< Judges 21 >

1 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!”
Moun pèp Izrayèl yo te fè gwo sèman devan Seyè a lavil Mispa. Yo te di: -Nou p'ap janm bay pitit fi nou pou yo marye ak moun nan fanmi Benjamen yo.
2 But now the Israelis went to Bethel and they cried loudly to Yahweh all day, until the sun went down.
Pèp la moute lavil Betèl, yo chita devan Bwat Kontra Seyè a jouk aswè. Yo t'ap rele, yo t'ap kriye ak gwo dlo nan je yo.
3 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]
Yo t'ap di: -Seyè o, Bondye pèp Izrayèl la, poukisa sa rive? Poukisa gen yon branch fanmi nan pèp Izrayèl la ki manke jòdi a?
4 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.
Nan denmen, moun yo leve byen bonè, yo bati yon lotèl. Yo boule bèt nan dife nèt sou li, yo fè ofrann pou mande Bondye padon.
5 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?”
Lèfini, yo t'ap mande: -Kilès nan tout branch fanmi pèp Izrayèl la ki pa t' nan reyinyon nou te fè devan Seyè a? Lè reyinyon an, yo te fè yon gwo sèman pou yo touye tout moun ki pa t' mete pye yo lavil Mispa devan Seyè a.
6 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).
Men, pèp Izrayèl la te nan gwo lapenn pou moun Benjamen yo, frè yo. Yo t'ap di: -Wi jòdi a, pèp Izrayèl la pèdi yon branch fanmi vre!
7 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?”
Kisa nou pral fè pou ti rès ki rete a ka jwenn fi pou yo marye, paske nou te fè sèman devan Seyè a nou p'ap janm ba yo pitit fi nou yo pou madanm.
8 Then [one of] them asked, “What group from any of the tribes of Israel did not send any men here to Mizpah?”
Lè sa a, yo mande: -Kilès nan branch fanmi pèp Izrayèl la ki pa t' moute lavil Mispa devan Seyè a? Yo jwenn pesonn nan lavil Jabès nan peyi Galarad la, pa t' vin nan kan an pou patisipe nan reyinyon an.
9 [They realized that] when the soldiers were counted, there was no one from Jabesh-Gilead [city] who had come there.
Lè yo t'ap konte moun ki te la yo, pa t' gen yon moun nan lavil Jabès nan peyi Galarad la.
10 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.
Se konsa, moun ki te sanble yo chwazi douz mil (12.000) sòlda nan sa ki pi bon yo, yo voye yo la ak lòd sa a: -Ale nan peyi Galarad. Touye dènye moun lavil Jabès, ata fanm ak timoun.
11 [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].”
Men sa pou nou fè: N'a touye dènye gason ak tout fanm ki deja marye tankou ofrann n'ap fè pou Seyè a.
12 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].
Nan moun lavil Jabès nan peyi Galarad la, yo jwenn katsan (400) jenn fi ki pa t' janm ko konn gason. Yo mennen yo nan kan an lavil Silo, nan peyi Kanaran.
13 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.
Lèfini, tout moun ki te sanble yo voye komisyon bay moun Benjamen yo ki te bò Wòch Rimon an. Yo mande yo fè lapè.
14 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].
Moun Benjamen yo tounen, epi lòt moun Izrayèl yo ba yo jenn fi lavil Jabès yo pa t' touye yo pou madanm. Men, pa t' gen ase pou yo tout.
15 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.
Sa te fè pèp Izrayèl la lapenn anpil pou moun Benjamen yo, paske Seyè a te kraze tèt ansanm ki te gen nan pèp Izrayèl la.
16 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?
Se konsa chèf ki te la yo di konsa: -Pa gen fanm ankò nan branch fanmi Benjamen an. Kisa nou pral fè la a pou nou bay rès mesye yo fanm pou yo marye?
17 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.
Yo di ankò: -Pèp Izrayèl la pa ka pèdi yon branch fanmi. Se pou nou jwenn yon mwayen pou branch fanmi Benjamen an ka la toujou.
18 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.”
Men, nou pa ka pran nan fi nou yo pou nou ba yo pou madanm, paske pèp Izrayèl la te fè sèman pou yo pa fè sa. Yo te di: Madichon pou nenpòt moun ki va pran pitit fi yo bay moun nan fanmi Benjamen an pou madanm.
19 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].”
Apre sa yo di: -Nan kèk jou, se pral lè pou nou fè gwo fèt nou gen pou nou fè chak lanne pou Seyè a lavil Silo. Lavil Silo sa a te sou bò nò lavil Betèl, sou bò sid lavil Lebona, sou bò solèy kouche wout ki soti Betèl moute Sichèm.
20 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.
Yo di moun Benjamen yo: -Al kache nan jaden rezen yo.
21 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].
Lè n'a wè jenn fi lavil Silo yo soti pou y' al danse ansanm pandan fèt la, nou menm n'a soti nan jaden rezen yo. Chak moun va pran yonn ladan yo pa fòs, epi n'a ale nan peyi Benjamen avèk yo.
22 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].’”
Si papa yo osinon frè yo vin jwenn nou, nou menm chèf pèp la, pou pote plent, n'a di yo: Tanpri, kite yo pran yo, paske nou pa t' jwenn kont fanm pou yo lè nou te al goumen lavil Jabès la. Epitou, se pa nou menm ki te ba yo pitit fi nou yo pou madanm. Konsa, pesonn p'ap ka di nou pa t' kenbe sèman nou.
23 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.
Mesye Benjamen yo fè sa yo te di yo fè a. Chak mesye yo pran yon fi pami sa ki t'ap danse yo, yo pati ak yo. Yo tounen nan peyi zansèt yo. Yo rebati lavil yo, epi yo rete la.
24 The other Israelis went to their homes in the areas where their tribes and clans lived, the areas that God had allotted to them.
Lè sa a, rès moun pèp Izrayèl la leve yo pati, yo tounen lakay yo al jwenn fanmi yo, nan pòsyon tè yo te bay zansèt yo.
25 At that time, the Israeli people did not have a king. Everyone did what they themselves thought was right.
Nan tan sa a pa t' gen wa nan peyi Izrayèl la. Chak moun te fè sa yo pito.

< Judges 21 >