'Ditoko 'Bakala Benjamina ro ro
1 Yisaraele'bai kotoyikalate Mizepa ya, ago ànya 'bayi tao'ba lämu'du ro te OPI ri ekye: “Alo aza amaro ri ŋguti iro ozone ogyene Benjamina'bai ri te i'do.” 2 Ta'dota lidri Yisaraele ro oyiyite Betele ya ago riyite Lu kandra lau madale tandrolero. Ànya liyiyite amba ṛeṛe. 3 Ànya liyiyite ekye: “OPI, Lu Yisaraele ro, tase ono 'debe a'done inye Yisaraele ya etaya? Tana e'di 'bakala Benjamina ro ka oye gwo ujene ni Yisaraele yasi niya?”
4 Ago lidri ŋgate ṛo ŋboci kyenoŋbo kinja si ago beyi vo tori oloro te lau, ago ozoyi ŋgapäṛi rumora ro ndi ŋgapäṛi ozaro be te. 5 Lidri Yisaraele ro ejiyitate ekye: “Inye'do gboko aza ni 'bakalai Yisaraele ro yasi ri gi'da osaako kalakoto se OPI kandra Mizepa ya ono ya ya?” (Tana ànya äṛuyirute endaro ekye nda se kikyi kote OPI kandra Mizepa ya beṛo nda ufune.) 6 Tana lidri Yisaraele ro a'doyite tusuro ta ädrupii ànyaro Benjamina'bai rota ago atayite ekye: “Tu ono si ono 'bakala alodi jete ni Yisaraele yasi. 7 Ka'do inye mùsuna 'ditoko eŋwanye lidri anjoko Benjamina ro se kotabe ono riya? Tana mä̀ṛu andivo amaro 'bote OPI si ko ämäri ndiriŋwa amaro ozone ogyene 'ditoko ro ànyari.”
8 Ndi ànya kejiyitate ekye: “Inye'do gboko aza ni 'bakalai Yisaraele ro yasi ri gi'da esaako OPI kandra Mizepa ya ya?” Ago ànya usuyite anjioko 'dialo aza ikyi kote ni Jabesa se Gilada ya ana yasi kalakoto ana ya; 9 tana kyila'bai kotiyi iyi be 'diaza alodi ikyi kote lau ni Jabesa se Gilada ya ana yasi. 10 Ta'dota lowa se kombikalabe ana zo kyila'bai kutu 'butealo foritu (12,000) se turiako kai te lau ago ta ànya te ekye: “Nyòyi ago nyùtufu lidri Jabesa se Gilada ya ana ro kpeye, 'ditoko ndi ŋgàga giṛiŋwa be. 11 Tase oyene ämiri ni no; nyùtufu mànoago ndi 'ditoko se cini kote ŋguti kodroŋwà ro iyi be ṛo kpeye.” 12 Ago ànya usuyi se drigba ndiriŋwa kodroŋwa rote lidri Jabesa Gilada ro lako kama su (400), ta'dota ànya eziyi ànya te gawa se Silo ya ana ya se orivoya wari Kanana roya.
13 'Dooko lowa cini se kombikalabe ana zoyi lazo te Benjamina'bai se Luutu Rimona roya kai ri, taliatokpe o'bane ànya yibe. 14 Ago Benjamina'bai egoyite tu gi ana si; ago Yisaraele'bai ozoyi ndiriŋwa se ni Jabesa se Gilada ya yasi se ànya kuruyibe ufuako kai te Benjamina'bai ri. Oko 'ditoko ojo ànya kote kpeye.
15 Ago lidri a'dote tusuro ta Benjamina'bai rota tana OPI 'ba rulewe te a'do alo 'bakalai Yisaraele ro roya. 16 Ta'dota dri'bai lowa ro atayite ekye: “Yauono utufu 'ditoko te kpeye ni 'bakala Benjamina ro yasi. Ka'dobe 'ditoko ozone lidri anjoko se ke'bebe kai ri màyena eŋwanye ya?” 17 Ànya atayite ekye: “Beṛo ämäri liti aza usune 'bakala Benjamina ro ri adriza, ko alo aza 'bakalai 'butealo foritu Yisaraele ro ijene. 18 Caoko mä̀nina ko ànya o'bane ndiriŋwa amaro ogyene.” Tana mä̀ṛu ama te màkye: “Mano se kozo ŋguti ndaro te ogyene Benjamina'ba aza ri ka'do latri be.”
