< Jeremiah 2 >
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2 “Go, and cry out to the ears of Jerusalem, saying: Thus says the Lord: I have remembered you, taking pity on your youth and on the charity of your betrothal, when you followed me into the desert, into a land which is not sown.
καὶ εἶπεν τάδε λέγει κύριος ἐμνήσθην ἐλέους νεότητός σου καὶ ἀγάπης τελειώσεώς σου τοῦ ἐξακολουθῆσαί σε τῷ ἁγίῳ Ισραηλ λέγει κύριος
3 Israel is holy to the Lord, the first of his fruits. All those who devour him commit an offense. Evils will overwhelm them, says the Lord.”
ἅγιος Ισραηλ τῷ κυρίῳ ἀρχὴ γενημάτων αὐτοῦ πάντες οἱ ἔσθοντες αὐτὸν πλημμελήσουσιν κακὰ ἥξει ἐπ’ αὐτούς φησὶν κύριος
4 Listen to the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all you families of the house of Israel.
ἀκούσατε λόγον κυρίου οἶκος Ιακωβ καὶ πᾶσα πατριὰ οἴκου Ισραηλ
5 Thus says the Lord: “What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they would draw far away from me, and would walk after emptiness, and would become empty?
τάδε λέγει κύριος τί εὕροσαν οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν ἐν ἐμοὶ πλημμέλημα ὅτι ἀπέστησαν μακρὰν ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν ὀπίσω τῶν ματαίων καὶ ἐματαιώθησαν
6 And they have not said: ‘Where is the Lord, who caused us to ascend from the land of Egypt; who led us through the desert, through an uninhabited and impassable land, through a land of drought and of the image of death, through a land in which no one walked and in which no man lived?’
καὶ οὐκ εἶπαν ποῦ ἐστιν κύριος ὁ ἀναγαγὼν ἡμᾶς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου ὁ καθοδηγήσας ἡμᾶς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἐν γῇ ἀπείρῳ καὶ ἀβάτῳ ἐν γῇ ἀνύδρῳ καὶ ἀκάρπῳ ἐν γῇ ἐν ᾗ οὐ διώδευσεν ἐν αὐτῇ οὐθὲν καὶ οὐ κατῴκησεν ἐκεῖ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου
7 And I led you into the land of Carmel, so that you would eat from its fruit and from its excellence. And having entered it, you defiled my land, and you turned my inheritance into an abomination.
καὶ εἰσήγαγον ὑμᾶς εἰς τὸν Κάρμηλον τοῦ φαγεῖν ὑμᾶς τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ ἀγαθὰ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰσήλθατε καὶ ἐμιάνατε τὴν γῆν μου καὶ τὴν κληρονομίαν μου ἔθεσθε εἰς βδέλυγμα
8 The priests have not said: ‘Where is the Lord?’ And those who held the law did not know me. And the pastors betrayed me. And the prophets prophesied in Baal and followed idols.
οἱ ἱερεῖς οὐκ εἶπαν ποῦ ἐστιν κύριος καὶ οἱ ἀντεχόμενοι τοῦ νόμου οὐκ ἠπίσταντό με καὶ οἱ ποιμένες ἠσέβουν εἰς ἐμέ καὶ οἱ προφῆται ἐπροφήτευον τῇ Βααλ καὶ ὀπίσω ἀνωφελοῦς ἐπορεύθησαν
9 Because of this, I will still contend in judgment against you, says the Lord, and I will dispute with your sons.
διὰ τοῦτο ἔτι κριθήσομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς λέγει κύριος καὶ πρὸς τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν υἱῶν ὑμῶν κριθήσομαι
10 Cross over to the isles of Kittim, and gaze. And send to Kedar, and consider diligently. And see if anything like this has ever been done.
διότι διέλθετε εἰς νήσους Χεττιιμ καὶ ἴδετε καὶ εἰς Κηδαρ ἀποστείλατε καὶ νοήσατε σφόδρα καὶ ἴδετε εἰ γέγονεν τοιαῦτα
11 See if a nation has ever changed their gods, though certainly those are not gods. Yet truly, my people have exchanged their glory for an idol.
εἰ ἀλλάξονται ἔθνη θεοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ οὗτοι οὔκ εἰσιν θεοί ὁ δὲ λαός μου ἠλλάξατο τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ ἐξ ἧς οὐκ ὠφεληθήσονται
12 Be astonished at this, O heavens, and be utterly desolate, O gates of heaven, says the Lord.
ἐξέστη ὁ οὐρανὸς ἐπὶ τούτῳ καὶ ἔφριξεν ἐπὶ πλεῖον σφόδρα λέγει κύριος
13 For my people have done two evils. They have forsaken me, the Fountain of living water, and they have dug for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that are unable to hold water.
ὅτι δύο πονηρὰ ἐποίησεν ὁ λαός μου ἐμὲ ἐγκατέλιπον πηγὴν ὕδατος ζωῆς καὶ ὤρυξαν ἑαυτοῖς λάκκους συντετριμμένους οἳ οὐ δυνήσονται ὕδωρ συνέχειν
14 Is Israel a servant, or one born into slavery? Then why has he become a prey?
μὴ δοῦλός ἐστιν Ισραηλ ἢ οἰκογενής ἐστιν διὰ τί εἰς προνομὴν ἐγένετο
15 The lions have roared over him, and they have uttered their voice. They have set his land in solitude; his cities have been burned up, and there is no one who lives in them.
ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ὠρύοντο λέοντες καὶ ἔδωκαν τὴν φωνὴν αὐτῶν οἳ ἔταξαν τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔρημον καὶ αἱ πόλεις αὐτοῦ κατεσκάφησαν παρὰ τὸ μὴ κατοικεῖσθαι
16 Likewise, the sons of Memphis and of Tahpanhes have defiled you, even to the top of the head.
καὶ υἱοὶ Μέμφεως καὶ Ταφνας ἔγνωσάν σε καὶ κατέπαιζόν σου
17 Has this not been done to you because you abandoned the Lord your God, in that time when he was leading you by the way?
οὐχὶ ταῦτα ἐποίησέν σοι τὸ καταλιπεῖν σε ἐμέ λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός σου
18 And now what do you want from the way of Egypt, but to drink their turbid water? And what do you want from the way of the Assyrians, but to drink the water of their river?
καὶ νῦν τί σοι καὶ τῇ ὁδῷ Αἰγύπτου τοῦ πιεῖν ὕδωρ Γηων καὶ τί σοι καὶ τῇ ὁδῷ Ἀσσυρίων τοῦ πιεῖν ὕδωρ ποταμῶν
19 Your own malice will reprove you, and your own apostasy will rebuke you! But know and perceive this: it is an evil and bitter thing for you to forsake the Lord your God, and to be without my fear within you, says the Lord, the God of hosts.
παιδεύσει σε ἡ ἀποστασία σου καὶ ἡ κακία σου ἐλέγξει σε καὶ γνῶθι καὶ ἰδὲ ὅτι πικρόν σοι τὸ καταλιπεῖν σε ἐμέ λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός σου καὶ οὐκ εὐδόκησα ἐπὶ σοί λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός σου
20 From ancient times, you have broken my yoke; you have torn apart my bonds, and you have said, ‘I will not serve.’ For on every high hill, and under every leafy tree, you have been debased, O harlot.
ὅτι ἀπ’ αἰῶνος συνέτριψας τὸν ζυγόν σου διέσπασας τοὺς δεσμούς σου καὶ εἶπας οὐ δουλεύσω ἀλλὰ πορεύσομαι ἐπὶ πᾶν βουνὸν ὑψηλὸν καὶ ὑποκάτω παντὸς ξύλου κατασκίου ἐκεῖ διαχυθήσομαι ἐν τῇ πορνείᾳ μου
21 Yet I planted you as an elect vineyard, with only true seed. Then how have you been turned away from me, toward that which is depraved, O strange vineyard?
ἐγὼ δὲ ἐφύτευσά σε ἄμπελον καρποφόρον πᾶσαν ἀληθινήν πῶς ἐστράφης εἰς πικρίαν ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀλλοτρία
22 Even if you wash yourself with soap, and increase your use of herbal soaps, you are still stained by your iniquity in my sight, says the Lord God.
ἐὰν ἀποπλύνῃ ἐν νίτρῳ καὶ πληθύνῃς σεαυτῇ πόαν κεκηλίδωσαι ἐν ταῖς ἀδικίαις σου ἐναντίον ἐμοῦ λέγει κύριος
23 How can you say: ‘I have not been polluted. I have not walked after Baal?’ Consider your ways in the steep valley. Acknowledge what you have done, so that you may be like a swift runner, following his course.
πῶς ἐρεῖς οὐκ ἐμιάνθην καὶ ὀπίσω τῆς Βααλ οὐκ ἐπορεύθην ἰδὲ τὰς ὁδούς σου ἐν τῷ πολυανδρίῳ καὶ γνῶθι τί ἐποίησας ὀψὲ φωνὴ αὐτῆς ὠλόλυξεν τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτῆς
24 A wild donkey accustomed to solitude, out of the desire in his soul, caught the scent of his lover. Now nothing will turn him away from her. All those who seek her will not cease. But they will find her in her menstruation.
ἐπλάτυνεν ἐφ’ ὕδατα ἐρήμου ἐν ἐπιθυμίαις ψυχῆς αὐτῆς ἐπνευματοφορεῖτο παρεδόθη τίς ἐπιστρέψει αὐτήν πάντες οἱ ζητοῦντες αὐτὴν οὐ κοπιάσουσιν ἐν τῇ ταπεινώσει αὐτῆς εὑρήσουσιν αὐτήν
25 You should keep your foot from being naked, and your throat from being thirsty. But you have said: ‘I have lost hope. I will not do it. For certainly, I have loved strangers, and I will walk after them.’
ἀπόστρεψον τὸν πόδα σου ἀπὸ ὁδοῦ τραχείας καὶ τὸν φάρυγγά σου ἀπὸ δίψους ἡ δὲ εἶπεν ἀνδριοῦμαι ὅτι ἠγαπήκει ἀλλοτρίους καὶ ὀπίσω αὐτῶν ἐπορεύετο
26 In the same way that a thief is confounded when he has been apprehended, so the house of Israel has been confounded, they and their kings, their leaders and priests and prophets.
