Jeremiah 9

1 Who schal yyue watir to myn heed, and a welle of teeris to myn iyen? And Y schal biwepe dai and niyt the slayn men of the douyter of my puple.

Who will give water to my head, and a fountain of tears to my eyes? and I will weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people.

2 Who schal yyue me in to a wildirnesse of dyuerse weigoeris? And I schal forsake my puple, and Y schal go awei fro hem. For whi alle ben auowteris, and the cumpenyes of trespassouris ayens the lawe;

Who will give me in the wilderness a lodging place of wayfaring men, and I will leave my people, and depart from them? because they are all adulterers, an assembly of transgressors.

3 and thei helden forth her tunge as a bouwe of leesyng, and not of treuthe Thei ben coumfortid in erthe, for thei yeden out fro yuel to yuel, and thei knewen not me, seith the Lord.

And they have bent their tongue, as a bow, for lies, and not for truth: they have strengthened themselves upon the earth, for they have proceeded from evil to evil, and me they have not known, saith the Lord.

4 Ech man kepe hym fro his neiybore, and haue no trist in ony brother of hym; for whi ech brother disseyuyng schal disseyue, and ech frend schal go gilefuli.

Let every man take heed of his neighbor, and let his not trust in any brother of his: for every brother will utterly supplant, and every friend will walk deceitfully.

5 And a man schal scorne his brother, and schal not speke treuthe; for thei tauyten her tunge to speke leesyng; thei traueliden to do wickidli.

And a man shall mock his brother, and they will not speak the truth: for they have taught their tongue to speak lies: they have laboured to commit iniquity.

6 Thi dwellyng is in the myddis of gile; in gile thei forsoken to knowe me, seith the Lord.

Thy habitation is in the midst of deceit: Through deceit they have refused to know me, saith the Lord.

7 Therfor the Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal welle togidere, and Y schal preue hem; for whi what other thing schal Y do fro the face of the douyter of my puple?

Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts: Behold I will melt, and try them: for what else shall I do before the daughter of my people?

8 The tunge of hem is an arowe woundynge, and spak gile; in his mouth he spekith pees with his frend, and priueli he settith tresouns to hym.

Their tongue is a piercing arrow, it hath spoken deceit: with his mouth one speaketh peace with his friend, and secretly he lieth in wait for him.

9 Whether Y schal not visite on these thingis, seith the Lord, ether schal not my soule take veniaunce on siche a folc?

Shall I not visit them for these things, saith the Lord? or shall not my soul be revenged on such a nation?

10 On hillis Y schal take wepyng and mournyng, and weilyng on the faire thingis of desert, for tho ben brent; for no man is passynge forth, and thei herden not the vois of hym that weldith; fro a brid of the eir `til to scheep, tho passiden ouer, and yeden awei.

For the mountains I will take up weeping and lamentation, and for the beautiful places of the desert, mourning: because they are burnt up, for that there is not a man that passeth through them: and they have not heard the voice of the owner: from the fowl of the air to the beasts they are gone away and departed.

11 And Y schal yyue Jerusalem in to heepis of grauel, and in to dennes of dragouns; and Y schal yyue the citees of Juda in to desolacioun, for ther is no dwellere.

And I will make Jerusalem to be heaps of sand, and dens of dragons: and I will make the cities of Juda desolate, for want of an inhabitant.

12 Who is a wise man that schal vndurstonde these thingis, and to whom the word of the mouth of the Lord schal be maad, that he telle this? Whi the erthe perischide, it is brent as desert, for noon is that passith?

Who is the wise man, that may understand this, and to whom the word of the mouth of the Lord may come that he may declare this, why the land hath perished, and is burnt up like a wilderness, which none passeth through?

13 And the Lord seide, For thei forsoken my lawe, which Y yaf to hem, and thei herden not my vois, and thei yeden not therynne;

And the Lord said: Because they have forsaken my law, which I gave them, and have not heard my voice, and have not walked in it.

14 and thei yeden aftir the schrewidnesse of her herte, and aftir Baalym, which thei lerneden of her fadris;

But they have gone after the perverseness of their own heart, and after Baalim, which their fathers taught them.

15 therfor the Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal fede this puple with wermod, and Y schal yyue to hem drynke the watir of galle.

Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Behold I will feed this people with wormwood, and give them water of gall to drink.

16 And Y schal scatere hem among hethene men, whiche thei and her fadris knewen not; and Y schal sende swerd aftir hem, til thei ben wastid.

And I will scatter them among the nations, which they and their fathers have not known: and I will send the sword after them till they be consumed.

17 The Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Biholde ye, and clepe ye wymmen `that weilen, and come thei; and sende ye to tho wymmen that ben wise, and haste thei.

Thus saith the Lord of hosts the God of Israel: Consider ye, and call for the mourning women, and let them come: and send to them that are wise women, and let them make haste:

18 Haste thei, and take thei weilynge on you; youre iyen brynge doun teeris, and youre iyelidis flowe with watris;

Let them hasten and take up a lamentation for us: let our eyes shed tears, and our eyelids run down with waters.

19 for the vois of weilyng is herd fro Sion. Hou ben we distried, and schent greetli? for we han forsake the lond, for oure tabernaclis ben forsakun.

For a voice of wailing is heard out of Sion: How are we wasted and greatly confounded? because we have left the land, because our dwellings are cast down.

20 Therfor, wymmen, here ye the word of the Lord, and youre eeris take the word of his mouth; and teche ye youre douytris weilyng, and ech womman teche hir neiybore mournyng.

Hear therefore, ye women, the word of the Lord: and let your ears receive the word of his mouth: and teach your daughters wailing: and every one her neighbor mourning.

21 For whi deth stiede bi youre wyndows, it entride in to youre housis, to leese litle children with outforth, and yonge men fro the stretis.

For death is come up through our windows, it is entered into our houses to destroy the children from without, the young men from the streets.

22 Speke thou, the Lord seith, these thingis, And the deed bodi of a man schal fal doun as a toord on the face of the cuntrei, and as hei bihynde the bak of the mowere, and noon is that gaderith.

Speak: Thus saith the Lord: Even the carcass of man shall fall as dung upon the face of the country, and as grass behind the back of the mower, and there is none to gather it.

23 The Lord seith these thingis, A wise man haue not glorie in his wisdom, and a strong man haue not glorie in his strengthe, and a riche man haue not glorie in hise richessis; but he that hath glorie,

Thus saith the Lord: Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, and let not the strong man glory in his strength, and let not the rich man glory in his riches:

24 haue glorie in this, to wite and knowe me, for Y am the Lord, that do merci and dom and riytfulnesse in erthe. For whi these thingis plesen me, seith the Lord.

But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, for I am the Lord that exercise mercy, and judgment, and justice in the earth: for these things please me, saith the Lord.

25 Lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and Y schal visite on ech man that hath prepucie vncircumcidid; on Egipt,

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, and I will visit upon every one that hath the foreskin circumcised.

26 and on Juda, and on Edom, and on the sones of Amon, and on Moab, and on alle men that ben clippid on long heer, and dwellen in desert; for whi alle hethene men han prepucie, forsothe al the hous of Israel ben vncircumcidid in herte.

Upon Egypt, and upon Juda, and upon Edom, and upon the children of Ammon, and upon Moab, and upon all that have their hair polled round, that dwell in the desert: for all the nations are uncircumcised in the flesh, but all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.