1
1Ki 13:1-22.
英文原文
1Ki 13:1-22.
JEROBOAM'S HAND WITHERS.
1. there came a man of God out of Judah--Who this prophet was cannot be ascertained, He came by divine authority. It could not be either Iddo or Ahijah, for both were alive after the events here related.
Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense--It was at one of the annual festivals. The king, to give interest to the new ritual, was himself the officiating priest. The altar and its accompaniments would, of course, exhibit all the splendor of a new and gorgeously decorated temple. But the prophet foretold its utter destruction
[1Ki 13:3].
2
無標題
2-9. 他向壇呼喊——這是指以色列所設立的整套敬拜制度。
看哪,必有一子降生……名叫約西亞——這是聖經所記最引人注目的預言之一;其清晰、細節的詳盡,以及對三百六十年後才發生之事的精準預告,與異教那些晦澀含糊的神諭形成鮮明對比。這預言既是公開宣講的,百姓必已家喻戶曉;凡活在預言應驗之時的猶太人,必都確信與這樣一則預言相連的宗教是真實的。神又賜下一個當下的記號,作為那遙遠應驗之事的憑據——壇上奇蹟般地出現一道可見的裂縫。耶羅波安惱怒此人言辭放肆,伸出手來,吩咐隨從拿下這大膽的闖入者。就在那一刻,王的手臂僵住不能動彈,祭壇也裂開,火和灰燼散落在地上。耶羅波安為自己不敬的後果所震懾,便求先知為他禱告。他的請求蒙了應允,手便恢復如常。耶羅波安心懷詭詐,邀請先知赴王宮宴席,並非為表示敬意或為手得醫治而感恩,而是想以禮遇和慷慨的款待來籠絡一個他用權勢無法壓服的人。但先知告訴他,神有明令嚴禁他與那地方任何人有任何社交來往,也不可從原路返回。不可在伯特利吃喝,是因為那裏的百姓全都背棄了真宗教;而不許他從原路回去,是怕他被來時所見之人認出。
英文原文
2-9. he cried against the altar--which is put for the whole system of worship organized in Israel.
Behold, a child shall be born . . . Josiah by name--This is one of the most remarkable prophecies recorded in the Scriptures; and, in its clearness, circumstantial minuteness, and exact prediction of an event that took place three hundred sixty years later, it stands in striking contrast to the obscure and ambiguous oracles of the heathen. Being publicly uttered, it must have been well known to the people; and every Jew who lived at the accomplishment of the event must have been convinced of the truth of a religion connected with such a prophecy as this. A present sign was given of the remote event predicted, in a visible fissure being miraculously made on the altar. Incensed at the man's license of speech, Jeroboam stretched out his hand and ordered his attendants to seize the bold intruder. That moment the king's arm became stiff and motionless, and the altar split asunder, so that the fire and ashes fell on the floor. Overawed by the effects of his impiety, Jeroboam besought the prophet's prayer. His request was acceded to, and the hand was restored to its healthy state. Jeroboam was artful, and invited the prophet to the royal table, not to do him honor or show his gratitude for the restoration of his hand, but to win, by his courtesy and liberal hospitality, a person whom he could not crush by his power. But the prophet informed him of a divine injunction expressly prohibiting him from all social intercourse with any in the place, as well as from returning the same way. The prohibition not to eat or drink in Beth-el was because all the people had become apostates from the true religion, and the reason he was not allowed to return the same way was lest he should be recognized by any whom he had seen in going.
11
無標題
11. 有一個老先知住在伯特利——他若是真先知,卻是個壞人。
英文原文
11. Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el--If this were a true prophet, he was a bad man.
18
無標題
18. 天使藉著耶和華的話對我說——這種拐彎抹角的說法——不直截了當地說「耶和華對我說」——是為掩飾一個含糊其辭、隱藏雙重含義的說法——對「天使」一詞給予次一等的意義——為要給先知一個看似更高的權威來說服他,而實際上這權威說者自己暗中知道是較低的。「天使」,即「使者」,是他自己的兒子們,他們是伯特利的敬拜者,也許是那裏的祭司。這人既為私利所驅使,想要討好王(他恐怕王因所發生的奇事而動搖,不再堅持他的宗教政策),便急忙追趕猶大的先知,他所行的欺騙,以及以謊言為根據而力請這位過於輕信的神人同他回伯特利家中,都是為要在王心中造成一個印象:這人是個騙子,他的作為與他自己所宣稱的相矛盾。
英文原文
18. an angel spake unto me by the word of the Lord--This circuitous mode of speaking, instead of simply saying, "the LORD spake to me," was adopted to hide an equivocation, to conceal a double meaning--an inferior sense given to the word "angel"--to offer a seemingly superior authority to persuade the prophet, while really the authority was secretly known to the speaker to be inferior. The "angel," that is, "messenger," was his own sons, who were worshippers, perhaps priests, at Beth-el. As this man was governed by self-interest, and wished to curry favor with the king (whose purpose to adhere to his religious polity, he feared, might be shaken by the portents that had occurred), his hastening after the prophet of Judah, the deception he practised, and the urgent invitation by which, on the ground of a falsehood, he prevailed on the too facile man of God to accompany him back to his house in Beth-el, were to create an impression in the king's mind that he was an impostor, who acted in opposition to his own statement.
21
無標題
21. 他對那從猶大來的神人呼喊——更應作「它呼喊」,即耶和華的話。
英文原文
21. he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah--rather, "it cried," that is, the word of the Lord.
23
1Ki 13:23-32.
1Ki 13:23-32.
不順從的先知被獅子咬死。
英文原文
1Ki 13:23-32.
THE DISOBEDIENT PROPHET SLAIN BY A LION.
24
無標題
24. 有獅子在路上遇見他,把他咬死了——伯特利附近有一片樹林,常有獅子出沒
(2Ki 2:24)。
這可悲的災禍是神嚴厲卻必要的判罰,為要證實先知所奉信息的真實。這悲劇的一切細節(屍體未被吞吃,驢子未被觸動,過路人雖然獅子站在那裏卻未被攻擊),都使人不得不相信其中有神的手。
英文原文
24. a lion met him by the way, and slew him--There was a wood near Beth-el infested with lions
(2Ki 2:24).
This sad catastrophe was a severe but necessary judgment of God, to attest the truth of the message with which the prophet had been charged. All the circumstances of this tragic occurrence (the undevoured carcass, the untouched ass, the passengers unmolested by the lion, though standing there) were calculated to produce an irresistible impression that the hand of God was in it.
31
無標題
31. 求你把我的屍骨葬在那神人所在的墳墓裏——他作此請求的動機,或是為使自己的遺骸在預言應驗時不被騷擾(參
2Ki 23:18),
或是出於某種迷信的希望,想在復活時因與神人同葬一洞而得好處。
英文原文
31. bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried--His motive in making this request was either that his remains might not be disturbed when the predicted events took place (see
2Ki 23:18),
or he had some superstitious hope of being benefited at the resurrection by being in the same cave with a man of God.
1Ki 13:1-22.
耶羅波安的手枯乾
1. 有一個神人從猶大來——這位先知是誰,無從查考。他是奉神的權柄而來的。他既不是易多,也不是亞希雅,因為此二人在這段事件之後仍然在世。
耶羅波安站在壇旁要燒香——當時正逢一年一度的節期之一。君王為了給新的禮儀增添趣味,竟親自擔任主禮的祭司。祭壇及其附屬之物,當然會展現出一座嶄新而裝飾華美的聖殿的一切輝煌。但先知卻預言了它的徹底毀滅
[1Ki 13:3]。