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 priest of Midian, father-in-law of Moses, heareth all that God hath done for Moses, and for Israel his people, that Jehovah hath brought out Israel from Egypt,

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

and Jethro, father-in-law of Moses, taketh Zipporah, wife of Moses, besides her parents,

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 [is] Gershom, for he said, 'a sojourner I have been in a strange 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 [is] Eliezer, for, 'the God of my father [is] for my help, and doth deliver 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, father-in-law of Moses, cometh, and his sons, and his wife, unto Moses, unto the wilderness where he is encamping — the mount of God;

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

and he saith unto Moses, 'I, thy father-in-law, Jethro, am coming unto 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 goeth out to meet his father-in-law, and boweth himself, and kisseth him, and they ask one at another of welfare, and come 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 recounteth to his father-in-law all that Jehovah hath done to Pharaoh, and to the Egyptians, on account of Israel, all the travail which hath found them in the way, and Jehovah doth deliver 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 rejoiceth for all the good which Jehovah hath done to Israel, whom He hath delivered from the hand of the Egyptians;

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

and Jethro saith, 'Blessed [is] Jehovah, who hath delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians, and from the hand of Pharaoh — who hath delivered this 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 have known that Jehovah [is] greater than all the gods, for in the thing they have acted proudly — [He is] 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, father-in-law of Moses, taketh a burnt-offering and sacrifices for God; and Aaron cometh in, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses, before God.

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

And it cometh to pass on the morrow, that Moses sitteth to judge the people, and the people stand before Moses, from the morning unto 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 the father-in-law of Moses seeth all that he is doing to the people, and saith, 'What [is] this thing which thou art doing to the people? wherefore art thou sitting by thyself, and all the people standing by thee from morning till evening?'

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

And Moses saith to his father-in-law, 'Because the people come unto me to seek 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, it hath come unto me, and I have judged between a man and his neighbour, and made known 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 the father-in-law of Moses saith unto him, 'The thing which 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 dost surely wear away, both thou, and this people which [is] with thee, for the thing is too heavy for thee, thou art not able to do it by thyself.

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;

'Now, hearken to my voice, I counsel thee, and God is with thee: be thou for the people over-against God, and thou hast brought in the things unto 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 thou hast warned them [concerning] the statutes and the laws, and hast made known to them the way in which they go, and the work which they 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;

'And thou — thou dost provide out of all the people men of ability, fearing God, men of truth, hating dishonest gain, and hast placed [these] over them, heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads 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.

and they have judged the people at all times; and it hath come to pass, every great matter they bring in unto thee, and every small matter they judge themselves; and lighten it from off thyself, and they have borne 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 dost this thing, and God hath commanded thee, then thou hast been able to stand, and all this people also goeth in unto its place in peace.'

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

And Moses hearkeneth to the voice of his father-in-law, and doth all that he 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 chooseth men of ability out of all Israel, and maketh them chiefs over the people, heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads 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 have judged the people at all times; the hard matter they bring in unto Moses, and every small matter they judge themselves.

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

And Moses sendeth his father-in-law away, and he goeth away unto his own land.