¶ The fyrst booke of Samuel called the fyrst booke of the Kynges.Elkana.¶ The fyrst Chapter.¶ Elkana hath .ii. wiues, Hanua and Phenenna. [unresolved image link]
AThere was
a m&abar; of one
&lhand; of the
two Ramaths
(of
þe; kinred of
Zophim, of
mount Ephra&ibar;
named note
Elkana
þe; sonne
of Ieroh&abar; þe; sonne
of Elihu, the sonne of Thohu, the sonne of
Zuph, an Ephrathite: whych had two wyues,
þe; one called H&abar;na, ∧ the other Phenenna.
And Phen&ebar;na had children, but Hanna
had none. noteAnd the sayd m&abar; w&ebar;t vp out of
his citye euery feastfull daye, to praye ∧ to
offer vnto þe; Lord of hostes in Silo, where
were the two sonnes of Eli (Hophni ∧ Phinehes)
þe; lordes prestes. And it fell on a solempne
daye, þt; Elkana offered, &abar;d gaue to
Phenenna his wife ∧ to all her sonnes and
daughters porcy&obar;s. But &club; vnto Hanna he
gaue a porcion &wt; a heuye chere, for he loued
Hanna, and the Lord had made her barren.
And her enemye (Phenenna) vexed her sore
c&obar;tynually, to moue her, because þe; lord had
made her barr&ebar;. And so did she yere by yere
as ofte as she w&ebar;t vp to the house of þe; lord.
And so chafed her, which wepte, &abar;d did not
eate. B Th&ebar; sayde Elkana her husb&abar;d to her:
Hanna, why wepest thou? and why eatest þu;
not? and why is thyne herte troubled? am
not I better to the, th&ebar; ten sonnes? So H&abar;na
rose vp after þt; they had eaten ∧ droncke
in Sylo. And Eli the Preaste sate vpon a
stole by one of the syde postes of the temple
of the Lorde. And she was troubled in her
mynde, and prayed vnto the Lord, ∧ wepte
sore, and vowed a vowe, and sayd: O Lord
of hostes, yf thou wylt loke on the trouble
of thine handmayde, ∧ rem&ebar;bre me, and not
forget thine handmayde, but geue vnto thine
h&abar;dmayde a m&abar; chylde: I wyll geue him
vnto þe; Lord all þe; dayes of his lyfe, note ∧ there
shall no raser come vp&obar; his heed. And as
she c&obar;tinued praying before þe; lord, it fortuned,
þt; Eli marked her mouth. For Hanna
spake &ibar; her herte, ∧ her lyppes did but moue
onely, but her voyce was not heard: ∧ therfore
Eli thought she had bene dr&obar;cken, and
Eli sayd vnto her: How l&obar;g wylt þu; be dr&obar;cken?
put awaye from the, the wyne þt; thou
hast. Hanna answered and sayde: not so my
Lord, I am a woman of a sorowfull herte:
I haue droncke nether wyne nor stronge C
drynck, but haue note powred &lhand; out my soule
before þe; Lord. Count not thyne handmayde
to be lyke a daughter of Belial, for out
of the aboundance of my heuynes ∧ greafe:
haue I spoken hitherto.
Eli answered her agayne: ∧ sayde go in
peace: þe; God of Israell graunt the thy peticyon,
þt; thou hast asked of hym. She sayde:
let thyne h&abar;d mayde fynde grace &ibar; thy sight
And so þe; woman went her waye, ∧ dyd eat,
∧ loked no more so sadde. D And they rose vp
earlye, ∧ worshipped before þe; lord, ∧ th&ebar; returned,
∧ came to theyr house to Ramath.
And wh&abar; Elkana knew H&abar;na his wyfe, þe;
Lord rem&ebar;bred her: for in processe of tyme
it came to passe, þt; she c&obar;ceaued, ∧ bare a sonne,
∧ called his name Samuel (sayeng:) because
I haue asked him of þe; Lord. And Elkana
∧ all his house went vp to offer vnto
the Lord, the offerynge due for þe; feast, ∧ also
his vowe &lhand;: Neuertheles, H&abar;na w&ebar;t not
vp, but sayde vnto her husb&abar;de: I wyll tarye
vntill þe; ladde be wened, ∧ then I wyll
bring him þt; he maye apeare before þe; Lord,
∧ there abide for euer. Elkana her husband
answered her: do what semith þe; best: tarye
at home, vntill þu; hast wened h&ibar;, ∧ I besech
þe; Lord, to make good his say&ebar;g. And so the
wom&abar; abode, ∧ gaue her sonne sucke, vntill
she wened him. And wh&ebar; she had wened him
she toke hym with her, with thre bullockes
∧ an Epha of floure, ∧ a bottel of wyne, and
brought him vnto þe; house of þe; Lord in Silo,
∧ the child was yet but t&ebar;der of age. And
they slue a bullocke, ∧ brought in þe; ladd to
Eli, and she sayd: Oh my Lord: as truly as
thy soule lyueth my Lord, I am the wom&abar;
þt; stode before the here, prayeng vnto þe; Lorde.
For this ladde I prayed, and the Lorde
hath geu&ebar; me my desire, whych I asked of
him: and therfore I haue geuen hym vnto
the Lord, as long as he is mete for the lorde.
And they worshipped the Lorde there.
¶ The .ii. Chapter.¶ The song of Hanna. The offence of the sonnes
of Eli.
-- --
Hanna.
AAnd Hanna prayed and sayde: myne
herte reioyseth in þe; Lord, and myne
horne is &lhand; exalted in the Lorde. My
mouth is wyde open ouer myne enemyes,
for I reioyse in thy saluacy&obar;. There is none
so holye as the Lord, for without the, is
nothing. Nether is there any of strength as
is oure God. Talke not to moche proudlye
let olde thynges depart out of your mouthes,
for the lorde is a God of knowledge,
and his purposes come to passe. The &rhand; bowe
with the mightye men are broken: and
they that were weake, haue girded th&ebar; selues
&wt; strength. They that were full, haue
hired out them selues for breed, ∧ they that
were hongrye, ceasse so to be, tyll the baren
hath borne seuen: ∧ she þt; had many chyldr&ebar;,
is waxed feble. noteB The Lord kylleth, and maketh
alyue: bryngeth downe &lhand; to the graue
and fetcheth vp agayne. The Lorde maketh
poore, ∧ maketh ryche: bringeth lowe,
and heueth vp on hye. noteHe reyseth vp the
poore out of the dust, and lyfteth vp þe; begger
from the dong hyll: to sett them am&obar;ge
princes, and to enherett th&ebar; with the seate
of glorye. For the pillers of the erth are the
lordes, and he hath sett the rounde worlde
vpon th&ebar;. He wyll kepe the fete of hys sayntes,
and the wycked shall kepe sylence in
darcknesse, ∧ note in his awne myght shall no
m&abar; be str&obar;ge. The lordes aduersaries shall
be destroyed of hym: and out of heau&ebar; shall
he th&ubar;der vpon euery one of th&ebar;. The lorde
shall iudge the endes of the worlde, ∧ shall
gyue myght vnto his kynge, and exalte the
horne of his anoynted. C And Elkana w&ebar;t to
Ramath to his house, ∧ the ladd dyd mynistre
vnto the lorde before Eli the preaste.
But the sonnes of Eli were chyldren &lhand;
of Belial, and knewe not the lord. And the
Preastes made a lawe for þe; people, þt; whensoeuer
any man offered any offerynge, the
Preastes ladd came, while the fleshe was in
sething, ∧ a fleshoke wyth thre tethe in his
hand, and thrust it into the p&abar;ne: ketle, caldren,
or potte. And all that the fleshe hoke
brought vp, that the Preaste toke awaye.
And so they did vnto all þe; Israelites, that
came thyther to Silo. Yee ∧ therto, before
they burnt þe; fatte, the Preastes ladd came
and sayd to the man that offered: geue flesh
that I maye dresse it for the Preaste, for he
wyll not haue sodd&ebar; fleshe of the, but rawe.
And yf any man sayde vnto hym: let them
burne the fatt according to the daye, ∧ then
take as moche as thine herte desyreth. D The
ladd wold answere him, yee, þu; shalt geue it
me now: and yf thou wylt not, I wyll take
it with violence. And the synne of þe; youngmen
was very great before the Lorde. For
men abhorred the offeryng of the Lorde.
But the child Samuel ministred &lhand; before
Eli.
the Lorde, girded about wyth a lynen
Ephod &lhand;. Moreouer, hys mother made
him a lytle coate, ∧ brought it to him from
yere to yere, wh&ebar; she came vp with her husbande
to offer the offeringe in the solempne
feastes: and Eli blessed Elkana ∧ his wyfe,
and sayde: the Lorde geue the seede of thys
wom&abar;, for the peticy&obar; that she asked of the
lorde. And they went vnto their awne home.
And the lorde visited H&abar;na, so that she
conceaued ∧ bare thre sonnes ∧ two daughters.
And the chylde Samuel grewe before
the lorde.
E Eli was very olde, ∧ herde all that his
sonnes dyd vnto all Israel, and how they
laye with the wemen þt; wayted at the dore
of the Tabernacle of wytnesse, ∧ he sayde
vnto them: why do ye soche thynges? For
of all these people I heare euell reportes of
you. Oh, naye my sonnes: for it is no good
reporte that I heare, how that ye make the
lordes people to trespasse. If one m&abar; synne
agaynst another, &club; daysemen maye be iudges:
but yf a man synne agaynst the lorde
who will be his dayseman? Notwythstandyng,
they herkened not vnto the voyce of
their father, because the lorde wolde slaye
them. The chylde Samuel profyted note and
grew, and was in fauoure both with þe; lorde,
and also with men.
F And there cam a man of God vnto Eli,
∧ sayd vnto him: thus sayeth the lorde: dyd
not I apeare vnto the house of thy father,
wh&ebar; they were in Egipte subiect vnto Pharaos
house? And I chose thy father out of
all þe; trybes of Israel to be my Preaste, for
to offer vpon myne aultare, ∧ to burne incense, note
and to weare an Ephod before me.
And I gaue vnto þe; house of thy father all
the burnt offrynges of the chyldren of Israell.
Wherfore treade ye downe my sacrifice
and myne offeryng, which I commaunded
to be made in the Tabernacle, ∧ honorest
thy chyldren aboue me, to make youre
selues fatt of the first frutes of all the offerynges
of Israel my people? Wherfore the
lorde God of Israell sayeth: G I sayde, that
thy house and the house of thy father shuld
walke before me for euer. But now the lorde
sayeth: that be farre from me: for them
that worshipe me, I will worshipe, ∧ they
þt; despyse me, shall come to shame. Beholde,
the dayes come, þt; I will cut of thyne arme,
∧ the arme of thy fathers house, þt; there
shal not be an elder &ibar; thine house. And thou
shalt se thyne enemye in the tabernacle of þe;
lorde, ∧ in all that welthe which God shal
giue Israell, ∧ there shall not be an elder in
thyne house for euer. Neuerthelesse, I wyll
not destroye all the males that come of the
fro myne aultare. But to make thyne eyes
dase, ∧ to make thyne hert melte. And all
-- --
Samuel
they þt; be multiplyed in thyne house, note shall
dye, yf they be men.
And this shalbe a signe vnto the, that shall
come vpon thy two sonnes note Hophny ∧ Phinehes:
euen in one daye they shall dye both.
And I wyll stere me vp a faythfull preste, þt;
shall do accordynge to my herte and mynde:
And I will buylde him a sure house. And he
shall walke before myne anoynted for euer.
And they þt; are left in thyne house, shall come,
and crouch to him for a lytle pece of syluer
∧ a cake of bread, ∧ shall saye: put me (I
praye the) in one offyce or other amonge the
prestes, that I maye eate a morsell of bread.
¶ The .iij. Chapter.¶ The Lorde calleth Samuel thre tymes.
AAnd the chylde Samuel mynistred
vnto the Lorde before Eli: ∧ &rhand; þe;
worde of the Lorde was precious
in those dayes, nether was there
any open visyon. And it cha&ubar;sed at þt; tyme,
that Eli laye in his place, and hys note eyes beganne
to waxe dymme that he coulde not se.
And yer the l&abar;pe of God went out, Samuel
layde hym downe to slepe in the t&ebar;ple of the
Lord, where the arcke of God was. And the
Lorde called Samuel, ∧ he sayde, here am I,
and he ran vnto Eli, ∧ sayd: here am I, for þu;
calledst me. B And he sayd: I called the not: go
agayne, ∧ slepe. And he went, and layde him
downe to slepe. And the Lorde called once agayne:
Samuel, ∧ Samuel arose ∧ went to
Ely, ∧ sayd, I am here, for thou dyddest call
me. And he answered: I called þe; not, my sonne.
Go agayne, and take thy rest: &rhand; Samuell
knewe not yet the Lord, nether was þe;
worde of þe; Lord yet opened vnto hym. And
the Lorde went to, ∧ called Samuel þe; thyrd
tyme. And he arose, ∧ went to Eli, ∧ sayde: I
am here, for þu; hast called me. And Eli perceaued
þt; the Lorde had called the chylde. Therfore,
Eli sayde vnto Samuel: go, ∧ lye downe:
∧ yf he call the agayne, then saye, speake
on Lorde, for thy seruaunt heareth. So Samuel
went, ∧ layed hym downe in hys place.
And the Lord came, ∧ stode, ∧ called as before,
Samuel Samuel. Samuel answered:
speake on: for thy seruaunt heareth. And the
Lord sayde to Samuel: beholde, I will do a
thinge in Israel, þt; both the eares of as many
as heareth it, shall tyngle. In þt; daye I wyll
rayse vp agaynst Eli, all thynges whych I
haue spoken concernynge his house: from the
begynnyng to the endyng. I haue tolde him,
note that I wyll iudge hys house for euer. For
þe; wickednes which he knoweth. &club; For wh&ebar;
the people cursed hys sonnes for þe; same wickednes,
he hath not corrected th&ebar;. And therfore,
I haue sworne vnto the house of Eli, C þt;
the wyckednesse of Elies house, shall not be
purged &wt; sacrifyce nor offering for euer. Samuel
laye tyll the mornynge, and opened the
dores of the house of the Lorde.
And Samuel feared to shewe Eli the visyon.
Then Eli called Samuel, ∧ sayde: Samuel
my sonne. And he answered: here I am.
He sayde: what is that the Lorde hath sayde
vnto the? I praye the, se thou hyde it not fr&obar;
me. noteGod do so, ∧ so to the, yf thou hyde any
thyng from me, of all that he sayde vnto the.
And Samuel tolde hym euery whytte, and
hydd nothynge from hym. D And he sayd: it is
the Lorde, let him do what semeth hym best,
And Samuel grewe, ∧ the Lorde was
wyth him, ∧ left none of hys wordes vnperformed.
