Samuele Luku Saulo te
1 Saulo kaa'do 'bädri'ba ro oko ndroa ndaro te 'butenätu; ago nda rite 'bädri'ba ro Yisaraele dri ndroa na 'butesu foritu.
2 Saulo nji lidri kutu nätu (3,000) Yisaraele rote; eta kutu ritu (2,000) te nda be Mikemasa ya 'bädri lutu ro Betele roya, ago zo kutu alo (1,000) te Jonatana ŋgwa ndaro be Gibea se wari 'bakala Benjamina ro roya ana ya. 'Dooko Saulo zo anjoko lidri rote kovole.
3 Jonatana pe kyila'bai Felesete'bai ro se koto gawa be Geba ya ana te. Ago Felesete'bai eriyi tana te. Ndi Saulo 'ba avo cekuṛe te wari cini yasi, ekye: “Mi'ba Ebere'bai keri.” 4 Yisaraele'bai eriyi tase Saulo kufu kyila'bai Felesete'bai robe ana tana te ago niyite anjioko ya Felesete'bai ro oso tawi Yisaraele'bai lomvo. Ta'dota äzi lidri te efone tesi rudro'bene Saulo be Gilegala ya.
5 Felesete'bai ṛiyikalate kyila oyene Yisaraele'bai be. Ànya orivoya arabia kyila ro be kutu 'butenätu (30,000), farasi'bai be kutu njidrialo (6,000), ago lowa kyila'bai ro orivoya oso siŋgwa kototi gyi'desi roya ronye. Ànya efoyite ago otoyi gawa te Mikemasa ya, 'buzele Betavena ro yasi. 6 Ondro Yisaraele'bai kondreyite ànya te orivoya vo rriti ya oko, (tana kyila'baazii gota ànya te), ànya da'doyi andivo ànyaro te kugyii yasi, 'bui yasi, luutui yasi, 'budrii yasi ago koroi yasi. 7 Ago zayidri Golo Yaradene ro rote le wari Gada ro ndi Gilada be roya.
Oko Saulo rite 'du Gilegala ya, ago lidri se nda be kai a'dote lä'bilä'biro.
8 Saulo kote Samuele te u'duna njidrieri; oso Samuele katabe ndäri oyene ronye, oko Samuele esa kote Gilegala ya, ago lidri eto ruperete ni nda resi. 9 Ndi Saulo atate ekye: “Nyèzi ŋgapäṛi ozaro märi noŋwa, ndi ŋgapäṛi rumora ro be.” Ago nda za ŋgapäṛi ozaro te. 10 Ago dori ondro nda konde ŋgapäṛi ozaro ozana te oko, Samuele esa dori; Ago Saulo oyite drî ndaro utune ago mede oyene ndäri. 11 Oko Samuele atate ekye: “Miye ono e'diyi ya?”
Ndi Saulo zatadri te ekye: “Ondro mandre lidri kate ugu rupere ni mare si, ago nyesa kote tuse aka'dabe si, ago Felesete'bai ṛiyikalate Mikemasa ya oko, 12 matate makye: ‘Felesete'bai ikyinayi ndi mädri Gilegala ya ago meji yauni OPI ro kote.’ Ago ta'dota ma'ba andivo maro te ŋgapäṛi ozaro olone.”
13 Ago Samuele atate Saulo ri ekye: “Miye ta amama te; nyäti ota OPI Lu miro ro kote, se nda kota mibe sina ono. Ondro aba miro gwo, OPI o'bana zelevoi miro Yisaraele mirine äduako. 14 Oko yauono miri 'bädri'ba miro ro orina ko madaro; OPI usu mano se ya ndaro kolebe te, ago o'bana nda 'da 'bädri'ba ro lidri ndaro dri tana nyäti ota OPI ro kote.”
15 Ndi Samuele ŋgate, ago oyite ni Gilegala yasi le Gibea se wari Benjamina ro ya ana ya.
Kyila oye Felesete'bai be
Ago Saulo ti lidri se orivoya nda be ana te ago lidri na orivoya oso kama njidrialo (600) ronye. 16 Saulo, ndi Jonatana ŋgwa ndaro be, ndi lidri se ànya be kai yibe, riyite Gibea se wari Benjamina roya ana ya; oko Felesete'bai otoyi gawa ànyaro te Mikemasa ya. 17 Ago kyila'bai Felesete'bai ro efote tesi ni gawa ànyaro yasi, gboko na orivoya nätu; gboko alo zarute Ofera se wari Suala roya ana ya, 18 Gboko aza zarute Bete Orona driro, ago gboko aza zarute kishwe äwumibe Vodelero Zeboima ro ya se egone vo cowa driro ana ya.
19 Ago usu toka'ba aza alona kote wari cini Yisaraele ro yasi, tana Felesete'bai atayite ekye: “Ebere'bai ri bando kode äzu udine andivo ànyaro si i'do”. 20 Oko lidri cini Yisaraele ro ka oyi Felesete'bai re ta kye'bo ämvuosoro 'daŋgo si, drisi, koloŋwai ndi kuului be ro otina rota. 21 Lagye si koloŋwai otiro ndi unju gulii robe orivoya tonyo mo'di ro alo, ago si kye'bo ämvuosoro 'daŋgo si ndi drisi robe lagyena tonyo mo'di ro orivoya ritu. 22 Ago tu kyila rosi usu bando ca äzu kote drì kyila'bai se Saulo ndi Jonatana be kai roya; oko Saulo ndi ŋgwa ndaro Jonatana be toto ni orivoya äzu ndi bando be. 23 Ago kyila'bai Felesete'bai ro oyiyite liti lävu ro Mikemasa ya dri.
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,