Old/New Testament

6 Sons of Benjamin, be ye comforted in the middle of Jerusalem, and make ye noise with a clarion in Tekoa, and raise ye a banner on Bethhaccerem; for why evil and great sorrow is seen from the north. (Sons of Benjamin, escape ye from the midst of Jerusalem, and make ye a sound with a trumpet in Tekoa, and raise ye up a banner over Bethhaccerem; for evil and great sorrow is seen coming from the north.)

² I have likened the daughter of Zion to a fair woman and delicate. (I have likened, or compared, the daughter of Zion to a beautiful and delicate woman.)

³ Shepherds and their flocks shall come to it; they have pitched tents in it in compass; each man shall feed them, that be under his hand. (Shepherds and their flocks shall come to her; they shall pitch their tents all around her; each one shall feed his beasts there, that be under his hand.)

⁴ Hallow ye battle on it. Rise ye together, and ascend we in midday (Prepare ye battle against her. Rise ye up together, and go we up at midday). Woe to us, for the day hath bowed down, for shadows be made longer in the eventide.

⁵ Rise ye, and ascend we in the night, and destroy we the houses thereof. (Rise ye, and go we up in the night, and let us destroy its houses.)

⁶ For the Lord of hosts saith these things, Cut ye down the tree(s) thereof, and shed ye earth about Jerusalem; this is the city of visitation; all false challenge is in the midst thereof. (For the Lord of hosts saith these things, Cut ye down its trees, and heap ye earth all around Jerusalem; this is the city to be punished; for oppression is widespread in its midst.)

⁷ As a cistern maketh his water cold, so it made his malice cold; wickedness and destroying shall ever be heard therein before me, sickness and wound. (Like a cistern maketh its water cold, so Jerusalem made its malice cold; wickedness and destruction be heard there, sickness and wounds be ever before me.)

⁸ Jerusalem, be thou taught, lest peradventure my soul go away from thee; lest peradventure I set thee forsaken, a land unhabitable. (Jerusalem, make thyself able to be taught, lest perhaps my soul go away from thee; lest perhaps I make thee deserted, yea, a land uninhabited/yea, an uninhabitable land.)

⁹ The Lord of hosts saith these things, They shall gather till to a raisin, they shall gather the remnants of Israel as in a vinery (they shall gather the remnants of Israel like in a vineyard); turn thine hand, as a gatherer of grapes to the basket.

¹⁰ To whom shall I speak, and to whom shall I say witnessing, that he hear? Lo! the ears of them be uncircumcised, and they be not able to hear; lo! the word of the Lord is made to them into despite, and they shall not receive it (lo! the word of the Lord is taken as a rebuke to them, and they shall not accept it).

¹¹ Therefore I am full of the strong vengeance of the Lord, and I travailed suffering. Shed thou out vengeance on a little child withoutforth, and on the counsel(s) of young men together (Pour thou out vengeance upon a little child outside, and upon young men who make plans together); for a man with his wife shall be taken, and an eld man with him that is full of days.

¹² And the houses of them, (with) the fields and wives together, shall go to other men; for I shall stretch forth mine hand on the dwellers of the land, saith the Lord.

¹³ For from the less unto the greater, all study to avarice; and all do guile, from the prophet unto the priest. (For from the least unto the greatest, all work hard to do avarice, or to fulfill their greed; and all be deceitful, from the prophet unto the priest.)

¹⁴ And they healed the sorrow of the daughter of my people with evil fame, saying, Peace, peace, and no peace was. (And they tried to heal the sorrow of the daughter of my people with shallow words, by simply saying, Peace, peace, when there was no peace.)

¹⁵ They be shamed, that did abomination; yea, rather they were not shamed by confusion, and they could not be ashamed. Wherefore they shall fall down among them that shall fall down; they shall fall down in the time of their visitation, saith the Lord. (Were they ashamed, who did these abominations? nay, they were not ashamed, and they could not be ashamed. And so they shall fall among the fallen; they shall fall down at the time of their punishment, saith the Lord.)

