Nehemias 4
1 Men da Sanballat hørte, at vi byggede paa Muren, blev han vred og harmfuld; og han spottede Jøderne
But when Sanballat heard that we were building the wall, he was angry, and was very indignant, 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?«
He spoke before his brothers and the army of Samaria, and said, “What are these feeble Jews doing? Will they fortify themselves? Will they sacrifice? Will they finish in a day? Will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, since they are 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!«
Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said, “What they are building, if a fox climbed up it, 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, our God, for we are despised. Turn back their reproach on their own head. Give them up for a plunder 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!
Don’t cover their iniquity. Don’t let their sin be blotted out from before you; for they have insulted the builders.”
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 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 when Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabians, the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward, and that the breaches began to be filled, they were very angry;
8 og de sammensvor sig alle om at drage hen og angribe Jerusalem og fremkalde Forvirring der.
and they all conspired together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion among us.
9 Da bad vi til vor Gud og satte Vagt baade Dag og Nat for at værne os imod dem.
But we made our prayer to 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!
Judah said, “The strength of the bearers of burdens is fading and there is much rubble, so that we are not 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!
Our adversaries said, “They will not know or see, until we come in among 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,
When the Jews who lived by them came, they said to us ten times from all places, “Wherever you turn, they will attack 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;
Therefore I set guards in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in the open places. I set the people by family groups 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!
I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them! Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, 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.
When our enemies heard that it was known to us, and God had brought their counsel to nothing, all of us returned to the wall, everyone 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,
From that time forth, half of my servants did the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, the bows, and the coats of mail; and 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;
Those who built the wall, and those who bore burdens loaded themselves; everyone with one of his hands did the work, and with the other held his weapon.
18 og de, der byggede, havde under Arbejdet hver sit Sværd bundet til Lænden. Ved Siden af mig stod Hornblæseren;
Among the builders, everyone wore his sword at his side, and so built. He who sounded the shofar was by 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 rulers and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and widely spread out, 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!
Wherever you hear the sound of the shofar, rally there to 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 did the work. Half of the people 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!«
Likewise at the same time I said to the people, “Let everyone with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and may labor 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 took off our clothes. Everyone took his weapon to the water.
