The walls were painted with simple pictures inspired by Bible stories: pictures of Daniel in the Lion's Den,
墙上画着极简单的圣经故事图画。但以理(四大先知之一,《旧约》中有《但以理书》一篇)在狮子坑里,
of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the Burning Fiery Furnace, or Moses Striking Water from the Rock, which were there to remind Christians of the power of God and the Life Everlasting.
三个男人在火炉里,或者摩西击石取水。这些图画让基督徒们记住上帝的威力和永生:
In these underground passages Christians gathered together at night to discuss Christ's teachings,
夜晚,基督徒们在那里,在这些地下通道里聚会并讨论耶稣的学说,
to share the Lord's Supper and give each other encouragement when a new persecution threatened.
分发圣餐,在眼看要遭受新的迫害时互相鼓励。
And in the course of the next century, despite all the persecution,
尽管遭受种种迫害,在以后的一个世纪里,
more and more men and women throughout the empire came to believe in the Good News and were ready to bear, for its sake, the suffering Christ had endured.
在整个帝国却有越来越多的人信仰福音并为了它而甘愿忍受基督忍受过的一切苦难。
Christians were not the only ones to experience the severity of Roman rule for things were no better for the Jews.
当时不仅基督徒不得不身受罗马统治者的迫害,犹太人的日子也不好过。
A few years after Nero's reign a revolt against the Romans broke out in Jerusalem. The Jews wanted their freedom.
在尼禄之后的不多几年,耶路撒冷爆发了一场反对罗马人的起义,犹太人终于想获得自由了。