Jeremiæ 21

1 Verbum, quod factum est ad Ieremiam a Domino, quando misit ad eum rex Sedechias Phassur filium Melchiae, et Sophoniam filium Maasiae sacerdotem, dicens:

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when king Zedekiah sent Pashhur, the son of Malchiah, and Zephaniah, the son of Maaseiah, the priest, to him, saying:

2 Interroga pro nobis Dominum, quia Nabuchodonosor rex Babylonis praeliatur adversum nos: si forte faciat Dominus nobiscum secundum omnia mirabilia sua, et recedat a nobis.

“Question the Lord on our behalf, for Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, is fighting against us. Perhaps it may be that the Lord will act toward us according to all his wonders, and he may withdraw from us.”

3 Et dixit Ieremias ad eos: Sic dicetis Sedechiae:

And Jeremiah said to them: “This is what you shall say to Zedekiah:

4 Haec dicit Dominus Deus Israel: Ecce ego convertam vasa belli, quae in manibus vestris sunt, et quibus vos pugnatis adversum regem Babylonis, et Chaldaeos, qui obsident vos in circuitu murorum: et congregabo ea in medio civitatis huius.

Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Behold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands, with which you fight against the king of Babylon and the Chaldeans, who besiege you at the surrounding walls. And I will gather these things together in the midst of this city.

5 Et debellabo ego vos in manu extenta, et in brachio forti, et in furore, et in indignatione, et in ira grandi.

And I myself will make war against you: with an outstretched hand, and with a strong arm, and in fury, and in indignation, and in great wrath.

6 Et percutiam habitatores civitatis huius, homines et bestiae pestilentia magna morientur.

And I will strike the inhabitants of this city; men and beasts will die from a great pestilence.

7 Et post haec ait Dominus: dabo Sedechiam regem Iuda, et servos eius, et populum eius, et qui derelicti sunt in civitate hac a peste et gladio, et fame, in manu Nabuchodonosor regis Babylonis, et in manu inimicorum eorum, et in manu quaerentium animam eorum, et percutiet eos in ore gladii, et non flectetur, neque parcet, nec miserebitur.

And afterward, thus says the Lord: I will give Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and his servants, and his people, and those who have been left behind in this city after pestilence and the sword and famine, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, and into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their lives. And he will strike them with the edge of the sword. And he will not waver, and he will not be lenient, and he will not take pity.

8 Et ad populum hunc dices: Haec dicit Dominus: Ecce ego do coram vobis viam vitae, et viam mortis.

And to this people, you shall say: Thus says the Lord: Behold, I set before you the way of life and the way of death.

9 Qui habitaverit in urbe hac, morietur gladio, et fame, et peste: qui autem egressus fuerit, et transfugerit ad Chaldaeos, qui obsident vos, vivet, et erit ei anima sua, quasi spolium.

Whoever lives in this city will die by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence. But whoever will have departed and fled away to the Chaldeans, who besiege you, will live, and his life will be to him like a spoil.

10 Posui enim faciem meam super civitatem hanc in malum, et non in bonum, ait Dominus: in manu regis Babylonis dabitur, et exuret eam igni.

For I have set my face against this city for evil, and not for good, says the Lord. It will be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it with fire.

11 Et domui regis Iuda: Audite verba Domini,

And to the house of the king of Judah, you shall say: Listen to the word of the Lord,

12 domus David, haec dicit Dominus: Iudicate mane iudicium, et eruite vi oppressum de manu calumniantis: ne forte egrediatur ut ignis indignatio mea, et succendatur, et non sit qui extinguat propter malitiam studiorum vestrorum.

O house of David! Thus says the Lord: Judge with judgment from early morning, and rescue anyone who is oppressed by violence from the hand of a false accuser. Otherwise, my indignation may go forth like a fire, and may flare up, and there will be no one who can extinguish it, because of the evil of your intentions.

13 Ecce ego ad te habitatricem vallis solidae atque campestris, ait Dominus: qui dicitis: Quis percutiet nos? et quis ingredietur domos nostras?

Behold, I am against you, O inhabitants of a valley with firm and level ground, says the Lord. And you say: ‘Who can strike us? And who can enter into our houses?’

14 Et visitabo super vos iuxta fructum studiorum vestrorum, dicit Dominus: et succendam ignem in saltu eius: et devorabit omnia in circuitu eius.

But I will visit against you according to the fruit of your intentions, says the Lord. And I will kindle a fire in its forest. And it shall devour everything around it.”