Jeremiah 18

1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

The word that was maad of the Lord to Jeremye,

2 Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.

and seide, Rise thou, and go doun in to the hous of a pottere, and there thou schalt here my wordis.

3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought his work on the wheels.

And Y yede doun in to the hous of a pottere, and lo! he made a werk on a wheel.

4 And when the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the hand of the potter, he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.

And the vessel was distried, which he made of clei with hise hondis; and he turnede it, and made it another vessel, as it pleside in hise iyen to make.

5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

And the word of the Lord was maad to me,

6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.

and he seide, Whether as this pottere doith, Y mai not do to you, the hous of Israel? seith the Lord. Lo! as cley is in the hond of a pottere, so ye, the hous of Israel, ben in myn hond.

7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up and to break down and to destroy it;

Sudenli Y schal speke ayens a folk, and ayens a rewme, that Y drawe out, and distrie, and leese it.

8 if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.

If thilke folk doith penaunce of his yuel, which Y spak ayens it, also Y schal do penaunce on the yuel, which Y thouyte to do to it.

9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;

And Y schal speke sudenli of a folk, and of a rewme, that Y bilde, and plaunte it.

10 if it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

If it doith yuel bifore myn iyen, that it here not my vois, Y schal do penaunce on the good which Y spak, that Y schulde do to it.

11 Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD: Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and amend your ways and your doings.

Now therfor seie thou to a man of Juda, and to the dwellere of Jerusalem, and seie, The Lord seith these thingis, Lo! Y make yuel ayens you, and Y thenke a thouyte ayens you; ech man turne ayen fro his yuel weie, and dresse ye youre weies and youre studies.

12 But they say, There is no hope: for we will walk after our own devices, and we will do every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart.

Whiche seiden, We han dispeirid, for we schulen go after oure thouytis, and we schulen do ech man the schrewidnesse of his yuel herte.

13 Therefore thus saith the LORD: Ask ye now among the nations, who hath heard such things; the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing.

Therfor the Lord seith these thingis, Axe ye hethene men, who herde siche orible thingis, whiche the virgyn of Israel hath do greetli?

14 Shall the snow of Lebanon fail from the rock of the field? [or] shall the cold waters that flow down from afar be dried up?

Whether snow of the Liban schal fail fro the stoon of the feeld? ether coolde watris brekynge out, and fletynge doun moun be takun awei?

15 For my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity; and they have caused them to stumble in their ways, in the ancient paths, to walk in bypaths, in a way not cast up;

For my puple hath foryete me, and offriden sacrifices in veyn, and snaperiden in her weies, and in the pathis of the world, that thei yeden bi tho in a weie not trodun;

16 to make their land an astonishment, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and shake his head.

that the lond of hem schulde be in to desolacioun, and in to an hissyng euerlastinge; for whi ech that passith bi it, schal be astonyed, and schal moue his heed.

17 I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will look upon their back, and not their face, in the day of their calamity.

As a brennynge wynd Y schal scatere hem bifor the enemy; Y schal schewe to hem the bak and not the face, in the dai of the perdicioun of hem.

18 Then said they, Come, and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.

And thei seiden, Come ye, and thenke we thouytis ayens Jeremye; for whi the lawe schal not perische fro a preest, nether councel schal perische fro a wijs man, nether word schal perische fro a profete; come ye, and smyte we hym with tunge, and take we noon heede to alle the wordis of hym.

19 Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me.

Lord, yyue thou tent to me, and here thou the vois of myn aduersaries.

20 Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember how I stood before thee to speak good for them, to turn away thy fury from them.

Whether yuel is yoldun for good, for thei han diggid a pit to my soule; haue thou mynde, that Y stoode in thi siyt, to speke good for hem, and to turne awei thin indignacioun fro hem.

21 Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and give them over to the power of the sword; and let their wives become childless, and widows; and let their men be slain of death, [and] their young men smitten of the sword in battle.

Therfor yyue thou the sones of hem in to hungur, and lede forth hem in to the hondis of swerd; the wyues of hem be maad with out children, and be maad widewis, and the hosebondis of hem be slayn bi deth; the yonge men of hem be persid togidere bi swerd in batel.

22 Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.

Cry be herd of the housis of hem, for thou schalt bringe sudenli a theef on hem; for thei diggiden a pit to take me, and hidden snaris to my feet.

23 Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me; forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight: but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thou with them in the time of thine anger.

But thou, Lord, knowist al the councel of hem ayens me in to deth; do thou not merci to the wickidnesse of hem, and the synne of hem be not doon awei fro thi face; be thei maad fallynge doun in thi siyt, in the tyme of thi stronge veniaunce; vse thou hem to othir thing than thei weren ordeyned.