Lawkcengkung 20
1 Hahoi Isarelnaw teh pouknae buet touh lah a kamhluem awh teh, Dan hoi Beersheba totouh Gilead ram e naw hoi Mizpah vah BAWIPA koe a kamkhueng awh.
All the Israelis, from Dan [city in the north] to Beersheba [city in the south], and even from [the] Gilead [region on the east side of the Jordan River, heard what had happened. So they] they gathered together at Mizpah, [at the place where they worshiped] Yahweh.
2 Hahoi taminaw kahrawikungnaw hoi, Isarelnaw abuemlah Cathut taminaw a kamkhuengnae hmuen koe, koung a bawk awh. Tahloi ka patuem e ransaNaw 400000 touh a pha.
The leaders of [eleven of] the tribes of Israel stood in front of the people who gathered there. There were 400,000 men with swords who were there.
3 Benjaminnaw ni, Isarelnaw hah, Mizpah vah a takhang awh tie a panue awh. Hahoi Isarelnaw ni bangkongmaw hettelah tailai thoenae hah khuet na sak awh vaw. Na dei pouh awh loe atipouh awh.
The people of the tribe of Benjamin heard that the other Israelis had gone up to Mizpah, [but none of the men from their tribe went to the meeting there]. The Israelis who had come to Mizpah asked about the evil thing that had happened.
4 Levih miphun, a yu a thei pouh e a vâ ni, Benjamin miphun onae Gibeah kho roe hanelah noe laihoi a kâen.
So the husband of the woman who had been killed replied, “My slave wife and I came to Gibeah [city], wanting to stay there that night.
5 Hahoi Gibeahnaw ni na cusin awh teh, karum vah kai kecu dawk im teh a ven awh. Thei han na noe awh ei, kai na thei yueng lah, ka yu ado a pacekpahlek awh teh, a due sak awh.
That evening, the men of Gibeah came to attack me. They surrounded the house [where I was staying] and wanted to [have sex with me and then] kill me. They [raped and] abused my slave wife [all night], and she died.
6 Hottelah ka yu ado ro hah ka la teh, koung ka raban. Isarelnaw ao awh nah tangkuem koe koung ka patawn. Bangkongtetpawiteh, Isarel ram vah panuettho e hno hoi pathunae hno hah a sak awh.
I took her body home and cut it into pieces. Then I sent one piece to each area of Israel, [because I wanted you all to know about] this wicked and disgraceful/shameful thing [that] has been done here in Israel.
7 Nangmouh Isarelnaw abuemlahoi na pouknae hah ahawi na ti awh e patetlah dei awh haw telah ati.
So now, all you Israeli people, speak, and tell me what you think should be done!”
8 Hahoi teh, tamimaya teh lungkânging lah a tahung awh teh, apihai mae im dawk kâen awh hanh. Apihai mae rim thung kâen awh hanh.
All the people stood up, and in unison said, “None of us will go home! Not one of us will return to his house!
9 Hatei, Gibeahnaw tak dawk sak hane kong dawk teh cungpam rayu hoi tuk awh sei.
This is what we must do to [the people of] Gibeah. First, we will (cast lots/throw marked stones) [to determine which group should attack them].
10 Isarelnaw tak dawk kamhnawngnae hno a sak awh dawkvah, Gibeahnaw tuk navah, taminaw hane rawca ka thak hanlah, Isarel miphunnaw thung dawk 100 touh dawk 10 touh, 1000 touh dawk 100 touh, 10,000 touh dawk 1,000 touh rawi awh sei telah ati awh.
We will choose (one tenth/one from every ten) of the men from all the Israeli tribes. Those men will go and find food for the men who will go to attack the people of Gibeah. Then the other men will go to Gibeah to (pay the people back/punish them) for this terrible thing that they have done [here] in Israel.”
11 Hottelah hoi Isarelnaw pueng teh khopui tuk hanelah, lungthin buet touh lah a kamhluem awh.
And all the Israeli people agreed [that the people of Gibeah should be punished].
12 Hahoi, Isarel miphunnaw ni Benjamin miphunnaw pueng koe, nangmouh koe het patetlah e hno kaawm e heh, bang dawk na maw.
Then the Israeli men sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin. They demanded, “Do you realize that some of your men have done a very evil thing?
