Samuel 1 14
1 Gbe ɖeka la, Fiavi Yonatan gblɔ na ɖekakpui si nye eƒe adekplɔvi la be, “Na míato balime la ayi Filistitɔwo ƒe dzɔlawo gbɔ.” Ke megblɔe na fofoa be yeyina o.
One day, Jonathan said to the young man who carried his weapons, “Come with me; we will go over to where the Philistia soldiers have put up their tents.” [So they went], but Jonathan did not tell his father [what they were going to do].
2 Saul kple eƒe aʋawɔla alafa adeawo ƒo ƒu ɖe yevuboɖati la gbɔ le Migron.
On that day, Saul and the 600 soldiers who were with him were sitting around a pomegranate tree at a place where the people threshed grain, near Gibeah.
3 Nunɔla Ahiya si do akɔtawui hã nɔ ameawo dome. Ahiya nye Ahitub, Ikabod nɔvi ƒe vi, eganye Finehas ƒe tɔgbuiyɔvi eye Finehas fofoe nye Eli, Yehowa ƒe nunɔla le Silo. Ke ame aɖeke menya be Yonatan yi o.
Ahijah the priest was also there. He was wearing the sacred vest. Ahijah was the son of Ahitub, who was a brother of Ichabod. Ichabod and Ahitub were the sons of Phinehas, who was the son of Eli, who had been Yahweh’s priest at Shiloh. No one knew that Jonathan had left [the Israeli camp].
4 Hafi Yonatan naɖo Filistitɔwo ƒe dzɔlawo gbɔ la, ele nɛ be wòato mɔ xaxɛ aɖe si to agakpe eve dome la dzi. Woyɔa agakpe ɖeka be Bozez eye woyɔa evelia be Sene.
Jonathan planned that he and the young man would go through a narrow (pass/place between two cliffs) to get to where the Philistia army was. The cliff on one side of the pass was named Bozez, and the other cliff was named Seneh.
5 Agakpe anyiehetɔ nɔ Mikmas ŋgɔ eye dziehetɔ nɔ Geba ŋgɔ.
One cliff faced north toward Micmash, and the cliff on the other side faced south toward Geba [town].
6 Yonatan gblɔ na eƒe adekplɔvi be, “Na míayi aʋamatsomatsoetɔ mawo gbɔ, ɖewohĩ Yehowa awɔ nukunu aɖe na mí elabena amewo ƒe agbɔsɔsɔ menye naneke le Yehowa gbɔ o!”
Jonathan said to the young man who carried his weapons, “Come with me. We will go to where those (pagans/people who do not believe in Yahweh) [MTY] have set up their tents. Perhaps Yahweh will help us. It does not matter whether we are only two men or many people; nothing can hinder Yahweh from enabling us to defeat them.”
7 Adekplɔvi la gblɔ be, “Yoo, wɔ nu si nyo na wò; mele yowòme sesĩe.”
The young man who was carrying Jonathan’s weapons said, “Do what you think is the best thing for us to do. I will help you.”
8 Yonatan gblɔ nɛ be, “Enyo, nu si míawɔ enye
Then Jonathan said, “Okay, come with me. We will cross the valley to where the Philistia army is, and allow them to see us.
9 ne futɔwo kpɔ mí eye wogblɔ be, ‘Mitɔ ɖe afi ma ne menye nenema o la, míawu mi’ la, ekema míatɔ alala wo.
If they then say to us, ‘You two stay there until we come down to you,’ we will stay there and not go up to them.
10 Ke ne wogblɔ be, ‘Milia toa miava wɔ aʋa kpli mí’ la, ekema míawɔ nenema tutututu elabena eyae anye dzesi be Yehowa tsɔ wo de asi na mí.”
But if they say to us, ‘Come up here [and fight against] us,’ that will show us that Yahweh will enable us to defeat them. Then we will go up and fight them.”
11 Esi Filistitɔwo kpɔ wo wogbɔna la, wodo ɣli be, “Mikpɔ ɖa, Israelviwo le dodom le woƒe dowo me!”
When the two of them crossed the valley, the Philistia soldiers saw them coming. They said, “Look! The Hebrews are crawling out of the holes in which they have been hiding!”
12 Wodo ɣli na Yonatan be, “Lia toa nàva kpɔ nane ɖa.” Yonatan gblɔ na eƒe adekplɔvi be, “Lia toa eye nànɔ yonyeme tututu elabena Yehowa akpe ɖe mía ŋu míaɖu wo dzi!”
