the Fourth Week of Advent
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Wycliffe Bible
Ezekiel 16
1 And the word of the Lord was maad to me,2 and he seide, Sone of man, make thou knowun to Jerusalem her abhomynaciouns; and thou schalt seie,3 The Lord God seith these thingis. A! thou Jerusalem, thi rote and thi generacioun is of the lond of Canaan; thi fadir is Amorrei, and thi moder is Cetei.4 And whanne thou were borun, thi nawle was not kit awei in the dai of thi birthe, and thou were not waischun in watir in to helthe, nethir saltid with salt, nether wlappid in clothis.5 An iye sparide not on thee, that it hauynge merci on thee, dide to thee oon of these thingis; but thou were cast forth on the face of erthe, in the castynge out of thi soule, in the dai in which thou were borun.
6 Forsothe Y passide bi thee, and Y siy thee defoulid in thi blood; and Y seide to thee, whanne thou were in thi blood, Lyue thou; sotheli Y seide to thee in thi blood, Lyue thou.7 Y yaf thee multiplied as the seed of a feeld, and thou were multiplied, and maad greet; and thou entridist, and camest fulli to wymmens ournyng; thi tetis wexiden greet, and thin heer wexide; and thou were nakid, and ful of schenschipe.8 And Y passide bi thee, and Y siy thee, and lo! thi tyme, the tyme of louyeris; and Y spredde abrood my clothing on thee, and Y hilide thi schenschipe. And Y swoor to thee, and Y made a couenaunt with thee, seith the Lord God, and thou were maad a wijf to me.9 And Y waischide thee in water, and Y clenside awei thi blood fro thee, and Y anoyntide thee with oile.10 And Y clothide thee with clothis of dyuerse colours, and Y schodde thee in iacynct, and Y girde thee with biys;11 and Y clothide thee with sutil thingis, and Y ournede thee with ournement.12 And Y yaf bies in thin hondis, and a wrethe aboute thi necke; and Y yaf a ryng on thi mouth, and cerclis to thin eeris, and a coroun of fairnesse in thin heed.13 And thou were ourned with gold and siluer, and thou were clothid with biys and ray cloth with rounde ymagis, and many colours. Thou etist cleene flour of wheete, and hony, and oile, and thou were maad fair ful greetli; and thou encreessidist in to a rewme,14 and thi name yede out in to hethene men for thi fairnesse; for thou were perfit in my fairnesse which Y hadde sett on thee, seith the Lord God.
15 And thou haddist trist in thi fairnesse, and didist fornicacioun in thi name; and thou settidist forth thi fornicacioun to ech that passide forth, that thou schuldist be maad his.16 And thou tokist of my clothis, and madist to thee hiy thingis set aboute on ech side; and thou didist fornycacioun on tho, as it was not don, nether schal be don.17 And thou tokist the vessels of thi fairnesse, of my gold and of my siluer, which Y yaf to thee; and thou madist to thee ymagis of men, and didist fornycacioun in tho.18 And thou tokist thi clothis of many colours, and thou were clothid in tho; and thou settidist myn oile and myn encence in the siyt of tho.19 And thou settidist my breed, which Y yaf to thee, flour of wheete, and oile, and hony, bi whiche Y nurschide thee, in the siyt of tho, in to odour of swetnesse; and it was don, seith the Lord God.20 And thou tokist thi sones and thi douytris, whiche thou gendridist to me, and offridist to tho, for to be deuourid. Whether thi fornicacioun is litil?21 Thou offridist my sones, and yauest hem, and halewidist to tho.22 And aftir alle thin abhomynaciouns and fornicaciouns, thou bithouytist not on the daies of thi yong wexynge age, whanne thou were nakid, and ful of schenschipe, and were defoulid in thi blood.23 And after al thi malice, wo, wo bifelle to thee, seith the Lord God.24 And thou bildidist to thee a bordel hous, and madist to thee a place of hordom in alle stretis.25 At ech heed of the weie thou bildidist a signe of thin hordom, and madist thi fairnesse abhomynable; and thou departidist thi feet to ech man passynge forth, and multepliedist thi fornicaciouns.26 And thou didist fornicacioun with the sones of Egipt, thi neiyboris of grete fleischis, and thou multepliedist thi fornicacioun, to terre me to wraththe.27 Lo! Y schal stretch forth myn hond on thee, and Y schal take awei thi iustifiyng; and Y schal yyue thee in to the soulis of hem that haten thee, of the douytris of Palestyns, that ben aschamed in thi weie ful of greet trespas.28 And thou didist fornicacioun with the sones of Assiriens, for thou were not fillid yit; and after that thou didist fornicacioun, nether so thou were fillid.29 And thou multipliedist thi fornycacioun in the lond of Canaan with Caldeis, and nether so thou were fillid.30 In what thing schal Y clense thin herte, seith the Lord God, whanne thou doist alle these werkis of a womman an hoore, and gredi axere?31 For thou madist thi bordel hous in `the heed of ech weie, and thou madist thin hiy place in ech street; and thou were not maad as an hoore ful of anoiyng,32 encreessynge prijs, but as a womman auowtresse, that bryngith in aliens on hir hosebonde.33 Hiris ben youun to alle hooris, but thou hast youe hire to alle thi louyeris; and thou yauest to hem, that thei schulden entre to thee on ech side, to do fornycacioun with thee.34 And it was don in thee ayens the custom of wymmen in thi fornycaciouns, and fornicacioun schal not be after thee; for in that that thou yauest hiris, and tokist not hiris, the contrarie was don in thee.
