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| [1]In the meene tyme hungur oppresside greetli al the lond; |
[1]And the dearth was great in the lande |
| [2]and whanne the meetis weren wastid, whiche thei brouyten fro Egipt, Jacob seide to hise sones, Turne ye ayen, and bie ye a litil of meetis to vs. |
[2]And it came to passe when they had eaten vp the corne which they had brought out of the lande of Egypt, theyr father sayde vnto them: go agayne [and] bye vs a litle foode |
| [3]Judas answeride, The ilke man denounside to vs vndir witnessyng of an ooth, and seide, Ye schulen not se my face, if ye schulen not brynge with you youre leeste brother; |
[3]Iuda aunswered him, and sayd, The man did solemply protest vnto vs saying: ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you |
| [4]therfor if thou wolt sende hym with vs, we schulen go to gidere, and we schulen bie necessaries to thee; |
[4]If thou wylt sende our brother with vs, we wyll go downe, and bye thee foode |
| [5]ellis if thou wolt not, we schulen not go; for as we seiden ofte, the man denounside to vs, and seide, Ye schulen not se my face with out youre leeste brother. |
[5]But yf thou wylt not sende hym, we wyll not go downe: for the man sayde vnto vs, ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with you |
| [6]Forsothe Israel seide to hem, Ye diden this in to my wretchidnesse, that ye schewiden to hym, that ye hadden also another brother. |
[6]And Israel sayd: wherefore dealt ye so cruelly with me, as to tell the man that ye had yet a brother |
| [7]And thei answeriden, The man axide vs bi ordre oure generacioun, if the fadir lyuede, if we hadden a brother; and we answeriden suyngli to hym, bi that that he axide; whether we myyten wite that he wolde seie, Brynge ye youre brothir with you? |
[7]They aunswered, The man asked vs straytely of our [state] and of our kinrede, saying: Is your father yet aliue? haue ye [not another] brother? And we tolde hym accordyng to the tenour of these wordes: Could we by any meane knowe, that he would say, bryng your brother downe with you |
| [8]And Judas seide to his fadir, Sende the child with me, that we go, and moun lyue, lest we dien, and oure litle children; |
[8]The said Iuda vnto Israel his father: send the lad with me, that we may arise and go, and that we may liue, & not dye, yea both we & thou, & also our meany |
| [9]Y take the child, require thou hym of myn hoond; if Y schal not brynge ayen, and bitake hym to thee, Y schal be gilti of synne ayens thee in al tyme; |
[9]I wylbe suretie for hym, of my handes shalt thou require hym: yf I bryng hym not to thee agayne, and set him before thine eyes, then let me beare the blame for euer |
| [10]if delai hadde not be, we hadden come now anothir tyme. |
[10]Truely except we had made this tarying, by this we had returned the seconde tyme |
| [11]Therfor Israel, `the fadir of hem, seide to hem, If it is nede so, do ye that that ye wolen; `take ye of the beste fruytis of the lond in youre vesselis, and `bere ye yiftis to the man, a litil of gumme, and of hony, and of storax, and of mirre, and of therebynte, and of alemaundis; |
[11]And their father Israel sayde vnto them: if it must nedes be so, nowe then do thus. Take of the best fruites of the lande in your vesselles, and bryng ye man a present, a curtsie of bawme, and a curtsie of hony, spyces and mirre, nuttes and almondes |
| [12]and `bere ye with you double money, and `bere ye ayen that money which ye founden in baggis, lest perauenture it be doon bi errour; |
[12]And take double money in your hande, & the money that was brought agayne in your sackes, take it agayne with you, peraduenture it was some ouersight |
| [13]but also take ye youre brother, and go ye to the man; |
[13]Take also your brother with you, and arise and go agayne vnto the man |
| [14]forsothe my God Almyyti mak him pesible to you, and sende he ayen youre brother, whom he holdith in boondis, and this Beniamyn; forsothe Y schal be as maad bare without sones. |
[14]And God almightie geue you mercye in the sight of the man, that he may deliuer you your other brother, & [this] Beniamin: and thus I am as one that is quite robbed of his chyldren |
| [15]Therfor the men token yiftis, and double monei, and Beniamyn; and thei yeden doun in to Egipt, and stoden bifore Joseph. |
[15]Thus toke they the present, and twyse so muche more money in their hande, with Beniamin, and rose vp, and went downe to Egypt, & stode before Ioseph |
| [16]And whanne he hadde seyn `hem and Beniamyn togidere, he comaundide the dispendere of his hows, and seide, Lede these men in to the hous, and sle beestis, and make a feeste; for thei schulen ete with me to dai. |
[16]When Ioseph sawe Beniamin with them, he sayd to the ruler of his house: bryng these men home, and slay, and make redy, for these men shall dyne with me at noone |
| [17]He dide as it was comaundid, and ledde the men in to the hows; |
[17]And the man did as Ioseph bad, and brought them into Iosephes house |
| [18]and there thei weren aferd, and seiden to gidere, We ben brouyt in for the monei which we baren ayen bifore in oure sackis, that he putte chalenge `in to vs, and make suget bi violence to seruage bothe vs and oure assis. |
