Dommer 6

1 Men da Israeliterne gjorde, hvad der var ondt i HERRENS Øjne, gav han dem syv Aar i Midjans Haand.

And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the Lord: and he delivered them into the hand of Madian seven years.

2 Og Midjan fik Overtaget over Israel. For at værge sig mod Midjan indrettede Israeliterne sig de Smuthuller, som findes i Bjergene, Hulerne og Klippeborgene.

And they were grievously oppressed by them. And they made themselves dens and eaves in the mountains, and strong holds to resist.

3 Hver Gang Israeliterne havde saaet, kom Midjaniterne, Amalekiterne og Østens Stammer og drog op imod dem

And when Israel had sown, Madian and Amalec, and the rest of the eastern nations came up:

4 og lejrede sig imod dem, ødelagde Jordens Afgrøde lige til Egnen om Gaza og levnede intet at leve af i Israel, ej heller Smaakvæg, Hornkvæg eller Æsler;

And pitching their tents among them, wasted all things as they were in the blade even to the entrance of Gaza: and they left nothing at all in Israel for sustenance of life, nor sheep, nor oxen, nor asses.

5 thi de drog op med deres Hjorde og Telte og kom talrige som Græshopper, saa hverken de selv eller deres Kameler kunde tælles, og de trængte ind i Landet for at hærge det.

For they and all their flocks came with their tents, and like locusts filled all places, an innumerable multitude of men, and of camels, wasting whatsoever they touched.

6 Saaledes blev Israel rent forarmet ved Midjaniternes indfald, og Israeliterne raabte til HERREN.

And Israel was humbled exceedingly in the sight of Madian.

7 Men da Israeliterne raabte til HERREN over Midjaniterne,

And he cried to the Lord desiring help against the Madianites.

8 sendte han en Profet til dem, og denne sagde til dem: »Saa siger HERREN, Israels Gud: Jeg førte eder op fra Ægypten, jeg førte eder ud af Trællehuset,

And he sent unto them a prophet, and he spoke: Thus saith the Lord the God of Israel: I made you to come up out of Egypt, and brought you out of the house of bondage,

9 jeg friede eder af Ægyptens Haand og af deres Haand, der trængte eder, og jeg drev dem bort foran eder og gav eder deres Land.

And delivered you out of the hands of the Egyptians, and of all the enemies that afflicted you: and I cast them out at your coming in, and gave you their land.

10 Og jeg sagde til eder: Jeg er HERREN eders Gud; frygt ikke Amoriternes Guder, i hvis Land I bor! Men I adlød ikke min Røst!«

And I said: I am the Lord your God, fear not the gods of the Amorrhites, in whose land you dwell. And you would not hear my voice.

11 Da kom HERRENS Engel og satte sig under Egen i Ofra, som tilhørte Abiezriten Joasj, medens hans Søn Gideon var ved at tærske Hvede i Vinpersen for at have den i Sikkerhed for Midjaniterne.

And an angel of the Lord came, and sat under an oak, that was in Ephra, and belonged to Joas the father of the family of Ezri. And when Gedeon his son was threshing and cleansing wheat by the winepress, to flee from Madian,

12 HERRENS Engel viste sig for ham og sagde til ham: »HERREN er med dig, stærke Kriger!«

The angel of the Lord appeared to him, and said: The Lord is with thee, O most valiant of men.

13 Men Gideon svarede ham: »Ak, Herre! Hvis HERREN er med os, hvorledes er da alt dette kommet over os? Og hvad er der blevet af alle hans Undergerninger, som vore Fædre fortalte os om, idet de sagde: Førte HERREN os ikke ud af Ægypten? Nu har HERREN forstødt os og givet os i Midjans Haand!«

And Gedeon said to him: I beseech thee, my lord, if the Lord be with us, why have these evils fallen upon us? Where are his miracles, which our fathers have told us of, saying: The Lord brought us Out of Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the bands of Madian.

14 Da vendte HERREN sig til ham og sagde: »Drag hen i denne din Kraft, saa skal du frelse Israel af Midjans Haand; sandelig, jeg sender dig!«

And the Lord looked upon him, and said: Go in this thy strength, and then shalt deliver Israel out of the hand of Madian: know that I have sent thee.

