vnderstandyng couenaunt breakers without naturall affection truice breakers vnmercyfull 32 The whiche knowyng the righteousnes of God howe that they which commit such thynges are worthy of death not only do the same but also haue pleasure in them that do them ¶ The .ij. Chapter 1 Gods iudgement vpon the hypocrites 12 Ignoraunce excuseth not 13 All men are sinners 15 The Gentiles by their conscience 17 the Iewes by their lawe 1 THerefore art thou inexcusable O mā whosoeuer thou be that iudgest For in that same wherin thou iudgest another thou condempnest thy self For thou that iudgest doest euen y e selfe same thynges 2 But we are sure that the iudgement of god is according to the trueth against them which commit such thynges 3 Thinkest thou this O thou man that iudgest them whiche do such thynges and doest the same thy selfe that thou shalt escape the iudgement of God 4 Eyther despisest thou the rychesse of his goodnes pacience and long sufferaunce not knowyng that the kyndnesse of god leadeth thee to repentaūce 5 But thou after thy stubbernnesse and heart that can not repent heapest vnto thy selfe wrath agaynst the daye of wrath and declaration of the righteous iudgement of God 6 Which wyl rewarde euery man accordyng to his deedes 7 To them whiche by continuyng in well doyng seke for glorie and honour and immortalitie eternall lyfe 8 But vnto them that are contentious that do not obey the trueth but obey vnrighteousnes shall come indignation and wrath 9 Tribulation and anguishe vpon euery soule of man that doeth euyll of the Iewe first and also of the Greke 10 But glorie and honour and peace to euery man that doeth good to y e Iewe first and also to the Greke 11 For there is no respect of persōs with God 12 For whosoeuer hath sinned without lawe shall also perishe without lawe And as many as haue sinned in y e lawe shal be iudged by the lawe 13 For in the sight of God they are not righteous whiche heare the lawe but the doers of the lawe shal be iustified 14 For when the Gentiles which haue not the lawe do of nature the thynges conteyned in the lawe they hauing not the lawe are a lawe vnto them selues 15 Which shewe the workes of the lawe written in their heartes their conscience bearing them witnesse their thoughtes accusyng one another or excusyng 16 At the day when God shall iudge the secretes of men by Iesus Christe accordyng to my Gospell 17 Behold * thou art called a Iewe and restest in the lawe and makest thy boast of God 18 And knowest his wyll and alowest the thinges that be excellent infourmed by the lawe 19 And beleuest that thou thy selfe art a guyde of the blynde a lyght of them which are in darknesse 20 An infourmer of them whiche lacke discretion a teacher of the vnlearned which hast the fourme of knowledge of the trueth in the lawe 21 Thou therefore which teachest another teachest not thy selfe Thou preachest a man shoulde not steale yet thou stealest 22 Thou that sayest a man shoulde not commit adulterie breakest wedlocke Thou abhorrest idoles and yet robbest God of his honour 23 Thou that makest thy boast of y e lawe through breakyng the lawe dishonorest God 24 For the name of God is euyll spoken of among the Gentiles through you As it is written 25 For circumcision veryly auayleth yf thou kepe the lawe But yf thou be a breaker of the lawe thy circumcision is made vncircumcision 26 Therefore if the vncircumcisiō kepe the ordinaunces of the law shall not his vncircumcisiō be counted for circumcisiō 27 And shall not vncircumcision which is by nature if it kepe the law iudge thee which beyng vnder the letter circumcision doest transgresse the lawe 28 For he is not a Iewe whiche is a Iewe outwarde Neither is that circūcision which is outwarde in the fleshe 29 But he is a Iewe whiche is one inwardly and the circumcisiō of y e heart which consisteth in the spirite and not in the letter is circumcision whose prayse is not of men but of God ¶ The .iij. Chapter 1 The Iewes haue a prerogatiue 10 The Iewes and Gentiles be both sinners 21 All are iustified by grace through fayth and not through workes 1 WHAT preferment then hath y e Iew or what auauntageth circumcision 2 Much euery way First for because y t vnto them were committed y e wordes of God 3 What then though some of them dyd not beleue * Shal their vnbeliefe make the fayth of God without effect 4 God forbyd Yea let God be true and euery man a lyer as it is writtē That thou myghtest be iustified in thy sayinges and ouercome when thou art iudged 5 But yf our vnrighteousnes setteth foorth the righteousnes of God what shall we saye Is God vnryghteous which taketh vengeaunce I speake after the maner of men 6 God forbyd For howe then shall God iudge the worlde 7 For yf the trueth of God hath more abounded through my lye vnto his glory why