< 1 Samuel 13 >
1 Saulo ne ja-higni piero adek kane ochako bedo ruoth kendo nobedo ruodh Israel kuom higni piero angʼwen gariyo.
Saul was no longer a young man when he became the king. He ruled Israel for 42 years.
2 Saulo noyiero ji alufu adek kuom jo-Israel; to kuom joma noyierogo ji alufu ariyo ne ni kode Mikmash gi pinje gode mag Bethel, to ji alufu achiel ne nigi Jonathan e gwengʼ Gibea e piny Benjamin. To ji duto modongʼ nonyiso nodog miechgi.
[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 Jonathan nomonjo kambi man Geba mar jolwenj jo-Filistia kendo jo-Filistia nowinjo wachno. Eka Saulo nochiko mondo ogo tungʼ e piny duto mi owacho niya, “We jo-Hibrania owinji!”
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 Omiyo jo-Israel duto nowinjo wach ni Saulo osemonjo kambi jo-Filistia kendo koro jo-Filistia oselo gi jo-Israel. Mine oluong ji mondo odhi ir Saulo Gilgal.
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 Jo-Filistia nochokore mar kedo gi jo-Israel, ka gin gi geche alufu adek, gi geche mag farese alufu auchiel, gi jolweny mathoth ka kwoyo man e dho nam. Negiwuok mi gidhi gibworo Mikmash man yo wuok chiengʼ mar Beth Aven.
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 Kane jo-Israel oneno kaka wach chal kuomgi kendo ni jolwenjgi othungʼ marach, ne gipondo e rogo, e bunge, e kind lwendni, e buche matut, e soko.
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 Jo-Hibrania moko nongʼado aora Jordan modhi e piny Gad gi Gilead. Saulo to nodongʼ Gilgal, to jolwenje mane ni kode ne tetni ka luoro omakogi.
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 Norito Samuel kuom ndalo abiriyo kaka Samuel nosechiko, to Samuel ne ok obiro Gilgal kendo joma ne nigi Saulo nochako ke.
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 Omiyo nowacho niya, “Kelnauru gima itimogo misango miwangʼo pep kod misango mar lalruok.” Kendo Saulo nochiwo misango miwangʼo pep.
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 E sa ma ne otieko chiwo misangono, Samuel nochopo kendo Saulo nodhi mondo omose.
And just as he was finished burning those offerings, Samuel arrived. Saul went to greet him.
11 Samuel nopenje niya, “Angʼo misetimoni?” Saulo nodwoke niya, “Kane aneno ka ji ke to in bende pok ibiro e sa mane oketi, to jo-Filistia bende chokore Mikmash,
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 ne aparo ni, ‘Koro jo-Filistia biro monja Gilgal, ka pod ok apenjo kendo pod ok akwayo Jehova Nyasaye mondo okonya.’ Omiyo ne aneno ni ochuna ni nyaka achiw misango miwangʼo pep.”
“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 Samuel nowachone niya, “Isetimo tim mofuwo. Ok iserito chik mane Jehova Nyasaye ma Nyasachi omiyi; ka dine iriti, to doguro pinyruodhi e Israel nyaka chiengʼ.
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 To koro pinyruodhi ok bi siko, Jehova Nyasaye oseyudo ngʼat ma chunye chal gi mare kendo osekete, mondo otel ne joge, nikech in ok iserito chik mar Jehova Nyasaye.”
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 Eka Samuel noa Gilgal modhi Gibea e piny Benjamin, kendo Saulo nokwano joma ne ni kode mine oyudo ni gin ji madirom mia auchiel.
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 Saulo gi wuode Jonathan kod ji mane ni kodgi nobet Gibea e piny Benjamin, to jo-Filistia nojot Mikmash.
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 Sidienje adek mag jolwenj jo-Filistia nowuok e kambi margi, migawo mokwongo nodhi momonjo jo-Ofra e piny Shual,
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 to machielo nochiko Beth Horon mar adek nodhi e tongʼ mochiko Holo mar Zeboim mochimo kuma otimo ongoro.
One group went [west] to Beth-Horon [city]. The third group went toward the [Israeli] border, above Zeboim Valley, near the desert.
19 Ne onge jotheth e piny Israel mangima nikech jo-Filistia nosewacho niya, “Ka kamano to jo-Hibrania biro loso ligengini kod tonge!”
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 Omiyo jo-Israel duto ne odhi e piny jo-Filistia mondo opiag kuegi, saruru, ledhi kod musmeno mar ngʼado lum.
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 Nengo mar piago kwer gi saruru ne en ariyo ewi adek mar Shekel, nengo mar piago uma gi le ne en achiel ewi adek mar Shekel, kata mar rieyo bidhi.
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 Omiyo chiengʼ lweny onge jalweny moro amora mane nigi Saulo kod Jonathan mane nigi ligangla kata tongʼ e lwete; makmana Saulo gi Jonathan kende ema ne ni kod ligangla gi tongʼ.
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 Koro jolwenj jo-Filistia nosekadho modhi Mikmash.
Before the battle started, some Philistia men went to (the pass/a narrow place between two cliffs) outside Micmash to guard it.