1

¹ In the begynnynge God created heauen and earthe.

² The earth was voyde and emptye: and darcknes was vpon the face of the depe: and the sprete of God moued vpon the face of the waters.

³ And God sayde: let there be made lyght, and there was light made.

⁴ And God sawe the light that it was good. And God made a diuision betwene the light and darknesse.

⁵ And God called the light, daye: and the darknesse called he, nyght. And the euenyng and the morning was made one daye.

⁶ And God sayde: let there be a firmament betwene the waters: and let it make a diuision betwene waters and waters.

⁷ And God made the firmament, and set a diuision betwene the waters which were vnder the firmament and the waters that were aboue the firmament. And it was so.

⁸ And God called the firmament, Heauen. The euenynge also and the mornyng was made the second daye.

⁹ And God sayde: let the waters vnder heauen be gathered together into one place, that the drye lande maye be sene. And so it came to passe.

¹⁰ And God called the drye lande Earth: and the gatheryng together of waters called he the sees. And God sawe that it was good.

¹¹ And God sayde: let the earth bring forth grene herbe, which maye engendre seed: and frutefull tre, yeldyng frute after hys kynde, whose seed maye be in it self vpon the earth. And it came to passe.

¹² And the earth brought forth grene herbe, makynge seede after hys kynde: and tree yeldynge frute, whose seed was in it selfe after hys kynde. And God sawe that it was good.

¹³ The euenynge also and the mornynge was made the thyrde daye.

¹⁴ And God sayde: let there be made lyghtes in the firmament of heauen: and let them make a difference betwene the daye and the nyght, and let them be vnto signes, and vnto appoynted seasons, and vnto dayes, and vnto yeares.

¹⁵ And let them be vnto lyghtes in the firmament of heauen, that they maye geue lyght vpon the earthe. And so it came to passe.

¹⁶ And God made two greate lyghtes: a greater lyght to rule the daye, & a lesse lyght to rule the night (And he made) sterres also.

¹⁷ And God set them in the firmament of heauen, that they myght geue lyght vpon the earth,

¹⁸ and that they might rule the daye and the night: and to make a difference betwene the lyght and the darknes. And God sawe that it was good.

¹⁹ The euenyng also and the mornyng was made the fourth daye.

²⁰ And God sayde: let the waters bryng forth mouynge creature that hath lyfe, and foule that maye flye vpon the earth in the face of the firmament of heauen.

²¹ And God created great whalles and euery lyuing and mouyng creature, which the waters brought forth after their kynde: and euery fethered foule after their kynde. And God sawe that it was good.

²² And God blessed them, sayinge: Growe & increace and fyll the waters of the see: and let fethred foules be multiplyed in the earth.

²³ The euenynge also and the mornyng was made the fyfth daye.

²⁴ And God sayde: let the earth bring forth lyuing creature after his kynde: catell, worme and beast of the erth after his kynde: and so it came to passe.

²⁵ And God made the beast of the earth after his kynde, and catell after their kynde: and euery thynge that crepeth vpon the earth after his kynde. And God sawe that it was good.

²⁶ And God sayde: let vs make man in oure ymage after oure lycknes, and let them haue rule of the fysh of the see: and foule of the ayre and catell, and all the earth, and of euery crepyng thyng that crepeth vpon the erth.

²⁷ And so God created man in his awne ymage: in the ymage of God created he hym, male and female created he them.

²⁸ And God blessed them, and God sayd vnto them: Growe and increace and replenyshe the erth, and subdue it: and haue dominion of the fish of the see, and foule of the aire: and of euery lyuing thyng that moueth vpon the earth.

²⁹ And God sayde: Beholde, I haue geuen you euery herbe sowynge seed, which is in the vpper face of all the earth: and euery tre in the which is the frute of tree, and that soweth seed, that they maye be meate vnto you.

³⁰ To euery beast of the earth also, and to euery byrde of the ayre, and to euery suche thinge as crepeth vpon the earth (wherin is a lyuing soule) I haue geuen all grenenes of herbe to be meat. And it came so to passe.

³¹ And God sawe euery thyng that he had made, and beholde, it was exceading good. The euenyng also and the mornynge was made the syxth daye.

2

¹ The heauens also and the erth were fynished, and all the hoost of them.

² And in the seuenth daye God ended his worcke which he had made. In the seuenth daye also, he rested from all hys worke which he had made.

³ And God blessed the seuenth daye, and sanctifyed it, because that in it he had rested from all his worke, which God ordeyned to make.

⁴ These are the generacions of the heauens and of the earth when they were created, in the daye, when the Lorde God made the earth and the heauens

⁵ and euery plant of the felde, before it was in the earth: and euery herbe of the felde, before it grewe. For the Lord God had not caused it to raygne vpon the earth, nether was there a man to tyll the grounde.

⁶ And there went vp a myste from of the earth, and watred the whole face of the grounde.

⁷ The Lorde God also shope man, euen dust from of the grounde, and brethed into his nastrels the breth of lyfe: and Adam was made a lyuing soule.

⁸ And the Lorde God planted a garden eastwarde from Eden, and there he put man whom he had made.

⁹ Moreouer, out of the grounde made the Lorde God to growe, euery tre that was pleasaunt to the sight, and commodious for meate. The tre of lyfe also and the tre of knowledge of good and of euyll was in the myddes of the garden.

¹⁰ And out of Eden, there went forth a riuer to water the garden. And from thence it was deuyded, and became into foure heades.

¹¹ The name of one is Pison. The same is it that compasseth the whole lande of Hauilah,

¹² where there is golde. And the golde of that lande is good. There is also Bdelliun, and the onix stone.

¹³ The name of the second ryuer is, Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole lande of Ethiopia.

¹⁴ The name of the third ryuer is Hidekel, & it goth towarde the eastsyde of Assiria. And the fourth ryuer is Euphrates.

¹⁵ The Lord God also toke Adam, and put him into the garden of Eden, that he myght dresse and kepe it.

¹⁶ And the Lorde God commaunded Adam, saying: Eating, thou shalt eate of euery tre of the garden.

¹⁷ But as touchynge the tre of knowledge of good and euell, thou shalt not eate of it. Els, in what daye soeuer thou eatest therof, thou shalt dye the death.

¹⁸ And agayne, the Lord God sayd: It is not good that Adam shulde be alone I will make him an helpe, which maye be present wt him.

¹⁹ And so out of the grounde shope the Lorde God euery beast of the felde, and euery foule of the ayre, and brought it vnto man, that he myght se howe he wolde call it. For likewyse as man hym selfe named euery liuyng thyng, euen so was the name therof.

²⁰ Man him selfe therfore named the names vnto all catell, and foule of the ayre, and to euery beast of the felde. And for man founde he not an helpe that myght be present with him.

²¹ The Lorde God also caused a slomber to fall vpon Adam, and he slept. And he toke one of hys ribbes, & closed vp the flesh in stead therof.

²² And the rybbe which the Lorde God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her vnto man.

²³ And man sayde: This is nowe bone of my bones, and fleshe of my fleshe. She shalbe called woman, because she was taken out of man.

²⁴ For this cause shall a man leaue hys father and hys mother, & shalbe ioyned with hys wyfe, and they shall become one flesh:

²⁵ and they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.

3

¹ But the serpent was sotyller then euery beast of the felde, which the Lorde God made. And he sayde vnto the woman: yee, hath the Lorde God sayde: ye shall not eat of euery tre of the garden?

² And the woman sayde vnto the serpent: we eate of the frute of the tre of the garden:

³ but as for the frute of the tre which is in the middes of the garden, God hath sayde: ye shall not eate of it, nether shal ye touche it, lest happly ye dye.

⁴ And the serpent sayde vnto the woman: ye shall not dye the death:

⁵ but God doth knowe, that the same daye that ye eat therof, your eyes shalbe opened, & ye shalbe euen as goddes, knowing good and euyll.

⁶ And so the woman (seyng that the same tre was good to eate, and lusty to the eyes, & that the same tre was pleasaunt to get wisdome) toke of the frute therof, and dyd eate: and gaue vnto her husband beynge with her, which dyd eate also.

⁷ And the eyes of them both were opened: and they knewe that they were naked, & they sowed fygge leaues together, and made them selues aperns.

⁸ And they heard the voyce of the Lord God walkynge in the garden in the coole of the daye. And Adam & his wyfe hyd them selues from the presence of the Lorde God among the trees of the garden.

⁹ And the Lorde God called Adam, and sayd vnto hym: where art thou?

¹⁰ which sayde: I hearde thy voyce in the garden, & was afrayed, because I was naked, & hyd my selfe.

¹¹ And he sayde: Who tolde the, that thou wast naked? hast thou not eaten of the same tre, concernynge the which I commaunded the, that thou shuldest not eate of it?

¹² And Adam sayd: The woman, whom thou gauest to be wyth me, she gaue me of the tree, and I dyd eate.

¹³ And the Lorde God sayde vnto the woman: Why hast thou done this? And the woman sayde: yonder serpent begyled me, and I dyd eate.

¹⁴ And the Lorde God sayde vnto the serpent: because thou hast done this, thou art curssed aboue all catell, and aboue euery beast of the felde. Upon thy belly shalt thou go, & dust shalt thou eate all the dayes, of thy lyfe.

¹⁵ I will also put enemytie betwene the & the woman, betwene thy sede and hyr sede: The same shall treade downe thy head, and thou shalt treade vpon hys hele.

¹⁶ But vnto the woman he sayde: In multiplienge wyll I multiplye thy sorowe & thy conceyuynge: In sorowe shalt thou brynge furth chyldren, & thy lust shall pertayne to thy husbande, & he shall haue the rule of the.

¹⁷ Unto Adam he sayde: Because thou hast herkened vnto the voyce of thy wyfe, & hast eaten of the tree (concernynge the which I commaunded the, sayinge: Thou shalt not eate of it) cursed is the ground for thy sake. In sorowe shalt thou eate of it all the dayes of thy lyfe.

¹⁸ Thorne also & thystle shall it cause to growe vnto the, & thou shalt eate the herbe of the felde.

¹⁹ In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eate bread, tyll thou be turned agayne into the grounde, for out of it was thou taken, in asmuch as thou art dust, & into dust shalt thou be turned agayne.

²⁰ And Adam called his wyues name Heua, because she was the mother of all lyuinge.

²¹ Unto the same Adam also & to hys wyfe dyd the Lorde God make lethren garmentes, & clothed them.

²² And the Lorde God sayde: Beholde, yonder man hath bene euen as one of vs, that he myght knowe good and euell. And nowe lest happly he put furth hys hande, and take also of the tree of lyfe, and eate, & lyue for euer.

²³ And the Lorde God sent them furth from the garden of Eden, to dresse the grounde that he was taken out of.

²⁴ And so he droue out man, & at the east syde of the garden of Eden, he set Cherubins, & the glysterynge flame of a shakynge swerde, to kepe the waye of the tre of lyfe.

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¹ Adam knewe Heua his wife: Who conceauynge, bare Cain, sayinge: I haue gotten a man of the Lorde.

² And she proceadynge furth, brought furth hys brother Habel, and Habel was a keper of shepe. But Cain was a tyller of the grounde.

³ And in processe of dayes it came to passe, that Cain brought of the frute of the grounde an oblacyon vnto the Lorde.

⁴ Habel also brought of the fyrstlynges of hys shepe, and of the fat therof. And the Lorde had respecte vnto Habel, & to hys oblacyon.

⁵ But vnto Cain and to hys offrynge he had no respecte. For the whych cause Cain was exceadyng wrothe, and hys countenaunce abated.

⁶ And the Lorde sayde vnto Cain: Why art thou wrothe, & why is thy countenaunce abated? yf thou do well, shall there not be a promocion.

⁷ And yf thou dost not well, lyeth not thy synne in the dores? Unto the also pertayneth the lust therof, and thou shalt haue dominion ouer it.

⁸ And Cain spake vnto Habel hys brother. And it fortuned whan they were in the felde, Cain rose vp agaynst Habel hys brother, and slue him.

⁹ And the Lorde sayde vnto Cain: Where is Habel thy brother? Whych sayd: I wote not. Am I my brothers keper?

¹⁰ And he sayde: What hast thou done? The voyce of thy brothers bloude crieth vnto me out of the grounde.

¹¹ And nowe art thou curssed from of the erth, whych hath opened hyr mouth, to receaue thy brothers bloude from thy hande.

¹² If thou tyll the grounde, she shall not proceade to yelde vnto the hyr strength. Fugityue, and vagabounde shalt thou be in the erth.

¹³ And Cain sayde vnto the Lorde: Myne iniquite is more, then that it maye be forgeuen.

¹⁴ Beholde, thou hast cast me out this daye from the vpper face of the erth, and from thy face shall I be hyd: Fugityue also and a vagabounde shall I be in the erth. And it shall come to passe: euery one that fyndeth me, shall slaye me.

¹⁵ And the Lorde sayde vnto him: yee, but whosoeuer slayeth Cain, it shalbe auenged seuen folde. And the Lorde set a marke vpon Cain, lest any man fyndynge him, shulde kyll hym.

¹⁶ And Cain wente out from the presence of the Lorde, & dwelt in the londe of Nod eastward from Eden.

¹⁷ Cain also knewe his wife, whych conceaued & bare Henoch: & buyldinge a cyte, he called the name of the same cyte after the name of hys sonne Henoch.

¹⁸ Unto the same Henoch was borne Irad. Irad bedat Mehuiael, & Mehuiael begat Methuschael. Methuschael begat Lamech.

¹⁹ And Lamech toke vnto hym two wyues: The name of the one was Ada, & the name of the other was Zilla.

²⁰ And Ada begat Iabal, whych was the father of such as dwell in tentes, & of suche as haue catell.

²¹ His brothers name was Thubal, whych was the father of such as handle harpe & organe.

²² And Zilla also begat Thubal Cain, which wrought connyngly euery craft of brasse & of yron. The syster of Thubal Cain, was Naema.

²³ And Lamech sayde vnto his wyues Ada and Zilla: Heare my voyce ye wyues of Lamech, herken vnto my speche: I haue not slayne a man to the woundynge of my selfe, & a yonge man to myne owne punyshment.

²⁴ If Cain shalbe auenged seuenfolde, truly Lamech seuentye tymes and seuen tymes.

²⁵ Adam knewe his wife agayne, & she bare a sonne, and called his name Seth: For God (sayde she) hath appoynted me another sede in steade of Habel, whom Cain slew.

²⁶ And vnto the same Seth also there was borne a sonne, & he called his name Enos. Then began they to make inuocacyon in the name of the Lorde.

5

¹ This is the boke of the generacyons of Adam. In the daye that God created man, in the lyknesse of God made he him.

² Male and female created he them, & blessed them, and called theyr name Adam in the daye of theyr creacyon.

³ And Adam lyued an hundreth & thyrtye yeres, & begat (a sonne) in hys owne lyknesse after his ymage, & called his name Seth.

⁴ All the dayes of Adam (after he had begotten Seth) were eyght hundreth yeres, & he begat sonnes and daughters.

⁵ And all the dayes that Adam lyued, were nyne hundreth and thyrtye yeares, and he dyed.

⁶ Seth lyued an hundred & fyue yeares, and begat Enos.

⁷ And Seth lyued (after he begat Enos) eyght hundreth yeares & seuen yeres, & begat sonnes & daughters.

⁸ And all the dayes of Seth were, nyne hundreth & twelue yeares. And he dyed.

⁹ Enos lyued nyntye yeares & begat kenan.

¹⁰ And Enos lyued (after he begat kenan) eight hundreth, and fyftene yeares, & begat sonnes & daughters.

¹¹ And all the dayes of Enos were nyne hundreth & fyue yeres. And he dyed.

¹² Kenan lyued seuentye yeres, & begat Mahelael.

¹³ And kenan lyued (after he begat Mahelael) eyght hundreth yeares and fortye yeres, and begat sonnes & daughters.

¹⁴ And all the dayes of kenan were nyne hundreth yeares and ten yeares, and he dyed.

¹⁵ Mahelael lyued syxtye yeares & fyue yeares,

¹⁶ & begat Iared. And agayne, Mahelael lyued (after he begat Iared) eyght hundreth & thirtye yeres, & begat sonnes & daughters.

¹⁷ And all the dayes of Mahelael were eyght hundreth nynetye & fyue yeares. And he dyed.

¹⁸ Iared lyued an hundred & syxtye and two yeares, & begat Henoch.

¹⁹ And Iared lyued (after he begat Henoch) eyght hundreth yeares, & begat sonnes and daughters.

²⁰ And all the dayes of Iared were nyne hundreth and syxtye and two yeares. And he dyed.

²¹ Henoch lyued syxtie & fyue yeares, & begat Methuselah.

²² And Henoch walked wyth God after he begat Methuselah, thre hundreth yeres, & begat sonnes & daughters.

²³ And all the dayes of Henoch were thre hundreth syxtie & fyue yeres.

²⁴ And Henoch walked with God, & he (was no more sene,) for God toke hym awaye.

²⁵ Methuselah also lyued an hundreth yeares, & eyghtye & seuen yeres, & begat Lamech.

²⁶ And agayne Methuselah lyued (after he begat Lamech,) seuen hundreth yeares, and eyghtye, & two yeres, and begat sonnes and daughters.

²⁷ And all the dayes of Methuselah were nyne hundreth yeares and syxtye & nyne yeares. And he dyed.

²⁸ Lamech lyued an hundreth yeres & eyghtye & two yeres, & begat a sonne,

²⁹ & called his name Noah, sayenge: This same shall comforte vs as concernynge oure worke & sorowe of oure handes, from of the erth, which God curssed.

³⁰ And Lamech lyued (after he begat Noah) fyue hundreth yeres & nynety & fyue yeares, & begat sonnes & daughters.

³¹ And all the dayes of Lamech were seuen hundreth yeares, and seuentye and seuen yeares, and he dyed.

³² Noah was fyue hundreth yeare olde. And Noah begat Sem, Ham, and Iapheth.

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¹ And it came to passe, that man beganne to be multiplied in the vpper face of the erth, and there were daughters borne vnto them.

² The sonnes of God also sawe the daughters of men that they were fayre, and they toke them wyues from amonge all that they had chosen.

³ And the Lorde sayde: My sprete shall not allwaye, stryue in man, because he is flesh, and hys dayes shalbe an hundreth & twentye yeares.

⁴ But there were gyauntes in the erth in those dayes: yee and after that the sonnes of God came vnto the daughters of men, and they had gendred vnto them, the same became myghtye men of the worlde, and men of renowne.

⁵ But God sawe that the malyce of man was greate in the erth, and all the ymaginacyon of the thoughtes of hys hert was onely euell euery daye.

⁶ And it repented the Lorde, that he had made man in the erth, & he was touched with sorow in his harte.

⁷ And the Lorde sayde: I wyll (from the vpper face of the earth) destroye man, whom I haue created: both man, catel, worme, & foule of the ayre, for it repenteth me that I haue made them.

⁸ But Noah founde grace in the eyes of the Lorde:

⁹ These are the generacyons of Noah Noah was iust & perfect in his generacions, and walked wt God.

¹⁰ Noah begat thre sonnes: Sem, Ham, & Iapheth.

¹¹ The earth also was corrupte before God, & the same earthe was fylled wt crueltye.

¹² And God loked vpon the erth, and beholde it was corrupt: For al fleshe had corrupt his waye vpon earth.

¹³ And God sayde vnto Noah: The ende of all fleshe is come before me, for the earthe is fylled with crueltye from the face of them. And beholde, I wyll destroy them with the erth,

¹⁴ Make the an Arke of pyne trees. Habitacyons shalt thou make in the Arke, and shalt pytch it within & without with pytch.

¹⁵ And of this fasshyon shalt thou make it. The lengthe of the Arke shalbe thre hundreth cubytes: The bredth of it, fyftye cubites, & the heygth of it thyrtye cubytes.

¹⁶ A wyndowe shalt thou make in the Arke, and in a cubite shalt thou fynyshe it aboue, but the dore of the Arke shalte thou set in the syde therof. With thre loftes one aboue an other shalte thou make it.

¹⁷ And behode, I, euen I, do bring a floude of waters vpon the earthe, that I maye destroye al flesshe wherin is the breth of lyfe vnder heauen: And euery thynge that is in the earth, shall dye.

¹⁸ With the also wyll I make my couenaunt, & thou shalte come into the Arke: thou & thy sonnes, thy wife & thy sonnes wyues wt the.

¹⁹ And euery lyuing thinge, and of all flesshe, a payre of euery one shalt thou brynge into the Arke, to kepe them alyue wt the. They shalbe male & female.

²⁰ Of fethered foules also after theyr kynde, & of catell after theyr kynde, of euery worme of the earth after his kynde: two of euery one shall come vnto the, that thou mayst kepe them alyue.

²¹ And take thou with the of all meate that is eaten, and thou shalt laye it vp with the, that it maye be meate for the & them.

²² Noah therfore dyd accordyng vnto all that God commaunded hym: euen so dyd he.

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¹ And the lord sayd vnto Noah: Come thou and al thy house into the Arke for the haue I sene ryghtuous before me in thys generacyon.

² Of euery cleane beaste thou shalte take with the seuen and seuen: The male and hys female: But of vncleane catell, two, the male and his female.

³ Of foules also of the ayre, seuen and seuen, the male & the female, to kepe sede aliue vpon the face of al the whole erth.

⁴ For yet after seuen dayes I wyl rayne vpon the erth fortye dayes & fortye nyghtes. And all substaunce that I haue made, wyll I destroye from of the vpper face of the earth.

⁵ Noah therfore dyd accordynge vnto all that God commaunded hym.

⁶ And Noah was syxe hundreth yeres, & the floude of waters was vpon the earth.

⁷ And Noah came (and his sonnes, & his wyfe, & his sonnes wiues with hym) vnto the Arke, because of the waters of the floude.

⁸ Of cleane catell, & of vncleane catell, & of flyenge foules, and of euery suche as crepeth vpon the erth,

⁹ there came two and two vnto Noah into the Arke, the male and the female, as God had commaunded Noah.

¹⁰ It fortuned also after seuen dayes, and the waters of the floude were vpon the earth.

¹¹ In the syxe hundrethe yere of Noes lyfe in the seconde Moneth, the seuenth daye of the moneth. In the same daye were all the fountaynes of the greate depe broken vp, and the wyndowes of heauen were opened.

¹² And the rayne was vpon the earthe fortye dayes and fortye nyghtes.

¹³ In the selfe same daye entred Noah, Sem, Ham, & Iapheth, the sonnes of Noah, & Noahs wyfe, and the thre wiues of his sonnes with them into the Arke:

¹⁴ They, & euery beast after hys kynde, and all catell after theyr kynde, yee & euery worme that crepeth vpon the earthe after his kynde, and euery byrde after his kynde, and euery flieng & fethered foule.

¹⁵ And they came vnto Noah into the Arke two and two, of all flesh wherin is the breth of lyfe.

¹⁶ And they entryng in, came male and female of all fleshe, as God had commaunded hym. And God shut hym in rounde aboute.

¹⁷ And the floude came fortye dayes vpon the earth, & the waters were increaced, and bare vp the Arke, whiche was lyfte vp aboue the erth.

¹⁸ The waters also preuayled, & were increased exceadyngly vpon the earthe, and the Arke went on the vpper face of the waters.

¹⁹ And the waters preuailed exceadingly vpon the earth, & al the hye hylles that are vnder the whole heauen, were couered.

²⁰ Fiftene cubytes vpwarde dyd the waters preuayle, so that the mountaynes were couered.

²¹ And all fleshe dyed that moued vpon the earth, in foule, in catel, in beast, and in euery worme that crepeth vpon the earth: yee and euery man also.

²² What soeuer was (in whose nostrels the breth of lyfe dyd brethe, all these in the drye lande dyed.)

²³ And euery thyng was destroyed, that remayned, & that was in the vpper parte of the grounde (both man and catell, and worme, and foule of the ayre) they were euen destroyed from of the earth. And Noah onely remayned alyue, and they that were with hym in the Arke.

²⁴ But the waters preuayled vpon the earth an hundreth and fyftye dayes.

8

¹ And God remembred Noah, and euery beaste, and all the catell that was with him in the Arke. And god made a wind to passe vpon the earth, and the waters ceassed.

² The fountaynes also of the depe and the windowes of heauen were stopped,

³ and the rayne from heauen was restrayned. And the waters from the erth were returned, goyng and commynge agayne. And after the ende of the hundreth and fyftieth daye, the waters were abated.

⁴ And in the seuenth moneth in the seuententh daye of the moneth, the Arke rested vpon the mountaines of Armenia.

⁵ And the waters truely were goynge and decreacyng vntyl the tenth moneth: For in the tenth moneth, & in the fyrst daie of the same moneth were the toppes of the mountaynes sene.

⁶ And after the ende of the fortieth daye, it happened that Noah opened the wyndowe of the Arke which he had made.

⁷ And he sent forth a rauen, whiche went out goyng forth and returnynge agayne, vntyll the waters were dryed vp vpon the earth.

⁸ And agayne he sent forth a doue from hym, that he myghte se yf the waters were abated from the vpper face of the grounde.

⁹ And the doue founde no rest for the sole of her fote, & she returned vnto hym agayne into the Arke: for the waters were in the vpper face of the whole erth. And he, whan he had put forth his hande, toke her, and pulled her into hym into the Arke.

¹⁰ And he abode yet other seuen dayes, and proceadynge further, he sent forthe the doue out of the Arke.

¹¹ And the doue came to hym in the euen tyde, and lo, in her mouthe was an oliue leaf that she had pluct, wherby Noah did knowe, that the waters were abated vpon the earth.

¹² And he abode yet other seuen daies and sent forthe the doue, whiche proceaded not to returne vnto hym any more.

¹³ And it came to passe in the syxe hundreth & one yere, in the fyrst moneth, & in the fyrst daye of the moneth, the waters were dryed vp from the earthe. And Noah remoued the coueryng of the Arke, & loked, & beholde, the vpper face of the grounde was dryed vp.

¹⁴ And in the seconde moneth, in the seuen & twentye daye of the moneth, was the earth dryed.

¹⁵ And God spake vnto Noah sayeng:

¹⁶ Go forth of the Arke, thou & thy wyfe, thy sonnes, & thy sonnes wyues wt the.

