Dommer 21
1 Og Israels Mænd havde svoret i Mizpa og sagt: Der skal ingen af os give Benjamin sin Datter til Hustru.
The men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, “None of us will allow our daughters to marry a Benjamite.”
2 Og Folket kom til Guds Hus, og de bleve der indtil Aftenen for Guds Ansigt; og de opløftede deres Røst og græd med en stor Graad.
The Israelites went to Bethel and sat there before God until the evening, crying loudly in distress.
3 Og de sagde: Herre, Israels Gud! hvorfor er dette sket i Israel, at i Dag een Stamme savnes af Israel?
“Lord, God of Israel, why has this happened to Israel?” they asked. “Today one of our tribes is missing from Israel.”
4 Og det skete den anden Dag, da stod Folket aarle op, og de byggede der et Alter, og de ofrede Brændofre og Takofre.
The next day they got up early, built an altar, and brought burnt offerings and friendship offerings.
5 Og Israels Børn sagde: Hvo er den, som ikke er kommen med op til Forsamlingen af alle Israels Stammer til Herren? Thi der var svoret en høj Ed imod den, som ikke kom op til Herren i Mizpa, saa der sagdes: Han skal visseligen dødes.
“Which of all the tribes of Israel didn't attend the assembly we held before the Lord?” they asked. For they had sworn a sacred oath that anyone who did not come before the Lord at Mizpah would without exception be executed.
6 Og det gjorde Israels Børn ondt for deres Broder Benjamin, og de sagde: I Dag er een Stamme afhuggen af Israel.
The Israelites felt sorry for their brother Benjamin, saying, “Today one tribe has been hacked off from Israel!
7 Hvad ville vi gøre dem, som ere overblevne, at de kunne faa Hustruer? thi vi have svoret ved Herren, at vi ikke ville give dem af vore Døtre til Hustruer.
What shall we do about wives for those who are left, since we have sworn an oath before the Lord that we will not allow any of our daughters to marry them?”
8 Og de sagde: Hvad er det for en af Israels Stammer, som ikke er kommen op til Herren i Mizpa? Og se, der var ingen Mand kommen til Lejren fra Jabes i Gilead til Forsamlingen.
Then they asked, “Which one of all the tribes of Israel didn't attend the assembly we held before the Lord at Mizpah?” They found out that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp for the assembly,
9 Thi Folket blev talt; og se, da var der ingen af Indbyggerne fra Jabes i Gilead.
for once they had done a head count, there was nobody there from Jabesh-gilead.
10 Da sendte de derhen af Menigheden tolv Tusinde Mand af Stridsfolkene; og de bøde dem og sagde: Gaar hen og slaar Indbyggerne i Jabes i Gilead med skarpe Sværd, samt Hustruerne og de smaa Børn.
So the assembly sent twelve thousand of their best warriors there. They gave them orders, saying, “Go and kill the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with your swords, even the women and children.
11 Og denne er den Gerning, som I skulle gøre: Alt Mandkøn og alle Kvinder, som have haft Samkvem med nogen Mand, skulle I ødelægge.
This is what you have to do: Destroy every male and every woman who has had sex with a man.”
12 Og de fandt af Indbyggerne i Jabes i Gilead fire Hundrede unge Piger, Jomfruer, som ikke havde kendt nogen Mand og ikke haft Samkvem med nogen Mand, og de førte dem til Lejren i Silo, som er i Landet Kanaan.
They managed to find among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred virgins who had not had sex with a man. They took them to the camp in Shiloh, in the land of Canaan.
13 Da sendte den ganske Menighed hen, og de lode tale med Benjamins Børn, som vare paa Klippen Bimmon; og de tilbøde dem Fred.
Then the whole assembly sent a message to the Benjamites at Pomegranate Rock to tell them, “Peace!”
14 Saa kom Benjamin tilbage paa samme Tid, og de gave dem de Hustruer, som de havde ladet leve af Kvinderne fra Jabes i Gilead; og de fandt ikke saaledes nok til dem.
So the men of Benjamin went back home, and gave to them the four hundred women from Jabesh-gilead who had been spared as wives. However, there wasn't enough for all of them.
15 Da gjorde det Folket ondt for Benjamin, fordi Herren havde gjort et Skaar i Israels Stammer.
The people felt sorry for the Benjamites because the Lord had made this empty hole among the Israelite tribes.
16 Og Menighedens Ældste sagde: Hvad skulle vi gøre ved de overblevne, at de kunne faa Hustruer? thi Kvinderne af Benjamin ere udryddede.
The elders of the assembly asked, “What shall we do to supply the remaining wives because all the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?”
17 Og de sagde: De undkomnes Ejendom skal høre Benjamin til, at ikke een Stamme skal blive udslettet af Israel.
They added, “There have to be heirs for the Benjamite survivors—an Israelite tribe of Israel can't be wiped out.
18 Men vi kunne ikke give dem Hustruer af vore Døtre; thi Israels Børn have svoret og sagt: Forbandet være den, som giver Benjamin en Hustru!
But we can't let them have our daughters as wives, since we as the people of Israel swore a sacred oath, saying, ‘Anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite is cursed!’”
19 Og de sagde: Se, der er Aar for Aar Herrens Højtid i Silo, som ligger Nord for Bethel, mod Solens Opgang, paa den alfare Vej, som gaar op fra Bethel til Sikem, og Syd for Lebona.
Then they said, “Look! Every year there's the Lord's festival in Shiloh. It's held north of Bethel, and east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, south of Lebonah.”
20 Og de befalede Benjamins Børn og sagde: Gaar hen og lurer i Vingaardene!
So they ordered the Benjamites, “Go and hide in the vineyards.
21 Og I skulle se til, og se, dersom Silos Døtre gaa ud at danse, da maa I gaa ud af Vingaardene og gribe eder hver sin Hustru af Silos Døtre, og I skulle gaa til Benjamins Land.
Keep a lookout, and when you see the young women from Shiloh come out to perform their dances, run out from the vineyards, and each of you abduct a wife for yourself and go back home to the land of Benjamin.
22 Og det skal ske, naar deres Fædre eller deres Brødre komme at gaa i Rette med os, da ville vi sige til dem: Værer dem naadige for vor Skyld, fordi vi ikke have skaffet dem hver sin Hustru i Krigen; thi I have heller ikke givet dem Hustruer; eller skulle I nu have været skyldige.
If their fathers or brothers come complaining to us, we'll tell them, ‘Please do us a favor, because we couldn't find enough wives for them in the war. And it's not as if you're guilty of breaking the oath since you didn't give them in marriage.”
23 Og Benjamins Børn gjorde saaledes og toge Hustruer efter deres Tal af dem, som dansede, hvilke de røvede; og de gik og kom tilbage til deres Arv og byggede Stæderne og boede i dem.
The Benjaminites did as they were ordered. Each man grabbed one of the women dancers up to the total needed and carried her off to be his wife. Then they went back to their own land, where they rebuilt their towns and lived in them.
24 Saa vandrede Israels Børn derfra paa samme Tid, hver til sin Stamme og til sin Slægt; og de udgik derfra, hver til sin Arv.
Then the Israelites left and went home to their tribes and families, each one going to the land they owned.
25 I disse Dage var ingen Konge i Israel; hver gjorde det, som var ret for hans Øjne.
At that time Israel didn't have a king—everyone did what they themselves thought was the right thing to do.
