< Jij 13 >
1 Moun pèp Izrayèl yo te rekonmanse ankò ap fè sa ki mal nan je Seyè a. Seyè a lage yo nan men moun Filisti yo pandan karantan.
Again the Israeli people did things that Yahweh said were very evil. So Yahweh enabled the people of Philistia to conquer them. They ruled over the Israelis for 40 years.
2 Te gen yon nonm yo te rele Manoak. Se te moun lavil Zora, li te fè pati branch fanmi Dann lan. Madanm li pa t' janm ka fè pitit.
There was a man named Manoah from the descendants of Dan who lived in Zorah [town]. His wife was unable to become pregnant, so they had no children.
3 Zanj Seyè a parèt devan madanm lan, li di l' konsa: -Ou pa t' janm ka fè pitit, pa vre? Men ou pral vin ansent, ou pral fè yon pitit gason.
One day, Yahweh appeared to Manoah’s wife in the form of an angel, and said to her, “Even though you have not been able to give birth to any children until now, you will soon become pregnant and give birth to a son.
4 Piga ou janm bwè diven, ni ankenn lòt bweson ki pou fè ou sou. Nitou, piga ou manje anyen ki pa bon pou moun k'ap sèvi Bondye manje.
[From now until he is born], you must not drink any wine or other alcoholic/fermented drink, and you must not eat any food that will make you unacceptable to God.
5 Paske ou pral ansent, ou pral fè yon pitit gason. Piga ou janm koupe cheve nan tèt li, paske depi nan vant manman l', se yon gason k'ap viv apa pou Bondye tankou nazirit yo l'ap ye. Se li menm ki pral konmanse travay pou delivre pèp Izrayèl la anba men moun Filisti yo.
After you give birth to your son, you must never allow his hair to be cut. He must be dedicated to God from the day he is born until the day he dies. He is the one who will rescue [many of] the Israeli people from the people of Philistia.”
6 Apre sa, madanm lan antre al di mari l': -Yon moun Bondye te vin bò kote m'. Lè mwen gade l', pou jan li te fè m' pè a ou ta di yon mesaje Bondye. Mwen pa mande l' kote l' soti, ni li pa ban m' non li.
The woman ran and told her husband, “A prophet came to me. He looked awesome, like an angel from God. I did not ask where he came from, and he did not tell me his name.
7 Li di m' konsa: Ou pral ansent, ou pral fè yon pitit gason. Piga ou janm bwè diven, ni ankenn lòt bweson ki pou fè ou sou. Ni piga ou manje anyen ki pa bon pou moun k'ap sèvi Bondye manje. Paske pitit gason ou lan pral viv apa pou Bondye tankou nazirit yo depi nan vant manman l' jouk jou li mouri.
But he told me, ‘You will become pregnant and give birth to a son. Until then, you must not drink any wine or any alcoholic/fermented drink, and you must not eat any food that would make you unacceptable to God. Your son must be dedicated to God from the day he is born until the day he dies.’”
8 Lè sa a, Manoak lapriyè Seyè a, li di: -Tanpri, Mèt mwen, fè moun Bondye ou te voye a vin bò kote nou ankò pou l' ka di nou sa pou nou fè pou ti gason ki pral fèt la.
Then Manoah prayed to Yahweh, saying, “O Yahweh, I plead with you, allow that prophet whom you sent to us to come again, and teach us how we should raise the boy who will be born to us.”
9 Bondye fè sa Manoak te mande l' la vre. Epi mesaje Bondye a vin bò kote madanm lan ki te chita nan yon jaden. Manoak, mari a, pa t' avè l'.
God did what Manoah asked, and Yahweh again appeared to his wife in the form of an angel, while she was out in the field. But again her husband Manoah was not with her.
10 Madanm lan prese kouri al bay mari l' nouvèl la. Li di li konsa: -Men moun ki te vin bò kote m' lòt jou a parèt devan m' ankò.
So she quickly ran and said to her husband, “The man who appeared to me a few days ago has come back again!”
11 Manoak leve, li swiv madanm li. L' al jwenn nonm lan, epi li di l': -Se ou menm ki te pale ak madanm sa a? Li reponn: -Wi, se mwen.
Manoah ran back with his wife, and asked, “Are you the man who talked with my wife a few days ago?” He replied, “Yes, I am.”
