Nehemias 4
1 Men da Sanballat hørte, at vi byggede på Muren, blev han vred og harmfuld; og han spottede Jøderne
But it came to pass that, when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.
2 og sagde i Påhør af sine Brødre og Samarias Krigsfolk: "Hvad er det, disse usle Jøder har for? Vil de overlade Gud det? Vil de ofre? Kan de gøre det færdigt endnu i Dag? Kan de kalde Stenene i disse Grusdynger til Live, når de er forbrændt?"
And he spoke before his brethren and the army of Samaria, and said: 'What do these feeble Jews? will they restore at will? will they sacrifice? will they make an end this day? will they revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish, seeing they are burned?'
3 Og Ammoniten Tobija, der stod ved siden af ham, sagde: "Lad dem bygge, så meget de vil; en Ræv kan rive deres Stenmur ned, blot den springer derop!"
Now Tobiah the Ammonite was by him, and he said: 'Even that which they build, if a fox go up, he shall break down their stone wall.'
4 Hør, vor Gud, hvorledes vi er blevet hånet! Lad deres Spot falde tilbage på deres eget Hoved, og lad dem blive hånet som Fanger i et Fremmed Land!
Hear, O our God; for we are despised; and turn back their reproach upon their own head, and give them up to spoiling in a land of captivity;
5 Skjul ikke deres Brøde og lad ikke deres Synd blive udslettet for dit Åsyn, thi med deres Ord krænkede de dem, der byggede!
and cover not their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from before Thee; for they have vexed Thee before the builders.
6 Men vi byggede på Muren, og hele Muren blev bygget færdig i halv Højde, og Folket arbejdede med god Vilje.
So we built the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto half the height thereof; for the people had a mind to work.
7 Da nu Sanballat og Tobija og Araberne, Ammoniterne og Asdoditerne børte, at det skred fremad med Istandsættelsen af Jerusalems Mure, og at Hullerne i Muren begyndte at lukkes, blev de meget vrede,
But it came to pass that, when Sanballat, and Tobiah, and the Arabians, and the Ammonites, and the Ashdodites, heard that the repairing of the walls of Jerusalem went forward, and that the breaches began to be stopped, then they were very wroth;
8 og de sammensvor sig alle om at drage hen og angribe Jerusalem og fremkalde Forvirring der.
and they conspired all of them together to come and fight against Jerusalem, and to cause confusion therein.
9 Da bad vi til vor Gud og satte Vagt både Dag og Naf for at værne os imod dem.
But we made our prayer unto our God, and set a watch against them day and night, because of them.
10 Men Jøderne sagde: Lastdragernes Kræfter svigter, og Grusdyngerne er for store; vi kan ikke bygge på Muren!
And Judah said: 'The strength of the bearers of burdens is decayed, and there is much rubbish; so that we are not able to build the wall.'
11 Og vore Fjender sagde: De må ikke mærke noget, før vi står midt iblandt dem og hugger dem ned og således får Arbejdet til at gå i Stå!
And our adversaries said: 'They shall not know, neither see, till we come into the midst of them, and slay them, and cause the work to cease.'
12 Da nu de Jøder, der boede dem nærmest, Gang på Gang kom og lod os vide, at de rykkede op imod os fra alle Steder, hvor de boede,
And it came to pass that, when the Jews that dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times: 'Ye must return unto us from all places.'
13 og da Folkene kun turde stille sig op på Steder, der lå lavere end Pladsen bag Muren, i Kælderrum, så opstillede jeg Folket Slægt for Slægt, væbnet med Sværd, Spyd og Buer;
Therefore set I in the lowest parts of the space behind the wall, in the open places, I even set the people after their families with their swords, their spears, and their bows.
14 og da jeg så det, trådte jeg frem og sagde til Stormændene og Forstanderne og det øvrige Folk: Frygt ikke for dem! Kom den store, frygtelige Gud i Hu og kæmp for eders Brødre, Sønner og Døtre, eders Hustruer og Huse!
And I looked, and rose up, and said unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest of the people: 'Be not ye afraid of them; remember the Lord, who is great and awful, and fight for your brethren, your sons and your daughters, your wives and your houses.'
15 Men da vore Fjender hørte, at vi havde fået det at vide, og at Gud gjorde deres Råd til intet, vendte vi alle tilbage til Muren, hver til sit Arbejde.
And it came to pass, when our enemies heard that it was known unto us, and God had brought their counsel to nought, that we returned all of us to the wall, every one unto his work.
16 Men fra den Tid af arbejdede kun den ene Halvdel af mine Folk, medens den anden Halvdel stod væbnet med Spyd, Skjolde, Buer og Brynjer; og Øversterne stod bag ved alle de Jøder,
And it came to pass from that time forth, that half of my servants wrought in the work, and half of them held the spears, the shields, and the bows, and the coats of mail; and the rulers were behind all the house of Judah.
17 der byggede på Muren. Også Lastdragerne var væbnet; med den ene Hånd arbejdede de, og med den anden. holdt de Spydet;
They that builded the wall and they that bore burdens laded themselves, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other held his weapon;
18 og de, der byggede, havde under Arbejdet hver sit Sværd bundet til Lænden. Ved Siden af mig stod Hornblæseren;
and the builders, every one had his sword girded by his side, and so builded. And he that sounded the horn was by me.
19 og jeg sagde til de store og Forstanderne og det øvrige Folk: "Arbejdet er stort og omfattende, og vi er spredt på Muren langt fra hverandre;
And I said unto the nobles, and to the rulers and to the rest of the people: 'The work is great and large, and we are separated upon the wall, one far from another;
20 hvor l nu hører Hornet gjalde, skal l samles om os; vor Gud vil stride for os!
in what place soever ye hear the sound of the horn, resort ye thither unto us; our God will fight for us.'
21 Således udførte vi Arbejdet, idet Halvdelen af os holdt Spydene rede fra Morgengry til Stjernernes Opgang.
So we wrought in the work; and half of them held the spears from the rising of the morning till the stars appeared.
22 Samtidig sagde jeg også til Folket: Enhver skal sammen med sin Dreng overnatte i Jerusalem, for at vi kan have dem til Vagt om Natten og til Arbejde om Dagen!"
Likewise at the same time said I unto the people: 'Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and may labour in the day.'
23 Og hverken jeg eller mine Brødre eller mine Folk eller Vagten, der fulgte mig, afførte os vore Klæder, og enhver, der blev sendt efter Vand, havde Spydet med.
So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard that followed me, none of us put off our clothes, every one that went to the water had his weapon.
