Ἱερεμίας 1
1 τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦ θεοῦ ὃ ἐγένετο ἐπὶ Ιερεμιαν τὸν τοῦ Χελκιου ἐκ τῶν ἱερέων ὃς κατῴκει ἐν Αναθωθ ἐν γῇ Βενιαμιν
[I], Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, [am writing] these messages. [I am] a priest, from Anathoth [town] in the area where the tribe of Benjamin [lives].
2 ὃς ἐγενήθη λόγος τοῦ θεοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Ιωσια υἱοῦ Αμως βασιλέως Ιουδα ἔτους τρισκαιδεκάτου ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ αὐτοῦ
Yahweh started to give me these messages when Josiah had been ruling Judah for almost 13 years.
3 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις Ιωακιμ υἱοῦ Ιωσια βασιλέως Ιουδα ἕως ἑνδεκάτου ἔτους Σεδεκια υἱοῦ Ιωσια βασιλέως Ιουδα ἕως τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας Ιερουσαλημ ἐν τῷ πέμπτῳ μηνί
Yahweh continued to give me more messages when Josiah’s son Jehoiakim was the king, and he continued to do that until Zedekiah had been the king of Judah for almost eleven years. It was in August of that year that the people of Jerusalem were (exiled/taken as prisoners) [to Babylonia].
4 καὶ ἐγένετο λόγος κυρίου πρός με λέγων
[One day] Yahweh gave me this message:
5 πρὸ τοῦ με πλάσαι σε ἐν κοιλίᾳ ἐπίσταμαί σε καὶ πρὸ τοῦ σε ἐξελθεῖν ἐκ μήτρας ἡγίακά σε προφήτην εἰς ἔθνη τέθεικά σε
“I knew you before I [finished] forming you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born, I (set you apart/chose you) and I appointed you to be [my] prophet [whose messages would be] for [all] nations.”
6 καὶ εἶπα ὦ δέσποτα κύριε ἰδοὺ οὐκ ἐπίσταμαι λαλεῖν ὅτι νεώτερος ἐγώ εἰμι
I replied, “O, Yahweh my God, I am [not qualified to] speak [for you], because I am very young!”
7 καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρός με μὴ λέγε ὅτι νεώτερος ἐγώ εἰμι ὅτι πρὸς πάντας οὓς ἐὰν ἐξαποστείλω σε πορεύσῃ καὶ κατὰ πάντα ὅσα ἐὰν ἐντείλωμαί σοι λαλήσεις
Yahweh replied, “Do not say that, because you must go to everyone to whom I will send you, and you must tell them everything that I tell you to say.
8 μὴ φοβηθῇς ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν ὅτι μετὰ σοῦ ἐγώ εἰμι τοῦ ἐξαιρεῖσθαί σε λέγει κύριος
And you must not be afraid of the people [to whom you will speak], because I will protect you [from being harmed by them]. [This will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it!”
9 καὶ ἐξέτεινεν κύριος τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ πρός με καὶ ἥψατο τοῦ στόματός μου καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρός με ἰδοὺ δέδωκα τοὺς λόγους μου εἰς τὸ στόμα σου
Then [it was as though] Yahweh touched my mouth and said, “Listen to me! I am (putting my message into your mouth/telling you what you must speak).
10 ἰδοὺ κατέστακά σε σήμερον ἐπὶ ἔθνη καὶ βασιλείας ἐκριζοῦν καὶ κατασκάπτειν καὶ ἀπολλύειν καὶ ἀνοικοδομεῖν καὶ καταφυτεύειν
Today I am appointing you to warn nations and kingdoms. You will tell them that I will completely destroy and get rid of [DOU] some of them and that I will establish [MET] others and cause them to be strong.”
11 καὶ ἐγένετο λόγος κυρίου πρός με λέγων τί σὺ ὁρᾷς Ιερεμια καὶ εἶπα βακτηρίαν καρυΐνην
Then Yahweh said to me, “Jeremiah, what do you see?” I replied, “I see a branch from an almond tree.”
