< I Samuela 13 >
1 Saul królował [już] rok, a gdy królował dwa lata nad Izraelem;
Saul was no longer a young man when he became the king. He ruled Israel for 42 years.
2 Wybrał sobie trzy tysiące [ludzi] z Izraela. Dwa tysiące było przy Saulu w Mikmas i na górze Betel, a tysiąc był z Jonatanem w Gibea Beniamina. Resztę ludu rozesłał, każdego do swego namiotu.
[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 Wtedy Jonatan pobił załogę Filistynów, która [była] w Geba, o czym usłyszeli Filistyni. Saul zadął więc w trąbę po całej ziemi i powiedział: Niech usłyszą [o tym] Hebrajczycy.
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 I cały Izrael usłyszał, że mówiono: Saul pobił załogę Filistynów i z tego powodu Izrael stał się obmierzły dla Filistynów. I zwołano lud, [by wyruszył] za Saulem do Gilgal.
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 Filistyni też zgromadzili się do walki z Izraelem: trzydzieści tysięcy rydwanów i sześć tysięcy jeźdźców, a ludu tak dużo jak piasku nad brzegiem morza. I nadciągnęli, i rozbili obóz w Mikmas, na wschód od Bet-Awen.
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 A gdy Izraelici widzieli, że są w niebezpieczeństwie – gdyż lud był strapiony – ukryli się w jaskiniach, zaroślach, skałach, twierdzach i jamach.
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 [Niektórzy] Hebrajczycy przeprawili się za Jordan, do ziemi Gad i Gilead. Lecz Saul jeszcze został w Gilgal, a cały lud szedł za nim strwożony.
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 I czekał przez siedem dni zgodnie z czasem wyznaczonym przez Samuela. Kiedy jednak Samuel nie przyszedł do Gilgal, cały lud odszedł od niego.
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 Wtedy Saul powiedział: Przynieście mi całopalenie i ofiary pojednawcze. I złożył całopalenie.
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 Gdy skończył składać całopalenie, oto przyszedł Samuel, a Saul wyszedł mu naprzeciw, aby go przywitać.
And just as he was finished burning those offerings, Samuel arrived. Saul went to greet him.
11 I Samuel zapytał: Co uczyniłeś? Saul odpowiedział: Ponieważ widziałem, że lud rozchodzi się ode mnie, że ty nie przyszedłeś w oznaczonym czasie, a Filistyni zgromadzili się w Mikmas;
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 Wtedy powiedziałem: Oto Filistyni zstąpią na mnie do Gilgal, a ja jeszcze nie zjednałem sobie PANA. Przezwyciężyłem się więc i złożyłem całopalenie.
“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 Samuel powiedział do Saula: Głupio postąpiłeś. Nie zachowałeś przykazania PANA, swego Boga, które ci nadał. PAN bowiem teraz utwierdziłby twoje królestwo nad Izraelem aż na wieki.
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 Lecz teraz twoje królestwo się nie ostoi. PAN wyszukał sobie człowieka według swego serca i PAN ustanowił go wodzem nad swoim ludem, gdyż nie zachowałeś tego, co ci PAN rozkazał.
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 Wtedy Samuel wstał i wyruszył z Gilgal do Gibea Beniamina. I Saul policzył lud, który znajdował się przy nim: [było ich wszystkich] około sześciuset mężczyzn.
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 Saul więc i jego syn Jonatan oraz lud, który znajdował się przy nich, zostali w Gibea Beniamina. Filistyni zaś rozbili obóz w Mikmas.
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 I łupieżcy wyszli z obozu Filistynów w trzech oddziałach: jeden oddział skierował się w stronę Ofry, do ziemi Szaul.
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 Drugi oddział skierował się w stronę Bet-Choron. Trzeci zaś oddział udał się w stronę granicy przylegającej do doliny Seboim – ku pustyni.
One group went [west] to Beth-Horon [city]. The third group went toward the [Israeli] border, above Zeboim Valley, near the desert.
19 Lecz w całej ziemi Izraela nie było żadnego kowala, bo Filistyni mówili: Niech Hebrajczycy nie robią mieczów ani włóczni.
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 Cały Izrael schodził więc do Filistynów, by każdy naostrzył sobie swój lemiesz, redlicę, siekierę i motykę.
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 Mieli bowiem tylko pilnik do ścierania lemieszy, motyk, wideł, siekier i ościeni.
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 Tak więc się stało, że w dniu bitwy nie można było znaleźć miecza ani włóczni w ręku całego ludu, [który był] z Saulem i Jonatanem. Znajdowały się tylko u Saula i jego syna Jonatana.
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 A załoga Filistynów wyruszyła na przełęcz Mikmas.
Before the battle started, some Philistia men went to (the pass/a narrow place between two cliffs) outside Micmash to guard it.