Jeremiah 23
1 Wo to the scheepherdis, that scateren and to-drawen the floc of my lesewe, seith the Lord.
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.
2 Therfor the Lord God of Israel seith these thingis to the scheepherdis, that feeden my puple, Ye han scaterid my floc, and han cast hem out, and han not visitid hem; lo! Y schal visite on you the malice of youre studies, seith the Lord.
Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.
3 And Y schal gadere togidere the remenauntis of my floc fro alle londis, to whiche Y schal caste hem out thidur; and Y schal turne hem to her feeldis, and thei schulen encreesse, and schulen be multiplied.
Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands to which I have banished them, and I will return them to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and multiply.
4 And Y schal reise schepherdis on hem, and thei schulen feede hem; thei schulen no more drede, and schulen not be aferd; and noon schal be souyt of the noumbre seith the Lord.
I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any go missing, declares the LORD.
5 Lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and Y schal reise a iust buriownyng to Dauid; and he schal regne a kyng, and he schal be wijs, and he schal make doom and riytfulnesse in erthe.
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
6 In tho daies Juda schal be sauid, and Israel schal dwelle tristili; and this is the name which thei schulen clepe hym, The Lord oure riytful.
In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is His name by which He will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.
7 For this thing lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and thei schulen no more seie, The Lord lyueth, that ledde the sones of Israel out of the lond of Egipt;
So behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when they will no longer say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of Egypt.’
8 but, The Lord lyueth, that ledde out, and brouyte the seed of the hous of Israel fro the lond of the north, and fro alle londis to whiche Y hadde cast hem out thidur; and thei schulen dwelle in her lond.
Instead they will say, ‘As surely as the LORD lives, who brought and led the descendants of the house of Israel up out of the land of the north and all the other lands to which He had banished them.’ Then they will dwell once more in their own land.”
9 To the prophetis; Myn herte is contrit in the myddis of me, alle my boonys trembliden togidere; Y am maad as a man drunkun, and as a man weet of wyn, of the face of the Lord, and of the face of the hooli wordis of hym;
As for the prophets: My heart is broken within me, and all my bones tremble. I have become like a drunkard, like a man overcome by wine, because of the LORD, because of His holy words.
10 for the lond is fillid with auowteris. For the erthe mourenede of the face of cursyng; the feeldis of desert ben maad drie, the cours of hem is maad yuel, and her strengthe is vnlijk.
For the land is full of adulterers— because of the curse, the land mourns and the pastures of the wilderness have dried up— their course is evil and their power is misused.
11 For whi the profete and the prest ben defoulid; and in myn hous, seith the Lord, Y foond the yuel of hem.
“For both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in My house I have found their wickedness,”
12 Therfor the weie of hem schal be as slidur in derknessis, for thei schulen be hurtlid, and schulen falle doun therynne; for Y schal bringe on hem yuels, the yeer of visitacioun of hem, seith the Lord.
“Therefore their path will become slick; they will be driven away into the darkness and fall into it. For I will bring disaster upon them in the year of their punishment,”
13 And in the profetis of Samarie Y siy fonnednesse, and thei profesieden in Baal, and disseyueden my puple Israel.
“Among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray.
14 And in the profetis of Jerusalem Y siy licnesse, auoutrie, and the weie of leesyng; and thei confortiden the hondis of the worste men, that ech man schulde not conuerte fro his malice; alle thei ben maad as Sodom to me, and alle the dwellers therof `ben maad as Gommorre.
And among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: They commit adultery and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns his back on wickedness. They are all like Sodom to Me; the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
15 Therfor the Lord of oostis seith these thingis to the prophetis, Lo! Y schal feed hem with wermod, and Y schal yyue drynke to hem with galle; for whi defoulyng is goen out of the profetis of Jerusalem on al the lond.
Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says concerning the prophets: “I will feed them wormwood and give them poisoned water to drink, for from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”
16 The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Nyle ye here the wordis of profetis, that profesien to you, and disseyuen you; thei speken the visioun of her herte, not of the mouth of the Lord.
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you. They are filling you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD.
17 Thei seien to hem that blasfemen me, The Lord spak, Pees schal be to you; and thei seiden to ech man that goith in the schrewidnesse of his herte, Yuel schal not come on you.
They keep saying to those who despise Me, ‘The LORD says that you will have peace,’ and to everyone who walks in the stubbornness of his own heart, ‘No harm will come to you.’
18 For whi who is present in the councel of the Lord, and siy, and herde his word? who bihelde, and herde the word of hym?
But which of them has stood in the council of the LORD to see and hear His word? Who has given heed to His word and obeyed it?
19 Lo! the whirlewynd of the Lordis indignacioun schal go out, and tempest brekynge schal come on the heed of wickid men.
Behold, the storm of the LORD has gone out with fury, a whirlwind swirling down upon the heads of the wicked.
20 The strong veniaunce of the Lord schal not turne ayen, til that he do, and til that he fille the thouyt of his herte. In the laste daies ye schulen vndurstonde the councel of hym.
