< Jeremi 2 >

1 Alò pawòl SENYÈ a te vin kote mwen epi te di:
The Lord's message came to me, saying,
2 “Ale e pwoklame nan zòrèy a Jérusalem pou di: ‘Konsa pale SENYÈ a: “Mwen sonje de ou, jan ou te renmen M lè ou te jenn; lanmou ou lè ou te fiyanse avè M, jan ou te swiv Mwen nan dezè a, nan yon peyi ki pa t konn simen.
Go and announce to the people of Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says: I remember when you were young how devoted to me you were. I remember how you loved me when you were my bride. I remember how you followed me in the desert, in a land where nothing is grown.
3 Israël te sen a SENYÈ, premye a rekòlt Li a. Tout moun ki te manje de li va vin koupab. Se mal ki va rive yo,’” deklare SENYÈ a.”
Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest. Anyone who ate this harvest was guilty of sin, and they experienced the disastrous results, declares the Lord.
4 Tande pawòl SENYÈ a, O lakay Jacob ak tout fanmi lakay Israël yo.
Listen to the Lord's message, descendants of Jacob, all you Israelites.
5 Konsa pale SENYÈ a: “Ki enjistis papa zansèt nou yo te jwenn nan Mwen, pou yo te ale lwen Mwen, pou yo te mache dèyè sa ki vid pou te vin vid yo menm?
This is what the Lord says: What did your forefathers think was wrong with me that they went so far away from me? They went off to worship useless idols, and as a result became useless themselves!
6 Yo pa t mande: ‘Kote SENYÈ a ki te mennen nou sòti nan peyi Égypte la, ki te mennen nou nan dezè a, pou travèse yon peyi dezè ak fòs yo, nan yon peyi ak sechrès e ak fon tenèb, yon peyi ke pèsòn pa t konn travèse e kote okenn moun pa t rete?’
They didn't ask themselves, “Where is the Lord who led us from Egypt, who led us through the wasteland, through a land of deserts and ravines, a land of drought and darkness, a land that no one travels through and where no one lives?”
7 Mwen te mennen ou antre nan yon peyi fètil pou manje fwi li ak bon bagay li yo. Men nou te vini, e nou te souye peyi Mwen an ak eritaj Mwen an, nou te fè li vin abominab.
I led you into a productive land to eat all the good things that grow there. But you came and made my land unclean, making it offensive to me.
8 Prèt yo pa t di: ‘Kote SENYÈ a ye?’ Epi sila yo ki te responsab lalwa a pa t rekonèt Mwen. Chèf yo tou te fè transgresyon kont Mwen; pwofèt yo te pwofetize pou Baal, e te mache dèyè bagay ki pa t gen benefis.
Your priests did not ask, “Where is the Lord?” Your teachers of the law no longer believed in me, and your leaders rebelled against me. Your prophets prophesied by calling on Baal and followed worthless idols.
9 “Pou sa, jiska prezan, Mwen va fè kont avèk nou”, deklare SENYÈ a: “Menm avèk pitit a pitit nou yo, Mwen va fè kont.
So I'm going to confront you again, declares the Lord, and I will bring charges against your children's children.
10 Alò, travèse rive nan peyi kot yo nan Kittim pou wè; voye Kédar pou obsève e wè si janmen te gen yon bagay konsa!
Travel over to the islands of Cyprus and take a look; go to the land of Kedar and examine carefully to see if anything like this has ever happened before.
11 Èske yon nasyon janm te chanje dye pa yo, malgre, se pa dye yo te ye? Men pèp Mwen an te fè echanj glwa pa yo pou sa ki san benefis.
Has a nation ever changed its gods? —even though they're not gods at all! Yet my people have traded their glorious God for worthless idols.
12 Menm syèl yo etonnen, jis yo vin fremi. Reste byen dezole, deklare SENYÈ a.
You heavens, you should be appalled, shocked and horrified! declares the Lord.
13 Paske pèp Mwen an te komèt de kalite mal: Yo te abandone Mwen, fontèn dlo vivan yo, epi yo te fouye pou kont yo lòt sitèn; sitèn yo ki kraze ki pa ka kenbe dlo.
