< Jeremiah 51 >

1 The Lord seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal reise on Babiloyne, and on the dwelleris therof, that reisiden her herte ayens me, as a wynd of pestilence.
Thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the heart of those that rise against me, a destroying wind;
2 And Y schal sende in to Babiloyne wyndeweris, and thei schulen wyndewe it, and thei schulen destrie the lond of it; for thei camen on it on ech side, in the dai of the turment therof.
and I will send unto Babylon strangers, who shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.
3 He that beendith his bowe, beende not, and a man clothid in haburioun, stie not; nyle ye spare the yonge men therof, sle ye al the chyualrie therof.
Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his coat of mail; and spare not her young men: destroy utterly all her host.
4 And slayn men schulen falle in the lond of Caldeis, and woundid men in the cuntreis therof.
And the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets.
5 For whi Israel and Juda was not maad widewe fro her God, the Lord of oostis; but the lond of hem was fillid with trespas of the hooli of Israel.
For Israel is not forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of Jehovah of hosts; for their land is full of guilt against the Holy One of Israel.
6 Fle ye fro the myddis of Babiloyne, that ech man saue his soule; nyle ye be stille on the wickidnesse therof, for whi tyme of veniaunce therof is to the Lord; he schal yelde while to it.
Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and save every man his life; be ye not cut off in her iniquity: for this is the time of Jehovah's vengeance: he shall render unto her a recompence.
7 Babiloyne is a goldun cuppe in the hond of the Lord, and fillith al erthe; hethene men drunken of the wyn therof, and therfor thei ben mouyd.
Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunk of her wine; therefore have the nations become mad.
8 Babiloyne felle doun sudenli, and is al to-brokun; yelle ye on it, take ye recyn to the sorewe therof, if perauenture it be heelid.
Babylon is suddenly fallen and ruined. Howl over her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
9 We heeliden Babiloyne, and it is not maad hool; forsake we it and go we ech in to his lond; for the doom therof cam `til to heuenes, and is reisid `til to cloudis.
We have treated Babylon, but she is not healed: forsake her, and let us go every one into his own country; for her judgment reacheth unto the heavens, and is lifted up to the skies.
10 The Lord hath brouyt forth oure riytfulnessis; come ye, and telle we in Sion the werk of oure Lord God.
Jehovah hath brought forth our righteousness: come, and let us declare in Zion the work of Jehovah our God.
11 Scharpe ye arowis, fille ye arowe caasis; the Lord reiside the spirit of the kyngis of Medeis, and his mynde is ayen Babiloyne, that he leese it, for it is the veniaunce of the Lord, the veniaunce of his temple. The kyng of Medeis is reisid of the Lord ayens Babiloyne.
Sharpen the arrows; take the shields. Jehovah hath stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes; for his purpose is against Babylon, to destroy it; for this is the vengeance of Jehovah, the vengeance of his temple.
12 Reise ye a signe on the wallis of Babiloyne, encreesse ye kepyng, reise ye keperis, make ye redi buyschementis; for the Lord thouyte, and dide, what euer thing he spak ayens the dwelleris of Babiloyne.
Lift up a banner towards the walls of Babylon, make the watch strong, set the watchmen, prepare the ambushes; for Jehovah hath both devised and done that which he spoke against the inhabitants of Babylon.
13 A! thou Babiloyne, that dwellist on many watris, riche in thi tresours, thin ende cometh, the foote mesure of thi kittyng doun.
Thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, the measure of thy rapacity.
14 The Lord of oostis swoor bi his soule, that Y schal fille thee with men, as with bruke, and a myry song schal be sungun on thee.
Jehovah of hosts hath sworn by himself, I will assuredly fill thee with men, as with caterpillars; and they shall raise a shout against thee.
15 The Lord swoor, which made erthe bi his strengthe, made redy the world bi his wisdom, and stretchide forth heuenes bi his prudence.
He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by his understanding.
16 Whanne he yyueth vois, watris ben multiplied in heuene; which Lord reisith cloudis fro the laste of erthe, made leitis in to reyn, and brouyt forth wynd of hise tresouris.
When he uttereth his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he causeth the vapours to ascend from the end of the earth; he maketh lightnings for the rain, and bringeth forth the wind out of his treasures.
