Giudici 21
1 Or gli uomini d’Israele avean giurato a Mitspa, dicendo: “Nessuno di noi darà la sua figliuola in moglie a un Beniaminita”.
When the Israeli men gathered at Mizpah [before the battle started], they vowed, “None of us will ever allow one of our daughters to marry any man from the tribe of Benjamin!”
2 E il popolo venne a Bethel, dove rimase fino alla sera in presenza di Dio, e alzando la voce, pianse dirottamente, e disse:
But now the Israelis went to Bethel and they cried loudly to Yahweh all day, until the sun went down.
3 “O Eterno, o Dio d’Israele, perché mai è avvenuto questo in Israele, che oggi ci sia in Israele una tribù di meno?”
They kept saying, “Yahweh, God of us Israeli people, [it is as though] one of the tribes of us Israelis does not exist any more! (Why has this happened to us?/It is terrible that this has happened to us!)” [RHQ]
4 Il giorno seguente, il popolo si levò di buon mattino, costruì quivi un altare, e offerse olocausti e sacrifizi di azioni di grazie.
Early the next morning the people built an altar. Then they completely burned some sacrifices [on the altar], and also offered other sacrifices to maintain fellowship with God.
5 E i figliuoli d’Israele dissero: “Chi è, fra tutte le tribù d’Israele che non sia salito alla raunanza davanti all’Eterno?” Poiché avean fatto questo giuramento solenne relativamente a chi non fosse salito in presenza dell’Eterno a Mitspa: “Quel tale dovrà esser messo a morte”.
Then, because they had vowed that anyone who did not meet with them at Mizpah [to help fight the men of the tribe of Benjamin] would be killed, they asked among themselves, “Were there any of the tribes of Israel who did not come to Mizpah to meet with us in the presence of Yahweh?”
6 I figliuoli d’Israele si pentivano di quel che avean fatto a Beniamino loro fratello, e dicevano: “Oggi è stata soppressa una tribù d’Israele.
The Israelis felt sorry for their fellow Israelis from the tribe of Benjamin. They said, “Today one of our Israeli tribes (has disappeared/no longer exists).
7 Come faremo a procurar delle donne ai superstiti, giacché abbiam giurato nel nome dell’Eterno di non dar loro in moglie alcuna delle nostre figliuole?”
Yahweh heard us solemnly declare that we would not allow any of our daughters to marry any man from the tribe of Benjamin. What can we do to make certain that the men of the tribe of Benjamin who were not killed will have wives?”
8 Dissero dunque: “Qual è fra le tribù d’Israele quella che non e salita in presenza dell’Eterno a Mitspa?” Ed ecco che nessuno di Jabes in Galaad era venuto al campo, alla raunanza;
Then [one of] them asked, “What group from any of the tribes of Israel did not send any men here to Mizpah?”
9 poiché, fatto il censimento del popolo, si trovò che quivi non v’era alcuno degli abitanti di Jabes in Galaad.
[They realized that] when the soldiers were counted, there was no one from Jabesh-Gilead [city] who had come there.
10 Allora la raunanza mandò là dodicimila uomini dei più valorosi, e diede loro quest’ordine: “Andate, e mettete a fil di spada gli abitanti di Jabes in Galaad, con le donne e i bambini.
So all the Israelis decided to send 12,000 very good soldiers to Jabesh-Gilead to kill the people there with their swords, even to kill the married women and children.
11 E farete questo: voterete allo sterminio ogni maschio e ogni donna che abbia avuto relazioni carnali con uomo”.
[They told this to those men]: “This is what you must do: You must kill every man in Jabesh-Gilead. You must also kill every married woman. [But do not kill the unmarried women].”
12 E quelli trovarono, fra gli abitanti di Jabes in Galaad, quattrocento fanciulle che non aveano avuto relazioni carnali con uomo, e le menarono al campo, a Sciloh, che è nel paese di Canaan.
So those soldiers [went to Jabesh-Gilead and killed all the men, married women, and children. But they] found 400 unmarried young women there. So they brought them to their camp at Shiloh, in Canaan, [across the river from the Gilead area that belonged to the tribe of Benjamin].
13 Tutta la raunanza invio de’ messi per parlare ai figliuoli di Beniamino che erano al masso di Rimmon e per proclamar loro la pace.
Then all the Israelis [who had gathered] sent a message to the 600 men who were at Rimmon Rock. They said that they would like to make peace with them.
