Jeremiæ 29

1 et haec sunt verba libri quae misit Hieremias propheta de Hierusalem ad reliquias seniorum transmigrationis et ad sacerdotes et ad prophetas et ad omnem populum quem transduxerat Nabuchodonosor de Hierusalem in Babylonem

After King Jehoiachin, his mother, his palace officials, other officials in Judah, and all the various kinds of craftsmen [DOU] had been exiled to Babylon, I wrote a letter to the elders, the priests, the prophets and all the other people who had been taken from Jerusalem to Babylon by [soldiers of] Nebuchadnezzar.

2 postquam egressus est Iechonias rex et domina et eunuchi et principes Iuda et Hierusalem et faber et inclusor de Hierusalem

3 in manu Ellasa filii Saphan et Gamaliae filii Helciae quos misit Sedecias rex Iuda ad Nabuchodonosor regem Babylonis in Babylonem dicens

[I gave] the letter to Elasah the son of Shaphan, and to Gemariah the son of Hilkiah, when they were about to go to Babylon to be ambassadors from King Zedekiah to King Nebuchadnezzar. This is what I wrote in the letter:

4 haec dicit Dominus exercituum Deus Israhel omni transmigrationi quam transtuli de Hierusalem in Babylonem

This is what the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [we] Israelis [worship], says to all you people who were captured [here] in Jerusalem and taken [there] to Babylon:

5 aedificate domos et habitate et plantate hortos et comedite fructum eorum

“Build houses [there], and plan to stay there [because you will be there for many years]. Plant gardens, and eat the food that is produced in the gardens.

6 accipite uxores et generate filios et filias date filiis vestris uxores et filias vestras date viris et pariant filios et filias et multiplicamini ibi et nolite esse pauci numero

Get married and have children. Then [when they grow up], choose wives for your sons, and husbands for your daughters, in order that they [also] may have children. [In that way], the number of you people will increase, not decrease.

7 et quaerite pacem civitatis ad quam transmigrare vos feci et orate pro ea ad Dominum quia in pace illius erit pax vobis

Also, do things that will cause things to go well [for the other people there] in the city where I sent you. Pray that things will go well for [the people in] that city, because if things go well for them, things will go well for you, [also].”

8 haec enim dicit Dominus exercituum Deus Israhel non vos inducant prophetae vestri qui sunt in medio vestrum et divini vestri et ne adtendatis ad somnia vestra quae vos somniatis

This is what the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [we] Israeli people [worship], says: “There are [false] prophets and fortune-tellers among you. Do not allow them to deceive you. Do not pay attention to [them when they tell you] their dreams,

9 quia falso ipsi prophetant vobis in nomine meo et non misi eos dicit Dominus

because they are telling you lies, saying that [MTY] [I have given them the messages that they are telling you]. But, I have not appointed them.”

10 quia haec dicit Dominus cum coeperint impleri in Babylone septuaginta anni visitabo vos et suscitabo super vos verbum meum bonum ut reducam vos ad locum istum

This is [also] what Yahweh says: “After you [and your children] have been in Babylon for seventy years, I will help you, and do for you the things that I promised, and I will enable you to return here [to Jerusalem].

11 ego enim scio cogitationes quas cogito super vos ait Dominus cogitationes pacis et non adflictionis ut dem vobis finem et patientiam

I, Yahweh, know what I have planned for you. I am planning to cause things to go well for you, not to cause you to experience disasters. I am planning to give you many things that you confidently expect to receive in the future.

12 et invocabitis me et ibitis et orabitis me et exaudiam vos

At that time, when you pray, I will heed you.

13 quaeretis me et invenietis cum quaesieritis me in toto corde vestro

If you earnestly desire for me [to bless you], you will experience me [blessing you].

14 et inveniar a vobis ait Dominus et reducam captivitatem vestram et congregabo vos de universis gentibus et de cunctis locis ad quae expuli vos dicit Dominus et reverti vos faciam de loco ad quem transmigrare vos feci

I will make my help available to you [IDM]. I will cause you to no longer be slaves [in Babylon]. I will gather you from all the nations to which I have exiled you, and I will bring you back [here to your own land], to the place from which you were taken.”

15 quia dixistis suscitavit nobis Dominus prophetas in Babylone

[Some of] you say that Yahweh has appointed prophets for you [there] in Babylon.

16 quia haec dicit Dominus ad regem qui sedet super solium David et ad omnem populum habitatorem urbis huius ad fratres vestros qui non sunt egressi vobiscum in transmigrationem

But this is what Yahweh says about the king who rules [here] in Jerusalem, and about all the other people who are [still] living here—your relatives who were not taken to Babylon with you.

17 haec dicit Dominus exercituum ecce mittam in eis gladium et famem et pestem et ponam eos quasi ficus malas quae comedi non possunt eo quod pessimae sint

The Commander of the armies of angels says this: “I will cause them to experience wars and famines and diseases. I will cause them to become like [SIM] bad figs that are very rotten, with the result that no one can eat them.

