Jeremiah 9
1 Who schal yyue watir to myn heed, and a welle of teeris to myn iyen? And Y schal biwepe dai and niyt the slayn men of the douyter of my puple.
O that my head were waters, And mine eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people!
2 Who schal yyue me in to a wildirnesse of dyuerse weigoeris? And I schal forsake my puple, and Y schal go awei fro hem. For whi alle ben auowteris, and the cumpenyes of trespassouris ayens the lawe;
O that I had a traveller's lodge in the wilderness, That I might leave my people, and go from them! For they are all adulterers; An assembly of revolters.
3 and thei helden forth her tunge as a bouwe of leesyng, and not of treuthe Thei ben coumfortid in erthe, for thei yeden out fro yuel to yuel, and thei knewen not me, seith the Lord.
They bend their tongues, like their bows, for lies, And not by truth do they grow mighty in the earth; They proceed from wickedness to wickedness, And have no regard to me, saith Jehovah.
4 Ech man kepe hym fro his neiybore, and haue no trist in ony brother of hym; for whi ech brother disseyuyng schal disseyue, and ech frend schal go gilefuli.
Be on your guard each one against his neighbor, And trust ye not in any brother; For every brother will supplant, And every neighbor will slander.
5 And a man schal scorne his brother, and schal not speke treuthe; for thei tauyten her tunge to speke leesyng; thei traueliden to do wickidli.
They deceive every one his neighbor, And do not speak the truth; They have accustomed their tongues to speak lies; They weary themselves in doing iniquity.
6 Thi dwellyng is in the myddis of gile; in gile thei forsoken to knowe me, seith the Lord.
Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit, [[O prophet!]] Through deceit they refuse to know me, saith Jehovah.
7 Therfor the Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal welle togidere, and Y schal preue hem; for whi what other thing schal Y do fro the face of the douyter of my puple?
Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Behold I will melt them and try them; For what else can I do on account of the daughter of my people?
8 The tunge of hem is an arowe woundynge, and spak gile; in his mouth he spekith pees with his frend, and priueli he settith tresouns to hym.
Their tongue is a deadly arrow; Every one of them speaketh treachery; With their mouth they speak peace to their neighbor, But in their heart they lay snares for him.
9 Whether Y schal not visite on these thingis, seith the Lord, ether schal not my soule take veniaunce on siche a folc?
Shall I not punish them for these things? saith Jehovah; Shall I not be avenged on such a nation as this?
10 On hillis Y schal take wepyng and mournyng, and weilyng on the faire thingis of desert, for tho ben brent; for no man is passynge forth, and thei herden not the vois of hym that weldith; fro a brid of the eir `til to scheep, tho passiden ouer, and yeden awei.
For the mountains will I lift up a weeping and wailing, And for the pastures of the plains a lamentation, For they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; No more is heard the voice of the cattle; Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled, and are gone.
11 And Y schal yyue Jerusalem in to heepis of grauel, and in to dennes of dragouns; and Y schal yyue the citees of Juda in to desolacioun, for ther is no dwellere.
I will make Jerusalem heaps of stones, The dwelling-place of jackals; And I will make the cities of Judah desolate, without an inhabitant.
12 Who is a wise man that schal vndurstonde these thingis, and to whom the word of the mouth of the Lord schal be maad, that he telle this? Whi the erthe perischide, it is brent as desert, for noon is that passith?
Who is the wise man, that he may understand this, And he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it? Why is it that the land perisheth, That it is burned up like a desert, which none passeth through?
13 And the Lord seide, For thei forsoken my lawe, which Y yaf to hem, and thei herden not my vois, and thei yeden not therynne;
Jehovah himself hath said: It is because they have forsaken my law, Which I set before them, And have not hearkened to my voice, Nor walked according to it;
14 and thei yeden aftir the schrewidnesse of her herte, and aftir Baalym, which thei lerneden of her fadris;
But have walked after the obstinacy of their own heart, And after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.
15 therfor the Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal fede this puple with wermod, and Y schal yyue to hem drynke the watir of galle.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with wormwood, And give them water of hemlock to drink.
16 And Y schal scatere hem among hethene men, whiche thei and her fadris knewen not; and Y schal sende swerd aftir hem, til thei ben wastid.
I will also scatter them among nations Which neither they nor their fathers have known, And I will send after them the sword, Till I have made an end of them.
17 The Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Biholde ye, and clepe ye wymmen `that weilen, and come thei; and sende ye to tho wymmen that ben wise, and haste thei.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, that they may come, And send to the skilful ones, that they may come;
18 Haste thei, and take thei weilynge on you; youre iyen brynge doun teeris, and youre iyelidis flowe with watris;
Let them make haste, and lift up a wailing for us, That our eyes may run down with tears, And our eyelids gush forth with waters.
19 for the vois of weilyng is herd fro Sion. Hou ben we distried, and schent greetli? for we han forsake the lond, for oure tabernaclis ben forsakun.
Behold, a voice of wailing is heard from Zion: “How are we spoiled! How are we put to shame! We must leave our native land; They have cast down our habitations.”
20 Therfor, wymmen, here ye the word of the Lord, and youre eeris take the word of his mouth; and teche ye youre douytris weilyng, and ech womman teche hir neiybore mournyng.
Hear, O ye women, the word of Jehovah! Let your ear receive the word of his mouth! Teach your daughters a lamentation, And every one her companion a mournful dirge!
21 For whi deth stiede bi youre wyndows, it entride in to youre housis, to leese litle children with outforth, and yonge men fro the stretis.
For death cometh in through our windows, It entereth our palaces; It cutteth off the children from the street, And the young men from the public places.
22 Speke thou, the Lord seith, these thingis, And the deed bodi of a man schal fal doun as a toord on the face of the cuntrei, and as hei bihynde the bak of the mowere, and noon is that gaderith.
Declare it, saith Jehovah! The dead bodies of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, And as the handful behind the reaper, Which none gathereth up.
23 The Lord seith these thingis, A wise man haue not glorie in his wisdom, and a strong man haue not glorie in his strengthe, and a riche man haue not glorie in hise richessis; but he that hath glorie,
Thus saith Jehovah: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, Nor let the mighty glory in his might, Nor let the rich glory in his riches!
24 haue glorie in this, to wite and knowe me, for Y am the Lord, that do merci and dom and riytfulnesse in erthe. For whi these thingis plesen me, seith the Lord.
But let him that glorieth glory in this, That he hath regard to me, and knoweth me, That I am Jehovah, who exercise loving-kindness, Justice, and righteousness upon the earth; For in these do I delight, saith Jehovah.
25 Lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and Y schal visite on ech man that hath prepucie vncircumcidid; on Egipt,
Behold the days come, saith Jehovah, That I will punish all the circumcised with the uncircumcised,
26 and on Juda, and on Edom, and on the sones of Amon, and on Moab, and on alle men that ben clippid on long heer, and dwellen in desert; for whi alle hethene men han prepucie, forsothe al the hous of Israel ben vncircumcidid in herte.
Egypt, and Judah, and Edom, And the sons of Ammon and Moab, And all with shaven cheeks, that dwell in the wilderness. For all the nations are uncircumcised, And all the house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.
