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1 以利沙說:「你們要聽耶和華的話,耶和華如此說:明日約到這時候,在撒馬利亞城門口,一細亞細麵要賣銀一舍客勒,二細亞大麥也要賣銀一舍客勒。」
Elisha replied, “Listen to the message from the Lord. This is what the Lord says: Around this time tomorrow a seah of the best flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.”
2 有一個攙扶王的軍長對神人說:「即便耶和華使天開了窗戶,也不能有這事。」以利沙說:「你必親眼看見,卻不得吃。」
The officer who was the king's assistant said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord opened windows in heaven what you say couldn't happen!” Elisha replied, “You'll see it with your own eyes, but you won't get to eat any of it.”
3 在城門那裏有四個長大痲瘋的人,他們彼此說:「我們為何坐在這裏等死呢?
There happened to be four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why are we sitting around here until we die?
4 我們若說,進城去吧!城裏有饑荒,必死在那裏;若在這裏坐着不動,也必是死。來吧,我們去投降亞蘭人的軍隊,他們若留我們的活命,就活着;若殺我們,就死了吧!」
If we say, ‘Let's go into the city,’ we'll die because of the famine there; but if we go on sitting here, we'll die too. So come on, let's go to the camp of the Arameans and surrender to them. If they let us live, we'll live; if they kill us, we'll die.”
5 黃昏的時候,他們起來往亞蘭人的營盤去;到了營邊,不見一人在那裏。
So they set off when it was getting dark and went to the camp of the Arameans. But when they arrived at the edge of the camp, nobody was there!
6 因為主使亞蘭人的軍隊聽見車馬的聲音,是大軍的聲音;他們就彼此說:「這必是以色列王賄買赫人的諸王和埃及人的諸王來攻擊我們。」
For the Lord had made the Arameans hear the sound of chariots, horses, and a large army approaching, so they said to each other, “The king of Israel has hired the kings of the Hittites and Egyptians to come and attack us.”
7 所以,在黃昏的時候他們起來逃跑,撇下帳棚、馬、驢,營盤照舊,只顧逃命。
So they jumped up and ran away into the night, leaving behind their tents, their horses, and their donkeys. In fact the camp was left just as it was when they ran for their lives.
8 那些長大痲瘋的到了營邊,進了帳棚,吃了喝了,且從其中拿出金銀和衣服來,去收藏了;回來又進了一座帳棚,從其中拿出財物來去收藏了。
When the lepers got to the edge of the camp, they went into a tent and ate and drank. Then they took the silver, gold, and clothes, and hid them. After that they went back to another tent, took some things from there, and hid them.
9 那時,他們彼此說:「我們所做的不好!今日是有好信息的日子,我們竟不作聲!若等到天亮,罪必臨到我們。來吧,我們與王家報信去!」
Then they said to each other, “It's not right what we're doing. This is a day of good news, and if we keep quiet about it and wait until it gets light, we're sure to be punished. So let's go right away and let them know at the king's palace.”
10 他們就去叫守城門的,告訴他們說:「我們到了亞蘭人的營,不見一人在那裏,也無人聲,只有拴着的馬和驢,帳棚都照舊。」
They went and called to the gatekeepers of the city, “We went over to the Aramean camp and no one was there, not a sound of anybody! There were just horses and donkeys tied up, and the tents just as they were.”
11 守城門的叫了眾守門的人來,他們就進去與王家報信。
The gatekeepers shouted out the news, and reports reached the royal palace.
12 王夜間起來,對臣僕說:「我告訴你們亞蘭人向我們如何行。他們知道我們飢餓,所以離營,埋伏在田野,說:『以色列人出城的時候,我們就活捉他們,得以進城。』」
The king got up in the night and said to his officers, “Let me tell you the trick the Arameans are trying to play on us. They know we're starving, so they have left the camp and hidden in the field, thinking, ‘When they leave the city, we'll take them alive and be able to enter the city.’”
13 有一個臣僕對王說:「我們不如用城裏剩下之馬中的五匹馬(馬和城裏剩下的以色列人都是一樣,快要滅絕),打發人去窺探。」
One of his officers suggested, “Have some men take five of the remaining horses in the city. What happens to them will be the same as that of all the Israelites left here, All the Israelites here are doomed. Let's send them to find out what's going on.”
14 於是取了兩輛車和馬,王差人去追尋亞蘭軍,說:「你們去窺探窺探。」
So they got two chariots ready with their horses, and the king sent them out to the Aramean camp, telling them “Go and take a look.”
15 他們就追尋到約旦河,看見滿道上都是亞蘭人急跑時丟棄的衣服器具,使者就回來報告王。
They went after them as far as the Jordan, and the whole way was full of clothing and equipment the Arameans had thrown aside as they ran away. The messengers returned and reported to the king.
16 眾人就出去,擄掠亞蘭人的營盤。於是一細亞細麵賣銀一舍客勒,二細亞大麥也賣銀一舍客勒,正如耶和華所說的。
Then the people went out and looted the camp of the Arameans. So a seah of the best flour sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley sold for a shekel, just as the Lord had predicted.
17 王派攙扶他的那軍長在城門口彈壓,眾人在那裏將他踐踏,他就死了,正如神人在王下來見他的時候所說的。
The king had put the officer who was his assistant in charge of the gate. In their rush the people trampled him in the gateway and he died, just as the man of God had said when the king visited him.
18 神人曾對王說:「明日約到這時候,在撒馬利亞城門口,二細亞大麥要賣銀一舍客勒,一細亞細麵也要賣銀一舍客勒。」
What the man of God had told the king also came true when he said, “Around this time tomorrow a seah of the best flour will sell for a shekel, and two seahs of barley will sell for a shekel at the gate of Samaria.”
19 那軍長對神人說:「即便耶和華使天開了窗戶,也不能有這事。」神人說:「你必親眼看見,卻不得吃。」
Also the officer who was the king's assistant had said to the man of God, “Look, even if the Lord opened windows in heaven what you say couldn't happen!” Elisha had replied, “You'll see it with your own eyes, but you won't get to eat any of it.”
20 這話果然應驗在他身上;因為眾人在城門口將他踐踏,他就死了。
This is what happened to him. The people trampled him in the gateway and he died.

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