1
Jud 6:1-6.
繁體中文
英文原文
Jud 6:1-6.
THE ISRAELITES, FOR THEIR SINS, OPPRESSED BY MIDIAN.
1. and the Lord delivered them into the hand of Midian--Untaught by their former experiences, the Israelites again apostatized, and new sins were followed by fresh judgments. Midian had sustained a severe blow in the time of Moses
(Nu 31:1-18);
and the memory of that disaster, no doubt, inflamed their resentment against the Israelites. They were wandering herdsmen, called "children of the East," from their occupying the territory east of the Red Sea, contiguous to Moab. The destructive ravages they are described as at this time committing in the land of Israel are similar to those of the Bedouin Arabs, who harass the peaceful cultivators of the soil. Unless composition is made with them, they return annually at a certain season, when they carry off the grain, seize the cattle and other property; and even life itself is in jeopardy from the attacks of those prowling marauders. The vast horde of Midianites that overran Canaan made them the greatest scourge which had ever afflicted the Israelites.
2
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2. 在山上……鑿洞穴——當然不是挖掘，因為這些洞穴早已存在，而是加以修整使之適於居住。
英文原文
2. made . . . dens . . . in the mountains and caves--not, of course, excavating them, for they were already, but making them fit for habitation.
7
Jud 6:7-10.
繁體中文
Jud 6:7-10.
一位先知責備他們。
英文原文
Jud 6:7-10.
A PROPHET REBUKES THEM.
8
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8. 耶和華差遣一位先知到以色列人那裏——國難的咒詛，其因由被權威地追溯到他們的不忠。
英文原文
8. the Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel--The curse of the national calamity is authoritatively traced to their infidelity as the cause.
11
Jud 6:11-16.
繁體中文
Jud 6:11-16.
一位天使差遣基甸去拯救他們。
11. 耶和華的使者到了——他以一個旅客的裝束和打扮出現
（士6:21），
坐在蔭下稍享休息。他與人談起當時最熱門的話題——米甸人的嚴酷欺壓，便開始勸基甸以其素負盛名的勇力為國效力。基甸起初回答時所用（希伯來文中）相當於「先生」的稱呼，但後來卻用通常用於神的稱呼來稱呼他。
橡樹——希伯來文為「那棵橡樹」——是日後聞名的樹。
俄弗拉——瑪拿西支派的一座城，在耶利哥以北約十六英里，屬亞比以謝家族的地業
（書17:2）。
他兒子基甸在酒醡那裏打麥子——這一細節有力地說明了公眾所受的苦。他打的那一點點麥子（從他用木棍敲打而非照慣例用牛踹穀可知）、地點異常（在酒醡旁、樹下、光禿禿的地上而非木板上，為的是避免聲響）——這一切都顯出百姓活在何等恐懼之中。
英文原文
Jud 6:11-16.
AN ANGEL SENDS GIDEON TO DELIVER THEM.
11. there came an angel of the Lord--He appeared in the character and equipments of a traveller
(Jud 6:21),
who sat down in the shade to enjoy a little refreshment and repose. Entering into conversation on the engrossing topic of the times, the grievous oppression of the Midianites, he began urging Gideon to exert his well-known prowess on behalf of his country. Gideon, in replying, addresses him at first in a style equivalent (in Hebrew) to "sir," but afterwards gives to him the name usually applied to God.
an oak--Hebrew, "the oak"--as famous in after-times.
Ophrah--a city in the tribe of Manasseh, about sixteen miles north of Jericho, in the district belonging to the family of Abiezer
(Jos 17:2).
his son Gideon threshed wheat by the wine-press--This incident tells emphatically the tale of public distress. The small quantity of grain he was threshing, indicated by his using a flail instead of the customary treading of cattle--the unusual place, near a wine-press, under a tree, and on the bare ground, not a wooden floor, for the prevention of noise--all these circumstances reveal the extreme dread in which the people were living.
13
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13. 耶和華若與我們同在，我們何至遭遇這一切事呢？——基甸這話顯出他缺乏反思；因為神降在百姓身上的刑罰，恰恰表明祂與他們同在，並顧念他們。
英文原文
13. if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us?--Gideon's language betrays want of reflection, for the very chastisements God had brought on His people showed His presence with, and His interest in, them.
