< Judges 11 >

1 There was at that time Jephte the Galaadite, a most valiant man and a warrior, the son of a woman that was a harlot, and his father was Galaad.
Gileaditen Jefta var en dygtig Kriger. Han var Søn af en Skøge. Gilead avlede Jefta.
2 Now Galaad had a wife of whom he had sons: who after they were grown up, thrust out Jephte, saying: Thou canst not inherit in the house of our father, because thou art born of another mother.
Men Gileads Hustru fødte ham Sønner, og da de voksede op, jog de Jefta bort med de Ord: »Du skal ikke have Arv og Lod i vor Faders Hus, thi du er en fremmed Kvindes Søn!«
3 Then he fled and avoided them and dwelt in the land of Tob: and there were gathered to him needy men, and robbers, and they followed him as their prince.
Jefta flygtede da for sine Brødre og bosatte sig i Landet Tob, hvor nogle daarlige Folk samlede sig om ham og deltog i hans Strejftog.
4 In those days the children of Ammon made war against Israel.
Efter nogen Tids Forløb angreb Ammoniterne Israel.
5 And as they pressed hard upon them, the ancients of Galaad went to fetch Jephte out of the land of Tob to help them:
Og da Ammoniterne angreb Israel, drog Gileads Ældste hen for at hente Jefta hjem fra Landet Tob.
6 And they said to him: Come thou and be our prince, and fight against the children of Ammon.
De sagde til Jefta: »Kom og vær vor Fører, at vi kan tage Kampen op med Ammoniterne!«
7 And he answered them: Are not you the men that hated me, and cast me out of my father’s house, and now you are come to me constrained by necessity?
Jefta svarede Gileads Ældste: »Har I ikke hadet mig og jaget mig bort fra min Faders Hus? Hvorfor kommer I da til mig, nu I er i Nød?«
8 And the princes of Galaad said to Jephte: For this cause we are now come to thee, that thou mayst go with us, and fight against the children of Ammon, and be head over all the inhabitants of Galaad.
Men Gileads Ældste sagde til Jefta: »Derfor kommer vi jo nu tilbage til dig! Vil du drage med os og kæmpe med Ammoniterne, skal du være Høvding over os, over alle Gileads Indbyggere!«
9 Jephte also said to them: If you be come to me sincerely, that I should fight for you against the children of Ammon, and the Lord shall deliver them into my band, shall I be your prince?
Jefta svarede Gileads Ældste: »Dersom I fører mig tilbage, for at jeg skal kæmpe med Ammoniterne, og HERREN giver dem i min Magt, saa vil jeg være eders Høvding!«
10 They answered him: The Lord who heareth these things, he himself is mediator and witness that we will do as we have promised.
Da sagde Gileads Ældste til Jefta: »HERREN hører Overenskomsten mellem os; visselig vil vi gøre, som du siger!«
11 Jephte therefore went with the princes of Galaad, and all the people made him their prince. And Jephte spoke all his words before the Lord in Maspha.
Da drog Jefta med Gileads Ældste; og Folket gjorde ham til deres Høvding og Fører. Og alle sine Ord udtalte Jefta for HERRENS Aasyn i Mizpa.
12 And he sent messengers to the king of the children of Ammon, to say in his name, What hast thou to do with me, that thou art come against me, to waste my land?
Derpaa sendte Jefta Sendebud til Ammoniternes Konge og lod sige: »Hvad er der dig og mig imellem, siden du er draget imod mig for at angribe mit Land?«
13 And he answered them: I Because Israel took away my land when he came up out of Egypt, from the confines of the Arnon unto the Jaboc and the Jordan: now therefore restore the same peaceably to me.
Ammoniternes Konge svarede Jeftas Sendebud: »Jo, Israel tog mit Land, da de drog op fra Ægypten, lige fra Arnon til Jabbok og Jordan; giv det derfor tilbage med det gode!«
14 And Jephte again sent word by them, and commanded them to say to the king of Ammon:
Men Jefta sendte atter Sendebud til Ammoniternes Konge
15 Thus saith Jephte: Israel did not take away the land of Moab, nor the land of the children of Ammon:
og lod sige: »Saaledes siger Jefta: Israel har ikke taget Moabs eller Ammoniternes Land!
