Nehemiah 9
1 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month the children of Israel came together, taking no food and putting haircloth and dust on their bodies.
その月の二十四日にイスラエルの人々は集まって断食し、荒布をまとい、土をかぶった。
2 And the seed of Israel made themselves separate from all the men of other nations, publicly requesting forgiveness for their sins and the wrongdoing of their fathers.
そしてイスラエルの子孫は、すべての異邦人を離れ、立って自分の罪と先祖の不義とをざんげした。
3 And for a fourth part of the day, upright in their places, they were reading from the book of the law of their God; and for a fourth part of the day they were requesting forgiveness and worshipping the Lord their God.
彼らはその所に立って、その日の四分の一をもってその神、主の律法の書を読み、他の四分の一をもってざんげをなし、その神、主を拝した。
4 Then Jeshua, and Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani took their places on the steps of the Levites, crying in a loud voice to the Lord their God.
その時エシュア、バニ、カデミエル、シバニヤ、ブンニ、セレビヤ、バニ、ケナニらはレビびとの台の上に立ち、大声をあげて、その神、主に呼ばわった。
5 Then the Levites, Jeshua, and Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah said, Get up and give praise to the Lord your God for ever and ever. Praise be to your great name which is lifted up high over all blessing and praise.
それからまたエシュア、カデミエル、バニ、ハシャブニヤ、セレビヤ、ホデヤ、セバニヤ、ペタヒヤなどのレビびとは言った、「立ちあがって永遠から永遠にいますあなたがたの神、主をほめなさい。あなたの尊いみ名はほむべきかな。これはすべての祝福とさんびを越えるものです」。
6 You are the Lord, even you only; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens with all their armies, the earth and all things in it, the seas and everything in them; and you keep them from destruction: and the armies of heaven are your worshippers.
またエズラは言った、「あなたは、ただあなたのみ、主でいらせられます。あなたは天と諸天の天と、その万象、地とその上のすべてのもの、海とその中のすべてのものを造り、これをことごとく保たれます。天の万軍はあなたを拝します。
7 You are the Lord, the God, who took Abram and made him yours, guiding him from Ur of the Chaldees, and gave him the name of Abraham;
あなたは主、神でいらせられます。あなたは昔アブラムを選んでカルデヤのウルから導き出し、彼にアブラハムという名を与え、
8 You saw that his heart was true to you, and made an agreement with him to give the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Jebusite and the Girgashite, even to give it to his seed, and you have done what you said; for righteousness is yours:
彼の心があなたの前に忠信なのを見られて、彼と契約を結び、その子孫にカナンびと、ヘテびと、アモリびと、ペリジびと、エブスびとおよびギルガシびとの地を与えると言われたが、ついにあなたはその約束を成就されました。あなたは正しくいらせられるからです。
9 And you saw the trouble of our fathers in Egypt, and their cry came to your ears by the Red Sea;
あなたはわれわれの先祖がエジプトで苦難を受けるのを顧みられ、また紅海のほとりで呼ばわり叫ぶのを聞きいれられ、
10 And you did signs and wonders on Pharaoh and all his servants and all the people of his land; for you saw how cruel they were to them. So you got yourself a name as it is today.
しるしと不思議とをあらわしてパロと、そのすべての家来と、その国のすべての民を攻められました。彼らがわれわれの先祖に対して、ごうまんにふるまったことを知られたからです。そしてあなたが名をあげられたこと今日のようです。
11 By you the sea was parted before them, so that they went through the sea on dry land; and those who went after them went down into the deep, like a stone into great waters.
あなたはまた彼らの前で海を分け、彼らに、かわいた地を踏んで海の中を通らせ、彼らを追う者を、石を大水に投げ入れるように淵に投げ入れ、
12 And you went before them by day in a pillar of cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night, to give them light on the way they were to go.
昼は雲の柱をもって彼らを導き、夜は火の柱をもってその行くべき道を照されました。
13 And you came down on Mount Sinai, and your voice came to them from heaven, giving them right decisions and true laws, good rules and orders:
あなたはまたシナイ山の上に下り、天から彼らと語り、正しいおきてと、まことの律法および良きさだめと戒めとを授け、
14 And you gave them word of your holy Sabbath, and gave them orders and rules and a law, by the hand of Moses your servant:
あなたの聖なる安息日を彼らに示し、あなたのしもべモーセによって戒めと、さだめと、律法とを彼らに命じ、
15 And you gave them bread from heaven when they were in need, and made water come out of the rock for their drink, and gave them orders to go in and take for their heritage the land which your hand had been lifted up to give them.