¹⁷ And brynge forth with the, euery beaste that is with the: of all flesshe (both foule & catel, & euery worme that crepeth vpon the earthe) that they maye gendre in the earth, & bryng forth frute, and increase vpon erth.

¹⁸ And so Noah came forth and hys sonnes, hys wyfe, & hys sonnes wyues with hym.

¹⁹ Euery beast also and euery worme, euery foule, and whatsoeuer crepeth vpon the earth (after theyr kyndes) went out of the Arke.

²⁰ And Noah buylded an altare vnto the lorde, and toke of euery cleane beast, and of euery cleane foule, & offred sacrifyces in the altare.

²¹ And the Lorde smelled a swete (or quyete) sauoure. And the Lorde sayde in his herte: I wyll not proceade to curse the grounde any more for mannes sake, for the ymagynacyon of mans hert is euel euen from hys youth. Neyther wyl I adde to smite any more euery thynge liuynge, as I haue done,

²² yet therfore shall not sowyng tyme, & haruest, colde and heate, Sommer & wynter, daye & nyght, ceasse, all the dayes of the earth.

9

¹ And God blessed Noah & his sonnes, and sayde vnto them: brynge ye forth frute and multiplye, and replenyshe the earth.

² The feare of you and the drede of you shalbe vpon euery beast of the erth, and vpon euery foule of the ayre, in all such as the earth bryngeth forth, and in all the fyshes of the see. Into your hande are they delyuered.

³ Euery thynge that moueth it selfe, and that lyueth, shalbe meate for you: Euen as the grene herbe haue I geuen you all thinges.

⁴ But flesshe in the lyfe therof, and in the bloude therof shall ye not eate.

⁵ Els your bloude of your lyues wyll I requyre. From the hande of euery beaste wyll I requyre it, and from the hande of man: From the hande of mans brother wyll I requyre the lyfe of man.

⁶ Who so sheddeth mannes bloude, by man shall hys bloude be shedde: For in the ymage of God, dyd God make man.

⁷ But brynge you forth frute, and multiplye: Gendre ye in the earth, and increase therin.

⁸ God spake also vnto Noah & to his sonnes with hym sayeng:

⁹ Beholde I set vp my couenaunt with you, & with your sede after you,

¹⁰ and with euery liuing creature that is with you, both in foule and in catell, and in euery beast of the earth which is with you of all that go oute of the Arke, according vnto euery liuyng thing of the earth.

¹¹ But my couenaunt wyl I make wt you that from henceforth euery flesshe be not roted out with the waters of a floude, neyther shall there be a floude to destroye the earth any more.

¹² And God sayde: This is the token of the couenaunt which I geue betwene me & you, and euery lyuynge creature that is with you in to perpetuall generacyons.

¹³ I haue set my bowe in the cloude, and it shalbe for a token betwene me & the erth.

¹⁴ And it shall come to passe, that whan I brynge a cloude vpon the erth, the bowe also shall be sene in the same cloude.

¹⁵ And I wyll thynke vpon my couenaunt whych is betwene me & you, & euery lyuynge creature in all fleshe: & it shall nomore come to passe, that waters make a floude to destroye all fleshe.

¹⁶ But the bowe shalbe in the same cloude, & I wyll loke vpon it, that I maye thynke vpon the euerlastynge couenaunt betwene God and euery lyuinge creature, in all flesh that is vpon erth.

¹⁷ And God sayde vnto Noah. This is the token of the couenaunt which I haue made betwene me and all flesh that is vpon erthe.

¹⁸ The sonnes of Noah goynge furth of the Arke, were: Sem, Ham, and Iapheth. And Ham truly is the father of Chanaan.

¹⁹ These are the thre sonnes of Noah, & of them was the whole erth ouerspred.

²⁰ Noah also beganne to be an husbande man, and planted a vyneyarde.

²¹ And he drynkynge of the wyne, was dronken, and vncouered wythin hys tent.

²² And Ham the father of Chanaan seynge the nakednesse of hys father, tolde hys two brethren wythout.

²³ And Sem and Iapheth, they two, takynge a garment, layed it vpon their shulders: & comminge bakwarde, couered the naked preuityes of their father: namely, theyr faces beynge turned awaye, lest they shulde se theyr fathers preuities.

²⁴ And Noah awoke from hys wyne, and knewe what his yonger sonne had done vnto hym.

²⁵ And he sayde: Curssed be Chanaan, a seruaunt of seruauntes shall he be vnto hys brethren.

²⁶ He sayde moreouer: Blessed be the Lorde God of Sem, & Chanaan shalbe hys seruaunt.

²⁷ God shall enlarge Iapheth, and he shall dwell in the tentes of Sem, & Chanaan shalbe their seruaunt.

²⁸ Noah lyued after the floude thre hundreth and fyftye yeares.

²⁹ And all the dayes of Noah were nyne hundreth & fyftye yeares. And he dyed.

10

¹ These are the generacions of the sonnes of Noah, Sem, Ham and Iapheth: And vnto them were chyldren borne after the floude.

² The chyldren of Iapheth: Gomer and Magog, and Madai, and Iauan, and Thubal, Mesech and Theras.

³ The chyldren of Gomer: Askenas and Riphath and Thogarma.

⁴ The chyldren of Iauan: Elisa and Tharsis, Kitthim, and Dodanim.

⁵ Of these were the Iles of the Gentiles deuyded in their landes, euery man after hys tonge, & after hys kynreds in their nacyons.

⁶ The children of Ham: Cusch & Mizraiim, and Phut and Chanaan.

⁷ And the chyldren of Cusch: Seba and Hauilah and Sabtha, and Rahma, and Sabthecha. The chyldren of Rahma: Scheba and Dedan.

⁸ Cusch also begat Nimrod. The same beganne to be myghtye in the erth.

⁹ For he was a myghtye hunter before the Lorde. Wherfore it is sayde: Euen as Nimrod the myghtie hunter before the Lorde.

¹⁰ The begynning of his kyngdome was Babel and Erech and Accad, and Calne, in the londe of Sinhar.

¹¹ Out of that londe came Assur, and buylded Niniue, and the stretes of the citie & Calah.

¹² Resen also betwene Niniue and Calah, and it is a greate cite.

¹³ Mizraiim begat Ludym, & Enamim, & Lehabim, and Nephtuhim.

¹⁴ Pathrusim also and Casluhim, out of whom came Philistiim and Capthorim.

¹⁵ Chanaan begat at Zidon his fyrst borne sonne, and Heth,

¹⁶ & Iebusi, and Emori, & Girgosi.

¹⁷ Hahiui also and Haarki and Hassini,

¹⁸ and Haaruadi, and Hazmari, and Hahemathi: And afterwarde were the kynreds of the Cananites spred abrode.

¹⁹ The border of the Cananites was from Zidon, as thou commest to Gerar vntill Gazan, and as thou goest vnto Sodoma, and Gomora, and Adama, and Zeboiim, euen vnto Lesa.

²⁰ These are the chyldren of Ham in their kynreds, in theyr tonges, countrees and in theyr nacyons.

²¹ Unto Sem also the father of all the children of Eber (and elder brother of Iapheth) there were chyldren borne.

²² The chyldren of Sem: Elam and Assur, Arphachsad, and Lud and Aram.

²³ The children of Aram: Uz and Hul, Gether & Mas

²⁴ Arphachsad begat Selah, & Selah begat Eber.

²⁵ Unto Eber also were borne two sonnes: The name of the one was Peleg, for in hys dayes was the erth deuyded. And hys brothers name was Iaketan.

²⁶ Iaketan begat Almodad and Saleph Hazarmaueth and Ierah,

²⁷ and Hodoran & Uzal and Dickla,

²⁸ Obal also & Abimael and Scheba,

²⁹ and Ophir, and Hauila, and Iobab. All these were the chyldren of Iaketan.

³⁰ And their dwellinge was from Mesa, as thou goest vnto Sephar a mount of the east.

³¹ These are the children of Sem after their kynreds and tonges in their londes and nacyons.

³² And so these are the kynreds of the chyldren of Noah, after their generacions in their peoples, and of these were the nacions deuyded in the erth after the floude.

11

¹ Al the whole erth was of one language & lyke speche.

² And it happened whan they wente furth from the east, they founde a playne in the londe of Sinhar, & there they abode.

³ And they sayd euery one to his neyghboure: Come, let vs prepare brycke, & burne them in the fyre. And they had brycke for stone, & slyme had they in steade of morter.

⁴ And they sayde: Go to, let vs buylde vs a citie & a tower, whose toppe maye reach vnto heauen: & let vs make vs a name, lest haply we be scatred abrode in to the vpper face of the whole erth.

⁵ But the Lord came downe, to se the cytie and tower whych the chyldren of men buylded.

⁶ And the Lorde sayde: Beholde, the people is one, and they haue all one language, & thys they begynne to do, neyther wyll it be restrayned from them, whatsoeuer they haue ymagined to do.

⁷ Come on, let vs go downe, and confounde theyr language, that euery one perceaue not hys neyghbours speche.

⁸ And so the Lorde scatred them from that place into the vpper face of all the erth. And they left of to buylde the cytie.

⁹ And therfore is the name of it called Babel, because the Lorde dyd there confounde the language of all the erth. And from thence dyd the Lorde scater them abrode vpon the face of all the erth.

¹⁰ These are the generacyons of Sem: Sem was an hundreth yeare olde, and begat Arphachsad two yeare after the floude.

¹¹ And Sem lyued (after he begat Arphachsad) fyue hundreth yeares, and begat sonnes and daughters.

¹² Arphachsad lyued fyue and thyrtye yeares, & begat Selah.

¹³ And Arphachsad lyued (after he begat Selah) foure hundreth & thre yeares, and begat sonnes & daughters.

¹⁴ Selah lyued thyrtye yeares, & begat Eber.

¹⁵ And Selah lyued (after he begat Eber) foure hundreth and thre yeares, and begat sonnes and daughters.

¹⁶ Eber lyued foure and thyrtye yeares, and begat Peleg.

¹⁷ And Eber lyued (after he begat Peleg) foure hundreth and thyrtye yeares, & begat sonnes and daughters.

¹⁸ Peleg lyued thyrtye yeares, & begat Reu.

¹⁹ And Peleg lyued (after he begat Reu) two hundreth and nyne yeares, and begat sonnes and daughters.

²⁰ Reu lyued two and thyrtye yeares, and begat Serug.

²¹ And Reu lyued (after he begat Serug) two hundreth and seuen yeares, and begat sonnes and daughters.

²² Serug lyued thyrtye yeares, & begat Nahor.

²³ And Serug lyued (after he begat Nahor) two hundreth yeares, and begat sonnes and daughters.

²⁴ And Nahor lyued nyne & twentye yeares, and begat Terah.

²⁵ And Nahor lyued (after he begat Terah) an hundreth and nynetene yeares, and begat sonnes and daughters.

²⁶ Terah lyued seuentye yeares, and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran.

²⁷ These are the generacyons of Terah: Terah begat Abram, Nahor & Haran. Haran begat Lot.

²⁸ And Haran dyed in the presence of Terah hys father, in the londe of hys natyuitye, euen in Ur of the Caldees.

²⁹ Abram and Nahor toke them wyues: The name of Abrams wyfe was Sarai, & the name of Nahors wyfe was Milca, the daughter of Haran the father of Milca & the father of Iisca.

³⁰ But Sarai was baren, & had no chylde.

³¹ And Terah toke Abram his sonne, and Lot the sonne of Haran, hys sonnes sonne, & Sara hys daughter in lawe, hys sonne Abrams wyfe. And they departed together from Ur of the Caldees, that they myght go into the londe of Chanaan, & they came vnto Charan, & dwelt there.

³² And the dayes of Terah were two hundreth and fyue yeares, and Terah dyed in Haran.

12

¹ And the Lorde sayd vnto Abram: Get the out of thy countrey, & out of thy nacyon, and from thy fathers house, vnto a londe that I wyll shewe the.

² And I wyll make of the a greate people, and wyll blesse the, & make thy name greate, that thou mayest be euen a blessynge.

³ I wyll also blesse them that blesse the, & cursse suche as curseth the, & in the shall all the kynreds of the erth be blessed.

⁴ And so Abram departed euen as the Lorde spake vnto him, & Lot wente wyth hym. And Abram was seuentye & fyue yeares olde, whan he departed out of Haram.

⁵ And Abram toke Sarai his wife & Lot his brothers sonne, & all theyr substaunce that they had in possessyon, & the soules that they had begotten in Haran. And they departed, that they myght come in to the londe of Chanaan,

⁶ and in to the londe of Chanaan they came. Abram passed thorowe the londe vnto the place of Sichem, & vnto the playne of Moreh: And the Cananite was then in the londe.

⁷ And the Lorde apearynge vnto Abram: sayd: Unto thy sede wyll I geue this londe. And there buylded he an altare vnto the lorde, euen where he had appeared vnto hym.

⁸ And remouynge thence vnto a mountayne that was eastwarde from bethel, he pitched his tent, hauynge Bethel on the west syde, & Hai on the east. And he buyldynge an altare vnto the Lorde, dyd call on the name of the Lorde.

⁹ And Abram wente furth goinge and departynge towarde the south.

¹⁰ But there was a derth in that londe, and therfore wente Abram downe in to Egypte, that he myght soiourne there, for there was a sore derth in the londe.

¹¹ And it happened whan he was come nere to entre in to Egypte, he sayde vnto Sarai hys wyfe: Beholde, I knowe, that thou art a fayre woman to loke vpon.

¹² Therfore shall it come to passe that whan the Egypcyans se the, they shall saye: She is hys wyfe. And they shall kyll me, but they shall saue the alyue.

¹³ Saye (I praye the) that thou art my syster, that I maye fare well for thy sake, and that my soule maye lyue thorowe thy occasyon.

¹⁴ And so it happened, whan Abram was come in to Egypte, the Egyptians behelde the woman, for she was very fayre.

¹⁵ The prynces also of Pharao sawe her, and commended her before Pharao, and the woman was taken into Pharaos house.

¹⁶ And he truly intreated Abram well for her sake, and he had shepe & oxen and he asses, men seruauntes and mayde seruauntes, she asses & camels.

¹⁷ And the Lorde smote Pharao and hys house with greate plages because of Sarai Abrams wyfe.

¹⁸ And Pharao callinge Abram, sayde Why hast thou done thys vnto me? Why dyddest thou not tell me, that she was thy wyfe?

¹⁹ Nowe therfore beholde, there is thy wyfe, take her, and go thy waye:

²⁰ And Pharao gaue the men commaundement concernynge him and they conuayed him furth, and his wyfe, and all that he had.

13

¹ And so Abram gat him vp out of Egypte, he & his wyfe, & all that he had, & Lot wyth hym, towarde the south.

² And Abram was very ryche, in catell in syluer & golde.

³ And he wente furth on hys iourney from the south towarde Bethel, vnto the place where hys tent had bene at the begynnynge, betwene Bethel & Hai:

⁴ Euen vnto the place of the altare which he had made there at the fyrst, and there Abram called on the name of the Lorde.

⁵ Lot also whych went with Abram had shepe, cattell & tentes:

⁶ & the lande was not able to receaue them that they myght dwell together, for the substaunce of their ryches was greate, & they coulde not dwell to gether.

⁷ And there fell a stryfe betwene the herdmen of Abrams catell, & the herdmen of Lots catell. Moreouer the Cananytes and the Pheresytes dwelled at that tyme in the lande.

⁸ Then sayde Abram vnto Lot: Let there be no stryfe (I praye the) betwene the and me & betwene my herdmen and thyne, for we be brethren.

⁹ Is not all the hole lande before the? Departe I praye the fro me. If thou wilt take the lefte hande, I will go to the ryght: or yf thou departe to the ryght hande I will go to the left.

¹⁰ And so Lot lyftynge vp hys eyes, beholde all the contre of Iordane, which was a plenteous contre of water euery where, before the Lord destroyed Sodome & Gomorra, euen as the garden of the Lorde, lyke the lande of Egypte as thou commest vnto Zoar.

¹¹ Than Lot chose all the playne countrey of Iordane & toke hys iourney from the east. And so departed the one brother from the other.

¹² Abram dwelled in the lande of Canaan: and Lot abode in the cyties of the playne, & tented vntyll Sodome.

¹³ But the men of Sodome were wicked, and exceadynge synners before the Lorde.

¹⁴ And the Lorde sayde vnto Abram, after that Lot was departed from him. Lyfte vp thyne eyes nowe, & loke from the place where thou art, northwarde, southwarde, estwarde & westwarde,

¹⁵ for all the lande whyche thou seeste wyll I geue vnto the and to thy seed for euer.

¹⁶ And I wyll make thy seed, as the dust of the erth: so that yf a man can nombre the dust of the erth, than shall thy seed also be nombred.

¹⁷ Aryse and walke about in the lande, after the length of it & after the bredth therof, for I wyll geue it vnto the.

¹⁸ And Abram takynge downe hys tente, came and dwelled in the okegroue of Mamre, namely in Ebron, and buylded there an alter vnto the Lorde.

14

¹ And it chaunsed in the dayes of Amraphael kynge of Synhar, Arioch kinge of Ellasar, kedorlaomor kynge of Elam, & Thydeall kynge of the nacions,

² and they made warre wyth Bera kynge of Sodome, & wyth Birsa kynge of Gomorra, and with Sineab kynge of Adama, and with Semeabar kynge of Zeboim, and with the kynge of Bela. The same is Zoar.

³ All these were ioyned together in the vale of Siddim where the salt see is.

⁴ For twelue yeare wert they subiecte to kynge kedorlaomor, and in the .xiij. yere rebelled.

⁵ But in the .xiiij. yere came kedorlaomor and the kynges that were wyth hym, and smote the Gyauntes in Astaroth karnaim and the Susyms in Ham, & the Emyms in the playne of kariathim,

⁶ and the Horyms in mounte Seir vnto the playne of Pharan, whiche bordreth vpon the wildernesse.

⁷ And they returnynge, came to En Mispat which is Cades, & smote all the countre of the Amalechytes, and also the Amorites that dwelt in Hazezon Thamar.

⁸ And there went out the kynge of Sodome, & the kynge of Gomorra, and the kynge of Adama and the kynge of Zeboijm, and the kynge of Bela which is Zoar. And they stroke battell with them in the vale of Syddym, that is to saye,

⁹ with kedorlaomor the kynge of Elam and wyth Thydeal kynge of the Nacyons, and wyth Amraphael kynge of Synhar. And with Arioch kynge of Ellasar: foure kynges agaynste fyue.

¹⁰ And the vale of Syddym was full of slyme pyttes. And the kynge of Sodome and Gomorra fled, and fell there. And they that remayned, fled to the mountayne.

¹¹ And they takynge all the goodes of Sodome and Gomorre and all their vytalles, went their waye.

¹² And they caryed awaye Lot also Abrams brothers sonne and hys good (for he dwelled at Sodome) & departed.

¹³ And there came one that had escaped, and tolde Abram the Hebrewe whiche dwelled in the okegroue of Mamre the Amoryte, brother of Eschol, and brother of Aner, which were confederate wt Abram.

¹⁴ When Abram hearde that hys brother was taken, he harnessed hys freshe younge men borne in hys owne house thre hundred and eyghtene, and folowed on them vntyll Dan:

¹⁵ And he was sett in Aray vpon them by nyght, he and his seruauntes, and smote them and pursued them vnto Hoba: which lyeth on the lefte hande of Damascos,

¹⁶ and recouered all the goodes, and also brought agayne hys brother Lot, and his goodes, the women also and the people.

¹⁷ After that he returned agayne from the slaughter of kedorlaomor & of the kynges that were with him, came the kynge of Sodome forth to mete him in the playne valeye, which is kynges dale.

¹⁸ And Melchisedech kynge of Salem brought forth bread & wyne. For he was the Preste of the most hyghest God

¹⁹ & blessed hym sayinge: Blessed be Abram vnto the hyghe God possessor of heauen and erth.

²⁰ And blessed be the hye God which hath delyuered thyne enemyes in to thy hande. And Abram gaue him tythes of all.

²¹ And the kynge of Sodome sayde vnto Abram: Gyue me the soules, and take the goodes to thy selfe.

²² And Abram answered the kynge of Sodome: I haue lyfte vp my hande vnto the Lorde the hye God possessor of heauen and erth,

²³ that I wyll not take of all that is thyne so moche as a thred or shoulachet, lest thou shuldest saye, I haue made Abram ryche.

²⁴ Saue only that whyche the yonge men haue eaten and the partes of the men which went with me, Aner, Eschol, and Mamre which shall take their partes.

15

¹ After these thynges were done, the worde of the Lorde came vnto Abram in a vysyon sayinge, Feare not Abram, I am thy defence, and thy rewarde shall be exceadynge great.

² And Abram sayde: Lorde God what wilt thou geue me whan I go chyldlesse, and the chylde of the stewardship of my house is thys Eleazar of Damasco?

³ And Abram sayde: Se, to me hast thou geuen no seed: lo, a lad borne in my house is myne heyre.

⁴ And beholde, the worde of the Lorde came vnto hym sayinge: He shall not be thyne heyre, but one that shall come out of thyne awne body shalbe thyne heyre.

⁵ And he brought him out & sayde: loke vp vnto heauen, and tell the starres, yf thou be able to nombre them. And he sayde vnto him Euen so shall thy seed be.

⁶ And Abram beleued the Lorde, and that counted he to hym for ryghtewesnes.

⁷ And agayne he sayde vnto hym: I am the Lorde that brought the out of Ur of the Caldees to geue the thys lande, and that thou myghtest possesse it.

⁸ And he sayde: Lorde God, wherby shall I knowe that I shall possesse it?

⁹ He answered vnto hym: Take an heyffer of thre yere olde, and a she goate of thre yere olde, and a thre yere olde ram, a turtyll doue also and a yonge pigeon.

¹⁰ He toke therfore all these vnto him, & deuyded them in the myddes, and layde euery pece, one agaynst another. But the foules deuyded he not.

¹¹ And whan the byrdes fell on the carcases, Abram droue them awaye.

¹² And when the sunne was downe, ther fell a slomber vpon Abram. And loo, a darke and great feare fell vpon hym.

¹³ And he sayde vnto Abram: knowe thys of a suertye, that thy seed shalbe a straunger in a lande that perteyneth not vnto them. And shall serue them, & they shall entreate them euell .iiij. hundred yeares.

¹⁴ But the nacyon whom they shall serue, wyll I iudge. And afterwarde shall they come out with great substaunce.

¹⁵ And thou shalt goo vnto thy fathers in peace, and shalt be buryed in a good olde age:

¹⁶ But in the fourth generacyon they shall come hyther againe, for the wickednesse of the Amorites ys not yet full.

¹⁷ And it came to passe that whan the sonne went downe, there was a dark cloude: beholde, ther was a smoking furnesse, & a fyre brande goinge betwene the sayde peces.

¹⁸ In that same daye the Lorde made a couenaunte wt Abram sayinge: vnto thy seed haue I geuen thys lande, from the ryuer of Egypt, euen vnto the great ryuer the ryuer of Euphrates,

¹⁹ the kenytes, the kenyzites, and the Cadmonites,

²⁰ the Hethites, and the Pherezites, and the gyauntes,

²¹ the Amorytes also, & the Canaanites, the Gergesytes and the Iebusytes.

16

¹ Sarai Abrams wyfe bare hym no Chyldren. But she had an hande mayde an Egypcyan, Hagar by name.

² And Sarai sayde vnto Abram Beholde the Lorde hath restrayned me, that I can not bere. I praye the go in vnto my mayde, perauenture I maye be edifyed by her. And Abram obeyed the voyce of Sarai

³ And Sarai Abrams wyfe toke Hagar hyr mayde the Egyptian (after Abram had dwelled .x. yere in the lande of Canaan) and gaue her to hyr husbande Abram to be hys wyfe.

⁴ Which whan he wente in vnto Agar, she conceaued. And when she sawe that she had conceyued, hyr mastresse was despysed in hyr eyes.

⁵ And Sarai sayde vnto Abram: Thou dost me wronge: I haue geuen my mayde into thy bosome. Whych seynge that she hath conceaued, I am despysed in hyr eyes, the Lorde iudge betwene the and me.

⁶ But Abram sayde to Sarai: beholde, thy mayde is in thy hande, do with hyr as it pleaseth the. And whan Sarai fared foule wyth her, she fled from the face of her.

⁷ And the Angell of the Lorde founde her besyde a fountayne of water in the wyldernes: euen by the well that is in the waye to Sur.

⁸ And he sayde: Hagar Sarais mayde, whence camest thou and whether wilt thou goo? She sayde: I flee from the face of my mastresse Sarai.

⁹ And the angell of the Lorde sayde vnto her: returne to thy mastresse againe, & submytte thy selfe vnder her handes.

¹⁰ And agayne, the angell of the Lorde sayde vnto her: In encreasinge I wyll encrease thy seed and it shall not be nombred for multitude.

¹¹ And the Lordes angell sayde vnto her, se, thou art with chylde and shalt bere a sonne, and shalt call hys name Ismael: because the Lorde hath herde thy tribulacyon.

¹² He also will be a wylde man, and hys hande will be agaynst euery man, and euery mans hande agaynst him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

¹³ And she called the name of the Lorde that spake vnto her: thou God lokest on me, for she sayde: haue I not sene here the backe partes of hym that seeth me?

¹⁴ Wherfore the well was called, the well of him that lyueth & seeth me. And it is betwene Cades and Bared.

¹⁵ And Hagar bare Abram a sonne, and Abram called his sonnes name which Hagar bare vnto him. Ismael

¹⁶ And Abram was .lxxxvj. yere olde, when Hagar bare him Ismael.

17

¹ Abram was nynetye yere olde & .ix. & the Lorde apeared to Abram & sayde vnto hym: I am the almyghtie God: walke before me and be thou perfecte.

² And I will make my bonde betwene me and the, and will multiplye the excedingly.

³ And Abram fell on hys face. And God talked with him sayinge:

⁴ Beholde, I am, and my testament is with the, & thou shalt be a father of many nacyons.

⁵ Neyther shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shalbe Abraham: for a father of many nacyons haue I made the,

⁶ I will make the to growe excedyngly, and will make nacions of the: ye & kynges shall sprynge out of the.

⁷ Moreouer I will make my bonde betwene me and the, and thy seed after the in theyr generacyons, by an euerlastynge testament, that I maye be God vnto the and to thy seed after the.

