Dommernes 11
1 Gileaditten Jefta var en veldig krigsmann. Men han var sønn av en skjøge; hans far var Gilead.
[There was a man] from [the] Gilead [region] named Jephthah. He was a great warrior. His father was also named Gilead. But his mother was a prostitute.
2 Med sin hustru hadde Gilead også sønner; og da hustruens sønner blev store, jaget de Jefta bort og sa til ham: Du skal ingen arvelodd ha i vår fars hus, for du er sønn av en fremmed kvinne.
Gilead’s wife gave birth to several sons. When they grew up, they forced Jephthah to leave home, saying to him, “You are the son of a prostitute, [not the son of our mother]. So [when] our father [dies], you will not receive any of his property.”
3 Da flyktet Jefta for sine brødre og bosatte sig i landet Tob; og der samlet sig en flokk løse menn om Jefta og var med ham på hans tog.
So Jephthah ran away from his brothers, and he went to the Tob region. While he was there, some worthless men started to spend a lot of time with him.
4 Nogen tid efter begynte Ammons barn krig mot Israel.
Some time later, the Ammon people-group started to fight against the Israelis.
5 Og da Ammons barn bar våben mot Israel, gikk de eldste i Gilead avsted for å hente Jefta fra landet Tob.
When that happened [DOU], the leaders of [the] Gilead [region] went to Jephthah to bring him back from the Tob region [to their area].
6 Og de sa til Jefta: Kom og bli vår fører, så vil vi stride mot Ammons barn.
They said to him, “Come [with us] and lead our army, and [help us to] fight against the men from the Ammon people-group!”
7 Men Jefta sa til de eldste i Gilead: Var det ikke I som hatet mig og jaget mig bort fra min fars hus? Hvorfor kommer I da til mig, nu I er i trengsel?
But Jephthah replied, “You hated me [RHQ] previously! You forced me to leave my father’s house! So why are you coming to me now, [asking me to help you] when you are experiencing trouble?”
8 De eldste i Gilead svarte: Derfor er det jo vi nu kommer til dig igjen; du må gå med oss og stride mot Ammons barn, så skal du være høvding over oss, over alle som bor Gilead.
The leaders from Gilead replied, “[Yes, we are having trouble, and] that is the reason that we have come to you now. If you come with us and [help us to] fight against the Ammon people-group, [after we defeat them, we will appoint] you to be the leader of all us people in [the] Gilead [region].”
9 Da sa Jefta til de eldste i Gilead: Dersom I nu får mig med eder tilbake for å stride mot Ammons barn, og Herren gir dem i min vold, så er det jeg som skal være eders høvding!
Jephthah replied, “If I go back to Gilead with you to fight against the Ammon people-group, and if Yahweh helps us to defeat them, will you truly appoint me to be your leader?”
10 Og de eldste i Gilead sa til Jefta: Herren skal være vidne mellem oss. Han straffe oss dersom vi ikke gjør som du sier!
They replied, “Yahweh is listening to everything that we say. [So he will punish us] if we do not do everything that you tell us to do.”
11 Så gikk Jefta med de eldste i Gilead, og folket gjorde ham til sin høvding og fører. Og Jefta gjentok i Mispa alle sine ord for Herrens åsyn.
So Jephthah went with them back to [the] Gilead [region], and the people appointed him to be their leader and the commander of their army. And Jephthah solemnly promised to Yahweh there at Mizpah [to serve him well].
12 Så sendte Jefta bud til ammonittenes konge og lot si: Hvad vil du mig, siden du kommer til mig og fører krig mot mitt land?
Jephthah sent some messengers to the king of the Ammon people-group. They asked the king, “What have we [done to make you angry, with the result] that your army is coming to fight [against the people] in our land?”
13 Da sa ammonittenes konge til Jeftas sendebud: Fordi Israel, da de drog op fra Egypten, tok mitt land like fra Arnon til Jabbok og til Jordan; gi det nu tilbake med det gode!
The king replied, “[We have come to fight against you Israelis because] you took our land when you came here from Egypt. You took all our land east of the Jordan [River], from the Arnon [River in the south] to the Jabbok [River in the north]. So if you now give it back to us, there (will be peace between us/we will not fight against you).”
14 Men Jefta sendte atter bud til ammonittenes konge
[The messengers returned to Jephthah and told him what the king had said]. So Jephthah sent the messengers to the king again.
15 og lot si til ham: Så sier Jefta: Israel har ikke tatt Moabs land eller ammonittenes land.
