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 man perisheth, and no one layeth it to heart; And pious men are taken away, and none considereth That because of the evil the righteous man is taken away.
2 Pees come, reste he in his bed, that yede in his dressyng.
He entereth into peace; He resteth in his bed, Every one that walketh in 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 draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, Ye brood 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?
Of whom do ye make your sport, And at whom do ye make wide the mouth, And draw out the tongue? Are ye not rebellious children, a treacherous brood?
5 which ben coumfortid in goddis, vndur ech tree ful of bowis, and offren litle children in strondis, vndur hiye stoonys.
Burning with lust for idols Under every green tree, Slaying 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?
With the smooth stones of the valley is thy portion; These, these are thy lot; Here thou pourest out thy drink-offering, And presentest thy meat-offering; Can I see such things, and be at rest?
7 Thou puttidist thi bed on an hiy hil and enhaunsid, and thidur thou stiedist to offre sacrifices;
Upon a high and lofty mountain settest thou thy bed; Thither dost thou go 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,
Behind the doors and the posts dost thou place thy memorial; Thou departest from me, and uncoverest, and ascendest, and enlargest thy bed. Thou makest an agreement with them; Thou desirest their bed; Thou choosest a 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)
Thou goest to the king with oil, And takest much precious perfume; Thou sendest thine ambassadors afar, Yea, down to the under-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,
In the length of thy journeys thou hast wearied thyself, But thou sayest not, “I will desist”; Thou yet findest life in thy hand, Therefore thou art not discouraged.
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.
On account of whom art thou anxious, and of whom art thou afraid, that thou hast proved false, And hast not remembered me, nor laid it to heart? Behold, I have been silent a long time; Therefore thou fearest me not.
12 Y schal telle thi riytfulnesse, and thi werkis schulen not profite to thee.
But now I announce thy deliverance, And thy works do 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 host of idols deliver thee! But the wind shall bear them all away; A breath shall 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.
Men shall say, Cast up, cast up, prepare the road; Remove every obstruction from 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 saith the high and lofty One That inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place; With him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit; To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
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 I will not contend forever, Nor will I be always angry; For life would fail before me, And the souls which I created.
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.
For the guilt of his covetousness I was angry; I smote him, I hid myself, and was angry; But yet he went on perversely in the way of his 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 have seen his ways, yet will I heal him; I will guide him, and I will restore comfort To him and to 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.
I create the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is nigh, Saith Jehovah; 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 is like the troubled sea, Which cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt.
21 The Lord God seide, Pees is not to wickid men.
There is no peace, saith my God, for the wicked.
