エレミヤ書 44
1 エジプトの地に住んでいるユダヤ人すなわちミグドル、タパネス、メンピス、パテロスの地に住む者の事についてエレミヤに臨んだ言葉、
[This is] the message that Yahweh gave me concerning the Jews who were living in [northern] Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpenes, and Memphis [cities], and in the Pathros [region in southern Egypt]:
2 「万軍の主、イスラエルの神はこう言われる、あなたがたはわたしがエルサレムとユダの町々に下した災を見た。見よ、これらは今日、すでに荒れ地となって住む人もない。
“This is what [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [you] Israelis [say you belong to], say: ‘You saw the disaster that I caused [the people in] Jerusalem and the other towns in Judah to experience. Those towns are now ruined and deserted.
3 これは彼らが悪を行って、わたしを怒らせたことによるのである。すなわち彼らは自分も、あなたがたも、あなたがたの先祖たちも知らなかった、ほかの神々に行って、香をたき、これに仕えた。
[That happened] because I was extremely angry with them on account of their being very wicked. They burned incense to other gods and worshiped them. They were gods that you [previously] did not know about, and your ancestors also [did not know about them].
4 わたしは自分のしもべであるすべての預言者たちを、しきりにあなたがたにつかわして、『どうか、わたしの忌みきらうこの憎むべき事をしないように』と言わせたけれども、
Many times I sent my prophets who served me, to say to them, “Do not do those abominable things that I hate!”
5 彼らは聞かず、耳を傾けず、ほかの神々に香をたいて、その悪を離れなかった。
But my people would not pay any attention [DOU] [to what I said to them]. They would not turn away from their wicked behavior, or stop burning incense to [worship/honor] other gods.
6 それゆえ、わたしは怒りと憤りをユダの町々とエルサレムのちまたに注ぎ、それを焼いたので、それらは今日のように荒れ、滅びてしまった。
So I poured out my anger [MTY] on them. I punished people on the streets of Jerusalem and on the [other] towns in Judah. It caused those towns to be ruined and deserted, and they are still like that.’
7 万軍の神、イスラエルの神、主は今こう言われる、あなたがたはなぜ大いなる悪を行って自分自身を害し、ユダのうちから、あなたがたの男と女と、子供と乳のみ子を断って、ひとりも残らないようにしようとするのか。
So now [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [you] Israelis [say you belong to], ask you: ‘Why are you causing yourselves to experience these disasters? [Do you not realize that because of what you are doing], soon there will be no more men or women or children or infants left among you [who have come here to Egypt] from Judah?
8 なぜあなたがたはその手のわざをもってわたしを怒らせ、あなたがたが行って住まうエジプトの地で、ほかの神々に香をたいて自分の身を滅ぼし、地の万国のうちに、のろいとなり、はずかしめとなろうとするのか。
Why are you [RHQ] provoking me and causing me to be very angry by burning incense to the idols that you have made here in Egypt? [If you continue doing this, ] you will destroy yourselves, and you will cause yourselves to be people whom all the nations on the earth will curse and despise.
9 ユダの地とエルサレムのちまたで行ったあなたがたの先祖たちの悪、ユダの王たちの悪、その妻たちの悪、およびあなたがた自身の悪、あなたがたの妻たちの悪をあなたがたは忘れたのか。
Have you forgotten [how I punished] your ancestors for the wicked things that they did, and [how I punished] the kings and queens of Judah for what they did, and you and your wives for the sins that you committed in the streets of Jerusalem and [the other towns] in Judah?
10 彼らは今日に至るまで悔いず、また恐れず、あなたがたとあなたがたの先祖たちの前に立てた、わたしの律法とわたしの定めとに従って歩まないのである。
Up until this day you have not humbled yourselves or revered me. You have not obeyed the laws and decrees [DOU] that I gave to you and your ancestors.’
11 それゆえ万軍の主、イスラエルの神はこう言われる、見よ、わたしは顔をあなたがたに向けて災を下し、ユダの人々をことごとく断つ。
Therefore, this is what [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [you] Israelis [say you belong to], say: ‘I am determined to cause all of you to experience disasters and to get rid of every one of you.
