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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]AND the LORD revealed himself to him by the oak of Mamre, as he was sitting at the door of the tent in 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 lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, three men stood at a distance from him; and when he saw them, he ran from the door of the tent to meet them 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 said, O LORD, if now I have found mercy in thy sight, do not pass away from thy servant; |
| [4]but I schal brynge a litil watir, and youre feet be waischid, and reste ye vndur the tre; |
[4]Let me bring a little water 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 take a morsel of bread and sustain your hearts; after that you shall go on your way, since you have come to your servant. And they said, So do as you have 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]So Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine flour, knead it, and make cakes on a griddle. |
| [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 herd, and took a calf fat and good, and gave it to a servant, and he hastened to prepare 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 prepared, and set them before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they ate |
| [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 they said to him, Where is Sarah your wife? And he said, 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 the LORD said, I will certainly return to you at this time next year, and 1o, Sarah your wife shall be with child, and shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door which was behind her. |
| [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 well advanced in years; and Sarah was beyond the age of childbearing. |
| [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 grown old, shall I renew my youth, my lord being old also? |
| [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 Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I truly bear a child, when I am so 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]Is anything too hard for the LORD? I will return to you at this season, and Sarah your wife shall be with child, and 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]Then Sarah denied, saying, I did not laugh; because she was afraid. And he said, No; but you did 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 rose up from there and looked toward Sodom; and Abraham went with them to see them off. |
| [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 my servant Abraham the thing which I am going 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]Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed through 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 well, and that he will command his children and his household after him, to keep the ways of the LORD, to do justice and righteousness; for the LORD shall fulfil for Abraham the thing that he has spoken concerning 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, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah has come before me and their sins are very 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 their cry which has come before me; and if not, I will know. |
| [22]And thei turneden han fro thennus, and yeden to Sodom. Abraham sotheli stood yit bifore the Lord, |
[22]So the men turned from there 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]And Abraham drew near and said, Wilt thou in thine anger destroy the righteous with the sinners? |
| [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]Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; wilt thou in thine anger destroy it, and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous that are 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]Far be it from thee to do such a thing as this, to slay the innocent with the guilty, far be it from thee, O thou Judge of the whole earth! Such a judgment should never be carried out. |
| [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 I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole country for their sake. |
| [27]Abraham answerde and seide, For Y bigan onys, Y schal speke to my Lord, sithen Y am dust and aische; |
[27]And Abraham answered and said, Behold, I have ventured to speak before the LORD, and yet 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]Suppose there shall lack five of the fifty righteous; wilt thou destroy the whole city for the lack of five men? And he said, If I find there forty-five, 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 Abraham spoke to him and said, Suppose there shall be forty found there? And he said, I will not destroy it, if I find there forty. |
| [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]Then Abraham said, Oh let not the LORD be displeased and I will speak: Suppose there shall thirty be found there? And he said, I will not destroy 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]And he said, Behold, I have ventured to speak before the LORD; suppose there shall be twenty found there? And he said, I will not destroy it for the sake of 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, Oh, let not the LORD be displeased, and I will speak only once more; suppose ten shall be found there? And he said, I will not destroy it for the sake of ten. |
| [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 finished communing with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place |