4 Mosebog 23

1 Og Bileam sagde til Balak: »Byg mig syv Altre her og skaf mig syv unge Tyre og syv Vædre herhen!«

Balaam said to King Balak, “Build seven altars for me here. Then kill seven young bulls and seven rams [for a sacrifice].”

2 Balak gjorde, som Bileam sagde, og Balak og Bileam ofrede en Tyr og en Væder paa hvert Alter.

So Balak did that. And then he and Balaam each burned a young bull and a ram [as a sacrifice] on each altar.

3 Derpaa sagde Bileam til Balak: »Bliv staaende her ved dit Brændoffer, saa vil jeg gaa hen og se, om HERREN mulig kommer mig i Møde. Hvad han da lader mig skue, skal jeg lade dig vide.« Saa gik han op paa en nøgen Klippetop.

Then Balaam said to Balak, “You stand here close to your burned offerings, and I will go and ask Yahweh if he has something else to tell me. Then I will tell you what he says to me.” Then Balaam went by himself to the top of a hill,

4 Da kom Gud Bileam i Møde. Og han sagde til ham: »Jeg har gjort de syv Altre i Stand og ofret en Tyr og en Væder paa hvert.«

and God appeared to him there. Balaam said to him, “We have built seven altars, and I have killed and burned a young bull and a ram [as a sacrifice to you] on each altar.”

5 Og Gud lagde Bileam Ord i Munden og sagde: »Vend tilbage til Balak og tal saaledes til ham!«

Then Yahweh gave Balaam a message to give to King Balak. Then he said, “Go back and tell him what I told you.”

6 Da vendte han tilbage til ham, og se, han stod ved sit Brændoffer sammen med alle Moabs Høvdinger.

When Balaam returned to Balak, Balak was standing with the leaders from Moab beside the offerings he had burned [on the altar].

7 Og han fremsatte sit Sprog: Fra Aram lod Balak mig hente, Moabs Konge fra Østens Bjerge: »Kom og forband mig Jakob, kom og kald Vrede ned over Israel!«

This is the message that Balaam told them: “Balak, the King of Moab, summoned me to come here from Syria; he brought me here from the hills at the eastern side of Syria. He said, ‘Come and curse the descendants of Jacob for me, saying that bad things will happen to these Israeli people!’

8 Hvor kan jeg forbande, naar Gud ej forbander, nedkalde Vrede, naar HERREN ej vredes!

But (how can I curse people whom God has not cursed?/I certainly cannot curse people whom God has not cursed!) [RHQ] (How can I condemn people whom Yahweh has not condemned?/I cannot condemn people whom Yahweh has not condemned!) [RHQ]

9 Jeg ser det fra Klippernes Top, fra Højderne skuer jeg det, et Folk, der bor for sig selv og ikke regner sig til Hedningefolkene.

I have seen them from the tops of the rocky peaks. I see that they are a group of people who live by themselves; they have separated themselves from other nations.

10 Hvem kan maale Jakobs Sandskorn, hvem kan tælle Israels Støvgran? Min Sjæl dø de Oprigtiges Død, og mit Endeligt vorde som deres!

(Who can count the descendants of Jacob; they are as numerous as particles of (dust/dirt)?/No one can count the descendants of Jacob; they are as numerous as particles of (dust/dirt)!) [RHQ] (Who can count even a quarter of the Israeli people?/No one can count even a quarter of the Israeli people!) [RHQ] I wish/hope that I will die like righteous people die; I hope that I will die [peacefully] like they will die.”

11 Da sagde Balak til Bileam: »Hvad har du gjort imod mig! Jeg lod dig hente, for at du skulde forbande mine Fjender, og se, du har velsignet dem!«

Then Balak said, “What have you done to me [RHQ]? I brought you here to curse my enemies, but instead you have (blessed them/asked Yahweh to bless them)!”

12 Men han svarede: »Skal jeg ikke omhyggeligt sige, hvad HERREN lægger mig i Munden?«

But Balaam replied, “I can [RHQ] say only what Yahweh tells me to say. I cannot say anything else.”

13 Da sagde Balak til ham: »Følg med mig til et andet Sted, hvorfra du kan se Folket, dog kun den yderste Del deraf og ikke det hele, og forband mig det saa fra det Sted!«

Then King Balak told Balaam, “Come with me to another place. There you will see only part of the Israeli people, and you will be able to curse those people for me.”

