­me­me­za pha­mbi kwa­khe wa­thi: Kwe­nzi­wa nje emu­ntwi­ni inko­si etho­ko­za ku­du­mo lwa­khe.

12 Wa­se­bu­ye­la uMo­de­kha­yi esa­ngwe­ni le­nko­si, ko­dwa uHa­ma­ni wa­ha­lu­ze­la wa­ya endli­ni ya­khe eli­lai embo­mbo­ze ikha­ndaj.

13 UHa­ma­ni wa­se­tshe­la uZe­re­shi umka­khe la­bo bo­nke aba­nga­ne ba­khek ko­nke oku­me­hle­le­yo. Aba­hla­ka­ni­phi­le­yo ba­khe lo­Ze­re­shi umka­khe ba­se­be­si­thi ku­ye: Uba uMo­de­kha­yi engo­we­nza­lo ya­ma­Ju­da, osu­qa­li­se uku­wa pha­mbi kwa­khe, ka­wu­yi­ku­me­la­na la­ye, ko­dwa uza­ku­wa lo­ku­wa pha­mbi kwa­khel.

14 Be­sa­khu­lu­ma lo­Ha­ma­ni, aba­the­nwa be­nko­si ba­so­nde­la, ba­ha­lu­ze­la uku­le­tha uHa­ma­nim edi­li­ni uE­sta aye­le­nzi­len.

Uku­chi­thwa lo­ku­le­ngi­swa ku­ka­Ha­ma­ni

7Ba­fi­ka-ke inko­si lo­Ha­ma­ni ukuya­ku­ba le­di­li loE­sta indlo­vu­ka­zi.

2 Inko­si ya­si­si­thi kuE­sta la­ngo­su­ku lwe­si­bi­li edi­li­ni le­wa­yi­ni: Si­yi­ni isi­ce­lo sa­kho, Esta ndlo­vu­ka­zi? nja­lo uza­si­ni­kwa. Si­yi­ni-ke isi­fi­so sa­kho? ku­za­kwe­nzi­wa ngi­tsho ku­ze ku­be yi­ngxe­nye yo­mbu­soa.

3 UE­sta indlo­vu­ka­zi wa­se­phe­ndu­la wa­thi: Uba ngi­tho­le umu­sa eme­hlwe­ni akho, nko­si, nja­lo uba ku­ku­hle enko­si­ni, impi­lo ya­mi ka­ngi­yi­ni­kwe nge­si­ce­lo sa­mi la­ba­ntu ba­ki­thi nge­si­fi­so sa­mib.

4 Ngo­ba si­the­ngi­si­we, mi­na la­ba­ntu ba­ki­thi, uku­thi si­bhu­ji­swe si­bu­la­we nja­lo si­chi­thwe; ko­dwa uba be­si­the­ngi­swe uku­ba yi­zi­gqi­li le­zi­gqi­li­ka­zi nga­be ngi­thu­le; la­nxa isi­tha be­si­nge­li­nga­ni­se uko­ni­wa kwe­nko­sic.

5 Inko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si ya­si­khu­lu­ma ya­thi kuE­sta indlo­vu­ka­zi: Ngu­ba­ni lo, fu­thi unga­phi lo ogcwa­li­se inhli­zi­yo ya­khe ukwe­nza nja­lo?

6 UE­sta wa­se­si­thi: Umu­ntu, umba­nde­ze­li le­si­tha, ngu­Ha­ma­ni lo okho­hla­ke­le­yo. UHa­ma­ni wa­se­qha­qha­ze­la pha­mbi kwe­nko­si le­ndlo­vu­ka­zid.

7 Inko­si ya­si­su­ku­ma edi­li­ni le­wa­yi­ni ola­ke­ni lwa­yo, ya­ya esi­va­nde­ni se­si­go­dloe; uHa­ma­ni wa­se­su­ku­ma uku­nce­nge­la impi­lo ya­khe kuE­sta indlo­vu­ka­zi, ngo­ba wa­bo­na uku­thi oku­bi se­ku­qu­nywef yi­nko­si nga­yeg.

8 Inko­si isi­phe­ndu­ki­le ive­la esi­va­nde­ni se­si­go­dlo isi­ya endli­ni ye­di­li le­wa­yi­nih, uHa­ma­ni wa­ye­we­le phe­zu ko­mbhe­da uE­sta aye­ku­wo. Inko­si ya­si­si­thi: Usu­za­dlo­va indlo­vu­ka­zi ila­mi endli­ni yi­ni? Ili­zwi la­phu­ma emlo­nye­ni we­nko­si; ba­se­be­mbo­mbo­za ubu­so bu­ka­Ha­ma­nii.

