Judges 3
1 These are the nations which the Lord left, so that by them he might instruct Israel and all who had not known the wars of the Canaanites,
Or queste son le nazioni che l’Eterno lasciò stare affin di mettere per mezzo d’esse alla prova Israele, cioè tutti quelli che non avean visto le guerre di Canaan.
2 so that afterward their sons might learn to contend with their enemies, and to have a willingness to do battle:
(Egli volea soltanto che le nuove generazioni de’ figliuoli d’Israele conoscessero e imparassero la guerra: quelli, per lo meno, che prima non l’avean mai vista):
3 the five princes of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites, and the Sidonians, and the Hivites who were living on Mount Lebanon, from Mount Baal-Hermon as far as the entrance to Hamath.
i cinque principi dei Filistei, tutti i Cananei, i Sidoni, e gli Hivvei, che abitavano la montagna del Libano, dal monte Baal-Hermon fino all’ingresso di Hamath.
4 And he left them, so that by them he might test Israel, as to whether or not they would listen to the commandments of the Lord, which he instructed to their fathers by the hand of Moses.
Queste nazioni servirono a mettere Israele alla prova, per vedere se Israele ubbidirebbe ai comandamenti che l’Eterno avea dati ai loro padri per mezzo di Mosè.
5 And so, the sons of Israel lived in the midst of the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Amorite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
Così i figliuoli d’Israele abitarono in mezzo ai Cananei, agli Hittei, agli Amorei, ai Ferezei, agli Hivvei ed ai Gebusei;
6 And they took their daughters as wives, and they gave their own daughters to their sons, and they served their gods.
sposarono le loro figliuole, maritaron le proprie figliuole coi loro figliuoli, e servirono ai loro dèi.
7 And they did evil in the sight of the Lord, and they forgot their God, while serving the Baals and Ashtaroth.
I figliuoli d’Israele fecero ciò ch’è male agli occhi dell’Eterno; dimenticarono l’Eterno, il loro Dio, e servirono agl’idoli di Baal e d’Astarte.
8 And the Lord, having become angry with Israel, delivered them into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim, the king of Mesopotamia, and they served him for eight years.
Perciò l’ira dell’Eterno si accese contro Israele ed egli li diede nelle mani di Cushan-Rishathaim, re di Mesopotamia; e i figliuoli d’Israele furon servi di Cushan-Rishathaim per otto anni.
9 And they cried out to the Lord, who raised up for them a savior, and he freed them, namely, Othniel, the son of Kenaz, a younger brother of Caleb.
Poi i figliuoli d’Israele gridarono all’Eterno, e l’Eterno suscitò loro un liberatore: Othniel, figliuolo di Kenaz, fratello minore di Caleb; ed egli li liberò.
10 And the Spirit of the Lord was in him, and he judged Israel. And he went out to fight, and the Lord delivered Cushan-Rishathaim, the king of Syria, and he overwhelmed him.
Lo spirito dell’Eterno fu sopra lui, ed egli fu giudice d’Israele; uscì a combattere, e l’Eterno gli diede nelle mani Cushan-Rishathaim, re di Mesopotamia; e la sua mano fu potente contro Cushan-Rishathaim.
11 And the land was quiet for forty years. And Othniel, the son of Kenaz, died.
Il paese ebbe requie per quarant’anni; poi Othniel, figlio di Kenaz, morì.
12 Then the sons of Israel resumed doing evil in the sight of the Lord, who strengthened Eglon, the king of Moab, against them because they did evil in his sight.
I figliuoli d’Israele continuarono fare ciò ch’è male agli occhi dell’Eterno; e l’Eterno rese forte Eglon, re di Moab, contro Israele, perch’essi avean fatto ciò ch’è male agli occhi dell’Eterno.
13 And he joined to him the sons of Ammon and the sons of Amalek. And he went forth and struck Israel, and he possessed the City of Palms.
Ed Eglon radunò attorno a se i figliuoli di Ammon e di Amalek, e andò e batté Israele e s’impadronì della città delle palme.
14 And the sons of Israel served Eglon, the king of Moab, for eighteen years.
E i figliuoli d’Israele furon servi di Eglon, re di Moab, per diciotto anni.
15 And afterward, they cried out to the Lord, who raised up for them a savior, called Ehud, the son of Gera, the son of Benjamin, who used either hand as well as the right hand. And the sons of Israel sent gifts to Eglon, the king of Moab, by him.
Ma i figliuoli d’Israele gridarono all’Eterno, ed egli suscitò loro un liberatore: Ehud, figliuolo di Ghera, Beniaminita, che era mancino. I figliuoli d’Israele mandarono per mezzo di lui un regalo a Eglon, re di Moab.
