2 Samuel 2
1 Some time after that, David asked Yahweh, “Should I go back to [live in] one of the towns in Judah?” Yahweh replied, “Yes, go up there.” Then David asked, “To which town should I go?” Yahweh replied, “To Hebron.”
Le ɣeyiɣi aɖe megbe la, David bia Yehowa be, “Mayi Yuda duawo dometɔ ɖeka mea?” Yehowa ɖo eŋu be, “Ɛ̃, yi.” David gabiae be, “Du ka mee mayi?” Yehowa ɖo eŋu be, “Yi Hebron.”
2 So David went up there, taking his two wives, Ahinoam who was from Jezreel [city], and Abigail, the widow of Nabal from Carmel [city].
Ale David kplɔ srɔ̃awo, Ahinoam tso Yezreel kple Abigail, Nabal ƒe ahosi tso Karmel,
3 He also took the men who had been with him, and their families. They all started to live in villages near Hebron.
eƒe amewo kple wo srɔ̃wo kple wo viwo katã eye woyi Hebron.
4 Then the men of Judah came to Hebron, and [one of] them poured olive oil on David’s head [to show they were appointing him to be] [MTY] the king of the tribe [MTY] of Judah. When David found out that the people of Jabesh [town] in [the] Gilead [region] had buried Saul’s body,
Yuda ƒe kplɔlawo va ɖo David fiae ɖe Yuda ƒe dukɔ ƒoƒuwo nu. Esi David se be Yabes Gileadtɔwo ɖi Saul la,
5 he sent messengers to the men of Jabesh to tell them this: “I desire/hope that Yahweh will bless you for having shown, by burying the body of Saul your king, that you were loyal to him.
eɖo du ɖe wo be, “Yehowa nayra mi le ale si miewɔ nuteƒe na miaƒe aƒetɔ eye mieɖii kple bubu la ta.
6 Now I also desire/hope that Yahweh will faithfully love you and be loyal to you. And I will do good things for you because of what you have done [for Saul].
Yehowa nave mia nu eye wòatsɔ eƒe lɔlɔ̃ ƒe ɖeɖefia kple nyateƒe aɖo eteƒe na mi. Nye hã mave mia nu le nu si miewɔ la ta.
7 Now, although Saul your king is dead, be strong and courageous, like the people of Judah, who have appointed me to be their king.”
Azɔ la, mele biabiam tso mia si be esi Saul ku la, mianye nye ame sesẽwo, eye miawɔ nuteƒe nam. Minɔ abe Yuda ƒe viwo, ame siwo tsɔm ɖo woƒe Fia yeye ene.”
8 [While this was happening], Ner’s son Abner, the commander of Saul’s army, took Saul’s son Ishbosheth and went across [the Jordan River] to Mahanaim [town].
Ke Abner, Saul ƒe aʋafia do ŋgɔ yi Mahanaim be yeatsɔ Saul ƒe viŋutsu Is Boset aɖo fiae,
9 There Abner proclaimed that Ishbosheth was now the king of [the] Gilead [region] and of the tribe of Asher and the region of Jezreel and the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin. That meant that he was the king of all of the people of Israel.
be wòaɖu fia ɖe Gilead, Asuri, Yezreel, Efraim, Benyamin kple Israel ƒe akpa bubuawo keŋ dzi.
10 Ishbosheth was 40 years old when he started to rule over the people of Israel. He ruled them for two years. But the tribe of Judah (was loyal to David/wanted David to be their king),
Exɔ ƒe blaene hafi woɖoe fiae eye wòɖu Israel dzi ƒe eve. Ke Yuda ƒe viwo nɔ David yome
11 and he ruled them for seven and a half years while he was living in Hebron.
eye wòɖu fia le Hebron ɖe Yuda dzi ƒe adre kple afã.
12 [One day] Abner and the officials of Isbosheth went from Mahanaim [across the Jordan River] to Gibeon [city].
