Væ pastoribus qui disperdunt et dilacerant gregem pascuæ meæ! dicit Dominus.

Woe to the pastors, that destroy and tear the sheep of my pasture, saith the Lord.

Out upon them, the Lord says, the shepherds who ravage and disperse my flock, sheep of my own pasturing!

Ideo hæc dicit Dominus Deus Israël ad pastores qui pascunt populum meum: Vos dispersistis gregem meum, et ejecistis eos, et non visitastis eos: ecce ego visitabo super vos malitiam studiorum vestrorum, ait Dominus.

Therefore thus saith the Lord the God of Israel to the pastors that feed my people: You have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold I will visit upon you for the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.

This is the Lord’s word to the shepherds that guide his people: You are the men who have dispersed my flock, driven it to and fro, and made no account of it; account you must give it me, says the Lord, Israel’s God, for all you have done amiss.

Et ego congregabo reliquias gregis mei de omnibus terris ad quas ejecero eos illuc: et convertam eos ad rura sua, et crescent et multiplicabuntur.

And I will gather together the remnant of my flock, out of all the lands into which I have cast them out: and I will make them return to their own fields, and they shall increase and be multiplied.

Then will I reassemble all that is left of my flock, scattered over so many lands, and restore them to their old pasture-ground, to increase and grow numerous there;

Et suscitabo super eos pastores, et pascent eos: non formidabunt ultra, et non pavebunt, et nullus quæretur ex numero, dicit Dominus.

And I will set up pastors over them, and they shall feed them: they shall fear no more, and they shall not be dismayed: and none shall be wanting of their number, saith the Lord.

shepherds I mean to give them that will do shepherd’s work; fears and alarms shall be none to daunt them, and none shall be missing from their full count, the Lord says.

Ecce dies veniunt, dicit Dominus, et suscitabo David germen justum: et regnabit rex, et sapiens erit, et faciet judicium et justitiam in terra.

Behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will raise up to David a just branch: and a king shall reign, and shall be wise: and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

Nay, a time is coming, the Lord says, when I will raise up, from the stock of David, a faithful scion at last. The land shall have a king to reign over it, and reign over it wisely, giving just sentence and due award.

In diebus illis salvabitur Juda, et Israël habitabit confidenter: et hoc est nomen quod vocabunt eum: Dominus justus noster.

In those days shall Juda be saved, and Israel shall dwell confidently: and this is the name that they shall call him: The Lord our just one.

When that time comes, Juda shall find deliverance, none shall disturb Israel’s rest; and the name given to this king shall be, The Lord vindicates us.

Propter hoc ecce dies veniunt, dicit Dominus, et non dicent ultra: Vivit Dominus, qui eduxit filios Israël de terra Ægypti,

Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, and they shall say no more: The Lord liveth, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt:

In those days to come, says the divine message, the living Lord men swear by will no longer be the God who rescued Israel from Egypt;

sed: Vivit Dominus, qui eduxit et adduxit semen domus Israël de terra aquilonis, et de cunctis terris ad quas ejeceram eos illuc, et habitabunt in terra sua.

But, The Lord liveth, who hath brought out, and brought hither the seed of the house of Israel from the land of the north, and out of all the lands, to which I had cast them forth: and they shall dwell in their own land.

the living God will be one who rescued Israel and brought them home from the north country, and from all the places of exile he had once designed for them, to live in their own land again.

Ad prophetas: Contritum est cor meum in medio mei; contremuerunt omnia ossa mea: factus sum quasi vir ebrius, et quasi homo madidus a vino, a facie Domini, et a facie verborum sanctorum ejus.

To the prophets: My heart is broken within me, all my bones tremble: I am become as a drunken man, and as a man full of wine, at the presence of the Lord, and at the presence of his holy words.

A message to the prophets: Crushed is the heart in me, and my whole being trembles; my thoughts whirl like a drunken man’s, bemused by a divine presence, by awe of a divine voice.

