1 Samuel 6
1 The people of Philistia kept God’s sacred chest in their area for seven months.
Awo essanduuko ya Mukama bwe yali yakamala emyezi musanvu mu nsi y’Abafirisuuti,
2 Then they summoned their priests and their (diviners/men who practice rituals to find out what would happen in the future). They asked them, “What should we do with the sacred chest of Yahweh? Tell us how we should send it back to its own land.”
Abafirisuuti ne batumya bakabona n’abafumu, ne bababuuza nti, “Tukolere ki essanduuko ya Mukama? Mututegeeze bwe tuba tugizzaayo mu kifo kyayo.”
3 Those men replied, “Send with it an offering [to show Yahweh that you know that you are] guilty [for having captured the chest], in order that the plague will stop. If you do that, and then if you are healed, you will know that Yahweh is the one who caused you to experience the plague.”
Ne baddamu nti, “Bwe muba muzzaayo essanduuko ya katonda wa Isirayiri, temugiweereza awatali kirabo, naye mufuba okumuweereza ekiweebwayo olw’omusango. Olwo nno lwe munaawona, era munaabikulirwa kyeyavudde ababonereza.”
4 The people of Philistia asked, “What kind of offering should we send?” The men replied, “Make five gold models of the tumors on your skin, and five gold models of rats. Make five of each because that is the same number as the number of your kings, and because the plague has struck both you people and your five kings.
Abafirisuuti ne babuuza nti, “Kiki kye tunamuweereza okuba ekiweebwayo olw’omusango?” Ne babaddamu nti, “Ebibumbe eby’ebizimba ebya zaabu bitaano n’ebibumbe eby’emmese eza zaabu bitaano, ng’omuwendo gwa bakulembeze b’Abafirisuuti bwe guli. “Mwabonerezebwa mu ngeri y’emu ng’abakulembeze bammwe n’ensi yammwe.
5 Make models that represent the rats and the tumors that are ruining your land. Make them in order to honor the god of the Israeli people. If you do that, perhaps he will stop punishing [IDM] you, and your gods, and your land.
Noolwekyo mukole ebibumbe eby’ebizimba n’eby’emmese ebireetedde ensi okusaanawo, muwe Katonda wa Isirayiri ekitiibwa; oboolyawo anaabasonyiwa, ne balubaale bammwe n’ensi yammwe.
6 Do not be [RHQ] stubborn [IDM] like the Egyptians and their king were. [They did not do what the Israelis’ god told them to do, so he punished them]. After the Israelis’ god finished punishing them very severely, they were glad to allow the Israelis to leave their country [RHQ].
Lwaki mukakanyaza emitima gyammwe ng’Abamisiri ne Falaawo bwe baakola? Bwe yabamala amaanyi, tebakkiriza Bayisirayiri kugenda era ne bagenda?
7 “So you must build a new cart. Then get two cows that have very recently given birth to calves. They must be cows that have never been hitched to a cart [MTY]. Hitch those cows to the new cart, and take the calves away from their mothers.
“Kale nno, muteeketeeke ekigaali ekipya, n’ente bbiri ezaakazaala, ezitateekebwangako kikoligo, muzisibe ku kigaali, naye ennyana zaazo muziziggyeeko.
8 Put the Israelis’ god’s sacred chest on the cart. Also put in the cart the five gold models of the tumors on your skin and the five gold models of rats. Put them in a small box alongside the sacred chest. They will be an offering to show that you know that you deserved to be punished [for capturing the sacred chest]. Then send [the cows] down the road, [pulling] the cart.
Muddire essanduuko ya Mukama mugiteeke ku kigaali, ate muddire n’ekisanduuko mwe munaateeka ebintu ebya zaabu olw’ekiweebwayo olw’ekibi, mukiteeke ku mabbali g’essanduuko ya Mukama. Mugisindike, egende yokka.
9 [Watch the cart as the cows pull it]. If they pull it to Beth-Shemesh [town] in Israel, we will know that it was the Israelis’ god who caused us to experience this plague. But if they do not take it there, we will know that it was not the god [MTY] of the Israelis who has punished us. We will know that it just happened.”
Naye mugitunuulire; bw’eneekwata ekkubo erigenda ewaabayo mu nsi yaayo, e Besusemesi, olwo nga Mukama ye yatuleeseeko ekibonoobono kino ekinene. Naye bwe kitaabe bwe kityo, olwo tunaategeera ng’omukono gwe si gwe gutubaddeko, kyatutuukako butuusi.”
10 So the people did what the priests and men who predicted what would happen in the future told them to do. They [made] a cart [and] hitched two cows to it. They took the calves from their mothers.
Ne bakola bwe batyo. Ne baddira ente bbiri ezaakazaala, ne baziggyako ennyana zaazo ne bazisiba ku kigaali.
