Judges 8
1 Then the descendants of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you acted toward us like this? When you went out to fight against the people of Midian, why did you not summon us [to help you]?” They rebuked Gideon severely.
E GLI uomini di Efraim gli dissero: Che cosa è questo che tu ci hai fatto, di non averci chiamati, quando tu sei andato a combattere contro a Madian? E contesero aspramente con lui.
2 But Gideon replied, “I have done [RHQ] very little compared with what you have done! My small clan of descendants of Abiezer only started the battle, but [your very large group of] descendants of Ephraim [helped me to finish the task very well. It is like] the final grapes of the harvest being much better than the first grapes that are picked.
Ma egli disse loro: Che ho io ora fatto al par di voi? il raspollar d'Efraim non vale egli meglio che la vendemmia d'Abiezer?
3 God enabled you to defeat Oreb and Zeeb, the generals of the army from Midian. That is [RHQ] much more important than what I did!” After Gideon told them that, they no longer resented what he had done.
Iddio vi ha dati i Capi de' Madianiti, Oreb, e Zeeb, nelle mani; e che ho io potuto fare al par di voi? Allora, dopo ch'ebbe loro così parlato, il lor cruccio contro a lui si acquetò.
4 Then Gideon and his 300 men [went east and] crossed the Jordan [River]. Although they were very tired, they continued to pursue their enemies.
Or Gedeone arrivò al Giordano, e, passandolo con que' trecent'uomini ch'[erano] con lui, [i quali] stanchi [come erano], pur perseguitavano [i Madianiti],
5 When they arrived at Succoth [town], Gideon said to the town leaders, “Please give my men some food! They are very tired. We are pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
disse a que' di Succot: Deh! date alcuni pezzi di pane alla gente che [è] al mio seguito; perciocchè [sono] stanchi, e io perseguito Zeba, e Salmunna, re di Madian.
6 But the leaders of Succoth replied, “You have not caught [RHQ] Zebah and Zalmunna yet. So why should we give food to your troops [now? Catch them first, and then we will give you food].”
Ma i principali di Succot risposero: Hai tu già in mano le palme di Zeba e di Salmunna, che noi diamo del pane al tuo esercito?
7 Gideon replied, “[Because you said that], after Yahweh enables us to defeat Zebah and Zalmunna, we will return. And then we will make whips from thorns from the desert, and with them we will rip the flesh off your bones!”
E Gedeone rispose: Perciò, quando il Signore mi avrà dato nelle mani Zeba e Salmunna, io vi sminuzzerò le carni con delle spine del deserto, e con triboli.
8 From there, Gideon [and his 300 men] went to Peniel and asked for food there, but the people gave him the same answer.
Poi di là egli salì in Penuel, e parlò a que' di Penuel nella medesima maniera; ed essi gli risposero come que' di Succot aveano risposto.
9 So he said to the men of Peniel, “After I defeat those kings, I will return and tear down this tower!”
Ed egli disse parimente a que' di Penuel: Quando io ritornerò in pace, io disfarò questa torre.
10 By that time, Zebah and Zalmunna had gone to Karkor [town] with 15,000 troops. They were all that were left of the armies that had come from the east. 120,000 of their men had already been killed.
Or Zeba e Salmunna, [erano] in Carcor, co' lor campi d'intorno a quindicimila [uomini, ch'erano] tutti quelli ch'erano rimasti di tutto il campo degli Orientali; e i morti [erano] cenventimila uomini, che potevano trar la spada.
11 Gideon [and his men] went east along the road on which caravans travel. They went past Nobah and Jogbehah [villages] and arrived at the enemy camp by surprise.
E Gedeone salì traendo [al paese di] coloro che abitano in padiglioni, dal lato orientale di Noba, e di Iogbea; e percosse il campo, il qual se ne stava in sicurtà.
12 Zebah and Zalmunna fled, but Gideon’s men pursued them and captured them and all their warriors.
E Zeba, e Salmunna, fuggirono; ma egli li perseguitò, e prese i due re di Madian, Zeba, e Salmunna, e mise in rotta tutto il campo.
13 After that, Gideon and his men [took Zebah and Zalmunna with them and] started to return, going through Heres Pass.
Poi Gedeone, figliuolo di Ioas, se ne ritornò dalla battaglia, dalla salita di Heres.
14 There he captured a young man from Succoth, and demanded that he write down the names of all of the leaders in the town. The young man wrote down seventy-seven names.
E prese un fanciullo della gente di Succot, e lo domandò; ed egli gli descrisse i principali e gli Anziani di Succot, [ch'erano] settantasette uomini.
15 Then Gideon and his men returned to Succoth and said to those leaders, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. When we were here before, you made fun of me and said ‘You have not [RHQ] caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet! After you catch them, we will give your exhausted men some food.’”
Poi [Gedeone] venne agli uomini di Succot, e disse: Ecco Zeba, e Salmunna, de' quali per ischerno voi mi diceste: Hai tu già nelle mani le palme di Zeba, e di Salmunna, che noi diamo del pane alla tua gente stanca?
16 Then Gideon’s men took the town leaders and whipped them with whips made from briers from the desert, to teach them [that they deserved to be punished for not giving them any food].
Ed egli prese gli Anziani della città, e delle spine del deserto, e de' triboli, e con essi castigò quegli uomini di Succot.
17 Then [they went to] Peniel and tore down the tower, and killed all the men in the town.
Disfece ancora la torre di Penuel, e uccise gli uomini della città.
18 Then Gideon said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “The men you killed near Tabor [Mountain], what did they look like?” They replied, “They were like you; they all looked like they were sons of a king.”
