< 以賽亞書 49 >
1 諸島嶼,請聽我!遠方的人民,請靜聽!上主由母腹中就召叫了我,自母胎中就給我起了名字。
Hearken, O isles, unto me; and listen, ye people, from afar: The Lord hath called me from my birth; from my mother's womb hath he made mention of my name.
2 他使我的口好似利劍,將我掩護在他的手蔭下,使我像一支磨光的箭,將我隱藏在他的箭囊中。
And he hath rendered my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hidden me: and he hath rendered me as a polished arrow; in his quiver hath he concealed me;
3 他對我說:你是我的僕人,是我驕矜的「以色列。」
And said unto me, My servant art thou, O Israel, thou on whom I will be glorified.
4 但是我說:「我白白勤勞了,我枉費了氣力而毫無益處;但是我的權利是在上主那裏,我的報酬在我的天主面前。」
But I had indeed said, For no purpose have I labored, for naught and vanity have I spent my strength; yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and the recompense of my work with my God.
5 我在上主眼中是光榮的,天主是我的力量。那由母胎形成我作他的僕人,將雅各伯領回到他前,並把以色列聚在他前的上主,如今說:「
And now hath said the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, that Israel may be gathered unto him, that I should be honored in the eyes of the Lord, while my God was my strength, —
6 你作我的僕人,復興雅各伯支派,領回以色列遺留下的人,還是小事,我更要使你作萬民的光明,使我的救恩達於地極。」
And he said, It is too light a thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to bring back the preserved of Israel! but I will [also] appoint thee for a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach as far as the end of the earth.
7 上主,以色列的救主和聖者,向那極受輕慢,為列國所憎惡,且作統治者奴役的人這樣說:「列王必要見而起立,諸侯必要見而下拜:這是因為上主忠實可靠,以色列的聖者揀選了你的緣故。」
Thus hath said the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him who is despised by men, to him who is abhorred by nations, to the servant of rulers, Kings shall see it and rise up, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, for the sake of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who hath made choice of thee.
8 上主這樣說:在悅納的時候,我俯允了你;在救恩的日期,我幫助了你;我必保護你,使你作為人民的盟約,復興國家,分得荒蕪的產業,
Thus hath said the Lord, In the time of favor have I answered thee, and on the day of salvation have I helped thee; and I will preserve thee, and I will appoint thee as a people of my covenant to raise up the land, to divide out desolate heritages;
9 好向俘虜說:「你們出來罷!」向在黑暗中的人說:「你們出現罷!」他們將在各路上被牧放,他們的牧場是在一切荒嶺上。
When I say to the prisoners, Go forth; to those that are in darkness, Show yourselves. On the roads shall they feed, and on all mountain-peaks shall be their pasture.
10 他們不餓也不渴,熱風和列日也不損傷他們,因為那憐憫他們的率領著他們,引領他們到水泉傍。
They shall not be hungry nor thirsty, and neither heat nor sun shall smite them; for he that hath mercy on them will lead them, and by springs of water will he guide them.
11 我要使我的一切山嶺變為大路,並把我的街道修高。
And I will change all my mountains into a road, and my highways shall be lifted up.
12 看啊!有的由遠方而來,有的由北方和西方而來,還有些由息寧而來。
Behold, these shall come from afar; and, lo, these from the north and from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
13 諸天要歡樂,大地要踴躍,山嶺要歡呼高唱,因為上主安慰了他的百姓,憐恤了他受苦的人們。
Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth, O mountains, into song; for the Lord hath comforted his people, and upon his oppressed will he have mercy.
14 熙雍曾說過:「上主離棄了我,吾主忘掉了我。」
Yet Zion said, the Eternal hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath forgotten me.
15 婦女豈能忘掉自己的乳嬰﹖出為人母的,豈能忘掉親生的兒子﹖縱然她們能忘掉,我也不能忘掉你啊﹖
Can a woman forget her sucking child, not to have mercy on the son of her body? yea, should these even forget, yet would I not forget thee.
16 看哪!我已把你刻在我的手掌上,你的城牆時常在我的眼前。
Behold, upon the palms of my hands have I engraved thee; thy walls are continually before me.
17 建築你的工人急速動工,那毀滅你和破壞你的,要離你遠去。
Thy children come in haste; thy destroyers and they that laid thee waste shall go away from thee.
18 你舉目四望罷!他們都已集合到你這裏來;我永遠生活--上主的斷語--他們必如裝飾品穿戴在你身上,把你裝扮得有如新娘。
Lift up thy eyes round about, and see; they all are assembled together, they come to thee: as I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thyself with them all, as with an ornament, and bind them on thee, as a bride.
19 至於你的廢址,你那荒蕪和遭蹂躪之地,如今為你的居民都太狹小了,因為吞噬你的人已遠離他去。
For thy ruins and thy desolate places, and thy wasted land, —yea, now shall it be too narrow for thee by reason of the inhabitants, and thy destroyers shall be far away.
20 連你在不孕期中所生的子女也要說給你聽:「這地方為我太狹小了,請給我一個住處罷!」
Yet again will say before thy ears the children of whom thou wast deprived, The place is too narrow for me; make room for me that I may dwell.
21 那時你心裏會問:「誰給我生育了這些人呢﹖我原是不妊不孕的,【且是流放被逐的,】這些人是誰給我養大的﹖看!我本是孤苦零丁的,他們卻是從那裏來的﹖」
And thou wilt say in thy heart, Who hath born me these, seeing I was bereft of my children, and was solitary, an exile, and outcast? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left entirely alone; these, where have they been?
22 吾主上主這樣說:「看!我要向列邦高舉我的手,向萬民樹起我的旗幟;他們必要把你的兒子抱在懷中帶來,把你的女兒放在肩上背來。
Thus hath said the Lord Eternal, Behold, I will lift up to the nations my hand, and to the people will I raise up high my standard; and they shall bring thy sons in [their] arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon shoulders.
23 列王要作你的養父,皇后要當你的保姆。他們要在你面前俯伏在地,並要舔去你腳上的塵土;那時你將知道:我是上主;凡仰賴我的,決不會蒙羞。」
And kings shall be thy nursing-fathers, and their princesses thy nursing-mothers; with the face toward the earth shall they bow down to thee, and the dust of thy feet shall they lick up: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord, who will not suffer those who hope in me to be ashamed.
24 獵物豈能由勇士手中奪回﹖俘虜豈能由強者手中救出﹖
Shall the prey be taken from the mighty, or shall the captive of the victor escape?
25 但是,上主這樣說:「俘虜必要由勇士手中奪回,獵物必要由強者手中救出。我必與同你爭奪的人爭奪,我必拯救你的子孫。
For thus hath said the Lord, Also the captive of the mighty shall be taken away, and the prey of the powerful shall escape; and with those who contend against thee will I contend, and thy children will I indeed save.
26 我要使壓迫你的人吃自己的肉,喝自己的血如喝新酒。如此,凡有血肉的人都知道我是上主,是你的拯救者,是你的救主,是雅各伯的大能者。」
And I will feed thy oppressors with their own flesh; and as with new wine shall they be made drunken with their own blood: and all flesh shall know that I the Eternal am thy Saviour, and thy Redeemer the Mighty One of Jacob.