SARAH
（《列王纪下》8章）约兰王与以东人反叛
(2 Kings 8) King Jehoram and the Rebellion of Edom
（《列王纪下》8:16–24；《历代志下》21章）
(2 Kings 8:16–24; 2 Chronicles 21)
犹大王约沙法的儿子约兰登基了。
Jehoram, the son of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, became king.
那时，以色列也有一个王，是亚哈的儿子，也叫约兰。
At that time, Israel also had a king named Jehoram, the son of Ahab.
以色列王约兰在位第五年，约沙法还在作王的时候，他的儿子约兰就开始接续父亲作王了。
In the fifth year of Jehoram son of Ahab, while Jehoshaphat was still king, his son Jehoram began to succeed his father as king.
约兰三十二岁登基，在耶路撒冷作王八年。
Jehoram was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for eight years.
以前的故事里提到过这个约兰，他跟他父亲约沙法不太一样。
We have mentioned this Jehoram in earlier stories, and he was quite different from his father Jehoshaphat.
约沙法算是一个忠心于耶和华的人，但他有一个严重的失误：他与亚哈家联了姻，让自己的儿子娶了亚哈的女儿。
Jehoshaphat was generally a man who was faithful to the Lord, but he made a serious mistake: he formed a marriage alliance with Ahab’s family and allowed his son to marry Ahab’s daughter.
这一步，后果落在了下一代身上。
That decision brought consequences upon the next generation.
约兰骨子里就背弃了耶和华。
Jehoram turned away from the Lord in his heart.
好的不学，偏偏以以色列那些坏王为榜样，行亚哈家的道，沉沦在污秽和不洁之中。
Instead of learning from what was good, he followed the example of Israel’s wicked kings, walking in the ways of Ahab’s family and sinking into corruption and uncleanness.
更糟的是，亚哈家的影响就在他枕边，他也越来越偏离耶和华。
Even worse, the influence of Ahab’s family was right beside him, and he drifted farther and farther away from the Lord.
他坐稳王位之后，做的第一件事，是杀了自己所有的兄弟，还杀了几个犹大的首领。
After he firmly established himself on the throne, the first thing he did was kill all his brothers and also several leaders of Judah.
他又在犹大的山上建立丘坛，引诱耶路撒冷的居民和犹大人离弃耶和华。
He also built high places in the mountains of Judah and led the people of Jerusalem and Judah astray, causing them to turn away from the Lord.
不过，神没有因为约兰这样愚蠢，就立刻把犹大灭了。
Yet God did not immediately destroy Judah because of Jehoram’s wickedness.
原因是神记得祂与大卫立的约。
The reason was that God remembered the covenant He had made with David.
经上说：
Scripture says:
耶和华却因他仆人大卫的缘故，不肯灭绝犹大，照他所应许大卫的话，永远赐灯光给他的子孙。（《列王纪下》8:19）
Yet the Lord was not willing to destroy Judah, for the sake of David his servant, since he had promised to give a lamp to him and his descendants forever. (2 Kings 8:19)
可是约兰自己作的选择，后果也是真实存在的。
But the consequences of Jehoram’s own choices were also very real.
约兰作王的时候，以东人先坐不住了，反叛犹大，不愿意再受犹大王的管制，自己立了王。
When Jehoram was king, the people of Edom were the first to rebel. They refused to remain under the control of the king of Judah and appointed their own king.
约兰一看，这样下去不行，就带着军长和所有的战车往撒益去了。
Seeing that things could not go on like this, Jehoram went to Zair with his military commanders and all his chariots.
他被以东人和他们的战车长围困，夜间起来，冲出了重围。
He was surrounded by the Edomites and their chariot commanders, but during the night he rose up and broke through the encirclement.
可是跟随他的百姓却四散奔逃，各自逃回自己的帐棚。
But the people who followed him scattered and fled, each returning to his own tent.
从那以后，以东就脱离了犹大的辖制，自己独立了，直到经文写成的时候，仍然如此。
From that time on, Edom broke free from Judah’s control and became independent, and it remained so to the time of this writing.
祸不单行，那时不光以东闹起来，立拿城也同时反了。
Trouble came one after another; it was not only Edom that rebelled, but Libnah rebelled at the same time.
经上说得很清楚，原因是约兰离弃了耶和华他列祖的神。
Scripture makes the reason very clear: Jehoram had forsaken the Lord, the God of his ancestors.
后来，先知以利亚给约兰写了一封信，警告他：你的百姓、妻子、儿女和财物，都要遭遇大灾，你自己也要患上重病，肠子要渐渐坠落。
Later, the prophet Elijah wrote a letter to Jehoram, warning him that his people, wives, children, and possessions would suffer great disaster, and that he himself would suffer a severe illness in which his intestines would gradually fall out.
不久，耶和华就激动非利士人和靠近古实的阿拉伯人来攻打犹大，掳走了王宫里所有的财物，连约兰的妻子和儿子也被掳去，只剩下最小的儿子亚哈谢。
Soon afterward, the Lord stirred up the Philistines and the Arabs who lived near the Cushites to attack Judah. They carried away all the possessions from the royal palace, and even Jehoram’s wives and sons were taken away, leaving only his youngest son, Ahaziah.
之后，约兰患上了无法医治的肠病，痛苦了两年，最后死了。
After this, Jehoram suffered from an incurable intestinal disease, endured great pain for two years, and finally died.
他的儿子亚哈谢接续他作了王。
His son Ahaziah succeeded him as king.
他死的时候，没有人思念他，也没有被葬在列王的坟墓里。
When he died, no one mourned him, and he was not buried in the tombs of the kings.
故事讲到这里，值得我们深思：
At this point in the story, there are some important things for us to reflect on:
第一，与不敬虔的人深度联结，影响的往往不只是自己，还有下一代。
First, forming deep connections with ungodly people often affects not only ourselves, but also the next generation.
第二，神的信实，不等于我们可以放纵。
Second, God’s faithfulness does not mean that we can live however we please.
第三，选择是有真实后果的。
Third, our choices have real consequences.