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, had sent out from Shittim two men as spies, secretly, saying, Go ye, view the land and especially Jericho; and they went, and came unto the house of a woman, a harlot, whose name was Rachab, and they 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 unto the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, men came in hither this 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 to Rachab, saying, Bring forth the men who are come to thee, who came to thy house; for, to search out all the country are they come.

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;

But the woman had taken the two men, and hidden them; and she said, It is true, 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 shutting the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out; I know not whither the men are gone: pursue quickly after them, for ye can 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 had hidden them among 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, by the way to the Jordan unto the fords; and the gate was closed, as soon as those who pursued after them were gone out.

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

But they had not yet laid themselves down, when 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 them, I know that the Lord hath given you the land, and that the terror of you hath fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are become faint-hearted, 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 that the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you, when ye went forth out of Egypt; and what ye have done unto the two kings of the Emorites, who were on the other side of the Jordan, unto Sichon and 'Og, whom ye have 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 when we heard this, our heart melted, and there remained not any more courage in any man, because of you; for the Lord your God is alone God in the heavens above, and upon the 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,

And now swear, I pray you, unto me by the Lord, because I have shown you kindness, that ye will also, for your part, show kindness, unto my father's house; and give me a sure 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!«

That ye will preserve the life of my father, and my mother, and my brothers, 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 said unto her, Our life shall be [doomed] to death instead of yours, if ye tell not this our business; and it shall be, when the Lord giveth us the land, that we will show thee kindness and truth.

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 within the town wall, and within the wall she dwelt.

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 with you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers be returned; and afterward ye may 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 thy oath which thou hast caused 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, this line of scarlet thread shalt thou bind in the window by which thou hast let us down; and thy father, and thy mother, and thy brothers, and all thy father's household, thou must bring together unto thee into the house.

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 will 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 will remain with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if a hand be laid upon him.

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

And if thou tell this our business, then will we be free of thy oath which thou hast caused 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 dismissed them, 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 they remained there three days, until the pursuers were returned; and the pursuers sought throughout all the way, but found nothing.

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.

And the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and related to him all the things 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 the Lord hath given up into our hand all the country; for all the inhabitants of the country are already become faint-hearted because of us.