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.

❧ The fyrst boke of Samuel called the fyrst boke of the kynges.

¶ Elkana hath two wyues, Hanna, and Phenenna.

CAPI. Primo.

THere was a man of☞ one [unspec A] of the ii. Ramathes (of the kinred of Zophim, of mount Ephraim) named Elkana, the sonne of Ieroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Thohu the son of Zuph, an Ephrathite: whiche had two wyues, the one called Hanna, & the other Phenenna. And Phenenna had children, but Henna had none. And the sayd man wente vp out of his citie euery feastful day, to pray and to offre vnto the lorde of hoostes in Silo where were the two sonnes of Eli (Hophni & Phinehes) the Lordes preestes. And it fel on a solemyne day, that Elkana offered, & gaue to Phenenna his wyfe and to all her sonnes and doughters porcions. But ❀ vnto Hāna he gaue a porcyon with an heuy chere, for he loued Hanna, and the Lorde had made her barren. And her enemye (Phenenna) vexed her a good, to moue her, bycause the Lorde had made her barren. And so dyd she yere by yere as ofte as she wente vp to the house of the lorde. And so chafed her, whiche wepte, & dyd not eate.

Then sayde Elkana her husbande to her: Hanna, why wepest thou? & why eatest thou [unspec B] not? and why is thyne herte troubled? am not I better to the then ten sonnes? So Hanna rose vp after that they had eaten and dronken in Silo. And Eli the preest sat vpon a stole by one of the syde postes of the temple of the Lorde. And she was troubled in her mynde, and prayed vnto the lorde, and wepte sore, and vowed a vowe, and sayde.

Oh Lorde of hoostes, yf thou wylte loke on the trouble of thyne handmayde, and remem¦bre me, and not forget thyne handmayde, but gyue vnto thyne handmayde a man chylde: I wyll gyue hym vnto the lorde al the dayes of his lyfe & there shal no raser come vpon his heade. And as she contynued prayenge before the lorde it fortuned, that Eli marked her mouth. For Hāna spake in her herte, and her lyppes dyd but moue only, but her voyce was not herde. And therfore Eli thought she had bene dronken, and Eli sayde vnto her. Howe long wylte thou be dronken? put away from the, the wyne that thou hast.

Hanna answered, and sayde: not so my [unspec C] Lorde, I am a woman of a sorowfull herte, I haue dronke neyther wyne, nor stronge drynke, but haue ☞ powred out my soule before the lorde. Count not thyne handmayd to be lyke a doughter of Belial, for out of the aboundaunce of my heuynesse, and greefe, haue I spoken hytherto.

Eli answered her agayne, and sayd: go in peace: the God of Israell graunt the thy pe∣ticion, that thou hast asked of him. She sayd let thyne handmayd fynd grace in thy syght. And so the woman went her waye, and dyd eate, and loked no more so sad. And they rose vp early, and worshypped before the Lorde, and then returned and came to theyr house to Ramath. And when Elkana knewe Hāna his wyfe, the lorde remembred her: for in pro∣cesse of tyme it came to passe, that she concey∣ued, and bare a sonne, and called his name Samuel (sayenge.) Bycause I haue asked hym of the lorde. And Elkana & all his house went vp to offre vnto the Lorde, the offeryng due for the feast, and also ☞ his vowe.

Neuerthelesse Hāna went not vp, but sayd [unspec D] vnto her husbande: I wyl tary vntyll the lad be weyned, and then I wyll bryng hym, that he may apeare before the lorde, & there abyde for euer. Elkana her husbande answered her: do what semeth the best: tarye at home, vntyll thou hast weyned hym, and I beseche the Lorde, to make good his saynge. And so the woman abode and gaue her sonne sucke, vntyll she weyned hym. And when she had weyned him, she toke hym with her, with thre bullockes▪ and an Epha of floure, and a bot∣tel of wyne, and brought hym vnto the house of the Lorde in Silo, and the chylde was yet but tender of age. And they slewe a bullocke, and brought in the lad to Eli, and she sayde. Oh my Lorde: as truely as thy soule lyueth, my Lorde, I am the woman that stode before the here, prayenge vnto the Lorde. For this lad I prayed, and the Lorde hathe gyuen me my desyre, whiche I asked of hym: and ther∣fore I haue gyuen hym vnto the Lorde, as longe as he is mete for the Lorde. And they worshyped the Lorde there.

¶ The songe of Hanna. The offence of the sonnes of Eli.

CAPI. II.

ANd Hanna prayed and sayd: myne hert [unspec A] reioyseth in the Lorde, & myne ☞ horne is exalted in the Lorde. My mouth is wyde open ouer myne enemyes, for I reioyse in thy saluacyon. There is none so holy as the Lorde: for without the is nothyng. Ney∣ther is there any of strength as is our God.

Talke not to moche proudlye: let olde thyn¦ges departe out of youre mouthes, for the Lorde is a God of knowledge, & his purpo∣ses come to passe. The ☞ bowe of the strong is broken: & they that were weake, haue gyr∣ded them selues with strength.

They that were ful, haue hyred out them [unspec B] selues for breade: and they that were hungry cease so to be, tyll the baren hath borne seuen: and she that had many chyldren is waxed fe∣ble. The Lorde kylleth, and maketh alyue: ☞ bryngeth downe to hell, and fetcheth vp agayne. The Lorde maketh poore, and ma∣keth ryche: bryngeth low, and heaueth vp on hye. He rayseth vp the poore out of the dust and lyfteth vp the begger from the dunghyl: to set them amonge prynces, and to enherite them with the seate of glory. For the pyllers of the earth are the lordes, and he hath set the rounde worlde vpon them. He wyll kepe the feete of his sayntes, and the wicked shal kepe sylence in darkenesse, & in his owne myght shall no man be stronge. The Lordes ad∣uersaries shall be destroyed of hym: and out of heuen shall he thunder vpon them.

The Lorde shall iudge the endes of the worlde, and shal gyue myght vnto his kyng, [unspec C] and exalte the horne of his anoynted.

And Elkana went to Ramath to his house, and the lad dyd ministre vnto the Lorde be∣fore Eli the preest. But the sonn{is} of Eli were ☞ chyldren of Belial, & knewe not the lorde. And the preestes made a l••we for the people, that when soeuer any man offered any offe∣rynge, the preestes lad came, whyle the fleshe was in sethynge, and a flesshe hoke with thre teeth in his hande, and thrust it in to the pan, ketle, caldron, or pot. And all that the flesshe hoke brought vp, that the preest toke awaye. And so they dyd vnto all the Israelites, that came thyther to Silo. Yea and therto, before they burnt the fat, the preestes lad came and sayde to the man that offered: Gyue flesshe that I may dresse it for the preest, for he wyll not haue sodden flesshe of the, but rawe.

And yf any man sayd vnto hym: let them burne the fat accordyng to the day, and then [unspec D] take as moche as thyne herte desyreth. The lad wolde answere him, yea, thou shalte gyue it me now: And yf thou wylte not, I wyl take it with violence. And the synne of the yonge men was very great before the lorde.

For men abhorred the offerynge of the lorde.

But the chylde Samuel ☞ ministred be∣fore the Lorde / gyrded aboute with a lynnen ☞ Ephod. Moreouer his mother made hym a lytell coote, and brought it to hym frome yere to yere, when she came vp with her hus∣bande to offre the offerynge in the solempne feastes. And Eli blessed Elkana and his wife & sayd: the lorde gyue the seede of this womā for the peticion that she asked of the Lorde.

And they went vnto theyr owne home. And the Lorde visited Hanna, so that she concey∣ued and bare thre sonnes and two dough∣ters. And the chylde Samuel grewe before the Lorde.

Eli was very olde, and herde all that his sonnes dyd vnto all Israell, and howe they [unspec E] lay with the women that wayted at the dore of the Tabernacle of wytnesse, and he sayde vnto them: why do ye suche thynges? For of all these people I heare euyl reportes of you. Oh, nay my sonnes: for it is no good reporte that I heare, howe that ye make the Lordes people to trespasse. If one man syn agaynste an other, ❀ dayesmen may be iudges: but yf a man synne agaynst the Lorde, who wyll be his dayesman? Notwithstandyng, they her∣kened not vnto the voyce of theyr father, by∣cause the Lorde wolde sley them. The chylde Samuel profited and grewe, and was in fauour both with the Lorde & also with men. And there came a man of God vnto Eli, and [unspec F] sayd vnto hym: thus sayth the Lorde: dyd not I appeare vnto the house of thy father, whē they were in Egypte subiecte vnto Pharaos house? And I chose thy father out of all the tribes of Israell to be my Preest, for to offre vpon myne aulter, & to burne insence, & and to weare an Ephod before me.

And I gaue vnto the house of thy father all the offrynges of the chyldrē of Israel. Wher¦fore treade ye downe my sacrifice and myne offerynge, whiche I cōmaunded to be made in the Tabernacle, and honourest thy Chyl∣dren aboue me, to make youre selues fat of the fyrst fruytes of all the offerynges of Is∣rael my people?

Wherfore the Lorde god of Israell sayth: I sayde, that thy house, and the house of thy father shulde walke before me, for euer. [unspec G]

But nowe the lorde saythe: that be farre from me: for them that worshyp me, I wyll worshyp: and they that despyse me, shal come to shame. Beholde, the dayes come, that I wyll cut of thyne arme, and the arme of thy fathers house, that there shall not be an elder in thyne house. And thou shalte se thyne ene∣mye in the tabernacle, & in al that shal please Israel, & there shall not be an elder in thyne house for euer. Neuerthelesse, I wyll not de∣destroye all the males that come of the, from myne aulter. But to make thyne eyes dase,

and to make thyne herte melte. And all they that be multiplied in thyne house, shal dye, yf they be men. And this shall be a sygne vn¦to the, that shall come vpon thy two sonnes, Hophni and Phinehes: euen in one daye they shall dye bothe. And I wyll styrre me vp a faythfull preest that shall do accordyng to my herte and mynde. And I wyll buylde hym a sure house. And he shall walke before myne anoynted for euer. And they that are lefte in thyne house, shall come and crouche to hym for a lytle pece of syluer and a cake of breade, and shall saye: put me I praye the in one offyce or other amonge the preestes, that I maye eate a morsell of breade.

¶ The Lorde called Samuell thre tymes.

CAPI. III.

ANd the chylde Samuell minystred vn [unspec A] to the lorde before Eli: and ☞ the worde of the Lorde was precyous in those dayes, neyther was there any open visyon. And it chaunsed at that tyme, that Eli laye in his place, and his eyes began to ware dyu•• that he coulde not se. And ere the lampe of god went out, Samuel layde hym downe to slepe in the temple of the Lorde, where the arke of God was. And the Lorde called Sa∣muell, and he sayde: here am I, and he ran vnto Eli, and sayde: here am I, for thou cal∣ledst me. And he sayde I called the not: go a∣gayne and slepe. And he went, and layde him downe to slepe. And the Lorde called once a∣gayne, Samuell: and Samuel arose & went to Eli, and sayde: I am here, for thou dydest call me. And he answered: I called the not my Sonne.

Go agayne and take thy rest: ☞ Samuel [unspec B] knewe not yet the Lorde, neyther was the worde of the Lorde yet opened vnto hym.

And the Lorde went to, and called Samuell the thyrde tyme. And he arose and went to Eli and sayd: I am here, for thou hast called me. And Eli perceyued that the lorde had called the chylde. Therfore, Eli sayde to Samuell: go, and lye downe: and yf he cal the agayne, then saye: speake on Lorde, for thy seruaunt heareth. So Samuell went, and layde hym downe in his place. And the Lorde came and stode, and called as before, Samuel Samu∣ell. Samuell answered: speake on, for thy ser¦uaunt heareth. And the Lorde sayde to Sa∣muell: beholde, I wyll do a thyng in Israel / that bothe the eares of as many as heareth it, shall tyngle. In that daye I wyll rayse vp agaynst Eli, that which I haue spoken con∣cernynge his house, from the begynnynge to the endynge. I haue tolde hym. that I wyl iudge his house foreuer. For the wyckednes whiche he knoweth. ❀ For when the people cursed his sonnes for the same wyckednesse / he hath not correcte them.

And therfore I haue sworne vnto the house [unspec C] of Eli, that the wyckednesse of Elies house / shall not be pourged with sacrifyce nor offe∣rynge, for euer. Samuell laye tyll the mor∣nynge, & opened the dores of the house of the Lorde. And Samuel feared, to shew Eli the visyon. Then Eli called Samuell, & sayde: Samuell my Son. And he answered: here I am. He sayde: what is that (the Lorde) hath sayd vnto the? Se thou hyde it not from me. God do so and so to the, yf thou hyde any thynge from me, of all that he sayd vnto the.

And Samuell tolde hym euerye whyt / and hyd nothynge from hym. And he sayde, it is the lorde, let hym do what semeth hym best.

And Samuell grewe, and the Lorde was with hym, and lefte none of his wordes vn∣per formed. And all Israell frō Dan to Ber∣sabe wyst that faythfull Samuel was made the Lordes prophet. And the lorde appeared agayne in Silo: for the Lorde opened hym selfe to Samuell in Silo, thorow the worde of the Lorde.

¶ The arke of the Lorde is taken. Eli & his ••hridren 〈◊〉〈◊〉.

CAPI. IIII.

ANd Samuell spake vnto all Israell. [unspec A] ❀ And it fortuned that in those dayes the Philistynes came togyther to syght.) And Israell wen•• cut agaynst the Philisti∣nes to battayle, and pytched besyde ☞ the helpe stoone. And the Philistines pytched in Aphek. And put them selues in araye a∣gaynst Israel. And in the ende of the batrayl Israell was put to the worse before the Phi∣listines. And the Philistines slewe in at aye alonge by the feld{is}, aboute a foure thousand men. And when the people were come in to theyr tentes, the elders of Israelll sayd: wher fore hath the Lorde cast vs downe this daye before the Philistines? let vs fetche the Arke of the appoyntment of the lorde out of Silo vnto vs, that when it cōmeth amonge vs, it may saue vs out of the hande of our enemye.

And so the people sent to Silo, & fet from [unspec B] thence the Arke of the appoyntment of the Lorde of hoostes, whiche dwelleth bytwene the Cherubyns. And there were the two son∣nes of Eli, Hophni & Phinehes w^t the Arke of the appoyntment of God. And it fortuned that when the Arke of the appoyntment of the Lorde came in to the hooste, all Israell showted a myghtye showte, so that the arthe range agayne, And when the Philistines

herde the noyse of the shoute, they sayd: what meaneth the soude of this myghtye shoute in the hooste of the Hebrues? And they vnder∣stode, howe that the Arke of the Lorde was come into the host. And the Philistines were afrayde, & sayde: God is come into the hoost. And they sayd agayn: wo vnto vs, for it was neuer so before this. Wo vnto vs, who shall delyuer vs out of the hande of these mightie Goddes? these are the goddes that smote the Egyptians with so many plages in the wyl∣dernesse. Be stronge & quite oure selues lyke men O ye Philistines, that ye be not seruaū∣tes vnto the Hebrues, as they haue ben to you. Be men therfore and fyght.

