7 英翻中 Genissis chapter four (2). 創世記第四章(2). 14/3/2025

7 英翻中                     Genissis chapter four (2).                  創世記第四章(2).            14/3/2025

We will pray to our Father                                                                                                                        If God the Creator and Lord of the universe is our Father, then it’s reasonable that we should talk to Him about the things that concern us. “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him” (Matt. 6:11 nkjv).                                                                                                                                                            我們會向我們的天父祈禱                                                                                                                            如果宇宙的創造者和主宰神是我們的天父，那麼我們應該向祂談論與我們有關的事情，這是合理的。 「你們雖然不好，尚且知道拿好東西給兒女，何況你們的天父，豈不更將好東西給求他的人嗎？」（太  6:11 新欽定版）                                                                                                            But if God is sovereign and has a plan for His peo ple and His world, why pray? Isn’t praying interfering with God’s will? No, it isn’t. Prayer is one of the means God has ordained to accomplish His will in this world. It has well been said that the purpose of prayer is not to get our will done in heaven but to get God’s will done on earth. “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (6:10). If we don’t ask, we can’t receive (Luke 11:9–10; James 4:1–3); and Jesus, by His example, instruction, and promises, encourages us to ask.                                                                                                                    但如果神是至高無上的，並且對祂的子民和祂的世界有一個計劃，那為什麼還要禱告呢？禱告不是乾涉神的旨意嗎？不，不是。禱告是神命定在這個世界實現祂旨意的方式之一。常言道，禱告的目的不是要讓我們的旨意在天上成就，而是要讓神的旨意在地上成就。 「願祢的旨意行在地上，如同行在天上」（6:10）。如果我們不求，我們就得不到（路 11：9-10；雅各書 4：1-3）；耶穌以祂的榜樣、教導和應許鼓勵我們祈求。                                                                             We pray to the Father because we know He is the Creator and “Lord of heaven and earth.” The great intercessors in the Bible could all say, “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Ps. 121:2). This was true of Abraham (Gen. 14:22), Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:15), the apostles and the early church (Acts 4:24), Paul (Eph. 3:15), and even our Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 10:21). When you focus on the greatness of God, your own problems and burdens will become smaller and lighter.                       我們向天父祈禱，因為我們知道祂是創造者和「天地的主宰」。聖經中偉大的代禱者都可以說：「我的幫助來自創造天地的耶和華」（詩篇 121：2）。亞伯拉罕（創世記 14:22）、希西家（列王紀下 19:15）、使徒和早期教會（使徒行傳 4:24）、保羅（以弗所書 3:15），甚至我們的主耶穌基督（路 10:21）都是如此。當你專注於神的偉大時，你自己的問題和負擔就會變得更小、更輕.                                                                                                                                                               We will not fear to suffer for His sake   “So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good” (1 Peter 4:19 niv). The Greek word translated “commit” is a banking term that means to “deposit for safekeeping” and implies two things: first, that His people are valuable to the Lord, and sec ond, that He is dependable to care for us. “Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 nkjv). After all, if the Creator is able to hold His uni verse together and keep it functioning to accomplish His will, can’t He do the same for our lives, our fami lies, and our ministries? The Creator who knows the number and names of all the stars knows who we are and can meet our deepest needs (Ps. 147:3–6).                                                              我們不會害怕為祂的緣故受苦「所以，那些按上帝旨意受苦的人，應該將自己交託給他們信實的創造主，並繼續行善」（彼得前書 4:19 新國際版）。翻譯為“委身”的希臘文是一個銀行術語，意思是“保管起來”，這意味著兩件事：第一，他的子民對主來說是有價值的；第二，他可靠地看顧我們。 「將你一切的憂慮卸給他，因為他顧念你」（彼得前書 5:7 新欽定版）。畢竟，如果造物主能夠將祂的宇宙維繫在一起並保持其運作以實現祂的旨意，祂難道不能為我們的生活、我們的家庭和我們的事工做同樣的事情嗎？造物主知道所有星星的數量和名字，知道我們是誰，並且能夠滿足我們最深的需要（詩篇 147:3-6）。                                                                      Peter wrote his letter to believers in the Roman Empire who were about to enter the “fiery furnace” (1 Peter 1:7; 4:12ff.) and be persecuted for their faith. But when His people are in the furnace, the Creator keeps His eye on the clock and His hand on the thermostat. He knows how long and how much, and He is always in control.                                                                                                                                  彼得寫這封信給羅馬帝國的信徒，他們即將進入「烈火窯」（彼得前書 1：7；4：12 及其後）並因信仰而受到迫害。但當祂的子民在熔爐中時，造物主的眼睛盯著時鐘，手放在恆溫器上。他知道要持續多久和多少，而且他總是在掌控之中。                                                                          

