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.

Then did Joshua son of Nun, send out from The Acacias, two men to spy out silently, saying, Go view the land, and Jericho. So they came, and entered 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, —Lo! men, have come in hither to-night of the sons 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!«

So the king of Jericho sent unto Rahab, saying, —Bring forth the men that are come in unto thee who have entered thy house, for, to search out all the land, have 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;

And the woman took the two men and hid them, —and said: Even so, the men did come in unto me, but I knew not from 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, as the gate was about to be shut in the darkness, that, the men, went out, I know not whither the men went, —pursue 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 taken them up to the roof, —and concealed them with the stalks of flax which she had laid in order for herself 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.

So, the men, pursued them by way of the Jordan unto the fords, —the gate being shut as soon as they who pursued them had gone forth.

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

And, ere yet they slept, she, went 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 said unto the men, I know that Yahweh hath given unto you the land, —and that the terror of you hath fallen upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land, have melted away, from 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 Yahweh, dried up, the waters of the Red Sea from before you, when ye came forth out of Egypt, —and what ye did unto the two kings of the Amorites who were over the Jordan unto Sihon and unto Og, whom ye devoted to destruction;

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, then did our heart melt, and there rose up no longer any spirit in any man because of you, —for, as for Yahweh your God, he, is 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,

Now, therefore I pray you, swear unto me by Yahweh, since I have dealt with you in lovingkindness, that, ye also, will deal with the house of my father in lovingkindness, and will give me a token of faithfulness,

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 will save alive my father and my mother, and my brethren and my sisters, and all that they have, —and will deliver our souls 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 souls in your stead unto death, if ye utter not this our business, —so shall it be, when Yahweh shall give us the land, that we will deal with thee in lovingkindness and in faithfulness.

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

And she let them down with a cord through the window, —for, her house, was within the wall of the rampart, and, within the rampart, she was dwelling.

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—To the mountain, get you, lest the pursuers, fall in, with you, —and hide yourselves there, three days until the pursuers return, and, afterwards, shall 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, —Free, will we be from 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.

Lo! when we are coming into the land, this cord of crimson thread, must thou bind in the window by which thou didst let us down, and, thy father and thy mother and thy brethren and all the household of thy father, must thou gather together unto thee unto 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, whosoever shall go forth out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood, shall be on his own head and, we, shall be free, —but, whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood, shall be on our heads, if a, hand, be upon him.

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

Or, if thou utter this our business, then shall we be free from this thine oath which thou hast made us 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 to your words, so, shall it be. Thus sent she them away and they departed, —and she bound the crimson cord 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 into the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers had returned, —so the pursuers, made search, 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.

And the two men returned and came down out of the mountain, and crossed over and came unto Joshua, son of Nun, —and recounted to 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, Yahweh, hath delivered, into our hand all the land, —moreover also all the inhabitants of the land, have melted away, from before us.