烏西雅
Scripture reading – 2 Chronicles 26:3-5, 21
3 Uzziah was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem for fifty-two years. His
mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem. 4 He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, just as his
father Amaziah had done. 5 He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God.
As long as he sought the LORD, God gave him success…
21 King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house – leprous, and excluded from the
temple of the LORD. Jotham his son had charge of the palace and governed the people of the land.
代下 26:3-5, 21:
乌西雅登基的时候，是十六岁；他在耶路撒冷作王共五十二年。他的母亲名叫耶可利雅，是耶路撒冷人。乌
西雅行耶和华看为正的事，像他的父亲亚玛谢一切所行的。撒迦利亚在世的日子，教导乌西雅敬畏 神，所
以乌西雅常常寻求 神；乌西雅寻求 神的时候， 神就使他亨通。
乌西雅王长大痲风直到死的时候；他既然长了大痲风，就住在一间隔离的房子里，不能进耶和华的殿。他的
儿子约坦执掌朝政，治理国民。
[Uzziah enters from back] Unclean! Unclean!
[乌西雅王进场] 不洁！不洁！
Shalom, my friends. Welcome. So, you’ve come, as many others have done, to see the leper king for yourselves, yes?
Well, I don’t mind sharing my story. But stay well back, and don’t touch anything – we wouldn’t want any of you to catch my leprosy, now, would we?
你好，我的朋友们，欢迎大家。你们和许多人一样，想来亲眼看看这个痳风病国王的，是吗？
好吧，我不介意分享我的故事。但请退后，不要碰任何东西，我们不希望你们中的任何一个人染上痳风病，现在，我们来讲故事......
My name is Uzziah (or Azariah), son of Amaziah, son of Yoash, king of Judah, descendant of David, follower of
Yahweh … and a leper.
我叫乌西雅（又名亚撒利雅），亚玛谢的儿子，约阿施的孙子，犹大支派、大卫的后裔，雅威的追随者......
也是个痳风病人。
I came to the throne at 16 years old. My father, Amaziah, had been a good king, a godly king. But just like my grandfather, Joash, at the very end of his reign he turned away from Yahweh, the God of Israel, and pursued false gods. It was an interesting legacy to pass on – on one hand, both my father and grandfather loved Yahweh and followed His laws during their lifetimes, but on the other hand, both of them turned their back on Yahweh at the end.
我在 16 岁时登上王位。我的父亲亚玛谢是一个好国王，一个敬虔的国王。但就像我的祖父约阿施一样，在他统治的最后阶段，他背离了以色列的上帝雅威，而追求假神。这是一份有趣的传承，一方面，我的父亲和祖父都热爱上帝雅威，在他们的一生中遵循祂的法律，但另一方面，他们两人在最后都背弃了雅威。
I was determined when I came to the throne that I would follow Yahweh and obey his laws to the end of my life.
我在登基时就下定决心，要跟随雅威，遵守祂的律法，直到生命的尽头。
My father Amaziah ended up being assassinated. He wasn’t a wise ruler and fought a ridiculous and ill-fated war against our fellow Israelite kingdom to the north. It was completely unnecessary; totally driven by his pride and his need to accomplish something great in his life. But our army was routed, he was taken prisoner, and rather than being hailed as a great king, most of our people thought he was incompetent.
我的父亲亚玛谢最后被暗杀了。他不是一个有智慧的统治者，对北方的以色列同胞王国进行了一场可笑的、命运多舛的战争。这完全是不必要的，完全是由他的骄傲，和他需要在他的生活中完成一些伟大的事情所驱动的。但我们的军队被击溃，他被俘虏了，大多数国民非但没有称他为伟大的国王，反而认为他是无能的。
And then when he rejected Yahweh completely and began worshipping false gods, talk of a coup began. Father uncovered the widespread conspiracy through the palace, and managed to flee from Jerusalem to the fortress-town of Lachish in the south, but it did no good. The conspirators simply followed him there and ended his life.
当他完全离弃雅威，开始崇拜假神时，就有人想要谋害他。父亲看穿了这一阴谋，并设法从耶路撒冷逃到南部的拉吉，但这并没有什么用。反叛者们跟着他到了那里，结束了他的生命。
I was immediately acclaimed by the people as their new king, and I was destined to reign for longer than any other king before me, even my illustrious ancestors David and Solomon!
我立即被人民立为他们的新国王，我注定要比之前的任何一个国王，甚至是杰出的祖先大卫和所罗门在位的时间都要长！"。
And for many years I enjoyed great success.
