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Jeremiah 51

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1 τάδε λέγει κύριος ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἐξεγείρω ἐπὶ Βαβυλῶνα καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας Χαλδαίους ἄνεμον καύσωνα διαφθείροντα 2 καὶ ἐξαποστελῶ εἰς Βαβυλῶνα ὑβριστάς καὶ καθυβρίσουσιν αὐτὴν καὶ λυμανοῦνται τὴν γῆν αὐτῆς οὐαὶ ἐπὶ Βαβυλῶνα κυκλόθεν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ κακώσεως αὐτῆς 3 ἐ{P'} αὐτὴν τεινέτω ὁ τείνων τὸ τόξον αὐτοῦ καὶ περιθέσθω ᾧ ἐστιν ὅπλα αὐτῷ καὶ μὴ φείσησθε ἐπὶ νεανίσκους αὐτῆς καὶ ἀφανίσατε πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν αὐτῆς 4 καὶ πεσοῦνται τραυματίαι ἐν γῇ Χαλδαίων καὶ κατακεκεντημένοι ἔξωθεν αὐτῆς 5 διότι οὐκ ἐχήρευσεν Ισραηλ καὶ Ιουδας ἀπὸ θεοῦ αὐτῶν ἀπὸ κυρίου παντοκράτορος ὅτι ἡ γῆ αὐτῶν ἐπλήσθη ἀδικίας ἀπὸ τῶν ἁγίων Ισραηλ 6 φεύγετε ἐκ μέσου Βαβυλῶνος καὶ ἀνασῴζετε ἕκαστος τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ μὴ ἀπορριφῆτε ἐν τῇ ἀδικίᾳ αὐτῆς ὅτι καιρὸς ἐκδικήσεως αὐτῆς ἐστιν παρὰ κυρίου ἀνταπόδομα αὐτὸς ἀνταποδίδωσιν αὐτῇ 7 ποτήριον χρυσοῦν Βαβυλὼν ἐν χειρὶ κυρίου μεθύσκον πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἀπὸ τοῦ οἴνου αὐτῆς ἐπίοσαν ἔθνη διὰ τοῦτο ἐσαλεύθησαν 8 καὶ ἄφνω ἔπεσεν Βαβυλὼν καὶ συνετρίβη θρηνεῖτε αὐτήν λάβετε ῥητίνην τῇ διαφθορᾷ αὐτῆς εἴ πως ἰαθήσεται 9 ἰατρεύσαμεν τὴν Βαβυλῶνα καὶ οὐκ ἰάθη ἐγκαταλίπωμεν αὐτὴν καὶ ἀπέλθωμεν ἕκαστος εἰς τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ ὅτι ἤγγισεν εἰς οὐρανὸν τὸ κρίμα αὐτῆς ἐξῆρεν ἕως τῶν ἄστρων 10 ἐξήνεγκεν κύριος τὸ κρίμα αὐτοῦ δεῦτε καὶ ἀναγγείλωμεν εἰς Σιων τὰ ἔργα κυρίου θεοῦ ἡμῶν

1 Thus says the Lord, I mean to let loose on Babylon, and the whole of Defiance-land,[1] a destroying blast; 2 winnowers of mine shall reach Babylon and fall to winnowing it, till all the heaps are gone; an ill day for Babylon, cut off on every side. 3 Let not a man live to bend bow again, or don breastplate for battle; never a warrior spare, army she must have none left. 4 Everywhere in country-side and street of Chaldaea the mangled corpses lie; 5 Juda’s God, the Lord of hosts, has not altogether forsaken her, and to that holy One of Israel the whole land is forfeit. 6 Flee away from the confines of Babylon, flee for your lives; would you meekly accept her punishment? The time has come when the Lord will take vengeance on her, he it is that sends this retribution. 7 Babylon, that was once a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, for a whole world’s bemusing! Drank nations of that cup, how they reeled and tottered! 8 And now, all in a moment, Babylon herself falls to her ruin. Raise the dirge, go find balm to heal those wounds of hers! 9 Alas, we sought a cure for Babylon, but curing her there was none; time it is we left her, and went back each to his own land; towers heaven-high the measure of her punishment, and is lost among the clouds. 10 Come, then, since he has given us the redress we needed, recount we in Sion the great doings of the Lord our God.

