Nehemias 5
1 Der lød nu højrøstede Klager fra Folket og deres Kvinder mod deres Brødre, Jøderne.
And there is a great cry of the people and their wives, concerning their brethren the Jews,
2 Nogle sagde: »Vore Sønner og Døtre maa vi give i Pant for at faa Korn til Livets Ophold!«
yea, there are who are saying, 'Our sons, and our daughters, we — are many, and we receive corn, and eat, and live.'
3 Andre sagde: »Vore Marker, Vingaarde og Huse maa vi give i Pant for at faa Korn under Hungersnøden!«
And there are who are saying, 'Our fields, and our vineyards, and our houses, we are pledging, and we receive corn for the famine.'
4 Atter andre sagde: »Vi har maattet laane paa vore Marker og Vingaarde for at kunne udrede de kongelige Skatter!
And there are who are saying, 'We have borrowed money for the tribute of the king, [on] our fields, and our vineyards;
5 Og vore Legemer er dog lige saa gode som vore Brødres og vore Sønner lige saa gode som deres; men vi er nødt til at give vore Sønner og Døtre hen til at blive Trælle, ja, nogle af vore Døtre er det allerede, og det stod ikke i vor Magt at hindre det, eftersom vore Marker og Vingaarde tilhører andre!«
and now, as the flesh of our brethren [is] our flesh, as their sons [are] our sons, and lo, we are subduing our sons and our daughters for servants, and there are of our daughters subdued, and our hand hath no might, and our fields and our vineyards [are] to others.'
6 Da jeg hørte deres Klager og disse deres Ord, blussede Vreden heftigt op i mig;
And it is very displeasing to me when I have heard their cry and these words,
7 og efter at have tænkt over Sagen gik jeg i Rette med de store og Forstanderne og sagde til dem: I driver jo Aager over for eders Næste! Saa kaldte jeg en stor Folkeforsamling sammen imod dem
and my heart reigneth over me, and I strive with the freemen, and with the prefects, and say to them, 'Usury one upon another ye are exacting;' and I set against them a great assembly,
8 og sagde til dem: Saa vidt vi var i Stand dertil, har vi frikøbt vore jødiske Brødre, der maatte sælge sig til Hedningerne; og I sælger eders Brødre, saa de maa sælge sig til os! Da tav de og fandt intet at svare.
and say to them, 'We have acquired our brethren the Jews, those sold to the nations, according to the ability that [is] in us, and ye also sell your brethren, and they have been sold to us!' and they are silent, and have not found a word.
9 Men jeg fortsatte: Det er ikke ret af eder at handle saaledes! Skulde I ikke vandre i Frygt for vor Gud af Hensyn til Hedningerne, vore Fjenders Spot?
And I say, 'Not good [is] the thing that ye are doing; in the fear of our God do ye not walk, because of the reproach of the nations our enemies?
10 Ogsaa jeg og mine Brødre og mine Folk har laant dem Penge og Korn; men lad os nu eftergive dem, hvad de skylder!
And also, I, my brethren, and my servants, are exacting of them silver and corn; let us leave off, I pray you, this usury.
11 Giv dem straks deres Marker, Vingaarde, Oliventræer og Huse tilbage og eftergiv dem Pengene, Kornet, Mosten og Olien, som I har laant dem!
Give back, I pray you, to them, as to-day, their fields, their vineyards, their olive-yards, and their houses, and the hundredth [part] of the money, and of the corn, of the new wine, and of the oil, that ye are exacting of them.'
12 Da svarede de: Ja, vi vil give det tilbage og ikke afkræve dem noget; som du siger, vil vi gøre! Jeg lod da Præsterne kalde og lod dem sværge paa, at de vilde handle saaledes.
And they say, 'We give back, and of them we seek nothing; so we do as thou art saying.' And I call the priests, and cause them to swear to do according to this thing;
13 Og jeg rystede min Brystfold og sagde: Enhver, der ikke holder dette Ord, vil Gud saaledes ryste ud af hans Hus og Ejendom; ja, saaledes skal han blive udrystet og tømt! Da sagde hele Forsamlingen: Amen! Og de lovpriste HERREN; og Folket handlede efter sit Løfte.
also, my lap I have shaken, and I say, 'Thus doth God shake out every man, who doth not perform this thing, from his house, and from his labour; yea, thus is he shaken out and empty;' and all the assembly say, 'Amen,' and praise Jehovah; and the people do according to this thing.
14 Desuden skal det nævnes, at fra den Dag Kong Artaxerxes bød mig være deres Statholder i Judas Land, fra Kong Artaxerxes's tyvende til hans to og tredivte Regeringsaar, hele tolv Aar, spiste hverken jeg eller mine Brødre det Brød, der tilkom Statholderen,
Also, from the day that he appointed me to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even unto the thirty and second year of Artaxerxes the king — twelve years — I, and my brethren, the bread of the governor have not eaten:
15 medens mine Forgængere, de tidligere Statholdere, lagde Tynge paa Folket og for Brød og Vin daglig afkrævede dem fyrretyve Sekel Sølv, ligesom ogsaa deres Tjenere optraadte som Folkets Herrer. Det undlod jeg at gøre af Frygt for Gud.
the former governors who [are] before me have made themselves heavy on the people, and take of them in bread and wine, besides in silver forty shekels; also, their servants have ruled over the people — and I have not done so, because of the fear of God.
16 Og desuden tog jeg selv fat ved Arbejdet paa denne Mur, skønt vi ingen Mark havde købt, og alle mine Folk var samlet der ved Arbejdet.
And also, in the work of this wall I have done mightily, even a field we have not bought, and all my servants are gathered there for the work;
17 Og Jøderne, baade Forstanderne, 150 Mand, og de, der kom til os fra de omboende Hedningefolk, spiste ved mit Bord;
and of the Jews, and of the prefects, a hundred and fifty men, and those coming in unto us of the nations that [are] round about us, [are] at my table;
18 og hvad der daglig lavedes til, et Stykke Hornkvæg, seks udsøgte Faar og Fjerkræ, afholdt jeg Udgifterne til; dertil kom hver tiende Dag en Masse Vin af alle Sorter. Men alligevel krævede jeg ikke det Brød, der tilkom Statholderen, fordi Arbejdet tyngede haardt paa Folket.
and that which hath been prepared for one day [is] one ox, six fat sheep, also fowls have been prepared for me, and once in ten days of all wines abundantly, and with this, the bread of the governor I have not sought, for heavy is the service on this people.
19 Kom i Hu alt, hvad jeg har gjort for dette Folk, og regn mig det til gode, min Gud!
Remember for me, O my God, for good, all that I have done for this people.
