Jongʼad Bura 8
1 Jo-Efraim nopenjo Gideon niya, “Angʼo ma omiyo isetimonwa kama? Angʼo ma notami luongowa kane idhi kedo gi jo-Midian?” Omiyo negidhawo kode matek.
Then the descendants of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you acted toward us like this? When you went out to fight against the people of Midian, why did you not summon us [to help you]?” They rebuked Gideon severely.
2 To nodwokogi niya, “Angʼo ma asetimo kipimo gi gima usetimo? Donge mzabibu mag Efraim modongʼ ber moloyo keyo maduongʼ mar mzabibu mar Abiezer?
But Gideon replied, “I have done [RHQ] very little compared with what you have done! My small clan of descendants of Abiezer only started the battle, but [your very large group of] descendants of Ephraim [helped me to finish the task very well. It is like] the final grapes of the harvest being much better than the first grapes that are picked.
3 Nyasaye nochiwo Oreb kod Zeb, jotend jo-Midian, e lwetgi. En angʼo mane anyalo timo kipimo gi gima usetimo?” Kuom mano, ich wangʼ margi norumo.
God enabled you to defeat Oreb and Zeeb, the generals of the army from Midian. That is [RHQ] much more important than what I did!” After Gideon told them that, they no longer resented what he had done.
4 Kata obedo ni Gideon gi joge mia adek nool kamano, negimedo lawo ruodhi mag Midian mi gingʼado aora Jordan.
Then Gideon and his 300 men [went east and] crossed the Jordan [River]. Although they were very tired, they continued to pursue their enemies.
5 Nowachone jo-Sukoth niya, “Miuru joga ma jolweny makati nikech giol, kendo pod alawo Zeba kod Zalmuna, ma gin ruodhi jo-Midian.”
When they arrived at Succoth [town], Gideon said to the town leaders, “Please give my men some food! They are very tired. We are pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
6 To jotelo mag Sukoth nowacho niya, “Bende usemako Zeba kod Zalmuna? Ere kaka dwami jolweny magi moolgi makati?”
But the leaders of Succoth replied, “You have not caught [RHQ] Zebah and Zalmunna yet. So why should we give food to your troops [now? Catch them first, and then we will give you food].”
7 Eka Gideon nodwoko niya, “Nikech gima uwacho, ka Jehova Nyasaye osechiwo Zeba gi Zalmuna e lweta, to abiro yuyo ringreu gi pedo kod matata.”
Gideon replied, “[Because you said that], after Yahweh enables us to defeat Zebah and Zalmunna, we will return. And then we will make whips from thorns from the desert, and with them we will rip the flesh off your bones!”
8 Noa kanyo kodhi Peniel kendo ochiwonegi kwayo makamano, to negidwoko mana kaka jo-Sukoth nowacho.
From there, Gideon [and his 300 men] went to Peniel and asked for food there, but the people gave him the same answer.
9 Omiyo nowachone jo-Peniel niya, “Ka aduogo gi loch, to abiro muko bath ohinga moger motingʼore gi malo.”
So he said to the men of Peniel, “After I defeat those kings, I will return and tear down this tower!”
10 Noyudo ka Zeba gi Zalmuna neni Karkor kaachiel gi jolweny mage manyalo romo ji alufu apar gabich, ne gin jolweny mane odongʼ kuom jolweny mag wuok chiengʼ, to jolweny alufu mia achiel gi piero ariyo nonegi e lweny.
By that time, Zebah and Zalmunna had gone to Karkor [town] with 15,000 troops. They were all that were left of the armies that had come from the east. 120,000 of their men had already been killed.
11 Gideon nodhi koluwo yo jokwath mantiere yo wuok chiengʼ mar Noba kod Jogbeha mi nodonjo kuom jolweny mamoko apoya.
Gideon [and his men] went east along the road on which caravans travel. They went past Nobah and Jogbehah [villages] and arrived at the enemy camp by surprise.
12 Zeba gi Zalmuna, ma ruodhi ariyo mag Midian, noringo, to nolawogi mi omakogi, kendo makogino nokelo luoro maduongʼ ne jolwenjgi.
Zebah and Zalmunna fled, but Gideon’s men pursued them and captured them and all their warriors.
13 Bangʼ mano Gideon wuod Joash noduogo koa e lweny koluwo yor Heres.
After that, Gideon and his men [took Zebah and Zalmunna with them and] started to return, going through Heres Pass.
14 Nomako wuod Sukoth mi openje penjo, kendo wuowino nondikone nying ruodhi piero abiro gabiriyo mag Sukoth.
There he captured a young man from Succoth, and demanded that he write down the names of all of the leaders in the town. The young man wrote down seventy-seven names.
15 Eka Gideon nobiro mi owachone jo-Sukoth niya, “Eri Zeba gi Zalmuna, mane osemiyo uchaya kuwacho ni, ‘Bende usemako Zeba gi Zalmuna? Ere kaka dwami jolweny magi moolgi makati?’”
Then Gideon and his men returned to Succoth and said to those leaders, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. When we were here before, you made fun of me and said ‘You have not [RHQ] caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet! After you catch them, we will give your exhausted men some food.’”
16 Nokawo jodong dalano mi okawo pedo kod matata mokumogo jo-Sukoth.
Then Gideon’s men took the town leaders and whipped them with whips made from briers from the desert, to teach them [that they deserved to be punished for not giving them any food].
17 Bende nomuko kama oger motingʼore gi malo mar Peniel mi onego jo-dalano.
Then [they went to] Peniel and tore down the tower, and killed all the men in the town.
18 Eka nopenjo Zeba kod Zalmuna niya, “Ne inego ji machalo nade Tabor?” Negidwoke niya, “Ji machalo kodi, ma ngʼato ka ngʼato ne nigi kido machalo mar ruoth.”
