“ Where as some men thynke now yt many translacyons make diuisyon in ye fayth and in the people of God, yt is not so: for it was neuer better with the congregacion of god, then whan euery church allmost had ye Byble of a sondrye trāslacion. Amonge the Grekes had not Origen a specyall translacyon? Had not Vulgarius one peculyar, & lykewyse Chrysostom? Besyde the seuentye interpreters, is there not the translacyon of Aqilla, of Theodotio, of Symachus, and of sondrye other? ”

“ A THen God remembred Noe and all the beastes, and all the catell that were with him in the Arcke, and caused a wynde to come vpon the earth: an ye waters ceassed, and the fountaynes of the depe and the wyndows of heauen were stopte, and the rayne of heauē was forbydden, and the waters ranne styll awaye from ye earth, and decreased after an hundreth and fiftye dayes. ”

“ Abram dwelt in the lande of Canaan, and Lot in the cities of the same coastes, and pitched his tent towarde Sodome. But ye men of Sodome were wicked, and synned exceadingly agaynst the LORDE. [crossref 72]
Now whan Lot was departed from Abram, the LORDE saide vnto Abram: Lift vp thine eyes, and loke from the place where thou dwellest, northwarde, southwarde, eastwarde, and westwarde: for all the londe that thou seist, wyll I geue vnto the and to thy sede for euer, and wyll make thy sede as the dust of the earth: so that yf a man can nombre the dust of the earth, he shall nombre thy sede also. ”

“ These are the generacions of heauē and earth whan they were created, in the tyme whan the LORDE God made heauen and earth: before there was eny troygg vpon earth, and or euer there grew eny grene herbe vpon the felde. For the LORDE God had yet sent no rayne vpon ye earth, nether was there eny man to tylle the earth. But there arose a myst from the earth, ⁊ watered all the londe. And ye LORDE God shope man euē of the moulde of the earth ⁊ brethed in to his face ye breth of life. And so was man made a lyuynge soule. ”

“ Aryse and take the childe, and holde him by the hande, for I wyll make a greate people of him. [crossref 126] And God opened hir eyes, that she sawe a well of water.
Then wente she and fylled ye botell with water, and gaue ye childe drynke. And God was with the childe, which grew vp, and dwelt in ye wildernes, and became a connynge archer, and dwelt in ye wildernes of Pharan, and his mother toke him a wyfe out of the londe of Egipte. [crossref 127]
At the same tyme talked Abimelech and Phicol his chefe captayne with Abraham, and sayde: God is with the in all that thou doest. ”

“ D But my couenaunt wyll I make wt Isaac, whom Sara shall beare vnto the, euē this tyme twolue moneth. And he left of talkynge with him, and God wente vp from Abraham. Than toke Abraham his sonne Ismael, and all the seruauntes borne in his house, and all that were bought, (as many as were men children in his house,) and circumcyded the foreskynne of their flesh, euen the same daye, as God had sayde vnto him. And Abraham was nyentie yeare olde and nyne, whan he cut of the foreskynne of his flesh. As for Ismael, he was thirtene yeare olde, whan the foreskynne of his flesh was circumcyded. ”

“ I can not saue my self vpon the mountayne. There might some mysfortune fall vpon me, that I shulde dye. Beholde, here is a cite by, that I maye flye vnto, and it is a litle one: let me saue myself there in. Is it not a litle one, that my soule maye lyue?
E Then sayde he vnto him: Beholde, I haue loked vpon the in this poynte also, that I will not ouerthrowe the cite, wherof thou hast spoken. Haist the, and saue thy self there: for I can do nothinge tyll thou be come thither. Therfore is the cite called Zoar. And the Sonne was vp vpon the earth, whan Lot came in to Zoar. ”

“ C And God sayde: let the waters brynge forth creatures that moue and haue life, ⁊ foules for to flye aboue the earth vnder the firmamēt of heauen. [crossref 6] And God created greate whalles, and all maner of creatures that lyue and moue, which the waters brought forth euery one after his kynde: and all maner of fethered foules, euery one after his kynde. And God sawe that it was good, and blessed them, sayenge: Growe, and multiplie, and fyll the waters of the sees, and let the foules multiplie vpon the earth. Then of the euenynge and mornynge was made the fifth daye. ”

