Kutapiwa kwe Bhokisi le Tjidumano
1 Ngono dama la Samuele likazibgwa mu Iziraela yose. Ngono Baiziraela bakabhuda kunobhayana ne Bafilisitiya bakakubunganila ku Ebheneza, Bafilisitiya bakakubunganila ku Afeke. 2 Bafilisitiya bakalulwamisila babhayani babo kugwa ne Baiziraela, kukati ngwa ikula, Baiziraela bakakundiwa ne Bafilisitiya, bakabulaya balume bangabe zwiwulu zwili zwinna (4 000) mu magwilo. 3 Kwakati babhayani beswika ku bukotokelo, batungamili be Iziraela bakabhuzwana bakati, “Apa ini tjathama nasi kuti Yahwe batilonge mu maboko e Bafilisitiya kuti batikunde kene? Ngatiyendeni tinotola Bhokisi le Tjidumano tja Yahwe ku Shilo, kuti ndizo Yahwe bazhe babe pakati kwedu batitjidze mu simba le tjita tjedu.” 4 Ndizo kukatumwa balume ku Shilo, ngono bakanobuya ne Bhokisi le Tjidumano tja Yahwe Masimbawose, ibo bagele pakati kwe kherubhu. Bakololo ba Eli Hofuni na Finihasi, bakabe bali ipapobo ne Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu.
5 Kwakati Bhokisi le Tjidumano tja Yahwe liswika mu bukotokelo, Baiziraela bose bakamimila nge nsindo usinshoma, shango ikaduma. 6 Kwakati Bafilisitiya behwa zhoba ye mima, bakabhuzwana bakati, “Mima iyeyi ingapa nge yeni mu bukotokelo gwe Bahebheru kene?” Bakati basinoziba kuti Bhokisi le Tjidumano tja Yahwe lazha mu bushanganilo, 7 Bafilisitiya bakapaluka moyo, ngobe bakati, “Ndzimu wazha mu bushanganilo.” Bakadwilila beti, “Yee mme wee, tapalala! Tjinga kwatakazwagwa akuthu kukashingikala kwakajali. 8 Yee mme wee tapalala! Apa ndiani ungatigwila mu simba le midzimu iyeyi yakasima zwingapa kene? Ndiyo midzimu yakabulaya Baegipiti nge mbatsha dzakasiyana siyana mu tjilambanyika. 9 Ibeni nge tjilopa Bafilisitiya, mubhayane se balume, musitongodwa mube balanda be Bahebheru, sekwa bagala bali balanda benyu. Mubhayane se balume.” 10 Ndizo Bafilisitiya bakabhayana, Baiziraela bakakundiwa, bakatizha, mmwe ne mmwe katizhila ku nzi uwe. Kwakafiwa kukulu kwazo, Iziraela yakalashikigwa nge babhayani be makumbo bali zwiwulu zwili makumi matatu (30 000). 11 Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu likatapiwa, bakololo ba Eli Hofuni na Finihasi bakafa nge bubili.
Lufu gwa Eli
12 Nlume we Nbhenjamini kalabuka kudwa ku magwilo, kanolala aswika ku Shilo, akazwipalulila zwiambalo, azwidila mavu mu nsholo. 13 Kwakati eswika, Eli wakabe aligele pa tjigalo tjitje pa zila akalinga zila, ngobe wakabe akadziyidzika ngekwe Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu. Ngono nlume iwoyo kati eswika mu nzi, kati eandamisa thawu, nzi wose ukadila guwo. 14 Kwakati Eli ehwa guwo, kabhuzwa kati, “Yeli guwo lingapa ngeleni kene?” Ipapo nlume iwoyo kazha tjinyolotjo, kabudza Eli. 15 Eli wakabe atjikwegula makole awe abe makumi ali zhanalume lina makole ali zhanakadzi (98) mesho awe atjipofupala asingatjabone. 16 Nlume iwoyu wakadwa Eli kati, “Ndimi ndadwa ku ngwa, ndatizha ku ngwa nasi.”
Eli kabhuzwa kati, “Apa kutjani koga ikweno nkololo wangu?”
