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FROM EARTH TO HEAVEN 
 
CHRIST RAISING LAZARUS FROM THE TOMB 
 
Bible Readings 
 
 WRITTEN IN SIMPLE LANGUAGE 
 
 AND EMBRACING THE 
 
 Whole Narrative of the Old and 
 
 New Testaments 
 
 PREPARED EXPRESSLY FOR THE 
 
 INSTRUCTION, ENTERTAINMENT AND RELIGIOUS CULTURE 
 
 OF PERSONS OF ALL AGES, ESPECIALLY THE YOUNG 
 
 PEOPLE IN OUR HOMES, SUNDAY SCHOOLS, 
 
 SOCIETIES OF CHRISTIAN WORKERS, 
 
 ETC., ETC. 
 
 CONTAINING ALSO 
 
 A Choice Collection of Religious Emblems 
 
 THE WHOLE DESIGNED TO PROMOTE 
 
 A Greater Interest in the Bible and a Better Understanding of 
 
 its Sacred Teachings 
 
 BY 
 
 HENRy DAVENPORT NORTHROP, D.O., 
 
 Author of "Story of the New World," "Golden Manual," etc. 
 
 PROFUSELY EMBELLISHED WITH SUPERB ENGRflUINGS 
 
 g 1^ 
 
 National Publishing Company 
 
 Nos. 239, 241 and 243 Levant St, 
 PHILADELPHIA, PA. 
 
 
 TWO COPIES RECEIVED 
 

 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1897 by 
 
 J. R. JONES, 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. D. C 
 
 All Rights Reserved. 
 
/ 
 
 J/i? 
 
 J IP 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE BEAUTIFUL STORIES of the Bible never lose their charm. They are 
 always new, captivating and soul-stirring. The young read them with eager 
 delight, yet no greater than that of the old. The great French writer, Victor 
 Hugo, said the narratives of the Bible were for every mansion and cottage, and 
 one of our greatest American statesmen said that unless the lessons they teach are learned 
 by the masses of the people there is no future for the Nation. 
 
 The young are in the springtime of life, and it is easy to plant in their hearts the noblest 
 truths and principles. They are the hope of our country, and our new and attractive work, 
 beautifully illustrated, ought to be put into the hands of every one of them. It will be 
 handled with ever-growing interest, read over and over again, and the thrilling truths and 
 beautiful lessons it contains will never be forgotten. 
 
 This volume is very comprehensive, beginning with Genesis and ending with Revelation, 
 • -. first pages are fragrant with Eden's floral bowers, and the last pages sparkle with the 
 ers of the River of Life. The fascinating story of one event follows that of another until 
 . whole Bible history is told in language choice and plain, and suited to every age. 
 
 Let the story of Joseph in Egypt be read by every fireside. He was truthful, diligent, 
 noble, and he dared to do right. Everywhere the Bible Story teaches the weightiest lessons. 
 Majestic Moses is seen as the great leader and lawgiver of the Hebrew nation. He is 
 pictured in his little life boat, at the burning bush, and on stormy Sinai, " whose rolling 
 thunders jar the world." 
 
 That great captain, Joshua, passes the River Jordan with his valiant host, and soon we 
 hear the shout of victory. Gideon with his little army; Jephthah performing his rash vow; 
 Samson vanquishing the lion and carrying the gates of Gaza; and Ruth gleaning in the 
 fields of Boaz — the story of each is fully told. Then comes the charming account of the 
 little boy Samuel who gave sign in childhood of what the man would be. The life of that 
 strange monarch, King Saul, was full of startling incidents and ended in a tragedy. David, 
 the Shepherd Boy, next appears upon the scene. 
 
 Solomon is depicted in his dazzling glory ; the Temple rises in grandeur and beauty 
 before our eyes, and then comes that strange man of the desert, the Prophet Elijah, who 
 boldly rebuked public corruption. One after another the Hebrew Kings and the thrilling 
 events associated with their names are fully described. Every reader is delighted with the 
 graphic stories of the Jewish Captivity ; of heroic Daniel in Babylon ; of that young 
 patriot, Nehemiah ; of Queen Esther, saving her people. 
 
 How eagerly the world reads the Charming Story of Bethlehem — the story of the 
 angelic choir ; of the wondering shepherds who heard the heavenly anthem of Peace and 
 Good-will ; of the Holy Child laid in the humble manger; of the burning Star that lighted 
 
iv PREFACE. 
 
 the Wise Men of the East to the feet of the infant Prophet, Priest and King ; and the thrill- 
 ing incidents connected with His early life. As He grew up His hands were browned with 
 honest toil, and He was a King without the crown or purple. 
 
 In simple yet vivid language the captivating story is continued, and the interest grcws 
 at every step as the striking scenes are unfolded — such as the Expulsion of the Money- 
 Changers from the Temple; the beautiful discourse to the woman of Samaria; the delivery 
 of the famous Sermon on the Mount, containing the grandest truths ever spoken; the 
 stilling of the storm -tossed Sea of Galilee and the Rescue of Peter from a watery grave; 
 the calling of the hardy fishermen to throw the Gospel Net and catch the kingdoms of the 
 world ; and those noble deeds of love and mercy that gave healing to the sick, sight to the 
 blind, hope to the desponding and life to the dying. 
 
 How simple are the New Testament Parables, yet how sublime are their thoughts and 
 beautiful their lessons. It has been well said that they are " Jewels in Words." 
 
 The Closing Scenes in the Life of Christ depict the most startling tragedy known in 
 history. In graphic pen-pictures the scenes of the Crucifixion are portrayed, and these are 
 followed by the rending of the tomb and the sublime ascension. It would not be possible 
 for human pen to depict more vividly those majestic events, at once awful and fascinating, 
 which form the closing part of Christ's life upon earth. 
 
 Then follows by a full account of the Lives of the Apostles. The graphic story 
 embraces the brilliant career of the Apostle Paul, his stripes and persecutions ; his perils 
 and sufferings, his thrilling shipwreck and last days at Rome. 
 
 To these are added Sacred Allegories, by Rev. William Adams, who surpasses all other 
 writers in teaching the most beautiful lessons under the captivating forms of parables and 
 stories. This is a most delightful part ot this very comprehensive volume. 
 
 The author of this delightful volume has followed closely the Bible narrative, using 
 largely the exact language of the Holy Scriptures. In no instance has he departed from 
 the meaning of the Sacred writers, yet making explanations in simple language wherever 
 needed. The work will be found especially valuable to Parents and others desiring to 
 instruct the young in the Truths of Religion. 
 
 Special attention is called to the Vast Gallery of Superb Illustrations which this great 
 work contains. These are new, and are the masterpieces of the world's most famous 
 artists. The Emblematic Engravings teach the most striking truths of the Bible in a manner 
 not likely to be forgotten. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 The Story of the Creation. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 The Story of the Creation — What was Made on 
 Each Day — Adam and Eve in the Garden of 
 Eden — The Serpent Beguiles Eve — Cherubim 
 and a Flaming Sword — Cain Kills his Brother 
 Abel — A Mark Set Upon Cain 17 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 The Story of the Flood. 
 
 The Story of the Flood— The World Growl 
 Very Wicked — Noah Commanded to Build an 
 Ark for the Saving of His Family — Every 
 Living Thing on the Dry Land Destroyed— 
 Noah Leaves the Ark and Offers Sacrifice— 
 The Tower of Babel — Confusion of Tongue® 
 and Scattering of the People 25 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 The Story of Abraham. 
 
 Hie Story of Abraham — Destruction of Sodom 
 and Story of Lot — Hagar and Ishmael Sent 
 Away — Abraham Offering up Isaac — Journey 
 of Abraham's Servant — Isaac and Rebekah — 
 Isaac Obtains a Wife from a far Country . 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 33 
 
 The Story of Esau and Jacob. 
 
 The Story of Esau and Jacob — Birthright Sold 
 for a Mess of Pottage — Two Kids from the 
 Flock — Jacob Obtains the Blessing of Isaac — 
 Dream of the Ladder and Angels — Jacob 
 Visits Laban— Leah and Rachel — Serving 
 Fourteen Years to Obtain Rachel for a Wife — 
 Happy Meeting of Jacob and Esau .... 49 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Story of joe-*?-* 
 
 The Story of Joseph — a Doy m a Pit — Sold 
 Away in^o Egypt — The Coat Dyed with 
 Blood — Telling the Meaning of Dreams — 
 
 Wearing the King's Ring— Famine in all 
 Lands — Joseph's Brethren in Egypt- -Jacob 
 and Benjamin 59 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Joseph and his Brethren in Egypt. 
 
 Joseph and his Brethren in Egypt — The Feast 
 in the Palace — Story of Benjamin — The Cup 
 in the Sack— The Plea of Judah— Joseph 
 Makes Himself Known to his Brethren- 
 Jacob's Journey to Egypt — A Home in a Far 
 Country — The Blessing of Joseph's Two Sons 
 —Jacob's Death and Burial — Last Days of 
 Joseph 71 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The 
 
 The Story of Moses. 
 Story of Moses— The Little Lifeboat- 
 
 9* 
 
 Adopted Child of Pharoah's Daughter — Cruel 
 Treatment of the Israelites in Egypt — Moses 
 Slays an Egyptian — At the Burning Bush — 
 Aaron's Rod Becomes a Serpent — The Ten 
 Plagues — The First-born of the Egyptians 
 Slain — Feast of the Passover — The Hebrews 
 Pass Through the Red Sea — Pharaoh and his 
 Host Drowned — The Song of Triumph . . . 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 From the Red Sea to Sinai. 
 
 From the Red Sea to Sinai— The Bitter Waters 
 Made Sweet — Bread from Heaven — A Flock 
 of Quails — Water from the Rock in Horeb — 
 Battle with the Amalekites— The Ten Com- 
 mandments Spoken from Sinai — Story of the 
 Tabernacle and its Services — The Scapegoat 
 Sent into the Wilderness ..... . iol 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Wanderings in thf Wilderness. 
 
 The Golden Calf — Moses Angry and Breaks thfc 
 Tables of the Law — The Glory of Mouul 
 
 V 
 
VI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Sinai — Numbering the People — The Pillar of 
 Fire — The Israelites Murmur— Punishment by 
 Fire — A Strong Wind Brings Quails for Food — 
 Spies Sent to the Promised Land — The Brazen 
 Serpent — Story of Balaam and Balak — Death 
 of Moses -The People Mourn Thirty Days . 119 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 The Story of Joshua. 
 
 Story of Joshua — Arrival of the Israelites at 
 Jordan — Crossing the River — Rahab and the 
 Spies -Capture of Jericho — Battle at the City 
 of Ai— Achan Stoned for Theft— Men in Old 
 Clothes — A Furious Hailstorm— Joshua's 
 Great Victory — The People Choose Whom 
 they will Serve 135 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 The Story of Gideon. 
 
 The King of Moab Slain — Deborah Judges tfoe 
 People — The Host of Sisera Scattered — 
 Gideon and the Angel — Choosing an Army — 
 Three Hundred Warriors — Trumpets and 
 Pitchers — A Great Victory — Gideon's Wicked 
 Sou — Capture of a City — Abimelech Killed 
 by a Young Man , . 152 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 The Story of Samson. 
 
 Jephthah and his Daughter — An Angel Comes 
 to Manoah— Birth of Samson — The Slain Lion 
 — Honey from a Strange Source — A Hard 
 Riddle to Guess — Jackals in the Corn — 
 Samson Breaks his Bonds — The Giant Loses 
 his Strength — The Cunning Trick of Delilah — • 
 Pillars of the Temple Fall— Death of Samson 166 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 The Story of Ruth. 
 
 A Famine at Bethlehem — Naomi Returns from 
 Moab — Ruth Cleaves to her Mother-in-law — 
 Gleaners in the Harvest Field — Ruth at the 
 Feet of Boaz — The Shoe Given to a Neighbor 
 —Ruth Becomes the Wife of Boaz . . . .174 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 The Story of Samuel. 
 
 The Story of Samuel — Hannah's Prayer — The 
 Boy Hears a Voice Calling Him — Sudden 
 
 PAQB 
 
 Death of EH— Trouble with the Philistines— 
 The Ark Carried Away — A Great Victory — 
 Samuel Sets up a Stone — The Israelites Want 
 a King 181 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 The Story of Saui,. 
 
 Story of Saul— A Vial of Oil— Saul is Made 
 King — Israel's Army — War with Amalek — The 
 King's Disobedience — The Torn Mantle— An 
 Evil Spirit— The Shepherd Boy and his Harp- 
 David is Pursued — Saul and the Witch of 
 Endor— The Last Battle— Death of Saul— 
 What Was Done with the King's Body . . .19, 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 The Story of David. 
 
 The Story of David — Anointed by the Piophet — 
 The Sling that Slew a Giant— The Enemy 
 Routed — Saul's Anger Against David— Jona- 
 than's Friendship — The Wanderer — Saul 
 Spared by David— Abigail Sends a Present 
 and Becomes David's Wife— What Happened 
 at Ziklag — Startling News from the Field of 
 Battle 203 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 The Reign of David. 
 
 The Reign of David — W . with the Philistines— 
 The Ark Brought to Jerusalem — David and 
 Uriah — Nathan's Rebuke — Parable of the Ewe 
 Lam^ - The Dead Child— Rebellion of Absa- 
 lom—David's Flight— A Great Battle — Death 
 of Absalom — David's Grief— A Kis: and a 
 Stab— Terrible Pestilence — David Yields his 
 Throne to Solomon 22J 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 The Story of Solomon. 
 
 The Story of Solomon — David's Choice of a 
 King— The Anointing — Building the Temple 
 — The Ark Placed in the Holy of Holies — 
 The Dedication of the Lord's House — Solomon 
 Punishes Wrong-Doers — Dispute About a 
 Child — Visit from the Queen of Sheba — A 
 Magnificent Throne — Horses and Chariots — 
 Sin of Idolatry — Solomon's Proverbs — The 
 Fool and Wise Man— The Virtuous Woman . 238 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 VII 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 The Story of Eeijah. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Story of Elijah— Fed by Ravens— The 
 Widow's Cruse of Oil and Barrel of Meal — 
 Story of the Dead Child— The Prophet on 
 Carmel — Rain in Answer to Prayer — Under 
 the Juniper Tree— Elijah on Mount Horeb — 
 Naboth and his Vineyard — The Arrow that 
 Smote Ahab — Ahaziah Conies to the Trone — 
 Jehu Anointed King — Death of Jezebel — Elijah 
 Taken up into Heaven 257 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 The Story of Eeisha. 
 
 The Story of Elisha— Salt in the Water— War 
 Against Moab — The Prophet's Chamber — The 
 Woman of Shunem — Restoring a Dead Child 
 — A Terrible Famine — Vessels of Oil — Iron 
 Made to Swim — Story of Naaman — Sin of 
 Gehazi — A Young Man's Vision — Stoning of 
 the High-Priest — What Happened in Syria — 
 Elisha' s Last Words and Death — The Syrians 
 Defeated —Parable of the Thistle and Cedar . 273 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 Two Prophets and a King. 
 
 Two Prophets and a King—Jonah Sent to Nine- 
 veh — A Prophet Cast into the Sea— The Great 
 Fish— A Good King in Judah— The Temple 
 Purified — A Royal Feast —The Sickness of 
 Hezekiah — Babylon and Assyria — Message 
 from the Assyrian King — Isaiah Gives Cour- 
 age to the Jews — A Wonderful Vision . . . 287 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 The; Story of Daniee. 
 
 The Story of Daniel— Captivity of the Jews- 
 Three Hebrew Youths — The King's Great 
 Image — The Fiery Furnace — Handwriting on 
 the Wall — Weighed and Found Wanting — 
 Daniel's Enemies — In the Den of Lions — A 
 Remarkable Vision 298 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 Return from the Captivity. 
 
 Return from the Captivity — Rebuilding the 
 Temple — King Darius — Ezra Arrives at Jeru- 
 salem—Too Much Wickedness— Wives Taken 
 from the Heathen— Arrival of Nehemiah— 
 
 The Walls Rebuilt— The Enemy Thwarted— 
 Ezra Reads the Law — Story of Queen Esther 
 — A Great Feast — Queen Vashti — The Jews in 
 Danger — Haman's Wicked Plot — Esther 
 Saves Her People — Haman Hanged .... 311 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 The Story of Job. 
 
 The Story of Job — Sons, Daughters and Great 
 Possessions — Satan Among the Sons of God — 
 Messengers Bring Startling News — Job 
 Afflicted with Boils — A Visit from Three 
 Friends — Job's Grievous Complaint — Better 
 Days at Last — Presents and Congratulations — 
 Increase of Riches 332 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 The Story of Betheehem. 
 
 The Story of Bethlehem — A Roman Emperor — 
 Zacharias in the Temple — An Angel Brings a 
 Message — Birth of John Foretold — An Angel 
 Appears to Mary — Elisabeth Visits Her Cousin 
 — The Child Named John — Joseph and Mary 
 at Bethlehem— Birth of the Child Jesus— The 
 Angels and Shepherds — Scene in the Temple 
 — Happy Old Simeon — Good News for the 
 World — The Anthem of Peace 339 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 What Foeeowed the Baptism. 
 
 Story of John the Baptist — Jesus on the Banks 
 of the Jordan — The Temptation in the Wilder- 
 ness — The Fishermen Become Disciples — The 
 Miracle in Cana of Galilee — Wine from Water 
 — Jesus in Jerusalem — Buyers and Sellers 
 Driven from the Temple — Words of Jesus not 
 Understood — The Man Who Came by Night — 
 Discourse to Nicodemus 357 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 Jesus Returns to Gaei^EE. 
 
 The People of Samaria — The Woman at Jacob's 
 Well — The Water of Life — In the Synagogue 
 at Nazareth — Hatred of the Jews — Healing the 
 Son of a Nobleman — Casting Out a Devil — 
 Wonderful Cures— Jesus Calls Peter and An- 
 drew — Discourses Upon the Law and Provi- 
 dence — A Lesson from Birds and Flowers — 
 House Built on the Rock — A Leper healed— 
 The Widow's Son Raised to Life 36} 
 
Vlll 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 Jesus Teaching and Heading. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Jesus Dines in the House of a Pharisee — Mary- 
 Magdalene and Her Box of Ointment — Cure 
 of the Man Sick of the Palsy— A Cluster of 
 Parables — What the Kingdom of Heaven is 
 Like — Story of the Prodigal — Publicans and 
 Sinners — A Woman Healed — The Daughter 
 of Jairus— The Troubled Sea Calmed— The 
 Man Possessed of Devils — Followed by a 
 Multitude— The Twelve Apostles 381 
 
 CHAPTER XXIX. 
 Marvellous Works and Words. 
 
 The Man at the Pool of Bethesda— Trouble With 
 the Pharisees — Plucking Corn on the Sabbath 
 — David Eating the Shew-Bread — Death and 
 Burial of John the Baptist — Feeding a Multi- 
 tude — Storm on the Sea — Jesus Walking on 
 the Water — Rescue of Peter — A Mother's 
 Appeal for Her Daughter — The Deaf and 
 Dumb Man — A Blind Man Healed — Peter 
 Called a Rock — The Mount of Transfigura- 
 tion — A Lunatic Cured , 399 
 
 CHAPTER XXX. 
 Last Visit of Jesus to Galilee. 
 
 Lesson from a Little Child — The Unjust Steward 
 — Money Found in a Strange Place — Feast 
 of Tabernacles — Pharisees Angry — The Man 
 Blind From His Birth— Ten Lepers Healed— 
 Jesus Blessing Little Children — The Good 
 Samaritan — Jesus at Jerusalem and Bethany — 
 The Raising of Lazarus — Two Blind Men 
 Receive Their Sight 411 
 
 CHAPTER XXXI. 
 Last Days in the Temple. 
 
 Jesus at Bethany — Anointing in the House of 
 Martha, Mary and Lazarus — Entry into Jeru- 
 salem — Road Strewn With Palm-Branches — 
 Children in the Temple— The Man Who Had 
 a Vineyard — Disputing With the Pharisees — 
 The Tribute-Money— The Fate of Hypocrites — 
 The Poor Widow — Vivid Picture of the Sec- 
 ond Coming . 433 
 
 CHAPTER XXXII. 
 Jesus Betrayed and Arrested. 
 A Plot to Put Jesus to Death— Feast of the Pass- 
 
 over — Preparations for the Last Supper — Jesus 
 Washing the Feet of His Disciples — In the 
 Garden of Gethsemane — A Prayer of Agony — 
 The Traitor's Kiss — False Witnesses — Jesus 
 Before the High-Priest — Denial of Peter- 
 Sorrowful End of Judas— Jesus Before Pilate — 
 A Furious Mob — The Purple Robe and Crown 
 of Thorns 443 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIII. 
 The Story of the Crucifixion. 
 
 Story of the Crucifixion — Bearing the Cross — A 
 Prayer for Enemies — The Earthquake and 
 Darkening of the Sun — Veil of the Temple 
 Rent — The Burial — The Angel and Women at 
 the Tomb — Surprise of the Disciples—Jesus at 
 Emmaus — Again in Galilee — The Great 
 Draught of Fishes — Solemn Charge to Peter — 
 Jesus at Bethany — The Ascension — Awe- 
 Struck Disciples Appear in the Temple . . 456 
 
 CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 The Story of the Apostles. 
 
 Casting Lots for Another Apostle — Choice of 
 Matthias — Wonders on the Day of Pentecost — 
 The Tongues of Fire — Peter's Remarkable 
 Sermon — Thousands of Believers — The Lame 
 Man Healed — Two Apostles in Prison — Story 
 of Ananias and Sapphira — Prison Doors 
 Thrown Open — Choosing Seven Deacons — 
 Story of Stephen— The First Martyr — Simon 
 the Sorcerer — Philip in Africa — A Man in a 
 Chariot — A Queen's Treasurer Baptized . . 47c 
 
 CHAPTER XXXV. 
 The Story of Saul. 
 
 The Story of Saul— The Bright Light from 
 Heaven — A Persecutor Changed to an Apostle 
 — Story of Barnabas — Jews Attempt to Kill 
 Saul — Story of Peter and Dorcas — Peter on the 
 Housetop — A Remarkable Vision — Simon the 
 Tanner and Cornelius — Martyrdom of James — 
 Peter's Escape from Prison — Herod's Speech — 
 A Beautiful City — A Notorious Wizzard — The 
 Apostles Suffer Persecution — Paul Stoned by 
 a Mob — Success of the Gospel 484 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 Paul's Second Journey. 
 
 Paul and Barnabas Separate — The Young Man 
 Timothy— Paul and Silas at Philippi— The 
 
CONTENTS, 
 
 IX 
 
 House of Lydia — Casting Out an Evil Spirit- 
 Locked Up in the Old Prison — An Earthquake 
 — The Jailor's Fright — Leaving Thessalonica 
 by Night — At Berea — Arrival at Athens — Paul 
 Preaching on Mars' Hill— The City of Corinth 
 — Story of Gallio — A New Preacher From 
 Egypt — Aquila and Priscilla — Apollos Preach- 
 ing in Greece 501 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 Paul's Third Journey. 
 
 Journey Through Little Asia — At Ephesus and 
 Corinth — Wizzards and Deceivers — Diana's 
 Gorgeous Temple — Wild Uproar at Ephesus — 
 The Apostle Travels in Greece — Story of Euty- 
 chus— A Sad Parting— The Gospel at Tyre- 
 Paul at Jerusalem — A Furious Mot) — Paul 
 
 Bound with Chains — Scene before the Council 
 — An Infamous Plot — Paul Finds Friends in 
 His Danger 514 
 
 CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
 
 Paul at Cjesarea and Rome. 
 
 Paul Sent by Night to Csesarea — The Roman 
 Governor Felix — Wicked Drusilla — A New 
 Governor — Paul Before King Agrippa — A 
 Pointed Sermon — Two Years in Prison — Plot 
 to Take the Life of Paul — The Voyage to 
 Rome — Furious Storm — The Ship Wrecked — 
 Escape of All on Board — A Deadly Viper — 
 Astonishment of the Heathen — Miracles of 
 Healing — Paul's Arrival at Rome — A Noble 
 Martyr — The Apostle John — Wonderful 
 Visions 529 
 
 SACRED ALLEGORIES. 
 
 The King's Messengers 
 The Old Man's Home 
 
 PAGB 
 
 545 
 582 
 
PAGE 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 Adam and Eve Driven Out of the Garden of 
 
 Eden 19 
 
 Adam Tilling the Ground 20 
 
 Cain and Abel Making an Offering to the Lord 21 
 
 The Death of Abel 22 
 
 The Peaceable Fruits of tbe Spirit 23 
 
 Brotherly Love 24 
 
 Noah Building the Ark 26 
 
 Return of the Dove to the Ark 28 
 
 Noah and His Family Leaving the Ark ... 29 
 
 Noah's Sacrifice After the: Flood 30 
 
 The Builders of Babel Scattered 31 
 
 Abram Entering the Land of Canaan .... 34 
 
 The Egyptian King Taking the Wife of Abram 35 
 
 Melchizedek Blessing Abram 37 
 
 "As the Stars, so Shall be Thy Posterity " . = 38 
 The Destruction of Sodom Foretold to Abra- 
 ham 40 
 
 Lot and His Family Fleeing From Sodom . . 41 
 
 Departure of Hagar and Ishmael 42 
 
 Abraham Offering Isaac 44 
 
 Abraham's Servant Meeting Rebekah . ... 46 
 
 Isaac Welcoming Rebekah * . 47 
 
 Isaac Blessing Jacob . . . . „ 51 
 
 Jacob's Vision of Angels 52 
 
 Jacob Meeting Rebekah . 54 
 
 Laban Hiring Jacob 55 
 
 Jacob Wrestling With the Angel 56 
 
 Meeting of Jacob and Esau 57 
 
 Joseph's Dream of the Sun, Moon and Eleven 
 
 Stars 60 
 
 The Shepherd and His Flock 61 
 
 Joseph Sold by His Brethren 62 
 
 Joseph Interpreting Pharoah's Dreams ... 66 
 
 Joseph Proclaimed Ruler of Egypt 68 
 
 The Cup Found in Benjamin's Sack .... 75 
 
 Joseph Makes Himself Known to His Brethren 77 
 
 The Sons of Jacob Burying Their Father . . 81 
 
 Embalming the Body of Joseph ...... 83 
 
 Pharaoh's Daughter Finding Moses .... 86 
 
 Moses Brought Before Pharaoh's Daughter . . 87 
 
 The Israelites Made to Work Hard in Egypt . 88 
 
 Moses Slaying the Egyptian 89 
 
 x 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Moses at the Burning Bush ..'..*. 90 
 
 Aaron's Rod Changed to a Serpent . .... 92 
 
 The Feast of the Passover ........ 96 
 
 Departure of the Israelites From Egypt ... 97 
 Pharaoh's Host Destroyed in the Red Sea . . 99 
 Moses Bringing Water From the Rock . . . 104 
 Aaron and Hur Holding Up the Hands of Moses 105 
 Moses Receiving the Tables of the Law . . . 107 
 The Setting Up of the Tabernacle in the Wil- 
 derness 109 
 
 Outside View of the Tabernacle no 
 
 The Ark of the Covenant in 
 
 Furniture of the Tabernacle 112 
 
 The Laver 113 
 
 Sending the Scapegoat Into the Wilderness . 1 14 
 The High Priest Offering Incense on the 
 
 Golden Altar . . . . 115 
 
 The Way to the Promised Land . . . . . . 117 
 
 The Fountain in the Wilderness . . . . . 118 
 
 The Israelites Worshipping the Golden Calf . 120 
 
 Moses Destroying the Tables of the Law . . . 121 
 
 Moses Bringing the New Tables of the Law . 122 
 
 The Spies Returning From Canaan .... 124 
 
 The High Priest in Full Dress 126 
 
 The Brazen Serpent 128 
 
 Balaam Met by the Angel of the Lord . . . 129 
 
 Balaam's Sacrifice on Seven Altars 130 
 
 Moses Rehearsing the Commandments to the 
 
 Children of Israel 132 
 
 The Lord Appearing to Moses and Joshua in 
 
 the Pillar of a Cloud 133 
 
 Moses Giving His Charge to Joshua .... 137 
 
 Rahab and the Spies . 138 
 
 The Hebrews Crossing the Jordan ..... 139 
 
 The Angel Appearing to Joshua . ..... 141 
 
 Falling of the Walls of Jericho 142 
 
 Joshua Capturing the City of Ai 143 
 
 The Inhabitants of Ai Witnessing the Defeat 
 
 of Their Army 145 
 
 Joshua Commanding the Sun to Stand Still . 147 
 
 Joshua Dividing the Land 149 
 
 Gideon's Offering Burnt by Fire from the Rock 156 
 
 Gideon's Victory Over the Midianites . = . 159 
 
 A Woman Casts a Stone Upon Abimelech . . 162 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 & 
 
 Abimelech Slain by His Armor-Bearer . . 164 
 
 Jephthah Meeting His Daughter ..... .67 
 
 Samson Slaying the Lion „ . 169 
 
 Samson Caught and Bound by His Foes . „ . 172 
 
 Ruth and Naomi . . 175 
 
 Ruth Gleaning in the Fields of Boaz , . . 177 
 
 The Lord of Hosts 179 
 
 The Harvest Time 180 
 
 The Young Samuel Brought to Eli .... 182 
 
 Hannah Visiting Samuel 184 
 
 The Call of Samuel 186 
 
 The Destruction of the Hagarites ...... 194 
 
 Saul Tearing the Robe of Samuel 196 
 
 David Playing the Harp Before Saul .... 197 
 
 Saul and His Men Searching for David . . . 198 
 
 Saul and the Witch of Endor . . * . . . . 200 
 
 Saul Kills Himself by Falling on His Sword . 201 
 
 Samuel Anointing David at Bethlehem . . . 204 
 
 David Slaying Goliath 206 
 
 Saul Casting the Javelin at David 208 
 
 The Covenant Between David and Jonathan . 211 
 
 David Spares the Sleeping Saul 214 
 
 Abagail's Present to David 217 
 
 Peace and Joy 219 
 
 The Name of the Lord 220 
 
 David Anointed King Over Israel 222 
 
 David Bringing the Ark to Jerusalem With 
 
 Great Rejoicing 224 
 
 David Mourning the Death of His Child . . 226 
 
 David Pardoning Absalom ....... 228 
 
 Shimei Casting Stones at David 230 
 
 David Instructing Joab to Number the People 234 
 
 An Angel Goes Forth to Smite the Land . . 235 
 
 David Builds a New Altar 236 
 
 Solomon is Crowned King 240 
 
 The Judgment of Solomon 244 
 
 Husbandmen of Ancient Palestine Going Forth 
 
 to Work 245 
 
 The Ark Brought Into the Temple by Solomon 247 
 
 Solomon Dedicating the Temple 248 
 
 The Ark and Furniture of the Temple . . . 250 
 
 The Queen of Sheba Visiting Solomon . . „ 251 
 
 Kings Bringing Gifts to Solomon 253 
 
 Solomon's Picture of the Fool and the Wise 
 
 Man 254 
 
 The Virtuous Woman 255 
 
 Elijah Fed by Ravens 258 
 
 Elijah Raising the Widow's Son 260 
 
 Elijah Slaying the Prophets of Baal .... 262 
 
 Elijah at the Mouth of the Cave 263 
 
 The Death of King Ahab 265 
 
 The Body of Jezebel Eaten by Dogs .... 267 
 
 Elijah Taken Up into Heaven 269 
 
 Thanksgiving unto the Lord 271 
 
 The Path of Wisdom 272 
 
 Elisha Causing Iron to Swim ...... 27** 
 
 Naaman at the Door of Elisha .<,..., 279 
 
 The Stoning of Zechariah 281 
 
 Defeat of the Syrians by the Israelites . . 283 
 
 Cleansed from Unrighteousness 285 
 
 The Sun and Shield . 286 
 
 Jonah Sheltered by the Vine 289 
 
 The Molten Sea 29c 
 
 Hezekiah Cleansing the Temple 291 
 
 The Lips of Isaiah Touched with a Coal from 
 
 the Altar . . 293 
 
 The Vision of Isaiah 296 
 
 The Jews Led into Captivity ....... 299 
 
 Daniel Refusing to Worship the Image . . . 302 
 
 Daniel Interpreting the King's Dream . . . 304 
 
 Daniel Touched by the Angel 306 
 
 Thorns in the Field of the Slothful .... 309 
 
 Summer and Winter Shall Not Cease .... 310 
 
 The Return of the Jews from Captivity . . . 312 
 
 Building a New Temple 314 
 
 Rebuilding the Walls of Jerusalem .... 318 
 
 Nehemiah and His Workmen 320 
 
 Two Pages of an Ancient Scroll of Scriptures . 322 
 
 Queen Esther Crowned . . * 324 
 
 The Treasures of Winter 329 
 
 "Thou Wilt Keep Him in Perfect Peace " . . 33c 
 
 The Messengers Telling Job of His Losses . . 332 
 
 Job and His Three Friends 334 
 
 Job Visited by His Relatives „ 335 
 
 Christmas Carols 337 
 
 The Joys that are Unseen 338 
 
 The Angel Appearing to Mary 341 
 
 Zacharias Writing a Name for the Child . . . 343 
 
 Simeon Taking the Child in His Arms . . . 347 
 
 Wise Men of the East Presenting Their Gifts . 349 
 Killing the Male Children Under Two Years 
 
 Old 350 
 
 Jesus Working at the Trade of a Carpenter . . 353 
 
 The Sure and Steadfast Anchor 355 
 
 Beautiful Garments 356 
 
 The Temptation on the Mountain 359 
 
 The Water Turned into Wine at Cana of Gali- 
 lee 361 
 
 The Money-Changers Driven From the Temple 363 
 
 Christ Talking to Nicodemus ...... 365 
 
 Jesus and the Woman of Samaria . . . . . 368 
 
 "Follow Me and I Will Make You Fishers of 
 
 Men" 374 
 
 Fall of the House Built on the Sand .... 378 
 Mary Anointing the Feet of Christ in the House 
 
 of Simon the Pharisee 3S2 
 
 The Enemy Sowing Tares by Night .... 385 
 
 Finding the Hidden Treasure 386 
 
 The Return of the Prodigal Son 388 
 
 The Beggar Lazarus at the Rich Man's Gate . 389 
 
Xll 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Christ Raising the Daughter of Jairus . . . 393 
 
 Good Trees Bring Forth Good Fruit .... 397 
 
 Joy After a Night of Weeping 398 
 
 The Burial of John the Baptist 402 
 
 Christ Feeding the Multitude 404 
 
 The Transfiguration 409 
 
 Jesus Teaching Humility by a Little Child . 412 
 
 "Whereas I Was Blind, Now I See" .... 415 
 
 Jesus Blessing Little Children 419 
 
 Robbers Lying in Wait 421 
 
 The Priest and Levite Passing by the Wounded 
 
 Man 422 
 
 The Good Samaritan 423 
 
 The Good Shepherd Dividing the Sheep from 
 
 the Goats 425 
 
 The Raising of Lazarus 428 
 
 11 Suffer Them to Come unto Me " 431 
 
 The Bread That Cometh Down from Heaven . 432 
 
 Mary of Bethany Anointing the Feet of Jesus 434 
 
 Christ's Entry into Jerusalem 436 
 
 The Children in the Temple 438 
 
 Jesus Washing the Feet of His Disciples . . 445 
 
 Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane .... 447 
 
 Judas Betraying Jesus With a Kiss 449 
 
 Peter Denying Christ 452 
 
 They Cried, " Crucify Him ! Crucify Him ! " . 454? 
 Christ Sinking under His Cross on the Way to 
 
 Golgotha 457 
 
 Simon Compelled to Help Jesus Bear the Cross 458 
 
 The Crucifixion of Christ 459 
 
 The Burial of Christ 461 
 
 The Angel and Women at the Empty Tomb . 463 
 
 Jesus Convincing Thomas of His Resurrection 466 
 
 The Ascension of Christ . .- 468 
 
 Tongues of Fire Resting on the Disciples . . 472 
 Peter Healing the Lame Man at the Gate of the 
 
 Temple 474 
 
 Stephen Stoned to Death by His Enemies . . 480 
 
 The Sanhedrim in Session 483 
 
 Saul Struck to the Earth on His Way to 
 
 Damascus 485 
 
 Peter's Vision on the Housetop 491 
 
 Peter Delivered from Prison by an Angel . . 493 
 
 Antioch 500 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Ancient Ships 507 
 
 Paul Preaching on Mars' Hill 509 
 
 Hall of Pillars— Ruins of Karnak, Egypt . .512 
 Demetrius Raising an Uproar at Ephesus 
 
 Against Paul _ 518 
 
 Paul Bound With Chains 523 
 
 Paul Conveyed into the Castle . . . „ . . 525 
 
 The Solitary Places Made Glad 527 
 
 The Glory of the New Jerusalem 528 
 
 The Strong Supporting the Weak 532 
 
 The First Christians at Rome Reading Paul's 
 
 Letter 534 
 
 The Shipwreck of St. Paul 540 
 
 St. Paul's Arrival at Rome in Chains .... 542 
 
 A Bulky Pile, and yet of What Avail? 
 
 One Book of Greater Worth Brings Down the 
 
 Scale . . ■ 547 
 
 Loudly the Lean and Hungry Poor Complain, 
 Yet to the Miser they Appeal in Vain . . . 551 
 Faith, Hope and Charity, of Heavenly Birth, 
 Bestow the Richest Blessings Known to Earth 559 
 Not for a Crown will this Poor Wordling Pause, 
 B'ut Wastes His Life in Gathering Sticks and 
 
 Straws 563 
 
 Pride Decks Itself, but Soon the Charms are Past, 
 And to a Skeleton it Comes at Last .... 567 
 One Bears the Cross, the Other Lays it Down — 
 Which of the Twain will Win the Golden 
 
 Crown? 571 
 
 Who Carry Luggage will be Sure to Find 
 
 That in the Race They're Sadly Left Behind . 575 
 
 Fall Back, Thou Mighty Foe, and Bite the 
 
 Dust, 
 Slain by the Spirit's Sharp and Deadly Thrust 579 
 Vain Efforts Theirs Who Try to Overtake 
 The Bubbles Which, if Caught, Would Break . 583 
 Presumption Often Ventures Quite too Near, 
 Where Danger Should Awaken Wholesome Fear 586 
 Base Error Shrinks and Trembles with Affright, 
 When Truth Descends, Arrayed in Heavenly 
 
 Light 590 
 
 Vain Task to Merely Clip the Outer Shoots ; 
 Let the Huge Trunk be Severed from the Roots 595 
 The Slave of Habit Breaks His Galling Chains, 
 And Through All-Conquering Grace His Free- 
 dom Gains 601 
 
 Fresh Flowers Bloom and Limpid Fountains Play 
 
 To Cheer the Travellers on Their Upward Way 605 
 
 Full Page Phototype Engravings. 
 
 Abraham's Servant Meeting Rebekah at the Well. 
 
 Abraham Offering Isaac. 
 
 Joseph Proclaimed Ruler of Egypt. 
 
 Joseph Making Himself Known to His Brethren. 
 
 The Finding of Moses by Pharoah's Daughter. 
 
 The Israelites at Mount Sinai. 
 
 Jewish Maidens Mourning with Jephthah's Daughter. 
 
 Elijah Fed by Ravens at the Brook Cherith. 
 
 Elisha Witnessing the Translation of Elijah. 
 The Messengers Telling Job of His Losses. 
 The Angels Appearing to the Shepherds. 
 The Wise Men Presenting Their Gifts. 
 From Earth to Heaven. 
 The Good Shepherd. 
 Christ Raising Lazarus From the Tomb. 
 The Angel and Women at the Sepulchre. 
 
CHARMING BIBLE STORIES 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 
 B. C. 4004. 
 
 The Story of the Creation — What was made on each day* —Adam and Eve in the 
 Garden of Eden — The Serpent beguiles Eve — Cherubim and a Flaming Sword- 
 Cain KILLS HIS BROTHER AbEL A MARK SET UPON CAIN. 
 
 LONG time ago 
 ^ there was no liv- 
 ing thing on the 
 earth. No grass, 
 flowers, shrubs 
 nor trees grew 
 as they do now, 
 and there were 
 no insects, fishes, 
 birds or beasts 
 of any kind. 
 There were no 
 men, women or 
 
 no houses, villages or cities 
 
 There was darkness 
 
 children, and 
 
 such as we see now 
 
 everywhere. 
 
 Then God said, Let there be light, and 
 there was light. He saw that the light was 
 good, and he divided the light from the 
 darkness. The light he called Day, and the 
 darkness he called Night. And the evening 
 and the morning were the first day. 
 
 On the second day God made' the firma- 
 ment, or the sky, and called it Heaven. 
 Under this sky there was only water, cover- 
 ing all the earth ; there were no fields, valleys 
 or mountains, nothing but a great ocean. 
 
 On the third day God said, Let the waters 
 under the heaven be gathered together unto 
 one place, and let the dry land appear : and 
 it was so. God called the dry land Earth, 
 and the gathering together of the waters he 
 called Seas. Then he made grass, herbs 
 and trees to grow out of the land. The 
 earth was now becoming very beautiful, and 
 was fast getting ready for the living creatures 
 that were* to dwell in it. Grass, trees and 
 flowers covered all the dry land, and the 
 herb, bearing seed, and fruit-trees with fruit 
 upon them had begun to grow. It was a 
 strange, silent world yet. No voice of any 
 animal was heard in it, no singing of birds 
 or humming of insects, no sound of any 
 living thing, only the waving and rustling of 
 the beautiful trees, and the noise of streams, 
 waterfalls, and the waves breaking on the 
 shore. 
 
 On the fourth day God made two great 
 lights ; the greater light to rule the day, and 
 the lesser light to rule the night : he made 
 the stars also. God set them in the firma- 
 ment of the heaven to give light upon the 
 earth, and to rule over the day and over the 
 night, and to divide the light from the 
 darkness So now there were the sun by 
 day and the moon and the stars by night 
 
 17 
 
18 
 
 THE STORY OF THE CREATION, 
 
 shining down cut of the sky upon this 
 beautiful, green, silent world. 
 
 On the fifth day God made fishes and all 
 creatures that live in the water ; and he 
 made birds to fly in the air ; so that the 
 earth was no longer without living things in 
 it. When he had made them, he blessed 
 them, so that there should be a great many 
 of them, and that all the sea should be filled 
 with living things, as it is to-day, and that 
 there should be birds flying everywhere over 
 the earth. 
 
 On the sixth day God made all sorts of 
 beasts and cattle, great and small, and insects, 
 and everything that lives on the land, except 
 birds, which had been made on the fifth day. 
 
 Man and Woman Made. 
 
 Afterwards, on this sixth day, when all 
 these living things had been made on the 
 earth, when birds were flying in the air and 
 fishes were swimming in the sea, when green 
 grass and herbs were growing, and flowers 
 were blooming, and fruit-trees were laden 
 with their fruit, and all things were ready 
 for people to live and be happy here, then 
 God made the first man and the first woman 
 on the earth. 
 
 God made man in his own image, after 
 his own likeness. He formed him of the 
 dust of the ground, and breathed into his 
 nostrils the breath of life; and man became 
 a living soul. God put the man that he had 
 made into a garden where there grew every 
 tree that is pleasant to the eye and good for 
 food. And he called the man Adam. 
 
 Then God said, It is not good that the 
 man should be alone ; I will make a help- 
 meet for him. So all the birds and beasts 
 and living things that had been made were 
 brought to Adam that he might give them 
 names ; but among them all there was no 
 one that could be a companion to him — - 
 
 nothing that could speak to him, or help 
 him in anything he wanted to do. 
 
 Then the Lord God caused a deep sleep 
 to fall upon Adam, and he slept : and he 
 took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh 
 instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord 
 God had taken from man, made he a woman, 
 and brought her unto the man. And Adam 
 said, This is now bone of my bones, and 
 flesh of my flesh : she shall be called Woman, 
 because she was taken out of Man. Then 
 God blessed them, and told them that they 
 and their children were to fill the earth with 
 people, and that they were the masters and 
 owners of everything on the earth. 
 
 All the other things that God had made 
 he gave to the man and woman to be theirs. 
 He said to them, Have dominion over the 
 fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, 
 and over every living thing that moveth upon 
 the earth. God gave them the herb bearing 
 seed and every kind of fruit for their food. 
 To the animals he gave the grass and green 
 herbs for their food. 
 
 God saw everything that he had made, 
 and, behold, it was very good. Thus the 
 heavens and the earth were finished. When 
 the seventh day came, God made no more 
 new things. He rested from his work ; and 
 he blessed the seventh day, and called it holy. 
 
 The Garden of Eden. 
 
 To Adam and his wife was given ail this 
 beautiful new world where everything was 
 very good. They lived in a garden called 
 Eden, which was the most beautiful part of 
 it all. In this garden God had made to 
 grow every tree that is pleasant to the eye 
 and good for food ; and there was a rivei 
 flowing through it to give them water. 
 Adam was put into this garden to dress it 
 and to keep it ; and he had his wife to help 
 him. There they were <:lad and hapoy all 
 
THE STORY OF THE CREATION. 
 
 19 
 
 die time, for they were good, and did not 
 know anything about being evil. 
 
 God gave them one command. He told 
 them there was one tree in the garden that 
 they must never eat the fruit of. Every 
 other tree they might eat the fruit of when- 
 ever they chose ; but if they ate of that 
 tree, they should surely die. This tree was 
 
 spoke to the woman. He looked like a 
 serpent, and said to the woman, Has God 
 indeed said, Ye shall not eat of every tree in 
 the garden ? The woman answered and said. 
 We may eat of the trees of the garden ; but 
 of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of 
 the garden God has said, Ye shall not eat of 
 it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 
 
 ADAM AND EVE DRIVEN OUT OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN 
 
 in the midst of the garden, and it was called 
 the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 
 That meant that if Adam and his wife ate the 
 fruit of it they would then not only know 
 how to do evil things, but they would often 
 wish to do them. 
 
 Now Adam and his wife had an enemy. 
 Satan hated them. One d:.y he came and 
 
 Then the serpent said, Ye shall not surely 
 die. He told the woman that the fruit o\ 
 that tree would make them wise, and that 
 God did not want them to be wise. The 
 woman was persuaded. She took some of 
 the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good 
 and evil, and ate it ; and then she gave some 
 to Adam, and he also ate it. 
 
20 
 
 THE STORY OF THE CREATION. 
 
 When they had eaten it they were no 
 longer good and pure ; they had disobeyed 
 God, and knew now all about sin and wicked- 
 ness. They did not want to meet God now ; 
 they were afraid. When they heard his 
 voice in the garden they tried to hide them- 
 selves. But they could not hide from God. 
 God called to Adam, and said to him, 
 Where art thou ? And Adam said, I heard 
 
 What is this that thou hast done? The 
 woman said, The serpent deceived me, and 
 I did eat. 
 
 God then spoke to the serpent, and said 
 that he was cursed for what he had done ; 
 that he should creep along the ground in 
 the dust always ; and that there should be 
 hatred between Satan and the people in the 
 world. Satan should always hate them and 
 
 ADAM TILLING THE GROUND. 
 
 thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, 
 because I was naked ; and I hid myself. 
 
 Then God said, Who told thee that thou 
 wast naked ? Hast thou eaten of the tree, 
 of which I commanded thee that thou 
 shouldst not eat ? The man answered and 
 said, The woman whom thou gavest to be 
 vvith me, she gave me of the tree, and I did 
 eat. And the Lord God said to the woman, 
 
 try to do them harm ; but that some day 
 One should come into the world to over- 
 come Satan. Then God said to the woman, 
 that she must in future have a great deal of 
 sorrow and pain. Her sin would be pun- 
 ished, and her life would be made unhappy 
 because she did not obey God. 
 
 And unto Adam he said, Because thou 
 hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, 
 
THE STORY OF THE CREATION. 
 
 21 
 
 and hast eaten of the tree, of which I com- 
 manded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of 
 it : cursed is the ground for thy sake ; in 
 sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of 
 thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it 
 bring forth to thee ; and thou shalt eat the 
 herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face 
 shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto 
 the ground ; for out of it wast thou taken : 
 for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou 
 return. Death had now come into the w r orld. 
 
 him forth from the garden of Eden to till 
 the ground from whence he was taken. So 
 he drove out the man ; and he placed at the 
 east of the garden of Eden, Cherubim and ? 
 flaming sword which turned every way, to 
 keep the way of the tree of life. 
 
 The Two Brothers. 
 
 After they left the garden, Adam and Eve 
 had two sons : the eldest was called Cain 
 and was a tiller of the ground ; but the 
 
 CAIN AND ABEL MAKING AN OFFERING TO THE LORD. 
 
 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; 
 because she was the mother of all living. 
 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the 
 Lord God make coats of skin, and clothed 
 them. 
 
 And the Lord God said, Behold, the man 
 is become as one of us, to know good and 
 evil : and now, lest he put forth his hand, 
 and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and 
 live forever : therefore the Lord God sent 
 
 younger was called Abel, and was a keep^*' 
 of sheep. Now both brothers made offerings 
 to the Lord : Cain offered of the fruits of the 
 field and Abel of the firstlings of his flock. 
 And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to 
 his offering. But unto Cain and his offering, 
 he had not respect. At this Cain became 
 very wroth, and his countenance fell. And 
 the Lord said, Why art thou wroth, and 
 why is thy countenance fallen? 'If tboit 
 
22 
 
 THE STORY OF THE CREATION. 
 
 doest well shalt thou not also receive a 
 reward ? 
 
 But if thou doest not well, sin lieth at 
 the door. 
 
 And Cain talked with Abel, his brother • 
 and it came to pass when they were in the 
 field, that Cain rose up against Abel, his 
 brother, and slew him. And the Lord said 
 unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? 
 And he said, I know not, am I my brother's 
 keeper? And he said, What hast thou 
 done; the voice of thy brother's blood 
 
 THE DEATH OF ABEL. 
 
 crieth unto me from the ground ? Cursed 
 art thou from the earth which hath opened 
 her mouth to receive thy brother's blood 
 from thy hand. When thou tillest the ground, 
 it shall not henceforth yield unto thee its 
 fruit. A fugitive and vagabond shalt thou 
 be upon the earth. And Cain said unto the 
 Lord, My punishment is greater than I can 
 bear. Behold thou hast driven me out this 
 day from the face of the earth, and from thy 
 face shall I be hid ; and I shall be a fugitive 
 and a vagabond upon the earth ; and it shall 
 
 come to pass that every one that findeth me 
 shall slay me. 
 
 And the Lord said unto him, No, it shall 
 not be so. And the Lord set a mark upon 
 Cain, lest any finding him, should kill him. 
 So Cain went out from the presence of the 
 Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod on the 
 east of Eden. And Cain became the father 
 of a numerous family who, like him, did not 
 fear the Lord ; and he builded a city, and 
 called it after the name of his eldest son, 
 Enoch. This was the first city ever built. 
 
 And God gave to the first 
 parents another son, and Eve 
 called his name Seth, for 
 God, said she, hath appointed 
 me another son, instead of 
 Abel whom Cain slew. And 
 to Seth also was there born 
 a son, and he called his name 
 Enos. Then began men to 
 call upon the name of the 
 Lord. 
 
 And God gave Adam many 
 sons and daughters, and all the 
 days that Adam lived were nine 
 hundred and thirty years. One 
 of his descendants was Enoch 
 who lived sixty and five years, 
 when Methuselah was born to 
 him. And all the days of Enoch 
 were three hundred and sixty and five years. 
 And Enoch walked with God, and he was 
 not, for God took him. And all the days 
 of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and 
 nine years when he died. His son Lamech 
 lived seven hundred and seven years, and he 
 called his son Noah, saying, The same shall 
 comfort us concerning our work and toil of 
 our hands, because of the ground which the 
 Lord hath cursed. And the sons of Noah 
 were Shem, Ham and Japheth. Men now be- 
 gan to multiply fast upon the face of the earth. 
 
THE PEACEABLE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT. 
 
 25 
 
BROTHERLY LOVE. 
 
 24 
 
CHARTER II. 
 
 B. C. 2347. 
 
 Ike Story of the Flood — The World Grown very Wicked — Noah Commanded it 
 Build an Ark for the Saving of his Family — Every Living Thing on the T>rm 
 Land Destroyed — Noah Leaves the Ark and Offers Sacrifice — The Towee 
 of Babel — Confusion of Tongues and Scattering of the People. 
 
 GREAT many 
 years passed 
 away, and by 
 this time there 
 was a multi- 
 tude of people 
 in the world. 
 They had be- 
 come very 
 wicked, and 
 were all the 
 time growing 
 more so. And 
 God looked 
 upon the earth, and he saw that the wicked- 
 ness of man was very great, and that the 
 thoughts of his heart were only evil. He 
 was sorry that he had made man on the 
 earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And 
 the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I 
 have created from the face of the earth ; 
 both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, 
 and the fowls of the air ; for I am sorry that 
 I made them. 
 
 There was only one man amongst them 
 all at this time who pleased God, and his 
 name was Noah. He found grace, or favor, 
 in the eyes of the Lord ; for he was a good 
 man, and would have nothing to do with 
 the sinful deeds of all the people who were 
 living in those days. He walked with God, 
 
 and he had brought up his children wisely 
 and well. 
 
 So God spoke to Noah, and told him 
 what he was going to do. He said, Behold } 
 I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon 
 the earth, to destroy by drowning everything 
 that breathes ; and everything that is on the 
 earth shall die. But I will take care of you, 
 and your wife, and your sons, and your 
 sons' wives. 
 
 Noah Builds the Ark. 
 
 Then he told Noah to make a very large 
 Duat, or ship, called an " ark," which should 
 float upon the water when God should send 
 down his great rain upon the earth. And 
 into this ark bf wood Noah and his family 
 were to go, with two of every sort of living 
 creature — fowls, and cattle, and creeping 
 things — that they might be kept alive. And 
 abundance of food was to be put into the 
 ark for them all. Noah believed everything 
 that God had said to him, and he began at 
 once to make the ark, as he had been told. 
 He and his sons cut down a great many 
 large trees, and then he got carpenters to 
 help him to saw them into planks or boards^ 
 and to fasten them together. 
 
 And all the time the ark was being made 
 (for it took a great many years to build) 
 Noah preached to the people, and warned 
 them. He told them that God was going 
 
 25 
 
26 
 
 THE STORY OF THE FLOOD. 
 
 to drown the world for their wickedness ; 
 but they did not believe what he said. 
 They went on eating and drinking and 
 pleasing themselves, and doing everything 
 just as usual. Noah told them that they 
 were in danger, but they only laughed at 
 li.m. And so year after year passed away. 
 
 nnd curiously-built house in the open fieldSo 
 There was no sign of any flood yet ; the sun 
 rose every morning and set every evening, 
 and the people went on just in their old 
 ways, not believing that any change was 
 coming. Then the Lord said to Noah, 
 Come into the ark, you and all your family ; 
 
 NOAH BUILDING THE ARK. 
 
 'Noah still worked hard at the ark, which 
 was to save him and his family from the 
 great flood of waters, and he still went on 
 preaching and warning his neighbors. 
 
 At last the great ark, which had taken a 
 hundred and twenty years to make, was 
 •quite finished, and was looking like a huge 
 
 for you have walked uprightly before me in 
 the midst of a wicked people. And take 
 with you two and two of every beast, and 
 bird, and creeping thing. For in seven days 
 I will cause it to rain upon the earth ; the 
 rain shall last for forty days and forty nights ; 
 and every living thing that I have made 
 
THE STORY OF THE FLOOD. 
 
 27 
 
 1 will destroy from off the face of the 
 earth. 
 
 Noah went into the ark with his sons, and 
 his wife, and his sons' wives. And God 
 made to follow him into that place of safety 
 two and two of every sort of living creature 
 that was upon the earth. After that, God 
 liimself shut the door. God still waited 
 seven days, as he had said, to give them 
 time to repent ; for he is slow to anger, and 
 he does not like to be obliged to punish. 
 But they took no heed ; these last seven 
 days were spent just like all the rest, and at 
 last came the time for the flood. 
 
 A Forty Days' Rain. 
 
 Then the rain came down — such rain as 
 has never been seen upon the earth, either 
 before or since. It poured down night and 
 day, for forty days, and the fountains of the 
 great deep were broken up, and the rivers 
 and streams overflowed their banks. God, 
 who had said to the sea, So far shalt thou 
 go, and no further, and here shall thy proud 
 waves be stayed, now commanded the sea to 
 spread over the earth again, to help in the 
 work of destruction. The water came rush- 
 ing into the houses, and the frightened people 
 fled to the upper rooms. But there was no 
 escape; the waters mounted higher and 
 higher, and the upper rooms w r ere soon 
 reached and flooded, and all who were in 
 them were drowned. Some climbed up into 
 high trees ; but before long the top branches 
 were reached, and those who were clinging 
 there, drenched with rain and sick with fear, 
 were swept away into the flood. Some, no 
 doubt, tried to escape in boats ; but that 
 tremendous rain and the rushing flood quickly 
 overturned them, and the despairing people 
 -sank in the deep water. 
 
 And so the flood prevailed exceedingly 
 ■upon the earth, till at last all the hijjh hills 
 
 I were completely covered. And all flesh 
 
 ! died that moved upon the earth, both of 
 
 | fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every 
 
 creeping thing ; and every man, and every 
 
 woman, and every child. All, all were 
 
 drowned. 
 
 Eight Persons Saved. 
 
 But where was Noah ? Safe in the ark. 
 As the flood rose, so the ark rose too, float- 
 ing securely upon that great mass of waters^ 
 Just eight persons were saved, and no more ; 
 there were only eight among all the people 
 on the earth who believed that God would 
 do as he had said. 
 
