Ʋɔnudrɔ̃lawo 20
1 Ale Israelviwo katã tso Dan va se ɖe Beerseba kple Gileadnyigba dzi la ƒo ƒu abe ame ɖeka ene ɖe Yehowa ŋkume le Mizpa.
All the Israelis, from Dan [city in the north] to Beersheba [city in the south], and even from [the] Gilead [region on the east side of the Jordan River, heard what had happened. So they] they gathered together at Mizpah, [at the place where they worshiped] Yahweh.
2 Israelviwo ƒe towo katã ƒe kplɔlawo nɔ Mawu ƒe amewo ƒe ƒuƒoƒo la me kple asrafo akpe alafa ene, ame siwo lé yiwo ɖe asi.
The leaders of [eleven of] the tribes of Israel stood in front of the people who gathered there. There were 400,000 men with swords who were there.
3 Benyamin ƒe to la se nu tso Israelviwo ƒe aʋakɔ ƒe ƒuƒoƒo ɖe Mizpa ŋu. Israel Fiawo yɔ Levitɔ si ƒe ahiãvi wowu la be wòagblɔ nya si dzɔ tututu la na yewo.
The people of the tribe of Benjamin heard that the other Israelis had gone up to Mizpah, [but none of the men from their tribe went to the meeting there]. The Israelis who had come to Mizpah asked about the evil thing that had happened.
4 Levitɔ la gblɔ be, “Míeva ɖo Gibea, Benyamin ƒe to la ƒe du aɖe me gbe ɖeka fiẽ.
So the husband of the woman who had been killed replied, “My slave wife and I came to Gibeah [city], wanting to stay there that night.
5 Le zã ma me la, Gibea ŋutsuwo va ƒo xlã aƒe si me míedze eye woɖo be yewoawum. Wodɔ nye ahiãvi gbɔ va se ɖe esime wòku.
That evening, the men of Gibeah came to attack me. They surrounded the house [where I was staying] and wanted to [have sex with me and then] kill me. They [raped and] abused my slave wife [all night], and she died.
6 Ale mefli ame kukua ɖe akpa wuieve me eye meɖo akpa ɖeka ɖe to ɖe sia ɖe le Israelnyigba dzi elabena ame siawo wɔ nu vɔ̃ vɔ̃ɖi aɖe.
I took her body home and cut it into pieces. Then I sent one piece to each area of Israel, [because I wanted you all to know about] this wicked and disgraceful/shameful thing [that] has been done here in Israel.
7 Azɔ la, Israelviwo, mina manya miaƒe susu eye miaɖo aɖaŋu le afi sia fifi la míase!”
So now, all you Israeli people, speak, and tell me what you think should be done!”
8 Ameawo katã gblɔ kple gbe ɖeka be, “Mía dometɔ aɖeke mayi aƒe me o va se ɖe esime míahe to na Gibeatɔwo.
All the people stood up, and in unison said, “None of us will go home! Not one of us will return to his house!
9 Nu si míawɔ enye míadzidze nu ɖe wo dzi eye míatia ame aɖewo be woaho aʋa ɖe wo ŋu.
This is what we must do to [the people of] Gibeah. First, we will (cast lots/throw marked stones) [to determine which group should attack them].
10 Israelviwo ƒe ewolia ƒe ɖeka ana nuɖuɖu aʋawɔlawo eye ame mamlɛawo ayi aɖahe to na Gibeatɔwo le nu vɔ̃ vɔ̃ɖi si wowɔ ɖe nyɔnu la ŋu le Israelnyigba dzi la ta.”
We will choose (one tenth/one from every ten) of the men from all the Israeli tribes. Those men will go and find food for the men who will go to attack the people of Gibeah. Then the other men will go to Gibeah to (pay the people back/punish them) for this terrible thing that they have done [here] in Israel.”
11 Ale dukɔ blibo la sɔ nu le dɔdeasi sia wɔwɔ me.
And all the Israeli people agreed [that the people of Gibeah should be punished].
12 Eye Israel toawo ɖo amewo ɖe Benyamin ƒe to la be woagblɔ na wo be, “Mienya nane tso nu vɔ̃ vɔ̃ɖi si wowɔ le mia dome la ŋua?
Then the Israeli men sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin. They demanded, “Do you realize that some of your men have done a very evil thing?
13 Miɖe asi le nu vɔ̃ sia wɔlawo ŋu ale be, míate ŋu awu wo eye míaɖe vɔ̃ ɖa le Israelnyigba dzi.” Ke Benyamin ƒe to la meɖo to wo o,
Bring those wicked men to us, in order that we can execute them. [By doing that], we will be doing what should be done because of this evil thing that has happened in Israel.” But the [people of the] tribe of Benjamin did not pay attention to their fellow Israelis.
