Content

CAP 8
1 Forsothe aftir that thei hadden soupid, thei brouyten in the yong man to hir.
2 Therfor Tobie bithouyte of the wordis of the aungel, and `brouyte forth of his scrippe a part of the mawe, and puttide it on quike coolis.
3 Thanne Raphael, the aungel, took the fend, and boond hym in the desert of hiyere Egipte.
4 Thanne Tobie monestide the virgyn, and seide to hir, Sare, rise vp, and preye we God to dai, and to morewe, and `the secounde morewe; for in these thre nyytis we ben ioyned to God; sotheli whanne the thridde nyyt is passid, we schulen be in oure mariage;
5 for we ben the children of hooli men, and we moun not so be ioyned togidere as also hethene men, that knowen not God.
6 Sotheli thei risiden togidere, and bothe preyeden togidere bisili, that helthe schulde be youun to hem.
7 And Tobie seide, Lord God of oure fadris, heuenes, and londis, and the see, and wellis, and floodis, and ech creature of thin, which is in tho, blesse thee; thou madist Adam of the sliym of erthe,
8 and yauest to hym an help, Eue.
9 And now, Lord, thou woost, that Y take my sistir not for cause of letcherie, but for loue aloone of eeris, in whiche thi name be blessid in to worldis of worldis.
10 Therfor Sare seide, Lord, haue thou mercy on vs, haue thou merci on vs, and waxe we bothe eelde togidere hoole.
11 And it was doon aboute the `cockis crowyng, Raguel made hise seruauntis to be clepid, and thei yeden with hym to digge a sepulcre.
12 For he dredde, lest it bifelde in lijk maner to hym, that bifelde also to `seuene othere men, that entriden to hir.
13 And whanne thei hadden maad redi a pit, Raguel yede ayen to his wijf, and seide to hir,
14 Sende oon of thin handmaydis, and se sche, whether `he is deed, that Y byrie hym, bifor that the liyt come.
15 And sche sente oon of hir handmaidis, which entride in to the closet, and foond hem saaf and sounde, slepynge togidir with hem silf.
16 And sche turnede ayen, and teld good massage. And thei blessiden the Lord, that is, Raguel and Anne,
17 his wijf, and seiden, Lord God of Israel, we blessen thee, for it `bifelde not to vs, as we gessiden;
18 for thou hast do thi merci with vs, and hast schit out fro vs the enemy pursuynge vs.
19 Sotheli thou hast do merci `to tweyne aloone. My Lord, make thou hem to blesse thee fulliere, and for to offre to thee the sacrifice of thi preisyng, and of her helthe, that the vnyuersite of folkis knowe, that thou art God aloone in al erthe.
20 And anoon Raguel comaundide hise seruauntis to fille the pit, which thei hadden maad, bifor that the liyt cam.
21 `Forsothe he seide to his wijf, that sche schulde araie a feeste, and make redi alle thingis, that weren nedeful to men makynge iournei.
22 Also he made to be slayn twei fatte kien, and foure wetheris, and metis to be maad redi to alle hise neiyboris, and alle hise frendis.
23 And Raguel made Tobie to swere, that he schulde `dwelle twei woukis at Raguel.
24 Sotheli of alle thingis, whiche Raguel hadde in possessioun, he yaf the half part to Tobie; and he made this scripture, that the half part, that was left, schulde come to the lordschip of Tobie aftir the deeth of hem.