⁸ And I wyll geue vnto the and to thy seed after the, the lande where in thou art a straunger: Euen all the lande of Canaan, for an euerlastynge possessyon, and wyll be their God.

⁹ And God sayde agayne vnto Abraham: Se thou also kepe my testamente therfore both thou and thy seed after the in their generacyons.

¹⁰ This is my testamente which ye shall kepe betwene me & you & thy seed after the. Euery manchylde amonge you shalbe circumcysed.

¹¹ ye shall circumcyse the fleshe of your foreskyne, and it shall be a token of the bonde betwyxte me and you.

¹² And euery manchylde of .viij. dayes olde shall be circumcysed amonge you, & suche as be in youre generacyons, and borne at home and he that is boughte wyth money of any straunger whych is not of thy seed. He that is borne in thy house, & he also that is bought wyth money, must nedes be circumcysed.

¹³ And my testament shall be in youre fleshe, for an euerlastinge bonde.

¹⁴ And the vncircumcysed manchylde, in whose fleshe the forskynne is not circumcysed, that soule shall peryshe, from his people: because he hath broken my testament.

¹⁵ And God sayde vnto Abraham: Sarai thy wyfe shalt thou not call Sarai: but Sara shall her name be.

¹⁶ And I will blesse her & haue geuen the a sonne of her, & wyll blesse her: people also, ye and kynges of people shall sprynge of her.

¹⁷ But Abraham fell vpon his face and laughed, and sayde in hys harte: shall a chylde be borne vnto him that is an hundred yere olde, and shall Sara that is nynetie yere olde, bere?

¹⁸ And Abraham sayde vnto God: O that Ismael myghte lyue in thy syghte.

¹⁹ Unto whom God sayde: Sara thy wyfe shall bere the a sonne in dede, & thou shalt call his name Isahac. And I wyll make my bonde with him, for an euerlastynge bonde and with his seed after him.

²⁰ And as concernynge Ismael also, I haue herde the: for I haue blessed him, & wyll make him to encrease, & will multiplye him excedyngly. Twelue princes shal he begette, & I will make a great nacyon of him.

²¹ But my bonde will I make with Isahac, which Sara shall bere vnto the: euen this tyme twelue moneth.

²² And he left of talkynge with hym, & departed vp from Abraham.

²³ Abraham toke Ismael his sonne and all suche as were borne in his house, and all that was bought wt money as many as were men chyldren which were amonge the men of Abrahams house, & circumcysed the flesshe of their foreskynne, euen in that selfe same daye, as God had sayde vnto him.

²⁴ Abraham also him selfe was nynetye yere olde & nyne, when the fleshe of his floreskynne was circumcysed.

²⁵ Ismaell his sonne was .xiij. yere olde when he was circumcysed in the fleshe of his foreskynne.

²⁶ The selfe same daye was Abraham circumcysed, and Ismaell hys sonne.

²⁷ And all the men of hys house, borne in his house or bought with money (of straungers) were circumcysed with him.

18

¹ And the Lorde apeared vnto hym in the playne of Mamre and he sat in his tent dore in the heate of the daye.

² And he lifte vp his eyes and looked: & lo, thre men stode by him. And when he sawe them, he ran to mete them from the tent dore, and fell to the ground

³ and sayde: Lorde (I beseche the) yf I haue founde fauoure in thy syght: goo not (I praye the) from thy seruaunte.

⁴ Let a lytle water be fett, and washe youre fete, and refreshe youre selues vnder the tree.

⁵ And I wyll fett a morsell of breed, to comforte youre hartes withall. And than shall ye goo youre wayes, for euen therfore are ye come to youre seruaunte. And they sayde: Do euen so as thou hast sayde:

⁶ And Abraham went a pase in to his tent vnto Sara, & sayde: make redy attonce thre peckes of fyne meale, kneade it, & make cakes.

⁷ And Abraham rennynge vnto his beastes, fett a calfe tendre and good, & gaue it vnto a yonge man, & he hasted to make it redy attonce.

⁸ And he toke butter & mylcke & the calfe whych he had prepared, & set it before them, and stode hym selfe by them vnder the tree whan they dyd eate.

⁹ And they sayde vnto him: Where is Sara thy wyfe? he answered: beholde, she is in the tent.

¹⁰ And he sayde in returnynge, I will come agayne vnto the, accordynge to the tyme of lyfe. And loo Sara thy wyfe shall haue a sonne. That hearde Sara, in the tent doore which was behinde him

¹¹ (Abraham and Sara were both olde & well stryken in age, & it ceased to be with Sara after the maner as it is wyth wemen)

¹² Therfore Sara laughed with in hyr selfe sayinge: Nowe I am waxed olde, shall I geue my selfe to lust, & my Lorde olde also?

¹³ And God sayde vnto Abraham: wherfore dyd Sara laughe sayinge: shall I of a suertye bere a chylde which am olde?

¹⁴ is any thynge wonderfull to God? Acordynge to the tyme appoynted will I returne vnto the, euen acordynge to the tyme of lyfe, & Sara shall haue a sonne.

¹⁵ Than Sara denyed it sayinge: I laughed not, for she was afrayde. And he sayde: It is not so, but thou laughedst.

¹⁶ And the men stondinge vp from thence, loked towarde Sodome. And Abraham went with them to brynge them on the waye.

¹⁷ And the Lorde sayde: Shall I hyde from Abraham that thynge which I do?

¹⁸ seynge that Abraham shall be a great and a myghtie people, and all the nacyons of the erth shalbe blessed in him?

¹⁹ I knowe this also, that he will commaunde his chyldren and hys houshold after him, that they kepe the waye of the Lorde, and do after ryghte and conscyence, that the Lorde maye bringe vpon Abraham all that he hath spoken vnto him.

²⁰ And the Lorde sayde The crye of: Sodome and Gomorra is great, and theyr synne is excedynge greuous.

²¹ I wyll go downe nowe and see whether they haue done all together accordynge to that crye which is come vnto me or not, that I maye knowe.

²² And the men departed thence and went to Sodome warde. But Abraham stode yet before the Lorde,

²³ and Abraham drewe nere & sayde: Wylt thou also destroye the ryghtwes with the wicked?

²⁴ parauenture there be .l. ryghtwes within the cytie, wylt thou destroye and not spare the place for the sake of .l. ryghtwes that are therin?

²⁵ That be farre from the, that thou shuldest do after thys sayinge, & sley the ryghtwes with the wicked, & that the ryghtwes shulde be as the wicked, that be farre from the. Shall not the iudge of all the worlde do accordynge to ryghte?

²⁶ And the Lorde sayde: If I fynde in Sodome .l. ryghtwes wythin the cytie, I will spare all the place for their sakes.

²⁷ And Abraham answerynge: sayde, Beholde, I haue taken vpon me to speake vnto the Lorde, which am but dust and asshes.

²⁸ perauenture there shall lacke fyue of fyftye ryghteous: wylt thou destroye all the cytie for lacke of fyue? And he sayde: yf I fynde there fourtye & fyue, I will not destroye them.

²⁹ And he proceaded to speake vnto hym agayne, & sayde, peraduenture there shalbe fourtye founde there. He answered: I will not do it for forties sake.

³⁰ He sayde vnto him agayne: O let not my Lord be angry that I speake: peraduenture there shall thyrtye be founde there. And he sayde: I will do nothynge yf I fynde thirtye there.

³¹ He sayde agayne: O se, I haue taken vpon me to speake nowe also vnto my Lorde: peraduenture ther shalbe twentye founde there. He answered: I wyll not destroye them for twenties sake.

³² And be sayde: O let not my Lorde he angry, & I wyll speake yet but this once. Perauenture there shall ten be founde there. He answered: I wyll not destroye them for tens sake.

³³ And the Lorde went his waye as soone as he had lefte commoninge with Abraham. And Abraham also returned vnto his place.

19

¹ And there came .ij. angels to Sodome at euen. And Lot sat at the gate of Sodome. And Lot seinge them, rose vp to mete them, and he bowed him selfe to the grounde wt his face.

² And he sayde: my Lordes, turne in I praye you in to youre seruauntes house & tary all nyghte & washe youre fete & ye shall ryse vp early to go on youre wayes. Whych sayde: nay, but we wyll byde in the streates all nyghte.

³ And he in maner dyd euen compelle them violently. And they turnynge in vnto him entred in to his house, & he made them a feaste & did bake swete bred, & they did eat

⁴ And before they went to rest, the men of the cytie (euen the men of Sodome) compassed the house rounde aboute both olde & yonge, all the people from all quarters.

⁵ And they callynge vnto Lot, sayde vnto him: where are the men which came into the thys nyght? brynge them out vnto vs & we will knowe them.

⁶ And Lot went out at the doores vnto them and shut the dore after hym

⁷ and sayde: naye for goddes sake brethren, do not so wyckedly.

⁸ Beholde I haue two daughters which haue knowne no man, them will I brynge out nowe vnto you: & do with them as it semeth good in your eyes. Only vnto these men do nothinge, for therfore came they in vnder the shadowe of my rofe.

⁹ And they sayde: stonde back. And they sayde: he came in as one to sciourne, & wyll he be nowe a iudge? we wyll suerly deale worse with the than with them. And they preased sore vpon the man, euen Lot: & came to breake vp the doore,

¹⁰ but the men put forth their hande & pulled Lot in to the house to them and shut to the doore.

¹¹ And the men that were at the doore of the house, they smote with blyndnesse both small & greate: so that they faynted and coulde not fynde the doore.

¹² And the men sayde vnto Lot: If thou haue yet here any sonne in lawe or sonnes or daughters or what soeuer thou hast in the cytie, brynge it out of this place:

¹³ for we must destroye this place, because the crye of them is great before the face of God: for the Lorde hath sent vs to destroye it.

¹⁴ And Lot went out and spake vnto hys sonnes in lawe which maried his daughters sayinge: stonde vp: get yowe out of this place, for the Lorde will ouerthrowe this cytie. But he semed as though he had mocked, vnto his sonnes in lawe.

¹⁵ And whan the morninge arose, the angels caused Lot to spede him sayinge: Stonde vp, take thy wyfe and thy two daughters at hande, lest thou peryshe in the synne of the cytie.

¹⁶ And as he prolonged the tyme, the men caught both him, his wyfe & his two daughters by the handes, the Lorde beynge mercyfull vnto him, and they brought hym forth and sette hym without the cytie.

¹⁷ It fortuned whan they had brought them out, he sayde: Saue thy lyfe, and loke not behynde the, neyther tary thou in all thys playne countre. Saue thy selfe in the mountayne, lest thou peryshe.

¹⁸ And Lot sayde vnto them. Oh nay Lorde:

¹⁹ beholde, thy seruaunt hath fownde grace in thy syghte, and thou hast magnifyed thy mercye which thou hast shewed vnto me in sauynge my lyfe. Beholde, I can not be saued in the mountayne, lest some misfortune fall vpon me and I dye.

²⁰ Beholde, here is a cytie by, to flee vnto, euen yonder lytle one: Oh let me be saued there: is it not a lytle one, and my soule shall lyue?

²¹ And he sayde to hym: se I haue receaued thy request as concernynge this thynge, that I wyll not ouerthrowe thys cytie for the which thou hast spoken.

²² Haste the, & be saued there, for I can do nothynge tyll thou become thyther. And therfore the name of the cyte is called Zoar.

²³ And the sonne was nowe rysen vpon the erth, when Lot was entred into Zoar.

²⁴ Than the Lorde rayned vpon Sodome & Gomorra, brymston & fyre from the Lorde out of heauen,

²⁵ & ouerthrewe those cyties & all the regyon, and all that dwelled in the cyties, and that that grewe vpon the erth.

²⁶ But Lotes wyfe loked behynde her, & was turned in to a pyllar of salte.

²⁷ Abraham rysinge vp early, got him to the place where he stode before the presence of God,

²⁸ & lokynge towarde Sodome & Gomorra & towarde all the londe of that contre he loked: and beholde, the smoke of the contrye arose as the smoke of a fornace.

²⁹ And it happened that when God destroyed the cyties of that regyon, he thought vpon Abraham, & sent Lot out from the myddes of the ouerthrowenge, when he ouerthrewe the cyties where Lot dwelled.

³⁰ And Lot departed out of Zoar & dwelled in the mountayns wt his .ij. daughters, for he feared to tary in Zoar, but dwelled in a caue, he & his .ij. daughters.

³¹ And the elder sayde vnto the yonger: oure father is olde, and there is not a man in the erth to come in vnto vs after the maner of all the worlde.

³² Come, we will make oure father droncken with wyne, & lye with him, that we maye saue sede of oure father.

³³ And so they made their father droncken wyth wyne that nyght. And the elder daughter went & laye with her father. And he perceaued it not, nether when she laye doune, nether when she rose vp.

³⁴ And on the morowe it happened that the elder sayde vnto the yonger: beholde, yesternyght laye I with my father. Let vs make him droncke with wyne this nyght also, & go thou & lye with him, that we maye rayse vp seed of oure father.

³⁵ And they made their father droncke with wyne that nyght also. And the yonger arose & laye with him. And he perceaued it not: nether when she laye downe, nether when she rose vp.

³⁶ Thus were both the daughters of Lot wt chylde by their father.

³⁷ And the elder bare a sonne, and called hys name Moab. The same is the father of the Moabytes vnto thys daye.

³⁸ And the yonger bare a sonne also and called hys name Ben Ammi, The same is the father of the chyldren of Ammon vnto this daye.

20

¹ And Abraham departed thence towarde the south contrey, and dwelled betwene Cades & Sur, and soiorned in Gerar.

² And Abraham sayde of Sara hys wyfe: she is my syster. And Abimelech kynge of Gerar sent & fett Sara awaye.

³ But God came to Abimelech in a dreame in the nyght and sayde to hym: Se, thou shalt dye for the womans sake which thou hast taken awaye, for she is a mans wyfe.

⁴ But Abimelech had not yet come nye her, & he sayde: Lorde wylt thou sley ryghtewes people?

⁵ sayde not he vnto me, she is my syster? yee, & sayde not she herselfe: he is my brother? with a pure herte and innocent handes haue I done this.

⁶ And God sayde vnto him by a dreame: I wot it well that thou dydest it in the purenesse of thy herte. I kepte the also that thou shuldest not sinne agaynst me, & therfore suffred I the not to touch her.

⁷ Nowe therfore delyuer the man his wyfe agayne, for he is a prophete. And he shall praye for the that thou mayst lyue. But and yf thou delyuer her not agayne, be sure that thou shalt dye the deth, both thou, and all that thou hast.

⁸ Therfore Abimelech rysynge vp betymes in the mornynge called all his seruauntes, & tolde all these sayinges in their eares, and the men were sore afrayde.

⁹ And Abimelech called Abraham & sayde vnto hym: What hast thou done vnto vs & what haue I offended the that thou hast brought on me and on my kyngdome so great a synne? thou hast done dedes vnto me that ought not to be done.

¹⁰ And Abimelech sayde vnto Abraham: What sawest thou that thou hast done this thynge?

¹¹ Abraham answered. For I sayde: surely the feare of God is not in thys place, & they shall sley me for my wyfes sake:

¹² yet in very dede she is my syster, for she is the daughter of my father: though she be not the daughter of my mother: and she became my wyfe.

¹³ And after, God caused me to wandre, out of my fathers house, I sayde vnto her: Thys kyndnesse shalt thou shewe vnto me in all places where we come, that thou saye of me, he is my brother.

¹⁴ Than toke Abimelech shepe and oxen, men seruauntes & wemen seruauntes & gaue them vnto Abraham, and delyuered hym Sara his wyfe agayne.

¹⁵ And Abimelech sayde: beholde, my lande lyeth before the, dwell where it pleaseth the best.

¹⁶ But vnto Sara he sayde: Se, I haue geuen thy brother a thousande peces of syluer, beholde, it shall be a couerynge of thyne eyes vnto all that are wt the & thus with all was she reproued.

¹⁷ And so Abraham prayed vnto God, and God healed Abimelech and his wyfe and his maydens, & they bare chyldren.

¹⁸ For the Lorde had closed to, all the matryces of the house of Abymelech: because of Abrahams wyfe.

21

¹ The Lorde visyted Sara as he had sayde and dyd vnto her accordynge as he had promysed.

² For Sara was wyth chylde and bare Abraham a sonne in his olde age, euen the same season which the Lorde had appoynted him.

³ And Abraham called his sonnes name that was borne vnto hym which Sara bare him, Isahac:

⁴ & Abraham circumcysed Isahac his sonne when he was .viii. dayes olde: as God commaunded hym.

⁵ And Abraham was an hundred yere olde: when his sonne Isahac was borne vnto hym.

⁶ But Sara sayde: God hath made me a laughynge stocke: so that all that heare: wyll laugh at me.

⁷ She sayde also: who wolde haue sayd vnto Abraham: that Sara shulde haue geuen chyldren sucke? for I haue borne him a sonne in hys olde age.

⁸ The chylde grewe: and was wened: and Abraham made a great feast: the same daye that Isahac was wened.

⁹ Sara sawe also the sonne of Hagar the Egyptian (whyche she had borne vnto Abraham) to be a mocker.

¹⁰ Wherfore she sayde vnto Abraham: put awaye this bondemayde & hyr sonne: for the sonne of thys bonde woman shall not be heyre with my sonne Isahac:

¹¹ & thys sayinge was very greauous in Abrahams syght because of hys sonne.

¹² And God sayde vnto Abraham: let it not be greauous in thy syght, because of the ladd and of thy bondmayde. All that Sara hath sayde vnto the, heare hyr voyce, for in Isahac shall thy seed be called.

¹³ Moreouer of the sonne of the bondewoman wyll I make a nacyon: because he is thy seed.

¹⁴ And so Abraham rose vp early in the morninge, and toke bread and a bottell of water, and gaue it vnto Hagar, puttynge it on hyr shulders with the ladd also, & sent her awaye. who departynge, wandred vp and doune in the wyldernes of Beer Seba.

¹⁵ And the water was spent in the bottell, and she cast the lad vnder a bush

¹⁶ and went and satt on the other syde a greate waye, as it were a bowshote of: for she sayde: I will not se the death of the chylde. And she syttynge doune on the other syde, lyfte vp hyr voyce and wepte.

¹⁷ And God herde the voyce of the chylde. And the angell of God called Hagar oute of heauen and sayde vnto her: what ayleth the Hagar? Feare not, for God hath herde the voyce of the childe where he lyeth.

¹⁸ Aryse, and lyfte vp the ladd, and take hym in thy hande, for I wyll make of hym a greate people.

¹⁹ And God opened hyr eyes: and she sawe a well of water. And she went and fylled the bottell with water, and gaue the boye drynke.

²⁰ And God was wyth the ladd, and he grewe and dwelt in the wyldernesse, and became an archer.

²¹ And he dwelt in the wyldernesse of Pharan. And hys mother gatt hym a wyfe out of the lande of Egypte.

²² And it chaunced the same season, that Abimelech and Phicoll hys chefe captayne spake vnto Abraham sayinge: God is wyth the in all that thou doest.

²³ And nowe therfore swere vnto me euen here by God, that thou wylt not hurt me nor my chyldren, nor my chyldrens chyldren. But that thou shalt deale with me and the contre where thou hast bene a straunger, accordynge vnto the kyndnesse that I haue shewed the.

²⁴ And Abraham sayd. I wyll swere.

²⁵ And Abraham rebuked Abimelech for a well of water, which Abimelechs seruauntes had violently taken a waye.

²⁶ And Abimelech sayde: I wote not who hath done thys thinge. Also thou toldest me not: nether herde I of it, but thys daye.

²⁷ And Abraham toke shepe and oxen, and gaue them vnto Abimelech. And they made both of them a bonde together.

²⁸ And Abraham set .vii. ewe lambes by them selues.

²⁹ And Abimelech sayd vnto Abraham: what meane these .vii. ewe lambes which thou hast set by them selues?

³⁰ He answered: For these .vii. lambes shalt thou take of my hande, that they maye be a wytnesse vnto me, that I haue dygged thys well.

³¹ Wherfore the place is called Beer Seba, because that there they sware both of them.

³² Thus made they a bonde to gether at Beer Seba. And Abimelech & Phicol his chefe Captayne rose vp, and turned agayne vnto the lande of the Philistines.

³³ And Abraham planted a wodd in Beer Seba, and called there on the name of the Lorde, the euerlastyng God:

³⁴ and sogeourned in the Philistins lande a longe season.

22

¹ After these sayinges it happened that God dyd proue Abraham and sayde vnto hym: Abraham. Whych answered: here am I.

² And he sayde take thy only sonne Isahac whom thou louest, & get the vnto the lande Moria, and sacrifyce hym there for a sacrifyce vpon one of the mountayns, whych I wyll shewe the:

³ Than Abraham rose vp early in the mornyng, & sadled his asse, and toke two of hys yonge men wyth hym, and Isahac hys sonne: and cloue wodd for the sacrifyce, and rose vp and gott hym to the place whyche God had appoynted hym.

⁴ The thyrde daye Abraham lyfte vp hys eyes, and sawe the place a farre of

⁵ and sayde vnto his yonge men: byde here with the asse. I and the lad wyll goo yonder and worshyppe, & come agayne vnto you.

⁶ And Abraham toke the wodd of the sacrifyce and layde it vpon Isahac his sonne, but he him selfe toke fyre in his hande and a knyfe. And they went both of them together.

⁷ Than spake Isahac vnto Abraham hys father and sayde: My father? And he answered: here am I my sonne. He sayd: Se here is fyre and wodd, but where is the shepe for sacrifyce?

⁸ Abraham answered: my sonne, God wyll prouyde him a shepe for sacrifyce. And so they wente both together.

⁹ And when they came vnto the place which God had shewed hym, Abraham made an aulter there, & dressed the wodd, and bownde Isahac his sonne, & layde him on the aulter, aboue vpon the wodd.

¹⁰ And Abraham stretchynge forth his hande, toke the knyfe to haue kylled hys sonne.

¹¹ And the angell of the Lorde called vnto him from heauen, saying: Abraham Abraham? And he sayde: here am I.

¹² And he sayde: laye not thy hande vpon the chylde, nether do any thinge at all vnto him, for now I knowe that thou fearest God, and hast for my sake not spared thyne onely sonne.

¹³ And Abraham lyftynge vp his eyes, loked aboute: and beholde, there was a ram caught by the hornes in a thyckette. And he went & toke the ram and offred hym vp for a sacrifyce in the steade of hys sonne.

¹⁴ And Abraham called the name of the place, the Lorde wyll see. As it is sayde thys daye: in the mounte wyll the Lorde be sene.

¹⁵ And the Angell of the Lorde cryed vnto Abraham from heauen the seconde tyme,

¹⁶ and sayde: by my selfe haue I sworne (sayth the Lorde) because thou hast done thys thynge and hast not spared thy onely sonne:

¹⁷ that in blessynge I wyll blesse the, and in multiplienge I wyll multiplie thy seed as the starres of heauen & as the sande which is vpon the see syde. And thy seed shall possesse the gate of hys enemies.

¹⁸ And in thy seed shall all the nacions of the erth be blessed, because thou hast herde my voyce.

¹⁹ So turned Abraham agayne vnto hys yonge men, and they rose vp and went together to Beer Seba. And Abraham dwelt at Beer Seba.

²⁰ And it chaunsed after these thinges, that one tolde Abraham sayinge: Beholde, Milcha, she hath also borne chyldren vnto thy brother Nachor.

²¹ Hus hys eldest sonne, and Bus hys brother, and Kemuell the father of the Syrians,

²² and ceased, & Haso, and Pyldas, & Iedlaph, & Bethuel.

²³ And Bethuel begat Rebecca. These eyght dyd Milcha bere to Nachor Abrahams brother:

²⁴ And hys concubyne called Rhuma she bare also Tebah, & Gaham, Thaas & Maacha.

23

¹ Sara was an hundred and .xxvii. yere olde (so longe lyued she)

² & Sara dyed in kyriat Arba. The same is Hebron in the lande of Canaan. And Abraham came to morne Sara, and to wepe for her.

³ And Abraham stode vp from the syght of hys coorse, and talked wyth the sonnes of Heth sayinge:

⁴ I am a straunger & a foryner amonge you, geue me a possessyon to burye in wyth you, that I maye bury my coarse out of my syght.

⁵ And the chyldren of Heth answered Abraham, saying vnto him:

⁶ Heare vs Lorde, thou art a prynce of God amonge vs. In the chefest of oure sepulchres bury thy dead: None of vs also shall forbyd the hys sepulchre, but thou mayest bury thy dead therin:

⁷ Abraham stode vp and bowed him selfe before the people of the lande the children of Heth.

⁸ And he comoned wyth them sayinge: If it be youre mynde that I shall bury my dead out of my syght, heare me, and speke for me to Ephron the sonne of Zoar:

⁹ that he maye geue me the dubbyll caue which he hath, and that is in the ende of hys felde: but for as moche money, as it is worth shall he geue it me in the presence of you, for a possessyon to burye in.

¹⁰ For Ephron dwelled amonge the chyldren of Heth. And Ephron the Hethite answered Abraham in the audience of the children of Heth and of all that went in at the gates of hys cyte, sayinge:

¹¹ Not so my Lorde, heare me. The felde geue I the, and the caue that therin is geue I the also: and euen in the presence of the sonnes of my people geue I it the, bury thy dead.

¹² And Abraham bowed hym selfe before the people of the lande,

¹³ & spake vnto Ephron in the audience of the people of the contre saying: I praye the heare me yf it please the: I wyll geue siluer for the felde, take it & I will bury my deed there.

¹⁴ Ephron answered Abraham sayinge vnto hym:

¹⁵ My Lorde, herken vnto me. The lande is worth .iiij. hundred sycles of syluer: what is that betwyxte the and me? bury therfore thy deed.

¹⁶ And Abraham harkened vnto Ephron & weyed hym the syluer whych he had sayde, in the audience of the sonnes of Heth. Euen .iiii. hundred syluersycles of currant money amonge marchauntes.

¹⁷ And the felde of Ephron with the dubbyll caue whyche was before Mamre: euen the felde and the caue that was therin and all the trees that were in the felde, & that were in all the borders rounde aboute, was made sur

¹⁸ vnto Abraham for a possession, in the syght of the children of Heth, before all that went in at the gates of the cyte.

¹⁹ After thys dyd Abraham burye Sara hys wyfe in the double caue of the felde that lyeth before Mamre. The same is Hebron in the lande of Chanaan.

