Judges 6

1 And the sons of Israel did the thing that was wicked, in the sight of Yahweh, —so Yahweh delivered them into the hand of Midian seven years;

Men da Israeliterne gjorde, hvad der var ondt i HERRENS Øjne, gav han dem syv Aar i Midjans Haand.

2 and the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel, —because of Midian, did the sons of Israel prepare for themselves the hollows which were in the mountains, and the caves, and the strongholds.

Og Midjan fik Overtaget over Israel. For at værge sig mod Midjan indrettede Israeliterne sig de Smuthuller, som findes i Bjergene, Hulerne og Klippeborgene.

3 And so it used to be, if Israel had sown, then came up Midian and Amalek and the sons of the east, yea came up against them,

Hver Gang Israeliterne havde saaet, kom Midjaniterne, Amalekiterne og Østens Stammer og drog op imod dem

4 and encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the land, until thou comest unto Gaza, —neither left they sustenance in Israel, nor sheep nor ox, nor ass;

og lejrede sig imod dem, ødelagde Jordens Afgrøde lige til Egnen om Gaza og levnede intet at leve af i Israel, ej heller Smaakvæg, Hornkvæg eller Æsler;

5 for, they with their cattle, used to come up, with their tents—yea they used to come like locusts, for multitude, both they and their cattle, were without number, —so they came into the land, to lay it waste.

thi de drog op med deres Hjorde og Telte og kom talrige som Græshopper, saa hverken de selv eller deres Kameler kunde tælles, og de trængte ind i Landet for at hærge det.

6 Thus was Israel greatly impoverished, because of Midian, —and the sons of Israel made outcry unto Yahweh.

Saaledes blev Israel rent forarmet ved Midjaniternes indfald, og Israeliterne raabte til HERREN.

7 And it came to pass, when the sons of Israel cried unto Yahweh, —on account of Midian,

Men da Israeliterne raabte til HERREN over Midjaniterne,

8 then sent Yahweh a prophet unto the sons of Israel, —who said unto them—Thus, saith Yahweh, God of Israel, I, led you up out of Egypt, and brought you forth out of the house of servants;

sendte han en Profet til dem, og denne sagde til dem: »Saa siger HERREN, Israels Gud: Jeg førte eder op fra Ægypten, jeg førte eder ud af Trællehuset,

9 Yea I rescued you out of the hand of Egypt, and out of the hand of all who oppressed you, —that I might drive them out from before you, and I gave unto you their land;

jeg friede eder af Ægyptens Haand og af deres Haand, der trængte eder, og jeg drev dem bort foran eder og gav eder deres Land.

10 Yea and I said to you, —I, Yahweh, am your God, Ye must not fear the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye are about to dwell, —But ye have not hearkened unto my voice.

Og jeg sagde til eder: Jeg er HERREN eders Gud; frygt ikke Amoriternes Guder, i hvis Land I bor! Men I adlød ikke min Røst!«

11 Then came the messenger of Yahweh, and sat down under the oak which was in Ophrah, which belonged to Joash, the Abiezrite; and, Gideon his son, was beating out wheat in the winepress, to escape the notice of the Midianites;

Da kom HERRENS Engel og satte sig under Egen i Ofra, som tilhørte Abiezriten Joasj, medens hans Søn Gideon var ved at tærske Hvede i Vinpersen for at have den i Sikkerhed for Midjaniterne.

12 so the messenger of Yahweh appeared unto him, —and said unto him, Yahweh, is with thee, thou mighty man of valour!

HERRENS Engel viste sig for ham og sagde til ham: »HERREN er med dig, stærke Kriger!«

13 And Gideon said unto him—Pardon, my lord! if Yahweh be with us, then wherefore hath all this befallen us? and where are all his wonders, which our fathers have recounted to us—saying, Was it not, out of Egypt, that Yahweh brought us up? But, now, hath Yahweh abandoned us, and delivered us into the hand of Midian.

Men Gideon svarede ham: »Ak, Herre! Hvis HERREN er med os, hvorledes er da alt dette kommet over os? Og hvad er der blevet af alle hans Undergerninger, som vore Fædre fortalte os om, idet de sagde: Førte HERREN os ikke ud af Ægypten? Nu har HERREN forstødt os og givet os i Midjans Haand!«

14 And Yahweh, turned unto him, and said—Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel, out of the hand of Midian, —have I not sent thee?