17 Ech man is maad a fool of kunnyng, ech wellere togidere is schent in a grauun ymage; for his wellyng togidere is fals, and a spirit is not in tho.
Every man is become brutish, so as to have no knowledge; every founder is put to shame by the graven image, for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
18 The werkis ben veyn, and worthi of scorn; tho schulen perische in the tyme of her visityng.
They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
19 The part of Jacob is not as these thingis; for he that made alle thingis is the part of Jacob, and Israel is the septre of his eritage; the Lord of oostis is his name.
The portion of Jacob is not like them; for it is he that hath formed all things: and [Israel] is the rod of his inheritance: Jehovah of hosts is his name.
20 Thou hurtlist doun to me the instrumentis of batel, and Y schal hurtle doun folkis in thee, and Y schal leese rewmes in thee;
Thou art my maul, [my] weapons of war: and with thee I will break in pieces the nations, and I will with thee destroy kingdoms;
21 and Y schal hurtle doun in thee an hors, and the ridere therof; and Y schal hurtle doun in thee a chare, and the stiere therof;
and with thee I will break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee I will break in pieces the chariot and its driver;
22 and Y schal hurtle doun in thee a man and womman; and Y schal hurtle doun in thee an elde man and a child; and Y schal hurtle doun in thee a yong man and a virgyn;
and with thee will I break in pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
23 and Y schal hurtle doun in thee a scheepherde and his floc; and Y schal hurtle doun in thee an erthetiliere and his yok beestis; and Y schal hurtle doun in thee duykis and magistratis.
and with thee will I break in pieces the shepherd and his flock; and with thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and with thee will I break in pieces governors and rulers.
24 And Y schal yelde, seith the Lord, to Babiloyne, and to alle the dwelleris of Caldee, al her yuel, which thei diden in Sion, bifore youre iyen.
And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea, in your sight, all their evil which they have done in Zion, saith Jehovah.
25 Lo! Y, seith the Lord, to thee, thou hil berynge pestilence, which corrumpist al erthe. Y schal stretche forth myn hond on thee, and Y schal vnwlappe thee fro stoonys, and Y schal yyue thee in to an hil of brennyng.
Behold, I am against thee, mount of destruction, saith Jehovah, which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out my hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burning mountain.
26 And Y schal not take of thee a stoon in to a corner, and a stoon in to foundementis; but thou schalt be lost with outen ende, seith the Lord.
And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; for thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith Jehovah.
27 Reise ye a signe in the lond, sowne ye with a clarioun in hillis; halewe ye folkis on it, telle ye to the kyngis of Ararath, of Menny, and of Ascheneth ayens it; noumbre ye Tapser ayens it, and bringe ye an hors, as a bruke hauynge a pricke.
Lift up a banner in the land, blow the trumpet among the nations, prepare nations against her; call together against her the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashkenaz; appoint a captain against her; cause the horses to come up as the bristly caterpillars.
28 Halowe ye folkis ayens it, the kyngis of Medey, the duykis therof, and alle magistratis therof, and al the lond of his power.
Prepare nations against her, the kings of the Medes, their governors and all their rulers, yea, all the land of their dominion.
29 And the erthe schal be mouyd, and schal be disturblid; for the thouyt of the Lord schal fulli wake ayens Babiloyne, that he sette the lond of Babiloyne desert, and vnhabitable.
And the land trembleth and is in pain; for the purposes of Jehovah against Babylon do stand, to make the land of Babylon a desolation, without inhabitant.
30 The stronge men of Babiloyne ceessiden of batel, thei dwelliden in stronge holdis; the strengthe of hem is deuourid, and thei ben maad as wymmen; the tabernaclis therof ben brent, the barris therof ben al to-brokun.
The mighty men of Babylon have ceased to fight, they are sitting in the fortresses; their might hath failed, they are become as women: they have set her dwelling places on fire; her bars are broken.
31 A rennere schal come ayens a rennere, and a messanger ayens a messanger, to telle to the kyng of Babiloyne, that his citee is takun fro the toon ende `til to the tother ende;
Courier runneth to meet courier, and messenger to meet messenger, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city is taken from end to end;
32 and the forthis ben bifore ocupied, and the mareisis ben brent with fier, and the men werryours ben disturblid.
and the passages are seized, and the reedy places are burnt with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
33 For the Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, The douyter of Babiloyne is as a corn floor, the tyme of threischyng therof; yit a litil, and the tyme of repyng therof schal come.
