Jeremiah 50
1 This is the word that the LORD spoke through Jeremiah the prophet concerning Babylon and the land of the Chaldeans:
The word which the Lord spak of Babiloyne, and of the lond of Caldeis, in the hond of Jeremye, the profete.
2 “Announce and declare to the nations; lift up a banner and proclaim it; hold nothing back when you say, ‘Babylon is captured; Bel is put to shame; Marduk is shattered, her images are disgraced, her idols are broken in pieces.’
Telle ye among hethene men, and make ye herd; reise ye a signe; preche ye, and nyle ye holde stille; seie ye, Babiloyne is takun, Bel is schent, Maradach is ouer comun; the grauun ymagis therof ben schent, the idols of hem ben ouer comun.
3 For a nation from the north will come against her; it will make her land a desolation. No one will live in it; both man and beast will flee.”
For a folk schal stie fro the north ayenus it, which folk schal sette the lond therof in to wildirnesse; and noon schal be that schal dwelle therynne, fro man `til to beeste; and thei ben moued, and yeden a wei.
4 “In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, the children of Israel and the children of Judah will come together, weeping as they come, and will seek the LORD their God.
In tho daies, and in that tyme, seith the Lord, the sones of Israel schulen come, thei and the sones of Juda togidere, goynge and wepynge; thei schulen haaste, and seke her Lord God in Sion,
5 They will ask the way to Zion and turn their faces toward it. They will come and join themselves to the LORD in an everlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.
and thei schulen axe the weie. Hidur the faces of hem schulen come, and thei schulen be set to the Lord with boond of pees euerlastynge, which schal not be don awei by ony foryetyng.
6 My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, causing them to roam the mountains. They have wandered from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place.
My puple is maad a lost floc, the scheepherdis of hem disseyueden hem, and maden to go vnstabli in hillis; thei passiden fro mounteyn in to a litil hil, thei foryaten her bed.
7 All who found them devoured them, and their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their true pasture, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’
Alle men that founden, eeten hem, and the enemyes of hem seiden, We synneden not, for that thei synneden to the Lord, the fairnesse of riytfulnesse, and to the Lord, the abidyng of her fadris.
8 Flee from the midst of Babylon; depart from the land of the Chaldeans; be like the he-goats that lead the flock.
Go ye awei fro the myddis of Babiloyne, and go ye out of the lond of Caldeis, and be ye as kydis bifore the floc.
9 For behold, I stir up and bring against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the land of the north. They will line up against her; from the north she will be captured. Their arrows will be like skilled warriors who do not return empty-handed.
For lo! Y schal reise, and brynge in to Babiloyne the gaderyng togidere of grete folkis, fro the lond of the north; and thei schulen be maad redi ayens it, and it schal be takun in the dai; the arowe therof as of a strong man a sleere, schal not turne ayen voide.
10 Chaldea will be plundered; all who plunder her will have their fill,”
And Caldee schal be in to prey, alle that distrien it, schulen be fillid, seith the Lord.
11 “Because you rejoice, because you sing in triumph— you who plunder My inheritance— because you frolic like a heifer treading grain and neigh like stallions,
For ye maken ful out ioye, and speken grete thingis, and rauyschen myn eritage; for ye ben sched out as caluys on erbe, and lowiden as bolis.
12 your mother will be greatly ashamed; she who bore you will be disgraced. Behold, she will be the least of the nations, a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
Youre modir is schent greetli, and sche that gendride you, is maad euene to dust; lo! sche schal be the last among folkis, and forsakun, with out weie, and drie.
13 Because of the wrath of the LORD, she will not be inhabited; she will become completely desolate. All who pass through Babylon will be horrified and will hiss at all her wounds.
For the wraththe of the Lord it schal not be enhabitid, but it schal be dryuun al in to wildirnesse; ech that schal passe bi Babiloyne, schal wondre, and schal hisse on alle the woundis therof.
14 Line up in formation around Babylon, all you who draw the bow! Shoot at her! Spare no arrows! For she has sinned against the LORD.
Alle ye that beenden bowe, be maad redi ayens Babiloyne bi cumpas; ouercome ye it, spare ye not arowis, for it synnede to the Lord.
15 Raise a war cry against her on every side! She has thrown up her hands in surrender; her towers have fallen; her walls are torn down. Since this is the vengeance of the LORD, take out your vengeance upon her; as she has done, do the same to her.
Crye ye ayens it, euery where it yaf hond; the foundementis therof fellen doun, and the wallis therof ben distried; for it is the veniaunce of the Lord. Take ye veniaunce of it; as it dide, do ye to it.
