rebell agaynst the Lorde or to swarue from his lawes and ordinaunces in any poynt but rather for this consideration to be a witnesse betwéene vs and you and our generations after vs least it shoulde chaunce another daye your children to say vnto ours what haue ye to doe with the Lorde God of Israel yée children of Ruben and of Gad the Lorde ye sée hath made Iordan a border betwéene vs and you and therefore ye can haue no part in the Lorde with vs and so shoulde your children make our chyldren cease from fearing the Lorde And therefore to preuent such an inconuenience we tooke aduisement and made this Aultar that if any such kynde of talke shoulde be ministred of your children to ours in time to come that then our children might aunswere and say agayne Beholde the facion of the Aultar of the Lorde which our fathers made neyther for burnt offerings nor sacrifices but for a witnesse betweene vs and you that our part is in the Lorde as well as yours And when Phinehes and the other Lordes had hearde their aunswere they were well content and returned and so the matter ended They called the Aultar our witnesse that the Lorde is God. Gad the Prophet came to Dauid lying in the lande of Moab saying abyde not in holde but depart and go into the lande of Iuda At another tyme when Dauid had offended the Lord in numbring his people Gad was sent vnto him to giue him choyse of thrée thinges whether he woulde haue seauen yeares hunger or thrée monthes to flie before his enimies or but thrée dayes pestilence in the lande Gaius a certaine faythfull brother dwelling in Derba was one of Paules companions and in great ieoperdie of his lyfe at Ephesus thorowe the sedition of Demetrius the Siluersmith but after the businesse was ended he accompanied Paule into Asia To this man S. Iohn wrote his thirde Epistle Gallio was Proconsull of Achaia to wyt the Lord Deputie vnder Cesar the Emperour in the countrey of Achaia In this tyme it happened the Iewes which had made a conspiracie agaynst Paule to bring him before the place of iudgement where Gallio sate as Iudge accusing Paule vnto him of newe learning But when Gallio perceyued the controucrsie betwéene the Iewes and Paule was concerning Iewishe religion he sought to ridde his handes of them and preuenting Paule which was ready to speake in his owne defence sayde Dye Iewes if it were a matter of wrong or an euill déede reason woulde that I shoulde heare you but if it be a question of wordes of names or of your lawe looke vnto it your selfe for I will be no Iudge in such matters And so caused them to auoyde the place Gamaliel one of the auncient Pharisies was Paules Schoolemaister and in high estimation among the people both for his excellent knowledge in the lawe and for his singuler wisedome When the Apostles were brought and other of the Counsell for preaching in the name of Christ whose lyues he perceyued the Counsell sought he desired that for a whyle the Apostles might depart out of the Counsell house And when they were gone he sayde ye men of Israel take héede to your selues what ye intende to doe as touching these men for before these dayes rose vp one Theudas boasting himselfe to whome resorted a number of men about 400. who was slaine and they all which beléeued him were scattered abroade and brought to naught After this man rose vp one Iudas of Galile in the time when Tribute began who drewe away much people after him he also perished and all that obeyed him were scattered abroade And nowe I say vnto you refrayne your selues from these men and let them alone For if this Counsell or this worke be of men it will come to naught but if it be of God ye cannot destroye it least ye be founde to stryue against God. Gedalia the sonne of Ahicam was a great Captaine vnder Nabuchodonosor whome he made gouerneur of the lande of Iuda to rule the rascall people which he had left behinde him at the destruction of Ierusalem who intreated the people so gently and so friendly that all the Iewes which were scattered about in the lande hearing of his gentlenesse resorted vnto Gedaliah and founde great fauour at his hande for the which they bare vnto him their heartie good willes Insomuch that when Baal King of the Ammonites had sent one Ismael vnder pretence of friendship to slea him The Captaynes of the Iewes hauing knowledge thereof were so sore afrayde of Gedaliah least any misfortune shoulde chaunce him that they tolde him of Ismaels conspiracie And one among the reast named Iohanan offred himselfe to dispach Ismael out of the way so secretly that the déede shoulde neuer be knowne But Gedaliah not crediting their wordes neyther yet mistrusting Ismael woulde suffer nothing to be done vnto him And so forsaking the counsell and admonition of his friendes and trusting to much to Ismael he was of him in fine most guylefully slaine within his owne house Gedeon the sonne of Ioas was of the Tribe of Manasses To whome the Aungell of the Lorde appeared as he was threshing of Wheate saying The Lorde is with thée thou valiant man Then sayde Gedeon if the Lord be with vs why is all this cuill come vpon vs we haue heard by our fathers of all the miracles which the Lorde did for his people in Egypt and nowe hath he forsaken vs and giuen vs ouer into the handes of the Madianites Well sayde the Aungell go thy waye in this thy might and strength which I haue giuen thée for thou shalt deliuer Israell out of the hande of their enimies Oh Lorde quoth Gedeon wherewith shall I saue Israel séeing my kinred is but poore and I the least of all my fathers house With my helpe sayth the Lorde shalt thou saue Israel for I will be with thée and thou shalt smyte the Madianites as if they were but one man Then I beséech thée O Lord quoth Gedeon shewe me a signe that thou talkest with me depart not hence tyll I come agayne with myne offering which offering being brought and dressed accordingly the Angell had no sooner touched it with the ende of his rodde but fire came out of the stone whereon the sacrifice lay and consumed it altogither and so the Aungell vanished out of sight The same night following at the Lordes commaundement Gedeon went and destroyed the Altar of Baal which his father had made and cut downe all the Groue about it for the which déede the people hauing knowledge thereof woulde haue stoned him to death Then Ioas to saue Gedeon his sonne sayde vnto them what will ye doe will ye pleade Baals cause or will ye be his defenders If Baal be a god let him reuenge his owne cause vpon him that hath done the déede And from that day forth Gedeon was called
transgressed his commaundement and tolde him the waye and meanes how he should search it out which thing being done he founde that Acan had taken of the spoyle at Iericho a Babilonish garment two hundred sicles of siluer and a wedge of golde which being tried and brought forth before the whole congregation Iosua tooke Acan his sonnes and daughters cattell goodes and all that he had and caryed them out to the valley of Acor where they were stoned to death and consumed with fire Achab the sonne of Amrie began his reigne ouer Israel in the xxxviij yeare of the reygne of Asa king of Iuda He tooke Iezabel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sydonites to wyfe by whose meanes he fell into all wicked and straunge Idolatrie and cruell persecution for the which God plagued him so that in thrée yeares space neither dewe nor rayne fell downe from aboue to moysture the earth whereof ensued so great a Murrayne of men and beastes that innumerable dyed thereof and all the fault and cause of this plague he layde on Elia the Prophete and sought by all meanes howe to destroye him This king was so wicked that Scripture sayeth he had euen solde himselfe to worke wickednesse and yet notwithstanding God gaue him a marueylous victorie of Benhadad king of Siria who had in his companie .xxxij. kings with whome he fought twyse and bette him and at the thirde time brought him into so miserable a case that he was fayne to humble himself to Achab with a rope about his necke who neuerthelesse had pitie on that wicked King and made a bonde with him and let him go Nowe for this mercie which Achab had shewed to Benhadad whome the Lorde had cursed and put into Achabs handes to be slayne God was angry with Achab and promised his vtter destruction for the same This gréedy Cormorant was not content with his kingdome and spoyle of his victories which God had giuen him but caused Naboth that innocent man to be murdered onely to haue his vineyarde which laye so nye his nose whose bloud did craue such vengeance of God that worde was brought him by the Prophet Elia that in the same place where dogges had licked the bloude of Naboth shoulde dogges lycke his also and that he woulde doe vnto Achab and his posteritie euen as he had done to the house of Ieroboam and Baasa which terrible threatnings of God so feared Achab that he repented and humbled himselfe in sackecloth for the which the Lorde deferred hys plague and woulde not performe it in Achabs dayes but in the tyme of his sonnes reygne Finallye it came in the mynde of Achab to go into Siria to recouer the Citie of Ramoth which he claymed by inheritance And trusting more to the counsell of foure hundred false Prophetes than he did to Micheas the true Prophet of God he tooke his iourney towardes Ramoth and being in battell agaynst his enimies the Sirians he was shot in wyth an arrowe standing in his Charet of the which stroke he dyed And then when his Charet was had to the poole of Samaria to be washed the dogges lycked vp the bloude that ran thorow the Charet and so was the worde of the Lorde fulfilled which he had spoken before concerning the same He reigned .xxij. yeares Achaicus was a faythfull Christian brother whome Saint Paule sent wyth Stephana and Fortunatus from Philippos to the Corinthians with his Epistle Achior was Captaine gouernour of all the Ammonites vnder Holofernes and had the spirite of Prophecie so plentifull in him that when Holofernes demaunded what maner of people the Iewes were hée stepped forth before him and sayde If it please thée O Prince I will tell thée of a truth what they be They are a people which came of the generation of the Chaldeys and bicause they woulde not serue their goddes nor yet followe their customes they went and dwelt first in Mesopotamia worshipping one God that made heauen and earth at whose commaūdement they went from thence and dwelt in the land of Chanaan where in processe fell so great a dearth that then from Chanaan they went downe to Egypt and dwelt among the Egiptians foure hundreth yeares In the which space they grewe to a mightie number and were sore oppressed of the king of that lande but assoone as they cryed to their God for helpe he sent downe such plagues vpon the king and all his lande that he was fayne to suffer them to departe yet when they were gone and the plague ceased he then pursued to haue brought them backe agayne into bondage But God perceyuing his people to be in a strayte opened the Sea before them and brought them thorowe on drye ground and closed the sea vpon their enimies and so drowned Pharao with all his hoste And nowe being passed the redde Sea they came to the wildernesse of Mount Sinay where the waters being bitter he made them swéete and fedde them forty yeares with meate from heauen They had such power of their God that they cast out before them the Chananites the Pherisites the Iebusites and the Hethites with many great Nations mo For so long as they stoode in awe of their God and did not offende him so long was no Nation yet euer able to molest or hurt them But if anye time they declyned from his wyll and ordinance then were they quickly destroyed in battell and brought to captiuitie and bondage Wherefore O Prince let inquisition now be made whether they haue offended their God or no and if they haue then let vs goe agaynst them for God shall deliuer them into thy hande But if they haue not displeased their God he will so defende them that we shall not surely be able to stande before them but become a reproche vnto all the worlde Now was Holofernes so madde with Achior that he commanded his men to carie him to the Iewes that he myght perishe with them in their destruction And as they went towarde Bethulia with Achior and saw they might not come nye the Citie without great perill of their lyues They went to a trée and bound him fast to the same and so leauing him went their wayes Then came the Iewes to Achior and loosed his bandes had him into the Citie and set hym before the Senators who demaunded the cause wherefore the Assirians had so cruelly vsed him to whome he declared the matter in order as he had spoke it before to the prince Holofernes which being done the whole assemble gaue prayses and thankes to God which had giuen to Achior being an heathen man such boldnesse of spirite to sette forth his power and glory And from that time forth they comforted Achior and had hym in great estimation who fell from his heathenishe beliefe and put all his trust in the liuing God and became a Iewe and was circumcised and numbred among the people of Israel he and
in debt that hir creditors were come to fet hir twoo sonnes awaye to be their bondemen What hast thou in thy house sayde the Prophet Nothing quoth she but a little Pitcher of oyle The widowe left in debt Well saide he go thy waye home and borowe of thy neyghbours as many emptie vessels as thou canst get and poure out the oyle of the Pitcher into the emptie vessels vntill thou hast filled them all And when the woman had done all as the Prophet had commaunded hir she came backe againe and tolde him howe mightily hir oyle was increased Nowe go sayde the Prophet and sell so much of the oyle as will pay thy Creditours and then liue thou and thy children of the rest 4. Reg. 4. b. c. d. e. ¶ There was a certaine woman of great estimacion in the Citie of Sumen who hearing tell that Eliseus was come to the Citie inuited him home to hir house and made him great cheare And whensoeuer after that he came into that quarters which he haunted much he woulde euer take that Gentlewomans house in his way Then she séeing that sayde vnto hir husband I perceiue that this is an holye man that commeth so ofte by our place let vs make him a little chamber with all things Eliseus obtaineth a son for the Sunamite necessarie for the same that when he commeth this way he may lodge there and be quiet therein And when the new Chamber was made and finished the Prophete at his next comming was brought into the same there to take his rest He then considering the great prouision the woman had made and howe carefull she had bene for him sayde vnto Gehezi his man Go and aske of hir what she will haue mée to doe for hir whether it be to speake vnto the King or to the Captaine of the hoste or any thing else and I will doe it The seruaunt went and The Sunamites sonne restored from death to life brought him worde agayne that she had no chylde and hir husbande was olde Well sayde the Prophete she shall haue a sonne which in processe she had in déede And when the chylde was a fewe yeares growâ—n vp it had a desire to go and sée his Father and the Reapers in the fielde and being there in the heate of the daye it fell sodenly sicke and was caried home to his mother and dyed But for the womans sake the Prophet restored hir sonne to life agayne 4. Reg. 4. g. ¶ On a tyme Eliseus commaunded his Cooke to make a great pot of pottage for the children of the Prophetes which boorded with him and as one went out for herbes he gathered vnwares his lap full of wylde Coloquintidas Hee maketh the pottage sweete and came and shred them into the pot of pottage And when the children of the Prophets had tasted a little of the pottage they fearing least they had bene poysoned cried out saying O thou man of God there is death in the pot Then the Prophet called for Meale and threwe it into the pot and all was well and no more harme in the pot 4. Reg. 4. g. ¶ A certaine man the dearth being great in the lande came from Baal Salisa and brought to Eliseus twenty Barley loaues of the first fruites of his newe Corne the which he commaunded his man to giue to the people to satisfie their hunger How shall I sayd he set this before The loaues are multiplyed so many will it satisfie an hundred persons Well sayd Elizeus set it before them for thus sayth the Lord they shall eate and there shall remayne And so the loaues were set before the people and they did eate and left ouer according to the worde of the Lorde 4. Reg. 6. a. ¶ Eliseus had so many of the Prophetes children wyth him at boorde and downe lying that his house was to little for them all wherefore they sayde to him that they woulde go to Iordan and buylde them a bygger house to dwell in desiring him to go with them And as a certaine man was felling downe a trée to serue for the buylding the Axe heade slipt of the Helue and fell into the water Iron swimmeth Then the man cryed to Eliseus and sayde Alas Mayster helpe me to haue it agayne for it was lent me Where fell it in sayde the Prophet and when the man had tolde him Eliseus cut downe a péece of woode and cast it into the water and immediately the yron did swymme And then the man stretched forth his hande and tooke it vp 4. Reg. 8. a. ¶ He prophecied vnto the Sunamite whose sonne he had raysed from death of a great dearth which shoulde come and continue vpon the land seauen yeares giuing hir counsell therefore to go and soiourne in some other plentifull countrey till these yeares were expired whose counsell she followed and went with all hir housholde into the Philistines lande where she remayned these seauen yeares of dearth which being ended she returned home agayne And when she came to hir house another hauing possession thereof withhelde it from hir wherefore she went to the King to make hir complaynt at which time it happened the King to be talking with Gehezi The Sunamite is restored to hyr house lande agayne the seruant of Eliseus the Prophet who was declaring vnto the King what great and notable déedes hys Maister Eliseus had done and among all declared of a deade bodie which he had raysed vp from death to lyfe and as he was telling of these thinges vnto the King the woman came with hir sonne and required hir house and lande againe And when Gehezi sawe the woman he sayde O my Lorde and King this same is the woman that I tolde your Grace of â—uen nowe and this is hyr sonne that was raysed from death Then the King commaunded hir house and lande to be restored hir againe with all the rent and profites thereof from the first daye she lâ—st it â–ª till that present time 4. Reg. 13. c. d ¶ Finallye when the time drewe me that Eliseus the Prophet shoulde dye Ioas King of Israel came to visite him as he stoode before him and considered what a losse he should haue of that good man which had bene so great a defence vnto his Realme the teares ranne downe hys chéekes and sayde O my father my father the Charet of Israel and the horsemen of the same And when the Prophet sawe the King he bade him take his bowe and arrowes in his hand and make him readie to shoote The Prophet put his hande vpon the Kings hande and caused a windowe to be opened Eastwarde which was toward Siria and bade the King shoote and he shot The arrow of helth of the Lorde sayde Eliseus and the arrowe of health against Siria For thou shalt smyte Siria in Aphek till thou haue made an ende of them Nowe take thine arrowes in thine hande sayde the Prophete and smyte
