Jeremiæ 44
1 Verbum, quod factum est per Ieremiam ad omnes Iudaeos, qui habitabant in Terra Aegypti, habitantes in Magdalo, et in Taphnis, et in Memphis, et in Terra Phatures, dicens:
[This is] the message that Yahweh gave me concerning the Jews who were living in [northern] Egypt—in Migdol, Tahpenes, and Memphis [cities], and in the Pathros [region in southern Egypt]:
2 Haec dicit Dominus exercituum Deus Israel: Vos vidistis omne malum istud, quod adduxi super Ierusalem, et super omnes urbes Iuda: et ecce desertae sunt hodie, et non est in eis habitator:
“This is what [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [you] Israelis [say you belong to], say: ‘You saw the disaster that I caused [the people in] Jerusalem and the other towns in Judah to experience. Those towns are now ruined and deserted.
3 Propter malitiam, quam fecerunt ut me ad iracundiam provocarent, et irent ut sacrificarent, et colerent deos alienos, quos nesciebant et illi, et vos, et patres vestri.
[That happened] because I was extremely angry with them on account of their being very wicked. They burned incense to other gods and worshiped them. They were gods that you [previously] did not know about, and your ancestors also [did not know about them].
4 Et misi ad vos omnes servos meos prophetas de nocte consurgens, mittensque et dicens: Nolite facere verbum abominationis huiuscemodi, quam odivi.
Many times I sent my prophets who served me, to say to them, “Do not do those abominable things that I hate!”
5 Et non audierunt, nec inclinaverunt aurem suam ut converterentur a malis suis, et non sacrificarent diis alienis.
But my people would not pay any attention [DOU] [to what I said to them]. They would not turn away from their wicked behavior, or stop burning incense to [worship/honor] other gods.
6 Et conflata est indignatio mea et furor meus, et succensa est in civitatibus Iuda, et in plateis Ierusalem: et versae sunt in solitudinem et vastitatem secundum diem hanc.
So I poured out my anger [MTY] on them. I punished people on the streets of Jerusalem and on the [other] towns in Judah. It caused those towns to be ruined and deserted, and they are still like that.’
7 Et nunc haec dicit Dominus exercituum Deus Israel: Quare vos facitis malum grande hoc contra animas vestras, ut intereat ex vobis vir et mulier, parvulus et lactens de medio Iuda, nec relinquatur vobis quidquam residuum:
So now [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [you] Israelis [say you belong to], ask you: ‘Why are you causing yourselves to experience these disasters? [Do you not realize that because of what you are doing], soon there will be no more men or women or children or infants left among you [who have come here to Egypt] from Judah?
8 Provocantes me in operibus manuum vestrarum, sacrificando diis alienis in Terra Aegypti, in quam ingressi estis ut habitetis ibi: et dispereatis, et sitis in maledictionem, et in opprobrium cunctis gentibus terrae?
Why are you [RHQ] provoking me and causing me to be very angry by burning incense to the idols that you have made here in Egypt? [If you continue doing this, ] you will destroy yourselves, and you will cause yourselves to be people whom all the nations on the earth will curse and despise.
9 Numquid obliti estis mala patrum vestrorum, et mala regum Iuda, et mala uxorum eius, et mala vestra, et mala uxorum vestrarum, quae fecerunt in Terra Iuda, et in regionibus Ierusalem?
Have you forgotten [how I punished] your ancestors for the wicked things that they did, and [how I punished] the kings and queens of Judah for what they did, and you and your wives for the sins that you committed in the streets of Jerusalem and [the other towns] in Judah?
10 Non sunt mundati usque ad diem hanc: et non timuerunt, et non ambulaverunt in lege Domini, et in praeceptis meis, quae dedi coram vobis et coram patribus vestris.
Up until this day you have not humbled yourselves or revered me. You have not obeyed the laws and decrees [DOU] that I gave to you and your ancestors.’
11 Ideo haec dicit Dominus exercituum Deus Israel: Ecce ego ponam faciem meam in vobis in malum: et disperdam omnem Iuda.
Therefore, this is what [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [you] Israelis [say you belong to], say: ‘I am determined to cause all of you to experience disasters and to get rid of every one of you.