“ At the same tyme beganne men to call vpon the name of the LORDE.
The V. Chapter. A THis is the boke of the generacion of man, in the tyme whan God created man, and made him after the symilitude of God. Male and female made he them, and blessed thē, ⁊ called their names Man, in the tyme whan they were created. And Adam was an hundreth and thirtie yeare olde, and begat a sonne, which was like his owne ymage, and called his name Seth: ⁊ lyued therafter eight hūdreth yeare, and begat sonnes and doughters. [crossref 31] And his whole age was nyne hundreth and thirtie yeares, and so he dyed. ”

“ Agayne, it shall greately helpe ye to vnderstonde scripture, yf thou marke not onely what is spoken or wrytten, but of whom, & vnto whom, with what wordes, at what tyme where, to what intent, with what circumstaunce, consyderynge what goeth before, and what foloweth after. For there be some thynges which are done & wryttē, to the intente yt we shulde do lykewyse: as whan Abraham beleueth God, is obedient vnto his worde, & defendeth Loth his kynsman from violent wronge. There be some thynges also which are wryttē, to the intente yt we shulde eschue soch lyke. ”

“ Thou hast not dealt with vs, as a man shulde deal. And Abimelech saide morouer vnto Abraham: What sawest thou, yt thou hast done this thinge?
C Abraham sayde: I thought: Peraduenture there is no feare of God in this place, ⁊ they shall sleye me for my wifes sake. And of a trueth she is my sister, for she is my fathers doughter, but not my omthers doughter, and is become my wife. So whan God charged me to wādre out of my fathers house, I sayde vnto her: Shew this kyndnes vpon me, that, where so euer we come, thou saye of me, that I am thy brother. ”

“ Noe with his housholde is preserued in the arcke: where as all the worlde periseth thorowe the floude. Chap. viii. The floude abateth. Noe goeth out of arcke. &c. Chap. ix. God blesseth Noe and his sonnes: forbyddeth to eate the bloude of beestes, and to shed mās bloude: maketh a conuenaunt (and geueth the raynbowe for a token of the same) that he wyll destroye the worlde no more by water. Noe is dronken. Ham vncouereth hym, and getteth his curse. Chap. x. The increace of mās generaciō by Noes thre sonnes: which go abrode and begynne to buylde. ”

“ Whose herte wolde not be greued (yee and that out of measure) to call to remēbraūce, how obstinate and disobedient, how presumptuous & stubburne that Antychrist made the bysshoppes of youre realme agaynst your graces noble predecessours in tymes past, as it is manyfest in ye Cronicles: I trust berely there be no suche now within youre realme. ”

“ And God sayde: lo, I haue geuen you all maner herbes that beare sede vpon the whole earth, and all maner frutefull trees that beare sede, to be meate for you. [crossref 10] And to all beastes of the earth, and to all foules vnder the heauen, and to euery worme that hath life (vpon earth) all maner grene herbes to eate. ”

“ Now where as the most famous interpreters of all geue sondrye iudgmentes of the texte (so farre as it is done by ye sprete of knowlege in the holy goost) me thynke noman shulde be offended there at, for they referre theyr doinges in mekenes to the sprete of trueth in the congregacyon of god: & sure I am, that there commeth more knowlege and vnderstondinge of the scripture by theyr sondrie translacyons, then by all the gloses of oure sophisticall docteurs. ”

“ Feare not Abram, I am thy shylde and thy exceadinge greate rewarde. But Abram sayde: LORDE LORDE, what wilt thou geue me? I go childles, and the seruaunt of my house (this Eleasar of Damascos) hath a sonne. And Abram sayde morouer: Beholde, vnto me hast thou geuen no sede: and lo, the sonne of my housholde shal be myne heyre. And beholde, the worde of the LORDE spake vnto him, and saide: He shal not be thine heyre, but one that shal come out of thine owne body, he shal be thine heyre. And he had him go forth, and sayde: Loke vp vnto heauen, and tell ye starres: Canst thou nombre them:? ”

“ The fyfth boke (called Deuteronemium) sheweth how that Moses now beynge olde, rehearseth the lawe of god vnto ye people, putteth them in remembraunce agayne of all the wonders & benefices that god had shewed for them, and exhorteth them earnestly to loue ye Lorde theyr god, to cleue vnto him, to put there trust in him and to herken vnto his voyce. After the death of Moses doth Josue brynge the people in to the lōde of promes where God doth wonderous thynges for his people by Josue, which distributeth ye londe vnto them, vnto euery trybe theyr possession. ”

