2 Samuel 17
1 Te phoeiah Ahithophel loh Absalom taengah, “Hlang thawng hlai nit ka coelh pawn ni. Ka hlah uh vetih khoyin ah David hnuk te ka hloem laeh mako.
Then Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Allow me to choose 12,000 men, and I will leave [with them] tonight to pursue David.
2 Bonghnaek tih a kut a kha to vaengah ka anih te ka paan eh, anih te ka lakueng sak eh. A taengkah pilnam loh boeih a rhaelrham tak vaengah manghai amah te ka ngawn eh.
We will attack him while he is tired and discouraged, and cause him to be very frightened. All the soldiers who are with him will run away. We will kill only the king.
3 Te vaengah pilnam te namah taengla boeih kam mael puei mako. Na toem hlang te rhuemtuet la a mael daengah ni pilnam boeih khaw rhoepnah a om eh,” a ti nah.
Then we will bring back all his soldiers to you, like [SIM] a (bride/woman comes to her husband when she is married). You are wanting to kill only one man; so the other people will not be harmed.”
4 Tekah olka tah Absalom kah mikhmuh neh Israel patong boeih kah mikhmuh ah thuem mai.
Absalom and all the Israeli leaders [who were with him] thought that what Ahithophel said would be good to do.
5 Tedae Absalom loh, “Arkii Hushai te khaw khue laeh. Anih ka dongkah ol te khaw ya uh sih,” a ti nah.
But Absalom said, “Summon Hushai also, and we will hear what he suggests.”
6 Hushai te Absalom taengla a pawk vaengah Absalom loh, “Ahithophel loh a thui ol bangla thui van lah, na thui pawt atah anih ol te vai sih a?” a ti nah.
So when Hushai arrived, Absalom told him what Ahithophel had suggested. Then he asked Hushai, “What do you think we should do? If you do not think that we should do what Ahithophel suggests, tell us [what you think that we should do].”
7 Tedae Hushai loh Absalom taengah, “Tahae tue vaengah Ahithophel loh cilsuep n'uen cilsuep te a then moenih,” a ti nah.
Hushai replied, “This time what Ahithophel has suggested is not good advice.
8 Te phoeiah Hushai loh, “Na pa te na ming coeng, a hlang rhoek khaw amih tah hlangrhalh rhoek ni, amih a hinglu tah kohong kah dueidah laemhong vom bangla tlung. Te phoeiah na pa he caemtloek hlang la a om dongah pilnam nen khaw rhaeh mahpawh.
You know that your father and the men who are with him are strong soldiers, and that now they are very angry, like [SIM] a mother bear whose cubs have been stolen from her. Furthermore, your father knows how to fight because he has fought in many battles. He will not stay with his troops during the night.
9 Amah ngawn tah rhom pakhat ah nim, a hmuen pakhat ah nim thuh uh pawn maco te. Lamhma kah a cungku te a yaak a yaak vaengah, ‘Absalom hnukkah pilnam khuiah lucik om coeng,’ a ti bitni.
Right now he is probably already hiding in one of the pits, or in some other place. [If his soldiers start to attack your soldiers, and] if they kill some of them, whoever hears about that will say ‘Many of the soldiers with Absalom have been killed!’
10 Na pa neh a taengkah tatthai tongpa rhoek kah a tlung a thang te Israel pum loh a ming vaengah a lungbuei sathueng lungbuei bangla aka om tatthai capa pataeng paci la paci pueng ni.
Then your other soldiers, even if they are as fearless [SIM, IDM] as lions, they will become very afraid. Do not forget that everyone in Israel knows that your father is a great/strong soldier, and that the soldiers who are with him are also very brave/courageous.
11 Te dongah Dan lamloh Beersheba due tuipuei laivin bangla aka yet Israel boeih he nang taengah tingtun rhoe tingtun saeh lamtah na mikhmuh kah caemrhal te kun thil saeh ka ti.
“So what I suggest is that you summon all the Israeli soldiers, from Dan [in the far north] to Beersheba [in the far south]. They will be as many as the grains of sand on the seashore [HYP]. And then you yourself lead us into the battle.
12 Anih te hmuen khat, khat ah phoe tih m'muk pahoi vaengah, mamih loh anih te diklai dongkah buemtui a suntlak bangla ng'et thil daengah ni, amah khaw, a taengkah hlang boeih loh pakhat khaw a sueng pawt eh.
We will find [your father], wherever he is, and we will attack him [from all sides], like [SIM] dew covers all the ground. And neither he nor any of the soldiers who are with him will survive.
13 Khopuei la nong cakhaw khopuei te Israel pum loh rhui a khuen uh vetih anih te a nuei pataeng a hmuh pawt hilah soklong la a sol uh ni.
If he escapes into some city, all our soldiers will bring ropes and pull that city down into the valley. As a result, not one stone will be left there [on top of the hill where that city was]!”
14 Absalom neh Israel hlang boeih loh, ‘Arkii Hushai kah cilsuep tah Ahithophel kah cilsuep lakah then ngai,’ a ti uh,” a ti nah. BOEIPA loh Absalom soah yoethaenah khuen ham kong ah Ahithophel kah cilsuep then te phae hamla BOEIPA loh a uen.
Absalom and all the other Israeli men [who were with him] said, “What Hushai suggests is better than what Ahithophel suggested.” The reason that happened was that Yahweh had determined that if they would accept the good advice that Ahithophel had given them, [they would have been able to defeat/kill David]. But [as a result of their doing what Hushai suggested], Yahweh would cause a disaster to happen to Absalom.
15 Hushai loh khosoih Zadok neh Abiathar te, “Ahithophel loh Absalom neh Israel patong rhoek tuek tuek a uen bangla, kai loh kang uen.
Then Hushai told the two priests, Zadok and Abiathar, what both he and Ahithophel had suggested to Absalom and the Israeli leaders.
16 Te dongah David taengah hlang tlek tueih lamtah puen pah laeh. ‘Khoyin te khosoek kolken ah rhaeh thil boeh. Kat rhoela khat phai, manghai neh a pilnam pum te vik yoop ve,’ ti nah,” a ti nah.
Then he said to them, “Send [a message] quickly to David. Tell him to not stay at the place where people walk across the river, near the desert. Instead, he and his soldiers must cross [the Jordan River] immediately, in order that they will not be killed/wiped out.”
17 Jonathan neh Ahimaaz tah Enrogel ah a om vaengah amih rhoi taengla salnu cet tih a puen pah. Tedae amih rhoi te Khopuei khuila kun ham neh phoe ham a coeng rhoi pawt dongah manghai David taengla cet rhoi tih a thui rhoi.
[The priest’s two sons, ] Jonathan and Ahimaaz, were waiting at En-Rogel [Spring], outside Jerusalem. They did not [dare to] enter the city, because if someone saw them, [he would report it to Absalom]. [While they were at En-Rogel, ] a female servant [of the two priests] would frequently go to them and report to them [what was happening], and then they would go and report it to King David.
18 Tedae amih rhoi te camoe pakhat loh vik a hmuh tih Absalom taengla a puen pah. Te dongah amih rhoi khaw vil nong rhoi tih Bahurim kah hlang pakhat im la kun rhoi. Te phoeiah a vongup khuikah tangrhom khuila suntla rhoi.
But a young man saw them, and went and reported it to Absalom. [They found out what the young man had done, ] so both of them left quickly and went to stay in the house of a man in Bahurim. That man had a well in his courtyard; so the two men went down into the well [to hide].
19 A yuu loh himbaiyan te a loh tih tangrhom kah a rhai ah khoep a phaih. A soah canghum khoep a yaal thil dongah a hmuethma khaw ming uh pawh.
