Jeremiah 26

¹In the bigynnyng of the rewme of Joachym, the sone of Josie, kyng of Juda, this word was maad of the Lord, and seide,

²The Lord seide these thingis, Stonde thou in the porche of the hous of the Lord, and thou schalt speke to alle the citees of Juda, fro whiche thei comen for to worschipe in the hous of the Lord, alle the wordis whiche Y comaundide to thee, that thou speke to hem; nyle thou withdrawe a word;

³if perauenture thei heren, and ben conuertid, ech man fro his yuele weie, and it repente me of the yuel which Y thouyte to do to hem for the malices of her studies.

⁴And thou schalt seie to hem, The Lord seith these thingis, If ye heren not me, that ye go in my lawe which Y yaf to you,

⁵that ye here the wordis of my seruauntis, profetis, whiche Y risynge bi niyte, and dressynge, sente to you, and ye herden not;

⁶Y schal yyue this hous as Silo, and Y schal yyue this citee in to cursyng to alle folkis of erthe.

⁷And the prestis, and profetis, and al the puple herden Jeremye spekynge these wordis in the hous of the Lord.

⁸And whanne Jeremye hadde fillid spekynge alle thingis, whiche the Lord hadde comaundid to hym, that he schulde speke to al the puple, the prestis, and profetis, and al the puple token hym, and seiden, Die he bi deeth;

⁹whi profesiede he in the name of the Lord, and seide, This hous schal be as Silo, and this citee schal be desolat, for no dwellere is? And al the puple was gaderid togidere ayens Jeremye, in the hous of the Lord.

¹⁰And the princes of Juda herden alle these wordis; and thei stieden fro the kyngis hous in to the hous of the Lord, and saten in the entryng of the newe yate of the hous of the Lord.

¹¹And the prestis and profetis spaken to the princes, and to al the puple, and seiden, Doom of deth is to this man, for he profesiede ayens this citee, as ye herden with youre eeris.

¹²And Jeremye seide to alle the princes, and to al the puple, `and seide, The Lord sente me, that Y schulde prophesie to this hous, and to this citee, alle the wordis whiche ye herden.

¹³Now therfor make ye good youre weies, and youre studies, and here ye the vois of youre Lord God; and it schal repente the Lord of the yuel which he spak ayens you.

¹⁴Lo! forsothe Y am in youre hondis; do ye to me, as it is good and riytful bifore youre iyen.

¹⁵Netheles wite ye, and knowe, that if ye sleen me, ye schulen bitraie innocent blood ayens you silf, and ayens this citee, and the dwelleris therof; for in trewthe the Lord sente me to you, that Y schulde speke in youre eeris alle these wordis.

¹⁶And the princes and al the puple seiden to the preestis and profetis, Doom of deth is not to this man; for he spak to vs in the name of oure Lord God.

¹⁷Therfor men of the eldere men of the lond rysiden vp, and seiden to al the cumpanye of the puple,

¹⁸and spaken, Mychee of Morasten was a profete in the daies of Ezechie, king of Juda; and he seide to al the puple of Juda, and seide, The Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Sion schal be erid as a feeld, and Jerusalem schal be in to an heep of stoonys, and the hil of the hous of the Lord schal be in to hiy thingis of woodis.

¹⁹Whether Ezechie, kyng of Juda, and al Juda condempnede hym bi deth? Whether thei dredden not the Lord, and bisouyten the face of the Lord? and it repentide the Lord of the yuel which he spak ayens hem. Therfor do we not greet yuel ayens oure soulis.

²⁰Also Vrye, the sone of Semey, of Cariathiarym, was a man profesiynge in the name of the Lord; and he profesiede ayens this citee, and ayens this lond, bi alle the wordis of Jeremye.

²¹And kyng Joachym, and alle the myyti men, and princes of hem, herden these wordis; and the kyng souyte to sle hym; and Vrye herde, and dredde, and he fledde, and entride in to Egipt.

²²And kyng Joachym sente men in to Egipt, Elnathan, the sone of Achobor, and men with hym, in to Egipt;

²³and thei ledden Vrye out of Egipt, and brouyten hym to kyng Joachym; and the kyng killide hym bi swerd, and castide forth his careyn in the sepulcris of the comyn puple vnnoble.

²⁴Therfor the hond of Aicham, sone of Saphan, was with Jeremye, that he was not bitakun in to the hondis of the puple, and that it killide not hym.

Jeremiah 26

¹In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah came this word from the Lord, saying,

²Thus saith the Lord; Stand in the court of the Lord’s house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’s house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word:

³If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.

⁴And thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord; If ye will not hearken to me, to walk in my law, which I have set before you,

⁵To hearken to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I sent unto you, both rising up early, and sending them, but ye have not hearkened;

⁶Then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.

⁷So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord.

⁸Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, Thou shalt surely die.

⁹Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant? And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.

¹⁰When the princes of Judah heard these things, then they came up from the king’s house unto the house of the Lord, and sat down in the entry of the new gate of the Lord’s house.

¹¹Then spake the priests and the prophets unto the princes and to all the people, saying, This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears.

¹²Then spake Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.

¹³Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.

¹⁴As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you.

¹⁵But know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof: for of a truth the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.

¹⁶Then said the princes and all the people unto the priests and to the prophets; This man is not worthy to die: for he hath spoken to us in the name of the Lord our God.

¹⁷Then rose up certain of the elders of the land, and spake to all the assembly of the people, saying,

¹⁸Micah the Morasthite prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and spake to all the people of Judah, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Zion shall be plowed like a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of a forest.

¹⁹Did Hezekiah king of Judah and all Judah put him at all to death? did he not fear the Lord, and besought the Lord, and the Lord repented him of the evil which he had pronounced against them? Thus might we procure great evil against our souls.

²⁰And there was also a man that prophesied in the name of the Lord, Urijah the son of Shemaiah of Kirjath–jearim, who prophesied against this city and against this land according to all the words of Jeremiah:

²¹And when Jehoiakim the king, with all his mighty men, and all the princes, heard his words, the king sought to put him to death: but when Urijah heard it, he was afraid, and fled, and went into Egypt;

²²And Jehoiakim the king sent men into Egypt, namely, Elnathan the son of Achbor, and certain men with him into Egypt.

²³And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.

²⁴Nevertheless the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah, that they should not give him into the hand of the people to put him to death.