Kufa kwa Mambo Saulo
(1 Samuele 31:1-13)1 Bafilisitiya bakagwa ne Baiziraela ngono Baiziraela bakatizha Bafilisitiya ngono Baiziraela bakabulawa nge Bafilisitiya mu Dombo le Gilibhowa. 2 Ndizo Bafilisitiya bakatatamila Saulo ne bakololo babe, bakabulaya Jonatani na Abinadabu na Malikishuwa bakololo ba Saulo. 3 Ngwa yakabe ikulila Saulo ngono baposi be misebe bakan'wana bakankubadza kwazo. 4 Ipapo Saulo kadwa nzhuzha unonsengela mathumo eti, “Shomola thumo lilo undibhaye nalo ndife, ngoti pamwe ibabo basakathumbigwa bangadwa bezha bezwithamila kuda kwabo mundili.” Koga nsengi we mathumo kalamba ngobe akabe etja kukulu. Ndizo Saulo katola thumo lile kazwiligila mu lili. 5 Ngono kukati nsengi we mathumo ebona kuti Saulo wafa, naiye kazwilashila mu thumo lile ngono kafabo. 6 Ndizo Saulo ne bakololo babe bose batatu bakafa saikoko, bose be bagali thaka babe bakafabo. 7 Ndizo kwakati Baiziraela bose bakabe bali pa nkuku bebona kuti balume babo be ngwa batizha ne kuti Saulo ne bakololo babe bafa, bakafupatila mizi yabo bakatizha, Bafilisitiya bakazha bakazwigaligwa mu mizi yabo.
8 Kwakati tjimuka Bafilisitiya bezha kuwotolela ibabo bakafa, bakawana Saulo ne bakololo babe bakafa mu Dombo le Gilibhowa. 9 Bakambula zwiambalo zwizwe bakatola nsholo uwe ne zwibhayano zwizwe zwe ngwa bakatuma batumwa shango yose ye Filisitiya kuandamisa thawu dzinozipa dzekukunda ku midzimu yabo neku bathu babo. 10 Bakatola zwiambalo zwe ngwa bakazwibiga mu ng'umba ye midzimu yabo ngono bakalembeledza nsholo uwe mu ng'umba ye ndzimu wabo Dagoni. 11 Ngono kwakati bathu be Jabeshi bamu Giliyadi behwa kuti Bafilisitiya bakathamani Saulo, 12 balume bakasima bakayenda bakanotola itumbo tja Saulo ne zwe bakololo babe ngono bakazwizhisa ku Jabeshi. Bakabiganya mafupa abo kusi kwe nti nkulu umu Jabeshi bakazwinyima zojiwa mazhuba ali kutendeka.
13 Saulo kafa saikoko ngoshaya bugalimoyo kukwe, wakabe asina bugalimoyo muna Yahwe ngobe wakabe asingabhulutane dama la Yahwe ne kuti wakabe ekumbila gumbuludzo mu mmwe wakabe elebeleka ne badzimu, 14 kakale ne kuti aazoshaka gumbuludzo muna Yahwe. Ndizo Yahwe bakan'letjedzela kuti afe ngono bakatola bushe bakagupa Dafite nkololo wa Jesi.
The Death of King Saul
(1 Samuel 31.1-13)1 The Philistines fought a battle against the Israelites on Mount Gilboa. Many Israelites were killed there, and the rest of them, including King Saul and his sons, fled. 2 But the Philistines caught up with them and killed three of Saul's sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. 3 The fighting was heavy around Saul, and he was hit by enemy arrows and badly wounded. 4 He said to the young man carrying his weapons, “Draw your sword and kill me, to keep these godless Philistines from gloating over me.” But the young man was too terrified to do it. So Saul took his own sword and threw himself on it. 5 The young man saw that Saul was dead, so he too threw himself on his sword and died. 6 So Saul and his three sons all died together, and none of his descendants ever ruled. 7 When the Israelites who lived in Jezreel Valley heard that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and ran off. Then the Philistines came and occupied them.
8 The day after the battle the Philistines went to plunder the corpses, and they found the bodies of Saul and his sons lying on Mount Gilboa. 9 They cut off Saul's head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers with them throughout Philistia to tell the good news to their idols and to their people. 10 They put his weapons in one of their temples and hung his head in the temple of their god Dagon. 11 When the people of Jabesh in Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 the bravest men went and got the bodies of Saul and his sons and took them to Jabesh. They buried them there under an oak and fasted for seven days.
13 Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord. He disobeyed the Lord's commands; he tried to find guidance by consulting the spirits of the dead 14 instead of consulting the Lord. So the Lord killed him and gave control of the kingdom to David son of Jesse.