CHAP. VII.--
HOW JESUS RAISED A BOY TO LIFE.

    One day, when Jesus was climbing on a certain house, along with the
children, He began to play with them. And one of the boys fell down through
a back-door, and died immediately: And when the children saw this, they all
ran away; but Jesus remained in the house.(3) And when the parents of the
boy who had died had come, they spoke against Jesus: Surely it was thou who
made him fall down; and they reviled Him. And Jesus, coming down from the
house. stood over the dead child, and with a loud voice called out the name
of the child: Sinoo, Sinoo, rise and say whether it was I that made thee
fall down. And suddenly he rose up, and said: No, my lord. And his parents,
seeing such a great miracle done by Jesus, glorified God, and adored Jesus.

CHAP. VIII.--
HOW JESUS HEALED A BOY'S FOOT.

    And a few days thereafter, a boy in that town was splitting wood, and
struck his foot. And a great crowd went to him, and Jesus too went with
them. And He touched the foot which had been hurt, and immediately it was
made whole. And Jesus said to him: Rise, and split the wood, and remember
me. And when the crowd saw the miracles that were done by Him, they adored
Jesus, and said: Indeed we most surely believe that Thou art God.

CHAP. IX.--

HOW JESUS CARRIED WATER IN A CLOAK.

    And when Jesus was six years old, His mother sent Him to draw water.
And when Jesus had come to the fountain, or to the well, there were great
crowds there, and they broke His pitcher. And He took the cloak which He
had on, and filled it with water, and carried it to His mother Mary. And
His mother, seeing the miracles which Jesus had done, kissed Him, and said:
O Lord, hear me, and save my son.

CHAP. X.--

HOW JESUS SOWED WHEAT.

    In the time of sowing, Joseph went out to sow wheat, and Jesus followed
him. And when Joseph began to sow, Jesus stretched out His hand, and took
as much wheat as He could hold in His fist, and scattered it. Joseph
therefore came at reaping-time to reap his harvest. Jesus came also, and
collected the ears which He had scattered, and they made a hundred pecks(4)
of the best grain; and he called the poor, and the widows, and the orphans,
and distributed to them the wheat which He had made. Joseph also took a
little of the same wheat, for the blessing of Jesus to his house.

CHAP. XI.--
HOW JESUS MADE A SHORT PIECE OF WOOD
OF THE SAME LENGTH AS A LONGER ONE.

    And Jesus reached the age of eight years, Joseph was a master
builder,(5) and used to make ploughs and ox-yokes. And one day a rich man
said to Joseph: Master, make me a couch, both  useful and beautiful. And
Joseph was in distress, because the wood which he had brought (1) for the
work was too short. And Jesus said to him: Do not be annoyed. Take hold of
this piece of wood by one end, and I by the other;I and let us draw it out.
And they did so; and immediately he found it useful for that which he
wished. And He said to Joseph: Behold, do the work which thou wishest. And
Joseph, seeing what He had done, embraced Him, and said: Blessed am I,
because God hath given me such a son.

CHAP. XII. --
HOW JESUS WAS HANDED OVER TO LEARN HIS LETTERS.

    And Joseph, seeing that He had such favour, and that He was increasing
in stature, thought it right to take Him to learn His letters. And he
handed Him over to another teacher to be taught. And that teacher said to
Joseph: What letters dost thou wish me to teach that boy? Joseph answered
and said: First teach him the Gentile letters, and then the Hebrew. For the
teacher knew that He was very intelligent, and willingly took Him in hand.
And writing for Him the first line, which is A and B, he taught Him for
some hours. (2) But Jesus was silent, and made him no answer. Jesus said to
the master: If thou art indeed a master, and if thou indeed knowest the
letters, tell me the power (3) of the A, and I shall tell thee the power of
the B. Then His master was filled with fury, and struck Him on the head.
And Jesus was angry, and cursed him; and he suddenly fell down, and died.

    And Jesus returned home. And Joseph gave orders to Mary His mother, not
to let Him go  out of the court of his house.

CHAP. XIII. --
HOW HE WAS HANDED OVER TO ANOTHER MASTER.

    Many days after came another teacher, a friend of Joseph, and said to
him: Hand him over to me, and I with much sweetness will teach him his
letters. And Joseph said to him: If thou art able, take him and teach him.
May it be attended with joy. When the teacher had taken Him, he went along
in fear and in great firmness, and held Him with exultation. And when He
had come to the teacher's house, He found a book lying there, and took it
and opened it, and did not read what was written in the book; but opened
His mouth, and spoke from the Holy Spirit, and taught the law. And, indeed,
all who were standing there listened to Him attentively;

and the master sat down beside Him, and listened to Him with pleasure, and
entreated Him to teach them more. And a great crowd being  gathered
together, they heard all the holy teaching which He taught, and the choice
words which I came forth from the mouth of Him who, child as He was, spake
such things. And Joseph, hearing of this, was afraid, and running (4) . . .
the master, where Jesus was, said to Joseph: Know, brother, that I have
received thy child to teach him or train him; but he is filled with much
gravity and wisdom. Lo, now, take him home with joy, my brother; because
the gravity which he has, has been given him by the Lord. And Jesus,
hearing the master thus speaking, became cheerful, and said: Lo, now,
master, thou hast truly said. For thy sake, he who is dead shall rise
again. And Joseph took Him home.

CHAP. XIV. --
HOW JESUS DELIVERED JAMES FROM THE BITE OF A SERPENT.

    And Joseph sent James to gather straw, and Jesus followed him. And
while James was gathering the straw, a viper bit him; and he fell to the
ground, as if dead from the poison. And Jesus seeing this, blew upon his
wound; and immediately James was made whole, and the viper died.

 CHAP. XV. --
HOW JESUS RAISED ANOTHER BOY TO LIFE.

    A few days after, a child, His neighbour, died, and his mother mourned
for him sore. Jesus, hearing this, went and stood over the boy, and knocked
upon his breast, and said: I say to thee, child, do not die, but live. And
immediately the child rose up. And Jesus said to the boy's mother: Take thy
son, and give him the breast, and remember me. And the crowd, seeing this
miracle, said: In truth, this child is from heaven; for already has he
freed many souls from death, and he has made whole all that hope in him.

    The scribes and Pharisees said to Mary: Art thou the mother of this
child? And Mary said: Indeed I am. And they said to her: Blessed art thou
among women, (5) since God hath blessed the fruit of thy womb, seeing that
He hath given thee such a glorious child, and such a gift of wisdom, as we
have never seen nor heard of. Jesus rose up and followed His mother. And
Mary kept in her heart all the great miracles that Jesus had done among the
people, in healing many that were diseased. And Jesus grew in stature and
wisdom; and all who saw Him glorified God the Father Almighty, who is
blessed for ever and ever. Amen.

    And all these things I Thomas the Israelite have written what I have
seen, and have recounted them to the Gentiles and to our brethren, and many
other things done by Jesus, who was born in the land of Judah. Behold, the
house of lsrael has seen all, from the first even to the last; how great
signs and wonders Jesus did among them, which were exceedingly good, and
invisible to their father, (1) as holy Scripture relates, and the prophets
have borne witness to His works in all the peoples of Israel. And He it is
who is to judge the world according to the will of immortality, since He is
the Son of God throughout all the world. To Him is due all glory and honour
for ever, who lives and reigns God through all ages of ages. Amen.

THE ARABIC GOSPEL OF THE INFANCY OF THE SAVIOUR

    IN the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one God.

    With the help and favour of the Most High we begin to write a book of
the miracles of our Lord and Master and Saviour Jesus Christ, which is
called the Gospel of the Infancy: in the peace of the Lord. Amen.

    1. We find (1) what follows in the book of Joseph the high priest, who
lived in the time of Christ. Some say that he is Caiaphas. (2) He has said
that Jesus spoke, and, indeed, when He was lying in His cradle said to Mary
His mother: I am Jesus, the Son of God, the Logos, whom thou hast brought
forth, as the Angel Gabriel announced to thee; and my Father has sent me
for the salvation of the world.

    2. In the three hundred and ninth year of the era of Alexander,
Augustus put forth an edict, that every man should be enrolled in his
native place. Joseph therefore arose, and taking Mary his spouse, went away
to (3) Jerusalem, and came to Bethlehem, to be enrolled along with his
family in his native city. And having come to a cave, Mary told Joseph that
the time of the birth was at hand, and that she could not go into the city;
but, said she, let us go into this cave. This took place at sunset. And
Joseph went out in haste to go for a woman to be near her. When, therefore,
he was busy about that, he saw an Hebrew old woman belonging to Jerusalem,
and said: Come hither, my good woman, and go into this cave, in which there
is a woman near her time.

    3. Wherefore, after sunset, the old woman,  and Joseph with her, came
to the cave, and they both went in. And, behold, it was filled with lights
more beautiful than the gleaming of lamps and candles, (4) and more
splendid than the light of the sun. The child, enwrapped in swaddling
clothes, was sucking the breast of the Lady Mary His mother, being placed
in a stall. And when both were wondering at this light, the old woman asks
the Lady Mary: Art thou the mother of this Child? And when the Lady Mary
gave her assent, she says: Thou art not at all like the daughters of Eve.
The Lady Mary said: As my son has no equal among children, so his mother
has no equal among women. The old woman replied: My mistress, I came to get
payment; I have been for a long time affected with palsy. Our mistress the
Lady Mary said to her: Place thy hands upon the child. And the old woman
did so, and was immediately cured. Then she went forth, saying: Henceforth
I will be the attendant and servant of this child all the days of my life.

    4. Then came shepherds; and when they had lighted a fire, and were
rejoicing greatly, there appeared to them the hosts of heaven praising and
celebrating God Most High. And while the shepherds were doing the same, the
cave was at that time made like a temple of the upper world, since both
heavenly and earthly voices glorified and magnified God on account of the
birth of the Lord Christ. And when that old Hebrew woman saw the
manifestation of those miracles, she thanked God, saying: I give Thee
thanks, O God, the God of Israel, because mine eyes have seen the birth of
the Saviour of the world.

    5. And the time of circumcision, that is, the eighth day, being at
hand, the child was to be circumcised according to the law. Wherefore they
circumcised Him in the cave. And the old Hebrew woman took the piece of
skin; but some say that she took the navel-string, and laid it past in a
jar of old oil of nard. And she had a son, a dealer in unguents, and she
gave it to him, saying: See that thou do not sell this jar of unguent of
nard, even although three hundred denarii (5) should be offered thee for
it. And this is that jar which Mary the sinner bought and poured upon the
head and feet of our Lord Jesus Christ, which thereafter she wiped with the
hair of her head. (1) Ten days after, they took Him to Jerusalem; and on
the fortieth day (2) after His birth they carried Him into the temple, and
set Him before the Lord, and offered sacrifices for Him, according to the
command-meet of the law of Moses, which is: Every male that openeth the
womb shall be called the holy of God. (3)

    6. Then old Simeon saw Him shining like a pillar of light, when the
Lady Mary, His virgin mother, rejoicing over Him, was carrying Him in her
arms. And angels, praising Him, stood round Him in a circle, like life
guards standing by a king. Simeon therefore went up in haste to the Lady
Mary, and, with hands stretched out before her, said to the Lord Christ:
Now, O my Lord, let Thy servant depart in peace, according to Thy word; for
mine eyes have seen Thy compassion, which Thou hast prepared for the
salvation of all peoples, a light to all nations, and glory to Thy people
Israel. Hanna also, a prophetess, was present, and came up, giving thanks
to God, and calling the Lady Mary blessed. (4)

    7. And it came to pass, when the Lord Jesus was born at Bethlehem of
Judaea, in the time of King Herod, behold, magi came from the east to
Jerusalem, as Zeraduscht (5) had predicted; and there were with them gifts,
gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And they adored Him, and presented to
Him their gifts. Then the Lady Mary took one of the swaddling-bands, and,
on account of the smallness of her means, gave it to them; and they
received it from her with the greatest marks of honour. And in the same
hour there appeared to them an angel in the form of that star which had
before guided them on their journey; and they went away, following the
guidance of its light, until they arrived in their own country. (6)

    8. And their kings and chief men came together to them, asking what
they had seen or done, how they had gone and come back, what they had
brought with them. And they showed them that swathing-cloth which the Lady
Mary had given them. Wherefore they celebrated a feast, and, according to
their custom, lighted a fire and worshipped it, and threw that swathing-
cloth into it; and the fire laid hold of it, and enveloped it. And when the
fire had gone out, they took out the swathing-cloth exactly as it had been
before, just as if the fire had not touched it. Wherefore they began to
kiss it, and to put it on their heads and their eyes, saying: This verily
is the truth without doubt. Assuredly it is a great thing that the fire was
not able to burn or destroy it. Then they took it, and with the greatest
honour laid it up among their treasures.

    9. And when Herod saw that the magi had left him, and not come back to
him, he summoned the priests and the wise men, and said to them: Show me
where Christ is to be born. And when they answered, In Bethlehem of Judaea,
he began to think of putting the Lord Jesus Christ to death. Then appeared
an angel of the Lord to Joseph in his sleep, and said: Rise, take the boy
and His mother, and go away into Egypt. (7) He rose, therefore, towards
cockcrow, and set out.

    10. While he is reflecting how be is to set about his journey, morning
came upon him after he had gone a very little way. And now he was
approaching a great city, in which there was an idol, to which the other
idols and gods of the Egyptians offered gifts and vows. And there stood
before this idol a priest ministering to him, who, as often as Satan spoke
from that idol, reported it to the inhabitants of Egypt and its
territories. This priest had a son, three years old, beset by several
demons; and he made many speeches and utterances; and when the demons
seized him, he tore his clothes, and remained naked, and threw stones at
the people. And there was a hospital in that city dedicated to that idol.
And when Joseph and the Lady Mary had come to the city, and had turned
aside into that hospital, the citizens were very much afraid; and all the
chief men and the priests of the idols came together to that idol, and said
to it: What agitation and commotion is this that has arisen in our land?
The idol answered them: A God has come here in secret, who is God indeed;
nor is any god besides Him worthy of divine worship, because He is truly
the Son of God. And when this land became aware of His presence, it
trembled at His arrival, and was moved and shaken; and we are exceedingly
afraid from the greatness of His power. And in the same hour that idol fell
down, and at its fall all, inhabitants of Egypt and others, ran together.

    11. And the son of the priest, his usual disease having come upon him,
entered the hospital, and there came upon Joseph and the Lady Mary, from
whom all others had fled. The Lady Mary had washed the cloths of the Lord
Christ, and had spread them over some wood. That demoniac boy, therefore,
came and took one of the cloths, and put it on his head. Then the demons,
fleeing in the shape of ravens and serpents, began to go forth out of his
mouth. The boy, being immediately healed at the command of the Lord Christ,
began to praise God, and then to give thanks to the Lord who had healed
him. And when his father saw him restored to health, My son, said he, what
has happened to thee? and by what means hast thou been healed? The son
answered: When the demons had thrown me on the ground, I went into the
hospital, and there I found an august woman with a boy, whose newly-washed
cloths she had thrown upon some wood: one of these I took up and put upon
my head, and the demons left me and fled. At this the father rejoiced
greatly, and said: My son, it is possible that this boy is the Son of the
living God who created the heavens and the earth: for when he came over to
us, the idol was broken, and all the gods fell, and perished by the power
of his magnificence.

    12. Here was fulfilled the prophecy which says, Out of Egypt have I
called my son. (1) Joseph indeed, and Mary, when they heard that that idol
had fallen down and perished, trembled, and were afraid. Then they said:
When we were in the land of Israel, Herod thought to put Jesus to death,
and on that account slew all the children of Bethlehem and its confines;
and there is no doubt that the Egyptians, as soon as they have heard that
this idol has been broken, will burn us with fire. (2)

    13. Going out thence, they came to a place where there were robbers who
had plundered several men of their baggage and clothes, and had bound them.
Then the robbers heard a great noise, like the noise of a magnificent king
going out of his city with his army, and his chariots and his drums; and at
this the robbers were terrified, and left all their plunder. And their
captives rose up, loosed each other's bonds, recovered their baggage, and
went away. And when they saw Joseph and Mary coming up to the place, they
said to them: Where is that king, at the hearing of the magnificent sound
of whose approach the robbers have left us, so that we have escaped safe?
Joseph answered them: He will come behind us.

    14. Thereafter they came into another city, where there was a demoniac
woman whom Satan, accursed and rebellious, had beset, when on one occasion
she had gone out by night for water. She could neither bear clothes, nor
live in a house; and as often as they tied her up with chains and thongs,
she broke them, and fled naked into waste places; and, standing in cross-
roads and cemeteries, she kept throwing stones at people, and brought very
heavy calamities upon her friends. And when the Lady Mary saw her, she
pitied her; and upon this Satan immediately left her, and fled away in the
form of a young man, saying: Woe to me from thee, Mary, and from thy son.
So that woman was cured of her torment, and being restored to her senses,
she blushed on account of her nakedness; and shunning the sight of men,
went home to her friends. And after she put on her clothes, she gave an
account of the matter to her father and her friends; and as they were the
chief men of the city, they received the Lady Mary and Joseph with the
greatest honour and hospitality.

