Isaiah 47
1 Go down and sit in the dust, virgin daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, daughter of Babylonia! No longer will people call you gentle and delicate.
Thou virgyn, the douytir Babiloyne, go doun, sitte thou in dust, sitte thou in erthe; a kyngis seete is not to the douyter of Caldeis, for thou schalt no more be clepid soft and tendir.
2 Go to work grinding flour with millstones. Remove your veil. Strip off your skirt, bare your legs, wade through rivers.
Take thou a queerne stoon, and grynde thou mele; make thou nakid thi filthe, diskeuere the schuldur, schewe the hippis, passe thou floodis.
3 You will be seen naked; what should be kept private will be shamefully exposed. I will take vengeance—I won't spare anyone.
Thi schame schal be schewid, and thi schenschipe schal be seen; Y schal take veniaunce, and no man schal ayenstonde me.
4 Our Redeemer—his name is the Lord Almighty—is the Holy One of Israel.
Oure ayen biere, the Lord of oostis is his name, the hooli of Israel.
5 Sit quietly, and go into the darkness, daughter of Babylonia. Never again will you be called queen of all kingdoms.
Douyter of Caldeis, sitte thou, be thou stille, and entre in to derknessis, for thou schalt no more be clepid the ladi of rewmes.
6 I was angry with my people, and I abandoned those who belonged to me. I handed them over to you. But you didn't show them mercy—you even mistreated old people.
I was wrooth on my puple, Y defoulid myn eritage, and Y yaf hem in thin hond, and thou settidist not mercies to hem; thou madist greuouse the yok greetli on an eld man,
7 You said, “I will reign forever as the eternal queen.” But you didn't think about what was coming; you didn't remember what would happen to you in the end.
and thou seidist, With outen ende Y schal be ladi; thou puttidist not these thingis on thin herte, nether thou bithouytist on thi laste thing.
8 Now listen to this, you sensual woman, sitting there so sure of yourself, saying to yourself, “I am supreme—there's nobody besides me. I shall never be a widow or experience the loss of my children.”
And now, thou delicat, and dwellynge tristili, here these thingis, which seist in thin herte, Y am, and outakun me ther is no more; Y schal not sitte widewe, and Y schal not knowe bareynesse.
9 But both these things will happen to you in quick succession! In just one day you will lose your children and become a widow. You will have this experience in its totality, in spite of all your witchcraft, in spite of all your magic spells.
These twei thingis, bareynesse and widewhod schulen come to thee sudenli in o dai; alle thingis camen on thee for the multitude of thi witchecraftis, and for the greet hardnesse of thin enchauntours, ether tregetours.
10 You put your trust in your evil actions, saying “No one can see what I'm doing.” Your wisdom and knowledge seduced you, and you told yourself, “I am supreme—there's nobody besides me.”
And thou haddist trist in thi malice, and seidist, Noon is that seeth me; this thi wisdom and thi kunnyng disseyuede thee; and thou seidist in thin herte,
11 Evil is going to strike you, and you won't be able to magic it away. Disaster will fall on you that you can't stop by paying a ransom. Destruction will suddenly hit you that you weren't expecting.
Y am, and outakun me ther is noon other. Yuel schal come on thee, and thou schalt not knowe the bigynning therof; and wrecchidnesse schal falle on thee, which thou schalt not mowe clense; wretchidnesse which thou knowist not, schal come on thee sudenly.
12 So keep going with your magic spells and all your witchcraft, which you have worked at since you were young. Maybe you'll be successful, maybe you'll terrify people!
Stonde thou with thin enchauntours, and with the multitude of thi witchis, in whiche thou trauelidist fro thi yongthe; if in hap thei profiten ony thing to thee, ether if thou maist be maad the strongere.
13 All the advice you've received has worn you out! Where are your astrologers, those who look to the stars for guidance, who give you their predictions every month? Let them stand up and save you from what's coming down on you!
Thou failidist in the multitude of thi councels; the false dyuynours of heuene stonde, and saue thee, whiche bihelden staris, and noumbriden monethis, that thei schulden telle bi tho thingis to comynge to thee.
14 But look at them! They're like stubble that fire burns up completely—they can't even save their own lives from the flames. This is no fire to sit beside and grow warm!
Lo! thei ben maad as stobil, the fier hath brent hem; thei schulen not delyuere her lijf fro the power of flawme; colis ben not, bi whiche thei schulen be warmed, nether fier, that thei sitte at it.
15 All those people you've worked with, all those you've traded with from when you were young—they will all go their own way, nobody will come and save you.
So tho thingis ben maad to thee in whiche euere thou trauelidist; thi marchauntis fro thi yongthe erriden, ech man in his weie; noon is, that schal saue thee.
