The Lord's Own People
(Exodus 34.11-16)1 “The Lord your God will bring you into the land that you are going to occupy, and he will drive many nations out of it. As you advance, he will drive out seven nations larger and more powerful than you: the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. 2 When the Lord your God places these people in your power and you defeat them, you must put them all to death. Do not make an alliance with them or show them any mercy. 3 Do not marry any of them, and do not let your children marry any of them, 4 because then they would lead your children away from the Lord to worship other gods. If that happens, the Lord will be angry with you and destroy you at once. 5 So then, tear down their altars, break their sacred stone pillars in pieces, cut down their symbols of the goddess Asherah, and burn their idols. 6 Do this because you belong to the Lord your God. From all the peoples on earth he chose you to be his own special people.
7 “The Lord did not love you and choose you because you outnumbered other peoples; you were the smallest nation on earth. 8 But the Lord loved you and wanted to keep the promise that he made to your ancestors. That is why he saved you by his great might and set you free from slavery to the king of Egypt. 9 Remember that the Lord your God is the only God and that he is faithful. He will keep his covenant and show his constant love to a thousand generations of those who love him and obey his commands, 10 but he will not hesitate to punish those who hate him. 11 Now then, obey what you have been taught; obey all the laws that I have given you today.
The Blessings of Obedience
(Deuteronomy 28.1-14)12 “If you listen to these commands and obey them faithfully, then the Lord your God will continue to keep his covenant with you and will show you his constant love, as he promised your ancestors. 13 He will love you and bless you, so that you will increase in number and have many children; he will bless your fields, so that you will have grain, wine, and olive oil; and he will bless you by giving you many cattle and sheep. He will give you all these blessings in the land that he promised your ancestors he would give to you. 14 No people in the world will be as richly blessed as you. None of you nor any of your livestock will be sterile. 15 The Lord will protect you from all sickness, and he will not bring on you any of the dreadful diseases that you experienced in Egypt, but he will bring them on all your enemies. 16 Destroy every nation that the Lord your God places in your power, and do not show them any mercy. Do not worship their gods, for that would be fatal.
17 “Do not tell yourselves that these peoples outnumber you and that you cannot drive them out. 18 Do not be afraid of them; remember what the Lord your God did to the king of Egypt and to all his people. 19 Remember the terrible plagues that you saw with your own eyes, the miracles and wonders, and the great power and strength by which the Lord your God set you free. In the same way that he destroyed the Egyptians, he will destroy all these people that you now fear. 20 He will even cause panic among them and will destroy those who escape and go into hiding. 21 So do not be afraid of these people. The Lord your God is with you; he is a great God and one to be feared. 22 Little by little he will drive out these nations as you advance. You will not be able to destroy them all at once, for, if you did, the number of wild animals would increase and be a threat to you. 23 The Lord will put your enemies in your power and make them panic until they are destroyed. 24 He will put their kings in your power. You will kill them, and they will be forgotten. No one will be able to stop you; you will destroy everyone. 25 Burn their idols. Do not desire the silver or gold that is on them, and do not take it for yourselves. If you do, that will be fatal, because the Lord hates idolatry. 26 Do not bring any of these idols into your homes, or the same curse will be on you that is on them. You must hate and despise these idols, because they are under the Lord's curse.
Ovaisrael otjiwaṋa tja Muhona omuini
(Eks 34:11-16)1 “Muhona, Ndjambi woye, me ku hitisa mehi, ndi mo kakambura ri rire ouini woye, neye ma ramba oviwaṋa ovingi mu ro. Eye ma ramba oviwaṋa hambombari, ovinene novinamasa pove, okutja Ovahetite nOvagirgasi nOvaamori nOvakanaan nOvaperesi nOvahevi nOvajebusi. 2 Nu Muhona, Ndjambi woye, tja twa oviwaṋa mbi mouvara woye, no vi havere, vi zepa avihe. O rikutu kuna vyo, nu o kara notjari na vyo. 3 O kupasana novandu voviwaṋa mbyo, nu o yandjere ovanatje voye okukupasana na wo, 4 owo tjinga amave pora ovanatje voye ku Muhona kutja ve karere oomukuru varwe. Muhona ma ṱomazenge na eṋe, ne mu yandeke tjimanga. 5 Nungwari tjiteye nai ku wo: Haṋeye ovipunguhiro vyawo, teyeye ozongunḓe zawo zomawe ozonḓere, keye omiti vyawo omizere, nu nyoseye oviserekarera vyawo ovihongwa. 6 Orondu oove otjiwaṋa tji tja yapurirwa Muhona, Ndjambi woye; eye we ku toorora mokati koviwaṋa avihe, mbi ri kombanda yehi u rire otjiwaṋa tjouini we.
