Jeremiæ 34

1 verbum quod factum est ad Hieremiam a Domino quando Nabuchodonosor rex Babylonis et omnis exercitus eius universaque regna terrae quae erant sub potestate manus eius et omnes populi bellabant contra Hierusalem et contra omnes urbes eius dicens

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 haec dicit Dominus Deus Israhel vade et loquere ad Sedeciam regem Iuda et dices ad eum haec dicit Dominus ecce ego tradam civitatem hanc in manu regis Babylonis et succendet eam igni

“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 et tu non effugies de manu eius sed conprehensione capieris et in manu eius traderis et oculi tui oculos regis Babylonis videbunt et os eius cum ore tuo loquetur et Babylonem introibis

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 attamen audi verbum Domini Sedecia rex Iuda haec dicit Dominus ad te non morieris in gladio

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

5 sed in pace morieris et secundum conbustiones patrum tuorum regum priorum qui fuerunt ante te sic conburent te et vae domine plangent te quia verbum ego locutus sum dicit Dominus

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 et locutus est Hieremias propheta ad Sedeciam regem Iuda universa verba haec in Hierusalem

[So] I took that message to King Zedekiah.

7 et exercitus regis Babylonis pugnabat contra Hierusalem et contra omnes civitates Iuda quae reliquae erant contra Lachis et contra Azeca haec enim supererant de civitatibus Iuda urbes munitae

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 verbum quod factum est ad Hieremiam a Domino postquam percussit rex Sedecias foedus cum omni populo in Hierusalem praedicans

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

9 ut dimitteret unusquisque servum suum et unusquisque ancillam suam hebraeum et hebraeam liberos et nequaquam dominarentur eis id est in Iudaeo et fratre suo

[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 audierunt ergo omnes principes et universus populus qui inierant pactum ut dimitteret unusquisque servum suum et unusquisque ancillam suam liberos et ultra non dominarentur in eis audierunt igitur et dimiserunt

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

11 et conversi sunt deinceps et retraxerunt servos et ancillas suas quos dimiserant liberos et subiugaverunt in famulos et in famulas

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

12 et factum est verbum Domini ad Hieremiam a Domino dicens

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

13 haec dicit Dominus Deus Israhel ego percussi foedus cum patribus vestris in die qua eduxi eos de terra Aegypti de domo servitutis dicens

“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 cum conpleti fuerint septem anni dimittat unusquisque fratrem suum hebraeum qui venditus est ei et serviet tibi sex annis et dimittes eum a te liberum et non audierunt patres vestri me nec inclinaverunt aurem suam

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 et conversi estis vos hodie et fecistis quod rectum est in oculis meis ut praedicaretis libertatem unusquisque ad amicum suum et inistis pactum in conspectu meo in domo in qua invocatum est nomen meum super eam

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 et reversi estis et commaculastis nomen meum et reduxistis unusquisque servum suum et unusquisque ancillam suam quos dimiseratis ut essent liberi et suae potestatis et subiugastis eos ut sint vobis servi et ancillae

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 propterea haec dicit Dominus vos non audistis me ut praedicaretis libertatem unusquisque fratri suo et unusquisque amico suo ecce ego praedico libertatem ait Dominus ad gladium et pestem et famem et dabo vos in commotionem cunctis regnis terrae

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 et dabo viros qui praevaricantur foedus meum et non observaverunt verba foederis quibus adsensi sunt in conspectu meo vitulum quem ceciderunt in duas partes et transierunt inter divisiones eius

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 principes Iuda et principes Hierusalem eunuchi et sacerdotes et omnis populus terrae qui transierunt inter divisiones vituli

20 et dabo eos in manu inimicorum suorum et in manu quaerentium animam eorum et erit morticinum eorum in escam volucribus caeli et bestiis terrae

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 et Sedeciam regem Iuda et principes eius dabo in manu inimicorum suorum et in manu quaerentium animam eorum et in manu exercituum regis Babylonis qui recesserunt a vobis

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 ecce ego praecipio dicit Dominus et reducam eos in civitatem hanc et proeliabuntur adversum eam et capient eam et incendent igni et civitates Iuda dabo in solitudinem eo quod non sit habitator

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].’”