Jeremiah 37
1 After Jehoiakim died, [his son Jehoiachin became king for only three months, after which] King Josiah’s son Zedekiah became the King of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, appointed him to be the new king.
雅的兒子漆德克雅繼約雅金的兒子耶苛尼雅為王，巴比倫王拿步高立他為王統治猶大地。
2 But King Zedekiah and his palace officials and the other people in the land paid no attention to the messages that Yahweh gave me.
他和他的臣僕及本地人民，都沒有聽從上主藉耶肋米亞先知所說的話。
3 However, [one day] King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, who was the son of Maaseiah, to me. They requested me to pray to Yahweh our God for our [nation].
漆德克雅王派舍肋米亞的兒子猶加耳，和司祭瑪阿雅的兒子責法尼雅到耶肋米亞先知那裏說：「請你為我們轉求上主，我們的天主! 」
4 At that time I had not yet been put in prison, so I could come and go wherever and whenever I wanted to, [without being hindered].
那時，耶肋米亞尚出入於民間，人還沒有將他放在監獄裏。
5 [At that time], the army of [Hophra], the King of Egypt, came [to the southern border of Judah]. When the army of Babylonia heard about that, they stopped surrounding Jerusalem and left there [to fight against the army from Egypt].
法郎軍隊忽由埃及出發，圍攻耶路撒冷的加色丁人一聽見他們出動的消息，就由耶路撒冷撤退了。
6 Then Yahweh gave this message to me:
此時上主有話傳給耶肋米亞先知說：
7 “[I], Yahweh, the God whom [you] Israelis [say you belong to], say this: ‘The King of Judah has sent [messengers] to you to ask me [what is going to happen]. Tell the king that even though the army of the King of Egypt came to help him, they are about to return to Egypt.
「上主，以色列的天主這樣說：你們應這樣回答派你們前來求間我的猶大君王說：看，出發前來援助你們的法郎軍隊，仍要回到自己的本地埃及去。
8 Then the army of Babylonia will return here and capture this city and burn everything in it.’
至於加色丁人仍要捲土重來，進攻這座城市；且要攻下，放火燒城。
9 [So], this is what I say [to you Israelis]: ‘You should not deceive yourselves, thinking that the army from Babylonia has gone and will not return. That is not true.
上主這樣說：你們不要自欺說：加色丁人已離我們遠去! 真實，他們並沒有遠去。
10 And even if your soldiers could destroy almost all of the soldiers from Babylonia who are attacking you, and allow only a few of them who were wounded to remain alive in their tents, they would come out [of their tents] and burn this city completely!”’”
縱使你們能擊敗與你們交戰的加色丁人所有的軍隊，使他們中只剩下一些受傷的人，他們仍要由帳中奮起，放火燒盡這座城市。
11 When the army from Babylonia left Jerusalem because the army from Egypt was approaching,
加色丁人的軍隊受法郎軍隊的威脅，由耶路撒冷撤退時，
12 I started to leave the city. I intended to go to the area [where the descendants of] Benjamin live, in order to take possession of my share of the property from my family.
耶肋米亞離開耶路撒冷，到本篤地去，要在那裏由自己的親族間分得一份產業。
13 But as I was walking out the Benjamin Gate, a guard seized me and said, “You are deserting [us and going] to [the soldiers from] Babylonia!” The man who seized me was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah and grandson of Hananiah.
當他到了本雅明門時，那裏有一個站崗的人，名叫依黎雅，是舍肋米亞的兒子，哈納尼雅的孫子，捉住耶肋米亞先知說：「你想去投降加色丁人! 」
14 But I [protested and] said, “That is not true! I was not intending to do that!” But Irijah would not pay attention to what I said. He took me to the [king’s] officials.
耶肋米亞答說：「冤枉! 我不是去投降加色人丁」。依黎雅不聽他說，就捉住耶肋米亞，帶他去見首長。
15 They were very angry with me. They [commanded the guards to] beat me and [then to] put me in the house where Jonathan the king’s secretary stayed. They had changed Jonathan’s house to make it become a prison.
首長們遂發怒，將耶肋米亞鞭打了，幽禁在書記家的監牢裏，因為他們早已把他的家改成了監獄。
16 They put me in a dungeon/cell in that prison, and I remained there for several days.
於是耶肋米亞走一穹形的地窖內，在那裏住了多日。
17 Then King Zedekiah secretly sent a servant to me, who took me to the palace. There the king asked me, “Do you have any messages from Yahweh?” I replied, “Yes, [the message is that] you will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”
此後，漆德克雅王派人提他出來，在自己的宮殿私下問他說：「上主有什麼話沒有﹖」耶肋米亞答說：「有」。接著說：「你必被交在巴比倫王手中」。
18 Then I asked the king, “What crime have I committed [RHQ] against you or against your officials or against the Israeli people, with the result that you have [commanded that] I be put in a prison?
此外，耶肋米亞還問漆德克雅王說：「我在什麼事上得罪了你和你的臣僕，以及這些人民，你們竟將我放在監裏﹖
19 Your prophets predicted that the army of the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land. Why were [RHQ] [their messages] not fulfilled?
你們那些曾向你們預言說：巴比倫王不會來攻打你們和這地方的先知，現在在哪裏！
20 Your majesty, I plead with you to listen to me. Do not send me back to the dungeon/cell in the house of Jonathan your secretary, because [if you do that, ] I will die there.”
如今，我主君王，請聽！願你開恩允許我的祈求，不要叫我再回到書記約納堂家裡去，免得我死在那裡！」
21 So King Zedekiah commanded that [I not be sent back to the prison cell. Instead, ] I was allowed to be watched by the guards in the courtyard [of the palace]. [The king] also [commanded that they should] bring me a loaf of fresh bread every day, until there was no bread left in the city. So [they put me] in that courtyard and I remained there.
於是漆德克雅王下令，將耶肋米亞囚禁在監獄的庭院裏，每日由麵包房取一份食物給他，直到城中糧食用盡。從此耶肋米亞o主在拘留所內的庭院裏。