                                            When through fiery trials thy pathway   考驗時，                                                                                        shall lie,    我的恩典將成為你的供應；                                                                                                      My grace all-sufficient shall be thy supply; 火焰不會傷你；                                                                      The flame shall not hurt thee; I only                                                                                                              design  我只設計你的渣滓來消耗，                                                                                                         Thy dross to consume and thy gold to                                                                                                            refine.    你的金子來提煉。                                                                                                                                                                 John F. Wade    約翰·F·韋德                                                                                                                                                                                                        We will love and serve mankind                                                                                                              When Paul addressed the Greek philosophers on Mars Hill, he gave them a short course in theology and anthropology (Acts 17:22–34). He told them that God was the Creator and didn’t need their man-made tem ples and idols, because He is Lord of heaven and earth. We can’t give God anything because He made every thing, and it’s He who gives to us “life, and breath, and all things” (v. 25).                            我們將愛人類並為人類服務                                                                                                                    當保羅在火星山上向希臘哲學家講話時，他給他們上了神學和人類學的短期課程（使徒行傳 17：22-34）。他告訴他們，上帝是創造者，不需要他們人造的廟宇和偶像，因為祂是天地的主宰。我們不能給神任何東西，因為祂創造了萬物，並且是祂賜給我們「生命、呼吸、萬物」（25節）。                                                                                                                                                            Then Paul ventured into dangerous territory and declared that God made all peoples of “one blood” (v. 26), a statement that must have disturbed the proud Greeks. At that time, they considered themselves a superior people and everybody else “barbarians.” But Paul knew that all peoples sprang from Adam and that all races and nations are one family before the Creator. In His providence, God has allowed nations to rise and fall and even to move to new territories, but they are all His creatures, made of the dust and sustained by His power.                                                                                                                           然後保羅冒險進入危險的領域，宣稱上帝使萬民都是「同一個血統」（第 26 節），這一說法肯定讓驕傲的希臘人感到不安。那時，他們認為自己是上等人，其他人都是「野蠻人」。但保羅知道萬民都源自亞當，所有種族和國家在造物主面前都是一家人。在祂的旨意中，上帝允許國家興衰，甚至遷移到新的領土，但他們都是祂的創造物，由塵土製成，靠祂的力量維持。             In the Old Testament law, God commanded the Israelites to show kindness to the strangers and foreign ers in their midst (Ex. 23:9; Lev. 19:34; 23:22; Deut. 10:17–19; 26:1–11). Jesus showed mercy to Gentiles as well as to Jews, and He used a Samaritan as an example of a good neighbor (Luke 10:25–37). Some of the Jews in the early church had a problem accepting the Gentiles, but God made it clear that there was no place for prejudice among His people (Acts 10; 11:1–24; 15:1–29; Gal. 3:26–29).                 在舊約律法中，上帝命令以色列人要善待他們中間的外人和外族人（出 23:9；利 19:34；23:22；申 10:17-19；26:1-11）。耶穌對外邦人和猶太人都表現出憐憫，祂以撒瑪利亞人為好鄰居的榜樣（路加福音10：25-37）。早期教會中的一些猶太人在接受外邦人方面存在問題，但上帝明確表示，祂的子民中沒有偏見（使徒行傳10；11：1-24；15：1-29；加拉太書3：26-29）。          As long as there are needs to be met, we must be neighbors to one another and help one another. It isn’t enough to be faithful in our religious duties; we must also be compassionate toward the needy (Isa. 58:6–11; 1 John 3:16–24; James 2:14–17). Even if people aren’t professed believers in Christ, they are humans made in the image of God; and we must do what we can for them.                                                        只要有需要，我們就要做鄰居，互相幫忙。忠於我們的宗教義務是不夠的；我們也必須履行我們的宗教義務。我們也必須對有需要的人表示同情（以賽亞書 58：6-11；約翰一書 3：16-24；雅各書 2：14-17）。即使人們不自稱是基督的信徒，他們也是按照上帝形象創造的人；我們必須為他們盡我們所能。                                                                                                                                One December day, my wife and I were driving to see her family in Wisconsin, and our car skidded off the road into the ditch. We weren’t hurt and the car wasn’t damaged, but we didn’t know how the two of us could manage to get the car back on the road. A few minutes later, three men driving by saw our plight, stopped the car, and got out to help us. They didn’t ask our nationality or our religious convictions; they sim ply went to work and got our car out of the ditch. We thanked them profusely and they went on their way. What the Scottish poet Robert Burns called “man’s inhumanity to man” certainly wasn’t evident that day!                                                                                                                           12 月的某一天，我和妻子開車去威斯康辛州探望她的家人，我們的車從路上滑進了溝裡。我們沒有受傷，汽車也沒有損壞，但我們不知道我們兩個如何讓汽車回到路上。幾分鐘後，三個開車經過的男人看到我們的困境，停下車，下車來幫助我們。他們沒有問我們的國籍或宗教信仰；他們只問我們的國籍。他們只是去上班，把我們的車從溝裡救了出來。我們向他們致以深深的謝意，他們就繼續趕路了。蘇格蘭詩人羅伯特·伯恩斯所說的「人對人的不人道行為」在那天顯然並不明顯！                                                                                                                                            The Jewish scholar Abraham Joshua Heschel called race prejudice “the maximum of hatred for the mini mum of reason.” But if we’re all made “of one blood,” how can we despise and mistreat one another; for in so doing, we also hurt ourselves.                                                                                                     猶太學者亞伯拉罕‧約書亞‧赫舍爾 (Abraham Joshua Heschel) 將種族偏見稱為「對最小理性的最大仇恨」。但如果我們都是“同一種血統”，我們怎麼能互相鄙視和虐待呢？因為這樣做的同時，我們也傷害了自己。

