< 1 Samuel 6 >

1 Now the ark of the Lord was in the region of the Philistines for seven months.
Efter at HERREN Ark havde været i Filisternes Land syv Maaneder,
2 And the Philistines called for the priests and the diviners, saying: “What shall we do with the ark of the Lord? Reveal to us in what manner we should send it back to its place.” And they said:
lod Filisterne Præsterne og Sandsigerne kalde og sagde: »Hvad skal vi gøre med HERRENS Ark? Lad os faa at vide, hvorledes vi skal bære os ad, naar vi sender den hen, hvor den har hjemme!«
3 “If you send back the ark of the God of Israel, do not choose to release it empty. Instead, repay to him what you owe because of sin. And then you will be cured. And you will know why his hand did not withdraw from you.”
De svarede: »Naar I sender Israels Guds Ark tilbage, maa I ikke sende den bort uden Gave; men I skal give den en Sonegave med tilbage; saa bliver I raske og skal faa at vide, hvorfor hans Haand ikke vil vige fra eder!«
4 And they said, “What is it that we ought to repay to him because of transgression?” And they responded:
De spurgte da: »Hvilken Sonegave skal vi give den med tilbage?« Og de sagde: »Fem Guldbylder og fem Guldmus svarende til Tallet paa Filisterfyrsterne; thi det er en og samme Plage, der har ramt eder og eders Fyrster;
5 “In accord with the number of the provinces of the Philistines, you shall fashion five gold cysts and five gold mice. For the same plague has been upon all of you and your princes. And you shall fashion a likeness of your cysts and a likeness of the mice, which have destroyed the land. And so shall you give glory to the God of Israel, so that perhaps he may lift off his hand from you, and from your gods, and from your land.
I skal eftergøre eders Bylder og Musene, som hærger eders Land, og saaledes give Israels Gud Æren; maaske vil han da tage sin Haand bort fra eder, eders Gud og eders Land.
6 Why have you hardened your hearts, just as Egypt and Pharaoh hardened their hearts? After he was struck, did he not then release them, and they went away?
Hvorfor vil I forhærde eders Hjerte, som Ægypterne og Farao forhærdede deres Hjerte? Da han viste dem sin Magt, maatte de da ikke lade dem rejse, saa de kunde drage af Sted?
7 Now therefore, fashion and take a new cart, with two cows that have given birth, but on which no yoke has been imposed. And yoke them to the cart, but retain their calves at home.
Tag derfor og lav en ny Vogn og tag to diegivende Køer, som ikke har baaret Aag, spænd Køerne for Vognen og tag Kalvene fra dem og driv dem hjem;
8 And you shall take the ark of the Lord, and you shall place it upon the cart, with the articles of gold that you have paid to him on behalf of transgression. You shall place these in a little box at its side. And release it, so that it may go.
tag saa HERRENS Ark og sæt den paa Vognen, læg de Guldting, I giver den med i Sonegave, i et Skrin ved Siden af og send den saa af Sted.
9 And you shall watch. And if, indeed, it ascends by the way of his own parts, toward Beth-shemesh, then he has done this great evil to us. But if not, then we shall know that it is by no means his hand that has touched us, but instead it happened by chance.”
Læg siden Mærke til, om den tager Vejen hjem ad Bet-Sjemesj til, thi saa er det ham, som har voldt os denne store Ulykke; i modsat Fald ved vi, at det ikke var hans Haand, som ramte os, men at det var en Hændelse!«
10 Therefore, they did it in this way. And taking two cows that were feeding calves, they yoked them to the cart, and they enclosed their calves at home.
Mændene gjorde da saaledes; de tog to diegivende Køer og spændte dem for Vognen, men Kalvene lukkede de inde i Stalden.
11 And they placed the ark of God upon the cart, with the little box that held the gold mice and the likenesses of the cysts.
Derpaa satte de HERRENS Ark paa Vognen tillige med Skrinet med Guldmusene og Bylderne.