²⁰ And so both the felde and the caue that is therin, was made vnto Abraham a sure possessyon to bury in, of the sonnes of Heth.

24

¹ Abraham was olde and stryken in dayes, and the Lorde had blessed hym in all thynges.

² And Abraham sayde vnto his eldest seruaunte of his house whych had the rule ouer all that he had: Put thy hande vnder my thygh,

³ & I wyll make the swere by the Lorde God of heauen and God of the erth, that thou shalt not take a wyfe vnto my sonne, of the daughters of Chanaan, amonge whych I dwell.

⁴ But thou shalt goo vnto my contrey and to my natyue londe, and take a wyfe vnto my sonne Isahac.

⁵ But the seruaunte sayde vnto hym: peraduenture the woman wyll not agree to come wyth me vnto thys lande, shall I bringe thy sonne agayne vnto the lande whych thou cammest out of?

⁶ To whom Abraham answered: be ware, that thou brynge not my sonne thyther agayne.

⁷ The Lorde God of heauen whych toke me from my fathers house and from the lande where I was borne, and whych spake vnto me and that sware vnto me, sayinge: vnto thy seed wyll I geue thys lande, he shall sende hys angell before the, and thou shalt take a wyfe vnto my sonne from thence.

⁸ Neuerthelesse yf the woman wyll not agree to folowe the, than shalt thou be wyth out daunger of thys my ooth. Onely brynge not my sonne thyther agayne.

⁹ And the seruaunt put hys hande vnder the thygh of Abraham his master, and sware to hym as concernynge that matter.

¹⁰ And the seruaunt toke .x. camels of the cameles of hys master and departed, and had of all maner goodes of hys master wyth hym, and stode vp and went to Mesopotamya, vnto the cytie of Nahor.

¹¹ And made hys camels to lye downe wythout the cytie by a wels syde of water, at euen: aboute the tyme that women come out to drawe water,

¹² and he sayde. Lorde God of my master Abraham, sende me good spede this daye, and shewe mercy vnto my master Abraham.

¹³ Lo I stonde here by the well of water, and the daughters of the men of thys cytye come out to drawe water:

¹⁴ Nowe the damsell to whome I saye, stompe downe thy pytcher I praye the that I maye dryncke. If she saye also: Dryncke, and I wyll geue thy camels drincke: the same is she that thou hast ordeyned for thy seruaunte Isahac: yee, and therby shall I knowe that thou hast shewed mercy on my master.

¹⁵ And it came to passe yer he had left speakynge, beholde, Rebecca came out, the daughter of Bethuell, sonne to Milca the wyfe of Nahor Abrahams brother, and hyr pytcher vpon hyr shoulder:

¹⁶ The damsell was very fayre to loke vpon, and yet a mayde and vnknowen of man. And she went downe to the well, and fylled hyr pytcher and came vp.

¹⁷ And the seruaunte rennynge vnto her, sayde: let me suppe a lytle water of thy pytcher.

¹⁸ And she sayde: drincke my Lorde. And she hasted and lett downe her pytcher vpon hyr arme, and gaue hym dryncke.

¹⁹ And when she had gyuen hym dryncke, she sayde: I wyll drawe water for thy camels also, vntyll they haue droncke ynough.

²⁰ And she powred out hyr pytcher in to the trough hastely, and ranne agayne vnto the well to fett water: and drewe for all hys camels.

²¹ And the man wondred at her: but helde his peace, to wete whether the Lorde had made hys iourney prosperous or not.

²² And it fortuned as the camelles had lefte drynkynge, the man toke a golden earynge of halfe a sicle waight, and two bracellettes for hyr handes, of .x. sycles weyght of golde,

²³ and sayde: Whose daughter art thou? tell me I praye the, is there rowme in thy fathers house for vs to lodge in?

²⁴ She answered him: I am the daughter of Bathuel the sonne of Milca which she bare vnto Nahor:

²⁵ and sayde moreouer vnto hym: we haue litter and prouonder ynough, and also rowme to lodge i

²⁶ And the man bowed him selfe, & worshypped the Lorde,

²⁷ and sayde: blessed be the Lorde God of my master Abraham, whych ceasseth not to deale mercyfully and truly wyth my master, and hath brought me the waye to my masters brothers house.

²⁸ And the damsell ranne and tolde them of her mothers house these thynges.

²⁹ And Rebecca had a brother called Laban. And he ranne out vnto the man, euen to the well:

³⁰ for as sone as he had sene the earynges and the bracelettes in hys systers handes (and hearde the wordes of Rebecca hys syster sayinge: thus sayde the man vnto me) he went out vnto the man. And loo, he stode wyth the camels by the well syde.

³¹ And he sayde: come in thou blessed of the Lorde. Wherfore stondest thou wythout? I haue dressed the house, and made rowme for the camels.

³² And than the man came into the house: and he vnbrydled the camels. and (Laban) brought lytter and prouonder for the camels, and water to washe hys fete and the mennes fete that were wt hym,

³³ & set meate before hym to eate. But he sayde: I wyll not eate, vntyll I haue sayde myne arande. And he sayde: saye on.

³⁴ And he sayd: I am Abrahams seruaunt,

³⁵ & God hath blessed my master out of measure, that he is become greate, and hath geuen hym shepe, and oxen, syluer and golde, men seruauntes, and mayde seruauntes, camels and asses.

³⁶ And Sara my masters wyfe bare hym a sonne, when she was olde: and vnto hym hath he geuen all that he hath.

³⁷ And my master made me swere sayinge: thou shalt not take a wyfe to my sonne amonge the daughters of the Cananites in whose lande I dwell:

³⁸ But thou shalt go vnto my fathers house & to my kynred, and take a wife vnto my sonne.

³⁹ And I sayde vnto my master: peraduenture the wyfe wyll not folowe me?

⁴⁰ And he answered me: The Lorde, before whome I walke, wyll sende hys angell wyth the, and prospere thy iourney and thou shalt take a wyfe for my sonne, of my kynred and of my fathers house.

⁴¹ Them shalt thou be gyltlesse of my curse, whan thou commest to my kynred. And yf they geue the not one, thou shalt be giltlesse of my curse.

⁴² And so I came thys daye vnto the well and sayde: O Lorde, the God of my master Abraham, yf it be so nowe that thou makest my iourney whych I go, prosperous:

⁴³ beholde I stonde by thys well of water, and when a vyrgyn cometh forth to drawe water, and I saye to her: geue me (I praye the) a lytle water of thy pytcher to drincke,

⁴⁴ and she saye to me: dryncke thou, and I wyll also drawe for thy camels: that same is the wyfe whom the Lorde hath prepared for my masters sonne.

⁴⁵ And before I had made an ende of speakynge in myne harte: beholde Rebecca came forth, and hyr pytcher on hyr shulder, and she went downe vnto the well & drewe water. And I sayde vnto her: geue me dryncke I praye the.

⁴⁶ And she made hast, & toke downe hyr pitcher from of hyr, and sayde dryncke, and I wyll geue thy camels dryncke also.

⁴⁷ And I drancke, & she gaue the camels dryncke also. And I asked her, sayinge: whose daughter art thou? She answered: the daughter of Bathuel Nahors sonne whom Milca bare vnto hym. And I put the earing vpon hyr face, and the bracelettes vpon hyr handes.

⁴⁸ And I bowed my selfe, and worshypped the Lorde, & blessed the Lorde God of my master Abraham whych had brought me the ryght waye, to take my masters brothers daughter vnto hys sonne.

⁴⁹ Nowe also yf ye wyll deale mercyfully and truly wyth my master, tell me: and yf not, tell me also: that I maye turne me to the ryght hande or to the lefte.

⁵⁰ Than answered Laban and Bathuel, sayinge. This sayenge is proceded euen out of the Lorde, we can not therfore saye vnto the, ether good or bad:

⁵¹ beholde, Rebecca is before the, take her and goo, that she maye be thy masters sonnes wyfe, euen as God hath sayde.

⁵² And when Abrahams seruaunt hearde theyr wordes, he worshypped the Lorde, flatt vpon the erth.

⁵³ And the seruaunt toke forth iewelles of syluer and iewelles of golde and rayment, and gaue them to Rebecca. And vnto hyr brother and to hyr mother, he gaue gyftes.

⁵⁴ And they dyd eate & dryncke, both he and the men that were with him, and taryed all nyght. And whan they rose vp in the mornynge. He sayde: let me departe vnto my master.

⁵⁵ Hyr brother & hyr mother answered: let the damsell abyde wyth vs a whyle, and it be but euen .x. dayes, and than shall she go.

⁵⁶ He sayde vnto them: hynder me not, beholde, the Lorde hath prospered my iourney. Sende me awaye therfore, that I maye goo vnto my master.

⁵⁷ And they sayde: we wyll call the damsell, and enquere at hyr mouth.

⁵⁸ And they called forth Rebecca, and sayde vnto her: wylt thou goo with this man? And she answered, I wyll goo.

⁵⁹ So they let Rebecca theyr syster go and her norse & Abrahams seruaunte, & hys men.

⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebecca, and sayde vnto her: Thou art oure syster, growe into thousande thousandes and thy seed possesse the gate of theyr enemyes.

⁶¹ And Rebecca arose and hyr damsels, and satt them vp vpon the camels, and went theyr waye after the man. And the seruaunt toke Rebecca, and went hys waye.

⁶² And Isahac was a commynge from the waye of the well of the lyuinge and seynge me, for he dwelt in the south contreye,

⁶³ & Isahac was gone out to praye in the felde at the euen tyde. And he lyft vp hys eyes and sawe the camels commyng.

⁶⁴ And Rebecca lyft vp hyr eyes, and when she sawe Isahac, she lyghted of the camell,

⁶⁵ and sayd vnto the seruaunt: what man is thys that commeth walkynge agaynst vs in the felde? And the seruaunt sayde: it is my master. Therfore she toke hyr cloke, and put it about her.

⁶⁶ And the seruaunt tolde Isahac all thynges that he had done.

⁶⁷ And Isahac broughte her in to his mother Saraes tente, and toke Rebecca, and she became hys wyfe, and he loued her: and so Isahac receaued conforte after hys mother

25

¹ Abraham proceaded further and toke him a wyfe called Ketura,

² whyche bare hym Simram, and Iecksan, and Medan, and Midian, and Iesback and Suah.

³ Iecksan begat Seba & Dedan. And the sonnes of Dedan were: Assurim. Letusim and Leumim.

⁴ And the sonnes of Midian: Epha, and Epher, Hanoch, and Abida & Elda. All these were the chyldren of ketura.

⁵ And Abraham gaue all hys goodes vnto Isahac.

⁶ But vnto the sonnes of the concubynes whych Abraham had, he gaue gyftes, and sent them awaye from Isahac hys sonne (whyle he yet lyued) eastwarde, vnto the lande of kedes.

⁷ And these are the dayes of the yeares of Abrahams lyfe whych he lyued: an hundred and .lxxv. yeare,

⁸ and than fell sycke and dyed in a lustye age (when he had lyued ynough) and was put vnto hys people.

⁹ And hys sonnes Isahac and Ismahel buryed hym in the double caue in the felde of Ephron sonne of Zoar the Hethyte besyde the playne of Mamre.

¹⁰ Whych felde Abraham bought of the sonnes of Heth: There was Abraham buryed & Sara hys wyfe.

¹¹ It fortuned after the deeth of Abraham that God blessed Isahac his sonne, and Isahac dwelled by the well of the lyuynge and seynge me.

¹² These are the generacions of Ismael Abrahams sonne, whych Hagar the Egypcyan Saras handmayde bare vnto Abraham.

¹³ And these are the names of the sonnes of Ismael, in their names accordinge to theyr kynreddes. The eldest sonne of Ismael: Nebaioth, and Cedar: and Adbeel, and Mibsam,

¹⁴ and Misma, Duma, and Masa,

¹⁵ & Hadar, Thema, Ietur, Naphis & kedma:

¹⁶ These are the sonnes of Ismael, & these are, theyr names, by theyr townes and castels .xij. princes of their housholdes.

¹⁷ And these are the yeares of the lyfe of Ismael, an hundred and .xxxvij. yeare, and he fell sycke, & dyed, & was layde vnto hys people.

¹⁸ And they dwelled from Heuilah vnto Sur that is by the border of Egypte, as thou goest towarde the Assirians. And he dyed in the presence of all hys brethren.

¹⁹ And these are the generacions of Isahac Abrahams sonne: Abraham begat Isahac.

²⁰ And Isahac was .xl. yeare olde when he toke Rebecca to wyfe, the daughter of Bathuel the Sirian of Mesopotamia and syster to Laban the Sirien.

²¹ And Isahac made intercessyon vnto the Lorde for hys wyfe: because she was baren: and the Lorde was intreated of hym, and Rebecca his wyfe conceaued:

²² and the chyldren stroue to gether wythin her. Therfore she sayd: yf it shulde goo so to passe, what helpeth it that I am wyth chylde? Wherfore, she went to aske the Lorde.

²³ And the Lorde sayde vnto her: there are two maner of people in thy wombe, & two nacyons shalbe deuyded out of thy bowels, and the one nacyon shalbe myghtyer than the other, and the elder shalbe seruaunte vnto the yonger.

²⁴ Therfore when hyr tyme was come to be delyuered: beholde, there were two twynnes in hyr wombe.

²⁵ And he that came out fyrst was redd, and he was all ouer as it were a rough garment, & they called his name Esau.

²⁶ And after hym, came hys brother out, & hys hande holdynge Esau by the hele. And his name was called Iacob. And Isahac was .lx. yeare olde when they were borne:

²⁷ and the boyes grewe, and Esau became a connynge hunter & a tyller of the erth. But Iacob was a perfecte man, & dwelled in the tentes.

²⁸ Isahac loued Esau, because he dyd eate of hys venyson, but Rebecca loued Iacob.

²⁹ Iacob sod potage, and Esau came from the felde and was fayntie,

³⁰ and Esau sayd to Iacob: fede me I praye the wyth that redde potage, for I am fayntie. And therfore was hys name called Edom.

³¹ And Iacob sayde: sell me thys daye thy byrthryghte.

³² Esau sayde: Loo I am at the poynte to dye, and what profyte shall thys byrthryghte do me?

³³ Iacob answered swere to me then thys daye. And he sware to hym, & solde hys byrthryghte vnto Iacob.

³⁴ Than Iacob gaue Esau brede and potage of rysse. And he dyd eate and dryncke and rose vp, & went hys waye. And Esau regarded not hys byrthryght.

26

¹ And there came a derth in the lande, passynge the fyrst derth that was in the dayes of Abraham. And Isahac went vnto Abimelech kynge of the Philistyans vnto Gerar.

² And the Lorde apeared vnto him, and sayde: Go not downe into Egypte, but byde in the lande whych I shall shewe vnto the:

³ soiourne in thys lande, and I wyll be wyth the, and wyll blesse the: for vnto the and vnto thy sede I wyll geue all these contreys. And I wyll performe the oothe which I swore vnto Abraham thy father,

⁴ and wyll multiplye thy seed as the starres of heauen, and wyll geue vnto thy seed all these contreys. And in thy seed shall all the nacyons of the erth be blessed,

⁵ because that Abraham harkened vnto my voyce and kepte myne ordinaunces, my commaundementes, my statutes, and my lawes.

⁶ And Isahac dwelled in Gerar.

⁷ And the men of the place asked hym of hys wyfe, and he sayde: she is my syster: for he feared to saye: She is my wyfe, lest the men of the place shulde haue kylled him because of Rebecca whych was bewtyfull to the eye.

⁸ And it happened after he had bene there longe tyme, that Abimelech kynge of the Philistyans loked out at a wyndowe, and sawe Isahac sportynge with Rebecca hys wyfe.

⁹ And Abimelech called Isahac, and sayde: she is of a suertye thy wyfe, & why saydest thou: She is my syster? To whom Isahac answered: I thought that I myght peraduenture haue dyed for hyr sake.

¹⁰ Abimelech sayd: why hast thou done thys vnto vs? one of the people myght lyghtely haue lyne by thy wyfe, and so shuldest thou haue brought synne vpon vs.

¹¹ And so Abimelech charged all hys people, sayinge: he that toucheth this man or hys wyfe, shall dye the death.

¹² Isahac sowed in that lande, and founde in that same yere an .C. busshels: & the Lorde blessed hym,

¹³ & the man waxed myghtye, and went forth and grewe tyll he was exceadinge great,

¹⁴ for he had possessyon of shepe, of oxen and a myghtye housholde, and therfore the Philistians had enuy at hym:

¹⁵ for the Philystines stopped & fylled vp wyth erth all the welles which his fathers seruauntes dygged in hys father Abrahams tyme.

¹⁶ And Abimelech sayde vnto Isahac: get the from vs, for thou art myghtyer then we a great deale.

¹⁷ Therfore Isahac departed thense, and abode in the valley of Gerar, and dwelt there.

¹⁸ And Isahac returnynge, digged agayne the welles of water whych they dygged in the dayes of Abraham hys father, which the Philistyans had stopped after the deth of Abraham, and gaue them the same names whych hys father gaue them.

¹⁹ Isahacs seruauntes dygged in the valey, and founde a well of lyuing water.

²⁰ And the herdmen of Gerar dyd stryue wyth Isahacs herdmen, sayinge: the water is oures. Than called he the well Eseck, because they stroue wyth hym.

²¹ And they dygged another well, and stroue for that also. And he called the name of it Sitena.

²² And than he departed thense, and dygged another well for the which they stroue not: therfore called he it Rehoboth, sayinge: the Lorde hath nowe made vs rowme, that we maye encrease vpon the erth.

²³ And he went vp thence, to Beer Seba.

²⁴ And the Lorde appeared vnto hym the same nyght, and sayde: I am the God of Abraham thy father, feare not, for I am wyth the, & wyll blesse the, and multiplye thy seed for my seruaunt Abrahams sake.

²⁵ And he buylded an aulter there, and called vpon the name of the Lorde, and pytched hys tente. And there Isahacs seruauntes dygged a well.

²⁶ Than came Abimelech to hym from Gerar, and Ahusath hys frende, and Phicol his chefe captayne.

²⁷ And Isahac sayde vnto them: wherfore come ye to me, seinge ye hate me & haue put me awaye from you?

²⁸ Whych answered: In seinge, we sawe that the Lorde was with the, & we sayde: let there be nowe an oothe betwyxte vs euen betwixte vs and the, and let vs make a bonde wyth the,

²⁹ that thou shuldest do vs no hurte, as we haue not touched the, and as we haue done vnto the nothynge but good, and sent the awaye in peace: for thou art nowe the blessed of the Lorde.

³⁰ And he made them a feast, & they dyd eate & drincke.

³¹ And they rose vp by tymes in the mornynge, and sware one to a nother. And Isahac sent them awaye. And they departed from hym in peace.

³² And that same daye it happened, that Isahacs seruauntes came & tolde hym of a well whych they had dygged: and sayde vnto hym, we haue founde water.

³³ And he called it Seba. And the name of the cyte is called Beer Seba vnto thys daye.

³⁴ Esau was .xl. yeare olde and he toke a wyfe called Iudith, the daughter of Bery an Hethyte, & Basinath the daughter of Elon an Hethyte also,

³⁵ which were disobedient vnto Isahac and Rebecca.

27

¹ And it came to passe that whan Isahac wexed olde and hys eyes were dymme (so that he coulde not see) He called Esau his eldest sonne and sayd vnto hym: my sonne. And he sayde vnto hym: here am I.

² And he sayde: beholde, I am nowe olde, and knowe not the daye of my deth:

³ and nowe therfore take thy weapens, thy quyuer and thy bowe, & get the to the feldes, that thou mayest take me some venyson,

⁴ and make me meate soche as I loue, and brynge it me, that I maye eate, and that my soule may blesse the before that I dye.

⁵ But Rebecca hearde when Isahac spake to Esau hys sonne. And Esau wente into the felde, to catche venyson, and to brynge it.

⁶ And Rebecca sayd vnto Iacob hyr sonne sayinge? Beholde I haue herde thy father talkynge wyth Esau thy brother and sayinge:

⁷ brynge me venyson and make me meate, that I maye eate and blesse the before the Lorde, afore my death.

⁸ Nowe therfore my sonne heare my voyce in that whych I commaunde the:

⁹ gett the to the flocke, and brynge me thence two good kyddes, that I maye make meate of them for thy father, soche as he loueth.

¹⁰ And thou shalt brynge it to thy father, that he maye eate & that he maye blesse the before hys deth.

¹¹ Then sayde Iacob to Rebecca hys mother: beholde, Esau my brother is a rough man, and I am smooth.

¹² My father shall peraduenture fele me, and I shall seme vnto him as though I went aboute to begyle hym, & so shall he brynge a curse vpon me, and not a blessynge:

¹³ and hys mother sayde vnto hym: Upon me be thy curse my sonne, only heare my voyce, and go and fetch me them.

¹⁴ And Iacob went and fet them, and brought them to hys mother. And hys mother made meate such as she knewe his father loued.

¹⁵ And Rebecca fett goodly rayment of hyr eldest sonnes Esau, whych was in the house wyth hyr, & put yt vpon Iacob hyr youngest sonne,

¹⁶ & she put the skynnes of gotys vpon hys handes and vpon the smooth of hys necke.

¹⁷ And she put the meate & brede whych she had prepared in the hande of hyr sonne Iacob.

¹⁸ Whan he came to hys father, he sayde: my father? And he answered: here am I, who art thou my sonne?

¹⁹ And Iacob sayde vnto hys father: I am Esau thy eldest sonne, I haue done accordynge as thou baddest me: vp and syt and eate of my venyson, that thy soule maye blesse me.

²⁰ And Isahac sayde vnto hys sonne: howe commeth it that thou hast founde it so quyckly my sonne? He answered: The Lorde thy God brought it to my hande.

²¹ Than sayde Isahac vnto Iacob, come nere and let me fele the my sonne, whether thou be my sonne Esau or not.

²² Than went Iacob to Isahac hys father, and he felt hym and sayd: the voyce is Iacobs voyce, but the handes are the handes of Esau.

²³ And he knewe hym not, because hys handes were rough as hys brother Esaus handes: and so he blessed hym.

²⁴ And he axed hym: art thou my sonne Esau? And he sayde, that I am.

²⁵ Than sayde he: brynge me & let me eate of my sonnes venyson, that my soule maye blesse the. And he brought hym and he eate. And he brought hym wyne also, and he drancke.

²⁶ And hys father Isahac sayde vnto hym, come nere, and kysse me my sonne.

²⁷ And he went vnto hym and kyssed hym. And he smelled the sauoure of hys rayment, and blessed hym, and sayde, See, the smelle of my sonne is as the smell of a felde whych the Lorde had blessed.

²⁸ God geue the of the dewe of heauen, and of the fatnesse of the erth, and plentye of corne and wyne.

²⁹ People be thy seruauntes, and nacyons bowe vnto the. Be Lorde ouer thy brethren, and thy mothers chyldren stowpe vnto the. Curssed be he that cursseth the, and blessed be he that blesseth the.

³⁰ It happened that assoone as Isahac had made an ende of blessynge and Iacob was skace gone out from the presence of Isahac his father, then came Esau his brother from his huntyng

³¹ and had made also meate, and brought it vnto hys father, and sayde vnto his father: let my father aryse and eate of his sonnes venyson, that thy soule maye blesse me.

³² Than hys father Isahac sayde vnto hym: who art thou? he answered: I am thy eldest sonne Esau.

³³ And Isahac was greatly astonyed out of mesure, and sayde: whych is he & where is he then that hath hunted venyson and brought it me? and I haue eaten of all before thou camest, and haue blessed hym, & he shall be blessed.

³⁴ When Esau herde the wordes of hys father, he cryed out greatly and bytterly, aboue mesure, and sayde vnto hys father: blesse me also my father.

³⁵ Who answered: thy brother came wyth subtilte, & hath taken awaye thy blessyng.

³⁶ And he sayd agayne: He maye well be called Iacob, for he hath vndermyned me now two tymes, fyrst he toke awaye my byrthryght: and se, nowe hath he taken awaye my blessynge also. And he sayde: hast thou kept neuer a blessynge for me?

³⁷ Isahac answered and sayde vnto Esau: beholde I haue made hym thy Lord, and all hys mothers chyldren haue I made hys seruauntes. Moreouer wyth corne & wyne haue I stablysshed hym, what can I do vnto the nowe my sonne?

³⁸ And Esau sayde vnto hys father: hast thou but that one blessynge my father? blesse me also my father: so lyfted vp Esau his voyce and wepte.

³⁹ Than Isahac hys father answered & sayde vnto hym: beholde, thy dwellinge place shall be the fatnesse of the erth, and of the dewe of heauen from aboue.

⁴⁰ And wyth thy swerde shalt thou lyue, and shalt be thy brothers seruaunt. And it wyll come to passe, that when thou shalt gett the mastrye, thou shalt lowse hys yocke from of thy necke.

⁴¹ And Esau hated Iacob, because of the blessynge that hys father blessed hym wyth. all. And Esau sayde in his harte: The dayes of my fathers sorowe are at hande, and I wyll sley my brother Iacob.

⁴² And these wordes of Esau hyr eldest sonne were tolde to Rebecca. And she sent and called Iacob hyr yongest sonne, and sayde vnto hym: beholde thy brother Esau threatneth to kyll the:

⁴³ nowe therfore my sonne heare my voyce, make the redy, & flee to Laban my brother at Haran:

⁴⁴ & tarye wyth him a whyle vntyll thy brothers fearsnes be swaged,

⁴⁵ & vntyll thy brothers wrath turne awaye from the, & he forget the thynges whych thou hast done to him. Than wyll I sende and fet the awaye from thence. Why shulde I be desolate of you bothe in one daye?

⁴⁶ & Rebecca spake to Isahac, I am wery of my lyfe, for feare of the daughters of Heth. If Iacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, soche one as these are, or of the daughters of the lande, what good shall my lyfe do me?

28

¹ And so Isahac called Iacob and blessed hym, & charged hym, & sayde vnto him: se thou take not a wyfe of the daughters of Chanaan,

² but aryse & gett the to Mesopotamia to the house of Bethuel thy mothers father: and there take the a wyfe of the daughters of Laban thy mothers brother.