The anger of the LORD will not turn back until He has fully accomplished the purposes of His heart. In the days to come you will understand this clearly.
21 Y sente not the profetis, and thei runnen; Y spak not to hem, and thei profesieden.
I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied.
22 If thei hadden stonde in my councel, and hadde maad knowun my wordis to my puple, forsothe Y hadde turned hem awei fro her yuel weie, and fro her worste thouytis.
But if they had stood in My council, they would have proclaimed My words to My people and turned them back from their evil ways and deeds.”
23 Gessist thou, whether Y am God of niy, seith the Lord, and not God afer?
“Am I only a God nearby,” declares the LORD, “and not a God far away?”
24 A man schal not be priuy in hid places, and Y schal not se hym, seith the Lord. Whether Y fille not heuene and erthe? seith the Lord.
“Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.
25 Y herde what thingis the profetis seiden, profesiynge a leesyng in my name, and seiynge, Y dremede dremes.
“I have heard the sayings of the prophets who prophesy lies in My name: ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’
26 Hou longe is this thing in the herte of profetis, profesiynge a leesyng, and profesiynge the disseite of her herte?
How long will this continue in the hearts of these prophets who prophesy falsehood, these prophets of the delusion of their own minds?
27 Whiche wolen make, that my puple foryete my name for the dremes of hem, which ech man tellith to his neiybore, as the fadris of hem foryaten my name for Baal.
They suppose the dreams that they tell one another will make My people forget My name, just as their fathers forgot My name through the worship of Baal.
28 A profete that hath a dreme, telle a dreem; and he that hath my word, speke verili my word. What is with chaffis to the wheete? seith the Lord.
Let the prophet who has a dream retell it, but let him who has My word speak it truthfully. For what is straw compared to grain?” declares the LORD.
29 Whether my wordis ben not as fier brennynge, seith the Lord, and as an hamer al to-brekynge a stoon?
“Is not My word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that smashes a rock?”
30 Therfor lo! Y am redi to the profetis, seith the Lord, that stelen my wordis, ech man fro his neiybore.
“Therefore behold,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words they attribute to Me.”
31 Lo! Y to the profetis, seith the Lord, that taken her tungis, and seien, The Lord seith.
“Yes,” declares the LORD, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and proclaim, ‘The LORD declares it.’”
32 Lo! Y to the profetis, dremynge a leesyng, seith the Lord; which telden tho, and disseyueden my puple in her leesyng, and in her myraclis, whanne Y hadde not sente hem, nether hadde comaundide to hem; whiche profitiden no thing to this puple, seith the Lord.
“Indeed,” declares the LORD, “I am against those who prophesy false dreams and retell them to lead My people astray with their reckless lies. It was not I who sent them or commanded them, and they are of no benefit at all to these people,” declares the LORD.
33 Therfor if this puple, ether profete, ether prest, axith thee, and seith, What is the birthun of the Lord? thou schalt seie to hem, Ye ben the birthun, for Y schal caste you awei, seith the Lord;
“Now when this people or a prophet or priest asks you, ‘What is the burden of the LORD?’ you are to say to them, ‘What burden? I will forsake you, declares the LORD.’
34 and a profete, and a prest, and the puple, that seith, The birthun of the Lord, Y schal visite on that man, and on his hous.
As for the prophet or priest or anyone who claims, ‘This is the burden of the LORD,’ I will punish that man and his household.
35 Ye schulen seie these thingis, ech man to his neiybore, and to his brother, What answeride the Lord? and what spak the Lord?
This is what each man is to say to his friend and to his brother: ‘What has the LORD answered?’ or ‘What has the LORD spoken?’
36 For the birthun of the Lord schal no more be remembrid, and the word of ech man schal be birthun to hym; and ye han peruertid the wordis of lyuynge God, of the Lord of oostis, youre God.
But refer no more to the burden of the LORD, for each man’s word becomes the burden, so that you pervert the words of the living God, the LORD of Hosts, our God.
37 Thou schalt seie these thingis to the profete, What answeride the Lord to thee? and what spak the Lord?
Thus you are to say to the prophet: ‘What has the LORD answered you?’ and ‘What has the LORD spoken?’
38 Forsothe if ye seien, The birthin of the Lord, for this thing the Lord seith these thingis, For ye seiden this word, The birthun of the Lord, and Y sente to you, and Y seide, Nyle ye seie, The birthun of the Lord; therfor lo!
But if you claim, ‘This is the burden of the LORD,’ then this is what the LORD says: Because you have said, ‘This is the burden of the LORD,’ and I specifically told you not to make this claim,
39 Y schal take you awei, and schal bere, and Y schal forsake you, and the citee which Y yaf to you, and to youre fadris, fro my face.
therefore I will surely forget you and will cast you out of My presence, both you and the city that I gave to you and your fathers.
40 And Y schal yyue you in to euerlastynge schenschipe, and in to euerlastynge sclaundir, that schal neuere be doon awei bi foryetyng.
And I will bring upon you everlasting shame and perpetual humiliation that will never be forgotten.”