And the Philistines fought, and Israell [unspec C] was put to the worse, and fled, euery man in to his tent. And there was an ercedyng great slaughter, for there were ouer throwen of Is∣raell, thyrtye thousande footemen. And the arke of God was taken, & the two sonnes of Eli. Hophni, and Phinekes were deade. And there ran a man of Ben Iamin out of the araye, and came to Silo the same daye, with his clothes rent & earth vpon his head. And when he came, Eli sat vpon a stoole and loked towarde the waye: for his herte feared for the arke of God. And when the man came into the citye & tolde it, al the citye cryed. And when Eli herde the noyse of the cryenge, he sayde: What meaneth the noyse of that ru∣mour? And the man came in hastely, & tolde Eli. Eli was foure score and eyghtene yeare olde, & his syght fayled hym that he coulde not se. And the man sayde vnto Eli: I am he that came out of the aray, & fled this day out of the hooste. And he sayde, what thynge is fortuned my son? The messenger answered, [unspec D] and sayde: Israell is fled before the Philisti∣nes▪ & there is a great slaughter chaunsed a∣monge the people, & thy two sonnes, Hophni and Phines are deade, and the arke of God is taken. And it fortuned that when he made mencion of the arke of God. Eli fell from of his stoole backeward vpon the thresholde of the gate, and his necke brake, and he dyed: for he was an olde man and heuye, and iud∣ged Israell fourtye yeres. And his doughter in lawe Phinehes wyfe was with chylde and nygh the byrth. And when she herde the ty∣dynges that the arke of god was taken, and that her father inlawe, & her husbande were deade▪ she bowed her selfe, and traueyled, for her paynes came vpon her. And aboute the tyme of her death, the women that stode a∣boute her, sayde vnto her: teare not, for thou hast borne a sonne. But she answered not, nor regarded it. And she named the chylde I∣chabod, sayenge: The glorye is departed frō Israell. Bycause the arke of god was taken, and bycause of her father inlaw and her hus∣bande. And she sayde agayne: The glorye is gone frō Israell, for the arke of god is taken

¶ Dagon the god of the Philistynes, to cast ••••a•• before the arke.

CAPI. V.

AND the Philistines toke the Arke of [unspec A] god, and caryed it from the helpe stone, vnto Asdod: agayne, the Philistines toke the arke of God, and brought it into the house of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. And when they of Asdod were vp in the mornyng beholde, Dagon laye vpon the earth before the arke of the lorde. And they toke Dagon, and set hym in his place agayne. And when they were vp carlye in the nexte mornyng, be¦holde, Dagon laye vpon the grounde before the Arke of the Lorde, and his heede and his two handes cut of vpon the thresholde, that ☞ only the shap of a fyshe was lefte on hym. And therfore is it, that the preest{is} of Dagon, (neyther any man that cōmeth into Dagons house) treade not on the threshold of Dagon in Asdod, vnto this daye.

But the hande of the Lorde was heuye [unspec B] vpon them of Asdod, and he destroyed them, and smote them with emerodes, bothe Asdod and in all the coostes therof. ❀ (The vyllages also and the feldes in the myddest of the coun∣trey vvere full, and there came vp myce, and it vvas a confusyon of a great death in the citye) And when the men of Asdod saw that it was so, they sayde: the arke of the God of Israell shall not abyde here with vs, for his hande is sore vpon vs and vpon Dagon our God. They sent therfore & gathered all the lordes of the Philistines vnto them, and sayd: what shall we do with the arke of the god of Isra∣ell? They answered: let the arke of the god of Israell be caryed aboute vnto Gath. And they caryed the arke of the god of Israell a∣boute. And it fortuned, that when they had caryed it aboute, there was by the hande of the lorde a myghtye great noyse in the citye, and he smote the men of the citye both small [unspec C] and great, and they had secrete dyseases. ❀ (And the Gethites toke councell, and made them selues preuye seates of skynnes.) Therfore they sent the arke of god to Akaron.

And as soone as the arke of God came to Akaron, the Akaronites cryed out, sayenge: they haue brought the arke of the God of Is∣raell to vs: to sley vs and our people. And so they sent, and gathered togyther all the lord{is}

of the Philistines, and sayde: sende away the arke of the god of Israell, to go agayne vn∣to his owne place, that it sley vs not, and our people. For there was a deadly noyse thorow out all the citye, and the hande of God was excedynge sore there. And the men that dyed not, were smyten with the Emerod{is}, and the crye of the citye went vp to heuen.

¶ The kyne brynge home the Arke with the rewardes.

CAPI. VI.

THe arke of the Lorde was in the coun∣trey [unspec A] of the Philistines seuen monethes: & the Philistines called for the preestes and the sothsayers, saynge: what shall we do with the arke of the Lorde? tell vs, wherwith we shall sende it home agayne? They sayde: Yf you sende the Arke of the God of Israell home agayne, sende it not emptye: But re∣warde it with a trespasseofferynge, and then ye shall be hoole, & it shall be knowen to you, why his hand departeth not from you. Then sayde they: And what shal be the trespasseof∣ferynge, whiche we shall rewarde hym with? They answered: fyue golden a••sses, and fyue golden myce, accordynge to the nombre of the Lordes of the Philistines. For it is one maner of plage on you all, & on your lordes. Wherfore ye shal make ymages lyke to your arsses, & ymages lyke to your myce that cor∣rupt the lande, and ye shall gyue glorye vnto the god of Israel, that he may take his hand from of you, & from of your goddes, & from of your lande. Wherfore do ye harden youre [unspec B] hertes as the Egyptians & Pharao harde∣ned theyr hertes? whiche when he toke on a∣gaynst them, dyd they not let the people go, & they departed? Nowe therfore make a newe carte, & take two mylche kyne, on whose neck there hath come no yocke. And tye the kyne to the carte, & brynge the calues home from them. And take the arke of the Lorde, & laye it vpon the carte, and put the Iuels of golde (whiche ye rewarde hym with for a synoffe∣rynge) in a coofer by the syde therof, & sende it away, that it maye go. And yf ye se that he go vp by the way of his owne coost, to Beth∣sames, then it is he that dyd vs this greate euyll. Yf no, we shall knowe then, that it is not his hande that smote vs, but it was a chaunce that happened vs. And the men dyd euen so: and toke two kyne that gaue mylke, and tyed them to the carte, and kepte the cal∣ues at home, and they layde the Arke of the [unspec C] Lorde vpon the carte, and the coofer with the myce of golde, and with the ymages of theyr arsses. And the kyne toke the streyght waye to Bethsames, and went one waye: & as they went, lowed and turned neyther to the ryght hande nor to the lefte. And the Lordes of the Philistines went after them, vntyll the bor∣ders of Bethsames. And they of Bethsames were reapyng theyr wheate heruest in the va¦leye. And they lyfte vp theyr eyes, and spyed the arke. And reioysed when they sawe it. And the carte came in to the felde of one Io∣sua a Bethsamite, and stode styl there. There was also a greate stoone. And they claue the wood of the carte & offered the kyne a burnt∣offerynge vnto the Lorde. And the Leuytes toke downe the arke of the lorde & the coofer that was with it, wherin the Iuels of golde were, and put them on the great stone. And the men of Bethsames sacrificed burntsacri∣fyce, and offered offerynges that same daye vnto the Lorde. And when the fyue Lordes of the Philistines had sene it, they returned [unspec D] to Akarō the same day. And these are the gol¦den arsses whiche the Philistines gaue to a∣mendes for a trespasseofferynge, to the lorde: for Asdod one: for Gaza one: for Askalon one: for Gath one: and for Akaron one. And golden myce, accordynge to the nombre of al the cityes of the Philistines, euen accordyng to the fyue Lordes: bothe of walled townes, & of townes vnwalled, euen vnto the greate stone of lamentacion, wheron they set downe the arke of the lorde, which stone remayneth vnto this daye / in the felde of Iosua the Bethsamite. And he plaged the men of Beth∣sames, bycause they had sene the Arke of the lorde. And he slewe amonge the people fiftye thousande, & thre score and ten men. And the other people lamented, bycause the lorde had sleyne the people with so great a slaughter. Wherfore the men of Bethsames sayd: who is able to stande before the Lorde so hooly a God: & to whome shall he go from vs? And they sent messēgers to the enhabyters of Ka∣riath Iarim, sayenge: The Philistines haue brought agayne the arke of the Lorde: come ye downe therfore, and fet it vp to you.

¶ The Arke is brought to Kariathiarim.

CAPI. VII.

ANd so the men of Kariathiarim came / [unspec A] and fet vp the Arke of the Lorde, and brought it in to the house of Abina∣dab in Gibea, and ☞ sanctifyed Eleazar his son, to kepe the arke of the Lorde. And whyle the arke abode in Kariathiarim, the dayes multiplied, & there passed ouer twentie yeres and all the house of Israell lamēted after the lorde. And Samuell spake vnto al the house of Israell, saynge: yf ye be come agayne vn∣to the Lorde with all your hertes, then * put 〈2 pages missing〉〈2 pages missing〉

of the house, sayenge: Up, that I maye sende the awaye. And Saull arose. And they wente out at the dores both be & Samuel. And when they were come almoost out of the towne. Samuell sayde to Saull: byd the lad go be∣fore vs (& he went before) but stande y^u styll a whyle, that I may shew the what god sayeth.

¶ Saull is annoynted kynge, and prophesyeth.

CAPI. X.

ANd then Samuel toke a vessel of oyle / [unspec A] and powred it vpon his heade, & kys∣sed hym, and sayde: hath not the Lorde anoynted the, to be captayne ouer his enhery¦taunce ❀ (and thou shalte deliuer his people out of the handes of theyr enemyes, vviche are rounde aboute them. And this token shalt thou haue, that the LORDE hath annoynted the to be prynce.) When thou art departed from me this daye / thou shalte fynde two men by Rahels sepulchre in the border of Ben Ia∣min, euen at Zalezah. And they wyll saye vn∣to the: the Asses whiche thou wentest to seke / are founde. And lo, thy father hath lefte the care of the asses, & soroweth for you, sayenge: what shall I do for my son? Then shalt thou go forth from thence, and shalte come to the playne of Thabor. And there shall mete the thre men goynge vp, ☞ to God to Bethell: one caryenge thre kyddes, & another caryeng thre loues of breade: and another caryenge a bottell of wyne. And they wyl salute the, and gyue the two loues of breade, whiche thou shalt receyue of theyr hand{is}. After that shalt thou come to the hyll of God, where the Phi∣listines [unspec B] kepe theyr watche. And when thou arte come thyther to the citie, thou shalt mete ☞ a company of prophettes cōmyng downe frō the hyll, with a psaltre, a tymbrel, a pype / and a harpe before them, & ☞ they shall pro∣phesye. And the spiryte of the lorde wyl come vpon the also, & thou shalte prophesye, with them, and shalt be turned into another man. Therfore when these sygnes are chaunced the, do what thou hast to do, for God is with the. And thou shalt go before me to Gylgal. And I also wyll come downe vnto the, to sa∣crifye, burntsacrifyces, and to offre peaceof∣ferynges. Tary for me seuen dayes, vntyll I come to the, and shewe the what thou shalt do. And as soone as he had turned his shoul¦der to go from Samuell, god gaue hym an∣other maner of herte, and all those tokens came to passe that same daye. And when they came to the hyll: beholde, the companye of prophettes met hym, and the Spiryte of God came vpon hym also, he prophesyed a∣monge them. And al that knewe him before / when they sawe that he prophesyed amonge the prophettes, they sayde eche to other: what is this that is happened vnto the son of Cis? [unspec C] Is Saull also amonge the Prophettes? And one of the same place answered, & sayde: who is theyr father? And therof came the pro¦uerbe what, is ☞ Saull also among the pro¦phettes? And when he had made an ende of prophesienge, he came to the hyl. And Saules fathers brother sayde vnto hym & to his lad: whyther went ye? He sayde: to seke the Asses: & when we sawe that they were no where, we came to Samuell. And Sauls vncle sayd, tell me what Samuell sayde vnto you? Saull answered his vncle: he tolde vs plainly, that the asses were founde: But of the kyngdome wherof Samuell spake, tolde he him not. And Samuell called the people togyther vnto the lorde to Mizpa, & sayde vnto the chyldren of Israell: thus sayeth the lorde god of Israell: I brought Israell out of Egypte, and dely∣uered you out of the hande of the Egyptians & out of the handes of all kyngdomes that troubled you. And ye haue this daye caste awaye youre God that helped you out of all your aduersityes and tribulacyons. And ye haue sayde vnto hym: make a kynge ouer vs. Nowe therfore stande ye before the lorde by your trybes & your thousand{is}. And when Samuell had brought all the trybes of Is∣raell, [unspec D] the trybe of Ben Iamin was caught. When he had brought the trype of Ben Ia∣min by theyr kynreds, the kynred of Matri was caught: & at the last Saull the sonne of Cis was caught. And whē they sought him, he coulde not be founde. Therfore they as∣ked the lorde further, yf the man shuld come thyther. And the Lorde answered: beholde, he hathe hyd hymselfe amonge the stuffe. And they ran, & set him thence. And when he stode among the peple, he was hyer then any of the people, frō the shoulders vpwarde. And Sa¦muell sayde to all the peple: Se ye not hym / whome the lorde hath chosen, & howe there is none lyke hym amonge the people? And all the peple showted and sayde: God lende the kynge lyfe. Then Samuell tolde the people ☞ the dutye of the kyngdome, & wrote it in a booke, and layde it vp before the Lorde / and sent all the people awaye / euery man to his house. And Saul also went home to Gi∣bea. And there ❀ folowed hym stronge men, whose hertes God had touched. But the chyl¦dren of Beliall, sayde: howe shall he saue vs? And they despised hym, and brought hym no presentes. And he helde his tongue.

¶ The people renueth the kyngdome of Saull.

CAPI. XI.

NAhas the Ammonite came, and beseged [unspec A] Iabes in Gilead. And all the men of Iabes sayd vnto Nahas: make a coue∣naunt with vs, & we wyll be thy seruauntes. And Nahas the Ammonite answered them: In this wyll I make a couenaunt w^t you, yf I maye thrust out all youre ryght eyes, and brynge that shame vpō all Israel. To whom the elders of Iabes sayd: gyue vs. vii. dayes respyte: that we may sende messengers vnto all the coostes of Israel. And then yf there be no man to helpe vs, we wyll come out to the.

Then came the messengers to Gibea vnto [unspec B] Saul, and tolde this tydynges in the eares of the people. And all the people lyfte vp theyr voyces & wepte. And beholde, Saull came fo∣lowynge the cattell out of the felde, & Saull sayd: what ayleth this peple that they wepe? And they tolde hym the tydynges of the men of Iabes. And the spiryte of god came vpon saull, when he herde those tydynges, and he was excedynge angrye, and toke a yocke of oxen, & he wed them in peces, & sent them tho∣roweout all the coostes of Israell by the han¦des of messengers, sayenge: whosoeuer com∣meth not forth after Saul, & after Samuel, so shall his oxen be serued. And ☞ the feare of the Lorde fell on the people, & they came out as it had ben but one man. And when he nombred them in Bezek, the chyldren of Is¦raell [unspec C] were. CCC. M. men / & the men of Iu∣da. xxx. M. And they sayde vnto the messen∣gers that came: so saye vnto the men of Ia∣bes in Gilead: to morow by that tyme the son be hote, ye shall haue helpe. And the messen∣gers came & shewed the men of Iabes, which were glad. Therfore the men of Iabes sayd: to morowe we wyll come out vnto you, and ye shall do w^t vs all that pleaseth you. And on the morowe it fortuned, that Saull put the people in thre partes. And they came in vpon the hoost in the mornynge watche, and slewe the Ammonites, vntyll the heate of the day. And they that remayned, were skattred: so that two of them were not lefte togyther. And the people sayde vnto Samuell: what is he that dare say: shall Saull reygne ouer vs▪ brynge those men, that we may sley them

And Saull sayde: there shall no man dye [unspec D] this daye, for to daye the Lorde hath saued Israell. Then sayde Samuell vnto the peo∣ple, come, that we maye go to gylgall, ☞ and renewe the kyngdome there. And all the peo∣ple went to Gilgall, and made Saull kynge there, before the Lorde in Gilgall. And there they offered peaceofferyng{is} before the Lorde. And there Saull and all the men of Israell reioysed excedyngly.

¶ 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.

¶ The Philistines are s••••ytten of Saull and Ionathas. Saull beynge dysn bedyent to goddes: ōmoundement, is shewed of Samuell that he shall not reygne.

CAPI. XIII.

