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

CAP. III.

Aftir these thingus king Assuer en|hauncide Aaman, the [Om. A.] sone of Amadathi, that was of the linage of Agag, and putte his sete ouer alle the princis that he hadde. [verse 2] And alle the seruauns of the king, that withinne the paleis ȝatis dwelten, boweden kne [the knee A.] , and honoureden Aaman; so forsothe the emperour hadde comaundid to hem; onli Mardoche bow|ede not kne [the knee A.] , ne honourede hym. [verse 3] To whom seiden the childer of the king, that to the ȝatis of the paleys seten before, Whi beside other men thou kepist not the hestis of the king? [verse 4] Whan these thingus more often thei seiden, and he [Om. AH.] wolde not heren, thei tolden to Aman, coueitende to witen, whether he wolde stonde stedefast in the sentence; forsothe he hadde seid to them, hym to ben a Jew. [verse 5] The whiche thing whan Aman hadde herd, and bi experience proued, that Mar|doche bowide not kne to hym, ne ho|nourede, [verse 6] he is wroth ful gretli, and for noȝt tolde in to Mardoche on to [Om. H.] putte hondis; forsothe he hadde herd, that he was of Jew kinrede, and more wolde leesen al the nacioun of Jewis, that weren

in the reume of Assuer. [verse 7] The [In the C pr. m.] firste moneth, whos name is Nysan, the twelfthe ȝer of the regne of Assuer, lot is leid in to a vessel, that Ebruli is seid fur, be|forn Aman, what dai and what moneth the folc of Jewis shulde be slayn; and the twelfthe moneth wente out, that is clepid Adar. [verse 8] And Aman seide to king Assuer, Ther is a puple bi alle the prouyncis of thi reume scaterid, and fro themself [hym silf AH.] togidere seuered, newe vsende lawis and cerimoynes, ferthermor and the statutis of the king dispisende; and best thou hast knowen, that it spedeth not to thi reume, that ouercustomed it waxe proud bi leeue. [verse 9] If to thee it plese, deme that it pershe, and ten thousend of ta|lentis I shal lei to tresories of thi rich|esse [ritchessis A.] . [verse 10] Thanne the king toc of his hond the ring that he vside, and ȝaf it to the enemys of Jewys, Aman, sone of Ama|dathi, of the kinrede of Agag. [verse 11] And he seide to hym, The siluer that thou be|hotist, be thin; of the puple do that to thee plesith. [verse 12] And the scribis of the king ben clepid the firste moneth of Nysan, the threttenthe dai of the same moneth; and it is writen, as Aman hadde co|maundid, to alle the satrapis of the king, and domysmen of dyuerse prouyncis and folkis, that alle folc [folkis AH.] myȝten rede and heren, for the diuersite of tungis, of the name of king Assuer. And the lettris [verse 13] selid [aselid E pr. m.] with his ring ben sent bi the co|rouris of the king to alle his prouyncis, that thei shulde slen and don awei alle the Jewis, fro child vn to old man, litle childer and wymmen, o dai, that is, the

threttenthe [threttithe AH.] dai of the twelfthe moneth, that is clepid Adar, that is, March; and ther goodis thei shulden forfeten. [verse 14] The sentence forsothe of the [Om. H.] epistelis [epistil AE.] was this, that alle prouyncis shulden knowe, and go themself to the forseide dai. And thei, that weren sent, heeȝeden to ful|fillen out the heste of the king; and anoon in Susis heeng [hongide out A. hangide EFH.] the maundement fro [of A.] the king, and Aman solempneli mak|ende a feste, and alle the Jewis, that in the cite weren, wepende.