SARAH
话说这一天，北国以色列的耶罗波安王，正站在伯特利坛旁边烧香。
One day, Jeroboam king of the northern kingdom of Israel was standing beside the altar at Bethel, burning incense.
这地方本来应该是敬拜耶和华的？
Wasn’t this place supposed to be a place where the LORD was worshiped?
可耶罗波安偏偏放了两个金牛犊，还在伯特利设了祭坛。
But Jeroboam had deliberately set up two golden calves and established an altar at Bethel.
就在这个时候——
And just at that moment—
从犹大来了一个神人。
A man of God came from Judah.
这个神人可不是来串门儿的。
This man of God wasn’t there just to pay a casual visit.
他是奉了耶和华的命令，专门来伯特利传话的。
He had come to Bethel specifically because the LORD had commanded him to deliver a message.
只见他往那坛前一站，张口就喊：
He stood before the altar and called out:
“坛哪！坛哪！
“Altar! Altar!
耶和华如此说：
This is what the LORD says:
大卫家里以后必生一个儿子，名叫约西亚。
A son will be born to the house of David, and his name will be Josiah.
他要把在你这坛上烧香的邱坛祭司杀掉，人的骨头也要烧在你这坛上！”
He will kill the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones will be burned on you!”
这还没完。
But that wasn’t all.
神人又说：“耶和华还给你一个预兆：
The man of God continued, “The LORD has also given you a sign:
这坛哪，必要裂开！坛上的灰，也要撒下来！”
This altar will surely split apart, and the ashes on it will be poured out!”
这话说得够狠吧？这不是跟王商量。这是奉神的命令，直接宣告神的审判。
That was pretty strong, wasn’t it? He wasn’t negotiating with the king. He was delivering God’s command and directly declaring God’s judgment.
耶罗波安王一听，脸当时就沉下来了。
When King Jeroboam heard this, his face immediately darkened.
心想：“嘿！你跑这儿来，当着我的面说这些？你什么意思？”
He thought, “Hey! You come here and say all this right in front of me? What do you mean by that?”
于是他伸手一指神人，大喊一声：
So he pointed at the man of God and shouted:
“拿住他！”
“Seize him!”
可就在这时候——
But right at that moment—
奇怪的事发生了。
Something strange happened.
王伸出去的那只手，突然就枯干了！
The king’s outstretched hand suddenly became withered!
想收回来却收不回来！
He tried to pull it back, but he couldn’t!
想弯一下，也弯不了！
He tried to bend it, but he couldn’t!
紧接着，神人刚才说的预兆也应验了。
Then the sign the man of God had just spoken about came to pass.
“咔嚓！”
“Crack!”
坛——裂开了！
The altar—split apart!
坛上的灰，也哗啦一下撒了下来。
And the ashes on the altar spilled down.
这下耶罗波安可傻眼了。
Now Jeroboam was completely stunned.
刚才还威风凛凛的王，这会儿手也坏了，坛也裂了。
The king who had just been so commanding now had a useless hand, and the altar had split apart.
于是他赶紧跟神人服软说：
So he quickly humbled himself before the man of God and said:
“哎呀！神人哪，你马上帮我祷告一下吧！
“Oh, man of God, please pray for me right away!
求耶和华你神施恩，让我的手恢复过来！”
Ask the LORD your God to show me mercy and restore my hand!”
神人也没多说什么。就向耶和华祷告。
The man of God didn’t say much. He prayed to the LORD.
结果——
And then—
王的手恢复了。
The king’s hand was restored.
耶罗波安一看手好了，态度马上变了。
When Jeroboam saw that his hand had been restored, his attitude immediately changed.
刚才还要抓人呢，现在像什么都没发生一样跟那人说：
Just moments ago he wanted to seize the man, but now he spoke to him as if nothing had happened:
“神人哪，你跟我回宫去我要请你吃美味！我还要给你点赏赐。”
“Man of God, come back to the palace with me. I want to give you a good meal! I’ll also give you a reward.”
