Samuel 1 30
1 Le ŋkeke etɔ̃ megbe esi David kple eƒe amewo ɖo wo nɔƒe le Ziklag du la me la, wokpɔ be Amalekitɔwo va ha du la, tɔ dzoe wòbi keŋkeŋkeŋ
Three days later, when David and his men arrived at Ziklag, [they discovered that] men of the Amalek people-group had raided Ziklag and [towns in] the southern part of Judah. They had destroyed Ziklag and burned down all the buildings.
2 eye wokplɔ woƒe nyɔnuwo kple wo viwo dzoe.
They had captured the women [and the children] and everyone else, and had taken them away. But they had not killed anyone.
3 Esi David kple eƒe amewo kpɔ du la ƒe gbagbã kple nu si dzɔ ɖe wo srɔ̃wo kple wo viwo dzi la,
When David and his men came to Ziklag, they saw that the town had been burned, and that their wives and sons and daughters had been captured and taken away.
4 wofa avi va se ɖe esime avifafa glo wo.
David and his men cried loudly, until [they were so weak that] they could not cry [any more].
5 David srɔ̃ eveawo, Ahinoam tso Yezreel kple Abigail, Nabal ƒe ahosi, tso Karmel hã, nɔ ame siwo wokplɔ dzoe la dome.
David’s two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, had also been taken away.
6 Nyadzɔdzɔ sia te ɖe David dzi ŋutɔ, vevietɔ esi David ƒe amewo nɔ nu xam le wo viwo ta la, wode asi gbɔgblɔ me be yewoawui. Ke David tsɔ Yehowa eƒe Mawu do ŋusẽ eɖokui.
David’s men were threatening to [kill him by] throwing stones at him, because they were very angry because their sons and daughters [had been taken away]. David was very distressed, but Yahweh his God gave him strength.
7 David gblɔ na nunɔla Abiata, Ahimelek ƒe vi be wòatsɔ eƒe kɔmewu la vɛ eye Abiata wɔ ɖe edzi.
David [did not know what to do, so he] said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring to me the sacred vest.” So Abiathar brought it,
8 David bia Yehowa be, “Mati wo yomea? Mate ŋu alé woa?” Yehowa gblɔ nɛ be, “Ɛ̃, dze wo yome; àxɔ miaƒe nu sia nu si wotsɔ dzoe la le wo si!”
and David asked Yahweh, “Should I [and my men] pursue the men [who took our families]? Will we [be able to] catch up to them?” Yahweh answered [by means of the stones in Abiathar’s sacred pouch], “Yes, pursue them. You will catch up to them, and you will be able to rescue [your families].”
9 David kple eƒe ame alafa adeawo va ɖo Besor tɔʋu la to, afi si ame aɖewo tsi
So David and the 600 men who were with him left, and they came to the Besor Ravine. Some of his men stayed there [with some of their supplies].
10 elabena ɖeɖi te ame alafa eve ŋu ale gbegbe be womate ŋu atso tɔʋu la o. Ke David kple ame alafa ene yi Amalekitɔwo yometiti dzi.
David and 400 men continued to pursue [the men who captured their families]. The other 200 men stayed there at the ravine, because they were so exhausted that they could not cross the ravine.
11 Wokpɔ Egipte ŋutsu aɖe le gbe me eye wokplɔe vɛ na David. Wona nui wòɖu eye wona tsii wòno.
[As David and the 400 men were going], they saw a man from Egypt in a field; so they took him to David. They gave the man some water to drink and some food to eat.
12 Wotsɔ gbotsetsebolo eve kple waintsetse ƒuƒu eve nɛ. Esi wòɖu nu siawo la, egbɔ agbe elabena meɖu naneke alo no tsi ŋkeke etɔ̃ kple zã etɔ̃ o.
They also gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters/packs of raisins. The man had not had anything to eat or drink for three days and nights, but [after he ate and drank] he felt refreshed.
13 David biae be. “Ame kae nènye eye afi ka nètso?” Ɖekakpui la ɖo eŋu be, “Egiptetɔe menye heganye Amalekitɔ aɖe ƒe subɔla. Nye aƒetɔ gblẽm ɖi egbee nye ŋkeke etɔ̃lia eye nye lãme gblẽ.
David asked him, “Who is your master? And where do you come from?” He replied, “I am from Egypt. I am a slave of a man from the Amalek people-group. Three days ago my master left me here, because I was sick [and I was not able to go with them].
14 Míede ɖaha Keretitɔwo ƒe dziehe kple Yuda ƒe anyigba kple Kaleb nyigba ƒe dziehe, míetɔ dzo Ziklag du la eye míetrɔ va yina.”
We had raided the southern part of Judah where the Kereth people-group live, and some other towns in Judah, and the area south [of Hebron city] where the descendants of Caleb live. We also burned Ziklag [town].”
15 David biae be, “Àte ŋu afia afi si woyi la mía?” Ɖekakpui la ɖo eŋu be, “Ne ètsɔ Mawu ƒe ŋkɔ ka atam nam be yemawum alo atsɔm ade asi na nye aƒetɔ o la, ekema makplɔ wò ayi wo gbɔe.”
David asked him, “Can you lead us to this group of raiders?” He replied, “Yes, [I will do that] if you ask God to listen while you promise that you will not kill me or give me back to my master. If you promise that, I will take you to them.”
