今日读经

以斯帖再次哀求王

³以斯帖又俯伏在王脚前，流泪哀告，求他除掉亚甲族哈曼害犹大人的恶谋。And once again, Esther addressed the king. She fell at his feet weeping and begged him to revoke the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews.

⁴王向以斯帖伸出金杖；以斯帖就起来，站在王前，The king extended the gold scepter toward Esther, and she arose and stood before the king.

⁵说：“亚甲族哈米大他的儿子哈曼设谋传旨，要杀灭在王各省的犹大人。现今王若愿意，我若在王眼前蒙恩，王若以为美，若喜悦我，请王另下旨意，废除哈曼所传的那旨意。“If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if I have found favor in his sight, and the matter seems proper to the king, and I am pleasing in his sight, may an order be written to revoke the letters that the scheming Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces.

⁶我何忍见我本族的人受害？何忍见我同宗的人被灭呢？”For how could I bear to see the disaster that would befall my people? How could I bear to see the destruction of my kindred?”

王准另写谕旨

⁷亚哈随鲁王对王后以斯帖和犹大人末底改说：“因哈曼要下手害犹大人，我已将他的家产赐给以斯帖，人也将哈曼挂在木架上。So King Xerxes said to Esther the Queen and Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, I have given Haman’s estate to Esther, and he was hanged on the gallows because he attacked the Jews.

⁸现在你们可以随意奉王的名写谕旨给犹大人，用王的戒指盖印；因为奉王名所写、用王戒指盖印的谕旨，人都不能废除。”Now you may write in the king’s name as you please regarding the Jews, and seal it with the royal signet ring. For a decree that is written in the name of the king and sealed with the royal signet ring cannot be revoked.”

新的谕旨传遍各省

⁹三月，就是西弯月二十三日，将王的书记召来，按着末底改所吩咐的，用各省的文字、各族的方言，并犹大人的文字方言写谕旨，传给那从印度直到古实一百二十七省的犹大人和总督省长首领。At once the royal scribes were summoned, and on the twenty-third day of the third month (the month of Sivan), they recorded all of Mordecai’s orders to the Jews and to the satraps, governors, and princes of the 127 provinces from India to Cush—writing to each province in its own script, to every people in their own language, and to the Jews in their own script and language.

¹⁰末底改奉亚哈随鲁王的名写谕旨，用王的戒指盖印，交给骑御马圈快马的驿卒，传到各处。Mordecai wrote in the name of King Xerxes and sealed it with the royal signet ring. He sent the documents by mounted couriers riding on swift horses bred from the royal mares.

^11–12谕旨中，王准各省各城的犹大人在一日之间，十二月，就是亚达月十三日，聚集保护性命，剪除杀戮灭绝那要攻击犹大人的一切仇敌和他们的妻子儿女，夺取他们的财为掠物。By these letters the king permitted the Jews in each and every city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province hostile to them, including women and children, and to plunder their possessions. The single day appointed throughout all the provinces of King Xerxes was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar.

¹³抄录这谕旨，颁行各省，宣告各族，使犹大人预备等候那日，在仇敌身上报仇。A copy of the text of the edict was to be issued in every province and published to all the people, so that the Jews would be ready on that day to avenge themselves on their enemies.

¹⁴于是骑快马的驿卒被王命催促，急忙起行；谕旨也传遍书珊城。The couriers rode out in haste on their royal horses, pressed on by the command of the king. And the edict was also issued in the citadel of Susa.

末底改穿朝服出来

¹⁵末底改穿着蓝色白色的朝服，头戴大金冠冕，又穿紫色细麻布的外袍，从王面前出来；书珊城的人民都欢呼快乐。Mordecai went out from the presence of the king in royal garments of blue and white, with a large gold crown and a purple robe of fine linen. And the city of Susa shouted and rejoiced.

¹⁶犹大人有光荣，欢喜快乐而得尊贵。For the Jews it was a time of light and gladness, of joy and honor.

¹⁷王的谕旨所到的各省各城，犹大人都欢喜快乐，设摆筵宴，以那日为吉日。那国的人民，有许多因惧怕犹大人，就入了犹大籍。In every province and every city, wherever the king’s edict and decree reached, there was joy and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many of the people of the land themselves became Jews, because the fear of the Jews had fallen upon them.

犹大人反倒辖制仇敌

¹十二月，乃亚达月十三日，王的谕旨将要举行，就是犹大人的仇敌盼望辖制他们的日子，犹大人反倒辖制恨他们的人。On the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar, the king’s command and edict were to be executed. On this day the enemies of the Jews had hoped to overpower them, but their plan was overturned and the Jews overpowered those who hated them.