9 UHa­ri­bo­na omu­nye wa­ba­the­nwa wa­se­si­thi pha­mbi kwe­nko­sij: Kha­nge­la-ke, ugo­do uHa­ma­ni alwe­nze­le uMo­de­kha­yi, owa­ye­yi­khu­lu­me­le oku­hle inko­si, lu­mi endli­ni ka­Ha­ma­ni, ubu­de bu­zi­nga­lo ezi­nga­ma­tshu­mi ama­hla­nu. Inko­si ya­si­si­thi: Umle­ngi­se­ni ku­lok.

10 Ba­se­be­mle­ngi­sa uHa­ma­ni ku­lo­lo­go­do aye­lu­lu­ngi­se­le uMo­de­kha­yi. Lwa­se­lu­de­da ula­ka lwe­nko­sil.

Ama­Ju­da avu­nye­lwa uku­zi­lwe­la

8Nga­lo­lo­su­ku inko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si ya­ni­ka uE­sta indlo­vu­ka­zi indlu ka­Ha­ma­ni isi­tha sa­ma­Ju­da. UMo­de­kha­yi wa­se­si­za pha­mbi kwe­nko­si ngo­ba uE­sta wa­yese­la­ndi­si­le uku­thi wa­ye­yi­ni ku­yea.

2 Inko­si ya­si­khu­pha inda­nda­tho yo­pha­wu lwa­yo eya­yi­yi­tha­the­le uHa­ma­ni, ya­yi­ni­ka uMo­de­kha­yib. UE­sta wa­se­be­ka uMo­de­kha­yi phe­zu kwe­ndlu ka­Ha­ma­ni.

3 UE­sta wa­se­bu­ya ekhu­lu­ma pha­mbi kwe­nko­si, wa­wa pha­mbi kwe­nya­wo za­yo wa­kha­la inye­mbe­zi wa­yi­nce­nga uku­thi isu­se ubu­bi bu­ka­Ha­ma­ni umA­ga­gi, lo­go­be lwa­khe aye­lu­ce­be nga­ma­Ju­da.

4 Inko­si ya­si­se­lu­le­la into­nga yo­bu­kho­si ye­go­li­de kuE­sta. UE­sta wa­se­su­ku­ma we­ma pha­mbi kwe­nko­si,

5 wa­se­si­thi: Uba ku­ku­hle enko­si­ni, uba-ke ngi­tho­le umu­sa pha­mbi kwa­yo, lo­da­ba lu­lu­ngi­le pha­mbi kwe­nko­si, la­mi ngi­lu­ngi­le eme­hlwe­ni ayo, ka­ku­bha­lwe uku­bu­yi­se­la emu­va izi­ncwa­di, ugo­be lu­ka­Ha­ma­ni indo­da­na ka­Ha­me­da­tha umA­ga­gi, aye­lu­bha­le­le uku­bhu­bhi­sa ama­Ju­da ase­za­be­lwe­ni zo­nke ze­nko­si.

6 Ngo­ba ngi­nga­ba la­kho nja­ni uku­bo­na ubu­bi obu­za­tho­la isi­zwe sa­ki­thi? Ku­mbe ngi­nga­ba la­kho nja­ni uku­bo­na uku­bhu­ji­swa kwe­zi­hlo­bo za­mi?

7 Inko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si ya­si­si­thi kuE­sta indlo­vu­ka­zi la­ku­Mo­de­kha­yi umJu­da: Kha­nge­la­ni, indlu ka­Ha­ma­ni ngi­yi­ni­ke uE­sta, ye­na-ke ba­mle­ngi­se ego­dwe­ni, nge­nxa yo­ku­thi we­lu­le­la isa­ndla sa­khe ku­ma­Ju­da.

8 Nga­kho li­na bha­le­la­ni ama­Ju­da ebi­zwe­ni le­nko­si, nje­ngo­ku­hle eme­hlwe­ni enu, li­ku­na­me­ke ngo­pha­wu lwe­nda­nda­tho ye­nko­si, ngo­ba umbha­lo obha­lwe nge­bi­zo le­nko­si wa­na­nye­kwa ngo­pha­wu lwe­nda­nda­tho ye­nko­si, ka­kho onga­wu­bu­yi­se­la emu­va.

