< 2 Kings 23 >

1 Then the king summoned all the elders of Jerusalem and [of the other places in] Judah.
君王於是派人召集猶大和耶路撒冷所有的長老來到他跟前。
2 They went together to the temple, along with the priests and the prophets, and many other [HYP] people, from the most important people to the least important people. And while they listened, the king read to them all of the laws that Moses had written. He read from the scroll that had been found in the temple.
君王同所有的猶大人、耶路撒冷的居民、眾司祭、眾先知、全體人民,不分貴賤大小,上了上主聖殿,將在上主殿內尋獲的約書上的一切話,讀給他們聽。
3 Then the king stood next to the pillar [where the kings stood when they made important announcements], and while Yahweh was listening, he repeated his promise to sincerely obey [DOU] all of Yahweh’s commands and regulations [DOU]. He also promised to (fulfill the conditions of/do what was written in) the agreement he made with Yahweh. And all the people also promised to obey the agreement.
君王站在高台上,在上主面前立約,要全心全意跟隨上主,遵守祂的誡命、典章和法律,履行這卷書上所記載的盟約的話;全體人民也一致接受了這盟約。
4 Then the king commanded Hilkiah the Supreme Priest and all the other priests who assisted him and the men who guarded the entrance to the temple to bring out from the temple all the items that people had been using to worship Baal, the goddess Asherah, and the stars. [After they carried them out, ] they burned all those things outside the city near the Kidron Valley. Then they took all the ashes to Bethel, [because that city was already considered to be desecrated/unholy].
君王於是吩咐大司祭希耳克雅和副大司祭以及守門的,將那些為巴耳,為阿舍辣和為天上萬象所製造的祭器,都從上主殿內搬出,在耶路撒冷外克德龍谷的田野中焚燒了,把灰燼帶到貝特耳去。
5 There were many pagan priests that the previous kings of Judah had appointed to burn incense on the altars on the tops of hills in Judah. They had been offering sacrifices to Baal, to the sun, the moon, the planets, and the stars. The king stopped them from doing those things.
君王廢除了以前猶大王派定在猶大各城,和耶路撒冷周圍高丘上的焚香的僧侶,以及向巴耳、太陽、月亮和黃道帶,並天上萬象焚香的人;
6 He [commanded that] the statue of the goddess Asherah [be] taken out of the temple. Then they took it outside Jerusalem, down to the Kidron Brook, and burned it. Then they pounded the ashes to powder and scattered that over the graves in the public cemetery.
又將木偶從上主的殿內搬到耶路撒冷城外克德龍谷,在克德龍谷焚燒了,磨碎成灰,將灰撒在平民的墳墓上;
7 He also destroyed the rooms in the temple where the temple male prostitutes lived. That was where women wove robes that were used to worship the goddess Asherah.
拆毀了上主殿內廟倡的房舍,婦女們為木偶編織衣服的地方。
8 Josiah also brought [to Jerusalem] all the priests who were offering sacrifices in the other cities in Judah. He also desecrated the places on the tops of hills where the priests had burned incense [to honor idols], from Geba [in the north] to Beersheba [in the south]. Those priests were not allowed to offer sacrifices in the temple, but they [were allowed to] eat the unleavened bread that the priests [who worked in the temple] ate. He also [commanded that] the altars that were dedicated to the goat demons near the gate built by Joshua, the mayor of Jerusalem, [be] destroyed. Those altars were at the left of the main gate into the city.
又從猶大各城將所有的司祭召來,破壞了司祭們焚香的高丘,從革巴直到貝爾舍巴;拆毀了城門左邊,市長約叔亞門前的羊神祭壇。
9
無論如何,高丘的司祭,不能上耶路撒冷上主的祭壇,只能在自己的兄弟中間分食無酵餅。
10 Josiah also desecrated the place named Topheth, in the Hinnom Valley, in order that no one could offer his son or daughter there to be completely burned for a sacrifice to [the god] Molech.
約史雅又破壞了本希農山谷中的托斐特,免得再有人火祭子女,獻給摩肋客。
11 He also removed the horses that the [previous] kings of Judah had dedicated to worshiping the sun, and he burned the chariots that were used in that worship. Those horses and chariots were kept in the courtyard outside the temple, near the entrance to the temple, and near the room where [one of Josiah’s] officials, whose name was Nathan-Melech, lived.
又將以前猶大王在上主聖殿門前,靠近太監乃堂默肋客住宅的廊房裏,獻於太陽的駿馬除去;也用火燒掉了奉獻給太陽的車輛。
12 Josiah also commanded his servants to tear down the altars that the previous kings of Judah had built on the roof of the palace, above the room where King Ahaz had stayed. They also tore down the altars that had been built by King Manasseh in the two courtyards outside the temple. He commanded that they be smashed to pieces and thrown down into the Kidron Valley.
