1 Samuel 6
1 The people of Philistia kept God’s sacred chest in their area for seven months.
Pea naʻe ʻi he fonua ʻoe kau Filisitia ʻae puha tapu ʻo Sihova ʻi he māhina ʻe fitu.
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.”
Pea naʻe fekau ʻe he kau Filisitia ke haʻu ʻae kau taulaʻeiki mo e kau kikite, ʻo pehē, “Ko e hā te mau fai ki he puha tapu ʻo Sihova? Fakahā kiate kimautolu pe te mau ʻatu ia ʻaki ʻae ha ki hono potu?”
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.”
Pea naʻa nau pehē, “Kapau ʻoku mou fekau ke ʻave ʻae puha tapu ʻoe ʻOtua ʻo ʻIsileli, ʻoua naʻa ʻave mola pe ia; ka mou ʻatu muʻa kiate ia ʻae feilaulau ʻi he angahala: ko ia ʻe fakamoʻui ai ʻakimoutolu, pea ʻe toki ʻilo ai ʻekimoutolu pe ko e hā kuo ʻikai hiki ai hono nima ʻiate kimoutolu.”
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.
Pea naʻa nau pehē, “Ko e hā ʻae feilaulau ʻi he angahala ʻaia te mau ʻatu kiate ia?” Pea naʻa nau tala, “Ko e meaʻi koula ʻe nima, mo e kumā koula ʻe nima, ʻo fakatatau ki he houʻeiki Filisitia ʻe toko nima; he ko e hangatāmaki pē taha naʻe ʻiate kimoutolu kotoa pē, pea ʻi homou houʻeiki.
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.
Ko ia ke mou ngaohi ʻae ngaahi fakatātā ki homou mataʻi hangatāmaki, pea mo e ngaahi fakatātā ki he kumā ʻaia ʻoku maumauʻi ʻae fonua; pea ke mou tuku ʻae ongoongolelei ki he ʻOtua ʻo ʻIsileli: heiʻilo pe te ne fakamaʻamaʻa hono nima ʻiate kimoutolu, pea mei homou ngaahi ʻotua, pea mei homou fonua.
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].
Ko e hā ʻoku mou fakafefeka ai homou loto, ʻo hangē ko e fakafefeka ʻe he kakai ʻIsipite mo Felo honau loto? ʻI he hili ʻene fai ʻae ngaahi meʻa mana ʻiate kinautolu, ʻikai naʻa nau tukuange ʻae kakai ke ʻalu, pea nau ʻalu ai?
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.
Pea ko ia, mou ngaohi ʻae saliote foʻou, pea toʻo ʻae ongo pulu fefine ʻoku huhuʻa, ʻaia kuo teʻeki hoko ki ai ha haʻamonga, pea nonoʻo ʻae ongo manu ki he saliote, pea ʻomi hona ʻuhiki ki ʻapi meiate kinaua:
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.
Pea hiki ʻae puha tapu ʻo Sihova, ʻo fakaheka ia ki he saliote; pea ʻai ʻae ngaahi teunga koula ʻaia ʻoku mou ʻatu ko e feilaulau ʻi he angahala, ʻai ia ki he puha ʻe taha ʻi hono kaokao; pea fekau ke ʻave ia, koeʻuhi ke ʻalu ia.
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.”
Pea vakai, kapau ʻoku ʻalu ia ʻi he hala ki hono fonua ki Pete-Semesi, ko e moʻoni kuo ne fai ʻae mamahi lahi ni kiate kitautolu: pea kapau ʻoku ʻikai, pea tau toki ʻilo tā ʻoku ʻikai ko hono nima kuo taaʻi ʻakitautolu, ka ko e kovi kuo hoko tuʻungaʻa pē kiate kitautolu.”
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.
Pea naʻe fai ia ʻe he kau tangata naʻe ʻomi ʻae ongo sinamanu, ʻo nonoʻo ʻakinaua ki he saliote, kae tāpuni hona ʻuhiki ʻi ʻapi:
11 They put in the cart Yahweh’s sacred chest and the box with the models of the gold rats and the tumors.
Pea naʻa nau hilifaki ʻae puha tapu ki he saliote, pea mo e ʻaiʻanga ʻoe kumā koula mo e ngaahi fakatātā ki honau hangatāmaki.
