Jeremi 34

1 Yon lòt jou, Seyè a pale ak Jeremi ankò. Lè sa a, Nèbikadneza, wa Babilòn lan, t'ap atake lavil Jerizalèm ansanm ak tout ti bouk ki nan vwazinaj li yo. Li te gen avè l' tout lame pa l' la ansanm ak sòlda tout lòt nasyon ak lòt ras li te soumèt anba pouvwa li.

King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came with the armies of all the kingdoms that he ruled, and they fought against Jerusalem and the other towns [in Judah]. At that time, Yahweh gave me this message:

2 Men sa Seyè a, Bondye pèp Izrayèl la, di Jeremi: -Ale pale ak Sedesyas, wa peyi Jida a, w'a di li konsa: Seyè a pral lage lavil Jerizalèm nan men wa Babilòn lan ki pral mete dife ladan l'.

“Go to Zedekiah the King of Judah, and say to him, ‘This is what Yahweh, the God whom we Israelis [worship], says: “I am about to enable the army of the King of Babylon to capture this city, and they will burn it down.

3 Ou menm, ou p'ap chape. Y'ap arete ou, y'ap lage ou nan men l' tou. W'a kontre avè l' bab pou bab. W'a pale avè l'. Lèfini, w'ap pati pou Babilòn.

You will not escape from them; they will capture you and take you to the king of Babylon. And [then] they will take you to Babylon.”’

4 Tansèlman, Sedesyas, wa Jida, koute mesaj Seyè a bay pou ou. Ou p'ap mouri nan lagè.

But King Zedekiah, listen to this that Yahweh has promised: ‘You will not be killed in a battle [MTY];

5 W'ap mouri mouri ou nan kabann ou. Lè sa a, y'a boule lansan pou ou menm jan yo te konn boule lansan pou zansèt ou yo ki te wa anvan ou. Y'a rele pou ou, y'a di: Ki lapenn sa a? Wa a mouri! Se mwen menm Seyè a ki di sa. Se mwen ki bay mesaj sa a.

you will die peacefully. [When you die], people will burn incense to honor/remember you just as they did for your ancestors who were kings before you became king. They will mourn for you, crying, “We are very sad that our king is dead!” I, Yahweh, promise that will happen.’”

6 Pwofèt Jeremi bay Sedesyas, wa peyi Jida a, mesaj sa a lavil Jerizalèm.

[So] I took that message to King Zedekiah.

7 Lè sa a, lame wa Babilòn lan t'ap atake lavil Jerizalèm ansanm ak de lòt lavil nan peyi Jida, Lakis ak Azeka, ki t'ap kenbe tèt toujou ak lènmi yo, paske yo menm yo te byen pwoteje.

At that time the army of Babylonia had surrounded Jerusalem and Lachish and Azekah. Those [three] cities were the only cities in Judah that had high walls around them that still had not been captured.

8 Men nan ki sikonstans Seyè a te pale ak Jeremi ankò. Wa Sedesyas te siyen yon kontra ansanm ak tout pèp lavil Jerizalèm pou yo te bay

King Zedekiah had decreed that the people must free their slaves.

9 tout moun menm ras ak yo, fanm kou gason, ki te esklav lakay yo libète yo. Konsa, pesonn nan moun Jida yo pa t'ap gen yon frè parèy yo k'ap sèvi yo esklav.

[He decreed that] the people must free their Hebrew slaves, [both the] men slaves and the women [slaves]. No one would be allowed to force a fellow Jew to [continue to] be his slave.

10 Se konsa, tout chèf yo ansanm ak tout pèp la te tonbe dakò pou yo te bay tout esklav, fanm kou gason, yo te gen lakay yo libète yo, lèfini pou yo pa janm pran yo sèvi esklav ankò. Epi yo bay tout esklav yo libète yo vre.

The officials and the rest of the people had obeyed [what the king decreed],

11 Men apre sa, yo chanje lide, yo pran moun yo te bay libète yo, fanm kou gason, yo fòse yo tounen sèvi yo esklav ankò.

but later they changed their minds. They forced the men and women whom they had freed to become their slaves again.

12 Lè sa a, Seyè a pale ak Jeremi, li di l' konsa:

[So] Yahweh gave me this message [to tell to them]:

13 -Men sa Seyè a, Bondye pèp Izrayèl la, di: Mwen te pase yon kontra avèk zansèt nou yo lè mwen te fè yo soti kite peyi Lejip kote yo te esklav la. Mwen te di yo:

“I, Yahweh, the God whom you Israelis [say you belong to], (made an agreement with/gave this command to) your ancestors [long ago], when I rescued them from being slaves in Egypt.

