< Jeremi 3 >

1 Bondye di: “Si yon mari divòse ak madanm li, e li kite li pou jwenn yon lòt gason, èske li va retounen kote li? Èske tè sa a p ap souye nèt? Men ou se yon pwostitiye ak anpil renmen; sepandan, se bò kote M, ou vin vire,” deklare SENYÈ a.
“[Moses wrote that] if a man divorces his wife and then she marries another man, her first husband certainly must not [RHQ] take her back again [to be his wife], because that would certainly [RHQ] cause the whole nation to become unacceptable to me. But you have more [idols than] prostitutes have men whom they have slept with! So, [why should I accept you if] you return to me?” [RHQ] says Yahweh.
2 “Leve zye ou pou wè mòn toutouni yo epi gade: “Se ki kote yo pa t kouche ak nou? Akote chemen yo, ou te chita tann yo. Tankou yon Arab nan dezè, ou te pouri peyi a ak pwostitisyon ou ak mechanste ou.
“Look up at the barren hilltops. On every hilltop there are [RHQ] [idols that you have worshiped]. [It is as though] they are all lovers with whom you have had sex. [It is as though] you have sat along the roadsides like an Arab, waiting [to attack and steal things from] those who pass by. Because of worshiping idols and all the other wicked things that you have done, you have caused the [entire] land to become unacceptable to me.
3 Akoz sa, farinaj lapli te vin sispann e lapli sezon prentan pa t rive. Men fon ou te gen yon fontèn pwostitiye; ou te refize vin wont.
That is why I have not sent you any rain at the times of the year when you needed it. But you are like prostitutes [MET] who are not at all ashamed [for what they have done].
4 Se pa depi koulye a, ou va rele a Mwen: ‘Papa mwen, ou se zanmi jenès mwen’?
Now each of you says to me, ‘You are my father! You have loved me ever since I was young!
5 “‘Èske Li va fache jis pou tout tan? Èske Li va ensanse ak kòlè jiska lafen?’ Gade byen, ou te pale, ou te fè bagay ki mal e ou te fè pwòp volonte ou.”
So surely you will not [RHQ] be angry with me forever!’ But you will not quit sinning!”
6 Alò, SENYÈ a te di m nan jou a wa Josias yo: “Èske ou te wè sa ke Israël enfidèl te fè a? Li te monte sou tout kolin ki wo yo e anba tout bwa vèt. La, li te yon pwostitiye.
[One day] when Josiah was the king of Judah, Yahweh said to me, “Have you seen what the people of Israel have done? They have turned away from me, like a woman who has abandoned her husband and sleeps with other men. They have gone up on every hilltop and under every big tree and worshiped idols there [MET].
7 Mwen te reflechi: ‘Apre li fin fè tout bagay sa yo, li va retounen kote Mwen.’ Men li pa t retounen e sè trèt li a, Juda, te wè l.
I thought that they would return to me, so I said to them, ‘Come back to me!’ But they refused. So I sent them away [to other countries, like a man] writes a note saying that he is divorcing his wife and then sends his wife away because she has committed adultery [MET].
8 Konsa, lè Mwen te wè tout enfidelite ak pwostitiye li yo, Mwen te voye li ale, e Mwen te fè yon dekrè pou divòse ak li. Men sè trèt li a, Juda, pa t gen lakrent, men li te ale fè pwostitiye tou.
The people of Judah saw what I did to them. But they are just like the people of Israel. They are not afraid [of what I will do to them]. They also [have turned away from me and are worshiping idols like] women who abandon their husbands and go to other men [MET].
9 Akoz li te pran pwostitiye li a kon yon bagay lejè, li te pouri peyi a e te fè adiltè ak wòch ak pyebwa.
They thought that worshiping idols did not matter to me, so they have made the [entire] land unacceptable to me by worshiping idols of wood and stone.
10 Men malgre tout sa, sè trèt li a, Juda, pa t retounen kote Mwen ak tout kè l, men pito ak desepsyon”, deklare SENYÈ a.
The people of Judah have pretended to return to me, but they have not really done that. [This is true because I], Yahweh, have said it.”
11 Konsa, SENYÈ a te di m: “Israël enfidèl la te montre li pi dwat pase trèt la, Juda.
Then Yahweh said to me, “The people of Israel have turned away from me, but what the people of Judah have done is worse.
12 Ale pwoklame pawòl sa yo vè nò, epi di: ‘Retounen, Israël enfidèl’, deklare SENYÈ a; ‘Mwen p ap gade ou ak kòlè. Paske Mwen gen mizerikòd, deklare SENYÈ a; Mwen p ap rete fache jis pou tout tan.
So go and tell this to the people of Israel: ‘Yahweh says this to you Israeli people who have turned away from him: I am merciful. I will not continue to be angry with you forever. So return to me.
13 Sèlman rekonèt inikite ou, ke ou te transgrese kont SENYÈ a, Bondye ou a. Ou te gaye favè ou bay etranje yo anba tout bwa vèt e ou pa t obeyi vwa M,’” deklare SENYÈ a.