²犹大人在亚哈随鲁王各省的城里聚集，下手击杀那要害他们的人。无人能敌挡他们，因为各族都惧怕他们。In each of the provinces of King Xerxes, the Jews assembled in their cities to attack those who sought to harm them. No man could withstand them, because the fear of them had fallen upon all peoples.

³各省的首领、总督、省长，和办理王事的人，因惧怕末底改，就都帮助犹大人。And all the officials of the provinces, the satraps, the governors, and the king’s administrators helped the Jews, because the fear of Mordecai had fallen upon them.

⁴末底改在朝中为大，名声传遍各省，日渐昌盛。For Mordecai exercised great power in the palace, and his fame spread throughout the provinces as he became more and more powerful.

⁵犹大人用刀击杀一切仇敌，任意杀灭恨他们的人。The Jews put all their enemies to the sword, killing and destroying them, and they did as they pleased to those who hated them.

书珊城的战事

⁶在书珊城，犹大人杀灭了五百人；In the citadel of Susa, the Jews killed and destroyed five hundred men,

⁷又杀巴珊大他、达分、亚斯帕他、including Parshandatha, Dalphon, Aspatha,

⁸破拉他、亚大利雅、亚利大他、Poratha, Adalia, Aridatha,

⁹帕玛斯他、亚利赛、亚利代、瓦耶撒他；Parmashta, Arisai, Aridai, and Vaizatha.

¹⁰这十人都是哈米大他的孙子、犹大人仇敌哈曼的儿子。犹大人却没有下手夺取财物。They killed these ten sons of Haman son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

书珊再延长一日

¹¹当日，将书珊城被杀的人数呈在王前。On that day the number of those killed in the citadel of Susa was reported to the king,

¹²王对王后以斯帖说：“犹大人在书珊城杀灭了五百人，又杀了哈曼的十个儿子，在王的各省不知如何呢？现在你要什么，我必赐给你；你还求什么，也必为你成就。”who said to Queen Esther, “In the citadel of Susa the Jews have killed and destroyed five hundred men, including Haman’s ten sons. What have they done in the rest of the royal provinces? Now what is your petition? It will be given to you. And what further do you request? It will be fulfilled.”

¹³以斯帖说：“王若以为美，求你准书珊的犹大人，明日也照今日的旨意行，并将哈曼十个儿子的尸首挂在木架上。”Esther replied, “If it pleases the king, may the Jews in Susa also have tomorrow to carry out today’s edict, and may the bodies of Haman’s ten sons be hanged on the gallows.”

¹⁴王便允准如此行。旨意传在书珊，人就把哈曼十个儿子的尸首挂起来了。So the king commanded that this be done. An edict was issued in Susa, and they hanged the ten sons of Haman.

¹⁵亚达月十四日，书珊的犹大人又聚集在书珊，杀了三百人，却没有下手夺取财物。On the fourteenth day of the month of Adar, the Jews in Susa came together again and put to death three hundred men there, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

各省犹大人得享平安

¹⁶在王各省其余的犹大人也都聚集保护性命，杀了恨他们的人七万五千，却没有下手夺取财物。这样，就脱离仇敌，得享平安。The rest of the Jews in the royal provinces also assembled to defend themselves and rid themselves of their enemies. They killed 75,000 who hated them, but they did not lay a hand on the plunder.

设筵欢乐的日子

¹⁷亚达月十三日，行了这事；十四日安息，以这日为设筵欢乐的日子。This was done on the thirteenth day of the month of Adar, and on the fourteenth day they rested, making it a day of feasting and joy.

¹⁸但书珊的犹大人，这十三日、十四日聚集杀戮仇敌；十五日安息，以这日为设筵欢乐的日子。The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and the fourteenth days of the month. So they rested on the fifteenth day, making it a day of feasting and joy.

¹⁹所以住无城墙乡村的犹大人，如今都以亚达月十四日为设筵欢乐的吉日，彼此馈送礼物。This is why the rural Jews, who live in the villages, observe the fourteenth day of the month of Adar as a day of joy and feasting. It is a holiday for sending gifts to one another.

