Jeremiæ 37
1 Et regnavit rex Sedechias filius Iosiae pro Iechonia filio Ioakim: quem constituit regem Nabuchodonosor rex Babylonis in Terra Iuda:
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 eius, et populus terrae verbis Domini, quae locutus est in manu Ieremiae prophetae.
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 Sedechias Iuchal filium Selemiae, et Sophoniam filium Maasiae sacerdotem ad Ieremiam 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 Ieremias 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 Aegypto: et audientes Chaldaei, qui obsidebant Ierusalem, huiuscemodi nuncium, recesserunt ab Ierusalem.
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 Ieremiam prophetam, dicens:
Then a message from the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet:
7 Haec dicit Dominus Deus Israel: Sic dicetis regi Iuda, qui misit vos ad me interrogandum: Ecce exercitus Pharaonis, qui egressus est vobis in auxilium, revertetur in terram suam in Aegyptum.
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 Chaldaei, et bellabunt contra civitatem hanc: et capient eam, et succendent eam igne.
Then the Babylonians will return and attack Jerusalem. They will capture it and burn it down.
9 Haec dicit Dominus: Nolite decipere animas vestras, dicentes: Euntes abibunt, et recedent a nobis Chaldaei, 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 et si percusseritis omnem exercitum Chaldaeorum, qui praeliantur adversum vos, et derelicti fuerint ex eis aliqui vulnerati: singuli de tentorio suo consurgent, et incendent civitatem hanc igne.
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 Chaldaeorum ab Ierusalem propter exercitum Pharaonis,
When the Babylonian army moved away from Jerusalem because of the threat of Pharaoh's army,
12 egressus est Ieremias de Ierusalem ut iret in Terram Beniamin, 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 Beniamin, erat ibi custos portae per vices, nomine Ierias, filius Selemiae filii Hananiae, et apprehendit Ieremiam prophetam, dicens: Ad Chaldaeos 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 Ieremias: Falsum est, non fugio ad Chaldaeos. Et non audivit eum: sed comprehendit Ierias Ieremiam, 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 Ieremiam, caesum eum miserunt in carcerem, qui erat in domo Ionathan scribae: ipse enim praepositus 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 Ieremias in domum laci et in ergastulum: et sedit ibi Ieremias diebus multis.
Jeremiah was placed in a cell in the underground dungeon and was kept there for a long time.
17 Mittens autem Sedechias rex tulit eum: et interrogavit eum in domo sua abscondite, et dixit: Putasne est sermo a Domino? Et dixit Ieremias: 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 Ieremias ad regem Sedechiam: 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 prophetae 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 Ionathan scribae, 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 Praecepit ergo rex Sedechias ut traderetur Ieremias in vestibulo carceris: et daretur ei torta panis quotidie, excepto pulmento, donec consumerentur omnes panes de civitate: et mansit Ieremias 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.