For my people have done two evil things. They have abandoned me, the source of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that can't hold water.
14 Èske Israël se yon esklav? Èske li se yon esklav ki te fèt lakay nou? Pou ki rezon li te devni yon kaptif?
Are Israelites slaves? Were they born into slavery? So why have they become victims?
15 Jenn lyon yo gwonde sou li; ak gwo bri yo leve vwa yo. Yo te fin gate peyi li nèt. Vil li yo brile nèt. Pa gen moun ki pou rete ladann.
The young lions roared at you; they growled loudly. They have devastated your country; your towns lie in ruins. No one lives there.
16 Anplis, mesye Memphis ak Tachpanès yo te brize kouwòn tèt ou a.
The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved your heads.
17 Èske Se pa ou menm ki fè sa lè ou kite SENYÈ Bondye ou a, pandan Li t ap mennen ou nan chemen an?
Didn't you bring this on yourself by abandoning the Lord your God when he was leading you in the right way?
18 Men koulye a, se kisa w ap fè nan wout pou rive Égypte la, lè w ale pou bwè dlo nan Rivyè Nil lan? Oswa se kisa w ap fè nan wout pou ale Assyrie a, pou bwè dlo nan flèv pa yo a?
Now what will you benefit as you travel back to Egypt to drink the waters of Shihor River? What will you gain on your way to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates River?
19 Pwòp mechanste ou va korije ou, e enfidelite ou va repwoche ou. Pou sa, konnen e wè ke se mal e anmè ke ou te abandone SENYÈ a, Bondye ou a. Laperèz Mwen pa nan ou,” deklare Senyè BONDYE dèzame yo.
Your own wickedness will discipline you; your own disobedience will teach you a lesson. Think about it and you'll recognize what a bitter evil it is for you to abandon the Lord your God and not to respect me, declares the Lord God Almighty.
20 Paske lontan sa, Mwen te kraze jouk ou a. Mwen te chire kòd mare ou yo. Men ou te di: “Mwen p ap sèvi!’ Paske sou chak kolin ki wo, e anba chak bwa vèt, ou te kouche tankou pwostitiye.
You broke off your yoke and ripped off your chains long ago. “I won't worship you!” you declared. On the contrary, you lay down like a prostitute on every high hill and under every green tree.
21 Sepandan, Mwen te plante chan rezen pi chwazi pou ou, yon grenn ki fidèl nèt. Alò kòman konsa ou te vin detounen devan M pou tounen yon boujon ki dejenere nèt sou yon chan rezen etranje?
I was the one who planted you like the finest vine, grown from the very best seed. How could you degenerate into a useless wild vine?
22 Malgre se ak savon lesiv ou ta savonnen ak anpil savon, tach inikite ou rete devan M,” deklare Senyè BONDYE a.
Even bleach and plenty of soap can't get rid of your guilty stains. I still see them, declares the Lord God.
23 “Kòman ou ka di: ‘Mwen pa sal, Mwen pa t kouri dèyè Baal yo?’ Gade chemen ou nan vale a! Konnen byen sa ou te fè a! Ou se yon jenn femèl chamo byen rapid, k ap fè chemen l kote li pito.
How dare you say, “I'm not unclean! I haven't gone to worship the Baals!” Look at what you've been doing down in the valley. Admit what you've done! You're a young female camel, racing around everywhere.
24 Yon femèl bourik mawon ki abitye nan savann nan, k ap pran sant van pou lè l bezwen kwaze ak mal. Nan lè chalè li, se kilès ki ka detounen l? Tout moun k ap chache l p ap fatige kò yo; nan mwa li, yo va jwenn ak li.
You're a female donkey living in the desert, sniffing the wind for a mate because she's in heat. No one can control her at mating time. All those who're looking for her won't have trouble finding her when she's in heat.
25 Kenbe bon fè sou pye ou e mouye gòj ou pou ou pa swaf; men ou te di: ‘Sa p ap ka fèt, Non! Paske mwen te fè renmen ak etranje yo; se dèyè yo m ap prale.’
