1
Nu 22:1-20.
英文原文
Nu 22:1-20.
BALAK'S FIRST MESSAGE FOR BALAAM REFUSED.
1. Israel . . . pitched in the plains of Moab--so called from having formerly belonged to that people, though wrested from them by Sihon. It was a dry, sunken, desert region on the east of the Jordan valley, opposite Jericho.
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2. 巴勒——意即“虚空”。他因
(De 2:25; Ex 15:15)
这庞大群众的临近而惊恐，不敢在战场上与之交锋，便决意用别的手段来确保他们的覆灭。
英文原文
2. Balak--that is, "empty." Terrified
(De 2:25; Ex 15:15)
at the approach of so vast a multitude and not daring to encounter them in the field, he resolved to secure their destruction by other means.
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4. 米甸的长老——又被称为王
(Nu 31:8)
和首领
(Jos 13:21)。
米甸人是摩押南疆的一支独特民族，与他们结为同盟，共同对抗其共同的仇敌以色列。
英文原文
4. elders of Midian--called kings
(Nu 31:8)
and princes
(Jos 13:21).
The Midianites, a distinct people on the southern frontier of Moab, united with them as confederates against Israel, their common enemy.
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5. 他便差遣使者往巴兰那里去——巴兰意即“民的”“主”或“吞吃者”，是一位著名的占卜者
(Jos 13:22)。
波押的儿子——或按迦勒底形式作Bosor——意即“毁灭”。
毗夺——美索不达米亚的一座城，位于幼发拉底河畔。
英文原文
5. He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam--that is, "lord" or "devourer" of people, a famous soothsayer
(Jos 13:22).
son of Beor--or, in the Chaldee form, Bosor--that is, "destruction."
Pethor--a city of Mesopotamia, situated on the Euphrates.
6
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6. 来……为我咒诅这民——在异教徒中，流行一种观念：由先知或祭司献上、并辅以某些仪式的祈求之祸或咒诅，与祈求之福一样，会为冥冥之中的力量所垂听。在希腊和罗马的历史中，可找到许多将整支军队献于毁灭之下的例子，如今在印度及其他异教国家的本地人中仍有发生。在缅甸战争中，也曾雇用术士来咒诅英军。
英文原文
6. Come . . . curse me this people--Among the heathen an opinion prevailed that prayers for evil or curses would be heard by the unseen powers as well as prayers for good, when offered by a prophet or priest and accompanied by the use of certain rites. Many examples are found in the histories of the Greeks and Romans of whole armies being devoted to destruction, and they occur among the natives of India and other heathen countries still. In the Burmese war, magicians were employed to curse the British troops.
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7. 摩押的长老和……米甸的长老带着卦金去了——如同算命先生的酬金，且既是王家的礼物，数目当相当可观。
英文原文
7. the elders of Moab and . . . of Midian departed with the rewards of divination--like the fee of a fortune teller, and being a royal present, it would be something handsome.
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8-14. 你们今夜在这里住宿，我必将耶和华所告诉我的话回报你们等——神通常在异象和梦中启示其旨意；巴兰生于且长住于美索不达米亚——那里仍残留着先祖宗教的余绪——这解释了他对真神的认识。他的真实品格长久以来一直是讨论的话题。有人从其言辞判断，认为他是圣徒；另有人着眼于其行为，将其描述为一个不敬虔的江湖术士；第三类人则认为他是信仰上的新手，对神存有敬畏，却未能制服自己的情欲 [HENGSTENBERG]。
英文原文
8-14. Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the Lord shall speak unto me, &c.--God usually revealed His will in visions and dreams; and Balaam's birth and residence in Mesopotamia, where the remains of patriarchal religion still lingered, account for his knowledge of the true God. His real character has long been a subject of discussion. Some, judging from his language, have thought him a saint; others, looking to his conduct, have described him as an irreligious charlatan; and a third class consider him a novice in the faith, who had a fear of God, but who had not acquired power over his passions [HENGSTENBERG].
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13-15. 耶和华不容我和你们同去——这回答表面看来不错，却刻意隐瞒了神禁止的原因
[Nu 22:12]，
并暗示他自己愿意且渴望前往——只要获准。巴勒于是派遣了第二个使团，以讨好的前景同时挑动他的贪欲和野心
(Ge 31:30)。
英文原文
13-15. the Lord refuseth to give me leave to go with you--This answer has an appearance of being good, but it studiously concealed the reason of the divine prohibition
[Nu 22:12],
and it intimated his own willingness and desire to go--if permitted. Balak despatched a second mission, which held out flattering prospects, both to his avarice and his ambition
(Ge 31:30).
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19, 20. 你们也在这里住宿，我好知道耶和华还要对我说什么——先前所宣告的神旨既不合其心意，他便希望借着第二次请求来改变它，如同他已经扭曲了自己的良心一样，以迁就其骄傲与贪婪的主导情欲。神准许巴兰前往，与神护理的通常程序相符。神常常任凭人随从自己私欲的冲动；但这并不意味着神赞成人如此受其邪恶之心的驱使而行事
(Jos 13:27)。
英文原文
19, 20. tarry ye also here this night, that I may know what the Lord will say unto me more--The divine will, as formerly declared, not being according to his desires, he hoped by a second request to bend it, as he had already bent his own conscience, to his ruling passions of pride and covetousness. The permission granted to Balaam is in accordance with the ordinary procedure of Providence. God often gives up men to follow the impulse of their own lusts; but there is no approval in thus leaving them to act at the prompting of their own wicked hearts
(Jos 13:27).
