Jeremiah 12
1 O Lord, if I dispute with thee, thou art righteous: yet let mee talke with thee of thy iudgements: wherefore doeth the way of the wicked prosper? why are all they in wealth that rebelliously transgresse?
Forsothe, Lord, thou art iust; if Y dispute with thee, netheles Y schal speke iust thingis to thee. Whi hath the weie of wickid men prosperite? It is wel to alle men that breken the lawe, and doen wickidli?
2 Thou hast planted them, and they haue taken roote: they grow, and bring forth fruite: thou art neere in their mouth, and farre from their reines.
Thou hast plauntid hem, and thei senten roote; thei encreessen, and maken fruyt; thou art niy to the mouth of hem, and fer fro the reynes of hem.
3 But thou, Lord, knowest me: thou hast seene me, and tried mine heart towarde thee: pull them out like sheepe for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.
And thou, Lord, hast knowe me, thou hast seyn me, and hast preued myn herte with thee. Gadere thou hem togidere as a flok to slayn sacrifice, and halewe thou hem in the dai of sleyng.
4 Howe long shall the lande mourne, and the herbes of euery fielde wither, for the wickednesse of them that dwell therein? the beastes are consumed and the birdes, because they sayd, He wil not see our last ende.
Hou long schal the erthe mourne, and ech eerbe of the feeld schal be dried, for the malice of hem that dwellen ther ynne? A beeste is wastid, and a brid, for thei seiden, The Lord schal not se oure laste thingis.
5 If thou hast runne with the footemen and they haue wearied thee, then howe canst thou match thy selfe with horses? and if thou thoughtest thy selfe safe in a peaceable lande, what wilt thou do in the swelling of Iorden?
If thou trauelist rennynge with foot men, hou schalt thou mow stryue with horsis? but whanne thou art sikur in the lond of pees, what schalt thou do in the pride of Jordan?
6 For euen thy brethren, and the house of thy father, euen they haue delt vnfaithfully with thee, and they haue cryed out altogether vpon thee: but beleeue them not, though they speake faire to thee.
For whi bothe thi britheren and the hous of thi fadir, yhe, thei fouyten ayens thee, and crieden with ful vois aftir thee; bileue thou not to hem, whanne thei speken goodis to thee.
7 I haue forsaken mine house: I haue left mine heritage: I haue giuen the dearely beloued of my soule into the hands of her enemies.
I haue left myn hous, Y haue forsake myn eritage; Y yaf my loued soule in to the hondis of enemyes therof.
8 Mine heritage is vnto mee, as a lion in the forest: it crieth out against mee, therefore haue I hated it.
Myn eritage is maad as a lioun in the wode to me; it yaf vois ayens me, therfor Y hate it.
9 Shall mine heritage bee vnto mee, as a bird of diuers colours? are not the birdes about her, saying, Come, assemble all ye beastes of the fielde, come to eate her?
Whether myn eritage is a brid of dyuerse colours to me? whether it is a brid died thorou out? Alle beestis of the feeld, come ye, be ye gaderid togidere; haste ye for to deuoure.
10 Many pastors haue destroyed my vineyarde, and troden my portion vnder foote: of my pleasant portion they haue made a desolate wildernesse.
Many scheepherdis distrieden my vyner, defouliden my part, yauen my desirable porcioun in to desert of wildirnesse;
11 They haue layde it waste, and it, being waste, mourneth vnto me: and the whole lande lyeth waste, because no man setteth his minde on it.
thei settiden it in to scateryng, and it mourenyde on me; al the lond is desolat bi desolacioun, for noon is that ayenthenkith in herte.
12 The destroyers are come vpon all the high places in the wildernesse: for the sworde of the Lord shall deuoure from the one end of the land, euen to the other ende of the lande: no flesh shall haue peace.
Alle distrieris of the lond camen on alle the weies of desert, for the swerd of the Lord schal deuoure fro the laste part of the lond `til to the laste part therof; no pees is to al fleisch.
13 They haue sowen wheate, and reaped thornes: they were sicke, and had no profite: and they were ashamed of your fruites, because of the fierce wrath of the Lord.
Thei sowiden wheete, and repiden thornes; thei token erytage, and it schal not profite to hem. Ye schulen be schent of youre fruytis, for the wraththe of the stronge veniaunce of the Lord.
14 Thus sayeth the Lord against all mine euill neighbours, that touch the inheritance, which I haue caused my people Israel to inherite, Beholde, I will plucke them out of their lande, and plucke out the house of Iudah from among them.
The Lord seith these thingis ayens alle my worst neiyboris, that touchen the eritage which Y departide to my puple Israel, Lo! Y schal drawe hem out of her lond, and Y schal drawe the hous of Juda out of the myddis of hem.
15 And after that I haue plucked them out, I will returne, and haue compassion on them, and will bring againe euery man to his heritage, and euery man to his land.
And whanne Y schal drawe out thilke Jewis, Y schal conuerte, and haue merci on hem; and Y schal lede hem ayen, a man to his eritage, and a man in to his lond.
16 And if they will learne the wayes of my people, to sweare by my Name, (The Lord liueth, as they taught my people to sweare by Baal) then shall they be built in the middes of my people.
And it schal be, if thei `that ben tauyt lernen the weies of my puple, that thei swere in my name, The Lord lyueth, as thei tauyten my puple to swere in Baal, thei schulen be bildid in the myddis of my puple.
17 But if they will not obey, then will I vtterly plucke vp, and destroy that nation, sayeth the Lord.
That if thei heren not, Y schal drawe out that folk by drawyng out and perdicioun, seith the Lord.
