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 Jethro priest of Midian, father-in-law of Moses, hears all that God has done for Moses and for His people Israel, that YHWH has brought out Israel from Egypt,

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

and Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, takes Zipporah, wife of Moses, after her parting,

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, of whom the name of one [is] Gershom, for he said, “I have been 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 other [is] Eliezer, for, “The God of my father [is] for my help, and He delivers me 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, father-in-law of Moses, comes, and his sons, and his wife, to Moses, to the wilderness where he is encamping—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 says to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you, and your wife, and her two sons with her.”

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 goes out to meet his father-in-law, and bows himself, and kisses him, and they ask of one another of welfare, and come 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 recounts to his father-in-law all that YHWH has done to Pharaoh, and to the Egyptians, on account of Israel, all the travail which has found them in the way, and [how] YHWH delivers them.

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

And Jethro rejoices for all the good which YHWH has done to Israel, whom He has delivered from the hand 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 says, “Blessed [is] YHWH, who has delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of Pharaoh—who has delivered this people from under the hand 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 have known that YHWH [is] greater than all the gods, for in the thing they have acted proudly—[He is] above 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 Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, takes a burnt-offering and sacrifices [it] for God; and Aaron comes in, and all [the] elderly of Israel, 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 comes to pass on the next day, that Moses sits to judge the people, and the people stand before Moses from the morning to the 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 the father-in-law of Moses sees all that he is doing for the people and says, “What [is] this thing which you are doing for the people? Why are you sitting by yourself, and all the people standing by you from morning until 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 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.

when they have a matter, it has come to me, and I have judged between a man and his neighbor, and made known the statutes of God, and His laws.”

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

And the father-in-law of Moses says to him, “The thing which 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.

you surely wear away, both you, and this people which [is] with you, for the thing is too heavy for you, you are not able to do it 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.

Now listen to my voice, I counsel you, and God is with you: be for the people before God, and you have brought in the things 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 you have warned them [concerning] the statutes and the laws, and have made known to them the way in which they go, and the work which they 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 you provide out of all the people men of ability, fearing God, men of truth, hating dishonest gain, and have placed [these] over them [for] heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads 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 have judged the people at all times; and it has come to pass, they bring every great matter to you, and they judge every small matter themselves; and lighten it from off yourself, and they have borne with 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 thing, and God has commanded you, then you have been able to stand, and all this people also goes to its place in peace.”

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

And Moses listens to the voice of his father-in-law, and does all that he 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 Moses chooses men of ability out of all Israel, and makes them chiefs over the people [for] heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads 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 have judged the people at all times; they bring the hard matter to Moses, and they judge every small matter themselves.

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

And Moses sends his father-in-law away, and he goes away to his own land.