Josua 2

1 Josua, Nuns Søn, udsendte hemmeligt fra Sjittim to Mænd som Spejdere med den Befaling: »Gaa hen og undersøg Landet, særlig Jeriko!« De gav sig da paa Vej og kom ind i et Hus til en Skøge ved Navn Rahab, og der lagde de sig til Hvile.

And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men as spies secretly, saying, Go, view the land, and Jericho. And they went and came into the house of a harlot whose name was Rahab, and lay there.

2 Da blev der meldt Kongen af Jeriko: »Se, der er kommet nogle israelitiske Mænd hertil i Nat for at udspejde Landet!«

And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there came men in hither to-night of the children of Israel to search out the land.

3 Og Kongen af Jeriko sendte Bud til Rahab og lod sige: »Udlever de Mænd, som er kommet til dig; thi de er kommet for at udspejde hele Landet!«

And the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee, that are entered into thy house; for they are come to search out all the land.

4 Men Kvinden tog og skjulte de to Mænd og sagde: »Ja, Mændene kom ganske vist til mig, men jeg vidste ikke, hvor de var fra;

And the woman took the two men, and hid them; and she said, Yea, the men came unto me, but I knew not whence they were:

5 og da Porten skulde lukkes i Mørkningen, gik Mændene bort. Jeg ved ikke, hvor de gik hen! Sæt hurtigt efter dem, saa kan I indhente dem!«

and it came to pass about the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out; whither the men went I know not: pursue after them quickly; for ye will overtake them.

6 Men hun havde ført dem op paa Taget og skjult dem under Hørstænglerne, som hun havde bredt ud paa Taget.

But she had brought them up to the roof, and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in order upon the roof.

7 Mændene satte saa efter dem ad Vejen til Jordan hen til Vadestederne, og Porten blev lukket, saa snart Forfølgerne var udenfor.

And the men pursued after them the way to the Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they that pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.

8 Før de to Mænd endnu havde lagt sig, kom hun op paa Taget til dem;

And before they were laid down, she came up unto them upon the roof;

9 og hun sagde til dem: »Jeg ved, at HERREN har givet eder Landet, thi vi er grebet af Rædsel for eder, og alle Landets Indbyggere er skrækslagne over eder.

and she said unto the men, I know that Jehovah hath given you the land, and that the fear of you is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land melt away before you.

10 Thi vi har hørt, hvorledes HERREN lod Vandet i det røde Hav tørre bort foran eder, da I drog ud af Ægypten, og hvad I gjorde ved de to Amoriterkonger hinsides Jordan, Sihon og Og, paa hvem I lagde Band.

For we have heard how Jehovah dried up the water of the Red Sea before you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that were beyond the Jordan, unto Sihon and to Og, whom ye utterly destroyed.

11 Da vi hørte det, blev vi slaget af Rædsel og tabte alle Modet over for eder; thi HERREN eders Gud er Gud oppe i Himmelen og nede paa Jorden.

And as soon as we had heard it, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more spirit in any man, because of you: for Jehovah your God, he is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath.

12 Men tilsværg mig nu ved HERREN, at I vil vise Godhed mod mit Fædrene Hus, ligesom jeg har vist Godhed mod eder, og giv mig et sikkert Tegn paa,

Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by Jehovah, since I have dealt kindly with you, that ye also will deal kindly with my father’s house, and give me a true token;

13 at I vil lade min Fader og Moder, mine Brødre og Søstre og alt, hvad deres er, blive i Live og redde os fra Døden!«

and that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and will deliver our lives from death.

14 Da sagde Mændene til hende: »Vi indestaar med vort Liv for eder, hvis du ikke røber vort Forehavende; og naar HERREN giver os Landet, vil vi vise dig Godhed og Trofasthed!«

And the men said unto her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business; and it shall be, when Jehovah giveth us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.

15 Derpaa hejsede hun dem med et Reb ned gennem Vinduet, thi hendes Hus laa ved Bymuren, og hun boede ved Muren;

Then she let them down by a cord through the window: for her house was upon the side of the wall, and she dwelt upon the wall.

16 og hun sagde til dem: »Gaa ud i Bjergene, for at eders Forfølgere ikke skal træffe eder, og hold eder skjult der i tre Dage, indtil eders Forfølgere er vendt tilbage; efter den Tid kan I gaa eders Vej!«

And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain, lest the pursuers light upon you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned: and afterward may ye go your way.

17 Mændene sagde til hende: »Paa denne Maade vil vi bære os ad med at holde den Ed, du har ladet os sværge:

And the men said unto her, We will be guiltless of this thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.

18 Naar vi kommer ind i Landet, skal du binde denne røde Snor fast i det Vindue, du har hejst os ned igennem, og saa skal du samle din Fader og din Moder, dine Brødre og hele dit Fædrenehus hos dig i Huset.

Behold, when we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which thou didst let us down by: and thou shalt gather unto thee into the house thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household.

19 Enhver, som saa gaar uden for din Husdør, maa selv tage Ansvaret for sit Liv, uden at der falder Skyld paa os; men hvis der lægges Haand paa nogen af dem, som bliver i Huset hos dig, hviler Ansvaret paa os.

And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we shall be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.

20 Hvis du derimod røber vort Forehavende, er vi løst fra den Ed, du lod os sværge!«

But if thou utter this our business, then we shall be guiltless of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.

21 Da sagde hun: »Lad det være, som I siger!« Saa lod hun dem drage bort; og hun bandt den røde Snor fast i Vinduet.

And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the scarlet line in the window.

22 Men de begav sig ud i Bjergene og blev der i tre Dage, indtil deres Forfølgere var vendt tilbage. Og Forfølgerne ledte overalt paa Vejen uden at finde dem.

And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found them not.

23 Derpaa begav de to Mænd sig paa Tilbagevejen, og efter at være steget ned fra Bjergene gik de over Floden; og de kom til Josua, Nuns Søn, og fortalte ham alt, hvad der var hændet dem.

Then the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun; and they told him all that had befallen them.

24 Og de sagde til Josua: »HERREN har givet hele Landet i vor Magt, og alle Landets Indbyggere er skrækslagne over os!«

And they said unto Joshua, Truly Jehovah hath delivered into our hands all the land; and moreover all the inhabitants of the land do melt away before us.