The Sacred Bible: The Lamentations of Jeremiah
[Lamentationes Prologus]
[Lamentations Prologue]
{P:1} Et factum est, postquam in captivitatem redactus est Israel, et Ierusalem deserta est,
{P:1} And it happened that, after Israel was driven into captivity, and Jerusalem was deserted,
~ The Prologue to Lamentations is sacred and canonical, inspired and infallible, just like the rest of the book. The Council of Trent infallibly declared that the Latin Vulgate Bible, with all its parts, is sacred and canonical. The Latin Vulgate Bible includes a Prologue for Lamentations. Therefore, the Prologue is sacred and canonical.
{P:2} sedit Ieremias propheta flens, et planxit lamentatione hac in Ierusalem,
{P:2} the prophet Jeremiah sat weeping, and he wailed this lamentation in Jerusalem.
{P:3} et amaro animo suspirans, et eiulans dixit:
{P:3} And sighing with a bitter soul, and mourning, he said:
[Lamentationes 1]
[Lamentations 1]
{1:1} ALEPH. Quomodo sedet sola civitas plena populo: facta est quasi vidua domina Gentium: princeps provinciarum facta est sub tributo.
{1:1} ALEPH. O how a city once filled with people now sits alone! The Governess of the Gentiles has become like a widow. The Prince of the provinces has been placed under tribute.
{1:2} BETH. Plorans ploravit in nocte, et lacrymæ eius in maxillis eius: non est qui consoletur eam et omnibus charis eius: omnes amici eius spreverunt eam, et facti sunt ei inimici.
{1:2} BETH. Weeping, she has wept through the night, and her tears are on her cheeks. There is no one to be a comfort to her and to all her beloved. All her friends have spurned her, and they have become her enemies.
{1:3} GHIMEL. Migravit Iudas propter afflictionem, et multitudinem servitutis: habitavit inter gentes, nec invenit requiem: omnes persecutores eius apprehenderunt eam inter angustias.
{1:3} GHIMEL. Judah has migrated because of affliction and great servitude. She has lived among the nations and not found rest. All of her persecutors have apprehended her, amid torments.
{1:4} DALETH. Viæ Sion lugent eo quod non sint qui veniant ad sollemnitatem: omnes portæ eius destructæ: sacerdotes eius gementes: virgines eius squalidæ, et ipsa oppressa amaritudine.
{1:4} DALETH. The pathways of Zion mourn, because there are none who approach for the solemnity. All her gates are destroyed. Her priests groan. Her virgins are filthy. And she is overwhelmed with bitterness.
{1:5} HE. Facti sunt hostes eius in capite, inimici eius locupletati sunt: quia Dominus locutus est super eam propter multitudinem iniquitatum eius: parvuli eius ducti sunt in captivitatem ante faciem tribulantis.
{1:5} HE. Her enemies have been made her leaders; her adversaries have been enriched. For the Lord has spoken against her, because of the multitude of her iniquities. Her little ones have been led into captivity before the face of the tribulator.
~ A Tribulator is one who brings tribulation. This term fits the Antichrist.
{1:6} VAU. Et egressus est a filia Sion omnis decor eius: facti sunt principes eius velut arietes non invenientes pascua: et abierunt absque fortitudine ante faciem subsequentis.
{1:6} VAU. And all her elegance has departed, from the daughter of Zion. Her leaders have become like rams that cannot find pasture, and they have gone away without strength before the face of the pursuer.
{1:7} ZAIN. Recordata est Ierusalem dierum afflictionis suæ, et prævaricationis omnium desiderabilium suorum, quæ habuerat a diebus antiquis, cum caderet populus eius in manu hostili, et non esset auxiliator: viderunt eam hostes, et deriserunt Sabbata eius.
{1:7} ZAIN. Jerusalem has remembered the days of her affliction and the betrayal of all her desirable ones, whom she held from the days of antiquity, when her people fell into the hand of the enemy, and there was no one to be a helper. The enemies have looked upon her and mocked her Sabbaths.
{1:8} HETH. Peccatum peccavit Ierusalem, propterea instabilis facta est: omnes, qui glorificabant eam, spreverunt illam, quia viderunt ignominiam eius: ipsa autem gemens conversa est retrorsum.
{1:8} HETH. Jerusalem has sinned a grievous sin. Because of this, she has become unstable. All who glorified her have spurned her, because they have looked upon her disgrace. Then she groaned and turned away again.
~ The repetitiveness of “Peccatum peccavit” indicates intensity, so the translation is ‘grievous sin.’
{1:9} TETH. Sordes eius in pedibus eius, nec recordata est finis sui: deposita est vehementer, non habens consolatorem: vide Domine afflictionem meam, quoniam erectus est inimicus.
{1:9} TETH. Her filth is on her feet, and her end has not been remembered. She has been vehemently put down, having no consolation. O Lord, look upon my affliction, for the adversary has been lifted up.
{1:10} IOD. Manum suam misit hostis ad omnia desiderabilia eius: quia vidit Gentes ingressas sanctuarium suum, de quibus præceperas ne intrarent in ecclesiam tuam.
{1:10} JOD. The enemy has sent his hand against all her desirable ones. For she has watched the Gentiles enter her sanctuary, even though you instructed that they should not enter into your church.
{1:11} CAPH. Omnis populus eius gemens, et quærens panem: dederunt pretiosa quæque pro cibo ad refocillandam animam. Vide Domine et considera, quoniam facta sum vilis.
