Jeremiæ 9
1 Quis dabit capiti meo aquam, et oculis meis fontem lacrymarum? et plorabo die ac nocte interfectos filiae populi mei.
I wish that my head was [like] [MET] a spring of water, and that my eyes were [like] a fountain of tears. Then I would cry night and day for all of my people who have been killed [by our enemies].
2 Quis dabit me in solitudine diversorium viatorum, et derelinquam populum meum, et recedam ab eis? quia omnes adulteri sunt, coetus praevaricatorum.
I wish that I could leave my people and forget them, and go and live in a shack/shelter in the desert, because they have not remained faithful [MET] [to Yahweh]; they are a mob of people who deceive others.
3 Et extenderunt linguam suam quasi arcum mendacii et non veritatis: confortati sunt in terra, quia de malo ad malum egressi sunt, et me non cognoverunt, dicit Dominus.
[Yahweh replied to me], “They use their tongues [to tell] [MET] lies like people shoot [arrows] with bows. It is because they tell lies that they have become more powerful in this land, and they do not know me.
4 Unusquisque se a proximo suo custodiat, et in omni fratre suo non habeat fiduciam: quia omnis frater supplantans supplantabit, et omnis amicus fraudulenter incedet.
Do not trust your neighbors and [even] your brothers! They all are as deceitful [as Jacob was]. They slander [each other] and tell lies [about each other].
5 Et vir fratrem suum deridebit, et veritatem non loquentur: docuerunt enim linguam suam loqui mendacium: ut inique agerent, laboraverunt.
They deceive their friends and never tell the truth. They lie continually and, because of that, they have become skilled liars; they do one oppressive thing after another, and are unable to stop doing it.
6 Habitatio tua in medio doli: in dolo renuerunt scire me, dicit Dominus.
They habitually lie and deceive [each other], and no one will admit/say that I am God.
7 Propterea haec dicit Dominus exercituum: Ecce ego conflabo, et probabo eos: quid enim aliud faciam a facie filiae populi mei?
Therefore [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, say this: Listen carefully to what I say: I will [cause my people to experience great afflictions, ] [like a metalworker puts metal in a hot fire] [MET] to completely burn out the impure bits. Because of all [the evil things] that my people have done, there is absolutely nothing else [RHQ] that I can do.
8 Sagitta vulnerans lingua eorum, dolum locuta est: in ore suo pacem cum amico suo loquitur, et occulte ponit ei insidias.
What they say [MTY] [injures people like] [MET] poisoned arrows do. They say to their neighbors, ‘I hope things will go well for you,’ while they are planning to kill them.
9 Numquid super his non visitabo, dicit Dominus? aut in gente huiusmodi non ulciscetur anima mea?
Should I not punish them for doing that [RHQ]? Yes, I should certainly (get revenge on/give what they deserve to) [the people of] a nation that does things like that!”
10 Super montes assumam fletum ac lamentum, et super speciosa deserti planctum: quoniam incensa sunt, eo quod non sit vir pertransiens: et non audierunt vocem possidentis: a volucre caeli usque ad pecora transmigraverunt et recesserunt.
So, I will weep and wail for [the people who live in] the mountains and in the (pastures/places where the livestock eat the grass), because those areas will be desolate, and no one will live there. There will be no cattle there to call to each other, and all the birds and wild animals will have fled [to other places].
11 Et dabo Ierusalem in acervos arenae, et cubilia draconum: et civitates Iuda dabo in desolationem, eo quod non sit habitator.
[Yahweh also says], “I will cause Jerusalem to become a heap of ruins, and [only] jackals/wolves will live there. I will destroy the towns of Judah, with the result that they will be completely deserted; no one will live there.”
12 Quis est vir sapiens, qui intelligat hoc, et ad quem verbum oris Domini fiat ut annunciet istud, quare perierit terra, et exusta sit quasi desertum, eo quod non sit qui pertranseat?
[I said], “Only people who are very wise [RHQ] can understand these things. Only those who have been taught by Yahweh can [RHQ] explain these things to others. The wise people are [RHQ] the only ones who can explain why the land will be completely ruined with the result that everyone [RHQ] will be afraid to travel through it.”
