Tola
1 Kwakati shule kwa Abimeleki kukamuka Tola nkololo wa Puwa, ali nkololo wa Dodo, nlume we Isakari, kusunungula Iziraela. Wakabe egala ku Shamiri mu shango ye matuthu ya Ifureimi. 2 Katungamila Iziraela kwe makole ali makumi mabili ana matatu (23). Kadwapo kafa, kabiganyigwa ku Shamiri.
Jairi
3 Shule kukwe kukamuka Jairi we Giliyadi, wakatungamila Iziraela kwe makole ali makumi mabili ana mabili (22). 4 Wakabe ana bakololo bali makumi matatu (30), bakabe betatha madonki ali makumi matatu (30), bakabe bana mizi ili makumi matatu (30) inodang'wa Havotijairi na nasi, imu shango ye Giliyadi. 5 Ngono Jairi kafa, kabiganyiwa mu Kamoni.
Jefuta
6 Ngono bathu be Iziraela bakathama mbipo kakale mu mesho a Yahwe, bakashingila bo Bhaale ne ndzimukadzi Ashera, iyo midzimu ye Siriya ne midzimu ye Sidoni ne midzimu ye Moabu ne midzimu ye Baamoni, ne midzimu ye Bafilisitiya ngono bakasiya Yahwe bakasibashingile. 7 Bushongola gwa Yahwe gukathutila Baiziraela, ngono bakabatengesa mu maboko e Bafilisitiya ne Baamoni, 8 ibo bakabadziyidza bakabatshambilidza gole ilelo. Bakatshambilidza bathu bose be Iziraela kwe makole ali gumi lina ali zhanakadzi (18) bakabe bali seli ye Jorodani mu shango ye Baamoni imu Giliyadi. 9 Baamoni bakatjulukabo Jorodani kunogwa ne Juda ne Bhenjamini ne nsha wa Ifureimi, ngono Iziraela ikabe mu buyendasi bukulu.
10 Bathu be Iziraela bakalilila kuna Yahwe beti, “Takamutjinyila, ngoti takamusiya Ndzimu wedu, ngono tikashingila bo Bhaale.” 11 Ngono Yahwe bakadwa bathu be Iziraela bakati, “Apa andizomusunungula mu Baegipiti ne mu Baamori ne mu Baamoni ne mu Bafilisitiya? 12 Basidoni bo ne Baamaleki ne Baamoni bakamutshambilidza ngono mukalilila kundili ndikamusunungula mu maboko abo. 13 Koga makandisiya mukashingila midzimu ipoga, ndizo anditjowomutjidza. 14 Yendani munolilila midzimu yamakashalula, ngaimusunungule mu misi ye buyendasi gwenyu.” 15 Ngono bathu be Iziraela bakadwa Yahwe bakati, “Takatjinya, thamani tjamunobona tjakatilulwamila, koga tokumbila muti sunungule ngwenu.” 16 Ndizo bakadusa midzimu ipoga pakati kwabo ngono bakashingila Yahwe, ngono Yahwe bakasitjamililane ne kudziyidziwa kwe Baiziraela.
17 Ipapo Baamoni bakadan'gwa bakakotokela mu Giliyadi, bathu be Iziraela bakakubungana ngono bakakotokela ku Mizipha. 18 Batungamili be bathu be Giliyadi bakabudzana beti, “Iye unowotangisa kunonginilila Baamoni, unowobe iye nsholo we bagali bose be Giliyadi.”
Tola
1 Tola was the next person to rescue Israel. He belonged to the Issachar tribe, but he lived in Shamir, a town in the hill country of Ephraim. His father was Puah, and his grandfather was Dodo. 2 Tola was a leader of Israel for 23 years, then he died and was buried in Shamir.
Jair
3 The next leader of Israel was Jair, who lived in Gilead. He was a leader for 22 years. 4 He had 30 sons, and each son had his own mule and was in charge of one town in Gilead. Those 30 towns are still called The Settlements of Jair. 5 When he died, he was buried in the town of Kamon.
Israel Is Unfaithful to God
6 Before long, the Israelites began disobeying the Lord by worshiping Baal, Astarte, and gods from Syria, Sidon, Moab, Ammon, and Philistia.
7 The Lord was angry with Israel and decided to let Philistia and Ammon conquer them. 8 So the same year that Jair died, Israel's army was crushed by these two nations. For 18 years, Ammon was cruel to the Israelites who lived in Gilead, the region east of the Jordan River that had once belonged to the Amorites. 9 Then the Ammonites began crossing the Jordan and attacking the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, and Ephraim. Life was miserable for the Israelites. 10 They begged the Lord for help and confessed, “We were unfaithful to you, our Lord. We stopped worshiping you and started worshiping idols of Baal.”
11-12 The Lord answered:
In the past when you came crying to me for help, I rescued you. At one time or another I've rescued you from the Egyptians, the Amorites, the Ammonites, the Philistines, the Sidonians, the Amalekites, and the Maonites. 13-14 But I'm not going to rescue you any more! You've left me and gone off to worship other gods. If you're in such big trouble, go and cry to them for help!
15 “We have been unfaithful to you,” the Israelites admitted. “If we must be punished, do it yourself, but please rescue us from the Ammonites.”
16 Then the Israelites got rid of the idols of the foreign gods, and they began worshiping only the Lord. Finally, there came a time when the Lord could no longer stand to see them suffer.
The Ammonites Invade Gilead
17 The rulers of Ammon called their soldiers together and led them to Gilead, where they set up camp.
The Israelites gathered at Mizpah and set up camp there. 18 The leaders of Gilead asked each other, “Who can lead an attack on the Ammonites?” Then they agreed, “If we find someone who can lead the attack, we'll make him the ruler of Gilead.”