Ʋɔnudrɔ̃lawo 8
1 Efraim ƒe towo ƒe kplɔlawo do dɔmedzoe helĩhelĩ ɖe Gideon ŋu, wobiae be, “Nu ka ta mèɖo du ɖe mí enumake esi nèho aʋa ɖe Midiantɔwo ŋu o?”
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.
2 Ke Gideon ɖo eŋu be, “Ɖe Efraim ƒe wainxaxa mlɔetɔ menyo wu Abiezer ƒe wainxaxa blibo la oa?
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.
3 Mawu na mielé Oreb kple Zeb, Midiantɔwo ƒe aʋafiawo! Nu kae mewɔ si woatsɔ asɔ kple nu gã si miawo miewɔ?” Gideon ƒe nya siawo na Efraim ƒe viwo ƒe kplɔlawo ƒe dzi fa.
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.
4 Gideon tso Yɔdan tɔsisi la azɔ kple eƒe aʋawɔla alafa etɔ̃awo. Ɖeɖi te wo ŋu gake woganɔ futɔwo nyam kokoko.
Then Gideon and his 300 men [went east and] crossed the Jordan [River]. Although they were very tired, they continued to pursue their enemies.
5 Esi wova ɖo Sukɔt la, Gideon gblɔ na Sukɔt ƒe amewo be ɖeɖi te yewo ŋu le Midian fiawo, Zeba kple Zalmuna nyanya me eya ta woana nuɖuɖu yewo.
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.”
6 Ke Sukɔt ƒe kplɔlawo ɖo eŋu be “Ɖe miaƒe asi su Zeba kple Zalmuna dzi xoxoa? Ne míena nuɖuɖu mi eye miete ŋu lé wo o la, woatrɔ ava wu mí.”
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].”
7 Gideon gblɔ na wo be, “Ne Aƒetɔ la tsɔ wo de asi nam la, ekema matrɔ ava eye matsɔ aŋɔka ƒe ŋuwo adze ŋuti na mi.”
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!”
8 Ale Gideon tso eme yi ɖabia nuɖuɖu le Penuel eye woawo hã gblɔ abe Sukɔt ƒe amewo ke ene.
From there, Gideon [and his 300 men] went to Peniel and asked for food there, but the people gave him the same answer.
9 Gideon gagblɔ na woawo hã be, “Ne aʋa siawo wɔwɔ nu tso la, matrɔ ava eye magbã mɔ sia aƒu anyi.”
So he said to the men of Peniel, “After I defeat those kings, I will return and tear down this tower!”
10 Azɔ la Fia Zeba kple Fia Zalmuna kple woƒe aʋawɔla akpe wuiatɔ̃ va ɖo Karkor, ame mawo koe susɔ le aʋakɔ siwo tso ɣedzeƒe la me elabena wowu wo dometɔ akpe alafa ɖeka blaeve xoxo.
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.
11 Gideon trɔ azɔ to asimɔ si to Noba kple Yogbeha ƒe ɣedzeƒe eye wòdze Midiantɔwo ƒe aʋakɔ dzi esi womenɔ mɔ kpɔm na wo kura o.
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.
12 Fia eveawo si gake Gideon kplɔ wo ɖo va se ɖe esime wòlé wo eye wòtsrɔ̃ aʋakɔ blibo la.
Zebah and Zalmunna fled, but Gideon’s men pursued them and captured them and all their warriors.
13 Le esia megbe la, Gideon to mɔ si to Heres mɔ la gbɔ hetrɔ gbɔ.
After that, Gideon and his men [took Zebah and Zalmunna with them and] started to return, going through Heres Pass.
14 Elé ɖekakpui aɖe tso Sukɔt eye wòzi edzi be wòaŋlɔ Sukɔt ƒe kplɔlawo kple mawunua blaadre-vɔ-adreawo ŋkɔ na ye.
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.
15 Etrɔ va Sukɔt eye wògblɔ na wo be, “Mieɖu fewu le ŋunye be, nye asi masu Fia Zeba kple Fia Zalmuna dzi akpɔakpɔ o eye miegbe, miena nuɖuɖu mí o, le esime ɖeɖi te mía ŋu eye dɔ nɔ mía wum. Kpɔ ɖa, fia eveawoe nye esiawo.”
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.’”
16 Tete wòlé dumemetsitsiawo eye wòtsɔ aŋɔkawo kple ŋuwo fia nunya woe.
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].
17 Emegbe la, Gideon yi Penuel hã, gbã mɔ la ƒu anyi eye wòwu ŋutsuwo katã le dua me.
Then [they went to] Peniel and tore down the tower, and killed all the men in the town.