12 -Manoak di l': -Bon. Lè tou sa ou di yo va rive, kijan pou m' elve ti pitit la? Kisa pou l' fè ak sa pou l' pa fè?
Manoah asked him, “When what you promised occurs [and my wife gives birth to a son], what rules must he obey, and what work will he do [when he grows up]?”
13 Mesaje Seyè a di Manoak konsa: -Se pou madanm ou fè tou sa mwen di l' fè a.
Yahweh replied, “Your wife must obey all the instructions I gave her.
14 Piga li janm manje anyen ki fèt avèk rezen. Piga li janm bwè diven ni ankenn lòt bweson ki pou fè l' sou. Piga li janm manje anyen ki pa bon pou moun k'ap sèvi Bondye manje. Se pou li fè tou sa mwen mande l' fè a.
[Before the baby is born], she must not eat grapes, or drink wine or any other alcoholic/fermented drink, or eat anything that would make her unacceptable to God.”
15 Manoak di mesaje Seyè a: -Tanpri, poko ale. Kite nou kwit yon jenn ti kabrit pou ou.
Then Manoah said, “Please stay here until we can kill and cook a young goat for you.”
16 Mesaje Seyè a di Manoak konsa: -Menm si mwen rete mwen p'ap manje manje w'ap ban mwen an. Men si ou vle, touye yon ti kabrit, boule l' nan dife tankou yon ofrann pou Seyè a. Manoak pa t' ankò konnen si se te yon mesaje Seyè a ki te devan l'.
Yahweh replied, “I will stay here, but I will not eat anything. However, you may kill an animal and sacrifice it as a burned offering to Yahweh.” (Manoah did not realize that the [man he thought was an] angel was really Yahweh.)
17 Manoak di mesaje Seyè a: -Di nou ki jan ou rele pou nou ka fè lwanj pou ou lè pawòl ou di yo va rive vre.
Then Manoah asked him, “What is your name? When what you have promised happens, we want to honor you.”
18 Mesaje Seyè a di l': -Poukisa nou vle konnen non m'? Non m' se yon mèvèy.
Yahweh replied, “(Why do you ask me my name?/You should not ask me my name.) [RHQ] It is (wonderful/it cannot be understood).”
19 Manoak pran jenn ti kabrit la ak kèk grenn jaden, li mete yo sou lotèl wòch la, li ofri yo pou Seyè a ki fè yon mèvèy devan Manoak ak madanm li ki te rete la ap gade.
Then Manoah killed a young goat and burned it on a rock, along with a grain offering, as a sacrifice to Yahweh. And Yahweh did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched.
20 Pandan flanm dife yo t'ap soti sou lotèl la moute nan syèl la, Manoak ak madanm li wè mesaje Seyè a moute nan syèl la nan flanm dife a. Lè yo wè sa, yo lage kò yo fas atè.
Flames from the altar blazed up toward the sky, and Yahweh ascended in the flames. When Manoah and his wife saw that, they prostrated themselves on the ground.
21 Manoak ak madanm li pa janm wè mesaje Bondye a ankò. Se lè sa a, Manoak vin konprann se te yon mesaje Seyè a ki te parèt devan yo a.
Although Yahweh did not appear in the form of an angel to Manoah and his wife again, Manoah realized that the [man they thought was an] angel was really Yahweh.
22 Lè sa a, Manoak di madanm li: -Nou pral mouri, paske nou wè Bondye!
So he said, “Now we will die, because we have seen God!”
23 Madanm lan di l': -Si Seyè a te vle touye nou, li pa ta asepte ofrann nou fè pou li yo. Li pa ta fè nou wè tout bagay sa yo, ni li pa ta fè nou tande tout pawòl sa yo.
But his wife said, “No, we will not die, because if Yahweh intended to kill us, he would not have accepted the burned offering and the grain offering. And he would not have appeared to us and told us the wonderful thing that would happen to us, and he would not have performed this miracle.”
24 Apre sa, madanm lan fè yon pitit gason, li rele l' Samson. Pitit la grandi, Seyè a te beni l'.
When their son was born, they named him Samson. Yahweh blessed him as he grew up.
25 Epi lespri Seyè a konmanse travay nan li antan li te nan kan moun Dann yo, ant Soreja ak Echtawòl.
And while he was in Mahaneh-Dan, which is between Zorah and Eshtaol [towns], Yahweh’s Spirit began to control him.