Ἱερεμίας 2
Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
2 καὶ εἶπεν τάδε λέγει κύριος ἐμνήσθην ἐλέους νεότητός σου καὶ ἀγάπης τελειώσεώς σου τοῦ ἐξακολουθῆσαί σε τῷ ἁγίῳ Ισραηλ λέγει κύριος
“Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Yahweh says, “I remember for you the kindness of your youth, your love as a bride, how you went after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
3 ἅγιος Ισραηλ τῷ κυρίῳ ἀρχὴ γενημάτων αὐτοῦ πάντες οἱ ἔσθοντες αὐτὸν πλημμελήσουσιν κακὰ ἥξει ἐπ’ αὐτούς φησὶν κύριος
Israel was holiness to Yahweh, the first fruits of his increase. All who devour him will be held guilty. Evil will come on them,”’ says Yahweh.”
4 ἀκούσατε λόγον κυρίου οἶκος Ιακωβ καὶ πᾶσα πατριὰ οἴκου Ισραηλ
Hear Yahweh’s word, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel!
5 τάδε λέγει κύριος τί εὕροσαν οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν ἐν ἐμοὶ πλημμέλημα ὅτι ἀπέστησαν μακρὰν ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν ὀπίσω τῶν ματαίων καὶ ἐματαιώθησαν
Yahweh says, “What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me, that they have gone far from me, and have walked after worthless vanity, and have become worthless?
6 καὶ οὐκ εἶπαν ποῦ ἐστιν κύριος ὁ ἀναγαγὼν ἡμᾶς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου ὁ καθοδηγήσας ἡμᾶς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἐν γῇ ἀπείρῳ καὶ ἀβάτῳ ἐν γῇ ἀνύδρῳ καὶ ἀκάρπῳ ἐν γῇ ἐν ᾗ οὐ διώδευσεν ἐν αὐτῇ οὐθὲν καὶ οὐ κατῴκησεν ἐκεῖ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου
They didn’t say, ‘Where is Yahweh who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought and of the shadow of death, through a land that no one passed through, and where no man lived?’
7 καὶ εἰσήγαγον ὑμᾶς εἰς τὸν Κάρμηλον τοῦ φαγεῖν ὑμᾶς τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ ἀγαθὰ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰσήλθατε καὶ ἐμιάνατε τὴν γῆν μου καὶ τὴν κληρονομίαν μου ἔθεσθε εἰς βδέλυγμα
I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruit and its goodness; but when you entered, you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination.
8 οἱ ἱερεῖς οὐκ εἶπαν ποῦ ἐστιν κύριος καὶ οἱ ἀντεχόμενοι τοῦ νόμου οὐκ ἠπίσταντό με καὶ οἱ ποιμένες ἠσέβουν εἰς ἐμέ καὶ οἱ προφῆται ἐπροφήτευον τῇ Βααλ καὶ ὀπίσω ἀνωφελοῦς ἐπορεύθησαν
The priests didn’t say, ‘Where is Yahweh?’ and those who handle the law didn’t know me. The rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal and followed things that do not profit.
9 διὰ τοῦτο ἔτι κριθήσομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς λέγει κύριος καὶ πρὸς τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν υἱῶν ὑμῶν κριθήσομαι
“Therefore I will yet contend with you,” says Yahweh, “and I will contend with your children’s children.
10 διότι διέλθετε εἰς νήσους Χεττιιμ καὶ ἴδετε καὶ εἰς Κηδαρ ἀποστείλατε καὶ νοήσατε σφόδρα καὶ ἴδετε εἰ γέγονεν τοιαῦτα
For pass over to the islands of Kittim, and see. Send to Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there has been such a thing.
11 εἰ ἀλλάξονται ἔθνη θεοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ οὗτοι οὔκ εἰσιν θεοί ὁ δὲ λαός μου ἠλλάξατο τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ ἐξ ἧς οὐκ ὠφεληθήσονται
Has a nation changed its gods, which really are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which doesn’t profit.
12 ἐξέστη ὁ οὐρανὸς ἐπὶ τούτῳ καὶ ἔφριξεν ἐπὶ πλεῖον σφόδρα λέγει κύριος
“Be astonished, you heavens, at this and be horribly afraid. Be very desolate,” says Yahweh.
13 ὅτι δύο πονηρὰ ἐποίησεν ὁ λαός μου ἐμὲ ἐγκατέλιπον πηγὴν ὕδατος ζωῆς καὶ ὤρυξαν ἑαυτοῖς λάκκους συντετριμμένους οἳ οὐ δυνήσονται ὕδωρ συνέχειν
“For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the spring of living waters, and cut out cisterns for themselves: broken cisterns that can’t hold water.
