Jeremiah 12

¹Forsothe, Lord, thou art iust; if Y dispute with thee, netheles Y schal speke iust thingis to thee. Whi hath the weie of wickid men prosperite? It is wel to alle men that breken the lawe, and doen wickidli?

²Thou hast plauntid hem, and thei senten roote; thei encreessen, and maken fruyt; thou art niy to the mouth of hem, and fer fro the reynes of hem.

³And thou, Lord, hast knowe me, thou hast seyn me, and hast preued myn herte with thee. Gadere thou hem togidere as a flok to slayn sacrifice, and halewe thou hem in the dai of sleyng.

⁴Hou long schal the erthe mourne, and ech eerbe of the feeld schal be dried, for the malice of hem that dwellen ther ynne? A beeste is wastid, and a brid, for thei seiden, The Lord schal not se oure laste thingis.

⁵If thou trauelist rennynge with foot men, hou schalt thou mow stryue with horsis? but whanne thou art sikur in the lond of pees, what schalt thou do in the pride of Jordan?

⁶For whi bothe thi britheren and the hous of thi fadir, yhe, thei fouyten ayens thee, and crieden with ful vois aftir thee; bileue thou not to hem, whanne thei speken goodis to thee.

⁷I haue left myn hous, Y haue forsake myn eritage; Y yaf my loued soule in to the hondis of enemyes therof.

⁸Myn eritage is maad as a lioun in the wode to me; it yaf vois ayens me, therfor Y hate it.

⁹Whether myn eritage is a brid of dyuerse colours to me? whether it is a brid died thorou out? Alle beestis of the feeld, come ye, be ye gaderid togidere; haste ye for to deuoure.

¹⁰Many scheepherdis distrieden my vyner, defouliden my part, yauen my desirable porcioun in to desert of wildirnesse;

¹¹thei settiden it in to scateryng, and it mourenyde on me; al the lond is desolat bi desolacioun, for noon is that ayenthenkith in herte.

¹²Alle distrieris of the lond camen on alle the weies of desert, for the swerd of the Lord schal deuoure fro the laste part of the lond `til to the laste part therof; no pees is to al fleisch.

¹³Thei sowiden wheete, and repiden thornes; thei token erytage, and it schal not profite to hem. Ye schulen be schent of youre fruytis, for the wraththe of the stronge veniaunce of the Lord.

¹⁴The Lord seith these thingis ayens alle my worst neiyboris, that touchen the eritage which Y departide to my puple Israel, Lo! Y schal drawe hem out of her lond, and Y schal drawe the hous of Juda out of the myddis of hem.

¹⁵And whanne Y schal drawe out thilke Jewis, Y schal conuerte, and haue merci on hem; and Y schal lede hem ayen, a man to his eritage, and a man in to his lond.

¹⁶And it schal be, if thei `that ben tauyt lernen the weies of my puple, that thei swere in my name, The Lord lyueth, as thei tauyten my puple to swere in Baal, thei schulen be bildid in the myddis of my puple.

¹⁷That if thei heren not, Y schal drawe out that folk by drawyng out and perdicioun, seith the Lord.

Jeremiah 12

¹Righteous art thou, O Lord, when I plead with thee: yet let me talk with thee of thy judgments: Wherefore doth the way of the wicked prosper? wherefore are all they happy that deal very treacherously?

²Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root: they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their reins.

³But thou, O Lord, knowest me: thou hast seen me, and tried mine heart toward thee: pull them out like sheep for the slaughter, and prepare them for the day of slaughter.

⁴How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.

⁵If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?

⁶For even thy brethren, and the house of thy father, even they have dealt treacherously with thee; yea, they have called a multitude after thee: believe them not, though they speak fair words unto thee.

⁷I have forsaken mine house, I have left mine heritage; I have given the dearly beloved of my soul into the hand of her enemies.

⁸Mine heritage is unto me as a lion in the forest; it crieth out against me: therefore have I hated it.

⁹Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.

¹⁰Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.

¹¹They have made it desolate, and being desolate it mourneth unto me; the whole land is made desolate, because no man layeth it to heart.

¹²The spoilers are come upon all high places through the wilderness: for the sword of the Lord shall devour from the one end of the land even to the other end of the land: no flesh shall have peace.

¹³They have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns: they have put themselves to pain, but shall not profit: and they shall be ashamed of your revenues because of the fierce anger of the Lord.

¹⁴Thus saith the Lord against all mine evil neighbours, that touch the inheritance which I have caused my people Israel to inherit; Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them.

¹⁵And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land.

¹⁶And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by my name, The Lord liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people.

¹⁷But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the Lord.