Jeremiah 51
1 The Lord seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal reise on Babiloyne, and on the dwelleris therof, that reisiden her herte ayens me, as a wynd of pestilence.
Thus says the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the middle of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;
2 And Y schal sende in to Babiloyne wyndeweris, and thei schulen wyndewe it, and thei schulen destrie the lond of it; for thei camen on it on ech side, in the dai of the turment therof.
And will send to Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.
3 He that beendith his bowe, beende not, and a man clothid in haburioun, stie not; nyle ye spare the yonge men therof, sle ye al the chyualrie therof.
Against him that bends let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifts himself up in his brigandine: and spare you not her young men; destroy you utterly all her host.
4 And slayn men schulen falle in the lond of Caldeis, and woundid men in the cuntreis therof.
Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets.
5 For whi Israel and Juda was not maad widewe fro her God, the Lord of oostis; but the lond of hem was fillid with trespas of the hooli of Israel.
For Israel has not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.
6 Fle ye fro the myddis of Babiloyne, that ech man saue his soule; nyle ye be stille on the wickidnesse therof, for whi tyme of veniaunce therof is to the Lord; he schal yelde while to it.
Flee out of the middle of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’s vengeance; he will render to her a recompense.
7 Babiloyne is a goldun cuppe in the hond of the Lord, and fillith al erthe; hethene men drunken of the wyn therof, and therfor thei ben mouyd.
Babylon has been a golden cup in the LORD’s hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
8 Babiloyne felle doun sudenli, and is al to-brokun; yelle ye on it, take ye recyn to the sorewe therof, if perauenture it be heelid.
Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
9 We heeliden Babiloyne, and it is not maad hool; forsake we it and go we ech in to his lond; for the doom therof cam `til to heuenes, and is reisid `til to cloudis.
We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country: for her judgment reaches to heaven, and is lifted up even to the skies.
10 The Lord hath brouyt forth oure riytfulnessis; come ye, and telle we in Sion the werk of oure Lord God.
The LORD has brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of the LORD our God.
11 Scharpe ye arowis, fille ye arowe caasis; the Lord reiside the spirit of the kyngis of Medeis, and his mynde is ayen Babiloyne, that he leese it, for it is the veniaunce of the Lord, the veniaunce of his temple. The kyng of Medeis is reisid of the Lord ayens Babiloyne.
Make bright the arrows; gather the shields: the LORD has raised up the spirit of the kings of the Medes: for his device is against Babylon, to destroy it; because it is the vengeance of the LORD, the vengeance of his temple.
12 Reise ye a signe on the wallis of Babiloyne, encreesse ye kepyng, reise ye keperis, make ye redi buyschementis; for the Lord thouyte, and dide, what euer thing he spak ayens the dwelleris of Babiloyne.
Set up the standard on the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set up the watchmen, prepare the ambushes: for the LORD has both devised and done that which he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 A! thou Babiloyne, that dwellist on many watris, riche in thi tresours, thin ende cometh, the foote mesure of thi kittyng doun.
O you that dwell on many waters, abundant in treasures, your end is come, and the measure of your covetousness.
14 The Lord of oostis swoor bi his soule, that Y schal fille thee with men, as with bruke, and a myry song schal be sungun on thee.
The LORD of hosts has sworn by himself, saying, Surely I will fill you with men, as with caterpillars; and they shall lift up a shout against you.
15 The Lord swoor, which made erthe bi his strengthe, made redy the world bi his wisdom, and stretchide forth heuenes bi his prudence.
He has made the earth by his power, he has established the world by his wisdom, and has stretched out the heaven by his understanding.
16 Whanne he yyueth vois, watris ben multiplied in heuene; which Lord reisith cloudis fro the laste of erthe, made leitis in to reyn, and brouyt forth wynd of hise tresouris.
When he utters his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens; and he causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth: he makes lightning with rain, and brings forth the wind out of his treasures.
17 Ech man is maad a fool of kunnyng, ech wellere togidere is schent in a grauun ymage; for his wellyng togidere is fals, and a spirit is not in tho.
Every man is brutish by his knowledge; every founder is confounded by the graven image: for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
18 The werkis ben veyn, and worthi of scorn; tho schulen perische in the tyme of her visityng.
They are vanity, the work of errors: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
19 The part of Jacob is not as these thingis; for he that made alle thingis is the part of Jacob, and Israel is the septre of his eritage; the Lord of oostis is his name.
The portion of Jacob is not like them; for he is the former of all things: and Israel is the rod of his inheritance: the LORD of hosts is his name.
20 Thou hurtlist doun to me the instrumentis of batel, and Y schal hurtle doun folkis in thee, and Y schal leese rewmes in thee;
You are my battle ax and weapons of war: for with you will I break in pieces the nations, and with you will I destroy kingdoms;
21 and Y schal hurtle doun in thee an hors, and the ridere therof; and Y schal hurtle doun in thee a chare, and the stiere therof;
And with you will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with you will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;
22 and Y schal hurtle doun in thee a man and womman; and Y schal hurtle doun in thee an elde man and a child; and Y schal hurtle doun in thee a yong man and a virgyn;
With you also will I break in pieces man and woman; and with you will I break in pieces old and young; and with you will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
23 and Y schal hurtle doun in thee a scheepherde and his floc; and Y schal hurtle doun in thee an erthetiliere and his yok beestis; and Y schal hurtle doun in thee duykis and magistratis.
