章节研读
Sirach 16 — Divine Judgment and the Order of Creation
Sirach 16 warns against trusting in ungodly offspring, surveys God's past judgments on sinners, and rebukes the thought that God is indifferent — then praises the hidden yet reliable order of creation.
经文
- 1.上帝惩罚罪人 不要贪恋多子多孙，也不要因有不虔诚的儿子而欢喜God’s Punishment of Sinners Do not desire a multitude of useless children, nor rejoice in ungodly sons.
- 2.他们即使繁多，也不可以因他们而欢喜，除非他们中有耶和华的恐惧。If they multiply, do not rejoice in them, unless the fear of the Lord is in them.
- 3.不要因为他们的生存而感到安全，也不要因为他们的人数众多而依靠他们，因为一个人胜过一千人，宁可无子而死，也不愿有不虔诚的孩子。Do not trust in their survival, and do not rely on their multitude; for one is better than a thousand, and to die childless is better than to have ungodly children.
- 4.一个明白事理的人使城邑居民满满，一个恶族使城邑荒芜。For through one man of understanding a city will be filled with people, but through a tribe of lawless men it will be made desolate.
- 5.我眼见过许多这样的事，我的耳听见过比这些更奇妙的事。Many such things my eye has seen, and my ear has heard things more striking than these.
- 6.在罪人聚集的地方，必将点燃火焰，在违背命令的国家，必将燃起愤怒。In an assembly of sinners a fire will be kindled, and in a disobedient nation wrath was kindled.
- 7.他不为古代的巨人所平息，他们曾在自己的力量中叛乱。He was not propitiated for the ancient giants who revolted in their might.
- 8.他不容忍罗得的邻居，因为他们的狂妄而使他憎恶他们。He did not spare the neighbors of Lot, whom he loathed on account of their insolence.
- 9.他不怜恤一个已经注定灭亡的国家，也不怜恤那些因罪受灭亡的人；He showed no pity for a nation devoted to destruction, for those destroyed in their sins;
- 10.也不为那六十万步行的男子，他们在顽固中叛逆地聚集。nor for the six hundred thousand men on foot, who rebelliously assembled in their stubbornness.
- 11.即使只有一个顽梗不化的人，也会令人惊奇的是他能免受惩罚。因为慈爱和愤怒都在主那里，祂有能力赦免，也能倾倒愤怒。Even if there is only one stiff-necked person, it will be a wonder if he remains unpunished. For mercy and wrath are with the Lord; he is mighty to forgive, and he pours out wrath.
- 12.他的怜悯有多大，他的责备也有多大；他按着各人的行为判定人。As great as his mercy, so great is also his reproof; he judges a man according to his deeds.
- 13.罪人不会带着掠夺物逃脱，义人的忍耐不会徒劳。The sinner will not escape with his plunder, and the patience of the godly will not be frustrated.
- 14.他必为每一件慈善事业开通道路；每一个人都要根据自己的行为接受报应。He will make room for every act of mercy; every one will receive in accordance with his deeds.
- 17.不要说，我要向耶和华隐藏，谁从上界会记得我呢，在这么多人中，我不会被认识的，因为我的灵魂在无边的创造中算什么呢Do not say, “I shall be hidden from the Lord, and who from on high will remember me? Among so many people I shall not be known, for what is my soul in the boundless creation?
- 18.看哪，天和天上最高的天，深渊和大地，都要在他来访的时候震动。Behold, heaven and the highest heaven, the abyss and the earth, will tremble at his visitation.
- 19.大山也要震动，地的根基也要抖动，当他顾视它们的时候。The mountains also and the foundations of the earth shake with trembling when he looks upon them.
- 20.没有人会思考这件事，谁会沉思他的行为？And no mind will reflect on this. Who will ponder his ways?
- 21.像一场无人能见的暴风雨一样，他的大部分作为都是隐藏的。Like a tempest which no man can see, so most of his works are concealed.
- 22.谁会宣扬他的公义？谁会等待它们？因为盟约似乎还很遥远。Who will announce his acts of justice? Or who will await them? For the covenant is far off.”