And all Israel from Dan to Bersabe
wyst that faythfull Samuel was made
the Lordes prophete. And the Lord appered
agayne in Silo: for the Lorde opened hym
selfe to Samuel in Silo, thorow the worde
of the Lorde.
¶ The .iiij. Chapter.¶ The arcke of the Lorde is taken. Eli ∧ hys children dye.
AAnd Samuel spake vnto all Israel.
(And it fortuned that in those dayes the Philystynes
came to gether to fyght.) And Israel
went out against the Philistynes to battayle,
and pytched besyde the note &rhand; helpe stone.
And the Philistynes pytched in Aphek. And
put them selues in araye against Israel. And
wh&ebar; they ioyned the battell, Israel was put
to the worse before the Philistines. And the
Philistynes slue in araye alonge by the feldes,
about a foure thousande men.
And when the people were come into their
tentes, the elders of Israel sayde: wherfore
hath the Lorde cast vs downe this daye before
the Philistines? let vs fetch the arcke of
the appoyntment of the Lorde oute of Silo
vnto vs, þt; wh&ebar; it c&obar;meth am&obar;ge vs, it maye
saue vs, oute of the h&abar;de of oure enemy. And
so the people sent to Silo, B ∧ fet fr&obar; thens the
arcke of the appoyntm&ebar;t of the Lord of Hoostes,
which dwelleth betwene the cherubins.
And there were the two sonnes of Eli, Hophni,
∧ Phinehes with the arcke of the appoyntment
of God. And it fortuned, þt; wh&ebar; the
arcke of the appoyntment of the Lorde came
into the hoost, all Israel showted a myghtie
showte, so that the erthe rangge agayne.
And wh&abar; the Philistines herde the noyse of
the showte, they sayd: what meaneth þe; so&ubar;de
of this mighty showt in þe; host of þe; Ebrues?
And they vnderstode, howe that the arcke of
the Lorde was come into the hoost: And the
Philistines were afrayed, and sayde: God is
come into the hoost. And they sayd agayne:
Wo vnto vs, for it was neuer so before this:
Wo vnto vs, who shall delyuer vs out of þe;
hande of these mighty Goddes? these are the
Goddes that smote the Egypcians with so
many plages in the wyldernes. C Be stronge
and quite youre selues lyke men, O ye Philistynes,
that ye be no seruauntes vnto the
-- --
Dagon
Ebrues, note as they haue bene to you. Be of a
manly corage therfore ∧ fyght. And the Philistines
fought, ∧ Israel was put to þe; worse
∧ fledd euery m&abar; into his t&ebar;te. And ther was
an exceading great slaughter, for there were
ouerthrow&ebar; of Israel .xxx.M. fotemen. And
the arcke of God was taken, ∧ the two sonnes
of Eli, note Hophni, ∧ Phinehes were deed.
And there ran a m&abar; of BenIamin out of the
araye, and came to Silo the same daye with
his clothes rent ∧ earth vpon hys heed. And
when he came, Eli sate vpon a stole, and loked
toward the waye: for his hert feared for
the arcke of God. And when the m&abar; came into
the cytie, and tolde it, all the cytie cryed.
And when Eli herde the noyse of the cry&ebar;g
he sayd: What meaneth this noyse of the rumor?
And þe; m&abar; came in hastely, ∧ tolde Eli.
Eli was .xcviij. yeare olde, and note hys syght
fayled him þt; he could not se. And the m&abar; sayd
vnto Eli: I am he þt; came out of the araye, ∧
fled this daye out of the hoost. And he sayde:
what thing is fortuned my sonne? The messenger
answered ∧ sayd. D Israel is fled before
the Philistines, ∧ there is a greate slaughter
chaunsed amonge the people, ∧ thy two sonnes,
Hophni ∧ Phinehes are deed, ∧ the arcke
of God is taken. And it fortuned that whan
he made menci&obar; of the arcke of God, Eli fell
from of hys stole backwarde vpon the thresholde
of the gate, and hys necke brake, and
he dyed: for he was an olde man and heuye,
and iudged Israel fourtye yeares.
And his daughter in lawe Phinehes wife
was &wt; childe ∧ nye the byrthe. And wh&ebar; she
hearde the tydinges þt; the arcke of God was
taken, ∧ þt; her father in lawe, ∧ her husb&abar;de
were deed, she bowed her self, and traueled,
for her paynes came vpon her. And about þe;
tyme of her deeth, the wemen þt; stode aboute
her, sayd vnto her: feare not, for þu; hast borne
a sonne: but she answered not, nor regarded
it. And she named the childe note Ichabod, sayinge:
The glory is departed fr&obar; Israel. Because
the arcke of God was taken, ∧ because
of her father in lawe and her husbande. And
she sayde agayne: The glory is gone fr&obar; Israel,
for the arcke of God is taken.
¶ The .v. Chapter.¶ Dagon the God of the Philistines is cast flat
before the arcke.
AAnd the Philistynes toke the arcke of
God, and caryed it from the helpe stone
vnto Asdod, agayne the Philystynes
toke the arcke of God, ∧ brought it into
the house of Dag&obar;, and sett it by Dag&obar;. And
when they of Asdod were vp in the nexte
daye in the mornynge, beholde, Dagon laye
vpon the erth before the arcke of the Lorde.
And they toke Dagon, ∧ set him in hys place
agayne. And when they were vp erly in the
nexte mornyng, beholde, Dag&obar; laye vp&obar; the
The arcke
gro&ubar;de before the arcke of the Lorde, and his
heed, ∧ his two handes cut of vpon the thresholde,
þt; &rhand; only the shape of a fyrst was left
on hym. And therfore is it, þt; the prestes of
Dag&obar; (nether any m&abar; that c&obar;meth into Dagons B
house) treade not on the thresholde of
Dagon in Asdod, vnto thys daye. But the
h&abar;de of the Lorde was heuy vpon th&ebar; of Asdod,
∧ he destroyed th&ebar;, ∧ smote th&ebar; &wt; emerodes,
bothe Asdod ∧ in all þe; coastes therof.
(The vyllages also ∧ the feldes in the myddes of the co&ubar;tre
were ful, ∧ ther came vp myce, ∧ ther was a confusyon of
great death in the cytie.) And when the men of Asdod
sawe þt; it was so, they sayde: the arcke of
the God of Israel shall not abyde here with
vs, for hys h&abar;de is sore vp&obar; vs ∧ vp&obar; Dag&obar;
oure God. C They sent therfore ∧ gathered all
the lordes of þe; Philistines vnto th&ebar; ∧ sayde:
what shall we do &wt; the arcke of the God of
Israel? They answered: let þe; arcke of þe; God
of Israel be caryed aboute vnto Gath. And
they caryed the arcke of the God of Israel about.
And it fortuned, that wh&ebar; they had caryed
it about, there was by the hande of the
Lorde a myghtye greate noyse in the cytie, ∧
he smote the men of the cytie both small and
greate: ∧ they had secrete diseases, (And the
Bethites toke councell, ∧ made them selues preuye seates of
skynnes.) Therfore they sent the arcke of God
to Akaron. And assone as the arcke of God,
came to Akaron, D the Akaronites cryed out
saying: they haue brought the arcke of þe; God
of Israel to vs, to slee vs and oure people:
And so they sent, and gathered together
all the lordes of the Philistines ∧ sayde: send
awaye the arcke of the God of Israel, to go
agayne to his awne place, that it slee vs not
and oure people. For there was greate lam&ebar;tacyon
ouer the deade thorowout all the cytie,
∧ the h&abar;de of God was exceadynge sore
there. And the m&ebar; that dyed not, were smytten
wyth the Emerodes: and the crye of the
cytie went vp to heauen.
¶ The .vj. Chapter.¶ The kyne brynge home the arcke wyth the
rewardes.
AThe arcke of the Lord was in the co&ubar;trey
of the Philistines seuen monethes:
and the Philistynes called for
the prestes ∧ þe; soth sayers, sayinge:
what shall we do wyth the arcke of the Lorde?
tell vs, where with we shall sende it home
agayne? They sayde: Yf you sende the arcke
of the God of Israel home agayne, sende
it not emptye. But rewarde it &wt; a trespasse
offerynge: and then ye shalbe whole, and it
shalbe knowen to you, why hys h&abar;de departeth
not from you.
Then sayde they: And what shalbe the
trespasse offeringe, whych we shall rewarde
hym &wt;? They answered: fyue golden arsses
-- --
The arcke.
and .v. golden myce, according to the nombre
of the lordes of the Philistines. For it is one
maner of plage on you all, ∧ on your lordes.
Wherfore ye shal make ymages like to your
arsses, and ymages lyke to your myce þt; corrupt
the lande, and ye shall geue glory vnto
the God of Israel: that he maye take his h&abar;d
from of you, and fr&obar; of your goddes, and fr&obar;
of youre lande.
B Wherfore do ye harden your hertes as þe;
Egipcians and Pharao hardened their hertes?
which when he toke on agaynst th&ebar;, dyd
they not let the people go, ∧ they departed ?
Now therfore, make a newe carte, and take
two melche kyne: on whose necke there hath
come no yock. And tye the kyne to the carte,
and bring the calues home fr&obar; them. And take
the arck of the Lord, and laye it vpon the
carte, and put the iewels of golde (which ye
rewarde him with for a synoffering) in a cofre
by the side therof: and send it awaye, þt; it
maye go. And yf ye se þt; he go vp by þe; waye
of his awne coaste to Bethsames: then it is
he þt; dyd vs this great euyll. Yf no, we shall
knowe then, that it is not his hande þt; smote
vs: but it was a chaunce that happened vs.
And the m&ebar; dyd euen so: and toke two kyne
that gaue mylke, C and tyed them to the carte,
and kept the calues at home, and they layde
the arck of the Lorde vpon the carte and the
cofer &wt; the myce of gold, and &wt; the ymages
of their arsses. And the kyne toke þe; streyght
waye to Bethsames, ∧ went on þe; streyght
waye: ∧ as they w&ebar;t, lowed, ∧ turned nether
to the right h&abar;de ner to the left. And the lordes
of the Philistines went after them, vntyll
the borders of Bethsames.
And they of Bethsames were reapynge
their wheate heruest in the valey. And they
lift vp their eyes, and spied the arck. And reioysed
wh&ebar; they sawe it. And the carte came
into the felde of one Iehosua a Bethsamite,
and stode still there. There was also a great
stone. And they claue the wod of the carte ∧
offred the kyne a burntoffring vnto þe; Lord.
And the Leuites toke downe the arck of the
Lorde ∧ the coffer that was with it, wherin
the iewels of golde were: and put them on
the great stone. And the men of Bethsames
sacrificed burntsacrifice, and offered offeringes
þt; same daye vnto the Lorde. And when
the fyue lordes of the Philistines had sene it,
they returned to Akar&obar; the same daye. D And
these are the golden arsses which the Philistines
gaue to am&ebar;des for a trespace offring,
to the Lorde: for Asdod one: for note Gaza one:
for Askal&obar; one: for Gath one: and for Akaron
one. And golden myce, accordyng to the
nombre of all the cityes of the Philistines,
euen accordynge to the fyue lordes, both of
walled townes and of townes vnwalled:
euen vnto the greate stone of lamentacyon,
wher&obar; they set downe the arcke of the Lord:
which stone remaineth vnto this daye in the
felde of Iehosua the Bethsamite. And he
plaged the men of Bethsames, because they
had sene the arcke of the Lorde. And he slue
amonge the people fiftye thousande and thre
score and ten men. And the other people lam&ebar;ted,
because the Lorde had slayne the people
with so great a slaughter. Wherfore the
men of Bethsames sayde: who is able to
stande before the Lord so holy a God: and to
whom shall he go from vs ? And they sent
messengers to the enhabiters of Kariath Iarim,
saying: The Philistines haue brought
agayne the arke of the Lorde: come ye downe
therfore, and fet it vp to you.
¶ The .vij. Chapter.¶ The arcke is brought to Kariathiarim.
AAnd so the men of Kariathiarim
came, and fet vp the arck of the
Lord: and note brought it into the
house of Aminadab in Gibea, ∧
&rhand; sanctifyed Eleazar his sonne,
to kepe the arck of the Lorde: and whyle
the arcke abode in Kariathiarim, the dayes
multiyplied, and ther passed ouer .xx. yeres,
and the house of Israel lamented after the
Lorde. And Samuel spake vnto all þe; house
of Israel, saying: yf ye be come agayne vnto
the Lorde with all your hertes, then note put
awaye the straunge goddes and Astharoth
from amonge you: and prepare your hertes
vnto the Lorde, and serue hym note only: for he
shall ryd you out of the hande of the Philistines.
B Then the chyldren of Israel dyd put awaye
Baalim and Astaroth, and serued the
Lorde onely. And Samuel sayde: gather all
Israel to Mizpa, and I wyll praye for you
vnto the Lorde. And they gathred together
to Mizpa, and drewe water: and powred it
out before the Lorde, ∧ fasted the same daye
and sayde there: we haue synned against the
Lorde. And Samuel iudged the chyldren of
Israel in Mizpa. Wh&ebar; the Philistines heard
þt; the chyldren of Israel were gathered together
to Mizpa, þe; lordes of þe; Philistines w&ebar;t
vp against Israel. And when the children of
Israel heard þt; they were afrayed of þe; Philistines,
∧ the children of Israel saide to Samuel:
ceasse not to crye vnto the Lorde oure
God for vs, that he maye saue vs out of the
h&abar;d of the Philistines. noteC And Samuel toke
a suckyng lambe, and offered it all together
for a burntoffrynge vnto the Lorde: ∧ cryed
vnto the Lorde for Israel, ∧ the Lord heard
him. And as Samuel offred þe; burntoffring,
the Philistines came to fyght agenst Israel.
But the Lorde thondered a great thonder þt;
same daye amonge the Philistines, and scatered
them, þt; they fell before Israel. And þe;
men of Israel went out of Mizpa, and pursued
the Philistines, ∧ folowed vpon them,
-- --
The people requyre a kynge
vntyll the place that is vnder Bethcar.
D And then Samuel note toke a stone, and pitched
it betwene Mizpa and the mark of the
rock, and called the name therof, þe; note stone of
helpe, saying: Hitherto hath the Lord helped
vs. And so the Philistines were brought vnder,
∧ they came nomore into the coastes of
Israel: ∧ the hand of the Lord was agaynst
þe; Philistines all þe; dayes of Samuel. Therto,
the cities which the þe; Philistines had taken
fr&obar; Israel, were restored agayne to Israel,
euen fr&obar; Acaron to Gath, &wt; the coastes
of the same, ∧ Israel plucked them out of the
handes of the Philistines. And there was
peace betwene Israel ∧ the Amorites. Samuel
iudged Israel all the dayes of his lyfe,
and w&ebar;t about yere by yere to Bethel, Gilgal,
and Mizpa, ∧ iudged Israel in all those
places, ∧ came agayne to Rama: for there
was his house, ∧ ther he iudged Israel also, ∧
there he buylt an aulter vnto the Lorde.