14
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14-16. 耶和華觀看他，說：你靠著你這能力去……不是我差遣你去的嗎？——這命令與應許使基甸明白了他這位來訪者的真實身分；然而像摩西一樣，出於謙卑，或因這使命的重大而退縮，他推辭不敢承擔這項事業。即使得到確據，在神的幫助之下，他將要輕而易舉地戰勝米甸人，如同對付一人一般，他仍猶豫不決，盼望能更確切地印證這使命確實是出於神。他與摩西相似，也渴求一個記號；在兩種情形中，都是由於在那普遍敗壞的時代，啟示極其稀少，才使他們如此切望能得到最充分的確據，證明自己確實是被天上來的使者所差遣。這請求合理，也蒙了恩典的允准
[Jud 6:18]。
英文原文
14-16. the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might . . . have not I sent thee?--The command and the promise made Gideon aware of the real character of his visitor; and yet like Moses, from a sense of humility, or a shrinking at the magnitude of the undertaking, he excused himself from entering on the enterprise. And even though assured that, with the divine aid, he would overcome the Midianites as easily as if they were but one man, he still hesitates and wishes to be better assured that the mission was really from God. He resembles Moses also in the desire for a sign; and in both cases it was the rarity of revelations in such periods of general corruption that made them so desirous of having the fullest conviction of being addressed by a heavenly messenger. The request was reasonable, and it was graciously granted
[Jud 6:18].
17
Jud 6:17-32.
繁體中文
Jud 6:17-32.
基甸的禮物被火吞滅。
英文原文
Jud 6:17-32.
GIDEON'S PRESENT CONSUMED BY FIRE.
18
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18. 求你不要離開這裡，等我……將我的禮物拿來——希伯來原文作「我的素祭」；他的用意大概是想藉著訪客是否享用這筵席，來試驗他是否超乎常人。
英文原文
18. Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I . . . bring forth my present--Hebrew, my mincha, or "meat offering"; and his idea probably was to prove, by his visitor's partaking of the entertainment, whether or not he was more than man.
19
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繁體中文
19-23. 基甸進去預備了一隻山羊羔；……肉放在籃子裡，湯放在鍋裡——（參
Ge 18:7)。
肉似乎是烤的，其方法是將肉切成小塊，串在烤肉籤上，放在火前。湯是為即時飲用；其餘用手提籃帶來的食物，是為旅客日後的供應。吞滅祭物的那奇妙火焰，以及那陌生人不是步行離去，而是如靈在火中消失，使基甸滿心敬畏。每一個墮落的人，一想到神，心中便因自覺有罪而充滿對祂怒氣的恐懼；而古時流行的一種觀念——凡是看見天使的人都會立即死去——更增加了這種感覺。基甸的祭物蒙了悅納，表明他這人也蒙了悅納；但要恢復他的安慰與內心的平安，還需要一個明確的、以某種未知方式賜下的、關乎屬神賜福的確據。
英文原文
19-23. Gideon went in, and made ready a kid; . . . the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot--(See on
Ge 18:7).
The flesh seems to have been roasted, which is done by cutting it into kobab, that is, into small pieces, fixed on a skewer, and put before the fire. The broth was for immediate use; the other, brought in a hand-basket was intended to be a future supply to the traveller. The miraculous fire that consumed it and the vanishing of the stranger, not by walking, but as a spirit in the fire, filled Gideon with awe. A consciousness of demerit fills the heart of every fallen man at the thought of God, with fear of His wrath; and this feeling was increased by a belief prevalent in ancient times, that whoever saw an angel would forthwith die. The acceptance of Gideon's sacrifice betokened the acceptance of his person; but it required an express assurance of the divine blessing, given in some unknown manner, to restore his comfort and peace of mind.
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24-32. 當那夜耶和華對他說——此處描述基甸所從事的這件事，是在那次異象之後的夜裡才開始的。
英文原文
24-32. it came to pass the same night, that the Lord said unto him--The transaction in which Gideon is here described as engaged was not entered on till the night after the vision.
25
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25. 取你父親的……第二隻牛犢——米甸人大概已使家中的牛群減少；或者由於基甸的父親嗜好拜偶像，最好的牛可能已被養肥用來事奉巴力；因此第二隻才是僅存的一隻適合獻給神的祭牲。
拆毀你父親為巴力所築的壇——立在他自己的地上，卻為鎮上居民公用。
砍下壇旁的木偶——是奉獻給亞斯他錄的。藉著十個忠心僕人之助，他拆毀了一座壇，又在指定之處為耶和華築起一座壇；但因恐怕有人反對，這工作必須在夜間暗暗進行。第二天引起了強烈的騷動，眾人發誓要向行這事的基甸報復。「他的父親約阿施，以類似以弗所城書記官的方式平息了暴民。兩處都不是任由百姓自行處理；不過一個是向官長上訴，另一個則是向那偶像之神本身上訴」[查麥士]。
英文原文
25. Take thy father's . . . second bullock--The Midianites had probably reduced the family herd; or, as Gideon's father was addicted to idolatry, the best may have been fattened for the service of Baal; so that the second was the only remaining one fit for sacrifice to God.
