< 約伯記 36 >
Elihu [finished by] saying this:
2 你且等一會,容我教導你,因為為天主,我還有些話要說。
“[Job, ] be patient with me a little longer, because I have something else to teach you. I have something else to say that God [wants you to know].
I will tell you what I have learned from many sources, in order to show that God, my creator, is just/fair.
I am not saying anything to you that is false; I, who am standing in front of you, am someone who understands things (very well/perfectly) [HYP].
5 的確,天主寬宏大量,決不藐視任何人,並且有廣大的同情心。
“Hey, God is [very] powerful, and he does not despise anyone, and he understands everything.
He does not allow wicked people to remain alive, and he always acts justly toward those who are poor.
7 他也不剝奪義人的權利。他使君王永久坐在寶座上,但是他們卻驕矜自大;
He always watches over [MTY] those who are righteous; he allows them to sit on thrones [and rule] with kings, and they are honored forever.
8 故此,當他們一旦被鎖鏈束縛,被痛苦的繩索所繫,
But if people [who commit crimes] are caught, they [are thrown into prison and] are caused to suffer by being fastened with chains.
9 天主就向他們指明他們的惡行,和他們所誇耀的過犯,
When that happens, God shows them what they have done; he shows them the sins that they have committed, and he shows them that they have been proud/arrogant.
10 開啟他們的耳朵,以聽訓戒,囑咐他們離開邪惡。
He causes them to listen [MTY] to what he is warning them, and he commands them to turn away from [doing what is] evil.
11 如果他們服從順命,便能幸福地度過歲月,能安樂地享受天年。
If they (listen to/heed) him and serve him, [after they get out of prison] they will prosper for all the years that they are alive and be peaceful/happy.
But if they do not (listen/pay attention) to him, they will die violently, not knowing [why God is causing them to die].
13 心術敗壞的人,憤怒填胸,縱被囚禁,仍不呼求救助;
“Godless/Wicked people continue being angry, and they do not cry out for help, [even] when God is punishing them.
They die while they are still young, disgraced because of their very immoral behavior [EUP].
15 所以天主藉痛苦拯救受難的人,以患難開啟他們的耳鼓。
But God teaches people by causing them to suffer; by afflicting them, he causes them to listen to [MTY] what he is telling them.
16 他也要救你擺脫災難,領你到廣闊自由之地,在你桌上常擺滿肥饌美味;
“And Job, [I think that] God [wants to] bring you out of your troubles and allow you to live without distress; he wants your table to be full of very nice food.
17 無如你判斷與惡人完全一樣,那麼懲罰和判案必集於你身。
But now, you are being punished [MTY] as wicked people are punished; [God] [PRS] has been punishing you (justly/as you deserve).
18 小心! 不要讓忿怒引你肆口謾罵,也不要為重罰讓你離棄正道。
So be careful that you are not deceived by [desiring to acquire] money or that you are not ruined by [accepting] large bribes.
[If you are deceived by those things, ] it certainly will not [RHQ] help you to cry out when you are distressed; all of your strength will not help you.
Do not wish that it would be nighttime [in order that God will not see you and punish you], because night is the time when [even] people-groups are destroyed!
21 小心! 別傾向不義,因為這正是你遭難的真正原因。
Be careful not to [begin doing] evil things, because [God] has caused you to suffer to prevent you from doing evil.
“Hey, God is extremely powerful; there is certainly [RHQ] no teacher who teaches like he does.
No one has [RHQ] told him what he should do, and no one has [RHQ] said to him, ‘You have done what is wrong!’
People have [always] sung to praise him, so you also should never forget to praise him for what he has done.
Everyone has seen [what he has done], but [sometimes] we can see it only from far away.
26 天主何其偉大,我們不能理解! 他的歲數,無法考究。
“Hey, God is very great, and we are not able to know how great he is, and we do not know how old he is.
He draws water up [from the earth and puts it in clouds] and causes it to become rain.
The rain pours down from the sky/clouds; God causes abundant showers to fall on everyone.
29 但誰能明瞭雲彩怎樣散布,天幕中怎樣發出隆隆之聲﹖
No one can [RHQ] understand how the clouds move [across the sky] or how it thunders in the sky where God lives.
He causes lightning to flash all around him, but he causes the bottom of the oceans to remain dark.
By providing plenty of rain for us, he enables us to have abundant food.
[It is as though] he holds the lightning in his hands, and [then] he commands it to strike where he wants it to.
When we hear his thunder, we know that there will be a storm, and the cattle know it, too.”