Jeremiæ 10
1 Audite verbum quod locutus est Dominus super vos, domus Israël.
You people of Israel, listen to what Yahweh says:
2 Hæc dicit Dominus: Juxta vias gentium nolite discere, et a signis cæli nolite metuere, quæ timent gentes,
“Do not act like the people of [other] nations act, and do not be terrified by strange/unusual things that you see in the sky, even though they cause the [people of other] nations to be terrified.
3 quia leges populorum vanæ sunt. Quia lignum de saltu præcidit opus manus artificis in ascia:
The customs of the people [of other nations] are worthless. [For example], they cut down a tree in the forest. Then a [skilled] worker/craftsman [cuts a section of it and] uses his chisel to carve an idol from that section.
4 argento et auro decoravit illud: clavis et malleis compegit, ut non dissolvatur:
[Then] people decorate the idol with silver and gold. [Then] they fasten it securely with nails in order that it will not topple/fall over.
5 in similitudinem palmæ fabricata sunt, et non loquentur: portata tollentur, quia incedere non valent. Nolite ergo timere ea, quia nec male possunt facere, nec bene.
[Then] the idol [stands there] like [SIM] a scarecrow in a field of cucumbers/melons! It cannot speak, and people must carry it, because it cannot walk. Do not be afraid of idols, because they cannot harm [anyone], and they cannot do [anything] good [to help anyone].”
6 Non est similis tui, Domine: magnus es tu, et magnum nomen tuum in fortitudine.
Yahweh, there is no one like you. You [MTY] are great, and you are very powerful.
7 Quis non timebit te, o Rex gentium? tuum est enim decus: inter cunctos sapientes gentium, et in universis regnis eorum, nullus est similis tui.
You are the king of all the nations! Everyone should [RHQ] revere you, because that is what you deserve. Among all the wise people on the earth and in all the kingdoms where they live, (there is no one like you./who can compare with you?)
8 Pariter insipientes et fatui probabuntur: doctrina vanitatis eorum lignum est.
Those people who [think that they are] very wise [IRO] are stupid and foolish [DOU]. The idols that they worship are only made of wood! Those idols certainly cannot teach them anything.
9 Argentum involutum de Tharsis affertur, et aurum de Ophaz: opus artificis et manus ærarii. Hyacinthus et purpura indumentum eorum: opus artificum universa hæc.
People hammer into thin sheets silver from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz, and then they give those sheets of silver and gold to skilled workers/craftsmen to cover the idols. Then they put on those idols expensive purple robes that are made by skilled workers.
10 Dominus autem Deus verus est, ipse Deus vivens, et rex sempiternus. Ab indignatione ejus commovebitur terra, et non sustinebunt gentes comminationem ejus.
But Yahweh is the [only] true God; he is the all-powerful God, the king [who rules] forever. When he is angry, [all] the earth shakes/quakes; and [the people of] the nations cannot endure [what he does] when he is angry [with them].
11 Sic ergo dicetis eis: Dii qui cælos et terram non fecerunt, pereant de terra et de his quæ sub cælo sunt!
[You Israeli people], tell this to those people: “Those idols did not make the sky and the earth, and they will disappear from the earth.”
12 Qui facit terram in fortitudine sua, præparat orbem in sapientia sua, et prudentia sua extendit cælos:
But [Yahweh] made the earth by his power; he established it [firmly] by his wisdom and stretched out the sky by his understanding.
13 ad vocem suam dat multitudinem aquarum in cælo, et elevat nebulas ab extremitatibus terræ: fulgura in pluviam facit, et educit ventum de thesauris suis.
When he speaks [loudly], there is thunder in the sky; he causes clouds to form over every part of the earth. He sends lightning with the rain and releases the winds from his storehouses.
14 Stultus factus est omnis homo a scientia: confusus est artifex omnis in sculptili, quoniam falsum est quod conflavit, et non est spiritus in eis.
People are senseless and know very little [HYP]; those who make idols are always disappointed because their idols do nothing for them. The images/statues that they make are not real [gods]; they are lifeless.
15 Vana sunt, et opus risu dignum: in tempore visitationis suæ peribunt.
Idols are worthless; they deserve to be ridiculed; there will be a time when they [all] will be destroyed.
16 Non est his similis pars Jacob: qui enim formavit omnia, ipse est, et Israël virga hæreditatis ejus: Dominus exercituum nomen illi.
But the God whom we Israelis worship is not like those idols; he is the one who created everything [that exists]; we, the tribe/people of Israel, belong to him; he is the Commander of the armies of angels.
17 Congrega de terra confusionem tuam, quæ habitas in obsidione:
[Yahweh says this to the people of Jerusalem]: “The army of your enemies surrounds your city, so gather up your possessions [and prepare] to leave the city.
18 quia hæc dicit Dominus: Ecce ego longe projiciam habitatores terræ in hac vice, et tribulabo eos ita ut inveniantur.
I will soon throw you out of this land and cause you to experience great troubles, with the result that you will have severe pain (OR, none of you will be left here).”
19 Væ mihi super contritione mea: pessima plaga mea. Ego autem dixi: Plane hæc infirmitas mea est, et portabo illam.
[The people replied, “It is as though] we have been [badly] wounded, and we are very grieved; [It is as though] we have a very serious illness, and we must endure the pain.
20 Tabernaculum meum vastatum est; omnes funiculi mei dirupti sunt: filii mei exierunt a me, et non subsistunt. Non est qui extendat ultra tentorium meum, et erigat pelles meas.
[It is as though] our [great] tent is destroyed; the ropes [that held it up] have been cut; our children have gone away from us and will not return; there are no people left to rebuild our great tent.
21 Quia stulte egerunt pastores, et Dominum non quæsierunt: propterea non intellexerunt, et omnis grex eorum dispersus est.
Our leaders [MET] no [longer] have any sense; they no [longer] ask Yahweh [to (guide them/tell them what to do)], so they will no [longer] prosper, and all those over whom they rule [MET] will be scattered.
22 Vox auditionis ecce venit, et commotio magna de terra aquilonis: ut ponat civitates Juda solitudinem, et habitaculum draconum.
Listen! [Our enemies’ armies] in the north are making a [very] big noise/commotion [as they march toward us]. The towns in Judah will be destroyed, [and they will become] a place where jackals/wolves live.”
23 Scio, Domine, quia non est hominis via ejus, nec viri est ut ambulet, et dirigat gressus suos.
Yahweh, I know that no person controls what will happen to him; no one is able to direct the events that he will experience.
24 Corripe me, Domine, verumtamen in judicio, et non in furore tuo, ne forte ad nihilum redigas me.
[So] correct/discipline us, but do it gently. Do not correct/punish us when you are angry, because we would die if you did that.
25 Effunde indignationem tuam super gentes quæ non cognoverunt te, et super provincias quæ nomen tuum non invocaverunt: quia comederunt Jacob, et devoraverunt eum, et consumpserunt illum, et decus ejus dissipaverunt.
Punish [MTY] [all] the nations whose people do not acknowledge/say that you are God; punish all the nations whose people do not worship you, because they are completely destroying [DOU] [us people of] Israel and they are causing our land to soon be only a desert.