 And God remembered Noah, and every 
 living thing, and all the cattle that were with 
 him in the ark ; and God made the rain to 
 cease, and he caused a wind to pass over the 
 earth, to help to dry up the waters. Every 
 day the water became less and less ; but it 
 was a long time yet before the earth was 
 dry. When half a year had passed away, 
 the ark rested on the top of a high mountain 
 called Ararat ; and little by little the waters 
 sank lower and lower, till at last all the tops 
 of the mountains were seen. 
 
 Noah wanted very much to know if the 
 earth was getting dry again ; for though 
 there was a window in the ark, it was so 
 placed that he could not see anything out of 
 it except the sky. He could open it, how- 
 ever ; and so one day he took a raven and 
 let it out through the window. But the 
 raven did not come back ; it flew backwards 
 and forwards over the water, and rested on 
 the top of the ark, but it would not go into 
 it again. Then Noah sent out a dove, 
 which is a very gentle bird — very different 
 to the wild and fierce raven. But the dove 
 found no tree upon which she could perch, 
 and no place where she could rest, so she 
 flew back to the ark. And Noah was 
 
28 THE STORY OF THE FLOOD. 
 
 watching for her, and when he saw her come 1 come back quite so soon this fe She 
 back, he put out his hand and took her | remained away till the evening; and when 
 
 gently in through the window. After this 
 Noah waited one week, and then he sent out 
 the dove again. The gentle bird did not 
 
 RETURN OF THE DOVE TO THE ARK. 
 
 she returned to the ark, what do you think 
 she had in her beak ? An olive leaf that 
 she had plucked off a tree. Noah was 
 
THE STORY OF THE FLOOD 
 
 29 
 
 pleased to see it, for he knew by this that 
 the flood of waters had almost gone Yet 
 again Noah waited a week ; and once more 
 he sent out his little dove. But she never 
 came back again. 
 
 Then Noah took off the covering of the 
 tfk and looked out ; and, behold, the ground 
 was dry. How he must have longed to go 
 out, and to walk about again on the fresh 
 and beautiful earth. But much as he longed 
 to do so, he did not attempt to leave the ark 
 till God should tell him he might. God 
 himself had shut the door, and 
 Noah would not open it without 
 his leave. So he waited pa- 
 tiently there eight weeks longer, 
 till at last the joyful order came. 
 God said to Noah, Go out of 
 the ark, you and your wife, and 
 your sons, and your sons' wives 
 with you. And bring out with 
 you every living thing that is 
 with you in the ark — birds, and 
 cattle, and every creeping thing. 
 
 How glad they must all have 
 been to tread on the soft green 
 grass again, after having been 
 shut up in the ark for a whole 
 year. It was like a new world 
 now. But what a solemn 
 thought it was, that since Noah 
 had last put his foot upon the ground, every 
 soul except himself and his family had been 
 drowned in that flood of waters. All his 
 acquaintances and his neighbors were dead. 
 As Noah thought of all this he felt thankful 
 to God for his great deliverance. He builded 
 an altar — that is, he made a heap of stones — 
 and upon this heap, or altar, he offered a 
 sacrifice to the Lord. 
 
 And God was pleased ; and he blessed 
 Noah and his sons, as he had blessed Adam 
 and Eve in the beginning. And he told 
 
 Noah that he should be master over all the 
 beasts, and over every living. thing upon the 
 earth. Also, he now gave him permission 
 for the first time to eat flesh. He said, 
 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat 
 for you ; even as the green herb have I 
 given you all things. 
 
 Afterwards God made a very gracious 
 promise to Noah and to his sons. He said 
 to them, I will never again destroy the earth 
 by a flood of waters ; but as long as the 
 world lasts, seed-time and harvest, and cold 
 
 NOAH AND HIS FAMILY LEAVING THE ARK. 
 
 and heat, and summer and winter, and day 
 and night, shall not cease. And I will give 
 you a sign that I will remember my promise. 
 I do put my bow in the cloud, and when I 
 bring a cloud over the earth, the bow shall 
 be seen in the cloud. And you shall look 
 at it, and I will look at it and remember the 
 promise I have made you. 
 
 In those days people lived a great deal 
 longer than they do now. Noah was six 
 hundred years old at the time of the flood, 
 and he was nine hundred and fifty when he 
 
30 
 
 THE STORY OF THE FLOOD 
 
 died. The sons of Noah who went forth out 
 of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. 
 
 When Noah and his three sons, with their 
 wives, had come out of the ark, they had 
 again to begin and dig the ground, and to 
 take care of the sheep and cattle, as they had 
 done before. The ground that had been 
 
 three sons — Shem, Ham, and Japheth — and 
 told to them what should happen to their 
 children's children in the far-off time in the 
 future. He blessed Shem, and he blessed 
 Japheth, and he told them that they should 
 both be prosperous and great nations ; but 
 he cursed Ham for his sin, and said that his 
 
 NOAH S SACRIFICE 
 
 cursed because of Adam's sin still brought 
 forth briers and thistles ; and though the 
 earth was once again so fresh and beautiful, 
 Noah and his sons had to work hard for 
 their daily food. Noah was a husbandman 
 or farmer. He dug the ground, and sowed 
 corn, and gathered in the grain at the time 
 of harvest. One day Noah spoke to his 
 
 AFTER THE FLOOD. 
 
 family should not be great, but should be 
 mean and despised, and that he should be 
 "a servant of servants." 
 
 At first the children of Ham, like the 
 children of wicked Cain, seemed to prosper. 
 One of his family was called Nimrod, and he 
 became a very great man. He was a great 
 hunter and a great builder, and he made 
 
THE STORY OF THE FLOOD. 
 
 ?1 
 
 himself a kind of king. He built a great 
 many cities, and he ruled over them. Then 
 there was Canaan, another of Ham's family. 
 He had a number of children, and they were 
 very rich, and their country was very 
 pleasantly situated ; but yet, like all the 
 descendants of Ham, they were wicked. 
 God's curse was upon them, and they did 
 not prosper in the end. 
 
 The country where Canaan had settled 
 down was called after his name — the land 
 of Canaan ; and by-and-by you will hear 
 how God took away that beau- 
 tiful land from the wicked 
 children of Ham, and gave 
 it to some of the family of 
 Shem. 
 
 A High Tower. 
 
 The world soon began to be 
 filled with people again after 
 the flood, and everybody spoke 
 the same language. Now, as 
 you know, a great many diff- 
 erent languages are spoken, 
 and the people of one country 
 cannot understand the people 
 of another country, unless they 
 have first, with much trouble 
 and difficulty, learned to speak 
 in the same language. But 
 at the time of which I am telling you all 
 spoke alike. As men began to increase 
 in number, so they began to get careless 
 and wicked again. They seemed quickly 
 to forget God, and only cared to follow 
 their own sinful inclinations. 
 
 At first the people stayed near where the 
 ark had rested, but as their families grew up, 
 and more and more children were born, some 
 of them began to journey further on till they 
 came to a plain, or flat country, called the 
 land of Shinar ; and there they lived. After 
 
 a time they said to one another, Let us build 
 a city, and a tower whose top may reach 
 unto heaven ; and let us make a name for 
 ourselves, so that we may not be scattered 
 abroad, or separated from each other. This 
 they agreed to do. But there was no stone 
 in that part of the country, so they were 
 obliged to make bricks for building the city 
 and the tower. 
 
 When they said that they would build a 
 high tower which should reach to heaven, 
 they did not mean that it was possible it 
 
 THE BUILDERS OF BABEL SCATTERED. 
 
 should reach to the place that we mean by 
 heaven — where God lives ; they only intended 
 it to be so very high that it would look as if 
 it reached to the skies. Perhaps they thought, 
 too, that this tower w r ould be a place of 
 safety for them if another flood were to come 
 upon the earth. 
 
 The plain cf Shinar was a very busy place 
 now. The people worked hard at their 
 brick-making, and at their building ; and all 
 the time they were thinking what a grand 
 place of safety it would be. And all the 
 
32 
 
 THE STORY OF THE FLOOD. 
 
 time God was watching them ; and at 
 last he came down to see the city and 
 the tower which the children of men 
 were building. God not only looked at 
 the city and the tower, but he looked 
 into the people's hearts, and he saw how 
 much sin and pride and disobedience there 
 was there. So he would not let them 
 finish their work. 
 
 The Lord said, Behold, the people is one, 
 and they have all one language ; and now 
 that they have begun to do this, they will 
 stop at nothing, but will do whatever they 
 have set their minds upon. Let us make 
 them all speak a different language, that 
 they may not understand each other any 
 more. 
 
 And God did so. The people were busy 
 at work, as usual, one giving orders here, 
 another arranging things there- — here some 
 were asking what they should do next, and 
 there some were explaining how things were 
 to be done — when, all at once, they found 
 that they could not understand each other. 
 They had never heard any language but their 
 own before, and now every one was speaking 
 what appeared to be nonsense to the others. 
 They at once left off building ; for how 
 could the workmen understand what the 
 master was telling them to do ? And how 
 Could the builder explain his orders to the 
 
 masons, when he was speaking in a language 
 they had never heard before ? 
 
 There was great confusion in the land of 
 Shinar that day, and great astonishment. 
 Their plans were all upset, they could not 
 make each other understand, and there was 
 so much confusion, disorder, and worry, 
 that they called the name of the tower Babel, 
 which means "confusion." 
 
 And now the people began to separate 
 from each other, and to spread themselves 
 over the country. They wanted to keep 
 together, but God scattered them. When 
 their language was confounded, they did not 
 wish to remain with those whom they could 
 not understand. Some took their families 
 and went in one direction, and some went 
 in another direction, till they were all 
 scattered. And thus it came to pass that 
 the city and the high tower, which they 
 thought would make them a name and make 
 them famous, remained unfinished. 
 
 The people had been living without God, 
 and had been working against God ; so he , 
 rose up to stop them, and to bring their 
 work to nothing. 
 
 Some of the families stayed quite near 
 Babel, and others wandered farther off and 
 settled by the sea. Afterward some of the 
 children of these families wandered into new 
 lands and went everywhere. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 B. C. 1996. 
 
 The Story of Abraham — Destruction of Sodom and Story of Lot — Hagar ano 
 Ishmael Sent Away — Abraham Offering up Isaac — Journey of Abraham's Servant 
 —Isaac and Rebekah — Isaac Obtains a Wife from a far Country. 
 
 the day of his death. Two hundred and 
 
 N Ur of the Chaldees 
 lived a man whose 
 name was Terah. 
 This Terah had 
 three sons, namely, 
 Haran, Nahor, and 
 Abram. Now Ha- 
 ran and Nahor 
 worshipped idols, of 
 which the moon- 
 god was the chief. 
 So did also all the 
 people of the land ; 
 but Abram knew 
 the true God, and worshipped him only. 
 Haran, son of Terah, had a son, Lot by 
 name, and two daughters, Milcah and Iscah 
 •or Sarai ; and Milcah became the wife of 
 Nahor, and Sarai the wife of Abram. After 
 •a while God appeared to Abram, and said 
 unto him, Get thee out of *thy country, and 
 from thy kindred, and go into the land that 
 I shall show thee. Then Terah departed 
 from Ur of the Chaldees, taking with him 
 Abram, and Sarai his wife, and Lot his 
 grandson, and all that he had. Westward 
 he travelled till he came to Haran. Because 
 the land was rich and fertile, and good for 
 the feeding of flocks and herds, and because 
 he himself also was now old and feeble, 
 Terah would go no farther. So he abode in 
 Haran, and Abram and Lot with him, till 
 
 five years old was he when he died. 
 
 When Terah was dead, God spake again 
 to Abram, saying, Get thee out of thy 
 country, and from thy kindred, and from thy 
 father's house, unto a land that I will show 
 thee : and I will make of thee a great nation, 
 and I will bless thee, and make thy name 
 great ; and in thee shall all the families of 
 the earth be blessed. So Abram rose, and 
 took with him Lot, his brother's son, and 
 their two households, and all their sheep and 
 oxen — many thousands in all — and went 
 into the land of Canaan. 
 
 Where Abram Pitched his Tent. 
 
 And having come thither he pitched his 
 
 tent for the first time in Sichem, in the oak- 
 grove which was called the oak-grove of 
 Moreh. While he sojourned at Moreh the 
 Lord appeared unto him, and said, This is 
 the land which I promised to give to thee, 
 and to thy children after thee. Then Abram 
 built an altar and offered sacrifices unto the 
 Lord. From Moreh he went to Luz — there 
 also he built an altar — and from Luz he 
 journeyed into the south country. But 
 while he dwelt there, there was a grievous 
 famine in the land, and he was constrained 
 to go down into Egypt. 
 
 Now as Abram came near to the borders 
 of Egypt, he began to fear for his life, 
 Sarai his wife was a very fair woman, and he 
 
 33 
 
34 
 
 THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 thought to himself, The Egyptians will kill 
 me that they may take my wife. So he 
 said to Sarai, Say, I pray thee, that thou art 
 my sister ; so wilt thou save my life. And 
 Sarai consented ; for they had agreed be- 
 tween them at the first when they set out on 
 their wanderings that at every place whither 
 they should come she should say of him, 
 He is my brother. 
 
 When they came to the borders of Egypt 
 the officers that had the charge of these 
 matters, sent to tell the king 
 that a stranger had come from 
 the north country, and that he 
 had brought with him an exceed- 
 ingly fair woman, who was, he 
 said, his sister. So Sarai was 
 taken into the house of Pharoah, 
 the king of Egypt, that she 
 might be added to the number 
 of his wives. And Pharaoh 
 gave many gifts to Abram — 
 men-servants and maid servants, 
 and camels and asses, and oxen 
 and sheep. 
 
 But the Lord sent sickness 
 into Pharaoh's house, and his 
 wise men told him that it had 
 been sent on account of the 
 stranger woman whom he had 
 taken into his house. Therefore he sent for 
 Abram, and said to him, What is this thou 
 hast done? Why didst thou not tell me 
 that this woman was thy wife ? Why didst 
 thou say that she was thy sister ? I might 
 have taken her to be my wife ; take now 
 therefore thy wife, and go thy way. 
 
 So Pharaoh sent Abram away. But he 
 took not away from him the gifts that he 
 had given him. nor aught that he had. 
 Also he gave his officers a charge concerning 
 him that he should suffer no harm, but 
 should depart from the land in safety and 
 
 peace. So Abram went back to the land of 
 Canaan — for the famine had ceased — and 
 pitched his tent again at Luz. Now the 
 land had already many inhabitants. And 
 because Abram and Lot had many flocks 
 and herds there was not room enough for 
 the two. When therefore there arose strife 
 between the herdsmen of Abram and the 
 herdsmen of Lot, because the pasture was 
 not sufficient for both, Abram said to Lot, 
 Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between 
 
 ABRAM ENTERING THE LAND OF CANAAN. 
 
 me and thee, for we are brethren. The 
 whole land is before thee. Choose uoiat 
 thou wilt for thyself. If thou wilt take the 
 left hand, then I will go to the right. If 
 thou depart to the right hand, then I will 
 go to the left. 
 
 Then Lot looked out from Bethel and 
 saw the country. When he looked to the 
 north and to the south and to the west, all 
 seemed barren. But eastward he looked on 
 the plain of Jordan, and saw that it was 
 green and well watered, even as a garden of 
 the Lord. So Lot chose for himself the 
 
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 35 
 
 plain of Jordan. And he separated himself j walls. But the men of Sodom were wicked, 
 from Abram, and journeyed to Sodom. | and sinners before the Lord exceedingly. 
 
 THE EGYPTIAN KING TAKING THE WIFE OF ABRAM. 
 
 First he pitched his tent outside the city, but 
 afterwards he took up his abode within the 
 
 After Lot had departed, the Lord appeared 
 again to Abram, and said, Lift up now thine 
 
46 
 
 THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 eyes, and look from the place where thou 
 art, northward and southward and westward 
 and eastward. For all the land which thou 
 seest I will give to thee, and to thy children 
 1or ever. And I will make thy posterity as 
 the dust of the earth; so that if a man can 
 number the dust of the earth, then shall thy 
 posterity also be numbered. Arise, walk 
 through the land in the length of it and the 
 breadth of it, for I will give it unto thee. 
 
 A Tent Under a Tree. 
 
 After this Abram removed his tent, and 
 travelled So the place that was called Hebron, 
 There he pitched his tent under the oak- 
 -tree of Mamre. This Mamre was a great 
 -chief amor.g the Amorites. 
 
 While he dwelt under the oak tree of 
 Mamre, there came war in the east country ; 
 .And the cause of the war was this : While 
 Abram still dwelt in Ur of the Chaldees, the 
 iking of Elam, and other kings of the east 
 with him, had conquered the five cities of the 
 iplain of Jordan, and had laid a tribute upon 
 them. But now the five cities rebelled, and 
 refused to pay their tribute. Twelve years 
 they had served, and in the thirteenth year 
 they rebelled, and in the fourteenth year the 
 king of Elam came up against them, having 
 with him the two kings of Babylonia, and 
 the king of the land of Assyria. 
 
 First these four kings smote the tribes that 
 dwelt in Haran, and in the land that lies 
 between Arnon and the brook Jabbok, and 
 in the land of Moab. Also they smote the 
 tribes that dwelt in the caves of Mount Hor, 
 and the Amalekites and the Amorites that 
 dwelt eastward of Jordan, and so came at 
 last to the Cities of the Plain. 
 
 Then the kings of the five cities gathered 
 together their army and went out to meet 
 the armies of the east. In the valley of 
 Siddim they met them. The valley was full 
 
 of pits, and the five kings hoped that the 
 chariots and horsemen of the eastern army 
 would be ensnared amongst them. But the 
 battle went against the five kings, and many 
 of their people were slain, they that were left 
 escaping to the mountains of Moab. Then 
 the king of Elam and his allies spoiled the 
 cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, taking away 
 all their possessions and all their food, and 
 so departed. And they took Lot, that was 
 Abram's nephew, and all his goods with them. 
 
 Lot Rescued and Brought Back. 
 
 But one that had escaped from the battle 
 fled to Abram, where he dwelt under the 
 oak-tree of Mamre, and told him that Lot 
 had been carried away captive by the kings 
 of the east. And when Abram heard that 
 Lot his nephew had been carried away, he 
 armed his servants- — men born in his house 
 and trained for war. They were three hun- 
 dred and eighteen in number. Also he had 
 with them certain of the people of Mamre 
 and Aner and Eshcol, princes of the Amor- 
 ites, for these were confederate with him; 
 with these he pursued the invaders, and 
 overtook them at Laish (which place was 
 afterwards called Dan, and was near to the 
 springs of Jordan). Here they were en- 
 camped, thinking that none would attack them. 
 
 Then Abram divided the men that were 
 with him into two parts, and attacked the 
 four kings by night from either side of their 
 encampment. So he put them to flight, and 
 pursued them to Hobah, which lies between 
 Damascus and Tadmor of the wilderness. 
 He brought back with him all the goods 
 that they had taken from the five cities, and 
 Lot and his family, and all the prisoners. 
 
 And as he returned, the king of Sodom 
 came out to meet him, and said to him, 
 Give me back now the prisoners that thou 
 hast taken out of the hand of the king of 
 
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 b? 
 
 Elam, for they are my own people ; but take 
 all the goods to thyself. But Abram answered 
 him, I have taken an oath, lifting up my 
 hand, to the Lord, the most high God, whose 
 are the heaven and the earth, that I will not 
 take a thread or a shoe-latchet from thee. 
 Nothing will I take of thine, lest thou say, 
 
 and offered him first-fruits, even bread and 
 wine, and blessed him, saying, Blessed be 
 Abram of the most high God, whose are 
 heaven and earth ; and blessed be the most 
 high God, who hath delivered thine enemies 
 into thine hand. Then Abram gave him a 
 tenth part of all the spoil that he had taken 
 
 MELCHIZEDEK BLESSING ABRAM. 
 
 I have made Abram rich. Nevertheless, 
 that which the young men my servants have 
 eaten on the way that thou shalt give them. 
 These men, too, that have helped me, Aner, 
 Eshcol, and Mamre ; let them take their 
 portion. 
 
 There also came to meet him Melchizedek, 
 king of Salem, a priest of the most high God, 
 
 And after these things he returned and 
 dwelt at Mamre. 
 
 Then God appeared to him in a vision and 
 said, Fear not, Abram : I am thy shield, and 
 thy exceeding great reward. Abram an- 
 swered, Lord God, what wilt thou give me, 
 seeing that I am childless ? 
 
 Then the Lord bade him go forth from 
 
38 
 
 THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 his tent and look up into the heavens, and 
 said, Tell the stars, if thou be able to 
 number them. So shall be thy posterity. 
 And Abram believed in the Lord, and it was 
 counted to him for righteousness. Then the 
 Lord said, I have brought thee out of Ur of 
 the Chaldees that thou mayest inherit this 
 land. Abram said, How shall I know that 
 I shall inherit it. The Lord said, Take a 
 heifer, and a she-goat, and a ram, and a 
 turtle-dove, and a young pigeon. 
 
 So Abram took them and 
 divided the beasts into two por- 
 tions, and laid the two portions 
 over against each other ; but 
 the birds he divided not. And 
 when the sun went down he fell 
 into a deep sleep, and heard a 
 voice that said, Thy posterity 
 shall dwell in a land that is not 
 theirs, and shall be afflicted four 
 hundred years ; but the nation 
 that shall afflict them I will 
 judge. After that they shall go 
 ■out from among their oppressors 
 with great riches, and shall come 
 again to this land ; for the 
 iniquity of the Amorites is not 
 yet full. And when the sun went 
 down and it was dark, Abram saw a smoking 
 furnace and a burning lamp pass between the 
 portions of the sacrifice, being the tokens 
 of the presence of the Lord. Then, as 
 Abram had passed between the portions, so 
 the Lord passed between them, and a 
 covenant was made between the Lord and 
 Abram ; for the custom was that when two 
 thus passed between the portions of a sacrifice 
 a covenant was made between them. And 
 the Lord said, Unto thy race have I given 
 all this land, from the river of Egypt unto 
 the great river, the river Euphrates. 
 
 After these things Abram took to wife 
 
 Sarai's maid Hagar, the Egyptian, And 
 Sarai dealt so hardly with her that she fled 
 from the tent. But as she lay by a well in 
 the wilderness the angel of God spake to her, 
 saying, Hagar, whence earnest thou ? and 
 whither wilt thou go ? She answered, I flee 
 from the face of Sarai my mistress. The 
 angel said, Go back, and submit thyself to 
 thy mistress. Thou shalt bear a son, and 
 shalt call his name Ishmael, because the 
 Lord hath heard thy affliction. He shall be 
 
 "AS THE STARS, SO SHALL BE THY POSTERITY." 
 
 a wild man ; his hand will be against every 
 man, and every man's hand against him. 
 
 And thereafter the well by which Hagar 
 sat when the angel spake to her was called 
 the well of Seeing and Living. So Hagar 
 returned to her mistress ; and she bare a 
 son to Abram, who called his name Ishmael 
 Abram was fourscore and six years old when 
 Hagar bare Ishmael to him. 
 
 When Abram was now ninety and nine 
 years old, and Ishmael his son thirteen, the 
 Lord appeared again unto him. Then Abram 
 fell on his face before God ; and the Lord 
 spake to him again, saying, My covenant is 
 
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 39 
 
 with thee, and I will make thee the father of 
 many nations. Hereafter thy name shall not 
 be any more Abram, but thy name shall be 
 Abraham ; because I have made thee a 
 father of many nations. And I will give 
 thee, and thy children after thee, this land of 
 Canaan to be a perpetual possession. 
 
 Also He said to him, As for Sarai thy 
 wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but 
 Sarah. I will bless her, and give her a son of 
 thee. She shall be a mother of nations, and 
 kings shall come from her. 
 
 The Three Travellers. 
 
 Not many days after, as Abraham sat in 
 his tent-door, where he dwelt under the oak 
 of Mamre, he espied three travellers. And 
 when he saw them he ran from the tent-door 
 to meet them, and bowed himself to the 
 ground before them, and said to him that 
 seemed chief among them, My lord, if I have 
 found favor in thy sight, pass not on at once, 
 but turn aside to visit me. Let a little water 
 be fetched that ye may wash your feet, and 
 rest yourselves under the tree, and I will 
 fetch a morsel of bread that ye may refresh 
 yourselves. After that ye shall pass on. 
 And the man said, So do as thou hast said. 
 
 Then Abraham hastened unto Sarah 
 where she sat in the tent, and said, Make 
 ready quickly three measures of fine meal, 
 and knead it, and bake cakes upon the 
 hearth. This done, he ran co the stalls of 
 the cattle and took thence a calf, tender and 
 good, and gave it to a young man, who 
 hasted to cook it. And he took butter and 
 milk and the calf that had been cooked, and 
 set them before the travellers, and stood by 
 them under the tree as they ate. 
 
 After this the men rose up, and departed, 
 having their faces turned towards Sodom. 
 And Abraham went with them to bring them 
 on their way. And the Lord said, Shall I 
 
 hide from Abraham that thing which I do ; 
 for he shall become a great nation, and all 
 the nations of the earth shall be blessed in 
 him ? For I know him, that he will com 
 mand his children and his household after 
 him, to do judgment and justice. 
 
 A Wicked City, 
 
 Then the Lord said to Abraham, Because 
 the report of Sodom and Gomorrah is very 
 evil, and their sin very grievous,. I have come 
 to see whether they have altogether sinned 
 according to the report. 
 
 Then two of the three went on towards 
 Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before the 
 Lord. He bethought him of Lot, his 
 brother's son, and of his household, and said 
 to the Lord, Wilt thou also destroy the 
 righteous with the wicked? Peradventure 
 there may be fifty righteous within the city ; 
 wilt thou not spare the place for the sake oi 
 the fifty righteous ? That be far from thee 
 to slay the righteous with the wicked. Shall 
 not the Judge of all the earth do right? 
 The Lord said, If I find in Sodom fifty 
 righteous, I will spare all the place for their 
 sake. 
 
 Abraham spake again, I have taken upon 
 myself to speak to the Lord, though I be but 
 dust and ashes. Peradventure there may 
 lack five of the fifty : wilt thou destroy all 
 the city for the lack of five ? 
 
 The Lord said, If I find forty and five, I 
 will not. destroy it. 
 
 Abraham said again, Peradventure forty 
 will be found there. 
 
 And the. Lord answered, I will not do it ii 
 there be forty there. , 
 
 Then Abraham said, Let not the Lord be 
 angry, and I will speak. Peradventure there 
 shall be thirty found there. 
 
 The Lord said, I will not do it if I find 
 thirty there. 
 
40 
 
 THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 Abraham spake again, Peradventure there 
 shall be twenty found there. 
 
 The Lord answered, I will spare it for 
 twenty's sake. 
 
 Yet once again did Abraham speak. Let 
 not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but 
 this once only. Peradventure ten shall be 
 found there. And the Lord said, I will 
 
 that night, and prepared supper for them, 
 and treated them kindly. The angels found 
 that all the other men of the city cared for 
 nothing but wickedness , and they said to 
 Lot, Have you sons or daughters in the city 
 besides those in this house ? If you have* 
 bring them out of the place, for the wicked- 
 ness of it is become great before the Lord; 
 
 THE DESTRUCTION OF SODOM FORETOLD TO ABRAHAM. 
 
 spare it for ten's sake. Then Abraham was 
 satisfied; he left off praying for Sodom, and 
 returned to his home. 
 
 The angels that God had sent to see 
 Sodom came into it in the evening. They 
 met Lot in the gate of the city. Lot thought 
 they were two men who were on a journey. 
 He therefore asked them to stay in his house 
 
 and he has sent us to destroy it. All the 
 good people in the city could save their 
 lives by leaving at once. 
 
 Lot went out and said to the men who 
 had married his daughters, Up ! get you out 
 of this place, for the Lord will destroy it. 
 But they would not believe him. When the 
 morning dawned, the angels hastened Lot, 
 
ABRAHAM OFFERING ISAAC 
 
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 4i 
 
 and said, Arise, take your wife and your two 
 daughters that are here, and get away, lest 
 you be destroyed in the punishment of the 
 city. Strange to say, he still delayed ; but 
 the angels caught them by the hand, and 
 brought them out of the city, and said, 
 Escape for your life ; do not look behind 
 
 The name of the little city was Zoar. As 
 soon as Lot came into it, the Lord rained 
 upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and 
 fire out of heaven, and overthrew those cities,, 
 and all the inhabitants of the plain, and 
 everything that grew upon the ground. Bu! 
 Lot's wife turned and looked back upon the 
 
 LOT AND HIS FAMILY FLEEING FROM SODOM. 
 
 you, nor stop anywhere in the plain ; escape 
 to the mountain, lest you be consumed. 
 
 Lot feared to go to the mountain, and he 
 said, There is a little city in this plain ; let 
 me stay there. It is but a little one ; will 
 not God spare it ? And -the angel said, I 
 will not overthrow this city, for which you 
 have spoken. Hasten ! escape to it ; for I 
 cannot do anything till you are come into it. 
 
 burning cities, and she became a pillar of salt 
 After these things Abraham went down tc 
 sojourn in the south country and dwelt 
 among the Philistines. And the Lord gavs 
 to Sarah a son as he had promised to her 
 and Abraham. And Abraham called his 
 name Isaac. Abraham was a hundred years 
 old when Isaac was born. 
 
 And when Isaac came to be a larger boy.. 
 
42 
 
 THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 Abraham made a great feast. Now Ishmael 
 fiad thought that he should be his father's 
 heir, and when he saw that he was supplanted, 
 he was very wroth, and spake bitter words, 
 and would have done harm to the child. 
 His mother also encouraged him in his 
 misdoing. Then Sarah said to Abraham, 
 cast out this bondwoman and her son ; for 
 
 children after thee, is not in Ishmael but in 
 Isaac. Nevertheless, I will make of Ishmael 
 a great nation. 
 
 Then Abraham believed that no harm 
 should happen to the lad. Therefore he 
 rose up early the next morning, and gave 
 Hagar provision of bread and a bottle of 
 water, putting it on her shoulder, and sent 
 
 DEPARTURE OF HAGAR AND ISHMAEL. 
 
 the son of a bondwoman shall not be heir 
 along with my son, even with Isaac. But 
 the thing was very grievous to Abraham, for 
 he loved his son Ishmael. Then the Lord 
 said to Abraham, Let not this thing that 
 Sarah asketh of thee be grievous unto thee. 
 Hearken to her words, for indeed the bless- 
 ing that I have promised to thee, and to thy 
 
 her and her son away. And Ishmael was 
 now sixteen years of age or thereabouts. 
 So Hagar departed, and wandered in the 
 wilderness of Beersheba. But all the water 
 in the bottle was spent, and the lad lay under 
 a shrub, likely to perish of thirst. Then Hagar 
 went and sat herself down a long way off 
 from the lad, even as far as a man may shoot 
 
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 43 
 
 an arrow. For she said to herself, Let me 
 not see the death of the child. And she 
 lifted up hei voice and wept. 
 
 Then the Angel of God called to Hagar 
 out of heaven, and said, Hagar, what aileth 
 thee ? Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him 
 in thine hand. I will make him a great 
 nation, Then God opened her eyes, and she 
 saw a well of water ; and she went, and 
 filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad 
 drink. And God was with the lad, and he 
 grew, and dwelt in the wilderness, and 
 became an archer, and his mother took him 
 a wife out of the land of Egypt. 
 
 The Seven Lambs. 
 
 While Abraham dwelt at Beersheba, 
 Abimelech, king of the Philistines, with 
 Phichol, who was captain of his host, came 
 to him, and said, We see that God is with 
 thee in all that thou doest. Now therefore 
 swear unto me that thou wilt not deal falsely 
 with me, or with my son, or with my son's 
 son, but wilt deal truly with me, as I have 
 dealt truly with thee. And Abraham said, 
 "I will swear." But he said also, Thy 
 servants have taken a well by force from my 
 servants. 
 
 Abimelech answered, I know not who hath 
 done this thing. Thou hast not told me 
 aught of it till this day, nor indeed have I 
 heard of it at all. Then Abraham set seven 
 ewe lambs by themselves ; and when Abime- 
 lech asked him why he had so done, he 
 said, Thou shalt take these seven ewe lambs 
 from me, and thy taking them shall be a 
 pledge that indeed my servants have digged 
 this well. So these two, Abraham and 
 Abimelech, made a covenant or agreement 
 between them. For many days did Abraham 
 dwell in Beersheba, and he planted a grove 
 there and worshipped the Lord. 
 
 After these things God tried Abraham's 
 
 faith, saying to him, Take now thy son, 
 thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and 
 get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer 
 him there for a burnt-offering upon one of 
 the mountains that I shall show thee. 
 
 The Sacrifice of Isaac. 
 
 So Abraham rose up early in the morning, 
 and saddled his ass, and took two of his 
 young men with him, and Isaac his son, and 
 clave wood for a burnt-offering, and jour- 
 neyed towards the place of which God had 
 told him. On the third day of his journeying 
 he saw the place afar off. Then he said to 
 the young men, Abide here, and I and the 
 lad will go yonder and worship, and will 
 come again to you. For, indeed, he did 
 not doubt but that the lad should come back 
 again, even though he should slay him for a 
 burnt-offering, for he believed that the Lord 
 would even raise him up from the dead. 
 
 And he took the wood for the burnt- 
 offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son ; he 
 took fire also, and a knife. So they went 
 both of them together. And Isaac said to 
 Abraham, Behold the fire and the wood ; but 
 where is the lamb for the burnt-offering ? 
 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide 
 Himself a lamb for a burnt-offering. Then 
 they came to the place of which God had 
 told him ; and Abraham built an altar 
 there, and laid the wood in order, and bound 
 Isaac his son, and laid him upon the wood. 
 
 Then he stretched forth his hand, and 
 took the knife to slay his son. But the 
 Angel of the Lord called to him out o< 
 heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham £ 
 And he said, Here am I. Then the Lord 
 said, Lay not thine hand on the lad, neither 
 do thou anything unto him ; for now J 
 know that thou fearest God, seeing that thou 
 hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, 
 from me. 
 
44 
 
 THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 Then Abraham looked behind him, and 
 saw a ram caught in the thicket by his 
 horns, and he took the ram and offered it up 
 for a sacrifice instead of Isaac his son. 
 
 Then the Lord spake again to him, saying, 
 Because thou hast done this thing, and not 
 withheld thy son, thine only son, Lorn Me; 
 that in blessing I will bless thee, and in 
 
 Abraham came to mourn for her, and to 
 weep for her. 
 
 And Abraham ceased from mourning fo? 
 the dead, and spake to the children of Heth 
 saying, I am a stranger and a sojourner with 
 you : give me the possession of a burial 
 place among you, that I may bury my dear 
 out of my sight. 
 
 ABRAHAM OFFERING ISAAC. 
 
 multiplying I will multiply thy posterity as 
 the stars of the heaven, and as the sand of 
 the seashore for multitude. And in thy 
 posterity shall all the families of the earth be 
 blessed, because thou hast obeyed my voice. 
 .Then Abraham returned to the young men. 
 ' After these things Sarah died, being one 
 hundred and twenty-seven years old; and 
 
 The children of Heth answered him, Thou 
 art a prince among us; choose one of our 
 sepulchres wherein to bury thy dead : none 
 of us shall refuse thee his sepulchre. 
 
 Then Abraham bowed himself to them, 
 and said, If ye are willing that I should bury 
 my dead out of my sight, intercede for me 
 with Ephron, that he may sell me the cave 
 
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 4W 
 
 of Machpelah that he hath, which is in the 
 end of his field: for as much money as it is 
 worth shall he sell it me for a burying-place. 
 
 Then Ephron the Hittite said to Abraham, 
 My lord, I give thee the field and the cave ; 
 here in the presence of all the people I give 
 t thee for a possession : bury thy dead. 
 
 Then Abraham bowed himself down, and 
 said, If thou art willing that I should have 
 the field, I pray thee, hear me : I will give 
 thee money for the field. Take the money 
 from me, then will I bury my dead. 
 
 Ephron answered him, My lord, hearken 
 unto me : The land is worth four hundred 
 shekels of silver ; but what is that between 
 me and thee ? This was about two hundred 
 and forty dollars of our money. 
 
 Then Abraham weighed to Ephron the 
 four hundred shekels of silver, even the price 
 which he had named in the presence of the 
 people. And the field was made over to 
 him in the presence of all the people. 
 
 After this Abraham buried Sarah his wife 
 an the cave of the field of Machpelah. 
 
 Finding a Wife for Isaac. 
 
 Abraham was now old, and it seemed 
 .good to him that he should find a wife for 
 Isaac his son. So he spake to Eliezer of 
 Damascus, who was his steward and the 
 •eldest servant of his house, and said, Swear 
 to me by the Lord, the God of heaven and 
 earth, that thou wilt not take a wife for 
 Isaac my son of the daughters of the 
 ■Canaanites, among whom I dwell. Thou 
 ihalt go unto my own kindred, and take a 
 wife from among them for my son. 
 
 Now Abraham knew that Nahor, his 
 father's brother, had had sons born to him 
 of Milcah, Sarah's sister, and that they 
 dwelt in Haran, where he himself had dwelt 
 before he came into the land of Canaan. 
 
 Then Eliezer answered, Haply the woman 
 
 will not be willing to follow me into this 
 land : must I bring thy son again into the 
 land from which thou earnest out ? 
 
 Abraham said, Beware that thou bring 
 not my son thither again. The Lord God 
 of heaven, which took me from my father's 
 house, and from the land of my kindred, 
 sware unto me that he would give this land 
 to me, and to my children after me. If the 
 woman will not follow thee, then thou shalt 
 be free of thy oath : but, in any case, thou 
 shalt not persuade my son to go back to that 
 land. Then Eliezer sware to his master that 
 he would do his bidding. And he took ten 
 camels of his master's — for all Abraham's 
 goods were in his hand — and departed to 
 Haran, in Mesopotamia, which was the 
 city of Nahor. 
 
 He Comes to a Well. 
 
 And when he was come to the city, he 
 made his camels kneel down by a well that 
 was outside the walls ; and it was evening- 
 time, when the women go out to draw water. 
 He prayed, saying, O Lord God of my 
 master Abraham, I pray thee, show kindness 
 to my master Abraham. Let this come to 
 pass : if the damsel to whom I shall say, 
 Let down thy pitcher that I may drink, shall 
 say, Drink, and I will draw for thy camels 
 also ; let the same be she whom thou hast 
 appointed for thy servant Isaac ; then shall 
 I know that thou hast showed kindness to 
 my master. 
 
 And while he was yet speaking, Rebekah, 
 that was the daughter of Bethuel, son of 
 Nahor and Milcah, came to the well. And 
 she was a very fair virgin ; and she went 
 down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and* 
 came up again. Eliezer said to her, Let me, 
 I pray thee, drink a little water out of thy 
 pitcher. So she let down her pitcher from 
 her shoulder, whereon she carried it, to her 
 
46 
 
 THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 hand, and gave him to drink. And when 
 he had drunk, she said, I will draw for thy 
 camels also, till they shall have done drink- 
 ing. So she hasted and emptied the pitcher 
 into the trough, and went down again to the 
 well, and drew for all the camels. And the 
 
 Whose daughter art thou? Is there room 
 in thy father's house for us to lodge ? She 
 answered, I am the daughter of Bethuel, the 
 son of Nahor. Then the man bowed down 
 his head and worshipped, saying, Blessed be 
 the Lord God of my master Abraham, for 
 
 -ABRAHAM S SERVANT MEETING REBEKAH. 
 
 man held his peace, wondering whether or 
 not the I-ord had prospered his journey. 
 
 When the camels had done drinking, he 
 gave her an earring of gold of half a shekel 
 in weight, and two bracelets that weighed 
 ten shekels together. And he said to her, 
 
 he hath not forgotten his mercy and truth, 
 but hath led me to the house of my master's 
 brethren. 
 
 Meanwhile Rebekah ran and told all these 
 things to her kindred. Now she had a 
 brother, whose name was Laban ; and Laban. 
 
THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 47 
 
 when he saw the earring and the bracelets 
 upon his. sister's- ban<&- vid beard all that 
 
 wherefore standest thou without ? 
 prepared thy lodging, and 
 
 room 
 
 I have 
 for the 
 
 ISAAC WELCOMING REBEKAH. 
 
 his sister said, went out to meet the man, 
 and said, Come in, thou blessed of the Lord; 
 
 camels. Then Eliezer came into the house; 
 and Laban ungirded his camels, and gave 
 
48 
 
 THE STORY OF ABRAHAM. 
 
 straw and provender for his camels, and 
 water to wash his feet and the feet of the 
 men that were with him. Meat also was 
 set before him to eat; but he said, I will 
 not eat, till I have told my errand. And 
 I^aban said, Speak on. 
 
 The Man Tells his Errand. 
 
 The man said, I am Abraham's servant. 
 And the Lord hath greatly blessed my 
 master, and he is become great; for the 
 Lord hath given him flocks and herds, and 
 silver and gold. The Lord gave my master 
 a son in his old age, and my master hath 
 given him all that he hath. Now my 
 master made me swear that I would not take 
 a wife for his son from the daughters of 
 Canaan, but would go to his own kindred to 
 seek among them a wife for his son. So I 
 came hither. And I prayed to God, and 
 said, I will stand by the well ; and when the 
 -damsel cometh to draw water from the well, 
 and I say to her, Give me to drink ; if the 
 damsel say, Drink, and I will draw for thy 
 camels also ; let the same be the woman 
 whom the Lord hath appointed for my 
 master's son. And lo ! even before I had 
 •done speaking, Rebekah came down to draw 
 water of the well. And she did as I had 
 said. Then I asked her, Whose daughter 
 .art thou ? And she said, The daughter of 
 Bethuel. Then I put the earring in her ear 
 and the bracelets upon her hands. Then I 
 bowed down my head and blessed the Lord 
 God of my master Abraham, who had led 
 me in the right way to find a wife for my 
 master's son among his own kindred. And 
 now tell me whether ye will deal truly and 
 •kindly with my master, that I may go away? 
 
 Laban and Bethuel answered, The thing 
 is from the Lord : we cannot say bad or 
 good. Behold, Rebekah is here, take her to 
 foe the wife of thy master's son, as the Lord 
 
 hath spoken. Then Eliezer worshipped the 
 Lord, bowing himself to the earth. Also he 
 brought forth jewels of silver and jewels of 
 gold, and gave them to Rebekah. He gave 
 also to her brother and to her mother 
 precious things. After this he and the men 
 that were with him ate and drank, and 
 tarried all night. 
 
 Rebekah Goes to Meet Isaac. 
 
 The next morning they rose up, and 
 Eliezer said, Send me away to my master. 
 But the damsel's mother and brother said, 
 Let Rebekah abide with us a few days, ten 
 at the least. But he said, Hinder me not, 
 seeing that the Lord hath prospered me; 
 send me away to my master. They an- 
 swered, We will call the damsel, and ask 
 whether she be willing. So they called 
 Rebekah, and asked her, Wilt thou go with 
 this man ? And Rebekah said, I will go. 
 So they sent away Rebekah and her nurse 
 with Abraham's servant and his men. And 
 they blessed her. 
 
 So Rebekah and her nurse, and the 
 damsels that were with her, departed with 
 Abraham's servant, riding upon camels. 
 Now, when they came near to the place 
 where Isaac dwelt, it chanced that Isaac had 
 gone out into the field at eventide to meditate. 
 When Rebekah saw him she asked, What 
 man is that ? Eliezer answered her, That is 
 my master. Then she alighted from her 
 camel, and covered herself with a veil. And 
 Eliezer told Isaac all that he had done. So 
 Rebekah became Isaac's wife, and he was 
 comforted after his mother's death. Isaac 
 was forty years old when he took Rebekah 
 to wife. Abraham lived yet thirty and five 
 years after these things. And he died in a 
 good old age, being one hundred and seventy- 
 five years old. And his sons Isaac and 
 Ishmael buried him in the cave of Machpelah. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 B. C. 1822. 
 
 The Story of Esau and Jacob — Birthright Sold for a Mess of Pottage — Two 
 Kids from the Flock — Jacob Obtains the Blessing of Isaac — Dream of the 
 Ladder and Angels — Jacob Visits Laban — Leah and Rachel — Serving Fourteen 
 Years to Obtain Rachel for a Wife — Happy Meeting of Jacob and Esau. 
 
 SAAC had two sons, 
 named Esau and 
 Jacob. Though 
 they were twin 
 brothers, yet they 
 grew up veiy un- 
 like each other : 
 Esau was a hunter, 
 and Jacob was a 
 shepherd. Esau 
 was the elder of 
 the two brothers, 
 and as such, he had 
 certain privileges 
 called the birthright. The first-born son was 
 always held in honor next to his parents — 
 he had twice as much of his father's goods 
 as the other sons. When the father died, 
 then he became the head of the family, and 
 ruled over his brothers and sisters. As in 
 those days the father was the priest and 
 minister of religion to the family, so this 
 office at his death passed to his eldest son. 
 With the birthright went the father's special 
 blessing. 
 
 One day Esau came in from the field 
 where he had been hunting, or working, to 
 the tent where Jacob was. He was very 
 hungry and tired : he felt as if he should 
 die, he was so faint. 
 
 When Esau came in, Jacob was boiling 
 
 some red lentils in oil. These, when cooked 
 make a mess of red pottage. Esau said to 
 his brother, Give me that mess of red pot- 
 tage, for I am hungry and faint. Jacob 
 unkindly said, I will not let you have it 
 unless you will sell me your birthright for it. 
 
 Esau did not care much for houses and 
 lands, and silver and gold. And he said to 
 Jacob, I am at the point of death, and what 
 good will a birthright do me ? So he sold 
 his birthright to Jacob for a mess of pottage^ 
 and did eat and drink, and then went on 
 his way. 
 
 When Isaac was so old that his eyes were 
 dim, and he could not see, he called Esau to 
 him and said : I am an old man, and I know 
 not how soon I may die. Take then, I pray 
 thee, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out 
 into the field, and get me some venison 
 And make me a nice dish of it, such as I 
 love, and bring it to me, that I may eat, and 
 bless thee before I die. 
 
 And Rebekah heard when Isaac spoke to 
 Esau his son ; and Esau went to the field to 
 hunt for venison. And Rebekah told Jacob, 
 word for word, what Isaac had said to Esau. 
 And she said, Now, my son, obey my voice, 
 and do as I command you. Go to the flock, 
 and bring me two good kids from the goats, 
 and I will season the meat well, and make 
 such a dish as will please thy father. 
 And thou shalt bring it to thy father, 
 
 49 
 
50 
 
 THE STORY OF ESAU AND JACOB. 
 
 that he may eat, and bless thee before 
 he dies. 
 
 Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, But my 
 brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a 
 smooth man. Perhaps my father will feel of 
 me, and I shall seem to him as a deceiver, 
 and I shall bring a curse upon myself, and 
 not a blessing. 
 
 His mother said, Upon me be thy curse, 
 my son. Only do as I bid thee, and go 
 fetch the young kids. And he went, and 
 brought them to his mother, and she made 
 of them such a dish as his father loved. 
 
 Jacob in Esau's Clothes. 
 
 And Rebekah took the best clothes of her 
 eldest son Esau, which were in the house, 
 and put them on Jacob her younger son. 
 And she put the skins of the kids on his 
 hands, and on the smooth part of his neck. 
 And she gave the meat and the bread into 
 the hand of her son Jacob. And he came 
 near to Isaac, and said, My father. And 
 Isaac said, Here am I ; who art thou, my 
 son ? Jacob said, I am Esau thy first-born ; 
 I have done as thou didst bid me. Rise, I 
 pray thee, and eat of my venison, that thy 
 soul may bless me. 
 
 Isaac said, How is it thou hast found it so 
 quickly, my son ? And he said, Because the 
 Lord led the way. And Isaac said to Jacob, 
 Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, 
 my son, whether thou be my son Esau, or 
 not. And Jacob went near to Isaac his 
 father; and he felt him, and said, The voice 
 is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands 
 of Esau. And as he could not see, he 
 blessed him, thinking he was Esau. And 
 he said, Art thou my very son Esau ? And 
 he said, I am. 
 
 And Isaac ate of the venison, and drank 
 of the wine that Jacob brought. And he 
 said, Come near now, and kiss me, my son. 
 
 And Jacob came near, and kissed him ; and 
 he smelled the smell of his clothes and 
 blessed him, and said, The smell of my son 
 is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath 
 blessed. And he told his son that God 
 would take care of him, and give him great 
 wealth, and make him a ruler over many 
 nations. 
 
 Jacob had scarce left the presence of Isaac 
 his father, when Esau his brother came in 
 from the hunt. And he also cooked some 
 meat and brought it to his father, and said, 
 Rise now, and eat of thy son's venison, that 
 thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said to 
 him, Who art thou ? And he said, I am 
 thy first-born, Esau. And Isaac trembled 
 greatly, and said, Who, and where is he that 
 hath taken venison, and brought it to me, 
 and I have eaten before thou earnest, and 
 have blessed him? Yea, and he shall be 
 blessed. 
 
 The Blessing Stolen. 
 
 And when Esau heard the words of his 
 father, he cried out with a great and exceed- 
 ing bitter cry, Bless me, even me also, O my 
 father. And he said, Thy brother came, and 
 by fraud hath taken away thy blessing. 
 And he said, Is he not rightly named Jacob? 
 for he hath twice supplanted me. He took 
 away my birthright ; and now he hath 
 caken away my blessing. And he said, Hast 
 thou not reserved a blessing for me ? 
 
 Isaac said to Esau, Behold, I have made 
 him thy lord, and all his brethren have I 
 given to him for servants, and have made 
 him rich and great ; and what shall I do 
 now unto thee, my son ? Esau said, Hast 
 thou but one blessing, my father ? bless me, 
 even me also, O my father! And Esau 
 lifted up his voice and wept. 
 
 And Isaac, pierced to the heart, said unto 
 him, By thy sword shalt thou live, and shalt 
 
THE STORY OF ESAU AND JACOB. 
 
 51 
 
 serve thy brother ; and it shall come to pass 
 when thou shalt rule in the land, that thou 
 shalt break his yoke from off thy neck. 
 
 Esau, more ready to blame others than 
 himself, hated Jacob because of the blessing 
 his father had given him ; and he planned 
 to kill his brother, as soon as his father was 
 laid in the grave. He thought that Isaac's 
 
 to him, she said, I will send and fetch thee 
 from thence. Why should I lose both of 
 you in one day ? 
 
 And Rebekah made an excuse to Isaac 
 for sending her favorite son away. She was 
 not pleased with Esau's wives, nor did she 
 wish her son Jacob to take a wife from the 
 daughters of Heth. She told Isaac so, and 
 
 ISAAC BLESSING JACOB. 
 
 death was near at hand, but the old man 
 lived many years longer ; and in the mean- 
 time this threat of Esau's came to the ears 
 of Rebekah. 
 
 She sent for Jacob, and told him that Esau 
 meant to kill him, and bade him go to Haran, 
 where Laban, her brother, dwelt, and stay 
 with him till Esau's anger was turned away. 
 When he has forgotten what thou hast done 
 
 Isaac sent Jacob to Padan-aram, to the house 
 of Bethuel, his mother's father, and bade him 
 take a wife from among the daughters of 
 Laban, the brother cf Rebekah. 
 
 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and 
 took his way toward Haran. Jacob set out 
 from Beer-sheba all alone. It was not usual 
 in those days to do this, as there was danger 
 of meeting wild beasts or wicked men. But 
 
62 
 
 Jacob stole out in this quiet way from his 
 home, because he was afraid of his own 
 brother Esau; and he wished to make no 
 
 THE STORY OF ESAU AND JACOB. 
 
 he stayed there all night. He took a stone 
 and placed it so that it would do for pillows, 
 and then laid down to sleep, for he was very 
 
 show or parade to excite Esau's feelings, and 
 make him more angry and jealous. 
 
 And he went on toward Haran ; and 
 when he came to a certain place, at sunset, 
 
 jacob*s vision of angels. 
 
 tired. And as he slept he dreamed. And 
 in his dream he saw a ladder reaching from 
 earth to heaven, and the angels of God 
 ascending and descending on it. And be- 
 
THE STORY OF ESAU AND JACOB. 
 
 53 
 
 hold, the Lord stood above it, and said that 
 he would do great things for him. And h^ 
 said, Behold, I am with thee, and will bring 
 thee again to this land ; for I will not leave 
 thee until I have done that which I have 
 spoken to thee of. 
 
 And Jacob woke out of his sleep, and 
 said, Surely the Lord is in this place ; and I 
 knew it not. And he was afraid, and said, 
 How dreadful is this place ! This is none 
 other than the house of God, and this is the 
 gate of heaven. 
 
 And Jacob rose up early in the morning, 
 and took the stone that he had put for his 
 pillow, and set it up on one end for a pillar, 
 to mark the place, so that he would know it 
 when he came back from his errand. And 
 he poured oil on top of the pillar, as a token 
 of praise to God. And he called the name of 
 that place Bethel : that is, The House of God. 
 
 The Sheep at the WelL 
 
 And Jacob vowed a vow — or, as we say, 
 he took an oath — and said, If God will be 
 with me, and will keep me in this way that I 
 go, and will give me food and clothes, so 
 that I come back to my father's house in 
 peace, then shall the Lord be my God. 
 And this stone, which I have set for a pillar, 
 shall be God's house ; and of all that thou 
 shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth 
 unto thee. 
 
 Then Jacob went on his journey, and 
 came to the land of the children of the east. 
 And he looked, and saw a well in a field ; 
 and lo, there were three flocks of sheep lying 
 by it ; for out of that well they watered the 
 flocks. And a great stone was on the mouth 
 of the well. And there were all the flocks 
 gathered. And the shepherds rolled the 
 Stone from the mouth of the well, and 
 watered the sheep, and then put the stone 
 back in its place again. 
 
 Jacob drew near and asked them whence 
 they came. We are from Haran, they said. 
 Do you know Laban, the son of Nahor? 
 inquired Jacob. And they said, We know 
 him. Jacob said to them, Is he well ? They 
 said, He is well ; and behold, Rachel his. 
 daughter cometh this way with her sheep. 
 And he toid the men to make haste and. 
 water the sheep, and then go and feed them. 
 But they said they could not do this ; that 
 they must wait until all the flocks were 
 gathered there; then the stone would be 
 rolled from the mouth of the well, =md they 
 could water the sheep. This was so there 
 would be no waste of the precious water. 
 
 And while he yet spake with them, Rachel, 
 came up with her father's sheep, for she took: 
 care of them. And when Jacob saw Rachel, 
 he drew near, and rolled the stone from the 
 mouth of the well, and watered the flock of 
 Laban, his mother's brother. And Jacob 
 kissed Rachel and wept for joy. And he- 
 told her that her father was his uncle, and: 
 that he was Rebekah's son. And Rachel, 
 ran and told her father. 
 
 Laban's Two Daughters. 
 
 When Laban heard that Jacob, his sister's 
 son, was near, he ran to meet him, and threw 
 his arms around his neck, and kissed him, 
 and brought him to his house. And Jacob 
 told Laban what he had come for. Laban 
 said to him, Surely thou art my bone and 
 my flesh ; and Jacob stayed with him for 
 the space of a month. Then Laban said to 
 Jacob, Because thou art related to me, 
 shouldst thou work for me for nothing ? 
 Tell me what shall thy wages be ? 
 
 Laban had two daughters : the name of 
 the elder was Leah, and the name of the 
 younger was Rachel. Leah was tender- 
 eyed, but Rachel was beautiful and well 
 formed. And Jacob loved Rachel. So when 
 
54 
 
 THE STORY OF ESAU AND JACOB. 
 
 Laban asked what wages he would take, he 
 said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel, 
 thy younger daughter. Laban said, It is 
 better that I give her to thee, than that I 
 should give her to another man. So stay 
 with me. And Jacob served seven years for 
 Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few 
 days, so great was his love for her. 
 
 whom he had wed ; and he went at once to 
 Laban, and said, What is this thou hast done 
 to me ? did I not serve with thee for Rachel ? 
 Why hast thou played me such a trick ? 
 
 Laban said, It is not the custom of our 
 country to give the younger before the first- 
 born. Be true to Leah, and thou shalt have 
 Rachel also, if thou wilt serve me for another 
 
 JACOB MEETING RACHEL. 
 
 And Jacob said to Laban, Give me my 
 wife, for the time is up that I said I would 
 serve thee. And Laban gathered together 
 all the men of the place and made a feast. 
 And in the evening he brought in Leah, 
 closely veiled, so that her face could not be 
 seen, and Jacob took her for his wife. In 
 the morning Jacob saw that it was Leah 
 
 seven years. And Jacob did so, and Laban 
 gave him his daughter Rachel for a wife, for 
 there was no law in those days to prevent a 
 man from having more than one wife. And 
 Jacob loved Rachel far more than he did 
 Leah, and stayed with Laban even another 
 seven years on her account. God gave 
 children to Leah ; but Rachel had no children, 
 
THE STORY OF ESAU AND JACOB. 
 
 55 
 
 and her heart was sad, and she was very 
 jealous of her sister. But at last God heard 
 her prayer, and gave Rachel a son. And 
 she called his name Joseph. 
 
 By this time Jacob had become a rich 
 man, and had flocks and herds of his own. 
 And Laban's son spoke ill of Jacob ; and 
 
 home of Isaac, his father. And on the way 
 a company of angels met him. And when 
 Jacob saw them he said, This is God's host 
 And he called the name of that place 
 Mahanaim, which means Two hosts, or camps. 
 Jacob was still afraid of his brother Esau, 
 and had sent messengers to speak with him, 
 
 LAB AN HIRING JACOB. 
 
 Laban was not the good friend to him that he 
 had been. And God told Jacob to go back 
 to his own country. So Jacob put his wives 
 and his sons on camels, and took all the 
 flocks and herds, and everything that he 
 owned, and left Laban, and went back to the 
 
 and to offer him rich gifts if he would be at 
 peace with him. The messengers brought 
 word that Esau was on his way to meet 
 Jacob with four hundred men. Jacob was 
 in great fear, and prayed to God to save him 
 from the hands of his brother who hated him 
 
THE STORY OF ESAU AND JACOB. 
 
