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 story of Susā na / which is the. xiij. chapter of Daniel after the Latin.

THere dwelte a man in Babylon / [unspec] called Ioachim, y^• toke a wyfe / whose name was Susanna, the daughter of Helchia, a very fair woman, & suche a one as feared God. Her father & her mother also were god¦ly people / & taught theyr daughter accordīg to the lawe of Moyses. Nowe Ioachim (her husbāde) was a great rich man, & had a fayre orcharde ioyninge vnto his house. And to h•• resorted the Iewes comēly, because he was a mā of reputacion among thē. The same yere were there made two Iudges, suche as the Lorde speaketh of: Al the wyckednesse of Ba¦bylon / cōmeth from the elders (that is) from the iudges / whiche seme to rule the people. These came ofte to Ioachims house, and all such as had any thyng to do in the law, came thyther vnto them.

Nowe when the people came agayne at af¦ter [unspec B] noone / Susanna went into her husbādes orcharde to walcke. The elders seinge this / that she wente in daylye / and walcked: they burned for luste to her / yee they were almost out of theyr wyttes / and caste downe theyr eyes / that they shulde not se heauen / nor re∣membre / that God is a ryghtuous iudge. For they were both wounded with the loue of her / nether durst one shew another his grefe And for shame / they duest not tel her there in ordinate lust / that they wold fayne haue had to do with her. Yet they layed wayte for her earnestly from daye to day / that they myght (at the least) haue a syght of her. And the one sayde to the other: Up / let vs go home / forit is diner tyme. So they wēt their way frō her.

When they returned agayne, they came together, enquyryng out y^• matter betwyxte them selues: yee the one tolde y^• other of hys wycked lust. Then appoynted they a tyme, when they myght take Susanna alone.

It happned also y^• they spyed out a con∣uenient [unspec C] tyme, when she went forth to walke (as her maner was) and no body wyth her, but two maydens, & thought * 1.1 to wasshe her selfe in the gardē, for it was an hote season. And there was not one person there, excepte the two elders, had y^• hyd them selues, to be∣holde her. So she sayde to her maydens: go fet me oyle and sope, and shut the orcharde dore, that I may wash me. And they dyd as she bad them, and shut the orchard dore, and went out them selues at a backe dore, to fet the thyng that she had commaūded, but Su¦sanna knewe not, that the elders laye there hyd within. Nowe when the maydens were gone forth, the two elders gat them vp, and ranne vpō her, saying: now the orcharde do∣res are shut, that no man can se vs: we haue a lust vnto the, therfore cōsente vnto vs, and lye wyth vs.

If thou wylt not, we shal brynge a testy∣moniall agaynst the: that there was a yonge [unspec D] felo we wyth the, and that thou hast sente a∣way thy maydēs from the for the same cause Susanna syghed, & sayde: Alas. * I am in trouble on euery syde. Though I folow your mynde, it wyll be my death, & yf I cōsent not vnto you, I can not escape your hādes. Wel it is better for me, to fall into your hāde with out the dede doynge, then to synne in y^e syght of the Lorde: and wyth that, she cryed out wyth a loude voyce: the elders also cried out agaynst her.

Then rāne there one to the orchard dore, and smote it open. Nowe when the seruaun∣tes of the house herde the erye in the orchard, they russhed in at the backe dore, to se what the matter was. So when the elders tolde [unspec E] them, the seruauntes were greatly ashamed, for whyethere was neuer such a reporte made of Susanna. On the morowe after came the people to Ioachim her husbande, & the two elders came also, full of myscheuous ymagi¦nacyon agaynst Susanna, to brynge her vn¦to death, and spake thus before the people: Sende for Susanna the daughter of Hel∣chias, Ioachims wyfe. And imediately they sente for her. So she came wyth her father & mother her chyldrē and all her kynred. Now Susanna was a tender person, and marue∣lous fayre of face. Therfore the wycked men commaunded to take of the clothes from her face (for she was couered) that at the leest, they might so be satisfyed in her buety. Then her frendes, yee and all they that knewe her, beganne to wepe.