16 Ale ɖekakpui la kplɔ wo yi afi si Amalekitɔwo ƒu asaɖa anyi do. Wokaka ɖe gbedzi henɔ nu ɖum, nɔ nu nom eye wonɔ ɣe ɖum kple dzidzɔ le Filistitɔwo kple Yudatɔwo ƒe nu geɖe siwo wokpɔ ha la ta.
[David agreed to do that, ] so the man from Egypt led David [and his men] to where the men from the Amalek people-group were. Those men were lying on the ground, eating and drinking and celebrating because of having captured many things from the Philistia and Judah areas.
17 David kple eƒe amewo dze wo dzi eye wowu wo katã le zã ma me kple ŋufɔke. Wowu ame sia ame negbe ɖekakpui alafa ene siwo do kposɔwo la koe te ŋu si.
David [and his men] fought against them from sunset that day until the evening of the following day. Four hundred of them escaped and rode away on camels, but none of the others escaped.
18 David xɔ nu sia nu si Amalekitɔwo ha. Exɔ srɔ̃a eveawo hã.
David rescued his two wives, and he and his men got back everything else that the men of the Amalek people-group had taken.
19 Naneke mebu o; woxɔ ɖevi kple tsitsi, ŋutsuvi kple nyɔnuvi kple nu sia nu si woha. Ale David xɔ nu sia nu gbɔe.
Nothing was missing. They took all their people back [to Ziklag]—young people and old people, [their wives], their sons and their daughters. They also recovered all the other things that the men of the Amalek people-group had taken from Ziklag.
20 David ƒe amewo kplɔ Amalekitɔwo ƒe lãhawo dzoe eye wogblɔ na David be, “Esiawo katã nye wò ŋutɔ tɔ abe wò fetu ene.”
They took with them the sheep and cattle that had been captured, and his men caused those animals to go in front of them, saying, “These are animals that we captured in the battle; they belong to David!”
21 Esi wova ɖo Besor tɔʋu la to la, wodo go woƒe ame alafa eve siwo ŋu ɖeɖi te ale gbegbe be womete ŋu tso tɔʋu la yi kpli wo o. David do gbe na wo dzidzɔtɔe.
David and his men got back to where the other 200 men were waiting, the men who did not go with David because they were very exhausted. They had stayed at Besor Ravine. [When they saw David and his men coming], they went out to greet them. And David [greeted them and] said to them, “I hope that things are going well with you!”
22 Ke gbevu aɖewo nɔ ame siwo de ɖawɔ aʋa la dome gblɔ be, “Ame siawo mede aʋa la kpli mí o eya ta womaxɔ afunyinuwo dometɔ aɖeke o. Ɖe asi le wo srɔ̃wo kple wo viwo ŋu na wo eye nàna woadzo.”
But some of the men who had gone with David, men who were evil and troublemakers, said, “These 200 men did not go with us. So we should not give to them any of the things that we recovered/captured. Each of them should take only his wife and children and go [back to their homes].”
23 Ke David gblɔ be, “Ao, nɔvinyewo, manyo nenema o! Yehowa na míele dedie eye míeɖu míaƒe futɔwo dzi.
David replied, “No, my fellow Israelis, it would not be right to divide up like that the things that Yahweh has allowed us to capture. Yahweh has protected us and enabled us to defeat the enemies who attacked our town.
24 Ame kae alɔ̃ ɖe nya si gblɔm miele la dzi? Míama nuawo eye míama wo sɔsɔe, na ame siwo wɔ aʋa la kple ame siwo dzɔ míaƒe nuwo ŋu.”
(Who will pay attention to you if you say things like that?/No one will pay attention to you if you say things like that.) [RHQ] The men who stayed here with our supplies will get the same amount that the men who went into the battle will get. They will all receive the same amount.”
25 Tso gbe ma gbe dzi la, David wɔ numama alea wònye se kple kɔnu na Israelviwo katã va se ɖe egbe.
David made that to be a law [DOU] for the Israeli people, and that is still a law in Israel.
26 Esi wova ɖo Ziklag la, David ɖo afunyinu siwo woha la ƒe akpa aɖe ɖe Yuda ƒe ametsitsiwo. Eŋlɔ agbalẽ kpe ɖe eŋu be, “Esiawo nye nunana siwo mele ɖoɖom ɖe mi tso afunyinu siwo mekpɔ tso Yehowa ƒe futɔwo gbɔ la me.”
When David [and all the others] arrived in Ziklag, David sent to his friends who were leaders in Judah some of the things that they had captured from the Amalek people-group. He said to them, “Here is a present for you. These are things that we took from Yahweh’s enemies.”
27 Woɖo nunanawo ɖe ametsitsiwo tso du siawo me: Betel, Dziehe Ramot, Yatir,
[Here is a list of the cities and towns to whose leaders David sent gifts: ] Bethel, Ramoth in the southern part of Judah, Jattir,
28 Aroer, Sifmɔt, Estemoa,
Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,
29 Rakal, Yerameeltɔwo ƒe duwo, Kenitɔwo ƒe duwo,
Racal, the cities where the descendants of Jehrameel lived and the cities where the Ken people-group lived,
30 Horma, Bor Asan, Atak,
Hormah, Bor-Ashan, Athach,
31 kple Hebron. Eɖo nunana ɖe teƒe siwo eya kple eƒe amewo de.
Hebron, and all the other places where David and his men had gone [when they were hiding from Saul].
