< Jeremiah 9 >

1 I wish that my head was [like] [MET] a spring of water, and that my eyes were [like] a fountain of tears. Then I would cry night and day for all of my people who have been killed [by our enemies].
يَا لَيْتَ رَأْسِي مَاءٌ، وَعَيْنَيَّ يَنْبُوعُ دُمُوعٍ، فَأَبْكِيَ نَهَارًا وَلَيْلًا قَتْلَى بِنْتِ شَعْبِي.١
2 I wish that I could leave my people and forget them, and go and live in a shack/shelter in the desert, because they have not remained faithful [MET] [to Yahweh]; they are a mob of people who deceive others.
يَا لَيْتَ لِي فِي ٱلْبَرِّيَّةِ مَبِيتَ مُسَافِرِينَ، فَأَتْرُكَ شَعْبِي وَأَنْطَلِقَ مِنْ عِنْدِهِمْ، لِأَنَّهُمْ جَمِيعًا زُنَاةٌ، جَمَاعَةُ خَائِنِينَ.٢
3 [Yahweh replied to me], “They use their tongues [to tell] [MET] lies like people shoot [arrows] with bows. It is because they tell lies that they have become more powerful in this land, and they do not know me.
«يَمُدُّونَ أَلْسِنَتَهُمْ كَقِسِيِّهِمْ لِلْكَذِبِ. لَا لِلْحَقِّ قَوُوا فِي ٱلْأَرْضِ. لِأَنَّهُمْ خَرَجُوا مِنْ شَرٍّ إِلَى شَرٍّ، وَإِيَّايَ لَمْ يَعْرِفُوا، يَقُولُ ٱلرَّبُّ.٣
4 Do not trust your neighbors and [even] your brothers! They all are as deceitful [as Jacob was]. They slander [each other] and tell lies [about each other].
اِحْتَرِزُوا كُلُّ وَاحِدٍ مِنْ صَاحِبِهِ، وَعَلَى كُلِّ أَخٍ لَا تَتَّكِلُوا، لِأَنَّ كُلَّ أَخٍ يَعْقِبُ عَقِبًا، وَكُلَّ صَاحِبٍ يَسْعَى فِي ٱلْوِشَايَةِ.٤
5 They deceive their friends and never tell the truth. They lie continually and, because of that, they have become skilled liars; they do one oppressive thing after another, and are unable to stop doing it.
وَيَخْتِلُ ٱلْإِنْسَانُ صَاحِبَهُ وَلَا يَتَكَلَّمُونَ بِٱلْحَقِّ. عَلَّمُوا أَلْسِنَتَهُمُ ٱلتَّكَلُّمَ بِٱلْكَذِبِ، وَتَعِبُوا فِي ٱلِٱفْتِرَاءِ.٥
6 They habitually lie and deceive [each other], and no one will admit/say that I am God.
مَسْكَنُكَ فِي وَسْطِ ٱلْمَكْرِ. بِٱلْمَكْرِ أَبَوْا أَنْ يَعْرِفُونِي، يَقُولُ ٱلرَّبُّ.٦
7 Therefore [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, say this: Listen carefully to what I say: I will [cause my people to experience great afflictions, ] [like a metalworker puts metal in a hot fire] [MET] to completely burn out the impure bits. Because of all [the evil things] that my people have done, there is absolutely nothing else [RHQ] that I can do.
«لِذَلِكَ هَكَذَا قَالَ رَبُّ ٱلْجُنُودِ: هَأَنَذَا أُنَقِّيهِمْ وَأَمْتَحِنُهُمْ. لِأَنِّي مَاذَا أَعْمَلُ مِنْ أَجْلِ بِنْتِ شَعْبِي؟٧
8 What they say [MTY] [injures people like] [MET] poisoned arrows do. They say to their neighbors, ‘I hope things will go well for you,’ while they are planning to kill them.
لِسَانُهُمْ سَهْمٌ قَتَّالٌ يَتَكَلَّمُ بِٱلْغِشِّ. بِفَمِهِ يُكَلِّمُ صَاحِبَهُ بِسَلَامٍ، وَفِي قَلْبِهِ يَضَعُ لَهُ كَمِينًا.٨
9 Should I not punish them for doing that [RHQ]? Yes, I should certainly (get revenge on/give what they deserve to) [the people of] a nation that does things like that!”
أَفَمَا أُعَاقِبُهُمْ عَلَى هَذِهِ، يَقُولُ ٱلرَّبُّ؟ أَمْ لَا تَنْتَقِمُ نَفْسِي مِنْ أُمَّةٍ كَهَذِهِ؟».٩
10 So, I will weep and wail for [the people who live in] the mountains and in the (pastures/places where the livestock eat the grass), because those areas will be desolate, and no one will live there. There will be no cattle there to call to each other, and all the birds and wild animals will have fled [to other places].
