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
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
to Daniel which is in the Lyons denne O Lorde quoth he I neuer saw Babilon and as for the denne I knowe it not With that the Angel caught vp the Prophet by the toppe of hys head and bare him to Babilon and set him vpon the denne Then Abacuck cryed to Daniel and sayde O Daniel thou seruant of the Lord take here the breakefast that God hath sent thée Daniel hearing the voyce of Abacuck reioyced greatly and sayde O Lorde hast thou thought vpon mée Well thou neuer faylest them that loue thée And so he rose vp and did eate of such things as the Prophet had brought hym And immediatelye after that Daniel had eaten the Angell set Abacuck in his place againe Abdy the Prophet prophecyed destruction to the Idumeans which came of Esau and were vtter enimies to the Israelites which came of Iacob as at the siege of Ierusalem it did most plainely appeare where as they ioyned wyth Nabuchodonosor against their brethren whom they ought rather to haue holpen and defended against the heathen Abedmelech was a Morian borne and Chamberlane wyth Zedekia King of Iuda This man had so great a confidence in God and loue to his Prophets that when he saw Ieremie so euill intreated he went to the king and besought his grace that Ieremie the Prophet might be taken out of the filthy dungeon wherinto he was cast least he there should perishe and dye for hunger And so obtayning the Kinges good will he tooke his men and went to the prison where Ieremie lay threwe downe vnto him olde ragges clowtes which he had prouided bidding him to put them vnder his arme holes to kéepe the cordes from hurting and fretting his armes in pulling vp Nowe for this his kindenesse shewed on Ieremie and trust that he had in the Lorde he was deliuered from captiuitie and saued from the handes of Nabuchodonosor at the destruction of Ierusalem when other perished Abel was the sonne of Adam borne of hys Mother Eue next after Cain Hée was a kéeper of Shéepe and wholy dedicated to vertue and godlynesse In all hys oblations he euer gaue of the best things he had Which of the Lorde was greatly accepted And therfore Cain perceyuing his brothers offerings to be regarded and hys reiected eâ—â—yed him to death And at the last by a subtyle trayne slue hym Abia the sonne of Roboam began his reigne ouer Iuda in the xviij yeare of Ieroboam King of Israel Hys mothers name was Maacha the daughter of Abisalom He walked not in the steppes of Dauid but followed the wayes of hys father before him Yet notwythstanding for Dauids sake God gaue him a light that is to saye a sonne to reigne ouer Iuda Hée ouercame Ieroboam in battell wyth an Armie of fower hundred thousande notwithstanding the other had twise so many chosen and picked men Of the which Abia fiue fiue hundred thousande and weakened the power of Ieroboam so sore that he was neuer able to recouer hys strength againe so long as Abia reigned This King had .xiiij. Wyues by whome he had xxij Sonnes and xvj Daughters Hée reigned but thrée yeares and was buryed in the Citie of Dauid Abia the sonne of Ieroboam being sick on a time hys father called the Quéene his wyfe vnto him and bade hyr disguise hir selfe the in no wyse she might be knowne what woman shée was And so go thy way quoth hée to Sylo and there shalt thou finde the Prophet of God called Ahia which tolde me long before Salomon dyed that I should be King of Israel Make spéede and take a present wyth thée and learne of him what shall become of the Childe The Quéene did then as shée was commaunded but all was in vaine For God had reuealed the matter vnto the Prophet before the woman came In so much that as soone as the blinde olde man hearde the noyse of hir comming and entring in at the dore he sayde Come in thou wife of Ieroboam why hast thou disguised and fayned thy selfe to be another woman Thou art come to receyue some comfort for thy sonne which lyeth sicke but I am commaunded to tell thée heauye and sorowfull things It repenteth the Lorde that he hath exalted Ieroboam and rented the kingdome from the house of Dauid and giuen it to him forsomuch as he hath forsaken the Lorde and not folowed him in hys heart as Dauid did but hath made him goddes of hys owne therefore the Lorde hath determined to bring such a plague vpon the house and posterity of Ieroboam that hée wyll not leaue one alyue to make water against the walle Wherefore now get thée home and as soone as thy foote shall enter into the Citie the child shall dye and all Israel shall lament him and bring him to hys Sepulchre And so shall none of the house of Ieroboam thy husbande enioy the honour of his buryall but only thys childe bicause the Lorde sawe in him some goodnesse towarde And so when the Prophet had all sayde the wyfe of Ieroboam rose vp returned home to hir house and founde hir sonne deade as the Prophet had foretolde Abia the Daughter of Zacharia was wyfe to Ahaz King of Iuda and Mother to Hezekia Which name signifieth thus Abiathar the sonne of Achimelech priest of Nob seyng the great crueltie of Saul in putting hys Father to death for refreshing of Dauid escaped hys handes and fledde to the forest of Hareth where Dauid at that tyme laye declaring to him the great murder that Saul had done to Achimelech hys father and to all the Priestes of the Lorde for his sake Then being comforted of Dauid he abode wyth him and was his Priest and Counsayler so long as he reigned But in the ende of Dauids reigne he consented wyth Adoniah who had exalted himselfe to stablishe him in the kingdome after the death of Dauid But Salomon beyng proclaymed and the other deposed as soone as he was possessed depryued Abiathar and placed Sadock in hys rowme And so was the worde of the Lorde fulfilled which he had spoken before concerning the house of Eli for Abiathar was the last of that lyne Abigail the wyfe of Naball y Carmelite was a woman not onely bewtifull but of a singular wysedome with all For when hir husbandes denyall to Dauids men for sustenaunce in their maisters necessitie was tolde hir she then considering the great displeasure that might arise of the occasion offered hasted to lode hir Asses wyth sundrye kinde of victuals sending them forth before hir and folowing after wyth spéede And as shée was goyng the prouidence of God was so that she mette Dauid by the way vpon the side of an hyll comming to Carmell determined vtterly to haue destroyed hir husbande and all that he had by the dawning of the daye folowyng Then she perceyuing the furie of Dauid lighted downe of hir Asse falling flatte on the
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