13 Et dixit Dominus: Quia dereliquerunt legem meam, quam dedi eis, et non audierunt vocem meam, et non ambulaverunt in ea:
Yahweh replied, “[These things will happen] because my people have rejected my laws which I gave to them; they have not obeyed me or my instructions.
14 et abierunt post pravitatem cordis sui, et post Baalim: quod didicerunt a patribus suis.
Instead, they have stubbornly done the things that they wanted to do. They have worshiped the idols that represent the god Baal, which is what their ancestors did.
15 Idcirco haec dicit Dominus exercituum Deus Israel: Ecce ego cibabo populum istum absinthio, et potum dabo eis aquam fellis.
So now listen to what [I], the Commander of the armies of angels, the God of the Israelis, say: [What I will do will be like] [MET] giving these people bitter things to eat and poison to drink:
16 Et dispergam eos in Gentibus, quas non noverunt ipsi et patres eorum: et mittam post eos gladium, donec consumantur.
I will scatter them to many nations which neither they nor their ancestors have known [anything about]; I will [enable their enemies to] strike them with swords until I have destroyed them.”
17 Haec dicit Dominus exercituum Deus Israel: Contemplamini, et vocate lamentatrices ut veniant: et ad eas, quae sapientes sunt, mittite, et properent:
This is also what the Commander of the armies of angels says: “Think [about what is happening], [then] summon those women who mourn [when someone has died].
18 festinent, et assumant super nos lamentum: deducant oculi nostri lacrymas, et palpebrae nostrae defluant aquis.
Tell them to come quickly and start to wail, with the result that tears will stream down from your(pl) eyes.
19 Quia vox lamentationis audita est de Sion: Quomodo vastati sumus et confusi vehementer? quia dereliquimus terram, quoniam deiecta sunt tabernacula nostra.
Listen to [the people of] Jerusalem crying/lamenting, saying, ‘We have been ruined/destroyed! We have experienced a terrible disaster! Now we are very ashamed, because our houses have been destroyed [by our enemies], and we [are being forced to] leave our land.’”
20 Audite ergo mulieres verbum Domini: et assumant aures vestrae sermonem oris eius: et docete filias vestras lamentum: et unaquaeque proximam suam planctum.
You women, listen to what Yahweh says [MTY]. Pay attention to his words [DOU]. Teach your daughters to wail. Teach each other how to sing funeral songs,
21 quia ascendit mors per fenestras nostras, ingressa est domos nostras, disperdere parvulos deforis, iuvenes de plateis.
because people will be dying [PRS] in your houses and in palaces. There will be no more children playing in the streets, there will be no more young men [gathering] in the city squares/marketplaces.
22 Loquere: Haec dicit Dominus: Et cadet morticinum hominis quasi stercus super faciem regionis, et quasi foenum post tergum metentis, et non est qui colligat.
There will be corpses scattered across the fields like dung; their dead bodies will lie there like [SIM] grain that has been cut by reapers/farmers, and there will be no one [still alive] to bury them.
23 Haec dicit Dominus: Non glorietur sapiens in sapientia sua, et non glorietur fortis in fortitudine sua, et non glorietur dives in divitiis suis:
Yahweh says this: “Wise men should not boast about their being wise, strong men should not boast about their being strong; and rich people should not boast about their being rich.
24 sed in hoc glorietur, qui gloriatur, scire et nosse me, quia ego sum Dominus, qui facio misericordiam, et iudicium, et iustitiam in terra: haec enim placent mihi, ait Dominus.
Instead, those who want to boast should boast about their knowing me and about understanding that I am Yahweh, that I am kind and just and righteous, that I faithfully love [people], and that I am delighted with [people who act] that way.
25 Ecce dies veniunt, dicit Dominus: et visitabo super omnem, qui circumcisum habet praeputium,
There will be a time when I will punish all those people of Egypt and of the Moab people-group and of the Edom [people-group] and of the Ammon [people-group], all those people who live close to desert areas (OR, who cut their hair short [to please their gods]) far from Judah, all those people who have [changed their bodies by] circumcising them [MET] but who have not [changed] their inner beings. I will punish the people of Judah also, because they have not changed their inner beings, [either].”
26 super Aegyptum, et super Iuda, et super Edom, et super filios Ammon, et super Moab, et super omnes qui attonsi sunt in comam, habitantes in deserto: quia omnes gentes habent praeputium, omnis autem domus Israel incircumcisi sunt corde.
