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 declar ••••yon of the. ii. last sentences of the yonge mē, propounded in the Chapter before: of whiche the laste, that to, the & ve••••••ye beareth the vyctory in all thynges is moste commended and alowed. Durius wryteth letters to all the rulers vnder hym, tha•• they shoulde ••yde zo••o ba••ell to the buyldynge of Ierusalefn.

CAPI. IIII.

THEN the seconde (which had sayde, [unspec A] that the Kyng was stronger) beganne to speake / sayenge: D ye men, are nat they the strongest & moste excellēte / y^e cōquere the lande & the see, and all that is in the see and in the earth? Nowe is the kynge lorde af all these thynges / & hath dominion of thē all: & loke what he cōmaundeth, it is done. If he sende his men forth a warfare) they go, and breake downe hylles / walles and towres, They are slayne / and sleye (other men) thē selues / & ouerpasse nat the kyinges worde. If they get the victory / they bryng y^• kynge all the spoyle. Lyke wyse, the other y^• medle nat with warres and fyghtynge, but tyl the grounde: when they reape, they brynge tri∣bute vnto the Kynge. And yf the kynge a lone do but commaunde to kyll / they kyll: yf he cōmaunde to forgeue, they forgeue: yf he commaunde to smyte, they smyte: yf he byd dryue awaye, they dryue awaye: yf he com∣maunde to buylde, they buylde: yf he com∣maūde to breake downe, they breake downe: yf he commaūde to plante, they plante. The commen people and the rulers are obedient vnto hym. And the kynge in the meane sea∣son sytteth hym downe, eateth, & drynketh, and taketh hys test: then kepte they watch rounde aboute the kynge / and nat one of them darre get hym out of the waye to do his owne busynes, but must be obediēt vn∣to the kynge at a worde. Iudge ye nowe, [unspec B] D ye mē, howe shulde nat he go farre aboue vnto whom men are thus obedient? And whē he had spokē this, he helde h{is} tōge. The

thyrde, whose name was Zorobabel, whiche had spoken of wemen and of trueth, began to saye after this maner: O ye men / it is not the greate kynge / it is not the multitude of men / neyther is it wyne that excelleth: who is it then that hath the Lordshyp ouer them Haue not wemen borne the kynge / and all the people that rule those thinges? Haue not wemen borne thē / and brought thē vp, that plāte the vynes, wherout the wyne cōmeth? They make garmentes for all men, they ge∣ue honour vnto all men, and without wemē cannot men lyue. If they gather golde and syluer and all precious thynges, & se a faire well fauoured woman, they leaue all toge∣ther, and turne their eyes onely vnto y^• wo∣man, and gape vpon her, & haue more desyre vnto her, thē vnto the syluer & golde, or any [unspec C] maner of precious thynge. * 1.1 A man leaueth his father y^• brought hi vp, leueth his owne naturall countre, & cleaueth vnto the womā yee he ••eopardeth his lyfe with the womā / & remembreth nether father / nor mother / nor countre. By this then ye must nedes knowe, that wemen haue the dominion ouer you.

Doth it not greue you? A man taketh hys swerde, and goeth his way to steale, to kyll / to murther, to sayle vpon the see, and seyth a lyon, and goeth in the darckenes: & when he hath stollen, disceyued and robbed, he bryn∣geth it vnto his loue. Agayne / a man loueth his wyfe better then father and mother: yee many one there be / y^• renne out of theyr wyt∣tes, and become bōdmen for theyr wyues sa∣kes: many one also haue peryshed, haue ben slayne, & haue synned because of wemen.

And now beleue me / I knowe a kynge whiche is great in his power, and al landes stande in awe of hym, and no man dare laye hande vpon him: yet dyd I se / that Apame (the daughter of the great kyng Bartacus) the kynges concubyne / sat besyde the kynge vpon the ryght hande / & toke of his crowne from his head, & set it vpon her owne heade, and smote the kyng with her left hande, Mo¦reouer, [unspec D] the kynge loked vpon her with open mouth: if she laughed vpon him / he laughed also: but yf she toke any displeasure with hī the kynge was fayne to flatter her, & to gyue her good wordes, tyll he had gotten her fa∣uour agayne.

O ye men / are not wemen then stronger? Greate is the earth, & hye is the heauē. Who doth these thinges? Thē y^• kyng & y^• Princes loked one vpon another. So he beganne to speake of y^• trueth: O ye men, are not wemē stronger▪ Greate is the earth, hye is the hea¦uen, swyft is the course of the sonne▪ * 1.2 he cō∣paseth the heauen roūde about, and fetcheth his course agayne to his owne place in one daye. Is he not excellēt that dothe this▪ yee greate is the trueth, & stronger then al thin∣ges. All the earth calleth vpō the trueth / the heauen prayseth it / all worckes shake and tremble at it / and with it is no vnrightuous thynge. Wyne is vnryghtuous: the Kyng is vnryghtuous: wemē are vnryghtuous: al y^• chyldren of men are vnryghtuous, yee all [unspec E] theyr workes are vnryghtuous / and there is no trueth in thē, in theyr vnryghtuousnes also shall they be destroyed & perysh. As for the trueth, & it endureth, & is alway strōge:* 1.3 it lyueth and cōquereth for euermore worlde without ende.

