1   Forsothe it is doon, whanne the kyng hadde seeten in his hows, and the Lord hadde &yogh;euen to hym rest on al side fro alle his enemyes, 2   he seide to Nathan the prophete, Seest thou not, that I dwelle in a cedre hows, and the ark of God is put in the mydil of skynnes? 3   And Nathan seide to the kyng, Al that is in thin herte goo and do, for the Lord is with thee. 4   Forsothe it is doon in that ny&yogh;t, and loo! the word of the Lord to Nathan, seiynge, 5   Go, and spek to my seruaunt Dauid, Thes thingis seith the Lord, Whether thou shalt bilde to me an hows to dwelle yn? 6   Forsothe ne in an hows I haue dwellid fro the day that I ladde out the sones of Yrael fro the loond of Egipt vnto this dai; but I wente in tabernacle and in tente, 7   thur&yogh; out alle

placis, to the whiche I passide with alle the sones of Irael? Whether spekynge I haue spokyn to oon of the lynagis of Irael, to whom I haue comaundid, that he fede my puple Irael, seiynge, Whi hast thou not bildid to me a cedre hows? 8   And now thes thingis thow shalt seye to my seruaunt Dauid, Thes thingis seith the Lord of oostis, I took thee fro the lesews folwynge flockis, that thou were a duyk vpon my puple Irael, 9   and I was with thee `in alle thingis, whidir euere thou wentist, and I slew&yogh; alle thin enemyes fro thi face, and I made to thee a greet name after the name of greet men that ben in erthe; 10   and Y shal putt a place to my puple Irael, and I shal plaunte hym, and I shal dwelle with hym, and he shal namore be disturblid, ne the sones of wickidnes shulen adde that thei tourmenten hym as before, 11   fro the day that I ordeynede iugis vpon my puple Irael; and I shal &yogh;yue rest to thee fro alle thin enemyes. And the Lord before seith to thee, that the Lord shal make to thee an hows; 12   and whanne thi dais weren ful endyd, and thou slepist with thi fadris, Y shal rere thi seed after thee, that shal go out of thi wombe, and Y shal fastne the kyngdom of hym. 13   And he shal beelde an hows to my name, and Y shal stable the troon of his rewme vnto eueremore; 14   I shal be to hym into a fader, and he shal be to me into a sone; the which if eny thing wickidli shal doo, I shal vndirnymme hym in the &yogh;eerd of men, and in the veniaunces of the sonys of men. 15   Forsothe my mercy I shal not take a weye fro hym, as I took a weye fro Saul, whom I meuyde a weye fro my face. 16   And thin hows shal be feithful, and thi kyngdam vnto with outen eende before my face, and thi troon shal be

stedefast contynuli. 17   After alle thes wordis, and after al this visioun, thus spak Nathan to Dauid. 18   Forsothe Dauid the kyng wente in, and sat before the Lord, and seide, Who am I, Lord God, and what myn hows, for thou hast brou&yogh;t me hidir to? 19   But and this litil is seen in thi si&yogh;t, Lord my God; `that hast louyd me, but thou speke also of the hows of thi seruaunt into ferre hens. Forsothe this is lawe fro Adam, Lord God; 20   what thanne &yogh;it Dauid shal mowe adde, that he speke to thee? Forsothe thow knowist thi seruaunt, Lord God; for thi word, 21   and aftir thin herte, thou hast doon alle thes greet thingis, so that thou shuldist make knowen to thi seruaunt. 22   Therfor thou art magnified, Lord God, for there is not lijk of thee, ne there is God with out thee, in alle thingis `the whiche we han herd with oure eeris. 23   Forsothe what is there folk of kynde as the puple of Irael in the loond, for the which God wente, that he bie it to hym into a puple, and sette to hym a name, and make to hym greet thingis, and orrible vpon the erthe, fro the face of thi puple, whom thou hast bou&yogh;t to thee fro Egipt folk and the god of it? 24   And thow hast fastned to thee thi puple Irael into a puple euermore, and thou, Lord, art maad to hem into a God. 25   Nowe thanne, Lord God, the word that thou hast spoken vpon thi seruaunt and vpon his hows, rere vnto euermore, and do as thou hast spoken; 26   and thi name be magnyfied vnto euermore, and be it seid, Lord of oostis God vpon Irael; and the hows of thi seruaunt Dauid shal be stablid before the Lord; 27   for thou, Lord of oostis, God of Irael, hast openyd the eer of thi seruaunt, seiynge, An hows I shal bilde to thee; therfor thi seruaunt

hath founden his herte, that he preye thee bi this preyer. 28   Now thanne, Lord God, thou ert verrey God, and thi wordis shulen be sooth; forsothe thou hast spokyn to thi seruaunt these good thingis; 29   bigyn therfor, and blesse to the hows of thi seruaunt, that it be before thee into euermore; for thou, Lord God, spakist thes thingis, and bi thi blessynge the hows of thi seruaunt shal be blessid into euermore.

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