Laitloekkung 7
1 Te dongah Jerubbaal Gideon neh a taengkah pilnam boeih te a thoh puei tih Hardo sih ah rhaeh uh. Te vaengah Midian rhaehhmuen tah tuikol kah Moreh som tlangpuei ah om van.
The next morning, Gideon and his men got up early and went as far as Harod Spring. The army of Midian was camped north of them, in the valley near Moreh Hill.
2 Te phoeiah BOEIPA loh Gideon te, “Midian te amih kut ah kan tloeng ham dongah na taengkah pilnam te yet aih. 'Kamah kut loh kamah he n'khang,’ a ti neh Israel loh kai taengah kohang ve.
Yahweh said to Gideon, “You have too many soldiers with you. If I allow all of you to fight the army of Midian, [if your army defeats them], they will boast to me that they defeated their enemies by themselves, [without my help].
3 Te dongah pilnam kah a hna ah pang thil lamtah, 'U khaw aka rhih tih aka thuen tah bal mai saeh lamtah Gilead tlang lamloh nong saeh,’ ti nah,” a ti nah. Te vaengah pilnam khui lamloh hlang thawng kul thawng hnih te bal tih thawng rha la cul uh.
So tell the men, ‘Whoever among you is timid or afraid may leave us and go home.’” So [after Gideon told that to them], 22,000 of them went home. Only 10,000 men were left there.
4 Tedae Gideon te BOEIPA loh, “Pilnam he yet aih pueng. Amih te tui taengla suntlak puei lamtah nang hamla pahoi ka nuemnai bitni. Te vaengah nang taengah, 'Anih he namah taengah pongpa saeh,’ ka ti hlang te tah namah taengah pongpa saeh. Tedae, 'anih te namah taengah pongpa boel saeh,’ tila nang taengah ka thui hlang boeih te tah pongpa van boel saeh,” a ti nah.
But Yahweh told Gideon, “There are still too many men! Take them down to the spring, and there I will choose from among them, which ones will go with you and which ones will not go.”.
5 Te dongah pilnam te tui taengla a suntlak puei. Te phoeiah Gideon te BOEIPA loh, “Ui kah a laeh bangla tui te a lai neh aka laek boeih neh tui ok ham a khuklu dongah aka cungkueng hlang boeih te amah neh amah hloep khueh,” a ti nah.
When Gideon took the men down to the spring, Yahweh told him, “When they drink, put into one group the ones who scoop the water into their hands, and then lap it up like dogs do. Put into another group the ones who kneel down [and bend over] and drink with their mouths in the water.”
6 Te vaengah a ka neh a kut aka laek he hlangmi la hlang ya thum lo tih, pilnam hlangrhuel boeih long tah tui ok hamla a khuklu dongah cungkueng uh.
So when they drank, only 300 men drank from their hands. All the others drank with their mouths down in the water.
7 Te dongah Gideon te BOEIPA loh, “Tui aka laek hlang ya thum neh nang te kan khang vetih Midian te nang kut ah kan paek bitni. A tloe pilnam boeih te tah amah hmuen la rhip cet uh mai saeh,” a ti nah.
Then Yahweh told Gideon, “The 300 men who lapped the water from their hands will be your army! I will enable them to defeat the Midian army. Let all the others go home!”
8 Te dongah pilnam loh a kut dongah lampu neh tuki te a khuen uh. Israel hlang boeih te a dap la rhip a tueih coeng dae hlang ya thum te tah a rhuem pueng. Te vaengah Midian rhaehhmuen he tuikol kungdak kah amah taengah om coeng.
So Gideon’s 300 men collected the food and rams’ horns from all the other men, and then he sent them home. The men of Midian were camping in the valley below Gideon.
9 Tekah khoyin ah Gideon te BOEIPA loh, “Thoo, anih te na kut dongah kam paek coeng dongah rhaehhmuen ke suntlak thil laeh.
That night, Yahweh said to Gideon, “Get up and go down to their camp, [and you will hear something that will convince you that] I will enable your men to defeat them.
10 Tedae suntlak ham na rhih atah na ca Purah te rhaehhmuen la namah loh suntlak puei.
But if you are afraid to attack them by yourself, take your servant Purah with you.
11 A thui uh te na yaak tih, na kut han talong uh phoei daengah ni rhaehhmuen khaw na suntlak thil eh?,” a ti nah. Te daengah a ca Purah khaw rhaehhmuen kaepvai kah aka bop kah taphung la a suntlak puei.
Go down and listen to what some of the Midian soldiers are saying. Then you will be very encouraged, and you will be ready to attack their camp.” So Gideon took Purah with him, and they went down to the edge of the enemy camp.
12 Te vaengah Midian neh Amalek khaw, khothoeng ca rhoek boeih khaw kaisih aka hol uh bangla kol ah yalh uh tih amih kah kalauk mah tuipuei tuikaeng kah laivin bangla tae lek pawt la hmoeng.
The armies of the people of Midian and Amalek and from the east had set up their tents and looked like a swarm of locusts. It seemed that their camels were as impossible to count as the grains of sand on the seashore.
13 Gideon halo vaengah hlang pakhat loh a hui taengah a mang tarha ana doek thui tih, “Mang ka man hatah cangtun vaidam a hluem hluem at loh Midian rhaehhmuen la paluet tih dap khuila kun. Dap te a toh tih a cungku phoeiah a so la a palet thil dongah dap cungku he,” a ti nah.
Gideon crept closer and heard one man telling a friend about a dream. He said, “I just had a dream, and in the dream I saw a round loaf of barley bread tumble down into our Midian camp. It struck a tent so hard that the tent turned upside down and collapsed!”
