6

Ziouv Ginv Gi^nde^on

¹Ziux Ziouv mangc, I^saa^laa^en Mienh aengx zoux waaic sic. Ziouv ziouc zorqv ninh mbuo jiu bun yiem Mi^ndien Mienh nyei buoz-ndiev siec hnyangx. ²Mi^ndien Mienh gauh henv I^saa^laa^en Mienh. Laaix Mi^ndien Mienh zeix I^saa^laa^en Mienh, I^saa^laa^en Mienh yiem mbong zoux dorngx bingx. Ninh mbuo yiem mbaengx-ngaamh, mbaengx-kuotv yaac zoux weih wuonv nyei dorngx. ³I^saa^laa^en Mienh haaix zanc zuangx ga'naaiv, Mi^ndien Mienh caux Aa^maa^lekv Mienh caux yiem dong bung nyei mienh caangv bieqc daaih mborqv ninh mbuo. ⁴Wuov deix mienh liepc ciangv wuov ndeic ziouc zoux waaic gaeng-zuangx mingh taux Gaasaa Zingh. Ninh mbuo maiv liouh yietc nyungc bun I^saa^laa^en Mienh nyanc. Ba'gi yungh, ngongh caux lorh zungv maiv liouh aqv. ⁵Naaiv deix mienh dorh jienv saeng-kuv caux ndopv-liuh daaih hnangv yietc guanh yietc guanh jopv-nyeic nor. Mienh caux lorh torh camv! haic, zungv saauv maiv zienz. Ninh mbuo bieqc daaih hnangv naaiv nor zoux waaic deic-bung. ⁶I^saa^laa^en Mienh laaix Mi^ndien Mienh zoux nyei jauv jomc duqv kouv haic. Ninh mbuo ziouc heuc jienv tov Ziouv tengx.
⁷I^saa^laa^en Mienh laaix Mi^ndien Mienh tov Ziouv tengx wuov zanc, ⁸Ziouv ziouc paaiv dauh ⟨douc waac mienh⟩ daaih lorz I^saa^laa^en Mienh. Douc waac mienh gorngv, “Ziouv, I^saa^laa^en Mienh nyei Tin-Hungh, hnangv naaiv gorngv, ‘Yie dorh meih mbuo yiem I^yipv, dongh meih mbuo zuqc zoux nouh nyei deic-bung, cuotv daaih. ⁹Yie njoux meih mbuo biaux ndutv I^yipv Mienh nyei buoz-ndiev caux zeix meih mbuo yietc zungv mienh nyei buoz-ndiev. Yie zunc ninh mbuo yiem meih mbuo nyei wuov ndaangc maengx cuotv naaiv norm deic-bung, yaac zorqv ninh mbuo nyei deic-bung jiu bun meih mbuo. ¹⁰Yie gorngv mbuox meih mbuo, “Yie se Ziouv, meih mbuo nyei Tin-Hungh. Meih mbuo yiem jienv Aa^mo^lai Mienh nyei deic-bung maiv dungx zaangc ninh mbuo nyei zienh.” Mv baac meih mbuo maiv muangx yie nyei waac.’+”
¹¹Nqa'haav Ziouv nyei fin-mienh mingh O^faa^laa Laangz, zueiz jienv Aa^mbi^ye^se nyei zeiv-fun, Yo^aatc nyei mba'ong zuei ndiangx ga'ndiev. Wuov zanc Yo^aatc nyei dorn, Gi^nde^on, yiem nyueih a'ngunc biouv nyei zorngh mborqv mbiauh witv weic bingx, maiv bun Mi^ndien Mienh buatc. ¹²Ziouv nyei fin-mienh hinc cuotv daaih bun Gi^nde^on buatc wuov zanc, fin-mienh gorngv, “Daamv hlo nyei jun-zeiv mienh aah! Ziouv caux meih yiem.”
¹³Gi^nde^on dau ninh, “Domh Gorx aac, se gorngv Ziouv caux yie mbuo yiem, yie mbuo weic haaix diuc buangh zuqc naaiv deix yietc zungv sic? Yie mbuo nyei ong-taaix gorngv mbuox yie mbuo, ‘Ziouv dorh yie mbuo yiem I^yipv Deic-Bung cuotv daaih.’ Wuov nyungc ninh zoux wuov deix mbuoqc horngh nyei sic jiex haaix mi'aqv? Ih zanc Ziouv guangc yie mbuo, bun yie mbuo zuqc yiem Mi^ndien Mienh nyei buoz-ndiev.”