on the hoste of the liuing god Then Saule perceyuing the power of God to be wyth Dauid put his armour vpon him But Dauid not being woont to such put it of agayne and tooke him to his olde accustomed weapon which was his slyng And so hauing that in his hande and his shepeherdes bagge about his necke with a fewe little stones prouided therin he gat him downe to the place where the Philistine stoode wayting for a man to encounter with him And as he saw Dauid drawe neare and beholding the maner of hys weapon that he bare in his hand he disdained him greatly And cursing Dauid by all his gods he sayd in a great furie Am I a Dogge that thou commest to me wyth staues come hyther my chylde and I will giue thy flesh to the foules of the ayre and beastes of the fielde Nay quoth Dauid thou commest to me with sworde speare and shielde but I am come vnto thée in the name of the Lorde of hostes the God of the hoste of Israel whome thou doest despyse and blaspheme He shall this daye deliuer thée into my handes and I shall smyte thée and take thy heade from thée and giue the carkasses of all your hoste to the foules of the ayre and beasts of the field to deuour and eate that thou and all the worlde maye knowe that there is a God in Israel The Philistyne nowe was in such a chafe that he began to buskell hym to his weapon thinking to haue dispatched Dauid wyth no great adoe But Dauid hauing his slyng prepared redy in his hande slang out the stone at his face the Lord directing the same and smote the Philistine so euen and déepe in his foreheade that he fell downe groueling vnto the earth and then ranne Dauid and smote of hys heade Thus was this monstrous Gyaunt confounded and all the hoste of the Philistines put to flight and slaine Gomer The Lorde appearing to Ose the Prophet sayde Go thy way and take an harlot to thy wyfe and get children by hir for the lande hath commâ—tted great whooredome agaynst the Lorde So he went and tooke Gomor the daughter of Deblaim who bare vnto hym two sonnes and one daughter The first sonne was called Iesrael the daughter Lornhamah and the second sonne Laâ—my Gorgias a man of great experience in warre was Gouernour of Idumea and one among other noble captaynes whome Lysias the ouerséer of all the Kings businesse sent against the Iewes to destroy them And thinking by his policie to haue stollen vpon Iudas Machabeus by night and so to haue ouercome him he was preuented so that he durst not meete Iudas in the fielde but fledde into the lande of the heathen And when Iosephus and Azarias tooke vppon them in the absence of Iudas contrary to his commaundement to go out agaynst the heathen to get them a name Gorgias issued out of the Citie of Iamnia and slue two thousande of their men and chased Iosephus and Azarias to the borders of Iewrie Finally after manye conflictes with the Iewes a certaine Captayne named Dositheus had almost taken him if rescue had not bene thorow the which he escaped and fled into Moresa and was neuer séene more Reade the Storie of Dositheus H. HAdad being but a little boye borne in the lande of Edom and sprong of the King of Edoms séede what time as Dauid went about to destroye all the men children in Edom fled wyth certayne Edomites of his fathers seruants into the lande of Egypt Where in processe he gate such fauour with Pharao King of the lande that he gaue him great possessions and maried him to the Quéenes sister who bare vnto hym a sonne called Genubath which chylde was brought vp in King Pharaos hâ—use among his children But when tidings was brought to Hadad of the death of Dauid and Ioab he went to the King and besought him to let hym depart into his owne Countrie agayne why sayde the King what hast thou lacked here with mée that thou wouldest now so fayne returne home agayne Nothing sayd Hadad but that I haue a mynde to sée my countrey and therefore I pray thée let me go And so he departed out of Egypt from Pharao for the Lorde had stirred him vp to be an aduersarie to Salomon who had turned his heart from the Lord his God serued straunge gods And so Hadad reigned ouer Siria and abhorred Israel sore and vexed them so long as Salomon reygned Hadarezer the sonne of Reob King of Zoba had long warre with Thoi King of Hamoth And at the last as he went to recouer the borders by the ryuer Pherar Dauid met with him tooke 1700. horsemen of his host and. 20. thousande footemen and cut of the hoofes of all his Charet horses sauing an 100 â–ª which he reserued to himselfe And tooke away his shyldes of Golde brought them to Ierusalem And tooke out of his Cities excéeding much Brasse whereof Salomon afterwarde made all the Brasen vessels in the Temple of the Lorde Againe when this Hadarezer withall the Kings that serued him went to rescue Hanon King of the Ammonites agaynst Dauid he lost 700. Charettes and. 4000. footemen and his Captayne generall slayne Then the Kinges which serued Hadarezer being so discomfited made peace with Dauid and serued hym and neuer woulde helpe the Ammonites more Ham was the seconde sonne of Noe. Who on a tyme séeing his Father lye vnséemely discouered in his Tent laughed hym to scorne And in derision and contempt of his father brought Sem and Iapheth his two brethren to sée the vncomely sight But they mooued with shamefastnesse and honesty couered theyr fathers secrets and woulde not looke vpon them And when Noe was awaked out of sléepe and perceyued what Ham had done He woulde not curse hym whome the Lorde had blest but sayde to Canaan his sonne which had also as some suppose deryded his Graundfather Noe Cursed be Canaan a seruaunt of seruaunts shall he be vnto his brethren Haman was the sonne of Amada and serued Ahasuerus King of Persia who so highlye promoted hym that euery man bowed the knée to Haman dyd asmuch honour vnto him in a maner as they dyd to the King himselfe And being thus exalted aboue all other Princes about the King and honoured of all men there was notwithstanding a certayne Iewe borne named Mardocheus which would neyther bowe nor bende vnto hym as other dyd which being marked of Haman he tooke so great indignacion agaynst Mardocheus that he sought his vtter destruction and purchased a licence of the King for ten thousande talents of Siluer to haue him and all the Iewes destroyed in one day But whyle the writings were a making and postes sent into all quarters for the Iewes dispatch Mardocheus gat knowledge of all Hamans wicked intents and purposes and founde the meanes to haue the same vttered vnto Quéene Hester Who then
his brethren I am Ioseph doth my father yet lyue With that they were so astonyed with his presence that they coulde not aunswere hym one woorde I am Ioseph your brother quoth he whome yée solde into Egipt nowe therefore be not grieued with your selues that yée solde mée hither for God dyd sende mée before you for your preseruation for this is the seconde yeare of dearth and fiue more are behinde wherefore God sent me before you to make prouision for you in this lande and to saue your lyues by a great deliueraunce So nowe it was not you that sent me hither but God who hath made mée a Father vnto Pharao and Lorde of all his house and ruler thorowout all the land of Egipt Therefore now go and tell my father and bid him come with all his houshold to mée and I will make prouision for him Thus when Ioseph had receyued 46. his Father into Egipt and gouerned the lande foure 50. d. score yeares hée dyed at the age of an hundred and ten yeares and was buried in Epigt whose bones were afterwarde translated into the lande of promission as Ioseph had bounde them to doe in his death bed ¶ Ioseph Increasing Math. 1. ◠Ioseph the sonne of Iacob the sonne of Matthan a poore honest man and a Carpenter by his occupasion was spoused to the Virgin Mary the Mother of Christ and dwelled in Nazareth a little Citie in Galile came of the same Tribe and kinred that Mary came of that is to say of the Tribe of Iuda and of the progenie stocke of Dauid of whose séede it was promised that Christe shoulde be borne He had foure sonnes Iames Ioses Symon 13. g. and Iudas which the Iewes of ignoraunce called the brethren of Christ Math. 27. g. Ioseph a man of honour and of great power and substaunce borne in the Citie of Aramathia which was a Disciple of Iesus but not openly knowne bicause of the Iewes which had made a lawe that whosoeuer dyd openly confesse him to be Iesus Disciple the same person shoulde be cast out of the Synagoge This Ioseph came to Pylate and desired licence of him to take downe the body of Iesus from the Crosse and to burie it and hauing obtayned his peticion he bought a fine péece of linnen cloth and therin wrapped the body and layed it in a new Sepulchre hewed out of the rocke and rolled a great stone before the dore of the Sepulchre so went his way 1. Mac. ◠b. f. g Iosephus the sonne of Zachary and one Asarias were twoo Captaynes vnder Iudas Machabeus which twoo Iudas left in Iewry to kéepe and gouerne the remnant of the hoste left there whyle he and Ionathas with Symon their brother went into the parties of Galile and Galaad to deliuer their brethren which were then besieged of their enimies giuing them a great charge not to warre with the heathen but to lye still till he and his brethren were returned home againe But neuerthelesse when Iosephus and Asarias had hearde of all the great actes done by Iudas and his brethren they sayde one to an other Let vs go out and fight agaynst the heathen that lye rounde about vs that we may get vs a name also And being agréede they went out and pitched theyr hoste before the Citie of Iamnya who had not lyen there long or that Gorgias issued out of the citie with his men and stroke battell with Iosephus and slue of the Iewes two thousand and chased Iosephus and all the rest of his companie to the borders of Iewrie And thus Iosephus and Asarias neglecting the commaundement of Iudas their Lorde and gouernour purchased in the steade of honour and fame great dishonour and shame Act. 4. g. Ioses a certayne Leuyte borne in the Countrey of Cypres solde his lande there and brought the whole price therof and layed it downe at the Apostles féete of whome he was surnamed Barnabas ¶ Ioses going out or thrust out 4. Reg. 22. ca Iosias the sonne of Amon being at the age of eyght yeares when he began his raygne ouer Iuda was a vertuous 2. Par. 34. ca. and iust Prince for he sought the Lord God of his father Dauid euen from his Childehoode to the ende of his lyfe He caused the booke of the lawe of Moses which had béene long lost founde againe by Helkia the Priest to be had in great reuerence and diligently read vnto the people He clensed his land from all witchcrafts and sorcerie and from Idols Images and Groues He brake downe the hill altars and brent the bones of the Priests of Baal and left no wicked thing vndestroyed nor monument standing in the Cities of Manasses Ephraim or other places of his Realme where any abhominacion had béene committed He kept a passeouer in the eyghtene yeare of his raigne the like neuer séene and repayred the Temple Finally he made warre vpon the King of Egipt in the which he was wounded with a Darte at a place called Magiddo whereof he dyed Whose death was much lamented for like vnto hym was neuer none before nor after Iehoahas his sonne succéeded him ¶ Iosias the Lordes Fire or the Lorde burning 4. Reg. 15. g. Iotham the sonne of Azaria or Vzia at the age of xxv yeares began his reigne ouer Iuda in the seconde 2. Par. 27. ca. yeare of Pekah King of Israel and did that which was right in the sight of the Lorde in all pointes as did hys father Azaria saue that * Hee went not into the Temple of the Lorde to burne incense as his father did contrary to the worde of god which is spoken to the commendation of Iotham he came not into the temple of the Lorde neyther caused the hyll aultars to be taken away by which occasion the people ceased not to doe wickedly He builded the sumpteous gate of the Temple and many Cities Castles and Towers in the Mountaynes of Iuda and other places He subdued the Ammonites who payed him thrée yeares togither an hundred talents of siluer ten thousand quarters of Wheate and so much of Barley He reigned .xvj. yeares and was buried in the Citie of Dauid leauing Ahas his son to enioy his place ¶ Iotham Persite Num. 27. c. d. Iosua the sonne of Nun was first called Osea which name Moses chaunged and called him Iosua who was Moses minister and ordeyned of God to rule and Exod. 17. c. d. gouerne the people after him He discomfited King Amalech while Moses helde vp his handes and prayed He was one of those Explorators which were sent by Moses Num. 13 cap. 14. a. b. to searche the lande of Canaan and to bring the people worde againe what maner of countrey it was at whose returne the people were ready to stone both him and Caleb for well reporting of that lande wherefore the Lord being angrye with the people sware that none of
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
