Lokcaekkung 21
1 Israel kaminawk boih mah Mizpah vangpui ah, Kami boih mah angmacae ih canu to Benjamin kaminawk han paek o hmah, tiah lokkam o.
When the Israeli men gathered at Mizpah [before the battle started], they vowed, “None of us will ever allow one of our daughters to marry any man from the tribe of Benjamin!”
2 Kaminawk loe Angraeng im ah caeh o moe, duembang khoek to Sithaw hmaa ah oh o;
But now the Israelis went to Bethel and they cried loudly to Yahweh all day, until the sun went down.
3 nihcae mah, Aw Israel Angraeng Sithaw, tipongah maw hae hmuen hae Israel kaminawk khaeah oh? Tipongah maw Israel acaengnawk thung hoiah acaeng maeto anghmaat ving hanah hmuen to oh? tiah hang o moe, a qah o.
They kept saying, “Yahweh, God of us Israeli people, [it is as though] one of the tribes of us Israelis does not exist any more! (Why has this happened to us?/It is terrible that this has happened to us!)” [RHQ]
4 Kaminawk loe khawnbang khawnthaw ah angthawk o moe, to ah hmaicam maeto sak o; hmai angbawnhaih hoi angdaeh angbawnhaih to a sak o.
Early the next morning the people built an altar. Then they completely burned some sacrifices [on the altar], and also offered other sacrifices to maintain fellowship with God.
5 To naah Israel kaminawk mah, Angraeng hmaa ah amkhueng hanah Israel acaengnawk thung hoiah angzo ai kami mi maw kaom? tiah a thuih o. Mi kawbaktih doeh Angraeng hmaa ah amkhueng hanah Mizpah vangpui ah angzo ai kami loe, paduek han oh, tiah a thuih o.
Then, because they had vowed that anyone who did not meet with them at Mizpah [to help fight the men of the tribe of Benjamin] would be killed, they asked among themselves, “Were there any of the tribes of Israel who did not come to Mizpah to meet with us in the presence of Yahweh?”
6 Vaihiah Israel kami thung hoiah acaeng maeto pathok ving ah oh boeh, tiah angmacae ih nawkamya ah kaom Benjamin kaminawk pongah dawnpakhuemhaih a tawnh o.
The Israelis felt sorry for their fellow Israelis from the tribe of Benjamin. They said, “Today one of our Israeli tribes (has disappeared/no longer exists).
7 Aicae mah Angraeng hmaa ah aicae ih canu to nihcae han zu ah paek hmah si, tiah lok a kam o boeh pongah, katang kanghmat nihcae hanah zu kawbangmaw a lak pae o han? tiah a thuih o.
Yahweh heard us solemnly declare that we would not allow any of our daughters to marry any man from the tribe of Benjamin. What can we do to make certain that the men of the tribe of Benjamin who were not killed will have wives?”
8 Angraeng hmaa ah amkhueng hanah, Mizpah vangpui ah angzo ai Israel acaeng mi maw kaom? tiah a thuih o; to naah Gilead prae Jabesh vangpui ih kami mi doeh amkhuenghaih ahmuen ah angzo o ai, tiah panoek o.
Then [one of] them asked, “What group from any of the tribes of Israel did not send any men here to Mizpah?”
9 Kaminawk to pakoep o naah, Gilead prae Jabesh vangpui ih kami maeto doeh om ai.
[They realized that] when the soldiers were counted, there was no one from Jabesh-Gilead [city] who had come there.
10 To pongah misatuh kop kami sang hatlai hnetto Gilead Jabesh vangpui ah patoeh o moe, to ah kaom nongpa doeh, nongpata hoi nawkta doeh, sumsen hoi hum boih hanah lokpaek o.
So all the Israelis decided to send 12,000 very good soldiers to Jabesh-Gilead to kill the people there with their swords, even to kill the married women and children.
11 Nongpa hoi kacuem ai ah khosah nongpata to hum o boih ah, hae loe na sak o han ih tok ni, tiah a naa o.
[They told this to those men]: “This is what you must do: You must kill every man in Jabesh-Gilead. You must also kill every married woman. [But do not kill the unmarried women].”
12 Gilead prae Jabesh vangpui ah kaom kaminawk thungah nongpa hoi nawnto iip vai ai tangla kacuem cumvai palito a hnuk o; nihcae to Kanaan prae Shiloh vangpui ataihaih ahmuen ah a hoih o.
So those soldiers [went to Jabesh-Gilead and killed all the men, married women, and children. But they] found 400 unmarried young women there. So they brought them to their camp at Shiloh, in Canaan, [across the river from the Gilead area that belonged to the tribe of Benjamin].
13 To ah amkhueng kaminawk mah Rimmon thlung ohhaih ahmuen ah kaom Benjamin kaminawk to kawk hanah, kaminawk to patoeh o.
Then all the Israelis [who had gathered] sent a message to the 600 men who were at Rimmon Rock. They said that they would like to make peace with them.