³ And God almyghtye blesse the, & make the to increase, and multyplye the that thou mayst be a nombre of people,

⁴ and geue the the blessynge of Abraham: to the and to thy seed wyth the, that thou mayst possesse the lande (wherin thou art a straunger) whyche God gaue vnto Abraham.

⁵ Thus Isahac sent forth Iacob. And he went to Mesopotamia vnto Laban, sonne of Bethuel the Sirien, and brother to Rebecca Iacob and Esaus mother.

⁶ When Esau sawe that Isahac had blessed Iacob, and sent him to Mesopotamia, to fet him a wyfe thence, and that as he blessed hym he gaue him a charge, sayinge: thou shalt not take a wyfe of the daughters of Chanaan:

⁷ and that Iacob had obeyed hys father and mother, & was gone vnto Mesopotamia:

⁸ & Esau seynge also that the daughters of Chanaan pleased not Isahac hys father:

⁹ then went he vnto Ismael, and toke vnto the wyues whych he had, Mahala the daughter of Ismael Abrahams sonne, the syster of Nabaioth to be his wyfe.

¹⁰ Iacob departed from Beer Seba, to come vnto Haran,

¹¹ and came vnto a place by chaunce, and taryed there all nyghte, because the sonne was downe. And toke a stone of the place, and put it vnder hys heade, and layde hym downe in the same place a slepe.

¹² And he dreamed: and beholde, there stode a ladder vpon the erth, and the topp of it reached vp to heauen. And se, the angels of God went vp and downe vpon it,

¹³ yce and God stode vpon it, and sayde. I am the Lorde God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isahac: The lande whyche thou slepest vpon wyll I geue the and thy seed.

¹⁴ And thy seed shall be as the dust of the erth: and thou shalt spreade abrode to the west, to the east, to the north and to the south. And thorowe the and in thy seed shall all the kynredes of the erth be blessed.

¹⁵ And se I am wyth the, and wylbe thy keper in all places whether thou goest, and wyll brynge the agayne in to thys lande: nether wyll I leaue the vntyll I haue made good all that I haue promysed the.

¹⁶ When Iacob was awaked out of hys slepe, he sayde: surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware.

¹⁷ And he was afrayed & sayde: howe fearfull is this place? it is none other, but euen the house of God and the gate of heauen.

¹⁸ And Iacob stode vp early in the mornynge, & toke the stone that he had layde vnder hys head, and pitched it vp an ende and poured oyle on the topp of it.

¹⁹ And he called the name of that place Bethell, but the name of the cytie was called Lus before tyme.

²⁰ And Iacob vowed a vowe, sayinge: If God wyll be wyth me, and wyll kepe me in thys iourney which I goo, and will geue me bread to eate, and clothes to put on,

²¹ so that I come agayne vnto my fathers house in saftye: then shall the Lorde be my God,

²² and thys stone which I haue set vp an ende, shalbe goddes house: and of all that thou shalt geue me, wyll I geue the tenth vnto the.

29

¹ Then Iacob lyfte vp hys fete, & came into the east countrey.

² And as he loked aboute, beholde there was a well in the felde, and .iij. flockes of shepe laye therby (for at that well were the flockes watered) and there was a great stone vpon the well mouth.

³ And thyther were all the flockes brought, and they rolled the stone from the welles mouth, and watred the shepe, & put the stone agayne vpon the welles mouth vnto hys place.

⁴ And Iacob sayd vnto them: brethren whence be ye? And they sayde: of Haran are we.

⁵ And he sayd vnto them: knowe ye Laban the sonne of Nahor? They sayd: we knowe hym.

⁶ And he sayde vnto them, is he in good health? And they sayde, he his in good health, and beholde, hys daughter Rahel commeth with the shepe.

⁷ And he sayde, lo, it is yet but hye daye, nether is it tyme that the catell shulde be gathered together, water ye the shepe and go and fede them.

⁸ And they sayde, we maye not, vntyll all the flockes he brought to gether, and tyll they roll the stone from the welles mouth, and so we water oure shepe.

⁹ Whyle he yet talked wyth them, Rahel came wyth hyr fathers shepe, for she kepte them.

¹⁰ As soone as Iacob sawe Rahel, the daughter of Laban his mothers brother, and the shepe of Laban hys mothers brother, he went and rowled the stone from the wells mouth, and watered the flocke of Laban his mothers brother.

¹¹ And Iacob kyssed Rahel, and lyfte vp hys voyce and wepte:

¹² and Iacob tolde Rahel, that he was hyr fathers brother & Rebeccas sonne. Therfore ranne she and tolde hyr father.

¹³ And it happened when Laban hearde tell of Iacob his systers sonne, he ranne to mete him, & embraced him & kissed him, & brought him to his house. And he tolde Laban all the matter.

¹⁴ To whom Laban sayde: well, thou art my bone & my fleshe. And he abode wyth him the space of a moneth.

¹⁵ And Laban sayde vnto Iacob: Though thou be my brother, shuldest thou therfore serue me for naught? tell me, what shall thy wages be?

¹⁶ Laban had .ij. daughters, the eldest called Lea & the yongest Rahel.

¹⁷ Lea was tender eyed, but Rahel was bewtyfull & well fauored.

¹⁸ And Iacob loued Rahel, and sayde: I wyll serue the .vij. yeare for Rahel thy yongest daughter.

¹⁹ Laban answered: it is better that I geue her the, than to another man: byde wyth me.

²⁰ And Iacob serued .vij. yeares for Rahel and they semed vnto him but a fewe dayes, for the loue he had to her.

²¹ And Iacob sayde vnto Laban: geue me my wyfe, that I maye lye with hir. For my dayes are fulfilled:

²² Than Laban gathered together all the men of that place, & made a feast.

²³ And when euen was come he toke Lea hys daughter & brought her to hym: and he went in vnto hyr.

²⁴ And Laban gaue vnto hys daughter Lea, Zilpha hys mayde, to be hyr seruaunte.

²⁵ And when the mornynge was come, beholde it was Lea. Than sayde he to Laban wherfore hast thou played thus wt me? dyd not I serue the for Rahel? wherfore than hast thou begyled me?

²⁶ Laban answered: it is not the maner of thys place, to marye the yongest before the eldest.

²⁷ Passe out thys weke, and than shall thys also be geuen the for the seruyce whych thou shalt serue me yet .vij. yeres more.

²⁸ And Iacob dyd euen so, and passed out that weke, and than he gaue him Rahel hys daughter to wyfe also.

²⁹ And Laban gaue to Rahel hys daughter, Bilha hys handmayde to be hyr seruaunte.

³⁰ So laye he by Rahel also, and loued Rahel more than Lea and serued hym yet .vij. yeares more.

³¹ When the Lorde sawe that Lea was despised, he made her frutefull. And Rahel remayned baren.

³² And Lea conceaued and bare a sonne, and called hys name Ruben, for she sayde: the Lorde hath loked vpon my tribulacyon. Nowe therfore my husband wyll loue me.

³³ And she conceaued agayne and bare a sonne, and sayde: the Lorde hath herde that I am despysed, and hath therfore geuen me thys sonne also, and she called hys name Simeon.

³⁴ And she conceaued yet, & bare a sonne, and sayde: nowe thys once wyll my husbande kepe me company, because I haue borne hym .iii. sonnes: and therfore was hys name called Leui.

³⁵ And she conceaued yet agayne, and bare a sonne, sayinge: nowe wyll I prayse the Lorde: therfore she called hys name Iuda, and left bearynge.

30

¹ Rahel whan she sawe that she bare Iacob no chyldren, she enuyed hyr syster, and sayde vnto Iacob: Geue me children, or els I am but deed.

² And Iacob was wrooth wt Rahel sayig: Am I in Goddes stead, which kepeth from the the frute of thy wombe?

³ Then she sayd: here is my mayde Bilha, go in vnto her, & she shall beare vpon my lappe, that I maye be encreased by her.

⁴ And she gaue hym Bilha hyr handmayde to wyfe.

⁵ And Iacob went in vnto her, and Bilha conceaued & bare Iacob a sonne.

⁶ Than sayde Rahel. God hath geuen sentence on my syde, and hath also hearde my voyce, and hath geuen me a sonne. Therfore called she hym Dan.

⁷ And Bilha Rahels mayde conceaued agayne, and bare Iacob another sonne.

⁸ And Rahel sayde: wyth Godly wrestlynges haue I wrestled wyth my syster, and haue gotten the vpper hande. And she called hys name: Nepthali.

⁹ When Lea sawe that she had left bearinge, she toke Silpha hyr mayde, and gaue her Iacob to wyfe.

¹⁰ And Silpha Leas mayde bare Iacob a sonne.

¹¹ Than sayde Lea: Good lucke: and called hys name Gad.

¹² And Silpha Leas mayd bare Iacob another sonne.

¹³ Than sayde Lea: happy am I, for the daughters wyll call me blessed. And called hys name Asser.

¹⁴ And Ruben went out in the dayes of the whet haruest and founde mandragoras in the feldes, and brought them vnto hys mother Lea. Than sayd Rahel to Lea: geue me of thy sonnes mandragoras.

¹⁵ To whom Lea answered: Is it not ynough that thou hast taken awaye my housbande, but woldest take awaye my sonnes mandragoras also? Than sayde Rahel: well, let hym slepe wt the thys nyghte, for thy sonnes mandragoras.

¹⁶ And Iacob came from the feldes at euen, and Lea went out to mete hym, and sayde: come into me, for I haue bought the wyth my sonnes mandragoras. And he slepte wyth her that nyghte.

¹⁷ And God herde Lea, that she conceaued & bare vnto Iacob the .v. sonne.

¹⁸ Than sayde Lea. God hath geuen me a rewarde, because I gaue my mayden to my housbande, & she called hym Isachar.

¹⁹ And Lea conceaued yet agayne, & bare Iacob the .vi. sonne.

²⁰ And Lea sayd: God hath endewed me wt a good dowrye. Nowe wyll my husbande dwell wyth me, because I haue borne hym .vi. sonnes: & called his name Zabulon.

²¹ After that she bare a daughter, and called hyr name Dina.

²² And God remembred Rahel, hearde her, and made her frutefull:

²³ so that she conceaued & bare a sonne, & sayd: God hath taken awaye my rebuke.

²⁴ And she called hys name Ioseph, sayinge: The Lorde geue me yet a nother sonne.

²⁵ As soone as Rahel had borne Ioseph, Iacob sayde to Laban: Sende me awaye that I maye go vnto my awne place and contrey,

²⁶ geue me my wyues and my children for whom I haue serued the, and let me goo: for thou knowest what seruyce I haue done the.

²⁷ To whom Laban answered: yf I haue founde fauoure in thy syght (for I suppose that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake)

²⁸ appoynte what thy rewarde shall be, and I wyll geue it the.

²⁹ But he sayde vnto hym: thou knowest what seruyce I haue done the, and in what takynge thy catell haue bene vnder me:

³⁰ For it was but lytle that thou haddest before I came, and nowe it is encreased into a multitude, and the Lorde hath blessed the for my sake. But nowe when shall I make prouisyon for myne awne house also?

³¹ And he sayde: what shall I then geue the? And Iacob answered: thou shalt geue me nothynge at all, yf thou wylt do thys one thynge for me: and then wyll I turne agayne, and fede thy shepe and kepe them.

³² I wyll go aboute all thy shepe thys daye, and separate from them all the shepe that are spotted and of dyuers coloures, and all blacke shepe amonge the lambes, & the partye, and the spotted amonge the kyddes: and the same shalbe my rewarde.

³³ So shall my ryghtwesnes answere for me to morowe, and shall come for my rewarde before thy face, and euery one that is not speckled and partye amonge the goates and blacke amonge the shepe, the same shalbe theft wyth me.

³⁴ And Laban sayde: Go to, wolde God it myght be accordynge to thy sayeng.

³⁵ Therfore he toke out that same daie the he goates that were partye and of dyuerse coloures, and all the she gootes that were spotted and partye coloured, and all that had whyte in them, and all the blacke amonge the shepe, and put them in the kepynge of hys sonnes,

³⁶ & set thre dayes iourney betwyxte hym selfe and Iacob. And so Iacob kepte the rest of Labans shepe.

³⁷ Iacob toke roddes of grene popular, hasell & of chestnut trees, & pylled whyte strakes in them, & made the whyte apere in the roddes.

³⁸ And put the roddes whyche he had pylled, euen before the shepe, in the gutters & watrynge troughes when the shepe came to dryncke: that they shulde conceaue when they came to dryncke.

³⁹ And the shepe conceaued before the roddes, & brought forth lambes straked, spotted and partye.

⁴⁰ And Iacob parted the lambes & turned the faces of the shepe towarde spotted thynges, and towarde all maner of blacke, that was amonge the shepe of Laban: Namely, puttynge hys awne flockes by them selfe, & not puttynge them wyth Labans shepe.

⁴¹ And it fortuned that in euery rammynge tyme of the stronger shepe, Iacob layed the roddes before the eyes of the shepe in the gutters: namely, that he myght make them conceaue before the roddes.

⁴² But when the shepe were feble, he put them not in. And so the febler were Labans, and the stronger Iacobs.

⁴³ And the man increaced exceadyngly, and had a great flocke, mayde seruauntes and man seruauntes, camels and asses.

31

¹ But he hearde the wordes of Labans sonnes sayenge: Iacob hath taken awaye all that was oure fathers, and of oure fathers goodes hath he gotten all thys honoure.

² And Iacob behelde the countenaunce of Laban, & beholde. it was not as yesterdaye and yeryesterdaye.

³ And the Lorde sayde vnto Iacob: turne agayne in to the lande of thy fathers and to thy kynred, & I wyll be wyth the.

⁴ Therfore Iacob sent and called Rahel and Lea to the felde vnto hys flocke,

⁵ & sayde vnto them: I se youre fathers countenaunce that it is not towarde me as yesterdaye & yeryesterdaye. But the God of my father hath bene wyth me.

⁶ And ye knowe howe that I haue serued youre father with all my myght.

⁷ But youre father hath disceaued me, and chaunged my wages .x. tymes: but God suffred hym not to hurte me.

⁸ When he sayde, the spotted shall be thy wages, than all the shepe bare spotted. And whan he sayde: the straked shall be thy rewarde, than bare all the shepe straked:

⁹ thus hath God taken awaye youre fathers shepe, and geuen them me.

¹⁰ But in rammynge tyme it happened, that I lyfted vp myne eyes & sawe in a dreame, & beholde the rammes leaped vpon the shepe that were straked, spotted & partye.

¹¹ And the angell of God spake vnto me in a dreame, saying: Iacob? And I answered: here am I.

¹² And he sayde: lyfte vp nowe thyne eyes & se all the rammes leapinge vpon the shepe that are straked, spotted & partye: for I haue sene all that Laban doth vnto the,

¹³ I am the God of Bethel, where thou anoyntedst the stone, and where thou vowedst a vowe vnto me. Now therfore aryse & get the out of this countre, and returne vnto the lande wher thou wast borne.

¹⁴ Than answered Rahel, and Lea, & sayde vnto hym haue we a porcion & inheritaunce in our fathers house?

¹⁵ Doth not he count vs euen as straungers? for he hath solde vs, and hath euen eaten vp oure monye.

¹⁶ But all the riches whych God hath taken from oure father, that is ours & oure childrens. And now what soeuer God hath sayde vnto the, that do.

¹⁷ Than Iacob rose vp, & set his sonnes and wyues vp vpon camels,

¹⁸ & caried awaye all hys flockes & all hys substaunce which he had procured, hys riches and possessions which he had gotten in Mesopotamia, for to go to Isahac hys father vnto the land of Canaan.

¹⁹ But Laban was gone to shere hys shepe, & Rahel had stolen hyr fathers ymages.

²⁰ And Iacob stale awaye the herte of Laban the Syrian, in that he tolde hym not that he fled.

²¹ So fled he & all that he had, and made hym selfe redy, & passed ouer the ryuer, & set hys face streyght toward the mount Gilead.

²² Upon the thyrde day after, was it told Laban that Iacob fled.

²³ Than he toke his brethren with hym and folowed after him .vii. dayes iourney, & ouer toke hym at the mounte Gilead.

²⁴ And God came to Laban the Syrian in a dreame by night, & sayd vnto hym: take hede, that thou speake not to Iacob ought saue good.

²⁵ And Laban ouertoke Iacob: and Iacob had pitched hys tente in the mounte. And Laban with hys brethren pitched their tente also vpon the mounte Gilead:

²⁶ And Laban sayde, to Iacob: Why hast thou thys done to steale awaye my herte, and carye awaye my doughters as though they had bene taken captyue wyth the swerde?

²⁷ Wherfore wentest thou awaye secretely vnknowen to me, & didest not tell me, that I myght haue brought the on the waye wyth myrth, syngyng, tymrel & harpe,

²⁸ and hast not suffred me to kisse my chyldren and my daughters? Thou wast a sole now to do it,

²⁹ for I am able to do you euyll. But the God of your father spake vnto me yesterdaye, saying take hede that thou speake not to Iacob ought saue good.

³⁰ And now though thou wentest thy waye, because thou longest after thy fathers house, yet wherfore hast thou stolen my goddes?

³¹ Iacob answered and sayde to Laban because I was afrayed, & thought that thou woldest haue taken awaye thy doughters from me.

³² But whyth whome soeuer thou fyndest thy goddes, let hym dye, here before oure brethren. Seke that thyne is by me, & take it to the. But Iacob wyst not that Rahel had stolen them.

³³ Than went Laban into Iacobs tente, and into Leas tente, & into the .ii. maydens tentes: but founde them not: Than went he out of leas tente, and entred into Rahels tente.

³⁴ And Rahel had taken the ymages & put them in the camels strawe, & sate downe vpon them. And Laban serched all the tente: but founde them not.

³⁵ Than sayde she to hyr father: my lord, be not angry that I can not ryse vp before the for the custome of women is come vpon me. So searched he but founde not those ydols.

³⁶ And Iacob was wrooth, and chode with Laban. Iacob also answered & sayde to hym: what haue I trespaced or what haue I offended, that thou folowedest so after me?

³⁷ Thou hast searched all my stuffe, & what hast thou founde of all thy housholde stuffe? put it here before thy brethren & myne that they maye iudge betwyxte vs both.

³⁸ Beholde: Thys .xx. yere haue I bene wyth the, thy shepe & thy goates haue not bene baren, & the rammes of thy flocke haue I not eaten.

³⁹ Whatsoeuer was torne of beastes I brought it not vnto the, but made it good my selfe: of my hande dydest thou requyre it, euen as it that was stollen by daye or nyght.

⁴⁰ By daye the hete consumed me, and the frost by nyght, and my slepe departed fro myne eyes.

⁴¹ Thus haue I bene .xx. yere in thy house, & serued the .xiiii. yeres for thy .ii. doughters, & .vi. yeres for thy shepe, and thou hast chaunged my rewarde .x. tymes.

⁴² And excepte the God of my father, the God of Abraham & the feare of Isahac had bene wyth me: surely thou haddest sent me awaye now all emptie. But God behelde my trybulacyon, and the laboure of my handes, and rebuked the yesterdaye.

⁴³ Laban answered and sayde vnto Iacob: these daughters are my daughters, and these chyldren are my chyldren, and these shepe are my shepe, and all that thou seyst, is myne. And what can I do thys daye vnto these my daughters, or vnto theyr chyldren whych they haue borne?

⁴⁴ Now therfore come on & let vs make a bonde, I & thou, whych maye be a witnesse betwene the and me.

⁴⁵ Than toke Iacob a stone and set it vp an ende,

⁴⁶ & Iacob sayde vnto hys brethren: gather stones. And they toke stones, and made an heape, & they did eate there vpon the heape.

⁴⁷ And Laban called it Iegar Sahadutha, but Iacob called it Gilead.

⁴⁸ Than sayde Laban: thys heape is wytnesse betwene the & me thys daye: therfore is it called Gilead

⁴⁹ & Mizaph: For he sayd: The Lorde loke betwene me & the when we are departed one from another:

⁵⁰ If thou shalt vexe my daughters or shalt take other wyues beside my daughters. Here is no man with vs: beholde, God be witnesse betwixte the and me.

⁵¹ And Laban sayde moreouer to Iacob: beholde, thys heape and thys marke whych I haue set there, betwixte me and the:

⁵² thys heape be wytnesse and also thys marke that I will not come ouer thys heape to the, and thou shalt not come ouer thys heape and thys marke vnto me: to do any harme.

⁵³ The God of Abraham, the God of Nahor, & the God of theyr fathers be iudge betwyxte vs. And Iacob sware by the feare of hys father Isahac.

⁵⁴ Then Iacob dyd sacrifyce vpon the mounte, & called his brethren to eate breed. And they dyd eate breed & taryed all nyght in the hyll.

⁵⁵ And early in the mornynge Laban rose vp and kyssed kys children and hys daughters, and blessed them: and Laban departynge, went vnto hys place agayne.

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¹ But Iacob went forth on his iourney. And the Angels of God came, & met hym.

² And when Iacob sawe them, he said thys is Goddes hoost: & called the name of that same place Mahanaim.

³ And Iacob sente messengers before him to Esau his brother, vnto the land of Seir & the felde of Edom.

⁴ And he commaunded them sayinge. Thus shall ye speake to my Lord Esau: thy seruaunte Iacob sayth thus: I haue sogeorned & bene a straunger wyth Laban vnto thys tym

⁵ and haue oxen, asses & shepe men seruauntes and wemenseruauntes, and haue sent to shewe it my Lorde, that I may fynde grace in thy syghte.

⁶ And the messengers came agayne to Iacob saying: we came vnto thy brother Esau, and he commeth agaynst the & hath .iiii. hundreth men wt hym.

⁷ But Iacob was greatly afrayed, and wyst not whych waye to turne hym selfe, and deuyded the people that was wyth hym & the shepe, & oxen & camels, into .ii. companyes:

⁸ & sayd: If Esau come to the one parte & smyte it, the other shall saue it selfe.

⁹ And Iacob sayde agayne: O God of my father Abraham; & God of my father Isahac: Lorde whych saydest vnto me returne vnto thy countre and to thy kynred, & I wyll do all well wyth the.

¹⁰ I am not worthy of the leaste of all the mercyes and truthe whych thou hast shewed vnto thy seruaunte. For wyth my staf came I ouer thys Iordane, & now haue I gotten .ii. droues.

¹¹ Delyuer me from the handes of my brother Esau: for I feare hym: lest he wyll come and smyte the mother wyth the chyldren.

¹² Thou saydest: I wyll surely do the good, & make thy seed as the sande of the see, which can not be nombred for multytude.

¹³ And he taryed there that same nyghte, & toke of that whych came to hande, a present, for Esau hys brother

¹⁴ .ii. hundred she goates & .xx. he goates .ii. hundred shepe and .xx. rammes:

¹⁵ thyrtye mylch camels wyth theyr coltes .xl. kyne, & .x. bulles .xx. she asses & ten foles:

¹⁶ and delyuered them into the hande of hys seruaunes euery droue by them selues, and sayde vnto hys seruauntes: go forth before me, and put a space betwyxte, droue, & droue.

¹⁷ And he commaunded the formost sayinge. If Esau my brother mete the and aske the sayinge: whose art thou, and whyther goest thou: & whose are these that goo before the?

¹⁸ thou shalt saye, they be thy seruaunte Iacobs, and it is a present sent vnto my Lord Esau, and beholde, he hym selfe commeth after vs:

¹⁹ And so commaunded he the seconde, and the thyrde, and all that folowed the droues sayinge of thys maner se that ye speake vnto Esau when ye mete hym

²⁰ and saye moreouer: thy seruaunte Iacob also commeth after vs, for he sayde: I wyll pease his wrath with the present that goeth before me, and afterward I wyll see hym my selfe, yf peraduenture he wyll receaue me to grace:

²¹ So went the present before hym and he taryed all that nyght in the company, and rose vp the same nyghte,

²² and toke hys two wyues and hys two maydens, and hys eleuen sonnes, and went ouer the foorde Iabok

²³ And he toke them and sent them ouer the ryuer, and sent ouer that he had,

²⁴ and taried behinde hym selfe alone. And there wrastled a man wyth hym vnto the breakynge of the daye.

²⁵ And when he sawe that he coulde not preuayle against hym, he smote hym vnder the thye, and the senowe of Iacobs thye shranke, as he wrastled wyth hym.

²⁶ And he sayde: let me goo, for the daye breaketh. Which answered: I wyll not let the goo, excepte thou blesse me.

²⁷ And he sayde vnto hym: what is thy name? He answered: Iacob.

²⁸ He sayde: thou shalt be called Iacob nomore, but Israell. For as a prynce hast thou wrastled wyth God: and wyth man, and hast preuayled.

²⁹ And Iacob asked hym sayinge: tell me thy name. And he sayde, wherfore dost thou so aske after my name? and he blessed hym there.

³⁰ And Iacob called the name of the place Pheniel, for I haue sene God face to face, & my lyfe is preserued.

³¹ And as he went ouer Pheniel, the sonne rose vpon hym, and he halted vpon hys thye.

³² And therfore is it that the chyldren of Israell eate not of the senow that shranke in that place of the thye, vnto thys daye: because that he touched the place of Iacobs thye in the senow that shroncke.

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¹ Iacob lyftynge vp his eyes, loked, and beholde, Esau came, hauynge with him .iiij. hundred men. And he deuyded the children vnto Lea and vnto Rahel and vnto the .ij. maydens.

² And he put the maydens and their chyldren formost, and Lea and hyr chyldren after, and Rahel and Ioseph hyndermost.

³ And he went before them and fell on the grownde .vij. tymes vntill he came vnto his brother.

⁴ Esau came to mete hym and enbraced hym and fell on hys necke and kyssed hym, and they wepte.

⁵ And he lyfte vp hys eyes & sawe the wemen, and the chyldren, and sayde: whence hast thou these? And he answered: they are the chyldren whych God hath geuen thy seruaunte.

⁶ Than came the maydens forth, & their chyldren, and dyd theyr obeysaunce.

⁷ Lea also with hyr chyldren came & dyd theyr obeysaunce. And last of all came Ioseph & Rahel, & dyd theyr obeysaunce.

⁸ And he sayde: what is all the droue whych I mett? He answered: that I maye fynde grace in the syghte of my Lorde.

⁹ And Esau sayde: I haue ynough my brother, kepe that thou hast vnto thy selfe.

