Jeremias 38

1 Og Sefatja, Matthans Søn, og Gedalja, Paskurs Søn, og Jukal, Selemjas Søn, og Paskur, Malkias Søn, hørte de Ord, som Jeremias talte til alt Folket, der han sagde:

Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malchijah heard what Jeremiah was telling everyone:

2 Saa siger Herren: Hvo, som bliver i denne Stad, skal dø ved Sværdet, ved Hungeren og ved Pesten; men den, som gaar ud til Kaldæerne, han skal leve, og han skal have sit Liv som Bytte, saa at han skal blive i Live.

This is what the Lord says: Anyone who remains in this city will die from war and famine and disease, but anyone who goes over to the Babylonians will live. Their reward will be to save their lives.

3 Saa siger Herren: Denne Stad skal visselig gives i Kongen af Babels Hærs Haand, og han skal indtage den.

This is what the Lord says: Be sure of this—Jerusalem will be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon. He is going to capture it.

4 Da sagde Fyrsterne til Kongen: Lad dog denne Mand dræbe, thi paa den Maade bringer han Hænderne paa Krigsmændene, som ere overblevne i denne Stad, og Hænderne paa hele Folket til at synke, idet han taler saadanne Ord til dem; thi denne Mand søger ikke dette Folks Bedste, men dets Ulykke.

The officers told the king, “This man deserves to die because he's demoralizing the defenders left in the city, and all the people too, by telling them this. This man isn't trying to help these people, he's only going to destroy them.”

5 Og Kong Zedekias sagde: Se, han er i eders Haand; thi Kongen formaar intet imod eder.

“Well, you can do whatever you want to him,” King Zedekiah replied. “I can't stop you.”

6 Da toge de Jeremias og kastede ham i Malkias, Meleks Søns, Hule, som var i Fængselets Forgaard, og nedlode Jeremias ved Reb, og i Hulen var der ikke Vand, men Dynd, og Jeremias sank ned i Dyndet.

So they took Jeremiah and put him in the cistern belonging to Malchiah, the king's son, which was in the guard's courtyard. They lowered Jeremiah down with ropes into the cistern. It didn't have any water, only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud.

7 Der Kusiten Ebed-Melek, en Mand, som var Hofmand og var i Kongens Hus, hørte, at man havde kastet Jeremias i Hulen, og Kongen sad i Benjamins Port,

Ebed-melech the Cushite, a royal official in the king's palace, found out that they had put Jeremiah in the cistern. The king was sitting at the Benjamin Gate,

8 da gik Ebed-Melek ud af Kongens Hus, og han talte med Kongen og sagde:

so Ebed-melech left the palace and went to talk to the king

9 Min Herre Konge: Disse Mænd have gjort ilde i alt det, de have gjort imod Profeten Jeremias, som de kastede i Hulen, saa at han der, hvor han er, maa dø af Hunger; thi her er ikke Brød i Staden mere.

“My lord the king, all these terrible things these men have done to Jeremiah the prophet are evil. They've put him in the cistern, and he'll starve to death there because there's no more bread left in the city.”

10 Da befalede Kongen Kusiten Ebed-Melek og sagde: Tag tredive Mand herfra med dig, og drag Profeten Jeremias op af Hulen, førend han dør.

So the king gave the order to Ebed-melech the Cushite, “Take thirty men with you and go and pull Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.”

11 Og Ebed-Melek tog Mændene med sig og gik ind i Kongens Hus, hen under Forraadskammeret, og tog derfra nogle gamle Pjalter og gamle Klude og lod dem gaa ned til Jeremias i Hulen med Rebene.

Ebed-melech took the men and went to the storehouse under the palace. He took some rags and old clothes from there and then went to the cistern where he lowered them with ropes to Jeremiah.

12 Og Kusiten Ebed-Melek sagde til Jeremias: Læg dog de gamle Pjalter og Klude om dine Aksler under Rebene; og Jeremias gjorde saaledes.

Ebed-melech the Cushite called down to Jeremiah, “Put these rags and old clothes under your arms to protect you from the ropes.” Jeremiah did so,

13 Og de droge Jeremias op med Rebene og førte ham op af Hulen; og Jeremias blev i Fængselets Forgaard.

and using the ropes they pulled him up and took him out of the cistern. Jeremiah stayed there in the guard's courtyard.

14 Og Kong Zedekias sendte Bud og lod Profeten Jeremias hente til sig, hen til den tredje Indgang til Herrens Hus; og Kongen sagde til Jeremias: Jeg vil spørge dig om noget, du maa intet dølge for mig.

Then King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah the prophet and met him at the third Temple entrance. “I need to ask you something,” the king told Jeremiah. “You mustn't hide anything from me.”

