1 Samuel 31
1 Afei, Filistifo no ko tiaa Israel. Israelfo no guanee wɔ wɔn anim, na wokunkum pii wɔ Gilboa bepɔw so.
Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
2 Filistifo no kɔɔ Saulo ne ne mmabarima so, kunkum wɔn mu baasa a ɛyɛ Yonatan, Abinadab ne Malki-Sua.
The Philistines followed hard after Saul and his sons, and they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua.
3 Ɔko no mu yɛɛ den wɔ baabi a na Saulo wɔ hɔ. Filistifo agyantowfo no bɛn no, na wopiraa no kɛse pa ara.
When the battle intensified against Saul, the archers overtook him and wounded him critically.
4 Saulo fi yaw mu ka kyerɛɛ nʼakodekurafo no se, “Twe wʼafoa no, na fa wɔ me, na wɔn a wontwaa twetia no amfa wɔn afoa ammɛwɔ me, angu mʼanim ase.” Na nʼakodekurafo no suroo sɛ ɔbɛyɛ saa. Enti Saulo twee ɔno ankasa afoa sinaa ne ho wɔ so.
Then Saul said to his armor-bearer, “Draw your sword and run it through me, or these uncircumcised men will come and run me through and torture me!” But his armor-bearer was terrified and refused to do it. So Saul took his own sword and fell on it.
5 Bere a nʼakodekurafo no huu sɛ wawu no, ɔno nso sinaa ne ho wɔ nʼankasa afoa no so, na owu kaa ne ho.
When his armor-bearer saw that Saul was dead, he too fell on his own sword and died with him.
6 Enti Saulo ne ne mma mmarima baasa, nʼakodekurafo ne nʼakofo nyinaa totɔɔ saa da no.
So Saul, his three sons, his armor-bearer, and all his men died together that same day.
7 Bere a Israelfo a wɔwɔ Yesreel bon no fa baabi ne Yordan agya no huu sɛ Israel asraafo no adi nkogu, na Saulo nso ne ne mmabarima no nso atotɔ no, wogyaw wɔn nkurow hɔ guanee. Na Filistifo no bɛtenaa hɔ.
When the Israelites along the valley and those on the other side of the Jordan saw that the army of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their cities and ran away. So the Philistines came and occupied their cities.
8 Ade kyee a Filistifo koyiyii atɔfo no ho no, wohuu Saulo ne ne mmabarima baasa no amu wɔ Gilboa bepɔw so.
The next day, when the Philistines came to strip the dead, they found Saul and his three sons fallen on Mount Gilboa.
9 Enti wotwaa Saulo ti, yiyii nʼakode nyinaa. Afei, wɔbɔɔ Saulo wu no dawuru wɔ wɔn abosomfi, ne ɔman no mu nyinaa.
They cut off Saul’s head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers throughout the land of the Philistines to proclaim the news in the temples of their idols and among their people.
10 Wɔde nʼakode no koguu Astoret nsɔree so, na wɔkyekyeree nʼamu no fam kuropɔn Bet-San fasu ho.
They put his armor in the temple of the Ashtoreths and hung his body on the wall of Beth-shan.
11 Na Yabes Gileadfo tee nea Filistifo ayɛ Saulo no,
When the people of Jabesh-gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,
12 wɔn akofo twaa kwan anadwo mu no nyinaa kɔɔ Bet-San kɔfaa Saulo ne ne mmabarima baasa no amu fii ɔfasu no ho. Wɔde kɔɔ Yabes bɛhyew wɔn.
all their men of valor set out, journeyed all night, and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons from the wall of Beth-shan. When they arrived at Jabesh, they burned the bodies there.
13 Afei, wɔfaa wɔn nnompe kɔkoraa no odum dua no ase wɔ Yabes, na wodii mmuada nnanson.
Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree in Jabesh, and they fasted seven days.
