Jeremiah 5
1 Cumpasse ye the weies of Jerusalem, and loke, and biholde ye, and seke ye in the stretis therof, whether ye fynden a man doynge doom, and sekynge feith; and Y schal be merciful to hem.
Run ye about in the streets of Jerusalem, and see, and know, and seek in her broad places, if ye can find [one], if there is any one that does judgment, and seeks faithfulness; and I will pardon them, saith the Lord.
2 That if also thei seien, The Lord lyueth, yhe, thei schulen swere this falsli.
The Lord lives, they say; do they not therefore swear falsely?
3 Lord, thin iyen biholden feith; thou hast smyte hem, and thei maden not sorewe; thou hast al tobroke hem, and thei forsoken to take chastisyng; thei maden her faces hardere than a stoon, and nolden turne ayen.
O Lord, thine eyes are upon faithfulness: thou hast scourged them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them; but they would not receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; and they would not return.
4 Forsothe Y seide, In hap thei ben pore men, and foolis, that knowen not the weie of the Lord, and the doom of her God.
Then I said, It may be they are poor; for they are weak, for they know not the way of the Lord, or the judgment of God.
5 Therfor Y schal go to the principal men, and Y schal speke to hem; for thei knewen the weie of the Lord, and the doom of her God. And lo! thei han more broke togidere the yok, and han broke boondis.
I will go to the rich men, and will speak to them; for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgment of God: but, behold, with one consent they have broken the yoke, they have burst the bonds.
6 Therfor a lioun of the wode smoot hem; a wolf at euentid wastide hem, a parde wakynge on the citees of hem. Ech man that goith out of hem, schal be takun; for the trespassyngis of hem ben multiplied, the turnyngis awei of hem ben coumfortid.
Therefore has a lion out of the forest smitten them, and a wolf has destroyed them even to [their] houses, and a leopard has watched against their cities: all that go forth from them shall be hunted: for they have multiplied their ungodliness, they have strengthened themselves in their revoltings.
7 On what thing mai Y be merciful to thee? Thi sones han forsake me, and sweren bi hem that ben not goddis. Y fillide hem, and thei diden auowtrie, and in the hous of an hoore thei diden letcherie.
In what [way] shall I forgive thee for these things? Thy sons have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: and I fed them to the full, and they committed adultery, and lodged in harlots' houses.
8 Thei ben maad horsis, and stalouns, louyeris to wymmen; ech man neiyede to the wijf of his neiybore.
They became as wanton horses: they neighed each one after his neighbour's wife.
9 Whether Y schal not visite on these thingis, seith the Lord, and schal not my soule take veniaunce in siche a folk?
Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this.
10 Stye ye on the wallis therof, and distrie ye; but nyle ye make an endyng. Do ye awei the siouns therof, for thei ben not seruauntis of the Lord.
Go up upon her battlements, and break [them] down; but make not a full end: leave her buttresses: for they are the Lord's.
11 For whi the hous of Israel and the hous of Juda hath trespassid bi trespassyng ayens me, seith the Lord;
For the house of Israel have indeed dealt treacherously against me, saith the Lord: the house of Juda also
12 thei denyeden the Lord, and seiden, He is not, nether yuel schal come on vs; we schulen not se swerd and hungur.
have lied to their Lord, and they have said, These things are not so; no evils shall come upon us; and we shall not see sword or famine.
13 The profetis spaken ayens the wynd, and noon answer was in hem; therfor these thingis schulen come to hem.
Our prophets became wind, and the word of the Lord was not in them.
14 The Lord God of oostis seith these thingis, For ye spaken this word, lo! Y yyue my wordis in thi mouth in to fier, and this puple in to trees, and it schal deuoure hem.
Therefore thus saith the Lord Almighty, Because ye have spoken this word, behold, I have made my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.
15 Lo! thou hous of Israel, seith the Lord, Y schal brynge on you a folk fro fer; a strong folk, an eeld folk, `a folk whos langage thou schalt not knowe, nether schalt vndurstonde what it spekith.
Behold, I [will] bring upon you a nation from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord; a nation the sound of whose language one shall not understand.
