Saul ta taataa Ovaammoni ndele ta xupifa Ovajabes
1 Ndele Nahas, Omuammoni okwa ya a ka kondeke Jabes muGilead. Noonakukalamo aveshe muJabes va lombwela Nahas tava ti: “Ninga ehangano nafye, opo nee hatu ku longele.” 2 Ndelenee Nahas Omuammoni okwe va lombwela: “Ame ohandi ka ninga ehangano nanye ashike ngeenge handi mu twiyula eisho lokolulyo leni amushe nosho handi fifa Israel ashishe ohoni.” 3 Opo nee ovakulunhu vaJabes tava ti kuye: “Tu efa manga omafiku aheyali opo tu shiive okutuma ovatumwa moshilongo ashishe shaIsrael. Opo nee kwinya ngeenge kaku na ou te tu xupifa, fye ohatu ke uya kwoove.” 4 Novatumwa ve uya kuGibea shaSaul ndele va hepaululila ovanhu eendjovo davo momatwi avo. Opo nee ovanhu aveshe va yelula ondaka yavo pombada ndee tava lili. 5 Opo nee Saul a dja kepya, ta shingi eenhani, ndele Saul ta ti: “Ovanhu ove na shike, eshi tava lili?” Ndee tave mu hepaululile eendjovo dovalumenhu vokuJabes. 6 NOmhepo yaKalunga ye uya kombada yaSaul, fimbo ta udu eendjovo odo, ndele ye okwa handuka shili. 7 Ndele ye okwa kufa eenhani mbali ndele e di shashaula nombelela okwe i tuma novatumwa moshilongo ashishe shaIsrael va tye: “Ou ita fikama ndele ta shikula Saul naSamuel, eengobe daye osho tadi ka ningwa.” Opo nee ehaluko lOmwene la kwata ovanhu ndele va fikama ngaashi omunhu umwe. 8 Ndele e va ongela muBesek: ovana vaIsrael omayovi omafele atatu, novalumenhu Ovajuda omayovi omilongo nhatu. 9 Ndele va lombwela ovatumwa ovo ve uya ndee tava ti: “Lombweleni ovalumenhu vaJabes muGilead, tamu ti: ‘Mongula moshanga shomutenya nye otamu ka mona ekwafo.’ ” Ovatumwa eshi va ya mo ndele ve shi lombwela ovalumenhu vomuJabes, vo ova hafa. 10 Novalumenhu vomuJabes tava ti: “Mongula ohatu liyandje kunye, ndee tamu dulu oku tu ningila ngaashi tashi mu wapalele.” 11 Ndelenee ongula yefiku la shikula, Saul okwa tukula ovakwaita meengudu nhatu, ndele vo ova totela mo monhanda pefimbo lenangelo longula, ndele va taataa Ovaammoni fiyo omonhungununu yomutenya. Ava va xupa po ova halakanifwa, inapa kala nande vavali ve li pamwe.
12 Opo ovakwaita tava ti kuSamuel: “Oolyelye ovo va tile: ‘Hatu dulu tuu tu ka pangelwe kuSaul mbela?’ ” Ovalumenhu ovo nava yandjwe, tu va dipaa. 13 Ndelenee Saul ta nyamukula: “Mefiku tuu eli itapa dipawa omunhu, osheshi nena eli Omwene a xupifa Israel.” 14 Opo nee Samuel ta lombwele ovanhu: “Tu yeni kuGilgal tu ka pamekululeni ouhamba.” 15 Novanhu aveshe va ya kuGilgal ndele va ninga Saul ohamba koshipala shOmwene muGilgal. Ndele oko va toma omapanduloyambo koshipala shOmwene. Ndele Saul novalumenhu aveshe vaIsrael va hafa pombada.
Saul Rescues the Town of Jabesh in Gilead
1 About this time, King Nahash of Ammon came with his army and surrounded the town of Jabesh in Gilead. The people who lived there told Nahash, “If you will sign a peace treaty with us, you can be our ruler, and we will pay taxes to you.”
2 Nahash answered, “Sure, I'll sign a treaty! But not before I insult Israel by poking out the right eye of every man who lives in Jabesh.”
3 The town leaders said, “Give us seven days so we can send messengers everywhere in Israel to ask for help. If no one comes here to save us, we will surrender to you.”
4 Some of the messengers went to Gibeah, Saul's hometown. They told what was happening at Jabesh, and everyone in Gibeah started crying. 5 Just then, Saul came in from the fields, walking behind his oxen.
“Why is everyone crying?” Saul asked.
They told him what the men from Jabesh had said. 6 Then the Spirit of God suddenly took control of Saul and made him furious. 7 Saul killed two of his oxen, cut them up in pieces, and gave the pieces to the messengers. He told them to show the pieces to everyone in Israel and say, “Saul and Samuel are getting an army together. Come and join them. If you don't, this is what will happen to your oxen!”
The Lord made the people of Israel terribly afraid. So all the men came together 8 at Bezek. Saul had them organized and counted. There were 300,000 from Israel and 30,000 from Judah.
9 Saul and his officers sent the messengers back to Jabesh with this promise: “We will rescue you tomorrow afternoon.” The messengers went back to the people at Jabesh and told them that they were going to be rescued.
Everyone was encouraged! 10 So they told the Ammonites, “We will surrender to you tomorrow, and then you can do whatever you want to.”
11 The next day, Saul divided his army into three groups and attacked before daylight. They started killing Ammonites and kept it up until afternoon. A few Ammonites managed to escape, but they were scattered far from each other.
12 The Israelite soldiers went to Samuel and demanded, “Where are the men who said they didn't want Saul to be king? Bring them to us, and we will put them to death!”
13 “No you won't!” Saul told them. “The Lord rescued Israel today, and no one will be put to death.”
Saul Is Accepted as King
14 “Come on!” Samuel said. “Let's go to Gilgal and make an agreement that Saul will continue to be our king.”
15 Everyone went to the place of worship at Gilgal, where they agreed that Saul would be their king. Saul and the people sacrificed animals to ask for the Lord's blessing, and they had a big celebration.
