1 ULB ዳዊት አብሮት የነበሩትን ወታደሮች ቆጠረ፤ በእነርሱም ላይ የሻለቆችንና የመቶ አለቆችን ሾመላቸው፡፡ BSB BSB: Then David reviewed his troops and appointed over them commanders of thousands and of hundreds.
2 ULB ከዚህ በኋላ ዳዊት ሠራዊቱን ሲሦውን በኢዮአብ፣ ሲሦውን በኢዮአብ ወንድም በጽሩይ ልጅ በአቢሳ፣ ሲሦውን ደግሞ በጌታዊው በኢታይ አዛዥነት ሥር ላካቸው፡፡ ንጉሡም ለሠራዊቱ፣ “እኔ ራሴም አብሬአችሁ በእርግጥ እወጣለሁ” አላቸው፡፡ BSB BSB: He sent out the troops, a third under Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the troops, “I will surely march out with you as well.”
3 ULB ሰዎቹ ግን፣ “አንተ መውጣት የለብህም፤ እንድንሸሽ ብንገደድ፣ ሰዎቹ ስለ እኛ ግድ አይኖራቸውም ወይም ከእኛ ግማሻችን እንኳን ብንሞት ደንታም የላቸውም፡፡ አንተ ግን ከእኛ አሥር ሺሁ ያህል ነህ፤ ስለዚህ በከተማ ሆነህ ልትረዳን ዝግጁ ብትሆን የተሻለ ነው፡፡” አሉት፡፡ BSB BSB: But the people pleaded, “You must not go out! For if we have to flee, they will not care about us. Even if half of us die, they will not care. But you are worth ten thousand of us. It is better now if you support us from the city.”
4 ULB ስለዚህ ንጉሡ፣ “መልካም መስሎ የታያችሁን ሁሉ አደርጋለሁ” አላቸው፡፡ ስለዚህ ሠራዊቱ ሁሉ በመቶና በሺህ እየሆነ ተሰልፎ ሲወጣ ንጉሡ በከተማይቱ ቅጥር በር ቆሞ ነበር፡፡ BSB BSB: “I will do whatever seems best to you,” the king replied. So he stood beside the gate, while all the troops marched out by hundreds and by thousands.
5 ULB ንጉሡ ኢዮአብን፣ አቢሳንና ኢታይን፣ “ለእኔ ስትሉ ለወጣቱ ለአቤሴሎም ራሩለት” ብሎ አዘዛቸው፡፡ ሕዝቡ ሁሉ አቤሴሎምን በሚመለከት ንጉሡ ይህንን ትዕዛዝ ለአዛዦቹ ሲሰጣቸው ሰሙ፡፡ BSB BSB: Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Treat the young man Absalom gently for my sake.” And all the people heard the king’s orders to each of the commanders regarding Absalom.
6 ULB ስለዚህ እስራኤልን ይወጋ ዘንድ ሠራዊቱ ከከተማ ወጣ፤ ውጊያውም እስከ ኤፍሬም ደን ተስፋፋ፡፡ BSB BSB: So David’s army marched into the field to engage Israel, and the battle took place in the forest of Ephraim.
7 ULB በዚያ የእስራኤል ሠራዊት በዳዊት ወታደሮች ድል ሆነ፤ በዚያ ሃያ ሺህ ሰው የሞተበት ታላቅ እልቂት በዚያ ቀን ነበረ፡፡ BSB BSB: There the people of Israel were defeated by David’s servants, and the slaughter was great that day—twenty thousand men.
8 ULB ውጊያው በገጠሩ ሁሉ ተስፋፋ፣ በሰይፍ ካለቀውም ይልቅ ጫካ ውጦ ያስቀረበው ሰው በለጠ፡፡ BSB BSB: The battle spread over the whole countryside, and that day the forest devoured more people than the sword.
9 ULB አቤሴሎም ከዳዊት ሰዎች ከጥቂቶቹ ጋር ተገናኘ፡፡ አቤሴሎምም በበቅሎው እየጋለበ ነበር፤ በቅሎውም ጥቅጥቅ ያሉ ቅርንጫፎች በነበሩት የወርካ ዛፍ ሥር ያልፍ ነበርና ራሱ በዛፉ ቅርንጫፎች ተያዘ፡፡ የተቀመጠበት በቅሎ ከሥሩ አልፎ ሲሄድ እርሱ በሰማይና በምድር ተንጠልጥሎ ቀረ፡፡ BSB BSB: Now Absalom was riding on his mule when he met the servants of David, and as the mule went under the thick branches of a large oak, Absalom’s head was caught fast in the tree. The mule under him kept going, so that he was suspended in midair.
