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¹ The word that was maad of the Lord to Jeremye, in the tenthe yeer of Sedechie, kyng of Juda; thilke is the eiytenthe yeer of Nabugodonosor.² Thanne the oost of the kyng of Babiloyne bisegide Jerusalem; and Jeremye, the profete, was closid in the porche of the prisoun, that was in the hous of the kyng of Juda.³ For whi Sedechie, the kyng of Juda, hadde closid hym, and seide, Whi profesiest thou, seiynge, The Lord seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal yyue this citee in the hond of the kyng of Babyloyne, and he schal take it; and Sedechie,⁴ the kyng of Juda, schal not ascape fro the hond of Caldeis, but he schal be bitake in to the hond of the kyng of Babiloyne; and his mouth schal speke with the mouth of hym, and hise iyen schulen se the iyen of hym;⁵ and he schal lede Sedechie in to Babiloyne, and he schal be there, til Y visyte hym, seith the Lord; forsothe if ye fiyten ayens Caldeis, ye schulen haue no thing in prosperite?⁶ And Jeremye seide, The word of the Lord was maad to me, and seide, Lo!⁷ Ananeel, the sone of Sellum, the sone of thi fadris brothir, schal come to thee, and seie, Bi thou to thee my feeld, which is in Anathot; for it bifallith to thee by niy kynrede, that thou bie it.⁸ And Ananeel, the sone of my fadris brothir, cam to me, bi the word of the Lord, to the porche of the prisoun, and seide to me, Welde thou my feeld, which is in Anathot, in the lond of Beniamyn; for whi the erytage bifallith to thee, and thou art the next of blood, that thou welde it. Forsothe Y vndirstood, that it was the word of the Lord.⁹ And Y bouyte the feeld, which is in Anathot, of Ananeel, the sone of my fadris brothir. And Y paiede to hym siluer, seuene stateris, and ten platis of siluer;¹⁰ and Y wroot in a book, and Y seelide, and Y yaf witnessis. And Y weiede siluer in a balaunce;¹¹ and Y took the book aseelid of possessioun, and axingis and answerys of the seller and bier, and couenauntis, and seelis withoutforth.¹² And Y yaf the book of possessioun to Baruc, the sone of Neri, sone of Maasie, bifore the iyen of Ananeel, the sone of my fadris brother, and bifore the iyen of witnessis that weren writun in the book of biyng, bifore the iyen of alle Jewis, that saten in the porche of the prisoun.¹³ And Y comaundide to Baruc bifore hem,¹⁴ and Y seide, The Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Take thou these bookis, this seelid book of biyng, and this book which is opyn, and putte thou tho in an erthen vessel, that tho moun dwelle bi many daies.¹⁵ For whi the Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Yit housis, and feeldis, and vynes schulen be weldid in this lond.

¹⁶ And Y preiede to the Lord, aftir that Y bitook the book of possessioun to Baruc, the sone of Nery; and Y seide, Alas!¹⁷ alas! alas! Lord God, Lord, thou madist heuene and erthe in thi greet strengthe, and in thin arm stretchid forth; ech word schal not be hard to thee;¹⁸ which doist merci in thousyndis, and yeldist the wickidnesse of fadris in to the bosum of her sones aftir hem. Thou strongeste, greet, myyti, Lord of oostis is name to thee;¹⁹ greet in councel, and vncomprehensible in thouyt, whose iyen ben open on alle the weies of the sones of Adam, that thou yelde to ech aftir hise weies, and aftir the fruyt of hise fyndyngis;²⁰ which settidist signes and greet woundris in the lond of Egipt, `til to this dai, bothe in Israel and in men; and madist to thee a name, as this dai is.²¹ And thou leddist thi puple Israel out of the lond of Egipt, in signes and in greet woundris, and in a strong hond, and in an arm holdun forth, and in greet dreed; and thou yauest to hem this lond,²² which thou sworist to the fadris of hem, that thou woldist yyue to hem, a lond flowynge with milk and hony.²³ And thei entriden, and hadden it in possessioun; and thei obeieden not to thi vois, and thei yeden not in thi lawe; alle thingis whiche thou comaundidist to hem to do, thei diden not; and alle these yuels bifellen to hem.²⁴ Lo! strengthis ben bildid ayens the citee, that it be takun, and the citee is youun in to the hondis of Caldeis, and in to the hondis of the kyng of Babiloyne, that fiyten ayens it, of the face of swerd, and of hungur, and of pestilence; and what euer thingis thou spakest, bifellen, as thou thi silf seest.²⁵ And Lord God, thou seist to me, Bie thou a feeld for siluer, and yyue thou witnessis, whanne the citee is youun in the hondis of Caldeis.