They said to him, “This is what Jephthah says: ‘It is not [true] that we Israelis took the land from the Moab people-group and the Ammon people-group.
16 For da de drog op fra Egypten, vandret Israel i ørkenen til det Røde Hav og kom til Kades.
When the Israeli people came out of Egypt, they walked through the desert to the Red Sea, and then [walked across it and traveled to Kadesh town at the border of the Edom region].
17 Da sendte Israel bud til Edoms konge og lot si: La mig få dra gjennem ditt land! Men Edoms konge hørte ikke på dem. Også til Moabs konge sendte de bud; men han vilde heller ikke. Så blev Israel i Kades.
They sent messengers to the king of the Edom people-group, to say to him, “Please allow us Israelis to walk across your land.” But the king of the Edom people-group refused. Later we sent the same message to the king of the Moab people-group, but he also refused to allow the Israelis to go through his land. So the Israelis stayed at Kadesh [for a long time].
18 Siden vandret de i ørkenen og drog utenom Edoms land og Moabs land og kom frem østenfor Moabs land og leiret sig på hin side Arnon; men de kom ikke inn i Moabs land, for Arnon er Moabs grense.
Then the Israelis went into the desert and walked outside the borders of the Edom and Moab regions. They walked east of the Moab region, east of the Arnon [River, which is the eastern border of the Moab region]. They did not cross that river to enter [the] Moab [region].
19 Så sendte Israel bud til Sihon, amorittenes konge, kongen i Hesbon, og Israel lot ham si: La oss få dra gjennem ditt land, så vi kan komme dit vi skal!
‘Then the Israelis sent a message to Sihon, the king of the Amor people-group, who lived in Heshbon [city]. They asked him, “Will you please allow us Israeli people to cross through your land to arrive at the land to which we [are going].”
20 Men Sihon hadde ikke så god tro til Israel at han torde la dem dra gjennem sitt land; han samlet alt sitt folk, og de leiret sig i Jahsa, og han angrep Israel.
But Sihon did not trust the Israelis; [he thought that they would steal some of the things in his land]. So he gathered all his troops and they set up their tents at Jahaz [village] and then they attacked the Israelis.
21 Og Herren, Israels Gud, gav Sihon og alt hans folk i Israels hånd, og de slo dem; og Israel inntok hele det land som tilhørte amorittene, det folk som bodde der;
But Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], enabled the Israeli army to defeat [IDM] Sihon and his army. Then they (took possession of/started to live in) all the land where the Amor people-group had lived.
22 hele amorittenes land inntok de like fra Arnon til Jabbok og fra ørkenen til Jordan.
The Israelis took all the land that belonged to the Amor people-group, from the Arnon [River in the south] to the Jabbok [River in the north], and from the desert [in the east] to the Jordan [River in the west].
23 Så har nu Herren, Israels Gud, drevet amorittene bort for sitt folk Israel; og nu vil du ta dets land i eie?
‘It was Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], who forced the Amor people-group to leave as the Israelis advanced. So do you now think that you can force the Israelis to leave [RHQ]?
24 Er det ikke så at hvad din gud Kamos lar dig få, det tar du i eie, og alt hvad Herren vår Gud rydder for oss, det tar vi i eie?
You take the land that your god Chemosh has given to you. And we will live in the land that Yahweh our God has given to us!
25 Er da du bedre enn Balak, Sippors sønn, Moabs konge? Trettet vel han med Israel eller førte krig mot dem?
(You are no/Are you) better than Zippor’s son Balak, who was the king of the Moab people-group? He never [RHQ] quarreled with the Israeli people, and he never started to fight against us [RHQ]!
26 Nu har Israel bodd tre hundre år i Hesbon og de byer som hører det til, og i Aroer med tilhørende byer og i alle de byer som ligger ved Arnons bredder; hvorfor har I da ikke tatt dem igjen i all denne tid?
For 300 years the Israeli people have lived in Heshbon and Aroer [cities in your region], and in the surrounding towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon [River]. Why have you people of the Ammon people-group not taken back those cities during all those years [RHQ]?
27 Jeg har ikke gjort dig noget ondt, men du gjør nu urett mot mig ved å angripe mig; Herren, han som er dommer, han skal dømme idag mellem Israels barn og Ammons barn.
We have not sinned against you, but you are sinning against me by attacking me [and my army]. I trust that Yahweh, the great judge, will decide whether we Israelis are right, or whether you people of the Ammon people-group are right.’”
