Ad filios Ammon. Hæc dicit Dominus: Numquid non filii sunt Israël, aut hæres non est ei? cur igitur hæreditate possedit Melchom Gad, et populus ejus in urbibus ejus habitavit?

And thus the Lord speaks to the Ammonites: Did Israel, then, leave no sons, no heirs to follow him? How comes it that Melchom boasts possession of Gad, and worshippers of his dwell in yonder cities?

Against the children of Ammon. Thus saith the Lord: Hath Israel no sons? or hath he no heir? Why then hath Melchom inherited Gad: and his people dwelt in his cities?

Ideo ecce dies veniunt, dicit Dominus, et auditum faciam super Rabbath filiorum Ammon fremitum prælii, et erit in tumultum dissipata, filiæque ejus igni succendentur, et possidebit Israël possessores suos, ait Dominus.

A time is coming, the Lord says, when Rabbath Ammon shall hear the din of fighting, and shall be thrown down in ruins; when her daughter cities shall be burnt to the ground, and Israel, so runs the divine promise, shall drive out the intruder.

Therefore behold the days come, saith the Lord, and I will cause the noise of war to be heard in Rabbath of the children of Ammon, and it shall be destroyed into a heap, and her daughters shall be burnt with fire, and Israel shall possess them that have possessed him, saith the Lord.

Ulula, Hesebon, quoniam vastata est Hai; clamate, filiæ Rabbath: accingite vos ciliciis, plangite et circuite per sepes, quoniam Melchom in transmigrationem ducetur, sacerdotes ejus et principes ejus simul.

Shall Hesebon mourn for Hai laid waste, and the women of Rabbath for Rabbath make no lament? Nay, put on sackcloth, raise the dirge as you scatter among the hedge-rows; Melchom goes into banishment, his priests and his votary chieftains with him.

Howl, O Hesebon, for Hai is wasted. Cry, ye daughters of Rabbath, gird yourselves with haircloth: mourn and go about by the hedges: for Melchom shall be carried into captivity, his priests, and his princes together.

Quid gloriaris in vallibus? defluxit vallis tua, filia delicata, quæ confidebas in thesauris tuis, et dicebas: Quis veniet ad me?

So proud of thy valleys! Wasted away, now, is that vale of thine, pampered maiden; confident in thy rich store, thou didst flatter thyself none should come near to harm thee,

Why gloriest thou in the valleys? thy valley hath flowed away, O delicate daughter, that hast trusted in thy treasures, and hast said: Who shall come to me?

Ecce ego inducam super te terrorem, ait Dominus Deus exercituum, ab omnibus qui sunt in circuitu tuo: et dispergemini singuli a conspectu vestro, nec erit qui congreget fugientes.

but I mean to fill thee with dread, says the Lord, the God of hosts, dread of all thy neighbours. Each man shall take his own path, scattering in flight, and there shall be none to rally the fugitives.

Behold I will bring a fear upon thee, saith the Lord God of hosts, from all that are round about thee: and you shall be scattered every one out of one another’s sight, neither shall there be any to gather together them that flee.

Et post hæc reverti faciam captivos filiorum Ammon, ait Dominus.

Yet afterwards, the Lord says, I will bring the exiled sons of Ammon back to their home.

And afterwards I will cause the captives of the children of Ammon to return, saith the Lord.

Ad Idumæam. Hæc dicit Dominus exercituum: Numquid non ultra est sapientia in Theman? periit consilium a filiis; inutilis facta est sapientia eorum.

And for Edom, this. No more is Theman wise, as of old, says the Lord of hosts; the prudence of that breed is lost, its wisdom all gone to waste.

Against Edom. Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Is wisdom no more in Theman? counsel is perished from her children: their wisdom is become unprofitable.

Fugite, et terga vertite; descendite in voraginem, habitatores Dedan: quoniam perditionem Esau adduxi super eum, tempus visitationis ejus.

Flee away, men of Dedan, and never look behind you, or hide deep in earth; I am bringing ruin upon Esau, calling him to account at last.

Flee and turn your backs, go down into the deep hole, ye inhabitants of Dedan: for I have brought the destruction of Esau upon him, the time of his visitation.