12 Et assumam reliquias Iuda, qui posuerunt facies suas ut ingrederentur Terram Aegypti, et habitarent ibi: et consumentur omnes in Terra Aegypti: cadent in gladio et in fame: et consumentur a minimo usque ad maximum in gladio, et in fame morientur: et erunt in iusiurandum, et in miraculum, et in maledictionem, et in opprobrium.
[You] people from Judah who have survived were determined to come and live here in Egypt. So I will get rid of all of you here in Egypt. Every one of you will die, including those who are important and those who are not important. [Some of] you will be killed by [your enemies’] swords, [some will die] from famines. You will become [people whom others] curse, be horrified about, and make fun of.
13 Et visitabo super habitatores Terrae Aegypti, sicut visitavi super Ierusalem in gladio, et fame, et peste.
I will punish you here in Egypt like I punished [others in] Jerusalem, [some of whom were killed] by [their enemies’] swords and [some of whom] died from famines or diseases.
14 Et non erit qui effugiat, et sit residuus de reliquiis Iudaeorum, qui vadunt ut peregrinentur in Terra Aegypti: et revertantur in Terram Iuda, ad quam ipsi elevant animas suas ut revertantur, et habitent ibi: non revertentur nisi qui fugerint.
You people who did not die in Judah fled here to Egypt, hoping that [some day] you would return to Judah. But very few [HYP] of you will survive and escape. You are longing/wanting to remain alive and return to Judah, but only a very few of you will escape and be able to do that.’”
15 Responderunt autem Ieremiae omnes viri scientes quod sacrificarent uxores eorum diis alienis: et universae mulieres, quarum stabat multitudo grandis, et omnis populus habitantium in Terra Aegypti in Phatures, dicentes:
Then a large group of the people who had started to live in northern Egypt and southern Egypt, including all the men who knew that their wives had been burning incense to other gods, and all the women who were standing there, said this to me:
16 Sermonem, quem locutus es ad nos in nomine Domini, non audiemus ex te:
“You are saying that [MTY] Yahweh gave messages to you, but we will not pay any attention to your messages!
17 sed facientes faciemus omne verbum, quod egredietur de ore nostro ut sacrificemus reginae caeli, et libemus ei libamina, sicut fecimus nos, et patres nostri, reges nostri, et principes nostri in urbibus Iuda, et in plateis Ierusalem: et saturati sumus panibus, et bene nobis erat, malumque non vidimus.
We will certainly do everything that we said that we would do. We will burn incense to [worship our goddess Astarte, ] the Queen of Heaven, and we will pour out offerings [of wine] to her, just like we and our ancestors and our kings and [their] officials have [always] done in the streets of Jerusalem and in the [other] towns in Judah. At that time, we had plenty of food, and we were prosperous and we did not have any troubles.
18 Ex eo autem tempore, quo cessavimus sacrificare reginae caeli, et libare ei libamina, indigemus omnibus, et gladio, et fame consumpti sumus.
But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and giving her offerings [of wine], we have had many troubles, and [some of our people] have been killed by [our enemies’] swords and [some have died] from hunger.”
19 Quod si nos sacrificamus reginae caeli, et libamus ei libamina: numquid sine viris nostris fecimus ei placentas ad colendum eam, et libandum ei libamina?
And [the women said], “[Furthermore], we burned incense and poured out [wine] offerings to the Queen of Heaven, and we also made small cakes that resembled her idol, to offer to her. But our husbands certainly knew about [and approved of] [RHQ] what we were doing!”
20 Et dixit Ieremias ad omnem populum adversum viros, et adversum mulieres, et adversum universam plebem, qui responderant ei verbum, dicens:
Then I said to all the men and women who had answered me,
21 Numquid non sacrificium, quod sacrificastis in civitatibus Iuda, et in plateis Ierusalem vos et patres vestri, reges vestri, et principes vestri, et populus terrae, horum recordatus est Dominus, et ascendit super cor eius?
“Do not think [RHQ] that Yahweh did not know that you and your ancestors and your kings and their officials and all the other people in Judah were burning incense to [worship/honor] idols in the streets of Jerusalem and in the [other] towns in Judah!