Quia adulteris repleta est terra, quia a facie maledictionis luxit terra, arefacta sunt arva deserti: factus est cursus eorum malus, et fortitudo eorum dissimilis.

Because the land is full of adulterers, because the land hath mourned by reason of cursing, the fields of the desert are dried up: and their course is become evil, and their strength unlike.

The whole land is a nest of adulterers; their guilt it is that widows the countryside, parches the upland meadows; reckless their pursuit of mischief, through the power they wield all goes amiss.

Propheta namque et sacerdos polluti sunt, et in domo mea inveni malum eorum, ait Dominus.

For the prophet and the priest are defiled: and in my house I have found their wickedness, saith the Lord.

Prophet and priest alike are impious; in my own house, the Lord says, those ill-doings of theirs are plain to view.

Idcirco via eorum erit quasi lubricum in tenebris: impellentur enim, et corruent in ea: afferam enim super eos mala, annum visitationis eorum, ait Dominus.

Therefore their way shall be as a slippery way in the dark: for they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evils upon them, the year of their visitation, saith the Lord.

Perilously they shall fare as one that walks by night in slippery places; falter and fall they must; punishment awaits them, the Lord says, my audit-year is at hand.

Et in prophetis Samariæ vidi fatuitatem: prophetabant in Baal, et decipiebant populum meum Israël.

And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria: they prophesied in Baal, and deceived my people Israel.

For the prophets of Samaria how was it I lost all liking? Because they were the spokesmen of Baal, and did but lead Israel astray, that was my people.

Et in prophetis Jerusalem vidi similitudinem adulterantium, et iter mendacii: et confortaverunt manus pessimorum, ut non converteretur unusquisque a malitia sua: facti sunt mihi omnes ut Sodoma, et habitatores ejus quasi Gomorrha.

And I have seen the likeness of adulterers, and the way of lying in the prophets of Jerusalem: and they strengthened the hands of the wicked, that no man should return from his evil doings: they are all become unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrha.

And now the same foul adultery I find in the prophets of Jerusalem, the same treacherous dealings; and the sinner is encouraged to go on in his evil ways, till city and citizens, for me, are one with Sodom and Gomorrha.

Propterea hæc dicit Dominus exercituum ad prophetas: Ecce ego cibabo eos absinthio, et potabo eos felle: a prophetis enim Jerusalem egressa est pollutio super omnem terram.

Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts to the prophets: Behold I will feed them with wormwood, and will give them gall to drink: for from the prophets of Jerusalem corruption is gone forth into all the land.

A warning to you then, prophets, from the Lord God of hosts, that he will give you wormwood to eat, gall to drink; you, the fountain-head of that pollution which overflows all the land.

Hæc dicit Dominus exercituum: Nolite audire verba prophetarum qui prophetant vobis, et decipiunt vos: visionem cordis sui loquuntur, non de ore Domini.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Hearken not to the words of the prophets that prophesy to you, and deceive you: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord.

Do not listen, says the Lord of hosts, to the prophets who prophesy only to fool you; fancy of theirs, not word of mine, inspires the utterance.

Dicunt his qui blasphemant me: Locutus est Dominus: Pax erit vobis: et omni qui ambulat in pravitate cordis sui dixerunt: Non veniet super vos malum.

They say to them that blaspheme me: The Lord hath said: You shall have peace: and to every one that walketh in the perverseness of his own heart, they have said: No evil shall come upon you.

To my blasphemers they bring divine assurance that all shall go well with them; never a man so set on his own false aims but they will tell him, Harm shall never touch thee.

Quis enim affuit in consilio Domini, et vidit, et audivit sermonem ejus? quis consideravit verbum illius, et audivit?

For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath seen and heard his word? Who hath considered his word and heard it?

Never a one of them privy to the Lord’s designs, never one looked and learned, listened and heard his message.

