Verbum quod factum est ad Jeremiam a Domino, in anno decimo Sedeciæ regis Juda, ipse est annus decimusoctavus Nabuchodonosor.

A message came from the Lord to Jeremias during the tenth year of Sedecias’ reign in Juda, the eighteenth of Nabuchodonosor’s at Babylon;

The word that came to Jeremias from the Lord in the tenth year of Sedecias king of Juda: the same is the eighteenth year of Nabuchodonosor.

Tunc exercitus regis Babylonis obsidebat Jerusalem, et Jeremias propheta erat clausus in atrio carceris qui erat in domo regis Juda.

the Babylonian army was besieging Jerusalem at the time, and Jeremias was a prisoner there, confined in the guard-court that lay before the royal palace.

At that time the army of the king of Babylon besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremias the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the house of the king of Juda.

Clauserat enim eum Sedecias rex Juda, dicens: Quare vaticinaris, dicens: Hæc dicit Dominus: Ecce ego dabo civitatem istam in manus regis Babylonis, et capiet eam:

It was for his prophesying that king Sedecias had imprisoned him; what meant this threat from the Lord, of giving Jerusalem over to capture by the king of Babylon?

For Sedecias king of Juda had shut him up, saying: Why dost thou prophesy, saying: Thus saith the Lord: Behold I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it?

et Sedecias rex Juda non effugiet de manu Chaldæorum, sed tradetur in manus regis Babylonis: et loquetur os ejus cum ore illius, et oculi ejus oculos illius videbunt:

He had said, besides: King Sedecias of Juda shall not escape from the Chaldaeans; the king of Babylon shall have the mastery of him; they shall have speech together, meet face to face.

And Sedecias king of Juda shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans: but he shall be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon: and he shall speak to him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall see his eyes.

et in Babylonem ducet Sedeciam, et ibi erit donec visitem eum, ait Dominus: si autem dimicaveritis adversum Chaldæos, nihil prosperum habebitis?

To Babylon Sedecias shall go, and there remain till I have entered into a reckoning with him. All shall go amiss, if you join battle with the Chaldaeans.

And he shall lead Sedecias to Babylon: and he shall be there till I visit him, saith the Lord. But if you will fight against the Chaldeans, you shall have no success.

Et dixit Jeremias: Factum est verbum Domini ad me, dicens:

And now Jeremias announced a new oracle the Lord had given him.

And Jeremias said: The word of the Lord came to me, saying:

Ecce Hanameel filius Sellum, patruelis tuus, veniet ad te, dicens: Eme tibi agrum meum qui est in Anathoth, tibi enim competit ex propinquitate ut emas.

The Lord told me, he said, that my cousin Hanameel, son of Sellum, would come and ask me to buy in certain land of his at Anathoth, which was my duty as his next of kin.

Behold, Hanameel the son of Sellum thy cousin shall come to thee, saying: Buy thee my field, which is in Anathoth, for it is thy right to buy it, being next akin.

Et venit ad me Hanameel filius patrui mei, secundum verbum Domini, ad vestibulum carceris, et ait ad me: Posside agrum meum qui est in Anathoth, in terra Benjamin, quia tibi competit hæreditas, et tu propinquus es ut possideas. Intellexi autem quod verbum Domini esset:

And as the Lord foretold, so it fell out; Hanameel came to my prison doors, and said, Pray buy in that field of mine at Anathoth in Benjamin; thou art the rightful heir, and thy duty it is, as next of kin, to buy it from me. Then I knew that I had received a divine warning,

And Hanameel my uncle’s son came to me, according to the word of the Lord, to the entry of the prison, and said to me: Buy my field, which is in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and thou art next of kin to possess it. And I understood that this was the word of the Lord.

et emi agrum ab Hanameel filio patrui mei, qui est in Anathoth, et appendi ei argentum: septem stateres, et decem argenteos.

and buy it I did, this field at Anathoth, from Hanameel, that was son to my uncle Sellum. I paid him the price, that was but seventeen pieces of silver;

And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle’s son, that is in Anathoth: and I weighed him the money, seven staters, and ten pieces of silver.

Et scripsi in libro, et signavi, et adhibui testes, et appendi argentum in statera.

wrote and signed the deed, called in witnesses, and weighed out the money on the scales.

And I wrote it in a book and sealed it, and took witnesses: and I weighed him the money in the balances.