¹⁶ The Lord saith these things, Stand ye on ways, and see ye, and ask ye of [the] eld paths, which is the good way; and go ye therein, and ye shall find refreshing to your souls. And they said, We shall not go. (The Lord saith these things, Stand ye at the crossways, and see ye, and ask ye for the old paths, and where is the good way; and go ye on it, and ye shall find refreshing for your souls. But they said, We shall not go on it.)

¹⁷ And I ordained espyers, either beholders, on you, and I said, Hear ye the voice of a trump. And they said, We shall not hear (it).

¹⁸ Therefore, heathen men, hear ye, and, thou congregation, know, how great things I shall do to them. (And so, ye heathen, listen, and, thou congregation, know, what mighty things I shall do to them.)

¹⁹ Thou earth, hear, lo! I shall bring evils on this people, the fruit of their thoughts; for they heard not my words, and casted away my law (and cast away my Law).

²⁰ Whereto bring ye to me incense from Sheba, and a tree of spicery smelling sweetly from a far land? Your burnt sacrifices be not accepted, and your slain sacrifices pleased not me (I will not accept your burnt sacrifices, and your slain sacrifices do not please me).

²¹ Therefore the Lord God saith these things, Lo! I shall give (causes of) fallings into this people, and fathers and sons together, (and) a neighbour and (a) kinsman, shall fall in them, and shall perish.

²² The Lord God saith these things, Lo! a people cometh from the land of the north, and a great folk shall rise together from the ends of [the] earth (and a great nation shall altogether rise from the ends of the earth).

²³ It shall take arrow and shield; it is cruel, and shall not have mercy; the voice thereof shall sound as the sea, and they made ready as a man to battle shall ascend on horses against thee, thou daughter of Zion. (They shall take up arrows and shields; they be cruel, and shall not have mercy; their thunder shall sound like the sea, and like a man prepared for battle, they shall go upon horses against thee, O daughter of Zion.)

²⁴ We [have] heard the fame thereof, our hands be aclumsid; tribulation hath taken us, sorrows have taken us as a woman travailing of child. (And ye shall say, We have heard of their reputation, and our hands be benumbed; tribulation hath taken hold of us, yea, sorrows have taken hold of us like a woman in labour.)

²⁵ Do not ye go out to the fields, and go ye not in the way, for the sword of the enemy, dread in compass (Do not ye go out to the fields, and go ye not on the way, for the sword of the enemy, and fear all around.)

²⁶ The daughter of my people, be thou girded with hair-shirt, and be thou sprinkled together with ashes; make to thee mourning of [the] one alone begotten son, a bitter wailing, for why a waster shall come suddenly [up]on you. (The daughter of my people, be thou girded with a hair-shirt, and be thou altogether sprinkled with ashes; make thyself as if mourning for thy only begotten son, yea, a bitter wailing, for a destroyer shall suddenly come upon you.)

²⁷ I gave thee to be a strong prover in my people, and thou shalt know, and prove the way of them. (I gave thee to be a strong assayer, or a strong tester, of my people, and thou shalt know, and prove their ways.)

²⁸ All these princes bowing away, going guilefully, be (like) metal and iron; all be corrupt. (All these people turning away, doing deceitfully, be made hard like metal and iron; they all be corrupt.)

²⁹ The bellow failed, lead is wasted in the fire, the weller welled in vain (the welder welded in vain); for the malices of them be not wasted.

³⁰ Call ye them reprovable silver (Call ye them worthless silver), for the Lord hath cast them away.

7 The word that was made of the Lord to Jeremy, and said, (The word of the Lord that was made to Jeremiah, and said,)

² Stand in the gate of the house of the Lord, and preach there this word, and say, All Judah, that enter [in] by these gates for to worship the Lord, hear ye the word of the Lord. (Stand at the gate of the House of the Lord, and preach there this word, and say, All Judah, who enter in by these gates to worship the Lord, hear ye the word of the Lord.)

³ The Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things, Make ye good your ways, and your studies, and I shall dwell with you in this place. (The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith these things, Make ye good your ways, and your deeds, and I shall live with you in this place.)

