Sauli ge Filisteǁîn ǃoagu ra torodī
1 ǃNonadisi kurixab a hîab ge Saula ge gao-ao kai. Tsîb ge ǀgam kurikhab Israeli ǂama a gao-ao 2 hîa ǃnonaǀoadisi khoega Israela xu ge ǁhûiǂuibasen. ǀGamǀoadisigu ge ǁîb ǀkha Mikmas tawa, tsî ǃnâuxa ǀkharib Betels dib ǃnâ ge hâ i; tsî ǀguiǀoadisi gu ge ǁîb ôab Jonatanni ǀkha Gibeas, Benjaminni ǀkharib dis ǃnâ ge hâ i. ǃGau ge khoegab ge Saula omdi âgu ǁga ge sî-oa.
3 Jonatanni ge Filisteǁîn di toroǃnans ǂgaeǂgui-aoba Gebas tawa a ǃgam ǃkhaisan ge Filisteǁîn hoana ge ǁnâu. Ob ge Saula hoaraga ǃhūb ǃnâ xâiǁnâsa ge xâi kai, Hebreǁîgab torob ǃoa nî ǂgaikhâiga. 4 Israelǁaes hoas ge Sauli ge Filisteǁîn toroǃnans di ǃkhōdana-aoba a ǃgam tsîn ge Israelǁîna Filisteǁîn tawa ǁkhan kaisen ǃkhaisa a ǁnâu, o gu ge toroǃkhamaoga Sauli tawa Gilgals ǃnâ ge ǂgaiǀhaohe.
5 Filisteǁîgu ge Israeli ǃoagu gu nî ǃkhamga ge ǀhaoǀhaosen: ǃNonadisiǀoadisi torokunidi, ǃnaniǀoadisi hāǃgapi-aogu tsî huri-ammi di ǃhūb kōse ǂgui toroǃkhamaogu tsîn ǀkha. ǁÎgu ge ǃgû tsî Mikmas tawa Bet-Avens aiǂoas ǃnâ sī hâǃkhaiba ge ǂnaumâibasen. 6 Israelǁîn ge mû ǂōǂōsib ǃnân hâsa, ǁkhaeǂgāhen ge hâ i xui-ao, on ge ǁhoagu, ǃgam ǃkhaidi, ǃgareǀuigu, āgu tsî ǀkhaiǃnâ tsaugu ǃnâ sī ge gaugausen. 7 ǀNî Hebreǁîn ge Jordanǃāba ǃgâu tsî Gadǀkharib tsî Gileadǀkharib tsîkha ǃoa ge ǃgû.
Sauli ge ganupe Gilgals tawa ge hâ i tsî toroǂnubis ǁîb tawa hâs hoas ge kaise gere ǃao. 8 ǁÎb ge hû tsēdi kōse Samuela ge ǃâu, Samueli ge mîmā bi hâ i khami, xaweb ge Samuela Gilgals tawa hā tama ge i. Tsî khoegu ge ǁîba xu ǃgûbētsoatsoa, 9 ob ge Saula ǁîgu ǃoa ge mî: “Khauǁguibadi tsî ǂkhîbagusǁguibadi tsîna hā-ūba te.” Tsîb ge aitsama khauǁguibasa ge ǁguiba. 10 Tsî ǁguibatoab ra hîab ge Samuela ge hā, ob ge Saula ǁîba ǃoa ge ǂoa, ǁîbab nî tawedega. 11 Xaweb ge Samuela ge dî: “Tare-ets go dī?”
Ob ge Saula ge ǃeream: “Khoegu ge tita xu go ǃgûbētsoatsoa, satsa hāts nî tits go mî hâ i ǁaeb ai hā tama i tsî gu Filisteǁîga Mikmas tawa ra ǀhaoǀhaosen ǃkhaisa ta go mû, 12 o ta ge go ǂâi: ‘Filisteǁîgu ge nēsi Gilgals tawa ǃKhūba ta noxopa ǁguibasa ǁguiba tama hîa nî ǁgôaxaǃgâ te.’ O ta ge aitsama khauǁguibasa ǁguibas ǃoa go ǁgarihe.”
13 Ob ge Samuela Sauli ǃoa ge mî: “Gâresets ge go dī. ǃKhūb sa Elob di mîmāsats ge ǁnâuǀnam tama go i. ǃKhūb sa Elob di mîmās, ǁîb ge mā tsisats ga ǁnâuǀnam hâ, ob ge ǃKhūba sats tsî sa ôananôagub tsîna ǀamos kōse Israeli ǂama ga gao kai hâ. 14 Xawe nēsis ge gaosis âtsa hâhâ tide. ǃKhūb ge ǁîb ǂâis ǃoa hâ khoeba nî ôabasen. ǃKhūb ge ǁîba ǁaes âb ǂama gao-aose nî mâi, ǃKhūb ge mîmā tsinats go ǁnâuǀnam tama i amaga.”
15 Ob ge Samuela Gilgalsa xu Gebas, Benjaminni ǀkharib ǃnâ ǂnôas ǃoa ge ǃgû. Tsî Sauli ge khoegu ǁîb tawa hâga ǃgôa, o gu ge ge ǃnanikaidisi i. 16 Sauli tsî ǁîb ôab Jonatanni tsî ǁîkha di khoegu tsîn ge Gibeas Benjaminni ǀkharib dis ǃnâ ge hâ i, xawe Filisteǁîgu ge noxopa Mikmas tawa ge hâ i. 17 Filisteǁîn toroǃkhamaogu ge ǃnona ǃnandi ǃnâ Filisteǁîn di toroǂnubisa xu ǂkhôadī gu nîse ge ǃgûǂoa. ǀGui ǃnans ge ǀapasǀkhāb ǀkhāb ai, Ofras Sualǀkharib dis ǁga ge ǃgû. 18 ǀGamǁîs ge huriǂoasǀî Bet-Horons ǁga ge ī, tsî naus ge aiǂoasǀî Seboims ǃgoaǃnāb ai ra kōǁgôa ǀgapibǀî, ǃgaroǃhūb ǁga ge ǃgû.