10 ULB አንድ ሰው ይህንን ተመልክቶ፣ “እነሆ፣ አቤሴሎም በወርካ ዛፍ ላይ ተንጥልጥሎ አየሁት” ብሎ ለኢዮአብ ነገረው፡፡ BSB BSB: When one of the men saw this, he told Joab, “I just saw Absalom hanging in an oak tree!”
11 ULB ኢዮአብም ስለ አቤሴሎም ለነገረው ሰው፣ “እነሆ፣ አንተ አየኸው፣ ታዲያ መትተህ ለምን ወደ መሬት አልጣልከውም? እኔ አሥር የብር ሰቅልና ቀበቶ በሸለምኩህ ነበር፡፡” BSB BSB: “You just saw him!” Joab exclaimed. “Why did you not strike him to the ground right there? I would have given you ten shekels of silver and a warrior’s belt!”
12 ULB ሰውዬውም ለኢዮአብ፣ “አሥር ሺህ ሰቅል የምቀበል ብሆንም እንኳን እጄን ዘርግቼ የንጉሡን ልጅ ባልነካሁም ነበር፤ ምክንያቱም አንተን፣ አቢሳንና ኢታይን ንጉሡ፣ ‘አንድም ሰው ወጣቱን አቤሴሎምን እንዳይነካው’ ብሎ ሲያዛችሁ ሁላችንም ሰምተናል፡፡ BSB BSB: The man replied, “Even if a thousand shekels of silver were weighed out into my hands, I would not raise my hand against the son of the king. For we heard the king command you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘Protect the young man Absalom for my sake.’
13 ULB ውሸት በመናገር ሕይወቴን አደጋ ላይ ብጥል እንኳን (ከንጉሡ የሚደበቅ ምንም ነገር አይኖርምና) አንተ ታጋልጠኝ ነበር፡፡” አለው፡፡ BSB BSB: If I had jeopardized my own life—and nothing is hidden from the king—you would have abandoned me.”
14 ULB ከዚህ በኋላ ኢዮአብ፣ “እኔ አንተን አልጠብቅም” አለ፡፡ ስለዚህ ኢዮአብ ሦስት ጦር ወስዶ ገና በሕይወት እያለና በወርካው ዛፍ ላይ ተንጠልጥሎ ሳለ በአቤሴሎም ልብ ላይ ተከላቸው፡፡ BSB BSB: But Joab declared, “I am not going to wait like this with you!” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak tree.
15 ULB ከዚያ በኋላም ከኢዮአብ ጋሻ ጃግሬዎች አሥሩ አቤሴሎምን በመክበብ ወግተው ገደሉት፡፡ BSB BSB: And ten young men who carried Joab’s armor surrounded Absalom, struck him, and killed him.
16 ULB ከዚያም ኢዮአብ ቀንደ-መለከቱን ነፋ፣ ኢዮአብም ከልክሏቸው ስለነበረ ሠራዊቱ እስራኤልን ከማሳደድ ተመለሰ፡፡ BSB BSB: Then Joab blew the ram’s horn, and the troops broke off their pursuit of Israel because Joab had restrained them.
17 ULB አቤሴሎምን ወስደው በጫካ ውስጥ ወደነበረ አንድ ትልቅ ጉድጓድ ውስጥ ጣሉት፤ እስራኤልም ሁሉ እያንዳንዱ ሰው ወደ ቤቱ በሚሸሽበት ጊዜ በአስከሬኑ ላይ ታላቅ የድንጋይ ክምር ከመሩበት፡፡ BSB BSB: They took Absalom, cast him into a large pit in the forest, and piled a huge mound of stones over him. Meanwhile, all the Israelites fled, each to his home.