⁴ Do not ye trust in the words of leasing, and say, The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord is (this place!). (Do not ye trust in lies, and then say, The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, this is the Temple of the Lord!)

⁵ For if ye bless your ways, and your studies; if ye do doom betwixt a man and his neighbour; (But if ye mend your ways, and your deeds; if ye do rightly, or justly, between a man and his neighbour;)

⁶ if ye make not false challenge to a comeling, and to a fatherless child, and to a widow; neither shed out innocent blood in this place, and go not after alien gods, into evil to yourselves, (if ye do not oppress a newcomer, and a fatherless child, and a widow; nor shed out innocent blood in this place, and do not go after strange, or foreign, gods, into evil for yourselves,)

⁷ I shall dwell with you in this place, in the land which I gave to your fathers, from the world and till into the world. (then I shall live with you in this place, in the land which I gave to your fathers, forever and ever.)

⁸ Lo! ye trust to you in the words of leasing, that shall not profit to you; (Lo! ye trust in the words of lies, that shall not profit you;)

⁹ to steal, to slay, to do adultery, to swear falsely, to make sacrifice to Baalim, and to go after alien gods, which ye know not. (and ye steal, and kill, and do adultery, and swear falsely, and make sacrifice to Baal, and go after strange, or foreign, gods, which ye know not.)

¹⁰ And ye came, and stood before me in this house, in which my name is called to help; and ye said, We be delivered, for we have done all these abominations. (And then ye come, and stand before me in this House, where my name is called on for help/which is called by my name; and ye say, We be safe, even though we have done all these abominations.)

¹¹ Whether therefore this house, wherein my name is called to help before your eyes, is made a den of thieves? I, I am, I saw, saith the Lord. (And so hath this House, where my name is called on for help/which is called by my name, been made a den of thieves in your eyes? Yea, and I myself have seen it, saith the Lord.)

¹² Go ye to my place in Shiloh, where my name dwelled at the beginning, and see ye what things I did to it, for the malice of my people Israel.

¹³ And now, for ye have done all these works, saith the Lord, and I spake to you, and rose (up) early, and I spake, and ye heard not (and ye did not listen), and I called you, and ye answered not;

¹⁴ I shall do to this house, wherein my name is called to help, and in which house ye have trust, and to the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh. (so now I shall do to this House, where my name is called on for help/which is called by my name, and in which House ye have trust, yea, to the place which I gave to you and your forefathers, what I did to Shiloh.)

¹⁵ And I shall cast you forth from my face, as I casted forth all your brethren, all the seed of Ephraim.

¹⁶ Therefore do not thou pray for this people, neither take thou praising and prayer for them; and against-stand thou not me, for I shall not hear thee. (And so do not thou pray for this people, neither make thou praising or prayer for them; and do not thou stand before me for them, for I shall not listen to thee.)

¹⁷ Whether thou seest not, what these men do in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem?

¹⁸ The sons gather sticks, and the fathers kindle a fire; and women sprinkle together (the) inner fatness, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, (and) to make sacrifice (of wine) to alien gods, and to stir me to wrathfulness. (The sons gather sticks, and their fathers kindle a fire, and the women altogether sprinkle the inner fatness, to make cakes for the queen of heaven, and they also offer a wine offering to strange, or foreign, gods, all to stir me to anger.)

¹⁹ Whether they stir me to wrathfulness? saith the Lord; whether they stir not themselves into [the] shame of their cheer? (Do they hurt me? saith the Lord; rather, do they not cover themselves with shame?)

²⁰ Therefore the Lord God saith these things, Lo! my strong vengeance and mine indignation is welled together on this place, on men, and on beasts, and on the tree(s) of the country(side), and on the fruits of [the] earth; and it shall be kindled, and it shall not be quenched.

²¹ The Lord of hosts, (the) God of Israel, saith these things, Heap ye your burnt sacrifices (on)to your slain sacrifices, and eat ye fleshes.

²² For I spake not with your fathers, and I commanded not to them of the word of burnt sacrifices, and of slain sacrifices, in the day in which I led them out of the land of Egypt. (For I spoke not to your forefathers, and I commanded not to them about burnt sacrifices, and slain sacrifices, on the day when I led them out of the land of Egypt.)

