Dommer 6

1 Men da Israelitterne gjorde, hvad der var ondt i HERRENS Øjne, gav han dem syv År i Midjans Hånd.

And the sons of Israel did the thing that was wicked, in the sight of Yahweh, —so Yahweh delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years;

2 Og Midjan fik Overtaget over Israel. For at værge sig mod Midjan indrettede Israelitterne sig de Smuthuller, som findes i Bjergene, Hulerne og Klippeborgene.

and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel, —because of Midian, did the sons of Israel prepare for themselves the hollows which were in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.

3 Hver Gang Israelitterne havde sået, kom Midjaniterne, Amalekiterne og Østens Stammer og drog op imod dem

And so it used to be, if Israel had sown, then came up Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east, yea came up against them,

4 og lejrede sig imod dem, ødelagde Jordens Afgrøde lige til Egnen om Gaza og levnede intet at leve af i Israel, ej heller Småkvæg, Hornkvæg eller Æsler;

and encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the land, until thou comest unto Gaza, —neither left they sustenance in Israel, nor sheep nor ox, nor ass;

5 thi de drog op med deres Hjorde og Telte og kom talrige som Græshopper, så hverken de selv eller deres Kameler kunde tælles, og de trængte ind i Landet for at hærge det.

for, they with their cattle, used to come up, with their tents—yea they used to come like locusts, for multitude, both they and their cattle, were without number, —so they came into the land, to lay it waste.

6 Således blev Israel rent forarmet ved Midjaniternes indfald, og Israelitterne råbte til HERREN.

Thus was Israel greatly impoverished, because of Midian, —and the sons of Israel made outcry unto Yahweh.

7 Men da Israelitterne råbte til HERREN over Midjaniterne,

And it came to pass, when the sons of Israel cried unto Yahweh, —on account of Midian,

8 sendte han en Profet til dem, og denne sagde til dem: "Så siger HERREN, Israels Gud: Jeg førte eder op fra Ægypten, jeg førte eder ud af Trællehuset,

then sent Yahweh a prophet unto the sons of Israel, —who said unto them—Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel, I, led you up out of Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of servants;

9 jeg friede eder af Ægyptens Hånd og af deres Hånd, der trængte eder, og jeg drev dem bort foran eder og gav eder deres Land.

Yea I rescued you out of the hand of Egypt, and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, —that I might drive them out from before you, and I gave unto you their land;

10 Og jeg sagde til eder: Jeg er HERREN eders Gud; frygt ikke Amoriternes Guder, i hvis Land I bor! Men I adlød ikke min Røst!"

Yea and I said to you, —I, Yahweh, am your God, Ye must not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye are about to dwell, —But ye have not hearkened unto my voice.

11 Da kom HERRENs Engel og satte sig under Egen i Ofra, som tilhørte Abiezriten Joasj, medens hans Søn Gideon var ved at tærske Hvede i Vinpersen for at have den i Sikkerhed for Midjaniterne.

Then came the messenger of Yahweh, and sat down under the oak which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite; and, Gideon his son, was beating out wheat in the winepress, to escape the notice of the Midianites;

12 HERRENs Engel viste sig for ham og sagde til ham: "HERREN er med dig, stærke Kriger!"

so the messenger of Yahweh appeared unto him, —and said unto him, Yahweh, is with thee, thou mighty man of valour!

13 Men Gideon svarede ham: "Ak, Herre! Hvis HERREN er med os, hvorledes er da alt dette kommet over os? Og hvad er der blevet af alle hans Undergerninger, som vore Fædre fortalte os om, idet de sagde: Førte HERREN os ikke ud af Ægypten? Nu har HERREN forstødt os og givet os i Midjans Hånd!"

And Gideon said unto him—Pardon, my lord! if Yahweh be with us, then wherefore hath all this befallen us? and where are all his wonders, which our fathers have recounted to us—saying, Was it not, out of Egypt, that Yahweh brought us up? But, now, hath Yahweh abandoned us, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.

14 Da vendte HERREN sig til ham og sagde: "Drag hen i denne din Kraft, så skal du frelse Israel af Midjans Hånd; sandelig, jeg sender dig!"

And Yahweh, turned unto him, and said—Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel, out of the hand of Midian, —have I not sent thee?

15 Men han svarede ham: "Ak, Herre! Hvorledes skal jeg kunne frelse Israel? Se, min Slægt er den ringeste i Manasse og jeg den yngste i mit Fædrenehus!"

