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 Iewe•••••••• compelled to leaue the lawe of god. The temple is defy••••••. The ••end••r•• are monyshed that they shal not abhorre the aduersyte wherwith the ••o•••••• afflycte••h them. The greuous payne of Eleazarus.

CAPI. VI.

NOt long after this, sent the king a mes¦saunger [unspec A] of Antioche, for to compel the Iewes, to altre the ordinaūces of y^• fathers & the law of god, to defile the tēple that was at Ierusalē / & to call it the tēple of Iupiter Olimpius: & that they shuld be ī Gazarim / as those which dwel at the place of Iupiter herberous. This wicked sedicion of the vn godly was heuy vpon all the people: for the tēple was full of voluptuousnes, bibbynge & bollynge of the Heathen, of rybaudes and harlottes together. The wemen wente into the holy place, and bare in that was not lau¦full. The aulter also was full of vnlaufull thynges, which the lawe forbyddeth to laye vpon it. The Sabbothes were not kepte, y^• other solēpne feastes of the lande were not regarded. To be playne / there durst no mā be a knowne that he was a Iewe. In y^• day of the kinges byrth they were cōpelled par∣force to offre: & when y^• feast of Bachus was kept, they were constrayned to were garlan¦des of yuye, & so to go aboute y^• honoure of Bachus. Morouer thorow the coūcel of [unspec B] Ptolomi there went out a cōmaūdement in y^• next cities of the Heathen, y^t they shuld in∣treate the Iewes in lyke maner: namely / to cōpel them for to do sacrifice after the lawes of the Gentiles: and who so wolde not / to put them to death. Apyteous thing was it to se. There were. ij. wemen accused to haue circumcised theyr sonnes, whom when they had led roūde aboute the cyte (the babes hā∣gyng at their brestes) they cast them downe headlīges ouer the walles. Some that were crepte in dennes & had kepte the Sabboth, were accused vnto Phylyppe / & brent in the fyre: because that for the feare of God they kepte the commaūdement so styfly / & wolde not defende them selues. Now I beseche all those which reade thys boke, that they refu¦se it not for these falles of aduersite: & iudge y^• thinges (that are happened) for no destrue cyō, but for a chastenyng of our people. And why? When God suffreth not synners lōge to folow their owne mynde / but shortly pu∣nysheth them, * 1.1 it is a tokē of his greate lo∣uynge kyndnes. For thys grace haue we of [unspec C] god more then other people, that he suffreth not vs lōg to sine vnpunished like as other nacyons, that when the day of iudgment cō¦meth, he maye punysh them in the fulnes of theyr synnes. If we sinne, he correcteth vs, but he neuer withdraweth his mercy from vs: & though he punysh with aduersyte, yet doth he neuer forsake his people. But let th{is} that we haue spoken now w^t few wordes, be for a warnyng & exhortacyon of y^• Heathen:

Now wyll we come to the declarynge of y^• matter. Eleazar one of y^• principall Scry¦bes, an aged man & of a wel fauored conute naunce, was constrained to gape with open mouth, * 1.2 & to eate swynes fleshe. But he de∣syryng rather to dye gloriously then to lyue with shame, offred him selfe wyllyngly to y^• martyrdome. Now when he saw y^• he must nedes go to it, he toke it paciētly: for he was at a poynte wyth hym selfe / that he wolde

cōsente to no vnlauful thynge for any plea∣sure of lyfe. They y^• stode by beyng moued [unspec D] with pyte (but not a ryght) for the olde frend shyppe of the mā, toke hym asyde pryuely, & prayed hym, that he wolde let suche flesh be brought hym as were lauful to eate / & then to make a countenaunce, as though he had eaten of the flesh of the sacrifyce lyke as the kyng cōmaunded, for so he might be delyue∣red frō death & so for the olde frendshype of the man, they shewed hym this kyndnes.

But he beganne to cōsydre hys discrete & honorable age, h{is} noble & worshypful stock, and nowe y^• from hys youth vp he had bene of an honest & good cōuersacyon: yee & howe constantly he had kept the ordinaunces and lawes cōmaūded by God, wherfore he gaue them this answere, & sayd: Yet had I rather fyrst be layde ī my graue. * 1.3 For it becōmeth not myne age (sayde he) in any wyse to dissē∣ble, wherby many yonge personnes myght thynke, that Eleazar beyng. ••xxx. yeare olde &. x. were nowe gone to a straunge lyfe: & so thorow myne ypocrisy (for a lytle tyme of a transytory lyfe) they myght be disceaued: by this meanes also shulde I defyle myne age, and make it abhomynable. For though I were nowe deliuered frō the tormētes of mē, yet shulde I not escape y^• hand of almyghty* 1.4 God nether alyue nor deed. Wherfore, I wil [unspec E] dye māfully, & do as it becōmeth myne age: wherby I maye peraduenture leaue an exā∣ple of stedfastnes for suche as be yonge, yf I w^t a readye mynde & māfully dye an honest death, for the moste worthy and holy lawes.

When he had sayde these wordes, imme∣diatly he was drawē to the tormente. Nowe they y^• led him & were mylde a lytle afore be∣ganne to take displeasure because of y^• wor∣des y^t he sayd: for they thought he had spokē thē of an hye mynde. But whē he was in his mariyrdome, he mourned & sayde: Thou (O Lorde) whiche haste the holy knowlege, knowest openly: y^t where as I myght be de∣lyuered frō death, I suffre these sore paynes of my body: but ī my minde I am wel cōtent to suffee thē because I feare the. Thus thys mādyed, leauinge y^• memorial of his death for an exāple, not only vnto yong men, but vnto all y^• people, to be stedfast and manly.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Pro•• 〈◊〉〈◊〉
• * 1.2

  Lou••••. x••••
• * 1.3

  〈◊〉〈◊〉. ••. ••.
• * 1.4

  〈◊〉〈◊〉. i. a.