撒母耳記上 13
1 撒烏耳三十歲登極，作以色列王四十年。
Saul was no longer a young man when he became the king. He ruled Israel for 42 years.
2 撒烏耳從以色列人中挑選了三千人：兩千在米革瑪斯和貝特耳山地與撒烏耳在一起；一千在本雅明的革巴隨著約納堂；剩下的人，撒烏耳遺散他們各回本帳幕。
[Several years after he became king], he chose three thousand men from the Israeli army to go with him [to fight the Philistines]. Then he sent the other soldiers back home. Of the men he chose, 2,000 stayed with Saul at Micmash and in the hilly area near Bethel, and 1,000 stayed with [Saul’s son] Jonathan at Gibeah, in the area where the descendants of Benjamin lived.
3 約納堂擊殺了駐紮在基貝亞的培肋舍特人的官吏，培肋舍特人遂知道希伯人已經叛變。撒烏耳在全國吹了警號，
Jonathan [and the men who were with him] attacked the Philistine soldiers who were camped at Geba. The [other] Philistines heard about that. [So Saul realized that the army of Philistia would probably come to fight the Israelis again]. So Saul [sent messengers to] blow trumpets throughout Israel [to gather the people together and] proclaim to them, “All you Hebrews need to hear [that now the Philistines will start a war with us]!”
4 全以色列人都聽說：撒烏耳擊殺了培肋舍特人的一個官吏，所以以色列為培肋舍特人所仇恨；於是人民便跟隨撒烏耳聚集在基耳加耳。
The messengers told the rest of the army to gather together with Saul at Gilgal. And all the people in Israel heard the news. People were saying, “Saul’s army has attacked the Philistine camp, with the result that now the Philistines hate us Israelis very much.”
5 培肋舍特人已調齊來攻打以色列人；他們有戰車三千，騎兵六千，民兵多得如同海邊的沙，都上來在貝特阿文東方的米革瑪斯紮了營。
The Philistines gathered together and were given equipment to fight the Israelis. The Philistines had 3,000 chariots, and 6,000 chariot-drivers. Their soldiers [seemed to be as many] as grains of sand on the seashore [HYP]. They went up and set up their tents at Micmash, to the east of Beth-Aven ([which means ‘house of wickedness’, and really referred to Bethel town]).
6 以色列人一見大難臨頭，敵人壓境，就有人藏在山洞裏，土窟內，岩石下，地窖內和旱井裏，
The Philistines attacked the Israelis very strongly, and the Israeli soldiers realized that they were in a very bad situation. So many of the Israeli soldiers hid in caves and holes in the ground, or among the rocks, or in pits, or in wells.
7 另有許多人渡過約但河往加得和基肋阿得去了；但撒烏耳卻還在基耳加耳，跟隨他的人都戰慄害怕。
Some of them crossed the Jordan River at a place where it was very shallow. Then they went to the area where the descendants of Gad lived and to [the] Gilead [region]. But Saul stayed at Gilgal. All the soldiers who were with him were shaking [because they were so afraid].
8 撒烏耳照撒慕爾約定的日期等了七天，但是撒慕爾卻沒有到基耳加耳來，因此軍民離開撒烏耳四散逃跑了。
Saul waited seven days, which was the number of days that Samuel had told him to wait for him. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal [during that time], so many of the men in Saul’s army began to leave him and run away.
9 撒烏耳於是吩咐說：「把全燔祭品與和平祭品送到我這裏來! 」他遂獻了全燔祭。
So Saul said to the soldiers, “Bring to me an animal to be completely burned [on the altar] and one for the offering to enable us to maintain fellowship [with God].” [So the men did that].
10 他剛獻完全燔祭，撒慕爾來了，撒烏耳便去迎接他，向他致敬。
And just as he was finished burning those offerings, Samuel arrived. Saul went to greet him.
11 撒慕爾問道：「你作了什麼事﹖」撒烏耳答說：「我看見軍民離開我四散逃跑了，你又沒有照定期來，同時培肋舍特人已集合在米革瑪斯，
Samuel [saw what Saul had done, and he] said to Saul, “Why have you done this?” Saul replied, “I saw that my men were leaving me and running away, and that you did not come here during the time that you said that you would come, and that the Philistine army was gathering together at Micmash.