Gbe ɖeka la, Aʋafia Abner kplɔ Is Boset ƒe aʋawɔlawo tso Mahanaim yi Gibeon,
13 Joab, whose mother was Zeruiah, and some of David’s officials [went from Hebron to Gibeon, and] met at the pool there. They all sat down, the one group on one side of the pool and the other group on the other side.
eye Aʋafia Yoab, Zeruya ƒe vi, hã kplɔ David ƒe aʋakɔ be woado go wo. Wodo go le Gibeon ta la to eye wonɔ ta la ƒe akpa eveawo dzi, dze ŋgɔ wo nɔewo.
14 Abner said to Joab, “Let’s tell some of our young men to fight each other!” Joab replied, “Okay!”
Abner gblɔ na Yoab be, “Mina míaƒe ɖekakpuiawo nawɔ fefe kple woƒe yiwo míakpɔ!” Yoab lɔ̃ hegblɔ bena, “Enyo, na ne woawɔe.”
15 So twelve men from the tribe of Benjamin fought for Ishbosheth, against twelve of David’s soldiers.
Ale aʋakɔ eveawo dometɔ ɖe sia ɖe tia ɖekakpui wuieve na Benyamin kple Saul vi Is Boset eye wuieve bubu na David.
16 Each of them grabbed the head of the man against whom he was fighting, and thrust his sword into that man’s side. The result was that all 24 of them fell down dead. So that area in Gibeon is now called ‘Field of Swords’.
Ame sia ame lé nɔvia ƒe ɖa eye wòtɔ yi axadame na nɔvia. Ale wo katã ku. Woyɔa teƒe ma le Gibeon va se ɖe egbe be “Yi ƒe gbedzi.”
17 Then [the others started to fight]. It was a very fierce battle. Abner and the men of Israel were defeated by David’s soldiers.
Aʋakɔ eveawo de asi aʋawɔwɔ me azɔ eye hafi zã nado la, Yoab kple David ƒe amewo ɖu Abner kple eƒe amewo tso Israel dzi.
18 Zeruiah’s three sons were there [on that day]: Joab, Abishai, and Asahel. Asahel was able to run very fast; he could run as fast as a wild gazelle/antelope.
Yoab nɔviŋutsuwo, Abisai kple Asahel hã nɔ aʋawɔlawo dome. Asahel ƒua du abe zi ene
19 Asahel started to pursue Abner. He ran straight toward Abner, without stopping.
eye eya ɖeka kplɔ Abner ɖo. Medze ɖe ɖusi alo mia me le Abner yome o.
20 Abner looked behind him, and said “Is that you, Asahel?” Asahel replied, “Yes!”
Esi Abner nye kɔ kpɔ megbe eye wòkpɔ Asahel wògbɔna la, ebiae be, “Wòe nye ema, Asahel?” Asahel ɖo eŋu be, “Ɛ̃, nyee!”
21 Abner yelled at him, “Turn to one side or the other, [and pursue someone else]!” But Asahel would not stop pursuing Abner.
Abner gblɔ nɛ be, “Ti ame bubu yome!” Ke Asahel gbe eye wòyi eyometiti dzi.
22 So Abner yelled at him again, “Stop (chasing after/pursuing) me! (Why should I kill you?/It would not be good for me to kill you!) [RHQ] If I did that, (how could I (face/be reconciled with) your brother Joab?/it would be very difficult for me to (face/be reconciled with) your brother Joab.) [RHQ]”
Abner gado ɣli gblɔ nɛ be, “Dzo le afi sia. Ne mewu wò la, nyemate ŋu anɔ te ɖe nɔviwò Yoab nu o.”
23 But Asahel refused to stop pursuing Abner. So Abner [suddenly turned and] thrust the butt end of his spear into Asahel’s stomach. Because he thrust it very strongly, that end of the spear [went though Asahel’s body and] came out at his back, and he fell to the ground, dead. All the other soldiers who came to the place where his body was lying stopped and stood there, [stunned].
