CAP. XVIII.
1 Aftir manye dais the word of the Lord
is doo to Helias, in the thridde &yogh;eer, seiynge,
Go, and shewe thee to Achab, that
I &yogh;eue reyn vpon the face of the erthe.
2 Thanne Helias wente that he shewe hym
to Achab; forsothe there was hidows
hungre in Samarye.
3 And Achab clepide
Abdiam, the stiward of his hows; forsothe
Abdias dradde the Lord God of
Yrael myche.
4 For whanne Jesabel shulde
slee the prophetis of the Lord, he took
an hundrid prophetis, and hidde hem,
fifti and fifti, in dennys, and he fedde
hem with breed and water.
5 Thanne
Achab seide to Abdias, Go in to the
loond, to alle the welles of watris, and
into alle valeis, if peradventure we mowen
fynde herbe, and saue hors and mulis;
and the beestis fulli dien not.
6 And thei
deuydeden the regiouns to hem self,
that thei goon about hem; Achab wente
bi o weye, and Abdias bi another, aside.
7 And whanne Abdias was in the weie,
Helias a&yogh;en cam to hym; the which
whanne he hadde knowen hym, he felle
vpon his face, and seith, Whethir thou
art my lord Helias?
8 To whom he answerde,
Y. And he seide, Go, and sey
-- --
to thi lord, Helias is nee&yogh;.
9 And he,
What haue I synned, he seith, for thou
takist me, thi seruaunt, in the hoond of
Achab, that he slee me?
10 The Lord thi
God lyueth, for there is not folk or
rewme, in the whiche my lord hath not
sent, sechynge thee; and alle men answerynge,
He is not here, he hath adiurid alle
rewmes `and folkis, for thi that thou art
not foundun;
11 and now thou seist to me,
Go, and sey to thi lord, Helie is nei&yogh;.
12 And whanne I shal goo aweye fro thee,
the Spiryt of the Lord shal bere thee
aweye into a place that I knowe not;
and Y goon yn, shal telle to Achab, and
not fyndynge thee, he shal slee me; thi
seruaunt forsothe dredith the Lord fro
his &yogh;ongth.
13 Whethir is it not shewid
to thee, my lord, what I haue doon,
whanne Jesabel shulde slee the prophetis
of the Lord, that I hidde of the prophetis
of the Lord an hundrid men, fifti and
fifti, in dennys, and fedde hem with breed
and water?
14 And now thow seist, Go,
and sey to thi lord, Helye is nei&yogh;, that
he slee me.
15 And Helyas seide, The
Lord of oostis lyueth, before whos cheer
I stonde, for to day Y shal apere to hym.
16 Thanne Abdias wente into the a&yogh;en
comynge of Achab, and shewide to hym;
and Achab cam into the a&yogh;en comynge
to Helye.
17 And whanne he hadde seen
hym, seith, Whether art thou not he, that
disturblist Irael?
18 And he seith, I haue
not disturblid Irael, but thow, and the
hows of thi fader, that hast forsakyn the
hestis of the Lord, and &yogh;e han folowid
Baalym.
19 Neuerthelater now send, and
gadre to me al Yrael, in the hil of Carmele,
and the prophetis of Baal foure
hundrid and fifti, and the prophetis of
mawmet wodis foure hundrid, that eten
of the bord of Jezebel.
20 Achab sente to
alle the sonys of Yrael, and gaderide the
prophetis in the hil of Carmele.
21 Forsothe
-- --
Helie comynge ny&yogh; to al the puple
of Yrael, seith, How long halt &yogh;e into
two parties? If the Lord is God, folwith
hym; forsothe if Baal, folwith hym.
And the puple answerde not to hym a
word.
22 And eft Elias seith to the puple,
I am laft a prophet of the Lord alone;
the prophetis forsothe of Baal foure hundryd
and fifti, and the prophetis of mawmete
wodis ben foure hundrid.
23 Be there
&yogh;ouen to vs two oxen; and chese thei oon
oxe, and hewynge in gobetis thei shulen
leye vpon trees, forsothe fier vndurputen
thei not; and Y shal make anothir oxe,
and putten vpon trees, and fier I shal
not putte vndur.
24 Inwardly clepe &yogh;e the
name of &yogh;owre goddis, and I shal inwardly
clepe the name of my God; and God that
herith bi the fier, he be God. Al the
puple answerynge seith, Best the proposicioun,
that Helias spac.
25 Thanne Helias
seide to the prophetis of Baal, Chesith
to &yogh;ou an oxe, and doth first, for &yogh;e ben
moo; and inwardli clepith the namys of
&yogh;oure goddis, and puttith not vndir fier.
