Jeremiah 12
1 Forsothe, Lord, thou art iust; if Y dispute with thee, netheles Y schal speke iust thingis to thee. Whi hath the weie of wickid men prosperite? It is wel to alle men that breken the lawe, and doen wickidli?
Righteous art thou, O Jehovah, when I contend with thee, Yet will I enter into controversy with thee. Why doth the way of the wicked prosper? Why are all the men of treachery at ease?
2 Thou hast plauntid hem, and thei senten roote; thei encreessen, and maken fruyt; thou art niy to the mouth of hem, and fer fro the reynes of hem.
Thou hast planted them; yea, they have taken root; They grow, yea, they bring forth fruit; Thou art near to their mouth, But far from their hearts.
3 And thou, Lord, hast knowe me, thou hast seyn me, and hast preued myn herte with thee. Gadere thou hem togidere as a flok to slayn sacrifice, and halewe thou hem in the dai of sleyng.
But thou, O Jehovah, knowest me; Thou hast seen me, and tried my heart, Whether it be devoted to thee. Tear them away, as sheep for slaughter; Separate them for the day of slaughter!
4 Hou long schal the erthe mourne, and ech eerbe of the feeld schal be dried, for the malice of hem that dwellen ther ynne? A beeste is wastid, and a brid, for thei seiden, The Lord schal not se oure laste thingis.
How long shall the land mourn, And the grass of every field wither? For the wickedness of them that dwell therein, The beasts are consumed, and the birds; For they say, “He will not see our latter end.”
5 If thou trauelist rennynge with foot men, hou schalt thou mow stryue with horsis? but whanne thou art sikur in the lond of pees, what schalt thou do in the pride of Jordan?
If thou hast run with footmen, and they have wearied thee, Then how canst thou contend with horses? If it be so with thee in a land of peace, in which thou art secure, What wilt thou do in the glory of Jordan?
6 For whi bothe thi britheren and the hous of thi fadir, yhe, thei fouyten ayens thee, and crieden with ful vois aftir thee; bileue thou not to hem, whanne thei speken goodis to thee.
For even thy brethren and the house of thy father, Even these are treacherous toward thee, And raise a full cry after thee; Trust them not, though they speak fair words to thee!
7 I haue left myn hous, Y haue forsake myn eritage; Y yaf my loued soule in to the hondis of enemyes therof.
I have forsaken my house, I have abandoned my inheritance, I have given the darling of my soul into the hand of her enemies.
8 Myn eritage is maad as a lioun in the wode to me; it yaf vois ayens me, therfor Y hate it.
My inheritance is become to me like a lion of the forest; She lifteth up her voice against me; Therefore do I hate her.
9 Whether myn eritage is a brid of dyuerse colours to me? whether it is a brid died thorou out? Alle beestis of the feeld, come ye, be ye gaderid togidere; haste ye for to deuoure.
A rapacious beast, a hyena, is my inheritance become to me; Therefore shall the rapacious beasts rush upon her on all sides. Come, gather all the beasts of the field, Bring them to devour!
10 Many scheepherdis distrieden my vyner, defouliden my part, yauen my desirable porcioun in to desert of wildirnesse;
Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard; They have trodden my portion under foot; My pleasant portion have they made a desolate wilderness.
11 thei settiden it in to scateryng, and it mourenyde on me; al the lond is desolat bi desolacioun, for noon is that ayenthenkith in herte.
They have made it a desolation; Desolate it mourneth on account of me; The whole land is desolate, Because no man layeth my word to heart.
12 Alle distrieris of the lond camen on alle the weies of desert, for the swerd of the Lord schal deuoure fro the laste part of the lond `til to the laste part therof; no pees is to al fleisch.
Upon all the high places in the desert do the plunderers come; Behold, the sword of Jehovah devoureth from one end of the land to the other; No man hath peace.
13 Thei sowiden wheete, and repiden thornes; thei token erytage, and it schal not profite to hem. Ye schulen be schent of youre fruytis, for the wraththe of the stronge veniaunce of the Lord.
They sow wheat, but they reap thorns; They weary themselves, and are not profited; They shall be ashamed of their harvest, Because of the fierce anger of Jehovah.
14 The Lord seith these thingis ayens alle my worst neiyboris, that touchen the eritage which Y departide to my puple Israel, Lo! Y schal drawe hem out of her lond, and Y schal drawe the hous of Juda out of the myddis of hem.
Thus saith Jehovah against all my evil neighbors, Who seize the inheritance which I gave my people, Israel: Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, And the house of Judah will I pluck out from among them.
15 And whanne Y schal drawe out thilke Jewis, Y schal conuerte, and haue merci on hem; and Y schal lede hem ayen, a man to his eritage, and a man in to his lond.
Yet after I have plucked them out of their land, I will again have compassion on them, and bring them back, Every one to his own possession, And every one to his own land.
16 And it schal be, if thei `that ben tauyt lernen the weies of my puple, that thei swere in my name, The Lord lyueth, as thei tauyten my puple to swere in Baal, thei schulen be bildid in the myddis of my puple.
And if they will indeed learn the ways of my people, And swear by my name, saying, As Jehovah liveth! As they taught my people to swear by Baal, Then shall they be built up in the midst of my people;
17 That if thei heren not, Y schal drawe out that folk by drawyng out and perdicioun, seith the Lord.
But if they will not hearken, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith Jehovah.
