Jeremiah 31
1 In that tyme, seith the Lord, Y schal be God to alle the kynredis of Israel; and thei schulen be in to a puple to me.
“At that time,” says the LORD, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.”
2 The Lord seith these thingis, The puple that was left of swerd, foond grace in desert; Israel schal go to his reste.
The LORD says, “The people who survive the sword found favour in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.”
3 Fer the Lord apperide to me, and in euerlastynge charite Y louede thee; therfor Y doynge merci drow thee.
The LORD appeared of old to me, saying, “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love. Therefore I have drawn you with loving kindness.
4 And eft Y schal bilde thee, and thou, virgyn Israel, schalt be bildid; yit thou schalt be ourned with thi tympans, and schalt go out in the cumpenye of pleieris.
I will build you again, and you will be built, O virgin of Israel. You will again be adorned with your tambourines, and will go out in the dances of those who make merry.
5 Yit thou schalt plaunte vynes in the hillis of Samarie; men plauntynge schulen plaunte, and til the tyme come, thei schulen not gadere grapis.
Again you will plant vineyards on the mountains of Samaria. The planters will plant, and will enjoy its fruit.
6 For whi a dai schal be, wherynne keperis schulen crye in the hil of Samarie, and in the hil of Effraym, Rise ye, and stie we in to Sion, to oure Lord God.
For there will be a day that the watchmen on the hills of Ephraim cry, ‘Arise! Let’s go up to Zion to the LORD our God.’”
7 For the Lord seith these thingis, Jacob, make ye ful out ioye in gladnesse, and neye ye ayens the heed of hethene men; sowne ye, synge ye, and seie ye, Lord, saue thi puple, the residues of Israel.
For the LORD says, “Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the chief of the nations. Publish, praise, and say, ‘LORD, save your people, the remnant of Israel!’
8 Lo! Y schal brynge hem fro the loond of the north, and Y schal gadere hem fro the fertheste partis of erthe; among whiche schulen be a blynd man, and crokid, and a womman with childe, and trauelynge of child togidere, a greet cumpeny of hem that schulen turne ayen hidur.
Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, along with the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her who travails with child together. They will return as a great company.
9 Thei schulen come in wepyng, and Y schal brynge hem ayen in merci; and Y schal brynge hem bi the strondis of watris in a riytful weie, thei schulen not spurne therynne; for Y am maad a fadir to Israel, and Effraym is my gendrid sone.
They will come with weeping. I will lead them with petitions. I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they won’t stumble; for I am a father to Israel. Ephraim is my firstborn.
10 Ye hethene men, here ye the word of the Lord, and telle ye in ylis that ben fer, and seie, He that scateride Israel, schal gadere it, and schal kepe it, as a scheepherde kepith his floc.
“Hear the LORD’s word, you nations, and declare it in the distant islands. Say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock.’
11 For the Lord ayenbouyte Jacob, and delyuerede hym fro the hond of the myytiere.
For the LORD has ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him from the hand of him who was stronger than he.
12 And thei schulen come, and herye in the hil of Sion; and thei schulen flowe togidere to the goodis of the Lord, on wheete, wyn, and oile, and on the fruyt of scheep, and of neet; and the soule of hem schal be as a watri gardyn, and thei schulen no more hungre.
They will come and sing in the height of Zion, and will flow to the goodness of the LORD, to the grain, to the new wine, to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd. Their soul will be as a watered garden. They will not sorrow any more at all.
13 Thanne a virgyn schal be glad in a cumpenye, yonge men and elde togidere; and Y schal turne the morenyng of hem in to ioie, and Y schal coumforte hem, and Y schal make hem glad of her sorewe.
Then the virgin will rejoice in the dance, the young men and the old together; for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
14 And Y schal greetli fille the soule of prestis with fatnesse, and my puple schal be fillid with my goodis, seith the Lord.
I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people will be satisfied with my goodness,” says the LORD.
15 The Lord seith these thingis, A vois of weilyng, and of wepyng, and of mourenyng, was herd an hiy; the vois of Rachel biwepynge hir sones, and not willynge to be coumfortid on hem, for thei ben not.
The LORD says: “A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children. She refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.”
16 The Lord seith these thingis, Thi vois reste of wepyng, and thin iyen reste of teeres; for whi mede is to thi werk, seith the Lord; and thei schulen turne ayen fro the lond of the enemy.
The LORD says: “Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,” says the LORD. “They will come again from the land of the enemy.
17 And hope is to thi laste thingis, seith the Lord, and thi sones schulen turne ayen to her endis.
There is hope for your latter end,” says the LORD. “Your children will come again to their own territory.
18 I heringe herde Effraym passinge ouer; thou chastisidist me, and Y am lerned as a yong oon vntemyd; turne thou me, and Y schal be conuertid, for thou art my Lord God.
“I have surely heard Ephraim grieving thus, ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, as an untrained calf. Turn me, and I will be turned, for you are the LORD my God.
19 For aftir that thou conuertidist me, Y dide penaunce; and aftir that thou schewidist to me, Y smoot myn hipe; Y am schent, and Y schamede, for Y suffride the schenschipe of my yongthe.
