Jeremiah 6
1 Sones of Beniamyn, be ye coumfortid in the myddil of Jerusalem, and make ye noise with a clarioun in Thecua, and reise ye a baner on Bethecarem; for whi yuel and greet sorewe is seyn fro the north.
Strengthen yourselves, ye children of Benjamin, [to flee] out of the midst of Jerusalem, and sound an alarm with the trumpet in Thecue, and set up a signal over Baethacharma: for evil threatens from the north, and a great destruction is coming.
2 Y haue licned the douytir of Sion to a fair womman and delicat.
And [thy] pride, O daughter of Sion, shall be taken away.
3 Scheepherdis and her flockis schulen come to it; thei han piyt tentis in it in cumpas; ech man schal feede hem, that ben vndur his hond.
The shepherds and their flocks shall come to her; and they shall pitch [their] tents against her round about, and shall feed [their flocks] each with his hand.
4 Halewe ye batel on it. Rise ye togidire, and stie we in myddai. Wo to vs, for the dai is bowid doun, for shadewis ben maad lengere in the euentid.
Prepare yourselves for war against her; rise up, and let us go up against her at noon. Woe to us! for the day has gone down, for the shadows of the day fail.
5 Rise ye, and stie we in the niyt, and distry we the housis therof.
Rise, and let us go up against her by night, and destroy her foundations.
6 For the Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Kitte ye doun the tre therof, and schede ye erthe aboute Jerusalem; this is the citee of visitacioun; al fals caleng is in the myddis therof.
For thus saith the Lord, Hew down her trees, array a numerous force against Jerusalem. O false city; [there is] all oppression in her.
7 As a cisterne makith his water coold, so it made his malice coold; wickidnesse and distriyng schal euer be herd ther ynne bifore me, sikenesse and wounde.
As a cistern cools water, so her wickedness cools her, ungodliness and misery shall be heard in her, [as] continually before her.
8 Jerusalem, be thou tauyt, lest perauenture my soule go awei fro thee; lest perauenture Y sette thee forsakun, a loond vnhabitable.
Thou shalt be chastened, O Jerusalem, with pain and the scourge, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee a desert land, which shall not be inhabited.
9 The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Thei schulen gadere til to a racyn, thei schulen gadere the remenauntis of Israel as in a vyner; turne thin hond, as a gaderer of grapis to the bascat.
For thus saith the Lord, Glean, glean thoroughly as a vine the remnant of Israel: turn back [your hands] as a grape-gatherer to his basket.
10 To whom schal Y speke, and to whom schal Y seie witnessing, that he here? Lo! the eeris of hem ben vncircumcidid, and thei moun not here; lo! the word of the Lord is maad to hem in to dispit, and thei schulen not resseiue it.
To whom shall I speak, and testify, that he may hearken? behold, thine ears are uncircumcised, and they shall not be able to hear: behold, the word of the Lord is become to them a reproach, they will not at all desire it.
11 Therfor Y am ful of the strong veniaunce of the Lord, and Y trauelide suffrynge. Schede thou out on a litil child with outforth, and on the counsel of yonge men togidere; for a man with his wijf schal be takun, and an eeld man with him that is ful of daies.
And I allowed my wrath to come to full, yet I kept [it] in, and did not utterly destroy them: I will pour it out on the children without, and on the assembly of young men together: for man and woman shall be taken together, the old man with him that is full of days.
12 And the housis of hem, the feeldis and wyues togidere, schulen go to othere men; for Y schal stretche forth myn hond on the dwelleris of the lond, seith the Lord.
And their houses shall be turned to others, [with] their fields and their wives together: for I will stretch out my hand upon the inhabitants of this land, saith the Lord.
13 For fro the lesse `til to the grettere, alle studien to auerise; and alle doon gile, fro the profete `til to the preest.
For from the least of them even to the greatest they have all committed iniquity; from the priest even to the false prophet they have all wrought falsely.
14 And thei heeliden the sorewe of the douyter of my puple with yuel fame, seiynge, Pees, pees, and no pees was.
And they healed the breach of my people [imperfectly], making light [of it], and saying, Peace, peace, and where is peace?
15 Thei ben schent, that diden abhomynacioun; yhe, rathere thei weren not schent bi confusioun, and thei kouden not be aschamed. Wherfor thei schulen falle doun among hem that schulen falle doun; thei schulen falle doun in the tyme of her visitacioun, seith the Lord.
