Amos 5
1 Here ye this word, for Y reise on you a weilyng.
You people [MTY] of Israel, listen to this funeral song that I will sing about you:
2 The hous of Israel felle doun, he schal not put to, that it rise ayen; the virgyn of Israel is cast doun in to hir lond, noon is that schal reise hir.
“You are like [MET] a young woman, but in spite of that, you will certainly be struck down and you will never get up again! You will lie on the ground, abandoned, and there will be no one to help you stand up.”
3 For the Lord God seith these thingis, The citee of which a thousynde wenten out, an hundrid schulen be left ther ynne; and of which an hundrid wenten out, ten schulen be left ther ynne, in the hous of Israel.
This is what Yahweh the Lord says to the people [MTY] of Israel: [“When your enemies attack you, ] and when 1,000 [of your soldiers] will go [to a battle], there will be only 100 who will survive. When 100 soldiers march out [from a city to fight], there will be only ten who will remain alive.”
4 For the Lord seith these thingis to the hous of Israel, Seke ye me, and ye schulen lyue;
Yahweh continues to say to the people [MTY] of Israel: “You Israeli people, return to me! If you do that, you will continue to remain alive.
5 and nyle ye seke Bethel, and nyle ye entre in to Galgala, and ye schulen not passe to Bersabee; for whi Galgal schal be led caitif, and Bethel schal be vnprofitable.
Do not go to Bethel to seek [my help]; do not go to Gilgal [to worship]; do not [even] go to Beersheba, because [your enemies] will drag away [the people of] Gilgal to other countries, and Bethel will be completely destroyed.”
6 Seke ye the Lord, and lyue ye, lest perauenture the hous of Joseph be brent as fier; and it schal deuoure Bethel, and there schal not be, that schal quenche.
So, come to Yahweh; if you do that, you will remain alive. If you do not do that, Yahweh will descend on you descendants [MTY] of Joseph like [SIM] a fire; that fire will burn everything in Bethel, and (nothing/no one) will be able to save that town.
7 Whiche conuerten doom in to wermod, and forsaken riytwisnesse in the lond,
You people distort what is fair/right and cause [people to think that] it is something that is very bitter; you treat good things as though they are evil.
8 and forsaken hym that makith Arture and Orion, and hym that turneth derknessis in to the morewtid, and him that chaungith dai in to niyt; which clepith watris of the see, and heldith out hem on the face of erthe; the Lord is name of hym.
[Do you know who] created all the groups of stars and put them in their places? [Each morning] he causes the darkness to become the dawn, and [each evening] he causes the daylight to become darkness. He scoops up water from the oceans [to become clouds], and then he dumps the water [from the clouds] onto the earth. The one who does those things is named Yahweh.
9 Which scorneth distriyng on the stronge, and bringith robbyng on the myyti.
He causes strong [soldiers] to be killed, and causes the (high walls around/fortresses of) cities to be torn down.
10 Thei hatiden a man repreuynge in the yate, and thei wlatiden a man spekynge perfitli.
[He is the one who will punish you] because you hate those who challenge anyone who tries to make unjust decisions, and you hate those who tell the truth in your courts.
11 Therfor for that that ye robbiden a pore man, and token fro hym the chosun prey, ye schulen bilde housis with square stoon, and ye schulen not dwelle in hem; ye schulen plaunte moost louyd vyneyerdis, and ye schulen not drynke the wyn of hem.
You oppress poor people and force them to pay big taxes. You have built big stone mansions [for yourselves], but you will not be able to live in them. You have planted vineyards, but there will not be any [grapes for you to harvest to make] wine.
12 For Y knew youre grete trespassis many, and youre stronge synnes; enemyes of `the riytwis man, takynge yifte, and berynge doun pore men in the yate.
I know all of your sins and the terrible crimes that you have committed. You oppress righteous/honest people, and you accept bribes. You do not allow judges to treat poor people justly.
13 Therfor a prudent man schal be stille in that time, for the time is yuel.
This is a time when [many people do] evil things, so people who have good sense say nothing [when they hear about such things being done].
