< Jeremiah 22 >

1 The Lord seith these thingis, Go thou doun in to the hous of the kyng of Juda, and thou schalt speke there this word, and schalt seie,
This is what the LORD says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there,
2 Thou kyng of Juda, that sittist on the seete of Dauid, here the word of the Lord, thou, and thi seruauntis, and thi puple, that entren bi these yatis.
saying, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David—you and your officials and your people who enter these gates.
3 The Lord seith these thingis, Do ye doom, and riytfulnesse, and delyuere ye hym that is oppressid bi violence fro the hond of the fals chalenger; and nyle ye make sori, nether oppresse ye wickidli a comelyng, and a fadirles child, and a widewe, and schede ye not out innocent blood in this place.
This is what the LORD says: Administer justice and righteousness. Rescue the victim of robbery from the hand of his oppressor. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Do not shed innocent blood in this place.
4 For if ye doynge don this word, kyngis of the kyn of Dauid sittynge on his trone schulen entre bi the yatis of this hous, and schulen stie on charis and horsis, thei, and the seruauntis, and the puple of hem.
For if you will indeed carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will enter through the gates of this palace riding on chariots and horses—they and their officials and their people.
5 That if ye heren not these wordis, Y swoore in my silf, seith the Lord, that this hous schal be in to wildirnesse.
But if you do not obey these words, then I swear by Myself, declares the LORD, that this house will become a pile of rubble.’”
6 For the Lord seith these thingis on the hous of the kyng of Juda, Galaad, thou art to me the heed of the Liban; credence be not youun to me, if Y sette not thee a wildirnesse, citees vnhabitable.
For this is what the LORD says concerning the house of the king of Judah: “You are like Gilead to Me, like the summit of Lebanon; but I will surely turn you into a desert, like cities that are uninhabited.
7 And Y schal halewe on thee a man sleynge, and hise armuris; and thei schulen kitte doun thi chosun cedris, and schulen caste doun in to fier.
I will appoint destroyers against you, each man with his weapons, and they will cut down the choicest of your cedars and throw them into the fire.
8 And many folkis schulen passe bi this citee, and ech man schal seie to his neiybore, Whi dide the Lord thus to this greet citee?
And many nations will pass by this city and ask one another, ‘Why has the LORD done such a thing to this great city?’
9 And thei schulen answere, For thei forsoken the couenaunt of her Lord God, and worschipiden alien goddis, and serueden hem.
Then people will reply, ‘Because they have forsaken the covenant of the LORD their God and have worshiped and served other gods.’”
10 Nyle ye biwepe hym that is deed, nether weile ye on hym bi wepyng; biweile ye hym that goith out, for he schal no more turne ayen, nether he schal se the lond of his birthe.
Do not weep for the dead king; do not mourn his loss. Weep bitterly for the one who is exiled, for he will never return to see his native land.
11 For the Lord seith these thingis to Sellum, the sone of Josie, the kyng of Juda, that regnede for Josye, his fadir, He that yede out of this place, schal no more turne ayen hidur;
For this is what the LORD says concerning Shallum son of Josiah, king of Judah, who succeeded his father Josiah but has gone forth from this place: “He will never return,
12 but in the place to which Y translatide him, there he schal die, and he schal no more se this lond.
but he will die in the place to which he was exiled; he will never see this land again.”
13 Wo to him that bildith his hous in vnriytfulnesse, and his soleris not in doom; he schal oppresse his freend in veyn, and he schal not yelde his hire to hym.
“Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, and his upper rooms without justice, who makes his countrymen serve without pay, and fails to pay their wages,
14 Which seith, Y schal bilde to me a large hous, and wide soleris; which openeth wyndows to hym silf, and makith couplis of cedre, and peyntith with reed colour.
who says, ‘I will build myself a great palace, with spacious upper rooms.’ So he cuts windows in it, panels it with cedar, and paints it with vermilion.
15 Whether thou schalt regne, for thou comparisonest thee to a cedre? whether thi fadir eet not, and drank, and dide doom and riytfulnesse thanne, whanne it was wel to hym?
Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him.
16 He demyde the cause of a pore man, and nedi, in to his good; whether not therfor for he knew me? seith the Lord.
He took up the cause of the poor and needy, and so it went well with him. Is this not what it means to know Me?” declares the LORD.
17 Forsothe thin iyen and herte ben to aueryce, and to schede innocent blood, and to fals caleng, and to the perfourmyng of yuel werk.
“But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”
18 Therfor the Lord seith these thingis to Joachym, the sone of Josie, the kyng of Juda, Thei schulen not biweile hym, Wo brother! and wo sistir! thei schulen not sowne togidere to hym, Wo lord! and wo noble man!
Therefore this is what the LORD says concerning Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: “They will not mourn for him: ‘Alas, my brother! Alas, my sister!’ They will not mourn for him: ‘Alas, my master! Alas, his splendor!’
19 He schal be biried with the biriyng of an asse, he schal be rotun, and cast forth without the yatis of Jerusalem.
He will be buried like a donkey, dragged away and thrown outside the gates of Jerusalem.
20 Stie thou on the Liban, and cry thou, and yyue thi vois in Basan, and cry to hem that passen forth, for alle thi louyeris ben al to-brokun.
Go up to Lebanon and cry out; raise your voice in Bashan; cry out from Abarim, for all your lovers have been crushed.
21 Y spak to thee in thi plentee, and thou seidist, Y schal not here; this is thi weie fro thi yongthe, for thou herdist not my vois.
I warned you when you were secure. You said, ‘I will not listen.’ This has been your way from youth, that you have not obeyed My voice.
22 Wynd schal feede alle thi scheepherdis, and thi louyeris schulen go in to caitifte;
The wind will drive away all your shepherds, and your lovers will go into captivity. Then you will be ashamed and humiliated because of all your wickedness.
23 and thanne thou that sittist in the Liban, and makist nest in cedris, schalt be schent, and be aschamed of al thi malice. Hou weilidist thou, whanne sorewis weren comun to thee, as the sorew of a womman trauelynge of child?
O inhabitant of Lebanon, nestled in the cedars, how you will groan when pangs of anguish come upon you, agony like a woman in labor.”
24 I lyue, seith the Lord, for thouy Jeconye, the sone of Joachym, kyng of Juda, were a ring in my riyt hond, fro thennus Y schal drawe awei hym.
“As surely as I live,” declares the LORD, “even if you, Coniah son of Jehoiakim king of Judah, were a signet ring on My right hand, I would pull you off.
25 And Y schal yyue thee in the hond of hem that seken thi lijf, and in the hond of hem whos face thou dredist, and in the hond of Nabugodonosor, kyng of Babiloyne, and in the hond of Caldeis.
In fact, I will hand you over to those you dread, who want to take your life—to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to the Chaldeans.
26 And Y schal sende thee, and thi moder that gendride thee, in to an alien lond, in which ye weren not borun, and there ye schulen die;
I will hurl you and the mother who gave you birth into another land, where neither of you were born—and there you both will die.
27 and thei schulen not turne ayen in to the lond, to which thei reisen her soule, that thei turne ayen thidur.
You will never return to the land for which you long.”
28 Whether this man Jeconye is an erthene vessel, and al to-brokun? whether a vessel withouten al likyng? Whi ben he and his seed cast awei, and cast forth in to a lond which thei knewen not?
Is this man Coniah a despised and shattered pot, a jar that no one wants? Why are he and his descendants hurled out and cast into a land they do not know?
29 Erthe, erthe, erthe, here thou the word of the Lord.
O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD!
30 The Lord seith these thingis, Write thou this man bareyn, a man that schal not haue prosperite in hise daies; for of his seed schal be no man, that schal sitte on the seete of Dauid, and haue powere ferthere in Juda.
This is what the LORD says: “Enroll this man as childless, a man who will not prosper in his lifetime. None of his descendants will prosper to sit on the throne of David or to rule again in Judah.”

< Jeremiah 22 >