2 Samuel 24

1 Men HERRENS vrede blussede atter op mod Israel, saa at han æggede David mod dem og sagde: »Gaa hen og hold Mandtal over Israel og Juda!«

And the fury of the Lord was again kindled against Israel, and he stirred up David among them, saying: “Go, number Israel and Judah.”

2 Kongen sagde da til Joab og Hærførerne, der var hos ham: »Drag rundt i alle Israels Stammer fra Dan til Be'ersjeba og hold Mønstring over Folket, for at jeg kan faa Tallet paa det at vide!«

And the king said to Joab, the leader of his army, “Travel through all the tribes of Israel, from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, so that I may know their number.”

3 Men Joab svarede Kongen: »Maatte HERREN din Gud forøge Folket hundredfold, og maatte min Herre Kongen selv opleve det — men hvorfor har min Herre Kongen sat sig sligt for?«

And Joab said to the king: “May the Lord your God increase your people, who are already great in number, and may he again increase them, one hundredfold, in the sight of my lord the king. But what does my lord the king intend for himself by this kind of thing?”

4 Men Joab og Hærførerne maatte bøje sig for Kongens Ord. Joab og Hærførerne forlod derfor Kongen for at holde Mønstring over Israels Folk.

But the words of the king prevailed over the words of Joab and the leaders of the army. And so Joab and the leaders of the military departed from the face of the king, so that they might number the people of Israel.

5 De gik over Jordan og begyndte ved Aroer og Byen, der ligger midt i Dalen; drog ad Gad til og i Retning af Ja'zer;

And when they had passed across the Jordan, they arrived at Aroer, to the right of the city, which is in the Valley of Gad.

6 saa kom de til Gilead og til Hetiternes Land hen imod Kadesj, derpaa til Dan, og fra Dan vendte de sig hen mod Zidon;

And they continued on through Jazer, into Gilead, and to the lower land of Hodsi. And they arrived in the woodlands of Dan. And going around beside Sidon,

7 saa kom de til Fæstningen Tyrus og alle Hivviternes og Kana'anæernes Byer, hvorfra de gik til Be'ersjeba i det judæiske Sydland.

they passed near the walls of Tyre, and near all the land of the Hivite and the Canaanite. And they went into the south of Judah, to Beersheba.

8 Efter at de var draget hele Landet rundt i ni Maaneder og tyve Dage, kom de tilbage til Jerusalem.

And having inspected the entire land, after nine months and twenty days, they were present in Jerusalem.

9 Joab opgav derpaa Kongen Tallet, der var fundet ved Folketællingen, og Israel talte 800 000 kraftige, vaabenføre Mænd, Juda 500 000 Mænd.

Then Joab gave the number of the description of the people to the king. And there were found of Israel eight hundred thousand able-bodied men, who might draw the sword; and of Judah, five hundred thousand fighting men.

10 Men efter at David havde holdt Mandtal over Folket, slog Samvittigheden ham, og han sagde til HERREN: »Jeg har syndet svarlig i, hvad jeg har gjort! Men tilgiv nu, HERRE, din Tjeners Brøde, thi jeg har handlet som en stor Daare!«

Then the heart of David struck him, after the people were numbered. And David said to the Lord: “I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But I pray that you, O Lord, may take away the iniquity of your servant. For I have acted very foolishly.”

11 Da David stod op om Morgenen kom HERRENS Ord til Profeten Gad, Davids Seer, saaledes:

And David rose up in the morning, and the word of the Lord went to Gad, the prophet and seer of David, saying:

12 »Gaa hen og sig til David: Saa siger HERREN; Jeg forelægger dig tre Ting; vælg selv, hvilken jeg skal lade times dig!«

“Go, and say to David: ‘Thus says the Lord: I present to you a choice of three things. Choose one of these, whichever you will, so that I may do it to you.’”

13 Gad kom da til David og kundgjorde ham det og sagde: »Skal der komme tre Hungersnødsaar over dig i dit Land, eller vil du i tre Maaneder jages paa Flugt, forfulgt af din Fjende, eller skal der komme tre Dages Pest i dit Land? Overvej nu, hvad jeg skal svare ham, der har sendt mig!«

And when Gad had gone to David, he announced it to him, saying: “Either seven years of famine will come to you in your land; or you will flee for three months from your adversaries, and they will pursue you; or there will be a pestilence in your land for three days. Now then, deliberate, and see what word I may respond to him who sent me.”

