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 secretly sent two young men out of Shittim as spies, saying, "Go, view the land, and Jericho." And the two young men went and came to Jericho and entered into the house of a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and slept there.

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

The king of Jericho was told, "Look, men of the children of Israel came in here to spy 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!«

The king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who came to you tonight; for they have come to spy 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;

The woman took the two men and hid them. Then she said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from.

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!«

It happened about the time of the shutting of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out. Where the men went, I do not know. Pursue them quickly; for you 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 on the roof.

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

The men pursued them the way to the Jordan to the fords: and as soon as those who pursued them had gone out, they shut the gate.

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

Before they had lain down, she came up to them on 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 to the men, "I know that Jehovah has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen on 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 you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and to Og, whom you 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.

As soon as we had heard it, our hearts melted, 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, please swear to me by Jehovah, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you 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 you will save alive my father, my mother, my brothers, 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!«

The men said to her, "Our life for yours, even to death, if you do not talk about this business of ours; and it shall be, when Jehovah gives us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with you."

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 on the side of the wall, and she lived on 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!«

She said to them, "Go to the mountain, lest the pursuers find you; and hide yourselves there three days, until the pursuers have returned. Afterward, you 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:

The men said to her, "We will be guiltless of this your oath which you have 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.

Look, when we come into the land, you shall bind this line of scarlet thread in the window which you did let us down by. You shall gather to yourself into the house your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your 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.

It shall be that whoever goes out of the doors of your house into the street, his blood will be on his head, and we will be guiltless. Whoever is with you in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand is on him.

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

But if you talk about this business of ours, then we shall be guiltless of your oath which you have 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.

She said, "According to your words, so be it." She sent them away, and they departed. She tied 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.

They went, and came to the mountain, and stayed there three days, until the pursuers had returned. The pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but did not find them.

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, descended from the mountain, passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun; and they told him all that had happened to them.

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

They said to Joshua, "Truly Jehovah has delivered into our hands all the land. Moreover, all the inhabitants of the land melt away before us."