< Dommer 8 >

1 Men Efraimiterne sagde til ham: »Hvorfor handler du saaledes over for os, at du ikke kaldte os til, da du drog i Kamp mod Midjaniterne?« Og de gik stærkt i Rette med ham.
Then the men of Ephraim said to Gideon, “Why have you done this to us? Why did you fail to call us when you went to fight against Midian?” And they contended with him violently.
2 Men han svarede dem: »Hvad er min Daad i Sammenligning med eders? Er ikke Efraims Efterhøst bedre end Abiezers Vinhøst?
But Gideon answered them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Are not the gleanings of Ephraim better than the grape harvest of Abiezer?
3 I eders Haand gav Gud Midjaniternes Høvdinger Oreb og Ze'eb, hvad har jeg formaaet i Sammenligning med eder?« Og da han talte saaledes, lagde deres Vrede sig mod ham.
God has delivered Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian, into your hand. What was I able to do compared to you?” When he had said this, their anger against him subsided.
4 Da Gideon naaede Jordan, gik han og de 300 Mand, der var med ham, over, udmattede og sultne.
Then Gideon and his three hundred men came to the Jordan and crossed it, exhausted yet still in pursuit.
5 Han sagde da til Folkene i Sukkot: »Giv Folkene, der følger mig, nogle Brød, thi de er udmattede, og jeg er i Færd med at forfølge Midjaniterkongerne Zeba og Zalmunna!«
So Gideon said to the men of Succoth, “Please give my troops some bread, for they are exhausted, and I am still pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
6 Men Høvedsmændene i Sukkot svarede: »Har du allerede faaet fat i Zeba og Zalmunna, siden vi skal give dine Folk Brød?«
But the leaders of Succoth asked, “Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your army?”
7 Da sagde Gideon: »Til Gengæld skal jeg tærske eders Kroppe med Ørkentorne og Tidsler, naar HERREN har givet Zeba og Zalmunna i min Haand!«
“Very well,” Gideon replied, “when the LORD has delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into my hand, I will tear your flesh with the thorns and briers of the wilderness!”
8 Saa drog han derfra til Penuel og sagde det samme til dem; og da Folkene i Penuel gav ham samme Svar som Folkene i Sukkot,
From there he went up to Penuel and asked the same from them, but the men of Penuel gave the same response as the men of Succoth.
9 tiltalte han dem paa lignende Maade og sagde: »Naar jeg kommer uskadt tilbage, vil jeg nedbryde Borgen her!«
So Gideon told the men of Penuel, “When I return in triumph, I will tear down this tower!”
10 Zeba og Zalmunna befandt sig imidlertid med deres Hær i Karkor, henved 15 000 Mand; det var alle dem, der var tilbage af Østens Stammers, Hær; de faldne udgjorde 120 000 vaabenføre Mænd.
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their army of about fifteen thousand men—all that were left of the armies of the people of the east. A hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already fallen.
11 Og Gideon drog op ad Teltboernes Vej østen for Noba og Jogbeha og slog Hæren, der ikke anede Uraad.
And Gideon went up by way of the caravan route east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked their army, taking them by surprise.
12 Zeba og Zalmunna flygtede, men han satte efter dem og fangede de to Midjaniterkonger Zeba og Zalmunna og slog hele Hæren med Rædsel.
When Zebah and Zalmunna fled, Gideon pursued and captured these two kings of Midian, routing their entire army.
13 Da Gideon, Joasj's Søn, vendte tilbage fra Kampen, fra Herespasset,
After this, Gideon son of Joash returned from the battle along the Ascent of Heres.
14 fik han fat i en ung Mand fra Sukkot og spurgte ham ud, og den unge Mand skrev Navnene paa Høvedsmændene og de Ældste i Sukkot op til ham, syv og halvfjerdsindstyve Mænd.
There he captured a young man of Succoth and interrogated him. The young man wrote down for him the names of the seventy-seven leaders and elders of Succoth.
15 Saa drog han til Folkene i Sukkot og sagde: »Se, her er Zeba og Zalmunna, som I haanede mig med, da I sagde: Har du allerede faaet fat i Zeba og Zalmunna, siden vi skal give dine udmattede Mænd Brød?«
And Gideon went to the men of Succoth and said, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, about whom you taunted me, saying, ‘Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna already in your possession, that we should give bread to your weary men?’”
16 Derpaa greb han Byens Ældste, tog Ørkentorne og Tidsler og tærskede Folkene i Sukkot med dem;
Then he took the elders of the city, and using the thorns and briers of the wilderness, he disciplined the men of Succoth.
17 og Borgen i Penuel brød han ned og dræbte Folkene i Byen.
He also pulled down the tower of Penuel and killed the men of the city.
18 Men til Zeba og Zalmunna sagde han: »Hvorledes var de Mænd, I ihjelslog ved Tabor?« De svarede: »De lignede dig, de saa begge ud som Kongesønner!«
Next, Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What kind of men did you kill at Tabor?” “Men like you,” they answered, “each one resembling the son of a king.”