- 23.这就是愚昧人所想的，毫无智慧的人妄想胡说。This is what one devoid of understanding thinks; a senseless and misguided man thinks foolishly.
- 24.上帝的智慧显现在创造中 听我言，我的儿子，并要得智慧，侧耳听从我的言语God’s Wisdom Seen in Creation Listen to me, my son, and acquire knowledge, and pay close attention to my words.
- 25.我要用公平的言语教导人，并用正直的知识。I will impart instruction by weight, and declare knowledge accurately.
- 26.主的作为从起初就存在，是他创造的，当他造物的时候，就定了他们的分寸。The works of the Lord have existed from the beginning by his creation, and when he made them, he determined their divisions.
- 27.他按照永恒的秩序安排了他们的工作，并使他们的统治延续到所有世代；他们不饥饿也不疲劳，并且他们不会停止劳作。He arranged his works in an eternal order, and their dominion for all generations; they neither hunger nor grow weary, and they do not cease from their labors.
- 28.他们不相互拥挤，也永远不会违背他的话。They do not crowd one another aside, and they will never disobey his word.
- 29.其后主观看顾大地，就用美物充满了大地；After this the Lord looked upon the earth, and filled it with his good things;
- 30.他用各种活物遮盖地面，而且万物都归于地。with all kinds of living beings he covered its surface, and to it they return.
这段经文的意思
The chapter opens by warning that quantity is not a blessing: many ungodly children are not a cause for joy, and even a large family without the fear of the Lord is not trustworthy. One person of understanding, the text claims, is worth more than a thousand, because moral quality multiplies a city's population in a way sheer numbers never can.
Verses 5–14 then build a catalogue of judgment. The author recalls the giants of old, the neighbors of Lot, and the six hundred thousand who rebelliously assembled — language that mirrors Israel's wilderness rebellions. The point is not historiography but theology: mercy and wrath sit together in God, and patience toward the godly does not mean the sinner will escape with his plunder.
Verses 17–30 shift register. A foolish person imagines the covenant is too far off and the Lord's works too hidden to matter, but the author counters that even the heavens and abyss tremble at his visitation. The final paragraph applies this to creation itself: God's works were arranged from the beginning in an eternal order, never wearying or disobeying, and the earth was then filled with his good things.
Two themes therefore run through the chapter side by side. The first half insists that judgment falls on hardened sin, and the second half insists that God's hidden governance is no ground for complacency. Together they prepare the reader for chapter 17's fuller treatment of how God deals with the children of Adam.
背景
The chapter note identifies this passage as part of a backfill of Sirach chapters outside the primary translation priority set, and no cross references or original-language word entries were supplied for it. Within the chapter itself the argument is internal: verses 7–10 invoke a string of remembered judgments — the giants, Lot's neighbors, and a great rebellious assembly — as the scriptural memory the author draws on, and verses 26–30 appeal directly to the observable order of created things.
The text does not state authorship, date, or setting beyond what carries over from the surrounding book, and it does not introduce quoted cross references. Its coherence depends only on its own two-part shape: a warning grounded in past judgment, followed by a counter to the fool's argument that God's works can be safely ignored.
常见问题
Why does Sirach 16 say one is better than a thousand?
Because the value being weighed is moral, not numerical. The chapter frames ungodly offspring as a liability rather than a blessing and argues that a single person of understanding can populate a city in a way a tribe of lawless men never will.
What is the assembly the chapter says was judged?
Verses 7–10 list three remembered judgments: the ancient giants, Lot's neighbors, and six hundred thousand people who assembled rebelliously. The phrasing mirrors Israel's wilderness rebellions, though the chapter only mentions them as examples of hardened sin, not as a full historical narrative.
Why does the author argue against thinking God is too distant to matter?
Because that conclusion, in the text's own words, is what a foolish and misguided mind produces. Verses 17–22 respond by reminding the reader that even heaven and the abyss tremble at God's visitation, and verses 26–28 reinforce this with an eternal created order that does not disobey his word.