经典译文:在巴比伦的河边我们坐下来哭泣

 　　By the Rivers of Babylon We Sat Down and Wept

　　在巴比伦的河边我们坐下来哭泣

　　We sat down and wept by the waters

　　Of Babel， and thought of the day

　　When our foe¹， in the hue² of his slaughters³，

　　Made Salem’s high places his prey⁴;

　　And ye， oh her desolate⁵ daughters！

　　Were scattered⁶ all weeping away.

　　在巴比伦的河边我们坐下来

　　悲痛地哭泣，我们想到那一天

　　我们的敌人如何在屠杀叫喊中，

　　焚毁了撒冷的高耸的神殿：

　　而你们，呵，她凄凉的女儿！

　　你们都号哭着四散逃散。

　　While sadly we gazed on the river

　　Which rolled on in freedom below，

　　They demanded the song; but， oh never

　　That triumph the stranger shall know！

　　May this right hand be withered⁷ for ever，

　　Ere it string our high harp⁸ for the foe！

　　当我们忧郁地坐在河边

　　看着脚下的河水自由地奔流，

　　他们命令我们歌唱；呵，绝不！

　　我们绝不在这事情上低头！

　　宁可让这只右手永远枯瘦，

　　但我们的圣琴绝不为异族弹奏！

　　On the willow⁹ that harp is suspended，

　　Oh Salem！ its sound should be free;

　　And the hour when thy glories were

　　ended

　　But left me that token of thee：

　　And ne’er shall its soft tones be blended

　　With the voice of the spoiler by me！

　　我把那竖琴悬挂在柳梢头，

　　噢，撒冷！它的歌声该是自由的；

　　想到你的光荣丧尽的那一刻，

　　却把你的这遗物留在我这里：

　　呵，我绝不使它优美的音调

　　和暴虐者的声音混在一起！

1 foe   

n.敌人，仇敌

参考例句：

• He knew that Karl could be an implacable foe.他明白卡尔可能会成为他的死敌。
• A friend is a friend;a foe is a foe;one must be clearly distinguished from the other.敌是敌，友是友，必须分清界限。

2 hue   

n.色度；色调；样子

参考例句：

• The diamond shone with every hue under the sun.金刚石在阳光下放出五颜六色的光芒。
• The same hue will look different in different light.同一颜色在不同的光线下看起来会有所不同。

3 slaughters   

v.屠杀，杀戮，屠宰( slaughter的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• These vast slaughters have since become notorious. 此后，这些大规模的屠杀，就变成了很不光彩的新闻。 来自辞典例句
• Remembered that despairs and hope that each other slaughters. 记得绝望和希望，彼此厮杀。 来自互联网

4 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

5 desolate   

adj.荒凉的，荒芜的；孤独的，凄凉的；v.使荒芜，使孤寂

参考例句：

• The city was burned into a desolate waste.那座城市被烧成一片废墟。
• We all felt absolutely desolate when she left.她走后，我们都觉得万分孤寂。

6 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

7 withered   

adj. 枯萎的，干瘪的，（人身体的部分器官）因病萎缩的或未发育良好的 动词wither的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The grass had withered in the warm sun. 这些草在温暖的阳光下枯死了。
• The leaves of this tree have become dry and withered. 这棵树下的叶子干枯了。

8 harp   

n.竖琴；天琴座

参考例句：

• She swept her fingers over the strings of the harp.她用手指划过竖琴的琴弦。
• He played an Irish melody on the harp.他用竖琴演奏了一首爱尔兰曲调。

9 willow   

n.柳树

参考例句：

• The river was sparsely lined with willow trees.河边疏疏落落有几棵柳树。
• The willow's shadow falls on the lake.垂柳的影子倒映在湖面上。