< Kings III 13 >

1 And behold, there came a man of God out of Juda by the word of the Lord to Baethel, and Jeroboam stood at the altar to sacrifice.
And lo! a man of God cam fro Juda, bi the word of the Lord, in to Bethel, while Jeroboam stood on the auter, `and castide encence.
2 And he cried against the altar by the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus says the Lord, Behold, a son is [to be] born to the house of David, Josias by name; and he shall offer upon you the priests of the high places, [even] of them that sacrifice upon you, and [he] shall burn men's bones upon you.
And `the man of God criede ayens the auter, bi the word of the Lord, and seide, Auter! auter! the Lord seith these thingis, Lo! a sone, Josias by name, shal be borun to the hows of Dauid; and he schal offre on thee the preestis of hiye thingis, that brennen now encensis yn thee, and he schal brenne the bonys of men on thee.
3 And in that day one shall give a sign, saying, This [is] the word which the Lord has spoken, saying, Behold, the altar is tore, and the fatness upon it shall be poured out.
And he yaf a signe in that dai, `and seide, This schal be `the signe that the Lord spak, Lo! the auter schal be kit, and the aische which is `there ynne, schal be sched out.
4 And it came to pass when king Jeroboam heard the words of the man of God who called on the altar that was in Baethel, that the king stretched forth his hand from the altar, saying, Take hold of him. And, behold, his hand, which he stretched forth against him, withered, and he could not draw it back to himself.
And whanne the kyng hadde herd the word of the man of God, which word he hadde cried ayens the auter in Bethel, the kyng helde forth his hond fro the auter, and seide, Take ye hym. And his hond driede, which he hadde holde forth, and he myyte not drawe it ayen to hym silf.
5 And the altar was tore, and the fatness was poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God gave by the word of the Lord.
Also the auter was kit, and the aische was sched out of the auter, bi the signe which the man of God bifor seide, in the word of the Lord.
6 And king Jeroboam said to the man of God, Intreat the Lord your God, and let my hand be restored to me. And the man of God entreated the Lord, and he restored the king's hand to him, and it became as before.
And the kyng seide to the man of God, Biseche thou the face of thi Lord God, and preie thou for me, that myn hond be restorid to me. And the man of God preiede the face of God; and the hond of the king turnede ayen to hym, and it was maad as it was bifore.
7 And the king said to the man of God, Enter with me into the house, and dine, and I will give you a gift.
Sotheli the kyng spak to the man of God, Come thou hoom with me, that thou ete, and Y schal yyue yiftis to thee.
8 And the man of God said to the king, If you should give me the half of your house, I would not go in with you, neither will I eat bread, neither will I drink water in this place; for thus the Lord charged me by [his] word, saying,
And the man of God seide to the kyng, Thouy thou schalt yyue to me the half part of thin hows, Y schal not come with thee, nether Y schal ete breed, nether Y schal drynke watir in this place;
9 Eat no bread, and drink no water, and return not by the way by which you came.
`for so it is comaundid to me bi the word of the Lord, comaundinge, Thou schalt not ete breed, nether thou schalt drynke water, nether thou schalt turne ayen bi the weie bi which thou camest.
10 So he departed by another way, and returned not by the way by which he came to Baethel.
Therfor he yede bi another weie, and turnede not ayen bi the weie, bi which he cam in to Bethel.
11 And there lived an old prophet in Baethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God did on that day in Baethel, and the words which he spoke to the king: and they turned the face of their father.
Forsothe sum elde profete dwellide in Bethel, to whom hise sones camen, and telden to hym alle the werkis whiche the man of God hadde do in that dai in Bethel; and thei telden to her fader the wordis whiche he spak to the kyng.
12 And their father spoke to them, saying, Which way went he? and his sons show him the way by which the man of God who came out of Juda went up.
And the fadir of hem seide to hem, Bi what weie yede he? Hise sones schewiden to hym the weie, bi which the man of God yede, that cam fro Juda.
13 And he said to his sons, Saddle me the ass: and they saddled him the ass, and he mounted it,
And he seide to hise sones, Sadle ye an asse to me. And whanne thei hadden sadlid,
14 and went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said to him, Are you the man of God that came out of Juda? And he said to him, I [am].
he stiede, and yede after the man of God, and foond hym sittyng vndur a terebynte. And he seide to the man of God, Whether thou art the man of God, that camest fro Juda? He answeride, Y am.
15 And he said to him, Come with me, and eat bread.
And he seide to hym, Come thou with me hoom, that thou ete breed.
16 And he said, I shall not by any means be able to return with you, neither will I eat bread, neither will I drink water in this place.
And he seide, Y may not turne ayen, nether come with thee, nether Y schal ete breed, nether Y schal drynke water in this place;
17 For thus the Lord commanded me by word, saying, Eat not bread there, and drink not water, and return not there by the way by which you came.
for the Lord spak to me in the word of the Lord, and seide, Thou schalt not ete breed, and thou schalt not drynke water there, nether thou schalt turne ayen bi the weie bi which thou yedist.