am I as yet iudged as a sinner 8 And not rather as men speake euyll of vs and as some affirme that we say let vs do euyll that good may come therof Whose dampnation is iuste 9 What then Are we better then they No in no wise For we haue alredy proued howe that both Iewes and Gentiles are all vnder sinne 10 As it is written There is none righteous no not one 11 There is none that vnderstandeth there is none that seketh after God 12 They are all gone out of the waye they are all vnprofitable there is none that doth good no not one 13 Their throte is an open sepulchre with their tongues they haue deceaued the poysō of aspes is vnder their lippes 14 Whose mouth is full of cursyng and bytternesse 15 Their feete are swyft to shed blood 16 Heartes griefe miserie are in their wayes 17 And the◠way of peace haue they not knowen 18 There is no feare of God before their eyes 19 ☞ Nowe we knowe that what thynges so euer the lawe saith it saith it to them which are vnder the lawe That all mouthes maye be stopped and that al y e world may be indaungered to God 20 Because that by the deedes of the lawe there shall no flesshe be iustified in his syght For by the lawe commeth the knowledge of sinne 21 But nowe is the righteousnes of God declared without the lawe beyng witnessed by the testimonie of the lawe and of the prophetes 22 The ryghteousnes of God commeth by the fayth of Iesus Christe vnto all and vpon all them that beleue There is no difference 23 For all haue synned and are destitute of the glorie of God 24 Iustified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christe Iesu 25 Whom God hath set foorth to
not his wayes 24 But his lawe haue they despised and denied his promises in his statutes and ordinaunces haue they not ben faythful and stedfast and haue not perfourmed his workes 25 And therefore Esdras for the emptie are the emptie thinges and for the full are the full thinges 26 Beholde the tyme shall come that these tokens whiche I haue tolde thee shall come to passe and the bryde shall appeare and she comming foorth shal be seene that nowe is vnder the earth 27 And whosoeuer is deliuered from the foresayde euils shall see my wonders 28 For my sonne Iesus shal be openly declared with those that be with him and they that remayne shal be merie within foure hundred yeres 29 After these same yeres shall my sonne Christe dye and all men that haue life 30 And the world shal be turned into the olde scilence seuen dayes like as in the foreiudgementes so that no man shall remayne 31 And after seuen dayes the world that yet awaketh not shal be raysed vp and that shall dye that is corrupt 32 And the earth shall restore those that haue slept in her and so shall the dust those that dwell therein in scilence and the secrete places shall deliuer those the soules that were committed vnto them 33 And the most highest shal be openly declared vpon the seate of iudgement all miserie shall vanishe away and long suffering shal be gathered together 34 But the iudgement shall continue the trueth shall remayne and fayth shall waxe strong 35 The worke shall folowe and the rewarde shal be shewed the righteousnesse shall watch and the vnrighteousnesse shall beare no rule 26 Then sayd I Abraham prayed first for the Sodomites and Moyses for the fathers that sinned in the wyldernesse 37 And they that came after him for Israel in the time of Achas and Samuel 38 And Dauid for the destruction and Solomon for them that came into the sanctuarie 39 And Helias for those that receaued rayne for the dead that he might liue 40 And Ezechias for the people in the time of Sennacherib and diuers other in like maner whiche haue prayed for many 41 Euen so now seing the corrupt is growen vp and wickednesse increased and the righteous haue prayed for y e vngodly wherfore shall it not be so nowe also 42 He aunswered me and sayde This present life is not the ende oft times honour is retayned in it therefore haue they prayed for the weake 43 But the day of doome shal be the ende of this tyme and the beginning of the immortalitie for to come wherein all corruption shal be vanished 44 Intemperauncie shal be loosed infidelitie be cut of righteousnesse growe and the veritie spring vp 45 Then shall no man be able to saue hym that is destroyed nor to oppresse hym that hath gotten the victorie 46 I aunswered then and sayd This is my first and last saying that it had ben better not to haue geuen the earth vnto Adam or els when it was geuen hym to haue kept hym that he shoulde not haue sinned 47 For what profite is it for men nowe in this present time to liue in heauines and after death to looke for punishment 48 O thou Adam what hast thou done For though it was thou that sinned thou art not fallen alone but we all that come of thee 49 For what profite is