Jeremiah 4

¹ Jacob and Israel, whom Y clepe, here thou me; Y my silf, Y am the firste and Y am the laste. ² And myn hond foundide the erthe, and my riyt hond mat heuenes; Y schal clepe tho, and tho schulen stonde togidere. ³ Alle ye be gaderid togidere, and here; who of hem telde these thingis? The Lord louyde hym, he schal do his wille in Babiloyne, and his arm in Caldeis. ⁴ Y, Y spak, and clepide hym; Y brouyte hym, and his weie was dressid. ⁵ Neiye ye to me, and here ye these thingis; at the bigynnyng Y spak not in priuete; fro tyme, bifore that thingis weren maad, Y was there, and now the Lord God and his Spirit sente me. ⁶ The Lord, thin ayen biere, the hooli of Israel, seith these thingis, Y am thi Lord God, techynge thee profitable thingis, and Y gouerne thee in the weie, wher ynne thou goist. ⁷ Y wolde that thou haddist perseyued my comaundementis, thi pees hadde be maad as flood, and thi riytfulnesse as the swolowis of the see; ⁸ and thi seed hadde be as grauel, and the generacioun of thi wombe, as the litle stoonys therof; the name of it hadde not perischid, and hadde not be al to-brokun fro my face. ⁹ Go ye out of Babiloyne, fle ye fro Caldeis; telle ye in the vois of ful out ioiying; make ye this herd, and bere ye it til to the laste partis of erthe; seie ye, The Lord ayenbouyte his seruaunt Jacob. 10 Thei thirstiden not in desert, whanne he ladde hem out; he brouyte forth to hem watir of a stoon, and he departide the stoon, and watris flowiden. 11 Pees is not to wickid men, seith the Lord. 13 Ilis, here ye, and puplis afer, perseyue ye; the Lord clepide me fro the wombe, he thouyte on my name fro the wombe of my modir. 14 And he hath set my mouth as a scharp swerd, he defendide me in the schadewe of his hond, and settide me as a chosun arowe; he hidde me in his arowe caas, 15 and seide to me, Israel, thou art my seruaunt, for Y schal haue glorie in thee. 16 And Y seide, Y trauelide in veyn, Y wastide my strengthe with out cause, and veynli; therfor my doom is with the Lord, and my werk is with my God. 17 And now the Lord, formynge me a seruaunt to hym silf fro the wombe, seith these thingis, that Y brynge ayen Jacob to hym. And Israel schal not be gaderid togidere; and Y am glorified in the iyen of the Lord, and my God is maad my strengthe. 18 And he seyde, It is litil, that thou be a seruaunt to me, to reise the lynages of Jacob, and to conuerte the drastis of Israel; Y yaf thee in to the liyt of hethene men, that thou be myn helthe til to the laste part of erthe. ¹⁹ The Lord, ayenbiere of Israel, the hooli therof, seith these thingis to a dispisable soule, and to a folk had in abhomynacioun, to the seruaunt of lordis, Kyngis schulen se, and princes schulen rise togidere, and schulen worschipe, for the Lord, for he is feithful, and for the hooli of Israel, that chees thee. ²⁰ The Lord seith these thingis, In a plesaunt tyme Y herde thee, and in the dai of helthe Y helpide thee; and Y kepte thee, and yaf thee in to a bonde of pees of the puple, that thou schuldist reise the erthe, and haue in possessioun eritagis, `that ben distried; ²¹ that thou schuldist seie to hem that ben boundun, Go ye out, and to hem that ben in derknessis, Be ye schewid. Thei schulen be fed on weies, and the lesewis of hem schulen be in alle pleyn thingis. ²² Thei schulen not hungre, and thei schulen no more thirste, and heete, and the sunne schal not smyte hem; for the merciful doere of hem schal gouerne hem, and schal yyue drynk to hem at the wellis of watris. ²³ And Y schal sette alle myn hillis in to weie, and my pathis schulen be enhaunsid. ²⁴ Lo! these men schulen come fro fer, and lo! thei schulen come fro the north, and see, and these fro the south lond. ²⁵ Heuenes, herie ye, and, thou erthe, make ful out ioie; hillis, synge ye hertli heriyng; for the Lord coumfortide his puple, and schal haue merci on hise pore men. ²⁶ And Syon seide, The Lord hath forsake me, and the Lord hath foryete me. ²⁷ Whether a womman may foryete hir yonge child, that sche haue not merci on the sone of hir wombe? thouy sche foryetith, netheles Y schal not foryete thee. ²⁸ Lo! Y haue write thee in myn hondis; thi wallis ben euer bifore myn iyen. ²⁹ The bilderis ben comun; thei that distrien thee, and scateren, schulen go awei fro thee. ³⁰ Reise thin iyen in cumpas, and se; alle these men ben gaderid togidere, thei ben comun to thee. Y lyue, seith the Lord, for thou schalt be clothid with alle these as with an ournement, and thou as a spousesse schalt bynde hem to thee. ³¹ For whi thi desertis, and thi wildirnessis, and the lond of thi fallyng now schulen be streit for enhabiteris; and thei schulen be dryuun awei fer, that swolewiden thee.