2 Mosebog 18
1 Og Jetro, Præsten i Midian, Mose Svigerfader, hørte alt det, Gud havde gjort imod Mose og imod sit Folk Israel, at Herren havde udført Israel af Ægypten.
Now news came to Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, of all God had done for Moses and for Israel his people, and how the Lord had taken Israel out of Egypt.
2 Da tog Jetro, Mose Svigerfader, Zippora, Mose Hustru, som han havde sendt tilbage,
And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her away,
3 og hendes to Sønner, — af hvilke den enes Navn var Gersom; thi han sagde: Jeg har været fremmed i et fremmed Land;
And her two sons, one of whom was named Gershom, for he said, I have been living in a strange land:
4 og den andens Navn Elieser; thi han sagde: Min Faders Gud er kommen mig til Hjælp og har friet mig fra Faraos Sværd.
And the name of the other was Eliezer, for he said, The God of my father was my help, and kept me safe from the sword of Pharaoh:
5 Og Jetro, Mose Svigerfader, kom med hans Sønner og hans Hustru til Mose i Ørken, der, hvor han havde lejret sig ved Guds Bjerg.
And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to where Moses had put up his tent in the waste land, by the mountain of God.
6 Og han lod sige til Mose: Jeg, Jetro din Svigerfader, kommer til dig, og din Hustru og hendes to Sønner med hende.
And he said to Moses, I, your father-in-law, have come to you, with your wife and your two sons.
7 Da gik Mose ud imod sin Svigerfader og bøjede sig og kyssede ham, og den ene hilsede den anden, og de gik ind i Teltet.
And Moses went out to his father-in-law, and went down on his face before him and gave him a kiss; and they said to one another, Are you well? and they came into the tent.
8 Og Mose fortalte sin Svigerfader alt det, Herren havde gjort Farao og Ægypterne for Israels Skyld, tilligemed al den Møje, som var dem vederfaren paa Vejen, og hvorledes Herren havde friet dem.
And Moses gave his father-in-law an account of all the Lord had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians because of Israel, and of all the troubles which had come on them by the way, and how the Lord had given them salvation.
9 Da blev Jetro glad for alt det gode, Herren havde gjort Israel, som han havde friet af Ægypternes Haand.
And Jethro was glad because the Lord had been good to Israel, freeing them from the power of the Egyptians.
10 Og Jetro sagde: Lovet være Herren, som friede eder af Ægypternes Haand og af Faraos Haand, og som friede Folket fra at være under Ægypternes Haand.
And Jethro said, Praise be to the Lord, who has taken you out of the hand of Pharaoh and out of the hand of the Egyptians; freeing the people from the yoke of the Egyptians.
11 Nu ved jeg, at Herren er stor fremfor alle Guder; thi i den Sag, hvoraf de hovmodede sig, var han over dem.
Now I am certain that the Lord is greater than all gods, for he has overcome them in their pride.
12 Og Jetro, Mose Svigerfader, tog Brændoffer og Slagtoffer til Gud; saa kom Aron og alle Israels ældste for at faa Mad med Mose Svigerfader for Guds Ansigt.
Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, made a burned offering to God: and Aaron came, with the chiefs of Israel, and had a meal with Moses' father-in-law, before God.
13 Og det skete den næste Dag, at Mose satte sig at dømme Folket, og Folket stod for Mose fra Morgenen indtil Aftenen.
Now on the day after, Moses took his seat to give decisions for the people: and the people were waiting before Moses from morning till evening.
14 Der Mose Svigerfader saa alt det, han havde for med Folket, da sagde han: Hvad er dette for en Sag, som du har for med Folket? hvi sidder du for dig alene, og alt Folket staar for dig fra Morgen til Aften?
And when Moses' father-in-law saw all he was doing, he said, What is this you are doing for the people? why are you seated here by yourself, with all the people waiting before you from morning till evening?
15 Og Mose sagde til sin Svigerfader: Fordi Folket kommer til mig for at adspørge Gud.
And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to get directions from God:
16 Naar de have nogen Sag, da komme de til mig, at jeg skal dømme imellem en Mand og imellem hans næste; og jeg skal lære dem Guds Skikke og hans Love.
And if they have any question between themselves, they come to me, and I am judge between a man and his neighbour, and I give them the orders and laws of God.
17 Da sagde Mose Svigerfader til ham: Det er ikke godt, hvad du her gør.
And Moses' father-in-law said to him, What you are doing is not good.
18 Du maa jo forsmægte, baade du og dette Folk, som er med dig; thi den Handel er dig for svar, du formaar ikke at udrette det ved dig alene.
Your strength and that of the people will be completely used up: this work is more than you are able to do by yourself.
19 Nu lyd min Røst, jeg vil give dig Raad, og Gud skal være med dig: Vær du for Folket hos Gud, og du skal føre Sagerne frem for Gud.
Give ear now to my suggestion, and may God be with you: you are to be the people's representative before God, taking their causes to him:
20 Og du skal paaminde dem om Skikkene og Lovene og lære dem Vejen, som de skulle vandre paa, og den Gerning, som de skulle gøre.
Teaching them his rules and his laws, guiding them in the way they have to go, and making clear to them the work they have to do.
21 Og du skal udse dig af Folket duelige Mænd, som frygte Gud, sanddrue Mænd, som hade ulovlig Vinding, og sætte disse over dem til Høvedsmænd over tusinde, Høvedsmænd over hundrede, Høvedsmænd over halvtredsindstyve og Høvedsmænd over ti.
But for the rest, take from among the people able men, such as have the fear of God, true men hating profits wrongly made; and put such men over them, to be captains of thousands, captains of hundreds and of fifties and of tens;
22 Og de skulle dømme Folket til enhver Tid, og det skal ske saaledes: Hver stor Sag skulle de føre for dig, og hver liden Sag skulle de selv dømme i, og let saaledes noget af Byrden for dig, og de skulle bære den tilligemed dig.
And let them be judges in the causes of the people at all times: and let them put before you all important questions, but in small things let them give decisions themselves: in this way, it will be less hard for you, and they will take the weight off you.
23 Dersom du vil gøre dette, og Gud befaler dig det, da formaar du at holde ud; ja ogsaa hele dette Folk skal komme med Fred til sit Sted.
If you do this, and God gives approval, then you will be able to go on without weariness, and all this people will go to their tents in peace.
24 Og Mose lød sin Svigerfaders Røst og gjorde alt det, som han sagde.
So Moses took note of the words of his father-in-law, and did as he had said.
25 Og Mose udvalgte duelige Mænd af al Israel og satte dem til Høvedsmænd over Folket, Høvedsmænd over tusinde, Høvedsmænd over hundrede, Høvedsmænd over halvtredsindstyve og Høvedsmænd over ti.
And he made selection of able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, captains of thousands, captains of hundreds and of fifties and of tens.
26 Og de dømte Folket til enhver Tid; hver svar Sag skulde de føre for Mose, og hver liden Sag skulde de selv dømme.
And they were judges in the causes of the people at all times: the hard questions they put before Moses; but on every small point they gave decisions themselves.
27 Og Mose lod sin Svigerfader fare, og denne gik til sit Land.
And Moses let his father-in-law go away, and he went back to his land.
