And leten ðe oðre to liue gon,
of hem ben tudered manigon. | the others were allowed to escape alive. |
Often he [bad] wid frigti bede,
632
ðat ſwiulc wreche ſo god ðo dede
Ne ſulde more on werlde cumen,
Quat wreche ſo ðor wurðe numen. | Noah besought God that he would no more send such destruction upon mankind. |
God gat it a token of luuen,
636
Taunede him in ðe wa[l]kene a-buuen | God granted his request, and shewed him the rain-bow as a token of His love. |
| Rein-bowe, men cleped reed and blo; | The rain-bow is called red and blue. |
ðe blo tokeneð de wateres wo,
ðat iſ wið-uten and is gon; | The blue denotes the water that drowned all flesh. |
640
ðe rede wid-innen toknet on
wreche ðat ſal get wurðen ſent,
wan al ðis werld wurðe brent;
And al-ſo hege ðe lowe ſal gon,
644
So ðe flod flet de dunes on;
fowerti ger or domeſ-dai,
ðiſ token no man ne ſen mai. | The red betokeneth the destruction of the world by fire. |
Of noe ſiðen an iſ ðre ſunen,
648
ben boren alle ðe in werlde wunen, | From Noah and his three sons all mankind have come. |
And or he waſ on werlde led,
His kinde waſ wel wide ſpred;
Al it iſ writen ic tellen mai
652
Of his kin bi hiſ liue dai; | Before his death his family were widely spread. |
vten childre and vten wimmen,
wel fowre and.xx. ðhuſent men
woren ſtalwurði boren bi tale,
656
wið-uten wif-kin and childre ſmale;
.ix. hundred ger and fifti told,
or or he ſtarf, noe waſ old. | [Fol. 13b.]
They numbered, excluding women and children, 24,000 stalworth men. |
Nembrot gat hiſe feres red,
660
for ðat he hadde of water dred,
To maken a tur, wel heg & ſtrong,
Of tigel and ter, for water-gong; | Nimrod had dread of water, so he advised his followers to make a tower high and strong. |
| Twelwe and ſexti men woren ðor-to, | Seventy-two men were employed about it. |
Oſ MS.