Giudici 3
1 Ora queste [son] le genti, che il Signore lasciò per provar con esse Israele, [cioè] tutti quelli che non aveano avuta conoscenza di tutte le guerra di Canaan;
At that time there were still many people-groups in Canaan. Yahweh left them there to test the Israeli people. But many of the Israelis in Canaan were ones who had not fought in any of the wars in Canaan. So Yahweh also left those people-groups in Canaan so that the descendants of those who had not fought in any of the wars might learn how to fight.
2 acciocchè almeno le generazioni de' figliuoli d'Israele sapessero [che cosa è] la guerra, essendo ammaestrati; quegli almeno che prima non ne aveano conoscenza:
3 I cinque principati de' Filistei, e tutti i Cananei, i Sidonii, e gli Hivvei che abitavano il monte Libano, dal monte Baal-hermon fino all'entrata di Hamat.
[This is a list of] the people-groups that Yahweh left there: The Philistines and their five leaders, the people living in the area near Sidon [city], the descendants of Canaan, and the descendants of Hiv who were living in the mountains of Lebanon between Baal-Hermon Mountain and Lebo-Hamath.
4 [Quelli] adunque furono per provar con essi Israele; per saper se ubbidirebbero a' comandamenti del Signore, i quali egli avea dati a' lor padri, per Mosè.
Yahweh left these people-groups there to test the Israelis, to see if they would obey his commands which he had told Moses to give them.
5 COSÌ i figliuoli d'Israele abitarono per mezzo i Cananei, e gli Hittei, e gli Amorrei, e i Ferizzei, e gli Hivvei, e i Gebusei.
The Israelis lived among the Canaan people-group, the Hiv people-group, the Amor people-group, the Periz people-group, the Hiv people-group, and the Jebus people-group.
6 E presero le lor figliuole per mogli, e diedero le lor figliuole a' figliuoli di quelli, e servirono agl'iddii loro.
[Moses had told the people not to associate with any of those people]. But the Israelis took daughters of people from those people-groups [to be their own wives], and gave their own daughters to men of those groups, to marry them. And [as a result] they started to worship the gods of those people-groups.
7 Così i figliuoli d'Israele fecero ciò che dispiace al Signore, e dimenticarono il Signore Iddio loro, e servirono a' Baali, e a' boschi.
The Israelis did things that Yahweh said were very evil. They forgot about Yahweh, their God, and they started to worship [the idols that represented] the god Baal and the goddess Asherah.
8 Laonde l'ira del Signore si accese contro ad Israele, ed egli li vendè nelle mani di Cusan-risataim, re di Mesopotamia; e i figliuoli d'Israele servirono a Cusan-risataim ott'anni.
Yahweh became very angry with the Israelis. So he allowed king Cushan from Mesopotamia to conquer them and rule them for eight years.
9 Poi i figliuoli d'Israele gridarono al Signore, ed egli suscitò loro un liberatore che li liberò, [cioè: ] Otniel, figliuolo di Chenaz, fratel minore di Caleb.
But when they pleaded to Yahweh [to help them], he gave them a leader to rescue them. He was Othniel, the son of Caleb’s younger brother Kenaz.
10 E lo Spirito del Signore fu sopra lui, ed egli giudicò Israele, e uscì fuori in battaglia; e il Signore gli diede in mano Cusan-risataim, re di Mesopotamia; e la sua mano si rinforzò contro a Cusan-risataim.
Yahweh’s Spirit came upon him, and he became their leader. He [led an army that] fought against [the army of] Cushan, and defeated them.
11 E il paese ebbe requie [lo spazio di] quarant'anni. Poi Otniel, figliuolo di Chenaz, morì.
After that, there was peace in the land for 40 years, until Othniel died.
12 E I figliuoli d'Israele continuarono a fare ciò che dispiace al Signore; laonde il Signore fortificò Eglon, re di Moab, contro ad Israele; perciocchè aveano fatto ciò che dispiace al Signore.
After that, the Israelis again did things that Yahweh said were very evil. As a result, he allowed the army of King Eglon, who ruled [the] Moab [area], to defeat the Israelis.
13 Ed egli adunò appresso di sè i figliuoli di Ammon, e gli Amalechiti, e andò, e percosse Israele; ed essi occuparono la città delle palme.
Eglon persuaded the leaders of the Ammon and Amalek people-groups to join their armies with his army to attack Israel. They captured [Jericho, which was called] ‘The City of Palm Trees’.
14 E i figliuoli d'Israele servirono diciotto anni ad Eglon, re di Moab.
Then King Eglon ruled the Israelis for eighteen years.
15 Poi i figliuoli d'Israele gridarono al Signore, ed egli suscitò loro un liberatore, [cioè: ] Ehud, figliuolo di Ghera, Beniaminita, il quale era mancino. Or i figliuoli d'Israele mandarono per lui un presente ad Eglon, re di Moab.
But then the Israelis again pleaded to Yahweh [to help them]. So he gave them another leader to rescue them. He was Ehud, a left-handed man, the son of Gera, from the descendants of Benjamin. The Israelis sent him to King Eglon to give him their yearly protection money.
