vpon hym to raygne in his steade Nahas was King of the Ammonites And as hys predecessours afore tyme had made a claime to the lande of Israel so he now purposing the same went and besieged the Citie of Iabes in Gilead And when the men of Iabes perceyued themselues in great daunger of theyr lyues they desired the King to make a couenaunt with them and they woulde be his seruaunts Then sayde Nahas If yée will suffer mée to thrust out all your right eyes to bring Israel to shame I shal be content to make peace with you Then sayde they Giue vs respite seuen dayes and if none doe come to helpe vs in that space we will come out vnto thée Then Nahas thinking that none burst come to ayde them agaynst him graunted their request Vpon the which they sent messengers into all the coastes of Israel which newes was so heauy tydinges to them that they fell a wéeping And as they were mourning and lamenting their case it chaunced Saule by the prouidence of God to come out of the fielde following the Cattell And beholding the people what a doe they made he demaunded wherefore they mourned And when they had tolde hym the tydinges of the men of Iabes his heart was so mooued by the spirit of God that he tooke out twoo of his Oxen and hewed them in péeces and sent them thorowe all the coasts of Israel saying whosoeuer commeth not foorth after Saule and Samuel so shall his Oxen be serued And the people were stricken in such a feare that they came out to Saule as they had béene but one man to the number of thrée hundred thousande of Israel beside thirtie thousand of the men of Iuda And then Saule sent woorde by the messengers to the men of Iabes that the next morrowe they shoulde haue helpe They being glad of that sent woorde vnto Nahas saying To morow we will come foorth vnto you and yée shall doe vnto vs whatsoeuer pleaseth you And so on the morow Saule came vpon the Ammonites and slue them Nahor when he was nyne an twentie yeares of age begot Terah And lyued after he had begotten him an hundred and twentie yeares Naomy was the wyfe of a certayne man called Elimelech dwelling in the lande of Iuda in a Citie called Bethleem And for bycause of the present dearth which was ouer all the lande of Iuda She went with hir husbande and hir twoo sonnes into the Countrey of Moab to sogeourne Where in processe hir husbande died And hir twoo sonnes being maryed to twoo of the Moabitishe Damosels dyed there also So that Naomy which had dwelt in the lande of Moab ten yeares was left desolate both of hir husbande of hir sonnes Then Naomy hearing how the Lorde had visited hir countrey agayne with plentie retourned from Moab homewardes agayne hir twoo daughters in lawe bringing hir on the waye And when she saw they had gone a good way with hir coueted not to retourne she sayde vnto them Go nowe my Daughters and returne eche of you vnto your mothers house and the Lorde deale as kindlye with you as yée haue delt with the deadde and with mée And the Lorde giue you that yée maye finde rest eyther of you in the house of hir husbande and so kyssed them to haue bid them farewell But when she sawe that they would not depart from hir she sayde vnto them agayne Returne my Daughters I praye you for what cause will yée go with mée Are there any mo children within my wombe to be your husbands Turne agayne therefore I say for I am to olde to haue an husbande And if I dyd take one this night and had all ready borne children woulde yée tary for them tyll they were growne and refrayne from taking husbandes so long Not so my daughters it grieueth mée much for your sakes that the hande of the Lord is gone out agaynst mée Then they wept all togithers and Orpha kyssed hir mother in lawe and returned into hir owne lande agayne but Ruth abode still And so when they came to Bethleem Iuda which was about the beginning of Barley harnest the women which saw Naomy sayde Is not this Naomy Nay sayde she call me not Naomy which is as much to say as bewtyfull but call me Mara that is to saye bitter for the Almightie God hath made mée verye bitter I went out full and the Lorde hath brought mée agayne emptie why then call yée mée Naomy séeing the Lorde hath humbled mée and the Almightie hath brought mée vnto aduersitie And so Naomy remayned in Bethleem Iuda where or it were long God gaue hir a Sonne by the wombe of Ruth hir daughter in lawa who was maryed to Boos a kinsman of Naomyes which Childe being borne the women sayde vnto Naomy Blessed be the Lorde the which hath not left thée without a kinsman to haue a name in Israel and that shall bring thy lyfe agayne and cherishe thyne olde age for thy daughter in lawe which loueth thée hath borne vnto hym and she is better vnto thée than seuen sonnes And Naomy tooke the Childe and layed it in hir lap and became nurse vnto it being glad that a sonne was borne vnto hir in hir olde dayes Nathan the Prophet what tyme as King Dauid was minded to buylde God an house to dwell in was sent of the Lorde to forbid him not to meddle withall for Salomon his sonne shoulde doe it Agayne what tyme as Dauid had committed adultery with Vrias wife Nathan came to hym and sayde There were twoo men in one Citie the one riche and the other poore The riche man had excéeding many shéepe and Oxen but the poore had none at all saue one little Shéepe which hée had bought and nâ—urished vp And it grew vp with him and with his Children also and did eate of hys owne meate and drancke of his owne Cuppe and slept in his bosome And was vnto him as his daughter Nowe there came a straunger vnto the rich man who refused to take of his owne shéepe and Oxen to dresse for the straunger but tooke the poore mans shéepe dressed it for the man that was come to hym Then Dauid was excéeding wroth with the man and sayde As surely as the Lord lyueth he that hath done this is the Childe of death He shall restore the lambe foure folde bycause he dyd it without pittie Then sayde the Prophet thou art the same man thus sayth the Lord God of Israel I annointed thée king ouer Israel and deliuered thée out of the hands of Saule and gaue thée thy Lordes house and his wyues into thy bosome and gaue thée the house of Israel and Iuda and woulde if that had béene to little haue giuen thée much more Wherefore then hast thou despised the commaundement of the lord to do euil in his sight Thou hast kilde Urias the Hethite with the swoorde hast taken his wife to be thy wyfe and
prisoners with me which are well taken among the Apostles and were in Christ before me Aner Mamre and Eschol were thrée brethren which when Lot was taken Prisoner among the Sodomites and caried away by Kadorlaomor and other Kinges that tooke his part ioyned themselues with Abraham in the rescuing of Lot his brothers sonne for the which their faithfull assistance at that present Abraham delt liberallye with them in the parting of the spoyle wonne at that voyage Anna the wyfe of Elkana was long barrayne and without childe which barrainnesse hir companion and Mate Phenenna did daily cast in hir téeth to hir great reproche Wherefore Anna was so full of heauinesse that God had made hir such a rayling stocke that she coulde eate no meate And being thus tormented and troubled in hir minde she gat hir into the Temple making there hir hearty prayers to God to giue hir a man chylde And as she prayed it fortuned Eli the Priest as he sate in the Temple to marke hir mouth and perceyuing hir lippes to mooue and no voyce hearde thought she had bene drunken saying Thou woman how long wilt thou be drunken put awaye thy drunkennesse from thée Nay my Lorde quoth she I am a woman troubled in spirite and haue drunken neyther wyne nor strong drinke but poure out my soule before the Lord count not thine handemaide to be a daughter of Belial for out of the abundance of my heauinesse and griefe haue I spoken hitherto and so desiring Eli to praye for hir she departed chearefully home to hir house and shortly after conceyued by Elkana hir husbande and bare him a sonne whose name she called Samuel And when she had brought vp the chylde and weaued it she prepared a sacrifice and went to the Temple presenting both it and hir chylde to Eli the Priest putting him also in remembrance that she was the same woman which stoode before him of late and prayed vnto God for that chylde and that now according to hir promise she was come to dedicate him vnto the Lorde And so after prayse and thankes giuing she departed leauing the chylde with Eli to minister in the Temple of god And euery yeare after woulde Anna make a little cote for Samuell hir sonne and bring it vp when she came with hir husbande to offer the yearely sacrifice And thus God tooke awaye hir rebuke of barrainnesse and blessed hir with children so that after Samuell she had thrée sonnes mo and two daughters Anna the Wife of olde Tobie hir husbande beyng blynde and in pouertie tooke weauing worke of women and laboured sore for hir liuing And when on a tyme she sent home the worke to the owners one sent hir a Kidde more than hir wages which she had earned And when Tobie hearde the Kidde bleate he sayde to Anna from whence came that Kydde is it not stollen restore it to the owners agayne for it is not lawfull to eate any thing of theft Then was Anna angry with Tobie and rebuked him as one whose trust in God was all in vaine After this it fortuned olde Tobie to sende yong Tobie his sonne to the City of Rages to receiue certaine money which in his prosperitie he had lent to one Gabelus Then Anna being full of heauynesse for the departure of hir sonne burst out and sayd to Tobie Oh what hast thou done why hast thou sent our sonne away I woulde to God that money had neuer bene required of vs but that we had bene content with our pouertie and kept our sonne at home What ayled vs to sende him into a straunge Countrey which was the only staffe of our age and comfort of our life and the hope of our generation Then sayd Tobie leaue thy wéeping and be not discomforted for the man that went with our sonne is so faythfull that he will bring him to vs againe safe and sounde Yet coulde not Anna with this be perswaded but woulde daily go out to the toppe of an hill and sit there to spie his comming And when at the last she sawe where he came a farre of she ranne home with great reioycing and folde hir husbande And so wayting to receyue hir sonne she wept for ioy when she sawe him Anna the daughter of Phanuel of the Tribe of Aser was a Prophetesse and had bene maried to an husbande seuen yeares and after continued a widow fourescore and foure yeares seruing God in the Temple with fasting and praying day and night And when Christ was brought into the Temple she came forth at that present praysing the Lorde and prophecied of that childe to all them that looked for the redemption of Israel Anna the wife of Raguel was Mother to Sara the wife of yong Tobie Annas had the first examination of Christ and sent him from him to Caiphas his sonne in lawe who was hye Priest for that yeare Antiochus the great being King of Siria and of such puissaunce and strength that he thought himselfe inuincible was at last ouercome of the Romaines and faine to relinquishe to them all his interest in Europa and Asia and to leaue his sonne Antiochus in hostage and so departed being contented with those countries that were left him till at last of a couetous minde he went to Perfide the chiefe Citie of Persia thinking there to haue robbed the Temple and to haue had great treasure therein And as he himselfe with a fewe mo was in the Temple about his businesse the Priestes at a priuie doore came in vpon him and cut him in small péeces and cast him out to be deuoured of the birdes and fowles of the ayre Antiochus Epifanes the sonne of Antiochus the great being stablished in his kingdome warred against Ptolomie king of Egypt vntill he had brought hys lande in subiection And hauing so good successe there he went against Israel and at last tooke and spoyled the Citie of Ierusalem and robbed the sanctuarie of all the precious Iewels and treasure therin subuerted all the holy lawes of God compelling the Iewes to worship Idols and to doe as the heathen did in all things he burned the bookes of the Lawe and whosoeuer had a booke of the Testament or were founde to be a fauourer thereof did suffer death Thus this vngracious and wicked subuerter of all true religion and godlynesse persecuted the true people of God and so long persisted in his great tirannie that God at last smote him with an incurable disease in his body which was so eaten with wormes and vermine that they fell quicke out of his flesh wherof ensued so great a stink that neyther he himselfe nor none that were about him might abyde the smell And so this wicked Tormentour of other was iustly recompenced with a miserable ende Antiochus Eupator the sonne of Antiochus Epifanes being but yong and vnder the gouernance of Lisias went into Iewrie with a great armie to subdue the Iewes
