Jeremiæ 27

1 In principio regni Ioakim filii Iosiae regis Iuda, factum est verbum istud ad Ieremiam a Domino, dicens:

Soon after Zedekiah became the King of Judah, Yahweh gave a message to me.

2 Haec dicit Dominus ad me: Fac tibi vincula, et catenas: et pones eas in collo tuo.

This is what he said to me: “Make a (yoke/set of wooden bars to fasten around the neck of an ox), but fasten it around your own neck with leather straps.

3 Et mittes eas ad regem Edom, et ad regem Moab, et ad regem filiorum Ammon, et ad regem Tyri, et ad regem Sidonis: in manu nunciorum qui venerunt Ierusalem ad Sedechiam regem Iuda.

[Then] send messages to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon, by telling those messages to the ambassadors from those countries who have come to Jerusalem to [talk to] King Zedekiah.

4 Et praecipies eis ut ad dominos suos loquantur: Haec dicit Dominus exercituum Deus Israel: Haec dicetis ad dominos vestros:

Tell them to give this message to their kings: This is what the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom the Israeli [people worship, ]:

5 Ego feci terram, et homines, et iumenta, quae sunt super faciem terrae, in fortitudine mea magna, et in brachio meo extento: et dedi eam ei, qui placuit in oculis meis.

‘With my very great power [MTY, DOU] I created the earth and the people and the animals that are on the earth. And I can give my power to anyone whom I want to.

6 Et nunc itaque ego dedi omnes terras istas in manu Nabuchodonosor regis Babylonis servi mei: insuper et bestias agri dedi ei ut serviant illi.

And now I am going to enable King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who does what I want him to do, to control your countries. I am going to enable him to rule everything, even the wild animals.

7 Et servient ei omnes gentes, et filio eius, et filio filii eius: donec veniat tempus terrae eius et ipsius: et servient ei gentes multae, et reges magni.

[The people of] all the nations will work for him, and [later] for his son, and [later] for his grandson, until the time for them [to rule] is finished. Then [the armies of] many great kings from many nations will conquer Babylon.’

8 Gens autem et regnum, quod non servierit Nabuchodonosor regi Babylonis, et quicumque non curvaverit collum suum sub iugo regis Babylonis: in gladio, et in fame, et in peste visitabo super gentem illam, ait Dominus: donec consumam eos in manu eius.

But now I tell you that you must [do what the king of Babylon wants you to do] [MET], [like an ox that has] a yoke on its neck [must do what its master wants it to do]. I will punish any nation that refuses to do that. I will cause those people to experience war and famine and diseases, until [the armies of] Babylon have conquered that nation.

9 Vos ergo nolite audire prophetas vestros, et divinos, et somniatores, et augures, et maleficos, qui dicunt vobis: Non servietis regi Babylonis.

So, do not pay attention to your [false] prophets and fortune-tellers and people who predict what will happen by working magic or by talking with spirits of dead people. Those people say that the king of Babylon will not conquer your country.

10 Quia mendacium prophetant vobis: ut longe vos faciant de terra vestra, et eiiciant vos, et pereatis.

Those people are [all] liars. [If you believe what they say, ] it will result in your being exiled from your land. I will cause you to be taken from your land, and you will die far away.

11 Porro gens, quae subiecerit cervicem suam sub iugo regis Babylonis, et servierit ei; dimittam eam in terra sua, dicit Dominus: et colet eam, et habitabit in ea.

But the people of any country who do what the King of Babylon wants them to do will remain in their own country and be able to plant their crops [MTY] [as they always have done. That will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it.”

12 Et ad Sedechiam regem Iuda locutus sum secundum omnia verba haec, dicens: Subiicite colla vestra sub iugo regis Babylonis, et servite ei, et populo eius, et vivetis.

[After I gave that message to those ambassadors, ] I gave the same message to King Zedekiah of Judah. [I said to him, ] “If you want to remain alive, do what the King of Babylon and his officials want you to do [MET].

13 Quare moriemini tu et populus tuus gladio, et fame, et peste, sicut locutus est Dominus ad gentem, quae servire noluerit regi Babylonis?

[It would be foolish for you not to do that, because the result would be that] you and your people would die by [your enemies’] swords or by famine or diseases, which Yahweh will cause any nation to experience that refuses to allow the King of Babylon to rule them.

14 Nolite audire verba prophetarum dicentium vobis: Non servietis regi Babylonis: quia mendacium ipsi loquuntur vobis.

Do not pay attention to those prophets who say to you, ‘The King of Babylon will not conquer your country.’ They are liars.

15 Quia non misi eos, ait Dominus: et ipsi prophetant in nomine meo mendaciter: ut eiiciant vos, et pereatis tam vos, quam prophetae, qui vaticinantur vobis.

[This is what] Yahweh says: ‘I have not appointed those prophets. They are saying that I [MTY] gave them messages, but they are lying. So, [if you believe them, ] I will expel you from this land. And you and all those prophets will die [in Babylon]!’”

16 Et ad sacerdotes, et ad populum istum locutus sum, dicens: Haec dicit Dominus: Nolite audire verba prophetarum vestrorum, qui prophetant vobis, dicentes: Ecce vasa domus Domini revertentur de Babylone nunc cito, mendacium enim prophetant vobis.

Then I spoke to the priests and the other people, and I said, “This is what Yahweh says: ‘Do not believe your prophets who tell you that all the gold items [that were taken] from my temple [by soldiers from Babylon] will soon be returned from Babylon, because what they are prophesying is a lie.

17 Nolite ergo audire eos, sed servite regi Babylonis, ut vivatis. quare datur haec civitas in solitudinem?

Do not pay attention to what they say. Surrender to the king of Babylon. If you do that, you will remain alive. [If you do not do that] [RHQ], this entire city will be destroyed.

18 Et si prophetae sunt, et est verbum Domini in eis: occurrant Domino exercituum, ut non veniant vasa, quae derelicta fuerant in domo Domini, et in domo regis Iuda, et in Ierusalem, in Babylonem.

If they are really prophets who speak messages from me, tell them to plead to me, the Commander of the armies of angels, that [the soldiers from Babylon] will not be allowed to take away to Babylon the valuable items that [still] remain in the temple and in the king’s palace and in [the other palaces in] Jerusalem.

19 Quia haec dicit Dominus exercituum ad columnas, et ad mare, et ad bases, et ad reliqua vasorum, quae remanserunt in civitate hac:

[I say this] because the [huge] pillars [that are in front of the temple] and the large water tank and the [ten water] carts and all the other items that are used [for offering sacrifices are still in this city].

20 quae non tulit Nabuchodonosor rex Babylonis, cum transferret Iechoniam filium Ioakim regem Iuda de Ierusalem in Babylonem, et omnes optimates Iuda et Ierusalem.

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon left those things here when he exiled Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, to Babylon, along with all the [other] leaders of Jerusalem and [the leaders of other places in] Judah.

21 Quia haec dicit Dominus exercituum Deus Israel ad vasa, quae derelicta sunt in domo Domini, et in domo regis Iuda et Ierusalem:

[I], the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom the Israeli [people worship], say this about all those valuable things that are still outside the temple and in the palace of the king of Judah and in [other places in]:

22 In Babylonem transferentur, et ibi erunt usque ad diem visitationis suae, dicit Dominus, et afferri faciam ea, et restitui in loco isto.

They will [all] be carried away to Babylon. And they will stay there until I say that they should be brought back to Jerusalem. Then they will be bought back here. [That is what I, ] Yahweh, say.’”