lesse fauour to the sonnes of Berzelai for their fathers sake than euer he himselfe had done ¶ Berzelai Made of yron or as harde as yron 2. Reg. 11. ca. Bethsabe was the daughter of Eliam and wyfe to Urias which was with Ioab in the Kings warres On a tyme as Bethsabe was washing hir selfe in hir priuye garden alone It chaunced King Dauid to looke out at a window in his palace saw hir whose bewty so rauished the King that forthwithall he sent for the woman and committed adulterie with hir and so sent hir home againe Then shortly after she perceyuing hir selfe with chylde sent the King worde thereof who then partly to hide his owne fault and partly to saue the woman from daunger of the lawe sent for Urias to come home But when Dauid sawe that Urias woulde not company with his wyfe Bethsabe he returned him backe againe to Ioab with a letter which caused Urias quickly to be dispatched out of his lyfe after whose death Bethsabe became Dauids wyfe and brought forth the chylde conceyued in adulterie which liued not long but dyed After that she 12. f. conceyued agayne and brought forth Salomon Lastly when Dauid was fallen into extréeme age and that she sawe Adonia the son of Agith begin to aspire to the kingdome of his father yet liuing she went by the counsell of Nathan the Prophet who had taught hir hyr lesson vnto Dauid hir husbande And making hir humble obeysance vnto the King as he sate in his Chamber and Abisag the Sunamite ministring vnto him he sayde vnto hir what is the matter She aunswered my Lorde thou swarest by the Lorde thy God vnto thine handmayde saying assuredly Salomon thy sonne shall reigne after me and he shall sit vpon my seate And behold now is Adonia King and thou my Lord the king knowest it not He hath offred Oxen fat Cattell and many shéepe and hath called all the Kings sonnes and Abiathar the Priest and Ioab the Captaine of the hoste But Salomon thy seruant hath he not bidden And nowe my Lorde O King the eyes of all Israell wayte on thée that thou shouldest tell them who ought to sit on the seate of my Lorde the King after him for else when my Lorde the King shall sléepe wyth his fathers I and my sonne Salomon shall be sinners The Quéene had no sooner ended hir tale but the Prophet Nathan came and confirmed hir wordes Wherevpon the King assured Bethsabe that Salomon hir son shoulde be that daye proclaymed to reigne in his steade The Quéene then humbling hir selfe with thankes desired of God that hir Lorde King Dauid might liue for euer Looke more in the historie of Adonia ¶ Bethsabe The seauenth daughter or the daughter of an Othe Exo. 31. a. 35. d. 36. 37. and 38. cap. Bezaleel the sonne of Uri of the Tribe of Iuda and Ahaliab of the Tribe of Dan were two cunning workemen most speciallye endued with the spirite of God to worke all maner curious worke that was to be wrought in Golde Siluer Brasse Woode Stone or with Néedle worke so that by these two the Tabernacle of wytnesse with all things pertayning therevnto was most artificially made ¶ Bezaleel in the shadowe of God. Gen. 29. f. 30. a. 35. d. Bilha was a yong Damosell which serued Laban the father of Rachel and when Rachel shoulde be maried to Iacob Laban gaue Bilha his mayde to Rachel his daughter to be hâ—â— seruaunt And when Rachel perceyued she coulde bâ—â—re Iacob no children she gaue Bilha hir mayde vnto him to be his wyfe who conceyued by Iacob and brought him forth two sonnes the one Dan and the other Nephtaly ¶ Bilha Olde or fading Gen. 14. a. b. Birsa was one of the foure Kinges that fought agaynst fiue other Kings in the vale of Siddim ¶ Birsa in Euill or in iniquitie or condemned or a sonne that looketh back Reade Arioch Ruth 2. 3. 4. Boos the sonne of Salomon was a great rich man dwelling in a Citie called Bethléem within the lande of Iuda Who on a tyme going to the fieldes to looke vpon his Reapers and finding there a yong Damosell a leasing demaunded of his workemen â–ª what she was To whome answere was made she was a straunger come with Naomie out of the Countrie of Moab Then went Boos to the Mayde and sayde hearest thou my daughter Here is a notable example for all riche Farmers which bee so vnmercifull y they wil not suffer their needy neyghbour to lease in their grouÌ„d wheras Boos was so mercifull to this straunger whose nation were enimies to gods people go to no other fielde a leasing I charge thée so long as Haruest tyme endureth but to myne tary here by my Maydens and gather as much as thou wilt and spare not for no man shall let thée neither yet hurt thée And when thou art hungry and a thirst go with my Maidens and eate and drinke such as they haue for they shall not denie thée And so departing from hir he went to his men seruants commaunding them to intreate hir gentlye and to leaue some sheaues on the grounde for the nonce for hir to take vp without shame Nowe after this it chaunced Boos to haue knowledge that this yong Damosell was his kinsewoman and that it was his lot to marrie hir which he was well content to doe considering hir to be a woman of good report and of much vertue But yet for as much as he knewe another to be more neare of kinne to hir than he he could not defraude him of his right therefore to knowe what he woulde doe in this matter he went and called his kinseman before the Congregation and sayde Sir we haue here a kinswoman lately returned out of the lande of Moab one Naomie and she will sell a péece of lande which was our brother Elimelechs If thou be disposed to buie it doe if not then tell me for there is none to challenge it saue thou and I next vnto thée Then sayde he to Boos I will purchase it Well sayde Boos looke what day thou buyest the lande of Naomie thou must also take * He woulde haue the land but not the woman Ruthe the Moabite to wyfe to rayse vp the name of the deade vpon his enheritance Then he reuoking his worde agayne sayde that he coulde not purchase it for marring of his owne inheritance Therefore take thou my right and purchase it and so drew of his * The maner of purchasing â–ª shooe and gaue it to Boos for that was the custome of olde in Israel concerning purchasing and chaunging of inheritaunce to plucke of his shooe and giue it to his neyghbour in witnesse that the thing betwéene them was truely bought and solde Then Boos hauing his kinsemans shooe sayd vnto the people ye are witnesses all this day that I haue bought all that was Elimelechs all that pertayned to his two sonnes *
to saue Mardocheus and all the Iewes dyd ieoperde hir selfe to go to the King founde the meanes to bring him and Haman to a banket which she had prepared Nowe was Haman so prowde and ioyfull of the Quéenes fauour that hée went home to his house and called all his friendes togither making great boast to them of his glory riches and aucthoritie But chiefelye what speciall fauour Quéene Ester bare vnto him aboue all men in so much she had inuited no man to hir banket with the King saue onely him And to morrow quoth he I must be there againe But yet all this doth not satisfie mée so long as I sée Mardocheus the Iewe sitting at the Kings gate Marry sayde Zares his wyfe let there be a payre of galowes made of 50. cubits hye and speake to morrowe vnto the King that Mardocheus maye be hanged thereon And so Haman following his wyues counsell caused the gallowes to be prepared and on the morowe gat him to the Court and standing there wayting when the King woulde call for him that he might speake to dispatche Mardocheus The King who the night before had looked the Chronicles and founde out the fidelitie of Mardocheus sent for Haman and sayde what shal be done to the man whome the King woulde honour Then Haman thinking the King had gone about to honour none but hym sayde Let the man whom the King intendeth to bring to honour be arayned in such Royall apparell as the King vseth to weare and set vpon the Kinges horse with the Crowne Imperiall vpon his heade and commaunde one of the Kings Princes to cary him about the streates of the Citie with a proclamacion before him saying Thus shall it be done to the man whome the King pleaseth to bring to honour Then sayde the King take the rayment