{1:11} CAPH. All her people are groaning and seeking bread. They have given up whatever was precious in exchange for food, so as to remain alive. See, O Lord, and consider, for I have become vile.
{1:12} LAMED. O vos omnes, qui transitis per viam, attendite, et videte si est dolor sicut dolor meus: quoniam vindemiavit me ut locutus est Dominus in die iræ furoris sui.
{1:12} LAMED. O all you who pass by the way, attend, and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow. For he has made me a vintage, just as the Lord has spoken in the day of his furious anger.
{1:13} MEM. De excelso misit ignem in ossibus meis, et erudivit me: expandit rete pedibus meis, convertit me retrorsum: posuit me desolatam, tota die mœrore confectam.
{1:13} MEM. From on high, he has sent fire into my bones, and he has educated me. He has spread a net for my feet; he has turned me back. He has placed me in desolation, consumed by grief, all day long.
{1:14} NUN. Vigilavit iugum iniquitatum mearum: in manu eius convolutæ sunt, et impositæ collo meo: Infirmata est virtus mea: dedit me Dominus in manu, de qua non potero surgere.
{1:14} NUN. Vigilant is the yoke of my iniquities. They have been folded together in his hand and imposed on my neck. My virtue has been weakened. The Lord has given me into a hand, out of which I am not able to rise.
{1:15} SAMECH. Abstulit omnes magnificos meos Dominus de medio mei: vocavit adversum me tempus, ut contereret electos meos: torcular calcavit Dominus virgini filiæ Iuda.
{1:15} SAMECH. The Lord has taken away all of my great ones from my midst. He has called forth time against me, so as to crush my elect ones. The Lord has trampled the winepress, which was for the virgin daughter of Judah.
{1:16} AIN. Idcirco ego plorans, et oculus meus deducens aquas: quia longe factus est a me consolator, convertens animam meam: facti sunt filii mei perditi, quoniam invaluit inimicus.
{1:16} AIN. For this I weep, and my eyes bring forth water. For the consoler has been far away from me, changing my soul. My sons have become lost, because the enemy has prevailed.
{1:17} PHE. Expandit Sion manus suas, non est qui consoletur eam: mandavit Dominus adversum Iacob in circuitu eius hostes eius: facta est Ierusalem quasi polluta menstruis inter eos.
{1:17} PHE. Zion has reached out her hands; there is no one to console her. The Lord has given orders against Jacob; his enemies are all around him. Jerusalem among them is like a woman made unclean by menstruation.
{1:18} SADE. Iustus est Dominus, quia os eius ad iracundiam provocavi. Audite obsecro universi populi, et videte dolorem meum: virgines meæ, et iuvenes mei abierunt in captivitatem.
{1:18} SADE. The Lord is just, for it is I who has provoked his mouth to wrath. I beg all people to listen and to see my sorrow. My virgins and my youths have gone into captivity.
{1:19} COPH. Vocavi amicos meos, et ipsi deceperunt me: sacerdotes mei, et senes mei in urbe consumpti sunt: quia quæsierunt cibum sibi ut refocillarent animam suam.
{1:19} COPH. I called for my friends, but they deceived me. My priests and my elders have been consumed in the city. For they were seeking their food, so as to revive their life.
{1:20} RES. Vide Domine quoniam tribulor: conturbatus est venter meus, subversum est cor meum in memetipsa, quoniam amaritudine plena sum. Foris interfecit gladius, et domi mors similis est.
{1:20} RES. See, O Lord, that I am in tribulation. My bowels have been disturbed, my heart has been subverted within me, for I am filled with bitterness. Outside, the sword puts to death, and at home there is a similar death.
{1:21} SIN. Audierunt quia ingemisco ego, et non est qui consoletur me: omnes inimici mei audierunt malum meum lætati sunt, quoniam tu fecisti: adduxisti diem consolationis, et fient similes mei.
{1:21} SIN. They have heard that I groan and that there is no one to console me. All my enemies have heard of my misfortune; they have rejoiced that you caused it. You have brought in a day of consolation, and so they shall become like me.
{1:22} THAU. Ingrediatur omne malum eorum coram te: et vindemia eos sicut vindemiasti me propter omnes iniquitates meas: multi enim gemitus mei, et cor meum mœrens.
{1:22} THAU. Let all their evil enter before you. And make vintage of them, just as you made vintage of me, because of all my iniquities. For my sighs are many, and my heart is grieving.
[Lamentationes 2]
[Lamentations 2]
{2:1} ALEPH. Quomodo obtexit caligine in furore suo Dominus filiam Sion: proiecit de cælo in terram inclytam Israel, et non est recordatus scabelli pedum suorum in die furoris sui.
{2:1} ALEPH. O how the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion with gloom in his fury! O how he has thrown down from heaven to earth the famous one of Israel, and he has not remembered his footstool in the day of his fury.
{2:2} BETH. Præcipitavit Dominus, nec pepercit, omnia speciosa Iacob: destruxit in furore suo muntiones virginis Iuda, et deiecit in terram: polluit regnum, et principes eius.
{2:2} BETH. The Lord has cast down, and he has not been lenient, with all the beauties of Jacob. In his fury, he has destroyed the fortifications of the virgin of Judah, and he has thrown them down to the ground. He has polluted the kingdom and its leaders.
