As I walked through the wilderness of this world, I lighted on a certain place where was a den, [3] and laid me down in that place to sleep; and as I slept, I dreamed a dream. I dreamed, and behold, I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back. Isa 64:6; Luke 14:33; Psalm 38:4. I looked and saw him open the book, and read therein; and as he read, he wept and trembled; and not being able longer to contain, he brake out with a lamentable cry, saying, “What shall I do?” Acts 2:37; 16:30; Habak 1:2,3.
In this plight, therefore, he went home, and restrained himself as long as he could, that his wife and children should not perceive his distress; but he could not be silent long, because that his trouble increased. Wherefore at length he brake his mind to his wife and children; and thus he began to talk to them: “O, my dear wife,” said he, “and you the children of my bowels, I, your dear friend, am in myself undone by reason of a burden that lieth hard upon me; moreover, I am certainly informed that this our city will be burnt with fire from heaven; in which fearful overthrow, both myself, with thee my wife, and you my sweet babes, shall miserably come to ruin, except (the which yet I see not) some way of escape can be found whereby we may be delivered.” At this his relations were sore amazed; not for that they believed that what he had said to them was true, but because they thought that some frenzy distemper had got into his head; therefore, it drawing towards night, and they hoping that sleep might settle his brains, with all haste they got him to bed. But the night was as troublesome to him as the day; wherefore, instead of sleeping, he spent it in sighs and tears. So when the morning was come, they would know how he did. He told them, “Worse and worse:” he also set to talking to them again; but they began to be hardened. They also thought to drive away his distemper by harsh and surly carriage to him; sometimes they would deride, sometimes they would chide, and sometimes they would quite neglect him. Wherefore he began to retire himself to his chamber to pray for and pity them, and also to condole his own misery; he would also walk solitarily in the fields, sometimes reading, and sometimes praying: and thus for some days he spent his time.
我在旷野里行走，来到一个地方，那里有个洞穴，我就在 那儿躺下睡觉：我睡熟了，做了一个梦。
唉，我梦见一个衣衫褴褛的人站在那儿， 背后就是他自己的房子， 他手里拿着一本书， 背上背着一件看来很重的东西。 我见他打开手上的一本书念着；他一面念，一面不住地流泪， 浑身颤抖着；他委实控制不住了，发出一声悲伤的呼喊：“我 该怎么办呢？”
就在这样极度苦恼的境况中，他转身回家去了。他强自压 制着，以免他的妻子和儿女们发觉他的悲痛；可是他不能长久 保持缄默，因为他的烦恼越来越厉害了。他终于把他的心事告 诉了妻子和儿女，他对他们这样说：“唉，我亲爱的妻子，你 们，我的亲生儿女，我是你们亲爱的友伴，我可要被那压在我 身上的重负毁了；并且我确实知道我们这个城市将要给天火烧 毁；在那场可怕的灾难里，我自己，你，我的妻子，和你们， 我可爱的儿女，都将同归于尽，除非我们能够想出一个逃生的 办法，可是到如今我还想不出什么办法来。”他家中的人听了 这番话，好生诧异；这并非因为他们相信他的话，而是他们认 为他的神经错乱了；因此，等到傍晚天快黑的时侯，他们希望 睡眠能够使他的神经镇静下来，就急忙打发他去睡觉。但是对他说来，黑夜和白天同样烦恼；因此，他不但睡不着觉，而且 整夜的叹息、流泪。后来，天亮了，他们急着要知道他的情形。 他告诉他们，更糟，更糟。他又开始对他们讲话；可是他们开 始狠起心来了。他们还想用强硬粗暴的态度来驱除他的怪病； 有时他们愚弄他，有时责骂他，有时根本不理睬他。因此他就 回到自己的房间里去为他们祈祷，一心的怜悯他们，同时他也 为自己的痛苦寻求安慰；他还独个儿在田野里徘徊，有时候看 书，有时候祈祷；他就这样度过了好多日子。
有一天我看见他在田地里走着，照常看着书，显出满怀痛 苦的神气；他一面看书，一面又那样大声喊着：“我怎么才能 得救呢？”
