The Anglo-Saxon Version of
The Gospel of John
The Gospel of John
Annotated transcription from the following edition:
Euangelium secundum Iohannem: The Gospel of Saint John in West-Saxon. Bright, J.W. (ed.). The Belles-lettres series. Section 1. English literature. D.C. Heath & Co.: Boston/London, 1904
Transcribed and annotated by
Michel van der Hoek
This is work in progress. Many layout questions are still being dealt with. Annotations are also stil being edited. Bear with me while I deal with these questions. 25 October 2003
INCIPIT EUANGELIUM SECUNDUM IOHANNEM
Caput 1
1 On frymðe wæs Word, and þæt Word wæs mid Gode, and God wæs þæt Word. 2 Þæt wæs on fruman mid Gode. 3 Ealle þing wæron geworhte ðurh hyne; and nan þing næs geworht butan him. 4 Þæt wæs lif þe on him geworht wæs; and þæt lif wæs manna leoht. 5 And þæt leoht lyht on ðystrum; and þystro þæt ne genamon.
6 Mann wæs fram Gode asend, þæs nama wæs Iohannes. 7 Ðes com to gewitnesse, þæt he gewitnesse cyðde be ðam leohte, þæt ealle menn þurh hyne gelyfdon. 8 Næs he leoht, ac þæt he gewitnesse forð bære be þam leohte. 9 Soð leoht wæs þæt onlyht ælcne cumendne man on þisne middaneard.
10 He wæs on middanearde, and middaneard wæs geworht þurh hine, and middaneard hine ne gecneow. 11 To his agenum he com, and hig hyne ne underfengon. 12 Soðlice swa hwylce swa hyne underfengon, he sealde him anweald þæt hi wæron Godes bearn, þam ðe gelyfað on his naman: 13 ða ne synt acennede of blodum, ne of flæsces willan, ne of weres willan, ac hig synt of Gode acennede. 14 And þæt Word wæs flæsc geworden, and eardode on us, and we gesawon hys wuldor, swylce acennedes wuldor of Fæder, þæt wæs ful mid gyfe and soðfæstnysse.
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1 Ælfric renders this verse in the following manner three times: ‘On frymðe wæs Word, and þæt Word wæs mid Gode, and þæt Word wæs God’ (Hom. i, 40, 70, 358); in Gregory’s Dialogues it runs thus: ‘In fruman wæs þæt Word, and þæt Word wæs mid Gode, and God wæs þæt Word.’ (Hecht’s ed. p. 240). Cf. for further verses the parallels in Ælfric’s homilies and Gregory’s Dialogues.
4 The Anglo-Saxon version is here in accord with a non-Clementine reading (Words-worth’s Ms. Z) which connects this verse with the preceding one in the following manner; et sine ipso factum est nihil; quod factum est in ipso uita erat. So too in the Greek o gegonen (=quod factum) was sometimes joined to what follows.
12 †Cura Past. 84, 22; Dialogues p. 161
14 †Ælfric (Hom. i, 40)—þæt wæs ful mid gyfe etc. The translator has, apparently for clearness, introduced þæt wæs; and he has followed the variant reading of plenum with the abl. gratia et ueritate (cf. Luke 1:28)
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Þys godspel gebyrað ðrym wucon ær myddanwyntran on þone frigedæg.
15 Iohannes cyþ gewitnesse be him, and clypaþ þus cweðende, ‘Þes wæs þe ic sæde, “Se ðe to cumenne is æfter me wæs geworden beforan me, for þam he wæs ær þonne ic.”’. 16 And of his gefyllednesse we ealle onfengon gyfe for gyfe. 17 For þam þe æ wæs geseald þurh Moysen; and gyfu and soþfæstnes is geworden þurh Hælend Crist. 18 Ne geseah næfre nan mann God, butan se ancennedaSunu hit cyðde, se is on his Fæder bearme.
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15-18 Rubric: The gospel for Friday, three weeks before Christmas (Friday after the second Sunday in Advent).
15 Hic erat quem dixi uovis, ‘Qui post me uenturust est ante me factus est, quia prior me erat’ (cf. 1:30). Wycliffe has also ‘This is whom Y seide.’ The Royal and Hatton MSS have þe ic of sægde.
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19 And þæt is Iohannes gewitnes:
Þys [godspel] gebyrað on þone sunnandæg ær myddanwintra.
Ða þa Iudeas sendon hyra sacerdas and hyra diaconas fram Ierusalem to him þæt hi axsodon hine and þus cwædon, ‘Hwæt eart þu?’ 20 And he cyðde and ne wiðsoc, and þus cwæð, ‘Ne eom ic na Crist.’
21 And hig axsodon hine and þus cwædon, ‘Eart ðu Elias?’ And he cwæð, ‘Ne eom ic hit.’ Ða cwædon hi, ‘Eart ðu witega?’ And he andwyrde and cwæð, ‘Nic.’
22 Hig cwædon to him. ‘Hwæt eart þu? Þæt we andwyrde bringon þam ðe us to þe sendon. Hwæt segst þu be þe sylfum?’
23 He cwæð, ‘Ic eom clypiendes stefn on westene. Gerihtað Drihtnes weg, swa se witega Isaias cwæð.’
24 And þa þe þær asende wæron, þa wæron of sundorhalgon. 25 And hig axsodon hine and cwædon to him, ‘Hwi fullast þu, gif þu ne eart [Crist], neElias, ne witega?’
26 Iohannes him andswarode, ‘Ic fullige on wætere; tomiddes eow stod þe ge ne cunnon. 27 He is þe æfter me toweard is, se wæs geworden beforan me; ne eom ic wyrðe þæt ic unbinde his sceoþwang.’
28 Ðas þing wæron gewordene on Bethania begeondan Iordanen þær Iohannes fullode.
The Anglo-Saxon Bible http://wordhord.org/nasb/
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