Jeremiah 4
1 Israel, if thou turnest ayen, seith the Lord, turne thou to me; if thou takist awei thin offendyngis fro my face, thou schalt not be mouyd.
If thou wilt return to me, O Israel, saith Jehovah, Thou shalt return [[to thy land]]; If thou wilt put away thy abominations from my sight, Thou shalt no more be a wanderer [[in a foreign land]].
2 And thou schalt swere, The Lord lyueth, in treuthe and in doom and in riytfulnesse; and alle folkis schulen blesse hym, and schulen preise hym.
If thou wilt swear, As Jehovah liveth! In truth, in justice, and in righteousness, Then shall the nations bless themselves by thee, And in thee shall they glory.
3 For the Lord God seith these thingis to a man of Juda and to a dwellere of Jerusalem, Make ye newe to you a lond tilid of the newe, and nyle ye sowe on thornes.
Thus saith Jehovah to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: Break up your fallow ground, And sow not among thorns!
4 Men of Juda, and dwelleris of Jerusalem, be ye circumcidid to the Lord, and do ye awey the filthis of youre hertis; lest perauenture myn indignacioun go out as fier, and be kyndlid, and noon be that quenche, for the malice of youre thouytis.
Circumcise yourselves to Jehovah; Yea, circumcise your hearts, Ye men of Judah, and inhabitants of Jerusalem! Lest, for the evil of your doings, My fury break forth like fire, And burn so that none can quench it.
5 Telle ye in Juda, and make ye herd in Jerusalem; speke ye, and synge ye with a trumpe in the lond; crye ye strongli, and seie ye, Be ye gaderid togidere, and entre we in to stronge citees.
Declare ye in Judah, And proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, Blow ye the trumpet in the land; Cry ye aloud, and say, Gather yourselves together, And let us go into the fortified cities;
6 Reise ye a signe in Sion, coumforte ye, and nyle ye stonde; for Y bringe yuel fro the north, and a greet sorewe.
Set up a standard toward Zion, Flee, make no stand! For I am about to bring evil from the north, Even great destruction.
7 A lioun schal `rise vp fro his denne, and the robbere of folkis schal reise hym silf. He is goon out of his place, to sette thi lond in to wildirnesse; thi citees schulen be distried, abidynge stille with out dwellere.
The lion goeth up from his thicket, The destroyer of nations is on his way; He goeth forth from his place to make thy land desolate; Thy cities shall be laid waste so as to be without an inhabitant.
8 On this thing girde you with heiris; weile ye, and yelle, for the wraththe of the strong veniaunce of the Lord is not turned awei fro you.
For this cause gird on sackcloth, Lament and howl! For the fierce anger of Jehovah is not turned away from us.
9 And it schal be, in that dai, seith the Lord, the herte of the king schal perische, and the herte of princis; and the prestis schulen wondre, and the prophetis schulen be astonyed.
In that day, saith Jehovah, Shall the heart of the king perish, And the heart of the princes; The priests shall be amazed, And the prophets confounded.
10 And Y seide, Alas! alas! alas! Lord God; therfor whether thou hast disseyued this puple and Jerusalem, seiynge, Pees schal be to you, and lo! a swerd is comun `til to the soule?
Then said I, Alas, O Lord Jehovah! Surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem; Thou hast said, “Ye shall have peace”; And the sword reacheth to the very life!
11 In that tyme it schal be seide to this puple and to Jerusalem, A brennynge wynd in the weies that ben in desert, ben the weies of the douytir of my puple, not to wyndewe, and not to purge.
At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem: A dry wind cometh from the hills of the desert, It cometh toward my people, Not to fan, nor to cleanse.
12 A spirit ful of hem schal come to me; and now Y, but Y schal speke my domes with hem.
Yea, a wind stronger than this shall come; Now will I myself give sentence against them.
13 Lo! he schal stie as a cloude, and hise charis as a tempest; hise horsis ben swifter than eglis; wo to vs, for we ben distried.
Behold, he cometh up like clouds, And his chariots are like a whirlwind; His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us! for we are laid waste!
14 Thou Jerusalem, waische thin herte fro malice, that thou be maad saaf. Hou long schulen noiful thouytis dwelle in thee?
Wash thy heart from wickedness, O Jerusalem, That thou mayst be saved! How long shall thy evil devices lodge within thee?
15 For whi the vois of a tellere fro Dan, and makynge knowun an idol fro the hil of Effraym.
For a voice proclaimeth tidings from Dan, And announceth calamity from mount Ephraim.
