Jeremiah 3
1 It is seid comunli, If a man forsakith his wijf, and sche go awei fro hym, and be weddid to an othere hosebonde, whether he schal turne ayen more to hir? whether thilke womman schal not be defoulid, and maad vncleene? Forsothe thou hast do fornycacioun with many loueris; netheles turne thou ayen to me, `seith the Lord, and Y schal resseyue thee.
“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with many lovers— and you would return to Me?”
2 Reise thin iyen in to streiyt, and se, where thou art not cast doun. Thou hast setun in weies, abidynge hem as a theef in wildirnesse, and thou hast defoulid the erthe in thi fornicaciouns and in thi malices.
“Lift up your eyes to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been violated? You sat beside the highways waiting for your lovers, like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness.
3 Wherfor the dropis of reynes weren forbodun, and no late reyn was. The forhed of a womman hoore is maad to thee; thou noldist be aschamed.
Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.
4 Nameli fro this tyme forth clepe thou me, Thou art my fadir, the ledere of my virginyte.
Have you not just called to Me, ‘My Father, You are my friend from youth.
5 Whether thou schalt be wrooth with outen ende, ether schalt contynue in to the ende? Lo! thou hast spoke, and hast do yuels, and thou were myyti. And for wordis of penaunce thou blasfemydist bi wordis of pride; and thou fillidist thin yuel thouyt, and schewidist thi strengthe ayens thi hosebonde, that thou maist do that thing that thou tretidist bi word.
Will He be angry forever? Will He be indignant to the end?’ This you have spoken, but you keep doing all the evil you can.”
6 And the Lord seide to me, in the daies of Josie, the kyng, Whether thou hast seyn what thing the aduersarie, Israel, hath do? Sche yede to hir silf on ech hiy hil, and vndur ech tre ful of boowis, and dide fornycacioun there.
Now in the days of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every green tree to prostitute herself there.
7 And Y seide, whanne sche hadde do alle these thingis, Turne thou ayen to me; and sche turnede not ayen. And hir sistir, Juda, brekere of the lawe,
I thought that after she had done all these things, she would return to Me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it.
8 siy, that for the aduersarie, Israel, dide auowtrie, Y hadde left hir, and Y hadde youe to hir a libel of forsakyng; and Juda, hir sistir, brekere of the lawe, dredde not, but also sche yede, and dide fornycacioun.
She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well.
9 And bi liytnesse of hir fornicacioun sche defoulide the erthe, and dide auowtrie with a stoon, and with a tree.
Indifferent to her own infidelity, Israel had defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.
10 And in alle these thingis hir sistir, Juda, brekere of the lawe, turnede not ayen to me, in al hir herte, but in a leesyng, seith the Lord God.
Yet in spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the LORD.
11 And the Lord seide to me, The aduersarie, Israel, hath iustified hir soule, in comparisoun of Juda, brekere of the lawe.
And the LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than unfaithful Judah.
12 Go thou, and crye these wordis ayens the north; and thou schalt seie, Thou aduersarie, Israel, turne ayen, seith the Lord, and Y schal not turne awei my face fro you; for Y am hooli, seith the Lord, and Y schal not be wrooth with outen ende.
Go, proclaim this message toward the north: ‘Return, O faithless Israel,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will no longer look on you with anger, for I am merciful,’ declares the LORD. ‘I will not be angry forever.
13 Netheles knowe thou thi wickidnesse; for thou hast trespassid ayens thi Lord God, and thou hast spred abrood thi weies to aliens vndur ech tre ful of bowis; and thou herdist not my vois, seith the Lord.
Only acknowledge your guilt, that you have rebelled against the LORD your God. You have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every green tree and have not obeyed My voice,’”
14 Be ye conuertid, sones, turnynge ayen, seith the Lord, for Y am youre hosebonde; and Y schal take you oon of a citee, and tweyne of a kynrede, and Y schal lede you in to Sion;
“Return, O faithless children,” declares the LORD, “for I am your master, and I will take you—one from a city and two from a family—and bring you to Zion.
15 and Y schal yyue to you scheepherdis after myn herte, and thei schulen feede you with kunnyng and teching.
Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
16 And whanne ye schulen be multiplied, and encreesse in the lond, in tho daies, seith the Lord, thei schulen no more seie, The arke of testament of the Lord; nether it schal stie on the herte, nether thei schulen thenke on it, nether it schal be visitid, nether it schal be ferthere.
“In those days, when you multiply and increase in the land,” declares the LORD, “they will no longer discuss the ark of the covenant of the LORD. It will never come to mind, and no one will remember it or miss it, nor will another one be made.
17 In that tyme thei schulen clepe Jerusalem The seete of the Lord, and alle hethene men schulen be gaderid togidere to it, in the name of the Lord, in Jerusalem; and thei schulen not go aftir the schrewidnesse of her worste herte.
At that time Jerusalem will be called The Throne of the LORD, and all the nations will be gathered in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. They will no longer follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.
18 In tho daies the hous of Juda schal go to the hous of Israel; and thei schulen come togidere fro the lond of the north to the lond which Y yaf to youre fadris.
In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave to your fathers as an inheritance.
19 Forsothe Y seide, Hou schal Y sette thee among sones, and schal yyue to thee a desirable lond, a ful cleer eritage of the oostis of hethene men? And Y seide, Thou schalt clepe me fadir, and thou schalt not ceesse to entre aftir me.
Then I said, ‘How I long to make you My sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of all the nations!’ I thought you would call Me ‘Father’ and never turn away from following Me.
20 But as if a womman dispisith hir louyere, so the hous of Israel dispiside me, seith the Lord.
But as a woman may betray her husband, so you have betrayed Me, O house of Israel,”
21 A vois is herd in weies, the weping and yellyng of the sones of Israel; for thei maden wickid her weie, thei foryaten her Lord God.
A voice is heard on the barren heights, the children of Israel weeping and begging for mercy, because they have perverted their ways and forgotten the LORD their God.
22 Be ye conuertid, sones, turnynge ayen, and Y schal heele youre turnyngis awei. Lo! we comen to thee; for thou art oure Lord God.
“Return, O faithless children, and I will heal your faithlessness.” “Here we are. We come to You, for You are the LORD our God.
23 Verili litil hillis weren lieris, the multitude of mounteyns was fals; verili in oure Lord God is the helthe of Israel.
Surely deception comes from the hills, and commotion from the mountains. Surely the salvation of Israel is in the LORD our God.
24 Schenschipe eete the trauel of oure fadris, fro oure yongthe; schenschipe eet the flockis of hem, and the droues of hem, the sones of hem, and the douytris of hem.
From our youth, that shameful god has consumed what our fathers have worked for— their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters.
25 We schulen slepe in oure schenschipe, and oure sclaundir schal hile vs; for we synneden to oure Lord God, bothe we and oure fadris, fro oure yongthe `til to this dai; and we herden not the vois of oure Lord God.
Let us lie down in our shame; let our disgrace cover us. We have sinned against the LORD our God, both we and our fathers; from our youth even to this day we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”
