Jeremiah 51
1 “Yahweh says this: See, I am about to stir up a wind of destruction against Babylon and against those who live in Leb Kamai.
The Lord seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal reise on Babiloyne, and on the dwelleris therof, that reisiden her herte ayens me, as a wynd of pestilence.
2 I will send foreigners to Babylon. They will scatter her and devastate her land, for they will come against her from all around on the day of disaster.
And Y schal sende in to Babiloyne wyndeweris, and thei schulen wyndewe it, and thei schulen destrie the lond of it; for thei camen on it on ech side, in the dai of the turment therof.
3 Do not let the archers bend their bows; do not let them put on armor. Do not spare her young men; set her whole army apart for destruction.
He that beendith his bowe, beende not, and a man clothid in haburioun, stie not; nyle ye spare the yonge men therof, sle ye al the chyualrie therof.
4 For the wounded people will fall in the land of the Chaldeans; those who are killed will fall in her streets.
And slayn men schulen falle in the lond of Caldeis, and woundid men in the cuntreis therof.
5 For Israel and Judah are not forsaken by their God, by Yahweh of hosts, although their land is filled with offenses committed against the Holy One of Israel.
For whi Israel and Juda was not maad widewe fro her God, the Lord of oostis; but the lond of hem was fillid with trespas of the hooli of Israel.
6 Flee from the midst of Babylon; let each man save himself. Do not perish in her iniquity. For it is the time of Yahweh's vengeance. He will repay all of it to her.
Fle ye fro the myddis of Babiloyne, that ech man saue his soule; nyle ye be stille on the wickidnesse therof, for whi tyme of veniaunce therof is to the Lord; he schal yelde while to it.
7 Babylon was a golden cup in the hand of Yahweh that made all the world drunk; nations drank her wine and became insane.
Babiloyne is a goldun cuppe in the hond of the Lord, and fillith al erthe; hethene men drunken of the wyn therof, and therfor thei ben mouyd.
8 Babylon will fall suddenly and be destroyed. Wail for her! Give her medicine for her pain; perhaps she can be healed.
Babiloyne felle doun sudenli, and is al to-brokun; yelle ye on it, take ye recyn to the sorewe therof, if perauenture it be heelid.
9 'We wished to heal Babylon, but she is not healed. Let us all leave her and go away, to our own land. For her guilt reaches up to the heavens; it is piled up to the clouds.
We heeliden Babiloyne, and it is not maad hool; forsake we it and go we ech in to his lond; for the doom therof cam `til to heuenes, and is reisid `til to cloudis.
10 Yahweh has declared our innocence. Come, let us tell in Zion the deeds of Yahweh our God.'
The Lord hath brouyt forth oure riytfulnessis; come ye, and telle we in Sion the werk of oure Lord God.
11 Sharpen the arrows and take up the shields. Yahweh is stirring up the spirit of the king of the Medes in a plan to destroy Babylon. This is for Yahweh's vengeance, vengeance for the destruction of his temple.
Scharpe ye arowis, fille ye arowe caasis; the Lord reiside the spirit of the kyngis of Medeis, and his mynde is ayen Babiloyne, that he leese it, for it is the veniaunce of the Lord, the veniaunce of his temple. The kyng of Medeis is reisid of the Lord ayens Babiloyne.
12 Lift up a banner over Babylon's walls; make the watch strong; set up watchmen; prepare the ambushes; for the LORD will do what he has said concerning the inhabitants of Babylon.
Reise ye a signe on the wallis of Babiloyne, encreesse ye kepyng, reise ye keperis, make ye redi buyschementis; for the Lord thouyte, and dide, what euer thing he spak ayens the dwelleris of Babiloyne.
13 You people who live by many streams of water, you people who are rich with treasures, your end has come. The thread of your life is now cut short.
A! thou Babiloyne, that dwellist on many watris, riche in thi tresours, thin ende cometh, the foote mesure of thi kittyng doun.
14 Yahweh of hosts has sworn by his own life, 'I will fill you with men, like a swarm of locusts, and they will raise a battle cry against you.'
The Lord of oostis swoor bi his soule, that Y schal fille thee with men, as with bruke, and a myry song schal be sungun on thee.
15 He has made the earth by his power; he set in place the world by his wisdom. By his understanding he stretched out the heavens.
The Lord swoor, which made erthe bi his strengthe, made redy the world bi his wisdom, and stretchide forth heuenes bi his prudence.
16 When he thunders, there is the roar of waters in the heavens, for he brings up the mist from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for rain and sends out wind from his storehouses.