Et accepi librum possessionis signatum, et stipulationes, et rata, et signa forinsecus:

So here was the deed of possession sealed up, all its terms set down and attested, and characters written without;

And I took the deed of the purchase that was sealed, and the stipulations, and the ratifications with the seals that were on the outside.

et dedi librum possessionis Baruch filio Neri filii Maasiæ, in oculis Hanameel patruelis mei, in oculis testium qui scripti erant in libro emptionis, et in oculis omnium Judæorum qui sedebant in atrio carceris.

all this I handed over to Baruch, son of Neri, son of Maasias, still in the presence of my cousin Hanameel, and the witnesses that had signed it, and the Jews who sat around me in the court where I was confined.

And I gave the deed of the purchase to Baruch the son of Neri the son of Maasias in the sight of Hanameel my uncle’s son, in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, and before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.

Et præcepi Baruch coram eis, dicens:

Before them all, I gave Baruch this charge:

And I charged Baruch before them, saying:

Hæc dicit Dominus exercituum, Deus Israël: Sume libros istos, librum emptionis hunc signatum, et librum hunc qui apertus est, et pone illos in vase fictili, ut permanere possint diebus multis:

A message for thee from the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Take these two pieces of writing, the sealed deed within and the covering of it that is open to view, and keep them in some jar of clay, where they can remain long without damage.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Take these writings, this deed of the purchase that is sealed up, and this deed that is open: and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.

hæc enim dicit Dominus exercituum, Deus Israël: Adhuc possidebuntur domus, et agri, et vineæ in terra ista.

This is what he would tell thee, he, the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, that there shall yet be buying of house and field and vineyard, here in this land.

For thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Houses, and fields, and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.

Et oravi ad Dominum, postquam tradidi librum possessionis Baruch filio Neri, dicens:

The deed once made over to Baruch, son of Neri, I prayed to the Lord thus:

And after I had delivered the deed of purchase to Baruch the son of Neri, I prayed to the Lord, saying:

Heu! heu! heu! Domine Deus, ecce tu fecisti cælum et terram in fortitudine tua magna, et in brachio tuo extento: non erit tibi difficile omne verbum:

Alas, alas, Lord God! Thou art the maker of heaven and earth, so great is thy power, so wide thy reach; no task, for thee, is too difficult.

Alas, alas, alas, O Lord God, behold thou hast made heaven and earth by thy great power, and thy stretched out arm: no word shall be hard to thee:

qui facis misericordiam in millibus, et reddis iniquitatem patrum in sinum filiorum eorum post eos: fortissime, magne, et potens, Dominus exercituum nomen tibi.

A thousandfold thou shewest thy mercy; yet, when thou dost punish, into the son’s lap the father’s guilt overflows; how great, how strong that God, whose name is the Lord of hosts!

Thou shewest mercy unto thousands, and returnest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: O most mighty, great, and powerful, the Lord of hosts is thy name.

Magnus consilio, et incomprehensibilis cogitatu: cujus oculi aperti sunt super omnes vias filiorum Adam, ut reddas unicuique secundum vias suas, et secundum fructum adinventionum ejus.

How sublime thy counsels, thy thoughts how high above us! And still thou keepest watch over all mankind, ready to award each life what its own devices have earned.

Great in counsel, and incomprehensible in thought: whose eyes are open upon all the ways of the children of Adam, to render unto every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his devices.

Qui posuisti signa et portenta in terra Ægypti usque ad diem hanc, et in Israël, et in hominibus, et fecisti tibi nomen sicut est dies hæc.

Such deeds thou didst as are signs and portents to this day in the land of Egypt, in Israel too and all the world over; didst win that renown which to this day is thine.

Who hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt even until this day, and in Israel, and amongst men, and hast made thee a name as at this day.

Et eduxisti populum tuum Israël de terra Ægypti, in signis et in portentis, et in manu robusta et in brachio extento, et in terrore magno:

Signs and portents there must be, and the exercise of thy constraining power, and a great dread, before thou couldst rescue thy people Israel from Egypt;

And hast brought forth thy people Israel, out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and a stretched out arm, and with great terror.

et dedisti eis terram hanc, quam jurasti patribus eorum ut dares eis, terram fluentem lacte et melle.

then thou wouldst bestow upon them this land, the home promised to their fathers, a land all milk and honey;

And hast given them this land which thou didst swear to their fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey.

Et ingressi sunt, et possederunt eam, et non obedierunt voci tuæ, et in lege tua non ambulaverunt: omnia quæ mandasti eis ut facerent non fecerunt, et evenerunt eis omnia mala hæc.

they invaded it, they took possession of it. But to thy voice they would not listen, thy law they would not follow; no duty thou hadst enjoined but lay neglected, and all the calamities we see about us are the issue.