²⁶ And the word of the Lord was maad to Jeremye, and seide, Lo!²⁷ Y am the Lord God of `al fleisch. Whether ony word schal be hard to me?<sup>28</sup> Therfor the Lord seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal bitake this citee in to the hondis of Caldeis, and in to the hond of the kyng of Babiloyne, and he schal take it.<sup>29</sup> And Caldeis schulen come, and fiyte ayens this citee, and thei schulen brenne it with fier, and thei schulen brenne it, and housis, in whose rooues thei sacrifieden to Baal, and offriden moist sacrifices to alien goddis, to terre me to wraththe.<sup>30</sup> For whi the sones of Israel and the sones of Juda diden yuel contynueli, fro her yonge waxynge age, bifore myn iyen, the sones of Israel, whiche `til to now wraththen me bi the werk of her hondis, seith the Lord.³¹ For whi this citee is maad to me in my strong veniaunce and indignacioun, fro the day in which thei bildiden it, `til to this dai, in which it schal be takun awei fro my siyt;³² for the malice of the sones of Israel, and of the sones of Juda, which thei diden, terrynge me to wrathfulnesse, thei, and the kyngis of hem, the princes of hem, and the prestis, and profetis of hem, the men of Juda, and the dwelleris of Jerusalem.³³ And thei turneden to me the backis, and not the faces, whanne Y tauyte, and enformede hem erli; and thei nolden here, that thei schulden take techyng.³⁴ And thei settiden her idols in the hous, in which my name is clepid to help, that thei schulden defoule it.³⁵ And thei bildiden hiy thingis to Baal, that ben in the valei of the sones of Ennon, that thei schulden halewe her sones and her douytris to Moloc, which thing Y comaundide not to hem, nether it stiede in to myn herte, that thei schulden do this abhomynacioun, and brynge Juda in to synne.³⁶ And now for these thingis, the Lord God of Israel seith these thingis to this citee, of whiche ye seien, that it schal be bitakun in to the hondis of the kyng of Babiloyne, in swerd, and in hungur, and in pestilence, Lo!³⁷ Y schal gadere hem fro alle londis, to whiche Y castide hem out in my strong veniaunce, and in my wraththe, and in greet indignacioun; and Y schal brynge hem ayen to this place, and Y schal make hem to dwelle tristili.³⁸ And thei schulen be in to a puple to me, and Y schal be in to God to hem.³⁹ And Y schal yyue to hem oon herte and o soule, that thei drede me in alle daies, and that it be wel to hem, and to her sones aftir hem.⁴⁰ And Y schal smyte to hem a couenaunt euerlastynge, and Y schal not ceese to do wel to hem, and Y schal yyue my drede in the herte of hem, that thei go not awey fro me.⁴¹ And Y schal be glad on hem, whanne Y schal do wel to hem; and Y schal plaunte hem in this lond in treuthe, in al myn herte, and in al my soule.⁴² For the Lord seith these thingis, As Y brouyte on this puple al this greet yuel, so Y schal brynge on hem al the good, which Y schal speke to hem.⁴³ And feeldis schulen be weldid in this lond, of which ye seien, that it is desert, for no man and beeste is left; and it is youun in to the hondis of Caldeis.⁴⁴ Feeldis schulen be bouyt for money, and schulen be writun in a book, and a seel schal be preentid; and witnessis schulen be youun, in the lond of Beniamyn, and in the cumpas of Jerusalem, and in the citees of Juda, and in the citees in hilli places, and in the citees in feeldi places, and in the citees that ben at the south; for Y schal turne the caitiftee of hem, seith the Lord.