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 to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab, and lodged 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 country.

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, which are entered into thine house: for they be come to search out all the country.

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 said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist 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 shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye shall 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 of the house, 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 Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which 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 the LORD hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land faint because of 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 the LORD dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt; and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites, that [were] on the other side Jordan, Sihon and 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 [these things], our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he [is] God in heaven above, and in 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 the LORD, since I have shewed you kindness, that ye will also shew kindness unto 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 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 answered her, Our life for yours, if ye utter not this our business. And it shall be, when the LORD hath given 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 town 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 meet 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] blameless of this thine oath which thou hast made us 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 bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee.

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 [will 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!«

And if thou utter this our business, then we will be quit 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.

So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all [things] that befell 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 the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.