14 μὴ δοῦλός ἐστιν Ισραηλ ἢ οἰκογενής ἐστιν διὰ τί εἰς προνομὴν ἐγένετο
Is Israel a slave? Is he born into slavery? Why has he become a captive?
15 ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ὠρύοντο λέοντες καὶ ἔδωκαν τὴν φωνὴν αὐτῶν οἳ ἔταξαν τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔρημον καὶ αἱ πόλεις αὐτοῦ κατεσκάφησαν παρὰ τὸ μὴ κατοικεῖσθαι
The young lions have roared at him and raised their voices. They have made his land waste. His cities are burned up, without inhabitant.
16 καὶ υἱοὶ Μέμφεως καὶ Ταφνας ἔγνωσάν σε καὶ κατέπαιζόν σου
The children also of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of your head.
17 οὐχὶ ταῦτα ἐποίησέν σοι τὸ καταλιπεῖν σε ἐμέ λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός σου
“Haven’t you brought this on yourself, in that you have forsaken Yahweh your God, when he led you by the way?
18 καὶ νῦν τί σοι καὶ τῇ ὁδῷ Αἰγύπτου τοῦ πιεῖν ὕδωρ Γηων καὶ τί σοι καὶ τῇ ὁδῷ Ἀσσυρίων τοῦ πιεῖν ὕδωρ ποταμῶν
Now what do you gain by going to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Shihor? Or why do you go on the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River?
19 παιδεύσει σε ἡ ἀποστασία σου καὶ ἡ κακία σου ἐλέγξει σε καὶ γνῶθι καὶ ἰδὲ ὅτι πικρόν σοι τὸ καταλιπεῖν σε ἐμέ λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός σου καὶ οὐκ εὐδόκησα ἐπὶ σοί λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός σου
“Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backsliding will rebuke you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing, that you have forsaken Yahweh your God, and that my fear is not in you,” says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies.
20 ὅτι ἀπ’ αἰῶνος συνέτριψας τὸν ζυγόν σου διέσπασας τοὺς δεσμούς σου καὶ εἶπας οὐ δουλεύσω ἀλλὰ πορεύσομαι ἐπὶ πᾶν βουνὸν ὑψηλὸν καὶ ὑποκάτω παντὸς ξύλου κατασκίου ἐκεῖ διαχυθήσομαι ἐν τῇ πορνείᾳ μου
“For long ago I broke off your yoke, and burst your bonds. You said, ‘I will not serve;’ for on every high hill and under every green tree you bowed yourself, playing the prostitute.
21 ἐγὼ δὲ ἐφύτευσά σε ἄμπελον καρποφόρον πᾶσαν ἀληθινήν πῶς ἐστράφης εἰς πικρίαν ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀλλοτρία
Yet I had planted you a noble vine, a pure and faithful seed. How then have you turned into the degenerate branches of a foreign vine to me?
22 ἐὰν ἀποπλύνῃ ἐν νίτρῳ καὶ πληθύνῃς σεαυτῇ πόαν κεκηλίδωσαι ἐν ταῖς ἀδικίαις σου ἐναντίον ἐμοῦ λέγει κύριος
For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before me,” says the Lord Yahweh.
23 πῶς ἐρεῖς οὐκ ἐμιάνθην καὶ ὀπίσω τῆς Βααλ οὐκ ἐπορεύθην ἰδὲ τὰς ὁδούς σου ἐν τῷ πολυανδρίῳ καὶ γνῶθι τί ἐποίησας ὀψὲ φωνὴ αὐτῆς ὠλόλυξεν τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτῆς
“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled. I have not gone after the Baals’? See your way in the valley. Know what you have done. You are a swift dromedary traversing her ways,
24 ἐπλάτυνεν ἐφ’ ὕδατα ἐρήμου ἐν ἐπιθυμίαις ψυχῆς αὐτῆς ἐπνευματοφορεῖτο παρεδόθη τίς ἐπιστρέψει αὐτήν πάντες οἱ ζητοῦντες αὐτὴν οὐ κοπιάσουσιν ἐν τῇ ταπεινώσει αὐτῆς εὑρήσουσιν αὐτήν
a wild donkey used to the wilderness, that sniffs the wind in her craving. When she is in heat, who can turn her away? All those who seek her will not weary themselves. In her month, they will find her.
25 ἀπόστρεψον τὸν πόδα σου ἀπὸ ὁδοῦ τραχείας καὶ τὸν φάρυγγά σου ἀπὸ δίψους ἡ δὲ εἶπεν ἀνδριοῦμαι ὅτι ἠγαπήκει ἀλλοτρίους καὶ ὀπίσω αὐτῶν ἐπορεύετο
“Keep your feet from being bare, and your throat from thirst. But you said, ‘It is in vain. No, for I have loved strangers, and I will go after them.’
