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.
Oh that one would make my head water, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughters 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;
Oh that one would place me in the wilderness in a lodging-place of wayfaring men. that I might leave my people, and go from them! for all of them are adulterers, a band of traitors.
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 bend their tongues, their bow of falsehood, and not for the truth are they valiant in the land; for from evil to evil do they proceed, and me they know not, 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.
Take ye heed every one of his neighbor, and on any brother place ye no reliance; for every brother will surely supplant, and every neighbor will go about as a talebearer.
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 they will deceive every one his neighbor, and the truth will they not speak: they have taught their tongue to speak falsehood, they weary themselves 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 refuse 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 hath said the Lord of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and probe them; for how [else] shall I do because of 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.
A murderous arrow is their tongue; [every one] speaketh deceit: with his mouth speaketh he peaceably to his neighbor, but in his heart he layeth 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 for these things inflict punishment on them? saith the Lord: or shall not on a nation such as this my soul be avenged?
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 will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation; because they are burnt up, so that no man can pass through them; and they hear not the voice of the cattle: both the fowls of the heavens and the beasts are fled; they are gone away.
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 change Jerusalem into heaps of ruins, a dwelling for monsters: and the cities of Judah will I make desolate, without 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 who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord hath spoken, that he may declare it: for what is the land destroyed, burnt up like the wilderness, without one that 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 forsook my law which I had set before them, and hearkened not to my voice, and walked not therein;
14 and thei yeden aftir the schrewidnesse of her herte, and aftir Baalym, which thei lerneden of her fadris;
But have walked after the stubbornness of their own heart, and after the Be'alim, which their fathers had 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 hath said the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will feed them—this people, with wormwood, and give them poison-water 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, whom neither they nor their fathers have known: and I will send out after them the sword, till I have consumed them.
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 hath said the Lord of hosts, Consider it well, and call for the mourning women, that they may come; and send for the women skilled in lament, that they may come;
18 Haste thei, and take thei weilynge on you; youre iyen brynge doun teeris, and youre iyelidis flowe with watris;
And let them make haste, and take up for us a lamentation, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids drop down water.
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 Zion, How are we wasted! we are greatly ashamed; because we have forsaken the land, because they have cast down our dwellings.
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.
For hear, O ye women, the word of the Lord, and let your ear perceive the word of his mouth, and teach your daughters wailing, and every one her neighbor lamentation.
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, is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from the street, the young men from the open places.
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, Yea, the carcasses of men shall lie as dung upon the open field, and as the sheaves [left] after the harvestman, with none to gather them.
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 hath said the Lord, Let not the wise glorify himself in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glorify himself in his might, let not the rich glorify himself 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 glorifieth himself glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord who exercise kindness, justice, and righteousness, on the earth; for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.
25 Lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and Y schal visite on ech man that hath prepucie vncircumcidid; on Egipt,
Behold, days are coming, saith the Lord, that I will send punishment on all the circumcised who are [yet] uncircumcised;
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.
On Egypt, and on Judah, and on Edom, and on the children of 'Ammon, and on Moab, and all who have the locks of their hair cut off round that dwell in the wilderness; for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in the heart.