kylled hir After this hir father tooke hir from Dauid and gaue hir to * Loke in the hystorie of Psaltei howe he vsed Michol Dauids wyfe Psaltei the sonne of Lays to wyfe with whome she remayned tyll the death of Saule and then was restored agayne to Dauid by Abners meanes Finally when Dauid came dauncing before the Arke of God in his shyrte â–ª to the Citie of Dauid it chauncâ—d Michol to looke out at a window and beholding the King how he leaped and daunced before the Arke she began to despise hym in hir heart â–ª and méeting him after all thinges were done she sayde O how glorious was the King of Israel this daye which was vncouered to day in the eyes of the Maydens of his seruaunts as a foole vncouereth himselfe And for thus despising of Dauid the seruaunt of God the Lorde plagued hir with Baraynesse that she neuer â–ª had Childe ¶ Michol who is perfect 2. Reg. 4. b. Miphiboseth the sonne of Ionathas was lame in his féete by reason his nurse by misfortune in his infancie let him fall to the grounde out of hir armes and was brought vp and nourished after the death of his father 9. cap. in the hâ—uie of Machir tyll Dauid comming to his Kingdome tooke him from thence and restored him to all the lande of King Saule making Ziba his seruaunt chiefe ouerséer and nâ—câ—yuâ—r of the landes and to sée Micah his maysters sonne well brought vp and cherished for so much as Miphiboseth shoulde remayne with hym and eatâ— and drincke at his owne boorde â–ª Now after this when Dauid was brought into so great affliction trouble by reason of Absalom his sonnâ— Miphiboseth remayned still at Ierusalem and neuer â–ª remooued But Ziba 2. Reg. 16. â— his seruaunt went after Dauid with a present and by false report of Miphiboseth his mayster got hys lande from hym â–ª And when the King was returned and come to Ierusalem â–ª agayne then Miphiboseth who had neyther 19. â— washed his féete nor dressed his bearde nor washed his clothes from the tyme the King departed vntill he returned in peace went out to méete him and when the King sawe him he sayde Wherefore wentest thou not with mée Miphiboseth He aunswered My Lorde O King my seruaunt deceyued mée for thy seruaunt sayde I woulde haue myne Asse sadled to ryde thereon for to go with the King bycause thy seruaunt is lame Therefore Ziba hath falsely accused thy seruaunt to my Lorde the King but my Lord the King is as an Angell of God Doe therefore what it pleaseth thée for all my Fathers house were but deade mâ—n before my Lord the King and yet dydst thou set thy seruaunt amonge them that dyd eate at thine owne table What right haue I to cry any more vnto the King Then sayde Dauid â–ª why speakest thou yet in thine owne cause I haue sayde Thou and Ziba deuide the lande betwéene you Yea sayde Miphiboseth let him take all séeing my Lord the King is come home in peace ¶ Miphiboseth shame or confusion from the mouth â— Reg. 21. b. Miphiboseth the sonne of Rizpa King Sauls Concubine was of the Gibeonits with his brother Armony hanged for their fathers offence Exo. 6. c. Miriam was the daughter of Amram Iochebed and sister to Aaron and Moses When hir brother Moses 15. c. had brought the children of Israel thorow the redde Sea Miriam the Prophetesse tooke a Tymbrell in hir hande with other women following in like sorte and began ioyfully to sing and daunce their song was this Sing yée vnto the Lorde for he hath triumphed gloriously The horse and ryder hath he ouerthrowen in the Sea. After this she grudged agaynst Moses because he had taken a Num. 12. cap. woman of Inde to his wyfe wherefore the Lorde smote hir with Leprosie Then Moses partly for pittie and partly at the intercession of Aaron his brother besought the Lorde to heale hir who made hym aunswere saying If hir father in anger had spitte in hir face shoulde she not haue béene ashamed seauen dayes Let hir be shut out of the hoste seauen dayes which being doone she was restored and receyued in agayne Finallye when 20. 2. Moses and the children of Israel were come to Cades there she dyed and was buryed ¶ Miriam exalted or reaching Dan. â— b. 3. ca. Misach first called Misael was one of Daniels companions and one of the thrée which was cast into the whote burning Ouen and myraculously preserued ¶ Misach prolonging or drawing to him or compassing the waters or hedging 3. Esd 2. b. Mithridatus was King Cyrus treasurer at whose commaundement he deliuered all the holye vessels of golde and siluer pertayning to the house of the Lorde to Salmanasar the Deputie in Iewrie The number of which vessels was fiue thousand eyght hundred and thrée score ¶ Mithridatus dissoluing the lawe Act. 21. d Mnason was a certayne godlye man and a Cyprian borne who had of long tyme beléeued the Gospell in whose house Paul was hosted at Ierusalem ¶ Mnason a searcher out or promising or remembring Exod. 2. cap. Moyses the sonne of Amram and Iochebed was myraculously preserued at his byrth For where as Pharao the King of Egipt had straightly commaunded the Moses signifieth preserued from the water Mydwyues that whensoeuer they saw an Hebrue bring soorth a man chylde they shoulde cast it into the ryuer yet Moses being borne a proper childe was notwithstanding the Kinges commaundement kept secretlye thrée monthes And when his parents coulde hide him no longer they closed him in a basket made of réede or Bulrushes dawbed with slyme and pitch and layd him in the ryuer And as the childs sister stoode looking what should become of him it came to passe that King Pharaos * Hir name was Termuth daughter came awalking by the ryuer syde who séeing the basket â—leting vppon the ryuer caused one of hir folkes to take it vp â–ª And when she had opened the basket and sawe the Childe she had pittie vpon it and caused the Mayde his sister to fet hir a Nurse who went and brought his owne mother And so the childe being nursed brought vp in Pharaos house was instructed from his Childehoode in all maner cunning and wisedome of the Egiptians and became mightie in wordes and déedes Howe that Moyses impediment of speach came The king on a time for his daughters sake tooke the childe in hys armes and set the crown vppon hys heade which Moses as it were chyldishly playing hurled to the grounde and with hys foote spurned it At the whiche the Priest cryed out saying that this was he of whome it was prophecied that he should destroy Egipt Then Termuth excused the chylde alleaging his infancie and sacke of discretion And for proofe thereof caused burning coales to be put to hys mouth which the child with his tongue licked
wyll blesse them that blesse thée and curse them that curse thée and in thâ—â— shall all the families of the earth be blessed 〈◊〉 nowe hauing this promise made him of God departed out of Haran he and Sara his wife with Lâ—t his â—ephewe and with all their substance that they had to go to soiourne in the lande of Canaan And being there the Lorde made a promise to Abraham that hys seede shoulde possesse that lande Wherevpon soone after in the same place where God spake thus vnto him he made an aultar and offered sacrifices therâ—â— to the Lorde And so remayning in the lande there fell at the last so great a famine that he was constrained to â—â—â—â— into Egypt where he fearing the Egyptians to be vngodly and vicious men â—â—igned Sara to be his sister thinking and if â—â—â— were knowne to be his wife they woulde for hir bâ—wtâ—â— take hir from him and put him in hazarde of his lyfe Then was it â—old to king Pharao what a bewtifull woman Abraham had brought with him into Egypt The king nowâ— knowing therof commaunded the woman to be brought vnto him and with all gentle entertainement receyued hir into his house and intreated Abraham well for hir sake But when he sawe so many plagues fall on him and on all his householde vnderstandyng that it was for withholding another mans wyfe from him he restored the woman without dishonestie to Abraham hir husbande againe Giuing also his men a great charge concerning the man and hys wife Then soone after Abraham returned from Egypt into the countrey of Canaan where he had bene afore And when he had lyen some space in the lande there fell such a stryfe betwéene the herdemen of Abrahams cattell and the herdemen of Lottes cattell that Abraham was fayne to deuyde the lande betwéene his Nephewe Lot and him and so they remooued the one from the other Abraham had nowe bene so long without issue that he tooke by consent an aduise of Sara one of his Maydes named Agar to wyfe who conceyued and brought him forth a sonne which was called Ismael Abraham then being at the age of fourescore yeares and sixe And when he was come to the number of ninetie and nine God gaue vnto him the couenant of Circumcision which he receyued first in himselfe and then made Ismael and all the reast of hys householde to receyue the same The next yeare after when Abraham was iust an hundred yeare olde Sara conceiued brought him forth his long promised sonne named Isaac whome he circumcised the eight day folowing and would after that haue offered him vp in sacrifice but that God séeing his prompt obedience stayed his hande Finally after the death of Sara Abraham tooke him another wife called Ketura who bare vnto him six sonnes Which children hée woulde not suffer to remayne and companye with his sonne Isaac but before he died sent them away with great rewardes and giftes and made Isaac heyre of all his goodes He dyed at the age of an hundred seauentie and fiue and was buried beside Sara his wyfe in the double Caue which he bought of Ephron the Hethite ¶ Looke more in the histories of Lot Sara and Melchisedech Absalom the sonne of Dauid whom he begat on his wyfe Maacha the daughter of Thalmai King of Gessur was y goodlyest personage in all Israel for as Scripture witnesseth God had so framed the forme and ornaments of his bodie that from the sole of the foote to the crowne of the head was no member amisse And yet among all the heare of his head excelled which so increased daylye that the weyght therof compelled him at euery yeares ende to â—haue it off This Absalom had a brother named Ammon to whoÌ„ he bare a priuie grudge for defiling his sister Thamar And to be reuenged on him for the same he invited al his brethren vnto a banket made in y time of his shéepe shearing to the which banket Ammon came with the rest of his brethren in the middest of their chéere Absalom killed Ammon and fled to the king of Gessur his Grandfather With whome he abode thrée yeares In the which space by mediation of friendes he was at the last fette home againe and brought by Ioab his Auntes sonne to Ierusalem where he remayned two yeares after Then Absolom marueyling why Ioab had not brought him to the king his father in all that space sent once or twyse for him to come and speake with him And when he saw that he came not he commaunded his men to go and burne vp the fielde of Barley which parteyned to Ioab and laye ioyning to his grounde Then Ioab hearing therof went to Absalom demaunding wherfore his men had destroyed his Corne Marrie quoth Absalom I sent for thée twyse and thou wouldest not come wherefore diddest thou bring me from Gessur had it not bene as good for mée and better to haue continued there still than here to lye so nye the King my father and cannot be suffered to sée him Then Ioab considering the matter had him to the king where he was ioyfully receyued After all this Absalom began certaine practises to aspire to the kingdome wherein he prospered so farre that at length hée proclaymed himselfe king in Hebron Causing his father for feare to flie out of hys Realme against whome he called his counsell to deuise what waye he might best ouercome his Father But God by whose prouidence all things are stayde so wrought with his Counsaylers that the successe of his enterprisâ— turned to his owne destruction For when it came so to passe that both the armies were ioyned in battell togithers Absaloms men had the woorsse and he himselfe a sodâ—ine mischaunce for as he rode on his Mule thorow the woode to haue escaped a twyste of an Oke caught hym so fast in the heire of his head that it tooke him quite out of hys Saddle And so he hanged on the trée till Ioab came with his speare and slue him whose Carkeys after was taken downe and cast into a pitte and couered wyth an heape of Stones Acan was the sonne of Charmy and of the Trybe of Iuda who beyng at the wynning of the City of Iericho hearing Iosua pronounce the Citie and al things therin to be excommunicate accursed of the Lorde tooke notwithstanding certaine iewels of the same hidde them priuily vnder the grounde in his tent Then after when Iosua went about the taking of Hai and had sent thrée thousand souldiers to wynne it the men of Hai issued out of the citie and slewe thirtie and sixe of the Israelites and chased the rest backe agayne whereat Iosua was so discomfited that he rent his clothes and called on God to knowe the cause of their ouerthrowing who made him answere that Israel coulde not stande before the men of Hai forasmuch as some of them had
