Ἱερεμίας 5
1 περιδράμετε ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς Ιερουσαλημ καὶ ἴδετε καὶ γνῶτε καὶ ζητήσατε ἐν ταῖς πλατείαις αὐτῆς ἐὰν εὕρητε ἄνδρα εἰ ἔστιν ποιῶν κρίμα καὶ ζητῶν πίστιν καὶ ἵλεως ἔσομαι αὐτοῖς λέγει κύριος
[Yahweh said to the people of Jerusalem], “Go up and down every street. Search in the marketplaces to find people who do what is fair/right, who try to be faithful to me. [If you find even one person like that], I will forgive [the people of Jerusalem and not destroy] their city.
2 ζῇ κύριος λέγουσιν διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐπὶ ψεύδεσιν ὀμνύουσιν
But when people there say, ‘I solemnly declare that as surely as Yahweh lives, [I will do what he says],’ they are lying.”
3 κύριε οἱ ὀφθαλμοί σου εἰς πίστιν ἐμαστίγωσας αὐτούς καὶ οὐκ ἐπόνεσαν συνετέλεσας αὐτούς καὶ οὐκ ἠθέλησαν δέξασθαι παιδείαν ἐστερέωσαν τὰ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν ὑπὲρ πέτραν καὶ οὐκ ἠθέλησαν ἐπιστραφῆναι
Yahweh, you are certainly [RHQ] searching for [people who tell the] truth. You struck/punished your people, but they did not pay any attention. You crushed them, but they ignored what you were telling them to do. They were extremely stubborn [IDM] and refused to return to you.
4 καὶ ἐγὼ εἶπα ἴσως πτωχοί εἰσιν διότι οὐκ ἐδυνάσθησαν ὅτι οὐκ ἔγνωσαν ὁδὸν κυρίου καὶ κρίσιν θεοῦ
I thought, “[We cannot expect] these [people to act righteously, because they] are poor; they do not have any sense. They do not know the way Yahweh wants them to conduct their lives; they do not know what God requires them to do.
5 πορεύσομαι πρὸς τοὺς ἁδροὺς καὶ λαλήσω αὐτοῖς ὅτι αὐτοὶ ἐπέγνωσαν ὁδὸν κυρίου καὶ κρίσιν θεοῦ καὶ ἰδοὺ ὁμοθυμαδὸν συνέτριψαν ζυγόν διέρρηξαν δεσμούς
So, I will go and talk to their leaders, because they [surely] know how God wants them to conduct their lives.” But they also have stopped obeying Yahweh [MET], and they will not allow him to lead them.
6 διὰ τοῦτο ἔπαισεν αὐτοὺς λέων ἐκ τοῦ δρυμοῦ καὶ λύκος ἕως τῶν οἰκιῶν ὠλέθρευσεν αὐτούς καὶ πάρδαλις ἐγρηγόρησεν ἐπὶ τὰς πόλεις αὐτῶν πάντες οἱ ἐκπορευόμενοι ἀπ’ αὐτῶν θηρευθήσονται ὅτι ἐπλήθυναν ἀσεβείας αὐτῶν ἴσχυσαν ἐν ταῖς ἀποστροφαῖς αὐτῶν
Because of that, lions will come out of the forests and kill them; wolves from the desert will attack them; leopards that lurk/wait outside their cities will maul anyone who walks outside the cities. [Those things will happen] because the people have sinned very much against God and have turned away from him very frequently.
7 ποίᾳ τούτων ἵλεως γένωμαί σοι οἱ υἱοί σου ἐγκατέλιπόν με καὶ ὤμνυον ἐν τοῖς οὐκ οὖσιν θεοῖς καὶ ἐχόρτασα αὐτούς καὶ ἐμοιχῶντο καὶ ἐν οἴκοις πορνῶν κατέλυον
Yahweh says, “I cannot [RHQ] forgive these people; [even] their children have abandoned me. When they solemnly declare something, they ask their gods [to show that what they say is true]. I gave my people everything that they needed, but they often went to [the shrines of their idols] and committed adultery there.
8 ἵπποι θηλυμανεῖς ἐγενήθησαν ἕκαστος ἐπὶ τὴν γυναῖκα τοῦ πλησίον αὐτοῦ ἐχρεμέτιζον
[Just like] [MET] well-fed male horses neigh, wanting sex with female horses, each of the men desires to have sex with his neighbor’s wife.
9 μὴ ἐπὶ τούτοις οὐκ ἐπισκέψομαι λέγει κύριος ἢ ἐν ἔθνει τοιούτῳ οὐκ ἐκδικήσει ἡ ψυχή μου
(Should I not punish them for this [RHQ]?/I will certainly get revenge on this nation for this!) I will certainly get revenge [RHQ] on this nation whose people behave like that!
