< Isaiah 5 >

1 I schal synge for my derlyng the song of myn vnclis sone, of his vyner. A vyner was maad to my derlyng, in the horne in the sone of oile.
Let me sing a song for my love, about his vineyard. My love owned a vineyard on a productive hill.
2 And he heggide it, and chees stoonys therof, and plauntide a chosun vyner; and he bildide a tour in the myddis therof, and rerede a presse ther ynne; and he abood, that it schulde bere grapis, and it bare wielde grapis.
He dug it over, cleared the ground of stones, and planted it with the very best vines. In the middle of it he built a watchtower, and he also cut out a winepress from the rock. Then he waited for a good harvest of grapes, but it only produced wild, sour grapes.
3 Now therfor, ye dwelleris of Jerusalem, and ye men of Juda, deme bitwixe me and my viner.
“Now, you people who live in Jerusalem and Judah, please judge between me and my vineyard.
4 What is it that Y ouyt to do more to my vyner, and Y dide not to it? whether that Y abood, that it schulde bere grapis, and it bare wielde grapis?
What more could I have done for my vineyard than I've already done? When I looked for sweet grapes, why did it only produce sour ones?
5 And now Y schal schewe to you, what Y schal do to my vyner. Y schal take awei the hegge therof, and it schal be in to rauyschyng; Y schal caste doun the wal therof, and it schal be in to defoulyng; and Y schal sette it desert,
So let me tell you what I'm going to do to my vineyard. I'll remove its hedge, and it will be destroyed. I'll tear down its wall, and it will be trampled underfoot.
6 ether forsakun. It schal not be kit, and it schal not be diggid, and breris and thornes schulen `growe vp on it; and Y schal comaunde to cloudis, that tho reyne not reyn on it.
I'll turn it into a wasteland. It won't be pruned or weeded—it will be overgrown with brambles and thorns. I'll order the clouds not to rain on it.”
7 Forsothe the vyner of the Lord of oostis is the hous of Israel, and the men of Juda ben the delitable buriownyng of hym. Y abood, that it schal make doom, and lo! wickidnesse; and that it schulde do riytfulnesse, and lo! cry.
Israel is the vineyard of the Lord Almighty, and the people of Judah are the plants in his garden that made him happy. Yet while he hoped for justice, he only saw injustice; he hoped people would live right, but he only heard the cries of those who were suffering.
8 Wo to you that ioynen hows to hous, and couplen feeld to feeld, `til to the ende of place. Whether ye aloone schulen dwelle in the myddis of the lond?
Tragedy is coming to you who buy house upon house and field upon field, joining them all together until no one else has anywhere to live and you live alone in the land.
9 These thingis ben in the eeris of me, the Lord of oostis; if many housis ben not forsakun, grete housis and faire, with outen dwellere, bileue ye not to me.
I heard the Lord Almighty declare: You can be sure that many houses are destined to become ruins, and beautiful mansions destined to become uninhabited.
10 For whi ten acris of vynes schulen make a potel, and thretti buschels of seed schulen make thre buschels.
Ten acres of vineyard will only produce a six gallons of wine, and a measure of seed only a tenth of that in grain.
11 Wo to you that risen togidere eerli to sue drunkennesse, and to drinke `til to euentid, that ye brenne with wyn.
Tragedy is coming to you who get up early in the morning wanting a drink, and who stay up late drinking wine until you're drunk.
12 Harpe, and giterne, and tympan, and pipe, and wyn ben in youre feestis; and ye biholden not the werk of the Lord, nether ye biholden the werkis of hise hondis.
At their feasts you have lyres and harps, tambourines and flutes, and wine, but you don't ever consider what the Lord is doing, and you don't recognize his help.
13 Therfor my puple is led prisoner, for it hadde not kunnyng; and the noble men therof perischiden in hungur, and the multitude therof was drye in thirst.
As a result my people will be exiled for their lack of understanding. Their honored leaders will starve, and the crowds will be dying of thirst.
14 Therfor helle alargide his soule, and openyde his mouth with outen ony ende; and strong men therof, and the puple therof, and the hiy men, and gloriouse men therof, schulen go doun to it. (Sheol h7585)
The grave's appetite increases, its mouth opens wide, and Jerusalem's nobility and the masses will go down into it, along with the rowdy, drunken mobs. (Sheol h7585)
15 And a man schal be bowid doun, and a man of age schal be maad low; and the iyen of hiy men schulen be pressid doun.
Everyone will be brought down, everyone will be humbled; the proud will lower their eyes in humiliation.