SAull had ben kynge one yere (when these [unspec A] thynges came to passe) and he reygned two yeres ouer Israell. And Saull chose hym thre thousande men of Israell. Two thousande were with Saull in Michmas, & in Mounte Betheil, and a thousande with Ionathas in Gibea Ben Iamin. And the rest of the people he sent, euery man to his owne house agayne. And Ionathas smote the hold of the Philistines, that was in the hyll, and it came to the Philistines eares. And Saull blewe the trompet thorowout all the lande / sayenge: Let the Hebrues heare. And all Is∣raell herde saye / howe that Saull had de∣stroyed an holde of the Philistines, wherfore ☞ Israell stancke before the Philistines. And the people gathered togyther after Saul to Gilgall.

The Philistines also gathered them sel∣ues [unspec B] togyther to fyght with Israell, thyrtye thousand charettes and syxe thousand horse men, with other people lyke the sande by the sees syde in multitude, and came vp and pyt¦ched in Michmas Eastwarde from Betha∣uen. And when the men of Israell sawe it / they were in a strayte, and fere came vpon the people, and they hyd them selues in caues, & in preuye hooles, and in rockes, and in hye places, and in pyttes. And some of the He∣brues went ouer Iordan to go vnto the land of Gad and Gilcad. And Saull was yet in Gilgall, and all the people that folowed hym were astonyed. And he taryed seuen dayes / euen vnto the tyme that Samuell had ap∣poynted. But Samuell came not to Gilgal, and the people were therfore scattered from hym. And Saull sayde: brynge a burntsa∣crifyce to me and peace offeryng{is}. And he of∣fered burntsacrifice. And as soone as he had made an ende of offeryng the burntsacrifice, beholde, Samuell came. And Saull went agaynst hym, to ☞ blesse hym. And Samuel sayde: what hast thou done? Saull sayde: by∣cause I saw that the peple scattered from me, and that thou cammest not within the dayes appoynted, and that the Philistines gathe∣red them selues togyther to Michmas: ther∣fore sayd I: the Philistines shal come downe nowe vpon me to Gilgall, and I haue not made supplicacyon vnto the Lorde.

And ☞ when I had ouercome my selfe, at the last I offered a burntofferynge. And [unspec C] Samuell sayde to Saull, thou arte become a foole, thou hast not kept the cōmaūdement of the Lorde thy God, whiche he cōmaunded the. For at this tyme wolde the Lorde haue stablysshed thy kyngdome vpon Israell for euer. But nowe, thy kyngdome shal not con∣tynewe, The Lorde hath ☞ sought hym a man after his owne herte, and the lorde hath cōmaūded hym to be captayne ouer his peo∣ple, bycause thou hast not kepte that, whiche the lorde cōmaūded the. And Samuell arose & gat hym vp frō Gilgal to Gibea Beniamin. ❀ (And the remenaunte of the folke vvente vp after Saull, to mere the people, vvhich fought a∣gaynst them, as they vvere cōmynge from Gil∣gall to Gibea, in the hyll of Ben lamin.) And Saull nombred the people that were founde with hym, & they were aboute a. vi. C. men.

And Saul and Ionathas his son and the [unspec D] people that were founde with hym, had theyr abydyng in the hyll of Ben Iamin. But the Philistines pytched in Michmas. And there came out of the hoost of the Philistines thre companyes, to destroy, one company turned vnto the way that leadeth to Ophra vnto the lande of Sual. And an other company tur∣ned the way to Bethorō. And the thyrde com∣pany turned to the waye of the coost that is sene aboue the valey of Zeboim towarde the wyldernesse. There was no smyth foūde tho∣rowout all the lande of Israell. For the Phi∣listines sayde: Lest haply the Hebrues make them swerdes or speres. But all the Israeli∣tes went downe to the Philistines, to mende euery man his share, his mattocke, his axe, & his necessary toles: And then the edges of the shares, mattockes, dong forkes, & axes were blunt, and also the forkes were to be set in. And so in tyme of battayle there was neyther swerde nor spere founde in the handes of any of the people that were with Saull & Iona∣thas. But w^t Saul & Ionathas his son was there somwhat foūde. And the watche of the Philistin{is} came out, to go ouer to Michmas.

¶ Ionathas and his harnes bearer putteth the Phi∣listines to fl••ght. He tasteth the Honye.

CAPI. XIIII.

ANd it fortuned the same tyme, that Io∣nathas [unspec A] the son of Saul sayde vnto his yong man that bare his harnes: come, and let vs go ouer to the Philistines watche that are yonder on the other syde, & he tolde not his father. And Saul taryed in the vtter¦most parte of Gibea vnder Rimmon, whiche is in Migron, & the people that were w^t hym were vpon a. vi. C. men. And Ahia the son of Ahitob Iehabods brother, the sonne of Phi∣nches, the son of Eli, was the Lordes preest in Silo, and ware an Ephod. And the people wist not that Ionathas was gone. And in the myddes of the passage (by whiche Ionathas sought to go ouer vnto the Philistin{is} watch) were there two sharpe cockes, euē one on the one syde, & the other on the other syde: the one called Bozez, and the other Senne. The fore front of the one, leaned northward / towarde [unspec B] Michmas, and the other was southwarde, towarde Gibea. And Ionathas sayde to the yong man that bare his harnes: come and let vs go ouer vnto the watche of these vncir∣cumcised, peraduenture the lorde wyll worke with vs: for it is no hardnesse with the Lorde to saue eyther in many or in fewe. And his harnes berer sayde vnto hym: Do all that is in thyne herte. Go where it pleaseth the: Be∣holde, I am with the, as thyne herte lusteth. Then sayd Ionathas: Beholde, we go ouer vnto these men, & shal shewe our selues vnto them: yf they say on this wyse to vs: tary, vn∣tyll we come to you, then we wyll stande styll in our place, & not go vp vnto them. But and yf they say: come vp vnto vs, then we wyl go vp, for the lorde hath delyuered them in to our hand{is}. And this shalbe a sygne vnto vs. And they bothe shewed them selues vnto the watch of the Philistin{is}. And the Philistines sayd: Se, the Hebrues come out of the holes where they had hyd them selues in. And the men of the watche answered Ionathas and his harnes bearer, and sayde: come vp to vs, and we wyll shewe you a thynge. And Iona∣thas sayd vnto his harnes bearer: Come vp after me, for the Lorde hath delyuered them in to the hande of Israell. And Ionathas clambe vp vpon handes & fete, & his harnes berer after hym. And ❀ (so vvhen they had sene ••onathas face) they fell before Ionathas: & his harnes berer slue them after hym. And that fyrst slaughter whiche Ionathas & his harnes berer made, was vpon a. rr. men, w^t us the compasse as it were aboute an halfe aker of lande. And there was a feare in the hoost, [unspec E] in the felde, & among all people: in so moche that they that were gone out of the watch to rob, were afrayde also: & the earth trymbled, for the feare that was sent of God. And the watchmē of Saul in Gibea Beniamin, saw. And beholde, the people (of the Philistines) were scattered & were smytten as they wente. Then sayde Saul vnto the people that was with hym: Searche & se, who is gone awaye frō vs. And when they had nombred: beholde Ionathas & his harnes berer were not there. And Saul sayd vnto Ahia: bryng hyther the arke of god. For the arke of god was at that tyme with the chyldren of Israel. And it for∣tuned that whyle Saul talked vnto the preest, the noyse that was in the hoost of the Phili∣stines syred farther abrode, & increased ❀ (by lytle and lytle, and gaue a more cleare founde) And Saul sayde vnto the preest: withdrawe thyne handes. And Saull ioyned hym selfe vnto all the people that were with hym, and they came to the battayle. And behold euery mannes swerde was agaynst his felowe, and there was a very great tumour. Moreouer, the Hebrues that were with the Philistines before that tyme, and were come with them in to al partes of the hoost, turned, to be with the Israelites that were with Saul & Iona∣thas. And al the mē of Israel also, which had hyd them selues in moūt Ephraim, as soone

as they herde howe that the Philistines were [unspec D] fled, they folowed after them in the battayle. And so god helped Israel that daye. And the battayl cōtinued vnto Bethauen. And whyle the men of Israell were kepte downe with hunger that daye, Saull charged the people with an othe, saynge. Cursed be the man that eateth any food vntyll nyght, tyll I be auen∣ged of myne enemyes. And so, noone of the people tasted any sustcnaunce. And al the in∣habitours of the land came to a wood where houy lay vpon the grounde. And the people came in to the wood: And beholde, the honye dropped, and no man moued his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the othe. But Ionathas herde not when his father char∣ged the people with the othe, wherfore he put forth the ende of the rod that wasin his hand & dypte it in an hony combe, & put his hande to his mouth, and ☞ his eyes receyued sight. Then answered one of the people and sayde: thy father adiuted the peple, saynge: Cursed be the man that eateth any sustenaunce this day, and the people were fayntye. Then sayde Ionathas: my father hath troubled the land se howe myne eyes haue receyued syght, by∣cause I tasted a lytell of this honye: Howe moche more then to daye: yf the people had eaten of the spoyle of theyr enemyes, whiche they founde. And had there not bene then a moche greater slaughter among the Philisti¦nes? And they layde on the Philistines that day, from Michmas to Aiolon. And the peo∣ple were excedyng fayntye.

And the people gat them to the spoyle, and [unspec E] toke shepe, oxen, and calues, and slue them on the grounde, and the people dyd eate them with the bloode. Then men tolde Saull, sayenge: Beholde, the people synne agaynste the Lorde, in that they eate with the blood.

And he sayde: ye haue trespassed. Rowle a greate stone vnto me this day, & Saul sayde agayne: Go abrode amonge the people, and byd them brynge me euery man his oxe, and euery man his shepe, and fley them here, and synne not agaynst the Lorde in eatynge with the blood. And the people brought euery mā his oxe in his hande, by nyght, and flue them there. And Saull made an aulter vnto the Lorde. And that was the fyrst aulter that he made vnto the Lorde. And Saul sayd: let vs go downe after the Philistines by night and spoyle them, vntyll it be day in the mornyng, & let vs not leaue one man of them. And they sayde: do what soeuer thou thynkest best. Then sayd the preest: let vs come hyther vn∣to God. And Saul asked of God: shall I go downe after the Philistines?wylte thou de∣lyuer them in to the handes of Israell? But be answered hym not at that tyme. And Saul sayde: Let the people come hyther out of all quarters, and knowe and se by whome this synne is chaunced this daye: for as truely as the lorde lyueth which saueth Israel, though it be in Ionathas my sonne, he shall dye the death. But there was no man among all the people that answered hym.

Then he sayde vnto all Israell: be ye on [unspec F] one syde, and I and Ionathas my sonne wyl be on the other syde. And the people sayd vn∣to Saul: what thou thynkest best, that do. Therfore Saul sayd vnto the Lorde God of Israel: Gyue a perfyte lot ❀ (Lorde god, gyue thou the indgement. Hovve happeneth it, that thou gyuest thy seruaunt no ansvvere to daye? Yf this syn be in me, or in Ionathas my sonne, shevv it, or yf this iniquyte be in thy people.) And Saul and Ionathas were caught, but the people scaped free. And Saul sayde: cast lottes bytwene me and Ionathas my sonne. And Ionathas was caught. Thē Saul sayd to Ionathas: tell me what thou hast done. And Ionathas tolde hym, and sayd: I tasted a lytell honye with the ende of the rod that was in myne hande: and lo, I must dye.

Saul answered: God do so and so with me, thou shalte dye the death Ionathas. And the people sayd vnto Saul: shall Ionathas dye, whiche hath so myghtely helped Israel? God forbyd. As truely as the Lorde lyueth there shall not one heere of his heade fall to the grounde: For he hath wrought with God this daye. And so the people delyuered Ionathas, that he dyed not. And then Saul departed vp from folowynge the Philisti∣nes. [unspec G] And the Philistines went to theyr owne place. And so Saul helde the kyngdom ouer Israell, and faught agaynst all his enemyes on euery syde: agaynst Moab: agaynst the chyldren of Ammon: agaynst Edom: agaynst the kynges of Zoba, and agaynst the Phili∣stines. And whyther soeuer he turned hym selfe, there he wan: and he gathered his hoost togyther, and sinote the Amaleckites, and tyd Israell out of the handes of them that spoyled them. The sonnes of Saul were: Ionathas, Iosui, and Melchisua. And his two doughters were thus named: the elder was called Merob, and the yonger Michol. And the name of Saules wyr̄e, was Ahinoa the doughter of Ahimaaz. And the name of his cheyfe captayne was Abner the sonne of Ner, Saules vncle.

And Cis was Saules father. And Ner

the father of Abner was the sonne of Abiell. And there was sore wacre agaynst the Phili¦stines, al the dayes of Saul. And who soeuer Saul sawe to be a strong man, and mete for the warre, he toke hym vnto hym.

¶ Saul is rōmaunded to kyll Aninlecke. He is disobedient to the voyce of God Samuel moutneth for Saul.

CAPI. XV.

Samuel sayd vnto Saul: the lorde sent [unspec A] me to anoynt the, to be kyng ouer his pe∣ple Israel. Nowe therfore herken y^• vnto the voyce of the wordes of the Lorde. Thus sayeth the lorde of hoostes: I remembre that, which Amalec dyd so Israel how they layd wayte for them in the way, as they came out of Egypte. Now therfore go, & smyte Amalec and destroy ye al that perteyneth vnto them, and se thou haue no compassyon on them, ❀ (and couet nothynge that they haue) slee both man and woman, infant, & suklyng, o••e and shepe, camel, and asse. And Saul gathered the people togyther, and nombred them in Telaim, two hundred thousande foote men, and ten thousande men of Iuda. And Saul came vnto a citye of Amalec, & set watche in [unspec B] the valley. And Saul sayde to the Kenites: go, & departe, & get you downe from among the Amaleckites, leest I destroy you w^t them: for ye shewed mercy to all the chyldren of Is∣rael, when they came out of Egypte. And so the Kenites departed from among the Ama∣leckites. And Saul smote the Amaleckites from Heuila, as y^u comest to Sur, that lyeth be¦fore Egypte, and toke Agag the kyng of the Amaleckites alyuc, & vtterly destroyed al the people w^t the edge of the swerde. But saul & the people spared Agag, & the better shepe, & the fatter oxen, & the lambes, & all that was good, & wolde not destroy them. But all that was foule and nought worth, that they de∣stroyed vtterly. Then came the worde of the lorde vnto Samuel, sayenge.

