Suci 6
1 Opet su Izraelci činili što je zlo u Jahvinim očima; i Jahve ih predade u ruke Midjancima za sedam godina.
Again the Israelis did things that Yahweh said were very evil. So he allowed the people of Midian to conquer them and rule them for seven years.
2 Teška bijaše ruka Midjanaca nad Izraelom. Da bi izmakli Midjancima, Izraelci se sklanjahu u gorske pukotine, spilje i skrovišta.
The people of Midian treated the Israelis so cruelly that the Israelis fled to the mountains. There they made places to live in caves and animal dens.
3 I kada bi Izraelci posijali, dolazili bi na njih Midjanci i Amalečani i sinovi Istoka.
Whenever the Israelis planted things in their fields, the people of Midian and Amalek and other groups from the east invaded Israel.
4 Utaborivši se na njihovoj zemlji, uništavali bi rod zemlje sve do Gaze. Ne ostavljahu Izraelu ništa da se prehrani, ni ovce ni koze, ni vola ni magarca,
They set up tents in the area, and then destroyed the crops as far south as Gaza. They did not leave anything for the Israelis’ sheep or cattle or donkeys to eat.
5 jer dolažahu sa svojim stadima i svojim šatorima u takvu mnoštvu kao skakavci; ne bijaše broja njima ni njihovim devama; preplavili bi zemlju, opustošili je.
They came into Israel with their tents and their livestock like a swarm of locusts. There were [so many of them that] arrived riding on their camels that no one could count them. They stayed and ruined the Israelis’ crops.
6 Tako su Midjanci bacili Izraela u veliku bijedu te Izraelci zavapiše Jahvi.
The people of Midian took almost everything the Israelis owned. So finally the Israelis pleaded for Yahweh to help them.
7 Kad su Izraelci zavapili Jahvi zbog Midjanaca,
When the Israelis pleaded with Yahweh to help them because of [what] the people from Midian [were doing to them],
8 Jahve posla Izraelcima proroka koji im reče: “Ovako kaže Jahve, Bog Izraelov: 'Ja sam vas izveo iz Egipta, izbavio vas iz kuće ropstva.
he sent to them a prophet, who said, “Yahweh, the God we Israelis worship, says this: ‘Your ancestors were slaves in Egypt.
9 Ja sam vas oslobodio od ruke Egipćana i od ruke svih vaših tlačitelja. Protjerao sam ih pred vama, dao vam njihovu zemlju
But I rescued them from the leaders of Egypt and from all the others who oppressed them. I expelled their enemies from this land, and gave it to your ancestors.
10 i rekao vam: Ja sam Jahve, Bog vaš. Ne štujte bogova Amorejaca u kojih zemlji živite. Ali vi ne poslušaste moga glasa.'”
I told you all, “I am Yahweh, your God. You are now in the land where the descendants of Amor live, but you must not worship the gods whom they worship.” But you did not pay attention to me.’”
11 Anđeo Jahvin dođe i sjede pod hrast kod Ofre koji pripadaše Joašu Abiezerovu. Njegov sin Gideon vrhao je pšenicu na tijesku da bi je sačuvao od Midjanaca.
One day Yahweh appeared [in the form of] an angel and sat underneath a big oak tree at Ophrah [town]. That tree belonged to Joash, who was from the clan of Abiezer. Joash’s son Gideon was threshing wheat in the pit where they pressed [grapes to make] wine. He was threshing the grain there in order to hide it from the people of Midian.
12 I ukaza mu se Anđeo Jahvin i reče mu: “Jahve s tobom, hrabri junače!”
Yahweh [went over] to Gideon and said to him, “You mighty warrior, Yahweh is helping you!”
13 Gideon mu odgovori: “Oh, gospodaru, ako je Jahve s nama, zašto nas sve ovo snađe? Gdje su sva ona čudesa njegova o kojima nam pripovijedahu oci naši govoreći: 'Nije li nas Jahve iz Egipta izveo?' A sada nas je Jahve ostavio, predao nas u ruke Midjancima.”
Gideon replied, “Sir, if Yahweh is helping us, why have all these [bad things] happened to us? We heard about [RHQ] all the miracles that Yahweh performed for our ancestors. We heard people tell us about how he rescued them from [being slaves in] Egypt. But now Yahweh has abandoned us, and we are ruled by the people from Midian.”
