2025-07-20

Reading for Today:
今日读经：

Ezra 1:1–2:70
以斯拉记 1:1–2:70
Psalm 86:6-10
诗篇 86:6-10
Proverbs 21:15-16
箴言 21:15-16
Acts 21:18-40
使徒行传 21:18-40

Notes:
注解：

Ezra 1:5 whose spirits God had moved. The primary underlying message of Ezra and Nehemiah is that the sovereign hand of God is at work in perfect keeping with His plan at His appointed times. The 70 years of captivity were complete, so God stirred up not only the spirit of Cyrus to make the decree, but His own people to go and build up Jerusalem and the temple (1:1).
以斯拉记 1:5 “神感动了他们的心” 以斯拉记和尼希米记的主旨就是：神在祂预定的时间，按祂的计划，掌管一切。七十年被掳期满，神不仅感动了波斯王古列下诏，也感动自己的百姓回去重建耶路撒冷和圣殿（1:1）。

Ezra 2:2 Zerubbabel. This man was the rightful leader of Judah in that he was of the lineage of David through Jehoiachin (1 Chr. 3:17). He did not serve as king (the curse on Jehoiachin’s line, Jer. 22:24–30), but was still in the messianic line because the curse was bypassed (Matt. 1:12; Luke 3:27). The curse of the messianic line for Christ was bypassed in Luke’s genealogy by tracing the lineage through David’s son Nathan. His name means “offspring of Babylon,” indicating his place of birth. He, rather than Cyrus’s political appointee Sheshbazzar (1:11), led Judah according to God’s will. Jeshua. The high priest of the first return whose name means “Yahweh saves.” He is called Joshua in Haggai 1:1 and Zechariah 3:1. His father Jozadak (Ezra 3:2) had been exiled (1 Chr. 6:15). He came from the lineage of Levi, Aaron, Eleazar, and Phinehas; thus he was legitimately in the line of the high priest (Num. 25:10–13).
以斯拉记 2:2 “所罗巴伯” 他是应许中的犹大领袖，源自约雅斤大卫后裔（代上3:17），虽未作王（因约雅斤后裔受咒诅，耶22:24-30），但仍属弥赛亚支系（太1:12，路3:27），因路加记载基督支系转经大卫之子拿单。他名意为“巴比伦之子”，表明其出生地。所罗巴伯才是真正按神旨意带领犹大复兴的领袖，而不是古列任命的政治代理设巴萨（1:11）。“耶书亚”是第一次归回的大祭司，意为“耶和华拯救”。在哈该书1:1和撒迦利亚书3:1中称“约书亚”。他的父亲耶撒答（拉3:2）曾被掳（代上6:15）。他出自利未、亚伦、以利亚撒和非尼哈的正统大祭司支系（民25:10-13）。

Acts 21:24 be purified. Having just returned from an extended stay in Gentile lands, Paul was considered ceremonially unclean. He therefore needed to undergo ritual purification before participating (as their sponsor) in the ceremony marking the end of the 4 men’s vows. pay their expenses. For the temple ceremony in which the 4 would shave their heads and the sacrifices associated with the Nazirite vow. Paying those expenses for another was considered an act of piety; and by so doing, Paul would give further proof that he had not forsaken his Jewish heritage. shave their heads. A practice commonly associated with a Nazirite vow (Num. 6:18).
使徒行传 21:24 “洁净自己” 保罗刚从外邦归来，按犹太律法被视为不洁，所以须洁净后才能做四人之誓的“保人”。“替他们花费”就是支付进行拿细耳人净礼（剃头、献祭）的费用，这被看作虔敬之举。保罗如此做，更显明自己并未弃绝犹太遗产。“剃头”正是拿细耳人的净礼之一（民6:18）。

Acts 21:28 the people, the law, and this place. Paul’s enemies leveled 3 false charges against him. They claimed that he taught Jews to forsake their heritage—the same lie told by the Judaizers. The second charge, that Paul opposed the law, was a very dangerous one, albeit false, in this setting. Originally, Pentecost was a celebration of the firstfruits of the harvest. But by this time, it had become a celebration of Moses’ receiving the law on Mt. Sinai. Thus, the Jewish people were especially zealous for the law during this feast. The third charge, of blaspheming or defiling the temple, had helped bring about the deaths of Jesus (Mark 14:57, 58) and Stephen (Acts 6:13). All 3 charges were, of course, totally false.
使徒行传 21:28 “教众人……背弃律法和这个地方” 保罗的仇敌对他提出三项虚假控诉：一是说他教犹太人弃本族传统——与加拉太异端指控相同；二是指控他反对律法，这在五旬节期间尤为敏感。当时五旬节早已不是收割节，而是纪念摩西领受律法，犹太人对律法特别热衷。三是指控他亵渎圣殿，这也是当初耶稣（可14:57-58）、司提反（徒6:13）遭同样的指控。事实上，这三项控告全都不实。

