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.

¶ Esdras hath visyon•• vnto hym.

CAPI. IX.

HE answered me then & sayd: Measure [unspec A] thou y^• tyme dylygētly in it selfe / when thou seyst that one parte of the tokens come to passe / whiche I haue tolde the before: so shalte thou vnderstande / that it is the very same tyme / wherin the Hyest wyll begynne to vyset the worlde, whiche he made. And when there shall be sene earth quake & vproare of the people in the worlde, thē shalt thou well vnderstande / that the most hyest spake of those thinges / from the dayes that were before the, euen from the beginnynge.

For lyke as all that is made in the world hath a beginning and ende / and the ende is manyfest: Euen so the tymes also of y^• Hyest haue playne begynnynges in wonders and sygnes, and the ende in worcking and in to∣kens. And euery one that shalbe saued / and shall be able to escape by hys worckes and by faith, wherin ye haue beleued▪ shalbe pre¦serued from the saide parels, and shal se my sauyoure in my lande and within my bor∣ders, for I haue halowed me frō the world. Thē shall they be in carefulnes, which now haue abused my wayes: & they y^• haue caste thē oute despytefully, shal dwell in paynes.

For suche as in theyr lyfe haue receaued benefytes, and haue not knowne me / & they that haue abhorred my lawe / whyle they had yet fredome, and whē they had yet open leysure of amendemēt and conuersyon, and vnderstode not, but despised it: y^• same must knowe it after death in payne. And therfore be thou nomore careful, howe the vngodly shalbe punished, & howe the ryghteous shal be saued, and whose the world is, & for whō the worlde / and when it is. Then answered I and sayde: I haue talcked before & now I speake, and wyl speake also herafter, that [unspec B] there be many mo of them whiche peryshe / thē shalbe saued / lyke as the floude is grea∣ter then the droppes.

And he answered me / sayinge, lyke as the felde is, so is also the sede: as the floures be / so are the coulours also: suche as the work∣man is, such is also the worcke: and as the husband man is him selfe, so is his husban∣drye also / for it was the tyme of the worlde.

And when I prepared for them that are nowe or euer the worlde was made / where in they shulde dwell / then was there no man that withstode me. Nowe when euery one was / and the maker also in the worlde which is nowe prepared / & the moneth that ceaseth not / and the lawe which is vnsear∣cheable, theyr maners were corrupte. So I consydred the worlde / & beholde / there was parell / because of the thoughtes that were come into it. And I sawe / and spared them greatly / and haue kepte me a wynebery of the grapes / & a plante from amonge many generacyons. Let the multytude peryshe then / whiche are growne vp in vayne / and let my grape and wynebery be kepte: euen my plante: for with greate laboure haue I made it vp.

Neuertheles, yf thou wylt take vpon the yet seuen dayes mo (but thou shalt not faste in them (go thy waye then in to the felde of floures, where no house is buylded, and eat onely of the floures of y^• felde, tast not flesh, dryncke no wyne, but eate floures onely.

Praye vnto the Hyest contynually, so wyll I come / and talke with the.

So I went my waye and came into the [unspec C] felde which is called Ardath (lyke as he cō∣maunded me) and there I sat amonge the floures, & dyd eat of the herbes of the felde, and the meat of the same satisfyed me. After seuen dayes I sat vpon the grasse / and my herte was vexed within me lyke as afore: & I opened my mouth / and beganne to talke before the Hyest / and sayde: O Lorde / thou that shewest thy selfe vnto vs, thou haste declared and opened thy selfe vnto oure fa∣thers in the wyldernes, in a place where no man dwelleth / in a baren place / when they came out of Egygpt, and thou spakest, say∣inge: Heare me O Israel, & marke my wor∣des y^u seade of Iacob. Beholde, I sowe my lawe in you / and it shall bringe frute in you & ye shalbe honoured in it for euer. For oure fathers which receaued y^• lawe / kepte it not and obserued not thy ordinaunces and sta∣tutes, and the frute of thy lawe was not de∣clared: for it myghte not / for why? it was thyne. For they that receaeud it, perished, because they kepte not the thynge that was sowen in them.

It is a custome when the grounde recea∣ueth sede, or the see a shyp, or a vessell meate and drincke, that when it perisheth or is bro¦ken wherin a thing is sowen, or wherin any thynge is put: the thynges also peryshe and are broken, which are sowen or put therin. [unspec D] But vnto vs it hath not happened so for we that haue receyued the lawe, perysh i sinne, & oure herte whiche also receaued the lawe: notwithstādyng ‡ the lawe perysheth not / but remayneth in hys laboure.

And when I consydered these thinges in my herte after thys maner / I loked aboute me with mine eyes, and vpon the right syde I sawe a woman, whiche mourned sore / made greate lamentacyon / and wepte with loude voyce: her clothes were rent in peces, and she had asshes vpon her heade. Then let I my thoughtes go, that I was in and turned me vnto her, and sayde wherfore we∣pest thou? why art thou so sory & discomfor∣ted? And she sayde vnto me: Syr, let me be∣wayle my selfe and take yet more sorow: for I am sore vexed i my mynde / & brought ve∣ry lowe. And I saide vnto her: what ay••eth y^•? Or who hath done eny thyng to y^•? tel me. She saide: I thy hand maid haue bene vn∣fruteful & baren, and haue had an husband thyrtie yeares. And these, xxx. yeares I do nothynge els daye and nyght & all houres but make my prayer to y^• Hyest. After thyr∣tie yeares God herde me thy handmayden, loked vpon my humylite. cōsydred my trou¦ble, and gaue me a sōne, and I was glad of him, so was my husbāde also & al my neygh∣bours, & we gaue greate honoure vnto the Myghtie. And I noryshed hym with great trauayle. So when he grewe vp, and came to the tyme, that he shulde haue a wyfe / I made a feast.

Notes

• 4. 〈…〉〈…〉
• Exod. xix. d 〈…〉〈…〉. xxiiii a Deu. iiii. b.
• Deute. 32. f.
• ‡

  ••saye. xl a ••••mo ••••
• 4. Esdr. x. d