all his posteritie for euer Achis was the sonne of Maoth king of Geth who on a tyme when Dauid feygned himselfe to be mad before him sayde vnto his seruaunts that brought him on this wyse What meane you Sirs to bring this madde felowe before me haue I so great néede of madde men that ye haue brought this man to playe the mad Bedlem in my presence Awaye with him I saye out of my house At this time Achis despised Dauid and woulde not receyue him but the next time he came againe with his bonde of men and their housholdes he retayned them all and gaue vnto Dauid the Citie of Zikleg to dwell in and had him in such estimation that when he himselfe shoulde go with the Phylistines to battell agaynst the Israelites he then tooke Dauid with him and made him the kéeper of his person for the which the Philistines were sore offended with Achis and woulde not suffer him to go in their company so long as Dauid was with him wherfore Achis for feare of the Philistines displeasure intreated Dauid to go home agayne and so went Achis forth wyth the Philistines against king Saul Ada There be two women of this name in the Bible The one was Lameches wyfe and mother to Iaball The other was the daughter of Elom the Hethite and wyfe to Esau Iacobs brother Adam was the first man that God created and had dominion of all the beastes and fowles of the earth and to euery beast and fowle he gaue his proper name God set him at the first in a place of passing ioye full of all maner of fruitefull trées pleasaunt both to the eye and in taste whereof he might eate at will and was not prohibit saue only from the trée of knowledge of good and euil for whensoeuer he tasted of that trée God tolde him he shoulde surely dye Nowe Adam being in this goodly paradise of pleasure God thought it good to make him a companion to beare him company And so casting Adam into a sounde sléepe he tooke out a ryb of his side whereof he made the woman and brought hir to Adam who by and by confessed hir to be of his bone and fleshe and from that tyme forth they liued togythers as man and wyfe in all purenesse and innocencie of lyfe till that by the subtiltie of olde Satan the Serpent who had deceyued the woman he was entysed by his wife to eate of the forbidden trée Which thing he had no sooner done but both their cies were opened to sée in what case they were And when they sawe themselues all naked and bare they were so ashamed that they made them garments to couer their priuities and hid themselues that the Lorde shoulde not sée them But Adam being founde out of God and demaunded wherefore he had hid him alleaged bicause he was naked And also to excuse his transgression he burdened God with his fault bicause he had giuen him the woman which had allured him to eate of the Trée But neuerthelesse for as much as Adam had obeyed the voice of his wyfe and neglected the Lordes precept God cursed the earth for his sake and droue him forth of that welthy place for to liue in sorow and care and be subiect to death and all other calamities and miseries of the worlde both he and all his ofspring for euer In the Byble is mention made both of sonnes and daughters which Adam had of Heua his wyfe but none of their names be rehearsed saue onely Cain Habel and Seth. He liued nine hundreth and thirtie yeares Adonia was a goodly yong man the sonne of Dauid borne vnto him in Hebron of his wyfe Agith When Adonia perceyued his father to be féeble and weake thorowe extreme age he began to exalt himselfe saying he woulde be king And gat him both horses and Charets and also footemen to runne before him euen lyke a king to the which hys father sayd nothing nor woulde not displease hym but let him alone and do what he would And so Adonia procéeded in his purpose and by the counsell of Ioab the Captaine and Abiathar the Priest who tooke his part he made a great sacrifice of shéepe and Oxen wherevnto he called his brethren and also the kings seruantes who eating and drinking before him with great reioysing sayde God saue king Adonia But assoone as Dauid had knowledge of Berseba his Mother and Nathan the Prophet howe all the case stoode he commaunded Sadocke the Priest and Nathan to annoynt Salomon and to set hym vppon his owne Mule and so to go forth and proclaime him king Which newes was no sooner come into the new Kings Courte but euery man shrunke away for feare leauing Adonia all alone Who then for hys owne safegarde fled to the Tabernacle of the Lorde and woulde not from thence till Salomon graunted him his pardon vpon condicion that hereafter he woulde be quiet and a good man And so being pardoned he departed quietly home to his house But after this when Dauid his father was deade Adonia casting his fauour vpon Abisag the Sunamite went to Bethsabe Salomons mother requesting hir to speake vnto the King that he would gyue hym Abisag to wyfe Then Salomon hearing his mothers request perceyued that Adonia being the elder brother went about to aspyre to the kingdome wherefore to preuent hys purpose he put him to death Adonibesech King of the Cananites was of such might and power that he subdued seuentie Kinges who being all brought into his Courte he cutte of their thumbes and great toes and made them gather their meate vnder his Table whych great crueltie he shewed vnto them being puft vp wyth pryde and ostentation of his victory This wicked King chaunced to reigne ouer the Cananites when Iuda had the gouerning of the host of Israel agaynst whome Iuda began his conquest and slewe the Cananites and put Adonibesech to flyght but beyng sore pursued the men of Iuda tooke him and cut of both his thumbes and great toes which thing the tyrant confessed hymselfe by and by to be the iust iudgement of God for as he had done to other so had he worthilye receyued agayne And so he was caryed to Ierusalem and there dyed Adramelech the sonne of Senacherib king of Assyria with his brother Saresa slewe their father in the Temple as he was worshipping his God Nisroch and fled into the lande of Armenia leauing Asarhaddon their other brother to possesse the kyngdome after their father Aduram was receyuer of all Roboams trybute and being sent in Commission to pacifie the people which were deuided and fallen from the King they for hatred they bare to Roboam tooke this man and stoned hym to death Agag was a very fat man and king of the Amalekites which Nation God had commaunded to be vtterly destroyed And bicause King Saul had reserued Agag aliue and
in debt that hir creditors were come to fet hir twoo sonnes awaye to be their bondemen What hast thou in thy house sayde the Prophet Nothing quoth she but a little Pitcher of oyle The widowe left in debt Well saide he go thy waye home and borowe of thy neyghbours as many emptie vessels as thou canst get and poure out the oyle of the Pitcher into the emptie vessels vntill thou hast filled them all And when the woman had done all as the Prophet had commaunded hir she came backe againe and tolde him howe mightily hir oyle was increased Nowe go sayde the Prophet and sell so much of the oyle as will pay thy Creditours and then liue thou and thy children of the rest 4. Reg. 4. b. c. d. e. ¶ There was a certaine woman of great estimacion in the Citie of Sumen who hearing tell that Eliseus was come to the Citie inuited him home to hir house and made him great cheare And whensoeuer after that he came into that quarters which he haunted much he woulde euer take that Gentlewomans house in his way Then she séeing that sayde vnto hir husband I perceiue that this is an holye man that commeth so ofte by our place let vs make him a little chamber with all things Eliseus obtaineth a son for the Sunamite necessarie for the same that when he commeth this way he may lodge there and be quiet therein And when the new Chamber was made and finished the Prophete at his next comming was brought into the same there to take his rest He then considering the great prouision the woman had made and howe carefull she had bene for him sayde vnto Gehezi his man Go and aske of hir what she will haue mée to doe for hir whether it be to speake vnto the King or to the Captaine of the hoste or any thing else and I will doe it The seruaunt went and The Sunamites sonne restored from death to life brought him worde agayne that she had no chylde and hir husbande was olde Well sayde the Prophete she shall haue a sonne which in processe she had in déede And when the chylde was a fewe yeares growâ—n vp it had a desire to go and sée his Father and the Reapers in the fielde and being there in the heate of the daye it fell sodenly sicke and was caried home to his mother and dyed But for the womans sake the Prophet restored hir sonne to life agayne 4. Reg. 4. g. ¶ On a tyme Eliseus commaunded his Cooke to make a great pot of pottage for the children of the Prophetes which boorded with him and as one went out for herbes he gathered vnwares his lap full of wylde Coloquintidas Hee maketh the pottage sweete and came and shred them into the pot of pottage And when the children of the Prophets had tasted a little of the pottage they fearing least they had bene poysoned cried out saying O thou man of God there is death in the pot Then the Prophet called for Meale and threwe it into the pot and all was well and no more harme in the pot 4. Reg. 4. g. ¶ A certaine man the dearth being great in the lande came from Baal Salisa and brought to Eliseus twenty Barley loaues of the first fruites of his newe Corne the which he commaunded his man to giue to the people to satisfie their hunger How shall I sayd he set this before The loaues are multiplyed so many will it satisfie an hundred persons Well sayd Elizeus set it before them for thus sayth the Lord they shall eate and there shall remayne And so the loaues were set before the people and they did eate and left ouer according to the worde of the Lorde 4. Reg. 6. a. ¶ Eliseus had so many of the Prophetes children wyth him at boorde and downe lying that his house was to little for them all wherefore they sayde to him that they woulde go to Iordan and buylde them a bygger house to dwell in desiring him to go with them And as a certaine man was felling downe a trée to serue for the buylding the Axe heade slipt of the Helue and fell into the water Iron swimmeth Then the man cryed to Eliseus and sayde Alas Mayster helpe me to haue it agayne for it was lent me Where fell it in sayde the Prophet and when the man had tolde him Eliseus cut downe a péece of woode and cast it into the water and immediately the yron did swymme And then the man stretched forth his hande and tooke it vp 4. Reg. 8. a. ¶ He prophecied vnto the Sunamite whose sonne he had raysed from death of a great dearth which shoulde come and continue vpon the land seauen yeares giuing hir counsell therefore to go and soiourne in some other plentifull countrey till these yeares were expired whose counsell she followed and went with all hir housholde into the Philistines lande where she remayned these seauen yeares of dearth which being ended she returned home agayne And when she came to hir house another hauing possession thereof withhelde it from hir wherefore she went to the King to make hir complaynt at which time it happened the King to be talking with Gehezi The Sunamite is restored to hyr house lande agayne the seruant of Eliseus the Prophet who was declaring vnto the King what great and notable déedes hys Maister Eliseus had done and among all declared of a deade bodie which he had raysed vp from death to lyfe and as he was telling of these thinges vnto the King the woman came with hir sonne and required hir house and lande againe And when Gehezi sawe the woman he sayde O my Lorde and King this same is the woman that I tolde your Grace of â—uen nowe and this is hyr sonne that was raysed from death Then the King commaunded hir house and lande to be restored hir againe with all the rent and profites thereof from the first daye she lâ—st it â–ª till that present time 4. Reg. 13. c. d ¶ Finallye when the time drewe me that Eliseus the Prophet shoulde dye Ioas King of Israel came to visite him as he stoode before him and considered what a losse he should haue of that good man which had bene so great a defence vnto his Realme the teares ranne downe hys chéekes and sayde O my father my father the Charet of Israel and the horsemen of the same And when the Prophet sawe the King he bade him take his bowe and arrowes in his hand and make him readie to shoote The Prophet put his hande vpon the Kings hande and caused a windowe to be opened Eastwarde which was toward Siria and bade the King shoote and he shot The arrow of helth of the Lorde sayde Eliseus and the arrowe of health against Siria For thou shalt smyte Siria in Aphek till thou haue made an ende of them Nowe take thine arrowes in thine hande sayde the Prophete and smyte