{2:3} GHIMEL. Confregit in ira furoris sui omne cornu Israel: avertit retrorsum dexteram suam a facie inimici: et succendit in Iacob quasi ignem flammæ devorantis in gyro:
{2:3} GHIMEL. In the anger of his fury, he has broken the entire horn of Israel. He has drawn back his right hand before the face of the enemy. And he has kindled within Jacob a flaming fire, devouring all around.
~ In the English translation, fire is clearly a metaphor; therefore, the word ‘quasi’ in Latin does not need a corresponding word in the translation. It’s meaning is already present in the English.
{2:4} DALETH. Tetendit arcum suum quasi inimicus, firmavit dexteram suam quasi hostis: et occidit omne, quod pulchrum erat visu in tabernaculo filiæ Sion, effudit quasi ignem indignationem suam.
{2:4} DALETH. He has bent his bow like an enemy. He has fixed his right hand like an adversary. And he has cut down all that was beautiful to behold in the tabernacle of the daughter of Zion. He has poured out his indignation like fire.
{2:5} HE. Factus est Dominus velut inimicus: præcipitavit Israel, præcipitavit omnia mœnia eius: dissipavit munitiones eius, et replevit in filia Iuda humiliatum et humiliatam.
{2:5} HE. The Lord has become like an enemy. He has thrown down Israel. He has thrown down all of his defenses. He has torn apart his fortifications. And he has filled the daughter of Judah with humbled men and humbled women.
{2:6} VAU. Et dissipavit quasi hortum tentorium suum, demolitus est tabernaculum suum: oblivioni tradidit Dominus in Sion festivitatem, et Sabbatum: et in opprobrium, et in indignationem furoris sui regem, et sacerdotem.
{2:6} VAU. And he has torn apart her tent like a garden. He has demolished her tabernacle. In Zion, the Lord has delivered feast and Sabbath into oblivion, and king and priest into disgrace, and into the indignation of his fury.
{2:7} ZAIN. Repulit Dominus altare suum, maledixit sanctificationi suæ: tradidit in manu inimici muros turrium eius: vocem dederunt in domo Domini, sicut in die solemni.
{2:7} ZAIN. The Lord has pushed away his own altar. He has cursed his own sanctuary. He has delivered the walls of its towers into the hand of the enemy. They have made a noise in the house of the Lord, as if on the day of a solemnity.
{2:8} HETH. Cogitavit Dominus dissipare murum filiæ Sion: tetendit funiculum suum, et non avertit manum suam a perditione: luxitque antemurale, et murus pariter dissipatus est.
{2:8} HETH. The Lord has decided to tear down the wall of the daughter of Zion. He has stretched out his measuring line, and he has not turned away his hand from perdition. And the rampart has mourned, and with the wall it has been torn apart.
{2:9} TETH. Defixæ sunt in terra portæ eius: perdidit, et contrivit vectes eius: regem eius et principes eius in Gentibus: non est lex, et prophetæ eius non invenerunt visionem a Domino.
{2:9} TETH. Her gates have been buried in the ground. He has ruined and crushed its bars. Her king and her princes are with the Gentiles. There is no law, and her prophets have found no vision from the Lord.
{2:10} IOD. Sederunt in terra, conticuerunt senes filiæ Sion: consperserunt cinere capita sua, accincti sunt ciliciis, abiecerunt in terram capita sua virgines Ierusalem.
{2:10} JOD. The elders of the daughter of Zion have become idle; they sit on the ground. They have sprinkled their heads with ashes. They have been wrapped with haircloth. The virgins of Jerusalem have cast their heads down to the ground.
{2:11} CAPH. Defecerunt præ lacrymis oculi mei, conturbata sunt viscera mea: effusum est in terra iecur meum super contritione filiæ populi mei, cum deficeret parvulus, et lactens in plateis oppidi.
{2:11} CAPH. My eyes have exhausted their tears. My internal organs have become disturbed. My liver has been poured out on the earth, over the grief of the daughter of my people, when the little ones and the infants passed away in the streets of the town.
{2:12} LAMED. Matribus suis dixerunt: Ubi est triticum et vinum? cum deficerent quasi vulnerati in plateis civitatis: cum exhalarent animas suas in sinu matrum suarum.
{2:12} LAMED. They said to their mothers, “Where is the wheat and the wine?” when they fell like the wounded in the streets of the city, when they breathed out their lives into the bosoms of their mothers.
{2:13} MEM. Cui comparabo te? vel cui assimilabo te filia Ierusalem? cui exæquabo te, et consolabor te virgo filia Sion? magna est enim velut mare contritio tua: quis medebitur tui?
{2:13} MEM. To what shall I compare you, or to what shall I liken you, O daughter of Jerusalem? To what shall I equate you, so as to console you, O virgin daughter of Zion? For your destruction is as great as the sea. Who will cure you?
{2:14} NUN. Prophetæ tui viderunt tibi falsa, et stulta, nec aperiebant iniquitatem tuam, ut te ad pœnitentiam provocarent: viderunt autem tibi assumptiones falsas, et eiectiones.
{2:14} NUN. Your prophets have seen false and foolish things for you. And they have not laid open your iniquity, so as to provoke you to repentance. Yet they have seen for you false revelations and banishments.
{2:15} SAMECH. Plauserunt super te manibus omnes transeuntes per viam: sibilaverunt, et moverunt caput suum super filiam Ierusalem: Hæccine est urbs, dicentes, perfecti decoris, gaudium universæ terræ?
