Jeremiah 10
1 Hear the word, O house of Israel, That YHWH has spoken for you.
The hous of Israel, here ye the word which the Lord spak on you.
2 Thus said YHWH: “Do not accustom yourselves to the way of the nations, And do not be frightened by the signs of the heavens, For the nations are frightened by them.
The Lord seith these thingis, Nyle ye lerne aftir the weies of hethene men, and nyle ye drede of the signes of heuene, whiche signes hethene men dreden.
3 For the statutes of the peoples are vanity, For one has cut a tree from a forest, Work of the hands of a craftsman, with an axe,
For the lawis of puplis ben veyn, for whi the werk of hondis of a crafti man hath kit doun with an axe a tre of the forest.
4 They beautify it with silver and with gold, They fix it with nails and with hammers, And it does not stumble.
He made it fair with siluer and gold; with naylis and hameris he ioynede it togidere, that it be not loosid.
5 They [are] stiff as a palm, and they do not speak, They are surely carried, for they do not step, Do not be afraid of them, for they do no evil, Indeed, to do good is also not in them.”
Idols ben maad in the licnesse of a palm tree, and schulen not speke; tho schulen be takun and be borun, for tho moun not go; therfor nyle ye drede tho, for tho moun nether do yuel, nethir wel.
6 Because there is none like You, O YHWH, You [are] great, and Your Name [is] great in might.
Lord, noon is lijk thee; thou art greet, and thi name is greet in strengthe.
7 Who does not fear You, King of the nations? For it is befitting to You, For among all the wise of the nations, And in all their kingdom, there is none like You.
A! thou king of folkis, who schal not drede thee? for whi onour is thin among alle wise men of hethene men, and in alle the rewmes of hem noon is lijk thee.
8 And as one they are brutish and foolish, An instruction of vanities [is] the tree itself.
Thei schulen be preued, vnwise and foolis togidere; the techyng of her vanyte is a tre.
9 Spread-out silver is brought from Tarshish, And gold from Uphaz, Work of an artisan, and of the hands of a refiner, Their clothing [is] blue and purple, Work of the skillful—all of them.
Siluer wlappid is brouyt fro Tharsis, and gold fro Ophaz; it is the werk of a crafti man, and of the hond of a worchere in metel; iacynct and purpur ben the clothing of tho; alle these thingis ben the werk of werk men.
10 And YHWH [is] a God of truth, He [is] a living God, and a perpetual King, The earth shakes from His wrath, And nations do not endure His indignation.
Forsothe the Lord is veri God; he is God lyuynge, and a kyng euerlastynge; the erthe schal be mouyd togidere of his indignacioun, and hethene men schulen not suffre the manaassing of hym.
11 Thus you say to them, “The gods who have not made the heavens and earth, They perish from the earth, And from under these heavens.”
Therfor thus ye schulen seie to hem, Goddis that maden not heuene and erthe, perische fro erthe, and fro these thingis that ben vndur heuene.
12 The Maker of the earth by His power, The Establisher of the world by His wisdom, Who, by His understanding, stretched forth the heavens—
He is God, that makith the erthe in his strengthe, makith redi the world in his wisdom, and stretchith forth heuenes bi his prudence.
13 When He gives forth His voice, A multitude of waters [is] in the heavens, And He causes vapors to come up from the end of the earth, He has made lightnings for rain, And brings out wind from His treasures.
At his vois he yyueth the multitude of watris in heuene, and he reisith mystis fro the endis of erthe; he makith leitis into reyn, and ledith out wynd of his tresouris.
14 Every man is brutish by knowledge, Every refiner is put to shame by a carved image, For his molten image [is] false. And there is no breath in them.
Ech man is maad a fool of kunnyng, ech crafti man is schent in a grauun ymage; for whi that that he wellide togidere is fals, and no spirit is in tho.
15 They [are] vanity, work of erring ones, They perish in the time of their inspection.
Tho ben veyn, and a werk worthi of scorn; tho schulen perische in the tyme of her visitacioun.
16 The Portion of Jacob [is] not like these, For He [is] the Framer of all things, And Israel [is] the rod of His inheritance, YHWH of Hosts [is] His Name.
The part of Jacob is not lijk these, for he that formede alle thingis is God of Jacob, and Israel is the yerde of his eritage; the Lord of oostis is name to hym.
17 Gather your merchandise from the land, O dweller in the bulwark,
Thou that dwellist in bisegyng, gadere fro the lond thi schenschipe;
18 For thus said YHWH: “Behold, I am slinging out the inhabitants of the land at this time, And have been an adversary to them, So that they are found out.”
for the Lord seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal caste awei fer the dwelleris of the loond in this while; and Y schal yyue tribulacioun to hem, so that thei be not foundun.
19 Woe to me for my breaking, My striking has been grievous, And I said, “Surely this [is] my sickness, and I bear it.”
Wo to me on my sorewe, my wounde is ful yuel; forsothe Y seide, Pleynli this is my sikenesse, and Y schal bere it.
20 My tent has been spoiled, And all my cords have been broken, My sons have gone out from me, and they are not, There is none stretching out my tent anymore, And raising up my curtains.
My tabernacle is distried, alle my roopis ben brokun; my sones yeden out fro me, and ben not; noon is that schal stretche forth more my tente, and schal reyse my skynnes.
21 For the shepherds have become brutish, And they have not sought YHWH, Therefore they have not acted wisely, And all their flock is scattered.
For the scheepherdis diden folili, and souyten not the Lord; therfor thei vndurstoden not, and alle the flok of hem is scaterid.
22 A voice of a report, behold, it has come, Even a great shaking from the north country, To make the cities of Judah a desolation, A habitation of dragons.
Lo! the vois of hering cometh, and a greet mouynge togidere fro the lond of the north, that it sette the citees of Juda in to wildirnesse, and a dwellynge place of dragouns.
23 I have known, O YHWH, that not of man [is] his way, Not of man [is] the going and establishing of his step.
Lord, Y woot, that the weie of a man is not of hym, nether it is of a man that he go, and dresse hise steppis.
24 Discipline me, O YHWH, only in judgment, Not in Your anger, lest You make me small.
Lord, chastise thou me; netheles in doom and not in thi strong veniaunce, lest perauenture thou dryue me to nouyt.
25 Pour out Your fury on the nations that have not known You, And on the families that have not called on Your Name, For they have eaten up Jacob, Indeed, they have eaten him up, indeed, they consume him, And they have made his habitation desolate!
Schede out thin indignacioun on hethene men that knewen not thee, and on prouynces that clepiden not thi name to help; for thei eeten Jacob, and deuouriden hym, and wastiden hym, and destrieden the onour of hym.