And they came in, and possessed it: but they obeyed not thy voice, and they walked not in thy law: and they did not any of those things that thou didst command them to do, and all these evils are come upon them.

Ecce munitiones exstructæ sunt adversum civitatem ut capiatur, et urbs data est in manus Chaldæorum qui præliantur adversus eam, a facie gladii, et famis, et pestilentiæ: et quæcumque locutus es, acciderunt, ut tu ipse cernis.

Here are siege-works raised to reduce the city; sword and famine and pestilence are giving it over to the Chaldaeans for their prey; of all thou hast threatened thou seest here the fulfilment.

Behold works are built up against the city to take it: and the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans, who fight against it, by the sword, and the famine, and the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken, is all come to pass, as thou thyself seest.

Et tu dicis mihi, Domine Deus: Eme agrum argento, et adhibe testes, cum urbs data sit in manus Chaldæorum?

And now, Lord God, thou wouldst have me buy land, and call in witnesses of payment made; now, when this city lies at the mercy of the Chaldaeans!

And sayest thou to me, O Lord God: Buy a field for money, and take witnesses, whereas the city is given into the hands of the Chaldeans?

Et factum est verbum Domini ad Jeremiam, dicens:

Hereupon the word of the Lord came to Jeremias:

And the word of the Lord came to Jeremias, saying:

Ecce ego Dominus Deus universæ carnis: numquid mihi difficile erit omne verbum?

Am I not the Lord, the God of all that lives? How should any task be too difficult for me?

Behold I am the Lord the God of all flesh: shall any thing be hard for me?

Propterea hæc dicit Dominus: Ecce ego tradam civitatem istam in manus Chaldæorum, et in manus regis Babylonis, et capient eam.

This is the divine sentence; I mean to hand over this city to capture by the king of Babylon and his Chaldaeans; they shall take it by storm,

Therefore thus saith the Lord: Behold I will deliver this city into the hands of the Chaldeans, and into the hands of the king of Babylon, and they shall take it.

Et venient Chaldæi præliantes adversum urbem hanc, et succendent eam igni, et comburent eam, et domos in quarum domatibus sacrificabant Baal, et libabant diis alienis libamina ad irritandum me.

and set it alight, and burn all its houses to the ground; it was there, on the roof-tops, they sacrificed to Baal, and made offerings to alien gods in despite of me.

And the Chaldeans that fight against this city, shall come and set it on fire, and burn it, with the houses upon whose roofs they offered sacrifice to Baal, and poured out drink offerings to strange gods, to provoke me to wrath.

Erant enim filii Israël et filii Juda jugiter facientes malum in oculis meis ab adolescentia sua: filii Israël, qui usque nunc exacerbant me in opere manuum suarum, dicit Dominus.

From their youth up, Israel and Juda have defied my will unceasingly; even now, says the Lord, their ill-doings are a provocation to me.

For the children of Israel, and the children of Juda, have continually done evil in my eyes from their youth: the children of Israel who even till now provoke me with the work of their hands, saith the Lord.

Quia in furore et in indignatione mea facta est mihi civitas hæc, a die qua ædificaverunt eam usque ad diem istam qua auferetur de conspectu meo,

Anger and scorn this city of theirs has earned from me, nothing else, from the day they built it to this day when I purpose that it shall offend my sight no more;

For this city hath been to me a provocation and indignation from the day that they built it, until this day, in which it shall be taken out of my sight.

propter malitiam filiorum Israël et filiorum Juda, quam fecerunt ad iracundiam me provocantes, ipsi et reges eorum, principes eorum, et sacerdotes eorum, et prophetæ eorum, viri Juda et habitatores Jerusalem.

so long have Israel and Juda defied my vengeance with the wrong they did, king and prince, priest and prophet, country-folk and citizens of Jerusalem;

Because of all the evil of the children of Israel, and of the children of Juda, which they have done, provoking me to wrath, they and their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, the men of Juda, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

Et verterunt ad me terga, et non facies, cum docerem eos diluculo et erudirem, et nollent audire, ut acciperent disciplinam.

always the back turned, never a glance my way, always the deaf ear, the warning unheeded, when I sent early to their doors to bring them to a better mind!

And they have turned their backs to me, and not their faces: when I taught them early in the morning, and instructed them, and they would not hearken to receive instruction.

Et posuerunt idola sua in domo in qua invocatum est nomen meum, ut polluerent eam.

