1 Samuel 4
1 And Samuel told to all the people of Israel the messages that God gave him. At that time the Israeli army went to fight against the army of the Philistine people. The Israeli army set up their tents at Ebenezer, and the Philistine army set up their tents at Aphek.
Or Israele uscì contro i Filistei per dar battaglia, e si accampò presso Eben-Ezer; i Filistei erano accampati presso Afek.
2 The Philistine army attacked the Israeli army, and as the battle continued, the Philistines defeated the Israelis and killed about 4,000 of their soldiers.
I Filistei si schierarono in battaglia in faccia ad Israele; e, impegnatosi il combattimento, Israele fu sconfitto dai Filistei, che uccisero sul campo di battaglia circa quattromila uomini.
3 When the remaining Israeli soldiers returned to their camp, the Israeli elders/leaders said, “Why did Yahweh allow the Philistine army to defeat us today? We should bring the chest that contains the Ten Commandments here from Shiloh, in order that Yahweh will go with us [when we go to the battle again, and] in order that our enemies will not defeat us again!”
Quando il popolo fu tornato nell’accampamento, gli anziani d’Israele dissero: “Perché l’Eterno ci ha egli oggi sconfitti davanti ai Filistei? Andiamo a prendere a Sciloh l’arca del patto dell’Eterno, e venga essa in mezzo a noi e ci salvi dalle mani de’ nostri nemici!”
4 So the soldiers did that. They sent some men to Shiloh, and those men brought back the chest that contained the Ten Commandments. [They thought that if they did that, Yahweh would help them. They believed that] Yahweh sat on a throne between the statues of winged creatures [that were on top of] the chest that Yahweh Almighty [had given them]. The two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, went with them.
Il popolo quindi mandò gente a Sciloh, e di la fu portata l’arca del patto dell’Eterno degli eserciti, il quale sta fra i cherubini; e i due figliuoli di Eli, Hofni e Fineas, erano là, con l’arca del patto di Dio.
5 When the Israeli people saw [the men bringing] the box into their camp, they were so happy that they shouted loudly. They shouted so loudly that they made the ground shake!
E quando l’arca del patto dell’Eterno entrò nel campo, tutto Israele diè in grandi grida di gioia, sì che ne rimbombo la terra.
6 The Philistines asked, “What are the people in the Hebrew camp shouting about?” Someone told them that they were shouting because the chest that contained the Ten Commandments of Yahweh had been brought to them.
I Filistei, all’udire quelle alte grida, dissero: “Che significano queste grandi grida nel campo degli Ebrei?” E seppero che l’arca dell’Eterno era arrivata nell’accampamento.
7 Then the Philistines became very afraid. They said, “One of the Israelis’ gods has come into their camp [to help them] We are in big trouble now! Nothing like this has happened to us before!
E i Filistei ebbero paura, perché dicevano: “Dio e venuto nell’accampamento”. Ed esclamarono: “Guai a noi! poiché non era così nei giorni passati.
8 (Who can/Can anyone) save us from their powerful gods [RHQ]? They are the gods who struck the people of Egypt with many plagues [before the Israelis left Egypt and traveled] through the desert.
Guai a noi! Chi ci salverà dalle mani di questi dèi potenti? Questi son gli dèi che colpiron gli Egiziani d’ogni sorta di piaghe nel deserto.
9 You Philistine men, be courageous! Fight very hard! If you do not do that, [they will defeat us, and then] you will become their slaves, just like they have been our slaves previously!”
Siate forti, Filistei, e comportatevi da uomini, onde non abbiate a diventare schiavi degli Ebrei, com’essi sono stati schiavi vostri! Conducetevi da uomini, e combattete!”
10 So the Philistine men fought very hard, and they defeated the Israelis. They killed 30,000 Israeli soldiers, and the other Israeli soldiers fled and ran away to their tents.
I Filistei dunque combatterono, e Israele fu sconfitto, e ciascuno se ne fuggì nella sua tenda. La rotta fu enorme, e caddero, d’Israele, trentamila fanti.