Whanne he yyueth vois, watris ben multiplied in heuene; which Lord reisith cloudis fro the laste of erthe, made leitis in to reyn, and brouyt forth wynd of hise tresouris.
17 Every man has become ignorant, without knowledge. Every metalworker is put to shame by his idols. For his cast images are frauds, and there is no life in them.
Ech man is maad a fool of kunnyng, ech wellere togidere is schent in a grauun ymage; for his wellyng togidere is fals, and a spirit is not in tho.
18 They are useless, the work of mockers; they will perish at the time of their punishment.
The werkis ben veyn, and worthi of scorn; tho schulen perische in the tyme of her visityng.
19 But God, the portion of Jacob, is not like these, for he is the molder of all things. Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; Yahweh of hosts is his name.
The part of Jacob is not as these thingis; for he that made alle thingis is the part of Jacob, and Israel is the septre of his eritage; the Lord of oostis is his name.
20 You are my war hammer, my weapon for battle. With you I will smash nations and destroy kingdoms.
Thou hurtlist doun to me the instrumentis of batel, and Y schal hurtle doun folkis in thee, and Y schal leese rewmes in thee;
21 With you I will smash horses and their riders; with you I will smash chariots and their drivers.
and Y schal hurtle doun in thee an hors, and the ridere therof; and Y schal hurtle doun in thee a chare, and the stiere therof;
22 With you I will smash each man and woman; with you I will smash the old and the young. With you I will smash the young men and the virgin girls.
and Y schal hurtle doun in thee a man and womman; and Y schal hurtle doun in thee an elde man and a child; and Y schal hurtle doun in thee a yong man and a virgyn;
23 With you I will smash the shepherds and their flocks; with you I will smash the plowmen and their teams. With you I will smash the governors and officials.
and Y schal hurtle doun in thee a scheepherde and his floc; and Y schal hurtle doun in thee an erthetiliere and his yok beestis; and Y schal hurtle doun in thee duykis and magistratis.
24 For in your sight I will pay Babylon and all the inhabitants of Chaldea for all of the evil that they did in Zion—this is Yahweh's declaration.
And Y schal yelde, seith the Lord, to Babiloyne, and to alle the dwelleris of Caldee, al her yuel, which thei diden in Sion, bifore youre iyen.
25 See, I am against you, mountain of destruction—this is Yahweh's declaration—which destroys the whole earth. I will stretch out my hand against you, and roll you down from the cliffs, and make you a burned-out mountain.
Lo! Y, seith the Lord, to thee, thou hil berynge pestilence, which corrumpist al erthe. Y schal stretche forth myn hond on thee, and Y schal vnwlappe thee fro stoonys, and Y schal yyue thee in to an hil of brennyng.
26 So they will not take from you any stone to construct a building's corner or foundation; for you will become an everlasting devastation—this is Yahweh's declaration.
And Y schal not take of thee a stoon in to a corner, and a stoon in to foundementis; but thou schalt be lost with outen ende, seith the Lord.
27 Lift up a banner over the earth. Blow the trumpet over the nations. Call the nations to attack her: Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz. Appoint a commander to attack her; bring up horses like swarming locusts.
Reise ye a signe in the lond, sowne ye with a clarioun in hillis; halewe ye folkis on it, telle ye to the kyngis of Ararath, of Menny, and of Ascheneth ayens it; noumbre ye Tapser ayens it, and bringe ye an hors, as a bruke hauynge a pricke.
28 Prepare the nations to attack her: The kings of the Medes and his governors, all of his officials and all the lands under his rule.
Halowe ye folkis ayens it, the kyngis of Medey, the duykis therof, and alle magistratis therof, and al the lond of his power.
29 For the land will shake and be in anguish, since Yahweh's plans continue against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a wasteland where there is no inhabitant.
And the erthe schal be mouyd, and schal be disturblid; for the thouyt of the Lord schal fulli wake ayens Babiloyne, that he sette the lond of Babiloyne desert, and vnhabitable.
30 The soldiers in Babylon have stopped fighting; they stay in their strongholds. Their strength has failed; they have become women—her homes are on fire, the bars of her gates are broken.
The stronge men of Babiloyne ceessiden of batel, thei dwelliden in stronge holdis; the strengthe of hem is deuourid, and thei ben maad as wymmen; the tabernaclis therof ben brent, the barris therof ben al to-brokun.
31 A messenger runs to proclaim to another messenger, and a runner tells another runner to report to the king of Babylon that his city has been taken from end to end.
A rennere schal come ayens a rennere, and a messanger ayens a messanger, to telle to the kyng of Babiloyne, that his citee is takun fro the toon ende `til to the tother ende;
32 So the fords over the river are seized; the enemy is burning the reed marshes, and Babylon's fighting men are confused.
and the forthis ben bifore ocupied, and the mareisis ben brent with fier, and the men werryours ben disturblid.
