Jeremiah 13
1 The Lord seith these thingis to me, Go, and take in possessioun to thee a lynnun breigirdil; and thou schalt putte it on thi leendis, and thou schalt not bere it in to watir.
[One day] Yahweh said to me, “Go and buy a linen waistcloth. Put it on, but do not wash it.”
2 And Y took in possessioun a breigirdil, bi the word of the Lord; and Y puttide aboute my leendis.
So I bought a [very nice] waistcloth, which is what Yahweh told me to do, and I put it on.
3 And the word of the Lord was maad to me in the secounde tyme,
Then [later] Yahweh gave me another message.
4 and seide, Take the brigirdil, which thou haddist in possessioun, which is aboute thi leendis; and rise thou, and go to Eufrates, and hide thou it there, in the hoole of a stoon.
He said, “Go to the small Perath Stream [near Jerusalem] and hide your waistcloth in a crevice/hole in the rocks.”
5 And Y yede, and hidde it in Eufrates, as the Lord comaundide to me.
So I went to the stream and did what Yahweh told me to do.
6 And it was don aftir ful many daies, the Lord seide to me, Rise thou, and go to Eufrates, and take fro thennus the brigirdil, whiche Y comaundide to thee, that thou schuldist hide it there.
A long time later, Yahweh said to me, “Go [back] to that stream and get the waistcloth that I told you to hide there.”
7 And Y yede to Eufrates, and diggide out, and Y took the breigirdil fro the place, where Y hadde hidde it; and lo! the breigirdil was rotun, so that it was not able to ony vss.
So I went to the Perath Stream and dug out the waistcloth from the crevice/hole in which I had hidden it. But it was ruined, and useless.
8 And the word of the Lord was maad to me,
Then Yahweh gave me this message:
9 and seide, The Lord seith these thingis, So Y schal make rotun the pride of Juda, and the myche pride of Jerusalem,
“[What happened to your waistcloth] shows that I will destroy the things that [the people of] Jerusalem and [other places in] Judah are very proud of.
10 and this worste puple, that nylen here my wordis, and goen in the schrewidnesse of her herte; and thei yeden aftir alien goddis, to serue hem, and to worschipe hem; and thei schulen be as this breigirdil, which is not able to ony vss.
Those wicked people refuse to pay attention to what I say. They stubbornly do just what they desire to do; they worship other gods. Therefore, they will become completely useless, like your waistcloth.
11 For as a breigirdil cleueth to the leendis of a man, so Y ioynede faste to me al the hous of Israel, and al the hous of Juda, seith the Lord, that thei schulden be to me in to a puple, and in to name, and in to heriyng, and in to glorie; and thei herden not.
Just like a waistcloth clings closely/tightly to a man’s waist, I wanted the people [MTY] of Israel and Judah to cling closely to me. I wanted them to be my people, people who would praise me and honor me. But they would not pay attention [to me]. “
12 Therfor thou schalt seie to hem this word, The Lord God of Israel seith these thingis, Ech potel schal be fillid of wyn. And thei schulen seie to thee, Whether we witen not, that ech potel schal be fillid of wyn?
“[So], tell this to them: ‘Yahweh, the God whom you Israeli [people worship], says that every leather wineskin should be filled with wine.’ And [when you tell that to them], they will reply, ‘(Of course/Certainly) we know [RHQ] that all wineskins should be filled with wine!’
13 And thou schalt seie to hem, The Lord seith these thingis, Lo! Y shal fille with drunkenesse alle the dwelleris of this lond, and the kyngis of the generacioun of Dauith, that sitten on his trone, and the prestis, and profetis, and alle the dwelleris of Jerusalem.
And then you must tell them, ‘No, that is not what Yahweh means. What he said means that he will cause this land to be filled with people who are drunk. [That will include all of you]—the king who sits on the throne that King David previously sat on, the priests and the prophets, and even the common people of Jerusalem.’
14 And Y schal scatere hem, a man fro his brother, and the fadris and sones togidere, seith the Lord; Y schal not spare, and Y schal not graunte, nether Y schal do mercy, that I leese not hem.
[He is saying], ‘I will cause you to bash each other. [Even] parents will bash their children. I will not pity you or act mercifully toward you at all; pitying you will not prevent me from getting rid of you.’”
15 Here ye, and perseyue with eeris; nyle ye be reisid, for the Lord spak.
[You people of Judah], pay very careful attention [DOU]. Do not be proud, because Yahweh has spoken to you.
