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¹ Forsothe Samuel seide to al Israel, Lo! Y herde youre vois bi alle thingis whiche ye spaken to me, and Y ordeynede a kyng on you;² and now the king goith bifor you. Sotheli Y wexide eld and hoor; forsothe my sones ben with you; therfor Y lyuyde bifor you fro my yong wexynge age `til to this dai. And lo!<sup>3</sup> Y am redi; speke ye to me bifor the Lord, and bifor `the crist of hym; whether Y took `the oxe of ony man, ether the asse; if Y falsly chalengide ony mon; yf Y oppresside ony man; if Y took yifte of `the hond of ony man; and Y schal `dispise it to dai, and Y schal restore to you.<sup>4</sup> And thei seiden, Thou hast not falsly chalengid vs, nether hast oppressid vs, nether hast take ony thing of `the hond of ony man.⁵ And he seide to hem, The Lord is witnesse ayens you, and his crist is witnesse in this day; for ye han not founde ony thing in myn hond. And thei seiden, Witnesse.

⁶ And Samuel seide to the puple, The Lord, that made Moises and Aaron, and ledde youre fadris out of the lond of Egipt, is present;⁷ now therfor stonde ye, that Y stryue bi doom ayens you bifor the Lord, of alle the mercyes of the Lord, whiche he dide with you, and with youre fadris.⁸ Hou Jacob entride in to Egipt, and youre fadris crieden to the Lord; and the Lord sente Moises and Aaron, and ledde youre fadris out of Egipt, and settide hem in this place.⁹ Whiche foryaten her Lord God; and he bitook hem in the hond of Sisara, maystir of the chyualrie of Asor, and in the hond of Filisteis, and in the hond of the kyng of Moab; and thei fouyten ayens hem.¹⁰ Sotheli afterward thei crieden to the Lord, and seiden, We synneden, for we forsoken the Lord, and seruyden Baalym and Astroth; now therfor delyuere thou vs fro `the hond of oure enemyes, and we schulen serue thee.<sup>11</sup> And the Lord sente Gerobaal, and `Bedan, that is, Sampson, and Barach, and Jepte, and Samuel, and delyuerede you fro the hond of youre enemyes bi cumpass; and ye dwelliden tristili.¹² Forsothe ye sien, that Naas, kyng of the sones of Amon, cam ayens you; and ye seiden to me, counseilynge to axe noon other kyng than God, Nay, but a kyng schal comaunde to vs; whanne `youre Lord God regnede in you.<sup>13</sup> Now therfor youre kyng is redi, whom ye han chose and axid; lo! the Lord yaf to you a kyng.<sup>14</sup> If ye dreden the Lord, and seruen hym, and heren his vois, and wraththen not the `mouth of the Lord; ye and youre kyng, that comaundith to you, schulen sue youre Lord God.¹⁵ Forsothe if ye heren not the vois of `the Lord, but wraththen his word, the hond of the Lord schal be on you, and on youre fadris.

¹⁶ But also now stonde ye, and se this gret thing which the Lord schal make in youre siyt.¹⁷ Whether heruest of whete is not `to dai? I schal inwardli clepe the Lord, and he schal yyue voices, `that is, thundris, and reynes; and ye schulen wite, and schulen se, for ye axynge a kyng on you han do greuouse yuel to you in the siyt of the Lord.¹⁸ And Samuel criede to the Lord, and the Lord yaf voices and reynes in that dai.¹⁹ And al the puple dredde greetli the Lord and Samuel; and al the puple seide to Samuel, Preye thou for thi seruauntis to thi Lord God, that we die not; for we addiden yuel to alle oure synnes, that we axiden a kyng to vs.²⁰ Forsothe Samuel seide to the puple, `Nyle ye drede; ye han do al this yuel; netheles `nyle ye go awey fro the bak of the Lord, but serue ye the Lord in al youre herte;²¹ and nyle ye bowe aftir veyn thingis, that schulen not profite to you, nether schulen delyuere you; for tho ben veyn thingis.²² And the Lord schal not forsake his puple for his grete name; for the Lord swoor to make you a puple to hym silf.²³ Forsothe this synne be fer fro me in the Lord, that Y ceesse to preye for you; and Y schal teche you a riytful weie and good.²⁴ Therfor drede ye the Lord, and `serue ye hym in treuthe, and of al youre herte; for ye sien tho grete thingis, whiche he `dide in you;²⁵ that if ye contynuen in malice, bothe ye and youre kyng schulen perische to gidere.