Jeremiah 16

1 And the word of the Lord was maad to me,

And thou shalt not take a wife, saith the Lord God of Israel:

2 and seide, Thou schalt not take a wijf, and sones and douytris schulen not be to thee in this place.

and there shall be no son born to thee, nor daughter in this place.

3 For the Lord seith these thingis on sones and douytris, that ben gendrid in this place, and on the modris of hem, that gendride hem, and on the fadris of hem, of whos generacioun thei ben borun in this lond.

For thus saith the Lord concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that have born them, and concerning their fathers that have begotten them in this land;

4 Thei schulen die bi dethis of sikenessis, thei schulen not be biweilid, and thei schulen not be biried; thei schulen be in to a dunghil on the face of erthe, and thei schulen be wastid bi swerd and hungur; and the careyn of hem schal be in to mete to the volatilis of heuene, and to beestis of erthe.

They shall die of grievous death; they shall not be lamented, nor buried; they shall be for an example on the face of the earth; and they shall be for the wild beasts of the land, and for the birds of the sky: they shall fall by the sword, and shall be consumed with famine.

5 For the Lord seith these thingis, Entre thou not in to an hous of feeste, nethir go thou to biweile, nether comfourte thou hem; for Y haue take awei my pees fro this puple, seith the Lord, `Y haue take awei merci and merciful doyngis.

Thus saith the Lord, Enter not into their mourning feast, and go not to lament, and mourn not for them: for I have removed my peace from this people.

6 And greete and smalle schulen die in this lond; thei schulen not be biried, nethir schulen be biweilid; and thei schulen not kitte hem silf, nethir ballidnesse schal be maad for hem.

They shall not bewail them, nor make cuttings for them, and they shall not shave themselves [for them]:

7 And thei schulen not breke breed among hem to hym that mourneth, to coumforte on a deed man, and thei schulen not yyue to hem drynk of a cuppe, to coumforte on her fadir and modir.

and there shall be no bread broken in mourning for them for consolation over the dead: they shall not give one to drink a cup for consolation over his father or his mother.

8 And thou schalt not entre in to the hous of feeste, that thou sitte with hem, and ete, and drynke.

Thou shalt not enter into the banquet-house, to sit with them to eat and to drink.

9 For whi the Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal take awei fro this place, bifore youre iyen and in youre daies, the vois of ioie, and the vois of gladnesse, and the vois of spouse, and the vois of spousesse.

For thus saith the Lord God of Israel; Behold, I [will] make to cease out of this place before your eyes, and in your days, the voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.

10 And whanne thou schalt telle alle these wordis to this puple, and thei schulen seie to thee, Whi spak the Lord al this greet yuel on vs? what is oure wickidnesse, ether what is oure synne which we synneden to oure Lord God?

And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt report to this people all these words, and they shall say to thee, Wherefore has the Lord pronounced against us all these evils? what is our unrighteousness? and what is our sin which we have sinned before the Lord our God?

11 thou schalt seie to hem, For youre fadris forsoken me, seith the Lord, and yeden aftir alien goddis, and seruyden hem, and worschipiden hem, and thei forsoken me, and kepten not my lawe.

Then thou shalt say to them, Because your fathers forsook me, saith the Lord, and went after strange gods and served them, and worshipped them, and forsook me, and kept not my law;

12 But also ye wrouyten worse than youre fadris; for lo! ech man goith aftir the schrewidnesse of his yuel herte, that he here not me.

(and ye sinned worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the lusts of your own evil heart, so as not to hearken to me);

13 And Y schal caste you out of this lond, in to the lond which ye and youre fadris knowen not; and ye schulen serue there to alien goddis dai and niyt, whiche schulen not yiue reste to you.

therefore I will cast you off from this good land into a land which neither ye nor your fathers have known; and ye shall serve their other gods, who shall have no mercy upon you.

14 Therfor lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and it schal no more be seid, The Lord lyueth, that ledde the sones of Israel out of the lond of Egipt;

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when they shall no more say, The Lord lives, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;

15 but the Lord lyueth, that ledde the sones of Israel fro the lond of the north, and fro alle londis to whiche Y castide hem out; and Y schal lede hem ayen in to her lond which Y yaf to the fadris of hem.

but, The Lord lives, who brought up the house of Israel from the land of the north, and from all countries whither they were thrust out: and I will restore them to their own land, which I gave to their fathers.

16 Lo! Y schal sende many fischeris to hem, seith the Lord, and thei schulen fische hem; and aftir these thingis Y schal sende many hunteris to hem, and thei schulen hunte hem fro ech mounteyn, and fro ech litil hil, and fro the caues of stoonys.

Behold, I [will] send many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send many hunters, and they shall hunt them upon every mountain, and upon every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.

17 For myn iyen ben on alle the weies of hem; tho weies ben not hid fro my face, and the wickidnesse of hem was not priuy fro myn iyen.

For mine eyes are upon all their ways; and their iniquities have not been hidden from mine eyes.

18 And Y schal yelde first the double wickidnessis and synnes of hem, for thei defouliden my lond in the slayn beestis of her idols, and filliden myn eritage with her abhomynaciouns.

And I will recompense their mischiefs doubly, and their sins, whereby they have profaned my land with the carcases of their abominations, and with their iniquities, whereby they have trespassed against mine inheritance.

19 Lord, my strengthe, and my stalworthnesse, and my refuyt in the dai of tribulacioun, hethene men schulen come to thee fro the fertheste places of erthe, and schulen seie, Verili oure fadris helden a leesyng in possessioun, vanyte that profitide not to hem.

O Lord, thou art my strength, and mine help, and my refuge in days of evil: to thee the Gentiles shall come from the end of the earth, and shall say, How vain [were the] idols [which] our fathers procured to themselves, and there is no help in them.

20 Whether a man schal make goddis to hym silf? and tho ben no goddis.

Will a man make gods for himself, whereas these are no gods?

21 Therfor lo! Y schal schewe to hem bi this while, Y schal schewe to hem myn hond, and my vertu; and thei schulen wite, that the name to me is Lord.

Therefore, behold, I will at this time manifest my hand to them, and will make known to them my power; and they shall know that my name is the Lord.