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 detestacyon and abhomynacion of ymages. A curse of them, and of him that maketh them. The euyls that come of Idolatrye.

CAPI. XIIII.

AGayne / another man / purposynge to sayle / and begynnyng to take his iour¦nye [unspec A] thorowe the ragynge see, calleth for help vnto a stocke, that is farre weaker / then the tree that beareth hym. For as for it / coue∣teousnesse of moneye hath founde it out, and the craftesman made it with hys connynge. But thy prouydence / O Father / gouerneth all thynges from the begynnyng: for thou hast made awaye in the see / and a sure path in the myddest of the waues: declarynge ther by / that thou haste power to helpe in al thin¦ges, yee though a man wente to the see with∣out shyppe. Neuerthelesse / that the worc∣kes [unspec B] of thy wysdome shulde not be vayne / ‡ thou hast caused an arcke to be made: & ther∣fore do men commytte theyr lyues to a small pece of wodd, passyng ouer the see in a shyp / and are saued.

For in y^• olde tyme also when the proude grauntes peryshed / he (in whō the hope was lefte to encrease the worlde) wente into the shyppe / whiche was gouerned thorowe thy hande / and so left sede behynde him vnto the worlde. For happye is y^• tree, where thorowe ryghtuousnes cōmeth: but cursed is the ydol that is made with hādes / ye both it and he that made it. He / because he made it: and it / because it was called God / where as it is but a frayle thynge. ‡ For the vngodly & hys vngodlynes are both lyke abhominable vn∣to God. Euen so the worke and he that made it also, shall be punyshed together. There∣fore shall there a plage come vpon the ydols of the Heythen: for out of the creature of God they are become an abhomynacyon / a temptacyon vnto the soules of men / and a snare for the fete of the vnwyse. And why? y^• sekynge out of ydoles is the begynnynge of whordome / and the bryngynge vp of thē is the destruccyon of lyfe. For they were not from the begynnynge / nether shall they con∣tynue [unspec C] for euer. The welthy ydelnes of men

hath founde them out vpon earthe, therfore shal they come shortly to an ende.

Whē a father mourned for hys sōne y^• was takē awaye frō him / he made him an ymage (in all y^• haste) of his deed sonne: & so begāne to worshyppe him as God, which was but a deed mā, & ordened his saruaūtes to offre vn¦to him. Th{us} by processe of tyme & thorow an vngracio{us} custome, this erroure was kepte: as lawe, and tyrauntes cōpelled men by vio¦lence to honour ymages. As for those that were so farre of, that men myght not wor∣shyppe them presently, theyr pycture was brought frō farre (lyke the ymage of a Kyng whō they wolde honoure) to the intent that with greate diligence they myght worshypp him which was farre of / as thoughe he had bene present, Agayne / the synguler connyng of the cratesman gaue the ignoraunte also a great occasyon to worshyp ymages. For the workeman wylling to do him a pleasure that set him a worcke / laboured with all his con∣nynge [unspec D] to make the ymage of the best fashyon And so (thorowe the beuty of the worcke) the comē people was disceyued, in so much that they toke him nowe for a God / which a lytle afore was but honored as a man. And thys was the erroure of mans lyfe / when men (ey∣ther for to serue theyr owne affeccion, or to do some plesure vnto kinges) ascribed vnto sto¦nes and stockes y^• name of god, which ought to be gyuen vnto no man.

Moreouer, this was not ynough for thē that they erred in the knowledge of God: but where as they lyued in the greate war∣res of ignorauncy / those many & greate pla∣ges called they peace. For eyther they slue theyr owne chyldren, and offred them / or dyd sacrifice in the nyght season / or els helde vn reasonable watches: so that they kepte ney∣ther lyfe nor maryage cleane: but eyther one slue another to death malyciously / or els gre¦ued [unspec E] his neyghboure wyth aduoutrye. And thus were al thynges myxte together: bloud manslaughter / theft / dissimulacyon / corrup∣cyon / vnfaytfulnesse / sedycyon / periurye / dis quyetynge of good men / vnthanfulnes / de∣fylynge of soules / chaungynge of byrth, vn∣sted fastnesse of maryage, mysorder of aduou trye and vnclenesse. And why? the honou∣rynge of abhomynable ymages is the cause, the begynnynge and ende of all euyll. For they that worshyppe Idols, eyther they are mad when they be mery, or prophecie lyes or lyue vngodly, or els lyghtly forsweare them selues. Frr in so much as their truste is in y^• Idols (which haue nether soule ner vn¦derstandynge) thoughe they sweare falsely, yet they thynke it shall not hurte them.

Therfore commeth a greate plage vpon them, & that worthely: for they haue an euyll opinion of God / gyuyng hede vnto Idols / swearyng vniustly to disceyue, & despysynge rightuousnes. For theyr swearing is no ver¦tue, but a plage of thē y^• sine, & goeth euer w^t the offence of the vngodly.

Notes

• Exod. 14. b
• ‡

  Gene. vi. b.
• Gene. vii. d
• Psal. 115. a and. 135. c. Baru. vi. d
• ‡

  Psal. vii. d
• Deut▪ ••8. b Iere. vii. b and. xix. a