The .viij. Chapter.¶ The people requyre a kynge.
AWhen Samuel was olde, he made
his s&obar;nes iudges ouer Israel. The
name of his eldest s&obar;ne was Ioel,
and þe; name of þe; sec&obar;d Abia: &rhand; ∧
they were iudges in Beerseba. And his sonnes
walked not in his wayes: but turned asyde
after lucre, and note toke rewarde, and peruerted
the ryght. Then all the elders of Israel
gathered th&ebar; together, and came to Samuel
vnto Rama, ∧ sayd vnto him: behold,
thou art olde, and thy sonnes walke not in
thy wayes. Now therfore note make vs a kinge
to iudge vs, as all other nacions haue.
But þe; thyng displeased Samuel, wh&ebar; they
sayde: geue vs a king to iudge vs. B And Samuel
prayed vnto the Lorde. And the Lorde
sayde vnto Samuel: heare the voyce of the
people in all that they saye vnto þe;. For they
haue not cast þe; awaye, but me: that I shulde
not raygne ouer th&ebar;. And as they haue euer
done (sence I brought them out of Egypte
vnto thys daye, and haue forsaken me, and
serued other goddes) euen so do they vnto
the. Nowe therfore herken vnto their voyce:
howbeit, yet testifye vnto th&ebar; and shewe
th&ebar; note the aucthorite of þe; king that shall raygne
ouer th&ebar;. And Samuel told all the wordes
of the Lorde vnto the people, that asked
a kyng of him, and he sayde: thys shalbe the
aucthorite of the kyng that shal raygne ouer C
you: note he wyll take your sonnes and put th&ebar;
to hys charettes, and make hys horsemen of
th&ebar;, to runne before his charet: and will make
him of them, captaynes ouer thousandes
and ouer fiftyes, and wyll set them to eare
his gro&ubar;de, and to gather in his heruest, and
to make instrumentes of warre, and apparell
for his charettes. And he wyll take your
daughters, ∧ make th&ebar; apoticaries, cookes
The people requyre a kynge
and bakers. And he shall take þe; best of youre
feldes, note and of youre vyneyardes, and of
your olyue trees, and geue them to hys seruauntes.
And he shall take the tenth of your
seed, and of your vyneyardes, and geue it to
hys chamberlaynes, and to hys seruauntes.
And he shall take the best of your m&ebar;serua&ubar;tes
and maydseruauntes and yong men, and
of your asses, and put th&ebar; to his worke. D And
he shall take the tenth of youre shepe, and ye
shalbe his serua&ubar;tes. And ye shall crie out at
that tyme vpon your kynge, which ye shall
haue chosen you, ∧ the Lorde will not heare
you at that daye.
Neuertheles, the people wolde not heare
the voyce of Samuel, but dyd say: naye, not
so. But there shalbe a king ouer vs, that we
maye be lyke other nacyons, and that oure
kyng maye iudge vs, and go out before vs,
and fyght our battaylles. (for vs.) Therfore,
when Samuel hearde all the wordes of þe;
people, he rehearsed them in the eares of the
Lorde. And the Lord sayde to Samuel: herken
vnto theyr voyce, and make th&ebar; a king:
And Samuel sayde vnto the men of Israel:
go euery man vnto his citye.
¶ The .ix. Chapter.¶ Saul the sonne of Cis is chosen kynge.
ATher was a man of B&ebar;Iamin named note
Cis the sonne of Abiel, the
sonne of Zeror, the s&obar;ne of Bechorath,
the sonne of Aphiah, þe; sonne
of a man that was a Ieminite, a
man of str&ebar;gth and might: and the same had
a sonne called Saul, a goodly yong m&abar; and
a fayre: so that amonge the chyldren of Israel
there was none goodlyer then he. For
from the shoulders vpwarde, he was hyer
then all þe; other people. And the asses of thys
Cis Sauls father were lost: and Cis sayde
to Saul his sonne: take one of the laddes &wt;
the and go vp ∧ seke the asses. And he went
thorow mount Ephraim, ∧ thorowe þe; l&abar;de
of Salisa: but they founde them not. Then
they went thorowe the l&abar;de of Salim, and
there they were not. Wh&ebar; they w&ebar;t also thorowe
the l&abar;de of Iemini, they fo&ubar;de th&ebar; not.
At the last, when they were come to the land
of Zuph, Saul saide to his lad þt; was &wt; him:
come, let vs returne, lest my father leaue caring
for the asses, ∧ take thought for vs. He
sayd vnto him: behold, there is in this citye a
m&abar; of God, ∧ he is a worshipfull m&abar;: all þt; he
sayth, cometh suerly to passe. Nowe then let
vs go thyther: peradu&ebar;ture he shal shewe vs
what waye we maye go. Then sayd Saul
to his lad: yf we will go, what shall we br&ibar;g
the m&abar;? For our bread is all sp&ebar;t out of oure
vessels, ∧ there is no nother present to bring
the man of God: what haue we? B And the lad
answered Saul agayne, and sayde: I haue
founde about me the fourth parte of a sycle,
-- --
Saul
that will I geue the man of God, to tell vs
oure waye.
Before tyme in Israel when a man w&ebar;t to
seke an answere of God, thus wise he spake,
come, and let vs go to the &rhand; sear. For he
that is now called a prophet, was in the olde
tyme called a sear. Then sayde Saul to hys
lad: well sayde of the: come, let vs go. And so
they went vnto the cytie where the man of
God was. And as they were goinge vp into
the cytie, they mett wyth damoselles þt; came
out to drawe water, and sayd vnto them: is
there here a sear? And the maydens answered
th&ebar;, yee, (here is one) beholde, he is before
you. Make hast nowe, for he cam thys daye
to the cyte for &rhand; there is an offerynge of the
people this daye in the hill. When ye be come
into the cytie, ye shall fynde hym strayght
waye, yer he go vp to the hyll to eate: for the
people wyll not eate vntyll he come, because
&rhand; he doth blesse the offering. And then eate
they þt; be bydden to the feast. Nowe therfore
get you vp, for this daye shall ye fynde hym.
And they went vp into the cytie. And when
they were come into the myddes of the citie: C
beholde, Samuel came out agaynst th&ebar;, for
to go vp to the hill. noteBut þe; Lorde had tolde
Samuel in his eare (a daye before Saul came)
sayenge: to morowe thys tyme I wyll
sende the a man out of the lande of Ben Iamin,
hym shalt thou anoynte to be captayne
ouer my people Israel, that he maye saue my
people out of the h&abar;de of the Philistines: for
I haue loked vp&obar; my people, and theyr crye
is come vnto me. Wh&ebar; Samuel therfore saw
Saul, the Lord answered hym: se, this is the
m&abar;, wh&obar; I spake to the of. Thys same shall
raygne ouer my people.
Then went Saul to Samuel in the myddle
of the gate, ∧ sayde: tell me I praye the,
where the sears house is. Samuel answered
Saul, and sayde: I am the sear, go vp before
me vnto the hill, for ye shall eate wyth me to
daye. And to morowe I wyll let the go, and
wyll tell the all that is in thyne hert. And as
for thyne asses þt; were lost thre dayes agoo,
care not for them, for they are founde. And
moreouer, whose shall the bewtifull thinges
of Israel be? belonge they not to the, and vnto
all thy fathers house? D But Saul answered
and sayde: am not I the sonne of a Ieminite
of the smallest trybe of Israel? and my
kynred is the least of all the kynredes of the
trybe of B&ebar;Iamin. Wherfore then speakest
thou so to me?
And Samuel toke Saul and his lad, and
brought them into the parler, and made th&ebar;
sytt in the chefest place amonge them þt; were
bydden: which were vp&obar; a thirtye persones:
And Samuel sayde vnto the cooke: brynge
forth the porcyon whych I gaue the, and of
which I sayd vnto the: kepe it with the. And
the cooke toke vp the shoulder, ∧ that whych
was vpon it, ∧ set it before Saul. And Samuel
sayd: beholde, þt; which is left: put it before
the ∧ eate, for hitherto hath it bene kept
for the, of purpose, when I called the people.
And so Saul dyd eat with Samuel þt; daye.
And when they were come downe from the
hyll into the cytie, Samuel comuned wyth
Saul &rhand; vpon the toppe of the house and
whan they arose erlye about the sprynge of
the daye, Samuel called Saul vp&obar; þe; toppe
of the house, sayenge: vp, þt; I maye sende the
awaye. And Saul arose. And they w&ebar;t out
at the dores both, he ∧ Samuel. And when
they were come almost out of the towne,
Samuel sayd to Saul: byd the lad go before
vs (and he w&ebar;t before) but stande thou styll
a whyle, that I maye shewe the what God
sayeth.
¶ The .x. Chapter.¶ Saul is anoynted Kynge, and prophesyeth. [unresolved image link]
AAnd th&ebar; Samuel toke a vessell of
oyle, ∧ powred it vp&obar; hys heed, ∧
note kyssed him, ∧ sayde: hath not the
Lord anoynted the, to be captayne
ouer hys enheritaunce? (and thou shalt delyuer
hys people out of the handes of theyr enemyes, whych
are rounde aboute th&ebar;. And thys token shalt thou haue, that
the Lorde hath anoynted the to be Prynce.) When þu; art
departed fr&obar; me this daye, þu; shalt fynde two
m&ebar; by note Rahels sepulcre in the border of B&ebar;Iamin,
euen at Zalezah. And they will saye
vnto the: þe; asses which þu; wentest to seke, are
fo&ubar;de. And lo, thy father hath left the care of
the asses, ∧ soroweth for you, sayenge: what
shall I do for my sonne? Th&ebar; shalt þu; go forth
fr&obar; th&ebar;ce, ∧ shalt come to the playne of Thabor.
And there shall mete the thre m&ebar; goinge
vp, &rhand; to God to Bethel: one caryeng thre
kiddes: ∧ another cary&ebar;g thre loues of breed:
∧ another cary&ebar;g a botell of wyne. And they
wyll salute þe;, ∧ geue the two loues of breed:
which thou shalt receaue of theyr h&abar;des. After
þt; shalt thou come to &rhand; the hyll of God,
where þe; Philistines kepe their watche. B And
when thou art come thyther to the cytie, þu;
shalt mete &rhand; a companye of prophetes c&obar;minge
downe fr&obar; the hill, &wt; a psalter, a tymbrell,
a pype, ∧ a harpe before th&ebar;, ∧ &rhand; they
shall prophesye. And the sprete of the Lorde
wyll come vp&obar; the also, ∧ þu; shalt prophesye,
-- --
Saul
with them, and shalt be turned into another
man. Therfore wh&ebar; note these signes are cha&ubar;ced
the, do what thou hast to do, for God is
wyth the. And þu; shalt go before me to Gilgal.
And I also wyll come downe vnto the,
to sacrifye burntsacrifyces, and to offre peace
offerynges note Tary for me seu&ebar; dayes, tyll
I come to the, and shew the, what thou shalt
do. And assone as he had turned hys shoulder
to go fr&obar; Samuel, God gaue hym another
maner of herte, ∧ all those tokens came
to passe that same daye. And wh&ebar; they came
to the hill: beholde, the companye of prophetes
met hym, and note the sprete of God cam
vpon hym also, ∧ he prophesyed am&obar;g them.
And all that knewe hym before, when they
sawe that he prophesyed am&obar;ge the prophetes,
they sayd eche to other: what is this þt; is
happened vnto the sonne of Cis? noteC Is Saul
also amonge the prophetes? And one of the
same place answered ∧ sayde: who is their father?
And therof came the prouerbe: what, is
&rhand; Saul also amonge the prophetes? And
when he had made an ende of prophesy&ebar;g, he
cam to the hill. And Saules fathers brother
sayde vnto hym and to hys lad: whether w&ebar;t
ye? He sayde: to seke the asses: ∧ wh&ebar; we saw
that they were no where, we came to Samuel.
And Sauls vncle sayde: tell me what
Samuel sayde vnto you? Saul answered
his vncle: he tolde vs planely, that the asses
were founde. But of the kyngdome wherof
Samuel spake, tolde he hym not. And Samuel
called the people together vnto þe; Lorde
to Mizpa, and sayde vnto the chyldren of
Israel: thus sayth the Lorde God of Israel:
I brought Israel out of Egypt, and delyuered
you out of the hande of the Egypcy&abar;s, ∧
out of the h&abar;des of all kyngdomes that troubled
you. And ye haue this daye cast awaye
youre God that helped you out of all youre
aduersyties ∧ tribulacy&obar;s. And ye haue sayd
vnto hym: note make a kynge ouer vs. Nowe
therfore stande ye before the Lorde by youre
trybes ∧ youre thousandes. D And wh&abar; Samuel
had brought all the tribes of Israel, the
tribe of B&ebar;Iamin was caught. Wh&ebar; he had
brought the tribe of B&ebar;Iamin by their kynredes,
the kynred of Matri was caught: and
at the last Saul þe; sonne of Cis was caught.
And wh&abar; they sought hym, he coulde not be
founde. Therfore they asked the Lorde further,
yf the man shulde come thither. And the
Lorde answered: beholde, he hath hydd hym
selfe amonge the stuffe. And they ranne ∧ fet
him th&ebar;ce. And when he stode am&obar;ge the people,
he was hyer then any of the people, fr&obar; þe;
shoulders vpwarde. And Samuel sayde to
all the people: Se ye not him, wh&obar; the Lorde
hath chosen, ∧ howe there is none lyke hym
amonge all the people? And all the people
showted ∧ sayde: note God lend the kynge lyfe.
Saul
Then Samuel tolde the people note &rhand; the
dutye of the kyngdome, ∧ wrote it in a boke,
and layde it vp before the Lorde, and sent all
the people awaye, euery man to hys house.
And Saul also went home to Gibea. And
there &club; folowed him strong men, whose hertes
God had touched. But the chyldr&ebar; of Belial
sayde: howe shall he saue vs? note and they
despised him, and brought him no presentes.
And he helde is tonge.
¶ The .xj. Chapter.¶ The people renueth the kyngdome of Saul.
