< Jeremiah 22 >
1 This is another message that Yahweh gave [to me]: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and say this to him:
上主這樣說:「你下到猶大王宮去,在那裏宣佈這話,
2 ‘You are the king of Judah. You are the ruler [MTY], like King David was. You and your officials and your people must listen
說:坐在達味寶座上的猶大王! 你和你的臣僕及從這些門進來的人民,該聆聽上主的話。
3 to what Yahweh says: “Act fairly and justly. Do what is right. Help those who have been robbed. Rescue people from those who oppress them. Stop doing evil things. Do not mistreat those who have come here from other countries, and do not mistreat orphans and widows. Stop murdering here [in Jerusalem] [MTY] those who (are innocent/have not done things that are wrong).
上主這樣說:你們應執行公道正義,從壓迫人的手中解救受剝奪的人,不要傷害虐待外方人和孤兒寡婦,不要在這地方上流無辜者的血。
4 If you obey those commands carefully, there will [always] be some descendant of King David who will be ruling here [MTY] [in Jerusalem]. The king and his officials and other people will ride through the gates of the city in chariots and on horses.
假使你們實在照這話去做,必有坐在達味寶座上的君王,乘車騎馬,與自己的臣僕和人民從這宮殿的門進來;
5 But if you refuse to pay attention to those commands, I, Yahweh, solemnly declare, with myself [MTY] as a witness, that this palace will become a pile of rubble.”’”
倘若你們不聽從這話,我指著自己起誓──上主的斷語──這宮殿必要變為廢墟。
6 And this is what Yahweh says about the king’s palace: “[I like] this palace, like I like the forests in the Gilead [region] and the mountains in Lebanon. But I will cause this palace to become a desert, a place that no one lives in.
因為上主這樣論猶大王的宮殿說:即使你為我有如基肋阿得,又如黎巴嫩的山頂,我仍要使你變為荒野,成為無人居住的城市;
7 I will summon enemy troops who will destroy this palace; each of their soldiers will use his own tools [to wreck the building]. They will cut into pieces the beautiful big cedar [beams] and throw them into a fire.”
我要祝聖那已武裝的毀滅者來攻擊你,砍伐你最佳美的香柏,投入火中。
8 People from many nations will walk past [the ruins of] this city and say to each other, “Why did Yahweh destroy this city that was [very] great?”
許多民族經過這城時,必互相問說:為什麼上主這樣對待了這座大城市﹖
9 And [other] people will reply, “[He did it] because his people stopped obeying the agreement that they had made with Yahweh their God. Instead, they worshiped [DOU] other gods.”
人必答說:因為他們廢棄了上主他們的天主的盟約,敬拜事奉了別的神祇。」
10 [Yahweh also says, ] “Do not mourn for King [Josiah]; do not cry because he has died. Instead, mourn for [King Jehoahaz, his son], [because] he will be captured and taken to another country, and he will never return to see his own country, [Judah], again.”
你們不要為已死的人哭泣,不要為他舉哀;卻要為遠去的人痛哭,因為他不會再回來,見他的生身地。
11 Jehoahaz became king after his father, King Josiah, [died], but Jehoahaz indeed was captured and taken [to Babylonia]. And this is what Yahweh says about him: “He also will never return [to Judah].
因為上主這樣論猶大王約史雅的兒子,即繼承他父親約史雅為王的沙隆說:「他一離開這地方,就不會再回來,
12 He will die in that far-away country and will never see his own country again.”
必死在被擄去的地方,不會再見此地。」
13 [And Yahweh said to me], “Terrible things will happen to [King Jehoahaz’s brother, King Jehoiakim]. He unjustly [forced men to] build his palace. The rooms on the upper level were built [by men who were forced] unjustly [to do that work]; he forced his neighbors to work for nothing; he did not pay them anything.
禍哉,那不以公道正義建築自己的宮殿樓臺,叫人為自己徒勞而不給他工資的人!
14 He said, ‘I will [force my workers to] build a huge beautiful palace with very large rooms and [many] windows. They will cover the walls with [fragrant] cedar panels/timber and paint them bright red.’”
他說:我得給自己建築廣大的宮殿,寬敞的樓臺,開設窗戶,鑲上香柏,塗上丹砂。
15 But it is certainly not [RHQ] having a beautiful cedar palace that causes a king to be great! Jehoiakim’s father, Josiah, also had [RHQ] plenty of things to eat and drink. But Josiah always did things that are right and just, and that is why God blessed him.
