A   And it happened that whan my sonne wente in to his chamber, he fell downe, and dyed: th&ebar; ouethrew we all the lightes, and all my neghbours rose vp to c&obar;forte me. Th&ebar; toke I my rest vnto the sec&obar;de daye at night: ∧ whan they had all rested, þt; they might comforte me, I rested also, and rose vp by night, and fled, and am come hither in to this felde, as thou seist: and am purposed not to come in the cite, but to remayne here, and nether to eate ner drynke, but continually to mourne and to fast, vntill I dye.

Then let I my meditacions and thoughtes fall, that I was in, and spake to her in displeasure: Thou foolish woman, seist thou not oure heuynes and mournynge, and what happeneth vnto vs? how Sion o&highr; mother is all wofull and sory, and how she is cleane brought downe and in misery? seinge we be all now in heuynes, ∧ make oure mone (for we be all soroufull.) As for the heuynes that thou takest, it is but for one sonne. Demaunde the earth, and she shal tell the, that it is she which ought (by reason) to mourne, for the fall of so many that growe vpon her. For from the begynnynge all men are borne of her, ∧ other shal come: and beholde, they walke allmost all into destruccion, and many of them shalbe roted out.

Who shulde then (by reason) make more mournynge, then she, that hath lost so greate a multitude? and not thou, which art sory but for one. But yf thou woldest saye vnto me: My mournynge is not like the mournynge of the earth, for I haue lost the frute of my body, which I bare with heuynes: as for the earth, acordinge to the ordynaunce of þe; earth onely, so that many are gone awaye in her, as it is come to passe: B   Then saye I vnto the: like as thou hast borne with trauayle ∧ sorowe, euen so the earth also from the begynnynge geueth hir frute vnto man, for him þt; made her. And therfore witholde thy sorowe and heuynes by thy self, and loke what happeneth vnto þe;, beare it str&obar;gly. ^noteFor yf thou iudgest the marck ∧ ende of God to be righteous and good, and receauest his councell in tyme, thou shalt be commended therin. Go thy waye then in to the cite to thy husbande.

And she sayde vnto me: that wyll I not do, I will not go in to the cite, but heare will I dye. So I commoned more with her, and sayde: Do not so, but be co&ubar;celed, and folowe me: for how many falles hath Sion? Be of good comforte because of the sorowe of Ierusalem. For thou seist that oure Sanctuary is layed waist, oure aulter broken, oure temple destroyed, oure playenge of instrumentes and synginge layed downe, the thankesgeuynge put to sylence, o&highr; myrth is vanished awaye, the light of oure candelstick is quenched, þe; Arke of the couenaunt is tak&ebar; from vs, all oure holy thinges are defyled, and the name that is called vpon ouer vs, is dishonoured, oure children are put to shame, oure prestes are brent, oure Leuites are caried awaye in to captiuyte, oure virgins are defyled, and oure wyues rauyshed, oure righteous men spoyled, and oure childr&ebar; destroyed, oure yonge men are brought in b&obar;dage, and oure str&obar;ge worthies are become weake: and Sion (which seale is þe; greatest of all) is lowsed vp from hir worshipe: for she is deliuered in to the handes of them that hate vs.

C   And therfore shake of þi; greate heuynes,

and putt awaye the multitude of sorowes: that the Mightie maye be mercyfull vnto the, and that the Hyest maye geue the rest from þi; laboure and trauayle. And it happened, that whan I was talkynge with her, hir face dyd shyne ∧ glyster, so that I was afraied of her, and mused what it might be. And immediatly she cast out a greate voyce, very fearfull, so that þe; earth shoke at the noyse of the woman: and I loked, and beholde, the woman appeared vnto me nomore: but there was a cite buylded, and a place was shewed from the grounde and foundacion.

Then was I afrayed, and cried with loude voyce, and sayde: ^note where is Vriel the angell, which came to me at the first? For he hath caused me to come in many consideracions and hye thoughtes, and myne ende is turned to corrupcion, and my prayer to rebuke. And as I was speakynge these wordes, he came vnto me, and loked vpon me, and I laye as one that had bene deed, and myne vnderstandinge was altered, and he toke me by the right hande, and comforted me, and set me vp vpon my fete, and sayde vnto me: what ayleth the? and why is thine vnderstandinge vexed? and the vnderstondinge of thy hert, and wherfore art thou sory? And I sayde: Because thou hast forsaken me: and I haue done acordynge vnto thy wordes, ^note I wente in to the felde, and there haue I sene thinges, that I am not able to expresse. D   He saide vnto me: St&obar;de vp and be manly, and I shal geue the exortacion.

Then sayde I: Speake on to me my LORDE, forsake me not, lest I dye in vayne: for I haue sene that I knewe not, ∧ herde that I do not knowe. Or shall my vnderstondynge be disceaued, and my mynde? But now I beseke the, that thou wilt shewe thy seruaunt of this w&obar;der. He answered me th&ebar; and sayde: heare me, and I shall enfourme the, and tell the wherfore thou art afrayed, for the Hyest hath opened many secrete thynges vnto the.

He hath sene that thy waye is right, and that thou takest sorowe continually for thy people, and makest greate lamentacion for Sion: and therfore vnderstonde the vision which thou sawest a litle whyle agoo after this maner: Thou sawest a woman mournynge, and thou hast comforted her: Neuertheles now seist thou the licknes of the woman nomore, but thou thoughtest there was a cite buylded: and like as she tolde the of the fall of her sonne, so is this the answere: The woman whom thou sawest, is Sion: and where as she tolde the, that she hath bene thirtie yeares vnfrutefull and baren, those are the xxx. yeares, wherin there was no offeringe made in her.

But after xxx. yeares Salomon buylded her, and offred, and then bare the baren a sonne. And where as she tolde the, that she norished him with laboure, that was the dwellynge of Ierusalem. E   But where as the sonne dyed in hir chamber, that is the fall of Ierusalem. And thou sawest hir lickenesse, how she mourned for hir sonne: and what els happened vnto her, I haue shewed þe;. And now God seyth, that thou art sory in thy mynde, and suffrest from þi; hert for her: and so hath he shewed the hir clearnesse, and the fayrnes of hir bewtye.

And therfore I bad the remayne in the felde, where no house is buylded. For I knew þt; the Hyest wolde shew this vnto the, therfore I commaunded the to go into the felde, where no foundacion ner buyldinge is. For in the place where the Hyest wyll shewe his cite, there shall be no mans buyldinge. And therfore feare not, and let not thine hert be afrayed, but go thy waye in, and se the glorious and fayre buyldinge, and how greate it is, and how greate thou thinkest it after the measure of thine eyes, ∧ then shalt thou heare as moch as thine eares maye compreh&ebar;de. For thou art blessed aboue many other, and art called with the Hyest, as þe; few. But tomorow at night thou shalt remayne here, and so shal þe; Hyest shewe the visions of hye thinges, which he wyll do vnto them that dwell vpon earth in þe; last dayes. So I slepte the same night like as he c&obar;maunded me.

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