< Amos 4 >
1 Ye fatte kien, that ben in the hil of Samarie, here this word; whiche maken fals caleng to nedi men, and breken pore men; which seien to youre lordis, Bringe ye, and we schulen drynke.
Give ear to this word, you cows of Bashan, who are in the hill of Samaria, by whom the poor are kept down, and those in need are crushed; who say to their lords, Get out the wine and give us drink.
2 The Lord God swoor in his hooli, for lo! daies schulen come on you; and thei schulen reise you in schaftis, and youre remenauntis in buylynge pottis.
The Lord God has taken an oath by his holy name, that the days are coming when they will take you away with hooks, and the rest of you with fish-hooks.
3 And ye schulen go out bi the openyngis, oon ayens another, and ye schulen be cast forth in to Armon, seith the Lord.
And you will go out through the broken places, every one going straight before her, and you will be sent into Harmon, says the Lord.
4 Come ye to Bethel, and do ye wickidli; to Galgala, and multiplie ye trespassyng; and offre ye eerli youre sacrifices, in thre daies youre tithis.
Come to Beth-el and do evil; to Gilgal, increasing the number of your sins; come with your offerings every morning and your tenths every three days:
5 And sacrifice ye heriyng of breed maad sour, and clepe ye wilful offryngis, and telle ye; for ye, sones of Israel, wolden so, seith the Lord God.
Let that which is leavened be burned as a praise-offering, let the news of your free offerings be given out publicly; for this is pleasing to you, O children of Israel, says the Lord.
6 Wherfor and Y yaf to you astonying of teeth in alle youre citees, and nedinesse of looues in alle youre places; and ye turneden not ayen to me, seith the Lord.
But in all your towns I have kept food from your teeth, and in all your places there has been need of bread: and still you have not come back to me, says the Lord.
7 Also Y forbeed reyn fro you, whanne thre monethis weren yit `to comyng, til to ripe corn; and Y reynede on o citee, and on another citee Y reynede not; o part was bireyned, and the part driede vp on which Y reynede not.
And I have kept back the rain from you, when it was still three months before the grain-cutting: I sent rain on one town and kept it back from another: one part was rained on, and the part where there was no rain became a waste.
8 And tweyne and thre citees camen to o citee, to drynke watir, and tho weren not fillid; and ye camen not ayen to me, seith the Lord.
So two or three towns went wandering to one town looking for water, and did not get enough: and still you have not come back to me, says the Lord.
9 Y smoot you with brennynge wynd, and with rust, the multitude of youre orcherdis, and of youre vyneris; and a wort worm eet youre olyue places, and youre fige places; and ye camen not ayen to me, seith the Lord.
I have sent destruction on your fields by burning and disease: the increase of your gardens and your vine-gardens, your fig-trees and your olive-trees, has been food for worms: and still you have not come back to me, says the Lord.
10 Y sente in to you deth in the weie of Egipt, Y smoot with swerd youre yonge men, `til to the caitifte of youre horsis, and Y made the stynk of youre oostis to stie in to youre nose thirlis; and ye camen not ayen to me, seith the Lord.
I have sent disease among you, as it was in Egypt: I have put your young men to the sword, and have taken away your horses; I have made the evil smell from your tents come up to your noses: and still you have not come back to me, says the Lord.
11 Y distriede you, as God distriede Sodom and Gomorre, and ye ben maad as a brond rauyschid of brennyng; and ye turneden not ayen to me, seith the Lord.
And I have sent destruction among you, as when God sent destruction on Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a burning stick pulled out of the fire: and still you have not come back to me, says the Lord.
12 Wherfor, thou Israel, Y schal do these thingis to thee; but aftir that Y schal do to thee these thingis, Israel, be maad redi in to ayen comyng of thi God.
So this is what I will do to you, O Israel: and because I will do this to you, be ready for a meeting with your God, O Israel.
13 For lo! he fourmeth hillis, and makith wynd, and tellith to man his speche; and he makith a `morew myist, and goith on hiy thingis of erthe; the Lord God of oostis is the name of hym.
For see, he who gave form to the mountains and made the wind, giving knowledge of his purpose to man, who makes the morning dark, and is walking on the high places of the earth: the Lord, the God of armies, is his name.