¹ And lo! a man of God cam fro Juda, bi the word of the Lord, in to Bethel, while Jeroboam stood on the auter, `and castide encence.

² And `the man of God criede ayens the auter, bi the word of the Lord, and seide, Auter! auter! the Lord seith these thingis, Lo! a sone, Josias by name, shal be borun to the hows of Dauid; and he schal offre on thee the preestis of hiye thingis, that brennen now encensis yn thee, and he schal brenne the bonys of men on thee.

³ And he yaf a signe in that dai, `and seide, This schal be `the signe that the Lord spak, Lo! the auter schal be kit, and the aische which is `there ynne, schal be sched out.

⁴ And whanne the kyng hadde herd the word of the man of God, which word he hadde cried ayens the auter in Bethel, the kyng helde forth his hond fro the auter, and seide, Take ye hym. And his hond driede, which he hadde holde forth, and he myyte not drawe it ayen to hym silf.

⁵ Also the auter was kit, and the aische was sched out of the auter, bi the signe which the man of God bifor seide, in the word of the Lord.

⁶ And the kyng seide to the man of God, Biseche thou the face of thi Lord God, and preie thou for me, that myn hond be restorid to me. And the man of God preiede the face of God; and the hond of the king turnede ayen to hym, and it was maad as it was bifore.

⁷ Sotheli the kyng spak to the man of God, Come thou hoom with me, that thou ete, and Y schal yyue yiftis to thee.

⁸ And the man of God seide to the kyng, Thouy thou schalt yyue to me the half part of thin hows, Y schal not come with thee, nether Y schal ete breed, nether Y schal drynke watir in this place;

⁹ `for so it is comaundid to me bi the word of the Lord, comaundinge, Thou schalt not ete breed, nether thou schalt drynke water, nether thou schalt turne ayen bi the weie bi which thou camest.

¹⁰ Therfor he yede bi another weie, and turnede not ayen bi the weie, bi which he cam in to Bethel.

¹¹ Forsothe sum elde profete dwellide in Bethel, to whom hise sones camen, and telden to hym alle the werkis whiche the man of God hadde do in that dai in Bethel; and thei telden to her fader the wordis whiche he spak to the kyng.

¹² And the fadir of hem seide to hem, Bi what weie yede he? Hise sones schewiden to hym the weie, bi which the man of God yede, that cam fro Juda.

¹³ And he seide to hise sones, Sadle ye an asse to me. And whanne thei hadden sadlid,

¹⁴ he stiede, and yede after the man of God, and foond hym sittyng vndur a terebynte. And he seide to the man of God, Whether thou art the man of God, that camest fro Juda? He answeride, Y am.

¹⁵ And he seide to hym, Come thou with me hoom, that thou ete breed.

¹⁶ And he seide, Y may not turne ayen, nether come with thee, nether Y schal ete breed, nether Y schal drynke water in this place;

¹⁷ for the Lord spak to me in the word of the Lord, and seide, Thou schalt not ete breed, and thou schalt not drynke water there, nether thou schalt turne ayen bi the weie bi which thou yedist.

¹⁸ Which seide to hym, And Y am a profete lijk thee; and an aungel spak to me bi the word of the Lord, and seide, Lede ayen hym in to thin hows, that he ete breed, and drynke watir. He disseyuede the man of God,

¹⁹ and brouyte him ayen with hym. Therfor he ete breed in his hows, and drank watir.

²⁰ And whanne he sat at the table, the word of the Lord was maad to the prophete that brouyte hym ayen;

²¹ and he criede to the man of God that cam fro Juda, and seide, The Lord seith these thingis, For thou obeidist not to the mouth of the Lord, and keptist not the comaundement which thi Lord God comaundide to thee,

²² and thou turnedist ayen, and etist breed, and drankist watir in the place in which Y comaundide to thee, that thou schuldist not ete breed, nether schuldist drynke watir, thi deed bodi schal not be borun in to the sepulcre of thi fadris.

²³ And whanne he hadde ete and drunke, the prophete, whom he hadde brouyt ayen, sadlide his asse.

²⁴ And whanne he hadde go, a lioun foond hym in the weye, and killide hym. And his deed bodi was cast forth in the weie; sotheli the asse stood bisydis hym, and the lioun stood bisidis the deed bodi.

²⁵ And lo! men passynge sien the deed bodi cast forth in the weye, and the lyoun stondynge bisidis the deed bodi; and thei camen, and pupplischiden in the citee, in which thilke eeld prophete dwellide.

²⁶ And whanne thilke prophete, that brouyte hym ayen fro the weye, hadde herd this, he seide, It is the man of God, that was vnobedient to the mouth of God; and the Lord bitook hym to the lioun, that brak hym, and killide hym, bi the word of the Lord which he spak to hym.

²⁷ And he seide to hise sones, Sadle ye an asse to me.

²⁸ And whanne thei hadden sadlid, and he hadde go, he foond his deed bodi cast forth in the weie, and the asse and the lioun stondinge bisidis the deed bodi; and the lioun eet not the deed bodi, nether hirtide the asse.

²⁹ Therfor the profete took the deed bodi of the man of God, and puttide it on the asse; and he turnede ayen, and brouyte it in to the cyte of the eeld prophete, that he schulde biweile hym.

³⁰ And he puttide his deed bodi in his sepulcre, and thei biweiliden him, Alas! alas! my brother!

³¹ And whanne thei hadden biweilid hym, he seide to hise sones, Whanne Y schal be deed, birie ye me in the sepulcre, in which the man of God is biried; putte ye my bonys bisidis hise bonys.

³² For sotheli the word schal come, which he bifor seide in the word of the Lord, ayens the auter which is in Bethel, and ayens alle the templis of hiy placis, that ben in the citees of Samarie. After these wordis Jeroboam turnede not ayen fro his werste weie, but ayenward of the laste puplis he made preestis of hiye places; who euer wolde, fillide his hond, and he was maad preest of hiy placis.

³³ And for this cause the hows of Jeroboam synnede, and it was distried, and doon awey fro the face of erthe.