Micah 2
1 Wo to you, that thenken vnprofitable thing, and worchen yuele in youre beddis; in the morewtid liyt thei don it, for the hond of hem is ayenus God.
Woe to those that devise wickedness, and resolve on evil upon their couches! by the first light of the morning they execute it, if they have it in the power of their hand.
2 Thei coueitiden feeldis, and tooken violentli; and rauyschiden housis, and falsli calengiden a man and his hous, a man and his eritage.
And they covet fields, and rob them; and houses, and take them away: so they defraud the master and his house, and the man and his heritage.
3 Therfor the Lord seith these thingis, Lo! Y thenke on this meynee yuel, fro which ye schulen not take awei youre neckis; and ye schulen not walke proude, for the worste tyme is.
Therefore thus hath said the Lord, Behold, I will devise against this family an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks; nor shall ye go erect; for it is an evil time.
4 In that dai a parable schal be takun on you, and a song schal be songun with swetnesse of men, seiynge, Bi robbyng we ben distried; a part of my puple is chaungid; hou schal he go awei fro me, whanne he turneth ayen that schal departe youre cuntreis?
On that day shall one take up a parable against you, and lament with a mournful lamentation, and say, “We are utterly wasted: the portion of my people hath he exchanged; how hath he removed it from me! instead of restoring [them to us] he divideth our fields.”
5 For this thing `noon schal be to thee sendynge a litil corde of sort in cumpeny of the Lord.
Therefore shalt thou have none that shall draw the [measuring] cord in [his] lot in the congregation of the Lord.
6 A! thou Israel, speke ye not spekyng; it schal not droppe on these men, confusioun schal not catche,
“Preach not;” [but] they shall preach: they shall not preach [indeed] to these, that reproach may not overtake them.
7 seith the hous of Jacob. Whether the Spirit of the Lord is abreggid, either siche ben the thouytis of hym? Whether my wordis ben not gode, with hym that goith riytli?
Shall it be said [in] the house of Jacob, Is the spirit of the Lord straightened? are these his doings? Do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly?
8 And ayenward my puple roos togidere in to an aduersarie; ye token awei the mantil aboue the coote, and ye turneden in to batel hem that wenten sympli.
But long since is my people risen up as an enemy: from the garment do you pull off the ornament; of those that pass by securely [ye make] men returned from war.
9 Ye castiden the wymmen of my puple out of the hous of her delices; fro the litle children of hem ye token awei myn heriyng with outen ende.
The wives of my people do you drive out of their delightful houses; from their children do ye take away my ornament for ever.
10 Rise ye, and go, for here ye han not reste; for the vnclennesse therof it schal be corrupt with the worst rot.
Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your resting-place; because it is polluted, it shall destroy [you], even with a grievous destruction.
11 Y wolde that Y were not a man hauynge spirit, and rathere Y spak a leesyng. Y schal droppe to thee in to wyn, and in to drunkenesse; and this puple schal be, on whom it is droppid.
If a man that goeth after wind and lieth with falsehood [should say], “I will preach unto thee of wine and of strong drink:” he would be a preacher for this people.
12 With gaderyng Y schal gadere Jacob; Y schal lede togidere thee al in to oon, the relifs of Israel. Y schal put hym togidere, as a floc in folde; as scheep in the myddil of fooldis thei schulen make noise, of multitude of men.
I will [once] surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather up the remnant of Israel; I will place them together as flocks in the fold, as droves in the midst of their pen: they shall be crowded with men.
13 For he schal stie schewynge weie bifore hem; thei schulen departe, and passe the yate, and schulen go out therbi; and the kyng of hem schal passe bifore hem, and the Lord in the heed of hem.
The wall-breaker cometh up before them; they break in and pass through the gate, and go out by it: and their king passeth on before them, and the Lord at their head.
