Read the Bible

¹ At the same tyme (saieth the LORDE) shal I be the God of all the generacions of Israel, & they shalbe my people.² Thus saieth the LORDE: The people of Israel which escaped in ye wildernes from the swearde, founde grace to come in to their rest.³ Euen so shal the LORDE now also apeare vnto me from farre, and saye: I loue the with an euerlastinge loue, therfore do I sprede my mercy before the.⁴ I will repayre the agayne (o thou doughter of Israel) that thou mayest be fast and sure. Thou shalt take thy tabrettes agayne, & go forth with them, that lede the daunce.⁵ Thou shalt plante vynes agayne vpon ye hilles of Samaria, and the grape gatherers shall plante, and synge.⁶ And when it is tyme, the watch men vpon the mount of Ephraim shall crie: Arise, let vs go vp vnto Sion to oure LORDE God,⁷ for thus saieth the LORDE: Reioyce with gladnes because of Iacob, crie vnto the heade of the Gentiles: speake out, synge, and saye: The LORDE shall delyuer his people, the remnaunt of Israel &, make them whole⁸ Beholde, I will bringe them agayne from out of the north lode, and gather them from the endes of the worlde, with the blynde and lame that are amonge them, with the women that be greate with childe, and soch as be also delyuered: and the company of them that come agayne, shal be greate.⁹ They departed from hence in heuynes, but with ioye will I bringe them hither agayne. I will lede them by the ryuers of water in a straight waye, where they shall not stomble: For I will be Israels father, and Epraim shalbe my firstborne.

¹⁰ Heare the worde of the LORDE (o ye Gentiles) preach in the Iles, that lie farre of, and saye: he that hath scatred Israel, shall gather him together agayne, and shall kepe him as a shepherde doth his flocke.¹¹ For the LORDE shall redeme Iacob, and ryd him from the honde of the violent.¹² And they shal come, & reioyce vpon the hill of Sion, & shall haue plenteousnes of goodes, which the LORDE shall geue them: Namely, wheate, wyne, oyle, yonge shepe and calues. And their conscience shalbe as a well watred garden, for they shall nomore be hongrie.¹³ Then shal the mayde reioyce in the daunce, yee both yonge and olde folkes. For I will turne their sorow in to gladnesse, and will comforte them, and make them ioyfull, euen from their hertes.¹⁴ I will poure plenteousnes vpon the hertes of the prestes, and my people shalbe satisfied with good thinges, saieth the LORDE.¹⁵ Thus saieth the LORDE: The voyce of heuynes, wepynge and lamentacion came vp in to heauen: euen of Rachel mournynge for hir children, and wolde not be comforted, because they were awaye.¹⁶ But now saieth the LORDE: leaue of from wepynge and crienge, witholde thyne eyes from teares, for thy laboure shalbe rewarded, saieth the LORDE. And they shall come agayne out of the londe of their enemies:¹⁷ Yee euen thy posterite shall haue consolacion in this (saieth the LORDE) that thy children shall come agayne in to their owne londe.

¹⁸ Morouer I herde Ephraim, (that was led awaye captyue) complayne on this maner: O LORDE, thou hast correcte me, and thy chastenynge haue I receaued, as an vntamed calfe. Conuerte thou me, and I shalbe conuerted, for thou art my LORDE God.¹⁹ Yee as soone as thou turnest me, I shall refourme my self: and when I vnderstonde, I shall smyte vpon my thee. For verely I haue comitted shamefull thinges: O let my youth beare this reprofe and confucion.²⁰ Vpon this complaynte, I thought thus by myself: is not Ephraim my deare sonne? Is he not the childe, with whom I haue had all myrth and pastyme? For sence the tyme that I first comoned with him, I haue him euer in remembraunce: therfore my very herte dryueth me vnto him: gladly and louyngly will I haue mercy vpon him, saieth the LORDE.²¹ Get the watchmen, prouyde teachers for the: set thine herte vpon the right waie, that thou shuldest walke, and turne agayne: (o thou doughter of Israel,) turne agayne to these cities of thyne.²² How longe wilt thou go astraie, o thou shrekinge doughter? For the LORDE will worke a new thynge vpon earth: A woman shall compasse a man.²³ For thus saieth the LORDE of hoostes the God of Israel: It will come therto, that when I haue brought Iuda out of captiuyte, these wordes shalbe herde in ye londe and in his cities: The LORDE, which is the fayre brydegrome of rightuousnesse, make the frutefull, o thou holy hill:²⁴ And there shall dwell Iuda and all hir cities, the shepherdes and hu?bonde men:²⁵ For I shall fede the hongrie soule, and refresh all faynte hertes.²⁶ When I herde this, I came agayne to myself, and mused, like as I had bene waked out of a swete slepe.

²⁷ Beholde (saieth the LORDE) the dayes come, that I will sowe the house of Israel and the house of Iuda, with men and with catell.²⁸ Yee it shall come therto, that like as I haue gone aboute in tymes past to rote them out, to scatre them, to breake them downe, to destroye them and chaste them: Euen so will I also go diligently aboute, to buylde them vp agayne, and to plante them, saieth the LORDE.²⁹ Then shall it no more be sayde: ye fathers haue eaten a sower grape, and the childrens teth are set on edge:³⁰ for euery one shal dye for his owne my?dede, so that who so eateth a sower grape, his teth shalbe set on edge.³¹ Beholde, the dayes come (saieth the LORDE) yt I will make a new couenaunt with ye house of Israel & with ye house of Iuda:³² not after the couenaunt that I made with their fathers, when I toke them by the honde, & led them out of the londe of Egipte: which couenaunt they brake, wherfore I punyshed them sore, saieth the LORDE:³³ But this shalbe the couenaunt that I will make with the house of Israel after those dayes, saieth the LORDE: I will plante my lawe in the inwarde partes of them, and write it in their hertes, and wilbe their God, and they shalbe my people.³⁴ And from thece forth shall no man teach his neghboure or his brother, and saye: knowe the LORDE: But they shall all knowe me, from the lowest vnto the hyest, saieth the LORDE. For I will forgeue their my?dedes, and wil neuer remembre their synnes eny more.

³⁵ Thus saieth the LORDE which gaue the sonne to be a light for the daye, and the Moone and starres to shyne in the night: which moueth the see, so that the floudes therof waxe fearce: his name is the LORDE of hoostes.³⁶ Like as this ordinaunce shal neuer be taken out of my sight, saieth the LORDE: So shal the sede of Israel neuer ceasse, but all waye be a people before me.³⁷ Morouer, thus saieth the LORDE: like as the heauen aboue can not be measured, and as the foundacions of the earth beneth maye not be sought out: So will I also not cast out the whole sede of Israel, for that they haue commytted, saieth the LORDE.³⁸ Beholde, the daies come saieth the LORDE, yt the cite of ye LORDE shalbe enlarged from the towre of Hananeel, vnto ye gate of the corner wall.³⁹ From thence shal the right measure be taken before her vnto the hill toppe of Gareb, and shal come aboute Gaatha,⁴⁰ and the whole valley of the deed carcases, and of the ashes, & all Seremoth, vnto the broke of Cedron: and from thence vnto the corner of the horsgate towarde ye east, where as the Sanctuary of the LORDE also shalbe set. And when it is now buylded, & set vp of this fashion it shall neuer be broken, ner cast downe eny more.