You don't have to run around barefoot or have your throat go dry. But you reply, “No, it's impossible! I'm in love with foreign gods—I must go to them.”
26 Tankou vòlè vin wont lè l vin dekouvri, se konsa lakay Israël vin wont— wa yo, prens yo, ak prèt yo ak pwofèt yo!
In the same way that a thief feels guilty when they're caught, so the people of Israel have been shamed. All of them—their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets.
27 kap di pyebwa a: ‘Se ou ki papa mwen’, epi a yon wòch: ‘Se ou ki fè mwen.’ Paske yo te vire do ban Mwen olye figi yo; men nan tan gwo pwoblèm yo, yo va di Mwen: ‘Leve pou sove nou.’
They say to an idol made of wood, “You are my father,” and one made of stone, “You gave birth to me.” They turn their backs on me, and hide their faces from me. But when they're in trouble they come begging to me, saying, “Please come and save us!”
28 Men kote dye ke ou te fè pou kont ou yo ye? Kite yo leve, si yo ka sove ou nan tan twoub ou yo; paske selon fòs kantite vil ou yo, kantite dye ou ye, O Juda.
So where are these “gods” of yours that you made for yourselves? Let them come and help you when you're in trouble! Let them save you if they can, because you Israelites have as many gods as you have towns.
29 Poukisa ou fè kont avè M? Nou tout te fè transgresyon kont Mwen,” deklare SENYÈ a.
Why are you complaining to me? It's all of you who have all rebelled against me! declares the Lord.
30 “Anven Mwen te frape fis ou yo; men yo pa t aksepte okenn chatiman. Nepe ou te fin devore pwofèt ou yo tankou lyon k ap detwi.
It was pointless of me to punish your children because they refused to accept any discipline. You used your own swords to kill your prophets, destroying them like a ferocious lion.
31 O jenerasyon, koute byen a pawòl SENYÈ a. Èske Mwen te yon dezè pou Israël, oswa yon peyi fènwa byen pwès? Poukisa pèp Mwen an di: ‘Nou lib pou nou gaye toupatou. Nou p ap vin kote Ou ankò?’
You people of today, think about what the Lord is saying: Israel, have I treated you like an empty desert, or a land of thick darkness? Why are my people saying, “We can go where we like! We don't have to come and worship you any more”?
32 Èske vyèj la ka bliye dekorasyon li yo, oswa fi maryaj la, vètman li an? Sepandan, pèp Mwen an fin bliye Mwen pandan jou ki pa ka menm konte.
Does a girl forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding dress? Yet my people have forgotten me for too many years to count.
33 A la byen ou prepare chemen ou pou chache lanmou! Konsa, menm fanm mechan yo, ou te enstwi nan chemen ou yo.
How cleverly you look for your lovers! Even prostitutes could learn something from you!
34 Anplis, sou jip ou, yo twouve san lavi a malere ki inosan yo. Ou pa t jwenn yo t ap kase kay ou. Men se akoz tout bagay sa yo,
On top of that, your clothes are stained with the blood of the poor and the innocent. It's not like you killed them breaking into your homes. Despite all this,
35 Sepandan, ou te di: ‘Mwen inosan. Asireman, kòlè Li pa sou mwen.’ Gade byen, Mwen va antre nan jijman avèk ou, paske ou di: ‘Mwen pa t peche.’
you go on saying, “I'm innocent! Surely he can't still be upset with me!” Watch out! I'm going to punish you because you go on saying, “I haven't sinned.”
36 Poukisa ou mache toupatou konsa nan chanje wout ou? Anplis, Égypte va fè ou wont, menm jan ke Assyrie te fè ou wont lan.
You're just so fickle—you keep on changing your mind! You will end up just as disappointed by your alliance with Egypt as you were with Assyria.
37 Soti kote sa a tou, ou va sòti ak men ou sou tèt; paske SENYÈ a te rejte sila ke ou te fè konfyans yo e ou p ap jwenn avantaj avèk yo.”
In fact you will go into exile with your hands on your head as prisoners, because the Lord will have nothing to do with those you trust; they will be no help to you.

< Jeremi 2 >