< Deuteronomy 7 >

1 “Yahweh our God will bring you to the land that you will soon enter and occupy. As you advance, he will expel from that land seven people-groups that are more powerful and more numerous than you are. He will expel the Heth people-group, the Girgash people-group, the Amor people-group, the Canaan people-group, the Periz people-group, the Hiv people-group, and the Jebus people-group.
當上主你的天主領你進入你要去佔領的地方,由你面前驅逐許多民族,即赫特人、基爾加士人、阿摩黎人、客納罕人、培黎齊人、希威人和耶步斯人,那七個比你又多又強的民族時,
2 When Yahweh our God enables you to defeat [DOU] them, you must kill all of them. You must not make (an alliance/a peace treaty) with any of them. You must not act mercifully toward them.
當上主你的天主將他們交給你,打敗他們時,你應完全消滅他們,不可與他們立約,也不可恩待他們;
3 You must not marry any of them. You must not allow your daughters to marry any of their sons or allow your sons to marry any of their daughters.
不可與他們通婚,不可將你的女兒嫁給他們的兒子,也不可為你的兒子娶他們的女兒;
4 Because, if you did that, those people would cause your children to stop worshiping Yahweh and to worship other gods. If that happens, Yahweh will be very angry with you and he will get rid of you immediately.
因為他們必要使你們的子女遠離我,而去事奉別的神,致使上主向你們大發忿怒,將你們迅速消滅。
5 This is what you must do to those people: Tear down their (altars/places for sacrificing animals), break apart the stone pillars [that are dedicated to their male god Baal], cut down the [poles that they use when they worship the goddess] Asherah, and burn their [wooden] idols.
你們應這樣對待他們:拆毀他們的祭壇,打碎他們的石碣,砍倒他們的神柱,燒毀他們的雕像。
6 You must do that because you are a group of people who belong to Yahweh our God. He has chosen you from among all the people-groups in the world to be his own special people.
因為你是屬於上主你天主的聖民,上主你的天主由地面上所有的民族中,揀選了你作自己特屬的人民。
7 “It was not because you were more numerous than any other people-group that Yahweh preferred you; you are one of the smallest people-groups on the earth.
上主喜愛你們,揀選你們,並不是因為你們比其餘的民族人數眾多;其實你們在所有的民族中,是最少的一個;
8 Instead, it is because Yahweh loved you and because he wanted to do what he vowed to your ancestors. That is the reason that he rescued you by his great power [MTY], and freed you from being slaves [MTY] of the king of Egypt.
而是由於上主對你們的愛,並為履行他向你們祖先所起的誓,上主纔以大能的手解救你們,將你們由為奴之家,由埃及王法郎的手中救出來。
9 So do not forget that Yahweh our God is the only/true God. He will do what he agreed to do for you, and he will faithfully love (for 1,000 generations/forever) all those who love him and who obey his commandments.
所以,你應知道,只有上主你的天主是天主,是對那愛他,遵守他誡命的人,守約施恩直到千代的忠信的天主;
10 But for those who hate him, he will (pay them back/do to them what they deserve); he will punish them and quickly get rid of them.
但對那恨他的人,他必當面報復,將他消滅;對恨他的人,他決不遲延,必當面報復。
11 “So you must be sure to obey all the commandments and rules and regulations that I am giving to you today.
所以你要謹慎遵行我今天吩咐你的誡命、法令和規則。
12 If you heed these commands and obey them faithfully, Yahweh our God will do what he has agreed to do for you, and he will faithfully love you, which is what he vowed to your ancestors that he would do.
如果你們聽從這些法令,謹守遵行,上主你的天主必照他向你祖先起的誓,對你守約施恩。
13 He will love you and bless you. He will enable you to have many children [DOU]. He will bless your fields, with the result that you will have plenty of grain and [grapes to make] wine and plenty of [olive] oil. You will have many cattle and sheep. He will do all these things for you in the land that he promised to your ancestors that he would give to you.
