Isaiah 48
1 The hows of Jacob, that ben clepid bi the name of Israel, and yeden out of the watris of Juda, here these thingis, whiche sweren in the name of the Lord, and han mynde on God of Israel, not in treuthe, nether in riytfulnesse.
Give ear to this, O family of Jacob, you who are named by the name of Israel, and have come out of the body of Judah; who take oaths by the name of the Lord, and make use of the name of the God of Israel, but not truly and not in good faith.
2 For thei ben clepid of the hooli citee, and ben stablischid on the God of Israel, the Lord of oostis is his name.
For they say that they are of the holy town, and put their faith in the God of Israel: the Lord of armies is his name.
3 Fro that tyme Y telde the former thingis, and tho yeden out of my mouth; and Y made tho knowun; sudenli Y wrouyte, and tho thingis camen.
I gave word in the past of the things which came about; they came from my mouth, and I made them clear: suddenly I did them, and they came about.
4 For Y wiste that thou art hard, and thi nol is a senewe of irun, and thi forhed is of bras.
Because I saw that your heart was hard, and that your neck was an iron cord, and your brow brass;
5 Y biforseide to thee fro that tyme, bifore that tho thingis camen, Y schewide to thee, lest perauenture thou woldist seie, Myn idols diden these thingis, and my grauun ymagis and my yotun
For this reason I made it clear to you in the past, before it came I gave you word of it: for fear that you might say, My god did these things, and my pictured and metal images made them come about.
6 ymagis senten these thingis whiche thou herdist. Se thou alle thingis, but ye telden not. Y made herd newe thyngis to thee fro that tyme, and thingis ben kept whiche thou knowist not;
All this has come to your ears and you have seen it; will you not give witness to it? I am now making clear new things, even secret things, of which you had no knowledge.
7 now tho ben maad of nouyt, and not fro that tyme, and bifor the dai, and thou herdist not tho thingis; lest perauenture thou seie, Lo! Y knew tho thingis.
They have only now been effected, and not in the past: and before this day they had not come to your ears; for fear that you might say, I had knowledge of them.
8 Nether thou herdist, nether thou knewist, nether thin eere was openyd fro that tyme; for Y woot, that thou trespassynge schal trespasse, and Y clepide thee a trespassour fro the wombe.
Truly you had no word of them, no knowledge of them; no news of them in the past had come to your ears; because I saw how false was your behaviour, and that your heart was turned against me from your earliest days.
9 For my name Y schal make fer my strong veniaunce, and with my preysyng Y schal refreyne thee, lest thou perische.
Because of my name I will put away my wrath, and for my praise I will keep myself from cutting you off.
10 Lo! Y haue sode thee, but not as siluer; Y chees thee in the chymeney of pouert.
See, I have been testing you for myself like silver; I have put you through the fire of trouble.
11 Y schal do for me, that Y be not blasfemyd, and Y schal not yyue my glorie to another.
For myself, even because of my name, I will do it; for I will not let my name be shamed; and my glory I will not give to another.
12 Jacob and Israel, whom Y clepe, here thou me; Y my silf, Y am the firste and Y am the laste.
Give ear to me, Jacob, and Israel, my loved one; I am he, I am the first and I am the last.
13 And myn hond foundide the erthe, and my riyt hond mat heuenes; Y schal clepe tho, and tho schulen stonde togidere.
Yes, by my hand was the earth placed on its base, and by my right hand the heavens were stretched out; at my word they take up their places.
14 Alle ye be gaderid togidere, and here; who of hem telde these thingis? The Lord louyde hym, he schal do his wille in Babiloyne, and his arm in Caldeis.
Come together, all of you, and give ear; who among you has given news of these things? the Lord's loved one will do his pleasure with Babylon, and with the seed of the Chaldaeans.
15 Y, Y spak, and clepide hym; Y brouyte hym, and his weie was dressid.
I, even I, have given the word; I have sent for him: I have made him come, and have given effect to his undertakings.
16 Neiye ye to me, and here ye these thingis; at the bigynnyng Y spak not in priuete; fro tyme, bifore that thingis weren maad, Y was there, and now the Lord God and his Spirit sente me.
Come near to me, and give ear to this; from the start I did not keep it secret; from the time of its coming into existence I was there: and now the Lord God has sent me, and given me his spirit.
17 The Lord, thin ayen biere, the hooli of Israel, seith these thingis, Y am thi Lord God, techynge thee profitable thingis, and Y gouerne thee in the weie, wher ynne thou goist.
The Lord who takes up your cause, the Holy One of Israel, says, I am the Lord your God, who is teaching you for your profit, guiding you by the way in which you are to go.
18 Y wolde that thou haddist perseyued my comaundementis, thi pees hadde be maad as flood, and thi riytfulnesse as the swolowis of the see;
If only you had given ear to my orders, then your peace would have been like a river, and your righteousness as the waves of the sea:
19 and thi seed hadde be as grauel, and the generacioun of thi wombe, as the litle stoonys therof; the name of it hadde not perischid, and hadde not be al to-brokun fro my face.
Your seed would have been like the sand, and your offspring like the dust: your name would not be cut off or come to an end before me.
20 Go ye out of Babiloyne, fle ye fro Caldeis; telle ye in the vois of ful out ioiying; make ye this herd, and bere ye it `til to the laste partis of erthe; seie ye, The Lord ayenbouyte his seruaunt Jacob.
Go out of Babylon, go in flight from the Chaldaeans; with the sound of song make it clear, give the news, let the word go out even to the end of the earth: say, The Lord has taken up the cause of his servant Jacob.
21 Thei thirstiden not in desert, whanne he ladde hem out; he brouyte forth to hem watir of a stoon, and he departide the stoon, and watris flowiden.
They had no need of water when he was guiding them through the waste lands: he made water come out of the rock for them: the rock was parted and the waters came flowing out.
22 Pees is not to wickid men, seith the Lord.
There is no peace, says the Lord, for the evil-doers.
