章节研读

Wisdom 12 — God's Patience with Sinners

Wisdom 12 contrasts God's patient correction of the Canaanites with the strict discipline of Israel, presenting divine judgment as both righteous and merciful.

经文

  1. 1.因为你的不死灵存在于万物之中。For thy immortal spirit is in all things.
  2. 2.因此，你逐渐地责备那些过错的人，并提醒他们、警告他们所犯的罪，好使他们脱离邪恶，归向你，主。Therefore thou dost correct little by little those who trespass, and dost remind and warn them of the things wherein they sin, that they may be freed from wickedness and put their trust in thee, O Lord.
  3. 3.迦南人所犯的罪孽 从前居住在你圣地上的人The Sins of the Canaanites Those who dwelt of old in thy holy land
  4. 4.你憎恶他们因可憎之事，他们的邪术和不圣洁的仪式，thou didst hate for their detestable practices, their works of sorcery and unholy rites,
  5. 5.他们无情地屠杀儿童，并以人肉和人血作为祭祀的宴席。这些人来自异教邪教的中心，their merciless slaughter of children, and their sacrificial feasting on human flesh and blood. These initiates from the midst of a heathen cult,
  6. 6.这些杀害无辜生命的父母，你愿意通过我们祖先的手将他们毁灭，these parents who murder helpless lives, thou didst will to destroy by the hands of our fathers,
  7. 7.使你最看重的土地能够接纳上帝的仆人中最配得上的一个殖民地。that the land most precious of all to thee might receive a worthy colony of the servants of God.
  8. 8.但你却饶恕了他们，因为他们不过是人，你派遣黄蜂作为你军队的先锋，逐渐消灭他们，But even these thou didst spare, since they were but men, and didst send wasps as forerunners of thy army, to destroy them little by little,
  9. 9.虽然你完全有能力在战场上将不虔之人交在义人手中，或是通过可怕的野兽或你严厉的言语一下子将他们消灭。though thou wast not unable to give the ungodly into the hands of the righteous in battle, or to destroy them at one blow by dread wild beasts or thy stern word.
  10. 10.但你逐渐地审判他们，给他们机会悔改，虽然你知道他们的根源是恶的，他们的邪恶是天生的，他们的思维方式永远不会改变。But judging them little by little thou gavest them a chance to repent, though thou wast not unaware that their origin was evil and their wickedness inborn, and that their way of thinking would never change.
  11. 11.因为他们从起初就是被咒诅的种族，你不是因为怕谁就让他们为自己的罪过不受惩罚。For they were an accursed race from the beginning, and it was not through fear of any one that thou didst leave them unpunished for their sins.
  12. 12.上帝是至高无上的 因为谁能对你说：“你做了什么？” 或谁能抵挡你的审判？ 谁能因为你毁灭你所造的国家而指责你？ 或谁能为不义的人在你面前辩护？God Is Sovereign For who will say, “What hast thou done?” Or will resist thy judgment? Who will accuse thee for the destruction of nations which thou didst make? Or who will come before thee to plead as an advocate for unrighteous men?
  13. 13.因为除你以外没有别的神，关心所有的人，你要向他们证明，你没有作出不公正的判决；For neither is there any god besides thee, whose care is for all men, to whom thou shouldst prove that thou hast not judged unjustly;
  14. 14.也不再有任何一位君王或君主能够因为你所惩罚的人而与你对抗。nor can any king or monarch confront thee about those whom thou hast punished.
  15. 15.你是公义的，以公义统管万事，认为惩罚不该受罚的人是与你的权能不相称的。Thou art righteous and rulest all things righteously, deeming it alien to thy power to condemn him who does not deserve to be punished.
  16. 16.因为你的力量是公义的源头，你治理万有的权能使你宽容一切。For thy strength is the source of righteousness, and thy sovereignty over all causes thee to spare all.
  17. 17.因为当人们疑惑你的权能的完全时，你便显出你的能力，并且责备那些认识你的人中所有的狂妄。For thou dost show thy strength when men doubt the completeness of thy power, and dost rebuke any insolence among those who know it.
  18. 18.你以强大的力量为君王，用温和公正的态度审判我们，并以极大的忍耐心管教我们；因为你有能力随时行事。Thou who art sovereign in strength dost judge with mildness, and with great forbearance thou dost govern us; for thou hast power to act whenever thou dost choose.
  19. 19.上帝通过这些事迹教导以色列人，你教导你的子民，义人必须仁慈，你用美好的希望充满你的儿子，因为你赐予他们因罪得以悔改的机会。God’s Lessons for Israel Through such works thou has taught thy people that the righteous man must be kind, and thou hast filled thy sons with good hope, because thou givest repentance for sins.
  20. 20.因为你如果这样小心和宽容地惩罚你仆人和该死的人的敌人，给他们时间和机会使他们放弃邪恶，For if thou didst punish with such great care and indulgence the enemies of thy servants and those deserving of death, granting them time and opportunity to give up their wickedness,
  21. 21.你用何等严厉审判你的儿子，你曾向他们的祖宗起誓许下了充满美好应许的约和契约！with what strictness thou hast judged thy sons, to whose fathers thou gavest oaths and covenants full of good promises!
  22. 22.所以当你管教我们的时候，你惩罚我们的敌人要厉害十万倍，这样我们在审判的时候可以思想你的良善，在我们被审判的时候可以指望你的怜悯。So while chastening us thou scourgest our enemies ten thousand times more, so that we may meditate upon thy goodness when we judge, and when we are judged we may expect mercy.
  23. 23.埃及人的惩罚 因此那些在愚昧的生活中不公义地生活的人，你通过他们自己的可憎之事使他们受苦。The Punishment of the Egyptians Therefore those who in folly of life lived unrighteously thou didst torment through their own abominations.
  24. 24.因为他们在错误的道路上远远地迷失了，接受那些连敌人都鄙视的动物作为神，他们像愚蠢的婴孩一样被欺骗。For they went far astray on the paths of error, accepting as gods those animals which even their enemies despised; they were deceived like foolish babes.
  25. 25.因此，对于那些妄自尊大的孩子，你派遣你的判断来嘲笑他们。Therefore, as to thoughtless children, thou didst send thy judgment to mock them.
  26. 26.但那些不听从轻微责备警告的人将会经历上帝应得的判断。But those who have not heeded the warning of light rebukes will experience the deserved judgment of God.
  27. 27.因为他们在受苦的时候，愤怒于那些他们曾以为是神的生物，并且被这些生物惩罚，他们看到了并承认了真正的神，就是他们以前拒绝认识的神。因此，他们遭到了最严厉的谴责。For when in their suffering they became incensed at those creatures which they had thought to be gods, being punished by means of them, they saw and recognized as the true God him whom they had before refused to know. Therefore the utmost condemnation came upon them.