 57 
 
 to meet him, and fell on his neck and kissed 
 him ; and they both wept together, and all 
 the past was forgiven. Then Esau raised 
 his eyes, and saw the women and children, 
 and said, Who are those with thee? And 
 Jacob said, The children which God hath 
 given thy servant. And they all bowed 
 down before Esau. Then Esau said, What 
 
 face, and to know thou art pleased with 
 me, is as if I had seen the face of God 
 He said God had been good to him, and he 
 had enough and to spare, and he urged Esau 
 so strongly to take his gifts, that Esau did 
 so. And Esau went back to Seir, where he 
 lived ; and Jacob went on his way. And 
 God told him to go up to Bethel and dwell 
 
 THE MEETING OF JACOB AND ESAU. 
 
 meanest thou by all this drove which I met ? 
 Jacob told him they were sent as a present 
 to him. Esau said, I have enough, my 
 brother ; keep what is thine own. 
 
 And Jacob said, Nay, I pray thee, if now 
 I have found grace in thy sight (that is, if 
 thou art good friends with me), then take 
 the present I bring. For to have seen thy 
 
 there for a while, and build there an altar to 
 the God who came to him when he fled 
 from his brother Esau. 
 
 Now Rachel when she left her father's 
 house stole some of the images that she had 
 been wont to worship. And when God told 
 Jacob to go up to Bethel he said to his 
 household, and to all that were with him, 
 
58 
 
 THE STORY OF ESAU AND JACOB. 
 
 ;put away the strange gods that are among 
 you, and let us go up to Bethel, and I will 
 make there an altar unto God, who helped 
 me when I was in distress, and took care of 
 me on my journey. And they took their 
 earrings from their ears, and gave them and 
 the idols to Jacob, and he buried them in 
 the ground under an oak tree which was 
 near Shechem. And they came to Bethel, 
 and Jacob built an altar there and gave 
 praise to God. 
 
 It was here that Deborah, Rebekah's 
 'nurse, died and was buried under an oak. 
 God appeared to Jacob again and blessed him, 
 telling him his name should not be called 
 Jacob any more, but he should be called 
 Israel. And a promise was given to Jacob 
 that he should be the father of nations, and 
 would have kings for his posterity. Then 
 God said to Jacob, The land which I gave 
 Abraham and Isaac, to thee will I give it, 
 and to thy children after thee will I give the 
 land. And God went up from Jacob in the 
 
 place where he talked with him. And Jacob 
 set up a pillar in that place; it was a pillar 
 of stone, and he poured oil on it. Anct 
 Jacob called the name of the place where 
 God talked with him Bethel. The meaning 
 of the name Bethel is, the house of God 
 Jacob had been blessed and he set up the 
 stone and poured oil on it to mark the place 
 where the promise was made to him that 
 nations should come from him. 
 
 As they went from Bethel, they came near 
 to a place called Ephrath — where Bethlehem 
 now is. And there God gave Jacob and 
 Rachel another son. And his father called 
 him Benjamin. And Rachel died, and was 
 buried on the way to Bethlehem. And 
 Jacob set up a stone on her grave, to mark 
 the spot where she lay. Jacob came back 
 to Hebron, to the land where Isaac his father 
 dwelt, and made his home there. And Isaac 
 lived to be one hundred and eighty years 
 old, and then he died, and Jacob and Esau 
 buried him. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 B. C. 1729. 
 
 The Story of Joseph — A Boy in a Pit — Sold Away into Egypt — The Coat Dyed 
 with Blood — Telling the Meaning of Dreams — Wearing the King's Ring — 
 Famine in all Lands — Joseph's Brethren in Egypt — Jacob and Benjamin. 
 
 ACOB had twelve 
 sons. The young- 
 est two were 
 Joseph and Ben- 
 jamin, whose 
 mother was Ra- 
 chel. Jacob's 
 sons were shep- 
 herds ; and Jo- 
 seph too, as soon 
 as he was old 
 enough, was sent 
 out into the fields 
 to help his brother to feed the flocks. Now 
 of all his sons, Jacob loved Joseph the most. 
 He was the child of Rachel whom Jacob 
 dearly loved ; and also Joseph was more 
 upright and true than his elder brothers. 
 When he was with them out in the fields he 
 saw them doing many wrong things, and he 
 thought their father ought to know it. So 
 Joseph told him of all their wicked conduct, 
 and this made them dislike him very much. 
 Besides this, they had another reason for 
 hating him. Their father Jacob, to show 
 how much he loved his favorite son, gave 
 him a coat of many colors. This was a 
 mark of very great distinction and honor, 
 and it is supposed also to have been a sign 
 that the person wearing it was intended to 
 be his father's heir. All these things made 
 
 Joseph's brothers so angry and jealous that 
 they could not speak peaceably to him ; they 
 hated him, and were rough and unkind to him. 
 
 Joseph's Strange Dream. 
 
 One night Joseph dreamed a very strange 
 dream, and he told it to his brothers. He 
 said to them, Hear, I pray you, this dream 
 which I have dreamed. I thought we were 
 all in the field binding sheaves, and, lo, my 
 sheaf arose and stood upright ; and, behold, 
 your sheaves stood round about, and bowed 
 low to my sheaf. 
 
 Joseph's brothers were very angry when 
 they heard this dream, and they said scorn- 
 fully, Do you indeed think that you will 
 reign over us ? and do you really suppose 
 that you will have the mastery over us? 
 And they hated him yet the more for his 
 dreams and for his words. 
 
 After this he had another strange dream 
 which he told to his brothers. He said, 
 Behold, I have dreamed a dream more ; and, 
 behold, the sun, and the moon, and the 
 eleven stars, bowed down to me. 
 
 Joseph told this dream to his father as well 
 as to his brothers ; and his father rebuked 
 him gently, and said, What is this dream 
 that you have dreamed ? Shall I and your 
 mother and your brothers indeed come 
 to bow down ourselves to you to the 
 earth ? 
 
 59 
 
60 
 
 THE STORY OF JOSEPH 
 
 And his brothers envied him. But his 
 father thought a great deal about this dream 
 and the strangeness of it, and wondered 
 what it could really mean. 
 
 You know, when people have large flocks 
 of sheep and goats and cattle to take care of, 
 they are obliged to take them from place to 
 place to get fresh grass for them to eat. So, 
 
 he answered, Here am I. And Jacob said, 
 Go, I pray you, see whether it be well with 
 your brothers, and well with the flocks; 
 and bring me word again. 
 
 With a light heart, Joseph set off to do his 
 father's bidding. How little could either of 
 them know, when he left his father's tents 
 that day, that he would never return to that 
 
 JOSEPH'S DREAM OF THE SUN, MOON AND ELEVEN STARS. 
 
 after a time, Joseph's brothers took their 
 father's flock to Shechem, to feed them there. 
 One day Jacob said to Joseph, Your brothers 
 are feeding the flock in Shechem. Come, 
 and I will send you to them. Jacob never 
 thought there could be any danger, and 
 Joseph was not afraid. He was quite ready 
 and willing to go wherever he was sent, so 
 
 home any more ; and that years and years 
 would pass away before he should again see 
 that dear father's face. 
 
 Without any fear of coming evil, Joseph 
 passed on, out of the vale of Hebron, till he 
 came to Shechem; but his brothers were 
 nowhere to be seen. He wandered about in 
 the fields, looking for them, but he could not 
 
THE STORY OF JOSEPH. 
 
 61 
 
 Snd them. At last a man saw him as he 
 was wandering about, and asked Aim, For 
 what are you looking? 
 
 Joseph answered, I am looking for my 
 brothers. Tell me, I pray you, where they 
 feed their flocks. And the man said, They 
 are gone from here ; for I heard them say, 
 Let us go to Dothan. So Joseph went after 
 his brothers, and found them in Dothan. 
 But while he was still a long way off, his 
 
 SHEPHERD LEADING HIS FLOCK. 
 
 brothers saw him as he was crossing the 
 valley to meet them ; and at the sight of 
 him, wearing the coat of many colors, all 
 their bitter, jealous feelings grew more strong. 
 They hated him, and now their only wish 
 was to kill him. 
 
 So they began to plan how it was to be 
 done. They said one to another, Look, this 
 dreamer is coming. Come now, therefore, 
 let; us kill him and throw him into some 
 
 large pit or hole, and then we will say that 
 a savage animal has eaten him ; and we shall 
 see what will become of his dreams. 
 
 All of the wicked brothers agreed to this 
 plan except Reuben, the eldest. He was 
 shocked at the thought of killing his young 
 brother. So he said to them, Do not let us 
 kill him. Shed no blood, but throw him 
 into this pit that is here in this lonely place 
 in the wilderness ; and do not let us hurt 
 him. For Reuben intended 
 to take him out of the pit 
 again secretly, and to take 
 him back to his father. 
 
 After they had cast Joseph 
 into the pit, they coolly sat 
 down to eat bread. But 
 Reuben had gone away. 
 The others were still sit- 
 ting near the pit eating their 
 meal, when they looked up 
 and saw a company of Ish- 
 maelites, with their camels, 
 coming that way. They had 
 with them some spices and 
 balm and myrrh, which they 
 were carrying down into 
 Egypt to sell there. And 
 now a fresh thought came 
 into the minds of these cruel 
 men ; and Judah said to his 
 brothers, What good will it 
 do us if we kill our brother, 
 or if we leave him in this pit to starve to 
 death? Come, and let us sell him to the 
 Ishmaelites, and do not let us hurt him; 
 for after all he is our brother. 
 
 And his brethren were content to do as 
 Judah had said. So they lifted up Joseph 
 out of the pit, and when the Ishmaelites 
 passed by, they sold him to them for twenty 
 pieces of silver. And the Ishmaelites took 
 him, and carried him into Egypt to be a slave. 
 
62 
 
 THE STORY OF JOSEPH. 
 
 Some time afterwards, when his brothers 
 were out of sight, Reuben went to the pit to 
 draw up poor Joseph, and to take him back 
 to his father again. He looked in, and, 
 behold, Joseph was not in the pit ! In great 
 distress and grief he tore his clothes. In 
 'that country it is a sign of great sorrow and 
 
 he might not think they had done anything 
 to Joseph. This is what they did. They 
 took Joseph's coat of many colors, and they 
 killed a kid of the goats, and dipped the coat 
 in the blood. Then they carried the coat, 
 all covered with blood, to their father, 
 and said to him, We found this ; do you 
 
 JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BRETHREN. 
 
 mourning to tear the clothes ; and Reuben 
 showed by this how bitterly he grieved. 
 
 He went at once to his brothers, and said 
 to them, The child is gone — he is not in the 
 pit ; and I, what shall I do ? where shall I go? 
 
 And now they began to consult together 
 what lie they should tell their father, so that 
 
 think it can really be Joseph's coat or not ? 
 
 When Jacob saw it, he knew it at once, 
 and a terrible pain came into his heart. He 
 said, It is my son's coat ; a wild beast has 
 devoured him : Joseph is without a doubt 
 torn in pieces. 
 
 And Jacob rent his clothes, and put a 
 
THE STORY OF JOSEPH. 
 
 63 
 
 coarse kind of cloth, called sackcloth, upon 
 him (to wear sackcloth is another sign of 
 grief) ; and he mourned his beloved son 
 many days. 
 
 And all his sons and all his daughters 
 rose up to comfort him ; but he refused to be 
 comforted. He said, I will go down into the 
 grave unto my son mourning. Thus his 
 father wept for him. 
 
 At last the Ishmaelites with their captive 
 boy, and their camels, laden with spices, 
 arrived in Egypt. 
 
 Now Joseph was a very handsome youth ; 
 and Potiphar, who was an officer of King 
 Pharaoh, and captain of the guard, thought 
 he would like to have him for a servant. 
 So he bought him from the Ishmaelites, who 
 had carried him down into that country. 
 And the Lord was with Joseph, so that he 
 became a very prosperous man ; and he was 
 in the house of his master the Egyptian. 
 
 But what a change this was for him! 
 Instead of the robe of honor — the coat of 
 many colors — he now wore the dress of a 
 slave. Instead of being in the position of 
 the favorite son of a rich and powerful chief, 
 he was now a servant in a strange land. 
 And instead of being free to look after his 
 father's flocks in the green valleys and on the 
 steep slopes of beautiful Canaan — he himself 
 a young shepherd chief — he now had to wait 
 upon the orders of his master, and could 
 only go where he was sent. 
 
 Joseph Promoted. 
 
 And his master saw that the Lord was 
 with him, and that the Lord made all that 
 he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph 
 found grace in his sight, and he served him 
 faithfully ; so Potiphar made him overseer — 
 that is, gave him charge — over his house ; 
 and all that he had he put into Joseph's 
 hands. 
 
 From the time that he had made him over- 
 seer in his house, and over all that he had, 
 the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for 
 Joseph's sake; and the blessing of the Lord 
 was upon all that he had, in the house and 
 in the field. And Potiphar left the whok 
 management of everything to Joseph, without 
 even taking the trouble to look after him, fo* 
 he knew that Joseph was faithful and upright. 
 
 But it came to pass after these things that 
 his master's wife, who was a very wicked 
 woman, tried to make Joseph as wicked as 
 herself. She was deceitful, and would do 
 things behind her husband's back that she 
 would not do if he were near; and she 
 wanted Joseph to be deceitful too. But he 
 would not listen to her; for he feared God s 
 and he was true to his master. 
 
 Many times she tried to tempt him into 
 sin; but he said to her, My master trusts 
 me. He has given into my charge every- 
 thing that is in the house, and he has been 
 very kind to me. How, then, can I deceive 
 him? it would be a great wickedness, and 
 a sin against God. 
 
 Accused by a Woman. 
 
 His master's wife became very angry at 
 last, and she determined to get him into 
 trouble and disgrace. So one day, as soon 
 as Potiphar, her husband, had come into the 
 house, she went to him and said, The 
 Hebrew servant whom you have brought 
 unto us is not as good as you think him to 
 be. When you were out he came and wa? 
 very rude to me, and mocked me; but when 
 I cried out, he was frightened and ran away 
 
 When Potiphar heard the words of his 
 wife which she spoke to him, saying, Aftei 
 this manner did your servant behave to me. 
 he was exceedingly angry. He never 
 thought that his wicked wife was telling him 
 what was untrue ; he believed all that she- 
 
<64 
 
 THE STORY OF JOSEPH. 
 
 said, and so he was determined to punish 
 Joseph. He took him, and put him into 
 the prison which was in his house. It was a 
 place where the king's prisoners were bound ; 
 and he was there in the prison. 
 
 Once more, you see, Joseph was suffering 
 from the wickedness of others. He had 
 done nothing wrong, he had bravely done 
 the right, yet now he was punished as a 
 wrong-doer. He was bound with heavy 
 chains ; and the iron chains that were round 
 :his feet hurt him very much ; and his heart 
 •was sad. 
 
 But the Lord was with Joseph, and showed 
 him mercy. The keeper of the prison 
 treated Joseph with kindness, so that before 
 very long his chains were taken off, and he 
 was allowed to walk about. Then, when 
 the keeper of the prison saw how perfectly 
 he was to be trusted, he gave into Joseph's 
 care all the other prisoners that were in the 
 prison ; and whatever they did there he was 
 'the doer of it. 
 
 Two More Prisoners. 
 
 Nine long, weary years passed away, and 
 Joseph was still a prisoner. Though he was 
 so much trusted, yet he was not allowed to 
 leave the prison ; he was still in disgrace — 
 still suffering from the wicked lies of Poti- 
 pha.r's wife. 
 
 Now it happened c*ie day that the king of 
 Egypt was very angry with two of his 
 servants. The chief butler and the chief 
 baker had provoked the king so much that 
 he told Potiphar to take them away to prison. 
 Potiphar, therefore, brought them to Joseph, 
 and ordered them to be bound with chains, 
 and told him to be sure and keep them safely. 
 
 The chief butler and the chief baker had 
 been for some time in prison, when they both 
 had a dream in the same night. Each 
 of them had a different dream : and when 
 
 they awoke they could not help thinking 
 about it, and it made them feel very 
 miserable. When Joseph came in to them 
 next morning, as he was always accustomed 
 to do, to give them their food, he noticed 
 at once that they were looking very much 
 cast down. So he asked Pharaoh's servants, 
 saying, Why do you look so sad to-day ? 
 
 And they said to him, We have dreamed 
 a dream, and there is no one to tell us the 
 meaning of it. And Joseph said, God sends 
 dreams, and he can show you what they 
 mean ; so tell me, I pray you, what it is you 
 have dreamed. 
 
 A Vine With Three Branches. 
 
 And the chief butler told his dream 
 to Joseph, and said to him, In my dream, 
 behold, a vine was before me. And on the 
 vine were three branches ; and it seemed 
 as if these branches began to bud and to 
 blossom. Then clusters of grapes grew on 
 them, and the grapes were quite ripe. And 
 Pharaoh's cup was in my hand ; and I took 
 the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's 
 cup, and I gave the cup into the king's hand. 
 
 This was the butler's dream. And when 
 Joseph heard it, he knew at once what the 
 meaning of it was ; for God gave him wisdom, 
 and the power to explain or interpret dreams^ 
 
 And Joseph said to the chief butler, This 
 is the meaning of your dream. The three 
 branches are three days. In three days 
 Pharaoh will take you out of prison, and will 
 let you go back to your place in the king's 
 house. And you shall give the cup of wine 
 into Pharaoh's hand again, as you used tc 
 do when you were his butler. But do 
 remember me when it shall be well with you, 
 and show your kindness to me, I pray you ; 
 and tell Pharaoh about me, so that I may be 
 taken out of this prison. For indeed I was 
 stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews; 
 
THE STORY OF JOSEPH. 
 
 65 
 
 and here also I have done nothing that they 
 should shut me up in a place like this. 
 
 Three White Baskets. 
 
 When the chief baker saw what a happy 
 meaning there was to the butler's dream, 
 he was in a great hurry to tell about his own ; 
 and he said to Joseph, In my dream, 
 I thought that I had three white baskets 
 on my head. In the top basket there were 
 all manner of cakes, and of baked meats, for 
 Pharaoh ; and the birds came and ate all the 
 cakes and baked meats out of the basket that 
 was on my head. 
 
 Joseph told him the meaning of his dream. 
 He said, The three baskets mean three days. 
 In three days Pharaoh will take you out 
 of prison, and will have you hung up on 
 a tree ; and when you are dead, the birds 
 will come and will eat your flesh off you. 
 
 Just as Joseph had said, it all came to pass. 
 Three days after he had explained the mean- 
 ing of the dreams, it was Pharaoh's birthday ; 
 and the king made a great feast for all his 
 servants. Then he sent for the chief butler 
 and the chief baker out of prison ; and when 
 they came before him, he forgave the butler, 
 and said that he might wait upon him as he 
 had done before : so the butler gave the cup 
 again into Pharaoh's hand. 
 
 But the king would not forgive the chief 
 baker. He ordered him to be hanged, just 
 as Joseph had told him he would do. 
 
 The butler was a very ungrateful man. 
 He quite forgot Joseph ; he quite forgot the 
 earnest request that he would mention Joseph 
 to the king, and get him taken out of prison. 
 Month after month the poor prisoner waited, 
 hoping that some one would come to set 
 him free ; but he waited in vain. 
 
 God had not forgotten Joseph, though he 
 chose to try his patience by keeping him so 
 long in prison. In his own good time he 
 5 
 
 prepared the way for setting the prisoner 
 free ; and this was how he brought it about. 
 Two full years had passed away since the 
 ungrateful butler had left the prison (where 
 Joseph had now been shut up for more than 
 eleven years), when one night Pharaoh, king 
 of Egypt, had a very strange dream. 
 
 The Fat and Lean Cows. 
 
 He thought he was standing by the river 
 Nile, which runs through the land of Egypt ; 
 and, behold, there came up out of the river 
 seven very nice-looking fat cows. In that 
 country cattle are very fond of standing quite 
 up to their necks in water, both because of 
 the heat, and also to protect themselves from 
 the flies and insects. These cows that 
 Pharaoh was watching in his dream began 
 to feed in a meadow. Afterwards he thought 
 he saw seven other kine, or cows, come up 
 out of the river; they were very thin and 
 ugly, and they stood by the other cows upon 
 the brink of the river. And the thin, ugly 
 cows ate up the fat, nice-looking ones. 
 Then Pharaoh awoke. 
 
 But he slept again, and had another 
 strange dream. This time he thought he 
 saw seven ears of corn come up upon one 
 stalk, full of good grain. And, behold, seven 
 thin ears, all shrivelled and withered with 
 the east wind, sprang up after them. And 
 the seven thin ears ate up the seven good 
 and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and. 
 behold, it was a dream. 
 
 Sends for Joseph. 
 
 In the morning his spirit was troubled. 
 He felt that his dreams must have a meaning, 
 and he longed to have them explained to 
 him. So he sent for all the wise men of 
 Egypt, and for the men who studied secret 
 arts, and who pretended to understand 
 dreams ; but when the king had told them 
 
86 
 
 THE STORY OF JOSEPH, 
 
 his dreams, not one of them could tell him 
 the meaning of them. 
 
 At last the butler thought of Joseph. He 
 felt ashamed and sorry that he could have 
 forgotten him so long, and that he had not 
 kept his promise to him. He spoke to the 
 
 youug man, an Hebrew, servant to Potiphar, 
 the captain of the guard ; and we told him 
 our dreams, and he explained to us the 
 meaning of them. He said that I should be 
 the king's butler again, but that the baker 
 would be hanged. And it all happened 
 
 JOSEPH INTERPRETING PHARAOH S DREAMS. 
 
 king, and said, I do remember my faults this 
 day. Pharaoh was angry with his servants, 
 and put me in prison in the house of the 
 captain of the guard, both me and the chief 
 baker. And we dreamed a dream in one 
 night, J and he ; each of us had a different 
 dream. And there was there with us a 
 
 exactly as he had told us. When Pharaoh 
 heard this, he ordered some men to go 
 quickly and bring Joseph to him. So the)' 
 went in haste and took him out of prison, 
 where he had been so long. Then he shaved 
 off his beard, and cut his hair short, in the 
 way the Egyptians were accustomed to do ; 
 
THE STORY OF JOSEPH. 
 
 67 
 
 and he changed his garments, to make him- 
 self fit to appear before the king. Then, 
 when he was quite ready, they brought him 
 to Pharaoh. 
 
 And the king said to Joseph, I have 
 dreamed a dream, and there is no one to tell 
 me what it means. But I hear that you are 
 able to explain the meaning of dreams. 
 
 And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It 
 is not in me — I cannot do it of myself ; God 
 shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. 
 
 What the Dreams Meant* 
 
 And Pharaoh told Joseph his dreams. 
 And Joseph said unto the king, Both the 
 dreams have the same meaning; and God 
 has showed Pharaoh what he is going to do. 
 The seven good kine are seven years ; and 
 the seven good ears of corn are seven years ; 
 the dream is one. And the seven thin kine, 
 and the seven thin ears of corn, are also 
 seven years — seven years of famine. 
 
 This is what God is going to do, and what 
 he has shown to Pharaoh. There are going 
 to be seven years of very great plenty in all 
 the land of Egypt. But afterwards there 
 will come seven years of famine. And all 
 the plenty shall be forgotten in the land of 
 Egypt, and the famine shall consume the 
 land ; for it shall be very grievous. And the 
 reason that the dream was doubled unto 
 Pharaoh twice, is because God will certainly 
 bring it to pass ; and he will do it soon. 
 
 When Joseph had finished explaining 
 about the dreams to Pharaoh, he began to 
 advise the king what to do. He said, Let 
 Pharaoh look out a man who is very prudent 
 and wise, and let him be set over the land of 
 Egypt. And while the seven years of plenty 
 last, let him be careful to gather up all the 
 food of those good years that come, and save 
 up corn for Pharaoh. So, when the seven 
 years of famine come, there will be food for 
 
 the peoplt ; and the land will not be 
 destroyed with famine, even though no corn 
 will be growing in the fields. 
 
 Made Ruler of Egypt. 
 
 And Pharaoh said to his servants, Where 
 can we find such a wise man as Joseph? for 
 the Spirit of God is in him. And Pharaoh 
 said unto Joseph, Because God has showed 
 you all this, I know that you are more wise 
 and prudent than any one else. So I will 
 set you over my house, and all my people 
 shall be ruled as you advise. And you shall 
 be greater than any other man in my king- 
 dom, except myself. 
 
 Here was a great and wonderful change 
 for Joseph. In the morning he was a 
 prisoner and a slave; before evening came 
 he was like a prince — honored and trusted 
 by the king, and made the greatest man 
 in all that land. And Pharaoh said to Joseph, 
 See, I have set }'ou over all the land of Egypt. 
 
 And Pharaoh took off his ring from his 
 hand, and put it upon Joseph's hand ; and 
 he gave him beautiful garments to wear, and 
 he put a gold chain round his neck. He also 
 made him to ride in a very grand chariot- 
 one of his own carriages — and they called 
 him the Father of the country. 
 
 And the king said to Joseph, I am Pharaoh, 
 and without you shall no man lift up his 
 hand or foot in all the land of Egypt. By 
 this Pharaoh meant that he gave Joseph the 
 power to do exactly as he liked in all that 
 land, and that no one was to attempt to 
 disobey his orders. 
 
 As another mark of his favor, the king 
 gave Joseph a wife out of one of the chief 
 families in Egypt ; so he now had a happy 
 home in the country where he had been 
 a slave. And all the people showed him the 
 same respect and reverence that was due to 
 a great prince ; for King Pharaoh had made 
 
68 
 
 THE STORY OF JOSEPH. 
 
 Joseph ruler over the whole land of Egypt. 
 Joseph was thirty years old when he was 
 made ruler of Egypt. And as soon as he 
 had gone out from the presence of Pharaoh, 
 he went through all the land of Egypt about 
 the king's business. He did not neglect the 
 work that was given him to do ; and as he 
 
 and cities he stored up the grain that he had 
 collected out of the fields round those cities. 
 And Joseph gathered corn as the sand of the 
 sea, very much, until he left off numbering ; 
 for it was without number. 
 
 During those years of plenty, two little 
 sons were born to Joseph, and this was a^ 
 
 JOSEPH PROCLAIMED RULER OF EGYPT. 
 
 had before been faithful and true in little 
 things, he now showed himself to be equally 
 upright and honest in great things. 
 
 While the seven years of plentiful harvests 
 and abundance of food lasted, Joseph was 
 diligent in gathering up all the spare corn 
 
 over all the country. In each of the towns which means " fruitfulness ; " for, he said, 
 
 great happiness and delight to him. He 
 called the name of the first-born Manasseh, 
 which means "forgetting; " for God, he said, 
 has made me to forget all my troubles and 
 sorrows. 
 
 And his second son he called Ephraim, 
 
THE STORY OF JOSEPH, 
 
 69 
 
 •God has greatly blessed me in the land of 
 my affliction. 
 
 The seven years of great plenty were at an 
 ■ end, and the seven years of famine began to 
 come, just as Joseph had said. The dearth, 
 •or scarceness of food, was not in the land of 
 Egypt only, but in all the surrounding 
 countries also ; yet it was only in Egypt that 
 there was corn for making bread. 
 
 A Great Famine. 
 
 The people had nothing to eat, so they 
 went to Pharaoh, and cried to him for bread — 
 they told him they were starving. And 
 Pharaoh said to all the people of Egypt, Go 
 to Joseph, and whatever he says to you, do. 
 
 Then the people took their money to 
 Joseph, and he opened the storehouses, and 
 sold corn to all the Egyptians. And the 
 famine was very grievous. People also came 
 from other countries to buy corn, because 
 the famine was so sore. 
 
 What do you think was happening in the 
 land of Canaan all this time — in the land 
 where Jacob lived ? The famine was there 
 too ; and the sons of Jacob were in great dis- 
 tress about it. They did not know what to 
 <io, or where they should go for food ; and 
 they were afraid that their wives and their 
 little children would all be starved to death. 
 
 But Jacob said to his sons one day, Why 
 do you look one upon another ? Why do 
 you stand still doing nothing? Behold, I 
 have heard that there is corn in Egypt ! Get 
 you down to that country, and buy food for 
 us, that we may live, and not die. 
 
 So it was decided that Joseph's ten brothers 
 should go down to Egypt to buy corn. 
 But Jacob would not let Benjamin, his young- 
 est son, go down with them, for he said, 
 Perhaps some harm might befall him. 
 
 When his brothers arrived before Joseph, 
 they did not know him. They never once 
 
 thought that this was the brother they had 
 sold, more than twenty years before, for 
 twenty pieces of silver. 
 
 He was only a young lad then. Now 
 they saw before them a very handsome man, 
 with his hair cut and arranged in the peculiar 
 way that the Egyptians were accustomed to 
 wear it. He was also dressed like an 
 Egyptian, and he was called by another 
 name, which the king had given him, to 
 make the people forget that he had come 
 from another country, and was not really an 
 Egyptian. Besides all this, he was the lord 
 of the land ; so no wonder they did not 
 know him. 
 
 But Joseph knew them in a moment! 
 Yet he would not tell them who he was, for 
 he wanted to prove them, and to see whether 
 they were better men than they were when 
 he was at home with them. So when his 
 ten brothers bowed down very humbly 
 before him, with their faces to the earth, he 
 spoke roughly to them, and said, Where do 
 you come from ? And they answered, From 
 the land of Canaan, to buy food. 
 
 The Brothers Tell Who They Are. 
 
 As Joseph saw them bowing down before 
 him, he must have remembered the dream 
 which he had dreamed as a boy, and how 
 angry they were with him when he told them 
 about it. He thought that they were all 
 binding sheaves in the field, and that his 
 sheaf stood upright, while theirs bowed down 
 to his sheaf. Now the dream had come 
 true. But Joseph still went on speaking 
 roughly to them, and pretending not to know 
 them. He said, You are spies ; you have 
 come from our enemies, to see how poor the 
 land is, and what harm you can do us. 
 
 And they said unto him, Nay, my lord, 
 but to buy food are your servants come. 
 We are all the sons of one man ; we are true 
 
70 
 
 I HE STORY OF JOSEPH. 
 
 men : your servants are no spies. Joseph 
 pretended not to believe them. He said, 
 Nay, but you are come to see how poor and 
 starved the land is. 
 
 Then the ten brothers thought that if they 
 were to tell this great lord who they were, 
 he would be more likely to believe them. 
 So they said, Your servants are twelve 
 brethren, the sons of one man in the land of 
 Canaan ; and, behold, the youngest is this 
 day with our father, and one is not. 
 
 And Joseph said unto them, Now I shall 
 see whether you are spies, or if you are true 
 men. By the life of Pharaoh you shall not 
 go away from here, except your youngest 
 brother come down. Send one of you, and 
 let him fetch your brother ; and all the rest 
 of you shall be kept in prison tiL he comes. 
 By this I shall know whether you are speak- 
 ing the truth, or whether you are spies. 
 
 In Great Distress. 
 
 When Joseph had said this, he ordered 
 them all to be taken to prison ; and he kept 
 them there for three days. 
 
 On the third day, Joseph had his ten 
 brothers brought before him, and he said to 
 them, This is what you must do, and then 
 you shall live ; for I fear God. If you are 
 true men, then let one of your brethren be 
 bound in the prison ; and all the rest may go 
 back to your country, and carry corn for the 
 famine of your houses. But bring your 
 youngest brother unto me; so shall your 
 words be proved to be true, and you shall 
 not die. 
 
 When the men heard this they were 
 greatly distressed. They could not bear the 
 thought of leaving one of their number behind, 
 in an Egyptian prison, while they returned 
 to Canaan ; and besides this, they doubted 
 very much if they would be able to persuade 
 their father to let them bring Benjamin down. 
 
 And now, in their trouble and sorrow, they 
 remembered again the wicked deed they had 
 done, more than twenty years before, and 
 they said one to another, We are indeed 
 guilty about our brother Joseph, because we 
 saw the anguish of his soul when he begged 
 us to spare him; and we would not hear. 
 It is because of what we did then that all this 
 distress is come upon us now. 
 
 And Reuben answered them, saying, Did 
 I not speak to you, saying, Do not sin 
 against the child ; and you would not hear ? 
 And now God is punishing us for it. 
 
 The brothers did not know that Joseph 
 could understand them ; for they had been 
 speaking in Hebrew, and he had been speak- 
 ing to them in the language of Egypt, and 
 had made a man, called an interpreter, 
 explain to them what he had said. But 
 when he heard their words — when he heard 
 them speak in the familiar language of his 
 dear old home — and when he found that 
 they were sorry for their wickedness, his 
 heart was so much touched that he could not 
 keep back his tears. He turned away from 
 them and wept. 
 
 Money in the Sacks. 
 
 He did not wish to make them unhappy, 
 but he was determined to find out if Benjamin 
 were safe. So presently he went back to 
 them again, and talked with them a little. 
 Then he took Simeon from them, and bound 
 him before their eyes. 
 
 Before the brothers set out on their home- 
 ward way again, Joseph told some of his 
 servants to fill their sacks with corn, and 
 secretly to put back into each man's sa 
 the money which each of them had brou 
 to pay for the corn. He also gave he n 
 plenty of food to eat while on their journey 
 Thus did he unto them. Then the men put 
 their sacks upon their asses, and departed. 
 
THE STORY OF JOSEPH. 
 
 71 
 
 It was with very heavy hearts that they 
 journeyed back to Canaan again. They had 
 bad news to take to their poor old father ; 
 and they had already saddened his life so 
 much, that it was a great distress to them to 
 think that the tidings they would bring 
 would cause him more sorrow. 
 
 As they journeyed on they came to an 
 inn, and there they stopped for a time to 
 rest. And as one of them opened his sack, 
 to his great surprise he saw his money there, 
 for it was in the sack, lying on the top of the 
 corn. He said to his brothers, My money 
 is given back ; and, lo, it is even in my sack. 
 And they were greatly afraid, saying one to 
 another, What is this that God has done 
 unto us ? 
 
 At last they came unto Jacob their father 
 in the land of Canaan, and told him all that 
 had happened to them, saying, The man who 
 is the lord of the land spoke very roughly to 
 us, and took us for spies of the country 
 And we said unto him, We are true men 
 we are no spies. We be twelve brethren, 
 sons of our father : one is not, and the 
 youngest is this day with our father in the 
 land of Canaan. 
 
 And the man, the lord of the country, said 
 unto us, This is the way that I shall know 
 that you are true men : leave one of your 
 brethren here with me, and take food for the 
 famine of your households, and be gone ; and 
 
 bring your youngest brother unto me : then 
 I shall know that you are no spies, but that 
 you are true men. So will I give your 
 brother back to you again, and you shall 
 buy and sell in the land. 
 
 Jacob's Grief. 
 
 These were very sad tidings for poor old 
 Jacob. Simeon was a prisoner in Egypt; 
 and he would not be set free till Benjamin 
 should be sent down. When they had 
 finished telling him everything they began to 
 empty their sacks, and to put away the corn 
 which was so scarce and so precious into 
 some safe place. And, behold, every man's 
 bundle of money was in his sack, and when 
 they saw it, both they and their father were 
 very much afraid. And Jacob their father 
 said unto them, You have bereaved me of 
 my children. Joseph is not, and Simeon is 
 not, and you will take Benjamin away. All 
 these things are against me. 
 
 Then Reuben spake unto his father, saying, 
 Kill my two sons, if I do not bring Benjamin 
 back to you safely. Deliver him into my 
 hands, and I will bring him back to you again. 
 
 My son shall not go down with you, 
 Jacob said ; for his brother is dead, and he 
 is left alone. If mischief befall him by the 
 way in which you go, then you will bring 
 down my gray hairs with sorrow to the 
 grave. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 B. C. 1600. 
 
 Joseph and his Brethren ;:; Egypt — The Feast in the Palace— Story of Benjamin— . 
 The Cup in the Sack — The Plea of Judah — Joseph Makes Himself Known to his 
 Brethren — Jacob v t curney to Egypt — A Home in a Far Country — The Blessing 
 of Joseph's Twc onf —Jacob's Death and Burial — Last Days of Joseph. 
 
 4E famine was still 
 3 ore in the land of 
 Canaan, as well as 
 in Egypt and in 
 many other coun- 
 tries ; and with all 
 their care, the corn 
 that Joseph's broth- 
 ers had brought out 
 of Egypt could not 
 last long. After a 
 time it was all eaten 
 up, and they were 
 again in danger of 
 starving unless they 
 could go down to Egypt to buy more. But 
 they knew it was useless to go unless they 
 took Benjamin with them. At last their 
 father Jacob said to them, Go again, buy us 
 a little food. 
 
 And Judah said to his father, The man did 
 very solemnly declare to us that we should 
 not see his face except our brother be with 
 us. If you will send our brother with us, 
 we will go down and buy food for you. But 
 if you will not send him, we will not go 
 down ; for the man said unto us, You shall 
 not see my face except your brother be with 
 you. 
 
 So their father Israel said unto them, If it 
 must be so now, do this. Take some of the 
 best fruits of the land, and carry down a 
 72 
 
 present to the man. Take a little balm, and 
 a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts and 
 almonds. And take double money in your 
 hand : and the money that you found in your 
 sacks, take it all back again ; perhaps it was 
 by some mistake — some oversight— that it 
 was returned. Take also your brother, and 
 arise, go again unto the man. And God 
 Almighty give you mercy before the man, 
 that he may send away your other brother 
 and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my 
 children, I am bereaved. 
 
 At last they were all ready to start. They 
 took Benjamin, and kissed their father, and 
 their wives and little children, and bidding 
 them all good-bye, they went down into 
 Egypt. 
 
 Once again they stood before Joseph. 
 They went, as before, to the place where he 
 was selling the corn ; and when Joseph saw 
 that Benjamin was with them, his heart went 
 out in great love to his young brother, and 
 he longed to put his arms round his neck. 
 But he would not speak to any of them yet ; 
 he wanted to prove his brothers still further. 
 Besides, this was the time for serving out 
 the corn to the people ; and as Joseph was 
 always faithful in doing his duty, and attend- 
 ing to his business, he still went on with his 
 work, and would not leave off till noon, when 
 he would go home to dinner. 
 
 But Joseph spoke to his chief servant or 
 
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JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 
 
 7S 
 
 steward, who managed his house, and said 
 to him, Bring these men home, and make a 
 feast for them ; for they shall dine with me 
 to-day. And the steward did as Joseph 
 commanded him, and he brought the men 
 into Joseph's house. 
 
 Do you think they were pleased at being 
 taken into that grand house ? No ; they 
 were very much afraid. When they remem- 
 bered how roughly the lord of Egypt had 
 spoken to them before, and when they 
 remembered that their brother Simeon was 
 still shut up in prison, they could not feel 
 safe or at their ease. They said to each 
 other, Because of the money that was 
 returned in our sacks at the first time are we 
 brought in here. It was put there on pur- 
 pose, that the man might find an excuse for 
 taking away our asses, and for making us 
 his slaves. 
 
 A Present for Joseph. 
 
 They were so frightened and unhappy 
 about it that they came near to the steward 
 of Joseph's house, and talked with him at 
 the door of the house. And the man said 
 to Joseph's brothers, Peace be to you, fear 
 not : your God, and the God cf your father, 
 has given you treasure in your sacks : I had 
 your money. 
 
 Joseph came at last ; and when they saw 
 him, they brought him the present which 
 was in their hand into the house, and bowed 
 themselves to him to the earth. And Joseph 
 spoke kindly to them, and asked them how 
 they were, and said, Is your father well, the 
 old man of whom you spoke ? Is he yet 
 alive ? 
 
 And they answered, Your servant our 
 father is in good health ; he is yet alive. 
 
 And he lifted up his eyes, and saw his 
 brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and said, 
 Is this your youngest brother of whom you 
 
 told me? He could not refrain from bless- 
 ing Benjamin, for he loved him so much. 
 He said, God be gracious to you, my son. 
 
 Joseph in Tears. 
 
 When Joseph said that, he was obliged to 
 hurry quickly out of the room. He wanted 
 some quiet place where he could weep by 
 himself without being seen ; so he entered 
 into his chamber, and wept there. In a little 
 while he went back to his brothers again. 
 He made a great effort not to give way to 
 tears any more, but to be cheerful ; and he 
 ordered his servants to get the dinner ready. 
 Set on bread, he said. 
 
 So the servants spread the feast. Joseph 
 sat at a table by himself, as he was always 
 accustomed to do. And the Egyptians whc 
 were with him sat at another table by them- 
 selves ; for they would have thought it 
 a dreadful thing to eat bread at the same 
 table at which a Hebrew was sitting, even 
 though he was the governor over all that 
 land. 
 
 At a third table Joseph's brothers were 
 placed. Joseph made them all sit down in 
 proper order before him. The first-born, 
 Reuben, first ; then Simeon ; next to him 
 Levi ; and all the others according to their 
 ages ; and Benjamin last of all. The men 
 wondered how it was that this lord of Egypt 
 could tell about their ages. 
 
 It was a happy party in that room that 
 day. Joseph's brothers had lost all their 
 fear of the ruler of the land, when they found 
 how kind he was to them. And they 
 enjoyed the feast too. For this was a time 
 of grievous famine, and they had often of 
 late not had even enough to eat ; and it had 
 been a very long time since they had seen 
 such plenty, and had sat down to such 
 a feast as this. 
 
 It is often the custom in Eastern countries 
 
74 
 
 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 
 
 for the giver of a feast to send some of the 
 nicest dishes, which are before himself, to 
 the guest whom he wishes most to honor, or 
 of whom he is most fond ; and sometimes he 
 chooses some dainty morsels out of the 
 dishes to put upon his friend's plate. Just 
 in this way Joseph sent nice things from his 
 table to his brothers. But to Benjamin he 
 sent five times as much as to any of the 
 others. He showed plainly that Benjamin 
 was his favorite. 
 
 It did not at all displease the others that 
 the lord of Egypt should like Benjamin best ; 
 so they ate and drank, and were merry with 
 him. As Joseph watched them he must- 
 have seen that they were not jealous of 
 Benjamin's larger portion, as they had been, 
 years before, of his own coat of many colors. 
 
 The Cup in the Sack. 
 
 The day after that feast in Joseph's house 
 the eleven brothers were to return home. 
 But before they left, Joseph commanded his 
 steward, who had the charge of his house, 
 saying, Fill the men's sacks with food, as 
 much as they can carry; and put every 
 man's money in his sack again. And put 
 my cup — the silver cup out of which I 
 always drink — in the sack of the youngest, 
 and his corn money also. And the steward 
 did everything exactly as he had been told. 
 
 Can you guess why Joseph had ordered 
 his silver cup to be put in Benjamin's sack ? 
 He wanted to find out if the brothers would 
 take Benjamin's part when they should see 
 him in trouble and difficulty. He also 
 wanted to see if their hearts were as hard and 
 unfeeling towards his dear old father as they 
 vvere when they sold him to the Ishmaelites. 
 
 As soon as the morning was light the 
 men were sent away laden with corn. No 
 doubt they felt very thankful and happy at 
 being on their homeward way again, with all 
 
 their number complete — Simeon restored to 
 them, and not one left behind this time. 
 
 When they were gone out of the city, and 
 were not yet far off, Joseph said to his stew- 
 ard, Go quickly after the men, and when 
 you have overtaken them, say unto them. 
 Why have you returned evil for good? 
 Why have you stolen my master's cup ? It 
 is very wrong of you to have done this. 
 
 So the steward ran after Joseph's brothers, 
 and very soon came up with them. Then 
 he spoke to them, just as Joseph had desired 
 him to do. 
 
 The Cup Found. 
 
 The brothers were greatly distressed to 
 think that Joseph could have supposed they 
 would act so ungratefully and wickedly. 
 They knew they were innocent, and so they 
 said, Why does my lord say such words ? 
 God forbid that your servants should do 
 such a thing! You remember that when we 
 found the money returned in our sacks we 
 brought it again to you out of the land of 
 Canaan ; so do you think we should steal 
 out of your lord's house either silver or 
 gold ? If you can find the silver cup with 
 any one of us, then let that person die ; and 
 all the rest of us will be slaves to my lord. 
 
 And the steward answered, No, you shall 
 not all be slaves ; only he with whom the 
 cup is found shall be my servant. 
 
 The brothers felt so sure that no cup 
 would be found amongst their things, that 
 as quickly as possible they untied their sacks 
 and put them on the ground and opened 
 them. And the steward began to search in 
 every sack. He examined Reuben's first, 
 and all the others afterwards in regular 
 order ; till last of all he looked in Benjamin's 
 sack, and there the cup was found. 
 
 It was a terrible shock to all the brothers — 
 a bitter sorrow and surprise. They tore 
 
76 
 
 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 
 
 their clothes in sign of great sorrow, and 
 returned to the city. 
 
 And Joseph said unto them, What thing 
 is this that you have done ? Did you not 
 know that I should be certain to find out 
 your wickedness ? 
 
 Then Judah spoke. It was he who had 
 promised his father to take care of Benjamin, 
 and to bring him back safely or else to bear 
 the blame for ever. So now he sorrowfully 
 answered, What shall we say unto my lord ? 
 what shall we speak ? or how shall we clear 
 ourselves ? God has found out the iniquity 
 of your servants. He is punishing us for 
 our sins. Behold, we have come back to be 
 your slaves, both we, and he also with whom 
 the cup is found. 
 
 And Joseph said, God forbid that I should 
 do so : but the man in whose sack the cup 
 was found, he shall be my servant ; and as 
 for you, go back in peace unto your father. 
 
 Then Judah said, Now therefore, I pray 
 you, let me remain here and be a bondman 
 to my lord, instead of the lad ; and let the 
 lad go home again with his brothers. For 
 how could I go up to my father if the lad be 
 not with me? I could not bear to see his 
 great sorrow, for I think he would die of grief. 
 
 Joseph Tells Who He Is. 
 
 At Judah's words Joseph could no longer 
 refrain himself before all those who stood by 
 him, for many people were in the room 
 besides Joseph's brothers. He cried out, Let 
 every one go out of the room. 
 
 So all the Egyptians left the room, and no 
 one was there when Joseph made himself 
 known to his brethren. He had yearned 
 over them with exceeding tenderness even 
 while he was appearing to treat them harshly, 
 yet it was but to try whether they were 
 really sorry for the sins of former years. 
 
 Joseph could not keep back his tears when 
 
 he made himself known to his brethren. 
 He wept aloud — so loud that all the Egypt- 
 ians who were in the house heard him. 
 And Joseph said to his brothers, I am 
 Joseph ; does my father yet live ? And his 
 brethren could not answer him, for they were 
 terrified at his presence. 
 
 He saw how much afraid they were, and 
 that because of their great surprise and fear 
 they had not a word to say ; so he spoke to 
 them most lovingly. Come near to me, I 
 pray you, he said. And they came near. 
 Then he said to them, I am Joseph your 
 brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now 
 therefore be not grieved nor angry with 
 yourselves that you sold me ; for it was 
 God's doing. He sent me before you to 
 preserve life, that people should not die of 
 starvation. For these two years has the 
 famine been in the land, and yet there are 
 five more years to come, during which there 
 shall be no ploughing nor harvest, for no 
 corn will grow. And God sent me before 
 you to save food, that your lives might be 
 saved by a great deliverance. 
 
 Jacob Receives Good News, 
 
 Make haste, and go up to my father, and 
 say unto him, Thus says your son Joseph, 
 God has made me lord of all Egypt : come 
 down unto me, do not delay. And you shall 
 dwell in the land of Goshen ; and you shall 
 be near unto me, you and your children, and 
 your children's children, and your flocks and 
 your herds, and all that you have. And I 
 will take care of you there, and will feed you, 
 lest you and your household and all that 
 you have become very poor, for there are 
 yet five years more of famine. 
 
 Once more the sons of Jacob are on their 
 way from the land of Egypt to return to 
 their father's house. A strange joy and 
 thankfulness are in their hearts ; for Joseph 
 
JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 
 
 77 
 
 is not dead nor pining away in cruel slavery, 
 and they have glad tidings to take back to 
 their patient, sorrowful father. We may be 
 sure they made all the haste they could, and 
 journeyed as fast as they were able to go, 
 till they came into the land of Canaan, and 
 reached their father's house. Then they 
 
 Tnen they told him all the words of 
 Joseph, and gave him all the loving messages 
 he had sent. And when Jacob saw the 
 wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, 
 the spirit of Jacob their father revived. And 
 he said, It is enough — I believe it now; 
 Joseph my son is yet alive. I will go and 
 
 JOSEPH MAKES HIMSELF KNOWN TO HIS BRETHREN. 
 
 said to him, Joseph is yet alive, and he is 
 governor over all the land of Egypt. 
 
 And the heart of Jacob fainted. The 
 sudden news brought him no comfort, but 
 only revived again more keenly the memory 
 of his great loss ; for he did not believe what 
 his sons said. It seemed too good to be true. 
 
 see him before I die. He and his sons 
 made every preparation for their departure 
 as quickly as possible, and then, taking 
 everything that belonged to them, they left 
 the vale of Hebron, where they had lived 
 for so many years. 
 
 They had not gone very far when they 
 
78 
 
 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 
 
 came to Beer-sheba, which was on their way 
 to Egypt. Here it was that Jacob's father 
 and mother, Isaac and Rebekah, had lived 
 so long ; and Israel rested here that night, 
 and offered sacrifice unto the God of his 
 father Isaac. And God spoke to Israel in 
 the visions of the night, and said, Jacob, 
 Jacob. And he answered, Here am I. 
 
 And he said, I am God, the God of your 
 father. Fear not to go down into Egypt ; 
 for I will there make of you a great nation. 
 I will go down with you into Egypt ; and I 
 will also surely bring you up again. And 
 Joseph shall put his hands upon your eyes. 
 
 Then Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba. 
 And the sons of Israel carried Jacob their 
 father, and their little ones, and their wives, 
 in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to 
 carry them. And they took their cattle and 
 their goods which they had gotten in the 
 land of Canaan, and came into Egypt ; Jacob, 
 and all his family with him. It was a large 
 party — nearly seventy persons — for there 
 were his sons, and his sons' sons with him, 
 and his daughters, and his sons' daughters, 
 and all his household. So they came at last 
 into Egypt. 
 
 Joseph Hastens to Meet his Father. 
 
 Goshen was the name of the place to 
 which they had come, and where Joseph had 
 said that their home was to be. As soon, 
 therefore, as they had arrived, Jacob sent 
 Judah to Joseph to tell him they were come. 
 
 As soon as Joseph heard the good news, 
 he ordered his chariot to be got ready at 
 once ; for he was in great haste to see his 
 dear old father. It was not long before 
 Joseph reached the land of Goshen where 
 his father was, and presented himself before 
 him. And Joseph fell on his fathers neck 
 and kissed him, and he wept on his neck a 
 good while. 
 
 And Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me 
 die, since I have seen your face. I am con- 
 tent not to live any longer, because you are 
 yet alive. 
 
 Now Joseph had to be very careful not to 
 make the Egyptians jealous or angry, by his 
 bringing down such a large number of his 
 family into their famine-stricken country. 
 He knew the king would welcome them ; but 
 he feared the people might not be pleased. 
 So Joseph said unto his brethren, and to all 
 his father's house, I will go to Pharaoh, and 
 will speak unto him and say, My brethren 
 and my father's house, which were in the 
 land of Canaan, are come unto me. And 
 the men are shepherds, for it has always 
 been their business to take care of cattle ; 
 and they have brought their flocks and their 
 herds, and all that they have. 
 
 Then Joseph explained to his brothers that 
 the Egyptians did not like shepherds at all. 
 They were partly afraid of them for one 
 reason ; for some warlike shepherds had 
 once come into their country, and had fought 
 against them, and burned their cities, killing 
 the men, and taking the women and children 
 to be slaves. Besides this, the Egyptians 
 had a great dislike to and contempt for 
 people who lived in tents, and who led a 
 wandering life. For most of the shepherds 
 in that part of the world were obliged to 
 wander about from place to place, to find 
 pasture-land enough to feed their cattle. 
 
 Pharaoh Welcomes Jacob. 
 
 And Joseph said to his brethren, Pharaoh 
 is sure to call for you ; and it shall come to 
 pass when he shall ask, What is your occu- 
 pation? that you shall say, Your servants' 
 trade has been about cattle, from our 
 youth even until now, both we and also 
 our fathers. Then he will let you dwell 
 in the land of Goshen : for every shepherd 
 
JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 
 
 7& 
 
 is an abomination unto the Egyptians. 
 After this, Joseph brought in Jacob, his 
 father, and set him before Pharaoh. And 
 now, when Israel, halting upon his thigh 
 (or walking lame, as we say), was brought 
 into the king's presence, he lifted up his 
 hands and blessed the king; for he could 
 not forget what great kindness his darling 
 son had received at his hands. 
 
 They Settle in Goshsn. 
 
 And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How old 
 are you ? And Jacob answered and said 
 unto the king, The days of the years of my 
 pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years. 
 Few and evil have the days of the years 
 of my life been. I have had much trouble 
 and sorrow, and I have not lived as long as 
 my fathers have done ; they were much 
 older than I am when they ended the years 
 of their pilgrimage. 
 
 When Jacob had spoken to the king, and 
 told him in those few sad words how full of 
 trial and grief his life had been, he blessed 
 Pharaoh, and went out from his presence. 
 
 And Joseph placed his father and his 
 brethren, and gave them a possession in the 
 land of Egypt, in the best of the land, even 
 in Goshen, as Pharaoh had commanded. 
 And Joseph took care of his father, and his 
 brethren, and all his father's household ; and 
 he gave them bread enough for all their 
 families, and for their little ones. 
 
 Many years passed away, and Jacob was 
 still living peacefully in the midst of his 
 family in the land of Goshen. And God 
 blessed him and his sons, so they had great 
 riches ; and they grew and increased in 
 number exceedingly. And Jacob lived in 
 Goshen, in the land of Egypt, seventeen years. 
 
 But the time was drawing very near now 
 when he must die. He felt that he had not 
 long to live, and he was quite ready for his 
 
 pilgrimage to end ; but he could not beat 
 the thought of being buried in Egypt. 
 Canaan, the land of promise, was very dear 
 to him ; and there it was he wished his body 
 to lie. 
 
 So he sent for his son Joseph, and said to 
 him, If now I have found grace in your sight, 
 make me a solemn promise, I pray you, and 
 deal kindly and truly with me. Bury me 
 not, I pray you, in Egypt ; but I will lie with 
 my fathers in the cave of Machpelah in the 
 land of Canaan ; and you shall carry me out 
 of Egypt, and shall bury me in their burying- 
 place. 
 
 And Joseph answered, I will do as you 
 have said. Soon after this Jacob became 
 very ill ; and some one told Joseph, sayings 
 Behold, your father is sick. 
 
 Joseph's Two Sons. 
 
 When Joseph heard this he took his two 
 sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, and left his 
 home at once to go to his father in Goshen. 
 Then they told Jacob, saying, Behold, your 
 son Joseph is come to see you. 
 
 Now the eyes of Jacob were dim for age, 
 so that he could not see ; but he knew that 
 others were in the room with him besides 
 Joseph. Perhaps he had remarked the sound 
 of strange footsteps when Ephraim and 
 Manasseh came in with their father, for Jacob 
 asked, Who are these ? 
 
 And Joseph said unto his father, They are 
 my two sons, whom God has given me in 
 this place. 
 
 And Jacob said, Bring them, I pray you, 
 unto me, and I will bless them. 
 
 And Joseph brought them near to his 
 father, who kissed them and embraced them, 
 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not 
 thought to see your face again ; and, lo, God 
 has shown me your children also. 
 
 Then Joseph took away his sons from 
 
80 
 
 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 
 
 their dying grandfather's loving embrace, 
 and he bowed himself before his father, with 
 his face to the earth. 
 
 But now the blessing was to be given, and 
 Israel was to lay his hands upon the heads 
 of the two lads. So Joseph took them both, 
 and placed them before his father in such a 
 manner that Jacob's right hand might rest 
 on the head of Manasseh, and his left on the 
 head of Ephraim ; for he wished the best 
 blessing to be for Manasseh, his first-born. 
 
 His Hands Were Crossed. 
 
 Though Jacob could not see, yet he knew 
 what Joseph had done. He did not do, how- 
 ever, as Joseph wished ; for he crossed his 
 hands, and placed his right hand on the 
 head of Ephraim, the younger son, and his 
 left hand on Manasseh 's head. 
 
 And he blessed them, and said, God, 
 before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac 
 did walk, the God which fed me all my life 
 long unto this day, the Angel who redeemed 
 me from all evil, bless the lads ; and let 
 them grow into a multitude in the midst of 
 the earth. 
 
 When Joseph saw that his father laid his 
 right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it 
 displeased him, and he held up his father's 
 hand to remove it from Ephraim 's head unto 
 Manasseh's head. And Joseph said to his 
 father, Not so, my father, for this is the first- 
 born ; put your right hand upon his head. 
 
 But his father refused, and said, I know it, 
 my son, I know it. Manasseh also shall 
 become a people, and he also shall be great ; 
 but truly his younger brother shall be 
 greater than he, and his family shall become 
 a multitude of nations. 
 
 Thus Israel blessed the two sons of Joseph 
 that day ; and he said to them, In the time 
 to come, when people shall give a blessing 
 to those to whom they wish well, they shall 
 
 say, God make you as Ephraim and Man- 
 asseh ; for you shall be rich and prosperous. 
 
 Jacob's Dying "Words. 
 
 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I 
 die ; but God shall be with you, and shall 
 bring you again into the land of your fathers. 
 
 And Jacob called his sons unto him, and 
 said, Gather yourselves together, even all of 
 you, that I may tell you that which shall 
 happen to you in the last days. Gather 
 yourselves together, and hear, you sons of 
 Jacob, and hearken unto Israel your father. 
 