عَلَى ٱلْجِبَالِ أَرْفَعُ بُكَاءً وَمَرْثَاةً، وَعَلَى مَرَاعِي ٱلْبَرِّيَّةِ نَدْبًا، لِأَنَّهَا ٱحْتَرَقَتْ، فَلَا إِنْسَانَ عَابِرٌ وَلَا يُسْمَعُ صَوْتُ ٱلْمَاشِيَةِ. مِنْ طَيْرِ ٱلسَّمَاوَاتِ إِلَى ٱلْبَهَائِمِ هَرَبَتْ مَضَتْ.١٠
11 [Yahweh also says], “I will cause Jerusalem to become a heap of ruins, and [only] jackals/wolves will live there. I will destroy the towns of Judah, with the result that they will be completely deserted; no one will live there.”
«وَأَجْعَلُ أُورُشَلِيمَ رُجَمًا وَمَأْوَى بَنَاتِ آوَى، وَمُدُنَ يَهُوذَا أَجْعَلُهَا خَرَابًا بِلَا سَاكِنٍ».١١
12 [I said], “Only people who are very wise [RHQ] can understand these things. Only those who have been taught by Yahweh can [RHQ] explain these things to others. The wise people are [RHQ] the only ones who can explain why the land will be completely ruined with the result that everyone [RHQ] will be afraid to travel through it.”
مَنْ هُوَ ٱلْإِنْسَانُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ ٱلَّذِي يَفْهَمُ هَذِهِ، وَٱلَّذِي كَلَّمَهُ فَمُ ٱلرَّبِّ، فَيُخْبِرَ بِهَا؟ لِمَاذَا بَادَتِ ٱلْأَرْضُ وَٱحْتَرَقَتْ كَبَرِّيَّةٍ بِلَا عَابِرٍ؟١٢
13 Yahweh replied, “[These things will happen] because my people have rejected my laws which I gave to them; they have not obeyed me or my instructions.
فَقَالَ ٱلرَّبُّ: «عَلَى تَرْكِهِمْ شَرِيعَتِي ٱلَّتِي جَعَلْتُهَا أَمَامَهُمْ، وَلَمْ يَسْمَعُوا لِصَوْتِي وَلَمْ يَسْلُكُوا بِهَا.١٣
14 Instead, they have stubbornly done the things that they wanted to do. They have worshiped the idols that represent the god Baal, which is what their ancestors did.
بَلْ سَلَكُوا وَرَاءَ عِنَادِ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَوَرَاءَ ٱلْبَعْلِيمِ ٱلَّتِي عَلَّمَهُمْ إِيَّاهَا آبَاؤُهُمْ.١٤
15 So now listen to what [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, the God of the Israelis, say: [What I will do will be like] [MET] giving these people bitter things to eat and poison to drink:
لِذَلِكَ هَكَذَا قَالَ رَبُّ ٱلْجُنُودِ إِلَهُ إِسْرَائِيلَ: هَأَنَذَا أُطْعِمُ هَذَا ٱلشَّعْبَ أَفْسَنْتِينًا وَأَسْقِيهِمْ مَاءَ ٱلْعَلْقَمِ،١٥
16 I will scatter them to many nations which neither they nor their ancestors have known [anything about]; I will [enable their enemies to] strike them with swords until I have destroyed them.”
وَأُبَدِّدُهُمْ فِي أُمَمٍ لَمْ يَعْرِفُوهَا هُمْ وَلَا آبَاؤُهُمْ، وَأُطْلِقُ وَرَاءَهُمُ ٱلسَّيْفَ حَتَّى أُفْنِيَهُمْ.١٦
17 This is also what the Commander of the armies of angels says: “Think [about what is happening], [then] summon those women who mourn [when someone has died].
«هَكَذَا قَالَ رَبُّ ٱلْجُنُودِ: تَأَمَّلُوا وَٱدْعُوا ٱلنَّادِبَاتِ فَيَأْتِينَ، وَأَرْسِلُوا إِلَى ٱلْحَكِيمَاتِ فَيُقْبِلْنَ١٧
18 Tell them to come quickly and start to wail, with the result that tears will stream down from your(pl) eyes.
وَيُسْرِعْنَ وَيَرْفَعْنَ عَلَيْنَا مَرْثَاةً، فَتَذْرِفَ أَعْيُنُنَا دُمُوعًا وَتَفِيضَ أَجْفَانُنَا مَاءً.١٨
19 Listen to [the people of] Jerusalem crying/lamenting, saying, ‘We have been ruined/destroyed! We have experienced a terrible disaster! Now we are very ashamed, because our houses have been destroyed [by our enemies], and we [are being forced to] leave our land.’”