12 καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρός με καλῶς ἑώρακας διότι ἐγρήγορα ἐγὼ ἐπὶ τοὺς λόγους μου τοῦ ποιῆσαι αὐτούς
Yahweh said, “That is correct. And [because the word for ‘almond’ resembles the word for ‘watching’], it means that I am watching [what will happen], and I will make certain that what I have said to you [about destroying nations] will happen.”
13 καὶ ἐγένετο λόγος κυρίου πρός με ἐκ δευτέρου λέγων τί σὺ ὁρᾷς καὶ εἶπα λέβητα ὑποκαιόμενον καὶ τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ προσώπου βορρᾶ
[Then] Yahweh spoke to me again and said, “What do you see [now]?” I replied, “I see a pot full of boiling [water] [MTY]. It is tipping [toward me] from the north.”
14 καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρός με ἀπὸ προσώπου βορρᾶ ἐκκαυθήσεται τὰ κακὰ ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς κατοικοῦντας τὴν γῆν
Yahweh replied, “[Yes! It means that] from the north great trouble/destruction will [spread] [MET] over this land, [like boiling water] [MET] pouring [from a pot].
15 διότι ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ συγκαλῶ πάσας τὰς βασιλείας ἀπὸ βορρᾶ τῆς γῆς λέγει κύριος καὶ ἥξουσιν καὶ θήσουσιν ἕκαστος τὸν θρόνον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὰ πρόθυρα τῶν πυλῶν Ιερουσαλημ καὶ ἐπὶ πάντα τὰ τείχη τὰ κύκλῳ αὐτῆς καὶ ἐπὶ πάσας τὰς πόλεις Ιουδα
Listen to what I say: I am summoning [the armies of] kingdoms that will come from the north [of Judah] to Jerusalem. Their kings will set up their thrones at the gates of this city [to indicate that they are now the kings of Judah]. [Their armies] will attack [and break down] the walls of this city, and [they will do the same thing to] all the [other] towns in Judah.
16 καὶ λαλήσω πρὸς αὐτοὺς μετὰ κρίσεως περὶ πάσης τῆς κακίας αὐτῶν ὡς ἐγκατέλιπόν με καὶ ἔθυσαν θεοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις καὶ προσεκύνησαν τοῖς ἔργοις τῶν χειρῶν αὐτῶν
I will punish [MTY] my people because of all the evil things that they have done; they have abandoned me and they worship gods/idols. They worship idols that they have made with their own hands!
17 καὶ σὺ περίζωσαι τὴν ὀσφύν σου καὶ ἀνάστηθι καὶ εἰπὸν πρὸς αὐτοὺς πάντα ὅσα ἂν ἐντείλωμαί σοι μὴ φοβηθῇς ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτῶν μηδὲ πτοηθῇς ἐναντίον αὐτῶν ὅτι μετὰ σοῦ ἐγώ εἰμι τοῦ ἐξαιρεῖσθαί σε λέγει κύριος
So, get up and put on your clothes [to get ready for action]! Then go to the people of Judah and tell them everything that I tell you to say. Do not be afraid of them, because [if you are afraid of them], I will cause you to be truly terrified in front of them!
18 ἰδοὺ τέθεικά σε ἐν τῇ σήμερον ἡμέρᾳ ὡς πόλιν ὀχυρὰν καὶ ὡς τεῖχος χαλκοῦν ὀχυρὸν ἅπασιν τοῖς βασιλεῦσιν Ιουδα καὶ τοῖς ἄρχουσιν αὐτοῦ καὶ τῷ λαῷ τῆς γῆς
But listen! I will cause you to be [strong, like] [MET] a city that has strong walls around it. You will be [as strong as] [MET] an iron pillar or a bronze wall. None of the kings or officials or priests will be able to defeat you.
19 καὶ πολεμήσουσίν σε καὶ οὐ μὴ δύνωνται πρὸς σέ διότι μετὰ σοῦ ἐγώ εἰμι τοῦ ἐξαιρεῖσθαί σε εἶπεν κύριος
They will oppose you, but they will not be able to defeat you, because I will be with you and will protect you. [That will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it!”
