1   The charge that Abacuk, prophete, saw. 2   Hou lounge, Lord, shal Y crye, and thou shalt not heere graciously? Y suffringe violence shal crie on hee&yogh;, and shalt thou not saue? 3   Whi shewidist thou to me wickidnesse and traueile, for to see pray and vnri&yogh;twisnesse a&yogh;einus me? Whi biholdist thou dispisers, and art stille, the vnpitouse man defoulyng a iuster than hym? And thou shalt make men as fishis of the se, and as crepynge thingis not hauynge duyk; and dom is maad, and a&yogh;einsayinge more mi&yogh;ty. 4   For this thing law is to-broken, and dom cummeth not vn to the eende; for vnpitous man hath mi&yogh;t a&yogh;einus the iust, therfore weywerd dom shal go out. 5   Biholde &yogh;e in hethen men, and see &yogh;e, and wondre &yogh;ee, and gretely dreede &yogh;ee; for a worke is don in &yogh;our days, whiche no man shal byleeue, whan it shal be told. 6   For loo! Y shal reyse Caldeis, a bitter folk and swift, goynge vpon the breed of erthe, that he weelde tabernaclis not his. 7   He is orrible, and dreedeful; of hym self dome, and his charge shal go out. 8   His horsis li&yogh;ter than pardis, and swifter than euyn wolues, and his horsmen shuln be

scatrid abrode; for whi horsmen shuln cum fro fer, thei shuln flee as an egle hastynge to ete. 9   Alle men shuln cume to preye, the face of hem as brennynge wynde; and he shal gadre as grauel caitiftee. 10   And he shal haue victorie of kyngis, and tirauntis shuln be his lei&yogh;ingis; he shal lei&yogh;e vpon al strengthe, and shal bere to gidre an hepe of erthe, and shal take it. 11   Thanne the spirit of hym shal be chaungid, and he shal passe by, and falle to gydre; this is the strengthe of hym, of his god. 12   Wher not thou fro bigynnynge, Lord my God, myn holy, and we shuln not dye? Lord, in to dome thou hast putte hym, and thou groundidist hym strong, that thou shuldist chastise. 13   Thyn ee&yogh;en ben cleene, see thou not yuel, and thou shalt not mow biholde to wickidnesse. Whi biholdist thou not vpon men doynge wickidly, and thou art stille, the vnpytouse man deuourynge a more iust than hym? 14   And thou shalt make men as fishis of the se, and as crepynge thing not hauynge prince. 15   Alle in hooke he shal lifte vp; he drawide it in his nett, and gadride in to his net; vpon this thing he shal glade, and ioye with out forth. 16   Therfore he shal offre to his nett, and he shal make sacrifice to his nett; for in hem his part is maad fatt, and his mete chosen. 17   Therfore for this thing he spredith abrood his nett, and euermore he shal not spare for to slea folkis. CAP. II.

1   Vpon my keepyng Y shal stonde, and Y shal picche a greese vpon the wardyng; and Y shal byholde, that Y see what thing shal be saide to me, and what Y shal answere to the reprouynge me. 2   And the Lord answerde to me, and saide, Write thou the si&yogh;t, and make it pleyn

vpon tablis, that he renne, that shal reede it. 3   For &yogh;it the visioun fer, and it shal apeere in to eende, and shal not lee&yogh;e; &yogh;it it shal make dwellyng, abijde thou it, for it cummynge shal cum, and shal not tarie. 4   Loo! he that is vnbileeful, the soule of hym shal not be ri&yogh;t in hym self; forsothe the iust man shal lyue in his feith. 5   And as wijn disceiueth a man drinkynge, so shal the proude man be, and shal not be maad faire; for as helle he alargide his soule, and he as deth, and he shal not be fulfillid; and he shal gedre to hym alle folkis, and he shal hepe to gydre to hym alle peplis. 6   Wher not alle these vpon hym shuln take a parable, and the spekyng of derk sentencis of hym? And it shal be saide, Wo to hym that multiplieth thingus not his owne; how long, and he aggregith a&yogh;einus hym thicke clay? 7   Wher not sudeynly thei shuln ryse to gydre, that shuln bite thee? And thei shuln be reisid to-terynge thee, and thou shalt be in to raueyne to hem; and thin aspiers in yuel shuln wake. 8   For thou robbidist many folkis, alle shuln robbe thee, whiche shuln be relikis of peplis, for blood of man, and wickidnesse of lond of the citee, and of men dwellynge in it. 9   Woo to hym that gadrith euyl coueitise to his hous, that his nest be in hee&yogh;, and gessith hym for to be delyuered of the hond of yuel. 10   Thou thou&yogh;tist confusioun to thin hous; thou hast slayn many peplis, and thi soule synnede. 11   For a stoon of the wall shal crie, and a tree that is bitwixe ioyntours of beeldingis shal answere. 12   Woo to hym that beeldith a citee in blodis, and makith redy a cytee in wickidnesse. 13   Wher not these thingis ben of the Lord of oostis? Forsothe peplis shuln traueile in myche fijr, and folkis in veyn, and thei shuln faile. 14   For the erthe shal be fulfillid, that thei knowe the glorie of