first an interpreter of Moses law and afterwarde became an earnest preacher of the Gospell of Christ Of whome Paule writeth to Tite Byshop of Crete that whensoeuer Zenas departed from him he shoulde bring him on his iourney with all diligence and that nothing shoulde be lacking vnto him His wordes to Tite were these Bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their iourney diligently that nothing be lacking to them Zephora was the daughter of Raguel Priest of Madian and wyfe to Moses by whom she conceyued bare him twoo sonnes The one Gerson and the other Eleazer And as she went with Moses hir husbande towarde the lande of Egipt by the waye in hir Inne she tooke a sharpe knyfe and cut awaye the foreskinne of hir sonne and cast it at his féete saying Thou art in déede a bloudye husbande vnto mée she sayde a bloudy husbande bycause of the circumcision Ziba was one of King Saules olde seruauntes after whose death he belonged to Miphiboseth the sonne of Ionathas and had the ouer sight of all his maisters landes which Dauid had restored vnto hym and the gouernaunce also of Mica his Maysters sonne This Ziba intending to deceyue his mayster what tyme as Dauid fled from Absalom his sonne and was a little past the top of Mount Oliuete mette him with a couple of Asses sadled and vpon them twoo hundred loaues and one hundred bunches of Raysins an hundred frayle of dryed Figges and a bottell of Wine And when the King sawe him he sayde What meaneth thou with these Ziba They be quoth he Asses for the Kings householde to ryde on and breade and fruite for the yoong men to eate and Wyne that such as be fayntie in the Wildernesse may drincke Then sayde the King where is thy maister Miphiboseth Ziba sayde beholde he taryeth styll at Ierusalem for he sayde This daye shall the house of Israel restore me the Kingdome of my Father Then sayde Dauid to Ziba Beholde all are thine that pertayned to Miphiboseth Then sayde Ziba I doe homage vnto thée I beséeche thée I maye finde grace in thy sight my Lorde O king Thus Ziba deceyued his mayster got his lande from him But when the King was returned agayne to Ierusalem and perceyued by Miphiboseth that Ziba had wrongfully accused him he commaunded the lande to be diuided betwéene them Zimri was the seruaunt of Ela the sonne of Baasa King of Israel and Captayne of halfe his Charrettes who or his Mayster had raygned full twoo yeares conspired agaynst him and siue hym as he was in Tirzah drincking till he was droncken in the house of Arza Stuwarde of his house in Tirzah And raygned in his steade in the tyme of whose raygne which was but seuen dayes he siue all the house of Baasa leauing neyther kinsman nor friende of his alyue At this tyme had Ela the King an hoste of men lying at the siege of Gibbethon a Citie of the Philistines And when they hearde of the Treason of Zimri and that he raygned in the steade of Ela they with one consent made Amry their Captayne King who then went and besieged Zimri where he laye in the citie of Tirzah And when Zimri saw that the citie must néedes be woonne then he least they shoulde take him a lyue and put hym to a shamefull death brent himselfe and the Kinges house with fyre and so dyed Zorobabel the Sonne of Salathiel withall the Iewes which were delyuered from Babilon by Cyrus returned to Ierusalem where they repayred agayne the Citie and Temple of God and renewed their lawes though they were sometyme hindred and let by their enimies about them FINIS Exed 6. c. d. 24. d. 32. cap. Idolatrie punished Nu. 12. cap. Disobedience punished 20. d. 33. c. ¶ Aaron a Teacher Dani. 14. f. g. Abacuck died sixe hundred yeares before the incarnation of Christ Eliote ¶ Abacuck a Wrastler Abdy 1. cap. ¶ Abdy a Seruant of the Lorde Ieremi 38. b. 39. d. â—indnesse recompensed Gen. 4. a. b. Abel Delbora his sister were born both at one byrth fiftene yeares after Cain Cooper ¶ Abel Vanitie 3. Reg. 15. a. 2. Par. 13. ca. 3. Reg. 14. ca. ¶ Abia Father of the Sea. 4. Reg. 18. a. ¶ Abia The will of the Lorde 1. Reg. 22 â–ª 3. Reg. 2. ¶ Abiathar Father of the Remnant or excellent Father 1. Reg. 25. ca. Eccle. 31. d. 2. Reg. 3. a. ¶ Abigail The Fathers Ioye 1. Par â–ª 2. b. Gen. 20. cap. ¶ Abimelech The Kings Father or a Father of Counsell or the Chiefe King. Iudith 9. cap. 2. Reg. 6. a. 1. Reg. 16. b. 31. a. ¶ Abinadab A Father of a Vowe or of a free minde or Prince 3. Reg. 1. a. 2. d. ¶ Abisag The Fathers Ignorance 1. Par. 2. b. 2. Re. 16. b. â— 21. d. 23 â–ª â— â–ª ¶ Abisai The Fathers Rewarde ¶ Abner The Fathers Candell â—â—â— 11. d. 〈◊〉 â—â—â— the sonne of â—eâ—ah beâ—oâ— ten of hys seconde â—yâ—e â— because of his 〈◊〉 is counted be sore 〈◊〉 â—â—â—aâ— bornâ— of the 〈◊〉 wyfe * 1â— câ—p Abraham â—â—ught the Egiptians 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 13. cap. 16. cap. 17. cap. 21. a. b. 22. cap. 25. cap. Abraham dyed before the incarnatioÌ„ of Christ 1838. yeares ¶ Abraham a Father of a great Multitude 2. Reg. 3. 2. 14. f. 2. Reg. 13. ca. 14. cap. 15. cap â–ª 17. a. b. c. d. 18. a. b. c. d Rebellion neuer escapeth gods punishment ¶ Absalom A Father of Peace or the Fathers Peace or Rewarde Iosua 7. cap. ¶ Acan Troubling 3. Reg 16. g. 18 cap. 21. f. 20. cap. * Here God as he many symes doth dyd punyshe one wicked by another 3. Reg. 21. câ—â— * His repentance was not true but plaine ypocrisie 22. cap. ¶ Achab The Fathers Brother 1. Cor. 16. c. ¶ Achaicus Mourning or sadde Achaz looke Ahaz Iudith 5. cap. Iudit 6. ca. Iudith 14. a. ¶ Achior the Brothers Light. 1. Reg. 21. c. d * Here it is sayde that Dauid feined himselfe mad before Achis and in the. 34 Psalme before Abimelech which twoo were both one maÌ„ for here he is called by his proper name Achis and in the other place by his general name Abimelech * 27. cap. * 29. cap. ¶ Achis Euen so it is Gene. 4. 36. ¶ Ada a Companye or Congregation Gene. 1. ¶ Adam Man Earthly 2. Reg. 3. a. 3. Reg. 1. cap. 3. Reg. 2. d. ◠¶ Adonia the Lorde is the ruler Iudic. 1. a. b. ¶ Adonibesech the Lordes Thunder 4. Reg. 19. g. ¶ Adramelech the Kings Cloake or his greatnesse on power or the greatnesse of Counsell 3. Reg. 12. c. 2. Par. 10. d. ¶ Aduram Their Cloake or their power or greatnesse 1. Reg. 15. ca. ¶ Agag An House or sollour Act. 11. d. 21. c ¶ Agabus A Grashopper Gen. 16. cap. 21. a. b. c. ¶ Agar A Straunger 1. Esd 5. a. ¶ Aggeus Solemne festiuall or wynding and turning himselfe
all his posteritie for euer Achis was the sonne of Maoth king of Geth who on a tyme when Dauid feygned himselfe to be mad before him sayde vnto his seruaunts that brought him on this wyse What meane you Sirs to bring this madde felowe before me haue I so great néede of madde men that ye haue brought this man to playe the mad Bedlem in my presence Awaye with him I saye out of my house At this time Achis despised Dauid and woulde not receyue him but the next time he came againe with his bonde of men and their housholdes he retayned them all and gaue vnto Dauid the Citie of Zikleg to dwell in and had him in such estimation that when he himselfe shoulde go with the Phylistines to battell agaynst the Israelites he then tooke Dauid with him and made him the kéeper of his person for the which the Philistines were sore offended with Achis and woulde not suffer him to go in their company so long as Dauid was with him wherfore Achis for feare of the Philistines displeasure intreated Dauid to go home agayne and so went Achis forth wyth the Philistines against king Saul Ada There be two women of this name in the Bible The one was Lameches wyfe and mother to Iaball The other was the daughter of Elom the Hethite and wyfe to Esau Iacobs brother Adam was the first man that God created and had dominion of all the beastes and fowles of the earth and to euery beast and fowle he gaue his proper name God set him at the first in a place of passing ioye full of all maner of fruitefull trées pleasaunt both to the eye and in taste whereof he might eate at will and was not prohibit saue only from the trée of knowledge of good and euil for whensoeuer he tasted of that trée God tolde him he shoulde surely dye Nowe Adam being in this goodly paradise of pleasure God thought it good to make him a companion to beare him company And so casting Adam into a sounde sléepe he tooke out a ryb of his side whereof he made the woman and brought hir to Adam who by and by confessed hir to be of his bone and fleshe and from that tyme forth they liued togythers as man and wyfe in all purenesse and innocencie of lyfe till that by the subtiltie of olde Satan the Serpent who had deceyued the woman he was entysed by his wife to eate of the forbidden trée Which thing he had no sooner done but both their cies were opened to sée in what case they were And when they sawe themselues all naked and bare they were so ashamed that they made them garments to couer their priuities and hid themselues that the Lorde shoulde not sée them But Adam being founde out of God and demaunded wherefore he had hid him alleaged bicause he was naked And also to excuse his transgression he burdened God with his fault bicause he had giuen him the woman which had allured him to eate of the Trée But neuerthelesse for as much as Adam had obeyed the voice of his wyfe and neglected the Lordes precept God cursed the earth for his sake and droue him forth of that welthy place for to liue in sorow and care and be subiect to death and all other calamities and miseries of the worlde both he and all his ofspring for euer In the Byble is mention made both of sonnes and daughters which Adam had of Heua his wyfe but none of their names be rehearsed saue onely Cain Habel and Seth. He liued nine hundreth and thirtie yeares Adonia was a goodly yong man the sonne of Dauid borne vnto him in Hebron of his wyfe Agith When Adonia perceyued his father to be féeble and weake thorowe extreme age he began to exalt himselfe saying he woulde be king And gat him both horses and Charets and also footemen to runne before him euen lyke a king to the which hys father sayd nothing nor woulde not displease hym but let him alone and do what he would And so Adonia procéeded in his purpose and by the counsell of Ioab the Captaine and Abiathar the Priest who tooke his part he made a great sacrifice of shéepe and Oxen wherevnto he called his brethren and also the kings seruantes who eating and drinking before him with great reioysing sayde God saue king Adonia But assoone as Dauid had knowledge of Berseba his Mother and Nathan the Prophet howe all the case stoode he commaunded Sadocke the Priest and Nathan to annoynt Salomon and to set hym vppon his owne Mule and so to go forth and proclaime him king Which newes was no sooner come into the new Kings Courte but euery man shrunke away for feare leauing Adonia all alone Who then for hys owne safegarde fled to the Tabernacle of the Lorde and woulde not from thence till Salomon graunted him his pardon vpon condicion that hereafter he woulde be quiet and a good man And so being pardoned he departed quietly home to his house But after this when Dauid his father was deade Adonia casting his fauour vpon Abisag the Sunamite went to Bethsabe Salomons mother requesting hir to speake vnto the King that he would gyue hym Abisag to wyfe Then Salomon hearing his mothers request perceyued that Adonia being the elder brother went about to aspyre to the kingdome wherefore to preuent hys purpose he put him to death Adonibesech King of the Cananites was of such might and power that he subdued seuentie Kinges who being all brought into his Courte he cutte of their thumbes and great toes and made them gather their meate vnder his Table whych great crueltie he shewed vnto them being puft vp wyth pryde and ostentation of his victory This wicked King chaunced to reigne ouer the Cananites when Iuda had the gouerning of the host of Israel agaynst whome Iuda began his conquest and slewe the Cananites and put Adonibesech to flyght but beyng sore pursued the men of Iuda tooke him and cut of both his thumbes and great toes which thing the tyrant confessed hymselfe by and by to be the iust iudgement of God for as he had done to other so had he worthilye receyued agayne And so he was caryed to Ierusalem and there dyed Adramelech the sonne of Senacherib king of Assyria with his brother Saresa slewe their father in the Temple as he was worshipping his God Nisroch and fled into the lande of Armenia leauing Asarhaddon their other brother to possesse the kyngdome after their father Aduram was receyuer of all Roboams trybute and being sent in Commission to pacifie the people which were deuided and fallen from the King they for hatred they bare to Roboam tooke this man and stoned hym to death Agag was a very fat man and king of the Amalekites which Nation God had commaunded to be vtterly destroyed And bicause King Saul had reserued Agag aliue and
as he had in store that he and his men might be refreshed and go about the Kinges affaires Then Ahimelech beléeuing that all had bene well betwene the King and Dauid tooke him of the halowed breade bicause he saw his necessitie great and had no common breade vnder his hande Then Dauid desired Ahimelech to lende him eyther speare or sworde for I brought quoth he neyther weapon nor harnesse the Kinges businesse required such haste and by and by he fet out the sworde of Goliah and gaue it to him Nowe for this great kindenesse which Ahimelech had shewed to Dauid Doeg a seruant of King Saules accused him to his Lorde of Treason And being brought before the King with all the Priestes of the Lorde it was obiected agaynst him howe he had conspired with Dauid the Kinges enimie and asked counsell of God for him and ayded him both with vittayle and weapon To the which Ahimelech aunswered and sayde Oh King who is so faythfull among all thy seruantes as Dauid is or had in more honor in all thy house is he not the Kings sonne in lawe and doth whatsoeuer thou commaundest him haue I not at other tymes as well as nowe asked counsell of God for him Let not my Lorde the King impute anye such wickednesse in me or in my fathers house for truely thy seruaunt knewe nothing of all this that thou layest to my charge eyther lesse or more Well quoth the King thou shalt surely die And so was this innocent man put to death with lxxxiiij Priestes mo and the Citie of Nob destroyed Ahijah was a Prophete borne in Silo and chauncing to méete with Ieroboam the sonne of Nebat without the Citie of Ierusalem in the playne fieldes hauing a new cloake vpon his backe he caught the cloake from him and rent it in twelue péeces deliuering ten péeces thereof to Ieroboam saying Thus will the Lorde rent the kingdome out of the handes of Salomon bicause he hath forsaken the Lorde and serued straunge Gods and gyue ten Tribes vnto thée Therefore take héede when thou arte King that thou walke in the wayes of the Lorde thy God for so long as thou kéepest his statutes and holy commaundements so long will the Lorde prosper thée in the kingdome Reade more of this Prophete in the storie of Abia the sonne of Ieroboam The father of king Baasa was called Ahijah of the house of Isachar Aholah and Aholibah were twoo Sisters vnder whose names is set forth the fornication that is to saye the Idolatrye of Samaria and Ierusalem Aholibama was the daughter of Ana and wife to Esau who brought him forth children which became great men in the worlde Aioth the sonne of Gera was the seconde Iudge of the Hebrues a man of great strength and valiant of courage and had equall strength and aptnesse in both hys handes He slewe Eglon king of the Moabites on thys wise when Eglon had long warred on the Iewes and taken from them diuers Cities and kept them in much miserie this Aioth came to him to Iericho bringyng vnto him certaine presentes which lyked him well and desired to speake wyth him priuily which was graunted and all other being commaunded to auoyde Aioth stroke Eglom to the heart twise The last tyme with such puissaunce that the knyfe with the hyltes remayned in the wounde and so leauing him deade departed without suspicion and came vnto his people declaring what he had done who being glad armed them and fell vppon the Moabites and slewe of them ten thousande and braue all the residue out of their countrie And so the Iewes being deliuered by the wisedome and vertue of Aioth after made hym their Iudge and Prince Who gouerned them .lxxx. yeares in peace and died a very olde man in much honor Alexander the sonne of Philip King of Macedonia slewe Darius king of the Persians and Medes and conquered the moste part of all the worlde in lesse than twelue yeares space whereof he became so prowde that God was displeased with him And being visited with sickenesse so sore that he must néedes die he called all his Lordes and Princes before him and departed his kingdome among them So that they after his death were crowned and reygned as Kings euery one seuerally in his owne dominion as was to them appointed He reigned .xij. yeares Alexander the sonne of Noble Antiochus tooke the Citie of Ptolomais and after that mooued warre against Demetrius who to preuent Alexander sent Ambassadours to Ionathas gouernour of the Iewes to haue his friendshippe promising him as many fayre and large offers as he coulde deuise But forasmuch as Ionathas had experience of his deceytfull dealings and howe cruell an enimie he had alwayes bene vnto the Iewes nation he refused the offer of Demetrius and ioyned in league with Alexander knowing him to be a faythfull Prince and euer his friende And so Alexander hauing the Iewes ayde stroke battayle with Demetrius in the which conflict Alexander slewe Demetrius and ouercame all his hoste Nowe when Alexander had conquered the lande and was set in the Trone of his progenitours a mariage was concluded betwéene him and Cleopatra the daughter of Ptolomie King of Egypt which was finished at the Citie of Ptolomias at the which triumph Alexander made Ionathas a Duke and partener of his dominion and after that for his worthinesse gaue him the Citie of Accaron Alexander nowe lying at Antioch and hearing howe the Cilicians had rebelled against him marched towarde them with a great power to suppresse the rebellion And being there occupied with his enimies Ptolomie in the meane season defeated him of his kingdome and toke his daughter Cleopatra gaue hir to Demetrius the sonne of Demetrius in mariage Alexander hearing of this returned home with all his host but Ptolomy being to strōg for him chased Alexander out of his Realme who for succor fled into Araby where the king of that land against al law of arms smote of his heade and sent it to Ptolomie for a present Alexander a Iewe borne and a ruler at Ephesus what time as Demetrius the Siluersmith mooued sedition in the Citie against Paul for the goddesse Diana was in the rage drawne out of the Common Hall and going forwarde beckonned with his hande to haue spoken but till the Towne Clarke had ceased the noyse which lasted two houres he coulde not be hearde And then to pacifie the people more by worldly wisedome than for any respect he had to Religion he sayde Ye men of Ephesus what man is he that knoweth not howe that the Citie of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddesse Diana and of the Image which came from Iupiter Seing then that no man sayeth hére against ye ought to be content and to doe nothing rashely For yée haue brought hyther these men which are neyther robbers of Churches neyther yet despysers of your goddesse Wherefore if Demetrius
