< 撒母耳記下 14 >
And Joab son of Zeruial knoweth that the heart of the king [is] on Absalom,
2 就打發人往提哥亞去,從那裏叫了一個聰明的婦人來,對她說:「請你假裝居喪的,穿上孝衣,不要用膏抹身,要裝作為死者許久悲哀的婦人;
and Joab sendeth to Tekoah, and taketh thence a wise woman, and saith unto her, 'Feign thyself a mourner, I pray thee, and put on, I pray thee, garments of mourning, and anoint not thyself with oil, and thou hast been as a woman these many days mourning for the dead,
3 進去見王,對王如此如此說。」於是約押將當說的話教導了婦人。
and thou hast gone unto the king, and spoken unto him, according to this word;' and Joab putteth the words into her mouth.
4 提哥亞婦人到王面前,伏地叩拜,說:「王啊,求你拯救!」
And the woman of Tekoah speaketh unto the king, and falleth on her face to the earth, and doth obeisance, and saith, 'Save, O king.'
5 王問她說:「你有甚麼事呢?」回答說:「婢女實在是寡婦,我丈夫死了。
And the king saith to her, 'What — to thee?' and she saith, 'Truly a widow woman [am] I, and my husband dieth,
6 我有兩個兒子,一日在田間爭鬥,沒有人解勸,這個就打死那個。
and thy maid-servant hath two sons; and they strive both of them in a field, and there is no deliverer between them, and the one smiteth the other, and putteth him to death;
7 現在全家的人都起來攻擊婢女,說:『你將那打死兄弟的交出來,我們好治死他,償他打死兄弟的命,滅絕那承受家業的。』這樣,他們要將我剩下的炭火滅盡,不與我丈夫留名留後在世上。」
and lo, the whole family hath risen against thy maid-servant, and say, Give up him who smiteth his brother, and we put him to death for the life of his brother whom he hath slain, and we destroy also the heir; and they have quenched my coal which is left — so as not to set to my husband a name and remnant on the face of the ground.'
And the king saith unto the woman, 'Go to thine house, and I give charge concerning thee.'
9 提哥亞婦人又對王說:「我主我王,願這罪歸我和我父家,與王和王的位無干。」
And the woman of Tekoah saith unto the king, 'On me, my lord, O king, [is] the iniquity, and on the house of my father; and the king and his throne [are] innocent.'
10 王說:「凡難為你的,你就帶他到我這裏來,他必不再攪擾你。」
And the king saith, 'He who speaketh [aught] unto thee, and thou hast brought him unto me, then he doth not add any more to come against thee.'
11 婦人說:「願王記念耶和華-你的上帝,不許報血仇的人施行滅絕,恐怕他們滅絕我的兒子。」王說:「我指着永生的耶和華起誓:你的兒子連一根頭髮也不致落在地上。」
And she saith, 'Let, I pray thee, the king remember by Jehovah thy God, that the redeemer of blood add not to destroy, and they destroy not my son;' and he saith, 'Jehovah liveth; if there doth fall of the hair of thy son to the earth.'
12 婦人說:「求我主我王容婢女再說一句話。」王說:「你說吧!」
And the woman saith, 'Let, I pray thee, thy maid-servant speak unto my lord the king a word;' and he saith, 'Speak.'
13 婦人說:「王為何也起意要害上帝的民呢?王不使那逃亡的人回來,王的這話就是自證己錯了!
And the woman saith, 'And why hast thou thought thus concerning the people of God? yea, the king is speaking this thing as a guilty one, in that the king hath not brought back his outcast;
14 我們都是必死的,如同水潑在地上,不能收回。上帝並不奪取人的性命,乃設法使逃亡的人不致成為趕出、回不來的。
for we do surely die, and [are] as water which is running down to the earth, which is not gathered, and God doth not accept a person, and hath devised devices in that the outcast is not outcast by Him.
15 我來將這話告訴我主我王,是因百姓使我懼怕。婢女想,不如將這話告訴王,或者王成就婢女所求的。
'And now that I have come to speak unto the king my lord this word, [it is] because the people made me afraid, and thy maid-servant saith, Let me speak, I pray thee, unto the king; it may be the king doth do the word of his handmaid,
16 人要將我和我兒子從上帝的地業上一同除滅,王必應允救我脫離他的手。
for the king doth hearken to deliver his handmaid out of the paw of the man [seeking] to destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God,
17 婢女又想,我主我王的話必安慰我;因為我主我王能辨別是非,如同上帝的使者一樣。惟願耶和華-你的上帝與你同在!」
and thy maid-servant saith, Let, I pray thee, the word of my lord the king be for ease; for as a messenger of God so [is] my lord the king, to understand the good and the evil; and Jehovah thy God is with thee.'