It repenteth me, that I haue made Saul kynge. For he is turned from me, & hath not [unspec C] perfourmed my cōmaundementes. And Sa¦muel was enyl apayde, & cryed vnto the lord all nyght. And when Samuel arose early, to mete Saul in the mornyng, it was tolde Sa¦muel that Saul was come to Carmell, & be∣holde, he ☞ hath made hym there a place, & is returned, and departed, & gone downe to Gylgal. And Samuel sayd to Saul, & ❀ (Saul offered burntsacrifyce vnto the lorde of the fyrst of the spoyles vvhich he had brought frō Ama∣lec. And vvhen Samuel vvas come vnto Saul) Saul sayd vnto hym: Blessed be thou in the Lorde I haue fulfylled the cōmaundament of the lorde. Samuel sayd: what meaneth thē the bleatyng of the shepe in myne eares, and the noyse of the oxen which I heare? Saul an [unspec D] swered: they haue brought them from the A∣maleckites. For the people spared the best of the shepe & of the oxen, to sacrifice them vnto the lorde thy God. And the remenaunt haue we destroyed vtterly. Samuel sayd to Saul: let me tell the what the lord hath sayd to me this nyght. And he sayd vnto him: say on. Samuel sayd when y^u wast lytel in thyne owne sight wast y^u not made the head of the tribes of Is∣rael? And the lorde anoynted the kynge ouer Israel. And the lorde sent the on a iourney & sayd: Go, & vtterly destroy those synners the Amaleckites, & fyght agaynst them, vntyll y^u vtterly destroy thē. And wherfore hast y^u not [unspec E] herkened vnto the voyce of the lorde, but hast turned to the pray, & hast done that which is wycked in the syght of the lorde? And Saul sayd vnto Samuel: yea I haue herkened vnto the voyce of the Lorde, & haue gone the way which the lorde sent me vnto, & haue brought Agag the kyng of Amalec, & haue vtterly de¦stroyed the Amaleckites. But the peple toke the spoyle shepe, oxē, & the cheyfest of the thin ges which shuld haue bene destroyed, to offre vnto the lorde thy God in Gylgal. And Sa∣muel sayd: hath the lord as great pleasure in burntsacrifices & offryng{is}, as whē the voyce of the lord is obeyed? Beholde, to obey is bet∣ter then sacrifice, & to herken is better thē the fat of rāmes. For rebellyon is as the synne of wytcherafte, & stoburnes is as the wicked∣nes of Idolatrie. Bycause y^u hast cast awaye the worde of the lorde, therfore hath the lorde cast away the also, frō beyng kyng. And Saul [unspec F] sayd to Samuel: I haue synned, for I haue gone further thē the sayeng of the lorde & thy word{is}, bycause I feared the people, & obeyed theyr voyce. Now therfore take away my syn & turne agayne with me, that I may worship the lorde. And Samuel sayde vnto Saul: I wyl not returne with the: for y^u hast cast away the worde of the lorde, & the lorde hath cast a∣way the, that y^u shalt not be kyng ouer Israel And as Samuel turned hym selfe to go away he caught the lap of his coote, & it rent. And Samuel sayd vnto hym: the lorde hath rent the kyngdom of Israel from the this daye, & hath gyuen it to a neyghboure of thyne, that is better thē thou. ☞ The strength of Israel wyl not begyle nor repent: for he is not a mā that can repent. He sayd: I haue synned. But nowe honour me before the elders of my peo¦ple: & before Israel, and turne agayne with me, that I maye worshyp the Lorde thy god.

And so Samuel turned agayne and folowed Saull. And Saull worshypped the Lorde. [unspec G]

Then sayd Samuel: Brynge ye hyther to me. Agag the kyng of the Amaleckites. And Agag came vnto hym ☞ delicately. And A∣gag sayd: truely the bytter death cometh on.

And Samuel sayde: As thy swerde hathe made women chyldelesse, so shall thy mother be chyldelesse aboue other women. And Sa∣muel hewed Agag in peces, before the Lorde in Gilgal. And then Samuell departed to Rama. And Saul wente home to his house to Gibea Saul. And Samuel came no more to se Saul vntyll the day of his death. Ne∣uerthelesse Samuel mourned for Saul, and the lorde ☞ repented, that he had made Saul kynge ouer Israel.

Dauid is anoynted kyng. An ••uyl spirite cometh vpon Saul.

CAPI XVI.

THe Lorde sayde vnto Samuel: Howe [unspec A] longe wylte thou mourne for Saul, se∣ynge I haue cast hym away, from reygnyng ouer Israel? Fyl thyne horne with oyntment and come that I maye sende the to Isai the Bethleemite, for I haue prouyded me a king among his sonnes. And Samuel sayd: how can I go? For yf Saul heare it, he wyll kyll me. The Lorde answered: Take an Heyfer with the, and saye: I am come to offre to the Lorde. And call Isai to the offeryng, & I wyl shewe the, what y^u shalte do. And thou shalte anoynt hym whom I name vnto the. And so Samuel dyd as the Lord•• bad hym, & came to Bethleem, & the elders of the towne were astonyed at his comynge, and sayde.

Comest thou peaceably? He answered: Yea, I am come to offre vnto the Lorde. [unspec B]

☞ Sanctifie your selues, and come with me to the offerynge. And he sanctified Isai & his sonnes, & bad them to the offerynge. And when they were come, he loked on Eliab, and sayd: ☞ Surely the Lordes anoynted is be∣fore hym. But the lorde sayd vnto Samuel: loke not on his facion, or on the heyght of his stature, bycause I haue refused him: for God seyth not as man seyth. For mā loketh on the outwarde apperaūce, but god beholdeth the herte. Then Isai called Abinadab, & made hym come before Samuel. And he sayd: ney∣ther hath the Lorde chosen this. Then Isai made Sāma come, and he sayde, neyther yet hath the Lorde chosen hym. Agayne, Isai made seuen of▪ his sonnes to come before Sa¦muel. And Samuel sayd vnto Isai, the lord hath chosen none of these.

And Samuel sayd vnto Isai: are here al [unspec C] thy chyldren? He sayd: there is yet a lytel one behinde, that kepeth the shepe. And Samuel sayd vnto Isai: sende and fet him, for we wyl not syt downe, tyl he be come hyther. And he sent, & brought hym in. And he was browne, & of an excellent beautye, & and well fauou∣red in syght. And the Lorde sayde: Aryse, and anoynte hym: for this is he. Therfore Sa∣muel toke the horne with the oyntment, and anoynted him in the myddes of his brethren. And the spirite of the Lorde came vpon Da∣uid, from that day forwarde. And Samuel arose vp, and wente to Rama. But the spirite of the Lorde departed frome Saul, and an euyll spirite sent of the Lorde vexed hym.

And Sauls seruauntes sayde vnto hym: beholde▪ an euyl spirite sent of god vexeth the let our lorde therfore cōmaunde his seruaun¦tes (that are before the) to seke a man that is a cōnyng player with an harpe: that whē the euyll spirite sent of god cometh vpon the, he [unspec D] may play w^t his hande & thou shalte be eased Saul sayd vnto his seruauntes: prouyde me a man then that can playe well, & bryng hym to me. Then answered one of his seruauntes & sayd: Beholde, I haue sene the son of Isai the Bethleemite, that can playe vpon instru∣mentes, and is an actiue felowe, and a mā of war, and prudent in doynge of feates, & well made, and the Lorde is with hym.

Wherfore Saul sente messengers vnto Isai, & sayd: sende me Dauid thy son, whiche is with the shepe. And Isai toke an asse laden with breade, & a flacket of wyne, & a kyd, and sent them by Dauid his son vnto Saul. And Dauid came to Saul, & stode before hym, & he loued hym very wel, and he was made his harnes bearer. And Saul sent to Isai, say∣eng: let Dauid remayne with me, for he hath founde fououre in my syght. And so it fortu∣ned, that when the euyll spirite sente of God came vpon Saul. Dauid toke an harpe, and played with his hande, and so Saul was re∣fresshed, and dyd amende, and the euyll spi∣rite departed from hym.

¶ Dauid ouercometh great Gol••ath.

CAPI. XVII.

THe Philistines gathered theyr hoost to [unspec A] battayle, and came togyther to Socoh whiche is in Iuda, & pytched bytwene Socoh & Azekah, in the coost of Dammim. And Saul and the men of Israel came togy∣ther, & pytched in the oke valley, & put them selues in aray, to fyght agaynst the Philisti∣nes. And the Philistines stode on an hyll on the one syde, & Israel stode on an hyll on the other syde, & there was a valey bitwene them And there came a man bytwene them both,

out of the tent{is} of the Philistines, named Go¦liath of Gath. vi. cubites & an handbredth longe, and had an helmet of brasse vpon his heade, and a coote of mayle aboute him. And the weyght of his coote of mayle was fyue thousand spcles of brasse. And he had bootes of brasse vpon his legges, & a shelde of brasse vpon his shoulders. And the shafte of his speare was lyke a weuers beame. And his speare head wayed. vi. hūdred s••cles of pron. And one bearyng a shelde went before hym.

And he stode and cryed agaynst the hoost [unspec B] of Israel, and sayde vnto them: Why are ye come out in aray to battayle? am not I a Phi¦listine, and you seruauntes to Saul? chose ye a man from amonge you, and let hym come downe to me. And yf he be able to fyght with me, and to beate me, then wyll we be your ser¦uauntes. But yf I can ouercome hym and beate hym, then shall ye be oure seruauntes and serue vs. And the Philistine sayde: I de∣fye the hoost of Israell this daye, gyue me a man, that we may fyght togyther.

When Saul and all Israel herde those wordes of the Philistine, they were discoura∣ged, & greatly afrayde. Dauid was the son of an Ephrathite ❀ (of vvhom mencyon is made before) of Bethleem Iuda, named Isai whiche had eyght sonnes. And was an olde man in the dayes of Saul, and came to age amonge mē. And the. iii. eldest sonnes of Isai went, and folowed Saul to the battayle. And the names of his thre sonnes that went to battayle, were: Eliab the eldest, & the nexte Abinadab, and the thyrde Sāma, & Dauid was the least. And the thre eldest went after Saul. Dauid also went and departed from Saul, to fede his fathers shepe at Bethleem And the Philistine came forthe in the mor∣nyng & euenyng, & ☞ continued. xl. dayes,

And Isai sayde vnto Dauid his sonne: take for thy brethrē an Epha of this parched corne, & these ten loues, and bryng it vnto the hoost to thy brethren. And cary these. x. freshe cheses vnto the captayne, and loke howe thy brethrēn fare, & ☞ fet out theyr pledge. And Saul and they, & all the men of Israell were in the oke valey, fightyng w^t the Philistines. [unspec C] And Dauid rose vp early in the mornyng, & lefte the shepe with a keper, & toke and wente as Isai had cōmaunded hym, & came within the compasse of the hoost. And the hoost went out in aray, and showted in the battayle: for Israel & the Philistines had put them selues in aray, the one agaynst the other. And Da∣uid toke downe the gere frō hym, & put them vnder the handes of the keper of the vessels, & ran into the hoost, & came, & saluted his bre∣thrē. And as he talked w^t them, beholde, there stode a man in the myddes (Goliath the Phi¦listine by name) of Gath, out of the araye of the Philistines & spake of the maner aboue rehersed, that Dauid herde it. And all the mē of Israel, when they sawe the man, ran away from hym, and were sore afrayde. And euery man of Israel sayd: Sawe ye this man come forth? euen to reuyle Israell is he come.

And to hym that beateth hym, wyll the kyng gyue great ryches, and wyll gyue hym his doughter therto: yea & make his fathers house free in Israel. And Dauid spake to the men that stode by, and sayde. What shall be done to the man that beateth this Philistine, and taketh away the shame frō Israell? And what is this vncircūcysed Philistine, that he shuld reuyle the host of the lyuyng god? And the people answered hym (after this maner,) saynge: so shal it be done to the man, that bea¦teth hym. And Eliab his eldest brother herde when he spake vnto the men, and Eliab was angry with Dauid, and sayde.

Why camest thou downe hyther? & with [unspec D] whom hast thou lefte those fewe shepe in the wyldernesse? I know thy pryde, and the ma∣lice of thyne herte, that thou art come downe to se the battayle. And Dauid sayde. And what haue I now done? is there not a worde? And he departed from hym in to the presence of an other, and snake of the same maner, & the people answered hym agayne, as before. And they that herde the wordes whiche Da∣uid spake, rehersed them before Saul, which caused hym to be fet. And Dauid sayde to Saul. Let no mannes herte fayle hym by∣cause of hym. Thy seruaunt wyll go, & fyght with yonder Philistine. And Saul say de to Dauid agayne: y^u art not able to go agaynst yonder Philistyne, to fyght with hym. For thou arte but a chylde, but he is a mā of war euen from his youth. Dauid answered vnto Saul. Thy seruaunt kept his fathers shepe and there came a Lyon & lykewyse a beare & toke a shepe out of the flocke. And I wente out after hym, & smote hym, & toke it out of his mouth. And when he arose agaynst me, I [unspec E] caught hym by the bearde, and smote hym, & slue hym. And so thy seruant slue the Lyon & the beare (also) hath thy seruaunt sleyn. And truely this vncircumcised Philistine shall▪be as one of them. ❀ (Novv vvyll I go and take avvay the rebuke of the people, for vvhat is this vncircūcised Philistine?) seyng he hath rayled on the hoost of the lyuyng god. And Dauid spake moreouer: the lorde that delyuered me

out of the hande of the Lyon, and out of the hande of the beare, he shall deluyer me also out of the hande of the Philistine.

And Saul sayd vnto Dauid: go, and the Lorde shall be with the. And Saul put his rayment vpon Dauid, and put an helmet of brasse vpon his heade, & put a coote of mayle vpon hym, and gyrded Dauid with his owne swerde vpon his rayment. And he assayed to go. And bycause he neuer proued it, Dauid sayde vnto Saul: I can not go with these, for I haue not vsed my selfe therto: & Dauid put them of him, & roke his staffe in his hand & chose hym fyue smoth stones out of a broke & put them in a shepeheerdes bag whiche he had, & in a siyng poke: and his slyng was in his hande, and he went to the Philistine. And the Philistine came and drue nere agaynste Dauid, & the man that bare the shelde wente before hym. And when the Philistine loked aboute and sawe Dauid, he dysdayned hym, for he was but younge, and well coloured, and goodly to loke vpon.

And the Philistine sayd vnto Dauid: am [unspec F] I a dog, that thou romest to me with a staffe? and the Philistine cursed Dauid in the name of his good{is}. And the Philistine sayd to Da∣uid: come to me, and I wyll gyue thy flesshe vnto the foules of the ayre, & to the beastes of the felde. Thē sayd Dauid to the Philistine: thou comest to me with a swerde, a speare & a shelde: But I come to the in the name of the Lorde of hoostes, the God of the hoost of Is∣raell, whome thou haste rayled vpon. This day shal the lorde delyuer the in to my hande and I shall smyte the, and take thyne heade from the, & I wyll gyue the carkasses of the hoost of the Philistines this daye vnto the foules of the ayre, & to the beast{is} of the earth, that all they whiche be in the worlde, maye knowe, that there is a god in Israel. And all this congregation shal knowe, that the lorde saueth not with swerde & speare. For the bat∣tayle is the Lordes, & he shall gyue you in to out handes. And when the Philistine arose to come & drawe nygh vnto Dauid, Dauid hasted, & ran in to the battayle euen agaynst the Philistine. And Dauid put his hande in his bag, and loke out a stone and slange it, & smote the Philystyne in his forhead, that the stone sonke in to his foreheade, and he fell grouelynge to the earth. And so Dauid ouer∣came the Philystyne with a s••ynge, & a stone / [unspec G] & smote the Philistyne, & slue hym, euen whē Dauid had no swerde in his hande. But Da∣uid ran, & stode vpon the Philistine, and toke his swerde, and drew it out of his shethe, and slue hym, and cut of his heade therwith. And when the Philistines sawe / that theyr cham∣pyon was deade, they fled.

And the men of Israell and of Iuda arose and shouted, & folowed after the Philistines, vntyl they came to the valey & vnto the gates of Akaron. And the Philistines fell downe wounded by the way to Saaraum, euen vn∣to Gath, & Akaron. And the Chyldren of Is∣raell returned from chasynge after the Phi∣listines and spoyled theyr tentes. And Dauid toke the heade of the Philistine, & brought it to Ierusalem: but he put his armoure in his tente. When Saull sawe Dauid go forth a∣gaynst the Philistine, he sayd vnto Abner the captayne of the hoost: Abner, whose son is this yong man? Abnen answered: as truly as thy soule lyueth (O kyng) I can not tell. And the kyng sayd: Enquyre thou, whose son the yonglyng is. And when Dauid was re∣turned from the slaughter of the Philistine, Abner toke hym, & brought him before Saul with the head of the Philistiane in his hande And Saul sayd to hym: whose son art thou, thou yong man? Dauid answered: I am the son of thy seruaunt Isai the Bethleemite.

¶ The bonde bytwene Dauid and Ionatha••. Saull gothe aboute to ••••ee Dauid.

CAPI. XVIII.

ANd when he had made an ende of spra-kynge [unspec A] vnto Saul, the soule of Iona∣thas was knyt with the soule of Dauid and Ionathas loued hym as his owne soule. And Saul ••oke hym that day, and wolde let hym go no more home to his fathers house. And Ionathas made a couenaunt with Da∣uid, bycause he loued hym as his owne soule.