12 またわたしは、エジプトの地に住むために、むりに行ったあのユダの残りの者を取り除く。彼らはみな滅ぼされてエジプトの地に倒れる。彼らは、つるぎとききんに滅ぼされ、最も小さい者から最も大いなる者まで、つるぎとききんによって死ぬ。そして、のろいとなり、恐怖となり、ののしりとなり、はずかしめとなる。
[You] people from Judah who have survived were determined to come and live here in Egypt. So I will get rid of all of you here in Egypt. Every one of you will die, including those who are important and those who are not important. [Some of] you will be killed by [your enemies’] swords, [some will die] from famines. You will become [people whom others] curse, be horrified about, and make fun of.
13 わたしはエルサレムを罰したように、つるぎと、ききんと、疫病をもってエジプトに住んでいる者を罰する。
I will punish you here in Egypt like I punished [others in] Jerusalem, [some of whom were killed] by [their enemies’] swords and [some of whom] died from famines or diseases.
14 それゆえ、エジプトの地へ行ってそこに住んでいるユダの残りの者のうち、のがれ、または残って、帰り住まおうと願うユダの地へ帰る者はひとりもない。少数ののがれる者のほかには、帰ってくる者はない」。
You people who did not die in Judah fled here to Egypt, hoping that [some day] you would return to Judah. But very few [HYP] of you will survive and escape. You are longing/wanting to remain alive and return to Judah, but only a very few of you will escape and be able to do that.’”
15 その時、自分の妻がほかの神々に香をたいたことを知っている人々、およびその所に立っている女たちの大いなる群衆、ならびにエジプトの地のパテロスに住んでいる民はエレミヤに答えて言った、
Then a large group of the people who had started to live in northern Egypt and southern Egypt, including all the men who knew that their wives had been burning incense to other gods, and all the women who were standing there, said this to me:
16 「あなたが主の名によってわたしたちに述べられた言葉は、わたしたちは聞くことができません。
“You are saying that [MTY] Yahweh gave messages to you, but we will not pay any attention to your messages!
17 わたしたちは誓ったことをみな行い、わたしたちが、もと行っていたように香を天后にたき、また酒をその前に注ぎます。すなわち、ユダの町々とエルサレムのちまたで、わたしたちとわたしたちの先祖たちおよびわたしたちの王たちと、わたしたちのつかさたちが行ったようにいたします。その時には、わたしたちは糧食には飽き、しあわせで、災に会いませんでした。
We will certainly do everything that we said that we would do. We will burn incense to [worship our goddess Astarte, ] the Queen of Heaven, and we will pour out offerings [of wine] to her, just like we and our ancestors and our kings and [their] officials have [always] done in the streets of Jerusalem and in the [other] towns in Judah. At that time, we had plenty of food, and we were prosperous and we did not have any troubles.
18 ところが、わたしたちが、天后に香をたくことをやめ、酒をその前に注がなくなった時から、すべての物に乏しくなり、つるぎとききんに滅ぼされました」。
But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and giving her offerings [of wine], we have had many troubles, and [some of our people] have been killed by [our enemies’] swords and [some have died] from hunger.”
19 また女たちは言った、「わたしたちが天后に香をたき、酒をその前に注ぐに当って、これにかたどってパンを造り、酒を注いだのは、わたしたちの夫が許したことではありませんか」。
And [the women said], “[Furthermore], we burned incense and poured out [wine] offerings to the Queen of Heaven, and we also made small cakes that resembled her idol, to offer to her. But our husbands certainly knew about [and approved of] [RHQ] what we were doing!”
20 そこでエレミヤは男女のすべての人、およびこの答をしたすべての民に言った、
Then I said to all the men and women who had answered me,
21 「ユダの町々とエルサレムのちまたで、あなたがたとあなたがたの先祖たち、およびあなたがたの王たちとあなたがたのつかさたち、およびその地の民が香をたいたことは、主がこれを忘れず、また、心にとどめておられることではないか。
“Do not think [RHQ] that Yahweh did not know that you and your ancestors and your kings and their officials and all the other people in Judah were burning incense to [worship/honor] idols in the streets of Jerusalem and in the [other] towns in Judah!
