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Nu 23:1-30.
英文原文
Nu 23:1-30.
BALAK'S SACRIFICES.
1. Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here seven altars--Balak, being a heathen, would naturally suppose these altars were erected in honor of Baal, the patron deity of his country. It is evident, from
Nu 23:4
that they were prepared for the worship of the true God; although in choosing the high places of Baal as their site and rearing a number of altars
(2Ki 18:22; Isa 17:8; Jer 11:13; Ho 8:11; 10:1),
instead of one only, as God had appointed, Balaam blended his own superstitions with the divine worship. The heathen, both in ancient and modern times, attached a mysterious virtue to the number seven; and Balaam, in ordering the preparation of so many altars, designed to mystify and delude the king.
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3. 你站在你的燔祭旁边——如同一等候重要恩惠的人。
或者耶和华迎见我；他指示我什么——即借言语或记号使我知晓。
他往高处去了——独自到一处，在那里可行礼仪和仪式，以求获得神谕的回应。
英文原文
3. Stand by thy burnt offering--as one in expectation of an important favor.
peradventure the Lord will come to meet me: and whatsoever he showeth me--that is, makes known to me by word or sign.
he went to an high place--apart by himself, where he might practise rites and ceremonies, with a view to obtain a response of the oracle.
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4-6. 神迎见巴兰——并非因着他的法术，而是为要挫败他的恶谋，并迫使他违背自己的欲望与利益，说出以下的祝福
[Nu 23:8-10]。
英文原文
4-6. God met Balaam--not in compliance with his incantations, but to frustrate his wicked designs and compel him, contrary to his desires and interests, to pronounce the following benediction
[Nu 23:8-10].
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7. 题起诗歌——即在默示之下说话，用先知那高度诗意、比喻性和神谕式的体裁。
从亚兰把我领来——此词与“东方的山”连用，指美索不达米亚的上部，位于摩押以东。东方以术士和占卜者之多而臭名昭著
(Isa 2:6)。
英文原文
7. took up his parable--that is, spoke under the influence of inspiration, and in the highly poetical, figurative, and oracular style of a prophet.
brought me from Aram--This word joined with "the mountains of the East," denotes the upper portion of Mesopotamia, lying on the east of Moab. The East enjoyed an infamous notoriety for magicians and soothsayers
(Isa 2:6).
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8. 神没有咒诅的，我焉能咒诅？——神的祝福已宣告在雅各的后裔之上；因此，无论我的法术能成就何等奇事，一切术法、一切人力，都全然无力抵挡神的旨意。
英文原文
8. How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?--A divine blessing has been pronounced over the posterity of Jacob; and therefore, whatever prodigies can be achieved by my charms, all magical skill, all human power, is utterly impotent to counteract the decree of God.
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9. 从山顶——字面作岩石上的“一处光秃之地”，即巴兰被带到的高处；因人们认为必须看见那当灭的百姓。然而这居高临下的景观对达成王的目的毫无助益，因为以色列的命定乃是成为一个独特的、特别的子民，在政体、宗教、习俗和神的保护上与其余列国分别出来
(De 33:28)。
因此，我虽或能如你所愿对付别的民族，对他们却无能为力
(Ex 19:5; Le 20:24)。
英文原文
9. from the top--literally, "a bare place" on the rocks, to which Balak had taken him, for it was deemed necessary to see the people who were to be devoted to destruction. But that commanding prospect could contribute nothing to the accomplishment of the king's object, for the destiny of Israel was to be a distinct, peculiar people, separated from the rest of the nations in government, religion, customs, and divine protection
(De 33:28).
So that although I might be able to gratify your wishes against other people, I can do nothing against them
(Ex 19:5; Le 20:24).
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10. 谁能数点雅各的尘土？——这是东方夸张的说法，指一个人口极多的民族，正如雅各的后裔所应许的那样
(Ge 13:16; 28:14)。
以色列的四分之一——即营分为四个编制；其中每一部分的人数都不可轻忽。
愿我如义人之死而死——希伯来文作“如耶书仑之死”；或指以色列人。意思是：这是一个蒙福的百姓，胜过一切别的百姓，不仅在生时如此，在死时亦然，因他们认识真神，并因他的恩典而有盼望。巴兰代表了世上一类为数众多的人：他们表示羡慕基督所应许赐给他百姓的福分，却不愿效法基督的心志。
英文原文
10. Who can count the dust of Jacob?--an Oriental hyperbole for a very populous nation, as Jacob's posterity was promised to be
(Ge 13:16; 28:14).
the number of the fourth part of Israel--that is, the camp consisted of four divisions; every one of these parts was formidable in numbers.