18 王對婦人說:「我要問你一句話,你一點不要瞞我。」婦人說:「願我主我王說。」
And the king answereth and saith unto the woman, 'Do not, I pray thee, hide from me the thing that I am asking thee;' and the woman saith, 'Let, I pray thee, my lord the king speak.'
19 王說:「你這些話莫非是約押的主意嗎?」婦人說:「我敢在我主我王面前起誓:王的話正對,不偏左右,是王的僕人約押吩咐我的,這些話是他教導我的。
And the king saith, 'Is the hand of Joab with thee in all this?' And the woman answereth and saith, 'Thy soul liveth, my lord, O king, none [doth turn] to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king hath spoken; for thy servant Joab he commanded me, and he put in the mouth of thy maid-servant all these words;
20 王的僕人約押如此行,為要挽回這事。我主的智慧卻如上帝使者的智慧,能知世上一切事。」
in order to bring round the appearance of the thing hath thy servant Joab done this thing, and my lord [is] wise, according to the wisdom of a messenger of God, to know all that [is] in the land.'
21 王對約押說:「我應允你這事。你可以去,把那少年人押沙龍帶回來。」
And the king saith unto Joab, 'Lo, I pray thee, thou hast done this thing; and go, bring back the young man Absalom.'
22 約押就面伏於地叩拜,祝謝於王,又說:「王既應允僕人所求的,僕人今日知道在我主我王眼前蒙恩了。」
And Joab falleth on his face to the earth, and doth obeisance, and blesseth the king, and Joab saith, 'To-day hath thy servant known that I have found grace in thine eyes, my lord, O king, in that the king hath done the word of his servant.'
23 於是約押起身往基述去,將押沙龍帶回耶路撒冷。
And Joab riseth and goeth to Geshur, and bringeth in Absalom to Jerusalem,
24 王說:「使他回自己家裏去,不要見我的面。」押沙龍就回自己家裏去,沒有見王的面。
and the king saith, 'Let him turn round unto his house, and my face he doth not see.' And Absalom turneth round unto his house, and the face of the king he hath not seen.
25 以色列全地之中,無人像押沙龍那樣俊美,得人的稱讚,從腳底到頭頂毫無瑕疵。
And like Absalom there was no man [so] fair in all Israel, to praise greatly; from the sole of his foot even unto his crown there was no blemish in him;
26 他的頭髮甚重,每到年底剪髮一次;所剪下來的,按王的平稱一稱,重二百舍客勒。
and in his polling his head — and it hath been at the end of year by year that he polleth [it], for it [is] heavy on him, and he hath polled it — he hath even weighed out the hair of his head — two hundred shekels by the king's weight.
27 押沙龍生了三個兒子,一個女兒。女兒名叫她瑪,是個容貌俊美的女子。
And there are born to Absalom three sons, and one daughter, and her name [is] Tamar; she was a woman of a fair appearance.
And Absalom dwelleth in Jerusalem two years of days, and the face of the king he hath not seen;
29 押沙龍打發人去叫約押來,要託他去見王,約押卻不肯來。第二次打發人去叫他,他仍不肯來。
and Absalom sendeth unto Joab, to send him unto the king, and he hath not been willing to come unto him; and he sendeth again a second time, and he hath not been willing to come.
30 所以押沙龍對僕人說:「你們看,約押有一塊田,與我的田相近,其中有大麥,你們去放火燒了。」押沙龍的僕人就去放火燒了那田。
And he saith unto his servants, 'See, the portion of Joab [is] by the side of mine, and he hath barley there; go, and burn it with fire;' and the servants of Absalom burn the portion with fire.
31 於是約押起來,到了押沙龍家裏,問他說:「你的僕人為何放火燒了我的田呢?」
And Joab riseth and cometh unto Absalom in the house, and saith unto him, 'Why have thy servants burned the portion that I have with fire?'
32 押沙龍回答約押說:「我打發人去請你來,好託你去見王,替我說:『我為何從基述回來呢?不如仍在那裏。』現在要許我見王的面;我若有罪,任憑王殺我就是了。」
And Absalom saith unto Joab, 'Lo, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, and I send thee unto the king to say, Why have I come in from Geshur? — good for me while I [am] there — and now, let me see the king's face, and if there is in me iniquity then thou hast put me to death.'
33 於是約押去見王,將這話奏告王,王便叫押沙龍來。押沙龍來見王,在王面前俯伏於地,王就與押沙龍親嘴。
And Joab cometh unto the king, and declareth [it] to him, and he calleth unto Absalom, and he cometh unto the king, and boweth himself to him, on his face, to the earth, before the king, and the king giveth a kiss to Absalom.