Sudije 21
1 A sinovi Izrailjevi bijahu se zakleli u Mispi rekavši: nijedan izmeðu nas da ne da kæeri svoje za ženu sinu Venijaminovu.
When the Israeli men gathered at Mizpah [before the battle started], they vowed, “None of us will ever allow one of our daughters to marry any man from the tribe of Benjamin!”
2 Zato otide narod k domu Božijemu, i ostaše ondje do veèera pred Bogom, i podigavši glas svoj plakaše vrlo,
But now the Israelis went to Bethel and they cried loudly to Yahweh all day, until the sun went down.
3 I rekoše: zašto se, Gospode Bože Izrailjev, dogodi ovo u Izrailju, danas da nestane jednoga plemena iz Izrailja?
They kept saying, “Yahweh, God of us Israeli people, [it is as though] one of the tribes of us Israelis does not exist any more! (Why has this happened to us?/It is terrible that this has happened to us!)” [RHQ]
4 I sjutradan urani narod, i naèini ondje oltar, i prinesoše žrtve paljenice i žrtve zahvalne.
Early the next morning the people built an altar. Then they completely burned some sacrifices [on the altar], and also offered other sacrifices to maintain fellowship with God.
5 Tada rekoše sinovi Izrailjevi: ima li ko da nije došao na zbor iz svijeh plemena Izrailjevijeh ka Gospodu? Jer se bijahu teško zakleli za onoga ko ne doðe u Mispu ka Gospodu rekavši: da se pogubi.
Then, because they had vowed that anyone who did not meet with them at Mizpah [to help fight the men of the tribe of Benjamin] would be killed, they asked among themselves, “Were there any of the tribes of Israel who did not come to Mizpah to meet with us in the presence of Yahweh?”
6 Jer se sinovima Izrailjevijem sažali za Venijaminom bratom njihovijem, i rekoše: danas se istrijebi jedno pleme iz Izrailja.
The Israelis felt sorry for their fellow Israelis from the tribe of Benjamin. They said, “Today one of our Israeli tribes (has disappeared/no longer exists).
7 Šta æemo èiniti s onima što su ostali da bi imali žene, kad se zaklesmo Gospodom da im ne damo kæeri svojih za žene?
Yahweh heard us solemnly declare that we would not allow any of our daughters to marry any man from the tribe of Benjamin. What can we do to make certain that the men of the tribe of Benjamin who were not killed will have wives?”
8 Pa rekoše: ima li ko iz plemena Izrailjevijeh da nije došao u Mispu ka Gospodu? I gle, ne bješe došao na vojsku, na zbor, niko iz Javisa Galadova.
Then [one of] them asked, “What group from any of the tribes of Israel did not send any men here to Mizpah?”
9 Jer kad se narod prebroji, gle, ne bješe ondje nijednoga od onijeh koji žive u Javisu Galadovu.
[They realized that] when the soldiers were counted, there was no one from Jabesh-Gilead [city] who had come there.
10 Zato posla zbor onamo dvanaest tisuæa hrabrijeh ljudi, i zapovjedi im govoreæi: idite i pobijte stanovnike u Javisu Galadovu oštrijem maèem i žene i djecu.
So all the Israelis decided to send 12,000 very good soldiers to Jabesh-Gilead to kill the people there with their swords, even to kill the married women and children.
11 Ovo æete dakle uèiniti: sve muškinje i sve ženskinje što je poznalo èovjeka pobijte.
[They told this to those men]: “This is what you must do: You must kill every man in Jabesh-Gilead. You must also kill every married woman. [But do not kill the unmarried women].”
12 I naðoše meðu stanovnicima Javisa Galadova èetiri stotine djevojaka, koje ne bjehu poznale èovjeka, i dovedoše ih u oko u Silom, koji je u zemlji Hananskoj.
So those soldiers [went to Jabesh-Gilead and killed all the men, married women, and children. But they] found 400 unmarried young women there. So they brought them to their camp at Shiloh, in Canaan, [across the river from the Gilead area that belonged to the tribe of Benjamin].
13 Tada posla sav zbor, te govoriše sinovima Venijaminovijem koji bjehu u stijeni Rimonu, i objaviše im mir.
Then all the Israelis [who had gathered] sent a message to the 600 men who were at Rimmon Rock. They said that they would like to make peace with them.
