Content

CAP 4
1 But Y seie, as long tyme as the eir is a litil child, he dyuersith no thing fro a seruaunt, whanne he is lord of alle thingis;
2 but he is vndur keperis and tutoris, in to the tyme determyned of the fadir.
3 So we, whanne we weren litle children, we serueden vndur the elementis of the world.
4 But aftir that the fulfilling of tyme cam, God sente his sone,
5 maad of a womman, maad vndur the lawe, that he schulde ayenbie hem that weren vndur the lawe, that we schulden vnderfonge the adopcioun of sones.
6 And for ye ben Goddis sones, God sente his spirit in to youre hertis, criynge, Abba, fadir.
7 And so ther is not now a seruaunt, but a sone; and if he is a sone, he is an eir bi God.
8 But thanne ye vnknowynge God, serueden to hem that in kynde weren not goddis.
9 But now whanne ye han knowe God, and ben knowun of God, hou ben ye turned eftsoone to the febil and nedi elementis, to the whiche ye wolen eft serue?
10 Ye taken kepe to daies, and monethis, and tymes, and yeris.
11 But Y drede you, lest without cause Y haue trauelid among you.
12 Be ye as Y, for Y am as ye. Britheren, Y biseche you, ye han hurt me no thing.
13 But ye knowen, that bi infirmyte of fleisch Y haue prechid to you now bifore;
14 and ye dispiseden not, nether forsoken youre temptacioun in my fleisch, but ye resseyueden me as an aungel of God, as `Crist Jhesu.
15 Where thanne is youre blessyng? For Y bere you witnesse, that if it myyte haue be don. ye wolden haue put out youre iyen, and haue yyuen hem to me.
16 Am Y thanne maad an enemye to you, seiynge to you the sothe?
17 Thei louen not you wel, but thei wolen exclude you, that ye suen hem.
18 But sue ye the good euermore in good, and not oneli whanne Y am present with you.
19 My smale children, whiche Y bere eftsoones, til that Crist be fourmed in you,
20 and Y wolde now be at you, and chaunge my vois, for Y am confoundid among you.
21 Seie to me, ye that wolen be vndir the lawe, `han ye not red the lawe?
22 For it is writun, that Abraham hadde two sones, oon of a seruaunt, and oon of a fre womman.
23 But he that was of the seruaunt, was borun after the flesh; but he that was of the fre womman, by a biheeste.
24 The whiche thingis ben seid bi an othir vndirstonding. For these ben two testamentis; oon in the hille of Synai, gendringe in to seruage, which is Agar.
25 For Syna is an hille that is in Arabie, which hille is ioyned to it that is now Jerusalem, and seruith with hir children.
26 But that Jerusalem that is aboue, is fre, whiche is oure modir.
27 For it is writun, Be glad, thou bareyn, that berist not; breke out and crye, that bringist forth no children; for many sones ben of hir that is left of hir hosebonde, more than of hir that hath an hosebonde.
28 For, britheren, we ben sones of biheeste aftir Isaac;
29 but now as this that was borun after the fleisch pursuede him that was aftir the spirit, so now.
30 But what seith the scripture? Caste out the seruaunt and hir sone, for the sone of the seruaunt schal not be eir with the sone of the fre wijf.
31 And so, britheren, we ben not sones of the seruaunt, but of the fre wijf, bi which fredom Crist hath maad vs fre.