1 Samuel 4
1 Te phoeiah Samuel ol Israel pum taengla pawk. Te dongah Israel tah caem khuikah Philisti te mah hamla cet tih Ebenezer ah rhaeh uh. Te vaengah Philisti tah Aphek ah rhaeh.
And Samuel told to all the people of Israel the messages that God gave him. At that time the Israeli army went to fight against the army of the Philistine people. The Israeli army set up their tents at Ebenezer, and the Philistine army set up their tents at Aphek.
2 Philisti khaw Israel mah ham rhong a pai uh tih caemtloek khaw a yaal uh. Te vaengah Israel tah Philisti mikhmuh ah yawk tih hlang thawng li tluk te lohma li ah maehlaep bangla a tloek uh.
The Philistine army attacked the Israeli army, and as the battle continued, the Philistines defeated the Israelis and killed about 4,000 of their soldiers.
3 Te dongah pilnam loh rhaehhmuen la a pawk uh vaengah Israel khuikah a hamca rhoek te, “Tihnin ah tah BOEIPA loh balae tih mamih he Philisti mikhmuh ah n'yawk sak? BOEIPA kah paipi thingkawng te Shiloh lamloh mamih taengla lo uh sih. Mamih lakli la ha pawk daengah ni thunkha kut lamkah mamih n'khang eh,” a ti uh.
When the remaining Israeli soldiers returned to their camp, the Israeli elders/leaders said, “Why did Yahweh allow the Philistine army to defeat us today? We should bring the chest that contains the Ten Commandments here from Shiloh, in order that Yahweh will go with us [when we go to the battle again, and] in order that our enemies will not defeat us again!”
4 Te dongah pilnam te Shiloh la a tueih tih te lamkah Caempuei BOEIPA kah paipi thingkawng, cherubim kah a ngol thil te a koh uh. Te vaengah Eli ca rhoi Hophni neh Phinekha khaw Pathen kah paipi thingkawng taengah om rhoi.
So the soldiers did that. They sent some men to Shiloh, and those men brought back the chest that contained the Ten Commandments. [They thought that if they did that, Yahweh would help them. They believed that] Yahweh sat on a throne between the statues of winged creatures [that were on top of] the chest that Yahweh Almighty [had given them]. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, went with them.
5 BOEIPA kah paipi thingkawng te rhaehhmuen la ha pawk vaengah Israel pum loh tamlung neh muep yuhui uh tih diklai khaw pangngawl.
When the Israeli people saw [the men bringing] the box into their camp, they were so happy that they shouted loudly. They shouted so loudly that they made the ground shake!
6 Tamlung ol te Philisti loh a yaak vaengah, “Hebrew rhaehhmuen ah mebang tamlung ol lae rhup rhup aka khap uh te,” a ti uh. Tedae rhaehhmuen la BOEIPA thingkawng ha pawk te a ming uh.
The Philistines asked, “What are the people in the Hebrew camp shouting about?” Someone told them that they were shouting because the chest that contained the Ten Commandments of Yahweh had been brought to them.
7 Te vaengah Philisti rhoek loh, “Rhaehhmuen khuila Pathen ha pawk coeng,” a ti uh tih a rhih uh. Te dongah, “Anunae, hlaem hlavai ah khaw mamih taengah he bang he a om moenih.
Then the Philistines became very afraid. They said, “One of the Israelis’ gods has come into their camp [to help them] We are in big trouble now! Nothing like this has happened to us before!
8 Anunae mamih aih he, hmasoe cungkuem neh khosoek ah Egypt aka ngawn Pathen, aka khuet Pathen kut lamloh u long lae mamih ng'huul eh?
(Who can/Can anyone) save us from their powerful gods [RHQ]? They are the gods who struck the people of Egypt with many plagues [before the Israelis left Egypt and traveled] through the desert.
9 Tanglue uh lamtah Philisti hlang bangla om uh, nangmih taengah a thohtat bangla Hebrew taengah na thotat uh ve. Hlang bangla om uh lamtah tloek uh,” a ti uh.
You Philistine men, be courageous! Fight very hard! If you do not do that, [they will defeat us, and then] you will become their slaves, just like they have been our slaves previously!”
10 Tedae Philisti rhoek loh a tloek uh vaengah Israel yawk tih hlang boeih loh amah kah dap la rhaelrham uh. Te vaengah hmasoe len muep om tih Israel rhalkap thawng sawmthum tah vik cungku uh.
So the Philistine men fought very hard, and they defeated the Israelis. They killed 30,000 Israeli soldiers, and the other Israeli soldiers fled and ran away to their tents.