and the craftes men which are wyth him haue any matter against any man the lawe is open and there are rulers let them accuse one an other But if ye go about any other thing it may be determined in a lawfull assemble For wée are in ieoperdye to be accused of this dayes vprore forasmuch as there is no cause whereby we may giue a reckoning of thys concourse of people And when he had thus spoken eche man departed Alexander the Coppersmyth forsooke the fayth and became such an enimy vnto the Gospell that he withstoode Paules preaching and did him much displeasure for the which Paul deliuered him vnto Satan that is excommunicated him out of the Church desiring the Lorde to rewarde him as he had deserued Alcimus was a Iewe borne and come of the séede of Aaron who notwithstanding became so wicked a man that he forsooke the lawes of his owne Nation to maintayne the abhominations of the heathen And for the hatred he bare to Machabeus and the Iewes he tooke vnto him a sorte of vnthriftes and vngodly persons and went to Demetrius vnto whome he made agricuous complaint vpon Iudas Machabeus feygning that he had slaine all the Kings friends and driuen him and his companie out of their owne lande wherfore he willed Demetrius to choose out some Noble Captayne to go and auenge the Kings quarrell on Iudas Vppon the which complaint of Alcimus the King sent Bachides against Iudas and made Alcimus the hye Priest who was such an enimie vnto the Iewes as the lyke was not among the Heathen for all his studie was how he might eyther by worde or déede worke their vtter confusion And finally to manifest his great malice towardes his owne Countrey men ▪ and the lawes of God he commanded the walles of the inmost Sanctuary with the Monuments of the Prophetes to be cast downe and destroyed But as this wicked Apostata went about his deuilish purpose the hand of God fell vpon him and smote him with such an incurable Palsie that his mouth was shut vp and so like a miserable wretch he dyed Amalech was the sonne of Eliphas the sonne of Esan borne vnto him of Thymna his Concubine of whom came the kinred of the Amalekites This King when Moses had brought the children of Israel out of Egypt and were come into the wildernesse of Raphidim where they both lacked water and were wearyed with their long iourney woulde not suffer them to passe quietly thorowe his lande but came forth with weapon and waged battell against them In the which battell Iosua guided the hoste of Israel while Moses went to praye And so long as Moses helde vp his handes and prayed so long had Israel the better but when he let them fall Amalech had the better Then Aaron and Hur perceyuing Moses handes to be weary gat them vp to Moses and staide his handes the one on the one side and the other on the other side so long tyll Iosua had discomfited Amalech with all his hoste And for thys crueltie of Amalech God sware vnto Moses that he woulde vtterly put out the remembraunce of Amalech from vnder heauen Which promise he perfourmed in the dayes of King Saule Aman looke Haman Amasa was the sonne of Iether and Abigail Dauids sister was his mother This Amasa what time as Absalom rose against his father Dauid was made Captaine ouer Absaloms hoste and after the death of Absalom Dauid receyued him to fauour swearing he shoulde be Captaine ouer his hoste in the rowme of Ioab which office he did not long enioy for when Seba the sonne of Bichri had begun a new commotion and that Dauid had sent Amasa to gather the men of Iuda togithers and to bring them to him by the thirde day it chaunced Ioab to méete Amasa by the way which was somewhat after the time the King had appointed and saluting him with all gentlenesse he tooke him by the Chinne with one hande to kisse him and with the other hand he smote him vnder the short ribbes wyth his dagger and killed him Amasiah the sonne of Ioas king of Iuda began his reigne at the age of .xxv. yeares in whose beginning he did indifferently well obserue the lawes of God but in the ende he became an Idolater He prepared an hoste of thirtie thousande men to goe against the Edomites and yet to make himselfe the stronger he hyred an hundreth thousande mo out of the ten Tribes of Israel for an hundred Talentes of Siluer But as hée was goyng wyth both the hostes of Iuda and Israel hée was commaunded by the Lordes Prophet to sende the hoste of Israel home againe forasmuch as the Lorde was not with them or else he shoulde not stand before his enimies how then sayd the King shall I doe for the hundred Talents which I haue giuen for them Take no thought for that quoth the Prophet for the Lorde is able to giue thée as much more And so he sent the hoste of Israell home againe who for anger they were dimised fell vpon the Cities of Iuda as they went and did much harme Then Amasias with his owne men set vppon his enimies and slewe ten thousand and discomfited the rest After which victorie whereas he ought to haue giuen all prayse vnto God for the same he fel from God and most vilely dishonored him in worshipping the Idols of the Edomites despising the Prophets admonition sent vnto him frō the Lorde And so persisting in his obstinate minde prowde heart he wrote to Ioas King of Israel commaunding him and his people by a Parable of the Cedar trée and Thystle to be vnder his subiection But Ioas after defiaunce gathered an armie and went against Amasias whose hoste being discomfited Amasiah was taken and brought to Ioas who caryed him to Ierusalem where notwithstanding the gates being opened against him he caused foure hundreth cubites of the walle to be beaten downe and entred into the Citie that way leading Amasiah with him as a prisōner tooke all the treasure of the Temple and of the Kings house caused it to be brought into Samaria Afterwarde being deliuered his owne people slewe him He reigned .xxix. yeares and Azaria his sonne succéeded Ammon the eldest sonne of Dauid had a fayre sister called Thamar with whome he was so farre in loue that he coulde eate no meate that did him good but pyned himselfe away marueylously for hir sake Then Ionadab his fathers brothers sonne a friende and familiar of his and a worldly wise man perceyuing Ammon to be sore chaunged and euery day more and more went to him and sayde Howe happeneth this Ammon that thou being the Kings sonne consumest thy selfe so away and doest not tell me Oh sayde Ammon I am in loue with Thamar my brother Absaloms sister and except I may haue hir companie I shall surely die Now to further this wicked purpose of Ammon
here was a counsayler ready at hande I will tell thée sayde Ionadab what thou shalt doe lay thée downe vpon thy bedde and feigne thy selfe sicke and when Dauid thy father commeth to visite thée desire him to let Thamar thy sister come and dresse thée such meate as thou hast a lust vnto Ammon did so and when Thamar was come and had dressed him meate and brought it into his Chamber he commaunded all to auoyde and neuer rested vntill he had by force gotten his pleasure which done he fell into such an excéeding hatred of Thamar that he coulde not suffer hir to be in his sight but caused his seruaunt to thrust hir out of his house and to bolt the doores after hir For this shamefull incest of Ammon Absalom two yeares after at a banket slewe him Lot had a sonne called Ammon which was borne him of his yongest daughter of him came the Ammonites Amon the sonne of Manasses was .xxij. yeare olde when he began his reigne ouer Iuda and walked not in the wayes of the Lord but gaue himselfe more to wicked Idolatrie and worshipping of stincking Idols than euer his father did and woulde neuer turne vnto god Wherfore at last certaine of his owne men conspired against him and slewe him which conspirators the people of the lande notwithstanding put to death and made Iosiah his sonne King in his steade Amos was an heardeman or shepehearde of a poore Towne called Thieme and one of the twelue Prophetes which God raysed vp to admonishe the Israelites of their wickednesse and Idolatrie and to threaten them with his plagues and punishments if they did not repent Reade of his death in the storie of Amasiah The father of Isai Dauids father was called Amos and there the worde signifieth Strong Amram the sonne of Caath the sonne of Leuy tooke Iochebed his fathers Sister to wife who bare vnto him two sonnes Aaron and Moses and also a daughter called Miriam He liued an hundreth and thirtie eyght yeres Amraphael was King of Sinhar and one of the foure Kings which fought against fiue other Kinges in the valley of Syddin where he and his partie had the victorie Amry was the chiefe Captaine and gouernour of the whole armie of Ela the sonne of Baasa king of Israel And lying at the siege of Gibbethon a Citie of the Philistines the whole hoste there hearing of the death of Ela constituted Amry King in his steade But the residue of the Israelites which abode at home and were not with Amry at the siege made Thebni the sonne of Gineth king So that the people were deuided and in great contention for their King which continued for the space of thrée yeares till Thebni chaunced to dye and then the whole multitude receyued Amry for their King who began his reigne in the .xxxj. yeare of the reigne of Asa king of Iuda and reigned most wickedly of all others before him .xij. yeares and dyed leauing his sonne Achab to succéede him Anah the sonne of Zibeon as he fedde and kept hys fathers Asses in the wildernesse was the first that founde out the monstrous generation of Mules betwéene the Asse and the Mare He had a Sister also called Anah whose daughter Aholibamah was wyfe to Esau the sonne of Isaac Ananias was a certayne man who to be counted one of the Christian religion solde his possession with his Wiues cōsent and notwithstanding kept away part of the price therof and brought the rest and layd it downe at the Apostles féete whose dissembling hypocrisie being reuealed vnto Peter he sayde vnto him Ananias howe is it that Sathan hath filled thyne heart that thou shouldest lye vnto the holy Ghost and kéepe awaye part of the price of the possession Perteyned it not vnto thée onely and after it was solde was it not in thine owne power howe is it that thou hast conceyued this thing in thine heart Thou hast not lyed vnto men but vnto god And when Ananias hearde these wordes he fell downe and dyed Ananias the Disciple of Christ dwelling at Damascus had a vision appeared vnto him saying Ananias arise and go into the stréete which is called Straight and séeke in the house of Iudas for one Saul of Tharsus for beholde he prayeth and hath séene a vision a man named Ananias comming vnto him and putting his hands on him that he might receyue his sight Then sayd Ananias Lorde ▪ I haue hearde by many of this man howe much euill he hath done to thy Saintes at Ierusalem and here he hath aucthoritie of the hye Priestes to binde all that call vpon thy name ▪ Well sayd he go thy wayes for he is a chosen vessell vnto me to beare my name before the Gentyles and Kings and the children of Israel For I will shewe him howe great things he must suffer for my names sake Then Ananias went to Saule and layde his handes on him and sayde Brother Saule the Lord that appeared vnto thée in the way as thou camest hath sent me that thou mightest receyue thy sight and be filled with the holy ghost And so by the handes of Ananias Saule receiued his sight agayne There was another Ananias who being hye Priest commaunded Paule to be smitten on the mouth as he was aunswering for himselfe before the Counsell Andrewe a poore Fisher man ▪ was called with his brother Peter to be an Apostle When Christ demaunded of his Disciples where they might buye breade to satisfie the people that followed him Andrewe made answere and sayde there is a little boye here which hath fiue Barley loaues and two fishes but what is that among so many Andronicus being a man of aucthoritie and in great fauour with Antiochus King of Siria was left in Iewrie and made Lieutenaunt ouer the Iewes vntill the returne of the King who was gone to pacifie a certayne commotion made by the Tharsians and Mallacians And in the meane time being corrupt with bribes rewardes of that vngracious man Menelaus to dispatch the good and godly man Onias whom he so hated out of the way he went to Onias who for his safegarde had taken the benefite of Sanctuarie and with fayre wordes perswaded him to come forth binding himselfe with an othe he should haue no harme And when he sawe that Onias suspected him he fell vpon him incontinently and without any regard of righteousnesse slewe him Whose innocent death so offended the people that they made a grieuous complaint of Andronicus to the King at his comming home who caused that wicked murderer to be stripped out of his purple clothes and led most villanously thorow the Citie to the place where he had committed his vngracious acte and to suffer most shamefull death Andronicus the faythfull Disciple of Christ to whome Paule sendeth commendations on this wise Salute Andronicus and Iunia my Cosins and felowe
who so manfully resisted Antiochus that he was fayne considering the decrease of his people and the strength of the place besieged to offer them peace and to graunt them libertie to liue according to their owne lawes whose couenants being receyued the Iewes came out of the castle of Sion to giue place to Antiochus who notwithstanding his othe when he saw the defence therof commaunded the walles round about to be cast downe and destroyed from thence departed to Antioch where he fought with Philip which was come out of Persia and wanne the Citie out of his handes And lying there Demetrius the sonne of Seleuchus came to Antioch and tooke Antiochus and Lisias and put them both to death Antiochus the sonne of Alexander being but a child was first vnder the gouernance of Emascuel the Arabian and remoued from him to the tuition of one Triphon of whome he was most traiterously murthered Antiochus the sonne of Demetrius for as much as Triphon had bene his fathers vtter enimye made a couenaunt of friendship with Simon the hye Priest and Prince of the Iewes that he might the better ouercome Triphon whome he persecuted and droue to the Citie of Dora lying by the sea side which Citie he besieged with an hundred and twentie thousand footemen and viij thousande horsemen And lying there Simon sent him two thousande chosen men with siluer and golde and much furniture to helpe him Who notwithstanding his bonde of loue he had made with Simon before refused nowe his friendshippe and fell at defiaunce wyth him and all the Iewes and was euer after that their continuall enimie Antipas was a faythfull Martyr of Christ 1. Mac. 12. b. 14. c. Antipator the sonne of Iason first by Ionathas and after by Simon was sent Ambassadour to Rome to renue the olde friendshippe betwéene the Iewes and Romaines ¶ Antipater For the Father or against the Father 3. Esd 4. c. Apame was Daughter to that famous King Bartacus and Concubine to a certayne great King who was of such power and might that all landes stoode in awe of him And where as no man durst presume to lay handes vppon this King yet Apame sitting by his side vpon the right hande tooke of his Crowne from his head and set it vpon hir owne heade and smote the King with hir left hand who in the meane time did nothing but gape and looke vpon hir if she laughed vpon him he laughed if she were angrie then he flattered to winne hir fauour agayne ¶ Apame Expelling or driuing forth Rom. 16. b. Apelles was a faythfull Christen brother and one as it séemeth that had sustayned trouble for the Gospell sake For Saint Paule sending salutacions to the Christians at Rome sayth thus Salute Apelles approoued in Christ ¶ Apelles Expelling or driuing away 1. Mac. 3. a. Appolonius the Gouernour of Siria came against Iudas Machabeus with a great hoste of the heathen and in th ende was slayne Whose sworde pleased Iudas so well that he kept it for a memorie and vsed it for his weapon all the dayes of his life in tyme of warre ¶ Appolonius Vndooing or destroying 2. Mac. 4. a. 5. d. Appolonius the sonne of Thersa Gouerneur of Celosiria and Phinches a man set all vpon tirannie was sent to Ierusalem agaynst the Iewes whome he hated with an armie of twâ—ntie thousande men and commaunded by the King Antiochus to kyll all that were of perfit age and to sell the Women Maydens and Children who at his first comming to the citie made a