Heremaia 37
1 Na kua kingi a Terekia tama a Hohia, i muri i a Konia tama a Iehoiakimi, i whakakingitia nei e Nepukareha kingi o Papurona ki te whenua o Hura.
After Jehoiakim died, [his son Jehoiachin became king for only three months, after which] King Josiah’s son Zedekiah became the King of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon, appointed him to be the new king.
2 Otiia kihai ia i whakarongo, ratou ko ana tangata, ko te iwi ano hoki o te whenua, ki nga kupu a Ihowa i korerotia e Heremaia poropiti.
But King Zedekiah and his palace officials and the other people in the land paid no attention to the messages that Yahweh gave me.
3 Na ka unga e Terekia, e te kingi, a Iehukara tama a Heremia raua ko Tepania tama a Maaheia tohunga ki a Heremaia poropiti, hei ki atu, Tena koa, inoi mo tatou ki a Ihowa, ki to tatou Atua.
However, [one day] King Zedekiah sent Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, and Zephaniah the priest, who was the son of Maaseiah, to me. They requested me to pray to Yahweh our God for our [nation].
4 Na, ko Heremaia, i te haere mai, i te haere atu i roto i te iwi: kahore hoki ia i maka ki te whare herehere.
At that time I had not yet been put in prison, so I could come and go wherever and whenever I wanted to, [without being hindered].
5 Na kua puta mai te taua a Parao i Ihipa; a, no te rongonga o nga Karari i whakapae ra i Hiruharama i to ratou rongo, ka maunu atu ratou i Hiruharama.
[At that time], the army of [Hophra], the King of Egypt, came [to the southern border of Judah]. When the army of Babylonia heard about that, they stopped surrounding Jerusalem and left there [to fight against the army from Egypt].
6 Katahi ka puta mai te kupu a Ihowa ki a Heremaia poropiti; i mea ia,
Then Yahweh gave this message to me:
7 Ko te kupu tenei a Ihowa, a te Atua o Iharaira: Kia penei ta korua korero atu ki te kingi o Hura, nana nei korua i unga mai ki te rapu tikanga i ahau; Nana, ko te ope a Parao i puta mai ra hei awhina mo koutou, ka hoki ki tona whenua, ki Ihipa.
“[I], Yahweh, the God whom [you] Israelis [say you belong to], say this: ‘The King of Judah has sent [messengers] to you to ask me [what is going to happen]. Tell the king that even though the army of the King of Egypt came to help him, they are about to return to Egypt.
8 A ka hoki mai nga Karari, ka tatau ki tenei pa, ka horo hoki i a ratou, ka tahuna ki te ahi.
Then the army of Babylonia will return here and capture this city and burn everything in it.’
9 Ko te kupu tenei a Ihowa, Kei tinihanga i a koutou ano, kei mea, Ka haere rawa atu nga Karari i a tatou: no te mea e kore ratou e haere.
[So], this is what I say [to you Israelis]: ‘You should not deceive yourselves, thinking that the army from Babylonia has gone and will not return. That is not true.
10 Ahakoa me i patua e koutou te ope katoa o nga Karari e tatau na ki a koutou, a toe ake o ratou ko etahi tangata taotu, ka whakatika ano ratou i tona teneti, i tona teneti, a ka tahu i tenei pa ki te ahi.
And even if your soldiers could destroy almost all of the soldiers from Babylonia who are attacking you, and allow only a few of them who were wounded to remain alive in their tents, they would come out [of their tents] and burn this city completely!”’”
11 Na, i te whatinga atu o te ope o nga Karari i Hiruharama i te wehi ki te ope a Parao,
When the army from Babylonia left Jerusalem because the army from Egypt was approaching,
12 Katahi a Heremaia ka puta atu i Hiruharama, he haere ki te whenua o Pineamine, kia riro mai te wahi mana i reira, i roto i te iwi.
