< Hosea 2 >
1 Sei ye to youre britheren, Thei ben my puple; and to youre sister that hath gete merci,
Say ye unto your brethren, O Ammi ["O my people"], and unto your sisters, O Ruhamah ["O compassionated one"]:
2 Deme ye youre modir, deme ye, for sche is not my wijf, and Y am not hir hosebonde. Do sche awey hir fornicaciouns fro hir face, and hir auowtries fro the myddis of hir brestis;
Contend ye with your mother, contend, for she is no wife of mine, and I am no husband of hers, Let her then put away her paramours from before her, and her partners in adultery, from her embraces:
3 lest perauenture Y spuyle hir nakid, and sette hir nakid bi the dai of hir natyuyte. And Y schal sette hir as a wildirnesse, and Y schal ordeyne hir as a lond with out weie, and Y schal sle hir in thirst.
Lest I strip off her under-clothing, and set her forth to view, as in the day she was born, —and make her like a wilderness, and render her like a land that is parched, and suffer her to die of thirst;
4 And Y schal not haue merci on the sones of hir, for thei ben sones of fornicaciouns;
And, on her children, not have compassion, —because, the children of paramours, they are.
5 for the modir of hem dide fornicacioun, sche is schent that conseyuede hem, for sche seide, Y schal go after my louyeris that yeuen looues to me, and my watris, and my wolle, and my flex, and myn oile, and my drynke.
For their mother, hath been unchaste, and she that conceived them, hath caused shame, —for she said, Let me go after my lovers! who used to give my bread, and my water, my wool, and my flax, mine oil, and my drink.
6 For this thing lo! Y schal hegge thi weie with thornes, and Y schal hegge it with a wal, and sche schal not fynde hir pathis.
Therefore, behold me! hedging up her way, with thorns, —and I will wall her in, and, her footpaths, shall she not find.
7 And sche schal sue hir louyeris, and schal not take hem, and sche schal seke hem, and schal not fynde; and sche schal seie, Y schal go, and turne ayen to my formere hosebonde, for it was wel to me thanne more than now.
And, when she shall pursue her lovers, and not overtake them, and shall seek them and not find, then will she say, Let me go my way now! and return unto my first husband, for it was better with me, then, than, now!
8 And this Jerusalem wiste not, that Y yaf to hir wheete, wyn, and oile; and Y multiplied siluer and gold to hir, whiche thei maden to Baal.
But, she, owneth not, that, I, gave her—the corn, and the new wine and the oil, —silver, also increased I unto her, and gold—[which] they offered to Baal!
9 Therfor Y schal turne, and take my wheete in his tyme, and my wiyn in his tyme; and Y schal delyuere my wolle, and my flex, bi which thei hiliden the schenschipe therof.
Therefore, will I again take away my corn, in the time thereof, and my new wine, in the season thereof, —and will recover my wool and my flax [given] to hide her shame.
10 And now Y schal schewe the foli of hir bifore the iyen of hir louyeris, and a man schal not delyuere hir fro myn hond;
Now, therefore, will I expose her unseemliness, before the eyes of her lovers, —and no, man, shall deliver her out of my hand!
11 and Y schal make to ceesse al the ioye therof, the solempnyte therof, the neomenye therof, the sabat therof, and alle the feeste tymes therof.
And I will cause to cease all her mirth, her pilgrim-festival, her new moon and her sabbath, —and her every appointed meeting;
12 And Y schal distrie the vyner therof, of whiche sche seide, These ben myn hiris, whiche my louyeris yauen to me; and Y schal sette it in to a forest, and a beeste of the feeld schal ete it.
And will lay waste her vine and her fig- tree, as to which she hath said, A present, are they for myself, which my lovers, have given me, —and I will make of them a thicket, and the wild beasts of the field shall devour them.
13 And Y schal visite on it the daies of Baalym, in whiche it brente encense, and was ourned with hir eere ryng, and hir broche, and yede after hir louyeris, and foryat me, seith the Lord.
So will I visit upon her the days of the Baals, unto whom she used to burn incense, and decked herself with her nose-ring and her jewelry, and went her way after her lovers, —whereas, me, she forgat, Declareth Yahweh.
14 For this thing lo! Y schal yyue mylk to it, and Y schal brynge it in to wildirnesse, and Y schal speke to the herte therof.
Therefore, lo! I, am going to persuade her, and, though I conduct her forth into wilderness, yet will I speak unto her heart.
15 And Y schal yyue to it vyn tilieris therof of the same place, and the valei of Achar, that is, of disturblyng, for to opene hope. And it schal synge there bi the daies of hir yongthe, and bi the daies of hir stiyng fro the lond of Egipt.
Then will I give to her her vineyards from thence, and the vale of Achor ["trouble"] for a door of hope, —and she will respond there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
16 And it schal be in that dai, seith the Lord, sche schal clepe me Myn hosebonde, and sche schal no more clepe me Baalym;
And it shall come to pass, in that day, Declareth Yahweh, that she will call me Ishi ["My husband"], and will not call me any more, Baali ["Mine owner"].
17 and Y schal take awei the names of Baalym fro hir mouth, and sche schal no more haue mynde of the name of tho.
So will I take away the names of the Baals, out of her mouth, —and they shall not be called to mind any more, by their name.
18 And Y schal smyte to hem a boond of pees in that dai with the beeste of the feeld, and with the brid of the eir, and with the crepynge beeste of erthe. And Y schal al to-breke bowe, and swerd, and batel fro erthe; and Y schal make hem to slepe tristili.
And I will solemnize to them a covenant, in that day, with the wild-beast of the field, and with the bird of the heavens, and the creeping thing of the ground, —and, bow and sword and battle, will I break in pieces out of the land, so will I cause them to lie down, in security.
19 And Y schal spouse thee to me withouten ende; and Y schal spouse thee to me in riytfulnesse, and in dom, and in merci, and in merciful doyngis.
And I will take thee unto myself, unto times age-abiding, —yea I will take thee unto myself, in righteousness and in justice, and in lovingkindness, and in abounding compassion:
20 And Y schal spouse thee to me in feith; and thou schalt wite, that Y am the Lord.
Yea I will take thee unto myself, in faithfulness, —So shalt thou know Yahweh.
21 And it schal be, in that dai Y schal here, seith the Lord, and Y schal here heuenes, and tho schulen here the erthe;
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will respond, Declareth Yahweh, I will respond to the heavens, —and, they, shall respond to the earth;
22 and the erthe schal here wheete, and wyn, and oile, and these schulen here Jesrael.
And, the earth, shall respond to the corn, and to the new wine and to the oil, —and, they, shall respond to Jezreel ["Whom GOD scattereth," "Whom GOD soweth"].
23 And Y schal sowe it to me in to a lond, and Y schal haue merci on it that was with out merci. And Y schal seie to that, that is not my puple, Thou art my puple, and it schal seie, Thou art my God.
So will I sow her unto me in the land, and will have compassion upon the uncompassionated one ["Lo-ruhamah"], —and will say to him who was No-people-of-mine ["Lo-ammi"], My people, thou art, and, he, shall say, My God!