Mga Hukom 21
1 Ang mga lalake nga ng Israel ay nagsisumpa sa Mizpa, na nagsasabi, Walang sinoman sa atin na magbibigay ng kaniyang anak na babae sa Benjamin upang maging asawa.
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 At ang bayan ay naparoon sa Beth-el at umupo roon hanggang sa kinahapunan sa harap ng Dios, at inilakas ang kanilang mga tinig, at tumangis na mainam.
But now the Israelis went to Bethel and they cried loudly to Yahweh all day, until the sun went down.
3 At kanilang sinabi, Oh Panginoon, na Dios ng Israel, bakit nangyari ito sa Israel, na mababawas ngayon ang isang lipi sa Israel?
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 At nangyari nang kinabukasan, na ang bayan ay bumangong maaga, at nagtayo roon ng dambana, at naghandog ng mga handog na susunugin at ng mga handog tungkol sa kapayapaan.
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 At sinabi ng mga anak ni Israel, Sino yaong hindi umahon sa lahat ng mga lipi ng Israel, sa kapulungan sa Panginoon? Sapagka't sila'y gumawa ng dakilang sumpa laban doon sa hindi umahon sa Panginoon sa Mizpa, na sinasabi, Walang pagsalang siya'y papatayin.
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 At nangagsisi ang mga anak ni Israel dahil sa Benjamin na kanilang kapatid, at sinabi, May isang angkan na nahiwalay sa Israel sa araw na ito.
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 Paano ang ating gagawing paghanap ng mga asawa sa kanila na nangaiwan, yamang tayo'y nagsisumpa sa Panginoon na hindi natin ibibigay sa kanila ang ating mga anak na babae upang maging asawa?
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 At kanilang sinabi, Sino sa mga lipi ng Israel ang hindi umahon sa Panginoon sa Mizpa? At, narito, walang naparoon sa kampamento sa Jabes-galaad sa kapulungan.
Then [one of] them asked, “What group from any of the tribes of Israel did not send any men here to Mizpah?”
9 Sapagka't nang bilangin ang bayan, narito, wala sa nagsisitahan sa Jabes-galaad doon.
[They realized that] when the soldiers were counted, there was no one from Jabesh-Gilead [city] who had come there.
10 At nagsugo ang kapisanan ng labing dalawang libong lalaking napaka matapang, at iniutos sa kanila, na sinasabi, Kayo'y yumaon sugatan ninyo ng talim ng tabak ang nagsisitahan sa Jabes-galaad pati ang mga babae at mga bata.
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 At ito ang bagay na inyong gagawin: inyong lubos na lilipulin ang bawa't lalake, at bawa't babae na sinipingan ng lalake.
[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 At kanilang nasumpungan sa nagsisitahan sa Jabes-galaad ay apat na raang dalaga, na hindi nakakilala ng lalake sa pagsiping sa kaniya: at kanilang dinala sa kampamento sa Silo, na nasa lupain ng 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 At nagsugo ang buong kapisanan at nagsalita sa mga anak ni Benjamin na nangasa bato ng Rimmon, at inihayag ang kapayapaan sa kanila.
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 At bumalik ang Benjamin nang panahong yaon; at ibinigay nila sa kanila ang mga babaing kanilang iniligtas na buhay sa mga babae sa Jabes-galaad: at gayon ma'y hindi sapat sa kanila.
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 At ang bayan ay nagsisi dahil sa Benjamin, sapagka't ginawan ng kasiraan ng Panginoon ang mga lipi ng Israel.
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 Nang magkagayo'y sinabi ng mga matanda ng kapisanan, Paanong ating gagawin na paghanap ng asawa doon sa nangatitira, yamang ang mga babae ay nalipol sa Benjamin?
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 At kanilang sinabi, Nararapat magkaroon ng mana yaong nangakatakas sa Benjamin, upang ang isang lipi ay huwag mapawi sa Israel.
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 Gayon man ay hindi natin maibibigay na asawa sa kanila ang ating mga anak na babae: sapagka't ang mga anak ni Israel ay nagsisumpa, na nangagsasabi, Sumpain yaong magbigay ng asawa sa Benjamin.
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 At kanilang sinabi, Narito, may isang kasayahan sa Panginoon sa taon-taon sa Silo, na nasa hilagaan ng Beth-el sa dakong silanganan ng lansangan na paahon sa Sichem mula sa Beth-el, at sa timugan ng Lebona.
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 At kanilang iniutos sa mga anak ni Benjamin, na sinasabi, kayo'y yumaon at bumakay sa mga ubasan;
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 At tingnan ninyo, at, narito, kung ang mga anak na babae sa Silo ay lumabas na sumayaw ng mga sayaw, lumabas nga kayo sa ubasan, at kumuha ang bawa't lalake sa inyo, ng kaniyang asawa sa mga anak sa Silo; at yumaon kayo sa lupain ng Benjamin.
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 At mangyayari, na pagka ang kanilang mga magulang o ang kanilang mga kapatid ay naparito upang kami ay usapin, ay aming sasabihin sa kanila, Ipagkaloob na ninyo sila sa amin: sapagka't hindi namin kinuha na asawa sa bawa't isa sa kanila sa pagkikipagbaka: o ibinigay man ninyo sila sa kanila, sa ibang paraan kayo'y magkakasala.
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 At ginawang gayon ng mga anak ni Benjamin, at kinuha nila silang asawa ayon sa kanilang bilang, sa mga sumasayaw, na kanilang dinala: at sila'y yumaon at nagbalik sa kanilang mana, at itinayo ang mga bayan, at tinahanan nila.
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 At yumaon ang mga anak ni Israel mula roon nang panahong yaon, bawa't lalake ay sa kaniyang lipi at sa kaniyang angkan, at yumaon mula roon ang bawa't lalake na umuwi sa kaniyang mana.
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 Nang mga araw na yao'y walang hari sa Israel: ginagawa ng bawa't isa ang matuwid sa kaniyang sariling mga mata.
At that time, the Israeli people did not have a king. Everyone did what they themselves thought was right.
