Jeremiah 17

1 The synne of Juda is writun with an irone poyntel, in a nail of adamaunt; it is writun on the breede of the herte of hem, and in the hornes of the auteris of hem.

The sin of Judah is recorded with a pen of iron, and with the sharp point of a jewel it is cut on their hearts of stone, and on the horns of their altars for a sign to them:

2 Whanne the sones of hem bithenken on her auteris, and woodis, and on the trees ful of boowis, makynge sacrifice in the feld in hiye munteyns,

Their altars and their wood pillars under every branching tree, on the high hills and the mountains in the field.

3 Y schal yyue thi strengthe and alle thi tresouris in to rauyschyng, thin hiye thingis for synnes in alle thin endis.

I will give your wealth and all your stores to be taken away in war without a price, because of your sins in every part of your land.

4 And thou schalt be left aloone fro thin eritage which Y yaf to thee; and Y schal make thee to serue thin enemyes, in the lond which thou knowist not; for thou hast kyndlid fier in my strong veniaunce, it schal brenne til in to with outen ende.

And your hand will have to let go your heritage which I gave you; and I will make you a servant to your haters in a land which is strange to you: for you have put my wrath on fire with a flame which will go on burning for ever.

5 The Lord seith these thingis, Cursid is the man that trestith in man, and settith fleisch his arm, and his herte goith awei fro the Lord.

This is what the Lord has said: Cursed is the man who puts his faith in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart is turned away from the Lord.

6 For he schal be as bromes in desert, and he schal not se, whanne good schal come; but he schal dwelle in drynesse in desert, in the lond of saltnesse, and vnabitable.

For he will be like the brushwood in the upland, and will not see when good comes; but his living-place will be in the dry places in the waste land, in a salt and unpeopled land.

7 Blessid is the man that tristith in the Lord, and the Lord schal be his trist.

A blessing is on the man who puts his faith in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is.

8 And he schal be as a tre, which is plauntid ouer watris, which sendith hise rootis to moisture; and it schal not drede, whanne heete schal come; and the leef therof schal be greene, and it schal not be moued in the tyme of drynesse, nether ony tyme it schal faile to make fruyte.

For he will be like a tree planted by the waters, pushing out its roots by the stream; he will have no fear when the heat comes, but his leaf will be green; in a dry year he will have no care, and will go on giving fruit.

9 The herte of man is schrewid, and `may not be souyt; who schal knowe it?

The heart is a twisted thing, not to be searched out by man: who is able to have knowledge of it?

10 Y am the Lord sekynge the herte, and preuynge the reynes, and Y yyue to ech man after his weye, and aftir the fruyt of his fyndyngis.

I the Lord am the searcher of the heart, the tester of the thoughts, so that I may give to every man the reward of his ways, in keeping with the fruit of his doings.

11 A partriche nurschide tho thingis whiche sche bredde not; he made richessis, and not in doom; in the myddis of hise daies he schal forsake tho, and in hise laste tyme he schal be vnwijs.

Like the partridge, getting eggs together but not producing young, is a man who gets wealth but not by right; before half his days are ended, it will go from him, and at his end he will be foolish.

12 The seete of glorie of hiynesse was at the bigynnyng the place of oure halewyng, the abidyng of Israel.

A seat of glory, placed on high from the first, is our holy place.

13 Lord, alle thei that forsaken thee, schulen be schent; thei that goen aweie fro thee, schulen be writun in erthe, for thei han forsake the Lord, a veyne of quyk watirs.

O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who give you up will be put to shame; those who go away from you will be cut off from the earth, because they have given up the Lord, the fountain of living waters.

14 Lord, heele thou me, and Y schal be heelid; make thou me saaf, and Y schal be saaf; for thou art myn heriyng.

Make me well, O Lord, and I will be well; be my saviour, and I will be safe: for you are my hope.

15 Lo! thei seien to me, Where is the word of the Lord? come it.

See, they say to me, Where is the word of the Lord? let it come now.