 So Jacob's twelve sons came as he desired 
 them to do, and gathered round his bed to 
 hear his dying words. 
 
 He spoke of each of his sons, beginning 
 with Reuben his first-born: and they all 
 stood silently round him, listening very 
 intently to his last words. He spoke of their 
 faults too. He said that Reuben had lost 
 the right of the eldest born, because he had 
 been very wicked, and because his character 
 was weak and uncertain. He strongly 
 blamed Simeon and Levi for their cruelty in 
 Shechem, and said that their families should 
 suffer for that evil act, and should not be as 
 strong and great as they otherwise would 
 have been, but that they should be divided 
 and scattered. 
 
 But of Judah he prophesied great things. 
 He said, Judah, you are he whom your 
 brethren shall praise. There was much that 
 was very noble in the character of Judah, as 
 we have seen ; and Jacob said that he should 
 be a great chief among his brethren, and that 
 his father's children should bow down before 
 him. Moreover, it was of the family of 
 Judah that the Saviour of the world, the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, should be born ; so his 
 tribe was honored far beyond all others. 
 
 And to Joseph, or rather to his two sons, 
 was given the birthright that Reuben had 
 
JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 
 
 81 
 
 lost by his sinful folly. For Jacob had said, 
 Your two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, are 
 mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be 
 mine. 
 
 To each of his twelve sons, by turn, Jacob 
 told what should befall him in the far-off 
 years. And after he had done that, he 
 
 Abraham bought for a possession of a burial- 
 place. There they buried Abraham and 
 Sarah his wife ; there they buried Isaac and 
 Rebekah his wife ; and there I buried Leah. 
 And when Jacob had made an end of 
 commanding his sons — when he had ex- 
 plained to them all that he wanted them to 
 
 THE SONS OF JACOB BURYING THEIR FATHER 
 
 blessed them all ; every one according to his 
 blessing he blessed them. 
 
 And he charged them, and said unto them, 
 I am going to die : Bury me with my fathers 
 in the cave which is in the field of Ephron 
 the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of 
 Machpelah, in the land of Canaan, which 
 6 
 
 do — he gathered up his feet into the bed, 
 and died. 
 
 Then Joseph fell upon his father's face, 
 and wept upon him, and kissed him. And 
 Joseph commanded his servants the physi- 
 cians to embalm his father's body. 
 
 The Egyptians had a way of preserving 
 
82 
 
 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 
 
 bodies from decay. They used certain drugs 
 and gums and spices, and used them so 
 skillfully that to this day there are Egyptian 
 mummies to be seen which are more than 
 three thousand years old. An embalmed 
 body is called a mummy. 
 
 So the physicians, whose special duty it 
 was to attend to this work, embalmed the 
 dead body of the aged Israel. And his sons, 
 and the Egyptians also, mourned for him 
 seventy days. 
 
 But Joseph had not forgotten the promise 
 he had made to his dear old father. He had 
 not forgotten how eagerly he had desired to 
 be buried in the cave of Machpelah ; and 
 Joseph was very anxious to carry out his 
 wishes as soon as possible, yet he would not 
 go without the king's permission. 
 
 The King Allows Him to Go. 
 
 So when the seventy days were past 
 Joseph spoke unto the house of Pharaoh 
 (that means to the king's family, or to the 
 chief persons in his household), saying, If 
 now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, 
 I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 
 My father made me make him a very solemn 
 promise ; for he said to me, Lo, I die : in 
 my grave which I have digged for myself in 
 the land of Canaan, there shall you bury me. 
 Now therefore let me go up, I pray you, and 
 bury my father, and I will come back again. 
 
 And Pharaoh said, Go up and bury your 
 father, according as he made you swear. 
 
 Why did not Joseph speak directly to the 
 king himself, as he had always done before ? 
 Why did he now, for the first time, make his 
 request to Pharaoh through some of the 
 king's family? 
 
 This was the reason. Joseph was accus- 
 tomed to dress and to wear his hair in the 
 same way that the Egyptians did. They 
 always shaved off the beard and all the hair 
 
 that grew on their faces. But when they 
 were in mourning for a relative, they were 
 obliged to let the hair grow on their faces 
 again ; for they were not allowed to shave 
 then. Now it was not considered respectful 
 or proper for the Egyptians to appear before 
 their king unshaved ; so Joseph would not 
 venture before him till all the mourning was 
 ended, and till he might shave the hair off 
 his face as before. 
 
 As soon as Pharaoh had given Joseph 
 leave to go, he went up to bury his father. 
 And with him went up all the servants of 
 Pharaoh, the elders (or chief persons) of his 
 house, and all the elders of the land of 
 Egypt. All the house of Joseph went too, 
 and all his brethren, and his father's house ; 
 only their little ones, and their flocks and 
 their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. 
 And there went up with Joseph both char- 
 iots and horsemen — an armed guard to 
 watch over them in case they should meet 
 with dangers on the road — and it was a very 
 great company. 
 
 The Funeral March to Canaan. 
 
 There were Egyptian warriors, officers of 
 the king, gentlemen of the court, and men 
 of the highest rank in the land of Egypt, all 
 doing honor to the memory of Jacob by 
 accompanying his sons and grandsons on 
 their funeral march to Canaan. 
 
 They came at last to the promised land, 
 and there they mourned with a great and 
 very sore lamentation. For seven days they 
 mourned and wept, because the great shep- 
 herd chief was dead. And the people of 
 Canaan looked on in wonder. Seventeen 
 years before, they had seen Jacob setting off 
 in Egyptian wagons, with all his sons, and 
 all his possessions, to go and live in the land 
 of Goshen ; now his dead body was brought 
 back with much love, and great honor, to be 
 
JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 
 
 83 
 
 buried with his father and his grandfather. 
 Then the sons of Israel buried their father 
 in the land of Canaan, as he had commanded 
 them. When this solemn duty was done, 
 Joseph returned into Egypt, he and his 
 brethren, and all those who went up with 
 him to bury his father. But Joseph's broth- 
 ers were not at ease. They were afraid, now 
 their father was dead, that Joseph would 
 
 your brethren, and their sin ; for they did 
 unto you evil. And now, we pray you, for- 
 give the sin of the servants of the God of 
 your father. 
 
 When Joseph heard this message he wept. 
 His heart was so true, and so tender and 
 loving, that he could not understand how it 
 was that his brothers did not believe in his 
 complete forgiveness. And his brothers 
 
 EMBALMING THE 
 
 revenge himself upon them for all their 
 cruelty and unkindness to him when he was 
 a boy. 
 
 They said, Joseph will hate us, and he will 
 certainly punish us for all the evil which we 
 did unto him. 
 
 So they sent a messenger unto Joseph, 
 saying, Your father did command us before 
 he died, saying, So shall you say unto Joseph, 
 Forgive, I pray you now, the trespass of 
 
 BODY OF JOSEPH. 
 
 went to him, and fell down before his face ; 
 and they said, Behold, we are your servants. 
 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not; 
 for am I in the place of God ? He meant to 
 say, Do not be afraid of me ; only fear God. 
 But as for you, though you thought to do 
 me evil, God meant it for good, that many 
 people might be saved alive during that time 
 of famine. Now therefore fear you not ; I 
 will take care of you and of your little ones. 
 
84 
 
 JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN IN EGYPT. 
 
 And he comforted them, and spoke kindly 
 to them. 
 
 And Joseph lived in Egypt, he and all his 
 father's house. And God blessed him there, 
 and prospered him, and he saw his grand- 
 children and great-grandchildren growing up 
 around him. But when he was a hundred 
 and ten years old, he said unto his brothers, 
 I am dying ; and God will surely visit you, 
 and bring you out of th \ "and into the land 
 which he promised to Ab 1 aham, to Isaac, 
 and to Jacob. 
 
 Joseph Buried in Canaan. 
 
 And Joseph made the children of Israel 
 promise that when the time should come for 
 them to leave Egypt and return to Canaan, 
 they should not forget to take his dead body 
 with them, and to bury him in the promised 
 land. 
 
 God will surely visit you, he said, and you 
 shall carry up my bones from here. So 
 Joseph died. And they embalmed him and 
 put him in a coffin in Egypt. 
 
 But they did not bury him there. Faith- 
 ful to their promise, they waited till they 
 should leave the country where they had 
 already lived so long. 
 
 They little knew how long it would be* 
 before they should see the beautiful land of 
 Canaan. They little thought that bitter 
 sorrow and trouble and slavery were before 
 them, and that the Egyptian people, who 
 were now so kind, would most cruelly 
 oppress them. 
 
 But God was very good to them. He 
 never for one moment forgot them, neither 
 did he forget his promises to Abraham, Isaac,, 
 and Jacob. When the right time had come, 
 he took them out of the hands of those who 
 were so cruelly ill-using them, and brought 
 them out of the land of Egypt with a strong 
 arm. 
 
 The account of the journeyings of the 
 children of Israel from Egypt to Canaan is 
 a very strange and wonderful story. 
 
 When at last, several hundred years after 
 Joseph died, the children of Israel reached 
 the land of Canaan, they buried him in 
 Shechem, in that parcel of ground which 
 Jacob had bought for a hundred pieces of 
 silver, and which he afterwards gave to 
 Joseph as the one portion more than his 
 brothers had received. So the last wish of 
 Joseph was fulfilled, that he should be buried 
 in the land of Canaan. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 B. C. 1571. 
 
 The Story of Moses — The Little Lifeboat — Adoftel Child of Pharaoh's Daughter 
 
 — Cruel Treatment of the Israelites in Egypt — Moses Slays an Egyptian — At 
 the Burning Bush — Aaron's Rod Becomes a Serpent — The Ten Plagues— -The 
 First-born of the Egyptians Slain — Feast of the Passover — The Hebrews Pass 
 through the Red Sea— Pharaoh and his Host Drowned — The Song of Triumph. 
 
 HEN Joseph 
 and all his 
 brothers were 
 dead, and Pha- 
 raoh and all the 
 Egyptians who 
 had known 
 them were dead 
 too, then a new 
 king ruled over Egypt. He was also called 
 Pharaoh, for that was a name given to all 
 the kings of Egypt beside their own names. 
 This Pharaoh forgot the good that Joseph 
 had done for the Egyptians, and he did not 
 like to see the families of the children of 
 Israel becoming so large, and living in the 
 best part of Egypt. 
 
 When Jacob came from Canaan with his 
 sons, and their wives, and their children, 
 there were seventy people altogether. Now 
 there were thousands and thousands — the 
 families had grown so many and so large. 
 
 Pharaoh was jealous of them. He said, 
 I cannot have so many of these Hebrews, 
 or Israelites, in the land. So he set them to 
 very hard work, and treated them most 
 cruelly, for he thought this would make 
 them weak, and then they would die. 
 
 But he could not destroy the people in 
 this way, so he tried another plan. He told 
 
 the nurses who went to help the mothers to 
 take care of their little children, to throw all 
 the boy-babies into the river Nile as soon as 
 they were born. The nurses did not obey 
 this wicked law, but saved all the babies 
 alive that they could. 
 
 At this time there lived a good man and 
 his wife, who had one daughter named Miriam, 
 and a little boy three years old, named Aaron. 
 He was born before the king made this cruel 
 law. Then another child was born; it was 
 a little boy. He was such a beautiful baby 
 that the mother said, I cannot throw him 
 into the river. 
 
 Hiding the Little Boy. 
 
 For three months she took great pains to 
 hide him, so that the Egyptians should not 
 know that she had a little child. At the end 
 of that time she could hide him no longer, 
 for he was bigger and cried louder; and she 
 was sadly afraid that he would be discovered. 
 
 What can I do? she said. Must my little 
 babe be thrown into the river ? She soon 
 thought what she would do. 
 
 There grew upon the banks of the river 
 Nile a large reed or rush called papyrus. 
 This was useful in many ways. A kind of 
 paper was made from it ; our word paper comes 
 from papyrus. It was also used for making 
 such things as we make of wicker-work. 
 
 85 
 
86 
 
 THE STORY OF MOSES. 
 
 The mother thought, I will make a cradle- 
 boat for my baby to lie in when I put him 
 into the river. So she took the leaves of the 
 papyrus, and plaited them into a cradle. 
 
 When this little ark or boat was made, she 
 covered it all over on the outside with a kind 
 of pitch, so as to keep the water out. Very 
 
 to the river, and placed it among the tali 
 rushes which grew on its banks. She dared 
 not stop to watch it herself, but she told he* 
 daughter Miriam to stay near the place, and 
 see what became of it. 
 
 Soon Miriam saw a lady and her maids 
 coming along. She was a princess, the 
 
 PHARAOH S DAUGHTER FINDING MOSES. 
 
 likely the mother filled the inside with some- 
 thing soft, and made it as comfortable as she 
 could. 
 
 The mother with many tears and prayers 
 lifted the child from her bosom, and laid him 
 in this strange cradle. Then she carried it 
 
 daughter of Pharaoh the king. As she 
 passed by the river-side, the lady saw some- 
 thing like a tiny boat among the rushes. 
 She told one of her maids to draw it out 
 and bring it to her. 
 
 When she opened it, she saw in it ? lovely 
 
THE STORY OF MOSES. 
 
 87 
 
 babe. As she and her maid looked, the | one; she knew that it was one of the Hebrew 
 rAild cried. No wonder ! for all the faces I children that had been put there, so that it 
 
 MOSES BROUGHT BEFORE PHARAOH S DAUGHTER. 
 
 were strange to him, and it was his mother's 
 face that he wanted to see when he awoke. 
 The princess was sorry for the poor little 
 
 might not be killed according to her father's 
 order. This beautiful boy shall be my child, 
 she said; I will take care of him. 
 
88 
 
 THE STORY OF MOSES. 
 
 Just then Miriam came up to the princess ; 
 she did not tell her that she was the baby's 
 sister, but she asked, Shall I go and call you 
 a nurse of the Hebrew women, that she may 
 take care of the child for you ? The princess 
 Void her to go. 
 
 ians did see the babe, for they would not 
 harm him. He was to be treated, not as a 
 Hebrew child, but as a young prince; he 
 was to be like a son to Pharaoh's daughter. 
 When he was old enough, his mother 
 brought him to the princess, and she called 
 
 THE ISRAELITES MADE TO WORK HARD IN EGYPT. 
 
 So Miriam went and called the child's 
 mother. When she came, Pharaoh's daughter 
 said, Take this child, and nurse it for me; 
 and I will pay you for your trouble. So the 
 mother took the baby home with her. 
 
 Now, she need not be afraid if the Egypt- 
 
 his name Moses, because she said, I drew 
 him out of the water. The word Moses 
 means " drawn out." 
 
 Moses lived at the court of Pharaoh until 
 he was forty years old. He was taught in 
 all the learning of the Egyptians, as if he 
 
PHARAOH'S DAUGHTER FINDING MOSES 
 
THE STORY OF MOSES. 
 
 were indeed the son of Pharaoh's daughter, 
 and riches and honors were given him. 
 
 And now came the time when he must 
 choose between two things, whether he 
 would suffer affliction with his own people 
 or enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. 
 For if he still dwelt in the king's court, he 
 must needs do as they of the court were 
 wont to do, following evil ways, and bowing 
 
 89 
 
 king. One day he went to look at them, as 
 they were working in the hot sun, bending 
 under their heavy burdens. There was a 
 poor man who had such a great weight to 
 carry that he could not move fast; so the 
 Egyptian taskmaster, who was put over these 
 men to make the work, hit him hard. 
 
 This cruel deed vexed Moses. And he 
 looked this way and that way, and when 
 
 MOSES SLAYING 
 
 down to false gods. And because he had 
 faith, believing in the things that were unseen, 
 he chose the hard lot of the people of God 
 rather than all the riches and honors that 
 would have come in due course to the son 
 of Pharaoh's daughter. 
 
 But Moses did not forget his brethren the 
 Israelites, who had to make bricks, and build 
 cities, and work very hard indeed for the 
 
 THE EGYPTIAN. 
 
 he saw that there was no man, he slew the 
 Egyptian and hid him in the sand. And 
 when he went out the second day, behold, 
 two men of the Hebrews strove together 
 and he said to him that did wrong, Where- 
 fore smitest thou thy neighbor? And he said 
 Who made thee a prince and a judge over 
 us? Intendest thou to kill me, as thou 
 killedst the Egyptian? And Moses feared 
 
90 
 
 THE STORY OF MOSES. 
 
 and said, Surely this thing is known. Now 
 when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought 
 to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the 
 face of Pharaoh into the land of Midian and 
 sat down by a well. Now, the priest of 
 Midian had seven daughters, and they came 
 and drew water, and filled the troughs to 
 water their father's flock. And the shepherds 
 
 daughters, Where is he? Why is it, that ye 
 have left the man? Call him, that he may 
 eat bread. And Moses was content to dwell 
 with the man, and he gave Moses, Zipporah 
 his daughter, to be his wife. 
 
 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his 
 father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and on 
 a certain occasion he drove his flock into the 
 
 MOSES AT THE BURNING BUSH. 
 
 came and drove them away, but Moses stood 
 lip and helped them and watered their flock. 
 And when they came to Reuel, their father, 
 he said, How is it, that ye are come so soon 
 to-day? And they said, An Egyptian deliv- 
 ered us out of the hand of the shepherds, 
 and also drew water enough for us and 
 watered our flock. And he said unto his 
 
 inner part of the desert, and came to the 
 mountain of God on his way towards Horeb, 
 And the Angel of the Lord appeared unto 
 him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a 
 bush; and he looked, and, behold, the bush 
 burned with fire, but was not consumed. 
 And Moses said, I will go and see this great 
 sight, why the bush is not burnt. 
 
THE STORY OF MOSES. 
 
 91 
 
 And when the Lord saw that he went for- 
 ward, He called to him out of the midst of 
 the bush and said, Moses, Moses. And he 
 answered, Here I am. And he said, Come 
 not nigh hither, put off thy shoes from thy 
 feet, for the place whereon thou standest is 
 holy ground ; I am the God of thy father, 
 the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and 
 the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, 
 for he was afraid to look upon God. 
 
 And the Lord said to him, I have surely 
 seen the affliction of my people in Egypt 
 and I have heard their cry by reason of their 
 taskmasters ; for I know their sorrows. And 
 I am come down to deliver them out of the 
 hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them 
 out of that land into a good and large land, 
 into a land flowing with milk and honey. 
 Come now therefore, and I will send thee to 
 Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my 
 people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. 
 
 The Rod Becomes a Serpent. 
 
 But Moses said unto God, Who am I, that 
 I should go to Pharaoh? And that I should 
 bring forth the children of Israel out of 
 Egypt? God answered, Certainly I will be 
 with thee, and thus shalt thou say to the 
 children of Israel, Jehovah, the God of your 
 fathers, hath sent me unto you. 
 
 But Moses answered and said, Behold, 
 they will not believe me, nor hearken unto 
 my voice, for they will say, The Lord hath 
 not appeared to thee. And the Lord said 
 to him, What is that in thy hand? And he 
 said, A rod. And the Lord said, Cast it on 
 the ground. And he cast it on the ground 
 and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from 
 it. And the Lord said, Put forth thine hand 
 and take it by the tail. And he put forth 
 his hand and caught it, and it was turned 
 into a rod again, That they may believe, 
 saith he, that the God of their fathers, the 
 
 God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob 
 hath appeared unto thee. 
 
 And further the Lord said to him, Put 
 now thine hand into thy bosom. And he 
 put his hand into his bosom; and when he 
 took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as 
 snow. And the Lord said, Put thine hand 
 into thy bosom again. And he put his hand 
 into his bosom again, and, behold, it was 
 turned again as his other flesh, 
 
 And the Lord said again, If they will not 
 believe these two signs nor hearken to thy 
 voice, then take water of the river, and pour 
 it upon the dry land and it shall become 
 blood. 
 
 And Moses said unto the Lord, O my 
 Lord, I am not eloquent, I am slow of speech 
 and of a slow tongue. And the Lord said 
 to him,Who hath made man's mouth, or who 
 maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or 
 the blind? Have not I, the Lord? Now 
 therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth 
 and teach thee what thou shalt say. 
 
 In Egypt Again. 
 
 Moses however entreated, and God 
 appointed his brother Aaron to be his 
 spokesman. Then Moses took his wife 
 and his sons and returned to the land 
 of Egypt, for God had told him to return 
 and that all the men were dead who sought 
 his life. And the Lord said to Aaron, Go 
 into the wilderness to meet Moses. And 
 he went and met him in the mount of God 
 and kissed him. 
 
 And Moses told Aaron all the words of 
 the Lord, who had sent him, and all the 
 signs which He had commanded him. And 
 Moses and Aaron went, and gathered 
 together all the elders of the children 
 of Israel. And Aaron spake all the words 
 which the Lord had spoken, and Moses 
 did the signs in the sight of the people. 
 
92 
 
 THE STORY OF MOSES. 
 
 And the people believed; and when they 
 heard that the Lord had visited the children 
 of Israel, and that he had looked upon their 
 affliction, then they bowed their heads and 
 worshipped. 
 
 After Moses and Aaron had told the Israel- 
 ites that God would deliver them from the 
 Egyptians, they went to Pharaoh, and said, 
 The Lord God of Israel saith to you, Let 
 
 had their own God, but as he did not own 
 him as the true God, he would not obey his 
 wishes. He found the work that the Israel- 
 ites did so valuable, that he was not willing 
 to part with them. 
 
 He was quite as cruel as that King Phar- 
 aoh who ordered all the little boy-babies to 
 be thrown into the river. He made the 
 Israelites to work harder than ever, for he 
 
 AARON S ROD CHANGED TO A SERPENT. 
 
 my people go that they may serve me. Then 
 Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should 
 obey his voice, to let Israel go ? I know 
 not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go. 
 
 Pharaoh, you see, neither knew nor cared 
 anything about the true God ; but he, as well 
 as all his people, worshipped many animals — 
 such as bulls, serpents, and crocodiles. As 
 the Egyptians had their false gods that they 
 worshipped, so he thought that the Israelites 
 
 said it was because they were idle that they 
 wanted to go away. 
 
 He told the taskmasters not to give them 
 any straw to make their bricks, as they used 
 to do ; but to let them go and get the straw 
 for themselves, and they were to make just 
 as many bricks every day as they had done 
 before they had to find the straw. 
 
 So the poor people went looking about for 
 straw, and the taskmasters said to them. 
 
THE STORY OF MOSES. 
 
 93 
 
 ^Come, make haste ; finish your daily tasks ! 
 But they could not finish them ; so the task- 
 masters beat them. 
 
 When they complained to Pharaoh, he 
 only said, You are idle, you are idle ! God, 
 however, saw their trouble and sorrow, and 
 heard their groaning. 
 
 He said to Moses and Aaron, Go again to 
 Pharaoh, and take your rod with you. 
 Throw it down before the king, and it shall 
 become a serpent. Then Moses and Aaron 
 did so. 
 
 When Pharaoh saw the rod changed into 
 a serpent, he said, My wise men can do the 
 same. He called them, and they threw 
 down their rods, and they became serpents 
 too ; but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. 
 
 Story of the Plagues. 
 
 The next day Moses and Aaron went to 
 Pharaoh, and said, The Lord God of the 
 Hebrews says, that if you will not let his 
 people go, he will send terrible plagues over 
 your land. 
 
 Pharaoh did not heed ; so God sent the 
 first terrible trouble, or plague, upon Egypt. 
 God said to Moses, Tell Aaron to stretch 
 his rod over the river Nile, and over all the 
 streams and ponds, and the water shall be 
 changed into blood. 
 
 Ard Aaron did so ; and all the waters 
 were turned into blood, and all the fishes in 
 the river died ; and instead of water there 
 was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. 
 This plague lasted seven days. At the end 
 of that time, God said that he would bring 
 another plague upon the land of Egypt, if 
 Pharaoh still refused to let the Israelites go. 
 
 Pharaoh did not heed ; so God told Moses 
 to say to Aaron, Stretch forth your rod over 
 the rivers, the streams, and the ponds, and 
 cause frogs to come up out of them, and 
 cover the land. This was the second plague. 
 
 When Aaron did so, the frogs came up 
 and went everywhere. All places were lull 
 of them : not only out-of-doors, but in-doors 
 too. They were even in their bedrooms and 
 their beds, in their ovens, and in places where 
 they kept their food. 
 
 This was so unpleasant, that Pharaoh said 
 to Moses and Aaron, Pray to your God to 
 take away the frogs, and I will let your 
 people go. So they asked God to take away 
 the frogs and God made them die out of all 
 the houses and the fields ; and the Egyptians 
 put them together in heaps. 
 
 Lice and Flies. 
 
 When this trouble was over, Pharaoh 
 would not keep his promise to let the Israel- 
 ites go, so God sent the third plague. Aaron 
 stretched out his rod over the dust of the 
 land, and it became lice. These creeping 
 insects came upon all the Egyptians, and 
 upon their beasts too. Still, Pharaoh was 
 not sorry. 
 
 Then God sent a fourth plague — a griev- 
 ous swarm of flies, so that the whole land 
 was corrupted because of them Pharaoh 
 now said to Moses and Aaron, Ask God to 
 take away the flies, and I will let the people 
 go for a little way into the wilderness, to wor- 
 ship God. 
 
 And Moses prayed to God, and God took 
 away the flies ; but neither at this time also 
 would Pharaoh let the people go. 
 
 Then God sent the fifth plague, which was 
 a murrain, or fearful disease among the cattU-, 
 so that a great many horses, and asses, and 
 camels, and oxen, and sheep died. But onh 
 those belonging to the Egyptians died. Goc 
 took care of the cattle of the Israelites, and 
 they did not lose one. 
 
 Still Pharaoh heeded not, so God sent the 
 sixth plague. This was very sore pimples 
 or boils, which came upon man and beast* 
 
94 
 
 THE STORY OF MOSES. 
 
 and which caused great burning pain. Even 
 after this Pharaoh still was self-willed, 
 and would not obey God's command. So 
 God sent Moses and Aaron to tell him 
 that the next day he would send a dreadful 
 tempest of thunder and lightning, and hail, 
 and rain. So fetch in all your servants and 
 cattle out of the fields, lest the hail kill them. 
 Then those Egyptians who feared God 
 brought their servants and cattle in ; but 
 those who did not care for what God said, 
 left them to stay out in the fields. 
 
 A Frightful Hail-storm. 
 
 The next morning, God sent a terrible hail- 
 storm. This was the seventh plague. It 
 thundered very loud and long, and the 
 lightning was like fire running along the 
 ground. It was an awful sight, and the large 
 stones of hail knocked down and killed all 
 the men and beasts who were in the fields. 
 The trees were bent, and many were broken 
 in this fearful storm, and the barley, and the 
 flax, and many green herbs besides, were 
 torn to pieces by its fury. But there was no 
 storm in the land of Goshen. 
 
 Pharaoh was frightened at the loud long 
 thunderings, and at the fierce lightning, so 
 seldom heard and seen in Egypt ; and he 
 said to Moses, Pray to God for me, it is 
 enough, for I will let you go and ye shall 
 stay no longer. And Moses did so, but 
 when Pharaoh saw that the danger was 
 passed, that it thundered no more, and that 
 the hail ceased, then he said, I will not let 
 the people go. 
 
 Ground Covered with Locusts. 
 
 Now God sent the eighth plague. He 
 made a strong east wind blow, which brought 
 locusts in such large numbers that no one 
 could see the ground, it was so covered by 
 them. This was a dreadful plague. 
 
 A locust is an insect something like a 
 grasshopper, only very much larger. These 
 insects soon eat up all that is green. They 
 will come in large flocks, hiding the light of 
 the sun like a thick cloud, as they fly along. 
 When the locusts settle, they very soon eat 
 up every blade of grass, all the leaves and 
 young shoots off the trees, and everything 
 else in the way of fruits and vegetables. 
 When they fly away again, the country looks 
 brown, as if it was burnt with fire ; for all the 
 grass is eaten, and the trees look bare as 
 they do in winter, for every leaf is gone. 
 
 Now God sent to the Egyptians these 
 locusts, larger than they had ever seen before, 
 and in such vast numbers too that the whole 
 ground looked dark with them. They soon 
 ate up everything that the hail had left, all 
 the herbs, all the fruit ; and there remained 
 not any green thing throughout all the land 
 of Egypt. 
 
 Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron in 
 great haste, and said, I have sinned against 
 the Lord and against you ; forgive me J 
 pray this once, and ask God to take away 
 this great evil. 
 
 Then Moses and Aaron went out from 
 Pharaoh's presence, and prayed to God tc 
 take away the locusts. And God sent a 
 strong west wind, which blew the locusts 
 into the Red Sea, where they died ; ther^ 
 was not one left in all the land. 
 
 Darkness that Could be Felt. 
 
 But this sorrow of Pharaoh was only pre- 
 tence ; he was sorry to have the locusts, but 
 he was not sorry for his cruelty, nor foi his 
 sin in breaking his promise ; and again he 
 said, I will not let the people go. 
 
 Then God sent the ninth plague. For 
 three days and nights he covered the whole 
 land of Egypt with a thick darkness ; it 
 seemed as if they could feel it, it was so thick. 
 
THE STORY OF MOSES. 
 
 95 
 
 Their lamps gave no light, and for three days 
 they could not see each other. No one 
 moved from his place, no one could work all 
 that while ; every one was too frightened to 
 do anything. 
 
 The Israelites had light in all their dwell- 
 ings, which showed the Egyptians most 
 plainly that the darkness was sent as a punish- 
 ment to them for their cruelty to God's 
 people. 
 
 Pharaoh now was willing to let the people 
 go ; but he said, You shall not take your 
 herds with you. Moses said, When they 
 went they must take all that they had. Then 
 was Pharaoh very angry, and he would not 
 let them go. 
 
 Now God sent a tenth plague over the 
 land of Egypt. Nine fearful plagues had 
 already swept over the land of Egypt, and 
 Pharaoh was still obstinate and self-willed. 
 But the time was now coming for him to 
 obey the command of God, and to let the 
 Israelites go. 
 
 The First-born Slain. 
 
 In the middle of the night the tenth awful 
 trouble came, for in that hour of stillness and 
 of darkness, God smote all the first-born of 
 the land of Egypt, from the first-born of 
 Pharaoh that sat on his throne, to the first- 
 born of the captive that was in the dungeon ; 
 and all the first-born of the cattle. 
 
 Every Egyptian household was awaked 
 from its sleep to see the dying pain of its best 
 beloved one, for there was not a house where 
 there was not one dead. An exceedingly 
 great and bitter cry of fear and grief was 
 heard throughout all the land of Egypt — 
 all were mourning for their slain ones. 
 
 They could not see the hand that dealt 
 the blow, but they knew that it was given by 
 the God of the Israelites, for their many 
 cruelties to his people. 
 
 In great alarm, in the middle of the night, 
 Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and 
 said, Rise up, and go away out of my land, 
 you and the Israelites. Go and serve the 
 Lord as you said. Take your flocks and 
 herds and be gone, and bless me also. 
 
 The proud king was so much humbled now, 
 that he asked them to bless him. He begged 
 that he might not be under the wrath of that 
 mighty God, whose power was so great, 
 whose displeasure was so terrible. The 
 Egyptians, too, prayed the Israelites to make 
 haste and go away ; or, they said, We shall 
 all be dead men. They willingly gave them 
 all that they wanted, and all that they asked 
 for, so anxious were they to have them go. 
 
 Getting Ready to Go. 
 
 But how could the Israelites leave the 
 land of Egypt at such a short notice, and in 
 the middle of the night too ? They were all 
 ready to do so, though it was in the middle 
 of the night. While every household in Egypt 
 was awake, mourning for its dead, every 
 household in Israel was awake keeping a 
 feast. 
 
 Moses had told them to prepare for the 
 journey, for on that very night God would 
 make Pharaoh consent to let them go 
 
 God had said, Tell them, I will pass 
 through the land of Egypt, about midnight, 
 and all the first-born, both of man and beast, 
 in the land of Egypt shall die; but I will pass 
 over your houses and not smite your first- 
 born. You must kill a lamb and sprinkle 
 its blood on your doorposts : then, when I 
 see the blood, I will pass over you, and the 
 plague shall not destroy you. You must all 
 of you stay in-doors that night and eat a 
 feast, while the Lord is passing through the 
 land to destroy the Egyptians, This feast is 
 to be called the feast of the Passover. You 
 must keep it every year as the day comes 
 
96 
 
 THE STORY OF MOSES. 
 
 round, and you must eat it then as you will 
 eat it to-night. 
 
 Then God told them to take the lamb, 
 whose blood they had sprinkled on the door- 
 posts, and to roast it whole. Each family 
 
 Egypt soon turns bad, and it is not proper 
 that part of a sacrifice to God should be 
 spoiled and become corrupt. 
 
 The lamb was to be eaten with unleavened 
 bread and with bitter herbs ; first of all tc 
 
 THE FEAST OF 
 
 was to have its Passover lamb. It was to be 
 a lamb without disease or fault of any kind. 
 After they had eaten as much as they 
 required, they were to save none of it till 
 morning, but burn with fire what was left. 
 This was because meat in a hot countrv like 
 
 THE PASSOVER. 
 
 remind them of the heavy and bitter bondage 
 that they had suffered in Egypt. It was to 
 teach them, too, that sin corrupts and 
 spreads like leaven, and that, like the bitter 
 herb, it is a bitter and an evil thing. 
 
 They were to eat it with their girdles 
 
97 
 
98 
 
 THE STORY OF MOSES. 
 
 tightened round their waists, with their shoes 
 on their feet, with their staves in their hands, 
 and to eat it in haste, so as to be ready at a 
 moment's notice when the order came to 
 start on their journey. 
 
 While the Israelites were thus eating that 
 Passover feast, the order came for them all 
 at once to leave the land of Egypt, where 
 they had lived so many years. They were 
 quite ready to go ; not one moment did they 
 wait ; and the Egyptians, who before were so 
 anxious to keep them, now almost thrust 
 them out of their land. 
 
 This going out of the Israelites from 
 Egypt is called the Exodus — the word 
 "exodus" means departure. 
 
 A Vast Multitude. 
 
 How many Israelites were there, do you 
 think, who left Egypt under Moses? It is 
 supposed about three millions of men, 
 women, and children. If you counted a 
 thousand every day, you would be more 
 than eight years counting this great multi- 
 tude. 
 
 When Jacob came from Canaan to settle 
 in Egypt, his sons, and daughters, and grand- 
 children, were but seventy persons altogether; 
 now, notwithstanding their hard bondage, 
 they had increased to this large number. 
 
 God showed them the way out of Egypt. 
 He went before them in a pillar of cloud by 
 day, and in a pillar of fire by night. The 
 cloudy pillar sheltered them from the hot 
 rays of the sun by day, and the fiery pillar 
 gave them light by night. After they had 
 journeyed for three days, they came to the 
 borders of the Red Sea, and there they 
 encamped, or set up their tents, and rested. 
 By this time Pharaoh and his servants 
 said, Why did we let the Israelites go from 
 serving us ? What shall we do without 
 their labor? Let us go and make them 
 
 come back to their work. Then Pharaoh 
 gave orders to his servants to get ready the 
 war chariots, for he said, I and my soldiers 
 will go after the Israelites and bring them back. 
 So they made ready all the horses and 
 chariots of Pharaoh, and overtook the Is- 
 raelites as they were encamped by the sea t 
 Great was the terror of the Israelites as they 
 saw these armed men coming towards them. 
 They had no arms themselves, so they could 
 not fight them. They were shut in by the 
 mountains on the one side, and by the Red 
 Sea on the other, so they could not run away 
 from them. There seemed no way in which 
 they could get out of their hands. 
 
 Overtaken by the Egyptians. 
 
 In their distress they cried to God and he 
 heard them. He said, You can do nothing, 
 you need do nothing ; I will do all. Fear 
 not, stand still, and see the salvation of God ; 
 for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to- 
 day, ye shall see again no more for ever. 
 
 It was about evening when the Egyptians 
 overtook the Israelites. They felt so sure 
 that they could not get away from them, 
 that they pitched their tents near to the 
 place where the Israelites were encamped, 
 and waited till morning meaning then to 
 drive them back again to their slavery in 
 Egypt. 
 
 The Israelites were trembling with fear, 
 when all at once they saw their pillar of fire 
 move through the air and come between 
 them and the Egyptians. Now it was a 
 pillar of fire and a pillar of cloud both at 
 once. To them it was a pillar of fire giving 
 them light, but to the Egyptians it was s 
 pillar of cloud, covering them with darkness. 
 The Egyptians could not see the camp oi 
 the Israelites all night, for the thick cloud 
 hid them from their sight. Still they thought 
 that they were safe in their power; the>> 
 
THE STORY OF MOSES. 
 
 99 
 
 could not climb the mountains, they could 
 not walk over the sea. 
 
 Now, what happened? Moses, at the 
 command of God, stretched out his rod over 
 the waters of the Red Sea, and they divided, 
 and the sea was|like a wall on the right hand 
 and on the left. Then a strong east wind 
 began to blow, which dried up a pathway 
 
 Then they came to the spot where they 
 thought the Israelites were staying, and they 
 found them gone. And the Egyptians pur- 
 sued, and went in after them to the midst of 
 the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his 
 chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to 
 pass, that in the morning watch the Lore? 
 looked unto the host of the Egyptians 
 
 PHARAOH S HOST DESTROYED IN THE RED SEA 
 
 for them through the sea. Now, Moses 
 said, Go forward; so this vast host began 
 its journey through this wonderful road to 
 the land on the opposite side. It is supposed 
 that the sea was eight miles wide in that part 
 where the Israelites crossed. It was not until 
 morning when the Israelites had nearly all 
 reached the further side, that the Egyptians 
 became aware of what had taken place. 
 
 through the pillar of fire and of the cloud 
 and troubled the host of the Egyptians, and 
 took off their chariot wheels, that they drave 
 them heavily : so that the Egyptians said, 
 Let us flee from the face of Israel ; for the 
 Lord fighteth for them against the Egyptians. 
 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch 
 out thine hand over the sea, that the waters 
 may come again upon the Egyptians, upon 
 
100 
 
 THE STORY OF MOSES. 
 
 their chariots, and upon their horsemen. 
 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the 
 sea, and the sea returned to his strength 
 when the morning appeared; and the 
 Egyptians fled against it ; and the Lord 
 overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of 
 the sea. 
 
 And the waters returned, and covered the 
 chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host 
 of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them ; 
 there remained not so much as one of them. 
 But the children of Israel walked upon dry 
 land in the midst of the sea ; and the waters 
 were a wall unto them on their right hand, 
 .and on their left. 
 
 Thus the Lord saved Israel that day out 
 of the hand of the Egyptians ; and Israel 
 saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. 
 And Israel saw that great work which the 
 Lord did upon the Egyptians : and the 
 ipeople feared the Lord, and believed the 
 the Lord, and his servant Moses. 
 
 So obstinate, self-willed Pharaoh, who was 
 6ent on having his own way, found it was of 
 
 no use to strive against what it was right for 
 him to do. He found the truth of the words, 
 He that, being often reproved, hardeneth his 
 neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that 
 without remedy. 
 
 The Israelites were full of gratitude as 
 they looked at the dead bodies of their ene- 
 mies now lying upon the sea-shore. Now 
 they could hurt them no more ; they need 
 never fear the Egyptian again. They might 
 well feel that it was a great work that the 
 Lord had done for them. The news of this 
 mighty deliverance spread abroad into the 
 distant countries through which they had to 
 pass, and other nations feared to injure a 
 people who were so clearly under the special 
 care of God. 
 
 Moses and the Israelites sang a song of 
 thanks to God for helping them in this time 
 of great need. It was all about God's good- 
 ness : it began and ended with, Sing ye to 
 the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously ; 
 the horse and his rider hath he thrown ittto 
 the sea. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 B. C. 1491. 
 
 From the "Red Sea to Sinai — The Bitter Waters made Sweet — Bread from Heaven 
 —A Flock of Quails — Water from the Rock in Horeb — Battle with the Amalek- 
 ites — The Ten Commandments Spoken from Sinai — Story of the Tabernacle and 
 its Services — The Scapegoat Sent into the Wilderness. 
 
 AVING left the spot 
 at which they 
 crossed the Red 
 Sea, the Israelites 
 went into the desert 
 southward, towards 
 Horeb. This was 
 not the direct way 
 to Canaan — the 
 land promised by 
 God to Abraham 
 and to his children; 
 but first of all, 
 before going there, 
 the Israelites were to visit the place where 
 Moses saw the burning bush. There they 
 were to worship God, and he would then 
 direct them what to do next. 
 
 For three weary days they travelled on, 
 but they came to no well of water. That 
 which they had brought with them from their 
 last resting-place was all gone, and now they 
 were ready to die of thirst. 
 
 In this cold country we do not know what 
 it is to suffer from thirst as those do who live 
 in hot countries where water is scarce. For 
 three days the Isiaelites had toiled on, with 
 the scorching, blazing sun above them, and 
 the burning sands of the desert beneath their 
 feet. No sound of streams gladdened their 
 ears, no green tree or grass delighted their eyes. 
 On, this vast multitude moves in silence, 
 
 when at last they see green trees and bushes. 
 Now they know that water is near. How 
 they rush on to the streams, which are life 
 to them, and the whole multitude stoops to 
 drink. But, hark! what is the meaning of 
 that loud, wild cry of pain and disappointment? 
 
 Brave men groan aloud ; the mothers weep 
 for their children, whose sufferings are worse 
 to them than their own ; the little ones dash 
 down the water with a moaning cry. But 
 why? The water is so salt and bitter that 
 they cannot drink it. The streams only 
 mock the agony of their thirst, for they see 
 water, but they loathe to taste it. They had 
 been used to the sweet water of the Nile, 
 which is some of the finest in the world. 
 
 No wonder they were disappointed. But 
 they murmured, instead of praying to God. 
 He had helped them through worse troubles 
 than this, and they should have trusted in 
 him now. They grumbled to Moses, and 
 said, What shall we drink ? 
 
 The Water Made Sweet. 
 
 The Lord had pity on their suffering, and 
 showed Moses a tree which he told him to 
 throw into the waters, and then the bitter 
 taste would be taken away, and they would 
 be fit to drink. The name of the place 
 where these bitter waters were was called 
 Marah, for Marah means "bitter." 
 
 The next day the Israelites moved on to 
 
 101 
 
102 
 
 FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 
 
 Elim, and there they rested under the shade 
 of beautiful palm-trees, and there they found 
 an abundance of sweet water. 
 
 When the Israelites had been out of the 
 land of Egypt for about a month, they found 
 that they had eaten up nearly all the corn 
 and other food that they had brought with 
 them. They were now in the wilderness of 
 Sin, between Elim and Sinai. They could 
 buy no food in the desert, nor did any corn 
 grow there. As they had before suffered 
 thirst, so now they began to feel the pain of 
 hunger. So they grumbled again. 
 
 They said, It would have been better for 
 us to have died in Egypt, than to come to 
 this desert to die of hunger. Our first-born 
 had better have been slain with those of the 
 Egyptians, we had better have been drowned 
 with our enemies in the Red Sea, than have 
 come to this trouble. 
 
 Then they began to think of the bread and 
 meat they had eaten in Egypt, but they for- 
 got how hard was their slavery there. Now 
 they were free men, on their way to the land 
 promised to their fathers. It was not brave 
 of them to think so much of the difficulties 
 by the way, and it was very faithless and 
 foolish of them not to trust God, when he 
 had helped them so often. 
 
 A Large Flock of Quails. 
 
 God was grieved that they should mur- 
 mur, yet he had pity on their wants. He 
 sent them both meat and bread. That very 
 evening a vast flock of quails came up and 
 covered the camp and the Israelites were 
 able to catch them in great numbers. They 
 were most likely going to Egypt to feast in 
 the cornfields, for this was about the season 
 when corn was ripe. 
 
 Now the Israelites had plenty of meat, 
 and they could also dry the flesh of the 
 birds that they did not want for present use, 
 
 ready for a future day. This was done by 
 stripping off the skin with the feathers, and 
 putting the body of the bird into the hot 
 sand for a little while, when it would be dry 
 and keep good some time. 
 
 This is the promise the Lord made, and 
 we are also told how he kept his word. 
 The Lord said unto Moses, Behold, I will 
 rain bread from heaven for you ; and the 
 people shall go out and gather some every 
 day, that I may prove them, whether they 
 will walk in my law or not. On the sixth 
 day they shall prepare that which they bring 
 in : and it shall be twice as much as they 
 gather daily. And Moses and Aaron said 
 unto all the children of Israel, At even, then 
 ye shall know that the Lord hath brought 
 you out from the land of Egypt : and in the 
 morning, then ye shall see the glory of the 
 Lord; for that he heareth your murmurings 
 against the Lord : and what are we, that ye 
 murmur against us ? 
 
 The Ground Covered with Bread. 
 
 And Moses said, The Lord shall give you 
 in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morn- 
 ing bread to the full ; for that the Lord 
 heareth your murmurings which ye murmur 
 against him : and what are we. Your mur- 
 murings are not against us, but against 
 the Lord. 
 
 And Moses told Aaron to say unto all the 
 congregation of the children of Israel, Come 
 near before the Lord : for he hath heard 
 your murmurings. As Aaron spoke unto 
 the whole congregation of the children of 
 Israel, they looked towards the wilderness, 
 and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared 
 in the cloud. 
 
 And the Lord said unto Moses, I have 
 heard the murmurings of the children of 
 Israel : speak unto them, saying, At even ye 
 shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall 
 
FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 
 
 103 
 
 be filled with bread ; and ye shall know that 
 I am the Lord your God. In the evening 
 the quails came up, and covered the camp : 
 and in the morning the dew lay round about 
 the host. And when the dew was dried up, 
 behold, upon the face of the wilderness there 
 lay a small round thing, as small as the 
 hoar-frost on the ground. And when the 
 children of Israel saw it, they said one to 
 another, It is manna ; for they knew not 
 what it was. 
 
 And Moses said unto them, This is the 
 bread which the Lord hath given you to eat. 
 This is the thing which the Lord hath com- 
 manded, Gather of it every man according 
 to his eating, an omer (about five pints) for 
 every man, according to the number of your 
 persons ; take ye every man for them which 
 are in his tents. 
 
 And the children of Israel did so, and 
 gathered some more, some less. And when 
 they measured it, he that gathered much had 
 nothing over, and he that gathered little had 
 no lack ; they gathered every man accord- 
 ing to his eating. And Moses said, Let no 
 man leave of it till the morning. Notwith- 
 standing they hearkened not unto Moses ; 
 but some of them left of it until the morning, 
 and it bred worms, and stank : and Moses 
 was wroth with them. And they gathered it 
 every morning, every man according to his 
 eating; and when the sun waxed hot, 
 it melted. 
 
 The Manna Lasts Two Days. 
 
 On the sixth day they gathered twice as 
 much bread, two omers for one man : and 
 all the rulers of the congregation came and 
 told Moses. And he said unto them, This 
 is that which the Lord hath said, To-morrow 
 is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord : 
 bake that which ye will bake to-day, and 
 seethe that ye will seethe ; and that which 
 
 remaineth over lay up for you to be kept 
 until the morning. And they laid it up till 
 the morning, as Moses bade. And Moses 
 said, Eat that to-day; for to-day is a sabbath 
 unto the Lord : to-day ye shall not find it in 
 the field. Six days ye shall gather it ; but 
 on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in 
 it there shall be none. 
 
 Some of the people went out on the 
 seventh day to gather, and they found none. 
 And the Lord said unto Moses, How long 
 refuse ye to keep my commandments and 
 my laws ? 
 
 See, for that the Lord hath given you the 
 sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth 
 day the bread of two days ; abide ye every 
 man in his place ; let no man go out of his 
 place on the seventh day. 
 
 The Israelites called the name of this 
 bread "Manna," because they did not know 
 what it was. The word manna comes from 
 "man hu," the Hebrew of "what is this?" 
 The manna was very nice ; it was like meal 
 and honey when eaten raw, but when cooked 
 it had a taste of fresh oil, a flavor much liked 
 by the Israelites. 
 
 God did not wish the Israelites to forget 
 how he had fed them in the wilderness, when 
 they reached Canaan. He said, Save a 
 measure full of manna, that it may be kept 
 for future generations, to see the bread where- 
 with I have fed you in the wilderness, when 
 I brought you forth from the land of Egypt. 
 The supply of manna never failed until they 
 reached the land of Canaan. God gave them 
 day by day their daily bread. 
 
 A Fountain in a Rock. 
 
 At last the Israelites left the wilderness ot 
 Sin, and came to a place called Rephidim. 
 Here again they wanted water, and instead 
 of being patient, and waiting for God's help, 
 they began to blame Moses. They said, 
 
104 
 
 FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 
 
 Why have you brought us up out of Egypt 
 to kill us, and our children, and our cattle 
 with thirst ? 
 
 Then Moses cried to God, and said, What 
 shall I do ? the people are almost ready to 
 
 come water, so that the people may drink. 
 Then Moses went with the elders of Israel 
 to the rock in Horeb, and smote it, and 
 waters flowed from it in refreshing streams 
 down to the place where the Israelites had 1 
 
 MOSES BRINGING WATER FROM THE ROCK. 
 
 stone me to death. God said, Go in before 
 the people, and take with you the elders of 
 Israel ; and take the rod with which you 
 divided the Red Sea. I will go before you, 
 and show you a rock in Horeb which you 
 shall smite with vour rod, and out of it shall 
 
 set up their tents. This water lasted them 
 for the whole time that they remained in that 
 neighborhood, which was more than a year. 
 The rock which it was thought was struck 
 by Moses, is to be seen by travelers at the 
 present day. 
 
^., ■"■■■■ 
 
 I— I 
 CO 
 
 Eh 
 P 
 
 o 
 
 a 
 
 % 
 H 
 
 H 
 <U 
 
 ft 
 
 CO 
 
FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 
 
 105. 
 
 Then came a people called the Amalekites, 
 and fought against the children of Israel in 
 Rephidim. And Moses said to a brave man 
 whose name was Joshua, Choose men, and 
 go out and fight with Amalek ; to-morrow 
 I will stand on the top of the hill with the 
 rod of God in my hand. Joshua did as 
 Moses had said. He chose some brave 
 
 tired, and they brought a stone for him to 
 sit on ; his hands were heavy, and so Aaron 
 and Hur held up his hands, the one on one 
 side of him and the other on the other side. 
 This they did until the sun went down. Anc 
 Joshua and his men overcame Amalek. 
 
 God was displeased with Amalek for 
 making war against the children of Israel 
 
 AARON AND HUR HOLDING UP THE HANDS OF MOSES. 
 
 men and went to fight Amalek ; and Moses, 
 Aaron and Hur, Miriam's husband, went to 
 the top of the hill where they could see the 
 battle in the valley below. 
 
 When Moses held up his hand the chil- 
 dren of Israel were successful and the battle 
 was in their favor, but when Moses let down 
 his han^ Amalek prevailed. Moses was 
 
 and he said the time would come when the 
 Amalekites would be destroyed and no one 
 would remember them. Then Moses built 
 an altar to remind the people that God had 
 said he would punish the Amalekites for 
 their wickedness. 
 
 Now when Jethro, the priest of Midian, 
 Moses' father-in-law, heard of all that God 
 
106 
 
 FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 
 
 had done for the children of Israel, he took 
 Zipporah, Moses' wife, and his two sons 
 Gershom and Eliezer and brought them to 
 Moses. And Moses went out to meet his 
 father-in-law and kissed him, and hearkened 
 :o his voice, and did all he said. 
 
 And Moses told his father-in-law all that 
 he Lord had done unto Pharaoh and to the 
 Egyptians for Israel's sake, and all the 
 travail that had come upon them by the way, 
 and how the Lord delivered them. And 
 Jethro rejoiced for all the goodness which 
 the Lord had done to Israel, whom he had 
 delivered out of the hand of the Egyptians. 
 And Jethro said, Blessed be the Lord, who 
 hath delivered you out of the hand of the 
 Egyptians, and out of the hand of Pharaoh, 
 who hath delivered the people from under 
 the hand of the Egyptians. Now I know 
 that the Lord is greater than all gods ; for 
 in the thing wherein they dealt proudly he 
 was above them. And Jethro, Moses' father- 
 in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifices 
 for God : and Aaron came, and all the elders 
 of Israel, to eat bread with Moses' father-in- 
 law before God. 
 
 At the Foot of Mount Sinai. 
 
 And Moses by Jethro's advice chose able 
 men out of all Israel and made them heads 
 over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of 
 hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 
 And they judged the people at all seasons : 
 the hard cases they brought unto Moses but 
 every small matter they judged themselves. 
 And Moses let his father-in-law depart ; and 
 he went his way into his own land. 
 
 The Israelites next came to the desert of 
 Sinai or Horeb, and there they encamped 
 before the mountain. This mountain is about 
 three miles in length, and it has two summits 
 or peaks ; one is called Mount Horeb, the 
 other Mount Sinai ; but Mount Sinai is by 
 
 far the highest of all the mountains in the 
 whole of that district. 
 
 This was the place where Moses saw the 
 burning bush, and here they were to wait, 
 while God made known to them his will, and 
 gave to them their laws as a nation. Here, 
 too, it was that God gave the laws which we 
 call " The Ten Commandments." 
 
 Most likely the Israelites pitched their 
 tents in a large plain on the south of Mount 
 Sinai ; from this place all the vast host of 
 Israel would have a good view of this grand 
 " Mount of God." The ground here, oppo- 
 site the mountain, rises, and they could pitch 
 their tents, row above row, while Sinai would 
 seem like a lofty pulpit from which God's 
 words would be uttered in the hearing of 
 every ear. 
 
 God told Moses now to tell the people 
 that if they would but obey his voice, then 
 he would make them his special care, above 
 all people. Moses told the people these 
 words of the Lord, and they sent for answer, 
 All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. 
 
 Now they had agreed to do as God bid 
 them, and God had agreed to take particular 
 care of them, and to make them his own 
 people. This was an agreement or covenant, 
 in which God said that he would do certain 
 things if they would do certain things. We 
 are quite sure that the Lord would always 
 keep his covenant, but we shall soon see how 
 easily the Israelites broke theirs. 
 
 Thunders and Lightnings. 
 
 God now said, In three days I will come 
 down in sight of all the people upon Mount 
 Sinai, so tell the people to get ready for that 
 day. They must bathe their persons, they 
 must wash their clothes, for I am holy, and 
 they must put away all uncleanness. They 
 must set bounds all round the Mount, so 
 that no man nor beast may be able to go up 
 
FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 
 
 107 
 
 the mountain, for it is to be kept sacred 
 while I appear there. 
 
 Then the people did as the Lord directed ; 
 and on the morning of the third day, there 
 were thunders and lightnings, and a thick 
 cloud upon the Mount. Now they heard 
 
 came down from heaven upon it in the fire ; 
 and the smoke was like that of a furnace, 
 and the whole of this huge granite mountain 
 shook. Again the trumpet sounded long, 
 and the sound grew louder and louder. 
 Then the voice of God said to Moses, Tell 
 
 the sound of a trumpet both loud and long, the people to beware how they come too 
 
 MOSES RECEIVING THE TABLES OF THE LAW. 
 
 and all the people trembled in their tents. 
 They felt that God was there. 
 
 Moses said to the people, Come from the 
 camp to the bottom of the mountain, to meet 
 with God. They came and stood there 
 before the Lord. Now the whole mountain 
 seemed altogether to smoke, for the Lord 
 
 near ; for if they only touch the mountain, 
 they must instantly die for their rashness, 
 they must be stoned or thrust through with 
 a dart. So Moses went to the people, and 
 told them all these words. 
 
 Then God spoke to the people, saying, I 
 am Jehovah, who brought you out of the 
 
108 
 
 FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 
 
 land of Egypt ; you shall have no other 
 gods but me. 
 
 Some nations have many gods that they 
 worship, but we know that they are not true 
 gods ; for there is but one God who made 
 all things in heaven and in earth, and his 
 name is Jehovah. 
 
 Must Not Worship Idols. 
 
 God also said that no one was to make 
 any image, or the likeness of anything, to 
 bow down to it and worship it. First of all 
 people made idols ; not that they thought 
 the idols were God, but they thought that 
 God would be worshipped through the idol ; 
 and at last they forgot about God, and 
 worshipped only the idol. People like to wor- 
 ship what they can see ; so the Persians, for 
 instance, thought, God is great and glorious, 
 and bright and pure, what is most like him ? 
 They thought fire was, which gives light and 
 heat, so they worshipped God through the 
 fire, but before long they forgot God and 
 worshipped the fire, and the sun, and other 
 things beside. 
 
 God then told the people, that they must 
 not take his name in vain, for he would hold 
 the man guilty who did so. 
 
 Again, God said, Remember the Sabbath 
 day to keep it holy. Six days you may 
 work, but the seventh day is the Lord's day, 
 in it you shall rest. You may do no work 
 on that day; you, nor your son, nor your 
 daughter, nor your servants, nor your cattle. 
 The Sabbath is like a sacred holiday, a rest- 
 time given to all men by God himself. 
 
 The next commandment that God gave 
 was, Honor your father and your mother, that 
 you may live long in the land which the 
 Lord your God will give you. The Bible 
 says a great deal about obedience to parents, 
 and respectful behavior to them. God here 
 gives a promise to those who obey this com- 
 
 mand. It shows how much he thinks of 
 right conduct to parents. It will go well 
 with the obedient child, but it will go ill with 
 the child who dishonors his parents. 
 
 Thou Shalt not Kill. 
 
 Thou shalt not kill, was the sixth com- 
 mandment that God gave. We must not 
 give way to anger, for is not that one of the 
 first feelings that lead on to murder? It is 
 a very shocking thing to kill a man, but it is 
 also a shocking thing to have angry, quarrel- 
 some, unloving feelings in the heart 
 
 The seventh commandment teaches as to 
 be modest and pure in our thoughts and feel- 
 ings. How sad it is to hear loud rough 
 tones, or to see bold rude looks. Do you 
 not love the drooping snowdrop, which has 
 no stain upon its pure white flower ? We 
 should try to be like that in its modesty, 
 sweetness, and purity. We may often learn 
 lessons from the beautiful flowers. 
 
