Jeremiah 23

1 “Woe to shepherds destroying, And scattering the flock of My pasture,” A declaration of YHWH.

Wo to the scheepherdis, that scateren and to-drawen the floc of my lesewe, seith the Lord.

2 Therefore, thus said YHWH, God of Israel, Against the shepherds who feed My people: “You have scattered My flock, and drive them away, And have not inspected them, Behold, I am charging on you the evil of your doings,” A declaration of YHWH.

Therfor the Lord God of Israel seith these thingis to the scheepherdis, that feeden my puple, Ye han scaterid my floc, and han cast hem out, and han not visitid hem; lo! Y schal visite on you the malice of youre studies, seith the Lord.

3 “And I gather the remnant of My flock Out of all the lands to where I drove them, And have brought them back to their fold, And they have been fruitful, and multiplied.

And Y schal gadere togidere the remenauntis of my floc fro alle londis, to whiche Y schal caste hem out thidur; and Y schal turne hem to her feeldis, and thei schulen encreesse, and schulen be multiplied.

4 And I have raised shepherds for them, And they have fed them, And they no longer fear, nor are frightened, Nor are they lacking,” A declaration of YHWH.

And Y schal reise schepherdis on hem, and thei schulen feede hem; thei schulen no more drede, and schulen not be aferd; and noon schal be souyt of the noumbre seith the Lord.

5 “Behold, days are coming,” A declaration of YHWH, “And I have raised a righteous shoot to David, And a king has reigned and acted wisely, And done judgment and righteousness in the earth.

Lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and Y schal reise a iust buriownyng to Dauid; and he schal regne a kyng, and he schal be wijs, and he schal make doom and riytfulnesse in erthe.

6 Judah is saved in His days, and Israel dwells confidently, And this [is] His Name that YHWH proclaims Him: Our Righteousness.

In tho daies Juda schal be sauid, and Israel schal dwelle tristili; and this is the name which thei schulen clepe hym, The Lord oure riytful.

7 Therefore, behold, days are coming,” A declaration of YHWH, “And they no longer say, YHWH lives who brought up The sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,

For this thing lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and thei schulen no more seie, The Lord lyueth, that ledde the sones of Israel out of the lond of Egipt;

8 But—YHWH lives, who brought up, And who brought in, the seed of the house of Israel, From the land of the north, And from all the lands to where I drove them, And they have dwelt on their own ground!”

but, The Lord lyueth, that ledde out, and brouyte the seed of the hous of Israel fro the lond of the north, and fro alle londis to whiche Y hadde cast hem out thidur; and thei schulen dwelle in her lond.

9 In reference to the prophets: My heart has been broken in my midst, All my bones have fluttered, I have been as a man—a drunkard, And as a man—wine has passed over him, Because of YHWH, and of His holy words.

To the prophetis; Myn herte is contrit in the myddis of me, alle my boonys trembliden togidere; Y am maad as a man drunkun, and as a man weet of wyn, of the face of the Lord, and of the face of the hooli wordis of hym;

10 For the land has been full of adulterers, For the land has mourned because of these, The pleasant places of the wilderness have dried up, And their course is evil, and their might—not right.

for the lond is fillid with auowteris. For the erthe mourenede of the face of cursyng; the feeldis of desert ben maad drie, the cours of hem is maad yuel, and her strengthe is vnlijk.

11 “For both prophet and priest have been profane, Indeed, I found their wickedness in My house,” A declaration of YHWH.

For whi the profete and the prest ben defoulid; and in myn hous, seith the Lord, Y foond the yuel of hem.

12 “Therefore their way is as slippery places to them, They are driven into thick darkness, And they have fallen in it, For I bring in calamity against them, The year of their inspection,” A declaration of YHWH.

Therfor the weie of hem schal be as slidur in derknessis, for thei schulen be hurtlid, and schulen falle doun therynne; for Y schal bringe on hem yuels, the yeer of visitacioun of hem, seith the Lord.

13 “And I have seen folly in prophets of Samaria, They have prophesied by Ba‘al, And cause My people—Israel—to err.