¹⁴Ziouv huin nzuonx daaih mangc Gi^nde^on aengx gorngv mbuox ninh, “Oix zuqc longc meih maaih nyei qaqv mingh njoux I^saa^laa^en Mienh biaux ndutv Mi^ndien Mienh nyei buoz-ndiev. Yie paaiv meih mingh maiv zeiz?”
¹⁵Gi^nde^on gorngv mbuox ninh, “Ziouv aac, yie hnangv haaix nor haih njoux I^saa^laa^en Mienh? Yiem Maa^natv^se Fingx yie nyei die nyei douh zong se gauh faix jiex. Yiem yie nyei biauv zong mienh, yie zoux faix jiex wuov dauh.”
¹⁶Ziouv gorngv mbuox ninh, “Yie zungv oix caux meih yiem. Meih ziouc mborqv hingh Mi^ndien Mienh ndongc mborqv nduqc laanh mienh hnangv.”
¹⁷Gi^nde^on dau ninh, “Se gorngv yie horpc meih nyei hnyouv nor, tov bun yie buatc norm jangx-hoc, yie ziouc hiuv duqv se dongh Ziouv⚓ caux yie gorngv waac. ¹⁸Tov meih maiv dungx gaengh mingh haaix. Zuov yie aengx daaih lorz meih aengx dorh yie fongc horc nyei ga'naaiv daaih an meih nyei nza'hmien.”
Ziouv nyei fin-mienh gorngv, “Yie laengz yiem naaiv zuov meih daaih taux.”
¹⁹Gi^nde^on ziouc nzuonx biauv mingh liuc leiz dauh yungh dorn, yaac longc yietc tongv⚓ mbuonv zoux maiv an ⟨bingv⟩ nyei njuov. Ninh zorqv yungh orv an jienv jei, orv-torng dapv jienv caeng ziouc dorh mingh yiem mba'ong zuei ndiangx ga'ndiev an jienv, fongc horc bun Ziouv nyei fin-mienh.
²⁰Tin-Hungh nyei fin-mienh gorngv mbuox ninh, “Zorqv orv caux maiv an bingv nyei njuov daaih an jienv naaiv norm la'bieiv gu'nguaaic. Zorqv orv-torng dox jienv.” Gi^nde^on ziouc ei jienv zoux. ²¹Ziouv nyei fin-mienh ziouc longc dongh ninh nanv jienv wuov diuh biaav nyei dueiv-mueiz coqv zuqc wuov deix orv caux maiv an bingv nyei njuov, ziouc maaih douz yiem wuov la'bieiv njopc cuotv daaih buov wuov deix orv caux njuov qui nzengc. Ziang naaic maiv buatc Ziouv nyei fin-mienh mi'aqv. ²²Gi^nde^on zieqv duqv za'gengh benx Ziouv nyei fin-mienh, ninh ziouc gorngv, “O Ziouv Tin-Hungh aah! Kouv aqv loh! Yie hmien doix hmien duqv buatc liuz Ziouv nyei fin-mienh mi'aqv.”
²³Mv baac Ziouv gorngv mbuox ninh, “Baengh orn aqv oc. Maiv dungx gamh nziex. Meih maiv zuqc daic.”
²⁴Gi^nde^on ziouc yiem wuov weic Ziouv ceix norm ziec-dorngh yaac cuotv wuov norm dorngx nyei mbuox heuc, “Ziouv se baengh orn.”⚓ Wuov norm ziec-dorngh corc yiem Aa^mbi^ye^se Mienh nyei O^faa^laa Zingh taux ih jaax hnoi.
²⁵Dongh naaic muonz Ziouv gorngv mbuox Gi^nde^on, “Zorqv meih nyei die nyei da'nyeic wuov dauh ngongh gouv, dongh duqv siec hnyangx wuov dauh. Oix zuqc caeqv nzengc meih nyei die weic ⟨Mbaa^an zienh⟩ ceix nyei ziec-dorngh, yaac goix ziec-dorngh ga'hlen nyei ⟨Mbaa^an zienh⟩ zienh nyeiz nyei fangx. ²⁶Meih oix zuqc yiem naaiv norm wuonv nyei dorngx gu'nguaaic weic Ziouv, meih nyei Tin-Hungh, longc la'bieiv ceix norm ziec-dorngh sung nyei, yaac longc meih goix daaih nyei Aa^se^laa zienh nyeiz nyei fangx zoux zaangh. Zorqv wuov dauh da'nyeic dauh ngongh gouv zoux buov ziec nyei ga'naaiv.”
