Jeremiah 10
1 The hous of Israel, here ye the word which the Lord spak on you.
Listen to the message the Lord is sending to you, people of Israel.
2 The Lord seith these thingis, Nyle ye lerne aftir the weies of hethene men, and nyle ye drede of the signes of heuene, whiche signes hethene men dreden.
This is what the Lord says: Don't adopt the practices of other nations. Don't be terrified as they are by signs in the heavens that they interpret as predicting disaster.
3 For the lawis of puplis ben veyn, for whi the werk of hondis of a crafti man hath kit doun with an axe a tre of the forest.
The religious beliefs of the peoples are pointless. They chop down a tree in the forest and a craftsman carves the wood with a tool to make an idol.
4 He made it fair with siluer and gold; with naylis and hameris he ioynede it togidere, that it be not loosid.
They decorate it with silver and gold, and nail it down with a hammer so it won't fall over.
5 Idols ben maad in the licnesse of a palm tree, and schulen not speke; tho schulen be takun and be borun, for tho moun not go; therfor nyle ye drede tho, for tho moun nether do yuel, nethir wel.
Just like a scarecrow in a field of cucumbers, their idols can't speak. They have to be carried around because they can't walk. You don't have to be afraid of them because they can't hurt you—and they can't do you any good either.
6 Lord, noon is lijk thee; thou art greet, and thi name is greet in strengthe.
There's no one like you, Lord! You are so great! You are incredibly powerful!
7 A! thou king of folkis, who schal not drede thee? for whi onour is thin among alle wise men of hethene men, and in alle the rewmes of hem noon is lijk thee.
Everyone should respect you, King of the nations. This is how you should be treated. There's no one like you among all the wise men of every nation and kingdom.
8 Thei schulen be preued, vnwise and foolis togidere; the techyng of her vanyte is a tre.
Yet these “wise men” are completely foolish and stupid, because they think they can be taught by useless idols made of wood!
9 Siluer wlappid is brouyt fro Tharsis, and gold fro Ophaz; it is the werk of a crafti man, and of the hond of a worchere in metel; iacynct and purpur ben the clothing of tho; alle these thingis ben the werk of werk men.
Sheets of hammered silver are shipped in from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, to be used by craftsmen and metalworkers. These idols are dressed in clothes of blue and purple made by experts.
10 Forsothe the Lord is veri God; he is God lyuynge, and a kyng euerlastynge; the erthe schal be mouyd togidere of his indignacioun, and hethene men schulen not suffre the manaassing of hym.
But the Lord is the only true God. He is the living God and eternal King. The earth shakes when he is angry; the nations can't withstand his fury.
11 Therfor thus ye schulen seie to hem, Goddis that maden not heuene and erthe, perische fro erthe, and fro these thingis that ben vndur heuene.
This is what you are to tell the nations: “These gods, who didn't make either the heavens or the earth, will be wiped out from this earth and from under these heavens.”
12 He is God, that makith the erthe in his strengthe, makith redi the world in his wisdom, and stretchith forth heuenes bi his prudence.
It was God who made the earth by his power. He created the world by his wisdom and by his understanding he put the heavens in place.
13 At his vois he yyueth the multitude of watris in heuene, and he reisith mystis fro the endis of erthe; he makith leitis into reyn, and ledith out wynd of his tresouris.
The waters of the heavens rain down with a roar at his command. He makes the clouds to rise all over the earth. He makes lightning to accompany rain, and sends the wind from his storehouses.
14 Ech man is maad a fool of kunnyng, ech crafti man is schent in a grauun ymage; for whi that that he wellide togidere is fals, and no spirit is in tho.
Everyone is stupid; they don't know anything. Every metalworker is embarrassed by the idols they make. For their images made of molten metal are fraudulent—they're not alive!
15 Tho ben veyn, and a werk worthi of scorn; tho schulen perische in the tyme of her visitacioun.
They are useless, an object to be laughed at. They will be destroyed at the time of their punishment.
16 The part of Jacob is not lijk these, for he that formede alle thingis is God of Jacob, and Israel is the yerde of his eritage; the Lord of oostis is name to hym.
The God of Jacob is not like these idols, for he is the Creator of everything, and Israel is the tribe that belongs to him. The Lord Almighty is his name.
17 Thou that dwellist in bisegyng, gadere fro the lond thi schenschipe;
You people living in Jerusalem under siege, get all your things together ready to leave,
18 for the Lord seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal caste awei fer the dwelleris of the loond in this while; and Y schal yyue tribulacioun to hem, so that thei be not foundun.
because this is what the Lord says: Look! Right now I'm about to throw out the people living in this country, bringing them trouble they will really feel.
19 Wo to me on my sorewe, my wounde is ful yuel; forsothe Y seide, Pleynli this is my sikenesse, and Y schal bere it.
The people of Jerusalem responded, “We're suffering terribly because we've been badly hurt—our injuries are really serious. We thought it wouldn't be that bad and that we could bear it.
20 My tabernacle is distried, alle my roopis ben brokun; my sones yeden out fro me, and ben not; noon is that schal stretche forth more my tente, and schal reyse my skynnes.
Our tents have been destroyed; all our ropes have been broken. Our children have been taken from us and are no more. We don't have anyone left to put up our tents or hang our curtains.”
21 For the scheepherdis diden folili, and souyten not the Lord; therfor thei vndurstoden not, and alle the flok of hem is scaterid.
The “shepherds” have become stupid—they don't ask the Lord for advice. That's why they have failed, and all their flock has been scattered.
22 Lo! the vois of hering cometh, and a greet mouynge togidere fro the lond of the north, that it sette the citees of Juda in to wildirnesse, and a dwellynge place of dragouns.
Listen to the news that an noisy army is invading from a country to the north. The towns of Judah will be knocked down, they will be places where only jackals live.
23 Lord, Y woot, that the weie of a man is not of hym, nether it is of a man that he go, and dresse hise steppis.
I realize, Lord, that people don't control their own lives—no one really knows how to choose their way.
24 Lord, chastise thou me; netheles in doom and not in thi strong veniaunce, lest perauenture thou dryue me to nouyt.
Please discipline me fairly, Lord—not while you're angry, otherwise you'll kill me!
25 Schede out thin indignacioun on hethene men that knewen not thee, and on prouynces that clepiden not thi name to help; for thei eeten Jacob, and deuouriden hym, and wastiden hym, and destrieden the onour of hym.
Pour out your fury on the nations that don't recognize you as God, and on their families that don't worship you. For they have completely destroyed the Israelites, wiping us out. They have devastated our country.