¹⁰ To whom Iacob answered, oh nay, but yf I haue founde grace in thy syghte, receaue my present of my hande: for I haue sene thy face as though I had sene the face of God: And thou hast had a good wyll towarde me.

¹¹ Oh take my blessynge that is brought the, for God hath had mercy on me. And I haue ynough. And so he compelled hym, and he toke it.

¹² And he sayde: let vs take oure iourney and goo, I wyll goo before the.

¹³ Iacob answered him: my Lorde, Thou knowest, that the chyldren are tendre, & the ewes & kyne wyth yonge vnder myne hande, which yf men shulde ouerdryue but euen one daye all the shepe wyll dye.

¹⁴ Oh let my Lorde goo before hys seruaunte, and I wyll dryue fayre and softly, accordynge as the catell that goeth before me and the chyldren be able to endure: vntyll I come to my Lorde vnto Seir.

¹⁵ And Esau sayde: let me yet leaue some of my folke with the. And he answered, what neadeth it? let me fynde grace in the syghte of my Lord.

¹⁶ So Esau went hys waye agayne that same daye vnto Seir.

¹⁷ And Iacob toke hys iourney towarde Sucoth, and buylt hym an house, and made boothes for his catell. And therfore is it, that the name of the place is called Sucoth.

¹⁸ And Iacob came to Salem a cytie of Sichem which is in the lande of Canaan, after that he was come from Mesopotamia, and pytched before the cytie,

¹⁹ and bought a parcell of grounde (were he pytched hys tent) of the chyldren of Hemor Sichems father for an hundred peces of money.

²⁰ And he made there an aulter, & called vpon the myghtie God of Israel.

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¹ Dina the daughter of Lea which she bare vnto Iacob, went out to se the daughters of the lande.

² Whom whan Sichem the sonne of Hemor the Heuite Lorde of the countrey sawe, he toke her, and laye with her, and forced her:

³ and hys harte laye vnto Dina the daughter of Iacob. And he loued that damsell and spake kyndly vnto her,

⁴ and Sichem spake vnto hys father Hemor sayinge, gett me thys mayden vnto my wyfe.

⁵ And Iacob hearde that he had defyled Dina hys daughter, hys sonnes beinge with theyr catell in the felde, and he helde hys peace, vntyll they were come.

⁶ And Hemor the father of Sichem went out vnto Iacob, to comen with hym.

⁷ And whan the sonnes of Iacob commynge out of the felde herde it, it greued them, & they were not a lytle wrooth because he had wrought folye in Israel, in that he had lyen wyth Iacobs daughter, which thinge ought not to be done.

⁸ And Hemor commened with them sayinge: the soule of my sonne Sichem longeth for youre daughter: geue her hym to wyfe,

⁹ and make mariages with vs: and geue youre daughters vnto vs, and take oure daughters vnto you,

¹⁰ & ye shall dwell wyth vs, and the lande shall be before you, dwell and do youre busynes and haue youre possessyons there in.

¹¹ And Sichem sayde vnto hyr father and hyr brethren, let me fynde grace in youre eyes, and what soeuer ye apoynte me, that wyll I geue.

¹² Axe frely of me both the dowry and giftes, and I wyll geue accordynge as ye saye vnto me, so that ye geue me the Damsell to wyfe.

¹³ But the sonnes of Iacob answered to Sichem & Hemor hys father talkynge amonge them selues deceytefully, because he had defyled Dina theyr syster.

¹⁴ And they sayde vnto them, we can not do thys thynge that we shulde geue oure syster to one that is vncircumcysed, for that were a shame vnto vs.

¹⁵ But in thys wyll we consent vnto you? If ye wylbe as we be and all the men chyldren amonge you be circumcysed,

¹⁶ then wyll we geue oure daughters to you and take youre daughters to vs, and wyll dwell wyth you and be one people.

¹⁷ But and yf ye wyll not harken vnto vs to be circumcysed, than will we take oure daughter & goo oure wayes.

¹⁸ Their wordes pleased Hemor: and Sichem hys sonne.

¹⁹ And the yonge man deferde not for to do the thynge, because he had a lust to Iacobs daughter: he was also most sett by of all that were in hys fathers house.

²⁰ Than Hemor & Sychem hys sonne went vnto the gate of their cytie, and comened with the men of their cytie, sayinge:

²¹ these men are vnfayned towarde vs, and dwell in the lande and do their occupacyon therin. And in the lande is rowme ynough for them, we wyll take their daughters to wyues, and geue them oure daughters:

²² only here in wyll they consent vnto vs for to dwell wyth vs & to be one people: yf all the men chyldren that are amonge vs be circumcysed as they are.

²³ Shall not their goodes and their substance and all theyr catell be oures, only yf we consente vnto them? For they wyll dwell with vs.

²⁴ And vnto Hemor and Sichem his sonne harkened all that went out at the gate of hys cytie. And all the men chyldren were circumcised whatsoeuer went out at the gates of his cytie.

²⁵ And it happened the thyrde daye (when it was paynefull to them) .ij. of the sonnes of Iacob Symeon and Leui Dinas brethren, toke ether of them his swerde and went in to the cytie boldly, and slewe all that was male,

²⁶ and slewe also Hemor and Sichem hys sonne with the edge of the swerde, and toke Dina out of Sichems house, and went their waye.

²⁷ And the sonnes of Iacob commynge vpon the deed, spoyled the cytie, because they had defyled their syster:

²⁸ & toke their shepe, oxen, and their asses and whatsoeuer was in the cytie and also in the feldes.

²⁹ And all their goodes & all their chyldren, and theyr wyues toke they captiue and made hauouck of all that was in the house.

³⁰ But Iacob sayde to Simeon and Leui: ye haue troubled me and made me styncke before the inhabitours of the lande, before the Canaanyte and the Pherezite. And I beynge fewe in nombre, they shall gather them selues together agaynst me & sley me, and so shall I and my house be destroyed.

³¹ And they answered: shulde they deale with oure syster as with an whoore.

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¹ And God sayde vnto Iacob, aryse and get the vp to Bethel, and dwell there. And make there an aulter vnto God that apeared vnto the, when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother.

² Than sayde Iacob vnto hys housholde and to all that were wyth hym: put awaye the straunge goddes that are amonge you and be cleane, and chaunge youre garmentes,

³ for we wyll aryse and goo vp to Bethell and I wyll make an aulter there, vnto God, which herde me in the daye of my tribulacyon, and was with me in the waye which I went.

⁴ And they gaue vnto Iacob all the straunge goddes which they had in their hande, and all their earinges which were in their eares, & Iacob hyd them vnder an ooke whych was by Sichem.

⁵ And whan they departed, the feare of God fell vpon the cyties that were rounde aboute them. And they dyd not folowe after the sonnes of Iacob.

⁶ So came Iacob to Lus which is in the lande of Canaan. The same is Bethell, he & all the people that was with him.

⁷ And he buylded there an aulter, and called the place: The God of Bethell, because that God appered vnto hym there, when he fled from the face of his brother.

⁸ But Debora Rebeccas norse, dyed, & was buryed beneth Bethell vnder an ooke. And the name of it was called: the ooke of lamentacyon.

⁹ And God appeared vnto Iacob agayne after he came out of Mesopotamia and blessed hym,

¹⁰ and God sayde vnto him: thy name is Iacob. Notwythstondinge thou shalt be no more called Iacob, but Israel shalbe thy name. And he called hys name Israel.

¹¹ And God sayde vnto him: I am God allmyghtye, growe and multiplye, people and a multitude of people shall sprynge of the, yee and kynges shall come out of thy loynes.

¹² And the lande whych I gaue Abraham and Isahac, will I geue vnto the, and vnto thy seed after the will I geue that lande also:

¹³ And so God departed vp from hym in the place where he had talked wyth hym.

¹⁴ And Iacob set vp a marke in the place where he talked with hym: euen a marke of stone and powred dryncke offrynge theron, & powred also oyle theron,

¹⁵ and Iacob called the name of the place where God spake with hym Bethell.

¹⁶ And they departed from Bethel, and when he was but a felde bredth from Ephrath, Rahel began to trauell, and in trauelynge she was in parell.

¹⁷ And it happened as she was in paynes of hyr laboure, the mydwyfe sayde vnto her, feare not, for thys sonne is thyne also.

¹⁸ Then as hyr soule was a departynge, that she must dye, she called his name. Ben Oni. But hys father called hym Ben Iamin.

¹⁹ And thus dyed Rahel and was buryed in the waye to Ephrath, which is Bethlehem.

²⁰ And Iacob sett vp a stone vpon hir graue, which is called Rahels graue stone vnto thys daye.

²¹ And Israel went thence, & pytched vp hys tent beyonde the toure of Eder.

²² And it chaunced as Israel dwelt in the lande, that Ruben went and laye wyth Bilha hys fathers concubyne, and it came to Israels eare. The sonnes of Iacob were .xij. in nombre.

²³ The sonnes of Lea. Ruben Iacobs eldest sonne, and Simeon, Leui, Iuda, Isachar, and Zabulon.

²⁴ The sonnes of Rahel: Ioseph and Ben Iamin.

²⁵ The sonnes of Bilha Rahels mayde: Dan and Neptali.

²⁶ The sonnes of Zilpha Leaes mayde, Gad and Aser. These are the sonnes of Iacob whych were borne hym in Mesopotamia.

²⁷ And so Iacob came vnto Isahar hys father to Mamre vnto kyriath Arba which is Hebron: where Abraham & Isahac soiourned as straungers.

²⁸ And the dayes of Isahac were an hundred and .lxxx. yeres:

²⁹ & Isahac fell sycke and dyed, and was put vnto hys people, beynge olde and full of dayes. And his sonnes Esau and Iacob buryed him.

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¹ These are the generacyons of Esau. The same is Edom.

² Esau toke his wyues of the daughters of Canaan. Ada the daughter of Elon an Hethite, & Ahalibama the daughter of Ana, the daughter of Zibeon an Heuyte,

³ and Basmath Ismaels daughter & sister of Nebaioth.

⁴ And Ada bare vnto Esau, Eliphas: and Basmath bare Reguel:

⁵ And Ahalibama bare Ieus and Iaelan and Korah. These are the sonnes of Esau whych were borne him in the lande of Canaan.

⁶ And Esau toke his wyues and hys sonnes and daughters and all the soules of hys house: hys goodes and all hys cattell and all hys substance whych he had gott in the lande of Canaan, and went into a countre awaye from the face of hys brother Iacob:

⁷ for their ryches was moche, and they coulde not dwell together, and the lande where in they were straungers, coulde not receaue them: because of their possession.

⁸ Thus dwelt Esau in mounte Seir. The same Esau is Edom.

⁹ These are the generacyons of Esau father of the Edomites in mounte Seir,

¹⁰ and these are the names of Esaus sonnes: Eliphas the sonne of Ada the wyfe of Esau, and Reguel the sonne of Basmath the wyfe of Esau.

¹¹ And the sonnes of Eliphas were: Theman, Omar, Zepho, Gaethom and Kenas.

¹² And Thimna was concubyne to Eliphas Esaus sonne, and bare vnto Eliphas Amalech. And these be the sonnes of Ada Esaus wyfe.

¹³ And these are the sonnes of Reguel: Nahath, Serah, Samma and Misa, these were the sonnes of Basmath Esaus wyfe.

¹⁴ And these were the sonnes of Ahalibama the daughter of Ana daughter of Zebion Esaus wyfe, and she bare vnto Esau: Ieus, Iealam and Korah.

¹⁵ These were dukes of the sonnes of Esau. The chyldren of Eliphas the fyrst sonne of Esau, were these: duke theman, duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenas,

¹⁶ and duke Korah, duke Gaetham and duke Amalech. These are the dukes that came of Eliphas in the lande of Edom, and these were the sonnes of Ada.

¹⁷ These also are the chyldren of Reguel Esaus sonne: duke Nahath, duke Serah, duke Samma, duke Misa. These are the dukes that came of Reguel in the lande of Edom, & these are the sonnes of Basmath Esaus wyfe.

¹⁸ These were the chyldren of Ahalibama Esaus wyfe: duke Ieus, duke Gaelan, duke Korah, these dukes came of Ahalibama the daughter of Ana Esaus wyfe.

¹⁹ These are the chyldren of Esau, and these are the dukes of them which Esau is Edom.

²⁰ These are the chyldren of Seir the Horite, the inhabitoure of the lande: Lothan, Sobal, Zibeon, and Ana,

²¹ and Dison, Esar and Disan. These also are the dukes of the Horites the chyldren of Seir in the lande of Edom.

²² And the chyldren of Lothan were: Hori and Heman. And Lothaus syster was called Thymna.

²³ The chyldren of Sobal were these: Aluan, Manahath and Ebal, Sepho & Onan.

²⁴ These are the chyldren of Zibeon. Aia and Ana, thys was that Ana that founde mules in the wyldernes, as he fed hys father Zibeons asses.

²⁵ The chyldren of Ana were these. Dison and Ahalibama the daughter of Ana.

²⁶ These are the chyldren of Dison, Hemdan and Esban, Iethran and Cheran.

²⁷ The chyldren of Ezer are these: Bilhan, Seauan and Akan.

²⁸ The chyldren of Disan also are these: Uz and Iran.

²⁹ These are the dukes that came of Hori: duke Lothan, duke Sobal, duke Zibeon, duke Ana,

³⁰ duke Dison, duke Ezer, duke Disan. These be the dukes that came of Hory after their duke domes in the lande of Seir.

³¹ These are the kynges that reygned in the lande of Edom before there raygned any kynge vpon the chyldren of Israel.

³² Bela the sonne of Beor reygned in Edomea, & the name of hys cytie was Dinhaba.

³³ And when Bela dyed, Iobab the sonne of Serah out of Bozra, reygned in hys steade.

³⁴ When Iobab also was dead, Husam of the lande of Themany reygned in his steade.

³⁵ And after the deth of Husam, Hadad the sonne of Bedad which slewe the Madianytes in the felde of the Moabytes, reygned in hys steade, and the name of hys cytie was Auith.

³⁶ When Hadad was dead, Samla of Masteka reygned in his steade.

³⁷ When Samla was dead, Saul of the ryuer Reboboth reygned in hys steade.

³⁸ When Saul was dead, Baal Hanan the sonne of Achbor reygned in his steade.

³⁹ And after the deth of Baal Hanan the sonne of Achbor, Hadad reygned in his steade, and the name of his cytie was Pahu. And hys wyfes name Mehetabeel the daughter of Matred, the daughter of Mesaab.

⁴⁰ These are the names of the dukes that came of Esau, in the .xij. kynredes, places and names: duke Thymma, duke Alua, duke Ietheth,

⁴¹ duke Ahalibama, duke Ela, duke Pinon,

⁴² duke Kenas, duke Theman, duke Mibzar,

⁴³ duke Magdiel, duke Iram. These be the dukes of Edomea accordynge to theyr habitacyons, in the lande of theyr possessions. Thys Esau is the father of the Edomytes.

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¹ Iacob dwelt in the lande where in his father was a straunger, euen in the lande of Chanaan.

² These are the generacyons of Iacob. when Ioseph was .xvij. yere olde, he kepte shepe wyth hys brethren, and the lad was with the sonnes of Bilha and with the sonnes of Zilpha his fathers wyues. And he brought vnto their father an euyll sayinge of them.

³ But Israel loued Ioseph more than all hys chyldren, because he begat him in hys olde age, and he made hym a coote of many coloures.

⁴ And when hys brethren sawe that theyr father loued him more than all his brethren, they hated hym & coulde not speke peaceably vnto hym.

⁵ Moreouer whan Ioseph had dreamed a dreame, he tolde it his brethren whych hated hym yet the more.

⁶ And he sayde vnto them: heare I praye yowe thys dreame which I haue dreamed:

⁷ Beholde we were byndinge sheues in the felde: & lo, my sheffe arose, and stode vp ryght, and youres stode rounde aboute and made obeysaunce to my sheffe.

⁸ To whom hys brethren sayde: shalt thou be oure kynge in dede? or shalt thou in dede haue dominyon ouer vs? And they hated hym yet the more, because of hys dreames, and of his wordes.

⁹ And he dreamed yet another dreame and tolde it his brethren sayinge: beholde, I haue had one dreame more: me thought the sonne and the moone & .xj. starres made obeysaunce to me.

¹⁰ And when he had tolde it vnto his father and hys brethren, hys father rebuked him & sayde vnto him: what is thys dreame which thou hast dreamed: shall I & thy mother and thy brethren come to fall on the grounde before the?

¹¹ And hys brethren hated him, but hys father noted the sayinge.

¹² Hys brethren also went to kepe their fathers shepe in Sichem,

¹³ and Israel sayde vnto Ioseph: do not thy brethren kepe in Sichem? come, and I wyll sende the to them. He answered here am I.

¹⁴ And he sayde vnto him: goo and see whether it be well with thy brethren and the shepe, and brynge me worde agayne. And so he sent him out of the vale of Hebron and he went to Sichem.

¹⁵ And a certayne man founde hym, and beholde he was wandrynge out of hys waye in the felde, and the man asked him: what sekest thou?

¹⁶ He answered: I seke my brethren, tell me I praye the where they kepe shepe.

¹⁷ And the man sayde, they are departed hence, for I herde them saye: let vs goo vnto Dothan. Thus went Ioseph after his brethren, and founde them in Dothan.

¹⁸ And when they sawe him a farre of before he came at them, they toke councell agaynst him, for to sley hym.

¹⁹ For one sayde to another: Beholde this dreamer commeth:

²⁰ come nowe therfore and let vs sley hym and cast hym in to some pytt, and we wyll saye a wycked beast hath deuoured hym, and we shall se what wyll come of hys dreames.

²¹ When Ruben hearde that, he ryd him out of their handes and sayde, we wyll not kyll hym.

²² And Ruben sayde moreouer vnto them, shede not his bloude, but cast him into thys pytt that is in the wyldernes, and laye no hande vpon him: Namely, that he myght rydd him out of their handes & delyuer him to hys father agayne.

²³ And it happened that whan Ioseph was come vnto hys brethren, they strypte him out of his coot, hys party coloured coote that was vpon hym,

²⁴ and they toke hym and cast hym into an emptye pytt: Wherin was no water.

²⁵ And they satt them downe to eate brede. And as they lyft vp their eyes and loked aboute, there came a companye of Ismaelytes from Gilead, and their camels laden with spicery, baulme, and myrre, and were goynge downe to cary it into Egypte.

²⁶ And Iuda sayde vnto his brethren: what auayleth it yf we sley oure brother, and kepe hys bloude secrett?

²⁷ come on and let vs sell hym to the Ismaelytes, and let not oure hande be vpon hym: for he is oure brother and oure fleshe. And hys brethren were content.

²⁸ Than as the Madianites marchaunt men passed by, they drewe and lyft Ioseph out of the pytt and solde him vnto the Ismaelytes for .xx. peces of syluer. And they brought him into Egypte.

²⁹ And when Ruben came agayne vnto the pytt & founde not Ioseph there, he rent his cloothes

³⁰ and went agayne vnto his brethren sayinge: the lad is not yonder, and whether shall I goo?

³¹ And they toke Iosephs coote and kylled a goote, & dypped the coote in the bloude.

³² And they sent that partye coloured coote, and brought it vnto their father and sayde: Thys haue we founde: se whether it be thy sonnes coote or no.

³³ And he knewe it sayinge, it is my sonnes coote, a wycked beast hath deuoured hym, Ioseph is rent in peces.

³⁴ And Iacob rent hys cloothes, and put sacke clothe aboute his loynes, and sorowed for his sonne a longe season.

³⁵ But all his sonnes and all hys doughters rose vp to comforte him. Neuertheles he wolde not be comforted, but sayde: I wyll go downe into the graue vnto my sonne, mourninge. And thus hys father wepte for hym.

³⁶ And the Madianytes solde hym in Egypte vnto Putiphar a Lord of Pharaos, and his chefe Stewarde.

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¹ It fortuned at that tyme, that Iudas went downe from his brethren, and gatt hym to a man called Hira of Odollam,

² and there he sawe the daughter of a man called Sua a Canaanyte: And he toke her and went in to her.

³ And she conceaued & bare a sonne and called hys name Er.

⁴ And she conceaued agayne, and bare a sonne and called him Onan.

⁵ And she conceaued agayne, & bare yet a sonne, whom she called Sela: and he was at Chesyb when she bare him.

⁶ And Iudas gaue Er hys Eldest sonne a wyfe, whose name was Thamar.

⁷ And Er Iudas eldest sonne was wycked in the syghte of the Lorde, & the Lorde slewe hym.

⁸ And Iudas sayde vnto Onan: goo into thy brothers wyfe and marye her, that thou mayest styrre vp seed vnto thy brother.

⁹ And when Onan perceaued that the seed shulde not be his, therfore when he went into his brothers wyfe, he spylled it on the grounde, and gaue not seed vnto hys brother.

¹⁰ And the thynge whych he dyd, displeased the Lorde, wherfore he slewe him also.

¹¹ Than sayde Iudas to Thamar hys daughter in lawe: remayne a wydowe at thy fathers house, tyll Sela my sonne be growne: for he sayde: Lest peraduenture he dye also, as hys brethren dyd. And Thamar wente and dwelt in her fathers house.

¹² And in processe of tyme, the daughter of Sua Iudas wyfe dyed. Then Iudas when he had left mournynge, went vnto his shepe sherers to Thymnath he and his frende Hira of Odollam.

¹³ And one tolde Thamar sayinge: beholde, thy father in lawe goeth vp to Thymnath, to shere hys shepe.

¹⁴ And she put hyr wydows garmentes of from her & couered her wyth a clooke, and disgysed her selfe: And satt her downe in a comon place which is by the hye wayes syde to Thimnath, for because she sawe that Sela was growne, and she was not geuen vnto him to wyfe.

¹⁵ When Iuda sawe her, he thought it had bene an whoore, because she had couered hyr face.

¹⁶ And he turned to her vnto the waye, & sayde, come I praye the, let me lye with the, for he knewe not that it was hys daughter in lawe. And she answered: what wilt thou gyue me, for to lye with me?

¹⁷ Than sayde he, I wyll sende the a kydd from the flocke. She sayde, Than geue me a pledge tyll thou sende it.

¹⁸ He sayde, what pledge shall I geue the? She answered: thy sygnett, thy bracelet, and thy staffe that is in thy hande. And he gaue it her and lay by her and she was with chylde by hym.

¹⁹ And she gatt here vp and went and put her mantell from her, and put on hyr wydowes rayment.

²⁰ And Iudas sent the kydd by hys frende of Odollam, for to receaue hys pledge agayne from the wyfes hande. But he founde her not,

²¹ Than asked he the men of the same place sayinge, where is the whoore that satt openly by the waye syde? They answered, There was no whoore here.

²² He came therfore to Iuda agayne & sayde vnto him: I can not finde her, and also the men of the place sayde, that there was no whoore there.

²³ And Iuda sayde, let her take it to her, lest we be shamed. Beholde I sente the kydd and thou hast not founde her.

²⁴ And it came to passe that after .iij. monethes, one tolde Iuda sayinge: Thamar thy daughter in lawe hath played the whoore, and wyth playinge the whoore is become great with chylde. And Iuda sayde, brynge her forth, that she maye be brente.

²⁵ And when they brought her forth; she sent to her father in lawe sayinge: by the man vnto whome these thynges pertayne, am I with chylde. And sayde also, loke whose are thys seale, bracelet, and thys staffe.

²⁶ And Iuda knewe them and sayde, she hath bene more ryghtwes than I, because I gaue her not to Sela my sonne. And he laye with her nomore.

²⁷ It fortuned when tyme was come that she shulde be delyuered, beholde there was .ij. twynnes in hyr wombe.

²⁸ And it fortuned, that whan she traueled, the one put out hys hande and the mydwyfe toke and bownde a reed threde aboute it sayinge, thys is come out fyrst.

²⁹ And it chaunced, that he plucked hys hande backe agayne, and beholde hys brother came out. And she sayde, wherfore hast thou rent a rent vpon the? & called his name, Pharez.

³⁰ Afterwarde came out his brother that had the redd threde about hys hande, and his name was called Zarah.

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¹ Ioseph was brought vnto Egypte, and Putiphar a Lorde of Pharaos (& his chefe stewarde an Egyptian) bought him of the Ismaelytes which had brought him thyther.

² And God was with Ioseph, & he became a luckye man, continuynge in the house of his master the Egyptian.

³ And his master sawe that God was with him, & that God made all that he dyd to prosper in his hande.

⁴ And Ioseph founde grace in hys masters syghte, and serued him. And made hym rular of hys house, and put all that he had in his hande.

⁵ And it fortuned from the tyme that he had made him rular ouer hys house and ouer all that he had, the Lorde blessed the Egyptyans house for Iosephs sake, and the blessynge of the Lorde was vpon all that he had: in the house, and in the felde.

⁶ And therfore he left all that he had in Iosephs hande, and loked vpon nothynge that was wt hym, saue only on the bread whych he dyd eate. And Iosep was a goodly persone & a well fauored.

⁷ And it fortuned after thys, that his masters wyfe cast hyr eyes vpon Ioseph and sayde: come lye with me.

⁸ But he refused, and sayde to hys masters wyfe: Beholde, my master woteth not what he hath in the house with me, and hath commytted all that he hath to my hande.

⁹ There is no man greater in the house than I, Neyther hath he kepte any thynge from me, but only the, because thou art hys wyfe. Howe than can I do this great wyckednes, and synne agaynst God?

¹⁰ And after thys maner spake she to Ioseph daye by daye: but he harkened not vnto her, to slepe nere her, or to be in her company.

¹¹ And it fortuned on a certayne conuenient daye, that Ioseph entred into the house, to do hys busynes: and there was none of the housholde by, in the house.

¹² And she caught him by the garment sayinge: come slepe with me. And he lefte hys garment in hyr hande and fled, and gott hym out. And it chaunced.

¹³ When she sawe that he had lefte his garment in hyr hande, and was fled out.

¹⁴ She called vnto the men of hir house, and tolde them, sayinge: Se, he hath brought in an Hebrewe vnto vs to do vs shame: for he came in to me, for to haue slept wyth me. And I begane to crye wyth a lowde voyce.

¹⁵ And when he hearde that I lyfte vp my voyce & cryed, he left hys garment wt me, and fled awaye, and got him out.

¹⁶ And she layed vp hys garment by her, vntyll hyr Lorde came home.

