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.
Take your goods into safety, ye sons of Benjamin out of the midst of Jerusalem, And in Tekoa, blow ye a horn, And on Beth-haccherem, raise a fire-signal, —For calamity, hath looked out from the North, Even a great destruction.
2 Y haue licned the douytir of Sion to a fair womman and delicat.
To a comely and delicate woman, have I likened the daughter of Zion:
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.
Against her, shall come shepherds with their flocks; They have pitched against her their tents, round about, They tend their flocks every one near at 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.
Hallow ye against her a war, Arise! and let us go up in broad noon. Woe to us, for the day, hath turned, for the shadows of evening, stretch along.
5 Rise ye, and stie we in the niyt, and distry we the housis therof.
Arise! and let us go up in the night, And let us destroy her palaces.
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 Yahweh of hosts, Cut ye down timber, And cast up, against Jerusalem a mound, —That, is the city to be punished! There is, nothing, but oppression in her midst;
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.
Like the casting forth by a well of its waters, So, hath she cast forth her wickedness, —Violence and destruction, are heard in her, Before my face, continually, are suffering and smiting.
8 Jerusalem, be thou tauyt, lest perauenture my soule go awei fro thee; lest perauenture Y sette thee forsakun, a loond vnhabitable.
Receive thou correction O Jerusalem, Lest my soul be torn from thee, —Lest I make thee A desolation, A land not habitable.
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.
Thus, saith Yahweh of hosts, They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel—Turn back thy hand, as a grape gatherer over the tendrils.
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.
Unto whom, can I speak—and bear witness, that they may hear? Lo! uncircumcised, is their ear, that they cannot attend, —Lo! the word of Yahweh, hath become to them a reproach, they take no delight therein.
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.
So then, with the indignation of Yahweh, am I full, I am too weary to hold it in, [I am constrained] to pour it out, upon the boy in the street, and upon the circle of young men, together, —For, even husband with wife, will be captured, The elder with him who 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 over to others, Fields and wives together, —For I will stretch out my hand against the inhabitants of the land, Declareth Yahweh.
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 unto the greatest of them, Every one, graspeth with greed, —And from the prophet even unto the priest, Every one, dealeth, falsely;
14 And thei heeliden the sorewe of the douyter of my puple with yuel fame, seiynge, Pees, pees, and no pees was.
And so they have healed the grievous wound of my people, slightly, Saying, Peace, peace, when there was no 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.
Were they led to turn pale because an abominable thing, they had done! Nay! they did not, at all turn pale, Nay! they did not so much as know how, to exhibit shame, Therefore, shall they fall among them who are falling, In the time when I punish them, shall they be overthrown, Saith Yahweh.
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 Yahweh—Stand ye at the ways—and see, And ask for the paths of age-past times, Where is the good way? And walk therein, And ye shall find rest to your souls. But they said, We will not walk [therein]!
17 And Y ordeynede aspieris on you, and Y seide, Here ye the vois of a trumpe. And thei seiden, We schulen not here.
Therefore will I raise up over you, watchmen, Give ye heed to the sound of a horn, —But they said, We will not give heed!
18 Therfor, hethene men, here ye, and, thou congregacioun, knowe, hou grete thingis Y schal do to hem.
Therefore, hear O ye nations, —And take knowledge O assembly, Of that which befalleth them:
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 thou—O earth, Lo! I, am bringing in Calamity against this people the fruit of their own devices, —For unto my words, have they not given heed, And as for my law, they have rejected it.
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.
What then is it to me that—Frankincense from Shebah come in, or Sweet cane from a land afar off? Your own ascending-offerings, are not acceptable, Nor are, your sacrifices, pleasing 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.
Wherefore, Thus, saith Yahweh, Behold me! laying before this people, stumblingblocks, —And fathers and sons together, shall stumble against them, 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 Yahweh, Lo! a people coming in from the land of the North, —Yea a great nation, shall be stirred up out of the remote parts 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.
Bow and javelin, shall they grasp, Cruel, is he! So they will not have compassion, Their voice, like the sea, will roar, And on horses, will they ride, —Arrayed each one, like a man for battle, Against thee, O daughter of Zion!
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 thereof, Relaxed are our hands, —Anguish, hath taken hold on us, Pangs, as on her that is giving birth.
25 Nyle ye go out to the feeldis, and go ye not in the weie, for the swerd of the enemye, drede in cumpas.
Do not go out into the field, And in the road, do not walk, -Because a sword, hath the foe, —Terror 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 thee with sackcloth and roll thyself in ashes, —The mourning for an only son, make thou for thyself, Most bitter lamentation! For suddenly, shall the destroyer come upon us.
27 I yaf thee a strong preuere in my puple, and thou schalt knowe, and preue the weie of hem.
An assayer, have I set thee amongst my people, of gold-ore, —That thou mayest note and try their way:
28 Alle these princis bowynge awei, goynge gilefuli, ben metal and irun; alle ben corrupt.
They all, are rebels of rebels, Slander-walkers [They are] bronze and iron! As for them all, corrupters, they are!
29 The belu failide, leed is waastid in the fier, the wellere wellide in veyn; for the malices of hem ben not wastid.
Scorched are the bellows, By fire, is lead wont to be, consumed, —In vain, hath he gone on refining, For the wicked, have not been drawn out:
30 Clepe ye hem repreuable siluer, for the Lord hath cast hem awei.
Rejected silver, are they called, For, Yahweh, hath rejected them.