Ecce turbo Dominicæ indignationis egredietur, et tempestas erumpens super caput impiorum veniet.

Behold the whirlwind of the Lord’s indignation shall come forth, and a tempest shall break out and come upon the head of the wicked.

Like a whirlwind it will suddenly appear, the Lord’s vengeance; will break in storm over rebel heads.

Non revertetur furor Domini, usque dum faciat et usque dum compleat cogitationem cordis sui: in novissimis diebus intelligetis consilium ejus.

The wrath of the Lord shall not return till he execute it, and till he accomplish the thought of his heart: in the latter days you shall understand his counsel.

Nor shall the divine anger be appeased till the blow has been struck and the decree executed; what his design was, you shall know all too well, all too late.

Non mittebam prophetas, et ipsi currebant: non loquebar ad eos, et ipsi prophetabant.

I did not send prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.

An errand these prophets ran, but none of mine; a message they gave, but not of my sending.

Si stetissent in consilio meo, et nota fecissent verba mea populo meo, avertissem utique eos a via sua mala, et a cogitationibus suis pessimis.

If they had stood in my counsel, and had made my words known to my people, I should have turned them from their evil way, and from their wicked doings.

Privy to my design had they been, ah, then they should have uttered my own warnings, and so I might have turned my people aside from false paths, and erring thoughts!

Putasne Deus e vicino ego sum, dicit Dominus, et non Deus de longe?

Am I, think ye, a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off?

God am I, the Lord says, only when I stand near, and not when I am far away?

Si occultabitur vir in absconditis, et ego non videbo eum? dicit Dominus. Numquid non cælum et terram ego impleo? dicit Dominus.

Shall a man be hid in secret places, and I not see him, saith the Lord? do not I fill heaven and earth, saith the Lord?

Where, he would know, will you hide so close that he is not watching you, he, the Lord, that fills heaven and earth?

Audivi quæ dixerunt prophetæ prophetantes in nomine meo mendacium, atque dicentes: Somniavi, somniavi.

I have heard what the prophets said, that prophesy lies in my name, and say: I have dreamed, I have dreamed.

No word, he says, but reaches my ears when one of these prophets gives false guidance in my name; I had a dream, he will tell you, I had a dream!

Usquequo istud est in corde prophetarum vaticinantium mendacium, et prophetantium seductiones cordis sui?

How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies, and that prophesy the delusions of their own heart?

Will they never have had enough of their lying divinations, their cheating fantasies?

Qui volunt facere ut obliviscatur populus meus nominis mei, propter somnia eorum quæ narrat unusquisque ad proximum suum, sicut obliti sunt patres eorum nominis mei propter Baal?

Who seek to make my people forget my name through their dreams, which they tell every man to his neighbour: as their fathers forgot my name for Baal.

Dreams bandied from mouth to mouth, for these would they have my people barter away the memory of me, as their fathers did for Baal?

Propheta qui habet somnium, narret somnium: et qui habet sermonem meum, loquatur sermonem meum vere. Quid paleis ad triticum? dicit Dominus.

The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell a dream: and he that hath my word, let him speak my word with truth: what hath the chaff to do with the wheat, saith the Lord?

Nay, let the dreamer be content to tell his dreams, and the prophet to whom my word comes utter my word faithfully; chaff and grain must not be mingled.

Numquid non verba mea sunt quasi ignis, dicit Dominus, et quasi malleus conterens petram?

Are not my words as a fire, saith the Lord: and as a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

My word is a fire, the Lord says, a hammer to break rocks in pieces;

Propterea ecce ego ad prophetas, ait Dominus, qui furantur verba mea unusquisque a proximo suo.

Therefore behold I am against the prophets, saith the Lord: who steal my words every one from his neighbour.

out upon the prophets, I say, who proclaim divine utterances they have borrowed from their fellow men;

Ecce ego ad prophetas, ait Dominus, qui assumunt linguas suas, et aiunt: Dicit Dominus.