the grounde and he smote thrice and ceassed Then was the Prophet angry that he had smitten the grounde no oftener for if sayde he thou had smitten fiue or sixe times thou hadst smitten Siria vntill thou hadst made an ende of them where nowe thou shalt smite them but thryce and so Eliseus dyed and was buried The same yeare came the Moabites into the lande of Israel and as some of the Israelites were burying of a man and had spyed the Souldiers they cast the man into the sepulchre where Eliseus the Prophet was buried and when the deade man was rolled downe and touched the bodye of Eliseus he reuiued and stoode vp vppon his féete as liuely as euer he was Luk. 1. c. d. e. f. Elizabeth was the wife of Zacharie the Priest and came of the daughters and posteritie of Aaron She was long barren but at last shée conceyued by Zacharie hir husbande according as the Angell of God had sayde vnto him And being great with chylde Marie the wife of Ioseph which was also conceyued by the holy ghost came to visite Elizabeth hir cosin who had no sooner hearde the salutacion of Marie the Mother of God but the Babe sprang in hir belly wherewith she was filled with the holy ghost and cried out with a lowde voyce saying Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruite of thy wombe And whence happeneth this to me that the mother of my Lorde should come to me For behold as sone as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine eares the Babe sprang in my belly for ioye And blessed is she that beléeued for those things shall be perfourmed which were tolde hir from the Lorde And when the time was come that Elizabeth shoulde be deliuered she brought forth a sonne which hir neyghbours and kinsefolkes woulde haue named Zacharie after his father but Elizabeth woulde none of that but sayde his name shoulde be Iohn ¶ Elizabeth the Othe of God or the fulnesse of God. 1. Reg. 1. a. b. c Elkana the sonne of Ieroham an Ephraite borne had two wiues the one named Anna and the other Phenenna By his wyfe Phenenna he had children But by Anna he had none It was his maner euerye Feastfull daye to go vp and praye And to offer vnto the Lorde of hostes in Silo where the Arke of the Lorde was at that time and in one solemne feast day among all other as he offered vnto the Lorde he gaue vnto Phenenna hys wife and to hir sonnes and daughters portions but vnto Anna whome he loued he gaue a portion with an heauie cheare And on a time when he sawe his wife Anna wéepe in the house of the Lorde for sorrowe she could haue no childe he sayde Anna why wéepest thou and why is thy hart so troubled that thou canst not eate Am not I better to thée than ten sonnes as though he should say is it not inough for thée that I loue thée no lesse than if thou hadst children This he sayde to comfort hir And at the last God gaue him a Sonne by hir named Samuel after whose birth he went vp to offer vnto the Lorde and to giue him thankes But Anna would not go with him vntill she had weyned hir sonne ¶ Elkana the Zeale of God and the possession of God. Phil. 2. d. Epaphroditus was a certayne godlye Brother whome the Philippians sent to Paule being in bondes at Rome with their charitable reliefe Who being there ministred vnto him in his néede and was so faithfull a fellow souldier with Paule in setting forth the Gospell of Christ and put himselfe in such hazarde that he fell sicke and was like to haue dyed Nowe Paule to comfort the Philippians which were full of sorrowe and heauinesse for Epaphroditus their Apostle bicause they hearde he was sicke was the more desirous after his recouerie to sende him home againe in the company of Timotheus with his Epistle that they might be the lesse sorrowfull and reioyce the more at his comming willing them to receyue him with a louing Christian affection in all ioyfulnesse and not to make much on him onely but on all such as were like vnto him ¶ Epaphroditus Pleasant Collo 4. d. Epaphras was a faithfull seruant by whose labour and preaching the Colossians hearde the Gospell and beléeued it and being in prison with Paule at Rome prayed for those Colossians that they might be perfite and filled in all the will of God after true knowledge He bare a feruent minde to them of Laodicia and them of Hierapolis ¶ Epaphras Frothing Rom. 16. a. Epenetes was the first that Paule brought to Christes religion among them of Achaia vnto whom Paule had him saluted ¶ Epenetes Worthy of prayse Iesaias sub figura editissimi montis describit augustissimum Christi regnum M. van Valckenb inven C. van de Pas sculp H. van Luyck excud Gen. 23. cap. Ephron the sonne of Zoar dwelt among the Hethites hauing a péece of lande which Abraham had a mynde to buye to burie Sara his wyfe therein And when the matter was broken to Ephron by Abraham to sell hâ—s grounde for so much money as it was woorth Ephron willingly offered to giue it him fréely to burye his deade and to doe withall what he woulde But notwithstanding Abraham forced him so much to know the price thereof that Ephron sayde My Lorde the lande is woorth foure hundreth * The coÌ„mon Sicle is about the valew of twentie pence Sicles but what is that betwéene thée and me take it fréely I beséech thée and burie thy deade at thy pleasure And so he receyued of Abraham for his lande the somme aforesayde ¶ Ephron Dust or lowe on the grounde Gen. 38. a. Er the eldest sonne of Iuda the sonne of Iacob was maried to a woman called Thamar and for his great wickednesse the Lord slue him ¶ Er Watchfull and making bare or pouring forth Act. 19. d. Erastus was the Chamberlaine or Receyuer of Rom. 16. d. the Citie of Corinth and one of Paules ministers whom 2. Tim. 4. d. he sent from Ephesus into Macedonia with one Timotheus intâ—nding him selfe to follâ—we after to gather mens almes for the relieuing of such as were néedye and poore at Ierusalem ¶ Erastus Amiable Esay the sonne of * Amos was the father of Esaye was brother to Azariah king of Iuda â–ª and Esay was father in lawe to Manasses who put him to death Amos was an holy Prophete of Esay 1. a. 42. the Tribe of Iuda in whome was such abundance of the a. b. 43. b. 53. cap. spirite of Prophecie that he prophecied so much of Christ that he séemed rather to be an Euangelist than a Prophet He was of such holynesse that in the time of King Ezechias when a Citie was besieged he by his prayer obtayned of God that water sprang vp in little quantitie so that
other thing But neuerthelesse for kéeping his Othe which he had made before so many Noble men he caused the innocent mans heade to be cut of and giuen to the Wench This Herode and Pylate Lieutenant of Iewry had bene long at variaunce And for the pleasure that Pilate shewed to Herode in sending Iesus bounde vnto him to be examined he was at one with him againe For Herode had long desired to sée Iesus And hoping nowe to haue séene some myracles done by him he demaunded many questions of Iesus to the which he woulde make no answere at all Then Herode perceyuing that Iesus woulde neyther speake nor doe any thing at his pleasure he began to despyse and râ—uyle him and in mockery arayed him in a long whyte garment and sent him to Pylate agayne Act. 12. cap. Herode Tâ—is man was a great persecutour of the Apostles He beheaded Iames the brother of Iohn and This Herode was called Agrippa the sonne of Aristobolus he was nephew vnto Herode the great and brother of Herodias séeing that déede to content and pleasâ— the Iewes well he tooke Peter also and cast him into prison intending after Easter which was at hand to haue him put to death â–ª also Finally vpon a certaine day appointed to shewe himselfe in his pompe glory he made such an Oration before the assemblye that for the pleasauntnesse of hys speach the common people at the ende thereof gaue a mightie shoute saying it was the voyce of a God and not of a man And bicause he gloryed in their boasting and tooke that honour vnto himselfe which he ought to haue giuen to God he was immediatly smitten with the Wormie sickenesse whereof he most miserably dyed Rom. 16. b. Herodian was Paules kinseman vnto whome he sent commendations from Corinth on this wise Salute Herodian my kinseman ¶ Herodian the song of a yoong Virgin or of a woman conquering Math. 14. â— Herodias was wyfe to Philip Herodes brother to whome she brought forth a * Whiche daughter as Iosephus wryteth was called Salomen daughter This woman being more familiar with Herode than honestie required grew into such fauour with him that he contrarye to the lawe of Moses married hir his brother being alyue Against which vnlawfull marriage Iohn Baptist spake so much to Herodes reproofe that shée fearing least that Iohn woulde make Herode breake of the incest marriage counsayled hir daughter which daunced before him to aske the heade of Iohn Baptist And so by the wicked deuyce of this vnchaste woman Iohn lost his heade ¶ Herodias signifieth that that the woorde Herode before doth Gen. 46. b. Hesron was the sonne of Ruben and of hym came Num. 46. a. the kindred of the Hesronites ¶ Hesron the Arrowe of reioyeeing 1. Par. 2. c. Hesron the father of Caleb being come to the age of thréescore yeares tooke to wyfe the daughter of Machir who bare vnto him a sonne called Segub 4. Reg. 18. and. 19. cap. Hezakia the sonne of Ahaz was .xxv. yeares of age when he began his reygne ouer Iuda He was the godlyest Prince that euer reigned before or after among the Kings of Iuda He clensed his Countrie from all ydolatrie and brake downe the brasen Serpent which Moses had set vp as soone as he sawe it abused He brought in againe the true honouring of God and renued the Passeouer He had such a sure trust and confidence in God that at his prayer the Angell of the Lorde slue in one night of the Assirians which were come to destroye Ierusalem an hundred fourescore and fiue thousande and smote the rest into such a feare that they ran away 20. cap. After this he fell sicke and was admonished by the Prophete Esay to set his house in order for he shoulde surely dye Then he turned his face to the wall and made his peticion to God saying Oh Lord remember I beséech thée howe I haue walked before thée in truth and with a perfect heart haue done that which is good in thy sight and speaking these wordes â–ª hée * He wept not so much for his owne death as for feare that ydolatrie shuld be restored which he had destroyed wept verie sore The Lorde than mooued with his teares returned the Prophete agayne to comfort him with these newes that he shoulde receyue his health and be able the thirde day to go vp to the house of the Lorde and that he had added to his dayes .xv. yeares mo and to assure him of this his promise he woulde cause the Sunne to returne his course ten degrées backewarde At this tyme Berodach surnamed Baladad King of Babilon sent to Hezakia ambassadours to signifie vnto him howe glad and ioyfull he was of his recouery which kindenesse was so greatly estéemed of Hazakia that he thought he could not doe them to much pleasure but made them priuie to all his treasure siluer and golde and whatsoeuer he had in his house or in any other parte of his Realme he * Bicause he was mooued with ambicion and vayne glorie and semed also to reioyce in the friendship of him that was Gods enimy the Lorde was displeased shewed it freely vnto them Wherefore the Lorde not content therewith commaunded Esay the Prophet to go and tell Hezakia That forasmuch as he had made the messengers of Babilon priuie to all the commodities of his lande The dayes shoulde come that all thinges which he had in his house and whatsoeuer his Fathers had layed vp in store before him shoulde be caryed to Babylon Then Hezakia knowing the Prophete to be the true messenger of God humbled himselfe and saide Thy worde O Lord is welcome vnto mée but yet I shall desire thee not to sende those cuils in my dayes but rather peace and truth He raigned .xxix. yeares and died ¶ Hezakia the strength of the Lorde or the Lordes holding 1. Tim. 1. d. Hymeneus after he had tasted of the worde of God and béene a professour of the same he fell awaye and became an vtter enimie and a spitefull rayler agaynst the doctrine of the Gospel of Christe denying the chiefest point and foundacion of the Gospel which is that the resurrection 2. Tim. 2. c. is past wherewith he destroyed the fayth of many persons For the which errour and other his rayling and ieastinges agaynst the truth of Gods woorde Paule excommunicated him that he thorowe correction might be ashamed of his faulte and tourne agayne to Christ ¶ Hymeneus a Maryage song or Bride song 2. Reg. 5. b. Hyram King of Tyre fauoured Dauid so much that he hearing that Dauid went about to builde hym an house sent hym both Tymber Workemen to finish the same Also when Salomon after the death of Dauid 3. Reg. 5. cap. 9. b. c. d. his Father sent to this King for woodde and Timber to buylde the Lordes Temple he praysed God
