2 Samuel 2
1 To pacoengah David mah Angraeng khaeah, Judah prae thung ih vangpui maeto ah ka caeh han maw? tiah a naa. Angraeng mah anih khaeah, Caeh tahang ah, tiah a naa. David mah, Naa ah maw ka caeh han? tiah a naa. Angraeng mah, Hebron ah, caeh han thuih pae.
Some time after that, David asked Yahweh, “Should I go back to [live in] one of the towns in Judah?” Yahweh replied, “Yes, go up there.” Then David asked, “To which town should I go?” Yahweh replied, “To Hebron.”
2 To pongah David loe a zu hnik; Jezreel ih kami Ahinoam hoi Karmel ah kaom Nabal ih zu Abigail to caeh haih.
So David went up there, taking his two wives, Ahinoam who was from Jezreel [city], and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel [city].
3 David loe a taengah kaom kaminawk hoi angmah ih canawknawk boih to a caeh haih; nihcae loe Hebron vangpui ah oh o.
He also took the men who had been with him, and their families. They all started to live in villages near Hebron.
4 To naah Judah kaminawk Hebron vangpui ah angzoh o moe, David to Judah imthung takoh siangpahrang ah oh hanah situi bawh o. Jabesh Gilead ih kaminawk mah David khaeah, Saul ih qok loe kaicae mah aphum o boeh, tiah thuih pae o.
Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and [one of] them poured olive oil on David’s head [to show they were appointing him to be] [MTY] the king of the tribe [MTY] of Judah. When David found out that the people of Jabesh [town] in [the] Gilead [region] had buried Saul’s body,
5 To naah David mah Jabesh Gilead vangpui ah laicaeh to patoeh moe, Na angraeng Saul khaeah tahmenhaih nam tueng o sak moe, na phum o pongah, Angraeng mah tahamhoihaih na paek o nasoe.
he sent messengers to the men of Jabesh to tell them this: “I desire/hope that Yahweh will bless you for having shown, by burying the body of Saul your king, that you were loyal to him.
6 Angraeng mah vaihi nangcae khaeah tahmenhaih hoi loktang amtuengsak nasoe; hae hmuen hae na sak o pongah, kaimah doeh kahoih to baktih poekhaih to nangcae nuiah kam tuengsak toeng han.
Now I also desire/hope that Yahweh will faithfully love you and be loyal to you. And I will do good things for you because of what you have done [for Saul].
7 Vaihi na thacak o sak loe, palungthin cak o sak ah; na angraeng Saul loe duek boeh; vaihi Judah imthung takoh mah kai hae nihcae ih siangpahrang ah situi ang bawh o boeh, tiah lokpat pae.
Now, although Saul your king is dead, be strong and courageous, like the people of Judah, who have appointed me to be their king.”
8 To naah Ner capa Abner, Saul ih misatuh angraeng mah, Saul capa Ish-Bosheth to lak moe, Mahanaim ah caeh haih,
[While this was happening], Ner’s son Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ishbosheth and went across [the Jordan River] to Mahanaim [town].
9 Gilead prae, Ashuri kaminawk, Jezreel vangpui kaminawk, Ephraim prae, Benjamin prae hoi Israel prae boih nuiah siangpahrang ah a suek.
There Abner proclaimed that Ishbosheth was now the king of [the] Gilead [region] and of the tribe of Asher and the region of Jezreel and the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin. That meant that he was the king of all of the people of Israel.
10 Israel siangpahrang ah oh naah Saul capa Ish-Bosheth loe saning quipalito oh boeh; anih loe saning hnetto thung siangpahrang ah oh. Toe Judah imthung takoh loe David hnukah bang o.
Ishbosheth was 40 years old when he started to rule over the people of Israel. He ruled them for two years. But the tribe of Judah (was loyal to David/wanted David to be their king),
11 David loe Heron vangpui ah oh moe, Judah imthung takoh nuiah saning sarih, khrah tarukto thung siangpahrang ah oh.
and he ruled them for seven and a half years while he was living in Hebron.
