Nehemias 4
1 Men da Sanballat hørte, at vi byggede paa Muren, blev han vred og harmfuld; og han spottede Jøderne
But it came to pass, when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, it angered him, and he was greatly displeased, —and mocked 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 spake before his brethren, and the army of Samaria, and said, What are, these feeble Jews, doing? will they fortify themselves? will they sacrifice? will they make an end in a day? will they bring to life the stones out of the heaps of dust, when, they, have been burned up?
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!«
Now, Tobiah the Ammonite, was beside him, —so he said, Even that which they are building, if a fox should go up, he would break down 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, for we have become a contempt, and turn thou back their reproach upon their own head, —and give them up as a 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 do not cover their iniquity, and, their sin before thee, let it not be blotted out, —for they have caused vexation before them who are building.
6 Men vi byggede paa Muren, og hele Muren blev bygget færdig i halv Højde, og Folket arbejdede med god Vilje.
So we built the wall, and all the wall was finished unto the half thereof, —and the people had a mind 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,
But it came to pass, when Sanballat and Tobiah and the Arabians and the Ammonites and the Ashdodites heard that the repair of the walls of Jerusalem had gone up, that the breaches began to be stopped, that it angered them exceedingly;
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 cause it harm;
9 Da bad vi til vor Gud og satte Vagt baade Dag og Nat for at værne os imod dem.
howbeit we prayed unto our God, —and set a watch 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!
Then said Judah, The strength of the burden-bearer faileth, and, the rubbish, aboundeth, —and, we, are not able to build at 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 have said, They shall not know, neither shall they see, until we come into their midst, and slay them, —so shall we 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,
But it came to pass, when the Jews dwelling near them came in, then said they unto us, ten times, From all places whither ye shall turn, [they will be] upon 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;
So I set—on the lower slopes of the place behind the wall in the waste grounds, —yea I set the people, by 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!
Then I looked and rose up, and said—unto the nobles and unto the deputies and unto the rest of the people, Do not ye fear because of them, —the great and fearful Lord, remember ye, so shall ye 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, when our enemies heard that it was known to us, and that God had overturned their counsel, then returned we, all of us, unto the wall, every man 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, the half of my young men, were working in the work, and, the half of them, were grasping the spears, the bucklers, and the bows, and the coats of mail, —but, the rulers, were 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;
They who were building at the wall and they who were carrying burdens, they who were lifting, [each man], with his one hand, was working at the work, and, with the other, was grasping the weapon.
18 og de, der byggede, havde under Arbejdet hver sit Sværd bundet til Lænden. Ved Siden af mig stod Hornblæseren;
Even they who were building, every man, had his sword girded upon his loins, and so was building, —and, he that sounded the horn, was by my side.
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;
So I said unto the nobles and unto the deputies, and unto the rest of the people, The work, is great and large, —and, we, are separated upon the wall, far away, each man from his brother:
20 hvor I nu hører Hornet gjalde, skal I samles om os; vor Gud vil stride for os!
In what place soever ye shall hear the sound of the horn, thither, gather yourselves 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, were working at the work, —one half of them, grasping the spears, from the uprisings of the dawn, until the coming out of the stars.
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!«
Moreover, at that time, I said to the people, Let, every one with his young man, lodge for the night in the midst of Jerusalem, —so shall they serve us, in the night, as a watch, and, the day, for work.
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.
So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my young men, nor the men of the watch that followed me, none of us, put off our clothes, —every one [went] with his weapon to the water.
