|
[1]Forsothe for manye men enforceden to ordeyne the tellyng of thingis, whiche ben fillid in vs,
[2]as thei that seyn atte the bigynnyng, and weren ministris of the word,
[3]bitaken, it is seen also to me, hauynge alle thingis diligentli bi ordre, to write to thee,
[4]thou best Theofile, that thou knowe the treuthe of tho wordis, of whiche thou art lerned.
[5]In the daies of Eroude, kyng of Judee, ther was a prest, Sakarie bi name, of the sorte of Abia, and his wijf was of the douytris of Aaron, and hir name was Elizabeth.
[6]And bothe weren iust bifor God, goynge in alle the maundementis and iustifiyngis of the Lord, withouten pleynt.
[7]And thei hadden no child, for Elizabeth was bareyn, and bothe weren of grete age in her daies.
[8]And it bifel, that whanne Zacarie schulde do the office of preesthod, in the ordre of his cours tofor God,
[9]aftir the custome of the preesthod, he wente forth bi lot, and entride in to the temple, to encense.
[10]And al the multitude of the puple was with outforth, and preiede in the our of encensyng.
[11]And an aungel of the Lord apperide to hym, and stood on the riythalf of the auter of encense.
[12]And Zacarie seynge was afraied, and drede fel vpon hym.
[13]And the aungel seide to hym, Zacarie, drede thou not; for thi preyer is herd, and Elizabeth, thi wijf, schal bere to thee a sone, and his name schal be clepid Joon.
[14]And ioye and gladyng schal be to thee; and many schulen `haue ioye in his natyuyte.
[15]For he schal be greet bifor the Lord, and he schal not drynke wyn and sidir, and he schal be fulfillid with the Hooli Goost yit of his modir wombe.
[16]And he schal conuerte many of the children of Israel to her Lord God;
[17]and he schal go bifor hym in the spirit and the vertu of Helie; and he schal turne the hertis of the fadris in to the sones, and men out of bileue to the prudence of iust men, to make redi a perfit puple to the Lord.
[18]And Zacarie seide to the aungel, Wherof schal Y wite this? for Y am eld, and my wijf hath gon fer in to hir daies.
[19]And the aungel answeride, and seide to hym, For Y am Gabriel, that stonde niy bifor God; and Y am sent to thee to speke, and to euangelize to thee these thingis.
[20]And lo! thou schalt be doumbe, and thou schalt not mow speke til in to the dai, in which these thingis schulen be don; for thou hast not bileued to my wordis, whiche schulen be fulfillid in her tyme.
[21]And the puple was abidynge Zacarie, and thei wondriden, that he tariede in the temple.
[22]And he yede out, and myyte not speke to hem, and thei knewen that he hadde seyn a visioun in the temple. And he bikenyde to hem, and he dwellide stille doumbe.
[23]And it was don, whanne the daies of his office weren fulfillid, he wente in to his hous.
[24]And aftir these daies Elizabeth, his wijf, conseyuede, and hidde hir fyue monethis, and seide,
[25]For so the Lord dide to me in the daies, in whiche he bihelde, to take awei my repreef among men.
[26]But in the sixte moneth the aungel Gabriel was sent fro God in to a citee of Galilee, whos name was Nazareth,
[27]to a maidyn, weddid to a man, whos name was Joseph, of the hous of Dauid; and the name of the maidun was Marie.
[28]And the aungel entride to hir, and seide, Heil, ful of grace; the Lord be with thee; blessid be thou among wymmen.
[29]And whanne sche hadde herd, sche was troublid in his word, and thouyte what maner salutacioun this was.
[30]And the aungel seide to hir, Ne drede thou not, Marie, for thou hast foundun grace anentis God.
[31]Lo! thou schalt conceyue in wombe, and schalt bere a sone, and thou schalt clepe his name Jhesus.
[32]This schal be greet, and he schal be clepid the sone of the Hiyeste; and the Lord God schal yeue to hym the seete of Dauid, his fadir, and he schal regne in the hous of Jacob with outen ende,
[33]and of his rewme schal be noon ende.
[34]And Marie seide to the aungel, On what maner schal this thing be doon, for Y knowe not man?
[35]And the aungel answeride, and seide to hir, The Hooly Goost schal come fro aboue in to thee, and the vertu of the Hiyeste schal ouerschadewe thee; and therfor that hooli thing that schal be borun of thee, schal be clepid the sone of God.