16 But when they came up out of Egypt, he walked through the desert to the Red Sea and came into Cades.
Men da de drog op fra Ægypten, vandrede Israel igennem Ørkenen til det røde Hav og kom derpaa til Kadesj.
17 And he sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying: Suffer me to pass through thy land. But he would not condescend to his request. He sent also to the king of Moab, who likewise refused to give him passage. He abode therefore in Cades,
Da sendte Israel Sendebud til Edomiternes Konge og lod sige: Lad mig drage igennem dit Land! Men Edomiternes Konge ænsede det ikke. Ligeledes sendte de Bud til Moabiternes Konge, men han var heller ikke villig dertil. Israel blev da boende i Kadesj.
18 And went round the land of Edom at the side, and the land of Moab: and came over against the east coast of the land of Moab, and camped on the other side of the Arnon: and he would not enter the bounds of Moab.
Derpaa drog de igennem Ørkenen og gik uden om Edomiternes og Moabiternes, Land, og da de naaede Egnen østen for Moab, slog de Lejr hinsides Arnon; men de betraadte ikke Moabs Enemærker, thi Arnon er Moabs Grænse.
19 So Israel sent messengers to Sehon king of the Amorrhites, who dwelt in Hesebon, and they said to him: Suffer me to pass through thy land to the river.
Israel sendte derpaa Sendebud til Kongen af Hesjbon, Amoriterkongen Sihon, og lod sige: Lad os drage igennem dit Land for at naa hen, hvor vi skal!
20 But he also despising the words of Israel, suffered him not to pass through his borders: but gathering an infinite multitude, went out against him to Jasa, and made strong opposition.
Men Sihon nægtede Israeliterne Tilladelse til at drage gennem hans Land; og Sihon samlede hele sin Hær, og de slog Lejr i Jaza og angreb Israel.
21 And the Lord delivered him with all his army into the hands of Israel, and he slew him, and possessed all the land of the Amorrhite the inhabitant of that country,
Da gav HERREN, Israels Gud, Sihon og hele hans Hær i Israels Haand, saa at de slog dem. Og Israel underlagde sig hele det Land, Amoriterne boede i;
22 And all the coasts thereof from the Arnon to the Jaboc, and from the wilderness to the Jordan.
de underlagde sig hele Amoriternes Omraade fra Arnon til Jabbok og fra Ørkenen til Jordan.
23 So the Lord the God of Israel destroyed the Amorrhite, his people of Israel fighting against him, and wilt thou now possess this land?
Saaledes drev HERREN, Israels Gud, Amoriterne bort foran sit Folk Israel; og nu vil du underlægge dig deres Land!
24 Are not those things which thy god Chamos possesseth, due to thee by right? But what the Lord our God hath obtained by conquest, shall be our possession:
Ikke sandt, naar din Gud Kemosj driver nogen bort, saa tager du hans Land? Og hver Gang HERREN vor Gud driver nogen bort foran os, tager vi hans Land.
25 Unless perhaps thou art better than Balac the son of Sephor king of Moab: or canst shew that he strove against Israel and fought against him,
Er du vel bedre end Zippors Søn, Kong Balak af Moab? Stredes han med Israel, eller indlod han sig i Kamp med dem,
26 Whereas he hath dwelt in Hesebon, and the villages thereof, and in Aroer, and its villages, and in all the cities near the Jordan, for three hundred years. Why have you for so long a time attempted nothing about this claim?
da Israeliterne bosatte sig i Hesjbon med Smaabyer, i Aroer med Smaabyer og i alle Byerne langs Arnon nu har de boet der i 300 Aar? Hvorfor tilrev I eder dem ikke dengang?
27 Therefore I do not trespass against thee, but thou wrongest me by declaring an unjust war against me. The Lord be judge and decide this day between Israel and the children of Ammon.