18 ULB አቤሴሎም፣ “የስሜን መታሰቢያ የሚያስጠራ ልጅ የለኝምና” በማለት ገና በሕይወቱ ሳለ ለራሱ አንድ ትልቅ የድንጋይ ሐውልት በንጉሡ ሸለቆ አቁሞ ነበር፡፡ ሐውልቱንም በስሙ ጠርቶት ስለነበረ፣ እስከዚህ ቀን ድረስ ‘የአቤሴሎም ሐውልት’ ተብሎ ይጠራል፡፡ BSB BSB: During his lifetime, Absalom had set up for himself a pillar in the King’s Valley, for he had said, “I have no son to preserve the memory of my name.” So he gave the pillar his name, and to this day it is called Absalom’s Monument.
19 ULB በዚህ ጊዜ የሳዶቅ ልጅ አኪማአስ እግዚአብሔር ከጠላቶቹ እንዳዳነው ሄጄ ለንጉሡ የምሥራች ልንገረው አለ፡፡ BSB BSB: Then Ahimaaz son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and tell the king the good news that the LORD has avenged him of his enemies.”
20 ULB ኢዮአብም፣ “ዛሬ የምሥራቹን የምታደርስለት አንተ አይደለህም፣ ሌላ ጊዜ ታደርስለታለህ፤ የንጉሡ ልጅ ስለሞተ ምንም የምሥራች አታደርስም፡፡” BSB BSB: But Joab replied, “You are not the man to take good news today. You may do it another day, but you must not do so today, because the king’s son is dead.”
21 ULB ከዚያም ኢዮአብ ለአንድ ኩሻዊ፣ “ሂድና ለንጉሡ ያየኸውን ተናገር” አለው፡፡ ኩሻዊውም ኢዮአብን እጅ ነሥቶ እየሮጠ ሄደ፡፡ BSB BSB: So Joab said to a Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” The Cushite bowed to Joab and took off running.
22 ULB የሳዶቅ ልጅ አኪማአስም እንደገና ለኢዮአብ፣ “ምንም ዓይነት ነገር ይሁን፣ እባክህ፣ ኩሻዊውን ተከትዬው ልሩጥ” አለው፡፡ ኢዮአብም፣ “ለየምሥራቹ ምንም ብድራት እንደማታገኝ እያወቅህ፣ ልጄ ሆይ፣ ለምን ትሮጣለህ?” ብሎ መለሰለት፡፡ BSB BSB: Ahimaaz son of Zadok, however, persisted and said to Joab, “No matter what, please let me also run behind the Cushite!” “My son,” Joab replied, “why do you want to run, since you will not receive a reward?”
23 ULB “የሆነው ይሁን፣ እሮጣለሁ” አለ፣ አኪማአስ፡፡ ስለዚህ ኢዮአብ፣ “እንግዲያውስ፣ ሩጥ” ብሎ መለሰለት፡፡ ከዚያም አኪማአስ በሜዳው መንገድ በኩል ሮጠ፣ ኩሻዊውንም ቀደመው፡፡ BSB BSB: “No matter what, I want to run!” he replied. “Then run!” Joab told him. So Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and outran the Cushite.
24 ULB ዳዊት በውስጠኛውና በውጭኛው በሮች መካከል ተቀምጦ ነበር፡፡ ጠባቂው ቅጥሩ ላይ ወዳለው ወደ በሩ ሰገነት ጣራ ወጥቶ ወደ ውጭ ዓይኑን አንስቶ ሲመለከት አንድ ብቻውን የሚሮጥ ሰው እየተቃረበ ነበር፡፡ BSB BSB: Now David was sitting between the two gates when the watchman went up to the roof of the gateway by the wall, looked out, and saw a man running alone.
25 ULB ጠባቂው ተጣራና ለንጉሡ ነገረው፤ ከዚያም ንጉሡ፣ “ብቻውን ከሆነ መልካም ዜና በአንደበቱ አለ” አለ፡፡ ሯጩ እየተጠጋ መጥቶ ወደ ከተማይቱ ቀረበ፡፡ BSB BSB: So he called out and told the king. “If he is alone,” the king replied, “he bears good news.” As the first runner drew near,
26 ULB ከዚያም ጠባቂው ሌላ የሚሮጥ ሰው አስተዋለ፤ ጠባቂውም ዘበኛውን ጠራና፣ “እነሆ፣ ብቻውን የሚሮጥ ሌላ ሰው አለ” አለው፡፡ ንጉሡም፣ “እርሱም መልካም ዜና አለው” አለ፡፡ BSB BSB: the watchman saw another man running, and he called out to the gatekeeper, “Look! Another man is running alone!” “This one also brings good news,” said the king.
