Ouladi waJonatan Ovafilisti tava tewa
1 Ndele efiku limwe Jonatan yaSaul okwa lombwela omupiya waye, ou a humbata oiti yaye ndee ta ti: “Ila, tu ye ketanga lenangelo lOvafilisti li li kwinya.” Ndelenee ine shi shiivifila xe. 2 Ndele Saul a li omutumba momuti wagranati, ou u li muMigron pongaba yaGibea novakwaita ava va li puye, ova li ve fike ngeno pomafele ahamano. 3 Ndele Ahia yaAhitub, omumwaina waIkabod yaPinehas yaEli, omupristeli womuSilo, okwa li a djala oshikutu shokomapepe. Ndelenee ovakwaita inava shiiva nokutya, Jonatan okwa dja po. 4 Ndelenee kombinga nombinga yondjila, apa Jonatan okwa li a hala okuya popepi netanga lenangelo lOvafilisti, okwa li ku nomamanya avali manene, limwe kombinga inya, likwao kombinga ei. Nedina la limwe la li Boses nedina lalikwao oSene. 5 Ombudi imwe ya li ya fa ongudi kombinga yokoumbangalanhu ya shaamafana naMikmas, naikwao kombinga yokoumbuwanhu ya shaamafana naGeba. 6 Opo nee Jonatan a lombwela omupiya waye, ou a humbata oiti yaye ndee ta ti: “Ila, tu ye popepi netanga lenangelo laava inava pita etanda. Kashiimba Omwene te tu ningile sha, osheshi Omwene iha nyengwa okuxupifa neenghono daava vahapu ile daava vanini.” 7 Opo nee omuhumbati woiti yaye ta ti kuye: “Ninga aishe i li momutima woye. Ninga ngaashi wa hala. Ame ondi li pwoove pahalo lomutima woye.” 8 Opo nee Jonatan ta ti: “Tala ohatu ka ya kovalumenhu venya nokuliholola kuvo. 9 Vo ngeenge tave tu lombwele ngaha: ‘Kanghameni manga fiyo hatu uya kunye,’ opo nee fye tu nokukanghama ponhele yetu ndee itatu londo kuvo. 10 Ndelenee ngeenge tava ti: ‘Ileni oku kufye,’ opo nee hatu londo ko, osheshi Omwene e va yandja momake etu. Osho tashi ka ninga edidiliko letu.” 11 Vo aveshe vavali eshi ve lihololela etanga lovanangeli vOvafilisti, ndele Ovafilisti tava ti: “Taleni, Ovaheberi otave uya, tava di momakololo avo va li va hondama mo.” 12 Novalumenhu vometanga lenangelo va lombwela Jonatan nomuhumbati woiti yaye, tava ti: “Londeni, mu uye kufye, opo nee hatu mu ulikile sha!” Opo nee Jonatan ta ti komuhumbati woiti yaye: “Londa, shikule nge, shaashi Omwene e va yandja meke laIsrael.” 13 Ndele Jonatan ta ende te likoko omwoodimba nomuhumbati woiti yaye e mu shikula. Ndele venya va wila po komesho yaye, fimbo omuhumbati woiti yaye te va shemununa. 14 Molwoodi eli lotete Jonatan nomuhumbati woiti yaye va dipaa ovalumenhu omilongo mbali, monhele yepululo letata lefiku. 15 Opo nee ehaluko la kwata onhanda yovakwaita naava va li pondje yonhanda nomomatanga aeshe ovakwaita. Etanga lenangelo nongudu yovakwati voinima nayo yo ya haluka, heeno, edu la kakama, ehalukifo la dja muKalunga.
16 Ndele eendadi daSaul muGibea shomuBenjamin, eshi va mona ongudu oyo inene ye lihana ndele ya pilauka. 17 Saul okwa lombwela ovakwaita ava va li puye: “Talaataleni, mu shiive olyelye womufye a dja po.” Ndele metalatalo va yongola nokutya, Jonatan nomuhumbati woiti yaye kave po. 18 Opo nee Saul ta ti kuAhia: “Eta oku oshikefa shaKalunga, osheshi mefimbo linya oshikefa shaKalunga sha li povana vaIsrael.” 19 Ndele fimbo Saul ta popi natango nomupristeli nembuyaano lomonhanda yOvafilisti la ninga linene neenghono, Saul a lombwela omupristeli: “Nashi kale!” 20 Saul novakwaita aveshe ava va li puye va ifanwa, ndele ve uya molwoodi. Ndee tala, eongamukonda laumwe tali tu omukwao, edongakano ola lunda pombada. 21 NOvaheberi voovene yo va li shito mepangelo lOvafilisti, ndele ve uya pamwe nOvafilisti monhanda, vo ova ya kOvaisraeli ava va li pamwe naSaul naJonatan. 22 Ovalumenhu aveshe Ovaisraeli ovo va li va hondama meemhunda daEfraim eshi va uda nokutya, Ovafilisti va ya onhapo, navo yo va hovela oku va shikula molwoodi. 23 NOmwene okwa xupifa Ovaisraeli mefiku tuu olo olwoodi eshi la koya Bet-Aven.
