< エレミヤ書 34 >

1 バビロンの王ネブカデネザルその全軍および己の手の下に屬するところの地の列國の人および諸の民を率てヱルサレムとその諸邑を攻めて戰ふ時ヱホバの言ヱレミヤに臨みていふ
King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with the armies of all the kingdoms that he ruled, and they fought against Jerusalem and the other towns [in Judah]. At that time, Yahweh gave me this message:
2 イスラエルの神ヱホバかくいふ汝ゆきてユダの王ゼデキヤに告ていふべしヱホバかくいひたまふ視よわれ此邑をバビロン王の手に付さん彼火をもてこれを焚べし
“Go to Zedekiah the King of Judah, and say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], says: “I am about to enable the army of the King of Babylon to capture this city, and they will burn it down.
3 汝はその手を脱れず必ず擒へられてこれが手に付されん汝の目はバビロン王の目をみ又かれの口は汝の口と語ふべし汝はバビロンにゆくにいたらん
You will not escape from them; they will capture you and take you to the king of Babylon. And [then] they will take you to Babylon.”’
4 然どユダの王ゼデキヤよヱホバの言をきけヱホバ汝の事につきてかくいひたまふ汝は劍に死じ
But King Zedekiah, listen to this that Yahweh has promised: ‘You will not be killed in a battle [MTY];
5 汝は安らかに死なん民は汝の先祖たる汝の先の王等の爲に香を焚しごとく汝のためにも香を焚き且汝のために嘆て嗚呼主よといはん我この言をいふとヱホバいひたまふ
you will die peacefully. [When you die], people will burn incense to honor/remember you just as they did for your ancestors who were kings before you became king. They will mourn for you, crying, “We are very sad that our king is dead!” I, Yahweh, promise that will happen.’”
6 預言者エレミヤすなはち此言をことごとくヱルサレムにてユダの王ゼデキヤにつげたり
[So] I took that message to King Zedekiah.
7 時にバビロン王の軍勢はヱルサレムおよび存れるユダの諸の邑を攻めラキシとアゼカを攻て戰ひをる其はユダの諸邑のうちに是等の城の邑尚存りゐたればなり
At that time the army of Babylonia had surrounded Jerusalem and Lachish and Azekah. Those [three] cities were the only cities in Judah that had high walls around them that still had not been captured.
8 ゼデキヤ王ヱルサレムに居る諸の民と契約を立てて彼らに釋放の事を宣示せし後ヱホバの言ヱレミヤに臨めり
King Zedekiah had decreed that the people must free their slaves.
9 その契約はすなはち人をしておのおの其僕婢なるヘブルの男女を釋たしめその兄弟なるユダヤ人を奴隸となさざらしむる者なりき
[He decreed that] the people must free their Hebrew slaves, [both the] men slaves and the women [slaves]. No one would be allowed to force a fellow Jew to [continue to] be his slave.
10 この契約をなせし牧伯等とすべての民は人おのおのその僕婢を釋ちて再び之を奴隸となすべからずといふをききて遂にそれに聽したがひてこれを釋ちしが
The officials and the rest of the people had obeyed [what the king decreed],
11 後に心をひるがへしてその釋ちし僕婢をひきかへりて再び之を伏從はしめて僕婢となせり
but later they changed their minds. They forced the men and women whom they had freed to become their slaves again.
12 是故にヱホバの言ヱホバよりヱレミヤにのぞみて云
[So] Yahweh gave me this message [to tell to them]:
13 イスラエルの神ヱホバかくいふ我汝らの先祖をエジプトの地その奴隸たりし宅より導きいだせし時彼らと契約を立ていひけらく
“I, Yahweh, the God whom you Israelis [say you belong to], (made an agreement with/gave this command to) your ancestors [long ago], when I rescued them from being slaves in Egypt.
14 汝らの兄弟なるヘブル人の身を汝らに賣たる者をば七年の終に汝らおのおのこれを釋つべし彼六年汝につかへたらば之を釋つべしと然るに汝らの先祖等は我に聽ず亦その耳を傾けざりし
I told them that they must free all their Hebrew slaves after the slaves had worked for them for six years. But your ancestors did not pay any attention to what I said.
15 然ど汝らは今日心をあらためておのおの其鄰人に釋放の事を示してわが目に正とみゆる事を行ひ且我名をもて稱へらるる室に於て我前に契約を立たり
Recently, you obeyed my command and stopped doing what was wrong and did what was right. You made a solemn agreement at my temple [that you would free your slaves], and [then] you freed them.
16 然るに汝ら再び心をひるがへして我名を汚し各自釋ちて其心に任せしめたる僕婢をひき歸り再び之を伏從はしめて汝らの僕婢となせり
But now you have disregarded what you solemnly promised, and you have shown contempt for what I [MTY] said by taking back the women and men whom you had freed and said they could live wherever they wanted to. [Now] you have forced them to be your slaves again.
17 この故にヱホバかくいひたまふ汝ら我に聽ておのおの其兄弟とその鄰に釋放の事を示さざりしによりて視よわれ汝らの爲に釋放を示して汝らを劍と饑饉と疫病にわたさん我汝らをして地の諸の國にて艱難をうけしむべし
Therefore, this is what [I], Yahweh, say: ‘Because you have not obeyed me by freeing your fellow Israelis, I will free you to [be destroyed by] the swords [of your enemies] and by famines and diseases. All the nations of the earth will be horrified because of [what happens to] you.
18 ヱホバこれを云ふ犢を兩にさきて其二個の間を過り我前に契約をたてて却つて其言に從はずわが契約をやぶる人々
Because you have disregarded what I said in my agreement with you, I will do to you just like you did to the calves that you cut in half to show that you would surely do what you solemnly promised that you would do. I will [enable your enemies to] cut you into pieces, you officials of Judah and you officials of Jerusalem, and you officials in the palace, and you priests and all you common people. I will do that because you have disregarded what you solemnly promised [about freeing your slaves].
19 即ち兩に分ちし犢の間を過りしユダの牧伯等ヱルサレムの牧伯等と寺人と祭司とこの地のすべての民を
20 われ其敵の手とその生命を索る者の手に付さんその屍體は天空の鳥と野の獸の食物となるべし
I will enable your enemies to capture you, and they will kill you. And your bodies will be food for vultures and wild animals.
21 且われユダの王ゼデキヤとその牧伯等をその敵の手其生命を索むる者の手汝らを離れて去しバビロン王の軍勢の手に付さん
I will enable the army of the king of Babylon to capture King Zedekiah and his officials. Although the king of Babylon and his army have left Jerusalem [for a short time],
22 ヱホバいひたまふ視よ我彼らに命じて此邑に歸らしめん彼らこの邑を攻て戰ひ之を取り火をもて焚くべしわれユダの諸邑を住人なき荒地となさん
I will summon them back again. [This time], they will fight against this city and capture it and burn it down. I will make [sure] that all the towns in Judah are destroyed, [with the result that] no one will live there [any more].’”

< エレミヤ書 34 >