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 asked Gideon, “Why have you treated us like this? Why didn't you call us when you went to attack the Midianite?” They argued furiously with him.

2 Men han svarede dem: »Hvad er min Daad i Sammenligning med eders? Er ikke Efraims Efterhøst bedre end Abiezers Vinhøst?

“Now what have I achieved in comparison to you?” Gideon replied. “Even Ephraim's left-over grapes are better than Abiezer's whole grape harvest!

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 handed over to you Oreb and Zeeb, the two Midianite commanders. What have I managed to achieve in comparison to you?” When he told them this their animosity towards him died down.

4 Da Gideon naaede Jordan, gik han og de 300 Mand, der var med ham, over, udmattede og sultne.

Then Gideon crossed the Jordan with his three hundred men. Even though they were exhausted they continued the chase.

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!«

When they got to Succoth, Gideon asked the people there, “Please provide some bread to the men with me because they're worn out—I'm pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the Midianite kings.”

6 Men Høvedsmændene i Sukkot svarede: »Har du allerede faaet fat i Zeba og Zalmunna, siden vi skal give dine Folk Brød?«

But the Succoth town leaders replied, “Why should we give your army bread when you haven't even captured Zebah and Zalmunna yet?”

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!«

“In that case, once the Lord has handed Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I'll return and thrash you with thorns and briers from the desert!” Gideon replied.

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,

He left and went to Penuel and asked them the same thing, but the people of Penuel answered the same way as the people of Succoth.

9 tiltalte han dem paa lignende Maade og sagde: »Naar jeg kommer uskadt tilbage, vil jeg nedbryde Borgen her!«

So he told them, “When I return victorious, I'll demolish 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.

Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor with their armies of around fifteen thousand men. These were all who remained of the armies of the people of the East—one hundred and twenty thousand swordsmen had already been killed.

11 Og Gideon drog op ad Teltboernes Vej østen for Noba og Jogbeha og slog Hæren, der ikke anede Uraad.

Gideon took the caravan route to the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and he attacked their army, catching them offguard.

12 Zeba og Zalmunna flygtede, men han satte efter dem og fangede de to Midjaniterkonger Zeba og Zalmunna og slog hele Hæren med Rædsel.

Zebah and Zalmunna ran away, but he chased after the two Midianite kings and captured them, defeating the whole of their terrified army.

13 Da Gideon, Joasj's Søn, vendte tilbage fra Kampen, fra Herespasset,

Then Gideon, son of Joash, returned from the battle through the Heres Pass.

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 from Succoth and questioned him. The 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?«

Gideon went and said to the Sukkoth town leaders, “Here are Zebah and Zalmunna, the ones you taunted me about when you said, ‘Why should we give your exhausted army bread when you haven't even captured Zebah and Zalmunna yet?’”

16 Derpaa greb han Byens Ældste, tog Ørkentorne og Tidsler og tærskede Folkene i Sukkot med dem;

So he took the town elders of Succoth and taught them a lesson using thorns and briers from the desert.

17 og Borgen i Penuel brød han ned og dræbte Folkene i Byen.

He also demolished the tower of Peniel and killed the men of the town.

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!«

Then Gideon asked Zebah and Zalmunna, “What were they like, the men you killed at Tabor?” “They looked like you,” they answered. “Each of them had the stature of a prince.”

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!«

“Those were my brothers, my mother's sons,” Gideon burst out. “As the Lord lives, if you had let them live, I wouldn't 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.

He told Jether, his oldest son, “Go on, kill them!” But the boy refused to draw his sword, because he was young and afraid.

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.

Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, “Come on, you do it! Show yourself a man and kill us!” So Gideon went over and killed Zebah and Zalmunna, and he took the crescent-shaped 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, “You must become our ruler, you, your son, and your grandson; because you've saved us from the Midianites.”

23 Men Gideon svarede dem: »Hverken jeg eller min Søn vil herske over eder; HERREN skal herske over eder!«

“I won't be your ruler, and my son won't either,” Gideon replied. “The Lord will be your ruler.”

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 Gideon said, “I have a request to ask of you: that each of you give me an earring from your plunder.” (Their enemies were Ishmaelites and wore gold earrings.)

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'll happily give them to you,” they replied. They spread out a cloak, and each of them threw on it earrings from their plunder.

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 earrings he'd asked for was 1,700 shekels, not including the ornaments, the pendants, and the purple garments worn by the Midianite kings or the chains that were round their camels' necks.

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 the gold Gideon made an ephod, which he placed in his hometown of Ophrah. All Israel prostituted themselves there by worshiping it as an idol, and it became a trap to Gideon and his family.

28 Saaledes bukkede Midjaniterne under for Israeliterne, og de rejste sig ikke mere; og Landet havde Ro i fyrretyve Aar, saa længe Gideon levede.

This is how the Midianites was subjugated before the Israelites and did not gain power again. So the land was at peace for forty years during the lifetime of Gideon.

29 Og Jerubba'al, Joasj's Søn, begav sig til sit Hjem og opholdt sig der.

Jerub-baal, son of Joash, went home, living his own house.

30 Gideon havde halvfjerdsindstyve Sønner, der var avlede af ham, thi han havde mange Hustruer.

Gideon had seventy sons, all his own, because he had many wives.

31 Han havde en Medhustru i Sikem; hun fødte ham en Søn, som han gav Navnet Abimelek.

His concubine, who lived in Shechem, also had a son. 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.

Gideon, son of Joash, died at a good 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;

But as soon as Gideon died, the Israelites went back to prostituting themselves, worshiping before the Baals. They made Baal-berith 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.

They forgot about the Lord their God, who had saved them from all their enemies that surrounded them.

35 Og de handlede ikke vel mod Jerubba'als, Gideons, Hus, trods alt det gode, han havde gjort Israel.

They did not show any respect to the family of Jerub-baal (Gideon) for all the good he had done for Israel.