華盛頓 — 奧巴馬總統就職誓詞
我，巴拉克•侯賽因•奧巴馬，謹莊嚴宣誓：我將忠實執行合衆國總統職務，竭盡全力，維持、保護和捍衛合衆國憲法。願神佑我。
拜登副總統，最高法院首席大法官先生， 美國國會議員們，尊敬的客人們，同胞們：當我們每次聚集在一起爲總統舉行就職典禮時，我們都是在見證美國憲法的不朽力量。我們是在又一次立下美國民主的承諾。 我們再次提醒說，把這個國家凝聚在一起的不是我們的膚色，不是信仰的教條，也不是我們的姓氏源於何處。使我們與衆不同——使我們成爲美國人——的，是我們對一個在兩個多世紀以前發表的宣言中所表述的理念：「我們認爲這些真理是不言而喻的：人人生而平等，他們都從他們的造物主那裏被賦予了某些不可剝奪的權利，包括生命權、自由權和追求幸福的權利。」
今天，我們仍在繼續這個永恆的旅程，讓那些字句體現在我們這個時代的現實中。因爲歷史告訴我們，雖然這些真理是不言而喻的，但它們卻不會自動實現；雖然自由是上帝給我們的禮物，但自由只能靠他在世間的子民的奮鬥才能獲得。1776年愛國先驅們所進行的鬥爭並不是以少數人的特權或烏合之衆的統治來替代專制君主。他們爲我們締造的是一個共和國，一個民有、民治、民享的政府，並將捍衛這個建國理念的任務交給一代又一代的後人。
兩百多年的歷史證明，我們做到了。
從皮鞭下和刺刀尖流出的鮮血中，我們發現，建立在自由和平等原則之上的合衆國不能一半是蓄奴的，一半是自由的。我們浴火重生，我們發誓共同努力向前。
我們共同決定，現代經濟需要鐵路和公路，以加快旅行和商業，也需要中小學和大學來培訓我們的工人。
我們一起發現，只有確保競爭和公平的法規健全，自由市場才能欣欣向榮。
我們一同決定，一個偉大國家必須關照弱者，並保護我們的人民免受生活中最嚴重的危險和不幸。
在做這一切的時候，我們從來沒有放棄對政府集中權力的懷疑，我們也沒有屈就於那種相信只靠政府就可以解決所有社會弊病的幻想。我們一直保持着自己的秉性，推崇創造力和企業家精神，堅持辛勤工作和個人責任。
但是我們也很明白，隨着時代的變化，我們也必須變化；我們出於對基本原則的忠誠，需要對新的挑戰做出新的回應；我們爲保護個人自由就最終需要集體作出努力。美國人民如果再單打獨鬥去應付當今世界的挑戰，等於讓美國軍隊以長槍和民兵組織去面對法西斯主義或共產主義的武裝。沒有任何一個個人有能力訓練出我們後代的教育需要的所有數學和科學教師，或者建造出能把新的工作和商業機會帶給我們的道路、網絡、實驗室。現在比以往任何時候都需要我們共同努力，作爲一個國家人民的整體，來做這些事情。
我們這一代美國人經歷過危機的考驗，這些危機堅定了我們的決心，也證明了我們的耐力。長達10年的戰爭即將結束，經濟復甦已經開始，美國的潛力是無限的，因爲我們擁有這個全球化的世界需要的所有特質：我們年輕有動力，多元而開放，我們有應對危機的無限能力和創新發展的天賦。美國同胞們，我們爲這個時刻而生，只要我們共同努力，我們就能牢牢抓住這個機會。
我們美國人知道，我們的國家不可能在只有越來越少的人富有、越來越多的人捉襟見肘的情況下取得成功，我們相信美國的繁榮有賴於更多的人成爲中產階級，我們知道美國的振興取決於每個人都能在工作中找到獨立與自信，也取決於人們誠實的勞動讓家庭脫離貧困。當一個出身貧困的年輕女孩知道，她與任何人都享有同樣的成功機會，身爲美國人，她不僅僅是在上帝眼中，而且在每一個人的眼中，她都享有自由與平等，這樣我們才算是遵守了立國的原則。
我們明白，目前那些陳舊的政府計劃跟不上時代。我們必須駕馭新的思想和技術以重塑政府，更新稅法，改革學校，並讓公民能夠掌握新技能，以便更加努力工作，學習更多的知識，以達到更高的目標。我們的方法雖然會改變，但目的始終如一：建設一個獎勵每個人的努力和決心的國家。這是當下所需要的。這是我們信念的真正意義所在。
我們，美國人，仍然相信，每位公民都應該得到基本的安全和尊嚴。我們必須作出降低我們的醫保費用和赤字規模的艱難抉擇。但是，我們拒絕接受這種看法，亦即美國必須在照顧建設了國家的那代人和投資於開創國家未來的那代人之間作出選擇。我們記得過去的教訓：老人的暮年在貧困中度過，殘疾孩子的父母走投無路。我們不相信，在這個國家裏自由只屬於幸運者，幸福只屬於少數人。我們知道，無論我們平日如何負責，我們當中任何人，在任何時候，都有可能面臨失業、突然生病或者房子被風暴捲走的情況。我們通過聯邦醫療保險、醫療補助計劃以及社會安全保障爲彼此作出的承諾，不僅不會挫傷我們的積極性，反而使我們更加強壯。它們不會使我們成爲一羣不勞而獲的人，反而使我們敢於去冒險，這才使國家強大。
