Jeremiah 5

¹Cumpasse ye the weies of Jerusalem, and loke, and biholde ye, and seke ye in the stretis therof, whether ye fynden a man doynge doom, and sekynge feith; and Y schal be merciful to hem.

²That if also thei seien, The Lord lyueth, yhe, thei schulen swere this falsli.

³Lord, thin iyen biholden feith; thou hast smyte hem, and thei maden not sorewe; thou hast al tobroke hem, and thei forsoken to take chastisyng; thei maden her faces hardere than a stoon, and nolden turne ayen.

⁴Forsothe Y seide, In hap thei ben pore men, and foolis, that knowen not the weie of the Lord, and the doom of her God.

⁵Therfor Y schal go to the principal men, and Y schal speke to hem; for thei knewen the weie of the Lord, and the doom of her God. And lo! thei han more broke togidere the yok, and han broke boondis.

⁶Therfor a lioun of the wode smoot hem; a wolf at euentid wastide hem, a parde wakynge on the citees of hem. Ech man that goith out of hem, schal be takun; for the trespassyngis of hem ben multiplied, the turnyngis awei of hem ben coumfortid.

⁷On what thing mai Y be merciful to thee? Thi sones han forsake me, and sweren bi hem that ben not goddis. Y fillide hem, and thei diden auowtrie, and in the hous of an hoore thei diden letcherie.

⁸Thei ben maad horsis, and stalouns, louyeris to wymmen; ech man neiyede to the wijf of his neiybore.

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

¹⁰Stye ye on the wallis therof, and distrie ye; but nyle ye make an endyng. Do ye awei the siouns therof, for thei ben not seruauntis of the Lord.

¹¹For whi the hous of Israel and the hous of Juda hath trespassid bi trespassyng ayens me, seith the Lord;

¹²thei denyeden the Lord, and seiden, He is not, nether yuel schal come on vs; we schulen not se swerd and hungur.

¹³The profetis spaken ayens the wynd, and noon answer was in hem; therfor these thingis schulen come to hem.

¹⁴The Lord God of oostis seith these thingis, For ye spaken this word, lo! Y yyue my wordis in thi mouth in to fier, and this puple in to trees, and it schal deuoure hem.

¹⁵Lo! thou hous of Israel, seith the Lord, Y schal brynge on you a folk fro fer; a strong folk, an eeld folk, `a folk whos langage thou schalt not knowe, nether schalt vndurstonde what it spekith.

¹⁶The arowe caas therof is as an opyn sepulcre; alle ben stronge men.

¹⁷And it schal ete thi cornes, and it schal deuoure thi breed, thi sones and thi douytris; it schal ete thi flok, and thi droues, it schal ete also thi vyner, and thi fige tre; and it schal al to-breke thi stronge citees bi swerd, in whiche thou hast trist.

¹⁸Netheles in tho daies, seith the Lord, Y schal not make you in to endyng.

¹⁹That if ye seien, Whi hath oure Lord God do alle these thingis to vs? thou schalt seie to hem, As ye forsoken me, and serueden an alien god in youre lond, so ye schulen serue alien goddis in a lond not youre.

²⁰Telle ye this to the hous of Jacob, and make ye herd in Juda, and seie ye,

²¹Here, thou fonned puple, that hast noon herte; whiche han iyen, and seen not, and eeris, and heren not.

²²Therfor schulen not ye drede me, seith the Lord, and schulen not ye make sorewe for my face? Whiche haue set grauel a terme, ether ende, to the see, an euerlastynge comaundement, whiche it schal not passe; and the wawis therof schulen be mouyd, and schulen not haue power; and schulen wexe greet, and schulen not passe it.

²³Forsothe an herte vnbileueful and terrynge to wraththe is maad to this puple; thei departiden,

²⁴and yeden awei, and thei seiden not in her herte, Drede we oure Lord God, that yiueth to vs reyn tymeful, and lateful in his tyme; that kepith to vs the plente of heruest of the yeer.

²⁵Youre wickidnessis diden awei these thingis, and youre synnes forbediden good fro you.

²⁶For ther ben foundun in my puple wickid men, settynge tresoun, as fouleres settynge snaris and trappis, to take men.

²⁷As a net, ether a trap, ful of briddis, so the housis of hem ben ful of gile. Therfor thei ben magnefied,

²⁸and maad riche, maad fat with ynne, and maad fat with outforth, and thei passiden worst my wordis; thei demyden not a cause of a widewe, thei dressiden not the cause of a fadirles child, and thei demyden not the doom of pore men.

²⁹Whether Y schal not visite on these thingis, seith the Lord, ether schal not my soule take veniaunce on sich a folk?

³⁰Wondur and merueilouse thingis ben maad in the lond;

³¹profetis profesieden leesyng, and prestis ioieden with her hondis, and my puple louyde siche thingis. What therfor schal be don in the laste thing therof?

Jeremiah 5

¹Run ye to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and see now, and know, and seek in the broad places thereof, if ye can find a man, if there be any that executeth judgment, that seeketh the truth; and I will pardon it.

²And though they say, The Lord liveth; surely they swear falsely.

³O Lord, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return.

⁴Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of the Lord, nor the judgment of their God.

⁵I will get me unto the great men, and will speak unto them; for they have known the way of the Lord, and the judgment of their God: but these have altogether broken the yoke, and burst the bonds.

⁶Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.

⁷How shall I pardon thee for this? thy children have forsaken me, and sworn by them that are no gods: when I had fed them to the full, they then committed adultery, and assembled themselves by troops in the harlots’ houses.

⁸They were as fed horses in the morning: every one neighed after his neighbour’s wife.

⁹Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: and shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

¹⁰Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord’s.

¹¹For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the Lord.

¹²They have belied the Lord, and said, It is not he; neither shall evil come upon us; neither shall we see sword nor famine:

¹³And the prophets shall become wind, and the word is not in them: thus shall it be done unto them.

¹⁴Wherefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, Because ye speak this word, behold, I will make my words in thy mouth fire, and this people wood, and it shall devour them.

¹⁵Lo, I will bring a nation upon you from far, O house of Israel, saith the Lord: it is a mighty nation, it is an ancient nation, a nation whose language thou knowest not, neither understandest what they say.

¹⁶Their quiver is as an open sepulchre, they are all mighty men.

¹⁷And they shall eat up thine harvest, and thy bread, which thy sons and thy daughters should eat: they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds: they shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees: they shall impoverish thy fenced cities, wherein thou trustedst, with the sword.

¹⁸Nevertheless in those days, saith the Lord, I will not make a full end with you.

¹⁹And it shall come to pass, when ye shall say, Wherefore doeth the Lord our God all these things unto us? then shalt thou answer them, Like as ye have forsaken me, and served strange gods in your land, so shall ye serve strangers in a land that is not yours.

²⁰Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in Judah, saying,

²¹Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:

²²Fear ye not me? saith the Lord: will ye not tremble at my presence, which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it: and though the waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they not prevail; though they roar, yet can they not pass over it?

²³But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart; they are revolted and gone.

²⁴Neither say they in their heart, Let us now fear the Lord our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.

²⁵Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.

²⁶For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.

²⁷As a cage is full of birds, so are their houses full of deceit: therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.

²⁸They are waxen fat, they shine: yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked: they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless, yet they prosper; and the right of the needy do they not judge.

²⁹Shall I not visit for these things? saith the Lord: shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?

³⁰A wonderful and horrible thing is committed in the land;

³¹The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?