CHAPTIR TWA.
The Wyse Men frae the East. To Egypt and back again
NOO, whan Jesus was born i' Bethlehem-Judah, i' the days 0’ King Herod, lo! Wyss Men cam frae the [1]East tae Jerusalem.
2. And quo' they, "Whaur is he hidin that is ca’d King 0' the Jews'? for i' the East we saw his starn, and are come forrit to worship him."
3. But the King, hearin, was sair putten-about; and a' Jerusalem wi' him.
4. And, gatherin a' the heigh-priests and writers 0' the nation, he wad ken 0' them " whaur the Messiah soud be born?"
5. And quo' they, "In Bethlehem-Judah; for sae it is putten doon by the prophet :
6. " 'And thou, Bethlehem, land 0' Judah, name the least amang Judah’s princes! for oot o' thee sal come a Ruler, wha sal tend my folk 0' Isra’l!'"
7. Then, Herod, convenin the Wyss Men privately, faund oot mair strickly o' the comin o' the starn;
8. And bad them gang to Bethlehem ; and quo' he, "Gang, and seek ye oot the wee bairn ; and when ye ken, fesh me word again, that I as weel may come and worship."
9. Eftir hearin the King, the gaed awa' ; and lo! the starn whil they saw i' the East gaed on afore them, till it stood whaur the wee bairn was.
10. And whan they saw the starn, they were blythe wi’ unco blytheness.
11. And comin intil the hoose, they saw the wee bairn, and his mither Mary; and loutin doon, worshipp’t him. And openin’ oot their gear, they off'er't till him gifts—gowd, and frankincense, and myrrh.
12. And bein warned in a dream no to go back till Herod, they airtit their way to their ain kintra anither gate.
13. Noo whan they had gane, tak tent! an Angel 0’ the Lord appeal-'t to Joseph by a dream, and quo’ he, "Rise, tak till ye the wee bairn, and his mither. and flee intil Egypt, and hide ye that till I tell ye; for Herod seeks the wee bairn to destroy him."
14. And he, risin, took the wee bairn and his mither by nicht, and cam intil Egypt.
15. And bade there till Herod’s death: that it soud be fulfilled what was said by the Lord throwe the propbet, "Frae Egypt hae I ca’d my Son."
16. Than Herod, seein he was made sport o' by the Wyss Men, was unco furious, and sent oot to slay a' the lad-bairns in Bethlehem, and a' the kintra-side aboot, frae twa-year auld doon : conform we the time he had been tell’t by the Wyss Men.
17. Than cam to pass the sayin 0’ Jeremiah the prophet:
18. "A voice was heard in Ramah, greetin and maenin, and murnin sair ; Ra’bel greetin for her weans, and wadna be comfortit, for that they are-na!"
19. But Herod deein, look! an Angel 0’ the Lord by dream appears to Joseph in Egypt.
20. And quo' he, "Rise! tak the wee bairn and his mither, and journey intil Isra’l’s land; for they that socht the wee bairn’s life are deid."
21. And he raise, and took till him the wee bairn and his mither, and cam intil the land 0' Isra’l.
22. But whan it was tell't him that Archelaus rang in Judea in the stead o' Herod his faither, he was fley’t to gang thar: but, being instruckit in a dream, he gaed intil the pairts o’ Galilee:
- ↑ V. l. The comin o' the Wyss Men wad be for some gude end. It wad pit gear in Joeeph’s haun to gang till Egypt wi' ; but muckle mair, it wad open the way i' the East for the Blythe-Message, eftirhaun oarry't by the Apostles.