19 ǀUrikuru-ao-i xare-i ge Israeli hoab ǃnâ ge ǀkhai i, Filisteǁîn ge Hebreǁîn nî gôagu tsî ǁhâigôagu tsîna dībasen ǃkhaisa ǂgao tama hâ i xui-ao. 20 ǁNā-amagan ge Israelǁîn hoana Filisteǁîn ǃoa ǀgui gere ǃgû, ǁîn di ǃhūǃgao-ūdadi kas, ǃkhā-ūxūn kas, ǃōdi kas, ǃgao-ūxūn kas hoasan nî ǀāǀābahese. 21 ǁÎn ge ǀgui ǂkhari marirosa ǃōde ǀāǀābahes ǃaroma gere matare tsî ǀgam marira ǃhūǃgao-ūdadi tsî pekhegu tsîna ǀāǀābahes ǃaroma. 22 ǁNā-amaga gu ge Filisteǁîn ǃoagu hâ torob ge tsoatsoa, o Sauli tsî Jonatanni tsîkha tawa hâ khoegu di ǀguib xaweba gôa-i kas, ǁhâigôa-i kas hoasa ge ūhâ tama hâ i. Sauli tsî ǁîb ôab Jonatanni tsîkha ǀguikha ge ǁîna ge ūhâ i.
23 Filisteǁîn ge ǀnî toroǃkhamaogu âna ǂōǃgâu-ams Mikmas dis ǁga ge sî, ǁîsa gu nî ǁkhaubase.
Saul Disobeys the Lord
1 Saul was a young man when he became king, and he ruled Israel for two years. 2 Then he chose 3,000 men from Israel to be full-time soldiers and sent everyone else home. Two thousand of these troops stayed with him in the hills around Michmash and Bethel. The other 1,000 were stationed with Jonathan at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin.
3 Jonathan led an attack on the Philistine army camp at Geba. The Philistine camp was destroyed, but the other Philistines heard what had happened. Then Saul told his messengers, “Go to every village in the country. Give a signal with the trumpet, and when the people come together, tell them what has happened.”
4 The messengers then said to the people of Israel, “Saul has destroyed the Philistine army camp at Geba. Now the Philistines really hate Israel, so every town and village must send men to join Saul's army at Gilgal.”
5 The Philistines called their army together to fight Israel. They had 3,000 chariots, 6,000 cavalry, and as many foot soldiers as there are grains of sand on the beach. They went to Michmash and set up camp there east of Beth-Aven.
6 The Israelite army realized that they were outnumbered and were going to lose the battle. Some of the Israelite men hid in caves or in clumps of bushes, and some ran to places where they could hide among large rocks. Others hid in tombs or in deep dry pits. 7 Still others went to Gad and Gilead on the other side of the Jordan River.
Saul stayed at Gilgal. His soldiers were shaking with fear, 8 and they were starting to run off and leave him. Saul waited there seven days, just as Samuel had ordered him to do, but Samuel did not come. 9 Finally, Saul commanded, “Bring me some animals, so we can offer sacrifices to please the Lord and ask for his help.”
Saul killed one of the animals, 10 and just as he placed it on the altar, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to welcome him.
11 “What have you done?” Samuel asked.
Saul answered, “My soldiers were leaving in all directions, and you didn't come when you were supposed to. The Philistines were gathering at Michmash, 12 and I was worried that they would attack me here at Gilgal. I hadn't offered a sacrifice to ask for the Lord's help, so I forced myself to offer a sacrifice on the altar fire.”
13 “That was stupid!” Samuel said. “You didn't obey the Lord your God. If you had obeyed him, someone from your family would always have been king of Israel. 14 But no, you disobeyed, and so the Lord won't choose anyone else from your family to be king. In fact, he has already chosen the one he wants to be the next leader of his people.” 15 Then Samuel left Gilgal.
Part of Saul's army had not deserted him, and he led them to Gibeah in Benjamin to join his other troops. Then he counted them and found that he still had 600 men. 16 Saul, Jonathan, and their army set up camp at Geba in Benjamin.
Jonathan Attacks the Philistines
The Philistine army was camped at Michmash. 17 Each day they sent out patrols to attack and rob villages and then destroy them. One patrol would go north along the road to Ophrah in the region of Shual. 18 Another patrol would go west along the road to Beth-Horon. A third patrol would go east toward the desert on the road to the ridge that overlooks Zeboim Valley.
19 The Philistines would not allow any Israelites to learn how to make iron tools. “If we allowed that,” they said, “those worthless Israelites would make swords and spears.”
20-21 Whenever the Israelites wanted to get an iron point put on a cattle prod, they had to go to the Philistines. Even if they wanted to sharpen plow-blades, picks, axes, sickles, and pitchforks they still had to go to them. And the Philistines charged high prices. 22 So, whenever the Israelite soldiers had to go into battle, none of them had a sword or a spear except Saul and his son Jonathan.
23 The Philistines moved their camp to the pass at Michmash,