{2:15} SAMECH. All those who passed by the way have clapped their hands over you. They have hissed and shook their heads over the daughter of Jerusalem, saying, “Is this the city of perfect dignity, the joy of all the earth?”
{2:16} PHE. Aperuerunt super te os suum omnes inimici tui: sibilaverunt, et fremuerunt dentibus, et dixerunt: Devorabimus: en ista est dies, quam expectabamus: invenimus, vidimus.
{2:16} PHE. All your enemies have opened their mouth over you. They have hissed and gnashed their teeth, and they said: “We will devour her. Yes, this is the day we waited for. We have found it, we have seen it.”
~ The dangling preposition in this quote is justified because that is the way that people talk. Phrasing it as “This is the day for which we waited” is awkward and provides no additional insights or benefits (other than adhering to a minor grammatical rule). The Bible text itself, in any language, often violates rules of grammar and composition.
{2:17} AIN. Fecit Dominus quæ cogitavit, complevit sermonem suum, quem præceperat a diebus antiquis: destruxit, et non pepercit, et lætificavit super te inimicum, et exaltavit cornu hostium tuorum.
{2:17} AIN. The Lord has done what he decided to do. He has fulfilled his word, which he instructed since the days of antiquity. He has destroyed, and he has not been lenient, and he has caused the enemy to rejoice over you, and he has exalted the horn of your adversaries.
{2:18} SADE. Clamavit cor eorum ad Dominum super muros filiæ Sion: Deduc quasi torrentem lacrymas per diem, et noctem: non des requiem tibi neque taceat pupilla oculi tui.
{2:18} SADE. Their heart cried out to the Lord from the walls of the daughter of Zion. Let tears run down like a torrent throughout the day and the night. Do not give rest to yourself, and do not allow the pupil of your eye to cease.
{2:19} COPH. Consurge, lauda in nocte in principio vigiliarum: effunde sicut aquam cor tuum ante conspectum Domini: leva ad eum manus tuas pro anima parvulorum tuorum, qui defecerunt in fame in capite omnium compitorum.
{2:19} COPH. Rise up. Give praise in the night, in the first of the watches. Pour out your heart like water before the sight of the Lord. Lift up your hands to him on behalf of the souls of your little ones, who have passed away from famine at the head of all the crossroads.
{2:20} RES. Vide Domine, et considera quem vindemiaveris ita: ergone comedent mulieres fructum suum, parvulos ad mensuram palmæ? si occiditur in sanctuario Domini sacerdos, et propheta?
{2:20} RES. O Lord, see and consider those whom you have made into such a vintage. So then, shall women eat their own fruit, little ones measured by the palm of the hand? Shall priest and prophet be killed in the sanctuary of the Lord?
{2:21} SIN. Iacuerunt in terra foris puer, et senex: virgines meæ, et iuvenes mei ceciderunt in gladio: interfecisti in die furoris tui: percussisti, nec misertus es.
{2:21} SIN. The boy and the old man lie down on the ground outside. My virgins and my youths have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of your fury. You have struck down, and you have not shown pity.
{2:22} THAU. Vocasti quasi ad diem sollemnem, qui terrerent me de circuitu, et non fuit in die furoris Domini qui effugeret, et relinqueretur: quos educavi, et enutrivi, inimicus meus consumpsit eos.
{2:22} THAU. You have called, as if to a day of solemnity, those who would terrify me all around. And there was no one, in the day of the fury of the Lord, who escaped or was left behind. Those whom I educated and nourished, my enemy has consumed.
[Lamentationes 3]
[Lamentations 3]
{3:1} ALEPH. Ego vir videns paupertatem meam in virga indignationis eius.
{3:1} ALEPH. I am a man watching my own poverty by the rod of his indignation.
~ The man is Jerusalem personified, or the nation of Israel personified. In Lamentations, the text sometimes uses the first person singular as if Jerusalem were speaking.
{3:2} ALEPH. Me minavit, et adduxit in tenebras, et non in lucem.
{3:2} ALEPH. He has driven me and led me into darkness, and not into light.
{3:3} ALEPH. Tantum in me vertit, et convertit manum suam tota die.
{3:3} ALEPH. Against me only, he has turned and turned again his hand, all day long.
{3:4} BETH. Vetustam fecit pellem meam, et carnem meam, contrivit ossa mea.
{3:4} BETH. My skin and my flesh, he has made old; he has crushed my bones.
{3:5} BETH. Ædificavit in gyro meo, et circumdedit me felle, et labore.
{3:5} BETH. He has built all around me, and he has encircled me with gall and hardship.
{3:6} BETH. In tenebrosis collocavit me, quasi mortuos sempiternos.
{3:6} BETH. He has gathered me into darkness, like those who are forever dead.
{3:7} GHIMEL. Circumædificavit adversum me, ut non egrediar: aggravavit compedem meum.
{3:7} GHIMEL. He has built against me all around, so that I may not depart. He has increased the burden of my confinement.
~ Or, more literally, ‘He has aggravated my shackles.’ The repeated references to building around ‘me,’ i.e. the city of Jerusalem, indicate that the city, in the future will have very many buildings, businesses, and homes built around it, as far as the eye can see. It also indicates the metaphor of siege works being built around the city, for the city of Jerusalem, and the Faith, will be as if under siege from the surrounding secular society, culture, and politics.
{3:8} GHIMEL. Sed et cum clamavero, et rogavero, exclusit orationem meam.
{3:8} GHIMEL. Yet even when I cry out and beg, he excludes my prayer.