And he said unto him—Pardon, O my Lord! How, shall I save Israel? Lo! my thousand, is the poorest in Manasseh, and, I, am the youngest in the house of my father.

16 Han svarede ham: "HERREN vil være med dig, og du skal hugge Midjaniterne ned alle som een!"

And Yahweh said unto him—I will be with thee, —so shalt thou smite the Midianites, as one man.

17 Da sagde han til ham: "Hvis jeg har fundet Nåde for dine Øjne, så lad mig få et Tegn på, at det er dig, som taler med mig;

And he said unto him, If, I beseech thee, I have found favour in thine eyes, then wilt thou work for me a sign, that it is, thou, who art speaking with me.

18 gå ikke herfra, før jeg kommer tilbage til dig og bringer dig min Gave og stiller den frem for dig!" Han svarede: "Jeg skal blive, til du kommer tilbage!"

Do not, I beseech thee, withdraw from hence, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said: I, will tarry until thou return.

19 Gideon gik da ind og tillavede et Gedekid og usyrede Brød af en Efa Mel; Kødet lagde han i en Kurv, og Suppen hældte han i en Krukke og bar det ud til ham under Egen. Da han kom hen til ham med det,

So, Gideon, went in, and made ready a kid of the goats, and, of an ephah of meal, unleavened cakes, the flesh, he put in a basket, and, the broth, he put in a pot, —and brought them forth unto him, under the oak, and presented them.

20 sagde Guds Engel til ham: "Tag Kødet og det usyrede Brød. Læg det på Klippen der og hæld Suppen ud derover!" Og han gjorde det.

And the messenger of God said unto him—Take the flesh and the cakes, and set them on this crag, and, the broth, do thou pour out. And he did so.

21 Da udrakte HERRENs Engel Spidsen af den Stav, han havde i Hånden, og rørte ved Kødet og Brødet. Og Ild slog op af Klippen og fortærede Kødet og Brødet; og HERRENs Engel forsvandt for hans Blik.

Then the messenger of Yahweh put forth the end of the staff, that was in his hand, and touched the flesh, and the cakes, —and there came up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh, and the cakes, and, the messenger of Yahweh, had departed out of his sight.

22 Gideon skønnede nu, at det havde været HERRENs Engel; og han sagde: "Ve, Herre, HERRE, jeg har jo set HERRENs Engel Ansigt til Ansigt!"

Then saw Gideon that, the messenger of Yahweh, it was, —so Gideon said—Alas, My Lord Yahweh! forasmuch as I have seen the messenger of Yahweh, face to face!

23 Men HERREN sagde til ham: "Fred være med dig! Frygt ikke, du skal ikke dø!"

And Yahweh said unto him—Peace be unto thee! Do not fear, —thou shalt not die.

24 Da byggede Gideon HERREN et Alter der og kaldte det "HERREN er Fred"; det står endnu den Dag i Dag i Abiezriternes Ofra.

So Gideon built there an altar unto Yahweh, and called it, Yahweh-shalom. Unto this day, it remaineth, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

25 Samme Nat sagde HERREN til ham: "Tag ti af dine Trælle og en syvårs Tyr; nedbryd din Faders Ba'alsalter og hug Asjerastøtten om, som står derved;

And it came to pass, on that night, that Yahweh said unto him—Take the young bullock that belongeth to thy father, even the second bullock of seven years, —and throw thou down the altar of Baal, that belongeth to thy father, and, the sacred stem that is by it, shalt thou cut down.

26 byg så af Stensætningen HERREN din Gud et Alter på Toppen af Klippen her og tag Tyren og brænd den som Brændoffer med Træet af den omhuggede Asjerastøtte!"

Then shalt thou build an altar, unto Yahweh thy God, on the top of this fort, with the pile, —and shalt take the second bullock, and cause it to go up as an ascending-sacrifice, with the wood of the sacred stem which thou shalt cut down.

27 Gideon tog da ti af sine Trælle og gjorde, som HERREN bød ham; men han gjorde det om Natten, thi af Frygt for sin Familie og sine Bysbørn turde han ikke gøre det om Dagen.

So Gideon took ten men from among his servants, and did as Yahweh had spoken unto him, —and so it was that, as he too much feared the house of his father, and the men of the city, to do it by day, he did it by night.