35 Therfor, thou hoore, here the word of the Lord.36 The Lord God seith these thingis, For thi riches is sched out, and thi schenschipe is schewid in thi fornicaciouns on thi louyeris, and on the idols of thin abhomynaciouns, in the blood of thi sones, whiche thou yauest to hem; lo!37 Y schal gadere to gidere alle thi louyeris, with whiche thou were meddlid, and alle men whiche thou louedist, with alle men whiche thou hatidist; and Y schal gadere hem on thee on ech side, and Y schal make nakid thi schenschipe bifore hem, and thei schulen se al thi filthe.38 And Y schal deme thee bi the domes of auoutressis, and schedinge out blood;39 and Y schal yyue thee in to the blood of strong veniaunce, and of feruour. And Y schal yyue thee in to the hondis of hem, and thei schulen destrie thi bordel hous, and thei schulen destrie the place of thin hordom; and thei schulen make thee nakid of thi clothis, and thei schulen take awei the vessels of thi fairnesse, and thei schulen forsake thee nakid, and ful of schenschipe.40 And thei schulen bringe on thee a multitude, and thei schulen stoon thee with stoonys, and thei schulen sle thee with her swerdis.41 And thei schulen brenne thin housis with fier, and thei schulen make domes in thee, bifor the iyen of ful many wymmen; and thou schalt ceese to do fornicacioun, and thou schalt no more yyue hiris.42 And myn indignacioun schal reste in thee, and my feruent loue schal be takun awei fro thee; and Y schal reste, and Y schal no more be wrooth,43 for thou haddist not mynde on the daies of thi yong wexynge age, and thou terridist me to ire in alle these thingis. Wherfor and Y yaf thi weies in thin heed, seith the Lord God, and Y dide not aftir thi grete trespassis, in alle these thin abhomynaciouns.
44 Lo! ech man that seith a prouerbe comynli, schal take it in thee,45 and schal seie, As the modir, so and the douytir of hir. Thou art the douyter of thi modir, that castide awey hir hosebonde and hir sones; and thou art the sister of thi sistris, that castiden a wei her hosebondis and her sones. Thi modir is Cetei, and thi fadir is Ammorrei;46 and thi gretter sister is Samarie, sche and hir douytris, that dwellen at thi left side; but thi sistir lesse than thou, that dwellith at thi riyt side, is Sodom, and hir douytris.47 But thou yedist not in the weies of hem, nethir thou didist aftir the grete trespassis of hem; hast thou do almest a litil lesse cursidere dedis than thei, in alle thi weies?48 Y lyue, seith the Lord God, for Sodom, thi sister, did not, sche and hir douytris, as thou didist, and thi douytris.49 Lo! this was the wickidnesse of Sodom, thi sister, pride, fulnesse of breed, and habundaunce, and idilnesse of hir, and of hir douytris; and thei puttiden not hond to a nedi man and pore.50 And thei weren enhaunsid, and diden other abhominaciouns bifore me; and Y took hem awei, as thou hast seyn.51 And Samarie synnede not the half of thi synnes, but thou hast ouercome hem in thi grete trespassis; and thou hast iustified thi sistris in alle thin abhomynaciouns, whiche thou wrouytist.52 Therfor and thou bere thi schenschipe, that hast ouercome thi sistris with thi synnes, and didist more cursidli than thei; for thei ben iustified of thee. Therfor and be thou schent, and bere thi schenschipe, which hast iustified thi sistris.53 And Y schal conuerte and restore hem by the conuersioun of Sodom with hir douytris, and bi the conuersioun of Samarie and of hir douytris; and Y schal conuerte thi turnyng ayen in the myddis of hem,54 that thou bere thi schenschipe, and be aschamed in alle thingis whiche thou didist, coumfortynge hem.55 And thi sister Sodom and hir doytris schulen turne ayen to her eldnesse; and Samarie and hir douytris shulen turne ayen to her eeldnesse; and thou and thi douytris turne ayen to youre eldnesse.56 Forsothe Sodom, thi sister, was not herd in thi mouth, in the dai of thi pride,57 bifore that thi malice was schewid, as in this tyme, in to schenschipe of the douytris of Sirie, and of alle douytris in thi cumpas, of the douytris of Palestyn that ben aboute thee bi cumpas.58 Thou hast bore thi greet trespas, and thi schenschipe, seith the Lord God.59 For the Lord God seith these thingis, And Y schal do to thee as thou dispisidist the ooth, that thou schuldist make voide the couenaunt;
60 and Y schal haue mynde on my couenaunt with thee in the daies of thi yongthe, and Y schal reise to thee a couenaunt euerlastynge.61 And thou schalt haue mynde on thi weies, and schalt be aschamed, whanne thou schalt resseyue thi sistris grettere than thou, with thi lesse sistris; and Y schal yyue hem in to douytris to thee, but not of thi couenaunt.62 And Y schal reise my couenaunt with thee, and thou schalt wite, that Y am the Lord, that thou haue mynde, and be aschamed;63 and that it be no more to thee to opene the mouth for thi schame, whanne Y schal be plesid to thee in alle thingis whiche thou didist, seith the Lord God.