But you must admit/say that you are guilty, and that you have rebelled against me, Yahweh, your God, that you have worshiped idols under big trees everywhere, and you have not obeyed me. You have turned away from me.
14 “Retounen, O fis enfidèl,” deklare SENYÈ a, “paske Mwen se yon mèt pou nou. Mwen va retire de nou, youn nan yon vil e de nan yon fanmi, e Mwen va mennen nou Sion.”
But you belong to me. So I will take you, one from [each] city and two from [each] clan, and bring you [back] to Jerusalem [from the countries to which you were exiled].
15 “Konsa, Mwen va bannou bèje selon pwòp kè Mwen, ki va fè nou manje sou konesans ak bon konprann.
[If you do that], I will appoint for you leaders with whom I am pleased, leaders who will guide you [well] because they will know and understand [what pleases me].
16 Li va vin rive nan jou sa yo ke lè nou vin ogmante, e vin anpil nan peyi a”, deklare SENYÈ a, “yo p ap di mo ankò: ‘Lach akò SENYÈ a’. Ni sa p ap vini nan tèt yo. Yo p ap sonje li, yo p ap remake pèt li, ni li p ap refèt ankò.
And when you become very numerous [DOU] in your land, you will not need to talk about the Sacred Chest that contained the Ten Commandments. You will not think about it, and you will not want to make a new one.
17 Nan lè sa a, yo va rele Jérusalem: ‘Twòn SENYÈ a’ e tout nasyon yo va rasanble vè li; vè Jérusalem, vè non SENYÈ a. Ni yo p ap ankò mache ak tèt di ak kè mechan yo.
At that time people will say, “Jerusalem is [the place where] Yahweh’s throne is.” [People from] all nations will come there to worship me. And they will no longer stubbornly do the evil things that they desire.
18 Nan jou sa yo, lakay Juda va mache ak lakay Israël, e yo va vini ansanm sòti nan peyi nò pou rive nan peyi ke Mwen te bay a papa zansèt nou yo kon eritaj la.”
At that time you people [MTY] of Israel and the people of Judah will return from [being (exiled/forced to live) in] lands to the northeast. You will return to the land that I gave to your ancestors to belong to them [forever].
19 “Epi Mwen te di: ‘Kòman Mwen fè lanvi pou plase ou pami fis Mwen yo, e bay ou yon bèl peyi, eritaj ki pi bèl pami nasyon yo!’ Epi Mwen te di: ‘Ou va rele Mwen: “Papa Mwen”, e ou p ap detounen sispann swiv Mwen.’”
You people of Israel, I wanted to accept you to be my children. I wanted to give you [this] delightful land. It is a land more desirable/pleasant than the land of any other nation! I wanted you to call me ‘father’, and I wanted you to never turn away from me.
20 “Anverite, kon yon fanm fè trèt pou kite mari li, se konsa ou te fè trèt kite Mwen, O lakay Israël”, deklare SENYÈ a.
But you have abandoned me like wives who have abandoned their husbands.’” [That is what] Yahweh said, and [I told it] to the people of Israel.
21 Yon vwa vin tande sou wotè mòn vid yo; vwa k ap kriye ak vwa siplikasyon a fis Israël yo; akoz yo te pèvèti chemen yo, yo te bliye SENYÈ a, Bondye yo.
People will hear a noise on the barren hilltops. It will be the noise made by people weeping and pleading [for God to be merciful to them]. They will be admitting/saying that they have forgotten Yahweh their God, and that they turned away from behaving as God wanted them to.
22 “Retounen, O fis enfidèl, Mwen va geri enfidelite ou.” “Gade byen, nou vin kote Ou; paske Ou se SENYÈ a, Bondye nou an.
Yahweh will say to them, “You Israeli people, come back to me! [If you do that], I will cause you to never turn away from me again.” [The people will reply], “We are returning to you, because you are Yahweh, our God.
23 Anverite, soutyèn kolin yo se yon desepsyon, yon zen sou mòn yo. Anverite, SENYÈ a, Bondye nou an, se sali Israël.
We did not get any help from [the idols that we worshiped on] the hilltops; we did not get any help from making all that noise up there.
24 Men afè wont sa a te manje fòs zèv zansèt nou yo depi nan jenès nou. Li te manje bann mouton yo ak twoupo yo, fis ak fi yo.
From the time when we were young, the shameful [god Baal] has taken away [from us] everything that our ancestors worked hard to acquire. He has taken away their flocks [of sheep] and herds [of cattle], their sons and their daughters.
25 Kite nou kouche nan wont nou, e kite imilyasyon kouvre nou. Paske nou te peche kontre Senyè a, nou menm ak papa nou yo, depi nan jenès nou yo, jis rive menm jodi a. E nou pa t obeyi lavwa Senyè a, papa nou.
So, now we should lie down feeling very ashamed [DOU], because we and our ancestors have sinned against Yahweh our God, and we have never obeyed him.”

< Jeremi 3 >