Tarade Benjaminni di ǃhaos ǃaroma
1 Israelǁîn ge Mispas tawan ge ǀhao-o, ǃKhūba ge nūba: “ǀGui-i sida di-i tsîn ge sida ǀgôade Benjaminǁîgu ǀkha ǃgame kai tide.” 2 Israelǁîn ge Betels tawa sī tsî ǁnāpa Elob di ais aiǃâ sī ge ǂnû, tsî ǃgarise tsî tsûsase ge ā: 3 “ǃKhū, Israeli di Elotse, tare-i ǃaromas kha nē ǃkhaisa ī? Tare-i ǃaromas kha Benjaminni di ǃhaosa Israela xu go ǀari ǁga?”
4 Sao ra tsēs ain ge Israelǁîna ǃnauǁgoaga khâimâ tsî ǁnāpa altarsa ǂnubi tsî ǂkhîbagusǁguibadi tsî khauǁguibadi tsîna ge ǁguiba. 5 ǁÎn ge ge dî: “Tari-e Israeli ǃhaodi hoade xu Mispas tawa ge ǃKhūb di ais aiǃâ hâ i ǀhaos ǁga ge ǃgû tama hâ i?” (ǁNāpan ge nūs ǀkha ge mîmâi, Mispas ǁga ge ǃgû tama hâ i khoe-i hoa-i nî ǃgamhesa.) 6 Israelǁîn ge ǁîn di ǃgâsan, Benjaminǁîna ǀkhom tsî ge mî: “Nētsēb ge Israela ǀgui ǃhaosa go ǂoaǃnâ. 7 Mâti dī tsî da Benjaminǁîgu hîa ge ǃgauga tarade nî hōba? Sada ge ǃKhūba ge nūba ǁîga da sada ǀgôade mā tidesa.”
8 Tari-i ge Israeli ǃhaodi hoade xu Mispas tawa ge hâ i ǀhaos ǁga ǃgû tama hâ i ǃkhaisan ge dî, on ge ge ǂanǂui Jabes, Gileadi disa xu i ge ǀgui khoe-i tsîna ǁnāpa sī tama hâ isa. 9 ǁAes ge ǃgôakhâihe, o i ge ǀgui khoe-i Jabes, Gileadi dis di-i tsîna ǁnāpa ge ǀkhai i. 10 Ob ge ǀhaohâba disiǀgamǀaǀoadisi ǁkhoaǂgaoxa toroǃkhamaoga ge sî nēti mîmā tsî: “ǃGû, î go Jabes di khoen hoana sī ǃgam, ǁkhāti taradi tsî ǀgôan tsîn hoana. 11 Aoregu hoagu tsî oaxae tama khoedi hoadi tsîna ǃgam.” 12 Jabes di khoen ǃnâ gu ge ǁîga hakakaidisi oaxaede ge hō, tsî gu ge ǁîde Silos, Kanaanǃhūb ǃnâ hâs di hâǃkhaib tawa ge sī-ū.
13 Ob ge hoaraga ǀhaohâba Benjaminǁîgu Rimonǃgareǀuib tawa hâga ge haisiba, în ǁîgu ǀkha ǂkhîba dī. 14 Benjaminǁîgu ge ǃhaese ge oaǀkhī, tsîn ge Israelǁîna ǃgam taman ge i khoedi Jabes dide ǁîga ge mā, xawe di ge ǁîgu ǃaroma ge ǂâu tama hâ i.
15 ǁAes ge Benjaminǁîna gere ǀkhom, ǃKhūb ge Israeli ǃhaode xu ǀguisa ǀgora xui-ao. 16 O gu ge ǀhaohâb di ǂgaeǂgui-aoga ge mî: “Benjaminni ǃhaos ǃnâ i ge tarekhoe-i xare-e a ǀkhai. Mâti dī tsî da ǃgau go Benjaminǁîgu tsîna tarade nî hōba? 17 Israeli ge ǀguis, ǁîb di disiǀgamǀa ǃhaodi disa a ǂoaǃnâ ǁoa. Benjaminni ǃhaos nî aiǃgû ǃkhaisa da ge nî kōǃgâ, 18 xawe da ge ǁîga sada ǀgôadi ǀkha a ǃgame kai ǁoa, nū da ge xui-ao, sada ǃnâ ga ǁî-i ôasa Benjaminǁîba tarase mā khoe-i hoa-i nî ǀâxarexūhesa.”