For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: The daughter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor, at the time of its being trodden; yet a little while, and the time of harvest shall come for her.
34 Nabugodonosor, the kyng of Babiloyne, eet me, and deuouride me; he made me as a voide vessel, he as a dragoun swolewide me; he fillide his wombe with my tendirnesse, and he castide me out.
Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel; he hath swallowed me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he hath cast me out.
35 Wickidnesse ayens me, and my fleisch on Babiloyne, seith the dwellyng of Sion; and my blood on the dwelleris of Caldee, seith Jerusalem.
The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall the inhabitress of Zion say; and, My blood be upon the inhabitants of Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
36 Therfor the Lord seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal deme thi cause, and Y schal venge thi veniaunce; and Y schal make the see therof forsakun, and Y schal make drie the veyne therof.
Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, I will plead thy cause, and take vengeance for thee; and I will dry up her sea, and make her spring dry.
37 And Babiloyne schal be in to biriels, it schal be the dwellyng of dragouns, wondryng and hissyng, for that no dwellere is.
And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place of jackals, an astonishment, and a hissing, without inhabitant.
38 Thei schulen rore togidere as liouns, and thei schulen schake lockis, as the whelpis of liouns.
They shall roar together like young lions, growl as lions' whelps.
39 In the heete of hem Y schal sette the drynkis of hem; and Y schal make hem drunkun, that thei be brouyt asleepe, and that thei slepe euerlastynge sleep, and rise not, seith the Lord.
When they are heated, I will prepare their drink, and I will make them drunken, that they may exult, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith Jehovah.
40 Y schal lede forth hem, as lambren to slayn sacrifice, and as wetheris with kidis. Hou is Sesac takun, and the noble citee of al erthe is takun?
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams with he-goats.
41 Hou is Babiloyne made in to wondre among hethene men?
How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth seized! How is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
42 And the see stiede on Babiloyne, it was hilid with the multitude of hise wawis.
The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of its waves.
43 The citees therof ben maad in to wondryng, the lond is maad vnhabitable and forsakun; the lond wherynne no man dwellith, and the sone of man schal not passe bi it.
Her cities are become a desolation, a dry land, and a desert, a land wherein no one dwelleth, neither doth a son of man pass thereby.
44 And Y schal visite on Bel in to Babiloyne, and Y schal caste out of hise mouth that, that he hadde swolewid, and folkis schulen no more flowe to it; for also the wal of Babiloyne schal falle doun.
And I will punish Bel in Babylon, and I will bring forth out of his mouth what he hath swallowed up; and the nations shall not flow together any more unto him: yea, the wall of Babylon is fallen.
45 Mi puple, go ye out fro the myddis therof, that ech man saue his soule fro the wraththe of the strong veniaunce of the Lord;
Go ye out of the midst of her, my people, and deliver every man his soul from the fierce anger of Jehovah!
46 and lest perauenture youre herte wexe neische, and lest ye dreden the heryng, that schal be herd in the lond; and heryng schal come in a yeer, and aftir this yeer schal come heryng and wickidnesse in the lond, and a lord on a lord.
lest your heart faint, and ye fear for the rumour that shall be heard in the land; for a rumour shall come [one] year, and after that a rumour in [another] year, and violence in the earth, ruler against ruler.
47 Therfor lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and Y schal visite on the grauun ymagis of Babiloyne; and al the lond therof schal be schent, and alle slayn men therof schulen falle doun in the myddis therof.
Therefore behold, days are coming when I will punish the graven images of Babylon; and her whole land shall be put to shame, and all her slain shall fall in the midst of her.
48 And heuenes, and erthis, and alle thingis that ben in tho, schulen herie on Babiloyne; for rauynours schulen come fro the north to it, seith the Lord.
And the heavens and the earth, and all that is therein, shall shout aloud over Babylon; for out of the north the spoilers shall come against her, saith Jehovah.
49 And as Babiloyne dide, that slayn men felle doun in Israel, so of Babiloyne slayn men schulen falle doun and in al the lond.
As Babylon caused the slain of Israel to fall, so at Babylon shall fall the slain of all the earth.