末底改定下普珥日

²⁰末底改记录这事，写信与亚哈随鲁王各省远近所有的犹大人，Mordecai recorded these events and sent letters to all the Jews in all the provinces of King Xerxes, both near and far,

²¹嘱咐他们每年守亚达月十四、十五两日，to establish among them an annual celebration on the fourteenth and fifteenth days of the month of Adar

²²以这月的两日为犹大人脱离仇敌得平安、转忧为喜、转悲为乐的吉日。在这两日设筵欢乐，彼此馈送礼物，周济穷人。as the days on which the Jews gained rest from their enemies and the month in which their sorrow turned to joy and their mourning into a holiday. He wrote that these were to be days of feasting and joy, of sending gifts to one another and to the poor.

²³于是，犹大人按着末底改所写与他们的信，应承照初次所守的守为永例；So the Jews agreed to continue the custom they had started, as Mordecai had written to them.

²⁴是因犹大人的仇敌亚甲族哈米大他的儿子哈曼设谋杀害犹大人，掣普珥，就是掣签，为要杀尽灭绝他们；For Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, the enemy of all the Jews, had plotted against the Jews to destroy them and had cast the Pur (that is, the lot) to crush and destroy them.

²⁵这事报告于王，王便降旨使哈曼谋害犹大人的恶事归到他自己的头上，并吩咐把他和他的众子都挂在木架上。But when it came before the king, he commanded by letter that the wicked scheme which Haman had devised against the Jews should come back upon his own head, and that he and his sons should be hanged on the gallows.

²⁶照着普珥的名字，犹大人就称这两日为“普珥日”。他们因这信上的话，又因所看见所遇见的事，Therefore these days are called Purim, from the word Pur. Because of all the instructions in this letter, and because of all they had seen and experienced,

²⁷就应承自己与后裔，并归附他们的人，每年按时必守这两日，永远不废。the Jews bound themselves to establish the custom that they and their descendants and all who join them should not fail to celebrate these two days at the appointed time each and every year, according to their regulation.

²⁸各省各城、家家户户、世世代代纪念遵守这两日，使这“普珥日”在犹大人中不可废掉，在他们后裔中也不可忘记。These days should be remembered and celebrated by every generation, family, province, and city, so that these days of Purim should not fail to be observed among the Jews, nor should the memory of them fade from their descendants.

以斯帖再写信坚嘱

²⁹亚比孩的女儿—王后以斯帖和犹大人末底改以全权写第二封信，坚嘱犹大人守这“普珥日”，So Queen Esther daughter of Abihail, along with Mordecai the Jew, wrote with full authority to confirm this second letter concerning Purim.

³⁰用和平诚实话写信给亚哈随鲁王国中一百二十七省所有的犹大人，And Mordecai sent letters with words of peace and truth to all the Jews in the 127 provinces of the kingdom of Xerxes,

³¹劝他们按时守这“普珥日”，禁食呼求，是照犹大人末底改和王后以斯帖所嘱咐的，也照犹大人为自己与后裔所应承的。in order to confirm these days of Purim at their appointed time, just as Mordecai the Jew and Queen Esther had established them and had committed themselves and their descendants to the times of fasting and lamentation.

³²以斯帖命定守“普珥日”，这事也记录在书上。So Esther’s decree confirmed these regulations about Purim, which were written into the record.

王的强盛与末底改的尊大

¹亚哈随鲁王使旱地和海岛的人民都进贡。Now King Xerxes imposed tribute throughout the land, even to its farthest shores.

²他以权柄能力所行的，并他抬举末底改使他高升的事，岂不都写在米底亚和波斯王的历史上吗？And all of Mordecai’s powerful and magnificent accomplishments, together with the full account of the greatness to which the king had raised him, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Media and Persia?

³犹大人末底改作亚哈随鲁王的宰相，在犹大人中为大，得他众弟兄的喜悦，为本族的人求好处，向他们说和平的话。For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Xerxes, preeminent among the Jews and highly favored by his many kinsmen, seeking the good of his people and speaking peace to all his countrymen.

保罗用希伯来话对百姓说话

⁴⁰千夫长准了。保罗就站在台阶上，向百姓摆手，他们都静默无声，保罗便用希伯来话对他们说：Having received permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. A great hush came over the crowd, and he addressed them in Hebrew:

¹“诸位父兄请听，我现在对你们分诉。”“Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.”

²众人听他说的是希伯来话，就更加安静了。When they heard him speak to them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet. Then Paul declared,

我原是热心的犹太人

³保罗说：“我原是犹太人，生在基利家的大数，长在这城里，在迦玛列门下，按着我们祖宗严紧的律法受教，热心事奉　神，像你们众人今日一样。“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.