And in the profetis of Samarie Y siy fonnednesse, and thei profesieden in Baal, and disseyueden my puple Israel.

14 And I have seen a horrible thing in prophets of Jerusalem, Committing adultery, and walking falsely, Indeed, they strengthened the hands of evildoers, So that they have not turned back, Each from his wickedness, All of them have been as Sodom to me, And its inhabitants as Gomorrah.”

And in the profetis of Jerusalem Y siy licnesse, auoutrie, and the weie of leesyng; and thei confortiden the hondis of the worste men, that ech man schulde not conuerte fro his malice; alle thei ben maad as Sodom to me, and alle the dwellers therof `ben maad as Gommorre.

15 Therefore, thus said YHWH of Hosts, concerning the prophets: “Behold, I am causing them to eat wormwood, And have caused them to drink water of gall, For from prophets of Jerusalem Profanity has gone forth to all the land.”

Therfor the Lord of oostis seith these thingis to the prophetis, Lo! Y schal feed hem with wermod, and Y schal yyue drynke to hem with galle; for whi defoulyng is goen out of the profetis of Jerusalem on al the lond.

16 Thus said YHWH of Hosts: “You do not listen to the words Of the prophets who are prophesying to you, They are making you vain things, They speak a vision of their own heart, Not from the mouth of YHWH.

The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Nyle ye here the wordis of profetis, that profesien to you, and disseyuen you; thei speken the visioun of her herte, not of the mouth of the Lord.

17 Diligently saying to those despising, The word of YHWH: Peace is for you, And [to] everyone walking in the stubbornness of his heart, they have said: Evil does not come to you.”

Thei seien to hem that blasfemen me, The Lord spak, Pees schal be to you; and thei seiden to ech man that goith in the schrewidnesse of his herte, Yuel schal not come on you.

18 For who has stood in the counsel of YHWH, And sees and hears His word? Who has regarded My word, and listens?

For whi who is present in the councel of the Lord, and siy, and herde his word? who bihelde, and herde the word of hym?

19 Behold, a whirlwind of YHWH—Fury has gone out, even a piercing whirlwind, It stays on the head of the wicked.

Lo! the whirlewynd of the Lordis indignacioun schal go out, and tempest brekynge schal come on the heed of wickid men.

20 The anger of YHWH does not turn back Until His doing, and until His establishing, The thoughts of His heart, In the latter end of the days You attend to it with understanding.

The strong veniaunce of the Lord schal not turne ayen, til that he do, and til that he fille the thouyt of his herte. In the laste daies ye schulen vndurstonde the councel of hym.

21 “I have not sent the prophets, and they have run, I have not spoken to them, and they have prophesied.

Y sente not the profetis, and thei runnen; Y spak not to hem, and thei profesieden.

22 But if they stood in My counsel, Then they cause My people to hear My words, And they turn them back from their evil way, And from the evil of their doings.

If thei hadden stonde in my councel, and hadde maad knowun my wordis to my puple, forsothe Y hadde turned hem awei fro her yuel weie, and fro her worste thouytis.

23 [Am] I a God near,” A declaration of YHWH, “And not a God far off?

Gessist thou, whether Y am God of niy, seith the Lord, and not God afer?

24 Is anyone hidden in secret places, And I do not see him?” A declaration of YHWH, “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” A declaration of YHWH.

A man schal not be priuy in hid places, and Y schal not se hym, seith the Lord. Whether Y fille not heuene and erthe? seith the Lord.

25 “I have heard that which the prophets said, Who prophesy falsehood in My Name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.

Y herde what thingis the profetis seiden, profesiynge a leesyng in my name, and seiynge, Y dremede dremes.

26 Until when is it in the heart of the prophets? The prophets of falsehood, Indeed, prophets of the deceit of their heart,

Hou longe is this thing in the herte of profetis, profesiynge a leesyng, and profesiynge the disseite of her herte?

27 Who are devising to cause My people To forget My Name by their dreams, That they each recount to his neighbor, As their fathers forgot My Name for Ba‘al.

