1 Maccabees 3

¹ Vois of scourge, and vois of bire of wheel, and of hors makynge noise, and of foure horsid carte brennynge, and of kniyt stiynge vp, ² and of schynynge swerd, and glesenynge spere, and of slayn multitude, and of greuouse fallyng, nether ther is eende of careyns. And thei schulen falle togidere in her bodies, ³ for the multitude of fornicaciouns of the hoore fair and plesaunt, and hauynge witchecraftis; which seelde folkis in her fornicaciouns, and meynees in her enchauntementis, ether sorceries. ⁴ Lo! Y to thee, seith the Lord God of oostis; and Y schal schewe thi schameful thingis in thi face; and Y schal schewe to folkis thi nakidnesse, and to rewmes thin yuel fame. ⁵ And Y schal cast out on thee thin abhomynaciouns, and Y schal punysche thee with dispitis, and Y schal putte thee in to ensaumple. ⁶ And it schal be, ech man that schal se thee, schal skippe awei fro thee, and schal seie, Nynyue is distried. Who schal moue heed on thee? wherof schal Y seke to thee a coumfortour? ⁷ Whether thou art betere than Alisaundre of puplis, that dwellith in floodis? Watris ben in cumpas therof, whos richessis is the see, watris ben wallis therof. ⁸ Ethiope is strengthe therof, and Egipt, and there is noon ende; Affrik and Libie weren in help therof. ⁹ But and it in passyng ouer is led in to caitifte; the litle children therof ben hurtlid doun in the heed of alle weies. And on the noble men therof thei kesten lot, and alle grete men therof ben set togidere in gyues. 10 And thou therfor schalt be drunkun, and schalt be dispisid, and thou schalt seke helpe of enemye. 11 Al thi strengthis as a fige tree, with hise figis vnripe; if thei schulen be schakun, thei schulen falle in to the mouth of the etere. 12 Lo! thi puple ben wymmen in the myddil of thee; the yatis of thi lond schulen be schewid to openyng to thin enemyes; fier schal deuoure thin herris. 13 Drawe vp to thee water for asegyng, bilde thi strengthis; entre in fen, and trede, thou vndurgoynge holde a tiel stoon. 14 There fier schal ete thee, thou schalt perische bi swerd, it schal deuoure thee, as bruke doith; be thou gaderid togidere as a bruke, be thou multiplied as a locuste. 15 Thou madist thi marchaundises mo than ben sterris of heuene; a bruke is spred abrood, and flei awei. 16 Thi keperis ben as locustis, and thi litle children ben as locustis of locustis, whiche sitten togidere in heggis in the dai of coold; the sun is risun, and thei fledden awei, and the place of hem is not knowun, where thei weren. 17 Thi scheepherdis napten, thou kyng Assur, thi princes schulen be biried; thi puple ofte was hid in hillis, and ther is not that schal gadere. 18 Thi sorewe is not priuy, thi wounde is worst; alle men that herden thin heryng, pressiden togidere hond on thee, for on whom passide not thi malice euermore? 19 Abacuk 21 The birthun that Abacuk, the profete, sai. 22 Hou longe, Lord, schal Y crye, and thou schalt not here? Y suffrynge violence schal crie an hiy to thee, and thou schalt not saue? 23 Whi schewidist thou to me wickidnesse and trauel, for to se prey and vnriytwisnesse ayens me? Whi biholdist thou dispiseris, and art stille, the while an vnpitouse man defoulith a riytfulere than hym silf? And thou schalt make men as fischis of the see, and as crepynge thingis not hauynge a ledere; and doom is maad, and ayenseiyng is more miyti. 24 For this thing lawe is to-brokun, and doom cometh not til to the ende; for the vnpitouse man hath miyt ayens the iust, therfor weiward doom schal go out. ²⁵ Biholde ye in hethene men, and se ye, and wondre ye, and greetli drede ye; for a werk is doon in youre daies, which no man schal bileue, whanne it schal be teld. ²⁶ For lo! Y schal reise Caldeis, a bittir folk and swift, goynge on the breede of erthe, that he welde tabernaclis not hise. ²⁷ It is orible, and dredeful; the dom and birthun therof schal go out of it silf. ²⁸ His horsis ben liytere than pardis, and swifter than euentyd woluys, and hise horse men schulen be scaterid abrood; for whi horse men schulen come fro fer, thei schulen fle as an egle hastynge to ete. 29 Alle men schulen come to preye, the faces of hem is as a brennynge wynd; and he schal gadere as grauel caitifte, 30 and he schal haue victorie of kyngis, and tirauntis schulen be of his scornyng. He schal