你為王是要以香柏爭勝嗎﹖你父親豈不也吃也喝﹖但他執行公道正義,為此能一切順利;
16 Josiah acted justly/fairly and helped poor and needy people, so things went well for him. Yahweh says, “That is [RHQ] the way a person should behave who knows me.
他親自裁判弱小和貧苦人的案件,因此一切順利;這豈不是表示他認識我﹖──上主的斷語──
17 But [Jehoiakim], you [MTY] are greedy and desire only to obtain things by acting dishonestly. You murder [MTY] innocent people, you oppress poor people, and you treat people cruelly and violently.”
至於你,你的眼和心,只顧私利,只知無辜者的血,施行欺壓和勒索。
18 Therefore, this is what Yahweh says about Jehoiakim, the son of King Josiah: “[When he dies], people will not mourn for him. They will not say to each other, ‘It is very sad; we are so sorry!’ The people whom he ruled will not mourn for him, saying, ‘We are sad that our king is dead; we are so sorry that the wonderful things [that happened while he was king are ended].’
為此上主這樣說:「對於猶大王約史雅的兒子約雅金,人必不哀悼他說:哀哉,我兄弟! 或哀哉,我姊妹! 人必不哀悼他說:哀哉,主上! 或哀哉,陛下!
19 [When he dies, people will do to] his corpse what they do to a dead donkey; his [corpse] will be dragged out of Jerusalem and dumped outside the gates!
人要埋葬他如同埋葬一匹死驢,將他拖出,拋在耶路撒冷的門外。」
20 [You people of Judah], go to [the mountains in] Lebanon and weep, shout in the [mountains of the] Bashan [region], cry out in [the mountains of] Moab, because all your friends [in those areas] have been destroyed.
你該上黎巴嫩去呼喊,在巴商提高你的聲音,由阿巴陵喊叫,因為你的情侶都已滅亡。
21 When you were prosperous, I warned you, but you replied, ‘We will not pay attention [to what you say].’ You have been acting like that since you were young; you have never obeyed me.
在你歡樂時,我曾勸告過你,你卻說:「我不聽從。」你從幼年,就是這般行徑,從不聽我的聲音。
22 [So, now I will punish] all your leaders; [it will be as though] they have been blown away by the wind. They will be captured [by your enemies] and taken to another country. When that happens, you will [truly] be ashamed and disgraced because of all the wicked things [that you have done].
你所有的牧人將被風捲去,你的情侶必徒遠方;那時你必因你行的一切邪惡,含羞抱愧。
23 [Now, your king] enjoys living in the cedar rooms in his palace, but [soon] he will be punished, and then he will groan like [SIM] a woman who is giving birth to a baby.”
你現在住在黎巴嫩,在香柏樹上營巢,但是,當痛苦,像產婦的痛苦襲擊你時,你將多麼可憐!
24 Yahweh says this: “Jehoiachin, son of King Jehoiakim of Judah, as surely as I am alive, [I will punish you]. Even if you were the ring on my finger that shows that I am the king, I would pull you off.
我永在──上主的斷語──猶大王約雅金的兒子苛尼雅,即便你是我右手上蓋章的指環,我也要將你拔除,
25 You are afraid of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his huge army, [because] they are wanting to kill you. I will enable them to capture you.
交在圖謀你性命和你畏懼的人的手中,交在巴比倫王拿步高和加色丁人的手中;
26 I will expel you and your mother [from this land], and you will be taken to another country. Neither of you was born there, but you will both die there.
將你和你生身的母親,拋在不是你們出生的異地,叫你們死在那裏。
27 You will never return to this land that you will very much desire to return to.”
他們必不能回到他心靈渴望回去的地方。
28 [Someone said, ] “Jehoiachin will be [RHQ] like a broken pot that is despised and which no one wants. He and his children will be (exiled/forced to go) to a foreign land.
苛尼雅這人,不是個可鄙而該毀滅的器皿,或無人喜稅的傢具嗎﹖為什麼他和他的後裔被拋棄,被投擲到自己不相識的地方去﹖
29 [I want] the people in this land to listen carefully to this message from Yahweh.”
地啊! 地啊! 請聆聽上主的話!
30 This is what Yahweh says: “[In the record about the kings of Judah, ] write down that [it will be as though] this man [Jehoiachin] had no children, and that he has not been successful during his life, because none of his children/descendants will [ever] become king to rule over [the people of] Judah.”
上主這樣說:「你應記錄:這人是一個無子女,畢生無成就的人,因為他的後裔中,沒有一人能成功,能坐上達味的寶座,再統治猶大。」