ANahas the Ammonite came, &abar;d beseged
Iabes in Gilead. And all the
men of Iabes sayde vnto Nahas:
make a couenaunt wyth vs, and
we wylbe thy seruauntes: And
Nahas the Ammonite answered them: In
thys will I make a couenaunt wyth you, yf
I maye thrust out all youre ryght eyes, and
brynge that shame vpon all Israel. To wh&obar;
the elders of Iabes sayd: geue vs seu&ebar; dayes
respite: that we maye sende messengers vnto
all the coastes of Israel. And then yf there
be no man to helpe vs, we wyll come out to
the. B Then came the messengers to Gibea vnto
Saul, and tolde thys tydynges in the eares
of the people. And all the people lyfte vp
theyr voyces and wept. And beholde, Saul
came folowynge the catell out of the felde, ∧
Saul sayde: what ayleth thys people, that
they wepe? And they tolde hym the tydynges
of the men of Iabes. And the sprete of
God came vpon Saul, when he heard those
tydinges, and he was excedyng angrye, and
toke a yocke of oxen, and hewed them in peces,
∧ sent them thorowe out all the coastes
of Israel by the h&abar;des of messengers, say&ebar;g:
whosoeuer c&obar;meth not forth after Saul and
after Samuel, so shall hys oxen be serued.
And &rhand; the feare of the Lorde fell on the people,
and they cam out as it had bene but one
man. C And when he note nombred them in Bezek,
the chyldren of Israel were thre hundred
thousande men, and the men of Iuda thirtye
thousande. And they sayde vnto the messengers
þt; cam: so saye vnto the men of Iabes in
Gilead: to morow by that tyme the sonne be
hote, ye shal haue helpe. And the messengers
cam ∧ shewed the men of Iabes, which were
glad. Therfore the men of Iabes sayde: tomorowe
we wyll come out vnto you, and
ye shall do wyth vs all that pleaseth you.
And on the morowe it fortuned, that Saul
put the people in .iij. partes. And they cam in
vpon the host in the mornyng watche, ∧ slue
the Ammonites, vntyll the heat of the daye.
And they that remayned, were skattered: so
þt; two of them were not left together. D And
the people sayde vnto Samuel: what is he
that darre saye: shall Saul raygne ouer vs?
brynge those men, that we maye slaye them.
-- --
Samuel
And Saul sayde: there shall no m&abar; dye thys
daye, for to daye þe; Lord hathe saued Israel.
Then sayde Samuel vnto the people: come,
that we maye go to Gilgal, and &rhand; renewe
the kyngdome there. And all the people
w&ebar;t to Gilgal, ∧ made Saul kyng there,
before the Lorde in Gilgal. And there they
offered peaceofferynges before the Lorde.
And there Saul and all the m&ebar; of Israel reioysed
excedyngly.
¶ The .xij. Chapter.¶ Samuel declareth hym selfe to be an innocent Iudge.
ASamuel sayd vnto all Israel: beholde,
I haue herkened vnto your voyce
in all that ye sayde vnto me, ∧ haue
made you a kynge. Nowe therfore,
youre kynge walketh before you. And
I am olde and graye headed: and behold, my
sonnes are with you, and I haue walked before
you fr&obar; my childehode vnto thys daye.
Beholde, here I am: beare recorde of me before
the Lorde and before hys anoynted: note
Whose oxe haue I taken? or whose Asse haue
I tak&ebar;? wh&obar; haue I done wr&obar;g to? &club; Whom
haue I hurt? Or of whose hande haue I receaued
any brybe, to blynde myne eyes therwyth?
∧ I wyll restore it you agayne. They
sayde: thou hast done vs no wr&obar;ge, nor hurt
vs, nether hast thou tak&ebar; ought of any mannes
hande. He sayde vnto them agayne: the
Lord is witnesse agaynst you, ∧ hys anoynted
is wytnesse thys daye, þt; ye haue founde
naught in my h&abar;des. And they answered: he
is wytnesse. B And Samuel sayd vnto the people:
it is &club; the Lorde, þt; made Moses ∧ Aar&obar;,
∧ þt; brought youre fathers out of the l&abar;de of
Egypte. Nowe therfore st&abar;de still, þt; I maye
reason &wt; you before the Lorde, accordyng to
all the &rhand; ryghtousnesses of the Lord, which
he shewed both you and youre fathers.
noteAfter þt; Iacob was come into Egypte,
and youre fathers cryed vnto the Lorde note the
Lorde sent Moses ∧ Aaron, which brought
your fathers out of Egipt, ∧ made th&ebar; dwell
in this place. noteAnd wh&abar; they forgat the lord
their God, he delyuered th&ebar; into the hand of
Sisara captaine of the hoost of Hazor note and
into the hande of the Philistynes, and note into
the hande of the kynge of Moab, and they
fought agaynst them. And they cryed vnto
the Lorde, ∧ sayde: we haue synned, because
we haue forsaken the Lorde, and haue serued
Baalim and Astharoth. Nowe therfore delyuer
vs out of the handes of oure enemyes
and we wyll serue the. C And the Lorde sent
&rhand; Ierobaal note Badan note Iephthah, ∧ note Samuel,
and delyuered you out of the handes of
youre enemyes on euery syde, and ye dwelled
safe. And for all that, wh&ebar; you sawe that
Nahas the kyng of the chyldren of Ammon
cam agaynst you, ye sayde vnto me: note not so
but a kyng shall raigne ouer vs, wh&ebar; yet the
Lorde youre God was youre kynge. Nowe
therfore, beholde, the kinge wh&obar; ye haue chosen,
and whom ye haue desyred: lo, the Lord
hath set a kynge ouer you. Yf ye wyll feare
the Lorde ∧ serue hym, and heare hys voyce,
∧ not disobeye the worde of the Lorde: both
ye ∧ the kynge that raygneth ouer you, shall
folowe the Lorde youre God: Yf ye wyll not
herken vnto the voyce of the Lord, but disobeye
the Lordes mouth: then shall the hande
of the Lorde be vpon you and on youre fathers.
Nowe also stande, and se thys great
thynge, whych the Lord will do before your
eyes: is it not now wheatheruest? D I will call
vnto the Lorde, and &rhand; he shall sende thunder
and rayne: that ye maye perceaue and se,
howe that youre wickednes is great, which
ye haue done in the syght of the Lorde, in askynge
you a kynge. And so, Samuel called
vnto the Lorde, and the Lorde sent thunder
and rayne the same daye. And all the people
feared the Lorde and Samuel exceadyngly.
And all the people sayde vnto Samuel:
praye for thy seruauntes vnto the Lord thy
God, that we dye not: for we haue synned in
askynge vs a kynge, besyde all the synnes þt;
euer we dyd.
And Samuel sayde vnto the people: feare
not. Ye haue in dede done all thys wyckednesse,
yet departe not from folowynge of the
Lorde. But serue hym euen wyth all youre
hertes. Nether turne ye after vayne thinges
whych are not able to profyt you, for they
are but vanitye. For the note Lorde wyll not
forsake hys people, because of hys great names
sake: because &club; it hath pleased the Lord,
to make you his people. Moreouer God forbydde,
that I shulde synne agaynst the Lorde,
and ceasse prayeng for you, but to shewe
you the good ∧ ryght waye. Therfore feare
you the Lorde, and serue hym in the trueth,
and wyth all youre hertes ∧ consydre howe
great thinges he hath done for you. But and
yf ye do wyckedlye, then shall ye peryshe,
both ye and youre kynge.
¶ The .xiij. Chapter.¶ The Philistines are smytten of Saul and Ionathas.
Saul beynge disobedyent to Goddes commaundement,
is shewed of Samuel, that he shall
not raygne.
ASaul had bene kynge one yere (wh&abar;
these thynges came to passe) and he
raygned two yeares ouer Israel.
And Saul chose him thre thousand
men of Israel. Two thousande were wyth
Saul in Michmas and in mount Bethel, ∧
a thousande wyth Ionathas in Gibea BenIamin.
And the rest of the people he sent, euery
man to hys awne house agayne. And Ionathas
smote the holde of the Philystines,
þt; was in the hyll, and it came to the Philistines
eares. And Saul blewe the tr&obar;pet thorowe
-- --
Saul
out all the l&abar;de, say&ebar;ge: let the Ebrues
heare. And all Israel hearde saye, howe that
Saul had destroyed an holde of the Philystines,
wherfore &rhand; Israel stancke before þe;
Philystines. And the people gathered together
after Saul to Gilgal.
B The Philistines also geathered them selues
togeather to fyght wyth Israel, thirtye
thousand charettes and syxe thousand horse
men, with other people lyke the note sand by the
sees syde in multitude, and came vp, and pitched
in Michmas eastwarde from Bethauen.
And when the m&ebar; of Israel sawe it, they
were in a strayte, ∧ feare came vp&obar; the people,
and they hydd them selues in caues, and
in preuy holes, and in rockes, and in hye places,
∧ in pittes. And some of the Ebrues w&ebar;t
ouer Iordan to go vnto the lande of Gad ∧
Gilead. And Saul was yet in Gilgal, ∧ all
the people that folowed him were astonyed.
And he taryed seu&ebar; dayes, euen vnto þe; tyme
þt; Samuel note had appoynted. But Samuel
came not to Gilgal, ∧ the people were therfore
skatered fr&obar; him. And Saul sayd: bring
a burntsacrifyce to me ∧ peace offringes. And
he offered burnt sacrifyce. And as sone as he
had made an ende of offerynge þe; burntsacrifyce,
beholde, Samuel cam. And Saul w&ebar;t
agaynst him, to &rhand; blesse him. And Samuel
sayde. what hast thou done? Saul sayde: because
I saw that the people skatered fr&obar; me,
and þt; þu; camest not &wt;in the dayes apoynted,
and þt; the Philistines geathered th&ebar; selues togeather
to Michmas: therfore sayd I: þe; Philistines
shall come downe nowe vpon me to
Gilgal, ∧ I haue not made supplicaci&obar; vnto
the Lord. C And &rhand; wh&abar; I had ouercome my
selfe, at the last I offered a burntofferynge.
And Samuel sayde to Saul note þu; art become
a fole, thou hast not kept the c&obar;ma&ubar;dment of
the Lord thy God, which he c&obar;maunded the.
For at this tyme wold þe; Lord haue stablysshed
thy kingdome vp&obar; Israel for euer, But
nowe, thy kyngdome shall not c&obar;tinewe.
noteThe Lorde hath &rhand; sought him a man after
his awne hart, ∧ the Lord hath comma&ubar;ded
him to be captayne ouer his people: because
thou hast not kept þt; whych the Lorde comma&ubar;ded
the. And Samuel arose ∧ gat hym
vp from Gilgal to Gibea B&ebar;Iamin. (and
the remnaunt of the folke went vp after Saul, to mete the
people, whych fought agaynst them, as they were commyng
from Gilgal to Gabaa in the hyll of BenIamin.) And
Saul n&obar;bred the people that were founde &wt; D
him, ∧ they were about a syxe hundred men.
And Saul and Ionathas his sonne and the
people that were founde wyth th&ebar;, had theyr
abydynge in the hyll of B&ebar;Iamin. But the
Philistines pitched in Michmas. And there
came out of þe; host of þe; Philistines thre c&obar;panies,
to destroye: one companye turned vnto
the waye þt; leadeth to Ophra vnto the lande
Ionathas
of Saul. And a nother companye turned the
waye to Bethoron. And the thryde c&obar;pany
turned to the waye of þe; cost þt; is sene aboue
the valeye of Zeboim towarde the wyldernesse.
There was no smyth founde thorowe
out all the l&abar;de of Israel. For the Philistines
sayde: Lest happly the Ebrues make them
swerdes or speres. But all þe; Israelites w&ebar;t
downe to the Philistynes, to mende euerye
man his share, his mattock, his axe ∧ his necessary
toles: And then the edges of the shares,
mattockes, d&obar;ge forkes, and axes were
blunt, and also the forkes were to be set in.
And so in tyme of battell there was nether
swerde nor spere founde in the h&abar;des of any
of the people that were wyth Saul and Ionathas.
But with Saul and Ionathas hys
sonne was there somwhat founde. And the
watch of þe; Philistines came out, to go ouer
vnto Michmas.
¶ The .xiiij. Chapter.¶ Ionathas and hys harnesse bearer putteth the
Philistines to flyght. He tasteth the honye.
AAnd it fortuned the same tyme, þt;
Ionathas the sonne of Saul sayd
vnto hys younge man that bare
hys harnes: come, and let vs go
ouer to the Philistines watche that are yo&ubar;der
on the other syde, and he tolde not his father.
And Saul taryed in the vttmost parte
of Gibea vnder Rimmon, whych is in Migron,
∧ the people that were wyth him were
vpon a syxe h&ubar;dred men. And Ahia the sonne
of Ahitob Iehabods brother, the sonne of
Phinehes, the sonne of Eli, was the Lordes
preaste in Silo, ∧ ware an Ephod. And the
people wyst not that Ionathas was gone.
And in the myddes of the passage (by
which Ionathas sought to go ouer vnto the
Philistines watch) were there two sharpe
rockes euen one on the one syde, ∧ the other
on the other syde: the one called Bozez, ∧ the
other S&ebar;ne. The forefront of the one, leaned
northwarde towarde Michmas, ∧ the other
was southwarde, towarde Gibea: And Ionathas
sayd to the yo&ubar;ge man that bare his B
harnesse: come and let vs go ouer vnto the
watch of these vncircumcised, paraduenture
the Lorde will worke &wt; vs: for it is no hardnesse
&wt; þe; Lord note to saue ether in manye or in
fewe. And his harnesberar sayde vnto h&ibar;: do
all þt; is in thyne hert: Go where it pleaseth þe;:
Behold, I am &wt; þe;, as thine hert lusteth. Th&ebar;
sayde Ionathas: beholde, we go ouer vnto
these m&ebar;, ∧ shall shew oure selues vnto th&ebar;: yf
they saye on this wise to vs: tarye, vntill we
come to you, th&ebar; we will st&abar;de stil in o&highr; place,
∧ not go vp vnto th&ebar;. But ∧ yf they saye: come
vp vnto vs, th&ebar; we will go vp, for note the
Lorde hath delyuered them into oure h&abar;des
And thys shalbe a sygne vnto vs. And they
bothe shewed th&ebar; selues vnto the watch of þe;
-- --
Saul
Philistines. And þe; Philistines sayde: se, the
Hebrues come out of þe; holes where they had
hydd th&ebar; selues in. And þe; men of the watche
answered Ionathas and his harnesbearer, ∧
sayde, come vp to vs, and we will shew you
a thinge. And Ionathas sayde vnto his harnesbearer,
come vp after me, for þe; Lord hath
delyuered them into the h&abar;de of Israel. And
Ionathas clame vp vp&obar; handes ∧ fete, ∧ his
harnesberer after him. And (so whan they had
sene Ionathas face) they fell before Ionathas: ∧
his harnesberer slue th&ebar; after hym. And that
first slaughter which Ionathas and his harnesberer
made, was vpon a tw&ebar;tie men, within
the compasse as it were about an halfe
aker of l&abar;de. C And ther was a feare in þe; host,
in the felde, ∧ amonge all people: in so moche
that they þt; were gone out of the watche to
robbe, were afrayde also: and the erth trymbled,
for the feare that was sent of God. And
the watche men of Saul in Gibea Ben Iamin,
sawe. And beholde, the people (of the
Philistines) were skatered ∧ were smytt&ebar; as
they went. Then sayde Saul vnto the people
þt; was with him. Searche and se, who is
gone awaye fr&obar; vs. And when they had n&obar;bred,
beholde, Ionathas ∧ hys harnesbearer
were not there. And Saul sayde vnto Ahia:
bringe hither the arcke of God. For the arcke
of God was at that tyme wyth the chyldren
of Israel. And it fortuned þt; while Saul talked
vnto the preaste, þe; noyse that was in the
hoste of the Philistines spred farther abrode,
∧ increased (by lytle and lytle, and gaue a more cleare
sounde.) And Saul sayde vnto the preaste: &wt;
drawe thyne h&abar;des. And Saul ioyned hymselfe
vnto all þe; people that were with him, ∧
they came to the battell. And beholde note euery
m&abar;nes swerde was agaynst his felowe, and
there was a very greate rumore. Moreouer,
the Ebrues þt; were wyth the Philistines before
that tyme, and were come with them in
all partes of the hoste, turned, to be with the
Israelites þt; were wyth Saul ∧ Ionathas.
