Dommer 21
1 Men Israels Mænd havde i Mizpa aflagt den Ed: »Ingen af os vil give en Benjaminit sin Datter til Ægte!«
Now the men of Israel had made a promise at Mizpah, “None of us will give his daughter to marry a Benjamite.”
2 Da nu Folket var kommet til Betel, sad de der lige til Aften for Guds Aasyn og opløftede deres Røst, græd heftigt
Then the people went to Bethel and sat there before God until the evening, and with loud voices they wept bitterly.
3 og sagde: »Hvorfor, HERRE, Israels Gud, er dog dette hændet i Israel, saa at vi i Dag maa savne en Stamme af Israel?«
They called out, “Why, Yahweh, God of Israel, has this happened to Israel, that one of our tribes should be missing today?”
4 Tidligt næste Morgen byggede Folket et Alter der og ofrede Brændofre og Takofre.
The next day the people got up early and built an altar there and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings.
5 Derpaa sagde Israeliterne: »Hvem blandt alle Israels Stammer undlod at drage op med Forsamlingen til HERREN?« Der var nemlig svoret en dyr Ed paa, at enhver, der undlod at drage op til HERREN i Mizpa, skulde dø.
The people of Israel said, “Which of all the tribes of Israel did not come up in the assembly to Yahweh?” For they had made an important promise concerning anyone who did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah. They said, “He would certainly be put to death.”
6 Men nu gjorde det Israeliterne ondt for deres Broder Benjamin, og de sagde: »I Dag er en Stamme hugget af Israel!
The people of Israel had compassion for their brother Benjamin. They said, “Today one tribe has been cut off from Israel.
7 Hvad skal vi gøre for dem, der er tilbage, for at skaffe dem Hustruer, eftersom vi har svoret ved HERREN, at vi ikke vil give dem nogen af vore Døtre til Ægte?«
Who will provide wives for those who are left, since we have made a promise to Yahweh that we will not let any of them marry our daughters?”
8 Saa spurgte de: »Er der maaske en af Israels Stammer, der undlod at drage op til HERREN i Mizpa?« Og se, der var ingen kommet til Lejren, til Forsamlingen, fra Jabesj i Gilead.
They said, “Which of the tribes of Israel did not come up to Yahweh at Mizpah?” It was found that no one had come to the assembly from Jabesh Gilead.
9 Saa blev Folket mønstret, og se, der var ingen af Indbyggerne fra Jabesj i Gilead.
For when the people were set out in an orderly manner, behold, none of the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead were there.
10 Da sendte Menigheden 12 000 Mand af de tapreste Folk derhen med den Befaling: »Drag hen og hug Indbyggerne i Jabesj i Gilead ned med Sværdet tillige med deres Kvinder og Børn.
The assembly sent twelve thousand of their bravest men with instructions to go and strike the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead with the edge of the sword, including the women and children.
11 Saaledes skal I bære eder ad: Alle af Mandkøn og alle Kvinder, der har haft Omgang med Mænd, skal I lægge Band paa!«
“Do this: You must kill every male and every woman who has slept with a man.”
12 De fandt saa hos Indbyggerne i Jabesj i Gilead 400 unge Piger, der var Jomfruer og ikke havde haft Omgang med nogen Mand, og dem førte de til Lejren i Silo i Kana'ans Land.
The men found among those living in Jabesh Gilead four hundred young women who had never slept with a man, and they took them to the camp at Shiloh, in Canaan.
13 Derpaa sendte hele Menigheden Sendebud hen for at underhandle med Benjaminiterne, der befandt sig paa Rimmons Klippe, og tilbyde dem Fred.
The entire assembly sent a message and told the people of Benjamin who were at the rock of Rimmon that they were offering them peace.
14 Paa det Tidspunkt vendte Benjaminiterne saa tilbage, og de gav dem de Kvinder fra Jabesj i Gilead, som man havde ladet i Live. Men de var ikke nok til dem.
The Benjamites returned at that time and they were given the women of Jabesh Gilead, but there were not enough women for all of them.
15 Da gjorde det Folket ondt for Benjamin, fordi HERREN havde gjort et Skaar i Israels Stammer.
The people were sorry for what happened to Benjamin, because Yahweh made a division between the tribes of Israel.
16 Og Menighedens Ældste sagde: »Hvad skal vi gøre for dem, der er tilbage, for at skaffe dem Hustruer, eftersom alle Kvinder i Benjamin er udryddet?«
Then the leaders of the assembly said, “How will we arrange wives for the Benjamites who are left, since the women of Benjamin have been killed?”
17 Og de sagde: »Hvorledes kan der reddes en Rest af Benjamin, saa at ikke en Stamme i Israel gaar til Grunde?
They said, “There must be an inheritance for the survivors of Benjamin, so that a tribe is not destroyed from Israel.
18 Vi kan jo ikke give dem nogen af vore Døtre til Ægte!« Israeliterne havde nemlig svoret og sagt: »Forbandet være den, som giver Benjaminiterne en Hustru!«
We cannot give them wives from our daughters, for the people of Israel had made a promise, 'Cursed be anyone who gives a wife to Benjamin.'”
19 Da sagde de: »Se, HERRENS Højtid fejres jo hvert Aar i Silo!« Det ligger norden for Betel, østen for Vejen, der fører op fra Betel til Sikem, og sønden for Lebona.
So they said, “You know there is a feast for Yahweh every year at Shiloh (which is north of Bethel, east of the road that goes up from Bethel to Shechem, and south of Lebonah).”
20 Og de bød Benjaminiterne: »Gaa hen og læg eder paa Lur i Vingaardene!
They instructed the men of Benjamin, saying, “Go and hide in secret and wait in the vineyards.
21 Se saa nøje til, og naar de unge Kvinder fra Silo kommer ud for at opføre deres Danse, skal I komme frem af Vingaardene og røve hver sin Hustru af de unge Kvinder fra Silo og saa drage hjem til Benjamins Land!
Watch for the time when the girls from Shiloh come out to dance, then rush out of the vineyards and each one of you should grab a wife from the girls of Shiloh, then go back to the land of Benjamin.
22 Naar saa deres Fædre eller Brødre kommer for at gaa i Rette med eder, skal I sige til dem: Skaan os, thi vi fik os ikke alle en Hustru i Krigen! Det er jo ikke eder, der har givet os dem; i saa Fald vilde I have forbrudt eder!«
When their fathers or their brothers come to protest to us, we will say to them, 'Show us favor! Let them remain because we did not get wives for each man during the war. You are innocent, since you did not give your daughters to them.'”
23 Det gjorde Benjaminiterne da, og de tog sig Hustruer af de dansende Kvinder, som de røvede, een til hver; derpaa vendte de tilbage til deres Arvelod, opbyggede deres Byer og boede i dem.
The people of Benjamin did so. They took the number of wives that they needed from the girls who were dancing and they carried them off to be their wives. They went and returned to the place of their inheritance. They rebuilt the towns and lived in them.
24 Og samtidig drog Israeliterne derfra, hver til sin Stamme og Slægt, og de gik derfra hver til sin Arvelod,
Then the people of Israel left that place and went home, each one to his own tribe and clan, and each one to his own inheritance.
25 I de Dage var der ingen Konge i Israel; enhver gjorde, hvad han fandt for godt.
In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
