Jeremiah 12
1 You [are] righteous, O YHWH, When I plead toward You, Only, let me speak judgments with You, Why did the way of the wicked prosper? All treacherous dealers have been at rest.
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 You have planted them, Indeed, they have taken root, They go on, indeed, they have made fruit, You [are] near in their mouth, And far off from their reins.
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 And You, O YHWH, You have known me, You see me, and have tried my heart with You, Draw them away as sheep to slaughter, And separate them for a 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 Until when does the earth mourn, And the herb of the whole field wither? For the wickedness of those dwelling in it, Beast and bird have been consumed, Because they said, “He does not see our latter end.”
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 “For you have run with footmen, And they weary you, And how you fret yourself with horses! Even in the land of peace, [In which] you are confident—And how will you do in the rising of Jordan?
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 even your brothers and the house of your father, Even they dealt treacherously against you, Even they called after you fully, Do not trust in them when they speak good things to you.
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 have forsaken My house, I have left My inheritance, I have given the beloved of My soul Into the hand 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 My inheritance has been to Me as a lion in a forest, She gave forth against Me with her voice, Therefore I have hated her.
Myn eritage is maad as a lioun in the wode to me; it yaf vois ayens me, therfor Y hate it.
9 [Is] My inheritance a speckled bird to Me? Is the bird around against her? Come, assemble, every beast of the field, Come for food.
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 shepherds destroyed My vineyard, They have trodden down My portion, They have made My desirable portion Become a wilderness—a desolation.
Many scheepherdis distrieden my vyner, defouliden my part, yauen my desirable porcioun in to desert of wildirnesse;
11 He has made it become a desolation, The desolation has mourned to Me, All the land has been desolated, But there is no one laying it to heart.
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 Spoilers have come in on all high places in the plain, For the sword of YHWH is consuming, From the end of the land even to the end of the land, There is no peace to any flesh.
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 sowed wheat, and have reaped thorns, They have become sick—they do not profit, And they have been ashamed of your increases, Because of the fierceness of the anger of YHWH.”
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 said YHWH: “Concerning all My evil neighbors, who are striking against the inheritance that I caused My people—Israel—to inherit: Behold, I am plucking them from off their ground, And I pluck the house of Judah out of their midst.
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 it has been, after My plucking them out, I turn back, and have pitied them, And I have brought them back, Each to his inheritance, and each 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 it has come to pass, If they learn the ways of My people well, To swear by My Name, YHWH lives, As they taught My people to swear by Ba‘al, Then they have been built up in the midst 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 And if they do not listen, Then I have plucked up that nation, Plucking up and destroying,” A declaration of YHWH!
That if thei heren not, Y schal drawe out that folk by drawyng out and perdicioun, seith the Lord.
