CAP. II.
1 Therfore when Jhesus was born in
Bethlem of Juda, in the days of kyng
Herode, loo! kyngis, `or wijs men, camen
fro the eest to Jerusalem,
2 sayinge,
Wher is he, that is borun kyng of
Jewis? forsothe we `han seyn his sterre
in the este, and we comen for to wirshipe
hym.
3 `Sothely kyng Herode herynge
-- --
is trublid, and al Jerusalem with him.
4 And he, gedrynge to gidre alle the princis
of prestis, and scribis of the peple, enquiride
of hem, wher Crist shulde be
borun.
5 And thei seiden to hym, In
Bethlem of Juda; `for so it is writen bi
a prophete,
6 And thou, Bethlem, `the lond
of Juda, thou art nat the leste in the
princis of Juda; for of thee a duk shal
gon out, that shal gouerne my peple of
Yrael.
7 Than `Herode, priuyli the kyngis
clepid `to hym, `bisily lernyde of hem
the tyme of the sterre that apperide to
hem.
8 And he, sendynge hem in to Bethlem,
saide, Go &yogh;ee, and axe &yogh;ee bisily of
the chyld, and whan &yogh;ee han founden,
telle a&yogh;ein to me, that and Y cummynge
wirshipe hym.
9 The whiche, when thei
hadden herde the kyng, wenten awey.
And loo! the sterre, the whiche thei
sayen in este, wente bifore hem, til that
it cummynge stood aboue, wher the child
was.
10 Forsothe thei, seeynge the sterre,
ioyeden with a ful grete ioye.
11 And thei,
entrynge the hous, founden the child with
Marie, his modir; and thei fallynge doun
worshipiden hym. And her tresours opnyd,
thei offreden to hym &yogh;iftis, gold, encense,
and merre.
12 And answer taken in sleep,
that thei shulden not turne a&yogh;ein to Herode,
thei `ben turned by an other wey in
to her cuntree.
13 And when thei hadden
gon awey, loo! the aungel of the Lord
apperide in sleep to Joseph, sayynge, Ryse
vp, and take the child and his modir, and
flee in to Egipt, and be thou there, til
that I seye to thee; sothely it is `to
cume, that Herode seeke the child, for
to lese hym.
14 The whiche Joseph, rysynge
vp, toke the chijld and his modir
by ny&yogh;te,
15 and wente into Egipt, and
-- --
was there til to the deth of Erode; that
it shuld be fulfillid, `that thing that was
said of the Lord by the prophete, sayinge,
Fro Egypt Y haue clepide my sone.
16 Thanne Erode seeynge that he was scorned,
`or disceyued, of the kyngis, was
gretely wroth; and he sendynge slew&yogh;
alle the children, `that weren in Bethlem,
and in alle the eendis `of it, fro two &yogh;eer
age and with ynne, after the tyme that
he hadde sou&yogh;t out of the kyngis.
17 Than
it was fulfillide, `that thing that was said
by Jeremye,
18 the prophete, sayinge, A voice
is herd `an hee&yogh;e, weepynge and myche
weilynge, Rachel weepynge hir sonys, and
she `wolde not be comfortid, for thei ben
not.
19 Sothely Erode dead, loo! the angel
of the Lord apeeride in sleep to Joseph in
Egipt,
20 sayinge, Ryse vp, and take the
childe and his modir, and go in to the lond
of Yrael; for thei that sou&yogh;ten the lijf of
the chyld ben dead.
21 The whiche Joseph,
rysynge vp, toke the child and his modir,
and cam in to the lond of Yrael.
22 Forsothe
he heerynge that Archelaus regnede
in Jude for Eroude, his fadir, dred for to
go thidir. And he, monestid in sleep,
wente in to the parties of Galilee;
23 and he
cummynge dwelte in a citee, that is clepid
Nazareth, that it shulde be fulfillid, `that
thing that is said by prophetis, For whi
he shal be clepid `of Nazareth.
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].
