1 Samuel 13
1 Ɛberɛ a Saulo dii adeɛ no, na wadi mfirinhyia aduasa. Na ɔdii adeɛ mfirinhyia aduanan mmienu.
Saul was no longer a young man when he became the king. He ruled Israel for 42 years.
2 Saulo yii akodɔm sononko bi a wɔn dodoɔ yɛ mpensa firii Israel, na ɔmaa nkaeɛ no kɔɔ efie. Ɔfaa akodɔm no mu mpenu kaa ne ho, de wɔn kɔɔ Mikmas ne bepɔ nsase a ɛwɔ Bet-El no so. Akodɔm apem a aka no kaa Saulo babarima Yonatan ho kɔɔ Gibea wɔ Benyamin asase so.
[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 Yei akyi no, ankyɛre, Yonatan kɔtuaa Filistifoɔ asraafoɔ no dii wɔn so wɔ Geba. Asɛm no trɛɛ ntɛm so wɔ Filistifoɔ no mu. Enti Saulo hyɛn torobɛnto wɔ Israel nyinaa sɛ, “Hebrifoɔ, monsɔre!”
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 Israelfoɔ nyinaa tee sɛ Saulo atɔre Filistifoɔ asraafoɔ a wɔwɔ Geba no ase, na ne saa enti, Israelfoɔ ho ayɛ Filistifoɔ no ahi. Enti, Israel akodɔm no nyinaa boaa wɔn ho ano bio hyiaa Saulo wɔ 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 Filistifoɔ boaboaa asraadɔm kɛseɛ pa ara ano a wɔkura nteaseɛnam mpensa, apɔnkɔsotefoɔ mpem nsia ne akodɔm a wɔn dodoɔ te sɛ mpoano anwea ano. Wɔkyeree sraban wɔ Mikmas wɔ Bet-Awen apueeɛ fam.
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 Ɛberɛ a Israel mmarima no hunuu atamfoɔ no akodɔm mpempem no, wɔn ho dwodwoeɛ enti, wɔyɛɛ sɛ wɔbɛkɔ akɔsuma wɔn ho wɔ abodan, mmena, abotan, aboda ne nsukoraeɛ mu.
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 Ebinom twaa Asubɔnten Yordan dwane kɔɔ Gad ne Gilead asase so. Saa ɛberɛ no, na Saulo wɔ Gilgal a ne mmarima a wɔka ne ho no wɔ ahopopoɔ ne suro mu.
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 Ɔdii nnanson wɔ hɔ sɛdeɛ Samuel hyɛɛ no sɛ ɔnni no; nanso, Samuel deɛ, wamma Gilgal, na Saulo hunuu sɛ mmarima no rebɔ pete.
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 Enti, ɔhyɛɛ sɛ, “Momfa ɔhyeɛ afɔdeɛ ne asomdwoeɛ afɔdeɛ no mmrɛ me.” Na Saulo ankasa bɔɔ ɔhyeɛ afɔdeɛ no.
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 Ɔrewie afɔdeɛ no bɔ ara pɛ, na Samuel kɔduruu hɔ. Enti, Saulo pue kɔhyiaa no maa no akwaaba.
And just as he was finished burning those offerings, Samuel arrived. Saul went to greet him.
11 Samuel bisaa no sɛ, “Ɛdeɛn na woayɛ yi?” Saulo buaa sɛ, “Mehunuu sɛ mmarima no rehwete, na womma no, na Filistifoɔ no nso reboa wɔn ho ano wɔ Mikmas no,
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 medwenee sɛ, ‘Afei deɛ, Filistifoɔ no bɛsiane abɛtoa me wɔ Gilgal, nanso memmisaa Awurade nkyɛn adom.’ Enti, metee nka sɛ, ɛsɛ sɛ mebɔ ɔhyeɛ afɔdeɛ ansa na woaba.”
“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 Na Samuel kaa sɛ, “Woadi nkwaseasɛm. Woanni mmara a Awurade, wo Onyankopɔn, hyɛɛ wo no so. Sɛ wodii so a, anka ɔbɛtim wʼahennie ase wɔ Israel afebɔɔ.
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 Na seesei, wʼahennie no rentim. Awurade apɛ ɔbarima bi a ɔyɛ nʼakoma apɛdeɛ na wɔayi no sɛ ne nkurɔfoɔ ɔkannifoɔ, ɛfiri sɛ, woanni Awurade mmara no so.”
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 Na Samuel firii Gilgal kɔɔ ne baabi na akodɔm no nkaeɛ no ne Saulo kɔhyiaa atamfoɔ no. Wɔfiri Gilgal kɔɔ Gibea a ɛwɔ Benyamin asase so. Saulo kanee mmarima a na wɔka ne ho no, na wɔn ano si aha nsia.
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 Na Saulo ne ne babarima Yonatan ne mmarima a ɛka ne ho no te Geba a ɛbɛn Gibea wɔ Benyamin asase so. Saa ɛberɛ no na Filistifoɔ no akyere sraban wɔ 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 Ntohyɛsofoɔ akuo mmiɛnsa firii Filistifoɔ sraban mu. Ekuo baako de nʼani kyerɛɛ Ofra ɛkwan so, kɔɔ Sual mpɔtam hɔ.
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 Afoforɔ faa Bet-Horon kwan so ɛnna wɔn a wɔka ho nso faa ɛhyeɛ a ɛkyerɛ Seboim bɔnhwa no kwan so, kɔɔ ɛserɛ so fam.
One group went [west] to Beth-Horon [city]. The third group went toward the [Israeli] border, above Zeboim Valley, near the desert.
19 Saa ɛberɛ no, na ɔtomfoɔ biara nni Israel asase no so baabiara. Filistifoɔ no amma atomfoɔ no kwan, ɛfiri sɛ, wosusuu sɛ atomfoɔ no bɛbɔ akofena ne mpea ama Hebrifoɔ no.
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 Enti, na Israelfoɔ no nyinaa kɔ Filistifoɔ nkyɛn kɔse wɔn funtum nnadeɛ, nsɔ, nkuma ne dɔtetuo nnadeɛ ano.
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 (Na wɔgye funtum nnadeɛ ne asosɔ a wɔse no biara ho dwetɛ gram nwɔtwe, na sɛ wɔse mmonnua anaa nnadeɛ a, wogye dwetɛ gram ɛnan.)
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 Ɛno enti na Israelfoɔ no mu biara nni akofena anaa pea, gye sɛ Saulo ne Yonatan.
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 Saa ɛberɛ no mu, na Filistifoɔ asraafoɔ no fa bi akɔ akɔfa tempɔn a ɛda Mikmas no.
Before the battle started, some Philistia men went to (the pass/a narrow place between two cliffs) outside Micmash to guard it.
