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

CAP. XVIII.

[verse 1] In tho [these H.] days was no kyng in Yrael; and the lynage of Dan souȝte possessioun to hym, that he myȝte dwelle in it; for|sothe vnto that day amonge othere ly|nagis he hadde takun no lot. [verse 2] Thanne senten the sones of Dannys stok, and of his meyne, fyue moost stronge men fro Saraa and Escahol, that thei aspien the loond, and bisily biholden. And thei seiden to hem, Gooth, and biholdith the loond. The whiche, whanne goynge thei weren comen into the hil of Effraym, and weren goon into the hows of Myche, thei restiden there. [verse 3] And knowynge the voys of the ȝonglynge Leuyte, and vsynge the restynge place of hym, thei seiden to hym, Who brouȝte the hidir? What here dost thow? For what cause hidir come thou woldist? [verse 4] The which answerde to hem, Thes thingis and thes thingis My|chas hath ȝeuen to me, and me bi meed hath hyrid, that I be to hym a preest. [verse 5] And thei preiden hym, that he shulde counseyl the Lord, and wite thei myȝten, whethir welsum weye thei shulden goo, and the thing shulde han effecte. [verse 6] The which answerde to hem, Gooth with pees, the Lord hath biholden ȝoure weye, and the gaat that ȝe goon. [verse 7] And so goynge the fyue men camen to Lachis; and thei seen the puple dwellinge in it withouten eny drede, after the vsage of Sydonyes, sikir and in rest, no man to hem vtterli withstondynge, and of greet ritchessis, and fer fro Sidon, and fro alle men se|uerd. [verse 8] And thei turneden aȝen to her britheren in Saraa and Eschahol; and what thei hadden doo to hem askynge, [verse 9] thei answerden, Rysith, and stie we vp to hem; forsothe we han seen the loond

ful riche and plenteuous; wolith not leeue, woleth not ceese, goo we, and weeld [verse 10] we it; no traueyle it shal be; we shulen goo into the sikyr, in to the regyoun moost brood; and the Lord shal taak to vs the place, in which is scarsnesse of no thing of hem that ben goten in the erthe. [verse 11] Thanne wenten [thei wenten E pr. m.] of the kynrede of Dan, that is, of Saraa and Escahol, six hundrid men gird with armes of werre. [verse 12] And thei stiynge vp dwelliden in Cariathiarym of Jude, the which place fro that tyme took name of the Tentis of Dan, and is bihynde the bak of Kyriathiarym. [verse 13] Thens thei passiden into the hil of Effraym; and whanne thei weren comen to the hows [verse 14] of Myche, seiden the fyue men, that be|fore hoond weren sent to the loond of Lachis to ben biholden, to her other bri|theren, Knowe ȝe, that in thes howsis be ephot, and theraphyn, and grauen thing and ȝoten; seeth what plesith [it pleseth E pr. m.] to ȝou. [verse 15] And whanne a litil thei hadden bowid doun, thei wenten into the hows of the ȝonglynge Leuyte, that was in the hows of Myche, and thei salutiden hym with pesible wordis. [verse 16] Forsothe sixe hundrid men, so as thei weren armed, stoden be|fore the dore. [verse 17] And thei, the whiche weren goon into the hous of the ȝong man, the grauen thing and ȝoten, and ephot, and theraphyn thei enforsiden to taak; and the preest stood before the dore, the sixe hundrid men moost stronge not ferre abidynge. [verse 18] Thanne `tho ilk [thilk B. tho C.] that entriden token the grauen thing, ephot, and the mawmettis, and the ȝoten; to whom seide the preest, What doon ȝe? [verse 19] To whom thei answerden, Whist [Whisht C. Whischt E pr. m.] , and put fynger vpon thi mouth, and com with vs, that we han thee [the A.] fader and preest. Whether is it beter to thee, that

thou be a preest in the hows of o [oon E.] man, othir in o lynage and meyne in Yrael? [verse 20] The which thing whanne he hadde herd, he assentyde to the wordis of hem, and took ephot, and the grauen thing, and mawmettis, and with hem wente. [verse 21] The whiche whanne weren goon, and before hem hadden maad children and beestis [verse 22] to goon, and al that was precious, and now whanne fro the hows of Myche thei weren ferre, the men that dwelliden in the howses of Myche, to gidre criynge [verse 23] folweden, and after the bak bigunne to crien. The whiche whanne thei hadden [verse 24] beholdun, thei seiden to Myche, What to thee wolt thow? whi criest thow? The whiche answerde, My goddis that I made to me, ȝe han takun, and a preest, and alle thingis that Y haue; and ȝe seyn, What is to thee? [verse 25] And the sones of Dan seiden to hym, Be war, lest eny more thou speke to vs, and men styred with corage comen to thee, and thou thi silf with al thin hows perishe. [verse 26] And so the bigunne weie thei wenten. Forsothe My|cha seynge, that thei weren strenger than him self, he turnyde aȝen into his hows. [verse 27] Forsothe sixe hundrid men token the preest and that we aboue seiden, and camen into Lachis to the puple restynge and [in C.] siker; and thei smyten hem in mouth of swerd, and the cite with bren|nynge [verse 28] thei token, no man vtterly berynge sokour, forthi that ferre thei dwelten fro Sydon, and with noon of men thei had|den eny thing of felawship and of erand. Forsothe the citee was set in the regioun of Roob; the which eft makynge out [verse 29] dwelliden in it; the name of the citee is [Om. BCEFH.] clepid Dan after the name of his fader, whom Irael gat, `the which [that C.] before La|chis [verse 30] was seid. And thei putten to hem

a grauen thing, and Jonathan, the sone of Gerson, sone [the sone E pr. m.] of Moysy, and the sones of hym, prestis in the lynage of Dan, vnto the day of his chetifte. [verse 31] And there dwellide anentis hem the mawmet of Myche, al the tyme that the hows of God was in Sylo. In [And in A.] tho [thos BF. these C. that E pr. m. thes H.] days was no kyng in Yrael.