Jeremiah 34

1 The word that was maad of the Lord to Jeremye, whanne Nabugodonosor, kyng of Babiloyne, and al his oost, and alle the rewmes of erthe, that weren vndur the power of his hond, and alle puplis fouyten ayens Jerusalem, and ayens alle citees therof; and he seide,

The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and all his army, and all the kingdoms of the earth that were under his dominion, and all the peoples, were fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of it, saying:

2 The Lord God of Israel seith these thingis, Go thou, and speke to Sedechie, kyng of Juda; and thou schalt seie to hym, The Lord seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal bitake this citee in to the hond of the kyng of Babiloyne, and he schal brenne it bi fier.

"Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'Go, and speak to Zedekiah king of Judah, and tell him, "Thus says the LORD, 'Look, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire:

3 And thou schalt not ascape fro his hond, but thou schalt be takun bi takyng, and thou schalt be bitakun in to his hond; and thin iyen schulen se the iyen of the kyng of Babiloyne, and his mouth schal speke with thi mouth, and thou schalt entre in to Babiloyne.

and you shall not escape out of his hand, but shall surely be taken, and delivered into his hand; and your eyes shall see the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with you mouth to mouth, and you shall go to Babylon.'

4 Netheles Sedechie, the kyng of Juda, here thou the word of the Lord; the Lord seith these thingis to thee, Thou schalt not die bi swerd,

Yet hear the word of the LORD, O Zedekiah king of Judah: thus says the LORD concerning you, 'You shall not die by the sword;

5 but thou schalt die in pees, and bi the brennyngis of thi fadris, the formere kyngis that weren bifore thee, so thei schulen brenne thee, and thei schulen biweile thee, Wo! lord; for Y spak a word, seith the Lord.

you shall die in peace; and with the burnings of your fathers, the former kings who were before you, so shall they make a burning for you; and they shall lament you, saying, "Ah Lord." for I have spoken the word,' says the LORD."'"

6 And Jeremye, the profete, spak to Sedechie, kyng of Juda, alle these wordis in Jerusalem.

Then Jeremiah the prophet spoke all these words to Zedekiah king of Judah in Jerusalem,

7 And the oost of the kyng of Babiloyne fauyt ayens Jerusalem, and ayens alle the citees of Juda, that weren left; ayens Lachis, and ayens Azecha; for whi these strong citees weren left of the citees of Juda.

when the king of Babylon's army was fighting against Jerusalem, and against all the cities of Judah that were left, against Lachish and against Azekah; for these alone remained of the cities of Judah as fortified cities.

8 The word that was maad of the Lord to Jeremye, aftir that kyng Sedechie smoot boond of pees with al the puple in Jerusalem,

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, after that the king Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people who were at Jerusalem, to proclaim liberty to them;

9 and prechide, that ech man schulde delyuere his seruaunt, and ech man his handmaide, an Ebreu man and an Ebru womman fre, and that thei schulden not be lordis of hem, that is, in a Jew, and her brothir.

that every man should let his male servant, and every man his female servant, who is a Hebrew man or a Hebrew woman, go free; that none should keep a fellow Judean in bondage.

10 Therfor alle the princes and al the puple herden, whiche maden couenaunt, that thei schulden delyuere ech man his seruaunt, and ech man his handmaide fre, and schulde no more be lordis of hem; therfor thei herden, and delyueriden;

And all the officials and all the people obeyed, who had entered into the covenant, that everyone should let his male servant, and everyone his female servant, go free, that none should make bondservants of them any more; they obeyed, and let them go:

11 and thei weren turned aftirward, and drowen ayen her seruauntis, and handmaidis, whiche thei hadden left fre, and thei maden suget in to seruauntis, and in to seruauntessis.

but afterwards they turned, and caused the servants and the handmaids, whom they had let go free, to return, and brought them into subjection for servants and for handmaids.

12 And the word of the Lord was maad of the Lord to Jeremye, and seide,

Therefore the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

13 The Lord God of Israel seith these thingis, Y smoot a boond of pees with youre fadris, in the dai in which Y ledde hem out of the lond of Egipt, out of the hous of seruage; and Y seide, Whanne seuene yeeris ben fillid,

"Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: 'I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, saying,

14 ech man delyuere his brother, an Ebreu man, which is seeld to hym, and he schal serue thee sixe yeer, and thou schalt delyuere hym fro thee; and youre fadris herden not me, nether bowiden her eere.

"At the end of seven years you shall let go every man his brother who is a Hebrew, who has been sold to you, and has served you six years, you shall let him go free from you": but your fathers did not listen to me, neither inclined their ear.

15 And ye ben conuertid to dai, and ye diden that, that is riytful bifore myn iyen, that ye precheden ech man fredom to his frend, and ye maden couenaunt in my siyt, in the hous wherynne my name is clepid to help on that fredom.

You had now turned, and had done that which is right in my eyes, in proclaiming liberty every man to his neighbor; and you had made a covenant before me in the house which is called by my name:

16 And ye turneden ayen, and defouliden my name, and ye brouyten ayen ech man his seruaunt, and ech man his handmaide, whiche ye delyueriden, that thei schulden be fre, and of her owne power; and ye maden hem suget, that thei be seruauntis and haundmaidis to you.

but you turned and profaned my name, and caused every man his servant, and every man his handmaid, whom you had let go free at their pleasure, to return; and you brought them into subjection, to be to you for servants and for handmaids.

17 Therfor the Lord seith thes thingis, Ye herden not me, that ye prechiden fredom, ech man to his brothir, and ech man to his freend; lo! Y preeche to you fredom, seith the Lord, and to swerd, and to hungur, and to pestilence, and Y schal yyue you in to stiryng to alle rewmes of erthe.

Therefore thus says the LORD: "You have not listened to me, to proclaim liberty, every man to his brother, and every man to his neighbor: look, I proclaim to you a liberty, says the LORD, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth.

18 And Y schal yyue the men, that breken my boond of pees, and kepten not the wordis of boond of pees, to whiche thei assentiden in my siyt, and kepten not the calf, which thei kittiden in to twei partis; and the princes of Juda,

I will give the men who have transgressed my covenant, who have not performed the words of the covenant which they made before me, when they cut the calf in two and passed between its parts;

19 and the princes of Jerusalem, and the onest seruauntis, and preestis yeden bytwixe the partyngis therof, and al the puple of the lond, that yeden bitwixe the departyngis of the calf;

the officials of Judah, and the officials of Jerusalem, the eunuchs, and the cohanim, and all the people of the land, who passed between the parts of the calf;

20 and Y schal yyue hem in to the hond of her enemyes, and in to the hond of hem that seken her lijf; and the deed careyn of hem schal be in to mete to the volatilis of the eir, and to the beestis of erthe.

I will even give them into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life; and their dead bodies shall be for food to the birds of the sky, and to the animals of the earth.

21 And Y schal yyue Sedechie, the kyng of Juda, and hise princes, in to the hond of her enemyes, and in to the hond of hem that seken her lijf, and in to the hond of the oostis of the kyng of Babiloyne, that yeden awei fro you.

And Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials will I give into the hand of their enemies, and into the hand of those who seek their life, and into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, who have gone away from you.

22 Lo! Y comaunde, seith the Lord, and Y schal brynge hem ayen in to this citee, and thei schulen fiyte ayens it, and schulen take it, and schulen brenne it with fier; and Y schal yyue the citees of Juda in to wildirnesse, for ther is no dwellere.

Look, I will command, says the LORD, and cause them to return to this city; and they shall fight against it, and take it, and burn it with fire: and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant."'"