Suci 11
1 Gileađanin Jiftah bijaše hrabar ratnik. Rodila ga bludnica, a otac mu bijaše Gilead.
[There was a man] from [the] Gilead [region] named Jephthah. He was a great warrior. His father was also named Gilead. But his mother was a prostitute.
2 Ali je Gileadu i njegova žena rodila sinove, pa kada su sinovi te žene odrasli, otjeraše Jiftaha govoreći mu: “Nećeš dobiti baštine od našeg oca jer si sin strane žene.”
Gilead’s wife gave birth to several sons. When they grew up, they forced Jephthah to leave home, saying to him, “You are the son of a prostitute, [not the son of our mother]. So [when] our father [dies], you will not receive any of his property.”
3 Jiftah zato pobježe od svoje braće i naseli se u zemlji Tobu. Ondje se oko njega okupila hrpa beskućnika koji su s njim pljačkali.
So Jephthah ran away from his brothers, and he went to the Tob region. While he was there, some worthless men started to spend a lot of time with him.
4 Poslije nekog vremena Amonci zavojštiše na Izraela.
Some time later, the Ammon people-group started to fight against the Israelis.
5 Kada su Amonci napali Izraela, krenuše gileadske starješine da trže Jiftaha u zemlji Tobu.
When that happened [DOU], the leaders of [the] Gilead [region] went to Jephthah to bring him back from the Tob region [to their area].
6 “Hodi”, rekoše mu, “budi nam vojvoda da ratujemo protiv Amonaca.”
They said to him, “Come [with us] and lead our army, and [help us to] fight against the men from the Ammon people-group!”
7 Ali Jiftah odgovori gileadskim starješinama: “Niste li me vi mrzili i otjerali iz kuće moga oca? Zašto sada dolazite k meni kada ste u nevolji?”
But Jephthah replied, “You hated me [RHQ] previously! You forced me to leave my father’s house! So why are you coming to me now, [asking me to help you] when you are experiencing trouble?”
8 Gileadske starješine rekoše Jiftahu: “Zato smo sada došli tebi: pođi s nama, povedi rat protiv Amonaca i bit ćeš poglavar nama i svima u Gileadu.”
The leaders from Gilead replied, “[Yes, we are having trouble, and] that is the reason that we have come to you now. If you come with us and [help us to] fight against the Ammon people-group, [after we defeat them, we will appoint] you to be the leader of all us people in [the] Gilead [region].”
9 Jiftah upita gileadske starješine: “Ako me odvedete natrag da ratujem protiv Amonaca te ako ih Jahve meni preda, hoću li biti vaš poglavar?”
Jephthah replied, “If I go back to Gilead with you to fight against the Ammon people-group, and if Yahweh helps us to defeat them, will you truly appoint me to be your leader?”
10 “Jahve neka bude svjedokom među nama”, odgovore Jiftahu gradske starješine. “Jao nama ako ne učinimo kako si rekao!”
They replied, “Yahweh is listening to everything that we say. [So he will punish us] if we do not do everything that you tell us to do.”
11 I Jiftah ode sa starješinama Gileada. Narod ga postavi sebi za poglavara i vojvodu; a Jiftah je ponovio sve svoje uvjete pred Jahvom u Mispi.
So Jephthah went with them back to [the] Gilead [region], and the people appointed him to be their leader and the commander of their army. And Jephthah solemnly promised to Yahweh there at Mizpah [to serve him well].
12 Jiftah posla onda poslanike kralju Amonaca s porukom: “Što ima između tebe i mene da si došao ratovati protiv moje zemlje?”
Jephthah sent some messengers to the king of the Ammon people-group. They asked the king, “What have we [done to make you angry, with the result] that your army is coming to fight [against the people] in our land?”
13 Kralj Amonaca odgovori Jiftahovim poslanicima: “U vrijeme kada je izlazio iz Egipta, Izrael ja zaposjeo moju zemlju od Arnona do Jaboka i Jordana. Zato mi je sada dragovoljno vrati!”
The king replied, “[We have come to fight against you Israelis because] you took our land when you came here from Egypt. You took all our land east of the Jordan [River], from the Arnon [River in the south] to the Jabbok [River in the north]. So if you now give it back to us, there (will be peace between us/we will not fight against you).”
14 Jiftah nanovo pošalje glasnike kralju Amonaca
[The messengers returned to Jephthah and told him what the king had said]. So Jephthah sent the messengers to the king again.
