Jeremiah 12
1 Yahweh, whenever I tell you that I am unhappy [about what is happening to me], you [always] act justly/fairly. So now allow me to ask about one more thing [that I do not understand]: Why are wicked people [often] very prosperous? Why do things go very well for dishonest/wicked people?
Herre, når jeg fører trette med dig, har du alltid rett. Allikevel må jeg gå i rette med dig: Hvorfor går det de ugudelige vel, hvorfor har de ingen sorger alle de troløse?
2 You allow them to prosper like [MET] trees that grow tall and bear [a lot of] fruit. They [always] say [MTY] good things about you, but their hearts are [really] far from you.
Du har plantet dem, og de har slått rot; de vokser op og bærer frukt; nær er du i deres munn, men langt borte fra deres nyrer.
3 But Yahweh, as for me, you know what is in my inner being. You see what I [do] and you are able to know what I am thinking. So drag away those [wicked] people, like [people drag away] sheep that they are going to butcher. Set them aside like sheep that are about to be slaughtered!
Men du, Herre, du kjenner mig, du ser mig og prøver mitt hjertelag mot dig; ta dem bort som får til å slaktes og innvi dem til en drapsdag!
4 This land is [RHQ] becoming very dry and even the grass is withering. The wild animals and the birds have [all] died because the people are [very] wicked. [All that has happened] because the people have said, “Yahweh does not know what we are doing (OR, what will happen to us)!”
Hvor lenge skal landet visne og all markens urter tørke bort? For dets innbyggeres ondskap er dyr og fugler revet bort; for de sier: Han ser ikke hvorledes det vil gå oss til sist.
5 [Then to show me that I needed to be prepared to endure even greater difficulties, Yahweh said to me], [“It is as though] you have become exhausted from racing against men; so how will you be able to race against horses? If you [stumble and] fall when you are running on open/bare/smooth ground, what will happen to you when you are running through the thornbushes near the Jordan [River]?
Når du løper med fotgjengere, og de gjør dig trett, hvorledes vil du løpe om kapp med hester? I et fredelig land er du trygg, men hvad vil du gjøre i Jordans prakt?
6 [Already] your brothers and [other members of] your own family oppose you. They (plot against/plan to do evil things to) you and they say bad things about you. So even if they say nice things about you, do not trust them!
For selv dine brødre og din fars hus, selv de er troløse mot dig, selv de skriker efter dig av full hals; tro dem ikke når de taler fagre ord til dig!
7 I have abandoned my [Israeli] people, the people whom I chose to belong to me. I have allowed their enemies to conquer the Israeli people, whom I love.
Jeg har forlatt mitt hus, forkastet min arv; jeg har gitt min sjels elskede i hennes fienders hånd.
8 My people have become to me like [SIM] a lion in the forest. [It is as though] they roar at me like a lion, so now I hate them.
Min arv er blitt mot mig som en løve i skogen, den har opløftet sin røst mot mig; derfor hater jeg den.
9 My chosen people have [RHQ] become like speckled hawks that are surrounded by vultures [waiting to eat their flesh after they are dead]. Tell all the wild animals to come and eat [the flesh of their corpses].
Er min arv en spraglet rovfugl? Det er jo rovfugler rundt omkring den! Gå avsted og samle alle markens dyr, la dem komme hit og ete!
10 Many rulers [from other countries have come with their armies and] devastated/destroyed my people [whom I care for like a farmer takes care of his] vineyard. They have caused my beautiful land to become a barren desert where no one lives.
Hyrder i mengde ødelegger min vingård, trår ned min arvelodd; de gjør min herlige arvelodd til en øde ørken.
11 They have caused it to become completely empty; [it is as though] I hear the land crying sadly/mournfully. The whole land is desolate, and no one (worries about/pays any attention to) it.
De gjør den til en ødemark; sørgende og øde ligger den omkring mig; ødelagt er hele landet; for det er ikke nogen som legger det på hjerte.
12 The soldiers [of our enemies] have marched across all the barren hilltops. But [I], Yahweh, am using those armies [MTY] to punish your land from one end to the other, and no one will escape.
Ødeleggere kommer over alle bare hauger i ørkenen, for Herren har et sverd som fortærer fra den ene ende av landet til den andre; det er ikke redning for noget kjød.
13 [It is as though] my people planted wheat, but now they are harvesting thorns. They have become very tired [because of much hard work], but they have gained nothing [from all that work]. They will be very disappointed because their harvests [will be very small], [and that will happen] because [I], Yahweh, am extremely angry [with them].”
De sår hvete, men høster torner; de tretter sig ut, men har intet gagn av det. Så ha da skam av eders grøde for Herrens brennende vredes skyld!
14 This is [also] what Yahweh said to me: “[I will punish] the evil nearby nations that have been trying to take away the land that I gave to my Israeli people, and I will force them to leave their own land. But I will throw the people of Judah out of their land, also.
Så sier Herren om alle sine onde naboer, som forgriper sig på den arv han har gitt sitt folk Israel til eie: Se, jeg rykker dem op av deres land, og Judas hus vil jeg rykke op av deres midte.
15 But later I will act mercifully toward those nations again, and I will bring them back to their own lands again. Each [clan] will come back to its own land.
Men når jeg har rykket dem op, da vil jeg atter forbarme mig over dem og la dem vende tilbake, hver til sin arv og hver til sitt land.
16 And if the people [of the other nations whose armies have invaded Israel] learn the [religious] customs of my people, and if they learn that I [am listening] when they solemnly promise that they will do something good, like they taught my people to believe that [their god] Baal [was listening] when they made solemn promises, I will cause them to become prosperous, and they also will be my people.
Og såfremt de lærer mitt folks veier, lærer å sverge ved mitt navn: Så sant Herren lever - likesom de har lært mitt folk å sverge ved Ba'al, da skal de bli opbygget midt iblandt mitt folk.
17 But I will expel any nation whose people refuse to obey me, and I will destroy that nation and its people. [That will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it.”
Men vil de ikke høre, da vil jeg rykke det folk op og tilintetgjøre det, sier Herren.
