Første Kongebog 20
1 Kong Benhadad af Aram samlede hele sin Hær, og to og tredive Konger fulgte ham med Heste og Stridsvogne; og han drog op og indesluttede Samaria og belejrede det.
Ben-Hadad, the king of Syria, gathered all his army, and he persuaded 32 other kings to join him with their armies and horses and chariots. They marched to Samaria [city, the capital of Israel], and surrounded it, and [prepared to] attack it.
2 Han sendte nu Sendebud ind i Byen til Kong Akab af Israel
Ben-Hadad sent messengers into the city to King Ahab, to say this to him: “This is what King Ben-Hadad says:
3 og lod sige til ham: »Saaledes siger Benhadad: Dit Sølv og Guld er mit, men dine Hustruer og Børn kan du beholde!«
‘[You must give to] me all your silver and gold, your (good-looking/most beautiful) wives/women and strongest children.’”
4 Israels Konge lod svare: »Som du byder, Herre Konge! Jeg og alt, hvad mit er, tilhører dig.«
The king of Israel replied to them, “Tell this to King Ben-Hadad: ‘I agree to do what you requested. You can have me and everything that I own.’”
5 Men Sendebudene vendte tilbage og sagde: »Saaledes siger Benhadad: Jeg sendte Bud til dig og lod sige: Dit Sølv og Guld og dine Hustruer og Børn skal du give mig!
[The messengers told that to] Ben-Hadad, and he [sent them back with] another message: “I sent a message to you saying that you must give me all your silver and gold and your wives and your children.
6 Saa sender jeg da i Morgen ved denne Tid mine Folk til dig, og de skal gennemsøge dit Hus og dine Folks Huse og tilvende sig og tage alt, hvad de lyster!«
But [in addition to that], about this time tomorrow, I will send some of my officials to search your palace and the houses of your officials, and to bring to me everything that pleases them.”
7 Da lod Israels Konge alle Landets Ældste kalde og sagde: »Der ser I, at Manden har ondt i Sinde, thi nu sender han Bud til mig om mine Hustruer og Børn, og mit Sølv og Guld havde jeg ikke nægtet ham!«
King Ahab summoned all the leaders of Israel, and said to them, “You can see/realize for yourselves that this man is trying to cause much trouble. He sent me a message insisting that I must give him my wives and my children, my silver and my gold, and I agreed to do that.”
8 Alle de Ældste og alt Folket svarede ham: »Hør ham ikke; du maa ikke give efter!«
The leaders and all the other people said to him, “Do not pay any attention to him! Do not do what he is requesting!”
9 Da sagde han til Benhadads Sendebud: »Sig til min Herre Kongen: Alt, hvad du første Gang krævede af din Træl, vil jeg gøre, men dette Krav kan jeg ikke opfylde!« Med det Svar vendte Sendebudene tilbage.
So Ahab said to Ben-Hadad’s messengers, “Tell the king that I agree to give him the things that he first requested, but I do not agree to allow his officials to take anything that they want from my palace and from the houses of my officials.” So the messengers [reported that to King Ben-Hadad, and they] returned with another message from Ben-Hadad.
10 Da sendte Benhadad Bud til ham og lod sige: »Guderne ramme mig baade med det ene og det andet, om Støvet i Samaria forslaar til at fylde Hænderne paa alle de Krigere, der følger mig!«
In that message he said, “[We will destroy] your city [completely, with the result that] there will not be enough dust and rubble left for each of my soldiers to have one handful! I hope/wish that the gods will strike me dead if we do not do that!”
11 Men Israels Konge lod svare: »Sig saaledes: Den, der spænder Bæltet, skal ikke rose sig som den, der løser det!«
King Ahab replied [to the messengers], “Tell King Ben-Hadad that a soldier who is putting on his armor [preparing to fight a battle] [MTY] should not boast at that time; he [should wait until] after he wins the battle.”
12 Benhadad modtog Svaret, just som han sad og drak sammen med Kongerne i Løvhytterne; da sagde han til sine Folk: »Til Storm!« Og de gjorde sig rede til at storme Byen.