Da vendte HERREN sig til ham og sagde: »Drag hen i denne din Kraft, saa skal du frelse Israel af Midjans Haand; sandelig, jeg sender dig!«

15 And he said unto him—Pardon, O my Lord! How, shall I save Israel? Lo! my thousand, is the poorest in Manasseh, and, I, am the youngest in the house of my father.

Men han svarede ham: »Ak, Herre! Hvorledes skal jeg kunne frelse Israel? Se, min Slægt er den ringeste i Manasse og jeg den yngste i mit Fædrenehus!«

16 And Yahweh said unto him—I will be with thee, —so shalt thou smite the Midianites, as one man.

Han svarede ham: »HERREN vil være med dig, og du skal hugge Midjaniterne ned alle som een!«

17 And he said unto him, If, I beseech thee, I have found favour in thine eyes, then wilt thou work for me a sign, that it is, thou, who art speaking with me.

Da sagde han til ham: »Hvis jeg har fundet Naade for dine Øjne, saa lad mig faa et Tegn paa, at det er dig, som taler med mig;

18 Do not, I beseech thee, withdraw from hence, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said: I, will tarry until thou return.

gaa ikke herfra, før jeg kommer tilbage til dig og bringer dig min Gave og stiller den frem for dig!« Han svarede: »Jeg skal blive, til du kommer tilbage!«

19 So, Gideon, went in, and made ready a kid of the goats, and, of an ephah of meal, unleavened cakes, the flesh, he put in a basket, and, the broth, he put in a pot, —and brought them forth unto him, under the oak, and presented them.

Gideon gik da ind og tillavede et Gedekid og usyrede Brød af en Efa Mel; Kødet lagde han i en Kurv, og Suppen hældte han i en Krukke og bar det ud til ham under Egen. Da han kom hen til ham med det,

20 And the messenger of God said unto him—Take the flesh and the cakes, and set them on this crag, and, the broth, do thou pour out. And he did so.

sagde Guds Engel til ham: »Tag Kødet og det usyrede Brød. Læg det paa Klippen der og hæld Suppen ud derover!« Og han gjorde det.

21 Then the messenger of Yahweh put forth the end of the staff, that was in his hand, and touched the flesh, and the cakes, —and there came up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh, and the cakes, and, the messenger of Yahweh, had departed out of his sight.

Da udrakte HERRENS Engel Spidsen af den Stav, han havde i Haanden, og rørte ved Kødet og Brødet. Og Ild slog op af Klippen og fortærede Kødet og Brødet; og HERRENS Engel forsvandt for hans Blik.

22 Then saw Gideon that, the messenger of Yahweh, it was, —so Gideon said—Alas, My Lord Yahweh! forasmuch as I have seen the messenger of Yahweh, face to face!

Gideon skønnede nu, at det havde været HERRENS Engel; og han sagde: »Ve, Herre, HERRE, jeg har jo set HERRENS Engel Ansigt til Ansigt!«

23 And Yahweh said unto him—Peace be unto thee! Do not fear, —thou shalt not die.

Men HERREN sagde til ham: »Fred være med dig! Frygt ikke, du skal ikke dø!«

24 So Gideon built there an altar unto Yahweh, and called it, Yahweh-shalom. Unto this day, it remaineth, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Da byggede Gideon HERREN et Alter der og kaldte det »HERREN er Fred«; det staar endnu den Dag i Dag i Abiezriternes Ofra.

25 And it came to pass, on that night, that Yahweh said unto him—Take the young bullock that belongeth to thy father, even the second bullock of seven years, —and throw thou down the altar of Baal, that belongeth to thy father, and, the sacred stem that is by it, shalt thou cut down.

Samme Nat sagde HERREN til ham: »Tag ti af dine Trælle og en syvaars Tyr; nedbryd din Faders Ba'alsalter og hug Asjerastøtten om, som staar derved;

26 Then shalt thou build an altar, unto Yahweh thy God, on the top of this fort, with the pile, —and shalt take the second bullock, and cause it to go up as an ascending-sacrifice, with the wood of the sacred stem which thou shalt cut down.

byg saa af Stensætningen HERREN din Gud et Alter paa Toppen af Klippen her og tag Tyren og brænd den som Brændoffer med Træet af den omhuggede Asjerastøtte!«

27 So Gideon took ten men from among his servants, and did as Yahweh had spoken unto him, —and so it was that, as he too much feared the house of his father, and the men of the city, to do it by day, he did it by night.

Gideon tog da ti af sine Trælle og gjorde, som HERREN bød ham; men han gjorde det om Natten, thi af Frygt for sin Familie og sine Bysbørn turde han ikke gøre det om Dagen.

