1 Then the bones of the dead kings of Judah and their officials will be dug up, along with the bones of the priests, the prophets, and everyone else in Jerusalem 2 who loved and worshiped the sun, moon, and stars. These bones will be scattered and left lying on the ground like trash, where the sun and moon and stars can shine on them.
3 Some of you people of Judah will be left alive, but I will force you to go to foreign countries, and you will wish you were dead. I, the Lord God All-Powerful, have spoken.
The People Took the Wrong Road
4 The Lord said:
People of Jerusalem,
when you stumble and fall,
you get back up,
and if you take a wrong road,
you turn around and go back.
5 So why do you refuse
to come back to me?
Why do you hold so tightly
to your false gods?
6 I listen carefully,
but none of you admit
that you've done wrong.
Without a second thought,
you run down the wrong road
like horses running blindly
into battle.
7 Storks, doves, swallows,
and thrushes
all know when it's time
to fly away for the winter
and when to come back.
But you, my people,
don't know what I demand.
8 You say, “We are wise
because we have the teachings
and laws of the Lord.”
But I say that your teachers
have turned my words
into lies!
9 Your wise men
have rejected what I say,
and so they have no wisdom.
Now they will be trapped
and put to shame;
they won't know what to do.
10 I'll give their wives and fields
to strangers.
Everyone is greedy and dishonest,
whether poor or rich.
Even the prophets and priests
cannot be trusted.
11 All they ever offer
to my deeply wounded people
are empty hopes for peace.
12 They should be ashamed
of the way they live,
but they don't even blush.
And so, when I punish Judah,
they will end up on the ground,
dead like everyone else.
13 I will wipe them out.
They are vines without grapes;
fig trees without figs or leaves.
They have not done a thing
that I told them!
I, the Lord, have spoken.
The People and Their Punishment
14 The people of Judah
say to each other,
“What are we waiting for?
Let's run to a town with walls
and die there.
We rebelled against the Lord,
and we were sentenced to die
by drinking poison.
15 We had hoped for peace
and a time of healing,
but all we got was terror.
16 Our enemies have reached
the town of Dan in the north,
and the snorting of their horses
makes us tremble with fear.
The enemy will destroy Jerusalem
and our entire nation.
No one will survive.”
17 “Watch out!” the Lord says.
“I'm sending poisonous snakes
to attack you,
and no one can stop them.”
Jeremiah Mourns for His People
18 I'm burdened with sorrow
and feel like giving up.
19 In a foreign land
my people are crying.
Listen! You'll hear them say,
“Has the Lord deserted Zion?
Is he no longer its king?”
I hear the Lord reply,
“Why did you make me angry
by worshiping useless idols?”
20 The people complain,
“Spring and summer
have come and gone,
but still the Lord
hasn't rescued us.”
21 My people are crushed,
and so is my heart.
I am horrified and mourn.
22 If medicine and doctors
may be found in Gilead,
why aren't my people healed?
1 “ǁNā ǁaeb ain ge ǂkhōgu Judab gao-aogu digu, ǂkhōgu gaosagu digu, ǂkhōgu pristergu digu tsî ǂkhōgu kēbo-aogu digu tsî ǂkhōgu Jerusalems ǁanǂgāsaben digu tsîna ǀhobadi âna xu nî ūǂui”
