Jeremias 38

1 Men da Sjefatja Mattans Søn, Gedalja Pasjhurs Søn, Jukal Sjelemjas Søn og Pasjhur Malkijas Søn hørte Jeremias tale til alt Folket saaledes:

And Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah spoke unto all the people, saying:

2 »Saa siger HERREN: Den, der bliver i denne By, skal dø ved Sværd, Hunger og Pest, men den, som overgiver sig til Kaldæerne, skal leve og vinde sit Liv som Bytte;

'Thus saith the LORD: He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey, and he shall live.

3 thi saa siger HERREN: Denne By skal gives i Babels Konges Hærs Haand, og han skal indtage den« —

Thus saith the LORD: This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it.'

4 da sagde Fyrsterne til Kongen: »Denne Mand maa dø, thi han tager Modet fra Krigsmændene, som er tilbage i denne By, og fra alt Folket ved at tale saaledes til dem; thi denne Mand tænker ikke paa dette Folks Vel, men paa dets Ulykke.«

Then the princes said unto the king: 'Let this man, we pray thee, be put to death; forasmuch as he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them; for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.'

5 Kong Zedekias svarede: »Se, han er i eders Haand.« Thi Kongen evnede intet over for dem.

Then Zedekiah the king said: 'Behold, he is in your hand; for the king is not he that can do any thing against you.'

6 Saa tog de Jeremias og kastede ham i Kongesønnen Malkijas Cisterne i Vagtforgaarden, idet de hejsede ham ned med Reb. Der var ikke Vand i Cisternen, men Dynd, og Jeremias sank i Dyndet.

Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the pit of Malchiah the king's son, that was in the court of the guard; and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the pit there was no water, but mire; and Jeremiah sank in the mire.

7 Imidlertid hørte Ætioperen Ebed-Melek, en Hofmand i Kongens Palads, at Jeremias var kastet i Cisternen; og da Kongen var i Benjaminsporten,

Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, an officer, who was in the king's house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the pit; the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin;

8 gik Ebed-Melek fra Paladset og talte saaledes til Kongen:

Ebed-melech went forth out of the king's house, and spoke to the king, saying:

9 »Herre Konge, ilde har de gjort ved at lade denne Mand dø af Hunger, fordi der ikke er mere Brød i Byen!«

'My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the pit; and he is like to die in the place where he is because of the famine; for there is no more bread in the city.'

10 Saa bød Kongen Ætioperen Ebed-Melek: »Tag tredive Mænd med herfra og drag Profeten Jeremias op af Cisternen, før han dør!«

Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying: 'Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the pit, before he die.'

11 Ebed-Melek tog Mændene med og gik til Kælderen under Skatkammeret i Kongens Palads, hvor han hentede nogle Klude af slidte og iturevne klæder; dem hejsede han med Reb ned til Jeremias i Cisternen,

So Ebed-melech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence worn clouts and worn rags, and let them down by cords into the pit to Jeremiah.

12 idet han sagde: »Læg Kludene om Rebet!« Det gjorde Jeremias,

And Ebed-melech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah: 'Put now these worn clouts and rags under thine armholes under the cords.' And Jeremiah did so.

13 og de drog ham op af Cisternen med Rebet. Saaledes kom Jeremias atter til at sidde i Vagtforgaarden.

So they drew up Jeremiah with the cords, and took him up out of the pit; and Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard.

14 Kong Zedekias sendte Bud og lod Profeten Jeremias hente til sig i Livvagtens Indgang til HERRENS Hus. Og Kongen sagde til ham: »Jeg vil spørge dig om noget, dølg intet for mig!«

Then Zedekiah the king sent, and took Jeremiah the prophet unto him into the third entry that was in the house of the LORD; and the king said unto Jeremiah: 'I will ask thee a thing; hide nothing from me.'

15 Jeremias svarede Zedekias: »Hvis jeg siger dig det, vil du da ikke lade mig dræbe? Og selv om jeg raader dig, vil du dog ikke høre mig.«

Then Jeremiah said unto Zedekiah: 'If I declare it unto thee, wilt thou not surely put me to death? and if I give thee counsel, thou wilt not hearken unto me.'

