Jeremiæ 37
1 Et regnavit rex Sedecias filius Josiæ pro Jechonia filio Joakim, quem constituit regem Nabuchodonosor rex Babylonis in terra Juda:
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon replaced Jehoiachin son of Jehoiakim with Zedekiah son of Josiah as the ruling king of Judah.
2 et non obedivit ipse, et servi ejus, et populus terræ, verbis Domini, quæ locutus est in manu Jeremiæ prophetæ.
But Zedekiah and his officers and everyone else in the country refused to obey what the Lord had said through Jeremiah the prophet.
3 Et misit rex Sedecias Juchal filium Selemiæ, et Sophoniam filium Maasiæ, sacerdotem, ad Jeremiam prophetam, dicens: Ora pro nobis Dominum Deum nostrum.
However, King Zedekiah sent Jehucal son of Shelemiah and Zephaniah the priest, son of Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet with the message, “Please pray to the Lord our God for us!”
4 Jeremias autem libere ambulabat in medio populi: non enim miserant eum in custodiam carceris.
(At this time Jeremiah could come and go freely, because as yet they hadn't put him in prison.)
5 Igitur exercitus Pharaonis egressus est de Ægypto, et audientes Chaldæi qui obsidebant Jerusalem, hujuscemodi nuntium, recesserunt ab Jerusalem.
Pharaoh's army was advancing from Egypt, and when the Babylonian army heard about it, they moved away from Jerusalem.
6 Et factum est verbum Domini ad Jeremiam prophetam, dicens:
Then a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet:
7 Hæc dicit Dominus Deus Israël: Sic dicetis regi Juda, qui misit vos ad me interrogandum: Ecce exercitus Pharaonis, qui egressus est vobis in auxilium, revertetur in terram suam in Ægyptum:
This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, instructs you to tell the king of Judah, who sent you to ask me for help: Look! Pharaoh's army, which set out to help you, is going to return home to Egypt.
8 et redient Chaldæi, et bellabunt contra civitatem hanc, et capient eam, et succendent eam igni.
Then the Babylonians will return and attack Jerusalem. They will capture it and burn it down.
9 Hæc dicit Dominus: Nolite decipere animas vestras, dicentes: Euntes abibunt, et recedent a nobis Chaldæi: quia non abibunt.
This is what the Lord says: Don't fool yourselves by saying, “The Babylonians are gone for good,” because they're not!
10 Sed etsi percusseritis omnem exercitum Chaldæorum qui præliantur adversum vos, et derelicti fuerint ex eis aliqui vulnerati, singuli de tentorio suo consurgent, et incendent civitatem hanc igni.
In fact, even if you were able to kill the whole Babylonian army attacking you, leaving only wounded men in their tents, they would still get up and burn this city down.
11 Ergo cum recessisset exercitus Chaldæorum ab Jerusalem, propter exercitum Pharaonis,
When the Babylonian army moved away from Jerusalem because of the threat of Pharaoh's army,
12 egressus est Jeremias de Jerusalem ut iret in terram Benjamin, et divideret ibi possessionem in conspectu civium.
Jeremiah was on his way out of Jerusalem to go to his home in the territory of Benjamin to claim his share of his family's property.
13 Cumque pervenisset ad portam Benjamin, erat ibi custos portæ per vices, nomine Jerias filius Selemiæ filii Hananiæ: et apprehendit Jeremiam prophetam, dicens: Ad Chaldæos profugis.
However, when he reached the Benjamin Gate, the guard captain, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, arrested him, saying, “You're defecting to the Babylonians!”
14 Et respondit Jeremias: Falsum est: non fugio ad Chaldæos. Et non audivit eum, sed comprehendit Jerias Jeremiam, et adduxit eum ad principes:
“That's not true,” Jeremiah replied. “I'm not defecting to the Babylonians!” But Irijah refused to listen to him. He arrested Jeremiah and took him before the officers.
15 quam ob rem irati principes contra Jeremiam, cæsum eum miserunt in carcerem qui erat in domo Jonathan scribæ: ipse enim præpositus erat super carcerem.
The officers were furious with Jeremiah. They had him beaten and locked up in the house of Jonathan the scribe, which had been turned into a prison.
16 Itaque ingressus est Jeremias in domum laci et in ergastulum: et sedit ibi Jeremias diebus multis.
Jeremiah was placed in a cell in the underground dungeon and was kept there for a long time.
17 Mittens autem Sedecias rex, tulit eum: et interrogavit eum in domo sua abscondite, et dixit: Putasne est sermo a Domino? Et dixit Jeremias: Est: et ait: In manus regis Babylonis traderis.
Some while later King Zedekiah secretly sent for him and had him brought to the royal palace where he asked, “Is there a message from Lord for me?” “Yes there is,” Jeremiah replied. “You are going to be handed over to the king of Babylon.”
18 Et dixit Jeremias ad regem Sedeciam: Quid peccavi tibi, et servis tuis, et populo tuo, quia misisti me in domum carceris?
Then Jeremiah asked King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or these people, for you to put me in prison?
19 ubi sunt prophetæ vestri, qui prophetabant vobis, et dicebant: Non veniet rex Babylonis super vos, et super terram hanc?
Where are your prophets now, the ones who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon won't come and attack you and this country’?
20 Nunc ergo audi, obsecro, domine mi rex: valeat deprecatio mea in conspectu tuo, et ne me remittas in domum Jonathan scribæ, ne moriar ibi.
Now please listen to me, my lord the king, and respond positively to my request. Don't send me back to prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe, otherwise I'll die there.”
21 Præcepit ergo rex Sedecias ut traderetur Jeremias in vestibulo carceris, et daretur ei torta panis quotidie, excepto pulmento, donec consumerentur omnes panes de civitate: et mansit Jeremias in vestibulo carceris.
King Zedekiah gave the order for Jeremiah to be held in the guard's courtyard and be provided with a loaf of bread every day from a bakery until there was no bread left in the city. So Jeremiah stayed in the guard's courtyard.
