Jeremiah 4
JPS Tanakh (Jewish Publication Society, 1917)
Clementine Vulgate, 1598
1If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the LORD, yea, return unto Me; and if thou wilt put away thy detestable things out of My sight, and wilt not waver;
1[Si reverteris, Israël, ait Dominus, ad me convertere: si abstuleris offendicula tua a facie mea, non commoveberis.
2And wilt swear: 'As the LORD liveth' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness; then shall the nations bless themselves by Him, and in Him shall they glory.
2Et jurabis: Vivit Dominus in veritate, et in judicio, et in justitia: et benedicent eum gentes, ipsumque laudabunt.
3For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and to Jerusalem: Break up for you a fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.
3Hæc enim dicit Dominus viro Juda et Jerusalem: Novate vobis novale, et nolite serere super spinas.
4Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest My fury go forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
4Circumcidimini Domino, et auferte præputia cordium vestrorum, viri Juda, et habitatores Jerusalem: ne forte egrediatur ut ignis indignatio mea, et succendatur, et non sit qui extinguat, propter malitiam cogitationum vestrarum.]
5Declare ye in Judah, and publish in Jerusalem, and say: 'Blow ye the horn in the land'; cry aloud and say: 'Assemble yourselves, and let us go into the fortified cities.'
5[Annuntiate in Juda, et in Jerusalem auditum facite: loquimini, et canite tuba in terra, clamate fortiter, et dicite: Congregamini, et ingrediamur civitates munitas.
6Set up a standard toward Zion; put yourselves under covert, stay not; for I will bring evil from the north, and a great destruction.
6Levate signum in Sion; confortamini, nolite stare: quia malum ego adduco ab aquilone, et contritionem magnam.
7A lion is gone up from his thicket, and a destroyer of nations is set out, gone forth from his place; to make thy land desolate, that thy cities be laid waste, without inhabitant.
7Ascendit leo de cubili suo, et prædo gentium se levavit: egressus est de loco suo ut ponat terram tuam in solitudinem: civitates tuæ vastabuntur, remanentes absque habitatore.
8For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and wail; for the fierce anger of the LORD is not turned back from us.
8Super hoc accingite vos ciliciis; plangite, et ululate: quia non est aversa ira furoris Domini a nobis.
9And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall fail, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.
9Et erit in die illa, dicit Dominus: peribit cor regis, et cor principum, et obstupescent sacerdotes, et prophetæ consternabuntur.]
10Then said I: 'Ah, Lord GOD! surely Thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying: Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.'
10Et dixi: [Heu ! heu ! heu ! Domine Deus, ergone decepisti populum istum et Jerusalem, dicens: Pax erit vobis: et ecce pervenit gladius usque ad animam?]
11At that time shall it be said of this people and of Jerusalem; A hot wind of the high hills in the wilderness toward the daughter of My people, not to fan, nor to cleanse;
11[In tempore illo dicetur populo huic et Jerusalem: Ventus urens in viis quæ sunt in deserto viæ filiæ populi mei, non ad ventilandum et ad purgandum.
12A wind too strong for this shall come for Me; now will I also utter judgments against them.
12Spiritus plenus ex his veniet mihi, et nunc ego loquar judicia mea cum eis.
13Behold, he cometh up as clouds, and his chariots are as the whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles. — 'Woe unto us! for we are undone.' —
13Ecce quasi nubes ascendet, et quasi tempestas currus ejus: velociores aquilis equi illius. Væ nobis, quoniam vastati sumus.
14O Jerusalem, wash thy heart from wickedness, that thou mayest be saved. How long shall thy baleful thoughts lodge within thee?
14Lava a malitia cor tuum, Jerusalem, ut salva fias: usquequo morabuntur in te cogitationes noxiæ?
15For hark! one declareth from Dan, and announceth calamity from the hills of Ephraim:
15Vox enim annuntiantis a Dan, et notum facientis idolum de monte Ephraim.
16'Make ye mention to the nations: Behold — publish concerning Jerusalem — watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.'
16Dicite gentibus: Ecce auditum est in Jerusalem custodes venire de terra longinqua, et dare super civitates Juda vocem suam:
17As keepers of a field are they against her round about; because she hath been rebellious against Me, saith the LORD.
17quasi custodes agrorum facti sunt super eam in gyro, quia me ad iracundiam provocavit, dicit Dominus.
18Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness; yea, it is bitter, yea, it reacheth unto thy heart.
18Viæ tuæ et cogitationes tuæ fecerunt hæc tibi: ista malitia tua, quia amara, quia tetigit cor tuum.
19My bowels, my bowels! I writhe in pain! The chambers of my heart! My heart moaneth within me! I cannot hold my peace! because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the horn, the alarm of war.
19Ventrem meum, ventrem meum doleo; sensus cordis mei turbati sunt in me. Non tacebo, quoniam vocem buccinæ audivit anima mea, clamorem prælii.
20Destruction followeth upon destruction, for the whole land is spoiled; suddenly are my tents spoiled, my curtains in a moment.
20Contritio super contritionem vocata est, et vastata est omnis terra: repente vastata sunt tabernacula mea; subito pelles meæ.
21How long shall I see the standard, shall I hear the sound of the horn?
21Usquequo videbo fugientem; audiam vocem buccinæ?
22For My people is foolish, they know Me not; they are sottish children, and they have no understanding; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.
22Quia stultus populus meus me non cognovit: filii insipientes sunt et vecordes: sapientes sunt ut faciant mala, bene autem facere nescierunt.
23I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was waste and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
23Aspexi terram, et ecce vacua erat et nihili; et cælos, et non erat lux in eis.
24I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved to and fro.
24Vidi montes, et ecce movebantur: et omnes colles conturbati sunt.
25I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
25Intuitus sum, et non erat homo: et omne volatile cæli recessit.
26I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful field was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and before His fierce anger.
26Aspexi, et ecce Carmelus desertus, et omnes urbes ejus destructæ sunt a facie Domini, et a facie iræ furoris ejus.
27For thus saith the LORD: The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end.
27Hæc enim dicit Dominus: Deserta erit omnis terra, sed tamen consummationem non faciam.
28For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black; because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and I have not repented, neither will I turn back from it.
28Lugebit terra, et mœrebunt cæli desuper, eo quod locutus sum. Cogitavi, et non pœnituit me, nec aversus sum ab eo.
29For the noise of the horsemen and bowmen the whole city fleeth; they go into the thickets, and climb up upon the rocks; every city is forsaken, and not a man dwelleth therein.
29A voce equitis et mittentis sagittam fugit omnis civitas: ingressi sunt ardua, et ascenderunt rupes: universæ urbes derelictæ sunt, et non habitat in eis homo.
30And thou, that art spoiled, what doest thou, that thou clothest thyself with scarlet, that thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, that thou enlargest thine eyes with paint? In vain dost thou make thyself fair; thy lovers despise thee, they seek thy life.
30Tu autem vastata, quid facies? cum vestieris te coccino, cum ornata fueris monili aureo, et pinxeris stibio oculos tuos, frustra componeris: contempserunt te amatores tui; animam tuam quærent.
31For I have heard a voice as of a woman in travail, the anguish as of her that bringeth forth her first child, the voice of the daughter of Zion, that gaspeth for breath, that spreadeth her hands: 'Woe is me, now! for my soul fainteth before the murderers.'
31Vocem enim quasi parturientis audivi, angustias ut puerperæ: vox filiæ Sion intermorientis, expandentisque manus suas: Væ mihi, quia defecit anima mea propter interfectos !]
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