列王紀下 3
1 猶大王約沙法特十八年，阿哈布的兒子耶曷蘭在撒瑪黎雅登極作以色列王，在位凡十二年。
After Jehoshaphat had been ruling Judah for almost 18 years, Ahab’s son Joram became the king of Israel. He ruled in Samaria [city] for twelve years.
2 他行了上主視為惡的事，不過還不像他的父親和母親那樣壞，因此他除去了他父親所立的巴耳神柱，
He did things that Yahweh considered to be evil, but he did not do as much evil as his father and mother had done, and he got rid of the pillar [for worshiping] Baal which his father had made.
3 只是對乃巴特的兒子雅洛貝罕使以色列陷於罪過的事，仍戀戀不捨，從未脫離。
But he committed the sins that [King] Jeroboam had committed and which led the Israeli people to sin, and he did not stop committing those sins.
4 摩阿布人默沙原是一個以畜牧為業的人，他經常以十萬隻羔羊和十萬隻公山羊毛，巷以色列王進貢；
Mesha, the king of Moab, raised sheep. [Every year] he was forced to give 100,000 lambs and the wool from 100,000 rams to the king of Israel, [because his kingdom was controlled by the king of Israel].
5 但在阿哈布死後，摩阿布王便背叛了以色列王。
But after King Ahab died, Mesha rebelled against the king of Israel.
6 那時，耶曷蘭王從撒瑪黎雅出來，檢閱全以色列人，
So King Joram left Samaria and gathered together all his soldiers.
7 以後派使者去見猶大王約沙法特說：「摩阿布王背叛了我，你願意同我一起去攻打摩阿布嗎﹖」約沙法特說：「願意去；你怎樣，我也怎樣；我的人民就如同是你的人民，我的馬就如同是你的馬。」
Then he sent this message to Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah: “The king of Moab has rebelled against me. So will your army join my army and fight against the army of Moab?” Jehoshaphat replied, “Yes, we will help you. We are ready to do whatever you want us to. My soldiers and my horses are ready to help you.”
8 約沙法特接著問說：「我們從哪條路上去﹖」耶曷蘭答說：「從厄東曠野那條路。」
He asked, “On which road shall we march to attack them?” Joram replied, “We will go [south to Jerusalem, where your army will join us. Then we will all go south of the Dead Sea, and then turn north] through the Edom Desert.”
9 於是以色列王、猶大王和厄東王出發，繞道而行，七天以後，軍隊和隨行的一大隊牲畜沒有水喝。
So the king of Israel [and his army] went with the kings of Judah and Edom [and their armies]. They marched for seven days. Then there was no water left for their soldiers or for their animals that carried supplies.
10 以色列王說：「哎! 上主召集這三個王子，原是將他們交在摩阿布手中啊! 」
The king of Israel exclaimed, “This is a terrible situation! [It seems that] Yahweh will allow the three of us to be captured by [the army of] [MTY] Moab!”
11 約沙法特問說：「這裏有沒有一位上主的先知，我們可以託他求問上主﹖」以色列王的一個臣僕回答說：「這裏有沙法特的兒子厄里叟，就是常在厄里亞手上倒水的那一位。」
Jehoshaphat said, “Is there a prophet here who can ask Yahweh for us [what we should do]?” One of Joram’s army officers said, “Elisha, the son of Shaphat, is here. He was Elijah’s assistant.” [IDM]
12 約沙法特說：「他必有上主的話。」以色列王、約沙法特和厄東王，於是一同下去見他。
Jehoshaphat said, “[It will be good to ask him, because] he speaks what Yahweh tells him to say.” So those three kings went to Elisha.
13 厄里叟對以色列王說：「我和你有什麼關係﹖你去找你父親和你母親的先知罷! 」以色列王說：「不要這樣說! 上主召集了這三個王子，原是要將他們交於摩阿布手中啊! 」
Elisha said to the king of Israel, “Why do you come to me [RHQ]? Go and ask those prophets that your father and mother consulted!” But Joram replied, “No, [we want you to ask Yahweh, because it seems that] Yahweh is going to allow us three kings to be captured by the army of Moab.”