16 Da tilsvor Kong Zedekias i al Hemmelighed Jeremias: »Saa sandt HERREN lever, som har skabt vor Sjæl, jeg vil ikke lade dig dræbe eller give dig i disse Mænds Haand, som staar dig efter Livet.«

So Zedekiah the king swore secretly unto Jeremiah, saying: 'As the LORD liveth, that made us this soul, I will not put thee to death, neither will I give thee into the hand of these men that seek thy life.'

17 Saa sagde Jeremias til Zedekias: »Saa siger HERREN, Hærskarers Gud, Israels Gud: Hvis du overgiver dig til Babels Konges Fyrster, skal du redde dit Liv; denne By skal ikke afbrændes, og du og dit Hus skal blive i Live;

Then said Jeremiah unto Zedekiah: 'Thus saith the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: If thou wilt go forth unto the king of Babylon's princes, then thy soul shall live, and this city shall not be burned with fire; and thou shalt live, thou, and thy house;

18 men overgiver du dig ikke til dem, skal Byen gives i Kaldæernes Haand, og de skal afbrænde den, og du skal ikke undslippe deres Haand.«

but if thou wilt not go forth to the king of Babylon's princes, then shall this city be given into the hand of the Chaldeans, and they shall burn it with fire, and thou shalt not escape out of their hand.'

19 Men Kong Zedekias sagde til Jeremias: »Jeg er ræd for de Judæere, der er løbet over til Kaldæerne, at Kaldæerne skal overgive mig i deres Haand, og at de skal drive Spot med mig.«

And Zedekiah the king said unto Jeremiah: 'I am afraid of the Jews that are fallen away to the Chaldeans, lest they deliver me into their hand, and they mock me.'

20 Saa sagde Jeremias: »Det gør de ikke! Adlyd kun HERRENS Ord, som jeg taler til dig, saa skal det gaa dig vel, og du skal blive i Live.

But Jeremiah said: 'They shall not deliver thee. Hearken, I beseech thee, to the voice of the LORD, in that which I speak unto thee; so it shall be well with thee, and thy soul shall live.

21 Men vægrer du dig ved at overgive dig, saa hør nu, hvad HERREN har ladet mig skue:

But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that the LORD hath shown me:

22 Se, alle Kvinder, der er tilbage i Judas Konges Palads, førtes ud til Babels Konges Fyrster, medens de sang: Dig forledte og tvang dine gode Venner, de ledte din Fod i en Sump og trak sig tilbage.

Behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah's house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon's princes, and those women shall say: Thy familiar friends have set thee on, and have prevailed over thee; thy feet are sunk in the mire, and they are turned away back.

23 Alle dine Hustruer og Børn skal føres ud til Kaldæerne, og du skal ikke undslippe deres Haand, men gribes af Babels Konges Haand, og denne By skal afbrændes!«

And they shall bring out all thy wives and thy children to the Chaldeans; and thou shalt not escape out of their hand, but shalt be taken by the hand of the king of Babylon; and thou shalt cause this city to be burned with fire.'

24 Saa sagde Zedekias til Jeremias: »Ingen maa vide noget om denne Samtale, ellers er du dødsens;

Then said Zedekiah unto Jeremiah: 'Let no man know of these words, and thou shalt not die.

25 og hvis Fyrsterne skulde faa Nys om, at jeg har talt med dig, og komme til dig og sige: Sig os, hvad du sagde til Kongen; dølg ikke noget for os, ellers dræber vi dig; sig os ogsaa, hvad Kongen sagde til dig!

But if the princes hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and say unto thee: Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the king; hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also what the king said unto thee;

26 sig saa til dem: Jeg fremførte en ydmyg Bøn for Kongen om ikke at lade mig føre tilbage til Jonatans Hus for at dø der.«

then thou shalt say unto them: I presented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me to return to Jonathan's house, to die there.'

27 Og alle Fyrsterne kom til Jeremias og spurgte ham; og han svarede dem nøje, som Kongen havde paabudt. Saa lod de ham i Fred, eftersom Sagen ikke var blevet kendt.

Then came all the princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him; and he told them according to all these words that the king had commanded. So they left off speaking with him; for the matter was not reported.

28 Saaledes sad Jeremias i Vagtforgaarden, lige til den Dag Jerusalem blev indtaget.

So Jeremiah abode in the court of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was taken. And it came to pass, when Jerusalem was taken —