# Old English/1st reading: David's feats

Note that grammatical suffixes have been bolded, to help easy identification.
This reading is from Ælfric. The spelling has been slightly normalized.

## Reading

Saul hātte sē forma cyning þe ofer godes folc rīxode
Sē ƿæs tō cyninġe āhafen sƿȳðor for folces ġecorennysse⁠ þonne ðurh godes rǣd.
Fela ōðre cyningas⁠ rīxodon ǣr ġeond ealne middaneard ofer hǣðenum lēodum · ac ofer israhēla folc þe on god belȳfde næs nān eorðliċ cyning ǣr ðan þe saul sƿā sƿā hī sylfe ġecuron ofer hī cynerīċe underfēng ·
Sē bēah hrædlīċe fram þæs ælmihtigan godes ƿillan⁠ and nolde be his ƿissunge and be his ƿitegan lāre faran · and sē yfela gāst hine drehte mid deofollicum stiċelsum · and on unġeƿitte his mōd āƿende ·
Þā forseah sē ælmihtiga god þone saul æt nēxtan ·⁠ and hine of his rīċe āƿearp be his āgenum ġeƿyrhtum · and ġeċēas him tō cyninġe þone cēnan dauid ·
Sē ðe būtan ƿǣpnum ġeƿylde ðā lēon · and þæs beran ċeaflas tōbræc mid his handum · and āhredde þæt ġelæhte sċēp of his sċearpum tōðum ·
Hē ofƿearp ēac syððan þone sƿȳþlican ent⁠ · goliam þone gramlican þe godes naman hyrƿde · and mid ġebēote clypode bysmor godes folce · ġearu tō ānƿīġe mid ormettre ƿǣpnunge ·
Hƿæt; þā dauid ēode tōġēanes þām ente ·⁠ and ofƿearp mid his liþeran þone ġelēaflēasan ent · būfon ðām ēagan þæt hē bēah tō eorðan ·
Ġelǣhte þā of ðām ente his āgen sƿurd ·⁠ and his ormǣte hēafod mid þām of āslōh · and hæfde ðā ġeƿunnen sīġe his lēode ·

## Vocabulary

Note that for the purposes of alphabetic listing, the prefix "ġe-" is not accounted for. If you cannot find a word beginning with "ġe-" in the g section, go at the section of the first letter following "ġe-".
* ac (conj) -- but
* āhebban (s6) -- to lift up; to elevate; "tō cyninġe āhebban" - "to elevate to king"
* āhreddan (w1) -- to save, rescue
* and (conj) -- and
* āƿendan (w1) -- to change
* āƿearp -- singular preterite indicative of "āƿeorpan"
* āƿeorpan (s3) -- to throw out, get rid of, dispose of
* ælmihtiġ (aj) -- almighty
* ǣr (av)- before, previously; already; (conj) before
* ǣr þan þe (conj) -- before
* æt nēxtan (av phrase) -- next, next thing
* be (prep) -- (+dat) by means of; by, beside, by the side of; concerning, about, with regards to
* belīfan (w1) -- to believe, to trust, to have faith; "belīfan on (+acc)" - "to believe in"
* bera (wm) -- bear
* būgan (s2) -- to bend, to turn
* būtan (prep) -- (+dat) without
* ċeafl (sm) -- jaw
* ġeċēas -- singular preterite indicative of "ġeċēosan"
* cēne (aj) -- bold, fierce, brave
* ġeċēosan (s2) -- to choose, to select, to make a choice
* ġecorennness (sf) -- choice, choosing
* cynerīċe (sn) -- kingdom
* cyning (sm; gen: cyninġes; dat: cyninġe) -- king
* deofolliċ (aj) -- demonic, devilish
* dreċċan (w1) -- to torment
* eall (aj) -- all
* eorðliċ (aj) -- earthly, of this world
* faran (s6) -- to go, to proceed
* fela (indec aj) -- many
* folc (sn) -- people
* forma (ord) -- first
* forseah -- see "forsēon"
* forsēon (s5) -- to overlook, neglect, reject
* gāst (sm) -- spirit, ghost
* ġeond (prep) -- (+acc) throughout
* god (sm) -- God
* hātan (s7b) -- to call, to command; to be called. NOTE: the passive form "to be called", takes an additional -t-: Saul hātte - "(He) was called Saul". This is an archaic feature only present in hātan.
* hǣðen (aj) -- heathen, pagan
* hē (3prs sg pron) -- he; it (referring to grammatically masculine non-living objects)
* hine -- accusative of "hē"
* him -- dative of "hē"
* hrædlīċe (av) -- quickly, soon
* israhēlas (sm pl) -- the Israelites, Israel
* lār (sf) -- teaching, instruction
* ġelæċċan (w1) -- to catch, seize
* ġelæht -- past participle of "ġelæċċan"
* lēo (wm) -- lion
* lēod (sf) -- nation, people(-group)
* middaneard (sm) -- the earth, the world
* mōd (sn) -- mind
* nān (aj) -- not any, no, none (West Saxon dialect)
* næs (contraction) -- "ne ƿæs" - "was not": SEE "ƿesan" and "ne"
* ne (av) -- (before verbs, NOT before adjectives or nouns) not; (conj) nor
* nolde (contraction) -- "ne ƿolde" - "did not want": SEE "ƿillan" and "ne"
* of (prep) -- (+dat) from, out of; from (place of origin)
* ofer (prep) -- (+dat) over
* on (prep acc/dat) -- (with acc) marking object of thought; (with dat) in, on, into
* rīċe (sn) -- kingdom, empire, state; rulership
* rīxian (w2) -- to rule
* saul (sm) -- Saul, king of Israel
* sċēp (sn) -- sheep
* sċearp (aj) -- sharp
* sē (article) -- the, that
* sē þe (rel pron) -- who, he who
* stiċels (sm) -- goad, thorn
* sƿā (conj) -- as, of the same degree, like; "sƿā sƿā" - "just like", "just as"
* sƿīðor (av) -- more
* sylf (aj) -- self, (him/her/etc)-self; NOTE: could be used either reflexively with the suitable personal pronoun, or emphatically. When it followed a noun or a pronoun, it could be declined strong: "hī sylfe" - "they themselves".
* tō (prep) -- (+dat) to; as (denoting fulfilment of a role)
* tōbrecan (s4) -- to break apart
* tōð (sm i-mut) -- tooth
* þā (av) -- then (referring to a specific instance), on that occasion
* þonne (conj) - than (in comparatives)
* þe (rel pron) -- which, who, that. NOTE: Used to introduce relative clauses "the person who did that" - "sē mann þe dyde þæt"
* þurh (prep) -- (+acc) by, by means of
* underfōn (s7) -- to accept; "cynerīċe underfēng" -- "(he) accepted (the) (rule of the) kingdom"
* unġeƿitt (sn) -- insanity, senselessness
* ƿesan (irregv) -- to be
* ƿilla (wm) -- will, desire
* ƿillan (irreg vaux) -- to want, to desire, to wish (to do)
* ƿissung (sf) -- instruction, guidance
* ƿītega (wm) -- prophet, wise man, soothsayer
* ġeƿyrht (sn) -- work, deed
* ġeƿyldan (w1) -- to subdue, to conquer, take power over
* yfel (aj) -- bad, evil