I started to leave the city. I intended to go to the area [where the descendants of] Benjamin live, in order to take possession of my share of the property from my family.
13 A, i a ia i te kuwaha o Pineamine, i reira tetahi rangatira tiaki, ko tona ingoa ko Iriia, he tama na Heremia tama a Hanania; heoi hopukia ana a Heremaia e ia, me te ki ano, E tahuti atu ana koe ki nga Karari.
But as I was walking out the Benjamin Gate, a guard seized me and said, “You are deserting [us and going] to [the soldiers from] Babylonia!” The man who seized me was Irijah, the son of Shelemiah and grandson of Hananiah.
14 Katahi ka mea a Heremaia, He teka; kahore aku tahuti ki nga Karari. Otiia kihai ia i rongo ki tana: na hopukia ana a Heremaia e Iriia, kawea ana ki nga rangatira.
But I [protested and] said, “That is not true! I was not intending to do that!” But Irijah would not pay attention to what I said. He took me to the [king’s] officials.
15 Na riri ana nga rangatira ki a Heremaia, whiua ana ia e ratou, tukua ana ki te whare herehere, ki te whare o Honatana kaituhituhi: kua waiho hoki tera e ratou hei whare herehere.
They were very angry with me. They [commanded the guards to] beat me and [then to] put me in the house where Jonathan the king’s secretary stayed. They had changed Jonathan’s house to make it become a prison.
16 I te taenga o Heremaia ki roto ki te whare herehere, ki roto ki nga ruma, a ka maha nga ra e noho ana a Heremaia ki reira;
They put me in a dungeon/cell in that prison, and I remained there for several days.
17 Katahi a Kingi Terekia ka unga tangata ki te tiki i a ia. Na ka ui puku te kingi ki a ia, i roto i tona whare, ka mea, He kupu ano ranei ta Ihowa? A ka mea a Heremaia, Tenei ano. I mea ano ia, Ka hoatu koe ki te ringa o te kingi o Papurona.
Then King Zedekiah secretly sent a servant to me, who took me to the palace. There the king asked me, “Do you have any messages from Yahweh?” I replied, “Yes, [the message is that] you will be handed over to the king of Babylon.”
18 Na i mea atu ano a Heremaia ki a Kingi Terekia, He aha toku hara ki a koe, ki au tangata ranei, ki tenei iwi ranei, i tukua ai ahau e koutou ki te whare herehere?
Then I asked the king, “What crime have I committed [RHQ] against you or against your officials or against the Israeli people, with the result that you have [commanded that] I be put in a prison?
19 Kei hea a koutou poropiti i poropiti ra ki a koutou, i mea ra, E kore te kingi o Papurona e tae mai ki a koutou, ki tenei whenua ranei?
Your prophets predicted that the army of the king of Babylon would not attack you or this land. Why were [RHQ] [their messages] not fulfilled?
20 Na, whakarongo aianei, e toku ariki, e te kingi: tukua atu koa taku inoi kia manaakitia ki tou aroaro; kia kaua ahau e whakahokia ki te whare o Honatana kaituhituhi, kei mate ahau ki reira.
Your majesty, I plead with you to listen to me. Do not send me back to the dungeon/cell in the house of Jonathan your secretary, because [if you do that, ] I will die there.”
21 Na ka whakahaua e Kingi Terekia, a ka kawea a Heremaia ki te marae o te whare herehere, a ka hoatu e ratou mana he rohi taro i tenei ra, i tenei ra, no te ara o nga kaitunu taro, a pau noa te taro katoa o te pa. Na noho ana a Heremaia i te marae o te whare herehere.
So King Zedekiah commanded that [I not be sent back to the prison cell. Instead, ] I was allowed to be watched by the guards in the courtyard [of the palace]. [The king] also [commanded that they should] bring me a loaf of fresh bread every day, until there was no bread left in the city. So [they put me] in that courtyard and I remained there.
