1   The charge of word of the Lord to Yrael, in the hond of Malachie, prophete. 2   Y louyde &yogh;ou, saith the Lord, and &yogh;ee saiden, In what thing louydist thou vs? Wher Esau was not the brother of Jacob, saith the Lord, 3   and Y louyde Jacob, forsothe Y hadde Esau in hate? And Y haue putte Seir his hillis in to wildrenesse, and his eritage in to dragouns of desert. 4   That &yogh;if Ydume shal say, We be distruyed, but we turnynge a&yogh;ein shuln beelde, whiche thingus ben distruyed; these thingus saith the Lord of oostis, These shuln beelde, and Y shal distruye; and thei shuln be cleepid termes of wickednesse, and a peple to whom the Lord is wroth, til vnto withouten eende. 5   And &yogh;our ee&yogh;en shuln see, and &yogh;ee shuln saye, Magnyfied be the Lord on the terme of Yrael. 6   The sone honoureth the fadir, and the seruaunt shal drede his lord; therfore &yogh;if Y am fadir, wher is myn honour? and &yogh;if Y am lord, wher is my dreed? saith the Lord of oostis. O! prestis, to &yogh;ou that dispisen my name; and &yogh;e saiden, Wher yn haue we dispisid thi name? 7   &YOGH;e offren on myn auter defoulid, or vnclene, breed, and &yogh;e sayn,

Wherynne han we defoulide thee? In that thing that &yogh;e sayn, The bord of the Lord is dispisid. 8   &YOGH;if &yogh;e offren a blynd thing for to be offrid, wher it is not yuel? And &yogh;if &yogh;e offren a crokid and seek, wher it is not yuel? Offre it to thi duyk, &yogh;if it shal plese to hym, or &yogh;if he shal resceyue thi face, saith the Lord of oostis. 9   And nowe biseeche the cheere of the Lord, that he haue mercy on &yogh;ou; forsothe of &yogh;our hond this thing is don, &yogh;if eny manere he resceyue &yogh;our faces, saith the Lord of oostis. 10   Who is in &yogh;ou that closith doris, and brenneth myn auter of his own wille, or freeli? Wille is not to me in &yogh;ou, saith the Lord of oostus; and Y shal not resceyue a &yogh;ift of &yogh;our hond. 11   Forsothe fro rysyng of the sunne vn to goyng doun, my name is grete in heythen men; and in eche place a cleene offryng is halewid, and offrid to my name; for my name is grete in heithen men, saith the Lord of oostis. 12   And &yogh;e han defoulid it in that that &yogh;e sayn, The bord of the Lord is defoulid, and that that is putt on is contemptible, or worthi for to be dispisid, with the fijr that deuourith it. 13   And &yogh;e saiden, Loo! of traueil; and &yogh;e han blowe it awey, saith the Lord of oostis. And &yogh;e brou&yogh;ten yn of raueins a krokid thing, and seeke, and brou&yogh;ten yn a &yogh;ift; wher Y shal resceyue it of &yogh;our hond? saith the Lord. 14   Cursid the gylful, that hath in his floc a male beest, and he makynge a vowe offrith a feble to the Lord; for I a grete kyng, saith the Lord of oostus, and my name orrible in folkis. CAP. II.