Surely after that I was turned. I repented. After that I was instructed. I struck my thigh. I was ashamed, yes, even confounded, because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
20 For Effraym is a worschipful sone to me, for he is a delicat child; for sithen Y spak of hym, yit Y schal haue mynde on hym; therfor myn entrails ben disturblid on him, Y doynge merci schal haue merci on hym, seith the Lord.
Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I still earnestly remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him. I will surely have mercy on him,” says the LORD.
21 Ordeyne to thee an hiy totyng place, sette to thee bitternesses; dresse thin herte in to a streiyt weie, in which thou yedist; turne ayen, thou virgyn of Israel, turne ayen to these thi citees.
“Set up road signs. Make guideposts. Set your heart towards the highway, even the way by which you went. Turn again, virgin of Israel. Turn again to these your cities.
22 Hou longe, douyter of vnstidfast dwellyng, art thou maad dissolut in delices? for the Lord hath maad a newe thing on erthe, a womman schal cumpasse a man.
How long will you go here and there, you backsliding daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the earth: a woman will encompass a man.”
23 The Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Yit thei schulen seie this word in the lond of Juda, and in the citees therof, whane Y schal turne the caytifte of hem, The Lord blesse thee, thou fairnesse of riytfulnesse, thou hooli hil.
The LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Yet again they will use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I reverse their captivity: ‘The LORD bless you, habitation of righteousness, mountain of holiness.’
24 And Juda, and alle citees therof schulen dwelle in it togidere, erthetilieris, and thei that dryuen flockis.
Judah and all its cities will dwell therein together, the farmers, and those who go about with flocks.
25 For Y fillide greetli a feynt soule, and Y haue fillid ech hungri soule.
For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”
26 Therfor Y am as reisid fro sleep, and Y siy; and my sleep was swete to me.
On this I awakened, and saw; and my sleep was sweet to me.
27 Lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and Y schal sowe the hous of Israel and the hous of Juda with the seed of men, and with the seed of werk beestis.
“Behold, the days come,” says the LORD, “that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and with the seed of animal.
28 And as Y wakide on hem, to drawe vp bi the roote, and to distrie, and to scatere, and to leese, and to turmente; so Y schal wake on hem, to bilde, and to plaunte, seith the Lord.
It will happen that, like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” says the LORD.
29 In tho daies thei schulen no more seie, The fadres eeten a sour grape, and the teeth of sones weren astonyed; but ech man schal die in his wickidnesse,
“In those days they will say no more, “‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’
30 ech man that etith a sour grape, hise teeth schulen be astonyed.
But everyone will die for his own iniquity. Every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge.
31 Lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and Y schal smyte a newe boond of pees to the hous of Israel, and to the hous of Juda;
“Behold, the days come,” says the LORD, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah,
32 not bi the couenaunte which Y made with youre fadris, in the dai in which Y took the hond of hem, to lede hem out of the lond of Egipt, the couenaunte which thei made voide; and Y was Lord of hem, seith the Lord.
not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which covenant of mine they broke, although I was a husband to them,” says the LORD.
33 But this schal be the couenaunte, which Y schal smyte with the hous of Israel aftir tho daies, seith the Lord; Y schal yyue my lawe in the entrails of hem, and Y schal write it in the herte of hem, and Y schal be in to God to hem, and thei schulen be in to a puple to me.
“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” says the LORD: “I will put my law in their inward parts, and I will write it in their heart. I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
34 And a man schal no more teche his neiybore, and a man his brother, and seie, Knowe thou the Lord; for alle schulen knowe me, fro the leeste of hem `til to the mooste, seith the Lord; for Y schal be merciful to the wickidnessis of hem, and Y schal no more be myndeful on the synne of hem.
They will no longer each teach his neighbour, and every man teach his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD;’ for they will all know me, from their least to their greatest,” says the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
35 The Lord seith these thingis, that yyueth the sunne in the liyt of dai, the ordre of the moone and of sterris in the liyt of the niyt, whiche disturblith the see, and the wawis therof sownen, the Lord of oostis is name to hym.
The LORD, who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea, so that its waves roar— the LORD of Armies is his name, says:
36 If these lawis failen bifore me, seith the Lord, thanne and the seed of Israel schal faile, that it be not a folk bifore me in alle daies.
“If these ordinances depart from before me,” says the LORD, “then the offspring of Israel also will cease from being a nation before me forever.”
37 The Lord seith these thingis, If heuenes aboue moun be mesurid, and the foundementis of erthe bynethe be souyt out, and Y schal caste awei al the seed of Israel, for alle thingis whiche thei diden, seith the Lord.
The LORD says: “If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel for all that they have done,” says the LORD.
38 Lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and a citee schal be bildid to the Lord, fro the tour of Ananeel `til to the yate of the corner.
“Behold, the days come,” says the LORD, “that the city will be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananel to the gate of the corner.
39 And it schal go out ouer the reule of mesure, in the siyt therof, on the hil Gareb, and it schal cumpasse Goatha,
The measuring line will go out further straight onward to the hill Gareb, and will turn towards Goah.
40 and al the valei of careyns, and it schal cumpasse aischis, and al the cuntrei of deth, `til to the stronde of Cedron, and til to the corner of the eest yate of horsis; the hooli thing of the Lord schal not be drawun out, and it schal no more be destried with outen ende.
The whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields to the brook Kidron, to the corner of the horse gate towards the east, will be holy to the LORD. It will not be plucked up or thrown down any more forever.”
