Jeremiah 4
1 “If you return, Israel—this is Yahweh's declaration—then it should be to me that you return. If you remove your detestable things from before me and do not wander from me again,
Israel, if thou turnest ayen, seith the Lord, turne thou to me; if thou takist awei thin offendyngis fro my face, thou schalt not be mouyd.
2 You must be truthful, just, and righteous when you swear, 'As Yahweh lives.' Then the nations will bless themselves in him, and in him they will glory.”
And thou schalt swere, The Lord lyueth, in treuthe and in doom and in riytfulnesse; and alle folkis schulen blesse hym, and schulen preise hym.
3 For Yahweh says this to each person in Judah and Jerusalem: 'Plow your own ground, and do not sow among thorns.
For the Lord God seith these thingis to a man of Juda and to a dwellere of Jerusalem, Make ye newe to you a lond tilid of the newe, and nyle ye sowe on thornes.
4 Circumcise yourselves to Yahweh, and remove the foreskins of your heart, men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, or else my fury will break out like fire, and burn with no one to quench it, because of the wickedness of your deeds.
Men of Juda, and dwelleris of Jerusalem, be ye circumcidid to the Lord, and do ye awey the filthis of youre hertis; lest perauenture myn indignacioun go out as fier, and be kyndlid, and noon be that quenche, for the malice of youre thouytis.
5 Report in Judah and let it be heard in Jerusalem. Say, “Blow the trumpet in the land.” Proclaim, “Gather together. Let us go to the fortified cities.”
Telle ye in Juda, and make ye herd in Jerusalem; speke ye, and synge ye with a trumpe in the lond; crye ye strongli, and seie ye, Be ye gaderid togidere, and entre we in to stronge citees.
6 Lift up the signal flag and point it toward Zion, and run for safety! Do not stay, for I am bringing disaster from the north and a great collapse.
Reise ye a signe in Sion, coumforte ye, and nyle ye stonde; for Y bringe yuel fro the north, and a greet sorewe.
7 A lion is coming out from his thicket and someone who will destroy nations is setting out. He is leaving his place to bring horror to your land, to turn your cities into ruins, where no one will live.
A lioun schal `rise vp fro his denne, and the robbere of folkis schal reise hym silf. He is goon out of his place, to sette thi lond in to wildirnesse; thi citees schulen be distried, abidynge stille with out dwellere.
8 Because of this, wrap yourself in sackcloth, lament and wail. For the force of Yahweh's anger has not turned away from us.
On this thing girde you with heiris; weile ye, and yelle, for the wraththe of the strong veniaunce of the Lord is not turned awei fro you.
9 Then it will happen in that day—this is Yahweh's declaration—that the hearts of the king and his officials will die. The priests will be appalled, and the prophets will be horrified.'”
And it schal be, in that dai, seith the Lord, the herte of the king schal perische, and the herte of princis; and the prestis schulen wondre, and the prophetis schulen be astonyed.
10 So I said, “Ah! Lord Yahweh. Surely you have completely deceived this people and Jerusalem by saying, 'There will be peace for you.' Yet the sword is striking against their life.”
And Y seide, Alas! alas! alas! Lord God; therfor whether thou hast disseyued this puple and Jerusalem, seiynge, Pees schal be to you, and lo! a swerd is comun `til to the soule?
11 In that time it will be said of this people and Jerusalem, “A burning wind from the plains of the desert will make its way to the daughter of my people. It will not winnow or cleanse them.
In that tyme it schal be seide to this puple and to Jerusalem, A brennynge wynd in the weies that ben in desert, ben the weies of the douytir of my puple, not to wyndewe, and not to purge.
12 A wind far stronger than that will come at my command, and I will now pass sentence against them.
A spirit ful of hem schal come to me; and now Y, but Y schal speke my domes with hem.
13 See, he is attacking like clouds, and his chariots are like a storm. His horses are faster than eagles. Woe to us, for we will be devastated!
Lo! he schal stie as a cloude, and hise charis as a tempest; hise horsis ben swifter than eglis; wo to vs, for we ben distried.
14 Cleanse your heart from wickedness, Jerusalem, so that you might be saved. How long will your deepest thoughts be about how to sin?
Thou Jerusalem, waische thin herte fro malice, that thou be maad saaf. Hou long schulen noiful thouytis dwelle in thee?
15 For a voice is bringing news from Dan, and the coming disaster is heard from the mountains of Ephraim.
For whi the vois of a tellere fro Dan, and makynge knowun an idol fro the hil of Effraym.