19 O gu ge ge ǂâi: “ǃKhūb di kaitsēs, kurikorobe Silos tawa ra tsēdīhes ge a ǀgū.” (Silos ge Betels ǀapasǀkhāb ai, Libanonni ǃkhawagas ǃnâ, Betels tsî Sexems tsîra ǁaegu ǁgoe daob di aiǂoasǀkhāb ǃnâ ǂnôa.) 20 ǁÎgu ge Benjaminǁîga ǃoa ge mî: “ǃGû, î go draibeǃhanagu ǃnâ sī gau 21 tsî ǃkhē, î go Silos di ǂkham ǀgôadi ga ǁâudīb ǁaeb ai ǂnāǃgûǂoaxao, draibeǃhanaga xu ǃkhoeǂoaxa. Ab mâb sago dib hoaba ǀguisa ǁîdi xa ǃkhō tsî Benjaminni di ǀkharib ǁga ūsao. 22 ǁÎdi îgu kas, ǃgâsagu kas hoas ga sago hā ǀhapimā, o ge ge sago nî mî: ‘Sige ge ǂâu hâ go tarade ǁîga torob ǃnâ ge ūba tama hâ i; sago ge ǀhapio, sago ǁîde ǁîga mā tama xui-ao.’ ”
23 O gu ge Benjaminǁîga ǁnāti ge dī. Mâb hoab ge Silos tawa gere ǂnā khoedi xa tarasa ūbasen tsî ǁîgu di ǀkharib ǂûb ǁga ge oa. Tsî gu ge ǁîn di ǃāde ǂnubikhâi tsî ǁîdi ǃnâ ge ǁan. 24 ǁNā ǁaeb ǁkhāb ain ge nau Israelǁîna ge oa, mâ-i hoa-e ǁî-i ǃhaos tsî ǀaokhoen tsî ǁî-i di xūn ǁga.
25 ǁNā ǁaeb ǃnâ i ge gao-ao-e Israeli ǃnâ ge ǀkhai i. Mâ khoe-i hoa-i ge ǂgao-i ra khami gere dī.
Wives for the Tribe of Benjamin
1 When the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, they had made a solemn promise to the Lord: “None of us will allow a Benjaminite to marry a daughter of ours.” 2 So now the people of Israel went to Bethel and sat there in the presence of God until evening. Loudly and bitterly they mourned: 3 “Lord God of Israel, why has this happened? Why is the tribe of Benjamin about to disappear from Israel?”
4 Early the next morning the people got up and built an altar there. They offered fellowship sacrifices and burned some sacrifices whole. 5 They asked, “Is there any group out of all the tribes of Israel that did not go to the gathering in the Lord's presence at Mizpah?” (They had taken a solemn oath that anyone who had not gone to Mizpah would be put to death.) 6 The people of Israel felt sorry for their brothers the Benjaminites and said, “Today Israel has lost one of its tribes. 7 What shall we do to provide wives for the men of Benjamin who are left? We have made a solemn promise to the Lord that we will not give them any of our daughters.”
8 When they asked if there was some group out of the tribes of Israel that had not gone to the gathering at Mizpah, they found out that no one from Jabesh in Gilead had been there; 9 at the roll call of the army no one from Jabesh had responded. 10 So the assembly sent twelve thousand of their bravest men with the orders, “Go and kill everyone in Jabesh, including women and children. 11 Kill all the males, and also every woman who is not a virgin.” 12 They found four hundred young virgins among the people in Jabesh, so they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
13 Then the whole assembly sent word to the Benjaminites who were at Rimmon Rock and offered to end the war. 14 The Benjaminites came back, and the other Israelites gave them the young women from Jabesh whom they had not killed. But there were not enough of them.
15 The people felt sorry for the Benjaminites because the Lord had broken the unity of the tribes of Israel. 16 So the leaders of the gathering said, “There are no more women in the tribe of Benjamin. What shall we do to provide wives for the men who are left? 17 Israel must not lose one of its twelve tribes. We must find a way for the tribe of Benjamin to survive, 18 but we cannot allow them to marry our daughters, because we have put a curse on anyone who allows a Benjaminite to marry one of our daughters.”
19 Then they thought, “The yearly festival of the Lord at Shiloh is coming soon.” (Shiloh is north of Bethel, south of Lebonah, and east of the road between Bethel and Shechem.) 20 They told the Benjaminites, “Go and hide in the vineyards 21 and watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to dance during the festival, you come out of the vineyards. Each of you take a wife by force from among them and take her back to the territory of Benjamin with you. 22 If their fathers or brothers come to you and protest, you can tell them, ‘Please let us keep them, because we did not take them from you in battle to be our wives. And since you did not give them to us, you are not guilty of breaking your promise.’”
23 The Benjaminites did this; each of them chose a wife from the young women who were dancing at Shiloh and carried her away. Then they went back to their own territory, rebuilt their towns, and lived there. 24 At the same time the rest of the Israelites left, and every man went back to his own tribe and family and to his own property.
25 There was no king in Israel at that time. Everyone did whatever they pleased.
