Jij 8
1 Alò, mesye Éphraïm yo te di li: “Kisa nou te fè ou; kòmsi ou pa rele nou pou antre nan batay avèk Madian an?” Epi yo te menase li byen rèd.
Then the descendants of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you acted toward us like this? When you went out to fight against the people of Midian, why did you not summon us [to help you]?” They rebuked Gideon severely.
2 Men li te di yo: “Kisa menm mwen te fè ki konpare avèk nou? Èske se pa vrè ke li pi bon pou ranmase dèyè rekòlt Éphraïm nan pase fè gwo rekòlt nan chan Abiézer a?
But Gideon replied, “I have done [RHQ] very little compared with what you have done! My small clan of descendants of Abiezer only started the battle, but [your very large group of] descendants of Ephraim [helped me to finish the task very well. It is like] the final grapes of the harvest being much better than the first grapes that are picked.
3 Bondye vin mete chèf a Madian yo, Oreb avèk Zeeb nan men ou menm. Epi kisa mwen te reyisi fè ki konpare avèk nou?” Alò, chalè kòlè kont li te bese lè li te di sa a.
God enabled you to defeat Oreb and Zeeb, the generals of the army from Midian. That is [RHQ] much more important than what I did!” After Gideon told them that, they no longer resented what he had done.
4 Konsa, Gédéon avèk twa-san lòm ki te avè l yo te rive nan Jourdain an e te travèse l. Yo te byen fatige, men toujou t ap kouri dèyè yo.
Then Gideon and his 300 men [went east and] crossed the Jordan [River]. Although they were very tired, they continued to pursue their enemies.
5 Li te di a mesye Succoth yo: “Souple, ban mwen pen pou pèp la k ap swiv mwen an, paske yo fatige, e mwen ap kouri dèyè Zébach avèk Tsalmunna, wa a Madian yo.”
When they arrived at Succoth [town], Gideon said to the town leaders, “Please give my men some food! They are very tired. We are pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
6 Chèf Succoth yo te di: “Èske men a Zébach avèk Zalmunna deja nan men ou, pou nou ta bay pen a lame ou a?”
But the leaders of Succoth replied, “You have not caught [RHQ] Zebah and Zalmunna yet. So why should we give food to your troops [now? Catch them first, and then we will give you food].”
7 Gédéon te di: “Trè byen, lè SENYÈ a fin mete Zébach avèk Tsalmunna nan men m, m ap vin kale nou avèk pikan dezè yo e avèk chadwon savann nan.”
Gideon replied, “[Because you said that], after Yahweh enables us to defeat Zebah and Zalmunna, we will return. And then we will make whips from thorns from the desert, and with them we will rip the flesh off your bones!”
8 Li te monte soti la nan Penuel. Li te pale menm jan an avèk yo, epi mesye Penuel yo te reponn li menm jan mesye Succoth yo te reponn nan.
From there, Gideon [and his 300 men] went to Peniel and asked for food there, but the people gave him the same answer.
9 Konsa, li te pale osi avèk mesye Penuel yo, e li te di: “Lè m retounen an bon eta, m ap chire fò sa a.”
So he said to the men of Peniel, “After I defeat those kings, I will return and tear down this tower!”
10 Alò, Zébach avèk Tsalmunna te nan Kakor, e lame yo te avèk yo, anviwon kenz-mil lòm, tout sila ki te rete nan lame a fis a lès yo nèt; paske sila ki te tonbe yo se te san-ven-mil mesye ak nepe.
By that time, Zebah and Zalmunna had gone to Karkor [town] with 15,000 troops. They were all that were left of the armies that had come from the east. 120,000 of their men had already been killed.
11 Gédéon te monte pa chemen a sila ki te rete nan tant yo sou lès a Nobach avèk Jogbeha, e te atake lame a an lè yo pa t sispèk anyen.
Gideon [and his men] went east along the road on which caravans travel. They went past Nobah and Jogbehah [villages] and arrived at the enemy camp by surprise.
12 Lè Zébach avèk Tsalmunna te fin sove ale, li te swiv yo. Li te kaptire de wa a Madian yo, Zébach avèk Tsalmunna e te mete tout lame a an dewout.
Zebah and Zalmunna fled, but Gideon’s men pursued them and captured them and all their warriors.
13 Konsa, Gédéon, fis a Joas la te retounen soti nan batay akote pant Héres la.
After that, Gideon and his men [took Zebah and Zalmunna with them and] started to return, going through Heres Pass.
14 Li te kaptire yon jenn gason ki sòti Succoth e te kesyone l. Epi li te bay li detay prens a Succot yo ak ansyen li yo, swasann-dis-sèt lòm.
There he captured a young man from Succoth, and demanded that he write down the names of all of the leaders in the town. The young man wrote down seventy-seven names.
15 Li te vini kote mesye Succoth yo e te di: “Gade byen, Zébach avèk Tsalmunna, pa sila nou te anmède mwen yo, lè nou te di: ‘Èske men a Zébach avèk Tsalmunna nan men ou deja, pou nou ta dwe bay pen a mesye ou ki fatige yo?’”
Then Gideon and his men returned to Succoth and said to those leaders, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna. When we were here before, you made fun of me and said ‘You have not [RHQ] caught Zebah and Zalmunna yet! After you catch them, we will give your exhausted men some food.’”
16 Li te pran ansyen lavil Succoth yo, e avèk pikan ak chadwon savann, li te enstwi yo.
Then Gideon’s men took the town leaders and whipped them with whips made from briers from the desert, to teach them [that they deserved to be punished for not giving them any food].
17 Li te chire fò Penuel la e te touye mesye lavil yo.
Then [they went to] Peniel and tore down the tower, and killed all the men in the town.
