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¹ But the Lorde wylbe mercyfull vnto Iacob, and will yet chose Israel againe, and set them in their owne land, straungers shall cleaue and get them to the house of Iacob.² The people shall take them and carry them home to their owne land: and the house of Israel shall possesse them in the lande of the Lord, that they may be seruaunts and handmaydes: and they shall take those prysoners whose captiues they had ben before, and rule those that had oppressed them.³ When the Lorde nowe shall bryng thee to rest from thy trauayle, feare, and harde bondage that thou wast laden withall:

⁴ Then shalt thou vse this mockage vpon the kyng of Babylon, and say: Howe happeneth it that the oppressour leaueth of? Is the golden tribute come to an ende?⁵ The Lorde hath broken the scepter of the vngodly, and the rod of the lordelye,⁶ Which when he is wroth, smiteth the people with continuall strokes, and in wrath raigneth ouer the heathen, who he persecuteth without compassion.⁷ And therfore the whole worlde is nowe at rest and quietnesse, and men sing for ioy.⁸ Yea euen the Firre trees and Cedars of Libanus reioyce at thy fall, saying: Nowe that thou art layde downe, there come no mo vp to hewe downe vs.⁹ Hell also beneath trembleth to meete thee at thy commyng, and for thy sake hath raysed his dead, all mightie men and princes of the earth, all kynges of the earth stande vp from their seates,¹⁰ That they may all aunswere and speake vnto thee, Art thou become weake also as we? Art thou become lyke vnto vs?¹¹ Thy pompe and thy pride is layde downe into the pit, and so is the melodie of thy instrumentes. Wormes be layde vnder thee, & wormes be thy coueryng.¹² Howe art thou fallen from heauen O Lucifer, thou faire mornyng chylde? Howe hast thou gotten a fall euen to the grounde, which didst weaken the nations?¹³ For thou saydest in thine heart, I wyll clymbe vp into heauen, and exalt my throne aboue beside the starres of God, I wyll sit also vpon the mount of the congregation towarde the North.¹⁴ I wyll clymbe vp aboue the cloudes, and wyll be lyke the hyghest of all.¹⁵ Yet thou shalt be brought downe to the deepe of hell, to the sides of the lake.¹⁶ They that see thee shall narowly loke vpon thee, and thinke in them selues, [saying:] Is this the man that brought all landes in feare, and made the kyngdomes afrayde?¹⁷ [Is this he] that made the worlde in a maner waste, and layde the cities to the grounde, which let not his prisoners go out?¹⁸ The kynges of the nations lye euery one in his owne house with worship.¹⁹ And thou art cast out of thy graue like a fylthy abhominable braunche, like as dead mens rayment that are shot thorowe with the sworde, and go downe to the stones of the deepe, as a dead coarse that is troden vnder feete.²⁰ Thou art not buried with them: euen because that thou hast wasted thy lande & destroyed thy people: The generation of the wicked shalbe out of memorie for euer.²¹ Let there a way be sought to destroy their children that be in their fathers wickednesse, that they come not vp agayne to possesse the lande, and fyll the worlde full of enemies.²² I wyll stande vp agaynst them saith the Lorde of hoastes, and roote out the name and remnaunt, sonne and sonnes sonne of Babylon saith the Lorde.²³ I wyll geue it to the Otters, and wyll make water puddels of it, and I wyll sweepe them out with the besome of destruction saith the Lorde of hoastes.

²⁴ The Lorde of hoastes hath sworne an othe, saying: It shall come to passe as I haue determined, and shalbe fulfylled as I haue deuised,²⁵ So that Assyria shall I destroy in my lande, and vpon my mountaynes wil I treade hym vnder foote, wherthrough his yoke shall come from them, and his burthen shalbe taken from their shoulder.²⁶ This deuise hath God taken through the whole worlde, and this is his hande stretched out ouer all people.²⁷ For yf the Lord of hoastes determine a thyng, who is able to disanull it? And if he stretch foorth his hande, who may returne it agayne?²⁸ The same yere that kyng Ahaz dyed, was this burthen:²⁹ Reioyce not thou whole Palestina, because the rod of him that beateth thee is broken: for out of the serpentes roote there shall come an Adder, and his fruite shalbe a fierie fleeyng worme.³⁰ But the first borne of the poore shalbe fed, and the simple shall dwell in safetie: Thy roote also wyll I destroy with hunger, and it shall slay the remnaunt.³¹ Mourne thou porte, weepe thou citie, for, O whole lande of Palestina, thou art layd waste: for there shal come from the north a smoke, that not one alone may abide at home in his times.³² What shall one then aunswere the messengers of the Gentiles? For the Lorde hath stablished Sion, and the poore of his people that be therein shall put their trust in it.