 In the eighth commandment God said, 
 Thou shalt not steal. He who takes the very 
 least thing belonging to another, without his 
 knowing it, is a thief. Perhaps what you 
 take may never be missed by men ; but it is 
 none the less stealing. It is far better to 
 suffer by going without, than to have every- 
 thing you want, if you get it dishonestly. A 
 mother who had a large garden full of fruit 
 and flowers, always felt quite happy to let 
 her children play in it anywhere. She said, 
 " My children will never pluck the flowers, 
 nor eat the fruit without leave, for if they 
 find any fruit dropped from the trees they 
 always bring it to me to ask if they may 
 have it." 
 
 Again, God said, Thou shalt not bear 
 false witness against thy neighbor. That 
 means, that we are not to say unkind things 
 of others. We must not tell tales of our 
 companions ; we may say all the good we 
 
THE SETTING UP OF THE TABERNACLE IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 109 
 
 !i 
 
110 
 
 FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 
 
 know of people, but we must not talk of 
 their faults so as to injure them. 
 
 We Must not Covet. 
 
 Again, God spoke ; he said, You must 
 not covet anything belonging to your neigh- 
 bor. That is, you must not long to have 
 your neighbor's goods. Before, God had 
 said, You must not steal, now he says, You 
 must not even wish to get away your neigh- 
 bor's things from him. 
 
 When God had spoken these ten command- 
 ments, the Israelites felt that they could 
 bear the awful scene no longer. Perhaps at 
 
 OUTSIDE VIEW OF THE TABERNACLE. 
 
 the end of each command, the thunder pealed 
 anew, and the trumpet sounded again, and 
 the mountain smoked afresh. So terrible 
 was the sight that even Moses said, I exceed- 
 ingly fear and tremble. The people moved 
 farther away from the mountain and stood 
 afar off. 
 
 They said to Moses, Do you speak to us, 
 and we will listen, but let not God speak to 
 us, lest we die. So the people stood afar off, 
 and Moses drew near to the thick darkness 
 where God was, to hear what other laws God 
 had to give to the people. 
 
 For rather more than eleven months the 
 hosts of Israel were encamped in the plains 
 
 of Horeb. During this time laws were given 
 them, which separated them from all other 
 nations. God was their chosen King. Now 
 they were under his law, for they had said, 
 All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. 
 
 They were told in what order they were 
 to march when they journeyed, and also 
 when the different tribes were to encamp. 
 The kind of animals that they might eat was 
 also shown them ; these were called clean 
 animals, and those that they were not allowed 
 to eat were called unclean. 
 
 At this time a regular service for the wor- 
 ship of God was established, and the tribe of 
 
 Levi was set 
 apart to be the 
 priests or min- 
 isters of religion. 
 The tabernacle, 
 too, was set up. 
 This was a kind 
 of palace-tent for 
 their King Je- 
 hovah, who by 
 his covenant 
 with them said 
 that he would 
 dwell among 
 them, and a bright cloud was always to be 
 seen resting over the ark in the holy of holies 
 in token of his presence. 
 
 God told Moses how this tabernacle was 
 to be made. It was to be made so that it 
 could be easily taken down and put up again 
 like a tent, for this was necessary, as the 
 Israelites had to carry it about with them 
 through all their desert wanderings. 
 
 This tabernacle was divided into two parts 
 by a veil or curtain of costly make. The 
 innermost part was called the holy of holies ; 
 nothing was kept there but the ark of the 
 covenant. This ark, or chest, or box, was 
 made of hard wood, which was covered all 
 
FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 
 
 Ill 
 
 over with pure gold. The top of it was 
 called the mercy-seat ; two angels made of 
 pure gold overshadowed it with their wings. 
 
 This ark was chiefly made to hold the two 
 tables of stone, upon which God wrote the Ten 
 Commandments. Other precious things were 
 put there, such as a golden pot full of manna, 
 and Aaron's rod that budded. 
 
 No one ever went into this holiest 
 place where the ark was but the 
 high priest, and he only went once 
 every year. This was on the great 
 day of atonement, when he went to 
 sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice 
 before the Lord, thus to make an 
 atonement for his own sins, and 
 the sins of the people. 
 
 The other part of the tabernacle 
 outside this curtain, was called the 
 holy place ; there the priests daily 
 ministered. In this there was a 
 golden candlestick, or rather lamp- 
 stand, on which were placed seven 
 lamps, the lights of which were kept 
 burning with purest oil. 
 
 There, also, was a table covered 
 over with gold, upon which were 
 kept loaves of bread, one for each 
 tribe of Israel. This bread was 
 called shew-bread, it was changed 
 every week, and the stale loaves, or 
 biscuits, were eaten only by the 
 priests. 
 
 Here, too, just in front of the 
 curtain which hid the holy of holies, 
 was the golden altar of incense. On this 
 was burnt sweet smelling woods and gums, 
 so that a sweet odor was always going up 
 towards God. The prayers of good people 
 are like sweet incense, as they go up from 
 earth to the throne of God in heaven. 
 
 This tabernacle was furnished with spoons, 
 basins, dishes, covers, and many other things 
 
 all made of pure gold. It was like a dwell- 
 ing-house with its furniture, and not merely 
 a place of worship. It was built to show 
 that the Lord God would dwell among them 
 as their King. Bread and meat and wine 
 were offered there, part of which was burnt 
 or poured in sacrifice as God's portion, and 
 
 THE ARK OF THE COVENANT. 
 
 part went for the use of the priests, who were 
 the servants of God's household. 
 
 The tabernacle stood in a large court, 
 which was enclosed by poles and curtains, 
 like a wall all round, but was open at the top 
 to the sky. Just at the entrance of this 
 court was the large altar of burnt-offering, 
 where the animals killed for sacrifice were 
 
112 
 
 FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAi. 
 
 burnt, and between this altar and the entrance 
 to the tabernacle was the laver or fountain 
 made of brass where the priests washed their 
 hands and feet, while they were about the 
 service of God. 
 
 The whole of the tabernacle, with its cere- 
 monies and sacrifices, pointed to good 
 things to come, when all these would be 
 done away with. Many of the sacrifices 
 
 work, and the high priest put off his splendid 
 robes, and only appeared in his plainest dress, 
 for it was a day of humbling before God, on 
 account of sin. First of all, as Aaron and 
 the priests were sinful men as well as the 
 people, they had to offer a sin-offering to 
 God for their own sins, before they could 
 offer one for the sins of the people. 
 
 This done, Aaron took two young goats, 
 
 FURNITURE OF THE TABERNACLE. 
 
 were to teach them to look forward to the 
 time when Christ would come, and offer up 
 his life for man's sin. 
 
 I cannot tell you now of all the many 
 sacrifices that God appointed. I have told 
 you of the passover lamb, now I will tell you 
 about the sin-offering, on the great day of 
 atonement. 
 
 On this solemn day the people did no 
 
 and brought them before the altar. These 
 were for the sin-offering of the people. One 
 goat he killed, and took its blood into the 
 holy of holies, and sprinkled it on the mercy- 
 seat before God. Then Aaron laid his hands 
 upon the head of the live goat, and said over 
 all the sins of the people, and, as it were, put 
 them upon the head of this goat. Then he 
 sent the goat away into the wilderness, bear- 
 
FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 
 
 113 
 
 ing with it all the sins of the people. This 
 was to teach the people that God having 
 pardoned their sins, would remember them 
 against them no more. This points to the 
 Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of 
 the world. 
 
 Besides the sacrifices and offerings at 
 special times, there was a lamb offered every 
 morning and evening for their daily sins ; so 
 when they saw the smoke of the sacrifice 
 ascending they must have felt how constantly 
 they needed to be forgiven. All the animals 
 that were offered were to be quite free from 
 any blemish, or spot. 
 
 And the Lord said to Moses, See, 
 I have called by name Bezaleel the 
 son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the 
 tribe of Judah : and I have filled him 
 with the spirit of God, in wisdom, 
 and in understanding, and in knowl- 
 edge, and in all manner of work- 
 manship, to devise cunning works, 
 to work in gold, and in silver, and 
 in brass, and in cutting of stones, to 
 set them, and in carving of timber, 
 to work in all manner of work- 
 manship. And in the hearts of all 
 that are wise hearted I have put 
 wisdom, that they may make all 
 that I have commanded thee. And he gave 
 unto Moses, when he had made an end of 
 communing with him upon mount Sinai, two 
 tables of testimony, tables of stone, written 
 with the finger of God. 
 
 The Cloud over the Mercy-seat. 
 
 After the tabernacle was finished, God 
 did not call Moses on Mount Sinai again, 
 to speak with him, but he called him into the 
 tabernacle. For God came into the taber- 
 nacle in a cloud over the mercy-seat and 
 spoke with Moses there. And God told 
 Moses to bring Aaron and his sons to the 
 8 
 
 door of the tabernacle to consecrate them, 
 that is, make them priests. 
 
 Then Moses brought them and he called 
 all the people, that they might come and see 
 what the Lord commanded him to do. 
 And while they stood around the door cf the 
 tabernacle he took Aaron and his sons and 
 washed them with water ; and he put on 
 Aaron the beautiful garments that had been 
 made for him. Afterwards he poured oil 
 upon his head and anointed him. He took 
 Aaron's sons also, and put their garments 
 upon them and offered up sacrifices to God. 
 So Aaron and his sons were made priests, to 
 
 THE LAVER. 
 
 stay at the tabernacle and burn incense and 
 offer up sacrifices for the children of Israel. 
 Before this time other men might offer up 
 their own sacrifices, as Abel, Noah and the 
 Patriarchs had done. But now that God 
 had chosen Aaron and his sons to be priests, 
 no one else might offer up a sacrifice ; every 
 man must bring his offering to the tabernacle, 
 and let the priests burn it for him upon the 
 altar there. 
 
 The priests were commanded to offer up two 
 lambs every day, one in the morning and the 
 other in evening, for the sins of all the people 
 of Israel. But God told Moses that, if any 
 
114 
 
 FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 
 
 man wanted to bring an offering for his own 
 sins, alone, he might bring an ox, or a sheep 
 
 be pleased with it, for an offering, not 
 because the blood of animals could take 
 
 SENDING THE SCAPEGOAT INTO THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 or a goat to the door of the tabernacle and lay 
 his hand upon it and kill it, and God would 
 
 away sins, but it served as a shadow and type 
 of the sacrifice of Christ, who poured out his 
 
115 
 
116 
 
 FROM THE RED SEA TO SINAI. 
 
 blood unto death, in order to take away the 
 sins of the world. 
 
 The priests were to dismiss the people 
 with a blessing saying to them : The Lord 
 jiess thee, and keep thee ; the Lord make 
 his face shine upon thee and be gracious 
 unto thee ; the Lord lift up his countenance 
 upon thee and give thee peace. Among 
 the sacred seasons of the Israelites the most 
 prominent were : the Sabbath day, the Pass- 
 over or Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast 
 of Pentecost, also called the Feast of Weeks 
 and of the First Fruits ; the Feast of Taber- 
 nacles, the great day of Atonement, the Sab- 
 bath year, and the Year of Jubilee. 
 
 Beautiful Garments. 
 
 The garments of the priests, whl?h desig- 
 nated their office, were not worn by the 
 Levites. The priestly garments were very 
 simple ; the chief article was a tunic, made 
 with sleeves, held together by a linen girdle, 
 and extending from the neck to the ankles ; 
 the material and the color, white linen, were 
 symbols of purity and holiness. In addition 
 to this official garment, the high priest wore 
 a blue robe or coat, adorned on the hem 
 with pomegranates and bells of gold; the 
 former were symbols of the Word, and the 
 bell was a symbol of proclamation. 
 
 He also wore an ephod attached to the 
 shoulders, made of costly materials of gold, 
 of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet; the 
 breast-plate was attached to it in front, 
 by means of rings and chains, made of gold. 
 This breast-plate was adorned with twelve 
 
 precious stones, on which the names of the 
 twelve tribes were engraved ; it was a 
 memorial implying that the high priest, as 
 the highest mediator of the old covenant, 
 should always bear the people upon his heart. 
 A small plate of gold was, besides, attached 
 to the priestly mitre bearing the inscription : 
 Holiness to the Lord. 
 
 The people had now remained an entire 
 year in their tents, the law was given, the 
 tabernacle was erected, the priests were 
 already occupied with their official duties, 
 and the period of departure was near at 
 hand. After the number of men who were 
 able to bear arms had again been taken, and 
 the second passover had been celebrated, the 
 Lord gave the appointed signal: the cloud 
 was taken up from the tabernacle and guided 
 the people in their journeying. 
 
 The tabernacle was then taken down by 
 the Levites, and set up again after a three 
 days' journey in the wilderness of Paran, 
 where the children of Israel encamped. 
 And, whenever the ark was lifted up, Moses 
 said, Rise up, Lord, and let thine enemies be 
 scattered; and let them that hate thee, flee 
 before thee. And when it rested, he said, 
 Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands 
 of Israel. 
 
 The tabernacle stood always in the middle 
 of the camp, the tents of the Levites were 
 next, and the tents of the other tribes were 
 farther off, but on every side of the taber- 
 nacle. And they kept their tents in the same 
 place until they took them down to go on 
 their journey again. 
 
THE WAY TO THE PROMISED LAND 
 
 117 
 
•HE FOUNTAIN I** THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 118 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 B. C. 1490. 
 
 The Golden Calf — Moses Angry and Breaks the Tables op the Law — The Glory of 
 Mount Sinai — Numbering the People — The Pillar of Fire — The Israelites Mur- 
 mur — Punishment by Fire — A Strong Wind Brings Quails for Food — Spies Sent 
 v'o the Promised Land — The Brazen Serpent — Story of Balaam and Balak — Death 
 of Moses — The People Mourn Thirty Days. 
 
 Then Aaron made of them the likeness of 
 a calf or bull in gold. The most famous 
 of the gods of Egypt was worshipped under 
 the form of a bull, so Aaron thought it would 
 please these people if he made for them a 
 likeness of their own great God in the same 
 form. 
 
 Thus they broke the second command- 
 ment, where God says, that they were not to 
 make the likeness of anything, to bow down 
 and worship it. Is it not wonderful that 
 they forgot it so soon? One would have 
 thought that they could never have looked 
 up to the great mountain before them, with- 
 out thinking of the solemn words that God 
 had so lately uttered from its heights, amidst 
 thunder, and lightning, and earthquake, and 
 the loud trumpet, whose voice awoke the 
 echo of the mountains round. 
 
 SOURING 
 
 the time 
 Moses 
 was up 
 on Mount 
 Sinai, speaking 
 with God about 
 all those things 
 told in the last story, the 
 Israelites were very uneasy 
 because he did not come 
 back. He had been gone 
 for forty days, when the 
 people came to Aaron, and 
 said, Where is Moses? We 
 cannot tell what has become 
 'MJV"t- of him: we are afraid he is 
 /fa dead. Make us, therefore, 
 
 an image in the likeness of God, that we may 
 worship before it. 
 
 Aaron was afraid to tell the people how 
 wicked this was, and he said, Bring me your 
 golden ornaments. Probably he hoped the 
 people would not be willing to part with 
 what they liked so much, and then he would 
 not be obliged to make them an image. But 
 the people were determined to have a like- 
 ness of a god, so they took off their orna- 
 ments, and brought them to Aaron. 
 
 They Worship an Image. 
 
 When the image was set up, then all the 
 people came before it, and offered sacrifices 
 and feasted. While they were doing this, 
 God said to Moses, Make haste and go down 
 to the people, for they are sinning. Then 
 Moses went, and he took in his hand the 
 tablets of stone, which were the work of God, 
 and the writing on them was the writing of 
 God, engraven on the tablets. As he came 
 near to the camp, he saw the people dancing 
 
 119 
 
120 
 
 WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 round the calf; then he felt very grieved and 
 very angry, and he threw down the tablets, 
 on which God had written his laws and his 
 covenant, and broke them at the bottom of 
 the mount. 
 
 The breaking of these tablets showed how 
 the people had broken God's laws and the 
 
 in the fire, ground the ashes to powder, and 
 then threw the dust into the water that the 
 people drank. They must have thought 
 what a poor god it was, if it could be served 
 so. Then Moses said, Who is on the Lord's 
 side ? Let him come to me. So all the 
 Levites came to him. Now Moses said, 
 
 THE ISRAELITES WORSHIPPING THE GOLDEN CALF. 
 
 covenant that they had so lately made with 
 him, when they said, All that the Lord hath 
 spoken we will do. Before this time, when 
 they had done wrong, God had not punished 
 them ; but now they had agreed to be under 
 his laws, and because they had broken them 
 they must suffer the consequences. 
 
 First of all, Moses took the calf, burnt it 
 
 Take your swords and kill those who have 
 been chief in this sin. And the Levites 
 killed three thousand men. Then Moses 
 went back to the mountain, and prayed tc 
 God to forgive the people their sin. 
 
 Afterwards God told Moses to get two 
 more tablets of stone, like those which he 
 had broken. On these God wrote the same 
 
WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 121 
 
 laws that he had written on the first tablets. 
 Moses was away in the mountain with God 
 just as long the second time as he was the 
 first. During those forty days he did neither 
 eat bread nor drink water, for God kept him 
 alive without the need of food. 
 
 When he came down to the people, they 
 looked at his face, and the skin of his face 
 
 been the reflection of God's glory upon his 
 face. We grow like to those with whom we 
 live, in thought and feeling ; if we keep good 
 company we shall be like our companions. 
 Moses had been in glorious company, and 
 some of that glory was shared by him. 
 
 After this God commanded Moses to num- 
 ber the people. He was told to find out how 
 
 MOSES DESTROYING THE TABLES OF THE LAW. 
 
 shone, and they were afraid to come near 
 him. Then Moses put a veil over his face 
 to hide its brightness, while he talked to the 
 people of all the things that God had shown 
 him, when he was up in Mount Sinai. 
 What was it that made Moses' face shine 
 so brightly ? You know that he had been 
 with God in the Mount, and it must have 
 
 many there were from twenty years old and 
 upward, all that were able to go forth to war 
 in Israel. The families were numbered 
 according to their heads. All those that 
 were numbered by the house of their fathers, 
 from twenty years old and upward, all that 
 were able to go forth to war were six hundred 
 and three thousand, five hundred and fifty. 
 
MOSES BRINGING THE NEW TABLES OF THE LAW. 
 
 122 
 
PANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 123 
 
 At length the pillar of fire began to move, 
 which was an order from God for the 
 Israelites to leave the desert of Sinai, and 
 march onwards towards Canaan. They 
 always knew when God wished them to move 
 forward, and when it was his will that they 
 should stay at any place, by the moving or 
 resting of this wonderful pillar. 
 
 It was a good thing that God chose when 
 they should go or stay, for if Moses had 
 done so, they would have been sure to have 
 grumbled. The old people would have 
 wanted to stay still in one spot, the young 
 ones would have wanted to move on too fast ; 
 some would have liked one place, and some 
 another ; but all would have been discon- 
 tented. Now God, through this fiery pillar, 
 fixed all their movements, and the people 
 knew that it was their guide. 
 
 For three days they journeyed till they 
 came to the wilderness of Paran, and then 
 the pillar rested ; so they set up their tents. 
 At this place they began to complain. This 
 grumbling, unthankful spirit displeased God, 
 after all he had done for them. They did 
 not like the hardship £nd weariness of a 
 desert life, and said y How hot the sun is 
 here, and how the sand scorches our feet! 
 How dull it is in this still desert, and how 
 uncomfortable to be always moving about 
 from place to place ! They had many hard- 
 ships, certainly ; but they were now on their 
 way to the Promised Land, where they would 
 have a beautiful and settled home. 
 
 What Became of the Grumblers. 
 
 God heard their murmurings ; and he did 
 not pass them over now, for they were under 
 his laws, and he punished them for their sin. 
 He sent a fire, which burnt many of those 
 who had grumbled most. Perhaps this fire 
 was lightning, which struck them dead in a 
 moment ; perhaps it was the hot desert wind, 
 
 I called the simoon, which breathed its scorch- 
 I ing breath upon them, and they died. The 
 I Israelites called this place Taberah, or " the 
 J burning," because of the sad end of some of 
 | their number. 
 
 When the Israelites left Egypt, a great 
 ; many of the lowest of the people went with 
 them. They are called the " mixed multi- 
 tude," and they were mostly the very lowest 
 I of the low. They were very often the first 
 to begin to grumble, and to leave the worship 
 of God, and were a constant trouble to the 
 Israelites. At the very next place of encamp- 
 ment when they left Taberah, these people 
 again began to murmur. What is the matter 
 now ? They do not want for water, for the 
 streams from the smitten rock still follow 
 them They do not want for bread, for God 
 has never once forgotten to rain down the 
 manna from heaven. 
 
 They Cry for Meat. 
 
 They cry, We want meat. We remember 
 the fish that we did eat in Egypt freely; the 
 refreshing cucumbers, the cooling melons, 
 the pleasant onions ! We have nothing but 
 dry food here ; we are tired of having only 
 this manna. It was not only the mixed 
 multitude who grumbled. They began, and 
 the sin spread like a disease, as all sin is, 
 through the camp. Soon Moses heard the 
 people weep throughout their families, every 
 man in the door of his tent ; and the Lord 
 heard, too. God told Moses to say to the 
 people, You ask, Who shall give you flesh 
 to eat? I will. You shall eat flesh; not 
 for one day only, nor for two days, nor for 
 five days, neither for ten days, nor for twenty- 
 days, but for a whole month, until you hate 
 the sight of it. 
 
 Then God sent a strong wind, which 
 brought them quails. These birds came in 
 very, very large numbers, and they flew so 
 
124 
 
 WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 low that the people caught them easily. 
 Now they had flesh in abundance ; but God 
 had not given it them in love, but in punish- 
 ment. It was a year since they had eaten 
 meat, and now they ate so much that it made 
 them ill — so ill that a very great many people 
 died. God knew what was the best food for 
 them to eat in the desert, and they would be 
 
 land which God promised to your fathers i 
 go up and take it ; do not be afraid of the 
 people who live in it. But, the people said, 
 We had better send twelve men before us — = 
 one man out of each tribe — to search the 
 land 
 
 me must go up, 
 shall come. 
 
 and bring us word again by what way 
 and into what cities we 
 
 KHfcuita.sc. 
 
 THE SPIES RETURNING FROM CANAAN. 
 
 quite sure that he would supply all their real 
 wants. Whenever they tried to have their 
 own way, they always got into trouble ; but 
 they were slow to learn that God's ways 
 are best. 
 
 After this they went on marching and 
 resting, until at last they came to the 
 southern border of the land of Canaan. 
 Now, Moses said, you are in sight of the 
 
 So twelve men were chosen to spy out the 
 land. They left the camp early in Septem- 
 ber, and came back about the middle oi 
 October. They were gone forty days, and 
 they brought back with them some of the 
 fruits which grew in the country to show 
 their countrymen. How delighted they must 
 have been to see the figs, and the grapes, and 
 the pomegranates, which they were told 
 
WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 125 
 
 grew in rich abundance in this land which 
 was to be their own ! There was one large 
 cluster of grapes, cut from the valley of 
 Eschol, which they looked at with great 
 surprise. It was carried by two men on a 
 pole, partly because of its great size, and 
 partly to keep it from being bruised. 
 
 The twelve men said, We came unto the 
 land where you sent us, and indeed it floweth 
 with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of 
 it. They meant to say. it is a land where 
 there is plenty of food and grass for our 
 cattle, so we shall have plenty of milk ; and 
 there are a great many wild bees which store 
 large quantities of honey from the flowers. 
 
 The Giants of Cam an, 
 
 When the people heard this goud account 
 of the land, they longed to go and take it : 
 then the spies said, Though it is a fruitful 
 land, yet the people who live in it are like 
 giants, and they have strong cities with walls 
 all round them. This frightened the people, 
 but Caleb, who was one of the twelve spies, 
 said, Do not be afraid : we are well able to 
 overcome the land ; let us go up at once to 
 take it. And Joshua said the same. Then 
 the other spies said, We are not able to go 
 up against the people, for they are stronger 
 than we are. The people, when they heard 
 these words, actually wept from disappoint- 
 ment and fear. They began to murmur 
 against Moses and Aaron, and said, Oh that 
 we had died in Egypt ! oh that we had died 
 in the wilderness ! We had better return to 
 Egypt : let us appoint a captain to take us 
 back again. Then Joshua and Caleb said, Do 
 not act so foolishly and wickedly : the land 
 which we passed through to search is an 
 exceedingly fruitful one. Do not be afraid 
 of the people who live there, for the Lord 
 is with us to keep us from harm, but he is 
 not with them: you need not fear them, 
 
 The mean-spirited people would not listen 
 to these two brave men, but took up stones 
 to stone them to death. All at once the 
 glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle, 
 in sight of all the people, so they knew that 
 God was going to speak to them by Moses 
 
 This was what God said to these faithless, 
 cowardly people, Because you have forgotten 
 how I delivered you from your enemies in 
 Egypt, and have helped you through all 
 difficulties by the way;' because you have 
 not believed that I would still help you, to 
 conquer all your other enemies, and give you 
 the land that I promised you, none of you 
 that are grown up men and women shall ever 
 see this good land You shall wander for 
 forty years in the wilderness, as the men 
 were forty days in searching the land ; a year 
 for each day shall you wander about in the 
 wilderness, until all that are twenty years 
 old and more shall be dead. Joshua and 
 Caleb, who spoke the truth, shall go in, and 
 so shall your little ones, who you said 
 would be sure to be killed by the inhabitants. 
 After forty years I will give the land to them, 
 but not to you ; you are not worthy of it. 
 
 The ten men who spoke evil of the land, 
 and who discouraged the people, were struck 
 dead by God's displeasure on the spot, but 
 Joshua and Caleb lived on. 
 
 In Great Trouble. 
 
 And now the people mourned greatly. 
 They had something to grieve over now, 
 and they found, by their doom to wander 
 forty years in the desert, with no hope of 
 seeing the good land, what an evil and bitter 
 thing it is to sin against God. 
 
 Thirty-eight years after God had sentenced 
 the Israelites to wander for forty years in the 
 wilderness, they came to Kadesh, where 
 Miriam died and was buried. Here they 
 suffered greatly for want of water. With 
 
THE HIGH PRIEST IN FULL DRESS. 
 
 126 
 
WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 12T 
 
 great impatience and folly they wished 
 themselves dead, and acted just as their 
 fathers had done at Rephidim. They 
 scolded Moses and Aaron for bringing 
 them out of Egypt, and behaved very badly. 
 
 Then God said to Moses, Take the rod, 
 make all the people come together; then do 
 you speak to the rock which is before your 
 eyes, and water shall come out of it for the 
 people to drink. So Moses and Aaron 
 gathered the people together before the 
 rock, and Moses said, Hear now, ye rebels ; 
 must we fetch you water out of this rock ? 
 
 Then Moses lifted up his hand and smote 
 the rock twice, and the water came out 
 abundantly. Then God said to Moses and 
 Aaron, You have not honored me before the 
 people, so you shall not lead them into the 
 good land which I have given them. Moses 
 lost his temper, and spoke angrily to the 
 people. God told him to speak to the rock, 
 but he hit it twice. He said, Must we fetch 
 you water? when it was only God's power 
 that could bring water out of the rock. So, 
 for his impatience and unbelief in God, in 
 which Aaron joined, these two great men 
 were not allowed to lead the Israelites into 
 Canaan. 
 
 Death of Aaron. 
 
 Very soon after this the Israelites came to 
 Mount Hor. Here, God told Aaron, was the 
 place where he would die. Moses and Aaron, 
 and Eleazer, the son of Aaron, went at God's 
 command to the top of this bare and rugged 
 mountain. All the people stood below, and 
 watched these three as they walked up this 
 dreary height — they knew that only two out 
 of the three would ever come down again, 
 that their high priest was gone up to die. 
 When they reached the top, Moses took off 
 the priestly robes from Aaron and put them 
 upon his son Eleazer ; then Aaron gave one 
 
 look at the tents of Israel in the plains below, 
 one long look towards the Promised Land, 
 whose distant hills he could just see, and 
 then Moses and Eleazer heard his last words, 
 and Aaron died. For thirty days the whole 
 congregation mourned for their lost high 
 priest. 
 
 At last the fiery pillar moved again, and 
 they journeyed round the coasts of Edom. 
 Here they were much cast down because of 
 the troubles of the way. They had not yet 
 learned the lesson of patient trust, and again 
 they grumbled. They longed for other 
 bread than manna, and spoke against God 
 and against Moses. 
 
 A Plague in the Tents. 
 
 So the Lord sent fiery serpents among the 
 people, and they bit the people so that a great" 
 many died. There were a great many pois- 
 onous creatures in the desert ; but we never 
 hear of their being bitten until now, God had 
 always taken care of them, and kept them 
 from this as well as other dangers ; but now, 
 for their sin, he let the serpents follow their 
 nature and bite the people. 
 
 Perhaps the serpents were called ''fiery" 
 because their color was yellowish or bright. 
 Perhaps it was because of the burning pain 
 which followed their bite, or the raging thirst 
 which people felt from the effect of poison in 
 their blood. The people very soon confessed 
 their sin, and begged Moses to pray to God 
 to take away the serpents from them And 
 Moses prayed for the people. 
 
 Then the Lord said to Moses, Make a 
 serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and 
 it shall come to pass that every one that is 
 bitten shall feel well again, when he looks at 
 it. Moses did so ; and it came to pass that 
 if a serpent had bitten any man, when he 
 beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. 
 
 And the children of Israel set forward and 
 
128 
 
 WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 pitched in the plains of Moab, near the river 
 Jordan by Jericho. 
 
 And when Balak, king of Moab, saw all 
 that Israel had done to the Amorites, he was 
 sore afraid of the people, and sent messengers 
 unto a prophet named Balaam in Meso- 
 ootamia, to call him saying : Behold there is 
 
 whom thou cursest is cursed. And they 
 departed and came to Balaam with rewards. 
 And God said unto Balaam, Thou shalt 
 not go with them ; thou shalt not curse the 
 people, for they are blessed. Therefore 
 Balaam said unto the princes of Balak : Get 
 you into your land, for the Lord refuseth to 
 
 THE BRAZEN SERPENT. 
 
 a people come out from Egypt, behold, they 
 cover the face of the earth, and they abide 
 over against me. Come now therefore, I 
 pray thee, curse me this people, for they are 
 too mighty for me ; perad venture I shall pre^ 
 vail, that we may smite them, and that I may 
 drive them out of the land ; for I know that 
 he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he 
 
 give me leave to go with you. But Balak 
 sent again princes, more honorable and with 
 richer gifts ; and God said to Balaam : Go 
 with them ; yet the word which I shall say 
 to thee, that shalt thou do. 
 
 And Balaam rose up in the morning, and 
 saddled his ass and went with the princes of 
 Moab. And God's anger was kindled 
 
WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 129 
 
 because Balaam loved the wages of unright- 
 eousness, and the angel of the Lord stood in 
 the way for an adversary against him. And 
 the ass saw the Angel of the Lord standing 
 in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand ; 
 and the ass turned aside out of the way, and 
 went into the field ; and Balaam smote the 
 ass to turn her into the way. 
 
 But the Angel of the Lord stood in a path, 
 
 and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he 
 smote the ass with a staff. 
 
 And the Lord opened the mouth of the 
 ass, and she said to Balaam : What have 1 
 done unto thee, that thou has smitten me 
 these three times ? And Balaam said to the 
 ass, because thou has mocked me; I wish 
 there were a sword in my hand, for then I 
 would kill thee. Then the Lord opened the 
 
 BALAAM MET BY THE 
 
 shut in by vineyard walls on each side. 
 And when the ass saw the Angel of the 
 Lord, she thrust herself unto the wall and 
 crushed Balaam's foot against the wall ; and 
 he smote her again. And the Angel of the 
 Lord went further and stood in a narrow 
 place, where was no way to turn either to the 
 rieht hand or to the left. And when the ass 
 saw the Angel, she fell down under Balaam ; 
 9 
 
 ANGEL OF THE LORD. 
 
 eyes of Balaam, and he saw the Angel of the 
 Lord standing in the way, and his sword 
 drawn in his hand ; and Balaam bowed 
 himself and fell flat to the ground, and said 
 to the Angel of the Lord, I have sinned; 
 now therefore, if it displease thee, I will 
 return. And the Angel of the Lord said to 
 Balaam, Go with the men, but only the word 
 that I shall speak unto thee, shalt thou speak. 
 
130 
 
WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 131 
 
 So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. 
 And on the morrow Balak took Balaam, and 
 brought him up into a high place that thence 
 he might see the utmost part of the people. 
 And Balaam said unto Balak, Build me here 
 seven altars, and prepare me here seven oxen 
 and seven rams. And Balaam did as Balak 
 had spoken ; and they offered on every altar 
 a bullock and a ram. And the Lord put a 
 word in Balaam's mouth and he said, From 
 Aram hath Balak brought me, the king of 
 Moab, from the mountains of the earth, 
 saying. Come, curse me Jacob, and come, 
 defy Israel. How shall I curse, whom God 
 hath not cursed, or how shall I defv, whom 
 the Lord hath not defied? 
 
 The Anger of Balak. 
 
 And Balaam seeing the vision of the 
 Almighty and falling into a trance, said 
 again, I shall see him, but not now, I shall 
 behold him, but not nigh ; there shall come 
 a Star out of Jacob and a Sceptre shall rise 
 out of Israel, and shall smite the princes of 
 Moab and overthrow all the sons of tumult. 
 Let me die the death of the righteous and 
 let my last end be like his. 
 
 And Balak's anger was kindled against 
 Balaam, and he smote his hands together, 
 and said to Balaam, I called thee to curse 
 mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast 
 altogether blessed them these three times ; 
 therefore now flee thou to thy place. And 
 he sent him away without any of the silver 
 and gold which Balaam wanted so much. 
 Notwithstanding, Balaam afterwards craftily 
 advised the Moabites and Midianites to 
 entice Israel to practice idolatrous rites ; this 
 plan was so successful, that a plague, which 
 the Lord sent, destroyed 24,000 of the 
 people. Hence the Lord commanded Moses 
 to make war against the Moabites and 
 Midianites and they slew their kings and 
 
 people; and Balaam also they slew with the 
 edge of the sword. 
 
 The Last Days of Moses. 
 
 Moses knew that he could not lead the 
 people into the land of Canaan. He must 
 die as the Lord had said, for he had sinned 
 at the rock. He feared the Israelites would 
 not think how they had been led through the 
 desert. He talked to them for the last time 
 and brought back to their minds all the 
 things God had done for them. 
 
 He asked the Lord to choose a man to 
 take his place, lest if they had no guide to 
 lead them they might be lost as sheep with 
 no shepherd. The Lord said Joshua should 
 lead them. Moses told the people they 
 must keep the laws of God and teach their 
 children to do so at all times ; and they must 
 talk to them of God, so that they would 
 learn to love him. 
 
 And when the Lord led them into Canaan 
 and gave them all the great cities that they 
 had not built, and wells that they had not 
 digged, and vineyards and olive trees which 
 they had not planted, they must think of the 
 Lord and how much he had done for them. 
 He had led them for long years and fed them, 
 and their clothes had not grown old and 
 their feet had not been sore by the way. 
 He had brought them out of that place to 
 this good land full of streams, where the 
 wheat grew and grapes and all sorts of fruit. 
 They should not want. They would find 
 brass and iron if they dug in the ground and 
 could make tools and all sorts of things for 
 their use. 
 
 Their flocks and herds would do well in 
 that land, and they would grow rich, but 
 they must not think they had gained all these 
 things by their own might. They must keep 
 in mind that the Lord their God had given 
 them all. If they did not serve him, but 
 
MOSES REHEARSING THE COMMANDMENTS TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. 
 
 
WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 133 
 
 took other gods, they would be served in 
 the same way as he meant to serve the 
 nations that lived in sin. Moses told them 
 they must soon cross the Jordan and the 
 Lord would lead them. The people of the 
 land might try to keep them out but he 
 would make them win. Though they had 
 sinned in the desert, he was still their God. 
 
 found there. The people of Canaan had set 
 up their false gods on hills and under trees 
 in all parts of their land. They had built 
 altars and burnt up their own children on 
 them. Moses told the children of Israel 
 that they must pull down all these places 
 and break the false gods. And if one of the 
 men of the land should try to make them 
 
 THE LORD APPEARING TO MOSES AND JOSHUA IN THE PILLAR OF A CLOUD. 
 
 The land of Canaan was a place of streams. 
 Egypt had one river, the Nile, which flowed 
 over its banks once a year so that the fields 
 near it bore much fruit. But the soil far off 
 was dry, and men had to carry water to it, 
 so that the grass and plants might grow. 
 In Canaan rain fell and grain and grass grew 
 well, and vines and all sorts of fruit were 
 
 kneel down to these false gods, he must be 
 stoned to death. 
 
 If there was a poor man among them, they 
 must lend him what he needed and the Lord 
 would bless them. They must keep some 
 cities where one who had killed a man by 
 chance might hide. If he had meant to kill 
 the man for hate, then he must be put to 
 
134 
 
 WANDERINGS IN THE WILDERNESS. 
 
 death. But if the thing was done by chance/ 
 and the friends of the dead man chased him 
 to kill him, he might fly to one of these cities. 
 When he reached the gate, he must tell the 
 guard what he had done. Then they would 
 give him a place to stay. If the friends of 
 the man whom he had killed came to ask 
 for him, they would not give him up, as he 
 had not meant to do wrong. But if a man 
 who meant to kill came there, they were not 
 to let him in, but he must be put to death for 
 his sin. 
 
 When they lived in the land each man 
 must take the first of his grain and the first 
 fruit that was ripe and bring them to the 
 Lord's house. The priest would take these 
 gifts and set them down in front of the altar. 
 The man must say, I have brought the first 
 fruits of the land which thou, O Lord, hast 
 given me. And he must pray to the Lord 
 and leave all his gifts there for the use of the 
 priests. The priests were to have no fields 
 to raise grain or fruit of their own, so the 
 first fruits of the land must be brought to 
 them each year. 
 
 Stones and Clay. 
 
 Moses told them that on the day they 
 should go over Jordan they must raise a 
 great pile of stones, and on these they must 
 smear soft clay, and write all the laws of 
 God on this clay. When it grew hard, all 
 who went by could read the law of God on it. 
 
 Moses told them that if they kept the law 
 of God, he would bless them and all that 
 was theirs. Their foes would flee from them. 
 But if they sinned, their fields should not 
 bring forth grain, for locusts should eat it, 
 and their vines would not bring forth grapes. 
 He would send plagues on them and foes 
 who would not spare them but would make 
 them slaves. 
 
 And the Lord said unto Moses, Behold, 
 thy days approach that thou must die : call 
 Joshua, and present yourselves in the taber- 
 nacle of the congregation, that I may give 
 him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went, 
 and presented themselves in the tabernacle 
 of the congregation . And the Lord appeared 
 in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud : and 
 the pillar of the cloud stood over the door 
 of the tabernacle. 
 
 And the Lord spake unto Moses that 
 selfsame day, saying, Get thee up into this 
 mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which 
 is in the land of Moab, that is over against 
 Jericho ; and behold the land of Canaan, 
 which I give unto the children of Israel for 
 a possession : and die in the mount whither 
 thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy 
 people ; as Aaron thy brother died in mount 
 Hor, and was gathered unto his people : 
 because ye trespassed against me among the 
 children of Israel at the waters of Meribah- 
 Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin ; because ye 
 sanctified me not in the midst of the children 
 of Israel. Yet thou shalt see the land before 
 thee ; but thou shalt not go thither unto the 
 land which I give the children of Israel. 
 And Moses went up from the plains of 
 Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top 
 of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And 
 the Lord shewed him all the land of Gilead, 
 unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of 
 Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of 
 Judah, unto the utmost sea, and the south, 
 and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the 
 city of palm trees, unto Zoar. And the 
 Lord said unto him, This is the land which I 
 sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto 
 Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed : 
 I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, 
 but thou shalt not go over thither. 
 
 So Moses the servant of the Lord died. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 B. C. 
 
 I45 1 ' 
 
 Story of Joshua— Arrival of the Israelites at Jordan — Crossing toe River — Rahab 
 and the Spies — Capture of Jericho — Battle at the City of Ai — Achan Stoned 
 for Theft — Men in Old Clothes — A Furious Hailstorm — Joshua's Great Victory — 
 The People Choose Whom they will Serve, 
 
 MONG the chil- 
 dren of Israel that 
 came out of 
 Egypt there was 
 a certain Hoshea, 
 the son of Nun, 
 of the tribe of 
 Ephraim. Moses 
 had seen that he 
 was valiant and 
 skillful, and when 
 the Amalekites 
 came out against 
 Israel at Rephidim, to slay them on their 
 journey to Sinai, Moses appointed him to be 
 captain of the host. So he went and defeated 
 the Amalekites in a great battle; and after 
 that Moses called him by the name of 
 Jehoshua or Joshua, which is, being inter- 
 preted, The Lord's Salvation. 
 
 And when Moses went up into the moun- 
 tain of Sinai to receive the law from God, 
 Joshua went with Aaron and the elders so 
 far as it was lawful for them to go; and 
 while he was in the mount Joshua waited for 
 him. From the day when Moses came down 
 from the mount Joshua became his minister, 
 attending on him continually, and dwelling 
 in his tent. Also he was one of the seventy 
 judges whom Moses appointed to do justice 
 among the people. 
 
 Very zealous was he for the honor of hb 
 chief; for when two of the seventy, Eldad 
 and Medad by name, tarried in the camp, 
 and prophesied there (but the rest prophesied 
 in the tabernacle), he said, My lord Moses, 
 forbid them. But Moses answered, Enviest 
 thou for my sake? Would God that all the 
 Lord's people were prophets, and that the 
 Lord would put his Spirit upon them ! 
 
 In the second year after the departure ol 
 Israel from the land of Egypt, the people 
 approached to the borders of the land which 
 the Lord had promised to their fathers 
 to give them ; and they pitched their camp 
 in the wilderness of Paran. Then Moses, as 
 we have seen, chose twelve men, one out of 
 each tribe, that they might go as spies and 
 see the land what it was, and the people that 
 dwelt therein, whether they were strong or 
 weak, few or many, and whether they dwelt 
 in tents or in strongholds. Be of good cour- 
 age, he said to them, and bring of the fruit 
 of the land. 
 
 They Went Through all the Land. 
 
 And the time at which the men were senl 
 was the time of the first ripe grapes. Joshua 
 was chosen from the tribe of Ephraim, and 
 Caleb from the tribe of Judah. So these 
 twelve men went throughout the land from 
 the wilderness of the south to Mount Lebanon 
 in the north. And when they came to the 
 
 135 
 
136 
 
 THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 
 
 brook Eshcol (which is near to Hebron) they 
 cut down one of the clusters of grapes, and 
 carried it upon a staff between two. Also 
 they brought figs and pomegranates from 
 the land. The time which they spent upon 
 their journey was forty days. And when they 
 came back to the place whence they had 
 come, and showed to the people the fruits 
 which they had brought, thus they said to 
 Moses, We came unto the land whither thou 
 sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk 
 and honey ; and this is the fruit of it. But 
 the people that dwell in the land are strong, 
 great and mighty nations — the Amalekites 
 in the south, and the Amorites in the 
 mountains, and the Canaanites by the sea 
 and by the banks of Jordan, and the children 
 of Anak that are giants. We are but grass- 
 hoppers in their sight and in our own. But 
 Caleb said, Let us go up at once and possess 
 the land ; for we are well able to overcome 
 the people that inhabit it. Joshua also said, 
 Let us go up. But the people believed the 
 ten spies rather than Caleb and Joshua, and 
 they wept, saying, Would God that we had 
 died in the land of Egypt or in the wilderness. 
 
 The People Murmur. 
 
 And they murmured against Moses and 
 Aaron, and said to one another, Let us make 
 us a captain that he may lead us back into 
 the land of Egypt. But Caleb and Joshua 
 ran among them with their clothes rent, and 
 cried, The land which we passed through to 
 search it, is an exceeding good land. If the 
 Lord have a favor for us, He will bring us 
 into it ; and as for the people that dwell 
 therein, their strength is gone from them, for 
 the Lord is with us : therefore fear them not. 
 But the people ran upon them, and would 
 have stoned them with stones had they not 
 feared the glory of the Lord, for the glory 
 appeared at that time above the tabernacle. 
 
 Then the Lord was wroth with the people,, 
 and said that all that murmured, from 
 twenty years old and upward, should perish 
 in the wilderness ; and the ten spies that gave 
 the evil report died of the plague. Only 
 Caleb and Joshua were left alive. 
 
 But when forty years were accomplished 
 from the coming out of Egypt, the children 
 of Israel approached the Promised Land > 
 coming to it from the east. First they sub- 
 dued the country that is eastward of Jordan, 
 the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and 
 Og, the king of Bashan. Then came the 
 time when Moses must die, for the Lord had 
 said to him, Thou shalt see the land with 
 thine eyes, but thou shalt not enter it. Thou 
 shalt not go over Jordan. 
 
 But before he died he chose Joshua to be 
 the leader of the people after him, for so the 
 Lord commanded him. And he gave him a 
 charge, and said, Be strong and of a good 
 courage, for thou shalt bring the children of 
 Israel into the land which the Lord sware 
 unto them, and the Lord shall be with thee. 
 Then Moses went up to the top of Pisgah, 
 that he might see the land and die. And 
 Joshua and Phinehas the priest went .with 
 him on his way ; but they saw him not when 
 he died, nor did they know where he was 
 buried, save that he was buried in the valley 
 in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor. 
 
 Told to go Over the River Jordan. 
 
 When Moses was dead, the Lord said to 
 Joshua, Arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and 
 all this people, unto the land which I do 
 give them. Every place that the sole of 
 your feet shall tread upon have I given you, 
 from Lebanon unto the great river, the 
 river Euphrates, and westward to the great 
 sea. Be strong and of a good courage ; be 
 not afraid, for the Lord thy God is with thee 
 withersoever thou goest 
 
THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 
 
 137 
 
 Now the people had pitched their camp 
 in the plains of Moab, near to the place 
 where Jordan flows into the Dead Sea. And 
 they looked across the river to the great city 
 of Jericho. Then Joshua commanded the 
 chief men of the tribes that they should bid 
 
 and your cattle, on this side of Jordan ; but 
 ye yourselves shall go up armed before your 
 brethren, and help them until the Lord shall 
 have given your brethren rest as he hath 
 given it to you. And they said, All that 
 thou commandest us, we will do, and wither- 
 
 MOSES GIVING HIS CHARGE TO JOSHUA. 
 
 the people make provision of food, for that 
 within three days they should go over Jordan. 
 Also, he spoke to the tribes of Reuben 
 and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh — 
 for these had had their portion given to them 
 on the eastern side of Jordan — and said, Ye 
 shall leave your wives, and your children, 
 
 soever thou sendest us, we will go. After 
 this Joshua sent from the camp two men to 
 spy out the city of Jericho. And the men 
 entered into the city, and lodged in the 
 house of a woman that was called Rahab. 
 But they were seen coming in, and it was 
 told the king of Jericho, Behold, there came 
 
138 
 
 THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 
 
 in men of the children of Israel to-night to 
 search out the country. And the king sent 
 to Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that 
 are lodging in thy house, for they are come 
 to search out all the country. Rahab said 
 to the king's messengers, It is true that there 
 
 and hidden them under the stalks of flax, 
 which she had laid there to dry. As for the 
 king's messengers, they pursued after the 
 spies along the road that led to the fords of 
 Jordan ; and the gate of the city was shut 
 after them. 
 
 RAHAB AND THE SPIES. 
 
 came men unto me, but I knew not whence 
 they were. And at the time of the shutting 
 of the gate, when it was dark, they departed ; 
 but wither they went, I know not. Pursue 
 after them quickly, for ye shall overtake them. 
 But she had brought the men up to the roof, * 
 
 But before the spies lay down to sleep 
 Rahab came up to them upon the roof, and 
 said, I know that the Lord hath given you 
 this land, and that all the inhabitants thereof 
 are afraid. We have heard how your God 
 divided the waters of the Red Sea before you, 
 
THE STORY 
 
 and how you have utterly destroyed the two 
 kings of the Amorites on the other side of 
 Jordan ; and when we heard it our hearts 
 melted, and there remained no courage in 
 any of us. Now, therefore, swear by the 
 Lord that, as I have showed you kindness, 
 
 OF JOSHUA. 139 
 
 business. And when the Lord shall have 
 given us this land, we will deal kindly and 
 truly with you and yours. Then she let 
 them down by the window of her house, for 
 her house was upon the town wall. And 
 she said, Fly to the mountains, lest the 
 
 THE HEBREWS CROSSING THE JORDAN. 
 
 so ye will show kindness to me and to my 
 father's house ; and that ye will save alive 
 my father, and my mother, and my brethren, 
 and my sisters, and all that they have. And 
 give me a true token that ye will so do. 
 
 Then the men answered, We pledge our 
 life for your life, if only ye betray not our 
 
 pursuers meet you, for they have pursued 
 after you even to the fords of the Jordan. 
 Hide yourselves in the mountains for three 
 days, until the pursuers shall have returned; 
 and then ye can go to your own people. 
 
 The men answered her, We will keep the 
 oath which thou hast made us swear to thee 
 
140 
 
 THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 
 
 And this shall be the token. When we 
 shall have come into the land, bind this 
 scarlet cord in the window from which thou 
 lettest us down. Bring also thy father, and 
 thy mother, and thy brethren, and thy sisters, 
 and all thy father's household into the house. 
 If any go out into the street, his blood shall 
 be on his own head if he perish ; but whoso- 
 ever shall be with thee in the house, his 
 blood shall be on our heads, if any man do 
 him harm. But if thou makest known our 
 business we are quit of this our oath. 
 
 And she said, According unto your words, 
 so be it. And she bound the scarlet line in 
 the window of her house. But the men fled 
 to the mountain, and hid themselves there 
 three days, and after that they returned to 
 Joshua to the camp, and said, Jericho is a 
 strong city, but the Lord has delivered all 
 the land into our hands, for the inhabitants 
 faint for fear because of us. 
 
 The Great Host Crossing the River. 
 
 After this the host of the Israelites marched 
 to Jordan. Now at this season of the year 
 Jordan is swollen by the melting of the snows 
 of Lebanon, and overflows all its banks, 
 and the people encamped by Jordan that 
 night. And Joshua sent officers throughout 
 the host, who commanded the people in 
 these words : When ye see the priests take 
 up the ark of the covenant, follow it ; but 
 leave a space of a thousand yards' measure 
 between you and it ; come not nearer to it, 
 that ye may know the way that ye must go, 
 for such a way ye have not gone before. 
 And Joshua said to the people, Sanctify 
 yourselves, for to-morrow the Lord will do 
 wonders among you. 
 
 When the morrow was come, Joshua said 
 to the priests, Take up the ark and pass over 
 before the people. Then the priests took up 
 the ark, and went before ; and all the people 
 
 left their tents and followed them, leaving a 
 space as had been commanded. And when 
 they that bare the ark came to Jordan, and 
 their feet were dipped in the brim of the 
 waters, then the waters that came from above 
 stood, rising up in a heap, so that the channel 
 was dried from the city of Adam downwards 
 to Jericho, a distance of about eighteen miles £ 
 and the waters below, towards the Salt Sea, 
 were wholly cut off. So all the people 
 crossed the river dry-shod, the priests that 
 bore the ark standing in the middle of the 
 river till all the people had crossed over. 
 
 First went the men of Reuben and of Gad 
 and of the half-tribe of Manasseh, ready 
 armed for battle, about forty thousand 
 soldiers ; and after them the rest of the 
 multitude. And when they had all passed 
 over, Joshua commanded the priests, saying, 
 Come up out of Jordan. And it came to 
 pass when they had come up out of the 
 river, as soon as their feet touched the dry 
 land, the waters of Jordan returned to their 
 places, and flowed over all their banks a$ 
 they had done before. 
 
 Where They Pitched Their Camp. 
 
 Of this crossing there were set up, as 
 Joshua commanded, according to the word 
 of the Lord, two memorials. The first was 
 in this manner : Twelve men, one out of 
 each tribe, took up great stones out of Jordan, 
 from the place where the priests' feet stood 
 firm, and set them up on the other bank, in 
 the place where the host was to lodge that 
 night. And the second memorial was this : 
 There were set up in like manner twelve 
 stones in the midst of the river in the place 
 where the priests had stood with the ark. 
 
 That night the people pitched their camp 
 in the plain that was called Gilgal. This 
 plain was distant five miles from Jordan and 
 two miles eastward from Jericho. Here they 
 
THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 
 
 141 
 
 fortified a camp, and here they kept the 
 feast of passover to the Lord. And this was 
 the second passover that Israel kept after 
 they came out of the land of Egypt. Once 
 had they kept it when they were encamped 
 under Mount Sinai, but not again during the 
 eight-and-thirty years of their wanderings in 
 the wilderness. And on the morrow after 
 the passover the people ate unleavened bread 
 
 mm. 
 
 And the man answered, Nay, but as captain 
 of the Lord's host am I come. Then Joshua 
 fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, 
 and said, What saith my Lord unto his 
 servant? And the captain of the Lord's 
 host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from 
 off thy foot, for the place whereon thou 
 standest is holy. And Joshua did so. Then 
 the angel told Joshua how he should take 
 
 -of the old corn of the land. From that day 
 they ate of the fruit of the land of Canaan, 
 and the manna ceased. 
 
 And Joshua went up to see the city of 
 Jericho, and to devise how it might be 
 taken. And as he looked he had a vision — 
 a man standing over against him with a drawn 
 sword in his hand. Then Joshua went unto 
 him, and said, Art thou for us or against us ? 
 
 The manner of taking 
 
 THE ANGEL APPEARING TO JOSHUA. 
 
 the city of Jericho, 
 it was this. 
 
 On the first day of the week the whole 
 host of Israel, armed and equipped for battle, 
 marched round the wall. After the host 
 came seven priests blowing on rams' horns, 
 and after these, again, the ark, carried on the 
 shoulders of priests. Behind the ark came a 
 company from the tribe of Dan, for the men 
 
142 
 
 THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 
 
 of Dan furnished always the rear-guard of 
 the army. This was done day after day for 
 six days. No shouting was there or cry of 
 battle. Only the priests blew continually 
 with the trumpets. And on the seventh day, 
 which was the Sabbath, the host made this 
 
 Thus Jericho was taken, and all that was 
 in it was destroyed, save only the vessels of 
 gold and silver and brass and iron. These 
 were brought into the treasury of the Lord. 
 And Joshua laid a curse upon any that 
 should build the city again ; and the curse 
 
 compass of the walls seven times. Six times 
 they made it in silence, but the seventh time, 
 when it was now the time of sunset and the 
 Sabbath was near to its end, all the people 
 shouted together, and the wall fell down, so 
 that the army could go up into the city 
 without hindrance. 
 
 FALLING OF THE WALLS OF JERICHO. 
 
 was this : that his eldest son should die whe * 
 he laid the foundation, and his youngest whei 
 he set up the gates, and so finished the work 
 But when Jericho and its people were 
 utterly destroyed, Rahab and her household 
 were saved, as the spies whom she saved 
 from death had sworn unto her. Rahab was 
 
TOSHUA CAPTURING THE CITY OF AI. 
 
 143 
 
144 
 
 THE STORY OF JOSHUA 
 
 married afterwards to Salmon, chief prince of 
 the tribe of Judah. She had a son named 
 Boaz, and Boaz was the father of Obed, and 
 Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father 
 of David. 
 
 The Israelites Defeated. 
 
 Now there stood some eight miles westward 
 from Jericho the city of Ai. This city Joshua 
 had it in his mind to take ; and he sent men 
 to spy out the place. These brought back 
 the report that the place was small, saying to 
 Joshua, Make not all the people to go up. 
 Let about two or three thousand go up and 
 smite the place, for the inhabitants are but 
 few. This Joshua did, but as the Israelites 
 went up the men of Ai sallied out upon them. 
 And they, not looking to be attacked, turned 
 and fled, and the men of Ai pursued them, 
 and slew some six-and-thirty as they fled, 
 but the rest escaped to the camp. 
 
 Great was the dismay among the people at 
 this defeat. As for Joshua, he rent his 
 clothes and fell to the earth upon his face 
 before the ark from morning till evening. 
 So did the elders of the people, and they put 
 dust upon their heads. And Joshua cried to 
 the Lord, Why hast thou brought this people 
 over Jordan to deliver them into the hands 
 of the Amorites ? For when the people of 
 the land shall hear that we have fled in the 
 battle before the men of Ai, they will 
 surround us and destroy us. 
 
 But the Lord answered him thus, Get thee 
 up ; why liest thou upon thy face ? Israel 
 has sinned, for they have taken of the 
 accursed thing. 
 
 So the next day Joshua bade all the people 
 pass before him by their tribes and families 
 and houses. From the tribes the tribe of 
 Judah was taken, and from the tribe of 
 Judah the house of the Zarhites, and from 
 the house of Zarhites the family of Zabdi, 
 
 and, last, from the family of Zabdi a certain 
 Achan. Then Joshua said to Achan, My son, 
 make confession to God, and tell me now 
 what thou hast done. Hide it not from me. 
 Achan answered, I have sinned against 
 the Lord God of Israel. I saw among the 
 spoils of Jericho a goodly mantle from Baby- 
 Ion, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a 
 wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels. These 
 I hid in the earth under my tent, the garment 
 above, and the gold and silver under it. 
 
