< Isaiah 10 >

1 Woe vnto them that decree wicked decrees, and write grieuous things,
Wo to them that maken wickid lawis, and thei writynge han wryte vnriytfulnesse, for to oppresse pore men in doom,
2 To keepe backe ye poore from iudgement, and to take away the iudgement of the poore of my people, that widowes may be their pray, and that they may spoyle the fatherlesse.
and to do violence to the cause of meke men of my puple; that widewis schulen be the prey of them, and that thei schulden rauysche fadirles children.
3 What will ye doe nowe in the day of visitation, and of destruction, which shall come from farre? to whom will ye flee for helpe? and where will ye leaue your glorie?
What schulen ye do in the dai of visitacioun, and of wretchidnesse comynge fro fer? To whos help schulen ye fle? and where schulen ye leeue youre glorie,
4 Without me euery one shall fall among them that are bound, and they shall fall downe among the slayne: yet for all this his wrath is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.
that ye be not bowid doun vndur boond, and falle not doun with slayn men? On alle these thingis his strong veniaunce is not turned awei, but yit his hond is stretchid forth.
5 O Asshur, the rodde of my wrath: and the staffe in their hands is mine indignation.
Wo to Assur, he is the yerde and staf of my strong veniaunce; myn indignacioun is in the hond of them.
6 I will sende him to a dissembling nation, and I will giue him a charge against the people of my wrath to take the spoyle and to take the pray, and to treade them vnder feete like the mire in the streete.
Y schal send hym to a fals folk, and Y schal comaunde to hym ayens the puple of my strong veniaunce; that he take awei the spuylis, and departe prey, and that he sette that puple in to defouling, as the fen of stretis.
7 But he thinketh not so, neither doeth his heart esteeme it so: but he imagineth to destroy and to cut off not a fewe nations.
Forsothe he schal not deme so, and his herte schal not gesse so, but his herte schal be for to al to-breke, and to the sleynge of many folkis.
8 For he sayeth, Are not my princes altogether Kings?
For he schal seie, Whether my princes ben not kyngis to gidere?
9 Is not Calno as Carchemish? Is not Hamath like Arpad? Is not Samaria as Damascus?
Whether not as Carcamys, so Calanno; and as Arphat, so Emath? whether not as Damask, so Samarie?
10 Like as mine hand hath founde the kingdomes of the idoles, seeing their idoles were aboue Ierusalem, and aboue Samaria:
As myn hond foond the rewmes of idol, so and the symylacris of hem of Jerusalem and of Samarie.
11 Shall not I, as I haue done to Samaria, and to the idoles thereof, so doe to Ierusalem and to the idoles thereof?
Whether not as Y dide to Samarie, and to the idols therof, so Y schal do to Jerusalem, and to the simylacris therof?
12 But when the Lord hath accomplished all his worke vpon mount Zion and Ierusalem, I will visite the fruite of the proude heart of the King of Asshur, and his glorious and proud lookes,
And it schal be, whanne the Lord hath fillid alle hise werkis in the hil of Syon and in Jerusalem, Y schal visite on the fruit of the greet doynge herte of the kyng of Assur, and on the glorie of the hiynesse of hise iyen.
13 Because he said, By ye power of mine owne hand haue I done it, and by my wisdome, because I am wise: therefore I haue remooued the borders of the people, and haue spoyled their treasures, and haue pulled downe the inhabitants like a valiant man.
For he seide, Y haue do in the strengthe of myn honde, and Y haue understonde in my wisdom; and Y haue take awei the endis of peplis, and Y haue robbid the princes of them, and Y as a myyti man haue drawun doun them that saten an hiy.
14 And mine hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people, and as one gathereth egges that are left, so haue I gathered all the earth: and there was none to mooue the wing or to open the mouth, or to whisper.
And myn hond foond the strengthe of puplis as a nest, and as eirun ben gaderid togidere that ben forsakun, so Y gaderid togidere al erthe; and noon was that mouyde a fethere, and openyde the mouth, and grutchide.
15 Shall the axe boast it selfe against him that heweth therewith? or shall the sawe exalt it selfe against him that moueth it? as if the rod shoulde lift vp it selfe against him that taketh it vp, or the staffe should exalt it selfe, as it were no wood.
Whether an ax schal haue glorie ayens hym that kittith with it? ether a sawe schal be enhaunsid ayens hym of whom it is drawun? as if a yerde is reisid ayens hym that reisith it, and a staf is enhaunsid, which sotheli is a tre.
16 Therefore shall the Lord God of hostes send amog his fat men, leannes, and vnder his glorie he shall kindle a burning, like the burning of fire.