15 i poruči mu: “Ovako govori Jiftah: Nije Izrael zaposjeo ni moapsku ni amonsku zemlju,
They said to him, “This is what Jephthah says: ‘It is not [true] that we Israelis took the land from the Moab people-group and the Ammon people-group.
16 nego je, izišavši iz Egipta, Izrael prešao pustinjom do Crvenog mora i došao u Kadeš.
When the Israeli people came out of Egypt, they walked through the desert to the Red Sea, and then [walked across it and traveled to Kadesh town at the border of the Edom region].
17 Tada je poslao Izrael poslanike edomskom kralju s molbom: 'Htio bih proći kroz tvoju zemlju!' Ali ga edomski kralj ne posluša. Poslao ih je i moapskom kralju, ali ni on ne htjede, te Izrael ostade u Kadešu.
They sent messengers to the king of the Edom people-group, to say to him, “Please allow us Israelis to walk across your land.” But the king of the Edom people-group refused. Later we sent the same message to the king of the Moab people-group, but he also refused to allow the Israelis to go through his land. So the Israelis stayed at Kadesh [for a long time].
18 Onda je preko pustinje zaobišao edomsku i moapsku zemlju i došao na istok od moapske zemlje. Narod se utaborio s one strane Arnona ne prelazeći granice Moaba, jer Arnon bijaše moapska međa.
Then the Israelis went into the desert and walked outside the borders of the Edom and Moab regions. They walked east of the Moab region, east of the Arnon [River, which is the eastern border of the Moab region]. They did not cross that river to enter [the] Moab [region].
19 Izrael posla zatim poslanike Sihonu, amorejskom kralju, koji je vladao u Hešbonu, i poruči mu: 'Pusti nas da prođemo kroz tvoju zemlju do mjesta koje nam je određeno.'
‘Then the Israelis sent a message to Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, who lived in Heshbon [city]. They asked him, “Will you please allow us Israeli people to cross through your land to arrive at the land to which we [are going].”
20 Ali Sihon ne dopusti Izraelu da prođe preko njegova područja, nego skupi svu svoju vojsku koja bijaše utaborena u Jahasu i zametnu boj s Izraelom.
But Sihon did not trust the Israelis; [he thought that they would steal some of the things in his land]. So he gathered all his troops and they set up their tents at Jahaz [village] and then they attacked the Israelis.
21 Jahve, Bog Izraelov, predade Sihona i svu njegovu vojsku u ruke Izraelu, koji ih porazi, te Izrael zaposjede svu zemlju Amorejaca koji nastavahu to područje.
But Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], enabled the Israeli army to defeat [IDM] Sihon and his army. Then they (took possession of/started to live in) all the land where the Amor people-group had lived.
22 Zaposjeo je tako svu zemlju Amorejaca od Arnona do Jaboka i od pustinje do Jordana.
The Israelis took all the land that belonged to the Amor people-group, from the Arnon [River in the south] to the Jabbok [River in the north], and from the desert [in the east] to the Jordan [River in the west].
23 I sada kad je Jahve, Bog Izraelov, protjerao Amorejce pred svojim narodom Izraelom, ti bi nas htio odagnati?
‘It was Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], who forced the Amor people-group to leave as the Israelis advanced. So do you now think that you can force the Israelis to leave [RHQ]?
24 Zar ne posjeduješ sve što je tvoj bog Kemoš bio oteo starim posjednicima? Tako i sve ono što je Jahve, naš Bog, oteo starim posjednicima, mi sada posjedujemo!
You take the land that your god Chemosh has given to you. And we will live in the land that Yahweh our God has given to us!
25 Po čemu si ti bolji od moapskog kralja Balaka, sina Siporova? Je li se i on sporio s Izraelom? Je li on ratovao protiv njega?
(You are no/Are you) better than Zippor’s son Balak, who was the king of the Moab people-group? He never [RHQ] quarreled with the Israeli people, and he never started to fight against us [RHQ]!
26 Kada se Izrael nastanio u Hešbonu i u njegovim selima, u Aroeru i u njegovim selima, a tako i po svim gradovima na obali Jordana - evo, već tri stotine godina - zašto ih tada niste oteli?
For 300 years the Israeli people have lived in Heshbon and Aroer [cities in your region], and in the surrounding towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon [River]. Why have you people of the Ammon people-group not taken back those cities during all those years [RHQ]?
27 Nisam ja tebi skrivio nego ti meni činiš krivo ratujući protiv mene. Neka Jahve, Sudac, danas presudi između sinova Izraelovih i sinova Amonovih.”
We have not sinned against you, but you are sinning against me by attacking me [and my army]. I trust that Yahweh, the great judge, will decide whether we Israelis are right, or whether you people of the Ammon people-group are right.’”
