1 USamuyeli 30
1 Kwasekusithi ngosuku lwesithathu, lapho uDavida labantu bakhe befika eZikilagi, amaAmaleki ayehlasele iningizimu, leZikilagi, ayitshaya iZikilagi, ayitshisa ngomlilo,
Three days later, when David and his men arrived at Ziklag, [they discovered that] men of the Amalek people-group had raided Ziklag and [towns in] the southern part of Judah. They had destroyed Ziklag and burned down all the buildings.
2 athumba abesifazana ababephakathi kwayo; kusukela komncinyane kuze kube komkhulu kawabulalanga muntu, kodwa abaqhuba, ahamba ngendlela yawo.
They had captured the women [and the children] and everyone else, and had taken them away. But they had not killed anyone.
3 Lapho uDavida labantu bakhe befika emzini, khangela, wawutshisiwe ngomlilo, labomkabo, lamadodana abo lamadodakazi abo sebethunjiwe.
When David and his men came to Ziklag, they saw that the town had been burned, and that their wives and sons and daughters had been captured and taken away.
4 UDavida labantu ababelaye basebephakamisa ilizwi labo bakhala inyembezi akaze aba khona kubo amandla okukhala.
David and his men cried loudly, until [they were so weak that] they could not cry [any more].
5 OmkaDavida bobabili labo babethunjiwe, uAhinowama umJizereyelikazi loAbigayili umkaNabali weKharmeli.
David’s two wives, Ahinoam and Abigail, had also been taken away.
6 UDavida wasecindezeleka kakhulu, ngoba abantu babekhuluma ngokumkhanda ngamatshe, ngoba umphefumulo wabantu bonke wawubuhlungu, ngulowo lalowo ngenxa yamadodana langenxa yamadodakazi akhe. Kodwa uDavida waziqinisa ngeNkosi uNkulunkulu wakhe.
David’s men were threatening to [kill him by] throwing stones at him, because they were very angry because their sons and daughters [had been taken away]. David was very distressed, but Yahweh his God gave him strength.
7 UDavida wasesithi kuAbhiyatha umpristi indodana kaAhimeleki: Akungilethele lapha i-efodi. UAbhiyatha waseyiletha i-efodi kuDavida.
David [did not know what to do, so he] said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring to me the sacred vest.” So Abiathar brought it,
8 UDavida wasebuza eNkosini esithi: Ngixotshane laleliviyo yini? Ngizalifica yini? Yasisithi kuye: Xotshana lalo, ngoba uzalifica lokulifica, ubakhulule lokubakhulula.
and David asked Yahweh, “Should I [and my men] pursue the men [who took our families]? Will we [be able to] catch up to them?” Yahweh answered [by means of the stones in Abiathar’s sacred pouch], “Yes, pursue them. You will catch up to them, and you will be able to rescue [your families].”
9 Ngakho uDavida wahamba, yena labantu abangamakhulu ayisithupha ababelaye, bafika esifuleni iBesori lapho abasalayo bahlala khona.
So David and the 600 men who were with him left, and they came to the Besor Ravine. Some of his men stayed there [with some of their supplies].
10 Kodwa uDavida waxotshana labo, yena labantu abangamakhulu amane; ngoba abangamakhulu amabili basala, ababekhathele kakhulu ukuthi babengelakuchapha isifula iBesori.
David and 400 men continued to pursue [the men who captured their families]. The other 200 men stayed there at the ravine, because they were so exhausted that they could not cross the ravine.
11 Basebefica umGibhithe emmangweni, bamletha kuDavida, bamnika ukudla, wadla, bamnathisa amanzi;
[As David and the 400 men were going], they saw a man from Egypt in a field; so they took him to David. They gave the man some water to drink and some food to eat.
12 bamnika ucezu lwesinkwa somkhiwa lamahlukuzo amabili ezithelo zevini ezonyisiweyo. Kwathi esedlile umoya wabuyela kuye, ngoba wayengadlanga kudla, enganathanga manzi, insuku ezintathu lobusuku obuthathu.
They also gave him a piece of fig cake and two clusters/packs of raisins. The man had not had anything to eat or drink for three days and nights, but [after he ate and drank] he felt refreshed.
13 UDavida wasesithi kuye: Ungokabani? Uvela ngaphi? Wasesithi: Ngilijaha leGibhithe, inceku yomAmaleki, lenkosi yami ingitshiyile ngoba bengigula okwensuku ezintathu.
David asked him, “Who is your master? And where do you come from?” He replied, “I am from Egypt. I am a slave of a man from the Amalek people-group. Three days ago my master left me here, because I was sick [and I was not able to go with them].
14 Thina besihlasela iningizimu yamaKerethi, lakwelakoJuda, leningizimu yakoKalebi, leZikilagi sayitshisa ngomlilo.
We had raided the southern part of Judah where the Kereth people-group live, and some other towns in Judah, and the area south [of Hebron city] where the descendants of Caleb live. We also burned Ziklag [town].”
15 UDavida wasesithi kulo: Ungangehlisela kuleloviyo yini? Laselisithi: Funga kimi ngoNkulunkulu ukuthi kawuyikungibulala, njalo kawuyikunginikela esandleni senkosi yami, besengikwehlisela kuleloviyo.
David asked him, “Can you lead us to this group of raiders?” He replied, “Yes, [I will do that] if you ask God to listen while you promise that you will not kill me or give me back to my master. If you promise that, I will take you to them.”