⁴我也曾逼迫奉这道的人，直到死地，无论男女都锁拿下监。I persecuted this Way even to the death, detaining both men and women and throwing them into prison,

⁵这是大祭司和众长老都可以给我作见证的。我又领了他们达与弟兄的书信，往大马士革去，要把在那里奉这道的人锁拿，带到耶路撒冷受刑。”as the high priest and the whole Council can testify about me. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way to apprehend these people and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished.

大马士革路上的大光

⁶“我将到大马士革，正走的时候，约在晌午，忽然从天上发大光，四面照着我。About noon as I was approaching Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.

⁷我就仆倒在地，听见有声音对我说：‘扫罗！扫罗！你为什么逼迫我？’I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’

⁸我回答说：‘主啊，你是谁？’他说：‘我就是你所逼迫的拿撒勒人耶稣。’‘Who are You, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ He replied.

⁹与我同行的人看见了那光，却没有听明那位对我说话的声音。My companions saw the light, but they could not understand the voice of the One speaking to me.

¹⁰我说：‘主啊，我当做什么？’主说：‘起来，进大马士革去，在那里，要将所派你做的一切事告诉你。’Then I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ ‘Get up and go into Damascus,’ He told me. ‘There you will be told all that you have been appointed to do.’

¹¹我因那光的荣耀不能看见，同行的人就拉着我手进了大马士革。Because the brilliance of the light had blinded me, my companions led me by the hand into Damascus.

相关经文 ›

亚拿尼亚使他重见光明

¹²那里有一个人，名叫亚拿尼亚，按着律法是虔诚人，为一切住在那里的犹太人所称赞。There a man named Ananias, a devout observer of the law who was highly regarded by all the Jews living there,

¹³他来见我，站在旁边，对我说：‘兄弟扫罗，你可以看见。’我当时往上一看，就看见了他。came and stood beside me. ‘Brother Saul,’ he said, ‘receive your sight.’ And at that moment I could see him.

¹⁴他又说：‘我们祖宗的　神拣选了你，叫你明白他的旨意，又得见那义者，听他口中所出的声音。Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear His voice.

¹⁵因为你要将所看见的，所听见的，对着万人为他作见证。You will be His witness to everyone of what you have seen and heard.

¹⁶现在你为什么耽延呢？起来，求告他的名受洗，洗去你的罪。’”And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’

主差他往外邦人那里去

¹⁷“后来，我回到耶路撒冷，在殿里祷告的时候，魂游象外，Later, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance

¹⁸看见主向我说：‘你赶紧地离开耶路撒冷，不可迟延；因你为我作的见证，这里的人必不领受。’and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your testimony about Me.’

¹⁹我就说：‘主啊，他们知道我从前把信你的人收在监里，又在各会堂里鞭打他们。‘Lord,’ I answered, ‘they know very well that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You.

²⁰并且你的见证人司提反被害流血的时候，我也站在旁边欢喜；又看守害死他之人的衣裳。’And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and watching over the garments of those who killed him.’

²¹主向我说：‘你去吧！我要差你远远地往外邦人那里去。’”Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”

群众喧嚷要除掉他

²²众人听他说到这句话，就高声说：“这样的人，从世上除掉他吧！他是不当活着的。”The crowd listened to Paul until he made this statement. Then they lifted up their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He is not fit to live!”

²³众人喧嚷，摔掉衣裳，把尘土向空中扬起来。As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air,

千夫长要鞭打拷问

²⁴千夫长就吩咐将保罗带进营楼去，叫人用鞭子拷问他，要知道他们向他这样喧嚷是为什么缘故。the commander ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks. He directed that Paul be flogged and interrogated to determine the reason for this outcry against him.

保罗表明自己是罗马人

²⁵刚用皮条捆上，保罗对旁边站着的百夫长说：“人是罗马人，又没有定罪，你们就鞭打他，有这个例吗？”But as they stretched him out to strap him down, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it lawful for you to flog a Roman citizen without a trial?”

²⁶百夫长听见这话，就去见千夫长，告诉他说：“你要做什么？这人是罗马人。”On hearing this, the centurion went and reported it to the commander. “What are you going to do?” he said. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁷千夫长就来问保罗说：“你告诉我，你是罗马人吗？”保罗说：“是。”The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he answered.

²⁸千夫长说：“我用许多银子才入了罗马的民籍。”保罗说：“我生来就是。”“I paid a high price for my citizenship,” said the commander. “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

²⁹于是那些要拷问保罗的人就离开他去了。千夫长既知道他是罗马人，又因为捆绑了他，也害怕了。At once those who were about to interrogate Paul stepped back, and the commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put a Roman citizen in chains.