< Jeremi 5 >

1 “Mache ale retou toupatou nan lari Jérusalem. Gade koulye a, e byen nòte. Chèche nan plas ouvri li yo. Si ou ka twouve yon moun ki fè jistis, k ap chache verite, alò Mwen va padone Jérusalem.
[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 E poutan, yo di: ‘Tankou SENYÈ a viv la’! Anverite y ap fè fo temwayaj.”
But when people there say, ‘I solemnly declare that as surely as Yahweh lives, [I will do what he says],’ they are lying.”
3 O SENYÈ, èske zye Ou pa chache verite? Ou te frape yo, men yo pa t sanse doulè. Ou te fè yo megri, men yo pa t aksepte korije. Yo fè figi yo pi di pase wòch. Yo refize repanti.
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 Alò, mwen te di: “Se sèlman malere ke yo ye. Se ensanse yo ye; yo pa konnen chemen SENYÈ a, ni règleman a Bondye yo.
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 Mwen va ale kote moun pwa yo. Se ak yo ke mwen va pale, paske yo menm konnen chemen SENYÈ a, ak règleman a Bondye yo.” Men yo menm tou, ak volonte ansanm te kraze jouk la, e chire tout kòd yo.
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 Akoz sa, yon lyon ki sòti nan forè va touye yo. Yon lou dezè a va detwi yo, yon leyopa ap veye vil yo. Tout moun ki sòti kote yo va chire an mòso, akoz transgresyon yo anpil, enfidelite yo bokou.
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 Pou ki rezon Mwen ta padone ou? Fis ou yo te abandone Mwen pou yo sèmante pa sila ki pa dye yo. Lè M te fin bay yo manje vant plen, yo te fè adiltè. Yo te mache rive lakay pwostitiye a.
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 Yo te tankou gwo cheval kò dyanm, byen nouri, yo chak t ap ranni dèyè madanm vwazen yo.
[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 “Èske Mwen pa dwe pini pèp sa a,” deklare SENYÈ a: “Sou yon nasyon konsa, èske Mwen pa dwe pran vanjans?
(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 “Ale monte nan ranje chan rezen li yo e detwi yo, men pa fin detwi nèt. Rache branch li yo, paske se pa pou SENYÈ a yo ye.
[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 Paske lakay Israël ak lakay Juda te fè M trèt anpil”, deklare SENYÈ a.
The people of Israel and Judah have turned away from me completely.’
12 Yo te manti sou SENYÈ a, pou di: “Li pa la; malè p ap rive nou e nou p ap wè nepe ni gwo grangou.
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 Pwofèt yo se tankou van, e pawòl la pa nan yo. Se konsa, li va rive yo!”
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 Pou sa, pale SENYÈ a, Bondye dèzame yo: “Akoz nou te pale pawòl sa a, gade byen, Mwen ap fè pawòl Mwen nan bouch ou vin dife, pèp sa a vin bwa a, e li va manje yo nèt.
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 Gade byen, M ap fè parèt yon nasyon kont nou soti byen lwen, O lakay Israël,” deklare SENYÈ a. “Li se yon nasyon ki dire anpil, yon nasyon depi nan tan lansyen yo, yon nasyon ak yon lang ou pa konnen, ni ou p ap ka konprann sa y ap di.
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 Fouwo pa yo se kon yon tonm tou louvri; yo tout se gèrye vanyan.
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 Yo va devore rekòlt ou ak manje ou. Yo va devore fis ou yo ak fi ou yo. Yo va devore bann mouton ou yo ak twoupo ou yo. Yo va devore chan rezen ou yo ak figye etranje ou yo. Yo va kraze ak nepe, tout vil fòtifye ou yo, kote ou te konn mete konfyans ou.”
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 “Malgre, menm nan jou sa yo”, deklare SENYÈ a, “Mwen p ap fin detwi nou nèt.
But even when those things happen, I will not get rid of all of you.
19 Li va vin rive ke lè yo di: ‘Poukisa SENYÈ Bondye nou an te fè nou tout bagay sa yo?’ ke ou va di yo: ‘Jan nou te abandone M nan pou te sèvi dye etranje nan peyi nou; alò, se konsa nou va sèvi etranje nan yon peyi ki pa pou nou.’
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 “Deklare sa a nan kay Jacob la e pwoklame li nan Juda, pou di:
[Yahweh said to me], “Proclaim this to the people of Israel and Judah:
21 ‘Tande sa, O pèp ki plen foli, ki san konprann, ki gen zye, men ki pa ka wè, ki gen zòrèy, men ki pa tande.
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 Èske nou pa krent Mwen?’ deklare SENYÈ a. ‘Èske nou pa tranble devan prezans Mwen? Paske Mwen te poze sab la kon lizyè lanmè a; yon dekrè etènèl, pou l pa ka travèse l. Malgre lanm lanmè yo vole, yo p ap ka enpoze yo; malgre yo fè raj, yo p ap ka travèse li.’
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 “Men pèp sa a gen kè rebèl ak kè ki di; yo te vire sou kote e yo te ale.
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 Yo pa di nan kè yo: ‘Alò koulye a, annou gen lakrent SENYÈ a, Bondye nou an, ki bay lapli nan sezon li, ni lapli sezon otòn ak lapli sezon prentan, Sila ki kenbe pou nou semèn rekòlt nou yo.’
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 “Inikite nou yo fin detounen bagay sa yo, e peche nou yo te retire tout sa ki bon pou nou.
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 Paske moun mechan twouve yo pami pèp Mwen an. Y ap veye tankou moun k ap pran bèt nan pèlen. Yo ranje pèlen an. Se moun yo pran.
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 Kon yon kalòj plen zwazo, se konsa lakay yo plen desepsyon. Akoz sa, yo te vin moun byen enpòtan ak anpil byen.
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 Yo fin gra. Kò yo plen ak grès e yo vin reyisi depase ak zèv fèt ak mechanste yo. Yo pa plede koz òfelen an, pou yo ta reyisi; ni yo pa defann dwa malere yo.
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 “Èske Mwen p ap pini pèp sa a?” deklare SENYÈ a, “Sou yon nasyon konsa, èske Mwen p ap pran vanjans Mwen?
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 “Yon bagay degoutan e etonan te rive nan peyi a:
Very appalling/horrible and terrible [DOU] things are happening in this country:
31 Pwofèt yo fè fo pwofesi e prèt yo domine selon pwòp otorite yo. Epi, a la renmen pèp Mwen an renmen l konsa! Men se kisa n ap fè lè sa rive nan bout pou l fini?
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]?”

< Jeremi 5 >