< Waamuzi 4 >

1 Baada ya Ehudi kufa, watu wa Israeli walifanya tena yaliyo mabaya machoni pa Bwana.
After Ehud died, the Israelites once again did what was evil in the Lord's sight.
2 Bwana akawatia mkononi mwa Yabini, mfalme wa Kanaani, aliyewala huko Hasori. Kamanda wa jeshi lake aitwaye Sisera, naye aliishi Harosheti ya Mataifa.
So the Lord sold them to Jabin, king of Canaan, who ruled from Hazor. His army commander was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim.
3 Wana wa Israeli wakamwomba Bwana awasaidie, kwa sababu Sisera alikuwa na magari ya chuma mia tisa na akawashinda wana wa Israeli kwa nguvu kwa miaka ishirini.
The Israelites cried out to the Lord to help them, for Sisera had nine hundred iron chariots and he cruelly mistreated them for twenty years.
4 Basi Debora, nabii wa kike (mke wa Lapidothi), alikuwa mwamuzi anayeongoza katika Israeli wakati huo.
Deborah, wife of Lappidoth, was a prophet, and she was leading Israel as a judge at that time.
5 Naye aliketi chini ya mtende wa Debora kati ya Rama na Betheli katika nchi ya mlima wa Efraimu, na watu wa Israeli walimwendea ili kutatua migogoro yao.
She would sit under Deborah's Palm between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would go to her for her decisions.
6 Akamtuma Baraka mwana wa Abinoamu kutoka Kedeshi huko Naftali. Akamwambia, Bwana, Mungu wa Israeli, anakuamuru, Nenda katika mlima wa Tabori, uende pamoja nawe watu elfu kumi kutoka Naftali na Zabuloni.
She sent for Barak, son of Abinoam, from the town of Kedesh in Naphtali and told him, “The Lord, the God of Israel, orders you: ‘Go to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men of Naphtali and Zebulun, and lead them there.
7 Nitamfukuza Sisera, jemadari wa jeshi la Yabini, akutane nawe karibu na mto Kishoni, pamoja na magari yake na jeshi lake, na nitakupa ushindi juu yake. '
I will bring Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his troops to the Kishon River, and hand him over to you.”
8 Baraka akamwambia, 'Ikiwa utakwenda nami, nitakwenda, lakini ikiwa huendi pamoja nami, sitaenda.'
Barak replied, “If you come with me, I'll go; but if you don't come with me, I won't go.”
9 Alisema, 'Nitakwenda nawe. Hata hivyo, njia unayoienda haitakupa heshima wewe, kwa kuwa Bwana atamuuza Sisera mkononi mwa mwanamke. Ndipo Debora akainuka, akaenda pamoja na Baraka Kedeshi.
“I'll definitely go with you,” Deborah answered, “but if you're going to take that route then you won't receive any respect, because the Lord will give Sisera into the hands of a woman.” Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 Baraki akawaita wana wa Zebuloni na Naftali kusanyika Kedeshi. Watu elfu kumi walimfuata, na Debora akaenda pamoja naye.
Barak called up the armies of Zebulun and Naphtali, and ten thousand men assembled under his command. Deborah was also there with him.
11 Heberi (Mkeni) alijitenganisha na Wakeni - walikuwa wazao wa Hobabu (mkwe wa Musa) - na akaweka hema yake mwaloni uliopo huko Saanaimu karibu na Kedesh.
(Heber the Kenite had separated from the other Kenites, the descendants of Hobab, the father-in-law of Moses, and had set up his tent at the large tree in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.)
12 Walipomwambia Sisera kwamba Baraka, mwana wa Abinoamu, alikuwa amekwenda mlima wa Tabori,
Sisera heard that Barak, son of Abinoam, had gone to Mount Tabor,
13 Sisera akawaita magari yake yote, magari ya farasi mia tisa, na askari wote waliokuwa pamoja naye, kutoka Haroshethi ya Mataifa mpaka Mto Kishoni.
so he summoned all his nine hundred iron chariots and all his men to come from Harosheth-hagoyim to the Kishon River.