¹⁷ And she tolde him with these wordes sayinge: Thys Hebrues seruaunte whych thou hast brought vnto vs, came into me to do me shame.

¹⁸ But as soone as I lyft vp my voyce and cryed, he left hys garment wyth me and fled out.

¹⁹ When his master. hearde the wordes of hys wyfe whych she tolde hym sayinge: after this maner dyd thy seruaunte to me, he waxed wrooth.

²⁰ And the master toke Ioseph & put hym in pryson euen in to the place where the kynges prysoners laye bounde. And there continued he in preson,

²¹ but the Lorde was wyth Ioseph, and shewed hym mercye, and gote hym fauoure in the syghte of the Lorde of the preson.

²² And the keper of the preson commytted to Iosephs hande all the presoners that were in the preson house. And whatsoeuer was done there, that dyd he.

²³ And the keper of the preson loked vnto nothynge that was vnder his hande, seynge that the Lorde was with him. For whatsoeuer he dyd, the Lorde made it to prosper.

40

¹ And it chaunced after this, that the butteler of the kynge of Egypte and hys baker had offended their Lorde the kynge of Egypte.

² And Pharao was angrye agaynst his two offycers: agaynst the chefe butler & the chefe baker: and put them in warde in hys chefe stewardes house:

³ euen in the preson and place where Ioseph was bounde.

⁴ And the chefe Stewarde gaue Ioseph a charge with them, & he serued them. And they contynued a season in warde.

⁵ And they dreamed ether of them in one nyght: both the butteler and the baker of the kynge of Egypte which were bounde in the preson house, ether of them his dreame, and eache mannes dreame of a sondrye interpretacyon.

⁶ When Ioseph came in vnto them in the mornynge, and loked vpon them: beholde, they were sadd. And he asked Pharaos offycers that were with hym in hys masters warde sayinge:

⁷ Wherfore loke ye so sadly to daye?

⁸ They answered hym: we haue dreamed a dreame, and haue no man to declare it. And Ioseph sayde vnto them: Do not interpretynges belonge to God: yet tell me?

⁹ And the chefe butlar tolde his dreame to Ioseph, and sayde vnto him: In my dreame me thought there stode a vyne before me,

¹⁰ and in the vyne were .iij. braunches, and it was as though it budded, and her blossoms shott forth: and the grapes there of waxed type.

¹¹ And I had Pharaos cuppe in my hande and toke of the grapes and wronge them in to Pharaos cuppe, and delyuered Pharaos cuppe in to hys hande.

¹² And Ioseph sayde vnto hym: thys is the intrepretacion of it.

¹³ The thre braunches ar thre dayes: for wythin thre dayes shall Pharao lyft vp thyne heade and restore the vnto thyne offyce agayne, and thou shalt delyuer Pharaos cuppe in to hys hande, after the old maner wherin thou wast wont to geue hym drynke.

¹⁴ But yf thou thynke on me wyth the, when thou art in good case, shewe mercye (I praye the) vnto me. And make mencion of me to Pharao, and brynge me out of thys house:

¹⁵ for I was stollen out of the lande of the Hebrues, and here also haue I done nothynge at all, wherfore they shulde haue put me in to thys dongeon.

¹⁶ When the chefe baker sawe that the interpretacyon was good, he sayde vnto Ioseph: me thought also in my dreame, that I had .iij. wyker baskettes on my heade.

¹⁷ And in the vppermost basket there was of all maner bakemeates for Pharao. And the byrdes dyd eate them out of the basket that was vpon my head.

¹⁸ And Ioseph answered and sayde: thys is the interpretacyon therof. The thre baskettes are thre dayes,

¹⁹ for thys daye thre dayes shall Pharao take thy heade from the, and shall hange the on a tree, and the byrdes shall eate thy fleshe from of the.

²⁰ And it came to passe the thyrde daye whych was Pharaos byrth daye that he made a feast vnto all hys seruauntes. And he lyfted vp the head of the chefe buttelar and of the chefe baker amonge hys seruauntes.

²¹ And restored the chefe buttelar vnto hys buttelarshyppe agayne: whych also reched the cuppe into Pharaos hande,

²² but he hanged the chefe baker: euen as Ioseph had interpreted vnto them.

²³ Neyther dyd the chefe buttelar remembre Ioseph, but forgat hym.

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¹ And it fortuned after two yeres, that Pharao dreamed, and beholde, he stode by a ryuers syde,

² & there came out of the ryuer seuen goodly kyne and fatt flesshed, and fedd in a medowe,

³ & .vij. other kyne came vp after them out of the ryuer, euel fauored and leane flesshed, and stode by the other kyne vpon the brynke of the ryuer.

⁴ And the euyll fauored and leane flesshed kyne dyd eate vp the seuen well fauored and fatt kyne: and Pharao awoke.

⁵ And he slepte agayne and dreamed the seconde tyme. And beholde, seuen eares of corne grewe vpon one stalke, rancke and goodly.

⁶ And agayne, seuen thynne eares blasted wyth the east wynde, sprange vp after them:

⁷ and the seuen thynne eares deuowred the seuen rancke and full eares. And Pharao a waked: and se, it was a dreame.

⁸ And when the mornynge came, his sprete was troubled. And he sent and called for all the sothesayers of Egypte, and all the wyse men therof, and Pharao tolde them hys dreame: but there was none of them that coulde interpretate it vnto Pharao.

⁹ Than spake the chefe buttelar vnto Pharao sayinge: I do remembre my fawtes thys daye.

¹⁰ Pharao beynge angrie wyth hys seruauntes, put in warde in the chefe Stewardes house both me & the chefe baker.

¹¹ And we dreamed both of vs in one nyght, and eche mannes dreame of a sondrye interpretacyon.

¹² And there was wyth vs a yonge man, an Hebrue borne, seruaunte vnto the chefe Stewarde. To whom whan we tolde them, he declared oure dreames to vs accordynge to ether of oure dreames.

¹³ And as he declared them vnto vs, euen so it came to passe. For he restored me to myne offyce agayne, & hanged hym.

¹⁴ Pharao sent therfore and called Ioseph. And they brought hym hastely out of preson. And he shaued hym selfe and chaunged hys rayment, and came in to Pharao.

¹⁵ And Pharao sayde vnto Ioseph: I haue sene a dreame, and no man can interpretate it, and I haue hearde saye of the, that as soone as thou hearest a dreame, thou canst interpretate it.

¹⁶ Ioseph answered Pharao, sayinge: Not I, but God shall geue Pharao an answere of peace.

¹⁷ And Pharao sayde vnto Ioseph: in my dreame me thought I stode by a ryuers syde,

¹⁸ and there came out of the ryuer seuen fatt flesshed, and well fauored kyne, & fedd in the medowe.

¹⁹ And the seuen other kyne came vp after them, poore and very euell fauored and leane flesshed: such as I neuer sawe in all the lande of Egypte,

²⁰ they were so euell fauored. And the seuen leane & euell fauored kyne dyd eate vp the fyrst .vii. fatt kyne.

²¹ And when they had eaten them vp, a man coulde not perceaue that they had eaten them: but they were still as euell fauored as they were at the begynnynge. And I awoke.

²² And I sawe agayne in my dreame & beholde, .vii. eares sprange out of one stalk, full and fayre,

²³ and .vij. other eares agayne, wythered, thynne and blasted with the east wynde, sprange vp after them.

²⁴ And the thynne eares deuowred the .vij. good eares. And I haue tolde it vnto the soth sayers, but there was no man that coulde tell, what it meaneth.

²⁵ And Ioseph answered Pharao: both Pharaos dreames are one. And God hath shewed Pharao what he is aboute to do.

²⁶ The .vij. good kyne are .vij. yeares: and the .vij. good eares are seuen yeares also, and it is but one dreame.

²⁷ Lykewyse, the .vii. thynne and euell fauored kyne that came out after them, are .vii. yeares: and the .vii. emptye and blasted eares shalbe .vii. yeares of hunger.

²⁸ Thys whych I haue sayde vnto Pharao, is it that God is aboute to do, and sheweth it vnto Pharao.

²⁹ Beholde there come .vii. yeare of great plenteousnes through out all the lande of Egypte.

³⁰ And agayne there shall aryse after them .vii. yeares of hunger. And all the plenteousnes shalbe forgoten in the lande of Egypte: And the hunger shall consume the lande:

³¹ nether shall the plenteousnes be knowen in the lande. by reason of that hunger that shall come after, for it shalbe exceadinge great.

³² And as concernynge that the dreame was doubled vnto Pharao the seconde tyme, beholde, the thynge is certaynly prepared of God, & God wyll shortly brynge it to passe.

³³ Nowe therfore, let Pharao prouyde for a man of vnderstondynge and wysdome, and sett hym ouer the lande of Egypte.

³⁴ And let Pharao do thys also, that he make offycers ouer the lande, and take vp the fyfte parte of the lande of Egypte in the .vii. plenteous yeares,

³⁵ and let them gather all the foode of these good yeres that come, and lay vp corne vnder the hande of Pharao, that there maye be foode in the cyties,

³⁶ and there let them kepe it: that there maye be foode in stoore in the lande, agaynst the seuen yeares of hunger whych shall come in the lande of Egypte, that the lande peryshe not thorowe hunger.

³⁷ And the sayinge pleased Pharao and all hys seruauntes.

³⁸ Then sayde Pharao vnto hys seruauntes: where shall we fynde soch a man as thys is, in whom is the sprete of God?

³⁹ And Pharao sayde vnto Ioseph: for as moche as God hath shewed the all thys, there is no man of vnderstondynge or of wysdome lyke vnto the.

⁴⁰ Thou therfore shalt be ouer my house, and accordynge to thy worde shall all my people be ruled, only in the kynges seate wyll I be aboue the.

⁴¹ And Pharao sayde agayne vnto Ioseph: beholde, I haue sett the ouer all the lande of Egypte.

⁴² And he toke of hys rynge from hys hande, and put it vpon Iosephs hande, and arayed hym in cloth of raynes, and put a golden cheyne aboute hys necke,

⁴³ and sett hym vpon the best charett that he had, saue one. And they cryed before hym: Bowe the knee, and Pharao made hym ruler ouer all the lande of Egypte.

⁴⁴ And Pharao sayde vnto Ioseph: I am Pharao, wythout the shall no man lyfte vp hys hande or fote in all the lande of Egypte.

⁴⁵ And he called Iosephs name Zaphnath Paena. And he gaue hym to wyfe Asnath the daughter of Putiphar preast of On. Than went Ioseph abrode in the lande of Egypte.

⁴⁶ And he was thyrtye yeare olde when he stode before Pharao kynge of Egypte. And Ioseph departynge from the presence of Pharao, went thorowe out all the lande of Egypte.

⁴⁷ And in the seuen plenteous yeares they made sheues

⁴⁸ and gathered vp all the foode of the seuen plenteous yeares which were in the lande of Egypte, and layed vp the same in the cyties. The foode of the feldes that grewe rownde aboute euery cyte, layed he vp in the same.

⁴⁹ And Ioseph layde vp corne in stoore, lyke vnto the sande of the see, in multitude out of mesure, vntyll he left nombrynge: For it was wythout nombre.

⁵⁰ And vnto Ioseph were borne two sonnes (before the yeares of hunger came) whych Asnath the daughter of Putiphar preast of On, bare vnto hym.

⁵¹ And Ioseph called the name of the fyrst sonne Manasse, for God (sayde he) hath made me forgett all my laboure and all my fathers housholde.

⁵² The name of the seconde called he Ephraim, for God (sayd he) hath caused me to growe in the lande of my trouble.

⁵³ And when the seuen yeares of plenteousnes that was in the lande of Egypte were ended,

⁵⁴ then came the seuen yeares of derth accordyng as Ioseph had sayde. And the derth was in all landes: but in all the lande of Egypte was there yet foode.

⁵⁵ And when the lande of Egypt also began to hunger, the people cryed to Pharao for bread. And Pharao sayde vnto all the Egypcyans, goo vnto Ioseph, and what he sayth to you, that doo.

⁵⁶ And the derth was thorow out all the land. And Ioseph opened all that was in the cyties, and solde vnto the Egypcyans. For the hunger waxed sore in the lande of Egypte.

⁵⁷ And all countrees came to Egypte to Ioseph for to bye corne: because that the hunger was so sore in all landes.

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¹ And Iacob seynge that there was corne in Egypt, sayde vnto hys sonnes: why gape ye one vpon another?

² And he sayd: beholde, I haue hearde that there is corne in Egypte. Gete you downe thyther & bye vs corne from thence, that we maye lyue & not dye.

³ So went Iosephs ten brethren downe to bye corne of the Egypcyans.

⁴ But BenIamin Iosephs brother wolde not Iacob sende with his other brethren, for he sayd: lest some mysfortune happen hym:

⁵ And the sonnes of Israel came to bye corne amonge other that came, for there was derth in the lande of Canaan.

⁶ And Ioseph was gouerner in the lande, and solde to all the people of the lande. And hys brethren came, and fel flat on the grounde before hym.

⁷ When Ioseph sawe hys brethren, he knewe them: and made hym selfe straunge vnto them, and spake roughly vnto them, sayinge: Whence come ye? They answered: out of the lande of Canaan, to bye vytayle.

⁸ And Ioseph knewe hys brethren, but they knewe not hym.

⁹ And Ioseph remembred his dreames which he dreamed of them, and sayd vnto them: ye are spies, and to se where the lande is weake is youre comynge.

¹⁰ And they sayd vnto him: nay my Lorde: but to bye vitayle thy seruauntes are come.

¹¹ We are all one mans sonnes, and meane truly, and thy seruauntes are no spyes.

¹² And he sayd vnto them agayne, nay, but euen to se where the lande is weake, is youre comynge.

¹³ And they sayde: we thy seruauntes are .xii. brethren, the sonnes of one man in the lande of Canaan. And beholde, the yongest is thys daye wyth oure father, and one, no man woteth where he is.

¹⁴ And Ioseph sayde vnto them, that is it that I spake vnto you, sayinge: ye are spyes.

¹⁵ Here by ye shall be proued. By the lyfe of Pharao, ye shall not goo hence, excepte youre yongest brother come hyther.

¹⁶ Sende out one of you whych maye fett youre brother, & ye shalbe kepte in presone, that youre wordes maye be proued, whether there be any trueth in you: or els by the lyfe of Pharao, ye are but spies.

¹⁷ And he put them in warde thre dayes.

¹⁸ And Ioseph sayde vnto them the thryde daye: Thys doo and lyue, for I feare God.

¹⁹ If ye meane no hurte, let one of youre brethren be bounde in the house of youre preson, and goo ye brynge the necessarye foode vnto youre housholdes,

²⁰ but brynge youre yongest brother vnto me: that your wordes maye be tryed, and that ye dye not. And they dyd so.

²¹ And one sayde to another: we haue verely synned agaynst oure brother, in that we sawe the anguysh of hys soull when he besought vs, & we wolde nat heare him: and therfore is thys troubyll come vpon vs.

²² And Ruben answered them sayinge: sayde I not vnto you that ye shulde not synne agaynst the lad? and ye wolde not heare. And see, hys bloude is requyred.

²³ They were not aware that Ioseph understode them, for he spake vnto them by an interpreter.

²⁴ And he turned from them & wepte and turned to them agayne, and comened with them, & toke out Symeon from amonge them, and bownde hym before theyr eyes,

²⁵ and Ioseph commaunded to fyll theyr sackes wyth corne, and to put euery mans money in hys sacke, and to geue them vytayle to spende by the waye. And thus dyd he vnto them.

²⁶ And they laded theyr asses wyth the corne and departed thence.

²⁷ And as one of them opened hys sacke, for to geue hys asse prauender in the Inne, he spyed hys money: for it was in hys sackes mouth.

²⁸ And he sayde vnto hys brethren: my money is restored me agayne: For lo, it is euen in my sacke. And theyr harte fayled them, and they were astonyed, and sayde one to another: why hath God dealt thus wyth us?

²⁹ And they came vnto Iacob theyr father vnto the lande of Canaan and tolde hym all that had happened them, sayinge:

³⁰ The man, euen the Lorde of the lande spake roughly to vs, and toke vs for spyes of the countre.

³¹ And we sayd vnto him: we meane truely & are no spyes.

³² We be .xii. brethren, sonnes of oure father, one is a waye, and the yongest is thys daye wyth oure father in the lande of Canaan.

³³ And the Lorde of the countre sayde agayne vnto vs: here by shall I knowe yf ye meane truly: leaue one of youre brethren here with me, and take foode necessary for youre housholdes and get you awaye,

³⁴ & brynge youre yongest brother vnto me, that I maye knowe that ye are no spyes, but meane truely: So wyll I delyuer you youre brother, & ye shall occupye in the lande.

³⁵ And it fortuned as they emptyed theyr sackes, beholde: euery mans bundell of money was in his sacke. And when both they & their father sawe the bundells of money, they were afrayde.

³⁶ And Iacob theyr father sayde vnto them: Me haue ye robbed of my chyldren: Ioseph is a waye, and Symeon is awaye, and ye take Ben Iamin awaye. All these thynges are agaynst me.

³⁷ Ruben sayde vnto hys father: Slee my two sonnes, yf I brynge hym not to the agayne. Delyuer hym to my hande, and I wyll brynge hym to the agayne:

³⁸ And he sayde: my sonne shall not go downe wyth you. For hys brother is dead, & he is left alone. If some mysfortune happen vnto him by the waye which ye go, ye shall brynge my gray head with sorowe vnto the graue.

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¹ And the derth was greate in the lande.

² And it fortuned when they had eaten vp the corne whych they brought out of the lande of Egypt theyr father sayde vnto them: goo agayne, & by vs a lytle food.

³ Iuda answered hym, and sayde: the man dyd testifye vnto vs, sayinge: loke that ye see not my face, excepte youre brother be wyth you.

⁴ If thou wylt sende oure brother wt vs, we wyll go downe, and bye the foode.

⁵ But yf thou wylt not sende hym, we wyll not goo downe: for the man sayde vnto vs: loke that ye see not my face, excepte youre brother be wyth you.

⁶ And Israel sayde: wherfore delt ye so cruelly wyth me, as to tell the man that ye had yet a brother?

⁷ They answered: The man asked vs straytly of oure kynred sayinge, is youre father yet alyue? haue ye not another brother? And we tolde hym accordynge to these wordes. Cowld we knowe that he wolde saye: brynge your brother downe with you?

⁸ Than sayde Iuda vnto Israel hys father: Sende the lade with me, that we maye ryse & goo, & that we maye lyue & not dye: both we, thou & also oure children.

⁹ I wylbe suertye for hym, of my handes shalt thou requyre hym. If I brynge hym not to the agayne, & set him before thyne eyes, than let me bere the blame for euer.

¹⁰ Truly except we had made thys taryenge: by thys, we had bene there twyse and come agayne.

¹¹ And theyr father Israel sayde vnto them: If it must nedis be so nowe: than do thus. Take of the best frutes of the lande in youre vesselles, and brynge the man a present, a curtesye bawlme, and a curtesye of hony, spyces and myrre, notts & almondes.

¹² And take double money in youre hande. And the money that was brought agayne in youre sackes, take it agayne wyth you, lest peraduenture it was some ouersyghte.

¹³ Take also youre brother wyth you and, aryse and goo agayne to the man.

¹⁴ And God almyghtye geue you mercye in the syghte of the man, that he maye delyuer you youre other brother, & this BenIamin, and I shalbe robbed of my chylde, as I haue bene.

¹⁵ Thus toke they the present and twyse so moch more money in theyr hande with BenIamin. And rose vp, went downe to Egypte, and stode before Ioseph.

¹⁶ When Ioseph sawe BenIamin wyth them, he sayde to the rular of hys house: brynge these men home, and sley and make redye: for these men shall dyne wt me at noone.

¹⁷ And the man dyd as Ioseph bad, & brought them into Iosephs house.

¹⁸ When the men were brought into Iosephs house, they were afrayde, and sayde: because of the money that came in oure sackes mouthes at the fyrst tyme, are we brought in, that he maye pycke a quarell wt vs, & to laye some thynge to oure charge, and to brynge vs in bondage and oure asses also.

¹⁹ Therfore came they to the man that was the rular ouer Iosephs house, & commened with hym at the doore of the house,

²⁰ and sayde: Oh Syr, we came downe hyther at the fyrst tyme to bye foode:

²¹ & as we came to an inne, it happened that we opened oure sackes: and beholde, euery mannes money was in hys sacke wyth full weyghte: And we haue brought it agayne in oure hande,

²² and other mony haue we brought also in oure handes, to bye foode, but we cannot tell who put oure money in oure sackes.

²³ And he sayde: peace be vnto you, feare not: youre God and the God of youre father hath geuen you that treasure in youre sackes, I had youre money. And he brought Simeon out to them,

²⁴ and the man led them into Iosephs house, and gaue them water to washe theyr fete, & gaue theyr asses prauender:

²⁵ And they made redye theyr present agaynst Ioseph came at none, for they herde saye that they shulde eate bred there.

²⁶ When Ioseph came home, they brought the present into the house to him, whych was in their handes, & fell flat on the grounde before hym.

²⁷ And he welcomed them courteously sayinge: is youre father that old man whych ye tolde me of, in good health? and is he yet alyue?

²⁸ they answered: thy seruaunte oure father is in good health, and is yet alyue. And they bowed downe theyr heades, and made obaysaunce.

²⁹ And he lyftinge vp his eyes, behelde his brother BenIamin his mothers sonne, and sayde: is this youre yonger brother of whome ye sayde vnto me? And he sayde: God be mercyfull vnto the my sonne.

³⁰ And Ioseph made hast (for hys hert dyd melt vpon his brother) & sought where to wepe, and entred into his chambre, & wepte there.

³¹ And he wasshed his face & came out and refrayned hym selfe, and sayde: set bread on the table.

³² And they prepared for hym by him selfe, and for them by them selues, & for the Egypcians which dyd eate with him by them selues, because the Egypcians maye not eate bread with the Hebrues, for that is an abhomynacyon vnto the Egypcyans.

³³ And they satt before hym: the eldest accordynge vnto hys age, & the yongest accordynge vnto hys youth. And the men merueled amonge them selues.

³⁴ And they broughte rewardes vnto them from before hym: but Ben Iamins parte was fyue tymes so moch as any of theyrs And they drynkynge were dronke with hym.

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¹ And he commaunded the ruler of his house sayinge: fyll the mens sackes wt foode, as moch as they can carye,

² and put euery mans money in his sacke mouth, and put my syluer cupin the sackes mouth of the yongest, and hys corne money also. And he dyd accordinge to the worde that Ioseph had sayde.

³ And in the mornynge assoone as it was lyghte, the men were let goo, they and their asses.

⁴ And when they were out of the cytie and not yet farre awaye, Ioseph sayde vnto the ruelar of hys house: vp and folowe after the men, and whan thou dost ouertake them, thou shalt saye vnto them: wherfore haue ye rewarded euell for good?

⁵ is that not the cuppe in the which my Lord drynketh, and for the which he prophecyeth? ye haue euell done that ye haue done.

⁶ And whan he ouertoke them, he sayde the same wordes vnto them.

⁷ And they answered hym: wherfore sayeth my Lord soch wordes? God forbydd that thy seruauntes shulde doo so:

⁸ Beholde, the money which we founde in oure sackes mouthes, we brought agayne vnto the, out of the lande of Canaan: howe then shulde we steale out of thy Lordes house, ether syluer or golde?

⁹ wyth whomsoeuer of thy seruauntes it be founde, let him dye, and we also will be my Lordes bondmen.

¹⁰ And he sayde: Nowe also let it be accordynge vnto youre woordes: he with whom it is founde, shalbe my seruaunte: and ye shalbe harmelesse.

¹¹ And attonce euery man toke downe hys sacke to the grounde, and euery man opened hys sacke.

¹² And he serched, and began at the eldest and left at the yongest. And the cuppe was founde in Ben Iamins sacke.

¹³ Then they rent their clothes, and laded euery man his asse, and went agayne vnto the cytie.

¹⁴ And Iuda and hys brethren came to Iosephs house for he was yet there, and they fell before him on the grounde.

¹⁵ And Ioseph sayd vnto them: what dede is this which ye haue done? wote ye not that soche a man as I can prophesye?

¹⁶ Then sayde Iuda: what shall we saye vnto my Lorde? what shall we speake, or what excuse can we make? God hath founde out the wykednesse of thy seruauntes. Beholde, both we & he with whom the cuppe is founde, are my Lordes seruauntes.

¹⁷ And he answered. God forbyd that I shulde do so, but the man with whom the cuppe is founde, he shalbe my seruaunte. And go ye in peace vnto youre father.

¹⁸ Then Iuda went vnto hym and sayde: oh my Lorde, let thy seruaunte speake a worde in my Lordes eares, and be not wrooth wyth thy seruaunte: for thou art euen as Pharao.

¹⁹ My Lord asked his seruaunte sayinge: haue ye a father or a brother?

²⁰ And we answered my Lorde we haue a father that is olde, and a yonge lad which he begat in hys age: and the brother of the sayde lad is dead, and he is all that is left of that mother. And hys father loueth hym.

²¹ And thou saydest vnto thy seruauntes: brynge him vnto me, that I maye sett myne eye vpon him.

²² And we answered my Lorde, that the lad coulde not goo from his father, for yf he shulde leaue his father, he were but deed.

²³ Than saydest thou vnto thy seruauntes excepte your youngest brother come with you, loke that ye se my face no moare.

²⁴ And when we came vnto thy seruaunt oure father, we shewed hym what my lorde had sayd:

²⁵ And oure father sayd vnto vs: goo agayne, & bye vs a lytle fode.

²⁶ And we answered: we cannot goo downe. Neuerthelesse: yf oure yongeste brother go wt vs, then wyll we go downe, for we maye not see the mannes face, excepte oure youngest brother be wt vs.

²⁷ And thy seruaunt oure father sayde vnto vs: ye knowe that my wyfe bare me .ij. sonnes.

²⁸ And the one went out from me, and I sayde: of suertye he is torne in peaces, and I sawe hym not sence.

²⁹ And ye take this also awaye from me. If some mysfortune happen vpon him, ye shall brynge my gray heed in sorowe vnto the graue.

