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,
Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses and for Israel his people. He heard that Yahweh had brought Israel out of Egypt.
2 tog Jetro, Moses's Svigerfader, Zippora, Moses's Hustru, som han havde sendt hjem,
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her home,
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; the name of the one son was Gershom, for Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner 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!«
The name of the other was Eliezer, for Moses had said, “My ancestor's God was my help. He rescued me from Pharaoh's sword.”
5 Og Jetro, Moses's Svigerfader, kom med hans Sønner og Hustru til Moses i Ørkenen, hvor han havde slaaet Lejr ved Guds Bjerg,
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with Moses' sons and his wife to Moses in the wilderness where he was camped at the mountain of God.
6 og han lod Moses melde: »Jetro, din Svigerfader, kommer til dig med din Hustru og hendes to Sønner!«
He said to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”
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.
Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, bowed down, and kissed him. They asked about each other's welfare and then 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.
Moses told his father-in-law all that Yahweh had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel's sake, about all the hardships that had come to them along the way, and how Yahweh had rescued them.
9 Da glædede Jetro sig over alt det gode, HERREN havde gjort mod Israel, idet han havde frelst dem af Ægypternes Haand.
Jethro rejoiced over all the good that Yahweh had done for Israel, in that he had rescued them from the hand of the Egyptians.
10 Og Jetro sagde: »Lovet være HERREN, som har frelst eder af Ægypternes og Faraos Haand!
Jethro said, “May Yahweh be praised, for he has rescued you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of Pharaoh, and delivered the people from 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 Yahweh is greater than all the gods, because when the Egyptians treated the Israelites arrogantly, God rescued his people.”
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.
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and sacrifices for God. Aaron and all the elders of Israel came to eat a meal before God with Moses' father-in-law.
13 Næste Morgen tog Moses Sæde for at holde Ret for Folket, og Folket stod omkring Moses fra Morgen til Aften.
On the next day Moses sat down to judge the people. The people stood around him from morning until 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?«
When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing with the people? Why is it that you sit alone and all the people stand about you from morning until evening?”
15 Moses svarede sin Svigerfader: »Jo, Folket kommer til mig for at raadspørge Gud;
Moses said to his father-in-law, “The people come to me to ask for God's direction.
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 dispute, they come to me. I decide between one person and another, and I teach them God's statutes and laws.”
17 Da sagde Moses's Svigerfader til ham: »Det er ikke klogt, som du bærer dig ad med det.
Moses' father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not very 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.
You will surely wear yourselves out, you and the people who are with you. This burden is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it by yourself.
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;
Listen to me. I will give you advice, and God will be with you, because you are the people's representative to God, and you bring their disputes to him.
20 og du skal indskærpe dem Anordningerne og Lovene og lære dem den Vej, de skal vandre, og hvad de har at gøre.
You must teach them his statutes and laws. You must show them the way to walk and the work to 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;
Furthermore, you must choose capable men from all the people, men who honor God, men of truth who hate unjust gain. You must put them over people, to be leaders in charge of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and 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.
They will judge the people in all routine cases, but the difficult cases they will bring to you. As for all the small cases, they can judge those themselves. In that way it will be easier for you, and they will carry the burden with you.
23 Dersom du handler saaledes og Gud vil det saa, kan du holde ud, og alt Folket der kan gaa tilfreds hjem.«
If you do this, and if God commands you to do so, then you will be able to endure, and the entire people will be able to go home satisfied.”
24 Moses fulgte sin Svigerfaders Raad og gjorde alt, hvad han foreslog.
So Moses listened to his father-in-law's words and did everything 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.
Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people, leaders in charge of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens.
26 De holdt derpaa til Stadighed Ret for Folket; de vanskelige Sager forebragte de Moses, men alle mindre Sager afgjorde de selv.
They judged the people in normal circumstances. The difficult cases they brought to Moses, but they themselves judged all the small cases.
27 Derpaa tog Moses Afsked med sin Svigerfader, og denne begav sig til sit Land.
Then Moses let his father-in-law leave, and Jethro went back into his own land.