14 Og han tog ham med til Udkigsmarken paa Toppen af Pisga og rejste der syv Altre og ofrede en Tyr og en Væder paa hvert.

So Balak took Balaam to a field on the top of Pisgah [Mountain]. There, again he built seven altars and offered a young bull and a ram [as a sacrifice] on each altar.

15 Derpaa sagde Bileam til Balak: »Bliv staaende her ved dit Brændoffer, medens jeg ser efter, om der møder mig noget!«

Then Balaam said to the king, “Stand here close to your burned offerings, while I go and talk with Yahweh.”

16 Da kom Gud Bileam i Møde og lagde ham Ord i Munden og sagde: »Vend tilbage til Balak og tal saaledes!«

So Balaam did that, and Yahweh appeared to Balaam again and gave him another message. Then he said, “Go back to Balak and tell him that message.”

17 Saa kom han hen til ham, og se, han stod ved sit Brændoffer sammen med Moabs Høvdinger; og Balak spurgte ham: »Hvad har HERREN sagt?«

So Balaam returned to where the king and the leaders from Moab were standing, next to the altar where Balak had burned the sacrifices. Balak asked him, “What did Yahweh say?”

18 Da fremsatte han sit Sprog: Rejs dig, Balak, og hør, lyt til mig, Zippors Søn!

Then Balaam told him this message: “Balak, listen carefully; hear what I have to say, you son of Zippor [DOU]!

19 Gud er ikke et Menneske, at han skulde lyve, et Menneskebarn, at han skulde angre; mon han siger noget uden at gøre det, mon han taler uden at fuldbyrde det?

God is not a human being. Humans lie, but God never lies. He never changes his mind/thoughts, as humans do. Whatever he has said that he will do, he does.

20 Se, at velsigne er mig givet, saa velsigner jeg og tager intet tilbage!

He commanded me [to request him] to bless [the Israelis], So he has blessed them, and I cannot change that.

21 Man skuer ej Nød i Jakob, ser ej Trængsel i Israel; HERREN dets Gud er med det, og Kongejubel lyder hos det.

Yahweh their God is with/helping them; they have declared that he is their true king. So the descendants of Jacob will not be harmed; they will not have any troubles [DOU].

22 Gud førte det ud af Ægypten, det har en Vildokses Horn.

God brought them out of Egypt [where they were slaves]; he is as strong as a wild ox.

23 Thi mod Jakob hjælper ej Galder, Trolddom ikke mod Israel. Nu siger man om Jakob og om Israel: »Hvad har Gud gjort?«

When people curse [PRS] the descendants of Jacob, they will not be harmed; when people work sorcery on them, it will have no power. So now people will say about the descendants of Jacob, ‘God has done wonderful things for the Israelis!’

24 Se, et Folk, der staar op som en Løvinde, rejser sig som en Løve! Det lægger sig først, naar det har ædt Rov og drukket de dræbtes Blod.

They are very strong, like lionesses that are ready to attack [other animals]; they stand firm like lions. The lions refuse to rest until they have [killed and] eaten their prey, and drunk the blood of the animals they slaughtered.”

25 Da sagde Balak til Bileam: »Vil du ikke forbande det, saa velsign det i alt Fald ikke!«

Then Balak said to Balaam, “If you will not curse them, then [I certainly] do not [want you to] bless them!”

26 Men Bileam svarede og sagde til Balak: »Har jeg ikke sagt dig, at alt, hvad HERREN siger, det gør jeg!«

But Balaam replied, “I told you that I must do only what Yahweh tells me to do!”

27 Da sagde Balak til Bileam: »Kom, jeg vil tage dig med til et andet Sted, maaske det vil behage Gud, at du forbander mig det fra det Sted.«

Then King Balak said to Balaam, “Come with me; I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to allow you to curse them from that place.”

28 Og Balak førte Bileam op paa Toppen af Peor, der rager op over Ørkenen.

So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor [Mountain] where they could look down [and see the Israelis in] the desert.

29 Saa sagde Bileam til Balak: »Byg mig syv Altre her og skaf mig syv unge Tyre og syv Vædre herhen!«

Balaam again told Balak, “Build me seven altars again and kill seven young bulls and seven rams [for a sacrifice].”

30 Balak gjorde, som Bileam sagde, og ofrede en Tyr og en Væder paa hvert Alter.

So Balak did what Balaam told him to do. He burned a young bull and a ram on each altar as sacrifices.