1   And now, O! prestis, to &yogh;ou this maundement, &yogh;if &yogh;e woln heere. 2   And &yogh;if &yogh;e

woln not putte on the herte, that &yogh;e &yogh;eue glorie to my name, saith the Lord of oostis, Y shal sende in &yogh;ou nedynesse, and Y shal curse to &yogh;our blessyngis; and Y shal curse hem, for &yogh;e han not putte on the herte. 3   Loo! Y shal caste to &yogh;ou arme, and Y shal scatere on &yogh;our cheere the dritt of &yogh;oure solempnytees, and it shal take &yogh;ou with it. 4   And &yogh;e shuln wite, for Y sente to &yogh;ou this maundement, that my couenaunt were with Leuy, saith the Lord of oostis. 5   My couenaunt was with hym of lijf and pees; and Y &yogh;aue to hym a dreed, and he dredde me, and he dredde of the face of my name. 6   The lawe of trewthe was in his mouth, and wickidnesse is not founden in his lippis; in pees and in equitee he walkide with me, and many men he turnyde awey fro wickidnesse. 7   Forsothe lippis of the prest kepen science, or kunnyng, and thei shuln seeke a&yogh;ein the lawe of the mouth of hem, for he is an aungel of the Lord of oostis. 8   Forsothe &yogh;e wenten awey fro the weye, and sclaundren ful many men in the lawe; &yogh;e maden voide the couenaunt of Leuy, these thingus saith the Lord of oostis. 9   For whiche thing and Y &yogh;aue &yogh;ou worthi to be dispisid, and meeke, or lowe, to alle peplis, as &yogh;e kepten not my wayes, and token folc in the lawe. 10   Wher not oo fadir of alle &yogh;ou? wher oo God made &yogh;ou not of nou&yogh;t? Whi therfore ech of &yogh;ou dispisith his brother, defoulynge the couenaunt of &yogh;our faders? 11   Judas trespaside, and abomynacioun is maad in Yrael, and in Jerusalem; for Judas defoulide the halewing of the Lord, whiche he louyde, and aliens hadden the dou&yogh;ter of the Lord. 12   The Lord shal

distruye the man that dide this thinge, the maystir and disciple, of tabernaclis of Jacob, and the offryng a &yogh;ift to the Lord of oostis. 13   And eftsoone &yogh;e diden this thing; &yogh;e hilliden with teris the auter of the Lord, with weepyng and mournyng, so that Y biholde namore to sacrifice, nether resceyue eny thing plesaunt of &yogh;our hond. 14   And &yogh;e saiden, For what cause? For the Lord witnesside bitwixe thee and the wijf of thi pubertee, that is, tyme of mariage, whiche thou dispisidist, and this thi parcener, and wijf of thi couenaunt. 15   Wher oon dide not, and the residue of his spirit is? and what seekith oon, no bot the seed of God? Therfore kepe &yogh;e &yogh;oure spirit, and nyl thou dispise the wijf of thi &yogh;ongthe; whanne thou shalt haue hir in hate, 16    leue thou hir, saith the Lord God of Yrael. Forsothe wickidnesse keuere the closyng of hir, saith the Lord of oostis; kepe &yogh;e &yogh;oure spirit, and nyl &yogh;e dispise. 17   &YOGH;e maden the Lord for to traueile in &yogh;our wordis, and &yogh;e saiden, Wheryn made we hym for to traueile? In that that &yogh;e sayen, Eche man that doth yuel, is good in the si&yogh;t of the Lord, and siche plesen to hym; or certis wher is God of dom? CAP. III.

1   Loo! Y shal sende myn aungel, and he shal make redy the waye byfore my face; and anoon the lordshiper, whom &yogh;e seken, shal cum to his holy temple, `and the aungel of testament, whom &yogh;e woln. Loo! he cummeth, saith the Lord of oostis; 2   and who shal mowe thenke the day of his cummyng? and who shal stonde for to see hym? Forsothe he as fijr wellynge to gidre, and as the erbe of fullers; 3   and he shal sitte wellinge to gidre and clensynge syluer, and shal purge the sonys of