The trueth accepteth no personnes, it put∣teth no differēce betwixt the rych or poore, be twyxt the myghtye or simple, but doth right vnto euery mā, whether they be euil or good and all men are louyngly delte withal in the workes of it. In the iudgement of it there is no vnryghteous thyng, but strength kyng∣dome and power and magtesty for euermore Blessed be thae God of trueth.

And with that he helde his tong, and all the people cryed, & sayd: Great is the trueth, and aboue all. Then sayde the kynge vnto him: Aske what thou wylt / more then is ap∣poynted in the wrytyng, and I shall geue it the / for thou art founde wyser then thy com∣panyons: thou shalt syt nexte me, & be called my kynsmā. Then sayd he vnto the kynge: Remembre thy promyse and vowe, whyche thou ha•••• vowed and promysed (in the daye when thou camest to y^• kyngdome) to buylde vp Ierusalē, & to sende againe al the vessels and Iewels, that were takē away out of Ie¦rusalem: whiche Cyrus seperated, when he offred in Babylon, & wold sende thē agayne. And thy mynde was to buylde vp the tem∣ple whiche the Edomytes brent, when Ieru¦salem [unspec F] was destroyed by the Chaldees. This onely (O kynge) is the thing that I requyre this is the maiesty, which I desyre and aske of the: that thou perfourme the vowe, which thou w^t thyne owne mouth hast made vnto the kynge of heauen.

Then Darius the kynge stode vp / and kyssed hym, * 1.4 & wrote a letter vnto al the de∣bites and Shreues / to al the Lordes and no∣bles / that they shulde conuey him forth, and at thē y^• wolde go vp w^t him to buylde Ieru salē. He wrote a letter also vnto al y^• shreues y^• were in Celosiria & Phenices, & vnto Liba¦nus, that they shuld drawe ••••dretre••s from

Lybanus vnto Ierusalē, to buylde the cytie withall. Moreouer he wrote vnto all the Ie¦wes that were gone out of his realme into Iewry because of y^e fredome, that no officer no ruler / nor shreue, shulde come to theyr do∣res / and that all theyr lande which they had conquered, shuld be fre & not tributary: And that y^e Edomites shulde geue ouer the cities and villages of the Iewes, whiche they had takē in: yee and that they shulde yerely geue xx. talentes to the buyldyng of the tēple, vn∣tyll the tyme that it were fynyshed / and to the dayly halowyng of y^• brent offerīges (as it is commaunded) ten talentes yearely also And that all they which come from Babylō to buylde the cytie, shulde haue fre lybertie / they and theyr chyldren, & all the Prestes.

He wrote the greatnesse also, & commaū∣ded [unspec G] that the holy garmēt shulde be geuē thē wherin they ministred: and wrote that com∣maundemētes shulde be geuen to the Leui∣tes / vntyll the day / that the house were fyny shed, and Ierusalem buylded vp: and com∣maūded that all they that watched the cytie shulde haue theyr porcyons and wages.

He gaue ouer also al the vessels that Cy∣rus had seperated from Babylon, & all that Cyrus had geuen in commaundemente / the same charged he also / that it shulde be done and sent vnto Ierusalem. Nowe when this yong mā was gone forth, he turned his face towarde Ierusalem / and praysed y^• kynge of heauen / and sayde▪ * Of the commeth the victory / of the cōmeth wysdome & clearenesse & I am thy seruaūt. Blessed art thou / which hast geuen me wysdome: the wyll I prayse / O Lord / thou God of our fathers.

And so he toke the letters, and wēt vnto Babylon: And when he came there, he tolde thys vnto all his brethren that were at Ba∣bylon / and they praysed the God of their fa∣thers, that he had geuē them refreshyng and libertye to go vp, and to buylde Ierusalē & the tēple (wherin the name of the Lord is cal¦led vpon) & they reioysed with instrumētes and gladnesse seuen dayes longe.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Eene. it •• ••••t. xix. •• ••. ••o••. ••. b Ephe. v. ••
• * 1.2

  Eccle, i. a
• * 1.3

  Esaye. 〈◊〉〈◊〉 a Psal. 〈◊〉〈◊〉. a
• * 1.4

  2. Es••••. 2. b 3. Esor. 6. d