22 Et non poterat Dominus ultra portare propter malitiam studiorum vestrorum, et propter abominationes, quas fecistis, et facta est terra vestra in desolationem, et in stuporem, et in maledictum, eo quod non sit habitator, sicut est dies haec.
It was because Yahweh could no longer endure/tolerate your wicked actions and the detestable things that you were doing that he caused your land to be [a place whose name people say when they] curse someone, a land that is ruined and which has no one living in it. And your land is still like that.
23 Propterea quod sacrificaveritis idolis, et peccaveritis Domino: et non audieritis vocem Domini, et in lege, et in praeceptis, et in testimoniis eius non ambulaveritis: idcirco evenerunt vobis mala haec, sicut est dies haec.
It is because you burned incense to [worship/honor] idols and committed [other] sins against Yahweh that you experienced [all] those disasters. It is because you have not obeyed him or his laws and decrees and commandments.”
24 Dixit autem Ieremias ad omnem populum, et ad universas mulieres: Audite verbum Domini omnis Iuda, qui estis in Terra Aegypti:
[Then] I said to all of them, including the women, “All you [people of] Judah who are [here] in Egypt, listen to this message from Yahweh.
25 Haec inquit Dominus exercituum Deus Israel, dicens: Vos, et uxores vestrae locuti estis ore vestro, et manibus vestris implestis, dicentes: Faciamus vota nostra, quae vovimus, ut sacrificemus reginae caeli, et libemus ei libamina. implestis vota vestra, et opere perpetrastis ea.
This is what the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [we] Israelis [worship], says [to you Israeli men]: ‘You and your wives have said that you would continue to do what you promised, to burn incense and pour out wine to the [goddess whom you call] the Queen of Heaven. [And you have proved by your actions that you intend to continue to do that]. So go ahead and continue doing what you have promised to do [for her].’
26 Ideo audite verbum Domini omnis Iuda, qui habitatis in Terra Aegypti: Ecce ego iuravi in nomine meo magno, ait Dominus: quia nequaquam ultra vocabitur nomen meum ex ore omnis viri Iudaei, dicentis: Vivit Dominus Deus in omni Terra Aegypti.
But now, all you people from Judah who are [now] living [here] in Egypt, listen to this message from Yahweh. He says, ‘I have solemnly declared, using my great name, that [soon] none of [you] people from Judah who are here in Egypt will ever again use my name. [There will be none of you who, when you solemnly promise to do something, ] will ever again say, “[I will do it as surely] as Yahweh lives.”
27 Ecce ego vigilabo super eos in malum, et non in bonum: et consumentur omnes viri Iuda, qui sunt in Terra Aegypti, gladio, et fame donec penitus consumantur.
Because I will be watching over you, not to cause good things to happen to you but to cause things to happen that will harm you. [Almost] everyone [HYP] from Judah who is [now here] in Egypt will experience being [killed by their enemies’] swords, or dying from famine.
28 Et qui fugerint gladium, revertentur de Terra Aegypti in Terram Iuda viri pauci: et scient omnes reliquiae Iuda ingredientium Terram Aegypti, ut habitent ibi, cuius sermo compleatur, meus, an illorum.
[Only a very] few [of you] will not die, and will return to Judah. [When that happens], all those who came to Egypt will find out whose words (were true/were fulfilled), theirs or mine.’
29 Et hoc vobis signum, ait Dominus, quod visitem ego super vos in loco isto: ut sciatis quia vere complebuntur sermones mei contra vos in malum.
And Yahweh [also] says, ‘I will do something that will prove to you that everything that I have said will happen, and that I will punish you [here] in this place.
30 Haec dicit Dominus: Ecce ego tradam Pharaonem Ephree regem Aegypti in manu inimicorum eius, et in manu quaerentium animam illius: sicut tradidi Sedechiam regem Iuda in manu Nabuchodonosor regis Babylonis inimici sui, et quaerentis animam eius.
I will cause Hophra, the king of Egypt, to be captured by his enemies who want to kill him, just like I caused King Zedekiah of Judah to be captured by [the soldiers of] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.’” [And that is what happened several years later].