12 所以我想現在培肋舍特人就要下到基耳加耳來攻打我，我還沒向上主求援，所以我迫不得已，奉獻了全燔祭。」
“So I thought, ‘The Philistine army is going to attack us here at Gilgal, and I have not yet asked Yahweh to bless/help us.’ So I felt it was necessary to offer the burnt offerings [to seek God’s blessings].”
13 撒慕爾對撒烏耳說：「你作的真糊塗! 假使你遵守了上主你的天主吩咐的命令，上主必鞏固你在以色列的王位直到永遠。
Samuel replied, “What you did was very foolish! You have not obeyed what Yahweh, your God, commanded [about sacrifices]. If you had obeyed him, God would have allowed you and your descendants to rule [Israel] for a long time.
14 但現在你的王位已立不住了；上主已另找了一位隨他心意的人，立他為百姓的首領，因為你沒有遵守上主吩咐你的命令。」
But now [because of what you have done, you will die, and after you die, ] none of your descendants will rule. Yahweh is seeking for a man [to be king] who will be just the kind of person that he wants him to be, so that he can appoint him to be the leader of his people. Yahweh will do this because you have not obeyed what he commanded.”
15 撒慕爾就起身離開基耳加耳走了。剩下的人跟隨撒烏耳從基耳加耳上到了本雅明的革巴，與那裏的軍隊會合；撒烏耳統計了隨從他的部隊，約有六百人。
Then Samuel left Gilgal and went up to Gibeah. Saul stayed at Gilgal with his soldiers. There were only about 600 of them left [who had not run away].
16 撒烏耳和他的兒子約納堂，並一切隨從他們的人駐紮在本雅明的革巴；同時培肋舍特人已在米革瑪斯安了營。
Saul and his son Jonathan and the soldiers who were with them went to Geba [city] in the area of the tribe of Benjamin [and set up their tents there]. The Philistine army set up their tents at Micmash.
17 那時從培肋舍特營中有三個突擊隊出發：一隊取道敖斐辣，開往叔阿耳地方；
Three groups of Philistia men soon left the place where their army was staying, and went and (raided the Israeli towns/attacked the Israelis and took their possessions). One group went [north] toward Ophrah [city] in [the] Shual [region].
18 一隊開往貝特曷龍；另一隊開往革巴，此地俯瞰往曠野去的袋狼山谷。
One group went [west] to Beth-Horon [city]. The third group went toward the [Israeli] border, above Zeboim Valley, near the desert.
19 那時，在以色列全境內沒有鐵匠，原來培肋舍特人說過：「免得希伯來人製造刀鎗。」
At that time, there were no men in Israel who (were blacksmiths/could make things from iron). [The people of Philistia would not permit the Israelis to do that, because they were afraid that] they would make iron swords and spears for the Hebrews to fight with.
20 因此，以色列人為磨快犁、鋤、斧、鐮，都要下到培肋舍特人那裏。
So [whenever the Israelis needed] to sharpen the blades of their plows, or picks, or axes, or sickles, they were forced to take those things to a Philistia man who could sharpen those things.
21 磨快犁和鋤的價錢是三分之二「協刻耳，」磨快鐮刀或裝製刺針是三分之一「協刻耳。」
They needed to pay (one fourth of an ounce/8 grams) of silver for sharpening a plow, and (an eighth of an ounce/4 grams) of silver to sharpen an axe, or a sickle, or (an ox goad/a pointed rod to jab an ox to make it walk).
22 所以在米革瑪斯到了開戰的那一天，隨從撒烏耳和約納堂的人手中都沒有刀鎗，祇是撒烏耳和他的兒子約納堂有刀鎗。
So [because the Israelis could not make weapons from iron], on the day that the Israelis fought [against the men of Philistia], Saul and Jonathan were the only Israeli men who had swords. None of the others had a sword; [they had only bows and arrows].
23 那時培肋舍特人的前哨向米革瑪斯關口推進。
Before the battle started, some Philistia men went to (the pass/a narrow place between two cliffs) outside Micmash to guard it.