[18]When the men were brought into Iosephes house, they were afrayde, and said: because of the money that came in our sackes mouthes at the first tyme, are we brought in, that he may seeke occasion agaynst vs, and violently lay handes vpon vs, to bryng vs in bondage, and our asses also |
| [19]Wherfor thei neiyeden in the `yatis, and spaken to the dispendere, |
[19]Therefore came they to the man that was the ruler ouer Iosephes house, and communed with him at the doore of the house |
| [20]Lord, we preien that thou here vs; we camen doun now bifore that we schulden bie metis; |
[20]And sayde: oh sir, we came downe hyther at the fyrst tyme to bye foode |
| [21]whanne tho weren bouyt, whanne we camen to the ynne, we openeden oure baggis, and we founden money in the mouth of sackis, which money we han brouyt ayen now in the same weiyte; |
[21]And as we came to an Inne, we opened our sackes, and behold, euery mans money was in the mouth of his sacke, [euen] our money in ful wayght, and we haue brought it againe in our hande |
| [22]but also we han brouyt other siluer, that we bie tho thingis that ben nedeful to vs; it is not in oure conscience, who puttide the money in oure pursis. |
[22]And other money haue we brought also in our handes to bye foode: but we can not tell who put our money in our sackes |
| [23]And he answerde, Pees be to you, nyle ye drede; youre God and God of youre fadir yaf to you tresouris in youre baggis; for I haue the monei preued, which ye yauen to me. And he ledde out Symeon to hem; |
[23]And he sayd: peace be vnto you, feare not: your God, and the God of your father, hath geuen you that treasure in your sackes: I had your money. And he brought Simeon out to them |
| [24]and whanne thei weren brouyt in to the hows, he brouyte watir, and thei waischiden her feet, and he yaf `meetis to her assis. |
[24]And the man led them into Iosephes house, and gaue them water to washe their feete, & gaue their asses prouender |
| [25]Sotheli thei maden redi yiftis til Joseph entride at myd day, for thei hadden herd that thei schulden ete breed there. |
[25]And they made redy their present agaynst Ioseph came at noone: for they hearde [say] that they should eate bread there |
| [26]Therfor Joseph entride in to his hows, and thei offriden yiftis to hym, and helden in the hondis, and worschipiden lowe to erthe. |
[26]When Ioseph came home, they brought the present into the house to hym, whiche was in their handes, and bowed them selues to the grounde before him |
| [27]And he grette hem ayen mekeli; and he axide hem, and seide, Whether youre fadir, the elde man, is saaf, of whom ye seiden to me? lyueth he yit? |
[27]And he asked them of their welfare, and sayd: Is your father, that old man whiche ye tolde me of, in good health? and is he yet aliue |
| [28]Whiche answeriden, He is hool, thi seruaunt oure fadir lyueth yit; and thei weren bowid, and worschipiden hym. |
[28]They aunswered: Thy seruaunt our father is in good health, & is yet alyue. And they bowing them selues, made theyr obeysaunce |
| [29]Forsothe Joseph reyside hise iyen, and siy Beniamyn his brother of the same wombe, and seide, Is this youre litil brother, of whom ye seiden to me? And eft Joseph seide, My sone, God haue merci of thee. |
[29]And he lifting vp his eyes, behelde his brother Beniamin his mothers sonne, and sayd: is this your younger brother of whom ye spake vnto me? And he said: God be mercyfull vnto thee my sonne |
| [30]And Joseph hastide in to the hous, for his entrailis weren moued on his brother, and teeris brasten out, and he entride into a closet, and wepte. |
[30]And Ioseph made haste (for his heart did melt vpon his brother) and sought [where] to weepe, and entred into his chaumber and wept there |
| [31]And eft whanne the face was waischun, he yede out, and refreynede hym silf, and seide, Sette ye looues. |
[31]And he washed his face, and came out, and refrayned hym selfe, and sayde: set bread on the table |
| [32]`And whanne tho weren set to Joseph by hym silf, and to the britheren bi hem silf, and to Egipcyans that eeten to gidre by hem silf; for it is vnleueful to Egipcians to ete with Ebrewis, and thei gessen sich a feeste vnhooli. |
[32]And they prepared for hym by hym selfe, and for them by them selues, and for the Egyptians which dyd eate with him, by them selues, because the Egyptians may not eate bread with the Hebrewes: for that is an abhomination to the Egyptians |
| [33]Therfor thei saten bifore hym, the firste gendrid bi the rite of his firste gendryng, and the leeste bi his age; and thei wondriden greetli, |
[33]And they satte before hym the first borne, according to his age, & the youngest according to his youth: and the men merueyled among them selues |
| [34]whanne the partis weren takun whiche thei hadden resseyued of him, and the more part cam to Beniamyn, so that it passide in fyue partis; and thei drunken, and weren fillid with him. |
[34]And he sent rewardes vnto them from before him selfe: but Beniamins part was fiue times so muche as any of theirs: and they dronke, and were made mery with him |