多年来，我取得了巨大的成功。
● We were blessed with great military victories. We defeated the ancient Israelite enemy of the Philistines and ransacked their leading cities such as Gath and Ashdod. We conquered the Arabs and their allies to the south and won a great victory. We subjugated the Ammonites to the east, and forced them to pay tribute for years to come.
On every side our armies had great victories, and my name became known throughout the surrounding nations, just as the name of my forefather King David had been known and respected.
我们获得了巨大的军事胜利。我们打败了古代以色列人的敌人非利士人，洗劫了他们的主要城市，如迦特和亚实突。我们征服了南方的阿拉伯人和他们的盟友，取得了巨大的胜利。我们征服了东面的亚扪人，并迫使他们在未来几年内缴纳贡品。
我们的军队在各方面都取得了巨大的胜利，我的名字也在周围的国家中广为人知，就像我的祖先大卫王的名字被人知道和尊重一样。
● We were able to build up one of the largest and best-equipped armies in the world. The army numbered over 300,000 trained soldiers, all of well-armed and kitted out with everything they needed. They were led by a superb group of elite officers and were constantly training and in total readiness for war.
我们建立起世界上最大和装备最好的军队。这支军队有 30 多万训练有素的士兵，他们都装备精良，配备了所需的一切。他们由一群优秀的精英军官领导，不断进行训练，并为战争做好了充分准备。
● But it wasn’t only about our armies. We were also blessed with great building projects. I strengthened the walls of Jerusalem that had been weakened and added siege towers in key parts of the wall to reinforce the city even more. We also built large machines capable of hurling arrows and boulders at opposing armies, to help Jerusalem withstand a siege.
成功不仅仅在我们的军队方面。我们也得到了伟大的建筑项目的祝福。我加强了耶路撒冷已被削弱的城墙，并在城墙的关键部位增加了攻防塔，以进一步加固城市。我们还建造了能够向对方军队投掷箭矢和巨石的大型机器，以帮助耶路撒冷抵御围攻。
● Added to that we farmed large areas of Judah, building watchtowers and cisterns to care for animals. We turned more and more land into fertile pastures, planting crops and farming animals. I loved working the land and developing new methods of agriculture and horticulture to help our people.
除此之外，我们还耕种了犹大地的大片土地，建造了瞭望塔和蓄水池来照顾动物。我们把越来越多的土地变成肥沃的牧场，种植庄稼和养殖动物。我喜欢耕种土地，开发新的农业和园艺方法，以帮助我们的人民。
● And then we rebuilt the ancient port of Elath far to the south. Elath was at the top of one of fingers of the Red Sea, and gave us a trading port to the south. It opened up unbelievable new trade routes and opportunities that we hadn’t know since the time of Solomon himself.
我们重建了远在南方的以禄。以禄位于红海的东北角，给了我们一个通往南方的贸易港口。这开辟了令人难以置信的新的贸易路线和机会，这是我们自所罗门时代以来所不知道的机会。
Everywhere we turned, everything we attempted, it felt like the hand of Yahweh was upon us, blessing our efforts as we walked with Him as His people.
我们征服的每一个地方，我们尝试的每一件事，都感觉到雅威的手在我们身上，作为祂的子民与祂同行时，雅威赐福给我们。
And then it all went wrong.
然后这一切都出了问题。
I can just imagine what the records will say after my death – “after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his
downfall.” Because that’s what it was – my pride.
我可以想象我死后的记录会怎么说，"乌西雅变得强大后，他的骄傲导致了他的堕落"。没错，因为我的骄傲。
It had been building slowly, insidiously, over the months.
● Constant reports coming in from different battalions and troops of their readiness and training.
● The latest sets of armour arriving from the smithy.
● The completion of a sea wall at the port of Elath to protect the trading ships.
● A supply of exotic spices that had just arrived from our traders in the far East
● The latest tribute from the Ammonites and their grovelling ambassador.
长期的，它一直在缓慢地、阴险地发彰显。
● 各地部队不断报告他们的准备和训练情况。
● 最新的盔甲从铁匠铺运来。
● 以禄港口的海墙已经完工，以保护贸易船只。
● 我们在远东的商人刚刚送来了异国香料。
● 来自亚扪人的最新贡品和他们卑躬屈膝的大使。
And with each success, each victory, each accomplishment, the accolades from my advisors and courtiers became more flowery, more fawning.
每一次成功，每一次胜利，每一次成就，来自我的顾问和朝臣的赞誉都变得更加花哨，更加媚俗。
And I allowed my soul to lap it all up.
而我允许我的灵魂接受这一切。
And with each compliment, each word of affirmation, my sense of self-importance grew, and my sense of God dependence diminished.
