1 Samuel 7

1 Og Mændene af Kirjath-Jearim kom og hentede Herrens Ark op og førte den til Abinadabs Hus paa Højen; og de helligede hans Søn Eleasar til at tage Vare paa Herrens Ark.

So the people of Kiriath-jearim came and took the Ark of the Lord. They put it in Abinadab's house on the hill. They dedicated his son Eleazar to take care of the Ark of the Lord.

2 Og fra den Dag, at Arken blev i Kirjath-Jearim, forløb lang Tid, saa at det blev tyve Aar, og hele Israels Hus sukkede efter Herren.

The Ark remained there in Kiriath-jearim from that day for a long time, in fact for twenty years. Everyone in Israel mourned and in repentance came back to the Lord.

3 Da talede Samuel til al Israels Hus, sigende: Dersom I omvende eder til Herren af eders ganske Hjerte, saa borttager de fremmede Guder og Astartebillederne af eders Midte, og bereder eders Hjerte til Herren og tjener ham alene, og han skal fri eder af Filisternes Haand.

Then Samuel said to all of Israel, “If you sincerely wish to come back to the Lord, then get rid of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreth images you have, and commit yourselves to the Lord and only worship him, and he will save you from the Philistines.”

4 Da borttoge Israels Børn Baal og Astartebillederne, og de tjente Herren alene.

The people of Israel got rid of their Baals and Ashtoreth images and worshiped only the Lord.

5 Og Samuel sagde: Samler al Israel til Mizpa, og jeg vil ydmygeligen bede for eder til Herren.

Then Samuel said, “Have all the people of Israel gather at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”

6 Og de samledes til Mizpa, og de droge Vand op og udøste det for Herrens Ansigt og fastede paa samme Dag og sagde der: Vi have syndet for Herren; og Samuel dømte Israels Børn i Mizpa.

Once they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted that day, and admitted, “We have sinned against the Lord.” Samuel became the leader of the Israelites at Mizpah.

7 Der Filisterne hørte, at Israels Børn havde samlet sig i Mizpa, da droge Filisternes Fyrster op mod Israel; der Israels Børn hørte det, da frygtede de for Filisternes Ansigt.

When the Philistines found out that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, their rulers led an attack on Israel. When the Israelites heard about this, they were terrified at what the Philistines might do.

8 Og Israels Børn sagde til Samuel: Hør ikke op med at raabe for os til Herren vor Gud, at han frelser os fra Filisternes Haand.

They told Samuel, “Don't stop pleading with the Lord our God for us so he can save us from the Philistines.”

9 Saa tog Samuel et diende Lam og ofrede det til et Brændoffer helt for Herren; og Samuel raabte til Herren for Israel, og Herren svarede ham.

Samuel took a young lamb and presented it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out for help to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord responded.

10 Og Samuel ofrede Brændofret, og Filisterne kom frem til Krigen imod Israel; men Herren lod tordne med en svar Torden paa den samme Dag over Filisterne og forfærdede dem, og de bleve slagne for Israels Ansigt.

While Samuel was presenting the burnt offering, the Philistines approached to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered extremely loudly against the Philistines that day, which totally confused them, and they were defeated as Israel watched.

11 Og Israels Mænd droge ud af Mizpa og forfulgte Filisterne; og de sloge dem indtil neden for Beth-Kar.

Then the men of Israel ran out from Mizpah and chased them, killing them all the way to a place near Beth-car.

12 Da tog Samuel en Sten og satte den imellem Mizpa og imellem Sen og kaldte dens Navn Eben-Ezer; og han sagde: Hidindtil har Herren hjulpet os.

After this Samuel took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen. He called it Ebenezer, saying, “The Lord helped us right up to here!”

13 Saa bleve Filisterne ydmygede og kom ikke ydermere i Israels Landemærke, og Herrens Haand var imod Filisterne, saa længe Samuel levede.

In this way the Philistines were kept under control and did not invade Israel again. During Samuel's lifetime the Lord used his power against the Philistines.

14 Og de Stæder, som Filisterne havde taget fra Israel, kom til Israel igen, fra Ekron og indtil Gath; tilmed udfriede Israel deres Landemærke af Filisternes Haand; men der var Fred imellem Israel og imellem Amoriterne.

The towns the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, all the way from Ekron to Gath, and Israel also liberated the neighboring territory from the hands of the Philistines. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.

15 Og Samuel dømte Israel alle sine Livsdage.

Samuel was Israel's leader for the rest of his life.

16 Og han gik hvert Aar og vandrede omkring til Bethel og Gilgal og Mizpa og dømte Israel i alle disse Stæder.

Every year he went around, going to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. At all these places he ruled Israel.

17 Og han kom tilbage til Rama, thi der var hans Hus, og der dømte han Israel; og han byggede der Herren et Alter.

Then he would return to Ramah because that was where he lived. He ruled Israel from there, and also built an altar to the Lord.