Isaiah 49

¹ For whi the Lord God, the hooli of Israel, seith these thingis, If ye turnen ayen, and resten, ye schulen be saaf; in stilnesse and in hope schal be youre strengthe. And ye nolden. ² And ye seiden, Nai, but we schulen fle to horsis; therfor ye schulen fle. And we schulen stie on swifte horsis; therfor thei schulen be swiftere, that schulen pursue you. ³ A thousynde men schulen fle fro the face of the drede of oon; and ye schulen fle fro the face of drede of fyue, til ye be left as the mast of a schip in the cop of a munteyn, and as a signe on a litil hil. ⁴ Therfor the Lord abidith, that he haue mercy on you, and therfor he schal be enhaunsid sparynge you; for whi God is Lord of doom, blessid ben alle thei that abiden hym. ⁵ Forsothe the puple of Sion schal dwelle in Jerusalem; thou wepynge schal not wepe, he doynge merci schal haue merci on thee; at the vois of thi cry, anoon as he herith, he schal answere to thee. ⁶ And the Lord schal yyue to thee streyt breed, and schort watir, and schal no more make thi techere to fle awei fro thee; and thin iyen schulen be seynge thi comaundour, ⁷ and thin eeris schulen here a word bihynde the bak of hym that monestith; This is the weie, go ye therynne, nether to the riyt half nether to the left half. ⁸ And thou schalt defoule the platis of the grauun ymagis of thi siluer, and the cloth of the yotun ymage of thi gold; and thou schalt scatere tho, as the vnclennesse of a womman in vncleene blood; Go thou out, and thou schalt seie to it. ⁹ And reyn schal be youun to thi seed, where euere thou schalt sowe in erthe, and the breed of fruytis of erthe schal be moost plenteuouse and fat; in that dai a lomb schal be fed largeli in thi possessioun. ¹⁰ And thi bolis and coltis of assis, that worchen the lond, schulen ete barli with chaf meynd togidere, as it is wyndewid in the cornfloor. ¹¹ And strondis of rennynge watris schulen be on ech hiy munteyn, and on ech litil hil reisid, in the dai of sleyng of many men, whanne touris fallen doun. ¹² And the liyt of the moone schal be as the liyt of the sunne, and the liyt of the sunne schal be seuenfold, as the liyt of seuene daies, in the dai in which the Lord schal bynde togidere the wounde of his puple, and schal make hool the smytynge of the wounde therof. ¹³ Lo! the name of the Lord cometh doun fro fer; his strong veniaunce is brennynge and greuouse to bere; hise lippis ben fillid of indignacioun, and his tunge is as fier deuouringe. ¹⁴ His spirit is as a stef streem, flowynge `til to the myddis of the necke, to leese folkis in to nouyt, and the bridil of errour, that was in the chekis of puplis. ¹⁵ Song schal be to you, as the vois of an halewid solempnyte; and gladnesse of herte, as he that goth with a pipe, for to entre in to the hil of the Lord, to the stronge of Israel. ¹⁶ And the Lord schal make herd the glorie of his vois, and he schal schewe the ferdfulnesse of his arm in manassyng of strong veniaunce, and in flawme of fier brennynge; he schal hurtle doun in whirlewynd, and in stoon of hail. ¹⁷ For whi Assur smytun with a yerde schal drede of the vois of the Lord; ¹⁸ and the passyng of the yerd schal be foundid, which yerde the Lord schal make for to reste on hym. In tympans, and harpis, and in souereyn batels he schal ouercome hem. ¹⁹ For whi Tophet, that is, helle, deep and alargid, is maad redi of the kyng fro yistirdai; the nurschyngis therof ben fier and many trees; the blast of the Lord as a streem of brymstoon kyndlith it. ²¹ Wo to hem that goon doun in to Egipt to help, and hopen in horsis, and han trist on cartis, for tho ben manye, and on knyytis, for thei ben ful stronge; and thei tristiden not on the hooli of Israel, and thei souyten not the Lord. ²² Forsothe he that is wijs, hath brouyt yuel, and took not awei hise wordis; and he schal rise togidere ayens the hous of worste men, and ayens the helpe of hem that worchen wickidnesse. ²³ Egipt is a man, and not God; and the horsis of hem ben fleisch, and not spirit; and the Lord schal bowe doun his hond, and the helpere schal falle doun, and he schal falle, to whom help is youun, and alle schulen be wastid togidere. ²⁴ For whi the Lord seith these thingis to me, If a lioun rorith, and a whelp of a lioun on his prey, whanne the multitude of schipherdis cometh ayens hym, he schal not drede of the vois of hem, and he schal not drede of the multitude of hem; so the Lord of oostis schal come doun, for to fiyte on the mounteyn of Sion, and on the litil hil therof. ²⁵ As briddis fleynge, so the Lord of oostis schal defende Jerusalem; he defendynge and delyuerynge, passynge forth and sauynge. ²⁶ Ye sones of Israel, be conuertid, as ye hadden go awei in to depthe.