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¹ And the prynce of prestis seide to Steuene, Whethir these thingis han hem so?² Which seide, Britheren and fadris, here ye. God of glorie apperide to oure fadir Abraham, whanne he was in Mesopotamie, bifor that he dwelte in Carram, and seide to hym,³ Go out of thi loond, and of thi kynrede, and come in to the loond, which Y schal schewe to thee.⁴ Thanne he wente out of the loond of Caldeis, and dwelte in Carram. And fro thens aftir that his fader was deed, he translatide him in to this loond, in which ye dwellen now.⁵ And he yaf not to hym eritage in it, nethir a paas of a foot, but he bihiyte to yyue hym it in to possessioun, and to his seed aftir hym, whanne he hadde not a sone.⁶ And God spak to hym, That his seed schal be comling in an alien lond, and thei schulen make hem suget to seruage, and schulen yuel trete hem, foure hundrid yeris and thritti;⁷ and Y schal iuge the folk, to which thei schulen serue, seith the Lord. And after these thingis thei schulen go out, and thei schulen serue to me in this place.⁸ And he yaf to hym the testament of circumcisioun; and so he gendride Ysaac, and circumcidide hym in the eiyt dai. And Isaac gendride Jacob, and Jacob gendride the twelue patriarkis.⁹ And the patriarkis hadden enuye to Joseph, and selden hym in to Egipt.¹⁰ And God was with hym, and delyuerede hym of alle hise tribulaciouns, and yaf to hym grace and wisdom in the siyt of Farao, king of Egipt. And he ordeynede hym souereyn on Egipt, and on al his hous.¹¹ And hungur cam in to al Egipt, and Canaan, and greet tribulacioun; and oure fadris founden not mete.¹² But whanne Jacob hadde herd, that whete was in Egipt, he sente oure fadris first.¹³ And in the secounde tyme Joseph was knowun of hise britheren, and his kyn was maad knowun to Farao.¹⁴ And Joseph sente, and clepide Jacob, his fadir, and al his kynrede, seuenti and fyue men.¹⁵ And Jacob cam doun in to Egipt, and was deed, he and oure fadris;¹⁶ and thei weren translatid in to Sichen, and weren leid in the sepulcre, that Abraham bouyte bi prijs of siluer of the sones of Emor, the sone of Sichen.

¹⁷ And whanne the tyme of biheeste cam niy, which God hadde knoulechid to Abraham, the puple waxede, and multipliede in Egipt,¹⁸ til another kyng roos in Egipt, which knewe not Joseph.¹⁹ This bigilide oure kyn, and turmentide oure fadris, that thei schulden putte awey her yonge children, for thei schulden not lyue.²⁰ In the same tyme Moyses was borun, and he was louyd of God; and he was norischid thre monethis in the hous of his fadir.²¹ And whanne he was put out in the flood, the douyter of Farao took hym vp, and nurischide hym in to hir sone.²² And Moises was lerned in al the wisdom of Egipcians, and he was myyti in his wordis and werkis.²³ But whanne the tyme of fourti yeer was fillid to hym, it roos vp `in to his herte, that he schulde visite hise britheren, the sones of Israel.²⁴ And whanne he say a man suffringe wronge, he vengide hym, and dide veniaunce for hym that suffride the wronge, and he killide the Egipcian.²⁵ For he gesside that his britheren schulden vndurstonde, that God schulde yyue to hem helthe bi the hoond of hym; but thei vndurstoden not.²⁶ For in the dai suynge he apperide to hem chidinge, and he acordide hem in pees, and seide, Men, ye ben britheren; whi noyen ye ech othere?²⁷ But he that dide the wronge to his neiybore, puttide hym awey, and seide, Who ordeynede thee prince and domesman on vs?²⁸ Whethir thou wolt sle me, as yistirdai thou killidist the Egipcian?²⁹ And in this word Moises flei, and was maad a comeling in the loond of Madian, where he bigat twei sones.