it vnto vs if there be promised vs an immortall tyme where as we do the workes that bryng death 50 And that there is promised vs an euerlasting hope where as our selues are euyll and vayne 51 And that there are layde vp for vs dwellinges of health and safetie where as we haue liued wickedly 52 And that the glory of the highest is kept to defende them which haue led a pacient life where as we haue walked in the most wicked wayes of all 53 And that there shal be shewed a paradise whose fruite endureth for euer wherein is freedome and medicine whereas we shall not go in 54 For we haue walked in vnpleasaunt places 55 And that the faces of them whiche haue abstayned shall shine aboue the starres whereas our faces shal be blacker then darknesse 56 For whyle we liued and dyd vnrighteously we considered not that we shoulde suffer therfore after death 57 Then aunswered he me and sayde This is the maner of the battayle which man that is borne vpon the earth shall fight 58 That if he be ouercome he shall suffer as thou hast sayd But if he get the victorie he shal receaue y e thing that I say 59 For this is the life whereof Moyses spake vnto the people whyle he liued saying Choose thee lyfe that thou mayest liue 60 Neuerthelesse they beleued hym not neither the prophetes after hym no nor me whiche haue sayde vnto them 61 That heauinesse should not so be vnto their destruction like as ioy is for to come ouer those that haue suffred thē selues to be enfourmed in saluation 62 I aunswered then and sayd I know Lorde that the highest is called mercyfull in that he hath mercy vpon them whiche are not yet come vnto that worlde 63 And vpon those also that walke in his lawe 64 And that he is pacient for he long suffreth those that haue sinned as his creatures 65 And that he is liberall to geue where as it requireth 66 And that he is of great mercie for he passeth in mercy much both those that are present and that are paste and also them whiche are for to come 67 For if he multiplied not his mercies the worlde coulde not continue his beyng with those that haue inheritaunces therein 68 He geueth also for if he gaue not of his goodnesse that they whiche haue done euyll myght be eased from their wickednesse the ten thousandth part of men should not remayne liuing 69 And if he beyng iudge forgaue not those that be healed with his worde and toke not away the multitude of contentions 70 There should be very fewe left peraduenture in an innumerable multitude ¶ The .viij. Chapter 1 The number of the godly is small 6 The workes of God are excellent 20 Esdras prayer for hym and his people 39 The promise of saluation to the iust 55 The destruction of the vniust 1 ANd he aunswered me saying The most hyest made this world for many but the worlde to come for fewe 2 I wyll tell thee a similitude Esdras As when thou askest the earth it shall say vnto thee that it geueth much moulde wherof earthen vessels are made but litle of it that golde commeth of Euen so is it with the worke of this worlde 3 There be many created but fewe shal be saued 4 Then aunswered I and sayd Then swalowe vp the wit O my soule and deuour the vnderstanding 5 For thou art agreed to hearken and to geue care and wyllyng to prophecie for thou hast no longer space but this
poore 6 This he sayde not that he cared for the poore but because he was a thiefe and had the bagge and bare that which was geuen 7 Then sayde Iesus Let her alone agaynst the day of my burying hath she kept this 8 For the poore alwayes shall ye haue with you but me haue ye not alwayes 9 Much people of the Iewes therfore had knowledge that he was there And they came not for Iesus sake only but that they might se Lazarus also whoÌ„ he raysed from death 10 But the hye priestes helde a councell that they myght put Lazarus to death also 11 Because that for his sake many of the Iewes went away and beleued on Iesus ☜ 12 On the next day much people that were come to y e feast when they hearde that Iesus should come to Hierusalem 13 Toke braunches of paulme trees and went foorth to meete hym and cryed Hosanna blessed is he that in the name of the Lorde commeth kyng of Israel 14 And Iesus got a young Asse and sate theron as it is written 15 Feare not daughter of Sion beholde thy kyng commeth sittyng on an Asses colte 16 These thynges vnderstoode not his disciples at the first but when Iesus was glorified theÌ„ remembred they that such thinges were written of him that such thynges they had done vnto hym 17 The people that was with him when he called Lazarus out of his graue and raysed hym from death bare recorde 18 Therfore met hym the people also because they hearde that he had done such a miracle 19 The pharisees therfore sayde among them selues perceaue ye howe ye preuayle nothyng Beholde all the whole worlde