我們，美國人，依然相信我們作爲美國人的承諾不僅是對自己的，也是對所有子孫後代的。我們會對氣候變化的威脅做出回應，因爲我們了解如果不這樣做，將會違背對子孫後代的承諾。有些人可能依然不承認科學的判斷，但所有人都無法不去正視瘋狂的野火、殘酷的乾旱、更大風暴的襲擊。通往可持續發展能源的道路會是漫長的，而且有時會很艱難。但美國不能抗拒這個轉變，而是必須領導這個轉變。我們不能將可以增加就業、誕生新型產業的這些技術拱手讓給其它國家，我們必須擁有這些技術。這是維護我們經濟的活力與國家財富的途徑，這些財富包括我們的森林、江河、農田、雪山。這是保護我們的地球的途徑，那是上帝交給我們去守護的。這也是我們爲先驅們宣示的信念增加新的含義的途徑。
我們，美國人，依然相信不必通過無休止的戰爭就能獲得永久的安全與和平。我們的軍人久經戰火考驗，技能和勇氣都舉世無雙。我們的人民永遠銘記先烈們的犧牲，珍惜自由的來之不易。不忘先烈們的犧牲將讓我們永遠對敵人保持警惕。但是我們同樣牢記那些不僅能夠贏得戰爭、還能贏得和平、化頑敵爲摯友的人們。這些經驗教訓，我們今天必須發揚光大。
我們將通過加強武裝力量和法制來保衛我們的人民和價值體系。我們將通過試圖與其它國家和平地解決爭端來顯示我們的勇氣——這不是出於對我們面臨的危險的無知，而是相信協商能夠更長久地解除懷疑與恐懼。美國將繼續在世界每個角落都保持積極的聯盟，我們也將繼續維護那些令我們能夠在國外應付危機的機制，因爲沒有哪個國家會比世界上最強大的國家更需要一個和平的世界。我們將支持從亞洲到非洲、從拉美到中東的民主發展，因爲利益和良知促使我們去支持那些希望自由的人們。我們也必須是貧困、疾病、歧視、偏見的受害者們的後援——這不僅僅是出於慈善爲懷，也因爲我們時代的和平需要不斷地推動我們共同信念所基於的原則，包括寬容、機遇、人類尊嚴與公正。
我們，美國人，今天宣佈，最不言自明的真理——人人生而平等——仍然是指引我們的北斗星，就像當年這條真理在色內加瀑布[i]、塞爾瑪[ii]、石牆[iii]這些地方指引着人們，它指引着在這個宏大的草坪上留下了足跡的所有知名和不知名的人們。他們來到這裏聆聽宣講，說我們不能獨自行進；他們來聆聽一位王者[iv]說，我們的個人自由與地球上每個人的自由是緊密地聯繫在一起的。
如今到了我們這一代人去接過先驅們開創的使命的時候了。在我們的妻子、母親、女兒，在得到與她們的付出相符的待遇之前，我們的使命還沒有完成；在我們同性戀的兄弟和姐妹像其他人一樣在法律上被視真正平等之前，我們的使命還沒有完成- 因爲如果我們之間真正平等，那麼可以肯定，我們所承諾的彼此相愛也必須是平等的。在所有公民行使投票權不必被迫等待幾個小時之前，我們的使命還沒有完成。在我們找到一個更好的方式來歡迎那些仍然可以把美國看作一個充滿機遇的土地，樂於奮鬥，充滿希望的移民之前，在那些聰明的年輕學生和工程師被納入到我們的勞動大軍之中而不是被驅逐出境之前，我們的使命還沒有完成。在從底特律的街頭到阿巴拉契亞山間到紐頓安靜的小巷中，我們所有的孩子們都知道他們在被關心和愛護，安全有保障之前，我們的使命還沒有完成。
這是我們這一代人的使命 - 讓生命、自由、追求幸福這些字眼、這些權利、這些價值 - 真正成爲每一個美國人的現實。忠實我們國家的創始文件，並不需要我們生活的每一個範疇都看法一致，也並不意味着我們以完全相同的方式定義自由，或者遵循同樣的路徑追求幸福。進步並不強迫我們放棄幾個世紀以來關於所有政府作用的辯論 - 但需要我們在我們的時代採取行動。
我們現在就要做出抉擇，我們不能承受拖延的後果。我們不能誤以爲毫無妥協餘地是在堅持原則，或者以做秀取代政治，或者以相互指責取代理性的辯論。我們必須行動，儘管知道我們的工作不會十全十美。我們必須行動，儘管知道今天的勝利只是部分的成功，它將更多地取決於今後四年、四十年乃至四百年後站在這裏的人們，繼續發揚從費城獨立廳傳到我們手中的超越時代的精神。
