世界小史 第50期:犹太民族

 For of the God, whose first appearance in the history of the world was to the people of the Jews–God, the Almighty¹, the One and Only God –no image could or might be made.

对上帝，他在世界历史上第一次显现就对犹太民族显现——上帝，这个伟大的唯一的神——人们是不能够也不可以画像的。

All that was there were the tablets of the Laws with their Ten Commandments.

所有的都在那里，在他们的十诫法版里。

In these God had represented himself.

上帝已经在它们之中显现了自己的形象。

After Solomon's reign² things went less well for the Jews.

在所罗门的统治之后，犹太人的日子就不再好过。

Their kingdom split in two: the kingdom of Israel and thekingdom of Judah.

他们的国家分裂为一个以色列国和一个犹太国。

many battles followed, at the end of which one half, the kingdom of Israel, was invaded by the Assyrians in 722 BC, and was conquered and destroyed.

这之后发生过许多战斗，国家的一半，即以色列国，在公元前722年终于被亚述人占领和消灭。

Yet what is so remarkable³ is that the effect of so many disasters on the few Jews who survived them was to make them even more devout⁴.

但奇怪的是，这些众多的不幸事件反倒使残留下来的小小犹太民族更加敬神了。

Men arose among them–not priests, but simple people–who felt compelled to speak to their people, because God spoke⁵ through them.

民众中出现一些人物——不是祭司，而是普通人——他们感觉到，他们必须对民众讲话，因为上帝通过他们讲话。

1 almighty   

adj.全能的，万能的；很大的，很强的

参考例句：

• Those rebels did not really challenge Gods almighty power.这些叛徒没有对上帝的全能力量表示怀疑。
• It's almighty cold outside.外面冷得要命。

2 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

3 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

4 devout   

adj.虔诚的，虔敬的，衷心的 (n.devoutness)

参考例句：

• His devout Catholicism appeals to ordinary people.他对天主教的虔诚信仰感染了普通民众。
• The devout man prayed daily.那位虔诚的男士每天都祈祷。

5 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。