{3:9} GHIMEL. Conclusit vias meas lapidibus quadris, semitas meas subvertit.
{3:9} GHIMEL. He has enclosed my ways with square stones; he has subverted my paths.
{3:10} DALETH. Ursus insidians factus est mihi: leo in absconditis.
{3:10} DALETH. He has become to me like a bear lying in ambush, like a lion in hiding.
{3:11} DALETH. Semitas meas subvertit, et confregit me: posuit me desolatam.
{3:11} DALETH. He has subverted my paths, and he has broken me. He has placed me in desolation.
{3:12} DALETH. Tetendit arcum suum, et posuit me quasi signum ad sagittam.
{3:12} DALETH. He has bent his bow, and he has positioned me like a target for his arrows.
{3:13} HE. Misit in renibus meis filias pharetræ suæ.
{3:13} HE. He has shot into my kidneys the daughters of his quiver.
~ The kidneys are symbolic of one’s temperament.
{3:14} HE. Factus sum in derisum omni populo meo, canticum eorum tota die.
{3:14} HE. I have become a derision to all my people, their song throughout the day.
{3:15} HE. Replevit me amaritudinibus, inebriavit me absynthio.
{3:15} HE. He has filled me with bitterness; he has inebriated me with wormwood.
{3:16} VAU. Et fregit ad numerum dentes meos, cibavit me cinere.
{3:16} VAU. And he has broken each one of my teeth; he has fed me with ashes.
{3:17} VAU. Et repulsa est a pace anima mea, oblitus sum bonorum.
{3:17} VAU. And my soul has been driven away from peace; I have forgotten what is good.
{3:18} VAU. Et dixi: Periit finis meus, et spes mea a Domino.
{3:18} VAU. And I said, “My end and my hope from the Lord has perished.”
{3:19} ZAIN. Recordare paupertatis, et transgressionis meæ, absinthii, et fellis.
{3:19} ZAIN. Remember my poverty and my transgression, the wormwood and the gall.
{3:20} ZAIN. Memoria memor ero, et tabescet in me anima mea.
{3:20} ZAIN. I will call to mind the past, and my soul shall languish within me.
{3:21} ZAIN. Hæc recolens in corde meo, ideo sperabo.
{3:21} ZAIN. These recollections are in my heart; therefore, I shall hope.
{3:22} HETH. Misericordiæ Domini quia non sumus consumpti: quia non defecerunt miserationes eius.
{3:22} HETH. By the mercies of the Lord, we are not consumed. For his compassion has not passed away.
{3:23} HETH. Novi diluculo, multa est fides tua.
{3:23} HETH. I know it at first light; great is your faithfulness.
{3:24} HETH. Pars mea Dominus, dixit anima mea: propterea expectabo eum.
{3:24} HETH. “The Lord is my portion,” said my soul. Because of this, I will wait for him.
{3:25} TETH. Bonus est Dominus sperantibus in eum, animæ quærenti illum.
{3:25} TETH. The Lord is good to those who hope in him, to the soul that seeks him.
{3:26} TETH. Bonum est præstolari cum silentio salutare Dei.
{3:26} TETH. It is good to stand ready in silence for the salvation of God.
{3:27} TETH. Bonum est viro, cum portaverit iugum ab adolescentia sua.
{3:27} TETH. It is good for a man, when he has carried the yoke from his youth.
{3:28} IOD. Sedebit solitarius, et tacebit: quia levavit super se.
{3:28} JOD. He shall sit solitary and silent. For he has lifted it upon himself.
{3:29} IOD. Ponet in pulvere os suum, si forte sit spes.
{3:29} JOD. He shall place his mouth in the dirt, if perhaps there may be hope.
{3:30} IOD. Dabit percutienti se maxillam, saturabitur opprobriis.
{3:30} JOD. He shall give his cheek to those who strike him; he shall be saturated with reproaches.
{3:31} CAPH. Quia non repellet in sempiternum Dominus.
{3:31} CAPH. For the Lord will not rebuke forever.
{3:32} CAPH. Quia si abiecit, et miserebitur secundum multitudinem misericordiarum suarum.
{3:32} CAPH. For, if he has cast down, he will also have compassion, according to the multitude of his mercies.
{3:33} CAPH. Non enim humiliavit ex corde suo, et abiecit filios hominum,
{3:33} CAPH. For he has not humiliated from his heart, nor has he thrown aside the sons of men,
{3:34} LAMED. Ut conteret sub pedibus suis omnes vinctos terræ,
{3:34} LAMED. as if to crush under his feet all the prisoners of the land,
{3:35} LAMED. Ut declinaret iudicium viri in conspectu vultus Altissimi.
{3:35} LAMED. as if to turn aside the judgment of a man in the sight of the presence of the Most High,
{3:36} LAMED. Ut perverteret hominem in iudicio suo, Dominus ignoravit.
{3:36} LAMED. as if to pervert a man in his judgment: the Lord does not do this.
~ The Lord is ignorant of such things, in the sense that He does not do them. A lack of action is a type of ignorance, as when the Virgin Mary said that she did not know man.
{3:37} MEM. Quis est iste, qui dixit ut fieret, Domino non iubente?
{3:37} MEM. Who is this, who said to do what the Lord did not command?
{3:38} MEM. Ex ore Altissimi non egredientur nec mala nec bona?
{3:38} MEM. Does not both misfortune and good proceed from the mouth of the Most High?