我的美國同胞們，我今天在你們面前宣誓，就和過去在這座國會山上宣誓過的人一樣，是對上帝和國家而不是對一個政黨或者派別的誓詞。我們必須在任職期間忠實履行我們的誓言。我的誓詞，和每次軍人接受任務、移民實現夢想時的誓詞，並無太大不同；和我們面對在空中飄揚，讓我們心中充滿自豪的國旗所做的宣誓，也無太大差異。
這些是美國公民的心聲，代表了我們最大的希望。
你們和我，作爲美國公民，有確定國家未來前程的權力。
你們和我，作爲美國公民，有塑造我們時代話語的責任，不僅通過我們投下的選票，也通過爲了維護我們最永久的價值觀及理想而發出的大聲疾呼。
讓我們每個人用莊嚴的責任和無與倫比的歡悅，來擁抱我們與生俱來的永恆權利。憑藉共同的努力，憑藉熱情和執着，讓我們響應歷史的召喚，承載一個珍愛自由之光的未知未來。
感謝你們，上帝保佑你們，願上帝永遠佑護美利堅合衆國。
(美國之音2013年1月21日翻譯稿)
英文原稿：
Vice President Biden, Mr. Chief justice, Members of the United States Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow citizens:
Each time we gather to inaugurate a president; we bear witness to the enduring strength of our Constitution. We affirm the promise of our democracy. We recall that what binds the nation together is not the color of our skin, or the tenets of our faith, or the origins of our names. What makes us exceptional, what makes us American, is our allegiance to an idea, articulated in a declaration made more than two centuries ago.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
For we, the people, understand that our country can not succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it. We believe that America』s prosperity must rest upon the broad shoulders of a rising middle class. We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American, she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own.
We understand that outworn programs are inadequate to the needs of our time. We must harness new ideas and technology to remake our government, revamp our tax code, reform our schools, and empower our citizens with the skills they need to work harder, learn more, and reach higher. But while the means will change, our purpose endures: a nation that rewards the effort and determination of every single American. That is what this moment requires. That is what will give real meaning to our creed.