14 Jahve se tad okrenu prema njemu i reče mu: “Idi s tom snagom u sebi i izbavit ćeš Izraela iz ruke Midjanaca. Ne šaljem li te ja?”
Then Yahweh turned toward him and said, “I will give you strength to enable you to rescue the Israelis from the people of Midian. I am sending you [to do that]!”
15 “Ali, gospodaru”, odgovori mu Gideon, “kako ću izbaviti Izraela? Moj je rod najmanji u Manašeovu plemenu, a ja sam posljednji u kući svoga oca.”
Gideon replied, “But Yahweh, how can I rescue the Israelis? My clan is the least significant in the whole tribe descended from Manasseh, and I am the least significant person in my whole family!”
16 Jahve mu reče: “Ja ću biti s tobom te ćeš pobijediti Midjance kao jednoga.”
Yahweh said to him, “I will help you. So you will defeat the army of Midian [as easily] as if you were fighting only one man!”
17 Gideon mu reče: “Ako sam našao milost u tvojim očima, daj mi znak da ti govoriš sa mnom.
Gideon replied, “If you are truly pleased with me, do something which will prove that you who are speaking to me are really Yahweh.
18 Nemoj otići odavde dok se ne vratim s darom i stavim ga preda te.” A on odgovori: “Ostat ću dok se ne vratiš.”
But do not go away until I go and bring back an offering to you.” Yahweh answered, “Okay, I will stay here until you return.”
19 Gideon ode, zgotovi jare i od efe brašna načini beskvasne hljebove, stavi meso u košaricu i juhu u lonac pa donese sve to pod hrast.
Gideon hurried to his home. He [killed] a young goat [and] cooked [it]. Then he took (a half a bushel/18 liters) of flour and baked some bread without yeast. Then he put the cooked meat in a basket, and put the broth [from the meat] in a pot, and took it to Yahweh, who was sitting under the tree.
20 Anđeo Jahvin reče mu: “Uzmi meso i beskvasne hljebove, stavi ih na tu stijenu, a juhu prolij.” On učini tako.
Then Yahweh said to him, “Put the meat and the bread on this rock. Then pour the broth on top of it.” So Gideon did that.
21 Anđeo Jahvin tad uze štap što ga je držao i vrhom dotaknu meso i beskvasne hljebove. Oganj planu iz stijene, spali meso i beskvasne hljebove. Anđeo Jahvin nato iščeze pred njegovim očima.
Then Yahweh touched the meat and bread with the walking stick that was in his hand. A fire flamed up from the rock and burned up everything that Gideon had brought! And then Yahweh disappeared.
22 Tad Gideon vidje da je to bio Anđeo Jahvin i reče: “Jao, Jahve, Gospode! Anđela Jahvina vidjeh licem u lice!”
When Gideon realized that it was really Yahweh [who had appeared in the form of an angel and talked with him], he exclaimed, “O, Yahweh, I have seen you face-to-face [when you had the form of] an angel! [So I will surely die]!”
23 Jahve mu odgovori: “Mir s tobom! Ne boj se, nećeš umrijeti!”
But Yahweh called to him and said, “Do not be afraid! You will not die [because of seeing me]!”
24 Gideon podiže na tome mjestu žrtvenik Jahvi i nazva ga “Jahve-Mir”. Žrtvenik još i danas stoji u Ofri Abiezerovoj.
Then Gideon built an altar to [worship] Yahweh there. He named it ‘Yahweh gives us peace’. That altar is still there in Ophrah [town], in the land that belongs to the descendants of Abiezer.
25 Iste noći Jahve reče Gideonu: “U svojega oca uzmi utovljena junca, junca od sedam godina, i razori Baalov žrtvenik i posijeci gaj pokraj njega.
That night Yahweh said to Gideon, “Take the second-best/oldest bull from your father’s herd, the bull that is seven years old. [Kill it]. Then tear down the altar that your father built to [worship] the god Baal. Also cut down the pole for worshipping [the goddess] Astarte that is there beside it.
26 Potom podigni žrtvenik Jahvi, Bogu svome, na vrhu te gorske stijene i dobro ga uredi. Uzmi junca i prinesi paljenicu na drvima Ašere što ih u gaju nasiječeš.”
Then build a [stone] altar to worship me, your God Yahweh, here on this hill. Take the wood from the pole you cut down and make a fire [to cook the meat of the bull] as a burnt offering to me.”