12 But the cows went directly along the way that leads to Beth-shemesh. And they advanced only in one direction, lowing as they went. And they did not turn aside, neither to the right, nor to the left. Moreover, the princes of the Philistines followed them, as far as the borders of Beth-shemesh.
Men Køerne gik den slagne Vej ad Bet-Sjemesj til; under ustandselig Brølen fulgte de stadig den samme Vej uden at bøje af til højre eller venstre, og Filisterfyrsterne fulgte med dem til Bet-Sjemesj's Landemærke.
13 Now the Beth-shemeshites were harvesting wheat in the valley. And lifting up their eyes, they saw the ark, and they were glad when they had seen it.
Da Bet-Sjemesjiterne, der var ved at høste Hvede i Dalen, saa op og fik Øje paa Arken, løb de den glade i Møde;
14 And the cart went into the field of Joshua, a Beth-shemeshite, and it stood still there. Now in that place was a great stone, and so they cut up the wood of the cart, and they placed the cows upon it as a holocaust to the Lord.
og da Vognen var kommet til Bet-Sjemesjiten Jehosjuas Mark, standsede den. Der laa en stor Sten; de huggede da Træet af Vognen i Stykker og ofrede Køerne som Brændoffer til HERREN.
15 But the Levites took down the ark of God, and the little box that was at its side, in which were the articles of gold, and they placed them upon the great stone. Then the men of Beth-shemesh offered holocausts and immolated victims, on that day, to the Lord.
Og Leviterne løftede HERRENS Ark ned tillige med Skrinet med Guldtingene, der stod ved Siden af, og satte den paa den store Sten, og Mændene i Bet-Sjemesj bragte den Dag Brændofre og ofrede Slagtofre til HERREN.
16 And the five princes of the Philistines saw, and they returned to Ekron on the same day.
Da de fem Filisterfyrster havde set det, vendte de ufortøvet tilbage til Ekron.
17 Now these are the gold cysts, which the Philistines repaid to the Lord for transgression: for Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Ashkelon one, for Gath one, for Ekron one.
Dette er de Guldbylder, Filisterne lod følge med i Sonegave til HERREN: For Asdod een, for Gaza een, for Askalon een, for Gat een og for Ekron een.
18 And there were gold mice, according to the number of the cities of the Philistines, of the five provinces, from the fortified city to the village that was without a wall, and even to the great stone upon which they placed the ark of the Lord, which was, at last in that day, in the field of Joshua, the Beth-shemeshite.
Guldmusene svarede til Tallet paa alle Filisterbyerne, der tilhørte de fem Fyrster, baade de befæstede Byer og Landsbyerne. Vidne derom er den Dag i Dag den store Sten paa Bet-Sjemesjiten Jehosjuas Mark, hvorpaa de satte HERRENS Ark.
19 Then he struck down some of the men of Beth-shemesh, because they had seen the ark of the Lord. And he struck down some of the people: seventy men, and fifty thousand of the common people. And the people lamented, because the Lord had struck the people with a great slaughter.
Men Jekonjas Efterkommere havde ikke taget Del i Bet-Sjemesjiternes Glæde over at se HERRENS Ark; derfor ihjelslog han halvfjerdsindstyve Mænd iblandt dem. Da sørgede Folket, fordi HERREN havde slaaet saa mange af dem ihjel;
20 And the men of Beth-shemesh said: “Who will be able to stand in the sight of the Lord, this holy God? And who will ascend to him from us?”
og Bet-Sjemesjiterne sagde: »Hvem kan bestaa for HERRENS, denne hellige Guds, Aasyn? Og hvor vil han drage hen fra os?«
21 And they sent messengers to the inhabitants of Kiriath-jearim, saying: “The Philistines have returned the ark of the Lord. Descend and lead it back to you.”
Og de sendte Bud til Indbyggerne i Kirjat-Jearim og lod sige: »Filisterne har sendt HERRENS Ark tilbage. Kom herned og hent den op til eder!«

< 1 Samuel 6 >