shewe of peace and laye still till the Sabboth daye And then knowing the Iewes woulde not breake their lawe to make resistance he fell vpon them and did his commission with all extremitie Act. 18. d. Apollos was an eloquent man a Iewe borne at Alexandria and well instructed and had but as yet the first principles of Christes religion which was the Baptime or doctrine of Iohn onely The same being somewhat entred in the way of the Lord began to be feruent in the spiritc and to speake boldly at Ephesus where Aquila and Priscilla chaunced to heare him and perceyuing he was not fully instructed in the preceptes of the Gospell they * This great learned and eloquent maÌ„ disdayned not to bee taught of a poore crafts man. tooke him home with them and expounded vnto him the way of the Lorde more perfitely which was the way to saluation And when he was christened in the name of Iesus and had receyued the holy Ghost he was desirous go into Achaia where at Corinth he did valiantly set forth the Gospell confounding the Iewes with plaine euident Testimonies of Scriptures that Iesus was the same Messias whome the Iewes had so many hundreth yeares looked for Act. 18. cap. Aquila was a certaine Iewe borne in Ponthus lateiy come out of Italie with his wyfe Priscilla to Corinth bicause the Emperour Claudius had commaunded all Iewes to depart from Rome His Craft was to sowe togither skinnes to make Tentes and Pauilions withall Paule who was of the same occupation when he came to Corinth lodged in this mannes house and wrought with him And after a yeare and a halfe departed from Corinth and went togithers to Ephesus where Aquila and Priscilla made their aboade And remayning there behynde Paule who had taken his iourney towards Ierusalem it fortuned Apollos an Alexandrian borne an eloquent man and well learned to come to Ephesus and preached Christ so much as he had learned of him by Iohns Baptime for more he knewe not And when Aquila and Priscilla had hearde his preaching and perceyuing him not to be as yet fullye instructed in the knowledge of Christ tooke him home with them and seuerally taught him more perfitely the mysteries of the Gospell ¶ Aquila an Egle. Gen. 11. d. Aran was the sonne of Terah brother to Nahor and Abraham and father to Lot and the first man that scripture maketh mention of that by the course of nature died before his father ¶ Aran an Hill or hilly Math. 2. d. Archelaus was the sonne of Herode king of the Iewes In whose time Ioseph * This king reigned .ix. yeares ouer the Iewes and finallye was banished into France thorowe his insolencie with Glasira his brother Alexanders wydow whoÌ„ he had maryed Lanquet returned out of Egypt with the chylde Jesus to go into the lande of Israell But when he hearde that Archelaus did reigne in Iewrie in his fathers steade fearing least he had succéeded in his fathers cruelnesse lyke as in hys kingdome durst not go thither but turned aside into the parties of Galilie and dwelt there in a Citie called Nazareth ¶ Archelaus a Prince of the people Archippus was the * Col. 4. d. instructour of the Colossians and admonished by Paule to take diligent héede to the office which was committed vnto him to perfourme it whereof he shoulde yéelde
Hesron bare vnto him thrée sonnes Ieser Sobab and Ardon 4. Reg. 11. ca. 2. Par. 22. ca. Athalia was the daughter of Amry and wife to Ioram King of Iuda When Ioram dyed hir sonne Ahaziahu Athalia in the 4. Reg. ca. 8. is called both the daughter of Achab and the daughter of Amrye which sayth Lyra is meÌ„t thus After the death of Amry hir naturall father shee was brought vp with Achab hir brother and so in processe called his daughter or else by immitating hys maners in all kind of Idolatrie succéeded whome she entysed to all wickednesse and after his death she ruled and killed all the reast of the séede of Ioram onely Ioas excepted which was stolne awaye and hyd from hir And when she had ruled the lande most cruelly vj. yeare In the vij yeare Ioas was brought forth by Iehoiada the Priest and proclaymed King She hearing that ranne into the Temple of the Lorde with hir clothes rent crying out treason treason But at the commaundement of Iehoiada the Captaynes and souldiers tooke hir out of the Temple and slue hir ¶ Athalia Time for the Lorde Azaria the sonne * 4 Re. 15. a. b of Amaziahu King of Iuda began his reigne in the xxvij yere of Ieroboam King of Israel was xvj yere old when he was made king And so long as he gaue eare to Zacharias the Prophete and walked vprightly so long did the Lorde prosper him with great victories both of the Philistines and Arabians and made the Ammonites also tributories vnto him He ‡ Azaria is in the same chapter called also Vziah repaired Ierusalem He loued well husbandrye and had great plenty of Cattell At length he became so mightie that in his strength his heart arose to his destruction For in his pryde he went into the Temple of the Lord to burne incense which although he séemed to doe it of a zeale and good intent yet forasmuch as he vsurped the Priests office he was iustlye resisted of Azariahu the Priest and plagued of God who smote him with such a Leprosie that he went out of the Temple a Leper and so remayned all the dayes of his lyfe He reygned .lij. yeares and was buried in a part of the same fielde where his Predecessors lay but not in the same Sepulchres bicause he was a Leper ¶ Azaria Helpe of the Lorde B. BAal the sonne of Reaia was a Prince of the Rubenites and caried away with other his kinred into the lande of Assiria by Thiglath Pilneser King of the Assirians Baanah with his brother Rechab the sonnes of Rimmon were two Captaynes in the hoste of Isboseth King of Israel who when Abner their chiefe Captayne was dead went into the house of Isboseth séeming saith Lyra they had gone to fetch wheate for the King sayth he had great store of wheate which he solde to Merchants a farre of wherefore these two disguysed themselues lyke Merchants that came to buye and so entring into the house they founde where their Lorde and maister lay vpon his bed in the heate of the day fast a sleepe and slue him and tooke his heade and caryed iâ— to Dauid thinking for the same to haue had a great rewarde But for their most shamefull and trayterous acte they were both put to death and their quarters hanged ouer the poole in Hebron Baasa the sonne of Ahia conspired against 〈◊〉 King of Israel and reygned in his steade In the thirde yeare of Asa King of Iuda began Baasa to reygne ouer Israel and walked most wickedlye in all the wayes of Ieroboam whose house and posteritie notwithstanding he vtterly destroyed and left not one aliue for so it was propheried that God woulde stirre him vp one which was this Baasa for that purpose And now for as much as Baasa whome God had exalted euen out of the dust woulde styll mayntaine Ieroboams ydolatrie and cause his people to sinne he sent him worde by the Prophete Iehu that as he had rooted out the whole posteritie of Ieroboam so shoulde his be serued likewise Great warre was betwéene â–ª Baasa and Asa King of Iuda And for to stoppe the passage of Iuda that none shoulde passe out nor in safely Baasa went to builde a strong holde called Rama which he was sayne at length to leaue vnfinished and to lâ—â—se all his â—ost and traueyle to go agaynst Benhadid which had broken couenaunt with him He reygned .xxiiij. yeares and was buried in Thirza which was a place where the King remayned leauing Ela his sonne to succéede him in whose dayes the foresayde Prophecye of the rooting out his posteritie tooke place Bachides was a man of great power in the dominion of Demetrius the sonne of Seleucus And beyng the Kings faythfull friende he sent him with a great host agaynst Iudas Machabeus to reuenge him of the iniurie he had done vnto his people and in the ende slue him After whole death â–ª many of the wicked Iewes turned to Bachides whereof he made some Lordes and rulers of the lande which of enuy vttered the friendes of Iudas brought them into great veration and trouble When Bachides had giuen this ouerthrow to Iudas he sought howe he might kill Ionathas also whom the Iewes had 〈◊〉 in his brothers 〈◊〉 And méeting with Ionathas about the border of Iordan there was a great battell stricken betweene them in the which Bachides lost a thousande of his men After which conflict Bachides by occasion of Alcimus the wicked Priests death departed for that tyme so that Ionathas laye at rest two yeares after tyll a sort of vngodly men conspired against him howe they might bring Bachides vppon hym vnwares which matter being betwéene them and him concluded Bachides returned with a great power but or he came Ionathas had gotten knowledge of the Treason and put certayne of the chiefest Conspirators to death Then when Bachides came and had besieged the Citie of Bethbessen long and sawe he was not able to resist the power of Ionathas he was marueylously displeased with those wicked counsaylers which had caused him to traueyle in vaine and made him ready to depart againe whereof Ionathas hauing knowledge he sent Ambassadors to Bachides to make peace with him to the which he gladly consented and restored to Ionathas all his prisoners which he had taken in the land of Iuda and so returned home and neuer vexed Israel more Balaam the sonne of Beor or Bosor as S. Peter sayth was a couetous Prophet and for lucre sake went to the King of Moab to curse the hoste of Israel which thing God woulde not suffer him to doe but turned hys curse into a blessing Yea he was so farre ouercome with couetousnesse sayth S. Peter that he coulde not sée hys iniquitie when the tame beast speaking in mans voyce rebuked him and forbade his madnesse He caused the Israelites thorowe his counsell to commit
the children of Israel out of captiuitie Chusan Risathaim was king of Mesopotamia into whose hande God deliuered the Children of Israel bicause they turned from him to serue straunge Gods which King kept them in bondage eyght yeares till at last they crying to the Lorde for helpe God raysed vp Othoniel which deliuered them out of his hands Dalila was the wyfe of Samson who thorowe the perswasions of the Philistines flattered him so long vntill she had got knowledge where all his strength laye that knowne she so dallyed with him that he laying down his heade vpon hir lappe and there falling a sléepe she caused the heare of hys heade to be shauen off and so betrayed him to the Philistines Damaris was a certayne godly woman dwelling at the Citie of Athens who among other Paule conuerted Dan was the sonne of Iacob borne him of Bilha Rachels mayde His brothers name of father and mother was Nephtaly Iacob before his death prophecied of him saying Dan shall iudge his people as one of the Tribes of Israel Dan shall be a serpent by the way and an Adder by the path byting the horse héeles so that his Rider shall fall backewarde O Lorde I haue wayted for thy saluation The generation of the Danites grewe to such a number that the portion which Iosua gaue them was not sufficient for all their Tribe wherefore they went out to séeke them an inheritaunce to dwell in And comming to the quiet Citie of Lais which mystrusted nothing they fell vpon it killed the people and brent the City And in the place therof they builded themselues another Citie and called it Dan. And set vp the Idols therein which they had taken from Micah and worshipped them and so continued in their ydolatrie till the Arke of God was taken 1. Reg. 4. Daniel was an holy Prophet of the Tribe of Iuda who beyng a welfauoured yonge springalde and of good erudition was among other of the children of Israel brought to Babilon and there founde at the Kings charges to learning to profite in the Chaldeys tongue and for the better nourishing and bringing vp of these yong striplings hée appoynted to them for thrée yeares space a portion of his owne meate euery day and of hys owne Wyne which he dranke to thintent that by their good intreatie and learning of his religion they might rather fauor him than the Iewes and to be able to serue him as gouernours in their lande But Daniel being determined in his heart that he woulde not defile himselfe with the Kinges meate and drinke desired his kéeper that he and his thrée companions to wit Ananias Misael and Azarias might not defyle themselues but that he woulde gyue them nothing else but Pulse to eate and water to drinke which thing he was afrayde to doe least when the King shoulde call them before him they might séeme in woorser lyking than the rest of their fellowes and so he to be in daunger of his lyfe Well sayde Daniel prooue thy seruaunts for ten dayes Then the Kéeper whose heart God had mooued to fauour Daniel prooued them ten dayes and when he saw them fatter in fleshe and in better lyking than the other he tooke away their portion of meate and serued them daily with Pulse and water And to these God gaue great knowledge and vnderstanding in all learning and wysedome But to Daniel onely he gaue the gyft of Prophecying and opening of visions and dreames Now when the time was expired that all the children whome the King had so long nourished shoulde be brought before him he founde Daniel and his thrée associates in matters of wisedome and vnderstanding that he requyred of them ten tymes better than all the learned men of his Realme so that the King had Danyel in great estimacion After this Daniel expounded the Kinges dreames and shewed him the true interpretacion and meaning thereof which none of the Chaldeans coulde doe for the which the King rewarded him wyth great gyftes and made him gouernour ouer the whole Prouince of Babilon wherewyth the other Princes and Rulers were sore offended and sought occasion against him concerning the kingdome but Daniel was so faythfull and vpright in all the Kings matters that they confessed and sayde We shall fynde no occasion against this Daniel except it be concerning the lawe of his God Therefore let vs perswade the king to make a decrée that whosoeuer shall aske a peticion of any god or man for thirtie dayes saue only of the King the same to be cast into the denne of Lyons And when the King had consented to this wicked decrée and sealed the wryting Daniel that all men might sée that he woulde neyther consent in heart nor déede for these fewe dayes to anye thing that was contrarye to Gods glorye went home to his house and set open the wyndowe of his Chamber towarde Ierusalem and fell downe vppon hys knées to gyue thanckes and prayse vnto God as hys custome was thrée tymes a daye to doe And thus making his prayers and supplication to his God his aduersaries came vpon him and founde hym a worke wherevpon they went to the king and sayde hast thou not sealed the decrée that whosoeuer shall make request to any God or man within thirtie daies saue to thée O King shal be cast into the denne of Lions True it is quoth the king and it cannot be broken Then sayd they This Daniel one of thy prisoners of Iuda regardeth neyther thée nor yet thy statute but maketh his peticion thrise a day vnto his god When the King heard this he was sore displeased in himselfe and sought by all meanes to haue excused Daniel and when he sawe no intreatie woulde serue nor no way be founde to alter the lawe he suffred Daniel to be cast down to the Lions which were seuen in numbre and were kept fasting that daye from their ordinarie dyet to the intent they shoulde haue deuoured Daniel But God had so stopped the mouthes and furie of the Lyons that they dyd him no harme and least he should perish there for hunger God sent his Prophete Abacucke with meate and drinke to féede hym and also mooued the kings heart to take such care for Daniel that the seuenth day after he went to the denne to sée if he were a lyue or dead and finding hym not perished but whole and sounde he reioyced greatly and caused Daniel to be taken out his accusers with their wyues and children cast downe among the fierce gréedy Lions ▪ who tore them all in péeces before they came at the grounde Thus being deliuered hée afterwarde prophecied of the comming of Christ and of the Empire of Babilon Medea Persia Grecia and the Romaines Reade more of him in the story of Bell and Susanna Darda the sonne of Mahol was one of the foure which came of the ofspring of the children of Chore and so
