¹Zvino varume vaIsiraeri vakanga vapika paMizipa, vachiti, Hakuna mumwe wedu uchapa muBhenjamini mukunda wake, kuti ave mukadzi wake.

¹Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpah, saying, “There shall not any of us give his daughter to Benjamin as wife.”

²Vanhu vakasvika paBheti-eri, vakagarapo pamberi paMwari kusvikira madekwana; vakachema kwazvo.

²The people came to Bethel, and sat there until evening before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept severely.

³Vakati, Jehovha,Mwari waIsiraeri, chinhu ichi chakaitirweiko pakati paIsiraeri, kuti nhasi rumwe rudzi rushaikwe pakati paIsiraeri?

³They said, “Yahweh, the God of Israel, why has this happened in Israel, that there should be today one tribe lacking in Israel?”

⁴Zvino fume mangwana vanhu vakamuka mangwanani, vakavakapo atari, vakauya nezvipiriso zvinopiswa nezvipiriso zvokuyananisa.

⁴It happened on the next day that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.

⁵Ipapo vana vaIsiraeri vakati, Ndianiko pakati pamarudzi ose aIsiraeri vasina kukwira kuungano yaJehovha? nekuti vakanga vapika nokupika kukuru pamusoro pomunhu usina kukwira kuna Jehovha paMizipa, vachiti, Zvirokwazvo, anofanira kuurawa.

⁵The children of Israel said, “Who is there among all the tribes of Israel who didn’t come up in the assembly to Yahweh?” For they had made a great oath concerning him who didn’t come up to Yahweh to Mizpah, saying, “He shall surely be put to death.”

⁶Zvino vana vaIsiraeri vakazvidemba pamusoro pavaBhenjamini, hama dzavo, vakati, Nhasi rumwe rudzi rwagurwa pakati pavaIsiraeri.

⁶The children of Israel grieved for Benjamin their brother, and said, “There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.

⁷Tichadiniko kuti tiwanire vakasara vakadzi, zvatakapika naJehovha, kuti hatingavapi vakunda vedu vave vakadzi vavo?

⁷How shall we provide wives for those who remain, since we have sworn by Yahweh that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?”

⁸Vakati, Ndianiko pamarudzi aIsiraeri usina kukwira kuna Jehovha paMizipa? Onei, kwakanga kusina munhu wakabva Jabheshi-Giriyadhi wakakwira kumisasa kuungano.

⁸They said, “What one is there of the tribes of Israel who didn’t come up to Yahweh to Mizpah?” Behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh Gilead to the assembly.

⁹nekuti vanhu vakati vachiverengwa, onei kwakanga kusina munhu wavagere Jabheshi-Giriyadhi ipapo.

⁹For when the people were numbered, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead there.

¹⁰Zvino ungano ikatumirako varume voumhare kwazvo vane zviuru zvine gumi nezviviri, vakavaraira vachiti, Endai mundouraya vagere Jabheshi-Giriyadhi neminondo inopinza, pamwechete navakadzi navana.

¹⁰The congregation sent there twelve thousand men of the most valiant, and commanded them, saying, “Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the little ones.

¹¹Munofanira kuitawo chinhu ichi: Munofanira kuparadza chose varume vose, nomukadzi mumwe nomumwe wakambovata nomurume.

¹¹This is the thing that you shall do: you shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman who has lain with a man.”

¹²Zvino vakandowana kuna vagere Jabheshi-Giriyadhi mhandara dzina mazana mana, vasina kumbovata nomurume; vakauya navo kumisasa paShiro munyika yeKanani.

¹²They found among the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead four hundred young virgins, who had not known man by lying with him; and they brought them to the camp to Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan.

¹³Zvino ungano yose yakatuma nhume kundotaurirana navana vaBhenjamini vakanga vari padombo reRimoni, vakavaparidzira rugare.

¹³The whole congregation sent and spoke to the children of Benjamin who were in the rock of Rimmon, and proclaimed peace to them.