For this thing the lordli gouernour, Lord of oostis, schal sende thinnesse in the fatte men of hym, and his glorie kyndlid vndur schal brenne as `the brenning of fier.
17 And the light of Israel shalbe as a fire, and the Holy one thereof as a flame, and it shall burne, and deuoure his thornes and his briers in one day:
And the liyt of Israel schal be in fier, and the hooli of it in flawme; and the thorn of him and brere schal be kyndlid and deuourid in o dai.
18 And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitfull fieldes both soule and flesh: and he shalbe as ye fainting of a standard bearer.
And the glorie of his forest and of his Carmele schal be wastid, fro the soule `til to fleisch; and he schal be fleynge awei for drede.
19 And the rest of the trees of his forest shalbe fewe, that a childe may tell them.
And the relifs of the tree of his forest schulen be noumbrid for fewnesse, and a child schal write hem.
20 And at that day shall the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Iaakob, stay no more vpon him that smote them, but shall stay vpon ye Lord, ye Holy one of Israel in trueth.
And it schal be in that dai, the remenaunt of Israel, and thei that fledden of the house of Jacob, schal not adde for to triste on hym that smytith hem; but it schal triste on the hooli Lord of Israel, in treuthe.
21 The remnant shall returne, euen the remnant of Iaakob vnto the mightie God.
The relifs, Y seie, the relifs of Jacob, schulen be conuertid to the stronge Lord.
22 For though thy people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, yet shall the remnant of them returne. The consumption decreed shall ouerflow with righteousnesse.
Forwhi, Israel, if thi puple is as the grauel of the see, the relifs schulen be turned therof; an endyng maad schort schal make riytfulnesse to be plenteuouse.
23 For the Lord God of hostes shall make the consumption, euen determined, in the middes of all the land.
For whi the Lord God of oostis schal make an endyng and a breggyng in the myddis of al erthe.
24 Therefore thus saith ye Lord God of hostes, O my people, that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of Asshur: he shall smite thee with a rod, and shall lift vp his staffe against thee after the maner of Egypt:
For this thing the Lord God of oostis seith these thingis, My puple, the dwellere of Sion, nyle thou drede of Assur, for he schal smite thee in a yerde, and he schal reise his staf on thee in the weie of Egipt.
25 But yet a very litle time, and the wrath shall be consumed, and mine anger in their destruction.
Forwhi yit a litil, and a litil, and myn indignacioun and my strong veniaunce schal be endid on the greet trespas of hem.
26 And ye Lord of hostes shall raise vp a scourge for him, according to the plague of Midian in the rocke Oreb: and as his staffe was vpon the Sea, so he will lift it vp after the maner of Egypt.
And the Lord of oostis schal reise a scourge on hym bi the veniaunce of Madian in the stoon of Oreb, and bi his yerde on the see; and he schal reise that yerde in the wei of Egipt.
27 And at that day shall his burden be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke from off thy necke: and the yoke shalbe destroied because of the anoynting.
And it schal be in that dai, his birthun schal be takun awei fro thi schuldre, and his yok fro thi necke; and the yok schal wexe rotun fro the face of oile.
28 He is come to Aiath: he is passed into Migron: at Michmash shall he lay vp his armour.
He schal come in to Aioth, he schal passe in to Magron, at Magynas he schal bitake his vessels to kepyng.
29 They haue gone ouer the foorde: they lodged in the lodging at Geba: Ramah is afraide: Gibeah of Saul is fled away.
Thei passiden swiftli, Gabaa is oure seete, Rama was astonyed, Gabaa of Saul fled.
30 Lift vp thy voyce, O daughter Gallim, cause Laish to heare, O poore Anathoth.
Thou douytir of Gallym, weile with thi vois; thou Laisa, perseyue, thou pore Anatot.
31 Madmenah is remoued: the inhabitants of Gebim haue gathered themselues together.
Medemena passide; the dwelleris of Gabyn fledden; be ye coumfortid.
32 Yet there is a time that he will stay at Nob: he shall lift vp his hand towarde the mount of the daughter Zion, the hill of Ierusalem.
Yit it is dai, that me stonde in Nobe; he schal dryue his hond on the hil of the douyter of Syon, on the litil hil of Jerusalem.
33 Beholde, the Lord God of hostes shall cut off the bough with feare, and they of high stature shalbe cut off, and the hie shalbe humbled.
Lo! the lordli gouernour, the Lord of oostis, schal breke a potel in drede, and hiy men of stature schulen be kit doun.
34 And he shall cut away the thicke places of the forest with yron, and Lebanon shall haue a mightie fall.
And proude men schulen be maade low, and the thicke thingis of the forest schulen be distried bi irun; and the Liban with hiy thingis schal falle doun.

< Isaiah 10 >