17 Ntuli we thawu kashandula eti, “Baiziraela bakundiwa nge Bafilisitiya, ngono kwabe ne kufa kukulu kwazo kwe babhayani, nenge bakololo benyu Hofuni na Finihasi bafabo. Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu nailobo latapiwa.” 18 Wakati eleba ngekwe Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu, Eli kakudubhuka mu tjigalo tjitje kanowa nge itiko pa hwunde ne nkoba, ngono kavunika ntshibha kafa, ngobe wakabe akakwegula kakale ana mbili. Eli wakabe ana makole ali makumi manna (40) ali ntungamili we Iziraela.
Lufu gwe nkadzi wa Finihasi
19 Nlongo wa Eli nkadzi wa Finihasi, wakabe atjikuligwa abe pejo ngotshibama. Wakati ehwa thawu dze kuti Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu lakatapiwa ne kuti tezwale babe ne nlume uwe bafa, ipapo koga kangina mu zwibhayo ngono zwibhayo zwikankulila katshibama, 20 koga wakabe atjipelegwa abe pejo ngofa, batshibamisi bakandwa bakati, “Usitje, ngobe wawana mwana we tjilume.” Koga kasibadabile nenguba kuli kube ne hanya. 21 Katumila mbisana zina linoyi Ikabhodi, edwa kuti, “Gudzo lafuluka mu Iziraela,” ngekuti Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu lakabe latapiwa nenge kwe lufu gwa tezwale babe ne nlume uwe. 22 Kabe eti, “Gudzo lafuluka mu Iziraela, ngobe Bhokisi le Tjidumano tje Ndzimu latapiwa.”
1 Then Samuel would speak to the whole nation of Israel.
The Philistines Capture the Sacred Chest
One day the Israelites went out to fight the Philistines. They set up camp near Ebenezer, and the Philistines camped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines made a fierce attack. They defeated the Israelites and killed about 4,000 of them.
3 The Israelite army returned to their camp, and the leaders said, “Why did the Lord let us lose to the Philistines today? Let's get the sacred chest where the Lord's agreement with Israel is kept. Then the Lord will help us and rescue us from our enemies.”
4 The army sent some soldiers to bring back the sacred chest from Shiloh, because the Lord All-Powerful has his throne on the winged creatures on top of the chest.
As Eli's two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, 5 brought the chest into camp, the army cheered so loudly that the ground shook. 6 The Philistines heard the noise and said, “What are those Hebrews shouting about?”
When the Philistines learned that the sacred chest had been brought into the camp, 7 they were scared to death and said:
The gods have come into their camp. Now we're in real trouble! Nothing like this has ever happened to us before. 8 We're in big trouble! Who can save us from these powerful gods? They're the same gods who made all those horrible things happen to the Egyptians in the desert.
9 Philistines, be brave and fight hard! If you don't, those Hebrews will rule us, just as we've been ruling them. Fight and don't be afraid.
10 The Philistines did fight. They killed 30,000 Israelite soldiers, and all the rest ran off to their homes. 11 Hophni and Phinehas were killed, and the sacred chest was captured.
Eli Dies
12 That same day a soldier from the tribe of Benjamin ran from the battlefront to Shiloh. He had torn his clothes and put dirt on his head to show his sorrow. 13 He went into town and told the news about the battle, and everyone started crying.
Eli was afraid that something might happen to the sacred chest. So he was sitting on his chair beside the road, just waiting. 14-15 He was 98 years old and blind, but he could hear everyone crying, and he asked, “What's all that noise?”
The soldier hurried over and told Eli, 16 “I escaped from the fighting today and ran here.”
“Young man, what happened?” Eli asked.
17 “Israel ran away from the Philistines,” the soldier answered. “Many of our people were killed, including your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas. But worst of all, the sacred chest was captured.”
18 Eli was still sitting on a chair beside the wall of the town gate. And when the man said that the Philistines had taken the sacred chest, Eli fell backwards. He was a very heavy old man, and the fall broke his neck and killed him. He had been a leader of Israel for 40 years.
19 The wife of Phinehas was about to give birth. And soon after she heard that the sacred chest had been captured and that her husband and his father had died, her baby came. The birth was very hard, 20 and she was dying. But the women taking care of her said, “Don't be afraid—it's a boy!”
She didn't pay any attention to them. 21-22 Instead she kept thinking about losing her husband and her father-in-law. So she said, “My son will be named Ichabod, because the glory of Israel left our country when the sacred chest was captured.”