< Jeremias 3 >

1 If a man put away his wife, and she depart from him, and become another man's, shall she return to him any more at all? shall not that woman be utterly defiled? you you have gone a-whoring with many shepherds, and have returned to me, says the Lord.
It is seid comunli, If a man forsakith his wijf, and sche go awei fro hym, and be weddid to an othere hosebonde, whether he schal turne ayen more to hir? whether thilke womman schal not be defoulid, and maad vncleene? Forsothe thou hast do fornycacioun with many loueris; netheles turne thou ayen to me, `seith the Lord, and Y schal resseyue thee.
2 Lift up your eyes [to look] straight forward, and see where you have not been utterly defiled. You have sat for them by the wayside as a deserted crow, and have defiled the land with your fornications and your wickedness.
Reise thin iyen in to streiyt, and se, where thou art not cast doun. Thou hast setun in weies, abidynge hem as a theef in wildirnesse, and thou hast defoulid the erthe in thi fornicaciouns and in thi malices.
3 And you did retain many shepherds for a stumbling block to yourself: you had a whore's face, you did become shameless towards all.
Wherfor the dropis of reynes weren forbodun, and no late reyn was. The forhed of a womman hoore is maad to thee; thou noldist be aschamed.
4 Hast you not called me as it were a home, and the father and guide of your virgin-time?
Nameli fro this tyme forth clepe thou me, Thou art my fadir, the ledere of my virginyte.
5 Will [God's anger] continue for ever, or be preserved to the end? Behold, you have spoken and done these bad things, and had power [to do them].
Whether thou schalt be wrooth with outen ende, ether schalt contynue in to the ende? Lo! thou hast spoke, and hast do yuels, and thou were myyti. And for wordis of penaunce thou blasfemydist bi wordis of pride; and thou fillidist thin yuel thouyt, and schewidist thi strengthe ayens thi hosebonde, that thou maist do that thing that thou tretidist bi word.
6 And the Lord said to me in the days of Josias the king, Hast you seen what things the house of Israel has done to me? they have gone on every high mountain, and under every shady tree, and have committed fornication there.
And the Lord seide to me, in the daies of Josie, the kyng, Whether thou hast seyn what thing the aduersarie, Israel, hath do? Sche yede to hir silf on ech hiy hil, and vndur ech tre ful of boowis, and dide fornycacioun there.
7 And I said after she had committed all these acts of fornication, Turn again to me. Yet she returned not. And faithless Juda saw her faithlessness.
And Y seide, whanne sche hadde do alle these thingis, Turne thou ayen to me; and sche turnede not ayen. And hir sistir, Juda, brekere of the lawe,
8 And I saw that (for all the sins of which she was convicted, wherein the house of Israel committed adultery, and I put her away, and gave into her hands a bill of divorcement, ) yet faithless Juda feared not, but went and herself also committed fornication.
siy, that for the aduersarie, Israel, dide auowtrie, Y hadde left hir, and Y hadde youe to hir a libel of forsakyng; and Juda, hir sistir, brekere of the lawe, dredde not, but also sche yede, and dide fornycacioun.
9 And her fornication was nothing accounted of; and she committed adultery with wood and stone.
And bi liytnesse of hir fornicacioun sche defoulide the erthe, and dide auowtrie with a stoon, and with a tree.
10 And for all these things faithless Juda turned not to me with all her heart, but falsely.
And in alle these thingis hir sistir, Juda, brekere of the lawe, turnede not ayen to me, in al hir herte, but in a leesyng, seith the Lord God.
11 And the Lord said to me, Israel has justified himself more than faithless Juda.
And the Lord seide to me, The aduersarie, Israel, hath iustified hir soule, in comparisoun of Juda, brekere of the lawe.
12 Go and read these words towards the north, and you shall say, Return to me, O house of Israel, says the Lord; and I will not set my face against you: for I am merciful, says the Lord, and I will not be angry with you for ever.
Go thou, and crye these wordis ayens the north; and thou schalt seie, Thou aduersarie, Israel, turne ayen, seith the Lord, and Y schal not turne awei my face fro you; for Y am hooli, seith the Lord, and Y schal not be wrooth with outen ende.