Ke egbe, megbugbɔ o. Ale Abner ƒo akplɔ ɖe dɔ me nɛ eye akplɔ la ŋɔe do ɖe eƒe dzime. Edze anyi, heku eye ame sia ame si va ɖo afi si wòmlɔ la tɔna ɖe afi ma.
24 But Joab and Abishai continued to pursue Abner. At sunset they came to Ammah Hill, which is east of Giah, along the road to the desert near Gibeon.
Azɔ la, Yoab kple Abisai ti Abner yome. Ɣe la nɔ to ɖom esi wova ɖo Ama togbɛ la gbɔ le Gia lɔƒo le mɔ si yi Gibeon gbegbe la dzi.
25 The men from the tribe of Benjamin gathered around Abner in one group, and stood at the top of a hill.
Abner ƒe aʋawɔlawo tso Benyamin ƒe to la me ƒu asaɖa anyi ɖe to la tame.
26 Then Abner called out to Joab, saying “Are we going to continue to fight forever [RHQ]? Do you not realize that [if we continue fighting], the result will be very bad [RHQ]? We are all descendants of Jacob. [So we should stop fighting each other] (How long will it be until you tell your soldiers to stop pursuing us?/Tell your soldiers to stop pursuing us.)” [RHQ]
Abner do ɣli gblɔ na Yoab be, “Ɖe míatsɔ míaƒe yiwo anɔ mía nɔewo wuwu dzi ɖaa? Ɣe ka ɣie nàna wò amewo nagbugbɔ le wo nɔviwo yome?”
27 Joab replied, “Just as surely as God lives, if you had not said that, my soldiers would have continued pursuing your men until tomorrow morning!”
Yoab ɖo eŋu be, “Metsɔ Mawu ka atam be, ne menye ɖe nèƒo nu o gɔ̃ hã la, anye ne mí katã míatrɔ adzo, ayi aƒe me etsɔ ŋdi.”
28 So Joab blew a trumpet [to signal that they should stop fighting]. So all his men did that. They did not pursue the soldiers of Israel any more, and they stopped fighting.
Tete Yoab ku kpẽ eye eƒe amewo dzudzɔ Israel ƒe aʋakɔ la yometiti.
29 That night Abner and his soldiers went through the Jordan [River] Valley. They crossed the Jordan [River] and marched all the next morning, and they finally arrived at Mahanaim.
Gbe ma gbe fiẽ la, Abner kple eƒe amewo gbugbɔ to Araba. Woyi Yɔdan ƒe balime, tso tɔsisi la eye wozɔ mɔ le zã va se ɖe ŋufɔke ŋdi hafi woɖo Mahanaim.
30 Joab [and his soldiers] stopped pursuing Abner. And when he gathered all his soldiers together, he found out that in addition to Asahel, only 19 of them had been killed in the battle.
Yoab trɔ le Abner yome eye ekple eƒe amewo hã trɔ yi aƒe. Esi wòxlẽ eƒe amewo kpɔ la, ede dzesii be ame wuiasiekɛ koe tsi aʋa hekpe ɖe Asahel ŋu.
31 But David’s soldiers had killed 360 of Abner’s men, all from the tribe of Benjamin.
Ke Abner ƒe ame alafa etɔ̃ blaade, ame siwo tso Benyamin ƒe to la me la ku.
32 [Some of Joab’s soldiers] took Asahel’s body and buried it in the tomb where his father had been buried, in Bethlehem. Then they marched all during the night, and at dawn they arrived [back home] at Hebron.
Yoab kple eƒe amewo kɔ Asahel ƒe kukua yi Betlehem eye woɖii ɖe fofoa xa. Le esia megbe la, wozɔ mɔ to zã blibo la me eye woɖo Hebron le ŋdi.
