2 Mosebog 18

1 Da Jetro, Præsten i Midjan, Moses's Svigerfader, hørte om alt, hvad Gud havde gjort for Moses og hans Folk Israel, hvorledes HERREN havde ført Israel ud af Ægypten,

And Jethro the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done to Moses, and to Israel his people; that Jehovah had brought Israel out of Egypt.

2 tog Jetro, Moses's Svigerfader, Zippora, Moses's Hustru, som han havde sendt hjem,

And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her back,

3 tillige med hendes to Sønner. Af dem hed den ene Gersom; »thi«, havde han sagt, »jeg er blevet Gæst i et fremmed Land«;

and her two sons, of whom the name of the one was Gershom — for he said, I have been a sojourner in a foreign land,

4 og den anden hed Eliezer; »thi«, havde han sagt, »min Faders Gud har været min Hjælp og frelst mig fra Faraos Sværd!«

— and the name of the other, Eliezer — For the God of my father has been my help, and has delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.

5 Og Jetro, Moses's Svigerfader, kom med hans Sønner og Hustru til Moses i Ørkenen, hvor han havde slaaet Lejr ved Guds Bjerg,

And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came to Moses with his sons and his wife into the wilderness, where he encamped at the mountain of God.

6 og han lod Moses melde: »Jetro, din Svigerfader, kommer til dig med din Hustru og hendes to Sønner!«

And he sent word to Moses: I, thy father-in-law Jethro, am come to thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.

7 Da gik Moses sin Svigerfader i Møde, bøjede sig for ham og kyssede ham; og da de havde hilst paa hinanden, gik de ind i Teltet.

And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and did obeisance, and kissed him; and they asked each other [after] their welfare, and went into the tent.

8 Moses fortalte sin Svigerfader om alt, hvad HERREN havde gjort ved Farao og Ægypten for Israels Skyld, og om alle de Besværligheder, der havde mødt dem undervejs, og hvorledes HERREN havde frelst dem.

And Moses told his father-in-law all that Jehovah had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake; all the trouble that had befallen them on the way, and [how] Jehovah had delivered them.

9 Da glædede Jetro sig over alt det gode, HERREN havde gjort mod Israel, idet han havde frelst dem af Ægypternes Haand.

And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness that Jehovah had done to Israel; that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.

10 Og Jetro sagde: »Lovet være HERREN, som har frelst eder af Ægypternes og Faraos Haand!

And Jethro said, Blessed be Jehovah, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh; who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.

11 Nu ved jeg, at HERREN er større end alle Guder, thi netop ved det, de i deres Overmod foretog sig imod dem, frelste han Folket af Ægypternes Haand.«

Now I know that Jehovah is greater than all gods; for in the thing in which they acted haughtily [he was] above them.

12 Derpaa udtog Jetro, Moses's Svigerfader, Brændofre og Slagtofre til Gud; og Aron og alle Israels Ældste kom for at holde Maaltid for Guds Aasyn med Moses's Svigerfader.

And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law in the presence of God.

13 Næste Morgen tog Moses Sæde for at holde Ret for Folket, og Folket stod omkring Moses fra Morgen til Aften.

And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood by Moses from the morning to the evening.

14 Men da Moses's Svigerfader saa alt det Arbejde, han havde med Folket, sagde han: »Hvad er dog det for et Arbejde, du har med Folket? Hvorfor sidder du alene til Doms, medens alt Folket staar omkring dig fra Morgen til Aften?«

And Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did with the people, and said, What is this thing which thou art doing with the people? why dost thou sit alone, and all the people are standing by thee from morning to evening?

15 Moses svarede sin Svigerfader: »Jo, Folket kommer til mig for at raadspørge Gud;

And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to enquire of God.

16 naar de har en Retssag, kommer de til mig, og jeg dømmer Parterne imellem og kundgør dem Guds Anordninger og Love.«

When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known [to them] the statutes of God, and his laws.

17 Da sagde Moses's Svigerfader til ham: »Det er ikke klogt, som du bærer dig ad med det.

And Moses' father-in-law said to him, The thing that thou art doing is not good.

18 Paa den Maade bliver jo baade du selv og Folket der omkring dig ganske udmattet, thi det Arbejde er dig for anstrengende, du kan ikke overkomme det alene.

Thou wilt be quite exhausted, both thou and this people that is with thee; for the thing is too heavy for thee: thou canst not perform it alone.

19 Læg dig nu paa Sinde, hvad jeg siger; jeg vil give dig et Raad, og Gud skal være med dig: Du skal selv træde frem for Gud paa Folkets Vegne og forelægge Gud de forefaldende Sager;

Hearken now to my voice: I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee. Be thou for the people with God, and bring the matters before God;

20 og du skal indskærpe dem Anordningerne og Lovene og lære dem den Vej, de skal vandre, og hvad de har at gøre.

and teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they must walk, and the work that they must do.

21 Men du skal af hele Folket udvælge dig dygtige Mænd, som frygter Gud, Mænd, som er til at lide paa og hader uretfærdig Vinding, og dem skal du sætte over dem som Forstandere, nogle over tusinde, andre over hundrede, andre over halvtredsindstyve, andre over ti;

But do thou provide among all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place [them] over them, chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds, chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens,

22 lad dem til Stadighed holde Ret for Folket. Alle vigtigere Sager skal de forebringe dig, men alle mindre Sager skal de selv afgøre. Let dig saaledes Arbejdet og lad dem komme til at bære Byrden med dig.

that they may judge the people at all times; and it shall be [that] they shall bring to thee every great matter, and that they shall judge every small matter, and they shall lighten [the task] on thee, and they shall bear [it] with thee.

23 Dersom du handler saaledes og Gud vil det saa, kan du holde ud, og alt Folket der kan gaa tilfreds hjem.«

If thou do this thing, and God command thee [so], thou wilt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.

24 Moses fulgte sin Svigerfaders Raad og gjorde alt, hvad han foreslog.

And Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said.

25 Og Moses udvalgte dygtige Mænd af hele Israel og gjorde dem til Øverster over Folket, til Forstandere, nogle over tusinde, andre over hundrede, andre over halvtredsindstyve, andre over ti.

And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds, chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens.

26 De holdt derpaa til Stadighed Ret for Folket; de vanskelige Sager forebragte de Moses, men alle mindre Sager afgjorde de selv.

And they judged the people at all times: the hard matters they brought to Moses, but every small matter they judged.

27 Derpaa tog Moses Afsked med sin Svigerfader, og denne begav sig til sit Land.

And Moses sent away his father-in-law, and he departed into his land.