 Achan Stoned to Death. 
 
 xiien Joshua sent messengers, and they 
 ran unto the tent, and found the things as 
 Achan had said. Then Joshua said, Why 
 hast thou troubled us ? the Lord shall 
 trouble thee this day. And Israel stoned 
 Achan with stones that he died ; and his 
 whole house and all his possessions were 
 destroyed. In the place where this was 
 done was raised a great heap of stones, and 
 the place was called from that day the Valley 
 of Trouble. 
 
 After this Joshua and the people took 
 courage again, and went up against Ai. 
 But first he set an ambush of five thousand 
 men in the valley between Ai and Bethel (for 
 Bethel is two miles to the westward of Ai), 
 and agreed with them that he and the rest 
 of the host should go up against the city 
 openly from the eastward, and make a 
 pretence of flight. And when we flee, said 
 he, and the men of Ai pursue us, do ye rise 
 up and take the city. 
 
 When the king of Ai saw the host of 
 Israel, for it had taken its place on the other 
 side of the valley, he and his people went out 
 against it, knowing nothing of the ambush 
 which had been laid on the other side of his 
 city. And Joshua and all Israel made as if 
 they were beaten before the king of Ai and 
 his people, and fled by the way of the 
 
THE INHABITANTS OF AI WITNESSING THE DEFEAT OF THEIR ARMY. 
 
 10 
 
 145 
 
46 
 
 THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 
 
 wilderness — that is to say, towards Jericho 
 and Jordan. 
 
 There was not a man left in Ai or Bethel ; 
 all pursued after Joshua ; and the gates were 
 open. Then Joshua lifted up his spear, and 
 pointed it towards Ai ; for this had been 
 agreed upon for a signal. Then the men 
 that lay in ambush rose up and entered the 
 city, and set it on fire. And when Joshua 
 and the host saw the smoke of the city rising 
 up to heaven, they turned against the men 
 ofAi. 
 
 At the same time they who had taken the 
 city came down against them from behind. 
 So the men of Ai were taken in the midst of 
 Israel, with the host on one side and the 
 men of the ambush on the other. None 
 could escape. As for the king, he was taken 
 alive ; him Joshua hanged upon a tree. 
 When the sun was set Joshua commanded 
 that they should take down his body from 
 the tree and cast it before the gate of the 
 city, and raise over it a great heap of stones. 
 
 A Shrewd Trick. 
 
 When the kings of the Canaanites heard 
 how Jericho and Ai had been destroyed, they 
 gathered themselves together with one accord 
 to fight against Israel ; but the men of one 
 of the cities of the Hivites, Gibeon by name, 
 bethought them of a device by which they 
 might save themselves. They sent ambas- 
 sadors to Joshua at the camp in Gilgal ; for 
 Joshua had led the host back to the camp. 
 The men took old sacks upon their asses, 
 and the bottles of skin in which they carried 
 their wine had been torn and sewn again, and 
 their shoes were patched, and their garments 
 old, and their bread dry and mouldy. In 
 this plight they came to Gilgal, and said to 
 Joshua, We are come from a far country : 
 now therefore make a league with us. 
 
 Joshua said to them, Peradventure ye dwell 
 
 near us; how then shall we make a league 
 with you ? for our God hath forbidden us to 
 make leagues with the people of this country. 
 Tell us now who are ye, and whence do ye 
 come? 
 
 The Gibeonites answered, Thy servants are 
 come from a very far country because of the 
 name of the Lord thy God. For we have 
 heard the fame of him and all that he did in 
 Egypt, and all that he did to the two kings 
 of the Amorites beyond Jordan. Therefore 
 our elders and all the inhabitants of our 
 country said to us, Take food with you for 
 your journey, and go to meet them, and say 
 to them, We are your servants : therefore now 
 make a league with us. See now this our 
 bread that we took hot for our provision out 
 of our houses on the day we came forth is 
 dry and moldy; and these bottles were new, 
 and now they are torn; and our garments 
 and our shoes are become old by reason of 
 our very long journey. 
 
 Then Joshua and the elders took of the 
 food which the Gibeonites offered them in 
 token of friendship; and Joshua made a 
 league with them, and the elders confirmed 
 it with an oath. 
 
 What Joshua Did with Them. 
 
 But three days afterwards they heard that 
 they were their neighbors and dwelt among 
 them. Then Joshua sent an army from the 
 camp to Gibeon, which came to it on the 
 third day. With Gibeon were confederate 
 three cities — Chephirah, and Beeroth, and 
 Kirjath-jearim. The people were wroth with 
 the princes because they had made a league 
 with these cities. 
 
 But the princes said, We have sworn to 
 them by the Lord God of Israel; therefore 
 we may not touch them. This will we do; 
 we will let them live, lest wrath come upon 
 us. because of the oath which we sware unto 
 
THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 
 
 147 
 
 them. But we will make them hewers of 
 wood and drawers of water to all the people. 
 Then Joshua said to the Gibeonites,Where- 
 fore have ye beguiled us, saying, We are very 
 far from you ; when in truth ye dwell among 
 us? Therefore ye shall be bondsmen for- 
 
 we did this thing. But now we are in thy 
 hand; as it seemeth right and good unto 
 thee to do unto us, do. And Joshua did as 
 he had said. 
 
 And when Adoni-zedek, king of Jerusalem ; 
 heard how the Gibeonites had made peace 
 
 JOSHUA COMMANDING THE SUN TO STAND STILL. 
 
 even Ye shall hew wood and draw water 
 for us, especially for the house of our God. 
 The Gibeonites answered, We were afraid. 
 For we had heard that the Lord your God 
 had commanded his servant Moses to destroy 
 all the inhabitants of the land. Therefore 
 
 with Israel, he was greatly troubled, for 
 Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal 
 cities. He sent therefore to the other kings 
 that were confederate with him, that is to say, 
 the kings of Hebron, of Jarmuth, of Lachish, 
 and of Eglon ; and they and all their hosts 
 
148 
 
 THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 
 
 went up, and encamped against Gibeon, and 
 made war upon it. 
 
 Then the Gibeonites sent in haste to 
 Joshua, saying, The kings of the Amorites 
 that dwell in the mountains are gathered 
 together against us; tarry not therefore to 
 come up and save us and help us. So 
 Joshua and the bravest of the host came up 
 from the camp at Gilgal. All night they 
 marched, for Gibeon was distant fifteen miles 
 from Gilgal, but the Amorites knew nothing 
 of their coming. And when they came up 
 from out of the valley on to the plain before 
 Gibeon, the enemy was sore dismayed, and 
 turned their backs, and fled. 
 
 Pursuing the Enemy. 
 
 Some of them fled to Beth-horon, and 
 some to their own cities. Those that took 
 the road to Beth-horon fled with all speed 
 down the pass that leads from Beth-horon 
 the Upper to Beth-horon the Lower. And 
 as they were on the way, Israel following 
 after them, a great hail-storm fell on them. 
 They were more that died from the hail- 
 stones than they that were slain by the 
 sword. And when Joshua saw the Amorites 
 fleeing down the pass, he feared lest the sun 
 should go down before Israel had made an 
 end of destroying their enemy. Therefore 
 he cried aloud, Sun, stand thou still upon 
 Gibeon; and thou, moon, in the valley of 
 Ajalon. And it was so that the light failed 
 not the children of Israel till they had 
 avenged themselves on their enemies. 
 
 All the way to Azekah did Israel pursue 
 the Amorites; and as they pursued, it was 
 told Joshua that the five kings had hidden 
 themselves in a cave at Makkedah. But 
 Joshua would not suffer the people to turn 
 aside nor to cease from their pursuit. Roll, 
 he said, great stones to the door of the cave, 
 and set a guard over it; but stay ye not, but 
 
 pursue after your enemies, and smite the 
 hindmost of them. Suffer them not to enter 
 into their cities, for the Lord your God hath 
 delivered them into your hand. 
 
 So the people stayed not from the pursuit; 
 nevertheless some of the Amorites escaped 
 into their fortified cities. After this the 
 people returned to Joshua to the camp in 
 peace. None dared to say a word against 
 any of them. 
 
 Then said Joshua, Open the mouth of the 
 cave, and bring the five kings out of the cave 
 to me. So they opened the mouth of the 
 cave, and brought them out. And he said 
 to his captains and chief men of war, Come 
 near and put your feet on the necks of these 
 men. So they came, and put their feet on 
 the necks of the kings. And Joshua said, 
 Fear not, nor be dismayed, be strong and of 
 good courage ; for thus shall the Lord do 
 unto all your enemies against whom ye fight. 
 
 Horses and Chariots. 
 
 Then he commanded that the kings should 
 be slain and hanged upon five trees. At 
 sunset he bade his people to take down the 
 dead bodies from the trees, and cast them 
 into the cave wherein they had hidden them- 
 selves, and roll a stone to the mouth of the 
 cave. When Joshua had subdued all the 
 country of the south he returned to the camp 
 at Gilgal, and all Israel with him. 
 
 When Jabin, king of Hazor, heard these 
 things, he sent to the kings of the north 
 country, and of the plains that lie to the 
 westward of the sea, now the Sea of Galilee, 
 and many others throughout the land, and 
 called them to fight against Israel. 
 
 So they assembled their armies by the 
 waters of Merom, a very great multitude, 
 even as the sand that is on the seashore for 
 multitude. Horses and chariots also had 
 they very many. Now of these the children 
 
THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 
 
 149 
 
 of Israel had none ; nor indeed had they seen 
 them in battle, for the Canaanites of the 
 south were wont to fight on foot. 
 
 And the Lord said to Joshua, Be not 
 afraid of them, for I will deliver them into 
 thine hand. And Joshua went up suddenly 
 from Gilgal, and all the men of war with him, 
 and he fell upon the host of Jabin as it lay 
 
 lame; for so it had been commanded to 
 Joshua, lest perchance the Israelites should 
 seek to use them for war to their own harm. 
 After this Joshua returned to Hazor, and 
 took it, and burnt it with fire. This only of all 
 the cities of the north did Joshua burn with 
 fire, because in those days it was the head of 
 all the kingdoms of that region. Thus 
 
 JOSHUA DIVIDING THE LAND. 
 
 by the waters of Merom, taking them 
 unawares. The Lord delivered them into 
 the hand of Israel. A great multitude were 
 slain, but some escaped to Sidon, and some 
 to Sarepta, and some to Mizpeh, which is 
 /under Hermon. All that were overtaken in 
 the flight were slain, and all the chariots 
 burnt with fire, and all the horses were made 
 
 Joshua conquered the Canaanites in two 
 great battles — the tribes of the south in the 
 Pass of Beth-horon, and the tribes of the 
 north by the Lake of Merom. And both 
 these battles were fought in the year in 
 which the children of Israel crossed the 
 Jordan ; but the land was not subdued 
 till seven full years had passed. Nor even 
 
150 
 
 THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 
 
 then was it wholly conquered; for the 
 Philistines dwelt in their five cities by the sea, 
 and the Jebusites held the citadel of Jeru- 
 salem, and the kings of the northern 
 Canaanites set up their dominion again in 
 Hazor, and elsewhere also the Canaanites 
 dwelt among the children of Israel. 
 
 Israel's Inheritance. 
 
 At the end of the seven years Joshua 
 divided the land among the tribes; and 
 while he did so, Caleb came to him, and 
 said, Thou knowest the thing that the Lord 
 said unto Moses the man of God concerning 
 me and thee in Kadesh-barnea. Forty years 
 old was I when Moses the servant of the 
 Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to espy 
 out the land; and I brought him word again 
 as it was in mine heart. Nevertheless my 
 brethren that went with me made the heart 
 of the people melt for fear of their report; 
 but I wholly followed the Lord my God. 
 
 And Moses sware on that day, saying, 
 Surely the land whereon thy feet have trod- 
 den shall be thine inheritance, and thy chil- 
 dren's for ever, because thou hast wholly 
 followed the Lord my God. And now, be- 
 hold, the Lord hath kept me alive, as he 
 said, these forty-and-five years, even since 
 the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while 
 the children of Israel wandered in the wilder- 
 ness; and now, lo, I am this day fourscore 
 and five years old. And yet I am as strong 
 this day as I was in the day that Moses sent 
 me: as my strength was then, even so is 
 my strength now, to go out and to come 
 in. Now therefore give me this mountain, 
 whereof the Lord spake in that day; for my 
 brethren that went with me to espy the land 
 spake of the children of Anak that were there, 
 and of the strong cities in which they dwelt, 
 and made the heart of the people to melt with 
 their report But if the Lord be with me, I 
 
 shall be able to drive them out as the Lord 
 said. Then Joshua blessed Caleb, and gave 
 him Hebron for an inheritance. 
 
 Cities of Refuge. 
 
 When the land had been divided, Joshua 
 further appointed six cities, three on either 
 side of Jordan, to which any man might flee 
 who should kill another unwittingly and 
 unawares. Also to the tribe of Levi forty- 
 eight cities were given out of the portions of 
 the tribes. 
 
 So Joshua rested from his labors, dwelling 
 in Timnath-serah in Mount Ephraim, for this 
 had been given to him for his inheritance; 
 and among all the portions of the children 
 of Israel there was none humbler than his. 
 And when fifteen years had passed, and he 
 knew that his end was now drawing nigh, 
 he sent for the elders of Israel to his house 
 at Timnath, and said to them, I am old and 
 stricken in age. And ye have seen what 
 the Lord hath done for you, how he has 
 driven out the nations of the land before you, 
 and divided the land unto you for an 
 inheritance. Keep, therefore, all that is 
 written in the book of the law of Moses; 
 turn not aside from it to the right hand or to 
 the left. 
 
 Go not ye among the nations that remain ; 
 make no mention of their gods, but cleave 
 umo the Lord your God, as ye have done 
 unto this day. If ye will do so, then one of 
 you shall chase a thousand, for it is the Lord 
 your God that fighteth for you. But if ye 
 go among these nations, and serve their 
 gods, then shall they be snares and traps to 
 you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns 
 in your eyes, until ye perish from off the 
 good land which the Lord your God hath 
 given you. 
 
 Also Joshua called an assembly of all 
 Israel to Shechem. And wLen he had 
 
THE STORY OF JOSHUA. 
 
 151 
 
 brought to their minds the great things 
 which the Lord had done for them — how he 
 had brought them over the Red Sea, and 
 destroyed the Amorites that dwelt on the 
 other side of Jordan, and caused Balaam to 
 bless them when Balak king of Moab would 
 have had him curse them, and how he had 
 given them the land of the seven nations 
 westward of Jordan — then he said to them, 
 Choose now whom ye will serve. Will ye 
 serve the Lord, or will ye serve the gods 
 whom your fathers served when they dwelt 
 in Egypt, or the gods of the nations whom 
 the Lord hath driven out before you ? As 
 for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. 
 All the people answered, God forbid that 
 we should serve other gods ; we will serve 
 the Lord who drove out the nations from 
 before us, for he is the Lord our God. 
 
 Joshua said, The Lord is a jealous God; 
 if ye forsake him and serve other gods he 
 will consume you, and do you hurt, as he 
 hath done you good. And the people 
 answered again, Nay ; but we will serve the 
 Lord. Then Joshua said, Ye are witnesses 
 against yourselves that ye have chosen the 
 Lord to serve him. And the people said, 
 We are witnesses. 
 
 So Joshua made a covenant with the 
 people ; and he wrote these words in a book, 
 and laid the book up with the book of the 
 law. Also he took a great stone and set it 
 up under an oak that was by the tabernacle 
 of the Lord, that it might be a memorial of 
 this covenant for ever. This stone, he said, 
 Shall be a witness unto us ; for it hath heard 
 all the words of the Lord which he spake 
 unto us. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 B. C. 1394. 
 
 The King of Moab Slain — Deborah Judges the People — The Host of Sisera Scat 
 tered — Gideon and the Angel — Choosing an Army — Three Hundred Warriors—^ 
 Trumpets and Pitchers — A Great Victory — Gideon's Wicked Son — Capture of a 
 City — Abimelech Killed by a Young Man. 
 
 himself with a dagger, two-edged, and a 
 
 HEN Joshua had now 
 been dead some 
 seventy years, and 
 the children of 
 Israel had corrupted 
 themselves, making 
 marriages with the 
 remnant of the Ca- 
 naanites that still 
 dwelt among them, 
 and being led away 
 to worship their 
 gods, Eglon, king 
 of Moab, invaded their land. He crossed 
 the river Jordan, bringing with him, besides 
 his own people, many of the children of 
 Ammon and of the Amalekites. There, on 
 the east side of Jordan, among the palm- 
 groves where Jericho had been, he estab- 
 lished his dominion, making the children of 
 Israel that dwelt in those parts pay tribute 
 to him. 
 
 But after eighteen years the Lord raised 
 up a deliverer for his people, namely Ehud, 
 the son of Gera, a man of the tribe of Ben- 
 jamin. This Ehud was of good repute 
 among his brethren, being counted to have 
 in him something of the spirit of the 
 prophets ; and they chose him to carry the 
 tribute which they paid year by year to 
 Eglon, king of Moab. Now he had armed 
 152 
 
 cubit long, which he carried on his right 
 thigh, for his right hand was wasted with 
 disease, and he could use his left only. 
 
 So Ehud with his followers, for he had 
 two servants with him, came to the fortress 
 where the king dwelt ; and when he had left 
 the tribute, he went back to Gilgal, to the 
 place where the men of Moab kept the 
 images of their gods, as though he would 
 have worshipped there. He left his two 
 servants in that place, and so returned to 
 the king. Now Eglon, who was very fat, 
 sat alone in his summer parlor, that for the 
 sake of coolness was built on the roof of his 
 house. 
 
 Ehud said, I have a secret errand to thee, 
 O king, making as though he had a message 
 to deliver to him from the gods. The king 
 said to his people, Keep silence. And all his 
 people that were with him went out from his 
 presence, and he was left alone. 
 
 A Blow with a Dagger. 
 
 Ehud said again, I have a message from 
 God to thee. The king rose up from his 
 seat to receive the message, as one who would 
 show respect. Then Ehud put forth his left 
 hand and drew the dagger from his right 
 thigh, and thrust it into the king's heart. 
 So deep did he thrust it in, that he could not 
 draw it forth again. Then Ehud went forth 
 
THE STORY OF GIDEON. 
 
 153 
 
 by the private way, locking the doors of the 
 parlor behind him. 
 
 After a while the king's servants came, and 
 found the doors of the parlor locked. For a 
 long time they tarried, saying to themselves, 
 The king would be alone. But when they 
 had lost hope that this could be so, they took 
 a key and opened the door ; and, behold, 
 their lord was fallen dead upon the earth. 
 
 But Ehud escaped while they tarried, and 
 passed beyond the place of the images, and 
 escaped to Seirath, which was in the land of 
 Ephraim. There he blew a trumpet to call 
 the people together ; and when the men of 
 Ephraim knew that Eglon was dead, they 
 came down from the mountain where they 
 dwelt, and Ehud went before them. And he 
 said unto them, Follow after me : for the 
 Lord hath delivered your enemies the 
 Moabites into your hands. 
 
 They Could not Escape. 
 
 So they went down, and took possession 
 of the fords of Jordan that were between the 
 land of Israel and the land of Moab, and 
 suffered no man to pass over. 
 
 But the Moabites, when they saw that their 
 king was dead, would have fled into their 
 own country, but they could not, for the men 
 of Israel had possession of the fords. And 
 the Israelites slew of them ten thousand men 
 at that time, strong men and in good case, 
 all of them, as if they had fed upon the fat of 
 the land. After this the land had rest for four- 
 score years. After Ehud was dead, Jabin, king 
 of the Canaanites, who dwelt in Hazor, near to 
 the waters of Merom, greatly oppressed the 
 children of Israel. He had a host made up 
 of men of many nations, whereof Sisera was 
 captain. The children of Israel could not 
 stand against him or shake off his yoke, for 
 whereas he had nine hundred chariots of 
 iron, they had neither shield nor spear. 
 
 For twenty years did he oppress the 
 people, till the land was utterly desolate. 
 They that travelled through it went not by 
 the highways, for these were beset by robbers, 
 but by paths and byways ; and the women 
 scarcely dared to draw water from the wells, 
 or the shepherds to water their flocks, for 
 fear of the soldiers that haunted them. 
 
 At this time, in a certain valley between 
 Ramah and Bethel, in the same place where 
 Isaac had buried Deborah, the nurse of 
 Rebekah his wife, there dwelt another 
 Deborah, a prophetess, under a palm-tree, 
 that was called the palm-tree of Deborah. 
 To this place the people of Israel came up, 
 and she judged their causes. 
 
 An Army on Mount Tabor. 
 
 Deborah sent to Barak the son of Abinoam, 
 who dwelt in Kedesh, in the land of Naphtali, 
 saying, Hath not the Lord God of Israel 
 commanded thee, saying, Take with thee ten 
 thousand men of Zebulun and Naphtali, and 
 go with them to the top of Mount Tabor ; 
 and I will draw to thee, to the river Kishon, 
 Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his 
 chariots and with all his multitude ? 
 
 Barak said unto Deborah, If thou wilt go 
 with me, then will I go ; but if thou wilt not 
 go with me, then I will not go. Deborah 
 answered, I will surely go with thee : 
 nevertheless the journey that thou takest 
 shall not be for thy honor, for the Lord will 
 deliver Sisera into the hands of a woman. 
 So she arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. 
 
 Then Barak sent throughout the land of 
 Israel, calling upon the people to follow him, 
 that they might do battle together against 
 the oppressors. Some there were that 
 answered to the call from among the 
 Ephraimites and the men of Benjamin, from 
 Manasseh also, and the princes of Machir. 
 The men of Reuben held council about the 
 
154 
 
 THE STORY OF GIDEON. 
 
 matter, but in the end did not come ; neither 
 did they that dwelt in Gilead, nor they of 
 Asher, nor they of Dan. But of all the 
 tribes there were none that bore themselves 
 so bravely as Zebulun and Naphtali : they 
 were a people that bravely risked their lives 
 unto the death. 
 
 Now Heber the Kenite had separated 
 himself from his people, and had pitched 
 his tent near Mount Tabor. The Kenites 
 were of the kindred of Hobab, the father-in- 
 law of Moses; and they had kept the 
 children of Israel company in their wanderings 
 in the wilderness, and had crossed over 
 Jordan with them, and dwelt in the wilderness 
 of Judah. This Heber had made peace with 
 King Jabin, and now certain of his people 
 went and showed Sisera that Barak had gone 
 up to Mount Tabor. 
 
 Defeat of Sisera. 
 
 Therefore Sisera gathered all his chariots 
 together and all his host unto the river 
 Kishon. This Kishon had its rise near to 
 Mount Tabor, and thence flows through the 
 plain till it falls into the Great Sea near to 
 Mount Carmel. 
 
 Then Deborah said to Barak, Up, for this 
 is the day in which the Lord hath delivered 
 Sisera into thine hand : is not the Lord gone 
 out before thee ? So Barak came down from 
 Mount Tabor, with ten thousand men after 
 him. Then the Lord discomfited Sisera and 
 all his chariots and all his host bef^ r e Barak. 
 The very "stars in their courses fought 
 against him." For a great storm o r rain 
 and hail blew in their faces, so that tney 
 could not see to shoot with their bows, and 
 their hands were so benumbed with the cold 
 that they could not strike with their swords. 
 The Kishon also was so swollen with the 
 rain that it swept them away. Many 
 perished in the waters, and many were slain 
 
 with the sword. So the host of Sisera was 
 scattered before Israel, and all the kings of 
 Canaan that had come to the help of Jabin 
 king of Hazor. There was not a man left 
 that was not slain or fled not. 
 
 Hid in a Tent. 
 
 Then Sisera, when he saw that the battle 
 was lost, lighted down from his chariot, and 
 fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the 
 wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace 
 between Heber and Jabin. But Barak 
 pursued after the chariots and after the host 
 till he came to their camp. When Jael saw 
 Sisera she came out of her tent to meet him, 
 and said to him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to 
 me ; fear not. And when he had turned in 
 unto her in the tent, she covered him with a 
 mantle. 
 
 Sisera said to her, Give me, I pray thee, a 
 little water to drink, for I am thirsty. 
 Thereupon she opened the bottle of milk, 
 newly taken from the flocks, that stood in 
 the tent, and brought it to him in the best 
 cup as to an honored guest. And when he 
 had drunk she covered him again. 
 
 He said to her, Stand in the door of the 
 tent, and it shall be when any man doth come 
 and inquire of thee, and say, Is there any 
 man here ? that thou shalt say, No. 
 
 But when he was asleep, Jael, Heber's 
 wife, took in her left hand one of the great 
 nails of iron wherewith the ropes of the tent 
 were fastened, and in her right hand the 
 hammer with which they were driven into 
 the ground, and went softly unto him, and 
 smote the nail through his temples fastening 
 it into the ground. And he moved not, for 
 he was fast asleep and weary. 
 
 And, behold, as Barak pursued after 
 Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said 
 unto him, Come, and I will show thee the 
 man whom thou seekest. And when he 
 
THE STORY OF GIDEON. 
 
 155 
 
 came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, 
 and the nail was in his temples. So God 
 subdued that day Jabin the king of Canaan 
 before the children of Israel. 
 
 The children of Israel did evil in the sight 
 of the Lord, and he delivered them into the 
 hand of the Midianites. For the space of 
 seven years did the Midianites oppress them, 
 so that they made places of refuge for 
 themselves among the mountains, in the 
 hollows of the watercourses, and in caves 
 and in rocks that were steep and hard of 
 access. Every year, when the men of Israel 
 had sown their fields, and the fruits of the 
 ground were now growing ready for the 
 harvest, did the Midianites come up, and with 
 them also the Amalekites and other tribes of 
 the desert. 
 
 They crossed the Jordan by Beth-shean, 
 and made their encampment in the land, and 
 destroyed all the increase of it. All the 
 plain country they wasted from the valley of 
 Jezreel as far as Gaza, and left no living 
 creature on the face of the earth, neither 
 goat, nor ox, nor ass. For they came up 
 with their cattle and their tents. 
 
 They were as locusts for multitude, for both 
 they and their camels were without number ; 
 and they entered the land to destroy it. Israel 
 was greatly impoverished because of the 
 Midianites, and the children of Israel cried 
 unto the Lord. 
 
 Gideon Threshing Wheat. 
 
 And when they cried unto the Lord 
 because of the Midianites, the Lord sent a 
 prophet unto them, who said unto them : 
 
 Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I 
 brought you up from the land of Egypt, and 
 brought you forth out of the house of bond- 
 age; and I delivered you out of the hand of 
 the Egyptians, and out of the hand of all 
 that oppressed you, and drove out the 
 
 inhabitants of this land from before you, and 
 gave you their land ; and I said unto you, 
 I am the Lord your God ; fear not the gods 
 of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell : 
 but ye have not obeyed my voice. 
 
 For the Lord would have had them put 
 away the false gods from among them, that 
 so he might deliver them from the hand of 
 their enemies. 
 
 Now there dwelt in Ophrah of Manasseh 
 a certain Joash, of the house of Abiezer. 
 The Midianites had slain his sons, having 
 taken them at Mount Tabor, where they 
 had gone to meet the princes of Israel at 
 the sanctuary that was on the top of the 
 mount. Only Gideon was left to him. This 
 Gideon was threshing wheat with a flail in 
 the wine-press, doing it secretly for fear of 
 the Midianites. 
 
 What the Angel Said. 
 
 There came an angel of the Lord and sat 
 under the oak that was in Ophrah, and 
 appeared unto him, and said, The Lord is 
 with thee, thou mighty man of valor. 
 
 Gideon said, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be 
 with me, why then is all this befallen us ? 
 And where are all his miracles that our fathers 
 told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring 
 you up out of Egypt ? But now the Lord 
 hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the 
 hand of the Midianites. 
 
 The Lord said unto him by his angel, Go 
 in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel 
 from the hand of the Midianites. Have not 
 I sent thee ? And Gideon said, Oh my 
 Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel ? Behold, 
 my family is the meanest in Manasseh, and 
 I am the least in my father's house. 
 
 The Lord said unto him, Surely I will be 
 with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites 
 as though they were but one man. And 
 Gideon said unto the Lord, If I have found 
 
156 
 
 THE STORY OF GIDEON. 
 
 grace in thy sight, then show nie a sign that 
 thou dost in truth talk with me. Depart not 
 hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, 
 and bring my meat-offering, and set it before 
 /hee. Then Gideon went in and made 
 ready a kid of the goats, and made unleav- 
 ened cakes of flour: the flesh he put in a 
 basket and the broth in a pot, and he brought 
 
 semblance of a traveller, and touched the 
 flesh and unleavened cakes, and there rose 
 up fire out of the rock, and consumed the 
 flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the 
 Angel of the Lord departed out of his sight. 
 And when Gideon perceived that he was 
 indeed an Angel of the Lord, he said, Alas ? 
 O Lord God ! because I have seen an Angel 
 
 GIDEONS OFFERING BURNT BY FIRE FROM THE ROCK. 
 
 out the offering unto the angel as he sat 
 under the oak, and presented them. 
 
 The Angel of Jehovah said unto him, 
 Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and 
 lay them upon the rock, and pour out the 
 broth over the offering upon the rock. And 
 Gideon did so. 
 
 Then the Angel of the Lord put out the 
 staff that was in his hand, for he had the 
 
 of the Lord face to face. And the Lord 
 said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not J 
 thou shalt not die. Then Gideon built a. 
 memorial of that which he had seen unto the 
 Lord; and he called the name of the place 
 Jehovah-Shalom, which being interpreted is, 
 Jehovah send peace. 
 
 And it came to pass that same night that 
 the Lord said unto him, Take thy father's 
 
THE STORY OF GIDEON. 
 
 157 
 
 young bullock, and the seven-year-old bul- 
 lock also, and throw down the altar of Baal 
 that thy father hath, and break down the idol 
 that is by it. And put the stones of the 
 altar and the wood of the idol on the 
 bullocks, and so carry them to the top of 
 the rock. There shalt thou build with the 
 stones an altar to the Lord thy God, and 
 lay the wood of the idol in order upon the 
 altar, and slay the second bullock, and offer it 
 for a burnt-offering with the wood of the idol. 
 
 He Did it by Night. 
 
 So Gideon took ten men of his servants, 
 and did as the Lord had said unto him ; but 
 because he feared the house of his father, 
 even the sons of Abiezer, and the men of 
 the city, for these were Amorites, he did the 
 thing by night, and not by day. 
 
 And when the men of the city rose up 
 early in the morning, behold, the altar of 
 Baal was cast down, and the idol that stood 
 by it was cut down, and there was another 
 altar built, and on this the seven-year-old 
 bullock had been offered. And the men 
 said one to another, Who hath done this 
 thing? And so one said, Gideon the son of 
 Joash hath done this thing. 
 
 Then the men of the city said unto Joash, 
 Bring out thy son that he may die ; because 
 he hath cast down the altar of Baal, and hath 
 cut down the image that was thereby. 
 
 And Joash said unto all that stood against 
 him, Will ye plead for Baal ? will ye save 
 him ? he that will plead for him, let him be 
 put to death while it is yet morning : if he 
 be a god, let him plead for himself, because 
 some one hath cast down his altar. 
 
 That day was Gideon called " Jerubbaal," 
 that is to say, Let Baal plead with him, 
 because he had cast down the altar of Baal. 
 
 The year following, when the Midianites 
 and Amalekites and the tribes of the desert 
 
 came, as their custom was, with a great 
 multitude, and pitched in the valley of 
 Jezreel, the Spirit of the Lord came upon 
 Gideon, and he blew a trumpet, and all the 
 house of Abiezer assembled to his call. 
 Then he sent messengers throughout all 
 Manasseh, and they also gathered themselves 
 together to him : also he sent messengers 
 unto Asher, and unto Zebulun, and unto 
 Naphtali, and they came up to meet him. 
 
 And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt 
 save Israel by my hand, as thou hast said, 
 behold, I will put a fleece of wool on the 
 threshing-floor, and if the dew be on the 
 fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth 
 beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save 
 Israel by my hand, as thou hast said. And 
 it was so : for he rose up early on the 
 morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and 
 wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full 
 of water. 
 
 And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine 
 anger be hot against me, and I will speak 
 but this once. Let it be dry only upon the 
 fleece, and upon all the ground beside let 
 there be dew. And God did so that night ; 
 for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there 
 was dew on all the ground. 
 
 Choosing the \rmy. 
 
 Gideon, when he had received these two 
 signs from the Lord, rose up early, and 
 pitched his camp above the fountain of 
 Harod, that was at the foot of Mount 
 Gilboa; so that the host of the Midianites 
 were on the north of them, in the valley 
 beneath, hard by the hill of Moreh. 
 
 Then the Lord said unto Gideon, The 
 people that are with thee are too many for 
 me to give the Midianites into their hands, 
 lest Israel vaunt themselves against me, 
 saying, Mine own hand hath saved me. 
 Now, therefore, proclaim in the ears of the 
 
158 
 
 THE STORY OF GIDEON. 
 
 people, saying, Whosoever is fearful and afraid, 
 let him return and depart early to his own 
 home. And there departed of the people 
 twenty and two thousand, and there remained 
 ten thousand. 
 
 And the Lord said unto Gideon, The 
 people are yet too many; bring them down 
 unto the water, and I will try them for thee 
 there: and it shall be that those of whom 
 I say, This shall go with thee, he shall go 
 with thee; and of whomsoever I shall say, 
 This shall not go with thee, he shall not go 
 with thee. 
 
 So Gideon brought the ten thousand to 
 the water; and the Lord said unto Gideon, 
 Every one that lappeth of the water with his 
 tongue, as a dog lappeth, him shalt thou set 
 by himself; and every one that boweth down 
 upon his knees to drink, by himself. 
 
 They that drank warily, taking up of the 
 water with their hands, and lapping from 
 their hands, lest they should be caught 
 unawares by an enemy coming from behind, 
 were three hundred men; but all the rest of 
 the people bowed down upon their knees, 
 and dipped their heads into the water, and 
 drank their fill, not heeding what might 
 happen. 
 
 The Valiant Three Hundred. 
 
 And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the 
 three hundred men that lapped will I save 
 you, and deliver the Midianites into thine 
 hand. Let the rest of the people go every 
 man to his own place. 
 
 Then the three hundred took from them 
 that departed such victuals as they required, 
 and also a trumpet for each, and a pitcher. 
 The rest of the people Gideon sent away 
 every man to his own tent; but the three 
 hundred he kept; and the host of the Mid- 
 ianites was in the valley beneath. 
 
 And that same night the Lord said unto 
 
 him, Arise, get thee down unto the host ; fof 
 I have delivered it into thine hand. But if 
 thou still fear to go down against them, then 
 go with Phurah thy servant to the host: and 
 thou shalt hear what they say; and after- 
 wards thy hand shall be strengthened to gc 
 down igainst the host of the enemy. 
 
 So Gideon went down with Phurah his 
 servant to the camp of the Midianites, to 
 where the armed men lay by themselves on 
 the side that was nearest to Mount Gilboa. 
 And the Midianites, with the Amalekites and 
 the tribes of the desert, lay along in the 
 valley like locusts for multitude; and their 
 camels were without number, as the sand by 
 the seashore for multitude. 
 
 A Strange Dream. 
 
 When Gideon and his servant were come 
 to the outskirts of the camp they heard two 
 men talking. One man told a dream unto> 
 his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a 
 dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread, so 
 vile that no man would eat it, tumbled into 
 the host of Midian, and came unto the tent 
 of the captain of the host, and smote it sc 
 that it fell and lay along on the ground. 
 
 His fellow answered him, and said, This is 
 nothing else than the sword of Gideon the 
 son of Joash, a man of Israel: for into his 
 hand hath the Lord delivered Midian, and 
 all his host. 
 
 When Gideon heard how the one man 
 told his dream, and how the other interpreted 
 it to him, he worshipped the Lord, and 
 returned to his people, and said, Arise; for 
 the Lord hath delivered into your hand thfc 
 host of Midian. 
 
 And he divided his three hundred into 
 three companies; and he put into every 
 man's hand a trumpet and an empty pitcher, 
 and in each pitcher a firebrand. One com- 
 pany he took for himself; the other two he 
 
THE STORY OF GIDEON. 
 
 159 
 
 put each under a captain ; and he sent them 
 to different sides of the camp. But first he 
 said to them, Look on me, and do likewise. 
 When I am come to the outside of the camp, 
 as I do so, shall ye do also. When I blow 
 with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, 
 then blow ye the trumpets also on the sides 
 of the camp where ye shall be, and cry, The 
 Sword of the Lord and of Gideon. 
 
 side of the camp. They all blew with their 
 trumpets, holding them in their right hands, 
 and the torches they held in their left ; and 
 they cried, The Sword of the Lord and of 
 Gideon. Every man of them stood in his 
 place round about the camp; and all the 
 host of the Midianites ran to see what had 
 happened, and they cried out for fear, and fled. 
 And as the three hundred still blew with 
 
 GIDEONS VICTORY OVER THE MIDIANITES. 
 
 So Gideon and the hundred men that were 
 with him came unto the outside of the camp 
 in the beginning of the middle watch, and 
 the Midianites had but newly set the watch. 
 This would be about half past ten o'clock at 
 night by our time. Then Gideon and his 
 men blew the trumpets, and broke the pitch- 
 ers in which the torches were hidden; and 
 the other companies did the same on their 
 
 their trumpets, there came a great terror 
 from the Lord on the host of the Midianites; 
 and every man turned his sword against his 
 fellow throughout all the host. And they 
 fled towards the Jordan, to escape into their 
 own land. Gideon sent messengers through- 
 out all Mount Ephraim, saying to his brethren, 
 the men of Ephraim, Come down against the 
 Midianites, and occupy the streams that flow 
 
160 
 
 THE STORY OF GIDEON. 
 
 into Jordan, or ever they can cross them. 
 Meanwhile he, and his three hundred with 
 him, followed after the Midianites till they 
 came to Jordan; and they crossed over to 
 the other side, faint, yet pursuing the enemy. 
 And when he came to Succoth, which is in 
 the land of Gad, he said to the men thereof, 
 Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the 
 people that follow me ; for they are faint, and 
 I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, 
 kings of Midian. 
 
 And the princes of Succoth said, Are 
 Zebah and Zalmunna now in thy hands, that 
 we should give bread unto thy army? Then 
 Gideon laid, Therefore, when the Lord hath 
 delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine 
 hand, I will tear your flesh with the thorns 
 of the wilderness and with briers. 
 
 From Succoth, which was in the valley of 
 Jordan, he went up to Penuel, which was in 
 the hill-country, and spoke to them as he 
 had spoken to the men of Succoth ; and the 
 men of Penuel answered him as the men of 
 Succoth had answered him. Then he said 
 to them, When I come again in peace, I will 
 break down this tower. Now the men of 
 Ephraim had taken at the fords two princes 
 of the Midianites. Oreb they slew at a rock 
 that was called in after days the rock Oreb, and 
 Zeeb by a wine-press that was named the 
 wine-press of Zeeb ; and they brought che 
 heads of the two princes to Gideon when he 
 was on the other side of Jordan. 
 
 The Princes are Captured. 
 
 And they said to him, What is this thing 
 that thou hast done to us, in that thou 
 calledst us not when thou wentest out to 
 fight against the Midianites ? And they 
 reproached him very sharply. 
 
 Then Gideon said, What have I done now 
 in comparison of you ? Is not the gleaning 
 of the grapes of Ephraim better than the 
 
 whole vintage of Abiezer ? God hath 
 delivered into your hands the princes of 
 Midian, Oreb and Zeeb. What was I able 
 to do in comparison of you ? When he had 
 spoken their anger against him was abated. 
 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, 
 which was in the wilderness, in the land o! 
 the people that dwelt in tents. They had 
 fifteen thousand men with them, all that 
 were left of the host of the tribes of the 
 desert ; for there had fallen an hundred and 
 twenty thousand men that drew the sword. 
 And Gideon came up against them, falling 
 upon them unawares, and discomfited their 
 host. Gideon returned from the battle be- 
 fore sunrise, and caught a young man of 
 Succoth, and inquired of him. And the 
 young man wrote down for him the names 
 of the princes of Succoth, and of the elders, 
 even threescore and seventeen men. Then 
 he came to the city, and said, Behold Zebah 
 and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid 
 me, saying, Are Zebah and Zalmunna now 
 in thy hands, that we should give bread to 
 thy men that are weary ? 
 
 Punished with Thorns and Briers. 
 
 And he took the elders of the city and 
 punished them, tearing their flesh with 
 thorns and briers. After this he went to 
 Penuel, and beat down the tower, and slew 
 the men of the city. 
 
 Then he said to Zebah and Zalmunna, 
 What manner of men were they whom ye 
 slew at Mount Tabor? They answered, As 
 thou art, so were they ; each one was like 
 the child of a king. 
 
 He said, They were my brethren, even the 
 sons of my mother: as the Lord liveth, if ye 
 had saved them alive, I would not slay you. 
 And he said unto Jether his first-born son, Up 
 and slay them. But Jether drew not his sword; 
 for he feared, because he was vet but a boy. 
 
THE STORY OF GIDEON. 
 
 161 
 
 Then Zebah and Zalmunna said to Gideon, 
 Rise thou, and fall on us ; for as the man is, 
 so is his strength. Then Gideon rose, and 
 slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away 
 the ornaments shaped as a half-moon, that 
 were on their camels. 
 
 The men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule 
 thou over us, thou and thy son after thee, 
 and thy son's son also ; for thou hast 
 delivered us out of the hand of the Midianites. 
 
 Gideon said unto them, I will not rule 
 over you, neither shall my son rule over you; 
 the Lord shall rule over you. Also he said 
 unto them, I would desire this of you, that 
 ye give me every man the nose-rings that ye 
 have taken from the slain. For the men had 
 golden nose-rings, as was the custom with 
 their nation. And they answered, We will 
 willingly give them. Then Gideon spread 
 •out his soldier's cloak, and the men cast 
 therein every man the nose-rings that he had 
 taken from the slain. 
 
 Gideon also had for himself the ear-drops, 
 -and the ornaments, and the purple clothing 
 of the kings of Midian, and the chains that 
 were about the necks of their camels. Then 
 Gideon took the gold and made with it an 
 ephod — that is to say, a high priest's robe 
 with a breastplate, and other things appertain- 
 ing thereto, and put it in his city, even 
 Ophrah, that the people might not resort to 
 Shiloh, but might come to Ophrah, where 
 they would inquire of the Lord. And this 
 thing became an occasion of sin to Israel, and 
 turned to the destruction of Gideon's house. 
 
 The Story of Abimelech. 
 
 So Gideon dwelt at Ophrah in his own 
 liouse after he had subdued Midian. For 
 forty years he dwelt there and judged Israel, 
 and the country was in quietness all his days. 
 Gideon had a son that was borne to him by 
 a Canaanitish woman of Shechem. Him 
 11 
 
 he called Abimelech. And Gideon died in 
 a good old age, and was buried in the 
 sepulchre of Joash his father in Oprah. 
 
 But when he was dead the children of 
 Israel went again after strange gods, and 
 worshipped Baal-berith, whose temple was in 
 Shechem. And they remembered not the 
 Lord their God, who had delivered them 
 out of the hands of all their enemies on every 
 side ; neither showed they kindness to the 
 house of Gideon, according to all the good- 
 ness which he had showed unto Israel. 
 
 After Gideon was dead Abimelech his son 
 went to Shechem, unto the brethren of his 
 mother, and communed with them and their 
 kindred, saying, Speak, I pray you, these 
 words in the ears of the men of Shechem, Is 
 it better for you that all the sons of Gideon, 
 that is to say, threescore and ten persons, 
 reign over you, or that one reign over you? 
 And remember that I am your brother. 
 
 The brethren of Abimelech's mother spoke 
 all these words concerning him in the ears of 
 the men of Shechem; and their hearts in- 
 clined to follow Abimelech, for they said, He 
 is our brother. 
 
 Parable of the Trees. 
 
 And they gave him three score and ten 
 shekels of silver out of the temple of Baal- 
 berith, and with this money Abimelech hired 
 certain men, vain and idle, to follow him; 
 and went unto the house of his father in 
 Ophrah, and slew there all his father's sons, 
 even threescore and ten persons, upon one 
 stone. Only one of the seventy was left, 
 Jotham, the youngest son, for he hid himself. 
 
 Then all the men of Shechem gathered 
 themselves together, and they that dwelt in 
 the stronghold of Millo, and went and made 
 Abimelech king by the oak of the garrison 
 of Shechem. 
 
 And when they told Jotham what had 
 
J 62 
 
 THE STORY OF GIDEON. 
 
 been done, he went and stood on the top of 
 Mount Gerizim, and lifted up his voice, and 
 cried, and said, Hearken unto me, ye men of 
 Shechem, that God may hearken unto you. 
 The trees went forth to anoint a king over 
 them. And they said unto the olive tree, 
 Reign thou over us. But the Olive tree said 
 unto them, Shall I leave my fatness, where- 
 with by my means they honor both God 
 
 cheereth God and man, and go to be king 
 over the trees ? Then said all the trees unto 
 the thorn, Come thou, and reign over us. 
 
 And the thorn said unto the trees, If ye 
 do well to anoint me king over you, then 
 come and put your trust in my shadow ; but 
 if ye have not done well, then shall fire come 
 out of the thorn, and devour the cedars o^ 
 Lebanon. 
 
 and man, and go to be king over the trees ? 
 
 Then the trees said to the fig tree, Come 
 thou, and reign over us. And the fig tree 
 said unto them, Shall I forsake my sweetness 
 and my good fruit and go to reign over the 
 trees ? 
 
 Then said the trees unto the vine, Come 
 thou, and reign over us. And the vine said 
 unto them, Shall I leave my wine, which 
 
 A WOMAN CASTS A STONE UPON ABIMELECH. 
 
 Now, therefore, if ye have done well and 
 honestly in that ye have made Abimelech 
 king, and if ye have dealt justly with Gideon 
 and his house, and done unto him as he de- 
 served of you (for remember that my father 
 fought for you, and did venture his life, and' 
 delivered you out of the hand of Midian; 
 and yet ye have risen up against my father's 
 house this day, and have slain his sons,. 
 
THE STORY OF GIDEON. 
 
 163 
 
 threescore and ten persons, on one stone, 
 and have made Abimelech, the son of his 
 maid-servant, king, because he is your kins- 
 man) — if then ye have dealt justly with the 
 house of Gideon, then rejoice in Abimelech, 
 and let him also rejoice in you ; but if ye 
 have done well, then shall fire come from 
 Abimelech, and devour the men of Shechem 
 and the fortress of Millo ; and let fire come 
 from the men of Shechem, and from the 
 fortress of Millo, and devour Abimelech. 
 
 Robbers on the Mountains. 
 
 Then Jotham fled, and dwelt at Beerith, 
 for fear of Abimelech his brother. 
 
 When Abimelech had had dominion over 
 Israel for three years, God sent an evil spirit 
 between Abimelech and the men of Shechem ; 
 and the men of Shechem dealt treacherously 
 with Abimelech. This he did that the 
 cruelty done to the sons of Gideon might be 
 punished, and that their blood might be upon 
 the head of Abimelech their brother, and 
 upon the heads of the men of Shechem, 
 who had strengthened his hands to kill his 
 brethren . 
 
 The men of Shechem set men to lie in 
 wait for the officers of Abimelech on the top 
 of the mountains. These robbed all that 
 came by ; and the thing was told to Abime- 
 lech. 
 
 Then one Gaal, the son of Ebed, went with 
 a company of his kinsfolk to Shechem ; and 
 the men of Shechem put their confidence in 
 him ; and they went out into their fields, and 
 gathered in their vintage, and trod the grapes, 
 and sacrificed thank-offerings, and did eat and 
 drink, and cursed Abimelech. 
 
 And Gaal said, Who is Abimelech, that 
 we should serve him, and Zebul his officer, 
 that we should serve them ? Let the princes 
 of the Canaanites serve Abimelech, for he is 
 of their kindred. Would to God that I v/ere 
 
 rulei in this place ! Then would I remove 
 Abimelech -out of it. 
 
 When Zebul, who was ruler of the city 
 under Abimelech, heard these words of Gaal, 
 his anger was kindled, and he sent mes- 
 sengers secretly to Abimelech, saying, Be- 
 hold, Gaal and his brethren are come to 
 Shechem ; and, behold, they stir up the city 
 against thee. Now, therefore, come by night, 
 thou and the people that is with thee, and lie 
 in wait in the field. For Gaal and his com- 
 pany go out to-morrow on a certain business. 
 When, therefore, they are gone, do thou, as 
 soon as the sun is up, set upon the city ; and 
 when Gaal and his company come back, thou 
 canst do to them as thou shalt find occasion. 
 
 Ready for the Attack. 
 
 So Abimelech rose up, and all the people 
 that were with him, by night, and they laid 
 wait against Shechem in four companies. 
 
 Now, very early in the morning, Gaal went 
 out and stood in the gate of the city, pre- 
 paring to go as he had purposed. But 
 while he stood there Abimelech and the 
 people that were with him rose up from 
 lying in wait ; and Gaal saw them. Then he 
 said to Zebul the governor, Behold, there 
 are people that come down from the top of 
 the mountains. 
 
 But Zebul said unto him, Thou seest the 
 shadows on the mountains, and thinkest 
 them to be men. And Gaal spake again 
 and said, Surely there are people that come 
 down by the hollow in the mountains, and 
 others again by the oak of the soothsayers. 
 Then said Zebul, Where are now thy boast- 
 ings that thou saidst, Who is Abimelech, 
 that we should serve him ? Lo, these men 
 whom thou seest are they whom thou hast 
 so despised. Go out now, and fight with them. 
 
 So Gaal went out at the head of the men 
 of Shechem, and fought with Abimelech. 
 
164 
 
 THE STORY 
 
 And Abimelech vanquished him. And many 
 were slain and many wounded before they 
 could reach the gate of the city. But Abime- 
 lech could not on that day enter into the 
 city, but abode at Arumah ; and Zebul thrust 
 out Gaal and his people, that they should 
 
 OF GIDEON. 
 
 forth from the city, he rose up against them 
 and smote them. And he and his own 
 company made haste to the city, and stood 
 in the gate; and the other two companies 
 ran upon all that were in the fields, and slew 
 them. All that day Abimelech fought 
 
 ABIMELECH SLAIN BY HIS ARMOR-BEARER. 
 
 not dwell in Shechem any more. On the 
 morrow the men of Shechem went out 
 again into the field. And Abimelech had 
 been told this thing by Zebul his captain, 
 and he took his people and divided them 
 into three compar>:,, and laid wait in the 
 field as before. ^nd when the people came 
 
 against the city ; and he took it, and slew 
 the people that were therein, and destroyed 
 the city, and sowed the ground with salt. But 
 when the men that were in the tower of Shec- 
 hem, which is the fortress of Millo. saw what 
 was done, they entered into the temple of 
 Baal-berith, and fortified themselves there. 
 
THE STORY OF GIDEON. 
 
 165 
 
 When Abimelech heard of this, he and 
 his people went up to Mount Zalmon. He 
 look an axe in his hand, and cut down a 
 bough from a tree, and laid it on his shoulder, 
 and said to the people, Make haste, and do 
 what ye have seen me do. 
 
 So every man cut down his bough as 
 Abimelech had done, and carried them to 
 Shechem, and piled up these against the 
 hold, and so set fire to it. And all there 
 were in the tower of Shechem died also — 
 about a thousand men and women. 
 
 After this Abimelech went to Thebez, and 
 encamped against it, and took it. Now 
 there was a strong tower within the city, and 
 thither fled all the men and women of the 
 city, and shut to the gates, and went up to 
 the top of the tower. Then Abimelech came 
 unto the tower, and fought against it, and 
 
 went close up to the door of the tower to 
 burn it with fire. 
 
 And a certain woman cast a piece of a 
 millstone upon Abimelech, and broke his 
 skull. Then he called hastily out to the 
 young man his armour-bearer, and said, 
 Draw thy sword and slay me, that men say 
 not of me, A woman slew him. And the 
 young man his armor-bearer thrust him 
 through, and he died. 
 
 Thus did God recompense the wickedness 
 of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, 
 in slaying his seventy brethren : and all the 
 evil of the men of Shechem did God recom- 
 pense to them; and upon them came the 
 curse of Jotham the son of Gideon, for in 
 very truth the fire came out of the thorn 
 which they had chosen to be their king, a<nd 
 they were plagued thereby. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 B. C. 1187. 
 
 Jephthah and his Daughter— An Angel Comes to Manoah — Birth of Samson ™Th^ 
 Slain Lion — Honey from a Strange Source — -A Hard Riddle to Guess— Jackals 
 in the Corn — Samson Breaks his Bonds — The Giant Loses his Strength — The 
 Cunning Trick of Delilah — Pillars of the Temple Fall — Death of Samson. 
 
 S SOON as Gideon was dead the 
 children of Israel returned to 
 their wicked ways. In the 
 course of time the Ammonites 
 made war against Israel. And 
 the children of Israel sent for a 
 man named Jephthah, a skillful warrior, to 
 be their captain, and lead them forth to battle. 
 Jephthah said he would go with them if 
 they would promise to make him a prince 
 and a ruler in the land. This they said they 
 would do, and Jephthah took his place as 
 captain at the head of the army of Israel. 
 But "before he left his home in Mizpeh, Jeph- 
 thah vowed a vow to the Lord, and said, If 
 thou wilt deliver the children of Ammon into 
 my hands, I will offer up as a burnt offering 
 whatever comes out of my house to meet me, 
 when I return to my home in peace. 
 
 Jephthah fought against the Ammonites 
 and overthrew them, and afterwards departed 
 fox his home in Mizpeh. As he drew near 
 his house, the one that came forth to meet 
 him was his own daughter, his only child, in 
 whom his heart was bound up. She, with 
 her fair companions, came to meet the return- 
 ing hero, with timbrels in hand and with 
 songs and dances. 
 
 As soon as Jephthah saw her, he rent hir 
 
 robes, and cried out, Alas my daughter! thou 
 
 hast brought me very low, for I have given 
 
 my word to the Lord, and cannot take it 
 
 166 
 
 back. Nor did she ask it. She replied that 
 he must do to her according as he had 
 promised the Lord, who had given him the 
 victory. Only, she said, let me alone for 
 two months, that I may go up and down the 
 mountains, I and my companions, and lament 
 my fate. 
 
 He Keeps His Vows. 
 
 Jephthah granted her request, and at the 
 end of two months she came back to her 
 father, and he sacrificed her according to the 
 vow he had made. And it became a custom 
 for the daughters of Israel to mourn over 
 the daughter of Jephthah for four days in 
 every year. And Jephthah judged Israel 
 for six years, and when he died he was buried 
 in one of the cities of Gilead. 
 
 At Zorah, in the inheritance of the children 
 of Dan, whose lot had fallen to them between 
 the wilderness of Judah on the east and the 
 plain of the Philistines on the west, there 
 dwelt a certain man whose name was Manoah. 
 In those days the Philistines had dominion 
 over all the south of the land of Israel — that 
 is to say, over Dan and Judah and Simeon. 
 
 Now this Manoah had no children ; and 
 on a certain day the Angel of the Lord 
 appeared to his wife, and said to her, Behold, 
 thou shalt bear a son. Now therefore 
 beware, I pray thee, and drink not wine nor 
 any strong drink, and eat not any unclean 
 
THE STORY OF SAMSON, 
 
 167 
 
 thing. And let no razor come upon the 
 head of the son whom thou shalt bear : for 
 he shall be a Nazarite unto God ; and he 
 shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand 
 of the Philistines. 
 
 The woman came and told her husband, 
 saying, A man of God came to me, and his 
 countenance was like the countenance of an 
 
 thou didst send come again, and teach us 
 what we shall do unto the child that shall 
 be born. 
 
 And God hearkened to the voice of 
 Manoah ; and the Angel of God came again 
 unto the woman, as she sat in the field ; but 
 her husband was not with her. And the 
 woman made haste, and ran, and showed the 
 
 JEPHTHAH MEETING HIS DAUGHTER. 
 
 Angel of God, very terrible ; but I asked him 
 not whence he was, neither told he me his 
 name : but he said unto me, Behold, thou 
 shalt bear a son ; and now drink no wine 
 nor strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing: 
 for the child shall be a Nazarite to God to 
 the day of his death. 
 
 Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and 
 said, O my God, let the man of God whom 
 
 thing to her husband, and said, Behold, the 
 man hath appeared unto me, that came unto 
 me the other day. 
 
 Then Manoah arose, and went after his 
 wife, and came unto the man, and said unto 
 him, Art thou the man that spakest unto the 
 woman ? And he said, I am. 
 
 The Angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, 
 Of all that I said unto the woman let her 
 
168 
 
 THE STORY OF SAMSON. 
 
 beware. She may not eat of anything that 
 cometh of the vine, neither let her drink wine 
 nor strong drink, nor eat any unclean thing : 
 all that I commanded her let her observe. 
 
 Manoah Offers a Kid. 
 
 And Manoah said unto the Angel of the 
 Lord, I pray thee, let us detain thee, till we 
 shall have made ready a kid for thee. And 
 the Angel of the Lord said unto Manoah, 
 Though thou detain me, yet will I not eat of 
 thy bread; and if thou wilt offer a burnt- 
 offering, thou must offer it unto the Lord. 
 For Manoah knew not that he was an Angel 
 of the Lord. 
 
 And Manoah said, What is thy name, that 
 when thy sayings come to pass we may do 
 thee honor. The Angel of the Lord said 
 unto him, Why askest thou thus after my 
 name, seeing it is secret ? 
 
 So Manoah took a kid with a meat-offering, 
 and offered it upon a rock unto the Lord : 
 and the Angel of the Lord did a wondrous 
 thing; for it came to pass, when the flame 
 went up toward heaven from the altar, that, 
 as Manoah and his wife looked on, the Angel 
 of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar. 
 And Manoah and his wife fell on their faces 
 to the ground ; but the Angel of the Lord 
 appeared to them no more. Then Manoah 
 knew that he was an Angel of the Lord. 
 
