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| [1]Forsothe in the valei of Mambre the Lord apperide to Abraham, sittynge in the dore of his tabernacle, in thilke heete of the dai. |
[1]Again the Lord appeared unto him in the plain of Mamre, as he sat in his tent door about the heat of the day. |
| [2]And whanne he hadde reisid his iyen, thre men apperiden to hym, and stoden nyy hym. And whanne he hadde seyn hem, he ran fro the dore of his tabernacle in to the meting of hem, and he worschipide on erthe, |
[2]And he lift up his eyes, and looked: and lo, three men stood by him, and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to the ground. |
| [3]and seide, Lord, if Y haue founde grace in thin iyen, passe thou not thi seruaunt, |
[3]And he said, Lord, if I have now found favor in thy sight, go not, I pray thee, from thy servant. |
| [4]but I schal brynge a litil watir, and youre feet be waischid, and reste ye vndur the tre; |
[4]Let a little water, I pray you, be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree. |
| [5]and Y schal sette a mussel of breed, and youre herte be coumfortid; aftirward ye schulen passe; for herfor ye bowiden to youre seruaunt. Whiche seiden, Do thou as thou hast spoke. |
[5]And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may comfort your hearts, afterward ye shall go your ways: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, Do even as thou hast said. |
| [6]Abraham hastide in to the tabernacle, to Sare, and seide to hir, Hast thou, meddle thou thre half buschelis of clene flour; and make thou looues bakun vndur aischis. |
[6]Then Abraham made haste into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready at once three measures of fine meal: knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth. |
| [7]Forsothe he ran to the droue of beestis, and took therof a calf moost tendre and best, and yaf to a child, which hastide, and sethede the calfe; |
[7]And Abraham ran to the beasts, and took a tender and good calf, and gave it to the servant, who hasted to make it ready. |
| [8]and he took botere, and mylk, and the calf which he hadde sode, and settide bifore hem; forsothe Abraham stood bisidis hem vndur the tre. |
[8]And he took butter and milk, and the calf, which he had prepared, and set before them, and stood himself by them under the tree, and they did eat. |
| [9]And whanne thei hadden ete, thei seiden to hym, Where is Sare thi wijf? He answerde, Lo! sche is in the tabernacle. |
[9]Then they said to him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he answered, Behold, she is in the tent. |
| [10]To whom the Lord seide, Y schal turne ayen, and Y schal come to thee in this tyme, if Y lyue; and Sare, thi wijf, schal haue a sone. Whanne this was herd, Sare leiyede bihynde the dore of the tabernacle. |
[10]And he said, I will certainly come again unto thee according to the time of life: and lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. and Sarah heard in the tent door, which was behind him. |
| [11]Forsothe bothe weren olde, and of greet age, and wommans termes ceessiden to be maad to Sare. |
[11](Now Abraham and Sarah were old and stricken in age, and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women) |
| [12]And she leiyede, seiynge pryueli, after that Y wexede eld, and my lord is eld, schal Y yyue diligence to lust? |
[12]Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old, and my lord also, shall I have lust? |
| [13]Forsothe the Lord seide to Abraham, Whi leiyeth Sare, thi wijf, seiynge, whether Y an eld womman schal bere child verili? |
[13]And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah thus laugh, saying, Shall I certainly bear a child, which am old? |
| [14]whether ony thing is hard to God? Bi the biheeste Y schal turne ayen to thee in this same tyme, if Y lyue; and Sara schal haue a sone. |
[14](Shall anything be hard to the Lord? At the time appointed will I return unto thee, even according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.) |
| [15]Sare was aferd for drede, and denyede, seiynge, Y leiyede not. Forsothe the Lord seide, It is not so, but thou leiyedist. |
[15]But Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not: for she was afraid. And he said, It is not so: for thou laughedst. |
| [16]Therfor whanne the men hadden risen fro thennus, thei dressiden the iyen ayens Sodom; and Abraham yede to gidre, ledynge hem forth. |
[16]Afterward the men did rise up from thence and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. |
| [17]And the Lord seide, Wher Y mowe hele fro Abraham what thingis Y schal do, |