11 Pathen kah thingkawng te vik a loh uh tih Eli ca rhoi Hophni neh Phinekha khaw duek.
The Philistines captured the sacred chest, and they killed Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas.
12 Te vaengah caem lamkah Benjamin hlang pakhat te yong tih hnin at neh Shiloh a pha. Tedae a himbai te a phen tih diklai neh a lu a phul thil.
On that same day, one man of the tribe [descended from] Benjamin tore his clothes and threw dirt on his head [to show that he was very sad]. He ran from the place where the armies were fighting, and he arrived at Shiloh late [that afternoon].
13 A pha vaengah Eli tah longpuei hmatoeng bawt kah ngolkhoel dongah pahoi ana ngol. A lungbuei a om dongah Pathen thingkawng ham te a thuen doela a tawt. Te vaengah khopuei ah puen hamla hlang ha pai tih khopuei khaw boeih pang.
Eli was waiting beside the road. [He wanted to hear news about the battle, and] he was also very anxious to know if anything bad had happened to God’s sacred chest. When the messenger arrived and told people what had happened, everyone in the town started to cry loudly.
14 Pangngawlnah ol te Eli loh a yaak vaengah, “Me lamkah hlangping ol lae he,” a ti nah. Te vaengah hlang koe halo tih Eli taengah a puen pah.
Eli asked, “Why are they making all that noise?” The messenger ran over to Eli and told him the news.
15 Eli tah kum sawmko kum rhet a lo ca coeng dongah a mik hmaang tih hmu thai voel pawh.
At that time, Eli was 98 years old, and he was blind.
16 Tekah hlang loh Eli taengah, “Caem lamkah ka pawk coeng. Kai khaw tihnin ah caem lamkah ka rhaelrham,” a ti nah. Te vaengah, “Kai ca taengah mebang hno lae aka thoeng,” a ti nah.
The messenger said to Eli, “I have just come from where the armies were fighting. I left there earlier today.” Eli asked, “What happened?”
17 Ol aka phong loh a doo tih, “Israel te Philisti mikhmuh ah a rhaelrham van hatah pilnam khuiah lucik la muep om tih nang ca rhoi Hophni neh Phinekha khaw duek coeng, Pathen kah thingkawng khaw a khuen coeng,” a ti nah.
The man replied, “The Philistines defeated our Israeli army. They killed thousands of our soldiers, and the others ran away. The Philistines killed your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. They also captured God’s sacred chest.”
18 Pathen kah thingkawng te a poek vaengah ngolkhoel dong lamloh vongka hmatoeng ah a hnuk la palet uh tih a rhawn a tlawt pah. Tekah hlang patong aka duek te rhih. Tedae amah loh Israel te kum sawmli lai a tloek pah.
Eli was very old, and he was very fat; and when he heard what had happened to the sacred chest, he fell backward from his chair beside the town gate. His neck was broken and he died. He had led the Israeli people for 40 years before he died.
19 Te vaengah Phinekha kah a yuu, amah langa tah vawn tih om tom coeng. Te vaengah olthang te Pathen thingkawng a khuen khaw, a marhang neh a va duek khaw a yaak. Te dongah sop uh tih camoe pahoi om. Tedae anih te a kuihlam loh a voeih.
The wife/widow of Eli’s son Phinehas was pregnant, and it was almost time for her to give birth to her baby. When she heard that God’s sacred chest had been captured and that her husband and her father-in-law were dead, her labor pains suddenly began. She quickly gave birth to a boy.
20 A duek tue vaengah tah a taengkah aka pai rhoek loh, “Capa na cun coeng dongah rhih boeh,” a ti na uh. Tedae doo voel pawt tih a lungbuei pael voel pawh.
The women who were helping her tried to encourage her by saying to her, “You have given birth to a son!” But she did not pay any attention [DOU] to what they said.
21 Tedae Pathen kah thingkawng a loh uh dongah, “Israel kah a thangpomnah khaw, a marhang khaw, a va khaw khum coeng,” a ti tih camoe te Ikhabot a sui.
She named the boy Ichabod, which means ‘no glory’, because she said, “[God’s] glory has departed from Israel.” She said that because God’s sacred chest had been captured and because her husband and her father-in-law had died.
22 Te dongah, “Pathen kah thingkawng a loh uh dongah Israel kah thangpomnah khaw khum van,” a ti.
She said, “[God’s] glory has left Israel, because God’s sacred chest has been captured!” And then she died.
