Ezra 1 When these matters had been concluded, the leaders approached me with this report: "Neither the Israelite laymen nor the priests nor the Levites have kept themselves aloof from the peoples of the land and their abominations (Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites); 这些事完毕後,众首领来到我面前说:"以色列民众、司祭和肋未人在可耻的事上,并没有离开当地的人民:客纳罕人、希威人、培黎齐人、耶步斯人、阿孟人、摩阿布人、埃及人和阿摩黎人, 2 for they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and thus they have desecrated the holy race with the peoples of the land. Furthermore, the leaders and rulers have taken a leading part in this apostasy!" 因为他们为自己和自己是儿子,娶了他们的女子,以致圣洁的苗裔,与当地的人民混合;尤其首长和官员,是这罪孽的魁首"。 3 When I had heard this thing, I tore my cloak and my mantle, plucked hair from my head and beard, and sat there stupefied. 我一听这话,便撕裂了我的衣服和外氅,拔我的头发和胡须,绝望地坐下。 4 Around me gathered all who were in dread of the sentence of the God of Israel on this apostasy of the exiles, while I remained motionless until the evening sacrifice. 当时凡对以色列天主的诫命起敬起畏的人,为了充军归来者的罪孽,都聚集在我周围,我绝望地坐着,直到晚祭。 5 Then, at the time of the evening sacrifice, I rose in my wretchedness, and with cloak and mantle torn I fell on my knees, stretching out my hands to the LORD, my God. 到了献晚祭时,我悲愤中起来,仍穿著撕裂的衣服和外氅,双膝跪下,伸开双手向上主我的天主说: 6 I said: "My God, I am too ashamed and confounded to raise my face to you, O my God, for our wicked deeds are heaped up above our heads and our guilt reaches up to heaven. "我的天主,我实觉惭愧!我的天主!我不敢向你仰面,因为我们的邪恶,积累得高过了我们的头顶,我们的罪孽上达于天。 7 1 From the time of our fathers even to this day great has been our guilt, and for our wicked deeds we have been delivered over, we and our kings and our priests, to the will of the kings of foreign lands, to the sword, to captivity, to pillage, and to disgrace, as is the case today. 自从我们的祖先时代,直到今日,我们犯了重大的罪孽;为了我们的罪恶,我们连我们的君王司祭,都被交在异地的君王手中,丧身刀下,被俘掳,遭掠夺,丢脸受辱,就像今日一样。 8 "And now, but a short time ago, mercy came to us from the LORD, our God, who left us a remnant and gave us a stake in his holy place; thus our God has brightened our eyes and given us relief in our servitude. 但是现在,转瞬之间,上主我们的天主,对我们施了仁慈,留给了我们一些残存的人,又在圣地给了我们居所;并且我们的天主,还使我们的眼目明亮,在我们为奴隶期中,使我们尚有少许生气。 9 For slaves we are, but in our servitude our God has not abandoned us; rather, he has turned the good will of the kings of Persia toward us. Thus he has given us new life to raise again the house of our God and restore its ruins, and has granted us a fence in Judah and Jerusalem. 我们原是奴隶,但我们在为奴隶期中,我们的天主没有离弃我们,反而使我们在波斯王,获得了宠遇,使我们有了生气,得以重建天主的殿宇,重修废墟,使我们在犹大和耶路撒冷,得了保障。 10 But now, O our God, what can we say after all this? For we have abandoned your commandments, 现今,我们的天主!在这些事後,我们还有什麽可说的呢?只能说我们又遗弃了你的诫命, 11 which you gave through your servants the prophets: the land which you are entering to take as your possession is a land unclean with the filth of the peoples of the land, with the abominations with which they have filled it from one end to the other in their uncleanness. 12 Do not, then, give your daughters to their sons in marriage, and do not take their daughters for your sons. Never promote their peace and prosperity; thus you will grow strong, enjoy the produce of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever. 所以你们绝不可将你们的女儿嫁给他们的儿子;也不给你们的儿子,他们的女儿为妻,也永不可他们共谋平安和福利:这样你们才会强盛,才能吃那地方的出产,将这地留给你们的子孙,作为永远基业"。 13 "After all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and our great guilt-though you, our God, have made less of our sinfulness than it deserved and have allowed us to survive as we do— 为了我们的许多罪行和重大的罪孽,这一切降到了我们身上之后,──我们的天主!其实你估低了我们的罪恶,还给我们留下了这些亡命的人,── 14 shall we again violate your commandments by intermarrying with these abominable peoples? Would you not become so angered with us as to destroy us without remnant or survivor? 我们还敢破坏你的诫命,而同这些不洁的民族联婚吗?难道还要你向我们发怒,一直将我们完全消灭,不留一个遗民或亡命的人吗? 15 O LORD, God of Israel, you are just; yet we have been spared, the remnant we are today. Here we are before you in our sins. Because of all this, we can no longer stand in your presence." 上主,以色列的天主!因你仁义,才剩下了我们这些亡命的人,像今天一样;看,我们在你面前都带有罪孽,因此,没有一个能在你面前站得住。 Footnotes(注解) 1 [7] After this verse, the next part of the prayer attributed to Ezra is perhaps to be found in Nehemiah 9:6-37, which may be read as leading up to Ezra 9:8-15. |