Ii Samuelis 17
1 dixit igitur Ahitofel ad Absalom eligam mihi duodecim milia virorum et consurgens persequar David hac nocte
Then Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Allow me to choose 12,000 men, and I will leave [with them] tonight to pursue David.
2 et inruens super eum quippe qui lassus est et solutis manibus percutiam eum cumque fugerit omnis populus qui cum eo est percutiam regem desolatum
We will attack him while he is tired and discouraged, and cause him to be very frightened. All the soldiers who are with him will run away. We will kill only the king.
3 et reducam universum populum quomodo omnis reverti solet unum enim virum tu quaeris et omnis populus erit in pace
Then we will bring back all his soldiers to you, like [SIM] a (bride/woman comes to her husband when she is married). You are wanting to kill only one man; so the other people will not be harmed.”
4 placuitque sermo eius Absalom et cunctis maioribus natu Israhel
Absalom and all the Israeli leaders [who were with him] thought that what Ahithophel said would be good to do.
5 ait autem Absalom vocate et Husai Arachiten et audiamus quid etiam ipse dicat
But Absalom said, “Summon Hushai also, and we will hear what he suggests.”
6 cumque venisset Husai ad Absalom ait Absalom ad eum huiuscemodi sermonem locutus est Ahitofel facere debemus an non quod das consilium
So when Hushai arrived, Absalom told him what Ahithophel had suggested. Then he asked Hushai, “What do you think we should do? If you do not think that we should do what Ahithophel suggests, tell us [what you think that we should do].”
7 et dixit Husai ad Absalom non bonum consilium quod dedit Ahitofel hac vice
Hushai replied, “This time what Ahithophel has suggested is not good advice.
8 et rursum intulit Husai tu nosti patrem tuum et viros qui cum eo sunt esse fortissimos et amaro animo veluti si ursa raptis catulis in saltu saeviat sed et pater tuus vir bellator est nec morabitur cum populo
You know that your father and the men who are with him are strong soldiers, and that now they are very angry, like [SIM] a mother bear whose cubs have been stolen from her. Furthermore, your father knows how to fight because he has fought in many battles. He will not stay with his troops during the night.
9 forsitan nunc latitat in foveis aut in uno quo voluerit loco et cum ceciderit unus quilibet in principio audiet quicumque audierit et dicet facta est plaga in populo qui sequebatur Absalom
Right now he is probably already hiding in one of the pits, or in some other place. [If his soldiers start to attack your soldiers, and] if they kill some of them, whoever hears about that will say ‘Many of the soldiers with Absalom have been killed!’
10 et fortissimus quoque cuius cor est quasi leonis pavore solvetur scit enim omnis populus Israhel fortem esse patrem tuum et robustos omnes qui cum eo sunt
Then your other soldiers, even if they are as fearless [SIM, IDM] as lions, they will become very afraid. Do not forget that everyone in Israel knows that your father is a great/strong soldier, and that the soldiers who are with him are also very brave/courageous.
11 sed hoc mihi videtur rectum esse consilium congregetur ad te universus Israhel a Dan usque Bersabee quasi harena maris innumerabilis et tu eris in medio eorum
“So what I suggest is that you summon all the Israeli soldiers, from Dan [in the far north] to Beersheba [in the far south]. They will be as many as the grains of sand on the seashore [HYP]. And then you yourself lead us into the battle.
12 et inruemus super eum in quocumque loco fuerit inventus et operiemus eum sicut cadere solet ros super terram et non relinquemus de viris qui cum eo sunt ne unum quidem
We will find [your father], wherever he is, and we will attack him [from all sides], like [SIM] dew covers all the ground. And neither he nor any of the soldiers who are with him will survive.
13 quod si urbem aliquam fuerit ingressus circumdabit omnis Israhel civitati illi funes et trahemus eam in torrentem ut non repperiatur nec calculus quidem ex ea
If he escapes into some city, all our soldiers will bring ropes and pull that city down into the valley. As a result, not one stone will be left there [on top of the hill where that city was]!”
14 dixitque Absalom et omnis vir Israhel melius consilium Husai Arachitae consilio Ahitofel Domini autem nutu dissipatum est consilium Ahitofel utile ut induceret Dominus super Absalom malum
Absalom and all the other Israeli men [who were with him] said, “What Hushai suggests is better than what Ahithophel suggested.” The reason that happened was that Yahweh had determined that if they would accept the good advice that Ahithophel had given them, [they would have been able to defeat/kill David]. But [as a result of their doing what Hushai suggested], Yahweh would cause a disaster to happen to Absalom.
15 et ait Husai Sadoc et Abiathar sacerdotibus hoc et hoc modo consilium dedit Ahitofel Absalom et senibus Israhel et ego tale et tale dedi consilium
Then Hushai told the two priests, Zadok and Abiathar, what both he and Ahithophel had suggested to Absalom and the Israeli leaders.