Det er ikke mig, der har forbrudt mig mod dig, men dig, der handler ilde mod mig ved at angribe mig. HERREN, Dommeren, vil i Dag dømme Israeliterne og Ammoniterne imellem!«
28 And the king of the children of Ammon would not hearken to the words of Jephte, which he sent him by the messengers.
Men Ammoniternes Konge ænsede ikke Jeftas Ord, som hans Sendebud overbragte.
29 Therefore the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephte, and going round Galaad, and Manasses, and Maspha of Galaad, and passing over from thence to the children of Ammon,
Da kom HERRENS Aand over Jefta; og han drog igennem Gilead og Manasse; derpaa drog han til Mizpe i Gilead, og fra Mizpe i Gilead drog han mod Ammoniterne.
30 He made a vow to the Lord, saying: If thou wilt deliver the children of Ammon into my hands,
Og Jefta aflagde HERREN et Løfte og sagde: »Dersom du giver Ammoniterne i min Haand,
31 Whosoever shall first come forth out of the doors of my house, and shall meet me when I return in peace from the children of Ammon, the same will I offer a holocaust to the Lord.
saa skal den, som først kommer mig i Møde fra min Husdør naar jeg vender uskadt, tilbage fra Ammoniterne, tilfalde HERREN, og jeg vil ofre ham som Brændoffer!«
32 And Jephte passed over to the children of Ammon, to fight against them: and the Lord delivered them into his hands.
Saa drog Jefta i Kamp mod Ammoniterne, og HERREN gav dem i hans Haand,
33 And he smote them from Aroer till you come to Mennith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel, which is set with vineyards, with a very great slaughter: and the children of Ammon were humbled by the children of Israel.
saa at han tilføjede dem et stort Nederlag fra Aroer til Egnen ved Minnit, tyve Byer, og til Abel-Keramim. Saaledes bukkede Ammoniterne under for Israeliterne.
34 And when Jephte returned into Maspha to his house, his only daughter met him with timbrels and with dances: for he had no other children.
Men da Jefta kom til sit Hjem i Mizpa, se, da kom hans Datter ham i Møde med Haandpauker og Dans. Hun var hans eneste Barn foruden hende havde han hverken Søn eller Datter.
35 And when he saw her, he rent his garments, and said: Alas! my daughter, thou hast deceived me, and thou thyself art deceived: for I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I can do no other thing.
Da han fik Øje paa hende, sønderrev han sine Klæder og raabte: »Ak, min Datter, du har bøjet mig dybt, og det er dig, der styrter mig i Ulykke! Thi jeg har aabnet min Mund for HERREN og kan ikke tage mit Ord tilbage!«
36 And she answered him: My father, if thou hast opened thy mouth to the Lord, do unto me whatsoever thou hast promised, since the victory hath been granted to thee, and revenge of thy enemies.
Da svarede hun ham: »Fader, har du aabnet din Mund for HERREN, saa gør med mig, som dit Ord lød, nu da HERREN har skaffet dig Hævn over dine Fjender, Ammoniterne!«
37 And she said to her father: Grant me only this which I desire: Let me go, that I may go about the mountains for two months, and may bewail my virginity with my companions.
Men hun sagde til sin Fader: »En Ting maa du unde mig: Giv mig to Maaneders Frist, saa jeg kan gaa omkring i Bjergene for at begræde min Jomfrustand sammen med mine Veninder!«
38 And he answered her: Go. And he sent her away for two months. And when she was gone with her comrades and companions, she mourned her virginity in the mountains.
Han sagde: »Gaa!« og lod hende drage bort i to Maaneder; og hun gik bort med sine Veninder for at begræde sin Jomfrustand i Bjergene.
39 And the two months being expired, she returned to her father, and he did to her as he had vowed, and she knew no man. From thence came a fashion in Israel, and a custom has been kept:
Da de to Maaneder var omme, vendte hun tilbage til sin Fader, og han fuldbyrdede det Løfte, han havde aflagt, paa hende; og hun havde ikke kendt Mand. Og det blev Skik i Israel,
40 That from year to year the daughters of Israel assemble together, and lament the daughter of Jephte the Galaadite for four days.
at Israels Døtre hvert Aar gaar hen for at klage over Gileaditen Jeftas Datter fire Dage om Aaret.

< Judges 11 >