Ben-Hadad heard that message while he and the other rulers were drinking [wine] in their temporary shelters. He told his men to prepare to attack [MTY] the city. So his men did that.
13 Men en Profet traadte hen til Kong Akab af Israel og sagde: »Saa siger HERREN: Ser du hele den vældige Menneskemængde der? Se, jeg giver den i Dag i din Haand, og du skal kende, at jeg er HERREN!«
At that moment, a prophet came to King Ahab and said to him, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘[Do not be at all afraid of] [RHQ] the large enemy army that you see! I will enable your army to defeat them today, and you will know that it is I, Yahweh, [who have the power to do what I say that I will do].’”
14 Akab spurgte: »Ved hvem?« Han svarede: »Saa siger HERREN: Ved Fogedernes Folk!« Derpaa spurgte han: »Hvem skal aabne Kampen?« Han svarede: »Du!«
Ahab asked, “What group [of our army] will defeat them?” The prophet replied, “The young soldiers who are commanded by the district governors will do it.” The king asked, “Who should lead the attack?” The prophet replied, “You should!”
15 Saa mønstrede han Fogedernes Folk, og de var 232; derefter mønstrede han hele Hæren, alle Israeliterne, 7000 Mand.
So Ahab gathered the young soldiers who were commanded by the district governors. There were 232 of those men. Then he also summoned all the Israeli army. There were [only] 7,000 soldiers.
16 Og ved Middagstid gjorde de et Udfald, just som Benhadad og de to og tredive Konger, der fulgte ham, sad og drak i Løvhytterne.
They started to attack at noon, while Ben-Hadad and the other rulers were getting drunk in their temporary shelters.
17 Først rykkede Fogedernes Folk ud. Man sendte da Bud til Benhadad og meldte: »Der rykker Mænd ud fra Samaria!«
The young soldiers advanced first. Some scouts who had been sent out by Ben-Hadad reported to him, “There are men coming out of Samaria [city]”!
18 Da sagde han: »Hvad enten de rykker ud for at faa Fred eller for at kæmpe, saa grib dem levende!«
He said, “It does not matter whether they are coming to fight against us or to ask for peace. Capture them, but do not kill them
19 Da Fogedernes Folk og Hæren, som fulgte efter, var rykket ud fra Byen,
The young Israeli soldiers went out of the city to attack [the Syrian army], and the other soldiers in the Israeli army followed them.
20 huggede de ned for Fode, saa at Aramæerne tog Flugten; og Israeliterne satte efter dem. Men Kong Benhadad af Aram undslap til Hest sammen med nogle Ryttere.
Each [Israeli soldier] killed a [Syrian] soldier. The rest of the Syrian army then ran away, and the Israeli soldiers pursued them. But King Ben-Hadad escaped riding his horse, along with some other men riding horses.
21 Da rykkede Israels Konge ud og gjorde Hestene og Vognene til Bytte, og han tilføjede Aramæerne et stort Nederlag.
Then the king of Israel went out [of the city], and he and his soldiers captured [all] the [other Syrian] horses and chariots, and also killed a large number of Syrian soldiers.
22 Men Profeten traadte hen til Israels Konge og sagde til ham: »Tag dig sammen og se vel til, hvad du vil gøre, thi næste Aar drager Arams Konge op imod dig igen!«
Then that same prophet went to King Ahab and said to him, “Go back and prepare your soldiers, and think carefully about what will be necessary for you to do, because the king of Syria with attack with his army again in the springtime of next year.”
23 Men Aramæerkongens Folk sagde til ham: »Deres Gud er en Bjerggud, derfor blev de os for stærke; men lad os se, om vi ikke kan blive de stærkeste, naar vi angriber dem paa Slettelandet!
[After the Syrian army was defeated, ] Ben-Hadad’s officials said to him, “The gods that the Israelis [worship] are gods [who live] in the hills. [Samaria is built on a hill, and] that is why their soldiers were able to defeat us. But if we fight against them in the plains/lowlands, we certainly will be able to defeat them.