14 David svarede Gad: »Jeg er i saare stor Vaande — lad os saa falde i HERRENS Haand, thi hans Barmhjertighed er stor; i Menneskehaand vil jeg ikke falde!«

Then David said to Gad: “I am in great anguish. But it is better that I should fall into the hands of the Lord (for his mercies are many) than into the hands of men.”

15 Saa valgte David da Pesten. Ved Hvedehøstens Tid begyndte Soten at ramme Folket; og der døde 70 000 Mand af Folket fra Dan til Be'ersjeba.

And the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel, from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people, from Dan to Beersheba, seventy thousand men.

16 Da Engelen udrakte sin Haand mod Jerusalem for at ødelægge det, angrede HERREN det onde, og han sagde til Engelen, som ødelagde Folket »Nu er det nok, drag din Haand tilbage!« HERRENS Engel var da ved Jebusiten Aravnas Tærskeplads.

And when the Angel of the Lord had extended his hand over Jerusalem, so that he might destroy it, the Lord took pity on the affliction. And he said to the Angel who was striking the people: “It is enough. Hold back your hand now.” And the Angel of the Lord was beside the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.

17 Men da David saa Engelen, som slog Folket, sagde han til HERREN: »Det er mig, der har syndet, mig, der har begaaet Brøden; men Faarene der, hvad har de gjort? Lad din Haand dog ramme mig og mit Fædrenehus!«

And when he had seen the Angel cutting down the people, David said to the Lord: “I am the one who sinned. I have acted iniquitously. These ones who are the sheep, what have they done? I beg you that your hand may be turned against me and against my father’s house.”

18 Samme Dag kom Gad til David og sagde: »Gaa op og rejs HERREN et Alter paa Jebusiten Aravnas Tærskeplads!«

Then Gad went to David on that day, and he said, “Ascend and construct an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

19 Og David gik derop efter Gads Ord, saaledes som HERREN havde paabudt.

And David ascended in accord with the word of Gad, which the Lord had commanded to him.

20 Da Aravna, der var ved at tærske Hvede, saa ned og fik Øje paa Kongen og hans Folk, som kom hen imod ham, gik han ud og kastede sig paa sit Ansigt til Jorden for ham;

And looking out, Araunah turned his attention to the king and his servants, passing toward him.

21 og Aravna sagde: »Hvorfor kommer min Herre Kongen til sin Træl?« David svarede: »For at købe Tærskepladsen af dig og bygge HERREN et Alter, at Folket maa blive friet fra Plagen!«

And going out, he adored the king, lying prone with his face to the ground, and he said, “What is the reason that my lord the king has come to his servant?” And David said to him, “So as to purchase the threshing floor from you, and to build an altar to the Lord, and to quiet the plague that rages among the people.”

22 Da sagde Aravna til David: »Min Herre Kongen tage den og ofre, hvad ham tykkes ret! Her er Okserne til Brændoffer og Tærskeslæderne og Oksernes Stavtøj til Brændsel!

And Araunah said to David: “May my lord the king offer and accept whatever is pleasing to him. You have oxen for a holocaust, and the cart and the yokes of the oxen to use for wood.”

23 Min Herre Kongens Træl giver Kongen det hele!« Og Aravna sagde til Kongen: »Maatte HERREN din Gud have Behag i dig!«

All these things Araunah gave, as a king to a king. And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God accept your vow.”

24 Men Kongen svarede Aravna: »Nej, jeg vil købe det af dig for dets fulde Værdi; jeg vil ikke bringe HERREN min Gud Brændofre, som intet koster mig!« Saa købte David Tærskepladsen og Okserne for halvtredsindstyve Sølvsekel;

And in response, the king said to him: “It shall not be as you wish. Instead, I will purchase it from you at a price. For I will not offer to the Lord, my God, holocausts that cost nothing.” Therefore, David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

25 og David byggede HERREN et Alter der og ofrede Brændofre og Takofre. Da forbarmede HERREN sig over Landet, og Israel blev friet fra Plagen.

And in that place, David built an altar to the Lord. And he offered holocausts and peace offerings. And the Lord was gracious to the land, and the plague was held back from Israel.