    15. On the day after, being supplied by them with provision for their
journey, they went away, and on the evening of that day arrived at another
town, in which they were celebrating a marriage; but, by the arts of
accursed Satan and the work of enchanters, the bride had become dumb, and
could not speak a word. And after the Lady Mary entered the town, carrying
her son the Lord Christ, that dumb bride saw her, and stretched out her
hands towards the Lord Christ, and drew Him to her, and took Him into her
arms, and held Him close and kissed Him, and leaned over Him, moving His
body back and forwards. Immediately the knot of her tongue was loosened,
and her ears were opened; and she gave thanks and praise to  God, because
He had restored her to health. And that night the inhabitants of that town
exulted with joy, and thought that God and His angels had come down to
them.

    16. There they remained three days, being held in great honour, and
living splendidly. Thereafter, being supplied by them with provision for
their journey, they went away and came to another city, in which, because
it was very populous, they thought of passing the night. And there was in
that city an excellent woman: and once, when she had gone to the river to
bathe, lo, accursed Satan, in the form of a serpent, had leapt upon her,
and twisted himself round her belly; and as often as night came on, he
tyrannically tormented her. This woman, seeing the mistress the Lady Mary,
and the child, the Lord Christ, in her bosom, was struck with a longing for
Him, and said to the mistress the Lady Mary: O mistress, give me this
child, that I may carry him, and kiss him. She therefore gave Him to the
woman; and when He was brought to her, Satan let her go, and fled and left
her, nor did the woman ever see him after that day. Wherefore all who were
present praised God Most High, and that woman bestowed on them liberal
gifts

    17. On the day after, the same woman took scented water to wash the
Lord Jesus; and after she had washed Him, she took the water with which she
had done it, and poured part of it upon a girl who was living there, whose
body was white with leprosy, and washed her with it. And as soon as this
was done, the girl was cleansed from her leprosy. And the townspeople said:
There is no doubt that Joseph and Mary and that boy are gods, not men. And
when they were getting ready to go away from them, the girl who had
laboured under the leprosy came up to them, and asked them to let her go
with them.

    18. When they had given her permission, she went with them. And
afterwards they came to a city, in which was the castle of a most
illustrious prince, who kept a house for the entertainment of strangers.
They turned into this place; and the girl went away to the prince's wife;
and she found her weeping and sorrowful, and she asked why she was weeping.
Do not be surprised, said she, at my tears; for I am overwhelmed by a great
affliction, which as yet I have not endured to tell to any one. Perhaps,
said the girl, if you reveal it and disclose it to me, I may have a remedy
for it. Hide this secret, then, replied the princess, and tell it to no
one. I was married to this prince, who is a king and ruler over many
cities, and I lived long with him, but by me he had no son. And when at
length I produced him a son, he was leprous; and as soon as he saw him, he
turned away with loathing, and said to me: Either kill him, or give him to
the nurse to be brought up in some place from which we shall never hear of
him more. After this I can have nothing to do with thee, and I will never
see thee more. On this account I know not what to do, and I am overwhelmed
with grief. Alas! my son. Alas! my husband. Did I not say so? said the
girl. I have found a cure for thy disease, and I shall tell it thee. For I
too was a leper; but I was cleansed by God, who is Jesus, the son of the
Lady Mary. And the woman asking her where this God was whom she had spoken
of, Here, with thee, said the girl; He is living in the same house. But how
is this possible? said she. Where is he? There, said the girl, are Joseph
and Mary; and the child who is with them is called Jesus; and He it is who
cured me of my disease and my torment. But by what means, said she, wast
thou cured of thy leprosy? Wilt thou not tell me that? Why not? said the
girl. I got from His mother the water in which He had been washed, and
poured it over myself; and so I was cleansed from my leprosy. Then the
princess rose up, and invited them to avail themselves of her hospitality.
And she prepared a splendid banquet for Joseph in a great assembly of the
men of the place. And on the following day she took scented water with
which to wash the Lord Jesus, and thereafter poured the same water over her
son, whom she had taken with her; and immediately her son was cleansed from
his leprosy. Therefore, singing thanks and praises to God, she said:
Blessed is the mother who bore thee, O Jesus; dost thou so cleanse those
who share the same nature with thee with the water in which thy body has
been washed? Besides, she bestowed great gifts upon the mistress the Lady
Mary, and sent her away with great honour.

    19. Coming thereafter to another city, they wished to spend the night
in it. They turned aside, therefore, to the house of a man newly married,
but who, under the influence of witchcraft, was not able to enjoy his wife;
and when they had spent that night with him, his bond was loosed. And at
daybreak, when they were girding themselves for their journey, the
bridegroom would not let them go, and prepared for them a great banquet.

    20. They set out, therefore, on the following day; and as they came
near another city, they saw three women weeping as they came out of a
cemetery. And when the Lady Mary beheld them, she said to the girl who
accompanied her: Ask them what is the matter with them, or what calamity
has befallen them. And to the girl's questions they made no reply, but
asked in their turn: Whence are you, and whither are you going? for the day
is already past, and night is coming on apace. We are travellers, said the
girl, and are seeking a house of entertainment in which we may pass the
night. They said: Go with us, and spend the night with us. They followed
them, therefore, and were brought into a new house with splendid
decorations and furniture. Now it was winter; and the girl, going into the
chamber of these women, found them again weeping and lamenting. There stood
beside them a mule, covered with housings of cloth of gold, and sesame was
put before him; and the women were kissing him, and giving him food. And
the gift said: What is all the ado, my ladies, about this mule? They
answered her with tears, and said: This mule, which thou seest, was our
brother, born of the same mother with ourselves. And when our father died,
and left us great wealth, and this only brother, we did our best to get him
married, and were preparing his nuptials for him, after the manner of men.
But some women, moved by mutual jealousy, bewitched him unknown to us; and
one night, a little before daybreak, when the door of our house was shut,
we saw that this our brother had been turned into a mule, as thou now
beholdest him. And we are sorrowful, as thou seest, having no father to
comfort us: there is no wise man, or magician, or enchanter in the world
that we have omitted to send for; but nothing has done us any good. And as
often as our hearts are overwhelmed with grief, we rise and go away with
our mother here, and weep at our father's grave, and come back again.

    21. And when the girl heard these things, Be of good courage, said she,
and weep not: for the cure of your calamity is near; yea, it is beside you,
and in the middle of your own house. For I  also was a leper; but when I
saw that woman, and  along with her that young child, whose name is Jesus,
I sprinkled my body with the water with  which His mother had washed Him,
and I was cured. And I know that He can cure your affliction also. But
rise, go to Mary my mistress; bring her into your house, and tell her your
secret; and entreat and supplicate her to have pity upon yon. After the
woman had heard the girl's words, they went in haste to the Lady Mary, and
brought her into their chamber, and sat down before her weeping, and
saying: O our mistress, Lady Mary, have pity on thy hand-maidens; for no
one older than ourselves, and no head of the family, is left--neither
father nor brother--to live with us; but this mule which thou seest was our
brother, and women have made him such as thou seest by witchcraft. We
beseech thee, therefore, to have pity upon us. Then, grieving at their lot,
the Lady Mary took up the Lord Jesus, and put Him on the mule's back; and
she wept as well as the women, and said to Jesus Christ: Alas! my son, heal
this mule by Thy mighty power, and make him a man endowed with reason as he
was before. And when these words were uttered by the Lady Mary, his form
was changed, and the mule became a young man, free from every defect. Then
he and his mother and his sisters adored the Lady Mary, and lifted the boy
above their heads, and began to kiss Him, saying: Blessed is she that bore
Thee, O Jesus, O Saviour of the world; blessed are the eyes which enjoy the
felicity of seeing Thee.

    22. Moreover, both the sisters said to their mother: Our brother
indeed, by the aid of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the salutary
intervention of this girl, who pointed out to us Mary and  her son, has
been raised to human form. Now, indeed, since our brother is unmarried, it
would do very well for us to give him as his wife this girl, their servant.
And having asked the Lady  Mary, and obtained her consent, they made a
splendid wedding for the girl; and their sorrow  being changed into joy,
and the beating of their breasts into dancing, they began to be glad, to
rejoice, to exult, and sing--adorned, on account of their great joy, in
most splendid and gorgeous attire. Then they began to recite songs and
praises, and to say: O Jesus, son of David, who  turnest sorrow into
gladness, and lamentations into joy! And Joseph and Mary remained there ten
clays. Thereafter they set out, treated with  great honours by these
people, who bade them farewell, and from bidding them farewell returned
weeping, especially the girl.

    23. And turning away from this place, they came to a desert; and
hearing that it was infested by robbers, Joseph and the Lady Mary resolved
to cross this region by night. But as  they go along, behold, they see two
robbers lying  in the way, and along with them a great number of robbers,
who were their associates, sleeping. Now those two robbers, into whose
hands they had fallen, were Titus and Dumachus. Titus therefore said to
Dumachus: I beseech thee to let these persons go freely, and so that our
comrades may not see them. And as Dumachus refused, Titus said to him
again: Take to thyself forty drachmas from me, and hold this as a pledge.
At the same time he held out to him the belt which he had about his waist,
to keep him from opening his mouth or speaking. And the Lady Mary, seeing
that the robber had done them a kindness, said to him: The Lord God will
sustain thee by His right hand, and will grant thee remission of thy sins.
And the Lord Jesus answered, and said to His mother: Thirty years hence, O
my mother, the Jews will crucify me at Jerusalem, and these two robbers
will be raised upon the cross along with me, Titus on my right hand and
Dumachus on my left; and after that day Titus shall go before me into
Paradise. And she said: God keep this from thee, my son. And they went
thence towards a city of idols, which, as they came near it, was changed
into sand-hills.

    24. Hence they turned aside to that sycamore which is now called
Matarea,[1] and the Lord Jesus brought forth in Matarea a fountain in which
the Lady Mary washed His shirt. And from the sweat of the Lord Jesus which
she sprinkled there, balsam was produced in that region.

    25. Thence they came down to Memphis, and saw Pharaoh, and remained
three years in Egypt; and the Lord Jesus did in Egypt very many miracles
which are recorded neither in the Gospel of the Infancy nor in the perfect
Gospel.

    26. And at the end of the three years He came back out of Egypt, and
returned. And when they had arrived at Judaea, Joseph was afraid to enter
it; but hearing that Herod was dead, and that Archelaus his son had
succeeded him, he was afraid indeed, but he went into Judaea. And an angel
of the Lord appeared to him, and said: O Joseph, go into the city of
Nazareth, and there abide.

    Wonderful indeed, that the Lord of the world should be thus borne and
carried about through the world!

    27. Thereafter, going into the city of Bethlehem, they saw there many
and grievous diseases infesting the eyes of the children, who were dying in
consequence. And a woman was there with a sick son, whom, now very near
death, she  brought to the Lady Mary, who saw him as she was washing Jesus
Christ. Then said the woman to her: O my Lady Mary, look upon this son of
mine, who is labouring under a grievous disease. And the Lady Mary listened
to her, and said: Take a little of that water in which I have washed my
son, and sprinkle him with it. She therefore took a little of the water, as
the Lady Mary had told her, and sprinkled it over her son. And when this
was done his illness abated; and after sleeping a little, he rose up from
sleep safe and sound. His mother rejoicing at this, again took him to the
Lady Mary. And she said to her: Give thanks to God, because He hath healed
this thy son.

    28. There was in the same place another woman, a neighbour of her whose
son had lately been restored to health. And as her son was labouring under
the same disease, and his eyes were now almost blinded, she wept night and
day. And the mother of the child that had been cured said to her: Why dost
thou not take thy son to the Lady Mary, as I did with mine when he was
nearly dead? And he got well with that water with which the body of her son
Jesus had been washed. And when the woman heard this from her, she too went
and got some of the same water, and washed her son with it, and his body
and his eyes were instantly made well. Her also, when she had brought her
son to her, and disclosed to her all that had happened, the Lady Mary
ordered to give thanks to God for her son's restoration to health, and to
tell nobody of this matter.

    29. There were in the same city two women, wives of one man, each
having a son ill with fever. The one was called Mary, and her son's name
was Cleopas. She rose and took up her son, and went to the Lady Mary, the
mother of Jesus, and offering her a beautiful mantle, said: O my Lady Mary,
accept this mantle, and for it give me one small bandage. Mary did so, and
the mother of Cleopas went away, and made a shirt of it, and put it on her
son. So he was cured of his disease; but the son of her rival died. Hence
there sprung up hatred between them; and as they did the house-work week
about, and as it was the turn of Mary the mother of Cleopas, she heated the
oven to bake bread; and going away to bring the lump that she had kneaded,
she left her son Cleopas beside the oven. Her rival seeing him alone--and
the oven was very hot with the fire blazing under it--seized him and threw
him into the oven, and took herself off. Mary coming back, and seeing her
son Cleopas lying in the oven laughing, and the oven quite cold, as if no
fire had ever come near it, knew that her rival had thrown him into the
fire. She drew him out, therefore, and took him to the Lady Mary, and told
her of what had happened to him. And she said: Keep silence, and tell
nobody of the affair; for I am afraid for you if you divulge it. After this
her rival went to the well to draw water; and seeing Cleopas playing beside
the well, and nobody near, she seized him and threw him into the well, and
went home herself. And some men who had gone to the well for water saw the
boy sitting on the surface of the water; and so they went down and drew him
out. And they were seized with a great admiration of that boy, and praised
God. Then came his mother, and took him up, and went weeping to the Lady
Mary, and said: O my lady, see what my rival has done to my son, and how
she has thrown him into the well; she will be sure to destroy him some day
or other. The Lady Mary said to her: God will avenge thee upon her.
Thereafter, when her rival went to the well to draw water, her feet got
entangled in the rope, and she fell into the well. Some men came to draw
her out, but they found her skull fractured and her bones broken. Thus she
died a miserable  death, and in her came to pass that saying: They have
digged a well deep, but have fallen into the pit which they had
prepared.[1]

    30. Another woman there had twin sons who had fallen into disease, and
one of them died, and the other was at his last breath. And his mother,
weeping, lifted him up, and took him to the Lady Mary, and said: O my lady,
aid me and succour me. For I had two sons, and I have just buried the one,
and the other is at the point of death. See how I am going to entreat and
pray to God. And she began to say: O Lord, Thou art compassionate, and
merciful, and full of affection. Thou gavest me two sons, of whom Thou hast
taken away the one: this one at least leave to me. Wherefore the Lady Mary,
seeing the fervour of her weeping, had compassion on her, and said: Put thy
son in my son's bed, and cover him with his clothes. And when she had put
him in the bed in which Christ was lying, he had already closed his eyes in
death; but as soon as the smell of the clothes of the Lord Jesus Christ
reached the boy, he opened his eyes, and, calling upon his mother with a
loud voice, he asked for bread, and took it and sucked it. Then his mother
said: O Lady Mary, now I know that the power of God dwelleth in thee, so
that thy son heals those that partake of the same nature with himself, as
soon as they have touched his clothes. This boy that was healed is he who
in the Gospel is called Bartholomew.

    31. Moreover, there was there a leprous woman, and she went to the Lady
Mary, the mother of Jesus, and said: My lady, help me. And the Lady Mary
answered: What help dost thou seek? Is it gold or silver? or is it that thy
body be made clean from the leprosy? And that woman asked: Who can grant me
this? And the Lady Mary said to her: Wait a little, until I shall have
washed my son Jesus, and put him to bed. The woman waited, as Mary had told
her; and when she had put Jesus to bed, she held out to the woman the water
in which she had washed His body, and said: Take a little of this water,
and pour it over thy body. And as soon as she had done so, she was
cleansed, and gave praise and thanks to God.

    32. Therefore, after staying with her three days, she went away; and
coming to a city, saw there one of the chief men, who had married the
daughter of another of the chief men. But when he saw the woman, he beheld
between her eyes the mark of leprosy in the shape of a star; and so the
marriage was dissolved, and became null and void. And when that woman saw
them in this condition, weeping and overwhelmed with sorrow, she asked the
cause of their grief. But they said: Inquired not into our condition, for
to no one living can we tell our grief, and to none but ourselves can we
disclose it. She urged them, however, and entreated them to entrust it to
her, saying that she would perhaps be able to tell them of a remedy. And
when they showed her the girl, and the sign of leprosy which appeared
between her eyes, as soon as she saw it, the woman said: I also, whom you
see here, laboured under the same disease, when, upon some business which
happened to come in my way, I went to Bethlehem. There going into a cave, I
saw a woman named Mary, whose  son was he who was named Jesus; and when she
saw that I was a leper. she took pity on me, and handed me the water with
which she had washed her son's body. With it I sprinkled my body, and came
out clean. Then the woman said to her: Wilt thou not, O lady, rise and go
with us, and show us the Lady Mary? And she  assented; and they rose and
went to the Lady Mary, carrying with them splendid gifts. And when they had
gone in, and presented to her the gifts, they showed her the leprous girl
whom  they had brought. The Lady Mary therefore said: May the compassion of
the Lord Jesus Christ descend upon you; and handling to them also a little
of the water in which she had washed  the body of Jesus Christ, she ordered
the wretched woman to be bathed in it. And when this had  been done, she
was immediately cured; and they, and all standing by, praised God. Joyfully
therefore they returned to their own city, praising the Lord for what He
had done. And when the chief heard that his wife had been cured, he took
her home, and made a second marriage, and gave thanks to God for the
recovery of his wife's health.