18 And he said to him, I also am a prophet as you [are]; and an angel spoke to me by the word of the Lord, saying, Bring him back to you into your house, and let him eat bread and drink water: but he lied to him.
Which seide to hym, And Y am a profete lijk thee; and an aungel spak to me bi the word of the Lord, and seide, Lede ayen hym in to thin hows, that he ete breed, and drynke watir. He disseyuede the man of God,
19 And he brought him back, and he ate bread and drank water in his house.
and brouyte him ayen with hym. Therfor he ete breed in his hows, and drank watir.
20 And it came to pass while they were sitting at the table, that the word of the Lord came to the prophet that brought him back;
And whanne he sat at the table, the word of the Lord was maad to the prophete that brouyte hym ayen;
21 and he spoke to the man of God that came out of Juda, saying, Thus says the Lord, Because you have resisted the word of the Lord, and have not kept the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you,
and he criede to the man of God that cam fro Juda, and seide, The Lord seith these thingis, For thou obeidist not to the mouth of the Lord, and keptist not the comaundement which thi Lord God comaundide to thee,
22 but have returned, and eaten bread and drunk water in the place of which he spoke to you, saying, You shall not eat bread, and shall not drink water; [therefore] your body shall in nowise enter into the sepulchre of your fathers.
and thou turnedist ayen, and etist breed, and drankist watir in the place in which Y comaundide to thee, that thou schuldist not ete breed, nether schuldist drynke watir, thi deed bodi schal not be borun in to the sepulcre of thi fadris.
23 And it came to pass after he had eaten bread and drunk water, that he saddled the ass for him, and he turned and departed.
And whanne he hadde ete and drunke, the prophete, whom he hadde brouyt ayen, sadlide his asse.
24 And a lion found him in the way, and killed him; and his body was cast out in the way, and the ass was standing by it, and the lion [also] was standing by the body.
And whanne he hadde go, a lioun foond hym in the weye, and killide hym. And his deed bodi was cast forth in the weie; sotheli the asse stood bisydis hym, and the lioun stood bisidis the deed bodi.
25 And, behold, men [were] passing by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion was standing near the carcase: and they went in and spoke [of it] in the city where the old prophet lived.
And lo! men passynge sien the deed bodi cast forth in the weye, and the lyoun stondynge bisidis the deed bodi; and thei camen, and pupplischiden in the citee, in which thilke eeld prophete dwellide.
26 And [the prophet] that turned him back out of the way heard, and said, This is the man of God who rebelled against the word of the Lord.
And whanne thilke prophete, that brouyte hym ayen fro the weye, hadde herd this, he seide, It is the man of God, that was vnobedient to the mouth of God; and the Lord bitook hym to the lioun, that brak hym, and killide hym, bi the word of the Lord which he spak to hym.
27 [And he spoke to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass, and they saddled it. ]
And he seide to hise sones, Sadle ye an asse to me.
28 And he went and found the body cast in the way, and the ass and the lion were standing by the body: and the lion had not devoured the body of the man of God, and had not torn the ass.
And whanne thei hadden sadlid, and he hadde go, he foond his deed bodi cast forth in the weie, and the asse and the lioun stondinge bisidis the deed bodi; and the lioun eet not the deed bodi, nether hirtide the asse.
29 And the prophet took up the body of the man of God, and laid it on his ass; and the prophet brought him back to his city, to bury him in his own tomb,
Therfor the profete took the deed bodi of the man of God, and puttide it on the asse; and he turnede ayen, and brouyte it in to the cyte of the eeld prophete, that he schulde biweile hym.
30 and they bewailed him, [saying], Alas, brother.
And he puttide his deed bodi in his sepulcre, and thei biweiliden him, Alas! alas! my brother!
31 And it came to pass after he had lamented him, that he spoke to his sons, saying, Whenever I die, bury me in this tomb wherein the man of God is buried; lay me by his bones, that my bones may be preserved with his bones.
And whanne thei hadden biweilid hym, he seide to hise sones, Whanne Y schal be deed, birie ye me in the sepulcre, in which the man of God is biried; putte ye my bonys bisidis hise bonys.
32 For the word will surely come to pass which he spoke by the word of the Lord against the altar in Baethel, and against the high houses in Samaria.
For sotheli the word schal come, which he bifor seide in the word of the Lord, ayens the auter which is in Bethel, and ayens alle the templis of hiy placis, that ben in the citees of Samarie.
33 And after this Jeroboam turned not from his sin, but he turned and made of part of the people priests of the [high places]: whoever would, he consecrated him, and he became a priest for the high places.
After these wordis Jeroboam turnede not ayen fro his werste weie, but ayenward of the laste puplis he made preestis of hiye places; who euer wolde, fillide his hond, and he was maad preest of hiy placis.
34 And this thing became sin to the house of Jeroboam, even to its destruction and its removal from the face of the earth.
And for this cause the hows of Jeroboam synnede, and it was distried, and doon awey fro the face of erthe.

< Kings III 13 >