We will read and study God’s Word                                                                                                        我們將閱讀和學習上帝的話語                                                                                                              “Your hands have made and fashioned me; give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments” (Ps. 119:73 nkjv). The hands that wove us in our mother’s womb (139:13–16) also wrote the Word to guide us in our daily lives.1 When you purchase a new car or a new appliance, you read the instruction manual to make sure you understand how it works. The Bible is the “instruction manual” for life; it tells us where we came from, what we are, and what God expects us to do. The God who made us knows best how we should live, and if we ignore His counsel and warning, we’re heading for trouble. To manage our lives without obeying His Word is like flying an airplane without first having read the manual and taken flight instruction: we’re heading for a fall!                                                        「你的手創造並塑造了我；求祢賜我悟性，使我學習祢的誡命」（詩篇 119:73 新欽定版）。在我們母親的子宮裡編織我們的雙手 (139:13-16) 也寫下聖經來指導我們的日常生活。聖經是人生的「說明書」；它告訴我們我們從哪裡來，我們是誰，以及上帝期望我們做什麼。創造我們的上帝最清楚我們應該如何生活，如果我們忽視祂的勸告和警告，我們就會陷入困境。不遵守祂的話語來管理我們的生活就像在沒有先閱讀手冊並接受飛行指令的情況下駕駛飛機一樣：我們正在走向墜落！                                                                                                                                                        The Lord has a divine purpose for each of us to ful fill, and we discover that purpose by reading His Word and obeying it. “The Lord will perfect that which con cerns me: Your mercy, O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands” (138:8 nkjv). The Lord wants to guide each of us and enable us to enjoy what He’s planned for us, but we have to be willing to cooperate. To ignore the Bible is to abandon the great est “life manual” ever given to mankind.                                                                           主對我們每個人都有一個神聖的目的要實現，我們透過閱讀祂的話語並遵守它來發現這個目的。 「耶和華必成全與我有關的事；耶和華啊，祢的慈愛永遠長存；不可離棄你手所造的」（138:8 新欽定版）。主希望引導我們每個人，使我們能夠享受祂為我們所計劃的，但我們必須願意合作。忽視聖經就是放棄人類有史以來最偉大的「生活手冊」。                                                             “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowl edge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Prov. 3:5–6 nkjv). Certainly we must use our minds and think things through, but we must not lean on our own rea soning apart from God’s Word. Common sense told young David that the giant Goliath was bigger and stronger than he, but faith said that God would defeat the giant (1 Sam. 17). Human reason told the three Hebrew men that the fiery furnace would cremate them, but faith said that God could protect and pre serve them (Dan. 3). “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17 nkjv).                                                          「你要全心信賴主，不要靠自己的聰明；在你一切所行的事上，當認定他，他必指引你的路」（箴 3:5-6 新欽定版）。當然，我們必須用我們的頭腦思考問題，但我們不能脫離神的話語而依靠自己的推理。常識告訴年輕的大衛，巨人歌利亞比他更大、更強，但信仰說上帝會打敗巨人（撒母耳記上 17）。人類的理性告訴這三個希伯來人，火爐會把他們火化，但信仰說上帝可以保護和保存他們（但  3）。 「可見信道是從聽道來的，聽道是從基督的話來的」（羅馬書 10:17 新欽定版）。 

