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被掳之民向 神的哀求

137 我们曾坐在巴比伦的河畔,

在那里我们一想起锡安就哭了。

我们把我们的琴

挂在那里的柳树上。

因为在那里,掳掠我们的人要我们唱歌,

苦待我们的人要我们娱乐他们;

他们说:“为我们唱一首锡安歌吧!”

我们怎能在异族之地

唱耶和华的歌呢?

耶路撒冷啊!如果我忘记你,

情愿我的右手忘记技巧(“忘记技巧”或译:“枯干”)。

如果我不记念你,

如果我不高举耶路撒冷

超过我最大的喜乐,

情愿我的舌头紧贴上膛。

耶和华啊!求你记念以东人在耶路撒冷遭难的日子所行的,

他们说:“拆毁它,拆毁它,

直拆到根基。”

将要被毁灭的(“将要被毁灭的”有古译本作“毁灭者”)巴比伦城(“城”原文作“女子”)啊!

照着你待我们的行为报复你的,

那人有福了。

抓住你的婴孩

摔在盘石上的,

那人有福了。

A Prayer for Revenge

Beside the rivers of Babylon
we thought about Jerusalem,
    and we sat down and cried.
We hung our small harps
    on the willow[a] trees.
Our enemies had brought us here
    as their prisoners;
now they wanted us to sing
    and entertain them.
They insulted us and shouted,
    “Sing about Zion!”

Here in a foreign land,
how can we sing
    about the Lord?
Jerusalem, if I forget you,
    let my right hand go limp.
Let my tongue stick
    to the roof of my mouth,
if I don't think about you
    above all else.

Our Lord, punish the Edomites!
On the day Jerusalem fell,
    they shouted,
“Completely destroy the city!
    Tear down every building!”

(A) Babylon, you are doomed!
    I pray the Lord's blessings
on anyone who punishes you
    for what you did to us.
May the Lord bless everyone
who beats your children
    against the rocks!

Footnotes

  1. 137.2 willow: Or “poplar.”

被擄者的哀歌

137 我們坐在巴比倫河畔,
想起錫安禁不住淒然淚下。
我們把琴掛在柳樹上。
俘虜我們的人要我們唱歌,
擄掠我們的人要我們歌唱,說:
「給我們唱一首錫安的歌。」
我們流落異邦,
怎能唱頌讚耶和華的歌呢?
耶路撒冷啊,倘若我忘了你,
情願我的右手無法再撥弄琴弦;
倘若我忘了你,
不以你為我的至愛,
情願我的舌頭不能再歌唱。

耶和華啊,
求你記住耶路撒冷淪陷時以東人的行徑。
他們喊道:
「拆毀這城,把它夷為平地!」
巴比倫城啊,
你快要滅亡了,
那向你以牙還牙為我們復仇的人有福了!
那抓住你的嬰孩摔在石頭上的人有福了!

Psalm 137[a]

137 By the rivers of Babylon
we sit down and weep[b]
when we remember Zion.
On the poplars in her midst
we hang our harps,
for there our captors ask us to compose songs;[c]
those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying:[d]
“Sing for us a song about Zion!”[e]
How can we sing a song to the Lord
in a foreign land?
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
may my right hand be crippled.[f]
May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
and do not give Jerusalem priority
over whatever gives me the most joy.[g]
Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell.[h]
They said, “Tear it down, tear it down,[i]
right to its very foundation!”
O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated,[j]
how blessed will be the one who repays you
for what you dished out to us.[k]
How blessed will be the one who grabs your babies
and smashes them on a rock.[l]

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 137:1 sn Psalm 137. The Babylonian exiles lament their condition, vow to remain loyal to Jerusalem, and appeal to God for revenge on their enemies.
  2. Psalm 137:1 tn Heb “there we sit down, also we weep.”
  3. Psalm 137:3 tn Heb “ask us [for] the words of a song.”
  4. Psalm 137:3 tn Heb “our [?] joy.” The derivation and meaning of the Hebrew phrase תוֹלָלֵינוּ (tolalenu, “our [?]”) are uncertain. A derivation from תָּלַל (talal, “to mock”) fits contextually, but this root occurs only in the Hiphil stem. For a discussion of various proposals, see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 236.
  5. Psalm 137:3 tn Heb “from a song of Zion.” Most modern translations read, “one of the songs of Zion,” taking the preposition מִן (min, “from”) as partitive and “song” as collective. The present translation assumes the mem (ם) is enclitic, being misunderstood later as the prefixed preposition.
  6. Psalm 137:5 tn Heb “may my right hand forget.” In this case one must supply an object, such as “how to move” or “its skill.” The elliptical nature of the text has prompted emendations (see L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 [WBC], 236). The translation assumes an emendation to תִּכְשַׁח (tikhshakh), from an otherwise unattested root כָּשַׁח (kashakh), meaning “to be crippled; to be lame.” See HALOT 502 s.v. כשׁח, which cites Arabic cognate evidence in support of the proposal. The difficulty of the MT can be explained as an error of transposition facilitated by the use of שָׁכַח (shakhakh, “forget”) just before this.
  7. Psalm 137:6 tn Heb “if I do not lift up Jerusalem over the top of my joy.”
  8. Psalm 137:7 tn Heb “remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom, the day of Jerusalem.”
  9. Psalm 137:7 tn Heb “lay [it] bare, lay [it] bare.”
  10. Psalm 137:8 tn Heb “O devastated daughter of Babylon.” The psalmist dramatically anticipates Babylon’s demise.
  11. Psalm 137:8 tn Heb “O the happiness of the one who repays you your wage which you paid to us.”
  12. Psalm 137:9 sn For other references to the wholesale slaughter of babies in the context of ancient Near Eastern warfare, see 2 Kgs 8:12; Isa 13:16; Hos 13:16; Nah 3:10.