7 “Muhona ke mu suverere nokumutoorora mena rokutja mwa ri ovengi poviwaṋa avihe. 8 Nungwari Muhona we mu suvera, nu wa vanga okuṱakamisa omakwizikiro, nga tjita noruyano kooiho mukururume. Eye opa za okumuyama nokumukutura nomasa kouhuura na kouvara wa Farao, ombara ya Engipte. 9 Otji mo sokuzemburuka kutja Muhona, Ndjambi woye, eye Ndjambi watjiri, Ndjambi omuṱakame. Eye ma ṱakamisa omerikutiropamwe nu ma raisa orusuvero rwe nga kozondekurona ozetjayovi ku imba mbe mu suvera nave ṱakamisa omatwako we. 10 Nungwari eye ke nakuwomba okuvera imba mbe mu tonda. 11 Punao, kareye nonḓuviro komatwako nomazikamisiro nomaraerero aehe ngu me mu rakiza ndinondi.
Ozondaya nḓe za mokukara nOnḓuviro
(Deu 28:1-14)12 “Nove tji mo puratene noṱakamisa nokuyenenisa omaraerero nga, Muhona, Ndjambi woye, otji me ku ṱakamisire omerikutiropamwe nounyaṋutima we mbwa yanene kooiho mukururume. 13 Eye me ku suvere ne ku sere ondaya ne ku takavarisa, ne ku pe ovanatje ovengi. Eye ma sere ondaya kovikunino vyoye kutja u mune ovikokotwa nomavinu nomaze womiṋinga; eye me ku sere ondaya nokukupa ozongombe nozonyanda ozengi. Ozonyanda nḓa azehe eye me ze yandja kove mehi nda kwizikira ooiho mukururume okuyandja ku eṋe ri rire ouini weṋu. 14 Mo serwa ondaya poviwaṋa avihe; mu eṋe kamu nokukara omurumendu ngu hi nokukwata poo omukazendu ongandji, nangarire movinamuinyo vyeṋu. 15 Nu Muhona me ku yepisa nomutjise ngamwa auhe, nomitjise avihe omizeu vya Engipte, mbi mo tjiwa, kena ku vi eta kove; nungwari me vi eta ku imba avehe mbe ku tonda. 16 Nove yandeka oviwaṋa avihe Muhona, Ndjambi woye, mbi ma yandja mouvara woye; o ṱotjari na vyo, nu o karere oomukuru vavyo vovisenginina, orondu ihi matji rire ombate kove.
17 “Ove tji we ripura nai momutima woye: ‘Oviwaṋa mbi ovingi pu ami, me yenene vi okuviramba’, 18 o vi tira! Rizemburuka aruhe na imbi Muhona, Ndjambi woye, mbya tjitire ku Farao na kOengipte arihe. 19 Rizemburuka noviraisiro ovinene, mbi wa munine nomeho woye omuini, novikumise novihimise, neke enamasa nokuoko okutandavare, Muhona, Ndjambi woye, mbye ku pitisa na vyo; Muhona, Ndjambi woye, opunga ama tjiti koviwaṋa avihe, mbi mo tira nambano. 20 Nu Muhona, Ndjambi woye, wina me vi mumaparisa nga imbi mbya hupa navi kaṱara, tji vya ṱu. 21 O tira oviwaṋa mbi, orondu Muhona, Ndjambi woye, u ri puna ove; eye onguri Ndjambi omunene, ngwa pu pokutiriwa. 22 Nu Muhona, Ndjambi woye, ma ramba oviwaṋa mbi kouṱiṱiṱiṱi komurungu woye; nove komoo yenene okuvinyona avihe tjimanga, orondu, tji ma tjiti nao, ovipuka ovinyondorore mavi rire ovingi, navi tjiti otjipo kove. 23 Nungwari Muhona, Ndjambi woye, ma yandja ovanavita na ove mouvara woye, ne ve pambaukisa tjinene nga tji va ṱu. 24 Wina eye ma yandja ozombara zawo mouvara woye; ove mo ze zepa, nu kamaaze zemburukwa rukwao. Nu kape na imwe yazo, ndji mai ku pirukire nga tji we ze yandeke azehe. 25 Oviserekarera ovihongwa vyoomukuru vawo vovisenginina vi ningiririseye momuriro; o nanukirwa i osilveri nongoldo mbi ri ku vyo, nu o zeri okuvikambura kutja o ha tura ondjo; orondu otjo otjiyaukise ku Muhona, Ndjambi woye. 26 O eta oviserekarera ngamwa vyovisenginina mbi mondjuwo yoye; orondu osengiro, ndji ri ku vyo mai ya kombanda yoye. Ove mo sokutonda nokunyengwa oviserekarera vyovisenginina mbi, orondu ovyo vya sengwa.