16 Selimehlisile, khangela, babehlakazekile ebusweni bomhlaba wonke, besidla, benatha, begidela impango enkulu ababeyithethe elizweni lamaFilisti lelizweni lakoJuda.
[David agreed to do that, ] so the man from Egypt led David [and his men] to where the men from the Amalek people-group were. Those men were lying on the ground, eating and drinking and celebrating because of having captured many things from the Philistia and Judah areas.
17 UDavida wasebatshaya kusukela libantubahle kwaze kwaba kusihlwa kosuku olulandelayo lwabo. Njalo kakuphunyukanga muntu kubo, ngaphandle kwamajaha angamakhulu amane, agada amakamela, abaleka.
David [and his men] fought against them from sunset that day until the evening of the following day. Four hundred of them escaped and rode away on camels, but none of the others escaped.
18 UDavida wasekhulula konke amaAmaleki ayekuthethe, labomkakhe bobabili uDavida wabakhulula.
David rescued his two wives, and he and his men got back everything else that the men of the Amalek people-group had taken.
19 Njalo kakusilelanga lutho kubo kusukela komncinyane kuze kube komkhulu, kuze kube semadodaneni lemadodakazini, lempangweni, ngitsho lakuphi ababezithathele khona; uDavida wakubuyisa konke.
Nothing was missing. They took all their people back [to Ziklag]—young people and old people, [their wives], their sons and their daughters. They also recovered all the other things that the men of the Amalek people-group had taken from Ziklag.
20 UDavida wasethatha zonke izimvu lenkomo. Baziqhuba phambi kwenkomo lezo, bathi: Le yimpango kaDavida.
They took with them the sheep and cattle that had been captured, and his men caused those animals to go in front of them, saying, “These are animals that we captured in the battle; they belong to David!”
21 UDavida wasefika kulabobantu abangamakhulu amabili ababekhathele kakhulu ukuthi babengelakulandela uDavida, abathi kabahlale esifuleni seBesori; basebephuma ukumhlangabeza uDavida lokuhlangabeza abantu ababelaye. Lapho uDavida esondela kubantu, wababuza impilakahle.
David and his men got back to where the other 200 men were waiting, the men who did not go with David because they were very exhausted. They had stayed at Besor Ravine. [When they saw David and his men coming], they went out to greet them. And David [greeted them and] said to them, “I hope that things are going well with you!”
22 Basebephendula bonke abantu ababi labakaBheliyali phakathi kwabantu ababehambe loDavida bathi: Njengoba bengahambanga lathi, kasiyikubanika empangweni esiyikhululileyo, ngaphandle kwakuleyo laleyondoda umkayo labantwana bayo, ukuthi babakhokhele bahambe.
But some of the men who had gone with David, men who were evil and troublemakers, said, “These 200 men did not go with us. So we should not give to them any of the things that we recovered/captured. Each of them should take only his wife and children and go [back to their homes].”
23 Kodwa uDavida wathi: Kaliyikwenza njalo, bafowethu, ngalokho iNkosi esiphe khona, esilondolozileyo, yanikela esandleni sethu iviyo eleza lamelana lathi.
David replied, “No, my fellow Israelis, it would not be right to divide up like that the things that Yahweh has allowed us to capture. Yahweh has protected us and enabled us to defeat the enemies who attacked our town.
24 Pho, ngubani ozalilalela kuloludaba? Ngoba njengesabelo salowo owehlela empini sinjalo isabelo salowo ohlala lempahla; bazakwabelana ngokulinganayo.
(Who will pay attention to you if you say things like that?/No one will pay attention to you if you say things like that.) [RHQ] The men who stayed here with our supplies will get the same amount that the men who went into the battle will get. They will all receive the same amount.”
25 Kwasekusiba njalo kusukela mhlalokho kusiya phambili, ukuthi wakwenza kwaba yisimiso lesimiselo koIsrayeli kuze kube lamuhla.
David made that to be a law [DOU] for the Israeli people, and that is still a law in Israel.
26 UDavida esefikile eZikilagi, wathumela okwempango kubadala bakoJuda, kubo abangane bakhe, esithi: Khangela, isibusiso senu esivela empangweni yezitha zeNkosi.
When David [and all the others] arrived in Ziklag, David sent to his friends who were leaders in Judah some of the things that they had captured from the Amalek people-group. He said to them, “Here is a present for you. These are things that we took from Yahweh’s enemies.”
27 KwabeseBhetheli, lakwabaseRamothi yeningizimu, lakwabaseJatiri,
[Here is a list of the cities and towns to whose leaders David sent gifts: ] Bethel, Ramoth in the southern part of Judah, Jattir,
28 lakwabaseAroweri, lakwabaseSifimothi, lakwabaseEshithemowa,
Aroer, Siphmoth, Eshtemoa,
29 lakwabaseRakali, lakwabasemizini yamaJerameli, lakwabasemizini yamaKeni,
Racal, the cities where the descendants of Jehrameel lived and the cities where the Ken people-group lived,
30 lakwabaseHorma, lakwabaseBorashani, lakwabaseAthaki,
Hormah, Bor-Ashan, Athach,
31 lakwabaseHebroni, lendaweni zonke lapho uDavida ahamba khona besiya le lale, yena labantu bakhe.
Hebron, and all the other places where David and his men had gone [when they were hiding from Saul].
