1 Samuel 7

1 Da kom Mændene fra Kirjat-Jearim og hentede HERRENS Ark op til sig og bragte den til Abinadabs Hus paa Højen; og hans Søn El'azar helligede de til at vogte HERRENS Ark.

So the people of Kiriath-jearim came and took the Ark of the Lord. They put it in Abinadab's house on the hill. They dedicated his son Eleazar to take care of the Ark of the Lord.

2 Fra den Dag Arken fik sin Plads i Kirjat-Jearim gik der lang Tid; der gik tyve Aar, og hele Israels Hus sukkede efter HERREN.

The Ark remained there in Kiriath-jearim from that day for a long time, in fact for twenty years. Everyone in Israel mourned and in repentance came back to the Lord.

3 Da sagde Samuel til hele Israels Hus: »Hvis I vil omvende eder til HERREN af hele eders Hjerte, skil eder saa af med de fremmede Guder og Astarterne; vend eders Hu til HERREN og dyrk ham alene, saa vil han fri eder af Filisternes Haand!«

Then Samuel said to all of Israel, “If you sincerely wish to come back to the Lord, then get rid of the foreign gods and the Ashtoreth images you have, and commit yourselves to the Lord and only worship him, and he will save you from the Philistines.”

4 Derpaa skilte Israeliterne sig af med Ba'alerne og Astarterne og dyrkede HERREN alene.

The people of Israel got rid of their Baals and Ashtoreth images and worshiped only the Lord.

5 Da sagde Samuel: »Kald hele Israel sammen i Mizpa, saa vil jeg bede til HERREN for eder!«

Then Samuel said, “Have all the people of Israel gather at Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.”

6 Saa samlede de sig i Mizpa og øste Vand og udgød det for HERRENS Aasyn, og de fastede den Dag og sagde der: »Vi har syndet mod HERREN!« Derpaa dømte Samuel Israeliterne i Mizpa.

Once they had gathered at Mizpah, they drew water and poured it out before the Lord. They fasted that day, and admitted, “We have sinned against the Lord.” Samuel became the leader of the Israelites at Mizpah.

7 Da Filisterne hørte, at Israeliterne havde samlet sig i Mizpa, drog Filisterfyrsterne op imod Israel; og da Israeliterne hørte det, blev de bange for Filisterne.

When the Philistines found out that the Israelites had gathered at Mizpah, their rulers led an attack on Israel. When the Israelites heard about this, they were terrified at what the Philistines might do.

8 Og Israeliterne sagde til Samuel: »Hold ikke op med at raabe til HERREN vor Gud, at han maa frelse os af Filisternes Haand!«

They told Samuel, “Don't stop pleading with the Lord our God for us so he can save us from the Philistines.”

9 Da tog Samuel et diende Lam og bragte HERREN det som Brændoffer, som Heloffer; og Samuel raabte til HERREN for Israel, og HERREN bønhørte ham.

Samuel took a young lamb and presented it as a whole burnt offering to the Lord. He cried out for help to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord responded.

10 Medens Samuel var i Færd med at bringe Brændofferet, rykkede Filisterne frem til Kamp mod Israel, men HERREN sendte den Dag et vældigt Tordenvejr over Filisterne og bragte dem i Uorden, saa de blev slaaet af Israel;

While Samuel was presenting the burnt offering, the Philistines approached to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered extremely loudly against the Philistines that day, which totally confused them, and they were defeated as Israel watched.

11 og Israels Mænd rykkede ud fra Mizpa, satte efter Filisterne og huggede dem ned lige til neden for Bet-Kar.

Then the men of Israel ran out from Mizpah and chased them, killing them all the way to a place near Beth-car.

12 Derpaa tog Samuel en Sten og stillede den op mellem Mizpa og Jesjana; og han kaldte den Eben-Ezer, idet han sagde: »Hidtil har HERREN hjulpet os!«

After this Samuel took a stone and placed it between Mizpah and Shen. He called it Ebenezer, saying, “The Lord helped us right up to here!”

13 Saaledes bukkede Filisterne under, og de faldt ikke mere ind i Israels Land, men HERRENS Haand laa tungt paa Filisterne, saa længe Samuel levede.

In this way the Philistines were kept under control and did not invade Israel again. During Samuel's lifetime the Lord used his power against the Philistines.

14 De Byer, Filisterne havde taget, fik Israel tilbage, fra Ekron til Gat; ogsaa Landet der omkring frarev Israeliterne Filisterne; og der var Fred mellem Israel og Amoriterne.

The towns the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, all the way from Ekron to Gath, and Israel also liberated the neighboring territory from the hands of the Philistines. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.

15 Samuel var Dommer i Israel, saa længe han levede;

Samuel was Israel's leader for the rest of his life.

16 han plejede aarlig at drage rundt til Betel, Gilgal og Mizpa og dømme Israeliterne paa alle disse Steder;

Every year he went around, going to Bethel, Gilgal, and Mizpah. At all these places he ruled Israel.

17 derefter kom han hjem til Rama; thi der havde han sit Hjem, og der dømte han Israel. Og han byggede HERREN et Alter der.

Then he would return to Ramah because that was where he lived. He ruled Israel from there, and also built an altar to the Lord.