1 Samuel 23

1 Da fik David at vide, at Filisterne belejrede Ke'ila og plyndrede Tærskepladserne.

One day someone told David, “You need to know that the Philistia army is attacking Keilah [town] and they are stealing grain from where men are threshing it.”

2 Og David raadspurgte HERREN: »Skal jeg drage hen og slaa Filisterne der?« HERREN svarede David; »Drag hen og slaa Filisterne og befri Ke'ila!«

David asked Yahweh, “Should my men and I go to fight against those men from the Philistia people-group?” Yahweh answered, “Yes, go. Attack them, and rescue the people of Keilah.”

3 Men Davids Mænd sagde til ham: »Se, vi lever i stadig Frygt her i Juda; kan der saa være Tale om, at vi skal drage til Ke'ila mod Filisternes Slagrækker?«

But David’s men said to him, “We are afraid [that Saul will attack us] here in Judah. We will be more afraid if we go to Keilah where the Philistia army is!”

4 Da raadspurgte David paa ny HERREN, og HERREN svarede ham: »Drag ned til Ke'ila, thi jeg giver Filisterne i din Haand!«

So David asked Yahweh again [if they should go to Keilah]. Yahweh answered, “Yes, go down to Keilah. I will help you to defeat the men of the Philistia people-group.”

5 David og hans Mænd drog da til Ke'ila, angreb Filisterne, bortførte deres Kvæg og tilføjede dem et stort Nederlag. Saaledes befriede David Ke'ilas Indbyggere.

So David and his men went to Keilah. They fought against the men of the Philistia people-group and captured many of their cattle. David and his men killed many of the Philistia men and rescued the people of Keilah.

6 Dengang Ebjatar, Ahimeleks Søn, flygtede til David — han drog med David ned til Ke'ila — havde han Efoden med.

Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech, fled to be with David at Keilah, and he brought the sacred vest with him [to use it to determine what God wanted to be done].

7 Da Saul fik at vide, at David var kommet til Ke'ila, sagde han: »Gud har givet ham i min Haand! Thi han lukkede sig selv inde, da han gik ind i en By med Porte og Slaaer.«

Soon Saul found out that David was at Keilah. So he said, “That is good! God is enabling me to capture him! He has trapped himself in that town, because it has high walls with gates around it.”

8 Derfor stævnede Saul hele Folket sammen for at drage ned til Ke'ila og omringe David og hans Mænd.

So Saul summoned his army, and they prepared to go down to Keilah to attack David and his men.

9 Da David hørte, at Saul pønsede paa ondt imod ham, sagde han til Præsten Ebjatar: »Bring Efoden hid!«

But David found out that Saul was planning [for his army] to attack him. So he said to Abiathar the priest, “Bring [here] the sacred vest.”

10 Derpaa sagde David: »HERRE, Israels Gud! Din Tjener har hørt, at Saul har i Sinde at gaa mod Ke'ila og ødelægge Byen for min Skyld.

[So when Abiathar brought it, ] David prayed, “Yahweh, God of us Israelis, I have heard that Saul is planning to come here [with his army] and destroy Keilah because I am here.

11 Vil Folkene i Ke'ila overgive mig i Sauls Haand? Vil Saul drage herned, som din Tjener har hørt? HERRE, Israels Gud, kundgør din Tjener det!« HERREN svarede: »Ja, han vil!«

Will Saul come down [here to Keilah], as people reported to me? Will the leaders of Keilah enable Saul to capture me? Yahweh, God of us Israelis, please tell me!” Yahweh answered, “Yes, Saul will come down.”

12 Saa spurgte David: »Vil Folkene i Ke'ila overgive mig og mine Mænd til Saul?« HERREN svarede: »Ja, de vil!«

Then David asked, “Will the leaders of Keilah enable Saul’s army to capture me and my men [if we stay here]?” [By means of the stones in the sacred vest], Yahweh replied, “Yes, they will.”

13 Da brød David op med sine Mænd, henved 600 i Tal, og de drog bort fra Ke'ila og flakkede om fra Sted til Sted. Men da Saul fik at vide, at David var sluppet bort fra Ke'ila, opgav han sit Togt.

So David and his 600 men left Keilah. They continued to move from one place to another, [wherever they thought that Saul would not find them]. And when Saul found out that David had escaped from Keilah, he did not go there.

14 Nu opholdt David sig i Ørkenen paa Klippehøjderne og i Bjergene i Zifs Ørken. Og Saul efterstræbte ham hele Tiden, men Gud gav ham ikke i hans Haand.

