Exodus 18

1 And Jethro, priest of Midian, father-in-law of Moses, heard all that God had done for Moses, and for Israel his people, —in that Yahweh had brought forth 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 So Jethro, Moses father-in-law, took Zipporah, Moses wife, —after she had been sent home;

tog Jetro, Moses's Svigerfader, Zippora, Moses's Hustru, som han havde sendt hjem,

3 and her two sons, —of whom, the name of the one, was Gershom, for, said he, A sojourner, am I in a strange 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 and, the name of the other, Eliezer, for the God of my father, was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.

og den anden hed Eliezer; "thi", havde han sagt, "min Faders Gud har været min Hjælp og frelst mig fra Faraos Sværd!"

5 And Jethro, Moses father-in-law, came in, with his two sons and his wife, unto Moses, —into the desert where, he, was encamping, the mountain of God;

Og Jetro, Moses's Svigerfader, kom med hans Sønner og Hustru til Moses i Ørkenen, hvor han havde slået Lejr ved Guds Bjerg,

6 and said unto Moses, I, thy father-in-law, Jethro, am coming in unto thee, —and thy 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 So Moses went forth to meet his father-in-law, and bowed himself down to him and kissed him, and they asked each other of their welfare, —and came into the tent.

Da gik Moses sin Svigerfader i Møde, bøjede sig for ham og kyssede ham; og da de havde hilst på hinanden, gik de ind i Teltet.

8 Then Moses recounted to his father-in-law, all that Yahweh had done to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians, for Israel’s sake, —all the hardship which had befallen them by the way, and how Yahweh had 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 Then did Jethro rejoice, for all the good which Yahweh had done to Israel, —whom he had delivered 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 Hånd.

10 And Jethro said—Blessed be Yahweh, who hath delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians and out of the hand of Pharaoh, —Who hath delivered the people from under the hand of the Egyptians:

Og Jetro sagde: "Lovet være HERREN, som har frelst eder af Ægypternes og Faraos. Hånd!"

11 Now, I know, that, greater, is Yahweh than all the gods, —Even in the thing wherein they were arrogant over 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 Hånd.

12 Then took Jethro father-in-law of Moses, an ascending-offering and sacrifices to God, —and Aaron and all the elders of Israel came in to eat bread with the father-in-law of Moses before God.

Derpå udtog Jetro, Moses's Svigerfader, Brændofre og Slagtofre til Gud; og Aron og alle Israels Ældste kom for at holde Måltid for Guds Åsyn med Moses's Svigerfader.

13 Now it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat, to judge the people, —and the people stood by Moses, from the morning, until the evening.

Næste Morgen tog Moses Sæde for at holde Ret for Folket, og Folket stod omkring Moses fra Morgen til Aften.

14 And when Moses father-in-law saw all that he, was doing for the people, he said—What is this thing which, thou, art doing for the people? Wherefore art, thou, sitting alone, with all the people, stationed by thee, from morning until evening?

Men da Moses's Svigerfader så 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 står omkring dig fra Morgen til Aften?"

15 And Moses said to his father-in-law, —Because the people come in unto me to seek God:

Moses svarede sin Svigerfader: "Jo, Folket kommer til mig for at rådspørge Gud;

16 When they have a matter, they come in unto me, then do I judge between a man and his neighbour, —and make known the statutes of God and his laws.

når de har en Retssag, kommer de til mig, og jeg dømmer Parterne imellem og kundgør dem Guds Anordninger og Love."

17 Then said Moses’ father-in-law unto him, —Not good, is the thing that thou art doing.

Da sagde Moses's Svigerfader til ham: "Det er ikke klogt, som du bærer dig ad med det.

18 Thou wilt get quite worn out, both thou and this people that is with thee, —for the thing is too heavy for thee, thou canst not do it, alone.

På den Måde bliver jo både du selv og Folket der omkring dig ganske udmattet, thi det Arbejde er dig for anstrengende, du kan ikke overkomme det alene.

19 Now, hearken thou to my voice—let me counsel thee, and may God be with thee: Be, thou, for the people, in front of God, so shalt, thou, bring the matters unto God;

Læg dig nu på Sinde, hvad jeg siger; jeg vil give dig et Råd, og Gud skal være med dig: Du skal. selv træde frem for Gud på Folkets Vegne og forelægge Gud de forefaldende Sager;

20 and shalt cause to shine upon them, the statutes and the laws, —and make known to them the way wherein they should go, and the work they should do.

og du skal indskærpe dem Anordningerne og Lovene og lære dem den Vej, de skal vandre, og hvad de har at gøre.

21 Thou thyself, therefore shalt look out, from among all the people—men of ability, reverers of God, men of fidelity, haters of extortion, —and place them over [them] as 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 på 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 So shall they judge the people at any time, and it shall be, all the great matters, shall they bring in unto thee, but all the small matters, shall, they themselves, judge, —so, lighten thou the burden for thyself, and let them bear it with thee.

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 således Arbejdet og lad dem komme til at bære Byrden med dig.

23 If, this thing, thou wilt do, and God shall command thee, then shalt thou be able to endure, —yea, moreover, all this people, shall go in, unto their dwellings, contented.

Dersom du handler således og Gud vil det så, kan du holde ud, og alt Folket der kan gå tilfreds hjem."

24 So Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said;

Moses fulgte sin Svigerfaders Råd og gjorde alt, hvad han foreslog.

25 and Moses chose men of ability out of all Israel, and set them to be heads over the people, —rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens.

Og Mose's 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 And they shall judge the people, at any time, —the hard matters, shall they bring in unto Moses, but all the small matters, shall, they themselves, judge.

De holdt derpå til Stadighed Ret for Folket; de vanskelige Sager forebragte de Moses, men alle mindre Sager afgjorde de selv.

27 And Moses sent forth his father-in-law, —and he went his way by himself unto his own land.

Derpå tog Moses Afsked med sin Svigerfader, og denne begav sig til sit Land.