Isaiah 30
1 Wo! sones forsakeris, seith the Lord, that ye schulden make a councel, and not of me; and weue a web, and not bi my spirit, that ye schulden encreesse synne on synne.
“Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the LORD, “to those who carry out a plan that is not Mine, who form an alliance, but against My will, heaping up sin upon sin.
2 Whiche goen, to go doun in to Egipt, and ye axiden not my mouth; ye hopynge help in the strengthe of Farao, and ye hauynge trist in the schadewe of Egipt.
They set out to go down to Egypt without asking My advice, to seek shelter under Pharaoh’s protection and take refuge in Egypt’s shade.
3 And the strengthe of Farao schal be to you in to confusioun, and the trist of the schadewe of Egipt in to schenschipe.
But Pharaoh’s protection will become your shame, and the refuge of Egypt’s shade your disgrace.
4 For whi thi princes weren in Taphnys, and thi messangeris camen til to Anes.
For though their princes are at Zoan and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
5 Alle thei weren schent on the puple, that myyten not profite to hem; thei weren not in to help, and in to ony profit, but in to schame and schenschip.
everyone will be put to shame because of a people useless to them. They cannot be of help; they are good for nothing but shame and reproach.”
6 The birthun of werk beestis of the south. In the lond of tribulacioun and of angwisch, a lionesse, and a lioun, of hem a serpent, and a cocatrice; thei weren berynge her richessis on the schuldris of werk beestis, and her tresours on the botche of camels, to a puple that myyte not profite to hem.
This is the burden against the beasts of the Negev: Through a land of hardship and distress, of lioness and lion, of viper and flying serpent, they carry their wealth on the backs of donkeys and their treasures on the humps of camels, to a people of no profit to them.
7 For whi Egipt schal helpe in veyn, and idili. Therfor Y criede on this thing, It is pride oneli; ceesse thou.
Egypt’s help is futile and empty; therefore I have called her Rahab Who Sits Still.
8 Now therfor entre thou, and write to it on box, and write thou it diligentli in a book; and it schal be in the last dai in to witnessyng, til in to with outen ende.
Go now, write it on a tablet in their presence and inscribe it on a scroll; it will be for the days to come, a witness forever and ever.
9 For it is a puple terrynge to wrathfulnesse, and sones lieris, sones that nylen here the lawe of God.
These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to obey the LORD’s instruction.
10 Whiche seien to profetis, Nyle ye prophesie; and to biholderis, Nyle ye biholde to vs tho thingis that ben riytful; speke ye thingis plesynge to vs, se ye errouris to vs.
They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions.
11 Do ye awei fro me the weie, bowe ye awei fro me the path; the hooli of Israel ceesse fro oure face.
Get out of the way; turn off the road. Rid us of the Holy One of Israel!”
12 Therfor the hooli of Israel seith these thingis, For that that ye repreuiden this word, and hopiden on fals caleng, and on noise, and tristiden on it,
Therefore this is what the Holy One of Israel says: “Because you have rejected this message, trusting in oppression and relying on deceit,
13 therfor this wickidnesse schal be to you as a brekyng fallynge doun, and souyt in an hiy wal; for sudeynli while it is not hopid, the brekyng therof schal come.
this iniquity of yours is like a breach about to fail, a bulge in a high wall, whose collapse will come suddenly— in an instant!
14 And it schal be maad lesse, as a galoun of a pottere is brokun with ful strong brekyng; and a scherd schal not be foundun of the gobetis therof, in which scherd a litil fier schal be borun of brennyng, ethir a litil of watir schal be drawun of the diche.
It will break in pieces like a potter’s jar, shattered so that no fragment can be found. Not a shard will be found in the dust large enough to scoop the coals from a hearth or to skim the water from a cistern.”
15 For whi the Lord God, the hooli of Israel, seith these thingis, If ye turnen ayen, and resten, ye schulen be saaf; in stilnesse and in hope schal be youre strengthe. And ye nolden.
For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “By repentance and rest you would be saved; your strength would lie in quiet confidence— but you were not willing.”
16 And ye seiden, Nai, but we schulen fle to horsis; therfor ye schulen fle. And we schulen stie on swifte horsis; therfor thei schulen be swiftere, that schulen pursue you.
“No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster.
17 A thousynde men schulen fle fro the face of the drede of oon; and ye schulen fle fro the face of drede of fyue, til ye be left as the mast of a schip in the cop of a munteyn, and as a signe on a litil hil.
A thousand will flee at the threat of one; at the threat of five you will all flee, until you are left alone like a pole on a mountaintop, like a banner on a hill.