33 For Yahweh of hosts, God of Israel, says this: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor. It is time to trample her down. In a little while the time of harvest will come to her.
For the Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, The douyter of Babiloyne is as a corn floor, the tyme of threischyng therof; yit a litil, and the tyme of repyng therof schal come.
34 'Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me, he has driven me into confusion and has made me an empty pot. Like a monster he has swallowed me, he has filled his stomach with my delicious foods, and then he has spit me out.'
Nabugodonosor, the kyng of Babiloyne, eet me, and deuouride me; he made me as a voide vessel, he as a dragoun swolewide me; he fillide his wombe with my tendirnesse, and he castide me out.
35 The one who lives in Zion will say, 'May the violence done to me and my flesh be on Babylon.' Jerusalem will say, 'May my blood be on the inhabitants of Chaldea.'
Wickidnesse ayens me, and my fleisch on Babiloyne, seith the dwellyng of Sion; and my blood on the dwelleris of Caldee, seith Jerusalem.
36 Therefore Yahweh says this: See, I am about to plead your case and bring about vengeance for you. For I will dry up Babylon's waters and make her springs run dry.
Therfor the Lord seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal deme thi cause, and Y schal venge thi veniaunce; and Y schal make the see therof forsakun, and Y schal make drie the veyne therof.
37 Babylon will become heaps of rubble, a den of jackals, a horror, an object of hissing, where there are no inhabitants.
And Babiloyne schal be in to biriels, it schal be the dwellyng of dragouns, wondryng and hissyng, for that no dwellere is.
38 The Babylonians will roar together like young lions. They will growl like lion cubs.
Thei schulen rore togidere as liouns, and thei schulen schake lockis, as the whelpis of liouns.
39 When they become hot with greed, I will make a feast for them; I will make them drunk so they become happy, and then sleep an unending sleep and not wake up—this is Yahweh's declaration—
In the heete of hem Y schal sette the drynkis of hem; and Y schal make hem drunkun, that thei be brouyt asleepe, and that thei slepe euerlastynge sleep, and rise not, seith the Lord.
40 I will send them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with male goats.
Y schal lede forth hem, as lambren to slayn sacrifice, and as wetheris with kidis. Hou is Sesac takun, and the noble citee of al erthe is takun?
41 How Babylon has been captured! So the praise of all the earth is seized. How Babylon has become a ruined place among the nations.
Hou is Babiloyne made in to wondre among hethene men?
42 The sea has come up over Babylon! She is covered with its roaring waves.
And the see stiede on Babiloyne, it was hilid with the multitude of hise wawis.
43 Her cities have become a desolation, a dry land and a wilderness, a land that no one inhabits, and no human being passes through.
The citees therof ben maad in to wondryng, the lond is maad vnhabitable and forsakun; the lond wherynne no man dwellith, and the sone of man schal not passe bi it.
44 So I will punish Bel in Babylon; I will bring out from his mouth what he swallowed, and the nations will no longer flow to him with their offerings. The walls of Babylon will fall.
And Y schal visite on Bel in to Babiloyne, and Y schal caste out of hise mouth that, that he hadde swolewid, and folkis schulen no more flowe to it; for also the wal of Babiloyne schal falle doun.
45 Go out from her midst, my people. Let each of you save his own life from the fury of my wrath.
Mi puple, go ye out fro the myddis therof, that ech man saue his soule fro the wraththe of the strong veniaunce of the Lord;
46 Do not let your hearts be timid or fear the news that is heard in the land, for the news will come one year. After it in the next year there will be news, and violence will be in the land. Ruler will be against ruler.
and lest perauenture youre herte wexe neische, and lest ye dreden the heryng, that schal be herd in the lond; and heryng schal come in a yeer, and aftir this yeer schal come heryng and wickidnesse in the lond, and a lord on a lord.
47 Therefore, see, days are coming when I will punish the carved idols of Babylon. All of her land will be ashamed, and all of her slaughtered ones will fall in her midst.
Therfor lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and Y schal visite on the grauun ymagis of Babiloyne; and al the lond therof schal be schent, and alle slayn men therof schulen falle doun in the myddis therof.
48 Then the heavens and the earth, and all that is in them will rejoice over Babylon. For destroyers will come for her from the north—this is Yahweh's declaration.
And heuenes, and erthis, and alle thingis that ben in tho, schulen herie on Babiloyne; for rauynours schulen come fro the north to it, seith the Lord.
