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

CAP. XXIII.

[verse 1] And the word of the Lord was maad to [verse 2] me, and he seide, Thou, sone of man, twei wymmen weren the douȝtris of o modir,

[verse 3] and diden fornycacioun in Egipt; in her ȝonge wexynge age thei diden fornica|cioun; there the brestis of hem weren maad low, and the tetis of the tyme of mariage of hem weren brokun. [verse 4] Forsothe the names of hem ben, Oolla, the more sistir, and Ooliba the lesse sistir of hir. And Y hadde hem, and thei childiden sones and douȝtris; certis the names of hem ben Samarie Oolla, and Jerusalem Ooliba. [verse 5] Therfor Oolla dide fornicacioun on me, and was wood on hir louyeris, on [verse 6] Assiriens neiȝinge, clothid with iacinct, princes, and magistratis, ȝonge men of coueytise, alle kniȝtis, and [Om. N.] stieris of horsis. [verse 7] And sche ȝaf hir fornicaciouns on hem, on alle the chosun sones of Assiriens; and in alle on whiche sche was wood, sche was defoulid in the vnclennessis of hem. [verse 8] Fer|thermore and sche lefte not hir fornica|ciouns, whiche sche hadde in Egipt; for whi and thei slepten with hir in the ȝongthe of hir, and thei braken the tetis of the tyme of mariage of hir, and thei scheden out her fornicacioun on hir. [verse 9] Therfor Y ȝaf hir in to the hondis of hir louyeris, in to the hondis of the sones of Assur, on whos letcherie sche was wood. [verse 10] Thei diskyueriden the schenschipe of hir; thei token awei the sones and the douȝtris of hir, and killiden [thei killiden I.] hir with swerd; and the wymmen weren maad famouse, that is, sclaundrid, and thei diden domes in hir. [verse 11] And whanne hir sistir Ooliba hadde seyn this, sche was wood in letcherie more than that sistre, and ȝaf vnschamefastli hir fornicacioun on the fornicacioun of hir [verse 12] sistre, to the sones of Assiriens, to duykis and magistratis comynge to hir, that weren clothid with dyuerse cloth, to knyȝtis that weren borun on horsis, and to ȝonge men with noble schap, to alle men. [verse 13] And Y siȝ that o weie of both sis|tris [verse 14] was defoulid, and sche encreesside hir fornycaciouns. And whanne sche hadde seyn men peyntid in the wal, the ymagis

[verse 15] of Caldeis expressid with colouris, and gird on the reynes with kniȝtis girdlis, and cappis peyntid in [on INS.] the heedis of hem, the foormes of alle duykis, the licnesse of the sones of Babiloyne, and of the lond of Caldeis, in which thei weren borun; [verse 16] sche was wood on hem bi coueitise of hir iȝen, and sche sente messangeris to hem in to Caldee. [verse 17] And whanne the sones of Babiloyne weren comun to hir, to the bed of tetis, thei defouliden hir in her letcheries of virgyns; and sche was de|foulid of hem, and the soule of hir was fillid of hem. [verse 18] Also sche made nakid hir fornicaciouns, and diskyuered hir schen|schipe; and my soule ȝede awei fro hir, as my soule hadde go awei fro hir sistir. [verse 19] For sche multiplied hir fornicaciouns, and hadde mynde on the daies of hir ȝongthe, in whiche sche dide fornicacioun in the lond of Egipt. [verse 20] And sche was wood in letcherie on the liggyng bi of hem, whos fleischis ben as the fleischis of assis, and as the membris of horsis ben the membris of hem. [verse 21] And thou visitidist the grete trespas of thi ȝongthe, whanne thi brestis weren maad low in Egipt, and the tetis of the tyme of thi mariage weren brokun. [verse 22] Therfor, thou Ooliba, the Lord God seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal reise alle thi louyeris aȝens thee, of whiche thi soule was fillid, and Y schal gadere hem aȝens [verse 23] thee in cumpas; the sones of Babiloyne, and alle Caldeis, noble and miȝti men, and princes, alle the sones of Assiriens, and ȝonge men of noble foorme, duykis, and magistratis, alle princes of princes, and named stieris of horsis. [verse 24] And thei araied with chare and wheel schulen come on thee, the multitude of puplis schulen be armed with haburioun, and scheeld, and basynet, aȝens thee on ech side; and Y schal ȝyue doom bifor hem, and thei schu|len deme thee bi her domes. [verse 25] And Y schal sette my feruour in thee, which thei schu|len vse with thee in woodnesse; thei

