Isaiah 57

1 A iust man perischith, and noon is, that thenkith in his herte; and men of merci ben gaderid togidere, for noon is that vndurstondith; for whi a iust man is gaderid fro the face of malice.

The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart: and pious men are taken away, without one considering that before the evil the righteous is taken away.

2 Pees come, reste he in his bed, that yede in his dressyng.

He shall come [to his fathers] in peace: they shall repose in their resting-place, every one that walketh in his uprightness.

3 But ye, sones of the sekere of fals dyuynyng bi chiteryng of briddys, neiye hidur, the seed of auowtresse, and of an hoore.

But ye draw near hither, sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the harlot.

4 On whom scorneden ye? on whom maden ye greet the mouth, and puttiden out the tunge? Whethir ye ben not cursid sones, a seed of leesyngis?

Over whom will you make yourselves merry? concerning whom will you open wide your mouth, stretch out your tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,

5 which ben coumfortid in goddis, vndur ech tree ful of bowis, and offren litle children in strondis, vndur hiye stoonys.

That are inflamed after the idols under every green tree; that slaughter the children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks?

6 Thi part is in the partis of the stronde, this is thi part; and to tho thou scheddist out moist offryng, thou offridist sacrifice. Whether Y schal not haue indignacioun on these thingis?

Of the smooth stones of the valley is thy portion; they, they are thy lot: even to them hast thou poured out a drink-offering, hast thou offered a meat-offering. Shall I for these things repent me [of the evil]?

7 Thou puttidist thi bed on an hiy hil and enhaunsid, and thidur thou stiedist to offre sacrifices;

Upon a high and lofty mountain hast thou placed thy couch: even thither wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.

8 and thou settidist thi memorial bihynde the dore, and bihynde the post. For bisidis me thou vnhilidist, and tokist auouter; thou alargidist thi bed, and madist a boond of pees with hem; thou louedist the bed of hem with openyd hond,

And behind the doors and the door-posts hast thou placed thy [mark of] remembrance; for [departing] from me, thou hast laid open, and art gone up, —hast enlarged thy couch, and made thee a covenant with some of them; thou hast loved their lying with thee, hast selected a fitting place.

9 and ournedist thee with kyngis oynement, and thou multipliedist thi pymentis; thou sentist fer thi messangeris, and thou art maad low `til to hellis. (Sheol h7585)

And thou didst show thyself unto the king without ointment, and thou didst multiply thy perfumes, and thou didst send out thy messengers even into the far-off distance, and didst debase thyself even down to the nether world. (Sheol h7585)

10 Thou trauelidist in the multitude of thi weie, and seidist not, Y schal reste; thou hast founde the weie of thin hond,

Though thou art wearied by the length of thy way, yet saidst thou not, It is useless: thou hadst found enough for thy hand; therefore didst thou feel no care.

11 therfor thou preiedist not. For what thing dreddist thou bisy, for thou liedist, and thouytist not on me? And thou thouytist not in thin herte, that Y am stille, and as not seynge; and thou hast foryete me.

And of whom hadst thou dread or fear, that thou becamest false, and didst not remember me, nor lay it to thy heart? is it not so? I kept silence, and this from earliest times, and therefore thou fearest me not!

12 Y schal telle thi riytfulnesse, and thi werkis schulen not profite to thee.

I, I ever tell thee [what deeds would be] thy righteousness; but thy works—these indeed will not profit thee.

13 Whanne thou schalt crie, thi gaderid tresours delyuere thee; and the wynd schal take awei alle tho, a blast schal do awei hem; but he that hath trist on me, schal enherite the lond, and schal haue in possessioun myn hooli hil.

When thou criest, let thy masses of idols deliver thee; but all of them will the wind carry away, a breath will take them off; but he that putteth his trust in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.

14 And Y schal seie, Make ye weie, yyue ye iurney, bowe ye fro the path, do ye awei hirtyngis fro the weie of my puple.

And he will say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, clear out the way, lift up every stumbling block out of the way of my people.

15 For the Lord hiy, and enhaunsid, seith these thingis, that dwellith in euerlastyngnesse, and his hooli name in hiy place, and that dwellith in hooli, and with a contrite and meke spirit, that he quykene the spirit of meke men, and quykene the herte of contrit men.

For thus hath said the high and lofty One, who inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, In the high and holy place do I dwell, yet also with the contrite and humble of spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

16 For Y schal not stryue with outen ende, nether Y schal be wrooth `til to the ende; for whi a spirit schal go out fro my face, and Y schal make blastis.

For not to eternity will I contend, neither will I be for ever wroth: when the spirit from before me is overwhelmed, and the souls which I have made.

17 Y was wrooth for the wickidnesse of his aueryce, and Y smoot hym. Y hidde my face fro thee, and Y hadde indignacioun; and he yede with out stidfast dwellyng, in the weie of his herte.

Because of the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and I smote him, hiding my face, and was wroth: while he went on frowardly in the way of his own heart.

18 Y siy hise weies, and Y helide hym, and Y brouyte hym ayen; and Y yaf coumfortyngis to hym, and to the moreneris of hym.

I [now] see his ways, and I will heal him; and I will guide him, and bestow full comforts on him and on his mourners;

19 Y made the fruyt of lippis pees, pees to hym that is fer, and to hym that is niy, seide the Lord; and Y heelide hym.

Creating the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him that is afar off, and to him that is near, saith the Lord; and I will heal him.

20 But wickid men ben as the buyling see, that may not reste; and the wawis therof fleten ayen in to defoulyng, and fen.

But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it can never be at rest, but its waters cast up mire and dirt.

21 The Lord God seide, Pees is not to wickid men.

There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.