天から食物を与えてその飢えをとどめ、岩から水を出してそのかわきを潤し、また、彼らに与えると誓われたその国にはいって、これを獲るように彼らに命じられました。
16 But they and our fathers, in their pride, made their necks stiff, and gave no attention to your orders,
しかし彼ら、すなわちわれわれの先祖はごうまんにふるまい、かたくなで、あなたの戒めに従わず、
17 And would not do them, and gave no thought to the wonders you had done among them; but made their necks stiff, and turning away from you, made a captain over themselves to take them back to their prison in Egypt: but you are a God of forgiveness, full of grace and pity, slow to wrath and great in mercy, and you did not give them up.
従うことを拒み、あなたが彼らの中で行われた奇跡を心にとめず、かえってかたくなになり、みずからひとりのかしらを立てて、エジプトの奴隷の生活に帰ろうとしました。しかしあなたは罪をゆるす神、恵みあり、あわれみあり、怒ることおそく、いつくしみ豊かにましまして、彼らを捨てられませんでした。
18 Even when they had made for themselves an ox of metal, and said, This is your God who took you up out of Egypt, and had done so much to make you angry;
また彼らがみずから一つの鋳物の子牛を造って、『これはあなたがたをエジプトから導き上ったあなたがたの神である』と言って、大いに汚し事を行った時にも、
19 Even then, in your great mercy, you did not give them up in the waste land: the pillar of cloud still went before them by day, guiding them on their way, and the pillar of fire by night, to give them light, and make clear the way they were to go.
あなたは大いなるあわれみをもって彼らを荒野に見捨てられず、昼は雲の柱を彼らの上から離さないで道々彼らを導き、夜は火の柱をもって彼らの行くべき道を照されました。
20 And you gave your good spirit to be their teacher, and did not keep back your manna from their mouths, and gave them water when they had need of it.
またあなたは良きみたまを賜わって彼らを教え、あなたのマナを常に彼らの口に与え、また水を彼らに与えて、かわきをとどめ、
21 Truly, for forty years you were their support in the waste land, and they were in need of nothing; their clothing did not get old or their feet become tired.
四十年の間彼らを荒野で養われたので、彼らはなんの欠けるところもなく、その衣服も古びず、その足もはれませんでした。
22 And you gave them kingdoms and peoples, making distribution to them in every part of the land: so they took for their heritage the land of Sihon, even the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og, king of Bashan.
そしてあなたは彼らに諸国、諸民を与えて、これをすべて分かち取らせられました。彼らはヘシボンの王シホンの領地、およびバシャンの王オグの領地を獲ました。
23 And you made their children as great in number as the stars of heaven, and took them into the land, of which you had said to their fathers that they were to go in and take it for themselves.
また彼らの子孫を増して空の星のようにし、彼らの先祖たちに、はいって獲よと言われた地に彼らを導き入れられたので、
24 So the children went in and took the land, and you overcame before them the people of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them up into their hands, with their kings and the people of the land, so that they might do with them whatever it was their pleasure to do.
その子孫は、はいってこの地を獲ました。あなたはまた、この地に住むカナンびとを彼らの前に征服し、その王たちおよびその地の民を彼らの手に渡して、意のままに扱わせられました。
25 And they took walled towns and a fat land, and became the owners of houses full of all good things, water-holes cut in the rock, vine-gardens and olive-gardens and a wealth of fruit-trees: so they had food enough and became fat, and had joy in the good you gave them.
それで彼らは堅固な町々および肥えた地を取り、もろもろの良い物の満ちた家、掘池、ぶどう畑、オリブ畑および多くの果樹を獲、食べて飽き、肥え太り、あなたの大いなる恵みによって楽しみました。
26 But they were hard-hearted, and went against your authority, turning their backs on your law, and putting to death your prophets, who gave witness against them with the purpose of turning them back again to you, and they did much to make you angry.
それにもかかわらず彼らは不従順で、あなたにそむき、あなたの律法を後に投げ捨て、彼らを戒めて、あなたに立ち返らせようとした預言者たちを殺し、大いに汚し事を行いました。
27 And so you gave them up into the hands of their haters who were cruel to them: and in the time of their trouble, when they made their prayer to you, you gave ear to them from heaven; and in your great mercy gave them saviours, who made them free from the hands of their haters.
