1 Samuele 6
1 Sima na Sanduku ya Yawe kosala sanza sambo kati na mokili ya bato ya Filisitia,
The people of Philistia kept God’s sacred chest in their area for seven months.
2 bato ya Filisitia babengisaki Banganga-Nzambe mpe bato ya soloka, balobaki na bango: — Tosengeli kosala nini na Sanduku ya Yawe? Boyebisa biso ndenge nini tokoki kozongisa yango na esika na yango.
Then they summoned their priests and their (diviners/men who practice rituals to find out what would happen in the future). They asked them, “What should we do with the sacred chest of Yahweh? Tell us how we should send it back to its own land.”
3 Bazongisaki: — Soki bolingi kozongisa Sanduku ya Nzambe ya Isalaele, bozongisa yango ya pamba te, kasi bozongisa yango elongo na bambeka mpo na masumu; bongo bokobika na bokono, mpe bokoyeba mpo na nini loboko na Yawe etikaki te konyokola bino.
Those men replied, “Send with it an offering [to show Yahweh that you know that you are] guilty [for having captured the chest], in order that the plague will stop. If you do that, and then if you are healed, you will know that Yahweh is the one who caused you to experience the plague.”
4 Bato ya Filisitia batunaki: — Mbeka ya masumu ya lolenge nini tosengeli kobonzela Yawe? Bazongisaki: — Kolanda motango ya bakambi ya bato ya Filisitia, bobonzela Ye biloko mitano ya wolo, oyo ekotalisa bapota ya libumu, mpe bampuku mitano ya wolo; pamba te ezala bino to bakambi na bino, bokweyelaki kaka etumbu ya ndenge moko.
The people of Philistia asked, “What kind of offering should we send?” The men replied, “Make five gold models of the tumors on your skin, and five gold models of rats. Make five of each because that is the same number as the number of your kings, and because the plague has struck both you people and your five kings.
5 Bosala bililingi oyo ekotalisa bapota na bino ya libumu, mpe oyo ekotalisa bampuku oyo ezali kobebisa mokili na bino; mpe bopesa nkembo na Nzambe ya Isalaele. Tango mosusu, akolongola loboko na Ye na likolo na bino, na likolo ya banzambe na bino, mpe na likolo ya mokili na bino.
Make models that represent the rats and the tumors that are ruining your land. Make them in order to honor the god of the Israeli people. If you do that, perhaps he will stop punishing [IDM] you, and your gods, and your land.
6 Tina nini kozala moto makasi lokola Faraon mpe bato ya Ejipito? Bokanisa ete sima na Nzambe konyokola bango, batikaki bana ya Isalaele kokende na nzela na bango.
Do not be [RHQ] stubborn [IDM] like the Egyptians and their king were. [They did not do what the Israelis’ god told them to do, so he punished them]. After the Israelis’ god finished punishing them very severely, they were glad to allow the Israelis to leave their country [RHQ].
7 Boye bino, bosala sik’oyo shario moko ya sika; bozwa bangombe mibale ya basi oyo ezali komelisa mpe oyo nanu balatisi te ekangiseli na kingo. Bokangisa bangombe yango na shario, kasi bozongisa bana na yango na lopango.
“So you must build a new cart. Then get two cows that have very recently given birth to calves. They must be cows that have never been hitched to a cart [MTY]. Hitch those cows to the new cart, and take the calves away from their mothers.
8 Bokamata Sanduku ya Yawe mpe botia yango na likolo ya shario. Pembeni ya Sanduku ya Yawe, botia kati na mwa sanduku moko ya moke biloko ya wolo oyo bokobonzela Yawe lokola bambeka mpo na masumu. Sima, botika yango kokende.
Put the Israelis’ god’s sacred chest on the cart. Also put in the cart the five gold models of the tumors on your skin and the five gold models of rats. Put them in a small box alongside the sacred chest. They will be an offering to show that you know that you deserved to be punished [for capturing the sacred chest]. Then send [the cows] down the road, [pulling] the cart.
9 Kasi bokotala yango malamu: soki Sanduku ya Yawe ezwi nzela ya Beti-Shemeshi mpo na kokende na mokili na yango, wana elakisi ete Yawe nde akweyiselaki biso pasi makasi yango; soki te, wana tokoyeba ete ezalaki na yango loboko na Yawe te, kasi oyo ekomelaki biso ezalaki na yango kaka libaku.
[Watch the cart as the cows pull it]. If they pull it to Beth-Shemesh [town] in Israel, we will know that it was the Israelis’ god who caused us to experience this plague. But if they do not take it there, we will know that it was not the god [MTY] of the Israelis who has punished us. We will know that it just happened.”
10 Bato ya Filisitia basalaki ndenge bayebisaki bango: bazwaki bangombe mibale ya basi oyo ezalaki komelisa mpe bakangisaki yango na shario. Kasi bazongisaki bana na yango na lopango.
So the people did what the priests and men who predicted what would happen in the future told them to do. They [made] a cart [and] hitched two cows to it. They took the calves from their mothers.
