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¹ The bigynnyng of the gospel of Jhesu Crist, the sone of God.² As it is writun in Ysaie, the prophete, Lo! Y sende myn aungel bifor thi face, that schal make thi weie redi bifor thee.³ The vois of a crier in desert, Make ye redi the weie of the Lord, make ye hise paththis riyt.⁴ Joon was in desert baptisynge, and prechynge the baptym of penaunce, in to remissioun of synnes.⁵ And al the cuntre of Judee wente out to hym, and alle men of Jerusalem; and thei weren baptisid of hym in the flom Jordan, `and knoulechiden her synnes.⁶ And Joon was clothid with heeris of camels, and a girdil of skyn was about hise leendis; and he ete hony soukis, and wilde hony, and prechide,⁷ and seide, A stronger than Y schal come aftir me, and Y am not worthi to knele doun, and vnlace his schoone.⁸ Y haue baptisid you in watir; but he schal baptise you in the Hooli Goost.

⁹ And it was don in tho daies, Jhesus cam fro Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptisid of Joon in Jordan.¹⁰ And anoon he wente up of the watir, and saye heuenes opened, and the Hooli Goost comynge doun as a culuer, and dwellynge in hym.¹¹ And a vois was maad fro heuenes, Thou art my loued sone, in thee Y am plesid.¹² And anoon the Spirit puttide hym forth in to deseert.¹³ And he was in deseert fourti daies and fourti nyytis, and was temptid of Sathanas, and he was with beestis, and aungels mynystriden to hym.

¹⁴ But aftir that Joon was takun, Jhesus cam in to Galilee, and prechide the gospel of the kyngdoom of God,¹⁵ and seide, That the tyme is fulfillid, and the kyngdoom of God schal come nyy; do ye penaunce, and bileue ye to the gospel.¹⁶ And as he passide bisidis the see of Galilee, he say Symount, and Andrew, his brother, castynge her nettis in to the see; for thei weren fisscheris.¹⁷ And Jhesus seide to hem, Come ye aftir me; Y schal make you to be maad fisscheris of men.¹⁸ And anoon thei leften the nettis, and sueden hym.¹⁹ And he yede forth fro thennus a litil, and siy James of Zebedee, and Joon, his brother, in a boot makynge nettis.²⁰ And anoon he clepide hem; and thei leften Zebedee, her fadir, in the boot with hiryd seruauntis, and thei suweden hym.²¹ And thei entriden in to Capharnaum, and anoon in the sabatys he yede in to a synagoge, and tauyte hem.²² And thei wondriden on his teching; for he tauyte hem, as he that hadde power, and not as scribis.

²³ And in the synagoge of hem was a man in an vnclene spirit, and he criede out,²⁴ and seide, What to vs and to thee, thou Jhesu of Nazareth? hast thou come to distrie vs? Y woot that thou art the hooli of God.²⁵ And Jhesus thretenede hym, and seide, Wex doumbe, and go out of the man.²⁶ And the vnclene spirit debreidynge hym, and criynge with greet vois, wente out fro hym.²⁷ And alle men wondriden, so that thei souyten with ynne hem silf, and seiden, What thing is this? what newe doctrine is this? for in power he comaundith to vnclene spiritis, and thei obeyen to hym.²⁸ And the fame of hym wente forth anoon in to al the cuntree of Galilee.

²⁹ And anoon thei yeden out of the synagoge, and camen into the hous of Symount and of Andrewe, with James and Joon.³⁰ And the modir of Symountis wijf lay sijk in fyueris; and anoon thei seien to hym of hyr.³¹ And he cam nyy, and areride hir, and whanne he hadde take hir hoond, anoon the feuer lefte hir, and sche seruede hem.³² But whanne the euentid was come, and the sonne was gon doun, thei brouyten to hym alle that weren of male ese, and hem that hadden fendis.³³ And al the citee was gaderid at the yate.³⁴ And he heelide many, that hadden dyuerse sijknessis, and he castide out many feendis, and he suffride hem not to speke, for thei knewen hym.³⁵ And he roos ful eerli, and yede out, and wente in to a desert place, and preiede there.³⁶ And Symount suede hym, and thei that weren with hym.³⁷ And whanne thei hadden founde hym, thei seiden to hym, That alle men seken thee.³⁸ And he seide to hem, Go we in to the next townes and citees, that Y preche also there, for her to Y cam.³⁹ And he prechide in the synagogis of hem, and in al Galilee, and castide out feendis.

⁴⁰ And a leprouse man cam to hym, and bisouyte, `and knelide, and seide, If thou wolt, thou maist clense me.⁴¹ And Jhesus hadde mercy on hym, and streiyte out his hoond, and towchyde hym, and seide to hym, I wole, be thou maad cleene.⁴² And whanne he hadde seide this, anoon the lepre partyde awey fro hym, and he was clensyd.⁴³ And Jhesus thretenede hym, and anoon Jhesus putte hym out,⁴⁴ and seyde to hym, Se thou, seye to no man; but go, schewe thee to the pryncys of prestys, and offre for thi clensynge in to wytnessyng to hem, tho thingis that Moyses bad.⁴⁵ And he yede out, and bigan to preche, and publische the word, so that now he myyte not go opynli in to the citee, but be withoutforth in desert placis; and thei camen to hym on alle sidis.