27 ULB ስለዚህ ጠባቂው፣ “ከፊት እየሮጠ ያለው ሰው አሯሯጥ የሳዶቅን ልጅ የአኪማአስን ሩጫ ይመስለኛል” አለ፡፡ ንጉሡም፣ “እርሱ ጥሩ ሰው ነው፣ እርሱም የሚመጣው የምሥራች ይዞ ነው” አለ፡፡ BSB BSB: The watchman said, “The first man appears to me to be running like Ahimaaz son of Zadok.” “This is a good man,” said the king. “He comes with good news.”
28 ULB ከዚያ በኋላ አኪማአስ ተጣርቶ ለንጉሡ፣ “ሁሉም ደኅና ነው” አለና በንጉሡ ፊት ለጥ ብሎ እጅ ነሥቶ፣ ወደ መሬት እያቀረቀረ፣ “በጌታዬ በንጉሡ ላይ እጃቸውን ያነሡትን ሰዎች አሳልፎ የሰጠህ እግዚአብሔር አምላክህ የተባረከ ይሁን” አለው፡፡ BSB BSB: Then Ahimaaz called out to the king, “All is well!” And he bowed facedown before the king. He continued, “Blessed be the LORD your God! He has delivered up the men who raised their hands against my lord the king.”
29 ULB ንጉሡም፣ “ወጣቱ አቤሴሎም ደህና ነውን? ሲል ጠየቀ፡፡ አኪማአስም፣ “ኢዮአብ እኔን የንጉሡን አገልጋይ በላከኝ ጊዜ ትልቅ ሁካታ ነበር፣ ምን እንደሆነ ግን እኔ አላወቅሁም” አለው፡፡ BSB BSB: The king asked, “Is the young man Absalom all right?” And Ahimaaz replied, “When Joab sent the king’s servant and your servant, I saw a great tumult, but I do not know what it was.”
30 ULB ከዚያ በኋላ ንጉሡ፣ “እልፍ በልና ቁም” አለው፡፡ ስለዚህ አኪማአስ እልፍ ብሎ ዝም ብሎ ቆመ፡፡ BSB BSB: “Move aside,” said the king, “and stand here.” So he stepped aside.
31 ULB ከዚያ በኋላ ወዲያውኑ ኩሻዊው ደረሰና፣ “ለጌታዬ ለንጉሡ የምሥራች አለኝ፣ እግዚአብሔር በንጉሡ ላይ የተነሡብህን ሁሉ ዛሬ ተበቅሎልሃልና” አለው፡፡ BSB BSB: Just then the Cushite came and said, “May my lord the king hear the good news: Today the LORD has avenged you of all who rose up against you!”
32 ULB ንጉሡም ኩሻዊውን፣ “ወጣቱ አቤሴሎም ደህና ነውን?” አለው፡፡ ኩሻዊውም፣ “የጌታዬ የንጉሡ ጠላቶች እንዲሁም በእርሱ ላይ ጉዳት ለማድረስ በአንተ ላይ የሚነሡብህ ሁሉ እንደዚያ ወጣት ይሁኑ” ብሎ መለሰለት፡፡ BSB BSB: The king asked the Cushite, “Is the young man Absalom all right?” And the Cushite replied, “May the enemies of my lord the king and all who rise up against you to harm you be like that young man.”
33 ULB በዚያን ጊዜ ንጉሡ ጥልቅ የሆነ ሐዘን አዘነ፤ በቅጥሩ በር ዐናት ላይ ወዳለችው ቤት ገብቶም አለቀሰ፡፡ እየሄደም ሳለ፣ “ልጄ አቤሴሎም ሆይ! ልጄ አቤሴሎም! በአንተ ፈንታ ምነው እኔ በሞትሁ ኖሮ! አቤሴሎም ልጄ፣ ልጄ!” እያለ ያለቅስ ነበር፡፡ BSB BSB: The king was shaken and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he walked, he cried out, “O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.