< 2 Samuel 18 >

1 And David had the people who were with him numbered, and he put over them captains of thousands and captains of hundreds.
Derpå holdt David Mønstring over sit Mandskab og satte Tusindførere og Hundredførere over dem;
2 And David sent the people out, a third of them under the orders of Joab, and a third under the orders of Abishai, son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, And I myself will certainly go out with you.
og David delte Mandskabet i tre Dele; den ene Tredjedel stillede han under Joab, den anden under Abisjaj, Zerujas Søn og Joabs Broder, og den sidste Tredjedel under Gatiten Ittaj. Kongen sagde så til Folkene: "Jeg vil selv drage med i Kampen!"
3 But the people said, It is better for you not to go out: for if we are put to flight, they will not give a thought to us, and if death overtakes half of us, it will be nothing to them: but you are of more value than ten thousand of us: so it is better for you to be ready to come to our help from this town.
Men de svarede: "Du må ikke drage med; thi om vi flygter, ænser man ikke os; ja, selv om Halvdelen af os falder, ænser man ikke os, men du gælder lige så meget som ti Tusinde af os; derfor er det bedst, at du holder dig rede til at ile os til Hjælp fra Byen."
4 And the king said to them, I will do whatever seems best to you. So the king took his place by the door of the town, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands.
Kongen svarede: "Jeg gør, hvad I finder bedst!" Derpå stillede Kongen sig ved Porten, medens hele Mandskabet drog ud, hundredvis og tusindvis.
5 And the king gave orders to Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Because of me, be gentle to the young man Absalom. And this order about Absalom was given in the hearing of all the people.
Men Kongen gav Joab, Abisjajog Ittaj den Befaling: "Far nu lempeligt med den unge Absalon!" Og hele Mandskabet hørte, hvorledes Kongen gav alle Øversterne Befaling om Absalon.
6 So the people went out into the field against Israel, and the fight took place in the woods of Ephraim.
Derpå rykkede Krigerne i Marken mod Israel, og Slaget kom til at stå i Efraims Skov.
7 And the people of Israel were overcome there by the servants of David, and there was a great destruction that day, and twenty thousand men were put to the sword.
Der blev Israels Hær slået af Davids Folk, og der fandt et stort Mandefald Sted den Dag; der faldt 200000 Mand.
8 And the fighting went on over all the face of the country: and the woods were responsible for more deaths than the sword.
Kampen bredte sig over hele Egnen, og Skoven fortærede den Dag flere Folk end Sværdet.
9 And Absalom came across some of David's men. And Absalom was seated on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great tree, and his head became fixed in the tree and he was lifted up between earth and heaven, and the beast under him went on.
Absalon selv stødte på nogle af Davids Folk; Absalon red på sit Muldyr, og da Muldyret kom ind under en stor Terebintes tætte Grene, blev hans Hoved hængende i Terebinten, så han hang mellem Himmel og Jord, medens Muldyret, han sad på, løb bort.
10 And a certain man saw it and said to Joab, I saw Absalom hanging in a tree.
En Mand, der så det meldte det til Joab og sagde: "Jeg så Absalon hænge i en Terebinte."
11 And Joab said to the man who had given him the news, If you saw this, why did you not put your sword through him, and I would have given you ten bits of silver and a band for your robe?
Da sagde Joab til Manden, der havde meldt ham det: "Når du så det, hvorfor slog du ham da ikke til Jorden med det samme? Så havde jeg givet dig ti Sekel Sølv og et Bælte!"
12 And the man said to Joab, Even if you gave me a thousand bits of silver, I would not put out my hand against the king's son: for in our hearing the king gave orders to you and Abishai and Ittai, saying, Take care that the young man Absalom is not touched.
Men Manden svarede Joab: "Om jeg så havde fået tilvejet tusind Sekel, havde jeg ikke lagt Hånd på Kongens Søn; thi vi hørte jo selv, hvorledes Kongen bød dig, Abisjaj og Ittaj: Vogt vel på den unge Absalon!
13 And if I had falsely put him to death (and nothing may be kept secret from the king), you would have had nothing to do with me.
Dersom jeg havde handlet svigefuldt imod ham -intet bliver jo skjult for Kongen - vilde du have ladet mig i Stikken!"
14 Then Joab said, I would have made it safe for you. And he took three spears in his hand, and put them through Absalom's heart, while he was still living, in the branches of the tree.
Da sagde Joab: "Så gør jeg det for dig!" Dermed greb han tre Spyd og stødte dem i Brystet på Absalon, som endnu levede og hang mellem Terebintens Grene.
15 And ten young men, servants of Joab, came round Absalom and put an end to him.
Derpå trådte ti unge Mænd, der var Joabs Våbendragere, til og gav Absalon Dødsstødet.
16 And Joab had the horn sounded, and the people came back from going after Israel, for Joab kept them back.
Joab lod nu støde i Hornet, og Hæren opgav at forfølge Israel, thi Joab bød Folkene standse.
17 And they took Absalom's body and put it into a great hole in the wood, and put a great mass of stones over it: and every man of Israel went in flight to his tent.
Derpå tog de og kastede Absalon i en stor Grube i Skoven og ophobede en mægtig Stendynge over ham. Og hele Israel flygtede hver til sit.
18 Now Absalom, before his death, had put up for himself a pillar in the king's valley, naming it after himself; for he said, I have no son to keep my name in memory: and to this day it is named Absalom's pillar.
