The Byble in Englyshe that is to saye, the content of all the holye scrypture, bothe of the olde and newe Testament, truly translated after the veryte of the Hebrue and Greke textes, by the diligent studye of dyuers excellent lerned [men e]xperte in the fore[saide] tongues.

¶ Samuell declareth hym selfe to be an innocent Iudge.

CAPI. XII.

SAmuell sayde vnto all Israell: beholde, [unspec A] I haue herkened vnto your voyce in all that ye sayde vnto me, & haue made you a kynge. Now therfore your kynge walketh before you. And I am olde & graye headed: & beholde, my sonn{is} are with you, and I haue walked before you from my chyldhode vnto this daye. Beholde, here I am: beare recorde of me before the lorde & before his anoynted: Whose oxe haue I taken? or whose Asse haue I taken: whome haue I done wronge to? ❀ Whome haue I hurte? Or of whose hande haue I receyued any brybe, to blynde myne eyes therwith? & I wyl restore it you a∣gayne. They sayd: y^u hast done vs no wrong / nor hurte vs, neyther hast thou taken ought of any mannes hande. He sayd vnto them a∣gayne: the Lorde is wytnesse & gaynst you & his anoynted is wytnesse this daye, that ye haue foūde nought in my handes. And they answered: he is wytnesse. And Samuel sayd vnto the people: it is ❀ the Lorde, that made [unspec B] Moses and Aaron, & that brought youre fa∣thers out of the lande of Egypt. Nowe ther∣fore stande styll, that I may reason with you before the Lorde, accordynge to all ☞ the ryghtousnesse of the Lorde, which he shewed bothe you & you•• fathers. After that Iacob was come into Egypte, & your fathers cryed vnto the Lorde, the Lorde sent Moses▪ and Aaron, whiche brought youre fathers out of Egypt, and made them dwell in this place. And when they forgat the Lorde theyr god he delyuered them in to the hande of Sisara captayne of the hooste of Hazor, and in to the hande of the Philistines, and in to the hande of the kynge of Moab, & they fought agaynst them. And they cryed vnto the lorde and sayde: we haue synned, bycause we haue forsaken the Lorde, and haue serued Baalim and Astharoth. Nowe therfore delyuer vs out of the handes of our enemyes & we wyll serue the. And the Lorde sent ☞ Ierobaall / Badan ‡ Iephthah, & Samuell, and dely∣uered you out of the hand{is} of your enemyes on euery syde, and ye dwelled safe. And for al that, when ye sawe that Nahas the kynge of the chyldren of Ammō came agaynst you, ye sayde vnto me: not so, but a kynge shall reygne ouer vs, when yet the lorde your god was your kynge. Nowe therfore, beholde the kynge whome ye haue chosen, and whome ye haue desyred: so, the Lorde hath set a kynge

ouer you. Yf ye wyll feare the Lorde & serue hym, and heare his voyce, and not dysobeye the worde of the Lorde: bothe ye & the kynge that reygneth ouer you, shall folow the lorde your God. Yf ye wyll not herken vnto the voyce of the Lorde, but dysobeye the Lordes mouth: then shall the hande of the Lorde be vpon you and on youre fathers. Nowe also stande, and se this great thynge, whiche the Lorde wyl do before your eyes: is it not now wheatheruest? I wyl call vnto the lorde, and ☞ he shall sende thunder and rayne: that ye maye perceyue and se, howe that youre wyc∣kednesse is great, whiche ye haue done in the syght of the Lorde, in askynge you & Kynge. [unspec D] And so Samuell called vnto the Lorde, & the lorde sent thunder & rayne the same day. And all the people feared the Lorde, and Samuell excedynglye. And all the people sayde vnto Samuell: praye for thy seruauntes vnto the Lorde thy God, that we dye not: for we haue synned in askynge vs a kynge, besyde all the synnes that euer we dyd.

And Samuell sayde vnto the people: feare not. Ye haue in dede done all this wycked∣nesse, yet departe not from folowynge of the Lorde. But serue hym euen with all youre hertes. Neyther turne ye after vayne thyng{is} whi•••• are not able to profyt you, for they are but vanitie. For the Lorde wyll not forsake his peple, bycause of his greate names sake: bycause ❀ it hath pleased the Lorde, to make you his people. Moreouer, God forbyd that I shulde synne agaynst the ☞ Lorde, & cease prayenge for you, but to shewe you the good, and ryght way. Therfore feare ye the Lorde, and serue hym in the trueth, & with all youre hertes, and consydre, howe great thynges he hath done for you. But and yf ye do wycked∣lye, then shall ye peryshe, bothe ye and youre kynge.

Notes

• Eccle. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 •• A••tes. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••
• Gene. 4••. •• E••odi 〈◊〉〈◊〉. ••.
• Exodi. iii. ••
• Iudi iii••. ••.
• Iudi. xiii. a
• Iudi iii. b.
• Iudi. xiil. d
• ‡

  Iudi. xi a
• 1. Reg. vii. b
• i. Regū. ••. ••
• Ero 〈◊〉〈◊〉. 34 b Deuit. ••x. ••. ••••sua. 7. b.