Dommer 19
1 I de Dage, da der ingen Konge var i Israel, var der en Mand, en Levit, der boede som fremmed i Udkanten af Efraims Bjerge. Han tog sig en Kvinde fra Betlehem i Juda til Medhustru.
At that time the Israeli people had no king. There was a man from the tribe of Levi who lived in a remote place in the hilly area where the tribe of Ephraim lives. He had previously taken as a wife a woman who was a slave. She was from Bethlehem, in the area where the tribe of Judah lives.
2 Men Medhustruen blev vred paa ham, forlod ham og tog til sin Faders Hus i Betlehem i Juda. Da hun havde været der en fire Maaneders Tid,
But she started to sleep with other men also. Then she left him and returned to her father’s house in Bethlehem. She stayed there for four months.
3 drog hendes Mand af Sted efter hende for at overtale hende til at vende tilbage. Han havde sin Tjener og et Par Æsler med. Da han kom til hendes Faders Hus, fik den unge Kvindes Fader Øje paa ham og kom ham glad i Møde;
Then her husband took his servant and two donkeys and went to Bethlehem. He went to ask her to come back to live with him again. When he arrived at her father’s house, she invited him to come in. Her father was happy to see him.
4 og hans Svigerfader, den unge Kvindes Fader, holdt paa ham, saa at han blev hos ham i tre Dage; og de spiste og drak og overnattede der.
The woman’s father asked him to stay. So he stayed there for three days. During that time he ate and drank and slept there.
5 Tidligt om Morgenen den fjerde Dag gjorde han sig rede til at drage bort; men den unge Kvindes Fader sagde til sin Svigersøn: »Styrk dig først med en Bid Brød, saa kan I siden drage bort!«
On the fourth day, they all got up early in the morning. The man from the tribe of Levi was preparing to leave, but the woman’s father said to him, “Eat something before you go.”
6 De blev da og spiste og drak begge to sammen, og den unge Kvindes Fader sagde til Manden: »Bestem dig til at blive Natten over og gør dig til gode!«
So the two men sat down to eat and drink together. Then the woman’s father said to him, “Please stay another night. Relax/Rest and have a joyful time.”
7 Men Manden gjorde sig rede til at drage bort. Da nødte hans Svigerfader ham, saa han atter overnattede der.
The man from the tribe of Levi wanted to leave, but the woman’s father requested him to stay one more night. So he stayed again that night.
8 Tidligt om Morgenen den femte Dag vilde han drage bort, men den unge Kvindes Fader sagde til ham: »Styrk dig først!« De ventede da, til Dagen hældede, og spiste og drak begge to.
On the fifth day, the man got up early and prepared to leave. But the woman’s father said to him again, “Have something to eat. Wait until this afternoon, [and then leave].” So the two men ate together.
9 Saa gjorde Manden sig rede til at drage bort med sin Medhustru og sin Tjener. Men hans Svigerfader, den unge Kvindes Fader, sagde til ham: »Se, det lider mod Aften, overnat dog her; se, Dagen hælder, bliv dog her i Nat og gør dig til gode, saa kan I i Morgen tidlig begive eder paa Vej og du drage til dit Hjem!«
In the afternoon, when the man from the tribe of Levi and his slave wife and his servant got up to leave, the woman’s father said, “It will soon be dark. The day is almost over. Stay here tonight and have a good/joyful time. Tomorrow morning you can get up early and leave for your home.”
10 Men Manden vilde ikke blive Natten over; han begav sig paa Vej og kom ud for Jebus, det er Jerusalem, fulgt af sine to belæssede Æsler, sin Medhustru og sin Tjener.
But the man from the tribe of Levi did not want to stay for another night. He put saddles on his two donkeys, and started to go with his slave wife [and his servant] toward Jebus [city], which is [now named] Jerusalem.
11 Da de var i Nærheden af Jebus og Dagen hældede stærkt, sagde Tjeneren til sin Herre: »Kom, lad os tage ind her i Jebusiternes By og blive der Natten over!«
Late in the afternoon, they came near to Jebus. The servant said to his master, “We should stop in this city where the Jebus people-group live, and stay here tonight.”
12 Men hans Herre svarede: »Vi vil ikke tage ind i en By, der ejes af fremmede, som ikke hører til Israeliterne, men vi vil drage videre til Gibea!«
But his master said, “No, it would not be good for us to stay here where foreign people live. There are no Israeli people here. We will go on to Gibeah [city].”
13 Og han sagde til sin Tjener: »Kom, lad os tage hen til et af de andre Steder og overnatte i Gibea eller Rama!«
He said to his servant, “Let’s go. It is not far to Gibeah. We can go there, or we can go a bit further to Ramah. We can stay in one of those two cities tonight.”
14 De drog saa videre, og Solen gik ned, som de var ved Gibea i Benjamin.
So they continued walking. When they came near Gibeah, where people from the tribe of Benjamin live, the sun was setting.
15 Saa bøjede de af i den Retning for at naa til Gibea og overnatte der. Da han var kommet derind, Blev han paa Byens Torv; men der var ingen, som bød dem ind i sit Hus for Natten.
They stopped to stay there that night. They went to the public square of that city and sat down. But no one [who passed by] invited them to stay in their house for that night.
16 Saa kom der om Aftenen en gammel Mand fra sit Arbejde paa Marken, og Manden var fra Efraims Bjerge og boede som fremmed i Gibea, medens Stedets Indbyggere var Benjaminiter;
Finally, in the evening, an old man came by. He had been working in the fields. He was from the hilly area of the tribe of Ephraim, but at that time he was living in Gibeah.
