of tyn ben diggid of the hillis therof;

      ¹⁰ that whanne thou hast ete, and art fillid, thou blesse thi Lord God for the beste lond which he yaf to thee.

      ¹¹ Therfor kepe thou, and be war, lest ony tyme thou foryete thi Lord God, and dispise hise comaundementis, and domes, and cerymonyes, whiche Y comaunde to thee to dai;

      ¹² lest aftir that thou hast ete, and art fillid, hast bildid faire housis, and hast dwellid in tho,

      ¹³ and hast droues of oxun, and flockis of scheep, and plente of siluer, and of gold, and of alle thingis, thine herte be reisid,

      ¹⁴ and thenke not on thi Lord God, that ledde thee out of the lond of Egipt, and fro the hous of seruage,

¹⁵ and was thi ledere in the greet wildirnesse and ferdful, in which was a serpent ^[3] brenninge with blast, and scorpioun ^[4] , and dipsas ^[5] , and outirli no `watris; which Lord ledde out stremes of the hardeste stoon,

      ¹⁶ and fedde thee with manna in the wildirnesse, which manna thi fadris knewen not. And after that the Lord turmentid thee, and preuede, at the last he hadd mersi on thee,

      ¹⁷ lest thou woldist seie in thin herte, My strengthe, and the myyt of myn hond yaf alle these thingis to me.

      ¹⁸ But thenke thou on thi Lord God, that he yaf strengthis to thee, that he schulde fille his couenaunt, of whiche he swoor to thi fadris, as present dai schewith.

      ¹⁹ Forsothe if thou foryetist thi Lord God, and suest aliene goddis, and worschipist hem `in herte, and onourist `with outforth, lo! now Y biforseie to thee, that thou schalt perische outerli;

      ²⁰ as hethen men perischiden, whiche the Lord dide awei in thin entryng, so and ye schulen perische, if ye schulen be vnobedient to the vois of youre Lord God.

      1 ↑ [Note: that he schulde turmente thee, and schulde tempte, that thi pacience were knowun to othere men, to ensaumple of hem, and to merit to thee; and the Scripture spekith here, as to the goode men of that puple, for bi the rule of Isidore, ofte a thing is arettid to al the puple, which thyng acordith to it bi resoun of o part.]

      2 ↑ [Note: word is not in Ebreu.]

      3 ↑ [Note: in which was a serpent and so forth, fro the hirting of whiche the Lord defendide thee; and the synguler is takun here for the plurel, a serpent, that is, serpentis, and so of scorpioun and dipsas, as in viij co. of Exodi, a greuouseste flie cam, that is, the multitude of flies; also the glos seith, that dipsas is a kynde of the leeste serpent, so that it is unnethis perseyued, and he perischith soone, whom euere dipsas bitith.]

      4 ↑ [Note: that is, an eddre that feyneth swetnesse with the heed, but venemeth with the tayl.]

      5 ↑ [Note: that is, an eddre. dipsas is an eddre, that makith hem whom he stinggith to die for thirst.]

      Chapter 9

       Table of Contents

      ¹ Here thou, Israel; thou schalt passe Jordan to dai, that thou welde mooste naciouns, and strengere than thou; grete citees, and wallid `til to heuene;

      ² a greet puple, and hiy; the sones of Enachym, whiche thi silf `siest, and herdist, whiche no man may ayenstonde in the contrarie part.

      ³ Therfor thou schalt wite to dai, that thi Lord God hym silf schal passe bifor thee; he is a fier deuourynge and wastynge, that schal al to breke hem, and schal do awei, and destrie bifor thi face swiftli, as he spak to thee.

      ⁴ Seie thou not in thin herte, whanne thi Lord God hath do hem awey in thi siyt, For my riytfulnesse the Lord brouyte me yn, that Y schulde welde this lond; sithen these naciouns ben doon awey for her wickidnessis.

      ⁵ For not for thi riytfulnessis, and equyte of thin herte thou schalt entre that thou welde the lond `of hem; but for thei diden wickidli, thei weren doon awey, whanne thou entridist, and that the Lord schulde fille his word which he bihiyte vndur an ooth to thi fadris, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

      ⁶ Therfor wite thou that not for thi riytfulnesses thi Lord God yaf to thee this beste lond in to possessioun, sithen thou art a puple of hardeste nol.

      ⁷ Haue thou mynde, and foryete not, hou in the wildirnesse thou terridist thi Lord God to greet wraththe; fro that dai in which thou yedist out of Egipt `til to this place, thou striuedist euere ayens the Lord.

      ⁸ For whi also in Oreb thou terridist hym, and he was wrooth, and wolde do thee awei, whanne Y stiede in to the hil,

      ⁹ that Y schulde take two tablis of stoon, the tablis of couenaunt which the Lord made with you, and Y continuede in the hil fourti daies and nyytis, and Y eet not breed, and Y drank not watir.

      ¹⁰ And the Lord yaf to me, twey tablis of stoon, euer either wrytun with Goddis fyngur, and conteynynge alle the wordis whiche he spak to you in the hil, fro the myddis of the fier, whanne the cumpany of puple was gaderid togidere.

      ¹¹ And whanne fourti daies and so many nyytis hadden passid, the Lord yaf to me twei tablis of stoon, tablis of boond of pees;

      ¹² and he seide to me, Rise thou, and go doun for hennys soone, for thi puple, which thou leddist out of Egipt, han forsake swiftli the weie which thou schewidist to hem, and thei han maad to hem a yotun calf.

      ¹³ And eft the Lord seide to me, `Y se that this puple is of hard nol;

      ¹⁴ suffre thou me, that I alto breke hym, and do awey the name `of hym fro vndur heuene; and Y schal ordeyne thee on a folk which is grettere and strongere than this folk.

      ¹⁵ And whanne Y cam doun fro the hil brennynge, and helde with euer either hond twei tablis of boond of pees, and Y seiy,

      ¹⁶ that ye hadde synned to youre Lord God, and hadden maad to you a yotun calf, and hadden forsake swiftli the weie of God which he schewide to you,

      ¹⁷ Y castide doun the tablis fro myn hondis, and brak tho tablis in youre siyt.

      ¹⁸ And Y felde doun bifor the Lord as `biforto, in fourti daies and fourti nyytis, and Y eet not breed, `and drank not watir, for alle youre synnes whiche ye diden ayens the Lord, and terriden hym to `greet wraththe;

      ¹⁹ for Y dredde the indignacioun and yre of hym, by which he was stirid ayens you, and wolde do you awey. And the Lord herde me also in this tyme.

      ²⁰ Also the Lord was wrooth greteli ayens Aaron, and wolde alto breke hym, and Y preiede in lijk maner for hym.

      ²¹ `Forsothe Y took youre synne which ye maden, that is, the calf, and brente it in fier, and Y alto brak in gobetis, and droof outerli in to dust, and castide forth in to the stronde, that cam doun fro the hil.

      ²² Also in the brennyng, and in the temptacioun at the watris of ayenseiyng, and in the Sepulcris of Coueytise, ye terriden the Lord;

      ²³ and whanne Y sente you fro Cades Barne, and seide, `Stye ye, and welde the lond which Y yaf to you, and ye dispisiden the comaundement of youre Lord God, and ye bileueden not to him, nether ye wolden here his vois;

      ²⁴ but euere ye weren rebel, fro the day in which Y bigan to knowe you.

      ²⁵ And Y lay byfore the Lord fourti daies and fourti nyytis, in whiche Y bisouyte hym mekeli, that he schulde