Jeremiah 18
1 The word that came unto Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying:
The word that was maad of the Lord to Jeremye,
2 Arise and go down to the house of the potter, —and, there, will I cause thee to hear my words.
and seide, Rise thou, and go doun in to the hous of a pottere, and there thou schalt here my wordis.
3 So I went down, to the house of the potter, —and there he was! making a piece of work on the wheels,
And Y yede doun in to the hous of a pottere, and lo! he made a werk on a wheel.
4 Then was marred, the vessel that he was making, while yet it was clay in the hand of the potter, —so he turned and made of it another vessel, as seemed right in the eyes of the potter to make it.
And the vessel was distried, which he made of clei with hise hondis; and he turnede it, and made it another vessel, as it pleside in hise iyen to make.
5 Then came the word of Yahweh unto me, saying:
And the word of the Lord was maad to me,
6 Like this potter, can I not deal with you O house of Israel? Demandeth Yahweh: Lo! as clay in the hand of the potter, So, are, ye, in my hand O house of Israel.
and he seide, Whether as this pottere doith, Y mai not do to you, the hous of Israel? seith the Lord. Lo! as cley is in the hond of a pottere, so ye, the hous of Israel, ben in myn hond.
7 The moment I speak, concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom, —to pull up and to break down, and to destroy;
Sudenli Y schal speke ayens a folk, and ayens a rewme, that Y drawe out, and distrie, and leese it.
8 and that nation return from its wickedness against whom I have spoken, then will I repent concerning the calamity which I had devised to bring upon it.
If thilke folk doith penaunce of his yuel, which Y spak ayens it, also Y schal do penaunce on the yuel, which Y thouyte to do to it.
9 And, the moment I speak, concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom, —to build and to plant;
And Y schal speke sudenli of a folk, and of a rewme, that Y bilde, and plaunte it.
10 and it commit wickedness in mine eyes, in not hearkening unto my voice, then will I repent concerning the good wherewith I had said I would do it good.
If it doith yuel bifore myn iyen, that it here not my vois, Y schal do penaunce on the good which Y spak, that Y schulde do to it.
11 Now, therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the men of Judah and concerning the inhabitants of Jerusalem saying, Thus, saith Yahweh, —Lo! I am fashioning against you calamity, and devising against you, a device, —Return I pray you every man from his wicked way, And amend your ways and your doings.
Now therfor seie thou to a man of Juda, and to the dwellere of Jerusalem, and seie, The Lord seith these thingis, Lo! Y make yuel ayens you, and Y thenke a thouyte ayens you; ech man turne ayen fro his yuel weie, and dresse ye youre weies and youre studies.
12 And, since they will say, Hopeless! For after our own devices, will we walk, And, every one, the stubbornness of his own wicked heart, will we do!
Whiche seiden, We han dispeirid, for we schulen go after oure thouytis, and we schulen do ech man the schrewidnesse of his yuel herte.
13 Therefore, Thus saith Yahweh, Ask I pray you among the nations, —Who hath heard such things as these? A very horrible thing, hath, the virgin, Israel done!
Therfor the Lord seith these thingis, Axe ye hethene men, who herde siche orible thingis, whiche the virgyn of Israel hath do greetli?
14 Shall the snow of Lebanon, fail from the rock of the field? Or shall waters from afar, deep, overflowing, be dried up?
Whether snow of the Liban schal fail fro the stoon of the feeld? ether coolde watris brekynge out, and fletynge doun moun be takun awei?
15 Yet my people have forgotten me, Unto vanity, have they been burning incense; And it hath caused them to stumble In their ways The roads of age-past times, To walk in by-paths—A way not cast up.
For my puple hath foryete me, and offriden sacrifices in veyn, and snaperiden in her weies, and in the pathis of the world, that thei yeden bi tho in a weie not trodun;
16 To make their land a desolation The hissings of age-abiding times, —Every one that passeth by her, shall be astonished and wag his head.
that the lond of hem schulde be in to desolacioun, and in to an hissyng euerlastinge; for whi ech that passith bi it, schal be astonyed, and schal moue his heed.
17 Like an east wind, will I scatter them before the enemy, —The back and not the face, will I let them see in the day of their distress.
As a brennynge wynd Y schal scatere hem bifor the enemy; Y schal schewe to hem the bak and not the face, in the dai of the perdicioun of hem.
18 Then said they, —Come ye and let us devise against Jeremiah devices, For the law shall not perish from the priest, Nor, counsel, from the wise, Nor, the word from the prophet: Come and let as smite him with the tongue, And let us not give ear to any of his words!
And thei seiden, Come ye, and thenke we thouytis ayens Jeremye; for whi the lawe schal not perische fro a preest, nether councel schal perische fro a wijs man, nether word schal perische fro a profete; come ye, and smyte we hym with tunge, and take we noon heede to alle the wordis of hym.
19 Give thou ear O Yahweh unto me, —And hearken unto the voice of mine accusers.
Lord, yyue thou tent to me, and here thou the vois of myn aduersaries.
20 Shall, evil, be recompensed for good? For they have digged a pit for my life, —Remember how I stood before thee To speak in their behalf what was good! To turn back thine indignation from them.
Whether yuel is yoldun for good, for thei han diggid a pit to my soule; haue thou mynde, that Y stoode in thi siyt, to speke good for hem, and to turne awei thin indignacioun fro hem.
21 Therefore, give thou up their sons to the famine And deliver them into the hands of the sword, And let their, wives, become, childless and widows, And let, their men, be slain by death, Their young men be smitten by the sword in battle.
Therfor yyue thou the sones of hem in to hungur, and lede forth hem in to the hondis of swerd; the wyues of hem be maad with out children, and be maad widewis, and the hosebondis of hem be slayn bi deth; the yonge men of hem be persid togidere bi swerd in batel.
22 Let there be heard a cry out of their houses, When thou shalt bring in upon them a troop, suddenly, —Because they digged a pit to capture me, And snares, did they hide for my feet.
Cry be herd of the housis of hem, for thou schalt bringe sudenli a theef on hem; for thei diggiden a pit to take me, and hidden snaris to my feet.
23 But, thou, O Yahweh, knowest all their counsels against me to put me to death, Put thou no propitiatory-covering over their iniquity, And their sin from before thee, do not thou blot out, —But let them be overthrown before thee, In the time of thine anger, deal thou effectively with them.
But thou, Lord, knowist al the councel of hem ayens me in to deth; do thou not merci to the wickidnesse of hem, and the synne of hem be not doon awei fro thi face; be thei maad fallynge doun in thi siyt, in the tyme of thi stronge veniaunce; vse thou hem to othir thing than thei weren ordeyned.