{3:39} MEM. Quid murmuravit homo vivens, vir pro peccatis suis?
{3:39} MEM. Why has a living man murmured, a man suffering for his sins?
{3:40} NUN. Scrutemur vias nostras, et quæramus, et revertamur ad Dominum.
{3:40} NUN. Let us examine our ways, and seek out, and return to the Lord.
{3:41} NUN. Levemus corda nostra cum manibus ad Dominum in cælos.
{3:41} NUN. Let us lift up our hearts, with our hands, toward the Lord in the heavens.
{3:42} NUN. Nos inique egimus, et ad iracundiam provocavimus: idcirco tu inexorabilis es.
{3:42} NUN. We have acted sinfully, and we have provoked to wrath. About this, you are relentless.
{3:43} SAMECH. Operuisti in furore, et percussisti nos: occidisti, nec pepercisti.
{3:43} SAMECH. You have covered us in your fury, and you have struck us. You have killed, and have not spared.
{3:44} SAMECH. Opposuisti nubem tibi, ne transeat oratio.
{3:44} SAMECH. You have set a cloud opposite you, lest our prayer pass through.
{3:45} SAMECH. Eradicationem, et abiectionem posuisti me in medio populorum.
{3:45} SAMECH. In the midst of the peoples, you have uprooted me and cast me out.
~ Or, more literally, ‘You have set me as refuse and as an outcast in the midst of the people.’
{3:46} PHE. Aperuerunt super nos os suum omnes inimici.
{3:46} PHE. All our enemies have opened their mouths over us.
{3:47} PHE. Formido, et laqueus facta est nobis vaticinatio, et contritio.
{3:47} PHE. Prediction has become for us a dread, and a snare, and a grief.
{3:48} PHE. Divisiones aquarum deduxit oculus meus, in contritione filiæ populi mei.
{3:48} PHE. My eye has brought forth streams of water at the contrition of the daughter of my people.
{3:49} AIN. Oculus meus afflictus est, nec tacuit, eo quod non esset requies,
{3:49} AIN. My eye has been afflicted, and it has not been quieted, because there would be no rest
{3:50} AIN. Donec respiceret et videret Dominus de cælis.
{3:50} AIN. until the Lord looked down and saw from the heavens.
{3:51} AIN. Oculus meus deprædatus est animam meam in cunctis filiabus urbis meæ.
{3:51} AIN. My eye has exhausted my soul over every one of the daughters of my city.
~ The daughters of the city are the smaller town and cities related to Jerusalem.
{3:52} SADE. Venatione ceperunt me quasi avem inimici mei gratis.
{3:52} SADE. My enemies have chased me, and they have caught me like a bird, without reason.
{3:53} SADE. Lapsa est in lacum vita mea, et posuerunt lapidem super me.
{3:53} SADE. My life has fallen into a pit, and they have placed a stone over me.
{3:54} SADE. Inundaverunt aquæ super caput meum: dixi: Perii.
{3:54} SADE. The waters have flooded over my head. I said, “I am lost.”
{3:55} COPH. Invocavi nomen tuum Domine de lacu novissimo.
{3:55} COPH. I called upon your name, O Lord, from the furthest pit.
{3:56} COPH. Vocem meam audisti: ne avertas aurem tuam a singultu meo, et clamoribus.
{3:56} COPH. You have heard my voice. Do not turn away your ear from my sobbing and my cries.
{3:57} COPH. Appropinquasti in die, quando invocavi te: dixisti: Ne timeas.
{3:57} COPH. You drew near in the daytime, when I called upon you. You said, “Fear not.”
{3:58} RES. Iudicasti Domine causam animæ meæ, Redemptor vitæ meæ.
{3:58} RES. You have judged, O Lord, the case of my soul. You are the Redeemer of my life.
{3:59} RES. Vidisti Domine iniquitatem illorum adversum me: iudica iudicium meum.
{3:59} RES. You have seen, O Lord, their iniquity against me. Judge my case.
{3:60} RES. Vidisti omnem furorem, universas cogitationes eorum adversum me.
{3:60} RES. You have seen all their fury, every one of their thoughts is against me.
{3:61} SIN. Audisti opprobrium eorum Domine, omnes cogitationes eorum adversum me:
{3:61} SIN. You have heard their reproach, O Lord, all their thoughts are against me.
{3:62} SIN. Labia insurgentium mihi; et meditationes eorum adversum me tota die.
{3:62} SIN. The lips of those who rise up against me, and their meditations, are against me all day long.
{3:63} SIN. Sessionem eorum, et resurrectionem eorum vide, ego sum psalmus eorum.
{3:63} SIN. Watch their sitting down and their rising up: I am their psalm.
{3:64} THAU. Redes eis vicem Domine iuxta opera manuum suarum.
{3:64} THAU. You shall pay a recompense to them, O Lord, according to the works of their hands.
{3:65} THAU. Dabis eis scutum cordis laborem tuum.
{3:65} THAU. You shall give them a heavy shield of the heart: your hardship.
{3:66} THAU. Persequeris in furore, et conteres eos sub cælis Domine.
{3:66} THAU. You shall pursue them in fury, and you shall destroy them under the heavens, O Lord.
[Lamentationes 4]
[Lamentations 4]
{4:1} ALEPH. Quomodo obscuratum est aurum, mutatus est color optimus, dispersi sunt lapides sanctuarii in capite omnium platearum.
