The Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testaments, with the Apocryphal books,

CAP. XXIV.

[verse 1] And Josue gaderide alle the lynagis of Israel in to Sechem; and he clepide the grettere men in birthe, and the princes, and iugis, and maistris; and thei stoden in the siȝt of the Lord. [verse 2] And he [Josue I.] spak thus to the puple, The Lord God of Israel seith these thingis, Ȝoure fadris dwelliden at the bigynnyng biȝende the flood Eu|frates, Thare, the fadir of Abraham, and Nachor, and thei serueden alien goddis. [verse 3] Therfor Y took ȝoure fadir Abraham fro the coostis of Mesopotanye, and Y brouȝte hym in to the lond of Canaan; and Y [verse 4] multipliede `the seed of hym [his seede I.] , and Y ȝaf Isaac to hym; and eft Y ȝaf to Isaac,

Jacob, and Esau, of whiche [the whiche sones I.] Y ȝaf to Esau the hil of Seir, to `haue in posses|sioun [welde I.] ; forsothe [and I.] Jacob and hise sones ȝeden doun in to Egipt. [verse 5] And Y sente Moises and Aaron, and Y smoot Egipt [verse 6] with many signes [tokens I.] and wondris, and Y ledde ȝou and ȝoure fadris out of Egipt. And ȝe camen to the see, and Egipcians [men of Egipt I.] pursueden ȝoure fadris with charis, and multitude of knyȝtis, `til to [vnto I.] the Reed See. [verse 7] Forsothe [And I.] the sones of Israel crieden to the Lord, and he settide [putte I.] derknessis bi|twixe ȝou and Egipcians; and he brouȝte the see on [upon I.] hem [the Egipcians I.] , and hilide hem. Ȝoure iȝen sien [han seen I.] alle thingis, whiche Y dide in Egipt. And ȝe dwelliden in wildirnesse in [Om. I.] myche tyme. [verse 8] And Y brouȝte ȝou in to the lond of Ammorrei, that dwellide biȝende Jordan; and whanne thei [men of Ammorey I.] fouȝten aȝens ȝou, Y bitook hem in to ȝoure hondis, and ȝe hadden [hadden her lond I.] in possessioun `the lond of hem [Om. I.] , and ȝe killiden hem. [verse 9] Sotheli [And I.] Balach, the sone of Sephor, the king of Moab, roos, and fauȝt aȝens Israel; and he [Balach I.] sente, and clepide Balaam, the sone of Beor, that he schulde curse ȝou. [verse 10] And Y nolde [wolde not I.] here hym, but aȝenward bi hym [Balaam I.] Y blesside ȝou, and delyuerede [I delyuerede I.] ȝou fro hise [the I.] hondis [hondis of Balaach I.] . [verse 11] And ȝe passiden Jordan, and camen to Jerico; and men of that citee fouȝten aȝens ȝou, Ammorrei, and Feresei, and Cananei, Ethei, and Gergesei, and [Om. I.] Euei, and Jebusei; and Y bitook hem in to [Om. IS.] ȝoure hondis. [verse 12] And Y sente flies with venemouse tongis [that ben bredde of dede careyns K sec. m. marg.] bifor ȝou, and Y castide [threwe I.] hem out of her places; Y kyllide twei kyngis of Ammorreis, not in thi [Om. K sec. m.] swerd and [ne in thi I.] bowe. [verse 13] And Y ȝaf to ȝou the lond in which ȝe traueiliden not, and citees whiche [the whiche I.] ȝe bildiden not, that ȝe schulden dwelle in tho, and vyneris, and places of olyue trees, whiche [the whiche I.] ȝe plauntiden not. [verse 14] Now therfor drede ȝe the Lord, and

