< 2 Chronicles 20 >
1 And it came to pass after this, that the children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them some of the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
[聯軍進襲猶大]此後,摩阿布人、阿孟人,還有一些瑪紅人前來供打約沙法特。
2 Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea from Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazon-tamar (the same is En-gedi).
有人來告訴約沙法特說:「由海那邊,由厄東有一支大軍前來攻擊你;他們現已到達哈匝宗塔瑪爾,即恩革狄。」
3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek unto the LORD; and he proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
約沙法特害了怕,一面懇求上主,一面宣佈全猶大禁食。
4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to seek [help] of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD.
猶大人遂集會,求上主援助;猶大各城的人也前來祈求上主。[約沙法特的禱詞]
5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court;
約沙法特在猶大和耶路撒冷的會眾中,站在上主殿宇的新院前,
6 and he said, O LORD, the God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and art not thou ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? and in thine hand is power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee.
說「上主,我們祖先的天主! 你不是天上的天主嗎﹖你不是治理萬國萬民的麼﹖你手中有能力和權威,沒有誰能抵抗你。
7 Didst not thou, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever?
我們的天主! 不是你將這地方的居民,在你百姓以色列面前趕走,將這地方永遠賜給了你友人亞巴郎的後代嗎﹖
8 And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying,
他們現在住在這地方,並在這地方為你的名建造了聖殿說:
9 If evil come upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house, and before thee, (for thy name is in this house, ) and cry unto thee in our affliction, and thou wilt hear and save.
如果我們遭遇了禍患,刀兵災害,或瘟疫饑饉,我們站在這殿前和你面前,在災難中向你呼籲,你必予以垂聽,施行拯救,因為你的名在這殿內。
10 And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned aside from them, and destroyed them not;
現在你看,阿孟人、摩阿布人以及色依爾山中的人,這些人是以色列出離埃及時,你曾禁止以色列侵犯,以色列便繞道遠離,未加消滅的人。
11 behold, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.
你看他們如何報復我們要來驅逐我們離開你賜予我們為基業的地方。
12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know we what to do: but our eyes are upon thee.
我們的天主,你不懲罰他們麼﹖我們實在沒有力量抵抗來攻擊我們的這支龐大的軍隊,我們也不知道該作什麼,我們的眼睛惟有仰望你。」
13 And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
當時全猶大民眾,連他們全家妻子兒女,都立在上主面前。[先知預報勝利]
14 Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite, of the sons of Asaph, came the spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;
上主的神在會眾中臨於肋未人阿撒夫的後裔,瑪塔尼雅的玄孫,耶依耳的曾孫,貝納雅的孫子,則加黎雅的兒子雅哈齊耳身上,
15 and he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat: thus saith the LORD unto you, Fear not ye, neither be dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
他遂說:「全猶大人耶路撒冷的居民以及約沙法特王,都要靜聽! 上主這樣對你們說:你們不要為這支龐大軍隊害怕,因為戰爭不在乎你們,而在乎天主。
16 Tomorrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the ascent of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the valley, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
明天你們要下去迎敵,他們要由漆茲山坡上來,你們要在耶魯耳曠野前的谷口遇到他們。
17 Ye shall not need to fight in this [battle]: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed: tomorrow go out against them; for the LORD is with you.
這次你們無須交戰,只須佈陣以待,觀看上主為你們所行的救援。猶大和耶路撒冷,不必畏懼,不必害怕! 明天你們只管出去迎敵,因為上主與你們同在。」
18 And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.
約沙法特遂俯首至地,猶大民眾和耶路撒冷居民也都俯伏在上主面前,朝拜上主。
19 And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with an exceeding loud voice.
刻哈特子孫和科辣黑子孫中的肋未人起立,引吭高歌,讚頌上主以色列的天主。[凱旋歸來]
20 And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.
次日,他們一早就起來,開往特科亞曠野;在出發時,約沙法特立起來說:「猶大和耶路撒冷的居民,請聽我的話! 你們信賴上主你們的天主,必保生命;相信他的先知,必定勝利。」
21 And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed them that should sing unto the LORD, and praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and say, Give thanks unto the LORD; for his mercy [endureth] for ever.
他與百姓商定之後,便派歌詠人員讚頌上主,身穿聖潔服裝,走在軍隊面前,歌頌說:「你們應讚頌上主,因為他的慈愛永遠常存! 」
22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set liers in wait against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten.
他們正歌詠讚美時,上主派出伏兵,襲擊了那些來攻擊猶大的阿孟人、摩阿布人和色依爾山地的居民;他們便被擊敗了。
23 For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another.
阿孟人和摩阿布人起來攻擊色依爾山地的居民,決心將他們殺盡滅絕;殲滅了色依爾山地居民以後,他們又自相殘殺。
24 And when Judah came to the watch-tower of the wilderness, they looked upon the multitude; and, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and there were none that escaped.
猶大人到了俯瞰曠野的高崗上,觀望大軍,見伏屍遍野,沒有一個逃脫的。
25 And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches and dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in taking of the spoil, it was so much.
約沙法特遂帶他的軍民去掠奪敵人的財物,見有大批的牲畜、財物、衣服和寶物;足足掠取了三天,奪得的財物多得不能攜帶,因為實在太多。
26 And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Beracah; for there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of that place was called The valley of Beracah, unto this day.
第四天,他們聚集在巴辣加谷,在那裏讚頌了上主,為此給那地起名叫巴辣加谷,直到今天。
27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies.
此後,猶大和耶路撒冷所有的軍民,由約沙法特率領,凱旋回了耶路撒冷,因為上主使他們戰勝仇敵,因而異常歡樂,
28 And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD.
都彈著琴,鼓著瑟,吹著號,來到耶路撒冷,進了上主的殿。
29 And the fear of God was on all the kingdoms of the countries, when they heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel.
列國的民族一聽說上主擊敗了以色列的敵人,都對天主起了恐怖的心。
30 So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about.
約沙法特的王國於是獲享太平,因為上主賜給他四境平安。[對約沙法特的短評]
31 And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem: and his mother’s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi.
約沙法特為猶大王,即位時年三十五歲,在耶路撒冷為王凡二十五年;他的母親名叫阿組巴,是史肋希的女兒。
32 And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD.
約沙法特走了他父親阿撒的道路,未偏左右,行了上主視為正義的事;
33 Howbeit the high places were not taken away; neither as yet had the people set their hearts unto the God of their fathers.
只是丘壇沒有剷除,人民仍沒有全心全意歸向他們祖先的天主。
34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the history of Jehu the son of Hanani, which is inserted in the book of the kings of Israel.
約沙法特前後其餘的事蹟,都記載在哈納尼之子耶胡的言行錄上這言行錄收集在以色列列王實錄內。[船遭破毀]
35 And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himself with Ahaziah king of Israel; the same did very wickedly:
此後,猶大王約沙法特與作惡多端的以色列王阿哈齊雅聯盟,
36 and he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Ezion-geber.
合夥製造船隻,開往塔爾史士去;他們合力在厄茲雍革貝爾製造了一些船。
37 Then Eliezer the son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath destroyed thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.
瑪勒沙人多達瓦的兒子厄里厄則爾講預言攻擊約沙法特說:「因為你與阿哈齊雅聯盟,上主必要破壞你所造的船隻。」後來那些船隻果然遭受破壞,未能開往塔爾史士。