11 The Philistines captured the sacred chest, and they killed Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas.
L’arca di Dio fu presa, e i due figliuoli d’Eli, Hofni e Fineas, morirono.
12 On that same day, one man of the tribe [descended from] Benjamin tore his clothes and threw dirt on his head [to show that he was very sad]. He ran from the place where the armies were fighting, and he arrived at Shiloh late [that afternoon].
Un uomo di Beniamino, fuggito dal campo di battaglia, giunse correndo a Sciloh quel medesimo giorno, con le vesti stracciate e la testa coperta di terra.
13 Eli was waiting beside the road. [He wanted to hear news about the battle, and] he was also very anxious to know if anything bad had happened to God’s sacred chest. When the messenger arrived and told people what had happened, everyone in the town started to cry loudly.
Al suo arrivo, ecco che Eli stava sull’orlo della strada, seduto sul suo seggio, aspettando ansiosamente, perché gli tremava il cuore per l’arca di Dio. E come quell’uomo entrò nella città portando la nuova, un grido si levò da tutta la città.
14 Eli asked, “Why are they making all that noise?” The messenger ran over to Eli and told him the news.
Ed Eli, udendo lo strepito delle grida, disse: “Che significa il chiasso di questo tumulto?” E quell’uomo andò in fretta a portar la nuova ad Eli.
15 At that time, Eli was 98 years old, and he was blind.
Or Eli avea novantott’anni; la vista gli era venuta meno, sicché non potea vedere.
16 The messenger said to Eli, “I have just come from where the armies were fighting. I left there earlier today.” Eli asked, “What happened?”
Quell’uomo gli disse: “Son io che vengo dal campo di battaglia e che ne son fuggito oggi”. Ed Eli disse: “Com’è andata la cosa, figliuol mio?”
17 The man replied, “The Philistines defeated our Israeli army. They killed thousands of our soldiers, and the others ran away. The Philistines killed your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. They also captured God’s sacred chest.”
E colui che portava la nuova, rispondendo, disse: “Israele e fuggito d’innanzi ai Filistei; e v’è stata una grande strage fra il popolo; anche i tuoi due figliuoli, Hofni e Fineas, sono morti, e l’arca di Dio e stata presa”.
18 Eli was very old, and he was very fat; and when he heard what had happened to the sacred chest, he fell backward from his chair beside the town gate. His neck was broken and he died. He had led the Israeli people for 40 years before he died.
E come ebbe mentovato l’arca di Dio, Eli cadde dal suo seggio all’indietro, allato alla porta, si ruppe la nuca, e morì, perché era un uomo vecchio e pesante. Era stato giudice d’Israele quarant’anni.
19 The wife/widow of Eli’s son Phinehas was pregnant, and it was almost time for her to give birth to her baby. When she heard that God’s sacred chest had been captured and that her husband and her father-in-law were dead, her labor pains suddenly began. She quickly gave birth to a boy.
La nuora di lui, moglie di Fineas, era incinta e prossima al parto; quando udì la nuova che l’arca di Dio era presa e che il suo suocero e il suo marito erano morti, si curvò e partorì, perché sorpresa a un tratto dai dolori.
20 The women who were helping her tried to encourage her by saying to her, “You have given birth to a son!” But she did not pay any attention [DOU] to what they said.
E nel punto che stava per morire, le donne che l’assistevano le dissero: “Non temere, poiché hai partorito un figliuolo”. Ma ella non rispose e non ne fece caso.
21 She named the boy Ichabod, which means ‘no glory’, because she said, “[God’s] glory has departed from Israel.” She said that because God’s sacred chest had been captured and because her husband and her father-in-law had died.
E al suo bambino pose nome Icabod, dicendo: “La gloria ha esulato da Israele”, perché l’arca di Dio era stata presa, e a motivo del suo suocero e del suo marito.
22 She said, “[God’s] glory has left Israel, because God’s sacred chest has been captured!” And then she died.
E disse: “La gloria ha esulato da Israele, perché l’arca di Dio e stata presa”.
