Isaiah 1
1 The visioun, ether profesie, of Ysaie, the sone of Amos, which he siy on Juda and Jerusalem, in the daies of Osie, of Joathan, of Achas, and of Ezechie, kyngis of Juda.
The vision of Isaiah, the son of Amoz, which he saw about Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.
2 Ye heuenes, here, and thou erthe, perseyue with eeris, for the Lord spak. Y haue nurschid and Y haue enhaunsid sones; sotheli thei han dispisid me.
Give ear, O heavens, and you, O earth, to the word which the Lord has said: I have taken care of my children till they became men, but their hearts have been turned away from me.
3 An oxe knew his lord, and an asse knew the cratche of his lord; but Israel knewe not me, and my puple vndurstood not.
Even the ox has knowledge of its owner, and the ass of the place where its master puts its food: but Israel has no knowledge, my people give no thought to me.
4 Wo to the synful folk, to the puple heuy in wickidnesse, to the weiward seed, to the cursid sones; thei han forsake the Lord, thei han blasfemyd the hooli of Israel, thei ben aliened bacward.
O nation full of sin, a people weighted down with crime, a generation of evil-doers, false-hearted children: they have gone away from the Lord, they have no respect for the Holy One of Israel, their hearts are turned back from him.
5 On what thing schal Y smyte you more, that encreessen trespassyng? Ech heed is sijk, and ech herte is morenynge.
Why will you have more and more punishment? why keep on in your evil ways? Every head is tired and every heart is feeble.
6 Fro the sole of the foot til to the nol, helthe is not ther ynne; wounde, and wannesse, and betyng bolnynge is not boundun aboute, nether curid bi medicyn, nether nurschid with oile.
The body, from head to foot, is all diseased; it is a mass of open wounds, marks of blows, and broken flesh: the flow of blood has not been stopped, and no oil has been put on the wounds.
7 Youre lond is forsakun, youre citees ben brent bi fier; aliens deuouren youre cuntrei bifore you, and it schal be disolat as in the distriyng of enemyes.
Your country has become waste; your towns are burned with fire; as for your land, it is overturned before your eyes, made waste and overcome by men from strange lands.
8 And the douytir of Sion, `that is, Jerusalem, schal be forsakun as a schadewynge place in a vyner, and as an hulke in a place where gourdis wexen, and as a citee which is wastid.
And the daughter of Zion has become like a tent in a vine-garden, like a watchman's house in a field of fruit, like a town shut in by armies.
9 If the Lord of oostis hadde not left seed to vs, we hadden be as Sodom, and we hadden be lijk as Gomorre.
If the Lord of armies had not kept some at least of us safe, we would have been like Sodom, and the fate of Gomorrah would have been ours.
10 Ye princes of men of Sodom, here the word of the Lord; and ye puple of Gommorre, perseyue with eeris the lawe of youre God.
Give ear to the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; let your hearts be turned to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah.
11 Wherto offren ye to me the multitude of youre sacrifices? seith the Lord. Y am ful; Y wolde not the brent sacrifices of wetheris, and the ynnere fatnesse of fatte beestis, and the blood of calues, and of lambren, and of buckis of geet.
What use to me is the number of the offerings which you give me? says the Lord; your burned offerings of sheep, and the best parts of fat cattle, are a weariness to me; I take no pleasure in the blood of oxen, or of lambs, or of he-goats.
12 Whanne ye camen bifore my siyt, who axide of youre hondis these thingis, that ye schulden go in myn hallys?
At whose request do you come before me, making my house unclean with your feet?
13 Offre ye no more sacrifice in veyn; encense is abhomynacioun to me; Y schal not suffre neomenye, and sabat, and othere feestis.
Give me no more false offerings; the smoke of burning flesh is disgusting to me, so are your new moons and Sabbaths and your holy meetings.
14 Youre cumpenyes ben wickid; my soule hatith youre calendis and youre solempnytees; tho ben maad diseseful to me, Y trauelide suffrynge.
Your new moons and your regular feasts are a grief to my soul: they are a weight in my spirit; I am crushed under them.