9 Kwa­se­ku­bi­zwa aba­bha­li be­nko­si nga­le­so­si­kha­thi nge­nya­nga ye­si­tha­thu, eyi­nya­nga uSi­va­ni, ngo­lwa­ma­tshu­mi ama­bi­li la­nta­thu lwa­yo; kwa­se­ku­bha­lwa nje­nga­kho ko­nke uMo­de­kha­yi aku­la­ya ku­ma­Ju­da, le­zi­khu­lwi­ni la­ku­ba­bu­si la­ku­zi­pha­tha­ma­ndla ze­za­be­lo ezi­su­ke­la eI­ndi­ya ku­ze ku­fi­ke eE­thi­yo­phi­ya, iza­be­lo ezi­li­khu­lu la­ma­tshu­mi ama­bi­li le­si­kho­mbi­sa, isa­be­lo le­sa­be­lo nje­ngo­ko­mbha­lo wa­so, le­si­zwe nge­si­zwe nje­ngo­ko­li­mi lwa­so, la­ku­ma­Ju­da nje­ngo­ko­mbha­lo wa­wo la­nje­ngo­ko­li­mi lwa­wo.

10 Wa­se­bha­la ebi­zwe­ni le­nko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si, wa­na­me­ka ngo­pha­wu lwe­nda­nda­tho ye­nko­si, wa­thu­me­la izi­ncwa­di nge­sa­ndla se­zi­gi­ji­mi ezi­ga­de ama­bhi­za, ezi­ga­de ama­bhi­za ale­ju­ba­ne awe­si­kho­si­ni, ama­bhi­za­ka­zi ama­tsha.

11 Uku­thi inko­si ya­vu­me­la ama­Ju­da aye­se­mzi­ni ngo­mu­zi wo­nke uku­thi ahla­nga­ne ame­le impi­lo ya­wo uku­bhu­bhi­sa abu­la­le aqe­de wo­nke ama­ndla aba­ntu le­sa­be­lo aba­wa­hla­se­le­yo, aba­ntwa­nya­na la­be­si­fa­za­na, lo­ku­pha­nga impa­ngo ya­bo,

12 nga­su­ku lu­nye ku­zo zo­nke iza­be­lo ze­nko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si, ngo­lwe­tshu­mi la­nta­thu lwe­nya­nga ye­tshu­mi la­mbi­li, eyi­nya­nga uA­da­ri.

13 Ikho­phi yo­mbha­lo yo­mthe­tho oza­mi­swa ku­so so­nke isa­be­lo nge­sa­be­lo ya­yi­so­ba­la ku­bo bo­nke aba­ntu, uku­thi ama­Ju­da azi­lu­ngi­se­le lo­lu­su­ku uku­zi­phi­ndi­se­le­la ezi­the­ni za­wo.

14 Izi­gi­ji­mi zi­ga­de ama­bhi­za esi­kho­si­ni ale­ju­ba­ne za­phu­ma, zi­pha­ngi­si­swa zi­ci­nde­ze­lwa yi­li­zwi le­nko­si, lo­mthe­tho wa­ni­kwa eShu­sha­ni isi­go­dlo.

15 UMo­de­kha­yi wa­se­phu­ma pha­mbi kwe­nko­si eku­se­mba­tho so­bu­kho­si so­bu­lu­hla­za okwe­si­bha­ka­bha­ka le­si­mhlo­phe, lo­mqhe­le omkhu­lu we­go­li­de, le­se­mba­tho se­le­mbu eli­co­le­ki­le­yo ka­khu­lu le­li­yi­bu­be­nde. Umu­zi we­Shu­sha­ni wa­su­tho­ko­za wa­tha­ba.

16 Ama­Ju­da aye­lo­ku­kha­nya le­nto­ko­zo le­nja­bu­lo lo­du­mo.

17 La­ku­so so­nke isa­be­lo nge­sa­be­lo la­ku­wo wo­nke umu­zi ngo­mu­zi enda­we­ni la­pho ili­zwi le­nko­si lo­mthe­tho wa­yo okwa­fi­ka kho­na ama­Ju­da aba le­nto­ko­zo, le­nja­bu­lo, idi­li, lo­su­ku olu­hle. La­ba­ne­ngi ba­ba­ntu be­li­zwe ba­ba nga­ma­Ju­da, ngo­ba ukwe­sa­ba ama­Ju­da kwa­be­hle­la.