16 nunc ergo mittite cito et nuntiate David dicentes ne moremini nocte hac in campestribus deserti sed absque dilatione transgredere ne forte absorbeatur rex et omnis populus qui cum eo est
Then he said to them, “Send [a message] quickly to David. Tell him to not stay at the place where people walk across the river, near the desert. Instead, he and his soldiers must cross [the Jordan River] immediately, in order that they will not be killed/wiped out.”
17 Ionathan autem et Achimaas stabant iuxta fontem Rogel abiit ancilla et nuntiavit eis et illi profecti sunt ut referrent ad regem David nuntium non enim poterant videri aut introire civitatem
[The priest’s two sons, ] Jonathan and Ahimaaz, were waiting at En-Rogel [Spring], outside Jerusalem. They did not [dare to] enter the city, because if someone saw them, [he would report it to Absalom]. [While they were at En-Rogel, ] a female servant [of the two priests] would frequently go to them and report to them [what was happening], and then they would go and report it to King David.
18 vidit autem eos quidam puer et indicavit Absalom illi vero concito gradu ingressi sunt domum cuiusdam viri in Baurim qui habebat puteum in vestibulo suo et descenderunt in eum
But a young man saw them, and went and reported it to Absalom. [They found out what the young man had done, ] so both of them left quickly and went to stay in the house of a man in Bahurim. That man had a well in his courtyard; so the two men went down into the well [to hide].
19 tulit autem mulier et expandit velamen super os putei quasi siccans ptisanas et sic res latuit
The man’s wife took a cloth/mat and covered the well, and scattered grain on top of it in order that no one would know [that two men were hiding inside it].
20 cumque venissent servi Absalom ad mulierem in domum dixerunt ubi est Achimaas et Ionathan et respondit eis mulier transierunt gustata paululum aqua at hii qui quaerebant cum non repperissent reversi sunt Hierusalem
Some of Absalom’s soldiers [found out where the two men had gone. So they] went to the house, and asked the woman, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” She replied, “They crossed the river.” So the soldiers [crossed the river and] searched for them. But they could not find them, so they returned to Jerusalem.
21 cumque abissent ascenderunt illi de puteo et pergentes nuntiaverunt regi David atque dixerunt surgite transite cito fluvium quoniam huiuscemodi dedit consilium contra vos Ahitofel
After they had gone, the two men came out of the well and went and reported to King David [what had happened and] what Ahithophel had suggested. Then they said to him, “Cross the river quickly!”
22 surrexit ergo David et omnis populus qui erat cum eo et transierunt Iordanem donec dilucesceret et ne unus quidem residuus fuit qui non transisset fluvium
So David and all his soldiers quickly started to cross the Jordan [River], and by dawn they had all crossed to the other side.
23 porro Ahitofel videns quod non fuisset factum consilium suum stravit asinum suum et surrexit et abiit in domum suam et in civitatem suam et disposita domo sua suspendio interiit et sepultus est in sepulchro patris sui
When Ahithophel realized that Absalom was not going to do what he suggested, he put a saddle on his donkey and returned to his own town. He gave [to his family] instructions about his possessions, and then he hanged himself [because he knew that Absalom would be defeated and that he would be considered a traitor and be killed]. His body was buried in the tomb where his ancestors [had been buried].
24 David autem venit in Castra et Absalom transivit Iordanem ipse et omnis vir Israhel cum eo
David [and his soldiers] arrived at Mahanaim. And Absalom [and all his Israeli soldiers] also crossed the Jordan [River].
25 Amasam vero constituit Absalom pro Ioab super exercitum Amasa autem erat filius viri qui vocabatur Iethra de Hiesreli qui ingressus est ad Abigail filiam Naas sororem Sarviae quae fuit mater Ioab
Absalom had appointed [his cousin] Amasa to be the commander of his army, instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Jether, a descendant of Ishmael. Amasa’s mother was Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and the sister of Joab’s mother Zeruiah.
26 et castrametatus est Israhel cum Absalom in terra Galaad
Absalom and his Israeli soldiers set up their tents in [the] Gilead [region].
27 cumque venisset David in Castra Sobi filius Naas de Rabbath filiorum Ammon et Machir filius Ammihel de Lodabar et Berzellai Galaadites de Rogelim
When David [and his soldiers] arrived at Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah [city] in the Ammon area, and Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-Debar [city], and Barzillai from Rogelim [town] in [the] Gilead [region]
28 obtulerunt ei stratoria et tappetia et vasa fictilia frumentum et hordeum et farinam pulentam et fabam et lentem frixum cicer
brought sleeping mats, bowls, clay pots, barley, wheat flour, parched grain, beans, and lentils to them.
29 et mel et butyrum oves et pingues vitulos dederuntque David et populo qui cum eo erat ad vescendum suspicati enim sunt populum fame et siti fatigari in deserto
They brought honey and curds, sheep, and some cream/cheese for David and his soldiers to eat. They knew that David and his soldiers would be hungry and tired and thirsty [from marching] in the desert.