16 The arowe caas therof is as an opyn sepulcre; alle ben stronge men.
[They are] all mighty men:
17 And it schal ete thi cornes, and it schal deuoure thi breed, thi sones and thi douytris; it schal ete thi flok, and thi droues, it schal ete also thi vyner, and thi fige tre; and it schal al to-breke thi stronge citees bi swerd, in whiche thou hast trist.
and they shall devour your harvest, and your bread; and shall devour your sons, and your daughters; and they shall devour your sheep, and your calves, and devour your vineyards, and your fig-plantations, and your olive yards: and they shall utterly destroy your strong cities, wherein ye trusted, with the sword.
18 Netheles in tho daies, seith the Lord, Y schal not make you in to endyng.
And it shall come to pass in those days, saith the Lord thy God, that I will not utterly destroy you.
19 That if ye seien, Whi hath oure Lord God do alle these thingis to vs? thou schalt seie to hem, As ye forsoken me, and serueden an alien god in youre lond, so ye schulen serue alien goddis in a lond not youre.
And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore has the Lord our God done all these things to us? that thou shalt say to them, Because ye served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.
20 Telle ye this to the hous of Jacob, and make ye herd in Juda, and seie ye,
Proclaim these things to the house of Jacob, and let them be heard in the house of Juda.
21 Here, thou fonned puple, that hast noon herte; whiche han iyen, and seen not, and eeris, and heren not.
Hear ye now these things, O foolish and senseless people; who have eyes, and see not; and have ears, and hear not:
22 Therfor schulen not ye drede me, seith the Lord, and schulen not ye make sorewe for my face? Whiche haue set grauel a terme, ether ende, to the see, an euerlastynge comaundement, whiche it schal not passe; and the wawis therof schulen be mouyd, and schulen not haue power; and schulen wexe greet, and schulen not passe it.
will ye not be afraid of me? saith the Lord; and will ye not fear before me, who have set the sand for a bound to the sea, [as] a perpetual ordinance, and it shall not pass it: yea, it shall rage, but not prevail; and its waves shall roar, but not pass over it.
23 Forsothe an herte vnbileueful and terrynge to wraththe is maad to this puple; thei departiden,
But this people has a disobedient and rebellious heart; and they have turned aside and gone back:
24 and yeden awei, and thei seiden not in her herte, Drede we oure Lord God, that yiueth to vs reyn tymeful, and lateful in his tyme; that kepith to vs the plente of heruest of the yeer.
and they have not said in their heart, Let us fear now the Lord our God, who gives us the early and latter rain, according to the season of the fulfillment of the ordinance of harvest, and has preserved [it] for us.
25 Youre wickidnessis diden awei these thingis, and youre synnes forbediden good fro you.
Your transgressions have turned away these things, and your sins have removed good things from you.
26 For ther ben foundun in my puple wickid men, settynge tresoun, as fouleres settynge snaris and trappis, to take men.
For among my people were found ungodly men; and they have set snares to destroy men, and have caught [them].
27 As a net, ether a trap, ful of briddis, so the housis of hem ben ful of gile. Therfor thei ben magnefied,
As a snare which has been set is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore have they grown great, and become rich:
28 and maad riche, maad fat with ynne, and maad fat with outforth, and thei passiden worst my wordis; thei demyden not a cause of a widewe, thei dressiden not the cause of a fadirles child, and thei demyden not the doom of pore men.
and they have transgressed [the rule of] judgment; they have not judged the cause of the orphan, nor have they judged the cause of the widow.
29 Whether Y schal not visite on these thingis, seith the Lord, ether schal not my soule take veniaunce on sich a folk?
Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
30 Wondur and merueilouse thingis ben maad in the lond;
Shocking and horrible deeds have been done on the land;
31 profetis profesieden leesyng, and prestis ioieden with her hondis, and my puple louyde siche thingis. What therfor schal be don in the laste thing therof?
the prophets utter unrighteous prophecies, and the priests have clapped their hands: and my people has loved [to have it] thus: and what will ye do for the future.