²⁷Gi^nde^on ziouc dorh ziepc dauh ninh nyei bou ei Ziouv mbuox nyei waac zoux. Lungh hnoi zanc ninh maiv gaamv zoux, weic zuqc ninh gamh nziex biauv zong mienh caux wuov norm zingh nyei mienh. Ninh ziouc lungh muonz zanc zoux.
²⁸Da'nyeic ndorm, wuov norm zingh nyei mienh jiez sin daaih nziouv nyei, buatc Mbaa^an nyei ziec-dorngh zuqc caeqv njiec. Ziec-dorngh ga'hlen nyei ⟨Aa^se^laa⟩ zienh nyeiz nyei fangx yaac zuqc goix nzengc. Maaih da'nyeic wuov dauh ngongh gouv yiem siang-ceix daaih nyei ziec-dorngh gu'nguaaic ziec jienv aqv.
²⁹Ninh mbuo ziouc laanh naaic laanh, “Naaiv haaix dauh zoux?”
Ninh mbuo zaah naaic ziouc zaah cuotv daaih gorngv, “Yo^aatc nyei dorn, Gi^nde^on, zoux.”
³⁰Zingh nyei mienh doix Yo^aatc gorngv, “Zorqv meih nyei dorn cuotv daaih bun yie mbuo daix aqv, weic zuqc ninh caeqv Mbaa^an nyei ziec-dorngh yaac goix ziec-dorngh ga'hlen nyei ⟨Aa^se^laa⟩ zienh nyeiz nyei fangx.”
³¹Mv baac Yo^aatc dau daaih gox ninh nyei dorn wuov deix mienh, “Meih mbuo oix tengx Mbaa^an nzaeng fai? Oix zoux sic div ninh fai? Haaix dauh tengx Mbaa^an nzaeng nor, maiv gaengh taux lungh ndorm, wuov dauh zungv zuqc daix daic. Se gorngv Mbaa^an za'gengh zoux zienh nor, maaih mienh caeqv ninh nyei ziec-dorngh, sueih ninh weic ninh ganh nzaeng.” ³²Weic naaiv, wuov hnoi ninh mbuo tengx Gi^nde^on cuotv mbuox heuc Yelupv Mbaa^an, eix leiz se, “Bun Mbaa^an weic ninh ganh nzaeng,” weic zuqc Gi^nde^on caeqv Mbaa^an nyei ziec-dorngh.
³³Wuov zanc Mi^ndien Mienh caux Aa^maa^lekv Mienh yietc zungv caux dong bung nyei mienh gapv zunv jiex Jor^ndaen Ndaaih, liepc ciangv yiem Yitv^le^en Horngz. ³⁴Ziouv nyei Singx Lingh ziouc njiec daaih yiem Gi^nde^on. Gi^nde^on ziouc biomv jorng heuc Aa^mbi^ye^se Mienh daaih zunv gan ninh mingh. ³⁵Ninh paaiv douc fienx mienh mingh gormx Maa^natv^se, heuc ninh mbuo daaih gan ninh mingh. Ninh aengx bun mienh mingh mbuox Aa^se Mienh, Se^mbu^lun Mienh caux Napv^taa^li Mienh. Wuov deix yaac daaih caux Gi^nde^on mbuo gapv jienv doic.
³⁶Gi^nde^on gorngv mbuox Tin-Hungh, “Se gorngv meih longc yie nyei buoz njoux I^saa^laa^en Mienh hnangv meih gorngv nor, ³⁷wuov nyungc yie zorqv ba'gi yungh biei an jienv mborqv mbiauh ciangv. Se gorngv kungx bun mbiungc-suiv pinx ba'gi yungh biei ndorn hnangv, huing-gormx ba'gi yungh biei ga'hlen nyei ndau nqaai, yie ziouc hiuv duqv meih za'gengh oix longc yie nyei buoz njoux I^saa^laa^en Mienh hnangv meih gorngv nor.” ³⁸Yaac za'gengh hnangv wuov nor. Da'nyeic ndorm nziouv nyei, Gi^nde^on zorqv ba'gi yungh biei daaih nanv, nanv duqv yietc nzormc mbiungc-suiv.
