Isaiah 31
1 Wo to hem that goon doun in to Egipt to help, and hopen in horsis, and han trist on cartis, for tho ben manye, and on knyytis, for thei ben ful stronge; and thei tristiden not on the hooli of Israel, and thei souyten not the Lord.
Terrible things will happen to those who reply on Egypt to help them, trusting in their soldiers’ horses and their many chariots and their strong chariot-drivers, instead of trusting that Yahweh, the Holy One of Israel, will help them.
2 Forsothe he that is wijs, hath brouyt yuel, and took not awei hise wordis; and he schal rise togidere ayens the hous of worste men, and ayens the helpe of hem that worchen wickidnesse.
Yahweh is [very] wise, [but] he also causes people to experience disaster! And [when he decides to do that], he does not change his mind! He will strike/punish the wicked people and [all] those who help them.
3 Egipt is a man, and not God; and the horsis of hem ben fleisch, and not spirit; and the Lord schal bowe doun his hond, and the helpere schal falle doun, and he schal falle, to whom help is youun, and alle schulen be wastid togidere.
The soldiers of Egypt [that you people of Judah are relying on] are humans, not God! And their horses are only horses; they are not [powerful] spirits! So when Yahweh raises his fist to strike/punish the [soldiers of Egypt whom you thought would help you], he will also strike [you who thought that you would be helped], and you and they will stumble and fall down; all of you will die together.
4 For whi the Lord seith these thingis to me, If a lioun rorith, and a whelp of a lioun on his prey, whanne the multitude of schipherdis cometh ayens hym, he schal not drede of the vois of hem, and he schal not drede of the multitude of hem; so the Lord of oostis schal come doun, for to fiyte on the mounteyn of Sion, and on the litil hil therof.
But this is what Yahweh said to me: “When a huge lion stands over the body of a sheep that he has killed and growls, even if a large group of shepherds comes [to chase/shoo away the lion], even if they shout loudly, the lion will not be afraid and will not leave. Similarly, I, the Commander of the armies of angels, will come down to fight [my enemies] on Zion Hill, [and nothing will hinder me].
5 As briddis fleynge, so the Lord of oostis schal defende Jerusalem; he defendynge and delyuerynge, passynge forth and sauynge.
[I], the Commander of the armies of angels, will protect Jerusalem like [SIM] a [mother] bird protects [the baby birds in] her nest: I will defend the city and rescue it from its enemies.”
6 Ye sones of Israel, be conuertid, as ye hadden go awei in to depthe.
My people, [even though] you have greatly rebelled against Yahweh, return to him.
7 Forsothe in that dai a man schal caste awei the idols of his siluer, and the idols of his gold, whiche youre hondis maden to you in to synne.
When you do that, each of you will throw away the idols that you [SYN] have sinned by making, idols that are [covered with] silver and gold.
8 And Assur schal falle bi swerd, not of man, and a swerd, not of man, schal deuoure hym; and he schal fle, not fro the face of swerd, and hise yonge men schulen be tributaries;
[Many of the] Assyrian [soldiers] will be killed, but not by swords that men use. They will be destroyed by the sword of God; and [those who are not killed] will (panic/be very afraid) and flee. And some of them will [be captured] and forced to become slaves.
9 and the strengthe of hym schal passe fro ferdfulnesse, and hise princes fleynge schulen drede. The Lord seide, whos fier is in Sion, and his chymeney is in Jerusalem.
[Even] their very strong soldiers [MTY] will be terrified; they will abandon their battle flags and run away! Yahweh will cause his enemies who attack Jerusalem to be destroyed. Yahweh’s presence on Zion Hill is [like] a fire, [like] a furnace that blazes in Jerusalem; and that is what Yahweh says [about what will happen to the Assyrian army]!