10 ἀνάβητε ἐπὶ τοὺς προμαχῶνας αὐτῆς καὶ κατασκάψατε συντέλειαν δὲ μὴ ποιήσητε ὑπολίπεσθε τὰ ὑποστηρίγματα αὐτῆς ὅτι τοῦ κυρίου εἰσίν
[I will say to your enemies], ‘The people [of Judah and Israel are like a vineyard]. Go along the rows in their vineyards and get rid of [most of] the people, but do not kill all of them. These people do not belong to me, [so get rid of them], [like a gardener] [MET] lops/cuts off branches from a vine.
11 ὅτι ἀθετῶν ἠθέτησεν εἰς ἐμέ λέγει κύριος οἶκος Ισραηλ καὶ οἶκος Ιουδα
The people of Israel and Judah have turned away from me completely.’
12 ἐψεύσαντο τῷ κυρίῳ ἑαυτῶν καὶ εἶπαν οὐκ ἔστιν ταῦτα οὐχ ἥξει ἐφ’ ἡμᾶς κακά καὶ μάχαιραν καὶ λιμὸν οὐκ ὀψόμεθα
They have lied about me and said, ‘He will not punish us! He will not cause us to experience disasters! We will not experience wars or famines!
13 οἱ προφῆται ἡμῶν ἦσαν εἰς ἄνεμον καὶ λόγος κυρίου οὐχ ὑπῆρχεν ἐν αὐτοῖς οὕτως ἔσται αὐτοῖς
What [God’s] prophets say is nothing but hot air! They do not have messages [from God]! We would like [the disasters that they predict] to happen to them!’”
14 διὰ τοῦτο τάδε λέγει κύριος παντοκράτωρ ἀνθ’ ὧν ἐλαλήσατε τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ δέδωκα τοὺς λόγους μου εἰς τὸ στόμα σου πῦρ καὶ τὸν λαὸν τοῦτον ξύλα καὶ καταφάγεται αὐτούς
So, this is what Yahweh, the Commander of the armies of angels in heaven, has said to me: “Because my people are saying those things, I will give you a message to tell them [MTY] that will be [like] [MET] a fire, and [these people will be like] [MET] wood that the fire will burn up.
15 ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐπάγω ἐφ’ ὑμᾶς ἔθνος πόρρωθεν οἶκος Ισραηλ λέγει κύριος ἔθνος οὗ οὐκ ἀκούσῃ τῆς φωνῆς τῆς γλώσσης αὐτοῦ
Listen to this, you people of Israel: I will bring [the army of] a distant nation to attack you. It is a very powerful nation that has existed for a long time. They speak a language that you do not know and which you will not be able to understand.
16 πάντες ἰσχυροὶ
Their soldiers are all very strong, and the arrows from their quivers [MET] will (send many Israeli men to their graves/cause many Israeli people to die).
17 καὶ κατέδονται τὸν θερισμὸν ὑμῶν καὶ τοὺς ἄρτους ὑμῶν καὶ κατέδονται τοὺς υἱοὺς ὑμῶν καὶ τὰς θυγατέρας ὑμῶν καὶ κατέδονται τὰ πρόβατα ὑμῶν καὶ τοὺς μόσχους ὑμῶν καὶ κατέδονται τοὺς ἀμπελῶνας ὑμῶν καὶ τοὺς συκῶνας ὑμῶν καὶ τοὺς ἐλαιῶνας ὑμῶν καὶ ἀλοήσουσιν τὰς πόλεις τὰς ὀχυρὰς ὑμῶν ἐφ’ αἷς ὑμεῖς πεποίθατε ἐπ’ αὐταῖς ἐν ῥομφαίᾳ
They will eat the food that you have harvested from your fields, and eat your bread. They will kill your sons and daughters, and they will kill your flocks [of sheep] and herds [of cattle]. They will eat your grapes and your figs. They will [also] destroy your cities that have high walls around them and kill the people with their swords.
18 καὶ ἔσται ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός σου οὐ μὴ ποιήσω ὑμᾶς εἰς συντέλειαν
But even when those things happen, I will not get rid of all of you.
19 καὶ ἔσται ὅταν εἴπητε τίνος ἕνεκεν ἐποίησεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν ἡμῖν ἅπαντα ταῦτα καὶ ἐρεῖς αὐτοῖς ἀνθ’ ὧν ἐδουλεύσατε θεοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις ἐν τῇ γῇ ὑμῶν οὕτως δουλεύσετε ἀλλοτρίοις ἐν γῇ οὐχ ὑμῶν
And when the survivors ask, ‘Why is Yahweh our God doing this to us?’ you will tell them, ‘You rejected him and worshiped foreign gods in your [own] land, so [now] you will become slaves of foreigners in a land that is not your land.’”