15 Og Jeremias sagde til Zedekias: Naar jeg forkynder dig det, mon du da ikke vil lade mig dræbe? og naar jeg giver dig Raad, saa vil du dog ikke høre mig!

“If I tell you then you'll definitely have me killed,” Jeremiah replied. “Even if I were to give you advice, you wouldn't listen to me anyway.”

16 Da svor Kong Zedekias Jeremias i Løndom og sagde: Saa sandt Herren lever, som har skabt os denne Sjæl, saa vil jeg ikke dræbe dig, ej heller give dig i disse Mænds Haand, som søge efter dit Liv.

King Zedekiah solemnly promised Jeremiah in private, “As the Lord lives, who gave us this life, I won't have you killed, and I won't hand you over to those who want to kill you.”

17 Og Jeremias sagde til Zedekias: Saa siger den Herre Zebaoths Gud, Israels Gud: Dersom du godvilligt gaar ud til Kongen af Babels Fyrster, da skal du beholde Livet, og denne Stad skal ikke opbrændes med Ild; og du skal leve, du og dit Hus.

Then Jeremiah told Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you hand yourself over to the officers of the king of Babylon, then you'll live. Jerusalem won't be burned down, and you and your family will survive.

18 Men dersom du ikke gaar ud til Kongen af Babels Fyrster, da skal denne Stad gives i Kaldæernes Haand, og de skulle opbrænde den med Ild; og du skal ikke undkomme af deres Haand.

But if you don't hand yourself over to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be given to the Babylonians. They will burn it down, and you yourself won't escape being captured.”

19 Og Kong Zedekias sagde til Jeremias: Jeg frygter for de Jøder, som ere gaaede over til Kaldæerne, at man maaske vil give mig i deres Haand, og at disse ville handle ilde med mig.

But King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid of the those people of Judah who have gone over to the Babylonians, because the Babylonians might hand me over the them so they could abuse me.”

20 Og Jeremias sagde: Man vil ikke give dig til Pris; hør dog paa Herrens Røst i det, som jeg taler til dig, og det skal gaa dig vel, og du skal beholde Livet.

“They won't hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “If you obey what the Lord says by doing what I tell you, then things will go well for you and you'll live.

21 Men dersom du vægrer dig ved at gaa ud, saa er her det Ord, som Herren har ladet mig se:

But if you refuse to hand yourself over, this is what the Lord has told me:

22 Se, alle Kvinderne, som ere blevne tilbage i Judas Konges Hus, føres ud til Kongen af Babels Fyrster og sige: Dine gode Venner have forført dig og have faaet Overhaand over dig, dine Fødder ere nedsunkne i Skarnet, medens hine ere vegne tilbage.

All the women who are left in the palace of the king of Judah will be led out and handed over to the officials of the king of Babylon Those women will say: ‘Those good friends of yours! You were taken in by them and conquered by them. Your feet got stuck in the mid, so they abandoned you.’

23 Og man skal føre alle dine Hustruer og dine Børn ud til Kaldæerne, og du selv skal ikke undkomme fra deres Haand, men gribes ved Kongen af Babels Haand, og denne Stad skal du bringe til at blive opbrændt med Ild.

All your wives and children will be handed over to the Chaldeans. And you yourself will not escape, for you will be captured by the king of Babylon, and Jerusalem will be burned down.”

24 Og Zedekias sagde til Jeremias: Lad ingen vide disse Ord, saa skal du ikke dø.

Zedekiah warned Jeremiah, “Nobody can find out about this conversation, otherwise you'll die.

25 Og naar Fyrsterne høre, at jeg har talt med dig, og de komme til dig og sige til dig: Kære, kundgør os, hvad du har talt til Kongen, dølg det ikke for os, og vi ville ikke dræbe dig; og hvad Kongen har talt til dig:

If the officers find out that I've talked with you, and they come and ask you, ‘Tell us what you and the king were talking about! Don't hide anything from us, or we'll kill you;’

26 Saa skal du sige til dem: Jeg lod min ydmyge Begæring komme ind for Kongens Ansigt, at man ikke maatte føre mig igen i Jonathans Hus, at dø der.

then you are to tell them, ‘I was asking the king to grant my request not to return me to the house of Jonathan to die there.’”

27 Da kom alle Fyrsterne til Jeremias og spurgte ham, og han svarede dem efter alle disse Ord, som Kongen havde befalet; da tav de og lode ham i Ro; thi Ordet fik de ej at høre.

When all the officers came to Jeremiah wanting to know, he repeated to them exactly what the king had told him to say. So they didn't ask him anything more because no one had heard what had been said.

28 Og Jeremias blev i Fængselets Forgaard indtil den Dag, da Jerusalem blev indtaget. Og det skete, da Jerusalem blev indtaget, —

Jeremiah remained there in the guard's courtyard until the day Jerusalem was captured.