< Isaiah 34 >
1 Neiye, ye hethene men, and here; and ye puplis, perseyue; the erthe, and the fulnesse therof, the world, and al buriownyng therof, here ye.
Come near, ye nations, to hear; and hearken, ye people: let the earth hear, and all that is in it; the world, and all things that spring from it.
2 For whi indignacioun of the Lord is on alle folkis, and strong veniaunce on al the chyualrie of hem; he killide hem, and yaf hem in to sleyng.
For the indignation of the LORD [is] upon all nations, and [his] fury upon all their armies: he hath utterly destroyed them, he hath delivered them to the slaughter.
3 The slayn men of hem schulen be cast forth, and stynk schal stie of the careyns of hem; hillis schulen flete of the blood of hem.
Their slain also shall be cast out, and their ill smell shall come up from their carcases, and the mountains shall be melted with their blood.
4 And al the chyualrie of heuenys schal faile, and heuenys schulen be foldid togidere as a book, and al the knyythod of tho schal flete doun, as the leef of a vyner and of a fige tre fallith doun.
And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their hosts shall fall down, as the leaf falleth from the vine, and as a falling [fig] from the fig-tree.
5 For my swerd is fillid in heuene; lo! it schal come doun on Ydumee, and on the puple of my sleyng, to doom.
For my sword shall be bathed in heaven: behold, it shall come down upon Edom, and upon the people of my curse, to judgment.
6 The swerd of the Lord is fillid of blood, it is maad fat of the ynner fatnesse of the blood of lambren and of buckis of geet, of the blood of rammes ful of merow; for whi the slayn sacrifice of the Lord is in Bosra, and greet sleyng is in the lond of Edom.
The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, [and] with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.
7 And vnycornes schulen go doun with hem, and bolis with hem that ben myyti; the lond of hem schal be fillid with blood, and the erthe of hem with ynnere fatnesse of fatte beestis;
And the unicorns shall come down with them, and the bullocks with the bulls; and their land shall be drenched with blood, and their dust made fat with fatness.
8 for it is a dai of veniaunce of the Lord, a yeer of yeldyng of the dom of Sion.
For [it is] the day of the LORD'S vengeance, [and] the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.
9 And the strondis therof schulen be turned in to pitche, and the erthe therof in to brymstoon; and the lond therof schal be in to brennyng pitch, niyt and dai.
And its streams shall be turned into pitch, and its dust into brimstone, and its land shall become burning pitch.
10 It schal not be quenchid withouten ende, the smoke therof schal stie fro generacioun in to generacioun, and it schal be desolat in to worldis of worldis; noon schal passe therbi.
It shall not be quenched night nor day; the smoke of it shall ascend for ever: from generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
11 And onocrotalus, and an irchoun schulen welde it; and a capret, and a crowe schulen dwelle therynne; and a mesure schal be stretchid forth theronne, that it be dryuun to nouyt, and an hangynge plomet in to desolacyoun.
But the cormorant and the bittern shall possess it; the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it: and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion, and the stones of emptiness.
12 The noble men therof schulen not be there; rathere thei schulen clepe the kyng in to help, and alle the princes therof schulen be in to nouyt.
They shall call her nobles to the kingdom, but none [shall be] there, and all her princes shall be nothing.
13 And thornes and nettlis schulen growe in the housis therof, and a tasil in the strengthis therof; and it schal be the couche of dragouns, and the lesewe of ostrichis.
And thorns shall come up in her palaces, nettles and brambles in her fortresses, and it shall be a habitation of dragons, [and] a court for owls.
14 And fendis, and wondurful beestis, lijk men in the hiyere part and lijk assis in the nethir part, and an heeri schulen meete; oon schal crie to an other.
The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet with the wild beasts of the isle, and the satyr shall cry to his fellow; the screech-owl also shall rest there, and find for herself a place of rest.
15 Lamya schal ligge there, and foond rest there to hir silf; there an irchoun hadde dichis, and nurschide out whelpis, and diggide aboute, and fostride in the schadewe therof; there kitis weren gaderid togidere, oon to another.
There shall the great owl make her nest, and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow: there shall the vultures also be gathered, every one with her mate.
16 Seke ye diligentli in the book of the Lord, and rede ye; oon of tho thingis failide not, oon souyte not another; for he comaundide that thing, that goith forth of my mouth, and his spirit he gaderide tho togidere.
Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
17 And he sente to hem eritage, and his hond departide it in mesure; til in to withouten ende tho schulen welde that lond, in generacioun and in to generacioun tho schulen dwelle ther ynne.
And he hath cast the lot for them, and his hand hath divided it to them by line: they shall possess it for ever, from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.