Those two elders stode vp in the myddest of the people, * 1.2 & layed theyr handes vpon the heade of Susanna: which wepte, and lo∣ked vp towarde Heauen / for her herte had a sure toust in the Lord. And the elders sayde: As we were walkynge in the orchard alone, thys woman came in with her two maydēs: whom she sente away from her, and sparred the orcharde dores: wyth that a yonge felow (whiche there was hyd) came vnto her, and laye with her. As for vs / we stode in a corner of the orcharde. And when we sawe this wyc¦kednes / we [unspec F] ranne to her: and perceaued, that they had medled together. But we could not holde him, for he was stronger then we: thus he opened the dore / and gat him away. Now when we had taken thys woman, we asked her / what yonge felowe thys was: but she wolde not tel vs. This is the matter, and we be wytnesses of the same. The comen sorte be¦leued them / as those that were the elders and iudges of the people, and so they condemned her to death. Susāna cryed out with a loude voyce, and sayd: O euerlastyng God, * 1.3 thou sercher of secretes, thou that knowest al thyn¦ges afore they come to pas: thou wotest, that they haue borne false wytnes agaynste me: & beholde, I muste dye, where as I neuer dyd any suche thynges, as these men haue maly∣cyously inuented agaynst me. And the Lorde herde her voyce. For when she was led forth to death, the Lorde raysed vp the sprete of a yonge chylde / whose name was Daniel, whi¦che [unspec G] cryed with a loude voyce: * 1.4 I am cleane from this bloude. Then al the people turned them towarde hym, and sayde. What meane these wordes / that thou hast spoken? Daniel stode in the myddest of thē, and sayde: Are ye suche fooles, O ye chyldren of Israel, that ye can not discerne nor know the truth? Ye haue here condemned a daughter of Israell vnto death, and know not y^• trueth wherfore: Go syt on iudgement agayne / for they haue spo¦ken false wytnesse agaynst her.

Wherfore the people turned agayne in al the hast. And the elders (that is, the pryncy∣pall heades) sayde vnto him: come syt downe here amonge vs, and shewe vs this matter / seyng God hath geuē the as greate honoure as an elder. And Daniel said vnto thē. * 1.5 Put these two asyde one from another / and then shall I heare thē. When they were put asun¦der one frome another he called one of them

and sayde vnto hym: O thou olde canckerd earle, that hast vsed thy wickednesse so lōg: thyne vngracyous dedes which y^u hast done afore / are nowe come to lyght. For thou hast geuen false iudgementes, thou hast op¦pressed the innocent / & letten the gyltye go fre / where as yet y^• Lord sayeth: * 1.6 The inno¦cent & ryghtuous se thou sley. not. Wel thā / yf thou hast sene her tell me vnder what tre sawest thou them talkyng together? He an∣swered: vnder a Molbery tree. And Danyel sayde: very well / now thou lyest euen vpon thyne head. Lo the messaunger of the Lorde hath receaued the sentence of him, to cut the in two. Then put he hym asyde / & called for the other, & sayde vnto hym: O thou sede of Canaan / but not of Iuda: Fayrenesse hathe disceaued the, and lust hath subuerted thine hert. Thus dealte ye afore with the daugh∣ters of Israel, and they (for feare) consented vnto you: but the daughter of Iuda wolde not abyde youre wyckednesse. Nowe tel me thā vnder what tree dydest y^• take thē, spea∣kinge together? He answered: Under a Pō∣granate tree. Then sayde Daniel vnto him: very wel, now thou lyest also euē vpō thine heade. The messaunger of the Lorde stan∣deth waytyng with the swerde, to cut the in two, and to sleye you both.

Wyth that, all the whole multitude gaue a greate shoute, & praysed God, * 1.7 which al∣waye delyuered them that put theyr trust in hym. And they came vpon the two elders (whome Danyell had conuycte wyth theyre owne mouth: that they had geuen false wit∣nesse) & dealte with them / euen lyke wyse as they wolde haue done with theyr neyghbou¦res: yee they dyd * 1.8 accordyng to the lawe of Moses, and put thē to death. Thus the in∣nocent blende was saued the same daye.

Then Helthiah & hys wyfe praysed God for theyr daughter Susāna, with Ioachim her husbāde and all the kynred: y^• there was no dishonestye foūde in her. From that day forth was Danyel had in great reputacion in the syght of the people. (And king Astia∣ges was layed with his fathers, and Cirus of Persya reygned in hys steade.)

¶ The ende of the storye of Susanna.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Exodi. ii. a 2, Reg. xi. a
• * 1.2

  Leu••••••. ••••
• * 1.3

  Hebre. 4. ••
• * 1.4

  2. Reg. ••▪ •• 〈◊〉〈◊〉. xx. ••
• * 1.5

  2. Reg. 〈◊〉〈◊〉. ••
• * 1.6

  ••od. 22. a 〈◊〉〈◊〉. xvii. ••
• * 1.7

  Psa. xvi. ••
• * 1.8

  ••••••••. xix d 〈◊〉〈◊〉. xix ••