< Galaterne 4 >

1 Men jeg siger: Saa længe Arvingen er umyndig, er der ingen Forskel imellem ham og en Træl, skønt han er Herre over alt Godset;
What I am saying is that as long as the heir is a child, he is no different from a slave, although he is the owner of everything.
2 men han staar under Formyndere og Husholdere indtil den af Faderen bestemte Tid.
He is subject to guardians and trustees until the date set by his father.
3 Saaledes stode ogsaa vi, dengang vi vare umyndige, som Trælle under Verdens Børnelærdom.
So also, when we were children, we were enslaved under the basic principles of the world.
4 Men da Tidens Fylde kom, udsendte Gud sin Søn, født af en Kvinde, født under Loven,
But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
5 for at han skulde løskøbe dem, som vare under Loven, for at vi skulde faa Sønneudkaarelsen.
to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons.
6 Men fordi I ere Sønner, har Gud udsendt i vore Hjerter sin Søns Aand, som raaber: Abba, Fader!
And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”
7 Altsaa er du ikke længer Træl, men Søn; men er du Søn, da er du ogsaa Arving ved Gud.
So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.
8 Dengang derimod, da I ikke kendte Gud, trællede I for de Guder, som af Natur ikke ere det.
Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods.
9 Men nu, da I have lært Gud at kende, ja, meget mere ere blevne kendte af Gud, hvor kunne I da atter vende tilbage til den svage og fattige Børnelærdom, som I atter forfra ville trælle under?
But now that you know God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you are turning back to those weak and worthless principles? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again?
10 I tage Vare paa Dage og Maaneder og Tider og Aar.
You are observing special days and months and seasons and years!
11 Jeg frygter for, at jeg maaske har arbejdet forgæves paa eder.
I fear for you, that my efforts for you may have been in vain.
12 Vorder ligesom jeg, thi ogsaa jeg er bleven som I, Brødre! jeg beder eder. I have ikke gjort mig nogen Uret.
I beg you, brothers, become like me, for I became like you. You have done me no wrong.
13 Men I vide, at det var paa Grund af en Kødets Svaghed, at jeg første Gang forkyndte Evangeliet for eder;
You know that it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you.
14 og det, som i mit Kød var eder til Fristelse, ringeagtede I ikke og afskyede I ikke, men I modtoge mig som en Guds Engel, som Kristus Jesus.
And although my illness was a trial to you, you did not despise or reject me. Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of God, as if I were Christ Jesus Himself.
15 Hvor er da nu eders Saligprisning? Thi jeg giver eder det Vidnesbyrd, at, om det havde været muligt, havde I udrevet eders Øjne og givet mig dem.
What then has become of your blessing? For I can testify that, if it were possible, you would have torn out your eyes and given them to me.
16 Saa er jeg vel bleven eders Fjende ved at tale Sandhed til eder?
Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?
17 De ere nidkære for eder, dog ikke for det gode; men de ville udelukke eder, for at I skulle være nidkære for dem.
Those people are zealous for you, but not in a good way. Instead, they want to isolate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them.
18 Men det er godt at vise sig nidkær i det gode til enhver Tid, og ikke alene, naar jeg er nærværende hos eder.
Nevertheless, it is good to be zealous if it serves a noble purpose—at any time, and not only when I am with you.
19 Mine Børn, som jeg atter føder med Smerte, indtil Kristus har vundet Skikkelse i eder!
My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you,
20 — ja jeg vilde ønske, at jeg nu var til Stede hos eder og kunde omskifte min Røst; thi jeg er raadvild over for eder.
how I wish I could be with you now and change my tone, because I am perplexed about you.
21 Siger mig, I, som ville være under Loven, høre I ikke Loven?
Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not understand what the law says?
22 Der er jo skrevet, at Abraham havde to Sønner, en med Tjenestekvinden og en med den frie Kvinde.
For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.
23 Men Tjenestekvindens Søn er avlet efter Kødet, den frie Kvindes ved Forjættelsen.
His son by the slave woman was born according to the flesh, but his son by the free woman was born through the promise.
24 Dette har en billedlig Betydning. Thi disse Kvinder ere tvende Pagter, den ene fra Sinai Bjerg, som føder til Trældom: Denne er Hagar.
These things serve as illustrations, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children into slavery: This is Hagar.
25 Thi „Hagar‟ er Sinai Bjerg i Arabien, men svarer til det nuværende Jerusalem; thi det er i Trældom med sine Børn.
Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present-day Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.
26 Men Jerusalem heroventil er frit, og hun er vor Moder.
But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.
27 Thi der er skrevet: „Fryd dig, du ufrugtbare, du, som ikke føder! bryd ud og raab, du, som ikke har Fødselsveer! thi mange ere den enliges Børn fremfor hendes, som har Manden.‟
For it is written: “Rejoice, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have never travailed; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband.”
28 Men vi, Brødre! ere Forjættelsens Børn i Lighed med Isak.
Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.
29 Men ligesom dengang han, som var avlet efter Kødet, forfulgte ham, som var avlet efter Aanden, saaledes ogsaa nu.
At that time, however, the son born by the flesh persecuted the son born by the Spirit. It is the same now.
30 Men hvad siger Skriften: „Uddriv Tjenestekvinden og hendes Søn; thi Tjenestekvindens Søn skal ingenlunde arve med den frie Kvindes Søn.‟
But what does the Scripture say? “Expel the slave woman and her son, for the slave woman’s son will never share in the inheritance with the free woman’s son.”
31 Derfor, Brødre! ere vi ikke Tjenestekvindens Børn, men den frie Kvindes.
Therefore, brothers, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

< Galaterne 4 >