20 ἀναγγείλατε ταῦτα εἰς τὸν οἶκον Ιακωβ καὶ ἀκουσθήτω ἐν τῷ Ιουδα
[Yahweh said to me], “Proclaim this to the people of Israel and Judah:
21 ἀκούσατε δὴ ταῦτα λαὸς μωρὸς καὶ ἀκάρδιος ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτοῖς καὶ οὐ βλέπουσιν ὦτα αὐτοῖς καὶ οὐκ ἀκούουσιν
Listen to this, you people who are foolish and who do not have any sense: You have eyes, but [it is as though] you cannot see; you have ears, but [it is as though] you cannot hear.
22 μὴ ἐμὲ οὐ φοβηθήσεσθε λέγει κύριος ἢ ἀπὸ προσώπου μου οὐκ εὐλαβηθήσεσθε τὸν τάξαντα ἄμμον ὅριον τῇ θαλάσσῃ πρόσταγμα αἰώνιον καὶ οὐχ ὑπερβήσεται αὐτό καὶ ταραχθήσεται καὶ οὐ δυνήσεται καὶ ἠχήσουσιν τὰ κύματα αὐτῆς καὶ οὐχ ὑπερβήσεται αὐτό
Why do you not revere me [RHQ]? You should [RHQ] tremble when you are in my presence! I, Yahweh, am the one who put a barrier along the shores so that the waters of the ocean cannot cross it [and flood the land]. The waves roll and roar, but they cannot go past that barrier.
23 τῷ δὲ λαῷ τούτῳ ἐγενήθη καρδία ἀνήκοος καὶ ἀπειθής καὶ ἐξέκλιναν καὶ ἀπήλθοσαν
But you people [are not like the waves that obey me]. You people are very stubborn and rebellious. You have constantly turned away from me.
24 καὶ οὐκ εἶπον ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῶν φοβηθῶμεν δὴ κύριον τὸν θεὸν ἡμῶν τὸν διδόντα ἡμῖν ὑετὸν πρόιμον καὶ ὄψιμον κατὰ καιρὸν πληρώσεως προστάγματος θερισμοῦ καὶ ἐφύλαξεν ἡμῖν
You do not say to yourselves, ‘We should revere Yahweh our God, the one who sends us rain at the times when we need it, the one who causes the grain to become ripe at the harvest season.’
25 αἱ ἀνομίαι ὑμῶν ἐξέκλιναν ταῦτα καὶ αἱ ἁμαρτίαι ὑμῶν ἀπέστησαν τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἀφ’ ὑμῶν
It is because of the wrong things that you have done, that those good things have not happened; it is because of the sins that you have committed that you have been prevented from receiving those blessings.
26 ὅτι εὑρέθησαν ἐν τῷ λαῷ μου ἀσεβεῖς καὶ παγίδας ἔστησαν διαφθεῖραι ἄνδρας καὶ συνελαμβάνοσαν
Among my people are wicked people who hide along the roads to ambush/attack people like [SIM] men who hunt birds (put out nets/set traps) to catch them.
27 ὡς παγὶς ἐφεσταμένη πλήρης πετεινῶν οὕτως οἱ οἶκοι αὐτῶν πλήρεις δόλου διὰ τοῦτο ἐμεγαλύνθησαν καὶ ἐπλούτησαν
Like [a hunter has] a cage full of birds [that he has captured], their homes are full of things that they have gotten by deceiving others. So now they are [very] rich and powerful.
28 καὶ παρέβησαν κρίσιν οὐκ ἔκριναν κρίσιν ὀρφανοῦ καὶ κρίσιν χήρας οὐκ ἐκρίνοσαν
They are big and fat, and there is no limit to the evil things that they have done. They do not try to defend orphans in the courtrooms, and they do not help poor people to get what they have a right to receive.
29 μὴ ἐπὶ τούτοις οὐκ ἐπισκέψομαι λέγει κύριος ἢ ἐν ἔθνει τῷ τοιούτῳ οὐκ ἐκδικήσει ἡ ψυχή μου
So I will certainly [RHQ] punish them for doing those things. I will certainly [RHQ] (get revenge on their nation/do to their nation what they deserve).
30 ἔκστασις καὶ φρικτὰ ἐγενήθη ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς
Very appalling/horrible and terrible [DOU] things are happening in this country:
31 οἱ προφῆται προφητεύουσιν ἄδικα καὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς ἐπεκρότησαν ταῖς χερσὶν αὐτῶν καὶ ὁ λαός μου ἠγάπησεν οὕτως καὶ τί ποιήσετε εἰς τὰ μετὰ ταῦτα
Prophets speak [only] lies and priests rule by their own authority, and you people like that! But when you [start to] experience disasters, what will you do [RHQ]?”