28 Da Byens Folk næste Morgen tidlig så Ba'alsalteret nedbrudt, Asjerastøtten ved Siden af hugget om og Tyren ofret på det nybyggede Alter,

And the men of the city rose up early in the morning, and lo! the altar of Baal, had been overthrown, and, the sacred stem that was by it, had been cut down, and the second bullock had been caused to ascend upon the altar that had been built.

29 sagde de til hverandre: "Hvem mon der har gjort det?" Og da de spurgte sig for og foretog en Undersøgelse, blev der sagt, at det var Gideon, Joasjs Søn.

So they said, one to another, Who hath done this thing? And they inquired, and made search, and it was said, Gideon son of Joash, hath done this thing.

30 Og Byens Folk sagde til Joasj: "Udlever din Søn, for at han kan lide Døden, thi han har nedbrudt Ba'alsalteret og omhugget Asjerastøtten ved Siden af!"

So the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring forth thy son, that he may die, —because he hath overthrown the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the sacred stem that was by it.

31 Men Joasj svarede alle dem, der stod omkring ham: "Vil I virkelig stride for Ba'al eller hjælpe ham? Den, der strider for ham, skal dø inden i Morgen! Er han Gud, så lad ham stride for sig selv, siden hans Alter er nedbrudt!"

And Joash said unto all who stood by him—Will, ye, plead for Baal, or will, ye, save him? Whoso pleadeth for him, let him be put to death while it is yet morning, —if, a god, he be let him plead for himself, because one hath overthrown his altar.

32 Ved den Lejlighed fik Gideon Navnet Jerubba'al, idet man sagde: "Lad Ba'al stride med ham, siden han har nedbrudt hans Alter!"

So he was called on that day, Jerubbaal, saying, —Let Baal, plead against him. Because he had overthrown his altar.

33 Alle Midjaniterne, Amalekiterne og Østens Stammer sluttede sig sammen, satte over Jordan og slog Lejr på Jizre'elsletten.

Now, all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the sons of the east, were gathered together, —and they crossed over and pitched in the vale of Jezreel.

34 Da iklædte HERRENs Ånd sig Gideon, og han stødte i Hornet; og Abiezriterne fylkede sig om ham.

But, the spirit of Yahweh, clothed Gideon, —so he blew with a horn, and Abiezer was gathered after him.

35 Og da han sendte Bud ud i hele Manasse, fylkede de sig også om ham; og han sendte Bud ud i Aser, Zebulon og Naftali, og de drog op før at møde Fjenderne.

Messengers also, sent he throughout all Manasseh, and, they also, were gathered after him, —messengers also, sent he throughout Asher, and throughout Zebulun, and throughout Naphtali, and they came up to meet them.

36 Da sagde Gideon til Gud: "Hvis du vil frelse Israel ved min Hånd, som du har lovet,

And Gideon said unto God, —If thou art about to bring salvation, by my hand, unto Israel, as thou hast spoken,

37 så lægger jeg nu dette Fåreskind på Tærskepladsen, og falder der så Dug alene på Skindet, medens Jorden ellers bliver ved at være tør, da ved jeg, at du vil frelse Israel ved min Hånd, som du har lovet."

lo! I am placing a woollen fleece, on the threshing-floor, —if, dew, be on the fleece alone and, on all the ground, it be dry, then shall I know that thou wilt bring salvation, by my hand, unto Israel, as thou hast spoken.

38 Og det skete således. Da han næste Morgen vred Skindet, pressede han Dug af det, en hel Skålfuld Vand.

And it was so, and he rose up early, on the morrow, and pressed together the fleece, —and wrung out the dew from the fleece, a small bowl full of water.

39 Men Gideon sagde til Gud: "Vredes ikke på mig, når jeg endnu denne ene Gang taler til dig, lad mig blot denne Gang endnu prøve med Skindet: Lad Skindet alene være tørt, medens der falder Dug på Jorden rundt om!"

Then said Gideon unto God, Let not thine anger kindle upon me, but let me speak, only this once, —Let me, I pray thee, put to the proof, only this once, with the fleece, I pray thee, let it be dry on the fleece alone, while, on all the ground, there be dew.

40 Da gjorde Gud således om Natten: Skindet alene var ført, men der faldt Dug på Jorden rundt om.

And God did so on that night, —and it was dry on the fleece alone, while, on all the ground, there was dew.