and the horse and go thou to Mardocheus the Iewe which sitteth at my gate and fayle not to doe vnto him all that thou hast sayde Then went Haman about the Kinges commaundement and performed all thinges according to his minde which being done he gat him home with an heauye heart to his wyfe and friends declaring vnto them what things had happened vnto him Then sayde they If Mardocheus be of the séede of the Iewes before whom thou hast begun to fall thou shalt not preuayle agaynst him but shalt surely fall before him And while they were thus talking a messenger came for Haman to go with the King to the banket at the ende of which Banket Ester opened all the wickednesse of Haman before the King who tooke the matter so grieuously that he rose from the boorde and went into the garden in a great anger Then Haman perceyuing a mischiefe towardes hym went and fell downe at the beddes féete or coutche wheron the Quéene sate and besought hir grace for his lyfe And when the King came in againe and founde him with the Quéene he sayde wyll he force the Quéene also before mée in the house which woorde was no sooner gone out of the Kings mouth but Hamans face was couered and so had out and hanged vpon the Gallowes which he had prepared in his owne house for Mardocheus Reade the storye of Ester and of Mardocheus Hanani was a Prophet sent of God to Asa King of Iuda declaring vnto him how greatly he had displeased the Lorde for making a couenaunt with Benhadad King of Siria and for his message doing was cast into prison Reade the storie of Asa Hananiah the sonne of Azur was a false Prophete which prophecied vnto the people of Israel that God woulde breake the yoake of Nabuchadnezar King of Babilon from the necke of all Nacions within the space of two yeares and in token thereof tooke the yoake from the Prophet Ieremies necke and brake it But Ieremie the true Prophet of God reprooued the false prophecie of Hananiah saying That in stéede of the yoake of woodde which he had taken from his necke the Lord woulde put a yoake of yron vpon the necks of all these Nacions that they shoulde serue the King of Babilon and that the false Prophet Hananiah himselfe shoulde dye the same yeare which thinges came truely to passe as Ieremie had spoken Hanon was the sonne of Nahas King of the Amonites vnto whō Dauid most gently sent to comfort hym vpon the death of his father which gentlenesse was most vngentlye and vnthankefully taken of the Lordes and counsaylers of the young King Hanon Who perswaded the yong King that Dauid had not sent to comfort hym vpon the death of his Father But had rather sent a sort of spyes vnder the colour of friendshippe to séeke the meanes howe to destroye his Cities and whole Realme Upon the which false and vnhonest surmise of his wicked counseylers Hanon caused the one halfe of euery mans bearde to be shauen their garments to be cut of harde by the Buttockes and so sent them home agayne to Dauid with much shame and vilany Upon which occasion Dauid became his vtter enimie made such hote warre agaynst hym that in conclusion Hanon was taken and lost his Regall Crowne which Dauid put vpon his owne heade and wore it before Hanons face and caried away all his treasure and Iewels tooke his people whereof some he sawed in two péeces ouer other some he caused Cartes new and sharpe shodde with yron to be dryuen some he tooke and shred their fleshe as Cookes doe pye meate cast other some in whote burning ouens Thus was Hanon rewarded for his ingratitude Hazael was a certayne great man which serued Benhadad King of Siria which Benhadad fortuning to fall sicke sent Hazael to Eliseus the Prophet to knowe whyther he shoulde recouer of his disease or no. And when the Prophet sawe Hazael he coulde not looke hym in the face for shame but cast his heade a syde and wept Then Hazael marueyling at the Prophets behauiour towards him demaunded of Eliseus wherefore he wept I wéepe quoth the Prophet to sée the great euils that thou shalt doe to the Children of Israel Thou shalt brcake downe their strong Cities and set them on fyre and slaye theyr yong men with the sworde and dashe the braynes out of the sucking children and all to rent in péeces the women with Childe Then sayde Hazael doest thou make thy seruaunt a dogge ▪ that I shoulde lacke so much humanitie and pittie to doe these thinges Well sayde the Prophet thou shalt doe as I haue sayde for the Lorde hath shewed me that thou shalt be King of Siria And so Hazael departed home to the King his maister and tolde him that he shoulde recouer for so the Prophet had sayde vnto him But on the next morrowe when Hazael sawe his tyme he tooke a thicke cloth and dipt it in water and spread it so on the Kinges face that he dyed After whose death Hazael raigned in his stéede And being stablished in his Kingdome he made
to kill them all and to bring their heades on the next morrowe to Iezrael And when they for feare had fulfilled his commaundement and brought their heades to him Iehu fell vpon the murtherers and slue them also And in the waye to Samaria he slue the brethren of Ahaziahu euen fortie and two which were going to visite Achabs sonnes Finally he trained all the Priests of Baal into the Temple of Baal and there slue them euery one conuerted the temple to a Iakes house And now when Iehu had left neyther Priest Kinseman nor any that fauoured Achab aliue the Lord for his well dooing made him this promise that his séede shoulde sit on the seate of Israel vntill the fourth generation But notwithstanding that Iehu had thus seuerely punished the vice of Idolatrie in Achabs posteritie yet he himselfe committed the same in worshipping the golden Calues and caused Israel to sinne as other before him had done He reygned .xxviij. yeares ¶ Iehu He himselfe or that which is Iudic. 11. cap. Iephtah was the sonne of Gilead base borne whose brethren which were legittimate thrust him out of their companie and so hated him that they coulde not suffer him to remayne among them wherfore Iephtah departed and fled into the lande of Tob where vnto him resorted all naughtie and light persons Nowe in the meane time that Iephtah was thus a straunger from his brethren the Ammonites made sore warre agaynst the Israelites so that they were in great ieoperdie and feare to be ouercome of them Then the Elders of Gilead considering Iephtah to be a strong and a valiant man went to Tob where he laye to intreate him to be their Captayne against the Ammonites Howe commeth thys quoth Iephtah that ye come to me in the time of your trouble did ye not hate me and * Often tymes those things which men reiect God chooseth to doe greater enterprises by expell me out of my fathers house Therefore sayde they are we turned to thée that thou mayest go with vs and be our heade and ruler But will ye promise nowe quoth Iephtah that when the Lorde shall deliuer the Ammonites into my hande ye will make me then your heade and gouernour They sayde yea And so he went with the Elders who brought him to Mizpa and being there made and confirmed their heade and Ruler he sent his messengers to the King of Ammon demauÌ„ding what cause he had to striue with Israel who answered and sayde Bicause they tooke away my countrie when they came from Egypt which if they will now restore agayne I will cease from warre Then Iephtah sent him worde agayne that Israel tooke not his lande from him but comming from Egypt and passing through the wildernesse euen to the redde Sea they remayned at Cades and sent to Sehon King of the Ammorites to suffer them quietlye to passe thorowe his Countrie And bicause he woulde not shewe them this kyndenesse the Lorde deliuered both him and his land into their hands and shall they dispossesse themselues of that which the Lord hath giuen them Nay not so Looke what people Chamos thy God driueth out that land possesse thou whatsoeuer nation the Lord our God expelleth that will we enioy Art thou better than Balac King of Moab did he not stryue with Israel and fight agaynst them all the whyle they laye in Hesbon and there about 300. yeares and why didst thou not recouer thy lande in all that space Thou doest mée wrong to warre against me for I haue not offended thée and therfore the Lorde be Iudge betwéene thée and me But when Iephtah perceyued the Ammonites not to regarde his words he prepared his armie to set vpon them And before his going made this vowe vnto the Lorde That if he did deliuer the Ammonites into his hande the first thing that met him out of his doores at his returne home againe shoulde be the Lordes and he woulde offer it vp vnto him for a burnt offering And when he had subdued the Ammonites and was comming homewarde to hys house the first thing that met him out at his doores was his owne daughter who for ioye of hir fathers victorie came against him with Timbrels and daunces Then Iephtah séeing his onely chylde come agaynst him with a companie of women after hir he rent his clothes and sayde Alas my daughter thou hast brought me lowe and art one of them that doe trouble mée for I haue opened my mouth vnto the Lorde and cannot go backe To whome she sayde Oh my father if thou hast promysed to the Lorde then forasmuch as the Lord hath auenged thée and giuen thée victorie ouer thine enimies doe with me according to thy promise But yet this one thing I shall desire of thée to spare me for two monthes that I may go downe to the Mountaynes and there with my my fellowes * For it was counted as a shame in Israel to dye without children bewayle my Virginitie Which done she returned to hir father who did with hir according as he had vowed vnto the Lorde After this the Ephraites fell at deâ—iance with Iephtah bicause he had not called them to take his part against the Ammonites and for this matter was a fielde pitched betwéene them and the Gileadites and a great battell foughten in the which the Ephraites were put to flight and séeking to haue escaped ouer Iordan the Gileadites had preuented them and stopped the passage that no Ephraite shoulde escape that way And to knowe who was an Ephraite and who was not the Gileadites vsed this policie if any preased to go euer the water they woulde bidde him say * Schibboleth signifieth the fall of waters or an eare of corne Schybboleth and as many as coulde not say Schibboleth they slue him for by that they knewe he was au Ephraite for the Ephraites coulde not sounde nor say Schibboleth but Sibboleth And so were slaine of the Ephraites that daye two and twentie thousande Iephtah vuled Israel vj. yeares and dyed ¶ Iephtah Opening Iere. 1. 2. Ieremy was the sonne of Helkia whome some thinke to be he that founde out the booke of the lawe and gaue it to Iosia He was borne in a citie called Anathoth Epiphanius wryteth that this Prophet Ieremy was slayne of hys people at a citie in Egipt called â—aphnis in the Countrie of Beniamin and by the commaundement of God began very yong to prophecie that is in the .xiij. yeare of Iosias and continued .xviij. yeares vnder the saide King and thrée monthes vnder Iehoahas and vnder Iehoakym .xi. yeares and thrée monthes vnder Iehoachin and vnder Zedekia .xi. yeares vnto the time they were caried away into Babilon So that the tyme amounteth to aboue fortie yeares beside the time that he prophecied after the captiuitie This storie is drawne out of Geneua in the Argument before the booke of Ieremie the Prophet ¶ Ieremy the Maiestie or highnesse of the Lorde Iudic. 6.
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
dead yet shall he lyue and whosoeuer lyueth and beléeueth in mée shall not dye Beléeuest thou this Yea Lord quoth Martha I beléeue that thou art Christ the sonne of God which shoulde come into the worlde After this when Iesus came to the place where Lazarus was buryed and had commaūded the stone of his graue to be taken away Martha sayde Lorde by this tyme he stincketh for he hath béene dead foure dayes Sayde not I vnto thée quoth Iesus that if thou diddest beléeue thou shouldest sée the glory of god And so she saw hir brother Lazarus restored from death to lyfe to the glory of God and hir great comfort Mathathias the sonne of Simeon the Priest which was of the stocke kynred of Ioaris had fiue valyaunt men to his sonnes dwelt in Modyn remayning steadfast in the lawes of God notwithstanding the great calamities that were come vpon the people of Iuda and Ierusalem for the which Mathathias made pytteous Lamentacion crying vpon God to strengthen him and his sonnes agaynst the heathen that had so wasted the people and defyled his sanctuary And whyle he his sonnes were thus mourning in Sackcloth for the destruction of the holy Citie Antiochus the King sent certayne Commissioners to the Citie of Modyn to compell such Iewes as were thither fled to forsake their owne lawes and to serue the Idols of the heathen Who after they had turned the heart of many spake to Mathathias on this wise Thou arte sayde they a noble man of hye reputacion and great in this Citie and hast many Children and brethren Come thou first of all and fulfill the Kinges commaundement lyke as the heathen haue done and the men of Iuda with such as remayne at Ierusalem and so shalt thou and thy sonnes be in fauour with the King and greatly enriched Nay said Mathathias Though all Nations vnder the Kinges Dominion fall away euerye man from the law of their fathers yet will I my sonnes my brethren walke in the lawes of our Fathers God forbid we shoulde forsake the lawes and ordinaunces of God we will not for no mannes pleasure transgresse our religion or breake the Statutes of our Lawe And as he had spoken these woordes a certayne Iewe came foorth and openlye in the sight of all men dyd sacrifice vnto the Idols vpon the Aultar in the citie of Modyn according to the Kings commaundement which thing so grieued Mathathias that for very zeale he had to the lawes of God he start him vp and ranne vpon the Iewe and kylled both him the Commissioner that compelled him so to doe ranne his way crying thorowe the Citie and saying to the people whosoeuer is seruent in the law and will kéepe and stande by the couenaunt let hym followe mée So he and his sonnes fled into the mountayns and many other godly men with their wyues and children and all that they had got them into the Wildernesse And being there the heathen went agaynst them on the Sabaoth daye and slue man woman and Childe for on that day the Iewes would make no resistance but woulde dye in their innocencie Then Mathathias hearing of this was verie sorye and counsayling with his friends sayde If we doe as our brethren hath done and not to fight for our lyues our lawes the heathen will soone roote vs all out of the earth wherevpon they concluded that whosoeuer dyd bid them battell on the Sabaoth daye that they woulde rather manfully fight for their lawes than to dye as their brethren had done before Vpon the which conclusion came the whole Synagoge of the Iewes with all such as were fled for persecution to Mathathias And being gathered togithers they were so great an hoste that they feared not their enimies but fell vpon them and slue a great number And by their force and strength they went about the coastes of Israel and destroyed the Aultars circumcised their children and kept their lawes in spite of all their beards Finally when the tyme of his death drewe nyghe he called all his sonnes before him exhorting them to preferre the lawes and wealth of their Countrey before their owne lyues and ordayned Symon his eldest sonne to be as it were theyr Father and Iudas Machabeus to be their Captayne and so giuing them his blessing he dyed and was burned in his Fathers Sepulchre in the Citie of Modyn Mathathias the sonne of Symon was killed with his Father at a Banket which Ptolomy his brother in lawe had prepared for them in a Castle of hys called Doche. Mathathias the sonne of Absalemus stacke by Ionathas when all his men forsooke him and fled the fielde sane Iudas the sonne of Calphi S. MATTHAEVS EVANGELISTA Cap. ◠VBI EST QVI NATVS EST REX IVDAEORVM VIDIMVS ENIM STELLAMEIVS IN ORIENTE ET VENIMVS ADORAE◠Mathias was a saithful Disciple of Christ and one that had his conuersacion alwayes among the Apostles ruen from the beginning of Christs preaching to the last ende And now for as much as Iudas the Traytour was fallen from Christ he with an other godly man called Ioseph or Barsabas was appointed to stande in election which of them twoo shoulde succéede in the place of Iudas ▪ And when the Apostles had made their prayers to God and giuen fóorth their lottes the lotte fell on Mathias and so he was counted with the eleuen Apostles Mathusalah was the sonne of Henoch and lyued and hundred eyghtie and seauen yeares and begot Lamech And after that he lyued seauen hundred an eyghtie twoo yeares and ▪ begot sonnes and daughters and when he had lyued in all nyne hundred and thrée score an nyne yeares he died Melchisedech is called King of Salem and the hye Priest of the most high god When Abraham had rescued Lot his nephew out of the handes of the Assirians and was returned from the slaughter of the Kings Melchisedech met him with breade and wyne to refreshe Abraham and his souldiours and blessed him saying Blessed be Abraham vnto the hye God possessor of heauen and earth and blessed be the high God which hath deliuered thine enimies vnto thy hande And Abraham gaue him tythes of all things The Scripture reporteth Melchisedech to be without father without mother without kynne and hath neyther beginning of his dayes neither yet ende of his lyfe but is lykened vnto the sonne of God and continueth a Priest for euer Menelaus was brother to Simon and Lysimachus twoo as vngracious as himselfe This ambicious man by deceyte got the hye Priestes office from Iason on this wyse When that good and godlye man Onias had the superioritie Iason his brother found the meanes to corrupt Antiochus the King with money and so gotte the office ▪ out of his brothers handes And when the time came that Iason shoulde pay the money to Antiochus he sent it by the hande of Menelaus in whome he had great confidence
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
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
in hys booke of the Reuelation .ij. Chapter reprooueth Nymrod was the sonne of Chus sonne of Cham the seconde sonne of Noe. He was the first that tooke on him to reigne ouer men and became a cruell oppressor and tyrant He was called a mightie hunter for that he was a deceyuer of soules and oppressor of men He attempted to builde the great towre of Babel intending to haue raysed it aboue the Clowdes thinking thereby to haue escaped if any floude shoulde eftsoones haue happened Noe was the sonne of Lamech and fiue hundreth yeares of age before he begat Sem Cham and Iaphet And being a iust and perfite man he founde such fauour in the eyes of God that when all fleshe had so corrupt his way vpon earth that God threatened the destruction of the worlde yet to saue Noe and to declare it vnto him 120. before it came he bade him prepare an Arke of Pine trées which shoulde conteyne in length thrée hundreth cubites in bredth fiftie cubites and in déepenesse thirtie Nowe when Noe had made the Arke and was sixe hundreth yeares of age the Lorde tolde him that after seauen dayes the deluge shoulde fall wherefore Noe at the Lordes commaundement got him into the Arke with his wyfe and thrée sonnes with their wyues prouiding in the meane space all things necessary for them And when Noe was in the Arke sodeynly by the power of God and not of mans bringing there came into the shippe two and two togither of euery kinde of beast and soule the male and the female And when they were all in the Lorde shut the doore of the Art◠and opened the windowes of heauen so that the raine fell continuallye fortie dayes and fortie nightes wherevpon the waters preuayled and rose aboue all Mountaines .xv. cubites So that all liuing creatures dyed except fishe and such as might endure in the bowels of the earth And after the waters had preuayled a hundred and fiftie dayes They decreased againe and in the seauenth day of the seauenth month which was October the Arke stacke vpon the Mountaines of Armeny Then Noe opened a windowe and sent forth a Crowe which returned agayne After seauen dayes he put forth a Doue which came againe at night bringing a braunch of Oliue with gréene leaues in hir mouth Neuerthelesse he remayned seauen other dayes and put forth the Doue againe which neuer returned Then Noe after he had continued one yeare in the Arke and sawe the earth drie he at the commaundement of God issued out of the Arke and incontinent builded an Aultar wherevpon he offered a sacrifice vnto the Lorde of euerye cleane beast and of euerye cleane foule which sacrifice was a swéete smell vnto the Lorde and pleased him so well that he made a promise to Noe that he would neuer more destroy the world with water for the confirmation thereof gaue the Rainebowe for a sure token betwéene him and man Noe was the first inuenter of Wine and therewithall was made drunke He liued after the fludde 350. yeares O. OBed the sonne of Boos and Ruth begat Isai the father of King Dauid Obed Edom the sonne of Ieduthun had the Arke of God remayning in his house thrée monthes for the which the Lorde blessed him and all his house And when it was tolde to Dauid that the house of Obed Edom was blessed bicause of the Arke of God he remooued it thence and brought it into the city of Dauid with great triumph and ordeyned Obed Edom and his brethren which were Leuites to kéepe the doore of the Arke Obedia notwithstanding hée was chiefe gouernour of all King Achabs house yet he was a man that feared God greatly Insomuch that when Iezabel destroyed the Prophetes of the Lorde he tooke an hundred Prophets and hidde them fiftie in one Caue and fiftie in another prouiding all things necessary for them On a time as Obedia was going about the lande at Achabs commaundement to searche for water and grasse for their cattell which were almost ouercome with drouth he chaunced to méete Elia the Prophete And when he saw him he fell downe and sayde Art not thou my Lord Elia yea quoth he go tell thy Lorde that I am here O quoth Obedia what haue I sinned that thou wouldest deliuer thy seruant into the handes of Achab to be slaine As truly as the Lord thy God liueth there is no nation or kingdome whither my Lorde hath not sent to séeke thée And when they sayd he is not here he tooke an othe of the kingdome and nation if they had not founde thée And now thou sayest go tell thy Lord that Elia is here And when I am gone from thée the spirite of the Lorde shall cary thée into some place that I doe not knowe and so when I come and tell Achab and he cannot finde thée then will he kill me But I thy seruaunt feare the Lord from my youth was it not tolde my Lorde what I dyd when Iezabel slue the Prophets of the Lorde howe I hid an hundred men of the Lordes Prophets by fifties in a Caue and fed them with breade and water And nowe thou sayest go and tell thy Lorde beholde Elia is here that he maye sley mée Well sayde Elia as truely as the Lorde of hostes lyueth before whom I stande I will shewe my selfe vnto him this daye Then Obedia hearing him saye so went to Achab and tolde him Oded when Pekah King of Israel had taken so manye Captyues of the Children of Iuda and caryed them to Samaria the Lord sent this Prophet vnto him saying Beholde bycause the Lorde God of your fathers is wrath with Iuda hée hath deliuered them into your handes and yée haue slayne them in your cruelnesse that reacheth vnto heauen and now yée purpose to kéepe vnder the children of Iuda and Ierusalem as bonde men and bonde women And doe yée not lade your selues with sinne in the sight of the Lorde your God Now therefore heare mée and deliuer the Captyues agayne which yée haue taken of your brethren or else shall the wrath of God be vpon you Then certayne which were the heades of the children of Ephraim being sorye for the great offence they had committed tooke the prisoners and with the spoyle clothed all that lacked shodde them and fed them with meate and drinck annoynted the woundes of such as were hurt and the féeble they caryed vpon asses and brought them to Iericho the citie of Palme trées to their brethren And leauing them there returned to Samaria agayne Og the King of Basan was a mightie great Giaunt whose bedde was made of Iron and in length nyne Cubites that is thirtéene foote an halfe And foure cubites brode that is sixe foote This Og was next neighbour to Seon King of the Amorites And hauing knowledge of all that Moses had done to Seon his neighbour made out a great Armye
hande and giuen it to Dauid And moreouer sayth he to Saule the Lorde will deliuer the Israelites into the handes of the Philistines and tomorrow shalt thou and thy Sonnes be with mée And on the next day Saule being ouercome of the Philistynes and his thrée Sonnes slayne for anguishe of heart fell vpon his owne sworde and killed himselfe after he had reygned fortie yeares Sara the daughter of Aram was Abrahams wife And perceyuing that the Lorde had restrayned hir from bearing of children she gaue Abraham leaue to take Agar hir Mayden to wife But when she saw hir selfe despised of hir mayde which had conceyued she began to be so sharpe and quicke with Agar that she made hir runne awaye Neuerthelesse at the humble submission of Agar Sara receyued hir agayne Then Sara passing foorth till she came to the age of foure score and ten yeres it chaunced she hearde the Aungel of the Lorde as she stoode in hir Tent say vnto Abraham that Sara his wyfe should haue a childe which wordes séemed so impossible vnto hir that she laughed within hir selfe and sayde Is it of a surety that I shall beare a sonne Shall I now giue my selfe to lust being olde and my Lord olde also And when she had talked thus to hir selfe the Aungell of the Lorde demaunded of Abraham wherefore his wyfe dyd laugh as though it were quoth he to harde a thing for God to performe his promise Then she being asked the question denyed it for she was afrayde saying that she laughed not And so Sara iudging him faythfull which had promised brought forth a sonne at the time apointed of God and called his name Isaac And when the Childe was borne she sayde God hath made mée a laughing stocke for all that heare will laugh at mée Who woulde haue sayde to Abraham that Sara shoulde haue giuen Children sucke for I haue borne him a sonne in his olde age After this when Sara perceyued Ismael the sonne of Agar as he played with Isaac to be a mocker she sayde vnto Abraham put awaye this bonde mayde hir sonne for the sonne of this bonde woman shall not be eyer with my sonne Isaac Finally when Sara had lyued one hundred and seuen an twentie yeres she dyed in Kiriat Arba Which is also called Hebron And was buryed in the double Caue which Abraham had bought of the sonnes of Heth. Sara the daughter of Raguel had seauen husbands one after an other which men before they had lyen with hir were all slayne of the Deuill Asmodius to the great discomfort and heauinesse of the yoong woman And yet the more to aggreuate hir sorowe hir fathers Maydens when she did correct them for their faults woulde slaunder hir on this wyse saying God let vs neuer sée sonne nor daughter of thée more vpon earth thou kyller of thy husbandes wilt thou kyll vs also as thou hast done them Which woordes were so gricuous to Sara that she got hir vp to an hygh chamber of hir house where she continued thrée dayes and thrée nightes in prayer beséeching God that he woulde vouchsafe to lowse hir out of that rebuke or else to take hir out of y earth For thou knowest O Lorde that I neuer had desire vnto man and that I haue kept my soule cleane from all vncleanlye lust I haue not kept companie with those that passe there time in sporte neyther haue I made my selfe partaker with them that walke in light behauiour neuerthelesse an husbande haue I consented to take not for my pleasure but in thy feare Now peraduenture eyther I haue béene vnwoorthye of them or else were they vnméete for me for thou happily hast kept me for an other husbande And thus making hir prayers to God he hearde hir and sent yong Toby to be hir husband who being ioyned togither in Matrimonie lyued all their dayes an holy lyfe in the feare and lawes of God. Seba the sonne of Bichri assoone as Dauid was restored to his Kingdome agayne begun a new insurrection and got all Israel to followe hym saue onelye the men of Iuda which stacke fast by Dauid and as he came into the Citie of Abell to the which Ioab followed hym the Gouernesse of the citie being a woman of wisedome smote off the heade of Seba and threwe it ouer the Wall to Ioab and so the commocion ceased Sceua was a Iewe borne and the chiefe Priest among the Iewes This man had seauen sonnes who for lucre sake to purchase vnto themselues a great name thereby attempted to cast out euill spirites by inuocation of the name of the Lorde Iesus as Paule dyd saying vnto the man possessed we coniure you in the name of Iesus whome Paule preacheth that ye depart out of the man To whom the spirite aunswered and sayde Iesus I knowe and Paule I knowe but who are yée and as soone as he had spoken these woordes the man in whome the euill spirite was ranne vpon them and got the ouer hande on them In so much that they had much a doe to escape with their lyues and scarce got at the last naked and wounded out of the house And this example of the sonnes of Sceua being bruted abrode among the Iewes and Gentiles many which beléeued came to Paule and confessed their offences And besyde that diuers other which had vsed suche curious craftes of Coniurasions brought their bookes and burned them before all men the price whereof were counted at fiftie thousande Siluerlinges Sela the yoongest sonne of Iuda being growen to perfect age and not giuen to Thamar in mariage according to his Fathers promise was the occasion of Thamars playing the myswoman with Iuda hir Father in lawe Sela the sonne of Arphaxad of the generacion of Sem was the Father of Eber whome he begot when he was thirtie yeares of age and lyued after the birth of Eber foure hundred and thrée yeares Which make in the whole foure hundred and .xxxiij. yeares Sem the eldest Sonne of Noe receyued prayse of his Father bycause he couered his nakednesse as he laye vncouered in his Tent. Sem at the age of an hundred yeares begot Arphaxat twoo yeares after the floud and lyued after fiue hundred yeares .2 Ense meo cecidere uiri dum uindico stuprū Germanae fracto federe quod pepig◠Hinc pater iratus Sijmeoni dira precatus Nostraque posteritas heu masedicta fuit Sennacherib King of Assiria was a mightie prince which séeing that Salmanasar his predycessour had conquered the King of Israel and made them Tributaries thought it good to set vpon the King of Iuda who at that tyme was the godly and most noble Ezechias And when Sennacherib had gotten into his handes all the chiefe Cities of Iuda and Beniamin saue onely Ierusalem he besieged that also with such might and power that Ezechias was fayne to submit himselfe to the mercie of Sennacherib offering him tribute
so much as he would demaunde Vppon which offer Sennacherib promised Ezechias that if he woulde paye him thrée hundreth talents of siluer one of golde his lande should be safe and in quiet which promise he kept truely till the mony were payed But as soone as he had receiued the money he sent backe agayne thrée of the greatest Captaynes he had to make freshe warre against Ezechias And when they had pitched their tentes about Ierusalem they sent for Ezechias to come and speake with them who fearing his owne lyfe sent thrée of his Noble men vnto them to knowe the matter And when they had hearde all the blasphemous wordes of Rabsak they returned and tolde them to Ezechias Who hearing those euill newes rent his clothes and put on sackcloth and fell prostrate vpon his face and prayed vnto the Lorde to helpe him and to haue mercy vpon his people and beside that he sent to Esay the Prophet desiring him to pray vnto the Lord for them whose prayer the Lorde hearde and bade him go tell Ezechias that the blasphemous rayling of Rabsak shoulde turne to his great shame for he should go home againe without victorie and neuer a stroke stricken And so almightie God sent his Aungell which plagued the whole armye of the Assirians with such a pestilence that in one night there dyed 185. thousande At the which sodaine death Rabsak and all his hoste that were left ranne away And then Sennacherib got him to Niniue where at the last being in the Temple worshipping his God Nisroch his owne sonnes siue him Seon was King of the Ammorites whose lande bordered so vpon the lande of Canaan that Moses could not passe from the desert of Cades to Canaan but hée must néedes go thorowe it wherfore Moses sent messengers to King Seon beséeching him of licence to passe thorow his land by the Kings hye way and he would neither hurt his fields nor vineyards neither yet take so much as one drop of water for him and his cattell to drinke but he would pay for it Which resonable request Seon refused And thinking to haue ouercome Moses and all his people bycause they were straungers sore laboured and wearyed and knewe not the coast of his Countrey neyther the shiftes of the Realme he made out two great Armies agaynst Moses Who hearing thereof was so afrayd that he asked counsell of God what he shoulde doe And God bade him not feare but fight manfullye and bodely with them for the victorie shoulde be his And so was Seon with all his power and pollicie ouerthrowen Sephora and Phua were twoo of the Chiefest Mydwyues in all Egipt vnto whom King Pharao gaue a commaundement that when so euer they dyd execute their office among the women of the Hebrues and sawe in the byrth a man Childe to kill it But they fearing God more than man brake his commaundement and saued all the men children laying for their excuse vnto the King that the women of the Hebrues were not as the women of Egipt but so strong and sturdy women that they were delyuered before the Mydwyues came And for this déede God delt mercyfully with the Wydowes bycause they feared him made them to prosper Sergius Paulus the Lieutenaunt or Lorde Deputie of Cypres was a prudent man who neuerthelesse had bene sore seduced by one Beriesu the great sorcerer And now hearing the Gospell to be sowen thoroweout all the Countrey by Paule and Barnabas was desirous to heare it wherevpon he sent for them By whose preaching and great myracles that they dyd before him he was at the last turned to the fayth of Christ Seth was the thirde sonne of Adam and gaue himselfe all to vertue and godlinesse His Father was at the age of an hundred and thirtie yeres before he begot Seth. Seth was an hundred and fiue yeres olde before he begot Enos He liued after the birth of Enos eight hundred and seauen yeares So that all the dayes of Seth were nyne hundred and twelue yeares Sesac looke Sisach Sichem the sonne of Hemor the Heuyte rauished Dina the daughter of Iacob For the which déede Symeon and Leuy the brothers of Dina sigue both Sichem and his father Hemor with many mo Sidrach Misach and Abednago were thrée of Daniels companions and of the Children of Iuda Which thrée yoong men Nebuchodonosor at Daniels intercession made Rulers ouer all the Officers in the lande of Babilon And bycause they woulde not fall downe to the Kinges golden Image which he had made and set vp to be woorshipped they were accused to the King as transgressours of his commaundement And being brought before the King he straighly charged them to be ready the next daye when they hearde the noyse of Trompettes and other Instruments of Musicke to fall downe woorship his Image as other dyd or else they shoulde be cast into the whote burning Ouen and then let sée quoth hée what god is able to deliuer you out of my handes They aunswered and sayde Oh Nabuchodonosor we ought not to consent to thée in this matter For why our God whome we serue is able to kéepe vs from the whote burning Ouen O King and can right well delyuer vs out of thy hands And though he will not yet shalt thou know O King that we will not serue thy goddes nor doe reuerence to that Image which thou hast set vp The King hearing this was so full of indignaciō that he caused the strongest men that were in all his host to bind them hand and foote and cast them into the Ouen which Ouen was made so exceding hote that the flame of the fire destroyed those men that cast them in And as the King looked into the Ouen after the men he sawe fower walking at libertie in the middest of the Ouen and the fourth man was lyke vnto the sonne of God to looke vpon And being sore astonyed thereat he went to the Ouens mouth and saide O yée seruauntes of God come out of the Ouen And when they were come foorth it coulde not be perceyued neyther by the heaire of their heades neyther yet by the smell of their garments that euer any fyre had touched them And so the King praysed the God of Sidrach Misach and Abednago and promoted them to honour Silas was a certayne Disciple sent with Paule and Barnabas and other chosen brethren to Antioche to pacifie the variaunce which was there happened about circumcision And after the falling out of Paule Barnabas about Iohn Marke Silas became Paules companion and labour fellow in the Gospell a great whyle and was in bondes with him at Philippos where they conuerted the Iayler and all the Prisoners and were deliuered as Romaynes From thence they departed to Thessalonica where the Iewes set the Citie in such a rore agaynst them that Paule was fayne to flye to Atthens leauing Silas behind him with a precept to make
the Garpen as hir maner was with twoo of hir Maydens onely to wash hir selfe these twoo hidde themselues in the Garden agaynst hir comming And assoone as the Maydens had shut the Drcharde doores and were gone for Oyle and Sope for their Mystresse the twoo Elders came vppon Susanna and sayde The Garden doores be nowe shut that no man can sée vs and we burne in lust towardes thée therefore consent and lye with vs if thou wilt not we will beare witnesse agaynst thée that a yoong man was in the Drchard with thée and therefore thou senâ—t away thy Maydens Then Susanna sighed and sayde If I doe followe your minds it will be my death and if I consent not vnto you I cannot escape your handes It is better for mée to fall into your handes without the déede dooing than to sinne in the sight of the Lorde and with that cryed out with a lowde voyce and the Elders cryed out agaynst hir which clamour on both parties was so great that it was hearde among the Seruauntes without which ranne to the Orcharde doore and burst it open to sée what the matter was And when the seruaunts had heard the Elders report of Susanna they were greatly ashamed for there was neuer such a reporte made of Susanna before And so on the next morowe the twoo Elders full of mischieuous imaginacions declared the matter to Ioachym hir husband to bring hir to death And when she was come with hir father and mother hir Children and all hir kinne to be iudged according to the law she stoode before the twoo wicked Iudges with hir face couered who commaunded to take the cloth from hir face that at the least they might be satisfied with hir bewtie which thing being done The Iudges stoode vp and layed their handes vpon the heade of Susanna saying As we were walking in the Orcharde alone this woman came in with hir twoo Maydens whom she sent awaye from hir making fast the Orcharde doore after them Then starte their vp a yoong fellowe which laye hidde in the Garden and went vnto hir laye with hir Then we which stoode in a corner séeing this wickednesse â—anne vnto them and saw them as they were togither but we coulde not holde the fellowe for he was stronger than we and got open the doore and leaped out And when we demaunded of hir what fellow it was she woulde not tell vs This is the matter and we be witnesse of the same Then Susanna cryed out and sayde O euerlasting God thou searcher of heartes thou that knowest all things before they come â–ª to passe â–ª thou wotest that they haue borne false witnesse agaynst mée And beholde I muste dye whereas I neuer intended anye such thing as these men haue maliciously ymagined agaynst mée And as she was ledde towarde the place of execution the Lorde of Heauen which hearde hir prayer raysed vp the spirite of a little Childe called Daniel who cryed with a lowde voyce â–ª saying I am cleane from the bloude of this woman And when the people hearde that they stayed to knowe of the Childe what he ment by his woordes O yée Children of Israel sayde he are yée such fooles that without examinacion and knowledge of the truth ye haue condemned a daughter of Israel returne agayne to iudgement for they haue borne false witnesse agaynst hir Then the people went backe agayne and the Elders tooke Daniel and set him among them in iudgement Who when he had commaunded the twoo false witnesses to be seuered that he might examine them he called the one before hym and sayde O thou that arte olde in a wicked lyfe nowe thy sinâ—es which thou hast committed afore tyme are come to light Tell mée vnder what Trée thou sawest this woman and the yoong fellowe togither he sayde vnder a Mulbery Trée Now veryly quoth Daniel thou hast lyed and arte woorthy of death in that thou hast oppressed the innocent and letten the guiltie go frée contrarie to the woordes of the Lorde which sayth The innocent and righteous sée thou slay not Then he called the other and sayde O thou séede of Canaan but not of Iuda Bewtie hath disceyued thée and lust hath subverted thine heart Thus haue ye dealt with the daughters of Israel and they for feare consented vnto you but the daughters of Iuda woulde not abyde your wickednesse Now tell mée vnder what Trée dyddest thou take them companying togither He aunswered vnder a Pyne Trée Nowe verily sayde Daniel thou hast lyed also agaynst thine head The messenger of the Lord standeth wayting with the swoorde to cut thée in twoo and so to destroye you both And with that the whole assembly cryed with a lowde voyce and praysed God which so myraculously had preserued Susanna that daye And so fell vppon the twoo wicked Iudges and according to the law of Moses put them both to death ¶ Susanna one of those godly women which followed Christ and his Apostles relieuing them with hir substaunce as much as laye in hir power T. TAddeus was one of the twelue Apostles Act. 24. a. Tartullus was a certayne Dratour the which Ananias the hye Priest had brought with him to informe Felix the ruler agaynst Paule And when Paule was brought foorth Tartullus began to accuse hym saying Séeing that we lyue in great quietnesse by the meanes of thée and that many good thinges are done vnto this nacion thorowe thy prouidence that we euer alowe and in all places most mightie Felix with all thanks Notwithstanding that I be not tedyous vnto thée I praye thée that thou wouldest heare vs of thy curtesie a few words For we haue founde this man a Pestilent fellowe and a moouer of debate vnto all the Iewes thoroweout the Worlde and a maintayner of the sect of the Nazarites And hath also inforced to pollute the Temple whom we tooke and woulde haue iudged according to our law But the hygh captayne Lysias came vpon vs and with great violence tooke him away out of our handes commaunding his accusers to come vnto thée Of whome thou mayst if thou wilt inquyre knowe the certaynetie of all these thinges whereof we accuse him Tartullus a salsâ—reporter or a teller of tales a lyer Gen. 11. d. Terah was the sonne of Nahor the Sonne of Serug He at the age of seuentie yeres begot Abraham but he had before by an other wife Nahor and Haran All the dayes that Terah lyued were two hundred and fiue yere ¶ Terah Smelling ¶ Looke in the story of Abraham Rom. 16. d. Tercius was the name of him that wrote the Epistle of S. Paule to the Romaynes whyle Paule endited it saying on this wyse I Tercius salute you which wrote this Epistle in the Lord. ¶ Tercius a Latine worde 2. Reg. 13. a. b. c. d. Thamar the daughter of Dauid was so bewtiefull a yoong woman that Ammon hir brother fell sicke for hir loue And when she had visited Ammon at
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
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
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