tib ge ǃKhūba ra mî.2 “Tsîn ge ǁîga sores tsî ǁkhâb tsî hoaraga ǀhommi ǂnubis ǁîsan ge kaise ǀnam i tsî gere ǃoabas, ǁîsan gere saoǃgon, ǀape-ôa-ai tsî ǀgoreǀîs aiǃâ nî ǃāǁgui. ǁÎgu ge ǀhaoǀhaohe tamas ka io ǁkhōhe tide, xawe ǀarub hîa ra ǁgoemab khami nî ī. 3 Tsî ǁōb ge ûib ǃgâ-ai hoan xa nî ǁhûihe, nē ǂkhaba ǃhaosa xu ra ûiǃgaun xa, hoa ǃkhaidi ǁîdi ǃoa ta ǁîna nî doeǁgaǂuidi ǃnâ”
tib ge ǃKhūba ra mî.ǁOreb tsî ǁkharab
4 O du ge ǁîn ǃoa nî mî: “Nētib ge ǃKhūba ra mî: ‘Khoena kha ǁnā tsî ǁkhawa khâi tama hâ? Kān ka on ǁkhawa dabasen tama hâ?’ 5 O tare-i ǃaromas ǁnâi nē ǁaes Jerusalems disa hâhâ ra ǁnāǁgôadi ǁga ra ǁnāǁgôa? ǁÎn ge gāxaǃnâsiba ǃkhōǀgaipe tsî ǃhobasensa ra ǂkhā. 6 ǂŌrisase ǃgâ tsî ta ge ge ǁnâu amaban ǃhoa tama ǃkhaisa; ǀgui-i tsîn ge ǁoreb â-i ǂama ǃhausen tama hâ. ǀGui-i tsîn ge ‘Tare-e ta kha dī hâ?’ ti mî tama hâ. Mâ-i hoa-i ge ǂâis tsîna hî tamase, hā-i ǃkhams ǃnâ hâ-i khami ǃgarise tita xu ra ǃkhoebē. 7 Oefari ǀhommi ǃnâ hâb tsîn ge ǂnûibaheb hâ ǁaeba a ǂan, ǂnais, swabeli tsî ǃgoaxareb on ge hās di ǁaeba a ǂan, xawe ti ǁaes ge ǂhanub ǃKhūb diba a ǀū. 8 Mâti du ǁnâi ‘Sida ge a gā-ai, ǂhanub ǃKhūb diba da ūhâ amaga’ ti nî mî amabes ǃnâb ǂkhaba xoaǃammi xoaǂansegu diba ǁîsa ǂhumib ase ge dī hîa? 9 Gā-ain ge nî taotaohe, ǁîn ge ǃhuri hâ tsî ǃkhōsis ǃnâ ūhe hâ. Mû ǁîn ge ǃKhūb mîsa ge ǂhara; o mâ gā-aisi-e ǁîn ǃnâ hâ ǁkhā? 10 ǁNā-amaga ta ge ǁîgu tarade ǀnî aoga mā tsî ǁîgu ǃhūba ǀasa ǀhonkhoena nî mā, kain tsî ǂkharin hoan ge a xūǃgunuxa, kēbo-aoba xu pristeri kōsen ge a ǂhanuoǃnâ. 11 ǁÎn ge ti ǁaes di ôas ǀhapisa supuse ǂuruǂuru tsî ‘ǂKhîb, ǂkhîb’ ti ra mî, ǂkhî-i ǀkhai hîa. 12 Taon ra xare ǁgaiǁgaisa dīgu ân ǂama? Hî-î, ǁîn ge tao tama hâ; ǁîn ge tao-i xare-e a ǀū. ǁNā-amaga du ge naun ǀkha ge īs ǁkhās khami nî ǁnā; ǁîn ǁkharab di ǁaeb ain ge nî ǁnā,”
tib ge ǃKhūba ra mî.13 “Amase ta ga ti ǁaesa ǀhaoǀhao ǂgao, o draibe-i xare-e draibehais ai hâ i nî, tsî ǁkhāti ǀnomana ǀnomahais ai hân nî? Tita ge ǁîna mān hoan ge ǁîna xu nî ūbēhe”
tib ge ǃKhūba ra mî.14 “Tare-i ǃaroma da kha ǁūse ǂnôa? ǀHao, î da omǂnamisa ǃādi ǁga ǃhū, ǁnāpa nî sī ǁōse. ǃKhūb sida Elob kom ǁōb ǃoa ǀgoraǃgâ tsî ǃgāxa ǁgamma ge āsi dao, ǁîb ǃoagu da ge ǁore xui-ao. 15 Sida ge ǂkhîba ra ǃâubasen, xawe i ge ǃgâi-i xare-e hā tama hâ; ǂuruǂurus ǁaeba, xaweb ge ǃhurib ǀguiba hâ. 16 Hān âb di ǃkharub ge ǀnai Dansa xu ra ǁnâuhe; āb hāgu dib di ǀōb xab ge hoaraga ǃhūba ge ǂgubi. Khākhoeb ge hā tsî sada ǃhūb tsî ǁîb ǃnâ hân, ǃās tsî ǁîs ǃnâ ǁan hâna ra hapu.”
17 “Mû tita ge sadu ǁaegu ǀaona nî sî, ǁkhaehe ǁoana, tsîn ge ǁîna nî nâ du”
tib ge ǃKhūba ra mî.Jeremiab ge khoen âb ǂama ra ǃoa
18 Ti ǃoab ge a ǂuruǂuruhe ǁoa;
ǂgaob âtab ge ti ǃnâ ǂkhabu hâ.
19 ǁNâu, āb ti ǁaes diba ǃnū ǃhūba xu!
“ǃKhūba kha Sions ǃnâ a ǀkhai?
Sions gao-aoba ǃaruǀî nēpa a ǀkhai?”
“Tare-i ǃaroman ǁîna tita ǁaixa ta nîse ge ǁgoa,
ǃgaoǂuisa īga ǃoabas tsî ǁîn di ǃhao elon ǀkha?”
tib ge ǃKhūb, ǁîn gao-aoba ra dî.
20 “ǃGaos ǁaeb ge go ǃkharu, ǁkhunaǁaeb ge go ǀam,
xawe da ge ganupe orehe tama hâ.”
21 Ti ôas ǁaes di khôaǂkhūs ǂama ta ge tsû hâ;
ǃoab ǃnâ ta ge hâ;
ǃhurib ge ǃkhō te hâ.
22 Balsam-e kha Gilead ǃnâ hâ tama i hâ?
ǂGauǂgau-ao-e kha ǁnāpa a ǀkhai?
Tare-i ǃaromasa ǁnâi ti ôas di ǁaes ǂgau tamasa?