³⁰ Nowe therfore, when I come to thy seruaunt my father, and the lad be not with vs (seynge that his lyfe hangeth by the laddes lyfe)

³¹ then shall it come to passe, that as soone as he seeth that the lad is not come, he wyll dye. So shall we thy seruauntes bringe the gray hedde of thy seruaunt our father with sorowe vnto the graue.

³² For I thy seruaunt became suertye for the lad before my father and sayde: yf I bringe him not vnto the agayne, I wyll bere the blame vnto my father all my lyfe longe.

³³ Nowe therfore let me thy seruaunt byde here for the lad, and be my Lordes bondman: and let the lad goo vp wt his brethren.

³⁴ For howe can I goo vp to my father, yf the lad be not with me? onlesse I wolde see the wretchednes that shall come on my father.

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¹ Ioseph coulde no longer refrayne before all them that stode by hym. Wherfore he cryed: brynge furth all the men fro me. And there remayned no man wyth him, whyle Ioseph vttred hym selfe vnto hys brethren.

² And he wepte alowde, so that the Egypcyans, and the house of Pharao herde it.

³ And Ioseph sayde vnto hys brethren: I am Ioseph, doth my father yet lyue? And hys brethren coulde not answere hym, they were so abasshed at hys presence.

⁴ And Ioseph sayde vnto his brethren: come nere to me, and they came nere. And he sayde: I am Ioseph youre brother whom ye solde in to Egypte.

⁵ Nowe therfore be not greued ther wyth, nether let it seme a cruel thynge in your eyes, that ye solde me hyther. For God dyd send me before you to saue lyfe.

⁶ For thys is the seconde yeare of derth in the lande, and fyue moo are behynde, in whych there shall nether be earynge nor heruest.

⁷ Wherfore God sent me before you to make prouisyon, that ye myghte contynue in the erth, and to saue youre lyues by a greate delyueraunce.

⁸ So nowe it was not ye that sent me hyther, but God: which hath made me a father vnto Pharao & Lorde of all hys house, & ruler thorowe out all the lande of Egypte.

⁹ Hast you, and goo vp to my father and tell him. This sayeth thy sonne Ioseph: God hath made me Lorde of all Egypte. Come downe therfore vnto me, tarye not.

¹⁰ And thou shalt dwell in the lande of Gosan and be by me: thou and thy chyldren, and thy chyldrens chyldren: thy shepe, and thy beestes, & all that thou hast.

¹¹ And there wyll I make prouisyon for the, for there remayne yet .v. yeares of derth, lest thou & thy houshold and all that thou hast come to pouertye.

¹² And beholde, youre eyes do se, & the eyes also of my brother Ben Iamin, that myne awne mouth speaketh to you.

¹³ Therfore tell my father of all my honoure in Egypt and of all that ye haue sene, and make hast and brynge my father hyther.

¹⁴ And he fell on hys brother Ben Iamins necke and wepte, and Ben Iamin wepte on hys necke.

¹⁵ Moreouer he kyssed all hys brethren and wepte vpon them. And after that, hys brethren talked wyth hym.

¹⁶ And the tydynges came vnto Pharaos house, so that they sayde: Iosephs brethren are come, & it pleased Pharao well and all hys seruauntes.

¹⁷ And Pharao spake vnto Ioseph: saye vnto thy brethren, this do ye: lade your beestes and get you hence, vnto the lande of Canaan,

¹⁸ Take youre father, and your housholdes and come vnto me, and I wyll geue you the good of the lande of Egypte, and ye shall eate the fatt of the lande.

¹⁹ And thou also shalt commaunde them. Thys do ye: take charettes wyth you out of the lande of Egypte, for youre chyldren and for youre wyues: and brynge your father, and come.

²⁰ Also, regarde not youre stuffe, for the good of all the lande of Egypt is youres.

²¹ And the chyldren of Israel dyd euen so, And Ioseph gaue them charettes according to the commaundement of Pharao, and gaue them vytayle also to spende by the waye.

²² And he gaue vnto eche of them chaunge of rayment: but vnto Ben Iamin he gaue .iij. hundred peces of syluer and .v. chaunge of rayment.

²³ And vnto hys father he sent after the same maner .x. asses laden wyth good, out of Egypt, and .x. she asses laden wyth corne, bred and meate: for hys father by the waye.

²⁴ So sent he hys brethren awaye to departe: And he sayde vnto them: se that ye fall not out by the waye.

²⁵ They departed therfore from Egypt and came in to the lande of Canaan vnto Iacob theyr father, and tolde hym sayinge:

²⁶ Ioseph is yet alyue, & is gouerner ouer all the lande of Egypte. And Iacobs hert wauered, for he beleued them not.

²⁷ And they tolde hym all the wordes of Ioseph, whych he had sayde vnto them. And when he sawe the charettes whych Ioseph had sent to carye hym, the sprete of Iacob theyr father reuyued.

²⁸ And Israel sayde: I haue ynough that Ioseph my sonne is yet alyue: I wyll goo, and se hym, yer that I dye.

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¹ Israel toke hys iourney wt all that he had, and came vnto Beer Seba & offred offringes vnto the God of his father Isahac.

² And God spake vnto Israel in a visyon by nyght sayenge: Iacob, Iacob. And he answered: here am I.

³ And he sayde: I am God, the God of thy father, fere not to goo downe into Egypt. For I wyll there make of the a great people.

⁴ I will goo downe with the into Egypt, & I will also bringe the agayne, and Ioseph shall put hys hande vpon thyne eyes.

⁵ And Iacob rose vp from Beer Seba. And the sonnes of Israel caryed Iacob theyr father, and their chyldren & theyr wyues in the charettes whych Pharao had sent to carye him.

⁶ And they toke theyr catell and the goodes which they had gotten in the lande of Canaan, & came in to Egypte: both Iacob & all hys seed with hym,

⁷ hys sonnes & hys sonnes sonnes with hym, his daughters and hys sonnes daughters and all hys seed brought he with hym in to Egypte.

⁸ These are the names of the chyldren of Israel whych came in to Egypte, both Iacob & his sonnes: Ruben, Iacobs first sonne:

⁹ The chyldren of Ruben: Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron & Charmi.

¹⁰ The chyldren of Symeon: Iemuel, Iamin, Ohad, Iachin, & Zohar & Saul the sonne of a Cananitish woman.

¹¹ The chyldren of Leui: Gerson, Kahath and Merari.

¹² The chyldren of Iuda: Er, & Onan, Sela, and Pharez and Zerah, But Er & Onan dyed in the lande of Canaan, The chyldren of Pharez also were Hezron & Hamul.

¹³ The chyldren of Isachar: Tola, Phua, Iob and Simron.

¹⁴ The chyldren of Zabulon: Sered, Elon & Iaheleleel.

¹⁵ These be the chyldren of Lea whych she bare vnto Iacob in Mesopotamia with his daughter Dina. All the soules of hys sonnes and daughters make .xxx. and .iij.

¹⁶ The chyldren of Gad: Ziphion, & Haggi, Suni, and Ezbon, Eri, & Arodi, and Areli.

¹⁷ The chyldren of Asser: Iemna, and Iesua, Iesui, and Brya and Serah theyr syster. And the chyldren of Brya: Heber and Malchiel.

¹⁸ These are the chyldren of Silpha, whom Laban gaue to Lea hys daughter. And these she bare vnto Iacob euen .xvi. soules.

¹⁹ The chyldren of Rahel Iacobs wyfe: Ioseph and Ben Iamin.

²⁰ And vnto Ioseph in the lande of Egypte were borne: Manasses and Ephraim whych Asnath the daughter of Putiphar preast of On bare vnto hym.

²¹ The chyldren of Ben Iamin: Bela, Becher, Asbel, Gera, Naeman, Ehi & Ros, Mupim, Hupim and Ard.

²² These are the children of Rahel, whych she bare vnto Iacob, .xiiii. soules alltogether.

²³ The chyldren of Dan: Husim.

²⁴ The children of Nephtali: Iahezeel, Guni, Iezer and Sillem.

²⁵ These are the sonnes of Bilha, whych Laban gaue vnto Rahel hys daughter, and she bare these vnto Iacob, alltogether .vii. soules.

²⁶ And so the soules that came wt Iacob in to Egypte, whych came out of hys loyns (besyde Iacobs sonnes wyfes) were all together .lx. and .vi. soules.

²⁷ And the sonnes of Ioseph, which were borne him in Egypte, were .ij. soules: So that all the soules of the house of Iacob whych came into Egypte, are .lxx.

²⁸ And he sent Iuda before hym vnto Ioseph, to directe hys face vnto Gosan, & they came in to the lande of Gosan.

²⁹ And Ioseph made redye hys charett, and went vp to mete Israel hys father vnto Gosan, and presented hym selfe vnto hym, and fell on hys necke, and wepte vpon hys necke a good whyle.

³⁰ And Israel sayde vnto Ioseph: Nowe am I content to dye, in somoch as I haue sene the and because thou art yet alyue.

³¹ And Ioseph sayde vnto hys brethren, and vnto hys fathers house: I wyll goo vp and shewe Pharao & tell hym: My brethren and my fathers house which were in the lande of Canaan, are come vnto me,

³² and they are shepherdes (for they were men of catell) & they haue brought theyr shepe and theyr oxen and all that they haue.

³³ And yf it chaunce that Pharao call you, and aske you, what youre occupacyon is,

³⁴ ye shall answere: thy seruauntes haue bene men occupyed aboute catell, from our chyldhode vnto thys tyme, we and oure fathers, that ye maye dwell in the lande of Gosan. For euery shepe keper is abhominacyon vnto the Egypcyans.

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¹ Ioseph came therfore and tolde Pharao and sayde: my father and my brethren, theyr shepe and their oxen and all that they haue, are come out of the lande of Canaan,

² and beholde, they are in the lande of Gosan. And Ioseph toke of the hynmost of hys brethren: euen fyue men, and presented them vnto Pharao.

³ And pharao sayde vnto hys brethren: what is youre occupacyon? And they answered Pharao: shepherdes are thy seruauntes, both we & also oure fathers.

⁴ They sayde moreouer vnto Pharao: for to sogeorne in the lande are we come, for thy seruauntes haue no pasture for theyr shepe, so sore is the fameshment in the lande of Canaan. Nowe therfore let thy seruauntes dwell in the lande of Gosan.

⁵ And Pharao sayde vnto Ioseph: thy father and thy brethren are come vnto the.

⁶ The land of Egypte is before the: In the best place of the lande make both thy father and thy brethren dwell: euen in the lande of Gosan let them dwell. Moreouer yf thou knowe any men of actiuite amonge them, make them ruelars ouer my catell.

⁷ And Ioseph brought in Iacob hys father, and sett hym before Pharao. And Iacob blessed Pharao.

⁸ And Pharao sayde vnto Iacob: howe olde art thou?

⁹ Iacob sayde vnto Pharao: the dayes of my pilgremage are an hundred and .xxx. yeares. Fewe & euell haue the dayes of my lyfe bene, and haue not attayned vnto the yeares of the lyfe of my fathers in the dayes of theyr pilgremages.

¹⁰ And Iacob blessed Pharao, and went out from hym.

¹¹ And Ioseph prepared dwellynges for hys father and hys brethren, and gaue them possessyons in the land of Egypte, in the best of the lande: euen in the lande of Rameses, as Pharao had commaunded.

¹² And Ioseph made prouisyon for hys father, hys brethren & all his fathers housholde wyth bread, euen as yonge chyldren are fedd.

¹³ There was no bread in all the lande, for the derth was exceadynge sore: so that the lande of Egypte and the lande of Canaan, were fameshed by the reason of the derth.

¹⁴ And Ioseph brought together all the money that was founde in the lande of Egypte and of Canaan, for the corne whych they boughte: and he layde vp the money in Pharaos house.

¹⁵ When money fayled in the lande of Egypte & of Canaan, all the Egypcyans came vnto Ioseph and sayde: geue vs bred: wherfore suffrest thou vs to dye before the whan oure money is spent?

¹⁶ Then sayde Ioseph: brynge youre catell, & I wyll geue yow for your catell, yf ye be without money.

¹⁷ And they brought theyr catell vnto Ioseph. And Ioseph gaue them bread for horses & shepe, and oxen, and asses, and fed them wyth bread for all theyr catell that yeare.

¹⁸ But when that yeare was ended, they came vnto hym the nexte yeare, & sayde vnto him: we will not hyde it from my Lord how that oure money is spent, my Lord also had our catell & beastes, neyther is there ought left in the syght of my Lorde, but euen oure bodies and our landes.

¹⁹ Wherfore lettest thou vs dye before thyne eyes, & the lande to goo to noughte? by vs & our landes for bread: & both we and oure landes will be bonde to Pharao. Onely geue vs seed, that we maye lyue and not dye, & that the lande goo nat to wast.

²⁰ And so Ioseph boughte all the land of Egypte for Pharao. For the Egypcians solde euery man hys lande because the derth was sore vpon them: & so the lande became Pharaos.

²¹ And he appoynted the people vnto the cyties, from one syde of Egypte vnto the other:

²² only the lande of the Prestes bought he not. For the prestes had an ordinaunce of Pharao, that they shulde eate that which was appoynted vnto them: which Pharao had geuen them wherfore they solde not theyr landes.

²³ Then Ioseph sayde vnto the folke: beholde I haue boughte you thys daye & youre lande for Pharao. Take there bread & sede & sowe the land.

²⁴ And of the encrease, ye shall geue the fyfte parte vnto Pharao, & .iiij. partes shalbe youre awne, for seed of the feld: & for you, and them of youre housholdes, and for youre chyldren, to eate.

²⁵ And they answered: Thou haste saued oure lyues. Let vs fynde grace in the syghte of my Lord, & we wyll be Pharaos seruauntes.

²⁶ And Ioseph made it a lawe ouer the lande of Egypte vnto thys daye: that Pharao shulde haue the fyfte parte, excepte the lande of the preastes only, whych was not Pharaos.

²⁷ And Israel dwelt in Egypte: euen in the countre of Gosan. And they had theyr possessyons therin, & grewe and multiplied exceadyngly.

²⁸ Moreouer, Iacob lyued in the lande of Egypte .xvij. yeares, so that the hole age of Iacob was an hundred and .xlvij. yeare.

²⁹ When the tyme drewe nye, that Israel must dye: he sent for his sonne Ioseph, & sayde vnto hym: If I haue founde grace in thy syghte, oh, put thy hande nowe vnder my thye, and deale mercyfully and truely wt me, that thou burye me not in Egypte:

³⁰ but I will lye with my fathers, and thou shalt carye me out of Egypte, & burye me in theyr buryall. And he answered: I wyll do as thou hast sayd.

³¹ And he sayde swere vnto me. And he sware vnto hym. And Israel, worshypped towarde the beddes head.

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¹ After these deades it happened, that a messaunger sayde vnto Ioseph: thy father is sycke. And he toke wt him his .ii. sonnes, Manasses & Ephraim.

² Then was it sayd vnto Iacob: beholde, thy sonne Ioseph commeth vnto the. And Israel toke his strength vnto hym, & satt vp on the bedd,

³ & Iacob sayde vnto Ioseph: God allmyghtie apeared vnto me at Lus in the lande of Canaan, & blessed me,

⁴ & sayde vnto me: beholde, I wyll make the growe, & wyll multiplye the, & wyll make a great nombre of people of the, and wyll geue thys land vnto thy seed after the vnto an euerlastyng possessyon.

⁵ And now thy .ii. sonnes Manasses & Ephraim which were borne vnto the in the lande of Egypte, before I came to the in to Egypte, are myne: euen as Ruben & Symeon are myne.

⁶ And the children which thou hast gotten after them, shalbe thyne awne: & shalbe called after the names of theyr brethren in theyr enheritaunce.

⁷ And whan I came from Mesopotamia, Rahel dyed vpon my hand in the lande of Canaan, by the waye: when ther was but a feldes brede to come vnto Ephrat. And I buryed her there in the waye to Ephrat. The same is Bethlehem.

⁸ And Israel behelde Iosephs sonnes and sayde: what are these?

⁹ Ioseph sayd vnto his father: they are my sonnes which God hathe geuen me here. And he sayde: oh, brynge them to me, & let me blesse them.

¹⁰ And the eyes of Israel were dymme for age, so that he coulde not well see. And he broughte them to hym, and he kyssed them and embraced them.

¹¹ And Israel sayde vnto Ioseph: I had not thought to haue sene thy face, and yet loo, God hath shewed it me and also thy seed.

¹² And Ioseph toke them awaye from his lappe, & worshypped on the grounde before hym.

¹³ Than toke Ioseph them both: Ephraim with his ryghte hande towarde Israels left hande, & Manasses wt hys left hande, towarde Israels ryghte hande, & brought them vnto hym.

¹⁴ And Israel stretched out hys ryghte hande & layde it vpon Ephraims heade which was the yonger, & hys lyfte hande vpon Manasses heed, gydinge hys handes wysely, for Manasses was the elder.

¹⁵ And he blessed Ioseph & sayde: God, before whome my fathers Abraham & Isahac dyd walke, God whych hath fedd me all my lyfe longe vnto thys daye,

¹⁶ And the angell whych hath delyuered me from all euyll, blesse these laddes: & let my name be named in them, & the name of my fathers Abraham & Isahac, & that they maye growe into a multitude in the myddes of the erth.

¹⁷ When Ioseph sawe that hys father layde hys ryghte hande vpon the heade of Ephraim, it displeased him. And he lyfte vp his fathers hande, to haue remoued it from Ephraims heade vnto Manasses heade,

¹⁸ & Ioseph sayde vnto hys father: Not so my father, for thys is the eldest. Put thy ryght hande vpon hys heade.

¹⁹ And hys father wolde not, but sayde: I knowe it well my sonne, I knowe it well. He shalbe also a people & shalbe great. But hys yonger brother shalbe greatter than he, and hys seed shall be full of people.

²⁰ And he blessed them that daye and sayde: In the let Israel blesse & saye: God make the as Ephraim and as Manasses. And sett Ephraim before Manasses.

²¹ And Israel sayde vnto Ioseph: beholde, I dye. And God shalbe wyth you and brynge you agayne vnto the lande of youre fathers.

²² Moreouer I haue geuen vnto the, a porcyon of lande aboue thy brethren, which I gatt out of the hande of the Amorite in my swerde and in my bowe.

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¹ And Iacob called for hys sonnes and sayde: come together, that I maye tell you what shall happen you in the last dayes.

² Gather you to gether, and heare ye sonnes of Iacob, herken vnto Israel youre father.

³ Ruben myne eldest sonne, thou art my myghte and the beginnynge of my strength, the noblenesse of dignyte, and the noblenesse of power.

⁴ Unstable as water. Thou shalt not be the chefest, because thou wentest vp to thy fathers bed. Euen then dyddest thou defyle it, & it was nomore my couche.

⁵ The brethren Simeon and Leui, cruell instrumentes in their habitacions.

⁶ In to their secretes come not my soule, vnto their congregacyon be my honoure not coupled: for in their wrath they slewe a man, & in their selfe wyll they, digged downe a wall.

⁷ Cursed be their wrath, for it was shamelesse, and their fearsnes, for it was cruell. I wyll deuide them in Iacob, & scater them in Israel.

⁸ Iuda thou art he, whom thy brethren shall prayse. Thy hande shalbe in the necke of thyne enymies, thy fathers chyldren shall stoupe before the.

⁹ Iuda is a lyons whelpe, From thy spoyle my sonne thou art come an hye. He layde hym downe and couched hym selfe as a lyon, and as a lionesse. Who wyll stere hym vp?

¹⁰ The sceptre shall not departe from Iuda, and a lawgeuer from betwene hys fete, vntyll. Sylocome. And vnto hym shall the gatherynge of the people be.

¹¹ He shall bynde his fole vnto the vyne, and hys asses colt vnto the braunche. He washed hys garment in wyne, and hys mantell in the bloude of grapes.

¹² Hys eyes are redder than wyne, & his teeth whytter then mylke.

¹³ Zabulon shall dwell besyde the heauen of the see and nye the heauen of shyppes. His border shalbe vnto Sydon.

¹⁴ Isachar a stronge asse couchynge hym downe betwene .ij. bordens,

¹⁵ and sawe that rest was good, & the lande that it was pleasant, and bowed hys shulder to beare, and became a seruaunte vnto tribute.

¹⁶ Dan shall iudge hys people & the trybes of Israel

¹⁷ Dan shalbe a serpent in the waye, an edder in the path, bytinge the horse heles and hys ryder fell bacwarde:

¹⁸ after thy saluacyon haue I loked (o Lorde.)

¹⁹ Gad, an hoost of men shall ouercome him, And he shall ouercome at the last.

²⁰ Of asser: his bread shalbe fat, and he shall geue pleasures for a kynge.

²¹ Nephtalim is a swyfte hynde, geuynge goodly wordes.

²² That florysshynge childe Ioseph, that plenteous chylde by the well syde, the daughters ran vpon the wall

²³ They haue prouoked hym, and shot hym thrugh with dartes. The archers haue enuyed him:

²⁴ But hys bowe abode fast, and the armes of hys handes were made stronge, by the handes of the myghtye God of Iacob. Out of hym shall come an herde man, a stone in Israel:

²⁵ From thy fathers God which hath helped the, and with the almyghtye which hath blessed the wyth blessynges from heauen aboue, wyth blessynges of the depe that lyeth vnder, and wyth blessynges of the brestes and of the wombe.

²⁶ The blessynges of thy father were stronger then the blessynges of my elders, vnto the vtmost of the hylles of the worlde, and they shalbe on the heade of Ioseph, and on the toppe of the heade of hym that was separat from his brethren.

²⁷ Ben Iamin shall raueshe as a wolfe. In the mornynge he shall deuoure the praye, and at nyghte he shall deuyde the spoyle.

²⁸ All these are the .xij. tribes of Israel, and thys their father spake vnto them and blessed them, euery one of them blessed he wyth a seuerall blessynge.

²⁹ And he charged them, and sayde vnto them: whan I shalbe gathered vnto my people, burye me wyth my fathers, in the caue that is in the felde of Ephron the Hethyte,

³⁰ in the double caue that is in the felde by the countre of Mamre in the land of Canaan. Whych felde Abraham boughte of Ephron the Hethyte for a possessyon to burye in,

³¹ where as were buryed Abraham and Sarah hys wyfe. And where as were buryed Isahac & Rebecca his wyfe. And there I buryed Lea.

³² The felde and the caue that is therin, was bought of the chyldren of Heth.

³³ And when Iacob had commaunded all that he wolde vnto hys sonnes, he plucked vp his fete vnto the bedd and dyed, and was put vnto hys people.

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¹ And Ioseph fell vpon hys fathers face, and wepte vpon hym, and kyssed hym.

² And Ioseph commaunded hys seruauntes the Phisicyons, to embawme hys father, and the Phisicyons embawmed Israel

³ .xl. dayes longe, for so longe doth the embawmynge last, and the Egyptians bewayled hym .lxx. dayes.

⁴ And when the dayes of wepynge were ended, Ioseph spake vnto the house of Pharao sayinge: If I haue founde fauoure in youre eyes, speake in the eares of Pharao sayinge:

⁵ my father made me swere & sayde: loo, I dye, burye me in my graue whych I haue made me in the lande of Chanaan. Nowe therfore let me goo and burye my father, and than wyll I come agayne.

⁶ And Pharao sayde, goo and burye thy father, accordynge as he made the swere.

⁷ And Ioseph went vp to burye hys father, and with hym went all the seruauntes of Pharao that were the elders of his house, and all the elders of the lande of Egypte,

⁸ & all the house of Ioseph, and his brethren and hys fathers house, only theyr chyldren and their shepe and their catell lefte they behynde in the land of Gosan.

⁹ And there went with him also Charettes and horssmen: & it was an exceadynge great companye.

¹⁰ And they came to the corne floore of Atad whyche is beyonde Jordane, and there they made a great and exceadynge sore lamentacyon. And he mourned for hys father .vij. dayes.

¹¹ And when the inhabiters of the lande (euen the Cananytes) sawe the mournynge in the corne floore of Atad, they sayde: thys is a greate mournynge vnto the Egyptians. Wherfore the name of the place is called, The mournynge of the Egyptians, and it is beyonde Iordane:

¹² And hys sonnes dyd vnto him accordynge as he had commaunded them.

¹³ For hys sonnes caryed him in to the lande of Canaan, and buryed him in the double caue of the felde: which caue Abraham boughte, and the felde also, to be a place to burye in, of Ephron the Hethite before Mamre.

¹⁴ And Ioseph returned in to Eygpte agayne, he and hys brethren (and all that went vp with him to burye hys father,) assone as he had buryed hym.

¹⁵ And when Iosephs brethren sawe that their father was dead, they sayde: Ioseph myghte fortune to hate vs & rewarde vs agayne all the euell which we dyd vnto him.

¹⁶ And they did a commaundement vnto Ioseph sayinge, thy father charged vs before hys deeth sayinge:

¹⁷ Thys wyse shall ye saye vnto Ioseph, forgeue (I praye the) the trespace of thy brethren, and theyr synne: for they rewarded that euell. And nowe (we praye the) forgeue the trespace of the seruauntes of thy fathers God. And Ioseph wept, when they spake vnto hym.

¹⁸ For hys brethren came vnto hym, & fell flat before hys face sayinge: beholde, we be thy seruauntes.

¹⁹ To whom Ioseph sayde feare not. Am I God?

²⁰ Ye thought euell agaynste me: but God turned it vnto good, to brynge to passe, as it is thys daye, and to saue moch people alyue.

²¹ Feare not therfore, Nowe, I wyll noryshe you, and youre chyldren, and he comforted them, & spake kyndly vnto them.

²² Ioseph dwelt in Egypte he and hys fathers house, and Ioseph lyued an hundred and .x. yere.

²³ And Ioseph sawe Ephraims chyldren, euen vnto the thyrde generacyon. And vnto Machir the sonne of Manasses were chyldren borne, on Ioseph knees.

²⁴ And Ioseph sayde vnto hys brethren: I dye. And God wyll suerlye vysett you & brynge you out of this lande, vnto the lande whych he sware vnto Abraham, Isaac and Iacob.

²⁵ And Ioseph toke an ooth of the chyldren of Israel, sayinge: God wyll not fayle but vysett you: and ye shall carye my boones hence.

²⁶ And so Ioseph dyed, when he was an hundred & .x. yere olde. And they enbawmed hym wyth spices, puttynge him in a chest in Egypte.