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.

This is what the LORD says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take some of the elders of the people and leaders 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 Ben-hinnom near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. Proclaim there the words I speak to 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.

saying, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O kings of Judah and residents of Jerusalem. This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: I am going to bring such disaster on this place that the ears of all who hear of it will ring,

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 abandoned Me and made this a foreign place. They have burned incense in this place to other gods that neither they nor their fathers nor the kings of Judah have ever known. They have filled this place with the blood of the innocent.

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.

They have built high places to Baal on which to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I never commanded or mentioned, nor did it even enter 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.

So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when this place will no longer be called Topheth or the Valley of Ben-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.

And in this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hands of those who seek their lives, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds of the air and the beasts 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 a desolation and an object of scorn. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff at all her wounds.

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 make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh in the siege and distress inflicted on them by their enemies who seek their lives.’

10 And thou schalt al to-breke the potel bifore the iyen of the men, that schulen go with thee.

Then you are to shatter the jar in the presence of the men who accompany 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 you are to proclaim to them that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: I will shatter this nation and this city, like one shatters a potter’s jar that can never again be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room to bury them.

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 and to its residents, declares the LORD. I will make this city like 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 will be defiled like that place, Topheth—all the houses on whose rooftops they burned incense to all the host of heaven and 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 returned from Topheth, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy, and he stood in the courtyard of the house of the LORD and proclaimed 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.

“This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I am about to bring on this city and on all the villages around it every disaster I have pronounced against them, because they have stiffened their necks so as not to heed My words.’”