16 And the Lord of oostis schal be enhaunsid in doom, and hooli God schal be halewid in riytfulnesse.
But the Lord Almighty will be vindicated because he does what is right; the holy God will be shown to be holy because of his goodness.
17 And lambren schulen be fed bi her ordre, and comelyngis schulen ete desert places turned in to plentee.
Lambs will graze as in their own pasture; fattened livestock and goats will feed among the ruins of the rich.
18 Wo to you that drawen wickydnesse in the cordis of vanyte, and drawen synne as the boond of a wayn; and ye seien,
Tragedy is coming to you who pull along your sins behind you with iniquity with cords made of lies, and pulling with ropes a cartful of wickedness.
19 The werk of hym haaste, and come soone, that we se; and the counsel of the hooli of Israel neiy, and come, and we schulen knowe it.
You are among the people who say, “God should hurry up! Why doesn't God get a move on with what he's doing so we can see it? Why doesn't the Holy One of Israel execute his plan? Let's see it happen so we can understand what it is!”
20 Wo to you that seien yuel good, and good yuel; and putten derknessis liyt, and liyt derknessis; and putten bittir thing in to swete, and swete thing in to bittir.
Tragedy is coming to you who say evil is good, and good is evil; who turn darkness into light and light into darkness; who make bitter sweet, and sweet bitter.
21 Wo to you that ben wise men in youre iyen, and ben prudent bifor you silf.
Tragedy is coming to you who are wise in your own eyes and think you're so clever.
22 Wo to you that ben myyti to drynke wyn, and ben stronge to meddle drunkenesse;
Tragedy is coming to you who are wine-drinking champions, and experts at mixing alcoholic drinks;
23 and ye iustifien a wickid man for yiftis, and ye taken awei the riytfulnesse of a iust man fro hym.
you who set the guilty free for a bribe, and yet deny justice to the innocent.
24 For this thing, as the tunge of fier deuourith stobil, and the heete of flawme brenneth, so the roote of hem schal be as a deed sparcle, and the seed of hem schal stie as dust; for thei castiden awei the lawe of the Lord of oostis, and blasfemyden the speche of the hooli of Israel.
In the same way fire burns up stubble and dry grass falls down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers disintegrate into dust. For they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty, and have treated with contempt what the Holy One of Israel has said.
25 Therfor the strong veniaunce of the Lord was wrooth ayens his puple, and he stretchide forth his hond on it, and smoot it; and hillis weren disturblid, and the deed bodies of hem weren maad as a toord in the myddis of stretis. In alle these thingis the stronge vengeaunce of him was not turned awei, but yit his hond was stretchid forth.
That's why the Lord burns with anger against his people. He has lifted up his hand and hit them, shaking the mountains, and leaving their corpses lying like refuse in the streets. Despite all this, his anger is not finished, and his hand is still lifted up.
26 And he schal reise a signe among naciouns afer, and he schal hisse to hym fro the endis of erthe; and lo! he schal haaste, and schal come swiftli.
He will send a signal to the distant nations, and will whistle for those living at the ends of the earth. See how quickly they respond, how speedily they come!
27 Noon is failynge nethir trauelynge in that oost; he schal not nappe, nether slepe, nether the girdil of his reynes schal be vndo, nether the lace of his scho schal be brokun.
None of them gets tired or stumbles; none of them rests or sleeps. No belt comes loose, and no sandal strap breaks.
28 Hise arowis ben scharpe, and alle hise bowis ben bent; the houys of hise horsis ben as a flynt, and hise wheelis ben as the feersnesse of tempest.
Their arrows are already sharpened, and all their bows have been strung. The hooves of their horses are hard as flint; their chariot wheels spin like a whirlwind.
29 His roryng schal be as of lioun; he schal rore as the whelpis of liouns; and he schal gnaste, and schal holde prey, and schal biclippe, and noon schal be, that schal delyuere.
They roar like lions, like young lions. They growl, and pounce on their prey. They drag it off so it can't be rescued.
30 And he schal sowne on it in that dai, as doith the soun of the see; we schulen biholde in to the erthe, and lo! derknessis of tribulacioun, and liyt is maad derk in the derknesse therof.
At that time they will roar over their prey like the roaring of the sea. Anyone who looks out over the land will see only darkness and distress—even the sunlight will be darkened by clouds.

< Isaiah 5 >