随着每一次赞美，每一句肯定的话，我的自我感觉越来越强，而我对上帝的依赖感却越来越弱。
Until the day came, without me even realising it had happened, when I had completely forgotten how much Yahweh had done for me, and how much all of this was from His gracious hand.
直到有一天，我不曾想到会有这么一天，我完全忘记了雅威为我做了多少事，以及所有这一切是出自祂的恩典之手。
I didn’t even go to the temple planning to do anything foolish that day. My habit had been to go twice a week and offer my own thanksgiving sacrifices to Yahweh. I entered the forecourt and then the temple proper, but Azariah the chief priest was not there. One of the junior priests said he had been waylaid – something about a sick child – and invited me to wait for him.
我甚至没有打算在那天去圣殿做什么蠢事。我之前的习惯是每周去两次，向雅威献上感恩祭。我进入前院，然后进入圣殿，但祭司长亚撒利雅不在。一个小祭司说祭司长被关于一个生病的孩子的事情耽搁了，小祭司邀请我等他来。
But after a few minutes went past, and Azariah failed to show up, I thought, “Why wait? I’m the king, aren’t I? I can offer my own sacrifice.”
但几分钟过去了，亚撒利雅没有出现，我想，"为什么要等呢？我是国王，不是吗？我可以献上我自己的祭品。"
That’s when my eye was drawn to the altar of incense that was within the temple itself. Normally the chief priest would be the one to offer incense each day on that altar, symbolising the prayers of God’s people rising to Him. But he wasn’t there yet, and the incense was running low.
这时，我的目光被圣殿内的香坛所吸引。通常情况下，祭司长会是每天在那座坛上献香的人，象征着上帝子民的祈祷被上帝垂听。但是，祭司长还没有到，而且香已经不多了。
So, I walked over and picked up the jug of incense that was ready for the new day, and stood solemnly before the altar. Slowly I raised it high and prepared to pour, when I was startled by a shout. “No, sire.”
于是，我走过去，拿起为新的一天准备好的那壶香，庄严地站在祭坛前。慢慢地，我把它高高举起，准备倾倒，这时，我被一声喊叫惊呆了，"不，陛下。"
I half-turned and there was Azariah, red-faced from running into the temple, and from an anger that burned deep inside his soul. Behind him were dozens of the other priests – 60, 70, 80 of them – jostling to be able to see, with a mixture of anger, surprise, indignation on their faces.
我半转过身来，那是亚撒利雅，他因为跑进圣殿而满脸通红，也因为在他灵魂深处燃烧的怒火。在他身后有几十个其他祭司，60、70、80 人，争先恐后地想要看清，他们的脸上混合着愤怒、惊奇和愤慨。
Azariah thrust his chubby forefinger at me and exclaimed with a loud voice,
亚撒利雅用他胖乎乎的食指伸向我，大声喊道，
“It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to Yahweh. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary. You have been unfaithful.”
“乌西雅啊，给耶和华烧香不是你应作的事，而是亚伦的子孙作祭司的事，他们是分别为圣作烧香的事；请离开圣所吧，因为你作了不应该作的事了，你必不能从耶和华 神那里得着尊荣。”
Without even realising it, rage welled up inside me. Didn’t he know who he was talking to? Wasn’t I the king – descendant of David, ruler of Judah? Had I not led the nation to heights not seen since the days of Solomon himself?
Who was he to dare to challenge me?
在不知不觉中，我的内心涌起了怒火。他难道不知道，他是在和谁说话吗？我不是国王吗？大卫的后裔，犹大的统治者？难道我没有带领这个国家达到自所罗门时代以来从未到过的高度吗？
他是谁，竟敢挑战我？
I flung the jug of oil to the ground, shattering it across the floor.
我把香炉扔到地上，把它打碎在地板上。
“How dare you,” I shouted. “You son of a common woman! I am the king! I am the successor of David and Solomon! If I choose to come here to offer incense to Yahweh, I have every right to do that. Who are you to judge me?”
"你怎么敢？"我喊道，"你这个普通人的儿子。我是国王！我是大卫和所罗门的继承人! 如果我选择来这里向雅威上香，我完全有权利这样做。你有什么资格评判我？"
At that moment, the eyes of Azariah and the other priests grew wide. They shuffled backwards. I heard a series of
gasps escape the throats of some of the younger priests. And I noticed they were staring at my forehead.
在那一刻，亚撒利雅和其他祭司的眼睛都睁大了，他们向后退了一步。我听到一些年轻祭司的喉咙里发出一
连串的喘息声，我注意到他们正盯着我的额头。
My heart stopped. “What is it? What’s wrong?” I demanded.
