< Jeremiah 46 >
1 The word of the Lord, that was maad to Jeremye, the profete, ayens hethene men;
The word of the Lord which came to Jeremiah the prophet against the nations:
2 to Egipt, ayens the oost of Farao Nechao, kyng of Egipt, that was bisidis the flood Eufrates, in Charchamys, whom Nabugodonosor, kyng of Babiloyne, smoot, in the fourthe yeer of Joachym, sone of Josie, kyng of Juda.
Concerning Egypt, against the army of Pharaoh-necho the king of Egypt, which was [posted] by the river Euphrates in Karkemish, which Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon smote in the fourth year of Jehoyakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah.
3 Make ye redi scheeld and targat, and go ye forth to batel.
Make ye ready shield and buckler, and draw near to the battle.
4 Ioyne ye horsis, and stie, ye knyytis; stonde ye in helmes, polische ye speris, clothe ye you in haburiowns.
Harness the horses, and mount, ye horsemen, and stand forth with helmets: sharpen the spears, and put on the coats of mail.
5 What therfor? Y siy hem dredeful, and turnynge the backis, the stronge men of hem slayn; and thei fledden swiftli, and bihelden not; drede was on ech side, seith the Lord.
Wherefore have I seen them dismayed, moving backward? while their mighty ones are beaten down, and seek safety in flight, and look not back? There is terror round about, saith the Lord.
6 A swift man schal not fle, and a strong man gesse not hym silf to be saued; at the north, bisidis the flood Eufrates, thei weren ouer comun, and fellen doun.
The swift cannot flee away, nor can the mighty man escape: toward the north by the shore of the river Euphrates do they stumble and fall.
7 Who is this, that stieth as a flood, and hise swelewis wexen greet as of floodis?
Who is this that cometh up like a stream, whose waters are upheaved like the rivers?
8 Egipte stiede at the licnesse of a flood, and hise wawis schulen be mouyd as floodis; and it schal seie, Y schal stie, and hile the erthe; Y schal leese the citee, and dwelleris therof.
Egypt cometh up like a stream, and like the rivers are the waters upheaved; and he saith, I will go up, I will cover the land; I will destroy the city and those that dwell therein.
9 Stie ye on horsis, and make ye ful out ioie in charis; and stronge men, come forth, Ethiopie and Libie, holdynge scheeld, and Lidii, takynge and schetynge arowis.
Come up, ye horses; and rush along wildly, ye chariots; and let the mighty men come forth: Cush and Put, that grasp the shield, and the Ludim, that grasp and bend the bow.
10 Forsothe that dai of the Lord God of oostis is a dai of veniaunce, that he take veniaunce of hise enemyes; the swerd schal deuoure, and schal be fillid, and schal greetli be fillid with the blood of hem; for whi the slayn sacrifice of the Lord of oostis is in the lond of the north, bisidis the flood Eufrates.
And this same day is for the Lord, the Eternal of hosts, a day of vengeance, to be avenged on his adversaries; that the sword may devour, and may be satiated and made drunken with their blood; for there is a sacrifice for the Lord the Eternal of hosts in the north country by the river Euphrates.
11 Thou virgyn, the douyter of Egipt, stie in to Galaad, and take medicyn. In veyn thou schalt multiplie medecyns; helthe schal not be to thee.
Go up into Gil'ad, and fetch balm, O virgin, daughter of Egypt: in vain usest thou many remedies; there is no recovery for thee.
12 Hethene men herden thi schenschipe, and thi yellyng fillide the erthe; for a strong man hurtlide ayens a strong man, and bothe fellen doun togidere.
Nations have heard of thy shame, and thy cry of anguish hath filled the earth; for the mighty man over the mighty have they stumbled, together are both of them fallen.
13 The word which the Lord spak to Jeremye, the profete, on that that Nabugodonosor, kyng of Babiloyne, was to comynge, and to smytynge the lond of Egipt.
The word which the Lord spoke to Jeremiah the prophet, concerning the coming of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, to smite the land of Egypt.
14 Telle ye to Egipt, and make ye herd in Magdalo, and sowne it in Memphis, and seie ye in Taphnys, Stonde thou, and make thee redi, for a swerd schal deuoure tho thingis that ben bi thi cumpas.
Announce ye in Egypt, and publish in Migdol, and publish in Noph and in Thachpanches: say ye, Stand fast, and prepare thyself; for the sword devoureth round about thee.
