2 Samuel 14

1 Da nu Joab, Zerujas Søn, mærkede, at Kongens Hjerte hang ved Absalom,

Now Joab, the son of Zeruiah, understood that the heart of the king had been turned toward Absalom,

2 sendte han Bud til Tekoa efter en klog Kvinde og sagde til hende: »Lad, som om du har Sorg, ifør dig Sørgeklæder, lad være at salve dig med Olie, men bær dig ad som en Kvinde, der alt i lang Tid har sørget over en afdød;

so he sent to Tekoa, and he brought from there a wise woman. And he said to her: “Feign that you are in mourning, and put on the clothing of one who mourns. And do not anoint yourself with oil, so that you may be like a woman who is still grieving for someone who died some time ago.

3 gaa saa til Kongen og sig saaledes til ham« — og Joab lagde hende Ordene i Munden.

And you shall enter to the king, and you shall speak words to him in this manner.” Then Joab put the words in her mouth.

4 Kvinden fra Tekoa gik saa til Kongen, faldt til Jorden paa sit Ansigt, bøjede sig og sagde: »Hjælp Konge!«

And so, when the woman of Tekoa had entered to the king, she fell before him on the ground, and she reverenced, and she said, “Save me, O king.”

5 Kongen spurgte hende: »Hvad fattes dig?« Og hun sagde: »Jo, jeg er Enke, min Mand er død.

And the king said to her, “What problem do you have?” And she responded: “Alas, I am a woman who is a widow. For my husband has died.

6 Din Trælkvinde havde to Sønner; de kom i Klammeri ude paa Marken, og der var ingen til at bilægge deres Tvist; saa slog den ene den anden ihjel.

And your handmaid had two sons. And they quarreled against one another in the field. And there was no one there who would be able to stop them. And one struck the other, and killed him.

7 Men nu træder hele Slægten op imod din Trælkvinde og siger: Udlever Brodermorderen, for at vi kan slaa ham ihjel og hævne Broderen, som han dræbte! Saaledes siger de for at faa Arvingen ryddet af Vejen og slukke den sidste Glød, jeg har tilbage, saa at min Mand ikke faar Eftermæle eller Efterkommere paa Jorden!«

And behold, the whole family, rising up against your handmaid, said: ‘Deliver him who struck down his brother, so that we may kill him for the life of his brother, whom he killed, and so that we may do away with the heir.’ And they are seeking to extinguish my spark that is left, so that there may not survive a name for my husband, nor a remnant upon the earth.”

8 Da sagde Kongen til Kvinden: »Gaa kun hjem, jeg skal jævne Sagen for dig!«

And the king said to the woman, “Go to your own house, and I will make a decree on your behalf.”

9 Men Kvinden fra Tekoa sagde til Kongen: »Lad Skylden komme over mig og mit Fædrenehus, Herre Konge, men Kongen og hans Trone skal være skyldfri!«

And the woman of Tekoa said to the king: “May the iniquity be upon me, my lord, and upon the house of my father. But may the king and his throne be innocent.”

10 Kongen sagde da: »Enhver, som vil dig noget, skal du bringe til mig, saa skal han ikke mere volde dig Men!«

And the king said, “Whoever will contradict you, bring him to me, and he will never touch you again.”

11 Men Kvinden sagde: »Vilde dog Kongen nævne HERREN din Guds Navn, for at Blodhævneren ikke skal volde endnu mere Ulykke og min Søn blive ryddet af Vejen!« Da sagde han: »Saa sandt HERREN lever, der skal ikke krummes et Haar paa din Søns Hoved!«

And she said, “Let the king remember the Lord his God, so that close blood relatives may not be multiplied in order to take revenge, and so that they may by no means kill my son.” And he said, “As the Lord lives, not one hair from your son shall fall to the ground.”

12 Da sagde Kvinden: »Maa din Trælkvinde sige min Herre Kongen et Ord?« Han svarede: »Tal!«

Then the woman said, “Let your handmaid speak a word to my lord the king.” And he said, “Speak.”

