Et dixit Dominus ad me: Si steterit Moyses et Samuel coram me, non est anima mea ad populum istum: ejice illos a facie mea, et egrediantur.

But it was thus the Lord answered me: Though Moses himself and Samuel made intercession for them, neither love nor liking would I have for this people of mine; banish them from my presence, to go where they will.

And the Lord said to me: If Moses and Samuel shall stand before me, my soul is not towards this people: cast them out from my sight, and let them go forth.

Quod si dixerint ad te: Quo egrediemur? dices ad eos: Hæc dicit Dominus: Qui ad mortem, ad mortem, et qui ad gladium, ad gladium, et qui ad famem, ad famem, et qui ad captivitatem, ad captivitatem.

If they ask whither, give them this message from the Lord: Whom the plague beckons, to the plague; whom the sword, to the sword; whom famine, to famine; whom exile, to exile.

And if they shall say unto thee: Whither shall we go forth? thou shalt say to them: Thus saith the Lord: Such as are for death, to death: and such as are for the sword, to the sword: and such as are for famine, to famine: and such as are for captivity, to captivity.

Et visitabo super eos quatuor species, dicit Dominus: gladium ad occisionem, et canes ad lacerandum, et volatilia cæli et bestias terræ ad devorandum et dissipandum.

Escort they shall have of four kinds, the Lord says; the sword to slay and the dogs to tear them, birds in air and beasts on earth to devour and make an end of them.

And I will visit them with four kinds, saith the Lord: The sword to kill, and the dogs to tear, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts of the earth, to devour and to destroy.

Et dabo eos in fervorem universis regnis terræ, propter Manassen filium Ezechiæ regis Juda, super omnibus quæ fecit in Jerusalem.

All the kingdoms of the world shall be in a ferment over them; so will I punish the ill deeds done in Jerusalem by Manasses, son of Ezechias, when he was king of Juda.

And I will give them up to the rage of all the kingdoms of the earth: because of Manasses the son of Ezechias the king of Juda, for all that he did in Jerusalem.

Quis enim miserebitur tui, Jerusalem, aut quis contristabitur pro te? aut quis ibit ad rogandum pro pace tua?

Nay, Jerusalem, who shall pity or bemoan thee, who shall turn aside, as he passes, to wish thee well?

For who shall have pity on thee, O Jerusalem? or who shall bemoan thee? or who shall go to pray for thy peace?

Tu reliquisti me, dicit Dominus; retrorsum abiisti: et extendam manum meam super te, et interficiam te: laboravi rogans.

Thou hast forsaken me, the Lord says, and wouldst journey with me no more; now my hand is raised to strike, and make an end of thee; I am weary of wooing thee.

Thou hast forsaken me, saith the Lord, thou art gone backward: and I will stretch out my hand against thee, and I will destroy thee: I am weary of entreating thee.

Et dispergam eos ventilabro in portis terræ: interfeci et disperdidi populum meum, et tamen a viis suis non sunt reversi.

Over the threshold of the land I blow my people away like chaff, bereaved, diminished, and unrepentant still.

And I will scatter them with a fan in the gates of the land: I have killed and destroyed my people, and yet they are not returned from their ways.

Multiplicatæ sunt mihi viduæ ejus super arenam maris: induxi eis super matrem adolescentis vastatorem meridie: misi super civitates repente terrorem.

Widows there be, countless as the sea-sand; where is now the warrior son? In broad daylight I send the roving spoiler to strike terror into their cities.

Their widows are multiplied unto me above the sand of the sea: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young man a spoiler at noonday: I have cast a terror on a sudden upon the cities.

Infirmata est quæ peperit septem; defecit anima ejus: occidit ei sol cum adhuc esset dies: confusa est, et erubuit: et residuos ejus in gladium dabo in conspectu inimicorum eorum, ait Dominus.

Sick at heart and faint she lies, that seven sons had borne; her noon is night, her hopes and her pride gone; and all that she has left, the Lord says, shall fall a prey to the sword in battle.

She that hath borne seven is become weak, her soul hath fainted away: her sun is gone down, while it was yet day: she is confounded, and ashamed: and the residue of them I will give up to the sword in the sight of their enemies, saith the Lord.

Væ mihi, mater mea! quare genuisti me, virum rixæ, virum discordiæ in universa terra? Non fœneravi, nec fœneravit mihi quisquam: omnes maledicunt mihi.

An ill day when thou, my own mother, didst bring me into the world! A world where all for me is strife, all is hostility; neither creditor I nor debtor to any man, yet they curse my name!