Behold I am against the prophets, saith the Lord: who use their tongues, and say: The Lord saith it.

out upon the prophets, I say, who let their tongues wag and then cry, Oracle.

Ecce ego ad prophetas somniantes mendacium, ait Dominus, qui narraverunt ea, et seduxerunt populum meum in mendacio suo et in miraculis suis, cum ego non misissem eos, nec mandassem eis: qui nihil profuerunt populo huic, dicit Dominus.

Behold I am against the prophets that have lying dreams, saith the Lord: and tell them, and cause my people to err by their lying, and by their wonders: when I sent them not, nor commanded them, who have not profited this people at all, saith the Lord.

Out upon the prophets, I say, who dream all amiss and recount their dreams, leading my people astray with their lies and their mummeries; yet errand or warrant they had none from me, the Lord says, nor yet to this people of mine bring any advantage.

Si igitur interrogaverit te populus iste, vel propheta, aut sacerdos, dicens: Quod est onus Domini? dices ad eos: Vos estis onus: projiciam quippe vos, dicit Dominus.

If therefore this people, or the prophet, or the priest shall ask thee, saying: What is the burden of the Lord? thou shalt say to them: You are the burden: for I will cast you away, saith the Lord.

And if people, or prophet, or priest, should greet thee with the question, Pray, what burden is the Lord taking up today? thy answer shall be, You are the burden I bear, the Lord says, and I mean to cast you from my shoulders.

Et propheta, et sacerdos, et populus qui dicit: Onus Domini: visitabo super virum illum et super domum ejus.

And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people that shall say: The burden of the Lord: I will visit upon that man, and upon his house.

Prophet, priest or simple citizen that asks thus about the Lord’s burden does it at his own peril, and the peril of all his household;

Hæc dicetis unusquisque ad proximum, et ad fratrem suum: Quid respondit Dominus? et quid locutus est Dominus?

Thus shall you say every one to his neighbour, and to his brother: What hath the Lord answered? and what hath the Lord spoken?

be content to ask friend or neighbour, What oracle, what message has the Lord given?

Et onus Domini ultra non memorabitur: quia onus erit unicuique sermo suus, et pervertistis verba Dei viventis, Domini exercituum, Dei nostri.

And the burden of the Lord shall be mentioned no more, for every man’s word shall be his burden: for you have perverted the words of the living God, of the Lord of hosts our God.

Do not speak any more of his burden. If you do, you lay a heavy charge upon yourselves, by bandying words with the living God, the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel.

Hæc dices ad prophetam: Quid respondit tibi Dominus? et quid locutus est Dominus?

Thus shalt thou say to the prophet: What hath the Lord answered thee? and what hath the Lord spoken?

Ask the prophet what the Lord’s oracle, what the Lord’s message is;

Si autem onus Domini dixeritis, propter hoc hæc dicit Dominus: Quia dixistis sermonem istum: Onus Domini, et misi ad vos dicens: Nolite dicere: Onus Domini:

But if you shall say: The burden of the Lord: therefore thus saith the Lord: Because you have said this word: The burden of the Lord: and I have sent to you, saying: Say not, The burden of the Lord:

if you ask after the Lord’s burden, this warning I give you from him: For your disobedience to the message I sent, commanding you to use the word Burden no longer,

propterea ecce ego tollam vos portans, et derelinquam vos, et civitatem quam dedi vobis et patribus vestris, a facie mea:

Therefore behold I will take you away carrying you, and will forsake you, and the city which I gave to you, and to your fathers, out of my presence.

I will make a burden of you, and carry you away, and leave you abandoned, you and your city, my gift to you and to your fathers.

et dabo vos in opprobrium sempiternum, et in ignominiam æternam, quæ numquam oblivione delebitur.

And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and a perpetual shame which shall never be forgotten.

You shall be a laughing-stock for ever, a by-word eternally; time shall never efface the memory of your shame.