13 Og Kvinden sagde: »Hvor kan du da tænke paa at gøre det samme ved Guds Folk — naar Kongen taler saaledes, dømmer han jo sig selv — og det gør Kongen, naar han ikke vil lade sin forstødte Søn vende tilbage.

And the woman said: “Why have you thought such a thing against the people of God, and why has the king spoken this word, so that he sins and does not lead back the one whom he rejected?

14 Thi vi skal visselig alle dø, vi er som Vandet, der ikke kan samles op igen, naar det hældes ud paa Jorden; men Gud vil ikke tage det Menneskes Liv, der omgaas med den Tanke, at en forstødt ikke skal være forstødt for stedse.

We are all dying, and we are all like waters that flow into the ground and do not return. God does not will to lose a soul. Instead, he renews his efforts, thinking that what has been rejected might not perish altogether.

15 Naar jeg nu er kommet for at tale om denne Sag til min Herre Kongen, saa er det, fordi de Folk har gjort mig bange; din Trælkvinde tænkte: Jeg vil tale til Kongen, maaske opfylder Kongen sin Trælkvindes Bøn;

Therefore, now I have come to speak this word to my lord the king, in the presence of the people. And your handmaid said: I will speak to the king, for perhaps there may be some way for the king to accomplish the word of his handmaid.

16 thi Kongen vil bønhøre mig og fri sin Trælkvinde af den Mands Haand, som tragter efter at udrydde mig tillige med min Søn af Guds Arvelod.

And the king listened, and he freed his handmaid from the hand of all who were willing to take away me and my son together, from the inheritance of God.

17 Og din Trælkvinde tænkte: Min Herre Kongens Ord vil være mig en Lindring; thi min Herre Kongen er som en Guds Engel til at skønne over godt og ondt! HERREN din Gud være med dig!«

Therefore, let your handmaid speak, so that the word of my lord the king may be like a sacrifice. For even like an Angel of God, so is my lord the king, so that he is moved by neither a blessing, nor a curse. Then too, the Lord your God is with you.”

18 Da sagde Kongen til Kvinden: »Svar mig paa det Spørgsmaal, jeg nu stiller dig, dølg ikke noget!« Kvinden sagde: »Min Herre Kongen tale!«

And in response, the king said to the woman, “You shall not conceal from me a word of what I ask you.” And the woman said to him, “Speak, my lord the king.”

19 Da sagde Kongen: »Har Joab en Finger med i alt dette?« Og Kvinden svarede: »Saa sandt du lever, Herre Konge, det er umuligt at slippe uden om, hvad min Herre Kongen siger. Ja, det var din Træl Joab, som paalagde mig dette og lagde din Trælkvinde alle disse Ord i Munden.

And the king said, “Is not the hand of Joab with you in all this?” And the woman answered and said: “By the welfare of your soul, my lord the king, it is neither to the left, nor to the right, in all these things that my lord the king has spoken. For your servant Joab himself instructed me, and he himself placed all these words in the mouth of your handmaid.

20 For at give Sagen et andet Udseende har din Træl Joab gjort saaledes. Men min Herre er viis som en Guds Engel, saa han ved alle Ting paa Jorden!«

Thus did I turn to this figure of speech, because your servant Joab instructed it. But you, my lord the king, are wise, just as an Angel of God has wisdom, so that you understand all that is upon the earth.”

21 Derpaa sagde Kongen til Joab: »Vel, jeg vil gøre det! Gaa hen og bring den unge Mand, Absalom, tilbage!«

And the king said to Joab: “Behold, your word has succeeded in appeasing me. Therefore, go and call back the boy Absalom.”