farre excéeded all other in wysedome and learning that Salomon was compared vnto them Darius in taking of Babilon slue King Balthasar and possessed his kingdome In the seconde yeare of his raigne he graunted the same licence vnto the Iewes to builde againe the Citie of Ierusalem and the house of God that King Cyrus had graunted to them in the first yeare of his raigne And for so much as the worke had béene much hindered from the first yeare of Cyrus vnto the seconde yeare of this King Darius he gaue a strayte commaundement that whosoeuer dyd from hencefoorth hinder or let that worke a Beame shoulde be taken from that mans house and he hanged thereon and his house made a dunghill And so the buylding went forwarde with spéede and was perfectly finished in the sixte yeare of his raigne Dathan and Abiram were the sonnes of Eliab and two of the chiefe Captaynes with Chore in the insurrection against Moses on whom God tooke such vengeance that he caused the earth to open and swallow them vp quick Reade the story of Chore. Dauid was the yoongest sonne of Isai and by Gods commaundement annoynted King of Israell Saule yet raigning of the Prophet Samuel Wherefore Saule fearing that Dauid would defeate him of his kingdome vexed hym with continuall persecution during the which tyme Dauid shewed notable examples both of pacience and true obedient seruice to Saule his soueraigne Lorde And first to shew his obedient and faithfull heart to his Prince and loue he bare to his countrey he put himselfe in daunger to fight with that great monster Goliah and slue him of whome the king and all the host of Israell stoode in great feare And after this act also when Saule of enuie that the women in their daunce had giuen to Dauid more prayse than to him threwe his Iauelin at Dauid as he stoode and played on his Harpe before him to haue nayled him fast to the wall Dauid auoyded and armed himselfe with pacience and neuer sought other meanes to reuenge In so much that when Saule by the prouidence of God came into the Caue to ease himselfe in the which Caue Dauid lay hid for feare of Saul he woulde not being prouoked put foorth his hande to hurt his mayster But cut of a péece of the hemme of his coate in token that he might haue killed him And yet after that it sore repented him that he had done so much injury vnto his soueraigne Lorde and maister although he was his most gréeuous enimy and euery houre sought his death Also when he came into the host of Saule and founde the King and his men fast a sléepe he woulde not for his owne priuate cause though Iehu slue two Kinges at Gods commaundement lay his hand vpon the Lords annointed but onely that he shoulde know that Dauid was there might haue béene reuenged tooke his speare and pot of water which stoode at his heade and went hys waye Finally when it pleased God to deliuer him of his enimie in battaile against the Philistines one to get thanke of Dauid brought vnto him Saules crowne and the Bracelet that he wore on hys arme certifying him of the Kings death and that he with his owne handes had killed him whose acte dyd so much abhorre Dauid that he thought the man not woorthy to lyue but put him to death by and by Read more of Dauids pacient suffering and obedient seruice in the story of Michol Ionathas Ahimelech Achis and Absalon his sonne Nowe when Saule was dead Dauid was admitted king and reigned ouer Iuda .vij. yeares after which time expired he reigned both ouer Israel and Iuda .xxxiij. yeares And dyd that which was good in the sight of God and put his trust confidence in the Lord God of Israel so that before nor after him was not his like He cleaued so vnto the Lord that God of him bare witnesse that he had founde a man according to his hearts desire To him God made a promise that Christ shoulde come of his séede for the which cause Christ of the Prophets is called the sonne of Dauid To this holy Prophet God gaue many victories and excellent giftes which are touched in other stories and yet among all his vertues he suffred him to fall into the abhominable vice of adulterie and homicide and most gréeuously punished him for the same who notwithstanding after earnest repentaunce was receyued agayne into the fauour of God and neuer after offended in that sinne more Finally after many conflictes with his enimies he died after he had reigned .xl. yeares leauing Salomon his sonne to succéede him Debora the wyfe of one Lapidoth was a Prophetesse and the fourth Iudge and gouernour of the people of Israel who by the power and pleasure of God and helpe of Barack the Captayne of hir armie deliuered them from the Tyrannie of King Iabyn and of Sisera his Captaine generall putting the king to a great foyle in flying of his Captain Sisera Thorow the which victorie the Israelites were restored to libertie and their enimies the Cananites vtterly confounded She iudged Israel .xl. yeares Demas was Christes Disciple a great while and a faythfull minister to Paule and neuer shranke from him nor his doctrine so long as all things prospered well with Paule But when he saw Paule cast in pryson and in daunger of his life for the Gospels sake He forsooke both him and his doctrine and imbraceing the worlde conueighed himselfe to Thessalonica Such there be that so long as pleasure profite fauour honour glory or riches doe followe the worde of God so long will they fauour the same But when affliction persecution losse of goods riches landes possessions or such like aduersities doe come then they doe as Demas dyd forsake the Gospel and followe the worlde Demetrius the sonne of Sceleucus came from Rome with a small company of men to a certaine Citie of his owne lying vpon the Sea coast and prepared an armie to go to Antioche the Citie of his Progenitours where he founde Antiochus and Lisias which both he caused to be slayne and being stablished in his kingdom he began through the wicked counsell of Alcimus whom he had made hye Priest to séeke the destruction of the Iewes sending foorth diuers armies against them in the which he spedde diuersly Finally the sonne of noble Antiochus mooued warre agaynst hym and in battell slue him Demetrius the sonne of Demetrius being in the lande of Creta at his fathers death made haste homewarde to take possession of his Kingdome And being stablished therein he began to waxe mightie â–ª â—y reason that Ptolomy King of Egipt had withdrawne his fauour from Alexander his sonne in law and taken his daughter Cleopatra from him and giuen hir to Demetrius And also for as much as Ptolomy and Alexander lyued not long after the strife
sonnes of Eli which 1. Reg. 4. c. d. wayted vpon the Arke of God were both stayne and the Arke taken and possessed of straungers Then Eli being at that time 99 â–ª yeares of age and also blinde hearing of the Arke to be taken of the Philistines was stricken into such a sodaine feare that he fell backeward of his stoole and brake his necke after he had iudged forty yeares ¶ Eli my God. 1. Reg. 16. b. Eliab was the eldest sonne of Isai and so goodly a man of stature and personage that when all the sonnes of Isai were brought before the Prophete Samuel to choose out a King among them Samuel thought Eliab to be the méetest for that office but God refused him and accepted Dauid his yongest brother who séemed to haue more skill in kéeping of shéepe than of warre notwithstanding after that hée prooued a better Warriour than Eliab or all the rest of his brethren when he fought with Goliah and slue him And for that great enterprise of Dauid Eliab being with King Saule in the hoste 17. d. was sore offended and began to rebuke Dauid saying wherefore art thou nowe come hither with whom hast thou left thy shéepe in the wildernesse I know thy pride and the malice of thine heart well ynough and that of an hautie stomack thou art come hither to sée the battell and with such tauntes and checkes he reprooued his brother Dauid for taking vpon him to beate the Philistine whome he nor none of all his fellowes durst looke in the face ¶ Eliab God my Father or the God of my Father Helias proplieta pasâ—itur à coruis pane et carne bis die mane nempe et vespere M. V. V. H. van Luyck excu 3. Reg. 18. ca. After this he was commaunded by God to go shew himselfe to Achab. And when the King sawe Eliah he saide Arte thou he that troubleth Israel Nay sayde the Prophete it is not I that haue troubled Israel but thou and thy fathers house in that yée haue forsaken the commaundements of God and serued Baal Therefore let all the people of Israel with the Prophets of Baal be brought before me to mount Carmel and I will tell thée what the Lorde saith And when the King had called the people togithers The Prophete sayde vnto them how long will yée hault betwéene two Opinions If the Lord be God followe hym But if Baal be God then go after him And nowe to know who is the true God sayde the Prophet let there be two Bullocks brought and giue the one to mée which am but one Prophete of the Lords and the other to Baals prophets which are 450. let them dresse the one with woode and no fire vnder it and I will dresse the other likewise And call yée on the name of your God and I will call on the name of my God then the God that answereth by fyre let hym be god To this the Prophets of Baal agreed and dressed there Oxen which Eliah mocketh the prophetes of Baal being done they crye to their God Baal but they cried so long without aunswere againe that Eliah mocked them saying Crye out alowde for it may be that your God is busie in talking or occupyed in following his enimies or is in his iourney or else fallen a sléepe and must be waked with your crye And so they cryed on still from morning to night cutting themselues as their maner was with kniues and launces till the bloud dyd follow and yet their god woulde not aunswere Then Eliah tooke his Bullocke and dressed it and layed it vpon the woode and made a ditch rounde about the alter whereon the sacrifice was layed and powred water vpon the Sacrifice vntill the ditch was full And assoone as he had called on the name of the Lorde fyre fell downe from Heauen and consumed the brent Sacrifice the woode the stones the dust and all the water that was in the pit And when the people sawe that they turned to Eliah and fell vpon all the Prophets of Baal and slue them at the Brooke Kyson 3. Reg. 19. ca. ¶ Nowe when Eliah had thus destroyed Baal and his prophets he durst not abide the manacing of Iezabell but fled to the wildernesse of Bethsabe And hauing gone a dayes iourney therein he sate him downe vnder a Iuniper trée and desired God that he woulde take his lyfe from him And as he fell a sléepe vnder the trée The Angell of God touched hym and bade him aryse and eate wherewithall he awaked And séeing a Baken cake and a pot of water standing at his head he refreshed himselfe therewith and layde him downe agayne to sléepe The Aungell touched him once more and bade hym aryse and eate telling him that he had yet a great iourney to go then he arose and dyd eate agayne and with the strength Eliah fasteth fortie dayes and fortye nightes of that meate he walked fourtie dayes fourtie nights till he came to Horeb the mount of God and hiding himselfe in a Caue all night the voyce of the Lorde came to him and asked him what he dyd there I haue sayde he béene very ielous for the Lorde God of hostes For the Children of Israel hath forsaken thy couenaunt broken downe thine Alters and slayne thy Prophets with the sworde and I onely am left and they séeke my lyfe to take it away Then the Lord commaunded hym to come out of the Caue and sent hym to annoynt Hazael King ouer Siria And Iehu King of Israel and Eliseus in his rowme Reade more of this Prophete in the stories of these thrée aforesayde in Achab Ahazia and Obedia and Elizeus ¶ Eliah God the Lorde Iudith 4. cap. Eliachim was the hye Priest among the Iewes at what tyme Holofernes went aboute to subdue them which sent letters all about to the Iewes to take in the mountaynes and to stoppe all the wayes and passages to Ierusalem that their enimies the Assirians might haue no recourse thither That done he exhorted the people to earnest prayer and fasting assuring them that the Lord woulde heare their peticions if they continued stedfast in the same and giue them such power to ouerthrowe the Assirians as he gaue to Moses the seruaunt of God which ouerthrew the Amalechites trusting in their owne strength not with weapon but with holy prayer ¶ Eliachim The Resurrection of God or Gods affirmacion or the God of resurrection or the God of strength Ruth 1. a. b. Elimelech was an Ephraite borne dwelling in the Citie of Bethleem Iuda in whose dayes there fell such a dearth in the lande of Iuda that he with his wyfe and twoo sonnes the one Mahalon the other Chilion went into the lande of Moab where in processe he and his twâ— sonnes died ¶ Elimelech My God the king or the Counsell of God. Gen. 36. â— Eliphas was the sonne of Esau and his mothers name was
grounde Which done she went and stoode in hir Tent dore and séeing Baruck pursuing Sisera she went mette hym saying Come and go with mée and I will shewe thée the man whome thou séekest and so he followed Iael who brought him into hir tent where Sisera laye dead Iair was a Gileadite borne He had .xxx. sonnes which were men of authoritie for they rode vppon .xxx. Asses colts And they had xxx Cities lying in the lande of Gilead which Cities were called the townes of Iair He reigned .xxij. yeares After whose death the Children of Israel fell to wickednesse agayne and serued Baalim and Astharoth the gods of Siria other straunge gods for the which the Lord was wroth with Israel and solde them into the hands of the Philistynes and Ammonites which oppressed them so sore by the space of .xviij. yeares That thâ—y were fayne to cry for helpe of the lord Who then sayde vnto them Dyd not I when yée cryed vnto mée deliuer you from the Egiptians the Amorites the Ammonites the Philistines the Sidonites the Amalakites and the Moabites which nacions had oppressed you And yet haue ye now forsaken me and serue theyr gods Therfore crie vnto these gods whom yée haue chosen and let them helpe you in your tribulacion for I will deliuer you no more Oh Lord said they we haue sinned doe vnto vs whatsoeuer pleaseth thée Then had the Lord so great compassion and pittie on the miserye of Israel that he styrred vp a man one Iephtah who by the power of God saued them Iames the sonne of Zebede and brother to Iohn was a poore fisherman and being in the ship with his father mending of his net Iesus came by and called him who immediately left his shippe his father and all and went after Iesus and was one of his Apostles and receyued with his brother the name of Bonarges which is to saye The sonnes of thunder Math. 10. a. Iames the lesse was the sonne of Alphâ—us and Marie sister to Marie the Lords mother And being bishop He suffered martyrdome in the. vi yere of Nero. of Ierusalem he wrote to the Iewes that were scattered abroade after the persecution and death of Steuen Instructing them with sundry precepts howe to order their lyues 2 Tim. 3. b. Iannes and Iambres were twoo false Sorcerers of Egypt who in the time of Moses with their enchantments Exo. 7. b. went about to put those miraculous woonders out of credence that Moses by the power of God did And euen as they withstoode Moses so do the aduersaries of the Gospell at this day and euer will resist the truth vnder a certaine false pretence of godlynesse Gen. 9. d. Iapheth was the youngest of Noes thrée sonnes who being enformed of his fathers vnséemely lying a The nations that came of his children Of Gomer came the Italians Of Magog the Scitians of them the Turkes Of Madai the Medes Of Iauan the Greekes Of Tubal the Spanyards Of Mosoch the Moscouites and of Tiras the Thracians Lanquet sléepe in his Tent tooke a garment and bare it betwene him and Sem on their shoulders and comming toward their father ashamed to looke on his nakednesse tourned their faces backwarde and so couered their fathers priuiâ—ies For the which déede Noe hauing knowledge thereof blessed them saying to Iapheth on this wise God shall enlarge Iapheth and he shall dwell in the Tentes of Sem and Canaan shall be their seruant ¶ Iapheth perswading or entycing Iairus was * Mark. 5. c. d one of the Rulers of the Synagoge among the Iewes whose daughter of the age of twelue yeares lay sicke and at the poynt of death And hearing of the fame of Iesus went and fell downe at his féete beséeching him that he would come home to his house lay his hande vpon his daughter that by the touching therof she might be safe and lyue And while there was an occasion giuen whereby to reforme the vnperfect fayth of the Ruler and that by the ensample of a woman diseased with an issue of bloude .xij. yeares there came certaine * Luk. 8. f. g. messengers from the Rulers house which sayde vnto him that his daughter was deade wherefore it shoulde not néede to trouble the Maister anye further Then Iesus perceyuing the Ruler to be as a man in dispayre sayde vnto him Be not afrayde for although thy daughter be deade in déede onely beléeue and thy daughter shall liue And so Iesus went home to the Rulers house and raised vp his daughter from death to life ¶ Iairus Lightning or being lightned Gen. 5. d. Iared was the sonne of Mahalaleel who liued an hundred sixtie and two yeares and then begat Henoch and liued after that eyght hundred yeares and begat sonnes and daughters And when he had liued in all nine hundred sixtie and two yeares he dyed ¶ Iared Commaunding or descending 2. Mac. b. 4. cap. Iason was a wicked man and so desirous of honor that he laboured his owne brother Onias out of the hye Priestes office promising Antiochus the King to gyue him for the same thrée hundred and thrée score talentes of siluer and of another rent foure score And also if the King woulde licence him to set vp a place for exercise a place for the youth and to name them of Ierusalem Antiochians he promised an hundred and fiftie Talents And when these things was graunted to Iason and that he had got the superioritie he beganne immediately to drawe his kinsmen to the customes of the heathen abolishing the lawes and priuiledges of the Iewes he brought in newe statutes contrary to the lawe of god So that thorowe the exceeding wickednesse of this vngodly man Iason the people had a great desire to follow the maner of the Gentyles The Priestes also had no lust in seruing the Lorde but in casting the stone and such wanton sportes Nowe after thrée yeres when Iason shoulde paye the King his money which he had promised for his brothers office he sent it by one whome he most trusted called Menclaus who gate the office from Iason as appeareth more plainly in his storie Then Iason being thus deceyued by Menelaus was fayne to flye into the lande of the Ammonites remayning there till he might spye a time to be reuenged And when hée hearde the rumor that went abrode of Antiochus death he gat him a bonde of men to the number of a thousande or mo and came sodenlye vppon the Citie killing and slaying his owne Citizens without mercie regarding neyther kinne nor friende But neuerthelesse when he coulde not spéede of his purpose he fledde into the lande of the Ammonites againe Where in the ende it came to this poynt that he was accused to Areta King of the Arabians and so abhorred of all men and he was pursued from Citie to Citie and driuen into Egypt And going from thence to the Lacedemonians thinking by
