to speake So for bookes written after the captiuitie past times of bondage where the Samaritanes speach against the Temple-builders is as they spoke it doubtfull Ebrew as We doe not sacrifice or Sacrifice we not there in Loa and Lo the word of the text and margent expound one the oher And againe in Zacharie speaking of Ierusalems destruction womens vsage by souldiers grosse to speake the text telleth the terme to be seene the margent what the holy Spirit would haue read Thus for ciuilitie or facilitie in sense the margent reading is giuen with equall authoritie as the other Moreouer wheras the Prophetes deepe skill that omits the particle Vau that is And in a speach of two members or hath a worde too sharpe for the common sorte in orthography straunge differs in a letter from the vsuall manner the margent hauinge the vsuall sheweth what care the holy Synagogue had that no one syllable should amaze the simple but were all taught from God to couple diligence with easie sense These poinctes some touche euery tounge some onlie Ebrewe grammer where a learned professour would as soone looke to swallowe a camel as to escape blame in vnheedines herein And further off would he be from thinking that Babel caused one letter amisse when Ieremie liued til Ezra was of vnderstaÌ„ding Ezechiel prophecieth vnto thirtie fiue yeares of the captiuitie the exact halfe and Daniel was there all the while the marrowe of Godlines learning witte and wisedome and the wealthiest subiect in the worlde that hee could want no will skill nor abilitie to keepe all scripture which the holy wisdome of God sawe needefull to make vp the body of Ebrewe holy storie Mardochai was next him in time of captiuitie and godlines and an holy Writer as he of equall authoritie in Daniels end of life or aged about 110. yeares he as well with Aggei Zachary Ezra such would haue an eye to the text his soundnesse Wherefore translatours herein fall fouly when they say that Michal is put for Merob or vpon Iude complaine of bookes lost for Enochs speach or Michaels That is a principall poinct to be looked vnto the obseruations wherevpon will lighten eyes to much further sight into Gods worde In this matter the Massorites care should be opened Grammarians of Ebrew sprong from Ezra and long continued who reckoned euerie letter howe often in the holy Ebrewe it came howe ofte wordes of short or full writings were diuersly written where and what strange texts would seeme corruptions to the vnstayed and for Eth and Vau little particles howe often they come together in sort easie to deceyue a copyer without a table of direction such poinctes are a brasen wall to saue froÌ„ doubt of scriptures certeintie and froÌ„ extreeme rashnes that condemne as faultie things of heauenlie synceritie So when we come to translate Achaz king of Israel or Iosaphat king of Israel we should with the Massorites note the strauÌ„genes that Israel is put for Iuda and checke the Rhemist that marking that title in Achaz but not in Iosaphat rageth against the text as though it had bene corrupt and would therevpon drawe vs from Gods worde vnto a Church and to Rome by whose policie Christ was crucified while they runne from mischief to mischief The like care must bee vsed for the newe Testament and more iudgement be cause Christians tooke not the like heede as not being in equall daunger Here we haue committed grosse faultes blaming most learned speaches For example some shalbe brought The holy Ghost in Greeke speaketh thus Iocob dyed in Egypt and the Patriarches they were caried to Sychem And they were put in graue That which Abraham bought for price of mony That from the sonnes of Emor of Sychem Here the Pronowne They the close repetition of the Pronowne That omission of the copulatiue vsuall in Prophetes rare in common speach caused vs to amende the holy text to leaue Iacobs buriall vntold who yet was principal in the narration to say that Abraham was put for Iacob and to falsifie the buying For price of money as though Iacob had bought his plot for money and not for Lambes as the Greeke translation expoundeth Iacobs price Keshita is translated Lambes in the Seuentie whose translation for common wordes the newe Testament checketh not but followeth most exactly infinitely So that we may wel know that Saint Luke writing in Greeke meant the graue that Abraham bought for price of money and that wherein Iacob was buried not that wherein the Patriarkes were buried Whereby there can be no colour that Abraham in the text was put for Iacob but in the whole sentence the Translatours dealing weakened our strength disgraced the grace of holy synceritie That the simple may better vnderstande what I blame you shall haue the translation vsed of vs which marreth the Greeke and the annotations vpon it which condemneth that