    33. There was there also a young woman afflicted by Satan; for that
accursed wretch repeatedly appeared to her in the form of a huge dragon,
and prepared to swallow her. He also sucked out all her blood, so that she
was left like a corpse. As often as he came near her, she, with her hands
clasped over her head, cried out, and said: Woe, woe's me, for nobody is
near to free me from that accursed dragon. And her father and mother, and
all who were about her or saw her, bewailed her lot; and men stood round
her in a crowd, and all wept and lamented, especially when she wept, and
said: Oh, my brethren and friends, is there no one to free me from that
murderer? And the daughter of the chief who had been healed of her leprosy,
hearing the girl's voice, went up to the roof of her castle, and saw her
with her hands clasped over her head weeping, and all the crowds standing
round her weeping as wall. She therefore asked the demoniac's husband
whether his wife's mother were alive. And when he answered that both her
parents were living, she said: Send for her mother to come to me. And when
she saw that he had sent for her, and she had come, she said: Is that
distracted girl thy daughter? Yes, O lady, said that sorrowful and weeping
woman, she is my daughter. The chiefs daughter answered: Keep my secret,
for I confess to thee that I was formerly a leper; but now the Lady Mary,
the mother of Jesus Christ, has healed me. But if thou wishest thy daughter
to be healed, take her to Bethlehem, and seek Mary the mother of Jesus, and
believe that thy daughter will be healed; I indeed believe that thou wilt
come back with joy, with thy daughter healed. As soon as the woman heard
the words of the chief's daughter, she led away her daughter in haste; and
going to the place indicated, she went to the Lady Mary, and revealed to
her the state of her daughter. And the Lady Mary hearing her words, gave
her a little of the water in which she had washed the body of her son
Jesus, and ordered her to pour it on the body of her daughter. She gave her
also from the clothes of the Lord Jesus a swathing-cloth, saying: Take this
cloth, and show it to thine enemy as often as thou shalt see him. And she
saluted them, and sent them away.

    34. When, therefore, they had gone away from her, and returned to their
own district, and the time was at hand at which Satan was wont to attack
her, at this very time that accursed one appeared to her in the shape of a
huge dragon, and the girl was afraid at the sight of him. And her mother
said to her: Fear not, my daughter; allow him to come near thee, and then
show him the cloth which the Lady Mary hath given us, and let us see what
will happen. Satan, therefore, having come near in the likeness of a
terrible dragon, the body of the girl shuddered for fear of him; but as
soon as she took out the cloth, and placed it on her head, and covered her
eyes with it, flames and live coals began to dart forth from it, and to be
cast upon the dragon. O the great miracle which was done as soon as the
dragon saw the cloth of the Lord Jesus, from which the fire darted, and was
cast upon his head and eyes! He cried out with a loud voice: What have I to
do with thee, O Jesus, son of Mary? Whither shall I fly from thee? And with
great fear he turned his back and departed from the girl, and never
afterwards appeared to her. And the girl now had rest from him, and gave
praise and thanks to God, and along with her all who were present at that
miracle.

    35. Another woman was living in the same place, whose son was tormented
by Satan. He, Judas by name, as often as Satan seized him, used to bite all
who came near him; and if he found no one near him, he used to bite his own
hands and other limbs. The mother of this wretched creature, then, hearing
the fame of the Lady Mary and her son Jesus, rose up and brought her son
Judas with her to the Lady Mary. In the meantime, James and Joses had taken
the child the Lord Jesus with them to play with the other children; and
they had gone out of the house and sat down, and the Lord Jesus with them.
And the demoniac Judas came up, and sat down at Jesus' right hand: then,
being attacked by Satan in the same manner as usual, he wished to bite the
Lord Jesus, but was  not able; nevertheless he struck Jesus on the right
side, whereupon He began to weep. And  immediately Satan went forth out of
that boy, fleeing like a mad dog. And this boy who struck Jesus, and out of
whom Satan went forth in the shape of a dog, was Judas Iscariot, who
betrayed Him to the Jews; and that same side on which Judas struck Him, the
Jews transfixed with a lance.(1)

    36. Now, when the Lord Jesus had completed seven years from His birth,
on a certain day He was occupied with boys of His own age. For they were
playing among clay, from which they were making images of asses, oxen,
birds, and other animals; and each one boasting of his skill, was praising
his own work. Then the Lord Jesus said to the boys: The images that I have
made I will order to walk. The boys asked Him whether then he were the son
of the Creator; and the Lord Jesus bade them walk. And they immediately
began to leap; and then, when He had given them leave, they again stood
still. And He had made figures of birds and sparrows, which flew when He
told them to fly, and stood still when He told them to stand, and ate and
drank when He handed them food and drink. After the boys had gone away and
told this to their parents, their fathers said to them: My sons, take care
not to keep company with him again, for he is a wizard: flee from him,
therefore, and avoid him, and do not play with him again after this.

    37. On a certain day the Lord Jesus, running about and playing with the
boys, passed the shop of a dyer, whose name was Salem; and he had in his
shop many pieces of cloth which he was to dye. The Lord Jesus then, going
into his shop, took up all the pieces of cloth, and threw them into a tub
full of indigo. And when Salem came and saw his cloths destroyed, he began
to cry out with a loud voice, and to reproach Jesus, saying: Why hast thou
done this to me, O son of Mary? Thou hast disgraced me before all my
townsmen: for, seeing that every one wished the colour that suited himself,
thou indeed hast come and destroyed them all. The Lord Jesus answered: I
shall change for thee the colour of any piece of cloth which thou shalt
wish to be changed. And immediately He began to take the pieces of cloth
out of the tub, each of them of that colour which the dyer wished, until He
had taken them all out. When the Jews saw this miracle and prodigy, they
praised God.

    38. And Joseph used to go about through the whole city, and take the
Lord Jesus with him, when people sent for him in the way of his trade to
make for them doors, and milk-pails, and beds, and chests; and the Lord
Jesus was with him wherever he went. As often, therefore, as Joseph had to
make anything a cubit or a span longer or shorter, wider or narrower, the
Lord Jesus stretched His hand towards it; and as soon as He did so, it
became such as Joseph wished. Nor was it necessary for him to make anything
with his own hand, for Joseph was not very skilful in carpentry.

    39. Now, on a certain day, the king of Jerusalem sent for him, and
said: I wish thee, Joseph, to make for me a throne to fit that place in
which I usually sit. Joseph obeyed, and began the work immediately, and
remained in the palace two years, until he finished the work of that
throne. And when he had it carried to its place, he perceived that each
side wanted two spans of the prescribed measure. And the king, seeing this,
was angry with Joseph; and Joseph, being in great fear of the king, spent
the night without supper, nor did he taste anything at all. Then, being
asked by the Lord Jesus why he was afraid, Joseph said: Because I have
spoiled all the work that I have been two years at. And the Lord Jesus said
to him: Fear not, and do not lose heart; but do thou take hold of one side
of the throne; I shall take the other; and we shall put that to rights. And
Joseph, having done as the Lord Jesus had said and each having drawn by his
own side, the throne was put to rights, and brought to the exact measure of
the place. And those that stood by and saw this miracle were struck with
astonishment, and praised God. And the woods used in that throne were of
those which are celebrated in the time of Solomon the son of David; that
is, woods of many and various kinds.

    40. On another day the Lord Jesus went out into the road, and saw the
boys that had come together to play, and followed them; but the boys hid
themselves from Him. The Lord Jesus, therefore, having come to the door of
a certain house, and seen some women standing there, asked them where the
boys had gone; and when they answered that there was no one there, He said
again: Who are these whom you see in the furnace?' They replied that they
were kids of three years old. And the Lord Jesus cried out, and said: Come
out hither, O kids, to your Shepherd. Then the boys, in the form of kids,
came out, and began to dance round Him; and the women, seeing this, were
very much astonished, and were seized with trembling, and speedily,
supplicated and adored the Lord Jesus, saying: O our Lord Jesus, son of
Mary, Thou art of a truth that good Shepherd of Israel; have mercy on Thy
handmaidens who stand before Thee, and who have never doubted: for Thou
hast come, O our Lord, to heal, and not to destroy. And when the Lord Jesus
answered that the sons of Israel were like the Ethiopians among the
nations, the women said: Thou, O Lord, knowest all things, nor is anything
hid from Thee; now, indeed, we beseech Thee, and ask Thee of Thy affection
to restore these boys Thy servants to their former condition. The Lord
Jesus therefore said: Come, boys, let us go and play. And immediately,
while these women were standing by, the kids were changed into boys.

    41. Now in the month Adar, Jesus, after the  manner of a king,
assembled the boys together. They spread their clothes on the ground, and
He sat down upon them. Then they put on  His head a crown made of flowers,
and, like chamber-servants, stood in His presence, on the right and on the
left, as if He were a king. And whoever passed by that way was forcibly
dragged by the boys, saying: Come hither, and adore the king; then go thy
way.

    42. In the meantime, while these things were going on, some men came up
carrying a boy. For this boy had gone into the mountain with those of his
own age to seek wood, and there he found a partridge's nest; and when he
stretched out his hand to take the eggs from it, a venomous serpent bit him
from the middle of the nest, so that he called out for help. His comrades
accordingly went to him with haste, and found him lying on the ground like
one dead. Then his relations came and took hun up to carry him back to the
city. And after they had come to that place where the Lord Jesus was
sitting like a king, and the rest of the boys standing round Him like His
servants, the boys went hastily forward to meet him who had been bitten by
the serpent, and said to his relations: Come and salute the king. Bat when
they were unwilling to go, on account of the sorrow in I which they were,
the boys dragged them by force against their will. And when they had come
up to the Lord Jesus, He asked them why they were carrying the boy. And
when they answered that a serpent had bitten him, the Lord Jesus said to
the boys: Let us go and kill that serpent. And the parents of the boy asked
leave to go away, because their son was in the agony of death; but the boys
answered them, saying: Did you not hear the king saying: Let us go kill the
serpent? and will yon not obey him? And so, against their will the could
was carried back. And when they came to the nest, the Lord Jesus said to
the boys: Is this the serpent's place? They saint that it was; and the
serpent, at the call of the Lord, came forth without delay, and submitted
itself to Him. And He said to it: Go away, and suck out all the poison
which thou hast infused into this boy. And so the serpent crawled to the
boy, and sucked out all its poison. Then the Lord Jesus cursed it, and
immediately on this being done it burst asunder; and the Lord Jesus stroked
the boy with his hand, and he was healed. And he began to weep; but Jesus
said: Do not weep, for by and by thou shalt be my disciple. And this is
Simon the Cananite,(2) of whom mention is made in the Gospel.(3)

    43. On another day, Joseph sent his son James to gather wood, and the
Lord Jesus went with him as his companion. And when they had come to the
place where the wood was, and James had begun to gather it, behold, a
venomous viper bit his band, so that he began to cry out and weep. The Lord
Jesus then, seeing him in this condition, went up to him, and blew upon the
place where the viper had bitten him; and this being done, he was healed
immediately.

    44. One day, when the Lord Jesus was again with the boys playing on the
roof of a house, one of the boys fell down from above, and immediately
expired. And the rest of the boys fled in all directions, and the Lord
Jesus was left alone on the roof. And the relations of the boy came up and
said to the Lord Jesus: It was thou who didst throw our son headlong from
the roof. And when He denied it, they cried out, saying: Our son is dead,
and here is he who has killed him. And the Lord Jesus said to them: Do not
bring an evil report against me; but if you do not believe me, come and let
us ask the boy himself, that be may bring the truth to light. Then the Lord
Jesus went down, and standing over the dead body, said, with a loud voice:
Zeno, Zeno, who threw thee down from the roof? Then the dead boy answered
and said: My lord, it was not thou who didst throw me down, but such a one
cast me down from it. And when the Lord commanded those who were standing
by to attend to His words, all who were present praised God for this
miracle.

    45. Once upon a time the Lady Mary bad ordered the Lord Jesus to go and
bring her water from the well. And when He had gone to get the water, the
pitcher already full was knocked against something, and broken. And the
Lord Jesus stretched out His handkerchief, and collected the water, and
carried it to His mother; and she was astonished at it. And she hid and
preserved in her heart all that she saw.

    46. Again, on another day, the Lord Jesus was with the boys at a stream
of water, and they had again made little fish-ponds. And the Lord Jesus had
made twelve sparrows, and had arranged them round His fish-pond, three on
each side. And it was the Sabbath-day. Wherefore a Jew, the son of Hanan,
coming up, and seeing them thus engaged, said in anger and great
indignation: Do you make figures of clay on the Sabbath-day? And he ran
quickly, and destroyed their fish-ponds. But when the Lord Jesus clapped
His hands over the sparrows which He had made, they flew away chirping.

    Then the son of Hanan came up to the fish-pond of Jesus also, and
kicked it with his shoes, and the water of it vanished away. And the Lord
Jesus said to him: As that water has vanished away, so thy life shall
likewise vanish away. And immediately that boy dried up.

    47. At another time, when the Lord Jesus was returning home with Joseph
in the evening. He met a boy, who ran up against Him with so much force
that He fell. And the Lord Jesus said to him: As thou hast thrown me down,
so thou shall fall and not rise again. And the same hour the boy fell down,
and expired.

    48. There was, moreover, at Jerusalem, a certain man named Zacchaeus,
who taught boys. He said to Joseph: Why, O Joseph, dost thou not bring
Jesus to the to learn his letters? Joseph agreed to do so, and reported the
matter to the Lady Mary. They therefore took Him to the master; and he, as
soon as he saw Him, wrote out the alphabet for Him, and told Him to say
Aleph. And when He had said Aleph, the master ordered Him to pronounce
Beth. And the Lord Jesus said to him: Tell me first the meaning of the
letter Aleph, and then I shall pronounce Beth. And when the master
threatened to flog Him, the Lord Jesus explained to him the meanings of the
letters Aleph and Beth; also which figures of the letter were straight,
which crooked, which drawn round into a spiral, which marked with points,
which without them, why one letter went before another; and many other
things He began to recount and to elucidate which the master himself had
never either heard or read in any book. The Lord Jesus, moreover, said to
the master: Listen, and I shall say them to thee. And He began clearly and
distinctly to repeat Aleph, Beth, Gimel, Daleth, on to Tau. And the master
was astonished, and said: I think that this boy was born before Noah. And
turning to Joseph, be said: Thou hast brought to me to be taught a boy more
learned than all the masters. To the Lady Mary also be said: This son of
thine has no need of instruction.

    49. Thereafter they took Him to another and a more learned master, who,
when be saw Him, said: Say Aleph. And when He had said Aleph, the master
ordered him to pronounce Beth. And the Lord Jesus answered him, and said:
First tell me the meaning of the letter Aleph, and then I shall pronounce
Beth. And when the master hereupon raised his hand and flogged Him,
immediately his hand dried up, and he died. Then said Joseph, to the Lady
Mary: From this time we shall not let him go out of the house, since every
one who opposes him is struck dead.

    50. And when He was twelve years old, they took Him to Jerusalem to the
feast. And when the feast was finished, they indeed returned; but the Lord
Jesus remained in the temple among the teachers and elders and learned men
of the sons of Israel, to whom He put various questions upon the sciences,
and gave answers in His turn.(1) For He said to them: Whose son is the
Messias? They answered Him: The son of David. Wherefore then, said He, does
he in the Spirit call him his lord, when he says, The Lord said to my lord,
Sit at my right hand, that I may put thine enemies under thy footsteps?(1)
Again the chief of the teachers said to Him: Hast thou read the books? Both
the books, said the Lord Jesus, and the things contained in the books. And
He explained the books, and the law, and the precepts, and the statutes,
and the mysteries, which are contained in the books of the prophets--things
which the understanding of no creature attains to. That teacher therefore
said: I hitherto have neither attained to nor heard of such knowledge: Who,
pray, do you think that boy will be?

    51. And a philosopher who was there present, a skilful astronomer,
asked the Lord Jesus whether He had studied astronomy. And the Lord Jesus
answered him, and explained the number of the spheres, and of the heavenly
bodies, their natures and operations; their opposition; their aspect,
triangular, square, and sextile; their course, direct and retrograde; the
twenty-fourths,(2) and sixtieths of twenty-fourths; and other things beyond
the reach of reason.

    52. There was also among those philosophers one very skilled in
treating of natural science, and he asked the Lord Jesus whether He had
studied medicine. And He, in reply, explained to him physics and
metaphysics, hyperphysics and hypophysics, the powers likewise and humours
of the body, and the effects of the same; also the number of members and
bones, of veins, arteries, and nerves; also the effect of heat and dryness,
of cold and moisture, and what these give rise to; what was the operation
of the soul upon the body, and its perceptions and powers; what was the
operation of the faculty of speech, of anger, of desire; lastly, their
conjunction and  disjunction, and other things beyond the reach  of any
created intellect. Then that philosopher rose up, and adored the Lord
Jesus, and said: O Lord, from this time I will be thy disciple and slave.

    53. While they were speaking to each other of these and other things,
the Lady Mary came, after having gone about seeking Him for three days
along with Joseph. She therefore, seeing Him sitting among the teachers
asking them questions, and answering in His turn, said to Him: My son, why
hast thou treated us thus? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee with
great trouble. But He said: Why do you seek me? Do you not know that I
ought to occupy myself in my Father's house? But they did not understand
the words that He spoke to them. Then those teachers asked Mary whether He
were her son; and when she signified that He was, they said: Blessed art
thou, O Mary, who hast brought forth such a son. And returning with them to
Nazareth, He obeyed them in all things. And His mother kept all these words
of His in her heart. And the Lord Jesus advanced in stature, and in wisdom,
and in favour with God and man.(3)

    54. And from this day He began to hide His miracles and mysteries and
secrets, and to give attention to the law, until He completed His thirtieth
year, when His Father publicly declared Him at the Jordan by this voice
sent down from heaven: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am  well pleased;
the Holy Spirit being present in the form of a white dove.(4)

    55. This is He whom we adore with supplications, who hath given us
being and life, and who hath brought us from our mothers' wombs; who for
our sakes assumed a human body, and  redeemed us, that He might embrace us
in eternal compassion, and show to us His mercy according to His
liberality, and beneficence, and generosity, and benevolence. To Him is
glory, and beneficence, and power, and dominion from this time forth for
evermore. Amen.