28 Ali kralj Amonaca ne posluša riječi što mu ih je poručio Jiftah.
But the king of the Ammon people-group did not pay attention to that message from Jephthah.
29 Duh Jahvin siđe na Jiftaha te on pođe kroz Gileadovo i Manašeovo pleme, prođe kroz gileadsku Mispu, a od gileadske Mispe dođe iza Amonaca.
Then the Spirit of Yahweh took control of Jephthah. Jephthah went through [the] Gilead [region] and through the area where the tribe of Manasseh lived, [to enlist/gather men for his army]. [He finally gathered them together] in Mizpah [city] in [the] Gilead [region] to fight against the Ammon people-group.
30 I Jiftah se zavjetova Jahvi: “Ako mi predaš u ruke Amonce,
There Jephthah made a solemn promise to Yahweh. He said, “If you will enable my army to defeat [IDM] the Ammon people-group,
31 tko prvi iziđe na vrata moje kuće u susret meni kada se budem vraćao kao pobjednik iz boja s Amoncima bit će Jahvin i njega ću prinijeti kao paljenicu.”
when I return from the battle, I will sacrifice to you the first person who comes out of my house [to greet me]. It will be a sacrifice that will be completely burned [on the altar].”
32 Jiftah krenu protiv Amonaca da ih napadne i Jahve ih izruči u njegove ruke.
Then Jephthah [and his men] went from Mizpah to attack the Ammon people-group, and Yahweh enabled his army to defeat them.
33 I porazi ih Jiftah od Aroera do blizu Minita - u dvadeset gradova - i sve do Abel Keramima. Bijaše to njihov veliki poraz; i Amonci bijahu poniženi pred Izraelom.
Jephthah and his men killed them, from Aroer [city] all the way to the area around the city of Minnith. They destroyed 20 cities, as far as [the city of] Abel Keramim. So the Israelis [completely] defeated the Ammon people-group.
34 Kada se Jiftah vratio kući u Mispu, gle, iziđe mu u susret kći plešući uza zvuke bubnjeva. Bijaše mu ona jedinica, osim nje nije imao ni sina ni kćeri.
When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, his daughter was the first one to come out of the house to meet him. She was [joyfully] playing a tambourine and dancing. She was his only child; he had no sons and no other daughters.
35 Ugledavši je, razdrije svoje haljine i zakuka: “Jao, kćeri moja, u veliku me tugu bacaš! Zar mi baš ti moraš donijeti nesreću! Zavjetovah se Jahvi i ne mogu zavjeta poreći.”
When Jephthah saw his daughter, he tore his clothes [to show that he was very sad about what he was going to do]. He said to her, “My daughter, you have caused me to become very sad [DOU] because I made a solemn promise to Yahweh [to sacrifice the first one who came out of my house], and I must do what I promised.”
36 Ona mu odgovori: “Oče moj, ako si učinio zavjet Jahvi, učini sa mnom kako si se zavjetovao, jer ti je Jahve dao da se osvetiš Amoncima, svojim neprijateljima.”
His daughter said, “My father, you made a solemn promise to Yahweh. So you must do to me what you promised, because [you said that you would do that if] Yahweh helped you to defeat our enemies, the Ammon people-group.”
37 Onda zamoli svog oca: “Ispuni mi ovu molbu: pusti me da budem slobodna dva mjeseca; lutat ću po gorama sa svojim drugama i oplakivati svoje djevičanstvo.”
Then she also said, “But allow me to do one thing. (First/before you do what you promised), allow me to go up into the hilly area and wander around for two months. Since I will never be married [and have children], allow me and my friends to go and cry together.”
38 “Idi”, reče joj on i pusti je na dva mjeseca. Ona ode sa svojim drugama i oplakivaše na gorama svoje djevičanstvo.
Jephthah replied, “All right, you may go.” So she left for two months. She and her friends stayed in the hills and they cried for her because she would never be married.
39 Kada su prošla dva mjeseca, ona se vrati ocu i on izvrši na njoj zavjet što ga bijaše učinio. I nikada nije upoznala čovjeka. Otada je potekao običaj u Izraelu
After two months, she returned to her father Jephthah, and he did to her what he had vowed. So his daughter never was married. Because of that, the Israelis now have a custom.
40 da svake godine odlaze Izraelove kćeri i oplakuju kćer Jiftaha Gileađanina četiri dana na godinu.
Every year the young Israeli women go [into the hills] for four days to remember [and cry about what happened to] the daughter of Jephthah.