reason of kinred to haue had some succour of them he was not regarded but suffered to perishe in a straunge land no man mourning for him nor putting him into hys graue ¶ Iason He that maketh whole a Phisition Iecksan looke Iocsan 4. Reg. 23. f. Iehoahas the sonne of Iosias was .xxiij. yeare olde when he began to reygne ouer Iuda and had not reygned thrée moneths or that Pharao Necho King of Egipt came and put him downe and set vp his brother in hys steade And put the lande to a tribute of an hundred Talents of Siluer and one of Golde and caryed Iehoahas away into Egypt where he dyed ¶ Iehoahas The possession of the Lorde 4. Reg. 23. g. 24. a. Iehoakym the sonne of Iosias was .xxv. yeares of age when he began to reygne ouer Iuda and dyd that which was euill in the sight of the Lorde His name was chaunged from Eliakim to Iehoakym by Pharao Necho King of Egypt which came and deposed his brother This Kyng dyed in the way as they led him prisoner into Babilon Reade Ieremie 22. e. Iehoahas and made him King in his steade and mersced the lande as before is sayde in Iehoahas For the payment of which money Iehoakym taxed the land and leuyed of euery man according to his habilitie and payde the money to Pharao After this came Nabuchodonosor King of Babilon and besieged Ierusalem to whome Iehoakym yéelded and serued Nabuchodonosor thrée yeares and then rebelled agaynst him into whose hande the Lorde deliuered him so that the King of Babilon tooke him and bounde him in twoo chaynes and caried him and all the vessels of the Lordes house into Babilon This King reigned a .xj. yeares ¶ Iehoakym the Rysing or aduenging of the Lorde * He is called also Iechonias Math. 1. b Iehoachin 4. Reg. 24. b. c. d. was the sonne yof Iehoakm who at the age of xviij yeares began to reigne ouer Iuda and did euill in the sight of the Lorde as his fathers before him He had not reygned thrée moneths or that the King of Babilon came and deposed him making Mathania his fathers brother King in his steade chaunging his name from Mathania to Zedekia and caryed Iehoachym away into Babilon where he remayned in pryson xxxviij yeares after euen vntill the comming of Euilmerodach King of Babilon after Nabuchodonosor hys father who had such a mynde to Iehoachym that he deliuered him out of prison and exalted him aboue all the Princes in Babilon and fedde him at his owne table all the dayes of his lyfe ¶ Iehoachin the Resurrection of the Lorde 4. Reg. 13. a. b. c. Iehoahas the sonne of Iehu began his reygne ouer Israel in the .xxiij. yeare of the reygne of Ioas the sonne of Ahaziahu King of Iuda and walked so wickedly in the sinnes of Ieroboam by worshipping the Calues which he had erected that God deliuered him into the handes of Hazael and his sonne Benhadad Kinges of Siria which destroyed the people of Israel and vexed them so sore that they made the Israelites like threshed dust yet neuerthelesse when Iehoahas humbled himselfe and besought the Lord he hearde him and had such pitie compassion on the misery of Israel that he deliuered him out of the Sirians subiection which had brought him so lowe that they had left him but fiftie horsemen ten Charets and ten thousande footemen He reygned xvij yeares and then dyed and was buryed in Samaria leauing behinde him his sonne Ioas to reigne in his steade ¶ Iehoahas Apprehending possesing or seeyng 4. Reg. 11. ca. Iehoiada was the hye Byshop and Priest in the dayes of Ahaziahu King of Iuda whose daughter he maryed named Iehosabeth He preserued Ioas the yongest sonne of Ahaziahu his father in lawe sixe yeares in the Lordes house and in the seauenth yeare he brought him forth and proclaimed him king And being his gouernour and protectour trayned him vp in all godlynesse and vertue So that so long as Iehoiada liued the King 2. Par. 24. d. walked in all the wayes of the Lorde from the which he swarued after the death of this good Bishop Iehoiada Who liued 130. yeares and for his faythfulnesse towardes God and his people was most honorablye buried in the Citie of Dauid among the Kings ¶ Iehoiada the Knowledge of the Lorde 4. Reg. 11. a. Iehosabeth was the daughter of Ahaziahu King of Iuda and wyfe to Iehoiada the hie Bishop of the Iewes 2. Par. 22. d. And when Atthalia hir Graundmother went about to destroy the Kings séede shée stole awaye Ioas hir yoongest brother from among the Kings sonnes and hid both him and his Nurse in hir owne Chamber with hir husbands consent the space of .vj. yeares and so preserued him that he perished not with the reast of hir brethren ¶ Iehosabeth the fulnesse of the Lorde 4. Reg. 9 ca. Iehu the sonne of Nimsi was annoynted King ouer Israel by Eliseus the Prophet for to destroye the house of Achab his mayster And being commaunded to go about it with spéede he began first with Ioram which lay at Iezrael to be healed of his wounds which the Sirians had giuen him And as Iehu was comming thitherward the watchman espying a company comming toward the Citie tolde the King who then sent out an horseman to méete them and to knowe whether they came peaceably or no. And when the Messenger came to Iehu he sayde The King woulde knowe whether it be peace or no What hast thou to doe with peace quoth Iehu turne thée behinde me and so the messenger turned behynde Iehu and went backe no more and likewyse the second Then the watchman tolde the King that he thought by the dryuing of the Charret it shoulde be Iehu that was comming for he driueth quoth he as he were mad The King hearing that he made him readye to warre and tooke Ahaziahu King of Iuda with him and went toward Iehu and met him in the furlong of Naboth saying is There was a Prophete also called Iehu the sonne of Hanani which prophecied of the destruction of Baasa King of Israel and his posterity Read. 3. Reg. 16. a. b. it peace Iehu or no What peace should it be quoth he so long as the whooredomes of thy mother Iezabel hir witchcrafts are so great and so in the Battell Iehu shot Ioram to the heart with an arrow killed him And fell vpon Ahaziahu and slue him also And so procéeding forth to Iezrael he came thither and found Iezabel looking out at a windowe And as he demaunded of the companye about hir who was on his side and woulde for his sake cast hir downe two or thrée of hir Chamberlaines threw hir out at the windowe and brake hir necke notwithstanding bicause she was a Kings daughter he caused hir to be buryed Then he sent his letters to Samaria 10. cap. commaūding those which had the gouernance of Achabs seauentie sonnes
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.
them all shoulde sée that good lande but Iosua and Caleb After Iosua 1. cap. the death of Moses the Lorde encouraged Iosua to inuade the lande of promise and gaue him commaundement to exercise himselfe continually in reading the booke of the Lawe called Deuteronomie Which he dulye obserued and read it to the people that they thereby might the better learne to looue and feare God and to obey him the Lordes minister â–ª He destroyed the Citie of Iericho onely reseruing Raab and hir housholde He brent the Citie of Hai and hanged the fiue Kings of the Amorites on fiue trées at whose discomfiting it rayned stones from heauen by the which mo were slayne than with the sworde and the Sunne also stoode still in his place and prolonged the day till Iosua had vtterly discomfited his enimies He slue in all first and last .xxxj. Kings and brought the children of Israel into the lande of promission and deuided the lande to the Tribes of Israel He dyed at the age of an hundred and ten yeres in whose steade Iuda was made gouernour of the Lordes armie ¶ Iosua the Lorde Sauiour Gen. 21. a. Isaac was the sonne of Abraham by his wyfe Sara and a figure of Christ for when his father went to 22. cap. * Some say that Isaac was sacrificed of his father in the xiii yeare of his age but Iosephus affirmeth it to be done in the xxv yeare offer him vp in sacrifice and comming to the Aultar and place where he shoulde dye he willingly offered himselfe to death that his father might in him fulfill the Lordes will. But being preserued of God till he came to the age of fortie yeares he then tooke to wyfe Rebecca 25. c. the daughter of Bathuel his fathers brother who being long barren at the last by the pleasure of God brought forth Esau and Iacob at one birth After this there fell 26. cap. such a dearth and famine in his countrie that he departed into the lande of the Philistines where Abimelech was king And as he remayned in Gerar the Lorde appeared to Isaac bidding him to remayne still in that place and not to remooue into Egypt and he would multiply his sede as the Starres of heauen and bring it so to passe that all Nations of the earth shoulde be blessed therein And so Isaac remooued not But for so much as he doubted of the feare of God to be in that place he durst not auouche Rebecca to be his wyfe but sayde she was his sister Reade the storie of Abimelech King of the Philistines for the playner declaration of this matter And now whyle Isaac remayned in the Countrie of Gerar God so encreased him with abundance of cattell and ryches that the Philistynes began to enuie and hate hym and stopped all the Welles which his father Abraham had made that he shoulde haue no commoditie thereby But notwithstanding he digged vp the Welles againe and called them by the same names that his father had giuen them before and became so mightie that Abimelech made a bonde with Isaac who feasted the King and departed friendes Finally with age he became blinde 27. a. and so was deceyued in giuing his blessing to Iacob which he thought to haue first bestowed on Esau but both by the will of God â—eing blessed of their father Isaac he fell sicke and dyed at the age of an hundred and lxxx yeres and was buried in Hebron ¶ Isaac Laughter 2. Reg. 2. c. Isboseth the sonne of King Saul at the age of fortie yeares began his reygne ouer Israel Whose onely 4. cap. staye and vpholder of his Kingdome was Abner after whose death two of his owne Captaynes slue Isboseth by treason in his owne house after he had reygned twoo yeares Reade the storie of Baanah ¶ Isboseth a man of sbame .4 Felix ante alios fratres ego dicor Iuda Non mihi uerba pater inuidiosa dedit Sed me uictorem dixit forteque Leonem Hostes qui superet viribus ecce suos ¶ Of Ismael the sonne of Nathaniah which slue Gedaliah reade the storie of Iohanan and Gedaliah both 2. Reg. 15. d. Ithai was a Gethite borne and bare such loue to Dauid that he left his owne Countrey to come and sée Lyra sayeth that Ithai was the son of Achis king of Geth him and the fashion of his Court and as he continued there and sawe into what daunger Absalom had brought his father Dauid eyther to flie his Realme or to haue lost all he woulde take no part with Absalom but followed Dauid and left him not in this extremitie And when Dauid sawe him he sayd vnto him why commest thou with me Ithai returne I pray thée and bide with the King for thou art a straunger and come but yesterdaye and therefore I woulde be loth to disquiete thée Therefore returne and cary againe thy brethren and the Lorde shall she we thée mercie and truth Nay sayde Ithai as truly as God liueth and my Lorde the King lyueth in what place my Lorde the King shall be whether in lyfe or death euen there also will thy seruant be And so he went forwarde with Dauid and had rule ouer the thirde part of Dauids hoste in the suppression of Absalom ¶ Ithai Strong Gen. 29. d. 37. f. Iuda was the fourth sonne of Iacob Lea who would not consent to the death of Ioseph his brother but gaue counsell to sell him saying What shall it auayle vs my brethren to sley our brother and to kéepe hys bloude secrete let vs sell him to the Ismaâ—lites and not lay our handes vpon him for he is our fleshe and bloude â–ª After this he departed from his brethren to a place called 38. cap. Odollam where he remayned with a friende of hys called Hyra and in processe fell in loue with a mannes daughter called Sua a Canaanite borne and marryed hir who in time brought him forth thrée Sonnes The first Er The seconde Onan and the thirde Sela. The two first one after another he married to a certaine woman called Thamar but for their horrible sinne and wickednesse the Lorde slue them both Then Iuda fearing to marrye the thirde sonne vnto hir least he shoulde dye also sayde to his daughter in lawe remayne a Wydow at thy fathers house till Sela my sonne be growen she did so during which time the daughter of Sua dyed and Iuda became a wydower Nowe when the dayes of mourning were ended he went to a place called Thymnah taking his friende Hyra with him to sée his shéepe shearers Then Thamar hearing thereof and séeing Sela not giuen hir in marriage layde awaye hir Wydowes garment and disguising hir selfe lyke a common harlot went and sate hir downe in an open place by the hye wayes side going to Thymnah And as Iuda passed that way and sawe one sit muffled like an whore went vnto hir and sayde Come I pray thée let
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