which God coÌ„mendeth vnto vs. And I hope no man of grace wilbe angrie to haue Scripture cleared nor vexe me any more with graue Fathers If they that blame haue anie grauitie or drop of grace they will wishe all men disgraced rather then one syllable of Gods worde And they who must coÌ„fesse vnskilfulnes shall not doe wel vnlesse they willinglie doe yeeld vnto the trueth and loue the honor of God more then their own and make it plaine vnto the people that the booke which we call the Bible is the Hebrewe for the olde the Greeke for the newe and translations are but so farre as they are true and exact from the originall and without hinderance may and must bee examined by the other yea where they are blamelesse and syncere by the originall their clearenes authoritie must aye be strengthened by the Ebrew Thus the text standeth And Iacob dyed both he and our Fathers and were caried ouer into Sychem layde in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for money of the sonnes of Emor the sonne of Syâ—hem Here appeareth an errour for Abraham seemeth to â—e put in the text in the steede of Iacob for Iacob bought â—he sepulchre of Emor and not Abraham who bought before a fielde of Ephron You see the text and the note which if we all would graunt curraunt then would the papistes earnestlie triumph that we Protestantes confesse the text to be corrupted That will I neuer doe while breadth standeth in my brest I beleeue that I shall soone finde some hundreth thousandes in Englande that wiâ—l no more turne the sword with Stephanas against their owne hart after sight how their case is well if they knew their own good things Saint Stephen speaketh in his most heauenlie oration other wisdome of exact skill yet blamed of great men Vr by him is in Mesopotamia and his deadliest enemie Barbinel doth therein defende him full learnedly but we coÌ„monly seeke qualifications vnartificial whereby a Turke or Iewe would say that we made him but a
lier Can one vndertake to tell a mans age and put 130. yeares for 230. and not lye And if Moses omitted it who knewe it The teacher of Moses was none other but hee which measureth the waters in his fist peiseth the heauens in his spaÌ„ne holdeth all the dust of the earth in an half-pint weigheth the mouÌ„taines in a balance and who could teach him howe to haue instructed Moses better in the waye of knowledge When such perverse crooked notes disannulling that which Gods letters speaketh come before our Bibles as a furtherance of the simple what marveile is it if blinde guides leade the blinde into the ditch Infinite store of such hath the same introduction to the Bible enough to entangle all that beleeue them to make the Bible seeme vnexplicable One gentleman of the North complained to â—e how that paynes entaÌ„gled him Such erroneous paynes â—hould be openly coÌ„demned and not solde but to the learned that can iudge of vntruethes Touching the 230. yeres â—n what daliance with prophane Heathen the 70. feigned not one hundred onely to Adam but 1250. more vnto oâ—hers many vnto Nachor I haue shewed at large in a treatise of Sem or Melchisedek and in my little booke of long paynes â—hewing scripture concent And I iudge this a Translatours â—uetie to shewe the right meaning of old hid doeings whiche by mistaking blame the holy letters An other Table of no lesse poison pretending to reconcile Saint Matthew and Saint Luke is prefixed to the newe Testament in our great Bibles which I blamed in print sharpely and since it hath not bin printed but thousands enough to poison an whole nation were solde afore That table firste denieth in effect six places where Achaziah is father properlie to Ioas while it endeth Salomons house in Ioas casting downe six testimonies of him whose worde made all the frame of nature too stande That table would flee in a storie that needes must speake properly vnto a straunge vse of wordes but comon reason should haue taught that a strange kinde of speach is not often vsed in one and the same matter neither may it be vsed but where the narration was cleared afore Ezra when he penned the Chronicles from the plain story of the Kinges vseth termes in rare elegancie and hard but for the matters familiaritie when he nameth the six thirtie yeres Malcuth Asa when Asa had not passed seauentene in reigne Nowe Malcuth being kingdome or reigne and the time agreeing with six and thirtie yeares from Iudahs kingdome parted away from Ieroboams the matter telleth what Ezra meaned and his round summe from many particulars in a narratioÌ„ knowne had great clearenes Whereas the kings storie might not haue bene penned at the firste so Nowe where in a carefull narration of longe discourse Ioas commeth sonne to Achaziah saued by Achaziahs sister at an yere olde and after a tyranny of sixe yeares at