Waamuzi 3
1 Haya ndiyo mataifa Bwana aliyoyaacha ili kuwajaribu Waisraeli wote ambao hawakujua vita vyovyote vya Kanaani
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 (alifanya hivi ili tu kuwafundisha wazao wa Waisraeli ambao hawakuwa wamejua vita hapo awali):
3 wafalme watano wa Wafilisti, Wakanaani wote, Wasidoni, Wahivi waishio katika milima ya Lebanoni kuanzia Mlima wa Baal-Hermoni hadi Lebo-Hamathi.
[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 Waliachwa ili kuwajaribu Waisraeli kuona kama wangetii amri za Bwana, alizokuwa amewapa baba zao kwa mkono wa Mose.
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 Waisraeli wakaishi miongoni mwa Wakanaani, Wahiti, Waamori, Waperizi, Wahivi na Wayebusi.
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 Wakawaoa binti zao, nao wakawatoa binti zao waolewe na wana wa hayo mataifa, na kuitumikia miungu yao.
[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 Waisraeli wakafanya maovu machoni pa Bwana, wakamsahau Bwana Mungu wao na kutumikia Mabaali na Maashera.
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 Hasira ya Bwana ikawaka dhidi ya Israeli, hivyo akawauza na kuwatia mikononi mwa Kushan-Rishathaimu mfalme wa Aramu-Naharaimu ambaye Israeli walikuwa chini yake wakimtumikia kwa muda wa miaka minane.
Yahweh became very angry with the Israelis. So he allowed king Cushan from Mesopotamia to conquer them and rule them for eight years.
9 Waisraeli walipomlilia Bwana, yeye akawainulia mwokozi, Othnieli mwana wa Kenazi, ndugu mdogo wa Kalebu, ambaye aliwaokoa.
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 Roho wa Bwana akaja juu yake, hivyo akawa mwamuzi wa Israeli, akaenda vitani. Bwana akamtia Kushan-Rishathaimu mfalme wa Aramu mikononi mwa Othnieli, naye akamshinda.
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 Hivyo nchi ikawa na amani kwa muda wa miaka arobaini, mpaka Othnieli mwana wa Kenazi alipofariki.
After that, there was peace in the land for 40 years, until Othniel died.
12 Waisraeli wakafanya maovu mbele za Bwana tena, kwa kuwa walifanya maovu hayo Bwana akamtia nguvu Egloni mfalme wa Moabu dhidi ya Israeli.
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 Egloni akawataka Waamoni na Waamaleki waungane naye, akaja kuishambulia Israeli, nao wakatwaa Mji wa Mitende
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 Waisraeli wakawa chini ya Egloni mfalme wa Moabu kwa muda wa miaka kumi na minane.
Then King Eglon ruled the Israelis for eighteen years.
15 Waisraeli wakamlilia tena Bwana, naye akawapa mwokozi: Ehudi, mtu wa shoto, mwana wa Gera, Mbenyamini. Waisraeli wakatuma kwa Egloni mfalme wa Moabu ushuru kwa mkono wa Ehudi.
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 Basi Ehudi alikuwa ametengeneza upanga wenye ukatao kuwili, urefu wake ni kama dhiraa moja, akaufunga upanga huo ndani ya nguo yake kwenye paja lake la mkono wa kuume.
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 Akamkabidhi ushuru Egloni mfalme wa Moabu, ambaye alikuwa mtu mnene sana.
He gave the money to King Eglon, who was a very fat man.
18 Baada ya Ehudi kumkabidhi ule ushuru, wale watu waliokuwa wameubeba huo ushuru aliwaruhusu waende zao.
Then Ehud started to go back home with the men who had carried the money.
19 Yeye mwenyewe akafuatana nao hadi kwenye sanamu ya kuchora kwenye mawe karibu na Gilgali, ndipo yeye akarudi, akafika kwa Egloni na kusema, “Ee Mfalme, ninao ujumbe wa siri kwa ajili yako.” Mfalme akasema, “Nyamazeni kimya!” Nao wale waliomhudumia wote wakamwacha, wakatoka nje.
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 Ndipo Ehudi akamsogelea alipokuwa ameketi peke yake kwenye chumba cha juu cha jumba lake la kifalme la majira ya kiangazi, na kusema, “Ninao ujumbe kutoka kwa Mungu kwa ajili yako.” Mfalme alipokuwa anainuka kutoka kwenye kiti chake,
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 Ehudi akaunyoosha mkono wake wa kushoto na kuufuta ule upanga aliokuwa ameufunga kwenye paja lake la kulia, akamdunga Mfalme Egloni tumboni mwake.
Ehud reached with his left hand and pulled the dagger from his right thigh, and plunged it into the king’s belly.
22 Hata mpini nao ukazama tumboni pamoja na upanga wenyewe, nao upanga ukatokea mgongoni mwake. Ehudi hakuuchomoa huo upanga, nayo mafuta yakashikamana juu ya upanga.
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 Ehudi akatoka nje barazani; akamfungia milango ya chumba cha juu na kuifunga kwa funguo.
Then Ehud left the room. He went out to the porch. He shut the doors to the room and locked them.
24 Baada ya kuondoka, watumishi wakaja na kukuta milango ya chumba cha juu imefungwa kwa funguo. Wakasema, “Bila shaka amejipumzisha kwenye chumba cha ndani cha nyumba yake ya majira ya kiangazi.”
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 Wakangoja hata wakawa na fadhaa, basi wakati hakufungua milango ya chumba, wakachukua funguo na kuifungua. Tazama wakaona bwana wao amelala sakafuni, amekufa.
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 Walipokuwa wangali wanangoja, Ehudi akatoroka, akapita hapo kwenye sanamu ya kuchora kwenye mawe na kukimbilia Seira.
Meanwhile, Ehud escaped. He passed by the stone carvings and arrived at Seirah, in the hilly area where the descendants of Ephraim lived.
27 Alipofika huko, akapiga tarumbeta katika nchi ya vilima ya Efraimu, nao Waisraeli wakateremka pamoja naye kutoka vilimani, yeye akiwa anawaongoza.
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 Akawaagiza, “Nifuateni, kwa kuwa Bwana amewatia Moabu, adui zenu, mikononi mwenu.” Kwa hiyo wakateremka wakamfuata, wakavishika vivuko vya Yordani kuelekea Moabu, wala hawakuacha mtu yeyote kuvuka.
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 Wakati huo wakawaua Wamoabu watu waume wapatao 10,000 ambao wote walikuwa wenye nguvu na mashujaa; hakuna mtu yeyote aliyetoroka.
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 Siku ile Moabu wakashindwa na Israeli, nayo nchi ikawa na amani kwa miaka themanini.
On that day, the Israelis conquered the people of Moab. Then there was peace in their land for 80 years.
31 Baada ya Ehudi akaja Shamgari mwana wa Anathi, aliyewapiga Wafilisti 600 kwa fimbo iliyochongoka ya kuongozea ngʼombe. Naye pia akawaokoa Waisraeli.
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).