16 Cut off the sower from Babylon, and the one who wields the sickle at harvest time. In the face of the oppressor’s sword, each will turn to his own people, each will flee to his own land.
Leese ye a sowere of Babiloyne, and hym that holdith a sikil in the tyme of heruest, fro the face of swerd of the culuer; ech man schal be turned to his puple, and ech man schal flee to his lond.
17 Israel is a scattered flock, chased away by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria; the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”
Israel is a scaterid flok, liouns castiden out it; first kyng Assur eete it, this laste Nabugodonosor, kyng of Babiloyne, dide awei the bonys therof.
18 Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “I will punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria.
Therfor the Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal visite the kyng of Babiloyne, and his lond, as Y visitide the kyng of Assur;
19 I will return Israel to his pasture, and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan; his soul will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.
and Y schal brynge ayen Israel to his dwellyng place. Carmele and Baasan schal be fed, and his soule schal be fillid in the hil of Effraym, and of Galaad.
20 In those days and at that time, declares the LORD, a search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for Judah’s sins, but they will not be found; for I will forgive the remnant I preserve.
In tho daies, and in that tyme, seith the Lord, the wickidnesse of Israel schal be souyt, and it schal not be; and the synne of Juda schal be souyt, and it schal not be foundun; for Y schal be merciful to hem, whiche Y schal forsake.
21 Go up against the land of Merathaim, and against the residents of Pekod. Kill them and devote them to destruction. Do all that I have commanded you,”
Stie thou on the lond of lordis, and visite thou on the dwelleris therof; scatere thou, and sle tho thingis, that ben aftir hem, seith the Lord; and do thou bi alle thingis which Y comaundide to thee.
22 “The noise of battle is in the land— the noise of great destruction.
The vois of batel and greet sorewe in the lond.
23 How the hammer of the whole earth lies broken and shattered! What a horror Babylon has become among the nations!
Hou is the hamer of al erthe brokun and al defoulid? hou is Babiloyne turned in to desert, among hethene men?
24 I laid a snare for you, O Babylon, and you were caught before you knew it. You were found and captured because you challenged the LORD.
Babiloyne, Y haue snarid thee, and thou art takun, and thou wistist not; thou art foundun, and takun, for thou terridist the Lord to wraththe.
25 The LORD has opened His armory and brought out His weapons of wrath, for this is the work of the Lord GOD of Hosts in the land of the Chaldeans.
The Lord openide his tresour, and brouyte forth the vessels of his wraththe; for whi a werk is to the Lord God of oostis in the lond of Caldeis.
26 Come against her from the farthest border. Break open her granaries; pile her up like mounds of grain. Devote her to destruction; leave her no survivors.
Come ye to it fro the fertheste endis, opene ye, that thei go out, that schulen defoule it; take ye awei stoonys fro the weie, and dryue ye in to heepis, and sle ye it, and nothing be residue.
27 Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them, for their day has come— the time of their punishment.
Distrie ye alle the stronge men therof, go thei doun in to sleynge; wo to hem, for the dai of hem cometh, the tyme of visityng of hem.
28 Listen to the fugitives and refugees from the land of Babylon, declaring in Zion the vengeance of the LORD our God, the vengeance for His temple.
The vois of fleeris, and of hem that ascapiden fro the lond of Babiloyne, that thei telle in Sion the veniaunce of oure Lord God, the veniaunce of his temple.
29 Summon the archers against Babylon, all who string the bow. Encamp all around her; let no one escape. Repay her according to her deeds; do to her as she has done. For she has defied the LORD, the Holy One of Israel.
Telle ye ayens Babiloyne to ful many men, to alle that beenden bowe. Stonde ye togidere ayens it bi cumpas, and noon ascape; yelde ye to it aftir his werk, aftir alle thingis whiche it dide, do ye to it; for it was reisid ayens the Lord, ayens the hooli of Israel.
30 Therefore, her young men will fall in the streets, and all her warriors will be silenced in that day,”
Therfor yonge men therof schulen falle doun in the stretis therof, and alle men werriours therof schulen be stille in that dai, seith the Lord.
31 “Behold, I am against you, O arrogant one,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts, “for your day has come, the time when I will punish you.
Lo! thou proude, Y to thee, seith the Lord God of oostis, for thi dai is comun, the tyme of thi visitacioun.
32 The arrogant one will stumble and fall with no one to pick him up. And I will kindle a fire in his cities to consume all those around him.”