22 主はあなたがたの悪しきわざのため、あなたがたの憎むべき行いのために、もはや忍ぶことができなくなられた。それゆえ、あなたがたの地は今日のごとく荒れ地となり、驚きとなり、のろいとなり、住む人のない地となった。
It was because Yahweh could no longer endure/tolerate your wicked actions and the detestable things that you were doing that he caused your land to be [a place whose name people say when they] curse someone, a land that is ruined and which has no one living in it. And your land is still like that.
23 あなたがたが香をたき、主に罪を犯し、主の声に聞き従わず、その律法と、定めと、あかしに従って歩まなかったので、今日のようにこの災があなたがたに臨んだのである」。
It is because you burned incense to [worship/honor] idols and committed [other] sins against Yahweh that you experienced [all] those disasters. It is because you have not obeyed him or his laws and decrees and commandments.”
24 エレミヤはまたすべての民と女たちに言った、「あなたがたすべてエジプトの地にいるユダの人々よ、主の言葉を聞きなさい。
[Then] I said to all of them, including the women, “All you [people of] Judah who are [here] in Egypt, listen to this message from Yahweh.
25 万軍の主、イスラエルの神はこう言われる、あなたがたとあなたがたの妻たちは口で言い、手で行い、『わたしたちは天后に香をたき、酒を注いで立てた誓いを必ずなし遂げる』と言う。それならば、あなたがたの誓いをかため、あなたがたの誓いをなし遂げなさい。
This is what the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [we] Israelis [worship], says [to you Israeli men]: ‘You and your wives have said that you would continue to do what you promised, to burn incense and pour out wine to the [goddess whom you call] the Queen of Heaven. [And you have proved by your actions that you intend to continue to do that]. So go ahead and continue doing what you have promised to do [for her].’
26 それゆえ、あなたがたすべてエジプトの地にいるユダの人々よ、主の言葉を聞きなさい。主は言われる、わたしは自分の大いなる名をさして誓う、すなわちエジプトの全地に、ユダの人々で、その口に、『主なる神は生きておられる』と言って、わたしの名をとなえるものは、もはやひとりもないようになる。
But now, all you people from Judah who are [now] living [here] in Egypt, listen to this message from Yahweh. He says, ‘I have solemnly declared, using my great name, that [soon] none of [you] people from Judah who are here in Egypt will ever again use my name. [There will be none of you who, when you solemnly promise to do something, ] will ever again say, “[I will do it as surely] as Yahweh lives.”
27 見よ、わたしは彼らを見守っている、それは幸を与えるためではなく、災を下すためである。エジプトの地にいるユダの人々は、つるぎとききんによって滅び絶える。
Because I will be watching over you, not to cause good things to happen to you but to cause things to happen that will harm you. [Almost] everyone [HYP] from Judah who is [now here] in Egypt will experience being [killed by their enemies’] swords, or dying from famine.
28 しかし、つるぎをのがれるわずかの者はエジプトの地を出てユダの地に帰る。そしてユダの残っている民でエジプトに来て住んだ者は、わたしの言葉が立つか、彼らの言葉が立つか、いずれであるかを知るようになる。
[Only a very] few [of you] will not die, and will return to Judah. [When that happens], all those who came to Egypt will find out whose words (were true/were fulfilled), theirs or mine.’
29 主は言われる、わたしがこの所であなたがたを罰するしるしはこれである。わたしはこのようにしてわたしがあなたがたに災を下そうと言った事の必ず立つことを知らせよう。
And Yahweh [also] says, ‘I will do something that will prove to you that everything that I have said will happen, and that I will punish you [here] in this place.
30 すなわち主はこう言われる、見よ、わたしはユダの王ゼデキヤを、その命を求める敵であるバビロンの王ネブカデレザルの手に渡したように、エジプトの王パロ・ホフラをその敵の手、その命を求める者の手に渡す」。
I will cause Hophra, the king of Egypt, to be captured by his enemies who want to kill him, just like I caused King Zedekiah of Judah to be captured by [the soldiers of] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’” [And that is what happened several years later].