leiye on al strengthe, and schal bere togidere heep of erthe, and schal take it. 31 Thanne the spirit schal be chaungid, and he schal passe forth, and falle doun; this is the strengthe of hym, of his god. 32 Whether thou, Lord, art not my God, myn hooli, and we schulen not die? Lord, in to doom thou hast set hym, and thou groundidist hym strong, that thou schuldist chastise. ³³ Thin iyen ben clene, se thou not yuel, and thou schalt not mowe biholde to wickidnesse. Whi biholdist thou not on men doynge wickidli, and thou art stille, while the vnpitouse man deuourith a more iust man than hymsilf? ³⁴ And thou schalt make men as fischis of the see, and as a crepynge thing not hauynge prince. ³⁵ He schal lifte vp al in the hook; he drawide it in his greet net, and gaderide in to his net; on this thing he schal be glad, and make ioie with outforth. ³⁶ Therfore he schal offere to his greet net, and schal make sacrifice to his net; for in hem his part is maad fat, and his mete is chosun. ³⁷ Therfor for this thing he spredith abrood his greet net, and euere more he ceesith not for to sle folkis. ³⁹ On my kepyng Y schal stonde, and schal pitche a grees on wardyng; and Y schal biholde, that Y se what thing schal be seid to me, and what Y schal answere to hym that repreuith me. ⁴⁰ And the Lord answeride to me, and seide, Write thou the reuelacioun, and make it pleyn on tablis, that he renne, that schal rede it. ⁴¹ For yit the visioun is fer, and it schal appere in to ende, and schal not lie; if it schal make dwellyng, abide thou it, for it comynge schal come, and schal not tarie. ⁴² Lo! the soule of hym, that is vnbileueful, schal not be riytful in hym silf; forsothe the iust man schal lyue in his feith. ⁴³ And as wyn disseyueth a man drynkynge, so schal the proude man be, and he schal not be maad feir; for as helle he alargide his soule, and he is as deth, and he is not fillid; and he schal gadere to hym alle folkis, and he shal kepe togidere to hym alle puplis. ⁴⁴ Whether not alle these puplis schulen take a parable on hym, and the speking of derk sentencis of hym? And it schal be seid, Wo to hym that multiplieth thingis not his owne; hou longe, and he aggreggith ayens hym silf thicke clei? ⁴⁵ Whether not sudeynli thei schulen rise to gidere, that schulen bite thee? And thei schulen be reisid to-teerynge thee, and thou schalt be in to raueyn to hem; and thin aspieris in yuel schulen wake. ⁴⁶ For thou robbidist many folkis, alle schulen robbe thee, whiche schulen be left of puplis, for blood of man, and for wickidnesse of lond of the citee, and of alle men dwellynge in it. ⁴⁷ Wo to hym that gaderith yuel coueitise to his hous, that his nest be in hiy, and gessith hym for to be delyuered of the hond of yuel. ⁴⁸ Thou thouytist confusioun to thin hous; thou hast slayn many puplis, and thi soule synnede. ⁴⁹ For a stoon of the wal schal crie, and a tree that is bitwixe ioynturis of bildyngis schal answere. ⁵⁰ Wo to hym that bildith a citee in bloodis, and makith redi a citee in wickidnesse. ⁵¹ Whether not these thingis ben of the Lord of oostis? For puplis schulen trauele in myche fier, and folkis in veyn, and thei schulen faile. ⁵² For the erthe schal be fillid, that it knowe the glorie of the Lord, as watris hilynge the see. ⁵³ Wo to hym that yyueth drynk to his frend, and sendith his galle, and makith drunkun, that he biholde his nakidnesse. ⁵⁴ He is fillid with yuel fame for glorie; and thou drynke, and be aslept; the cuppe of the riythalf of the Lord schal cumpasse thee, and castynge vp of yuel fame on thi glorie. 55 For the wickidnesse of Liban schal kyuere thee, and distruccioun of beestis schal make hem aferd, of bloodis of man, and of wickidnesse of lond, and of the citee, and of alle men dwellynge ther ynne. 56 What profitith the grauun ymage, for his makere grauyde it, a wellid thing togidere and fals ymage? for the makere therof hopide in makyng, that he made doumbe symylacris. ⁵⁷ Wo to hym that seith to a tre, Wake thou; Rise thou, to a stoon beynge stille; whether he schal mow teche? Lo! this is kyuerid with gold and siluer, and no spirit is in his entrails. ⁵⁸ Forsothe the Lord is in his hooli temple, al erthe be stille fro his face. ⁶⁰ The preier of Abacuk, the profete, for vnkunnynge men. Lord, Y herde thin heryng, and Y dredde;