And Ionathas put of his owne co••te that was vpon hym, and gaue it Dauid, & therto his cloke, his swerde, his bowe & his gyrdle. And Dauid went out whyther soeue•• Saul sent hym, & behaued hym selfe wyselye. And Saul set hym ouer his men of war, & he was accepted in the syght of al the people, & in the syght of Sauls seruaūtes. And it happened as they went, when Dauid was returned frō the slaughter of the Philistine, that women came out of all cityes of Israel syngyng and [unspec B] daunsyng, agaynst kyng Saul, & with tym∣brels, w^t ••oy, & with instrumentes of musyke.

And the women answered one an other in theyr play, & sayde. Saul hath slayne his thousand, and Dauid his. x. M. And Saul was excedyng wroth, & the saynge dyspleased hym. & he sayd: they haue ascribed vnto Da∣iud ten thousande, & to me but a thousande, & what can he more haue, saue the kyngdome?

Wherfore Saul loked asyde on Dauid from that daye forwarde. And it happened on the morowe, that the euyll spirite sente of God came vpon Saul, and ☞ he prophesyed in the myddes of the house.

And Dauid played with his hande lyke [unspec C] as at other tymes, and there was a Iauelyn in Sauis hande. And Saul ••oke the Iaue∣lyn, and sayd: I wyl nayle Dauid to the wall with it. And Dauid auoyded out of his pre∣sence two tymes. And Saul was afrayde of Dauid, bycause the Lorde was with hym, & was departed from Saul. Therfore Saul put hym from hym, and made him a captayn ouer a thousande, and ☞ he went out and in before the people. And Dauid behaued hym selfe wysely in all his wayes, and the Lorde was with hym. Wherfore when Saul sawe that he was so excedyng wyse, he was afrayd of hym. But all Israel and Iuda loued Da∣uid, bycause he went out and in before them.

And Saul sayde to Dauid. Beholde, my [unspec D] eldest doughter Merob, her I wyl gyue the to wyfe: Onely play the man with me, & fyghte the Lordes battayles. For Saul thought: myne hande shall not be vpon hym, but the hande of the Philistines. And Dauid answe∣red Saule: what am I? and what is my lyfe of the kynred of my father in Israel, that I shulde be son in lawe to the kynge? Howbeit whē the tyme was come that Moreb Sauls doughter shulde haue bene gyuen to Dauid she was gyuen vnto Adriel a Meholothite, to wyfe. How beit, Michol Sauls doughter loued Dauid. And they shewed Saul: and the thyng dyspleased hym not.

And Saul sayd: I wyll gyue hym her that [unspec E] she may be a snare to hym, and that the hand of the Philistynes maye be agaynst hym. Wherfore Saul sayd to Dauid: thou shalte this day be my son in law in the other dough¦ter. And Saul cōmaunded his seruauntes to comen with▪ Dauid secretly and say. Beholde the kyng hath a fauoure to the, and all his seruauntes loue the, be now therfore the kyn¦ges sonne in lawe. And Sauls seruauntes spake those wordes in the eares of Dauid.

And Dauid sayde: semeth it to you a lyght thyng to be a kynges sonne in lawe: I am a poore man and of small reputacion. And the seruauntes brought Saule worde agayne, sayenge: of this maner spake Dauid.

And Saul sayd: this wyse shall ye say to Dauid: the king careth for none other dowry [unspec F] but for an hundred foreskynnnes of the Phi∣listines, to be auenged of the king{is} enemyes. But Saul thought to make Dauid fal into the handes of the Philistines. And when his seruauntes tolde Dauid these word{is}, it plea∣sed Dauid wel to be the kynges son in lawe.

And ☞ or the dayes were expyred, Dauid arose with his men and went, and slue of the [unspec G] Philistines. CC. men, and Dauid broughte theyr foreskynnes, & satisfied the kyng therof to be his sonne in lawe. Wherfore Saul gaue hym Michol his doughter to wyfe. And Saul sawe and vnderstode, howe that the Lorde was with Dauid, & that Michol his doughter loued hym, & he was the more afrayde of Dauid, and Saul became alway Dauids enemy. The lordes of the Philisti∣nes vsed ☞ to go forth. And it fortuned that when they went forth, Dauid behaued hym selfe wyselyer thē al the seruauntes of Saul: so that his name was moche set by.

¶ Saul cōmaundeth to flee Dauid. Micholl his wyfe saueth hym.

CAPI. XIX.

SAul spake to Ionathas his sonne, and to [unspec A] all his seruauntes, that they shulde kyll Dauid. But Ionathas Sauls sonne had a great fauour to Dauid, and Ionathas tolde Dauid, saynge: Saul my father gothe aboute to fley the. Now therfore take hede to thy selfe vntyll the mornyng & abyde in some secret place, and hyde thy selfe. And I wyl go out, & stande by my father in the felde, where thou art, & wyll comen with my father of the, and what soeuer I se, I wyll tell the. And Io¦nathas spake good of Dauid vnto Saul his father, & sayde vnto hym: let not the kynge syn agaynst his seruaunt Dauid, for he hath not synned agaynst the, and his workes haue ben toward the very good. For he dyd ☞ put his lyfe in his hande, & slue the Philistine, and the Lorde brought to passe a great helth for al Israel. Thou sawest it, & thou reioysed, wherfore then wylte thou syn agaynst inno∣cent bloode, & sley Daiud without a cause? And Saul herkened vnto the voyce of Iona¦thas, [unspec B] and sware: as truely as the lorde lyueth he shal not dye. And Ionathas called Dauid and shewed hym all those wordes, & brought Dauid to Saul. And he was in his presence as in tymes past. And the war began agayn, and Dauid wente out and foughte with the Philistines, & slue them with a great slaugh∣ter, and they fled from hym. And the euyll spirite sent of the Lorde was vpon Saul, as he sat in his house hauynge a Iauelyn in his hande, and Dauid played with his hande. And Saul entended to nayle Dauid to the wall with the Iauelyn. But he ryd hym selfe out of Sauls presence

as he smote the speare ❀ (vvith a vayne stroke) in to the wall. And Dauid fled, and was sa∣ued that same nyght. Saul also sent messen∣gers vnto Dauyds house, to watche hym, and to sley hym in the mornyng. And Michol Dauyds wyfe tolde it hym, saynge: If thou saue not thy selfe this nyght, to morow thou wylte be sleyne. And so Micholl let Dauid downe thorowe a wyndowe, and he went, and fled, and was saued.

And then she toke an ymage and layde it [unspec C] in the bed, & put a pyllowe stuffed with goot{is} heere vnder the heade of it, & couered it with a cloth. And when Saul sent messengers to fetch Dauid, she sayd, he is sycke. And Saul sent the messengers agayne to se Dauid, say∣enge: Brynge hym to me, bed and all, that I may sley hym. And whē the messengers were came in: Beholde, there lay an ymage in the bed, with a pyllow of gootes heere vnder the head of it. And Saul sayde to Micholl: why hast thou mocked me so, and sent away myne enmye that he is escaped? Michol answered Saul: For he sayde vnto me, let me go, or els I wyll kyll the. And so Dauid fled, and esca∣ped, and came to Samuel to Rama, & tolde hym all that Saul had done to hym. And he and Samuel went, and dwelte in ☞ Naioth.

And one tolde Saul, sayenge: Beholde, [unspec D] Dauid is at Naioth in Rama, & Saul sente messengers to fet Dauid. And whē they saw a company ☞ of Prophetes prophesyenge, and Samuel standyng fast by them, the spi∣rite of god fell vpon the messengers of Saul & they prophesyed to. And when it was tolde Saul, he sent other messengers, and they pro¦phesyed likewyse. And Saul sent messengers yet agayne the thyrde tyme, and they prophe∣syed also. Then went he hym selfe to Rama, and came to a great well that is in Sechu, & he asked and sayde: where are Samuell and Dauid? And one sayde: Beholde, they be at Naioth in Rama, and he went thyther, euen to Naioth in Rama, and the spirite of God came vpon hym also, and he wente prophe∣syenge vntyll he came to Naioth in Rama. And he stripte of his clothes, and prophesyed before Samuel in lyke maner, and ☞ fell na¦ked all that day & al that nyght. And therof it is, that they saye: is Saul also amonge the prophetes?

¶ Dauid complayneth vnto Ionathas.

CAPI. XX.

ANd Dauid fledde from Naioth whiche [unspec A] is in Rama, and came, and sayde before Ionathas: what haue I done? wherin am I faultie? what is the synne that I haue cōmytted before thy father, that he seketh my lyfe? He sayde vnto hym: God forbyd, thou shalte not dye. Beholde, my father wyll do nothynge eyther great or small, but that he wyll shewe it me. And howe shulde my father hyde this thynge from me? He wyll not do it. And Dauid sware agayne, and sayde: thy fa∣ther knoweth that I haue founde ☞ grace in thyne eyes, and therfore he saythe: Iona∣thas shall not knowe it, lest he be sorye. And in very dede, euen as truely as the Lorde ly∣ueth, and as truely as thy soule lyueth, there is but a step bytwene me & death. Then sayd Ionathas vnto dauid: what soeuer thy soule desyreth that I wyll do vnto the. And Dauid sayd vnto Ionathas: Beholde, to morowe is the begynnyng ☞ of the moneth, & I shulde syt with the kynge at meate. But let me go, that I maye hyde my selfe in the feldes vnto the thyrde day at euen.

If thy father speake of me, then say: Da∣uid [unspec B] asked leaue of me, that he myght go to Bethleem to his owne citye, for there is hol∣den a yerely feast for all the kynred. And yf he say: it is well done, then thy seruaunt shall haue peace. But and yf he be angrye: then be sure that wyckednesse is vtterly concluded of hym. And then thou shalte shewe mercye vn∣to thy seruaunt, for thou hast made with me thy seruaunt a bonde in the Lorde. Notwith∣standynge, yf there be in me any trespasse, then slee me thy selfe, & brynge me not to thy father. And Ionathas answered: God kepe that from the ❀ (neyther is it possible to come to passe.) For yf I knowe, that wyckednesse were concluded of my father, to come vpon the, thynkest thou that I shulde not tel it the? Then sayde Dauid, who shall tell me, yf thy father answere cruelly? And Ionathas sayd vnto Dauid, come and let vs go out i•• to the felde. And they wente out bothe of them into the felde.

And Ionathas sayde vnto Dauid: The [unspec C] Lorde god of Israel loke on it, when I haue groped my fathers mynde, one tyme or other within this thre dayes, that it stand wel with Dauid: If I then sende not vnto the & shew it the, the Lorde do so and so vnto Ionathas.

But yf my father haue any pleasure to do the euyll, I wyl shewe the also, and sende the awaye that thou mayst go in peace. And the Lorde be with the, as he hath bene with my father. And thou shalt performe vnto me the mercy of the Lorde, not onely whyle I lyue / but euen when I am deade, and plucke not thy mercy awaye from ☞ my house for euer: No not when the Lorde hath destroyed the

enemyes of Dauid, euery one from the face of the earth. And so Ionathas made a bonde with the house of Dauid, desyrynge that the Lorde shulde seke it out by the hand{is} of Da∣uids enemyes (yf it were broken.) And with other word{is} dyd Ionathas sweate vnto Da∣uid, bycause he loued hym. For he loued him, as his owne soule. Then sayde Ionathas to [unspec D] Dauid: to morowe is the fyrste daye of the moone. And thou shalt be myssed, bicause the place where thou wast wonte to syt, shall be emptye. Therfore this daye thre dayes come downe in any wyse vnto the place where thou dyddest hyde thy selfe, ☞ when the busynes was in hande: euen by the stoone Esell. And I wyl shute thre arowes by the one syde ther∣of, as though I shot them at a marke, & wyll sende a lad, and byd hym go seke the arowes. And yf I say vnto the lad: se, the arowes are on this syde the, bryng them: then come thou: for it is peace, & no hurte, as sure as the lorde lyueth. But and yf I say vnto the lad, behold the arowes are beyonde the, then go (in peace) forthe Lorde hath sente the awaye. And as touchynge this whiche thou & I haue spo∣ken: beholde ☞ the Lorde be bytwene the, & me for euer. And so dauid hyd him selfe in the felde. And when the newe moone was come / the kynge sat hym downe to eate meate.

And the kynge sat hym downe after the [unspec E] olde maner, in his seate by the wall. And Io∣nathas arose, & Abner sat by Sauls syde, and Dauids place was emptye. Neuerthelesse Saull sayde nothynge at all that daye. For he thought: some thyng hath chaunced hym, that he is not cleyne. But on the morowe which was the second day of the new moone, it appened, that Dauids place was emptye agayne. And Saull sayde vnto Ionathas his sonne: wherfore cōmeth not the Sonne of Isai to meate, neyther yesterday nor to day? And Ionathas answered vnto Saull: Da∣uid asked lycence of me, to go to Bethleem, for he sayde, Let me go I praye the, for oure kynred doth holde an offerynge in the citye / & my brother hath sent for me. And therfore yf I haue founde fauoure in thyne eyes, let me go, and se my brother. This is the cause that he cōmeth not vnto the kynges table.

Then was Saull angrye with Ionathas, [unspec F] & sayde vnto hym: Thou wycked rebell, do not I knowe, that thou hast chosen the son of Isai vnto thyne owne rebuke, & vnto the re∣buke and shame of thy mother? For as longe as the son of Isai lyueth vpō the earth, thou shalt not be stablyshed, nor yet thy kyngdom, wherfore nowe sende and fet hym vnto me / for he is the chylde of death. And Ionathas answered vnto Saull his father, & sayde to hym: wherfore shulde he dye? What hath he done? And Saul lyfte vp a speare to hyt hym / wherby Ionathas wyst well, that it was vt∣terlye determyned of his father, to sley Da∣uid. And so Ionathas arose from the table in a great anger, & dyd eate no meat the second daye of the moneth, for he was sory for Da∣uid, bycuse his father had done hym shame. On the nexte mornynge, Ionathas went out in to the felde, at the tyme appoynted with Dauid, & a lytle lad with hym. And he sayde vnto his boye: run & seke out myne arowes whiche I shute. And as the boye ran, he shot an arowe beyonde hym. And when the ladde [unspec G] was come to the place whyther Ionathas had shot the arow, Ionathas cryed after the lad, and saydens not the arowe beyonde the? And Ionathas cryed after the lad agayne / make spede, & stande not styll. And Ionathas lad gathered vp the arowes, and came to his mayster. But the lad wyst nothynge of the matter: Only Ionathas and Dauid wyst it.

And Ionathas gaue his wepons vnto the lad that was with hym, & sayd vnto hym: go and carye them to the towne. And as soone as the lad was gone, Dauid arose out of a place that was toward the south, and fell on his face to the grounde, and worshypped thre tymes. And they kyssed eyther other, & wepte togyther so longe, tyll Dauid exceded in we∣pynge. And Ionathas sayd to Dauid: go in peace. And the thyng{is} which we haue sworne both of vs in the name of the lorde, sayenge: the Lorde be bytwene the & me, and bytwene thy seed & myne, let them stand for euer. And he rose and departed. And Ionathas went in¦to the towne.

¶ Dauid fleeth into Nob. to Ahimelech the Preest. & getteth of hym the shew breade to satisfye his hunger Afterwarde he fleeth to kynge Achis / & there feyneth hym selfe to be mad.

CAPI. XXI.

THen came Dauid to Nob to Ahimelech [unspec A] the preest: And Ahimelech was a stonied at the sodayne cōmynge of Dauid, and sayde vnto hym: Why arte thou alone, & no man with the? And Dauid sayde to Ahime∣lech the preest: the kynge hath cōmaūded me to do a certayne thyng, & hath sayd vnto me / let no man knowe where aboute I sende the, and what I haue cōmaunded the to do. And I haue appoynted my seruaūtes, to soch and soche places. Nowe therfore yf y^u has ••aught vnder thyne hande? gyue me fyue loues of breade, or what commeth to hande. And the preest answered Dauid, & sayde: there is no comen breade vnder my hande, but here is

halowed breade, yf the yonge men haue kept [unspec B] them selues from vncleane women.

