< Jeremiah 18 >
1 This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord:
ὁ λόγος ὁ γενόμενος παρὰ κυρίου πρὸς Ιερεμιαν λέγων
2 Go down right away to the potter's house. I will give you my message there.
ἀνάστηθι καὶ κατάβηθι εἰς οἶκον τοῦ κεραμέως καὶ ἐκεῖ ἀκούσῃ τοὺς λόγους μου
3 I went down to the potter's house and saw him working at his potter's wheel.
καὶ κατέβην εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ κεραμέως καὶ ἰδοὺ αὐτὸς ἐποίει ἔργον ἐπὶ τῶν λίθων
4 But the pot that he was making from the clay went wrong. So he made it into something different as he thought best.
καὶ διέπεσεν τὸ ἀγγεῖον ὃ αὐτὸς ἐποίει ἐν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτοῦ καὶ πάλιν αὐτὸς ἐποίησεν αὐτὸ ἀγγεῖον ἕτερον καθὼς ἤρεσεν ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ τοῦ ποιῆσαι
5 The Lord's message came to me, saying,
καὶ ἐγένετο λόγος κυρίου πρός με λέγων
6 People of Israel, declares the Lord, can't I deal with you just like this potter does with his clay? I hold you in my hand just like clay in the potter's hand, people of Israel.
εἰ καθὼς ὁ κεραμεὺς οὗτος οὐ δυνήσομαι τοῦ ποιῆσαι ὑμᾶς οἶκος Ισραηλ ἰδοὺ ὡς ὁ πηλὸς τοῦ κεραμέως ὑμεῖς ἐστε ἐν ταῖς χερσίν μου
7 At one time it could happen that I announce that a nation or a kingdom is going to be uprooted, torn down, and destroyed.
πέρας λαλήσω ἐπὶ ἔθνος ἢ ἐπὶ βασιλείαν τοῦ ἐξᾶραι αὐτοὺς καὶ τοῦ ἀπολλύειν
8 However, if that nation I warned gives up its evil ways, then I will change my mind regarding the disaster I was about to bring.
καὶ ἐπιστραφῇ τὸ ἔθνος ἐκεῖνο ἀπὸ πάντων τῶν κακῶν αὐτῶν καὶ μετανοήσω περὶ τῶν κακῶν ὧν ἐλογισάμην τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτοῖς
9 At another time I could announce that I'm going to build up and give power to a nation or a kingdom.
καὶ πέρας λαλήσω ἐπὶ ἔθνος καὶ ἐπὶ βασιλείαν τοῦ ἀνοικοδομεῖσθαι καὶ τοῦ καταφυτεύεσθαι
10 But if it does evil in my sight and refuses to listen to my voice, then I will change my mind regarding the good I had planned for it.
καὶ ποιήσωσιν τὰ πονηρὰ ἐναντίον μου τοῦ μὴ ἀκούειν τῆς φωνῆς μου καὶ μετανοήσω περὶ τῶν ἀγαθῶν ὧν ἐλάλησα τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτοῖς
11 So tell the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says: Watch out! I am preparing disaster for you, and working out a plan against you. All of you, give up your evil ways. Live right and act right!
καὶ νῦν εἰπὸν πρὸς ἄνδρας Ιουδα καὶ πρὸς τοὺς κατοικοῦντας Ιερουσαλημ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ πλάσσω ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς κακὰ καὶ λογίζομαι ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς λογισμόν ἀποστραφήτω δὴ ἕκαστος ἀπὸ ὁδοῦ αὐτοῦ τῆς πονηρᾶς καὶ καλλίονα ποιήσετε τὰ ἐπιτηδεύματα ὑμῶν
12 But they'll say, “We just can't! We'll do whatever we want. Each of us will stubbornly follow our own evil thinking.”
καὶ εἶπαν ἀνδριούμεθα ὅτι ὀπίσω τῶν ἀποστροφῶν ἡμῶν πορευσόμεθα καὶ ἕκαστος τὰ ἀρεστὰ τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ τῆς πονηρᾶς ποιήσομεν
13 Consequently this is what the Lord says: Ask around the nations—has anybody ever heard anything like this? Virgin Israel has acted really badly.
διὰ τοῦτο τάδε λέγει κύριος ἐρωτήσατε δὴ ἐν ἔθνεσιν τίς ἤκουσεν τοιαῦτα φρικτά ἃ ἐποίησεν σφόδρα παρθένος Ισραηλ
14 Does the snow of Lebanon ever disappear from its rocky mountain-tops? Do its cool waters that flow from such distant sources ever dry up?