12 Ner capa Abner hoi Saul capa Ish-Bosheth ih kaminawk loe, Mahanaim hoiah tacawt o moe, Gibeon ah caeh o.
[One day] Abner and the officials of Isbosheth went from Mahanaim [across the Jordan River] to Gibeon [city].
13 Zeruiah capa Joab hoi David ih tamnanawk loe caeh o moe, Gibeon tuili taengah angqum o; kami abu maeto loe tuili ho bangah anghnut o, kalah kami abu maeto loe tuili haebang ah anghnut o.
Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, and some of David’s officials [went from Hebron to Gibeon, and] met at the pool there. They all sat down, the one group on one side of the pool and the other group on the other side.
14 To naah Abner mah Joab khaeah, Thendoeng thoemnawk angthawk o nasoe loe, aicae hmaa ah amhai o nasoe, tiah a naa. To naah Joab mah, Hoih, angthawk o nasoe loe, amhai o nasoe, tiah a naa.
Abner said to Joab, “Let’s tell some of our young men to fight each other!” Joab replied, “Okay!”
15 To pongah angthawk o moe, Saul capa Ish-Bosheth ih kami, Benjamin acaeng hatlai hnetto hoi David ih tamna hatlai hnettonawk to caeh o.
So twelve men from the tribe of Benjamin fought for Ishbosheth, against twelve of David’s soldiers.
16 Nihcae loe maeto hoi maeto ih lu ah ang naeh o moe, panak ah haita hoiah angthun o; to naah nihcae boih nawnto amtimh o moe duek o; to pongah Gibeon vangpui taengah kaom to ahmuen to Helkath-Hazzuim, tiah kawk o.
Each of them grabbed the head of the man against whom he was fighting, and thrust his sword into that man’s side. The result was that all 24 of them fell down dead. So that area in Gibeon is now called ‘Field of Swords’.
17 To na niah misa angtukhaih loe paroeai nung. David ih tamnanawk mah Abner hoi Israel kaminawk to pazawk o.
Then [the others started to fight]. It was a very fierce battle. Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David’s soldiers.
18 Zeruiah ih capa Joab, Abishai hoi Asahel cae loe to ah oh o; Asahel loe tasuk baktiah angtawt loe.
Zeruiah’s three sons were there [on that day]: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was able to run very fast; he could run as fast as a wild gazelle/antelope.
19 Asahel loe banqoi bantang amkhraeng ai ah, Abner to patom poe.
Asahel started to pursue Abner. He ran straight toward Abner, without stopping.
20 Abner mah hnukbang angqoi moe, Asahel nang maw? tiah a naa. Asahel mah, Kai bae, tiah a naa.
Abner looked behind him, and said “Is that you, Asahel?” Asahel replied, “Yes!”
21 To naah Abner mah, Banqoi bangah maw, to tih ai boeh loe bantang bangah maw anqoih lai ah; thendoeng maeto naeh ah loe, anih ih maiphaw to la paeh, tiah a naa. Toe Asahel loe amkhraeng ai ah Abner hnukah patom poe.
Abner yelled at him, “Turn to one side or the other, [and pursue someone else]!” But Asahel would not stop pursuing Abner.
22 Abner mah Asahel khaeah, Kai na patom hmah loklam amkhraeng lai ah, tiah a naa let; longah amtimh hanah nang to kang hum han maw? To tiah kang sak nahaeloe kawbangmaw namya Joab hmaa ah mikhmai ka padai thai tih? tiah a naa.
So Abner yelled at him again, “Stop (chasing after/pursuing) me! (Why should I kill you?/It would not be good for me to kill you!) [RHQ] If I did that, (how could I (face/be reconciled with) your brother Joab?/it would be very difficult for me to (face/be reconciled with) your brother Joab.) [RHQ]”
23 Toe Asahel mah loklam amkhraeng taak ai ah patom let pongah, Abner mah tayae hoiah Asahel ih zok to takhawh pae, tayae loe hnukbang khoek to pra; anih loe to ahmuen ah amtimh moe duek; Asahel duekhaih ahmuen kapha kaminawk boih loe to ah angdoet o.