²³ But I commanded this word to them, and I said, Hear ye my voice, and I shall be God to you, and ye shall be a people to me; and go ye in all the way which I commanded to you, that it be well to you. (But I commanded this word to them, and I said, Listen ye to my voice, and I shall be your God, and ye shall be my people; and go ye in all the ways to which I command you, so that it can be well with you.)

²⁴ And they heard not, neither bowed down their ear, but they went in their lusts, and in the shrewdness of their evil heart; and they be made behind, and not before, (But they did not listen to me, nor bowed down their ear, but they went in their lusts, and in the depravity of their own evil hearts; and so they be made behind, and not before,)

²⁵ from the day in which their fathers went out of the land of Egypt till to this day. And I sent to you all my servants (the) prophets, and I rose early by the day, and I sent (yea, I rose up early in the day, and I sent them).

²⁶ And they heard not me, neither bowed down their ear; but they made hard their noll, and wrought worse than the fathers of them. (But they did not listen to me, nor bowed down their ear; but they stiffened their necks, or were stubborn, and did worse than their forefathers.)

²⁷ And thou shalt speak to them all these words, and they shall not hear thee; and thou shalt call them, and they shall not answer to thee. (And thou shalt speak to them all these words, but they shall not listen to thee; and thou shalt call them, but they shall not answer thee.)

²⁸ And thou shalt say to them, This is the folk, that heard not the voice of their Lord God, neither received chastising; faith perished, and is taken away from the mouth of them. (And thou shalt say to them, This is the nation, that did not listen to, or obey, the voice of the Lord their God, nor accepted his discipline, or his correction; truth perished, and is taken away from their mouths.)

²⁹ Clip thine hair, and cast (it) away, and take thou wailing straightly (and take up thou wailing on high places); for the Lord hath cast away, and hath forsaken the generation of his strong vengeance.

³⁰ For the sons of Judah have done evil before mine eyes, saith the Lord; they have set their offendings in the house, in which my name is called to help, that they should defoul that house; (For the people of Judah have done evil before my eyes, saith the Lord; they have put their offences in the House, where my name is called on for help/which is called by my name, so that they would defile that House;)

³¹ and they builded high things in Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, that they should burn their sons and their daughters by fire, which things I commanded not, neither thought in mine heart. (and they built the high places, or the hill shrines, of Tophet, which is in the Valley of Ben-hinnom, so that they could burn their sons and their daughters with fire, which things I did not command, nor ever thought of in my heart.)

³² Therefore lo! days come, saith the Lord, and it shall no more be said Tophet, and the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaying; and they shall bury in Tophet, for there is no (other) place. (And so lo! days shall come, saith the Lord, and it shall no more be called Tophet, and the Valley of Ben-hinnom, but, rather, the Valley of Slaughter; and they shall bury them in Tophet, for there is no other place for them.)

³³ And the dead carrion of this people shall be into meat to the birds of heaven, and to the beasts of (the) earth; and none there shall be that shall drive away. (And the dead bodies of these people shall be food for the birds of the heavens, or of the air, and for the beasts of the earth; and there shall be no one who shall scare them away.)

³⁴ And I shall make to cease the voice of joy, and the voice of gladness (And I shall make to cease the sound of joy, and the sound of happiness), and the voice of [the] spouse, and the voice of [the] spousess from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem; for the land shall be in desolation.

8 In that time, saith the Lord, they shall cast out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of princes thereof, and the bones of priests, and the bones of prophets, and the bones of them that dwelled in Jerusalem, from their sepulchres; (At that time, saith the Lord, they shall cast out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of its princes, or of its leaders, and the bones of its priests, and the bones of its prophets, and the bones of those who lived in Jerusalem, from their tombs, or out of their graves;)

² and they shall lay abroad those bones to the sun, and [the] moon, and to all the knighthood of (the) heaven(s), which they loved, and which they served, and after which they went, and which they sought, and worshipped; they shall not be gathered, and shall not be buried; they shall be into a dunghill on the face of [the] earth. (and they shall lay abroad those bones before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they loved, and which they sought after, and which they worshipped, and served; they shall not be gathered, and shall not be buried; they shall be like a mound of dung upon the face of the earth.)