24 Novanhu vaIsrael ova li va loloka unene mefiku olo, osheshi Saul a anifa ovakwaita ndee ta ti: “Omulumenhu ou ta makele sha fiyo onguloshi fimbo inandi polifa ehandu lange movatondadi vange, na tokolelwe efyo.” Onghee ovakwaita aveshe inava lya sha. 25 Novanhu aveshe ve uya momufitu ndele omo mwa li omaadi eenyiki poshi. 26 Ovakwaita eshi ve uya momufitu, omo mwa li omaadi mahapu mahapu eenyiki. Ndelenee nande umwe ina twala eke laye mokanya, osheshi va tila eano. 27 Ndelenee Jonatan ina uda xe eshi a anifa ovakwaita, ndele ye okwa ulika onhele yonhaili oyo ya li meke laye, ndele e i twa meshila lomaadi eenyiki, ndele a twala eke laye kokanya kaye, nomesho aye a yela. 28 Ndelenee umwe womovakwaita okwe mu lombwela ta ti: “Xo okwa anifa ovakwaita eano ta ti: Omulumenhu ou ta li sha nena eli, na tokolelwe efyo. Onghee hano ovanhu va loloka unene.” 29 Ndee Jonatan ta ti: “Tate ta twala oshilongo momupya. Tala, omesho ange nhumbi taa yela paife, eshi nda makela omaadi manini eenyiki. 30 Ovakwaita ngeno va itavelelwe okulya moixuulwa ve i kufa movatondadi. Ndelenee paife etewatewo lOvafilisti inali ninga mbela linene li dule eli.”
31 Ndelenee mefiku olo va taataa Ovafilisti okudja muMikmas fiyo okuAijalon novakwaita va li va loloka unene. 32 Novakwaita va totela koixuulwa, ndele va kufa eedi neengobe neenhana, ndele ve di tomena meuladu, novakwaita tave di li nohonde. 33 Eshi va shiivifila Saul tava ti: “Tala, ovakwaita tava nyono kOmwene, vo eshi tava li ombelela kumwe nohonde, ye ta ti: ‘Mwa nyona! Alangatifileni paife emanya lakula kwaame.’ ” 34 Saul ta ti vali: “Indeni mo mokati kovanhu mu va lombwele: Keshe umwe na ete kwaame ongobe yaye nodi yaye, e i tomene apa, ndele a lye. Ndelenee inamu nyona kOmwene moku i lya nohonde.” Oufiku tuu ou ovakwaita aveshe keshe umwe, a eta neke laye ongobe yaye te i tomene ko. 35 Ndele Saul okwa tungila Omwene oaltari. Oyo oaltari yotete ye a tungila Omwene.
36 Opo nee Saul ta ti: “Tu yeni, tu ka shikuleni Ovafilisti oufiku nokunyeka fiyo kwa sha. Ndele inatu efeni nande umwe a kale nomwenyo.” Ndele vo va nyamukula: “Ninga ashishe eshi tashi ku wapalele.” Ndelenee omupristeli ta ti: “Tu eheneni kuKalunga!” 37 Opo nee Saul a pula kuKalunga: “Ohandi ka shikula tuu Ovafilisti? Ove to va yandje tuu momake Ovaisraeli?” Ndelenee Ye ine mu nyamukula sha efiku olo. 38 Ndele Saul ta ti: “Ileni oku ovakulunhu nye amushe vovanhu, mu pulapule nokutala olyelye a nyona. 39 Osheshi oshili Omwene ngaashi e nomwenyo, ou a xupifa Ovaisraeli, nande omumwange Jonatan a nyona, ye e nokufya shili!” Ndelenee nande umwe womovakwaita e mu nyamukula. 40 Opo ta ti kOvaisraeli aveshe: “Nye kaleni ofika kombinga imwe, naame nomumwange Jonatan, hatu kala ofika kombinga ikwao.” Novakwaita va nyamukula Saul, tava ti: “Ninga eshi she ku wapalela.” Opo nee Saul ta ti: “Ninga eshi she ku wapalela.” 41 Opo nee Saul ta ti: “Omwene Kalunga kaIsrael, omolwashike ino nyamukula omupiya woye nena? Omwene, Kalunga kaIsrael, nyamukule nge momamanya mayapuki. Ngeenge oushima ou li mwaame ile omomumwange Jonatan, nyamukule nge muUrim; ndelenee ngeenge oushima ou li movanhu voye Ovaisraeli, nyamukula muTummim.” Jonatan naSaul va ulikwa ndele ovanhu ova ya. 42 Ndele Saul ta ti: “Umbileni oshihoololifo pokati ketu nomumwange Jonatan.” Ndele Jonatan a ulikwa. 43 Opo nee Saul ta pula Jonatan: “Shiivifile nge eshi wa ninga.” Ndele Jonatan okwe mu shiivifila ndee ta ti: “Ame onda makela omaadi manini eenyiki konhele yonhaili ei ya li meke lange. Aame, ou handi ka fya.” 44 Opo nee Saul ta ti: “Kalunga na handukile nge paife nokomesho; Jonatan; u nokufya shili!” 45 Ndelenee ovakwaita va pula Saul: “Jonatan ota ka fya mbela, ou a etela Israel exupifo linene li fike apa? Alala! Oshili, ngaashi Omwene e nomwenyo, nande oluxwiki limwe lokomutwe waye itali ka wila poshi! Osheshi ye e shi ninga nena pamwe naKalunga.” Osho ngaha hano ovanhu va mangulula Jonatan mokufya. 46 Opo nee Saul a shikula Ovafilisti, nOvafilisti va ya monhele yavo.