24 Saaledes skal du gøre: Afsæt alle Kongerne, sæt Statholdere i deres Sted
So, this is what you should do: You must remove the 32 kings [who are leading your troops] and replace them with army commanders.
25 og stil lige saa stor en Hær paa Benene som den, du mistede, og lige saa mange Heste og Vogne som før! Naar vi saa kæmper med dem paa Slettelandet, sandelig, om vi ikke bliver de stærkeste!« Og han fulgte deres Raad og handlede derefter.
Then gather an army like the army that was defeated. Gather an army that has as many horses and chariots as the first army had. Then we will fight the Israelis in the plains/lowlands, and we will surely defeat them.” Ben-Hadad agreed with them, and he did what they suggested.
26 Næste Aar mønstrede Benhadad Aramæerne og drog op til Afek for at kæmpe med Israel.
In the spring of the following year, he gathered his soldiers and marched [with them] to Aphek [city east of Galilee Lake], to fight against the Israeli army.
27 Ogsaa Israeliterne blev mønstret og forsynede sig med Levnedsmidler, hvorefter de rykkede dem i Møde og lejrede sig lige over for dem som to smaa Gedehjorde, medens Aramæerne oversvømmede Landet.
The Israeli army was also gathered together, and they were equipped with the things that they needed [for the battle]. Then they marched out and formed two groups facing the Syrian army. Their army was very small; they resembled two small flocks of goats, whereas the Syrian army [was very large and] spread all over the countryside.
28 Da traadte en Guds Mand hen til Israels Konge og sagde: »Saa siger HERREN: Fordi Aramæerne siger: HERREN er en Bjerggud og ikke en Dalgud! vil jeg give hele den vældige Menneskemængde der i din Haand, og I skal kende, at jeg er HERREN!«
A prophet came to King Ahab and said to him, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘The Syrians say that I am a god who lives in the hills, and that I am not a god who lives in the valleys. So I will [show that they are wrong by] enabling your men to defeat this huge army [IDM] [in the valley], and you will know that I, Yahweh, [have done it].’”
29 De laa nu lejret over for hinanden i syv Dage, men Syvendedagen kom det til Kamp, og Israeliterne huggede Aramæerne ned, 100 000 Mand Fodfolk paa een Dag.
The two armies stayed in their tents for seven days, in groups that faced each other. Then, on the seventh day, they started fighting. The Israeli army killed 100,000 Syrian soldiers.
30 De, der blev tilovers, flygtede til Byen Afek, men Muren styrtede ned over dem, der var tilbage, 27 000 Mand. Benhadad flygtede ind i Byen, hvor han løb fra Kammer til Kammer.
The other Syrian soldiers ran away into Aphek City. Then the wall of the city collapsed and killed 27,000 more Syrian soldiers. Ben-Hadad also escaped into the city, and hid in the back room of a house.
31 Da sagde hans Folk til ham: »Vi har hørt, at Kongerne over Israels Hus er naadige Konger; lad os binde Sæk om Lænderne og Reb om Hovederne og gaa ud til Israels Konge, maaske han da vil skaane dit Liv!«
His officials went to him and said, “We have heard a report that the Israelis act mercifully. So allow us to go to the king of Israel, wearing coarse sacks around our waists and ropes on our heads/necks [to indicate that we will be his slaves]. Perhaps [if we do that, ] he will allow you to remain alive.”
32 Saa bandt de Sæk om Lænderne og Reb om Hovederne og kom til Israels Konge og sagde: »Din Træl Benhadad siger: Lad mig leve!« Han svarede: »Er han endnu i Live? Han er min Broder!«
[The king permitted them to do that, ] so they wrapped coarse sacks around their waists and put ropes on their heads/necks, and they went to the king of Israel and said to him, “Ben-Hadad, who greatly respects you, says, ‘Please do not kill me.’” Ahab replied, “Is he still alive? He is like a brother to me!”
33 Det tog Mændene for et godt Varsel, og de tog ham straks paa Ordet, idet de sagde: »Benhadad er din Broder!« Da sagde han: »Gaa hen og hent ham!« Saa gik Benhadad ud til ham, og han tog ham op i Vognen til sig.
