弟兄姊妹们主内平安,今天我们分享的经文来自新约彼得前书(1Peter3:3-6)

Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
你们不要以外面的辫头发、戴金饰、穿美衣为妆饰,只要以里面存着长久温柔、安静的心为妆饰,这在神面前是极宝贵的。因为古时仰赖神的圣洁妇人,正是以此为妆饰,顺服自己的丈夫,就如撒拉听从亚伯拉罕,称他为主。你们若行善,不因恐吓而害怕,便是撒拉的女儿了。
我们先来熟悉一下这段经文
1、Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.  
outward英 [ˈaʊtwəd] adj.向外的;外面的
adornment英 [ə'dɔ:nmənt] n.装饰;装饰品
braided英 ['breɪdɪd] adj.编织的;有饰带装饰的;动词braid的过去式和过去分词形式
jewelry ['dʒu:əlrɪ]n. 珠宝;珠宝类
2、 the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.
unfading英 [ʌn'feɪdɪŋ] adj.不褪色的;不凋萎的;
gentle英 ['dʒentl] adj.温和的;轻柔的;
sight [saɪt]  n.视力;视线;
我们一起看一下语法
1、 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes.
such as例如 "such as"和 "for example" 在句子中用法有什么不同呢?我们来看一下:
For example, BBC broadcasts English programmes for China with explanations in Chinese.
 例如,BBC对中国广播的英语节目配有汉语解释。

English is spoken in many countries,such as Australia and Canada.
许多国家都讲英语,例如澳大利亚和加拿大。

这两个短语都可以作“例如”解。

(1) for example用来举例说明某一论点或情况,一般只举同类人或物中的“一个”为例,作插入语,可位于句首、句中或句末.例如:
Ball games, for example, have spread around the world. 
例如,球类运动已经在世界各地传播开了。

What would you do if you met a wild animal - a lion, for example?
如果遇上野兽,例如狮子,你该怎么办?

(2) such as用来列举事物时,一般列举同类人或事物中的几个例子.插在被列举的事物与前面的名词之间,as后面不可有逗号。例如:
Some of the rubbish, such as food, paper and iron, rots away over a long period of time.
有些废物,如剩饭、废纸和废铁,时间一久就烂掉了。
He bought a lot of fruit such as apples and peaches. 
他买了许多水果,如苹果、桃子等等。
2、For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful.
(1)used to 后跟强调动作的动词时表示“过去常常”;后面跟表示状态的词时,表示“曾经,一度”。used to 的后面跟动词原形。used to do sth.过去常常做某事,(意思是现在不做了)
e.g. He used to play basketball here.
他过去常在这儿打篮球。
 I used to get up early and take an hour's walk before breakfast.

我过去常常很早起床并且在早餐前散步一小时。
(2)be used to doing sth / be used to sth . 是指习惯于做某事.(这里的to 是介词)
e.g. She isn't used to living in the countryside now.  
她不习惯在乡下生活。

Are you used to the food here?  
你习惯吃这儿的饭菜吗?

(3)be used to do sth. 被用来做某事
e.g. Computers are used to do many things for people now.
现在计算机被用来做许多事情。
Knives are used to cut. = Knives are used for cutting.  
刀子是用来切割的。
3、They were submissive to their own husbands.
submissive 形容词,服从的;顺从的
e.g. The submissive daughter was never able to fight against her parents.
这个顺从的女儿从不和她的父母吵架。
He is a humble and submissive servant.
他是个恭顺的仆人。
We won't reward him until he's in a calm submissive behavior. 
直到他表现顺从了,我们才会奖励他。
最后我们再回顾一下这段经文
Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
“只要以里面存着长久温柔安静的心为妆饰;这在神面前是极宝贵的。”这意思就是要注重内在的美德过于外表的华贵。不独是关系生活方面的教训,更是基督徒对于生活的一种观念。信徒应在思想上认识华贵的服饰并无可夸,朴实的生活才是可贵的,然后才会造成一种崇尚朴素的风气。
综合这两节(第3、4节)圣经的意思,可知圣经显然要求姊妹的服饰应倾向于朴素和端正,而不是以吸引人的注意或夸张自己的身份为原则。保罗在提前2:9也劝勉姊妹应以“正派”的衣服为装饰。所谓“正派”就是不妖艳、不新奇,当然也不是说要老旧得古怪,而是说在我们所处的社会环境中,比较大方、端庄而朴实。
注意:第3节的“不要”及4节的“只要”,显出这里是一种比较性的讲话,而非绝对性的讲法。虽然我们很难定出一项绝对的准则,说明怎样的服饰算为正派,因为时代不断地改变,人的服饰和对服饰的观念也不断改变;但信徒若持守注重属灵内在美过于外貌的原则,总可以在各不同的时代环境中,知道如何选择比较朴实端正的服饰。
真正的美是近于善而能给予人真实的感觉;世人所注重的美却近于邪而只给人虚假的感觉。信徒应以里面的温柔、良善来获取人的喜爱,世人则常凭外表的华丽换取人的尊敬。这两种不同的人生观,使人有不同的生活方式。圣经劝勉信徒应当依循一种注重实际而不注重外貌的原则来生活。
在第5-6节里,彼得举了撒拉的例子,说明“基督徒妻子应顺服丈夫,及应以内在美德为妆饰的理由,因古时有信心,被神称许的妇人,都是这样妆饰的。”“撒拉听从亚伯拉罕,称他为主”(参创18:12)。犹太人以亚伯拉罕为“父”(即老祖宗),而撒拉则为他们的老祖母(参加4:24-26)。这撒拉称亚伯拉罕为主,亦即尊重她的丈夫,以他为一家之主。撒拉曾擅自替她的丈夫出主意,以夏甲给他作妾,为她生子立后,结果不但不蒙神的悦纳,且招致家庭纷争与日后长久的痛苦。但经过这一次失败之后,在创世记18章中,撒拉称亚伯拉罕为主,表示她愿意站在妻子的地位上顺服丈夫。彼得引证这件事以劝勉信徒,应效法撒拉的榜样。
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