wherby he euer after had impediment in his tongue Lanquet sauing in his speache he had an impediment And when he was full fourtie yeare olde it came in his heart to go and visite his brethren the children of Israel whome Pharao vexed without all measure And as he saw an Egiptian smyting an Hebrue he slue the Egiptian and hid him in the sande The next day he went agayne and founde twoo Israelites striuing togithers and demaunded of him that had done the wrong wherefore he smote his fellowe who made thée a Iudge quoth he or a Ruler ouer vs Thinkest thou to kill mée as thou dydst the Egiptian yesterdaye Then Moses perceyuing his fact to be knowne for sooke to be the sonne of the daughter of Pharao and fled into the lande of Madian where he was receyued into the house of Iethro who gaue to him in mariage his daughter Ziphora by whome in processe he had twoo sonnes And when he had continued with Iethro his father in lawe fourtie yeres and kept his shéepe the Lorde appeared to him in the wyldernesse of Synay out of a bushe which séemed to be all on fyre and there gaue hym authoritie to go into Egipt to deliuer his people out of the bondage of Pharao Who at last after dyuers myracles doone by hym in the sight of Pharao for the confirmation of hys Authoritie brought them thorowe the redde Sea and deliuered them quite out of bondage Thus was Moses whome they had before refused both their Deliuerer and Ruler He was a man full of méekenesse he lyued one hundred twentie yeres and was buryed by Angles in the lande of Moab whose Sepulchre was neuer knowne ¶ Moses drawne vp N. NAaman Captayne of the hoste of the King of Siria was a mightie man and honorable in the sight of his Lorde bicause that by him the Lorde had deliuered the Sirians He was also a valiant man and expert in warres but was a Leper Wherefore the King of Siria being enformed that there was a Prophet in Samaria that coulde heale his seruant Naaman of his leprosie sent him to Ioram King of Israel with his letter conteyning this tenor Nowe when this letter is come vnto thée vnderstande that I haue sent thée Naaman my seruaunt that thou mayest heale him of his Leprosie And when the King had redde the letter he rent his clothes saying Am I a God to kill and to giue lyfe that he sendeth to me that I shoulde heale a man of his leprosie Consider I pray you howe he séeketh a quarrell against me The Prophet hearing of this sent to the King to sende Naaman vnto him And when he was come to the house of Elizeus and stoode at the doore the prophet sent him worde and bade him go washe him scauen times in Iordan and he shoulde be whole Then Naaman departed in displesaure saying I thought with my self he will surely come out and stand and call on the name of the Lorde his God and put his hande on the place and heale the leprosie Are not Abana and Pharphar riuers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel may I not as well washe me in them and be clensed Then one of his seruantes sayde father if the Prophete had commaunded thée to doe a great thing wouldest thou not haue done it how muche rather then when he sayth to thée washe and be cleane And so at his seruantes perswasion he went to Iordan and washed him seauen times as the Prophete had commaunded and being whole he returned to the Prophet and gaue thankes vnto God saying Nowe I knowe that there is no God in all the worlde but in Israel And so making promise he woulde neuer offer sacrifice nor offering to any other God saue vnto the Lorde God of Israel he returned home into his Countrey agayne Nabal was a great riche man but of churlishe nature and frowarde condicion As he lay in Carmel in the time of his shéepe shearing Dauid sent certaine of hys men desiring Nabal to helpe him now in his great necessitie with some of his victuals whatsoeuer he woulde and he woulde requite him at one tyme or other But he not regarding their message made them this churlishe answere againe who is Dauid or who is the sonne of Isai There be many seruants nowe a dayes that breake away from their maisters shall I then take awaye my breade and my water and my fleshe which I haue killed for my shéerers and giue it vnto men whom I know not whence they be And so with this answere the messengers departed Reade the storie of Abigail for the reast of his life Naboth was a certaine rich man and a Iesrahelite borne whose Vineyarde lay ioyning harde by the palace of Achab King of Israel which Vineyarde the King woulde fayne haue bought and giuen him as much for it as the grounde was woorth But Naboth consideryng it was his fathers inheritaunce and that he had no néede to sell it woulde in no wise graunt therevnto Wherefore the King being heauie and sadde went home to hys house and sayde him downe vpon his bed so waywarde that he coulde neyther eate nor drinke Then came Iezabel his wyfe and demaunded why he was so sadde who tolde hir it was for Nabothes Vineyarde which he had denyed him What quoth she doest thou gouerne the kingdome of Israel vp and eate thy meat and set thine heart at rest and I will giue thée the Vineyarde And so she wrote a letter in Achabs name sealed with the kings Signet and sent it to the Elders of the Citie where Naboth dwelt commaunding them to proclayme a fast and ser Naboth among the chiefest of the people and to bring two false witnesses against him which should saye he had blasphéemed God and the King and then to put him to death And so all thinges were done according to the tenor of Iezabels letter and Naboth caryed out of the Citie and stoned Nabuchodonosor was King of Babilon And by the occasion of his great and woonderfull dominion fell into such pryde that he woulde haue hys Image honoured for god But shortlye after he sawe the vision of the falling trée whereby he was warned of hys fall and sodaynly by the power of God transformed and turned into a beastly fury lyuing in the woodes among beastes eating hearbes and grasse for the space of seauen yeares Finally God of his mercy restored hym agayne to his prestyne forme who afterwarde lyued well and commaunded that the very God of heauen shoulde be honoured of all men and whosoeuer refused so to doe shoulde dye Nadab the sonne of Ieroboam began to raygne ouer Israel in the seconde yeare of Asa King of Iuda and walked in all the wicked steppes of his father And in the seconde yeare of his raygne as he was laying siege to a Citie of the Philistins called Gibbethon Eaasa conspired agaynst hym and slue him Taking
Iuda This man slue Pekahia his owne Lorde and so vsurped the Crowne He kept the wayes of Ieroboam as his Predecessors did He made warre against Iuda and slue of them in one day sixe hundred thousande and tooke twoo hundred thousande of women sonnes and daughters prisoners and caried them awaye to Samaria purposing to haue kept them in bondage and slauerye all their lyfe long But being admonished by Oded the Prophete he newe arayed them and sent them home agayne After this God stirred vp Thiglah King of Assiria agaynst him which came and dispossessed him of all the lande of Nephtalim and caried away his people Finally Hosea the sonne of Ela conspired against Pekah and slue him after he had reygned twentie yeares and was King after him Peleg was the sonne of Eber of the generation of Sem. His brothers name was Iocktan At the age of thirtie yeares he begot Rew and lyued after that twoo hundred and nyne yeares In this mans dayes was the lande deuided by reason of the diuersitie of language which happened at the buylding of Babell Persis was a man singularlye beloued of S. Paule for his diligence in setting foorth the Gospell as doth appeare by his woordes saying Salute the welbeloued Persis which laboured much in the Lorde Peter otherwise called Symon the sonne of Ionas dwelt in the Citie of Bethsaida and from a Fisher man was called to be an Apostle into whose house Christ vouchedsafe to come and heale his wiues mother of hir feuer Peter was of that audacitie and boldnesse that he went vppon the water which was to great an enterprise for hym to performe without the helpe of Christ his mayster who séeing hym thorowe weakenesse of fayth in daunger of drowning saued him Agayne when Christ dyd shew vnto his Disciples how that he must go to Ierusalem and suffer many things of the Elders and of the Priestes and Scribes and be put to death and the thyrde daye ryse agayne which thing he spake to plucke out of their hearts that false opinion they had of his temporall Kingdome Peter tooke him asyde and began to rebuke hym saying Mayster looke to thy selfe this shall not be vnto thée with whose rashe zeale Christ was so offended that he called him Sathan laying to his charge that he fauoured not the thinges that were of God but of men Also when Peter sawe Christ being transfigured talke with Moses Elias he was so rauished with that sight that he sayde vnto him Lorde here is good being for vs If thou wilt let vs make here thrée Tabernacles One for thée and one for Moses and one for Elias Furthermore when Christ sayde vnto his Disciples the night he knew he shoulde be apprehended that all they shoulde be offended bicause of him Peter trusting to much to his owne strength sayde Though all men be offended bycause of thée yet will not I forsake thée Naye I will suffer death rather than I will denye thée And to performe this promise when Iudas came with a multitude of the hygh Priestes seruaunts with swoordes and staues to take Christ Peter drewe out his swoorde and smote off the eare of one of the hygh Priestes seruauntes For whose foolishe hardynesse Christ rebuked him sharplye and bade him put vp his swoorde Then Peter séeing his mayster ledde awaye and all his fellowes fled and gone woulde not séeme vtterly to forsake his mayster but followed a farre off at length in the darcke as vnknowne entered into the Court of Caiphas And sitting among the ministers warming him by the fyre a wenche came to him and sayde arâ— not thou one of this mannes Disciplâ—s No sayde he Yes but thou arte quoth an other for I dyd sée thée with him in the Garden Peter denyed agayne saying that he dyd not know him Then certayne which stoode by knowing Peter sayde surely thou arte one of them for thy speach doth bewray thée Then began Peter to cursse and banne swearing and denying that euer he knewe hym And immediatelye the Cocke dyd crowe Peter nowe remembring the wordes of Christe which had sayde vnto him that before the Cocke dyd crowe he shoulde denye him thrise was touched with inwarde repentaunce and went out and wept bitterly And after he had lost the presence of his mayster he went to his olde occupasion of fishing agayne And as he with other his companions had laboured all the long night in vayne and were comming to lande Iesus which stoode on the shore asked if they had any meate who not knowing what he was sayde they had none Then cast out your Net quoth he on the right side of the Ship and yée shall spéede and so they cast out their net and were not able to drawe it to lande agayne for the multitude of fishes that were caught in it And as Peter was haling vp the net and heard Iohn say it was Iesus which stoode vpon the shore he left the net and sprange into the Sea to Iesus This is that Peter vppon whose confession Christ when Peter acknowledged him to be the sonne of the liuing God â—yd buylde his Congregacion Finally to stablish Peter in the office of an Apostle Christ commaunded him earnestlye thrée times to féede his shéepe Giuing him also forewarning of his death Phaltiel the sonne of Lays would not séeme to disobey the will of King Saule when of hatered he had taken his daughter Mychol from Dauid and gaue hir to him but thankefully receyued hir and gentlye entertayned Michol so long as the King hir Father lyued who being dead then Dauid required to haue his wyfe Michol agayne And at the daye of hir deliueraunce to Abner to be restored to Dauid he brought hir on the waye and came behinde hir wéeping till they came to a place called Bahurim And there at Abners commaundement he returned home agayne Pharao There be diuers Kinges of this name expressed in Scripture What time as Abraham came into Egipt with Sara his wyfe who was reported to Pharao to be a woman of an excellent bewtie hée tooke hir home to his house and gentlye entertayned the woman without any spot of dishonestie and also entreated Abraham well for hir sake But when he perceyued that God had plagued his house for kéeping the woman from hir husbande he called Abraham vnto him and sayde Why haste thou done this vnto mée Wherefore dyddest thou not tell mée that she was thy wyfe Why saydest thou she is my sister that I shoulde take hir to be my wyfe Nowe therefore beholde thy wyfe take hir and go thy waye and gaue a commaundement that no man shoulde hurt them eyther in person or goodes An other Pharao there was that delyuered Ioseph out of Prison to expounde his dreames And for the excellent wisedome and knowledge that he sawe to be in Ioseph he made hym Ruler and Gouernour of all the lande of Egipt and shewed
Citie as he came he was honourably receyued according to Alexanders commaundement And being his father in lawe was nothing suspected of treason But Ptolomy meaning nothing else left in euery Citie whereinto he was receyued certayne men of warre to fortifie and kéepe the same And when he had gotten the Dominion of all the Cities vpon the Sea coast he ioyned himselfe in league with Demetrius and tooke his daughter from Alexander and gaue hir to Demetrius Raysing vp a slaunder vppon Alexander howe he went about to kill him And so his malice and vnsaciable couetousnesse being openly knowne he got him to Antioche where he set twoo Crownes vpon his heade the crowne of Egipt and Asia Then Alexander who at that tyme laye in the Countrey of Cilicia hearing of all that his Father in lawe had done returned home and made warre agaynst him But Ptolomy being the stronger chased him into the Countrey of Arabia where the King of that lande smote off his heade and sent it to Ptolomy which pleasure he dyd not long enioye for within thrée dayes after Ptolomy dyed himselfe After whose death his men of warre which he had left in the Cities were all slayne Ptolomy the Sonne of Abobus maryed with the daughter of Symon brother to Machabeus And being made Captayne of the hoste at Iericho he began thorow his great aboundaunce of Golde and Siluer to waxe prowde and hygh minded imagining howe he might destroye Symon his Father in lawe and his sonnes and so to conquere the lande And being in this minde it chaunced Symon as he was going thorow the Cities of Iewrye caryng for them to come downe to Iericho with Mathathias and Iudas his sonnes where this Ptolomy receyued him vnder the coloure of great friendship into a strong Castle of his named Douch and in the same made him a great banket at the which he most trayterouslye slue Symon his Father in lawe with both hys sonnes This done he wrote to Antiochus to sende hym an hoste of men and he would deliuer the lande of Iewry into his hande And further he sent certayne men to Gaza to kyll Iohn the thirde sonne of Symon and wrote to the Captaynes to come vnto hym and he woulde rewarde them with Siluer and Golde But Iohn hauing knowledge of all the treason slue the Messengers which came from Ptolomy and so disappoynted hym of all his purpose Ptolomie surnamed Macron being made a Ruler purposed to doe Iustice vnto the Iewes for the wrongs that had bene done vnto them and went about to behaue himselfe peaceably with them for the which he was accused of his friendes to Eupator and was called oft tymes Traytour bicause he had left Cypres that Philometor had committed vnto him and came to Antiochus Epifanes Therefore séeing that he was no more in estimation he was discouraged and poysoned himselfe and dyed Publius was a certayne man dwelling in the I le called Melite and the chiefest man in all the I le who receyued Paule with all the rest that had escaped the seas very gently and lodged them thrée dayes in his house whose father which lay sicke of an Ague and of a bloudy flyxe Paule healed Putyphar was a great Lord in the lande of Egipt and Stewarde of King Pharaos house He bought Ioseph of the Ismaelites and founde him a lucky man And when he sawe that God did prosper all things vnder his hande he made him Ruler and gouernour of all that he had and God did blesse his house for Iosephs sake But in the ende thorowe the false accusation of his wyfe he cast Ioseph in prison R. RAchel the yongest daughter of Laban the sonne of Nahor was a beawtifull yoong woman and Iacobs wife She being long barren at the last brought forth a sonne and called his name Ioseph And at hir departing from Laban hir father wyth Iacob hir husbande into the lande of Canaan she stole awaye hir fathers Images from him for the which he made no little adooe with Iacob whome he followed and ouertooke at Mount Gilead And when hir father had searched Iacobs tents and could not finde his Idols he came into Rachel his daughters tent who had hyd them in the Camels lytter and sate vpon them And as hir father was rysling about the place where she sate she sayd O my Lorde be not angry that I cannot ryse vp before thée for the custome of women is come vpon me and so the thing was not knowen Finallye Rachel in traueyling of hir seconde sonne whome she called Ben Omy the sonne of my sorrowe she dyed and was buried in the way to Ephrath which is Bethleem where Iacob caused a stone to be set vpon hir graue which was called Rachels graue stone Raguel was a certaine man dwelling at Rages a Citie of the Medes whose sister was wyfe to olde Toby This Raguel had a daughter called Sara which had bene marryed to seauen men one after another which men were all slayne the first night of their marriage by the Deuill Asmodius To this Sara God had appointed yong Tobie which feared God to be hir husbande and made his holy Aungell Raphell to bring him to Rages and so to Raguels house his mothers brother where they were ioyfully receyued And when Raguel had looked vppon yong Toby and behelde him well he sayde vnto his wyfe howe lyke is this yoong man to my sisters sonne And then to knowe who they were he sayde whence be yée my good brethren We be sayde they of the Trybe of Nephtaly and of the captiuitie of Nimue Knowe ye sayde he Tobias our kinseman Yea sayde they we knowe him well and this yong man sayde the Aungell is his sonne With that Raguel bowed himselfe and with wéeping eyes tooke him about the necke and kyssed him and bade his wyfe prepare in all haste for dinner Naye sayde Tobie I will neyther eate nor drinke here this day except thou graunt mée my peticion and promise to giue me thy daughter Sara Then was Raguel sore astonied and began to feare least it shoulde happen vnto him as it did to the other seuen And while he stoode in doubt what aunswere to make the Angell sayd feare not to giue him thy daughter for vnto this man that feareth God belongeth she and to none other I doubt not sayde Raguel but God hath accepted my prayers and teares in his sight and I trust he hath caused you to come vnto me for the same intent that this daughter of mine might be maryed in hir owne kinrede according to the lawe of Moses And nowe doubt thou not my sonne but I will giue hir vnto thée And with that he tooke the right hande of his daughter and gaue hir into the right hande of Toby saying the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Iacob be with you ioyne you togyther and fulfill hys blessing in you And when the Mariage all was ended Raguel
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