22 Da faldt Joab paa sit Ansigt til Jorden og bøjede sig og velsignede Kongen og sagde: »Nu ved din Træl, at jeg har fundet Naade for dine Øjne, Herre Konge, siden Kongen har opfyldt sin Træls Bøn!«

And falling to the ground upon his face, Joab reverenced, and he blessed the king. And Joab said: “Today your servant has understood that I have found grace in your sight, my lord the king. For you have accomplished the word of your servant.”

23 Derpaa begav Joab sig til Gesjur og hentede Absalom tilbage til Jerusalem.

Then Joab rose up, and he went away to Geshur. And he brought Absalom into Jerusalem.

24 Men Kongen sagde: »Lad ham gaa hjem til sit Hus; for mit Aasyn bliver han ikke stedet!« Da gik Absalom hjem til sit Hus, og for Kongens Aasyn blev han ikke stedet.

But the king said, “Let him return to his own house, but let him not see my face.” And so, Absalom returned to his own house, but he did not see the face of the king.

25 Men ingen Mand i hele Israel blev beundret saa højt for sin Skønhed som Absalom; fra Fodsaal til Isse var der ikke en Lyde ved ham.

Now in all of Israel, there was no man so handsome, and so very stately as Absalom. From the sole of the foot to the top of the head, there was no blemish in him.

26 Og naar han lod sit Haar klippe — han lod det klippe, hver Gang der var gaaet et Aar, fordi det blev ham for tungt, derfor maatte han lade det klippe — vejede det 200 Sekel efter kongelig Vægt.

And when he shaved off his hair, for he shaved it off once a year, because his long hair was burdensome to him, he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels, by the public weights.

27 Der fødtes Absalom tre Sønner og een Datter ved Navn Tamar; hun var en smuk Kvinde.

Then three sons were born to Absalom, and one daughter, of elegant form, whose name was Tamar.

28 Absalom boede nu to Aar i Jerusalem uden at blive stedet for Kongen.

And Absalom remained for two years in Jerusalem, and he did not see the face of the king.

29 Da sendte Absalom Bud efter Joab for at faa ham til at gaa til Kongen; men han vilde ikke komme. Han sendte Bud een Gang til, men han vilde ikke komme.

And so, he sent to Joab, so that he might send him to the king. But he refused to come to him. And when he had sent a second time, and he had refused to come to him,

30 Da sagde han til sine Folk »Se den Bygmark, Joab har der ved Siden af min! Gaa hen og stik Ild paa den!« Og Absaloms Folk stak Ild paa Marken.

he said to his servants: “You know that the field of Joab, the one that is near my field, has a harvest of barley. Therefore, go and set it on fire.” And so, the servants of Absalom set fire to the grain field. And the servants of Joab, arriving with their garments torn, said, “The servants of Absalom have set fire to part of the field!”

31 Da begav Joab sig ind til Absalom og sagde til ham: »Hvorfor har dine Folk stukket Ild paa min Mark?«

And Joab rose up, and he went to Absalom at his house, and he said, “Why have your servants set fire to my grain field?”

32 Absalom svarede Joab: »Se, jeg sendte Bud efter dig og bad dig komme herhen, for at jeg kunde sende dig til Kongen og sige: Hvorfor kom jeg tilbage fra Gesjur? Det havde været bedre for mig, om jeg var blevet der! Men nu vil jeg stedes for Kongen; er der Skyld hos mig saa lad ham dræbe mig!«

And Absalom responded to Joab: “I sent to you, begging that you might come to me, and that I might send you to the king, and that you might say to him: ‘Why was I brought from Geshur? It would have been better for me to be there.’ I beg you, therefore, that I may see the face of the king. And if he is mindful of my iniquity, let him put me to death.”

33 Joab gik da til Kongen og overbragte ham disse Ord. Saa lod han Absalom kalde, og han kom ind til Kongen; og han bøjede sig for ham og faldt paa sit Ansigt til Jorden for Kongen. Saa kyssede Kongen Absalom.

And so, Joab, entering to the king, reported everything to him. And Absalom was summoned. And he entered to the king, and he reverenced on the face of the earth. And the king kissed Absalom.