16 Make the nations think about this: See, announce to Jerusalem that besiegers are coming from a distant land to shout in battle against the cities of Judah.
Reise, ye folkis; lo! it is herd in Jerusalem that keperis ben comun fro a fer lond, and yyuen her vois on the citees of Juda.
17 They will be like the watchmen of a cultivated field against her all around, since she has been rebellious against me—this is Yahweh's declaration—
As the keperis of feeldis thei ben maad on it in cumpas; for it stiride me to wrathfulnesse, seith the Lord.
18 and your conduct and your deeds have done these things to you. This will be your punishment. How terrible it will be! It will strike your very heart.
Thi weyes and thi thouytis han maad this to thee; this malice of thee, for it is bittir, for it touchide thin herte.
19 My heart! My heart! I am in anguish in my heart. My heart is turbulent within me. I cannot keep quiet for I hear the sound of the horn, an alarm for battle.
Mi wombe akith, my wombe akith; the wittis of myn herte ben disturblid in me. Y schal not be stille, for my soule herde the vois of a trumpe, the cry of batel.
20 Disaster follows after disaster; for all the land lies in ruins. Suddenly my tents are destroyed, my curtains in a moment.
Sorewe is clepid on sorewe, and al the lond is distried; my tabernaclis ben wastid sudeynli, my skynnes ben wastid sudeynli.
21 How long will I see the standard? Will I hear the sound of the horn?
Hou longe schal Y se hem that fleen, schal Y here the vois of a clarioun?
22 For the foolishness of my people—they do not know me. They are idiotic people and they have no understanding. They have skill at evil, but do not know to do good.
For my fonned puple knew not me; thei ben vnwise sones, and cowardis; thei ben wise to do yuels, but thei kouden not do wel.
23 I saw the land. Behold! It was formless and empty. For there was no light for the heavens.
Y bihelde the lond, and lo! it was void, and nouyt; and Y bihelde heuenes, and no liyt was in tho.
24 I looked at the mountains. Behold, they were trembling, and all the hills were shaking about.
Y siy munteyns, and lo! tho weren mouyd, and all litle hillis weren disturblid.
25 I looked. Behold, there was no one, and all the birds of the heavens had fled.
Y lokide, and no man was, and ech brid of heuene was gon a wey.
26 I looked. Behold, the orchards were a wilderness and all the cities had been pulled down before Yahweh, before the fury of his wrath.”
Y bihelde, and lo! Carmele is forsakun, and alle citees therof ben distried fro the face of the Lord, and fro the face of the ire of his strong veniaunce.
27 This is what Yahweh says, “All the land will become a devastation, but I will not completely destroy it.
For the Lord seith these thingis, Al the lond schal be forsakun, but netheles Y schal not make an endyng.
28 For this reason, the land will mourn, and the heavens above will darken. For I have declared my intentions; I will not hold back; I will not turn from carrying them out.
The erthe schal mourne, and heuenys aboue schulen make sorewe, for that Y spak; Y thouyte, and it repentide not me, nether Y am turned awei fro it.
29 Every city will flee from the noise of the cavalry and the archers with a bow; they will run into the forests. Every city will climb up into the rocky places. The cities will be abandoned, for there will be no one to inhabit them.
Ech citee fledde fro the vois of a knyyt, and of a man schetynge an arowe; thei entriden in to hard places, and stieden in to roochis of stoon; alle citees ben forsakun, and no man dwellith in tho.
30 Now that you have been devastated, what will you do? For though you dress in scarlet, adorn yourself with gold jewelry, and make your eyes look bigger with paint, the men who lusted for you now reject you. Instead, they are trying to take away your life.
But what schalt thou `destried do? Whanne thou schalt clothe thee with reed scarlet, whanne thou schalt be ourned with a goldun broche, and schalt anoynte thin iyen with wommans oynement, thou schalt be araied in veyn; thi louyeris han dispisid thee, thei schulen seke thi soule.
31 So I hear the sound of anguish, distress as in the birth of a firstborn child, the sound of the daughter of Zion. She is gasping for breath. She spreads out her hands, 'Woe to me! I am fainting because of these murderers.'”
For Y herd a vois as of a womman trauelynge of child, the angwischis as of a womman childynge; the vois of the douyter of Sion among hem that dien, and spreden abrood her hondis; Wo to me, for my soule failide for hem that ben slayn.
