Isaiah 5
1 Let me make a song about my loved one, a song of love for his vine-garden. My loved one had a vine-garden on a fertile hill:
I schal synge for my derlyng the song of myn vnclis sone, of his vyner. A vyner was maad to my derlyng, in the horne in the sone of oile.
2 And after working the earth of it with a spade, he took away its stones, and put in it a very special vine; and he put up a watchtower in the middle of it, hollowing out in the rock a place for the grape-crushing; and he was hoping that it would give the best grapes, but it gave common grapes.
And he heggide it, and chees stoonys therof, and plauntide a chosun vyner; and he bildide a tour in the myddis therof, and rerede a presse ther ynne; and he abood, that it schulde bere grapis, and it bare wielde grapis.
3 And now, you people of Jerusalem and you men of Judah, be the judges between me and my vine-garden.
Now therfor, ye dwelleris of Jerusalem, and ye men of Juda, deme bitwixe me and my viner.
4 Is there anything which might have been done for my vine-garden which I have not done? why then, when I was hoping for the best grapes did it give me common grapes?
What is it that Y ouyt to do more to my vyner, and Y dide not to it? whether that Y abood, that it schulde bere grapis, and it bare wielde grapis?
5 And now, this is what I will do to my vine-garden: I will take away the circle of thorns round it, and it will be burned up; its wall will be broken down and the beasts of the field will go through it;
And now Y schal schewe to you, what Y schal do to my vyner. Y schal take awei the hegge therof, and it schal be in to rauyschyng; Y schal caste doun the wal therof, and it schal be in to defoulyng; and Y schal sette it desert,
6 And I will make it waste; its branches will not be touched with the knife, or the earth worked with the spade; but blackberries and thorns will come up in it: and I will give orders to the clouds not to send rain on it.
ether forsakun. It schal not be kit, and it schal not be diggid, and breris and thornes schulen `growe vp on it; and Y schal comaunde to cloudis, that tho reyne not reyn on it.
7 For the vine-garden of the Lord of armies is the people of Israel, and the men of Judah are the plant of his delight: and he was looking for upright judging, and there was blood; for righteousness, and there was a cry for help.
Forsothe the vyner of the Lord of oostis is the hous of Israel, and the men of Juda ben the delitable buriownyng of hym. Y abood, that it schal make doom, and lo! wickidnesse; and that it schulde do riytfulnesse, and lo! cry.
8 Cursed are those who are joining house to house, and putting field to field, till there is no more living-space for any but themselves in all the land!
Wo to you that ioynen hows to hous, and couplen feeld to feeld, `til to the ende of place. Whether ye aloone schulen dwelle in the myddis of the lond?
9 The Lord of armies has said to me secretly, Truly, numbers of great and fair houses will be waste, with no one living in them.
These thingis ben in the eeris of me, the Lord of oostis; if many housis ben not forsakun, grete housis and faire, with outen dwellere, bileue ye not to me.
10 For ten fields of vines will only give one measure of wine, and a great amount of seed will only give a small measure of grain.
For whi ten acris of vynes schulen make a potel, and thretti buschels of seed schulen make thre buschels.
11 Cursed are those who get up early in the morning to give themselves up to strong drink; who keep on drinking far into the night till they are heated with wine!
Wo to you that risen togidere eerli to sue drunkennesse, and to drinke `til to euentid, that ye brenne with wyn.
12 And corded instruments and wind-instruments and wine are in their feasts: but they give no thought to the work of the Lord, and they are not interested in what his hands are doing.
Harpe, and giterne, and tympan, and pipe, and wyn ben in youre feestis; and ye biholden not the werk of the Lord, nether ye biholden the werkis of hise hondis.
13 For this cause my people are taken away as prisoners into strange countries for need of knowledge: and their rulers are wasted for need of food, and their loud-voiced feasters are dry for need of water.
Therfor my puple is led prisoner, for it hadde not kunnyng; and the noble men therof perischiden in hungur, and the multitude therof was drye in thirst.
14 For this cause the underworld has made wide its throat, opening its mouth without limit: and her glory, and the noise of her masses, and her loud-voiced feasters, will go down into it. (Sheol h7585)
Therfor helle alargide his soule, and openyde his mouth with outen ony ende; and strong men therof, and the puple therof, and the hiy men, and gloriouse men therof, schulen go doun to it. (Sheol h7585)
15 And the poor man's head is bent, and the great man goes down on his face, and the eyes of pride are put to shame:
And a man schal be bowid doun, and a man of age schal be maad low; and the iyen of hiy men schulen be pressid doun.