我的心跳停止。"怎么了？怎么了？" 我问道。
Azariah gulped. And when he spoke, his voice was much quieter than it had been just moments earlier.
亚撒利雅咽了口唾沫。当他说话时，他的声音比刚才要小得多。
“Sire, your forehead. It seems … it seems that you have developed leprosy. You need to leave the house of Yahweh immediately.”
“陛下，你的额头。似乎...... 似乎你已经患上了痳风病。你需要立即离开雅威的家。”
Leprosy? Surely not! No, there must be some mistake. But even as I reasoned with myself, another part of my brain knew immediately that it was true. It was the judgment of Yahweh on my pride.
痳风病？当然不是! 不，一定有什么误会。但即使在我自己推理的时候，我大脑的另一部分立即知道这是真的。这是雅威对我的骄傲的审判。
I was suddenly lightheaded, and I reached out and grasped the altar if incense next to me to steady myself.
我突然头晕目眩，我伸手抓住了旁边的香坛，以稳住自己。
“No, sire,” Azariah exclaimed with urgency in his voice. “You can’t touch the altar; you can’t touch anything. You
are unclean!”
"不，陛下，"亚撒利雅声音急切地喊道。"你不能碰祭坛；你不能碰任何东西。你是不洁净的！"
Unclean! A groan escaped my lips as I realised the enormity of the truth that Azariah had just uttered.
不洁净的! 当我意识到亚撒利雅刚刚说出的事实的严重性时，我的嘴唇发出了一声呻吟。
I was unclean. Barring a miracle, I would never be able to be with people again. I would have to live in isolation, away from contact with everyone, crying out the warning, “unclean!” whenever anyone came near.
我是不洁净的。除非出现奇迹，否则我将永远无法再与人相处。我将不得不与世隔绝，远离所有人，每当有人靠近时就喊出警告："不洁的！"。
● I would never be able to enter the temple of Yahweh again.
● I would never be able to embrace my wife or hug my children and grandchildren.
● I would never be able to hunt or fish or garden with my friends.
● I would never sit on the throne, or welcome a delegation, or meet with my officials again.
● 我将永远无法再进入雅威的圣殿。
● 我将永远无法拥抱我的妻子或拥抱我的孩子和孙子。
● 我将永远无法与我的朋友们一起打猎、钓鱼或园艺。
● 我将再也不能坐在王位上，或欢迎代表团，或与官员们会面。
In reality, my reign was over.
实际上，我的统治已经结束了。
I couldn’t function properly as king, and so I would have to appoint my son Jotham as my regent and co-ruler. But we would be co-rulers only in name. He would now in reality become the king. I would be the living corpse of a person living outside the city walls isolated from those I loved.
我无法正常行使国王的权力，所以我不得不任命我的儿子约坦为摄政者和共同统治者。 但我们只是名义上的共同统治者。他实际上已经成为国王。我将成为一具活生生的尸体，住在城墙外，与我所爱的人隔绝。
You may ask, “Am I angry at God for His judgment over me? The harshness of leprosy?”
你可能会问，"我对上帝对我的审判感到愤怒吗？痳风病的严酷性？"
The simple answer is no. I’m not angry at Yahweh. I’m angry at myself for putting myself and Yahweh in that place.
简单的回答是没有。我不是对雅威生气。我生气的是我自己，因为是我造成了自己与雅威后来的关系。
In many ways, Yahweh’s judgment was an act of mercy. If He had not judged me at that point, who knows what else I might have done? Who knows what my pride might have made me capable of doing.
在许多方面，雅威的审判是一种仁慈的行为。如果祂没有在那个时候审判我，谁知道我还会做什么？我可能会做什么？谁知道我的骄傲会让我做出什么事？
And these last 10 years have given me opportunity to reflect on this sin of pride that I allowed to take root in my heart. Why is pride such a deadly sin of the human heart?
在过去的 10 年里，我有机会反思在我心中生根的这种骄傲的罪。为什么骄傲是人心的致命之罪？
One reason is that pride leads to self-reliance. As I became more and more proud of the victories and accomplishments, it robbed me of a sense of dependency on Yahweh. It made me forget that He was the one who had blessed us as a nation, and everything I had was ultimately a gift from God.
