Exodus 18
1 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian, Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, how that 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 Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, received Zipporah, Moses' wife, after he had sent her away,
tog Jetro, Moses's Svigerfader, Zippora, Moses's Hustru, som han havde sendt hjem,
3 and her two sons. The name of one son was Gershom, for Moses said, "I have lived as 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 name of the other was Eliezer, for he said, "My father's God was my help and delivered me from Pharaoh's sword."
og den anden hed Eliezer; »thi«, havde han sagt, »min Faders Gud har været min Hjælp og frelst mig fra Faraos Sværd!«
5 Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, came with his sons and his wife to Moses into the wilderness where he was camped, 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 And he said to Moses, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons with her."
og han lod Moses melde: »Jetro, din Svigerfader, kommer til dig med din Hustru og hendes to Sønner!«
7 Moses went out to meet his father-in-law, and bowed and kissed him. They asked each other of their welfare, and they came 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 Moses told his father-in-law all that the LORD had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians for Israel's sake, all the hardships that had come on them on the way, and how the LORD 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 Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which the LORD had done to Israel, in that he had delivered them out of 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 said, "Blessed be the LORD, who has delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh; who has delivered the people from under 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 gods because of the thing in which they dealt arrogantly against them."
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 Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices for God. Aaron came with all of the elders of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before 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 It happened on the next day, that Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from the morning to the evening.
Næste Morgen tog Moses Sæde for at holde Ret for Folket, og Folket stod omkring Moses fra Morgen til Aften.
14 When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, he said, "What is this thing that you do for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning to 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 Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God.
Moses svarede sin Svigerfader: »Jo, Folket kommer til mig for at raadspørge Gud;
16 When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make them know the statutes of God, and his laws."
naar de har en Retssag, kommer de til mig, og jeg dømmer Parterne imellem og kundgør dem Guds Anordninger og Love.«
17 Moses' father-in-law said to him, "The thing that you do is not good.
Da sagde Moses's Svigerfader til ham: »Det er ikke klogt, som du bærer dig ad med det.
18 You will surely wear away, both you, and this people that is with you; for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to perform it yourself 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 Listen now to my voice. I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You represent the people before God, and bring the causes to God.
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 You shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and shall show them the way in which they must walk, and the work that 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 Moreover you shall provide out of all the people able men, such as fear God: men of truth, hating unjust gain; and place such over them, to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers 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 Let them judge the people at all times. It shall be that every great matter they shall bring to you, but every small matter they shall judge themselves. So shall it be easier for you, and they shall share the load 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 will do this thing, and God commands you so, then you will be able to endure, and all of these people also will go to their place in peace."
Dersom du handler saaledes og Gud vil det saa, kan du holde ud, og alt Folket der kan gaa tilfreds hjem.«
24 So Moses listened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said.
Moses fulgte sin Svigerfaders Raad og gjorde alt, hvad han foreslog.
25 Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers 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 They judged the people at all times. They brought the hard causes to Moses, but every small matter they judged themselves.
De holdt derpaa til Stadighed Ret for Folket; de vanskelige Sager forebragte de Moses, men alle mindre Sager afgjorde de selv.
27 Moses let his father-in-law depart, and he went his way into his own land.
Derpaa tog Moses Afsked med sin Svigerfader, og denne begav sig til sit Land.
