Laudator Temporis Acti

Jeremiah 10.18-22 (Brenton Septuagint Translation, with Greek):

[18] For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will overthrow the inhabitants of this land with affliction, that thy plague may be discovered.

ὅτι τάδε λέγει Κύριος Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ σκελίζω τοὺς κατοικοῦντας τὴν γῆν ταύτην ἐν θλίψει ὅπως εὑρεθῇ ἡ πληγή σου.

[19] Alas for thy ruin! thy plague is grievous: and I said, Surely this is thy wound, and it has overtaken thee.

οὐαὶ ἐπὶ συντρίμματί σου, ἀλγηρὰ ἡ πληγή σου. κἀγὼ εἶπα Ὄντως τοῦτο τὸ τραῦμά σου, καὶ κατέλαβέν σε.

[20] Thy tabernacle is in a ruinous state, it has perished; and all thy curtains have been torn asunder: my children and my cattle are no more: there is no more any place for my tabernacle, nor place for my curtains.

ἡ σκηνή σου ἐταλαιπώρησεν, ὤλετο, καὶ πᾶσαι αἱ δέρρεις σου διεσπάσθησαν· οἱ υἱοί μου καὶ τὰ πρόβατά μου οὐκ εἰσίν, οὐκ ἔστιν ἔτι τόπος τῆς σκηνῆς μου, τόπος τῶν δέρρεών μου.

[21] For the shepherds have become foolish, and have not sought the Lord; therefore the whole pasture has failed, and the sheep have been scattered.

ὅτι οἱ ποιμένες ἠφρονεύσαντο, καὶ τὸν κύριον οὐκ ἐζήτησαν· διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἐνόησεν πᾶσα ἡ νομή, καὶ διεσκορπίσθησαν.

[22] Behold, there comes a sound of a noise, and a great earthquake from the land of the north, to make the cities of Juda a desolation, and a resting-place for ostriches.

φωνὴ ἀκοῆς ἰδοὺ ἔρχεται καὶ σεισμὸς μέγας ἐκ γῆς βορρᾶ τοῦ τάξαι τὰς πόλεις Ἰούδα εἰς ἀφανισμὸν καὶ κοίτην στρουθῶν.

Hat tip: Eric Thomson, who writes:

What curmudgeon worth his salt doesn’t rejoice at the mention of grievous plagues, ruinous tabernacles, curtains torn asunder, foolish shepherds and scattered sheep, earthquakes and desolation? But the upshot of this cataclysm is apparently "a resting-place for ostriches" (all presumably with their heads in the sand) which sent me into a paroxysm of laughter.