1 Samuele 13
1 Saulo azalaki na mibu tuku misato ya mbotama tango akomaki mokonzi, mpe akonzaki Isalaele mibu tuku minei na mibale.
Saul was no longer a young man when he became the king. He ruled Israel for 42 years.
2 Saulo aponaki mibali nkoto misato kati na Isalaele: bato nkoto mibale bazalaki elongo na ye na Mikimasi mpe kati na etuka ya ngomba ya Beteli, mpe bato nkoto moko bazalaki elongo na Jonatan, na Gibea ya Benjame. Bato mosusu oyo batikali, azongisaki bango na bandako na bango.
[Several years after he became king], he chose three thousand men from the Israeli army to go with him [to fight the Philistines]. Then he sent the other soldiers back home. Of the men he chose, 2,000 stayed with Saul at Micmash and in the hilly area near Bethel, and 1,000 stayed with [Saul’s son] Jonathan at Gibeah, in the area where the descendants of Benjamin lived.
3 Jonatan alongaki bakambi ya bato ya Filisitia, oyo bazalaki na Geba. Bongo bato ya Filisitia bayokaki sango na yango. Boye Saulo abetaki kelelo kati na mokili mobimba, mpe alobaki: « Tika ete Ba-Ebre bayoka! »
Jonathan [and the men who were with him] attacked the Philistine soldiers who were camped at Geba. The [other] Philistines heard about that. [So Saul realized that the army of Philistia would probably come to fight the Israelis again]. So Saul [sent messengers to] blow trumpets throughout Israel [to gather the people together and] proclaim to them, “All you Hebrews need to hear [that now the Philistines will start a war with us]!”
4 Bato nyonso ya Isalaele bayokaki sango oyo azalaki koloba ete Saulo abundisaki mpe alongaki bakambi ya bato ya Filisitia, mpe ete bato ya Filisitia bayinaki bato ya Isalaele. Bato nyonso basanganaki na Giligali mpo na kokende kobunda elongo na Saulo.
The messengers told the rest of the army to gather together with Saul at Gilgal. And all the people in Israel heard the news. People were saying, “Saul’s army has attacked the Philistine camp, with the result that now the Philistines hate us Israelis very much.”
5 Bato ya Filisitia basanganaki mpo na kobundisa bato ya Isalaele; bazalaki na bashar nkoto tuku misato; basoda oyo babundaka likolo ya bampunda, nkoto motoba; mpe basoda oyo motango na bango ezalaki ebele lokola zelo ya ebale monene. Bayaki mpe batongaki molako na bango, na Mikimasi, na ngambo ya este ya Beti-Aveni.
The Philistines gathered together and were given equipment to fight the Israelis. The Philistines had 3,000 chariots, and 6,000 chariot-drivers. Their soldiers [seemed to be as many] as grains of sand on the seashore [HYP]. They went up and set up their tents at Micmash, to the east of Beth-Aven ([which means ‘house of wickedness’, and really referred to Bethel town]).
6 Tango bato ya Isalaele bamonaki ete bakomi na pasi, mpe ete mampinga na bango ezingami na bangambo nyonso, babombamaki kati na madusu ya mabanga, kati na mabulu, kati na mabanga, mpe kati na bandako ya se ya mabele.
The Philistines attacked the Israelis very strongly, and the Israeli soldiers realized that they were in a very bad situation. So many of the Israeli soldiers hid in caves and holes in the ground, or among the rocks, or in pits, or in wells.
7 Ndambo ya Ba-Ebre mosusu bakatisaki mayi ya Yordani mpo na kokende na mokili ya Gadi mpe ya Galadi. Saulo azalaki nanu na Giligali, mampinga nyonso oyo ezalaki elongo na ye ezalaki kolenga na somo.
Some of them crossed the Jordan River at a place where it was very shallow. Then they went to the area where the descendants of Gad lived and to [the] Gilead [region]. But Saul stayed at Gilgal. All the soldiers who were with him were shaking [because they were so afraid].
8 Azelaki mikolo sambo, tango oyo Samuele akataki. Kasi mpo ete Samuele ayaki te na Giligali, yango wana bato batikaki Saulo mpe bapalanganaki.
Saul waited seven days, which was the number of days that Samuel had told him to wait for him. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal [during that time], so many of the men in Saul’s army began to leave him and run away.
9 Saulo alobaki: « Bomemela ngai banyama ya mbeka ya kotumba mpe bambeka ya boyokani. » Mpe Saulo abonzaki mbeka ya kotumba.
So Saul said to the soldiers, “Bring to me an animal to be completely burned [on the altar] and one for the offering to enable us to maintain fellowship [with God].” [So the men did that].
10 Bongo tango kaka asilisaki kobonza mbeka yango ya kotumba, Samuele akomaki. Saulo abimaki mpo na kokende kopesa ye mbote.
And just as he was finished burning those offerings, Samuel arrived. Saul went to greet him.
11 Samuele atunaki ye: — Osali penza nini? Saulo azongisaki: — Tango namonaki ete bato babandi kopalangana mosika na ngai, mpe ete yo oyei te na ngonga oyo ekatamaki, mpe ete bato ya Filisitia bazali kosangana na Mikimasi,
Samuel [saw what Saul had done, and he] said to Saul, “Why have you done this?” Saul replied, “I saw that my men were leaving me and running away, and that you did not come here during the time that you said that you would come, and that the Philistine army was gathering together at Micmash.
12 namilobelaki: « Sik’oyo, bato ya Filisitia bazali koya kobundisa ngai na Giligali, kasi ngai nabondeli Yawe te! » Yango wana, nazwaki mokano ya kobonza mbeka ya kotumba.
“So I thought, ‘The Philistine army is going to attack us here at Gilgal, and I have not yet asked Yahweh to bless/help us.’ So I felt it was necessary to offer the burnt offerings [to seek God’s blessings].”
13 Samuele alobaki na Saulo: — Osali lokola moto ya liboma! Obateli te mitindo oyo Yawe, Nzambe na yo, apesaki yo. Soki obatelaki yango, alingaki kolendisa bokonzi na yo kati na Isalaele mpo na libela.
Samuel replied, “What you did was very foolish! You have not obeyed what Yahweh, your God, commanded [about sacrifices]. If you had obeyed him, God would have allowed you and your descendants to rule [Israel] for a long time.
14 Kasi sik’oyo, bokonzi na yo ekowumela lisusu te. Yawe aluki moto mosusu oyo asepelisaka motema na Ye mpe atie ye mokambi ya bato na Ye, pamba te yo, obateli mibeko ya Yawe te.
But now [because of what you have done, you will die, and after you die, ] none of your descendants will rule. Yahweh is seeking for a man [to be king] who will be just the kind of person that he wants him to be, so that he can appoint him to be the leader of his people. Yahweh will do this because you have not obeyed what he commanded.”
15 Bongo Samuele alongwaki na Giligali mpe akendeki na Gibea ya Benjame. Mpe Saulo atangaki bato oyo bazalaki elongo na ye: bazalaki bato pene nkama motoba.
Then Samuel left Gilgal and went up to Gibeah. Saul stayed at Gilgal with his soldiers. There were only about 600 of them left [who had not run away].
16 Saulo mpe Jonatan, mwana na ye ya mobali, mpe mibali nyonso oyo bazalaki kovanda elongo na bango batandamaki mpo na bitumba, na Geba ya Benjame. Kasi bato ya Filisitia batongaki ya bango molako na Mikimasi.
Saul and his son Jonathan and the soldiers who were with them went to Geba [city] in the area of the tribe of Benjamin [and set up their tents there]. The Philistine army set up their tents at Micmash.
17 Longwa na molako ya bato ya Filisitia, mampinga ya basoda ya mpiko ebimaki mpe ekabwanaki na masanga misato: lisanga ya liboso ezwaki nzela oyo ekenda kino na Ofira, na mokili ya Shuwali;
Three groups of Philistia men soon left the place where their army was staying, and went and (raided the Israeli towns/attacked the Israelis and took their possessions). One group went [north] toward Ophrah [city] in [the] Shual [region].
18 lisanga ya mibale etalisaki na nzela ya Beti-Oroni; mpe lisanga ya misato ezwaki nzela oyo ekenda na mondelo ya Lubwaku ya Tseboyimi, na ngambo ya esobe.
One group went [west] to Beth-Horon [city]. The third group went toward the [Israeli] border, above Zeboim Valley, near the desert.
19 Nzokande, na tango wana, batuli bibende bazalaki lisusu te kati na mokili mobimba ya Isalaele, pamba te bato ya Filisitia balobaki: « Ba-Ebre bakoki kosala te, ezala makonga to matolotolo. »
At that time, there were no men in Israel who (were blacksmiths/could make things from iron). [The people of Philistia would not permit the Israelis to do that, because they were afraid that] they would make iron swords and spears for the Hebrews to fight with.
20 Yango wana, bato nyonso ya Isalaele bazalaki kokende epai ya bato ya Filisitia mpo na kotia minu na basonge ya bibende oyo bangombe etimolaka na yango mabele, na bapiki, na bipasola mpe na bapawu.
So [whenever the Israelis needed] to sharpen the blades of their plows, or picks, or axes, or sickles, they were forced to take those things to a Philistia man who could sharpen those things.
21 Bongo mpo na kotia minu yango na bapawu, na bapiki mpe na bipasola, bazalaki kofuta bagrame mwambe ya mbongo ya bibende.
They needed to pay (one fourth of an ounce/8 grams) of silver for sharpening a plow, and (an eighth of an ounce/4 grams) of silver to sharpen an axe, or a sickle, or (an ox goad/a pointed rod to jab an ox to make it walk).
22 Boye, na mokolo ya bitumba, soda ata moko te oyo azalaki elongo na Saulo mpe na Jonatan azalaki na mopanga to na likonga na loboko na ye; kaka Saulo mpe Jonatan, mwana na ye ya mobali, nde bazalaki na yango.
So [because the Israelis could not make weapons from iron], on the day that the Israelis fought [against the men of Philistia], Saul and Jonathan were the only Israeli men who had swords. None of the others had a sword; [they had only bows and arrows].
23 Limpinga moko ya basoda ya Filisitia eyaki kotelema na kati-kati ya lubwaku ya Mikimasi.
Before the battle started, some Philistia men went to (the pass/a narrow place between two cliffs) outside Micmash to guard it.