“ And whan God the LORDE had made of the earth all maner beastes of the felde, ⁊ all maner foules vnder the heauē, he brought them vnto man, to se what he wolde call thē: For as mā called all maner of liuinge soules, so are their names. And man gaue names vnto all maner cattell, ⁊ vnto the foules vnder the heauē, and vnto all maner beastes of ye felde. But vnto man there was founde no helpe, to beare him company.
D Then the LORDE God caused an herde slepe to fall vpon man, and he slepte. And he toke out one of his rybbes, and (in steade therof) he fylled vp ye place with flesh. ”

“ And I wil make of the a mightie people, and wyll blesse the, and make the a greate name, yee thou shalt be a very blessynge. I wil blesse them that blesse the, and curse them that curse the: and in the shal all the generacions of the earth be blessed. [crossref 61]
Then wente Abram out, as the LORDE commaunded him, and Lot wente with him. Fyue ⁊ seuentie yeare olde was Abrā, whan he wente out of Haran. So Abram toke Sarai his wife, and Lot his brothers sonne, wt all their goodes which they had gotten, and soules which they begat in Harā, and departed to go in to ye londe of Canaan. ”

“ Put the in remembraunce of those noble cityes in other countrees, that by the auctoryte of theyr prynces haue so rychely ād well prouided for theyr poore people, to the greate shame & deshonestye of vs, yf we lykewyse receauynge ye worde of God, shewe not soch lyke frutes therof. Wolde God yt those men (whose office is to maynteyne ye comon welth) were as diligent in this cause as they are in other. Let vs bewarre by tymes, for after vnthankfulnes there foloweth euer a plage: the mercyful hande of God be with vs, & defende vs that we be not partakers therof. ”

“ C The sonnes of Noe which wente out of the Arke, are these: Sem, Ham and Japhet. As for Ham, he is the father of Canaā. These are Noes thre sonnes, of whom all londes were ouerspred.
D Noe beganne to take hede vnto ye tyllinge of the grounde, ⁊ planted a vyniarde. [crossref 53] And dranke of the wyne, and was dronken, and laye vncouered in his tente. Now when Hā the father of Canaan sawe his fathers preuities, he tolde his two brethren without. ”

“ For as false doctryne is the origenall cause of all euell plages and destruccyon, so is ye true executynge of the lawe of God ād the preachyng of the same, the mother of all godly prosperite. The onely worde of god (I saye) is the cause of all felicite, it bryngeth all goodnes with it, it bryngeth lernynge, it gēdreth vnderstondynge, it causeth good workes, it maketh chyldren of obedience, breuely, it teacheth all estates theyr office and duety. ”

“ And on this behalfe I beseke the (thou yt hast ye ryches of this worlde, and louest God with thy harte) to lyfte vp thyne eyes, and se how greate a multitude of poore people renne thorow euery towne: haue pitie on thyne awne flesh, helpe them with a good harte, and do with thy councell all that euer thou canst, that this vnshamefast beggynge maye be put downe, that these ydle folkes maye be set to laboure, & that soch as are not able to get theyr lyuynge, maye be prouyded for. ”

“ Not withstondynge he spared not to rebuke hym, and that ryght sharply whan he fell from the worde of God to adultery and manslaughter. For he was not afrayed to reproue hym of his sinnes, nomore than Helyas the prophete stode in feare to saye vnto kynge Achab: + It is thou and thy fathers house that trouble Israel, because ye haue forsaken ye commaundementes of the Lorde, and walke after Baal. And as Johan Baptyste durst saye vnto Kynge Herode: It is not lawful for the to take thy brothers wyfe. ”

“ Then wente Lot forth, and spake to his sonnes in lawe, which shulde haue maried his doughters, and sayde: O stonde vp, and get you out of this place, for the LORDE wyll destroye this cite. Neuertheles they toke it but for a sporte.
D Now whan the mornynge arose, the angels caused Lot to spede him, and sayde: Stonde vp, take thy wife ⁊ thy two doughters which are at hande, that thou also perishe not in the synne of this cite. ”

“ Defendour of the fayth, onely bycause your hyghnes suffred your bysshoppes to burne Gods worde the rote of fayth, and to persecute the louers and mynisters of ye same. Where in very dede the blynde bysshoppe (though he knewe not what he dyd) prophecied, that by the ryghteous admynistracyon and contynuall diligence of youre grace, the fayth shulde so be defended, that Gods worde the mother of Fayth with the frutes therof, shulde haue his fre course thorowe out all Christendome, but specyally in your realme. ”

“ Onely oure hertes desyre vnto God, is, that his people be not blynded in ther vnderstondyng, lest they beleue pennaunce to be ought saue a very repētaunce, amēdment, or conuersyon vnto God, and to be an vnfayned new creature in Christ, and to lyue acordyng to his lawe. ”