schulen kitte awei thi nose and thin eeris, and thei schulen sle with swerd tho thingis that weren left; thei schulen take thi sones and thi douȝtris, and thi laste thing schal be deuourid bi fier. [verse 26] And thei schulen make thee nakid of thi clothis, and thei schulen take awei the vessels of thi glorie. [verse 27] And Y schal make thi greet trespasse to reste fro thee, and thi fornicacioun fro the lond of Egipt; and thou schalt not reise thin iȝen to hem, and thou schalt no more haue mynde on Egipt. [verse 28] For the Lord God seith these thingis, Lo! Y schal ȝyue thee in to the hondis of hem whiche thou hatist, `in to [and into A pr. m.] the hondis of hem of [verse 29] whiche thi soule was fillid, and thei schu|len do with thee in hatrede. And thei schulen take awei alle thi trauels, and thei schulen leeue thee nakid, and ful of schenschipe; and the schenschipe of thi fornicaciouns schal be schewid. Thi greet [verse 30] trespas and thi fornycaciouns han do these thingis to thee; for thou didist fornica|cioun aftir hethene men, among whiche thou were defoulid in the idols of hem. [verse 31] Thou ȝedist in the weie of thi sister, and Y schal ȝyue the cuppe of hir in thin hond. [verse 32] The Lord God seith these thingis, Thou schalt drinke the cuppe of thi sistir, the depthe, and the broodnesse; thou that art most able to take, schalt be in to scornyng, and in to mouwyng. [verse 33] Thou schalt be fillid with drunkenesse and so|rewe, with the cuppe of mourenyng and of heuynesse, with the cuppe of thi sister Samarie. [verse 34] And thou schalt drynke it, and thou schalt drinke of til to the drastis, and thou schalt deuoure the relifs therof, and thou schalt to-reende thi brestis, for Y the Lord spak, seith the Lord God. [verse 35] Therfor the Lord God seith these thingis, For thou hast forȝete me, and hast cast forth me bihynde thi bodi, bere thou also thi greet trespas and thi fornicaciouns. [verse 36] And the Lord God seide to me, and spak, Sone of man, whether thou demest Ooliba

and Oolla, and tellist to hem the grete trespassis of hem? [verse 37] For thei diden auow|trie, and blood was in the hondis of hem, and thei diden fornicacioun with her idols; ferthermore and thei offriden to tho the sones whiche thei gendriden to me, for to be deuourid. [verse 38] But also thei diden this to me, thei defouleden my seyntuarie in that dai, and maden vnhooli my sabatis. [verse 39] And whanne thei sacrifisiden her sones to her idols, and entriden in to my seyntuarie in that dai, that thei schulden defoule it, thei diden also these thingis in the myddis of myn hous. [verse 40] Thei senten to men com|yng fro fer, to whiche thei hadden sent messangeris. Therfor lo! thei camen, to whiche thou waischidist thee, and anoynt|idist thin iȝen with [bi CEFGHIKMNPQRSUX.] oynement of wym|men, and thou were ourned with wym|mens a tier. [verse 41] Thou satist in a ful fair bed, and a boord was ourned bifor thee; thou settidist myn encense and myn oynement on it. [verse 42] And a vois of multitude makynge ful out ioye was ther ynne; and in men that weren brouȝt of the multitude of men, and camen fro desert, thei settiden bies in the hondis of hem, and faire corouns on the heedis of hem. [verse 43] And Y seide to hir, that was defoulid in auoutries, Now also this [sche this I.] schal do fornycacioun in hir for|nicacioun. [verse 44] And thei entriden to hir; as to a womman, an hoore, so thei entriden to Oolla and to Ooliba, cursid wymmen. [verse 45] Therfor these men ben iust, these schulen deme thilke wymmen bi the doom of auoutressis, and bi the doom of hem that scheden out blood; for thei ben auou|tressis, and blood is in the hondis of hem, and thei diden fornicacioun with her idols. [verse 46] For the Lord God seith these thingis, Bringe thou multitudis to [of I.] hem, and ȝyue thou hem in to noise, and in to raueyn; [verse 47] and be thei stoonyd with the stoonys of puplis, and be thei stikid togidere with the swerdis of hem. Thei schulen sle the sones and the douȝtris of hem, and thei

schulen brenne with fier the housis of hem. [verse 48] And Y schal do awei greet trespas fro the lond; and alle wymmen schulen lerne, that thei do not aftir the greet trespas of hem. [verse 49] And thei schulen ȝyue ȝoure grete trespas on ȝou; and ȝe schulen bere the synnes of ȝoure idols, and ȝe schulen wite, that Y am the Lord God [Om. N.] .