Nehemias 4

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

Now when Sanballat heard we were building the wall, it burned within him, and he was furiously angry, and he 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?«

In the presence of his brothers and the army of Samaria, he said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they restore the city for themselves? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish the work in a day? Will they bring to life the stones from the piles of rubble after they were burned?

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!«

Tobiah the Ammonite was with him, and he said, “If only a fox went up on what they are building, it 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, our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunts on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are prisoners.

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

Do not cover over their iniquity and do not erase their sin from before you, for they have provoked the builders to anger.

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 joined together to half its height, for the people had a desire 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 when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the work of repairing the walls of Jerusalem was going forward, and that the broken places in the wall were being closed up, a great anger burned within them.

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

They all conspired together, and they came to fight against Jerusalem and to cause confusion in it.

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

But we prayed to our God and set a guard as protection against them day and night because of their threat.

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

Then the people of Judah said, “The strength of those who carry the burdens is failing. There is too much rubble, and we are not able to rebuild 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!

Our enemies said, “They will not know or see until we come among them and kill them, and 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,

At that time the Jews who lived near them came from all directions and spoke to us ten times, warning us about the schemes they were making against 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 positioned people in the lowest parts of the wall in the exposed areas. I positioned each family with their swords, spears, and 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 stood up, and I said to the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, “Do not be afraid of them. Call to mind the Lord, who is great and awesome. Fight for your families, your sons and your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”

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.

It came about when our enemies heard that their plans were known to us, and God had frustrated their plans, all of us returned to the wall, each one 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,

So from that time half of my servants worked only on rebuilding the wall, and half of them held spears, shields, bows, and wore armor, while the leaders stood behind all the people of Judah.

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

The same workers who were building the wall and carrying loads were also guarding their positions. Everyone worked with one hand, and with the other hand he held his weapon.

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

Every builder wore his sword on his side and that is how he worked. The one who sounded the trumpet stayed beside 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;

I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and extensive, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another.

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

You must rush to the place where you hear the trumpet sound and assemble there. 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 doing the work. Half of them were holding spears from the rising 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!«

I also said to the people at that time, “Let every man and his servant spend the night in the middle of Jerusalem, so they may be for us a guard during the night and a worker in the day.”

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 brothers, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us changed our clothes, and each of us carried his weapon, even if he went for water.