seauen is made king the denying of sonages proprietie here is nothinge lesse then to make a flat lye and for six places of one tenour a sixfold stumbling against the holy Ghost who hath planted in maÌ„ a spirit that should teach him knowledge against which they that striue shalbe condemned of their owne harte In an other place Ezra vseth Ben very elegantly For it signifieth Sonne or Belonging too and that in great varietie So Achaziah is Ben a sonne of twentie two yeares when his father died at fourty Nowe when Ezra shewing how he came of Athaliah the daughter of Omry properly daughter to Achab but he nameth Omry to call the reader to consider his purpose for Omries kingdome whose kingdome at Iorams death stood fourtie two yeares layd downe by manie parcels in the kings often Synarchies when Ezra the learned shewing the troubles of all this kingdome sayth He was Ben of fourty two yeares the terme left his first significatioÌ„ for his vsuall in a trope Affected vnto or Belonging vnto the famous two and forty yeares This dealing in Ezra declared not onely his owne readinesse in the story but also his nationes common readinesse They knewe well that Ezra could not haue from God any authoritie to check Gods former authoritie nor yet to speake any thing but that they might iudge off And doubtles he would speake as they at the first might allowe and the blinde acquainted with the Scripture would not stumble And so the ordinarie Commenter in Ebrew Ralbag playnneth all vpon this Two and twentie yeares old was Achaziahu when he reigned and one yeare raigned he in Ierusalem and his mothers name was Athaliahu the daughter of Amri king of Israel Therevpon Ralbag writeth letters that speake thus 2. King 8.16 Marke that 2. Chr. 22. it is saide Ben of two and fourtie yeres And marke that his count in the Chronicles was not of the birth of Achaziahu but from the time of the arising of the kingdome of Omri And because he was of â—is seede it befell him that he was killed with the king of Israel And thus goeth the summe After thirtie and one yeare of Asa Omri raigned ouer all Israell and raigned after that sixe yeres and Achab his sonne twentie two and Achaizahu two yeares and Ioram â—ame to the twelueth Beholde then the two and fourtie yeares of the kingdome of Achab. And for His mothers name was Athaliahu the daughter of Amri that sheweth the reason of his phrase For she â—as properlie the daughter of Achab. Thus the Rabbine sheweth howe Ezra expoundeth the Kinges storie for Amries daughter being properlie Achabs leauing the propre time as vnmoveable as anie rocke and for memory bringing many parcells to one summe And therein must a Translatour be so fullie settled where propertie can not be altered as carefull to allowe and followe the trueth of the Ebrewe copy And if the Lord tell six times that Ioas the King was sonne to Achaziah tables preteÌ„ding to reconcile Saint Matthew Saint Luke breaking of Salomons house in Achaziahu and bringing Ioas to Nathan though Europe embraced them and our Bibles bare them in their harte afore the holy Gospell yet a sounde Translatour must loth them as a leprosie How circumspectlie we haue done herein wee should consyder to abolishe with publique authoritie our ouersightes and vnskilfulnes mother of lothing all religion Many that finde vs rawe in matters of plaine storie the grounde of all and sett before our eyes will lesse thinke that in matters of collection and plyable affection of argumentes and things of the worlde to come we should be of any sound iudgement And Christians should not be as the Athenians whom Demosthenes taunteth for being like doggs that bite the stone flong at them and not the flinger blaming not the authours of the fault but the tellers what is committed The wise will alwayes loue vnderstanding as the wicked can not abide it This table poysoning all simple that vse it maketh the fathers of our Lorde all these Symeon
me to deale herein But for a Translatour he must be careful in such poinctes where for the maner of the world the Scripture hath termes generall that the vnlearned in tongue and the vnstayed in the groundes wil turne often times into a wrong sense In this sorte the terme Hell thorough the olde Testament should be well looked He that thinketh it euer vsed for Tartaro or Gehenna otherwise theÌ„ the tearme Death may by Synecdoche importe so hath not skill in Ebrewe or that Greeke which breathing and liue Graecia spake if God hath lent me any iudgement that way And who so euer can not cleare the Apostles words by men indifferent as Old Greeks Rabbines such like is vnsetled in his study Saint Peters place in his first Epistle and thirde Chapter affoordeth a good example for heede in places harde Though it belong not properlie to this parte which I handle For he spake