2 Samuel 14

1 Da nu Joab, Zerujas Søn, mærkede, at Kongens Hjerte hang ved Absalon,

And when now Joab the son of Zeruyah perceived that the heart of the king was [turned] toward Abshalom:

2 sendte han Bud til Tekoa efter en klog Kvinde og sagde til hende: "Lad, som om du har Sorg, ifør dig Sørgeklæder, lad være at salve dig med Olie, men bær dig ad som en Kvinde, der alt i lang Tid har sørget over en afdød;

Then sent Joab to Tekoa', and he fetched thence a wise woman, and said to her, Feign. I pray thee, as though thou mournest, and do put on mourning garments, and anoint thyself not with oil; but be as a woman that hath these many days been mourning for the dead.

3 gå så til Kongen og sig således til ham" - og Joab lagde hende Ordene i Munden.

And thou must come to the king and speak with him after these words: and Joab put the words into her mouth.

4 Kvinden fra Tekoa gik så til Kongen, faldt til Jorden på sit Ansigt, bøjede sig og sagde: "Hjælp Konge!"

And the woman from Tekoa' spoke to the king, and fell on her face to the ground, and bowed herself, and said, Help, O king!

5 Kongen spurgte hende: "Hvad fattes dig?" Og hun sagde: "Jo, jeg er Enke, min Mand er død.

And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she said, Truly, I am a widow-woman; since my husband is dead.

6 Din Trælkvinde havde to Sønner; de kom i Klammeri ude på Marken, og der var ingen til at bilægge deres Tvist; så slog den ene den anden ihjel.

And thy hand-maid had two sons, and they two quarreled together in the field, and there was no one between them to help [either]; so the one smote the other, and slew him.

7 Men nu træder hele Slægten op imod din Trælkvinde og siger: Udlever Brodermorderen, for at vi kan slå ham ihjel og hævne Broderen, som han dræbte! Således siger de for at få Arvingen ryddet af Vejen og slukke den sidste Glød, jeg har tilbage, så at min Mand ikke får Eftermæle eller Efterkommere på Jorden!"

And, behold, the whole family is risen up against thy handmaid, and they said, Give up the slayer of his brother, that we may have him put to death, for the life of his brother whom he hath killed; and we will destroy also the heir: and thus they will quench my coal which is remaining, so as not to allow to my husband either name or remainder upon the face of the earth.

8 Da sagde Kongen til Kvinden: "Gå kun hjem, jeg skal jævne Sagen for dig!"

And the king said unto the woman, Go to thy house, and I will issue [my] charge concerning thee.

9 Men kvinden fra Tekoa sagde til Kongen: "Lad Skylden komme over mig og mit Fædrenehus, Herre Konge, men Kongen og hans Trone skal være skyldfri!"

Then said the woman of Tekoa unto the king, On me, my Lord, O king, be the iniquity, and on my father's house: and may the king and his throne be guiltless.

10 Kongen sagde da: "Enhver, som vil dig noget, skal du bringe til mig, så skal han ikke mere volde dig Men!"

And the king said, Whosoever speaketh aught unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.

11 Men Kvinden sagde: "Vilde dog Kongen nævne HERREN din Guds Navn, for at Blodhævneren ikke skal volde endnu mere Ulykke og min Søn blive ryddet af Vejen!" Da sagde han: "Så sandt HERREN lever, der skal ikke krummes et Hår på din Søns Hoved!"

Then said she, Let the king, I pray thee, remember the Lord thy God, so as not to suffer the avenger of the blood to cause yet more destruction, and that they may not destroy my son. And he said, As the Lord liveth, there shall not fall one hair of thy son to the earth.

12 Da sagde Kvinden: "Må din Trælkvinde sige min Herre Kongen et Ord?" Han svarede: "Tal!"

Then said the woman, Let thy hand-maid, I pray thee, speak unto my Lord the king one word. And he said, Speak on.

13 Og Kvinden sagde: "Hvor kan du da tænke på at gøre det samme ved Guds Folk - når Kongen taler således, dømmer han jo sig selv - og det gør Kongen, når han ikke vil lade sin forstødte Søn vende tilbage.

And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? and since the king doth speak this thing, he is as a guilty man, if the king do not permit his banished one to return home.

14 Thi vi skal visselig alle dø, vi er som Vandet, der ikke kan samles op igen, når det hældes ud på Jorden; men Gud vil ikke tage det Menneskes Liv, der omgås med den Tanke, at en forstødt ikke skal være forstødt for stedse.

For we must needs die, and are as water which is spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; and yet doth God not take away life; and he deviseth thoughts, so that the banished one may not remain banished from him.

15 Når jeg nu er kommet for at tale om denne Sag til min Herre Kongen, så er det, fordi de Folk har gjort mig bange; din Trælkvinde tænkte: Jeg vil tale til Kongen, måske opfylder Kongen sin Trælkvindes Bøn;

And now that I am come to speak unto my Lord the king of this thing, [happened] because the people made me afraid; and therefore thy hand-maid said, I will still speak unto the king; perhaps the king may act [in accordance with] the word of his hand-maid.

16 thi Kongen vil bønhøre mig og fri sin Trælkvinde af den Mands Hånd, som tragter efter at udrydde mig tillige med min Søn af Guds Arvelod.

For the king may hear [me], to deliver his hand-maid out of the hand of the man [that desireth] to exterminate me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.