And all þe; men of Israel also, which had hidd
them selues in mount Ephraim, as sone as
they hearde howe that the Philistines were
fledd, they folowed after them in the battell.
D And so God holpe Israel that daye. And the
battell continued vnto Bethauen.
And whyle the men of Israel were kepte
downe wyth honger that daye, Saul charged
the people with an ooth sayinge: Cursed
be the man þt; eateth any foode vntyll nyght,
tyll I be adu&ebar;ged of myne enemyes: And so,
none of þe; people tasted any sustinaunce. And
all the inhabiters of the l&abar;de came to a wood
where honye laye vpon the gro&ubar;de. And the
people came into the wood: And beholde,
the honye dropped, and no man moued hys
hande to his mouth, for the people feared the
ooth. But Ionathas hearde not wh&ebar; hys father
charged the people with the ooth, wherfore
he put forth þe; ende of the rodd that was
in his hande, and dipt it in an honye combe, ∧
put his hande to his mouth, and &rhand; his eyes
receaued syght. Then answered one of the
people and sayde: thy father adiured the people,
sayinge: Cursed be the man that eateth
any sustinaunce this daye, ∧ the people were
fayntye. Then sayde Ionathas: my father
hath troubled the lande: se howe myne eyes
hath receaued syght, because I tasted a lytle
of this honye: howe much more then to daye
yf the people had eaten of the spoyle of their
enemyes whych they founde. And had there
not bene then a moche greater slaughter amonge
þe; Philistines? E And they layed on the
Philistines þt; daye, from Michmas to Atal&obar;.
And the people were excedinge fayntie.
And þe; people gat th&ebar; to the spoyle, ∧ toke
shepe, oxen, ∧ calues, ∧ slue th&ebar; on the gro&ubar;de,
∧ þe; people dyd eate th&ebar; note &wt; the bloude. Then
men tolde Saul, sayinge: Beholde, the people
synne agaynst the Lord, in that they eate
with þe; bloude. And he sayde: ye haue trespaced.
Rowle a great stone vnto me this daye,
and Saul sayde agayne: Go abroade am&obar;ge
the people ∧ bydd them brynge me euery m&abar;
his oxe ∧ euery man his shepe, and slaye them
here, and synne not agaynst the Lorde in eatynge
&wt; the bloude. And the people brought
euery man hys oxe in his hande, by nyght, ∧
slue them there. And Saul made an altare
vnto the Lorde. And that was þe; fyrst altare
þt; he made vnto the Lorde. And Saul sayde:
lett vs go downe after the Philistines by
nyght and spoyle th&ebar;, vntyll it be daye in the
mornynge, ∧ lett vs not leaue one m&abar; of th&ebar;.
And they sayd: do whatsoeuer thou thinkest
best. F Then sayde the preast: lett vs come hither
vnto God. And Saul asked of God:
shall I go downe after the Philistines? Wilt
thou delyuer them into the h&abar;des of Israel?
But he answered him not at that tyme. And
Saul sayde: let the people come hyther out
of all quarters, and knowe ∧ se by wh&obar; thys
synne is chaunced this daye: for as truly as þe;
Lorde lyueth which saueth Israel, though it
be in Ionathas my sonne, he shall dye the death.
But there was no man amonge all the
people that answered him.
Then he sayde vnto all Israel: be ye on
one syde, and I ∧ Ionathas my sonne wilbe
on the other syde. And the people sayde vnto
Saul: what thou thynkest best, þt; do. Therfore
Saul sayde vnto the Lorde God of Israel:
geue a perfect lott (Lorde God, geue þu; the
iudgement. Howe happeneth it, that thou geuest thy serua&ubar;t
no answere to daye? If this synne be in me or in Ionathas
my s&obar;ne, shewe it, or yf this iniquite be in thy people.) And
Saul ∧ Ionathas were caught, but the people
skaped free. And Saul sayde, cast lottes
betwene me ∧ Ionathas my sonne. And Ionathas
-- --
Saul
was caught. G Then Saul sayde to
Ionathas: tell me what thou hast done. And
Ionathas tolde him, ∧ sayde. I tasted a lytle
honye with the ende of the rodd that was in
myne hande: and lo, I must dye.
Saul answered: note God do so and so to
me, thou shalt dye the death Ionathas. And
the people sayde vnto Saul: shall Ionathas
dye, which hath so myghtelye helped Israel?
God forbyd. As truly as the Lorde lyueth
note there shall not one heere of hys heed fall to
the grounde: for he hath wrought with God
thys daye. And so the people delyuered Ionathas,
that he dyed not. And then Saul departed
vp fr&obar; folowinge þe; Philistines. And
þe; Philistines went to their awne place. And
so Saul helde the kyngdome ouer Israel, ∧
fought agaynst all his enemyes on euery syde:
agaynst Moab: agaynst the chyldren of
Ammon: agaynst Edom: agaynst þe; kynges
of Zoba, and agaynst the Philistines. And
whether so euer he turned him selfe, there he
w&abar;ne: and he gathered his host together, and
smote the note Amaleckites, ∧ rydd Israel out
of the h&abar;des of them that spoyled them. The
sonnes of Saul were: Ionathas, Iesui, and
Melchisua. And hys two daughters were
thus named: þe; elder was called Merob, and
the younger Michol. And þe; name of Saules
wife, was Ahinoa þe; daughter of Ahimaaz.
And þe; name of hys chefe captayne was Abner
þe; sonne of Ner, Saules vncle. And note Cis
was Sauls father. And Ner the father of
Abner was the sonne of Abiel. And there
was sore warre agaynst the Philistines, all
the dayes of Saul. And whomsoeuer Saul
sawe to be a str&obar;ge m&abar;, and mete for þe; warre
he toke him vnto him.
¶ The .xv. Chapter.¶ Saul is commaunded to slaye Amaleck. He is
disobedient to the voyce of God. Samuel mourneth
for Saul.
ASamuel sayde vnto Saul: note þe;
Lord sent me to anoynt þe;, to
be kynge ouer his people Israel.
Nowe therfore herken
thou vnto the voyce of the
wordes of the Lorde. Thus
sayth the Lorde of hostes: I
remembre þt; whych Amaleck dyd to Israel
note howe they layed wayte for th&ebar; in þe; waye,
as they came out of Egypte. Nowe therfore
go, ∧ smyte Amaleck, and destroye ye all þt;
pertayneth vnto them, ∧ se thou haue no c&obar;passy&obar;
on th&ebar; note(couete nothynge that they haue)
slaye both man ∧ wom&abar;, infant ∧ sucklynge.
oxe, and shepe, camell and Asse.
And Saul gathered the people together,
∧ note nombred them in Telaim, two hundred
thousande foote men, and ten thousande m&ebar;
of Iuda. And Saul came vnto a cytie of Amaleck,
∧ set watche in þe; valeye. B And Saul
sayde vnto the kenites: go, ∧ departe, ∧ gett
Saul
you downe from amonge the Amaleckites,
lest I destroye you with them: for ye shewed
mercy to all the children of Israell, wh&ebar; they
came out of Egypt. And so the kenites departed
from amonge the Amaleckites.
And Saul smote the Amaleckites from
Heuila, as thou commest to Sur, that lyeth
before Egypt, and toke Agag þe; kinge of the
Amaleckites alyue, ∧ vtterlye destroyed all
the people with þe; edge of the swerde. noteBut
Saul and the people spared Agag, and the
better shepe, ∧ the fatter oxen, ∧ the lambes,
and all that was good, ∧ wolde not destroye
them. But all þt; was foule ∧ naught worth,
that they destroyed vtterlye. Then came the
worde of þe; Lorde vnto Samuel, C sayinge: it
note repenteth me, þt; I haue made Saul kynge.
For he is turned from me, and hath not parfourmed
my c&obar;maundem&ebar;tes. And Samuel
was euell apayed, and cried vnto the Lorde
all nyght. And whan Samuel rose erlye, to
mete Saul in þe; mornynge, it was tolde Samuel,
that Saul was come to Carmel, ∧ beholde,
he &rhand; hath made him there a place, ∧
is turned, and departed, and gone downe to
Gilgall.
And Samuel came to Saul, ∧ (Saul offred
burnt sacrifyce vnto the Lorde of the fyrst of þe; spoyles,
whych he had brought fr&obar; Amalec. And whan Samuel was
come vnto Saul,) Saul sayde vnto him: Blessed
be thou in the Lorde. I haue fulfylled the c&obar;maundem&ebar;t
of þe; Lord. D Samuel sayde: what
meaneth then the bleatyng of the shepe in
myne eares, and the noyse of the oxen which
I heare? Saul answered: they haue brought
them from the Amaleckites. For the people
spared the best of the shepe and of the oxen,
to sacrifyce them vnto the Lorde thy God.
And þe; remnaunt haue we destroyed vtterly.
Samuel sayde to Saul: lett me tell the
what the Lorde hath sayde to me this nyght.
And he sayde vnto hym: saye on. Samuel
sayde note when þu; wast &rhand; lytle in thyne awne
syght, wast þu; not made the heed of the trybes
of Israel? And the Lorde anoynted the
kyng ouer Israel. And the Lorde sent the on
a iourneye, ∧ sayde: Go, ∧ vtterlye destroye
those synners the Amaleckites, and fyght
agaynst them, vntill thou vtterlye destroye
them. And wherfore hast thou not herkened
vnto the voyce of the Lorde, E but hast turned
to þe; praye, and hast done þt; whych is wycked
in the syght of the Lorde?
And Saul sayde vnto Samuel: yee, I
haue harkened vnto the voyce of the Lorde,
∧ haue gone the waye which þe; Lorde sent me
vnto, and haue brought Agag the kyng of
Amaleck, and haue vtterlye destroyed the
Amaleckites, But þe; people toke of þe; spoyle
shepe, oxen, and the chefest of the thynges
whych shulde haue bene destroyed, to offer
vnto þe; Lorde thy God in Gilgall. And Samuel
-- --
Saul
sayde: hath the Lorde as great pleasure
in burnt sacrifyces ∧ offeringes, as whan the
voyce of þe; Lord is obeyed? Behold, to obeye
is better then sacrifyce, ∧ to herken, is better
then the fatt of rammes. For rebellyon is as
the synne of note witchcrafte, and stoburnesse
is as the wickednesse of Idolatrie. Because
thou hast cast awaye þe; worde of the Lorde,
therfore hath the Lorde cast awaye the also,
from beynge kynge.
F And Saul sayde vnto Samuel: I haue
synned, for I haue gone farther then the sayinge
of the Lorde and thy wordes, because I
feared þe; people, ∧ obeyed their voyce. Nowe
therfore take awaye my synne, and turne agayne
with me, þt; I maye worshyp the Lord
And Samuel sayde vnto Saul: I wyll not
returne with the: for thou hast cast awaye þe;
worde of the Lorde, and the Lorde hath cast
awaye the, that thou shalt not be kynge ouer
Israel. And as Samuel turned hym selfe to
go awaye, he caught the lappe of hys coate,
∧ it rent. And Samuel sayde vnto hym: the
Lorde hath rent the kyngdome of Israel fr&obar;
the this daye, ∧ hath geu&ebar; it to a neyghboure
of thyne, that is better then thou. &rhand; The
strength of Israel wyll not begyle nor rep&ebar;t:
for he is not a man, that can repent.
He sayde: I haue synned. But nowe honoure
me before the elders of my people, and
before Israel, ∧ turne agayne with me, that
I maye worshippe þe; Lorde thy God. And so
Samuel turned agayne, and folowed Saul.
G And Saul worshipped þe; Lorde. Then sayde
Samuel: Brynge ye hither to me, Agag the
kynge of the Amaleckites. And Agag came
vnto hym &rhand; delycately. And Agag sayde:
truly the bytter deeth cometh on. And Samuel
sayde: As thy swerde hath made wem&ebar;
chyldelesse, so shall thy mother be chyldelesse
aboue other wemen. And Samuel hewed
Agag in peces before the Lorde in Gilgal.
And then note Samuel departed to Rama.
And Saul went home to his house to Gibea
Saul. And Samuel came nomore to se
Saul vntill the daye of his deeth. Neuerthelesse
Samuel mourned for Saul, ∧ the Lord
&rhand; repented, that he had made Saul kynge
ouer Israel.
¶ The .xvj. Chapter.¶ Dauid is annoynted kyng. An euell sprete commeth
vpon Saul.
AThe Lorde sayde vnto Samuel:
Howe longe wylt thou mourne
for Saul, seynge I haue cast hym
awaye from raygnynge ouer Israel?
Fyll thyne horne with oyntm&ebar;t,
and come, that I maye sende the to Isai
the Bethlehemite, for I haue prouided me a
kynge amonge hys sonnes. And Samuel
sayd: howe can I goo? For yf Saul heare it,
he will kyll me. The Lorde answered: Take
an heifer &wt; the, and saye: I am come to offer
to the Lorde. And call Isai to the offerynge,
and I wyll shewe the, what þu; shalt do: And
thou shalt anoynt hym whom I name vnto
the. And so Samuel dyd as the Lorde bad
him, and came to Bethlehem, and the elders
of the towne were astonnied at his c&obar;myng,
and sayde: note Commest thou peaceably? He
answered: Yee, I am come to offer vnto the
Lorde. B &rhand; note Sanctifye youre selues, ∧ come
with me to the offerynge. And he sanctifyed
Isai ∧ his sonnes, ∧ bad th&ebar; to the offerynge.
