Ngwa ne Bafilisitiya
1 Saulo wakabe ana makole ali makumi matatu ha etangisa kubusa, ngono kabusa Iziraela makole mabili. 2 Saulo wakashalula balume bali zwiwulu zwitatu (3 000) mu Iziraela, bali zwiwulu zwibili (2 000) bakabe banaye ku Mikimashi ne ku shango ye matuthu ye Bhetele, ngono bali tjiwulu (1 000) bakabe bana Jonatani ku Gibiya mu Bhenjamini. Balume bakasala kabashandusila ku mizi yabo.
3 Jonatani wakakunda kampa ye babhayani be Bafilisitiya bakabe bali ku Gebha, ngono Bafilisitiya bakahwa ngekwako. Ngono Saulo kalidza lunyanga shango yose eti, “Bahebheru ngabahwe!” 4 Ndizo Baiziraela bose bakahwa kuti Saulo wakunda mphatho we babhayani be Bafilisitiya, nenge kuti Iziraela yatjibengiwa nge Bafilisitiya. Ngono bathu bakadang'wa kunobhatshana na Saulo ku Giligala.
5 Bafilisitiya bakakubunganila kubhayana ne Iziraela, bakabe bana koloyi dze ngwa dzili zwiwulu zwili makumi matatu (30 000) ne batathi be mbizi bali zwiwulu zwili zwitathatu (6 000) ne babhayani banjinji se nsetje umu phili ye gungwa. Bakatathila bakakubungana ku Mikimashi ku bhezhuba kwe Bhetiaveni. 6 Kwakati balume be Iziraela bebona kuti babe mu tjimo tjakamanikana, ngobe bathu bamanikana kwazo, bakabgwata mu makuhwu ne mu mwina ne mu shongwe ne mu zwikumbu ne mu matshime akakopogwa mu shongwe. 7 Bamwe Bahebheru ibo bakatjuluka gwizi gwe Jorodani bakayenda ku shango ye Gadi ne Giliyadi.
Saulo wakabe atji ku Giligala, ngono bathu bose bakantobela betetema. 8 Wakalinda kwe mazhuba ali kutendeka, tjili tjibaka tjakabe tjabigwa ndi Samuele, koga Samuele aazozha ku Giligali, ngono bathu bakatangisa palala. 9 Ndizo Saulo kabe eti, “Zhisani tjibhayilo tjinopisiwa ne tjibhayilo tje mbakiso.” Ngono kapisa tjibhayilo tjinopisiwa. 10 Wakati koga epedza kupisa tjibhayilo, Samuele kabe eswika, ngono Saulo kabhuda kunonshanganidza endumilisa. 11 Samuele kambhuzwa kati, “Apa wathamani kene?”
Saulo kadabila eti, “Ndakati ndibona kuti bathu banopalala bendisiya, ne kuti imwi amuzozha nge zhuba lamakabiga, ngono Bafilisitiya bakubungana ku Mikimashi, 12 azwidwa ati, ‘Ngwenu Bafilisitiya bawodelukila kundili ku Giligala, ngono andizokumbila bhatsho ya Yahwe.’ Ndizo azwisunga, athama tjibhayilo.”
13 Samuele kadwa Saulo kati, “Wathama bulengwe, auzolondolodza nlayo wa Yahwe Ndzimu uwo, wabakakulaulila, ngobe Yahwe babe bowosimisa mbuso uwo mu Iziraela nge kusingapele. 14 Koga ngwenu mbuso uwo autjowodwilila, naiko Yahwe batjizwishakila nlume upa moyo wabo, Yahwe bambiga kube ntungamili we bathu babo, ngobe iwe auzolondolodza nlayo wabo.”
15 Ndizo Samuele kamilika kazwiyendilazwe kudwa mu Giligala. Bamwe bathu bakatobela Saulo kungina mu babhayani, bakayenda kudwa mu Giligala kunoti ku Gibeya mu ntuthu we Bhenjamini. Saulo wakabala bathu baakabe anabo, bakabe bali balume bali mazana ali kutathatu (600). 16 Saulo ne nkololo uwe Jonatani ne bathu bakabe banabo bakabe begala mu Gebha mu ntuthu we Bhenjamini, Bafilisitiya ibo bakakubunganila ku Mikimashi. 17 Mu mishasha ye Bafilisitiya kwakabhuda makoko e babhayani matatu, goko limwe lakalinga kuyendila ku Ofira, ku shango ye Shuali, 18 limwe goko likalinga kuyendila ku Bhetihoroni, ngono limwe likalinga kuyendila ku n'gathu kudelukila ku nkuku we Zeboyimi kuyendila ku tjilambanyika.
19 Ipapo kwakabe kusina nthuli mu shango ye Iziraela yose, ngobe Bafilisitiya bakabe bati, “Bahebheru bangadwa bezwithamila makanu kene mathumu.” 20 Ndizo Baiziraela bakabe bogala beyenda benokuswisa zwikara zwabo ne bhosipiki ne mashathu ne sikili ku Bafilisitiya. 21 Themba ye kuswiwa kwe ikara ne bhosipiki yakabe ili zwikwamu zwibili mu butatu zwe shekele ne ikwamu tje butatu tje shekele kukuswa mashathu ne kululwamisa lukombo gunobhaya ng'ombe dzitethegwa. 22 Ndizo kwakati nge zhuba le ngwa, kukabe kusina bukanu kene thumo lingawang'wa mu luboko gwe mmwe we babhayani bakabe bana Saulo na Jonatani. Koga Saulo ne nkololo uwe Jonatani bakabe banazo.
23 Ipapo mphatho we babhayani be Bafilisitiya wakabe wabhudila kuzhe ku nkoto we Mikimashi.
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,