Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16 Had they remained on the Nativity Trail, Ruben, Dusty, and the squirrels would have arrived in Bethlehem that night. Instead, after nine days of hiking over rolling mountains and arid deserts, they reached their final destination in Ein Karem: a small house on the grounds of the Church of the Visitation.

第十六章如果鲁本、达斯迪和松鼠们一直走在耶稣诞生的小路上，他们当晚就会到达伯利恒。 相反，在翻越连绵起伏的山脉和干旱的沙漠徒步九天之后，他们到达了Ein Karem的最终目的地：探访教堂（Church of the Visitation）场地上的一所小房子。

"This is lovely!" Pearl commented as they entered the grounds. Ruben tied Dusty to a hitching post outside the house and headed up toward the church. "Wait here. I'll be right back." "I'll try not to wander off," Merle joked from inside the locked birdcage on Dusty's back. "Dusty, what is this place?" Pearl asked once Ruben was out of earshot. Since Dusty had spent a long career as a tour donkey, he knew as much about Holy Land history as any guide. "This church was built on the site of the home of Elizabeth and Zechariah, parents of John the Baptist— Jesus' cousin." "Ooh! Tell me more..." Pearl pleaded.

“这太可爱了！”他们走进场地时，珠儿评论道。 鲁本把达斯迪绑在屋外的一根柱子上，朝教堂走去。 “在这儿等着。我马上就回来。” “我会尽量不走神的，”梅尔在达斯迪背上锁着的鸟笼里开玩笑说。 “达斯迪，这是什么地方？”等鲁本走到听不见的地方，珠儿问道。 达斯迪当了很长一段时间的旅游驴，所以他对圣地的历史了解得和任何导游一样多。 这个教堂是建在伊丽莎白和撒迦利亚的家的地方，他们是耶稣的堂兄施洗约翰的父母。 “哦!告诉我更多……”珍珠辩护。

"Zechariah was a priest in the temple in Jerusalem," Dusty began. "He and his wife, Elizabeth, were very old and had never been able to have children, though they had prayed for a baby for years. "One day, while Zechariah was in the temple, the angel Gabriel appeared to him."

“撒迦利亚是耶路撒冷圣殿里的祭司，”达斯迪开始说。 他和他的妻子伊丽莎白都很老了，虽然他们多年来一直祈祷能有个孩子，但他们一直没能有孩子。 有一天，撒迦利亚在殿里，天使加百列向他显现。

"Wasn't that the same angel who appeared to Mary?" Merle asked. "Yep. Same one." Dusty continued, "'Don't be afraid, Zechariah, God has answered your prayers!' Gabriel announced. 'Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord!'" "Zechariah must have loved hearing that!" Pearl noted. "Especially since he was a priest!" "You'd think so," Dusty said. "But Zechariah doubted Gabriel. 'How can this be possible?' he said. 'My wife and I are super old!'" "Makes sense," Merle said. "It was probably a little hard to believe."

“那不就是向马利亚显现的那个天使吗？”默尔问道。 “是的。一样。”撒迦利亚，不要怕，神已经应允你的祷告了。加布里埃尔宣布。 “你的妻子伊丽莎白要给你生一个儿子，你要给他起名叫约翰。 他要预备百姓迎接主的来临！’”“撒迦利亚一定很爱听这话！”珍珠。 “尤其是他还是个牧师！”“你是这么想的，”达斯迪说。 撒迦利亚却怀疑加百列。 “这怎么可能？”他说。 “我和我妻子都超级老了！”“有道理，”梅尔说。 “这可能有点难以置信。”

"But Zechariah knew better," Dusty said. "When an angel shows up directly from heaven with a message from God, believing your wife can have a miracle baby shouldn't be much of a stretch. So Gabriel gave Zechariah something to think about and took away his voice for a while." "How long?" Merle asked. "Hold on, I'm getting to that," Dusty said. "Anyway, boom! Elizabeth gets pregnant, and six months later, Gabriel shows up in Nazareth to Mary and tells her that she's also going to have a miracle baby, and about what's going on with her old relative Elizabeth. Mary then leaves Nazareth and travels the same route we just took to this very spot. At the sound of Mary's voice, baby John in Elizabeth's tummy leaps for joy." "Elizabeth must have also been happy to see her relative, right?" Pearl asked. "She was!" Dusty replied, "She told Mary, 'God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.' Elizabeth had faith that God would do the impossible." "With God, anything is possible," Pearl said. The thought was comforting to her. Being rescued was beginning to feel impossible. "So, what happened with Zechariah?" Merle wondered.

“但撒迦利亚知道得更清楚，”达斯迪说。 “当一位天使带着上帝的信息直接从天堂出现时，相信你的妻子能有一个奇迹般的孩子应该不会太牵强。 于是加百列让撒迦利亚思考一下，就把他的声音封住了一会儿。” “多久?”默尔问道。“等一下，我马上就要讲到这个了。”达斯迪说。 “不管怎样,繁荣!伊丽莎白怀孕了，六个月后，加布里埃尔出现在拿撒勒，告诉玛丽她也将有一个奇迹般的孩子，以及她的老亲戚伊丽莎白发生了什么事。 然后玛丽离开了拿撒勒，沿着我们刚才走过的路走到了这里。 听到玛丽的声音，伊丽莎白肚子里的小约翰高兴得跳了起来。” “伊丽莎白见到她的亲戚一定也很高兴吧？”珠儿问道。 “她!”达斯丁回答说：“她对马利亚说：‘上帝赐福给你胜过赐福给所有的女人，你的孩子也有福了。 我主的母亲来看我，我何以如此荣幸呢？ 你是有福的，因为你信耶和华所说的必成就。伊丽莎白相信上帝会成就那不可能的事。” “有了上帝，一切皆有可能，”珀尔说。 这种想法使她感到安慰。 获救开始让人觉得不可能了。 “那么，撒迦利亚怎么样了？”默尔很好奇。

"He got his voice back after baby John was born," Dusty answered. "Oh good," Merle replied. "I can't imagine not being able to talk for nine months." "I can, and I love it!" Pearl teased.

“约翰宝宝出生后，他又能说话了。”达斯迪回答。 “哦，太好了，”莫尔回答。“我无法想象9个月不能说话。” “我能，而且我喜欢！”珍珠嘲笑。