And wh&ebar; they were come, he loked on Eliab,
∧ sayde: &rhand; Surely the Lordes anoynted is
before hym. But the Lorde sayde vnto Samuel:
loke not on his fashyon, or on þe; heyght
of hys stature, because I haue refused hym:
for God seyth not as man seyth. For man
loketh on the outwarde appera&ubar;ce but God
beholdeth the harte. Then Isai called Abinadab,
and made him come before Samuel.
And he sayde: nether hath the Lorde chosen
thys. Then Isai made Samma come, and he
sayde: nether yet hath the Lorde chosen him.
Agayne, Isai made seu&ebar; of his s&obar;nes to come
before Samuel. And Samuel sayde vnto
Isai: the Lorde hath chosen none of these.
C And Samuel sayde vnto Isai: are here
all thy chyldren? He sayde: there is yet a lytle
one behynde, that kepeth the shepe. And Samuel
sayd vnto Isai: sende and fette him, for
we will not sytte downe, tyll he be come hyther.
And he sent, ∧ brought hym in. And he
was browne, and of an excell&ebar;t bewtye, note ∧
well fauored in syght. And the Lorde sayde:
Aryse, and anoynt him, for this is he. Therfore
Samuel toke the horne wyth the oyntment,
∧ anoynted him in the myddes of hys
brethren. And the sprete of the Lorde came
vp&obar; Dauid, from that daye forwarde. And
Samuel rose vp, and went to Rama.
But the sprete of the Lorde departed fr&obar;
Saul, and an euell sprete sent of the Lorde
vexed him. And Sauls serua&ubar;tes sayde vnto
him: Beholde, an euell sprete sent of God
vexed the, lett oure Lord therfore c&obar;maunde
his seruauntes (that are before the) to seke a
man, þt; is a connynge player wyth an harpe:
that when the euell sprete sent of God commeth
vpon the, he maye playe with hys h&abar;de
and thou shalt be eased. Saul sayde vnto his
seruauntes: prouide me a man then that can
playe well, and bringe him to me. D Then answered
one of his seruauntes and sayde: Beholde,
I haue sene a sonne of Isai the Bethlehemite,
that can playe vpon instrum&ebar;tes,
and is an actiue felowe, and a man of warre
and prud&ebar;t in doynge of feates, ∧ well made
and the Lorde is with hym. Wherfore Saul
sent messengers vnto Isai, and sayde: sende
me Dauid thy sonne, which is wyth þe; shepe.
And Isai toke an asse laden with breed, and
-- --
Dauid
a flacket of wyne, and a kyd, and sent them
by Dauid his sonne vnto Saul. And Dauid
came to Saul, ∧ stode before him, ∧ he loued
him very well, and he was made his harnesbearer.
And Saul sent to Isai, sayinge: lett
Dauid remayne with me, for he hath founde
fauour in my syght. And so it fortuned, that
when the euell sprete sent of God came vpon
Saul, Dauid toke an harpe, ∧ played wyth
his hande, ∧ so Saul was refreshed, ∧ dyd amende,
and the euell sprete departed fr&obar; him.
¶ The .xvij. Chapter.¶ Dauid ouercommeth great Goliath. [unresolved image link]
AThe Philistines geathered their hoste
to battel, and came together to
Socoth which is in Iuda, and pitched
betwene Sococh ∧ Azekah,
in þe; coast of Dammin. And Saul
and the m&ebar; of Israel came together, and pitched
in the Oke valley, and put them selues
in araye, to fyght agaynst the Philistines.
And the Philistines stode on an hyll on the
one syde, and Israel stode on an hyll on the
other syde; and there was a valeye betwene
them: And there came a man betwene them
both, out of the tentes of the Philistines, named
Goliath note of Gath syxe cubytes and an
handbredth l&obar;ge, and had an helmet of brasse
vpon hys heed, and a coate of mayle about
hym. And the weyght of hys coate of mayle
was fyue thousande sykles of brasse. And he
had bootes of brasse vpon his legges, and a
shylde of brasse vpon his shoulders. And the
shafte of his spere was like a weuers beame.
And his speare heed weyed .vj. h&ubar;dred sikles
of yron. And one bearynge a shylde went before
hym.
And he stode and cryed agaynst the hoste
of Israel, ∧ sayde vnto th&ebar;: Why are ye come
out in araye to battell? am not I a Philistine
and you serua&ubar;tes to Saul? chose you a m&abar;
from amonge you, ∧ lett him come downe to
me. And yf he be able to fyght with me, ∧ to
beate me, then will we be youre seruauntes.
B But yf I can ouercome him and beate him,
then shall ye be oure seruauntes, ∧ serue vs.
And the Philistine sayde: I defye the host of
Israel this daye, geue me a man, þt; we maye
fight together: When Saul and all Israel
hearde those wordes of the Philistine, they
Goliath.
were discouraged, ∧ greatly afrayed. Dauid
was the sonne of an Ephrathite (of wh&obar; m&ebar;cyon
is made afore) of Bethlehem Iuda, named
Isai, whych had eight sonnes. And was an
olde man in the dayes of Saul, and came to
age amonge men. And the thre eldest sonnes
of Isai went, and folowed Saul to the battell.
And the names of hys thre sonnes that
went to battell, were: Eliab the eldest, ∧ the
next, Abinadab, and the thyrde S&abar;ma, and
Dauid was þe; least. And the thre eldest went
after Saul. Dauid also went and departed
fr&obar; Saul, to fede his fathers shepe at Bethlehem.
And the Philistine came forth in the
mornynge and euenynge, and &rhand; continued
fourtye dayes.
And Isai sayde vnto Dauid his sonne take
for thy brethr&ebar; an Epha of this parched corne
and these ten loaues, and brynge it vnto the
hoste to thy brethr&ebar;. And carye these ten freshe
cheses vnto þe; captayne, ∧ loke howe thy
brethren fare, and &rhand; fett out their pledge.
And Saul and they, and all the m&ebar; of Israel
were in the oke valey, fightinge with þe; Philistines.
And Dauid rose vp erlye in the mornynge,
and lefte þe; shepe with a keper, ∧ toke
and went as Isai had comma&ubar;ded him, and
came with in þe; compasse of the host. And the
hoste went out in araye, and showted in the
battell: C for Israel ∧ the Philistines had put
th&ebar; selues in araye, the one agaynst þe; other.
And Dauid toke downe the gear from him,
and put them vnder the handes of the keper
of the vessels, ∧ ranne into þe; hoste, and came,
and saluted his brethren. And as he talked &wt;
them, Beholde: there stode a m&abar; in the myddes
(Goliath þe; Philistine by name) of Gath
out of the araye of the Philistines, ∧ spake
of the maner aboue rehersed, that Dauid hearde
it. And all the men of Israel, when they
sawe the man, ranne awaye from hym, and
were sore afrayed. And euery man of Israel
sayde: Sawe ye thys man come forth? euen
to reuyle Israel is he come. noteAnd to hym þt;
beateth hym, wyll the kynge geue great ryches,
and will geue him his daughter therto:
yee ∧ make his fathers house fre in Israel.
And Dauid spake to the men that stode
by, and sayde: What shalbe done to the man
that beateth this Philistine, ∧ taketh awaye
the shame fr&obar; Israel? And what is thys vncircumcised
Philistine, that he shulde reuyle
the hoste of the lyuinge God? And the people
answered him (after this maner,) sayinge: so
shall it be done to the m&abar;, that beateth hym.
D And Eliab his eldest brother hearde wh&ebar; he
spake vnto the men, and Eliab was angrye
&wt; Dauid, and sayde: Why camest þu; downe
hither? and with whom hast thou lefte those
few shepe in þe; wildernesse? I know thy pryde,
and the malyce of thyne herte, þt; thou art
come downe to se þe; battell. And Dauid sayd:
-- --
Goliath.
And what haue I nowe done? is there not a
worde ? And he departed from hym into the
presence of another, and spake of þe; same maner,
and the people answered hym agayne,
as before.
And they that hearde the wordes whych
Dauid spake, rehearsed them before Saul,
which caused him to be fett. And Dauid sayd
to Saul: Let no mannes hert fayle hym because
of him. Thy seruaunt wyll go, ∧ fyght
with yonder Philistine. And Saul sayde to
Dauid agayne: þu; art not able to go agaynst
yonder Philistine, to fyght &wt; him. For thou
art but a chylde, but he is a m&abar; of warre eu&ebar;
fr&obar; his youth. Dauid answered vnto Saul.
Thy seruaunt kept his fathers shepe, ∧ there
came note a Lyon and lykewise a Beare, ∧ toke
a shepe out of the flocke. And I went out after
him, and smote hym, and toke it out of his
mouth. And when he arose agaynst me, I
caught him by the bearde, and smote hym, ∧
slue hym. E And so thy seruaunt slue the Lyon
∧ þe; beare (also) hath thy serua&ubar;t slayne. And
truly thys vncirc&ubar;cised Philistine shalbe as
one of th&ebar; (Now, wyll I go, ∧ take awaye the rebuke
of the people, for what is thys vncircumcysed Philistine?)
seynge he hath rayled on the hoste of þe; lyuing
God. And Dauid spake moreouer: the Lorde
that deliuered me out of the hande of þe; Lyon
∧ out of the hande of þe; beare, he shall delyuer
me also out of the hande of this Philistine:
And Saul sayde vnto Dauid: go, and the
Lorde shall be with the. And Saul put hys
rayment vpon Dauid, and put an helmet of
brasse vpon hys heed, ∧ put a coate of mayle
vp&obar; him, and gyrded Dauid with hys awne
swerde vpon his rayment And he assayed to
go. And because he neuer proued it, Dauid
sayde vnto Saul: I cannot go with these, for
I haue not vsed myselfe therto: and Dauid
put them of hym, and toke hys staffe in hys
hande, and chose him fyue smoth stones oute
of a broke, and put th&ebar; in a sheperdes bagge
which he had, ∧ in a slynge poke: ∧ his slynge
was in his h&abar;de, ∧ he went to the Philistine.
And the Philistine came and drue nere agaynst
Dauid, and the man þt; bare the shilde
went before hym. And when the Philistine
loked aboute, F and sawe Dauid, he disdayned
him, for he was but y&obar;ge, and well coloured,
and goodlye to loke vpon. And the Philistine
said vnto Dauid: am I a dogge, that thou
comest to me with a staffe? and the Philistine
cursed Dauid in the name of his goddes. And
the Philistine sayde to Dauid: come to me, ∧
I wyll geue thy fleshe vnto the foules of the
ayre, ∧ to the beastes of the felde. Then sayde
Dauid to the Philistine: thou comest to me
wyth a swerde, a speare and a shylde: But I
come to the in the name of the Lord of hostes,
the God of the hoste of Israel, whom thou
hast rayled vpon. This daye shall the Lorde
delyuer the into my hande, and I shall smyte
the, ∧ take thine heed from the, and wyll geue
þe; karcases of the hoste of the Philistines thys
daye vnto the foules of the ayre, and to the
beastes of the erth, that all they whych be in
the worlde, maye knowe, that there is a God
in Israel. And all thys congregacyon shall
knowe, that the Lord saueth not with swerd
and speare. For þe; battell is the Lordes, and
he shall geue you into oure handes.
And wh&ebar; the Philistine arose to come and
drawe nie vnto Dauid, Dauid hasted, ∧ r&abar;ne
into the battayll euen agaynst the Philistine.
And Dauid put his hande in hys bagge,
and toke out a stone, and slange it, ∧ smote
the Philistine in his forheed, þt; the stone souncke
into his forheed note and he felle grouelynge
to the erth. And so Dauid ouercame the Philistine
with a slyng and a stone, and smote the
Philistine, and slue hym, euen whan Dauid
had no swerde in hys hande. But Dauid r&abar;ne,
and stode vpon the Philistine, G ∧ toke hys
swerde, and drue it out of hys sheth, and slue
hym, ∧ cutte of hys heed therwith. And when
the Philistines sawe, that theyr champyon
was deed note they fled. And the men of Israel
and of Iuda arose, and showted, ∧ folowed
after the Philistines, vntyll they came to the
valeye, and vnto the gates of Akaron. And
the Philistines fell downe wounded by the
waye to Saaraiim, euen vnto Gath ∧ Akaron.
And the chyldren of Israel returned fr&obar;
chasynge after the Philistines, and spoyled
theyr tentes. And Dauid toke the heed of the
Philistine, and brought it to Ierusal&ebar;: But
he put his armoure in hys tente.
When Saul sawe Dauid go forth agaynst
the Philistine, he sayde vnto note Abner þe; captayne
of his hoste: Abner, whose sonne is this
yong man? Abner answered: as truly as thy
soule lyueth (O kynge) I c&abar;not tell. And the
kynge sayde: Enquere thou whose sonne the
youngelynge is. And when Dauid was returned
from the slaughter of the Philistine,
Abner toke hym, and brought hym before
Saul, wyth the heed of the Philistine in hys
hande. And Saul sayde to hym: whose sonne
art thou, thou yonge man? Dauid answered:
I am the sonne of thy seruaunt Isai the Bethlehemite.
¶ The .xviii. Chapter.¶ The bonde betwene Dauid and Ionathas.
Saul goeth aboute to slee Dauid.
AAnd when he had made an ende
of speakynge vnto Saul, the
soule of Ionathas was knyt
wyth the soule of Dauid, and
Ionathas loued hym as hys
awne soule. And Saul toke
him that daye, and wolde let him go nomore
home to hys fathers house. And Ionathas
made a couenaunt wyth Dauid, because be
-- --
Saul
loued him as his awne soule. And Ionathas
put of his awne coate that was vpon him, ∧
gaue it Dauid, ∧ therto his cloke, his swerd,
his bowe and hys gyrdle. And Dauid went
oute whether soeuer Saul sent hym, and behaued
him selfe wysely. And Saul sett hym
ouer hys men of warre, and he was accepted
in the syght of all the people, and in the syght
of Sauls seruauntes.
B And it happened as they went, when Dauid
was returned from the slaughter of the
Philistine, þt; wemen came out of all cyties of
Israel syngynge ∧ daunsyng, agaynst kynge
Saul, and wyth tymbrelles, wyth ioye, and
with instrumentes of musick. And the wem&ebar;
answered one another in theyr playe, ∧ sayde
note Saul hath slayne his thousande, and Dauid
hys ten thousande. And Saul was excedyng
wroth, and the sayinge displeased him,
and he sayde: they haue ascribed vnto Dauid
ten thousande, and to me but a thousande, ∧
what can he more haue, saue the kyngdome?
