Exodus 18
1 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, how that Jehovah had brought Israel out of Egypt.
Da Jetro, Præsten i Midjan, Moses's Svigerfader, hørte om alt, hvad Gud havde gjort for Moses og hans Folk Israel, hvorledes HERREN havde ført Israel ud af Ægypten,
2 And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her away,
tog Jetro, Moses's Svigerfader, Zippora, Moses's Hustru, som han havde sendt hjem,
3 and her two sons, of whom the name of the one was Gershom, for he said, I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.
tillige med hendes to Sønner. Af dem hed den ene Gersom; "thi", havde han sagt, "jeg er blevet Gæst i et fremmed Land";
4 And the name of the other was Eliezer, for he said, The God of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.
og den anden hed Eliezer; "thi", havde han sagt, "min Faders Gud har været min Hjælp og frelst mig fra Faraos Sværd!"
5 And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses into the wilderness where he was encamped, at the mount of God.
Og Jetro, Moses's Svigerfader, kom med hans Sønner og Hustru til Moses i Ørkenen, hvor han havde slået Lejr ved Guds Bjerg,
6 And he said to Moses, I, thy father-in-law Jethro, have come to thee, and thy wife, and her two sons with her.
og han lod Moses melde: "Jetro, din Svigerfader, kommer til dig med din Hustru og hendes to Sønner!"
7 And Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and did obeisance, and kissed him. And they asked each other of their welfare, and they came into the tent.
Da gik Moses sin Svigerfader i Møde, bøjede sig for ham og kyssede ham; og da de havde hilst på hinanden, gik de ind i Teltet.
8 And Moses told his father-in-law all that Jehovah had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the travail that had come upon them by the way, and how Jehovah delivered them.
Moses fortalte sin Svigerfader om alt, hvad HERREN havde gjort ved Farao og Ægypten for Israels Skyld, og om alle de Besværligheder, der havde mødt dem undervejs, og hvorledes HERREN havde frelst dem.
9 And Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which Jehovah had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of the hand of the Egyptians.
Da glædede Jetro sig over alt det gode, HERREN havde gjort mod Israel, idet han havde frelst dem af Ægypternes Hånd.
10 And Jethro said, Blessed be Jehovah, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, who has delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians.
Og Jetro sagde: "Lovet være HERREN, som har frelst eder af Ægypternes og Faraos. Hånd!"
11 Now I know that Jehovah is greater than all gods, yea, in the thing wherein they dealt proudly against them.
Nu ved jeg, at HERREN er større end alle Guder, thi netop ved det, de i deres Overmod foretog sig imod dem, frelste han Folket af Ægypternes Hånd.
12 And Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God. And Aaron came, and all the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before God.
Derpå udtog Jetro, Moses's Svigerfader, Brændofre og Slagtofre til Gud; og Aron og alle Israels Ældste kom for at holde Måltid for Guds Åsyn med Moses's Svigerfader.
13 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood about Moses from the morning to the evening.
Næste Morgen tog Moses Sæde for at holde Ret for Folket, og Folket stod omkring Moses fra Morgen til Aften.
14 And when Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, What is this thing that thou do to the people? Why do thou sit by thyself, and all the people stand about thee from morning to evening?
Men da Moses's Svigerfader så alt det Arbejde, han havde med Folket, sagde han: "Hvad er dog det for et Arbejde, du har med Folket? Hvorfor sidder du alene til Doms, medens alt Folket står omkring dig fra Morgen til Aften?"
15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to inquire of God.
Moses svarede sin Svigerfader: "Jo, Folket kommer til mig for at rådspørge Gud;
16 When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor. And I make them know the statutes of God, and his laws.
når de har en Retssag, kommer de til mig, og jeg dømmer Parterne imellem og kundgør dem Guds Anordninger og Love."
17 And Moses' father-in-law said to him, The thing that thou do is not good.
Da sagde Moses's Svigerfader til ham: "Det er ikke klogt, som du bærer dig ad med det.
18 Thou will surely wear away, both thou, and this people that is with thee, for the thing is too heavy for thee. Thou are not able to perform it thyself alone.
På den Måde bliver jo både du selv og Folket der omkring dig ganske udmattet, thi det Arbejde er dig for anstrengende, du kan ikke overkomme det alene.
19 Hearken now to my voice. I will give thee counsel, and God be with thee. Be thou for the people toward God, and bring thou the cases to God.
Læg dig nu på Sinde, hvad jeg siger; jeg vil give dig et Råd, og Gud skal være med dig: Du skal. selv træde frem for Gud på Folkets Vegne og forelægge Gud de forefaldende Sager;
20 And thou shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and shall show them the way in which they must walk, and the work that they must do.
og du skal indskærpe dem Anordningerne og Lovene og lære dem den Vej, de skal vandre, og hvad de har at gøre.
21 Moreover thou shall provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating unjust gain, and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens,
Men du skal af hele Folket udvælge dig dygtige Mænd, som frygter Gud, Mænd, som er til at lide på og hader uretfærdig Vinding, og dem skal du sætte over dem som Forstandere, nogle over tusinde, andre over hundrede, andre over halvtredsindstyve, andre over ti;
22 and let them judge the people at all seasons. And it shall be, that every great matter they shall bring to thee, but every small matter they shall judge themselves. So shall it be easier for thyself, and they shall bear the burden with thee.
lad dem til Stadighed holde Ret for Folket. Alle vigtigere Sager skal de forebringe dig, men alle mindre Sager skal de selv afgøre. Let dig således Arbejdet og lad dem komme til at bære Byrden med dig.
23 If thou shall do this thing, and God command thee so, then thou shall be able to endure, and all this people also shall go to their place in peace.
Dersom du handler således og Gud vil det så, kan du holde ud, og alt Folket der kan gå tilfreds hjem."
24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said.
Moses fulgte sin Svigerfaders Råd og gjorde alt, hvad han foreslog.
25 And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens,
Og Mose's udvalgte dygtige Mænd af hele Israel og gjorde dem til Øverster over Folket, til Forstandere, nogle over tusinde, andre over hundrede, andre over halvtredsindstyve, andre over ti.
26 and they judged the people at all seasons. The hard cases they brought to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
De holdt derpå til Stadighed Ret for Folket; de vanskelige Sager forebragte de Moses, men alle mindre Sager afgjorde de selv.
27 And Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way into his own land.
Derpå tog Moses Afsked med sin Svigerfader, og denne begav sig til sit Land.