这段经文的意思

The chapter opens by grounding God's tolerance in the indwelling immortal spirit (12:1-2). Because God's spirit sustains all things, the deity does not annihilate sinners wholesale but corrects them little by little, reminding them of their sins so that they may turn from wickedness and trust in the Lord. The repeated phrase pattern in 12:2, 12:8, and 12:10 emphasizes graduated, measured discipline rather than sudden destruction.

Verses 12:3-11 narrate the fate of the original Canaanite inhabitants, whose practices are listed as sorcery, unholy rites, child sacrifice, and cultic feasting on human flesh. The text states that God willed their destruction at the hands of the fathers of Israel, yet spared them as mere men, sending wasps as forerunners of the army to destroy them little by little. The author notes that God was not unaware of their inborn wickedness or that their thinking would never change, yet chose to give them a chance to repent.

The closing verses (12:12-27) shift to God's universal sovereignty. Because no other god exists who cares for all humanity, no one can accuse God of unjust judgment. Strength is the source of righteousness, and sovereignty causes God to spare all. The chapter concludes by tying Israel's experience to Egypt: those who foolishly worshipped despised animals were tormented through those very creatures and came to recognize the true God, receiving the full measure of condemnation.

背景

The chapter note indicates this text was backfilled from Wisdom outside the P0/P1 priority chapters. No cross references or original-language word entries were provided with the material, so this page relies solely on the supplied English text. Within the chapter itself, the immediate movement is from theological grounding (God's spirit in all things) to a historical example (the Canaanite inhabitants) to a universal claim about divine sovereignty, before returning to a typological lesson drawn from Israel's history and the Egyptians.

No cross references were supplied, and no original-language words (Hebrew or Greek) were supplied for this passage. Therefore no external cross-reference links and no Greek or Hebrew word discussions appear on this page.

常见问题

Why does the chapter say God corrects sinners "little by little"?

The repeated phrase in 12:2, 12:8, and 12:10 shows that God's purpose is to give the wicked opportunity to repent rather than to destroy them suddenly, even when their habits are deeply entrenched.

Who are the inhabitants the chapter condemns?

The text identifies them as the original inhabitants of the holy land, associated with sorcery, unholy rites, child sacrifice, and cultic feasting on human flesh and blood (12:3-6).

What does the chapter say about God's power and mercy?

Verses 12:16-18 teach that God's strength is the source of righteousness and that sovereignty leads God to spare all, governing with mildness and great forbearance while still acting whenever God chooses.

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