Then Gideon said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “The men you killed near Tabor [Mountain], what did they look like?” They replied, “They were like you; they all looked like they were sons of a king.”
19 Gideon nodwoko niya, “Mago ne owetena, yawuot minwa owuon. Akwongʼora gi nying Jehova Nyasaye mangima ni ka dine ingʼwononegi, to dine ok anegou.”
Gideon replied, “They were my brothers! Just as surely as Yahweh lives, I would not kill you if you had not killed them.”
20 Eka nonyiso wuode maduongʼ miluongo ni Jetha niya, “Neg-gi!” To Jetha ne ok owuodho liganglane, nikech ne pod en rawera kendo noluor.
Then he turned to his oldest son, Jether. He said to him, “Kill them!” But Jether was only a boy, and he was afraid, so he did not pull out his dagger [to kill them].
21 Zeba gi Zalmuna nowacho niya, “Bi inegwa mana in iwuon nimar in e ngʼat maduongʼ maratego.” Omiyo Gideon nosudo machiegni kodgi monegogi, bangʼe nokawo pien mane ni e ngʼut ngamia mag-gi.
Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Do not ask a young boy to do the work that a man should do!” So Gideon killed both of them. Then he took the gold ornaments from the necks of their camels.
22 Jo-Israel nowachone Gideon niya, “Bed jatendwa, in kaachiel gi wuodi kod nyakwari ma wuowi, nikech iseresowa e lwet jo-Midian.”
Then a group of Israeli men [came to] Gideon and said to him, “You be our ruler! [We want] you and your son and your grandsons [to] be our rulers, because you rescued us from the Midian army.”
23 To Gideon nokonegi niya, “Ok anabed jatendu, kata wuoda bende ok nobed jatendu. Jehova Nyasaye ema biro bedo jatendu.”
But Gideon replied, “No, I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you. Yahweh will rule over you.”
24 Kendo nowacho niya, “An-gi kwayo achiel, ni ngʼato ka ngʼato kuomu omiya stadi kuom pok mag gik mane uyako.” Ne en kit jo-Ishmael mondo gilier stadi mar dhahabu e itgi.
Then he said, “I request only one thing. I request that each of you give me one earring from the things you captured after the battle.” [All the men descended from Ishmael wore gold earrings.]
25 Negidwoko niya, “En morwa mondo wachiwgi.” Omiyo ne gipedho nanga, kendo ngʼato ka ngʼato nodiro stadi koa kuom gik mane giyako e nangano.
They replied, “We will be glad to give earrings to you!” So they spread a cloth [on the ground], and each man threw on it one gold earring that he had taken [from a man he had killed in the battle].
26 Pek mar stadi mag dhahabu mane okwayo ne oromo shekel alufu achiel gi mia abiriyo, ka ok okwano bangli, odeyo kod nengni maralik mirwako gi ruodhi mag Midian kata nyoroche mane ni e ngʼut ngamia margi.
The weight of all the earrings was (43 pounds/19.4 kg.). That did not include other things [that they gave to Gideon]—the other ornaments or the pendants or the clothes that the kings of Midian wore or the gold chains that were on the necks of their camels.
27 Gideon noloso kido mar nyasaye manono mar efod gi dhahabu, ma noketo e dalane miluongo ni Ofra. Jo-Israel duto notimo timbe mag dwanyruok e kindgi giwegi ka gilamo kidono kanyo kendo nobedo obadho ni Gideon kod dalane.
Gideon made/decorated a sacred vest from the gold, and later he put it in his hometown, Ophrah. But soon the Israeli people started to worship the vest. So it became like a trap [MET] for the people, [causing them to worship it instead of worshiping only God].
28 Kamano e kaka jo-Midian noloo gi jo-Israel kendo ne ok gichako gitugo lweny moro kendo. E kinde ma Gideon ne pod ngima, pinyno nobedo gi kwe kuom higni piero angʼwen.
That is how the Israelis defeated the people from Midian. The people of Midian did not become strong enough to attack Israel again. So while Gideon was alive, there was peace in the land for 40 years.
29 Jerub-Baal wuod Joash nodok dala.
Gideon went back home to live there.
30 Ne en-gi yawuowi piero abiriyo ma mage owuon, nimar ne en-gi mon mangʼeny.
He had many wives, and they bore him seventy sons.
31 Bende ne en gi jatich madhako mane odak Shekem, mane onywolone wuowi miluongo ni Abimelek.
He also had a slave wife in Shechem [town], who bore him a son whom he named Abimelech.
32 Gideon wuod Joash notho ka en-gi higni mathoth kendo noyike e liend wuon mare Joash man Ofra dala jo-Abiezer.
Gideon died when he was very old. They buried his body in the grave where his father Joash was buried, at Ophrah, in the land belonging to the descendants of Abiether.
33 Bangʼ ka Gideon nosetho jo-Israel nochako timo timbe dwanyruok kalamo Baal. Negiketo Baal-Berith kaka nyasachgi,
But as soon as Gideon died, the Israelis [stopped worshiping God and started worshiping the images of the god Baal, like] [MET] adultresses [leave their husbands and go to sleep with other men]. They made a [statue of a] new god called Baal-Berith.
34 kendo ne ok giparo Jehova Nyasaye ma Nyasachgi, mane oseresogi e lwet jowasikgi duto koni gi koni.
They forgot about Yahweh, the one who had rescued them from all their enemies that surrounded them.
35 Bende negitamore timo ngʼwono ni joka Jerub-Baal (mano en Gideon) kuom gigo mabeyo duto mane osetimonigi.
And even though Gideon had done many good things for the Israelis, they were not kind to Gideon’s family.