Leuy; and shal purge hem as gold and as syluer, and thei shuln be offrynge to the Lord sacrifices in ri&yogh;twisnessis. 4   And sacrifice of Juda and Jerusalem shal plese to the Lord, as days of the world, and as olde &yogh;eeris. 5   And Y shal cum to &yogh;ou in dom, and Y shal be a swyft witnesse to mysdoars, to poysonners, or enchaunters bi the deuyls craft, and to auowters, and forsworne men, and that falsly chalenge the hijr of the hirid man, and meeken widues, and faderlesse childre, and moderlesse, and oppressen the pylgryme, nether dredden me, saith the Lord of oostis. 6   Forsothe Y the Lord, and Y am not chaungid; and &yogh;e sonnys of Jacob ben not waastid. 7   Forsothe fro the days of &yogh;our fadres &yogh;e wenten awey fro my lawful thingus, and kepten not; turne &yogh;e a&yogh;ein to me, and Y shal a&yogh;ein turne to &yogh;ou, saith the Lord of oostis. And &yogh;e saiden, In what thing shuln we turne a&yogh;ein? 8   &YOGH;if a man shal turmente God? for &yogh;e to gydre fitchen me. And &yogh;e saiden, In what thing togidre fitchen we thee? In tythes, and in premissis, or first fruytis, 9   and in myseyse, or nedynesse, &yogh;e ben cursid; and al &yogh;e folk disceyuen me, and to gidre fitchen. 10   Brenge &yogh;e yn eche tithe in to my berne, that mete be in my hous, and proue &yogh;e me on this thing, saith the Lord, &yogh;if Y shal not opne to &yogh;ou the gutters of heuen, and shal sheede out to &yogh;ou blessyng, vnto aboundaunce. 11   And Y shal blame for &yogh;ou the deuourynge, and he shal not corrumpe, or distruye, the fruyte of &yogh;our londe; nether bareyn vyne&yogh;erd shal be in the feeld, 12   saith the Lord of oostis, and alle folkis shuln sayn &yogh;ou blessid; sothely &yogh;e shuln be a desyrable lond, saith the Lord of oostis. 13   &YOGH;oure wordis wexiden

stronge on me, saith the Lord; and &yogh;e saiden, What han we spoken a&yogh;eins thee? 14   And &yogh;ee saiden, He is veyn, that serueth God; and what wynnynge for we kepten his heestis, and for we wenten sorewful bifore the Lord of oostis? 15   Therfore now we sayn proud men blessid; sotheli thei ben beeldid doynge vnpite, and thei temptiden God, and ben maad saaf. 16   Thanne men dredinge God spaken, eche with his nei&yogh;boure; and the Lord perceuyde, and herde, and a boke of mynde is writen bifore hym to men dreedinge God, and thinkynge his name. 17   And thei shuln be to me, saith the Lord of oostis, in the day in whiche Y shal make, into a special tresoure; and Y shal spare hem, as a man sparith his sone seruynge to hym. 18   And &yogh;e shuln be conuertid, and &yogh;e shuln see, what is bitwixe the iust man and the vnpitouse, bitwixe the seruynge to the Lord and not seruynge to hym. 1   Loo! forsothe the day shal cumme, brennynge as a chymney; and alle proude men, and alle doynge vnpite shuln be stobil; and the day cummynge shal enflawme hem, saith the Lord of oostis, whiche shal not leue to hem rote and buriownyng. 2   And to &yogh;ou dredynge my name the sunne of ri&yogh;twisnesse shal springe, and helthe in pennys of hym; &yogh;e shuln go out, and &yogh;e shuln lippe, as a calf of the droue. 3   And &yogh;e shuln to-trede vnpytouse men, whanne thei shuln be ashe vndir the soole of &yogh;oure feet, in the day in whiche Y do, saith the Lord of oostis. 4   Bithenke &yogh;e of the lawe of my seruaunt Moyses, whiche Y comaundide to hym in Oreb, to alle Yrael comaundementis and domys. 5   Loo! Y shal sende to &yogh;ou Hely, the prophete, bifore that the grete day and orrible of the Lord

cumme. 6   And he shal conuerte the herte of faders to sonys, and the herte of sonys to her faders, lest per auenture Y cumme, and smyte the erthe with curse. Here endith the book of Malachie, and bigynneth the firste book of Machabeorum.

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