< Judges 21 >
1 Now the men of Israel had sworn in Mizpeh, saying, There shall not any of us give his daughter unto Benjamin to wife.
Men Israels Mænd havde i Mizpa aflagt den Ed: "Ingen af os vil give en Benjaminit sin Datter til Ægte!"
2 And the people came to the house of God, and abode there till even before God, and lifted up their voices, and wept sore;
Da nu Folket var kommet til Betel, sad de der lige til Aften for Guds Åsyn og opløftede deres Røst, græd heftigt
3 And said, O LORD God of Israel, why is this come to pass in Israel, that there should be to day one tribe lacking in Israel?
og sagde: "Hvorfor, HERRE, Israels Gud, er dog dette hændet i Israel, så at vi i Dag må savne en Stamme af Israel?"
4 And it came to pass on the morrow, that the people rose early, and built there an altar, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
Tidligt næste Morgen byggede Folket et Alter der og ofrede Brændofre og Takofre.
5 And the children of Israel said, Who [is there] among all the tribes of Israel that came not up with the congregation unto the LORD? For they had made a great oath concerning him that came not up to the LORD to Mizpeh, saying, He shall surely be put to death.
Derpå sagde Israelitterne: "Hvem blandt alle Israels Stammer undlod at drage op med Forsamlingen til HERREN?" Der var nemlig svoret en dyr Ed på, at enhver, der undlod at drage op til HERREN i Mizpa, skulde dø.
6 And the children of Israel repented them for Benjamin their brother, and said, There is one tribe cut off from Israel this day.
Men nu gjorde det Israelitterne ondt for deres Broder Benjamin, og de sagde: "I Dag er en Stamme hugget af Israel!
7 How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing we have sworn by the LORD that we will not give them of our daughters to wives?
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 fil Ægte?"
8 And they said, What one [is there] of the tribes of Israel that came not up to Mizpeh to the LORD? And, behold, there came none to the camp from Jabesh-gilead to the assembly.
Så spurgte de: "Er der måske 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 the people were numbered, and, behold, [there were] none of the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead there.
Så blev Folket mønstret, og se, der var ingen af Indbyggerne fra Jabesj i Gilead.
10 And the congregation sent thither twelve thousand men of the valiantest, and commanded them, saying, Go and smite the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead with the edge of the sword, with the women and the children.
Da sendte Menigheden 12000 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 And this [is] the thing that ye shall do, Ye shall utterly destroy every male, and every woman that hath lain by man.
Således skal I bære eder ad: Alle af Mandkøn og alle Kvinder, der har haft Omgang med Mænd, skal I lægge Band på!"
12 And they found among the inhabitants of Jabesh-gilead four hundred young virgins, that had known no man by lying with any male: and they brought them unto the camp to Shiloh, which [is] in the land of Canaan.
De fandt så 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 And the whole congregation sent [some] to speak to the children of Benjamin that [were] in the rock Rimmon, and to call peaceably unto them.
Derpå sendte hele Menigheden Sendebud hen for af underhandle med Benjaminiterne, der befandt sig på Rimmons Klippe, og tilbyde dem Fred.
14 And Benjamin came again at that time; and they gave them wives which they had saved alive of the women of Jabesh-gilead: and yet so they sufficed them not.
På det Tidspunkt vendte Benjaminiterne så 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 And the people repented them for Benjamin, because that the LORD had made a breach in the tribes of Israel.
Da gjorde det Folket ondt for Benjamin, fordi HERREN havde gjort et Skår i Israels Stammer.
16 Then the elders of the congregation said, How shall we do for wives for them that remain, seeing the women are destroyed out of Benjamin?
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 And they said, [There must be] an inheritance for them that be escaped of Benjamin, that a tribe be not destroyed out of Israel.
Og de sagde: "Hvorledes kan der reddes en Rest af Benjamin, så at ikke en Stamme i Israel går til Grunde?
18 Howbeit we may not give them wives of our daughters: for the children of Israel have sworn, saying, Cursed [be] he that giveth a wife to Benjamin.
Vi kan jo ikke give dem nogen af vore Døtre til Ægte!" Israelitterne havde nemlig svoret og sagt: "Forbandet være den, som giver Benjaminiterne en Hustru!"
19 Then they said, Behold, [there is] a feast of the LORD in Shiloh yearly [in a place] which [is] on the north side of Beth-el, on the east side of the highway that goeth up from Beth-el to Shechem, and on the south of Lebonah.
Da sagde de: "Se, HERRENs Højtid fejres jo hvert År i Silo!" Det ligger norden for Betel, østen for Vejen, der fører op fra Betel til Sikem, og sønden for Lebona.
20 Therefore they commanded the children of Benjamin, saying, Go and lie in wait in the vineyards;
Og de bød Benjaminiterne: "Gå hen og læg eder på Lur i Vingårdene!
21 And see, and, behold, if the daughters of Shiloh come out to dance in dances, then come ye out of the vineyards, and catch you every man his wife of the daughters of Shiloh, and go to the land of Benjamin.
Se så nøje til, og når de unge Kvinder fra Silo kommer ud for at opføre deres Danse, skal I komme frem af Vingårdene og røve hver sin Hustru af de unge Kvinder fra Silo og så drage hjem til Benjamins Land!
22 And it shall be, when their fathers or their brethren come unto us to complain, that we will say unto them, Be favourable unto them for our sakes: because we reserved not to each man his wife in the war: for ye did not give unto them at this time, [that] ye should be guilty.
Når så deres Fædre eller Brødre kommer for at gå i Rette med eder, skal I sige til dem: Skån os, thi vi fik os ikke alle en Hustru i Krigen! Det er jo ikke eder, der har givet os dem; i så Fald vilde I have forbrudt eder!"
23 And the children of Benjamin did so, and took [them] wives, according to their number, of them that danced, whom they caught: and they went and returned unto their inheritance, and repaired the cities, and dwelt in them.
Det gjorde Benjaminiterne da, og de tog sig Hustruer af de dansende Kvinder, som de røvede, een til hver; derpå vendte de tilbage til deres Arvelod, opbyggede deres Byer og boede i dem.
24 And the children of Israel departed thence at that time, every man to his tribe and to his family, and they went out from thence every man to his inheritance.
Og samtidig drog Israelitterne derfra, hver til sin Stamme og Slægt, og de gik derfra hver til sin Arvelod,
25 In those days [there was] no king in Israel: every man did [that which was] right in his own eyes.
I de Dage var der ingen Konge i Israel; enhver gjorde, hvad han fandt for godt.