28 And the men of the city rose up early in the morning, and lo! the altar of Baal, had been overthrown, and, the sacred stem that was by it, had been cut down, and the second bullock had been caused to ascend upon the altar that had been built.

Da Byens Folk næste Morgen tidlig saa Ba'alsalteret nedbrudt, Asjerastøtten ved Siden af hugget om og Tyren ofret paa det nybyggede Alter,

29 So they said, one to another, Who hath done this thing? And they inquired, and made search, and it was said, Gideon son of Joash, hath done this thing.

sagde de til hverandre: »Hvem mon der har gjort det?« Og da de spurgte sig for og foretog en Undersøgelse, blev der sagt, at det var Gideon, Joasj's Søn.

30 So the men of the city said unto Joash, Bring forth thy son, that he may die, —because he hath overthrown the altar of Baal, and because he hath cut down the sacred stem that was by it.

Og Byens Folk sagde til Joasj: »Udlever din Søn, for at han kan lide Døden, thi han har nedbrudt Ba'alsalteret og omhugget Asjerastøtten ved Siden af!«

31 And Joash said unto all who stood by him—Will, ye, plead for Baal, or will, ye, save him? Whoso pleadeth for him, let him be put to death while it is yet morning, —if, a god, he be let him plead for himself, because one hath overthrown his altar.

Men Joasj svarede alle dem, der stod omkring ham: »Vil I virkelig stride for Ba'al eller hjælpe ham? Den, der strider for ham, skal dø inden i Morgen! Er han Gud, saa lad ham stride for sig selv, siden hans Alter er nedbrudt!«

32 So he was called on that day, Jerubbaal, saying, —Let Baal, plead against him. Because he had overthrown his altar.

Ved den Lejlighed fik Gideon Navnet Jerubba'al, idet man sagde: »Lad Ba'al stride med ham, siden han har nedbrudt hans Alter!«

33 Now, all the Midianites and the Amalekites and the sons of the east, were gathered together, —and they crossed over and pitched in the vale of Jezreel.

Alle Midjaniterne, Amalekiterne og Østens Stammer sluttede sig sammen, satte over Jordan og slog Lejr paa Jizre'elsletten.

34 But, the spirit of Yahweh, clothed Gideon, —so he blew with a horn, and Abiezer was gathered after him.

Da iklædte HERRENS Aand sig Gideon, og han stødte i Hornet; og Abiezriterne fylkede sig om ham.

35 Messengers also, sent he throughout all Manasseh, and, they also, were gathered after him, —messengers also, sent he throughout Asher, and throughout Zebulun, and throughout Naphtali, and they came up to meet them.

Og da han sendte Bud ud i hele Manasse, fylkede de sig ogsaa om ham; og han sendte Bud ud i Aser, Zebulon og Naftali, og de drog op før at møde Fjenderne.

36 And Gideon said unto God, —If thou art about to bring salvation, by my hand, unto Israel, as thou hast spoken,

Da sagde Gideon til Gud: »Hvis du vil frelse Israel ved min Haand, som du har lovet,

37 lo! I am placing a woollen fleece, on the threshing-floor, —if, dew, be on the fleece alone and, on all the ground, it be dry, then shall I know that thou wilt bring salvation, by my hand, unto Israel, as thou hast spoken.

saa lægger jeg nu dette Faareskind paa Tærskepladsen, og falder der saa Dug alene paa Skindet, medens Jorden ellers bliver ved at være tør, da ved jeg, at du vil frelse Israel ved min Haand, som du har lovet.«

38 And it was so, and he rose up early, on the morrow, and pressed together the fleece, —and wrung out the dew from the fleece, a small bowl full of water.

Og det skete saaledes. Da han næste Morgen vred Skindet, pressede han Dug af det, en hel Skaalfuld Vand.

39 Then said Gideon unto God, Let not thine anger kindle upon me, but let me speak, only this once, —Let me, I pray thee, put to the proof, only this once, with the fleece, I pray thee, let it be dry on the fleece alone, while, on all the ground, there be dew.

Men Gideon sagde til Gud: »Vredes ikke paa mig, naar jeg endnu denne ene Gang taler til dig, lad mig blot denne Gang endnu prøve med Skindet: Lad Skindet alene være tørt, medens der falder Dug paa Jorden rundt om!«

40 And God did so on that night, —and it was dry on the fleece alone, while, on all the ground, there was dew.

Da gjorde Gud saaledes om Natten: Skindet alene var ført, men der faldt Dug paa Jorden rundt om.