1 Wa 20
1 Alò, Ben-Hadad, wa Syrie a, te ranmase tout lame li a. Te gen trann-de wa avèk li, avèk cheval ak cha. Li te monte fè syèj sou Samarie e li te goumen kont li.
Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, gathered all his army, and he persuaded 32 other kings to join him with their armies and horses and chariots. They marched to Samaria [city, the capital of Israel], and surrounded it, and [prepared to] attack it.
2 Li te voye mesaje yo lavil Achab, wa Israël la, e yo te di li: “Konsa pale Ben-Hadad;
Ben-Hadad sent messengers into the city to King Ahab, to say this to him: “This is what King Ben-Hadad says:
3 ‘Ajan ou avèk lò ou se pou mwen. Pi bèl madanm ou yo avèk pitit yo se pa m tou.’”
‘[You must give to] me all your silver and gold, your (good-looking/most beautiful) wives/women and strongest children.’”
4 Wa Israël la te reponn: “Se jan pawòl ou yo ye a, mèt mwen, O wa a. Mwen se pa w ak tout sa ke m genyen.”
The king of Israel replied to them, “Tell this to King Ben-Hadad: ‘I agree to do what you requested. You can have me and everything that I own.’”
5 Alò, mesaje yo te retounen. Yo te di: “Konsa pale Ben-Hadad: ‘Anverite, mwen te voye kote ou pou te di: “Ou va ban mwen ajan ou avèk lò ou avèk madanm ou ak pitit ou yo,
[The messengers told that to] Ben-Hadad, and he [sent them back with] another message: “I sent a message to you saying that you must give me all your silver and gold and your wives and your children.
6 men vè lè sa a demen mwen va voye sèvitè mwen yo kote ou. Yo va chache fouye tout lakay ou avèk lakay sèvitè ou yo, epi nenpòt sa ki gen valè nan zye ou, y ap pran nan men yo pou pote ale.”’”
But [in addition to that], about this time tomorrow, I will send some of my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials, and to bring to me everything that pleases them.”
7 Epi wa Israël la te rele tout ansyen peyi a e te di: “Souple, gade byen jan mesye sila a ap chache pwoblèm. Li te voye kote mwen pou madanm mwen avèk pitit mwen yo ak ajan mwen avèk lò mwen, epi mwen pa t refize li.”
King Ahab summoned all the leaders of Israel, and said to them, “You can see/realize for yourselves that this man is trying to cause much trouble. He sent me a message insisting that I must give him my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, and I agreed to do that.”
8 Tout ansyen yo avèk tout pèp la te di li: “Pa koute l ni vin dakò avè l.”
The leaders and all the other people said to him, “Do not pay any attention to him! Do not do what he is requesting!”
9 Konsa, li te di a mesaje Ben-Hadad yo: “Di mèt mwen an, wa a, ‘Tout sa ke ou te premye mande sèvitè ou a, m ap fè yo. Men sila ou mande koulye a, mwen p ap kab fè l.’” Mesaje yo te pati, epi te pòte bay li mesaj la.
So Ahab said to Ben-Hadad’s messengers, “Tell the king that I agree to give him the things that he first requested, but I do not agree to allow his officials to take anything that they want from my palace and from the houses of my officials.” So the messengers [reported that to King Ben-Hadad, and they] returned with another message from Ben-Hadad.
10 Ben-Hadad te voye kote li e te di: “Ke dye yo ta fè m sa e menm plis, si pousyè Samarie rete kont pou ranpli men a moun ki swiv mwen yo.”
In that message he said, “[We will destroy] your city [completely, with the result that] there will not be enough dust and rubble left for each of my soldiers to have one handful! I hope/wish that the gods will strike me dead if we do not do that!”
11 Epi wa Israël la te reponn li: “Pa kite sila k ap fenk abiye ak boukliye a vante tèt li tankou sila k ap retire l la.”
King Ahab replied [to the messengers], “Tell King Ben-Hadad that a soldier who is putting on his armor [preparing to fight a battle] [MTY] should not boast at that time; he [should wait until] after he wins the battle.”
12 Lè Ben-Hadad te tande mesaj sila a, pandan li t ap bwè avèk wa yo nan tonèl pwovizwa pa yo, li te di a sèvitè li yo: “Pran plas nou”. Konsa, yo te pran plas yo kont vil la.