³⁰ And whanne he hadde fillid fourti yeer, an aungel apperide to hym in fier of flawme of a buysch, in desert of the mount of Syna.³¹ And Moises siy, and wondride on the siyt. And whanne he neiyede to biholde, the vois of the Lord was maad to hym,³² and seide, Y am God of youre fadris, God of Abraham, God of Ysaac, God of Jacob. Moises was maad tremblynge, and durste not biholde.³³ But God seide to hym, Do of the schoon of thi feet, for the place in which thou stondist is hooli erthe.³⁴ Y seynge say the turmentyng of my puple that is in Egipt, and Y herde the mornyng of hem, and Y cam doun to delyuere hem. And now come thou, and Y schal sende thee in to Egipt.³⁵ This Moises whom thei denyeden, seiynge, Who ordeynede thee prince and domesman on vs? God sente this prince and ayenbiere, with the hoond of the aungel, that apperide to hym in the busch.³⁶ This Moises ledde hem out, and dide wondris and signes in the loond of Egipt, and in the reed see, and in desert fourti yeeris.³⁷ This is Moises, that seide to the sones of Israel, God schal reise to you a profete of youre bretheren, as me ye schulen here him.³⁸ This it is, that was in the chirche in wildirnesse, with the aungel that spak to hym in the mount of Syna, and with oure fadris; which took words of lijf to yyue to vs.³⁹ To whom oure fadris wolden not obeie, but puttiden hym awei, and weren turned awei in hertis in to Egipt,⁴⁰ seiynge to Aaron, Make thou to vs goddis, that schulen go bifore vs; for to this Moyses that ledde vs out of the lond of Egipt, we witen not what is don to hym.⁴¹ And thei maden a calf in tho daies, and offriden a sacrifice to the mawmet; and thei weren glad in the werkis of her hondis.

⁴² And God turnede, and bitook hem to serue to the knyythod of heuene, as it is writun in the book of profetis, Whether ye, hous of Israel, offriden to me slayn sacrificis, ether sacrificis, fourti yeris in desert?⁴³ And ye han take the tabernacle of Moloc, and the sterre of youre god Renfam, figuris that ye han maad to worschipe hem; and Y schal translate you in to Babiloyn.⁴⁴ The tabernacle of witnessing was with oure fadris in desert, as God disposide to hem, and spak to Moyses, that he schulde make it aftir the fourme that he say.⁴⁵ Which also oure fadris token with Jhesu, and brouyten in to the possessioun of hethene men, whiche God puttide awey fro the face of oure fadris, til in to the daies of Dauid,⁴⁶ that fonde grace anentis God, and axide that he schulde fynde a tabernacle to God of Jacob.⁴⁷ But Salomon bildide the hous `to hym.⁴⁸ But the hiy God dwellith not in thingis maad bi hoond,⁴⁹ as he seith bi the profete, Heuene is a seete to me, and the erthe is the stool of my feet; what hous schulen ye bilde to me, seith the Lord, ether what place is of my restyng?⁵⁰ Whether myn hoond made not alle these thingis?

⁵¹ With hard nol, and vncircumcidid hertis and eris ye withstoden eueremore the Hooli Goost; and as youre fadris, so ye.⁵² Whom of the profetis han not youre fadris pursued, and han slayn hem that bifor telden of the comyng of the riytful man, whos traitouris and mansleeris ye weren now?⁵³ Whiche token the lawe in ordynaunce of aungels, and han not kept it.

⁵⁴ And thei herden these thingis, and weren dyuersli turmentid in her hertis, and grenneden with teeth on hym.⁵⁵ But whanne Steuene was ful of the Hooli Goost, he bihelde in to heuene, and say the glorie of God, and Jhesu stondinge on the riythalf of the vertu of God. ⁵⁶ And he seide, Lo! Y se heuenes openyd, and mannus sone stondynge on the riythalf of the vertu of God.⁵⁷ And thei crieden with a greet vois, and stoppiden her eris, and maden with o wille an assauyt in to hym.⁵⁸ And thei brouyten hym out of the citee, and stonyden. And the witnessis diden of her clothis, bisidis the feet of a yong man, that was clepid Saule.⁵⁹ And thei stonyden Steuene, that clepide God to help, seiynge, Lord Jhesu, resseyue my spirit.⁶⁰ And he knelide, and criede with a greet vois, and seide, Lord, sette not to hem this synne. And whanne he hadde seid this thing, he diede.