Jeremiah 4
1 Yahweh says, “You Israeli [people], come back to me! If you get rid of those detestable idols and do not turn away from me [again],
“Si ou va retounen, O Israël”, deklare SENYÈ a, “si ou va retounen kote Mwen, e si ou va retire bagay abominab ou yo devan prezans Mwen; konsa, ou p ap deplase.
2 and if you declare, ‘Just as surely as Yahweh lives, what he says is true,’ and if you [start to] always say what is true and act justly/fairly and righteously, then the [people in the other] nations [of the world] will request that I bless them [as I have blessed you], and they will [all come and] honor/praise me.”
Si ou va sèmante: ‘Kon SENYÈ a vivan an’, anverite, ak jistis, e nan ladwati; konsa, nasyon yo va beni tèt yo nan Li, e nan Li yo va gen glwa.”
3 This is what Yahweh says to the people of Jerusalem and [the other cities in] Judah: “[Prepare yourselves to receive my messages] like farmers plow up hard ground [in order that they can plant seed in it]. Just as farmers do not [waste good seed by] sowing seeds among thorny plants, [I do not want to waste my time telling you messages that you are not ready to receive].
Paske se konsa SENYÈ a pale a mesye a Juda ak Jérusalem yo: “Kraze e prepare tè ki poze a; pa simen pami pikan yo.
4 Purify your inner beings and your minds for me. If you do not do that, my being angry with you [MTY] because of [all] the sins that you have committed will be like a fire that will be impossible to extinguish.”
Sikonsi tèt nou a SENYÈ a e retire prepuce kè nou, mesye Juda yo, ak sila ki rete Jérusalem yo, sinon kòlè Mwen va vin parèt tankou dife e brile pou okenn moun pa ka tenyen l, akoz mechanste a zèv nou yo.
5 “Declare this [DOU] to [all the people in] Jerusalem and [the rest of] Judea; blow the trumpets everywhere in the land [to warn the people]. Tell them that they should flee to the cities that have high walls around them.
Deklare nan Juda e pwoklame nan Jérusalem, pou di: ‘Soufle twonpèt nan peyi a!’ Kriye fò! Di yo: ‘Rasanble nou pou nou antre nan vil fòtifye yo.’
6 Shout to the people of Jerusalem, ‘Run away [now]! Do not delay, because I am about to cause you to experience a terrible disaster [DOU] that will come from the north.
Leve yon drapo vè Sion! Chache sekou! Pa kanpe anplas, paske Mwen ap mennen malè sòti nan nò, ak gwo destriksyon.”
7 [An army] that has destroyed [many] nations will attack you [like] [MET] a lion that comes out of its den [to attack other animals]. [The soldiers of that army] have taken down their tents and they are ready to march toward your land. They will destroy your cities and leave them without any people still living in them.’
Yon lyon ale soti nan rak bwa li; yon destriktè a nasyon yo gen tan derape. Li fin kite plas li pou fè peyi ou a vin yon savann. Vil ou yo va pil mazi ki san moun pou rete ladan yo.
8 So, put on sackcloth/rough clothes and weep and beat your chests [to show that you are very sorry for what you have done], because Yahweh is still very angry with us.
Pou sa, abiye an twal sak! Rele fò! Kriye anmwey! Paske gwo kòlè SENYÈ a pa t kite nou.
9 Yahweh said that at the time [he punishes you], the King of Judah and [all his] officials will be very afraid. The priests and the prophets will be terrified.
“Li va vin rive nan jou sa a,” deklare SENYÈ a: “ke kè a wa a ak kè prens yo va fè fayit. Prèt yo va sezi e pwofèt yo va etone.”
10 Then I replied, “Yahweh [my] God, you completely deceived the people by telling them that there would be peace in Jerusalem, but now [our enemies] [PRS] are ready to slaughter us with their swords!”
Nan lè sa a, mwen te di: “O, Senyè BONDYE! Asireman ou te pase pèp sa nan rizib nèt lè Ou te di: ‘Ou va gen lapè’. Men alò, yon nepe parèt sou gòj yo.”
11 When that happens, [Yahweh] will say to the people of Jerusalem, [“A huge army will come to attack you]. They will not [be like a gentle breeze that] separates wheat from chaff. [They will be like] a very hot wind [that blows in] from the desert [MET].
Nan lè sa a, li va pale a pèp sa a, e a Jérusalem: “Yon van sechrès ki sòti nan mòn sèk nan dezè a, nan direksyon fi a pèp Mwen an—— li pa pou vannen ni pou netwaye.
12 [They will be like] [MET] a strong blast that I will send. Now I am declaring that I will punish/destroy you.”
Yon van fò depase sa a——va vini sou lòd Mwen. Alò, anplis Mwen va pwononse jijman kont yo.”
13 [Our enemies] are about to rush down on us; their chariots are like [SIM] whirlwinds. Their horses are faster than eagles. It will be terrible for us!
Gade byen, li monte tankou nwaj, e cha lagè li yo kon toubiyon. Cheval li yo pi vit ke èg. Malè a nou menm, paske nou vin detwi nèt!
14 [You people of] Jerusalem [APO], purify your hearts/inner beings, in order that Yahweh will rescue you. How long will you continue to think about [doing] evil things?
Lave kè ou retire mal la, O Jérusalem, pou ou ka sove. Pou jiskilè panse mechan nou yo va rete anndan ou?
15 From Dan [city in the far north] to the hills of Ephraim [a few miles/kilometers north of Jerusalem] messengers are proclaiming that disasters are coming.
Paske yon vwa deklare soti Dan e pwoklame mechanste soti mòn Éphraïm.
