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

CAP. XX.

[verse 1] And the sones of Yrael camen, and al the multitude into the deseert of Syn, the firste moneth. And the puple dwelte in Cades; and Mary is there deed, and by|ryed in the same place. [verse 2] And whanne the puple nedide water, thei camen aȝens [verse 3] Moises and Aaron, and, turned into dis|sencioun, seiden, Wold God we hadden perisshide amonge oure britheren, before the Lord. [verse 4] Whi han ȝe ladde out the chirche of the Lord into wilderenes, that and we and oure beestis dyen? [verse 5] Whi han ȝe maad vs to stie vp fro Egipt, and ȝe han ladde into this worst place, that may not be sowid [sowe C. sowen D.] , the whiche ne fige getith, ne vynes, ne powmgarnettis, `more ouer [ouer mor CE.] and water it hath not to drynke? [verse 6] And Moyses and Aaron, the multitude laft, goon into the tabernacle of the boond of pees, fellen down redi into the erthe, and cryeden to God, and seiden, Lord God, here the crye of this puple, and opyn to hem thi tresour, the welle of quyk wa|ter, that, hem fillid, ceese her grutchynge. And the glorye of the Lord aperide vpon [verse 7] hem; and the Lord spak to Moyses, sei|ynge, [verse 8] Tak the ȝerde, and gedre the pu|ple, thow, and Aaron thi brother; and speke ȝe to the stoon before hem, and it shal ȝyue watris. And whanne thow hast ladde out water fro the stoon, shal drynke al the multitude, and the beestis of it.

[verse 9] Thanne Moyses took the ȝerde, that was in the siȝt of the Lord, as he comaundide [verse 10] to [Om. C sec. m.] hym, the multitude gedryd before the stoon; and he seyde to hem, Here ȝe, re|bells [rebel CE. the rebelles H.] and harde to bileue; whether of this stoon water to ȝow we mowen cast out? [verse 11] And whanne Moyses hadde areryde [rerid C.] the hoond, smytynge with the ȝerde twijs the flynt, wenten out moost large watris, so that the puple myȝt drynke, and the beestis. [verse 12] And the Lord seide to Moyses and Aaron, For ȝe bileueden [leueden BCDEFH.] not to me, that ȝe halweden me before the sones of Irael, ȝe shulen not lede in thes puples into the loond that I shal ȝyue to hem. [verse 13] This is the water of contradiccioun; there the sones of Yrael iangleden aȝens the Lord, and he is halwid in hem. [verse 14] Moyses there amonge sente messengers fro Cades to the kyng of Edom, the whiche shulden seie, Thes thingis sendith to thee thi bro|ther Yrael. Thow hast knowun al the [verse 15] traueyl that hath cauȝt vs, what maner oure faders descendiden into Egipt, and we han dwelte there myche tyme, and the Egipciens han tourmentide vs, and [verse 16] oure fadres; and what maner wyse we han cried to the Lord, and he hath herd vs, and he hath sent an aungel, that hath ladde vs out of Egipte. And loo! we sett in the cytee of Cades, that is in thin ut|termoost [utmost C. otemost E.] [verse 17] coostis, bisechen, that to vs it be leueful to passe bi thi loond; we shu|len not goo bi feeldis, ne bi vynes, ne we shulen drynke watris of thi pittis; but we shulen goo the comoun weye, ne to the ryȝt ne to the left bowynge, to the tyme that we passen thi coostis. [verse 18] To whom answerde Edom, Ȝe shulen not passe bi me, ellis armed Y shal come aȝens thee. [verse 19] And the sones of Yrael seyden, Bi the beryd [berdyd B.] weye we shulen

goon, and if we shulen drynke thi wa|tris, we and oure beestis, we shulen ȝyue that is riȝt; no difficulte shal be in the prijs, oonli swiftly passe we. [verse 20] And he answerde, Ȝe shulen not passe. And anoon metynge he wente out, with a multitude with out noumbre, and with a stronge [verse 21] hoond, and he wolde not assente to hym preiynge, that he graunte passynge bi his coostis. Wherfor turnede aside fro hym Yrael. [verse 22] And whanne thei hadden meuyde tentis fro Cades, thei camen into the hil of Hor, that is in the coostis of the loond [verse 23] of Edom; where the Lord spak to Moy|ses, [verse 24] Aaron, he seith, go he to his puplis; forsothe he shal not goo into the loond that I haue ȝeue to the sones of Yrael, forthi that he were harde of bileue to my mouth, at the watris of contradic|cioun. [verse 25] Tak Aaron, and his sone with hym, and thow shalt lede hem into the [verse 26] hil of Hor; and whanne thow hast made nakyd the fader of his clooth, thow shalt clothe with it Eleazar, his sone, and Aa|ron shal be leide togidre, and die there. [verse 27] And Moyses dide as the Lord comaund|ide; and thei stieden vp into the hil of Hor, before al the multitude. [verse 28] And whanne Aaron he hadde spuylid his clothis, he clothide with hem Eleazar, his [verse 29] sone; and hym deed in the brenk of the hil, he descendide with Eleazar. [verse 30] Al for|sothe the multitude seynge Aaron to haue died, wept vpon hym thretti dayes, bi alle her meynees.