Lawkcengkung 21
1 Isarelnaw ni Mizpah vah, maimouh thung dawk hoi apihai Benjaminnaw ni a yu lah lat hanh seh telah lawkkamnae a sak awh.
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 Tamimaya teh, Bethel vah a cei awh teh, Cathut hmalah tangmin totouh a tahung awh. Puenghoi a hram awh teh a ka awh.
But now the Israelis went to Bethel and they cried loudly to Yahweh all day, until the sun went down.
3 Ahnimouh ni Oe BAWIPA, Isarelnaw e Cathut, bang dawk maw Isarelnaw rahak vah het patet e hno heh ao. Sahnin vah, Isarelnaw dawkvah, miphun buet touh a vout. Bang kecu dawk vaimoe telah ati awh.
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 Hahoi teh, hettelah doeh. Atangtho teh tamimaya ni amom a tho awh teh, hawvah, bawknae khoungroe a sak awh. Hmaisawi thuengnae hoi lungmawng thuengnae a poe awh.
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 Isarelnaw ni, Isarel miphunnaw pueng thung dawk, BAWIPA koe ka kamkhueng hoeh e apimaw kaawm telah atipouh. Bangkongtetpawiteh, Mizpah vah BAWIPA koe ka cet hoeh e naw pueng teh, thei han telah lawkkamnae kalenpoung a sak awh toe.
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 Hahoi Isarelnaw pueng ni, a hmaunawngha Benjaminnaw koe pankângai awh leih. Sahnin Isarelnaw thung dawk hoi miphun buet touh pahma awh toe.
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 Kaawm rae thung dawk hoi a yu nahanelah bangtelamaw ti awh han. Maimae canunaw heh a yu lah la sak hoeh hanelah BAWIPA koe thoebo hoi lawk yo bout kam awh toe telah ati awh.
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 Ahnimouh ni Isarel miphun thung hoi bang miphun maw Mizpah BAWIPA koe ka tho hoeh vaw telah ati. Hahoi khenhaw! ka kamkhuengnaw onae hmuen koe Jabesgileadnaw hah buet touh hai awm hoeh bo.
Then [one of] them asked, “What group from any of the tribes of Israel did not send any men here to Mizpah?”
9 Taminaw hah a parei awh navah, Jabesgilead ram kaawm e buet touh hai awm hoeh.
[They realized that] when the soldiers were counted, there was no one from Jabesh-Gilead [city] who had come there.
10 Hahoi kamkhuengnaw ni a tarankahawi e tami 12000 touh a patoun awh. Cet nateh, Jabeshgilead ram dawk e kaawmnaw hah napui camo hai abuemlah tahloi hoi thet awh.
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 Na sak awh hane dawkvah, hettelah han. Tongpanaw hoi napuinaw ni a ikhai tangcoung e naw pueng hah na thei awh han telah kâ a poe awh.
[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 Hahoi Jabeshgilead ram e kaawmnaw thung dawk, tangla 400 touh, tongpa ni a ikhai hoeh rae a pâphawng awh. Hat torei teh, a onae Shiloh be a thokhai awh. Hot teh Kanaan ram doeh.
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 Hahoi kamkhuengnaw pueng ni tami a tha awh teh, Rimmon talung koe kaawm e Benjaminnaw hah a patopahlai awh teh, ahnimouh koe roumnae lawk a dei pouh awh.
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 Telah ati awh tahma vah, Benjaminnaw tang a ban awh teh, Jabesgilead napui a hlung awh e naw hah a poe awh. Hatei napuinaw khout hoeh rah.
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 Hahoi tamimaya teh, Benjamin kecu dawk pankângai awh. Bangkongtetpawiteh, BAWIPA ni Isarel miphun thung ruengruengtinae a pha sak dawkvah.
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 Hottelah kamkhueng e maya a lungkahanaw ni ka hring e naw a yu hane teh, bangtelamaw ti han. Bangkongtetpawiteh, Benjaminnaw thung dawk napuinaw heh koung bout thei pouh awh toe telah ati awh.
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 Ahnimouh ni Isarel dawk hoi miphun a kahma hoeh nahanelah, Benjaminnaw la kaawmnaw heh, bangtelamaw râw tawn sak thai han.
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 Maimae canunaw hai a yu lah lat thai awh hoeh ati awh. Bangkongtetpawiteh, Isarelnaw ni tami bangpatet hai, Benjaminnaw a yu lah ka lat e teh, thoebonae awm seh telah lawk bout kâkam toe.
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 Ahnimouh ni khenhaw. Bethel ceinae lam, kanîtholah, Lebanon monsom kaawm e Shiloh vah, kum tangkuem BAWIPA hanlah pawi ouk ao telah ati awh.
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 Hatdawkvah, ahnimouh ni, Benjaminnaw koevah, cet awh nateh, misur takha koe arulahoi pawm awh.
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 Khenhaw! Shiloh vah tanglanaw ni lamnae hmuen koe, a tâco toteh, misur takha koehoi tâcawt awh nateh, tami pueng ni Shiloh tangla hah yu lah man awh. Hahoi torei, Benjamin ram vah cet awh.
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 Hahoi, a na pa thoseh, a thangroi thoseh, lairoe hanlah tho pawiteh, ahnimouh koevah; Kaimouh kecu dawk ahnimouh hah pahren awh. Bangkongtetpawiteh, taran tuknae koe ka yu hanelah, na man pouh mahoeh toe. Bangkongtetpawiteh, ahnimouh ni hai atu totouh napui na poe kalawn awh hoeh. Namamouh e lawkkam dawk yon na kâhnei awh telah tet pouh awh.
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 Benjaminnaw teh, hot patetlah a sak awh. Ka lamnaw hah amamae yu hanelah lengkaleng a man awh teh, yout a ceikhai awh. A ram dawk a phakhai awh teh, khopui hah bout a pathoup awh, hawvah kho a sak awh.
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 Hottelah, Isarelnaw teh, amamae miphun rip hoi amamae imthungkhu rip hai, hote hmuen koehoi a tâco awh teh, amamae kho tangkuem vah a ban awh.
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 Hote tueng nah, Isarel vah siangpahrang awm hoeh. Tami pueng ni a mahoima hmunae dawk ahawi tie patetlah kho a sak awh.
At that time, the Israeli people did not have a king. Everyone did what they themselves thought was right.