14 Wotso woƒe duwo me va ƒo ƒu ɖe Gibea be yewoawɔ aʋa kple Israelviwo.
The men of the tribe of Benjamin left their cities and gathered at Gibeah to fight the [other] Israelis.
15 Benyamin ƒe viwo ƒo ƒu ame siwo ta yi akpe blaeve-vɔ-ade tso woƒe duwo me enumake hekpe ɖe ame alafa adre siwo wotia tso ame siwo le Gibea la ŋu.
In that one day the men of the tribe of Benjamin recruited 26,000 soldiers who knew how to fight using swords. They also chose/recruited 700 men from Gibeah.
16 Miawɔla alafa adre siwo nye aŋutrɔdala nyuiwo la nɔ ameawo dome, ame siwo ƒe alɔ dzɔna ale gbegbe be womedzidzea naneke danɛ ƒu o.
From all those soldiers there were 700 men who were left-handed, and each of them could sling a stone at [a target that was very small and as narrow as] a hair, and the stone always hit the target!
17 Israelviwo ƒe aʋawɔlawo, ame siwo dome Benyamin ƒe viwo mele o la de ame akpe alafa ene.
There were 400,000 men from the other Israeli tribes who had swords.
18 Hafi woadze aʋa la wɔwɔ gɔme la, Israelviwo yi Betel gbã eye wobia Mawu be, “To kae anɔ ŋgɔ na mí, míawɔ aʋa kple Benyamin ƒe to la?” Yehowa ɖo eŋu be, “Yuda ƒe viwoe anɔ ŋgɔ.”
Those other Israelis went up to Bethel and asked God, “Which tribe should be the first to attack the men from the tribe of Benjamin?” Yahweh answered, “[The men from the tribe of] Judah should go first.”
19 Esi ŋu ke la, Israelviwo ƒu asaɖa anyi te ɖe Gibea ŋu.
The next morning, the Israeli men went and set up their tents near Gibeah.
20 Israelviwo yi be woawɔ aʋa kple Benyamin ƒe viwo eye wodze aʋalɔgowo ɖe wo ŋu le Gibea.
Then they went to fight against [the men from the tribe of] Benjamin, and stood in their positions for fighting a battle, [facing Gibeah].
21 Benyamin ƒe viwo do tso Gibea eye wowu Israelvi akpe blaeve-vɔ-eve le aʋagbedzi gbe ma gbe.
The men of the tribe of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and fought against them, and they killed 22,000 Israeli men on that day.
22 Ke Israelviwo de dzi ƒo na wo nɔewo eye wogaƒo ƒu ɖe teƒe si wonɔ le ŋkeke gbãtɔ dzi.
[Late that afternoon], the [remaining] Israeli men went to the place of worship and cried until the sun set. Then they asked Yahweh, “Should we attack the men of the tribe of Benjamin again, even though they are our fellow Israelis?” Yahweh replied, “Yes, attack them again.” So the Israeli men encouraged each other.
23 Israelviwo yi Yehowa gbɔ hefa avi nɛ va se ɖe fiẽ eye wobia Yehowa be, “Ɖe míagayi aɖawɔ aʋa kple Benyamin ƒe viwo, ame siwo nye mía nɔviwoa?” Yehowa ɖo eŋu be, “Miyi miakpe aʋa kpli wo.” Ale dzi gaɖo Israelviwo ƒo, wogada woƒe aʋawɔlawo ɖe afi si woda wo ɖo tsã.
24 Israelviwo gakpe aʋa kple Benyamin ƒe to la zi evelia.
The next day they again stood in their positions for fighting, just like they had done on the previous day.
25 Gbe ma gbe la, Benyamin ƒe to la gawu ame akpe wuienyi, ame siwo nye yidala nyuiwo la, le Israelviwo dome.
The men of the tribe of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and attacked the Israelis, and killed 18,000 more of their men.
26 Israelʋakɔ blibo la yi Betel, wofa avi le Aƒetɔ la ŋkume vevie eye wotsi nu dɔ va se ɖe fiẽ. Wosa numevɔ kple akpedavɔ na Yehowa.
[In the afternoon], all the people of Israel [who had not been killed] again went to Bethel. There they sat down and cried to Yahweh, and they (fasted/abstained from eating food) until it was evening. They brought some offerings which they burned completely [on the altar], and they also brought some offerings to maintain fellowship with Yahweh.
