Dommernes 11
1 Gileaditten Jefta var en veldig krigsmann. Men han var sønn av en skjøge; hans far var Gilead.
At that time, there was a Gileadite, Jephthah, a very strong man and a fighter, the son of a kept woman, and he was born of Gilead.
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.
Now Gilead had a wife, from whom he received sons. And they, after growing up, cast out Jephthah, saying, “You cannot inherit in the house of our father, because you were born of another mother.”
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.
And so, fleeing and avoiding them, he lived in the land of Tob. And men who were indigent and robbers joined with him, and they followed him as their leader.
4 Nogen tid efter begynte Ammons barn krig mot Israel.
In those days, the sons of Ammon fought against Israel.
5 Og da Ammons barn bar våben mot Israel, gikk de eldste i Gilead avsted for å hente Jefta fra landet Tob.
And being steadfastly attacked, the elders of Gilead traveled so that they might obtain for their assistance Jephthah, from the land of Tob.
6 Og de sa til Jefta: Kom og bli vår fører, så vil vi stride mot Ammons barn.
And they said to him, “Come and be our leader, and fight against the sons of Ammon.”
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 he answered them: “Are you not the ones who hated me, and who cast me out of my father’s house? And yet now you come to me, compelled by necessity?”
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.
And the leaders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “But it is due to this necessity that we have approached you now, so that you may set out with us, and fight against the sons of Ammon, and be commander over all who live in Gilead.”
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 also said to them: “If you have come to me so that I may fight for you against the sons of Ammon, and if the Lord will deliver them into my hands, will I truly 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 answered him, “The Lord who hears these things is himself the Mediator and the Witness that we shall do what we have promised.”
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.
And so Jephthah went with the leaders of Gilead, and all the people made him their leader. And Jephthah spoke all his words, in the sight of the Lord, at Mizpah.
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?
And he sent messengers to the king of the sons of Ammon, who said on his behalf, “What is there between you and me, that you would approach against me, so that you might lay waste to my 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!
And he responded to them, “It is because Israel took my land, when he ascended from Egypt, from the parts of Arnon, as far as the Jabbok and the Jordan. Now therefore, restore these to me with peace.”
14 Men Jefta sendte atter bud til ammonittenes konge
And Jephthah again commissioned them, and he ordered them to say to the king of Ammon:
15 og lot si til ham: Så sier Jefta: Israel har ikke tatt Moabs land eller ammonittenes land.
“Jephthah says this: Israel did not take the land of Moab, nor the land of the sons of Ammon.
16 For da de drog op fra Egypten, vandret Israel i ørkenen til det Røde Hav og kom til Kades.
But when they ascended together from Egypt, he walked through the desert as far as the Red Sea, and he went into Kadesh.
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.
And he sent messengers to the king of Edom, saying, ‘Permit me to pass through your land.’ But he was not willing to agree to his petition. Likewise, he sent to the king of Moab, who also refused to offer him passage. And so he delayed in Kadesh,
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.
and he circled around the side of the land of Edom and the land of Moab. And he arrived opposite the eastern region of the land of Moab. And he made camp across the Arnon. But he was not willing to enter the borders of Moab. (Of course, Arnon is the border of the land of Moab.)
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!
And so Israel sent messengers to Sihon, the king of the Amorites, who was living at Heshbon. And they said to him, “Permit me to cross through your land as far as the river.”
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 he, too, despising the words of Israel, would not permit him to cross through his borders. Instead, gathering an innumerable multitude, he went out against him at Jahaz, and he resisted strongly.
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 the Lord delivered him, with his entire army, into the hands of Israel. And he struck him down, and he possessed all the land of the Amorite, the inhabitant of that region,
22 hele amorittenes land inntok de like fra Arnon til Jabbok og fra ørkenen til Jordan.
with all its parts, from the Arnon as far as the Jabbok, and from the wilderness even to the Jordan.
23 Så har nu Herren, Israels Gud, drevet amorittene bort for sitt folk Israel; og nu vil du ta dets land i eie?
Therefore, it was the Lord, the God of Israel, who overthrew the Amorites, by means of his people Israel fighting against them. And now you wish to possess his land?
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?
Are not the things that your god Chemosh possesses owed to you by right? And so, what the Lord our God has obtained by victory falls to us as a possession.
25 Er da du bedre enn Balak, Sippors sønn, Moabs konge? Trettet vel han med Israel eller førte krig mot dem?
Or are you, perhaps, better than Balak, the son of Zippor, the king of Moab? Or are you able to explain what his argument was against Israel, and why he fought against him?
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?
And though he has lived in Heshbon, and its villages, and in Aroer, and its villages, and in all the cities near the Jordan for three hundred years, why have you, for such long a time, put forward nothing about this claim?
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.
Therefore, I am not sinning against you, but you are doing evil against me, by declaring an unjust war against me. May the Lord be the Judge and the Arbiter this day, between Israel and the sons of Ammon.”
28 Men ammonittenes konge hørte ikke på de ord som Jeftas sendebud bar frem til ham.
But the king of the sons of Ammon was not willing to agree to the words of Jephthah that he commissioned by the messengers.
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.
Therefore, the Spirit of the Lord rested upon Jephthah, and circling around Gilead, and Manasseh, and also Mizpah of Gilead, and crossing from there to the sons of Ammon,
30 Og Jefta gjorde et løfte til Herren og sa: Dersom du gir Ammons barn i min hånd,
he made a vow to the Lord, saying, “If you will deliver the sons of Ammon into my hands,
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.
whoever will be the first to depart from the doors of my house to meet me, when I return in peace from the sons of Ammon, the same will I offer as a holocaust to the Lord.”
32 Så drog Jefta frem mot Ammons barn og stred mot dem, og Herren gav dem i hans hånd;
And Jephthah crossed to the sons of Ammon, so that he might fight against them. And the Lord delivered them into his hands.
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.
And he struck them down from Aroer, as far as the entrance to Minnith, twenty cities, and as far as Abel, which is covered with vineyards, in an exceedingly great slaughter. And the sons of Ammon were humbled by the sons of Israel.
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.
But when Jephthah returned to Mizpah, to his own house, his only daughter met him with timbrels and dances. For he had no other children.
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.
And upon seeing her, he tore his garments, and he said: “Alas, my daughter! You have cheated me, and you yourself have been cheated. For I opened my mouth to the Lord, and I can do nothing else.”
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!
And she answered him, “My father, if you have opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me whatever you have promised, since victory has been granted to you, as well as vengeance against your enemies.”
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.
And she said to her father: “Grant to me this one thing, which I request. Permit me, that I may wander the hillsides for two months, and that I may mourn my virginity with my companions.”
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.
And he answered her, “Go.” And he released her for two months. And when she had departed with her friends and companions, she wept over her virginity in the hillsides.
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:
And when the two months expired, she returned to her father, and he did to her just as he had vowed, though she knew no man. From this, the custom grew up in Israel, and the practice has been preserved,
40 År for år går Israels døtre avsted for å prise Jeftas, gileadittens datter fire dager om året.
such that, after each year passes, the daughters of Israel convene as one, and they lament the daughter of Jephthah, the Gileadite, for four days.
