Dommer 6

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

And the sons of Israel do the evil thing in the eyes of Jehovah, and Jehovah giveth 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 is strong against Israel, from the presence of Midian have the sons of Israel made for themselves the flowings 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 it hath been, if Israel hath sowed, that Midian hath come up, and Amalek, and the sons of the east, yea, they have come up against him,

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 encamp against them, and destroy the increase of the land till thine entering Gaza; and they leave no sustenance in Israel, either sheep, or ox, or 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 and their cattle come up, with their tents; they come in as the fulness of the locust for multitude, and of them and of their cattle there is no number, and they come into the land to destroy it.

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

And Israel is very weak from the presence of Midian, and the sons of Israel cry unto Jehovah.

7 Men da Israeliterne raabte til HERREN over Midjaniterne,

And it cometh to pass when the sons of Israel have cried unto Jehovah, concerning 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 Jehovah sendeth a man, a prophet, unto the sons of Israel, and he saith to them, 'Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I — I have brought you up out of Egypt, and I bring you out from a house of servants,

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 deliver you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all your oppressors, and I cast them out from your presence, and I give to 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 say to you, I [am] Jehovah your God, ye do not fear the gods of the Amorite in whose land ye are dwelling: — and ye have not hearkened to 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 messenger of Jehovah cometh and sitteth under the oak which [is] in Ophrah, which [is] to Joash the Abi-Ezrite, and Gideon his son is beating out wheat in the wine-press, to remove [it] from the presence of the Midianites;

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

and the messenger of Jehovah appeareth unto him, and saith unto him, 'Jehovah [is] with thee, O mighty one 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 saith unto him, 'O, my lord — and Jehovah is with us! — and why hath all this found us? and where [are] all His wonders which our fathers recounted to us, saying, Hath not Jehovah brought us up out of Egypt? and now Jehovah hath left us, and doth give 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 Jehovah turneth unto him and saith, 'Go in this — thy power; and thou hast saved Israel out of 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 saith unto him, 'O, my lord, wherewith do I save Israel? lo, my chief [is] weak in Manasseh, and I the least in the house of my father.'

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

And Jehovah saith unto him, 'Because I am with thee — thou hast smitten 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 saith unto Him, 'If, I pray Thee, I have found grace in Thine eyes, then Thou hast done for me a sign that Thou art speaking 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!«

Move not, I pray Thee, from this, till my coming in unto Thee, and I have brought out my present, and put it before Thee;' and he saith, 'I — I do abide till thy return.'

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 hath gone in, and prepareth a kid of the goats, and of an ephah of flour unleavened things; the flesh he hath put in a basket, and the broth he hath put in a pot, and he bringeth out unto Him, unto the place of the oak, and bringeth [it] nigh.

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 messenger of God saith unto him, 'Take the flesh and the unleavened things, and place on this rock — and the broth pour out;' and he doth 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.

And the messenger of Jehovah putteth forth the end of the staff which [is] in His hand, and cometh against the flesh, and against the unleavened things, and the fire goeth up out of the rock and consumeth the flesh and the unleavened things — and the messenger of Jehovah hath gone from his eyes.

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 seeth that He [is] a messenger of Jehovah, and Gideon saith, 'Alas, Lord Jehovah! because that I have seen a messenger of Jehovah face to face!'

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

And Jehovah saith to him, 'Peace to thee; fear not; thou dost 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 Gideon buildeth there an altar to Jehovah, and calleth it Jehovah-Shalom, unto this day it [is] yet in Ophrah of the Abi-Ezrites.

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 cometh to pass, on that night, that Jehovah saith to him, 'Take the young ox which [is] to thy father, and the second bullock of seven years, and thou hast thrown down the altar of Baal which [is] to thy father, and the shrine which [is] by it thou dost cut down,

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 hast built an altar to Jehovah thy God on the top of this stronghold, by the arrangement, and hast taken the second bullock, and caused to ascend a burnt-offering with the wood of the shrine which thou cuttest 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.

And Gideon taketh ten men of his servants, and doth as Jehovah hath spoken unto him, and it cometh to pass, because he hath been afraid of the house of his father, and the men of the city, to do [it] by day, that he doth [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 the men of the city rise early in the morning, and lo, broken down hath been the altar of Baal, and the shrine which is by it hath been cut down, and the second bullock hath been offered on the altar which is 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 say one to another, 'Who hath done this thing?' and they inquire and seek, and they say, 'Gideon 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!«

And the men of the city say unto Joash, 'Bring out thy son, and he dieth, because he hath broken down the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the shrine which [is] 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 saith to all who have stood against him, 'Ye, do ye plead for Baal? ye — do ye save him? he who pleadeth for him is put to death during the morning; if he [is] a god he himself doth plead against him, because he 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!«

And he calleth him, on that day, Jerubbaal, saying, 'The Baal doth plead 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.

And all Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east have been gathered together, and pass over, and encamp in the valley of Jezreel,

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

and the Spirit of Jehovah hath clothed Gideon, and he bloweth with a trumpet, and Abi-Ezer is called 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 messengers he hath sent into all Manasseh, and it also is called after him; and messengers he hath sent into Asher, and into Zebulun, and into Naphtali, and they come up to meet them.

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

And Gideon saith unto God, 'If Thou art Saviour of 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.«

lo, I am placing the fleece of wool in the threshing-floor: if dew is on the fleece alone, and on all the earth drought — then I have known that Thou dost 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 is so, and he riseth early on the morrow, and presseth the fleece, and wringeth dew out of the fleece — the fulness of the bowl, 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 saith unto God, 'Let not Thine anger burn against me, and I speak only this time; let me try, I pray Thee, only this time with the fleece — let there be, I pray Thee, drought on the fleece alone, and on all the earth 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 doth so on that night, and there is drought on the fleece alone, and on all the earth there hath been dew.