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

CAP. XLIV.

[verse 1] `Preisen we [We preisen C pr. m.] glorious men, and oure fadris and modris in ther generacioun. [verse 2] Myche glorie the Lord dide in his grete doyng. [verse 3] Fro the world [Lord A.] ben men [maad A.] lord|schipende in [bi AGH.] ther poweres, grete men in vertue, and bi ther [Om. C pr. m.] prudence biforn othere mad riche; tellende in profetes the [verse 4] dignete of profetes, and comaundende in the present puple, and bi vertue of pru|dence of [Om. C pr. m.] the [Om. A.] puple, most hoely wrdis. [verse 5] In ther wisdam sechende the [Om. AGH.] musyk manerys, and tellende the dytes of scrip|tures. [verse 6] Riche men in vertue, hauende the study of fairnesse, pes makende in ther houses. [verse 7] Alle these in the ieneraciouns of their folc han taken glorie; and in ther daȝes ben [shul ben E pr. m.] had in preisyngus. [verse 8] Who of hem ben born, laften the name of telling the preisingus of hem. [verse 9] And ther ben, of whom is no mynde; thei persheden as that [thei that A.] weren not, and ben born as not [that not C pr. m.] born; and the sonus of hem with hem. [verse 10] But they men of mercy [mercyes A.] ben, of whom [verse 11] the [Om. AGH.] pitoustees faileden not; and with the seed of hem dwellide stille good eri|tage. [verse 12] And the sed of the sonus sonus of [verse 13] hem stod in the testament, and the eri|tage of the sonus of hem for hem, in to with oute ende dwelleth; the sed of hem, and the glorie of hem, shal not be forsaken. [verse 14] The bodies of hem in pes ben biried; and the name of hem shal lyue in to ieneraciouns and ieneraciouns. [verse 15] The wysdam of hem puples shul tellen; and the preising of hem the chirche [puple C pr. m.] shal shewen [shewe out A. telle of C pr. m.] . [verse 16] Enoc plesede to God, and is translatid in to paradis, that he ȝyue wis|dam to folc [the folk A.] of kynde. [verse 17] Noe is founde a parfit riȝtwis man, and in tyme of wrathe

he is mad recounsylyng. [verse 18] Therfore is laft the remnaunt of the [Om. A.] erthe, whan the flod was do. [verse 19] The testaments of the world ben put anent hym, ne `myȝte be do awey [be do awey myȝte C.] with the flod eche flesh. [verse 20] Abraham the grete fader of the multitude of the folc of kinde; and ther is not founde lijc to hym in glorie, that kepte the lawe of the heȝest [heeȝe AEGH.] , and was in testament with hym. [verse 21] In [And in AGH.] his flesh he made to stonde the testa|ment; and in tempting he is founde feithful. [verse 22] Therfore by oth he ȝaf to hym glorie in his folc of kinde, to encresen [verse 23] hym as an hilloc of erthe; and to en|hauncen `the sed of [Om. C pr. m. E. the heuede of H.] hym as the sterres, and to eritagen hym fro the se vn to the se, and fro the flod vnto the termes of the erthe. [verse 24] And to Isaac he dide the same maner, for Abraham, his fader. [verse 25] The blissing of alle folc of kinde the Lord ȝaf to hym; and his testament he confermede vp on the hed of Jacob. [verse 26] He kneȝ hym in his blessingus, and ȝaf to hym the eritage; and he deuydede to hym part in the twelue lynagis. [verse 27] And he kepte to hym sonus of mercy, findende grace in the siȝt of al flesh.