11 Batiaki Sanduku ya Yawe na likolo ya shario; bongo na pembeni na yango, batiaki mwa sanduku oyo ya moke, oyo kati na yango ezalaki na bampuku ya wolo mpe bililingi ya bapota na bango ya libumu.
They put in the cart Yahweh’s sacred chest and the box with the models of the gold rats and the tumors.
12 Bangombe yango ya basi ekendeki mbala moko na nzela ya Beti-Shemeshi, elandaki kaka nzela yango mpe, nzela-nzela, ezalaki kolela; ebalukaki te ezala na ngambo ya loboko ya mwasi to na ngambo ya loboko ya mobali. Nzokande bakambi ya bato ya Filisitia balandaki yango na mosika kino na mondelo ya Beti-Shemeshi.
Then the cows started walking, and they went straight toward Beth-Shemesh. They stayed on the road, and were mooing all the time. They did not turn to the left or to the right. The five kings of the Philistia area followed the cows until they reached the edge of Beth-Shemesh.
13 Na eleko yango, bato ya Beti-Shemeshi bazalaki kobuka ble, na lubwaku. Bongo tango batombolaki miso mpe bamonaki Sanduku, basepelaki makasi.
At that time, the people of Beth-Shemesh were harvesting wheat in the valley [outside the city]. [When the cows came along the road], they looked up and saw the sacred chest. They were extremely happy to see it.
14 Shario ekomaki na elanga ya Jozue, moto ya Beti-Shemeshi, mpe etelemaki wana, pembeni ya libanga monene. Bato babukaki mabaya ya sanduku mpe babonzaki bangombe ya basi lokola mbeka ya kotumba mpo na Yawe.
The cows pulled the cart into the field of a man named Joshua, and they stopped alongside a large rock. Several men from the tribe of Levi lifted from the cart the sacred chest and the box containing the gold models of the rats and the tumors, and they put them all on the large rock. Then the people smashed the cart and kindled a fire with the wood [from which the cart had been made]. They slaughtered the cows and burned their bodies/carcasses on the fire to be an offering for Yahweh that would be completely burned. That day the people of Beth-Shemesh offered to Yahweh [many] sacrifices that were completely burned, and [other] sacrifices.
15 Balevi bakitisaki Sanduku ya Yawe elongo na mwa sanduku ya moke oyo kati na yango ezalaki na biloko ya wolo, mpe batiaki yango na likolo ya libanga monene. Na mokolo wana, bato ya Beti-Shemeshi babonzaki bambeka ya kotumba mpe makabo epai na Yawe.
16 Bakambi yango mitano ya bato ya Filisitia bamonaki makambo nyonso wana mpe bazongaki na Ekroni kaka mokolo wana.
The five kings from the Philistia area watched all this, and then they returned to Ekron, that same day.
17 Tala bililingi ya wolo ya bapota ya libumu oyo bato ya Filisitia babonzelaki Yawe lokola bambeka mpo na masumu: moko mpo na Asidodi, moko mpo na Gaza, moko mpo na Ashikeloni, moko mpo na Gati, moko mpo na Ekroni.
The five gold models of tumors that they sent to be an offering to Yahweh to show that they knew that they deserved to be punished were gifts from [those five kings who were rulers of] Ashdod, Gaza, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron [cities].
18 Ezalaki mpe na bampuku ya wolo, kolanda motango ya bingumba ya bato ya Filisitia, oyo bakambi mitano oyo bazalaki koyangela: kobanda na bingumba batonga makasi, bamboka na yango ya mike kino na libanga ya monene oyo, na likolo na yango, batiaki Sanduku ya Yawe mpe oyo, kino na mokolo ya lelo, ezali na elanga ya Jozue, moto ya Beti-Shemeshi.
The models of the five gold rats were gifts from the people of those five cities and the surrounding towns. The large rock at Beth-Shemesh, on which the [men of the tribe of Levi] set the sacred chest, is still there in the field that belonged to Joshua. When people see it, they remember [what happened there].
19 Kasi Nzambe abomaki bato ya Beti-Shemeshi mpo ete batalaki Sanduku ya Yawe: kati na bato nkoto tuku mitano, abomaki tuku sambo. Bato ya Beti-Shemeshi basalaki matanga mpo ete Yawe apesaki bango etumbu ya makasi.
But seventy men from Beth-Shemesh looked into Yahweh’s sacred chest, and because of that, Yahweh caused them to die. Then the people mourned very much because Yahweh punished [IDM] those men like that.
20 Bato ya Beti-Shemeshi balobaki: « Nani akoki kotelema liboso ya Yawe, Nzambe oyo ya bule? Sanduku ekokende epai ya nani soki elongwe awa epai na biso? »
They said, “No one [RHQ] can (resist the power of/stand in the presence of) Yahweh, our holy God, [and remain alive]! Where can we send the sacred chest?”
21 Bongo batindaki bantoma koloba na bato ya Kiriati-Yearimi: « Bato ya Filisitia bazongisi Sanduku ya Yawe; boya kozwa yango mpe bomema yango epai na bino. »
They sent messengers to the people of Kiriath-Jearim [city] to tell them, “The people of Philistia have returned Yahweh’s sacred chest to us! Come here and take it away!”