15 Whi hath thi strong man wexe rotun? He stood not, for the Lord vndurturnede hym.
Why are thy valiant men swept away? not one hath stood, because the Lord did drive him off.
16 He multipliede falleris, and a man felle doun to his neiybore; and thei schulen seie, Rise ye, and turne we ayen to oure puple, and to the lond of oure birthe, fro the face of swerd of the culuer.
He caused many to stumble; yea, one also fell over the other; and they said, Arise, and let us return to our own people, and to the land of our birth, from before the wasting sword.
17 Clepe ye the name of Farao, kyng of Egipt; the tyme hath brouyt noise.
They called out there, Pharaoh is king of Egypt, it was but vaunting, he hath let the time appointed pass by.
18 Y lyue, seith the kyng, the Lord of oostis is his name; for it schal come as Thabor in hillis, and as Carmele in the see.
As I live, saith the King, the Lord of hosts is his name, Surely as Thabor is among the mountains, and as Carmel is by the sea, so shall he come.
19 Thou dwelleresse, the douyter of Egipt, make to thee vessels of passyng ouer; for whi Memfis schal be in to wildirnesse, and schal be forsakun vnhabitable.
Appurtenances of exile make for thyself, O thou inhabitress, daughter of Egypt; for Noph shall be made a waste and be left desolate without an inhabitant.
20 Egipt is a schapli cow calf, and fair; a prickere fro the north schal come to it.
O fairest heifer, Egypt! the butcher from the north cometh, he cometh.
21 Also the hirid men therof, that liueden as caluys maad fatte in the myddis therof, ben turned, and fledden togidere, and miyten not stonde; for the dai of sleynge of hem schal come on hem, the tyme of the visityng of hem.
Also her hired troops in the midst of her are like fatted calves; for they also are turned round, are fled away together, they do not stand; because the day of their calamity is come upon them, the time of their punishment.
22 The vois of hem schal sowne as of bras, for thei schulen haste with oost, and with axis thei schulen come to it. As men kittynge doun trees thei kittiden doun the forest therof,
Her cry shall come like [the hissing of] a serpent; for with an army shall they march, and with axes do they come against her, like hewers of wood.
23 seith the Lord, which mai not be noumbrid; thei ben multiplied ouer locustis, and no noumbre is in hem.
They cut down her forest, saith the Lord, though it cannot be searched out; because they are more than the grasshoppers, and there is no number to them.
24 The douytir of Egipt is schent, and bitakun in to the hond of the puple of the north,
Ashamed hath been made the daughter of Egypt: she hath been given up into the hand of the people of the north.
25 seide the Lord of oostis, God of Israel. Lo! Y schal visite on the noise of Alisaundre, and on Farao, and on Egipt, and on the goddis therof, and on the kyngis therof, and on hem that tristen in hym.
The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, hath said, Behold, I will send visitation on Ahmon of No, and on Pharaoh, and on Egypt, and on her gods, and on her kings; even on Pharaoh, and on those that trust on him;
26 And Y schal yyue hem in to the hondis of men that seken the lijf of hem, and in to the hondis of Nabugodonosor, kyng of Babiloyne, and in to the hondis of hise seruauntis; and aftir these thingis it schal be enhabitid, as in the formere daies, seith the Lord.
And I will give them up into the hand of those that seek their life, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, and into the hand of his servants: and afterward shall she be inhabited, as in the days of old, saith the Lord.
27 And thou, Jacob, my seruaunt, drede thou not, and Israel, drede thou not; for lo! Y schal make thee saaf fro fer place, and thi seed fro the lond of his caitiftee; and Jacob schal turne ayen, and schal reste, and schal haue prosperite, and noon schal be, that schal make hym aferd.
But thou, —fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, and be not dismayed, O Israel; for, behold, I will save thee from afar off, and thy seed from the land of their captivity: and Jacob shall return, and he shall be at rest and at ease, with none to make him afraid.
28 And Jacob, my seruaunt, nyle thou drede, seith the Lord, for Y am with thee; for Y schal waste alle folkis, to whiche Y castide thee out; but Y schal not waste thee, but Y schal chastise thee in doom, and Y schal not spare thee as innocent.
Thou, —fear thou not, O Jacob my servant, saith the Lord; for I am with thee: and although I make a full end of all the nations whither I have driven thee, yet of thee will I not make a full end; and I will correct thee in measure; yet wholly will I not leave thee unpunished.