ὡς αἰσχύνη κλέπτου ὅταν ἁλῷ οὕτως αἰσχυνθήσονται οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ αὐτοὶ καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ προφῆται αὐτῶν
27 For they say to a piece of wood, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You have conceived me.’ They have turned their back to me, and not their face. But in the time of their affliction, they will say: ‘Rise up and deliver us.’
τῷ ξύλῳ εἶπαν ὅτι πατήρ μου εἶ σύ καὶ τῷ λίθῳ σὺ ἐγέννησάς με καὶ ἔστρεψαν ἐπ’ ἐμὲ νῶτα καὶ οὐ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῶν κακῶν αὐτῶν ἐροῦσιν ἀνάστα καὶ σῶσον ἡμᾶς
28 Where are your gods that you made for yourselves? Let them rise up and deliver you in the time of your affliction. For certainly, your gods were like the number of your cities, O Judah.
καὶ ποῦ εἰσιν οἱ θεοί σου οὓς ἐποίησας σεαυτῷ εἰ ἀναστήσονται καὶ σώσουσίν σε ἐν καιρῷ τῆς κακώσεώς σου ὅτι κατ’ ἀριθμὸν τῶν πόλεών σου ἦσαν θεοί σου Ιουδα καὶ κατ’ ἀριθμὸν διόδων τῆς Ιερουσαλημ ἔθυον τῇ Βααλ
29 Why do you want to contend against me in judgment? You have all forsaken me, says the Lord.
ἵνα τί λαλεῖτε πρός με πάντες ὑμεῖς ἠσεβήσατε καὶ πάντες ὑμεῖς ἠνομήσατε εἰς ἐμέ λέγει κύριος
30 I have struck your children to no effect; they have not accepted discipline. Your own sword has devoured your prophets. Your generation is like a raging lion.
μάτην ἐπάταξα τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν παιδείαν οὐκ ἐδέξασθε μάχαιρα κατέφαγεν τοὺς προφήτας ὑμῶν ὡς λέων ὀλεθρεύων καὶ οὐκ ἐφοβήθητε
31 Consider the word of the Lord. Have I become like a wilderness to Israel, or like a land late to bear fruit? Then why have my people said, ‘We are withdrawing; we will no longer approach you’?
ἀκούσατε λόγον κυρίου τάδε λέγει κύριος μὴ ἔρημος ἐγενόμην τῷ Ισραηλ ἢ γῆ κεχερσωμένη διὰ τί εἶπεν ὁ λαός μου οὐ κυριευθησόμεθα καὶ οὐχ ἥξομεν πρὸς σὲ ἔτι
32 Can a virgin forget her ornament, or a bride the covering across her breast? Yet truly, my people have forgotten me, for innumerable days.
μὴ ἐπιλήσεται νύμφη τὸν κόσμον αὐτῆς καὶ παρθένος τὴν στηθοδεσμίδα αὐτῆς ὁ δὲ λαός μου ἐπελάθετό μου ἡμέρας ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός
33 Why are you striving to claim that your way is good, as if to seek my love, when all the while you are also displaying your malice by your own way,
τί ἔτι καλὸν ἐπιτηδεύσεις ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς σου τοῦ ζητῆσαι ἀγάπησιν οὐχ οὕτως ἀλλὰ καὶ σὺ ἐπονηρεύσω τοῦ μιᾶναι τὰς ὁδούς σου
34 and in your armpits there is found the blood of poor and innocent souls? I have found them, not in ditches, but everywhere that I mentioned previously.
καὶ ἐν ταῖς χερσίν σου εὑρέθησαν αἵματα ψυχῶν ἀθῴων οὐκ ἐν διορύγμασιν εὗρον αὐτούς ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ πάσῃ δρυί
35 And you have said: ‘I am innocent and without sin. And because of this, let your fury be turned away from me.’ Behold, I will contend with you in judgment, because you have said: ‘I have not sinned.’
καὶ εἶπας ἀθῷός εἰμι ἀλλὰ ἀποστραφήτω ὁ θυμὸς αὐτοῦ ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ κρίνομαι πρὸς σὲ ἐν τῷ λέγειν σε οὐχ ἥμαρτον
36 How exceedingly vile you have become, repeating your ways again and again! And so, you will be ashamed of Egypt, just as you were ashamed of Assur.
τί κατεφρόνησας σφόδρα τοῦ δευτερῶσαι τὰς ὁδούς σου καὶ ἀπὸ Αἰγύπτου καταισχυνθήσῃ καθὼς κατῃσχύνθης ἀπὸ Ασσουρ
37 For you will also depart from that place, and your hand will be upon your head. For the Lord has crushed your confidence, and you will have nothing prosperous by it.”
ὅτι καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ἐξελεύσῃ καὶ αἱ χεῖρές σου ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς σου ὅτι ἀπώσατο κύριος τὴν ἐλπίδα σου καὶ οὐκ εὐοδωθήσῃ ἐν αὐτῇ