Esajas 41
1 Hør mig i Tavshed, I fjerne Strande, lad Folkene hente ny Kraft, komme hid og tage til Orde, lad os sammen gå frem for Retten!
Come quietly before me, O sea-lands, and let the peoples get together their strength: let them come near; then let them say what they have to say: let us put forward our cause against one another.
2 Hvo vakte i Østen ham, hvis Fod går fra Sejr til Sejr, hvo giver Folk i hans Vold og gør ham til Kongers Hersker? Han gør deres Sværd til Støv, deres Buer til flagrende Strå,
Who sent out from the east one who is right wherever he goes? he gives the nations into his hands, and makes him ruler over kings; he gives them as the dust to his sword, as dry stems before the wind to his bow.
3 forfølger dem, går uskadt frem ad en Vej, hans Fod ej har trådt.
He goes after them safely, not touching the road with his feet.
4 Hvo gjorde og virkede det? Han, som længst kaldte Slægterne frem, jeg, HERREN, som er den første og end hos de sidste den samme.
Whose purpose and work was it? His who sent out the generations from the start. I the Lord, the first, and with the last, I am he.
5 Fjerne Strande så det med Gru, den vide Jord følte Rædsel, de nærmede sig og kom.
The sea-lands saw it, and were in fear; the ends of the earth were shaking: they came near.
6 Den ene hjælper den anden og siger: "Broder, fat Mod!"
They gave help everyone to his neighbour; and everyone said to his brother, Take heart!
7 Mesteren opmuntrer Guldsmeden, Glatteren ham, der hamrer; Lodningen tager han god og sømmer det fast, så det står.
So the metal-worker put heart into the gold-worker, and he who was hammering the metal smooth said kind words to the iron-worker, saying of the plate, It is ready: and he put it together with nails, so that there might be no slipping.
8 Men Israel, du min Tjener, Jakob, hvem jeg har udvalgt, - Ætling af Abraham, min Ven -
But as for you, Israel, my servant, and you, Jacob, whom I have taken for myself, the seed of Abraham my friend:
9 hvem jeg tog fra Jordens Grænser og kaldte fra dens fjerneste Kroge, til hvem jeg sagde: "Du min Tjener, som jeg valgte og ikke vraged":
You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and sent for from its farthest parts, saying to you, You are my servant, whom I have taken for myself, and whom I have not given up:
10 Frygt ikke, thi jeg er med dig, vær ej rådvild, thi jeg er din Gud! Med min Retfærds højre styrker, ja hjælper, ja støtter jeg dig.
Have no fear, for I am with you; do not be looking about in trouble, for I am your God; I will give you strength, yes, I will be your helper; yes, my true right hand will be your support.
11 Se, Skam og Skændsel får alle, som er dig fjendske, til intet bliver de, der trætter med dig, de forgår.
Truly, all those who are angry with you will be made low and put to shame: those desiring to do you wrong will come to nothing and never again be seen.
12 Du søger, men finder ej dem, der kives med dig, til intet, til Luft bliver de, der strides med dig.
You will make search for your haters but they will not be there; those who make war against you will be as nothing and will come to destruction.
13 Thi jeg, som er HERREN din Gud, jeg griber din Hånd, siger til dig: Frygt kun ikke, jeg er din Hjælper.
For I, the Lord your God, have taken your right hand in mine, saying to you, Have no fear; I will be your helper.
14 Frygt ikke, Jakob, du Orm, Israel, du Kryb! Jeg hjælper dig, lyder det fra HERREN, din Genløser er Israels Hellige.
Have no fear, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel; I will be your helper, says the Lord, even he who takes up your cause, the Holy One of Israel.
15 Se, jeg gør dig til Tærskeslæde, en ny med mange Tænder; du skal tærske og knuste Bjerge, og Høje skal du gøre til Avner;
See, I will make you like a new grain-crushing instrument with teeth, crushing the mountains small, and making the hills like dry stems.
16 du kaster dem, Vinden tager dem, Stormen hvirvler dem bort. Men du skal juble i HERREN, rose dig af Israels Hellige.
You will send the wind over them, and it will take them away; they will go in all directions before the storm-wind: you will have joy in the Lord, and be glad in the Holy One of Israel.
17 Forgæves søger de arme og fattige Vand, deres Tunge brænder af Tørst; jeg, HERREN, vil bønhøre dem, dem svigter ej Israels Gud.
The poor and crushed are looking for water where no water is, and their tongue is dry for need of it: I the Lord will give ear to their prayer, I the God of Israel will not give them up.
18 Fra nøgne Høje sender jeg Floder og Kilder midt i Dale; Ørkenen gør jeg til Vanddrag, det tørre Land til Væld.
I will make rivers on the dry mountain-tops, and fountains in the valleys: I will make the waste land a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
19 I Ørkenen giver jeg Cedre, Akacier, Myrter, Oliven; i Ødemark sætter jeg Cypresser tillige med Elm og Gran,
I will put in the waste land the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive-tree; and in the lowland will be planted the fir-tree, the plane, and the cypress together:
20 at de må se og kende, mærke sig det og indse, at HERRENs Hånd har gjort det, Israels Hellige skabt det.
So that they may see and be wise and give their mind to it, and that it may be clear to them all that the hand of the Lord has done this, and that the Holy One of Israel has made it.
21 Fremlæg eders Sag, siger HERREN, kom med Bevis! siger Jakobs Konge.
Put forward your cause, says the Lord; let your strong argument come out, says the King of Jacob.
22 De træde nu frem og forkynde os, hvad der herefter skal ske. Sig frem, hvad I har forudsagt, at vi kan granske derover og se, hvad Udfald det fik; eller kundgør os, hvad der kommer!
Let the future be made clear to us: give us news of the past things, so that we may give thought to them; or of the things to come, so that we may see if they are true.
23 Forkynd, hvad der siden vil ske, at vi kan se, I er Guder! Gør noget, godt eller ondt, så måler vi os med hinanden!
Give us word of what will be after this, so that we may be certain that you are gods: yes, do good or do evil, so that we may all see it and be surprised.
24 Se, I er intet, eders Gerning Luft, vederstyggelig, hvo eder vælger.
But you are nothing, and your work is of no value: foolish is he who takes you for his gods.
25 Jeg vakte ham fra Norden, og han kom, jeg kaldte ham fra Solens Opgang. Han nedtramper Fyrster som Dynd, som en Pottemager ælter sit Ler.
I have sent for one from the north, and from the dawn he has come; in my name he will get rulers together and go against them; they will be like dust, even as the wet earth is stamped on by the feet of the potter.
26 Hvo forkyndte det før, så vi vidste det, forud, så vi sagde: "Han fik Ret!" Nej, ingen har forkyndt eller sagt det, ingen har hørt eders Ord.
Who has given knowledge of it from the first, so that we may be certain of it? and from the start, so that we may say, His word is true? There is no one who gives news, or says anything, or who gives ear to your words.
27 Først jeg har forkyndt det for Zion, sendt Jerusalem Glædesbud.
I was the first to give word of it to Zion, and I gave the good news to Jerusalem.
28 Jeg ser mig om der er ingen, ingen af dem ved Råd, så de svarer mig på mit Spørgsmål.
And I saw that there was no man, even no wise man among them, who might give an answer to my questions.
29 Se, alle er de intet, deres Værker Luft, deres Billeder Vind og Tomhed.
Truly they are all nothing, their works are nothing and of no value: their metal images are of no more use than wind.
