حوار مع الرب
1 عادِلٌ أنتَ يا ربُّ وإنْ حاجَجْتُكَ لكِنِّي أُكَلِّمُكَ بِما هوَ حَقٌّ. لماذا تَنجَحُ طريقُ الأشرارِ ويَسعَدُ الغادِرونَ جميعا؟ 2 أنتَ غرَسْتَهُم فتَأصَّلوا ونَمَوا وأثمَروا. أنتَ قريـبٌ مِنْ أفواهِهِم وبعيدٌ عَنْ قُلوبِهِم. 3 أنتَ عرَفتَني ورَأيتَني وامتَحنتَ قلبـي نحوكَ. أفرِزْهُم كغَنَمٍ لِلذَّبحِ، وخَصِّصْهُم لِـيومِ القَتْلِ.
4 إلى متى تَنوحُ الأرضُ ويَيـبَسُ العُشْبُ في كُلِّ حَقلٍ وتَهلِكُ البَهائِمُ والطُّيورُ مِنْ شَرِّ السَّاكنينَ فيها، القائِلينَ: اللهُ لا يرَى ما نَفعَلُ؟
5 تَجري معَ المُشاةِ فتَتعَبُ، فكَيفَ تُسابِقُ الفُرسانَ؟ وإنْ كُنتَ تَتعَبُ في أرضِ الأمانِ، فكَيفَ تَفعَلُ في غَورِ الأردُنِّ؟ 6 إنْ كانَ إخوتُكَ وأهلُ بَيتِ أبـيكَ يَغدُرونَ بِكَ ويَصرُخونَ ورَاءَكَ بِملءِ أفواهِهِم، فكَيفَ تَأتَمِنُهُم إذا كَلَّموكَ بِالخيرِ؟
7 تَركتُ بَيتي وهَجَرْتُ أرضي، وسلَّمتُ مَحبوبَتي إلى أيدي أعدائِها 8 صارَ لي شعبـي كأسدٍ في الغابةِ، رفَعَ عليَّ صوتَهُ فكَرِهتُهُ. 9 أيكونُ شعبـي طَيرا مُلَوَّنَ الرِّيشِ تُهاجِمُهُ الطُّيورُ الكاسِرةُ مِنْ كُلِّ جِهَةٍ؟ هيَّا تَجَمَّعي يا جميعَ وحوشِ الصَّحراءِ وتعالَي اشتَركي في الوليمةِ!
10 رُعاةٌ كثيرونَ أفسَدوا كَرْمي وداسوا ميراثي الخَصيـبَ وجعَلوهُ قَفْرا خَرِبا. 11 جعَلوهُ خَرابا وعُرضَةً لِلنُّواحِ. صارَ خَرابا. الأرضُ كُلُّها خَرابٌ لأنَّ لا أحدَ يَهتَمُّ بِها في قلبِهِ. 12 على جميعِ الرَّوابـي في البرِّيَّةِ زحَفَ النَّاهبونَ، لأنَّ لِلرّبِّ سيفا يأكلُ مِنْ أقصى الأرضِ إلى أقصاها، ولا سلامٌ لأحدٍ.
13 زَرَعوا حِنطَةً فحَصَدوا شَوكا، تَعِبوا وما انتَفَعوا. تَلِفَت غَلاَّتُهُم لأنَّ الرّبَّ مِنْ حِدَّةِ غضَبِهِ حرَمَهُم مِنها.
وعيد الرب لجيران إسرائيل
14 وقالَ الرّبُّ على الجيرانِ الأشرارِ الّذينَ يعتَدونَ على الأرضِ الّتي أعطاها لِشعبِهِ إسرائيلَ: «سأقتَلِعُهُم مِنْ أرضِهِم وأقتَلِـعُ بَيتَ يَهوذا مِنْ بَينِهِم. 15 وبَعدَ أنْ أقتَلِعَهُم أعودُ وأرحَمُهُم وأُعيدُهُم كُلا إلى ميراثِهِ وإلى أرضِهِ. 16 فإنْ تَعَلَّموا جيِّدا طُرُقَ شعبـي وحَلَفوا بِاسمي حَيٌّ هوَ الرّبُّ كما عَلَّموا شعبـي أن يَحلِفوا بِالبَعلِ، فهُم يُقيمونَ في وسَطِ شعبـي. 17 وإلاَّ فإنِّي أقتَلِعُهُمُ اقتِلاعا وأبـيدُهُم يقولُ الرّبُّ».
Jeremiah Questions the Lord
1 “Lord, if I argued my case with you,
you would prove to be right.
Yet I must question you about matters of justice.
Why are the wicked so prosperous?
Why do dishonest people succeed?
2 You plant them, and they take root;
they grow and bear fruit.
They always speak well of you,
yet they do not really care about you.
3 But, Lord, you know me;
you see what I do
and how I love you.
Drag these evil people away like sheep to be butchered;
guard them until it is time for them to be slaughtered.
4 How long will our land be dry,
and the grass in every field be withered?
Animals and birds are dying
because of the wickedness of our people,
people who say, ‘God doesn't see what we are doing.’”
5 The Lord said,
“Jeremiah, if you get tired racing against people,
how can you race against horses?
If you can't even stand up in open country,
how will you manage in the jungle by the Jordan?
6 Even your relatives, members of your own family, have betrayed you;
they join in the attacks against you.
Do not trust them, even though they speak friendly words.”
The Lord's Sorrow because of His People
7 The Lord says,
“I have abandoned Israel;
I have rejected my chosen nation.
I have given the people I love
into the power of their enemies.
8 My chosen people have turned against me;
like a lion in the forest
they have roared at me,
and so I hate them.
9 My chosen people are like a bird
attacked from all sides by hawks.
Call the wild animals
to come and join in the feast!
10 Many foreign rulers have destroyed my vineyard;
they have trampled down my fields;
they have turned my lovely land into a desert.
11 They have made it a wasteland;
it lies desolate before me.
The whole land has become a desert,
and no one cares.
12 Across all the desert highlands
people have come to plunder.
I have sent war to destroy the entire land;
no one can live in peace.
13 My people planted wheat, but gathered weeds;
they have worked hard, but got nothing for it.
Because of my fierce anger
their crops have failed.”
The Lord's Promise to Israel's Neighbors
14 The Lord says, “I have something to say about Israel's neighbors who have ruined the land I gave to my people Israel. I will take those wicked people away from their countries like an uprooted plant, and I will rescue Judah from them. 15 But after I have taken them away, I will have mercy on them; I will bring each nation back to its own land and to its own country. 16 If with all their hearts they will accept the religion of my people and will swear, ‘As the Lord lives’—as they once taught my people to swear by Baal—then they will also be a part of my people and will prosper. 17 But if any nation will not obey, then I will completely uproot it and destroy it. I, the Lord, have spoken.”