18 Le esia megbe la, Gideon bia Fia Zeba kple Fia Zalmuna be, “Ame siwo miewu le Tabɔr ɖe, aleke wole?” Woɖo eŋu be, “Wodo awu abe miawo ene tututu, abe fiaviŋutsuwo ene.”
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.”
19 Gideon do ɣli be, “Nɔvinyewo kokoko woanye! Meka atam be, ne menye ɖe miewu wo o la, anye ne nyemawu mi o.”
Gideon replied, “They were my brothers! Just as surely as Yahweh lives, I would not kill you if you had not killed them.”
20 Azɔ Gideon ɖe gbe na Via ŋutsu tsitsitɔ, Yeter, be wòawu wo. Ke Yeter metsi o eya ta enɔ vɔvɔ̃m be yeawu wo.
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].
21 Zeba kple Zalmuna gblɔ na Gideon be, “Wò ŋutɔ wu mí elabena ŋutsue wɔa ŋutsu ƒe dɔ!” Ale Gideon wu wo eye wòɖe kɔgɛwo le kɔ na woƒe kposɔwo.
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.
22 Israelviwo gblɔ na Gideon be, “Ɖu fia ɖe mía dzi, wò ŋutɔ, viwò ŋutsuwo kple wò tɔgbuiyɔviwo elabena èɖe mí tso Midiantɔwo ƒe asi me.”
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.”
23 Ke Gideon ɖo eŋu na wo be, “Nye ŋutɔ loo alo vinye ŋutsu aɖeke maɖu fia ɖe mia dzi o. Yehowa aɖu fia ɖe mia dzi.”
But Gideon replied, “No, I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you. Yahweh will rule over you.”
24 Egblɔ na wo be, “Nu ɖeka le asinye, mabia mi, eyae nye be mia dometɔ ɖe sia ɖe natsɔ sikatogɛ ɖeka nam le eƒe afunyinuawo dome.” Enye Ismaeltɔwo ƒe kɔnu be woade sikatogɛwo.
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.]
25 Woɖo eŋu be, “Míana wo kple dzidzɔ.” Ale woɖo avɔ ɖe anyigba eye wo dometɔ ɖe sia ɖe da sikatogɛ si nɔ eƒe afunyinuwo me la ɖe edzi.
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].
26 Sikatogɛ siwo wòbia la ƒe kpekpeme va le kilogram wuiasiekɛ kple afã, ke womebu atsyɔ̃ɖonuwo, dzonu xɔasiwo kple awu dzĩ si Midian fiawo dona alo kɔga siwo wodena na woƒe kposɔwo la ɖe eme o.
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.
27 Gideon tsɔ sika la wɔ kɔmewu eye wòtsɔe da ɖe Ofra, si nye wo dedu la me. Israel katã de asi awu la subɔsubɔ me le afi ma eye wòva zu mɔ na Gideon kple eƒe ƒome la.
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].
28 Ale Israelviwo bɔbɔ Midiantɔwo ɖe anyi eye womegafɔ ta dzi kpɔ o. Ale ŋutifafa nɔ anyigba la dzi ƒe blaene sɔŋ le Gideon ƒe agbenɔɣi.
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.
29 Yerubaal, Yoas ƒe vi, trɔ yi ɖanɔ wo de.
Gideon went back home to live there.
30 Viŋutsu blaadre nɔ esi elabena eɖe srɔ̃ geɖewo.
He had many wives, and they bore him seventy sons.
31 Ahiãvi aɖe hã nɔ esi le Sekem, ame si ha dzi ŋutsu aɖe nɛ, si wòna ŋkɔe be Abimelek.
He also had a slave wife in Shechem [town], who bore him a son whom he named Abimelech.
32 Gideon, Yoas ƒe vi, tsi, zu amegãɖeɖi aɖe hafi ku. Woɖii ɖe fofoa, Yoas ƒe yɔdo me le Ofra le Abiezritɔwo ƒe anyigba dzi.
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.
33 Esi Gideon ku teti ko la, Israelviwo gadze Baalwo yome. Woli Baal Berit anyi abe woƒe mawu ene eye
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.
34 Israelviwo meɖo ŋku Yehowa, woƒe Mawu, ame si ɖe wo tso futɔ siwo ƒo xlã wo la ƒe asiwo me dzi o.
They forgot about Yahweh, the one who had rescued them from all their enemies that surrounded them.
35 Nenema ke wogbe dɔmenyowɔwɔ na Yerubaal, ame si tso Gideon ƒe ƒome la me togbɔ be Gideon wɔ nu nyui geɖewo na wo hã.
And even though Gideon had done many good things for the Israelis, they were not kind to Gideon’s family.