Ama­Ju­da abu­la­la izi­tha za­wo

9Kwa­thi nge­nya­nga ye­tshu­mi la­mbi­li, eyi­nya­nga uA­da­ri, ngo­su­ku lwe­tshu­mi la­nta­thu lwa­yo, se­ku­so­nde­le ili­zwi le­nko­si lo­mla­yo wa­yo uku­thi kwe­nzi­we, ngo­su­ku izi­tha za­ma­Ju­da eza­zi­the­mba uku­wa­bu­sa nga­lo, kwa­gu­qu­ka, ngo­ba ama­Ju­da ngo­kwa­wo abu­sa kwa­ba­be­wa­zo­nda.

2 Ama­Ju­da abu­tha­na emi­zi­ni ya­wo ku­zo zo­nke iza­be­lo ze­nko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si ukwe­lu­le­la isa­ndla ku­la­bo aba­be­di­nge uku­li­nya­zwa kwa­wo; nja­lo ka­kho owa­ye­nge­ma pha­mbi kwa­wo, ngo­ba ukwe­sa­be­ka kwa­wo kwa­kwe­hle­le bo­nke aba­ntu.

3 Zo­nke-ke izi­pha­tha­ma­ndla ze­za­be­lo, le­zi­khu­lu, la­ba­bu­si, la­be­nzi bo­mse­be­nzi inko­si eya­yi­la­bo, ba­si­za ama­Ju­da, ngo­ba ukwe­sa­be­ka ku­ka­Mo­de­kha­yi kwa­ku­be­hle­le.

4 Ngo­ba uMo­de­kha­yi wa­ye­mkhu­lu endli­ni ye­nko­si, lo­du­mo lwa­khe lwa­ha­mba ku­zo zo­nke iza­be­lo, ngo­ba li­ndo­da uMo­de­kha­yi ya­qhu­be­ka ikhu­la.

5 Nga­kho ama­Ju­da atsha­ya pha­ka­thi kwe­zi­tha za­wo zo­nke ngo­ku­tsha­ya kwe­nke­mba lo­ku­bu­la­la lo­ku­bhu­bhi­sa, enza nga­ba­zo­ndi ba­wo ngo­kwe­nta­ndo ya­wo.

6 EShu­sha­ni isi­go­dlo ama­Ju­da ase­bu­la­la abhu­bhi­sa aba­ntu aba­nga­ma­khu­lu ama­hla­nu,

7 lo­Pa­ri­sha­ni­da­tha, lo­Da­li­fo­ni, loA­si­pha­tha,

8 lo­Po­ra­tha, loA­da­li­ya, loA­ri­da­tha,

9 lo­Pa­ri­ma­shi­ta, loA­ri­sa­yi, loA­ri­da­yi, lo­Va­yi­za­tha.

10 Ama­do­da­na ali­tshu­mi ka­Ha­ma­ni indo­da­na ka­Ha­me­da­tha, isi­tha sa­ma­Ju­da, awa­bu­la­laa; ko­dwa ka­we­lu­le­la­nga isa­ndla sa­wo empa­ngwe­nib.

11 Nga­lo­lo­su­ku ina­ni la­ba­bu­la­wa­yo eShu­sha­ni isi­go­dlo la­fi­ka pha­mbi kwe­nko­si.

12 Inko­si ya­si­si­thi kuE­sta indlo­vu­ka­zi: EShu­sha­ni isi­go­dlo ama­Ju­da abu­le­le abhu­bhi­sa aba­ntu aba­nga­ma­khu­lu ama­hla­nu la­ma­do­da­na ali­tshu­mi ka­Ha­ma­ni. Enze­ni kwe­zi­nye iza­be­lo ze­nko­si? Si­yi­ni-ke isi­ce­lo sa­kho? Nja­lo uza­si­ni­kwa. Si­yi­ni-ke isi­fi­so sa­kho fu­thi? Nja­lo si­za­kwe­nzi­wa.

13 UE­sta wa­se­si­thi: Uba ku­lu­ngi­le enko­si­ni ka­wa­vu­nye­lwe ama­Ju­da ase­Shu­sha­ni ukwe­nza la­ku­sa­sa nje­ngo­ko­mthe­tho wa­la­mu­hla; la­ma­do­da­na ali­tshu­mi ka­Ha­ma­ni ka­ba­wa­le­ngi­se ego­dwe­ni.

