Jeremiah 23
1 Wo to the scheepherdis, that scateren and to-drawen the floc of my lesewe, seith the Lord.
Woe unto the shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith Jehovah.
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 thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel concerning the shepherds that feed my people: Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith Jehovah.
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.
And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their pastures; and they shall be fruitful and shall 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.
And I will raise up shepherds over them, who shall feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, saith Jehovah.
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 come, saith Jehovah, when I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, who shall reign as king, and act wisely, and shall execute judgment 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 shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell in safety; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, Jehovah 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;
Therefore behold, days are coming, saith Jehovah, that they shall no more say, [As] Jehovah liveth, who brought up the children of Israel 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.
but, [As] Jehovah liveth, who brought up and who led back the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them. And they shall dwell 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;
Concerning the prophets: My heart within me is broken; all my bones shake; I am like a drunken man, and like a man whom wine hath overcome; because of Jehovah, and because of the words of his holiness.
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; for because of execration the land mourneth. The pastures of the wilderness are dried up; for their course is evil, and their force is not right.
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 profane: even in my house have I found their wickedness, saith Jehovah.
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 way shall be unto them as slippery places in the darkness; they shall be driven on, and fall therein: for I will bring evil upon them in the year of their visitation, saith Jehovah.
13 And in the profetis of Samarie Y siy fonnednesse, and thei profesieden in Baal, and disseyueden my puple Israel.
And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria: they prophesied by Baal, and caused my people Israel to err.
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 in the prophets of Jerusalem have I seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in falsehood, and strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that none doth return from his wickedness. They are all become unto me as Sodom, and the inhabitants thereof as 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 thus saith Jehovah of hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink water of gall; for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all 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.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they lead you to vanity; they speak a vision of their own heart, not out of the mouth of Jehovah.
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 say constantly unto them that despise me, Jehovah hath said, Ye shall have peace. And they say unto every one that walketh in the stubbornness of his heart, No evil shall come upon 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?
For who hath stood in the council of Jehovah, so that he hath perceived and heard his word? who hath hearkened to his word and listened?
19 Lo! the whirlewynd of the Lordis indignacioun schal go out, and tempest brekynge schal come on the heed of wickid men.
Behold, a tempest of Jehovah, fury is gone forth, yea, a whirling storm: it shall whirl down upon the head 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 Jehovah shall not return, until he have executed, and until he have performed the purposes of his heart: at the end of the days ye shall understand it clearly.
21 Y sente not the profetis, and thei runnen; Y spak not to hem, and thei profesieden.
I did not send the prophets, yet they ran; I have not spoken to them, yet they 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, and had caused my people to hear my words, then would they have turned them from their evil way and from the wickedness of their doings.
23 Gessist thou, whether Y am God of niy, seith the Lord, and not God afer?
Am I a God at hand, saith Jehovah, and not a God afar off?
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 any hide himself in secret places, that I shall not see him? saith Jehovah. Do not I fill the heavens and the earth? saith Jehovah.
25 Y herde what thingis the profetis seiden, profesiynge a leesyng in my name, and seiynge, Y dremede dremes.
I have heard what the prophets say, who prophesy falsehood in my name, saying, I have dreamed, I have dreamed.
26 Hou longe is this thing in the herte of profetis, profesiynge a leesyng, and profesiynge the disseite of her herte?
How long shall [this] be in the heart of the prophets who prophesy falsehood, and who are prophets of the deceit of their own heart?
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.
who think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour: as their fathers have forgotten my name for 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.
The prophet that hath a dream, let him tell the dream; and he that hath my word, let him speak my word faithfully. What is the chaff to the wheat? saith Jehovah.
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 a fire, saith Jehovah; and like a hammer [that] breaketh the rock in pieces?
30 Therfor lo! Y am redi to the profetis, seith the Lord, that stelen my wordis, ech man fro his neiybore.
Therefore, behold, I am against the prophets, saith Jehovah, that steal my words every one from his neighbour.
31 Lo! Y to the profetis, seith the Lord, that taken her tungis, and seien, The Lord seith.
Behold, I am against the prophets, saith Jehovah, that use their tongues, and say, He hath said.
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.
Behold, I am against them that prophesy false dreams, saith Jehovah, and that tell them, and cause my people to err by their lies and by their boasting; and I have not sent them, nor commanded them; and they profit not this people at all, saith Jehovah.
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;
And when this people, or a prophet, or a priest, ask thee, saying, What is the burden of Jehovah? thou shalt then say unto them, What burden? I will even cast you off, saith Jehovah.
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.
And as for the prophet, and the priest, and the people, that shall say, The burden of Jehovah, I will even punish that man and his house.
35 Ye schulen seie these thingis, ech man to his neiybore, and to his brother, What answeride the Lord? and what spak the Lord?
Thus shall ye say every one to his neighbour, and every one to his brother: What hath Jehovah answered? and, What hath Jehovah 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.
And the burden of Jehovah shall ye mention no more; for every man's own word shall be his burden: for ye have perverted the words of the living God, of Jehovah 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 shalt thou say to the prophet: What hath Jehovah answered thee? and, What hath Jehovah 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 since ye say, The burden of Jehovah, therefore thus saith Jehovah: Because ye say this word, The burden of Jehovah, and I have sent unto you, saying, Ye shall not say, The burden of Jehovah;
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 behold, I will utterly forget you, and I will cast you off, far from my face, and the city that I gave to you and to 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 everlasting reproach upon you, and everlasting shame, that shall not be forgotten.