28 Men ammonittenes konge hørte ikke på de ord som Jeftas sendebud bar frem til ham.
But the king of the Ammon people-group did not pay attention to that message from Jephthah.
29 Da kom Herrens Ånd over Jefta, og han drog gjennem Gilead og Manasse; så drog han frem til Mispa i Gilead; og fra Mispa i Gilead drog han frem mot Ammons barn.
Then the Spirit of Yahweh took control of Jephthah. Jephthah went through [the] Gilead [region] and through the area where the tribe of Manasseh lived, [to enlist/gather men for his army]. [He finally gathered them together] in Mizpah [city] in [the] Gilead [region] to fight against the Ammon people-group.
30 Og Jefta gjorde et løfte til Herren og sa: Dersom du gir Ammons barn i min hånd,
There Jephthah made a solemn promise to Yahweh. He said, “If you will enable my army to defeat [IDM] the Ammon people-group,
31 da skal den som går ut av døren til mitt hus og møter mig, når jeg kommer uskadd tilbake fra Ammons barn, da skal den høre Herren til; jeg skal ofre ham til brennoffer.
when I return from the battle, I will sacrifice to you the first person who comes out of my house [to greet me]. It will be a sacrifice that will be completely burned [on the altar].”
32 Så drog Jefta frem mot Ammons barn og stred mot dem, og Herren gav dem i hans hånd;
Then Jephthah [and his men] went from Mizpah to attack the Ammon people-group, and Yahweh enabled his army to defeat them.
33 han slo dem og tok fra dem landet fra Aroer til bortimot Minnit, tyve byer, og like til Abel-Keramim; det blev et svært mannefall, og Ammons barn blev ydmyket under Israels barn.
Jephthah and his men killed them, from Aroer [city] all the way to the area around the city of Minnith. They destroyed 20 cities, as far as [the city of] Abel Keramim. So the Israelis [completely] defeated the Ammon people-group.
34 Da Jefta kom hjem til sitt hus i Mispa, da gikk hans datter ut imot ham med trommer og dans; hun var hans eneste barn, foruten henne hadde han hverken sønn eller datter.
When Jephthah returned to his home in Mizpah, his daughter was the first one to come out of the house to meet him. She was [joyfully] playing a tambourine and dancing. She was his only child; he had no sons and no other daughters.
35 Med det samme han fikk se henne, sønderrev han sine klær og sa: Akk, min datter, hvilken sorg du volder mig, hvilken ulykke du fører over mig! Jeg har gjort et løfte til Herren, og jeg kan ikke ta det tilbake.
When Jephthah saw his daughter, he tore his clothes [to show that he was very sad about what he was going to do]. He said to her, “My daughter, you have caused me to become very sad [DOU] because I made a solemn promise to Yahweh [to sacrifice the first one who came out of my house], and I must do what I promised.”
36 Da sa hun til ham: Min far! Har du gjort et løfte til Herren, så gjør med mig som du har lovt, siden Herren lot dig få hevn over dine fiender, Ammons barn!
His daughter said, “My father, you made a solemn promise to Yahweh. So you must do to me what you promised, because [you said that you would do that if] Yahweh helped you to defeat our enemies, the Ammon people-group.”
37 Så sa hun til sin far: Bare én ting vil jeg be dig om: La mig være fri to måneder, så jeg kan gå ned på fjellene og gråte over min jomfrustand sammen med mine venninner.
Then she also said, “But allow me to do one thing. (First/before you do what you promised), allow me to go up into the hilly area and wander around for two months. Since I will never be married [and have children], allow me and my friends to go and cry together.”
38 Og han sa: Gjør så! Så lot han henne være fri to måneder; og hun gikk avsted med sine venninner og gråt over sin jomfrustand på fjellene.
Jephthah replied, “All right, you may go.” So she left for two months. She and her friends stayed in the hills and they cried for her because she would never be married.
39 Og da to måneder var omme, kom hun tilbake til sin far, og han gjorde med henne efter det løfte han hadde gjort; og hun hadde ikke visst av mann. Så blev det en skikk i Israel:
After two months, she returned to her father Jephthah, and he did to her what he had vowed. So his daughter never was married. Because of that, the Israelis now have a custom.
40 År for år går Israels døtre avsted for å prise Jeftas, gileadittens datter fire dager om året.
Every year the young Israeli women go [into the hills] for four days to remember [and cry about what happened to] the daughter of Jephthah.