They were ashamed because they failed; yet they were not ashamed as those who are [truly] ashamed, and they knew not their own disgrace: therefore shall they [utterly] fall when they do fall, and in the time of visitation shall they perish, said the Lord.
16 The Lord seith these thingis, Stonde ye on weies, and se ye, and axe ye of elde pathis, which is the good weie; and go ye ther ynne, and ye schulen fynde refreischyng to youre soulis. And thei seiden, We schulen not go.
Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths of the Lord; and see what is the good way, and walk in it, and ye shall find purification for your souls. But they said, We will not walk [in them].
17 And Y ordeynede aspieris on you, and Y seide, Here ye the vois of a trumpe. And thei seiden, We schulen not here.
I have set watchmen over you, [saying], Hear ye the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hear [it].
18 Therfor, hethene men, here ye, and, thou congregacioun, knowe, hou grete thingis Y schal do to hem.
Therefore have the nations heard, and they that feed their flocks.
19 Thou erthe, here, lo! Y schal brynge yuels on this puple, the fruit of her thouytis; for thei herden not my wordis, and castiden awei my lawe.
Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evils upon this people, [even] the fruit of their rebellions; for they have not heeded my words, and they have rejected my law.
20 Wherto bryngen ye to me encense fro Saba, and a tre of spicerie smellynge swetli fro a fer lond? Youre brent sacrifices ben not acceptid, and youre slayn sacrifices plesiden not me.
Wherefore do ye bring me frankincense from Saba, and cinnamon from a land afar off? your whole-burnt-offerings are not acceptable, and your sacrifices have not been pleasant to me.
21 Therfor the Lord God seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal yyue fallyngis in to this puple, and fadris and sones togidere, a neiybore and kynesman, schulen falle in hem, and schulen perische.
Therefore thus saith the Lord, Behold, I [will] bring weakness upon this people, and the fathers and sons shall be weak together; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.
22 The Lord God seith these thingis, Lo! a puple cometh fro the lond of the north, and a greet folk schal rise togidere fro the endis of erthe.
Thus saith the Lord, Behold, a people comes from the north, and nations shall be stirred up from the end of the earth.
23 It schal take an arowe and scheld; it is cruel, and schal not haue merci; the vois therof schal sowne as the see, and thei maad redi as a man to batel schulen stie on horsis ayens thee, thou douyter of Sion.
They shall lay hold on bow and spear; [the people] is fierce, and will have no mercy; their voice is as the roaring sea; they shall array themselves for war against thee as fire on horses and chariots, O daughter of Sion.
24 We herden the fame therof, oure hondis ben `a clumsid; tribulacioun hath take vs, sorewis han take vs as a womman trauelinge of child.
We have heard the report of them: our hands are weakened: anguish has seized us, the pangs as of a woman in travail.
25 Nyle ye go out to the feeldis, and go ye not in the weie, for the swerd of the enemye, drede in cumpas.
Go not forth into the field, and walk not in the ways; for the sword of the enemy lingers round about.
26 The douytir of my puple, be thou gird with heire, and be thou spreynt togidere with aische; make to thee mourenyng of oon aloone gendrid sone, a bitter weilyng, for whi a wastere schal come sodenli on you.
O daughter of my people, gird thyself with sackcloth: sprinkle [thyself] with ashes; make for thyself pitiable lamentation, [as] the mourning for a beloved [son]: for misery will come suddenly upon you.
27 I yaf thee a strong preuere in my puple, and thou schalt knowe, and preue the weie of hem.
I have caused thee to be tried among tried nations, and thou shalt know me when I have tried their way.
28 Alle these princis bowynge awei, goynge gilefuli, ben metal and irun; alle ben corrupt.
[They are] all disobedient, walking perversely: [they are] brass and iron; they are all corrupted.
29 The belu failide, leed is waastid in the fier, the wellere wellide in veyn; for the malices of hem ben not wastid.
The bellows have failed from the fire, the lead has failed: the silversmith works at his trade in vain; their wickedness is not consumed.
30 Clepe ye hem repreuable siluer, for the Lord hath cast hem awei.
Call ye them reprobate silver, because the Lord has rejected them.