Men medens Absalon endnu levede, havde han taget og rejst sig den Stenstøtte, som står i Kongedalen; thi han sagde: "Jeg har ingen Søn til at bevare Mindet om mit Navn." Han havde opkaldt Stenstøtten efter sig selv, og endnu den Dag i Dag kaldes den "Absalons Minde".
19 Then Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, said, Let me go and give the king news of how the Lord has done right in his cause against those who took up arms against him.
Da sagde Ahima'az, Zadoks Søn: "Lad mig løbe hen og bringe Kongen den gode Tidende, at HERREN har skaffet ham Ret over for hans Fjender!"
20 And Joab said, You will take no news today; another day you may give him the news, but you will take no news today, because the king's son is dead.
Men Joab svarede ham: "Du skal ikke være den, der bringer Bud i Dag; en anden Gang kan du bringe Bud, men i bag skal du ikke gøre det, da Kongens Søn er død!"
21 Then Joab said to the Cushite, Go and give the king word of what you have seen. And the Cushite, making a sign of respect to Joab, went off running.
Og Joab sagde til Etiopieren: "Gå du hen og meld Kongen, hvad du har set!" Da kastede Etiopieren sig til Jorden for Joab og ilede af Sted.
22 Then Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, said to Joab again, Whatever may come of it, let me go after the Cushite. And Joab said, Why have you a desire to go, my son, seeing that you will get no reward for your news?
Men Ahima'az, Zadoks Søn, sagde atter til Joab: "Ske, hvad der vil! Lad også mig løbe bag efter Etiopieren!" Da sagde Joab: "Hvorfor vil du det, min Søn? For dig er der ingen Budløn at hente!"
23 Whatever may come of it, he said, I will go. Then he said to him, Go. So Ahimaaz went running by the lowland road and overtook the Cushite.
Men han blev ved: "Ske, hvad der vil! Jeg løber!" Så sagde han: "Løb da!" Og Ahima'az løb ad Vejen gennem Jordanegnen og nåede frem før Etiopieren.
24 Now David was seated between the two town doors; and the watchman went up to the roof of the doorways, on the wall, and, lifting up his eyes, saw a man running by himself.
David sad just mellem de to Porte, og Vægteren steg op på Porttaget ved Muren; da han så ud, se, da kom en Mand løbende alene.
25 And the watchman gave news of it to the king. And the king said, If he is coming by himself, then he has news. And the man was travelling quickly, and came near.
Vægteren råbte og meldte det til Kongen, og Kongen sagde: "Er han alene, har han Bud at bringe!" Men medens Manden fortsatte sit Løb og kom nærmere,
26 Then the watchman saw another man running: and crying out in the direction of the door he said, Here is another man running by himself. And the king said, He, like the other, comes with news.
så Vægteren en anden Mand komme løbende og råbte ned i Porten: "Der kommer een Mand til løbende alene!" Kongen sagde: "Også han har Bud at bringe!"
27 And the watchman said, It seems to me that the running of the first is like the running of Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and his news will be good.
Da råbte Vægteren: "Den forreste løber således, at det ser ud til at være Ahima'az, Zadoks Søn!" Kongen sagde: "Det er en god Mand, han kommer med godt Bud!"
28 And Ahimaaz, crying out to the king, said, It is well. And falling down before the king, with his face to the earth, he said, May the Lord your God be praised, who has given up the men who took up arms against my lord the king!
Imidlertid var Ahima'az kommet nærmere og råbte til Kongen: "Hil dig!" Så kastede han sig ned på Jorden for Kongen og sagde: "Lovet være HERREN din Gud, som gav dem, der løftede Hånd mod min Herre Kongen, i din Hånd!"
29 And the king said, Is it well with the young man Absalom? And Ahimaaz said in answer, When Joab sent me, your servant, I saw a great outcry going on, but I had no knowledge of what it was.
Kongen spurgte: "Er den unge Absalon uskadt?" Ahima'az svarede: "Jeg så, at der var stor Tummel, da Kongens Træl Joab sendte din Træl af Sted, men jeg ved ikke, hvad det var."
30 And the king said, Get back and take your place here. So turning to one side, he took his place there.
Kongen sagde da: "Træd til Side og stil dig der!" Og han trådte til Side og blev stående.
31 And then the Cushite came and said, I have news for my lord the king: today the Lord has done right in your cause against all those who took up arms against you.
I det samme kom Etiopieren; og Etiopieren sagde: "Der er Bud til min Herre Kongen: HERREN har i Dag skaffet dig Ret over for alle dine Modstandere!"
32 And the king said to the Cushite, Is the young man Absalom safe? And the Cushite said in answer, May all the king's haters and those who do evil against the king, be as that young man is!
Kongen spurgte Etiopieren: "Er den unge Absalon uskadt?" Og han svarede: "Det gå min Herre Kongens Fjender og alle dine Modstandere som den unge Mand!"
33 Then the king was much moved, and went up into the room over the door, weeping, and saying, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! if only my life might have been given for yours, O Absalom, my son, my son!
Da blev Kongen dybt rystet, og han gik op i Stuen på Taget over Porten og græd; og han gik frem og tilbage og klagede: Min Søn Absalon, min Søn, min Søn Absalon! Var jeg blot død i dit Sted! Absalon, min Søn, min Søn!"

< 2 Samuel 18 >