Acts 21:30 doors were shut. This was done by the temple guards, since Paul’s death on the temple grounds would defile the temple (2 Kin. 11:15). They made no effort, however, to rescue the apostle from the crowd, which was intent on beating him to death.
使徒行传 21:30 “门都关了” 守殿的人关闭大门，是因若保罗死在殿里就玷污圣殿（王下11:15）。但他们并未去救保罗，反而任凭群众对其拳打脚踢，几欲置之死地。

DAY 20: How did God sovereignly restore the Jews to the land?
第二十天：神是如何主权地让犹太人归回本地？

It was through a proclamation by Cyrus king of Persia. The Lord had prophesied through Isaiah, who said of Cyrus, “He is My shepherd,…saying to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be built,’ and to the temple, ’Your foundation shall be laid’” (Is. 44:28). The historian Josephus records an account of the day when Daniel read Isaiah’s prophecy to Cyrus, and in response he was moved to declare the proclamation of Ezra 1:2–4 (538 B.C.). “That the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled.” Jeremiah had prophesied the return of the exiles after a 70-year captivity in Babylon (Jer. 25:11; 29:10–14; Dan. 9:2). This was no isolated event, but rather an outworking of the covenant promises made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1–3.
这全因波斯王古列发布圣命。早在以赛亚已预言：“他是我的牧人……必对耶路撒冷说，‘你要被建造’，又指着殿说，‘你的根基必立’”（赛44:28）。犹太史家约瑟夫记载，先知但以理曾将以赛亚预言读给古列王听，古列因此受感发布以斯拉记1:2-4的归回诏令（公元前538年）。这是“要应验耶和华藉耶利米口所说的话”——耶利米曾预言以色列人被掳七十年后归回（耶25:11；29:10-14；但9:2）。这绝非偶发，而是神对亚伯拉罕（创12:1-3）立约应许的实现。

We are told that “the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus.” A strong expression of the fact that God sovereignly works in the lives of kings to effect His purposes (Prov. 21:1; Dan. 2:21; 4:17). Cyrus made a proclamation, which was the most common form of spoken, public communication, usually from the central administration. The king would dispatch a herald, perhaps with a written document, into the city. In order to address the people, he would either go to the city gate, where people often congregated for social discourse, or gather the people together in a square, occasionally by the blowing of a horn. The herald would then make the proclamation to the people. A document called the Cyrus Cylinder, recovered in reasonably good condition by archeologists, commissions people from many lands to return to their cities to rebuild the temples to their gods, apparently as some sort of general policy of Cyrus. Whether or not this document was an extension of the proclamation made to the exiles in this passage must remain a matter of speculation.
圣经说“耶和华激动波斯王古列的心”，这是神在列王心中施行主权（箴21:1；但2:21；4:17）的有力例证。古列的圣旨，就是当时中央宣告的常用方式——王会派传令官（带上文书），或到城门（百姓常聚会处），或广场（有时吹号聚众），当众宣读。考古发现的“古列圆筒”文物也记载，古列许可各地百姓回乡重修神庙，似为其普遍政策，虽无法考证是否与本段圣经所记诏令直接相关。

It is possible that Daniel played a part in the Jews’ receiving such favorable treatment (Dan. 6:25–28). According to the Jewish historian Josephus, he was Cyrus’s prime minister who shared Isaiah’s prophecies with Cyrus (Is. 44:28; 46:1–4). The existence of such documents, written over a century before Cyrus was born, led him to acknowledge that all his power came from the God of Israel and prompted him to fulfill the prophecy.
但以理或许在以色列人蒙恩归回中起了作用（但6:25-28）。犹太史家约瑟夫称，但以理是古列的宰相，曾将以赛亚的预言（赛44:28；46:1-4）读给他听。那预言写于古列出生百年前，正因有此文证，古列承认一切权柄出自以色列的神，并主动要应验这预言。

Additional Resources