贊美你啊,尼羅河!
You rise out of the earth and come to nourish Egypt!
你來自大地,來到這兒,給埃及輸送營養(yǎng)!
You water the plains and have the power to feed all cattle.
你灌溉田野,喂養(yǎng)全部牲口。
You quench the thirsty desert, far from any water.
你浸潤遠(yuǎn)離河水的沙漠。
You bring forth the barley, You create the wheat.
你使大地長出大麥和小麥。
You fill the granaries and storehouses, not forgetting the poor.
你灌滿水庫并使谷倉堆滿糧食,你救濟(jì)窮人。
For You we pluck our harps, for You we sing.
我們?yōu)槟銖椬嘭Q琴,我們?yōu)槟愀璩?/p>
So sang the ancient Egyptians.
古老的埃及人就是這樣歌唱的。
And they were right.
他們做得對(duì)。
For, thanks to the Nile, their land grew rich and powerful.
因?yàn)檫@個(gè)國家由于尼羅河而變得如此富有和強(qiáng)大。
Mightiest of all was their king.
他們的國王是所有國王中最強(qiáng)大的。
One king ruled over all the Egyptians, and the first to do so was King Menes.
一個(gè)統(tǒng)治所有埃及人的國王,第一個(gè)這樣的國王就是美尼斯國王。
Do you remember when that was?
你還記得是什么時(shí)候嗎?
It was in 3,100 BC.
公元前3100年。
And can you also remember - perhaps from Bible stories - what those kings of Egypt were called?
你還能不能記得--大概是來自圣經(jīng)故事--這些埃及國王的稱呼是什么?
They were called pharaohs.
他們叫做法老。
A pharaoh was immensely powerful.
一個(gè)法老的權(quán)力無比強(qiáng)大。
He lived in a great stone palace with massive pillars and many courtyards, and his word was law.
他住在一座巨大的石造的宮殿里,宮殿里有許多又大又粗的柱子,還有許多庭院;他說的每一句話都必須照辦。
All the people of Egypt had to toil for him if he so decreed. And sometimes he did.
只要他下令,埃及的所有人就都得為他工作,有時(shí)候他就這樣做。