Ben-Hadad heard that message while he and the other rulers were drinking [wine] in their temporary shelters. He told his men to prepare to attack [MTY] the city. So his men did that.
13 Alò, lapoula, yon pwofèt te pwoche Achab, wa Israël la, e te di: “Konsa pale SENYÈ a, ‘Èske ou te wè tout gran kantite foul sila a? Veye byen, Mwen va livre yo nan men ou jodi a e ou va konnen ke se SENYÈ a Mwen ye.’”
At that moment, a prophet came to King Ahab and said to him, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘[Do not be at all afraid of] [RHQ] the large enemy army that you see! I will enable your army to defeat them today, and you will know that it is I, Yahweh, [who have the power to do what I say that I will do].’”
14 Epi Achab te di: “Pa kilès?” Epi li te di: “Pa jennonm ki se chèf a pwovens yo.” Epi Achab te di: “Se kilès ki pou louvri batay la?” Epi li te reponn: “Ou menm”.
Ahab asked, “What group [of our army] will defeat them?” The prophet replied, “The young soldiers who are commanded by the district governors will do it.” The king asked, “Who should lead the attack?” The prophet replied, “You should!”
15 Alò, li te rasanble jennonm a chèf pwovens yo, te gen de-san-trann-de. Apre yo, li te rasanble tout pèp la; menm tout fis Israël yo, sèt-mil.
So Ahab gathered the young soldiers who were commanded by the district governors. There were 232 of those men. Then he also summoned all the Israeli army. There were [only] 7,000 soldiers.
16 Yo te sòti a midi, pandan Ben-Hadad t ap bwè jiskaske li sou nan tonèl pwovizwa avèk trann-de wa ki te ede li yo.
They started to attack at noon, while Ben-Hadad and the other rulers were getting drunk in their temporary shelters.
17 Jennonm a chèf pwovens yo te sòti devan. Ben-Hadad te voye mesaje deyò, yo te pale li, e te di: “Moun yo gen tan parèt sòti Samarie.”
The young soldiers advanced first. Some scouts who had been sent out by Ben-Hadad reported to him, “There are men coming out of Samaria [city]”!
18 Alò, li te di: “Si yo sòti pou fè lapè, pran yo vivan; oswa si yo te sòti pou fè lagè, pran yo vivan.”
He said, “It does not matter whether they are coming to fight against us or to ask for peace. Capture them, but do not kill them
19 Men sa yo te sòti depi lavil la; jennonm a chèf pwovens yo ak lame ki te swiv yo.
The young Israeli soldiers went out of the city to attack [the Syrian army], and the other soldiers in the Israeli army followed them.
20 Chak moun te touye yon nonm pou kont li; epi Siryen yo te sove ale e wa Israël la te kouri dèyè yo e Ben-Hadad, wa Syrie a, te chape sou yon cheval avèk chevalye yo.
Each [Israeli soldier] killed a [Syrian] soldier. The rest of the Syrian army then ran away, and the Israeli soldiers pursued them. But King Ben-Hadad escaped riding his horse, along with some other men riding horses.
21 Wa Israël la te parèt deyò, li te frape cheval yo avèk cha yo e te touye Siryen yo nan yon gwo masak.
Then the king of Israel went out [of the city], and he and his soldiers captured [all] the [other Syrian] horses and chariots, and also killed a large number of Syrian soldiers.
22 Alò, pwofèt la te pwoche wa Israël la e te di li: “Ale, ranfòse ou menm e okipe pou wè sa ou gen pou fè; paske nan fen ane a, wa a Syrie va vin monte kont ou.”
Then that same prophet went to King Ahab and said to him, “Go back and prepare your soldiers, and think carefully about what will be necessary for you to do, because the king of Syria with attack with his army again in the springtime of next year.”
23 Alò, sèvitè a wa Syrie a te di li: “dye pa yo se dye mòn yo ye. Pou sa, yo te pi fò pase nou. Men pito ke nou fè lagè kont yo nan ba plèn nan e asireman, nou va vin pi fò pase yo.
[After the Syrian army was defeated, ] Ben-Hadad’s officials said to him, “The gods that the Israelis [worship] are gods [who live] in the hills. [Samaria is built on a hill, and] that is why their soldiers were able to defeat us. But if we fight against them in the plains/lowlands, we certainly will be able to defeat them.