27 Israelviwo bia gbe Yehowa (le esime Mawu ƒe nubablaɖaka la nɔ afi ma
At that time, the Sacred Chest that contained the stone tablets on which were written the Ten Commandments was there at Bethel. A priest named Phinehas, the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron, often stood in front of that chest [and talked with Yahweh]. While he stood there on that day, he asked Yahweh, “Shall we go again to fight against our fellow Israelis from the tribe of Benjamin, or shall we stop fighting against them?” Yahweh answered, “Go again tomorrow, because tomorrow I will enable you to defeat them.”
28 eye Finehas, Eleazar ƒe viŋutsu, ame si nye Aron ƒe tɔgbuiyɔvi la nɔ subɔsubɔdɔwo wɔm le egbɔ.) Wobia Yehowa be, “Ɖe míagawɔ aʋa kple mía nɔviwo, Beyamin loo alo míadzudzɔa?” Yehowa ɖo eŋu be, “Miyi elabena etsɔ la matsɔ wo ade asi na mí.”
29 Ale Israelvi aɖewo de xa ɖe teƒe vovovoawo ƒo xlã Gibea
So [the next day, 10,000 of] the Israeli men (set up ambushes/went to hide) [in the fields] around Gibeah.
30 eye Israelviwo ho ɖe Benyaminviwo ŋu le ŋkeke etɔ̃a gbe hedze aʋa ɖe Gibea dzi abe tsã ene.
The [other] Israeli men went and stood in their positions for fighting a battle just like they had done on the previous days.
31 Esi Benyamin ƒe to la do go le dua me be yewoakpe aʋa kpli wo la, Israelviwo si yi megbe, Benyamin ƒe to la dze wo yome, ale wogblẽ Gibea ɖe megbe. Abe ale si wowɔ tsã ene la, Benyamin ƒe to la de asi Israelviwo wuwu me le mɔ si le Betel kple Gibea dome la dzi; ale wowu Israelvi blaetɔ̃.
When the men of the tribe of Benjamin came out of the city to fight against them, the Israeli men retreated away from the city, and the men of the tribe of Benjamin pursued them. The men of the tribe of Benjamin killed many Israelis, like they had done before. They killed about 30 Israelis. They killed some in the fields, and they killed some on the road that went to Bethel and on the road that went to Gibeah.
32 Benyamin ƒe to la do ɣli be, “Míegale wo dzi ɖum egbe hã!” Ke, enye ɖoɖo le Israel ƒe aʋakplɔlawo dome do ŋgɔ be yewoasi ale be Benyamin ƒe to la nakplɔ yewo ɖo ale be woadzo le woƒe dua gbɔ.
The men of the tribe of Benjamin said, “We are defeating them like we did before!” But then Israeli men did what they had planned. The main group of Israeli men retreated a short distance from the city, to [trick] the men of Gibeah and cause them to pursue the Israeli men along the roads outside the city.
33 Ke esi Israelviwo ƒe aʋalɔgo gãtɔ ɖo Baal Tama la, etrɔ hekpe aʋa kple Benyamin ƒe to la azɔ eye Israelvi akpe ewo si de xa ɖe Gibea ƒe ɣetoɖoƒe la, do go tso teƒe si wode xa ɖo
The main group of Israeli men left their positions and retreated, and then they stood in their battle positions again at a place named Baal-Tamar.
34 eye wokplɔ Benyamin ƒe to la ɖo to megbe, le esime Benyamin ƒe to la menya kura be aʋa si yewo to megbe o.
Then [while the men of Gibeah were running out of the city toward them], the other 10,000 Israelis came out from the places where they had been hiding, west of Gibeah. They were men who had come from all parts of Israel. There was a very big battle. But the men of the tribe of Benjamin did not know that they were about to suffer a disastrous defeat.
35 Ale Yehowa si Benyamin ƒe to la le Israelviwo ŋgɔ eye Israelviwo wu ame akpe blaeve vɔ atɔ̃ le Benyamin ƒe to la dome, ale wonya azɔ be woɖu yewo dzi; woƒe aʋawɔla ʋɛ aɖewo koe susɔ.