        God is the Creator, and He’s given His creatures a book that helps them understand who He is, how He works, and what He wants them to do. It’s a book of precepts to obey, promises to believe, and principles to understand. It’s also a book about real people, some of whom obeyed the Lord and some who didn’t, and from the experiences of these people, we can learn a great deal about what to avoid on the path of life.                                                                                                                                                      上帝是創造者，祂給了祂的創造物一本幫助他們了解祂是誰、祂如何工作以及祂希望他們做什麼的書。這是一本需要遵守的戒律、需要相信的承諾、需要理解的原則。這也是一本關於真實人物的書，有些人服從了主，有些人則沒有，從這些人的經歷中，我們可以學到很多關於在人生道路上應該避免的事情。                                                                                                                        We should by all means learn all we can, but every thing we learn must be tested by the Word of God. American physicist and Nobel Prize recipient Robert A. Millikan said, “I consider an intimate knowledge of the Bible an indispensable qualification of a well-edu cated man.” Yale University professor William Lyon Phelps agreed when he said, “Everyone who has a thor ough knowledge of the Bible may truly be called educated … I believe knowledge of the Bible without a college course is more valuable than a college course without the Bible.”                                                                                                 我們應該盡一切努力去學習，但我們所學的每一件事都必須經過神的話語的檢驗。美國物理學家、諾貝爾獎得主羅伯特·密立根說：“我認為對聖經的深入了解是一個受過良好教育的人不可或缺的資格。”耶魯大學教授威廉·里昂·菲爾普斯對此表示同意，他說：“每個對聖經有透徹了解的人都可以真正被稱為受過教育……我相信沒有大學課程的聖經知識比沒有聖經的大學課程更有價值。”                                                                                                                                                          If you believe that God is your Creator, and that you’re living in His universe, then listen to what He has to say and obey it, for that’s the secret of true fulfill ment and success (Josh. 1:7–9).                               如果你相信神是你的創造者，並且你生活在他的宇宙中，那麼請聆聽他所說的話並服從他，因為這是真正滿足和成功的秘訣（書1：7-9）。                                                                                     

Endnote   尾註                                                                                                                                                   

1 In Psalm 139, after David ponders his being made by God in the womb, he immediately mentions the     Word of God (vv. 17–18)                                                                                                                          1 在詩篇 139 篇中，大衛思考自己在腹中被神造之後，立即提到神的道（17-18 節）