他必愛你,祝福你,增加你的人數;在向你的祖先起誓許給你的地上,祝福你身生的子女,你地內的出產、五穀、酒、油,以及牛羊的生產。
14 He will bless you more than he will bless any other people-group. All of you will be able to have/produce children [LIT]. All of your livestock will be able to produce offspring.
萬民中你是最有福的;在你內沒有不育的男女,牲畜中沒有不生殖的雌雄。
15 And Yahweh will protect you from all illnesses. You will not be afflicted with any of the dreadful diseases that [our ancestors knew about] in Egypt, but all your enemies will be inflicted with those diseases.
上主必使一切疾病遠離你;你所知道的埃及的各種惡疾,決不加在你身上,反而加在一切恨你的人身上。
16 You must get rid of all the people-groups that Yahweh our God will enable you to conquer. Do not [SYN] act mercifully toward any of them. And do not worship their gods, because if you do that, it would be like falling into a trap [from which you will never be able to escape].
凡上主你的天主交給你的民族,你都要消滅,不可憐視,也不可奉事他們的神,因為這是陷害你的羅網。
17 “Do not think to yourselves, ‘These people-groups are more numerous/powerful than we are, so we certainly cannot [RHQ] expel them.’
假如你心裏想:這些民族比我人多,我怎能趕走他們﹖
18 Do not be afraid of them. Instead, think about what Yahweh our God did to the king of Egypt and to all the people whom he [ruled].
你不要怕他們,只應記起上主你的天主對法郎和全埃及所做的事。
19 Do not forget the terrible plagues that your ancestors saw [Yahweh inflict on the people of Egypt], and the many [DOU] miracles [that he performed], and the very powerful [DOU, MTY] way by which he brought your ancestors out [of Egypt]. Yahweh our God will do the same kind of things to the people-groups that you are afraid of now.
你親眼見了上主你的天主為救你所用的大災難、神蹟、奇事、大能的手和伸展的臂;上主你的天主也必同樣對待你所怕的一切民族。
20 Furthermore, he will cause them to become terrified, and he will destroy those who remain alive and run away to hide from you.
此外,上主你的天主必打發黃蜂來攻擊他們,直到那些殘存和由你面前隱藏起來的人完全消滅為止。
21 Do not be afraid of those people, because Yahweh our God will be with/among you. He is a great God; he is the one you should be afraid of.
在他們面前,你不應畏懼,因為在你中間有上主你的天主,大而可畏的天主。
22 He will expel those people-groups gradually. You should not [try to] expel all of them at one time, because if you did that, the number of wild animals would quickly increase, [and you would not be able to get rid of them].
上主你的天主必將這些民族由你面前漸漸驅逐;你不可將他們迅速消滅,免得野獸增多而於你不利。
23 Instead, Yahweh will enable you to defeat your enemies [one people-group at a time]. He will cause them to panic until they are destroyed.
上主你的天主必將他們交於你,使他們大起恐慌,直到他們全被消滅。
24 He will enable you to defeat [IDM] their kings. After you kill them, their names will be forgotten {people will forget about them}. No people-group will be able to stop you; you will destroy all of them.
他必將他們的君王交在你手中,你必使他們的名由天下消滅;沒有一人能對抗你,直到你將他們完全消滅。
25 You must burn the wooden idols [that represent] their gods. Do not desire to take the silver or gold [decorations] that are on those idols, because if you take them for yourselves, they will be like a trap [to cause you to want to worship those idols]. Yahweh hates [the worship of those idols].
你應將他們的神像,投在火中燒掉;不應貪圖神像上的金銀,而留為己有,免得陷於羅網,因為這於上主你的天主是可憎之物。
26 You must not bring any of those disgusting idols into your houses, because if you do that, God will curse you like he curses them. You must hate and despise [DOU] those idols, because they are things that [Yahweh] has cursed.”
可憎之物,不可帶進你屋內;免得你與那些東西一同毀滅;你應厭惡憎恨這一切,因為那是應毀滅之物。

< Deuteronomy 7 >