I will also break in pieces with you the shepherd and his flock; and with you will I break in pieces the farmer and his yoke of oxen; and with you will I break in pieces captains and rulers.
24 And Y schal yelde, seith the Lord, to Babiloyne, and to alle the dwelleris of Caldee, al her yuel, which thei diden in Sion, bifore youre iyen.
And I will render to Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, says the LORD.
25 Lo! Y, seith the Lord, to thee, thou hil berynge pestilence, which corrumpist al erthe. Y schal stretche forth myn hond on thee, and Y schal vnwlappe thee fro stoonys, and Y schal yyue thee in to an hil of brennyng.
Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, says the LORD, which destroy all the earth: and I will stretch out my hand on you, and roll you down from the rocks, and will make you a burnt mountain.
26 And Y schal not take of thee a stoon in to a corner, and a stoon in to foundementis; but thou schalt be lost with outen ende, seith the Lord.
And they shall not take of you a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but you shall be desolate for ever, says the LORD.
27 Reise ye a signe in the lond, sowne ye with a clarioun in hillis; halewe ye folkis on it, telle ye to the kyngis of Ararath, of Menny, and of Ascheneth ayens it; noumbre ye Tapser ayens it, and bringe ye an hors, as a bruke hauynge a pricke.
Set you up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough caterpillars.
28 Halowe ye folkis ayens it, the kyngis of Medey, the duykis therof, and alle magistratis therof, and al the lond of his power.
Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his dominion.
29 And the erthe schal be mouyd, and schal be disturblid; for the thouyt of the Lord schal fulli wake ayens Babiloyne, that he sette the lond of Babiloyne desert, and vnhabitable.
And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant.
30 The stronge men of Babiloyne ceessiden of batel, thei dwelliden in stronge holdis; the strengthe of hem is deuourid, and thei ben maad as wymmen; the tabernaclis therof ben brent, the barris therof ben al to-brokun.
The mighty men of Babylon have declined to fight, they have remained in their holds: their might has failed; they became as women: they have burned her dwelling places; her bars are broken.
31 A rennere schal come ayens a rennere, and a messanger ayens a messanger, to telle to the kyng of Babiloyne, that his citee is takun fro the toon ende `til to the tother ende;
One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken at one end,
32 and the forthis ben bifore ocupied, and the mareisis ben brent with fier, and the men werryours ben disturblid.
And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
33 For the Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, The douyter of Babiloyne is as a corn floor, the tyme of threischyng therof; yit a litil, and the tyme of repyng therof schal come.
For thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor, it is time to thresh her: yet a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.
34 Nabugodonosor, the kyng of Babiloyne, eet me, and deuouride me; he made me as a voide vessel, he as a dragoun swolewide me; he fillide his wombe with my tendirnesse, and he castide me out.
Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon has devoured me, he has crushed me, he has made me an empty vessel, he has swallowed me up like a dragon, he has filled his belly with my delicates, he has cast me out.
35 Wickidnesse ayens me, and my fleisch on Babiloyne, seith the dwellyng of Sion; and my blood on the dwelleris of Caldee, seith Jerusalem.
The violence done to me and to my flesh be on Babylon, shall the inhabitant of Zion say; and my blood on the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
36 Therfor the Lord seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal deme thi cause, and Y schal venge thi veniaunce; and Y schal make the see therof forsakun, and Y schal make drie the veyne therof.
Therefore thus says the LORD; Behold, I will plead your cause, and take vengeance for you; and I will dry up her sea, and make her springs dry.
37 And Babiloyne schal be in to biriels, it schal be the dwellyng of dragouns, wondryng and hissyng, for that no dwellere is.
And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling place for dragons, an astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.
38 Thei schulen rore togidere as liouns, and thei schulen schake lockis, as the whelpis of liouns.
They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions’ whelps.
39 In the heete of hem Y schal sette the drynkis of hem; and Y schal make hem drunkun, that thei be brouyt asleepe, and that thei slepe euerlastynge sleep, and rise not, seith the Lord.
In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, says the LORD.
40 Y schal lede forth hem, as lambren to slayn sacrifice, and as wetheris with kidis. Hou is Sesac takun, and the noble citee of al erthe is takun?
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he goats.
41 Hou is Babiloyne made in to wondre among hethene men?
How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
42 And the see stiede on Babiloyne, it was hilid with the multitude of hise wawis.
The sea is come up on Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
43 The citees therof ben maad in to wondryng, the lond is maad vnhabitable and forsakun; the lond wherynne no man dwellith, and the sone of man schal not passe bi it.
Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwells, neither does any son of man pass thereby.
44 And Y schal visite on Bel in to Babiloyne, and Y schal caste out of hise mouth that, that he hadde swolewid, and folkis schulen no more flowe to it; for also the wal of Babiloyne schal falle doun.
