Bright's Anglo-Saxon Reader/From the Gospels: St. Mark, Chap. IV

[ The text is based on the Corpus MS. 140 (Corp.) in the library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, Variants are taken from A (= MS. Ii. 2. 11. of the Camb. Univ. Lib.), and from B (= MS. Bodl. 441). ]

(1) And eft hē ongan hī æt þǣre sǣ lǣran. And him wæs mycel menegu tō gegaderod, swā þæt hē on scip ēode, and on þǣre sǣ wæs; and eall sēo menegu ymbe þā sǣ wæs on lande. (2) And hē hī fela on bigspellum lǣrde, and him tō cwæð on his lāre, (3) Gehȳrað: Ūt ēode sē sǣdere his sǣd tō sawenne. (4) And þā hē sēow, sum fēoll wið þone weg, and fugelas cōmon and hit frǣton. (5) Sum fēoll ofer stānscyligean, þār, hit næfde mycele eorðan, and sōna ūp ēode; and for þām hit næfde eorðan þiccnesse, (6) þā hit ūp ēode, sēo sunne hit forswǣlde, and hit forscranc, for þām hit wyrtruman næfde. (7) And sum fēoll on þornas ; þā stigon ðā þornas and forðrysmodon þæt, and hit wæstm ne bær. (8) And sum fēoll on gōd land, and hit sealde ūppstīg endne and wexendne wæstm; and ān brōhte þrītig-fealdne, sum syxtigfealne, sum hundfealdne. (9) And hē cwæð, Gehyre, sē ðe ēaren hæbbe tō gehȳranne.

(10) And þā hē āna wæs, hine āxodon þæt bigspell þā twelfe þe mid him wǣron. (11) And hē sǣde him, Ēow is geseald tō witanne Godes rīces gerȳnu; þām þe ūte synt ealle þing on bigspellum gewurþað: (12) þæt hī gesēonde gesēon, and nā ne gesēon; and gehȳrende gehȳren, and ne ongyten; þē lǣs hī hwænne sȳn gecyrrede, and him sīn hyra synna, forgyfene. (13) Ðā sǣde hē him Gē nyton þis bigspell? and hū mage gē ealle bigspell witan ? (14) Sē þe sǣwð, word hē sǣwð, (15) Sōðlīce þā synt wið þone weg þār þæt word is gesāwen; and þonne hī hit gehȳrað, sōna cymð Sātanas, and āfyrð þæt word þe on heora heortan āsāwen ys. (16) And þā synt gelīce þe synt ofer þā stānscyligean gesāwen sōna pænne hī þæt word gehȳrað, and þæt mid blisse onfoð; (17) and hī nabbað wyrtruman on him, ac bēoð unstaðolfæste; and syþþan ūp cymð dēofles costnung and his ēhtnys for pām worde, [and hrædlīce hī bēoð geuntrēowsode]. (18) Hī synd on þornum gesāwen, þæt synd þā ðe þæt word gehȳrað;  (19) and of yrmðe and swīcdōme woroldwelena and ōðra gewilnunga þæt word ofþrysmiað, and synt būton wæstme gewordene. (20) And þā ðe gesāwene synt ofer þæt gōde land, þā synd þe þæt word gehȳrað and onfōð, and wæstm bringað, sum þrītigfealdne, sum syxtigfealdne, and sum hundfealdne.

(21) Hē sǣde him, Cwyst þū cymð þæt lēohtfæt þæt hit bēo under bydene āsett, oððe under bedde? wite geare þæt hit sȳð ofer eandelstæf āsett. (22) Sōðlīce nīs nān ðing behȳdd þe ne sȳ geswutelod ; nē nis dīgle geworden, ac þæt hit openlīce cume. (23) Gehȳre, gif hwð ēaran hæbbe tō gehȳranne. (24) And hē cwæð tō him, Warniað hwæt gē gehȳran; and on þām gemete þe gē metað, ēow bið gemeten, and ēow bið geīet. (25) Þām bið geseald þe hæfð; and þām ðe næfð, ēac þæt hē hæfð him bið ætbrōden.

(26) And hē cwæð, Godes rīce ys swylce man wurpe gōd sǣd on his land; (27) and slāpe and ārīse dæges and nihtes, and þæt sǣd grōwe and wexe, þonne hē nāt. (28) Sōðlīce sylfwilles sēo eorðe wæstm bereð; ǣrest gærs, syððan ēar, syþþan fullne hwǣte on þām ēare. (29) And þonne sē wæstm hine forð bringð, sōna hē sent his sicol, for þām þæt rip æt is.

(30) And eft hē cwæð, For hwām geanlīcie wē heofena rīce? oððe hwylcum bigspelle wiðmete wē hit ? (31) Swā swā senepes sǣd, þonne hit bið on eorðan gesāwen, hit is ealra sǣda lǣst þe on eorðan synt; (32) and þonne hit āsāwen bið, hit āstīhð, and bið ealra wyrta mǣst, and hæfð swā mycele bōgas þæt heofenes fugelas eardian magon under his sceade. (33) And manegum swylcum bigspellum hē spræc tō him þæt hī mihton gehȳran. (34) Ne spæc hē nā būtan bigspelle; eall hē his leorningcnihtum asundron rehte.

(35) And [hē] sǣde him þonne ǣfen wæs, Uton faran agēn. (36) And þā menigu forlǣtende, hī onfēngon hine swā hē on scipe wæs. And ōþre scipu wǣron mid him. (37) And þā wæs mycel ȳst windes geworden, and ȳpa hē āwearp on þæt scyp, þæt hit gefylled wæs. (38) And hē wæs on scipe ofer bolster slāpende; and hī āwehton hine, and cwǣdon, Ne belimpð tō pē þæt wē forwurþað? (39) And hē ārās, and þām winde bebēad, and cwæð tō ðǣre sǣ, Suwa and gestille. And sē wind geswāc þā, and wearð mycel smyltnes. (40) And hē sǣde him, Hwī synt gē forhte? gȳt nabbe gē gelēafan?

(41) And hī micclum ege him ondrēdon, and cwǣdon ǣlc tō ōðrum, Hwæt wēnst þū hwæt is ðēs, þæt him windas and sǣ hȳrsumiað?