未来之城

Babylon is a city of the future.

巴比伦被称作未来之城

Cosmopolitan, multi-cultural,

它是一座国际化 多文化并存的

a city of many different gods.

信奉不同神灵的城市

But in this melting pot,

但在这大熔炉之中

The Jews write into mankind's story a revolutionary idea:

犹太人将一种革命性的思想注入了人类故事中

Monotheism.

那就是一神论

All existence created by one god.

所有的生灵都由同一个上帝创造

Rather than thinking of Yahweh as the highest amongst the gods,

他们并不是将耶和华视为众神之首

just one of many gods, but the god of Israel.

众神之一 而是将其视为以色列的神

The Jews begin to think that perhaps Yahweh is the sole god.

犹太人开始思考 也许耶和华就是唯一的上帝

But for the Jews of Babylon,

但对于身处巴比伦的犹太人

the word of god is under threat.

上帝的意志正受到威胁

The city is besieged by the armies of the Persian empire.

巴比伦被波斯帝国的军队层层包围

If it falls, their fragile writings could go up in flames.

如果城市沦陷 那他们的创作便将付之一炬

Now one man seizes this moment.

而有一个人抓住了这次机会

He sees opportunity.

他看到了机遇

Zerubbabel...

他就是所罗巴伯

Exiled prince,

他是被流放的王子

descendant of Kings Solomon and David.

是所罗门和大卫国王的后代

重点讲解

1、revolutionary

革命的

Do you know anything about the revolutionary movement?

你了解这场革命运动吗？

the Cuban revolutionary leader, Jose Marti.

古巴革命领导人何塞·马蒂

革命性的;突破性的;发生重大变革的

Invented in 1951, the rotary engine is a revolutionary concept in internal combustion.

1951年发明的转缸式发动机是内燃机领域内的革命性概念。

His playing as a trumpet player was quite revolutionary.

他的小号演奏独创一格。

2、existence

存在;实有

the existence of other galaxies.

其他星系的存在

The Congress of People's Deputies in effect voted itself out of existence.

(苏联)人民代表大会的投票在事实上终结了自身的存在。

（尤指逆境中的）生活，生活方式

You may be stuck with a miserable existence for the rest of your life.

你可能一辈子都要过着悲惨的生活。

Their day-to-day existence was routine.

他们的日常生活很平淡。

3、besiege

烦扰；纠缠

She was besieged by the press and the public.

她被媒体和公众纠缠不休。

包围；围攻

The main part of the army moved to Sevastopol to besiege the town.

军队主力转移到了塞瓦斯托波尔，对该城进行围攻。

The Afghan air force was using helicopters to supply the besieged town.

阿富汗空军正用直升机向被围城镇提供补给。