Let me die the death of the righteous--Hebrew, "of Jeshurun"; or, the Israelites. The meaning is: they are a people happy, above all others, not only in life, but at death, from their knowledge of the true God, and their hope through His grace. Balaam is a representative of a large class in the world, who express a wish for the blessedness which Christ has promised to His people but are averse to imitate the mind that was in Him.
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13-15. 来……随我到别处去，在那里你可以看见他们——巴勒对这出乎意料的对以色列的颂赞既惊讶又失望，便希望若从不同的观察点观看，先知会说出不同的感受；于是他作了同样庄严的预备，巴兰便如前一般退下，等候神的默感。
英文原文
13-15. Come, . . . with me unto another place, from whence thou mayest see them--Surprised and disappointed at this unexpected eulogy on Israel, Balak hoped that, if seen from a different point of observation, the prophet would give utterance to different feelings; and so, having made the same solemn preparations, Balaam retired, as before, to wait the divine afflatus.
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14. 领他到了琐腓田……毗斯迦山顶——山脉之巅的一片平坦地面，是已耕种之地。另有人译作“哨兵之田”，是巴勒的守卫驻守以发信号的一处高地 [CALMET]。
英文原文
14. he brought him into the field of Zophim . . . top of Pisgah--a flat surface on the summit of the mountain range, which was cultivated land. Others render it "the field of sentinels," an eminence where some of Balak's guards were posted to give signals [CALMET].
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18, 19. 起来——因巴勒已经站着
(Nu 23:17)，
这表达等于说“现在你留意听我”。神关于以色列的筹算和应许是不改变的；要劝他反悔其旨意的任何尝试都不会成功——人对人或许可以，对神却不能。
英文原文
18, 19. Rise up--As Balak was already standing
(Nu 23:17),
this expression is equivalent to "now attend to me." The counsels and promises of God respecting Israel are unchangeable; and no attempt to prevail on Him to reverse them will succeed, as they may with a man.
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21. 他未见雅各中有罪孽——这百姓有许多罪被察觉并受罚。但尚未出现如此普遍而无望的背道，以致诱使神弃绝或毁灭他们。
耶和华他的神与他们同在——即恩待他们。
有欢呼王的声音在他们中间——即如百姓在得胜君王面前欢欣那样的欢呼。
英文原文
21. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob--Many sins were observed and punished in this people. But no such universal and hopeless apostasy had as yet appeared, to induce God to abandon or destroy them.
the Lord his God is with him--has a favor for them.
and the shout of a king is among them--such joyful acclamations as of a people rejoicing in the presence of a victorious prince.
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22. 他似乎有独角之力——以色列如今不再如出埃及时那样，是一群贫穷、软弱、无精打采的人，而是如 reem——即犀牛——一般强大无敌
(Job 39:9; Ps 22:21; 92:10)。
英文原文
22. he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn--Israel is not as they were at the Exodus, a horde of poor, feeble, spiritless people, but powerful and invincible as a reem--that is, a rhinoceros
(Job 39:9; Ps 22:21; 92:10).
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23. 雅各啊，断没有法术可以加害于你——没有任何法术能胜过一个在全能者的盾牌之下、且为其行了神迹、将来仍要行神迹的百姓——这些神迹将成为后世赞叹的主题。
英文原文
23. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob--No art can ever prevail against a people who are under the shield of Omnipotence, and for whom miracles have been and yet shall be performed, which will be a theme of admiration in succeeding ages.
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26. 凡耶和华所说的，我必须遵行——这是一个非凡的告白，表明他受神的约束，不得不说与他本意和倾向相反的话。
英文原文
26. All that the Lord speaketh, that I must do--a remarkable confession that he was divinely constrained to give utterances different from what it was his purpose and inclination to do.
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28. 巴勒领巴兰到毗珥山顶——即伯毗珥
(申 3:29)，
其上有一座巴力的庙宇。
面向旷野——即巴勒斯坦南边的旷野地带，位于死海两侧。
英文原文
28. Balak brought Balaam unto the top of Peor--or, Beth-peor
(De 3:29),
the eminence on which a temple of Baal stood.
that looketh toward Jeshimon--the desert tract in the south of Palestine, on both sides of the Dead Sea.
Nu 23:1-30.
巴勒的 祭物。
1. 巴兰对巴勒说：你在这里为我筑七座坛——巴勒身为异教徒，自然以为这些坛是为了尊崇其国家的守护神巴力而设立的。然而从
Nu 23:4
可以看出，这些坛是为敬拜真神而预备的；尽管巴兰选择巴力的高处作为坛址，并筑了许多坛
(2Ki 18:22; Isa 17:8; Jer 11:13; Ho 8:11; 10:1),
而非照神所指定的只筑一座坛，可见巴兰将自己的迷信掺杂于敬拜之中。古今的异教徒都将神秘的效能归于数字七；巴兰吩咐预备这么多坛，意在故弄玄虚、迷惑这位王。