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

CAP. XVII.

[verse 1] After forsothe that he bigan to be of nynti and nyne ȝeer, the Lord aperide to hym, and seide to hym, I God Almyȝti; [verse 2] goo bifore me, and be thow perfite; I shal sett my couenaunt of pees bitwix me and thee; and I shal multiplye thee ful hugeli. [verse 3] And Abram felle down al redi in to the face. [verse 4] And God seide to hym, I am, and I shal sett my couenaunt with thee, and thow shalt be fader of [verse 5] many folk of kynde; and thi name shal no more be clepid Abram, but thow shalt [shal AE.] be clepid Abraham, for I haue ordeyned [verse 6] thee fadir [the fadir BDEFH.] of many folk of kynde; and I shal make thee grow moost hugeli, and I shall sett thee in folk of kynde, and [verse 7] kyngis shal gon out of thee; and I shal stable my couenaunt bitwixe me and thee, and bitwix thi seed after thee, in thi kynredis, with euerlastynge boond of pees, that I be thi God, and of thi seed after [verse 8] thee; and I shal ȝyue to thee and to thi seed aftyr thee the loond of thi pil|grimage, al the loond of Chanaan, into euerlastyng possessioun, and I shal be the God of hem. [verse 9] Eftsones God seide to A|braham, And thow thanne shalt kepe my couenaunt, and thi seed aftir thee, in her kinredis. [verse 10] This is my couenaunt, that ȝe

shulen kepe bitwix me and ȝow, and thi seed after thee; ech maal of ȝow shal be [verse 11] circumcidid, and ȝe shulen circumside the flehs of the ferthermore parti of ȝoure ȝeerde, that it be in tokne of bond [bondis D.] of pees bitwix me and ȝow. [verse 12] A child of eiȝt dayes shal be circumsidid in ȝow, ech maal in ȝoure kinredis, as wel the freman of ȝoure howshold as the bowȝt man shal be circumsidid, and who so euer were [verse 13] of ȝoure lynage; and my couenaunt shal be in ȝoure flehs into euerlastynge boond of pees. The maal whos flehs of the vt|termore [verse 14] parti of his ȝerde were not cir|cumsidid, that soule shal be don a wey fro his puple; for he hath maad my couenaunt wast. [verse 15] And God seide to Abra|ham, Saray, thi wijf, thou shalt not clepe [verse 16] Saray, but Sara; and I shal blis to hir, and `of hir [Om. D.] I shal ȝyue to [hyre D.] thee a sone, to whom I am to blis, and he shal be into naciouns, and kyngis of puplis shal grow of hym. [verse 17] And Abraham fel into his face, and lowȝ in his herte, seiynge, Wenyst thow, whethir a sone shal be born to a man of an hundrid wynter, and Sara nynti winter shal bere? [verse 18] And he seide to the Lord, Wolde God Ysmael lyue bifore thee. [verse 19] And the Lord seide to Abraham, Sara, thi wijf, shal bere to thee a sone, and thow shalt cleep the name of hym Ysaac, and I shal ordeyne my couenaunt to hym into euerlastynge boond of pees, [verse 20] and to his seed after hym; and vpon Is|mael I haue herd thee, loo! I shal blis to hym, and I shal encrees, and I shal multiplie hym greetli; twelue dukis he shal gendre, and I shal make hym into a greet folk of kynde. [verse 21] But my coue|naunt I shal maak stonde to Ysaac, whom Sara shal bere to thee this tyme in the tother ȝeer. [verse 22] And whan the sermoun of the speker with hym was endid, God stiede [steyȝ BDEFH.] vp fro Abraham. [verse 23] Abraham for|sothe toke Ysmael, his sone, and alle the fre men of his hows, and alle whom he had bowȝt, alle the malis of alle men

of his hows, and he circumsidide the flehs of the vttermor parti of ther ȝerde, anoon in that day, as God had comaundid hym. [verse 24] Abraham was of nynti and nyne ȝeer whan he circumsidide the flehs of [verse 25] the vttermore parti of his ȝerde, and Is|mael, his sone, had fulfillid thrittene ȝeer in tyme of his circumsicioun. [verse 26] And the same day was Abraham circumsidid, and [verse 27] Ysmael his sone, and alle men [the men BDEFH.] of hys hows, as wel fre men as bowȝt and aliens, togideris weren circumsidid.