The man’s wife took a cloth/mat and covered the well, and scattered grain on top of it in order that no one would know [that two men were hiding inside it].
20 Absalom kah sal rhoek te huta kah im la ha pawk uh tih, “Ahimaaz neh Jonathan ta?” a ti nah. Te vaengah amih te huta loh, “Sokca tui ke a poeng rhoi coeng ta,” a ti nah. A tlap uh dae a hmuh pawt dongah Jerusalem la mael uh.
Some of Absalom’s soldiers [found out where the two men had gone. So they] went to the house, and asked the woman, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” She replied, “They crossed the river.” So the soldiers [crossed the river and] searched for them. But they could not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.
21 Amih a caeh phoeiah tangrhom lamloh koep ha luei rhoi tih cet rhoi. Te phoeiah manghai David taengla puen rhoi. David taengah te, “Hlah uh lamtah tui ke pahoi kat uh laeh, he tlam he ni Ahithophel ni nang ng'uen,” a ti nah.
After they had gone, the two men came out of the well and went and reported to King David [what had happened and] what Ahithophel had suggested. Then they said to him, “Cross the river quickly!”
22 Te dongah David neh a taengkah pilnam boeih te hlah uh tih Jordan te kat uh. Mincang khothaih duela Jordan aka kat pawt he pakhat khaw mueh pawh.
So David and all his soldiers quickly started to cross the Jordan [River], and by dawn they had all crossed to the other side.
23 A cilsuep loh a pha pawt te Ahithophel loh a hmuh coeng dongah, laak te a ngoldoelh tih hlah uh. Te phoeiah amah kho la a im te a paan. A imkhui cako te a uen phoeiah kuiok tih duek tih a napa kah phuel ah a up uh.
When Ahithophel realized that Absalom was not going to do what he suggested, he put a saddle on his donkey and returned to his own town. He gave [to his family] instructions about his possessions, and then he hanged himself [because he knew that Absalom would be defeated and that he would be considered a traitor and be killed]. His body was buried in the tomb where his ancestors [had been buried].
24 Te dongah David loh Mahanaim la a pawk vaengah Absalom neh amah taengah Israel hlang boeih te Jordan ah kat uh.
David [and his soldiers] arrived at Mahanaim. And Absalom [and all his Israeli soldiers] also crossed the Jordan [River].
25 Amasa te Absalom loh Joab yueng la caempuei soah a ngol sak. Te vaengah Amasa capa tongpa pakhat a ming ah Ithra tah Israel hoel dae ta. Anih long te Nahash nu Joab manu Zeruiah mana Abigail te a kun thil.
Absalom had appointed [his cousin] Amasa to be the commander of his army, instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Jether, a descendant of Ishmael. Amasa’s mother was Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and the sister of Joab’s mother Zeruiah.
26 Te vaengah Israel neh Absalom te Gilead kho ah rhaeh.
Absalom and his Israeli soldiers set up their tents in [the] Gilead [region].
27 David te Mahanaim la a pawk vaengah Rabbah lamkah Ammon koca Nahash capa Shobi, Lodebar lamkah Ammiel capa Makir, Rogelim lamkah Giladi Barzillai loh,
When David [and his soldiers] arrived at Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah [city] in the Ammon area, and Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-Debar [city], and Barzillai from Rogelim [town] in [the] Gilead [region]
28 thingkong, baeldung, um-am, cangyen, cangtun, vaidam, maidawn, vairhum, rhacik, vairhum,
brought sleeping mats, bowls, clay pots, barley, wheat flour, parched grain, beans, and lentils to them.
29 khoitui, suknaeng, boiva, vaito sukkhal te David neh a taengkah a pilnam ham hang khuen tih, “Pilnam he bungpong neh khosoek ah tui a halh vaengah ca uh saeh,” a ti uh.
They brought honey and curds, sheep, and some cream/cheese for David and his soldiers to eat. They knew that David and his soldiers would be hungry and tired and thirsty [from marching] in the desert.