14 A hui long khaw a doo tih, “A hong moenih, Israel tongpa, Joash capa Gideon kah cunghang dae la te, Midian neh rhaehhmuen boeih he Pathen loh anih kut dongah a paek coeng,” a ti nah.
His friend said, “Your dream can mean only one thing. It means that God will enable Gideon, the man of Israel, to defeat all of the armies that are here with us men from Midian.”
15 Mang kawng a saep te Gideon loh a yaak vaegnah tho a thueng. Te phoeiah Israel rhaehhmuen la mael tih, “Midian rhaehhmuen he BOEIPA loh na kut ah m'paek coeng dongah thoo uh laeh,” a ti nah.
When Gideon heard the [man tell about his] dream and the meaning of that dream, he thanked God. Then he [and Purah] returned to the Israeli camp, and he shouted to the men, “Get up! Because God is enabling you to defeat the men from Midian!”
16 Hlang ya thum te a lu pathum a boel tih amih boeih long te a kut dongah tuki, amrhaeng hoeng neh amrhaeng khui ah hmaithoi te rhip a paek.
He divided his men into three groups. He gave each man a ram’s horn and an empty clay jar. He also gave each of them a torch [that they lit].
17 Te phoeiah amih te, “Kai nan hmuh uh vanbangla saii uh van. Tahae ah rhaehhmuen taphung la ka cet pawn ni, te dongah ka saii bangla saii uh.
Then he said to them, “Watch me. When we come close to the enemy camp, [spread out to surround the camp]. Then do exactly what I do.
18 Kai loh tuki te ka ueng van neh ka taengkah rhoek boeih long khaw tuki te ueng uh. Nangmih long khaw rhaehhmuen taengvai boeih ah, “BOEIPA ham neh Gideon ham,” ti uh van,” a ti nah.
As soon as I and the men with me blow our ram’s horns, you men in the other two groups surrounding the camp blow your horns and shout, ‘[We are doing this] for Yahweh and for Gideon!’”
19 Gideon loh amah taengkah hlang yakhat te pukthung bangli vaengah rhaehhmuen taphung la a pawk puei. Kho aka tawt rhoek te a thoh van neh tuki te a ueng uh tih a kut dongkah amrhaeng te a dae uh.
A while before midnight, just after a new group of Israeli guards took the places of the previous group, Gideon and the 100 men with him arrived at the edge of the Midian camp. Suddenly they all blew their horns, and broke their jars.
20 Te phoeiah rhoihui pathum loh tuki te a ueng uh tih amrhaeng te a dae uh. Te phoeiah hmaithoi te a banvoei kut neh, ueng hamla tuki te a bantang kut ah a thueng uh tih, “BOEIPA ham neh Gideon ham cunghang he,” tila pang uh.
Then the men in all three groups blew their horns and smashed their jars. They held the torches high with their left hands, and held up the horns with their right hands and alternatively blew them and shouted, “[We have] swords [to fight] for Yahweh and for Gideon!”
21 Rhaehhmuen te a kaepvai kah a kungdak ah boeih a pai thil uh vaengah rhaehhmuen kah te khaw boeih yong. Te vaengah a rhaelrham a rhaelrham uh doeah yuhui uh.
Each of Gideon’s men stood in his position around the enemy camp. As they watched, all the Midian men started running around and shouting in a panic.
22 Tuki ya thum te a ueng uh van neh khat rhip kah cunghang te BOEIPA loh a hui taeng neh rhaehhuen tom boeih taengla a cuk sak dongah lambong loh Bethshitah Zererah ben Tabath kaepkah Abelmeholah khorhi duela rhaelrham uh.
While the 300 Israeli men kept blowing their horns, Yahweh caused their enemies to start fighting each other with their swords/daggers. Some of them killed each other. The rest fled. Some fled south to Beth-Shittah. Some fled to Zerarah [village], near Tabbath.
23 Te vaengah Israel hlang te Napthali lamkah khaw, Asher lamkah khaw, Manasseh tom lamkah khaw a khue tih Midian hnuk te a hloem uh.
Then Gideon sent messages to the soldiers in the areas where the descendants of Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh lived, to tell them to come and pursue the army of Midian.
24 Puencawn rhoek te khaw Gideon loh Ephraim tlang tom ah a tueih tih, “Midian khoep mah ham ha suntla uh lamtah amih te Bethbarah tui neh Jordan duela buem uh laeh,” a ti nah. Te dongah Ephraim hlang te boeih a doek tih Bethbarah tui neh Jordan duela a buem uh.
He also sent messengers throughout the hilly area where the descendants of Ephraim lived, saying, “Come down to attack the army of Midian. Come down to the Jordan River, to the place where people can wade across, to prevent enemy troops from crossing it! Station men as far south as Beth-Barah.” So the men of Ephraim did what Gideon told them to do.
25 Te vaengah Midian mangpa rhoi Oreb neh Zeeb te a tuuk uh tih, Oreb te Oreb lungpang ah a ngawn uh. Zeeb te tah Zeeb mah la a ngawn uh. Te phoeiah Midian te a hloem uh tih, Oreb neh Zeeb lu te Jordan rhalvangan kah Gideon taengla a khuen uh.
They also captured Oreb and Zeeb, the two generals of the Midian army. They killed Oreb at [the big rock which is now called] the rock of Oreb, and they killed Zeeb at [the place where people crush grapes that is now called] the winepress of Zeeb. Afterwards, the Israelis cut off the heads of Oreb and Zeeb and brought them to Gideon, while he was near the Jordan River.
