< Dommer 21 >

1 Og Israels Mænd havde svoret i Mizpa og sagt: Der skal ingen af os give Benjamin sin Datter til Hustru.
Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
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.
And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;
3 Og de sagde: Herre, Israels Gud! hvorfor er dette sket i Israel, at i Dag een Stamme savnes af Israel?
And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in 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.
And it came to pass on the next day, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace 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.
And the children of Israel said, Who is there among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
6 Og det gjorde Israels Børn ondt for deres Broder Benjamin, og de sagde: I Dag er een Stamme afhuggen af Israel.
And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
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.
How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?
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.
And they said, What one is there of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabeshgilead to the assembly.
9 Thi Folket blev talt; og se, da var der ingen af Indbyggerne fra Jabes i Gilead.
For the people were numbered, and, behold, there were none of the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead there.
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.
And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiant, and commanded them, saying, Go and strike the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the 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.
And this is the thing that all of you shall do, All of you shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that has lain by 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.
And they found among the inhabitants of Jabeshgilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which is 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.
And the whole congregation sent some to speak to the children of Benjamin that were in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them.
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.
And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabeshgilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.
15 Da gjorde det Folket ondt for Benjamin, fordi Herren havde gjort et Skaar i Israels Stammer.
And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
16 Og Menighedens Ældste sagde: Hvad skulle vi gøre ved de overblevne, at de kunne faa Hustruer? thi Kvinderne af Benjamin ere udryddede.
Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?
17 Og de sagde: De undkomnes Ejendom skal høre Benjamin til, at ikke een Stamme skal blive udslettet af Israel.
And they said, There must be an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.
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!
Nevertheless we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed be he that gives a wife to Benjamin.
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, Behold, there is a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly in a place which is on the north side of Bethel, on the east side of the highway that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
20 Og de befalede Benjamins Børn og sagde: Gaar hen og lurer i Vingaardene!
Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait 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.
And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come all of you out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go 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.
And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for all of you did not give unto them at this time, that all of you should be guilty.
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.
And the children of Benjamin did so, and took them wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt 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.
And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.
25 I disse Dage var ingen Konge i Israel; hver gjorde det, som var ret for hans Øjne.
In those days there was no king in Israel: every man did that which was right in his own eyes.

< Dommer 21 >