14 Debora akamwambia Baraka, Nenda! Kwa maana hii ndiyo siku ambayo Bwana amekupa ushindi juu ya Sisera. Je! si Bwana anayekuongoza? Basi Baraka akashuka kutoka mlima wa Tabori na watu kumi elfu wakamfuata.
Then Deborah told Barak, “Get going! Today the Lord has handed Sisera to you. Didn't the Lord march out ahead of you?” So Barak went down from Mount Tabor, accompanied by ten thousand men.
15 Bwana alifanya jeshi la Sisera kuchanganyikiwa, magari yake yote, na jeshi lake lote. Watu wa Baraka waliwashinda na Sisera akaanguka kutoka kwenye gari lake na kukimbia kwa miguu.
When Barak attacked, the Lord threw Sisera and all his chariots and warriors into a confused panic. Sisera jumped down from his chariot and ran away.
16 Lakini Baraka akayafuata magari na jeshi mpaka Haroshethi ya Mataifa, na jeshi lote la Sisera likauawa kwa upanga, wala hakuna mtu aliyeokoka.
Barak chased after the chariots and troops all the way to Harosheth-hagoyim. The whole of Sisera's army was killed—not a single man survived.
17 Lakini Sisera akakimbia kwa miguu mpaka hema ya Yaeli, mkewe Heberi Mkeni; kwa sababu kulikuwa na amani kati ya Yabini mfalme wa Hazori, na nyumba ya Heberi Mkeni.
In the meantime Sisera had run away to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was a peace treaty between Jabin, king of Hazor, and the family of Heber the Kenite.
18 Jaeli akatoka kumlaki Sisera, akamwambia, karibu, bwana wangu; karibu kwangu, wala usiogope. Basi akakaribia kwake, akaingia hemani kwake, naye akamvika bushuti.
Jael went to meet Sisera and told him, “Come on in, my lord, come in with me. Don't be afraid.” So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a thick blanket.
19 Akamwambia, Tafadhali nipe maji kidogo ninywe, kwa maana nina kiu. Alifungua mfuko wa ngozi ya maziwa akampa anywe, kisha akamfunika tena.
“Please give me a bit of water to drink, because I'm thirsty,” Sisera asked her. So she opened a skin of milk, let him have a drink, and then covered him up again.
20 Akamwambia, “Simama mlangoni pa hema. Ikiwa mtu atakuja na kukuuliza, 'Je, kuna mtu hapa?', Sema 'Hapana'.”
“Stand guard at the tent door,” he told her. “If anybody comes and asks you, ‘Is there is anyone here?’ just say no.”
21 Kisha Jaeli (mke wa Heberi) akachukua kigingi cha hema na nyundo mkononi mwake akamwendea kwa siri, kwa sababu alikuwa amelala usingizi mzito, naye akakitia kigingi cha hema upande wa kichwa chake akamchoma na kikapenya kushuka chini. Hivyo akafa.
But Jael, Heber's wife, picked up a tent peg and a hammer and crept quietly over to him where he lay fast sleep and exhausted. She drove the tent peg through his temple and into the ground, and he died.
22 Baraka alipokuwa akimfuata Sisera, Jaeli alitoka kukutana naye akamwambia, “Njoo, nitakuonyesha mtu unayemtafuta.” Basi akaingia pamoja naye, tazama Sisera amekufa, na kigingi cha hema kando ya kichwa chake.
So when Barak came past, hunting for Sisera, Jael went out to meet him, and said, “Come here, and I'll show you the man you're looking for.” He went in with her, and there lay Sisera, dead, with the tent peg through his temple.
23 Basi siku hiyo Mungu alimshinda Jabin, mfalme wa Kanaani, mbele ya watu wa Israeli.
That day God defeated Jabin, king of Canaan, in the presence of the Israelites.
24 Uwezo wa watu wa Israeli ulikua na nguvu zaidi dhidi ya Jabin mfalme wa Kanaani, hata walipomwangamiza.
From then on Israel grew ever more powerful until the destroyed Jabin, king of Hazor.

< Waamuzi 4 >