< Nehemiah 8 >

1 And when the seventh month came, the children of Israel were in their towns. And all the people came together like one man into the wide place in front of the water-doorway; and they made a request to Ezra the scribe that he would put before them the book of the law of Moses which the Lord had given to Israel.
その時民は皆ひとりのようになって水の門の前の広場に集まり、主がイスラエルに与えられたモーセの律法の書を持って来るように、学者エズラに求めた。
2 And Ezra the priest put the law before the meeting of the people, before the men and women and all those who were able to take it in, on the first day of the seventh month.
祭司エズラは七月の一日に律法を携えて来て、男女の会衆およびすべて聞いて悟ることのできる人々の前にあらわれ、
3 He was reading it in the wide place in front of the water-doorway, from early morning till the middle of the day, in the hearing of all those men and women whose minds were able to take it in; and the ears of all the people were open to the book of the law.
水の門の前にある広場で、あけぼのから正午まで、男女および悟ることのできる人々の前でこれを読んだ。民はみな律法の書に耳を傾けた。
4 And Ezra the scribe took his place on a tower of wood which they had made for the purpose; and by his side were placed Mattithiah and Shema and Anaiah and Uriah and Hilkiah and Maaseiah on the right; and on the left, Pedaiah and Mishael and Malchijah and Hashum and Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.
学者エズラはこの事のために、かねて設けた木の台の上に立ったが、彼のかたわらには右の方にマッタテヤ、シマ、アナヤ、ウリヤ、ヒルキヤおよびマアセヤが立ち、左の方にはペダヤ、ミサエル、マルキヤ、ハシュム、ハシバダナ、ゼカリヤおよびメシュラムが立った。
5 And Ezra took the book, opening it before the eyes of all the people (for he was higher than the people); and when it was open, all the people got to their feet:
エズラはすべての民の前にその書を開いた。彼はすべての民よりも高い所にいたからである。彼が書を開くと、すべての民は起立した。
6 And Ezra gave praise to the Lord, the great God. And all the people in answer said, So be it, so be it; lifting up their hands; and with bent heads they gave worship to the Lord, going down on their faces to the earth.
エズラは大いなる神、主をほめ、民は皆その手をあげて、「アァメン、アァメン」と言って答え、こうべをたれ、地にひれ伏して主を拝した。
7 And Jeshua and Bani and Sherebiah and Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites made the law clear to the people: and the people kept in their places.
エシュア、バニ、セレビヤ、ヤミン、アックブ、シャベタイ、ホデヤ、マアセヤ、ケリタ、アザリヤ、ヨザバデ、ハナン、ペラヤおよびレビびとたちは民に律法を悟らせた。民はその所に立っていた。
8 And they gave out the words of the book the law of God, clearly, and gave the sense of it, so that their minds were able to take it in.
彼らはその書、すなわち神の律法をめいりょうに読み、その意味を解き明かしてその読むところを悟らせた。
9 And Nehemiah, who was the Tirshatha, and Ezra, the priest and scribe, and the Levites who were the teachers of the people, said to all the people, This day is holy to the Lord your God; let there be no sorrow or weeping; for all the people were weeping on hearing the words of the law.
総督であるネヘミヤと、祭司であり、学者であるエズラと、民を教えるレビびとたちはすべての民に向かって「この日はあなたがたの神、主の聖なる日です。嘆いたり、泣いたりしてはならない」と言った。すべての民が律法の言葉を聞いて泣いたからである。
10 Then he said to them, Go away now, and take the fat for your food and the sweet for your drink, and send some to him for whom nothing is made ready: for this day is holy to our Lord: and let there be no grief in your hearts; for the joy of the Lord is your strong place.
そして彼らに言った、「あなたがたは去って、肥えたものを食べ、甘いものを飲みなさい。その備えのないものには分けてやりなさい。この日はわれわれの主の聖なる日です。憂えてはならない。主を喜ぶことはあなたがたの力です」。
11 So the Levites made all the people quiet, saying, Be quiet, for the day is holy; and do not give way to grief.
レビびともまたすべての民を静めて、「泣くことをやめなさい。この日は聖なる日です。憂えてはならない」と言った。
12 And all the people went away to take food and drink, and to send food to others, and to be glad, because the words which were said to them had been made clear.
すべての民は去って食い飲みし、また分け与えて、大いに喜んだ。これは彼らが読み聞かされた言葉を悟ったからである。
13 And on the second day the heads of families of all the people and the priests and the Levites came together to Ezra the scribe, to give attention to the words of the law.
次の日、すべての民の氏族の長たち、祭司、レビびとらは律法の言葉を学ぶために学者エズラのもとに集まってきて、
14 And they saw that it was recorded in the law that the Lord had given orders by Moses, that the children of Israel were to have tents for their living-places in the feast of the seventh month:
律法のうちに主がモーセに命じられたこと、すなわちイスラエルの人々は七月の祭の間、仮庵の中に住むべきことがしるされているのを見いだした。
15 And that they were to give out an order, and make it public in all their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, Go out to the mountain and get olive branches and branches of field olives and of myrtle, and palm branches and branches of thick trees, to make tents, as it says in the book.
またすべての町々およびエルサレムにのべ伝えて、「あなたがたは山に出て行って、オリブと野生のオリブ、ミルトス、なつめやし、および茂った木の枝を取ってきて、しるされてあるとおり、仮庵を造れ」と言ってあるのを見いだした。
16 And the people went out and got them and made themselves tents, every one on the roof of his house, and in the open spaces and in the open squares of the house of God, and in the wide place of the water-doorway, and the wide place of the doorway of Ephraim.
それで民は出て行って、それを持って帰り、おのおのその家の屋根の上、その庭、神の宮の庭、水の門の広場、エフライムの門の広場などに仮庵を造った。
17 All the people who had been prisoners and had come back, made tents and were living in them: for from the time of Jeshua, the son of Nun, till that day, the children of Israel had not done so. And there was very great joy.
捕囚から帰って来た会衆は皆仮庵を造って、仮庵に住んだ。ヌンの子ヨシュアの日からこの日まで、イスラエルの人々はこのように行ったことがなかった。それでその喜びは非常に大きかった。
18 And day by day, from the first day till the last, he was reading from the book of the law of God. And they kept the feast for seven days: and on the eighth day there was a holy meeting, as it is ordered in the law.
エズラは初めの日から終りの日まで、毎日神の律法の書を読んだ。人々は七日の間、祭を行い、八日目になって、おきてにしたがって聖会を開いた。

< Nehemiah 8 >