15 And whanne ye stretchen forth youre hondis, Y schal turne awei myn iyen fro you; and whanne ye multiplien preyer, Y schal not here; for whi youre hondis ben ful of blood.
And when your hands are stretched out to me, my eyes will be turned away from you: even though you go on making prayers, I will not give ear: your hands are full of blood.
16 Be ye waischun, be ye clene; do ye awei the yuel of youre thouytis fro myn iyen; ceesse ye to do weiwardli, lerne ye to do wel.
Be washed, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes; let there be an end of sinning;
17 Seke ye doom, helpe ye hym that is oppressid, deme ye to the fadirles and modirles child, defende ye a widewe.
Take pleasure in well-doing; let your ways be upright, keep down the cruel, give a right decision for the child who has no father, see to the cause of the widow.
18 And come ye, and repreue ye me, seith the Lord. Thouy youre synnes ben as blood reed, tho schulen be maad whijt as snow; and thouy tho ben reed as vermylioun, tho schulen be whijt as wolle.
Come now, and let us have an argument together, says the Lord: how may your sins which are red like blood be white as snow? how may their dark purple seem like wool?
19 If ye wolen, and heren me, ye schulen ete the goodis of erthe.
If you will give ear to my word and do it, the good things of the land will be yours;
20 That if ye nylen, and ye terren me to wrathfulnesse, swerd schal deuoure you; for whi the mouth of the Lord spak.
But if your hearts are turned against me, I will send destruction on you by the sword; so the Lord has said.
21 Hou is the feithful citee ful of dom maad an hoore? riytfulnesse dwellide ther ynne; but now menquelleris dwellen ther ynne.
The upright town has become untrue; there was a time when her judges gave right decisions, when righteousness had a resting-place in her, but now she is full of those who take men's lives.
22 Thi siluer is turned in to dros, ether filthe; thi wyn is medlid with watir.
Your silver is no longer true metal, your wine is mixed with water.
23 Thi princes ben vnfeithful, the felowis of theuys; alle louen yiftis, suen meedis; thei demen not to a fadirles child, and the cause of a widewe entrith not to hem.
Your chiefs have gone against the Lord, they have become friends of thieves; every one of them is looking for profit and going after rewards; they do not give right decisions for the child who has no father, and they do not let the cause of the widow come before them.
24 For this thing, seith the Lord God of oostis, the stronge of Israel, Alas! Y schal be coumfortid on myn enemyes, and Y schal be vengid on myn enemyes.
For this reason the Lord, the Lord of armies, the Strong One of Israel, has said, I will put an end to my haters, and send punishment on those who are against me;
25 And Y schal turne myn hond to thee, and Y schal sethe out thi filthe to the cleene, and Y schal do awei al thi tyn.
And my hand will again be on you, washing away what is unclean as with soap, and taking away all your false metal;
26 And Y schal restore thi iuges, as thei weren bifor to, and thi counselours, as in elde tyme. Aftir these thingis thou schalt be clepid the citee of the riytful, a feithful citee.
And I will give you judges again as at the first, and wise guides as in the past; then you will be named, The Town of Righteousness, the true town.
27 Sion schal be ayen bouyt in dom, and thei schulen bringe it ayen in to riytfulnesse;
Upright acts will be the price of Zion's forgiveness, and by righteousness will men be living there.
28 and God schal al to-breke cursid men and synneris togidere, and thei that forsoken the Lord, schulen be wastid.
But a common destruction will overtake sinners and evil-doers together, and those who have gone away from the Lord will be cut off.
29 For thei schulen be aschamed of idols, to whiche thei maden sacrifice; and ye shulen be aschamid on the orcherdis, whiche ye chesiden.
For you will be put to shame because of the trees of your desire, and because of the gardens of your pleasure.
30 Whanne ye schulen be as an ook, whanne the leeues fallen doun, and as an orcherd with out watir.
For you will be like a tree whose leaves have become dry, and like a garden without water.
31 And youre strengthe schal be as a deed sparcle of bonys, `ether of herdis of flex, and youre werk schal be as a quyk sparcle; and euer either schal be brent togidere, and noon schal be that schal quenche.
And the strong will be as food for the fire, and his work as a flame; and they will be burned together, with no one to put out the fire.
