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Their towers however still stand amidst the ruins of Mesopotamia.
只有他們建造的高塔依然屹立在美索不達米亞的廢墟之中。
The Jews saw them when they went into exile in the land of Babylon
猶太人在流浪途中經過巴比倫時，看見了這些宏偉的建筑，
and they called them towers of Bab-Illi, or towers of Babel(here is a picture of towers of Babel).
便把它們稱為"巴別塔"（通天之塔）。
In the fortieth century before our era, the Sumerians had entered Mesopotamia.
蘇美爾人于公元前40世紀進入美索不達米亞，
They were soon afterwards over-powered by the Akkadians, one of the many tribes from the desert of Arabia who speak a common dialect
不久后便為阿卡德人所征服。阿卡德人是阿拉伯沙漠中講同樣方言的諸多部落的一支，
and who are known as the"Semites," because in the olden days people believed them to be the direct descendants of Shem, one of the three sons of Noah.
這些部族被通稱為"閃米特人"， 因為他們相信自己是挪亞3個兒子之一的"閃"的直系后商。
A thousand years later, the Akkadians were forced to submit to the rule of the Amorites,
又過了1000年，阿卡德人被迫臣服于另一個 閃米特沙漠部落阿莫賴特人的統治。
another Semitic desert tribe whose great King Hammurabi built himself a magnificent palace in the holy city of Babylon
阿莫賴特人擁有一位偉大的國王-一漢漠拉比。他在圣城巴比倫為自己建造了一座華麗的宮殿，
and who (here is a picture of the holy city of Babylon) gave his people a set of laws which made the Babylonian state the best administered empire of the ancient world.
并向其子民頒布了一套法律（漢漠拉比造典），使巴比倫成為古代世界管理最完善的帝國。
Next the Hittites, whom you will also meet in the Old Testament, overran the Fertile Valley and destroyed whatever they could not carry away.
接著，《舊約全書》曾記述過的赫梯人掠奪了這塊富饒的河谷，他們把一切不能帶走的東西通通摧毀。