μὴ ἐκλείψουσιν ἀπὸ πέτρας μαστοὶ ἢ χιὼν ἀπὸ τοῦ Λιβάνου μὴ ἐκκλινεῖ ὕδωρ βιαίως ἀνέμῳ φερόμενον
15 But my people have rejected me! They burn incense to useless idols which trip them up, making them leave the old roads in order to walk down unmade paths instead of the highway.
ὅτι ἐπελάθοντό μου ὁ λαός μου εἰς κενὸν ἐθυμίασαν καὶ ἀσθενήσουσιν ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς αὐτῶν σχοίνους αἰωνίους τοῦ ἐπιβῆναι τρίβους οὐκ ἔχοντας ὁδὸν εἰς πορείαν
16 They have turned their country into a horrific wasteland, a place that will always be treated with contempt. People passing by will be shocked, shaking their heads in disbelief.
τοῦ τάξαι τὴν γῆν αὐτῶν εἰς ἀφανισμὸν καὶ σύριγμα αἰώνιον πάντες οἱ διαπορευόμενοι δῑ αὐτῆς ἐκστήσονται καὶ κινήσουσιν τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτῶν
17 Like a strong wind from the east I will scatter them before the enemy. I will turn my back on them and not look at them when their time of trouble comes.
ὡς ἄνεμον καύσωνα διασπερῶ αὐτοὺς κατὰ πρόσωπον ἐχθρῶν αὐτῶν δείξω αὐτοῖς ἡμέραν ἀπωλείας αὐτῶν
18 Some people decided, “We need a plan to deal with Jeremiah. There'll still be priests to explain the law, there'll still be wise people to give advice, and there'll still be prophets to give prophecies. Let's organize a smear campaign against him so we don't have to listen to a word he says.”
καὶ εἶπαν δεῦτε λογισώμεθα ἐπὶ Ιερεμιαν λογισμόν ὅτι οὐκ ἀπολεῖται νόμος ἀπὸ ἱερέως καὶ βουλὴ ἀπὸ συνετοῦ καὶ λόγος ἀπὸ προφήτου δεῦτε καὶ πατάξωμεν αὐτὸν ἐν γλώσσῃ καὶ ἀκουσόμεθα πάντας τοὺς λόγους αὐτοῦ
19 Lord, please pay attention to what's happening to me! Listen to what my accusers are saying!
εἰσάκουσόν μου κύριε καὶ εἰσάκουσον τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ δικαιώματός μου
20 Should good be paid back with evil? Yet they have dug a pit to trap me! Remember how I stood before you to plead on their behalf, to stop you being angry with them?
εἰ ἀνταποδίδοται ἀντὶ ἀγαθῶν κακά ὅτι συνελάλησαν ῥήματα κατὰ τῆς ψυχῆς μου καὶ τὴν κόλασιν αὐτῶν ἔκρυψάν μοι μνήσθητι ἑστηκότος μου κατὰ πρόσωπόν σου τοῦ λαλῆσαι ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν ἀγαθὰ τοῦ ἀποστρέψαι τὸν θυμόν σου ἀπ’ αὐτῶν
21 But now may their children starve; may they be killed by the sword. May their wives lose their children and their husbands; may their husbands die from disease; may their young men be killed in battle.
διὰ τοῦτο δὸς τοὺς υἱοὺς αὐτῶν εἰς λιμὸν καὶ ἄθροισον αὐτοὺς εἰς χεῖρας μαχαίρας γενέσθωσαν αἱ γυναῖκες αὐτῶν ἄτεκνοι καὶ χῆραι καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες αὐτῶν γενέσθωσαν ἀνῃρημένοι θανάτῳ καὶ οἱ νεανίσκοι αὐτῶν πεπτωκότες μαχαίρᾳ ἐν πολέμῳ
22 May cries of agony be heard from their houses when you suddenly bring invaders to attack them, because they dug a pit to capture me and hid traps to catch me as I walk along.
γενηθήτω κραυγὴ ἐν ταῖς οἰκίαις αὐτῶν ἐπάξεις ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς λῃστὰς ἄφνω ὅτι ἐνεχείρησαν λόγον εἰς σύλλημψίν μου καὶ παγίδας ἔκρυψαν ἐπ’ ἐμέ
23 But Lord, you know about all their plots to try and kill me. Don't forgive their wickedness; don't wipe away their sin. Bring them down! Deal with them when you're angry!
καὶ σύ κύριε ἔγνως ἅπασαν τὴν βουλὴν αὐτῶν ἐπ’ ἐμὲ εἰς θάνατον μὴ ἀθῳώσῃς τὰς ἀδικίας αὐτῶν καὶ τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν ἀπὸ προσώπου σου μὴ ἐξαλείψῃς γενέσθω ἡ ἀσθένεια αὐτῶν ἐναντίον σου ἐν καιρῷ θυμοῦ σου ποίησον ἐν αὐτοῖς