[36]And lo! Elizabeth, thi cosyn, and sche also hath conceyued a sone in hir eelde, and this moneth is the sixte to hir that is clepid bareyn;
[37]for euery word schal not be inpossible anentis God.
[38]And Marie seide, Lo! the handmaydyn of the Lord; be it don to me aftir thi word. And the aungel departide fro hir.
[39]And Marie roos vp in tho daies, and wente with haaste in to the mounteyns, in to a citee of Judee.
[40]And sche entride in to the hous of Zacarie, and grette Elizabeth.
[41]And it was don, as Elizabeth herde the salutacioun of Marie, the yong child in hir wombe gladide. And Elizabeth was fulfillid with the Hooli Goost,
[42]and criede with a greet vois, and seide, Blessid be thou among wymmen, and blessid be the fruyt of thi wombe.
[43]And whereof is this thing to me, that the modir of my Lord come to me?
[44]For lo! as the voice of thi salutacioun was maad in myn eeris, the yong child gladide in ioye in my wombe.
[45]And blessid be thou, that hast bileued, for thilke thingis that ben seid of the Lord to thee, schulen be parfitli don.
[46]And Marie seide, Mi soule magnyfieth the Lord,
[47]and my spirit hath gladid in God, myn helthe.
[48]For he hath biholdun the mekenesse of his handmaidun.
[49]For lo! of this alle generaciouns schulen seie that Y am blessid. For he that is myyti hath don to me grete thingis, and his name is hooli.
[50]And his mercy is fro kynrede in to kynredes, to men that dreden hym.
[51]He made myyt in his arme, he scaterede proude men with the thouyte of his herte.
[52]He sette doun myyti men fro sete, and enhaunside meke men.
[53]He hath fulfillid hungri men with goodis, and he hath left riche men voide.
[54]He, hauynge mynde of his mercy, took Israel, his child;
[55]as he hath spokun to oure fadris, to Abraham and to his seed, in to worldis.
[56]And Marie dwellide with hir, as it were thre monethis, and turnede ayen in to hir hous.
[57]But the tyme of beryng child was fulfillid to Elizabeth, and sche bare a sone.
[58]And the neiyboris and cosyns of hir herden, that the Lord hadde magnyfied his mercy with hir; and thei thankiden hym.
[59]And it was don in the eiyte dai, thei camen to circumcide the child; and thei clepiden hym Zacarie, bi the name of his fadir.
[60]And his moder answeride, and seide, Nay, but he schal be clepid Joon.
[61]And thei seiden to hir, For no man is in thi kynrede, that is clepid this name.
[62]And thei bikeneden to his fadir, what he wolde that he were clepid.
[63]And he axynge a poyntil, wroot, seiynge, Joon is his name.
[64]And alle men wondriden. And anoon his mouth was openyd, and his tunge, and he spak, and blesside God.
[65]And drede was maad on alle her neiyboris, and alle these wordis weren pupplischid on alle the mounteyns of Judee.
[66]And alle men that herden puttiden in her herte, and seiden, What maner child schal this be? For the hoond of the Lord was with hym.
[67]And Zacarie, his fadir, was fulfillid with the Hooli Goost, and prophesiede,
[68]and seide, Blessid be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visitid, and maad redempcioun of his puple.
[69]And he hath rerid to vs an horn of heelthe in the hous of Dauid, his child.
[70]As he spak bi the mouth of hise hooli prophetis, that weren fro the world.
[71]Helthe fro oure enemyes, and fro the hoond of alle men that hatiden vs.
[72]To do merci with oure fadris, and to haue mynde of his hooli testament.
[73]The greet ooth that he swoor to Abraham, oure fadir, to yyue hym silf to vs.
[74]That we with out drede delyuered fro the hoond of oure enemyes,
[75]serue to hym, in hoolynesse and riytwisnesse bifor hym in alle oure daies.
[76]And thou, child, schalt be clepid the prophete of the Hiyest; for thou schalt go bifor the face of the Lord, to make redi hise weies.
[77]To yyue scyence of helthe to his puple, in to remyssioun of her synnes;
[78]bi the inwardnesse of the merci of oure God, in the whiche he spryngynge vp fro an hiy hath visitid vs.
[79]To yyue liyt to hem that sitten in derknessis and in schadewe of deeth; to dresse oure feet in to the weie of pees.
[80]And the child wexide, and was coumfortid in spirit, and was in desert placis `til to the dai of his schewing to Israel.
|