Wherfore Saul loked on syde of Dauid from
that daye forwarde. And it happened on the
morowe, C that the euell sprete sent of God came
vp&obar; Saul, and &rhand; he prophesyed in the
myddes of þe; house. And Dauid played with
hys hande lyke as at other tymes, and there
was a iauelyng in Sauls hande. And Saul
toke the iauelyng, ∧ sayde: I wyll nayle Dauid
to the wall with it. And Dauid auoyded
oute of hys presence two tymes. And Saul
was afearde of Dauid, because þe; Lord was
with hym, ∧ was departed fr&obar; Saul. Therfore
Saul put him from hym, and made him
a captayne ouer a thousand, and &rhand; he went
out ∧ in before þe; people. And Dauid behaued
him selfe wysely in all his wayes, ∧ the Lord
was with him. D Wherfore when Saul saw þt;
he was so excedynge wyse, he was afrayd of
him. But all Israel and Iuda loued Dauid,
because he went out and in before them. And
Saul sayde to Dauid. Beholde, my eldest
daughter Merob, her I wyll geue þe; to wyfe
Only playe the man with me, and fyght the
Lordes batelles. For Saul thought: myne
hande shall not be vpon hym, but the hand of
þe; Philistines. And Dauid answered Saul:
what am I? and what is my lyfe or the kynred
of my father in Israel, that I shulde be
sonne in lawe to the kynge ? E Howbeit when
the tyme was come þt; Merob Sauls daughter
shulde haue bene geu&ebar; to Dauid, she was
geuen vnto Adriel a Meholothite, to wyfe.
Howbeit, Michol Sauls daughter loued
Dauid. And they shewed Saul: ∧ the thynge
displeased him not. And Saul sayde: I wyll
geue hym her þt; she maye be a snare to hym, ∧
that the hande of the Philistines maye be agaynst
him. Wherfore Saul sayde to Dauid:
thou shalt this daye be my sonne in lawe
in the other daughter. And Saul commaunded
Dauid
hys seruauntes, to com&ebar; wyth Dauid secretlye
∧ to saye: Beholde the kyng hath a fauoure
to the, and all his seruauntes loue the,
be nowe therfore the kynges sonne in lawe.
F And Sauls seruauntes spake those wordes
in the eares of Dauid. And Dauid sayde:
semeth it to you a lyght thynge to be a kynges
sonne in lawe: I am a poore man and of
smalle reputaci&obar;. And the serua&ubar;tes brought
Saul worde agayne, sayinge: of this maner
spake Dauid. And Saul sayd: this wise shal
ye saye to Dauid: the kynge careth for no nother
dowrye, but for an h&ubar;dred foreskynnes
of the Philistines, to be aduenged of the kynges
enemyes. But Saul thought to make
Dauid fall into the h&abar;des of the Philistines.
And when hys serua&ubar;tes tolde Dauid these
wordes, it pleased Dauid well to be the kynges
sonne in lawe. And &rhand; or þe; dayes were
expyred, G Dauid arose with his men, and w&ebar;t
∧ slue of the Philistines, two hundred men,
and Dauid brought theyr foreskynnes, and
satisfyed the kynge therof, to be hys sonne in
lawe. noteWherfore Saul gaue hym Michol
hys daughter to wyfe. And Saul sawe and
vnderstode, howe that the Lorde was with
Dauid, and that Michol his daughter loued
hym, and he was the moare afrayed of Dauid,
and Saul became alwaye Dauids enemie.
The lordes of þe; Philistines vsed &rhand; to
go furth. And it fortuned þt; whan they went
furth, Dauid behaued hym selfe wyselier th&ebar;
all the seruauntes of Saul: so that his name
was moche set by.
¶ The .xix. Chapter.¶ Saul commaundeth to slee Dauid. Michol hys
wyfe saueth hym.
ASaul spake to Ionathas hys sonne,
and to all hys serua&ubar;tes, that they
shulde kyll Dauid. noteBut Ionathas
Sauls sonne had a greate fauoure
to Dauid, and Ionathas tolde Dauid
sayinge: Saul my father goeth aboute to
slaye the. Nowe therfore take hede to thy selfe
vntyll the mornynge, and abyde in some
secret place, and hyde thy selfe. And I wyll
go oute, and stande by my father in the felde
where thou art, and wyll comen wyth my
father of the, and whatsoeuer I se, I wyll
tell the.
And Ionathas spake good of Dauid vnto
Saul hys father, and sayde vnto hym: let
not the kynge synne agaynst hys seruaunt
Dauid, for he hath not synned agaynst the,
and hys workes haue bene to the ward very
good. For he dyd note &rhand; put hys lyfe in hys
hande, and slue the Philistine, and the Lorde
brought to passe a greate health for all Israel.
Thou sawest it, and thou reioysedest,
wherfore then wilt thou synne against innoc&ebar;t
bloude, and slaye Dauid without a cause?
B And Saul harkened vnto the voyce of
-- --
Dauid
Ionathas, and sware: as truly as the Lorde
lyueth, he shall not dye. And Ionathas called
Dauid, and shewed hym all those wordes, ∧
brought Dauid to Saul. And he was in his
presens as in tymes past.
And the warre began agayne, and Dauid
went out and fought wyth the Philistines,
and slue them with a great slaughter, ∧ they
fledde fr&obar; him. And the euell sprete sent of the
Lorde was vp&obar; Saul, as he sat in hys house
hauinge a Iauelinge in his h&abar;de, and Dauid
played with his hande. And Saul entended
to nayle Dauid to the walle with the Iauelynge.
But he ryd hym selfe out of Sauls
presens, as he smote the speare (wyth a vayne
stroke) into þe; walle. And Dauid fledde ∧ was
saued the same nyght. Saul also sent messengers
vnto Dauids house, to watch him, and
to sleye him in þe; mornynge. And Michol Dauids
wyfe tolde it him, sayinge: If thou saue
not thy selfe this night, to morowe þu; wilt be
slayne. C And so note Michol lett Dauid downe
thorowe a wyndowe, and he w&ebar;t, ∧ fled, and
was saued. And then she toke an Image and
layed it in the bed, and put a pyllowe stuffed
with goates hearre vnder the heed of it, and
couered it with a clothe. And wh&ebar; Saul sent
messengers to fetche Dauid, she sayde, he is
sycke. And Saul sent the messengers agayne
to se Dauid, sayinge: bringe him to me, bed ∧
all, þt; I maye slaye him. And when þe; messengers
were come in: Beholde, there laye an
ymage in the bed, with a pyllowe of goates
heare vnder the heed of it. And Saul sayde
vnto Michol: why hast thou mocked me so,
and sent awaye myne enemy that he is escaped?
Michol answered Saul. For he sayde
vnto me, let me go, or elles I wyll kyll the.
And so Dauid fledde, and escaped, ∧ came to
Samuel to Rama, tolde hym all that Saul
had done to him. And he and Samuel went,
and dwelt in &rhand; Naioth.
D And one tolde Saul, sayinge: Beholde,
Dauid is at Naioth in Rama. And Saul
sent messengers to fett Dauid. And when
they sawe a companye &rhand; of prophetes prophesyenge,
∧ Samuel st&abar;dynge fast by th&ebar;,
the sprete of God fell vp&obar; the messengers of
Saul, and they prophesyed to. And when it
was tolde Saul, he sent other messengers, ∧
they prophesyed lykewyse. And Saul sent
messengers yet agayne the thyrde tyme, and
they prophesyed also. Then w&ebar;t he hym selfe
to Rama, ∧ came to a great well that is in
Sechu, ∧ he asked and sayde: where are Samuel
and Dauid? And one sayde: Beholde,
they be at Naioth in Rama, ∧ he went thyther,
eu&ebar; to Naioth in Rama, and the sprete
of God came vpon him also, ∧ he went prophesyinge,
vntyll he came to Naioth in Rama.
And he &rhand; stripte of his clothes, ∧ prophesyed
before Samuel in lyke maner, and
&rhand; fell naked all that daye ∧ all that nyght.
noteAnd therof it is, that they saye: is Saul
also amonge the prophetes?
¶ The .xx. Chapter.¶ Dauid complayneth vnto Ionathas.
AAnd Dauid fled from Naioth
which is in Rama, came, ∧ sayde
before Ionathas. What haue
I done? wherin am I faultie?
what is the synne that I haue
committed before thy father, that he seketh
my lyfe? He sayde vnto him: God forbyd, þu;
shalt not dye. Beholde, my father will do nothynge
ether great or small, but that he will
shewe it me. And howe shulde my father hyde
thys thynge from me? He wyll not do it.
And Dauid sware againe, and sayde, thy father
knoweth that I haue founde &rhand; grace
in thyne eyes, and therfore he sayeth: Ionathas
shall not knowe it, leste he be sorye. And
in very dede, euen as truly as the Lorde lyueth,
and as truly as thy soule lyueth, there
is but a steppe betwene me and deeth. Then
sayde Ionathas vnto Dauid: whatsoeuer
thy soule desyreth that I wyll do vnto the.
And Dauid sayde vnto Ionathas: Beholde
to morowe is the begynnynge &rhand; of the moneth,
and I shulde sytt &wt; the kynge at meate.
But let me go, that I maye hyde my selfe
in the feldes vnto the thyrde daye at euen. B If
thy father speake of me, then saye, Dauid asked
leaue of me, that he myght go to Bethlehem
to his awne cytie, for there is holden a
yerely feast for all þe; kynred. And yf he saye:
it is well done, then thy seruaunt shall haue
peace. But and yf he be angrye, then be sure
that wyckednesse is vtterlye concluded of
hym. And then thou shalt shewe mercye vnto
thy seruaunt note for thou hast made wyth
me thy seruaunt a bonde in the Lorde. Notwithstandynge,
yf there be in me any trespace,
then sleye me thy selfe, and brynge me not
to thy father.
And Ionathas answered, God kepe that
from þe; (neyther is it possyble to come to passe.) For
yf I knowe, that wyckednesse were concluded
of my father, to come vpon the, thynkest
thou that I shulde not tell it the? Then sayde
Dauid, who shall tell me, yf thy father answere
cruelly? And Ionathas sayd vnto Dauid,
come and lett vs go out into þe; felde. And
they went out both of them into the felde.
C And Ionathas sayde vnto Dauid? The
Lorde God of Israel loke on it, when I haue
groped my fathers mynde, one tyme or other
within this thre dayes, þt; it stande well with
Dauid. If I then sende not vnto the ∧ shewe
it the, the Lord do so and so vnto Ionathas.
But yf my father haue any pleasure to do þe;
euell, I wyll shewe the also, and sende the
awaye that thou mayst go in peace. And the
Lorde be wyth the, as he hath bene with my
-- --
Ionathas
father. And thou shalt performe vnto me the
mercy of the Lorde, not onely whyle I lyue
but euen wh&ebar; I am deed, and plucke not thy
mercy awaye from &rhand; my house for euer:
No not when the Lorde hath destroyed the
enemyes of Dauid, euery one from the face
of the erth.
And so Ionathas made a bonde with the
house of Dauid, desyringe þt; the Lord shulde
seke it out by the h&abar;des of Dauids enemyes
(yf it were brok&ebar;.) And &wt; other wordes dyd
Ionathas sweare vnto Dauid, because he loued
him. For he loued h&ibar;, as his awne soule.
D Then sayde Ionathas to Dauid: to morowe
is the first daye of the mone. And thou
shalt be missed, because the place where thou
wast wont to sytt, shall be emptye. Therfore
this daye thre dayes come downe &ibar; any wyse
vnto the place where thou dyddest hyde thy
selfe, &rhand; whan the busynes was in hande:
euen by þe; stone Esell. And I wyll shote thre
arowes by the one syde therof, as though I
shott th&ebar; at a marke, ∧ will sende a lad, and
byd hym go seke the arowes. And yf I saye
vnto the lad: se, the arowes are on thys syde
the brynge them: then come þu;: for it is peace,
∧ no hurte, as sure as the Lorde lyueth. But
and yf I saye vnto the lad, beholde, the arowes
are be yonde the, then go (in peace) for þe;
Lord hath sent þe; awaye. And as touchynge
this which thou and I haue spoken: beholde
&rhand; the Lorde be betwene the ∧ me for euer.
And so Dauid hyd him selfe in the felde. And
when the newe mone was come, the kynge
sat him downe to eate meate. And the kynge
sat him downe after the olde maner, E in hys
seate by the wall. And Ionathas arose and
Abner sate by Sauls syde, ∧ Dauids place
was emptye. Neuerthelesse, Saul sayde nothinge
at all that daye. For he thought: some
thynge hath chaunced him þt; he is not cleane.
But on the morowe which was the seconde
daye of þe; newe mone, it happened that Dauids
place was emptye agayne. And Saul
sayde vnto Ionathas his s&obar;ne. Wherfore c&obar;meth
not þe; sonne of Isai to meate, nether yesterdaye
nor to daye? And Ionathas answered
vnto Saul. Dauid asked lyc&ebar;ce of me, to
go to Bethleh&ebar;, for he sayde: let me go I praye
the for oure kynred dothe holde an offerynge
in the cytie, and my brother hath sent for me.
And therfore yf I haue fo&ubar;de fauoure in thyne
eyes, lett me go, and se my brethren. This
is the cause, F that he c&obar;meth not vnto the kynges
table. Then was Saul angrye with Ionathas,
∧ sayde vnto him: Thou wycked rebell,
do not I knowe, þt; thou hast chosen the
sonne of Isai vnto thyne awne rebuke, ∧ vnto
the rebuke ∧ shame of thy mother? For as
longe as the sonne of Isai lyueth vpon the
erth, thou shalt not be stablished, nor yet thy
kingdome, wherfore now sende and sett him
Dauid
vnto me, note for he is the chylde of deeth.
And Ionathas answered vnto Saul his
father, and sayde to him. Wherfore shulde he
dye? what hath he done? And Saul lyfte vp
a speare to hyt him, wherby Ionathas wyst
well, þt; it was vtterlye determined of his father;
to sleye Dauid. And so Ionathas arose
fr&obar; the table in a greate anger, ∧ dyd eate no
meat the sec&obar;de daye of þe; moneth, for he was
sory for Dauid, because hys father had done
him shame. On þe; nexte morning, Ionathas
w&ebar;t out into the felde, at the tyme apoynted
with Dauid, ∧ a lytle ladd with him. And he
sayde vnto his boye: runne ∧ seke out myne
arowes whych I shote. And as the boye ran
he shot an arowe beyonde him. And when þe;
lad was come to þe; place whether Ionathas
had shot the arowe, G Ionathas cryed after þe;
lad, and sayde: Is not the arowe beyonde
the? And Ionathas cried after þe; lad agayne:
make spede, and stande not styll. And Ionathas
lad geathered vp the arowes, ∧ came to
his master. But the lad wist nothinge of the
matter. Onely Ionathas and Dauid wist it.