Ben-Hadad’s officials were trying to find out if Ahab would act mercifully, and when Ahab said “brother,” they (were optimistic/thought that Ahab would be merciful). So they replied, “Yes, he is like your brother!” Ahab said, “Go and bring him to me.” So they [went and] brought Ben-Hadad to him. [When Ben-Hadad arrived, ] Ahab told him to get in his chariot [and sit with him].
34 Benhadad sagde nu til ham: »De Byer, min Fader fratog din Fader, vil jeg give tilbage, og du maa bygge dig Gader i Damaskus, lige som min Fader gjorde i Samaria! Paa disse Vilkaar give du mig fri!« Og han sluttede Pagt med ham og lod ham gaa.
Ben-Hadad said to him, “I will give back to you the towns that my father’s army took from your father. And I will allow you to set up market areas for your merchants in Damascus [my capital], just as my father did in Samaria [your capital].” Ahab replied, “Because you agree to do that, I will not execute you.” So Ahab made an agreement with Ben-Hadad, and allowed him to go home.
35 Men en af Profetsønnerne sagde med HERRENS Ord til sin Fælle: »Slaa mig!« Men han vægrede sig derved.
Then Yahweh spoke to a member of a group of prophets and said to him, “Ask one of your fellow prophets to strike and wound you.” [So he did what Yahweh told him to do]. [He said to one of his fellow prophets, ‘Strike me and wound me].’ But that man refused to do it.
36 Da sagde han til ham: »Fordi du ikke har adlydt HERRENS Ord, skal en Løve dræbe dig, naar du gaar bort fra mig!« Og da han gik bort fra ham, traf en Løve paa ham og dræbte ham.
So the prophet said to him, “Because you refused to obey what Yahweh told you to do, a lion will kill you as soon as you leave me.” And as soon as he left that prophet, a lion suddenly pounced on him and killed him.
37 Saa traf Profetsønnen en anden og sagde til ham: »Slaa mig!« Og den anden slog ham og saarede ham.
Then the prophet found another prophet, and said to him, “Strike me!” So that man hit him [very hard] and injured him.
38 Saa gik Profeten hen og stillede sig paa den Vej, Kongen kom, og gjorde sig ukendelig med et Bind for Øjnene.
Then the prophet put a large bandage/cloth over his face so that no one would recognize him. Then he went and stood alongside the road, waiting for the king to come by.
39 Da Kongen kom forbi, raabte han til ham: »Din Træl var draget med i Kampen; da kom en hen til mig med en Mand og sagde: Vogt den Mand vel! Slipper han bort, skal du svare for hans Liv med dit eget Liv eller bøde en Talent Sølv!
When the king passed by, the prophet cried out to him, saying “Your majesty, [after I was wounded] while I was fighting in a battle, a soldier brought to me one of our enemies that he had captured, and said to me, ‘Guard this man! If he escapes, you must pay me 3,000 pieces of silver, and if you do not pay that, you will be executed!’
40 Men din Træl var optaget snart her, snart der, og borte var han.« Da sagde Israels Konge til ham: »Det er din Dom, du har selv fældet den!«
But while I was busy doing other things, the man escaped!” The king of Israel said to him, “That is your problem! You yourself have said that you deserve to be punished.”
41 Saa tog han hurtig Bindet fra Øjnene, og Israels Konge genkendte ham som en af Profeterne.
The prophet immediately took off the bandage, and the king of Israel recognized that he was one of the prophets.
42 Og han sagde til ham: »Saa siger HERREN: Fordi du gav Slip paa den Mand, der var hjemfaldet til mit Band, skal du svare for hans Liv med dit eget Liv og for hans Folk med dit eget Folk!«
And the prophet said to him, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘You have allowed that man [Ben-Hadad] to escape after I commanded you to be sure to execute him! Since you did not do that, you will be killed instead. And your army will be destroyed because you allowed [some of] his army to escape!’”
43 Da drog Israels Konge hjem, misfornøjet og ilde til Mode, og han kom til Samaria.
The king went back home to Samaria, very angry and depressed/dejected.
