Iita yokukondjitha Aafilisti
1 Saul okwa li e na oomvula omilongo ntano, nokwa li omukwaniilwa omimvo omilongo mbali nambali. 2 Saul okwa hogolola aalumentu omayuvi gatatu. Okwa kaleke omayuvi gaali puye muMikmash nokombinga yokoondundu dhaBetel. Eyuvi limwe okwe li tumu nomwana Jonatan kuGibea, moshitopolwa shezimo lyaBenjamin. Aantu yalwe Saul okwe ya shunitha kaandjawo.
3 Jonatan okwa dhipaga ondjayi yiita yAafilisti muGeba, nAafilisti ayehe oye shi uvu. Nena Saul okwa tumu aatumwa, ya ka hike ombenda noshilongo ashihe nokuhiyila Aahebeli kiita. 4 Aaisraeli ayehe oya li ya lombwelwa kutya Saul okwa dhipaga ondjayi yiita yAafilisti, nAafilisti oya li ye ya tonde. Omolwashoka Aaisraeli oye ya kuGilgal, ya landule Saul kiita.
5 Aafilisti oya gongala, ya kondjithe Aaisraeli; oya li ye na omatembakwiita omayuvi omilongo ndatu, aakawilinkambe omayuvi gahamano naakwiita oyendjiyendji ya fa ehekevi lyomooha dhefuta. Oya yi kuMikmash, kuuzilo waBetaven, noya yungu ontanda nkoka. 6 Aaisraeli sho ya mono kutya oya li moshiponga oshinene, oya holama momakololo nokomitutu nenge pokati komamanya nenge miikweyo nomomithima. 7 Yakwawo oya taaguluka omulonga Jordan e taa yi koshitopolwa shaGad noshaGilead.
Saul okwa li natango muGilgal. Aantu mboka ya li puye, oya li taa kakama kuumbanda. 8 Omasiku gaheyali okwa tegelele Samuel, ngaashi e mu lombwelele, e shi ninge, ihe Samuel ka li e ya natango kuGilgal. Aantu oya tameke okuthiga po Saul. 9 Onkee ano okwa ti kuyo: “Etelii ndje efikilondjambo nekwatathanondjambo.” Okwa yamba efikilondjambo. 10 Samuel okwe ya, manga Saul a li pokuzimbuka. Saul okwa yi, e ke mu kunde, 11 ihe Samuel okwa ti: “Owa ningi shike?”
Saul okwa yamukula a ti: “Aantu oya li taa thigi ndje po, nangoye wo ino ya pethimbo ndyoka wa tile, nando Aafilisti oya gongala muMikmash. 12 Onda dhiladhila kutya Aafilisti otaa ka ponokela ndje muka muGilgal, manga inaandi konga ekwatathano nOmuwa. Onkee onda li ndu uvite ndi na okuyamba efikilondjambo.”
13 Nena Samuel okwa yamukula a ti: “Owa ningi nayi. Ino vulika koshipango shOmuwa Kalunga koye e shi ku pa. Ando owa li wa vulika, ando okwe ku etha noluvalo lwoye, mu lele Aaisraeli sigo aluhe. 14 Ihe ngashingeyi elelo lyoye itali ka kalelela we. Oshoka ino vulika kuye, Omuwa ote ki imonena omulumentu e mu opalela note mu ningi omuleli gwaantu ye.”
15 Samuel okwa zi muGilgal nokwa tsikile ondjila ye. Oshihupe shaantu osha landula Saul, sho a ka tsakaneka aakwiita ye. Oya zi kuGilgal yu uka kuGibea moshitopolwa shaBenjamin. Saul okwa konakona omatanga ge, konyala aalumentu ye thike pomathele gahamano. 16 Saul nomwana Jonatan naakwiita yawo oya yungu ontanda muGeba moshitopolwa shaBenjamin. Ontanda yAafilisti oya li muMikmash. 17 Montanda yAafilisti omwa zi omatanga gatatu, ga ka homone. Etanga limwe olyu uka lwokuOfra moshitopolwa shaShual, 18 ekwawo olyu uka lwokuBethoron, netitatu olyu uka kongamba pooha dholusilu lwaSeboim nombuga.
