Nehemias 4

1 Men da Sanballat hørte, at vi byggede paa Muren, blev han vred og harmfuld; og han spottede Jøderne

Now it came to pass, when Sanaballat heard that we were building the wall, that it was grievous to him, and he was very angry, and railed against the Jews.

2 og sagde i Paahør af sine Brødre og Samarias Krigsfolk: »Hvad er det, disse usle Jøder har for? Vil de overlade Gud det? Vil de ofre? Kan de gøre det færdigt endnu i Dag? Kan de kalde Stenene i disse Grusdynger til Live, naar de er forbrændt?«

And he said before his brethren (that [is] the army of the Samaritans) [Is it true] that these Jews are building their city? do they indeed offer sacrifices? will they prevail? and will they this day restore the stones, after they have been burnt and made a heap of rubbish?

3 Og Ammoniten Tobija, der stod ved siden af ham, sagde: »Lad dem bygge, saa meget de vil; en Ræv kan rive deres Stenmur ned, blot den springer derop!«

And Tobias the Ammanite came near to him, and said to them, Do they sacrifice or eat in their place? shall not a fox go up and pull down their wall of stones?

4 Hør, vor Gud, hvorledes vi er blevet haanet! Lad deres Spot falde tilbage paa deres eget Hoved, og lad dem blive haanet som Fanger i et Fremmed Land!

Hear, O our God, for we have become a scorn; and return you their reproach upon their head, and make them a scorn in a land of captivity,

5 Skjul ikke deres Brøde og lad ikke deres Synd blive udslettet for dit Aasyn, thi med deres Ord krænkede de dem, der byggede!

and do not cover [their] iniquity.

6 Men vi byggede paa Muren, og hele Muren blev bygget færdig i halv Højde, og Folket arbejdede med god Vilje.

7 Da nu Sanballat og Tobija og Araberne, Ammoniterne og Asdoditerne hørte, at det skred fremad med Istandsættelsen af Jerusalems Mure, og at Hullerne i Muren begyndte at lukkes, blev de meget vrede,

But it came to pass, when Sanaballat and Tobia, and the Arabians, and the Ammanites, heard that the building of the walls of Jerusalem was advancing, [and] that the breaches began to be stopped, that it appeared very grievous to them.

8 og de sammensvor sig alle om at drage hen og angribe Jerusalem og fremkalde Forvirring der.

And all of them assembled together, to come to fight against Jerusalem, and to destroy it utterly.

9 Da bad vi til vor Gud og satte Vagt baade Dag og Nat for at værne os imod dem.

So we prayed to our God and set watchmen against them day and night, because of them.

10 Men Jøderne sagde: Lastdragernes Kræfter svigter, og Grusdyngerne er for store; vi kan ikke bygge paa Muren!

And Juda said, The strength of the enemies is broken, yet [there is] much rubbish, and we shall not be able to build the wall.

11 Og vore Fjender sagde: De maa ikke mærke noget, før vi staar midt iblandt dem og hugger dem ned og saaledes faar Arbejdet til at gaa i Staa!

And they that afflicted us said, They shall not know, and they shall not see, until we come into the midst of them, and kill them, and cause the work to cease.

12 Da nu de Jøder, der boede dem nærmest, Gang paa Gang kom og lod os vide, at de rykkede op imod os fra alle Steder, hvor de boede,

And it came to pass, when the Jews who lived near them came, that they said to us, They are coming up against us from every quarter.

13 og da Folkene kun turde stille sig op paa Steder, der laa lavere end Pladsen bag Muren, i Kælderrum, saa opstillede jeg Folket Slægt for Slægt, væbnet med Sværd, Spyd og Buer;

So I set [men] in the lowest part of the place behind the wall in the lurking-places, I even set the people according to their families, with their swords, their spears, and their bows.

14 og da jeg saa det, traadte jeg frem og sagde til Stormændene og Forstanderne og det øvrige Folk: Frygt ikke for dem! Kom den store, frygtelige Gud i Hu og kæmp for eders Brødre, Sønner og Døtre, eders Hustruer og Huse!

And I looked, and arose, and said to the nobles, and to the captains, and to the rest of the people, Be not afraid of them: remember our great and terrible God, and fight for your brethren, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.

15 Men da vore Fjender hørte, at vi havde faaet det at vide, og at Gud gjorde deres Raad til intet, vendte vi alle tilbage til Muren, hver til sit Arbejde.

And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was made known to us, and God had frustrated their counsel, that we all returned to the wall, [every] man to his work.

16 Men fra den Tid af arbejdede kun den ene Halvdel af mine Folk, medens den anden Halvdel stod væbnet med Spyd, Skjolde, Buer og Brynjer; og Øversterne stod bag ved alle de Jøder,

And it came to pass from that day [that] half of them that had been driven forth, wrought the work, and half of them kept guard; and [there were] spears, and shields, and bows, and breastplates, and rulers behind the whole house of Juda,

17 der byggede paa Muren. Ogsaa Lastdragerne var væbnet; med den ene Haand arbejdede de, og med den anden holdt de Spydet;

even of them that were building the wall: —and those who carried the burdens [were] under arms: [each] with one hand wrought his work, and with the other held his dart.

18 og de, der byggede, havde under Arbejdet hver sit Sværd bundet til Lænden. Ved Siden af mig stod Hornblæseren;

And the builders [wrought] each man having his sword girded upon his loins, and so they built: and the trumpeter with his trumpet next to him.

19 og jeg sagde til de store og Forstanderne og det øvrige Folk: »Arbejdet er stort og omfattende, og vi er spredt paa Muren langt fra hverandre;

And I said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work [is] great and abundant, and we are dispersed upon the wall, each at a great distance from his brother.

20 hvor I nu hører Hornet gjalde, skal I samles om os; vor Gud vil stride for os!

In whatever place you shall hear the sound of the cornet, there gather yourselves together to us; and our God shall fight for us.

21 Saaledes udførte vi Arbejdet, idet Halvdelen af os holdt Spydene rede fra Morgengry til Stjernernes Opgang.

So we [continued] labouring at the work: and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning until the stars appeared.

22 Samtidig sagde jeg ogsaa til Folket: Enhver skal sammen med sin Dreng overnatte i Jerusalem, for at vi kan have dem til Vagt om Natten og til Arbejde om Dagen!«

And at that time I said to the people, Lodge you every man with his servant in the midst of Jerusalem, and let the night be a watch-time to you, and the day a work-time.

23 Og hverken jeg eller mine Brødre eller mine Folk eller Vagten, der fulgte mig, afførte os vore Klæder, og enhver, der blev sendt efter Vand, havde Spydet med.

And I was [there], and the watchmen behind me, and there was not a man of us that put off his garments.