Si vindemiatores venissent super te, non reliquissent racemum: si fures in nocte rapuissent quod sufficeret sibi.

Here are such vintagers as will leave thee never a cluster, such night-robbers as will have their fill;

If grapegatherers had come to thee, would they not have left a bunch? if thieves in the night, they would have taken what was enough for them.

Ego vero discooperui Esau: revelavi abscondita ejus, et celari non poterit: vastatum est semen ejus, et fratres ejus, et vicini ejus, et non erit.

mine to strip Esau bare, dig up his lairs till there is no hiding in them. The whole brood of him must be destroyed, never a kinsman or neighbour left, that will say,

But I have made Esau bare, I have revealed his secrets, and he cannot be hid: his seed is laid waste, and his brethren, and his neighbours, and he shall not be.

Relinque pupillos tuos: ego faciam eos vivere: et viduæ tuæ in me sperabunt.

To my care entrust thy orphans, to me let thy widows look for support.

Leave thy fatherless children: I will make them live: and thy widows shall hope in me.

Quia hæc dicit Dominus: Ecce quibus non erat judicium ut biberent calicem, bibentes bibent: et tu, quasi innocens relinqueris? non eris innocens, sed bibens bibes.

So many there are, the Lord says, that must drink the cup of vengeance all undeserving; and wouldst thou be spared, wouldst thou be acquitted? Acquittal for thee is none; thou shalt drain it to the dregs.

For thus saith the Lord: Behold they whose judgment was not to drink of the cup, shall certainly drink: and shalt thou come off as innocent? thou shalt not come off as innocent, but drinking thou shalt drink.

Quia per memetipsum juravi, dicit Dominus, quod in solitudinem, et in opprobrium, et in desertum, et in maledictionem erit Bosra, et omnes civitates ejus erunt in solitudines sempiternas.

By my own honour I have sworn it, the Lord says, that Bosra shall be an empty wilderness, a name to revile and to curse by; that her daughter cities shall for ever be desolate.

For I have sworn by myself, saith the Lord, that Bosra shall become a desolation, and a reproach, and a desert, and a curse: and all her cities shall be everlasting wastes.

Auditum audivi a Domino, et legatus ad gentes missus est: Congregamini, et venite contra eam, et consurgamus in prælium.

Hue and cry the Lord has brought to my ears, that even now goes out among the nations, Muster we and march we against her; on to battle!

I have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent to the nations: Gather yourselves together, and come against her, and let us rise up to battle.

Ecce enim parvulum dedi te in gentibus, contemptibilem inter homines.

A little thing I mean thee to be in the world’s eyes henceforward, unregarded among the nations;

For behold I have made thee a little one among the nations, despicable among men.

Arrogantia tua decepit te, et superbia cordis tui, qui habitas in cavernis petræ, et apprehendere niteris altitudinem collis: cum exaltaveris quasi aquila nidum tuum, inde detraham te, dicit Dominus.

till now, pride and the insolence of thy heart deluded thee, so safe thy nest among the rock-crevices, so close thou didst cling to the mountain summits; but now, be thy eyrie high as the eagle’s, I will yet drag thee down, the Lord says.

Thy arrogancy hath deceived thee, and the pride of thy heart: O thou that dwellest in the clefts of the rock, and endeavourest to lay hold on the height of the hill: but though thou shouldst make thy nest as high as an eagle, I will bring thee down from thence, saith the Lord.

Et erit Idumæa deserta: omnis qui transibit per eam stupebit, et sibilabit super omnes plagas ejus.

A very desert Edom shall be; no passer-by but will stand amazed, and hiss derision at its sufferings;

And Edom shall be desolate: every one that shall pass by it, shall be astonished, and shall hiss at all its plagues.

Sicut subversa est Sodoma et Gomorrha, et vicinæ ejus, ait Dominus: non habitabit ibi vir, et non incolet eam filius hominis.

not more ruinously Sodom fell, and Gomorrha, and their neighbour cities, that lie uninhabited, far from the homes of men.

As Sodom was overthrown and Gomorrha, and the neighbours thereof, saith the Lord: there shall not a man dwell there, and there shall no son of man inhabit it.

