士師記 3

1 上主保留的民族 這是上主為考驗那些不曉得客納罕一切戰事的以色列人，所留下來的民族，

Now these are the nations which the Lord kept in the land for the purpose of testing Israel by them, all those who had had no experience of all the wars of Canaan;

2 叫以色列子民的後代，至少那些以前不曉得這些戰事的人，知道和學習作戰。

Only because of the generations of the children of Israel, for the purpose of teaching them war — only those who up till then had no experience of it;

3 這些民族就是培勒舍特人的五個酋長，一切客納罕人、漆冬人和住在黎巴嫩山上，即從巴耳赫爾孟山直到哈瑪特關口的希威人。

The five chiefs of the Philistines, and all the Canaanites and the Zidonians and the Hivites living in Mount Lebanon, from the mountain Baal-hermon as far as Hamath:

4 他們留在那裏是為考驗以色列人，看他們是否聽從上主藉梅瑟吩咐他們祖先的那些誡命。

For the purpose of testing Israel by them, to see if they would give ear to the orders of the Lord, which he had given to their fathers by the hand of Moses.

5 以色列子民就住在客納罕人、赫特人、阿摩黎人、培黎齊人、希威人和耶步斯人中間，

Now the children of Israel were living among the Canaanites, the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites:

6 竟然娶了他們的女子為妻，也把自己的女兒嫁給他們的兒子，事奉了他們的神。敖特尼耳民長

And they took as wives the daughters of these nations and gave their daughters to their sons, and became servants to their gods.

7 以色列子民行了上主視為惡的事，忘卻了上主他們的天主，而事奉了巴耳諸神和阿舍辣諸女神；

And the children of Israel did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and put out of their minds the Lord their God, and became servants to the Baals and the Astartes.

8 因此上主對以色列大發忿怒，將他們交在厄東王雇商黎沙塔殷手中，以色列子民遂服事了雇商黎沙塔殷八年。

So the wrath of the Lord was burning against Israel, and he gave them up into the hands of Cushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia; and the children of Israel were his servants for eight years.

9 當以色列子民向上主呼籲時，上主給以色列子民興起了一個拯救他們的救星，即加肋布的弟弟刻納次的兒子敖特尼耳。

And when the children of Israel made prayer to the Lord, he gave them a saviour, Othniel, the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.

10 上主的神降在他身上，他作了以色列的民長，出去作戰；上主把厄東王雇商黎沙塔殷交在他手中，他的`能力勝過了雇商黎沙塔殷。

And the spirit of the Lord came on him and he became judge of Israel, and went out to war, and the Lord gave up Cushan-rishathaim, king of Mesopotamia, into his hands and he overcame him.

11 於是四境平安了四十年。厄胡得民長刻納次的兒子敖特尼耳去世後，

Then for forty years the land had peace, till the death of Othniel, the son of Kenaz.

12 以色列子民又行了上主視為惡的事，上主就強化摩阿布王厄革隆去打以色列，因為他們行了上主視為惡的事。

Then the children of Israel again did evil in the eyes of the Lord; and the Lord made Eglon, king of Moab, strong against Israel, because they had done evil in the Lord's eyes.

13 他聯合了阿孟子民和阿瑪肋克人，前來擊敗以色列，佔據了棕樹城；

And Eglon got together the people of Ammon and Amalek, and they went and overcame Israel and took the town of palm-trees.

14 以色列遂服事了摩阿布王厄革隆十八年。

And the children of Israel were servants to Eglon, king of Moab, for eighteen years.

15 當以色列子民向上主呼籲時，上主給他們興起了一位拯救者，就是本雅明人革辣的兒子厄胡得，他是左右手能兼用的人；以色列子民便派他給摩阿布王厄革隆獻貢物。

Then when the children of Israel made prayer to the Lord, he gave them a saviour, Ehud, the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man; and the children of Israel sent an offering by him to Eglon, king of Moab.

16 厄胡得預備了一把一肘長的雙刃刀，插在右腿衣服底下，

So Ehud made himself a two-edged sword, a cubit long, which he put on at his right side under his robe.

17 來到摩阿布王厄革隆前獻貢物─厄革隆原是極肥胖的人。

And he took the offering to Eglon, king of Moab, who was a very fat man.

18 獻完貢物以後，就把抬貢物的人打發走，

And after giving the offering, he sent away the people who had come with the offering.

19 自己卻由基耳加耳柱像那裏退回，說：「王呀! 我有機密事要對你說。」王說：「退下! 」於是侍立左右的人都退去。

But he himself, turning back from the stone images at Gilgal, said, I have something to say to you in secret, O king. And he said, Let there be quiet. Then all those who were waiting before him went out.

20 厄胡得來到他跟前，他正獨自坐在涼台上的房子裏；厄胡得說：「我有神諭告訴你! 」王就從自己的座位上起立；

Then Ehud came in to him while he was seated by himself in his summer-house. And Ehud said, I have a word from God for you. And he got up from his seat.

21 厄胡得遂伸左手從右腿上拔出刀來，刺入他的腹部，

And Ehud put out his left hand, and took the sword from his right side, and sent it into his stomach;

22 柄和刀都刺了進去，脂肪遂包住了刀子，他沒有從肚子裏把刀抽出來；

And the hand-part went in after the blade, and the fat was joined up over the blade; for he did not take the sword out of his stomach. And he went out into the ...

23 厄胡得出來到了走廊，把涼台上的門關上，上了鎖。

Then Ehud went out into the covered way, shutting the doors of the summer-house on him and locking them.

24 他出去之後，王臣前來，看見涼台的房門關著，就說：「他一定在涼台上的內室裏便溺。」

Now when he had gone, the king's servants came, and saw that the doors of the summer-house were locked; and they said, It may be that he is in his summer-house for a private purpose.

25 待他們等煩了，看見沒有人來開涼台上的門，他們就拿鑰匙把門開了，見他們的主子躺在地上死了。

And they went on waiting till they were shamed, but the doors were still shut; so they took the key, and, opening them, saw their lord stretched out dead on the floor.

26 在他們猶豫的時候，厄胡得已經逃走，繞過柱像，而逃往色依辣。

But Ehud had got away while they were waiting and had gone past the stone images and got away to Seirah.

27 他到了那裏，就在厄弗辣因山地吹號角，以色列子民就同他由山地下來，他在他們前面，

And when he came there, he had a horn sounded in the hill-country of Ephraim, and all the children of Israel went down with him from the hill-country, and he at their head.

28 對他們說：「你們緊跟著我，因為上主把你們的仇敵摩阿布人已交於你們手中! 」他們遂跟他下去，佔據了摩阿布對面的約但河渡口，不許一人渡過。

And he said to them, Come after me; for the Lord has given the Moabites, your haters, into your hands. So they went down after him and took the crossing-places of Jordan against Moab, and let no one go across.

29 就在那個時候，他們擊殺了摩阿布人約有一萬，都是壯丁和兵士，沒有一個人逃脫。

At that time they put about ten thousand men of Moab to the sword, every strong man and every man of war; not a man got away.

30 從那天起，摩阿布驅服於以色列手下；境內平安了十八年。沙默加爾民長

So Moab was broken that day under the hand of Israel. And for eighty years the land had peace.

31 在他以後，有阿納特的兒子沙默加爾，他意趕牛棒擊殺了六百培肋舍人，拯救了以色列。

And after him came Shamgar, the son of Anath, who put to death six hundred Philistines with an ox-stick; and he was another saviour of Israel.