一个原因是，骄傲会导致自我依赖。当我对胜利和成就越来越自豪时，它使我失去了对雅威的依赖感，它使我忘记了祂才是祝福我们这个国家的人，我所拥有的一切最终都是上帝的礼物。
Isn’t that what He warned us about in the Book of the Law, in Deuteronomy. That when we came into this good land that he had given us, we were to be careful and guard our hearts. We were not to grow proud and tell ourselves that all these good gifts were the result of our hard work, our efforts, our skills. And that’s exactly what I had done – I had convinced myself that all this power and success came from me, when in reality it all came from Him.
这不正是他在《申命记》中警告我们的吗？当我们进入祂赐给我们的这块良田时，我们要小心翼翼，守住我们的心。我们不能骄傲起来，告诉自己所有这些好的礼物都是我们努力工作的结果，我们的努力，我们的技能。而这正是我所做的，我让自己相信所有这些力量和成功都来自于我，而实际上这一切都是来自于祂。
See, friends, we can so often think that pride is about being boastful, about blowing our own trumpet and having people look at us and admire us. And sometimes it might look like that in certain people. But most of the time, it’s this growing forgetfulness of God. Pride is about us trusting more in ourselves and our abilities, and depending less on God through life. Pride leads to self-reliance.
朋友们，我们常常认为，骄傲就是夸夸其谈，就是吹嘘自己，让别人仰慕我们，欣赏我们。有时它在某些人身上可能看起来是这样。但在大多数时候，它是对上帝越来越多的遗忘。骄傲是指我们更相信自己和自己的能力，而在生活中更少依赖上帝。骄傲会导致自我依赖。
But the other reason why pride is so deadly is it leads to self-glorifying. You and I – every person on the planet – we were all made to bring honour and glory to Yahweh, our Creator. He’s the one who deserves the applause, the thanks, the awe. Just like a mirror reflects the light, we were made to reflect glory back to Him.
但骄傲如此致命的另一个原因是它导致了自我荣耀。你和我，地球上的每一个人，我们都是为了把荣誉和荣耀带给我们的创造者雅威，祂才是应该得到掌声、感谢和敬畏的人。就像镜子反射光线一样，我们是为了将荣耀反射给祂。
And so pride is about glorifying ourselves. It’s about us failing to honour and thank God, and instead pat ourselves on the back. And that’s doesn’t mean we can’t take satisfaction in a good day’s work, or a well-planned operation. But when we start to believe the hype; when we develop this sense of entitlement, we are growing prideful.
因此，骄傲是关于荣耀自己。这是关于我们没有荣耀和感谢上帝，而是拍拍自己的肩膀。这并不意味着我们不能对一天的工作或一次精心策划的行动感到满意。但是当我们开始激动，当我们发展出这种权利意识的时侯，我们就会越来越骄傲。
So am I angry at God for His judgment of leprosy?
那么，我是否因为上帝对我痳风病的审判而对祂生气？
No. because this leprosy is a gift that has dismantled my pride.
I’m not self-reliant anymore – I am utterly dependant on God for as long as He leaves me here.
And I’m not self-glorifying now – there’s nothing to glory in as my body slowly waste away.
不。痳风病是一个礼物，它瓦解了我的骄傲。
我不再自我依赖，只要上帝把我留在这里，我就完全依赖他。
我也不自我荣耀，当我的身体慢慢地废掉时，没有什么可以荣耀的了。
But what a drastic way to learn my lesson.
这是一个多么戏剧性的方式来吸取我的教训。
So, my friends, learn your lesson from mine. Don’t make the same mistakes. Don’t allow pride and entitlement and
self-reliance to slowly build up in your soul. Because pride over past successes can isolate us from God and others.
所以，我的朋友们，从我这里吸取教训，不要犯同样的错误。不要让骄傲、权利和自我依赖慢慢地在你的灵
魂中积累起来。因为对过去成功的骄傲会使我们与上帝和他人隔离。
So let me ask you a question as we finish, my friends.
● Is there any areas of your life where pride has taken hold?
● Have there been any accomplishments, any successes, and abilities, for which you quietly pat yourself on the
back?
● Is there any entitlement, or looking down at someone else?
● Is there any sense that you feel like God somehow owes you?
所以在结束时，让我问你们一些问题，我的朋友们：
● 在你的生活中，是否有任何骄傲的地方？
● 是否有任何成就，任何成功，和能力，让你悄悄地拍拍自己的肩膀？
● 是否有权利意识或者看不起别人？
● 有没有感觉到上帝在某种程度上亏欠你？
If there is, learn my lesson, and don’t let pride isolate you.
如果有，请吸取我的教训，不要让骄傲孤立你。
As my forefather Solomon said so well, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Prov 16:18).
正如我的祖先所罗门所说的那样，“在灭亡以先，必有骄傲；在跌倒以前，心中高傲。”（箴 16:18)
