Jeremiah 16
1 And the word of the Lord was maad to me,
Then the LORD’s word came to me, saying,
2 and seide, Thou schalt not take a wijf, and sones and douytris schulen not be to thee in this place.
“You shall not take a wife, neither shall you have sons or daughters, 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 the LORD says concerning the sons and concerning the daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them, and concerning their fathers who became their father 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 will die grievous deaths. They will not be lamented, neither will they be buried. They will be as dung on the surface of the ground. They will be consumed by the sword and by famine. Their dead bodies will be food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth.”
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.
For the LORD says, “Don’t enter into the house of mourning. Don’t go to lament. Don’t bemoan them, for I have taken away my peace from this people,” says the LORD, “even loving kindness and tender mercies.
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.
Both great and small will die in this land. They will not be buried. Men won’t lament for them, cut themselves, or make themselves bald 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.
Men won’t break bread for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead. Men won’t give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.
8 And thou schalt not entre in to the hous of feeste, that thou sitte with hem, and ete, and drynke.
“You shall not go into the house of feasting 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 the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel says: “Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth 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?
It will happen, when you tell this people all these words, and they ask you, ‘Why has the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us?’ or ‘What is our iniquity?’ or ‘What is our sin that we have committed against 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 you shall tell them, ‘Because your fathers have forsaken me,’ says the LORD, ‘and have walked after other gods, have served them, have worshiped them, have forsaken me, and have not kept 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.
You have done evil more than your fathers, for behold, you each walk after the stubbornness of his evil heart, so that you don’t listen 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 out of this land into the land that you have not known, neither you nor your fathers. There you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’
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,” says the LORD, “that it will no more be said, ‘As the LORD lives, who 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, ‘As the LORD lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries where he had driven them.’ I will bring them again into their land that 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 for many fishermen,” says the LORD, “and they will fish them up. Afterward I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain, from every hill, and out of the clefts 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 my eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from my face. Their iniquity isn’t concealed from my 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.
First I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable things, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations.”
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.
LORD, my strength, my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the nations will come to you from the ends of the earth, and will say, “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, vanity and things in which there is no profit.
20 Whether a man schal make goddis to hym silf? and tho ben no goddis.
Should a man make to himself gods which yet 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 cause them to know, this once I will cause them to know my hand and my might. Then they will know that my name is the LORD.”