15 Men han svarede ham: »Ak, Herre! Hvorledes skal jeg kunne frelse Israel? Se, min Slægt er den ringeste i Manasse og jeg den yngste i mit Fædrenehus!«

He answered and said: I beseech thee, my lord, wherewith shall I deliver Israel? Behold my family is the meanest in Manasses, and I am the least in my father’s house.

16 Han svarede ham: »HERREN vil være med dig, og du skal hugge Midjaniterne ned alle som een!«

And the Lord said to him: I will be with thee: and thou shalt cut off Madian as one man.

17 Da sagde han til ham: »Hvis jeg har fundet Naade for dine Øjne, saa lad mig faa et Tegn paa, at det er dig, som taler med mig;

And he said: If I have found grace before thee, give me a sign that it is thou that speakest to me,

18 gaa ikke herfra, før jeg kommer tilbage til dig og bringer dig min Gave og stiller den frem for dig!« Han svarede: »Jeg skal blive, til du kommer tilbage!«

And depart not hence, till I return to thee, and bring a sacrifice, and offer it to thee. And he answered: I will wait thy coming.

19 Gideon gik da ind og tillavede et Gedekid og usyrede Brød af en Efa Mel; Kødet lagde han i en Kurv, og Suppen hældte han i en Krukke og bar det ud til ham under Egen. Da han kom hen til ham med det,

So Gedeon went in, and boiled a kid, and made unleavened loaves of a measure of flour: and putting the flesh in a basket, and the broth of the flesh into a pot, he carried all under the oak, and presented to him.

20 sagde Guds Engel til ham: »Tag Kødet og det usyrede Brød. Læg det paa Klippen der og hæld Suppen ud derover!« Og han gjorde det.

And the angel of the Lord said to him: Take the flesh and the unleavened loaves, and lay them upon that rock, and pour out the broth thereon. And when he had done so,

21 Da udrakte HERRENS Engel Spidsen af den Stav, han havde i Haanden, og rørte ved Kødet og Brødet. Og Ild slog op af Klippen og fortærede Kødet og Brødet; og HERRENS Engel forsvandt for hans Blik.

The angel of the Lord put forth the tip of the rod, which he held in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened loaves: and there arose a fire from the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened loaves: and the angel of the Lord vanished out of his sight.

22 Gideon skønnede nu, at det havde været HERRENS Engel; og han sagde: »Ve, Herre, HERRE, jeg har jo set HERRENS Engel Ansigt til Ansigt!«

And Gedeon seeing that it was the angel of the Lord, said: Alas, my Lord God: for I have seen the angel of the Lord face to face.

23 Men HERREN sagde til ham: »Fred være med dig! Frygt ikke, du skal ikke dø!«

And the Lord said to him: Peace be with thee: fear not, thou shalt not die.

24 Da byggede Gideon HERREN et Alter der og kaldte det »HERREN er Fred«; det staar endnu den Dag i Dag i Abiezriternes Ofra.

And Gedeon built there an altar to the Lord, and called it the Lord’s peace, until this present day. And when he was yet in Ephra, which is of the family of Ezri,

25 Samme Nat sagde HERREN til ham: »Tag ti af dine Trælle og en syvaars Tyr; nedbryd din Faders Ba'alsalter og hug Asjerastøtten om, som staar derved;

That night the Lord said to him: Take a bullock of thy father’s, and another bullock of seven years, and thou shalt destroy the altar of Baal, which is thy father’s: and cut down the grove that is about the altar:

26 byg saa af Stensætningen HERREN din Gud et Alter paa Toppen af Klippen her og tag Tyren og brænd den som Brændoffer med Træet af den omhuggede Asjerastøtte!«

And thou shalt build an altar to the Lord thy God in the top of this rock, whereupon thou didst lay the sacrifice before: and thou shalt take the second bullock, and shalt offer a holocaust upon a pile of the wood, which thou shalt cut down out of the grove.

27 Gideon tog da ti af sine Trælle og gjorde, som HERREN bød ham; men han gjorde det om Natten, thi af Frygt for sin Familie og sine Bysbørn turde han ikke gøre det om Dagen.