so plaine that anie Iewe then or yet aliue would vnderstand him And thus he should be traÌ„slated Christ suffred c. being made dead in the fleash made aliue by the Spirite in which spirit he had gone preached to them that now are spirites in prison because they disobeyed when the time was when the pacience of God once wayted in the dayes of Noe. I assure my selfe that there is not anie learned Iewe in the world nor was since Saint Peters time but would thus vnderstaÌ„d him For all these poinctes are plain with them the Spirit of God Gen. 1.2 Ze Ruho Shel Melech Ha Mashiah· This is the Spirit of Massiah the King So the spirit of God that preached to Noe should be that spirit of Christ whoÌ„ Saint Peter in expouÌ„ding his minde calleth God whose patience wayted Also they haue this most famous howe God long shewed his pacience while â—he Fathers were aliue howe the holy Ghost preached by Noe. and first by Noe since the day of Adams fall day â—f pronouncing the curse vpon the earth telling Noe the â—â—me of Execution and that that generation stroue against â—he spirit of God that God brought vpon them double â—â—aues of water and of Gehennah fier And in the text of â—oth Talmuds this matter is layde as a common article Dor 〈◊〉 mabbul ein lahem chelek le Olam ha-ba The generation â—â—at died in the deluge they haue no hope of blessed porâ—â—on in the world to come Nowe seeing all these positiâ—â—s be true that by the Eternal spirit of Christ his humane â—â—ule came to the body and so it was made aliue and that â—he Eternall spirit is about ten times noted in the Lawe to â—ue gone done whence Saint Peter diuinely taketh the â—â—each of Christe his going in the diuine nature vnto oâ—her as famous matters shewed pacience and brought 〈◊〉 Deluge vpon the worlde voyde of Religion and preaâ—hed not in any man with expresse calling afore Noe and â—herefore his story was the fittest for an example and damneth for euer all that be out from the couenant seeing all this matter is true the proprietie of Saint Peters wordes in their most exactenesse will abide this and the Iewes to whose natioÌ„ he wrote admitted all this and neuer would admit anie other meaning of these his wordes which for matters in visible must be plaine and in graunted senses A learned Translatour who from childhoode should be acquainted with the holy Ebrewe Greeke and for it with all writers for both tongues such a Translatour would be better then many coÌ„menters Saint Peter would acquaint his nation that the Spirit of Christ was in the Prophetes whom they called Iehovah And in a matter of so great weight to translate so that the humane soule of Christe should nowe be meant spirit and that to bee made aliue which dye can not and to take a iourney vnrecorded in the penners of the Gospell and to preach among soules gon hence to Noes age peculiar as hauing disobeyed once but after as better aduised If Saint Peter had anie such meaning in glaunses vndisputed out the scattered Iewes who admit no doctrine but taught in Moses the Prophetes they would haue reiected all the Apostles autoritie But in this place we make cloudes he bred none And in our cloudes we might sooner enable Iob to bring about all propounded by God as aboue his reach as defende Saint Peter against anie Iewe which thing he that can not doe is but a raw Doctor of the newe Testament A man might as soone tell vpon what fouÌ„dation the earth was layde what measure it hath how the Sea was shutt with dores howe it is swadeled with the darke howe to giue the morning his charge and to shewe the day spring his place yea and may as soone open the gates of death and see the dores of the shadowe of death as tell howe Christes humane soule could dye and be made aliue and what sermon he should make enioyned from Moses Elias doctrine or why peculiarlie to men of the fludds age or defende coÌ„stantlie any such thing at all done by Christes humane soule of any conference or speach among the dead And Saint Peter knewe that Moses commaunded to leaue the hid things to Iehovah our God and knew that our Lorde him selfe neuer taught his Disciples to breake that and might not breede leappers ouer the threshell And for this very poinct of our affirming that Christ went to Gehennah the Iewe Isaak Ben Arama who writeth ful excellent things for Christianitie in Shaar 52. vpon Exod. and sheweth that all his nation since Ierusalem fel haue mistaken all the Prophetes and is cited for our side by Munster and Nebiensis vpon Psa 110. he disputing vpon Leuit. 