24 Fè bagay sa a: retire chak wa sou plas yo e ranplase yo avèk kapitèn nan plas yo,
So, this is what you should do: You must remove the 32 kings [who are leading your troops] and replace them with army commanders.
25 epi rasanble yon lame tankou lame ke ou te pèdi a, cheval pou cheval e cha pou cha. Nou va goumen kont yo nan plèn nan e asireman, nou va pi fò pase yo.” Epi li te koute vwa yo e te fè l konsa.
Then gather an army like the army that was defeated. Gather an army that has as many horses and chariots as the first army had. Then we will fight the Israelis in the plains/lowlands, and we will surely defeat them.” Ben-Hadad agreed with them, and he did what they suggested.
26 Nan fen ane a, Ben-Hadad te ranmase Siryen yo e te monte nan Aphek pou goumen kont Israël.
In the spring of the following year, he gathered his soldiers and marched [with them] to Aphek [city east of Galilee Lake], to fight against the Israeli army.
27 Fis Israël yo te deja rasanble avèk tout pwovizyon yo pou te ale rankontre yo. Yo te fè kan devan Siryen yo tankou de ti bann kabrit, men Siryen yo te ranpli peyi a.
The Israeli army was also gathered together, and they were equipped with the things that they needed [for the battle]. Then they marched out and formed two groups facing the Syrian army. Their army was very small; they resembled two small flocks of goats, whereas the Syrian army [was very large and] spread all over the countryside.
28 Alò, yon nonm Bondye te vin toupre pou te pale a wa Israël la. Li te di: “Konsa pale SENYÈ a: ‘Akoz Siryen yo te di: “SENYÈ a se yon dye a mòn yo, men Li pa yon dye nan vale yo,” pou sa, mwen va bay tout vast kantite moun sa yo nan men ou e ou va konnen ke Mwen se SENYÈ a.’”
A prophet came to King Ahab and said to him, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘The Syrians say that I am a god who lives in the hills, and that I am not a god who lives in the valleys. So I will [show that they are wrong by] enabling your men to defeat this huge army [IDM] [in the valley], and you will know that I, Yahweh, [have done it].’”
29 Konsa, yo te fè kan an, youn kont lòt, pandan sèt jou. Epi nan setyèm jou a, batay la te ouvri e fis Israël yo te touye nan Siryen yo san-mil sòlda apye nan yon sèl jou.
The two armies stayed in their tents for seven days, in groups that faced each other. Then, on the seventh day, they started fighting. The Israeli army killed 100,000 Syrian soldiers.
30 Men tout moun ki te rete yo te sove ale antre nan lavil Aphek e miray la te tonbe sou venn-sèt-mil òm ki te rete. Epi Ben-Hadad te sove ale pou te rive anndan vil la nan yon chanm enteryè.
The other Syrian soldiers ran away into Aphek City. Then the wall of the city collapsed and killed 27,000 more Syrian soldiers. Ben-Hadad also escaped into the city, and hid in the back room of a house.
31 Sèvitè li yo te di li: “Alò, gade byen, nou konn tande ke wa lakay Israël yo se wa ki gen mizerikòd. Souple, annou mete twal sak sou senti nou avèk kòd sou tèt nou pou ale parèt kote wa Israël la. Petèt, li va sove lavi nou.”
His officials went to him and said, “We have heard a report that the Israelis act mercifully. So allow us to go to the king of Israel, wearing coarse sacks around our waists and ropes on our heads/necks [to indicate that we will be his slaves]. Perhaps [if we do that, ] he will allow you to remain alive.”
32 Konsa, yo te mare twal sak sou senti yo, avèk kòd sou tèt yo pou te vin kote wa Israël la e te di: “Sèvitè ou, Ben-Hadad voye di: ‘Souple, kite mwen viv.’” Epi li te di: “Èske li toujou vivan? Li se frè m.”
[The king permitted them to do that, ] so they wrapped coarse sacks around their waists and put ropes on their heads/necks, and they went to the king of Israel and said to him, “Ben-Hadad, who greatly respects you, says, ‘Please do not kill me.’” Ahab replied, “Is he still alive? He is like a brother to me!”
33 Alò mesye yo te pran sa kòm yon sign, yo te sezi sou pawòl la vit, e yo te di: “Frè ou, Ben-Hadad.” Epi li te di: “Ale, mennen li.” Alò, Ben-Hadad te vin deyò kote li e li te pran li monte nan cha a.