Have they not profaned that house which is the sanctuary of my name, by setting up their idols in it?

And they have set their idols in the house, in which my name is called upon, to defile it.

Et ædificaverunt excelsa Baal quæ sunt in valle filii Ennom, ut initiarent filios suos et filias suas Moloch, quod non mandavi eis, nec ascendit in cor meum ut facerent abominationem hanc: et in peccatum deducerent Judam.

Have they not made hill-shrines for Baal in the valley of Ben-Ennom, and there initiated son and daughter with Moloch-rites that were never of my bidding? No thought was it of mine that they should do this foul deed, which has brought guilt on Juda.

And they have built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Ennom, to consecrate their sons and their daughters to Moloch: which I commanded them not, neither entered it into my heart, that they should do this abomination, and cause Juda to sin.

Et nunc propter ista, hæc dicit Dominus Deus Israël ad civitatem hanc, de qua vos dicitis quod tradetur in manus regis Babylonis, in gladio, et in fame, et in peste:

What, then, of this city, doomed in your eyes to fall into the power of Babylon’s king, through sword and famine and pestilence? This is the message the Lord God of Israel sends to it:

And now, therefore, thus saith the Lord the God of Israel to this city, whereof you say that it shall be delivered into the hands of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by famine, and by pestilence:

Ecce ego congregabo eos de universis terris ad quas ejeci eos in furore meo, et in ira mea, et in indignatione grandi: et reducam eos ad locum istum, et habitare eos faciam confidenter:

I mean to gather its people again, scattered over so many lands by the vengeance my fierce anger brought; restore them to this place, and bid them dwell there contentedly.

Behold I will gather them together out of all the lands to which I have cast them out in my anger, and in my wrath, and in my great indignation: and I will bring them again into this place, and will cause them to dwell securely.

et erunt mihi in populum, et ego ero eis in Deum.

They shall be my people, I their God;

And they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

Et dabo eis cor unum, et viam unam, ut timeant me universis diebus, et bene sit eis, et filiis eorum post eos.

one will they shall have, and journey by one way, living evermore in the fear of me, winning for themselves and for their sons a blessing.

And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me all days: and that it may be well with them, and with their children after them.

Et feriam eis pactum sempiternum, et non desinam eis benefacere: et timorem meum dabo in corde eorum, ut non recedant a me.

An eternal covenant I will make with them, nor ever cease to speed them; inspire their hearts with the fear of me, that never swerves aside.

And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, and will not cease to do them good: and I will give my fear in their heart, that they may not revolt from me.

Et lætabor super eis, cum bene eis fecero: et plantabo eos in terra ista in veritate, in toto corde meo et in tota anima mea.

My welcome task it shall be to prosper them, and root their stock firmly in this land of theirs; this shall be all my love and liking.

And I will rejoice over them, when I shall do them good: and I will plant them in this land in truth, with my whole heart, and with all my soul.

Quia hæc dicit Dominus: Sicut adduxi super populum istum omne malum hoc grande, sic adducam super eos omne bonum quod ego loquor ad eos.

Threat of mine and promise of mine, the Lord says, shall alike be fulfilled.

For thus saith the Lord: As I have brought upon this people all this great evil: so will I bring upon them all the good that I now speak to them.

Et possidebuntur agri in terra ista, de qua vos dicitis quod deserta sit, eo quod non remanserit homo et jumentum, et data sit in manus Chaldæorum.

This country of yours a desert, man nor beast to dwell in it, given up to the power of Babylon? So your fears tell you; but there shall be buying of lands in it yet,

And fields shall be purchased in this land: whereof you say that it is desolate, because there remaineth neither man nor beast, and it is given into the hands of the Chaldeans.

Agri ementur pecunia, et scribentur in libro, et imprimetur signum, et testis adhibebitur, in terra Benjamin et in circuitu Jerusalem, in civitatibus Juda, et in civitatibus montanis, et in civitatibus campestribus, et in civitatibus quæ ad austrum sunt, quia convertam captivitatem eorum, ait Dominus.

the price paid, the deed executed, the bond sealed, witnesses called in, all over Benjamin and round about Jerusalem, all through the cities of Juda, by hill and plain and the uplands of the south; I mean to bring the exiles home again, says the Lord.

Fields shall be bought for money, and deeds shall be written, and sealed, and witnesses shall be taken, in the land of Benjamin, and round about Jerusalem, in the cities of Juda, and in the cities on the mountains, and in the cities of the plains, and in the cities that are towards the south: for I will bring back their captivity, saith the Lord.