|
|
| [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]And God appeared to him by the oak of Mambre, as he sat by the door of his tent at noon. |
| [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 lifted up his eyes and beheld, and lo! three men stood before him; and having seen them he ran to meet them from the door of his tent, and did obeisance 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 indeed I have found grace in thy sight, pass not by thy servant. |
| [4]but I schal brynge a litil watir, and youre feet be waischid, and reste ye vndur the tre; |
[4]Let water now be brought, and let them wash your feet, and do ye refresh 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 bread, and ye shall eat, and after this ye shall depart on your journey, on account of which refreshment ye have turned aside to your servant. And he said, So do, 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]And Abraam hasted to the tent to Sarrha, and said to her, Hasten, and knead three measures of fine flour, and make cakes. |
| [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 Abraam ran to the kine, and took a young calf, tender and good, and gave it to his servant, and he hasted to dress it. |
| [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 dressed; and he set them before them, and they did eat, and he stood by them under the tree. |
| [9]And whanne thei hadden ete, thei seiden to hym, Where is Sare thi wijf? He answerde, Lo! sche is in the tabernacle. |
[9]And he said to him, Where is Sarrha thy wife? And he answered and said, Behold! 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 return and come to thee according to this period seasonably, and Sarrha thy wife shall have a son; and Sarrha heard at the door of the tent, being behind him. |
| [11]Forsothe bothe weren olde, and of greet age, and wommans termes ceessiden to be maad to Sare. |
[11]And Abraam and Sarrha were old, advanced in days, and the custom of women ceased with Sarrha. |
| [12]And she leiyede, seiynge pryueli, after that Y wexede eld, and my lord is eld, schal Y yyue diligence to lust? |
[12]And Sarrha laughed in herself, saying, The thing has not as yet happened to me, even until now, and my lord is old. |
| [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 to Abraam, Why is it that Sarrha has laughed in herself, saying, Shall I then indeed bear? but I am grown 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 impossible with the Lord? At this time I will return to thee seasonably, and Sarrha 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 Sarrha denied, saying, I did not laugh, for she was afraid. And he said to her, Nay, but thou didst laugh. |
| [16]Therfor whanne the men hadden risen fro thennus, thei dressiden the iyen ayens Sodom; and Abraham yede to gidre, ledynge hem forth. |
[16]And the men having risen up from thence looked towards Sodom and Gomorrha. And Abraam went with them, attending them on their journey. |
| [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 Abraam my servant what things I intend to 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]But Abraam shall become a great and populous nation, and in him shall all the nations of the earth be blest. |
| [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 that he will order his sons, and his house after him, and they will keep the ways of the Lord, to do justice and judgment, that the Lord may bring upon Abraam all things whatsoever he has spoken to 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]And the Lord said, The cry of Sodom and Gomorrha has been increased towards me, and their sins are very great. |
| [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 therefore go down and see, if they completely correspond with the cry which comes to 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 having departed thence, came to Sodom; and Abraam was still standing before the Lord. |
| [23]and neiyede, and seide, Whether thou schalt leese a iust man with the wickid man? |
[23]And Abraam drew nigh and said, Wouldest thou destroy the righteous with the wicked, and shall the righteous be as 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]Should there be fifty righteous in the city, wilt thou destroy them? wilt thou not spare the whole place for the sake of the fifty righteous, if they be in it? |
| [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]By no means shalt thou do as this thing is so as to destroy the righteous with the wicked, so the righteous shall be as the wicked: by no means. Thou that judgest the whole earth, shalt thou not 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 said, If there should be in Sodom fifty righteous in the city, I will spare the whole city, and the whole 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]And Abraam answered and said, Now I have begun to speak to my Lord, and I am earth 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]But if the fifty righteous should be diminished to forty-five, wilt thou destroy the whole city because of the five wanting? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I should find there forty-five. |
| [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 continued to speak to him still, and said, But if there should be found there forty? And he said, I will not destroy it for the 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]And he said, Will there be anything against me, Lord, if I shall speak? but if there be found there thirty? And he said, I will not destroy it for the thirty's sake. |
| [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]And he said, Since I am able to speak to the Lord, what if there should be found there twenty? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I should find there twenty. |
| [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]And he said, Will there be anything against me, Lord, if I speak yet once? but if there should be found there ten? And he said, I will not destroy it for the 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 departed, when he left off speaking to Abraam, and Abraam returned to his place. |