Dauid answered the Preest, & sayde vnto hym: of a trueth women hath ben locked vp from vs aboute a thre dayes, when I came out & the ☞ vessels of the yonge men were holy. Howe be it ☞ this waye is vnpure, and howe muche more shall there be holynesse in the vyssell. And so the preest gaue hym ha∣lowed bread, for there was none other breade there saue the shew breades, that were taken frō before the lorde, to put freshe bread there, the daye that it was taken awaye. And there was there the same daye a certayne man of the seruaūtes of Saull abydynge before the lorde, named Doeg an Edomite, the cheyfest of Sauls heerde men. And Dauid sayd vn∣to [unspec C] Ahimelech: is not here vnder thyne hande eyther speare or swerde? For I haue neyther brought my swerde / nor my harnesse with me, bycause the kyng{is} busynes required hast And the Preest sayde: the swerde of Goliath the Philistine whome thou sluest in the Oke valeye, beholde, it is here wrapt in a cloth be∣hynde the Ephod. Yf thou wylte take that / take it, for there is none other saue that here. And Dauid sayd: there is none to that, gyue it me. And Dauid arose & fled the same daye from the presence of Saull, & went to Achis the kynge of Geth. And the seruauntes of A∣chis sayd of him: is not this Dauid the kyng of the lande? dyd they not synge vnto him, in daunces saynge, Saul hath sleyne his thou sande, & Dauid his. x. M? And Dauid put [unspec D] those word{is} into his herte, & was sore afrayd of Achis the kynge of Geth. And he chaūged his speche before them, and feyned hym selfe mad in theyr handes, & scrabled on the dores of the gate, & let his spattell fall downe vpon his bearde. Then sayde Achis vnto his ser∣uauntes: Lo, ye se that this man is besyde him selfe, wherfore then haue ye brought him to me? Haue I nede of mad men that ye haue brought this felowe to play the mad man in my presence? Shall he come into my house.

¶ Doeg betrayeth Dauid. Ahimelech is accused of treson, and sleyne, and lxxxiiii. preestes moo with hym, bycause they receyued Dauid. Nob is destroyed of Saull. Abiathar fleeth to Dauid.

CAPI. XXII.

DAuid therfore departed thence, & esca∣ped, [unspec A] and came vnto the caue Odollam. When his brethren also & al his fathers house herde it, they went downe thyther to hym. And there gathered vnto hym all men that were in cōbraunce, & in det, & troubled in theyr myndes, & he became a captayne ouer them. And there were with him vpon a. iiii. •• men. And Dauid went thence to Mizpa in the lande of Moab, & sayd vnto the kynge of Moab: let my father & my mother (I pray the) ☞ come forth vnto you, tyll I knowe what god wyl do for me. And he brought them be∣fore the kynge of Moab, & they dwelte with hym all the whyle that Dauid kept hym selfe in holde. And the prophet Gad sayde vnto Dauid: Abyde not in holde, but departe, & go into the lande of Iuda. Then Dauid depar∣ted & came in to the forest Hareth. And Saul herde that Dauid was come abrode, & also the men that were with hym. And Saull sat in Gibea vnder a tree in Rama, hauynge his speare in his hande, & al his men stode about him. And Saull sayd vnto his seruaūtes that [unspec B] stoode about hym. Heare I praye you ☞ ye sonnes of Iemini: wyll the son of Isai gyue euery one of you feldes, and vineyerdes, and make you all captaynes ouer thousandes, & ouer hundreds? that ye haue also conspyred agaynst me, & there is none that telleth it me in myne eare. And where as my son hath made a bonde w^t the son of Isai, there is none of you that mourneth for me, or sheweth it in myne eate: beholde, my son hath styrred vp my seruaunt to laye awayte agaynst me this same daye. Then answered Doeg the Edo∣mite, whiche also stode by the seruauntes of Saull, & sayde: I sawe the son of Isai, when he came to Nob, to Ahimelech the son of Ahi∣tob, whiche asked counsayle of the Lorde for hym, & gaue hym vyttayles, & the swerde of Goliath the Philistine also. Then the kynge sent & called for Ahimelech the preest the son of Ahitob, & all his fathers house: that is to saye, the preestes that were in Nob. And they came all to the kyng. And Saull sayd: heare nowe thou son of Ahitob. He answered: here [unspec C] I am, my Lorde. And Saull sayde vnto hym: why haue ye cōspyred agaynst me, thou and the son of Isai, in that thou hast gyuen hym vyttayle, & a swerde, & hast asked consayle of god for him, that he shuld aryse agaynst me / and laye awayte, for me this day? Ahimelech answered the kynge, & sayd: who is so fayth∣full amonge all thy seruaūtes as Dauid, and therto the kynges son in lawe, & goeth at thy byddynge, and is had in honoure in thyne house? haue I this daye begon fyrst to aske counsayle of god for hym? That be far from me: let not the kynge put soch a thynge vnto his seruaūt, in all the house of my father. For thy seruaunte knewe nothynge of all this, eyther lesse or more. The kynge sayde, thou shalte surelye dye Ahimalech, thou & all thy fathers house. And the kynge sayde vnto the

fate men that stode aboute hym: turne, and sley the preestes of the Lorde, bothe bycause [unspec D] theyr hande is with Dauid, and bycause they knew when Dauid fled, and shewed it not to me. But the seruauntes of the kynge wolde not moue theyr hand{is}, to fal vpon the preest{is} of the Lorde: And the kynge sayde to Doeg: turne thou, and fall vpon the Preestes. And Doeg the Edomite turned, and ran vpon the preestes, & slewe that same day. lxxx. &. v. per∣sons, that dyd weare a lynnen Ephod. And Nob the citye of the Preestes smote he w^t the edge of the swerde, both men & women, chyl∣dren, & sucklynges, oxen, and asses, & shepe.

And one of the sonnes of Ahimelech the son of Ahitob (named Abiathar) escaped, & fled to Dauid. And Abiathar shewed Dauid, how that Saull had sleyne the lordes preest{is}. And Dauid sayde vnto Abiathar: I wyst it the same day, whē Doeg the Edomite was there / that he wolde tell Saull. And I am cause of the death of all the soul{is} of thy fathers house Abyde thou with me, & feare not: For yf any man seke my soule, he shall seke thyne also / with me thou shalte be in sauegarde.

¶ Dauid fleeth into the wylldernes of ziph.

CAPI. XXIII.

THey tolde Dauid sayenge: Beholde, the [unspec A] Philistines fyght agaynst Keilah, and spoyle the barnes. Therfore Dauid as∣ked the Lords aduyse, saynge: shall I go and smyte these Philistines? And the Lorde an∣swered vnto Dauid: go & smyte the Philisti∣nes, and saue Keilah. And Dauids men that were w^t hym, sayd vnto hym: se, we be afrayd here in Iuda: howe muche more then yf we come to Keilah agaynst the hoost of the Phi∣listines? Then Dauid asked the lorde agayne And the lorde answered hym, & sayde: Aryse, and go downe to Keilah, for I wyll delyuer the Philistines into thyne hande. And so Da∣uid & his men went to Keilah, & fought with the Philistines, & droue awaye theyr cattell / and smote them with a great slaughter. And so Dauid saued the enhabyters of Keilah.

And it chaunced, when Abiathar the son [unspec B] of Ahimelech fled to Dauid to Keilah, that he brought an Ephod with him in his hande And it was tolde Saul, that Dauid was come to Keilah. And Saull sayd: God hath delyue∣red hym in to myne hande. For he is shut in now that he is come into the towne that hath gates & barres. And Saull called all the peo∣ple togither to war, for to go downe to keilah and to beseyge Dauid & his men. And Dauid hauynge knowledge that Saull ymagened myscheyfe agaynst hym, sayde to Abiathar the preest: Brynge the Ephod. Then sayde Dauid: O Lorde God of Israell, thy seruaūt hath herde, that Saull is aboute to come a∣gaynst Keilah to destroye the Citye for my sake: wyll the men of Keilah delyuer me into his hande? And wyll Saull come downe, as thy seruaunt hath herde saye? O Lorde God of Israell, tell thy seruaunt. And the Lorde sayde: he wyll come downe. Then sayde Da∣uid: wyll the men of Keilah delyuer me, & the men that are with me, into the hand of Saul? and the lorde sayde: they wyll betraye you.

Then Dauid and his men whiche were vpon a sixe hūdred, arose & departed out of Keilah, & went whyther they coulde. And it was tolde Saull, that Dauid was fled from Keilah, & he let the iourney alone. Dauid abode in the wyldernesse in stronge holdes, & remayned in a mountayne in the wyldernesse of Ziph.

And Saull sought hym euery daye, but [unspec C] god delyuered hym not into his hande. And Dauid sawe that Saull was come out, to seke his lyfe. And Dauid was in the wyldernesse of Ziph in a thycket. And Ionathas Sauls son arose, & went to Dauid in to the thycket, & conforted his hand in god, & sayd vnto hym: feare not, for the hande of Saull my father shall not fynde the, & thou shalt be kyng ouer Israell, & I must be ne••te vnto the. And that doth Saul my father know, And they made a bonde, bothe of them togyther before the lorde. And Dauid taryed styll in the thicket, & Ionathas went to his house. Then came the Ziphites to Saull, to Gibea, sayenge: Dothe not Dauid hyde him selfe fast by vs in strong holdes, in a thycket that is by the hyll of Ha∣chila, on the ryght syde of the wyldernesse?

Nowe therfore kynge, y^u mayest come downe accordynge to all the lust of thy soule: come downe, & our parte shall be to delyuer hym in to the kyng{is} hande. And Saul sayd: Blessyd are ye in the Lorde: for ye haue cōpassyon on me. Go I praye you, & ordre the matter well, knowe & se his haunte, where his foote hath ben, & who hath sene hym there: for it is tolde me, that he is very subtyl, & worketh craftly.

Se therfore, and knowe all the lurkynge [unspec D] places, where he hydeth hym selfe, & come ye agayne to me with the certeyntye, & I wyl go with you. And yf he be in the lande, I wyll serche hym out thorowout all the thousand{is} of Iuda▪ And they arose, & went to Ziph be∣fore Saull. But Dauid & his men were in the wyldernesse of Maon, in the playne that is / on the ryght hande of Iesymon. Saull also and his men went to seke: & they tolde Dauid Wherfore he went vnto a Rocke, and abode

in the wyldernesse of Maon. And when Saul herde that, he folowed after Dauid in the wyl¦dernesse of Maon. And Saull and his men went on the one syde of the mountayne, and Dauid and his men on the other syde. And Dauid toke thought, howe to get from Saull. For Saull & his men, cōpassed Dauid and his men, rounde aboute, to take them. But there came a messenger to Saull, sayenge: Hast the, and come, for the Philistines are come in to the lande. Wherfore, Saul returned from persecutyng Dauid, & went agaynst the Phi∣listines. And therfore is it, that they called the place: The rocke of separacion. And Da∣uid went thence, & dwelte in stronge holdes at Engadi.

¶ Dauid fleeth into Engadi, and there hydeth hym in •• ••au••. Saull ••ōmeth in thy thee to do his ••a••••mente.

CAPI. XXIIII.

WHen Saull was come agayne from fo¦lowynge [unspec A] after the Philistines, it for∣tuned, that there were, which tolde hym, say∣enge: beholde, Dauid is in the wyldernesse of Engadi. Then Saul toke▪ iii. M. chosen men out of Israell, & went to seke Dauid, and his men in the heygth of the Rock{is}, where wylde gootes remayne. And he came to the flockes of shepe in the waye. And Saull went in to a caue ☞ to couer his feete. And Dauid & his men remayned in the inwarde partes of the caue. And the men of Dauid sayde vnto hym: se, the day is come, of whiche the Lorde sayde vnto the: Beholde, I wyll delyuer thy ene∣myes in to thyne hande, & thou shalte do to hym as it shal seme good in thy syght. Then Dauid arose and cut of a lap of Sauls gar∣ment pryuelye. And immediatly ☞ Dauids herte smote hym bycause he had cut of a lap of Sauls garment.

And he sayd vnto his men, the lorde kepe [unspec B] me from doyng that thyng vnto my mayster the lord{is} anoynted, to lay myne hande vpon hym, seynge he is the anoynted of the Lorde. ❀ (For as truely as the lorde lyueth, excepte the lorde smyte hym, or excepte his day come, or yf he go not doune to vvar and perysshe: the lorde be mercyfull vnto me, that I lay not my hande vpon the Lordes anoynted.) And so Dauid kepte of his seruauntes with these wordes, & suffered them not to ryse agaynst Saull.

But Saull rose vp out of the caue and went awaye, Dauid also arose & went out of the caue, & cryed after Saull, saynge: My lorde kynge. And when Saull loked behynde hym. Dauid ••••owped to the earth, and bowed hym selfe, & sayde to Saull: wherfore gyuest thou an care to mennes wordes, that saye, Dauid seketh euyll agaynst the? Beholde, this daye [unspec C] thyne eyes haue sene, howe that the lorde de∣lyuered the this daye into myne hande in the caue. And some bad me kyll the, but I had cōpassyon on the, & sayde: I wyll not laye my handes on my mayster, for he is the Lordes anoynted. And moreouer, my father, beholde & se yet the lap of thy garment in my hande: in as moche as I kylled the not, when I cut of the lap of thy garment. Understande ther∣fore & se, that there is neyther euyll nor wyc∣kednesse in me, & that I haue not synned a∣gaynst the. And yet y^• huntest after my soule to take it. The Lorde be iudge bytwene the & me, & the lorde aduenge me of the. But myne hande be not vpō the. Accordyng as the olde prouerbe sayeth: wyckednes procedeth from the wycked: But myne hande be not vpō the

After whome is the kynge of Israell come out? After whome doest y^u moue persecucion? After ☞ a dead dog, & after a flee. The lorde be iudge, & iudge bytwene the & me, and se, & pleate my cause, & aduenge me of thyne hand

When Dauid had made an ende of spea∣kynge [unspec D] these wordes to Saull, Saull sayde: is this thy voyce my son Dauid? and Saul lyfte vp his voyce, & wept, & sayde to Dauid: thou arte more ryghtous then I, for y^u hast re¦warded me, w^t good, where as I haue rewar¦ded the with euyl. And thou hast shewed this daye, howe that y^u hast delte louynglye with me, for as moche as when the Lorde had loc∣ked me in thyne hand{is}, thou kylledst me not. For who shal fynde his enemye, & let him de∣parte into a good way? Wherfore the lorde re¦warde the with good, for that y^u hast done vn¦to me this day. And now behold, I wote well that thou shalt be kyng, & that the kyngdom of Israell shal be stablysshed in thyne hand. Sweare now therfore vnto me by the lorde, that thou shalte not destroye my seede after me / & that thou shalte not put my name out of my fathers house. And Dauid ☞ sware vnto Saull, and Saull went home. But Da∣uid and his men gat them vp vnto an holde.

Samuel dyeth. Dauid fleeth into the wylder••nes of Pharan.

CAPI. XXV. [unspec A]

AND Samuell dyed, and all the Is∣raelites gathered togyther & lamented hym, & buryed hym in his owne house at Rama. And Dauid arose, and gat hym to the wyldernesse of Pharan. And there was a man in Maon whose possessyon was in Carmell, & the man was excedyng myghtye, and had. iii. M. shepe, & a thousand gootes. And he was shearynge his shepe in Carmell. The name of the man was Naball, and the

name of his wyfe was Abigaill, & she was a woman of a god wyt, and bewtyfull. But the man was churlyshe, & of shrewed condicions, and was of the kynred of Caleb. And Dauid herde in the wyldernesse, that Naball dyd sheare his shepe. And Dauid sent out ten yonge men, & sayde vnto them: get you vp to Carmell, & go to Naball, and grete hym in my name. And thus shall ye saye: peace be to [unspec B] the, peace be to thyne house, & peace be vnto all that thou hast. Behold, I haue herde say / that thou hast shearers. Now, thy shepherds were with vs ❀ (in the vvyldernesse,) and we dyd them no spyte, neyther was there ought ❀ (of the flocke) myssyng vnto them, all the whyle they were in Carmel: aske thy laddes / and they wyll shewe the. Wherfore let these yonge men fynde fauoure in thyne eyes (for we come in a good ceason) & gyue I praye the whatsoeuer cōmeth to thyne hande, vnto thy seruaūtes, & to thy son Dauid. And when Dauids yonge men came, they tolde Naball al those wordes in the name of Dauid, & then helde theyr peace. And Naball answered Da∣uids seruaūtes, and sayde: What is Dauid? and what is the son of Isai? there is plentye of seruauntes nowe a dayes, that breake a∣waye euery men from his mayster. Shall I then take my breade, my water & my flesshe, that I haue kylled for my shearers, & gyue it vnto men whom I wote not whence they be?

And so Dauids seruauntes turned theyr [unspec C] way, & we•••• agayne, and came & tolde him al those sayenges. And Dauid sayde vnto his men: gyrde euery man his swerde about him

And they gyrded euery man his swerde a∣boute hym, and Dauid was gyrded with his swerde. And there folowed Dauid vpon a iiii. C. men, & two hundred abode by the stuffe

But one of the laddes tolde Abigaill Na∣bals wyfe, saynge: beholde, Dauid sent mes∣sengers vnto our mayster out of the wylder∣nesse to salute hym, and he rayled on them. And yet the men are very good vnto vs, and dyd vs no dysplesure, neyther myssed we any thyng, as longe as we were conuersant with them, when we were in the feldes. They were a wall of defence vnto vs both by nyght and day, all the whyle we were with them kepyng shepe. Nowe therfore, take hede, and se what thou hast to do, for there is an occasyon of euyll gyuen agaynst our mayster and all his houshold, seyng: he is vngracyous to speake to. Then Abigaill made hast, and toke. ii. C. loues, and two bottels of wyne, & fyue shepe redye dressed, and fyue measures of parched corne, and an hundred frayles of reasennes, and two hundred topnettes of fygges, and [unspec D] laded them on asses, & sayde vnto her yonge men: go ye before me. Beholde, I come after you But she tolde her husbande Naball no∣thyng therof. And as she rode on her asse she came pryuely downe the syde of the hyll, and beholde, Dauid and his men came downe a∣gaynst her, & she met them. And Dauid sayd: in vayne haue I kepte all that this felowe hath in the wyldernesse: so that nought was myssed of all that perteyned vnto hym. And he hath quyte me euyll for good. So and so do god vnto the enemyes of Dauid, yf I leaue of all that perteyne to hym, by the daw¦nynge of the daye, any thynge ☞ that pys∣seth agaynst the walle. And when Abigaill sawe Dauid, she hasted and lyght of her asse, and fell before Dauid on her face, and bowed her selfe to the groūde & fell at his feete, and sayde: Let this vnhappye dede be counted myne, my Lorde, and let thyne handmayde speake in thyne audience, & heare the wordes of thy handmayde. Let not my Lorde ❀ (the Kynge) regarde this vnthryftye man Nabal: for as his name is, so is he: ☞ Nabal is his name / and follye is with hym. But I thyne handemayde / sawe not the yonge men of my lorde, whom thou sendedst. Now therfore my [unspec E] lord, as sure as the lorde lyueth, & as thy soule lyueth, the Lorde hath withholden the from cōmynge to shede bloode, & withdrewe thyne hande. Nowe, I praye God, that thyne ene∣myes and they that entende to do my Lorde euyll, maye be as Naball. And nowe this is the ☞ blessynge whiche thyne hande mayde hath brought vnto my Lorde: & let it be gyuē vnto the yonge men, that folowe my Lorde. Forgyue the trespasse of thyne handmayde, for the lorde wyl make my lorde a sute h••use / bycause my lorde fyghteth the battels of the Lorde, & there coulde none euyl be founde in the in all thy dayes. And yf any man ryse to persecute the, & to seke thy soule, the soule of my lorde shall be bounde as ☞ in the bundel of the lyuyng with the lorde thy god. And the soules of the enemyes shal god cast out, euen as out of the mydle of a slyng. And when the lorde shall haue done to my lorde al the good that he hath promysed the, & shall haue made the ruler ouer Israell: then shall it be no de∣caye vnto the, nor discourage of herte vnto my lorde, that thou hast not shed blode cause∣lesse, nor aduenged thy selfe.

But when the lorde shall haue delte well, [unspec F] with my Lorde, then thyncke on thyne hand∣mayde. And Dauid sayde to Abigaill: blessed be the lorde God of Israell, whiche sente the

this daye to mete me. Blessyd is thy saynge / and blessyd arte thou, whiche hast kepte me this day from cōmyng to shed blood, & from aduengyng my selfe with myne owne hande. For in very dede, as sure as the Lorde God of Israell lyueth, which hath kepte me backe from hurtynge the, excepte thou haddest ha∣sted and met me, thynkest thou, there had ben lefte vnto Naball by the dawnynge of the daye, a pysser agaynst the wall? And so Da∣uid receyued of her hande, that whiche she had brought hym, and sayde to her: go vp in peace to thyne house. Behold, I haue obeyed thy voyce, and haue accepted thy person.

And Abigaill came to Naball: and beholde / he helde a feast in his house, lyke the feast of a kyng, and Nabals herte was mery within hym, for he was very dronken. Wherfore she tolde hym nothynge, neyther lesse nor more / [unspec G] vntyll the morowe day. But in the mornyng when the wyne was gone out of Naball, his wyfe tolde hym these wordes, and his herte dyed within hym, and he became as a stone: and vpon a ten dayes after, the Lorde smote Nabal, that he dyed. And when Dauid herde that Naball was deade, he sayde: Blessyd be the Lorde that hath iudged the cause of my rebuke of the hande of Nabal, and hath kept his seruaunt from euyll, and hath recompen¦sed the wyckednesse of Naball vpō his owne heade. And Dauid sent to cōmen with Abi∣gaill, to the entent to take her to his wyfe.

And when the seruauntes of Dauid were come to Abigaill to Carmell, they spake vn∣to her, sayenge: Dauid sent vs vnto the, to take the to his wyfe. And she arose, & bowed her selfe on her face to the arth, and sayd: Be∣holde, let thy handmayde be a seruaunte, to washe the feete of the seruaūtes of my lorde. And Abigaill hasted, & arose, and gat her vp vpon an asse, with fyue damsels of hers that went at her feete, and she went after the mes∣sengers of Dauid / and became his wyfe. Da∣uid also toke Ahinoam of Iesrahell, & they were both his wyues. But Saull gaue Mi∣choll his doughter Dauids wyfe to Phalti the son of Lais whiche was of Gallim.

¶ Saull slepeth in his tent, and Dauid taketh away his speare / and a cruse of water that stode at his heade.

CAPI. XXVI.

THe Ziphites came vnto Saull to Gi∣bea, sayenge: Doth not Dauid hyde him [unspec A] selfe in the hyll of Hachila which is be∣fore Iesimon? Saull arose, and went downe to the wyldernesse of Ziph, hauynge. iii. M. chosen men of Israell with hym, for to seke Dauid in the wyldernesse of Ziph. And Saull pytched in the hyll of Hachila whiche lyeth before Iesimon, by the waye syde. But Da∣uid dwelte in the wyldernesse. And he sawe that Saull came after hym in to the wylder∣nesse. Dauid therfore sent out spyes, and vn∣derstode that Saull was come in very dede. And Dauid arose & came to the place, where Saull had pytched, and Dauid behelde the place, where Saull laye, and Abner the son of Ner whiche was his cheyfe capteyne▪ Saul laye within, and the people, and the hooste rounde aboute hym. Then answered Dauid and spake to Ahimelech the Hethite, and to Abisai the son of Zaruia, & brother to Ioab, sayenge: Who wyll go downe w^t me to Saull to the hooste? And Abisai sayde: I wyll go downe with the. And so Dauid and Abisai came downe to the people by nyght.

And beholde, Saull laye slepyng within [unspec B] the hoost, & his speare stacke in the grounde at his heade. But Abner and the people laye rounde aboute hym. Then sayde Abisai to Dauid: God hath delyuered thyne enemye in to thyne hand this day. Now therfore, let me smyte hym once with my speare to the earth, and I wyll not smyte hym the seconde tyme. And Dauid sayd to Abisai: destroye hym not. For who can laye his hande on the Lordes a∣noynted, & be gyltlesse? And Dauid sayd fur∣thermore: as sure as the lorde lyueth, the lord shall smyte hym or his day shal come to dye, or he shall descende in to battayle, and there perish. The lorde kepe me from laynge myne hande vpon the Lordes anoynted. But take thou nowe the Speare that is at his heade, and the cruse of water, and let vs go. And so Dauid toke the speare, and the cruse of wa∣ter from Sauls heade, and they gat them a∣waye, and no man sawe it, or awaked.

For they were all a slepe, bycause the lorde [unspec C] had sent a slomber vpon them. Then Dauid went ouer to the other syde, and stode on the top of an hyll a far of (a greate space beynge bytwene them) And Dauid cryed to the peple, and to Abner the son of Ner, sayenge: Hea∣rest thou not Abner? Abner answerd, & sayd: What arte thou that ☞ cryest to the kynge? and Dauid sayde to Abner: arte not thou a man: and who is lyke the in Israell? Wher∣fore then hast thou not kepte thy Lorde the kynge? For there came one of the folke in, to destroye the kynge thy Lorde. It is not good that thou hast done. As truly as the lorde ly∣ueth, ye are worthy to dye, bycause ye haue not kepte your mayster, the lordes anoynted. And nowe se where the kyng{is} speare is, and the cruse of water, that was at his heade.

And Saull knewe Dauids voyce, & sayd: is this thy voyce my sonne Dauid? and Da∣uid sayde: it is my voyce, my lorde, O kynge. And he sayde: wherfore doth my Lorde thus persecute his seruaūt? for what haue I done? or what euyll is in myne hande? Nowe ther∣fore let my Lorde the kynge heare the word{is} of his seruaunt. Yf the lorde haue styrred the [unspec D] vp agaynst me, let hym smell the sauoure of a sacrifyce. But & yf they be the Chyldren of men, cursed are they before the lorde. For they haue cast me out this daye from abydyng in the enheritaunce of the lorde, sayenge: hence, & go serue other godd{is}. Now therfore let not my bloode fall to the earth before the face of the lorde. For the kyng of Israell is come out to hunt a flee, as when one dothe hunt a par∣trege in the mountaynes. Then sayd Saul: I haue synned, come agayne my son Dauid / for I wyll do the no more harme, bycause my soule was precyous in thyne eyes this daye. Beholde, I haue playde the foole, and haue erred excedyngly. And Dauid answered and sayde: Beholde, the kynges speare, let one of the yonge men come ouer, & set it. The lorde rewarde euery man accordynge to his rygh∣tuousnesse ❀ and fayth: for the lorde delyue∣red the into my hande this day, but I wolde not lay myne hande vpon the lordes anoyn∣ted. And beholde, lyke as thy lyfe was moche set by this daye in myne eyes: so be my lyfe set by in the eyes of the lorde, that he delyuer me out of all tribulacyon. Then Saull sayd to Dauid: Blessed arte thou my sonne Dauid for ❀ thou shalt be a doer and preuayle. And so Dauid went his waye, and Saull turned to his place agayne.

¶ Dauid ••••••eth to Achis hynge of Gath.

CAPI. XXVII.

ANd Dauid sayde in his herte: I shall [unspec A] peryshe one daye or other by the hande of Saull. Therfore is there nothynge better for me, then to flee and saue my selfe in the lande of the Philistines, and Saull shall cease & s••ke me no more in all the coostes of Israell, & so shall I escape out of his hande. And Dauid arose, & he and the syxe hundred men that were w^t hym, went vnto Achis, the son of Mao••h, Kynge of Geth. And Dauid dwelt with Achis at Geth, both he & his men / euery man w^t his housholde, & Dauid with his two wyues: Ahinoam the Iezrahelit, and Abigaill Nabals wyfe of Carmell. And it [unspec B] was tolde Saul, that Dauid was fled to Geth, & he sought no more for hym. And Dauid sayde vnto Achis: Yf I haue nowe founde grace in thyne eyes, let them gyue me a place in some towne in the feld{is}, that I may dwell there. For why shulde thy seruaunt dwell in the head citie of the kingdom with the. Then Achis gaue hym Zikleg the same daye, for whiche cause Zikleg perteyneth vnto the kyng{is} of Iuda vnto this daye. And the tyme that Dauid dwelt in the countrey of the Phi∣listines, was foure monethes, and certeyne dayes. And Dauid & his men went vp, and [unspec C] ran vpon the Gesurites, the Gerzites & the Amalechites: For those nacions were from the begynnyng the enhabytours of the land, as men go to Sur, vnto the lande of Egypt. And Dauid smote the lande, & lefte neyther man nor woman alyue, and droue awaye the shepe, the oxen, the asses, camels, and clothes & returned, & came to Achis. And Achis sayd where haue ye ben a ••ouynge this daye? And Dauid answered: Towarde the south of Iu∣da, & towarde the south of the Iezrahelit••s / [unspec D] & towarde the south of the ☞ Kenites. And Dauid saued neyther man nor woman alyue nor suffered them to come to Geth, for feare (sayeth he) leest they shulde tell on vs saynge: so dyd Dauid, and so wyll be his maner all the whyle he dwelleth in the countrey of the Philistines. And Achis byleued Dauid, say∣enge: He abhorreth his people of Israell, and therfore he shall be my seruaunt for euer.

¶ The Philistines mone warre agaynst Saull, whiche seketh alter an enchaunter.

CAPI. XXVIII.

ANd it chaunced in those dayes, that the [unspec A] Philistines gathered theyr hoost togy∣ther to war, to fyght with Israell. And Achis sayde to Dauid: Be sure, thou shalt go out with me to the battayle, thou & the men that are w^t the. And Dauid sayd to Achis: thē thou shalt knowe, what thy seruaunt can do. And Achis sayde agayne to Dauid: Then I wyll make the keper of my heade for euer.

Samuell was then dead, & all Israell had lamēted hym, and buryed hym in Rama his owne citye. And Saull had put the women that had spirytes of prophesye, & the Soth∣sayers out of the lande. And the Philistines gathered togyther, & came, & pytched in Su∣nem. And Saul gathered all Israel togyther, & they pytched in Gilboa: And when Saull sawe the hooste of the Philistines, he was a∣frayde, & his herte was sore astonyed. And when Saull asked counseyle of the Lorde, the lord answered hym not, neyther by dreames / nor ☞ by Urim, nor yet by prophetes. Then sayd Saull vnto his seruauntes, seke me a woman that hath a spiryte of prophesye, that I may go to her and aske of her. And his ser∣uauntes

sayde to hym: Beholde, there is a woman that hath a Spiryte of prophesye at Endor. And Saull chaunged hymselfe, and put on other rayment, and then went he and two men with hym, and they came to the wo∣man by nyght. And he sayde: prophesye vn∣to [unspec B] me by the Spiryte, and brynge me hym vp whome I shall name vnto the. And the wo∣man sayd vnto hym: Beholde, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he hath destroyed the women, that had prophesyenge spirytes, and the Sorcerers out of the lande. Wher∣fore then sekest thou an occasion agaynst my soule, that he may kyll me? And Saull sware to her by the lorde, saynge: As surely as the Lorde lyueth, there shall no harme chaūce the for this thyng. Then sayd the woman: whome shall I fetche vp vnto the? He answered: Brynge me vp Samuell. When the woman sawe Samuell, she cryed with a lowde voyce, & spake to Saull, saynge: why hast thou deceyued me? for y^u arte Saul. And the kynge sayd vnto her, be not afrayd: What seest thou? The woman sayde vnto Saull: ❀ I se godd{is} ascendyng vp out of the earth. He sayd vnto her agayne: what fassion is he of? She answered: there cōmeth vp an olde man with a mantell vpon hym.