serue ȝe hym with perfite herte and moost trewe; and do ȝe awei the goddis, to whiche [the whiche I.] ȝoure fadris seruyden [han serued I.] in Meso|potanye, and in Egipt; and serue ȝe the Lord. [verse 15] But if it semeth yuel [yuel or greuous I.] to ȝou, `that ȝe [to I.] serue the Lord, chesyng [chois I.] is ȝouun to ȝou; chese ȝe to ȝou to dai that, that plesith [plesith to ȝou I.] , whom ȝe owen most to serue; whether to goddis [tho goddis I.] , whiche [to whom I.] ȝoure fadris serueden in Mesopotanye, whether [either I.] to the goddis of Ammorreis, in whose lond ȝe dwellen; forsothe Y, and myn hows [meynee I.] schu|len serue the [to the I.] Lord. [verse 16] And al the puple answeride and seide, Fer be it [that I.] fro vs that we forsake the Lord, and serue alien goddis. [verse 17] `Oure Lord God [The Lord oure God I.] hym silf ledde vs and oure fadris out of the lond of Egipt, fro the hows of seruage, and dide [he dide I.] grete signes [wondris I.] in oure siȝt; and he kepte vs in al the weie, bi which we ȝeden, and in alle puplis, bi whiche [the whiche I.] we passiden; [verse 18] and he castide [threwe I.] out alle folkis, Ammorrei [the men of Ammorey I.] , the dwellere [dwellers I.] of the lond, in to which we entriden [entren I.] . Therfor we schulen serue the [to the I.] Lord, for he is `oure Lord God [the Lord oure God I.] . [verse 19] And Josue seide to the puple, Ȝe moun not serue the Lord [Lord but in holynesse I.] [ȝe moun not serue the Lord; that is, of hard ȝe moun, for vertu aboute good thing and hard. Lire here. C.] ; for God is hooli, and a [Om. I.] strong feruent [and a feruent I.] louyere, and he [Om. I.] forȝyueth not ȝoure trespassis and synnes [ȝoure synnes I.] . [verse 20] If ȝe for|saken the Lord, and seruen alien goddis, the Lord schal turne `hym silf [hymsilf fro ȝou I.] , and schal [he schal I.] turment ȝou [Om. I.] , and schal [Om. I.] distrie [distrie ȝou I.] , after that he hath ȝoue goodis [gode thingis I.] to ȝou. [verse 21] And the puple seide to Josue, It schal not be so, as thou spekist, but we schulen serue the Lord. [verse 22] And Josue seide to the puple, Ȝe ben witnessis [witnessis to ȝoure silf I.] , that [for IS.] ȝe han chose the Lord to ȝou, that ȝe serue him. And thei an|sweriden, We ben witnessis [witnessis of this sentence I.] . [verse 23] Therfor, he [Josue I.] seide, Now do ȝe awei alien goddis fro the myddis of ȝou, and bowe ȝe ȝoure hertis to the Lord God of Israel. [verse 24] And the puple seide to Josue, We schulen serue `oure

Lord God [the Lord oure God I.] , and we schulen be obedient to hise heestis. [verse 25] Therfor Josue smoot a boond of pees in that dai, and settide [he puttide I.] forth to the puple comaundementis [hestis I.] and domes [dome A.] in Sichen. [verse 26] And he wroot alle these wordis in the book of Goddis lawe. And he took a greet stoon, and puttide [he puttide I.] it vndur an ook [vndur an ook; Ebrews seien vndur a lyntel, for the Ebrew word here sig|nefieth bothe ook and lyn|tel, and no tre owith to be bi|sidis the auter of the Lord, as Moyses lawe seith; netheles the seyntuarie may be seid here a syna|goge, not the tabernacle, for Josue dide these thingis in Sichen; and therfor it may wel be seid vn|dur an ook, bi oure transla|cioun, for a tre myȝte be bisidis the synagoge, whidur Jewis camen to preye, and to here Goddis word. Lire here. C.] , that was in the seyn|tuarie of the Lord. [verse 27] And he seide to al the puple, Lo! this stoon schal be to ȝou in to witnessing, that ȝe herden [han herd I.] alle the wordis of the Lord, whiche [the whiche I.] he spak [hath spoken I.] to ȝou, lest perauenture ȝe wolden denye [denye it I.] aftirward, and lye to ȝoure Lord God. [verse 28] And he [Josue I.] lefte the puple, ech man in to his possessioun. [verse 29] And after these thingis Josue, the sone of Nun, the `seruaunt of the Lord [Lordis seruaunt I.] , diede, an [of an GIKMNSXb.] hundride ȝeer eld and ten. [verse 30] And thei birieden hym in the costis of his possessioun, in Thannath of Sare, which [the which I.] is set in the hil of Effraym, fro the north part of the hil Gaas. [verse 31] And Israel seruede the Lord in alle the daies of Josue, and of the eldre men, that lyueden in [Om. GIKMNOSXb.] long tyme aftir Josue, and whiche [the whiche I.] eldre men knewen alle the werkis of the Lord, whiche he hadde do in Israel. [verse 32] Also `the sones of Israel birieden [Om. I.] the boonys of Joseph, whiche [the whiche I.] thei [the sones of Israel I.] baren fro Egipt in [thei birieden in I.] Sichen, in the [a I.] part of the feeld, which [the which I.] feeld Jacob bouȝte of the sones of Emor, fadir [the fadir I.] of Sichen, for an hundrid ȝonge [of ȝonge I.] scheep; and it [that feeld I.] was in to possessioun of the sones of Joseph. [verse 33] Also Eliazar, sone [the sone I.] of Aaron, preest [the preest I.] , diede; and Fynees and hise sones biryden hym in Gabaa, which [that I.] was ȝouun to hym [Eleazar I.] in the hil of Ef|raym.