14 Inko­si ya­si­si­thi kwe­nzi­we nja­lo; kwa­se­ku­ni­kwa umthe­tho eShu­sha­ni, la­ma­do­da­na ali­tshu­mi ka­Ha­ma­ni ba­wa­le­ngi­sa.

15 Ama­Ju­da eye­se­Shu­sha­ni ase­bu­tha­na fu­thi ngo­su­ku lwe­tshu­mi la­ne lwe­nya­nga uA­da­ric, abu­la­la aba­ntu aba­nga­ma­khu­lu ama­tha­thu eShu­sha­ni; ko­dwa ka­we­lu­le­la­nga isa­ndla sa­wo empa­ngwe­nid.

Umkho­si we­Pu­ri­mi

16 Ama­nye ku­ma­Ju­da aye­se­za­be­lwe­ni ze­nko­si abu­tha­na-ke ame­la impi­lo ya­bo, aphu­mu­la ezi­the­ni za­wo, abu­la­la kwa­ba­wa­zo­nda­yo izi­nku­lu­ngwa­ne ezi­nga­ma­tshu­mi ayi­si­kho­mbi­sa la­nhla­nu; ko­dwa ka­we­lu­le­la­nga isa­ndla sa­wo empa­ngwe­ni.

17 Kwa­ku­ngo­su­ku lwe­tshu­mi la­nta­thu lwe­nya­nga uA­da­ri. Ase­phu­mu­la ngo­lwe­tshu­mi la­ne lwa­yo, alwe­nza lwa­ba lu­su­ku lwe­di­li le­nto­ko­zo.

18 Ko­dwa ama­Ju­da ase­Shu­sha­ni abu­tha­na ngo­lwe­tshu­mi la­nta­thu lwa­yo la­ngo­lwe­tshu­mi la­ne lwa­yo; ase­phu­mu­la ngo­lwe­tshu­mi la­nhla­nu lwa­yo, alwe­nza lwa­ba lu­su­ku lwe­di­li le­nto­ko­zoe.

19 Nge­nxa ya­lo­khu ama­Ju­da ema­pha­ndle­nif ahla­la emi­zi­ni ema­pha­ndle­ni enza usu­ku lwe­tshu­mi la­ne lwe­nya­nga uA­da­ri lwa­ba ngo­lwe­nto­ko­zo le­di­lig, lo­su­ku olu­hleh, lo­lo­ku­thu­me­la­na iza­be­loi.

20 UMo­de­kha­yi wa­se­zi­bha­la le­zi­zi­nto, wa­thu­me­la izi­ncwa­di ku­wo wo­nke ama­Ju­da aye­ku­zo zo­nke iza­be­lo ze­nko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si, ase­du­ze la­kha­tsha­na,

21 uku­mi­sa pha­ka­thi kwa­bo ukwe­nza usu­ku lwe­tshu­mi la­ne lwe­nya­nga uA­da­ri lo­su­ku lwe­tshu­mi la­nhla­nu lwa­yo ku­wo wo­nke umnya­ka ngo­mnya­ka,

22 nje­ngo­kwe­nsu­ku ama­Ju­da aphu­mu­la nga­zo ezi­the­ni za­wo, le­nya­nga eya­phe­ndu­lwa ku­wo ku­su­ka osi­zi­ni ku­si­ya ku­nto­ko­zo, le­ku­li­le­ni ku­be lu­su­ku olu­hle, aze­nze zi­be zi­nsu­ku ze­di­li le­nto­ko­zo, le­zo­ku­thu­me­la­na iza­be­lo, le­zi­pho ku­ba­ya­nga.

23 Ama­Ju­da emu­ke­la lo­kho aye­se­ku­qa­li­le uku­kwe­nza, la­lo­kho uMo­de­kha­yi aye­wa­bha­le­le kho­na.

24 Ngo­ba uHa­ma­ni indo­da­na ka­Ha­me­da­tha umA­ga­gi, isi­tha sa­wo wo­nke ama­Ju­da, wa­ye­ce­be ma­ye­la­na la­ma­Ju­da uku­wa­chi­tha, wa­pho­sa iPu­ri, eyi­nka­tho, uku­wa­cho­bo­za lo­ku­wa­bhu­bhi­sa.