Woe is me, my mother: why hast thou borne me a man of strife, a man of contention to all the earth? I have not lent on usury, neither hath any man lent to me on usury: yet all curse me.

Dicit Dominus: Si non reliquiæ tuæ in bonum, si non occurri tibi in tempore afflictionis, et in tempore tribulationis adversus inimicum.

But the Lord answered, I promise that thou shalt leave behind thee good service done, and that in all distress and persecution I am coming to thy side, to save thee from thy enemies.

The Lord saith to me: Assuredly it shall be well with thy remnant, assuredly I shall help thee in the time of affliction, and in the time of tribulation against the enemy.

Numquid fœderabitur ferrum ferro ab aquilone, et æs?

What, should iron and bronze be in league with the iron that comes from the north?

Shall iron be allied with the iron from the north, and the brass?

Divitias tuas et thesauros tuos in direptionem dabo gratis, in omnibus peccatis tuis, et in omnibus terminis tuis.

… (All the riches and treasures of thy land shall be despoiled, in punishment for all its guilt, and to no purpose;

Thy riches and thy treasures I will give unto spoil for nothing, because of all thy sins, even in all thy borders.

Et adducam inimicos tuos de terra quam nescis, quia ignis succensus est in furore meo: super vos ardebit.

I am summoning enemies to attack thee from a land far away; it is your own persons that shall be burnt up in the fires of vengeance my anger has kindled)  …

And I will bring thy enemies out of a land, which thou knowest not: for a fire is kindled in my rage, it shall burn upon you.

Tu scis, Domine: recordare mei, et visita me, et tuere me ab his qui persequuntur me. Noli in patientia tua suscipere me: scito quoniam sustinui propter te opprobrium.

Thou art my witness, Lord; bethink thee, and come to my defence against my persecutors; hold thy hand no longer, but claim me for thy own; if I have earned an ill name, it was in thy cause.

O Lord, thou knowest, remember me, and visit me, and defend me from them that persecute me, do not defend me in thy patience: know that for thy sake I have suffered reproach.

Inventi sunt sermones tui, et comedi eos: et factum est mihi verbum tuum in gaudium et in lætitiam cordis mei, quoniam invocatum est nomen tuum super me, Domine Deus exercituum.

When thy words were found, how greedily I devoured them! Great joy and content those words gave to my heart, heart of a prophet that bears thy name.

Thy words were found, and I did eat them, and thy word was to me a joy and gladness of my heart: for thy name is called upon me, O Lord God of hosts.

Non sedi in concilio ludentium, et gloriatus sum a facie manus tuæ: solus sedebam, quoniam comminatione replesti me.

Not for me the company of the merry-makers, I would not share in their boastfulness; under the threat of thy judgement I sat alone, filled with boding thoughts.

I sat not in the assembly of jesters, nor did I make a boast of the presence of thy hand: I sat alone, because thou hast filled me with threats.

Quare factus est dolor meus perpetuus, et plaga mea desperabilis renuit curari? facta est mihi quasi mendacium aquarum infidelium.

Why are those sad thoughts still with me? Is my hurt desperate, beyond all remedy? Did it cheat me, like some empty water-course, my hope in thee?

Why is my sorrow become perpetual, and my wound desperate so as to refuse to be healed? it is become to me as the falsehood of deceitful waters that cannot be trusted.

Propter hoc hæc dicit Dominus: Si converteris, convertam te, et ante faciem meam stabis: et si separaveris pretiosum a vili, quasi os meum eris: convertentur ipsi ad te, et tu non converteris ad eos.

Draw near to me, the Lord said, and I will draw thee to myself, to wait upon me. When thou hast learned to separate worth from dross, thou shalt be my true spokesman, and thou shalt draw others to thyself, not let thyself be drawn to them.

Therefore thus saith the Lord: If thou wilt be converted, I will convert thee, and thou shalt stand before my face; and if thou wilt separate the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth: they shall be turned to thee, and thou shalt not be turned to them.

Et dabo te populo huic in murum æreum fortem: et bellabunt adversum te, et non prævalebunt, quia ego tecum sum ut salvem te, et eruam te, dicit Dominus:

This people of mine shall find thee a stout wall of bronze, impregnable to their attack; am I not at thy side, the Lord says, to protect and deliver thee?

And I will make thee to this people as a strong wall of brass: and they shall fight against thee, and shall not prevail: for I am with thee to save thee, and to deliver thee, saith the Lord.

et liberabo te de manu pessimorum, et redimam te de manu fortium.

Let the wicked be never so powerful, I will engage for thy safety.

And I will deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will redeem thee out of the hand of the mighty.