26 ὡς αἰσχύνη κλέπτου ὅταν ἁλῷ οὕτως αἰσχυνθήσονται οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ αὐτοὶ καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ προφῆται αὐτῶν
As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so the house of Israel is ashamed— they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets,
27 τῷ ξύλῳ εἶπαν ὅτι πατήρ μου εἶ σύ καὶ τῷ λίθῳ σὺ ἐγέννησάς με καὶ ἔστρεψαν ἐπ’ ἐμὲ νῶτα καὶ οὐ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῶν κακῶν αὐτῶν ἐροῦσιν ἀνάστα καὶ σῶσον ἡμᾶς
who tell wood, ‘You are my father,’ and a stone, ‘You have given birth to me,’ for they have turned their back to me, and not their face, but in the time of their trouble they will say, ‘Arise, and save us!’
28 καὶ ποῦ εἰσιν οἱ θεοί σου οὓς ἐποίησας σεαυτῷ εἰ ἀναστήσονται καὶ σώσουσίν σε ἐν καιρῷ τῆς κακώσεώς σου ὅτι κατ’ ἀριθμὸν τῶν πόλεών σου ἦσαν θεοί σου Ιουδα καὶ κατ’ ἀριθμὸν διόδων τῆς Ιερουσαλημ ἔθυον τῇ Βααλ
“But where are your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, if they can save you in the time of your trouble, for you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah.
29 ἵνα τί λαλεῖτε πρός με πάντες ὑμεῖς ἠσεβήσατε καὶ πάντες ὑμεῖς ἠνομήσατε εἰς ἐμέ λέγει κύριος
“Why will you contend with me? You all have transgressed against me,” says Yahweh.
30 μάτην ἐπάταξα τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν παιδείαν οὐκ ἐδέξασθε μάχαιρα κατέφαγεν τοὺς προφήτας ὑμῶν ὡς λέων ὀλεθρεύων καὶ οὐκ ἐφοβήθητε
“I have struck your children in vain. They received no correction. Your own sword has devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
31 ἀκούσατε λόγον κυρίου τάδε λέγει κύριος μὴ ἔρημος ἐγενόμην τῷ Ισραηλ ἢ γῆ κεχερσωμένη διὰ τί εἶπεν ὁ λαός μου οὐ κυριευθησόμεθα καὶ οὐχ ἥξομεν πρὸς σὲ ἔτι
Generation, consider Yahweh’s word. Have I been a wilderness to Israel? Or a land of thick darkness? Why do my people say, ‘We have broken loose. We will come to you no more’?
32 μὴ ἐπιλήσεται νύμφη τὸν κόσμον αὐτῆς καὶ παρθένος τὴν στηθοδεσμίδα αὐτῆς ὁ δὲ λαός μου ἐπελάθετό μου ἡμέρας ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός
“Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me for days without number.
33 τί ἔτι καλὸν ἐπιτηδεύσεις ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς σου τοῦ ζητῆσαι ἀγάπησιν οὐχ οὕτως ἀλλὰ καὶ σὺ ἐπονηρεύσω τοῦ μιᾶναι τὰς ὁδούς σου
How well you prepare your way to seek love! Therefore you have even taught the wicked women your ways.
34 καὶ ἐν ταῖς χερσίν σου εὑρέθησαν αἵματα ψυχῶν ἀθῴων οὐκ ἐν διορύγμασιν εὗρον αὐτούς ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ πάσῃ δρυί
Also the blood of the souls of the innocent poor is found in your skirts. You didn’t find them breaking in, but it is because of all these things.
35 καὶ εἶπας ἀθῷός εἰμι ἀλλὰ ἀποστραφήτω ὁ θυμὸς αὐτοῦ ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ κρίνομαι πρὸς σὲ ἐν τῷ λέγειν σε οὐχ ἥμαρτον
“Yet you said, ‘I am innocent. Surely his anger has turned away from me.’ “Behold, I will judge you, because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 τί κατεφρόνησας σφόδρα τοῦ δευτερῶσαι τὰς ὁδούς σου καὶ ἀπὸ Αἰγύπτου καταισχυνθήσῃ καθὼς κατῃσχύνθης ἀπὸ Ασσουρ
Why do you go about so much to change your ways? You will be ashamed of Egypt also, as you were ashamed of Assyria.
37 ὅτι καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ἐξελεύσῃ καὶ αἱ χεῖρές σου ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς σου ὅτι ἀπώσατο κύριος τὴν ἐλπίδα σου καὶ οὐκ εὐοδωθήσῃ ἐν αὐτῇ
You will also leave that place with your hands on your head; for Yahweh has rejected those in whom you trust, and you won’t prosper with them.