And Ionathas gaue his weap&obar;s vnto þe; lad
that was wyth him, ∧ sayde vnto him: go ∧
carye them to the towne. And as sone as the
lad was gone, Dauid arose out of a place þt;
was towarde the south, and fell on hys face
to the grounde, and worshypped thre tymes.
And they kissed ether other, ∧ wept together
so l&obar;ge, tyll Dauid exceaded in weping. And
Ionathas sayde to Dauid: go in peace. And
þe; thynges which we haue sworne both of vs
in the name of the Lorde, sayinge: þe; Lorde be
betwene þe; ∧ me, ∧ betwene thy sede ∧ myne,
let th&ebar; stonde for euer. And he arose, ∧ departed.
And Ionathas went into the towne.
¶ The .xxj. Chapter.¶ Dauid fleeth into Nob to Ahimelech the preast,
and getteth of hym the shewe breade to satisfye his
honger. After warde he flyeth to kynge Achis, and
there fayneth hym selfe to be mad.
AThen came Dauid to Nob to Ahimelech
the preast: And Ahimelech
was astonyed at the sodayne c&obar;mynge
of Dauid, ∧ sayd vnto him:
Why art thou alone, ∧ no man &wt;
þe;? And Dauid sayde to Ahimelech þe; preaste:
the kynge hath commaunded me to do a certeyn
thynge, and hath sayde vnto me, let no
man knowe where aboute I sende the, and
what I haue commannded the to do. And I
haue appoynted my serua&ubar;tes, to soche and
soche places. Nowe therfore yf þu; hast ought
vnder thyne hande note geue me fyue loues of
breade, or what cometh to hande.
And the preast answered Dauid, and sayde:
there is no comen bread vnder myne h&abar;de,
but here is halowed bread, yf the younge
men haue kepte them selues from vncleane
thynges especiallye wemen. Dauid answered
the Preaste, B and sayde vnto hym:
-- --
Saul and Doeg
of a truth wemen hath bene locked vp from
vs about a thre dayes. When I came out, ∧
the vesselles &lhand; of the young men were holy.
How be it this &lhand; waye is vnpure, and
how much more shal there be holynes in
the vessell. noteAnd so the preast gaue h&ibar; halowed
bred, for there was no nother bred
there, saue the shewebreds, that were tak&ebar;
from before the Lorde, to put freshe bred
there, the daye that it was taken awaye.
And ther was there the same daye a cert&ebar;
man of the seruauntes of Saul abydyng
before the Lorde, named Doeg an Edomite,
the chefest of Sauls hearde men.
C And Dauid sayd vnto Ahimelech: is not
here vnder thyne h&abar;de other speare or swerde?
for I haue nether brought my swerde
nor my harnesse with me, because the kynge
busines required haste. And the preast
sayd: the swerde of Goliath the Philistine
whome thou sluest in þe; Ocke valley, beholde,
it is here wrapt in a cloth behynd the
Ephod. If thou wilt take that, take it, for
there is no nother saue that here. And Dauid
sayd: there is none to that, geue it me.
And Dauid arose and fled the same daye
from the presence of Saul, ∧ w&ebar;t to Achis
the kyng of Geth. And the seruauntes of
Achis sayd of him: is not this Dauid the
kyng of the lande? dyd they not syng vnto
him, in daunses saying note Saul hath slayne
his thousand, ∧ Dauid his ten thous&abar;d?
And Dauid put those wordes into his heart,
∧ was sore afrayed of Achis the kyng
of Geth. And he chaunged his speche before
them, ∧ fayned him self madd in theyr handes,
∧ scrabled on the dores of the gate, and
let his spittel fall downe vpon his bearde.
Then sayde Achis vnto his serua&ubar;te: Loo,
ye se þt; this man is besyde hym selfe, wherfore
then haue ye brought hym to me? Haue
I nede of madd m&ebar; that ye haue brought
this felow to playe the mad m&abar; in my presence?
Shall he come into my howse.
¶ The .xxii. Chapter.¶ Doeg betrayeth Dauid. Ahimelech is accused of
treason and slayne, ∧ .lxxxiiii. preastes mo with him
because they receaued Dauid. Nob is destroyed of
Saul, Abiathar fleeth to Dauid.
ADauid therfore departed thence, and
escaped, and came vnto the caue Odollam.
When his brethren also &abar;d
all his fathers house heard it, they went
downe thither to hym. And there geathered
vnto him all men that were in combraunce,
and in dett, and troubled in their
mindes, ∧ he became a captayne ouer them
And there were with hym vpon a foure
hundred men. And Dauid went thence to
Mizpa in the lande of Moab, and sayde
vnto the kyng of Moab: Let my father ∧
my mother (I praye the) come &lhand; forth vnto
you, tyll I knowe what God will do for
me. And he brought them before the k&ibar;g of
Moab. And they dwelt &wt; h&ibar; all the while
that Dauid kepte him selfe &ibar; hold. And the
prophet Gad sayde vnto Dauid: abide not
in holde, but departe and go into the l&abar;d of
Iuda. Then Dauid departed and came &ibar;to
the forest Hareth. And Saul heard þt; Dauid
was come abrode, and also the m&ebar; that
were wyth hym. And Saul satt in Gibea
vnder a tree in Rama, hauyng hys speare
in his hand, ∧ all his men stode about hym
And Saul sayde vnto his seruauntes that
stode about h&ibar;. B Heare I praye you &rhand; you
sonnes of Iemini: will the s&obar;ne of Isai geue
euery one of you feldes and vineardes, ∧
make you all captaynes ouer thous&abar;des ∧
ouer hundredes? that ye haue also c&obar;spired
agaynst me, and there is none that telleth
it me in myne eare. noteAnd where as my sonne
hath made a bonde &wt; the sonne of Isai,
ther is none of you that mourneth for me,
or sheweth it in myne eare: beholde, my s&obar;ne
hath stered vp my serua&ubar;t to lye awayte
agaynst me thys same daye.
Then answered Doeg the Edomite which
also stode by the seruauntes of Saul, and
sayde: I saw the sonne of Isai, wh&ebar; he cam
to Nob, to Ahimelech the sonne of Ahitob,
which asked councell of the Lorde for hym
∧ gaue hym vitayles, ∧ the swerde of Goliath
the Philistine also. Then the Kynge
sent ∧ called for Ahimelech þe; preast þe; sonne
of Ahitob, ∧ all his fathers house: that
is to saye, the preastes that were in Nob.
And they cam all to the kyng. C And Saul
sayde: heare now þu; sonne of Ahitob. He answered:
here I am, my Lorde. And Saul
sayde vnto hym: why haue ye conspired agaynst
me, þu; ∧ the sonne of Isai, in þt; thou
hast geuen him vitaile, ∧ a swerde, and hast
asked councell of God for h&ibar;, that he shuld
aryse agaynst me, ∧ lye awayte for me this
daye? Ahimelech answered the king ∧ sayd
who is so faithfull am&obar;g all thy serua&ubar;tes
as Dauid, ∧ therto the kinges s&obar;ne in law,
∧ goeth at thy bydding, ∧ is had in honoure
in thyne house? haue I this daye beg&obar;ne
first to aske co&ubar;cell of God for h&ibar;. That be
farre fr&obar; me: yf I had knowen it, lett not þe;
kyng put soch a thyng vnto his serua&ubar;t, in
all þe; house of my father. For thy seruaunt
knew noth&ibar;g of all this, ether lesse or moare.
D The king sayde: thou shalt surelye dye
Ahimelech, thou and all thy fathers house
And the king sayde vnto the fote men that
stode about him: turne, ∧ sley the preastes
of the Lord, both because their h&abar;d is with
Dauid, ∧ because they knewe when Dauid
fleed, ∧ shewed it not to me. But þe; serua&ubar;tes
-- --
Dauid
of the kyng wolde not moue their handes,
to fall vpon the preastes of the Lorde.
And the kyng sayde to Doeg: turne thou,
and fall vpon the preastes. And Doeg the
Edomite turned, and ranne vpon the preastes,
and slue that same daye foure skore ∧
fyue persones, þt; dyd weare a lynn&ebar; Ephod.
And Nob the cytie of the preastes smote
he wyth the edge of the swerde, both men ∧
wemen, children and sucklynges, oxen and
asses and shepe.
And one of the sonnes of Ahimelech the
sonne of Ahitob (named Abiathar) escaped
∧ fled to Dauid. And Abiathar shewed
Dauid, how that Saul had slayne the lordes
preastes. And Dauid sayde vnto Abiathar:
I wilt it the same daye, whan Doeg
the Edomite was there, that he wolde tell
Saul. And I am cause of the deeth of all þe;
soules of thy fathers house. Abide thou &wt;
me, and feare not: For yf anye m&abar; seke my
soule, he shall seke thyne also, &wt; me thou
shalt be in sauegard.
¶ The .xxiii. Chapter.¶ Dauid fleeth into the wildernes of Ziph. [unresolved image link]
AThen they told Dauid say&ibar;g: Behold
the Philistines fight agaynst keilah,
and spoyle the barnes.
Therfore Dauid asked the Lords aduyse,
saying: shall I goo and smyte these Philistines?
And the Lorde answered vnto
Dauid: go and smyte the Philistines, and
saue keilah. And Dauids men þt; were with
him, sayd vnto him: se, we be afrayed here
in Iuda: how much more then yf we come
to keila agaynst the host of the Philistynes?
Then Dauid asked þe; Lorde agayne.
And the Lord answered him and sayde: Aryse,
∧ go downe to keila, for I will delyuer
the Philistines in to thyne hande.
And so Dauid and his men went to keila,
and fought with the Philistynes, ∧ droue
awaye their catell, and smote them with a
great slaughter. And so Dauid saued the
enhabiters of keila. And it chaunced, when
Abiathar the sonne of Ahimelech fled to
Dauid to keila, B that he brought an Ephod
with him in his hande.
And it was tolde Saul, that Dauid was
come to keila. And Saul sayde: God hath
Dauid
delyuered h&ibar; into myne h&abar;d. For he is shut
in now þt; he is come into a towne that hath
gates ∧ barres. And Saul called all þe; people
together to warre, for to go downe to
keila, and to besege Dauid ∧ his men. And
Dauid hau&ibar;g knowlege that Saul imagened
myschef aga&ibar;st him, sayd, to Abiathar
þe; preast: note Bryng the Ephod. Then sayde
Dauid: O Lord God of Israel, thi serua&ubar;t
hath heard, þt; Saul is about to come aga&ibar;st
keila to destroye þe; cytie for my sake: Wyll
the men of keyla delyuer me into hys hande?
And will Saul come downe, as thy seruaunt
hath heard saye? O Lord God of Israel,
tell they serua&ubar;t. And the Lorde sayde:
he will come downe. Then sayd Dauid:
will the men of keila delyuer me and þe; men
that are with me into the hand of Saul? ∧
the Lord sayde: they will betraye you.
Then dauid ∧ his men which were vpon
a syxe h&ubar;dred, arose ∧ departed out of keila
∧ w&ebar;t whether they could. And it was told
Saul, that Dauid was fled from keila, ∧
he let the iourney a lone. Dauid abode &ibar; the
wildernesse in str&obar;g holdes, ∧ remayned in
a mo&ubar;tayne in the wildernesse of Ziph. And
Saul sought h&ibar; euery daye, but God delyuered
him not &ibar;to his h&abar;d. C And Dauid saw
þt; Saul was come out, to seke his life. And
Dauid was in the wyldernesse of Ziph in a
thickett. And Ionathas Sauls s&obar;ne arose,
∧ went to Dauid in to the thicket, ∧ c&obar;forted
his hand in God, ∧ sayde vnto hym:
feare not, for the hand of Saul my father
shall not fynd the, ∧ thou shalt be k&ibar;g ouer
Israel, ∧ I must be next vnto the. And that
doth Saul my father know. And they made
abonde both of them togeather before
the Lorde. note And Dauid taryed styll in the
thickett, and Ionathas went to his house.
Then came þe; Ziphites to Saul, to Gibea,
saying: Doth not Dauid hyde h&ibar; selfe fast
by vs in str&obar;g holdes, in a thyckett that is
by þe; hyll of Hachila, on the ryght syde of þe;
wildernesse? Now therfore kyng, þu; mayest
come downe according to all the lust of thy
soule: come downe, ∧ oure parte shalbe to
delyuer hym into the kynges hande. And
Saul sayde: Blessed are ye in the Lord: for
ye haue c&obar;passion on me. Go I praye you, ∧
ordre the matter well, know ∧ se his haunte,
where hys fote hath bene, and who hath
sene him there: for it is tolde me, that he is
very sottel, ∧ worketh craftely. Se therfore,
∧ know all þe; lourkyng places, D where he
hideth him self, and come ye agayne to me
with the certentye, ∧ I will go wyth you.
And yf he be in the l&abar;d, I will serche h&ibar; out
thorow out all the thousandes of Iuda.
And they arose, and went to Ziph before
Saul, But Dauid and his men were in the
wildernesse of Maon, in the playne þt; is, on
-- --
Dauid and Saul
the ryght hand of Iesimon. Saul also and
his men wente to seke: and they tolde Dauid.
Wherfore he went vnto a Rocke, and
abode in the wildernesse of Ma&obar;. And wh&ebar;
Saul hearde that, he folowed after Dauid
in the wildernesse of Maon. And Saul ∧
his men went on the one syde of the mountayne,
∧ Dauid ∧ his men on the other syde.
And Dauid toke thought, how to get
fr&obar; Saul. For Saul ∧ his m&ebar; c&obar;pased Dauid
∧ his men, rounde about, to take them.
But there cam a mess&ebar;ger to Saul, say&ibar;g
Hast the, ∧ come, for the Philistines are come
into the l&abar;d. Wherfore, Saul returned
from persecuting Dauid, ∧ went agaynst
the Philistines. And therfore is it, þt; they
called the place: The rock of separacion.
And Dauid went thence, ∧ dwelt in strong
holdes at Engadi.
¶ The .xxiiii. Chapter.¶ Dauid fleeth into Engadi and there hydeth
hym in a caue. Saul commeth in thither to do
hys easement.
AWhen Saul was come agayne from
folow&ibar;g after the Philistines, it fortuned,
that there were, which told h&ibar;
saying: beholde, Dauid is in þe; wildernesse
of Engadi. Then Saul toke thre thous&abar;d
chosen men out of all Israel, and went to
seke Dauid and his m&ebar; in the height of the
Rockes, where wilde gootes remayne.