13 Gibeah e tami kaponaw thokhai awh. Hot patetlah Isarel ram e yon pâmen nahanelah, ka thei awh han titeh, tami a patoun awh. Hatei, Benjamin miphunnaw ni a hmaunawngha Isarelnaw ni a dei e hah ngai awh hoeh.
Bring those wicked men to us, in order that we can execute them. [By doing that], we will be doing what should be done because of this evil thing that has happened in Israel.” But the [people of the] tribe of Benjamin did not pay attention to their fellow Israelis.
14 Benjamin miphunnaw teh, Isarelnaw tuk hanlah khopui thung hoi a tâco awh teh, Gibeah vah a kâen awh.
The men of the tribe of Benjamin left their cities and gathered at Gibeah to fight the [other] Israelis.
15 Hot hnin vah, Benjaminnaw tahloi ka patuem hoi, katâcawtnaw teh, Gibeah vah a rawi awh e tami 700 touh touksin laipalah, 26,000 touh a pha awh.
In that one day the men of the tribe of Benjamin recruited 26,000 soldiers who knew how to fight using swords. They also chose/recruited 700 men from Gibeah.
16 Hotnaw hloilah, avoilah ka hno thai e tami 700 touh ao. Abuemlahoi pahlarui payang e thaw laipalah, talungdêikathoum e seng doeh.
From all those soldiers there were 700 men who were left-handed, and each of them could sling a stone at [a target that was very small and as narrow as] a hair, and the stone always hit the target!
17 Isarelnaw teh Benjaminnaw touksin laipalah, tahloi ka patuem thai e 400000 touh a pha awh. Hotnaw pueng teh taran ka tuk thai e seng doeh.
There were 400,000 men from the other Israeli tribes who had swords.
18 Isarelnaw ni a thaw awh teh, Bethel lah a takhang awh. Benjaminnaw hah apinimaw hmaloe a tuk han telah Cathut koe pouknae a pacei awh. BAWIPA ni Judahnaw hmahman naseh atipouh.
Those other Israelis went up to Bethel and asked God, “Which tribe should be the first to attack the men from the tribe of Benjamin?” Yahweh answered, “[The men from the tribe of] Judah should go first.”
19 Hottelah Isarelnaw teh amom vah a thaw awh teh, Gibeah tuk hanlah a roe awh.
The next morning, the Israeli men went and set up their tents near Gibeah.
20 Isarelnaw teh Benjamin tuk hanlah a kamthaw awh teh Gibeah vah, a tuk awh.
Then they went to fight against [the men from the tribe of] Benjamin, and stood in their positions for fighting a battle, [facing Gibeah].
21 Hahoi Benjaminnaw teh Gibeah hoi a tâco awh teh, hot hnin vah Isarelnaw 22,000 touh a thei awh.
The men of the tribe of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and fought against them, and they killed 22,000 Israeli men on that day.
22 Isarelnaw pueng ni tha a kâla awh teh, apasuek hnin kâtuknae hmuen koe, bout a kâtuk awh.
[Late that afternoon], the [remaining] Israeli men went to the place of worship and cried until the sun set. Then they asked Yahweh, “Should we attack the men of the tribe of Benjamin again, even though they are our fellow Israelis?” Yahweh replied, “Yes, attack them again.” So the Israeli men encouraged each other.
23 (Hahoi Isarelnaw teh a takhang awh teh, Cathut hmalah tangmin totouh a khuika awh. Ka nawngha Benjaminnaw tuk hanlah bout kathâw awh han maw telah BAWIPA koe a pacei awh. BAWIPA ni bout tuk awh ati pouh).
24 Apâhni hnin Isarelnaw ni Benjaminnaw hah a hnaisin awh.
The next day they again stood in their positions for fighting, just like they had done on the previous day.
25 Benjaminnaw hai apâhni hnin bout kâtuk hanlah Gibeah hoi a tâco awh. Isarelnaw hah 18,000 bout a thei awh. Hetnaw teh tahloi ka patuem seng doeh.
The men of the tribe of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and attacked the Israelis, and killed 18,000 more of their men.
26 Hottelah Isarelnaw teh a takhang awh teh, Bethel vah a cei awh teh, a khuika awh. BAWIPA hmalah a tahung awh teh, hat hnin teh, tangmin totouh rawca a hai awh. Hahoi BAWIPA koe hmaisawi thuengnae hoi roum thuengnae hah a poe awh.
