< Jeremiah 16 >

1 Then again the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
上主的話傳給說:
2 You are not to take a wife for yourself or have sons or daughters in this place.
「在這地方,你不要取妻,不要有兒女,
3 For this is what the Lord has said about the sons and daughters who come to birth in this place, and about their mothers who have given them birth, and about their fathers who have given life to them in this land:
因為上主關於生在這地方的子女,和這境內生育他們的母親,以及生養他們的父親這樣說:
4 Death from evil diseases will overtake them; there will be no weeping for them and their bodies will not be put to rest; they will be like waste on the face of the earth: the sword and need of food will put an end to them; their dead bodies will be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.
「他們必死於死症,沒有人哀悼,沒有人掩埋,有如地面上的糞土。他們反為戰爭和饑荒所毀滅,他們的屍首,必成為天上飛鳥和地上野獸的食物」。
5 For this is what the Lord has said: Do not go into the house of sorrow, do not go to make weeping or songs of grief for them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, says the Lord, even mercy and pity.
因為上主這樣說:「你不要進入居喪者之家,去舉哀弔唁,因為我已由這人民撤回了我的平安、慈愛和憐憫──上主的斷語──
6 Death will overtake great as well as small in the land: their bodies will not be put in a resting-place, and no one will be weeping for them or wounding themselves or cutting off their hair for them:
無論大小都要死在這地方,無人掩埋,
7 No one will make a feast for them in sorrow, to give them comfort for the dead, or put to their lips the cup of comfort on account of their father or their mother.
沒有人為他們舉喪,沒有人與居喪者分食喪餅,以相弔慰;沒有人與居喪或父母者飲一杯慰唁酒。
8 And you are not to go into the house of feasting, or be seated with them to take food or drink.
有宴會的家,你 也不要進去,與他們一同坐下吃喝,
9 For the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said, See, before your eyes and in your days I will put an end in this place to the laughing voices and the voice of joy; to the voice of the newly-married man and the voice of the bride.
因為萬軍的上主,以色列的天主這樣說:看,我必在你們眼前,在你們的時日內,使這地方再也聽不到歡和喜樂的聲音,新郎和新娘的聲音。
10 And it will be, that when you say all these words to the people, then they will say to you, Why has the Lord done all this evil against us? what is our wrongdoing and what is our sin which we have done against the Lord our God?
當你把這一切話告訴這人民,他們必問你說:為什麼上主對我們宣佈了這一切大災禍﹖我們有什麼過犯,我們有什麼罪惡干犯了上主我們的天主﹖
11 Then you will say to them, Because your fathers have given me up, says the Lord, and have gone after other gods and become their servants and their worshippers, and have given me up and have not kept my law;
你就答應說:是因為你的祖先離棄了我──上主的斷語──跟隨了別的神祗,事奉朝拜,而背棄了我,沒有遵守我的法律。
12 And you have done worse evil than your fathers; for see, every one of you is guided by the pride of his evil heart, so as not to give ear to me:
至於你們,你們作惡更甚於你的祖先;看,你們各人隨從自己頑固的惡意生活,不聽從我;
13 For this reason I will send you away out of this land into a land which is strange to you, to you and to your fathers; there you will be the servants of other gods day and night, and you will have no mercy from me.
所以我必從這地上將你們驅逐,到你們和你的祖先從不認識的地方去,讓你們在那裏日夜事奉別的神祗;我再也不對你們表示憐愛。
14 For this cause, see, the days are coming, says the Lord, when it will no longer be said, By the living Lord, who took the children of Israel up out of the land of Egypt.
[為此,看,時日必將來臨──上主的斷語──人不再發誓說:領以色列子民由埃及地上來的「上主永在」,
15 But, By the living Lord, who took the children of Israel up out of the land of the north, and from all the countries where he had sent them: and I will take them back again to their land which I gave to their fathers.
卻要說:領以色列子民由北方,並由衪驅逐他們所至的各地回來的「上主永在」;因為我必領他們回到我已賜給他們祖先的地方]。
16 See, I will send for great numbers of fishermen, says the Lord, and they will take them like fish in a net; and after that, I will send for numbers of bowmen, and they will go after them, driving them from every mountain and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
看,我必派許多漁夫上主的斷語──來捕捉他們;以後,我又派許多獵人來, 8各山上,各丘陵和岩石的裂縫間,獵取他們,
17 For my eyes are on all their ways: there is no cover for them from my face, and their evil-doing is not kept secret from my eyes.
因為我的眼注視他們的一切行徑,他們不能由我面前隱藏,他們的過犯在我眼前也不能隱藏。
18 And I will give them the reward of their evil-doing and their sin twice over; because they have made my land unclean, and have made my heritage full of the bodies of their unholy and disgusting things.
我首先先要加倍報復他們的過犯和罪惡,因為他們以死屍般的偶像玷污了我的土地,使我的的基業上滿是醜惡的神像」。
19 O Lord, my strength and my strong tower, my safe place in the day of trouble, the nations will come to you from the ends of the earth, and say, The heritage of our fathers is nothing but deceit, even false things in which there is no profit.
上主,我的力量,我的保障,我憂患之日的避難所,萬民必從地極來到你面前說:「我們的祖先承受的只是虛假、空虛和毫無益處的事」。
20 Will a man make for himself gods which are no gods?
人豈能為自己製造神祗﹖凡製造的,絕不是神!
21 For this reason, truly, I will make them see, this once I will give them knowledge of my hand and my power; and they will be certain that my name is the Lord.
為此,看,我必叫他們知道,這此我必叫他們體驗我的手和我的能力,使他們知道我的名字是「上主」。

< Jeremiah 16 >