19 'Dooko ànya usuyitate ekye: “Karama OPI ro se abe oyena ṛo ndroa cini si Silo se orivoya mä'dudri Betele roya, ogone ŋgäṛiŋwa dri Lebona roya, ago 'buzele liti 'desi se lakole Betele ro Sekeme be roya ana tuna sate.” 20 Ago ànya atayite Benjamina'bai ri ekye: “Nyòyi nyàda'doru ämvu kono roya 21 ago mìri vookwane. Ondro mìndre ndiriŋwa Silo ro kefote läri otone karama si, 'dooko nyèfo tesi ni ämvu kono ro yasi. Mano alo kuru toko iri mbarasi ni ndiriŋwa Silo ro lakosi koyi sina wari Benjamina roya. 22 Ondro ka'do täpii ànyaro kode ädrupii ànyaro kikyiyite driovi be ama re oko, màtana 'da ànyari màkye: ‘Molo'baru ämiri nyè'be ànya ämäri; tana märu 'ditoko kote ànyari ni kyila ya. Ago oso nyòzo ndiriŋwa amiro be ko ni ànyari ono ronye, 'do anjioko amite teinye taenji ako.’ ”
23 Ago Benjamina'bai yeyite oso inye. Ànya ruyi 'ditoko te ànyari ni ndiriŋwa se kotoyi läri be Silo ya kai lakosi ago ŋgyiyi ànya te. Ago ànya oyiyite wari ànyaro ya, ago go beyi 'ba'desii ànyaro te, ago riyite kigyesi. 24 Ago anjioko Yisaraele'bai ro oyiyi kpate ni nasi tu gi ana si, mano alo gote 'bakala modo ànyaro ndi katidri ànyaro be ya, ago vo 'dicini ro oyite kovole vo modo ndaro roya.
25 Tu kai si 'bädri'ba drigba dri i'do Yisaraele ya ago vo 'dicini ro yete ŋgase tana kusi mi nda ro be 'do ayani.
Wives for the Tribe of Benjamin
1 When the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, they had made a solemn promise to the Lord: “None of us will allow a Benjaminite to marry a daughter of ours.” 2 So now the people of Israel went to Bethel and sat there in the presence of God until evening. Loudly and bitterly they mourned: 3 “Lord God of Israel, why has this happened? Why is the tribe of Benjamin about to disappear from Israel?”
4 Early the next morning the people got up and built an altar there. They offered fellowship sacrifices and burned some sacrifices whole. 5 They asked, “Is there any group out of all the tribes of Israel that did not go to the gathering in the Lord's presence at Mizpah?” (They had taken a solemn oath that anyone who had not gone to Mizpah would be put to death.) 6 The people of Israel felt sorry for their brothers the Benjaminites and said, “Today Israel has lost one of its tribes. 7 What shall we do to provide wives for the men of Benjamin who are left? We have made a solemn promise to the Lord that we will not give them any of our daughters.”
8 When they asked if there was some group out of the tribes of Israel that had not gone to the gathering at Mizpah, they found out that no one from Jabesh in Gilead had been there; 9 at the roll call of the army no one from Jabesh had responded. 10 So the assembly sent twelve thousand of their bravest men with the orders, “Go and kill everyone in Jabesh, including women and children. 11 Kill all the males, and also every woman who is not a virgin.” 12 They found four hundred young virgins among the people in Jabesh, so they brought them to the camp at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.
13 Then the whole assembly sent word to the Benjaminites who were at Rimmon Rock and offered to end the war. 14 The Benjaminites came back, and the other Israelites gave them the young women from Jabesh whom they had not killed. But there were not enough of them.
15 The people felt sorry for the Benjaminites because the Lord had broken the unity of the tribes of Israel. 16 So the leaders of the gathering said, “There are no more women in the tribe of Benjamin. What shall we do to provide wives for the men who are left? 17 Israel must not lose one of its twelve tribes. We must find a way for the tribe of Benjamin to survive, 18 but we cannot allow them to marry our daughters, because we have put a curse on anyone who allows a Benjaminite to marry one of our daughters.”
19 Then they thought, “The yearly festival of the Lord at Shiloh is coming soon.” (Shiloh is north of Bethel, south of Lebonah, and east of the road between Bethel and Shechem.) 20 They told the Benjaminites, “Go and hide in the vineyards 21 and watch. When the young women of Shiloh come out to dance during the festival, you come out of the vineyards. Each of you take a wife by force from among them and take her back to the territory of Benjamin with you. 22 If their fathers or brothers come to you and protest, you can tell them, ‘Please let us keep them, because we did not take them from you in battle to be our wives. And since you did not give them to us, you are not guilty of breaking your promise.’”
23 The Benjaminites did this; each of them chose a wife from the young women who were dancing at Shiloh and carried her away. Then they went back to their own territory, rebuilt their towns, and lived there. 24 At the same time the rest of the Israelites left, and every man went back to his own tribe and family and to his own property.
25 There was no king in Israel at that time. Everyone did whatever they pleased.