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.
Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people. He heard that Yahweh had brought Israel out of Egypt.
2 Da tog Jetro, Mose Svigerfader, Zippora, Mose Hustru, som han havde sendt tilbage,
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her home,
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 son was Gershom, for Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign 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.
The name of the other was Eliezer, for Moses had said, “My ancestor's God was my help. He rescued me from Pharaoh's sword.”
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.
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with Moses' sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped at 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.
He said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her 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.
Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him. They asked about each other's welfare and then went 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.
Moses told his father-in-law all that Yahweh had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel's sake, about all the hardships that had come to them along the way, and how Yahweh had rescued them.
9 Da blev Jetro glad for alt det gode, Herren havde gjort Israel, som han havde friet af Ægypternes Haand.
Jethro rejoiced over all the good that Yahweh had done for Israel, in that he had rescued them 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.
Jethro said, “May Yahweh be praised, for he has rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and delivered the people from 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 know that Yahweh is greater than all the gods, because when the Egyptians treated the Israelites arrogantly, God rescued his people.”
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.
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices for God. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat a meal before God with Moses' father-in-law.
13 Og det skete den næste Dag, at Mose satte sig at dømme Folket, og Folket stod for Mose fra Morgenen indtil Aftenen.
On the next day Moses sat down to judge the people. The people stood around him from morning until 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?
When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing with the people? Why is it that you sit alone and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?”
15 Og Mose sagde til sin Svigerfader: Fordi Folket kommer til mig for at adspørge Gud.
Moses said to his father-in-law, “The people come to me to ask for God's direction.
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 dispute, they come to me. I decide between one person and another, and I teach them God's statutes and laws.”
17 Da sagde Mose Svigerfader til ham: Det er ikke godt, hvad du her gør.
Moses' father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not very 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 will surely wear yourselves out, you and the people who are with you. This burden 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.
Listen to me. I will give you advice, and God will be with you, because you are the people's representative to God, and you bring their disputes 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.
You must teach them his statutes and laws. You must show them the way to walk and the work 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.
Furthermore, you must choose capable men from all the people, men who honor God, men of truth who hate unjust gain. You must put them over people, to be leaders in charge of thousands, hundreds, 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.
They will judge the people in all routine cases, but the difficult cases they will bring to you. As for all the small cases, they can judge those themselves. In that way it will be easier for you, and they will carry the burden 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, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure, and the entire people will be able to go home satisfied.”
24 Og Mose lød sin Svigerfaders Røst og gjorde alt det, som han sagde.
So Moses listened to his father-in-law's words and did everything that 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.
Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders in charge of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and 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.
They judged the people in normal circumstances. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but they themselves judged all the small cases.
27 Og Mose lod sin Svigerfader fare, og denne gik til sit Land.
Then Moses let his father-in-law leave, and Jethro went back into his own land.