[17]And the Lord said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do, |
| [18]sithen he schal be in to a greet folk and moost strong, and alle naciouns of erthe schulen be blessid in hym? |
[18]Seeing that Abraham shall be indeed a great and a mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? |
| [19]For Y woot that Abraham schal comaunde hise children, and his hows after hym, that thei kepe the weie of the Lord, and that thei do riytfulnesse and dom, that the Lord bringe for Abraham alle thingis whiche he spak to Abraham. |
[19]For I know him that he will command his sons and his household after him, that they keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that he hath spoken unto him. |
| [20]And so the Lord seide, The cry of men of Sodom and of men of Gomorre is multiplied, and her synne is agreggid greetli; Y schal come doun, |
[20]Then the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is exceeding grievous, |
| [21]and schal se whether thei han fillid in werk the cry that cam to me, that Y wite whether it is not so. |
[21]I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to that cry which is come unto me: and if not, that I may know. |
| [22]And thei turneden han fro thennus, and yeden to Sodom. Abraham sotheli stood yit bifore the Lord, |
[22]And the men turned thence and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the Lord. |
| [23]and neiyede, and seide, Whether thou schalt leese a iust man with the wickid man? |
[23]Then Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? |
| [24]if fifti iust men ben in the citee, schulen thei perische togidere, and schalt thou not spare that place for fifti iust men, if thei ben ther ynne? |
[24]If there be fifty righteous within the city, wilt thou destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? |
| [25]Fer be it fro thee that thou do this thing, and sle a iust man with a wickid man, and that a iust man be maad as a wickid man; this is not thin that demest al erthe; thou schalt not make this doom. |
[25]Be it far from thee from doing this thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be even as the wicked, be it far from thee. Shall not the judge of all the world do right? |
| [26]And the Lord seide to him, If Y schal fynde in Sodom fifti iust men in the myddis of the citee, Y schal foryyue to al the place for hem. |
[26]And the Lord answered, If I shall find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then will I spare all the place for their sakes. |
| [27]Abraham answerde and seide, For Y bigan onys, Y schal speke to my Lord, sithen Y am dust and aische; |
[27]Then Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have begun to speak unto my Lord, and I am but dust and ashes. |
| [28]what if lesse than fifti iust men bi fyue ben, schalt thou do a wey al the cite for fyue and fourti? And the Lord seide, Y schal not do a wei, if I schal fynde fyue and fourti there. |
[28]If there shall lack five of fifty righteous, wilt thou destroy all the city for five? And he said, If I find there five and forty, I will not destroy it. |
| [29]And eft Abraham seide to hym, But if fourti ben there, what schalt thou do? The Lord seide, Y schal not smyte for fourti. |
[29]And he yet spake to him again, and said, What if there shall be found forty there? Then he answered, I will not do it for forty's sake. |
| [30]Abraham seide, Lord, Y biseche, take thou not to indignacioun, if Y speke; what if thretti be foundun there? The Lord answerde, Y schal not do, if Y schal fynde thretti there. |
[30]Again he said, Let not my Lord now be angry, that I speak, What if thirty be found there? Then he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. |
| [31]Abraham seide, For Y bigan onys, Y schal speke to my Lord; what if twenti be foundun there? The Lord seide, Y schal not sle for twenti. |
[31]Moreover he said, Behold, now I have begun to speak unto my Lord, What if twenty be found there? And he answered, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake. |
| [32]Abraham seide, Lord, Y biseche, be thou not wrooth, if Y speke yit onys; what if ten be founden there? The Lord seide, Y schal not do a wey for ten. |
[32]Then he said, Let not my Lord be now angry, and I will speak but this once, What if ten be found there? And he answered, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. |
| [33]The Lord yede forth, after that he ceesside to speke to Abraham, and Abraham turnede ayen in to his place. |
[33]And the Lord went his way when he had left communing with Abraham, and Abraham returned unto his place. |