Jeremiah 17
1 The synne of Juda is writun with an irone poyntel, in a nail of adamaunt; it is writun on the breede of the herte of hem, and in the hornes of the auteris of hem.
[Yahweh said, “It is as though a list of] the sins [committed by the people of] Judah is engraved with an iron chisel, or engraved using the fine point of a very hard stone, on the altars [where they worship idols]. And [it is as though] this list is engraved on their inner beings!
2 Whanne the sones of hem bithenken on her auteris, and woodis, and on the trees ful of boowis, makynge sacrifice in the feld in hiye munteyns,
[Even] their children are happy to go to the altars [to worship their gods], and to the poles [that represent the goddess] Asherah [at which their parents worshiped], shrines that are underneath all the big trees and on [all] the high hills.
3 Y schal yyue thi strengthe and alle thi tresouris in to rauyschyng, thin hiye thingis for synnes in alle thin endis.
So, I will allow your enemies to capture [Zion], your holy hill, and all your wealth and your (treasures/valuable things), and [even] the shrines on all those hills, because of the sins that you people have committed throughout your land.
4 And thou schalt be left aloone fro thin eritage which Y yaf to thee; and Y schal make thee to serue thin enemyes, in the lond which thou knowist not; for thou hast kyndlid fier in my strong veniaunce, it schal brenne til in to with outen ende.
The [wonderful] land that I gave to you will no longer belong to you. I will tell your enemies to take you to a land that you do not know about, and you will become their slaves. [I will do that] because I am extremely angry [with you]; my being angry is [like] a fire that will burn forever.”
5 The Lord seith these thingis, Cursid is the man that trestith in man, and settith fleisch his arm, and his herte goith awei fro the Lord.
This is [also] what Yahweh says: “[I] will curse/condemn those who trust in human beings [to help them], those who rely on their own strength and turn away from me.
6 For he schal be as bromes in desert, and he schal not se, whanne good schal come; but he schal dwelle in drynesse in desert, in the lond of saltnesse, and vnabitable.
They are like [dry] bushes in the desert, they are people who will not experience any good things. Those people will live in the barren desert in a salty area, where nothing grows.
7 Blessid is the man that tristith in the Lord, and the Lord schal be his trist.
But I am pleased with those who trust in [me], Yahweh, and who confidently expect [me to take care of them].
8 And he schal be as a tre, which is plauntid ouer watris, which sendith hise rootis to moisture; and it schal not drede, whanne heete schal come; and the leef therof schal be greene, and it schal not be moued in the tyme of drynesse, nether ony tyme it schal faile to make fruyte.
Those people are like [SIM] fruit trees that have been planted along a riverbank, trees that have roots that go down into the [wet ground beside] the water. They are trees whose leaves remain green when it becomes hot, trees that continue to bear fruit when there are many months in which there is no rain.
9 The herte of man is schrewid, and `may not be souyt; who schal knowe it?
Human minds are extremely corrupt/deceitful, and you cannot change that. It is also completely impossible [RHQ] for anyone to understand that.
10 Y am the Lord sekynge the herte, and preuynge the reynes, and Y yyue to ech man after his weye, and aftir the fruyt of his fyndyngis.
But I, Yahweh, search what is in everyone’s inner being, and I examine what they are thinking. I will give all people rewards, what they deserve for what they have done.”
11 A partriche nurschide tho thingis whiche sche bredde not; he made richessis, and not in doom; in the myddis of hise daies he schal forsake tho, and in hise laste tyme he schal be vnwijs.
[I, Jeremiah, agree, because I know that] people who become rich by doing things that are unjust are like birds that hatch eggs that they (did not lay/stole from another nest). So, when those people have lived only half of the years [that they expect to live], their wealth will disappear. Then [other people will realize that] those rich people have been foolish.
12 The seete of glorie of hiynesse was at the bigynnyng the place of oure halewyng, the abidyng of Israel.
Yahweh, your temple is [like] a glorious throne that is still on a high hill.
13 Lord, alle thei that forsaken thee, schulen be schent; thei that goen aweie fro thee, schulen be writun in erthe, for thei han forsake the Lord, a veyne of quyk watirs.
You are the one whom [we] Israeli people confidently expect [to bless us], and all those who turn away from you will be disgraced. Their names will be written [only] in the dust, [and will soon disappear], because they have abandoned you, [who are like] [MET] a fountain where people obtain fresh water.
14 Lord, heele thou me, and Y schal be heelid; make thou me saaf, and Y schal be saaf; for thou art myn heriyng.
Yahweh, [please] heal me, because [if you heal me], I will truly be healed. [If you] rescue me, I will truly be safe, because you are the [only] one whom I praise.