14 Allora i Beniaminiti tornarono e furon loro date le donne a cui era stata risparmiata la vita fra le donne di Jabes in Galaad; ma non ve ne fu abbastanza per tutti.
So the men came back from Rimmon Rock. The Israelis gave to them the women from Jabesh-Gilead whom they had not killed. But there were [only 400 women. But there were] not enough women [for those 600 men].
15 Il popolo dunque si pentiva di quel che avea fatto a Beniamino, perché l’Eterno aveva aperta una breccia fra le tribù d’Israele.
The Israelis [still] felt sorry for the men of the tribe of Benjamin, because Yahweh had (decimated/almost wiped out) one of the Israeli tribes.
16 E gli anziani della raunanza dissero: “Come faremo a procurar delle donne ai superstiti, giacché le donne Beniaminite sono state distrutte?” Poi dissero:
The Israeli leaders said, “We have killed all the married women of the tribe of Benjamin. Where can we get women to be wives of the men who are still alive?
17 “Quelli che sono scampati posseggano ciò che apparteneva a Beniamino, affinché non sia soppressa una tribù in Israele.
These men must have wives to give birth to children, in order that their families will continue. If that does not happen, all the people of one of the tribes of Israel will die.
18 Ma noi non possiamo dar loro delle nostre figliuole in moglie”. Poiché i figliuoli d’Israele avean giurato, dicendo: “Maledetto chi darà una moglie a Beniamino!”
But we cannot allow our daughters to marry these men, because we vowed that Yahweh will curse anyone who gives one of his daughters to become a wife of any man of the tribe of Benjamin.”
19 E dissero: “Ecco, ogni anno si fa una festa in onore dell’Eterno a Sciloh, ch’è al nord di Bethel, a oriente della strada che sale da Bethel a Sichem, e al mezzogiorno di Lebna”.
Then [one of] them (had an idea/thought of something that they could do). He said, “Every year there is a festival to honor Yahweh at Shiloh, which is north of Bethel and east of the road that extends from Bethel to Shechem, and it is south of Lebonah [city].”
20 E diedero quest’ordine ai figliuoli di Beniamino: Andate, fate un’imboscata nelle vigne;
So the Israeli leaders told the men of the tribe of Benjamin, “[When it is the time for that festival], go to Shiloh and hide in the vineyards.
21 state attenti, e quando le figliuole di Sciloh usciranno per danzare in coro, sbucherete dalle vigne, rapirete ciascuno una delle figliuole di Sciloh per farne vostra moglie, e ve ne andrete nel paese di Beniamino.
Keep watching for the young women to come out of the city to dance. [When they come out], all of you should run out of the vineyards. Each of you can seize one of the young women of Shiloh. Then you can all return to your homes [with those women].
22 E quando i loro padri o i loro fratelli verranno a querelarsi con noi, noi diremo loro: “Datecele, per favore, giacché in questa guerra non abbiam preso una donna per uno; né siete voi che le avete date loro; nel qual caso, voi sareste colpevoli”.
If their fathers or brothers come to us and complain [about what you have done], we will say to them, ‘Be kind to the men of the tribe of Benjamin. When we fought them, we did not leave any women alive to become their wives, and you did not give those young women to the men from the tribe of Benjamin. [They stole them]. So you will not be guilty, [even though you said that you would not allow any of your daughters to marry one of them].’”
23 E i figliuoli di Beniamino fecero a quel modo: si presero delle mogli, secondo il loro numero, fra le danzatrici; le rapirono, poi partirono e tornarono nella loro eredità, riedificarono le città e vi stabilirono la loro dimora.
So that is what the men of the tribe of Benjamin did. [They went to Shiloh at the time of the festival]. And when the young women were dancing, each man caught one of them and took her away and married her. Then they took their wives back to the land that God had given to them. They rebuilt their cities [that had been burned down], and they lived there.
24 In quel medesimo tempo, i figliuoli d’Israele se ne andarono di là, ciascuno nella sua tribù e nella sua famiglia, e ognuno tornò di là nella sua eredità.
The other Israelis went to their homes in the areas where their tribes and clans lived, the areas that God had allotted to them.
25 In quel tempo, non v’era re in Israele; ognun facea quel che gli pareva meglio.
At that time, the Israeli people did not have a king. Everyone did what they themselves thought was right.