 And Manoah said to his wife, We shall 
 surely die, because we have seen God. But 
 his wife said unto him, If the Lord had been 
 pleased to kill us, he would not have 
 received a burnt-offering and a meat-offering 
 at our hands ; neither would he have showed 
 us all these things concerning the child that 
 should be born. 
 
 In due time the woman bare a son, and 
 called his name Samson, which is by significa- 
 tion " the sun." And the child grew, and 
 the Lord blessed him ; and his Spirit came 
 
 upon him at the camp oi Dan, that is between 
 Zorah and Eshtaol. 
 
 Now there was on the plain below Zorah — 
 for Zorah stands upon the hills — a certain 
 village named Timnath. It was a village of 
 the inheritance of Dan ; but the Philistines 
 dwelt there at this time. Samson went down 
 thither, and saw a woman of the daughters 
 of the Philistines that pleased him. Then he 
 came up to Zorah, and said to his father and 
 his mother, I have seen a woman in Timnath 
 of the daughters of the Philistines ; now,, 
 therefore, get her for me to wife. 
 
 Seeking a Wife. 
 
 Then his father and his mother said to 
 him, Is there never a woman among all the 
 daughters of thy brethren that are of the 
 same tribe with thee, nor yet of the other 
 tribes of Israel, that thou goest to take a wife 
 of the uncircumcised Philistines? 
 
 Then Samson said to his father, Get her 
 for me ; for she pleaseth me well. But his 
 father and his mother knew not that the 
 thing was of the Lord, that their son might 
 find occasion against the Philistines ; for at 
 that time the Philistines had dominion over 
 Israel. 
 
 Then went Samson down, and his father 
 and his mother, to Timnath. But Samson 
 parted from his company, going by the way 
 of the vineyards. And as he went, behold 
 a young lion roared against him. And the 
 Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, 
 and he rent the lion as he would have rent a 
 kid, and this though he had no weapon in 
 his hand. But he told not his father and his 
 mother what he had dene. After this he 
 went down and talked with the woman, and 
 she pleased him well. 
 
 When the days of betrothal were ended, 
 he came again from Zorah with his father 
 and his mother to take his wife. And as he 
 
JEWISH MAIDENS MOURNING WITH JEPHTHA'S DAUGHTER 
 
THE STORY OF SAMSON. 
 
 i69 
 
 went he turned aside to see the carcase of 
 the lion ; and, behold, there was a swarm of 
 bees and honey in the carcase of the lion. 
 And he took thereof in his hands, and went 
 on eating, and' came again to his father and 
 his mother, and he gave to them, and they 
 did eat. But he told them not that he had 
 taken the honey out of the carcase of a lion. 
 
 garments of linen, and thirty upper garments. 
 But if ye cannot find it out, ye shall give me 
 thirty garments of linen, and thirty upper 
 garments. 
 
 They said unto him, Put forth thy riddle, 
 that we may hear it. He said, Out of the 
 eater came forth meat, and out of the strong 
 came forth sweetness. 
 
 SAMSON SLAYING THE LION. 
 
 When he had come to the woman's house, 
 he made a feast for his friends and neighbors, 
 for so used a bridegroom to do ; and there 
 were thirty of the Philistines that came to be 
 his companions. 
 
 On the first day of the feast Samson said 
 to them, I will now put forth a riddle to you : 
 if ye can find out the answer within the seven 
 days of the feast, I will give you thirty under 
 
 For three days they sought to expound 
 the riddle, and could not. On the fourth 
 day, which was the seventh day of the week, 
 they said to Samson's wife, Entice thy hus- 
 band, that he tell thee the riddle, lest we 
 burn thee and thy father's house with fire: 
 have ye invited us to this feast to rob us oi 
 our goods ? 
 
 Then Samson's wife wept before him, and 
 
170 
 
 THE STORY OF SAMSON. 
 
 said, Thou dost but hate me, and not love 
 me ; for thou hast put forth a riddle to the 
 children of my people, and hast not told it to 
 me. He said unto her, I have not told it to 
 my father and my mother, and shall I tell it 
 to thee ? 
 
 But she wept before him so long as the feast 
 continued; and it came to pass on the seventh 
 day that he told her, because she was urgent 
 with him. And she told the riddle to the 
 children of her people. 
 
 So the men of the city, that were his com- 
 panions in the feast, said to him on the 
 seventh day, before the sun went down, What 
 is sweeter than honey ? And what is stronger 
 than a lion ? But he said, If ye had not 
 ploughed with my heifer, ye had not found 
 out my riddle. 
 
 His Wife Given to Another. 
 
 And he went down to Ashkelon, which 
 was one of the five cities of the Philistines, 
 and there slew thirty men, and took their 
 spoil, and gave the garments to them that 
 had expounded the riddle. 
 
 And his anger was kindled against his 
 wife, and he went back to his father's house. 
 Then was his wife given to the chief of the 
 thirty companions, a man whom he had used 
 as his friend. 
 
 A little while after, when it was now wheat 
 harvest, Samson came down to see his wife, 
 bringing with him a kid for a gift. Her 
 father said, I thought that thou hadst utterly 
 hated her; therefore I gave her to thy com- 
 panion. But her younger sister is fairer than 
 she; take her to wife, I pray thee, instead of 
 her. When Samson knew that he had been 
 robbed of his wife, he said, Now, though I 
 do these Philistines an injury, yet shall I be 
 more blameless than they. 
 
 Then he went and caught three hundred 
 jackals, and tied them two and two together, 
 
 tail to tail, and put firebrands in the midst, 
 between the tails ; and when he nad set the 
 brands on fire, he let them go into the stand- 
 ing corn of the Philistines, and burnt up the 
 standing corn, and that which had been cut, 
 and stood in sheaves, and the vineyards also, 
 and the olives. 
 
 Death by Fire. 
 
 Then the Philistines said, Who hath done 
 this? The men of the place answered, Sam- 
 son, the son-in-law of the man of Timnath, 
 because his wife hath been given to another. 
 Then the Philistines came up to Timnath and 
 burnt the man's house with fire, and the man 
 and his daughter in it. Samson said, I will 
 be avenged of you for this, and after that I 
 will cease. 
 
 Then he went out against them, and with 
 the jawbone of an ass smote them hip and 
 thigh with a great slaughter. When he had 
 done this, he went and hid himself in a cavern 
 that there was in the hill of Etam, which 
 belonged unto Judah. Then the Philistines 
 went up, and pitched their camp in the land 
 of Judah. And the men of Judah said, Why 
 are ye come up against us ? They answered, 
 To bind Samson are we come up, to do to 
 him as he hath done to us. 
 
 Then three thousand men of Judah went 
 to the cavern that was in the rock Etam, and 
 said to Samson, Knowest thou not that the 
 Philistines are rulers over us ? What is this 
 that thou hast done unto us ? He said unto 
 them, As they did unto me, so have I done 
 unto them. 
 
 Then they said unto him, We are come 
 down to bind thee, that we may deliver thee 
 into the hand of the Philistines. Samson 
 said unto them, Swear that ye will not fall 
 upon me yourselves. For he would not 
 willingly lift up his hand against the men of 
 his own people. They spoke unto him, 
 
THE STORY OF SAMSON. 
 
 171 
 
 saying, No ; but we will bind thee fast, and 
 deliver ;hee into the hand of the Philistines ; 
 but su< tly we will not kill thee. 
 
 He Breaks the Cords. 
 
 So they bound him with two new cords, 
 and carried him up from the cave in the 
 rock, and brought him, bound as he was, to 
 the place where the Philistines were en- 
 camped. 
 
 When, the Philistines saw him, they 
 shouted against him in their rage ; and the 
 Spirit of the Lord came mightly upon him; 
 and the two new cords that were upon him 
 became as flax that hath been burnt with 
 fire, and his bands were loosed fr^m off his 
 hands. 
 
 And he found the new jawbone of an ass, 
 and put forth his hand and took it, and slew 
 therewith a thousand men. And he said, 
 With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon 
 heaps, With the jawbone of an ass have I 
 slain a thousand men. 
 
 After he had wrought this great slaughter 
 he was sore athirst, and called unto the Lord, 
 and said, Thou hast granted to Thy servant 
 to work this great deliverance ; and now 
 shall I die for thirst, and fall into the hand 
 of the uncircumcised ? 
 
 As he looked, he saw a spring of water 
 that came from a hollow in the rock, and 
 when he had drunk, his spirit came again, 
 and he revived. Wherefore he called the 
 name of that spring " En-hakkore," which is 
 by interpretation, " the fountain of him that 
 calleth." After this Samson judged Israel 
 twenty years. 
 
 At the end of twenty years Samson loved 
 a woman of Gaza, which is one of the five 
 cities. And when he went to visit her, it 
 was told the men of Gaza, saying, Samson is 
 come hither. Then they made fast all the 
 gates of the city, and laid wait for him all 
 
 night, saying, In the morning, when it is 
 day, we shall kill him. 
 
 And Samson lay till midnight; and at 
 midnight he arose, and, coming to one of 
 the gates of the city, took up the two posts, 
 and the folding-doors that were upon them, 
 and the bar that joined them together, and 
 put them on his shoulders, and carried them 
 to the hills that were between Gaza and 
 Hebron. 
 
 Story of Delilah. 
 
 After this he loved a woman that dwelt in 
 the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 
 The lords of the five cities of the Philistines 
 came to her and said unto her, Entice him, 
 and see wherein his great strength lieth, and 
 by what means we may prevail against him, 
 that we may bind him to afflict him ; and we 
 will give thee, every one of us, eleven hundred 
 pieces of silver. 
 
 Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray 
 thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and 
 how thou mightest be bound. Samson said, 
 If they bind me with seven green osiers 
 which have not been dried, then shall I be 
 weak, and be as another man. 
 
 Then the lords of the Philistines brought 
 to her seven green osiers that had never been 
 dried, and she bound him with them. Now 
 there were men lying in wait, in the very 
 chamber with her ; so when she bound him, 
 she said, The Philistines be upon thee, 
 Samson ! And he brake the osiers as a 
 thread of tow is broken when it toucheth the 
 fire. So the secret of his strength was not 
 known. 
 
 After awhile Delilah said to Samson, 
 Behold, thou hast mocked me, and told me 
 lies : now tell me, I pray thee, wherewith 
 thou mightest in truth be bound. And he 
 said unto her, If they bind me fast with new 
 ropes that never before have been used, then 
 
172 
 
 THE STORY OF SAMSON. 
 
 shall I be weak, and be as another man. 
 Delilah, therefore, took new ropes and 
 bound him therewith, and said unto him, 
 The Philistines be upon thee, Samson ! And 
 there were, as before, men that laid wait in 
 the chamber. Then Samson brake the new 
 ropes off his arms as if they had been a thread. 
 Yet again Delilah said to Samson, Hitherto 
 
 and fastened them with the pin to the wall, 
 Then she said unto him, The Philistines b& 
 upon thee, Samson ! And he awaked out ol 
 his sleep, and went away with the web intG 
 which his hair was woven, and the pin, and 
 the beam itself. 
 
 Once again she said to him, How canst 
 thou say I love thee, when thy heart is not 
 
 SAMSON CAUGHT AND BOUND BY HIS FOES. 
 
 thou hast mocked me, and told me lies ; tell 
 me wherewith thou mightest be bound. He 
 said unto her, Thou canst do it if thou 
 weavest the seven locks of my hair into the 
 web of thy loom, and fastenest them with 
 the pin to the wall. For his hair was long 
 *nd hung down in seven locks. 
 
 So Delilah wove the locks into the web, 
 
 with me? Thou hast mocked me these thre* 
 times, and hast not told me wherein thy great 
 strength lieth. 
 
 And when she pressed him daily with ber 
 words, and urged him so that his soul was 
 vexed unto death, he told her all his heart, 
 and said, There hath not come a razor on 
 my head ; for I have been a Nazarite unto 
 
THE STORY OF SAMSON. 
 
 173 
 
 God : if I be shaven, then will my strength 
 go from me, and I shall become weak, and 
 be like any other man. 
 
 And when Delilah saw that he had told 
 her all his heart, she sent and called the lords 
 of the Philistines, saying, Come up again yet 
 this once, for he hath showed me all his heart. 
 
 Then the lords of the Philistines came up 
 and brought their money in their hand. And 
 Delilah made Samson to sleep with his head 
 upon her knees, and as he slept she caused 
 a man to cut off the seven locks of his head. 
 So she robbed him of his strength. Then 
 she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Sam- 
 son! And he woke out of his sleep, and 
 said, I will go as before, and shake myself. 
 For he knew not that the Lord had departed 
 from him. But the Philistines took him, and 
 put out his eyes, and brought him down to 
 Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass, 
 and made him grind at the mill in the prison- 
 house. Howbeit the hair of his head began 
 to grow again after it had been shaven. 
 
 The Death of Samson. 
 
 Then the lords of the Philistines gathered 
 themselves together to offer a great sacrifice 
 unto Dagon their god, and to rejoice, for 
 they said, Our god hath delivered Samson 
 our enemy into our hand. 
 
 And Samson was brought out to the peo- 
 ple, and when they saw him they praised 
 their god, for they said, Our god hath deliv- 
 ered into our hands our enemy, and the 
 destroyer of our country, which slew many 
 of us. And when they had feasted and their 
 
 hearts were merry, they said, Call for Samson, 
 that he may make us sport. And he made 
 them sport, for they jeered at him, and buf- 
 feted him, and he could not resist; and they 
 set him between the pillars, for all to see. 
 
 Then Samson said unto the lad that led 
 him by the hand, Suffer me to feel the pillars 
 whereupon the house standeth, that I may 
 lean upon them. Now the house was full 
 of men and women; and all the lords of the 
 Philistines were there; and besides them that 
 were in the house, there were upon the roof 
 about three thousand men and women that 
 beheld while Samson made sport. 
 
 And Samson called unto the Lord, and 
 said, O Lord God, remember me, I pray 
 thee, and strengthen me, I pray thee, only 
 this once more, that I may be avenged of the 
 Philistines for my two eyes that they have 
 put out. 
 
 And Samson took hold of the two middle 
 pillars upon which the house stood, and 
 upon which it was supported, of the one 
 with his right hand and of the other with 
 his left; and Samson said, Let me die with 
 the Philistines. And he bowed himself with 
 all his might, and the house fell upon the 
 lords and upon all the people that were 
 therein. So the dead whom Samson slew 
 at his death were more than they whom he 
 slew in his life. 
 
 Then his kinsmen and all the house of his 
 father came down, and took him, and 
 brought him up, and buried him between 
 Zorah and Eshtaol, in the sepulchre of 
 Manoah his father. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 B. C. 
 
 1312. 
 
 A. Famine at Bethlehem — Naomi Returns from Moab — Ruth Cleaves to her Mothek- 
 in-law — Gleaners in the Harvest Field — Ruth at the Feet of Boaz—- The Shoe 
 Given to a Neighbor — Ruth Becomes the Wife of Boaz. 
 
 URING the time of the Judges, 
 when Eli was high -priest, 
 there was a famine in the land. 
 And a certain man of Bethle- 
 hem in Judah went to stay a 
 while in the land of Moab, he 
 and his wife and his sons. The 
 name of the man was Elimelech, and the 
 name of his wife Naomi. And they came 
 into the country of Moab and sojourned 
 there. And Elimelech died, and his two 
 sons took to themselves wives of the women 
 of Moab ; the name of the one was Orpah, 
 and the name of the other Ruth. 
 
 And after ten years the sons died, and 
 Naomi was bereaved both of her husband 
 and sons. Then she arose with her daugh- 
 ters-in-law to return to her own country, for 
 she had heard that God had looked upon 
 his people and given them bread. And 
 Naomi said to her daughters-in-law, Go, 
 return each to her mother's house; the Lord 
 deal kindly with you, as ye have dealt kindly 
 with the dead. The Lord grant that each of 
 you may find rest in the house of her hus- 
 band. Then she kissed them, and they lifted 
 up their voice and wept, and said to her, 
 Surely we will return with thee to thy 
 people. But Naomi answered, Return home, 
 my daughters. For I cannot help you, for 
 the Lord hath dealt hardly with me. And 
 they wept again, and Orpah departed, after 
 174 
 
 she had kissed her mother-in-law, but Ruth 
 clave to her. Then Naomi said to her, Be- 
 hold, thy sister-in-law hath gone back to her 
 people and to her gods; do thou go after 
 her. 
 
 But Ruth said, Entreat me not to leave 
 thee, nor to return from following after thee; 
 for whither thou goest I will go, and where 
 thou lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall 
 be my people, and thy God my God; where 
 thou diest I will die, and there will I be 
 buried. The Lord do so to me, and more 
 also, if aught but death part thee and me. 
 
 They Arrive at Bethlehem 
 
 And when Naomi saw that Ruth was 
 steadfast in her purpose, she sought no more 
 to persuade her. So these two went on till 
 they came to Bethlehem. And when they 
 came, all Bethlehem was greatly moved, for 
 they asked, Can this be Naomi? She said 
 to them, Call me not Naomi, but call me 
 Mara, for the Lord hath dealt very bitterly 
 with me. He sent me forth full, and he 
 hath brought me back again empty. Now 
 the time when Naomi and Ruth came tc 
 Bethlehem was at the beginning of barley 
 harvest. 
 
 There was in Bethlehem a certain mar 
 that was a kinsman of Elimelech. His name 
 was Boaz, and he was very rich. Ruth said 
 to her mother-in-law, Let me now go to the 
 
RUTH AND NAOMI. 
 
 175 
 
176 
 
 THE STORY OF RUTH. 
 
 field and glean ears of corn after any one 
 in whose sight I may find favor. And 
 Naomi said to her, Go, my daughter. So 
 she went and gleaned in the field, after the 
 reapers ; and her hap was to light on that 
 portion of the field which belonged to the 
 man Boaz. And behold Boaz came from 
 Bethlehem, and said to his reapers, The 
 Lord be with you ! and they answered him, 
 The Lord bless thee ! 
 
 Then Boaz said to the servant that was 
 over the reapers, Whose damsel is this ? The 
 man said, This is the Moabitish damsel that 
 came back with Naomi out of the land of 
 Moab. She said to me, Let me glean after 
 the reapers. So she came, and hath 
 continued from the morning until now, and 
 hath scarcely rested at all. Then Boaz said 
 to her, Go not to glean in another field ; 
 abide here, keeping close to my maidens. 
 None shall harm thee. And when thou art 
 thirsty, go to the vessels, and drink of f hat 
 which the men have drawn. 
 
 Ruth Finds a Friend. 
 
 When she heard this, she fell on her face 
 before him on the ground, and said, Why 
 dost thou take notice of me, seeing that I am 
 but a stranger? Boaz answered, I have 
 heard all that thou hast done to thy mother- 
 in-law, and how that thou hast left thy father 
 and thy mother, and hast come to a people 
 which before thou knewest not. The Lord, 
 under whose wings thou art come to seek 
 refuge, recompense thee for it ! 
 
 And when the reapers rested for their 
 meal, Boaz said to her, Come hither, and eat 
 of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vine- 
 gar. So she sat beside the reapers, and 
 Boaz reached to her grain that had been 
 roasted in the fire, and she ate till she was 
 satisfied; but there remained something over 
 from her portion. And when she rose up to 
 
 glean again, Boaz said to his men, Let her 
 glean even among the sheaves, and do not 
 trouble her. Let fall also some handfuls for 
 her, that she may glean them. So Ruth 
 gleaned in the field all the day; and when 
 she had beat out all that was gleaned, she 
 found that it was an ephah, or about twenty- 
 eight quarts, of barley. This she took into 
 the city to her mother-in-law. Also she 
 gave her what had been left over when she 
 ate bread. 
 
 Naomi said to her, Where hast thou 
 gleaned to-day? Blessed be he that took 
 notice of thee. Ruth answered, The man 
 in whose field I gleaned is Boaz. Then 
 Naomi said, Blessed be the Lord, who has 
 not ceased from his kindness both to the 
 living and the dead. For this Boaz is one 
 of our next kinsman. 
 
 Ruth's New Home. 
 
 Now it was the law among the Jews that 
 if a man died without children, his nearest 
 kinsman should buy his inheritance and 
 take his widow to wife, so that the name 
 of the dead might not perish out of Israel. 
 Naomi knew that Boaz was near of kin to 
 Elimelech. Whether there was any one 
 nearer she knew not. Ruth said to her 
 mother-in-law, The man said to me that I 
 should keep by his men till they had ended 
 his harvest. Naomi answered, It is well; 
 do so, keep with his maidens, and go not 
 into any other field. 
 
 So Ruth kept by the maidens of Boaz till 
 both the barley-harvest and the wheat-har- 
 vest were ended. Afterwards Naomi said to 
 Ruth, My daughter, I must see that you find 
 a home. To-night Boaz winnows barley in 
 the threshing-floor. Wash thyself, therefore, 
 and anoint thyself, and put on thy best rai- 
 ment, but take care that the man see thee 
 not until he shall have done eating and 
 
THE STORY OF RUTH. 
 
 177 
 
 drinking. But when he lieth down, mark 
 the place where he shall lie, and go in, and 
 uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he 
 •will tell thee what thou shalt do. And Ruth 
 said to her mother-in-law, All that thou 
 tellest me I will do. 
 
 When Boaz had eaten and drunk and his 
 heart was merry, he went to lie down at the 
 *end of the heap of corn. And Ruth came 
 
 ter. This is well done of thee that thou 
 hast come to me and to none other for help. 
 Fear not, I will do all that thou requirest; 
 for all the city doth know that thou art a 
 virtuous woman. And now it is true that I 
 am thy near kinsman, but there is one that 
 is nearer than I. Tarry here this night; and 
 in the morning, if he will perform the part 
 of a kinsman, well; but if he will not, then 
 
 RUTH GLEANING IN THE FIELDS OF BOAZ. 
 
 •softly, and lay down at his feet under the 
 covering that was over him. And it came 
 to pass at midnight that the man was afraid, 
 and turned himself; and behold a woman 
 iay at his feet. He said, Who art thou? 
 She answered, I am Ruth thine handmaid. 
 Spread now thy skirt over me, for thou art a 
 aiear kinsman. 
 
 Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daugh- 
 12 
 
 will I perform it, as the Lord liveth. Lie 
 down till the morning. 
 
 So she lay down, and in the morning, 
 before it was light, so that one could not see 
 the other, she rose up. Then he said, Bring 
 thy veil and hold it. And when she held it, 
 he measured into it six measures of barley, 
 that she might take them to her home. And 
 she told Naomi all that the man had done; 
 
178 
 
 THE STORY OF RUTH. 
 
 and how he had said, Go not empty to thy 
 mother-in-law. Then said Naomi, Sit still, 
 my daughter, till thou shalt know how the 
 matter will end. The man will not be at 
 rest until he have finished the thing, and that 
 this very day. 
 
 In the morning Boaz went to the gate; for 
 there the men of the city were wont to 
 assemble for counsel and converse. And 
 when the kinsman of whom Boaz had 
 spoken to Ruth came by, Boaz called to 
 him, Ho, thou! turn aside, and sit down here. 
 
 So they sat down. And Boaz said unto 
 the kinsman, Naomi, that has come back 
 from the land of Moab, selleth a portion of 
 land that belongeth to Elimelech that was 
 her husband. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem 
 it; but if thou wilt not, then tell me, that I 
 may know. For thou art nearest to the 
 dead, and I am next after thee, and there is 
 none beside. 
 
 A Singular Custom. 
 
 The man said, I will redeem it. Then 
 Boaz said, When thou buyest the land of 
 Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the 
 Moabitess, for she is the widow of Elime- 
 lech's son. And her must thou take to wife, 
 that the name of the dead may be preserved 
 in his inheritance. The kinsman said, This 
 I cannot do, lest I mar my own inheritance. 
 I cannot redeem it: redeem it thyself. 
 
 Now the custom in Israel was that in a 
 matter of redeeming or exchanging, a man 
 took off his shoe and gave it to his neighbor, 
 
 as a token that he gave over to him the 
 right that was his own in law. Therefore 
 the kinsman drew off his shoe, and gave it 
 to Boaz, saying, Take the right to redeem 
 the inheritance of Elimelech and his son. 
 
 And Boaz said to the elders and unto atf 
 the people, Ye are witnesses this day, that I 
 have bought this day all that was Elimelech'^, 
 and his sons', and, moreover, Ruth the 
 Moabitess, that was the wife of one, have I 
 taken to be my wife, that I may raise up the 
 name of the dead in his inheritance. Be ye 
 therefore witnesses of this. 
 
 The elders and the people answered, We 
 are witnesses. The Lord make the woman 
 that is come into thy house like Rachael and 
 like Leah, which two did build the house oi 
 Israel; and do thou worthily in Ephratah, 
 and be famous in Bethlehem. 
 
 And Ruth had a son. And the women 
 said to Naomi, Blessed be the Lord, who 
 hath not left thee without a kinsman, to 
 preserve the name of thy husband and thy 
 sons in Israel. For this child shall be unto 
 thee a restorer of thy life, and a nourisher of 
 thy old age. For thy daughter-in-law, who 
 loveth thee, and who is better to thee than 
 seven sons, hath borne him. 
 
 And Naomi took the child, and laid it in 
 her bosom, and became nurse unto it. And 
 the women, her neighbors, gave the child a 
 name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi, 
 and they called him Obed, which is by inter- 
 pretation "serving." This Obed was the 
 father of Jesse, the father of David 
 
THE HARVEST TIME. 
 
 179 
 
L 
 
 THE LORD OF HOSTS. 
 
 180 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 B. C. 1151. 
 
 The Story of Samuel — Hannah's Prayer — The Boy Hears a Voice Calling Him— 
 Sudden Death of Eli — Trouble with the Philistines — The Ark Carried Away — 
 A Great Victory — Samuel Sets up a Stone — The Israelites Want a King. 
 
 P IN Ramah, which is in the 
 hill-country of Ephraim, 
 there dwelt a certain man 
 of the tribe of Levi, 
 Elkanah by name. He had 
 two wives ; the name of the 
 one was Hannah, and the 
 name of the other Peninnah ; 
 and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had 
 none. 
 
 This man went up once every year to 
 worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of 
 Hosts at the tabernacle in Shiloh. (In those 
 days Hophni and Phinehas, the sons of Eli, 
 performed the office of high priest, for Eli 
 their father was very old.) And when he 
 had sacrificed, he gave portions to Peninnah 
 his wife, and to her sons and daughters; but 
 to Hannah he gave a double portion, for he 
 loved her, though she was childless. Now 
 Peninnah was wont to provoke Hannah 
 sorely, and to make her to fret, because she 
 had no children. This she did year by year ; 
 as often as they went up to the house of the 
 Lord, so often she provoked her; therefore 
 she wept and could not eat. But Elkanah 
 her husband said to her, Hannah, why 
 weepest thou? Why eatest thou not? And 
 why is thy heart grieved? Am not I better 
 to thee than ten sons? 
 
 Now, in a certain year when they had 
 sacrificed and had sat down to eat and drink, 
 Hannah rose up quickly from the table, and 
 
 went to the tabernacle. And Eli the high 
 priest sat upon his throne, by the door of the 
 inner court of the tabernacle. 
 
 And Hannah had great bitterness of soul, 
 and prayed unto the Lord, and wept sore. 
 And she vowed a vow and said, O Lord of 
 Hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the afflic- 
 tion of thine handmaid, and remember me, 
 and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give 
 unto thine handmaid a man child, then wiD 
 I give him unto the Lord all the days of his 
 life, and there shall no razor come upon his 
 head. 
 
 And it came to pass, as she continued 
 praying before the Lord, that Eli marked 
 how her mouth moved, for Hannah spoke 
 only in her heart; her lips moved, but her 
 voice was not heard: therefore Eli thought 
 she had been drunken. And he said, How 
 long wilt thou be druken? Put away thy 
 wine from thee. 
 
 Eli's Good Wish. 
 
 Hannah said, No, my lord, I am a woman 
 of a sorrowful spirit: I have drunk neither 
 wine nor strong drink, but have poured out 
 my soul before the Lord. Count not thy 
 daughter for a wicked woman ; for out of the 
 abundance of my sorrowful thought have I 
 spoken. 
 
 Then Eli answered and said, Go in peace, 
 and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition 
 that thou hast asked of him. And Hannah 
 
 181 
 
182 
 
 THE STORY OF SAMUEL. 
 
 said, Let thine handmaid find grace in thy 
 sight. And she went her way, and returned 
 to her husband, where he sat at meat with 
 Peninnah and his children, and did eat, and 
 vrzs no more sorrowful. 
 
 The next day they rose up early in the 
 morning, and worshipped the Lord; and 
 afterwards they returned to Ramah. In 
 
 appear before the Lord, and abide in his 
 house all the days of his life. Elkanah her 
 husband said to her, Do what seemeth good 
 to thee; tarry till thou shalt have weaned 
 him; only the Lord perform his promise. 
 So Hannah abode at home till she had 
 weaned her son Samuel. 
 
 After she had weaned him she took him 
 
 THE YOUNG SAMUEL BROUGHT TO ELI, 
 
 due time Hannah bare a son, and she called 
 his name Samuel, for she said, I have asked 
 him of the Lord. The word means that God 
 heard her prayer. 
 
 When the time came for Elkanah and his 
 family to go up, after their custom, to Shiloh, 
 Hannah went not up with them, for she said, 
 I will not go up till the child be weaned; 
 and then wil*» I bring him, that he may 
 
 up with her to Shiloh, to the tabernacle 
 She took at the same time a bullock three 
 years old, and an ephah of flour for a burnt- 
 offering, and a bottle of wine. And they 
 slew the bullock, and brought the child to 
 Eli. And Hannah said, Oh, my lord, as thy 
 soul liveth, my lord, I am the woman that 
 stood here near to thee, when thou wast 
 sitting, as now, upon thy throne, and prayed 
 
THE STORY OF SAMUEL. 
 
 183 
 
 unto the Lord. For this child I prayed; 
 and the Lord hath given me my petition 
 which I asked of him. Therefore also I 
 have lent him to the Lord; as long as he 
 liveth he shall be lent to the Lord. 
 
 The Boy's Coat. 
 
 And Samuel ministered before the Lord, 
 being a child; and he was girded with an 
 ephod made of white linen, as though he 
 were a priest. His mother also made him a 
 coat; every year she made him a coat, and 
 brought it to him when she came up with 
 her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 
 And the child grew, and was in favor both 
 with the Lord and also with men. 
 
 Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; 
 they knew not the Lord, and paid no heed 
 to his law. 
 
 As to the peace-offerings, the command- 
 ment of the law was this, that the breast and 
 the right shoulder should be the priest's, but 
 that all the fat should be first burnt. But 
 the custom of the sons of Eli was that, when 
 the flesh was in seething, their servant came, 
 with a flesh-hook of three teeth in his hand, 
 and struck it into the pan, or caldron, or pot ; 
 all that the flesh-hook brought up the priest 
 kept for himself. So they did to all the 
 Israelites that came to Shiloh to do sacrifice. 
 
 Also, before he that sacrificed had burnt 
 the fat, the priest's servant came and said to 
 him, Give flesh to roast for the priest; for he 
 will not have sodden flesh, but raw. And if 
 any man said, Suffer them to burn the fat 
 immediately, and then take as much as thy 
 soul desireth; the servant would answer him, 
 Nay; but thou shalt give it me now: and if 
 not, I will take it by force. 
 
 Wherefore the sin of the young men was 
 very great before the Lord; for men abhorred 
 the offering of the Lord. 
 
 And when Eli their father heard of these 
 
 things and of other wickedness that they did, 
 he said unto them, Why do ye such things ? 
 For I hear evil words of you from all the 
 people. Nay, my sons ; it is no good report 
 that I hear of you : ye make the Lord's 
 people to transgress. If one man sin against 
 another, the judge shall lay a penalty on 
 him, and he shall be free ; but if a man sin 
 against the Lord, who shall entreat for him ? 
 Thus did Eli speak unto his sons, but they 
 hearkened not unto him. 
 
 What the Prophet Said. 
 
 After this there came a man of God, a 
 prophet, to Eli, and said, Thus saith the Lord, 
 Did I not plainly appear unto the house of 
 Aaron thy father, when they were in Egypt 
 in Pharaoh's house? And did I not choose 
 him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my 
 priest, to offer upon mine altar, to burn 
 incense, to wear an ephod before me ? And 
 did I not give unto the house of thy father 
 all the offerings made by fire of the children 
 of Israel ? Wherefore kick ye at my sacrifice 
 and at mine offering, which I have com- 
 manded in my habitation ; and hohorest thy 
 sons above me, to make yourselves fat with 
 the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my 
 people ? Wherefore the Lord God of Israel 
 saith, I said indeed that thy house, and the 
 house of thy father, should walk before me 
 for ever: but now the Lord saith, Be this far 
 from me; for them that honor me I will 
 honor, and they that despise me shall be 
 lightly esteemed. Behold, the days come 
 when I will cut off thy strength, and the 
 strength of thine house, that there shall not 
 be an old man in thine house. And thou 
 shalt see a rival in my habitation, in all the 
 wealth which I shall give Israel. 
 
 And the man of thine house, whom I shall 
 not cut off from thy altar, shall live to con- 
 sume thine eyes, and to grieve thine heart; 
 
HANNAH VISITING SAMUEL. 
 
 184 
 
THE STORY OF SAMUEL. 
 
 185 
 
 and all the increase of thine house shall die 
 in the flower of their age. And this shall be 
 a sign unto thee, namely the thing that shall 
 come on thy two sons, Hophni and Phineas; 
 in one day they shall die, both of them. 
 And I will raise up a faithful priest, who 
 shall do according to that which is in mine 
 heart, and in my mind : and I will build him 
 a sure house ; and he shall walk before mine 
 anointed for ever. And it shall come to 
 pass that every one that is left in thine house 
 shall come and crouch to him for a piece of 
 silver and a morsel of bread, and shall say, 
 Put me, I pray thee, into one of the priests' 
 offices, that I may eat a piece of bread. 
 
 Yet once again did the Lord denounce 
 against the sons of Eli the evil that was to 
 come upon them. It was the office of 
 Samuel to open the doors of the tabernacle 
 in the morning and to shut them at night ; 
 also to light the seven-branched lamp that 
 stood in the Holy Place when the darkness 
 came, and to extinguish it when it was light, 
 and to trim it, and feed it with fresh oil ; and 
 he slept in a chamber hard by the chamber 
 of Eli the priest. 
 
 The Lord Calls Samuel. 
 
 Now it happened when he was twelve 
 years old that on a certain night, before it 
 was dawn, for the lamp was yet burning in 
 the tabernacle, that the Lord called Samuel 
 as he slept, and Samuel answered, Here am 
 I. And the lad ran to Eli ; for Eli was an 
 old man, and his eyes were dim, so that he 
 could not see, and if he needed anything he 
 was wont to call for Samuel. And Samuel 
 said to Eli, Here am I ; for thou calledst 
 me. But Eli .said, I called not ; lie down 
 again. And he went and lay down. 
 
 The Lord called a second time, Samuel ! 
 And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and 
 <*aid, Here am I ; for thou didst call me. 
 
 And he answered, I called not, my son ; lie 
 
 down again. 
 
 Now the Lord had never before spoken to 
 Samuel. The Lord called Samuel aeain. 
 And he arose and went to Eli, and said, 
 Here am I ; for thou didst call me. 
 
 Then Eli perceived that the Lord had 
 called the child ; therefore he said unto him, 
 Go, lie down : and it shall be, if he call 
 thee again, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord ; 
 for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went 
 and lay down in his place. 
 
 Curiosity of Eli. 
 
 And the Lord came and called as before, 
 Samuel! Samuel! And Samuel felt the 
 presence of the Lord, and answered, Speak ; 
 for thy servant heareth. 
 
 And the Lord said to Samuel: Behold, I 
 will do a thing in Israel, tne which whoso- 
 ever heareth both his ears shall tingle. In 
 that day I will put over against Eli all that 
 I have spoken concerning his house. When 
 I begin, I will also make an end. For I 
 have told him that I will judge his house for 
 ever for the inquity that he knoweth ; because 
 his sons brought a curse upon themselves, 
 and he restrained them not. And therefore 
 have I sworn unto the house of Eli that the 
 iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged 
 with sacrifice nor offering forever. 
 
 And Samuel lay until the morning, when 
 he opened the doors of the tabernacle. And 
 he feared to show Eli the vision. Then Eli 
 called him, and said, Samuel, my son f 
 Samuel answered, Here am I. 
 
 Then said Eli, What is the thing that the 
 Lord hath said unto thee ? I pray thee hide 
 it not from me : God do so to thee, and more 
 also, if thou hide from me any of the things 
 which he said unto thee. 
 
 Then Samuel told him all the words that 
 he had heard. He hid nothing from him. 
 
186 
 
 THE STORY OF SAMUEL. 
 
 And Eli said, It is the Lord ; let him do what 
 seemeth him good. 
 
 And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with 
 him, and did let none of his words fall to the 
 ground. And all Israel, from Dan even to 
 Beersheba, knew that he was established to 
 be a prophet of the Lord ; for the Lord 
 
 and Shen, in the place which was afterwards 
 called Eben-ezer, and the Philistines pitched 
 in Aphek. 
 
 The Philistines put themselves in array 
 against Israel, and when the battle was 
 joined, Israel was smitten before the Philis- 
 tines : and the Philistines slew of them four 
 
 THE CALL OF SAMUEL. 
 
 appeared again in Shiloh, speaking to Israel 
 by the word of Samuel. 
 
 Now it happened not long after these 
 things that the children of Israel rebelled 
 against the Philistines, who had oppressed 
 them for twenty years and more, and went 
 out to fight against them. The children of 
 Israel pitched their camp between Mizpeh 
 
 thousand men, who fell in the open country 
 where the battle was fought. 
 
 When they that had escaped from the 
 battle came back into the camp, the elders 
 of the people held a council ; and they said 
 among themselves, Wherefore hath the Lord 
 smitten us to-day before the Philistines ? Let 
 us fetch the ark of the covenant of the Lord 
 
THE STORY OF SAMUEL. 
 
 187 
 
 from the tabernacle at Shiloh, that it may 
 save us out of the hand of our enemies. 
 
 So the people sent to Shiloh, that they 
 might bring from thence the ark of the 
 covenant of the Lord, even the Lord who 
 dwelleth between the Cherubim. And the 
 next day the ark was brought into the camp, 
 and the two priests Hophni and Phineas came 
 with it. And when the ark of the covenant 
 came into the camp, all Israel shouted with 
 a great shout, so that the earth rang again. 
 
 A Startling Noise. 
 
 And when the Philistines heard the noise 
 of the shout they said, What meaneth the 
 noise of this great shout in the camp of the 
 Hebrews ? 
 
 And when they understood that the ark 
 of the Lord had come into the camp they 
 were afraid, for they said, God is come into 
 the camp. And they said, Woe unto us ! for 
 there hath not been such a thing heretofore. 
 Woe unto us ! who shall deliver us out of 
 the hands of these mighty Gods ? These are 
 the Gods who smote the Egyptians with 
 utter destruction by the Red Sea. Be strong, 
 and quit yourselves like men, O ye Philistines, 
 that ye be not servants to the Hebrews, as 
 they have been unto you : quit yourselves 
 like men, and fight. 
 
 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was 
 smitten, and they fled every man to his tent ; 
 and the slaughter was very great ; for there 
 fell of Israel thirty thousand footmen. And 
 the ark of God was taken ; and the two sons 
 of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were slain. 
 
 And there ran a man of Benjamin out of 
 the army, and came to Shiloh that same day, 
 with his clothes rent, and with dust on his 
 head. And when he came, lo ! Eli, the 
 high priest, sat upon his throne by the gate 
 of the tabernacle watching the road ; for his 
 heart trembled for the ark of God. 
 
 And when the man came into the city, and 
 told the news of that which had happened, 
 all the city cried out. 
 
 And when Eli heard the noise of the 
 crying, he said, What meaneth the noise of 
 this tumult ? And the man came hastily to 
 him where he sat, and told him. 
 
 Now Eli was ninety and eight years old; 
 and he was blind. And the man said unto 
 Eli, I fled to-day out of the army. Eli said 
 to him, What hath happened there, my son ? 
 
 The messenger answered, and said, Israel 
 fled before the Philistines, and there hath 
 been also a great slaughter among the people, 
 and thy two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, 
 are dead, and the ark of God is taken. 
 
 And it came to pass, when the messenger 
 made mention of the ark of God, that Eli 
 fell from off his throne backward by the side 
 of the door of the tabernacle, and his neck 
 brake, and he died ; for he was an old man, 
 and heavy : and he had judged Israel forty 
 years. And the Philistines came up against 
 Shiloh, and smote it and all the people with 
 the edge of the sword. 
 
 "What Happened to the Ark. 
 
 The Philistines took the ark of God, and 
 brought it from the place of the battle to 
 Ashdod. And when they had brought it to 
 Ashdod, they took it into the house of 
 Dagon, and set it by the image of Dagon. 
 
 When the men of Ashdod arose early the 
 next morning, behold, Dagon was fallen on 
 his face to the earth before the ark of the 
 Lord. And they took Dagon, and set him 
 up in his place again. 
 
 On the next day, when they came early 
 into the temple, behold, Dagon was fallen on 
 his face to the ground before the ark of the 
 Lord; and his head, and both his hands, 
 were broken off, and lay upon the threshold ; 
 only the body was left. 
 
188 
 
 THE STORY OF SAMUEL. 
 
 Because of this, it became the custom that 
 neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that 
 came into Dagon's house, should tread on 
 the threshold of his house in Ashdod. 
 
 But the hand of the Lord was heavy upon 
 the men of Ashdod, and smote them with a 
 sore disease. When the men of Ashdod 
 saw that this was so, they said, The ark of 
 the God of Israel shall not abide with us ; for 
 his hand is sore upon us, and upon Dagon 
 our god. They sent therefore to the five 
 lords of the Philistines, and said, What shall 
 we do with the ark of the God of Israel? 
 And the lords of the Philistines answered, 
 Let the ark of the God of Israel be carried 
 unto Gath. 
 
 So they carried the ark to Gath. And the 
 men of Gath suffered as the men of Ashdod 
 had done; and yet more grievously. 
 
 A Terrible Destruction. 
 
 Therefore they sent the ark to Ekron. 
 And as the ark of God came to Ekron, the 
 men of Ekron cried out, saying, They have 
 brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, 
 to slay us and our people. 
 
 So they sent to the lords of the Philistines, 
 and said, Send away the ark of the God of 
 Israel, and let it go again to its own place, 
 that it slay us not, and our people. For 
 there was a great destruction throughout all 
 the city. The hand of God was very heavy 
 there. They that died not were smitten with 
 disease; and the cry of the city went up to 
 heaven. 
 
 The ark of the Lord was in the country 
 of the Philistines for seven months. And 
 the Philistines inquired of their priests and 
 diviners, saying, What shall we do with the 
 ark of the Lord? Tell us wherewith we 
 (shall send it to its place? 
 
 And the priests and the diviners answered, 
 If ye send away the ark of the God of Israel, 
 
 send it not without a gift ; rather return to 
 the God of Israel a trespass-offering ; then 
 shall ye be healed, and ye shall know why 
 his hand hath not been removed from you. 
 
 Then said the Philistines, What shall be 
 the trespass-offering that we shall send to the 
 God of Israel ? 
 
 The priests and the diviners answered, 
 Five golden images of the swellings where- 
 with ye have been plagued — for the people 
 had been plagued with swellings — and five 
 golden mice, according to the number of the 
 lords of the Philistines ; for the plague has 
 been upon you, and upon your lords, and 
 the mice have devoured your land. So shall 
 ye give glory to the God of Israel : perad- 
 venture he will lighten his hand from off you,, 
 and from off your gods, and from off your 
 land. Wherefore do ye harden your hearts,, 
 as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their 
 hearts ? Were not Pharaoh and the Egypt- 
 ians constrained to let this people go, when 
 their God had wrought great wonders in the 
 land 5 
 
 They Make a New Cart. 
 
 Now, therefore, make a new cart, and take 
 two kine that have calves, on which there 
 hath come no yoke, and harness the kine to 
 the cart, and bring their calves home from 
 them. Take also the ark of the Lord, and 
 lay it upon the cart; and put the jewels of 
 gold, which ye send to the God of Israel for 
 a trespass-offering, in a coffer by the side 
 thereof; then send the cart with the ark 
 away. If it go up to the borders of the 
 land of Israel, by way of Beth-shemesh, 
 then be sure that it is the Lord who hath 
 done us this great evil ; but if not, then we 
 shall know that it is not his hand that smote 
 us ; it was a chance that happened to us. 
 
 This the Philistines did. They took two 
 kine that had calves, and harnessed them to* 
 
THE STORY OF SAMUEL. 
 
 189 
 
 a new cart, and tied up their calves at home. 
 And they laid the ark of the Lord upon the 
 cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold 
 and other images of gold with them in a 
 coffer by the side of the ark. 
 
 And the kine took the straight way to 
 Beth-shemesh ; they went along the highway, 
 lowing as they went, and turned not aside to 
 the right hand nor to the left ; and the lords 
 of the Philistines went after them to the bor- 
 ders of Beth-shemesh. 
 
 Now the men of Beth-shemesh were reap- 
 ing their wheat harvest in the valley, and 
 they lifted up their eyes and saw the ark, 
 and rejoiced to see it. 
 
 The cart came into a field that belonged 
 to one Joshua, a man of Beth-shemesh, and 
 the kine stood still by a great stone that was 
 there. So the men of the place took the 
 kine and offered them for a burnt-offering to 
 the Lord, and they clave the wood of the 
 cart wherewith to burn them. 
 
 And the priests — for Beth-shemesh was a 
 city of the priests — took down the ark of the 
 Lord, and the coffer that was with it, and 
 put them on the great stone ; and the men 
 of Beth-shemesh offered sacrifices unto the 
 Lord that day. And when the lords of the 
 Philistines had seen what was done, for they 
 had followed after the cart, they returned 
 unto Ekron the same day. 
 
 They Die for their Trespass. 
 
 But the men of Beth-shemesh looked into 
 the ark ; and seventy men of them died for 
 their trespass. Therefore they said, Who is 
 able to stand before this holy Lord God ? 
 To whom will he go up from us ? 
 
 So they sent to the men of Kirjath-jearim, 
 saying, The Philistines have brought again 
 the ark of the Lord ; come ye down, and 
 fetch it up to you. 
 
 So the men of Kirjath-jearim came down 
 
 to Beth-shemesh, and fetched up the ark of 
 the Lord, and brought it into the house of 
 Abinadab in the hill, and sanctified Eleazar 
 his son to keep the ark of the Lord. For 
 many days, even for twenty years, did the 
 ark of the Lord abide at Kirjath-jearim. 
 
 It came to pass after the twenty years tha 
 all Israel lamented after the Lord and sought 
 to him. And Samuel spoke to them, saying, 
 If ye do return unto the Lord with all your 
 hearts, then put away Baalim and Ashtaroth 
 from among you, and prepare your hearts 
 unto the Lord, and serve him only ; and he 
 will deliver you out of the hand of the Philis- 
 tines. Then the children of Israel did put 
 away Baalim and Ashtaroth, and served the 
 Lord only. Baalim and Ashtaroth were idols. 
 
 And Samuel said, Gather all Israel together 
 unto Mizpeh, and I will pray for you to the 
 Lord. 
 
 And the children of Israel gathered to- 
 gether at Mizpeh, and they fasted and 
 confessed their sins, as it was commanded in 
 the law to do on the day of atonement, and 
 afterwards they kept the feast of tabernacles, 
 and the high priest poured the water over 
 the sacrifices as was the custom. 
 
 The People are Afraid. 
 
 And Samuel judged the children of Israel 
 in Mizpeh. When the lords of the Philistines 
 heard that the children of Israel were gathered 
 together in Mizpeh, they went up against 
 them. And when the children of Israel 
 heard of it they were afraid. 
 
 And the children of Israel said to Samuel, 
 Cease not to cry unto the Lord our God for 
 us, that he will save us out of the hand of the 
 Philistines. 
 
 Then Samuel took a sucking lamb, and 
 offered it for a whole burnt-offering unto the 
 Lord, and the Lord answered him. For it 
 came to pass that even as he was offering the 
 
190 
 
 THE STORY OF SAMUEL. 
 
 Iamb, the Philistines drew near to battle 
 against Israel ; and the Lord thundered with 
 a great thunder that day upon the Philistines, 
 and discomfited them ; and they were smitten 
 before Israel. For the men of Israel ran 
 down upon them from the hill of Mizpeh, 
 and pursued them, until they came to Beth-car. 
 
 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up 
 between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the 
 name of it Eben-ezer, saying, Hitherto hath 
 the Lord helped us. 
 
 So the Philistines were subdued, and came 
 no more into the land of Israel; and the 
 hand of the Lord was against the Philistines 
 all the time during which Samuel judged 
 Israel. And the cities which the Philistines 
 had taken from the children of Israel were 
 restored to them, along the borders of 
 Ekron and Gath. Also the Amorites that 
 dwelt by Joppa made peace with the Israelites. 
 
 And Samuel judged Israel all the days of 
 his life. Every year he went in circuit to 
 Bethel and Gilgal and Mizpeh. In all these 
 places he judged Israel, and from them he 
 returned to Ramah, for there was his house. 
 
 The People Want a King. 
 
 Now it happened when Samuel wa. old that 
 he made his sons judges over Israel : one he 
 set at Bethel, and the other at Beersheba. 
 And his sons walked not in his ways, but 
 turned aside after gain, and took bribes, and 
 perverted judgment. Also at this time 
 Nahash, the king of the children of Ammon, 
 had greatly increased his power ; the Philis- 
 tines also began to invade the borders of the 
 land, and the men of Israel sought for one 
 who should lead their armies against them. 
 
 Therefore all the elders of Israel gathered 
 themselves together, and came to Samuel at 
 Ramah, and said unto him, Behold, thou art 
 old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways ; now 
 make us a king to judge us. even as the 
 
 nations round about have kings to judge 
 them. But the thing displeased Samuel 
 when they said, Give us a king to judge us; 
 and Samuel prayed unto the Lord. 
 
 And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken 
 unto the voice of the people in all that they 
 say unto thee; for they have not rejected 
 thee, but they have rejected me, that I 
 should not reign over them. According to 
 all the works which they have done since I 
 brought them up out of the land of Egypt 
 even unto this day, wherewith they have 
 forsaken me, and served other gods, so they 
 do also unto thee. Nevertheless hearken 
 unto their voice ; but protest solemnly unto 
 them, and show them the manner of the 
 king that shall reign over them. 
 
 What Their King Would Do. 
 
 Then Samuel told all the words of the 
 Lord to the people that asked of him a king. 
 And he said, These shall be the ways of the 
 king that shall reign over you. He will 
 take your menservants, and your maid- 
 servants, and your goodliest oxen, and your 
 asses, and put them to his work. And he 
 will take the tenth of your sheep ; and ye 
 shall be his servants. And ye shall cry out 
 in that day because of your king whom ye 
 have chosen ; and the Lord will not hear you 
 in that day. 
 
 Nevertheless, the people refused to hear 
 the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay, 
 but we will have a king over us ; that we 
 also may be like all the nations; and that 
 our king may judge us, and go out before 
 us, and fight our battles. 
 
 And Samuel heard all the words of the 
 people, and rehearsed them unto the Lord. 
 And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken unto 
 their voice, and make them a king. Then 
 Samuel said to the men of Israel, Go ye 
 every man unto his city. 
 
CHAPTER XV, 
 
 B. C. 1095. 
 
 Story of Saul — A Vial of Oil — Saul is Made King — Israel's Army— War with 
 Amalek — The King's Disobedience — The Torn Mantle — An Evil Spirit— Thb 
 Shepherd Boy and his Harp — David is Pursued — Saul and the Witch of Endor— 
 The Last Battle — Death of Saul — What Was Done with the King's Body. 
 
 HERE dwelt at Gibeah a cer- 
 tain man of the tribe of Benja- 
 min, whose name was Kish. 
 He was a man of substance; 
 and he had a son whose name 
 was Saul, a young man and 
 handsome. There was not 
 among the children of Israel a goodlier per- 
 son than he. By his head and shoulders he 
 was taller than all the rest of the people. 
 
 Now the asses of Kish, the father of Saul, 
 were lost. And Kish said to his son, Take 
 now one of the servants with thee, and arise, 
 go seek the asses. So Saul passed through 
 the hill-country of Ephraim, and thence 
 through the country of Shalisha, and through 
 Shalim, till they came to the land of Zuph, 
 and found them not. Then said Saul to his 
 servant, Come, let us return; lest my father 
 cease to care for the asses, and take thought 
 for us. 
 
 The servant said to him, Behold, there is 
 in this city — for they were now near to 
 Ramah— a man of God, one that is greatly 
 honored. All that he saith surely cometh 
 to pass. Let us now go thither; peradven- 
 ture he can show us the way which we 
 Should go. 
 
 Then said Saul, But, behold, if we go, 
 what present shall we take to the man? 
 Even our bread is spent, and we have not 
 
 a loaf that we can give him. What shall 
 we take him therefore ? 
 
 The servant answered Saul again, and 
 said, Behold, I have here the fourth part of 
 a silver shekel. This will I give to the man 
 of God, that he may tell us our way. Then 
 said Saul to his servant, Thy words are 
 good; come, let us go. 
 
 They Meet Young Maidens. 
 
 So they went to the city where the man 
 of God dwelt. And as they were going up 
 the hill to the city, they found young 
 maidens going out to draw water, and said 
 unto them, Is the seer here ? 
 
 The maidens answered, He is ; he has come 
 back to the city this day: make haste, for 
 there is a sacrifice of the people to-day in the 
 high place, and if ye go up straightway into 
 the city, ye shall find him before he go up 
 to the high place to eat; for the people will 
 not eat till he come, because he doth bless 
 the sacrifice, and afterward they eat that are 
 bidden. Now therefore get ye up; for about 
 this time shall ye find him. 
 
 So they went up into the midst of the city; 
 and when they were come up, Samuel came 
 out of his house and met them, being on 
 his way to the high place. 
 
 Now the Lord had told Samuel the day. 
 before Saul came, To-morrow, about this 
 
 191 
 
192 
 
 THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 time, will I send thee a man out of the land 
 of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to 
 be captain over my people Israel, that he 
 may save my people out of the hand of the 
 Philistines ; for I have looked upon my peo- 
 ple, because their cry is come unto me. 
 
 And when Samuel saw Saul, the Lord 
 said unto him, Behold the man of whom I 
 spoke to thee ! This same shall reign over 
 my people. Then Saul drew near to Samuel 
 where he stood in the midst of the city, and 
 said, Tell me, I pray thee, where the seer's 
 house is ? 
 
 Samuel answered, I am the seer: go up 
 before me into the high place; for ye shall 
 eat with me to-day ; and to-morrow I will let 
 thee go, and tell thee all that is in thine 
 heart. As for thine asses that were lost 
 three days ago, set not thy mind upon them ; 
 for they are found. And, indeed, whose are 
 all the delectable things of Israel? Aie they 
 not for thee and for thy father's house? 
 
 Saul Eats with Samuel. 
 
 Saul answered and said, Am not I a Ben- 
 jamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? 
 And my family the least of all the families of 
 the tribe of Benjamin? Wherefore then 
 speakest thou so to me? 
 
 And Samuel took Saul and his servant, 
 and brought them into the hall of the high 
 place, and made them sit in the most honor- 
 able place among those that were bidden, and 
 there were bidden about thirty persons. And 
 the cook took the right shoulder of the beast, 
 with its appurtenances, being Samuel's own 
 portion, and set it before Saul. 
 
 And Samuel said, Behold that which is 
 reserved for thee! Set it before thee, and eat. 
 So Saul did eat with Samuel that day. And 
 Samuel communed with Saul on the top of 
 the house. And the next day at dawn he 
 called him, saying, Up, that J piav send thee 
 
 away. Then Saul arose; and they went both 
 of them out of the house together. And when 
 they had now passed without the gate of the 
 city, Samuel said to Saul, Bid the servant 
 pass on before us, but stand thou still 
 awhile, that I may show thee the command- 
 ment of God. And the servant passed on 
 before. 
 
 Then Samuel took a vial of oil, and poured 
 it upon Saul's head, and kissed him; and 
 when Saul wondered, he said, Is it not 
 because the Lord hath appointed thee captain 
 over his inheritance ? 
 
 Three Men with Three Kids. 
 
 Furthermore, that he might give him a 
 sign, he said, When thou art departed from 
 me to-day, thou shalt find two men by 
 Rachel's sepulchre ; and they will say unto 
 thee, The asses which thou wentest to seek 
 are found ; and lo, thy father hath forgotten 
 his care for the asses, and sorroweth for thee 
 and thy servant, saying, What shall I do for 
 my son? Then thou shalt go on forward 
 from thence, and thou shalt come to the 
 Oak of Tabor. Three men shall meet thee, 
 going to worship God in the high place of 
 Bethel, one carrying three kids, and another 
 three loaves of bread, and another a bottle 
 of wine : and they will salute thee, and give 
 thee two loaves of bread, which thou shalt 
 receive at their hands. 
 
 After that, when thou shalt come to 
 Gibeah, the hill of God, hard by the 
 monument of the Philistines, thou shah meet 
 there a company of the prophets coming down 
 from the high place with a psaltery, and a 
 tabret, and a pipe, and a harp. And the 
 Spirit of the Lord shall come upon thee, and 
 thou shalt prophesy with them, and thou 
 shalt be turned into another man. These 
 shall be signs unto thee, and when they 
 shall come to pass, then do thou what is 
 
THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 193 
 
 fitting for thee; for God is with thee. 
 And it was so that when he had turned to 
 par 7 , from Samuel, God gave him another 
 heart, and all these signs came to pass that 
 day. When he came to the hill of Gibeah, 
 and the company of the prophets met him, 
 then the Spirit of God came upon him, and 
 he prophesied among them. 
 