可神人摇摇头说：
But the man of God shook his head and said:
“你就是把一半家产给我，我也不跟你进去。
“Even if you gave me half of your possessions, I would not go in with you.
我也不在你这里吃喝。
I will not eat or drink here either.
因为耶和华已经吩咐我：
For the LORD has commanded me:
不可在伯特利吃饭喝水，也不可从原路回去。”
‘You must not eat or drink at Bethel, and you must not return by the same road you came.’”
说完，神人掉头就走。还真不走原来的路。神人守住了神的命令。
After saying this, the man of God turned around and left. And sure enough, he did not take the same road back. The man of God kept the command of God.
伯特利有一个老先知。
There was an old prophet living in Bethel.
他的几个儿子回来以后，把刚才发生的事情一五一十告诉了他。
After his sons returned, they told him everything that had just happened.
“父亲啊，你不知道，今天来了个神人！
“Father, you wouldn’t believe it! A man of God came today!
他对着坛说了一大堆话。
He spoke a whole bunch of words against the altar.
结果王的手都枯干了，坛也裂了！”
And the king’s hand became withered, and the altar split apart!”
老先知一听，赶紧问：
When the old prophet heard this, he quickly asked:
“那个人现在去哪儿了？”
“Where did that man go?”
儿子们告诉他往不同的方向走了。
His sons told him which direction the man had gone.
老先知一听：
When the old prophet heard that, he said:
“给我备头驴！”
“Prepare a donkey for me!”
于是骑上驴就追。
So he mounted the donkey and went after him.
追了半天，终于在橡树底下看见了神人。
After chasing him for a while, he finally found the man of God sitting under an oak tree.
老先知问：“你是不是从犹大来的那位神人？”
The old prophet asked, “Are you the man of God who came from Judah?”
神人说：“是。”
The man of God said, “Yes.”
老先知说：“走，跟我回家咱们边吃边聊。”
The old prophet said, “Come with me to my house. We can eat and talk.”
神人赶紧摇头：“不行。
The man of God quickly shook his head. “No.
耶和华已经吩咐我了，我不能在这里停留，也不能从原路回去。”
The LORD has already commanded me. I cannot stay here, and I cannot return by the same road.”
可老先知接下来来了这么一句：
But then the old prophet said something unexpected:
“我也是先知，跟你一样。
“I am also a prophet, just like you.
而且刚才有天使奉耶和华的命令对我说：
And an angel spoke to me by the command of the LORD, saying:
‘你去把这个神人带回家，让他在你那里吃喝。’”
‘Go and bring this man of God back to your house, so that he may eat and drink there.’”
你看。
You see.
这句话听起来是不是特别像真的？
Doesn’t that sound very convincing?
“我也是先知。”
“I am also a prophet.”
“有天使告诉我。”
“An angel told me.”
“是耶和华的命令。”
“It is the command of the LORD.”
听起来挺合情合理的。
It sounds pretty reasonable.
可圣经直接告诉我们：
But the Bible tells us directly:
这是老先知在欺骗神人。
The old prophet was deceiving the man of God.
可问题是神人明明已经知道耶和华亲口给他下的命令。
But the problem was that the man of God already knew the command that the LORD Himself had given him.
怎么现在又来了一个自称先知的人说：
So how could someone who claimed to be a prophet now come along and say:
“神又给我传了一个新命令。”
“God has given me a new command.”
神人该听谁的呢？
Whom should the man of God listen to?
要是你你怎么做？
What would you do if you were him?
不过在圣经上，神人跟着老先知回家了。
But in the biblical account, the man of God went back home with the old prophet.
就在他们吃饭的时候——
And while they were eating—
突然！
Suddenly!
耶和华的话临到这个老先知。
The word of the LORD came to the old prophet.
这回可不是老先知自己说的。
This time, the old prophet was not speaking on his own.