[In the afternoon], all the people of Israel [who had not been killed] again went to Bethel. There they sat down and cried to Yahweh, and they (fasted/abstained from eating food) until it was evening. They brought some offerings which they burned completely [on the altar], and they also brought some offerings to maintain fellowship with Yahweh.
27 Isarelnaw ni BAWIPA koe pouknae a hei awh. ( Hatnae tueng dawk Cathut lawkkam thingkong teh haw vah a o).
At that time, the Sacred Chest that contained the stone tablets on which were written the Ten Commandments was there at Bethel. A priest named Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, often stood in front of that chest [and talked with Yahweh]. While he stood there on that day, he asked Yahweh, “Shall we go again to fight against our fellow Israelis from the tribe of Benjamin, or shall we stop fighting against them?” Yahweh answered, “Go again tomorrow, because tomorrow I will enable you to defeat them.”
28 Hatnae tueng nah Aron Capa Eleazar e capa Phinehas ni thaw ouk a tawk). Hmaunawngha Benjamin teh ka tuk awh han rah maw, ka o takhai awh han toung ou telah ati awh. BAWIPA ni takhang sin awh. Bangkongtetpawiteh, tangtho teh na kut dawk na poe awh han toe telah atipouh.
29 Isarelnaw ni Gibeah teng vah arulahoi lampawp a ta awh.
So [the next day, 10,000 of] the Israeli men (set up ambushes/went to hide) [in the fields] around Gibeah.
30 Hahoi Isarelnaw teh Benjamin tuk hanlah apâthum a kamthaw awh teh, a hmoun e patetlah Gibeah kho tuk hanlah bout a kâcai awh.
The [other] Israeli men went and stood in their positions for fighting a battle just like they had done on the previous days.
31 Hahoi Benjaminnaw teh, tuk hanlah kho dawk hoi a tâco awh. Ahmoun e patetlah tuk vaiteh, thei han a kamtawng awh. Law hoi Bethel lah takhangnae koe Gibeah lam koevah, Isarelnaw 30 touh a thei awh.
When the men of the tribe of Benjamin came out of the city to fight against them, the Israeli men retreated away from the city, and the men of the tribe of Benjamin pursued them. The men of the tribe of Benjamin killed many Israelis, like they had done before. They killed about 30 Israelis. They killed some in the fields, and they killed some on the road that went to Bethel and on the road that went to Gibeah.
32 Benjaminnaw ni yampa e patetlah a sung awh toe ati awh. Isarelnaw ni yawng awh vaiteh, ahnimanaw hah khopui lamthung koe tâcawt sak sei telah ati awh.
The men of the tribe of Benjamin said, “We are defeating them like we did before!” But then Israeli men did what they had planned. The main group of Israeli men retreated a short distance from the city, to [trick] the men of Gibeah and cause them to pursue the Israeli men along the roads outside the city.
33 Hottelah Isarelnaw ni amamae hmuen hah a ceitakhai teh, Baaltamar hmuen koe a kamtue awh. Hahoi arulahoi ka pawm e Isarelnaw hah a pawpnae Geba hmuen koe a tâco awh.
The main group of Israeli men left their positions and retreated, and then they stood in their battle positions again at a place named Baal-Tamar.
34 Isarelnaw thung dawk hoi rawi e 10000 touh hah Geba kho lahoi a tho teh, puenghoi a kâtuk awh. Hatei, Benjaminnaw ni a tak dawk rawknae a pha hane panuek awh hoeh.
Then [while the men of Gibeah were running out of the city toward them], the other 10,000 Israelis came out from the places where they had been hiding, west of Gibeah. They were men who had come from all parts of Israel. There was a very big battle. But the men of the tribe of Benjamin did not know that they were about to suffer a disastrous defeat.
35 BAWIPA ni, Benjaminnaw teh Isarelnaw hmalah, a tâ pouh. Hahoi Isarelnaw ni hot hnin dawk 25100 touh a thei awh. Hotnaw teh tahloi ka patuem seng doeh.
Yahweh enabled the Israeli men to defeat the men of the tribe of Benjamin. They killed 25,000 of them, even though they all were using swords. [This is what happened]:
36 Hot patetlah Benjaminnaw ni a sung awh e hah a hmu awh. Isarelnaw ni Gibeah tuk hanlah arulahoi lampawp a ta awh e hah, a kâuep awh dawkvah, Benjaminnaw hah hnuklah a kâhnawn takhai awh e doeh.