{4:1} ALEPH. O how the gold has become dulled, the finest color has been altered, the stones of the sanctuary have been scattered at the head of every street.
{4:2} BETH. Filii Sion inclyti, et amicti auro primo: quomodo reputati sunt in vasa testea, opus manuum figuli?
{4:2} BETH. The famous sons of Zion, and those clothed with the foremost gold: how they have become like earthen vessels, the work of the hands of a potter.
{4:3} GHIMEL. Sed et lamiæ nudaverunt mammam, lactaverunt catulos suos: filia populi mei crudelis, quasi struthio in deserto.
{4:3} GHIMEL. Yet even savages expose their breast and give milk to their young. But the daughter of my people is cruel, like the ostrich in the desert.
~ The daughter of my people is Jerusalem, which has become cruel because it no longer gives milk to its children. Even savages (beasts or people) do so, but ostriches do not.
{4:4} DALETH. Adhæsit lingua lactentis ad palatum eius in siti: parvuli petierunt panem, et non erat qui frangeret eis.
{4:4} DALETH. The tongue of the infant adheres to his palate out of thirst. The little ones have asked for bread, and there was no one to break it for them.
{4:5} HE. Qui vescebantur voluptuose, interierunt in viis: qui nutriebantur in croceis, amplexati sunt stercora.
{4:5} HE. Those who were fed indulgently have passed away in the roads. Those who were nourished with saffron have welcomed filth.
~ The word ‘croceis’ refers to the rare and expensive spice saffron. Those nourished with expensive foods, have now welcomed filthy food.
{4:6} VAU. Et maior effecta est iniquitas filiæ populi mei peccato Sodomorum, quæ subversa est in momento, et non ceperunt in ea manus.
{4:6} VAU. And the iniquity of the daughter of my people has been made greater than the sin of Sodom, which was overthrown in a moment, and yet hands did not take captives in her.
{4:7} ZAIN. Candidiores Nazaræi eius nive, nitidiores lacte, rubicundiores ebore antiquo, sapphiro pulchriores.
{4:7} ZAIN. Her Nazirites were whiter than snow, shinier than milk, more ruddy than ancient ivory, more beautiful than sapphire.
{4:8} HETH. Denigrata est super carbones facies eorum, et non sunt cogniti in plateis: adhæsit cutis eorum ossibus: aruit, et facta est quasi lignum.
{4:8} HETH. Their face has been blacked more than coals, and they are not recognized in the streets. Their skin has adhered to their bones; it dried out and became like wood.
{4:9} TETH. Melius fuit occisis gladio, quam interfectis fame: quoniam isti extabuerunt consumpti a sterilitate terræ.
{4:9} TETH. It was better for those slain by the sword, than for those put to death by famine. For these waste away, being consumed by the sterility of the land.
{4:10} IOD. Manus mulierum misericordium coxerunt filios suos: facti sunt cibus earum in contritione filiæ populi mei.
{4:10} JOD. The hands of pitiable women have boiled their sons. They became their food in the grief of the daughter of my people.
{4:11} CAPH. Complevit Dominus furorem suum, effudit iram indignationis suæ: et succendit ignem in Sion, et devoravit fundamenta eius.
{4:11} CAPH. The Lord has completed his fury; he has poured out the wrath of his indignation. And he has kindled a fire in Zion, and it has devoured its foundations.
{4:12} LAMED. Non crediderunt reges terræ, et universi habitatores orbis, quoniam ingrederetur hostis et inimicus per portas Ierusalem:
{4:12} LAMED. The kings of the earth, and all the inhabitants of the world, did not believe that the adversary and the enemy would enter through the gates of Jerusalem.
~ The adversary and the enemy are the Antichrist and the false prophet.
{4:13} MEM. Propter peccata prophetarum eius, et iniquitates sacerdotum eius, qui effuderunt in medio eius sanguinem iustorum.
{4:13} MEM. It is because of the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her priests, who have shed the blood of the just in her midst.
{4:14} NUN. Erraverunt cæci in plateis, polluti sunt in sanguine: cumque non possent, tenuerunt lacinias suas.
{4:14} NUN. They have wandered in the streets like the blind; they have been defiled with blood. And when they were not able, they held their garments.
{4:15} SAMECH. Recedite polluti, clamaverunt eis: recedite, abite, nolite tangere: iurgati quippe sunt, et commoti dixerunt inter Gentes: Non addet ultra ut habitet in eis.
{4:15} SAMECH. “Go back, you polluted ones!” they cried out to them. “Go back, go away, do not touch!” Of course, they argued, and being removed, they said among the Gentiles, “He will no longer dwell among them.”
{4:16} PHE. Facies Domini divisit eos, non addet ut respiciat eos: facies sacerdotum non erubuerunt, neque senum miserti sunt.
{4:16} PHE. The face of the Lord has divided them. He will no longer respect them. They were not ashamed before the faces of the priests, nor did they take pity on the elderly.
{4:17} AIN. Cum adhuc subsisteremus, defecerunt oculi nostri ad auxilium nostrum vanum, cum respiceremus attenti ad gentem, quæ salvare non poterat.
{4:17} AIN. While we were still standing, our eyes failed, expecting help for us in vain, when we looked attentively toward a nation that was not able to save.
{4:18} SADE. Lubricaverunt vestigia nostra in itinere platearum nostrarum, appropinquavit finis noster: completi sunt dies nostri, quia venit finis noster.