watred all hir shéepe Which done he kissed the Damosell and wept for ioy And when the Mayde had knowledge what he was she ranne to hir father and tolde him who beyng ioyfull thereof went to the man and brought him into his house Nowe when Iacob had opened the cause of his comming to Laban it was agréed that Iacob shoulde serue Laban seauen yeares for Rachel his daughter But when the daye of Mariage came Lea the elder was put in hir steade for so much as it was not the custome that the yonger shoulde be first married as Laban alleaged Then Iacob taryed seauen dayes and tooke Rachel vppon condicion that he woulde serue other seauen yeares for hir which being fulfilled he desired Laban that he might depart with his Wyues Children into his owne countrie againe Nay tarie sayd Laban for I perceyue that the Lorde hath blessed me for thy sake appoynt thy wages and I will giue it thée Thou knowest quoth Iacob what seruice I haue done thée and in what taking thy cattell hath bene vnder me for the little that thou hadst before my comming is nowe increased to a multitude But when shall I traueyle make prouision for mine owne house also Well what shall I giue thée sayd Laban Then Iacob hauing knowledge aforehande by the Angell of the Lord what his wages should be said Thou shalt giue me nothing at all if thou wilt doe this thing for me I will go agayne and feede thy shéepe and kéepe them will seperate all the shéepe of thy flocke one from another and so many as be blacke speckled or of partie colour let that be my wages and whatsoeuer I take of the reast vnspotted let that be counted theft with me Content quoth Laban Then went Iacob and tooke out all the males and females of the shéepe and goates that were blacke spotted or of partie colour and put them in the kéeping of his sonnes which lay thrée dayes iourney of from Iacob and the reast which were whyte and of one colour Iacob kept himself And when he had made this diuision of Labans shéepe he tooke roddes of gréene Populer of Hasell and of Chesnut trées and pilled whyte strakes in them Which roddes in the conceyuing time he layed before the shéepe in the gutters and watring troughes when they came to drinke And the shéepe that conceyued before the roddes brought forth Lambes straked spotted and partie coloured so that Iacobs flocke increased excéedinglye whereat the sonnes of Laban grudged and made so heynous a complaynt to their father on Iacob that Laban began to disfauour him Then Iacob perceyuing Labans countenance to be chaunged he sent for his wyues and sayde I sée your fathers countenance that it is not towardes me as it was woont and yet ye knowe that I haue serued your father truely which hath deceyued mée and chaunged my wages ten tymes but God suffered hym not to hurt me For when he sayde the spotted shoulde be my wages then the shéepe brought foorth spotted And when he sayde the partie coloured should be my rewarde then the shéepe brought foorth partie coloured And thus hath God taken away your fathers shéepe and giuen them to me which thing he shewed me in a dreame shoulde euen so come to passe and hath nowe commaunded me to depart out of this Countrie into the land where I was borne The women sayde we haue not portion in our Fathers house séeing he counteth vs but euen as straungers and hath solde vs and eaten vp our money And nowe that God hath taken away our fathers riches and made it oures and our childrens doe whatsoeuer God hath sayde vnto thée Then Iacob assoone as he had prepared all things for his iourney he fled from Laban his Father in lawe towardes the lande of Canaan to Isaac his Father and being pursued of Laban .vij. dayes and at last ouertaken at mount Giliad he layed manye things to Iacobs charge whereof he discharged himselfe of all and in the ende sayde This twentye yeares haue I serued thée .xiiij. yeares for thy daughters and sixe yeares for thy shéepe which hath not béene barren and yet in all that space haue I not eaten one Ram of thy stocke but whatsoeuer was stolen or torne of beastes I made it good vnto thée Thou chaunged my wages ten tymes and wâ—ulde surely haue sent mée away with nothing if God which sawe my tribulation and the labour of my handes had not béene the better vnto mée which rebuked thée yesterdaye Then Laban made a bonde with Iacob and so departed Iacob then going foorth on his iourney came into the lande of Sâ—ir and hearing of his brother Esaus being there was sore afrayde of him least he had continued still in his malice towardes hym wherefore he sent messengers before vnto him with thrée great droues of Cattell for a present trusting thereby to mitigate his wrath And as Iacob himselfe taryed behinde to set his wyues and children in order to méete his brother Esau an Angel wrastled with him all night and at last smote him vnder the Thigh and brake the sinewe of his legge whereon he haulted euer after Yet neuerthelesse Iacob which had wrasteled with the Angel vntill the breaking of the daye woulde not let the Angell depart before he had blessed hym who called his name Israel for as a Prince sayde he to Iacob hast thou wrasteled with God and with man and preuailed And so after the brotherly méeting of Iacob and Esau and the great amitie shewed the one to the other Iacob tooke his iourney into the lande of Canaan where he remayned vntill he was of the age of an 130. yeares And then went downe into Egipt withall his householde which were thrée score and sixe soules to sée his sonne Ioseph where he continued .xvij. yeares And then dyed being 147. yeares of age and from thence was conueyghed to the lande of Canaan where he was by his children sumptuouslye buried Iachtan was the sonne of Heber and this brothers name was Peleg Iael was the wife of one Haber the Kenite which was of the Children of Hobab Moses father in law And when she had hearde of the great ouerthrowe of Sisera and how he fled she went and mette him saying Turne in my Lorde turne in to mée and feare not And being come into hir house he asked hir a little water to quench his thirst and she brought hym a bottell full of Milke and when he had well droncken thereof he layed hym downe to sléepe as she was couering him with cloths He prayed hir to go and stande at the dore of hir tent and whosoeuer doth come and aske for any man say there is no man here And so when Sisera was fast a sléepe Iael went sostly vnto him with an hammer in the one hande and a nayle in the other smote him thorowe the Temples of his heade and nayled hym fast to the
them all shoulde sée that good lande but Iosua and Caleb After Iosua 1. cap. the death of Moses the Lorde encouraged Iosua to inuade the lande of promise and gaue him commaundement to exercise himselfe continually in reading the booke of the Lawe called Deuteronomie Which he dulye obserued and read it to the people that they thereby might the better learne to looue and feare God and to obey him the Lordes minister â–ª He destroyed the Citie of Iericho onely reseruing Raab and hir housholde He brent the Citie of Hai and hanged the fiue Kings of the Amorites on fiue trées at whose discomfiting it rayned stones from heauen by the which mo were slayne than with the sworde and the Sunne also stoode still in his place and prolonged the day till Iosua had vtterly discomfited his enimies He slue in all first and last .xxxj. Kings and brought the children of Israel into the lande of promission and deuided the lande to the Tribes of Israel He dyed at the age of an hundred and ten yeres in whose steade Iuda was made gouernour of the Lordes armie ¶ Iosua the Lorde Sauiour Gen. 21. a. Isaac was the sonne of Abraham by his wyfe Sara and a figure of Christ for when his father went to 22. cap. * Some say that Isaac was sacrificed of his father in the xiii yeare of his age but Iosephus affirmeth it to be done in the xxv yeare offer him vp in sacrifice and comming to the Aultar and place where he shoulde dye he willingly offered himselfe to death that his father might in him fulfill the Lordes will. But being preserued of God till he came to the age of fortie yeares he then tooke to wyfe Rebecca 25. c. the daughter of Bathuel his fathers brother who being long barren at the last by the pleasure of God brought forth Esau and Iacob at one birth After this there fell 26. cap. such a dearth and famine in his countrie that he departed into the lande of the Philistines where Abimelech was king And as he remayned in Gerar the Lorde appeared to Isaac bidding him to remayne still in that place and not to remooue into Egypt and he would multiply his sede as the Starres of heauen and bring it so to passe that all Nations of the earth shoulde be blessed therein And so Isaac remooued not But for so much as he doubted of the feare of God to be in that place he durst not auouche Rebecca to be his wyfe but sayde she was his sister Reade the storie of Abimelech King of the Philistines for the playner declaration of this matter And now whyle Isaac remayned in the Countrie of Gerar God so encreased him with abundance of cattell and ryches that the Philistynes began to enuie and hate hym and stopped all the Welles which his father Abraham had made that he shoulde haue no commoditie thereby But notwithstanding he digged vp the Welles againe and called them by the same names that his father had giuen them before and became so mightie that Abimelech made a bonde with Isaac who feasted the King and departed friendes Finally with age he became blinde 27. a. and so was deceyued in giuing his blessing to Iacob which he thought to haue first bestowed on Esau but both by the will of God â—eing blessed of their father Isaac he fell sicke and dyed at the age of an hundred and lxxx yeres and was buried in Hebron ¶ Isaac Laughter 2. Reg. 2. c. Isboseth the sonne of King Saul at the age of fortie yeares began his reygne ouer Israel Whose onely 4. cap. staye and vpholder of his Kingdome was Abner after whose death two of his owne Captaynes slue Isboseth by treason in his owne house after he had reygned twoo yeares Reade the storie of Baanah ¶ Isboseth a man of sbame .4 Felix ante alios fratres ego dicor Iuda Non mihi uerba pater inuidiosa dedit Sed me uictorem dixit forteque Leonem Hostes qui superet viribus ecce suos ¶ Of Ismael the sonne of Nathaniah which slue Gedaliah reade the storie of Iohanan and Gedaliah both 2. Reg. 15. d. Ithai was a Gethite borne and bare such loue to Dauid that he left his owne Countrey to come and sée Lyra sayeth that Ithai was the son of Achis king of Geth him and the fashion of his Court and as he continued there and sawe into what daunger Absalom had brought his father Dauid eyther to flie his Realme or to haue lost all he woulde take no part with Absalom but followed Dauid and left him not in this extremitie And when Dauid sawe him he sayd vnto him why commest thou with me Ithai returne I pray thée and bide with the King for thou art a straunger and come but yesterdaye and therefore I woulde be loth to disquiete thée Therefore returne and cary againe thy brethren and the Lorde shall she we thée mercie and truth Nay sayde Ithai as truly as God liueth and my Lorde the King lyueth in what place my Lorde the King shall be whether in lyfe or death euen there also will thy seruant be And so he went forwarde with Dauid and had rule ouer the thirde part of Dauids hoste in the suppression of Absalom ¶ Ithai Strong Gen. 29. d. 37. f. Iuda was the fourth sonne of Iacob Lea who would not consent to the death of Ioseph his brother but gaue counsell to sell him saying What shall it auayle vs my brethren to sley our brother and to kéepe hys bloude secrete let vs sell him to the Ismaâ—lites and not lay our handes vpon him for he is our fleshe and bloude â–ª After this he departed from his brethren to a place called 38. cap. Odollam where he remayned with a friende of hys called Hyra and in processe fell in loue with a mannes daughter called Sua a Canaanite borne and marryed hir who in time brought him forth thrée Sonnes The first Er The seconde Onan and the thirde Sela. The two first one after another he married to a certaine woman called Thamar but for their horrible sinne and wickednesse the Lorde slue them both Then Iuda fearing to marrye the thirde sonne vnto hir least he shoulde dye also sayde to his daughter in lawe remayne a Wydow at thy fathers house till Sela my sonne be growen she did so during which time the daughter of Sua dyed and Iuda became a wydower Nowe when the dayes of mourning were ended he went to a place called Thymnah taking his friende Hyra with him to sée his shéepe shearers Then Thamar hearing thereof and séeing Sela not giuen hir in marriage layde awaye hir Wydowes garment and disguising hir selfe lyke a common harlot went and sate hir downe in an open place by the hye wayes side going to Thymnah And as Iuda passed that way and sawe one sit muffled like an whore went vnto hir and sayde Come I pray thée let