猶大王在阿哈次的樓房頂上所建築的祭壇,和默納舍在上主聖殿兩庭院內建築的祭壇,君王也都拆掉搗毀,把碎塊倒在克德龍谷裏。
13 He also commanded that the altars that King Solomon had built east of Jerusalem, south of Olive Tree Hill, be desecrated. Solomon had built them for the worship of the disgusting idols—the [statue of the goddess] Astarte [worshiped by the people in] Sidon [city], Chemosh the god of the Moab people-group, and Molech the god of the Ammon people-group.
從前以色列王撒羅滿在耶路撒冷東,橄欖山南,為漆東人的可惡之物阿市托勒特,為摩阿布的可惡之物革摩士,為阿孟子民的可惡之物米耳公所建立的高丘,君王一概破壞了;
14 They also broke into pieces the stone pillars that the Israeli people worshiped, and cut down the [pillars that honored the goddess] Asherah, and they scattered the ground there with human bones [to desecrate it].
又打碎了石柱,砍斷了木偶,用人骨填滿了那些地方。
15 Furthermore, he commanded them to tear down the place of worship at Bethel which had been built by King Jeroboam, the king who persuaded the people of Israel to sin. They tore down the altar. Then they broke its stones into pieces and pounded them to become powder. They also burned the statue [of the goddess] Asherah.
此外,那使以色列陷於罪惡的乃巴特的兒子雅洛貝罕,在貝特耳所立的祭壇和高丘,約史雅也將這祭壇拆毀,將丘壇的石塊打碎成灰,燒了木偶。
16 Then Josiah looked around and saw some tombs there on the hill. He commanded his men to take the bones out of those tombs and burn them on the altar. By doing that, he desecrated the altar. That was what a prophet had predicted many years before when Jeroboam was standing close to that altar at a festival. Then Josiah looked up and saw the tomb of the prophet who had predicted that.
約史雅轉身,看見山上墳墓,就派人掘出墳裏的骨骸,放在祭壇上焚燒,污辱了這祭壇,應驗了天主的人,當雅洛貝罕在慶節日站在這祭壇上時,所說的的話。約史雅再戔身遙望,看見曾預言這些事的天主的人的墳墓,
17 Josiah asked, “Whose tomb is that?” The people of Bethel replied, “It is the tomb of the prophet who came from Judah and predicted that these things that you have just now done to this altar would happen.”
就問說:「看見的是誰的墓碑﹖」城中的人回答說:「是天主的人的墳墓,他從猶大來,預言了你剛才對貝特耳祭壇所行的事」。
18 Josiah replied, “Allow his tomb to remain as it is. Do not remove the prophet’s bones from the tomb.” So the people did not remove those bones, or the bones of the other prophet, the one who had come from Samaria.
君王遂說:「讓他安息吧! 誰也不要移動他的骨骸! 」因此人沒有移動他的骨骸,也沒有移動那撒瑪黎雅先知的骨骸。
19 In every city in Israel, at Josiah’s command, they tore down the shrines that had been built by the previous kings of Israel, which had caused Yahweh to become very angry. He did to all those shrines/altars the same thing that he had done to the altars at Bethel.
從前以色列王在e口城內所建築,而激怒上主的高丘廟宇,約史雅也一律除去,對這些廟宇所行的,完全像在貝特耳所行一樣。
20 He ordered that all the priests who offered sacrifices on the altars on the tops of hills must be killed on those altars. Then he burned human bones on every one of those altars [to desecrate them]. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
凡在那裏所有的高丘司祭,他都在祭壇上殺了,並且在祭壇焚燒了人骨,然後回了耶路撒冷。
21 Then the king commanded all the people to celebrate the Passover Festival to honor Yahweh their God, which was written in the law of Moses that they should do [every year].
君王吩咐全體人民說:「你們要按照這約書所記載的,向上主你們的天主舉行逾越節」。
22 During all the years that leaders ruled Israel and during all the years that kings had ruled Israel and Judah, they had not celebrated that festival.
實在,自從民長統治以色列時日以來,和在以色列各君王及猶大王當政期間,從來沒有舉行過像這樣的一個逾越節,
23 But now, after Josiah had been ruling for almost 18 years, to [honor] Yahweh they celebrated the Passover Festival in Jerusalem.
只有在約史雅王十八年,在耶路撒冷向上主舉行了這樣的逾越節。
24 Furthermore, Josiah got rid of all the people in Jerusalem and other places in Judah who practiced sorcery and those who requested the spirits of dead people [to tell them what they should do]. He also removed from Jerusalem and from the other places in Judah all the household idols and all the other idols and abominable things. He did those things in order to obey what had been written in the scroll that Hilkiah had found in the temple.