And the proude schal falle, and schal falle doun togidere, and noon schal be, that schal reise hym; and Y schal kyndle fier in the citees of hym, and it schal deuoure alle thingis in cumpas of it.
33 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “The sons of Israel are oppressed, and the sons of Judah as well. All their captors hold them fast, refusing to release them.
The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, The sones of Israel and the sones of Juda togidere suffren fals caleng; alle that token hem, holden, thei nylen delyuere hem.
34 Their Redeemer is strong; the LORD of Hosts is His name. He will fervently plead their case so that He may bring rest to the earth, but turmoil to those who live in Babylon.
The ayenbyere of hem is strong, the Lord of oostis is his name; bi dom he schal defende the cause of hem, that he make the lond aferd, and stire togidere the dwelleris of Babiloyne.
35 A sword is against the Chaldeans, declares the LORD, against those who live in Babylon, and against her officials and wise men.
A swerd to Caldeis, seith the Lord, and to the dwelleris of Babiloyne, and to the princes, and to the wise men therof.
36 A sword is against her false prophets, and they will become fools. A sword is against her warriors, and they will be filled with terror.
A swerd to the false dyuynours therof, that schulen be foolis; a swerd to the stronge men therof, that schulen drede.
37 A sword is against her horses and chariots and against all the foreigners in her midst, and they will become like women. A sword is against her treasuries, and they will be plundered.
Swerd to the horsis therof, and to the charis therof, and to al the comyn puple whiche is in the myddis therof, and thei schulen be as wymmen; a swerd to the tresours therof, that schulen be rauyschid.
38 A drought is upon her waters, and they will be dried up. For it is a land of graven images, and the people go mad over idols.
Drynesse schal be on the watris therof, and tho schulen be drye; for it is the lond of grauun ymagis, and hath glorie in false feynyngis.
39 So the desert creatures and hyenas will live there and ostriches will dwell there. It will never again be inhabited or lived in from generation to generation.
Therfor dragouns schulen dwelle with fonned wielde men, and ostrigis schulen dwelle therynne; and it schal no more be enhabitid `til in to with outen ende, and it schal not be bildid `til to generacioun and generacioun;
40 As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah along with their neighbors,” declares the LORD, “no one will dwell there; no man will abide there.
as the Lord distriede Sodom and Gomorre, and the niy citees therof, seith the Lord. A man schal not dwelle there, and the sone of man schal not dwelle in it.
41 Behold, an army is coming from the north; a great nation and many kings are stirred up from the ends of the earth.
Lo! a puple cometh fro the north, and a greet folc, and many kyngis schulen rise togidere fro the endis of erthe.
42 They grasp the bow and spear; they are cruel and merciless. Their voice roars like the sea, and they ride upon horses, lined up like men in formation against you, O Daughter of Babylon.
Thei schulen take bowe and swerd, thei ben cruel and vnmerciful; the vois of hem schal sowne as the see, and thei schulen stie on horsis as a man maad redi to batel, ayens thee, thou douyter of Babiloyne.
43 The king of Babylon has heard the report, and his hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped him, pain like that of a woman in labor.
The kyng of Babiloyne herde the fame of hem, and hise hondis ben aclumsid; angwisch took hym, sorewe took hym, as a womman trauelynge of child.
44 Behold, one will come up like a lion from the thickets of the Jordan to the watered pasture. For in an instant I will chase Babylon from her land. Who is the chosen one I will appoint for this? For who is like Me, and who can challenge Me? What shepherd can stand against Me?”
Lo! as a lioun he schal stie fro the pride of Jordan to the stronge fairnesse, for Y schal make hym to renne sudenli to it; and who schal be the chosun man, whom Y schal sette bifore him? For who is lijk me? and who schal suffre me? and who is this scheepherde, that schal ayenstonde my cheer?
45 Therefore hear the plans that the LORD has drawn up against Babylon and the strategies He has devised against the land of the Chaldeans: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away; certainly their pasture will be made desolate because of them.
Therfore here ye the councel of the Lord, which he conseyuede in mynde ayens Babiloyne, and hise thouytis, whiche he thouyte on the lond of Caldeis, no but the litle of the flockis drawen hem doun, no but the dwellyng place of hem be destried with hem, ellis no man yyue credence to me.
46 At the sound of Babylon’s capture the earth will quake; a cry will be heard among the nations.
The erthe is mouyd of the vois of caitiftee of Babiloyne, and cry is herd among hethene men.
