Appendix Two: The Masoretic Silluk in Daniel
附录二：但以理书中的马所拉停顿符
There is a valid objection to our interpretation of Daniel’s last vision. We have attached the last phrase of verse 10—“none of the wicked shall understand; but those who are wise shall understand”—to the first phrase of verse 11—“from the time that the continual burnt offering is taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate is set up” (12:10–11). Our decision to link these two phrases is justified, because it makes sense of the passage. It explains why the wise will understand at a certain point in the future, whereas Daniel could not understand, even though he was certainly wise.
我们的但以理最后异象的解释有一个合理的反对意见。我们把第10节最后一句「恶人必不得明白，惟独有智慧的必明白」与第11节开头「从除掉常献的燔祭，并设立那行毁坏可憎之物的时候」连在一起（12:10-11）。我们这样连接是合理的，因为这样才能解释经文。它说明了为什么有智慧的人在将来某个时刻会明白，而但以理虽然有智慧却无法明白。
But there is a traditional Jewish understanding of this passage that instead attaches the phrase, “from the time that the continual burnt offering is taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate is set up” to the phrase that follows it, “there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.” This traditional understanding is based on the Masoretic silluk between the two phrases we have attached. The trouble with the Masoretic reading is that it makes the passage undecipherable.
但传统犹太人对这段经文的理解是，把「从除掉常献的燔祭，并设立那行毁坏可憎之物的时候」与后面的「必有一千二百九十日」连在一起。这种传统理解基于我们所连接的两句话之间的马所拉停顿符。马所拉的读法问题在于，它让这段经文变得难以理解。
Before discussing it further, we need a very short lesson in Hebrew. In its original written form, Hebrew did not include any vowels, punctuation, or accent marks. It was just a series of consonants. The reader supplied the rest as he read. Later, consonants were used as a stand-in for vowels.
在进一步讨论前，我们需要简要了解希伯来文。希伯来文最初的书写形式没有元音、标点或重音符号，只有一连串的辅音。读者在阅读时自行补充。后来，辅音也被用作元音的替代。
About five hundred years after Christ’s first advent, Jewish scholars called Masoretes took the consonants of the Hebrew language and started to develop vowels and accent marks (for punctuation). They did the bulk of their work from around 700 to 1000 A.D., and the Masoretic text of the Old Testament dates from around this time. The Dead Sea Scrolls have verified that the Masoretic text is still one of the most reliable sources for what the original Hebrew text (made up exclusively of consonants) actually contained.
基督第一次降临后约五百年，犹太学者马所拉学者用希伯来文的辅音，开始发展元音和重音符号（用于标点）。他们主要工作时间在公元700至1000年，旧约马所拉文本也大致成型于此时。死海古卷证实，马所拉文本仍是最可靠的原始希伯来文（纯辅音）内容来源之一。
The Masoretic text contains vowels and accent marks (for punctuation), both inserted into the text by the Masoretic scholars. The silluk is the strongest punctuation mark used in Hebrew, analogous to our period. Here is the passage, with a double asterisk (**) placed in the text to show the location of the Masoretic silluk.
马所拉文本包含元音和重音符号（用于标点），都是马所拉学者加进去的。停顿符是希伯来文中最强的标点，相当于我们的句号。下面是经文，用双星号（**）标出马所拉停顿符的位置。
Then I said, “O my lord, what shall be the issue of these things?” He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.… None of the wicked shall understand; but those who are wise shall understand.** And from the time that the continual burnt offering is taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he who waits and comes to the thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. But go your way till the end; and you shall rest, and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days” (12:8–13).
我说：「我主啊，这些事的结局如何呢？」他说：「但以理啊，你只管去，因为这话已经隐藏封闭，直到末时……恶人必不得明白，惟独有智慧的必明白。**从除掉常献的燔祭，并设立那行毁坏可憎之物的时候，必有一千二百九十日。等到一千三百三十五日得福的，是有福的。你且去等候结局，你必安息，在末后的日子必起来，享受你的福分。」（12:8-13）
These punctuation decisions were made well after the time of Christ by Jewish scholars during the Middle Ages. Those scholars were undoubtedly closer to the culture and language than we are now. But at the same time, they were not inerrant (Daniel’s original autographs were). Their punctuation marks must be given great weight, but they are certainly not part of the original inspired text. We must not forget that the silluk was not in the text until more than a millennium after Daniel penned this vision. This punctuation was not there when Jesus read the passage, nor when St. Peter and St. Paul read it, nor even when St. Augustine read it.
这些标点决定是在基督之后很久、中世纪时由犹太学者做出的。这些学者无疑比我们更接近当时的文化和语言。但他们并非无误（但以理原稿才是）。他们的标点应当受到重视，但绝不是原始默示文本的一部分。我们不能忘记，停顿符直到但以理写下异象后一千多年才出现在文本中。耶稣读这段经文时没有这个标点，圣彼得、圣保罗，甚至圣奥古斯丁读时也没有。
What’s the point? Punctuation should make a passage more understandable, not more obtuse. The problem with the Masoretic punctuation is that it leaves the passage without any clear message. So we have chosen to attach the phrase “those who are wise shall understand” to the phrase that follows it, “from the time that the continual burnt offering is taken away.” We can then make sense of why the wise will one day understand, and why Daniel would never understand, even though he was certainly wise. The wise were witnesses to certain events that would make them understand the mystery of Christ’s Kingdom.
重点是什么？标点应当让经文更易懂，而不是更晦涩。马所拉标点的问题在于，它让这段经文没有明确的信息。所以我们选择把「有智慧的必明白」与后面的「从除掉常献的燔祭」连在一起。这样我们就能明白，为什么有智慧的人有一天会明白，而但以理虽然有智慧却永远无法明白。有智慧的人见证了某些事件，使他们明白基督国度的奥秘。
While we should never discard Masoretic punctuation without good cause, in this case there is excellent reason to do so.
除非有充分理由，否则我们绝不应随意舍弃马所拉标点，但在这里确实有充分理由这样做。