³ And all men shall choose death more than life, which be residue, either left, of this worst kindred, in all (the) places that be left, to which places I casted them out, saith the Lord of hosts.

⁴ And thou shalt say to them, The Lord saith these things, Whether he that shall fall, shall not rise again? and whether he that is turned away, shall not turn again?

⁵ Why therefore is this people in Jerusalem turned away by turning away full of strife? They have taken leasing, and would not turn again (They have taken hold of lies, and would not return to me).

⁶ I perceived, and harkened; no man speaketh that that is good, none there is that doeth penance for his sin, and saith, What have I done? All be turned together to their course, as an horse going by fierceness to battle. (I perceived, and harkened; there is no one who speaketh what is good, there is no one who doeth penance for his sin, and saith, What have I done? They all be altogether turned to their course, like a horse going by fierceness to battle.)

⁷ A kite in the air knew his time; a turtle, and a swallow, and a ciconia, kept the time of their coming; but my people knew not the doom of the Lord, (A kite in the air knew its time; a turtledove, and a swallow, and a stork, kept the time of their coming back, or of their return; but my people did not know the judgement of the Lord/did not know the justice, or the laws, of the Lord,)

⁸ How say ye, We be wise men, and the law of the Lord is with us? Verily the false stylus, either writing, of scribes wrought leasing. (How can ye say, We be wise men, and the Law of the Lord is with us? Truly the false stylus, or the deceitful writing, of the writers hath wrought lies.)

⁹ [The] Wise men be shamed, they be made afeared and taken. For they cast away the word of the Lord, and no wisdom is in them.

¹⁰ Therefore I shall give the women of them to strangers, and the fields of them to alien heirs; for from the least unto the most all follow avarice, from a prophet unto the priest all make leasing; (And so I shall give their women to strangers, and their fields to foreign heirs; for from the least unto the most all follow avarice, or greed, from the prophet to the priest all make lies, or deception;)

¹¹ and they healed the sorrow of the daughter of my people to (their) shame, saying, Peace, peace, when no peace was. (and they tried to heal the sorrow of the daughter of my people with shallow words, by simply saying, Peace, peace, when there was no peace.)

¹² They be shamed, for they did abomination; yea, rather they were not shamed by shame, and could not be ashamed. Therefore they shall fall among fallers, in the time of their visitation they shall fall, saith the Lord. (Be they ashamed, they who did these abominations? nay, they were not ashamed, and they could not be ashamed. And so they shall fall among the fallen; they shall fall down at the time of their punishment, saith the Lord.)

¹³ I gathering shall gather them, saith the Lord; no grape is in the vines, and figs be not in the fig tree; a leaf fell down, and I gave to them those things that be gone out over (them). (I gathering shall gather them, saith the Lord; no grapes be on the vines, and no figs be on the fig trees; a leaf fell down, and those things that I gave to them shall pass away from them.)

¹⁴ Why sit we? come ye together, enter we into a strong city, and be we still there; for our Lord hath made us to be still, and gave to us (to) drink the water of gall; for we have sinned to the Lord (for we have sinned against the Lord).

¹⁵ We abided peace, and no good was; we abided time of medicine, and lo! dread is. (We waited for peace, but no good came; we waited for a time of respite, and lo! there is only fear.)

¹⁶ [The] Gnashing of horses thereof is heard from Dan; all the land is moved of the voice of neighings of his warriors; and they came, and devoured the land, and the plenty thereof, the city, and the dwellers thereof. (The gnashing of his horses is heard from Dan; all the land shaketh at the sound of the neighings of his warriors; and they came, and devoured the land, and its plenty, and the city, and its inhabitants.)

¹⁷ For lo! I shall send to you the worst serpents, to which is no charming (which cannot be charmed); and they shall bite you, saith the Lord.