Oita yaSaul
47 Osho ngaha Saul a pewa ouhamba wOvaisraeli nokwa homona ovatondadi vaye aveshe keembinga adishe: A homona Moab novana vaAmmoni naEdom neehamba daSoba nokwa homona Ovafilisti, ndele keshe apa a ya okwe va handukila. 48 Ye okwa li ependa: okwa taataa Amalek ndele ta xupifa Israel momake omufininiki washo.
Ovaneumbo vaSaul
49 Novana ovamati vaSaul va li: Jonatan naJisvi naMalkisua, nomadina ovana vaye oukadona vavali: edina lomukulunhu la li Merab, nedina londenge la li Mikal. 50 Nedina lomwalikadi waSaul la li Ahinoam, omona okakadona kaAhimas. Nedina londjai yaye la li Abner yaNer, xekulu yaSaul. 51 Ndele xe yaSaul okwa li Kis; ndele Ner xe yaAbner okwa li omona waAbiel.
52 Omalwoodi okulwifa Ovafilisti okwa li a handuka fimbo Saul kwa li e nomwenyo. Ndele keshe apa Saul a hanga po ependa ile omulumenhu omuladi, ye e mu kufa a kale puye.
1-3 and Saul was in Geba with his 600 men. Saul's own tent was set up under a fruit tree by the threshing place at the edge of town. Ahijah was serving as priest, and one of his jobs was to get answers from the Lord for Saul. Ahijah's father was Ahitub, and his father's brother was Ichabod. Ahijah's grandfather was Phinehas, and his great-grandfather Eli had been the Lord's priest at Shiloh.
One day, Jonathan told the soldier who carried his weapons that he wanted to attack the Philistine camp on the other side of the valley. So they slipped out of the Israelite camp without anyone knowing it. Jonathan didn't even tell his father he was leaving.
4-5 Jonathan decided to get to the Philistine camp by going through the pass that led between Shiny Cliff and Michmash to the north and Thornbush Cliff and Geba to the south.
6 Jonathan and the soldier who carried his weapons talked as they went toward the Philistine camp. “It's just the two of us against all those godless men,” Jonathan said. “But the Lord can help a few soldiers win a battle just as easily as he can help a whole army. Maybe the Lord will help us win this battle.”
7 “Do whatever you want,” the soldier answered. “I'll be right there with you.”
8 “This is what we will do,” Jonathan said. “We will go across and let them see us. 9 If they agree to come down the hill and fight where we are, then we won't climb up to their camp. 10 But we will go if they tell us to come up the hill and fight. That will mean the Lord is going to help us win.”
11-12 Jonathan and the soldier stood at the bottom of the hill where the Philistines could see them. The Philistines said, “Look! Those worthless Israelites have crawled out of the holes where they've been hiding.” Then they yelled down to Jonathan and the soldier, “Come up here, and we will teach you a thing or two!”
Jonathan turned to the soldier and said, “Follow me! The Lord is going to let us win.”
13 Jonathan crawled up the hillside with the soldier right behind him. When they got to the top, Jonathan killed the Philistines who attacked from the front, and the soldier killed those who attacked from behind. 14 Before they had gone 30 meters, they had killed about 20 Philistines.
15 The whole Philistine army panicked—those in camp, those on guard duty, those in the fields, and those on raiding patrols. All of them were afraid and confused. Then God sent an earthquake, and the ground began to tremble.
Israel Defeats the Philistines
16 Saul's lookouts at Geba saw that the Philistine army was running in every direction, like melted wax. 17 Saul told his officers, “Call the roll and find out who left our camp.” When they had finished, they found out that Jonathan and the soldier who carried his weapons were missing.