Whiche wolen make, that my puple foryete my name for the dremes of hem, which ech man tellith to his neiybore, as the fadris of hem foryaten my name for Baal.

28 The prophet with whom [is] a dream, Let him recount the dream, And he with whom [is] My word, Let him truly speak My word. What does the straw [have to do] with the grain?” A declaration of YHWH.

A profete that hath a dreme, telle a dreem; and he that hath my word, speke verili my word. What is with chaffis to the wheete? seith the Lord.

29 “Is it not thus? My word [is] as fire,” A declaration of YHWH. “And as a hammer—it breaks a rock in pieces.

Whether my wordis ben not as fier brennynge, seith the Lord, and as an hamer al to-brekynge a stoon?

30 Therefore, behold, I [am] against the prophets,” A declaration of YHWH, “Each stealing My words from his neighbor.

Therfor lo! Y am redi to the profetis, seith the Lord, that stelen my wordis, ech man fro his neiybore.

31 Behold, I [am] against the prophets,” A declaration of YHWH, “Who are making their tongue smooth, And they affirm—an affirmation.

Lo! Y to the profetis, seith the Lord, that taken her tungis, and seien, The Lord seith.

32 Behold, I [am] against the prophets of false dreams,” A declaration of YHWH, “And they recount them, and cause My people to err, By their falsehoods, and by their instability, And I have not sent them, Nor have I commanded them, And they are not profitable to this people at all,” A declaration of YHWH.

Lo! Y to the profetis, dremynge a leesyng, seith the Lord; which telden tho, and disseyueden my puple in her leesyng, and in her myraclis, whanne Y hadde not sente hem, nether hadde comaundide to hem; whiche profitiden no thing to this puple, seith the Lord.

33 “And when this people, or the prophet, Or a priest, asks you, saying, What [is] the burden of YHWH? Then you have said to them: You [are] the burden, and I have left you,” A declaration of YHWH.

Therfor if this puple, ether profete, ether prest, axith thee, and seith, What is the birthun of the Lord? thou schalt seie to hem, Ye ben the birthun, for Y schal caste you awei, seith the Lord;

34 “And the prophet, and the priest, and the people, That says, The burden of YHWH, I have seen after that man, and after his house.

and a profete, and a prest, and the puple, that seith, The birthun of the Lord, Y schal visite on that man, and on his hous.

35 Thus you each say to his neighbor, And each to his brother: What has YHWH answered? And what has YHWH spoken?

Ye schulen seie these thingis, ech man to his neiybore, and to his brother, What answeride the Lord? and what spak the Lord?

36 And you do not mention the burden of YHWH anymore, For the burden to each is His word, And you have overturned the words of the living God, YHWH of Hosts, our God.

For the birthun of the Lord schal no more be remembrid, and the word of ech man schal be birthun to hym; and ye han peruertid the wordis of lyuynge God, of the Lord of oostis, youre God.

37 Thus you say to the prophet, What has YHWH answered you? And what has YHWH spoken?

Thou schalt seie these thingis to the profete, What answeride the Lord to thee? and what spak the Lord?

38 And if you say, The burden of YHWH, Therefore, thus said YHWH: Because of your saying this word, The burden of YHWH, And I send to you, saying, You do not say, The burden of YHWH.

Forsothe if ye seien, The birthin of the Lord, for this thing the Lord seith these thingis, For ye seiden this word, The birthun of the Lord, and Y sente to you, and Y seide, Nyle ye seie, The birthun of the Lord; therfor lo!

39 Therefore, behold, I have utterly taken you away, And I have sent you out, And the city that I gave to you, And to your fathers, from before My face,

Y schal take you awei, and schal bere, and Y schal forsake you, and the citee which Y yaf to you, and to youre fadris, fro my face.

40 And I have put continuous reproach on you, And continuous shame that is not forgotten!”

And Y schal yyue you in to euerlastynge schenschipe, and in to euerlastynge sclaundir, that schal neuere be doon awei bi foryetyng.