26. for the end of the Lawe and howe all those curses might â—e avoyded sawe no comfort in Iudaisme and then hee â—urneth toward Christianitie but complayneth that wee make Christ descend to Gehenna and to bring out the Faâ—hers thence whereas if we had expounded the suffringes of Messiah which all Rabbines confesse that the Psalmes make them infintie great as the Euangelistes penne them â—olde by our Lordes owne tongue and much perceyued â—y the Disciples such a Rabbine would haue turned maâ—â—e and by such meanes we Christians should haue coueâ—ed infinite many of our sinnes where God would mitiâ—â—te many his punishmentes ouer vs for turninge sinners â—nto the right way I wishe all that loue the trueth to trye â—his proposition None that knowe absolutely as a profesâ—our of Ebrewe and Greeke should the holy phrases of â—cripture Sheol and Haides Gehennah and Tartarus and whence Paradise for Heauen and when it began as THE WORLD to come no Linguist a true Linguist meting with his match to be tried by authours indifferent as the Disciples spake and wrote will defende that any one syllable in scripture doth so much as euer glaunse that Christ descended to Gehenna Here in such poinctes a translation bearing on the same page the original Ebrew for the Olde
with all Massorites clearing of the text the Greeke for the Newe with declaration from what kinde of writers euery member of sentence is fetched and made according to them by one that hath his eyes in his head and the spirit of Elihu in Iob such a translation in one word would calme all waues The Aethyopian translation may be an example vppon Saint Peters place whiche hath for Spirit Manphes Kades the Spirit Holy The plaine Aethyopians among whom manie Iewes dwelt shewe that they neuer staggered there By such two wordes in a margent note all strife would cease So in the Psalme 110. The Greekes translated diuinely From the wombe before the morning starre haue I begotten thee The Ebrewe was hard of purpose and the Greeke Translatours doe shewe their great diuinitie I would herein follow them either in the text or lay them downe as paraphrastes in the margent For their authoritie for diuinitie is next the vndoubted Prophetes and Apostles Though for their difference from the Ebrew accented vowelled sounde in euerie piece of letter so neare it must bee examined millions of poinctes which entangled vs must bee consydered And now I haue handled largely three poinctes of eight wherin we must confesse oversightes whiche for a dry causie bring vs to quabbemyres and we may not refuse amendment for feare as some haue spoken in effect least men will say we had no way at all heretofore This obiection was made Men will say that we had no Bible heretofore if we nowe amende It may be learnedly disputed whether they be men that so speake For they that reade the Bibles translation of ours best knowe by their owne experience where they sticke faste and these gainsayers shewe that they neuer read the Bible and men of such humours are not to be counted men of worth in tongue and they that plaspheme the certeintie of Gods worde so pure so wise so watchfully kept little knowe what they doe in so weighty a cause they iniurie autoritie wheÌ„ they hinder â—he publike good But this labor should haue a milde style â—o winne all to a good worke Yet thus much I dare saye that right not might skill not will paynes not gaynes should beare sway for that booke which the Greke terme â—alleth Booke Bible in Greeke is booke as being the only â—ooke of all bookes as all being bables in respect of it that â—nlearned babling may not be thrust vnto it but such as hath crept in must be taken out Nowe for the fourth â—â—inct Termes of Equivocation witty in the speaker for â—â—miliar and easie matters howe they must be looked vnâ—â— that a Translatour drawe them not to foolishe and ridiâ—ulous senses In this sense Moses sayde Seth named his â—ine Sorrowfull Enosh Then sprang prophanesse Concerninge â—lling vpon the name of the Eternall Thus he proceedeth to â—â—we howe mans wickednes hastened the curse which â—od pronounced vpon the earth And wheras he taught â—â—e Gospell and prayer to God closely because the wicâ—â—d would neuer vnderstande but skoph if it had bene at â—ge tolde he teacheth the fall away as closelie Ebrewes â—â—ry many rightly vnderstood Moses and Kimchâ— the â—â—mmon recorder equall vnto a thousande and Latines â—â—anie But dog Iewes who would not haue Christ Reâ—eemer and espye our strength they rebell against the â—â—ght As Aben ezra with others of like rancour Herein â— marueill why Tremelius hauing done well was altered marred after his death As likewise in Daniel 9.24 23. I could wishe him restored to his former goodnes Nowe we vpon Gen. 4.26 say Then men began to make invocation in the name of the Lorde But Moses expoundeth him selfe Ch. 6.1 the Cha. 5. is but a parenthesis in the narration and sheweth when men began to bee multiplied God sawe that their malice was great And that is the reason why our father Seth termed his sonne Enosh Sorowfull It had