21
Nu 22:21-41.
Nu 22:21-41.
行程。
21. 巴兰……骑上驴——大概是那种白色活泼的牲口，为有身份之人惯于骑乘的。鞍子如东方通常那样，大概不过是一块垫子或他的外袍。
英文原文
Nu 22:21-41.
THE JOURNEY.
21. Balaam . . . saddled his ass--probably one of the white sprightly animals which persons of rank were accustomed to ride. The saddle, as usually in the East, would be nothing more than a pad or his outer cloak.
22
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22. 神因他去就发了怒——神的不悦，部分因他忽略了蒙准前往的条件——即要等摩押的使臣“来召他”
[Nu 22:20]，
也因他出于对“不义之工价”
[2Pe 2:15]
的贪求，心存秘密的意图，要与神庄严的吩咐相违而行。
英文原文
22. God's anger was kindled because he went--The displeasure arose partly from his neglecting the condition on which leave was granted him--namely, to wait till the princes of Moab "came to call him"
[Nu 22:20],
and because, through desire for "the wages of unrighteousness"
[2Pe 2:15],
he entertained the secret purpose of acting in opposition to the solemn charge of God.
24
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24. 耶和华的使者站在葡萄园的窄路上——穿过田地和葡萄园的路如此狭窄，以至于在大多数路段，一个人若不小心谨慎便无法从牲口旁经过。这些路的两旁有石墙或泥墙，以防雨水冲走泥土。
英文原文
24. the angel of the Lord stood in a path of the vineyards--The roads which lead through fields and vineyards are so narrow that in most parts a man could not pass a beast without care and caution. A stone or mud fence flanks each side of these roads, to prevent the soil being washed off by the rains.
28
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28. 耶和华叫驴开口——使它像鹦鹉一样发出清晰的声音，却不明白其含义。认为这是一个异象的说法似乎难以成立，因为在一篇平铺直叙的史事中间，不太可能把异象描述为实际发生的事。况且驴开口必定是外在的动作，这一点加上彼得言语的明确意思，都有力地支持字面的看法
[彼后 2:15, 16]。
巴兰对这种现象毫不惊讶，可由他全心专注于利益的企图来解释，这企图正是"先知的狂妄"
[彼后 2:16]。
"那是一个神迹，为要叫他骄傲的心谦卑下来；他必须先在驴的学校里被降服，才被引去留心神借天使所说的话"[加尔文]。
英文原文
28. the Lord opened the mouth of the ass--to utter, like a parrot, articulate sounds, without understanding them. That this was a visionary scene is a notion which seems inadmissible, because of the improbability of a vision being described as an actual occurrence in the middle of a plain history. Besides, the opening of the ass's mouth must have been an external act, and that, with the manifest tenor of Peter's language, strongly favors the literal view
[2Pe 2:15, 16].
The absence of any surprise at such a phenomenon on the part of Balaam may be accounted for by his mind being wholly engrossed with the prospect of gain, which produced "the madness of the prophet"
[2Pe 2:16].
"It was a miracle, wrought to humble his proud heart, which had to be first subjected in the school of an ass before he was brought to attend to the voice of God speaking by the angel" [CALVIN].
34
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34, 35. 我有罪了……你若不喜欢，我就转回——尽管他如此承认，却没有显出悔改的心，因为他所说的只是停止外在的行动。"同这些人去"这话，只是撤销进一步的拦阻，但所给的许可比
民 22:20
所用的语气更为绝对、更为强硬。
英文原文
34, 35. I have sinned . . . if it displease thee, I will get me back again--Notwithstanding this confession, he evinced no spirit of penitence, as he speaks of desisting only from the outward act. The words "go with the men" was a mere withdrawal of further restraint, but the terms in which leave was given are more absolute and peremptory than those in
Nu 22:20.
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36, 37. 巴勒听见巴兰来了，就出去迎接他——按礼节，所迎的客人身份越高，便要到越远的地方去迎接。
英文原文
36, 37. when Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him--Politeness requires that the higher the rank of the expected guest, greater distance is to be gone to welcome his arrival.
38
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38. 神将什么话传给我，我就说什么——这似乎是敬虔的回答。他承认自己受一个更高的能力所约束。
英文原文
38. the word that God putteth in my mouth, that shall I speak--This appears a pious answer. It was an acknowledgment that he was restrained by a superior power.
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39. 基列胡琐——即"街道之城"的意思。
英文原文
39. Kirjath-huzoth--that is, "a city of streets."
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40. 巴勒献牛羊——即为巴兰和米甸的众首领预备盛大的筵席。
英文原文
40. Balak offered oxen and sheep--made preparations for a grand entertainment to Balaam and the princes of Midian.
41
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41. 巴力的高处——即为敬拜巴力毗珥（参见
民 25:3 的注释）
或基抹而分别为圣的高地。
英文原文
41. high places of Baal--eminences consecrated to the worship of Baal-peor (see on
Nu 25:3)
or Chemosh.
Nu 22:1-20.
巴勒首次 遣使 请巴兰 被拒。
1. 以色列……在摩押平原安营——此地因原属摩押人而得名，尽管后来被西宏夺去。这是一处干旱低洼的旷野地带，位于约旦河谷以东，与耶利哥相对。