1

Hæc dicit Dominus:
Ecce ego suscitabo super Babylonem et super habitatores ejus,
qui cor suum levaverunt contra me,
quasi ventum pestilentem: 2
et mittam in Babylonem ventilatores,
et ventilabunt eam et demolientur terram ejus,
quoniam venerunt super eam undique in die afflictionis ejus. 3
Non tendat qui tendit arcum suum,
et non ascendat loricatus:
nolite parcere juvenibus ejus;
interficite omnem militiam ejus. 4
Et cadent interfecti in terra Chaldæorum,
et vulnerati in regionibus ejus. 5
Quoniam non fuit viduatus Israël et Juda
a Deo suo, Domino exercituum,
terra autem eorum repleta est delicto
a Sancto Israël. 6
Fugite de medio Babylonis,
et salvet unusquisque animam suam:
nolite tacere super iniquitatem ejus,
quoniam tempus ultionis est a Domino:
vicissitudinem ipse retribuet ei. 7
Calix aureus Babylon in manu Domini,
inebrians omnem terram:
de vino ejus biberunt gentes,
et ideo commotæ sunt. 8
Subito cecidit Babylon, et contrita est.
Ululate super eam:
tollite resinam ad dolorem ejus,
si forte sanetur. 9
Curavimus Babylonem, et non est sanata:
derelinquamus eam, et eamus unusquisque in terram suam:
quoniam pervenit usque ad cælos judicium ejus,
et elevatum est usque ad nubes. 10
Protulit Dominus justitias nostras:
venite, et narremus in Sion opus Domini Dei nostri.

11 παρασκευάζετε τὰ τοξεύματα πληροῦτε τὰς φαρέτρας ἤγειρεν κύριος τὸ πνεῦμα βασιλέως Μήδων ὅτι εἰς Βαβυλῶνα ἡ ὀργὴ αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἐξολεθρεῦσαι αὐτήν ὅτι ἐκδίκησις κυρίου ἐστίν ἐκδίκησις λαοῦ αὐτοῦ ἐστιν 12 ἐπὶ τειχέων Βαβυλῶνος ἄρατε σημεῖον ἐπιστήσατε φαρέτρας ἐγείρατε φυλακάς ἑτοιμάσατε ὅπλα ὅτι ἐνεχείρησεν καὶ ποιήσει κύριος ἃ ἐλάλησεν ἐπὶ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας Βαβυλῶνα 13 κατασκηνοῦντας ἐ{F'} ὕδασι πολλοῖς καὶ ἐπὶ πλήθει θησαυρῶν αὐτῆς ἥκει τὸ πέρας σου ἀληθῶς εἰς τὰ σπλάγχα σου 14 ὅτι ὤμοσεν κύριος κατὰ τοῦ βραχίονος αὐτοῦ διότι πληρώσω σε ἀνθρώπων ὡσεὶ ἀκρίδων καὶ φθέγξονται ἐπὶ σὲ οἱ καταβαίνοντες

11 Whet arrow, and fill quiver; the Lord has put a resolve into the heart of the Median king; he will have Babylon overthrown. The Lord shall be avenged, his temple shall be avenged! 12 Against Babylon’s walls display the standard, keep strict watch, post sentinels, lay ambush; the doom of its folk, long since devised, long since denounced, he will execute. 13 Land by all those tributary streams so enriched, thy end is reached, thy thread is spun. 14 By his own honour the Lord of hosts has sworn it, thy enemies shall swarm about thee like locusts, raising their vintage-song.

11
Acuite sagittas, implete pharetras:
suscitavit Dominus spiritum regum Medorum:
et contra Babylonem mens ejus est ut perdat eam,
quoniam ultio Domini est,
ultio templi sui. 12
Super muros Babylonis levate signum,
augete custodiam, levate custodes,
præparate insidias:
quia cogitavit Dominus,
et fecit quæcumque locutus est contra habitatores Babylonis. 13
Quæ habitas super aquas multas,
locuples in thesauris:
venit finis tuus, pedalis præcisionis tuæ. 14
Juravit Dominus exercituum per animam suam:
Quoniam replebo te hominibus quasi brucho,
et super te celeuma cantabitur.

15 ποιῶν γῆν ἐν τῇ ἰσχύι αὐτοῦ ἑτοιμάζων οἰκουμένην ἐν τῇ σοφίᾳ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ συνέσει αὐτοῦ ἐξέτεινεν τὸν οὐρανόν 16 εἰς φωνὴν ἔθετο ἦχος ὕδατος ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ καὶ ἀνήγαγεν νεφέλας ἀ{P'} ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς ἀστραπὰς εἰς ὑετὸν ἐποίησεν καὶ ἐξήγαγεν φῶς ἐκ θησαυρῶν αὐτοῦ 17 ἐμωράνθη πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ἀπὸ γνώσεως κατῃσχύνθη πᾶς χρυσοχόος ἀπὸ τῶν γλυπτῶν αὐτοῦ ὅτι ψευδῆ ἐχώνευσαν οὐκ ἔστιν πνεῦμα ἐν αὐτοῖς 18 μάταιά ἐστιν ἔργα μεμωκημένα ἐν καιρῷ ἐπισκέψεως αὐτῶν ἀπολοῦνται 19 οὐ τοιαύτη μερὶς τῷ Ιακωβ ὅτι ὁ πλάσας τὰ πάντα αὐτός ἐστιν κληρονομία αὐτοῦ κύριος ὄνομα αὐτῷ

