Nehemias 2
1 I Nisan Maaned i Kong Artaxerxes's tyvende Regeringsaar, da jeg skulde sørge for Vin, bar jeg engang Vinen frem og rakte Kongen den. Jeg havde ikke før set modfalden ud, naar jeg stod for hans Ansigt.
And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, [that] wine was before him, and I took up the wine and gave it to the king. Now, I had never been sad in his presence.
2 Og Kongen sagde til mig: »Hvorfor ser du saa modfalden ud? Du er jo ikke syg; det kan ikke være andet, end at du har en Hjertesorg!« Da blev jeg saare bange,
And the king said to me, Why is thy face sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sadness of heart. And I was very sore afraid.
3 og jeg sagde til Kongen: »Kongen leve evindelig! Hvor kan jeg andet end se modfalden ud, naar den By, hvor mine Fædres Grave er, ligger øde, og dens Porte er fortæret af Ilden?«
And I said to the king, Let the king live for ever! Why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' sepulchres, lies waste, and its gates are consumed with fire?
4 Kongen spurgte mig da: »Hvad er det, du ønsker? Saa bad jeg til Himmelens Gud, «
And the king said to me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of the heavens.
5 og jeg sagde til Kongen: »Hvis Kongen synes, og hvis din Tjener er dig til Behag, beder jeg om, at du vil lade mig rejse til Juda, til den By, hvor mine Fædres Grave er, og lade mig bygge den op igen!«
And I said to the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me to Judah, to the city of my fathers' sepulchres, that I may build it.
6 Da sagde Kongen til mig, medens Dronningen sad ved hans Side: »Hvor længe vil den Rejse vare, og hvornaar kan du vende tilbage?« Og da Kongen saaledes fandt for godt at lade mig rejse, opgav jeg ham en Tid.
And the king said to me — the queen also sitting by him, — For how long shall thy journey be, and when wilt thou return? And it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
7 Og jeg sagde til Kongen: Hvis Kongen synes, saa lad mig faa Breve med til Statholderne hinsides Floden, saa de lader mig drage videre, til jeg naar Juda,
And I said to the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may set me forward till I come into Judah;
8 og et Brev til Asaf, Opsynsmanden over den kongelige Skov, at han skal give mig Træ til Bjælkeværket i Tempelborgens Porte og til Byens Mur og det Hus, jeg tager ind i! Det gav Kongen mig, eftersom min Guds gode Haand var over mig.
and a letter to Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which [appertains] to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
9 Da jeg kom til Statholderne hinsides Floden, gav jeg dem Kongens Breve; desuden havde Kongen givet mig Hærførere og Ryttere med paa Rejsen.
And I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king's letters. Now the king had sent captains of a force and horsemen with me.
10 Men da Horoniten Sanballat og den ammonitiske Træl Tobija hørte det, ærgrede de sig højligen over, at der var kommet en Mand for at arbejde paa Israeliternes Bedste.
And when Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobijah the servant, the Ammonite, heard [of it], it grieved them exceedingly that there had come a man to seek the welfare of the children of Israel.
11 Saa kom jeg til Jerusalem, og da jeg havde været der i tre Dage,
And I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days.
12 brød jeg op ved Nattetide sammen med nogle faa Mænd uden at have sagt noget Menneske, hvad min Gud havde skudt mig i Sinde at gøre for Jerusalem; og der var intet andet Dyr med end det, jeg red paa.
And I arose in the night, I and some few men with me — but I told no man what my God had put in my heart to do for Jerusalem — and there was no beast with me, except the beast that I rode upon.
13 Jeg red saa om Natten ud gennem Dalporten i Retning af Dragekilden og hen til Møgporten, idet jeg undersøgte Jerusalems Mure, der var nedrevet, og Portene, der var fortæret af Ilden;
And I went out by night by the valley-gate, even toward the jackal-fountain, and to the dung-gate; and I viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were in ruins, and its gates were consumed with fire.
14 derpaa red jeg videre til Kildeporten og Kongedammen, men der var ikke Plads nok til, at mit Ridedyr kunde komme frem med mig.
And I went on to the fountain-gate, and to the king's pool; and there was no place for the beast under me to pass.
15 Saa red jeg om Natten op igennem Dalen og undersøgte Muren, forandrede Retning og red saa ind igennem Dalporten, hvorpaa jeg vendte hjem.
And I went up in the night through the valley, and viewed the wall, and turned back, and entered by the valley-gate and returned.
16 Forstanderne vidste ikke, hvor jeg var gaaet hen, eller hvad jeg foretog mig; og hverken Jøderne, Præsterne, Stormændene, Forstanderne eller de andre, der skulde have med Arbejdet at gøre, havde jeg endnu sagt noget.
And the rulers did not know whither I went or what I did, for I had not as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest that did the work.
17 Men nu sagde jeg til dem: I ser den Ulykke, vi er i, hvorledes Jerusalem er ødelagt og Portene opbrændt; kom derfor og lad os opbygge Jerusalems Mur, saa vi ikke mere skal være til Spot!
And I said to them, Ye see the distress that we are in, that Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come, and let us build up the wall of Jerusalem, that we be no more a reproach.
18 Og da jeg fortalte dem, hvorledes min Guds gode Haand havde været over mig, og om de Ord, Kongen havde talt til mig, sagde de: Lad os gøre os rede og bygge! Og de tog sig sammen til det gode Værk.
And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me; as also of the king's words which he had said unto me. And they said, Let us rise up and build. And they strengthened their hands for the good [work].
19 Da Horoniten Sanballat, den ammonitiske Træl Tobija og Araberen Gesjem hørte det, spottede de os og sagde haanligt til os: Hvad er det, I der har for? Sætter I eder op mod Kongen?
And Sanballat the Horonite, and Tobijah the servant, the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arabian, heard it; and they mocked us and despised us, and said, What is this thing which ye do? will ye rebel against the king?
20 Men jeg gav dem til Svar: »Himmelens Gud vil lade det lykkes for os, og vi, hans Tjenere, vil gøre os rede og bygge; men I har ingen Del eller Ret eller Ihukommelse i Jerusalem!«
And I answered them, and said to them, The God of the heavens, he will prosper us, and we his servants will arise and build; but ye have no portion, nor right, nor memorial in Jerusalem.