    Here endeth the whole Gospel of the Infancy, with the aid of God Most
High, according to what we have found in the original.
 

THE GOSPEL OF NICODEMUS

PART I.--THE ACTS OF PILATE

FIRST GREEK FORM.

MEMORIALS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, DONE IN THE TIME OF PONTIUS PILATE.

    PROLOGUE.--I Ananias, of the propraetor's body-guard, being learned in
the law, knowing our Lord Jesus Christ from the Holy Scriptures, coming to
Him by faith, and counted worthy of the holy baptism, searching also the
memorials written at that time of what was done in the case of our Lord
Jesus Christ, which the Jews had laid up in the time of Pontius Pilate,
found these memorials written in Hebrew, and by the favour of God have
translated them into Greek for the information of all who call upon the
name of our Master Jesus Christ, in the seventeenth year of the reign of
our Lord Flavius Theodosius, and the sixth of Flavius Valentinianus, in the
ninth indiction.(1)

    All ye, therefore, who read and transfer into other books, remember me,
and pray for me, that God may be merciful to me, and pardon my sins which I
have sinned against Him.

    Peace be to those who read, and to those who hear and to their
households. Amen.

    In the fifteenth year(2) of the government of Tiberius Caesar, emperor
of the Romans, and Herod being king of Galilee, in the nineteenth year of
his rule, on the eighth day before the Kalends of April, which is the
twenty-fifth of March, in the consulship of Rufus and Rubellio, in the
fourth year of the two hundred and second Olympiad, Joseph Caiaphas being
high priest of the Jews.

    The account that Nicodemus wrote in Hebrew, after the cross and passion
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour God, and left to those that came
after him, is as follows:--

    CHAP. 1.--Having called a council, the high priests and scribes Annas
and Caiaphas and Seines and Dathaes, and Gamaliel, Judas, Levi and
Nephthalim, Alexander and Jairus,(3) and the rest of the Jews, came to
Pilate accusing Jesus about many things, saying: We know this man to be the
son of Joseph the carpenter, born of Mary; and he says that he is the Son
of God, and a king; moreover, he profanes the Sabbath, and wishes to do
away with the law of our fathers. Pilate says: And what are the things
which he does, to show that he wishes to do away with it?(4) The Jews say:
We have a law not to cure any one on the Sabbath; but this mans has on the
Sabbath cured the lame and the crooked, the withered and the blind and the
paralytic, the dumb and the demoniac, by evil practices. Pilate says to
them: What evil practices? They say to him: He is a magician, and by
Beelzebul prince of the demons be casts out the demons, and all are subject
to him. Pilate says to them: This is not casting out the demons by an
unclean spirit, but by the god AEsculapius.

 The Jews say to Pilate: we entreat your highness that he stand at thy
tribunal, and be heard.(1) And Pilate having called them, says: Tell me how
I, being a procurator, can try a king? They say to him: W do not say that
he is a king, but he himself says that he is. And Pilate having called the
runner, says to him: Let Jesus be brought in with respect. And the runner
going out, and recognising Him, adored Him, and took his cloak into his
hand, and spread it on the ground, and says to him: My lord, walk on this,
and come in, for the procurator calls thee. And the Jews seeing what the
runner had done, cried out against Pilate, saying: Why hast thou ordered
him to come in by a runner, and not by a crier? for assuredly the runner,
when he saw him, adored him, and spread his doublet on the ground, and made
him walk like a king.

    And Pilate having called the runner, says to him: Why hast thou done
this, and spread out thy cloak upon the earth, and made Jesus walk upon it?
The runner says to him: My lord procurator, when thou didst send me to
Jerusalem to Alexander,(2) I saw him sitting upon an ass, and the sons of
the Hebrews held branches in their hands, and shouted; and other spread
their clothes under him saying, Save now, thou who art in the highest:
blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.(3)

    The Jews cry out, and say, to the runner: The soils of the Hebrews
shouted in Hebrew; whence then hast thou the Greek? The runner says to
them: I asked one of the Jews, and said,  What is it they are shouting in
Hebrew? And he interpreted it for me. Pilate says to them: And what did
they shout in Hebrew? The Jews  say to him: HOSANNA MEMBROME BARUCHAMMA
ADONAI.(4) Pilate says to them: And this hosanna, etc., how is it
interpreted? The Jews say to him: Save now in the highest; blessed is he;
that cometh in the name of the Lord. Pilate says to them: If you bear
witness to the words spoken by the children, in what has the runner done
wrong? And they were silent. And the procurator says to the runner: Go out,
and bring him in what way thou wilt. And the runner going out, did in the
same manner as before, and says to Jesus: My lord, come in; the procurator
calleth thee.

    And Jesus going in, and the standard-bearers holding their standards,
the tops of the standards were bent down, and adored Jesus. And the Jews
seeing the bearing of the standards, how they were bent down and adored
Jesus, cried(5) out vehemently against the standard-bearers. And Pilate
says to the Jews: Do you not wonder how the tops of the standards were bent
down, and adored Jesus? The Jews say to Pilate: We saw how the standard-
bearers bent them down, and adored him. And the procurator having called
the standard-bearers, says to them: Why have you done this? They say to
Pilate: We are Greeks and temple-slaves, and how could we adore him? and
assuredly, as we were holding them up, the tops bent down of their own
accord, and adored him.

    Pilate says to the rulers of the synagogue and the elders of the
people: Do you choose for yourselves men strong and powerful, and let them
hold up the standards, and let us see whether they will bend down with
them. And the elders of the Jews picked out twelve men powerful and strong,
and made them hold up the  standards six by six; and they were placed in
front of the procurator's tribunal. And Pilate says to the runner: Take him
outside of the praetorium, and bring him in again in whatever way may
please thee. And Jesus and the runner went out of the praetorium. And
Pilate, summoning those who had formerly held up the standards, says to
them: I have sworn by tile health of Caesar, that if the standards do not
bend down when Jesus comes in, I will cut off your heads. And the
procurator ordered Jesus to come in the second time. And the runner did in
the same manner as before, and made many entreaties to Jesus to walk on his
cloak. And He walked on it, and went ill. And as He went in, the standards
were again bent down, and adored Jesus.

    CHAP. 2.--And Pilate seeing this, was afraid, and sought to go away
from the tribunal; but when he was still thinking of going away, his  wife
sent to him, saying: Have nothing to do with this just man, for many things
have I suffered on his account this night.(6) And Pilate, summoning the
Jews, says to them: You know that my wife is a worshipper of God, and
prefers to adhere to the Jewish religion along with you. They say to him:
Yes; we know. Pilate says to them: Behold, my wife(7) has sent to me,
saying, Have nothing to do with this just man, for many things have I
suffered on account of him this night. And the Jews answering, say unto
Pilate: Did we not tell thee that he was a sorcerer?(8) behold, he has sent
a dream to thy wife.

    And Pilate, having summoned Jesus, says to Him: What do these witness
against thee? Sayest thou nothing? And Jesus said: Unless they had the
power, they would say nothing; for every one has the power of his own mouth
to speak both good and evil. They shall see to it.(1)

    And the eiders of the Jews answered, and said to Jesus: What shall we
see? first, that thou wast born of fornication; secondly, that thy birth in
Bethlehem was the cause of the murder of the infants; thirdly, that thy
father Joseph and thy mother Mary fled into Egypt because they had no
confidence in the people.

    Some of the bystanders, pious men of the Jews, say: we deny that he was
born of fornication; for we know that Joseph espoused Mary, and he was not
born of fornication. Pilate says to the Jews who said that he was of
fornication: This story of yours is not true, because they were betrothed,
as also these fellow-countrymen of yours say. Annas and Caiaphas say to
Pilate: All the multitude of us cry out that he was born of fornication,
and are not believed; these are proselytes, and his disciples. And Pilate,
calling Annas and Caiaphas, says to them: What are proselytes? They say to
him: They are by birth children of the Greeks, and have now become Jews.
And those that said that He was not born of fornication, viz.--Lazarus,
Asterius, Antonius, James, Atones, Zeras, Samuel, Isaac, Phinees, Crispus,
Agrippas, and Judas(2)--say: We are not proselytes, but are children of the
Jews, and speak of the truth; for we were present at the betrothal of
Joseph and Mary.

    And Pilate, calling these twelve men who said that He was not born of
fornication, says to them: I adjure you by the health of Caesar, to tell me
whether it be true that you say, that he was not born of fornication. They
say to Pilate: We have a law against taking oaths, because it is a sin; but
they will swear by the health of Caesar,(3) that it is not as we have said,
and we are liable to death. Pilate says to Annas and Caiaphas: Have you
nothing to answer to this? Annas and Caiaphas say to Pilate: These twelve
are believed when they say that he was not born of fornication; all the
multitude of us cry out that he was born of fornication, and that he is a
sorcerer, and he says that he is the Son of God and a king, and we are not
believed.

    And Pilate orders all the multitude to go out, except the twelve men
who said that He was not born of fornication, and he ordered Jesus to be
separated from them. And Pilate says to them: For what reason do they wish
to put him to death? They say to him: They are angry because he cures on
the Sabbath. Pilate says: For a good work do they wish to put him to death?
They say to him: Yes.

   CHAP. 3.--And Pilate, filled with rage, went outside of the praetorium,
and said to them: I take the sun to witness(4) that I find no fault in this
man. The Jews answered and said to the procurator: Unless this man were an
evil-doer, we should not have delivered him to thee. And Pilate said, Do
you take him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews said to Pilate:
It is not lawful for us to put any one to death. Pilate said: Has God said
that you are not to put to death, but that I am?

    And Pilate went again into the praetorium, and spoke to Jesus
privately, and said to Him: Art thou the king of the Jews? Jesus answered
Pilate: Dost thou say this of thyself, or have others said it to thee of
me? Pilate answered Jesus: Am I also a Jew?(5) Thy nation and the chief
priests have given thee up to me. What hast thou done? Jesus answered: My
kingdom is not of this world; for if my kingdom were of this world, my
servants would fight in order that I should not be given up to the Jews:
but now my kingdom is not from thence. Pilate said to Him: Art thou then a
king? Jesus answered him: Thou sayest that I am a king. Because for this
have I been born, and have I come, in order that every one who is of the
truth might hear my voice. Pilate says to him: What is truth? Jesus says to
him: Truth is from heaven. Pilate says: Is truth not upon earth? Jesus says
to Pilate: Thou seest how those who speak the truth are judged by those
that have the power upon earth.

    CHAP. 4.--And leaving Jesus within the praetorium, Pilate went out to
the Jews, and said to them: I find no fault in him. The Jews say to him: He
said, I can destroy this temple, and in three days build it. Pilate says:
What temple? The Jews say: The one that Solomon(6) built in forty-six
years, and this man speaks of pulling it down and building it in three
days. Pilate says to them: I am innocent of the blood of this just man. See
you to it. The Jews say: His blood be upon us, and upon our children.

    And Pilate having summoned the eiders and priests and Levites, said to
them privately: Do not act thus, because no charge that you bring against
him is worthy of death; for your charge is about curing and Sabbath
profanation. The elders and the priests and the Levites say: If any one
speak evil against Caesar, is he worthy of death or not? Pilate says: He is
worthy of death The Jews say to Pilate: If any one speak evil against
Caesar, he is worthy of death; but this man has spoken evil against God.

    And the procurator ordered the Jews to go outside of the praetorium;
and summoning Jesus, he says to Him: What shall I do to thee? Jesus says to
Pilate: As it has been given to thee. Pilate says: How given? Jesus says:
Moses and the prophets have proclaimed beforehand of my death and
resurrection. And the Jews noticing this, and hearing it, say to Pilate:
What more wilt thou hear of this blasphemy? Pilate says to the Jews: If
these words be blasphemous, do you take him for the blasphemy, and lead him
away to your synagogue, and judge him according to your law. The Jews say
to Pilate: Our law bears that a man who wrongs his fellow-men is worthy to
receive forty save one; but he that blasphemeth God is to be stoned with
stones.(1)

    Pilate says to them: Do you take him, and punish him in whatever way
you please. The Jews say to Pilate: we wish that he be crucified. Pilate
says: He is not deserving of crucifixion.

    And the procurator, looking round upon the crowds of the Jews standing
by, sees many of the Jews weeping, and says: All the multitude do not wish
him to die. The elders of the Jews say: For this reason all the multitude
of us have come, that he should die. Pilate says to the Jews: Why should he
die? The Jews say: Because he called himself Son of God, and King.

    CHAP. 5.--And one Nicodemus, a Jew, stood before the procurator, and
said: I beseech your honour, let me say a few words. Pilate says: Say on.
Nicodemus says: I said to the elders and the priests and Levites, and to
all the multitude of the Jews in the synagogue, What do you seek to do with
this man? This man many miracles anti strange things, which no one has done
or will do. Let him go, and do not wish any evil against him. If the
miracles which he does are of God, they will stand; but if man, they will
come to nothing.(2) For assuredly Moses, being sent by God into Egypt, did
many miracles, which the Lord commanded him to do before Pharaoh king of
Egypt. And there were there Jannes and Jambres, servants of Pharaoh, and
they also did not a few of the miracles which Moses did; and the Egyptians
took them to be gods--this Jannes and this Jambres.(3) But, since the
miracles which they did were not of God, both they and those who believed
in them were destroyed. And now release this man, for he is not deserving
of death.

    The Jews say to Nicodemus: Thou hast become his disciple, and therefore
thou defendest him. Nicodemus says to them: Perhaps, too, the procurator
has become his disciple, because he defends him. Has the emperor not
appointed him to this place of dignity? And the Jews were vehemently
enraged, and gnashed their teeth against Nicodemus. Pilate says to I them:
Why do you gnash your teeth against him when you hear the truth? The Jews
say to Nicodemus: Mayst thou receive his truth and his portion. Nicodemus
says: Amen, amen; may I receive it, as you have said.

    CHAP. 6.--One of the Jews, stepping up, asked leave of the procurator
to say a word. The procurator says: If thou wishest to say any thing, say
on And the Jew said: Thirty-eight years I lay in my bed in great agony.And
when Jesus came, many demoniacs, and many lying ill of various diseases,
were cured by him. And some young men, taking pity on me, carried me, bed
and all, and took me to him. And when Jesus saw me, bed had compassion on
me, and said to me: Take up thy couch and walk. And I took up my couch, and
walked. The Jews say to pilate: Ask him on what day it was that he was
cured. He that had been cured says: On a Sabbath.(4) The Jews say: Is not
this the very thing that we said, that on a Sabbath he cures and casts out
demons?

    And another Jew stepped up and said: I was born blind; I heard sounds,
but saw not a face. And as Jesus passed by, I cried out with a loud  voice,
Pity me, O son of David. And he pitied me, and put his hands upon my eyes,
and I instantly received my sight.(5) And another Jew stepped up and said:
I was crooked, and he straightened me with a word. And another said: I was
a leper, and he cured me with a word.(6)

    CHAP. 7--And a woman(7) cried out from a distance, and said: I had an
issue of blood, and I touched the hem of his garment, and the issue of
blood which I had had for twelve years was stopped.(8) The Jews say: we
have a law, that a woman's evidence is not to be received.(9)

    CHAP. 8.--And others, a multitude both of men and women, cried out,
saying: This man is a prophet, and the demons are subject to him. Pilate
says to them who said that the demons were subject to Him: Why, then, were
not your teachers also subject to him? They say to Pilate: We do not know.
And others said: He raised Lazarus from the tomb after he had been dead
four days.(1) And the procurator trembled, and said to all the multitude of
the Jews: Why do you wish to pour out innocent blood?

    CHAP. 9--And having summoned Nicodemus and the twelve men that said He
was not born of fornication, he says to them: What shall I do, because
there is an insurrection among the people? They say to him: We know not;
let them see to it. Again Pilate, having summoned all the multitude of the
Jews, says: You know that it is customary, at the feast of unleavened
bread, to release one prisoner to you. I have one condemned prisoner in the
prison, a murderer named Barabbas, and this man standing in your presence,
Jesus, in whom I find no fault. Which of them do you wish me to release to
you? And they cry out: Barabbas. Pilate says: What, then, shall we do to
Jesus who is called Christ? The Jews say: Let him be crucified. And others
said: Thou art no friend of Caesar's if thou release this man, because he
called himself Son of God and king. You wish, then, this man to be king,
and not Caesar?(2)

    And Pilate, in a rage, says to the Jews: Always has your nation been
rebellious, and you always speak against your benefactors. The Jews say:
What benefactors? He says to them: Your God led you out of the land of
Egypt from bitter slavery, and brought you safe through the sea as through
dry land, and in the desert fed you with manna, and gave you quails, and
quenched your thirst with water from a rock, and gave you a law; and in all
these things you provoked your God to anger, and sought a molten calf. And
you exasperated your God, and He sought to slay you. And Moses prayed for
you, and you were not put to death. And now you charge me with hating the
emperor.(3)

    And rising up from the tribunal, he sought to go out. And the Jews cry
out, and say: We know that Caesar is king, and not Jesus. For assuredly the
magi brought gifts to him as to a king. And when Herod heard from the magi
that a king had been born, he sought to slay him; and his father Joseph,
knowing this, took him and his mother, and they fled into Egypt. And Herod
hearing of it, destroyed the children of the Hebrews that had been born in
Bethlehem.(4)

    And when Pilate heard these words, he was afraid; and ordering the
crowd to keep silence, because they were crying out, he said to them: So
this is he whom Herod sought? The Jews say: Yes, it is he. And, taking
water, Pilate washed his hands in the face of the sun, saying: I am
innocent of the blood of this just man; see you to it. Again the Jews cry
out: His blood be upon us, and upon our children.

    Then Pilate ordered the curtain of the tribunal where he was sitting to
be drawn,(5) and says to Jesus: Thy nation has charged thee with being a
king. On this account I sentence thee, first to be scourged, according to
the enactment of venerable kings, and then to be fastened on the cross in
the garden where thou wast seized. And let Dysmas and Gestas, the two
malefactors, be crucified with thee.

    CHAP. 10.--And Jesus went forth out of the praetorium, and the two
malefactors with Him. And when they came to the place, they stripped Him of
his clothes, and girded Him with a towel, and put a crown of thorns on Him
round His head. And they crucified Him; and at the same time also they hung
up the two malefactors along with Him. And Jesus said: Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they do. And the soldiers parted His clothes
among them; and the people stood looking at Him. And the chief priests, and
the rulers with them, mocked Him, saying: He saved others; let him save
himself. If he be the Son of God, let him come down from the cross. And the
soldiers made sport of Him, coming near and offering Him vinegar mixed with
gall, and said: Thou art the king of the Jews; save thyself.(6)

    And Pilate, after the sentence, ordered the charge made against Him to
be inscribed as a superscription in Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, according
to what the Jews had said: He is king of the Jews.

    And one of the malefactors hanging up spoke to Him, saying: If thou be
the Christ, save  thyself and us. And Dysmas answering, reproved him,
saying: Dost thou not fear God, because thou art in the same condemnation?
And we indeed justly, for we receive the fit punishment of our deeds; but
this man has done no evil. And he said to Jesus: Remember me, Lord, in Thy
kingdom. And Jesus said to him: Amen, amen; I say to thee, To-day shall
thou be(7) with me in Paradise.

    CHAP. II.--And it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over
the earth until the ninth hour, the sun being darkened; and the curtain of
the temple was split in the middle. And crying out with a loud voice, Jesus
said: Father, BADDACH EPHKID RUEL, which is, interpreted: Into Thy hands I
commit my spirit.(1) And having said this, He gave up the ghost. And the
centurion, seeing what had happened, glorified God, and said: This was a
just man. And all the crowds that were present at this spectacle, when they
saw what had happened, beat their breasts and went away.

    And the centurion reported what had happened to the procurator. And
when the procurator and his wife heard it, they were exceedingly grieved,
and neither ate nor drank that day. And Pilate sent for the Jews, and said
to them: Have you seen what has happened? And they say: There has been an
eclipse of the sun in the usual way.(2)

    And His acquaintances were standing at a distance, and the women who
came with Him from Galilee, seeing these things. And a man named Joseph, a
councillor from the city of Arimathaea, who also waited for the kingdom of
God, went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and
wrapped it in clean linen, and placed it in a tomb hewn out of the rock, in
which no one had ever lain.

    CHAP. 12.--And the Jews, hearing that Joseph had begged the booty of
Jesus, sought him and the twelve who said that Jesus was not born of
fornication, and Nicodemus, and many others who had stepped up before
Pilate and declared His good works. And of all these that were hid,
Nicodemus alone was seen by them, because he was a ruler of the Jews. And
Nicodemus says to them: How have you come into the synagogue? The Jews say
to him: How hast thou come into the synagogue? for thou art a confederate
of his, and his portion is with thee in the world to come. Nicodemus says:
Amen, amen. And likewise Joseph also stepped out and said to them: Why are
you angry against me because I begged the body of Jesus? Behold, I have put
him in my new tomb, wrapping him in clean linen; and I have rolled a stone
to the door of the tomb. And you have acted not well against the just man,
because you have not repented of crucifying him, but also have pierced him
with a spear. And the Jews seized Joseph, and ordered him to be secured
until the first day of the week, and said to him: Know that the time does
not allow us to do anything against thee, because the Sabbath is dawning;
and know that thou shall not be deemed worthy of burial, but we shall give
thy flesh to the birds of the air. Joseph says to them: These are the words
of the arrogant Goliath, who reproached the living God and holy David.(3)
For God has said by the prophet, Vengeance is mine, and I will repay, saith
the Lord.(4) And now he that is uncircumcised in flesh, but circumcised in
heart, has taken water, and washed his hands in the face of the sun,
saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just man; see ye to it. And you
answered and said to Pilate, His blood be upon us, and upon our children.
And now I am afraid lest the wrath of God come upon you, and upon your
children, as you have said. And the Jews, hearing these words, were
embittered in their souls, and seized Joseph, and locked him into a room
where there was no window; and guards were stationed at the door, and they
sealed the door where Joseph was locked in.

    And on the Sabbath, the rulers of the synagogue,(5) and the priests and
the Levites, made a decree that all should be found in the synagogue on the
first day of the week. And rising up early, all the multitude in the
synagogue consulted by what death they should slay him. And when the
Sanhedrin was sitting, they ordered him to be brought with much indignity.
And having opened the door, they found him not. And all the people were
surprised, and struck with dismay, because they found the seals unbroken.
and because Caiaphas had the key. And they no longer dared to lay hands
upon those who had spoken before Pilate in Jesus' behalf.

    CHAP.13.--And while they were still sitting in the synagogue, and
wondering about Joseph, there come some of the guard whom the Jews had
begged of Pilate to guard the tomb of Jesus, that His disciples might not
come and steal Him. And they reported to the rulers of the synagogue, and
the priests and the Levites, what had happened: how there had been a great
earthquake; and we saw an angel coming down from heaven, and he rolled away
the stone from the mouth of the tomb, and sat upon it; and he shone like
snow, and like lightning. And we were very much afraid, and lay like dead
men; and we heard the voice of the angel saying to the women who remained
beside the tomb, Be not afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was
crucified. He is not here: He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place
where the Lord lay: and go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen
from the dead, and is in Galilee.(6)

    The Jews say: To what women did he speak? The men of the guard say: We
do not know who they were. The Jews say: At what time was this? The men of
the guard say: At midnight. The Jews say: And wherefore did you not lay
hold of them? The men of the guard say: We were like dead men from fear,
not expecting to see the light of day, and how could we lay hold of them?
The Jews say: As the Lord liveth, we do not believe you. The men of the
guard say to the Jews: You have seen so great miracles in the case of this
man, and have not believed; and how can you balieve us? And assuredly you
have done well to swear that the Lord liveth, for indeed He does live.
Again the men of the guard say: We have heard that you have locked up the
man that begged the body of Jesus, and put a seal on the door; and that you
have opened it, and not found him. Do you then give us the man whom you
were guarding, and we shall give you Jesus. The Jews say: Joseph has gone
away to his own city. The men of the guard say to the Jews: And Jesus has
risen, as we heard from the angel, and is in Galilee.

    And when the Jews heard these words, they were very much afraid, and
said: We must take care lest this story he heard, and all incline to Jesus.
And the Jews called a council, and paid down a considerable sum of money,
and gave it to the soldiers, saying: Say, while we slept, his disciples
came by night and stole him; and if this come to the ears of the
procurator, we shall persuade him, and keep you out of trouble. And they
took it, and said as the had been instructed.(1)

    CHAP. 14.--And Phinees a priest, and Adas a teacher, and Haggai a
Levite, came down from Galilee to Jerusalem, and said to the rulers of the
synagogue, and the priests and the Levites: We saw Jesus and his disciples
sitting on the mountain called Mamilch;(2) and he said to his disciples, Go
into all the world, and preach to every creature: he that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be condemned. And
these signs shall attend those who have believed: in my name they shall
cast out demons, speak new tongues, take up serpents; and if they drink any
deadly thing, it shall by no means hurt them; they shall lay hands on the
sick, and they shall be well. And while Jesus was speaking to his
disciples, we saw him taken up to heaven.(3)

    The elders and the priests and Levites say: Give glory to the God of
Israel, and confess to Him whether you have heard and seen those things of
which you have given us an account. And those who had given the account
said: As the Lord liveth, the God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
we heard these things, and saw him taken up into heaven. The ciders and the
priests and the Levites say to them: Have you come to give us this
announcement, or to offer prayer to God? And they say: To offer prayer to
God. The elders and the chief priests and the Levites say to them: If you
have come to offer prayer to God, why then have you told these idle tales
in the presence of all the people?(4) Says Phinees the priest, and Atlas
the teacher, and Haggai the Levite to the rulers of the synagogues. and the
priests and the Levites: If what we have said and seen be sinful, behold,
we are before you; do to us as seems good in your eyes. And they took the
law, and made them swear upon it, not to give any more an account of these
matters to any one. And they gave them to cat and drink, and sent them out
of the city, having given them also money, and three men with them; and
they sent them away to Galilee.

    And  these men having gone into Galilee, the chief priests, and the
rulers of the synagogue, and the elders, came together into the synagogue,
and locked the door, and lamented with a great lamentation, saying: Is this
a miracle that has happened in Israel? And Annas and Caiaphas said: Why are
you so much moved? Why do you weep? Do you not know that his disciples have
given a sum of gold to the guards of the tomb, and have instructed them to
say that an angel came down and rolled away the stone from the door of the
tomb? And the priests and the elders sand: Be it that his disciples have
stolen his body; how is it that the life has come into his body, and that
he is going, about in Galilee? And they being unable to give an answer to
these things, said, after great hesitation: It is not lawful for us to
believe the uncircumcised.

    CHAP. 15.--And Nicodemus stood up, and stood before the Sanhedrin,
saying: You say well;(5) you are not ignorant, you people of the Lord, of
these men that come down from Galilee, that they fear God, and are men of
substance, haters of covetousness, men of peace; and they have declared
with an oath. We saw Jesus upon the mountain Mamilch with his disciples,
and he taught what we heard from him, and we saw him taken up into heaven.
And no one asked them in what form he went up. For assuredly, as the book
of the Holy Scriptures taught us, Helias also was taken up into heaven, and
Elissaeus cried out with a loud voice, and Helias threw his sheepskin upon
Elissaeus, and Elissaeus threw his sheepskin upon the Jordan, and crossed,
and came into Jericho. And the children of the prophets met him, and said,
O Elissaeus, where is thy master Helias? And he said, He has been taken up
into heaven. And they said to Elissaeus, Has not a spirit seized him, arid
thrown him upon one of the mountains? But let us take our servants(1) with
us, and seek him. And they persuaded Elissaeus, and he went away with them.
And they sought him three days, and did not find him; and they knew he had
been taken up.(2) And now listen to me, and let us send into every district
of Israel, and see lest perchance Christ has been taken up by a spirit, and
thrown upon one of the mountains? And this proposal pleased all. And they
sent into every district of Israel, and sought Jesus, and did not find Him;
but they found Joseph in Arimathaea, and no one dared to lay hands on him.

    And they reported to the elders, and the priests, and the Levites: We
have gone round to every district of Israel, and have not found Jesus; but
Joseph we have found in Arimathaea. And hearing about Joseph, they were
glad, and gave glory to the God of Israel. And the rulers of the synagogue,
and the priests and the Levites, having held a council as to the manner in
which they should meet with Joseph, took a piece of paper, and wrote to
Joseph as follows:--

    Peace to thee! We know that we have sinned against God, anti against
thee; and we have prayed to the God of Israel, that thou shouldst deign to
come to thy fathers, and to thy children, because we have all been grieved.
For having opened the door, we did not find thee. And we know that we have
counselled evil counsel against thee; but the Lord has defended thee, and
the Lord Himself has scattered to the winds our counsel against thee, O
honourable father Joseph.

    And they chose from all Israel seven men, friends of Joseph, whom also
Joseph himself was acquainted with; and the rulers of the synagogue, and
the priests and the Levites, say to them: Take notice: if, after receiving
our letter, he read it, know that he will come with you to us; but if he do
not read it, know that he is ill-disposed towards us. And having saluted
him in peace, return to us. And having blessed the men, they dismissed
them. And the men came to Joseph, and did reverence to him, and said to
him: Peace to thee! And he said: Peace to  you, and to all the people of
Israel! And they  gave him the roll of the letter. And Joseph having
received it, read the letter and rolled it up, and blessed God, and said:
Blessed be the Lord God, who has delivered Israel, that they should not
shed innocent blood; and blessed be the Lord, who sent out His angel, and
covered me under his wings. And he set a table for   them; and they ate and
drank, and slept there. And they rose up early, and prayed. And Joseph
saddled his ass, and set out with the men; and they came to the holy city
Jerusalem. And all the people met Joseph, and cried out: Peace to thee in
thy coming in! And he said to all the people: Peace to you! and he kissed
them. And the people prayed with Joseph, and they were astonished at the
sight of him. And Nicodemus received him into his house, and made a great
feast, and called Annas and Caiaphas, and the eiders, and the priests, and
the Levites to his house. And they rejoiced, eating and drinking with
Joseph; and after singing hymns, each proceeded to his own house. But
Joseph remained in the house of Nicodemus.

    And on the following day, which was the preparation, the rulers of the
synagogue and the priests and the Levites went early to the house of
Nicodemus; and Nicodemus met them, and said: Peace to you! And they said:
Peace to thee, and to Joseph, and to all thy house, and to all the house of
Joseph! And he brought them into his house. And all the Sanhedrin sat down,
and Joseph sat down between Annas and Caiaphas: and no one dared to say a
word to him. And Joseph said: Why have you called me? And they signalled to
Nicodemus to speak to Joseph. And Nicodemus, opening his mouth, said to
Joseph: Father, thou knowest that the honourable teachers, and the priests
and the Levites, see to learn a word from thee. And Joseph said: Ask. And
Annas and Caiaphas having taken the law, made Joseph swear, saying: Give
glory to the God of Israel, and give Him confession; for Achar being made
to swear by the prophet  Jesus,(3) did not forsware himself, but declared
unto him all, and did not hide a word from him. Do thou also accordingly
not hide from us to the extent of a word. And Joseph said: I shall not hide
from you one word. And they said to him: With grief were we grieved because
thou didst beg the body of Jesus, and wrap it in clean linen, and lay it in
a tomb. And on account of this we secured thee in a room where there was no
windows: and we put locks and seals upon the doors and guards kept watching
where thou wast locked in And on the first day of the week we opened, and
found thee not, and were grieved exceedingly; and astonishment fell upon
all the people of the Lord until yesterday. And now relate to us what has
happened to thee.

    And Joseph said: On the preparation, about the tenth hour, you locked
me up, and I remained all the Sabbath. And at midnight, as I was standing
and praying, the room where you locked me in was hung up by the four
corners, and I saw a light like lightning into my eyes.(1) And I was
afraid, and fell to the ground. And some one took me by the hand, and
removed me from the place where I had fallen; and moisture of water was
poured from my head even to my feet, and a smell of perfumes came about my
nostrils. And he wiped my face, and kissed me, and said to me, Fear not,
Joseph; open thine eyes, and see who it is that speaks to thee. And looking
up, I saw Jesus. And I trembled and thought it was a phantom; and I said
the commandments, and he said them with me.(2) Even so you are not ignorant
that a phantom, if it meet anybody, and hear the commandments, takes to
flight. And seeing that he said them with the, I said to him, Rabbi Helias.
And he said to me, I am not Helias. And I said to him, Who art thou, my
lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus, whose body thou didst beg from Pilate;
and thou didst clothe me with clean, linen. and didst put a napkin on my
face, and  didst lay me in thy new tomb, and didst roll a great stone to
the door of the tomb. And I said to him that was speaking to me, Show me
the place where I laid thee. And he carried me away, and showed me the
place where I laid him; and the linen cloth was lying in it, and the napkin
for his face. And I knew that it was Jesus. And he took me by the hand, and
placed me, though the doors were locked, in the middle  of my house, and
led me away to my bed, and said to me, Peace to thee! And he kissed me, and
said to me, For forty days go not forth out of thy house; for, behold, I go
to my brethren into Galilee.

    CHAP. 16.--And the rulers of the synagogue, and the priests and the
Levites, when they heard these words from Joseph, became as dead, and fell
to the ground, and fasted until the ninth hour. And Nicodemus, along with
Joseph, exhorted Annas and Caiaphas, the priests and the Levites, saying:
Rise up and stand upon your feet, and taste bread, and strengthen your
souls, because to-morrow is the Sabbath of the Lord. And they rose up, and
prayed to God, and ate and drank, and departed every man to his own house.