¹⁸ My sorrow is on sorrow, mine heart is mourning in me.

¹⁹ And lo! the voice of cry of the daughter of my people cometh from a far land. Whether the Lord is not in Zion, either the king thereof is not therein? Why therefore stirred they me to wrathfulness by their graven images, and by alien vanities? (And lo! the sound of the cry of the daughter of my people cometh from a far land. Is the Lord not in Zion, or is its King not there? And so why have they stirred me to anger with their carved images, and their strange vanities?/and their useless foreign gods?)

²⁰ Harvest is passed, summer is ended; and we be not saved.

²¹ I am tormented, and sorry on the sorrow of the daughter of my people; astonishing held me.

²² Whether resin, that is, a gum of great odour and medicinal, is not in Gilead, either a leech is not there? Why therefore the wound of the daughter of my people is not healed perfectly? (Is there not resin, that is, a medicinal gum of strong odour, in Gilead, or is a physician not there? And so why is the wound of the daughter of my people not perfectly healed?)

5 Blame thou not an elder man, but beseech [him] as a father, young men as brethren;

² old women as mothers, young women as sisters, in all chastity.

³ Honour thou widows [Honour the widows], that be very widows.

⁴ But if any widow hath children of sons [Forsooth if any widow hath sons, or cousins], learn she first to govern her house, and requite to father and mother; for this thing is accepted before God.

⁵ And she that is a widow verily, and desolate, hope [she] into God, and be busy in beseechings and prayers night and day.

⁶ For she that is living in delights, is dead [in soul].

⁷ And command thou this thing [And this thing command thou], that they be without reproof.

⁸ For if any man hath not care of his own, and most(ly) of his household members, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an unfaithful man [and is worse than an unfaithful, or heathen, man].

⁹ A widow be chosen [into the temple] not less than sixty years, that was wife of one husband,

¹⁰ and hath witnessing in good works, if she nourished children [having witnessing in good works, if she nourished sons], if she received poor men to harbour, if she hath washed the feet of holy men, if she ministered to men that suffered tribulation [if she under-ministered to men suffering tribulation], if she followed all good work.

¹¹ But eschew younger widows; for when they have done lechery, they will be wedded in Christ, [Forsooth eschew younger widows; forsooth when they have done lechery in Christ, they will be wedded,]

¹² having damnation, for they have made void the first faith.

¹³ Also [and] they idle learn to go about houses, not only idle, but [they be] full of words and curious [but and full of words and curiosity], speaking things that it behooveth not.

¹⁴ Therefore I will, that younger widows be wedded, and bring forth children, and be housewives, to give none occasion to the adversary, because of cursed thing [by cause of cursed thing].

¹⁵ For now some be turned aback after Satan.

¹⁶ If any faithful man hath widows, minister he to them [under-minister he to them], that the church be not charged, that it suffice to them that be very widows.

¹⁷ The priests that be well governors [The priests that be well before, that is, truly keep well priesthood], be they had worthy to double honour; most they that travail in word and teaching.

¹⁸ For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not bridle the mouth of the ox threshing, and, A workman is worthy his hire.

¹⁹ Do not thou receive accusing against a priest, but under twain or three [two or three] witnesses.

²⁰ But reprove thou men that sin before all men, that also others have dread. [Men sinning before all men reprove thou, that and others have dread.]

²¹ I pray thee before God [I pray, or adjure, thee before God], and Jesus Christ, and his chosen angels, that thou keep these things without prejudice, and do nothing in bowing to the other side [doing nothing, bowing into another part].

²² Put thou hands to no man, neither at once commune thou with other men's sins [Put thou hands to no man soon, neither commune thou with other men's sins]. Keep thyself chaste.

²³ Do not thou yet drink water, but use a little wine, for thy stomach, and for thine oft falling infirmities.

²⁴ Some men's sins be open, before going to doom; but of some men they come after. [Some men's sins be open, going before to doom; forsooth of some men and they follow.]

²⁵ And also good deeds be open, and those that have them in other manner be not able to be hid. [Also and good deeds be open, and they that have them otherwise, may not be hid.]