Poi disse a Zeba, ed a Salmunna: Come [erano] quegli uomini che voi uccideste in Tabor? Ed essi risposero: Come tu appunto; ciascuno [di essi] pareva nel sembiante un figliuolo di re.
19 Gideon replied, “They were my brothers! Just as surely as Yahweh lives, I would not kill you if you had not killed them.”
Ed egli disse loro: Essi [erano] miei fratelli, figliuoli di mia madre; [come] il Signore vive, se voi aveste loro salvata la vita, io non vi ucciderei.
20 Then he turned to his oldest son, Jether. He said to him, “Kill them!” But Jether was only a boy, and he was afraid, so he did not pull out his dagger [to kill them].
Poi disse a Ieter, suo primogenito: Levati, uccidili. Ma il fanciullo non trasse fuori la sua spada; perciocchè avea paura; conciossiachè egli [fosse] ancor giovanetto.
21 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Do not ask a young boy to do the work that a man should do!” So Gideon killed both of them. Then he took the gold ornaments from the necks of their camels.
E Zeba, e Salmunna, dissero: Levati su tu, e avventati sopra noi; perciocchè quale [è] l'uomo [tale è] la sua forza. Gedeone adunque si levò, e uccise Zeba, e Salmunna, e prese le borchie che i lor cammelli aveano al collo.
22 Then a group of Israeli men [came to] Gideon and said to him, “You be our ruler! [We want] you and your son and your grandsons [to] be our rulers, because you rescued us from the Midian army.”
E gl'Israeliti dissero a Gedeone: Signoreggia sopra noi, tu, e il tuo figliuolo, e il figliuolo del tuo figliuolo; conciossiachè tu ci abbi salvati dalla mano de' Madianiti.
23 But Gideon replied, “No, I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you. Yahweh will rule over you.”
Ma Gedeone disse loro: Nè io, nè il mio figliuolo, signoreggeremo sopra voi; il Signore signoreggerà sopra voi.
24 Then he said, “I request only one thing. I request that each of you give me one earring from the things you captured after the battle.” [All the men descended from Ishmael wore gold earrings.]
Poi Gedeone disse loro: Io vi farò una richiesta, che ciascun di voi mi dia il monile ch'egli ha predato; perciocchè coloro aveano de' monili d'oro, perchè erano Ismaeliti.
25 They replied, “We will be glad to give earrings to you!” So they spread a cloth [on the ground], and each man threw on it one gold earring that he had taken [from a man he had killed in the battle].
Ed essi dissero: Noi del tutto [te li] daremo. Steso adunque un ammanto, ciascuno vi gittò il monile ch'egli aveva predato.
26 The weight of all the earrings was (43 pounds/19.4 kg.). That did not include other things [that they gave to Gideon]—the other ornaments or the pendants or the clothes that the kings of Midian wore or the gold chains that were on the necks of their camels.
E il peso dei monili d'oro, che [Gedeone] avea chiesti, fu di mille settecento [sicli] d'oro; oltre alle borchie, e alle collane, e a' vestimenti di porpora, che i re di Madian aveano indosso; e oltre a' collari che i cammelli loro aveano al collo.
27 Gideon made/decorated a sacred vest from the gold, and later he put it in his hometown, Ophrah. But soon the Israeli people started to worship the vest. So it became like a trap [MET] for the people, [causing them to worship it instead of worshiping only God].
E Gedeone fece di quell'[oro] un Efod, e lo pose in Ofra, sua città; e tutto Israele fornicò quivi dietro ad esso; e [ciò] fu in laccio a Gedeone e alla sua casa.
28 That is how the Israelis defeated the people from Midian. The people of Midian did not become strong enough to attack Israel again. So while Gideon was alive, there was peace in the land for 40 years.
Così Madian fu depresso davanti a' figliuoli d'Israle, e non alzò più il capo; e il paese ebbe riposo per quarant'anni, a' dì di Gedeone.
29 Gideon went back home to live there.
E Ierubbaal, figliuolo di Ioas, se ne andò, e dimorò in casa sua.
30 He had many wives, and they bore him seventy sons.
Or Gedeone ebbe settanta figliuoli, ch'[erano] usciti della sua anca; conciossiachè egli avesse molte mogli.
31 He also had a slave wife in Shechem [town], who bore him a son whom he named Abimelech.
E la sua concubina, ch'[era] in Sichem, gli partorì anch'essa un figliuolo, al quale egli pose nome Abimelec.
32 Gideon died when he was very old. They buried his body in the grave where his father Joash was buried, at Ophrah, in the land belonging to the descendants of Abiether.
Poi Gedeone, figliolo di Ioas, morì in buona vecchiezza, e fu seppellito nella sepoltura di Ioas, suo padre, in Ofra degli Abiezeriti.
33 But as soon as Gideon died, the Israelis [stopped worshiping God and started worshiping the images of the god Baal, like] [MET] adultresses [leave their husbands and go to sleep with other men]. They made a [statue of a] new god called Baal-Berith.
E, dopo che Gedeone fu morto, i figliuoli d'Israele tornarono a fornicare dietro a' Baali, e si costituirono Baal-berit per dio.
34 They forgot about Yahweh, the one who had rescued them from all their enemies that surrounded them.
E non si ricordarono del Signore Iddio loro, il quale li avea riscossi dalle mani di tutti i lor nemici d'ogn'intorno;
35 And even though Gideon had done many good things for the Israelis, they were not kind to Gideon’s family.
e non usarono benignità inverso la casa di Ierubbaal, [cioè], di Gedeone, secondo tutto il bene ch'egli avea operato inverso Israele.