The main group of Israeli men arranged with the men who would be hiding that they should send up a smoke signal to enable the main group of soldiers to know when they should attack. Then the main group of Israeli men retreated for a short distance, because they knew that the other Israeli men who had been hiding on the other side of Gibeah would attack the people of the tribe of Benjamin by surprise. So [after the main group of Israeli men retreated a little distance], the men who had been hiding rushed out and ran into Gibeah and used their swords to kill everyone in the city. [Then they started to burn the buildings].
37 Arulahoi kapawmnaw ni Gibeah kho dawk a saueng awh teh, a khoca pueng hah tahloi hoi koung thei awh.
38 Isarelnaw hoi lampawp katahungnaw lawk a kâkam awh e teh, a khopui hmai lah muengkhu sak hane doeh.
39 Hahoi Isarelnaw teh hnuklah bout a kâhnawn awh teh, Benjaminnaw ni a saueng awh. Isarelnaw 30 tabang a thei awh. Kâtuk pasueknae patetlah maimae hmalah a sung awh toe ati awh.
By that time, the men of the tribe of Benjamin said, “We are winning the battle, as we did before!”
40 Hatei, khopui dawk hmaikhu a kangdue navah, Benjaminnaw teh a kamlang awh teh, khenhaw! khopui e hmaikhu teh kalvan lah a luen parai toe.
But then smoke [from the burning buildings] began to rise up from the city. The men of the tribe of Benjamin turned around and saw that the whole city was burning.
41 Hahoi Isarelnaw teh hnuklah a kamlang awh teh, Benjaminnaw ni runae a kâhmo awh toe tie a panue awh navah,
Then the main group of Israeli men [also saw the smoke, and they knew that the smoke signaled that they should] turn around and begin to attack. The men of the tribe of Benjamin were very afraid, because they realized that they were about to suffer a disastrous defeat.
42 Isarelnaw hmalah, kahrawng lah a yawng awh. Hatei, pou a pâlei awh. Hahoi, khopui thung hoi ka tâcawt e naw hah hawvah a thei awh.
So the men of the tribe of Benjamin tried to run away toward the desert to escape from the Israeli men, but they were not able to escape, because the Israeli men who had burned the two cities came out of those cities and killed many of them.
43 Benjaminnaw teh he a kalup awh. A pâlei awh teh, kanîtholah Gibeah kho teng kâhatnae koe a pha awh teh, a katin awh.
They surrounded [some of] the men of the tribe of Benjamin, and pursued the others to the area east of Gibeah.
44 Benjaminnaw teh tami 18000 touh a due awh. Abuemlahoi athakaawme taminaw hoi a tarankahawinaw seng doeh.
They killed 18,000 strong soldiers of the tribe of Benjamin.
45 Hahoi kaawm e naw ni, a ban awh teh, ramke lae Rimmon lungsong koe lah a yawng awh. Tami 5,000 touh teh lam vah hmawi a man awh. Gidom totouh pou a pâlei awh teh, tami 2,000 touh a thei awh.
Then the rest of the men of the tribe of Benjamin realized that they had been defeated. They ran toward the desert to Rimmon Rock, but the Israeli men killed 5,000 more men of the tribe of Benjamin along the roads. They pursued the rest of them to Gidom, and they killed 2,000 more men of the tribe of Benjamin there.
46 Hottelah, hat hnin Benjaminnaw kadoutnaw pueng hah, tahloi ka patuem e 25,000 touh a pha. Abuemlah hoi athakaawme taminaw hoi a tarankahawinaw seng doeh.
Altogether, there were 25,000 men of the tribe of Benjamin who were killed, all of whom had swords.
47 Hatei, tami 600 touh teh, ram ka ke koelah, Rimmon lungsong koe a yawng awh teh, hawvah, thapa yung pali touh ao awh.
But 600 men of the tribe of Benjamin ran to Rimmon Rock in the desert. They stayed there for four months.
48 Hahoi Isarelnaw niteh, Benjaminnaw koe bout a kamthaw awh teh, a khopui thung taminaw pueng hoi saring thoseh, a hmu awh e naw pueng hah tahloi hoi a thei awh. Hothloilah, kho a hmu awh e naw pueng hai hmai a sawi pouh awh.
Then the Israeli men went back to the land belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, and killed the people in every city. They also killed all the animals, and destroyed everything else that they found there. And they burned all the cities that they came to.