26 The whiche whanne thei hadden take
the oxe, that he &yogh;af hem, thei diden, and
inwardli clepiden the name of Baal, fro
erly vnto myddai, seiynge, Baal, here vs!
And there was not voys that shulde answere;
and thei skipten ouer the auter,
that thei maden.
27 And whanne now was
myddai, Helye scornyde to hem, seiynge,
Crieth with a more voys, forsothe &yogh;oure
god is, and perauenture with another he
spekith, or in a turnynge in place, or in
the weye, or certis he slepith, that he be
wakid.
28 Thanne thei crieden with a greet
voys, and thei cuttiden hem self, after
her rijt, with sheeris and litil launcis, to
the tyme that thei weren alle beshed
with blood.
29 Forsothe aftir that mydday
was passid, and hem propheciynge, the
-- --
tyme was comen, the which is wont
sacrifice to be offrid, and vois is not herd,
ne eny man answerde, ne took heed to
the praiynge.
30 And Helye seide to al the
puple, Cometh to me. And the puple
nei&yogh;ynge to hym, he curede the auter of
the Lord, that was destruyed.
31 And he
took twelue stonus, after the noumbre of
the lynagis of the sonys of Jacob, to
whom the word of the Lord is maad,
seiynge, Yrael shal be thi name.
32 And
he beeldide vp an auter of stonus, in
name of the Lord, and he made a water
cundid, as by two litil forwis in enuyroun
of the auter.
33 And he putte togidre
the wode, and he deuydide bi membris
the oxe,
34 and leide vpon the wode, and
seith, Fillith foure stenys with water,
and heeldith vpon the brent sacrifice,
and vpon the wode. And eft he seide,
Also the secounde doth this. The which
whanne thei hadden doo the secounde,
he seith, Also the thridde that same
thing doth; and thei diden the thridde.
35 And the watris runnen aboute the auter,
and the dijch of the water cundid is
fillid.
36 And whanne now was tyme, that
brent sacrifice shulde be offred, the prophete
Helias comynge ny&yogh; seith, Lord
God of Abraham, and of Ysaac, and of
Yrael, to day shew for thow art God of
Yrael, and Y thi seruaunt, and after thin
heest haue doon alle thes wordis.
37 Here
me, Lord; here me, Lord; that this puple
lerne, for thou art Lord God, and
thou hast conuertid the herte of hem eftsonys.
38 Forsothe the fijr of the Lord
felle, and deuowride the brent sacrifice,
and the wode, and the stonus, forsothe
the powdre, and the water that was in
the water cundid lickynge.
39 The which
thing whanne al the puple hadde seen,
-- --
he felle in to his face, and seith, The
Lord he is God; the Lord he is God.
40 And Helias seide to hem, Takith the
prophetys of Baal; ne oon forsothe flee
aweye of hem. Whom whanne thei hadden
cau&yogh;t, Helie ladde hem to the streem
of Syson, and slow&yogh; hem there.
41 And
Helie seith to Achab, Sty vp, and eet,
and drynk, for sown of myche reyn is.
42 Achab stiede up, that he eete and drynke;
Helyas forsothe stye&yogh;ede up into the hil
of Carmel, and bowede into the erthe,
putte his face betwixe his knees.
43 And
he seide to hys child, Stye vp, and behold
a&yogh;ens the see. The whiche whanne he
hadde styed vp, and lokid, seith, Ther
is no thing. And eft he seith to hym,
Turn a&yogh;en seuen sithis.
44 Forsothe in the
seuenthe sijth, loo! a litil clowde as the
step of a man stiede vp fro the see. The
which seith, Sty vp, and sey to Achab,
Ioyn thi chare, and cum down, lest reyn
before ocupye thee.
45 And whanne thei
hadden turned hem self hidir and thidir,
loo! heuenes ben derkid, and clowde, and
wynde, and there is maad a greet reyn.
And so Achab stiynge vp wente into
Jezrael;
46 and the hoond of the Lord was
vpon Helias, and the reynys gird, he
ranne before Achab, to the tyme that he
cam into Jezrael.
Wycliffe (Early) [1850], THE HOLY BIBLE, CONTAINING THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS, WITH THE APOCRYPHAL BOOKS, IN THE EARLIEST ENGLISH VERSIONS MADE FROM THE LATIN VULGATE BY JOHN WYCLIFFE AND HIS FOLLOWERS: Edited by THE REV. JOSIAH FORSHALL, F.R.S. etc. Late Fellow of Exeter College, and SIR FREDERIC MADDEN, K.H. F.R.S. etc. Keeper of the MSS. in the British Museum (OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, OXFORD) [word count] [B02010].