14 To nathuem hoiah Benjamin kaminawk loe amlaem o let moe, Gilead prae Jabesh vangpui hoi pahlong o ih nongpatanawk to zu ah a paek o; toe nongpatanawk loe nihcae boih han khawt ai.
So the men came back from Rimmon Rock. The Israelis gave to them the women from Jabesh-Gilead whom they had not killed. But there were [only 400 women. But there were] not enough women [for those 600 men].
15 Angraeng mah Israel acaeng thung hoiah anghmatsak boeh pongah, kaminawk loe Benjamin kaminawk nuiah dawnpakhuemhaih tawnh o.
The Israelis [still] felt sorry for the men of the tribe of Benjamin, because Yahweh had (decimated/almost wiped out) one of the Israeli tribes.
16 Amkhueng kacoehtanawk mah, Benjamin nongpatanawk to hum o boih boeh pongah, kanghmat nongpanawk hanah kawbangah maw zu a lak pae o han?
The Israeli leaders said, “We have killed all the married women of the tribe of Benjamin. Where can we get women to be wives of the men who are still alive?
17 Nihcae mah, Israel acaeng thung hoiah acaeng anghmat ving han ai ah, kanghmat Benjamin kaminawk mah qawktoep o hanah, caa a sak o han oh.
These men must have wives to give birth to children, in order that their families will continue. If that does not happen, all the people of one of the tribes of Israel will die.
18 Toe Benjamin acaeng hanah a canu paek kami loe, khosak sethaih om nasoe, tiah Israel kaminawk mah lokkam o boeh pongah, aicae ih canunawk to nihcae han paek thai ai boeh.
But we cannot allow our daughters to marry these men, because we vowed that Yahweh will curse anyone who gives one of his daughters to become a wife of any man of the tribe of Benjamin.”
19 Toe khenah, Bethel aluek bang, Bethel hoi Shekem caehhaih loklam ni angyae bang hoi Lebonah aloih bangah kaom, Shiloh vangpui ah saning kruek Angraeng khaeah sak ih poih to oh, tiah a thuih o.
Then [one of] them (had an idea/thought of something that they could do). He said, “Every year there is a festival to honor Yahweh at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel and east of the road that extends from Bethel to Shechem, and it is south of Lebonah [city].”
20 To pongah nihcae mah Benjamin kaminawk to kawk o moe, Caeh oh loe, misur takha thungah anghawk oh;
So the Israeli leaders told the men of the tribe of Benjamin, “[When it is the time for that festival], go to Shiloh and hide in the vineyards.
21 khenah, Shiloh ih tanglanawk hnawh han angzoh o naah, misur takha thung hoiah tacawt oh, Shiloh vangpui ih nongpatanawk to nangmacae han zu ah naeh oh loe, Benjamin prae ah caeh o haih ah.
Keep watching for the young women to come out of the city to dance. [When they come out], all of you should run out of the vineyards. Each of you can seize one of the young women of Shiloh. Then you can all return to your homes [with those women].
22 Ampa hoi a thangqoinawk mah kaicae khaeah na thui o nahaeloe, nihcae khaeah, Nihcae nuiah tahmenhaih tawn oh; misatuk nathung nihcae zu hanah nongpata maeto doeh a pathlung pae o ai boeh; nangcae mah nihcae ih zu ah oh hanah na canunawk to na paek o ai, to pongah lokkam ih baktiah zaehaih na tawn o mak ai, tiah ka thuih pae o han, tiah a naa o.
If their fathers or brothers come to us and complain [about what you have done], we will say to them, ‘Be kind to the men of the tribe of Benjamin. When we fought them, we did not leave any women alive to become their wives, and you did not give those young women to the men from the tribe of Benjamin. [They stole them]. So you will not be guilty, [even though you said that you would not allow any of your daughters to marry one of them].’”
23 A thuih pae o ih lok baktih toengah, Benjamin kaminawk mah sak o; kami boih mah kahnawh tanglanawk to angmacae zu hanah naeh o moe, angmacae qawktoephaih prae ah caeh o haih; kamro vangpui to pathoep o moe, to ah khosak o let.
So that is what the men of the tribe of Benjamin did. [They went to Shiloh at the time of the festival]. And when the young women were dancing, each man caught one of them and took her away and married her. Then they took their wives back to the land that God had given to them. They rebuilt their cities [that had been burned down], and they lived there.
24 To naah Israel kaminawk loe to ahmuen hoiah tacawt o moe, angmacae acaeng kaminawk hoi angmacae qawktoephaih ahmuen ah amlaem o boih.
The other Israelis went to their homes in the areas where their tribes and clans lived, the areas that God had allotted to them.
25 To nathuem ah Israel kaminawk loe siangpahrang tawn o ai vop; kami boih mah angmacae mikhnukah hoih, tiah a poek o ih baktih toengah hmuen to a sak o.
At that time, the Israeli people did not have a king. Everyone did what they themselves thought was right.