50 Come ye, that fledden the swerd, nyle ye stonde; haue ye mynde afer on the Lord, and Jerusalem stie on youre herte.
Ye that have escaped the sword, go, stand not still: remember Jehovah from afar, and let Jerusalem come into your mind.
51 We ben schent, for we herden schenschipe; schame hilide oure faces, for aliens comen on the halewyng of the hous of the Lord.
— We are put to shame, for we have heard reproach; confusion hath covered our face: for strangers are come into the sanctuaries of Jehovah's house.
52 Therfor lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and Y schal visite on the grauun ymagis of Babiloyne, and in al the lond therof a woundid man schal loowe.
— Therefore behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will punish her graven images; and throughout her land the wounded shall groan.
53 If Babiloyne stieth in to heuene, and makith stidfast his strengthe an hiy, distrieris therof schulen come on me, seith the Lord.
Though Babylon should mount up to the heavens, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith Jehovah.
54 The vois of a criere of Babiloyne, and greet sorewe of the lond of Caldeis,
The sound of a cry [cometh] from Babylon, and great destruction from the land of the Chaldeans;
55 for the Lord distriede Babiloyne, and lost of it a greet vois; and the wawis of hem schulen sowne as many watris. The vois of hem yaf sown,
for Jehovah spoileth Babylon, and he will destroy out of her the great voice; and their waves roar like great waters, the noise of their voice resoundeth.
56 for a rauenour cam on it, that is, on Babiloyne; and the stronge men therof ben takun, and the bouwe of hem welewide, for the stronge vengere the Lord yeldynge schal yelde.
For the spoiler is come against her, against Babylon, and her mighty men are taken; their bows are broken in pieces; for Jehovah, the God of recompences, will certainly requite.
57 And Y schal make drunkun the princis therof, and the wise men therof, the duykis therof, and the magistratis therof, and the stronge men therof; and thei schulen slepe euerlastynge sleep, and thei schulen not be awakid, seith the kyng, the Lord of oostis is name of hym.
And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her governors, and her rulers, and her mighty men; and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is Jehovah of hosts.
58 The Lord God of oostis seith these thingis, Thilke brodeste wal of Babiloyne schal be mynyd with mynyng, and the hiye yatis therof schulen be brent with fier; and the trauels of puples schulen be to nouyt, and the trauels of hethene men schulen be in to fier, and schulen perische.
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly laid bare, and her high gates shall be burned with fire; so that the peoples will have laboured in vain, and the nations for the fire: and they shall be weary.
59 The word which Jeremye, the profete, comaundide to Saraie, sone of Nerie, sone of Maasie, whanne he yede with Sedechie, the kyng, in to Babiloyne, in the fourthe yeer of his rewme; forsothe Saraie was prynce of profesie.
The word that Jeremiah the prophet commanded Seraiah the son of Nerijah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went with Zedekiah the king of Judah to Babylon in the fourth year of his reign. Now Seraiah was chief chamberlain.
60 And Jeremye wroot al the yuel, that was to comynge on Babiloyne, in a book, alle these wordis that weren writun ayens Babiloyne.
And Jeremiah wrote in a book all the evil that should come upon Babylon, all these words that are written against Babylon.
61 And Jeremye seide to Saraie, Whanne thou comest in to Babiloyne, and seest, and redist alle these wordis,
And Jeremiah said to Seraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, see that thou read all these words;
62 thou schalt seie, Lord, thou spakist ayens this place, that thou schuldist leese it, that noon be that dwelle therynne, fro man `til to beeste, and that it be an euerlastynge wildirnesse.
and say, Jehovah, thou hast spoken concerning this place, that thou wilt cut it off, so that none shall dwell in it, neither man nor beast, but that it shall be desolate for ever.
63 And whanne thou hast fillid to rede this book, thou schalt bynde to it a stoon, and thou schalt caste it forth in to the myddis of Eufrates; and thou schalt seie,
And it shall be, when thou hast ended reading this book, [that] thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates;
64 So Babiloyne schal be drenchid, and it schal not rise fro the face of turment, which Y brynge on it, and it schal be distried. Hidurto ben the wordis of Jeremye.
and shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise, because of the evil that I will bring upon it: and they shall be weary. Thus far the words of Jeremiah.

< Jeremiah 51 >