< Ezekiel 5 >
1 And thou, sone of man, take to thee a scharp swerd, schauynge heeris; and thou schalt take it, and schalt leede it bi thin heed, and bi thi berd. And thou schalt take to thee a balaunce of weiyte, and thou schalt departe tho.
“Also, you human, [when you start doing those things, ] take a sharp sword and use it like [SIM] a razor to shave your head and your beard. Then put the hair that you shaved off on scales, and divide the [into three equal parts].
2 Thou schalt brenne the thridde part with fier in the myddis of the citee, bi the fillyng of daies of bisegyng. And thou schalt take the thridde part, and schalt kitte bi swerd in the cumpas therof. But thou schalt scatere `the tother thridde part in to the wynd; and Y schal make nakid a swerd aftir hem.
When the time during [you will symbolize that] the city will be [by enemy troops] ends, put a third of the hair inside [drawing of the] city and burn it. Take another third of the hair, [scatter it] all [the drawing of] the city, and then strike it with your sword. That will symbolize that I will strike the people of Jerusalem [their enemies’] swords. Then allow the wind to scatter the other third of the hair. That will symbolize [even if they flee from the city], I will [cause their enemies to] pursue them and attack them with swords.
3 And thou schalt take therof a litil noumbre, and thou schalt bynde tho in the hiynesse of thi mentil.
Take a few of your hairs and tuck them into the folds of your robe.
4 And eft thou schalt take of hem, and thou schalt caste forth hem in to the myddis of the fier. And thou schalt brenne hem in fier; and fier schal go out of that in to al the hous of Israel.
Then take a few of those hairs, throw them into the fire, and burn them up. [That will symbolize that] a fire will spread from Jerusalem [and destroy things] throughout Israel.
5 The Lord God seith these thingis, This is Jerusalem; Y haue sette it in the myddis of hethene men, and londis in the cumpas therof.
This is what [I, ] Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘[drawing will represent] Jerusalem, [the city which] I have set in the center of the nations, with [other] countries around it.
6 And it dispiside my domes, that it was more wickid than hethene men; and it dispiside my comaundementis more than londis that ben in the cumpas therof. For thei han cast awei my domes, and thei yeden not in my comaundementis.
But the wicked people of Jerusalem rebelled against [obeying] my commands, and [they show that] they are more wicked than the people of the surrounding countries. They rejected my laws and refused to obey my commands.’
7 Therfor the Lord God seith these thingis, For ye `han passid hethene men that ben in youre cumpas, and ye yeden not in my comaundementis, and ye diden not my domes, and ye wrouyten not bi the domes of hethene men that ben in youre cumpas;
Therefore, this is what I, Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘You people of Jerusalem have been more rebellious than the people of the nations around you; you have not obeyed any of my laws [DOU]. You have not even obeyed the laws of the nations around you!’
8 therfor the Lord God seith these thingis, Lo! Y to thee, and Y my silf schal make domes in the myddis of thee, bifor the iyen of hethene men; and Y schal do thingis in thee,
Therefore, this is [I, ] Yahweh the Lord, say: ‘I am opposed to [you people of] Jerusalem. I will punish you, and the [people of other] nations will see it happen.
9 whiche Y dide not, and to whiche Y schal no more make lijk thingis, for alle thin abhomynaciouns.
Because of all your detestable [idols], I will punish [people of Jerusalem] like I have never done before and will never do again.
10 Therfor fadris schulen ete sones in the myddis of thee, and sones schulen ete her fadris; and Y schal make domes in thee, and Y schal wyndewe alle thin remenauntis in to ech wynd.
As a result, parents among you will eat their children, and children will eat their [because there will be nothing else to eat]. I will punish you [severely], and I will cause those who will still be alive to be scattered in all directions [IDM].’
11 Therfor Y lyue, seith the Lord God, no but for that that thou defoulidist myn hooli thing in alle thin offenciouns, and in alle thin abhomynaciouns; and Y schal breke, and myn iye schal not spare, and Y schal not do merci.
Therefore, I, Yahweh the Lord, declare that as surely as I am alive, because you have polluted my temple with all your disgusting [statues of idols] and by the other detestable things that you do, I will no longer bless you. I will not pity [you] or act mercifully [toward you].
12 The thridde part of thee schal die bi pestilence, and schal be wastid bi hungur in the middis of thee; and the thridde part of thee schal falle doun bi swerd in thi cumpas; forsothe Y schal scatere thi thridde part in to ech wynd, and Y schal drawe out a swerd after hem.
One-third of your people will die inside the city because of the plagues [they will experience] or by (famine/lack of food). One-third of your people will be killed [your enemies’] swords outside the city. And one-third I will cause to be scattered in all directions; [your enemies] will [still] pursue you and kill you with their swords.
13 And Y schal fille my stronge veniaunce, and Y schal make myn indignacioun to reste in hem, and Y schal be coumfortid. And thei schulen wite, that Y the Lord spak in my feruent loue, whanne Y schal fille al myn indignacioun in hem.
Then I will no longer be angry with you; I will stop punishing [MTY] you after I have gotten revenge on you. And when I stop punishing you, you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken to you because I have been very strongly concerned [what you have done].
14 And Y schal yyue thee in to desert, in to schenschipe to hethene men that ben in thi cumpas, in the siyt of ech that passith forth.
I will cause your [city] to be a ruins, with the result that [people of other] nations that are around you will pass by and see it and sneer at you.
15 And thou schalt be schenschipe `and blasfemye, ensaumple and wondryng, among hethene men that ben in thi cumpas, whanne Y schal make domes in thee, in strong veniaunce, and indignacioun, and in blamyngis of ire.
They will make fun of you and taunt you. When I severely punish you because of my being very angry [DOU] with you, they will be horrified and they will be warned. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it.
16 Y the Lord haue spoke, whanne Y schal sende in to hem the worste arowis of hungur, that schulen bere deth; and whiche Y schal sende, that Y leese you. And Y schal gadere hungur on you, and Y schal al to-breke in you the sadnesse of breed.
When I cut off your food supply and cause there to be more famine, [it will be as though] [MET] I am shooting at you with my arrows that will destroy you.
17 And Y schal sende in to you hungur, and worste beestis, til to the deth; and pestilence and blood schulen passe bi thee, and Y schal bringe in swerd on thee; Y the Lord spak.
I will cause you to experience a famine, and I will send wild beasts to attack you and your children, and [all] your children will be killed. You will experience plagues and wars, and I will cause [your enemies] to attack you with their swords. [That will surely happen because] I, Yahweh, have said it.”