The. holie. Bible. conteynyng the olde Testament and the newe.

The .xij. Chapter.

¶The declaration of the former visions.

[unspec A] 1 ANd it happened when the Lion spake these wordes vnto the Egle, I sawe:

2 And beholde, the head that afore had the vp∣per hande, appeared no more: neither dyd the foure wynges appeare any more that came to hym and were set vp to raigne, and their kingdome was small and full of vprore.

3 And I sawe, and beholde they appea∣red no more, and the whole body of the Egle was burnt, so that the earth was in great feare: Then awaked I out of the trouble and traunce of my mynde, and from great feare, and sayde vnto my spirite:

4 Lo, this hast thou geuen me, in that thou searchest out the wayes of the hyest.

5 Lo, yet am I weery in my mynde, and very weake in my spirite: and litle strength is there in me, for the great feare that I receaued this nyght.

6 Therfore wyll I nowe beseche the hyest, that he wyll comfort me vnto the ende.

7 And I sayde: Lorde, Lorde, if I haue founde grace before thy syght, and yf I am iustified with thee before many o∣ther, and yf my prayer in deede be come vp before thy face:

[unspec B] 8 Comfort me then, and shewe me thy seruaunt the interpretation and playne difference of this horrible syght, that thou mayest perfectly comfort my soule:

9 For thou hast iudged me worthy to shewe me the last of tymes.

10 And he sayde vnto me, This is the interpretation of this syght:

11 The Egle whom thou sawest come vp from the sea, is the kingdome which was seene in the vision of thy brother Daniel:

12 But it was not expounded vnto hym, therfore nowe I declare it vnto thee.

13 Beholde the dayes wyll come, that there shall ryse vp a kyngdome vpon earth, and it shalbe feared aboue all the kyngdomes that were before it.

14 In “ the same kyngdome shall twelue kynges raigne, one after another.

15 Wherof the seconde shall begynne to raigne, and shall haue more tyme then the other twelue.

16 And this do the twelue wynges sig∣nifie which thou sawest.

17 As for the voyce that thou heardest [unspec C] speake, and that thou sawest not to go out frō the heades, but from the middes of the body therof, it betokeneth,

18 That after the tyme of that kingdome, there shall aryse great striuinges, and it shall stande in perill of fallyng: neuer∣thelesse it shall not then fall, but shalbe restored agayne into his begynnyng.

19 And the eyght fethers vnder the wynges which thou sawest hang vnto her wynges, betoken,

20 That in hym there shall aryse eyght kynges, whose tyme shalbe but small, and their yeres swift, and two of them shall perishe.

21 But when the middest tyme commeth, there shalbe foure kept for a tyme, whyles his tyme begynneth to come that it may be ended: but two shalbe kept vnto the ende.

22 And wheras thou sawest three heades restyng, this is the interpretation:

[unspec D] 23 In his last dayes shall the most hygh rayse vp three kyngdomes, and call many thinges agayne in to them, & they shall haue the dominion of the earth,

24 And of those that dwell therin, with much labour aboue all those that were before them: Therfore are they called the heades of the Egle.

25 For it is they that shall bryng foorth his wickednesse agayne, and that shall perfourme and finishe his last.

26 And wheras thou sawest that the great head appeared no more, it signi∣fieth, that one of them shall dye vpon his bed, and yet with payne.

27 For the two that remayne, shalbe slayne with the sworde.

28 For the sworde of the one shall deuour the other: but at the last shall he fall through the sworde hym selfe.

29 And wheras thou sawest two fethers vnder the wynges passyng toward the head that is on the ryght syde,

30 It signifieth, that it is they whom the hyest hath kept vnto their ende: this is the small kyngdome, and full of trouble as thou sawest.

31 And the Lion whom thou sawest ry∣syng vp out of the wood, and roaryng, and speakyng vnto the Egle, and rebu∣kyng her for her vnrighteousnesse, with all the wordes which thou hast hearde,

[unspec E] 32 Is the wynde which the hyest hath kept for them, and for their wickednesse vnto the ende: he shall reproue them, & cast before them their owne spoylinges.

33 For he shall set them alyue in iudge∣ment, and shal rebuke them, and correct them.

34 For the residue of my people shall he delyuer by trouble those that be pre∣serued vpon my borders, and he shall make them ioyfull vntyll the commyng of the day of iudgement, wherof I haue spoken vnto thee from the begyn∣nyng.

35 This is the dreame that thou sawest, and these are the interpretations.

36 Thou only hast ben meete to knowe this secrete of the hyest.

37 Therfore write all these thynges that thou hast seene in a booke, & hyde them,

38 And teache them to the wise of the people, whose heartes thou knowest may comprehende & kepe these secretes.

39 But wayte thou here thy selfe yet seuen dayes mo, that it may be shewed thee whatsoeuer it pleaseth the hyest to de∣clare vnto thee. And with that he went his way.

40 And when all the people perceaued [unspec F] that the seuen dayes were past, and I not come agayne into the citie, they ga∣thered them altogether from the least vnto the most, and came vnto me, and sayde:

41 What haue we offended thee? & what euyll haue we done agaynst thee, that thou forsakest vs and sittest here in this place?

42 For of all the people thou only art left vs, as a grape of the vine, & as a candell in a darke place, and as an hauen or ship preserued from the tempest.

43 Haue we not els aduersitie inough?

44 If thou shalt forsake vs, were it not better for vs that we had ben burnt with Sion?

45 For we are not better then they that dyed there. And they wept with loude voyce. Then aunswered I them, & said:

46 Be of good comfort O Israel, and be not heauy thou house of Iacob.

47 For the hyest hath you in remem∣braunce, and the mightie hath not for∣gotten you in temptation.

48 As for me I haue not forsaken you, [unspec G] neither am I departed from you: but am come into this place to pray because of the miserie of Israel, that I myght seeke mercie for the lowe estate of your sanctuarie.

49 And nowe go your way home euery man, and after these dayes will I come vnto you.

50 So the people went their way into the citie, lyke as I commaunded them:

51 But I remayned styll in the fielde se∣uen dayes, as the “ angell bad me, and dyd eate only of the floures of the fielde, and had my meate of the hearbes in those dayes.

Notes

• Dan. vii. c.
• “

  Or, 〈◊〉〈◊〉
• 〈…〉〈…〉.
• Or, griefe
• Or, accom∣plishe his wickednesse.
• “

  Or, he.