Jeremiæ 29
1 Et hæc sunt verba libri quem misit Jeremias propheta de Jerusalem ad reliquias seniorum transmigrationis, et ad sacerdotes, et ad prophetas, et ad omnem populum quem traduxerat Nabuchodonosor de Jerusalem in Babylonem,
This is the text of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders among the exiles and to the priests, the prophets, and all the others Nebuchadnezzar had carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.
2 postquam egressus est Jechonias rex, et domina, et eunuchi, et principes Juda et Jerusalem, et faber et inclusor, de Jerusalem,
(This was after King Jeconiah, the queen mother, the court officials, the officials of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and the metalsmiths had been exiled from Jerusalem.)
3 in manu Elasa filii Saphan, et Gamariæ filii Helciæ, quos misit Sedecias rex Juda ad Nabuchodonosor regem Babylonis in Babylonem, dicens:
The letter was entrusted to Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah king of Judah sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. It stated:
4 Hæc dicit Dominus exercituum, Deus Israël, omni transmigrationi quam transtuli de Jerusalem in Babylonem:
This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles who were carried away from Jerusalem to Babylon:
5 Ædificate domos, et habitate: et plantate hortos, et comedite fructum eorum.
“Build houses and settle down. Plant gardens and eat their produce.
6 Accipite uxores, et generate filios et filias: et date filiis vestris uxores, et filias vestras date viris, et pariant filios et filias: et multiplicamini ibi, et nolite esse pauci numero.
Take wives and have sons and daughters. Take wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Multiply there; do not decrease.
7 Et quærite pacem civitatis ad quam transmigrare vos feci, et orate pro ea ad Dominum, quia in pace illius erit pax vobis.
Seek the prosperity of the city to which I have sent you as exiles. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for if it prospers, you too will prosper.”
8 Hæc enim dicit Dominus exercituum, Deus Israël: Non vos seducant prophetæ vestri qui sunt in medio vestrum, et divini vestri, et ne attendatis ad somnia vestra quæ vos somniatis:
For this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Do not be deceived by the prophets and diviners among you, and do not listen to the dreams you elicit from them.
9 quia falso ipsi prophetant vobis in nomine meo, et non misi eos, dicit Dominus.
For they are falsely prophesying to you in My name; I have not sent them, declares the LORD.”
10 Quia hæc dicit Dominus: Cum cœperint impleri in Babylone septuaginta anni, visitabo vos, et suscitabo super vos verbum meum bonum, ut reducam vos ad locum istum.
For this is what the LORD says: “When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place.
11 Ego enim scio cogitationes quas ego cogito super vos, ait Dominus, cogitationes pacis et non afflictionis, ut dem vobis finem et patientiam.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope.
12 Et invocabitis me, et ibitis: et orabitis me, et ego exaudiam vos.
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
13 Quæretis me, et invenietis, cum quæsieritis me in toto corde vestro.
You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
14 Et inveniar a vobis, ait Dominus: et reducam captivitatem vestram, et congregabo vos de universis gentibus et de cunctis locis ad quæ expuli vos, dicit Dominus, et reverti vos faciam de loco ad quem transmigrare vos feci.
I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore you from captivity and gather you from all the nations and places to which I have banished you, declares the LORD. I will restore you to the place from which I sent you into exile.”
15 Quia dixistis: Suscitavit nobis Dominus prophetas in Babylone:
Because you may say, “The LORD has raised up for us prophets in Babylon,”
16 quia hæc dicit Dominus ad regem qui sedet super solium David, et ad omnem populum habitatorem urbis hujus, ad fratres vestros qui non sunt egressi vobiscum in transmigrationem:
this is what the LORD says about the king who sits on David’s throne and all the people who remain in this city, your brothers who did not go with you into exile—
17 hæc dicit Dominus exercituum: Ecce mittam in eos gladium, et famem, et pestem: et ponam eos quasi ficus malas, quæ comedi non possunt eo quod pessimæ sint:
this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “I will send against them sword and famine and plague, and I will make them like rotten figs, so bad they cannot be eaten.
18 et persequar eos in gladio, et in fame, et in pestilentia: et dabo eos in vexationem universis regnis terræ: in maledictionem, et in stuporem, et in sibilum, et in opprobrium cunctis gentibus ad quas ego ejeci eos,
I will pursue them with sword and famine and plague. I will make them a horror to all the kingdoms of the earth—a curse, a desolation, and an object of scorn and reproach among all the nations to which I banish them.