And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth that which he has swallowed up: and the nations shall not flow together any more to him: yes, the wall of Babylon shall fall.
45 Mi puple, go ye out fro the myddis therof, that ech man saue his soule fro the wraththe of the strong veniaunce of the Lord;
My people, go you out of the middle of her, and deliver you every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.
46 and lest perauenture youre herte wexe neische, and lest ye dreden the heryng, that schal be herd in the lond; and heryng schal come in a yeer, and aftir this yeer schal come heryng and wickidnesse in the lond, and a lord on a lord.
And lest your heart faint, and you fear for the rumor that shall be heard in the land; a rumor shall both come one year, and after that in another year shall come a rumor, and violence in the land, ruler against ruler.
47 Therfor lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and Y schal visite on the grauun ymagis of Babiloyne; and al the lond therof schal be schent, and alle slayn men therof schulen falle doun in the myddis therof.
Therefore, behold, the days come, that I will do judgment on the graven images of Babylon: and her whole land shall be confounded, and all her slain shall fall in the middle of her.
48 And heuenes, and erthis, and alle thingis that ben in tho, schulen herie on Babiloyne; for rauynours schulen come fro the north to it, seith the Lord.
Then the heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, shall sing for Babylon: for the spoilers shall come to her from the north, says the LORD.
49 And as Babiloyne dide, that slayn men felle doun in Israel, so of Babiloyne slayn men schulen falle doun and in al the lond.
As Babylon has caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.
50 Come ye, that fledden the swerd, nyle ye stonde; haue ye mynde afer on the Lord, and Jerusalem stie on youre herte.
You that have escaped the sword, go away, stand not still: remember the LORD afar off, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
51 We ben schent, for we herden schenschipe; schame hilide oure faces, for aliens comen on the halewyng of the hous of the Lord.
We are confounded, because we have heard reproach: shame has covered our faces: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of the LORD’s house.
52 Therfor lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and Y schal visite on the grauun ymagis of Babiloyne, and in al the lond therof a woundid man schal loowe.
Why, behold, the days come, says the LORD, that I will do judgment on her graven images: and through all her land the wounded shall groan.
53 If Babiloyne stieth in to heuene, and makith stidfast his strengthe an hiy, distrieris therof schulen come on me, seith the Lord.
Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come to her, says the LORD.
54 The vois of a criere of Babiloyne, and greet sorewe of the lond of Caldeis,
A sound of a cry comes from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans:
55 for the Lord distriede Babiloyne, and lost of it a greet vois; and the wawis of hem schulen sowne as many watris. The vois of hem yaf sown,
Because the LORD has spoiled Babylon, and destroyed out of her the great voice; when her waves do roar like great waters, a noise of their voice is uttered:
56 for a rauenour cam on it, that is, on Babiloyne; and the stronge men therof ben takun, and the bouwe of hem welewide, for the stronge vengere the Lord yeldynge schal yelde.
Because the spoiler is come on her, even on Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, every one of their bows is broken: for the LORD God of recompenses shall surely requite.
57 And Y schal make drunkun the princis therof, and the wise men therof, the duykis therof, and the magistratis therof, and the stronge men therof; and thei schulen slepe euerlastynge sleep, and thei schulen not be awakid, seith the kyng, the Lord of oostis is name of hym.
And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, says the King, whose name is the LORD of hosts.
58 The Lord God of oostis seith these thingis, Thilke brodeste wal of Babiloyne schal be mynyd with mynyng, and the hiye yatis therof schulen be brent with fier; and the trauels of puples schulen be to nouyt, and the trauels of hethene men schulen be in to fier, and schulen perische.
Thus says the LORD of hosts; The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; and the people shall labor in vain, and the folk in the fire, and they shall be weary.
59 The word which Jeremye, the profete, comaundide to Saraie, sone of Nerie, sone of Maasie, whanne he yede with Sedechie, the kyng, in to Babiloyne, in the fourthe yeer of his rewme; forsothe Saraie was prynce of profesie.
The word which Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah into Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. And this Seraiah was a quiet prince.
60 And Jeremye wroot al the yuel, that was to comynge on Babiloyne, in a book, alle these wordis that weren writun ayens Babiloyne.
So Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come on Babylon, even all these words that are written against Babylon.
61 And Jeremye seide to Saraie, Whanne thou comest in to Babiloyne, and seest, and redist alle these wordis,
And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When you come to Babylon, and shall see, and shall read all these words;
62 thou schalt seie, Lord, thou spakist ayens this place, that thou schuldist leese it, that noon be that dwelle therynne, fro man `til to beeste, and that it be an euerlastynge wildirnesse.
Then shall you say, O LORD, you have spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.
63 And whanne thou hast fillid to rede this book, thou schalt bynde to it a stoon, and thou schalt caste it forth in to the myddis of Eufrates; and thou schalt seie,
And it shall be, when you have made an end of reading this book, that you shall bind a stone to it, and cast it into the middle of Euphrates:
64 So Babiloyne schal be drenchid, and it schal not rise fro the face of turment, which Y brynge on it, and it schal be distried. Hidurto ben the wordis of Jeremye.
And you shall say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring on her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah.
