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¹ Who schal yyue watir to myn heed, and a welle of teeris to myn iyen? And Y schal biwepe dai and niyt the slayn men of the douyter of my puple.² Who schal yyue me in to a wildirnesse of dyuerse weigoeris? And I schal forsake my puple, and Y schal go awei fro hem. For whi alle ben auowteris, and the cumpenyes of trespassouris ayens the lawe;³ and thei helden forth her tunge as a bouwe of leesyng, and not of treuthe Thei ben coumfortid in erthe, for thei yeden out fro yuel to yuel, and thei knewen not me, seith the Lord.⁴ Ech man kepe hym fro his neiybore, and haue no trist in ony brother of hym; for whi ech brother disseyuyng schal disseyue, and ech frend schal go gilefuli.⁵ And a man schal scorne his brother, and schal not speke treuthe; for thei tauyten her tunge to speke leesyng; thei traueliden to do wickidli.⁶ Thi dwellyng is in the myddis of gile; in gile thei forsoken to knowe me, seith the Lord.⁷ Therfor the Lord of oostis seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal welle togidere, and Y schal preue hem; for whi what other thing schal Y do fro the face of the douyter of my puple?⁸ The tunge of hem is an arowe woundynge, and spak gile; in his mouth he spekith pees with his frend, and priueli he settith tresouns to hym.⁹ Whether Y schal not visite on these thingis, seith the Lord, ether schal not my soule take veniaunce on siche a folc?¹⁰ On hillis Y schal take wepyng and mournyng, and weilyng on the faire thingis of desert, for tho ben brent; for no man is passynge forth, and thei herden not the vois of hym that weldith; fro a brid of the eir `til to scheep, tho passiden ouer, and yeden awei.¹¹ And Y schal yyue Jerusalem in to heepis of grauel, and in to dennes of dragouns; and Y schal yyue the citees of Juda in to desolacioun, for ther is no dwellere.

¹² Who is a wise man that schal vndurstonde these thingis, and to whom the word of the mouth of the Lord schal be maad, that he telle this? Whi the erthe perischide, it is brent as desert, for noon is that passith?¹³ And the Lord seide, For thei forsoken my lawe, which Y yaf to hem, and thei herden not my vois, and thei yeden not therynne;¹⁴ and thei yeden aftir the schrewidnesse of her herte, and aftir Baalym, which thei lerneden of her fadris;¹⁵ therfor the Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal fede this puple with wermod, and Y schal yyue to hem drynke the watir of galle.¹⁶ And Y schal scatere hem among hethene men, whiche thei and her fadris knewen not; and Y schal sende swerd aftir hem, til thei ben wastid.¹⁷ The Lord of oostis, God of Israel, seith these thingis, Biholde ye, and clepe ye wymmen `that weilen, and come thei; and sende ye to tho wymmen that ben wise, and haste thei.¹⁸ Haste thei, and take thei weilynge on you; youre iyen brynge doun teeris, and youre iyelidis flowe with watris;¹⁹ for the vois of weilyng is herd fro Sion. Hou ben we distried, and schent greetli? for we han forsake the lond, for oure tabernaclis ben forsakun.²⁰ Therfor, wymmen, here ye the word of the Lord, and youre eeris take the word of his mouth; and teche ye youre douytris weilyng, and ech womman teche hir neiybore mournyng.²¹ For whi deth stiede bi youre wyndows, it entride in to youre housis, to leese litle children with outforth, and yonge men fro the stretis.²² Speke thou, the Lord seith, these thingis, And the deed bodi of a man schal fal doun as a toord on the face of the cuntrei, and as hei bihynde the bak of the mowere, and noon is that gaderith.

²³ The Lord seith these thingis, A wise man haue not glorie in his wisdom, and a strong man haue not glorie in his strengthe, and a riche man haue not glorie in hise richessis; but he that hath glorie,²⁴ haue glorie in this, to wite and knowe me, for Y am the Lord, that do merci and dom and riytfulnesse in erthe. For whi these thingis plesen me, seith the Lord.²⁵ Lo! daies comen, seith the Lord, and Y schal visite on ech man that hath prepucie vncircumcidid; on Egipt,²⁶ and on Juda, and on Edom, and on the sones of Amon, and on Moab, and on alle men that ben clippid on long heer, and dwellen in desert; for whi alle hethene men han prepucie, forsothe al the hous of Israel ben vncircumcidid in herte.