me lye with thée What wilt thou giue me then quoth she I will quoth he sende thée a Kidde from the flocke Then leaue me a pledge quoth she till thou sende it What pledge shall I leaue quoth Iuda Thy Signet quoth she vppon thy finger thy Cloake and thy staffe He did so and laye with hir And comming to his flocke he tooke a Kid and sent it by his friende Hyra to receyue his pledges againe Who being come to the place and founde not the woman he asked of the men thereabout where the whoore was which sate in the way as they came They made him aunswere againe there was no whoore there Then he returned to Iuda and tolde him Well sayde Iuda let hir take it to hir least we be ashamed Nowe was Thamar conceyued with chylde and when she had gone thrée monthes the thing was espyed and tolde to Iuda that his daughter in lawe had played the whoore and was with chylde Then bring hir forth quoth he that she maye suffer according to the lawe And as she was ledde to the fire she sent the pledges to Iuda hir father in lawe saying by the same man to whome these things doe pertayne am I with chylde Then Iuda knowing his pledges sayde she is more righteous than I for she hath done this déede bicause I gaue hir not to Sela my sonne And so was the woman deliuered and brought him forth two sonnes at one birth Pharez and Gen. 49. b. Zarez Of this man Iuda it was prophecied that the Scepter shoulde not depart from him nor a Lawgiuer from betwéene his féete vntill * which was Christ Silo came ¶ Iuda a Praysing or Confession 1. Mac. 2. a. Iudas Machabeus the thirde sonne of Mathathias the Iewe was a valiaunt man in his fayth and of an inuincible courage In so much that he ouercame Appolonius 3. cap. Seron twoo mightie Princes of Siria which came against him And with thrée thousande men he put Gorgias to flight which stole vpon him by night and vanquished 4. cap. Lisias the Lieutenant of King Antiochus and his sonnes and with them fourtie thousande footemen and seuen thousand horsemen and slue of them fiue thousande Afterwarde in Galilea he slue of the hoste of Tymotheus 5. cap. an other of the Kinges Captaynes first thrée thousande and afterwarde eyght thousande After that by a 7. f. g. valley called Adarsa he with a thousand fought with Nicanor a Captayne of King Demetrius and nyne thousande with him at the which battell Nicanor was slayne and of the nyne thousande almost none escaped Finallye 9. a. b. to much trusting in his prosperitie in warres in going against Bachides a Captayne of King Demetrius who had a great hoste and taking with him but twoo thousand of which at the last remained with him but only .viij. hundred he fought till it was night and made a woonderfull slaughter of enimies But while he forced himselfe to come to Bachidis the which was on the right winge of the battell he fought so nobly that he escaped that winge sleying many about him Finallye being enuironed with the left winge and striken with manye woundes was slayne with much difficultie ¶ Iudas A praysing c. 1. Mac. 16. Iudas the sonne of Symon the sonne of Mathathias dyd manfully assist Iohn his brother agaynst Cendebeus a. b. c. Captaine of Antiochus host and was at the same tyme sore wounded and afterwarde most trayterously murdered with Symon his father at a Banket which Ptolomy made them at his castle called Doche. Luk. 6. c. Iudas the sonne of Alphe and brother to Iames is called in the tenth of S. Mathew Lebbeus and is surnamed Thaddeus When Christ sayde vnto his Disciples Iohn 14. c. that he woulde shew himselfe vnto them and not vnto the worlde Iudas asked him the cause why he woulde shewe himselfe vnto them and not vnto the worlde He made an Iude. 1. cap. Epistle in the which he Admonisheth all Churches generallye The last part of this historie I finde in the argument before the Epistle of Iude. Geneua to take héede of deceyuers which went about to drawe the hearts of the simple people from the truth of God whome he setteth foorth in their liuely colours shewing by diuers examples of the Scriptures that horrible vengeaunce is prepared for them Finally he comforteth the faythfull and exhorteth them to continue in the Doctrine of the Apostles of Iesus Christ Math. 10. ◠Iudas iscariote the sonne of Symon of Canaan one of the Apostles of whom it was afore hande written to be the sonne of perdicion had a great conscience in the Iohn 12. a. precious oyntment that Mary powred vppon Christes heade that it was not solde for thrée hundred pence and giuen to the poore but to sell his maister for thirtie pence Math. 26. b. c and to be guyde to them that tooke him to betraye hym with a kysse he had no conscience at all vntill he sawe his mayster condemned and then he repented and had the thirtie pence agayne vnto the hye Priestes and Elders cap. 27. 1. saying that he had sinned in betraying the innocent bloud Act. 1. c. and so departed in great desperacion and hanged himselfe whose bodye brast a sundry in the middest so that all his bowels gushed out Act. 5. g. Iudas of Galile rose vp after Theudas what time as the whole worlde was taxed by the commaundement of Augustus Cesar and taught the people that for as much as they were dedicated vnto God they ought not to paye Tribute to Emperours which were woorshippers of false goddes whereby he drewe to his faction a great part of the commons who at the last were all brought to naught and Iudas himselfe slayne Act. 9. b. Iudas a Citizen of Damasco to whose house the Lorde sent Ananias to séeke Saule of Tharsus who was hosted there Iudith 8. cap. Iudith the daughter of Merari was a bewtifull woman vnto the which was ioyned such vertue and godlinesse that all men spake good of hir Hir husbands name was Manasses who at the daye of his death left hir great riches She dwelt in the Citie of Bethulia and was a woman of great Chastitie Nowe during the time of hir widowhead it chaunced Holofernes to come and besiege the Citie of Bethulia of whome the Iewes were so afrayde that they wyste not what to doe but commit themselues to God for he had destroyed all their water condites so that they must eyther sterue or yéelde of force Then ranne the people to Osias the hye Priest crying vpon him to yéelde and giue euer the citie to Holofernes least they shoulde all perishe who exhorted them to tarye fiue dayes longer for the mercie of God and if he helped them not in that space he woulde doe as they had sayde Then Iudith who all this whyle had kept hir house in prayer
fasting hearing what promise Osias had made to the people sent for him and all the Elders of Bethulia and sayde How happeneth this that yée haue promised to deliuer the Citie to the Assirians vnlesse within these fiue dayes the Lorde turne to helpe you what men are yée that yée tempt the Lorde your deuise obtayneth no mercy of God but rather prouoketh him to wrath and displeasure Will yée set the mercy of the Lorde a time and appoint him a daye at your will exhorte the people to repentaunce prayer and put them in remembraunce of this That with much tribulasion the friendes of God are tryed and that all these things which we now suffer are farre lesse than our sinnes haue deserued And that this correction is come vpon vs as to the seruauntes of God for the amendement of our lyues and not for our destruction Nowe heare my deuise I praye you and beséeche the Lorde to bring it to good ende Yée shall stande this night in the gate of Bethulia I will go foorth with Abra my Mayden Praye yée vnto the Lorde that within the dayes that yée haue promised to deliuer vppe the citie he will visite Israel by my hande But inquyre not of mée the thing I haue taken in hande for I will not declare it tyll God haue finished the acte Then euery man went their wayes and Iudith departed home to hir secret closet where she made hir harty prayers vnto God for the peoples deliueraunce Which being done she cast of hir mourning garments decked hir selfe most brauelye to allure the eyes of all men that shoulde beholde hir which she dyd not for anye voluptuousnesse or pleasure of the fleshe but of a right discrecion and vertue And so going foorth of hir house with Abra hir Mayde she came to the gate of the Citie where the Elders stoode wayting hir comming And as they behelde hir woonderfull bewtie which God at that present had giuen hir they were marueylously astonished She then commaunding the gates to be open tooke hir leaue of the people who most hartily besought the Lorde to be hir defence well to performe the deuise of hir heart that they might safely and ioyfully receyue hir presence agayne And so committing hir to God shut the gates and looked ouer the walles after hir so long as they could sée hir And as she was going downe the mountaynes the first watch of the Assirians tooke hir demaunding what she was and whither she went I am quoth she a daughter of the Hebrues and am fled from them bycause I knowe that they shall be giuen vnto you to be spoyled Wherefore I am going to the Prince Holofernes to tell him all theyr secretes and howe he shall winne the Citie without the losse of one man And when the men had pondered hir wordes and considered well hir bewtie they put hir in good comfort of hir lyfe brought hir to Holofernes whose Maiestie so abashed Iudith that she fell downe as one almost dead for feare But being reuyued agayne Holofernes demaunded the cause of hir comming to whom she made aunswere on this wise saying O my Lord if thou wilt receyue the wordes of thine handmayden and doe thereafter the Lorde shall bring thy matter to a prosperous effect For as thy seruaunt Achior gaue counsell vnto my Lord to make search whither they had sinned agaynst their God or no It is manifest and plaine that their God is so wrath with them for their sinnes that he hath shewed by his Prophetes that he will giue them ouer into the enimies hande Wherefore they are sore afrayde and suffer great hunger and at this present for lacke of water are in a manner as dead menne and in this extremitie brought to kill theyr cattell and drincke the bloude And also purposed to consume all the Wheate Wyne and Oyle which are reserued and sanctified for the Priests and not lawfull for the people to touch Wherefore I thy handmaide knowing all this am fled from their presence for God hath sent mée to woorke a thing wyth thée that all the earth shall woonder for thy seruaunt feareth the Lorde and woorshippeth the God of heauen day and night And nowe let me remayne with thée my Lorde and let thy seruaunt go out in the night to the valley and I will praye vnto God that he may reueale vnto mée when they shall committe their sinnes that I may shewe them vnto thée and than mayest thou surely go foorth with thine armie for no man shall resist thée I will bring thée to Ierusalem in such safetie that there shall not so much as one dogge barcke against thée Nowe was Holofernes so well pleased with the wordes of this woman and so farre in loue with hir bewtie that he commaunded hir lodging to be made in the Tent where his treasure laye and to prepare hir diet of the same that he himselfe dyd eate and drincke of but notwithstanding she tolde the King that she might not eate of his meate least she should offende hir God but I can satisfie my selfe quoth she with such thinges as I haue brought Then how shall we doe quoth Holofernes if these thinges that thou hast brought doe sayle where shall we haue the like to giue thée As truely as the soule of my Lorde liueth quoth she thine handmayde shall not spende all that I haue tyll God haue brought to passe in my hande the thing that I haue determined And so being licensed to go out and in euery night at hir pleasure to praye she went thrée nightes togither into the valley of Bethulia calling vpon God to prosper hir deuise for the deliueraunce of his people and at eche time returned to hir Tent againe And vppon the fourth daye as it happened Holofernes by Gods prouidence to make a great Banket vnto his Lordes he sent Vago his Chamberlayne to Iudith to counsell hir to come and kéepe Companye with hym that night for it were a shame for vs quoth he if we shoulde let such a woman alone and not talke with hir we will allure hir least she doe mocke vs And when the messenger had done his message brought Iudith to Holofernes his spirite by and by was mooued and rauished with hir bewtie Sit downe now quoth he and drincke with vs and be mery I will drincke nowe my Lorde quoth she and reioyce bycause my state is exalted more than euer it was before And so she eate and drancke before him of such things as hir Mayde had prepared then Holofernes reioyced so much in Iudith that he dranke more wyne at that time than euer he had done in one daye before Nowe when the euening was come and euery man departed and gone to their lodging Vago the Kinges Chamberlayne shut the chamber doore and went his waye to bedde leauing none but Iudith in the chamber with Holofernes for hir Mayde was cōmaunded to stande without the Chamber doore to wayte hir Mistresse cōming