Then Gedeon taking ten men of his servants, did as the Lord had commanded him. But fearing his father’s house, and the men of that city, he would not do it by day, but did all by night.

28 Da Byens Folk næste Morgen tidlig saa Ba'alsalteret nedbrudt, Asjerastøtten ved Siden af hugget om og Tyren ofret paa det nybyggede Alter,

And when the men of that town were risen in the morning, they saw the altar of Baal destroyed, and the grove cut down, and the second bullock laid upon the altar, which then was built.

29 sagde de til hverandre: »Hvem mon der har gjort det?« Og da de spurgte sig for og foretog en Undersøgelse, blev der sagt, at det var Gideon, Joasj's Søn.

And they said one to another: Who hath done this? And when they inquired for the author of the fact, it was said: Gedeon the son of Joas did all this.

30 Og Byens Folk sagde til Joasj: »Udlever din Søn, for at han kan lide Døden, thi han har nedbrudt Ba'alsalteret og omhugget Asjerastøtten ved Siden af!«

And they said to Joas: Bring out thy son hither, that he may die: because he hath destroyed the altar of Baal, and hath cut down his grove.

31 Men Joasj svarede alle dem, der stod omkring ham: »Vil I virkelig stride for Ba'al eller hjælpe ham? Den, der strider for ham, skal dø inden i Morgen! Er han Gud, saa lad ham stride for sig selv, siden hans Alter er nedbrudt!«

He answered them: Are you the avengers of Baal, that you fight for him? he that is his adversary, let him die before tomorrow light appear: if he be a god, let him revenge himself on him that hath cast down his altar.

32 Ved den Lejlighed fik Gideon Navnet Jerubba'al, idet man sagde: »Lad Ba'al stride med ham, siden han har nedbrudt hans Alter!«

From that day Gedeon was called Jerobaal, because Joss had said: Let Baal revenge himself on him that hath cast down his altar.

33 Alle Midjaniterne, Amalekiterne og Østens Stammer sluttede sig sammen, satte over Jordan og slog Lejr paa Jizre'elsletten.

Now all Madian, and Amalec, and the eastern people were gathered together, and passing over the Jordan, camped in the valley of Jezrael.

34 Da iklædte HERRENS Aand sig Gideon, og han stødte i Hornet; og Abiezriterne fylkede sig om ham.

But the spirit of the Lord came upon Gedeon, and be sounded the trumpet and called together the house of Abiezer, to follow him.

35 Og da han sendte Bud ud i hele Manasse, fylkede de sig ogsaa om ham; og han sendte Bud ud i Aser, Zebulon og Naftali, og de drog op før at møde Fjenderne.

And he sent messengers into all Manasses, and they also followed him: and other messengers into Aser and Zabulon and Nephtali, and they came to meet him.

36 Da sagde Gideon til Gud: »Hvis du vil frelse Israel ved min Haand, som du har lovet,

And Gedeon said to God: If thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said,

37 saa lægger jeg nu dette Faareskind paa Tærskepladsen, og falder der saa Dug alene paa Skindet, medens Jorden ellers bliver ved at være tør, da ved jeg, at du vil frelse Israel ved min Haand, som du har lovet.«

I will put this fleece of wool on the floor: if there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry on all the ground beside, I, shall know that by my hand, as thou hast said, thou wilt deliver Israel.

38 Og det skete saaledes. Da han næste Morgen vred Skindet, pressede han Dug af det, en hel Skaalfuld Vand.

And it was so. And rising before day wringing the fleece, he filled a vessel with the dew.

39 Men Gideon sagde til Gud: »Vredes ikke paa mig, naar jeg endnu denne ene Gang taler til dig, lad mig blot denne Gang endnu prøve med Skindet: Lad Skindet alene være tørt, medens der falder Dug paa Jorden rundt om!«

And he said again to God: let not thy wrath be kindled against me if I try once more, seeking a sign in the fleece. I pray that the fleece only may be dry, and all the ground wet with dew.

40 Da gjorde Gud saaledes om Natten: Skindet alene var ført, men der faldt Dug paa Jorden rundt om.

And God did that night as he had requested: and it was dry on the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.