27 Tada Gideon uze deset ljudi između svojih slugu i učini kako mu je zapovjedio Jahve. Ali kako se bojao svoje obitelji i građana, učini to noću.
So Gideon and his servants did what Yahweh commanded. But they did it at night, because he was afraid what the other members of his family and the other men in town would do to him if they found out that he had done that.
28 Kad su građani sutradan poranili, a to razoren Baalov žrtvenik i gaj posječen pored njega, a junac žrtvovan kao paljenica na novom oltaru.
Early the next morning, as soon as the men got up, they saw that the altar to Baal had been torn down, and the pole for worshiping Astarte was gone. They saw that there was a new altar there, and on it was what remained from the bull they had sacrificed.
29 I pitahu jedni druge: “Tko je to učinio?” Ispitaše, istražiše pa rekoše: “Gideon, Joašev sin, učini to.”
The people asked each other, “Who did this?” After they investigated, someone told them that it was Gideon, the son of Joash, [who had done it].
30 Tada građani rekoše Joašu: “Izvedi sina da umre jer je razorio Baalov žrtvenik i posjekao gaj pored njega.”
They went to Joash and said to him, “Bring your son out here! (He must be executed/We must kill him), because he destroyed our god Baal’s altar and cut down the pole for our goddess Astarte!”
31 Joaš odgovori svima koji stajahu oko njega: “Zar ćete vi braniti Baala? Zar ćete ga vi spasavati? Tko brani Baala, bit će pogubljen prije sutrašnjeg dana. Ako je on bog, neka se sam brani od Gideona što mu je razorio žrtvenik.”
But Joash replied, “Are you trying to defend Baal? Are you trying to argue his case? Anyone who tries to defend Baal should be executed by tomorrow morning! If Baal is truly a god, he ought to be able to defend himself, and to get rid of the person who tore down his altar!”
32 Toga dana prozvali su Gideona Jerubaal jer se govorilo: “Neka sam Baal s njim obračuna što mu je srušio žrtvenik.”
From that time, people called Gideon Jerub-Baal, which means ‘Baal should defend himself’, because he tore down Baal’s altar.
33 Svi Midjanci, Amalečani i sinovi Istoka bijahu se sakupili i, prešavši Jordan, utaborili se u Jizreelskoj ravnici.
Soon after that, the armies of the people of Midian and of Amalek and the people from the east gathered together. They crossed the Jordan River [to attack the Israelis]. They set up their tents in Jezreel Valley.
34 Duh Jahvin obuze Gideona i on zasvira u rog, a Abiezerov rod stade iza njega.
Then Yahweh’s Spirit took control of Gideon. He blew a ram’s horn to summon the men to prepare to fight. So the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him.
35 Posla on glasnike po svem plemenu Manašeovu te i oni stadoše iza njega. Posla glasnike i u pleme Ašerovo, Zebulunovo i Naftalijevo te im i oni krenuše u susret.
He also sent messengers throughout the tribes descended from [the four tribes of] Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali [to tell their soldiers to come], and all of them came.
36 Gideon reče Bogu: “Ako zaista hoćeš osloboditi Izraela mojom rukom, kao što si obećao,
Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to enable me to rescue the Israeli people as you promised,
37 evo ću metnuti ovčje runo na gumno: ako bude rose samo na runu, a zemlja ostane suha, tada ću znati da ćeš mojom rukom izbaviti Izraela, kao što si obećao.”
confirm it by doing this: Tonight I will put a dry wool fleece on the ground where I thresh the grain. Tomorrow morning, if the fleece is wet with dew but the ground is dry, then I will know that I am the one you will enable to rescue the people of Israel as you promised.”
38 I bi tako. Gideon urani sutradan te iscijedi rosu iz runa - punu zdjelu vode.
And that is what happened. When Gideon got up the next morning, he picked up the fleece, and squeezed out a whole bowlful of water!
39 Opet Gideon reče Bogu: “Ne razgnjevi se na me što ti progovaram još jednom. Dopusti mi da još ovaj put pokušam s runom: neka samo runo bude suho, a neka po svoj zemlji bude rosa!”
Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me, but let me ask you to do one more thing. Tonight I will put the fleece out again. This time, let the fleece remain dry, while the ground is wet with the dew.”
40 I Bog one noći učini tako: samo je runo ostalo suho, a po svoj zemlji pala rosa.
So that night, God did what Gideon asked him to do. The next morning the fleece was dry, but the ground was covered with dew.