14 Seke ye good, and not yuel, that ye lyue, and the Lord God of oostis schal be with you, as ye seiden.
In order to remain alive, you must stop doing what is wrong, and start doing what is right. If you do that, the Commander of the armies of angels will be with you like you claim [that he always is].
15 Hate ye yuel, and loue ye good, and ordeyne ye in the gate doom; if perauenture the Lord God of oostis haue merci on the remenauntis of Joseph.
Love what is good, and hate what is evil! Try to cause [judges] in your courts to make decisions that are right/fair! If you do those things, perhaps the Commander of the armies of angels will act mercifully toward [you descendants of] Joseph who are still alive.
16 Therfor the Lord God of oostis, hauynge lordschipe, seith these thingis, Weilyng schal be in alle stretis, and in alle thingis that ben withoutforth it schal be seid, Wo! wo! and thei schulen clepe an erthe tilier to mourenyng, and hem that kunnen weile, to weilyng.
“Because I, Yahweh, [will punish you for your sins], this is what I have solemnly declared: People will be wailing loudly in every street, and people will be very sorrowful in every plaza. Farmers will be summoned to [come and] weep, along with the other official mourners who will wail [for those who have died].
17 And weilyng schal be in alle weies, for Y schal passe forth in the myddil of `the see, seith the Lord.
People will be wailing in your vineyards, because I will punish you [IDM] severely. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it!”
18 Wo to hem that desiren the dai of the Lord; wher to desiren ye it to you? This dai of the Lord schal be derknessis, and not liyt.
Terrible things will happen to you who desire that it will soon be the day when Yahweh [will punish your enemies], because that will be a day of darkness, not of light.
19 As if a man renne fro the face of a lioun, and a bere renne to hym; and he entre in to the hous, and lene with his hond on the wal, and a serpent dwellynge in schadewe bite hym.
[At that time, ] when you try to run from a lion, you will face a bear. When you run into your house [to be safe], and you put your hand on a wall, it will be bitten by a snake.
20 Whether the dai of the Lord schal not be derknessis, and not liyt; and myist, and not schynyng ther ynne?
That day, [when he punishes people], will certainly be [RHQ] a very dark day [MET], without even a little bit of light.
21 Y hatide and castide awei youre feeste daies, and Y schal not take the odour of youre cumpenyes.
[Yahweh says], “I hate your religious celebrations and the times when you gather to worship me; I detest them [DOU].
22 That if ye offren to me youre brent sacrifices, and yiftis, Y schal not resseyue, and Y schal not biholde avowis of youre fatte thingis.
Even if you bring me offerings that will be completely burned [on the altar] and offerings of grain, I will no longer accept them. Even if you bring me offerings to renew/maintain fellowship with me, I will not pay any attention to them.
23 Do thou awei fro me the noise of thi songis, and Y schal not here the songis of thin harpe.
So, stop singing noisy/loud songs! I will not listen when you play harps.
24 And doom schal be schewid as watir, and riytfulnesse as a strong streem.
Instead, your continually acting justly/fairly and righteously should be [never stop, ] like [SIM] [the water in] a river that never stops flowing.
25 Whether ye, the hous of Israel, offriden to me sacrifices for enemyes to be ouercomun, and sacrifice in desert fourti yeeris?
You Israeli people [MTY], your [ancestors] wandered through the desert for 40 years; and during that time, they never brought any sacrifices and offerings to me!
26 And ye han bore tabernaclis to Moloch, youre god, and ymage of youre idols, the sterre of youre god, which ye maden to you.
But they carried the two idols that they had made— the idols of Succoth, the god [that they considered to be] their king, and Kaiwan, [the image of the] star [that they worshiped].
27 And Y schal make you for to passe ouer Damask, seide the Lord; God of oostis is the name of him.
Therefore, now I will force you to go to [a country that is] far beyond Damascus! [That will surely happen because] I, the Commander of the armies of angels, have said it!”