¹⁴Nenguva iyo vaBhenjamini vakadzoka; vakavapa vakadzi vavakanga vachengeta vari vapenyu pavakadzi veJabheshi-Giriyadhi; asi havana kuvaringana.

¹⁴Benjamin returned at that time; and they gave them the women whom they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh Gilead: and yet so they weren’t enough for them.

¹⁵Vanhu vakazvidemba pamusoro pavaBhenjamini, nekuti Jehovha wakange aparadza vamwe pakati pamarudzi avaIsiraeri.

¹⁵The people grieved for Benjamin, because that Yahweh had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.

¹⁶Ipapo vakuru veungano vakati, Tichadiniko kuti tiwanire vakasara vakadzi, vakadzi zvavaparadzwa pakati pavaBhenj amini?

¹⁶Then the elders of the congregation said, “How shall we provide wives for those who remain, since the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?”

¹⁷Vakati, VaBhenjamini vakapukunyuka vanofanira kuva nenhaka yavo, kuti rudzi rumwe rurege kurova pakati pavaIsiraeri.

¹⁷They said, “There must be an inheritance for those who are escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe not be blotted out from Israel.

¹⁸Asi hatingavapi vakunda vedu, vave vakadzi vavo; nekuti vana vaIsiraeri vakanga vapika, vachiti, Munhu unopa vaBhenjamini mukadzi ngaatukwe.

¹⁸However we may not give them wives of our daughters, for the children of Israel had sworn, saying, ‘Cursed is he who gives a wife to Benjamin.’”

¹⁹Vakati: Gore rimwe nerimwe kune mutambo waJehovha paShiro, kurutivi rwekumusoro kweBheti-eri, kumabvazuva enzira huru inobva Bheti-eri ichikwira Shekemu, nezasi kweRebhona.

¹⁹They said, “Behold, there is a feast of Yahweh from year to year in Shiloh, which is on the north of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.”

²⁰Vakaraira vana vaBhenjamini, vachiti, Endai, mundovandira muminda yemizambiringa;

²⁰They commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, “Go and lie in wait in the vineyards,

²¹mutarire, muone kana vakunda veShiro vachibuda kuzotamba; zvino mubude paminda yenyu yemizambiringa, murume mumwe nomumwe agozvitorera mukadzi pakati pavakunda veShiro, muende kunyika yavaBhenjamini.

²¹and see, and behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in the dances, then come out of the vineyards, and each man catch his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.

²²Zvino kana madzibaba avo kana hama dzavo vachiuya kuzovakwirira kwatiri, isu tichati kwavari, Chitipai henyu ivavo zvakanaka, nekuti hatina kuvatapira vose vakadzi pakurwa; nemiwo hamuna kuvapa ivo, mungadai mune mhosva.

²²It shall be, when their fathers or their brothers come to complain to us, that we will say to them, ‘Grant them graciously to us, because we didn’t take for each man his wife in battle, neither did you give them to them, otherwise you would now be guilty.’”

²³Vana vaBhenjamini vakaita saizvozvo, vakazvitorera vakadzi kuna vakanga vachitamba, vakavaringana; vakaenda navo; vakabva ndokudzokera kunhaka yavo, vakavaka maguta, ndokugara mukati mawo.

²³The children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of those who danced, whom they carried off. They went and returned to their inheritance, built the cities, and lived in them.

²⁴Zvino vana vaIsiraeri vakabvapo nenguva iyo, murume mumwe nomumwe kurudzi rwake nokumhuri yake; vakabudapo murume mumwe nomumwe akaenda kunhaka yake.

²⁴The children of Israel departed there at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from there every man to his inheritance.

²⁵Namazuva iwayo kwakanga kusina mambo pakati palsiraeri; murume mumwe nomumwe waiita sezvaakafunga kuti ndizvo zvakanaka.

²⁵In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.