Ben-Hadad’s officials were trying to find out if Ahab would act mercifully, and when Ahab said “brother,” they (were optimistic/thought that Ahab would be merciful). So they replied, “Yes, he is like your brother!” Ahab said, “Go and bring him to me.” So they [went and] brought Ben-Hadad to him. [When Ben-Hadad arrived, ] Ahab told him to get in his chariot [and sit with him].
34 Ben-Hadad te di li: “Vil ke papa m te pran nan men papa ou yo, mwen va remèt yo e ou va fè ri yo pou ou menm nan Damas, tankou papa m te fè nan Samarie a.” Achab te di: “Epi mwen va kite ou ale avèk akò sila a.” Konsa, li te fè yon akò avèk li e te kite li ale.
Ben-Hadad said to him, “I will give back to you the towns that my father’s army took from your father. And I will allow you to set up market areas for your merchants in Damascus [my capital], just as my father did in Samaria [your capital].” Ahab replied, “Because you agree to do that, I will not execute you.” So Ahab made an agreement with Ben-Hadad, and allowed him to go home.
35 Alò, yon sèten nonm pami fis a pwofèt yo te di a yon lòt mesye pa pawòl SENYÈ a: “Souple, frape mwen.” Men mesye a te refize frape li.
Then Yahweh spoke to a member of a group of prophets and said to him, “Ask one of your fellow prophets to strike and wound you.” [So he did what Yahweh told him to do]. [He said to one of his fellow prophets, ‘Strike me and wound me].’ But that man refused to do it.
36 Epi li te di li: “Akoz ou pa t koute vwa SENYÈ a, tande byen, depi ou kite mwen, yon lyon va touye ou.” Epi depi li te kite li a, yon lyon te twouve li e te touye li.
So the prophet said to him, “Because you refused to obey what Yahweh told you to do, a lion will kill you as soon as you leave me.” And as soon as he left that prophet, a lion suddenly pounced on him and killed him.
37 Alò, li te twouve yon lòt mesye e te di: “Souple, frape mwen.” Epi mesye a te frape li e te blese li.
Then the prophet found another prophet, and said to him, “Strike me!” So that man hit him [very hard] and injured him.
38 Konsa, pwofèt la te pati e te tann wa a akote chemen an e li te kache idantite li avèk yon bandaj ki te kouvri zye li.
Then the prophet put a large bandage/cloth over his face so that no one would recognize him. Then he went and stood alongside the road, waiting for the king to come by.
39 Pandan wa a t ap pase, li te kriye a wa a e te di: “Sèvitè ou a te antre nan mitan batay la; epi tande byen, yon nonm te vire akote pou te mennen yon mesye kote mwen e li te di: ‘Veye nonm sa a; si pou nenpòt rezon li vin disparèt, alò lavi ou va peye pou lavi pa li, oswa ou va peye yon talan ajan.’
When the king passed by, the prophet cried out to him, saying “Your majesty, [after I was wounded] while I was fighting in a battle, a soldier brought to me one of our enemies that he had captured, and said to me, ‘Guard this man! If he escapes, you must pay me 3,000 pieces of silver, and if you do not pay that, you will be executed!’
40 Pandan sèvitè ou a te okipe pa isit e pa la, li te vin disparèt.” Epi wa Israël la te di li: “Se konsa jijman ou ap ye; se ou menm ki deside li.”
But while I was busy doing other things, the man escaped!” The king of Israel said to him, “That is your problem! You yourself have said that you deserve to be punished.”
41 Epi byen vit li te retire bandaj sou zye li e wa Israël la te vin rekonèt li kòm youn nan pwofèt yo.
The prophet immediately took off the bandage, and the king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets.
42 Li te di li: “Konsa pale SENYÈ a: ‘Akoz ou te kite sòti nan men ou nonm ke mwen te dedye a destriksyon an; pou sa, lavi ou va ale pou lavi pa li e pèp ou a pou pèp pa li a.’”
And the prophet said to him, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘You have allowed that man [Ben-Hadad] to escape after I commanded you to be sure to execute him! Since you did not do that, you will be killed instead. And your army will be destroyed because you allowed [some of] his army to escape!’”
43 Konsa, wa Israël la te ale lakay li pa kontan e byen vekse pou te rive Samarie.
The king went back home to Samaria, very angry and depressed/dejected.