14 Lè yon ebre parèy nou vann tèt li ban nou pou l' sèvi nou esklav, apre sizan li pase ap sèvi nou, sou setyèm lanne a se pou nou ba li libète l'. Se pou nou kite l' ale. Men, zansèt nou yo pa t' koute m', yo pa t' okipe sa m' te di yo.

I told them that they must free all their Hebrew slaves after the slaves had worked for them for six years. But your ancestors did not pay any attention to what I said.

15 Men nou menm nan jou ki sot pase yo, nou pa t' fè menm jan ak yo, nou te fè sa ki dwat devan mwen. Tout moun te dakò pou yo te bay ebre parèy yo libète yo. Lèfini, nou te pran angajman sa a piblik devan mwen nan kay yo mete apa pou mwen an.

Recently, you obeyed my command and stopped doing what was wrong and did what was right. You made a solemn agreement at my temple [that you would free your slaves], and [then] you freed them.

16 Apre sa, nou chanje lide, nou pa respekte m'. Nou tout nou fè esklav nou te bay libète yo tounen lakay nou, fanm kou gason, nou fòse yo vin sèvi nou esklav ankò.

But now you have disregarded what you solemnly promised, and you have shown contempt for what I [MTY] said by taking back the women and men whom you had freed and said they could live wherever they wanted to. [Now] you have forced them to be your slaves again.

17 Se poutèt sa, mwen menm Seyè a, mwen di nou pa koute m', nou pa bay moun pèp Izrayèl parèy nou yo libète yo. Enben, mwen menm Seyè a, m'ap ban nou libète pou nou mouri nan lagè, nan grangou, osinon anba move maladi.

Therefore, this is what [I], Yahweh, say: ‘Because you have not obeyed me by freeing your fellow Israelis, I will free you to [be destroyed by] the swords [of your enemies] and by famines and diseases. All the nations of the earth will be horrified because of [what happens to] you.

18 M'ap mete tout lòt nasyon sou latè yo vant ba lè y'a wè sa ki rive nou.

Because you have disregarded what I said in my agreement with you, I will do to you just like you did to the calves that you cut in half to show that you would surely do what you solemnly promised that you would do. I will [enable your enemies to] cut you into pieces, you officials of Judah and you officials of Jerusalem, and you officials in the palace, and you priests and all you common people. I will do that because you have disregarded what you solemnly promised [about freeing your slaves].

19 Nou menm chèf peyi Jida yo ak grannèg lavil Jerizalèm yo ak lòt gwo zotobre yo, prèt yo ansanm ak tout moun lavil Jerizalèm yo, nou te pran yon angajman avè m' lè nou te pase nan mitan de mwatye towo bèf nou te ofri ban mwen an. Men nou pa kenbe angajman nou te pran an, nou pa fè sa nou te pwomèt mwen n'ap fè a. Se poutèt sa, sa nou te fè towo bèf nou te ofri ban mwen an, se sa mwen pral fè rive nou.

20 M'ap lage nou nan men lènmi nou yo, nan men moun ki soti pou touye nou yo. Kadav nou va sèvi manje pou zwezo nan syèl ak bèt nan bwa.

I will enable your enemies to capture you, and they will kill you. And your bodies will be food for vultures and wild animals.

21 M'ap pran Sedesyas, wa peyi Jida a, ansanm ak tout chèf li yo, m'ap lage yo nan men lènmi yo, nan men moun ki soti pou touye yo. M'ap lage yo nan men lame wa Babilòn lan ki fin leve kan yo pou yo ale.

I will enable the army of the king of Babylon to capture King Zedekiah and his officials. Although the king of Babylon and his army have left Jerusalem [for a short time],

22 M'ap pase yo lòd, y'ap tounen vin atake lavil la. Y'ap pran l', y'ap mete dife ladan l'. M'ap fè lavil peyi Jida yo tounen yon dezè san pyès moun ladan yo. Se mwen menm Seyè a ki di sa.

I will summon them back again. [This time], they will fight against this city and capture it and burn it down. I will make [sure] that all the towns in Judah are destroyed, [with the result that] no one will live there [any more].’”