25 Ko­dwa la­pho uE­sta efi­ka pha­mbi kwe­nko­si, ya­la­ya nge­ncwa­di uku­thi ice­bo la­khe eli­bi aye­li­ce­be nga­ma­Ju­da li­bu­ye­le ekha­nda la­khe; ba­se­be­ba­le­ngi­sa ye­na la­ma­do­da­na akhe ego­dwe­ni.

26 Nge­nxa ya­lo­khu ba­bi­za le­zo­zi­nsu­ku ngo­ku­thi iPu­ri­mi nge­bi­zo le­Pu­ri. Nge­nxa ya­lo­khu, nge­nxa ya­wo wo­nke ama­zwi ale­yo­ncwa­di, la­ba­be­ku­bo­ni­le ma­ye­la­na la­lo­kho, lo­kwa­ku­be­hle­le,

27 ama­Ju­da ami­sa aze­mu­ke­le­la wo­na le­nza­lo ya­wo la­bo bo­nke aba­zi­hla­nga­ni­sa la­wo, uku­ze ba­nge­qi, uku­gci­na le­zi­nsu­ku ezi­mbi­li, nje­ngo­ko­mbha­lo wa­zo, la­nje­ngo­kwe­si­kha­thi sa­zo esi­mi­si­we­yo, ku­wo wo­nke umnya­ka lo­mnya­ka,

28 uku­thi le­zi­nsu­ku zi­khu­nju­lwe zi­gci­nwe ku­so so­nke isi­zu­ku­lwa­na le­si­zu­ku­lwa­na, usa­pho lo­sa­pho, isa­be­lo nge­sa­be­lo, lo­mu­zi ngo­mu­zi, uku­thi le­zi­nsu­ku ze­Pu­ri­mi zi­nge­qi­wa pha­ka­thi kwa­ma­Ju­da, le­si­khu­mbu­zo sa­zo si­nga­phe­li enza­lwe­ni ya­wo.

29 UE­sta indlo­vu­ka­zi, indo­da­ka­zi kaA­bi­ha­yi­li, lo­Mo­de­kha­yi umJu­da, ba­se­be­bha­la nga­ma­ndla wo­nke uku­qi­ni­sa li­ncwa­di ye­si­bi­li ye­Pu­ri­mi.

30 Wa­se­thu­me­la izi­ncwa­di ku­wo wo­nke ama­Ju­da eza­be­lwe­ni ezi­li­khu­lu la­ma­tshu­mi ama­bi­li le­si­kho­mbi­sa zo­mbu­so kaA­ha­su­we­ru­si, ama­zwi oku­thu­la le­qi­ni­so,

31 uku­qi­ni­sa le­zi­nsu­ku ze­Pu­ri­mi nge­zi­kha­thi za­zo ezi­mi­si­we­yo nje­ngo­ku­mi­sa phe­zu kwa­wo ku­ka­Mo­de­kha­yi umJu­da loE­sta indlo­vu­ka­zi, la­nje­ngo­ku­zi­mi­se­la kwa­wo wo­na le­nza­lo ya­wo, inda­ba zo­ku­zi­la uku­dla lo­ku­kha­la kwa­wo.

32 Ili­zwi li­kaE­sta la­se­li­qi­ni­sa le­zi­zi­nda­ba ze­Pu­ri­mi; kwa­se­ku­bha­lwa egwa­lwe­ni.

Ubu­khu­lu bu­ka­Mo­de­kha­yi

10Inko­si uA­ha­su­we­ru­si ya­si­be­ka umthe­lo eli­zwe­ni le­zi­hle­ngeni zo­lwa­ndlea.

2 Zo­nke-ke ize­nzo za­ma­ndla ayo la­we­nga­lo za­yob, lo­mla­ndo wo­bu­khu­lu bu­ka­Mo­de­kha­yic, inko­si eya­mkhu­li­sa­yod, ka­ku­bha­lwa­nga yi­ni egwa­lwe­ni lwe­mi­la­ndo ya­ma­kho­si eMe­de le­Pe­ri­si­yae?

3 Ngo­ba uMo­de­kha­yi umJu­da wa­ye­ngo­we­si­bi­li enko­si­ni uA­ha­su­we­ru­sif, emkhu­lu pha­ka­thi kwa­ma­Ju­da, etha­nde­ka ku­lo ine­ngi la­ba­fo­wa­bog, edi­nge­la isi­zwe sa­ki­bo oku­hle, ekhu­lu­ma uku­thu­la ku­yo yo­nke inza­lo ya­kheh.