18 Alò, li te di a Zébach avèk Tsalmunna: “Ki kalite mesye sa yo ke nou te touye Thabor a?” Epi yo te di: “Yo te sanble avèk ou. Yo tout te sanble a fis a yon wa.”
Then Gideon said to Zebah and Zalmunna, “The men you killed near Tabor [Mountain], what did they look like?” They replied, “They were like you; they all looked like they were sons of a king.”
19 Li te di: “Yo se frè mwen, fis a manman m jan SENYÈ a viv la, si sèlman nou te kite yo viv, mwen pa t ap touye nou.”
Gideon replied, “They were my brothers! Just as surely as Yahweh lives, I would not kill you if you had not killed them.”
20 Konsa, li te di a Jéther, premye ne li a: “Leve touye yo.” Men jennonm nan pa t rale nepe li, paske li te pè, paske li te toujou jèn.
Then he turned to his oldest son, Jether. He said to him, “Kill them!” But Jether was only a boy, and he was afraid, so he did not pull out his dagger [to kill them].
21 Alò, Zébach avèk Tsalmunna te di: “Leve ou menm vin tonbe sou nou; paske jan yon gason ye, konsa fòs li ye.” Pou sa, Gédéon te leve e te touye Zébach avèk Tsalmunna e te pran òneman lin kaba yo ki te sou kou chamo yo.
Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Do not ask a young boy to do the work that a man should do!” So Gideon killed both of them. Then he took the gold ornaments from the necks of their camels.
22 Alò, mesye Israël yo te di a Gédéon: “Vin renye sou nou, ni ou menm ni fis ou yo, ni fis a fis ou yo, paske ou te delivre nou soti nan men Madian.”
Then a group of Israeli men [came to] Gideon and said to him, “You be our ruler! [We want] you and your son and your grandsons [to] be our rulers, because you rescued us from the Midian army.”
23 Men Gédéon te di yo: “Mwen p ap renye sou nou, ni fis mwen p ap renye sou nou. Se SENYÈ a k ap renye sou nou.”
But Gideon replied, “No, I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you. Yahweh will rule over you.”
24 Men Gédéon te di yo: “Mwen ta fè yon demand a nou, pou nou chak ta ban mwen yon zanno soti nan piyaj li yo.” (Paske yo te gen zanno an lò, akoz se te Izmayelit ke yo te ye.)
Then he said, “I request only one thing. I request that each of you give me one earring from the things you captured after the battle.” [All the men descended from Ishmael wore gold earrings.]
25 Yo te di: “Anverite, n ap bay yo.” Konsa, yo te ouvri yon vètman e yo chak te jete yon zanno la soti nan piyaj yo.
They replied, “We will be glad to give earrings to you!” So they spread a cloth [on the ground], and each man threw on it one gold earring that he had taken [from a man he had killed in the battle].
26 Pèz a zanno lò sila ke li te mande yo se te mil-sèt-san sik, anplis bijou yo, kolye zòrèy yo, manto mov ki te pou wa Madian yo, e anplis, kolye kou chamo ki te sou kou chamo yo.
The weight of all the earrings was (43 pounds/19.4 kg.). That did not include other things [that they gave to Gideon]—the other ornaments or the pendants or the clothes that the kings of Midian wore or the gold chains that were on the necks of their camels.
27 Gédéon te sèvi l pou fòme yon efòd, li te plase li nan vil pa li a, Ophra e tout Israël te jwe pwostitiye avè l la. Konsa, li te vin yon pèlen pou Gédéon avèk lakay li.
Gideon made/decorated a sacred vest from the gold, and later he put it in his hometown, Ophrah. But soon the Israeli people started to worship the vest. So it became like a trap [MET] for the people, [causing them to worship it instead of worshiping only God].
28 Konsa Madian te kraze ba devan fis Israël yo. Yo pa t leve tèt yo ankò. Epi peyi a te san twoub pandan karant ane nan jou a Gédéon yo.
That is how the Israelis defeated the people from Midian. The people of Midian did not become strong enough to attack Israel again. So while Gideon was alive, there was peace in the land for 40 years.
29 Alò, Jerubbaal, fis a Joas la te ale rete nan pwòp kay li.
Gideon went back home to live there.
30 Gédéon te gen swasann-dis fis ki te desandan dirèk pa li, paske li te gen anpil madanm.
He had many wives, and they bore him seventy sons.
31 Mennaj li ki te nan Sichem, osi te fè yon fis pou li e li te bay li non Abimélec.
He also had a slave wife in Shechem [town], who bore him a son whom he named Abimelech.
32 Konsa, Gédéon, fis a Joas la te mouri a yon laj granmoun, e li te antere nan tonm a papa li, Joas, nan Ophra ki te pou Abizerit yo.
Gideon died when he was very old. They buried his body in the grave where his father Joash was buried, at Ophrah, in the land belonging to the descendants of Abiether.
33 Li te vin rive ke depi Gédéon te fin mouri, fis Israël yo ankò te jwe pwostitiye avèk Baal yo e te fè Baal-Berith dye pa yo.
But as soon as Gideon died, the Israelis [stopped worshiping God and started worshiping the images of the god Baal, like] [MET] adultresses [leave their husbands and go to sleep with other men]. They made a [statue of a] new god called Baal-Berith.
34 Konsa, fis Israël yo pa t sonje SENYÈ a, Bondye pa yo a, ki te delivre yo nan men a tout lènmi pa yo tout kote.
They forgot about Yahweh, the one who had rescued them from all their enemies that surrounded them.
35 Ni yo pa t bay favè a kay Jerubbaal (sa vle di, Gédéon) an akò avèk tout byen ke li te fè pou Israël yo.
And even though Gideon had done many good things for the Israelis, they were not kind to Gideon’s family.
