1
Ezr 9:1-4.
英文原文
Ezr 9:1-4.
EZRA MOURNS FOR THE AFFINITY OF THE PEOPLE WITH STRANGERS.
1, 2. Now when these things were done--The first days after Ezra's arrival in Jerusalem were occupied in executing the different trusts committed to him. The nature and design of the office with which the royal authority had invested him was publicly made known to his own people by the formal delivery of the contribution and the sacred vessels brought from Babylon to the priests to be deposited in the temple. Then his credentials were privately presented to the provincial governors; and by this prudent, orderly proceeding he put himself in the best position to avail himself of all the advantages guaranteed him by the king. On a superficial view everything contributed to gratify his patriotic feelings in the apparently flourishing state of the church and country. But a further acquaintance discovered the existence of great corruptions, which demanded immediate correction. One was particularly brought under his notice as being the source and origin of all others; namely, a serious abuse that was practised respecting the law of marriage.
the princes came to me, saying--The information they lodged with Ezra was to the effect that numbers of the people, in violation of the divine law
(De 7:2, 3),
had contracted marriages with Gentile women, and that the guilt of the disorderly practice, far from being confined to the lower classes, was shared in by several of the priests and Levites, as well as of the leading men in the country. This great irregularity would inevitably bring many evils in its train; it would encourage and increase idolatry, as well as break down the barriers of distinction which, for important purposes, God had raised between the Israelites and all other people. Ezra foresaw these dangerous consequences, but was overwhelmed with a sense of the difficulty of correcting the evil, when matrimonial alliances had been formed, families had been reared, affections engaged, and important interests established.
3
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3. 我一听见这事，便撕裂外袍和衣裳等——即外袍与内衣，这不仅是极大悲哀的记号，也是对神震怒同时感到战兢的表现；
拔了头发和胡须——这是更为有力的、表明难以抑制之哀恸的记号。
英文原文
3. when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, &c.--the outer and inner garment, which was a token not only of great grief, but of dread at the same time of the divine wrath;
plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard--which was a still more significant sign of overpowering grief.
4
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4. 凡为以色列神言语战兢的，都因被掳归回之人的罪，聚集到我这里来等——所有敬虔之人，凡敬畏神的话语、畏惧其警告与审判的，都与以斯拉一同为百姓的罪哀恸，并商讨补救之策。
我惊惧而坐，直到晚祭的时候——那些因犯罪而被掳的人，如今虽获归回，却仍不肯悔改，竟如此公然违背神的律法，这消息使以斯拉心受震撞，一时之间不能言语，也不能行动。晚祭的时候是百姓照例聚集之时；他在那时再一撕裂头发和衣服，公开祷告认罪。
英文原文
4. Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, &c.--All the pious people who reverenced God's word and dreaded its threatenings and judgments joined with Ezra in bewailing the public sin, and devising the means of redressing it.
I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice--The intelligence of so gross a violation of God's law by those who had been carried into captivity on account of their sins, and who, though restored, were yet unreformed, produced such a stunning effect on the mind of Ezra that he remained for a while incapable either of speech or of action. The hour of the evening sacrifice was the usual time of the people assembling; and at that season, having again rent his hair and garments, he made public prayer and confession of sin.
5
Ezr 9:5-15.
Ezr 9:5-15.
向神祷告
5-15. 我双膝跪下，向耶和华我的神举手——他这次祷告的负担是在深切感到紧急之情的情况下发出的；他为这罪之公然严重、以及百姓刚受了神重重的惩罚之后仍大胆不敬地继续犯罪而深为震惊。神已开始以使部分人归回作为向以色列施恩的兆头。但这反而加重了他们的罪——因为他们刚刚在故土重建，就公然违背了那吩咐他们剪除迦南人的明文且反复的诫命。他呼喊说，这样的行为必定招惹被得罪的上天降下大罚，也必使我们仅剩的小小余民遭到灭没，除非靠神恩典的助佑，我们悔改，并借立即而彻底的改革结出悔改的果子来。
英文原文
Ezr 9:5-15.
PRAYS TO GOD.
5-15. I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God--The burden of his prayer, which was dictated by a deep sense of the emergency, was that he was overwhelmed at the flagrant enormity of this sin, and the bold impiety of continuing in it after having, as a people, so recently experienced the heavy marks of the divine displeasure. God had begun to show returning favor to Israel by the restoration of some. But this only aggravated their sin, that, so soon after their re-establishment in their native land, they openly violated the express and repeated precepts which commanded them to extirpate the Canaanites. Such conduct, he exclaimed, could issue only in drawing down some great punishment from offended Heaven and ensuring the destruction of the small remnant of us that is left, unless, by the help of divine grace, we repent and bring forth the fruits of repentance in an immediate and thorough reformation.
Ezr 9:1-4.
以斯拉因百姓与异族通婚而哀恸
1, 2. 这些事完了以后——以斯拉抵达耶路撒冷后的头几天，忙于办理所托付的各项事务。王权所授予他职务的性质与宗旨，已借着将自巴比伦带来的捐银和圣殿器皿正式交付祭司存于圣殿中，而向其本国民公开宣明。随后他又将凭证私下呈交各省省长；这种审慎有序的步骤，使他处于最有利的位置，得以充分运用王所赐的一切特权。从表面看来，教会与国家一片兴旺，一切都令他的爱国之心感到欣慰。但进一步了解之后，却发现存在着严重的腐败，急需立即纠正。其中有一项尤为引起他的注意，被视作其他一切祸患的根源；即在婚姻律法上存在的严重弊端。
众首领来见我说——他们向以斯拉所报告的是：许多百姓违背神的律法
（De 7:2, 3），
已与外邦女子结亲，而且这种混乱行为的罪责并不仅限于平民，竟连祭司和利未人中间，以及国内的领袖人物之中也有牵涉。这等严重违规必然带来许多祸患；它既会助长并加剧偶像崇拜，又会破坏神为着重要目的而在以色列人与万民之间所设立的分别。以斯拉预见这些危险后果，但想到一旦婚姻关系既已缔结、家庭既已建立、感情既已投入、重大利益既已形成，要纠正此弊实在难如登天，便觉力不能胜。