the Lord, as waters hillynge the se. 15   Woo to hym that &yogh;euith drinke to his frend, sendynge his galle, and makynge drunken, that he biholde his nakidnesse. 16   He is fulfillid with yuel fame for glorie; and drynke thou, and be aslept; the cup of the ri&yogh;t half of the Lord shal aboute &yogh;eue thee, and casting vp of yuel fame vpon thi glorie. 17   For the wickidnesse of Liban shal keuere thee, and the distruccioun of beestis shal fere thee, of blodis of man, and of wickidnesse of lond of the citee, and of alle dwellynge theryn. 18   What profitith the sculptile, for his maker grauede it; a wellid thing to gidre, and a fals ymage, for the maker therof hopide in the makyng, that he made dumbe symulacris? 19   Woo to hym that saith to a tree, Wake thou; Ryse thou, to a stoon beynge stylle; wher he shal mowe teche? Loo! this is keuered in gold and syluer, and eche spirit is not in his entrailis. 20   Forsothe the Lord in his holy temple, al erthe be stille fro his face. CAP. III.

1    ^noteLord, Y herde thi heerynge, and Y dredde; 2   Lord, thi werke, in the mydil of &yogh;eeris quyckene thou it. In the mydil of &yogh;eeris thou shalt make knowen; whan thou shalt be wrothe, thou shalt recorde of mercy. 3   God shal cum fro the south, and the holy fro the mount of Pharan. The glorie of hym keuerde heuen, and the erthe is ful of his herying. 4   The shynyng shal be as li&yogh;t; hornys in hondis of hym. 5   There the strengthe of hym is hid, byfore his face deth shal go; the deuyl shal go out bifore his feet. 6   He stode, and matte the erthe; he bihelde, and vnboonde folkis, and hillis of the world ben broken to gydre; the litil hillis

of the world ben bowid doun, of the wayes of his euerlastingnesse. 7   For wickidnesse Y saw&yogh; the tentis of Ethiopie, the skynnes of lond of Madian shuln be trublid. 8   Lord, wher in flodis thou art wrothe, or in flodis thi woodnesse, or in the se thin indignacioun? Whiche shalt stye vp thin horsis; and thi foure horsid cartis saluacioun. 9   Thou reysynge shalt reyse thi bowe, othis to lynagis whiche thou hast spoken; thou shalt kitte flodis of erthe. 10   Watris sawen thee, and hillis sorewiden, the guter of waters passide; depnesse &yogh;af his voice, hee&yogh;nesse reyside his hondis. 11   Sunne and mone stoden in her dwellynge; in the li&yogh;t of thin arewis thei shuln goo, in the shynynge of thi spere smytynge. 12   In beting of teeth thou shalt defoule erthe, and in wodnesse thou shalt astoneye folkis. 13   Thou art gon out in to helthe of thi peple, in to helthe with thi crist; thou hast smyten the heued of the hous of the vnpitouse man, thou hast made nakid the foundement vn to the neckus. 14   Thou cursidist the sceptris, or powers, of hym, the hed of his fi&yogh;ters, cummynge as whirlwynde for to scatere me; the ioyinge with outforth of hem, as of hym that deuourith a pore man in hidils. 15   Thou madist a weye in the se to thin horsis, in cleye of manye waters. 16   Y herde, and my wombe is to gydre trublid; of the voice my lippis trembleden to gydre. Rott entre in to my boonys, and boyle, or sprynge, vndir me; and Y shal reste a&yogh;ein in the day of tribulacioun, and Y shal stey vp to oure peple girde to gydre. 17   Forsothe the fijge tree shal not florishe, and buriownyng shal not be in vyne &yogh;erdis; the werk of the olyue shal lee&yogh;e, and feeldis shuln not brynge to mete; a sheep shal be kitt of fro the folde, and a drooue shal not be in the cratchis. 18   Forsothe Y shal haue ioye in the Lord, and Y shal ioye with outeforth in God my Jhesu. 19   God the

Lord my strengthe, and he shal putte my feet as of hertis; and vpon myn hee&yogh; thingus, the ouercummer shal leede me forth, singynge in psalmes. Here endith the book of Abacuk, the prophete, and bigynneth the book of Sophonye, prophete.

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