{4:18} SADE. Our footsteps have slipped on the paths of our own streets. Our end draws near. Our days have been completed, for our end has arrived.
{4:19} COPH. Velociores fuerunt persecutores nostri aquilis cæli: super montes persecuti sunt nos, in deserto insidiati sunt nobis.
{4:19} COPH. Our persecutors have been swifter than the eagles of the sky. They have been pursuing us above the mountains; they have lain in wait for us in the desert.
{4:20} RES. Spiritus oris nostri Christus Dominus captus est in peccatis nostris: cui diximus: In umbra tua vivemus in Gentibus.
{4:20} RES. The spirit of our mouth, Christ the Lord, has been captured by our sins; to him, we said, “In your shadow, we will live among the Gentiles.”
{4:21} SIN. Gaude, et lætare filia Edom, quæ habitas in Terra Hus: ad te quoque perveniet calix, inebriaberis, atque nudaberis.
{4:21} SIN. Be glad and rejoice, O daughter of Edom, who dwells in the Land of Uz. The cup will also pass to you; you will be inebriated as well as naked.
{4:22} THAU. Completa est iniquitas tua filia Sion, non addet ultra ut transmigret te: visitavit iniquitatem tuam filia Edom, discooperuit peccata tua.
{4:22} THAU. Your iniquity has been completed, O daughter of Zion. He will no longer send you away to captivity. He has visited your iniquity, O daughter of Edom; he has uncovered your sins.
[Lamentationes 5]
[Lamentations 5]
{5:1} Recordare Domine quid acciderit nobis: intuere, et respice opprobrium nostrum.
{5:1} Remember, O Lord, what has befallen us. Consider and look kindly upon our disgrace.
{5:2} Hæreditas nostra versa est ad alienos: domus nostræ ad extraneos.
{5:2} Our inheritance has been turned over to foreigners; our houses to outsiders.
{5:3} Pupilli facti sumus absque patre, matres nostræ quasi viduæ.
{5:3} We have become orphans without a father; our mothers are like widows.
{5:4} Aquam nostram pecunia bibimus: ligna nostra pretio comparavimus.
{5:4} We paid for our drinking water. We acquired our wood for a price.
{5:5} Cervicibus nostris minabamur, lassis non dabatur requies.
{5:5} We were dragged by our necks. Being weary, no rest was given to us.
{5:6} Ægypto dedimus manum, et Assyriis ut saturaremur pane.
{5:6} We have given our hand to Egypt and to the Assyrians, so that we may be satisfied with bread.
{5:7} Patres nostri peccaverunt, et non sunt: et nos iniquitates eorum portavimus.
{5:7} Our fathers have sinned, and are not. And we have carried their iniquities.
{5:8} Servi dominati sunt nostri: non fuit qui redimeret de manu eorum.
{5:8} Servants have become rulers over us. There was no one to redeem us from their hand.
{5:9} In animabus nostris afferebamus panem nobis, a facie gladii in deserto.
{5:9} We obtained our bread at the risk of our lives, before the face of the sword, in the wilderness.
{5:10} Pellis nostra, quasi clibanus exusta est a facie tempestatum famis.
{5:10} Our skin was burned, as if by an oven, before the face of the tempest of the famine.
{5:11} Mulieres in Sion humiliaverunt, et virgines in civitatibus Iuda.
{5:11} They humiliated the women in Zion and the virgins in the cities of Judah.
{5:12} Principes manu suspensi sunt: facies senum non erubuerunt.
{5:12} The leaders were suspended by their hand. They were not ashamed before the faces of the elders.
{5:13} Adolescentibus impudice abusi sunt: et pueri in ligno corruerunt.
{5:13} They have sexually abused the adolescents, and the children were corrupted in the wood.
~ The verb ‘abusi sunt’ generally refers to any type of strongly abusive treatment (not merely harassment). And the word ‘impudice’ has a strong sexual connotation. Therefore, the phrase refers to sexual abuse.
{5:14} Senes defecerunt de portis: iuvenes de choro psallentium.
{5:14} The elders have ceased from the gates, the youths from the choir of the psalms.
{5:15} Defecit gaudium cordis nostri: versus est in luctum chorus noster.
{5:15} The gladness of our heart has failed, our singing has been turned into mourning.
{5:16} Cecidit corona capitis nostri: væ nobis, quia peccavimus.
{5:16} The crown has fallen from our head. Woe to us, for we have sinned.
{5:17} Propterea mœstum factum est cor nostrum, ideo contenebrati sunt oculi nostri.
{5:17} Because of this, our heart became gloomy; for this reason, our eyes have been darkened:
{5:18} Propter montem Sion quia disperiit, vulpes ambulaverunt in eo.
{5:18} because of mount Zion, because it was ruined. Foxes have wandered upon it.
{5:19} Tu autem Domine in æternum permanebis, solium tuum in generationem et generationem.
{5:19} But you, O Lord, shall remain for eternity, your throne from generation to generation.
{5:20} Quare in perpetuum oblivisceris nostri? derelinques nos in longitudine dierum?
{5:20} Why would you forget us forever? Why would you forsake us for a long time?
{5:21} Converte nos Domine ad te, et convertemur: innova dies nostros, sicut a principio.
{5:21} Convert us, O Lord, to you, and we shall be converted. Renew our days, as from the beginning.
{5:22} Sed proiiciens repulisti nos, iratus es contra nos vehementer.
{5:22} But you have utterly rejected us; you are vehemently angry against us.