< Jeremiah 19 >

1 The Lord seith these thingis, Go thou, and take an erthene potel of a pottere, of the eldre men of the puple, and of the eldre men of preestis.
Thus said the LORD, “Go, and buy a potter’s earthen container, and take some of the elders of the people and of the elders of the priests;
2 And go thou out to the valei of the sones of Ennon, which is bisidis the entring of the erthene yate; and there thou schalt preche the wordis whiche Y schal speke to thee;
and go out to the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the gate Harsith, and proclaim there the words that I will tell you.
3 and thou schalt seie, Kyngis of Juda, and the dwelleris of Jerusalem, here ye the word of the Lord. The Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal bringe in turment on this place, so that ech man that herith it, hise eeris tyngle.
Say, ‘Hear the LORD’s word, kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: The LORD of Armies, the God of Israel says, “Behold, I will bring evil on this place, which whoever hears, his ears will tingle.
4 For thei han forsake me, and maad alien this place, and offriden sacrifices to alien goddis ther ynne, whiche thei, and the fadris of hem, and the kingis of Juda, knewen not; and thei filliden this place with the blood of innocentis,
Because they have forsaken me, and have defiled this place, and have burned incense in it to other gods that they did not know—they, their fathers, and the kings of Judah—and have filled this place with the blood of innocents,
5 and bildiden hiy thingis to Baalym, to brenne her sones in fier, in to brent sacrifice to Baalym; whiche thingis Y comaundide not, nether spak, nether tho stieden in to myn herte.
and have built the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire for burnt offerings to Baal, which I did not command, nor speak, which did not even enter into my mind.
6 Therfor the Lord seith, Lo! daies comen, and this place schal no more be clepid Tophet, and the valei of the sone of Ennon, but the valei of sleyng.
Therefore, behold, the days come,” says the LORD, “that this place will no more be called ‘Topheth’, nor ‘The Valley of the son of Hinnom’, but ‘The valley of Slaughter’.
7 And Y schal distrie the councel of Juda and of Jerusalem in this place, and Y schal distrie hem bi swerd, in the siyt of her enemyes, and in the hond of men sekynge the lyues of hem; and Y schal yyue her deed bodies mete to the briddis of the eir, and to beestis of erthe.
“‘“I will make the counsel of Judah and Jerusalem void in this place. I will cause them to fall by the sword before their enemies, and by the hand of those who seek their life. I will give their dead bodies to be food for the birds of the sky and for the animals of the earth.
8 And Y schal sette this citee in to wondring, and in to hissing; ech that passith bi it, schal wondre, and hisse on al the veniaunce therof.
I will make this city an astonishment and a hissing. Everyone who passes by it will be astonished and hiss because of all its plagues.
9 And Y schal feede hem with the fleischis of her sones, and with the fleischis of her douytris; and ech man schal ete the fleischis of his frend in the bisegyng and angwisch, in which the enemyes of hem, and thei that seken the lyues of hem, schulen close hem togidere.
I will cause them to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daughters. They will each eat the flesh of his friend in the siege and in the distress with which their enemies, and those who seek their life, will distress them.”’
10 And thou schalt al to-breke the potel bifore the iyen of the men, that schulen go with thee.
“Then you shall break the container in the sight of the men who go with you,
11 And thou schalt seie to hem, The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, So Y schal al to-breke this puple, and this citee, as the vessel of a pottere is al to-brokun, which mai no more be restorid; and thei schulen be biried in Tophet, for noon other place is to birie.
and shall tell them, ‘The LORD of Armies says: “Even so I will break this people and this city as one breaks a potter’s vessel, that cannot be made whole again. They will bury in Topheth until there is no place to bury.
12 So Y schal do to this place, seith the Lord, and to dwelleris therof, that Y sette this citee as Tophet.
This is what I will do to this place,” says the LORD, “and to its inhabitants, even making this city as Topheth.
13 And the housis of Jerusalem, and the housis of the kingis of Juda, schulen be as the place of Tophet; alle the vncleene housis, in whose roouys thei sacrifieden to al the chyualrie of heuene, and offriden moist sacrifices to alien goddis.
The houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah, which are defiled, will be as the place of Topheth, even all the houses on whose roofs they have burned incense to all the army of the sky and have poured out drink offerings to other gods.”’”
14 Forsothe Jeremye cam fro Tophet, whidur the Lord hadde sente hym for to profesie; and he stood in the porche of the hous of the Lord,
Then Jeremiah came from Topheth, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy, and he stood in the court of the LORD’s house, and said to all the people:
15 and seide to al the puple, The Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal bringe in on this citee, and on alle the citees therof, alle the yuelis whiche Y spak ayens it; for thei maden hard her nol, that thei herden not my wordis.
“The LORD of Armies, the God of Israel says, ‘Behold, I will bring on this city and on all its towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have made their neck stiff, that they may not hear my words.’”

< Jeremiah 19 >