16 Ed Ehud si fece un pugnale a due tagli, lungo un cubito; e se lo cinse sotto i vestimenti, in su la coscia destra.
Ehud had with him a double-edged dagger, about a foot and a half long. He strapped it to his right thigh, under his clothes.
17 E presentò il presente ad Eglon, re di Moab, il quale [era] uomo molto grasso.
He gave the money to King Eglon, who was a very fat man.
18 Ed avendo compiuto di presentare il presente, accommiatò la gente che avea portato il presente.
Then Ehud started to go back home with the men who had carried the money.
19 Ma egli se ne ritornò al re, dalle statue di pietra, che [son] presso di Ghilgal; e [gli] disse: Io ho alcuna cosa segreta a [dirti]. Ed egli gli disse: Taci. Allora tutti quelli che gli stavano d'intorno uscirono fuori d'appresso a lui.
When they arrived at the stone carvings near Gilgal, [he told the other men to go on, but] he himself turned around and went back [to the king of Moab. When he arrived at the palace], he said to the king, “Your majesty, I have a secret message for you.” So the king told all his servants to be quiet, and sent them out of the room.
20 Ed Ehud si accostò a lui, che sedeva tutto solo nella sua sala dell'estate; e disse: Io ho da dirti alcuna cosa da parte di Dio. Ed egli si levò d'in sul seggio reale.
Then, as Eglon was sitting alone in the upstairs room of his summer palace, Ehud came close to him and said, “I have a message for you from God.” As the king got up from his chair,
21 Ed Ehud, dato della man sinistra al pugnale, lo prese d'in su la coscia destra, e gliel ficcò nel ventre.
Ehud reached with his left hand and pulled the dagger from his right thigh, and plunged it into the king’s belly.
22 E quello entrò dietro alla lama infino all'elsa, e il grasso serrò la lama d'intorno, sì ch'egli non potè trargli il pugnale dal ventre; e lo sterco uscì fuori.
He thrust it in so far that the handle went into the king’s belly, and the blade came out the king’s back. Ehud did not pull the dagger out. [He left it there, with] the handle buried in the king’s fat.
23 Ed Ehud uscì verso il portico, e chiuse le porte della sala dietro a sè, e serrò quella con la chiave.
Then Ehud left the room. He went out to the porch. He shut the doors to the room and locked them.
24 E, dopo ch'egli fu uscito, i servitori di Eglon vennero, e videro che le porte della sala [erano] serrate con la chiave; e dissero: Per certo egli fa i suoi bisogni naturali nella cameretta [della sala] dell'estate.
After he had gone, King Eglon’s servants came back, but they saw that the doors of the room were locked. They said, “The king must be defecating in the inner room.”
25 E tanto aspettarono che ne furono confusi; ed ecco, egli non apriva le porte della sala; laonde presero la chiave, e l'apersero; ed ecco, il lor signore giaceva in terra morto.
So they waited, but when the king did not open the doors of the room, after a while they were worried. They got a key and unlocked the doors. And they saw that their king was lying on the floor, dead.
26 Ma Ehud scampò, mentre essi indugiavano, e passò le statue di pietra, e si salvò in Seira.
Meanwhile, Ehud escaped. He passed by the stone carvings and arrived at Seirah, in the hilly area where the descendants of Ephraim lived.
27 E, come egli fu giunto, sonò con la tromba nel monte di Efraim; e i figliuoli d'Israele scesero con lui dal monte, ed egli [andava] davanti a loro.
There he blew a trumpet [to signal that the people should join him to fight the people of Moab]. So the Israelis went with him from the hills. They went down [toward the Jordan river], with Ehud leading them.
28 Ed egli disse loro: Seguitatemi; perciocchè il Signore vi ha dati nelle mani i Moabiti, vostri nemici. Così scesero giù dietro a lui, e occuparono a' Moabiti i passi del Giordano, e non ne lasciarono passare alcuno.
He said to the men, “Yahweh is going to allow us to defeat your enemies, the people of Moab. So follow me!” So they followed him down to the river, and they stationed some of their men at the place where people can walk across the river, in order that they could [kill any people from Moab who tried to] cross the river [to escape].
29 E in quel tempo percossero i Moabiti [in numero d]'intorno a diecimila uomini, tutti grassi e possenti; e non ne scampò neppur uno.
At that time, the Israelis killed about 10,000 people from Moab. They were all strong and capable men, but not one of them escaped.
30 Così in quel giorno Moab fu abbattuto sotto la mano d'Israele; e il paese ebbe riposo ottant'anni.
On that day, the Israelis conquered the people of Moab. Then there was peace in their land for 80 years.
31 E, dopo Ehud, fu Samgar, figliuolo di Anat, il quale percosse i Filistei [in numero di] seicento, con un pungolo da buoi. Ed egli ancora liberò Israele.
After Ehud [died], Shamgar became their leader. He rescued the Israelis [from the Philistines. In one battle] he killed 600 Philistines with an (ox goad/sharp wooden pole).