19 Da sagde han: »Mine Brødre, min Moders Sønner var det! Saa sandt HERREN lever; havde I skaanet deres Liv, havde jeg ikke slaaet eder ihjel!«
“They were my brothers,” Gideon replied, “the sons of my mother! As surely as the LORD lives, if you had let them live, I would not kill you.”
20 Derpaa sagde han til sin førstefødte Søn Jeter: »Staa op og dræb dem!« Men den unge Mand drog ikke sit Sværd; han havde ikke Mod dertil, fordi han endnu var ung.
So he said to Jether, his firstborn, “Get up and kill them.” But the young man did not draw his sword; he was fearful because he was still a youth.
21 Da sagde Zeba og Zalmunna: »Staa selv op og giv os Dødsstødet, thi som Manden saaledes hans Styrke!« Saa stod Gideon op og dræbte Zeba og Zalmunna. Og han tog de Halvmaaner, deres Kameler havde om Halsen.
Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, “Get up and kill us yourself, for as the man is, so is his strength.” So Gideon got up and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent ornaments from the necks of their camels.
22 Derefter sagde Israeliterne til Gideon: »Vær vor Hersker, du selv og siden din Søn og din Sønnesøn, da du nu har frelst os af Midjaniternes Haand!«
Then the Israelites said to Gideon, “Rule over us—you and your son and grandson—for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.”
23 Men Gideon svarede dem: »Hverken jeg eller min Søn vil herske over eder; HERREN skal herske over eder!«
But Gideon replied, “I will not rule over you, nor will my son. The LORD shall rule over you.”
24 Derpaa sagde Gideon til dem: »Jeg har noget at bede eder om: Enhver af eder skal give mig de Ringe, der findes mellem hans Bytte!« Hine havde nemlig Guldringe, thi de var Ismaeliter.
Then he added, “Let me make a request of you, that each of you give me an earring from his plunder.” (For the enemies had gold earrings because they were Ishmaelites.)
25 De svarede: »Ja, vi vil gerne give dig dem!« Saa bredte han sin Kappe ud, og enhver af dem lagde de Ringe, der fandtes mellem hans Bytte, derpaa.
“We will give them gladly,” they replied. So they spread out a garment, and each man threw an earring from his plunder onto it.
26 Vægten af Guldringene, som han havde bedt om, udgjorde 1700 Sekel Guld bortset fra Halvmaanerne, Ørenringene og Purpurklæderne, som Midjaniterkongerne bar, og Kæderne paa Kamelernes Halse.
The weight of the gold earrings he had requested was 1,700 shekels, in addition to the crescent ornaments, the pendants, the purple garments of the kings of Midian, and the chains from the necks of their camels.
27 Gideon lavede deraf en Efod, som han gav Plads i sin Fødeby Ofra; og alle Israeliterne bolede med den, og den blev Gideon og hans Hus en Snare.
From all this Gideon made an ephod, which he placed in Ophrah, his hometown. But soon all Israel prostituted themselves by worshiping it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and his household.
28 Saaledes bukkede Midjaniterne under for Israeliterne, og de rejste sig ikke mere; og Landet havde Ro i fyrretyve Aar, saa længe Gideon levede.
In this way Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. So the land had rest for forty years in the days of Gideon,
29 Og Jerubba'al, Joasj's Søn, begav sig til sit Hjem og opholdt sig der.
and he—Jerubbaal son of Joash—returned home and settled down.
30 Gideon havde halvfjerdsindstyve Sønner, der var avlede af ham, thi han havde mange Hustruer.
Gideon had seventy sons of his own, since he had many wives.
31 Han havde en Medhustru i Sikem; hun fødte ham en Søn, som han gav Navnet Abimelek.
His concubine, who dwelt in Shechem, also bore him a son, and he named him Abimelech.
32 Gideon, Joasj's Søn, døde i en høj Alder og blev jordet i sin Fader Abiezriten Joasj's Grav i Ofra.
Later, Gideon son of Joash died at a ripe old age and was buried in the tomb of his father Joash in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
33 Men da Gideon var død, gav Israeliterne sig atter til at bole med Ba'alerne og gjorde Ba'al-Berit til deres Gud;
And as soon as Gideon was dead, the Israelites turned and prostituted themselves with the Baals, and they set up Baal-berith as their god.
34 og Israeliterne kom ikke HERREN deres Gud i Hu, ham, som frelste dem fra alle deres Fjender, der omgav dem paa alle Kanter.
The Israelites failed to remember the LORD their God who had delivered them from the hands of all their enemies on every side.
35 Og de handlede ikke vel mod Jerubba'als, Gideons, Hus, trods alt det gode, han havde gjort Israel.
They did not show kindness to the house of Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) for all the good things he had done for Israel.

< Dommer 8 >