SARAH
——《列王纪上》第14章
— 1 Kings Chapter 14
话说罗波安作王第五年的时候，日子过得不那么太平。
Now, in the fifth year of Rehoboam’s reign, things were not going so peacefully.
这一天，从埃及传来了一个坏消息——
One day, bad news came from Egypt—
埃及王示撒带着大军打过来了！
King Shishak of Egypt was coming with a great army!
这支军队可不是一般的阵势。
This was no ordinary army.
示撒带着一千二百辆战车、六万马兵，身后还有从埃及跟随他出来的吕比人、苏基人和古实人。
Shishak brought 1,200 chariots and 60,000 horsemen, along with the Libyans, Sukkites, and Cushites who followed him out of Egypt.
那人马多得到什么程度？
How numerous was this army?
圣经说：
The Bible says:
“多得不可胜数。”
“They were without number.”
只见战车滚滚，马兵成群，大军浩浩荡荡，一路向着犹大奔驰而来。
Chariots rolled along, horsemen filled the land, and the huge army marched toward Judah.
犹大这边见事情不妙。
The people of Judah saw that things were going badly.
示撒一路攻下每个坚固的城。
Shishak captured the fortified cities one after another.
最后——
Finally—
示撒的大军来到了耶路撒冷！
Shishak’s great army arrived at Jerusalem!
此时此刻，罗波安王和犹大的众首领心里都明白：
At that moment, King Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah all understood:
事情闹大了。
Things had become very serious.
就在这个时候，示罗人先知示玛雅来到耶路撒冷，见了罗波安王和犹大的众首领。
At that very moment, Shemaiah the prophet from Shiloh came to Jerusalem and met with King Rehoboam and the leaders of Judah.
示玛雅没有绕弯子，直接把耶和华的话告诉他们：
Shemaiah did not beat around the bush. He directly told them the word of the LORD:
“耶和华如此说：
“This is what the LORD says:
你们离弃了我，所以我使你们落在示撒手里。
You have forsaken me, so I have given you into the hand of Shishak.
”话一说完，罗波安和众首领顿时安静了。
As soon as he finished speaking, Rehoboam and the leaders became silent.
原来是这样，他们还一直在想：
So that was the reason. Until then, they had been wondering:
“为什么埃及王突然打过来了？”
“Why has the king of Egypt suddenly come against us?”
“为什么我们坚固的城守不住？”
“Why can’t our fortified cities hold out?”
“为什么敌人的大军这么快就来到了耶路撒冷？”
“Why did the enemy army reach Jerusalem so quickly?”
现在他们终于明白了。
Now they finally understood.
当然凡事都有原因。
Of course, there is a reason for everything.
是因为他们离弃了耶和华。
It was because they had forsaken the LORD.
于是，以色列的众首领和王都谦卑下来。
So the leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves.
他们不再为自己辩解，也没有把责任推给别人。
They no longer made excuses for themselves, nor did they blame others.
他们承认：
They admitted:
“耶和华是公义的。”
“The LORD is righteous.”
是我们自己离弃了神，如今遭遇这样的事情，是我们应当承受的。”
We ourselves have forsaken God, and now that these things have happened to us, we deserve what has come upon us.”
耶和华看见他们谦卑下来，就对示玛雅说：
When the LORD saw that they had humbled themselves, he said to Shemaiah:
“他们既自卑，我必不灭绝他们，要使他们略得拯救。
“Since they have humbled themselves, I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance.
我的怒气必不借着示撒倒在耶路撒冷。
My anger will not be poured out on Jerusalem through Shishak.
然而他们必作示撒的仆人，好叫他们知道，服事我与服事外邦人有什么分别。”
However, they will become servants of Shishak, so that they may learn the difference between serving me and serving the kingdoms of other lands.”
听到这里，你就会发现——
When you hear this, you will notice—
神虽然管教他们，却没有把他们彻底毁灭。
Although God disciplined them, he did not completely destroy them.
他们愿意谦卑，神就向他们施怜悯。
When they humbled themselves, God showed them mercy.
不过，管教还是要临到。
However, discipline still had to come.
很快，示撒的大军攻取了耶路撒冷。
Soon, Shishak’s army captured Jerusalem.
进城以后，示撒可没有空手回去。
After entering the city, Shishak certainly did not leave empty-handed.
他进入耶和华的殿，把殿里的宝物全部夺走。
He entered the temple of the LORD and took away all the treasures in the temple.
随后又进入王宫，把王宫里的宝物也都带走。
Then he entered the royal palace and took away all the treasures from the palace as well.
甚至连所罗门王当年制造的——
He even took what King Solomon had made—
金盾牌！
The gold shields!
也被示撒夺走了。
Shishak took them away.
想当年所罗门作王的时候，以色列国何等富足，何等荣耀。
Think about the days when Solomon was king—how wealthy and glorious the kingdom of Israel was.
金子做的盾牌，在阳光照耀下闪闪发光。
The shields made of gold would shine brightly in the sunlight.
如今呢？
But now?
一切成空。
It was all gone.
罗波安王一看：
When King Rehoboam saw this:
“这可怎么办？”
“What are we going to do?”
金盾牌已经没了，总不能以后王出门连盾牌都没有吧？
The gold shields were gone. Surely the king could not go out without shields from then on, could he?
于是罗波安下令：
So Rehoboam gave an order:
“赶紧制造盾牌！”
“Quickly, make shields!”
可是这一次，已经不是金盾牌了。
But this time, they were no longer gold shields.
而是——
Instead—
铜！
Bronze!
这些铜盾牌交给守王宫门的护卫长看守。
These bronze shields were given to the commanders of the royal guard who guarded the entrance of the palace.
以后罗波安每次进入耶和华的殿，护卫兵就拿着盾牌跟在他后面。
Whenever Rehoboam entered the temple of the LORD, the guards would carry the shields and follow behind him.
等王办完事情以后，再把盾牌送回护卫室。
After the king had finished what he needed to do, they would return the shields to the guardroom.
想想这场面。
Just imagine the scene.
王依旧是那个王。
The king was still the king.
护卫兵依旧是护卫兵。
The guards were still the guards.
盾牌也还是有。
There were still shields.
仪式也还在继续。
The ceremony continued as before.
可是——
But—
金盾牌已经不在了。
The gold shields were gone.
曾经的荣耀，已经一去不复返了。
The glory they once had was gone and would not return.
圣经随后记载罗波安其余所行的事情，都写在《犹大列王记》上。
The Bible then records that the rest of the acts of Rehoboam were written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah.
罗波安在位的时候，还常常和所罗门的儿子耶罗波安争战。
During Rehoboam’s reign, he was often at war with Jeroboam, the son of Solomon.
可是无论王位多么尊贵，人终究还是会走到生命的尽头。
But no matter how honored a king’s throne may be, every person eventually comes to the end of life.
最后，罗波安与他的列祖同睡。
Finally, Rehoboam rested with his ancestors.
他被葬在大卫城他列祖的坟地里。
He was buried in the city of David with his ancestors.
他的母亲名叫拿玛，是亚扪人。
His mother’s name was Naamah, an Ammonite.
后来，他的儿子亚比央接续他作王。
Later, his son Abijah succeeded him as king.
这一段故事，就这样结束了。
And that is how this part of the story ends.”