    And on the Sabbath our teachers and the priests and Levites sat
questioning each other,  and saying: What is this wrath that has come upon
us? for we know his father and mother.  Levi, a teacher, says: I know that
his parents fear God, and do not withdraw themselves from the prayers, and
give the tithes thrice a year.(3) And when Jesus was born, his parents
brought him to this place, and gave sacrifices and burnt-offerings to God.
And when the great teacher Symeon took him into his arms, he said, Now Thou
sendest away Thy servant, Lord, according to Thy word, in peace; for mine
eyes have seen Thy salvation, which Thou hast prepared before the face of
all the peoples: a light for the revelation of the Gentiles, and the glory
of Thy people Israel. And Symeon blessed them, and said to Mary his mother,
I give thee good news about this child. And Mary said, It is well, my lord.
And Symeon said to her, It is well; behold, he lies for the fall and rising
again of many in Israel, and for a sign spoken against; anti of thee
thyself a sword shall go through the soul, in order that the reasoning of
many hearts may be revealed.(4)

    They say to the teacher Levi: How knowest thou these things? Levi says
to them: Do you not know that from him I learned the law? The Sanhedrin say
to him: We wish to see thy father. And they sent for his father. And they
asked him; anti he said to them: Why have you not believed my son? The
blessed and just Symeon himself taught him the law. The Sanhedrin says to
Rabbi Levi: Is the word that you have said true? And he said: It is true.
And the rulers of the synagogue, and the priests and the Levites, said to
themselves: Come, let  us send into Galilee to the three men that came and
told about his teaching and his taking up,  and let them tell us how they
saw him taken up. And this saying pleased all. And they sent away the three
men who had already gone away into Galilee with them; and they say to them:
Say to Rabbi Adas, and Rabbi Phinees, and Rabbi Haggai: Peace to you, and
all who are with you! A great inquiry having taken place in tile Sanhedrin,
we have been sent to you to call you to this holy place, Jerusalem.

    And the men set out into Galilee, and found them sitting and
considering the law; and they saluted them in peace. And the men who were
in Galilee said to those who had come to them: Peace upon all Israel! And
they said: Peace to you! And they again said to them: Why have you come?
And those who had been sent said: The Sanhedrin call you to the holy city
Jerusalem. And when the men heard that they were sought by the Sanhedrin,
they prayed to God, and reclined with the men, and ate and drank, and rose
up, and set out in peace to Jerusalem.

    And on the following day the Sanhedrin sat in the synagogue, and asked
them, saying: Did you really see Jesus sitting on the mountain Mamilch
teaching his eleven disciples, and did you see him taken up? And the men
answered them, and said: As we saw him taken up, so also we said.

    Annas says: Take them away from one another, and let us see whether
their account agrees. And they took them away from one another. And first
they call Adas, and say to him: How didst thou see Jesus taken up? Adas
says: While he was yet sitting on the mountain Mamilch, and teaching his
disciples, we saw a cloud overshadowing both him and his disciples. And the
cloud took him up into heaven, and his disciples lay upon their face upon
the earth. And they call Phinees the priest, and ask him also, saying: How
didst thou see Jesus taken up? And he spoke in like manner. And they again
asked Haggai, and he spoke in like manner. And the Sanhedrin said: The law
of Moses holds: At the mouth of two or three every word shall be
established.(1) Buthem, a teacher, says: It is written in the law, And
Enoch walked with God, and is not, because God took him.(2) Jairus, a
readier, said: And the death of holy Moses we have heard of, and have not
seen it; for it is written in the law of the Lord, And Moses died from the
mouth of the Lord, and no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.(3)
And Rabbi Levi said: Why did Rabbi Symeon say, when he saw Jesus, "Behold,
he lies for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign
spoken against?"(4) And Rabbi Isaac said: It is written in the law, Behold,
I send my messenger before thy face, who shall go before thee to keep thee
in every good way, because my name has been called upon him.(5)

    Then Annas and Caiaphas said: Rightly have you said what is written in
the law of Moses, that no one saw the death of Enoch, and no one has named
the death of Moses; hut Jesus was tried before Pilate, and we saw him
receiving blows and spittings on his face, and the soldiers put about him a
crown of thorns, and he was scourged, and received sentence from Pilate,
and  was crucified upon the Cranium, and two robbers with him; and they
gave him to drink vinegar with gall, and Longinus the soldier pierced his
side with a spear; and Joseph our honourable father begged his body, and,
as he says, he is risen; and as the three teachers say, We saw him taken up
into heaven; and Rabbi Levi has given evidence of what was said by Rabbi
Symeon, and that he said, Behold, he lies for the fall and rising again of
many in Israel, and for a sign spoken against. And all the teachers said to
all the people of the Lord: If this was from  the Lord, and is wonderful in
your eyes,(6) knowing you shall know, O house of Jacob, that it is written,
Cursed is every one that hangeth upon a tree.(7) And another Scripture
teaches: The gods which have not made the heaven and the earth shall be
destroyed.(8) And the priests and the Levites said to each other: If his
memorial be until the year that is called Jobel,(9) know that it shall it
endure for ever, and he hath raised for himself a new people. Then the
rulers of the synagogue, and the priests and the Levites, announced to all
Israel, saying: Cursed is that man who shall worship the work of man's
hand, and cursed is the man who shall worship the creatures more than the
Creator. And all the people said, Amen, amen.(10)

    And all the people praised(11) the Lord, and said: Blessed is the Lord,
who hath given rest to His people Israel, according to all that He hath
spoken; there hath not fallen one word of every good word of His that He
spoke to Moses His servant. May the Lord our God be with us, as He was with
our fathers: let Him not destroy us. And let Him not destroy us, that we
may incline our hearts to Him, that we may walk in all His ways, that we
may keep His commandments and His judgments which He commanded to our
fathers.(12) And the Lord shall be for a king over all the earth in that
day; and there shall he one Lord, and His name one.(13) The Lord is our
king: He shall save us.(14) There is none like Thee, O Lord.(15) Great art
Thou, O Lord, and great is Thy name. By Thy power heal us. O Lord, and we
shall be healed: save us, O Lord, and we shall be saved;(16) because we are
Thy lot and heritage. And the Lord will not leave His people, for His great
name's sake; for the Lord has begun to make us into His people.(17)

    And all, having sung praises, went away each man to his own house,
glorifying God; for His is the glory for ever and ever. Amen.

SECOND GREEK FORM.

    A NARRATIVE about the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ, and His holy
resurrection.

    Written by a Jew, AEneas by name, and translated out of the Hebrew
tongue into the Romaic language by Nicodemus, a Roman toparch.

    After the dissolution of the kingdom of the Hebrews, four hundred years
having run their course, and the Hebrews also coming at last under the
kingdom of the Romans, and the king of the Romans appointing them a king;
when Tiberius Caesar at last swayed the Roman sceptre, in the eighteenth
year of his reign,(1) he appointed as king of Judaea, Herod, the son of the
Herod who had formerly slaughtered the infants in Bethlehem, and he made
Pilate procurator in Jerusalem; when Annas and Caiaphas held the high-
priesthood of Jerusalem, Nicodemus, a Roman toparch, having summoned a Jew,
AEneas by name, asked him to write an account of the things done in
Jerusalem about Christ in the times of Annas and Caiaphas. The Jew
accordingly did this, and delivered it to Nicodemus; and he, again,
translated it from the Hebrew writing into the Romaic language. And the
account is as follows:--

    CHAP. I.--Our Lord Jesus Christ having wrought in Judaea many and great
and extraordinary miracles, and on account of this being hated by the
Hebrews, while Pilate was procurator in Jerusalem, and Annas and Caiaphas
high priests, there came of the Jews to the chief priests, Judas, Levi,
Nephthalim, Alexander, Syrus, and many others, speaking against Christ. And
these chief priests sent them away to say these things to Pilate also. And
they went away, and said to him: A man walks about in this city whose
father is called Joseph, and his mother Mary; and he calls himself king and
Son of God; and being a Jew, he overturns the Scriptures, and does away
with the Sabbath. Pilate then asked, in order to learn from them in what
manner lie did away with the Sabbath. And they answered, saying: He cures
tile sick on the Sabbath. Pilate says: If he makes the sick whole, he does
no evil. They say to him: If he effected the cures properly, small would be
the evil; but by using magic he does these things, and by having the demons
on his side. Pilate says: To cure a person that is ill is not a diabolic
work, but a grace from God.

    The Hebrews said: We beseech your highness to summon him, in order that
thou mayst make accurate inquiry into what we say. Pilate therefore,
throwing off his cloak, gave it to one of his officers,(2) saying: Go away,
and show this to Jesus, and say to him, Pilate the procurator calls thee to
come before him. The officer accordingly went away, and finding Jesus,
summoned Him, having unfolded on the ground also Pilate's mantle, and urged
Him to walk upon it. And the Hebrews, seeing this, and being greatly
enraged, came to Pilate, murmuring against him, how he had deemed Jesus
worthy of so great honour.

    And he, having inquired of the officer who had been sent how he had
done so, the officer answered: When thou didst send me to the Jew
Alexander, I came upon Jesus entering the gate of the city, sitting upon an
ass. And I saw that the Hebrews spread their garments in the way, and the
ass walked upon the garments; and others cut branches, and they went forth
to meet him, and cried out, Hosanna in the highest! Thus, therefore, it was
necessary for me also to do.

    The Jews, hearing these words, said to him: How didst thou, being a
Roman, know what was said by the Hebrews? The officer answered: I asked one
of the Hebrews, and he told the these things. Pilate said: What means
Hosanna? The Jews said: Save us, O Lord. Pilate answered: Since you confess
that your children said so, how now do you bring charges, and say against
Jesus what you do say? The Jews were silent, and had nothing to answer.(3)

    Now, as Jesus was coming to Pilate, the soldiers of Pilate adored Him.
And others also were standing before Pilate holding standards. And as Jesus
was coming, the standards also bowed down, and adored Him. As Pilate,
therefore, was wondering at what had happened, the Jews said to him: My
lord, it was not the standards that adored Jesus, but the soldiers who were
holding them carelessly.

    Pilate says to the ruler of the synagogue: Choose twelve powerful men,
and give them the standards, so that they may hold them firmly. And this
having taken place, Pilate ordered the officer to take Jesus outside, and
bring Him in again. And as He was coming in, the standards again bowed
down, and adored Him. Pilate therefore wondered greatly. But the Jews said:
He is a magician, and through that he does these things.

    CHAP. 2.--Pilate says to Jesus: Hearest thou what these testify against
thee, and answerest thou not?(1) And Jesus answered and said: Every man has
power to speak either good or bad, as he wishes; these also, therefore,
having power, say what they wish.(2)

    The Jews said to Him: What have we to say about thee? First, that thou
wast begotten from sin; second, that on account of thee, when thou wast
born, the infants(3) were murdered; third, that thy father and thy mother
fled into Egypt, because they had no confidence in the people.

    To these the Jews who were there present, God-fearing men, answered and
said: We say that his birth is not from sin; for we know that Joseph
received into keeping his mother Mary, according to the practice of
betrothal. Pilate said: Consequently you lie who say that his birth is from
sin. They say again to Pilate: All the people testify that he is a
magician. The God-fearing Jews answered and said: We also were at the
betrothal of his mother, and we are Jews, and know all his daily life; but
that he is a magician, that we do not know. And the Jews that thus said
were these: Lazarus, Astharius, Antonius, James, Zaras, Samuel, Isaac,
Phinees, Crispas, Dagrippus, Amese, and Judas.

    Pilate therefore says to them: By the life of Caesar, I wish you to
swear whether the birth of this man is without sin. They answered: Our law
lays down that we are to swear not at all, because an oath is great sin.
Notwithstanding, by the life of Caesar we swear that his birth is without
sin; and if we lie, order us all to be beheaded. And when they had thins
spoken, the Jews that were bringing the charge answered Pilate, and said:
And dost thou believe these twelve single Jews more than all the multitude
and us, who know for certain that he is a magician and blasphemer, and that
he names himself Son of God?

    Then Pilate ordered them all to go forth out of the praetorium except
the said twelve alone. And when this had been done, Pilate says to them
privately: As to this man, it appears that from envy and madness the Jews
wish to murder him: for of one thing--that he does away with the Sabbath--
they accuse him; but he then does a good work, because he cures the sick.
For this, sentence of death is not upon the man. The twelve also say to
him: Assuredly, my lord, it is so.

    Chap. 3.--Pilate therefore went outside in rage and anger, and says to
Annas and Caiaphas, and to the crowd who brought Jesus: I take the sun to
witness that I find no fault in this man. The crowd answered: If he were
not a sorcerer, and a magician, and a blasphemer, we should not have
brought him to your highness. Pilate said: Try him yourselves; and since
you have a law, do as your law says. The Jews said: Our law permits to put
no man to death.(4) Pilate says: If you are unwilling to put him to death,
how much more am I!

    Then Pilate returned to the palace, and says to Jesus: Tell me, art
thou the king of the Jews? Jesus answered: Dost thou say this, or have the
other Jews said this to thee, that thou mightst question me? Pilate said:
Thou dost not think that I am a Hebrew? I am not a Hebrew. Thy people and
the chief priests have delivered thee into my hands; and tell me if thou
art king of the Jews? Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world; for
if my kingdom were in this world, my soldiers would not be unconcerned at
my being seized: wherefore my kingdom is not in this world. Pilate says:
But art thou a king? Jesus said: Thou hast said: for this was I born, to
bear witness to the truth; and if any one be a man of the truth, he
believes my word, and does it. Pilate says: What is the truth?(5) Jesus
answered: The truth is from the heavens. Pilate says: On earth, then, is
there no truth? Christ says: I am the truth; and how is the truth judged on
earth by those that have earthly power!

    Chap. 4.--Pilate therefore, leaving Christ alone, went outside, and
says to the Jews: I find no fault in this man. The Jews answered: Let us
tell your highness what he said. He said, I am able to destroy the temple
of God, and in three days to build it. Pilate says: And what temple did he
say that he was to destroy? The Hebrews say: The temple of Solomon, which
Solomon built in forty-six years.(6)

    Pilate says privately to the chief priests and the scribes and the
Pharisees: I entreat you, do nothing evil against this man; for if you do
evil against him, you will do unjustly: for it is not just that such a man
should die, who has done great good to many men. They said to Pilate: If,
my lord, he who has dishonoured Caesar is worthy of death, how much more
this man who dishonours God!

    Then Pilate dismissed them, and they all went outside. Thereupon he
says to Jesus: dost thou wish that I shall do to thee? Jesus says to
Pilate: Do to me as is determined. Pilate says: How is it determined? Jesus
answered: Moses and the prophets wrote about me being crucified, and rising
again. The Hebrews, hearing this, said to Pilate: Why do you seek to hear a
greater insult out of him against God? Pilate says: These words are not an
insult against God, since they are written in the books of the prophets.
The Hebrews said: Our Scripture says, If a man offend against a man, that
is to say, if he insult him, he is worthy to receive forty strokes with a
rod; but if any one insult God, to be stoned.(1)

    Then came a messenger from Procle, the wife of Pilate, to him; and the
message said: Take care that thou do not agree that any evil should happen
to Jesus the good man; because during this night I have seen fearful dreams
on account of him.(2) And Pilate spoke to the Hebrews, saying: If you hold
as insult against God the words which you declare Jesus to have spoken,
take and judge him yourselves according to your law.(3) The Jews said to
Pilate: We wish that you should crucify him. Pilate says: This is not good.

    And Pilate, turning towards the people, saw many weeping, and said: To
me it seems that it is not the wish of all the people that this man should
die. The priests and the scribes say: We on this account have brought all
the people, that thou mightst have full conviction that all wish his death.
Pilate says: For what evil hath he done? The Hebrews said: He says that he
is a king, and the Son of God.

    CHAP. 5.--A God-fearing Jew, therefore, Nicodemus by name, stood up in
the midst, and said to Pilate: I entreat your highness to permit me to say
a few words. Say on, said Pilate. Nicodemus says: I, being present in the
synagogue, said to the priests, and the Levites, and the scribes, and the
people, What have you to say against this man? This man does many miracles,
such as man has never yet done nor will do. Let him go, therefore; and if
indeed what he does be from God, it will stand; but if from man, it will be
destroyed.(4) Just as happened also when God sent Moses into Egypt, and
Pharoah king of Egypt told him to do a miracle, and he did it. Then Pharoah
had also two magicians, Jannes and Jambres; and they also did miracles by
the use of magic art, but not such as Moses did.(5) And the Egyptians held
these magicians to be gods; but because they were not from God, what they
did was destroyed. This Jesus, then, raised up Lazarus, and he is alive. On
this account I entreat thee, my lord, by no means to allow this man to be
put to death.

    The Hebrews were enraged against Nicodemus, and said: Mayst thou
receive the truth of Jesus, and have a portion with him. Nicodemus says:
Amen, amen; be it to me as you say.

    Chap. 6.--And when Nicodemus had thus spoken, another Hebrew rose up,
and said to Pilate: I beg of thee, my lord Pilate, hear me also. Pilate
answered: Say what thou wishest. The Hebrew says: I lay sick in bed thirty-
eight years; and when he saw me he was grieved, and said to me, Rise, take
up thy couch, and go into thine house. And while he was saying the word to
me, I rose and walked about. The Hebrews say: Ask him on what day of the
week this happened. He says: On Sabbath.(6) The Jews said: And consequently
we say truly, that he does not keep the Sabbath.

    Another, again, standing in the midst, said: I was born blind; and as
Jesus was going along the road, I cried to him, saying, Have mercy upon me,
Lord, thou son of David. And he took clay, and anointed mine eyes; and
straight, way I received my sight.(7) Another said: I was crooked; and
seeing him, I cried, Have mercy upon me, O Lord. And he took me by the
hand, and I was immediately raised.(8) Another said: I was a leper, and he
healed me merely by a word.(9)

    Chap. 7.--There was found there also a woman named Veronica, and she
said: Twelve years I was in an issue of blood, and I only touched the edge
of his garment, and directly I was cured.(10) The Jews say: Our law does
not admit the testimony of a woman.(11)

    Chap.(8).--Other men cried: This man is a prophet, and the demons are
afraid of him. Pilate says: And how were the demons not at all thus afraid
of your parents also? They say: We do not know. Others, again, said:
Lazarus, after having been four days in the tomb, he raised by a single
word.(12) Pilate therefore, hearing of the raising of Lazarus, was afraid,
and said to the people: Why do you wish to shed the blood of a just man?