³⁹Gi^nde^on ziouc gorngv mbuox Tin-Hungh, “Tov maiv dungx qiex jiez yie, aengx bun yie seix yietc nzunc hnangv. Tov bun yie longc naaiv deix ba'gi yungh biei aengx seix nzunc. Naaiv nzunc tov bun ba'gi yungh biei nqaai, mv baac huing gormx ga'hlen bun mbiungc-suiv pinx ndorn nzengc.” ⁴⁰Wuov muonz Tin-Hungh hnangv naaiv nor zoux. Kungx ba'gi yungh biei mborngx nqaai nyei, mv baac huing gormx nyei ndau mbiungc-suiv pinx ndorn nzengc.

6

Gideon

¹The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years he gave them into the hands of the Midianites. ²Because the power of Midian was so oppressive, the Israelites prepared shelters for themselves in mountain clefts, caves and strongholds. ³Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples invaded the country. ⁴They camped on the land and ruined the crops all the way to Gaza and did not spare a living thing for Israel, neither sheep nor cattle nor donkeys. ⁵They came up with their livestock and their tents like swarms of locusts. It was impossible to count them or their camels; they invaded the land to ravage it. ⁶Midian so impoverished the Israelites that they cried out to the Lord for help.
⁷When the Israelites cried out to the Lord because of Midian, ⁸he sent them a prophet, who said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I brought you up out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. ⁹I rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians. And I delivered you from the hand of all your oppressors; I drove them out before you and gave you their land. ¹⁰I said to you, ‘I am the Lord your God; do not worship the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you live.’ But you have not listened to me.”
¹¹The angel of the Lord came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. ¹²When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”
¹³“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
¹⁴The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”
¹⁵“Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”
¹⁶The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”
¹⁷Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, give me a sign that it is really you talking to me. ¹⁸Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”
And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.”
¹⁹Gideon went inside, prepared a young goat, and from an ephah⚓ of flour he made bread without yeast. Putting the meat in a basket and its broth in a pot, he brought them out and offered them to him under the oak.
²⁰The angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, place them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And Gideon did so. ²¹Then the angel of the Lord touched the meat and the unleavened bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared from the rock, consuming the meat and the bread. And the angel of the Lord disappeared. ²²When Gideon realized that it was the angel of the Lord, he exclaimed, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face!”
²³But the Lord said to him, “Peace! Do not be afraid. You are not going to die.”
²⁴So Gideon built an altar to the Lord there and called it The Lord Is Peace. To this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
²⁵That same night the Lord said to him, “Take the second bull from your father’s herd, the one seven years old.⚓ Tear down your father’s altar to Baal and cut down the Asherah pole⚓ beside it. ²⁶Then build a proper kind of⚓ altar to the Lord your God on the top of this height. Using the wood of the Asherah pole that you cut down, offer the second⚓ bull as a burnt offering.”
²⁷So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the Lord told him. But because he was afraid of his family and the townspeople, he did it at night rather than in the daytime.
²⁸In the morning when the people of the town got up, there was Baal’s altar, demolished, with the Asherah pole beside it cut down and the second bull sacrificed on the newly built altar!
²⁹They asked each other, “Who did this?”
When they carefully investigated, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.”
³⁰The people of the town demanded of Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has broken down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”
³¹But Joash replied to the hostile crowd around him, “Are you going to plead Baal’s cause? Are you trying to save him? Whoever fights for him shall be put to death by morning! If Baal really is a god, he can defend himself when someone breaks down his altar.” ³²So because Gideon broke down Baal’s altar, they gave him the name Jerub-Baal⚓ that day, saying, “Let Baal contend with him.”
³³Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. ³⁴Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him. ³⁵He sent messengers throughout Manasseh, calling them to arms, and also into Asher, Zebulun and Naphtali, so that they too went up to meet them.
³⁶Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised— ³⁷look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said.” ³⁸And that is what happened. Gideon rose early the next day; he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.
³⁹Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request. Allow me one more test with the fleece, but this time make the fleece dry and let the ground be covered with dew.” ⁴⁰That night God did so. Only the fleece was dry; all the ground was covered with dew.