Noli lætari, Israël; noli exsultare sicut populi: quia fornicatus es a Deo tuo; dilexisti mercedem super omnes areas tritici.

Rejoice not, O Israel: rejoice not as the nations do: for thou hast committed fornication against thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor.

No rejoicing, Israel, no cries of gladness now! Wouldst thou be like the heathen, and rejoice that thou hast played thy God false, ever selling thy favours to the first comer, in return for a full threshing-floor?

Area et torcular non pascet eos, et vinum mentietur eis:

The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the wine shall deceive them.

Not for such reapers harvest and vintage; the wanton must go without her wine;

non habitabunt in terra Domini. Reversus est Ephraim in Ægyptum, et in Assyriis pollutum comedit.

They shall not dwell in the Lord’s land: Ephraim is returned to Egypt, and hath eaten unclean things among the Assyrians.

dispeopled, now, the Lord’s territory, Ephraim back in Egypt again, or tasting, among the Assyrians, unhallowed food.

Non libabunt Domino vinum, et non placebunt ei. Sacrificia eorum quasi panis lugentium; omnes qui comedent eum, contaminabuntur: quia panis eorum animæ ipsorum: non intrabit in domum Domini.

They shall not offer wine to the Lord, neither shall they please him: their sacrifices shall be like the bread of mourners: all that shall eat it shall be defiled: for their bread is life for their soul, it shall not enter into the house of the Lord.

Libation shall be none to win the Lord’s favour, nor any sacrifice; bread of theirs shall be as the bread mourners eat, defiling to the lips; fill their bellies it may, but into the Lord’s house it cannot enter.

Quid facietis in die solemni, in die festivitatis Domini?

What will you do in the solemn day, in the day of the feast of the Lord?

Alas, what shift will you make when the great days come round, the Lord’s festivals?

Ecce enim profecti sunt a vastitate: Ægyptus congregabit eos; Memphis sepeliet eos: desiderabile argentum eorum urtica hæreditabit, lappa in tabernaculis eorum.

For behold they are gone because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them together, Memphis shall bury them: nettles shall inherit their beloved silver, the bur shall be in their tabernacles.

Ruin fell on the citizens, and they are gone; Egypt the home of them now, Memphis the tomb of them; bowers that shone with silver the nettles have claimed, burdocks grow in the doorways.

Venerunt dies visitationis, venerunt dies retributionis. Scitote, Israël, stultum prophetam, insanum virum spiritualem, propter multitudinem iniquitatis tuæ, et multitudinem amentiæ.

The days of visitation are come, the days of repaying are come: know ye, O Israel, that the prophet was foolish, the spiritual man was mad, for the multitude of thy iniquity, and the multitude of thy madness.

Close at hand the audit-day, the doom close at hand! And wouldst thou know, Israel, why prophet is turned fool, and he can but rave now that once was inspired? God’s heavy plague is this for thy much sinning;

Speculator Ephraim cum Deo meo, propheta laqueus ruinæ factus est super omnes vias ejus; insania in domo Dei ejus.

The watchman of Ephraim was with my God: the prophet is become a snare of ruin upon all his ways, madness is in the house of his God.

prophet of thine, watchman of thine, Ephraim, is a snare at every turn, luring thee to thy ruin, and at God’s decree; he stands there in God’s house, a plague to thee.

Profunde peccaverunt, sicut in diebus Gabaa. Recordabitur iniquitatis eorum, et visitabit peccata eorum.

They have sinned deeply, as in the days of Gabaa: he will remember their iniquity, and will visit their sin.

So deep the canker of their sin; Gabaa itself never knew worse wrong. For the remembered guilt of it they shall be called to account.

Quasi uvas in deserto inveni Israël, quasi prima poma ficulneæ in cacumine ejus vidi patres eorum: ipsi autem intraverunt ad Beelphegor, et abalienati sunt in confusionem, et facti sunt abominabiles sicut ea quæ dilexerunt.

I found Israel like grapes in the desert, I saw their fathers like the firstfruits of the fig tree in the top thereof: but they went in to Beelphegor, and alienated themselves to that confusion, and became abominable, as those things were, which they loved.

When I kept tryst with Israel long ago, rare the encounter, as of grapes out in the desert, of spring figs a-ripening high up on the tree. And all at once to Beelphegor they betook themselves, sold honour for shame, caught foul contagion from the things they loved!

Ephraim quasi avis avolavit; gloria eorum a partu, et ab utero, et a conceptu.

As for Ephraim, their glory hath flown away like a bird from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception.

Light as bird on bough, Ephraim’s glory has come and gone; womb is none that breeds, or, breeding, bears;

Quod etsi enutrierint filios suos, absque liberis eos faciam in hominibus; sed et væ eis cum recessero ab eis!

And though they should bring up their children, I will make them without children among men: yea, and woe to them, when I shall depart from them.

ay, though they should bring sons to manhood, childless their race shall be, nameless among men.Woe betide them indeed, when I withdraw my presence from them!

Ephraim, ut vidi, Tyrus erat fundata in pulchritudine; et Ephraim educet ad interfectorem filios suos.

Ephraim, as I saw, was a Tyre founded in beauty: and Ephraim shall bring out his children to the murderer.

Ephraim’s land, so fair a garden, as I look out over it towards Tyre! And must Ephraim rear her sons for the slaughter-house?

Da eis, Domine. Quid dabis eis? da eis vulvam sine liberis, et ubera arentia.

Give them, O Lord. What wilt thou give them? Give them a womb without children, and dry breasts.

Thy gift to them, Lord, what is the best gift they can have of thee? A womb, assuredly, that miscarries, and dried-up breasts!

Omnes nequitiæ eorum in Galgal, quia ibi exosos habui eos. Propter malitiam adinventionum eorum, de domo mea ejiciam eos; non addam ut diligam eos: omnes principes eorum recedentes.

All their wickedness is in Galgal, for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their devices I will cast them forth out of my house: I will love them no more, all their princes are revolters.

See where, at Galgal, their offence comes to a head; there it is they have made an enemy of me. They shall dwell in my domain no longer, claim love from me no longer; chieftains of theirs are no vassals of mine.

Percussus est Ephraim; radix eorum exsiccata est: fructum nequaquam facient, quod etsi genuerint, interficiam amantissima uteri eorum.

Ephraim is struck, their root is dried up, they shall yield no fruit. And if they should have issue, I will slay the best beloved fruit of their womb.

On Ephraim blight has fallen; withered the root now, wizened the fruit; beget they, doom of death is on their offspring, so dearly loved.

Abjiciet eos Deus meus, quia non audierunt eum, et erunt vagi in nationibus.

My God will cast them away, because they hearkened not to him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.

Cast away, my God, from thy presence, because heed thee they would not, cast away to wander homeless through the world!