Jeremiah 10
1 The hous of Israel, here ye the word which the Lord spak on you.
Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house 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.
thus saith the LORD: Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the nations are dismayed at them.
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.
For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for it is but a tree which one cutteth out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the axe.
4 He made it fair with siluer and gold; with naylis and hameris he ioynede it togidere, that it be not loosid.
They deck it with silver and with gold, they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
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.
They are like a pillar in a garden of cucumbers, and speak not; they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.
6 Lord, noon is lijk thee; thou art greet, and thi name is greet in strengthe.
There is none like unto Thee, O LORD; Thou art great, and Thy name is great in might.
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.
Who would not fear Thee, O king of the nations? For it befitteth Thee; forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their royalty, there is none like unto Thee.
8 Thei schulen be preued, vnwise and foolis togidere; the techyng of her vanyte is a tre.
But they are altogether brutish and foolish: the vanities by which they are instructed are but a stock;
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.
Silver beaten into plates which is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the craftsman and of the hands of the goldsmith; blue and purple is their clothing; they are all the work of skilful men.
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 God is the true God, He is the living God, and the everlasting King; at His wrath the earth trembleth, and the nations are not able to abide His indignation.
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.
Thus shall ye say unto them: 'The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, these shall perish from the earth, and from under the 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.
He that hath made the earth by His power, that hath established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by His understanding;
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.
At the sound of His giving a multitude of waters in the heavens, when He causeth the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth; when He maketh lightnings with the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of His treasuries;
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.
Every man is proved to be brutish, without knowledge, every goldsmith is put to shame by the graven image, his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
15 Tho ben veyn, and a werk worthi of scorn; tho schulen perische in the tyme of her visitacioun.
They are vanity, a work of delusion; in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
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.
Not like these is the portion of Jacob; for He is the former of all things, and Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; the LORD of hosts is His name.
17 Thou that dwellist in bisegyng, gadere fro the lond thi schenschipe;
Gather up thy wares from the ground, O thou that abidest in the siege.
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.
For thus saith the LORD: Behold, I will sling out the inhabitants of the land at this time, and will distress them, that they may feel it.
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.
Woe is me for my hurt! My wound is grievous; but I said: 'This is but a sickness, and I must 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.
My tent is spoiled, and all my cords are broken; my children are gone forth of me, and they are not; there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.
21 For the scheepherdis diden folili, and souyten not the Lord; therfor thei vndurstoden not, and alle the flok of hem is scaterid.
For the shepherds are become brutish, and have not inquired of the LORD; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flocks are 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.
Hark! a report, behold, it cometh, and a great commotion out of the north country, to make the cities of Judah desolate, a dwelling-place of jackals.
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.
O LORD, I know that man's way is not his own; it is not in man to direct his steps as he walketh.
24 Lord, chastise thou me; netheles in doom and not in thi strong veniaunce, lest perauenture thou dryue me to nouyt.
O LORD, correct me, but in measure; not in Thine anger, lest Thou diminish 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 Thy wrath upon the nations that know Thee not, and upon the families that call not on Thy name; for they have devoured Jacob, yea, they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.