We, the people, still believe that every citizen deserves a basic measure of security and dignity. We must make the hard choices to reduce the cost of health care and the size of our deficit. But we reject the belief that America must choose between caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future. For we remember the lessons of our past, when twilight years were spent in poverty, and parents of a child with a disability had nowhere to turn. We do not believe that in this country, freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us, at any time, may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other – through Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security – these things do not sap our initiative; they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.
We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms. The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries – we must claim its promise. That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure –our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That』s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.
We, the people, still believe that enduring security and lasting peace do not require perpetual war. Our brave men and women in uniform, tempered by the flames of battle, are unmatched in skill and courage. Our citizens, seared by the memory of those we have lost, know too well the price that is paid for liberty. The knowledge of their sacrifice will keep us forever vigilant against those who would do us harm. But we are also heirs to those who won the peace and not just the war, who turned sworn enemies into the surest of friends, and we must carry those lessons into this time as well.
We will defend our people and uphold our values through strength of arms and rule of law.
We will show the courage to try and resolve our differences with other nations peacefully – not because we are naïve about the dangers we face, but because engagement can more durably lift suspicion and fear. America will remain the anchor of strong alliances in every corner of the globe; and we will renew those institutions that extend our capacity to manage crisis abroad, for no one has a greater stake in a peaceful world than its most powerful nation. We will support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East, because our interests and our conscience compel us to act on behalf of those who long for freedom. And we must be a source of hope to the poor, the sick, the marginalized, the victims of prejudice – not out of mere charity, but because peace in our time requires the constant advance of those principles that our common creed describes: tolerance and opportunity; human dignity and justice.
We, the people, declare today that the most evident of truths – that all of us are created equal – is the star that guides us still; just as it guided our forebears through Seneca Falls, and Selma, and Stonewall; just as it guided all those men and women, sung and unsung, who left footprints along this great Mall, to hear a preacher say that we cannot walk alone; to hear a King proclaim that our individual freedom is inextricably bound to the freedom of every soul on Earth.
It is now our generation』s task to carry on what those pioneers began. For our journey is not complete until our wives, our mothers，and daughters can earn a living equal to their efforts. Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated as anyone else under the law-for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well. Our journey is not complete until no citizen is forced to wait for hours to exercise the right to vote. Our journey is not complete until we find a better way to welcome the striving, hopeful immigrants who still see America as a land of opportunity; until bright young students and engineers are enlisted in our workforce rather than expelled from our country. Our journey is not complete until all our children, from the streets of Detroit to the hills of Appalachia to the quiet lanes of Newtown, know that they are cared for, and cherished, and always safe from harm.
That is our generation's task – to make these words, these rights, these values – of Life, and Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – real for every American. Being true to our founding documents does not require us to agree on every contour of life; it does not mean we all define liberty in exactly the same way, or follow the same precise path to happiness. Progress does not compel us to settle centuries-long debates about the role of government for all time – but it does require us to act in our time.
For now decisions are upon us, and we cannot afford delay. We cannot mistake absolutism for principle, or substitute spectacle for politics, or treat name-calling as reasoned debate. We must act, we must act knowing that our work will be imperfect. We must act, knowing that today's victories will be only partial, and that it will be up to those who stand here in four years, and forty years, and four hundred years hence to advance the timeless spirit once conferred to us in a spare Philadelphia hall.
My fellow Americans, the oath I have sworn before you today, like the one recited by others who serve in this Capitol, was an oath to God and country, not party or faction – and we must faithfully execute that pledge during the duration of our service. But the words I spoke today are not so different from the oath that is taken each time a soldier signs up for duty, or an immigrant realizes her dream. My oath is not so different from the pledge we all make to the flag that waves above and that fills our hearts with pride.
They are the words of citizens, and they represent our greatest hope.
You and I, as citizens, have the power to set this country's course.
You and I, as citizens, have the obligation to shape the debates of our time – not only with the votes we cast, but with the voices we lift in defense of our most ancient values and enduring ideals.
Let each of us now embrace, with solemn duty and awesome joy, what is our lasting birthright. With common effort and common purpose, with passion and dedication, let us answer the call of history, and carry into an uncertain future that precious light of freedom.
Thank you, God Bless you, and may He forever bless these United States of America.