19 Pethimbo ndiyaka muIsrael kamwa li aahambudhi nando ogumwe, oshoka Aafilisti oye ya keelele okuhambula omagongamwele nomagonga. 20 (Aaisraeli oya li ye na okuya kAafilisti, opo ya upikithe iipululo, omatemo, omakuya niimwitho yawo. 21 Ofuto oya li okamaliwa kamwe okuupikitha ekuya nenge okwoopalekitha epanda nuumaliwa uyali okuupikitha oshipululo nenge etemo.) 22 Onkee ano kakele kaSaul nomwana Jonatan, mesiku lyolugodhi muIsrael kamwa li nando omukwiita e na egongamwele nenge egonga.
23 Aafilisti oya tumu etanga lyaakwiita, li popile etaulilo lyokuMikmash.
War against the Philistines
2 Saul picked three thousand men, keeping two thousand of them with him in Michmash and in the hill country of Bethel and sending one thousand with his son Jonathan to Gibeah, in the territory of the tribe of Benjamin. The rest of the men Saul sent home.
3 Jonathan killed the Philistine commander in Geba, and all the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul sent messengers to call the Hebrews to war by blowing a trumpet throughout the whole country. 4 All the Israelites were told that Saul had killed the Philistine commander and that the Philistines hated them. So the people answered the call to join Saul at Gilgal.
5 The Philistines assembled to fight the Israelites; they had thirty thousand war chariots, six thousand cavalry troops, and as many soldiers as there are grains of sand on the seashore. They went to Michmash, east of Bethaven, and camped there. 6 Then they launched a strong attack against the Israelites, putting them in a desperate situation. Some of the Israelites hid in caves and holes or among the rocks or in pits and wells; 7 others crossed the Jordan River into the territories of Gad and Gilead.
Saul was still at Gilgal, and the people with him were trembling with fear. 8 He waited seven days for Samuel, as Samuel had instructed him to do, but Samuel still had not come to Gilgal. The people began to desert Saul, 9 so he said to them, “Bring me the burnt sacrifices and the fellowship sacrifices.” He offered a burnt sacrifice, 10 and just as he was finishing, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet him and welcome him, 11 but Samuel said, “What have you done?”
Saul answered, “The people were deserting me, and you had not come when you said you would; besides that, the Philistines are gathering at Michmash. 12 So I thought, ‘The Philistines are going to attack me here in Gilgal, and I have not tried to win the Lord's favor.’ So I felt I had to offer a sacrifice.”
13 “That was a foolish thing to do,” Samuel answered. “You have not obeyed the command the Lord your God gave you. If you had obeyed, he would have let you and your descendants rule over Israel forever. 14 But now your rule will not continue. Because you have disobeyed him, the Lord will find the kind of man he wants and make him ruler of his people.”
15 Samuel left Gilgal and went on his way. The rest of the people followed Saul as he went to join his soldiers. They went from Gilgal to Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin. Saul inspected his troops, about six hundred men. 16 Saul, his son Jonathan, and their men camped in Geba in the territory of Benjamin; the Philistine camp was at Michmash. 17 The Philistine soldiers went out on raids from their camp in three groups: one group went toward Ophrah in the territory of Shual, 18 another went toward Beth Horon, and the other one went to the border overlooking Zeboim Valley and the wilderness.
19 There were no blacksmiths in Israel because the Philistines were determined to keep the Hebrews from making swords and spears. ( 20 The Israelites had to go to the Philistines to get their plows, hoes, axes, and sickles sharpened; 21 the charge was one small coin for sharpening axes and for fixing goads, and two coins for sharpening plows or hoes.) 22 And so on the day of battle none of the Israelite soldiers except Saul and his son Jonathan had swords or spears.
23 The Philistines sent a group of soldiers to defend Michmash Pass.
