¹Pada suatu hari, ketika Saul sudah menjadi raja,

¹Saul reigned a year; and when he had reigned two years over Israel,

²ia memilih 3.000 orang Israel; dari antaranya 2.000 tinggal dengan dia di Mikhmas dan di daerah pegunungan Betel, sedang yang 1.000 lagi pergi dengan Yonatan putranya ke Gibea di wilayah suku Benyamin. Selebihnya dari rakyat itu diizinkan pulang ke rumahnya masing-masing.

²Saul chose for himself three thousand men of Israel, of which two thousand were with Saul in Michmash and in the Mount of Bethel, and one thousand were with Jonathan in Gibeah of Benjamin: and the rest of the people he sent every man to his tent.

³Kemudian Yonatan membunuh panglima Filistin yang di Geba, dan bangsa Filistin mendengar tentang hal itu. Lalu Saul menyuruh membunyikan trompet diseluruh negeri untuk memanggil orang Ibrani supaya maju berperang.

³Jonathan struck the garrison of the Philistines that was in Geba: and the Philistines heard of it. Saul blew the trumpet throughout all the land, saying, “Let the Hebrews hear!”

⁴Kepada seluruh bangsa Israel diberitahukan bahwa Saul telah membunuh panglima Filistin itu dan bahwa orang Filistin sangat membenci orang Israel. Sebab itu rakyat mematuhi panggilan untuk bergabung dengan Saul di Gilgal.

⁴All Israel heard that Saul had struck the garrison of the Philistines, and also that Israel was had in abomination with the Philistines. The people were gathered together after Saul to Gilgal.

⁵Sementara itu orang Filistin telah berkumpul juga untuk menyerang orang Israel; mereka mempunyai 30.000 kereta perang, 6.000 orang berkuda, dan prajurit-prajurit sebanyak pasir di tepi laut. Mereka berkemah di Mikhmas di sebelah timur Bet-Awen.

⁵The Philistines assembled themselves together to fight with Israel, thirty thousand chariots, and six thousand horsemen, and people as the sand which is on the seashore in multitude: and they came up, and encamped in Michmash, eastward of Beth Aven.

⁶Kemudian mereka melancarkan serangan sengit terhadap orang Israel, sehingga orang Israel berada dalam keadaan genting. Sejumlah dari orang-orang Israel bersembunyi di dalam gua dan liang gunung atau di dalam sela-sela batu karang, atau dalam sumur dan lubang di tanah,

⁶When the men of Israel saw that they were in a strait (for the people were distressed), then the people hid themselves in caves, and in thickets, and in rocks, and in coverts, and in pits.

⁷ada juga yang menyeberangi Sungai Yordan dan masuk ke wilayah Gad dan Gilead. Saul masih di Gilgal, dan rakyat yang mengikutinya gemetar ketakutan.

⁷Now some of the Hebrews had gone over the Jordan to the land of Gad and Gilead; but as for Saul, he was yet in Gilgal, and all the people followed him trembling.

⁸Saul menunggu Samuel tujuh hari lamanya, sesuai dengan pesan Samuel kepadanya, tetapi Samuel belum juga sampai di Gilgal, sedangkan Saul mulai ditinggalkan rakyatnya.

⁸He stayed seven days, according to the time set by Samuel: but Samuel didn’t come to Gilgal; and the people were scattered from him.

⁹Sebab itu ia berkata kepada mereka, "Bawalah kemari kurban bakaran dan kurban perdamaian itu." Lalu ia sendiri mempersembahkan kurban bakaran itu.

⁹Saul said, “Bring here the burnt offering to me, and the peace offerings.” He offered the burnt offering.

¹⁰Tetapi baru saja ia selesai melakukannya, datanglah Samuel. Saul menyongsong dia hendak menyalamnya,

¹⁰It came to pass that as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, behold, Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him, that he might greet him.

¹¹tetapi Samuel bertanya, "Apa yang telah Baginda lakukan?" Jawab Saul, "Aku melihat bahwa rakyat mulai meninggalkan aku, sedangkan Bapak tidak datang pada waktu yang Bapak tentukan. Lagipula, orang Filistin telah berkumpul di Mikhmas.

