Jeremiah 7

1 The word that was maad of the Lord to Jeremye,

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

2 and seide, Stonde thou in the yate of the hous of the Lord, and preche there this word, and seie, Al Juda, that entren bi these yatis for to worschipe the Lord, here ye the word of the Lord.

“Stand in the gate of the LORD’s house, and proclaim this word there, and say, ‘Hear the LORD’s word, all you of Judah, who enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.’”

3 The Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Make ye good youre weies, and youre studies, and Y schal dwelle with you in this place.

The LORD of Armies, the God of Israel says, “Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.

4 Nyle ye triste in the wordis of leesyng, and seie, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord is.

Do not trust in lying words, saying, ‘The LORD’s temple, the LORD’s temple, the LORD’s temple, are these.’

5 For if ye blessen youre weies, and your studies; if ye doon doom bitwixe a man and his neiybore;

For if you thoroughly amend your ways and your doings, if you thoroughly execute justice between a man and his neighbor;

6 if ye maken not fals caleng to a comelyng, and to a fadirles child, and to a widewe; nether scheden out innocent blood in this place, and goen not after alien goddis, in to yuel to you silf,

if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and do not walk after other gods to your own hurt,

7 Y schal dwelle with you in this place, in the lond which Y yaf to youre fadris, fro the world and til in to the world.

then I will cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, from of old even forever more.

8 Lo! ye trusten to you in the wordis of leesyng, that shulen not profite to you;

Behold, you trust in lying words that cannot profit.

9 to stele, to sle, to do auowtrie, to swere falsli, to make sacrifice to Baalym, and to go aftir alien goddys, whiche ye knowen not.

Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods that you have not known,

10 And ye camen, and stoden bifor me in this hous, in which my name is clepid to help; and ye seiden, We ben delyuered, for we han do alle these abhomynaciouns.

then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered,’ that you may do all these abominations?

11 Whether therfor this hous, wherynne my name is clepid to help bifore youre iyen, is maad a denne of theues? I, Y am, Y siy, seith the Lord.

Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it,” says the LORD.

12 Go ye to my place in Silo, where my name dwellide at the bigynnyng, and se ye what thingis Y dide to it, for the malice of my puple Israel.

“But go now to my place which was in Shiloh, where I caused my name to dwell at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.

13 And now, for ye han do alle these werkis, seith the Lord, and Y spak to you, and roos eerli, and Y spak, and ye herden not, and Y clepide you, and ye answeriden not;

Now, because you have done all these works,” says the LORD, “and I spoke to you, rising up early and speaking, but you did not hear; and I called you, but you did not answer;

14 Y schal do to this hous, wherynne my name is clepid to help, and in which hous ye han trist, and to the place which Y yaf to you and to youre fadris, as Y dide to Silo.

therefore I will do to the house which is called by my name, in which you trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh.

15 And Y schal caste you forth fro my face, as Y castide forth alle youre britheren, al the seed of Effraym.

I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brothers, even the whole offspring of Ephraim.

16 Therfor nyl thou preie for this puple, nether take thou heriyng and preier for hem; and ayenstonde thou not me, for Y schal not here thee.

“Therefore do not pray for this people. Do not lift up a cry or prayer for them or make intercession to me; for I will not hear you.

17 Whether thou seest not, what these men don in the citees of Juda, and in the stretis of Jerusalem?

Do not you see what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?

18 The sones gaderen stickis, and the fadris kyndlen a fier; and wymmen sprengen togidere ynnere fatnesse, to make kakis to the queen of heuene, to make sacrifice to alien goddis, and to terre me to wrathfulnesse.

The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead the dough, to make cakes to the queen of the sky, and to pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.

19 Whether thei stiren me to wrathfulnesse? seith the Lord; whether thei stiren not hem silf in to schenschip of her cheer?

Do they provoke me to anger?” says the LORD. “Do not they provoke themselves, to the confusion of their own faces?”