15 His the power that made the earth,[2] the wisdom that orders nature, the foresight that spread out the heavens. 16 At the sound of his voice, what mustering of the waters overhead! He summons up the cloud-wrack from the world’s end, turning the lightning into a rain-storm, bringing the winds out of his store-house; 17 how puny, then, is man’s skill, how sorry a thing is the metal-caster’s workmanship; after all his labour at the forge, only a lifeless counterfeit! 18 Fond imaginations, fantastic figures, when the time comes for reckoning, they will be heard of no more. 19 Not such the worship that is the heirloom of Jacob’s line; their God is the God who made all things, Israel his patrimony, the Lord of hosts, his name.

15
Qui fecit terram in fortitudine sua,
præparavit orbem in sapientia sua,
et prudentia sua extendit cælos. 16
Dante eo vocem, multiplicantur aquæ in cælo:
qui levat nubes ab extremo terræ,
fulgura in pluviam fecit,
et produxit ventum de thesauris suis. 17
Stultus factus est omnis homo a scientia;
confusus est omnis conflator in sculptili:
quia mendax est conflatio eorum,
nec est spiritus in eis. 18
Vana sunt opera, et risu digna:
in tempore visitationis suæ peribunt. 19
Non sicut hæc, pars Jacob,
quia qui fecit omnia ipse est:
et Israël sceptrum hæreditatis ejus:
Dominus exercituum nomen ejus.

20 διασκορπίζεις σύ μοι σκεύη πολέμου καὶ διασκορπιῶ ἐν σοὶ ἔθνη καὶ ἐξαρῶ ἐκ σοῦ βασιλεῖς 21 καὶ διασκορπιῶ ἐν σοὶ ἵππον καὶ ἀναβάτην αὐτοῦ καὶ διασκορπιῶ ἐν σοὶ ἅρματα καὶ ἀναβάτας αὐτῶν 22 καὶ διασκορπιῶ ἐν σοὶ νεανίσκον καὶ παρθένον καὶ διασκορπιῶ ἐν σοὶ ἄνδρα καὶ γυναῖκα 23 καὶ διασκορπιῶ ἐν σοὶ ποιμένα καὶ τὸ ποίμνιον αὐτοῦ καὶ διασκορπιῶ ἐν σοὶ γεωργὸν καὶ τὸ γεώργιον αὐτοῦ καὶ διασκορπιῶ ἐν σοὶ ἡγεμόνας καὶ στρατηγούς σου 24 καὶ ἀνταποδώσω τῇ Βαβυλῶνι καὶ πᾶσι τοῖς κατοικοῦσι Χαλδαίοις πάσας τὰς κακίας αὐτῶν ἃς ἐποίησαν ἐπὶ Σιων κα{T'} ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑμῶν λέγει κύριος 25 ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ πρὸς σέ τὸ ὄρος τὸ διεφθαρμένον τὸ διαφθεῖρον πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐκτενῶ τὴν χεῖρά μου ἐπὶ σὲ καὶ κατακυλιῶ σε ἀπὸ τῶν πετρῶν καὶ δώσω σε ὡς ὄρος ἐμπεπυρισμένον 26 καὶ οὐ μὴ λάβωσιν ἀπὸ σοῦ λίθον εἰς γωνίαν καὶ λίθον εἰς θεμέλιον ὅτι εἰς ἀφανισμὸν εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ἔσῃ λέγει κύριος

20 Great conqueror, the weapon I wield! By thy means I crush the nations, undo empires;[3] 21 crush horse and rider, crush chariot and charioteer, 22 crush man and woman, crush old and young, crush lad and lass, 23 crush shepherd and flock, crush ploughman and team, crush prince and ruler! 24 And now I mean to repay Babylon, and all the people of Chaldaea, for the wrongs they did, says the Lord, and your eyes shall see it. 25 Have at thee, stronghold of ruin, the Lord says, a whole world’s ruin! My hand is raised to smite thee, and tear thee from thy rocky bed; a calcined heap thou shalt be, 26 that never corner-stone, never foundation-stone shall yield; the Lord dooms thee to lie for ever desolate.

20
Collidis tu mihi vasa belli:
et ego collidam in te gentes,
et disperdam in te regna: 21
et collidam in te equum et equitem ejus:
et collidam in te currum et ascensorem ejus: 22
et collidam in te virum et mulierem:
et collidam in te senem et puerum:
et collidam in te juvenem et virginem: 23
et collidam in te pastorem et gregem ejus:
et collidam in te agricolam et jugales ejus:
et collidam in te duces et magistratus: 24
et reddam Babyloni, et cunctis habitatoribus Chaldææ,
omne malum suum quod fecerunt in Sion,
in oculis vestris, ait Dominus. 25
Ecce ego ad te, mons pestifer, ait Dominus,
qui corrumpis universam terram:
et extendam manum meam super te,
et evolvam te de petris,
et dabo te in montem combustionis: 26
et non tollent de te lapidem in angulum,
et lapidem in fundamenta:
sed perditus in æternum eris, ait Dominus.

27 ἄρατε σημεῖον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς σαλπίσατε ἐν ἔθνεσιν σάλπιγγι ἁγιάσατε ἐ{P'} αὐτὴν ἔθνη παραγγείλατε ἐ{P'} αὐτὴν βασιλείαις Αραρατ πα{R'} ἐμοῦ καὶ τοῖς Ασχαναζαίοις ἐπιστήσατε ἐ{P'} αὐτὴν βελοστάσεις ἀναβιβάσατε ἐ{P'} αὐτὴν ἵππον ὡς ἀκρίδων πλῆθος 28 ἁγιάσατε ἐ{P'} αὐτὴν ἔθνη τὸν βασιλέα τῶν Μήδων καὶ πάσης τῆς γῆς τοὺς ἡγουμένους αὐτοῦ καὶ πάντας τοὺς στρατηγοὺς αὐτοῦ 29 ἐσείσθη ἡ γῆ καὶ ἐπόνεσεν διότι ἐξανέστη ἐπὶ Βαβυλῶνα λογισμὸς κυρίου τοῦ θεῖναι τὴν γῆν Βαβυλῶνος εἰς ἀφανισμὸν καὶ μὴ κατοικεῖσθαι αὐτήν 30 ἐξέλιπεν μαχητὴς Βαβυλῶνος τοῦ πολεμεῖν καθήσονται ἐκεῖ ἐν περιοχῇ ἐθραύσθη ἡ δυναστεία αὐτῶν ἐγενήθησαν ὡσεὶ γυναῖκες ἐνεπυρίσθη τὰ σκηνώματα αὐτῆς συνετρίβησαν οἱ μοχλοὶ αὐτῆς 31 διώκων εἰς ἀπάντησιν διώκοντος διώξεται καὶ ἀναγγέλλων εἰς ἀπάντησιν ἀναγγέλλοντος τοῦ ἀναγγεῖλαι τῷ βασιλεῖ Βαβυλῶνος ὅτι ἑάλωκεν ἡ πόλις αὐτοῦ 32 ἀ{P'} ἐσχάτου τῶν διαβάσεων αὐτοῦ ἐλήμφθησαν καὶ τὰ συστέματα αὐτῶν ἐνέπρησαν ἐν πυρί καὶ ἄνδρες αὐτοῦ οἱ πολεμισταὶ ἐξέρχονται 33 διότι τάδε λέγει κύριος οἶκοι βασιλέως Βαβυλῶνος ὡς ἅλων ὥριμος ἀλοηθήσονται ἔτι μικρὸν καὶ ἥξει ὁ ἄμητος αὐτῆς

27 Display your standard for all the world to see, sound the trumpet far and wide, enrol the nations against her; make tryst with the kings of Ararat, Menni, and Ascenez, and count Taphsar among her enemies; like locusts in bristling array swarm your cavalry. 28 Plight all the nations to make war on her, the kings of Media with their chieftains and satraps, all their wide dominion; 29 a whole world in turmoil and travail with the stir of the divine resolve to crush Babylon, make Babylon an empty desert. 30 See how her warriors quit the field, to garrison their strongholds, how their valour dies away and grows womanish, how her roofs blaze, the bars of her gates are shattered! 31 Courier meets courier, post to post hands the tidings on; tell the king of Babylon how his capital has fallen, length and breadth of it, 32 the fords occupied, the reed-beds aflame, dismayed the defenders. 33 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Babylon is a threshing-floor time has worn smooth; wait but a little, and it is ready for harvest.

27
Levate signum in terra,
clangite buccina in gentibus,
sanctificate super eam gentes,
annuntiate contra illam regibus Ararat, Menni, et Ascenez:
numerate contra eam Taphsar,
adducite equum quasi bruchum aculeatum. 28
Sanctificate contra eam gentes,
reges Mediæ, duces ejus, et universos magistratus ejus,
cunctamque terram potestatis ejus. 29
Et commovebitur terra et conturbabitur,
quia evigilabit contra Babylonem cogitatio Domini,
ut ponat terram Babylonis desertam et inhabitabilem. 30
Cessaverunt fortes Babylonis a prælio;
habitaverunt in præsidiis:
devoratum est robur eorum,
et facti sunt quasi mulieres:
incensa sunt tabernacula ejus,
contriti sunt vectes ejus. 31
Currens obviam currenti veniet,
et nuntius obvius nuntianti,
ut annuntiet regi Babylonis
quia capta est civitas ejus a summo usque ad summum. 32
Et vada præoccupata sunt,
et paludes incensæ sunt igni,
et viri bellatores conturbati sunt. 33
Quia hæc dicit Dominus exercituum, Deus Israël:
Filia Babylonis quasi area,
tempus trituræ ejus:
adhuc modicum, et veniet tempus messionis ejus.

34 κατέφαγέν με ἐμερίσατό με κατέλαβέν με σκεῦος λεπτὸν Ναβουχοδονοσορ βασιλεὺς Βαβυλῶνος κατέπιέν με ὡς δράκων ἔπλησεν τὴν κοιλίαν αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τῆς τρυφῆς μου ἐξῶσέν με 35 οἱ μόχθοι μου καὶ αἱ ταλαιπωρίαι μου εἰς Βαβυλῶνα ἐρεῖ κατοικοῦσα Σιων καὶ τὸ αἷμά μου ἐπὶ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας Χαλδαίους ἐρεῖ Ιερουσαλημ 36 διὰ τοῦτο τάδε λέγει κύριος ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ κρινῶ τὴν ἀντίδικόν σου καὶ ἐκδικήσω τὴν ἐκδίκησίν σου καὶ ἐρημώσω τὴν θάλασσαν αὐτῆς καὶ ξηρανῶ τὴν πηγὴν αὐτῆς 37 καὶ ἔσται Βαβυλὼν εἰς ἀφανισμὸν καὶ οὐ κατοικηθήσεται 38 ἅμα ὡς λέοντες ἐξηγέρθησαν καὶ ὡς σκύμνοι λεόντων 39 ἐν τῇ θερμασίᾳ αὐτῶν δώσω πότημα αὐτοῖς καὶ μεθύσω αὐτούς ὅπως καρωθῶσιν καὶ ὑπνώσωσιν ὕπνον αἰώνιον καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐγερθῶσι λέγει κύριος 40 καταβιβάσω αὐτοὺς ὡς ἄρνας εἰς σφαγὴν καὶ ὡς κριοὺς με{T'} ἐρίφων 41 πῶς ἑάλω καὶ ἐθηρεύθη τὸ καύχημα πάσης τῆς γῆς πῶς ἐγένετο Βαβυλὼν εἰς ἀφανισμὸν ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν 42 ἀνέβη ἐπὶ Βαβυλῶνα ἡ θάλασσα ἐν ἤχῳ κυμάτων αὐτῆς καὶ κατεκαλύφθη 43 ἐγενήθησαν αἱ πόλεις αὐτῆς γῆ ἄνυδρος καὶ ἄβατος οὐ κατοικήσει ἐν αὐτῇ οὐδὲ εἷς οὐδὲ μὴ καταλύσῃ ἐν αὐτῇ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου 44 καὶ ἐκδικήσω ἐπὶ Βαβυλῶνα καὶ ἐξοίσω ἃ κατέπιεν ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτῆς καὶ οὐ μὴ συναχθῶσιν πρὸς αὐτὴν ἔτι τὰ ἔθνη

34 Nabuchodonosor king of Babylon, how he has preyed on me, feasted on me, left me but an empty shell; a devouring monster that with kernel fills his maw, throws husk away! 35 Thus Sion, for her torn flesh, thus Jerusalem, for her blood spilt, arraigns Babylon and all yonder Chaldaean folk; 36 and now the Lord of hosts promises to maintain their quarrel, to redress their wrongs. I will turn her sea into desert sand, he tells you, dry up her flow of waters; 37 Babylon shall remain a heap of ruins, a lair for serpents, a thing of wonder and derision, and never a soul to dwell in it. 38 What though they rage like roaring lion, like young lion that tosses his mane? 39 I have a medicine for this thirst of theirs, to bemuse them and steal away their senses; they shall sleep on, the Lord says, with that eternal sleep from which there is no waking. 40 Never was lamb led to the slaughter-house, never ram or buck-goat, so unsuspecting. 41 Sesach[4] taken, the paragon of kingdoms fallen! Babylon turned into a sight of horror for all the world to see! 42 Babylon foundered and gone, the waste waves closing over her! 43 All her cities a picture of desolation, an empty desert, uninhabited, untrodden by mortal foot. 44 Bel, too, the God of Babylon, I will call to account, and make him disgorge his treasures; no more shall pilgrims flock into his temple from distant lands; Babylon’s defences are down.

34
Comedit me, devoravit me Nabuchodonosor rex Babylonis:
reddidit me quasi vas inane,
absorbuit me quasi draco,
replevit ventrem suum teneritudine mea, et ejecit me. 35
Iniquitas adversum me
et caro mea super Babylonem,
dicit habitatio Sion:
et sanguis meus super habitatores Chaldææ, dicit Jerusalem. 36
Propterea hæc dicit Dominus:
Ecce ego judicabo causam tuam,
et ulciscar ultionem tuam:
et desertum faciam mare ejus,
et siccabo venam ejus. 37
Et erit Babylon in tumulos,
habitatio draconum, stupor et sibilus,
eo quod non sit habitator. 38
Simul ut leones rugient;
excutient comas veluti catuli leonum. 39
In calore eorum ponam potus eorum,
et inebriabo eos ut sopiantur,
et dormiant somnum sempiternum,
et non consurgant, dicit Dominus. 40
Deducam eos quasi agnos ad victimam,
et quasi arietes cum hædis. 41
Quomodo capta est Sesach,
et comprehensa est inclyta universæ terræ!
quomodo facta est in stuporem Babylon inter gentes! 42
Ascendit super Babylonem mare:
multitudine fluctuum ejus operta est. 43
Factæ sunt civitates ejus in stuporem,
terra inhabitabilis et deserta,
terra in qua nullus habitet,
nec transeat per eam filius hominis. 44
Et visitabo super Bel in Babylone,
et ejiciam quod absorbuerat de ore ejus:
et non confluent ad eum ultra gentes,
siquidem et murus Babylonis corruet.

45 46

45 You that are my own people, separate yourselves from her, flee all of you from the Lord’s venegeance; 46 else you shall be ever faint with alarms,[5] ever daunted by the news that reaches you, each year a fresh rumour of wrongs done in this land, of rulers struggling for preeminence.

45
Egredimini de medio ejus, populus meus,
ut salvet unusquisque animam suam ab ira furoris Domini, 46
et ne forte mollescat cor vestrum,
et timeatis auditum qui audietur in terra:
et veniet in anno auditio,
et post hunc annum auditio,
et iniquitas in terra,
et dominator super dominatorem.

47 48 49 καὶ ἐν Βαβυλῶνι πεσοῦνται τραυματίαι πάσης τῆς γῆς 50 ἀνασῳζόμενοι ἐκ γῆς πορεύεσθε καὶ μὴ ἵστασθε οἱ μακρόθεν μνήσθητε τοῦ κυρίου καὶ Ιερουσαλημ ἀναβήτω ἐπὶ τὴν καρδίαν ὑμῶν

47 A time is coming when I mean to have a reckoning with the idols of Babylon; the land will learn that they have played it false, when corpses lie thick in the heart of it. 48 Heaven and earth, and all they contain, will be triumphing over Babylon, says the Lord, as they see the spoilers marching against her from the north country; 49 through Babylon so many slain in Israel, of Babylon so many slain, in every corner of their land! 50 Come, linger not, you that have escaped the sword; exiled far away, bethink you still of the Lord, still let the thought of Jerusalem return to your hearts.

47
Propterea ecce dies veniunt,
et visitabo super sculptilia Babylonis,
et omnis terra ejus confundetur,
et universi interfecti ejus cadent in medio ejus. 48
Et laudabunt super Babylonem cæli et terra,
et omnia quæ in eis sunt:
quia ab aquilone venient ei prædones, ait Dominus. 49
Et quomodo fecit Babylon,
ut caderent occisi in Israël,
sic de Babylone
cadent occisi in universa terra. 50
Qui fugistis gladium, venite,
nolite stare:
recordamini procul Domini,
et Jerusalem ascendat super cor vestrum.

51 ᾐσχύνθημεν ὅτι ἠκούσαμεν ὀνειδισμὸν ἡμῶν κατεκάλυψεν ἀτιμία τὸ πρόσωπον ἡμῶν εἰσῆλθον ἀλλογενεῖς εἰς τὰ ἅγια ἡμῶν εἰς οἶκον κυρίου

51 Alas, we are all confusion; what taunts we must listen to, shame-faced, now that the Lord’s holy temple by alien intruders is defiled![6]

51
Confusi sumus, quoniam audivimus opprobrium:
operuit ignominia facies nostras,
quia venerunt alieni super sanctificationem domus Domini.

