< エレミヤ書 52 >
1 ゼデキヤは王となったとき二十一歳であったが、エルサレムで十一年世を治めた。母の名はハムタルといい、リブナのエレミヤの娘である。
Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became the King [of Judah]. He ruled in Jerusalem for eleven years. His mother was Hamutal, the daughter of [a man named] Jeremiah from Libnah [town].
2 ゼデキヤはエホヤキムがすべて行ったように、主の目の前に悪事を行った。
Zedekiah did [many] things that Yahweh says are evil, like [his father] Jehoiakim had done.
3 たしかに、主の怒りによって、エルサレムとユダとは、そのみ前から捨て去られるようなことになった。そしてゼデキヤはバビロンの王にそむいた。
[The events that are summarized here happened] because Yahweh was angry with [the people of] Jerusalem and [of other places in] Judah, and finally he (exiled them/forced them to go to other countries) [and said that he did not want to have anything to do with] them any more. Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.
4 そこで彼の治世の九年十月十日に、バビロンの王ネブカデレザルはその軍勢を率い、エルサレムにきて、これを包囲し、周囲に塁を築いてこれを攻めた。
[So, ] on January 15, when Zedekiah had been ruling for almost nine years, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon led his entire army to attack Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and built dirt ramps up to the top of the city walls [to enable them to attack the city].
5 こうしてこの町は攻め囲まれて、ゼデキヤ王の十一年にまで及んだが、
They continued to surround Jerusalem until Zedekiah had been ruling for almost eleven years.
6 その四月九日になって、町の中の食糧は、はなはだしく欠乏し、その地の民は食物を得ることができなくなった。
When Zedekiah had been ruling for almost eleven years, by July 18 of that year, the (famine/lack of food) in the city had become very severe, and there was no [more] food for the people [to eat].
7 そして町の城壁はついに打ち破られたので、兵士たちはみな逃げ、夜のうちに、王の園の近くの、二つの城壁の間の門から町をのがれ出て、カルデヤびとが、町を攻め囲んでいるうちに、アラバの方へ落ちて行った。
Then [the soldiers of Babylonia] broke through [a section of] the city wall, and all the [Israeli] soldiers fled. But because the city was surrounded by soldiers from Babylonia, [Zedekiah and the Israeli] soldiers [waited until] it became dark. Then they left the city through the gate between the two walls behind the king’s garden. Then they ran towards the Jordan River Valley.
8 しかしカルデヤびとの軍勢は王を追って行って、エリコの平地でゼデキヤに追いついたが、彼の軍勢がみな散って彼のそばを離れたので、
But the soldiers of Babylonia pursued King Zedekiah, and they caught up with him on the plains near Jericho. [He was alone because] all his men had deserted him and had scattered.
9 カルデヤびとは王を捕え、ハマテの地のリブラにいるバビロンの王のもとに引いていったので、王は彼の罪を定めた。
The soldiers of Babylonia took him to the king of Babylon, who was at Riblah in the Hamath [region]. There the king of Babylon told [his soldiers what] they should do to punish Zedekiah.
10 すなわちバビロンの王はゼデキヤの子たちをその目の前で殺させ、ユダのつかさたちをことごとくリブラで殺させ、
They forced Zedekiah to watch while they killed his sons and all the officials from Judah.
11 またゼデキヤの目をつぶさせた。そしてバビロンの王は彼を鎖につないでバビロンへ連れて行き、その死ぬ日まで獄屋に入れて置いた。
[Then] they gouged out Zedekiah’s eyes. They fastened him with bronze chains and took him to Babylon. They put him in a prison, and he remained there until the day that he died.
12 五月十日に、それはバビロンの王ネブカデレザルの世の十九年であったバビロンの王に仕える侍衛の長ネブザラダンはエルサレムに、はいって、
On August 17 of that year, which was when King Nebuchadnezzar had been ruling for almost 19 years, Nebuzaradan, who was the captain of the king’s bodyguards and one of the king’s officials, arrived in Jerusalem.
13 主の宮と王の宮殿を焼き、エルサレムのすべての家を焼いた。彼は大きな家をみな焼きはらった。
He [commanded his soldiers to] burn down the temple of Yahweh, the king’s palace, and all the houses in Jerusalem. They [also] destroyed all the important buildings [in the city].
14 また侍衛の長と共にいたカルデヤびとの軍勢は、エルサレムの周囲の城壁をみな取りこわした。
Then he supervised the soldiers from Babylonia while they tore down the walls on all sides of Jerusalem.
15 そして侍衛の長ネブザラダンは民のうちの最も貧しい者若干、そのほか町のうちに残った者、およびバビロンの王にくだった人、その他工匠たちを捕え移した。
Then Nebuzaradan (forced to go/exiled) [to Babylon] some of the poorest people, those Israelis who had said they would support the king of Babylon, the rest of the craftsmen, and other people who had remained in Jerusalem.
16 しかし侍衛の長ネブザラダンはその地の最も貧しい者若干を残して、ぶどうを作る者とし、農夫とした。
But Nebuzaradan allowed some of the very poor people to remain [in Judah] to take care of the vineyards and fields.
17 カルデヤびとはまた主の宮の青銅の柱と、洗盤の台と、青銅の海を砕いて、その青銅をことごとくバビロンへ運び、
The soldiers from Babylonia broke [into pieces] the [huge] bronze pillars that were in front of the temple, and the [large] bronze water tank, and the [ten bronze water] carts, and they took all the bronze to Babylon.
