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.
Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, who are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the spring of Judah, who swear by the name of the Lord, and make mention of the God of Israel, —not in truth, nor in righteousness.
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 of the holy city they call themselves, and upon the God of Israel they stay themselves, —The Lord of hosts 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.
The former things have I declared from the beginning; and out of my mouth went they forth, and I announced them: suddenly did I accomplish them, and they came to pass;
4 For Y wiste that thou art hard, and thi nol is a senewe of irun, and thi forhed is of bras.
Because I knew that thou art obstinate, that like an iron sinew is thy neck, and thy brow of copper;
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
And I declared it to thee from the beginning; before yet it came to pass did I let thee hear it: lest thou should say, My idol hath done these things, and my graven image, and my molten image, have ordained them.
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;
Thou hast heard it; see it all now; and you—will you not declare it? I caused thee to hear new things, from this time, even hidden things which thou hadst not known.
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.
Now are they created, and not from the beginning; and before the day [that I announced them] thou heardest them not; lest thou shouldest say, Behold, I knew 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.
But neither hadst thou heard it; nor didst thou know; nor had in ancient times thy ear been opened; for I knew that thou wouldst deal very treacherously, and a transgressor wast thou called from thy birth.
9 For my name Y schal make fer my strong veniaunce, and with my preysyng Y schal refreyne thee, lest thou perische.
For the sake of my name will I defer my anger, and because of my praise will I restrain it toward thee, so that I may not cut thee off.
10 Lo! Y haue sode thee, but not as siluer; Y chees thee in the chymeney of pouert.
Behold, I have refined thee, though not into silver: I have approved thee in the crucible of affliction.
11 Y schal do for me, that Y be not blasfemyd, and Y schal not yyue my glorie to another.
For my own sake will I do it: for how would [my name] be dishonored? and my glory will I not give unto another.
12 Jacob and Israel, whom Y clepe, here thou me; Y my silf, Y am the firste and Y am the laste.
Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel, my called one; I am he; I am the first, I also 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.
My hand also hath laid the foundation of the earth, and my right hand hath spanned out the heavens: I call unto them, they stand forward together.
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.
Assemble yourselves, all of you, and hear: Who among them hath told these things? He whom the Lord loveth, will do his pleasure on Babylon, and [display] his arm [on] the Chaldeans.
15 Y, Y spak, and clepide hym; Y brouyte hym, and his weie was dressid.
I, even I, have spoken it, I have also called him: I have brought him, and he shall be prosperous on his way.
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 ye near unto me, hear ye this; never from the beginning have I spoken in secret; from the time that it occurred, was I there. And now the Lord Eternal hath sent me, and 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.
Thus hath said the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, I am the Lord thy God who teach thee for thy profit, who lead thee by the way thou shouldst 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;
Oh that thou hadst but listened to my commandments! then would have been as a river thy peace, and thy prosperity 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.
And then would have been as the sand thy seed, and the offspring of thy body like the pebbles of the sea-shore; yet shall his name not be cut off nor destroyed from 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 forth out of Babylon, flee away from the Chaldeans, with the voice of singing declare, announce this, carry it forth as far as the end of the earth; say, The Lord hath redeemed 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.
And they thirsted not when he led them through the deserts; waters out of the rock he let drop down for them: and he cleaved the rock, and the waters gushed out.
22 Pees is not to wickid men, seith the Lord.
There is no peace, saith the Lord, unto the wicked.