16 And he made for himself a two-edged sword, having a handle, reaching to the middle, the length of the palm of a hand. And he was girded with it under his cloak, on the right thigh.
Ehud si fece una spada a due tagli, lunga un cubito; e se la cinse sotto la veste, al fianco destro.
17 And he offered the gifts to Eglon, the king of Moab. Now Eglon was exceedingly fat.
E offrì il regalo a Eglon, re di Moab, ch’era uomo molto grasso.
18 And when he had presented the gifts to him, he followed out his companions, who had arrived with him.
E quand’ebbe finita la presentazione del regalo, rimandò la gente che l’avea portato.
19 And then, returning from Gilgal where the idols were, he said to the king, “I have a secret word for you, O king.” And he ordered silence. And when all those who were around him had departed,
Ma egli, giunto alla cava di pietre ch’è presso a Ghilgal, tornò indietro, e disse: “O re, io ho qualcosa da dirti in segreto”. E il re disse: “Silenzio!” E tutti quelli che gli stavan dappresso, uscirono.
20 Ehud entered to him. Now he was sitting alone in a summer upper room. And he said, “I have a word from God to you.” And immediately he rose up from his throne.
Allora Ehud s’accostò al re, che stava seduto nella sala disopra, riservata a lui solo per prendervi il fresco, e gli disse: “Ho una parola da dirti da parte di Dio”. Quegli s’alzò dal suo seggio:
21 And Ehud extended his left hand, and he took the dagger from his right thigh. And he thrust it into his abdomen
e Ehud, stesa la mano sinistra, trasse la spada dal suo fianco destro, e gliela piantò nel ventre.
22 so strongly that the handle followed the blade into the wound, and was enclosed by the great amount of fat. Neither did he withdraw the sword. Instead, he left it in the body just as he had struck with it. And immediately, by the private parts of nature, the filth of the bowels went out.
Anche l’elsa entrò dopo la lama, e il grasso si rinchiuse attorno alla lama; poich’egli non gli ritirò dal ventre la spada, che gli usciva per di dietro.
23 Then Ehud carefully closed the doors of the upper room. And securing the bars,
Poi Ehud uscì nel portico, chiuse le porte della sala disopra, e mise i chiavistelli.
24 he departed by a back exit. And the servants of the king, entering, saw that the doors of the upper room were closed, and they said, “Perhaps he is emptying his bowels in the summer room.”
Or quando fu uscito, vennero i servi, i quali guardarono, ed ecco che le porte della sala disopra eran chiuse a chiavistello; e dissero: “Certo egli fa i suoi bisogni nello stanzino della sala fresca”.
25 And after waiting a long time, until they were embarrassed, and seeing that no one opened the door, they took the key, and opening it, they found their lord lying dead on the ground.
E tanto aspettarono, che ne furon confusi; e com’egli non apriva le porte della sala, quelli presero la chiave, aprirono, ed ecco che il loro signore era steso per terra, morto.
26 But Ehud, while they were in confusion, escaped and passed by the place of the idols, from which he had returned. And he arrived at Seirath.
Mentr’essi indugiavano, Ehud si diè alla fuga, passò oltre le cave di pietra, e si mise in salvo nella Seira.
27 And immediately he sounded the trumpet on Mount Ephraim. And the sons of Israel descended with him, he himself advancing at the front.
Arrivato che fu, suonò la tromba nella contrada montuosa di Efraim, e i figliuoli d’Israele scesero con lui dalla contrada montuosa, ed egli si mise alla loro testa.
28 And he said to them: “Follow me. For the Lord has delivered our enemies, the Moabites, into our hands.” And they descended after him, and they occupied the fords of the Jordan, which cross over to Moab. And they did not permit anyone to cross.
E disse loro: “Seguitemi, perché l’Eterno v’ha dato nelle mani i Moabiti, vostri nemici”. E quelli scesero dietro a lui, s’impadronirono de’ guadi del Giordano per impedirne il passo ai Moabiti, e non lasciaron passare alcuno.
29 And so, they struck down the Moabites at that time, about ten thousand, all strong and robust men. None of them were able to escape.
In quel tempo sconfissero circa diecimila Moabiti, tutti robusti e valorosi; e non ne scampò uno.
30 And Moab was humbled in that day under the hand of Israel. And the land was quiet for eighty years.
Così, in quel giorno, Moab fu umiliato sotto la mano d’Israele, e il paese ebbe requie per ottant’anni.
31 After him, there was Shamgar, the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred men of the Philistines with a plowshare. And he also defended Israel.
Dopo Ehud, venne Shamgar, figliuolo di Anath. Egli sconfisse seicento Filistei con un pungolo da buoi; e anch’egli liberò Israele.