17 Og din Trælkvinde tænkte: Min Herre Kongens Ord vil være mig en Lindring; thi min Herre Kongen er som en Guds Engel til at skønne over godt og ondt! HER- REN din Gud være med dig!"

And thy hand-maid said, May the word of my Lord the king now become [the means of giving] repose; for as an angel of God, so is my Lord the king to comprehend the good and the bad: and may the Lord thy God be with thee.

18 Da sagde Kongen til Kvinden: "Svar mig på det Spørgsmål, jeg nu stiller dig, dølg ikke noget!"Kvinden sagde: "Min Herre Kongen tale!"

Then answered the king and said unto the woman, Conceal not, I pray thee, from me a word concerning what I am going to ask thee. And the woman said, Let my Lord the king but speak.

19 Da sagde Kongen: "Har Joab en Finger med i alt dette?" Og Kvinden svarede: "Så sandt du lever, Herre Konge, det er umuligt at slippe uden om, hvad min Herre Kongen siger. Ja, det var din Træl Joab, som pålagde mig dette og lagde din Trælkvinde alle disse Ord i Munden.

And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my Lord, O king! none can turn to the right or to the left from all that my Lord the king hath spoken; for it was thy servant Joab who hath bidden me, and it was he that hath put in the mouth of thy hand-maid all these words.

20 For at give Sagen et andet Udseende har din Træl Joab gjort således. Men min Herre er viis som en Guds Engel, så han ved alle Ting på Jorden!"

In order to change the appearance of the matter hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my Lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all that is [done] on the earth.

21 Derpå sagde Kongen til Joab: "Vel, jeg vil gøre det! Gå hen og bring den unge Mand, Absalon, tilbage!"

And the king said unto Joab, Behold, now, thou hast done this thing: go then, bring back the young man Abshalom.

22 Da faldt Joab på sit Ansigt til Jorden og bøjede sig og velsignede Kongen og sagde: "Nu ved din Træl, at jeg har fundet Nåde for dine Øjne, Herre Konge, siden Kongen har opfyldt sin Træls Bøn!"

And Joab fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself, and blessed the king: and Joab said, Today is thy servant convinced that I have found grace in thy eyes, my Lord, O king; since the king hath acted in accordance with the word of thy servant.

23 Derpå begav Joab sig til Gesjur og hentede Absalon tilbage til Jerusalem.

And Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Abshalom to Jerusalem.

24 Men Kongen sagde: "Lad ham gå hjem til sit Hus; for mit Åsyn bliver han ikke stedet!" Da gik Absalon hjem til sit Hus, og for Kongens Åsyn blev han ikke stedet.

And the king said, Let him repair to his own house, but my face he shall not see. So Abshalom repaired to his own house, but the king's face he did not see.

25 Men ingen Mand i hele Israel blev beundret så højt for sin Skønhed som Absalon; fra Fodsål til Isse var der ikke en Lyde ved ham.

And like Abshalom there was no man as handsome in all Israel, so that he was greatly praised: from the sole of his foot up to the crown of his head there was no blemish on him.

26 Og når han lod sit Hår klippe - han lod det klippe, hver Gang der var gået et År, fordi det blev ham for tungt, derfor måtte han lade det klippe - vejede det 200 Sekel efter kongelig Vægt.

And when he shaved off [the hair of] his head [and it was at the end of every year that he shaved it off; because it was too heavy on him, so that he had to shave it off: ] he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels by the king's weight.

27 Der fødtes Absalon tre Sønner og een Datter ved Navn Tamar; hun var en smuk Kvinde.

And there was born unto Abshalom three sons and one daughter, whose name was Thamar: this one was a woman of handsome appearance.

28 Absalon boede nu to År i Jerusalem uden at blive stedet for Kongen.

And Abshalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and the king's face he did not see.

29 Da sendte Absalon Bud efter Joab for at få ham til at gå til Kongen; men han vilde ikke komme. Han sendte Bud een Gang til, men han vilde ikke komme.

Abshalom sent out therefore for Joab, to send him to the king; but he would not come to him: and he sent again the second time; but he would not come.

30 Da sagde han til sine Folk "Se den Bygmark, Joab har der ved Siden af min! Gå hen og stik Ild på den!" Og Absalons Folk stak Ild på Marken.

He thereupon said unto his servants, See, Joab's field is alongside of mine, and he hath barley there: go and set it on fire. And Abshalom's servants set the field on fire.

31 Da begav Joab sig ind til Absalon og sagde til ham: "Hvorfor har dine Folk stukket Ild på min Mark?"

Then did Joab arise, and he went to Abshalom unto his house, and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set the field belonging to me on fire?

32 Absalon svarede Joab: "Se, jeg sendte Bud efter dig og bad dig komme herhen, for at jeg kunde sende dig til Kongen og sige: Hvorfor kom jeg tilbage fra Gesjur? Det havde været bedre for mig, om jeg var blevet der! Men nu vil jeg stedes for Kongen; er der Skyld hos mig så lad ham dræbe mig!"

And Abshalom said to Joab, Behold, I had sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it would be better for me were I yet there: and now let me see the king's face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him put me to death.

33 Joab gik da til Kongen og overbragte ham disse Ord. Så lod han Absalon kalde, og han kom ind til Kongen; og han bøjede sig for ham og faldt på sit Ansigt til Jorden for Kongen. Så kyssede Kongen Absalon.

So Joab went to the king, and told it to him: and he called for Abshalom, who came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king; and the king kissed Abshalom.