Yahweh enabled the Israeli men to defeat the men of the tribe of Benjamin. They killed 25,000 of them, even though they all were using swords. [This is what happened]:
36 Israelviwo ƒe aʋalɔgo gãtɔ si yi megbe elabena woɖo ŋu ɖe woƒe aʋalɔgo si de xa ɖi ƒo xlã Gibea la ŋu.
The main group of Israeli men arranged with the men who would be hiding that they should send up a smoke signal to enable the main group of soldiers to know when they should attack. Then the main group of Israeli men retreated for a short distance, because they knew that the other Israeli men who had been hiding on the other side of Gibeah would attack the people of the tribe of Benjamin by surprise. So [after the main group of Israeli men retreated a little distance], the men who had been hiding rushed out and ran into Gibeah and used their swords to kill everyone in the city. [Then they started to burn the buildings].
37 Ame siawo yi Gibea dua me eye wowu ame sia ame.
38 Israel ŋutsuwo kple xadolawo ɖo gbe ɖi be ne wokpɔ dzudzɔ gã aɖe le dodom le dua me ko la
39 ekema Israel ƒe aʋalɔgo gãtɔ me nɔlawo natrɔ awɔ aʋa ŋkume kple ŋkume kple Benyamin ƒe to la. Esi Benyamin ƒe to la wu ame blaetɔ̃ xoxo ta la, wogblɔ na wo nɔewo be, “Míegasi wo abe ale si míesi wo tsã ene.”
By that time, the men of the tribe of Benjamin said, “We are winning the battle, as we did before!”
40 Tete dzesi si woɖo da ɖi la dze na wo: dzudzɔ de asi tutu me kɔlikɔli le dua me. Esi Benyamin ƒe to la trɔ kɔ kpɔ megbe la, ewɔ nuku na wo be du blibo la nɔ bibim.
But then smoke [from the burning buildings] began to rise up from the city. The men of the tribe of Benjamin turned around and saw that the whole city was burning.
41 Israelviwo trɔ ɖe wo ŋu azɔ. Benyamin ƒe to la tɔtɔ eye wosi ɖo ta gbedzi elabena wodze sii azɔ be yewotsrɔ̃ vɔ.
Then the main group of Israeli men [also saw the smoke, and they knew that the smoke signaled that they should] turn around and begin to attack. The men of the tribe of Benjamin were very afraid, because they realized that they were about to suffer a disastrous defeat.
42 Wosi le Israelviwo nu ɖo ta gbedzi, Israelviwo kplɔ wo ɖo eye ame siwo be ɖe mɔa dzi la va kpe ɖe wo nɔviwo ŋu hewu Benyamin ƒe to la tso megbe.
So the men of the tribe of Benjamin tried to run away toward the desert to escape from the Israeli men, but they were not able to escape, because the Israeli men who had burned the two cities came out of those cities and killed many of them.
43 Woɖe to ɖe Benyamin ƒe aʋakɔ la le Gibea ƒe ɣedzeƒe lɔƒo eye wowu wo dometɔ geɖewo le afi ma.
They surrounded [some of] the men of the tribe of Benjamin, and pursued the others to the area east of Gibeah.
44 Ame akpe wuienyie ku le Benyamin ƒe to la ƒe aʋawɔlawo dome gbe ma gbe.
They killed 18,000 strong soldiers of the tribe of Benjamin.
45 Agbetsilawo si yi gbedzi le Rimon kpe la gbɔ le esime wowu wo dometɔ ame akpe atɔ̃ le mɔa dzi eye wogawu ame akpe eve le Gidom gbɔ.
Then the rest of the men of the tribe of Benjamin realized that they had been defeated. They ran toward the desert to Rimmon Rock, but the Israeli men killed 5,000 more men of the tribe of Benjamin along the roads. They pursued the rest of them to Gidom, and they killed 2,000 more men of the tribe of Benjamin there.
46 Gbe ma gbe la, Benyamin ƒe to la me tɔ akpe blaeve vɔ atɔ̃, ame siwo nye yidala kalẽtɔwo la tsi aʋa.
Altogether, there were 25,000 men of the tribe of Benjamin who were killed, all of whom had swords.
47 Ke ame alafa ade si yi gbegbe la, yi Rimon ƒe agakpe la gbɔ eye wonɔ afi ma ɣleti ene.
But 600 men of the tribe of Benjamin ran to Rimmon Rock in the desert. They stayed there for four months.
48 Israel ƒe aʋakɔ la trɔ azɔ ɖe dua gbɔ eye wowu Benyamin ƒe to la ƒe ŋutsuwo, nyɔnuwo kple ɖeviwo siaa. Wotsrɔ̃ woƒe lãwo eye wotɔ dzo du kple kɔƒe ɖe sia ɖe le anyigba blibo la dzi.
Then the Israeli men went back to the land belonging to the tribe of Benjamin, and killed the people in every city. They also killed all the animals, and destroyed everything else that they found there. And they burned all the cities that they came to.