goeth after hym 20 There were certaine Grekes among them that came to worship at the feast 21 The same came therefore to Philip which was of Bethsaida a citie of Galilee and desired hym saying Syr we woulde fayne see Iesus 22 Philip came and tolde Andrewe And agayne Andrewe Philip tolde Iesus 23 And Iesus aunswered them saying The houre is come that the sonne of man must be glorified 24 ☞ Veryly veryly I say vnto you except the wheate corne fall into the grounde and dye it abideth alone If it dye it bryngeth foorth much fruite 25 He that loueth his lyfe shall destroy it and he that hateth his lyfe in this worlde shall kepe it vnto lyfe eternall 26 If any man minister vnto me let hym folowe me And where I am there shall also my minister be If any man minister vnto me hym wyll my father honour ☜ 27 Nowe is my soule troubled and what shall I say Father saue me from this houre but therfore came I into this houre 28 Father glorifie thy name Then came there a voyce from heauen â—saying I haue both glorified it and wyll glorifie it agayne 29 The people therfore that sâ—oode by and hearde it sayde that it thundred Other sayde an Angel spake to hym 30 Iesus aunswered and sayde This voyce came not because of me but for your sakes 31 ☞ Nowe is the iudgement of this worlde Nowe shall the prince of this worlde be cast out 32 And I yf I were lyft vp from the earth wyll drawe all men vnto me 33 This he sayde signifiyng what death he shoulde dye 34 The people aunswered him We haue hearde out of the lawe that Christe bydeth euer and howe sayest thou the sonne of man must be lyft vp Who is that sonne of man 35 Then Iesus sayde vnto them Yet a litle while is the light with you Walke while ye haue light lest the darknesse come on you For he that walketh in the darke wotteth not whither he goeth 36 Whyle ye haue lyght beleue on the lyght that ye may be the chyldren of the lyght ☜ These thynges spake Iesus and departed hyd hym selfe from theÌ„ 37 But though he had done so many miracles before them yet beleued not they on hym 38 That the saying of Esaias the prophete myght be fulfylled which he spake Lorde who shall beleue our saying And to whom is the arme of the Lorde declared 39 Therfore coulde they not beleue because that Esaias sayth agayne 40 He hath blynded their eyes and hardened their heart that they shoulde not see with their eyes lest they should vnderstande with their hearte should be conuerted and I should heale them 41 Such thynges sayde Esaias when he sawe his glory and spake of hym 42 Neuerthelesse among y e chiefe rulers also many beleued on hym But because of the pharisees they dyd not confesse hym lest they should be excoÌ„municate 43 For they loued the prayse of men more then the prayse of God 44 Iesus cryed and sayde He that beleueth on me beleueth not on me but on hym that sent me 45 And he that seeth me seeth hym that sent me 46 ☞ I am come a lyght into y e worlde that whosoeuer beleueth on me should not byde in darknesse 47 And yf any man heare my wordes and beleue not I iudge hym not For I came not to iudge the worlde but to saue the worlde 48 He that refuseth me receaueth not my wordes hath one that iudgeth him The worde that I haue spoken the same shall iudge hym in the last day 49 For I haue not spoken of my selfe but the father which sent me he gaue me a commaundement what I should say and what I shoulde speake 50 And I knowe that his commaundement is lyfe euerlastyng Whatsoeuer I speake therfore euen as the father bad me so I speake ☜ ⧠The .xiij. Chapter 5 Christe wassheth the Apostles feete 8 Peter refuseth to be wasshed but afterwarde consenteth 1â— The Apostles are cleane 13 Christe Lorde and Maister 14 Exhortyng to humilitie and charitie 26 Christe sheweth who shall betray hym 27 Satan entreth into Iudas 30 He goeth out to the pharisees 34 Christe exhorteth y e disciples to loue 35 Wherby Christes disciples are knowen 38 He forewarneth Peters denyall 1 BEfore the feast of the Passouer when Iesus knewe that his houre was come y t he shoulde departe out of this world vnto the father When he loued his which were in the world vnto the ende he loued them 2 And when supper was ended after that the deuyll had put in the heart of Iudas Iscariot Simons sonne to betray hym 3 Iesus knowyng that the father had geuen all thynges into his handes and that he was come from God and went to God 4 He rose from supper and layde asyde his vpper garmentes And when he had taken a towel he gyrded hym selfe 5 After that he powred water into a bason and began to washe the disciples feete and to wype them with the towel wherwith he was gyrded 6 Then came he to Simon Peter And Peter sayde vnto hym Lorde doest thou wasshe my feete 7 Iesus aunswered sayde vnto hym What I do thou wotest not nowe but thou shalt knowe