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 did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of Midian 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 the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel; and because of Midian the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.

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

And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east; they came up against them;

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 they encamped against them, and destroyed the produce of the earth, till thou come unto Gaza, and left no sustenance in Israel, neither sheep, nor ox, nor ass.

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 came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came in as locusts for multitude; both they and their camels were without number; and they came into the land to destroy it.

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

And Israel was brought very low because of Midian; and the children of Israel cried unto the LORD.

7 Men da Israeliterne raabte til HERREN over Midjaniterne,

And it came to pass, when the children of Israel cried unto the LORD because of Midian,

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,

that the LORD sent a prophet unto the children of Israel; and he said unto them: 'Thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel: I brought you up from Egypt, and brought you forth 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 I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all that oppressed you, and drove them out from before you, 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 unto you: I am the LORD your God; ye shall not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; but ye have not hearkened unto 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 the angel of the LORD came, and sat under the terebinth which was in Ophrah, that belonged unto Joash the Abiezrite; and his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.

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

And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him: 'The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.'

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 Gideon said unto him: 'Oh, my lord, if the LORD be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where are all His wondrous works which our fathers told us of, saying: Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt? but now the LORD hath cast us off, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.'

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 turned towards him, and said: 'Go in this thy might, and save Israel from the hand of Midian; have not I 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!«

And he said unto him: 'Oh, my lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is the poorest in Manasseh, 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 unto him: 'Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites 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 unto him: 'If now I have found favour in thy sight, then show me a sign that it is thou that talkest with 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!«

Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and lay it before thee.' And he said: 'I will tarry until thou come back.'

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,

And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of meal; the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the terebinth, and presented it.

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 God said unto him: 'Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth.' And he did 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.

Then the angel of the LORD put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there went up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and the angel of the LORD departed 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 Gideon saw that he was the angel of the LORD; and Gideon said: 'Alas, O Lord GOD! forasmuch as 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 unto him: 'Peace be unto 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.

Then Gideon built an altar there unto the LORD, and called it 'Adonai-shalom'; unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

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;

And it came to pass the same night, that the LORD said unto him: 'Take thy father's bullock, and the second bullock of seven years old, and throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath, and cut down the Asherah that is by it;

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 build an altar unto the LORD thy God upon the top of this stronghold, in the ordered place, and take the second bullock, and offer a burnt-offering with the wood of the Asherah which thou shalt cut down.'

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 Gideon took ten men of his servants, and did as the LORD had spoken unto him; and it came to pass, because he feared his father's household and the men of the city, so that he could not do it by day, that he did it 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 the city arose early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was broken down, and the Asherah was cut down that was by it, and the second bullock was offered upon the altar that 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 thing?' And when they inquired and asked, they said: 'Gideon the son of Joash hath done this thing.'

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!«

Then the men of the city said unto Joash: 'Bring out thy son, that he may die; because he hath broken down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the Asherah that was by it.'

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!«

And Joash said unto all that stood against him: 'Will ye contend for Baal? or will ye save him? he that will contend for him, shall be put to death before morning; if he be a god, let him contend for himself, because one hath broken 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!«

Therefore on that day he was called Jerubbaal, saying: 'Let Baal contend against him, because he hath broken down his altar.'

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

Now all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the children of the east assembled themselves together; and they passed over, and pitched in the valley of Jezreel.

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

But the spirit of the LORD clothed Gideon; and he blew a horn; and Abiezer was gathered together after 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 throughout all Manasseh; and they also were gathered together after him; and he sent messengers unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto Naphtali; and they came up to meet them.

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

And Gideon said unto God: 'If Thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as Thou hast spoken,

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.«

behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the threshing-floor; if there be dew on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the ground, then shall I know that Thou wilt save Israel by my hand, as Thou hast spoken.'

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

And it was so; for he rose up early on the morrow, and pressed the fleece together, and wrung dew out of the fleece, a bowlful of water.

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 Gideon said unto God: 'Let not Thine anger be kindled against me, and I will speak but this once: let me make trial, I pray Thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew.'

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

And God did so that night; for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground.