Jeremiæ 18

VULGATA	NEW AMERICAN BIBLE
1 Verbum quod factum est ad Jeremiam a Domino, dicens :	1 This word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
2 Surge, et descende in domum figuli, et ibi audies verba mea.	2 Rise up, be off to the potter's house; there I will give you my message.
3 Et descendi in domum figuli, et ecce ipse faciebat opus super rotam.	3 I went down to the potter's house and there he was, working at the wheel.
4 Et dissipatum est vas quod ipse faciebat e luto manibus suis : conversusque fecit illud vas alterum, sicut placuerat in oculis ejus ut faceret.	4 Whenever the object of clay which he was making turned out badly in his hand, he tried again, making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.
5 Et factum est verbum Domini ad me, dicens :	5 Then the word of the Lord came to me:
6 Numquid sicut figulus iste, non potero vobis facere, domus Israël ? ait Dominus : ecce sicut lutum in manu figuli, sic vos in manu mea, domus Israël.	6 Can I not do to you, house of Israel, as this potter has done? says the LORD. Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, house of Israel.
7 Repente loquar adversum gentem et adversus regnum, ut eradicem, et destruam, et disperdam illud :	7 Sometimes I threaten to uproot and tear down and destroy a nation or a kingdom.
8 si pœnitentiam egerit gens illa a malo suo quod locutus sum adversus eam, agam et ego pœnitentiam super malo quod cogitavi ut facerem ei.	8 But if that nation which I have threatened turns from its evil, I also repent of the evil which I threatened to do.
9 Et subito loquar de gente et de regno, ut ædificem et plantem illud.	9 Sometimes, again, I promise to build up and plant a nation or a kingdom.
10 Si fecerit malum in oculis meis, ut non audiat vocem meam, pœnitentiam agam super bono quod locutus sum ut facerem ei.	10 But if that nation does what is evil in my eyes, refusing to obey my voice, I repent of the good with which I promised to bless it.
11 Nunc ergo dic viro Juda, et habitatoribus Jerusalem, dicens : Hæc dicit Dominus : Ecce ego fingo contra vos malum, et cogito contra vos cogitationem : revertatur unusquisque a via sua mala, et dirigite vias vestras et studia vestra.	11 And now, tell this to the men of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem: Thus says the LORD: Take care! I am fashioning evil against you and making a plan. Return, each of you, from his evil way; reform your ways and your deeds.
12 Qui dixerunt : Desperavimus : post cogitationes enim nostras ibimus, et unusquisque pravitatem cordis sui mali faciemus.	12 But they will say, "No use! We will follow our own devices; each one of us will behave according to the stubbornness of his evil heart!"
13 Ideo hæc dicit Dominus : Interrogate gentes : Quis audivit talia horribilia, quæ fecit nimis virgo Israël ?	13 Therefore thus says the LORD: Ask among the nations- who has ever heard the like? Truly horrible things has virgin Israel done!
14 Numquid deficiet de petra agri nix Libani ? aut evelli possunt aquæ erumpentes frigidæ, et defluentes ?	14 Does the snow of Lebanon desert the rocky heights? Do the gushing waters dry up that flow fresh down the mountains?
15 Quia oblitus est mei populus meus, frustra libantes, et impingentes in viis suis, in semitis sæculi, ut ambularent per eas in itinere non trito,	15 Yet my people have forgotten me: they burn incense to a thing that does not exist. They stumble out of their ways, the paths of old, To travel on bypaths, not the beaten track.
16 ut fieret terra eorum in desolationem, et in sibilum sempiternum : omnis qui præterierit per eam obstupescet, et movebit caput suum.	16 Their land shall be turned into a desert, an object of lasting ridicule: All passers-by will be amazed, will shake their heads.
17 Sicut ventus urens dispergam eos coram inimico : dorsum, et non faciem, ostendam eis in die perditionis eorum.	17 Like the east wind, I will scatter them before their enemies; I will show them my back, not my face, in their day of disaster.
18 Et dixerunt : Venite, et cogitemus contra Jeremiam cogitationes : non enim peribit lex a sacerdote, neque consilium a sapiente, nec sermo a propheta : venite, et percutiamus eum lingua, et non attendamus ad universos sermones ejus.	18 "Come," they said, "let us contrive a plot against Jeremiah. It will not mean the loss of instruction from the priests, nor of counsel from the wise, nor of messages from the prophets. And so, let us destroy him by his own tongue; let us carefully note his every word."
19 Attende, Domine, ad me, et audi vocem adversariorum meorum.	19 Heed me, O LORD, and listen to what my adversaries say.
20 Numquid redditur pro bono malum, quia foderunt foveam animæ meæ ? Recordare quod steterim in conspectu tuo ut loquerer pro eis bonum, et averterem indignationem tuam ab eis.	20 Must good be repaid with evil that they should dig a pit to take my life? Remember that I stood before you to speak in their behalf, to turn away your wrath from them.
21 Propterea da filios eorum in famem, et deduc eos in manus gladii : fiant uxores eorum absque liberis, et viduæ : et viri earum interficiantur morte : juvenes eorum confodiantur gladio in prælio :	21 So now, deliver their children to famine, do away with them by the sword. Let their wives be made childless and widows; let their men die of pestilence, their young men be slain by the sword in battle.
22 audiatur clamor de domibus eorum : adduces enim super eos latronem repente, quia foderunt foveam ut caperent me, et laqueos absconderunt pedibus meis.	22 May cries be heard from their homes, when suddenly you send plunderers against them. For they have dug a pit to capture me, they have hid snares for my feet;
23 Tu autem, Domine, scis omne consilium eorum adversum me in mortem : ne propitieris iniquitati eorum, et peccatum eorum a facie tua non deleatur : fiant corruentes in conspectu tuo ; in tempore furoris tui abutere eis.	23 But you, O LORD, know all their plans to slay me. Forgive not their crime, blot not out their sin in your sight! Let them go down before you, proceed against them in the time of your anger.