Mpitsara 3
1 Zao o fifelehañe nenga’ Iehovà hitsoha’e Israele amy te tsy maro ty teo amo fihotakotahañe amy Khanàneio;
At that time there were still many people-groups in Canaan. Yahweh left them there to test the Israeli people. But many of the Israelis in Canaan were ones who had not fought in any of the wars in Canaan. So Yahweh also left those people-groups in Canaan so that the descendants of those who had not fought in any of the wars might learn how to fight.
2 soa te ho fohi’ o tarira’ Israeleo, hampiòha’e hialy, o tsy naharendreke ndra inoñ’ inoñe ama’e taoloo;
3 aa ie toñoneñe: le teo o talè’ lime’ o nte Pilistìo naho o nte-Khanàne iabio naho o nte-Tsidoneo vaho o nte-Kive nimoneñe am-bohi’ i Libanoneo boak’ am-bohim-Baale-kermone ao pak’ am-pimoahañe e Kamate añe.
[This is a list of] the people-groups that Yahweh left there: The Philistines and their five leaders, the people living in the area near Sidon [city], the descendants of Canaan, and the descendants of Hiv who were living in the mountains of Lebanon between Baal-Hermon Mountain and Lebo-Hamath.
4 Toe ie ty fitsohañe Israele, hampaharofoanañe ke ho haoñe’ iereo o lili’ Iehovà linili’e an-droae’ iareo am-pità’ i Mosèo.
Yahweh left these people-groups there to test the Israelis, to see if they would obey his commands which he had told Moses to give them.
5 Aa le nitrao-pimoneñe amo nte-Khanàneo naho amo nte-Kiteo naho amo nte-Amoreo naho amo nte-Perizeo naho amo nte-Kivio vaho amo nte Iebosio o ana’ Israeleo;
The Israelis lived among the Canaan people-group, the Hiv people-group, the Amor people-group, the Periz people-group, the Hiv people-group, and the Jebus people-group.
6 nengae’ iareo o anak’ ampela’eo ho valy naho natolo’ iereo amo ana-dahi’eo o anak’ampela’ iareoo naho nitoroñe o ‘ndrahare’ iareoo
[Moses had told the people not to associate with any of those people]. But the Israelis took daughters of people from those people-groups [to be their own wives], and gave their own daughters to men of those groups, to marry them. And [as a result] they started to worship the gods of those people-groups.
7 naho nitolon-karatiañe añatrefa’ Iehovà o ana’ Israeleo, ie nañaliño Iehovà Andrianañahare’ iareo vaho nitoroñe o Baaleo naho o hazomangao.
The Israelis did things that Yahweh said were very evil. They forgot about Yahweh, their God, and they started to worship [the idols that represented] the god Baal and the goddess Asherah.
8 Aa le niforoforo am’ Israele ty haviñera’ Iehovà naho naleta’e am-pità’ i Kosane’risataime mpanjaka’ i Arame-naharaime, vaho nitoroñe i Kosane’ risataime valo taoñe o ana’ Israeleo.
Yahweh became very angry with the Israelis. So he allowed king Cushan from Mesopotamia to conquer them and rule them for eight years.
9 Ie nitoreo am’ Iehovà o ana’ Israeleo le nampitroara’ Iehovà mpandrombake o ana’ Israeleo hañaha iareo, toe i Otniele ana’ i Kenaze zai’ i Kalebe.
But when they pleaded to Yahweh [to help them], he gave them a leader to rescue them. He was Othniel, the son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz.
10 Nivotrak’ ama’e ty Arofo’ Iehovà, le nizaka Israele naho nionjom-bañ’ aly; le nasese’ Iehovà am-pità’e t’i Kosane’ risataime, mpanjaka’ i Arame’ naharamime vaho zinevom-pità’e t’i Kosane’ risataime.
Yahweh’s Spirit came upon him, and he became their leader. He [led an army that] fought against [the army of] Cushan, and defeated them.
11 Nitofa efa-polo taoñe i taney vaho nihomake t’i Otniele ana’ i Kenaze.
After that, there was peace in the land for 40 years, until Othniel died.
12 Aa le nanao haloloañe am-pivazohoa’ Iehovà indraike o ana’ Israeleo; vaho nampaozare’ Iehovà amy Israele ty fità’ i Eglone, mpanjaka’ i Moabe ty amo hatsivokarañe nanoe’ iereo am-pivazohoa’ Iehovào.
After that, the Israelis again did things that Yahweh said were very evil. As a result, he allowed the army of King Eglon, who ruled [the] Moab [area], to defeat the Israelis.
13 Natonto’e ama’e o ana’ i Amone naho i Amalekeo; le nionjombañ’ aly am’ Israele vaho tinava’e i rovan-tsatrañey;
Eglon persuaded the leaders of the Ammon and Amalek people-groups to join their armies with his army to attack Israel. They captured [Jericho, which was called] ‘The City of Palm Trees’.
14 vaho nitoroñe i Eglone mpanjaka’ i Moabe folo-tao-valo’ amby o ana’ Israeleo.
Then King Eglon ruled the Israelis for eighteen years.
15 Fe nikoaik’ am’ Iehovà o ana’ Israeleo le nampitroara’ Iehovà mpandrombake, toe i Ehode, ana’ i Gerà nte-Beniamine, ondaty fitàn-kavia; ie ty nañitrifa’ o ana’ Israeleo ravoravo amy Eglone mpanjaka’ i Moabe.
But then the Israelis again pleaded to Yahweh [to help them]. So he gave them another leader to rescue them. He was Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera, from the descendants of Benjamin. The Israelis sent him to King Eglon to give him their yearly protection money.