18 Therfor the Lord abidith, that he haue mercy on you, and therfor he schal be enhaunsid sparynge you; for whi God is Lord of doom, blessid ben alle thei that abiden hym.
Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore He rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just God. Blessed are all who wait for Him.
19 Forsothe the puple of Sion schal dwelle in Jerusalem; thou wepynge schal not wepe, he doynge merci schal haue merci on thee; at the vois of thi cry, anoon as he herith, he schal answere to thee.
O people in Zion who dwell in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will surely be gracious when you cry for help; when He hears, He will answer you.
20 And the Lord schal yyue to thee streyt breed, and schort watir, and schal no more make thi techere to fle awei fro thee; and thin iyen schulen be seynge thi comaundour,
The Lord will give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, but your Teacher will no longer hide Himself—with your own eyes you will see Him.
21 and thin eeris schulen here a word bihynde the bak of hym that monestith; This is the weie, go ye therynne, nether to the riyt half nether to the left half.
And whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear this command behind you: “This is the way. Walk in it.”
22 And thou schalt defoule the platis of the grauun ymagis of thi siluer, and the cloth of the yotun ymage of thi gold; and thou schalt scatere tho, as the vnclennesse of a womman in vncleene blood; Go thou out, and thou schalt seie to it.
So you will desecrate your silver-plated idols and your gold-plated images. You will throw them away like menstrual cloths, saying to them, “Be gone!”
23 And reyn schal be youun to thi seed, where euere thou schalt sowe in erthe, and the breed of fruytis of erthe schal be moost plenteuouse and fat; in that dai a lomb schal be fed largeli in thi possessioun.
Then He will send rain for the seed that you have sown in the ground, and the food that comes from your land will be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle will graze in open pastures.
24 And thi bolis and coltis of assis, that worchen the lond, schulen ete barli with chaf meynd togidere, as it is wyndewid in the cornfloor.
The oxen and donkeys that work the ground will eat salted fodder, winnowed with shovel and pitchfork.
25 And strondis of rennynge watris schulen be on ech hiy munteyn, and on ech litil hil reisid, in the dai of sleyng of many men, whanne touris fallen doun.
And from every high mountain and every raised hill, streams of water will flow in the day of great slaughter, when the towers fall.
26 And the liyt of the moone schal be as the liyt of the sunne, and the liyt of the sunne schal be seuenfold, as the liyt of seuene daies, in the dai in which the Lord schal bynde togidere the wounde of his puple, and schal make hool the smytynge of the wounde therof.
The light of the moon will be as bright as the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter—like the light of seven days—on the day that the LORD binds up the brokenness of His people and heals the wounds He has inflicted.
27 Lo! the name of the Lord cometh doun fro fer; his strong veniaunce is brennynge and greuouse to bere; hise lippis ben fillid of indignacioun, and his tunge is as fier deuouringe.
Behold, the Name of the LORD comes from afar, with burning anger and dense smoke. His lips are full of fury, and His tongue is like a consuming fire.
28 His spirit is as a stef streem, flowynge `til to the myddis of the necke, to leese folkis in to nouyt, and the bridil of errour, that was in the chekis of puplis.
His breath is like a rushing torrent that rises to the neck. He comes to sift the nations in a sieve of destruction; He bridles the jaws of the peoples to lead them astray.
29 Song schal be to you, as the vois of an halewid solempnyte; and gladnesse of herte, as he that goth with a pipe, for to entre in to the hil of the Lord, to the stronge of Israel.
You will sing as on the night of a holy festival, and your heart will rejoice like one who walks to the music of a flute, going up to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel.
30 And the Lord schal make herd the glorie of his vois, and he schal schewe the ferdfulnesse of his arm in manassyng of strong veniaunce, and in flawme of fier brennynge; he schal hurtle doun in whirlewynd, and in stoon of hail.
And the LORD will cause His majestic voice to be heard and His mighty arm to be revealed, striking in angry wrath with a flame of consuming fire, and with cloudburst, storm, and hailstones.
31 For whi Assur smytun with a yerde schal drede of the vois of the Lord;
For Assyria will be shattered at the voice of the LORD; He will strike them with His scepter.
32 and the passyng of the yerd schal be foundid, which yerde the Lord schal make for to reste on hym. In tympans, and harpis, and in souereyn batels he schal ouercome hem.
And with every stroke of the rod of punishment that the LORD brings down on them, the tambourines and lyres will sound as He battles with weapons brandished.
33 For whi Tophet, that is, helle, deep and alargid, is maad redi of the kyng fro yistirdai; the nurschyngis therof ben fier and many trees; the blast of the Lord as a streem of brymstoon kyndlith it.
For Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the LORD, like a torrent of burning sulfur, sets it ablaze.