19 eo quod non audierint verba mea, dicit Dominus, quæ misit ad eos per servos meos prophetas, de nocte consurgens et mittens: et non audistis, dicit Dominus.
I will do this because they have not listened to My words, declares the LORD, which I sent to them again and again through My servants the prophets. And neither have you exiles listened, declares the LORD.”
20 Vos ergo audite verbum Domini, omnis transmigratio quam emisi de Jerusalem in Babylonem.
So hear the word of the LORD, all you exiles I have sent away from Jerusalem to Babylon.
21 Hæc dicit Dominus exercituum, Deus Israël, ad Achab filium Coliæ, et ad Sedeciam filium Maasiæ, qui prophetant vobis in nomine meo mendaciter: Ecce ego tradam eos in manus Nabuchodonosor regis Babylonis, et percutiet eos in oculis vestris:
This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says about Ahab son of Kolaiah and Zedekiah son of Maaseiah, who are prophesying to you lies in My name: “I will deliver them to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and he will kill them before your very eyes.
22 et assumetur ex eis maledictio omni transmigrationi Juda quæ est in Babylone, dicentium: Ponat te Dominus sicut Sedeciam et sicut Achab, quos frixit rex Babylonis in igne:
Because of them, all the exiles of Judah who are in Babylon will use this curse: ‘May the LORD make you like Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire!’
23 pro eo quod fecerint stultitiam in Israël, et mœchati sunt in uxores amicorum suorum, et locuti sunt verbum in nomine meo mendaciter, quod non mandavi eis. Ego sum judex et testis, dicit Dominus.
For they have committed an outrage in Israel by committing adultery with the wives of their neighbors and speaking lies in My name, which I did not command them to do. I am He who knows, and I am a witness, declares the LORD.”
24 Et ad Semeiam Nehelamiten dices:
You are to tell Shemaiah the Nehelamite that
25 Hæc dicit Dominus exercituum, Deus Israël: Pro eo quod misisti in nomine tuo libros ad omnem populum qui est in Jerusalem, et ad Sophoniam filium Maasiæ sacerdotem, et ad universos sacerdotes, dicens:
this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “In your own name you have sent out letters to all the people of Jerusalem, to the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah, and to all the priests. You said to Zephaniah:
26 Dominus dedit te sacerdotem pro Jojade sacerdote, ut sis dux in domo Domini, super omnem virum arreptitium et prophetantem, ut mittas eum in nervum et in carcerem:
‘The LORD has appointed you priest in place of Jehoiada, to be the chief officer in the house of the LORD, responsible for any madman who acts like a prophet—you must put him in stocks and neck irons.
27 et nunc quare non increpasti Jeremiam Anathothiten, qui prophetat vobis?
So now, why have you not rebuked Jeremiah of Anathoth, who poses as a prophet among you?
28 Quia super hoc misit in Babylonem ad nos, dicens: Longum est: ædificate domos, et habitate: et plantate hortos, et comedite fructus eorum.
For he has sent to us in Babylon, claiming: Since the exile will be lengthy, build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat their produce.’”
29 Legit ergo Sophonias sacerdos librum istum in auribus Jeremiæ prophetæ.
(Zephaniah the priest, however, had read this letter to Jeremiah the prophet.)
30 Et factum est verbum Domini ad Jeremiam, dicens:
Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
31 Mitte ad omnem transmigrationem, dicens: Hæc dicit Dominus ad Semeiam Nehelamiten: Pro eo quod prophetavit vobis Semeias, et ego non misi eum, et fecit vos confidere in mendacio,
“Send a message telling all the exiles what the LORD says concerning Shemaiah the Nehelamite. Because Shemaiah has prophesied to you—though I did not send him—and has made you trust in a lie,
32 idcirco hæc dicit Dominus: Ecce ego visitabo super Semeiam Nehelamiten, et super semen ejus: non erit ei vir sedens in medio populi hujus, et non videbit bonum quod ego faciam populo meo, ait Dominus, quia prævaricationem locutus est adversus Dominum.
this is what the LORD says: ‘I will surely punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite and his descendants. He will have no one left among this people, nor will he see the good that I will bring to My people, declares the LORD, for he has preached rebellion against the LORD.’”
