Exodus 18
1 Now Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, heard about all that God had done for Moses and His people Israel, and how the LORD 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 After Moses had sent back his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro had received her,
tog Jetro, Moses's Svigerfader, Zippora, Moses's Hustru, som han havde sendt hjem,
3 along with her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses had said, “I have been a foreigner 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 The other son was named Eliezer, for Moses had said, “The God of my father was my helper 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 Moses’ father-in-law Jethro, along with Moses’ wife and sons, came to him in the desert, where he was encamped at the mountain of God.
Og Jetro, Moses's Svigerfader, kom med hans Sønner og Hustru til Moses i Ørkenen, hvor han havde slaaet Lejr ved Guds Bjerg,
6 He sent word to Moses, “I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons.”
og han lod Moses melde: »Jetro, din Svigerfader, kommer til dig med din Hustru og hendes to Sønner!«
7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and kissed him. They greeted each other and went into the tent.
Da gik Moses sin Svigerfader i Møde, bøjede sig for ham og kyssede ham; og da de havde hilst paa hinanden, gik de ind i Teltet.
8 Then Moses recounted to his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake, all the hardships they had encountered along the way, and how the LORD had 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 over all the good things the LORD had done for Israel, whom He had rescued from 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 Haand.
10 Jethro declared, “Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who has delivered the people from the hand of the Egyptians.
Og Jetro sagde: »Lovet være HERREN, som har frelst eder af Ægypternes og Faraos Haand!
11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods, for He did this when they treated Israel with arrogance.”
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 Haand.«
12 Then Moses’ father-in-law Jethro brought a burnt offering and sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses’ father-in-law in the presence of God.
Derpaa udtog Jetro, Moses's Svigerfader, Brændofre og Slagtofre til Gud; og Aron og alle Israels Ældste kom for at holde Maaltid for Guds Aasyn med Moses's Svigerfader.
13 The next day Moses took his seat to judge the people, and they stood around him from morning until evening.
Næste Morgen tog Moses Sæde for at holde Ret for Folket, og Folket stod omkring Moses fra Morgen til Aften.
14 When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he asked, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone as judge, with all the people standing around you from morning till evening?”
Men da Moses's Svigerfader saa 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 staar omkring dig fra Morgen til Aften?«
15 “Because the people come to me to inquire of God,” Moses replied.
Moses svarede sin Svigerfader: »Jo, Folket kommer til mig for at raadspørge Gud;
16 “Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me to judge between one man and another, and I make known to them the statutes and laws of God.”
naar de har en Retssag, kommer de til mig, og jeg dømmer Parterne imellem og kundgør dem Guds Anordninger og Love.«
17 But Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What you are doing is not good.
Da sagde Moses's Svigerfader til ham: »Det er ikke klogt, som du bærer dig ad med det.
18 Surely you and these people with you will wear yourselves out, because the task is too heavy for you. You cannot handle it alone.
Paa den Maade bliver jo baade du selv og Folket der omkring dig ganske udmattet, thi det Arbejde er dig for anstrengende, du kan ikke overkomme det alene.
19 Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their causes to Him.
Læg dig nu paa Sinde, hvad jeg siger; jeg vil give dig et Raad, og Gud skal være med dig: Du skal selv træde frem for Gud paa Folkets Vegne og forelægge Gud de forefaldende Sager;
20 Teach them the statutes and laws, and show them the way to live and the work 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 Furthermore, select capable men from among the people—God-fearing, trustworthy men who are averse to dishonest gain. Appoint them over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
Men du skal af hele Folket udvælge dig dygtige Mænd, som frygter Gud, Mænd, som er til at lide paa 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 Have these men judge the people at all times. Then they can bring you any major issue, but all minor cases they can judge on their own, so that your load may be lightened as they share it with you.
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 saaledes Arbejdet og lad dem komme til at bære Byrden med dig.
23 If you follow this advice and God so directs you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people can go home in peace.”
Dersom du handler saaledes og Gud vil det saa, kan du holde ud, og alt Folket der kan gaa tilfreds hjem.«
24 Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.
Moses fulgte sin Svigerfaders Raad og gjorde alt, hvad han foreslog.
25 So Moses chose capable men from all Israel and made them heads over the people as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens.
Og Moses 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 times; they would bring the difficult cases to Moses, but any minor issue they would judge themselves.
De holdt derpaa til Stadighed Ret for Folket; de vanskelige Sager forebragte de Moses, men alle mindre Sager afgjorde de selv.
27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way, and Jethro returned to his own land.
Derpaa tog Moses Afsked med sin Svigerfader, og denne begav sig til sit Land.
