士師記 8

1 エフライムの人々ギデオンにむかひ汝ミデアン人と戰はんとて往る時われらを召ざりしが斯ることを我らになすは何故ぞといひていたく之を詰りたり

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 ギデオン之にいひけるは今吾が成るところは汝らのなせる所に比ぶべけんやエフライムの拾ひ得し遺餘の葡萄はアビエゼルの收穫し葡萄にも勝れるならずや

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 神はミデアンの群伯オレブとゼエブを汝等の手に付したまへりわが成えたるところは汝らの成る所に比ぶべけんやとギデオン此の語をのべしかば彼らの憤解たり

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 ギデオン自己に從がへる三百人とともにヨルダンに至りて之を濟り疲れながらも仍追撃しけるが

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 遂にスコテの人々に言けるは願くは我にしたがへる民に食を與へよ彼等疲れをるに我ミデアンの王ゼバとザルムンナを追行なりと

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 スコテの群伯等いひけるはゼバとザルムンナの手すでに汝の手のうちに在るや我らなんぞ汝の軍勢に食を與ふべけんや

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 ギデオンいひけるは然らばヱホバの吾が手にゼバをザルムンナを付したまふときに我野の荊と棘とをもて汝の肉を打つべしと

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 かくて其所よりペヌエルにのぼりおなじことを彼らにのべたるにペヌエルの人もスコテの人の答へしごとくに答へしかば

From there, Gideon [and his 300 men] went to Peniel and asked for food there, but the people gave him the same answer.

9 またペヌエルの人につげていひけるは我平康に歸るときに此の城樓を毀つべしと

So he said to the men of Peniel, “After I defeat those kings, I will return and tear down this tower!”

10 偖ゼバとザルムンナはその軍勢おほよそ一萬五千人をひきゐてカルコルに居る是皆東方の人の全軍の中の生殘れるものなり戰死せし者は劍を拔ところのもの十二萬人ありき

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 ギデオンすなはちノバとヨグベバの東にて天幕にすめるものの路より上りて敵軍の慮りなく居るを撃り

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 ここにおいてゼバとザルムンナにげ走りたればギデオン之を追撃ちミデアンの二人の王ゼバとザルムンナを生捕て悉くその軍勢を敗れり

Zebah and Zalmunna fled, but Gideon’s men pursued them and captured them and all their warriors.

13 斯てヨアシの子ギデオン、ヘレシの阪よりして戰陣よりかへり

After that, Gideon and his men [took Zebah and Zalmunna with them and] started to return, going through Heres Pass.

14 スコテの人の少壯者一人を執へて之に尋ねたれば即ちスコテの群伯およびその長老等七十七人をこれがために書き録せり

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 ギデオン、スコテの人の所に詣りていひけるは汝らが曾て我を罵りゼバとザルムンナの手すでに汝の手のうちにあるや我ら何ぞ汝の疲れたる人に食をあたふべけんやと言たりしそのゼバとザルムンナを見よと

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 すなはちその邑の長老等を執へ野の荊と棘を取り之をもちてスコテの人を懲し

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 またペヌヘルの城樓を毀ちて邑の人を殺せり

Then [they went to] Peniel and tore down the tower, and killed all the men in the town.

18 かくてギデオン、ゼバとザルムンナにいひけるは汝らがタボルにて殺せしものは如何なるものなりしや答へていふ彼らは汝に似てみな王子の如くに見えたり

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 ギデオンいひけるは彼らは我が兄弟我が母の子なりヱホバは活く汝らもし彼らを生し置たらば我汝らを殺すまじきをと

Gideon replied, “They were my brothers! Just as surely as Yahweh lives, I would not kill you if you had not killed them.”

20 すなはちその長子ヱテルに起て彼らを殺せといひたりしが彼の少者は年尚わかかりしかば懼れて劍を拔ざりき

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 ここにおいてゼバとザルムンナいひけるは汝みづから起て我らを撃よ人の如何によりてその力量異る者なりとギデオンすなはち起てゼバとザルムンナを殺しその駱駝の頸にかけたる半月の飾を取り

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 茲にイスラエルの衆ギデオンにいひけるは汝ミデアンの手より我らを救ひたれば汝と汝の子及び汝の孫我らを治めよ

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 ギデオン之にいひけるは我汝らを治むることをせじまた我が子も汝らを治むべからずヱホバ汝らを治めたまふべし

But Gideon replied, “No, I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you. Yahweh will rule over you.”

24 ギデオンまた之にいひけるは我汝らにひとつの願ふべきことあり汝らおのおの掠取の環を我にあたへよと是は彼らイシマエル人なるをもて金の環を着けたるに由る

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 衆答へけるは我ら悦んで之を與へんとて衣を布きおのおの掠取の環を其うちに投げいれたり

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 ギデオンが求め得たる金の環の重量は金一千七百シケルなり外に半月の飾および耳環とミデアンの王たちの着たる紫のころもおよび駱駝の頸にかけたる鏈などもありき

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 ギデオン之をもて一箇のエポデを造り之をおのれの郷里オフラに藏むイスラエルみなこれを慕ひてこれと淫をおこなふこの物ギデオンと其家を陷るる罟となりぬ

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 ミデアン人は是の如くイスラエルの子孫に攻ふせられてふたたびその頭を擡ることを得ざりきかくて國はギデオンの世にある中四十年の間平穩にてありき

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 ヨアシの子ヱルバアル往ておのれの家に住り

Gideon went back home to live there.

30 ギデオンは妻を多く有ちたれば其身より出たる子七十人ありき

He had many wives, and they bore him seventy sons.

31 シケムに居しその妾またひとりの子を産たれば之をアビメレクと名けたり

He also had a slave wife in Shechem [town], who bore him a son whom he named Abimelech.

32 ヨアシの子ギデオン妙齡に邁みて死にアビエゼル人のオフラに在るその父ヨアシの墓に葬られたり

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 ギデオンの死るに及びてイスラエルの子孫復ひるがへりてバアルを慕ひて之と淫をおこなひバアルベリテをおのれの神と爲り

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 イスラエルの子孫その四周のもろもろの敵の手よりおのれを救ひ出したまひし神ヱホバを記憶えず

They forgot about Yahweh, the one who had rescued them from all their enemies that surrounded them.

35 またヱルバアルといふギデオンがイスラエルになせし諸の善行にしたがひて彼の家を厚く待ふことをせざりき

And even though Gideon had done many good things for the Israelis, they were not kind to Gideon’s family.