此外,凡在猶大地和耶路撒冷所見到的那些招魂的,行邪術的,忒辣芬和偶像,以及可憎之物,約史雅一概掃除,履行了司祭希耳克雅在上主殿內,所發見的書上所記載的法律。
25 Josiah was totally devoted to Yahweh. There had never been [in Judah or Israel] a king like him. He obeyed all the laws of Moses. And there has never since then been a king like Josiah.
在他以前沒有人一個君王像他這樣按照梅瑟的法律,全心全意全力歸向上主;在他以後也沒有一個像他一樣的。
26 But Yahweh had become extremely angry with the people of Judah because of all the things that [King] Manasseh had done to infuriate him, and he continued to be very angry.
雖然如此,上主仍未息向猶大所發的盛怒烈火,因為默納舍種種行事,太激怒了上主,
27 He said, “I will do to Judah what I have done to Israel. I will banish the people of Judah, with the result that they will never enter my presence again. And I will reject Jerusalem, the city that I chose [to belong to me], and I will abandon the temple, the place where I said that I [MTY] should be worshiped.”
因此上主說:「我仍要由我面前除去猶大,如同我除去了以色列一樣;我要拋棄我所選擇的這座耶路撒冷城,和我所說我名必留其間的殿」。
28 [If you want to know more about] [RHQ] all the other things that Josiah did, they are written in the scroll called ‘The History of the Kings of Judah’.
約史雅其餘的事蹟,他的一切作為,都記載在猶大王實錄上。
29 While Josiah was the king of Judah, King Neco of Egypt led his army north to the Euphrates River to help the king of Assyria. King Josiah tried to stop the army of Egypt at Megiddo [city], but Josiah was killed in a battle there.
約史雅年間,埃及王法郎乃苛上到幼發拉的河,亞述王那裏,約史雅出兵與他對抗,初次會戰,就在默基多陣亡。
30 His officials placed his corpse in a chariot and took it back to Jerusalem, where it was buried in his own tomb, a tomb where the other previous kings had not been buried. Then the people of Judah poured [olive] oil on [the head of] Josiah’s son Joahaz, to appoint him to be the new king.
他的臣僕將他的屍體,用車從默基多運到耶路撒冷,葬在他自己的墳墓裏;當地的人民推舉約史雅的兒子約哈次,給他傅油,繼承父位為王。
31 Joahaz was 23 years old when he became the king [of Judah], but he ruled from Jerusalem for [only] three months. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of Jeremiah from Libnah [city].
約哈次登極時年二十三歲,在耶路撒冷為王三個月,他的母親名叫哈慕塔耳,是里貝納人耶勒米雅的女兒。
32 Joahaz did many things that Yahweh said were evil, just like many of his ancestors had done.
他行上主視為惡的事,完全像他祖先所行的一樣。
33 King Neco’s [army came from Egypt and captured him and] tied him up with chains and took him as a prisoner to Riblah [town] in Hamath [district], to prevent him from continuing to rule in Jerusalem. Neco forced the people of Judah to pay to him (7,500 pounds/3,400 kg.) of silver and (75 pounds/34 kg.) of gold.
法郎乃苛將他幽禁在哈瑪特的黎貝拉,不要他在耶路撒冷作王,並要那地方繳約一百「塔冷通」銀子和十「塔冷通」金子作賠款。
34 King Neco appointed another son of Josiah, Eliakim, to be the new king, and he changed Eliakim’s name to Jehoiakim. Then he took Joahaz to Egypt, and later Joahaz died there in Egypt.
以後,法郎乃苛立了約史雅的兒子厄里雅金繼他父親約史雅為王,給他改名叫約雅金;後將約哈次帶到埃及去了,約哈次就死在那裏。
35 King Jehoiakim collected a tax from the people [of Judah]. He collected more from the rich people and less from the poor people. He collected silver and gold from them, in order to pay to the king of Egypt what he commanded them to give.
約雅金將金銀付給法郎,但為交付的求要賠款,只得國家徵稅,要本國人民每人依照自己的家業,繳納金銀,送給法欴乃苛。
36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became the king [of Judah], and he ruled from Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother was Zebidah, the daughter of Pedaiah from Rumah [town].
約雅金登極時年二十五歲,在耶路撒冷為王十一年;他的母親名叫則步達,是魯瑪人培達雅的女兒。
37 He did many things that Yahweh says are evil, like his ancestors had done.
他行了上主視為惡的事,全像他祖先所行的一樣。

< 2 Kings 23 >