17 og da den gamle Mand saa op og fik Øje paa den vejfarende Mand paa Byens Torv, spurgte han: »Hvorhen gælder Rejsen, og hvorfra kommer du?«
He realized that the man from the tribe of Levi was only traveling and did not have a home in that city. So he asked the man, “Where have you come from? And where are you going?”
18 Han svarede ham: »Vi er paa Rejse fra Betlehem i Juda til Udkanten af Efraims Bjerge, hvor jeg har hjemme; jeg har været i Betlehem i Juda og er nu paa Vejen hjem; men der er ingen, som byder mig ind i sit Hus,
He replied, “We are traveling from Bethlehem to my home in the hilly area where people of the tribe of Ephraim live. I went from there to Bethlehem, but now we are going to [Shiloh] where Yahweh’s Sacred tent (OR, my house) is. No one here has invited us to stay in their house tonight.
19 skønt jeg har baade Straa og Foder til vore Æsler og Brød og Vin til mig selv, din Trælkvinde og din Træls Tjener; vi mangler intet!«
We have straw and food for our donkeys, and bread and wine for me and the young woman and my servant. We do not need anything else.”
20 Da sagde den gamle Mand: »Vær velkommen! Lad kun alt, hvad du trænger til, være min Sag; men paa Torvet maa du ikke overnatte!«
The old man said, “I wish that things will go well for you, but I would like to provide what you need. Do not stay here in the square tonight.”
21 Saa førte han ham ind i sit Hus og sørgede for Foder til Æslerne; og da de havde tvættet deres Fødder, spiste de og drak.
Then the old man took them to his house. He gave food to the donkeys. He [gave water to the man and the woman and the servant to] wash their feet. And he gave them something to eat and drink.
22 Men medens de gjorde sig til gode, se, da omringede Mændene i Byen, Niddinger som de var, Huset og hamrede paa Døren og raabte til den gamle Mand, Husets Ejer: »Før Manden, som er taget ind i dit Hus, herud, saa at vi kan stille vor Lyst paa ham!«
While they were having a good/joyful time together, some wicked men from that city surrounded the house and started to bang on the door. They shouted to the old man, “Bring out to us the man who has come to your house. We want to have sex with him.”
23 Men Manden, der ejede Huset, gik ud til dem og sagde til dem: »Nej, mine Brødre, gør dog ikke noget ondt! Naar denne Mand er taget ind i mit Hus, maa I ikke øve saadan en Skændselsdaad!
The old man went outside and said to them, “Friends, I will not do that. That would be a very evil thing. This man is a guest in my house. You should not do such a terrible/disgraceful/shameful thing!
24 Se, her er min Datter, som er Jomfru; hende fører jeg herud, saa kan I skænde hende og handle med hende, som I finder for godt! Men mod denne Mand maa I ikke øve saadan en Skændselsdaad!«
Look, my daughter is here. She is [still] a virgin. And this man’s slave wife is here. I will bring them out to you now. You may do to them whatever you wish, but do not do such a terrible/disgraceful/shameful thing to this young man!”
25 Men Mændene vilde ikke høre ham. Saa greb Manden sin Medhustru og førte hende ud paa Gaden til dem, og de stillede deres Lyst paa hende og mishandlede hende Natten igennem til om Morgenen; først da Morgenen gryede, slap de hende.
But the men did not pay attention to what he said. So the man from the tribe of Levi took his slave wife and sent her to them, outside the house. They raped [EUP] her and abused her all night. Then at dawn, they allowed her to go.
26 Ved Morgenens Frembrud kom Kvinden og faldt sammen ved Indgangen til den Mands Hus, hvor hendes Herre var, og laa der, til det blev lyst.
She returned to the old man’s house, where her husband was staying, but she fell down at the doorway and lay there all night.
27 Og da hendes Herre om Morgenen lukkede Husets Dør op og gjorde sig rede til at drage videre, se, da laa Kvinden, hans Medhustru, ved Indgangen til Huset med Hænderne paa Tærskelen.
In the morning, when the man from the tribe of Levi got up, he went outside of the house to continue his journey. He saw his slave wife lying there at the doorway of the house. Her hands were on the doorsill.
28 Han sagde da til hende: »Rejs dig og lad os komme af Sted!« Men der kom intet Svar. Saa løftede han hende op paa Æselet og rejste til sit Hjem.
He said to her, “Get up! Let’s go!” But she did not answer, [because she had died]. He put her body on the donkey and traveled to his home.
29 Men da han kom hjem, greb han en Kniv, tog sin Medhustru, skar hende i tolv Stykker, Ledemod for Ledemod, og sendte Stykkerne rundt i hele Israels Land;
When he arrived home, he took a knife and cut the body of the slave woman into twelve pieces. Then he sent one piece to each area of Israel, [along with a message telling what had happened].
30 og han gav de Mænd, han udsendte, den Befaling: »Saaledes skal I sige til alle Israels Mænd: Er sligt hidtil hændet, siden Israeliterne drog op fra Ægypten? Overvej Sagen, hold Raad og sig eders Mening!« Og enhver, som saa det, sagde: »Sligt er ikke hidtil hændet eller set, siden Israeliterne drog op fra Ægypten!«
Everyone who saw a piece of the body and the message said, “Nothing like this has ever happened before. Not since our ancestors left Egypt [have we heard of such a terrible thing]. We need to think carefully about it. Someone should decide what we should do.”
