1.tell it not in Gath 不要把不幸的消息让敌人知道

典故出处：

Tell it not in Gath,proclaim it not in thr streets of Ashkelon---lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice,lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph. II Samuel 1:20

不要在迦特报告，不要在亚实基伦街上宣传，免得非利士的女子欢乐，免得为受割礼之人的女子矜夸。 （《撒母耳记下》1章20节）

应用实例：

Tell it not in Gath,lest your enemies be happy.

勿让外人知道，免得你的敌人称快。

2.Ten Commandments十诫

典故出处：

You shall have no other gods before Me.You shall not make for yourself any carved image....You shall not take the name for the Lord your God in vain....Remember the Sabbath day,to keep it holy....Honor your father and your mother...You shall not murder.You shall not commit adultery.You shall not steal.You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.You shall not covet your neighbor’s house;you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife,nor his manservant,nor his maidservant,nor his ox,nor his donkey,nor anything that is your neighbor’s. Exodus 20:3,4,7,8,12,-17

除了我以外，你不可以有别的神。不可为自己塑像；…不可妄称耶和华你上帝的名；....当记念安息日，守为圣日。.....当孝敬父母，.....不可杀人。不可奸淫。不可偷盗。不可作假证陷害人。不可贪恋别人的房屋；也不可以贪恋别人的妻子、仆婢、牛驴，并他一切所有的。（《出埃及记》20章3，4，7，8，12-17节）

【注】

上帝降临西奈山，将刻有十条戒律的两块石板交给摩西，要他向百姓宣读。十条戒律中四条是关于敬神的，六条是针对人的。以后这十条戒律成为犹太教和基督教共同遵守的戒律。

应用实例：

Those were the old rules,passed down in my family from mother to daughter with the unquestioned authority of the Ten Commandments.

这些都是过去的陈规旧礼，它们同那些不可置疑的十诫的权威一起在我们家里从母亲一直传到了女儿。

3.The chiefest of sinners罪魁祸首

典故出处：

This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance,that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,of whom I am chief. I Timothy 1:15

“基督耶稣降世，为了拯救罪人。”这话是可信的，是十分值得敬佩的。在罪人中我是个罪魁。 （《提摩太前书》1章15节）

应用实例：

With St. Paul,I acknowledge myself the chiefest of sinners.

和圣保罗在一起，我承认我自己是罪魁祸首。

4.the curse ofCain流离漂泊

典故出处：So now you are cursed from the earth,which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it shall no longer yield its strength to you. A fugitive and a vagabond you shall be on the earth Genesis 4:11,12 地开了口，从你手里接受你兄弟的血。现在你必从这地受诅咒。你种地，地不再给你效力，你必流离飘荡。（《创世纪》4章11、12节）

【注】

亚当之长子该隐因杀害其弟亚伯，被上帝惩罚到处漂泊。

应用实例：

Those in the provinces, as if with the curse of Cain upon their heads, came,one by one, to miserable ends.

在那些地方的人，好像命运注定的漂泊者，一个一个地走向悲惨的结局。

5.as birds do像鸟儿一样过活（衣食无虑）

典故出处：

Look at the birds of air,for they neither soe nor reap nor gather into barns;yet your heavenly Father feeds them.Are you not of more value than they? Matthew 6:26

你们看那天上的鸟儿，也不种，也不收，也不把东西积蓄在仓库中，你们的天父尚且养活它，你们不比飞鸟贵重的多吗？（《马太福音》6章26节）

应用实例：

“Your father’s dead: and what will you do know?How will you live?”“As birds do.mother.”

6.as old as Methselah玛土撒拉；年龄极高的人；寿如彭祖

典故出处：So all the days of Methselah were nine hundred and sixty-nine years; and he died. Genesis 5:27

玛土撒拉活了九百六十九岁就死了。 （《创世纪》5章27节）

【注】

彭祖，彭姓，名翦，又称篯铿，中国神话中的长寿仙人，传说中是南极仙翁的转世化身，并以享寿八百多岁著称于世。《楚辞·天问》还说他善于食疗。据《史记·楚世家》载：“彭祖氏，殷之时尝为侯伯，殷之末世灭彭祖氏。

应用实例：

He ’s as though as old whatdyecallum---old Methselah.

他竟然和《圣经》里面那个什么玛土撒拉老头一样结实。

【注意】whatdyecallum n. =what-do-you-call-’em 名叫某某的他们（用来指称忘记或者说不出名字的人或事物。）