And Saull perceyued that it was ☞ Sa∣muell, [unspec C] and he stouped with his face to the ground, and bowed hymselfe. And Samuel sayde to Saull, why hast thou vnquieted me, to make me be brought vp? Saul answered: I am sore encōbred. For the Philistin{is} make war agaynst me and god is departed from me & answereth me no more, neyther by pro∣phetes, neyther by dreames. And therfore I haue called the, that y^u mayest tell me, what I shall do. Then sayd Samuell: wherfore doest thou aske of me, whyle the Lorde is gone frō the, and is become thyne enemye? Truly the lorde hath done for hymselfe, euen as ☞ he spake by my hande. For the lorde hath rent the kyngdome out of thyne hande, & gyuen it to thy neyghbour Dauid. Bycause thou obeyedst not the voyce of the Lorde, nor exe∣cutedst his fearce wrath vpon the Amalechi∣tes, therfore hath the lord done this vnto the this daye. And moreouer, the Lorde wyll de∣lyuer Israell with the, into the handes of the Philistines. To morowe shalte thou & thy sonnes be with me, & the lorde shall gyue the hoost of Israell into the handes of the Phi∣listines. Then Saull fell streyght waye flat on the earth as longe as he was, & was sore a drede, bycause of the wordes of Samuell.

And there was no strength in him, for he had eaten no bread al the day & the nyght be∣fore. [unspec D] And the woman came vnto Saull, and sawe that he was sore troubled, & sayde vnto hym: Se, thyne handmayde hath obeyed thy voyce, & ☞ haue put my soule in my hand, and haue harkened vnto thy wordes, whiche thou saydest vnto me. Nowe therfore harken thou also vnto the voyce of thyne handmayd & let me set a morsell of bread before the, that thou mayst eate & get the strength, & then go on thy iourneye. He refused, & sayde: I wyll not eate. But his seruaūtes & the woman to∣gyther cōpelled hym, and he herkened vnto theyr voyce. And so he arose from the earth, and sat hym on a bed. The woman had a fat calfe in the house, & she hasted & kylled it, and toke floure & kneded it, & dyd bake swete cak{is} therof, & brought them before Saull & before his seruaūtes. And whē they had eaten, they stode vp, and went awaye the same nyght.

¶ Dauid goth with kynge Achi•• to fyght agaynst Saull.

CAPI. XXIX.

THe Philistines were gathered togyther [unspec A] with all theyr armyes vnto Aphec: And the Israelites pytched in Aim, which is in Iesrahell. And the lordes of the Philisti∣nes went forth w^t the hundreds & thousand{is} But Dauid, & his men came behynde with Achis. Then sayde the lordes of the Philisti∣nes, what are yonder Hebrues? Achis sayde vnto the Lordes of the Philistines: Is not this Dauid the seruaunt of Saull the kynge of Israell, whiche hath ben with me ☞ these dayes or yeares? I haue founde no faure in hym, sence he fled vnto me vnto this daye.

And the Lordes of the Philistines were [unspec B] wroth with hym, & sayde vnto hym: Make this felowe returne, that he maye go agayne to his place which thou hast apoynted hym: and let hym not go downe w^t vs to battayle, leest in the battayle he be an aduersary to vs. For wherwith coulde he better obteyne the fa¦uour of his mayster, then with the heades of these men? Is not this Dauid, to whom they sange in daūses: Saull slewe his thousand, & Dauid his. x▪ M? Then Achis called Da∣uid, & sayde vnto hym: As sure as the Lorde lyueth, thou hast ben honest, and good in my syght, when thou wentest out & in with me in the hoost: neyther haue I founde euyll with the, sence thou camest to me vnto this daye: Neuerthelesse the Lordes of the Philistines [unspec C] fauour the not: Wherfore nowe returne, and go in peace, that thou dysplease not the lord{is} of the Philistines. And Dauid sayd vnto A∣chis: And what haue I done? what hast thou founde in thy seruaunt, as longe as I haue

bene with the vnto this day, that I maye not go fyght agaynst the enmyes of my lorde the kyng? Achis answered & sayde to Dauid: I knowe that thou arte good, & art in my sight as an angell of God. Notwithstandynge the lordes of the Philistines haue sayd. Let him not go vp with vs to battayl. Wherfore now aryse vp early in the mornyng with thy may∣sters seruauntes that are come to the: & when ye be vp early (as soone as ye haue lyght) de¦parte. And so Dauid & his men arose vp early to departe in the mornyng, and to returne in to the lande of the Philistines. And the Phi∣listines went vp to Iezrahel.

¶ Dauid returnyng from kynge Achis fyndeth zi••leg burnt.

CAPI. XXX.

BUt when Dauid & his men were come [unspec A] to Zikleg the thyrde daye, the Amaleki∣tes had russhed in vpō the south, & vpon Zikleg, & had smytten Zikleg, & burnt it w^t fyre, & had taken the women (that were ther∣in) prysoners, both small and great: but siue not a man, saue caryed them with them, and went theyr wayes. So Dauid and his men came to the citie: & beholde, it was burnt with fyre, and theyr wyues, theyr sonnes and theyr doughters were caryed away. Then Dauid & the people that was with hym, lyft vp theyr hoyces & wepte, vntyll they coulde wepe no more. And Dauids two wyues were taken [unspec B] prisoners also: Ahinoam the Iezraelite, and Abigall the wyfe of Nabal the Carmelite. And Dauid was in a shrewde combraunce: for the people entended to stone hym, bycause the hert{is} of al the people were vexed for theyr sonnes & theyr doughters. But Dauid toke a good courage to hym in the lorde his God, and sayd to Abiathar the preest Ahimelechs sonne: I pray the, bryng me the Ephod. And Abiathar brought the Ephod to Dauid. And Dauid asked counsayle at the lorde, saynge: shall I folow after this companye? & shall I ouertake them? And he answered hym: folow for thou shalte ouertake them, & recouer the praye. So Dauid & the. vi. C. men that were with hym, went and came to the ryuer Besor, where a parte of them abode. But Dauid and iiii. C. men folowed. For. ii. C. abode behynde beynge to wery to go ouer the ryuer Besor. And they founde an Egypcian in the felde, & [unspec C] brought hym to Dauid & gaue hym breade to eate, and water to drynke, and gaue hym a fewe fygges & two clusters of reasens. And when he had eaten, his spirite came agayne to hym: for he had eaten no bread, nor dronke no water in thre dayes and thre nyghtes.

And Dauid sayd vnto hym: to whom be∣longest thou? and whence arte thou? he sayd? [unspec D] I am a yonge man of Egypte and seruaunt to an Amalekite: and my mayster left me be∣hynde, bycause it is thre dayes agone, that I fell sycke: we came a rouynge vpon the south of Chretus, and agaynst Iuda, and towarde the south of Caleb. And we burnt Zikleg w^t fyre. And Dauid sayd vnto hym: Canst thou brynge me to this companye? And he sayde: Swere vnto me by god, that thou wylte ney¦ther kyll me, nor delyuer me into the handes of my mayster, and I wyll brynge the to the companye. And when he had brought hym thyther: Beholde, they laye scattered abrode vpon the earthe, eatyng & drynkyng, & daun∣syng, bycause of the plenteous & great praye that they had caried away out of the lande of [unspec E] the Philistines, & out of the lande of Iuda.

And Dauid layd vpon them from the euen vntyll the twylyght on the morowe: so that there escaped not a man of them, saue foure hundred yong men whiche rode away vpon camels, & fled. And Dauid recouered all that the Amalekites had caryed awaye, & Dauid rescued his two wyues: so that there was no person of them lackyng, small or great, sonne or doughter, or of the spoyle of all that they had taken awaye, Dauid recouered them all agayne. And Dauid toke all the shepe, & the oxen. And they draue them before his ca••••el, and sayde: this is Dauids pray. And Daui•• came to the. ii. C. men, that were to werye for to folowe Dauid, whom they had made also to abyde at the ryuer Besor. And they came to mete Dauid, and the people that were with hym. And when Dauid came to the people, he saluted them. Then answered all the wycked [unspec F] & the vnthryftes (of the men that went with Dauid) & sayd: Bycause they went not w^t vs, therfore wyll we gyue them none of the pray, that we haue recouered. But let euery man take his wyfe & his chyldren. These let them cary away, and be walkyng. Then sayde Da∣uid: ye shal not do so (my ••brethren) with that whiche the Lorde hath gyuen vs, and hath preserued vs, & delyuered the companye that came agaynst vs, into our handes. For who shulde hecken vnto you in this matter?

But as his parte is that goth downe and fyghteth, so shal his parte be, that taryeth by the stuffe that it may be parted alyke. And so from that day forwarde, was that made a sta¦tute & lawe in Israel vntyl this daye. When Dauid therfore came to Zikleg, he sent ❀ (gyf∣tes) of the pray vnto the elders of Iuda & to [unspec G] his frendes, saynge: se, there is a blessyng for you, of the spoyle of the enemyes of the lorde▪

He sent to them of Bethel: to them of southe Ramoth: to them of Iathir: to them of Aroer to them of Sephamoth: to them of Esthemoa to them of Rachel: to them of the cities of Ie∣rhameel: to them of the cityes of the Kenites: to them of Horma: to them of Borasā: to them of Athach: to them that are in Hebron, and in all places, where Dauid and his men were wonte to haunte.

Saul kylleth hym selfe, & his chyldr•• are sleyne in the battell.

CAPI. XXXI.

THe Philistines fought agaynst Israel [unspec A] & the men of Israel fled away from the Philistines, & fell downe wounded in mount Gilboa. And the Philistines preased sore vpon Saul & his sonnes, and slue Iona¦thas, & Abinadab & Melchusia Sauls son∣nes. And whē the battayle went sore agaynst Saul, the archers w^t bowes found hym: & he was sore afrayde of the archers. Then sayde [unspec B] Saul vnto his harnes berer: draw out thy swerde, & thrust me thorow therwith, lest these vncircumcised come & thrust me thorow, and make a mockyng stocke of me. But his har∣nes berer wolde not, for he was sore afrayde. And Saul toke a swerde, & fell vpon it. And when his harnes berer sawe that Saul was dead, he fel lykewyse vpon his swerde, & dyed w^t hym. And so Saul dyed & his. iii. sonnes, & his harnes berer, & al his mē that same day togyther. And when the men of Israell that [unspec C] were on the other syde of the valey, & they of the other syde Iordan, herde, that the men of Israel were put to flyght, & that Saul & his sonnes were deade, they lefte the cityes, & ran away, & the Philistin{is} came, & dwelt in them. On the morowe whē the Philistines were come to spoyle them that were sleyne, they founde Saul & his. iii. sonnes lye in mounte Gilboa. And they cut of his heade, & stryped him out of his harnes: & sent in to the land of the Philistines on euery syde, that they shuld publishe it in the tēple of theyr ydols: & amōg the people. And they layde vp his harnes in the house of Astharoth, but they hanged vp his body on the wal of Bethsan. When the inhabitours of Iabes in Gilead herde therof what the Philistines had done to Saul, they arose (as many as were strong men) & wente all nyght & toke the body of Saul, & the bo∣dyes of his sonnes from the wall of Bethsan & came to Iabes, & ☞ burnt them there, & toke theyr bones, & buryed them vnder a tree at Iabes, and fasted, vii. dayes

¶ The ende of the fyrst boke of Sa∣muel, otherwyse called the fyrst of the kyng{is}.

Notes

• 〈◊〉〈◊〉. vi. ••.
• 〈◊〉〈◊〉. 23. •• 〈◊〉〈◊〉. 16. ••
• 〈◊〉〈◊〉. ••••ii. a 〈◊〉〈◊〉. vi b
• Psal. x••ii. ••
• Deute. 32. f
• Psal. ••3. b.
• Deute. ••. d.
• ••••••••▪ 〈◊〉〈◊〉▪
• •••••••• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 〈◊〉〈◊〉▪ ••▪
• ••. Reg. ••2. d.
• ••. Reg. ii. g.
• ••. Regū. 4. c
• ••▪ Regū. ii. ••
• Ruth. ••▪ ••
• ••. Reg. 〈◊〉〈◊〉. ••.
• Iudi. ••3. ••.
• ••. Reg••. 〈◊〉〈◊〉. g
• ••. Reg••. 3. a
• The glo∣ry is gone.
• Or ••z••.
• ii. Reg. vi. ••
• ••••tes xiii. d
• Gene. 35. ••
• i. Reg. vi. a i. Par. ••8. ••
• i. Reg. 13. b
• i. Reg. xi. b.
• i. Reg. 〈◊〉〈◊〉. ••
• i. Reg. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 and x••••. ••
• i. Reg. ••••
• 〈…〉〈…〉
• Iudi. ••. ••
• 1 Reg. xv. a
• 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.
• Esay. ••••
• 1. Reg•• ••••
• E〈…〉〈…〉
• 1. 〈…〉〈…〉
• ••••a. 14. ••.
• 1. Math. 4 ••
• Iu•••••••• 7. •• 〈◊〉〈◊〉. Pa. xx. ••.
• ••cuit vii c and. xix. ••
• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••
• 2. 〈…〉〈…〉
• Diui••••
• 1. 〈…〉〈…〉
• ••rgii. ix. c
• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 17 d
• 〈…〉〈…〉 d
• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 xi, c
• Num. 24. b
• ••ina, vi. a
• i. Regū. ix. •• and. x. ••.
• Erodi. 2•• •• Deu. ••8 b.
• 1. Regū. 7. d
• 3. Regū. ii, c
• Nume. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 d Iosua. ii••. b and. vii c
• 〈…〉〈…〉
• 〈◊〉〈◊〉. x••. d
• Iosua. 1••. ••.
• Iud••. 14. d. ••eb••ue. xi ••
• Eccle 47. a
• Iub••. v••••••
• 1. Reg. 14. ••
• 1. Reg. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 and. 〈◊〉〈◊〉
• ••••. Reg. 〈◊〉〈◊〉. ••
• ••. Regū, 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••
• ••••di. ••ii. ••. Psal. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••
• Iosua. ii c Actes. ix. d.
• i. Regū. ix. c
• 〈…〉〈…〉
• i Regū ii. Reg.
• i. Regū 25 ••udi. vi••
• Leuit. 24. b Math. xii a
• 1. Reg. 1••. b. and. xxix. c.
• 1. Regū 〈◊〉〈◊〉 •• and. xx. d
• ••. Regū 30 ••
• 1. Reg. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••▪ and. 〈◊〉〈◊〉. b
• i. Reg. 〈…〉〈…〉
• i. 〈…〉〈…〉
• •• Reg. 〈◊〉〈◊〉. ••.
• ii. Reg. iii. ••
• ••. Reg••. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••
• •• Reg•• ••4 d
• •• Reg•• 〈◊〉〈◊〉 ••
• Exodi. 〈◊〉〈◊〉. ••
• Leuit. x••••. ••
• i. Reg. xv. f.
• i Regū. 31. a
• Iudi xii. •• i. Reg. xix. •• Psal. ••xix.
• i Reg. 〈…〉〈…〉 and. ••••••••
• Reg••••. ••3. b
• ••rouer. 25 c
• Iosua. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 t
• •• Para. ••. ••
• Iudi. ix ••. ••. Para. x. a
• ••. Para. x. ••
• ii. Regū. ii d
• ••••••••. 34. a