Ecce quasi leo ascendet de superbia Jordanis ad pulchritudinem robustam, quia subito currere faciam eum ad illam. Et quis erit electus, quem præponam ei? quis enim similis mei? et quis sustinebit me? et quis est iste pastor, qui resistat vultui meo?

See how lion from the fens of Jordan sallies out against yonder protected fold! Not less sudden the alarm shall be; and the flock shall have a master of my own choosing. Match for me is none, there is none dare implead me, no rival shepherd may challenge a claim like mine!

Behold one shall come up as a lion from the swelling of the Jordan, against the strong and beautiful: for I will make him run suddenly upon her: and who shall be the chosen one whom I may appoint over her? for who is like to me? and who shall abide me? and who is that shepherd that can withstand my countenance?

Propterea audite consilium Domini quod iniit de Edom, et cogitationes ejus quas cogitavit de habitatoribus Theman: si non dejecerint eos parvuli gregis, nisi dissipaverint cum eis habitaculum eorum.

Would you know what the Lord’s design is for Edom, what plans he is devising against the homesteads of Theman? Why, he says, it will but need an array of weaklings to dislodge them, pull their dwelling-place down about their ears!

Therefore hear ye the counsel of the Lord, which he hath taken concerning Edom: and his thoughts which he hath thought concerning the inhabitants of Theman: surely the little ones of the flock shall cast them down, of a truth they shall destroy them with their habitation.

A voce ruinæ eorum commota est terra; clamor in mari Rubro auditus est vocis ejus.

And with the crash of that ruin earth shakes, far as the Red Sea ring the echoes of it.

The earth is moved at the noise of their fall: the cry of their voice is heard in the Red Sea.

Ecce quasi aquila ascendet, et avolabit, et expandet alas suas super Bosran: et erit cor fortium Idumææ in die illa quasi cor mulieris parturientis.

An eagle’s flight yonder conqueror has, to soar high and sweep down on Bosra; cowed as woman’s heart in child-bearing are the warrior hearts of Edom.

Behold he shall come up as an eagle, and fly: and he shall spread his wings over Bosra: and in that day the heart of the valiant ones of Edom shall be as the heart of a woman in labour.

Ad Damascum. Confusa est Emath et Arphad, quia auditum pessimum audierunt: turbati sunt in mari; præ sollicitudine quiescere non potuit.

And for Damascus, this. Hamath and Arphad see their hopes betray them; grievous the news that reaches them, and they are rocked on a sea of doubt; anxiety gives them no respite.

Against Damascus. Emath is confounded and Arphad: for they have heard very bad tidings, they are troubled as in the sea: through care they could not rest.

Dissoluta est Damascus, versa est in fugam: tremor apprehendit eam, angustia et dolores tenuerunt eam quasi parturientem.

As for Damascus, her strength has left her; no thought has she but for flight, daunted by her peril, overcome, like woman in child-bearing, with sharp pangs.

Damascus is undone, she is put to flight, trembling hath seized on her: anguish and sorrows have taken her as a woman in labour.

Quomodo dereliquerunt civitatem laudabilem, urbem lætitiæ?

City so renowned, home of such delights, must all abandon her?

How have they forsaken the city of renown, the city of joy!

Ideo cadent juvenes ejus in plateis ejus, et omnes viri prælii conticescent in die illa, ait Dominus exercituum.

In her streets they lie slain, all the flower of her youth, all her brave warriors lie silent now, the Lord says;

Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets: and all the men of war shall be silent in that day, saith the Lord of hosts.

Et succendam ignem in muro Damasci, et devorabit mœnia Benadad.

and such a fire I will light within Damascus walls as shall feed on the palaces of Benadad.

And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, and it shall devour the strong holds of Benadad.

Ad Cedar, et ad regna Asor, quæ percussit Nabuchodonosor rex Babylonis. Hæc dicit Dominus: Surgite, et ascendite ad Cedar, et vastate filios orientis.

And this for Cedar, and the realms of Asor, that were destroyed by Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon. Word comes from the Lord: Up, march against Cedar, despoil we these children of the East!

Against Cedar and against the kingdoms of Asor, which Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon destroyed. Thus saith the Lord: Arise, and go ye up to Cedar, and waste the children of the east.

Tabernacula eorum, et greges eorum capient: pelles eorum, et omnia vasa eorum, et camelos eorum tollent sibi, et vocabunt super eos formidinem in circuitu.

