1
Ne 2:1-20.
日本語
英文原文
Ne 2:1-20.
ARTAXERXES, UNDERSTANDING THE CAUSE OF NEHEMIAH'S SADNESS, SENDS HIM WITH LETTERS AND A COMMISSION TO BUILD AGAIN THE WALLS OF JERUSALEM.
1. it came to pass in the month Nisan--This was nearly four months after he had learned the desolate and ruinous state of Jerusalem
(Ne 1:1).
The reasons for so long a delay cannot be ascertained.
I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king--XENOPHON has particularly remarked about the polished and graceful manner in which the cupbearers of the Median, and consequently the Persian, monarchs performed their duty of presenting the wine to their royal master. Having washed the cup in the king's presence and poured into their left hand a little of the wine, which they drank in his presence, they then handed the cup to him, not grasped, but lightly held with the tips of their thumb and fingers. This description has received some curious illustrations from the monuments of Assyria and Persia, on which the cupbearers are frequently represented in the act of handing wine to the king.
2
無標題
日本語
2-5. 王は私に言った、あなたの顔はどうして悲しそうなのか--王の前に喪服や悲しみのしるしを带着現れることは極めてふさわしくないと見なされていた(エステル記 4:2)。
それゆえ王がその献酌官の落胆した様子に驚いたのは不思議ではない。一方その侍臣も、突然始まった会話の結果に対する深い懸念のゆえに動揺を増した。しかし彼の敬虔と強烈な真剣さは直ちに[ネヘミヤに]落ち着いた自制を回復させ、まず自分の悲しみの原因(ネヘ 2:3)を、次いで、父祖たちの都の古い栄光を蘇らせる誉れある器となりたいという彼の愛国的願いを伝えることを可能にした。
英文原文
2-5. the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad?--It was deemed highly unbecoming to appear in the royal presence with any weeds or signs of sorrow
(Es 4:2);
and hence it was no wonder that the king was struck with the dejected air of his cupbearer, while that attendant, on his part, felt his agitation increased by his deep anxiety about the issue of the conversation so abruptly begun. But the piety and intense earnestness of the man immediately restored [Nehemiah] to calm self-possession and enabled him to communicate, first, the cause of his sadness
(Ne 2:3),
and next, the patriotic wish of his heart to be the honored instrument of reviving the ancient glory of the city of his fathers.
6
無標題
日本語
6-9. 王后も彼のそばに座っていた--ペルシャの君主たちは国の祝宴に妻たちが同席することを認めなかったので、これは私的な場でなければならなかった。ここで言及された王后はおそらくエステルであり、彼女の存在はネヘミヤが自分の願いを述べるのに大いに勇気を与えたであろう。そして彼女の影響力が--愛国的な計画への同情をもって強力に及ぼされたと想定されるが--によって、彼の嘆願は認められた。ユダの副総督として赴任し、軍の護衛を伴い、エルサレムでの建築のための材料を得て、またその事業を促進するために必要なあらゆる援助を得る完全な権限を与えられた。
私は彼に時を定めた--城壁を築くのに大いなる迅速さが示されたことを考えると、この休暇は最初は一年か六か月に限られ、その後シュシャンの職務に戻ったと考えられる。彼の帰還の時を定めたこと、またエルサレムの再要塞化というこれほど重要な働きを彼に委ねたことは、ネヘミヤがペルシャの宮廷で享受した高い恩寵と信頼、そしてその奉仕が高く評価されていたことを証明する。後になって彼はユダの事柄をより良く整えるための新たな委任を受け、その州の総督として十二年間留まった（ネヘ 5:14）。
英文原文
6-9. the queen also sitting by him--As the Persian monarchs did not admit their wives to be present at their state festivals, this must have been a private occasion. The queen referred to was probably Esther, whose presence would tend greatly to embolden Nehemiah in stating his request; and through her influence, powerfully exerted it may be supposed, also by her sympathy with the patriotic design, his petition was granted, to go as deputy governor of Judea, accompanied by a military guard, and invested with full powers to obtain materials for the building in Jerusalem, as well as to get all requisite aid in promoting his enterprise.
I set him a time--Considering the great despatch made in raising the walls, it is probable that this leave of absence was limited at first to a year or six months, after which he returned to his duties in Shushan. The circumstance of fixing a set time for his return, as well as entrusting so important a work as the refortification of Jerusalem to his care, proves the high favor and confidence Nehemiah enjoyed at the Persian court, and the great estimation in which his services were held. At a later period he received a new commission for the better settlement of the affairs of Judea and remained governor of that province for twelve years
(Ne 5:14).
7
無標題
日本語
7. 川の向こうの総督たちに与える書状を私に与えられるように--この時のペルシャ帝国は広大を極め、インダス川から地中海にまで及んでいた。ユーフラテス川は帝国を東西の二つの部分に自然に分かつ境界と見なされていた（エズ 5:3の注解を見よ）。
英文原文
7. letters be given me to the governors beyond the river--The Persian empire at this time was of vast extent, reaching from the Indus to the Mediterranean. The Euphrates was considered as naturally dividing it into two parts, eastern and western (see on
Ezr 5:3).
8
無標題
日本語
8. 私の神の恵みの御手が私の上にあったので--ネヘミヤの敬虔はあらゆる状況に現れる。彼の愛国的計画の着想、王の好意的な態度、そして事業の成功は、すべて神に帰される。
英文原文
8. according to the good hand of my God upon me--The piety of Nehemiah appears in every circumstance. The conception of his patriotic design, the favorable disposition of the king, and the success of the undertaking are all ascribed to God.