throw down the altar of Baal that thy father hath--standing upon his ground, though kept for the common use of the townsmen.
cut down the grove that is by it--dedicated to Ashtaroth. With the aid of ten confidential servants he demolished the one altar and raised on the appointed spot the altar of the Lord; but, for fear of opposition, the work had to be done under cover of night. A violent commotion was excited next day, and vengeance vowed against Gideon as the perpetrator. "Joash, his father, quieted the mob in a manner similar to that of the town clerk of Ephesus. It was not for them to take the matter into their own hands. The one, however, made an appeal to the magistrate; the other to the idolatrous god himself" [CHALMERS].
33
Jud 6:33-39.
繁體中文
Jud 6:33-39.
兆頭。
33. 米甸人……在耶斯列安營——米甸、亞瑪力和他們鄰族的聯軍，渡過約旦河要重新入侵迦南，在耶斯列平原（古稱耶斯列）安營。約旦河谷的南部地勢很低，因此從南邊的乾涸河谷進入迦南，要經過陡峭艱難的下坡。記住這一點，我們便能明白，米甸軍隊為何從約旦河以東，取道約旦河谷北部的乾涸河谷——即耶斯列對面——進入迦南。
英文原文
Jud 6:33-39.
THE SIGNS.
33. all the Midianites . . . pitched in Jezreel--The confederated troops of Midian, Amalek, and their neighbors, crossing the Jordan to make a fresh inroad on Canaan, encamped in the plains of Esdraelon (anciently Jezreel). The southern part of the Ghor lies in a very low level, so that there is a steep and difficult descent into Canaan by the southern wadies. Keeping this in view, we see the reason why the Midianite army, from the east of Jordan, entered Canaan by the northern wadies of the Ghor, opposite Jezreel.
34
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34. 耶和華的靈降在基甸身上——在這突發的危急之際蒙召出來為國家效力，他便蒙賜超自然的智慧和精力，與危險的嚴重性和他處境的艱難相稱。他號召出征的呼聲，得到鄰近所有支派的熱烈響應。在這項危險事業的前夕，他設法以一個新的確據來堅固自己的心，證明自己確實蒙了屬神的呼召，承擔這責任重大的職分。羊毛的神蹟是一件非常特別的神蹟——尤其是考慮到那地豐沛的露水。神反過來改變神蹟的形式，更奇妙地顯出祂的忍耐和俯就。基甸自己也似乎意識到，因自己的猶豫和疑惑而冒犯了神；但神容忍祂百姓的軟弱。
英文原文
34. the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon--Called in this sudden emergency into the public service of his country, he was supernaturally endowed with wisdom and energy commensurate with the magnitude of the danger and the difficulties of his position. His summons to war was enthusiastically obeyed by all the neighboring tribes. On the eve of a perilous enterprise, he sought to fortify his mind with a fresh assurance of a divine call to the responsible office. The miracle of the fleece was a very remarkable one--especially, considering the copious dews that fall in his country. The divine patience and condescension were wonderfully manifested in reversing the form of the miracle. Gideon himself seems to have been conscious of incurring the displeasure of God by his hesitancy and doubts; but He bears with the infirmities of His people.
Jud 6:1-6.
以色列人因罪被米甸人欺壓。
1. 耶和華把他們交在米甸人手裏——以色列人沒有從前次經歷中學到功課，再度背道，新的罪便招來新的審判。米甸人在摩西時代曾遭受重創
（民31:1-18）；
那場災禍的記憶，無疑加深了他們對以色列人的怨恨。他們是游牧的牧人，被稱為「東方之人」，因其所居之地在紅海以東，與摩押毗鄰。這裏描述他們此時在以色列地所造成的毀滅性蹂躪，與貝都因阿拉伯人騷擾太平農夫的情形相似。除非與之達成妥協，否則他們每年在固定季節返回，搶奪糧食，劫掠牲畜財物；甚至生命也會因這些四處遊蕩的劫匪的襲擊而陷於危險。席捲迦南的米甸大軍，使以色列人遭受了前所未有的最大禍患。