Pillage there shall be of home and herd, plundering of tents and gear and camels, and cries of Danger everywhere.

They shall take their tents, and their flocks: and shall carry off for themselves their curtains, and all their vessels, and their camels: and they shall call fear upon them round about.

Fugite, abite vehementer, in voraginibus sedete, qui habitatis Asor, ait Dominus: iniit enim contra vos Nabuchodonosor rex Babylonis consilium, et cogitavit adversum vos cogitationes.

Flee away, wander far away, men of Asor; deep, says the Lord, be your hiding-places! Here is Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon holding a council of war, devising plans against you.

Flee ye, get away speedily, sit in deep holes, you that inhabit Asor, saith the Lord: for Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon hath taken counsel against you, and hath conceived designs against you.

Consurgite, et ascendite ad gentem quietam, et habitantem confidenter, ait Dominus: non ostia, nec vectes eis: soli habitant.

Up, march against a people that lives at ease, fearing no attack, the Lord says; gates and bars they have none, dwelling there in the wilderness;

Arise, and go up to a nation that is at ease, and that dwelleth securely, saith the Lord: they have neither gates, nor bars: they dwell alone.

Et erunt cameli eorum in direptionem, et multitudo jumentorum in prædam: et dispergam eos in omnem ventum, qui sunt attonsi in comam, et ex omni confinio eorum adducam interitum super eos, ait Dominus.

camels for your plunder, herds a many for your prey! Scattered they shall be to all the winds, the folk that clip their foreheads bare, and from every corner of their lands death shall threaten them, the Lord says.

And their camels shall be for a spoil, and the multitude of their cattle for a booty, and I will scatter into every wind them that have their hair cut round, and I will bring destruction upon them from all their confines, saith the Lord.

Et erit Asor in habitaculum draconum, deserta usque in æternum: non manebit ibi vir, nec incolet eam filius hominis.

Asor shall be a lair for serpents, a land for ever desolate; uninhabited it shall lie, far from the homes of men.

And Asor shall be a habitation for dragons, desolate for ever: no man shall abide there, nor son of man inhabit it.

Quod facum est verbum Domini ad Jeremiam prophetam adversus Ælam, in principio regni Sedeciæ regis Juda, dicens:

And here is the doom the Lord pronounced to the prophet Jeremias against Aelam, at the beginning of Sedecias’ reign in Juda.

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremias the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Sedecias king of Juda, saying:

Hæc dicit Dominus exercituum: Ecce ego confringam arcum Ælam, et summam fortitudinem eorum:

A message from the Lord of hosts! I mean to break the bows of yonder Aelamites, wherein lies all their strength.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts: Behold I will break the bow of Elam, and their chief strength.

et inducam super Ælam quatuor ventos a quatuor plagis cæli, et ventilabo eos in omnes ventos istos, et non erit gens ad quam non perveniant profugi Ælam.

Upon Aelam I will bid the winds blow from the four corners of heaven, and before each scatter them like chaff, till nation is none that has not seen their fugitives.

And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven: and I will scatter them into all these winds: and there shall be no nation, to which the fugitives of Elam shall not come.

Et pavere faciam Ælam coram inimicis suis, et in conspectu quærentium animam eorum: et adducam super eos malum, iram furoris mei, dicit Dominus, et mittam post eos gladium donec consumam eos.

Daunted the Aelamites shall be by the onset of their mortal enemies; my angry vengeance I will let loose against them, the Lord says, and my sword shall go at their heels till I have taken full toll of them.

And I will cause Elam to be afraid before their enemies, and in the sight of them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, my fierce wrath, saith the Lord: and I will send the sword after them, till I consume them.

Et ponam solium meum in Ælam, et perdam inde reges et principes, ait Dominus.

In Aelam I will set up my throne, he says, and rid it altogether of kings and princes.

And I will set my throne in Elam, and destroy kings and princes from thence, saith the Lord.

In novissimis autem diebus reverti faciam captivos Ælam, dicit Dominus.

Yet afterwards, so runs the divine promise, I will bring the exiled sons of Aelam back to their home.

But in the latter days I will cause the captives of Elam, to return, saith the Lord.