¹¹Samuel said, “What have you done?” Saul said, “Because I saw that the people were scattered from me, and that you didn’t come within the days appointed, and that the Philistines assembled themselves together at Michmash;

¹²Lalu pikirku, jangan-jangan tentara Filistin sebentar lagi menyerangku di sini di Gilgal, padahal aku belum memohon belas kasihan TUHAN. Sebab itu aku mengambil keputusan untuk mempersembahkan kurban itu."

¹²therefore I said, ‘Now the Philistines will come down on me to Gilgal, and I haven’t entreated the favor of Yahweh.’ I forced myself therefore, and offered the burnt offering.”

¹³Mendengar itu Samuel berkata kepada Saul, "Tindakan Baginda itu bodoh sekali. Seandainya Baginda mentaati perintah TUHAN Allah kepada Baginda, pastilah TUHAN akan menetapkan Baginda dan keturunan Baginda menjadi raja atas Israel untuk selama-lamanya.

¹³Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of Yahweh your God, which he commanded you; for now Yahweh would have established your kingdom on Israel forever.

¹⁴Tetapi sekarang pemerintahan Baginda tidak akan bertahan. Karena Baginda tidak mengikuti perintah TUHAN, maka TUHAN telah memilih orang lain yang dikehendaki-Nya untuk diangkat menjadi raja atas umat-Nya."

¹⁴But now your kingdom shall not continue. Yahweh has sought for himself a man after his own heart, and Yahweh has appointed him to be prince over his people, because you have not kept that which Yahweh commanded you.”

¹⁵Kemudian Samuel meninggalkan Gilgal dan meneruskan perjalanannya ke Gibea di wilayah Benyamin. Sementara itu Saul memeriksa pasukannya, jumlahnya kira-kira 600 orang.

¹⁵Samuel arose, and went from Gilgal to Gibeah of Benjamin. Saul numbered the people who were present with him, about six hundred men.

¹⁶Demikianlah Saul dan Yonatan putranya, dan anak buah mereka berkemah di Geba di wilayah Benyamin; sedang orang Filistin berkemah di Mikhmas.

¹⁶Saul, and Jonathan his son, and the people who were present with them, stayed in Geba of Benjamin: but the Philistines encamped in Michmash.

¹⁷Pada waktu itu juga tiga rombongan perampok Filistin berangkat dari perkemahan Filistin untuk merampok; rombongan yang satu pergi ke arah Ofra di wilayah Syual,

¹⁷The spoilers came out of the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned to the way that leads to Ophrah, to the land of Shual;

¹⁸rombongan kedua menuju Bet-Horon, dan rombongan yang satu lagi menuju ke perbatasan yang menghadap ke Lembah Zeboim dan padang gurun.

¹⁸and another company turned the way to Beth Horon; and another company turned the way of the border that looks down on the valley of Zeboim toward the wilderness.

¹⁹Di seluruh Israel tidak ada tukang besi, karena orang Filistin tidak mengizinkan orang Ibrani membuat pedang dan tombak.

¹⁹Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel; for the Philistines said, “Lest the Hebrews make them swords or spears”;

²⁰Jadi orang Israel harus pergi kepada orang Filistin jika hendak mengasahkan mata bajaknya, cangkulnya, kapaknya dan aritnya;

²⁰but all the Israelites went down to the Philistines, to sharpen every man his plowshare, mattock, axe, and sickle;

²¹upahnya ialah sekeping uang kecil untuk mengasah kapak dan membetulkan alat pemacu sapi, dan dua keping uang kecil untuk mengasah mata bajak atau cangkul.

²¹yet they had a file for the mattocks, and for the plowshares, and for the forks, and for the axes, and to set the goads.

²²Itulah sebabnya, pada hari pertempuran di Mikhmas itu, tak seorang pun dari rakyat Israel mempunyai pedang atau tombak, kecuali Saul dan Yonatan putranya.

²²So it came to pass in the day of battle, that there was neither sword nor spear found in the hand of any of the people who were with Saul and Jonathan: but with Saul and with Jonathan his son was there found.

²³Orang Filistin menempatkan sebuah pos penjagaan untuk mempertahankan sebuah sela gunung di Mikhmas.

²³The garrison of the Philistines went out to the pass of Michmash.