of his finger in water to coole my tongue for I am sore tormeÌ„ted in this flame Naye sayde Abraham forasmuch as in thy life time thou receiuedst thy pleasure and had no pitie on the poore now art thou punished And contrarywise Lazarus which receyued paine and tooke it paciently is nowe comforted Lea was the eldest daughter of Laban the sonne of Nahor Abrahams brother somewhat squint eyed She preuented hir sister Rachel in marriage being brought to Iacobs bedde in hir sisters steade and so became Iacobs first wyfe bare vnto him one after an other these foure sonnes Ruben Simeon Leuie Iuda and so ceased till it chaunced Ruben hir eldest sonne in the tyme of wheate haruest to go out into the fields finde Mandrakes and brought them home to his mother Then Rachel hearing thereof went to Lea hir sister desiring to haue hir sonnes Mandrakes who sayde to Rachel is it not ynough that thou hast taken awaye my husbande but wouldest take away my sonnes Mandrakes also Well quoth Rachel let hym sléepe with thée this night for thy sonnes Mandrakes And so Iacob comming out of the fielde at euen Lea met him and sayde Come in vnto me for I haue bought thée with my sonnes Mandrakes and that nyght she conceyued with Iacob and brought him forth the fift sonne and called his name Isachar After that she conceyued againe and brought him forth the sixt sonne and called his name Zabulon Last of all shée conceiued and brought hym foorth a daughter and called hyr name Dyna Leuy the thirde sonne of Iacob and Lea with his brother Simeon slue Hemor and Sichem his sonne for rauishing of their sister Dyna And therefore were they called of Iacob their father Cruell Instruments Leuy had thrée sonnes Gerson Caath and Merari The tribe of Leuy the Lorde chose vnto hymselfe and appoynted them to serue in the Tabernacle of witnesse with Aaron to beare the Arke of the appoyntment of the Lord to minister and blesse in his name and had no inheritance among their brethren but the Lorde who was their inheritance He lyued 137. yeres Luke 5. f. Leuy otherwise called Mathewe the sonne of Alpheus was a Toll gatherer or a receyuer of Custome who at the voyce of Iesus when he sayde folow me left Mar. 2. c. his office and all thinges behinde him and followed the Math. 9. 2. Lorde And became of a sinfull Publican a true Disciple of Christ He inuited Iesus to his house and made him a great Feast at the which were many Publicanes beside other of his acquaintaunce which sate at meate with Christ and his Disciples wherewith the Phariseys were much offended .3 Sichemitarum regem cum freÌ„ necaui Disiecique urbis moenia celsa ferox Propterea Leui poenas fert nil propriuÌ„que Possidet in certo nec manet ipse loco Hac f. Act. 16. 6. Lidia was a certaine woman and a seller of Purple in the Citie of Thiatria and a worshipper of God whose heart the Lorde so opened at the preaching of Paule that she with all hir housholde were conuerted and baptised saying then to Paule and the other Disciples if ye haue iudged me to be faythfull to the Lorde come into my house and abide there and so she constrayned them who founde so much faythfulnesse then in the woman that afterwarde being cast in prison and deliuered againe they returned into hir house to comfort the brethren which resorted thither ¶ Lydia Natiuitie or generation 1. Mac. 3. c. Lysias being a great man with Antiochus and of his bloude was such an enimie vnto the Iewes that the King made him Captayne of his host who with fourtye thousande footemen and seauen thousande horsemen went to fight agaynst Iudas Machabeus But Iudas ouercame hym and slue thrée thousand of his men Then Lysias being sore grieued at Israels prosperitie came 4. c. d. at an other tyme with thréescore thousand footemen and fiue thousand horsemen at which time Iudas ouercame hym agayne and slue fiue thousand of his men Finally as he laye with Antiochus the King at the Citie of Antioche 7. 2. Demetrius came vpon them and slue them both ¶ Lysias Dissoluing Act. 22. d. Lysias was an hye Captayne vnder the Emperour and hauing Paule committed vnto hym as prysoner was afrayde to punishe hym bycause hée was a Romayne And therefore to knowe the certayntie wherefore the Iewes had accused hym he brought hym foorth 23. cap. before the Counsell where in the ende fell such discention and debate among them that Lysias fearing least Paule shoulde haue bene pulde a sunder of the Iewes tooke him and had him into the Castle And hauing knowledge how the Iewes had conspired Pauls death he sent him awaye secretly by night to Felix being at that time the Emperours Lieutenaunt to whome he wrote on this wise Claudius Lysias vnto the most mighty ruler Felix sendeth gréetings As this man was taken of the Iewes and shoulde haue bene killed of them I came vppon them with Souldiours and rescued him perceyuing he was a Romayne And when I woulde haue knowne the cause wherefore they accused him I brought him foorth in their counsell There I perceyued that he was accused of questions of their lawe and had no cryme woorthy of death or of bondes and when it was shewed mée how that the Iewes layed wayte for the man I sent hym straight waye vnto thée commaunded his accusers if they had ought against him to tell it vnto thée Farewell Maâ—c 4. c. 2 f. g. Lysimachus was made the hye Priest of the Iews in the rowme of Menelaus his brother by whose Counsell he robbed the Temple did much mischiefe whose wickednesse was so manifest vnto the people that they rose vppe agaynst him and made a great vprore in the Citie Wherevpon Lysimachus perceyuing where about they went got vnto him thrée thousande vnthriftes well armed for his defence Agaynst whome the multitude fought so furiously with clubbe and battes and with hurling of stones and such weapons as they coulde get that they wounded many slue some and chased the reast awaye and at the last kylled the wicked Churche robber himselfe beside the Tresurye ¶ Lysimachus dissoluing Battell Ose 1. d. Loammy was the seconde Sonne of Gomer the daughter of Deblaim And when she brought hym foorth the Lorde sayde Call his name Loammy For why yée are not my people therefore wyll not I be your God. ¶ Loammy not my People 2. Tim. 1. 2. Loys was a faythfull godly woman and Graundmother to Tymothy who alwayes brought vp hir Children and famylie in the feare of God and knowledge of Christes Doctrine ¶ Loys Better Ose 1. â— Lornhama was the daughter of Gomer the daughter of Deblaim And when she brought hym foorth the Lorde sayde Call his name Lornhama for I will haue no pittie vppon the house
of Israel but forget them and put them cleane out of remembraunce Lornhama not obtayning Mercy S LVCAS EVANGELISTA Acta Apost Cap. 9. SAVLE SAVLE QVID ME PERSEQVERIS DOMINE QVID ME VIS FACERE ET DOMINâ— IHS Collo 4. d. Luke was a Phisition borne in the citie of Antioche 2. Tim. 4. c. and became Saint Pauls Disciple and companion in all Luke liued 84. yeares and was buried at Constautinople his traueyles He wrote the volume of his Gospell as he had learned of Paule and of the other Apostles as he reporteth himselfe in the beginning of the same worke saying As they haue deliuered them to vs which from the beginning saw them with their eyes and were ministers of the thinges that they declared But the volume called the Actes of the Apostles he composed as he had séene the story whereof came euen to Paules tyme being and tarying twoo yeares at Rome where the woorke was finished ¶ Luke his Resurrection M. MAacha the daughter of Thalmar king of Gessur was King Dauids wyfe and mother to Absalom Maacha the daughter of Absalom was wyfe to Roboam and Mother to Abia which Abia his father Roboam ordayned to raigne after hym for the loue that he bare to Maacha his mother aboue all the reast of his wyues â–ª Reade the storye of Asa Machabeus was the thirde sonne of Mathathias and after his fathers death he was made Ruler ouer the Iewes Who in the defence of the holye lawes fought most manfully against Goddes enimies during his lyfe Machir was the sonne of Amiel of Lodebar and a great friende to Miphiboseth the sonne of Ionathas who kept him in his house tyll King Dauid sent for hym to his preferment Manahen the Sonne of Eady besieged Sallum King of Israel in Samaria and slue him whose Kingdome he possessed and began his raygne in the nyne and thirtie yeare of Azariahu King of Iuda And because the Citie of Tiphsah woulde not receyue him as there he destroyed the Citie and all that was within it And for this great wickednesse and tyrannie God styrred vp Phul King of Assiria agaynst him vnto whom Manahen gaue a thousande Talents of siluer to breake vp his warres which money he exacted of his people taking of euerye man of substannce fiftie Sicles He raygned ten yeares leauing Pekahia his sonne to succéede him Manahen which was brought vp of a Childe with Herode and his playsere at the last forsooke him and followed Christ Manasses the sonne of Hezekia was twelue yeare olde when he began his raygne ouer Iuda and wrought much euill before the Lorde For he buylt vp the hye places agayne which his father had destroyed He erected vp Altars for Baal and made Groues as Achab dyd and woorshipped all the hoste of heauen and serued them He offered his children in fire as the maner of the Gentyles was and gaue himselfe to witchcraft and Sorcerye and fauoured Soothsayers and such as vsed familiar spirits He set the Image of the groue in the house where the Lorde sayde he woulde put his name for euer Ouer and beyonde all these euils he shed so much innocent bloude that all Ierusalem was replenished from corner to corner wrought more wickednesse than dyd all the Amorites Wherefore the Lorde gaue hym ouer into the handes of the King of Assiria who tooke Manasses and bounde him with twoo cheynes and caryed him to Babilon Where at the last he so humbled him selfe to the Lorde that he had compassion vpon hym and restored him to his Kingdome agayne Who after that became a good man and put downe all such abhominacions as he before had mayntayned and reygned fiue an fiftie yeres leauing Amon his sonne to succéede Mardocheus the sonne of Iair was a Iew borne dwelling in the Citie of Susan and one of them which were caryed away from Ierusalem with Iechonia King of Iuda by Nabuchodonosor into Babilon This man had a fayre Damosell in his house named Hester his vncles daughter whose Father and Mother being dead he brought vp as his owne daughter so long till at last for hir bewtie fayrenesse she was taken vp by the Kinges commission with other mo had to the Court there to be brought vp at the Kings charges in an house appointed for that purpose the King had called them for And euery day would Mardocheus walke before the womens house to he are and know how Hester dyd what should become of hir whose lotte in processe was to be made Quéene in the steade of Vasthi late deposed And on a time as Mardocheus sate in the Kings gate he heard an ynckling of certaine treason conspired against the Kings owne person by twoo of his pryuie Chamber Bigthan and There 's which treason he caused Hester to open vnto the King and to certifie his grace thereof in his name Vpon whose certification inquirie being made founde true the conspiratours were put to death and the matter Registred in Chronicle for a remembrance of their acte After this bycause Mardocheus would doe no reuerence to Haman both he and the Iewes shoulde all haue béene slayne in one daye Whereof Mardocheus hauing knowledge he rent his clothes and put on mourning apparell and so ranne thorow the Citie of Susan where their destruction was denised Crying out vntill he came to the Kinges gate where he might not be suffered to enter in that araye Then Hester hearing thereof was sore astonished and sent him other rayment to put on But he refusing the rayment declared vnto the messenger the whole effect of Hamans commission and working and tooke him a Copye of the same to giue to Ester charging hir to go vnto the King for the lyues and â—afegarde of hir people For who can tell quoth he whither God hath called hir to the Kingdome for that purpose or no it may be that he hath And therefore if she nowe holde hir peace the Iewes shall haue helpe from some other place and so shall she hir fathers house be vtterly destroyed And so whyle Ester went about the deliueraunce of the Iewes Mardocheus was exalted into the Kings fauour to the great reioysing of all the Iewes whose wealth he sought so long as he lyued Reade the story of Ester and Haman Marie the Virgin and mother of God whose parentes are not expressed in Scripture was affianced to a certaine good man of hir owne stocke and Tribe which was of Iuda named Ioseph And before she came to dwell with him the Angell Gabriel being sent of God came and saluted hir saying Hayle full of grace the Lorde is with thée blessed art thou among women The Virgin séeing the Angel was sore abashed at his words and mused much in hir mynde what salutation that shoulde be Then sayde the Angell feare not Mary for thou hast founde fauour with God for lo