16 Nitsene fibara sambe-lela’e ho ambata’e t’i Ehode, kiho raike ty andava’e vaho nasitri’e ambane’ o siki’eo, am-pè’e ankavana ao.
Ehud had with him a double-edged dagger, about a foot and a half long. He strapped it to his right thigh, under his clothes.
17 Nendese’e amy Eglone mpanjaka’ i Moabe añe amy zao i ravoravoy—toe loho sometsetse t’i Eglone.
He gave the money to King Eglon, who was a very fat man.
18 Ie niheneke ty fibanabanàñe i ravoravoy, le nampienga’e o nanese i ravoravoio,
Then Ehud started to go back home with the men who had carried the money.
19 fa ie ka nibalike amo samposampo añ’ ila’ i Gilgaleo, le nanao ty hoe, manan-ko bisibisiheñe ama’o iraho, ry mpanjaka; le hoe re: Mianjiña! Vaho niakatse añe iaby o mpijohañe marine azeo.
When they arrived at the stone carvings near Gilgal, [he told the other men to go on, but] he himself turned around and went back [to the king of Moab. When he arrived at the palace], he said to the king, “Your majesty, I have a secret message for you.” So the king told all his servants to be quiet, and sent them out of the room.
20 Le niheo mb’ama’e mb’eo ty Ehode, ie niambesatse am-bangý añ’efe’e ambone ao, le hoe t’i Ehode ama’e, minday tsara ho azo iraho boak’ aman’ Añahare. Niongak’ amy fiambesa’ey amy zao re,
Then, as Eglon was sitting alone in the upstairs room of his summer palace, Ehud came close to him and said, “I have a message for you from God.” As the king got up from his chair,
21 le nampitakare’ i Ehode amy zao ty fitan-kavia’e handrambesa’e i fibara am-pè’e havanay vaho tinombo’e an-tro’ i Eglone,
Ehud reached with his left hand and pulled the dagger from his right thigh, and plunged it into the king’s belly.
22 le nitsorofotse reke-taho’e i lela’ey naho nakite’ i havondra’ey i lela’ey vaho tsy nahafakare’e boak’ an-tro’e ao i fibaray, te mone leotse ty niakatse.
He thrust it in so far that the handle went into the king’s belly, and the blade came out the king’s back. Ehud did not pull the dagger out. [He left it there, with] the handle buried in the king’s fat.
23 Niavotse mb’am-pimoaham-beo t’i Ehode le narindri’e ama’e ty lala’ i efetse amboney vaho nahili’e.
Then Ehud left the room. He went out to the porch. He shut the doors to the room and locked them.
24 Ie niavotse le nimb’eo o mpitoro’eo, fe nahatendreke te nihily o lala’ i efetseio le hoe ty asa’ iareo: Hera misafo-pandia re añ’anjomban’ asara’e ao.
After he had gone, King Eglon’s servants came back, but they saw that the doors of the room were locked. They said, “The king must be defecating in the inner room.”
25 Aa ie nandiñe eo am-para’ te nidaba, akore! ie tsy manokake o lalan’ anjombaio, le nangala’ iareo lahin-dakilè naho nanokake, Vaho hehe te niforetrake, fa nihomake eo i talè’ iareoy.
So they waited, but when the king did not open the doors of the room, after a while they were worried. They got a key and unlocked the doors. And they saw that their king was lying on the floor, dead.
26 Aa kanao nitambatse ela, nahabotitsike t’i Ehode le nirangae’e o samposampoo vaho nipitsike mb’e Seirate mb’eo.
Meanwhile, Ehud escaped. He passed by the stone carvings and arrived at Seirah, in the hilly area where the descendants of Ephraim lived.
27 Ie nimoak’ ao le nampipopò tsifan’ añondry am-bohi’ Efraime ey vaho nizotso nindre ama’e mb’eo o ana’ Israeleo boak’ an-kaboañe ao, ie niaolo,
There he blew a trumpet [to signal that the people should join him to fight the people of Moab]. So the Israelis went with him from the hills. They went down [toward the Jordan river], with Ehud leading them.
28 naho nanoa’e ty hoe, Oriho iraho, fa natolo’ Iehovà am-pità’ areo o nte-Moabe rafelahi’ areoo. Aa le norihe’ iereo naho nandrambe ty fitsaha’ Iordane tandrife i Moabe vaho tsy nenga’ iareo hitsahañe.
He said to the men, “Yahweh is going to allow us to defeat your enemies, the people of Moab. So follow me!” So they followed him down to the river, and they stationed some of their men at the place where people can walk across the river, in order that they could [kill any people from Moab who tried to] cross the river [to escape].
29 Zinama’ iareo amy Moabe tañ’ andro izay ty lahilahy rai-ale, songa vondrake, fonga lahindefoñe, leo raike tsy nahapoliotse.
At that time, the Israelis killed about 10,000 people from Moab. They were all strong and capable men, but not one of them escaped.
30 Aa le nafotsak’ ambanem-pità’ Israele t’i Moabe amy andro zay vaho nitofa valompolo taoñe i taney.
On that day, the Israelis conquered the people of Moab. Then there was peace in their land for 80 years.
31 Nanonjohy izay t’i Samgare ana’ i Anate. Nandafa lahilahy nte-Pilisty enen-jato ami’ty faroa-bosy; ie ka ty nandrombake Israele.
After Ehud [died], Shamgar became their leader. He rescued the Israelis [from the Philistines. In one battle] he killed 600 Philistines with an (ox goad/sharp wooden pole).