10
無標題
日本語
10. ホロン人サンバラテ--ホロナイムはモアブの町であったので、この人物はおそらくモアブ人であった。
アンモン人であるしもべトビヤ--用いられた言葉は、彼が解放された奴隷で、何らかの官職の尊厳にまで引き上げられたことを示す。これらはシリアの総督の管轄下の地方長官であり、サマリヤの一派の指導者であったと思われる。
英文原文
10. Sanballat the Horonite--Horonaim being a town in Moab, this person, it is probable, was a Moabite.
Tobiah the servant, the Ammonite--The term used indicates him to have been a freed slave, elevated to some official dignity. These were district magistrates under the government of the satrap of Syria; and they seem to have been leaders of the Samaritan faction.
11
無標題
日本語
11, 12. こうして私はエルサレムに来て、そこに三日いた--エルサレムの荒廃に深く心を痛め、どうすべきか確信が持てず、彼は自分の使命の目的を誰にも知らせる前に三日間留まった[ネヘ 2:17, 18]。三日目の終わりに、少数の従者を伴い、夜の隠れ蓑の下に、城壁と城門の秘密の査察を行った[ネヘ 2:13-15]。
英文原文
11, 12. So I came to Jerusalem, and was there three days--Deeply affected with the desolations of Jerusalem, and uncertain what course to follow, he remained three days before informing any one of the object of his mission
[Ne 2:17, 18].
At the end of the third day, accompanied with a few attendants, he made, under covert of night, a secret survey of the walls and gates
[Ne 2:13-15].
13
無標題
日本語
13-15. 私は夜、谷の門から出た--すなわちヒピコスの塔の近くのヤッファの門。
龍の井戸の前まで--すなわち谷の向かい側の泉。
糞の門まで--町の東の門で、これを通って共同の下水がケデロン川とヒノムの谷に通じていた。
英文原文
13-15. I went out by night by the gate of the valley--that is, the Jaffa gate, near the tower of Hippicus.
even before the dragon well--that is, fountain on the opposite side of the valley.
and to the dung port--the gate on the east of the city, through which there ran a common sewer to the brook Kedron and the valley of Hinnom.
14
無標題
日本語
14. 次に--すなわちエッセネ人の門を通り過ぎた後。
私は泉の門へ進んだ--すなわちシロアで、そこからオペルの泉を巡って進んだ。
王の池に行ったが、私の下にいた獣の通る場所がなかった--すなわちこの池（ソロモンの池）のそばには水があり、その周りに瓦礫が多すぎて獣の通行が許されなかった。
英文原文
14. Then--that is, after having passed through the gate of the Essenes.
I went on to the gate of the fountain--that is, Siloah, from which turning round the fount of Ophel.
to the king's pool: but there was no place for the beast that was under me to pass--that is, by the sides of this pool (Solomon's) there being water in the pool, and too much rubbish about it to permit the passage of the beast.
15
無標題
日本語
15. そのとき私は……川に沿って上った--すなわちケデロン。
谷の門から入って、こうして帰った--町の東、ヨシャパテの谷に通じる門。彼はこの門から出て、町を一周してから再びこの門から入った[BARCLAY（バークレー）, City of the Great King（『大王の都』）]。
英文原文
15. Then went I up . . . by the brook--that is, Kedron.
and entered by the gate of the valley, and so returned--the gate leading to the valley of Jehoshaphat, east of the city. He went out by this gate, and having made the circuit of the city, went in by it again [BARCLAY, City of the Great King].
16
無標題
日本語
16-18. つかさたちは知らなかった--翌日、長老たちを集めたネヘミヤは自分の委任状を提示し、彼らにそのわざを助けるよう勧めた。彼の資格書類の光景と、その語りかけと模範の励ましの調子は、彼らの落ち込んだ霊を大いに蘇らせ、影響力のある何人かの苦々しいあざけりと嘲笑にもかかわらず、直ちに建築を始めることを決意させた。
英文原文
16-18. the rulers knew not--The following day, having assembled the elders, Nehemiah produced his commission and exhorted them to assist in the work. The sight of his credentials, and the animating strain of his address and example, so revived their drooping spirits that they resolved immediately to commence the building, which they did, despite the bitter taunts and scoffing ridicule of some influential men.
ネヘ 2:1-20.
アルタクセルクスがネヘミヤの悲しみの原因を悟り、エルサレムの城壁を再び建てるために書簡と委任状を与えて彼を遣わす。
1. ニサンの月に--これは彼がエルサレムの荒廃した状態を知ってから(ネヘ 1:1)ほぼ四か月後のことであった。
このように長く遅れた理由は確定できない。
私はぶどう酒を取って王にささげた--クセノフォン(XENOPHON)は、メディアの、ひいてはペルシャの君主たちの献酌官たちが、王にぶどう酒をささげる務めをいかに洗練され優雅に行ったかについて特に述べている。彼らは王の前で杯を洗い、そのぶどう酒を少し左手に注いで王の前で飲み、その後杯を王に手渡したが、握りしめるのではなく親指と指の先で軽く持って渡した。この描写はアッシリアとペルシャの記念碑から興味深い例証を得ている。そこには献酌官が王にぶどう酒を渡す姿がしばしば描かれている。