18 At that time, Ahijah was serving as priest for the army of Israel, and Saul told him, “Come over here! Let's ask God what we should do.” 19 Just as Saul finished saying this, he could see that the Philistine army camp was getting more and more confused, and he said, “Ahijah, never mind!”
20 Saul quickly called his army together, then led them to the Philistine camp. By this time the Philistines were so confused that they were killing each other.
21 There were also some hired soldiers in the Philistine camp, who now switched to Israel's side and fought for Saul and Jonathan.
22 Many Israelites had been hiding in the hill country of Ephraim. And when they heard that the Philistines were running away, they came out of hiding and joined in chasing the Philistines.
23-24 So the Lord helped Israel win the battle that day.
Saul's Curse on Anyone Who Eats
Saul had earlier told his soldiers, “I want to get even with those Philistines by sunset. If any of you eat before then, you will be under a curse!” So he made them swear not to eat.
By the time the fighting moved past Beth-Aven, the Israelite troops were weak from hunger. 25-26 The army and the people who lived nearby had gone into a forest, and they came to a place where honey was dripping on the ground. But no one ate any of it, because they were afraid of being put under the curse.
27 Jonathan did not know about Saul's warning to the soldiers. So he dipped the end of his walking stick in the honey and ate some with his fingers. He felt stronger and more alert. 28 Then a soldier told him, “Your father swore that anyone who ate food today would be put under a curse, and we agreed not to eat. That's why we're so weak.”
29 Jonathan said, “My father has caused you a lot of trouble. Look at me! I ate only a little of this honey, but already I feel strong and alert. 30 I wish you had eaten some of the food the Philistines left behind. We would have been able to kill a lot more of them.”
31 By evening the Israelite army was exhausted from killing Philistines all the way from Michmash to Aijalon. 32 They grabbed the food they had captured from the Philistines and started eating. They even killed sheep and cows and calves right on the spot and ate the meat without draining the blood. 33 Someone told Saul, “Look! The army is disobeying the Lord by eating meat before the blood drains out.”
“You're right,” Saul answered. “They are being unfaithful to the Lord! Hurry! Roll a big rock over here. 34 Then tell everyone in camp to bring their cattle and lambs to me. They can kill the animals on this rock, then eat the meat. That way no one will disobey the Lord by eating meat with blood still in it.”
That night the soldiers brought their cattle over to the big rock and killed them there. 35 It was the first altar Saul had built for offering sacrifices to the Lord.
The Army Rescues Jonathan
36 Saul said, “Let's attack the Philistines again while it's still dark. We can fight them all night. Let's kill them and take everything they own!”
The people answered, “We will do whatever you want.”
“Wait!” Ahijah the priest said. “Let's ask God what we should do.”
37 Saul asked God, “Should I attack the Philistines? Will you help us win?”
This time God did not answer. 38 Saul called his army officers together and said, “We have to find out what sin has kept God from answering. 39 I swear by the living Lord that whoever sinned must die, even if it turns out to be my own son Jonathan.”
No one said a word.
40 Saul told his army, “You stand on that side of the priest, and Jonathan and I will stand on the other side.”
Everyone agreed.
41 Then Saul prayed, “Our Lord, God of Israel, why haven't you answered me today? Please show us who sinned. Was it my son Jonathan and I, or was it your people Israel?”
The answer came back that Jonathan or Saul had sinned, not the army. 42 Saul told Ahijah, “Now ask the Lord to decide between Jonathan and me.”
The answer came back that Jonathan had sinned. 43 “Jonathan,” Saul exclaimed, “tell me what you did!”
“I dipped the end of my walking stick in some honey and ate a little. Now you say I have to die!”
44 “Yes, Jonathan. I swear to God that you must die.”
45 “No!” the soldiers shouted. “God helped Jonathan win the battle for us. We won't let you kill him. We swear to the Lord that we won't let you kill him or even lay a hand on him!” So the army kept Saul from killing Jonathan.
46 Saul stopped hunting down the Philistines, and they went home.
Saul Fights His Enemies
47-48 When Saul became king, the Moabites, the Ammonites, the Edomites, the kings of Zobah, the Philistines, and the Amalekites had all been robbing the Israelites. Saul fought back against these enemies and stopped them from robbing Israel. He was a brave commander and always won his battles.
Saul's Family
49-51 Saul's wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. They had three sons: Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malchishua. They also had two daughters: The older one was Merab, and the younger one was Michal.
Abner, Saul's cousin, was the commander of the army. Saul's father Kish and Abner's father Ner were sons of Abiel.
War with the Philistines
52 Saul was at war with the Philistines for as long as he lived. Whenever he found a good warrior or a brave man, Saul made him join his army.