16 Yyue ye glorie to youre Lord God, bifore that it wexe derk, and bifor that youre feet hirte at derk hillis; ye schulen abide liyt, and he schal sette it in to the schadewe of deeth, and in to derknesse.
[It is as though] he is ready to bring darkness on you and to cause you to stumble and fall [as you walk] on the hills when it is becoming dark. [So] praise/honor Yahweh your God before that happens. If you do not do that, you will look for light, but all you will see is darkness and gloom.
17 That if ye heren not this, my soule schal wepe in hid place for the face of pride; it wepynge schal wepe, and myn iye shal caste out a teer, for the floc of the Lord is takun.
And if you [still] refuse to heed what he says, [what will happen to you because of] your being proud will cause me to cry when I am alone. My eyes will be filled with tears because [you], Yahweh’s people, [whom he takes care of like a shepherd takes care of] [MET] his flock, will [all] be [captured by your enemies and] taken to other countries.
18 Seye thou to the kyng, and to the ladi, Be ye mekid, sitte ye, for the coroun of youre glorie schal go doun fro youre heed.
[You people of Judah], say to the king and to his mother, “Come down from sitting on your thrones and [humbly] sit in the dust, because [your enemies] will soon snatch from your heads your glorious crowns.”
19 The cities of the south ben closid, and noon is that openith; al Juda is translatid bi perfit passyng ouere, ether goynge out of her lond.
The towns in the southern part of Judah will be surrounded by your enemies, and no one will be able to get through their lines [to rescue the people in those towns]. [You people of] Judah will be captured and taken away; you will all be (exiled/taken [to foreign countries)].
20 Reise ye youre iyen, and se ye, what men comen fro the north; where is the floc which is youun to thee, thi noble scheep?
[You leaders of Jerusalem], open your eyes and look: [The enemy armies are ready to] march down from the north. [When that happens], what will happen to [RHQ] the [people of Judah who are like] a beautiful flock of sheep, people that he gave to you to take care of?
21 What schalt thou seie, whanne he schal visite thee? for thou hast tauyt hem ayens thee, and thou hast tauyt ayens thin heed. Whether sorewis han not take thee, as a womman trauelynge of child?
What will you say [RHQ] when Yahweh appoints people from other countries to rule over you, people who you [mistakenly] thought were your friends? You will [RHQ] suffer very much pain, like a woman who is about to give birth to a baby.
22 That if thou seist in thin herte, Whi camen these thingis to me? for the multitude of thi wickidnesse thi schamefulere thingis ben schewid, thi feet ben defoulid.
You will ask yourselves, “Why is this happening to us?” [I will reply that] it is because of your many sins. That is why [soldiers of the invading armies] will lift up the skirts [of your women] and rape them.
23 If a man of Ethiopie mai chaunge his skyn, ether a pard mai chaunge hise dyuersitees, and ye moun do wel, whanne ye han lerned yuel.
A man from Ethiopia certainly cannot [RHQ] change the color of his [black] skin, and a leopard certainly cannot [RHQ] change its spots. Similarly, you cannot start doing what is good, because you have always done what is evil.
24 And Y schal sowe hem abrood, as stobil which is rauyschid of the wynd in desert.
[Yahweh says], “I will scatter you like chaff that is blown away by the wind from the desert.
25 This is thi lot, and the part of thi mesure of me, seith the Lord; for thou foryetidist me, and tristidist in a leesyng.
That is what is certainly going to happen to you; the things that I have determined will happen to you, because you have forgotten me, and you are trusting in false [gods].
26 Wherfor and Y made nakid thin hipis ayens thi face, and thi schenschipe apperide,
[It is as though] I myself will pull your skirts up over your faces and cause you to be very ashamed because everyone will be able to see your sex organs.
27 thin auowtries, and thin neyyng, and the felonye of thi fornycacioun on litle hillis in the feeld; Y siy thin abhomynaciouns. Jerusalem, wo to thee, thou schalt not be clensid after me til yit.
I have seen that you [act like men who are eager to commit adultery]; you are like male horses that whinny when they desire [to have sex with] a female horse. I have seen that you worship disgusting idols in the fields and on the hills. [You people of] Jerusalem, terrible things will happen to you! How long will it be [RHQ] until you are acceptable to me [again]?”
