耶利米書 16
1 上主的話傳給說：
And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2 「在這地方，你不要取妻，不要有兒女，
“You shall not take a wife, and there shall be no sons or daughters for you in this place.
3 因為上主關於生在這地方的子女，和這境內生育他們的母親，以及生養他們的父親這樣說：
For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are conceived in this place, and concerning their mothers who give birth to them, and concerning their fathers, from whose stock they have been born in this land:
4 「他們必死於死症，沒有人哀悼，沒有人掩埋，有如地面上的糞土。他們反為戰爭和饑荒所毀滅，他們的屍首，必成為天上飛鳥和地上野獸的食物」。
They will die from grievous mortal illnesses. They will not be mourned, and they will not be buried. They will be like manure on the face of the earth. And they will be consumed by sword and by famine. And their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the land.”
5 因為上主這樣說：「你不要進入居喪者之家，去舉哀弔唁，因為我已由這人民撤回了我的平安、慈愛和憐憫──上主的斷語──
For thus says the Lord: “You shall not enter the house of feasting, and you shall not go to mourn or to console them. For I have taken away from this people, says the Lord, my peace, my mercy, and my pity.
6 無論大小都要死在這地方，無人掩埋，
Both the great and the small will die in this land. They will not be buried, and they will not be mourned. And no one will cut themselves or make themselves bald on their behalf.
7 沒有人為他們舉喪，沒有人與居喪者分食喪餅，以相弔慰；沒有人與居喪或父母者飲一杯慰唁酒。
And they will not break bread among themselves for the sake of him who mourns, so as to console him over the dead. And they will not give them a chalice to drink, so as to console them over their father and mother.
8 有宴會的家，你 也不要進去，與他們一同坐下吃喝，
And so, you shall not enter the house of feasting, so as to sit with them, and to eat and drink.”
9 因為萬軍的上主，以色列的天主這樣說：看，我必在你們眼前，在你們的時日內，使這地方再也聽不到歡和喜樂的聲音，新郎和新娘的聲音。
For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will take away from this place, in your sight and in your days, the voice of gladness and the voice of rejoicing, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride.
10 當你把這一切話告訴這人民，他們必問你說：為什麼上主對我們宣佈了這一切大災禍﹖我們有什麼過犯，我們有什麼罪惡干犯了上主我們的天主﹖
And when you announce all these words to this people, they will say to you: ‘Why would the Lord pronounce all this great evil against us? What is our iniquity and what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’
11 你就答應說：是因為你的祖先離棄了我──上主的斷語──跟隨了別的神祗，事奉朝拜，而背棄了我，沒有遵守我的法律。
And you shall say to them: It is because your fathers abandoned me, says the Lord. And they went after strange gods, and they served them and adored them. And they abandoned me, and they did not keep my law.
12 至於你們，你們作惡更甚於你的祖先；看，你們各人隨從自己頑固的惡意生活，不聽從我；
But you have acted even worse than your fathers. For behold, each one walks after the depravity of his own evil heart, so that he does not listen to me.
13 所以我必從這地上將你們驅逐，到你們和你的祖先從不認識的地方去，讓你們在那裏日夜事奉別的神祗；我再也不對你們表示憐愛。
And so, I will cast you out of this land, into a land that you do not know, and that your fathers did not know. And in that place, you will serve, day and night, strange gods who will not give you rest.
14 [為此，看，時日必將來臨──上主的斷語──人不再發誓說：領以色列子民由埃及地上來的「上主永在」，
Therefore, behold, the days are approaching, says the Lord, when it will no longer be said, ‘As the Lord lives, who led the sons of Israel away from the land of Egypt,’
15 卻要說：領以色列子民由北方，並由衪驅逐他們所至的各地回來的「上主永在」；因為我必領他們回到我已賜給他們祖先的地方]。
but instead, ‘As the Lord lives, who led the sons of Israel away from the land of the north,’ and from all the lands to which I have cast them out. And I will lead them back into their own land, which I gave to their fathers.
16 看，我必派許多漁夫上主的斷語──來捕捉他們；以後，我又派許多獵人來， 8各山上，各丘陵和岩石的裂縫間，獵取他們，
Behold, I will send many fishermen, says the Lord, and they will fish for them. And after this, I will send many hunters to them, and they will hunt for them on every mountain, and on every hilltop, and in the caverns of the rocks.
17 因為我的眼注視他們的一切行徑，他們不能由我面前隱藏，他們的過犯在我眼前也不能隱藏。
For my eyes are upon all their ways. They have not been hidden from my face, and their iniquity has not been concealed from my eyes.
18 我首先先要加倍報復他們的過犯和罪惡，因為他們以死屍般的偶像玷污了我的土地，使我的的基業上滿是醜惡的神像」。
But first, I will repay their double iniquities and their sins. For they have defiled my land with the dead bodies of their idols, and they have filled my inheritance with their abominations.”
19 上主，我的力量，我的保障，我憂患之日的避難所，萬民必從地極來到你面前說：「我們的祖先承受的只是虛假、空虛和毫無益處的事」。
“O Lord, my strength, and my health, and my refuge in the day of tribulation: the Gentiles will approach you from the ends of the earth, and they will say: ‘Truly, our fathers possessed a lie, an emptiness that has not benefited them.’
20 人豈能為自己製造神祗﹖凡製造的，絕不是神!
How can man make gods for himself, though these are not gods?”
21 為此，看，我必叫他們知道，這此我必叫他們體驗我的手和我的能力，使他們知道我的名字是「上主」。
“Concerning this, behold: I will make it clear to them, in this turn. I will reveal to them my hand and my virtue. And they will know that the Lord is my name.”