But Asahel refused to stop pursuing Abner. So Abner [suddenly turned and] thrust the butt end of his spear into Asahel’s stomach. Because he thrust it very strongly, that end of the spear [went though Asahel’s body and] came out at his back, and he fell to the ground, dead. All the other soldiers who came to the place where his body was lying stopped and stood there, [stunned].
24 Toe Joab hoi Abishai mah Abner to patom hoi; niduem naah loe Gibeon taw bangah caehhaih Giah vangpui taengah kaom, Amma mae to a phak hoi.
But Joab and Abishai continued to pursue Abner. At sunset they came to Ammah Hill, which is east of Giah, along the road to the desert near Gibeon.
25 To naah Benjamin kaminawk loe misatuh abu maeto ah angcu o moe, Abner hnukah mae nuiah angdoet o.
The men from the tribe of Benjamin gathered around Abner in one group, and stood at the top of a hill.
26 Abner mah Joab to lokdueng, Sumsen mah kami paaeh poe tih boeh maw? Hnukkhuem ah loe khaa parai tih, tiah na panoek ai maw? Angmacae nawkamya patom han ai ah, natuek naah maw nangmah ih kaminawk lok na thuih pae han? tiah a naa.
Then Abner called out to Joab, saying “Are we going to continue to fight forever [RHQ]? Do you not realize that [if we continue fighting], the result will be very bad [RHQ]? We are all descendants of Jacob. [So we should stop fighting each other] (How long will it be until you tell your soldiers to stop pursuing us?/Tell your soldiers to stop pursuing us.)” [RHQ]
27 Joab mah, Sithaw hing baktih toengah, nangmah lok na thui ai nahaeloe, khodai naah ni kai ih kaminawk mah angmacae nawkamyanawk to patom ai ah om o tih, tiah a naa.
Joab replied, “Just as surely as God lives, if you had not said that, my soldiers would have continued pursuing your men until tomorrow morning!”
28 To pongah Joab mah mongkah ueng naah, kaminawk boih mah Israel kaminawk patom ai ah oh o, tuh doeh angtuh o ai, anghak o boih.
So Joab blew a trumpet [to signal that they should stop fighting]. So all his men did that. They did not pursue the soldiers of Israel any more, and they stopped fighting.
29 Abner hoi anih ih kaminawk loe, aqum puek azawn ah caeh o moe, Jordan vapui to angkat o; Bithron prae to poeng o pacoengah, Mahanaim vangpui to phak o.
That night Abner and his soldiers went through the Jordan [River] Valley. They crossed the Jordan [River] and marched all the next morning, and they finally arrived at Mahanaim.
30 To naah Joab loe Abner patom ai ah amlaem moe, angmah ih kaminawk to pakhueng naah, Asahel hoi David ih tamna hatlai takawtto om o ai boeh.
Joab [and his soldiers] stopped pursuing Abner. And when he gathered all his soldiers together, he found out that in addition to Asahel, only 19 of them had been killed in the battle.
31 Toe David ih tamnanawk mah, Abner khaeah kaom Benjamin ih kaminawk to cumvai thum, quitarukto hum pae o.
But David’s soldiers had killed 360 of Abner’s men, all from the tribe of Benjamin.
32 Asahel to lak o moe, Bethlehem ah ampa ih taprong ah aphum o. To pacoengah Joab hoi anih ih kaminawk loe aqum puek caeh o, khodai naah Hebron vangpui to a phak o.
[Some of Joab’s soldiers] took Asahel’s body and buried it in the tomb where his father had been buried, in Bethlehem. Then they marched all during the night, and at dawn they arrived [back home] at Hebron.