18 et persequar eos in gladio in fame et in pestilentia et dabo eos in vexationem universis regnis terrae in maledictionem et in stuporem et in sibilum et in obprobrium cunctis gentibus ad quas ego eieci eos

I will not stop causing them to experience wars and famines and diseases. And I will scatter them all around the world. In every country where I (force them to be taken/exile them), I will cause them to be people whom [others] curse and be horrified about and make fun of [DOU].

19 eo quod non audierint verba mea dicit Dominus quae misi ad eos per servos meos prophetas de nocte consurgens et mittens et non audistis dicit Dominus

[That will happen] because they have refused to pay attention to my messages, messages that I gave to the prophets whom I sent to them. And you [who have been exiled to Babylon] have not paid attention to them, [either].” [That is what] Yahweh says.

20 vos ergo audite verbum Domini omnis transmigratio quam emisi de Hierusalem in Babylonem

[Therefore], you people who have been (exiled/forced to go) from Jerusalem to Babylon, listen to this message from Yahweh.

21 haec dicit Dominus exercituum Deus Israhel ad Ahab filium Culia et ad Sedeciam filium Maasiae qui prophetant vobis in nomine meo mendaciter ecce ego tradam eos in manu Nabuchodonosor regis Babylonis et percutiet eos in oculis vestris

This is what the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [we] Israelis [worship], says about Ahab the son of Kolaiah, and about Zedekiah, the son of Maaseiah, who are telling lies to you, saying that they are giving messages [MTY] from him: “They will be seized and taken to [MTY] King Nebuchadnezzar, who will cause them to be executed while you are watching.

22 et adsumetur ex eis maledictio omni transmigrationi Iuda quae est in Babylone dicentium ponat te Dominus sicut Sedeciam et sicut Ahab quos frixit rex Babylonis in igne

Because of [what will happen to] them, all you people who have been taken from Judah to Babylon will say this when they curse someone: ‘I hope/wish that Yahweh will do to you the same thing that he did to Zedekiah and Ahab, whom the King of Babylon caused to be [killed by being] burned in a fire.’

23 pro eo quod fecerint stultitiam in Israhel et moechati sunt in uxores amicorum suorum et locuti sunt verbum in nomine meo mendaciter quod non mandavi eis ego sum iudex et testis dicit Dominus

They have done terrible things to [my] Israeli people. They have committed adultery with their neighbors’ wives, and they have spoken lies, saying that they were messages [MTY] from me. They have said things that I did not tell them to say, and I, Yahweh, have heard them [say those things].”

24 et ad Semeiam Neelamiten dices

[Yahweh told me to] send this message to Shemaiah, a man from Nehelam [town who was living in Babylon]:

25 haec dicit Dominus exercituum Deus Israhel pro eo quod misisti in nomine tuo libros ad omnem populum qui est in Hierusalem et ad Sophoniam filium Maasiae sacerdotem et ad universos sacerdotes dicens

This is what the Commander of the armies of angels, the God whom [we] Israelis [worship], says: “You wrote a letter that no one told you to write. You sent it to Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, and [you sent copies] to the other priests and all the [other] people here in Jerusalem. [This is what] you wrote to him:

26 Dominus dedit te sacerdotem pro Ioiadae sacerdote ut sis dux in domo Domini super omnem virum arrepticium et prophetantem ut mittas eum in nervum et in carcerem

[Zephaniah], Yahweh has appointed you to be the priest instead of Jehoiada, to supervise those who work in the temple. Anyone who acts like a crazy man and who claims that he is a prophet, you should put his arms and legs and head into (stocks/a wooden frame [so that he cannot move)].

27 et nunc quare non increpasti Hieremiam Anathothiten qui prophetat vobis

So why have you not done anything to stop Jeremiah, the man from Anathoth [town], who [pretends that he] is a prophet among you?

28 quia super hoc misit ad nos in Babylonem dicens longum est aedificate domos et habitate et plantate hortos et comedite fructum eorum

He sent a letter to us [who are here] in Babylon, saying that [we will be here for] a long time. He said that [therefore] we should build houses and plan to stay here, and plant gardens, and eat the food that is produced in the gardens.”

29 legit ergo Sophonias sacerdos librum istum in auribus Hieremiae prophetae

[But when] Zephaniah the priest [received] the letter from you, he [brought it to me and] read it to me.

30 et factum est verbum Domini ad Hieremiam dicens

Then Yahweh gave me this message:

31 mitte ad omnem transmigrationem dicens haec dicit Dominus ad Semeiam Neelamiten pro eo quod prophetavit vobis Semeias et ego non misi eum et fecit vos confidere in mendacio

“Send this message to all the people [from Judah] who are there [in Babylon]. Say that this is what Yahweh says about Shemaiah, the man from Nehelam: ‘I did not appoint him, but he has deceived you and caused you to believe the lies that he prophesied.

32 idcirco haec dicit Dominus ecce ego visitabo super Semeiam Neelamiten et super semen eius non erit ei vir sedens in medio populi huius et non videbit bonum quod ego faciam populo meo ait Dominus quia praevaricationem locutus est adversum Dominum

So, I will punish him and his family. He has incited you to rebel against me. Because of that, all of his descendants will soon die. I will do [many] good things for [you], my people, but he and his descendants will not see those things, [because they will be dead]. [That will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it!’”