49 As Babylon has made the killed of Israel fall, so the killed of all her land will fall in Babylon.
And as Babiloyne dide, that slayn men felle doun in Israel, so of Babiloyne slayn men schulen falle doun and in al the lond.
50 Survivors of the sword, go away! Do not stay still. Call Yahweh to mind from far away; let Jerusalem come to mind.
Come ye, that fledden the swerd, nyle ye stonde; haue ye mynde afer on the Lord, and Jerusalem stie on youre herte.
51 We are ashamed, for we have heard insults; reproach has covered our faces, for foreigners have entered the holy places of Yahweh's house.
We ben schent, for we herden schenschipe; schame hilide oure faces, for aliens comen on the halewyng of the hous of the Lord.
52 Therefore, see, days are coming—this is Yahweh's declaration—when I will punish her carved idols, and the wounded people will groan in all of her land.
Therfor lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and Y schal visite on the grauun ymagis of Babiloyne, and in al the lond therof a woundid man schal loowe.
53 For even if Babylon went up to the heavens or fortified her highest fortresses, destroyers would come from me to her—this is Yahweh's declaration.
If Babiloyne stieth in to heuene, and makith stidfast his strengthe an hiy, distrieris therof schulen come on me, seith the Lord.
54 A shout of distress came from Babylon, a great collapse from the land of the Chaldeans.
The vois of a criere of Babiloyne, and greet sorewe of the lond of Caldeis,
55 For Yahweh is destroying Babylon. He is causing her loud voice to perish. Their enemies roar like the waves of many waters; their noise becomes very strong.
for the Lord distriede Babiloyne, and lost of it a greet vois; and the wawis of hem schulen sowne as many watris. The vois of hem yaf sown,
56 For the destroyers have come against her—against Babylon!—and her warriors have been captured. Their bows are broken, for Yahweh is the God of vengeance; he will surely carry out this repayment.
for a rauenour cam on it, that is, on Babiloyne; and the stronge men therof ben takun, and the bouwe of hem welewide, for the stronge vengere the Lord yeldynge schal yelde.
57 For I will make her princes, her sages, her officials, and her soldiers drunk, and they will sleep in an unending sleep and never wake up —this is the King's declaration: Yahweh of hosts is his name.
And Y schal make drunkun the princis therof, and the wise men therof, the duykis therof, and the magistratis therof, and the stronge men therof; and thei schulen slepe euerlastynge sleep, and thei schulen not be awakid, seith the kyng, the Lord of oostis is name of hym.
58 Yahweh of hosts says this: The thick walls of Babylon will be completely demolished, and her high gates will be burned. Then the peoples coming to her aid will labor uselessly; everything that the nations try to do for her will be burned up.”
The Lord God of oostis seith these thingis, Thilke brodeste wal of Babiloyne schal be mynyd with mynyng, and the hiye yatis therof schulen be brent with fier; and the trauels of puples schulen be to nouyt, and the trauels of hethene men schulen be in to fier, and schulen perische.
59 This is the word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah son of Neriah son of Mahseiah when he went with Zedekiah king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was a chief officer.
The word which Jeremye, the profete, comaundide to Saraie, sone of Nerie, sone of Maasie, whanne he yede with Sedechie, the kyng, in to Babiloyne, in the fourthe yeer of his rewme; forsothe Saraie was prynce of profesie.
60 For Jeremiah had written in a scroll about all the disaster that was going to come on Babylon—all these words that were written about Babylon.
And Jeremye wroot al the yuel, that was to comynge on Babiloyne, in a book, alle these wordis that weren writun ayens Babiloyne.
61 Jeremiah said to Seraiah, “When you go to Babylon, then you will see and you will read these words aloud.
And Jeremye seide to Saraie, Whanne thou comest in to Babiloyne, and seest, and redist alle these wordis,
62 Then you will say, 'Yahweh, you yourself have declared that you would destroy this place, and that no man or animal will live in it, and it will be desolate forever.'
thou schalt seie, Lord, thou spakist ayens this place, that thou schuldist leese it, that noon be that dwelle therynne, fro man `til to beeste, and that it be an euerlastynge wildirnesse.
63 Then when you have finished reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the middle of the Euphrates.
And whanne thou hast fillid to rede this book, thou schalt bynde to it a stoon, and thou schalt caste it forth in to the myddis of Eufrates; and thou schalt seie,
64 Say, 'Babylon will sink like this. It will not arise because of the disaster that I am sending against it, and they will fall.'” Jeremiah's words end here.
So Babiloyne schal be drenchid, and it schal not rise fro the face of turment, which Y brynge on it, and it schal be distried. Hidurto ben the wordis of Jeremye.