    Chap. 9.--Then he summoned Nicodemus and the twelve God-fearing Jews,
and said to them: What do you say that I should do? because the people are
in commotion They say: We do not know: do as thou wilt; but what the people
do, they do unjustly, in order to kill him. Pilate again went outside, and
said to the people: You know that in the feasts of unleavened bread it is
customary that I free on your account one of the criminals kept in custody.
I have, then, one malefactor in the prison, a robber named Barabbas. I have
also Jesus, who has never done any evil. Which of the two, then, do you
wish that I release to you? The people answered: Release to us Barabbas.
Pilate says: What then shall I do with Jesus? They say: Let him be
crucified.(1) Again, others of them cried out: If thou release Jesus, thou
art no friend of Caesar,(2) because he calls himself Son of God, and king.
And if thou free him, he becomes a king, and will take Caesar's kingdom.

    Pilate therefore was enraged, and said: Always has your nation been
devilish(3) and unbelieving; and ever have you been adversaries to your
benefactors. The Hebrews say: And who were our benefactors? Pilate says:
God, who freed you out of the hand of Pharaoh, and brought yon through the
Red Sea as upon dry land, and fed you with quails, and gave you water to
drink out of the dry rock, and who gave you a law which, denying God you
broke; and if Moses had not stood and entreated God, you would have
perished by a bitter death. All these, then, you have forgotten. Thus also,
even now, you say that I do not at all love Caesar, but bate him, and wish
to plot against his kingdom.

    And having thus spoken, Pilate rose up from the throne with anger,
wishing to flee from them. The Jews therefore cried out, saying: We wish
Caesar to be king over us, not Jesus, because Jesus received gifts(4) from
the Magi. And Herod also heard this--that there was going to be a king--and
wished to put him to death, and for this purpose sent and put to death all
the infants that were in Bethlehem. And on this account also his father
Joseph and iris mother fleet from fear of him into Egypt.(5)

    So then Pilate, hearing this, silenced all the people, and said: This,
then, is the Jesus whom Herod then sought that he might put him to death?
They say to him: Yes. Pilate therefore, having ascertained that he was of
the jurisdiction of Herod, as being derived of the race of the Jews, sent
Jesus to him. And Herod, seeing Him, rejoiced greatly, because he had been
long desiring to see Him, hearing of the miracles which He did. He put on
Him, therefore, white garments. Then he began to question Him. But Jesus
did not give him an answer. And Herod, wishing to see also some miracle or
other done by Jesus, and not seeing it, and also because He did not answer
him a single word, sent Him back again to Pilate.(6) Pilate. seeing this,
ordered his officers to bring water. Washing, then, his bands with the
water, he said to the people: I am innocent of the blood of this good man.
See yon to it. that he is unjustly put to death, since neither I have found
a fault in him, nor Herod; for because of this he has sent him back again
to me. The Jews said: His blood be upon us, and upon our children.(7)

    Then Pilate sat down upon his throne to pass sentence. He gave order,
therefore, and Jesus came before him. And they brought a crown of thorns,
and put it on His head, and a reed into His right hand.(8) Then he passed
sentence, and said to Him: Thy nation says, and testifies against thee,
that thou wishest to be a king. Therefore I decree that they shall beat
thee first with a rod forty strokes, as the laws of the kings decree, and
that they shall mock thee; and finally, that they shall crucify thee.

    Chap. 10.--The sentence to this effect, then, having been passed by
Pilate, the Jews began to strike Jesus, some with roots, others with their
hands, others with their feet; some also spat in His face. Immediately,
therefore, they got ready the cross, and gave it to Him, and flew to take
the road. And thus going along, bearing also the cross, He came as far as
the gate of the city of Jerusalem. But as He, from the many blows and the
weight of the cross, was unable to walk, the Jews, out of the eager desire
they had to crucify Him as quickly as possible, took the cross from Him,
and gave it to a man that met them, Simon by name, who had also two sons,
Alexander and Rufus. And he was from the city of Cyrene.(9) They gave the
cross, then, to him, not because they pitied Jesus, and wished to lighten
Him of the weight, but because they eagerly desired, as has been said, to
put Him to death more speedily.

    Of His disciples, therefore, John followed Him there. Then he came
fleeing to the mother of God.(10) and said to her: Where hast thou been,
that thou hast not come to see what has happened? She answered: What is it
that has happened? John says: Know that the Jews have laid hold of my
Master, and are taking Him away to crucify Him. Hearing this, His mother
cried out with a loud voice, saying: My son, my son, what evil then hast
thou done, that(1) they are taking thee away to crucify thee? And she rose
up as if blinded,(2) and goes along the road weeping. And women followed
her--Martha, and Mary Magdalene, and Salome, and other virgins. And John
also was with her. When, therefore, they came to the multitude of the
crowd, the mother of God says to John: Where is my son? John says: Seest
thou Him bearing the crown of thorns, and having His hands bound? And the
mother of God, hearing this, and seeing Him, fainted, and fell backwards to
the ground, and lay a considerable time. And the women, as many as followed
her, stood round her, and wept. And as soon as she revived and rose up, she
cried out with a loud voice: My Lord, my son, where has the beauty of thy
form sunk? how shall I endure to see thee suffering such things? And thus
saying, she tore her face with her nails, and beat her breast. Where are
they gone, said she, the good deeds which thou didst in Judaea? What evil
hast thou done to the Jews? The Jews, then, seeing her thus lamenting and
crying, came and drove her from the road; but she would not flee, but
remained, saying: Kill me first, ye lawless Jews.

    Then they got safe to the place called Cranium, which was paved with
stone;(3) and there the Jews set up the cross. Then they stripped Jesus,
and the soldiers took His garments, and divided them among themselves; and
they put on Him a tattered robe of scarlet, and raised Him, and drew Him up
on the cross at the sixth hour of the day. After this they brought also two
robbers, the one on His right, the other on His left.

    Then the mother of God, standing and looking, cried out with a loud
voice, saying: My son! my son: And Jesus, turning to her, and seeing John
near her, and weeping with the rest of the women, said: Behold thy son!
Then He says also to John: Behold thy mother!(4) And she wept much, saying:
For this I weep, my son, because thou sufferest unjustly, because the
lawless Jews have delivered thee to a bitter death. Without thee, my son,
what will become of me? How shall I live without thee? What sort of life
shall I spend? Where are thy disciples, who boasted that they would die
with thee? Where those healed by thee? How has no one been found to help
thee? And looking to the cross, she said: Bend down, O cross, that I may
embrace and kiss my son, whom I suckled at these breasts after a strange
manner, as not having known than. Bend down, O cross; I wish to throw my
arms round my son. Bend down, O cross, that I may bid farewell to my son
like a mother. The Jews, hearing these words, came forward, and drove to a
distance both her and the women and John.

    Then Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying: Father, let not this
sin stand against them; for they know not what they do.(5) Then He says: I
thirst. And immediately there ran one of the soldiers, and took a sponge,
and filled it with gall and vinegar mixed, and put it on a reed, and gave
Jesus to drink. And having tasted it, He would not drink it.(6) And the
Jews standing and looking on laughed at Him, and said: If thou truly sayst
that thou art the Son of God, come down from the cross, and immediately,
that we may believe in thee. Others said mocking: Others he saved, others
he cured, and he healed the sick, the paralytic, the lepers, the demoniacs,
the blind, the lame, the dead; and himself he cannot cure.(7)

    In the same manner also, the robber crucified on His left hand said to
Him: If thou art the Son of God, come down and save both thyself and us.
His name was Gistas. And he that was crucified on the right, Dysmas by
name, reproved that robber, saying: O wretched and miserable man, dost thou
not fear God? We suffer the due punishment of what we have done; but this
man has done no evil at all. And turning to Jesus, he says to Him: Lord,
when Thou shalt reign do not forget me. And He said to him: To-day, I tell
thee truth, I shall have thee in paradise with me.(8)

    Chap. 11.--Then Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, Father, into Thy
hands I shall commit my spirit, breathed His last.(9) And immediately one
could see the rocks rent: for there was an earthquake over all the earth;
and from the earthquake being violent and great, the rocks also were rent.
And the tombs of the dead were opened, and the curtain of the temple was
rent, and there was darkness from the sixth hour till the ninth. And from
all these things that had happened the Jews were afraid, and said:
Certainly this was a just man. And Longinus, the centurion who stood by,
said: Truly this was a son of God. Others coming and seeing Him, beat their
breasts from fear, and again turned back.(1)

    And the centurion having perceived all these so great miracles, went
away and reported them to Pilate. And when he heard, he wondered and was
astonished, and from his fear and grief would neither eat nor drink that
day. And he sent notice, and all the Sanhedrin came to him as soon as the
darkness was past; and he said to the people: You know how the sun has been
darkened; you know how the curtain has been rent. Certainly I did well in
being by no means willing to put to death the good man. And the malefactors
said to Pilate: This darkness is an eclipse of the sun, such as has
happened also at other times. Then they say to him: We hold the feast of
unleavened bread to-morrow; and we entreat thee, since the crucified are
still breathing, that their bones be broken, and that they be brought down.
Pilate said: It shall be so. He therefore sent soldiers, and they found the
two robbers yet breathing, and they broke their legs; but finding Jesus
dead, they did not touch Him at all, except that a soldier speared Him in
the right side, and immediately there came forth blood and water.(2)

    And as the day of the preparation(3) was drawing towards evening,
Joseph, a man well-born and rich, a God-fearing Jew, finding Nicodemus,
whose sentiments his foregoing speech had shown, says to him: I know that
thou didst love Jesus when living, and didst gladly hear his words, and I
saw thee fighting with the Jews on his account. If, then, it seem good to
thee, let us go to Pilate, and beg the body of Jesus for burial, because it
is a great sin for him to lie unburied. I am afraid, said Nicodemus, lest
Pilate should be enraged, and some evil should befall me. But if thou wilt
go alone, and beg the dead, and take him, then will I also go with thee,
and help thee to do everything necessary for the burial. Nicodemus having
thus spoken, Joseph directed his eyes to heaven, and prayed that he might
not fail in his request; and he went away to Pilate, and having saluted
him, sat down. Then he says to him: I entreat thee, my lord, not to be
angry with me, if I shall ask anything contrary to what seems good to your
highness. And he said: And what is it that thou askest? Joseph says: Jesus,
the good man whom through hatred the Jews have taken away to crucify, him I
entreat that thou give me for burial. Pilate says: And what has happened,
that we should deliver to be honoured again the dead body of him against
whom evidence of sorcery was brought by his nation, and who was in
suspicion of taking the kingdom of Caesar, and so was given up by us to
death? And Joseph, weeping and in great grief, fell at the feet of Pilate,
saying: My lord, let no hatred fall upon a dead man; for all the evil that
a man has done should perish with him in his death. And I know your
highness, how eager thou wast that Jesus should not be crucified, and how
much thou saidst to the Jews on his behalf, now in entreaty and again in
anger, and at last how thou didst wash thy hands, and declare that thou
wouldst by no means take part with those who wished him to be put to death;
for all which reasons I entreat thee not to refuse my request. Pilate,
therefore, seeing Joseph thus lying, and supplicating, and weeping, raised
him up, and said: Go, I grant thee this dead man; take him, and do whatever
thou wilt.

    And then Joseph, having thanked Pilate, and kissed his hands and his
garments, went forth, rejoicing indeed in heart as having obtained his
desire, but carrying tears in his eyes. Thus also, though grieved, he was
glad. Accordingly he goes away to Nicodemus, and discloses to him all that
had happened. Then, having bought myrrh and aloes a hundred pounds, and a
new tomb,(4) they, along with the mother of God and Mary Magdalene and
Salome, along with John, and the rest of the women, did what was customary
for the body with white linen, and placed it in the tomb.(5)

    And the mother of God said, weeping: How am I not to lament thee, my
son? How should I not tear my face with my nails? This is that, my son,
which Symeon the elder foretold to me when I brought thee, an infant of
forty days old, into the temple. This is the sword which now goes through
my soul.(6) Who shall put a stop to my tears, my sweetest son? No one at
all except thyself alone, if, as thou saidst, thou shalt rise again in
three days.

    Mary Magdalene said, weeping: Hear, O peoples, tribes, and tongues, and
learn to what death the lawless Jews have delivered him who did them ten
thousand good deeds. Hear, and be astonished. Who will let these things be
heard by all the world? I shall go alone to Rome, to the Caesar. I shall
show him what evil Pilate hath done in obeying the lawless Jews. Likewise
also, Joseph lamented, saying: Ah, me! sweetest Jesus, most excellent of
men, if indeed it be proper to call thee man, who hast wrought such
miracles as no man has ever done. How shall I enshroud thee? How shall I
entomb thee? There should now have been here those whom thou fedst with a
few loaves; for thus should I not have seemed to fail in what is due. Then
Joseph, along with Nicodemus, went home; and likewise also the mother of
God, with the women, John(1) also being present with them.

    Chap. 12.--When the Jews were made acquainted with these things done by
Joseph and Nicodemus, they were greatly stirred up against them. And the
chief priests Annas and Caiaphas sent for Joseph, and said: Why hast thou
done this service to Jesus? Joseph says: I know that Jesus was a man just,
and true, and good in all respects; and I know also that you, through
hatred, managed to murder him: and therefore I buried him. Then the high
priests were enraged, and laid hold of Joseph, and threw him into prison,
and said to him: If we had not to-morrow the feast of unleavened bread,
tomorrow also should we have put thee, like him, to death; but being kept
in the meantime, early in the morning of the Lord's day(2) thou shall be
given up to death. Thus they spoke, and affixed their seal to the prison,
having secured it by fastenings of all sorts.

    Thus, therefore, when the Preparation was ended, early on the Sabbath
the Jews went away to Pilate, and said to him: My lord, that deceiver said,
that after three days he should rise again. Lest, therefore, his disciples
should steal him by night, and lead the people astray by such deceit, order
his tomb to be guarded. Pilate therefore, upon this, gave them five hundred
soldiers, who also sat round the sepulchre so as to guard it, after having
put seals upon the stone of the tomb.(3)

    The Lord's day, then, having dawned, the chief priests, along with the
Jews, called a council, and sent to take Joseph out of the prison, in order
to put him to death. But having opened it, they found him not. And they
were astonished at this--how, with the doors shut, and the bolts safe, and
the seals unbroken, Joseph had disappeared.

    Chap. 13.--And upon this there came up one of the soldiers guarding the
tomb, and he said in the synagogue: Learn that Jesus has risen. The Jews
say: How? And he said: First there was an earthquake; then an angel of the
Lord, clothed with lightning, came from heaven, and rolled the stone from
the tomb, and sat upon it. And from fear of him, all of us soldiers became
as dead, and were able neither to flee nor speak. And we heard the angels
saying to the women who came there to see the tomb: Be not you afraid, for
I know that you seek Jesus. He is not here, but is risen, as He told you
before. Bend down and see the tomb where His body lay; but go and tell His
disciples that He is risen from the dead, and let them go into Galilee, for
there shall they find Him. For this reason I tell you this first.(4)

    The Jews say to the soldiers: What sort of women were they who came to
the tomb? and why did you not lay hold of them? The soldiers say: From the
fear and the mere sight of the angel, we were able neither to speak nor
move. The Jews said: As the God of Israel liveth, we do not believe a word
you say. The soldiers say: Jesus did so great wonders, and you believed
not, and are you going to believe us? You say truly that God liveth; and
certainly he whom you crucified truly liveth. But we have heard that you
had Joseph shut up in the prison, and that you afterwards opened the doors,
and did not find him. Do you then present Joseph, and so we also shall
present Jesus. The Jews say: Joseph, that fled from the prison, you will
find in Arimathaea, his own country. And the soldiers say: Go you too into
Galilee, and you will find Jesus, as the angel said to the women.

    At these words the Jews were afraid, and said to the soldiers: See that
you tell this story to nobody, or all will believe in Jesus. And for this
reason they gave them also much money. And the soldiers said: We are afraid
lest by any chance Pilate hear that we have taken money, and he will kill
us. And the Jews said: Take it; and we pledge ourselves that we shall speak
to Pilate in your defence. Only say that you were asleep, and in your
slumber the disciples of Jesus came and stole him from the tomb. The
soldiers therefore took the money, and said as they were bid. And up to
this day this same lying tale is told among the Jews.(5)

    Chap. 14.--And a few days after there came from Galilee to Jerusalem
three men. One of them was a priest, by name Phinees; the second a Levite,
by name Aggai; and the third a soldier, by name Adas. These came to the
chief priests, and said to them and to the people: Jesus, whom you
crucified, we have seen in Galilee with his eleven disciples upon the Mount
of Olives, teaching them, and saying, Go into all the world, and proclaim
the good news; and whosoever will believe and be baptized shall be saved;
but whosoever will not believe shall be condemned. And having thus spoken,
he went up into heaven.(6) And both we and many others of the five
hundred(7) besides were looking on.

    And when the chief priests and the Jews heard these things, they said
to these three: Give glory to the God of Israel, and repent of these lies
that you have told. They answered: As the God of our fathers Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob liveth, we do not lie, but tell you the truth. Then the
high priest spoke, and they brought the old covenant of the Hebrews out of
the temple, and he made them swear, and giving them also money, he sent
them into another place, in order that they might not proclaim in Jerusalem
the resurrection of Christ.