لِأَنَّ صَوْتَ رِثَايَةٍ سُمِعَ مِنْ صِهْيَوْنَ: كَيْفَ أُهْلِكْنَا؟ خَزِينَا جِدًّا لِأَنَّنَا تَرَكْنَا ٱلْأَرْضَ، لِأَنَّهُمْ هَدَمُوا مَسَاكِنَنَا».١٩
20 You women, listen to what Yahweh says [MTY]. Pay attention to his words [DOU]. Teach your daughters to wail. Teach each other how to sing funeral songs,
بَلِ ٱسْمَعْنَ أَيَّتُهَا ٱلنِّسَاءُ كَلِمَةَ ٱلرَّبِّ، وَلْتَقْبَلْ آذَانُكُنَّ كَلِمَةَ فَمِهِ، وَعَلِّمْنَ بَنَاتِكُنَّ ٱلرِّثَايَةَ، وَٱلْمَرْأَةُ صَاحِبَتَهَا ٱلنَّدْبَ!٢٠
21 because people will be dying [PRS] in your houses and in palaces. There will be no more children playing in the streets, there will be no more young men [gathering] in the city squares/marketplaces.
لِأَنَّ ٱلْمَوْتَ طَلَعَ إِلَى كُوَانَا، دَخَلَ قُصُورَنَا لِيَقْطَعَ ٱلْأَطْفَالَ مِنْ خَارِجٍ، وَٱلشُّبَّانَ مِنَ ٱلسَّاحَاتِ.٢١
22 There will be corpses scattered across the fields like dung; their dead bodies will lie there like [SIM] grain that has been cut by reapers/farmers, and there will be no one [still alive] to bury them.
تَكَلَّمَ: «هَكَذَا يَقُولُ ٱلرَّبُّ: وَتَسْقُطُ جُثَّةُ ٱلْإِنْسَانِ كَدِمْنَةٍ عَلَى وَجْهِ ٱلْحَقْلِ، وَكَقَبْضَةٍ وَرَاءَ ٱلْحَاصِدِ وَلَيْسَ مَنْ يَجْمَعُ!٢٢
23 Yahweh says this: “Wise men should not boast about their being wise, strong men should not boast about their being strong; and rich people should not boast about their being rich.
«هَكَذَا قَالَ ٱلرَّبُّ: لَا يَفْتَخِرَنَّ ٱلْحَكِيمُ بِحِكْمَتِهِ، وَلَا يَفْتَخِرِ ٱلْجَبَّارُ بِجَبَرُوتِهِ، وَلَا يَفْتَخِرِ ٱلْغَنِيُّ بِغِنَاهُ.٢٣
24 Instead, those who want to boast should boast about their knowing me and about understanding that I am Yahweh, that I am kind and just and righteous, that I faithfully love [people], and that I am delighted with [people who act] that way.
بَلْ بِهَذَا لِيَفْتَخِرَنَّ ٱلْمُفْتَخِرُ: بِأَنَّهُ يَفْهَمُ وَيَعْرِفُنِي أَنِّي أَنَا ٱلرَّبُّ ٱلصَّانِعُ رَحْمَةً وَقَضَاءً وَعَدْلًا فِي ٱلْأَرْضِ، لِأَنِّي بِهَذِهِ أُسَرُّ، يَقُولُ ٱلرَّبُّ.٢٤
25 There will be a time when I will punish all those people of Egypt and of the Moab people-group and of the Edom [people-group] and of the Ammon [people-group], all those people who live close to desert areas (OR, who cut their hair short [to please their gods]) far from Judah, all those people who have [changed their bodies by] circumcising them [MET] but who have not [changed] their inner beings. I will punish the people of Judah also, because they have not changed their inner beings, [either].”
«هَا أَيَّامٌ تَأْتِي، يَقُولُ ٱلرَّبُّ، وَأُعَاقِبُ كُلَّ مَخْتُونٍ وَأَغْلَفَ.٢٥
مِصْرَ وَيَهُوذَا وَأَدُومَ وَبَنِي عَمُّونَ وَمُوآبَ، وَكُلَّ مَقْصُوصِي ٱلشَّعْرِ مُسْتَدِيرًا ٱلسَّاكِنِينَ فِي ٱلْبَرِّيَّةِ، لِأَنَّ كُلَّ ٱلْأُمَمِ غُلْفٌ، وَكُلَّ بَيْتِ إِسْرَائِيلَ غُلْفُ ٱلْقُلُوبِ».٢٦

< Jeremiah 9 >