Biblia the Byble, that is, the holy Scrypture of the Olde and New Testament, faithfully translated in to Englyshe.

The XIIII. Chapter.

AGayne, another mā purposinge to say¦le [ A] & begīnynge to take his iourney tho¦row y^e raginge see, calleth for helpe vn¦to a stock, y^t is farre weaker, thē y^e tre y^t bea∣reth him. For as for it, coueteousnesse of mo∣neye hath founde it out, & y^e craftesmā made it w^t his connynge. But y^e prouydence (O fa∣ther) gouerneth all thinges frō y^e begynnyn∣ge, for thou hast made a waye in y^e see,* 1.1 & a su∣re path in the myddest of y^e wawes: declarin¦ge therby, y^t thou hast power to helpe in all thinges, yee though a man wente to the see without shippe. Neuerthelesse, y^t y^e workes of y^e wyszdome shulde not be vaine, thou hast caused an arke to be made:* 1.2 & therfore do men commytte their lyues to a small pece of wod passinge ouer the see in a shyppe, & are saued.

For in the olde tyme also whā the proude [ B] giauntes perished,* 1.3 he (in whō the hope was left to increase y^e worlde) wēte in to the ship∣pe, which was gouerned thorow thy hande, & so left sede behinde him vnto y^e worlde. For happie is y^e tre where thorow righteousnes cōmeth: but cursed is the ymage of wod, y^t is made w^t hādes, yee both it & he y^t made it: He, because he made it: & it, because it was called God, where as it is but a frayle thinge. For the vngodly & his vngodlynes are both like abhominable vnto God.* 1.4 Euen so y^e worke & he y^t made it also shal be punyshed together. Therfore shal there a plage come vpon the ymages of the Heithen: for out of the crea∣ture of God they are become an abhomina∣cion, a temptacion vnto the soules of men, and a snare for the fete of the vnwyse. And why? the sekinge out of ymages is the begin¦nynge of whordome, and the bringinge vp of them is the destruccion of life. For they were not from the begynnynge, nether shall they cōtinue for euer. The welthy ydilnes of [ C] men hath founde them out vpon earth, ther¦fore shal they come shortly to an ende. Whē a father mourned for his sonne y^t was taken awaye frō him, he made him an ymage (in all y^e haist) of his deed sonne: & so begāne to wor¦shipe him as God, which was but a deed mā & ordened his seruauntes to offre vnto him. Thus by processe of tyme & thorow lōge cus∣tome, this erro^r was kepte as a lawe, & tyraū¦tes cōpelled mē by violēce to hono^r ymages. As for those y^t were so farre of, y^t mē migt not worshipe them presently, their picture was brought frō farre (like the ymage of a kynge

whō they wolde honoure) to the intent that with greate diligence they might worshipe him which was farre of, as though he had bene present. Agayne, the syngular connyn be of the craftesman gaue the ignoraunt al¦so a greate occasiō to worshipe ymages. For the workman wyllinge to do him a pleasure that sett him a worke, laboured with all his connynge to make the ymage of the best fas∣hion. [ D] And so (thorow the beuty of the worke) the comon people was disceaued, in so moch that they toke him now for a God, which a litle afore was but honored as a man. And this was the erroure of mans life, whan men (ether for to serue their owne affeccion, or to do some pleasure vnto kinges) ascrybed vnto stones and stockes the name of God, which ought to be geuen vnto no man.

Morouer, this was not ynough for them that they erred in the knowlege of God: but where as they lyued in the greate warres of ignoraunce, those many and greate plages called they peace.* 1.5 For ether they slewe their awne children and offred them, or dyd sacrifi¦ce in the night season, or els helde vnreasona¦ble watches: so that they kepte nether life ner mariage cleane: but ether one slewe another to death maliciously, or els greued his negh¦boure [ E] w^t aduoutrie. And thus were all thin∣ges myxte together: bloude, manslaughter, theft, dissimulacion, corrupcion, vnfaithful∣nesse, sedicion, periury, disquyetinge of good men, vnthākfulnes, defylinge of soules, chaū¦ginge of byrth, vnstedfastnesse of mariage, mysordre of aduoutrie and vnclennesse. And why? the honouringe of abhominable yma∣ges, is the cause, the begynuynge and ende of all euell. For they y^t worshipe Idols, either they are madd whā they be mery, or prophe¦cie lyes, or lyue vngodly, or els lightly man∣sweare them selues. For in so moch as their trust is in y^e Idols (which haue nether soule ner vnderstondinge) though they sweare fal¦sely, yet they thinke it shal not hurte them.

Therfore commeth a greate plage vpon them, and that worthely: for they haue an e∣uell opiniō of God, geuinge hede vnto Idols, swearinge vniustly to disceaue, and dispysin¦ge righteousnes. For their swearinge is no vertue, but a plage of them that synne, and goeth euer with the offence of the vngodly.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Exo. 14. d
• * 1.2

  Gen. 6. c
• * 1.3

  Gen. 7. b
• * 1.4

  Psal. 7. a
• * 1.5

  Deut. 1••. b ••ere. 7. a ••nd 19. a