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.

And Jothor the priest of Madiam, the father-in-law of Moses, heard of all that the Lord did to his people Israel; for the Lord brought Israel out of Egypt.

2 Da tog Jetro, Mose Svigerfader, Zippora, Mose Hustru, som han havde sendt tilbage,

And Jothor the father-in-law of Moses, took Sepphora the wife of Moses after she had been sent 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: the name of the one was Gersam, [his father] saying, I was a sojourner 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 second Eliezer, saying, For the God of my father [is] my helper, and he has rescued me out of the hand of Pharao.

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 Jothor the father-in-law of Moses, and his sons and his wife, went forth to Moses into the wilderness, where he encamped on the mount 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 it was told Moses, saying, Behold, thy father-in-law Jothor is coming to thee, and thy wife and two sons with him.

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 forth to meet his father-in-law, and did him reverence, and kissed him, and they embraced each other, and he brought them 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 related to his father-in-law all things that the Lord did to Pharao and all the Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the labour that had befallen them in the way, and that the Lord had rescued them out of the hand of Pharao, and out of the hand of the Egyptians.

9 Da blev Jetro glad for alt det gode, Herren havde gjort Israel, som han havde friet af Ægypternes Haand.

And Jothor was amazed at all the good things which the Lord did to them, forasmuch as he rescued them out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharao.

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 Jothor said, Blessed be the Lord, because he has rescued them out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharao.

11 Nu ved jeg, at Herren er stor fremfor alle Guder; thi i den Sag, hvoraf de hovmodede sig, var han over dem.

Now know I that the Lord is great above all gods, because of this, wherein they attacked them.

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.

And Jothor the father-in-law of Moses took whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices for God, for Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses 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.

And it came to pass after the morrow that Moses sat to judge the people, and all the people stood by 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 Jothor having seen all that [Moses] did to the people, says, What is this that thou doest to the people? wherefore sittest thou alone, and all the people stand by thee from morning till evening?

15 Og Mose sagde til sin Svigerfader: Fordi Folket kommer til mig for at adspørge Gud.

And Moses says to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to seek judgment 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.

For whenever there is a dispute among them, and they come to me, I give judgment upon each, and I teach them the ordinances of God and his law.

17 Da sagde Mose Svigerfader til ham: Det er ikke godt, hvad du her gør.

And the father-in-law of Moses said to him, Thou dost not this thing rightly,

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.

thou wilt wear away with intolerable weariness, both those and all this people which is with thee: this thing is hard, thou wilt not be able to endure it thyself alone.

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.

Now then hearken to me, and I will advise thee, and God shall be with thee: be thou to the people in the things pertaining to God, and thou shalt bring their matters to God.

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.

And thou shalt testify to them the ordinances of God and his law, and thou shalt shew to them the ways in which they shall walk, and the works which they shall 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.

And do thou look out for thyself out of all the people able men, fearing God, righteous men, hating pride, and thou shalt set over the people captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains 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 they shall judge the people at all times, and the too burdensome matter they shall bring to thee, but they shall judge the smaller cases; so they shall relieve thee and help thee.

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 thou wilt do this thing, God shall strengthen thee, and thou shalt be able to attend, and all this people shall come with peace into their own place.

24 Og Mose lød sin Svigerfaders Røst og gjorde alt det, som han sagde.

And Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did whatsoever he said to him.

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 Moses chose out able men out of all Israel, and he made them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties and captains of tens over the people.

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 judged the people at all times; and every too burdensome matter they brought to Moses, but every light matter they judged themselves.

27 Og Mose lod sin Svigerfader fare, og denne gik til sit Land.

And Moses dismissed his father-in-law, and he returned to his own land.