CAP. XVIII.
1 And aftir thes thinges I si&yogh;e an other
aungel comyng doun fro heuen, hauynge
greet power; and the erthe is li&yogh;tned of
his glorie;
2 and criynge with strong
voyce, seiynge, Greet Babilon fel doun,
`fel doun, and is maad the habitacioun
of deuelis, and the keping of eche vnclene
spirit, and the keping of ech vnclene foul,
-- --
and haatful.
3 For alle folkis drunken of
the wraththe of the fornicacioun of hir,
and kinges of erthe, and marchauntes of
erthe, diden fornycacioun with hir; and
thei ben maad riche of the vertu of the
delicis of hir.
4 And Y herde an other voys
of heuen, seiyng, My puple, go &yogh;e out `of
it, and be &yogh;e not parceners of the trespassis
of it, and &yogh;e shulen not receyue of
the plagis of it.
5 For the synnes of it
camen `vn to heuen, and the Lord hadde
mynde of the wickidnessis of it.
6 &YOGH;elde
&yogh;e to it, as and she &yogh;eldide to &yogh;ou; and
double &yogh;e double thinges, aftir hir werkis;
in the drinke that she medlide to &yogh;ou,
menge &yogh;e double to hir.
7 Hou miche she
glorifiede hir silf, and was in delijcis, so
miche tourment &yogh;iue &yogh;e to hir, and wepyng;
for `in hir herte she seith, I
sitte a queen, and I am not a widewe,
and I shal not see wepyng.
8 And therfore
in oo day hir plages shulen come,
deeth, and moornyng, and hunger; and
she shal be brent in fijr, for God is
strong, that shal deme hir.
9 And the
kinges of erthe shulen wepe, and weyle
hem on hir, the whiche diden fornycacioun
with hir, and lyueden in delicis,
whan thei shulen see the smoke of brennynge
of hir;
10 stondinge fer for drede of
tourmentis of hir, seiynge, Wo! wo! wo!
`the ilke greet citee Babilon, and `the ilke
stronge citee; for in oon hour thi doom
cometh.
11 And marchauntes of erthe shulen
wepe `vpon hir, and moorne, for no
man shal bye more the marchaundise
of hem;
12 the merchaundises of gold, and
siluer, and precious stoon, and margarite,
`or peerl, and bijce, and purpur,
and silk, and coccyn, and ech tre thyme,
-- --
and alle vessels of yuer, and alle vessels
of precious stoon, and of bras, and yren,
and marble,
13 and canel, and amome,
`that is, a swete saueringe tree, and
of odoramentis, and oynementis, and encense,
and of wijn, and oyle, and
floure, and wheete, and of iumentis, `or
werk beestes, and sheep, and horses,
and cartes, and of seruauntis, and of
soulis, `or lijfis, of men.
14 And thin apples,
the desijres of thi lijf, wenten
awey fro thee, and alle fatte thinges, and
ful cleere perschiden fro thee.
15 And marchauntes
of thes men shulen no more
fynde `tho thinges. Thei that ben maad
riche of hir, shulen stonde fer, for drede
of tourmentis of hir, wepinge, and moornynge,
and seiynge, Wo!
16 wo! `the ilke greet
citee, that was clothid with bijce, and
purpur, and cocke, and was goldid with
gold, and precious stoon, and margaritis,
17 for in oon hour so many richessis ben
destitute. And ech gouernour, and alle
that shippen in to place, and mariners,
and that werchen in the se, stoden fer,
and crieden,
18 seeynge the place of brennynge
of hir, seiynge, What lijk to this
greet citee?
19 And thei senten poudir vpon
her heedes, and crieden, wepinge, and
moornynge, and seiynge, Wo! wo! `the
ilke grete citee, in whom alle that han
shippes in the se ben maad riche of prisis
of it; for in oon hour it is desolate.
20 Heuen,
and holy apostles, `and prophetes, `glade
&yogh;e on it, for God hath demyd &yogh;oure doom
of it.
21 And oo strong aungel toke up a
stoon, as a greet mylne stoon, and sente
in to the se, seiynge, In this bire `the
ilke greet citee Babilon shal be sent, and
-- --
now `ouer shal not be founde.
22 And the
voys of harpers, and of men of musike,
and syngynge with pijpe and trumpe, shal
no more be herd in it. And ech `crafty
man, and eche craft, shal not be founden
in it. And the voys of mylne stoon shal
no more be herd in thee,
23 and the li&yogh;t of
lanterne shal no more shijne to thee,
and the voys of the husbonde and of
wijf shal `not &yogh;it more be herd in
thee; for thi marchauntes weren princes
of erthe. For in thi venemous dedis alle
folkes erreden.
24 And the blood of prophetis
and seyntis is founden in it, and
of alle men that ben slayn in erthe.
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].