16 Tell this to the [people in other] nations [but also] announce it in Jerusalem: [Yahweh says], “An army is coming to Jerusalem from far away; they will shout [a battle-cry] against the cities in Judah.
“Livre rapò li bay nasyon yo koulye a! Pwoklame sou Jérusalem, ‘Moun syèj yo sòti nan yon peyi lwen! Yo leve vwa yo kontra vil Juda yo.
17 They will set up tents around Jerusalem like people set up temporary shelters [SIM] around a field [at harvest time]. That will happen because the people of Judah have rebelled against me.
Tankou gadyen k ap veye yon chan an, yo kont li toupatou, akoz li te fè rebèl kont Mwen’”, deklare SENYÈ a.
18 You will be punished very severely; it will [be as though a sword] has stabbed your inner beings. But you are causing those things to happen to you because of the evil things that you have done.”
“Chemen pa ou yo ak zèv pa ou yo te mennen fè bagay sa yo rive ou. Sa se mal ou. Li amè anpil! A la sa rive jis nan kè ou!”
19 I am extremely anguished/sad; the pain in my inner being is very severe. My heart beats wildly. But I cannot remain silent because I have heard [our enemies] blowing their trumpets to announce that the battle [against Judah will start immediately].
Nanm mwen, nanm mwen! Mwen nan gwo soufrans! O kè mwen! Kè m ap bat anndan m. Mwen p ap ka rete an silans, pwiske ou te tande, O nanm mwen, son de twonpèt la, alam lagè a.
20 Disasters will occur one after another until the whole land is ruined. Suddenly [all] our tents will be destroyed; [even] the curtains [inside the tents] will be ripped apart.
Dega sou dega vin pwoklame, paske tout peyi a fin detwi nèt. Sibitman, tant mwen yo vin devaste; rido mwen yo vin devaste nan yon moman.
21 How long will this battle continue? How long will I continue to see the enemy battle flags and hear the sound of their trumpets being blown?
Pou konbyen de tan mwen va oblije wè drapo a, e koute son twonpèt la?
22 [Yahweh says], “My people are [very] foolish! They do not have a relationship with me. They are [like] [MET] stupid children who do not understand [anything]. They very cleverly do what is wrong, but they do not know how to do what is good.”
“Paske, pèp mwen an rete nan foli. Yo pa rekonèt Mwen. Yo se timoun sòt ki pa gen konprann. Yo koken nan fè mal, men pou fè sa ki bon, yo pa konnen.”
23 [God gave me a vision in which] I saw that the earth was barren and without form. I looked at the sky, and there was no light there.
Mwen te gade sou tè a e, gade byen, li te san fòm e vid; vè syèl yo men yo pa t gen limyè.
24 I looked at the mountains and hills, and they shook and moved from side to side.
Mwen te gade vè mòn yo, e gade byen, yo t ap souke; tout kolin yo te fè mouvman ale retou.
25 I looked and saw that there were no [more] people, and all the birds had flown away.
Mwen te gade, e gade byen, pa t gen moun, e tout zwazo syèl yo te vin sove ale.
26 I looked and saw that the fields that previously were fertile had become a desert. The cities were all ruined; they had all been destroyed by Yahweh because he was extremely angry.
Mwen te gade e gade byen, bon peyi fètil la te vin yon dezè, e tout vil li yo te fin demoli devan SENYÈ a, devan gwo kòlè Li.
27 This is what Yahweh is saying: “The entire land [of Judah] will be ruined, but I will not destroy it completely.
Paske konsa pale SENYÈ a: “Tout peyi a va dezole; malgre, Mwen p ap fin detwi li nèt.
28 I will do to my people what I said that I would do, and I will not change my mind. So [when that happens, it will be as though] the earth will mourn and the sky will become very dark.”
Pou sa, tout latè va kriye ak doulè, e syèl anwo yo va fènwa, akoz Mwen te pale sa a. Mwen te fè plan sa a, e Mwen p ap chanje lide Mwen. Ni Mwen p ap detounen sou sa.”
29 [When the people hear] the sound of the [enemy] army marching, [they will be terrified as] they flee from their cities. Some of them will find places to hide in the bushes, and others will run toward the mountains/hills [to escape being killed by their enemies]. All the cities [in Judah] will be abandoned; not one person will remain in them.
Ak bri chevalye a, ak mèt banza yo, tout vil yo vin sove ale. Yo antre nan gran rak bwa, e yo monte sou wòch yo. Tout vil yo vin abandone e nanpwen pèsòn ki rete ladan yo.
30 So you who will surely be destroyed, [why are you doing the things that you are doing now]? Why are you wearing beautiful clothes and jewelry? Why are you putting paint around your eyes? Doing those things will not help you, because the people [in other countries that you think] love you [actually] despise you, and they will try to kill you.
Ou menm, O sila ki dezole a, se kisa ou va fè? Malgre ou abiye an kramwazi, malgre ou dekore kò ou ak dekorasyon an lò, malgre ou agrandi zye ou ak penti, se anven ou fè kò ou bèl la. Sila ki renmen ou yo meprize ou. Yo chache lavi ou.
31 [It is as though] I already hear [the people in Jerusalem] crying very loudly, like [SIM] a woman cries when she is giving birth to her first child; she gasps for breath and pleads for someone to help her. [It is as though Jerusalem] is crying, “Something terrible is happening to me! They are about to murder me!”
Paske mwen te tande kri yon fanm nan doulè l; doulè a yon fanm k ap fè premye pitit, kri fi a Sion an, k ap soufle fò, lonje men l e rele, “Anmwey! Mwen pedi kouraj nèt devan asasen yo.”