18 また、つぼと、十能と、心切りばさみと、鉢と、香を盛る皿および宮の勤めに用いる青銅の器をことごとく取って行った。
They also took away the basins [for holding the ashes from the burned sacrifices], the shovels [for cleaning out the ashes], the tools for snuffing out the wicks of the lamps, the basins [for holding the blood of the sacrificed animals], the dishes [for incense], and all the [other] bronze items that were used when sacrifices were made at the temple.
19 また彼らは小鉢と、心取り皿と、鉢と、つぼと、燭台と、香を盛る皿と、灌祭の鉢を取った。金で作った物は金として、銀で作った物は銀として、侍衛の長は運び去った。
Nebuzaradan also [told his soldiers to] take away the small bowls, the dishes for burning incense, the basins, pots, lampstands, bowls [for incense], and the bowls used for pouring out the wine offerings. They took all the other items that were made of pure gold or silver.
20 ソロモン王が主の宮に造った二本の柱と、一つの海と、海の下の十二の青銅の牛と、台など、このすべての物の青銅の重さは量ることもできなかった。
The bronze from the two pillars, the [large water] tank and the twelve statues of oxen that were beneath it, and the water carts, was more/heavier than they could weigh. Those things had been made for the temple during the time that Solomon was the king.
21 この一本の柱の高さは十八キュビト、周囲は十二キュビトで、指四本の厚さがあり、中は、うつろであった。
Each of the pillars was (27 feet/8 meters) tall and (18 feet/5.5 meters) around. They were hollow, and each had sides/walls that were (3 in./8 cm.) thick.
22 その上に青銅の柱頭があり、柱頭の高さは五キュビト、柱頭の周囲は網細工と、ざくろとで飾り、これらもみな青銅であった。他の柱もそのざくろも、これと同じであった。
The bronze head on the top of each pillar was (7-1/2 feet/over 2 meters) high and was decorated all around with a bronze [network of figures that represented] pomegranates.
23 その四方に九十六個のざくろがあり、周囲の網細工の上にあるざくろの数は百個であった。
There was a total of 100 figures of pomegranates on the network at the top, 96 of which could be seen from the ground.
24 侍衛の長は祭司長セラヤと次席の祭司ゼパニヤと三人の門を守る者を捕え、
When Nebuzaradan [returned to Babylon], he took [with him as prisoners] Seraiah the Supreme Priest, Zephaniah who was Seraiah’s deputy, and the three men who guarded the entrances [to the temple].
25 また兵士をつかさどるひとりの役人と、町にいた王の側近の者七人と、その地の民を募る軍勢の長の書記官と、町の中にいた六十人の者を町から捕え去った。
He found [some other] people who were [hiding] in the city. [So] from them he took a commander of the army [of Judah], seven of the king’s advisors, the army commander’s chief secretary who was in charge of recruiting [soldiers for the army], and 60 [other] soldiers.
26 侍衛の長ネブザラダンは、これらの人を捕えて、リブラにいるバビロンの王のもとに連れて行った。
Nebuzaradan took them all to the king of Babylon, [who was still] at Riblah.
27 バビロンの王は、ハマテの地のリブラで彼らを撃ち殺した。こうして、ユダは自分の地から捕え移された。
There at Riblah in the Hamath region, the king of Babylon commanded that they [all] be executed. [Many of the people of] Judah were (forced to leave/exiled from) their own land.
28 ネブカデレザルが捕え移した民の数は次のとおりである。第七年にはユダヤ人三千二十三人。
The number of people who were captured and sent to Babylon at that time, when Nebuchadnezzar had been ruling for almost seven years, was 3,023.
29 またネブカデレザルはその第十八年にエルサレムから八百三十二人を捕え移した。
Then, when he had been ruling for almost 18 years, his [soldiers] took 832 [more Israeli people to Babylonia].
30 ネブカデレザルの二十三年に侍衛の長ネブザラダンは、ユダヤ人七百四十五人を捕え移した。この総数は四千六百人であった。
When he had been ruling almost 23 years, he sent Nebuzaradan [to Jerusalem again], and he brought back 745 [more Israelis to Babylonia]. That was a total of 4,600 Israelis [who were taken to Babylonia].
31 ユダの王エホヤキンが捕え移されて後三十七年の十二月二十五日に、バビロンの王エビルメロダクはその即位の年に、ユダの王エホヤキンを獄屋から出し、そのこうべを挙げさせ、
After King Jehoiachin of Judah had been in prison [in Babylon] for almost thirty-seven years, Evil-Merodach became the king of Babylon. He was kind to Jehoiachin and ordered that he be released from prison. That was on March 31 of the year that Evil-Merodach became king.
32 親切に彼を慰め、その位を、バビロンで共にいる王たちの位よりも高くした。
He [always] spoke kindly to Jehoiachin and gave him a position in which he was honored more than [all] the other kings [who had been exiled/taken to Babylon].
33 こうしてエホヤキンは獄屋の服を脱いだ。そして生きている間は毎日王の食卓で食事し、
He [supplied new clothes] for Jehoiachin, to replace the clothes that he had been wearing in prison. [He also allowed] Jehoiachin to eat with him every day, all during the rest of his life.
34 彼の給与としては、その死ぬ日まで一生の間、たえず日々の必要にしたがって、バビロンの王から給与を賜わった。
Every day, the King [of Babylon] gave him some money [to buy the things that he needed. That continued] until the day that Jehoiachin died.