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.
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.