Abahluleli 3
1 Lalezi yizizwe iNkosi eyazitshiyayo ukuze ihlole uIsrayeli ngazo, bonke abangazazanga zonke izimpi zeKhanani;
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 kuphela ukuze izizukulwana zabantwana bakoIsrayeli zazi, ukuzifundisa impi, kuphela abangazazanga phambili:
3 Amakhosi amahlanu amaFilisti, lawo wonke amaKhanani, lamaSidoni, lamaHivi ayehlala entabeni yeLebhanoni, kusukela entabeni yeBhali-Hermoni kuze kube sekungeneni kweHamathi.
[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 Zazingezokuhlola uIsrayeli ngazo ukwazi ukuthi bazayilalela yini imilayo yeNkosi eyabalaya yona oyise ngesandla sikaMozisi.
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 Abantwana bakoIsrayeli bahlala-ke phakathi kwamaKhanani, amaHethi, lamaAmori, lamaPerizi, lamaHivi, lamaJebusi.
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 Basebethatha amadodakazi awo ukuba ngomkabo, lamadodakazi abo bawanika amadodana awo, bakhonza onkulunkulu bawo.
[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 Abantwana bakoIsrayeli basebesenza okubi emehlweni eNkosi, bayikhohlwa iNkosi uNkulunkulu wabo, bakhonza oBhali lezixuku.
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 Ngakho ulaka lweNkosi lwavutha kuIsrayeli, yabathengisa esandleni sikaKushani-Rishathayimi inkosi yeMesopotamiya. Abantwana bakoIsrayeli basebeyisebenzela inkosi uKushani-Rishathayimi iminyaka eyisificaminwembili.
Yahweh became very angry with the Israelis. So he allowed king Cushan from Mesopotamia to conquer them and rule them for eight years.
9 Kwathi abantwana bakoIsrayeli bekhala eNkosini, iNkosi yabavusela abantwana bakoIsrayeli umkhululi owabakhululayo, uOthiniyeli indodana kaKenazi umfowabo kaKalebi ongumnawakhe.
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 Njalo uMoya weNkosi wayephezu kwakhe, wahlulela uIsrayeli, waphuma impi, iNkosi yanikela esandleni sakhe uKushani-Rishathayimi inkosi yeSiriya, lesandla sakhe saba lamandla phezu kukaKushani-Rishathayimi.
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 Lelizwe laba lokuthula iminyaka engamatshumi amane. UOthiniyeli indodana kaKenazi wasesifa.
After that, there was peace in the land for 40 years, until Othniel died.
12 Abantwana bakoIsrayeli basebebuya besenza okubi emehlweni eNkosi. INkosi yasimqinisa uEgiloni inkosi yakoMowabi ukumelana loIsrayeli, ngenxa yokuthi babenzile okubi emehlweni eNkosi.
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 Wasezibuthela abantwana bakoAmoni loAmaleki, waya wamtshaya uIsrayeli, badla ilifa lomuzi wamalala.
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 Abantwana bakoIsrayeli basebesebenzela uEgiloni inkosi yakoMowabi iminyaka elitshumi leyisificaminwembili.
Then King Eglon ruled the Israelis for eighteen years.
15 Kwathi abantwana bakoIsrayeli bekhala eNkosini, iNkosi yabavusela umkhululi, uEhudi indodana kaGera, umBhenjamini owayelinxele. Abantwana bakoIsrayeli basebethumela ngesandla sakhe isipho kuEgiloni inkosi yakoMowabi.
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 UEhudi wasezenzela inkemba ebukhali inhlangothi ezimbili, ubude bayo buyingalo, wayibophela ngaphansi kwezigqoko zakhe ethangazini lakhe lokunene.
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 Wasondeza isipho kuEgiloni inkosi yakoMowabi. Njalo uEgiloni wayengumuntu okhulupheleyo kakhulu.
He gave the money to King Eglon, who was a very fat man.
18 Kwasekusithi eseqedile ukusondeza isipho, wasephelekezela abantu ababethwele isipho.
Then Ehud started to go back home with the men who had carried the money.
19 Kodwa yena wabuyela emuva ezithombeni ezibaziweyo ezaziseGiligali, wathi: Nkosi, ngilendaba eyimfihlo kuwe. Yasisithi: Thula. Bonke ababemi laye basebephuma.
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 UEhudi wasesiza kuye ehlezi endlini ephezulu epholileyo eyayingeyakhe yedwa. UEhudi wathi: Ngilendaba kaNkulunkulu kuwe. Wasesukuma esihlalweni.
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 UEhudi waseselula isandla sakhe sokhohlo, wathatha inkemba ethangazini lakhe lokunene, wayithela esiswini sakhe,
Ehud reached with his left hand and pulled the dagger from his right thigh, and plunged it into the king’s belly.
22 kwaze kwangena lesilanda emva kobukhali, amahwahwa agubuzela ubukhali, ngoba kayingcothulanga inkemba esiswini sakhe, kwasekuphuma umswane.
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 UEhudi wasephuma ekhulusini, wavala iminyango yendlu ephezulu emva kwakhe, wayikhiya.
Then Ehud left the room. He went out to the porch. He shut the doors to the room and locked them.
24 Yena esephumile, kwafika izinceku zakhe; kwathi zibona, khangela-ke, iminyango yendlu ephezulu yayikhiyiwe, zathi: Sibili wembese inyawo zakhe endlini epholileyo.
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 Njalo zalinda zaze zaba lenhloni; khangela-ke kavulanga iminyango yendlu ephezulu; ngakho zathatha isihluthulelo zavula, khangela-ke, inkosi yazo yayiwele phansi ifile.
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 UEhudi wasephunyuka zisalibele, yena wedlula ezithombeni ezibaziweyo, waphunyuka waya eSeyira.
Meanwhile, Ehud escaped. He passed by the stone carvings and arrived at Seirah, in the hilly area where the descendants of Ephraim lived.
27 Kwasekusithi ekufikeni kwakhe wavuthela uphondo entabeni yakoEfrayimi. Abantwana bakoIsrayeli basebesehla laye ezintabeni, yena ephambi kwabo.
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 Wasesithi kibo: Landelani emva kwami, ngoba iNkosi inikele izitha zenu amaMowabi esandleni senu. Ngakho behla bamlandela, bathumba amazibuko eJordani aye koMowabi, kabavumelanga muntu ukuchapha.
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 Basebebulala amaMowabi ngalesosikhathi angaba zinkulungwane ezilitshumi, amadoda wonke aqatha lawo wonke amadoda alamandla, njalo kakuphunyukanga muntu.
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 Ngalokho uMowabi wehliselwa phansi mhlalokho ngaphansi kwesandla sikaIsrayeli. Lelizwe laba lokuthula iminyaka engamatshumi ayisificaminwembili.
On that day, the Israelis conquered the people of Moab. Then there was peace in their land for 80 years.
31 Lemva kwakhe kwaba loShamigari indodana kaAnathi, owatshaya amaFilisti amadoda angamakhulu ayisithupha ngocijo lwenkabi; laye wasemkhulula uIsrayeli.
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).