    And when these stories had been heard by all the people, the crowd came
together into the temple, and there was a great commotion. For many said:
Jesus has risen from the dead, as we hear, and why did you crucify him? And
Annas and Caiaphas said: Do not believe, ye Jews, what the soldiers say;
and do not believe that they saw an angel coming down from heaven. For we
have given money to the soldiers, in order that they should not tell such
tales to any one; and thus also have the disciples of Jesus given them
money, in order that they should say that Jesus has risen from the dead.

    Chap. 15.--Nicodemus says: O children of the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
the prophet Helias went up into the height of heaven with a fiery chariot,
and it is nothing incredible if Jesus too has risen; for the prophet Helias
was a prototype of Jesus, in order that you, hearing that Jesus has risen,
might not disbelieve. I therefore say and advise, that it is befitting that
we send soldiers into Galilee, to that place where these men testify, that
they saw him with his disciples, in order that they may go round about and
find him, and that thus we may ask pardon of him for the evil which we have
done to him. This proposal pleased them; and they chose soldiers, and sent
them away into Galilee. And Jesus indeed they did not find; but they found
Joseph in Arimathaea.

    When, therefore, the soldiers had returned, the chief priests, having
ascertained that Joseph was found, brought the people together, and said:
What shall we do to get Joseph to come to us? After deliberating,
therefore, they wrote to him a letter to the following effect:--O father
Joseph, peace be to thee and all thy house, and thy friends! We know that
we have offended against God, and against thee His servant. On account of
this, we entreat thee to come here to us thy children. For we bare wondered
much how thou didst escape from the prison, and we say in truth that we had
an evil design against thee. But God, seeing that our designs against thee
were unjust, has delivered thee out of our hands. But come to us, for thou
art the honour of our people.

    This letter the Jews sent to Arimathaea, with seven soldiers, friends
of Joseph. And they went away and found him; and having respectfully
saluted him, as they had been ordered, they gave him the letter, And after
receiving it and reading it, he glorified God, and embraced the soldiers;
and having set a table, ate and drank with them during all the day and the
night.

    And on the following day he set out with them to Jerusalem; and the
people came forth to meet him, and embraced him. And Nicodemus received him
into his own house. And the day after, Annas and Caiaphas, the chief
priests, having summoned him to the temple, said to him: Give glory to the
God of Israel, and tell us the truth. For we know that thou didst bury
Jesus; and on this account we laid hold of thee, and locked thee up in the
prison. Thereafter, when we sought to bring thee out to be put to death, we
did not find thee, and we were greatly astonished and afraid. Moreover, we
prayed to God that we might find thee, and ask thee. Tell us therefore the
truth.

    Joseph said to them: In the evening of the Preparation, when you
secured me in prison, I fell a-praying throughout the whole night, and
throughout the whole day of the Sabbath. And at midnight I see the prison-
house that four angels lifted it up,(1) holding it by the four corners. And
Jesus came in like lightning, and I fell to the ground from fear. Taking
hold of me, therefore, by the hand, he raised me, saying, Fear not, Joseph.
Thereafter, embracing me, he kissed me, and said, Turn thyself, and see who
I am. Turning myself, therefore, and looking, I said, My lord, I know not
who thou art. He says, I am Jesus, whom thou didst bury the day before
yesterday. I say to him, Show me the tomb, and then I shall believe. He
took me, therefore, by the hand, and led me away to the tomb, which had
been opened. And seeing the linen and the napkin, and recognising him, I
said, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord;(2) and I adored
him. Then taking me by the hand, and accompanied by the angels, he brought
me to my house in Arimathaea, and said to me, Sit here for forty days; for
I go to my disciples, in order that I may enable them fully to proclaim my
resurrection.

    Chap. 16.--When Joseph had thus spoken, the chief priests cried out to
the people: We know that Jesus had a father and mother; how can we believe
that he is the Christ? One of the Levites answered and said: I know the
family of Jesus, noble-minded men,(3) great servants of God, and receiving
tithes from the people of the Jews. And I know also Symeon the eider, that
he received him when he was an infant, and said to him: Now thou sendest
away Thy servant, O Lord.

    The Jews said: Let us now find the three men that saw him on the Mount
of Olives, that we may question them, and learn the truth more accurately.
They found them, and brought them before all, and made them swear to tell
the truth. And they said: As the God of Israel liveth, we saw Jesus alive
on the Mount of Olives, and going up into heaven.

    Then Annas and Caiaphas took the three apart, one by one, and
questioned them singly in private. They agreed with one another, therefore,
and gave, even the three, one account. The chief priests answered, saying:
Our Scripture says that every word shall be established by two or three
witnesses.(1) Joseph, then, has confessed that he, along with Nicodemus,
attended to his body, and buried him, and how it is the truth that he has
risen.(2)

THE GOSPEL OF NICODEMUS

Part II.--The Descent of Christ Into Hell.

Greek Form.

    Chap. 1 (17).--Joseph says: And why do you wonder that Jesus has risen?
But it is wonderful that He has not risen alone, but that He has also
raised many others of the dead who have appeared in Jerusalem to many.(1)
And if you do not know the others, Symeon at least, who received Jesus, and
his two sons whom He has raised up--them at least you know. For we buried
them not long ago; but now their tombs are seen open and empty, and they
are alive, and dwelling in Arimathaea. They therefore sent men, and they
found their tombs open and empty. Joseph says: Let us go to Arimathaea and
find them.

    Then rose up the chief priests Annas and Caiaphas, and Joseph, and
Nicodemus, and Gamaliel, and others with them, and went away to Arimathaea,
and found those whom Joseph spoke of. They made prayer, therefore, and
saluted each other. Then they came with them to Jerusalem, and brought them
into the synagogue, and secured the doors, and placed in the midst the old
covenant of the Jews; and the chief priests said to them: We wish you to
swear by the God of Israel and Adonai, and so that you tell the truth, how
you have risen, and who has raised you from the dead.

    The men who had risen having heard this, made upon their faces the sign
of the cross, and said to the chief priests: Give us paper and ink and pen.
These therefore they brought. And sitting down, they wrote thus:--

    Chap. 2 (18).--O Lord Jesus Christ, the resurrection and the life of
the world, grant us grace that we may give an account of Thy resurrection,
and Thy miracles which Thou didst in Hades. We then were in Hades, with all
who had fallen asleep since the beginning of the world. And at the hour of
midnight there rose a light as if of the sun, and shone into these dark
regions; and we were all lighted up, and saw each other. And straightway
our father Abraham was united with the patriarchs and the prophets, and at
the same time they were filled with joy, and said to each other: This light
is from a great source of light. The prophet Hesaias, who was there
present, said: This light is from the Father, and from the Son, and from
the Holy Spirit; about whom I prophesied when yet alive, saying, The land
of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, the people that sat in darkness,
have seen a great light.(2)

    Then there came into the midst another, an ascetic from the desert; and
the patriarchs said to him: Who art thou? And he said: I am John, the last
of the prophets, who made the paths of the Son of God straight,(3) and
proclaimed to the people repentance for the remission of sins.(4) And the
Son of God came to me; and I, seeing Him a long way off, said to the
people: Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world.(5)
And with my hand I baptized Him in the river Jordan, and I saw like a dove
also the Holy Spirit coming upon Him;(6) and I heard also the voice of God,
even the Father,(7) thus saying: This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.(8) And on this account He sent me also to you, to proclaim how the
only begotten Son of God is coming here, that whosoever shall believe in
Him shall be saved, and whosoever shall not believe in Him shall be
condemned.(1) On this account I say to you all, in order that when you see
Him you all may adore Him, that now only is for you the time of repentance
for having adored idols in the vain upper world, and for the sins you have
committed, and that this is impossible at any other time.

    Chap. 3 (19).--While John, therefore, was thus teaching those in Hades,
the first created and forefather Adam heard, and said to his son Seth: My
son, I wish thee to tell the forefathers of the race of men and the
prophets where I sent thee, when it fell to my lot to die. And Seth said:
Prophets and patriarchs, hear. When my father Adam, the first created, was
about to fall once upon a time into death, he sent me to make entreaty to
God very close by the gate of paradise, that He would guide me by an angel
to the tree of compassion and that I might take oil and anoint my father,
and that he might rise up from his sickness: which thing, therefore, I also
did. And after the prayer an angel of the Lord came, and said to me: What,
Seth, dost thou ask? Dost thou ask oil which raiseth up the sick, or the
tree from which this oil flows, on account of the sickness of thy father?
This is not to be found now. Go, therefore, and tell thy father, that after
the accomplishing of five thousand five hundred years(2) from the creation
of the world, thou shall come into the earth the only begotten Son of God,
being made man; and He shall anoint him with this oil, and shall raise him
up; and shall wash clean, with water and with the Holy Spirit, both him and
those out of him, and then shall he be healed of every disease; but now
this is impossible.(3)

    When the patriarchs and the prophets heard these words, they rejoiced
greatly.

    Chap. 4 (20).--And when all were in such joy, came Satan the heir of
darkness, and said to Hades: O all-devouring and insatiable, hear my words.
There is of the race of the Jews one named Jesus, calling himself the Son
of God; and being a man, by our working with them the Jews have crucified
him: and now when he is dead, be ready that we may secure him here. For I
know that he is a man, and I heard him also saying, My soul is exceeding
sorrowful, even unto death.(4) He has also done me many evils when living
with mortals in the upper world. For wherever he found my servants, he
persecuted them; and whatever men I made crooked, blind, lame, lepers, or
any such thing, by a single word he healed them; and many whom I had got
ready to be buried, even these through a single word he brought to life
again.

    Hades says: And is this man so powerful as to do such things by a
single word? or if he be so, canst thou withstand him? It seems to me that,
if he be so, no one will be able to withstand him. And if thou sayest that
thou didst hear him dreading death, he said this mocking thee, and
laughing, wishing to seize thee with the strong hand; and woe, woe to thee,
to all eternity!

    Satan says: O all-devouring and insatiable Hades, art thou so afraid at
hearing of our common enemy? I was not afraid of him, but worked in the
Jews, and they crucified him, and gave him also to drink gall with
vinegar.(5) Make ready, then, in order that you may lay fast hold of him
when he comes.

    Hades answered: Heir of darkness, son of destruction, devil, thou hast
just now told me that many whom thou hadst made ready to be buried, be
brought to life again by a single word. And if he has delivered others from
the tomb, how and with what power shall he be laid hold of by us? For I not
long ago swallowed down one dead, Lazarus by name; and not long after, one
of the living by a single word dragged him up by force out of my bowels:
and I think that it was he of whom thou speakest. If, therefore, we receive
him here, I am afraid lest perchance we be in danger even about the rest.
For, lo, all those that I have swallowed from eternity I perceive to be in
commotion, and I am pained in my belly. And the snatching away of Lazarus
beforehand seems to me to be no good sign: for not like a dead body, but
like an eagle, he flew out of me; for so suddenly did the earth throw him
out. Wherefore also I adjure even thee, for thy benefit and for mine, not
to bring him here; for I think that he is coming here to raise all the
dead. And this I tell thee: by the darkness in which we live, if thou bring
him here, not one of the dead will be left behind in it to me.

    Chap. 5 (21).--While Satan and Hades were thus speaking to each other,
there was a great voice like thunder, saying: Lift up your gates, O ye
rulers; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting gates; and the King of glory
shall come in.(6) When Hades heard, he said to Satan: Go forth, if thou art
able, and withstand him. Satan therefore went forth to the outside. Then
Hades says to his demons: Secure well and strongly the gates of brass and
the bars of iron, and attend to my bolts, and stand in order,(7) and see to
everything; for if he come in here, woe will seize us.

    The forefathers having heard this, began all to revile him, saying: O
all-devouring and insatiable! open, that the King of glory may come in.
David the prophet says: Dost thou not know, O blind, that I when living in
the world prophesied this saying: Lift up your gates, O ye rulers? Hesaias
said: I, foreseeing this by the Holy Spirit, wrote: The dead shall rise up,
and those in their tombs shall be raised, and those in the earth shall
rejoice.(1) And where, O death, is thy sting? where, O Hades, is thy
victory?(2)

    There came, then, again a voice saying: Lift up the gates. Hades,
hearing the voice the second time, answered as if forsooth he did not know,
and says: Who is this King of glory? The angels of the Lord say: The Lord
strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.(3) And immediately with these
words the brazen gates were shattered, and the iron bars broken, and all
the dead who had been bound came out of the prisons, and we with the n And
the King of glory came in in the form of a man, and all the dark places of
Hades were lighted up.

    Chap. 6 (22).--Immediately Hades cried out: We have been conquered: woe
to us! But who art thou, that hast such power and might? and what art thou,
who comest here without sin who art seen to be small and yet of great
power, lowly and exalted, the slave and the master, the soldier and the
king, who hast power over the dead and the living? Thou wast nailed on the
cross, and placed in the tomb; and now thou art free, and hast destroyed
all our power. Art thou then the Jesus about whom the chief satrap Satan
told us, that through cross and death thou art to inherit the whole world?

    Then the King of glory seized the chief satrap Satan by the head, and
delivered him to His angels, and said: With iron chains bind his hands and
his feet, and his neck, and his mouth. Then He delivered him to Hades, and
said: Take him, and keep him secure till my second appearing.

    Chap. 7 (23).--And Hades receiving Satan, said to him: Beelzebul, heir
of fire and punishment, enemy of the saints, through what necessity didst
thou bring about that the King of glory should be crucified, so that he
should come here and deprive us of our power? Turn and see that not one of
the dead has been left in me, but all that thou hast gained through the
tree of knowledge, all hast thou lost through the tree of the cross: and
all thy joy has been turned into grief; and wishing to put to death the
King of glory, thou hast put thyself to death. For, since i have received
thee to keep thee safe, by experience shall thou learn how many evils I
shall do unto thee. O arch-devil, the beginning of death, root of sin, end
of all evil, what evil didst thou find in Jesus, that thou shouldst compass
his destruction? how hast thou dared to do such evil? how hast thou busied
thyself to bring down such a man into this darkness, through whom thou hast
been deprived of all who have died from eternity?

    Chap. 8 (24).--While Hades was thus discoursing to Satan, the King of
glory stretched out His right hand, and took hold of our forefather Adam,
and raised him. Then turning also to the rest, He said: Come all with me,
as many as have died through the tree which he touched: for, behold, I
again raise you all up through the tree of the cross. Thereupon He brought
them all out, and our forefather Adam seemed to be filled with joy, and
said: I thank Thy majesty, O Lord, that Thou hast brought me up out of the
lowest Hades.(4) Likewise also all the prophets and the saints said: We
thank Thee, O Christ, Saviour of the world, that Thou hast brought our life
up out of destruction.(5)

    And after they had thus spoken, the Saviour blessed Adam with the sign
of the cross on his forehead, and did this also to tire patriarchs, and
prophets, and martyrs, and forefathers; and He took them, and sprang up out
of Hades. And while He was going, the holy fathers accompanying Him sang
praises, saying: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord:(6)
Alleluia; to Him be the glory of oil the saints.

    Chap. 9 (25).--And setting out to paradise, He took hold of our
forefather Adam by the hand, and delivered him, and all the just, to the
archangel Michael. And as they were going into the door of paradise, there
met them two old men, to whom the holy fathers said: Who are you, who have
not seen death, and have not come down into Hades, but who dwell in
paradise in your bodies and your souls? One of them answered, and said: I
am Enoch, who was well-pleasing to God, and who was translated hither by
Him; and this is Helias the Thesbite; and we are also to live until the end
of the world; and then we are to be sent by God to withstand Antichrist,
and to be slain by him, and after three days to rise again, and to be
snatched up in clouds to meet the Lord.(7)

    Chap. 10 (26).--While they were thus speaking, there came another lowly
man, carrying also upon his shoulders a cross, to whom the holy fathers
said: Who art thou, who hast the look of a robber; and what is the cross
which thou bearest upon thy shoulders? He answered: I, as you say, was a
robber and a thief in the world, and for these things the Jews laid hold of
me, and delivered me to the death of the cross, along with our Lord Jesus
Christ. While, then, He was hanging upon the cross, I, seeing the miracles
that were done, believed in Him, and entreated Him, and said, Lord, when
Thou shall be King, do not forget me. And immediately He said to me, Amen,
amen: to-day, I say unto thee, shall thou be with me in paradise. Therefore
I came to paradise carrying my cross; and finding the archangel Michael, I
said to him, Our Lord Jesus, who has been crucified, has sent me here;
bring me, therefore, to the gate of Eden. And the flaming sword, seeing the
sign of the cross, opened to me, and I went in. Then the archangel says to
me, Wait a little, for there cometh also the forefather of the race of men,
Adam, with the just, that they too may come in. And now, seeing you, I came
to meet you.

    The saints hearing these things, all cried out with a loud voice: Great
is our Lord, and great is His strength.(1)

    Chap. 11 (27).--All these things we saw and heard; we, the two
brothers, who also have been sent by Michael the archangel, and have been
ordered to proclaim the resurrection of the Lord, but first to go away to
the Jordan and to be baptized. Thither also we have gone, and have been
baptized with the rest of the dead who have risen. Thereafter also we came
to Jerusalem, and celebrated the passover of the resurrection. But now we
are going away, being unable to stay here. And the love of God, even the
Father, and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the communion of the
Holy Spirit, be with you all.(2)

    Having written these things, and secured the rolls, they gave the half
to the chief priests, and the half to Joseph and Nicodemus. And they
immediately disappeared: to the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Work of God - Apparitions

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