16 But the Lord of armies is lifted up as judge, and the Holy God is seen to be holy in righteousness.
And the Lord of oostis schal be enhaunsid in doom, and hooli God schal be halewid in riytfulnesse.
17 Then the lambs will get food as in their grass-lands, and the fat cattle will be feasting in the waste places.
And lambren schulen be fed bi her ordre, and comelyngis schulen ete desert places turned in to plentee.
18 Cursed are those who make use of ox-cords for pulling the evil thing, and the bands of a young ox for their sin!
Wo to you that drawen wickydnesse in the cordis of vanyte, and drawen synne as the boond of a wayn; and ye seien,
19 Who say, Let him do his work quickly, let him make it sudden, so that we may see it: let the design of the Holy One of Israel come near, so that it may be clear to us.
The werk of hym haaste, and come soone, that we se; and the counsel of the hooli of Israel neiy, and come, and we schulen knowe it.
20 Cursed are those who give the name of good to evil, and of evil to what is good: who make light dark, and dark light: who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter!
Wo to you that seien yuel good, and good yuel; and putten derknessis liyt, and liyt derknessis; and putten bittir thing in to swete, and swete thing in to bittir.
21 Cursed are those who seem wise to themselves, and who take pride in their knowledge!
Wo to you that ben wise men in youre iyen, and ben prudent bifor you silf.
22 Cursed are those who are strong to take wine, and great in making mixed drinks!
Wo to you that ben myyti to drynke wyn, and ben stronge to meddle drunkenesse;
23 Who for a reward give support to the cause of the sinner, and who take away the righteousness of the upright from him.
and ye iustifien a wickid man for yiftis, and ye taken awei the riytfulnesse of a iust man fro hym.
24 For this cause, as the waste of the grain is burned up by tongues of fire, and as the dry grass goes down before the flame, so their root will be like the dry stems of grain, and their flower will go up in dust: because they have gone against the law of the Lord of armies, and have given no honour to the word of the Holy One of Israel.
For this thing, as the tunge of fier deuourith stobil, and the heete of flawme brenneth, so the roote of hem schal be as a deed sparcle, and the seed of hem schal stie as dust; for thei castiden awei the lawe of the Lord of oostis, and blasfemyden the speche of the hooli of Israel.
25 For this reason the wrath of the Lord has been burning against his people, and his hand has been stretched out against them in punishment, and the hills were shaking, and their dead bodies were like waste in the open places of the town.
Therfor the strong veniaunce of the Lord was wrooth ayens his puple, and he stretchide forth his hond on it, and smoot it; and hillis weren disturblid, and the deed bodies of hem weren maad as a toord in the myddis of stretis. In alle these thingis the stronge vengeaunce of him was not turned awei, but yit his hond was stretchid forth.
26 And he will let a flag be lifted up as a sign to a far-off nation, whistling to them from the ends of the earth: and they will come quickly and suddenly.
And he schal reise a signe among naciouns afer, and he schal hisse to hym fro the endis of erthe; and lo! he schal haaste, and schal come swiftli.
27 There is no weariness among them, and no man is feeble-footed: they come without resting or sleeping, and the cord of their shoes is not broken.
Noon is failynge nethir trauelynge in that oost; he schal not nappe, nether slepe, nether the girdil of his reynes schal be vndo, nether the lace of his scho schal be brokun.
28 Their arrows are sharp, and every bow is bent: the feet of their horses are like rock, and their wheels are like a rushing storm.
Hise arowis ben scharpe, and alle hise bowis ben bent; the houys of hise horsis ben as a flynt, and hise wheelis ben as the feersnesse of tempest.
29 The sound of their armies will be like the voice of a lion, and their war-cry like the noise of young lions: with loud cries they will come down on their food and will take it away safely, and there will be no one to take it out of their hands.
His roryng schal be as of lioun; he schal rore as the whelpis of liouns; and he schal gnaste, and schal holde prey, and schal biclippe, and noon schal be, that schal delyuere.
30 And his voice will be loud over him in that day like the sounding of the sea: and if a man's eyes are turned to the earth, it is all dark and full of trouble; and the light is made dark by thick clouds.
And he schal sowne on it in that dai, as doith the soun of the see; we schulen biholde in to the erthe, and lo! derknessis of tribulacioun, and liyt is maad derk in the derknesse therof.