そこであなたは彼らを敵の手に渡して苦しめられましたが、彼らがその苦難の時にあなたに呼ばわったので、あなたは天からこれを聞かれ、大いなるあわれみをもって彼らに救う者を与え、敵の手から救わせられました。
28 But when they had rest, they did evil again before you: so you gave them into the hands of their haters, who had rule over them: but when they came back and made their prayer to you, you gave ear to them from heaven; again and again, in your mercy, you gave them salvation;
ところが彼らは安息を得るやいなや、またあなたの前に悪事を行ったので、あなたは彼らを敵の手に捨て置いて、これに治めさせられましたが、彼らがまた立ち返ってあなたに呼ばわったので、あなたは天からこれを聞き、あわれみをもってしばしば彼らを救い出し、
29 And gave witness against them so that you might make them come back again to your law: but their hearts were lifted up, and they gave no attention to your orders and went against your decisions (which, if a man keeps them, will be life to him), and turning their backs on you, made their necks stiff and did not give ear.
彼らを戒めて、あなたの律法に引きもどそうとされました。けれども彼らはごうまんにふるまい、あなたの戒めに従わず、人がこれを行うならば、これによって生きるというあなたのおきてを破って罪を犯し、肩をそびやかし、かたくなになって、聞き従おうとはしませんでした。
30 Year after year you put up with them, and gave witness against them by your spirit through your prophets: still they did not give ear: and so you gave them up into the hands of the peoples of the lands.
それでもあなたは年久しく彼らを忍び、あなたの預言者たちにより、あなたのみたまをもって彼らを戒められましたが、彼らは耳を傾けなかったので、彼らを国々の民の手に渡されました。
31 Even then, in your great mercy, you did not put an end to them completely, or give them up; for you are a God of grace and mercy.
しかしあなたは大いなるあわれみによって彼らを絶やさず、また彼らを捨てられませんでした。あなたは恵みあり、あわれみある神でいらせられるからです。
32 And now, our God, the great, the strong, the God who is to be feared, who keeps faith and mercy, let not all this trouble seem small to you, which has come on us, and on our kings and our rulers and on our priests and our prophets and our fathers and on all your people from the time of the kings of Assyria till this day.
それゆえ、われわれの神、契約を保ち、いつくしみを施される大いにして力強く、恐るべき神よ、アッスリヤの王たちの時から今日まで、われわれとわれわれの王たち、つかさたち、祭司たち、預言者たち、先祖たち、およびあなたのすべての民に臨んだもろもろの苦難を小さい事と見ないでください。
33 But still, you have been in the right in everything which has come on us; you have been true to us, but we have done evil:
われわれに臨んだすべての事について、あなたは正しいのです。あなたは誠実をもって行われたのに、われわれは悪を行ったのです。
34 And our kings, our rulers, our priests, and our fathers have not kept your law or given attention to your orders and your witness, with which you gave witness against them.
われわれの王たち、つかさたち、祭司たち、先祖たちはあなたの律法を行わず、あなたがお与えになった命令と戒めとに聞き従いませんでした。
35 For they have not been your servants in their kingdom, and in all the good things you gave them, and in the great and fat land you gave them, and they have not been turned away from their evil-doing.
すなわち彼らはおのれの国におり、あなたが下さった大きな恵みのうちにおり、またあなたがお与えになった広い肥えた地におりながら、あなたに仕えず、また自分の悪いわざをやめることをしませんでした。
36 Now, today, we are servants, and as for the land which you gave to our fathers, so that the produce of it and the good might be theirs, see, we are servants in it:
われわれは今日奴隷です。あなたがわれわれの先祖に与えて、その実とその良き物とを食べさせようとされた地で、われわれは奴隷となっているのです。
37 And it gives much increase to the kings whom you have put over us because of our sins: and they have power over our bodies and over our cattle at their pleasure, and we are in great trouble.
そしてこの地はわれわれの罪のゆえに、あなたがわれわれの上に立てられた王たちのために多くの産物を出しています。かつ彼らはわれわれの身をも、われわれの家畜をも意のままに左右することができるので、われわれは大いなる苦難のうちにあるのです」。
38 And because of all this we are making an agreement in good faith, and putting it in writing; and our rulers, our Levites, and our priests are putting their names to it.
このもろもろの事のためにわれわれは堅い契約を結んで、これを記録し、われわれのつかさたち、レビびとたち祭司たちはこれに印を押した。