11 They put in the cart Yahweh’s sacred chest and the box with the models of the gold rats and the tumors.
Ne bateeka essanduuko ya Mukama ku kigaali n’ekisanduuko ekyalimu emmese eza zaabu n’ebibumbe eby’ebizimba okugiriraana.
12 Then the cows started walking, and they went straight toward Beth-Shemesh. They stayed on the road, and were mooing all the time. They did not turn to the left or to the right. The five kings of the Philistia area followed the cows until they reached the edge of Beth-Shemesh.
Ente ne zigenda butereevu mu kkubo erigenda e Besusemesi, nga zigenda zikaaba, ne zitakyama ku mukono ogwa ddyo newaakubadde ogwa kkono. Abakulembeze b’Abafirisuuti ne bazigoberera okutuukira ddala ku nsalo ey’e Besusemesi.
13 At that time, the people of Beth-Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley [outside the city]. [When the cows came along the road], they looked up and saw the sacred chest. They were extremely happy to see it.
Ebiro ebyo byali bya makungula era Ababesusemesi baali bakungula eŋŋaano yaabwe mu kiwonvu. Bwe balengera essanduuko ne basanyuka okugiraba.
14 The cows pulled the cart into the field of a man named Joshua, and they stopped alongside a large rock. Several men from the tribe of Levi lifted from the cart the sacred chest and the box containing the gold models of the rats and the tumors, and they put them all on the large rock. Then the people smashed the cart and kindled a fire with the wood [from which the cart had been made]. They slaughtered the cows and burned their bodies/carcasses on the fire to be an offering for Yahweh that would be completely burned. That day the people of Beth-Shemesh offered to Yahweh [many] sacrifices that were completely burned, and [other] sacrifices.
Ekigaali ne kituukira mu nnimiro ya Yoswa ow’e Besusemesi ne kiyimirira omwo okumpi n’awali ejjinja eddene. Abantu ne bayasa embaawo ez’ekigaali, ente ne baziwaayo ng’ekiweebwayo ekyokebwa eri Mukama.
Abaleevi ne batwala essanduuko ya Mukama, n’ekisanduuko ekyalimu ebibumbe ebya zaabu, ne babiteeka ku jjinja eddene. Awo ku lunaku olwo abantu b’e Besusemesi ne bawaayo ebiweebwayo ebyokebwa ne ssaddaaka eri Mukama.
16 The five kings from the Philistia area watched all this, and then they returned to Ekron, that same day.
Abakulembeze abataano ab’Abafirisuuti olwalaba ebyo, ne baddayo mu Ekuloni ku lunaku olwo.
17 The five gold models of tumors that they sent to be an offering to Yahweh to show that they knew that they deserved to be punished were gifts from [those five kings who were rulers of] Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron [cities].
Ebibumbe eby’ebizimba ebya zaabu Abafirisuuti bye baaweereza ng’ekiweebwayo olw’omusango eri Mukama byali: ekimu kya Asudodi, n’ekirala kya Gaza, n’ekirala kya Asukulooni, n’ekirala kya Gaasi, n’ekirala kya Ekuloni;
18 The models of the five gold rats were gifts from the people of those five cities and the surrounding towns. The large rock at Beth-Shemesh, on which the [men of the tribe of Levi] set the sacred chest, is still there in the field that belonged to Joshua. When people see it, they remember [what happened there].
era n’ebibumbe eby’emmese eza zaabu bwe byali, ng’ebibuga byonna eby’Abafirisuuti ebyali eby’Abakungu abataano, ate nga bibuga ebiriko enkomera n’ebyalo byabyo. Ejjinja eddene kwe baateeka essanduuko ya Mukama mu nnimiro ya Yoswa ow’e Besusemesi, ne libeera kijjukizo n’okutuusa leero.
19 But seventy men from Beth-Shemesh looked into Yahweh’s sacred chest, and because of that, Yahweh caused them to die. Then the people mourned very much because Yahweh punished [IDM] those men like that.
Naye nsanvu ku basajja ab’e Besusemesi ne bafa kubanga balingiza mu ssanduuko ya Mukama. Abantu ne banakuwala nnyo olw’ekibonerezo ekinene Mukama kye yabawa,
20 They said, “No one [RHQ] can (resist the power of/stand in the presence of) Yahweh, our holy God, [and remain alive]! Where can we send the sacred chest?”
era abantu b’e Besusemesi ne beebuuza nti, “Ani ayinza okuyimirira mu maaso ga Mukama, Katonda ono omutukuvu? Essanduuko ya Mukama tugiweereze ani?”
21 They sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-Jearim [city] to tell them, “The people of Philistia have returned Yahweh’s sacred chest to us! Come here and take it away!”
Ne batuma ababaka eri abatuuze b’e Kiriyasuyalimu n’obubaka nti, “Abafirisuuti bakomezzaawo essanduuko ya Mukama. Muserengete, mujje mugiddukire mugitwale ewammwe.”
