Nehemias 4
1 Men da Sanballat hørte, at vi byggede paa Muren, blev han vred og harmfuld; og han spottede Jøderne
And it came to pass, when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, that it displeased him, and he became very angry, and he mocked at 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 spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said, What are these feeble Jews doing? will people suffer them [to build]? will they sacrifice? will they complete it in one day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of the rubbish, seeing that they have been burnt?
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 Tobiyah the 'Ammonite was near him, and he said, Even what they are building, if a fox were to run up, he would readily break through their stone wall.
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! how we are become a scorn; and bring their reproach back upon their own head, and give them up for prey in the 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 cover not up their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before thee; for they have taunted [us] in the presence of the builders.
6 Men vi byggede paa Muren, og hele Muren blev bygget færdig i halv Højde, og Folket arbejdede med god Vilje.
But we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together up to the half thereof; for the people had a heart to work.
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,
And it came to pass, when Sanballat and Tobiyah, and the Arabians, and the 'Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the walls of Jerusalem were restored, and that the breaches began to be closed up, that it displeased them greatly.
8 og de sammensvor sig alle om at drage hen og angribe Jerusalem og fremkalde Forvirring der.
And they conspired all of them together to come to fight against Jerusalem, and to do it an injury.
9 Da bad vi til vor Gud og satte Vagt baade Dag og Nat for at værne os imod dem.
But we prayed unto our God, and set a watch over them day and night, because of the others.
10 Men Jøderne sagde: Lastdragernes Kræfter svigter, og Grusdyngerne er for store; vi kan ikke bygge paa Muren!
And Judah said, The strength of the bearers of the burden is failing, and there is much rubbish; and we are not able to build on 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 our adversaries said, “They shall not know, nor see until we come in the midst of them, and slay them, and so stop the work.”
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 dwelt near them came, that they said unto us ten times, “From all places whence ye may return home [they intend to come] over us.”
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;
I placed therefore on the lower parts of the place on the naked rocks behind the wall—there I placed the people after 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 [about], and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, Be not afraid of them: think on the Lord, the great and terrible, and fight for your brethren, your sons, and 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, that, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, God frustrated their counsel: and we returned, all of us, to the wall, every one unto 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 forth, that the half of my young men wrought at the work, while the other half of them were holding the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the princes stood behind all the house of Judah.
17 der byggede paa Muren. Ogsaa Lastdragerne var væbnet; med den ene Haand arbejdede de, og med den anden holdt de Spydet;
Those that built on the wall, and those that bore burdens, with those that loaded, —every one with one of his hands wrought on the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.
18 og de, der byggede, havde under Arbejdet hver sit Sværd bundet til Lænden. Ved Siden af mig stod Hornblæseren;
And the builders had every one his sword fastened around his loins while they were building; and he that blew the cornet stood alongside of me.
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 unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, The work is great and extensive, and we are separated upon the wall, distant one from another.
20 hvor I nu hører Hornet gjalde, skal I samles om os; vor Gud vil stride for os!
In what place [then] ye hear the sound of the cornet, thither must ye assemble unto us: our God will fight for us.
21 Saaledes udførte vi Arbejdet, idet Halvdelen af os holdt Spydene rede fra Morgengry til Stjernernes Opgang.
So we labored at the work, while the half of them were holding the spears from the rising of the morning-dawn till 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!«
Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his young man lodge within Jerusalem, so that they may be in the night a guard to us, and during the day for the labor.
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 neither I, nor my brothers, nor my young men, nor the men of the guard who followed me—none of us took off our clothes, no one leaving them off even for washing himself.
