1 Samuel 5
1 After the army of the Philistia people-group captured God’s sacred chest in Ebenezer [town], they took it to Ashdod [which is one of their biggest cities].
Filistitɔwo tsɔ Mawu ƒe nubablaɖaka la tso aʋagbe la dzi le Ebenezer
2 They carried it into the temple of [their god] Dagon, and placed it alongside a statue of Dagon.
yi woƒe mawu Dagon, ƒe gbedoxɔ me le Asdod eye wodae ɖe Dagon gbɔ.
3 But early the next morning, when the people of Ashdod [went to see it, they saw that] the statue had fallen on its face in front of Yahweh’s sacred chest! So they set the statue up in its place again.
Esi ame aɖewo yi be yewoakpɔe ɖa le ŋdi la, wokpɔ be Dagon dze anyi eye wòtsyɔ mo anyi ɖe Yehowa ƒe nubablaɖaka la ŋkume! Wofɔe da ɖe eteƒe
4 But the following morning, [they saw that] it had fallen down in front of the sacred chest again. But this time, the statue’s head and hands had broken off, and were lying in the doorway. Only its body remained intact/unbroken.
ke esi ŋu gake la, egadzɔ nenema tututu: legba la gadze anyi ɖe Yehowa ƒe nubablaɖaka la ŋgɔ. Ke azɔ ya la, eƒe asiwo kple eƒe ta lã ɖa le eŋu eye wònɔ mɔnu. Ale legba la tsi anyi kponogo.
5 That is the reason that since that time, the priests of Dagon and everyone else who enters the temple of Dagon in Ashdod do not step on the doorsill [where the hands and head of Dagon fell].
Le esia ta, va se ɖe egbe la, Dagon nunɔlawo kple esubɔlawo megaɖoa afɔ Dagon ƒe kpui nu le Asdod o.
6 Then Yahweh [SYN] powerfully caused the people of Ashdod and the people who lived in nearby villages to have (a very great plague/serious illness) of tumors.
Yehowa ƒe asi sẽ ɖe Asdodtɔwo kple kɔƒe siwo ƒo xlã wo la me tɔwo dzi, ehe gbegblẽ va wo dzii eye wòna ƒoƒoe vɔ̃ te wo.
7 The men of Ashdod realized why this was happening, and they cried out, “The god of the Israeli people is punishing us and is also punishing our god Dagon. So we cannot allow the sacred chest of the god of the Israelis to remain here!”
Esi ameawo dze si nu si de asi dzɔdzɔ ɖe wo dzi la, wodo ɣli be, “Míagate ŋu ana Israel ƒe Mawu ƒe nubablaɖaka la naganɔ afi sia o, elabena eƒe asi sẽ ɖe míawo ŋutɔ kple míaƒe mawu Dagon siaa dzi.”
8 They summoned the five kings of the Philistia people-group, and asked them, “What should we do with the sacred chest of the god of the Israelis?” The kings replied, “Take the sacred chest to Gath [city].” So they moved it to Gath.
Ale woyɔ takpekpe na Filistitɔwo ƒe dziɖulawo katã, eye wobia wo be, “Nu ka míawɔ kple Israel ƒe Mawu la ƒe nubablaɖaka?” Woɖo eŋu be, “Mitsɔ Israel ƒe Mawu la ƒe nubablaɖaka yi ɖada ɖe Gat.” Ale woɖe Israel ƒe Mawu la ƒe nubablaɖaka la ɖa.
9 But after they took it to Gath, Yahweh powerfully struck the people of that city also, with the result that many men, including young men and old men, got tumors on their skin. Then the people became very afraid.
Ke esi wotsɔe yi afi mae ko la Yehowa ƒe asi va Gat du la dzi, eye ŋɔdzi kple dzodzonyanya lé ameawo. Eƒo dua me nɔlawo, ɖeviawo kple tsitsiawo siaa kple ƒoƒoe.
10 So they took the sacred chest to Ekron [city]. But when the men carried the sacred chest into Ekron, the people there cried out, “Why are you bringing the sacred chest of the God of the Israelis into our city [RHQ]? [By doing that] you will cause us and the rest of our people to die!”
Ale wotsɔ Mawu ƒe nubablaɖaka la ɖo ta Ekron. Ke esi Ekrontɔwo kpɔe wògbɔna wo gbɔ ko la, wodo ɣli be, “Wotsɔ Israel ƒe Mawu la ƒe nubablaɖaka la gbɔna afi sia be wòawu mí kple míaƒe amewo.”
11 The people were terrified/in panic because [they knew that] God was starting to punish them severely. So they summoned the [five] kings of the Philistia people-group again, and [pleaded with them], saying, “Take this sacred chest of the god of the Israelis back to its own place! If you do not do that quickly, we will all die!”
Ale wogayɔ du atɔ̃awo kplɔlawo ƒo ƒui eye woɖe kuku na wo be woaɖo Mawu ƒe nubablaɖaka la ɖe eƒe dukɔ Israel ale be dua me tɔwo katã mava ku o. Dɔ la de asi amewo léle me ale vɔvɔ̃ ɖo ame sia ame le dua me.
12 Some of the people in Ekron had already died, and the rest of the people were suffering because of tumors on their skin. So they all cried out to their gods [MTY] [to help them].
Ame siwo meku haɖe o la nɔ dɔ lém kutɔkutɔe, ale du la ƒe avifafa de dzi.