14 厄里叟說：「我指著我所服事的永生萬軍的上主起示：我如果不是為了猶大王約沙法特的情面，我決不看你，也不睬你。
Elisha replied, “I serve Yahweh, the commander of the armies of angels in heaven. As surely as he lives, if I did not respect Jehoshaphat the king of Judah, I would not even think about doing anything to help you.
15 現在，你們給我叫一個彈琴的人來。」原來每逢樂師彈琴的時候，上主的手就臨到他身上。
But, bring a musician to me.” [So they did that]. And when the musician played [on his harp], the power of Yahweh came on Elisha.
16 厄里叟說：「上主這樣說：你們在這山谷中遍挖壕溝，
He said, “Yahweh says that he will cause this dry stream-bed to be full of water.
17 因為上主這樣說：你們不見風，也不見雨，這山谷中卻要充滿了水，使你們、你們的軍隊和牲畜都有水喝。
The result will be that your soldiers and your animals that carry supplies and your livestock will have plenty of water to drink.
18 這在上主看來還是小事，他還要將摩阿布交在你們手中，
That is not difficult for Yahweh to do. [But he will do more than that]. He will also enable you to defeat [the army of] Moab.
19 使你們攻破所有設防的城市，砍倒所有的好樹，杜塞所有的水泉，用石頭毀壞所有的良田。」
You will conquer all their beautiful cities, cities that have high walls around them. You must cut down all their fruit trees, stop water from flowing from their springs, and ruin their fertile fields by covering them with rocks.”
20 果然，早上正獻祭的時候，從厄東方面來了大水，遍地滿了水。
The next morning, at the time when they offered the sacrifices [of grain], they were surprised to see water flowing from Edom and covering the ground.
21 全摩阿布人一聽說三個王子前來進攻，就召集了所有能佩帶武器的人，把守邊界。
When the people of Moab heard that the three kings had come [with their armies] to fight against them, all the men who were able to fight in battles, from the youngest men to the oldest ones, were summoned, and they (took their positions/prepared to fight) at the [southern] border of their land.
22 第二天早晨，日光照在水上，摩阿布人起來，看見對面的水紅得像血，
But when they rose early the next morning, they saw that the water across from them appeared to be as red as blood.
23 遂說：「這是血! 一定是那三個王子彼此混戰，互相殘殺。摩阿布，起來，前去奪取財物! 」
They exclaimed, “It is blood! The three enemy armies must have fought and killed each other! So let’s go and take everything that they have left!”
24 及至他們到了以色列營地，以色列人即奮起迎敵，摩阿布人從他們面前逃走，他們就乘勢追趕，擊殺摩阿布人，
But when they reached the area where the Israeli soldiers had set up their tents, the Israelis attacked the soldiers from Moab and forced them to retreat. The Israeli soldiers pursued the soldiers from Moab and killed many of them.
25 破壞了他們的城市，個個用石頭拋滿了他們的良田，杜塞了所有的水泉，砍倒了各種好樹；只剩下克爾赫勒斯城，拋石頭的人仍包圍攻擊那城。
The Israelis also destroyed their cities. And whenever they passed fertile fields, they threw rocks on those fields, until the fields were covered with rocks. They stopped water from flowing from the springs and cut down the fruit trees. Finally, only [the capital city, ] Kir-Hareseth, remained. The Israeli soldiers who threw stones with slings surrounded the city and attacked it.
26 摩阿布王見戰事激烈，難以敵抗，就帶領七百人，手持刀劍，企圖突圍，往投阿蘭王，卻沒有成功；
When the king of Moab realized that his army was being defeated, he took with him 700 men who fought with swords, and they tried to force a way through the Israeli lines of soldiers to escape to [get help from] the king of Syria, but they were unable to escape.
27 於是將那要繼承自己位的長子叫來，在城牆上祭殺了，作為全燔祭。這事使天主向以色列人大發忿怒；他們便離開摩阿布王，各自回了本地。
Then the king of Moab took his oldest son, who would have become the next king, and killed him and offered him for a sacrifice [to their god Chemosh], burning him on top of the city wall. The Israeli soldiers were horrified, with the result that they left that city and returned to their own country.