是耶和华真的对他说话。
It was truly the LORD speaking to him.
老先知转过头，对神人说：
The old prophet turned to the man of God and said:
“耶和华如此说：你既然违背耶和华的话，
“This is what the LORD says: Because you have disobeyed the word of the LORD,
没有遵守你神所吩咐你的命令，
and have not kept the command your God gave you,
你违背了耶和华的命令在不该待的地方吃喝，所以你的尸身不得进入你列祖的坟墓。”
you have disobeyed the LORD’s command by eating and drinking in a place where you were not supposed to remain. Therefore, your body will not be buried in the tomb of your ancestors.”
此时此刻，屋子里一下子安静了。神人也吃完了。
At that moment, the room suddenly became silent. The man of God finished eating.
老先知给他备好驴。
The old prophet prepared a donkey for him.
神人就骑着驴上路了。
The man of God mounted the donkey and set out.
谁能想到？
Who would have thought?
刚走没多远——
He had not gone very far—
竟然出现了一头狮子。
when suddenly a lion appeared.
“吼！”
“Roar!”
狮子向神人身上扑去，一下子把神人咬死了。
The lion pounced on the man of God and killed him.
他的尸身倒在路上。
His body fell on the road.
可奇怪的是——
But strangely—
驴没有跑。
the donkey did not run away.
狮子也没有吃他的尸体。
And the lion did not eat his body.
就这么一前一后地站在那里。
They simply stood there, one on each side.
尸体躺在中间。
The body lay between them.
后来有人路过，看见这个场景，赶紧跑回伯特利告诉城里的人。
Later, someone passed by, saw this strange scene, and hurried back to Bethel to tell the people in the city.
老先知听见消息以后，叹了一口气，说：
When the old prophet heard the news, he sighed and said:
“这就是那个违背耶和华命令的神人。
“This is the man of God who disobeyed the command of the LORD.
耶和华让他遭遇这样的事，正如耶和华借着他所说的一样。”
The LORD has allowed this to happen to him, just as the LORD had spoken through him.”
于是老先知又说：“给我备驴。”
Then the old prophet said, “Prepare a donkey for me.”
他赶了过去，把神人的尸身驮回来。
He went there and brought back the body of the man of God on the donkey.
然后把他安葬在自己的坟墓里。
Then he buried him in his own tomb.
他们为神人哀哭：“哀哉！我兄啊！”
They mourned for the man of God, saying, “Alas, my brother!”
葬完以后，老先知还对自己的儿子说：
After the burial, the old prophet also said to his sons:
“等我死了以后，你们把我也葬在这个神人的坟墓里。
“When I die, bury me in the tomb where this man of God is buried.
把我的尸骨放在他的尸骨旁边。
Place my bones beside his bones.
因为他奉耶和华的命，指着伯特利的坛，以及撒玛利亚各城的邱坛所说的话，将来一定会应验。”
Because the words he spoke by the command of the LORD against the altar at Bethel and against the high places in the cities of Samaria will surely come to pass.”
故事讲到这里，你可能以为：
At this point in the story, you might think:
“王看见这么大的神迹，手枯干又恢复，坛也裂了，那他总该悔改了吧？”
“The king saw such great signs—his hand became withered and was restored, and the altar split apart. Surely he would repent now, right?”
结果——
But the result was—
没有。
No.
耶罗波安还是照样走自己的老路。
Jeroboam continued down his old path.
还是不离开他的恶道。
He still did not turn away from his evil ways.
他继续从百姓中间随便立人做邱坛的祭司。
He continued to appoint people from among the common people as priests for the high places.
谁愿意干，他就让谁干。
Whoever was willing to do it, he appointed.
结果呢？
And what was the result?
圣经最后给出一个非常沉重的结论：
The Bible gives a very solemn conclusion:
这事成为耶罗波安家的罪，使他的家从地上除灭。
This became the sin of the house of Jeroboam, and it led to the destruction of his house from the face of the earth.