16 And Y am not disturblid, suynge thee scheepherd, and Y desiride not the dai of man, thou woost. That that yede out of my lippis was riytful in thi siyt.

As for me, I have not said; Let the day of trouble come to them quickly; and I have not been hoping for the death-giving day; you have knowledge of what came from my lips; it was open before you.

17 Be thou not to drede to me; thou art myn hope in the dai of turment.

Be not a cause of fear to me: you are my safe place in the day of evil.

18 Be thei schent, that pursuen me, and be Y not schent; drede thei, and drede not Y; brynge in on hem a dai of turment, and defoule thou hem bi double defouling.

Let them be put to shame who are attacking me, but let me not be shamed; let them be overcome with fear, but let me not be overcome: send on them the day of evil, and put them to destruction twice over.

19 The Lord seith these thingis to me, Go thou, and stonde in the yate of the sones of the puple, bi whiche the kingis of Juda entren and goen out, and in alle the yatis of Jerusalem.

This is what the Lord has said to me: Go and take your place in the doorway of Benjamin, where the kings of Judah come in and by which they go out, and in all the doorways of Jerusalem;

20 And thou schalt seie to hem, Here the word of the Lord, ye kingis of Juda, and al Judee, and alle the dwelleris of Jerusalem, that entren bi these yatis.

And say to them, Give ear to the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all the people of Jerusalem who come in by these doors:

21 The Lord God seith these thingis, Kepe ye youre soulis, and nyle ye bere birthuns in the dai of sabat, nether bringe in bi the yatis of Jerusalem.

This is what the Lord has said: See to yourselves, that you take up no weight on the Sabbath day, or take it in through the doors of Jerusalem;

22 And nyle ye caste birthuns out of youre housis in the dai of sabat, and ye schulen not do ony werk; halewe ye the dai of sabat, as Y comaundide to youre fadris.

And take no weight out of your houses on the Sabbath day, or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I gave orders to your fathers;

23 And thei herden not, nether bowiden doun her eere, but thei maden hard her nol, that thei schulden not here me, and that thei schulden not take chastisyng.

But they gave no attention and would not give ear, but they made their necks stiff so that they might not give ear and might not get teaching.

24 And it schal be, if ye heren me, seith the Lord, that ye bere not in birthuns bi the yatis of this citee in the dai of sabat, and if ye halewen the dai of sabat, that ye do not werk ther ynne,

And it will be, that if with all care you give ear to me, says the Lord, and take no weight through the doorways of this town on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work in it;

25 kingis and princes sittynge on the seete of Dauid schulen entre bi the yatis of this citee, and stiynge in charis and horsis; thei, and the princis of hem, the men of Juda, and the dwelleris of Jerusalem; and this citee schal be enhabitid withouten ende.

Then through the doors of this town there will come kings and princes, seated on the seat of David, going in carriages and on horseback, they and their princes, and the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem: and this town will keep its place for ever.

26 And thei schulen come fro the citees of Juda, and fro the cumpas of Jerusalem, and fro the lond of Beniamyn, and fro feeldi places, and fro hilli places, and fro the south, beringe brent sacrifice, and slayn sacrifice, and encense; and thei schulen bringe offring in to the hous of the Lord.

And they will come from the towns of Judah, and from the places round about Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the lowlands, and from the mountains, and from the South, with burned offerings and offerings of beasts and meal offerings and perfume and offerings of praise, to the house of the Lord.

27 Forsothe if ye heren not me, that ye halewe the dai of sabat, and that ye bere not a birthun, and that ye bringe not in bi the yatis of Jerusalem in the dai of sabat, Y schal kyndle fier in the yatis therof; and it schal deuoure the housis of Jerusalem, and it schal not be quenchid.

But if you do not give ear to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy, and to let no weight be lifted and taken through the doors of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day: then I will put a fire in its doorways, burning up the great houses of Jerusalem, and it will never be put out.