52 διὰ τοῦτο ἰδοὺ ἡμέραι ἔρχονται λέγει κύριος καὶ ἐκδικήσω ἐπὶ τὰ γλυπτὰ αὐτῆς καὶ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ γῇ αὐτῆς πεσοῦνται τραυματίαι 53 ὅτι ἐὰν ἀναβῇ Βαβυλὼν ὡς ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ὅτι ἐὰν ὀχυρώσῃ ὕψος ἰσχύος αὐτῆς πα{R'} ἐμοῦ ἥξουσιν ἐξολεθρεύοντες αὐτήν λέγει κύριος 54 φωνὴ κραυγῆς ἐν Βαβυλῶνι καὶ συντριβὴ μεγάλη ἐν γῇ Χαλδαίων 55 ὅτι ἐξωλέθρευσεν κύριος τὴν Βαβυλῶνα καὶ ἀπώλεσεν ἀ{P'} αὐτῆς φωνὴν μεγάλην ἠχοῦσαν ὡς ὕδατα πολλά ἔδωκεν εἰς ὄλεθρον φωνὴν αὐτῆς 56 ὅτι ἦλθεν ἐπὶ Βαβυλῶνα ταλαιπωρία ἑάλωσαν οἱ μαχηταὶ αὐτῆς ἐπτόηται τὸ τόξον αὐτῶν ὅτι θεὸς ἀνταποδίδωσιν αὐτοῖς κύριος ἀνταποδίδωσιν αὐτῇ τὴν ἀνταπόδοσιν 57 καὶ μεθύσει μέθῃ τοὺς ἡγεμόνας αὐτῆς καὶ τοὺς σοφοὺς αὐτῆς καὶ τοὺς στρατηγοὺς αὐτῆς λέγει ὁ βασιλεύς κύριος παντοκράτωρ ὄνομα αὐτῷ

52 A time is coming, the Lord says, when I mean to have a reckoning with those false gods of hers. Everywhere in Chaldaea there shall be wounded men a-groaning; 53 let Babylon scale the skies, fortify her walls heaven-high, they shall yet find their way in, the spoilers that do my errand, the Lord says. 54 Babylon shall be all lament, Chaldaea a crash of ruin; 55 the mighty stir of the city will be drowned, when the Lord lays it waste, by the surge of armies, wave upon wave, and the noise of their shouting. 56 The spoiler has come upon Babylon; her warriors are caught in a trap, their bows are useless now; the Lord’s vengeance is irresistible, and he pays full measure. 57 Bemused they shall be, prince and councillor and chieftain and ruler and warrior; all shall sleep eternally the sleep from which there is no waking; such is the decree of that King whose name is the Lord of hosts.

52
Propterea ecce dies veniunt, ait Dominus,
et visitabo super sculptilia ejus,
et in omni terra ejus mugiet vulneratus. 53
Si ascenderit Babylon in cælum,
et firmaverit in excelso robur suum,
a me venient vastatores ejus, ait Dominus. 54
Vox clamoris de Babylone,
et contritio magna de terra Chaldæorum: 55
quoniam vastavit Dominus Babylonem,
et perdidit ex ea vocem magnam:
et sonabunt fluctus eorum quasi aquæ multæ;
dedit sonitum vox eorum: 56
quia venit super eam, id est super Babylonem, prædo,
et apprehensi sunt fortes ejus,
et emarcuit arcus eorum,
quia fortis ultor Dominus reddens retribuet. 57
Et inebriabo principes ejus, et sapientes ejus,
et duces ejus, et magistratus ejus, et fortes ejus:
et dormient somnum sempiternum,
et non expergiscentur, ait Rex
(Dominus exercituum nomen ejus).

58 τάδε λέγει κύριος τεῖχος Βαβυλῶνος ἐπλατύνθη κατασκαπτόμενον κατασκαφήσεται καὶ αἱ πύλαι αὐτῆς αἱ ὑψηλαὶ ἐμπυρισθήσονται καὶ οὐ κοπιάσουσιν λαοὶ εἰς κενόν καὶ ἔθνη ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐκλείψουσιν

58 That wide wall of Babylon, says the Lord of hosts, shall be dismantled at last, those high gates burnt. So men labour for nothing; so the toil of nations perishes in the fire.[7]

58
Hæc dicit Dominus exercituum:
Murus Babylonis ille latissimus suffossione suffodietur,
et portæ ejus excelsæ igni comburentur,
et labores populorum ad nihilum,
et gentium in ignem erunt, et disperibunt.