Then the Philistia soldiers who were closest to Jonathan and the young man who carried his weapons said, “Come up here, and we will teach you something [about how to fight] [IDM]!” Jonathan said to the young man who was with him, “Come behind me and climb up, because Yahweh is going to help us to defeat them!”
13 Ale wota le asi kple klo dzi yi wo gbɔ, kasia Filistitɔwo de asi sisi me esi Yonatan kple eƒe adekplɔvi la de asi wo wuwu me.
So Jonathan climbed up, using his hands and his feet [because it was very steep]. The young man climbed up following him. As Jonathan climbed, he struck and killed many Philistia soldiers, and the young man who was with him killed many more as he followed behind Jonathan.
14 Wowu wo dometɔ blaeve eye ame kukuawo kaka ɖe teƒe si de agbleka afã.
In that first battle the two of them killed about 20 Philistia soldiers in an area that was about half an acre.
15 Nu sia na Filistitɔwo ƒe aʋawɔlawo kple nuhalawo sia vɔ̃ eye wotɔtɔ. Hekpe ɖe esia ŋu la anyigba ʋuʋu sesĩe eye vɔvɔ̃ gaɖo futɔwo wu tsã elabena ŋɔdzi la tso Mawu gbɔ.
Then all the other Philistia soldiers, the ones in the camp and the ones who had been attacking the Israeli towns, ones who were out in the field much closer, panicked. Then God caused the ground to shake, and they all became terrified/very afraid.
16 Saul ƒe gbetakpɔlawo le Benyamin ƒe Gibea kpɔ nu wɔnuku aɖe: wokpɔ Filistitɔwo ƒe aʋawɔlawo nɔ sisim tso afii yi afi mɛ.
Saul’s (lookouts/men who were watching to see if enemies were coming) were in Gibeah [town] in the land of the tribe of Benjamin. They saw that the soldiers of the Philistia army were running away in all directions.
17 Saul gblɔ na eƒe amewo be, “Mikpɔe ɖa be ame kae mele afi sia o.” Esi woxlẽ ameawo la, wokpɔ be Yonatan kple eƒe adekplɔvi menɔ wo dome o.
Saul [realized that some of his soldiers must have attacked the Philistia army. So he] said to the soldiers who were with him, “Check to see if any of our men are not here.” So they checked, and they found out that Jonathan and the man who carried his weapons were gone.
18 Saul do ɣli gblɔ na Ahiya be, “Mitsɔ Mawu ƒe nubablaɖaka la vɛ!” nubablaɖaka la nɔ Israelviwo dome ɣe ma ɣi.
So Saul said to Ahijah [the Supreme Priest], “Bring the sacred vest here [and find out what we should do].” On that day Ahijah was wearing the sacred vest, going in front of the Israelis.
19 Ke esi Saul nɔ nu ƒom na nunɔlaa la, Filistitɔwo ƒe ɣlidodo kple ʋunyaʋunyawɔwɔ le woƒe asaɖa me nɔ dzi dem ɖe edzi. Saul gblɔ be, “Netsɔ! Nya kae Yehowa gblɔ?”
But while Saul was talking to the priest, [he saw that] the Philistia soldiers were becoming more panicked/confused. So Saul said to Ahijah, “Take your hand down [from the sacred vest. Do not waste any more time using the marked stones in the vest to find out what Yahweh wants us to do.”]
20 Saul kple eƒe ame alafa adeawo zɔ ɖe Filistitɔwo dzi. Wokpɔ be wonɔ wo nɔewo wum ko nyamanyama.
Then Saul gathered his men and they went toward the battle. They found that the Philistia soldiers were so confused that they were striking each other with their swords.
21 Hebritɔ siwo nɔ Filistitɔwo ƒe aʋakɔ me tsã la, dze aglã eye wodzo va de Israelvi siwo le Saul kple Yonatan ŋu la dzi.
Before that, some of the Hebrew men had deserted their army and gone to join with the Philistia army. But now those men [revolted and] joined with Saul and Jonathan and the other Israeli soldiers.
22 Mlɔeba la, esi Israelvi siwo ɣla wo ɖokuiwo ɖe Efraim toawo dzi la kpɔ be Filistitɔwo nɔ sisim la, woawo hã va kpe ɖe wo nɔviwo ŋu wonya Filistitɔwo ɖe du nu.
Some of the Israeli soldiers had previously run away and hidden in the mountains where the tribe of Ephraim lived. But when they heard that the Philistia soldiers were running away, they [came down and] joined the other Israeli soldiers and pursued the Philistia soldiers.
23 Ale Yehowa ɖe Israel gbe ma gbe eye wowɔ aʋa la dze le Bet Aven ŋu.
So Yahweh rescued the Israelis on that day. The Israeli soldiers continued to pursue their enemies beyond Beth-Aven [town].
24 Ale Israelviwo ɖo xaxa gã aɖe me gbe ma gbe elabena Saul bla ameawo kple atam be, “Fiƒode ava ame si aɖu nu hafi fiẽ naɖo la dzi eye ame aɖeke mekpɔ mɔ aɖu nu o, va se ɖe esime mabia hlɔ̃ nye futɔwo!” Ale ame aɖeke meɖu nu la aʋakɔ me gbe ma gbe o.
Before Saul’s soldiers went to the battle, Saul declared to them solemnly, “I do not want any of you to eat any food before this evening, before we have defeated all our enemies. If anyone eats anything, [Yahweh] will curse/punish him.” So none of the Israeli soldiers ate any food, and they became faint/weak because they were very hungry.
25 Aʋakɔ blibo la ge ɖe ave la me eye wokpɔ anyitsi le anyigba.
The Israeli army went into the forest, and they found honeycombs on the ground, but they did not eat any honey.
26 Esi wole avea me la, wokpɔ anyitsi wole dzidzim gake ame aɖeke mede asi eme ɖuɖɔ o, elabena wovɔ̃ Saul ƒe atam si wòka la.
They were afraid to eat any, because they had solemnly promised that they would not eat any food.
27 Ke Yonatan ya mese se si fofoa de o eya ta wòtsɔ eƒe atikplɔ tɔ anyitsia me heno eye ŋusẽ gaɖo eŋu.
But Jonathan did not hear what his father commanded [because he had left the camp very early in the morning]. So [when he saw] a honeycomb, he dipped the end of his walking stick into it and ate some honey. After he ate the honey, he felt stronger.
28 Ke ame aɖe gblɔ nɛ be fofoa, Saul, ƒo fi de ame sia ame si aɖu nane gbe ma gbe la, evɔ dɔwuame na ame sia ame gbɔdzɔ hafi.
But one of the Israeli soldiers saw him and said to him, “Your father solemnly declared to us that [Yahweh] would curse/punish anyone who ate any food today. So now we are [very tired and] weak from being hungry [because we obeyed him].”
29 Yonatan gblɔ be, “Se sesẽ kae nye esi fofonye de na ameawo? Se sia agblẽ nu le mía ŋu boŋ. Mikpɔ ale si ŋusẽ ɖo menye esi meno anyitsi sue sia ɖa!
Jonathan exclaimed, “My father has caused trouble for all of us! See how refreshed/strong I am after eating a little honey!
30 Nenye ɖe woɖe mɔ be ameawo naɖu nu si wokpɔ le futɔwo dome la, anye ne míagate ŋu awu futɔ gbogbo aɖewo wu esia gɔ̃ hã.”
If he had permitted all of us to eat from the food we took from our enemies while we were pursuing them, we would have been able to kill many more of their soldiers!”
31 Ke wotsɔ dɔwuame nya Filistitɔwo eye wowu wo tso Mikmas yi Aiyalon ke, le esime woƒe ɖeɖiteameŋu nu ganɔ sesẽm ɖe edzi.
The Israelis pursued and killed Philistia soldiers all that day, from Micmash [town west] to Aijalon. But they continued to become weaker from being hungry.
32 Gbe ma gbe fiẽ la, wowu alẽ, nyi kple nyivi siwo woha le aʋa la me eye woɖu woƒe lã kple ʋua katã nenema.
They had taken [many] sheep and cattle that the Philistia soldiers had abandoned. Now, because they were extremely hungry, they butchered some of those animals and ate the meat without draining the blood from the animals.
33 Ame aɖe gblɔ nya si dzɔ la na Saul be ameawo nɔ nu vɔ̃ wɔm ɖe Yehowa ŋu to nuɖuɖu me. Saul gblɔ be, “Nu sia mesɔ kura o! Mimli kpe gã aɖe vɛ nam
One of the soldiers told Saul, “Look! The men are sinning against Yahweh by eating meat that still has blood in it!” Saul replied [to the men who were near him], “They have disobeyed Yahweh! Roll a large stone over here!”
34 eye miagblɔ na ameawo be woahe nyiawo kple alẽwo ava wu le afi sia eye woatsyɔ ʋu le wo me ale be womawɔ nu vɔ̃ ɖe Yehowa ŋu to ʋuɖuɖu me o.” Ale ame ɖe sia ɖe kplɔ eƒe nyi ɖe asi yi le zã ma me eye wowu wo le afi ma.
After they did that, he said to those men, “Go and tell all the soldiers that each of them must bring an ox or a sheep to me, and kill it here on this stone, [and drain the blood] before he eats any of the meat. They should not sin against Yahweh by eating meat [from some animal] without draining its blood.” So that night all the soldiers brought animals and slaughtered them there. Then Saul built an altar to [worship] Yahweh.
35 Saul ɖi eƒe vɔsamlekpui gbãtɔ na Yehowa.
That was the first [time that he built an] altar for Yahweh.
36 Le esia megbe la, Saul gblɔ be, “Mina míanya Filistitɔwo to zã blibo la me eye míawu ame siwo susɔ la dometɔ ɖe sia ɖe.” Ameawo lɔ̃ ɖe edzi be, “Enyo; wɔ nu sia nu si dze ŋuwò.” Ke nunɔla la gblɔ be, “Mina míabia Mawu gbã.”
Then Saul said [to the Israeli soldiers], “Let’s pursue the Philistia soldiers tonight. We can attack them all night. We will not allow any of them to escape alive.” The Israeli soldiers answered, “We will do whatever you think is the best thing for us to do.” But the priest said, “We should ask Yahweh [what he thinks we should do].”
37 Ale Saul bia Mawu be, “Ɖe míayi Filistitɔwo nyanya dzia? Ɖe nàkpe ɖe mía ŋu míaɖu wo dzia?” Ke Yehowa meɖo nya aɖeke ŋu le zã blibo la me o.
So Saul asked God, “Should we pursue the Philistine soldiers? Will you enable us to defeat them?” But God did not answer Saul that day.
38 Ale Saul gblɔ na kplɔlawo be, “Ame aɖe wɔ nu vɔ̃ ɖe Mawu ŋu, ele be míadze si nu vɔ̃ si míewɔ egbe.
Then Saul summoned all the leaders of his army. He said to them, “[I am sure that God has not answered me because] someone has sinned. We must find out what sin someone has committed.
39 Mele atam kam na Mawu ame si ɖe Israel dukɔ la be, nenye nye ŋutɔ vinye, Yonatan kurae wɔ nu vɔ̃ sia hã la aku kokoko.” Ke womekpɔ ame si wɔ nu vɔ̃ la o.
Yahweh has rescued us [from the Philistia army]. Just as certain as Yahweh lives, whoever has sinned must be executed. Even if it is my son Jonathan who has sinned, he must be executed.” [His men knew who was guilty], but none of them said anything [to Saul].
40 Tete Saul gblɔ na Israelviwo katã be, “Mitsi tsitre ɖe afi ma ke nye kple vinye Yonatan míatsi tsitre ɖe afii.” Ameawo ɖo eŋu nɛ be, “Wɔ nu sia nu si ke nyo na wo.”
Then Saul said to all the Israeli soldiers, “You stand on one side. My son Jonathan and I will stand on the other side.” His men replied, “Do whatever you think is best.”
41 Ale Saul do gbe ɖa na Yehowa, Israel ƒe Mawu la be. “Nu ka ŋuti mètɔ na wò dɔla egbea o? Ne vodada la le menye alo vinye, Yonatan me la, ekema ɖo eŋu na mí to Urim dzi, gake nenye Israelviwo mee agɔdzedze la le la, tɔ na mí to Tumim dzi.” Ale wodzidze nu ɖe Yonatan kple Saul dzi eye wòdze wo dzi ale womebu fɔ ameawo o.
Then Saul prayed to Yahweh, the Israelis’ God, “Tell me who is guilty and who is not guilty.” Then the priest (cast lots/threw the stones that were marked), and they indicated that it was [either] Jonathan or Saul who was the guilty one, and that the other men were not guilty.
42 Azɔ Saul gblɔ be, “Midzidze nu ɖe nye kple Yonatan dzi.” Esi woagadzidze nua la, edze Yonatan dzi.
Then Saul said to the priest, “Throw the stones again to indicate which of us two is guilty.” So he did, and the stones indicated that Jonathan was the guilty one.
43 Saul gblɔ na Yonatan be, “Vinye, nu kae nèwɔ?” Yonatan gblɔ be, “Meɖɔ anyitsi sue aɖe kpɔ, sue aɖe si nɔ nye atikplɔ ŋu koe meɖuɖɔ, ke azɔ la medze na ku.”
Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done [that was wrong].” Jonathan replied, “I ate a little bit of honey. It was only a little bit that was on the end of my stick. Do I [deserve to be] executed [because of doing that]?”
44 Saul gblɔ be, “Ɛ̃, Yonatan, ele be nàku, Mawu neƒom ƒu anyi maku ne womewu wò ɖe nu sia ta o.”
Saul replied, “Yes, you must be executed! I hope/wish that God will strike me and kill me if you are not executed for having done that!”
45 Ke aʋawɔlawo ɖo eŋu be, “Yonatan, ame si ɖe Israel egbea nakua? Gbeɖe! Míeka atam kple Mawu ƒe agbe be ame aɖeke maka asi Yonatan ƒe taɖa ɖeka pɛ gɔ̃ hã ŋu o elabena Mawu wɔ eŋu dɔ hewɔ nukunu triakɔ aɖe egbe.” Ale ameawo xɔ na Yonatan.
But the Israeli soldiers said to Saul, “Jonathan has won a great victory for all us Israelis. Should he be executed for eating some honey [RHQ]? Certainly not! Just as surely as Yahweh lives, we will not allow you to injure him in any manner [IDM], [because] today God helped Jonathan [to kill many soldiers of the Philistia army]!” So [by saying that] the Israeli soldiers rescued Jonathan, and he was not executed.
46 Saul na aʋawɔlawo gbugbɔ eye Filistitɔwo trɔ yi aƒe.
Then Saul ordered his soldiers to stop pursuing the Philistia army, so the Philistia soldiers returned to their homes.
47 Esi Saul zu fia ɖe Israel dzi la, ewɔ aʋa kple woƒe futɔwo le akpa sia akpa dzi: Moabtɔwo, Amonitɔwo, Edomtɔwo, Zoba fiawo kple Filistitɔwo siaa. Afi sia afi si ke wotrɔ ɖo la, eɖua wo dzi vevie.
After Saul became the ruler/king of the Israeli people, his army fought against their enemies in many areas. They fought against armies of the Moab people-group, the Ammon people-group, the Edom people-group, the kings of Zobah [city/area], and the Philistia people-group. Wherever the Israeli army fought, they defeated their enemies.
48 Ewɔ aʋa kalẽtɔe, ɖu Amalekitɔwo dzi eye wòɖe Israel tso ame siwo katã ha wo la si me.
Saul’s army fought bravely and defeated the [very tall] descendants of Amalek. His army rescued the Israelis from those who had (plundered/forcefully taken things from) them.
49 Viŋutsu etɔ̃, Yonatan, Isvi kple Malki Sua kple vinyɔnu eve, Merab kple Mixal nɔ Saul si.
Saul’s sons were Jonathan, Ishbosheth, and Malchishua. He also had two daughters, Merab and her younger sister Michal.
50 Saul srɔ̃e nye Ahinoam, Ahimaaz vinyɔnu. Eƒe aʋafiae nye Abner, etɔɖia Ner viŋutsu
Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. The commander of Saul’s army was Abner, who was the son of Saul’s uncle Ner.
51 Saul fofo, Kis kple Abner fofo, Ner wonye Abiel viŋutsuwo.
Saul’s father Kish and Abner’s father Ner were both sons of Abiel.
52 Israel wɔ aʋa kple Filistitɔwo edziedzi le Saul ƒe agbenɔɣi. Ne Saul kpɔ ɖekakpui sesẽ kalẽtɔ aɖe ko la, ehenɛ dea eƒe aʋakɔ la me.
All the time that Saul was alive, his army fought against the Philistia army. And whenever Saul saw a young man who was (brave/not afraid to fight) and strong, he forced him to join his army.