14 Tako se vratiše sinovi Venijaminovi u to vrijeme, i dadoše im žene koje ostaviše u životu izmeðu žena iz Javisa Galadova; ali ih ne bješe dosta za njih.
So the men came back from Rimmon Rock. The Israelis gave to them the women from Jabesh-Gilead whom they had not killed. But there were [only 400 women. But there were] not enough women [for those 600 men].
15 A narodu bješe žao Venijamina što Gospod okrnji plemena Izrailjeva.
The Israelis [still] felt sorry for the men of the tribe of Benjamin, because Yahweh had (decimated/almost wiped out) one of the Israeli tribes.
16 Pa rekoše starješine od zbora: šta æemo èiniti s ovima što su ostali da bi imali žene? jer su izginule žene u plemenu Venijaminovu.
The Israeli leaders said, “We have killed all the married women of the tribe of Benjamin. Where can we get women to be wives of the men who are still alive?
17 Potom rekoše: našljedstvo Venijaminovo pripada onima što su ostali, da se ne bi zatrlo pleme iz Izrailja.
These men must have wives to give birth to children, in order that their families will continue. If that does not happen, all the people of one of the tribes of Israel will die.
18 A mi im ne možemo dati žena izmeðu kæeri svojih; jer su se zakleli sinovi Izrailjevi rekavši: da je proklet ko da ženu sinovima Venijaminovijem.
But we cannot allow our daughters to marry these men, because we vowed that Yahweh will curse anyone who gives one of his daughters to become a wife of any man of the tribe of Benjamin.”
19 Potom rekoše: evo, godišnji je praznik Gospodnji u Silomu, koji je sa sjevera Vetilju, k istoku, na putu koji ide od Vetilja u Sihem, i s juga Levoni.
Then [one of] them (had an idea/thought of something that they could do). He said, “Every year there is a festival to honor Yahweh at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel and east of the road that extends from Bethel to Shechem, and it is south of Lebonah [city].”
20 I zapovjediše sinovima Venijaminovijem govoreæi: idite, i zasjedite po vinogradima.
So the Israeli leaders told the men of the tribe of Benjamin, “[When it is the time for that festival], go to Shiloh and hide in the vineyards.
21 I pazite: pa kad izidu kæeri Silomske da igraju, izidite iz vinograda i otmite svaki sebi ženu izmeðu kæeri Silomskih; i idite u zemlju Venijaminovu.
Keep watching for the young women to come out of the city to dance. [When they come out], all of you should run out of the vineyards. Each of you can seize one of the young women of Shiloh. Then you can all return to your homes [with those women].
22 A kad doðu oci njihovi ili braæa njihova k nama da se sude, mi æemo im kazati: smilujte im se nas radi, jer u ovom ratu nijesmo zarobili žene za svakoga njih; a vi im nijeste dali, i tako neæete biti krivi.
If their fathers or brothers come to us and complain [about what you have done], we will say to them, ‘Be kind to the men of the tribe of Benjamin. When we fought them, we did not leave any women alive to become their wives, and you did not give those young women to the men from the tribe of Benjamin. [They stole them]. So you will not be guilty, [even though you said that you would not allow any of your daughters to marry one of them].’”
23 Tada sinovi Venijaminovi uèiniše tako, i dovedoše žene prema broju svom izmeðu igraèica koje oteše, i otišavši vratiše se na našljedstvo svoje, i sazidaše opet gradove i naseliše se u njima.
So that is what the men of the tribe of Benjamin did. [They went to Shiloh at the time of the festival]. And when the young women were dancing, each man caught one of them and took her away and married her. Then they took their wives back to the land that God had given to them. They rebuilt their cities [that had been burned down], and they lived there.
24 I tako razidoše se sinovi Izrailjevi odande u ono vrijeme svaki u svoje pleme i u porodicu svoju, i otidoše odande svaki na svoje našljedstvo.
The other Israelis went to their homes in the areas where their tribes and clans lived, the areas that God had allotted to them.
25 U ono vrijeme ne bješe cara u Izrailju; svaki èinjaše što mu bješe drago.
At that time, the Israeli people did not have a king. Everyone did what they themselves thought was right.