13 Nevertheless, know your iniquity, that you have sinned against the Lord your God, and have scattered your ways to strangers under every shady tree, but you did not listen to my voice, says the Lord.
Netheles knowe thou thi wickidnesse; for thou hast trespassid ayens thi Lord God, and thou hast spred abrood thi weies to aliens vndur ech tre ful of bowis; and thou herdist not my vois, seith the Lord.
14 Turn, you children that have revolted, says the Lord; for I will rule over you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you in to Sion:
Be ye conuertid, sones, turnynge ayen, seith the Lord, for Y am youre hosebonde; and Y schal take you oon of a citee, and tweyne of a kynrede, and Y schal lede you in to Sion;
15 and I will give you shepherds after my heart, and they shall certainly tend you with knowledge.
and Y schal yyue to you scheepherdis after myn herte, and thei schulen feede you with kunnyng and teching.
16 And it shall come to pass that when you are multiplied and increased upon the land, says the Lord, in those days they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Holy One of Israel: it shall not come to mind; it shall not be named; neither shall it be visited; nor shall [this] be done any more.
And whanne ye schulen be multiplied, and encreesse in the lond, in tho daies, seith the Lord, thei schulen no more seie, The arke of testament of the Lord; nether it schal stie on the herte, nether thei schulen thenke on it, nether it schal be visitid, nether it schal be ferthere.
17 In those days and at that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered to it: and they shall not walk any more after the imaginations of their evil heart.
In that tyme thei schulen clepe Jerusalem The seete of the Lord, and alle hethene men schulen be gaderid togidere to it, in the name of the Lord, in Jerusalem; and thei schulen not go aftir the schrewidnesse of her worste herte.
18 In those days the house of Juda, shall come together to the house of Israel, and they shall come, together, from the land of the north, and from all the countries, to the land, which I caused their fathers to inherit.
In tho daies the hous of Juda schal go to the hous of Israel; and thei schulen come togidere fro the lond of the north to the lond which Y yaf to youre fadris.
19 And I said, So be it, Lord, for [you said] I will set you amongst children, and will give you a choice land, the inheritance of the Almighty God of the Gentiles: and I said, You shall call me Father; and you shall not turn away from me.
Forsothe Y seide, Hou schal Y sette thee among sones, and schal yyue to thee a desirable lond, a ful cleer eritage of the oostis of hethene men? And Y seide, Thou schalt clepe me fadir, and thou schalt not ceesse to entre aftir me.
20 But as a wife acts treacherously against her husband, so has the house of Israel dealt treacherously against me, says the Lord.
But as if a womman dispisith hir louyere, so the hous of Israel dispiside me, seith the Lord.
21 A voice from the lips was heard, [even] of weeping and supplication of the children of Israel: for they have dealt unrighteously in their ways, they have forgotten God their Holy One.
A vois is herd in weies, the weping and yellyng of the sones of Israel; for thei maden wickid her weie, thei foryaten her Lord God.
22 Turn, you children that are given to turning, and I will heal your bruises. Behold, we will be your servants; for you are the Lord our God.
Be ye conuertid, sones, turnynge ayen, and Y schal heele youre turnyngis awei. Lo! we comen to thee; for thou art oure Lord God.
23 Truly the hills and the strength of the mountains were a lying refuge: but by the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.
Verili litil hillis weren lieris, the multitude of mounteyns was fals; verili in oure Lord God is the helthe of Israel.
24 But shame has consumed the labours of our fathers from our youth; their sheep and their calves, and their sons and their daughters.
Schenschipe eete the trauel of oure fadris, fro oure yongthe; schenschipe eet the flockis of hem, and the droues of hem, the sones of hem, and the douytris of hem.
25 We have lain down in our shame, and our disgrace has covered us: because we and our fathers have sinned before our God, from our youth until this day; and we have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God.
We schulen slepe in oure schenschipe, and oure sclaundir schal hile vs; for we synneden to oure Lord God, bothe we and oure fadris, fro oure yongthe `til to this dai; and we herden not the vois of oure Lord God.

< Jeremias 3 >