15 Lo! thei seien to me, Where is the word of the Lord? come it.
People often ridicule me and say, “You tell us messages that you say came from Yahweh, but (why have the things that you predicted not happened?/those predictions have not come true!)” [RHQ]
16 And Y am not disturblid, suynge thee scheepherd, and Y desiride not the dai of man, thou woost. That that yede out of my lippis was riytful in thi siyt.
Yahweh, you [appointed me to take care of your people like] a shepherd [takes care of his sheep] [MET]; I have not abandoned that work, and you know that I have not [previously] wanted this time of disaster [to come to people who ridicule me]. And you know everything that I have said [MTY] [to your people].
17 Be thou not to drede to me; thou art myn hope in the dai of turment.
Do not cause me to be terrified! When disasters come/occur, you are the one to whom I will go to be safe.
18 Be thei schent, that pursuen me, and be Y not schent; drede thei, and drede not Y; brynge in on hem a dai of turment, and defoule thou hem bi double defouling.
[So now], cause those who (persecute me/cause me to suffer) to be ashamed and dismayed, but do not [do things to me that will] cause me to be ashamed and dismayed. Cause them to be terrified! Do to them many things that will completely destroy them!
19 The Lord seith these thingis to me, Go thou, and stonde in the yate of the sones of the puple, bi whiche the kingis of Juda entren and goen out, and in alle the yatis of Jerusalem.
This is what Yahweh said to me: “Go to the city gates in Jerusalem. [First] go to the gate where the kings of Judah go in and out of the city, and [then] go to each of the [other] gates.
20 And thou schalt seie to hem, Here the word of the Lord, ye kingis of Juda, and al Judee, and alle the dwelleris of Jerusalem, that entren bi these yatis.
Say to the people [at each gate], ‘You kings of Judah and everyone [else] who is living in Jerusalem and all [you other people of] Judah who enter these gates, listen to this message from Yahweh!
21 The Lord God seith these thingis, Kepe ye youre soulis, and nyle ye bere birthuns in the dai of sabat, nether bringe in bi the yatis of Jerusalem.
He says, “Listen to this warning carefully! [Stop doing work] on (Sabbath/our rest) days! Stop carrying loads through these gates [on those days]!
22 And nyle ye caste birthuns out of youre housis in the dai of sabat, and ye schulen not do ony werk; halewe ye the dai of sabat, as Y comaundide to youre fadris.
Do not carry loads out of your houses or do any [other] work on Sabbath days! Instead, cause Sabbath days to be (holy/set apart for me). I commanded your ancestors to do that,
23 And thei herden not, nether bowiden doun her eere, but thei maden hard her nol, that thei schulden not here me, and that thei schulden not take chastisyng.
but they did not listen to me or obey me. When I did things to correct them, they stubbornly [IDM] refused to pay attention to what I said or to accept it.
24 And it schal be, if ye heren me, seith the Lord, that ye bere not in birthuns bi the yatis of this citee in the dai of sabat, and if ye halewen the dai of sabat, that ye do not werk ther ynne,
But I say that if you obey me, and if you do not carry loads through these gates [on Sabbath days] or do any other work on Sabbath days, and if you dedicate the Sabbath days to me,
25 kingis and princes sittynge on the seete of Dauid schulen entre bi the yatis of this citee, and stiynge in charis and horsis; thei, and the princis of hem, the men of Juda, and the dwelleris of Jerusalem; and this citee schal be enhabitid withouten ende.
kings of Judah [MTY] and [their] officials will [continue to] go in and out of these gates. There will [always] be someone who is a descendant of [MTY] [King] David ruling [here] [MTY] in Jerusalem. Kings and their officials will go in and out of these gates, riding in chariots and on horses, and there will be people living in this city forever.
26 And thei schulen come fro the citees of Juda, and fro the cumpas of Jerusalem, and fro the lond of Beniamyn, and fro feeldi places, and fro hilli places, and fro the south, beringe brent sacrifice, and slayn sacrifice, and encense; and thei schulen bringe offring in to the hous of the Lord.
And people will come [to Jerusalem] bringing offerings to be completely burned [on the altar] and [other] offerings. They will bring to the temple grain offerings and incense and offerings to thank [me]. People will bring those offerings from the towns in Judah and the villages near Jerusalem and from the land [where the tribe] of Benjamin [lives] and from the western foothills and from the desert in the south.
27 Forsothe if ye heren not me, that ye halewe the dai of sabat, and that ye bere not a birthun, and that ye bringe not in bi the yatis of Jerusalem in the dai of sabat, Y schal kyndle fier in the yatis therof; and it schal deuoure the housis of Jerusalem, and it schal not be quenchid.
But if you do not pay attention to what I say, and if you refuse to dedicate the Sabbath days to me, and if you [continue to] carry loads through these gates into the city on Sabbath days, I will burn these gates completely. The fire will spread to the palaces, and no one will be able to put out that fire.”’”