with great rewardes And being mette togithers Triphon sayde to Ionathas Why hast thou caused this people to take such traueyle séeing there is no warre betwéene vs Therefore sende them home againe and choose certayne men to wayte vpon thée and come thou with mée to Ptclomais for I will giue it thée with other strong holdes for that is the onelye cause of my comming and so I must depart Then Ionathas beléeuing Triphon sent away his hoste all saue a thousande and so went with Triphon to Ptolomais And assoone as Ionathas and his men were entered the Citie the gates were shut and Ionathas put in warde all his men were 1. Mac. 13. a. b. c. d. slayne After this Triphon went into the lande of Iuda with a great hoste hauing Ionathas with hym in warde And when he had knowledge that Symon stoode vp in the steade of his brother Ionathas and that he woulde come agaynst him he sent worde to Symon that where as he kept Ionathas his brother in warde it was but for mony he ought in the Kings account and other businesse he had in hande Therefore if he woulde sende hym an hundred Talents of Siluer and the twoo sonnes of Ionathas to be their fathers suretie he would sende him home againe But Symon knewe his dissembling heart well ynough Yet neuerthelesse least he should be a greater enimie to the people of Israel and say an other daye that bycause he sent him not the money and the children therefore is Ionathas dead he sent him both the money and the Children Then Triphon hauing the money and Children kept Ionathas still and shortlye after put both the Father and his children to death Now Triphon to bring his long pretenced purpose about on a tyme as he walked abrode with the yoong King he most trayterously slue him and possessed the Realme and crowned himselfe King of Asia and dyd much hurte in the lande Finally Triphon 15. b. cap. was so behated of all men that when Antiochus the sonne of Demetrius came vpon him the most part of his owne hoste forsooke him and went to Antiochus who neuer left persecuting of Triphon till he made hym flée by shippe where he was neuer séene more ¶ Triphon a delicate and fine man. Act. 20. a. Trophimus was an Ephesian borne who went with Tichicus out of Asia to Troas to make all thinges ready agaynst Paules comming and abode there till Paule came from thence they went with Paule to Ierusalem where certaine Iewes which were of Asia mooued the people agaynst Paule complayning of hym that he 21. f. cap. had brought Gréekes with hym to polute the Temple bicause they saw Trophimus with him in the Citie whom they supposed Paule had brought into the Temple Gene. 4. c. d. Tubal was the sonne of Lamech by his wyfe Ada. And was the first that inuented the science of Musicke by the strokes and noyse of the hammers of his brother Tubalcain which was a Smith and the first finder out of Mettall and the woorking thereof Iubal was his brother by father and mother and Tubalcain onely by the Father for Zilla was his mother ¶ Tubal borne or brought or worldly ¶ Tubalcain Worldly possession V. VAsthi was a verye fayre woman and wyfe to Ahasuerus otherwise called Artaxerses King of Persia And bycause she woulde not come to the King when he sent for hir a lawe was deuised and made by the seuen Princes of Persia and Medea That forasmuch as it coulde not be chosen but that this déede of Quéene Vasthi must néeds come abrode into the eares of all women both Princes and other so dispise their husbandes and saye Thus and thus dyd Vasthi to Ahasuerus by which occasion much dispitefulnesse and wrath shoulde aryse The King shoulde therefore put hir awaye and take an other to the ende that all other women great and small shoulde holde their husbandes in more honour And so she was diuersed from the King and Hester receyued in hir place Vrban was a certayne faythfull Christian brother to whome Paule sent gréetings saying Salute Vrban our helper in Christ Vrias the Hethite was a man alwayes for the most part occupyed in the Kings warres with Ioab the Kings Captayne generall This Vrias had a fayre woman to his wyfe called Bethsabe whome King Dauid in his absence had got with childe And when the King had knowledge that the woman was conceyued he sent for Vrias to come home Who being come to the King and had tolde him of all thinges concerning Ioab and his men of warre The King bade him go home to his house and repose himselfe there a whyle with his wyfe And so Vrias being departed from the King went not home to his wyfe but laye without the Kinges gate he and all his men that night And when on the morowe the King had knowledge thereof he sent for Vrias demaunded why he went not home To whome he sayde The Arke of Israel and Iuda dwell in Tentes and my Lorde Ioab and the seruaunts of my Lorde abide in the open fields shall I than go into mine house to eate and drincke lye with my wyfe By thy lyfe and by the life of thy soule I will not doe this thing Then he was commaunded to tarye a daye or twoo more and the King wrote a letter to Ioab the Tenour whereof was this That he should set Vrias in the fore front of the battell where it was most sharpest to the intent he might be slayne And so Vrias departed from the King carying his owne death with him and was soone dispatched out of his lyfe Vriah was the hye Priest in the tyme of Ahaz King of Iuda And hauing the patterne of an Altar sent vnto hym by the King from Damasco to make hym the lyke agaynst hys comming home Vriah consented to the Kinges wicked minde and made the Altar and did whatsoeuer the King woulde haue him to doe without any regarde of the lawes of God. Vza and Ahio were the sonnes of Abinadab which wayted vpon the newe Cart whereon the Arke of God which was taken out of their fathers house to be caryed to the house of Obeth was layed And forasmuch as Vza of a good intent put foorth his hande to staye the Arke when the Oxen stumbled the Lorde smote hym for his fault that he dyed euen before the Arke Z. ZAbulon was the sixte sonne of Iacob and Lea. Of whome his father prophecied before his death saying Zabulon shall dwell by the Sea side and hée shal be an hauen for shippes his border shal be vnto Zidon Zachary was a certayne godlye Priest in the dayes of Herode King of Iewrye which came of the course or familie of Abia. And walked so perfectly in the ordinaunces and lawes of the Lorde that no man could iustly complayne on hym But he had no childe by his wyfe Elizabeth for she was barren
thou shalt conceyue in thy wombe and beare a sonne and shalt call his name Iesus c. Then Mary bicause she woulde be resolued of all doubtes to the ende she might the more surely embrace the promise of God sayde Howe shall this be séeing I knowe no man The holy ghost quoth the Angell shall come vpon thée and the power of the most highest shall ouershadowe thée Therefore also that holy thing which shall be borne of thée shall be called the sonne of god c. Then sayde Marâ—e Beholde the handemayde of the Lord be it vnto me according to thy word Vpon this she prepared hir selfe with spéede to go and visite hir Cosin Elizabeth with whome she remayned thrée monthes and returned home agayne And shortly after went with Ioseph hir husbande from the Citie of Nazareth to the lande of Iewrie to a Citie called Bethleem there to be taxed according to the Emperour Augustus commaundement bicause they were of the house and linage of Dauid And being forced to lye in the stable for lacke of roume in the Inne hir houre came to be deliuered and there she brought forth Christ Iesus the Sauiour of the worlde And when she was purified and had bene at Ierusalem with hir chylde and performed all things there according to the lawe she returned with Ioseph hir husbande home to the Citie of Nazareth agayne And being accustemed yearely she and hir husbande to go vp at the feast of Easter to Ierusalem shée chaunced one tyme to forget hir Sonne behinde hir and when she had turned backe and sought him out and founde him she sayde Sonne why hast thou thus dealt with vs thy father and I haue sought thée with heauye heartes Another time as she was with hir Sonne at a mariage in Cana a towne in Galile when the Wyne fayled at the feast she tolde hir Sonne that they lacked wyne and receyuing his anâ—â—ere méekely bade the Ministers to doe whatsoeuer he commaunded them Finally as shée stoode by the Crosse whereon hir sonne shedde his bloude as well for hir as all other Christians sorow â–ª pierced hir heart like a sworde according to Simeons prophecie Marie the wyfe of Cleophe was hir sister Marie Salome was a certayne godly woman who among other ministred of hir substance to Iesus and followed him from Galile and after he was erucified bought swéete odors to annoynt his body and was a witnesse of his resurrection Marie the mother of Iohn Marke into whose house Peter came after the Angell of God had deliuered him out of prison from the handes of Herode where manye were gathered togither in prayer Marie * Magdalene dwelt in Bethania and was a sinfull woman And in token of hir great repentance she went to Iesus as he sate at meate in one of the Phariseys houses with a boxe of Oyntment in hir hande falling downe at his féete wéeping and washing them with the teares distilling downe from hir eyes and wyped them with the heares of hir head and also kyssed them and annointed them with swéete Oyntment Then Iesus séeing the great fayth of the woman sayde vnto hir Mary thy fayth hath saued thée goe in peace Then Mary féeling hir selfe much bounde to Christ which had forgiuen hir so many sinnes fell in so great loue that all hir whole meditacion and studie was vppon him Insomuch that when Martha hir sister was cumbred about much seruing of Christ at the Table Marie choosing the better part sate at Iesus féete to heare his preaching And when he suffred his passion she stoode by the Crosse with Mary his mother to sée the ende And the morrowe after the Sabboth day when she came to the sepulchre and sawe the stone taken awaye from the Tombe shée ranne to Peter and Iohn and tolde them who ranne to the graue and tryed the matter and returned backe againe leauing Marie standing at the Graue wéeping And as she bowed hir selfe into the graue she sawe twoo Aungels sitting in whyte clothing who sayde vnto hir woman why wéepest thou They haue taken away my Lorde quoth she and I knowe not where they haue layde him And turning hir selfe about she sawe Iesus standing but knewe him not to whome he sayde Woman why wéepest thou whome doest thou séeke She supposing it had bene the Gardiner sayde Sir if thou hast borne him hence tell me where thou hast layde him and I will fet him Then sayde Iesus Mary with thâ— she turned hir selfe and sayd Rabbony which is to say Mayster and fell downe to the ground to haue kyssed his féete But to withdrawe hir from that Iesus sayde Touche me not but go tell my brethren that I ascende to my Father and your Father to my God and 〈◊〉 god Then went Mary to the Disciples and tolde 〈◊〉 that she had séene the Lord and what things he had 〈◊〉 vnto hir Reade the storie of Martha hir sister and of Lazarus hir brother Marke the Euaungelist is thought to haue béene Peters Disciple and to write his Gospell according as he heard Peter preache and shew euery thing by mouth and to haue planted the first Church in Alexandria where he died in the eyght yeare of the reigne of Nero in whose place succéeded Anianus Of this Marke speaketh Peter in his first Epistle the fift Chapter saying The Congregacion of them which at Babilon are companions of your election saluteth you and so doth Marke my sonne Marke otherwise called Iohn the sonne of Mary was Minister to Paule Barnabas what tyme as they were sent by the holy Ghost from Antioche to preach the Gospell vnto the heathen which Marke at Pamphilia departed backe from them agayne For the which cause Paule the next iourney that he and Barnabas made woulde not suffer Marke to go with them wherefore Barnabas departed from Paule taking Marke who was his Sisters sonne with him into Cypers Martha and Mary Magdalene were twoo Sisters dwelling in the Citie of Bethinia which twoo had a brother named Lazarus This Martha on a tyme inuyted Iesus to dinner And being cumbred about much seruing and séeing hir Sister Mary sit styll at Iesus féete sayde vnto him doest thou not care that my sister hath left me to minister alone Bid hir come helpe mée To whome he aunswered Martha Martha thou carest and arte troubled about many things verilye one is néedefull Mary hath chosen the best part which shall not be taken from hir On a tyme as Iesus was comming to Bethinia to heale hir brother Lazarus she mette him saying Lorde if thou haddest béene here my brother had not dyed Neuerthelesse nowe I know that whatsoeuer thou doest aske of God he will giue it thée Then sayde Iesus Thy brother shall ryse agayne Yea quoth Martha I know that he shall ryse agayne in the resurrection at the last daye I am sayde Iesus the resurrection and the lyfe he that beléeueth on mée yea though he were