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.
Pea naʻe ʻalu ʻae ongo sināmanu ʻi he hala totonu, ʻi he hala ki Pete-Semesi, ʻo ʻalu ai pe ʻi he hala motuʻa, ʻo tangi pe mo ʻalu, pea naʻe ʻikai te na tafoki ki he nima toʻomataʻu pe ki he toʻohema; pea naʻe muimui ki ai ʻae houʻeiki ʻoe kakai Filisitia ʻo aʻu ki he veʻe fonua ʻo Pete-Semesi.
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.
Pea naʻe lolotonga ʻae tuʻusi ʻae toʻukai uite ʻe he kakai ʻo Pete-Semesi ʻi he teleʻa: pea naʻa nau hiki hake honau mata, ʻo mamata ki he puha tapu, pea naʻa nau fiefia ʻi he sio ki ai.
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.
Pea naʻe haʻu ʻae saliote ki he ngoue ʻa Siosiua ko e tangata Pete-Semesi pea tuʻu ʻi ai, ʻi he potu naʻe ʻi ai ʻae fuʻu maka lahi: pea naʻa nau tafahi ʻae ʻakau ʻoe saliote, ʻo feilaulau ʻaki ʻae ongo sināmanu, ko e feilaulau tutu kia Sihova.
Pea naʻe fakahifo ʻe he kau Livai ʻae puha tapu ʻo Sihova, pea mo e puha ʻaia naʻe ʻi ai ʻae ngaahi teunga koula, ʻo ʻai ia ki he funga ʻoe maka lahi: naʻe ʻatu ʻe he kau tangata ʻo Pete-Semesi ʻae ngaahi feilaulau tutu, ʻo feilaulau ʻaki ʻae ngaahi feilaulau kia Sihova ʻi he ʻaho ko ia.
16 The five kings from the Philistia area watched all this, and then they returned to Ekron, that same day.
Pea ʻi he mamata ki ai ʻae houʻeiki ʻe toko nima ʻoe kakai Filisitia, naʻa nau liu mai ki Ekiloni ʻi he ʻaho ko ia.
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].
Pea ko e ngaahi meaʻi koula ʻe nima ko eni ʻaia naʻe ʻatu ʻe he kau Filisitia ko e feilaulau ʻi he angahala kia Sihova; ko e taha ki ʻAsitoti, ko e taha ki Kesa, ko e taha ki ʻAsikeloni, ko e taha ki Kati, pea taha ki Ekiloni;
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].
Pea naʻe nima ʻae kumā koula ʻo fakatatau ki he ngaahi kolo kotoa pē ʻae houʻeiki ʻe toko nima ʻoe kakai Filisitia, ʻae ngaahi kolo tau mo e ngaahi potu kakai ʻi ʻuta, ʻo aʻu atu ki he maka lahi ko ʻEpeli, ʻaia naʻa nau hifo ki ai ʻae puha tapu ʻo Sihova: ʻae maka ko ia ʻoku kei tuʻu, ʻi he ngoue ʻa Siosiua ko e Pete-Semesi ʻo aʻu ki he ʻaho ni.
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.
Pea naʻa ne teʻia ʻae kau tangata ʻo Pete-Semesi, ko e meʻa ʻi heʻenau fakasiosio ki he loto puha tapu ʻo Sihova, ʻio, naʻa ne taaʻi ʻae tangata ʻe toko nima mano ma toko fitungofulu: pea naʻe tangilāulau ʻae kakai, he kuo taaʻi ʻe Sihova ʻae kakai ʻi he tā lahi ʻaupito.
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?”
Pea naʻe pehē ʻe he kau tangata ʻo Pete-Semesi, “Ko hai ʻoku mafai ke tuʻu ʻi he ʻao ʻo Sihova, ko e ʻOtua māʻoniʻoni ni? Pea ʻe ʻalu hake ia kia hai meiate kitautolu?”
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!”
Pea naʻa nau fekau ʻae kau talafekau ki he kakai ʻo Kesa-Sialimi, ke pehē, “Kuo toe ʻomi ʻe he kakai Filisitia ʻae puha tapu ʻo Sihova; mou omi ʻo haʻamo hake ia kiate kimoutolu.”