David and his men stayed in hiding places in the desert and in the hills of Ziph Desert. Every day Saul [sent men to] search for David, but Yahweh did not allow them to capture David.

15 Og David saa, at Saul var draget ud for at staa ham efter Livet. Medens David var i Horesj i Zifs Ørken,

While David and his men were at [a place named] Horesh in Ziph desert, he found out that Saul was coming there to kill him.

16 begav Sauls Søn Jonatan sig til David i Horesj og styrkede hans Kraft i Gud,

But Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him to continue to trust [God].

17 idet han sagde til ham: »Frygt ikke! Min Fader Sauls Arm skal ikke naa dig. Du bliver Konge over Israel og jeg den næste efter dig; det ved min Fader Saul ogsaa!«

Jonathan told him, “Do not be afraid, because my father will not be able to harm [IDM] you. [Some day] you will be the king of Israel, and I will be the second [most important man in Israel]. My father Saul also knows that.”

18 Derpaa indgik de to en Pagt for HERRENS Aasyn, og David blev i Horesj, medens Jonatan drog hjem.

Then the two of them repeated their solemn promise that Yahweh [had heard them make previously, that they would always be loyal to each other]. Then Jonathan went home, but David stayed at Horesh.

19 Men nogle Zifiter gik op til Saul i Gibea og sagde: »David holder sig skjult hos os paa Klippehøjderne ved Horesj i Gibeat-Hakila sønden for Jesjimon.

Some people from Ziph went to Saul when he was at Gibeah, and they told him, “David [and his men] are hiding in our land [RHQ]! They are hiding in places at Horesh on Hakilah Hill, south of [a place named] Jeshimon.

20 Saa kom nu herned, Konge, som du længe har ønsket; det skal da være vor Sag at overgive ham til Kongen!«

So, O king, come down there any time that you want to. It is our duty to capture him and turn him over to you.”

21 Saul svarede: »HERREN velsigne eder, fordi I har Medfølelse med mig!

Saul replied, “I hope/desire that Yahweh will bless you [for telling that to me].

22 Gaa nu hen og pas fremdeles paa og opspor, hvor han kommer hen paa sin ilsomme Færd; thi man har sagt mig, at han er meget snu.

Go back and find out more about him. Find out exactly where he is staying, and find out who has seen him there. People tell me that he is very clever, [so we need to be clever also to be able to capture him].

23 Opspor alle de Skjulesteder, hvor han gemmer sig, og vend tilbage til mig med paalidelig Underretning; saa vil jeg følge med eder, og hvis han er i Landet, skal jeg opsøge ham iblandt alle Judas Tusinder!«

Find out all the places where he and his men hide. Then come back and tell me everything that you have found out. Then I will [take my army and] go there with you. If David is in any of the clans/caves of Judah, we will search for him [and find him]!”

24 Da brød de op og drog forud for Saul til Zif. Men David var dengang med sine Mænd i Maons Ørken i Lavningen sønden for Jesjimon.

So those people went back to Ziph before Saul went there. At that time David and his men were in Maon Desert, south of Jeshimon.

25 Saa drog Saul og hans Mænd ud for at opsøge ham, og da David kom under Vejr dermed, drog han ned til den Klippe, som ligger i Maons Ørken; men da det kom Saul for Øre, fulgte han efter David i Maons Ørken.

Saul and his soldiers went to search for David, but David heard about that. So he and his men went further [south] to a rocky hill/peak in the Maon Desert. When Saul heard about that, he and his men followed David and his men to the Maon Desert.

26 Saul gik med sine Mænd paa den ene Side af Bjerget, medens David med sine Mænd var paa den anden, og David fik travlt med at slippe bort fra Saul. Men som Saul og hans Mænd var ved at omringe og gribe David og hans Mænd,

Saul and his soldiers were walking along one side of the hill/peak, and David and his men were on the other side. David and his men were hurrying to escape from Saul’s soldiers, because Saul and his soldiers were coming much closer.

27 kom der et Sendebud og sagde til Saul: »Skynd dig og kom! Filisterne har gjort Indfald i Landet!«

But then a messenger came to Saul and said to him, “Come quickly! The Philistia army is attacking the people in our land!”

28 Saul opgav da at forfølge David og drog mod Filisterne. Derfor kalder man det Sted Malekots Klippe.

So Saul stopped pursuing David, and he [and his soldiers] went to fight against the Philistia army. That is the reason that people call that place ‘Escape Rock’.

29 Derpaa drog David op til Klippehøjderne ved En-Gedi og opholdt sig der.

David and his men also left the Maon Desert and went to places to hide safely at En-Gedi.