16 Reise, ye folkis; lo! it is herd in Jerusalem that keperis ben comun fro a fer lond, and yyuen her vois on the citees of Juda.
Proclaim ye to the nations, Behold, publish ye to Jerusalem, “Watchmen are coming from a far country, And lift their voice against the cities of Judah.”
17 As the keperis of feeldis thei ben maad on it in cumpas; for it stiride me to wrathfulnesse, seith the Lord.
Like keepers of fields are they round about her Because she hath rebelled against me, saith Jehovah.
18 Thi weyes and thi thouytis han maad this to thee; this malice of thee, for it is bittir, for it touchide thin herte.
Thy way and thy doings have brought this upon thee; This is the fruit of thy wickedness; It is bitter; it reacheth to thy heart.
19 Mi wombe akith, my wombe akith; the wittis of myn herte ben disturblid in me. Y schal not be stille, for my soule herde the vois of a trumpe, the cry of batel.
O my breast, my breast! I am pained in the walls of my heart; My heart trembleth within me; I cannot be silent; For thou hearest, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war!
20 Sorewe is clepid on sorewe, and al the lond is distried; my tabernaclis ben wastid sudeynli, my skynnes ben wastid sudeynli.
There is a cry of destruction upon destruction; Yea, the whole land is laid waste; Suddenly are my tents destroyed, And my canopies in an instant.
21 Hou longe schal Y se hem that fleen, schal Y here the vois of a clarioun?
How long shall I see the standard, Hear the sound of the trumpet?
22 For my fonned puple knew not me; thei ben vnwise sones, and cowardis; thei ben wise to do yuels, but thei kouden not do wel.
My people is foolish, They have no regard to me; Stupid children are they, And have no understanding; They are wise to do evil, But for doing good they have no knowledge.
23 Y bihelde the lond, and lo! it was void, and nouyt; and Y bihelde heuenes, and no liyt was in tho.
I look to the earth, and lo! emptiness and desolation; To the heavens, and there is no light.
24 Y siy munteyns, and lo! tho weren mouyd, and all litle hillis weren disturblid.
I look to the mountains, and lo! they tremble, And all the hills shake.
25 Y lokide, and no man was, and ech brid of heuene was gon a wey.
I look, and lo! there is not a man, And all the birds of heaven are fled.
26 Y bihelde, and lo! Carmele is forsakun, and alle citees therof ben distried fro the face of the Lord, and fro the face of the ire of his strong veniaunce.
I look, and lo! Carmel is a desert, And all its cities are thrown down, Before the presence of Jehovah, Before the heat of his anger.
27 For the Lord seith these thingis, Al the lond schal be forsakun, but netheles Y schal not make an endyng.
For thus saith Jehovah: The whole land shall be desolate, Yet will I not make a full end.
28 The erthe schal mourne, and heuenys aboue schulen make sorewe, for that Y spak; Y thouyte, and it repentide not me, nether Y am turned awei fro it.
Therefore shall the earth mourn, And the heavens above be black, Because I have spoken, and I will not repent; I have purposed, and I will not recede from it.
29 Ech citee fledde fro the vois of a knyyt, and of a man schetynge an arowe; thei entriden in to hard places, and stieden in to roochis of stoon; alle citees ben forsakun, and no man dwellith in tho.
At the noise of the horsemen and bowmen every city fleeth; They go into thickets, And climb up upon the rocks; All the cities are forsaken, And not a man dwelleth in them.
30 But what schalt thou `destried do? Whanne thou schalt clothe thee with reed scarlet, whanne thou schalt be ourned with a goldun broche, and schalt anoynte thin iyen with wommans oynement, thou schalt be araied in veyn; thi louyeris han dispisid thee, thei schulen seke thi soule.
And thou, destined to perish, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothe thyself in scarlet, And deck thyself with ornaments of gold, And rend thine eyes with paint, In vain dost thou adorn thyself; Thy lovers despise thee; They seek thy life.
31 For Y herd a vois as of a womman trauelynge of child, the angwischis as of a womman childynge; the vois of the douyter of Sion among hem that dien, and spreden abrood her hondis; Wo to me, for my soule failide for hem that ben slayn.
I hear a cry, as of a woman in travail, Anguish, as of her that bringeth forth her first child. The voice of the daughter of Zion. She sobbeth, she spreadeth out her hands, “Ah! woe is me! I am dying by murderers!”