59 ὁ λόγος ὃν ἐνετείλατο κύριος Ιερεμια τῷ προφήτῃ εἰπεῖν τῷ Σαραια υἱῷ Νηριου υἱοῦ Μαασαιου ὅτε ἐπορεύετο παρὰ Σεδεκιου βασιλέως Ιουδα εἰς Βαβυλῶνα ἐν τῷ ἔτει τῷ τετάρτῳ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ καὶ Σαραιας ἄρχων δώρων 60 καὶ ἔγραψεν Ιερεμιας πάντα τὰ κακά ἃ ἥξει ἐπὶ Βαβυλῶνα ἐν βιβλίῳ ἑνί πάντας τοὺς λόγους τούτους τοὺς γεγραμμένους ἐπὶ Βαβυλῶνα 61 καὶ εἶπεν Ιερεμιας πρὸς Σαραιαν ὅταν ἔλθῃς εἰς Βαβυλῶνα καὶ ὄψῃ καὶ ἀναγνώσῃ πάντας τοὺς λόγους τούτους 62 καὶ ἐρεῖς κύριε κύριε σὺ ἐλάλησας ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον τοῦτον τοῦ ἐξολεθρεῦσαι αὐτὸν καὶ τοῦ μὴ εἶναι ἐν αὐτῷ κατοικοῦντας ἀπὸ ἀνθρώπου ἕως κτήνους ὅτι ἀφανισμὸς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ἔσται 63 καὶ ἔσται ὅταν παύσῃ τοῦ ἀναγινώσκειν τὸ βιβλίον τοῦτο καὶ ἐπιδήσεις ἐ{P'} αὐτὸ λίθον καὶ ῥίψεις αὐτὸ εἰς μέσον τοῦ Εὐφράτου 64 καὶ ἐρεῖς οὕτως καταδύσεται Βαβυλὼν καὶ οὐ μὴ ἀναστῇ ἀπὸ προσώπου τῶν κακῶν ὧν ἐγὼ ἐπάγω ἐ{P'} αὐτήν

59 And now Jeremias had an errand for Saraias, son of Nerias, son of Maasias. When king Sedecias departed to Babylon, in the fourth year of his reign, Saraias went with him as his principal spokesman.[8] 60 Jeremias had written down on a single scroll all the doom that was to befall Babylon, all the prophecy against Babylon aforegoing. 61 When thou reachest Babylon, he told Saraias, be sure thou readest all this. 62 And say, in reading it: Lord, thou dost threaten this place with destruction; man nor beast shall dwell there, it shall lie desolate for ever. 63 Then, when thou hast finished reading the scroll, tie a stone to it and sink it in the midst of Euphrates; 64 and this add: Thus Babylon shall sink, and rise no more out of the calamity I mean to bring upon it; Babylon shall melt away.[9] Here ends the prophecy of Jeremias.

59 Verbum quod præcepit Jeremias propheta Saraiæ filio Neriæ filii Maasiæ, cum pergeret cum Sedecia rege in Babylonem, in anno quarto regni ejus: Saraias autem erat princeps prophetiæ. 60 Et scripsit Jeremias omne malum quod venturum erat super Babylonem, in libro uno: omnia verba hæc quæ scripta sunt contra Babylonem. 61 Et dixit Jeremias ad Saraiam: Cum veneris in Babylonem, et videris, et legeris omnia verba hæc, 62 dices: Domine, tu locutus es contra locum istum, ut disperderes eum, ne sit qui in eo habitet, ab homine usque ad pecus, et ut sit perpetua solitudo. 63 Cumque compleveris legere librum istum, ligabis ad eum lapidem, et projicies illum in medium Euphraten, 64 et dices: Sic submergetur Babylon, et non consurget a facie afflictionis quam ego adduco super eam, et dissolvetur. Hucusque verba Jeremiæ.

[1] The Hebrew letters of this word form a cipher equivalent for the name ‘Chaldaea’.

[2] vv. 15-19. These verses are repeated from 10.12-16; it is not easy to see how they are relevant in their present context.

[3] Some think Babylon itself is addressed, as having been previously the instrument of the divine vengeance. But it seems better to understand the passage as referring to king Cyrus, like verse 11 above and verse 28 below.

[4] As in 25.26, a cipher name for Babylon.

[5] Literally, ‘and lest you should (continue to) be faint-hearted’. The common rendering ‘And do not be faint with alarms’ does not suit the context; escape would make alarm unnecessary.

[6] This verse is generally understood as a protest from the exiles, who dare not return to Judaea from a sense of shame. But its appearance here is curiously inappropriate, and some suspect that, through accident, it has been misplaced.

[7] The second half of this verse is also found in Hab. 2.13.

[8] According to the Hebrew text, ‘his chief of resting-place’, perhaps in the sense of quartermaster.

[9] The words ‘Babylon shall melt away’ represent what is probably an error of copying in the Hebrew text.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd