Study Desk

And whanne sche goith out, and weddith anothir hosebonde,

the formere hosebonde schal not mow resseyue hir in to wijf, for sche is defoulid, and maad abhomynable bifore the Lord; lest thou make thi lond to do synne, which lond thi Lord God yaf to thee to welde.

Forsothe if he nyle take the wijf of his brother, which is due to hym bi lawe, the womman schal go to the yate of the citee; and sche schal axe the grettere men in birthe, and sche schal seie, `The brother of myn hosebonde nyle reise seed of his brother in Israel, nethir wole take me in to mariage.

If twei men han strijf bitwixe hem silf, and oon bigynneth to stryue ayens another, and the wijf of `the tother man wole delyuere hir hosebonde fro the hond of the strongere man, and puttith hond, and `takith the schamefast membris `of hym,

A tendur womman and delicat, that myyte not go on the erthe, nether set a step of foot, for most softnesse and tendirnesse, schal haue enuye to hir hosebonde that liggith in hir bosum, on the fleischis of sone and douyter,

And whanne `sche yede togidere, hir hosebonde counseilide hir, that sche schulde axe of hir fadir a feeld; and sche siyyide, as sche sat on the asse;

And hir hosebonde stiride hir, goynge in the weie, that sche schulde axe of hir fadir a feeld; and whanne sche hadde siyid, sittynge on the asse, Caleph seide to hir, What hast thou?

Oon wisere than `othere wyues of hym answeride these wordis to the modir of hir hosebonde,

And whanne sche hadde come to hir hosebonde, sche seide to hym, The man of God cam to me, and hadde an aungel cheer, and he was ful ferdful, `that is, worschipful `and reuerent; and whanne Y hadde axide hym, who he was, and fro whannus he cam, and bi what name he was clepid, he nolde seie to me;

And the Lord herde Manue preiynge; and the aungel of the Lord apperide eft to his wijf sittynge in the feeld; forsothe Manue, hir hosebonde, was not with hir. And whanne sche hadde seyn the aungel,

sche hastide, and ran to hir hosebonde, and telde to hym, and seide, Lo! the man whom Y siy bifore, apperide to me.

And whanne the seuenthe dai cam, thei seiden to `the wijf of Sampson, Glose thin hosebonde, and counseile hym, that he schewe to thee what the probleme signyfieth. That if thou nylt do, we schulen brenne thee and `the hous of thi fadir. Whether herfor ye clepiden vs to weddyngis, that ye schulden robbe vs?

Forsothe his wijf took an hosebonde, oon of the frendis and keperis `of hir.

And Filisteis seiden, Who dide this thing? To whiche it was seid, Sampson, hosebonde of the `douytir of Thannathei, for he took awey Sampsones wijf, and yaf to another man, `wrouyte this thing. And Filisteis stieden, and brenten bothe the womman and hir fadir.

And hir hosebonde suede hir, and wolde be recounselid to hir, and speke faire, and lede hir ayen with him; and he hadde in cumpany a child, and tweyne assis. And sche resseyuede hym, and brouyte him in to `the hows of hir fadir; and whanne hise wyues fadir hadde herd this, and `hadde seyn hym, he ran gladli to hym, and kisside the man.

And the hosebonde of the douytir dwellide in `the hows of his wyues fadir in three daies, and eet and drank hoomli with hym.

And thei saten togidere, and eeten, and drunkun. And the fadir of the damysele seide to `the hosebonde of his douyter, Y beseche thee, that thou dwelle here to dai, and that we be glad togidere.

The `hosebonde of the douytir nolde assente to hise wordis; but he yede forth anoon, and cam ayens Jebus, which bi another name is clepid Jerusalem; and he ledde with hym twei assis chargid, and the wijf.

And it was not `hid fro the sones of Beniamyn, that the sones of Israel hadden stied in to Maspha. And the dekene, hosebonde of the `wijf that was slayn, was axid, `how so greet felonye was doon;

And Elymelech, the hosebonde of Noemy, diede, and sche lefte with the sones;