Judges 21
1 The men of Israel had sworn an oath at Mizpah, “None of us will allow our daughters to marry a Benjamite.”
Men Israels Mænd havde i Mizpa aflagt den Ed: »Ingen af os vil give en Benjaminit sin Datter til Ægte!«
2 The Israelites went to Bethel and sat there before God until the evening, crying loudly in distress.
Da nu Folket var kommet til Betel, sad de der lige til Aften for Guds Aasyn og opløftede deres Røst, græd heftigt
3 “Lord, God of Israel, why has this happened to Israel?” they asked. “Today one of our tribes is missing from Israel.”
og sagde: »Hvorfor, HERRE, Israels Gud, er dog dette hændet i Israel, saa at vi i Dag maa savne en Stamme af Israel?«
4 The next day they got up early, built an altar, and brought burnt offerings and friendship offerings.
Tidligt næste Morgen byggede Folket et Alter der og ofrede Brændofre og Takofre.
5 “Which of all the tribes of Israel didn't attend the assembly we held before the Lord?” they asked. For they had sworn a sacred oath that anyone who did not come before the Lord at Mizpah would without exception be executed.
Derpaa sagde Israeliterne: »Hvem blandt alle Israels Stammer undlod at drage op med Forsamlingen til HERREN?« Der var nemlig svoret en dyr Ed paa, at enhver, der undlod at drage op til HERREN i Mizpa, skulde dø.
6 The Israelites felt sorry for their brother Benjamin, saying, “Today one tribe has been hacked off from Israel!
Men nu gjorde det Israeliterne ondt for deres Broder Benjamin, og de sagde: »I Dag er en Stamme hugget af Israel!
7 What shall we do about wives for those who are left, since we have sworn an oath before the Lord that we will not allow any of our daughters to marry them?”
Hvad skal vi gøre for dem, der er tilbage, for at skaffe dem Hustruer, eftersom vi har svoret ved HERREN, at vi ikke vil give dem nogen af vore Døtre til Ægte?«
8 Then they asked, “Which one of all the tribes of Israel didn't attend the assembly we held before the Lord at Mizpah?” They found out that no one from Jabesh-gilead had come to the camp for the assembly,
Saa spurgte de: »Er der maaske en af Israels Stammer, der undlod at drage op til HERREN i Mizpa?« Og se, der var ingen kommet til Lejren, til Forsamlingen, fra Jabesj i Gilead.
9 for once they had done a head count, there was nobody there from Jabesh-gilead.
Saa blev Folket mønstret, og se, der var ingen af Indbyggerne fra Jabesj i Gilead.
10 So the assembly sent twelve thousand of their best warriors there. They gave them orders, saying, “Go and kill the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with your swords, even the women and children.
Da sendte Menigheden 12 000 Mand af de tapreste Folk derhen med den Befaling: »Drag hen og hug Indbyggerne i Jabesj i Gilead ned med Sværdet tillige med deres Kvinder og Børn.
11 This is what you have to do: Destroy every male and every woman who has had sex with a man.”
Saaledes skal I bære eder ad: Alle af Mandkøn og alle Kvinder, der har haft Omgang med Mænd, skal I lægge Band paa!«
12 They managed to find among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred virgins who had not had sex with a man. They took them to the camp in Shiloh, in the land of Canaan.
De fandt saa hos Indbyggerne i Jabesj i Gilead 400 unge Piger, der var Jomfruer og ikke havde haft Omgang med nogen Mand, og dem førte de til Lejren i Silo i Kana'ans Land.
13 Then the whole assembly sent a message to the Benjamites at Pomegranate Rock to tell them, “Peace!”
Derpaa sendte hele Menigheden Sendebud hen for at underhandle med Benjaminiterne, der befandt sig paa Rimmons Klippe, og tilbyde dem Fred.
14 So the men of Benjamin went back home, and gave to them the four hundred women from Jabesh-gilead who had been spared as wives. However, there wasn't enough for all of them.
Paa det Tidspunkt vendte Benjaminiterne saa tilbage, og de gav dem de Kvinder fra Jabesj i Gilead, som man havde ladet i Live. Men de var ikke nok til dem.
15 The people felt sorry for the Benjamites because the Lord had made this empty hole among the Israelite tribes.
Da gjorde det Folket ondt for Benjamin, fordi HERREN havde gjort et Skaar i Israels Stammer.
16 The elders of the assembly asked, “What shall we do to supply the remaining wives because all the women of Benjamin have been destroyed?”
Og Menighedens Ældste sagde: »Hvad skal vi gøre for dem, der er tilbage, for at skaffe dem Hustruer, eftersom alle Kvinder i Benjamin er udryddet?«
17 They added, “There have to be heirs for the Benjamite survivors—an Israelite tribe of Israel can't be wiped out.
Og de sagde: »Hvorledes kan der reddes en Rest af Benjamin, saa at ikke en Stamme i Israel gaar til Grunde?
18 But we can't let them have our daughters as wives, since we as the people of Israel swore a sacred oath, saying, ‘Anyone who gives a wife to a Benjamite is cursed!’”
Vi kan jo ikke give dem nogen af vore Døtre til Ægte!« Israeliterne havde nemlig svoret og sagt: »Forbandet være den, som giver Benjaminiterne en Hustru!«
19 Then they said, “Look! Every year there's the Lord's festival in Shiloh. It's held north of Bethel, and east of the road that goes from Bethel to Shechem, south of Lebonah.”
Da sagde de: »Se, HERRENS Højtid fejres jo hvert Aar i Silo!« Det ligger norden for Betel, østen for Vejen, der fører op fra Betel til Sikem, og sønden for Lebona.
20 So they ordered the Benjamites, “Go and hide in the vineyards.
Og de bød Benjaminiterne: »Gaa hen og læg eder paa Lur i Vingaardene!
21 Keep a lookout, and when you see the young women from Shiloh come out to perform their dances, run out from the vineyards, and each of you abduct a wife for yourself and go back home to the land of Benjamin.
Se saa nøje til, og naar de unge Kvinder fra Silo kommer ud for at opføre deres Danse, skal I komme frem af Vingaardene og røve hver sin Hustru af de unge Kvinder fra Silo og saa drage hjem til Benjamins Land!
22 If their fathers or brothers come complaining to us, we'll tell them, ‘Please do us a favor, because we couldn't find enough wives for them in the war. And it's not as if you're guilty of breaking the oath since you didn't give them in marriage.”
Naar saa deres Fædre eller Brødre kommer for at gaa i Rette med eder, skal I sige til dem: Skaan os, thi vi fik os ikke alle en Hustru i Krigen! Det er jo ikke eder, der har givet os dem; i saa Fald vilde I have forbrudt eder!«
23 The Benjaminites did as they were ordered. Each man grabbed one of the women dancers up to the total needed and carried her off to be his wife. Then they went back to their own land, where they rebuilt their towns and lived in them.
Det gjorde Benjaminiterne da, og de tog sig Hustruer af de dansende Kvinder, som de røvede, een til hver; derpaa vendte de tilbage til deres Arvelod, opbyggede deres Byer og boede i dem.
24 Then the Israelites left and went home to their tribes and families, each one going to the land they owned.
Og samtidig drog Israeliterne derfra, hver til sin Stamme og Slægt, og de gik derfra hver til sin Arvelod,
25 At that time Israel didn't have a king—everyone did what they themselves thought was the right thing to do.
I de Dage var der ingen Konge i Israel; enhver gjorde, hvad han fandt for godt.