bene senselesse to call him sorrowfull vpon calling on Gods name Nowe the Prophetes call Man Enosh still expounding the text So that a corruption of it greeueth all the rest An other example of this kinde I will bring from the newe Testament Mary Magdalene had that affection towardes Christ which euery full faithfull soule hath in the Canticles When she was a litle past the watchmen she founde him whom her soule loued shee layde holde vpon him as not willing to let him goe Our Lord sayeth cleaue not to me or fasten not so on me I doe not yet presently ascend The holy and wise Euangelist left out her action to bee gathered by our Lorde his speach So Daniel omitted his hinderaÌ„ce of Nebycadiozor to worship him for modestie and by the sequele doeth teach it Any wise may see that Iohn did the like in omission of the womans hartie gesture And our Bishops notes learnedlie shewe that For thus they speake vpon Ioh. 20.17 Hereby Christ correcteth her carnal affection looking too much to his bodily presence and therefore he pulled her from outward externe offices towardes his bodily presence and willed her to bee mindfull of his ascention The translation of the text is senselesse Touche me not for I am not yet ascended vnto my Father Euery linguist will coÌ„fesse that two grosse faultes are here committed For the Greeke Verbe of touching is such as timber workes fastened touche and is To fasten vnto to be ioyned vnto And so Saint Paul doeth vse it sayinge It is good for a man not to touche a woman that is not to bee fastened by mariage as one And so Haphe a substantiue of this verbe is traÌ„slated a ioint Ephe. 4.16 This was a grosse ouersight not to cleare the equiuocation And some who haue a minde to Descend to Gehennah and can not abide that Christes soule should goe to Paradise as the theefe beleeued it should and as all Iewes would sweare his wordes ought to meane haue cited this text against that â—s though Christ spake of his soules ascention denying it ascention where all soules that euer were ascend to Gods iudgement The speach folowing sheweth that our Lord â—â—ake of his bodyes ascention Nowe for the terme in the Greeke ill translated I am not ascended all of Ebrew studie knowe that the tense Abar is vsed infinitelie for a time not past but quickly to come And the Greekes Eusebius â—â—ocopius and such note that but the Doctours of Ebrew â—kill euen to their Babes so plaine it is Nowe our Lorde â—â—ake all in Syriaque Ebrew sauing the reuelation And his phrase vttered after the resurrection sheweth that â—hich thing Iohn would expresse in Greeke but for vs it â—ould be I doe not yet presently ascende â— stande the more vpon this matter for that a scholler of â—â—asonable good accounpt in speach for one of you Noâ—es Psa 16. wher you meant Scheol the world of the dead â—ere he sayd he would burne in this opinion that Christ â—â—scended to Hell meaning Gehenna hell I
would not â—â—ish him to stand to his wordes One is ready to bring â—gainst him Millia quot magnis nunquam venâ—re Mycaenis I will defende Bucers bones of Doctrine that they are â—urified with the fyer of iudgement against any that will disturbe them in our nation for Psal 16. and Act. 2. But I must returne to translating where two grosse faults in one short speach stayne much the glory of Gods worde Because it was an Herculean labour at Augaeas stable to toyle in this part I noted about three score chapters of Esay Ecclesiastes and others with lines what I blamed in this kinde and sent them to an whole nation to be looked vnto and will here lay down an Epistle written afore vnto me from them by the consent of their most Noble King for that kinde of studie which I felt paynefull costly now thirtie yeares though some of ours despise it and for their resolutioÌ„ to haue this worke to goe forward Thus it speaketh written by one speciall learned Scholer I thanke God who hath moued your heart guid Syr to communicate with vs alwayes your most godlie learned trauells whereby the best of iudgement and most coÌ„summate in learning amangs vs findes tham selues not a little both profited and delighted The word of your Translation here moued ane verie earnest desire of all efter it I haue shewed your affection and maide report of all the guid thinges you did concredit to the bearer to the noble GentlemaÌ„ you wrote of which were al most gladlie accepted So that you may perswade your selfe if you resolue to come in this countrey you shalbe hartily wealcome to him and to vs all most expected wishing earnestly our Inne war worthie of such a ghast In the meane time we all doe most hartilie thanke you and imbreath you in the Lord Iesus From Edingbrouche the xx of Nouember 1596. Your oblised friend I.M. This kind letter would not be forgotten specially of me so much beholdeÌ„ to the nation and much more then yet I haue shewed which nowe I can not stande vpon But I must returne to the foresaid traÌ„slation yet I must not hope to bringe in this kinde where all will runne in one sorte examples one of a thousand that I might where the Prophetes short speaches to stirre diligence are by vs turned from Christ to Belial from vertue to sinne froÌ„ the temple of God to peors religion as if thou hate her put her away I will shewe anone howe it fell out that so many errours grewe the cause wherof they that be in them I am afraid doe little knowe And thus much for the fourth poinct that termes of Equivocation bee not turned to ridiculous senses wherein we haue committed many offences but not more nor nothing so many as the vulgar Latin The next poinct that I am to handle is most pleasaunt and the missing in it argueth not want of learning but of leasure â—t conteyneth constant memorie to translate the same often repeated in the same sorte and the differing repetitions likewise with their differences Moses termes bee repeated infinitely in all the Prophetes The Psalmist foloweth Deborah much in the very letters and Salomon much â—is fathers sayinges though in much againe he is in style â—â—raunge as hauing much conference with Easterne Phiâ—osophers So in Ecclesiastes he differeth in style from all â—ob is also in his very letters cited very much of Dauid Saloâ—on and the Heard-man of Tekoah who beginneth with the End of Ioel. Esay likewise hath as Ioel this swete terrible saying Ce shod myshaddai iabo Shewing how he honoâ—ed the spirite which spake in him Micha doeth honor him â—â— much and more who copyed out a great number of â—â—nes from Esai with very little change And Ieremy folowâ—th him so notably later by seauentie yeares that in long â—lusions of Pachadh Pachath and Pach as feare care snare â—â—â—en tossed in the sentence he solemnizeth his very Letâ—rs shewing with all how that which Esay teld they felt 〈◊〉 in Taaniah and Aniah bewayling and wayling Esay proâ—hecyed Ieremy recorded both to Iudah So for Moab he â—ath Esaies eloquence and Abakuks very syllables for Babel So Abakuk too hath Esaies for the knowledge of God covering as water doth in the Sea so Micha the seconde beginneth with that straunge Grammer and letters of Micha the first Heare ô ye people all they The Ebrewes chaunge the pronownes sodenly now and theÌ„ as the two Michahs doe ô YEE and all THEY Nowe the vsing of the same syllables biddeth to looke vnto the same euent Micha sonne of Imlah proued true in Achab and the fall of Israel for the time theÌ„ though foure hundreth false prophetes thought and taught otherwise So should the Iewes thinke of Micha the Morasthite that his wordes would prooue equally true But to holde on Abakuk entitleth him selfe a Prophete Aggei and Zachary doe the same none I trow but they three The reasons be weightie And Daniel is a wonderfull gracious man for all thinges And in noble sort for this for calling by one skilfull worde whole stories to be compared togither By the worde Tippaghem was Troubled vsed onely afore in Pharaohs spirite placed again in Nauocodrosors he calleth into minde Pharaoh his Chartummim or coniurers Ioseph and infinite comparisons with Nauocodrosor his Chartummim and Daniel yea the whole stories for both kingdomes are called into mynde by one worde Be-hammered the worde properly signifieth But how so euer it should be translated in the margent of the later from the first it should be noted So wheÌ„ he prayseth God as dwelling in light that none can come too which thing God handleth in Iob in speaches reaching through the frame of nature Daniel vseth a phrase vsed onely of God Iadagh Binah to knowe vnderstanding teachinge thereby howe he that will may prooue true his saying of Gods wisedome from Gods owne declaration of it a peculiar longe speach vsed of purpose in that argument So Mauz the name of might and almighty vsed of Dauid Salomon Esai Nahum Ezekiel with attribes commonly of rock life saluation and such So in Daniel in the plurall number incresing the force Maüzim and the temple is called the sanctuarie of Maüz and fortes of Mauzim wherein while the Seauentie hid their minde an errour intollerable came in in Dan. 11. which thus should stand As for the God Maüzim that is almightie in his place he shall worship yea a God shall he worship whom his fathers knewe not and he shall cause the holdes or fortes of Maüzim to haue a straunge God Here the Angel comfortes the Iewes against Antiochus strength by the very name of God twise laying attributes of the Temple to cleare the speach But I may not tary in Daniel Nehemias repeateth that terme in honour of Daniel memorie of him But of all Ezra is most herein whose whole worke of the Chronicles is infinite much in the very