20 Therfor the Lord God seith these thingis, Lo! my strong veniaunce and myn indignacioun is wellid togidere on this place, on men, and on beestis, and on the tree of the cuntrei, and on the fruitis of erthe; and it schal be kyndlid, and it schal not be quenchid.

Therefore the Lord GOD says: “Behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, on man, on animal, on the trees of the field, and on the fruit of the ground; and it will burn and will not be quenched.”

21 The Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Heepe ye youre brent sacrifices to youre slayn sacrifices, and ete ye fleischis.

The LORD of Armies, the God of Israel says: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices and eat meat.

22 For Y spak not with youre fadris, and Y comaundide not to hem of the word of brent sacrifices, and of slayn sacrifices, in the dai in which Y ledde hem out of the lond of Egipt.

For I did not speak to your fathers or command them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices;

23 But Y comaundide this word to hem, and Y seide, Here ye my vois, and Y schal be God to you, and ye schulen be a puple to me; and go ye in al the weie which Y comaundide to you, that it be wel to you.

but this thing I commanded them, saying, ‘Listen to my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. Walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’

24 And thei herden not, nether bowiden doun her eere, but thei yeden in her lustis, and in the schrewidnesse of her yuel herte; and thei ben put bihynde, and not bifore,

But they did not listen or turn their ear, but walked in their own counsels and in the stubbornness of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.

25 fro the dai in which her fadris yeden out of the lond of Egipt til to this dai. And Y sente to you alle my seruauntis profetis, and Y roos eerli bi the dai, and Y sente.

Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them.

26 And thei herden not me, nether bowiden doun her eere; but thei maden hard her nol, and wrouyten worse than the fadris of hem.

Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but made their neck stiff. They did worse than their fathers.

27 And thou schalt speke to hem alle these wordis, and thei schulen not heere thee; and thou schalt clepe hem, and thei schul not answere to thee.

“You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you. You shall also call to them, but they will not answer you.

28 And thou schalt seie to hem, This is the folc, that herde not the vois of her Lord God, nether resseyuede chastysyng; feith perischide, and is takun awei fro the mouth of hem.

You shall tell them, ‘This is the nation that has not listened to the LORD their God’s voice, nor received instruction. Truth has perished, and is cut off from their mouth.’

29 Clippe thin heer, and cast awei, and take thou weilyng streiytli; for the Lord hath cast awei, and hath forsake the generacioun of his strong veniaunce.

Cut off your hair, and throw it away, and take up a lamentation on the bare heights; for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.

30 For the sones of Juda han do yuel bifor myn iyen, seith the Lord; thei han set her offendyngis in the hous, in which my name is clepid to help, that thei schulden defoule that hous;

“For the children of Judah have done that which is evil in my sight,” says the LORD. “They have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to defile it.

31 and thei bildiden hiye thingis in Tophet, which is in the valei of the sone of Ennon, that thei schulden brenne her sones and her douytris bi fier, whiche thingis Y comaundide not, nether thouyte in myn herte.

They have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.

32 Therfor lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and it schal no more be seid Tophet, and the valei of the sone of Ennon, but the valey of sleyng; and thei schulen birie in Tophet, for ther is no place.

Therefore behold, the days come”, says the LORD, “that it will no more be called ‘Topheth’ or ‘The valley of the son of Hinnom’, but ‘The valley of Slaughter’; for they will bury in Topheth until there is no place to bury.

33 And the deed careyn of this puple schal be in to mete to the briddis of heuene, and to the beestis of erthe; and noon schal be that schal dryue awei.

The dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the sky, and for the animals of the earth. No one will frighten them away.

34 And Y schal make to ceesse the vois of ioye, and the vois of gladnesse, and the vois of spouse, and the vois of spousesse fro the citees of Juda, and fro the stretis of Jerusalem; for the lond schal be in desolacioun.

Then I will cause to cease from the cities of Judah and from the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride; for the land will become a waste.”