 And when all that knew him beforetime 
 saw this, they said one to another, What is 
 this that is come to the son of Kish ? Is 
 Saul also among the prophets ? 
 
 Then one of the same place answered and 
 said, Do ye wonder ? Who is the Father of 
 the prophets ? Can he not give the gift to 
 whom he will ? Thenceforward it became a 
 proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets ? 
 
 Casting Lots. 
 
 And when Saul had made an end of 
 prophesying, he went to the high place to 
 worship there. Saul's uncle said unto him 
 and to his servant, Whither went ye ? Saul 
 answered, To seek the asses we went : and 
 when we could not find them, we came to 
 Samuel. 
 
 And Saul's uncle said again, Tell me, I 
 pray you, what. Samuel said unto you ? 
 Saul said unto his uncle, He told us plainly 
 that the asses were found. But of the 
 matter of the kingdom, whereof Samuel 
 spake, he told him not. 
 
 Then Samuel called all Israel to assemble 
 before the Lord at Mizpeh, and he said unto 
 them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, 
 I brought up Israel out of Egypt, and 
 delivered you out of the hands of the Egypt- 
 ians, and out of the hand of all the kingdoms 
 which oppressed you. And ye have this 
 day rejected your God, who himself saved 
 you out of all your adversities and your 
 tribulations; and ye have said unto him, 
 .Nay, but set a king over us. Now, therefore, 
 13 
 
 present yourselves before the Lord by your 
 tribes, and by your thousands. 
 
 Then Samuel cast the lots; and the lot 
 fell on the tribe of Benjamin. And when the 
 families of the tribe of Benjamin came near, 
 the lot fell on the family of Bichri ; and when 
 the household of the Bichrites were taken, it 
 fell on the household of Kish ; and when the 
 men of the household of Kish were taken, it 
 fell upon Saul. 
 
 Then they asked, Is the man come hither ? 
 And it was found that he had hidden himself 
 among the baggage. So they ran and 
 fetched him thence. And when he stood 
 among the people, he was higher than any 
 of the people, by his head and shoulders. 
 
 Then Samuel said to all the people, See ye 
 him whom the Lord hath chosen, that there 
 i- c none like him among all the people ? 
 
 Saul is King. 
 
 And all the people shouted, and said, God 
 save the King. 
 
 Then Samuel told the people all the 
 manner of the kingdom, what authority the 
 king should exercise over them, and what 
 obedience they should render to him. All 
 this he wrote in a book, and laid up the 
 writing before the Lord. And afterwards he 
 sent the people away to their own homes. 
 
 Saul also went home to Gibeah ; and there 
 went with him a company of valiant men, 
 whose hearts God had touched. But certain 
 worthless fellows said, How shall this man 
 save us ? And they despised him, and 
 brought him no presents ; but he held his 
 peace. 
 
 And in the days of Saul the Reubenites 
 made war against the Hagarites, who fell by 
 their hand; and the Reubenites dwelt in 
 their tents throughout all the east land of 
 Gilead. And they were helped against the 
 Hagarites, who were delivered into their 
 
194 
 
 THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 hand and all that were with them : for they 
 cried to God in the battle and he heard them, 
 because they put their trust in him. 
 
 Nahash the king of the children of Ammon 
 came up and encamped against Jabesh in 
 Gilead. And all the men of Jabesh said to 
 Nahash, Make a covenant with us, and we 
 will serve thee. But Nahash the Ammonite 
 
 come out unto thee. So the messengers 
 went to other cities of Israel and to Gibeah, 
 and they told the tidings in the ears of al/ 
 the people: and all the people lifted up their 
 voices and wept. 
 
 And, behold, Saul came out of the field 
 with the oxen with which he had been 
 ploughing, and he said, What aileth the 
 
 THE DESTRUCTION OF THE HAGARITES. 
 
 said, On this condition will I make a covenant 
 with you, that I may thrust out all your 
 right eyes, that I may make it a reproach 
 upon all Israel. 
 
 And the elders of Jabesh said to Nahash, 
 Give us seven days' respite, that we may send 
 messengers into all the borders of Israel : and 
 then, if there be no man to save us, we will 
 
 people that they weep? And they told him 
 the tidings of the men of Jabesh. 
 
 Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul 
 when he heard these tidings, and his anger 
 was greatly kindled. And he took a yoke 
 of oxen, and cut them in pieces, and sent the 
 pieces by messengers throughout the land of 
 Israel saying, Whosoever cometh not forth 
 
THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 195 
 
 after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be 
 done unto his oxen. 
 
 And the fear of the Lord came upon all 
 the people, and they came out with one con- 
 sent. And when Saul numbered them in 
 Bezek, the children of Israel were three hun- 
 dred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty 
 thousand. 
 
 Help is Promised. 
 
 Saul said unto the messengers, Thus shall 
 ye say to the men of Jabesh in Gilead, To- 
 morrow, by the time the sun is hot, ye shall 
 have help. And the messengers came and 
 showed this to the men of Jabesh, and they 
 were glad; and they sent to the Ammonites, 
 saying, To-morrow we will come out unto 
 you, and ye shall do with us all that seemeth 
 good unto you. 
 
 On the morrow Saul divided the people 
 mto three companies; and they came into 
 the midst of the host of the Ammonites in 
 the morning watch. The men of Jabesh also 
 sallied forth, and there was a great slaughter 
 of the Ammonites, so that not two or three 
 were left together. And Nahash the king 
 also was slain. 
 
 Then all the people said to Samuel, Who 
 are they that said, Shall Saul reign over us ? 
 Bring the men, that they may be put to 
 death. But Saul said, There shall not a man 
 be put to death this day : for to-day the Lord 
 hath wrought salvation in Israel. 
 
 Then said Samuel to the people, Come, let 
 us go to Gilgal, aud make Saul king anew. 
 So all the people went to Gilgal ; and they 
 made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal ; 
 and Samuel anointed him before all Israel ; 
 and there they offered peace-offerings ; and 
 Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly. 
 
 Samuel said to Saul, The Lord sent me to 
 anoint thee to be king over this people, over 
 Israel ; now, therefore, hearken unto the 
 
 voice of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord of 
 Hosts, I remember that which Amalek did 
 to Israel, how he laid wait for him in the 
 way. Now go and smite Amalek, and 
 utterly destroy him and all that he hath. 
 
 So Saul gathered the people together, and 
 numbered them, two hundred thousand men 
 of Israel, and ten thousand men of Judah. 
 And he came to the city of Amalek, and laid 
 wait in the valley. And he said to the 
 Kenites, Get you down from among the 
 Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them ; for 
 ye showed kindness to all the children of 
 Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So 
 the Kenites departed from the Amalekites. 
 
 Then Saul smote the Amalekites as far as 
 the border of Egypt. Agag their king he 
 took alive ; but all the people he slew. 
 Nevertheless he and his people spared the 
 best of the sheep and the oxen and all that 
 was good, and would not utterly destroy 
 them ; but everything that was vile and 
 refuse, that they destroyed utterly. 
 
 The Disobedience of Saul. 
 
 Then came the word of the Lord unto 
 Samuel, saying, It repenteth me that I h?ve 
 set up Saul to be king ; for he is turned back 
 from following me, and hath not performed 
 my commandments. 
 
 And Samuel was displeased, for he loved 
 Saul greatly ; and he cried unto the Lord all 
 night to change his purpose. 
 
 Then Samuel said to Saul, Though thou 
 wast little in thine own eyes, wast not thou 
 made the head of the tribes of Israel ? And 
 did not the Lord anoint thee to be kine over 
 Israel? And the Lord sent thee on a journey, 
 and said, Go, and utterly destroy those 
 sinners the Amalekites, and fight against 
 them till they be consumed. Wherefore 
 then didst thou not obey the voice of the 
 Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst 
 
196 
 
 THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 that which was evil in the sight of the Lord ? 
 And Saul said unto Samuel, I have sinned : 
 for I have transgressed the commandment 
 of the Lord, and thy words ; because I 
 feared the people, and obeyed their voice. 
 Now therefore, I pray thee, pardon my sin, 
 and turn again with me that I may worship 
 the Lord. 
 
 this day, and hath given it to a neighbor of 
 thine that is better than thee; neither will 
 the Glory of Israel repent : for he is not a 
 man that he should repent. 
 
 Then Saul said, I have sinned ; yet honor 
 me now, I pray thee, before the elders of my 
 people, and before Israel, and turn again 
 with me, that I may worship the Lord thy God. 
 
 SAUL TEARING THE ROBE OF SAMUEL. 
 
 And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not 
 return again with thee : for thou hast 
 rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord 
 hath rejected thee from being king over 
 Israel. And as Samuel turned about to go 
 away, Saul laid hold of the skirt of his 
 mantle, and it rent. 
 
 And Samuel said unto him, The Lord 
 hath rent the kingdom of Israel from thee 
 
 So Samuel turned again after Saul ; and 
 Saul worshipped the Lord. Then said 
 Samuel, Bring ye hither to me Agag the 
 king of the Amalekites. And Agag came 
 unto him trembling. And Agag said, Surely 
 the bitterness of death is past; for he had 
 hoped that he should be spared. 
 
 And Samuel said to him, As thy sword 
 hath made women childless, so shall thy 
 
THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 197 
 
 mother be childless among women. And 
 Samuel hewed him in pieces with his own 
 hands before the altar of the Lord in Gilgal. 
 Then Samuel went to his own city, to 
 Ramah ; and Saul returned to his house in 
 Gibeah of Saul. But Samuel came no more 
 to see Saul till the day of his death. Never- 
 theless Samuel mourned for Saul ; and it 
 
 player upon a harp : and it shall come to 
 pass, when the evil spirit of God is upon 
 thee, that he shall play with his hand, and 
 thou shalt be well. 
 
 Then Saul said unto his servants, Provide 
 me now a man that can play well, and bring 
 him to me. Then answered one of his 
 servants, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse 
 
 DAVID PLAYING THE HARP BEFORE SAUL. 
 
 repented the Lord that he had made Saul 
 king over Israel. 
 
 After these things, the Spirit of the Lord 
 departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from 
 the Lord troubled him. And Saul's servants 
 said unto him, Behold now an evil spirit 
 from God troubleth thee. Let our lord so 
 command, and thy servants which are before 
 thee will seek out a man who is a skillful 
 
 the Bethlehemite, that is skilful in playing, 
 and a valiant man, and prudent in speech, 
 and also a comely person, and the Lord is 
 with him. 
 
 Now this son of Jesse was named David. 
 And the servants of Saul had heard how he 
 had slain a lion and a bear while he kept his 
 father's flocks; but they knew not that 
 Samuel had anointed him to be king over 
 
198 
 
 THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 Israel in the room of their master, for this 
 thing had been done in secret. 
 
 So Saul sent messenger's to Jesse, and said, 
 
 and a kid, and sent them to Saul by David 
 his son. 
 
 And when the evil spirit came upon Saul, 
 
 Send me David thy son, who is with the 
 sheep. Then Jesse took an ass, and laded it 
 with bread, and put on it also a skin of wine, 
 
 SAUL AND HIS MEN SEARCHING FOR DAVID. 
 
 David took a harp, and played with his 
 hand. Then Saul was refreshed and well, 
 and the evil spirit departed from him. 
 
THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 199 
 
 Saul became very jealous of David because 
 he was to be king instead of himself, and 
 because he was popular with the people, 
 especially on account of his victory over 
 Goliath, which we shall read about hereafter. 
 
 Saul Persecutes David. 
 
 David de i: vered Keilah, that is in the plain 
 of the sea, from the hand of the Philistines. 
 And when Saul heard that he was there, he 
 said, God hath delivered him into my hand ; 
 for he is shut in, having entered into a town 
 that hath gates and bars. 
 
 So he called together all the people to war, 
 to besiege David and his men in Keilah. But 
 David was aware of his coming, and departed 
 from Keilah. Therefore Saul forbore to go 
 down. 
 
 After this David abode in the wilderness 
 of Ziph, which is near unto Hebron. And 
 the men of Ziph sent to Saul, saying, David 
 doth hide himself in the hill of Hachilah, 
 which is on the south of the wilderness. 
 Come down, therefore, O king, if thou wilt, 
 for it is in our power to deliver him into thy 
 hand. 
 
 And Saul said, Blessed be ye of the Lord ; 
 for ye have compassion on me. Go therefore 
 now and see where his haunt is, for it is told 
 me that he dealeth very subtilly. Take 
 knowledge, therefore, of all the lurking- 
 places where he hideth himself, and come ye 
 again to me with the certainty of the matter ; 
 and if he be in the land, I will search him 
 throughout all the thousands of Judah. 
 
 Then the men went to Ziph before Saul ; 
 and Saul and his men came searching for 
 David, and came near to take him ; for Saul 
 was on this side of the mountain, and David 
 and his men on that side. 
 
 But there came a messenger unto Saul, 
 saying, Haste thee, and come; for the 
 Philistines have invaded the land. Then 
 
 Saul returned from pursuing after David, and 
 went against the Philistines. Therefore that 
 place was afterwards called 4< The Rock oi 
 Escaping." 
 
 About this time Samuel died ; and all the 
 Israelites were gathered together, and lamen 
 ted him, and buried him at Ramah, where he 
 dwelt. 
 
 After this Saul pursued after David yet 
 again in the wilderness of Ziph. This time 
 David found Saul sleeping, with his men 
 round him ; and he took away the spear 
 that was at his bolster, and the cruse of 
 water. Thus did he spare his life a second 
 time, for he would not slay the Lord's 
 anointed. 
 
 Saul and the Witch. 
 
 When Samuel had been dead three years, 
 the Philistines came up against the land of 
 Israel,- and pitched in Shunem, which is in 
 the land of Issachar ; and Saul gathered all 
 Israel together, and pitched his camp in 
 Gilboa. And when Saul saw the host of 
 the Philistines, he was afraid, and his heart 
 greatly trembled. 
 
 And when Saul inquired of the Lord, the 
 Lord answered him not, either by dreams, or 
 by the Urim and Thummim of the high 
 priest, or by the word of a prophet. Now 
 before this, Saul had put away out of the 
 land all that had familiar spirits, and all the 
 wizards. Nevertheless, in his perplexity, he 
 said unto his servants, Seek me now a woman 
 that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to 
 her, and inquire of her. 
 
 And Saul's servants said to him, There is 
 a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor. 
 Then Saul disguised himself, and put on 
 other raiment, and he went, and two other 
 men with him, and they came to the woman 
 by night. 
 
 And he said to her. Help me, I pray thee ; 
 
^00 
 
 THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 by thy familiar spirit, and bring him up whom 
 I shall name unto thee. The woman said 
 unto him, Thou knowest what Saul hath 
 done, how he hath cut off those that have 
 familiar spirits, and wizards, out of the land : 
 wherefore then layest thou a snare for my 
 life, to cause me to die ? 
 
 Then Saul sware to her by the Lord, 
 
 Saul. The king said unto her, Be not afraid ' 
 what sawest thou ? 
 
 The woman answered, I saw the shape as 
 of a god ascending out of the earth. Saul 
 said, What form is he of? 
 
 The woman made answer, An old man 
 cometh up ; and he is covered with a mantle. 
 And Saul perceived that it was Samuel, and 
 
 SAUL AND THE WITCH OF ENDOR. 
 
 saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall no 
 punishment happen unto thee for this thing. 
 Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring 
 up unto thee ? And he said, Bring me up 
 Samuel. 
 
 Then the woman used her incantations. 
 But when she saw Samuel, she cried with a 
 loud voice ; and she spoke to Saul, saying, 
 Why hast thou deceived me ? For thou art 
 
 he stooped with his face to the ground, and 
 bowed himself. 
 
 Then Samuel said,Why hast thou disquieted 
 me, to bring me up ? And Saul said, I am 
 sore distressed ; for the Philistines make war 
 against me, and God is departed from me, 
 and answereth me no more, neither by the 
 word of prophets, nor by dreams : therefore 
 I have called thee, that thou mayest make 
 
THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 201 
 
 known unto me what I shall do. Then 
 said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou 
 ask of me, seeing that the Lord hath de- 
 parted from thee, and hath become thine 
 enemy ? And the Lord hath done to thee 
 as he spoke by me : for he hath rent the 
 
 Philistines : and to-morrow shalt thou and 
 thy sons be with me among the dead : the 
 very camp of the children of Israel will the 
 Lord deliver into the hand of the Philistines, 
 And when Saul heard these words, 
 straightway he fell all his length upon the 
 
 SAUL KJLLS HIMSELF BY 
 
 kingdom out of thy hand, and hath given it 
 to thy neighbor, even to David : because 
 thou obeyedst not the voice of the Lord, 
 nor executedst his fierce wrath upon Amalek, 
 therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto 
 thee this day. Moreover, the Lord will also 
 deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the 
 
 FALLING ON HIS SWORD. 
 
 earth : and there was no strength in him ; for 
 he had eaten no bread all the day, nor all the 
 
 night. 
 
 Then the woman came unto Saul, and 
 when she saw that he was sore troubled, she 
 said unto him, Behold thy handmaid hath 
 obeyed thy voice, and I have put my life in 
 
202 
 
 THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 my hand, and have hearkened unto the 
 words which thou spakest unto me ; now 
 therefore, I pray thee, hearken unto me, and 
 let me set a morsel of bread before thee ; and 
 eat, that thou mayest have strength when 
 thou goest on thy way. But he refused, 
 saying, I will not eat. 
 
 Nevertheless his servants, together with 
 the woman, compelled him ; and he heark- 
 ened unto their voice ; and he arose from the 
 ground, and sat upon the bench. And the 
 woman had a fat calf in the house ; and she 
 hasted, and killed it; she took flour also, and 
 kneaded it, and did bake unleavened bread 
 thereof. These things she did set before Saul 
 and his servants ; and they did eat. After- 
 wards they rose up, and went away that night. 
 
 Saul's Last Battle. 
 
 The Israelites came down from Mount 
 Gilboa, and pitched by the fountain that is in 
 the valley of Jezreel. Then the Philistines 
 fought with them ; and Israel fled before the 
 Philistines to Mount Gilboa, and many fell 
 down slain upon the mount. 
 
 The Philistines followed hard upon Saul 
 and his sons. His sons they slew, even 
 Jonathan and Abinadab aud Melchishua. 
 And the battle went sore against Saul, for 
 the archers shot at him and wounded him, 
 none daring to come near to smite him with 
 the sword or the spear ; and Saul was sore 
 afraid of the archers. 
 
 Then said Saul to his armor-bearer, Draw 
 thy sword, and thrust me through therewith ; 
 lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me 
 through, and mock my body when I am 
 dead. But his armor-bearer would not, for 
 he feared to slay the king. 
 
 Therefore Saul took a sword and fell upon 
 it. And when his armor-bearer saw that he 
 was dead, he fell likewise upon his sword, 
 and died with him. 
 
 So Saul died, and his three sons and his 
 armor-bearer, and all the men that were with 
 him, that same day together. 
 
 And there was a certain young man, an 
 Amalekite, that saw when Saul slew himself. 
 He took the crown from off the king's head, 
 and the bracelet that was upon his arm, and 
 took them to David where he abode with his 
 men at Ziklag, and made pretence to David 
 that he himself had slain the king. David 
 made great lamentation over Saul and Jona- 
 than his son ; but the young man he 
 commanded to be slain, because he had 
 condemned himself of having slain the Lord's 
 anointed. 
 
 And when they that dwelt in the plain of 
 Jezreel and in the country eastward to Jordan 
 saw that the men of Israel fled, and that Saul 
 and his sons were dead, they forsook their 
 cities and fled ; and the Philistines came and 
 dwelt in them. 
 
 What they Did with Him. 
 
 On the morrow, when the Philistines came 
 to strip the slain, they found Saul and his 
 three sons lying dead on Mount Gilboa. 
 And they cut off his head, and stripped off his 
 armor, and sent into the land of the Philis- 
 tines round about, to publish the matter in 
 the temples of the idols and among the 
 people. 
 
 Saul's armor they hung up in the house of 
 Astarte that was in Askelon, and his head 
 they fastened in the temple of Dagon that 
 was in Ashdod, and his body they fastened 
 to the wall of Beth-shan. 
 
 But when the men of Jabesh-gilead heard 
 of that which the Philistines had done to 
 Saul, all the men of war arose, and went all 
 night, and took the body of Saul and the 
 bodies of his sons from the wall of Bethshan, 
 and brought them to Jabesh-gilead, and 
 burnt them there. 
 
CHAPTER XVI, 
 
 B. C. 1063. 
 
 The Story of David — Anointed by the Prophet — The Sling that Slew a Giant — 
 The Enemy Routed — Saul's Anger Against David — Jonathan's Friendship — The 
 Wanderer — Saul Spared by David — Abigail Sends a Present and Becomes David's 
 Wife — What Happened at Ziklag — Startling News from the Field of Battle 
 
 reading 
 
 of 
 
 E HAVE been 
 
 David, and now we come 
 to the story of this re- 
 markable man. In the 
 days of King Saul there 
 dwelt at Bethlehem, in the 
 land of Judah, a certain 
 man whose name was Jesse. He was the 
 son of Obed, and Obed was the son of Ruth 
 the Moabitess and Boaz. This Jesse had 
 eight sons and two daughters, and the 
 youngest of his sons was David. 
 
 The Lord, being displeased with Saul, 
 said to Samuel, Fill thine horn with oil, and 
 go to the house of Jesse in Bethlehem : for I 
 have provided me a king among his sons. 
 So Samuel went. And the elders of Bethle- 
 hem, knowing that he and the king were 
 not friends, said to him, Comest thou peace- 
 ably? And he said, Peaceably: I am come 
 to sacrifice to the Lord; purify yourselves, 
 and come to the sacrifice. He bade also 
 Jesse and his sons purify themselves, and he 
 invited them to the sacrifice. 
 
 And when they came, and he saw Eliab 
 the eldest, and perceived how goodly and 
 call he was, he said, Surely the Lord's 
 anointed is before him. But the Lord said, 
 Look not on his countenance, nor on the 
 height of his stature ; because I have refused 
 him : for the Lord seeth not as man seeth ; 
 for man looketh on the outward appearance, 
 
 but the Lord looketh on the heart. Then 
 Jesse made Abinadab, his second son, and 
 then Shammah, his third son, ^ass before 
 Samuel, and after these yet four others. But 
 Samuel said, The Lord hath not chosen 
 these. 
 
 He said again, Are all thy children here ? 
 Jesse answered, There remaineth yet the 
 youngest, and he keepeth the sheep. Then 
 Samuel said, Send and fetch him; for we 
 will not sit down till he come. 
 
 A Handsome Youth. 
 
 So Jesse sent for him. Now he was a 
 youth, short of stature, his hair of a ruddy 
 color, his eyes bright, and he was fair to look 
 upon. And when he came, the Lord said to 
 Samuel, This is he ; arise, and anoint him. 
 So Samuel anointed him in the midst of his 
 brethren, and from that day the Spirit of the 
 Lord came upon him. 
 
 After these things Saul was troubled with 
 a spirit of madness, and his servants said to 
 him, Let us seek out a man that is a skillful 
 player upon the harp. When the evil spirit 
 shall come upon thee, he shall play with his 
 hand, and thou shalt be well. Then Saul 
 said to his servants, Find me now such a 
 man, and bring him to me. One of them 
 answered, I have seen a son of Jesse the 
 Bethlehemite, that is skillful in playing, a 
 valiant youth, and prudent of speech, and a 
 
 203 
 
204 
 
 THE STORY OF DAVID. 
 
 comely person. So Saul sent messengers 
 unto Jesse, and said, Send me David thy son, 
 who is with the sheep. So Jesse sent a present 
 of bread and wine and a kid by David to Saul. 
 And David abode with Saul, and when the 
 spirit of madness came upon the king David 
 took his harp, and played with his hand, and 
 Saul was refreshed and well. 
 
 valley of the Terebinth There came a champ- 
 ion out of the camp of the Philistines, named 
 Goliath of Gath, whose height was over eight 
 feet. And he was clad in a heavy coat of mail, 
 with a helmet of brass upon his legs ; and be- 
 tween his shoulders he carried a javelin of 
 brass. The staff of his spear was like a 
 weaver's beam, and the spear head weighed 
 
 SAMUEL ANOINTING DAVID AT BETHLEHEM. 
 
 After a while, because the king seemed to 
 be healed of his madness, David departed 
 from him and returned to Bethlehem, and 
 fed his father's flocks, as he had done before. 
 And while he was thus employed, the Philis- 
 tines came up against Israel, and pitched their 
 camp in Ephes-dammin, and Saul and the 
 men of Israel pitched on the hills over 
 against them, and between them was the 
 
 about seventeen pounds. And one bearing 
 a shield went before. 
 
 And the man cried to the men of Israel, 
 Choose you a man for you, and send him to 
 fight with me. If he be able to kill me, then 
 will we be your servants ; but if I prevail over 
 him, and kill him, then shall ye serve us. 
 But Saul and all Israel were dismayed at his 
 words, for there was none that could match 
 
THE STORY OF DAVID. 
 
 205 
 
 him in stature or in the strength of his armor. 
 Forty days, day by day, did Goliath of Gath 
 challenge the men of Israel. 
 
 One day Jesse said to David his son, Go 
 now to the camp and carry an ephah of 
 parched corn, and these ten loaves to thy 
 brothers in the camp, and see how they fare, 
 and bring back an answer from them. Carry 
 also these cheeses to the captain of their 
 thousand. For the three eldest sons of 
 Jesse had followed Saul to the battle. 
 
 He Goes to the Battle. 
 
 So David rose early in the morning, and 
 left the sheep with a keeper, and came to the 
 wagons with which the men of Israel had 
 fortified their camp, as the host was going 
 forth to the fight and shouted for the battle. 
 Thereupon he left the things that he had 
 brought with the keeper of baggage, and ran 
 into the army, and saluted his brethren. 
 
 And as he talked with them the champion 
 of the Philistines came forth from their camp, 
 and cried as he was wont; and David heard 
 his words. But all the men of Israel fled at 
 the sight of him, for they were sore afraid. 
 They said to David, Hast thou seen this 
 man that is come up to defy Israel ? The 
 man that killeth him the king will enrich with 
 great riches, and will give him his daughter 
 to wife, and will make his father's house free 
 of all tax and tribute. 
 
 Then David said, What shall be done to 
 the man that killeth this Philistine and taketh 
 away the reproach from Israel ? For who 
 is this Philistine that he should defy the 
 armies of the living God ? And the people 
 answered him in the same words. When 
 Eliab his eldest brother heard how he spoke 
 with the men, his anger was kindled against 
 him, and he said, Why earnest thou hither ? 
 With whom hast thou left those few sheep in 
 the wilderness ? I know thy pride and the 
 
 naughtiness of thine heart. Thou art come 
 down to see the battle. But David answered, 
 What harm have I done? Did not my 
 father send me ? 
 
 A Brave Answer. 
 
 The words that David had said were told 
 to Saul, and Saul sent for him. Then David 
 said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail him 
 because of this Philistine ; behold, thy 
 servant will go and fight with him. Saul 
 made answer, Thou art not able to fight with 
 this Philistine ; for thou art but a youth, and 
 he a man of war from his youth. But David 
 said, I kept my father's sheep, and behold a 
 bear came and took a lamb out of the flock; 
 and as he was carrying it away, I overtook 
 him, and slew him ; and as I returned to the 
 flock a lion met me ; him also I took by the 
 beard and slew. Thy servant slew both 
 the lion and the bear, and this Philistine shall 
 fare as these, seeing that he hath defied the 
 armies of the living God ; for truly he that 
 delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and 
 out of the paw of the bear, will also deliver 
 me out of the hand of this Philistine. 
 
 So Saul said, Go, and the Lord be with 
 thee. And Saul clad him in armor, and put 
 a helmet upon his head, and gave him a 
 sword to gird upon his side. But David had 
 never made trial of such things, and when he 
 endeavored to go in them, he could not. 
 Therefore he put them off, and took his staff 
 in his hand, and chose five smooth stones out 
 of the brook that ran in the valley, putting 
 them in his shepherd's wallet, and so went, 
 having his sling in his hand, and drew near 
 to the Philistine. 
 
 The Philistine also came on, and drew 
 near to David ; and when he looked about, 
 and saw David, he despised him, for he was 
 but a youth, and ruddy, and of a fair 
 countenance. And he said to David, Am I 
 
206 
 
 THE STORY OF DAVID. 
 
 a dog that thou comest to me with staves ? 
 And he cursed him by his gods, and said to 
 him, Come near, and I will give thy flesh unto 
 the fowls of the air and the beasts of the field. 
 Then said David to the Philistine, Thou 
 comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, 
 and' with a shield ; but I come to thee in the 
 
 And when the Philistine drew near, David 
 ran to meet him ; and as he ran he put his 
 hand into his wallet, and took thence a stone, 
 and threw it, and smote the Philistine on the 
 forehead ; and the stone sank into his fore- 
 head, and he fell upon his face to the earth. 
 
 So David prevailed over the Philistine with 
 
 DAVID SLAYING GOLIATH. 
 
 name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, 
 whom thou hast defied. This day will the 
 Lord deliver thee into mine hand ; and I will 
 smite thee, and take thine head from thee ; 
 and I will give the carcases of the host of 
 the Philistines to the beasts of the field and 
 the fowls of the air, that all the earth may 
 know that there is a God in Israel. 
 
 a sling and a stone. But, because he had 
 no sword, he ran and stood upon the Philis- 
 tine, and drawing the man's sword out of its 
 sheath, smote off his head therewith. 
 
 And when the Philistines saw that their 
 champion was dead, they fled. And the 
 men of Israel pursued them even to Gathand 
 Ekron ; and when they returned from the 
 
THE STORY OF DAVID. 
 
 207 
 
 pursuit they spoiled their tents. And David 
 took the head of the Pnilistine and tns armor. 
 But Saul said to Abner, captain ot cne nost, 
 Abner whose son is this youth ? Ana Abner 
 said, As thy son liveth, O king, I cannot tell. 
 
 Then the king said, Inquire whose son the 
 stripling is. And Abner brought David to 
 Saul with the head of the Philistine in his 
 hand. And Saul said to him, Whose son 
 art thou, young man ? David said, I am the 
 son of thy servant Jesse the Bethlehemite. 
 
 That day Saul took him, and would let 
 him go no more home to his father's house. 
 Also Jonathan, that was Saul's son, and heir 
 of his kingdom, loved him as his own soul ; 
 and he gave him his own robe, and his 
 sword, and his bow, and his girdle. After 
 this Saul made him his armor-bearer, and set 
 him over his men of war ; and on whatever 
 errand David was sent he behaved himself 
 wisely, and approved himself in the sight of 
 the king's servants and of all the people. 
 
 Saul Is Angry. 
 
 But it came to pass one day that ashe was 
 returning, having made a great slaughter of 
 the Philistines, the women came out of all 
 the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, and 
 playing on instruments of music to meet him 
 and the king. And one company sang, Saul 
 hath slain his thousands, and the other com- 
 pany answered, And David his ten thousands. 
 Thereat Saul was very angry, for the saying 
 displeased him ; and he said, They have 
 ascribed to David his ten thousands, and to 
 me they have ascribed thousands only ; now 
 there is only the kingdom left for him. And 
 from that day forward he looked jealously 
 upon David. 
 
 After a while madness came again upon 
 Saul, and David played upon the harp to 
 soothe him, as he had been wont to do at 
 the first. But Saul sat with a javelin in his 
 
 hand. Once he made as if he would have 
 cast it at David ; but David escaped out of 
 his presence. Again, another time, he struck 
 at David with it : but David slipped away, 
 and he smote the javelin into the wall. 
 
 After this the king sent David away, 
 making him captain of a thousand, in which 
 command he behaved himself so wisely that 
 all the people loved him. 
 
 A Snare for David. 
 
 Now hitherto Saul had riot fulfilled his 
 promise that he would give his daughter to 
 wife to the man who should slay the cham- 
 pion of the Philistines. Therefore he said to 
 David, Behold my elder daughter Merab ; 
 her will I give thee to wife. Only be thou 
 valiant for me, and fight the Lord's battles. 
 (But he ho ^d that David would be slain* by 
 the Philisti./s, being unwilling to lay hands 
 upon him nimself.) And David said to Saul, 
 Who am I, and what is my father's house, 
 that I should be son-in-law to the king? 
 But at the time when Merab should have 
 been given to David, she was given to Adriel 
 of Meholah. 
 
 Now Michal, Saul's daughter, loved David. 
 And when Saul knew of it, the thing pleased 
 him, for he said to himself, Now will I make 
 my daughter a snare to David, and he shall 
 be slain by the Philistines. 
 
 Then he commanded his servants that 
 they say to David, Behold the king hath 
 delight in thee, and all men love thee. 
 Why shouldst thou not marry the king's 
 daughter ? But David said, It is no easy 
 thing to be a king's son-in-law, seeing that I 
 am a poor man. Then Saul's servants 
 answered him, The king requireth no 
 dowry from thee, such as he required of 
 Adriel for his daughter Merab. Only bring 
 him the spoils of a hundred Philistines. 
 
 But the purpose of the king was that 
 
SAUL CASTING THE JAVELIN AT DAVID. 
 
THE STORY OF DAVID. 
 
 20§ 
 
 David should fall by the hand of the Philis- 
 tines. The thing pleased David, and before 
 the time had expired wherein it had been 
 covenanted that the king's daughter should 
 be given him, he went forth, he and his men, 
 and slew two hundred of the Philistines, and 
 brought their spoils to the king. Then Saul 
 gave him his daughter Michal to wife. 
 Nevertheless from that time forward Saul 
 hated David, and sought to slay him. 
 
 For a time, indeed, Jonathan his son, who 
 loved David exceedingly, turned the king 
 from his purpose, for he said unto him, Let 
 not the king sin against his servant David, 
 because he hath not sinned against thee, but 
 hath served thee well. Did he not take his 
 life in his hand, and slay the Philistine, the 
 Lord working great salvation for Israel by 
 him. Thou sawest it, and didst rejoice. 
 Wherefore then wilt thou shed innocent 
 blood, slaying David without a cause ? 
 
 Saul hearkened unto the voice of Jonathan 
 his son, and sware, As the Lord liveth, 
 David shall not be slain. 
 
 Escapes from a Window. 
 
 Thence Jonathan brought David again into 
 the presence of his father and he abode with 
 him ; and when the Philistines came up again 
 into the land of Israel, David went out 
 against them, and slew them with a great 
 slaughter. 
 
 But when Saul in his madness sought to 
 slay him with the javelin that he carried in 
 his hand, David escaped by night to his own 
 house. There the messengers of Saul watched 
 him ; and Michal his wife said to him, If thou 
 save not thy life to-night, to-morrow thou 
 wilt be slain. 
 
 So that night Michal let David down from 
 
 a window, and he fled. But she took an 
 
 image, and laid it in the bed, and put a 
 
 blanket of goat's hair over it, covering it up ; 
 
 14 
 
 and the spies of Saul thought that it was 
 David's self. In the morning the king sent 
 messengers to take David, and Michal said 
 to them, He is sick. 
 
 Then he sent them again, saying, Bring 
 us up to him that we may see him. So 
 Michal brought them up into the chamber: 
 and behold there was an image in the bed 
 covered with a blanket of goat's hair. 
 
 Then Saul said unto Michal, Why hast 
 thou deceived me thus, and caused my enemy 
 to escape ? 
 
 Michal answered Saul, He said unto me, 
 Let me go; why should I kill thee? 
 
 Thus David fled from Saul, and became 
 an outcast in the land of Israel. 
 
 When David was escaped from his house 
 he fled to Samuel, to Ramah, where was the 
 school of the prophets. Thither Saul sent 
 messengers to take him ; but when the men 
 saw the company of the prophets prophesy- 
 ing, the Spirit of God came upon them, and 
 they prophesied. Then the king sent other 
 messengers, and they prophesied also ; and he 
 sent a third time, and these also prophesied. 
 
 Last of all he came himself; and the Spirit 
 came upon him, and having stripped off his 
 outer garments, he prophesied before Samuel, 
 and lay down all that day and all that night. 
 
 He Finds a Friend. 
 
 In the meanwhile, David fled from Ramafe 
 to the king's court, to Jonathan. And he 
 said to Jonathan, What have I done? What 
 is my offence? What is my sin before thy 
 father, that he seeketh my life? 
 
 Jonathan answered him, God forbid that 
 this should be. My father will not do any- 
 thing either great or small, but he will show 
 it to me. It is not as thou fearest. 
 
 But David said again, Thy father certainly 
 knoweth that I have found grace in thy 
 sight; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know 
 
-210 
 
 THE STORY OF DAVID. 
 
 this, lest he be grieved. Verily there is but 
 a step between my soul and death, for he 
 hideth his purpose from thee. 
 
 Then Jonathan said, Whatsoever thou 
 wilt, I will do for thee. 
 
 David said to Jonathan, To-morrow is the 
 n^w moon, and I should not fail to sit with 
 the king at meat — for the king had invited 
 him, making as though he were reconciled — 
 hnt let me go that I may hide myself for 
 three days, till the feast be finished. If thy 
 father at all miss me, then thou shalt say, 
 David earnestly desired leave of me that he 
 might hasten to Bethlehem, where there is a 
 yearly sacrifice of his family. If thy father 
 shall say, It is well, then shall I have peace; 
 but if he be very wroth, then be sure that he 
 hath determined evil against me. Deal 
 therefore kindly with me; and if there be 
 evil in me, slay me thyself. 
 
 Jonathan answered, If I knew that my 
 father had determined evil against thee, 
 would I not tell thee? Then David said, 
 How wilt thou tell me ? 
 
 The Three Arrows. 
 
 Then they went out together into the open 
 country. And Jonathan said to David, 
 Surely I will tell thee, if my father deter- 
 mine evil against thee. And do thou show 
 me kindness while I live; and when I am 
 dead, cease not from showing kindness to 
 my children after me, in the days when the 
 Lord shall cut off all thine enemies from the 
 face of the earth. 
 
 So David and Jonathan made a covenant 
 together. Then Jonathan said to David, 
 Hide thyself by the stone Ezel. And on 
 the third day I will come and shoot three 
 arrows by the stone, as though I shot at a 
 mark; and I will send a lad to find the 
 arrows. If I say to him, The arrows are on 
 this side of thee, take them; then come, for 
 
 there is peace ; no harm is determined against 
 thee. But if I say, The arrows are beyond 
 thee; then go, for the Lord doth send thee 
 way. 
 
 So David hid himself by the stone Ezel. 
 On the new moon the king sat down to the 
 feast, and Jonathan sat by the king's right 
 hand, and Abner on the other side; but 
 David's place was empty. Nevertheless 
 Saul said nothing that day. But on the 
 morrow of the new moon, when David's 
 place was again empty, Saul said to Jona- 
 than, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse 
 to the feast, either yesterday or to-day ? 
 
 Jonathan answered, David earnestly desired 
 leave of me that he might go to the yearly 
 sacrifice of his family at Bethlehem, that he 
 might see his brethren. Therefore he cometh 
 not to the king's table. 
 
 Jonathan is Grieved. 
 
 Then Saul's anger was kindled againsr 
 Jonathan, and he said, Thou son of thi 
 rebellious and perverse woman, thou hast 
 chosen the son of Jesse to thine own con- 
 fusion. Surely as long as he liveth, thou 
 shalt not be established in the kingdom. 
 Wherefore now send and fetch him, that he 
 may die. 
 
 But Jonathan said, Wherefore should he 
 be slain ? What evil hath he done ? 
 
 Then Saul would have smitten him with 
 a javelin. And Jonathan rose from the 
 table in fierce anger, and did eat nothing on 
 the second day of the feast, being grieved 
 for the wrong that his father did to David. 
 
 On the morrow Jonathan went at the time 
 appointed to the place where David had hid- 
 den himself, and shot the arrows as he had 
 said. And he said to the lad, Run, find out 
 now the arrows that I shoot. And as he 
 ran, he shot an arrow beyond him ; and 
 when the lad came to the place, he cried, Is 
 
THE STORY OF DAVID. 
 
 211 
 
 not the arrow beyond thee? Make haste, 
 speed, tarry not. So the lad gathered up the 
 arrows and returned to his master; but he 
 knew nothing of the matter. Only David 
 and Jonathan knew. 
 
 Then Jonathan gave his bow and arrows 
 
 covenant that is between me and thee, and 
 between my seed and thy seed forever. So 
 David departed, and Jonathan went back to 
 the city to his father. 
 
 David came to Nob, where at this time 
 was the tabernacle and the dwelling of 
 
 THE COVENANT BETWEEN DAVID AND JONATHAN. 
 
 to the lad, and said, Go, carry them to the 
 city. When the lad was gone, David rose 
 up from his hiding-place, and bowed himself 
 before Jonathan three times to the ground. 
 And they kissed one another, and wept one 
 with another. Then Jonathan said to David, 
 Go in peace. The Lord be the witness of the 
 
 Ahimelech the high-priest. Ahimelech was 
 troubled at his coming, and said, Why art 
 thou alone? For he had no companions, 
 but only the young men his servants. David 
 answered, The king, sent me on an errand, 
 and commanded that none should know it. 
 What provision hast thou ? Give me five 
 
212 
 
 THE STORY OF DAVID. 
 
 loaves of bread, or whatever thou hast. 
 The priest said, There is no bread here but 
 the hallowed bread. For it was the custom 
 that, day by day, certain loaves, that were 
 called the shewbread, were put hot in the 
 tabernacle, and those which had been put 
 there the day before were taken away and 
 given to the priests. The loaves, therefore, 
 that had just been taken from the tabernacle 
 did Ahimelech give to David and his young 
 men. 
 
 Then David said to the priest, Hast thou 
 here spear or sword? For I have neither 
 brought sword or any weapons with me, 
 because the king's business required haste. 
 
 The priest said, The sword of Goliath the 
 Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley 
 of Elah, wrapped in his cloak, is behind the 
 ephod. If thou wilt take that, take it; there 
 is no*ie other here save that. 
 
 People Flock to Him. 
 
 And David said, There is none like that ; 
 give it me. From Nob he fled into the land 
 of the Philistines to Achish, king of Gath. 
 And when the servants of Achish saw him, 
 they said, Is not this the champion of Israel, 
 of whom the women sang, Saul hath slain 
 his thousands, and David his ten thousands? 
 
 And when David saw that he was known, 
 he was sore afraid of what Achish might do 
 to him. Therefore he feigned himself mad. 
 Then said the king to his servants, Lo ! ye 
 see the man is mad. Wherefore have ye 
 brought him to me ? Have I need of mad- 
 men, that ye have brought this fellow to play 
 the madman in my presence? And he 
 drove him away. 
 
 Then David fled to the cave of Adullam. 
 Thither came to him his father and his 
 mother and his brethren ; the sons also of 
 his sister Zeruiah — Joab, and Abishai, and 
 Asahel. Many also that were in debt or had 
 
 received injury from Saul, resorted to him; 
 and certain Canaanites also, and Ahithophel 
 the Hittite. Over these he became a captain; 
 and there were with him about four hundred 
 men. Also the prophet Gad came to him, 
 and became his seer, delivering to him the 
 oracles of God. 
 
 Among them that resorted to him at this 
 time were eleven warriors of the tribe of 
 Gad ; men of war, whose faces were like the 
 faces of lions, and who were swift as roes 
 upon the mountains. These were they who 
 swam over Jordan in the first month when 
 it overflows all its banks, and put to flight 
 the men of the valleys. 
 
 He Captures the Robbers. 
 
 Some even of the tribe of Benjamin, fel- 
 low-tribesmen of King Saul, joined them- 
 selves to his company. These were armed 
 with bows, and could use both the right hand 
 and the left in hurling stones and shooting 
 arrows from a bow. But when others of 
 this same tribe came with Amasa, that was 
 son to Abigail, David's sister, David was 
 troubled in mind, and going out to meet 
 them, said, If ye be come peaceably unto 
 me to help me, my heart shall be one with 
 your hearts ; but if ye come to betray me to 
 mine enemies, seeing that I have done you 
 no wrong, the God of our fathers requite you 
 for it. 
 
 Then Amasa answered, We are thine, 
 David : peace be unto thee and thy helpers ; 
 for thy God helpeth thee. Then David 
 received them, and made them captains in 
 his band. 
 
 About this time David went to Mizpeh of 
 Moab, and said to the king of Moab, Let my 
 father and my mother, I pray thee, abide 
 with thee, till I know what God shall do for 
 me. And they dwelt with the king of Moab 
 as long as David was in the hold. 
 
THE STORY OF DAVID. 
 
 213 
 
 After a while the prophet Gad said to 
 David, Abide not in the hold. So he 
 departed, and dwelt in the forest of Hareth. 
 While he was there, there came some that 
 told him, Behold the Philistines fight against 
 Keilah, and rob the threshing-floors. And 
 David inquired of the Lord, Shall I go and 
 smite these Philistines ? And the Lord said, 
 Go up and smite them and save Keilah. 
 But David's men were afraid. Therefore he 
 inquired again, and the Lord answered him 
 as before. So David and his men went to 
 Keilah, and fought with the Philistines, and 
 brought away their cattle, and smote them 
 with a great slaughter. And he abode in 
 Keilah. 
 
 While he was there, there came to him 
 Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech the priest, 
 with the ephod in his hand. He only 
 had escaped when Saul smote Nob, the city 
 of the priests ; for when Saul had heard how 
 Ahimelech had received David, and had given 
 him bread to eat, and also the sword of 
 Goliath, he sent Doeg the Edomite, who also 
 had told him of the matter, to slay him. 
 
 A Cruel Slaughter. 
 
 So Doeg destroyed all that were in Nob — 
 man, woman, and child. Only Abiathar 
 escaped and fled to David. And David said 
 to Abiathar, I knew it that day, when Doeg 
 the Edomite was there, that he would surely 
 tell Saul ; I have occasioned the death of all 
 the persons of thy father's house. Abide 
 thou with me, fear not ; for he that seeketh 
 thy life, seeketh my life ; but with me thou 
 shalt be safe. 
 
 When Saul heard that David was in 
 Keilah, he said, God hath delivered him into 
 my hand ; for he is shut in a town that hath 
 gates and bars. But David knew that Saul 
 intended mischief against him ; and he said 
 to Abiathar the priest Will the men of 
 
 Keilah deliver me into his hand ? And the 
 Lord said, They will deliver thee. Then 
 David and his men, six hundred in number, 
 departed from Keilah, and went whithersoever 
 they could; and the band was scattered, but 
 David abode in the wilderness of Ziph that is 
 between Hebron and Engedi. Saul sought 
 him every day, but God delivered him not 
 into his hand. 
 
 The men of Ziph sent to Saul, saying, 
 David hides himself in our country. Come, 
 therefore; and our part shall be to deliver 
 him into the king's hand. So Saul went 
 down after him, and came near to taking 
 him ; for Saul was on this side of the 
 mountain, and David and his men on the 
 other side of the mountain. But there came 
 a messenger to Saul, saying, The Philistines 
 have invaded the land. So he left ofT 
 pursuing David, and went to fight against the 
 Philistines. 
 
 After this David dwelt in the strongholds 
 of Engedi. When Saul heard of it, he 
 pursued him with three thousand men. Now 
 there was a cave wherein the shepherds kept 
 their sheep, and Saul turned into it. But 
 David and his men were in the back part of 
 the cave. David's men said to him, Behold, 
 the Lord hath given thine enemy into thy 
 hand ! 
 
 Saul in the Cave. 
 
 Then David cut off the skirt of Saul's robe ; 
 but Saul knew it not. Yet David's heart 
 smote him for having done even so much ; 
 for, said he, He is the Lord's anointed. 
 Nor would he suffer his men to do aught 
 against the king. But Saul rose up out of 
 the cave, and went on his way. 
 
 And when he was gone, David arose also, 
 and cried after him, saying, My lord the 
 king. And when Saul looked behind him, 
 David stooped with his face to the earth. 
 
214 
 
 THE STORY OF DAVID. 
 
 Then Saul said. Is this thy voice, my son 
 David ? And he wept aloud. And he said 
 to David, Thou art more righteous than I ; 
 for thou hast rewarded me good, whereas I 
 have rewarded thee evil. To-day the Lord 
 delivered me into thine hand, and thou 
 killedst me not. If a man find his enemy, 
 will he let him go ? And now, behold, I 
 
 him, saying, Fear not ; for Saul my father 
 shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king 
 over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee; 
 and this my father knoweth. 
 
 Then the two renewed their covenant 
 that they had made between them ; and 
 David abode still in the wood, but Jonathan 
 returned to his house. And these two saw 
 
 DAVID SPARES THE SLEEPING SAUL. 
 
 know that thou shalt be king. Swear there- 
 fore to me that thou wilt not cut off my 
 posterity after me, nor destroy my name out 
 ot my father's house. David swore this unto 
 Saul ; and Saul returned to his place. 
 
 Nevertheless he came once more pursuing 
 David ir this same wilderness of Ziph. And 
 David hid himself in the wood. Then Jona- 
 than, Saul's son, came to him, and encouraged 
 
 each other no more after that day. And 
 when Saul had pitched his camp, he lay down 
 to sleep behind the rampart of wagons, and 
 the people lay round about him, with Abner 
 the captain of the host. 
 
 Then said David to Ahimelech and Abishai, 
 Who will go down with me to Saul to the 
 camp ? And Abishai said, I will go down 
 with thee. 
 
THE STORY OF DAVID. 
 
 215 
 
 So they went down ; and behold, Saul lay 
 sleeping behind the wagons, and his spear 
 was stuck in the ground by his bolster. 
 Then Abishai said to David, God hath 
 delivered thine enemy into thine hand. Let 
 me now smite him with the spear into the 
 earth ; I will not smite him a second time. 
 
 But David said to Abishai, Destroy him 
 not ; for who can stretch forth his hand 
 against the Lord's anointed, and be guiltless ? 
 The Lord shall smite him ; or his day will 
 come to die ; or he shall descend into the 
 battle and perish ; but God forbid that I 
 should stretch my hand against him. 
 
 Then he took the spear and the cruse of 
 water from Saul's bolster. After this the 
 two got them away ; and no man saw it or 
 knew it, for a deep sleep from the Lord had 
 fallen upon them all. 
 
 Then David went on the other side of the 
 valley, and cried to Abner, the captain of the 
 host, Answerest thou not, Abner ? 
 
 Abner said, Who art thou that criest to 
 the king ? 
 
 And David said to Abner, Art thou not a 
 valiant man ? Who is like thee in Israel ? 
 Wherefore then hast thou not kept thy lord 
 the king ? For there came one of the people 
 to destroy the king; and ye are worthy to 
 die, because ye have not kept your master, 
 the Lord's anointed. For see now where the 
 king's spear is, and the cruse of water that 
 was at his bolster. 
 
 Their Last Meeting. 
 
 Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this 
 thy voice, my son David ? He answered, It 
 is my voice, my lord, O king, Wherefore 
 dost thou pursue after thy servant? For 
 what have I done ? 
 
 Saul said to David, I have sinned ; return, 
 my son David ; for I will do thee no more 
 harm, because my life was precious in thine 
 
 eyes this day. Behold, I have played the 
 fool, and erred exceedingly. 
 
 David said, Behold the king's spear; let 
 one of the young men come over and fetch 
 it. The Lord render to every man according 
 to his righteousness. Behold, as thy life was 
 precious in mine eyes this day, so may my 
 life be precious in the eyes of the Lord, and 
 let him deliver me out of all tribulation. 
 
 Then Saul said to David, Blessed be thou, 
 my son David ! Thou shalt do great things, 
 and shalt prevail. So David went on his 
 way, and Saul returned to his place. Neither 
 did these two meet any more. 
 
 A Message to Nabal. 
 
 Now there dwelt in the south of Carmel a 
 certain rich man whose name was Nabal, of 
 the house of Caleb. He had very great 
 flocks — three thousand sheep and a thousand 
 goats. A churlish man he was, and evil in 
 his doings ; but his wife, Abigail by name, 
 was a wise woman, and of a beautiful 
 countenance. 
 
 While Nabal was shearing his sheep, 
 David sent to him ten young men with this 
 message, Peace be to thee, and to thy house, 
 and to all that is thine. We have not hurt 
 thy shepherds when they were near to us; 
 neither was there aught missing all the time 
 that they were in Carmel. Ask thy servants 
 whether it be not so. And now, seeing that 
 this is a time of rejoicing with thee, give what- 
 soever cometh to thy hand to thy servants, 
 and to thy son David. 
 
 The young men came to Nabal and spoke 
 thus. But Nabal answered, Who is David? 
 Who is the son of Jesse ? These are slaves 
 that have run away from their master ; for 
 there be many such nowadays. Shall I take 
 my bread, and my water, and tie sheep that 
 I have killed for my shearers, and give them 
 unto men of whom I know not whence they be? 
 
216 
 
 THE STORY OF DAVID. 
 
 So the messengers came back and told 
 these words to David; and David said to his 
 men, Gird ye on every man his sword. And 
 they did so. And David said, Surely in vain 
 have I kept all that this fellow hath in the 
 wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all 
 that pertained to him ; for now he hath 
 returned evil for good. God do so and 
 more also, to all the enemies of David, if I 
 leave him aught remaining by to-morrow's 
 light! And he went up with four hundred 
 men after him ; but two hundred abode with 
 the baggage. 
 
 Message to Nabal's Wife. 
 
 Meanwhile the servants of Nabal went to 
 his wife Abigail and told her, saying, David 
 sent messengers out of the wilderness to 
 salute our master, and he railed on them. 
 Now the men were very good to us, neither 
 missed we anything, as long as we were in 
 their company. They were as a wall to us 
 by day and by night, so long as we stayed 
 in the wilderness. Consider, therefore, what 
 thou wilt do ; for there is evil determined 
 against this household. 
 
 Then Abigail made haste, and took two 
 hundred loaves, and two skins of wine, and 
 a hundred clusters of raisins, and a hundred 
 cakes of figs. These she laid upon asses, 
 and on another ass she rode herself, and said 
 to her men, Go on before with the present, 
 but tell not the thing to Nabal. And as she 
 went, she met David and his men. 
 
 And when she saw him, she hasted, and 
 lighted down from her ass, and fell upon her 
 face, and said, Let this offence be upon me, 
 my lord. Hearken now to the words of thy 
 handmaid. Regard not this man Nabal; for 
 as is his name (which means fool), so is he. 
 But I thine handmaid did not see the young 
 men who came to him. But let this present 
 which thine handmaid hath brought be for 
 
 the young men that follow thee , and forgive 
 our trespass, for Jehovah will make of my 
 lord a sure house, because my lord fighteth 
 his battles. 
 
 "Go to Thy House in Peace." 
 
 Then David said to Abigail, Blessed be 
 the Lord God of Israel, who hath sent thee 
 this day to meet me ; and blessed be thou, 
 who hast kept me from shedding blood, and 
 from avenging myself with my own hand. 
 For in very deed, except thou hadst hasted 
 and come to meet me, I had not left aught 
 alive to Nabal by the morning light. 
 
 So David received of her hand the present 
 which she had brought, and said to her, Go 
 to thy house in peace; behold I have accepted 
 thy request. 
 
 So Abigail returned to Nabal her husband ; 
 and he held a great feast, as the feast of a 
 king ; and his heart was merry within him, 
 for he was very drunken. Therefore she 
 told him nothing, good or bad, till the morn- 
 ing light. But the next day, when the wine 
 was gone out of him, she told him all, both 
 the danger in which he had been, and the 
 present that she had given to David. And 
 when he heard it, his heart died within him, 
 and he became as a stone. And on the 
 tenth day he died. 
 
 After these things Abigail became David's 
 wife. Now Michal, daughter of Saul, that 
 had been married to him before, had been 
 taken from him, and had been given to 
 another. 
 
 As Saul pursued hard after David, David 
 said in his heart, I shall now perish one day 
 by the hand of Saul ; there is nothing better 
 for me than I should escape into the land oi 
 the Philistines ; and Saul shall not seek me 
 any more in the borders of Israel. So he 
 took the six hundred men that were with 
 him, and fled to Achish, the king of Gath. 
 
THE STORY OF DAVID. 
 
 217 
 
 And Achish gave him the town of Ziklag in 
 which to dwell. 
 
 David deceived Achish, making pretence 
 that he invaded the land of Israel, while in 
 truth he had invaded the land of the 
 Amalekites, and of the other tribes that 
 dwelt thereabouts. Achish therefore said, 
 He hath made his own people utterly to abhor 
 
 king. And the king said, Thou shalt be 
 captain of my bodyguards. 
 
 Then the Philistines gathered together all 
 their armies to Aphek, and the men of 
 Israel pitched their camp by a fountain that 
 was in Jezreel. And David and his men 
 were in the rearward of the army with 
 Achish the king. 
 
 Abigail's present to david. 
 
 him; therefore will he be my servant for ever. 
 After these things there arose war between 
 Israel and the Philistines. And Achish said 
 to David, Thou shalt go with me to battle, 
 thou and thy men. And David answered 
 craftily, Consider in what place thou wilt put 
 me; for neither would he fight against his 
 own people, nor would he give offence to the 
 
 Then said the princes of the Philistines, 
 What do these Hebrews here ? Achish ans- 
 wered, Is not this David, whom Saul his 
 master would have slain ? He hath beer 
 with me many days, yea years, and I have 
 found no fault in him since he came to me 
 to this day. 
 
 But the princes said, Make this fellow go 
 
218 
 
 THE STORY OF DAVID. 
 
 back to the place which thou hast given him 
 to dwell in, and let him not go down with 
 us to battle, lest he turn against us in the 
 battle. How could he better reconcile him- 
 self to his master than with our lives ? For 
 is not this David of whom they sang one to 
 another in dances — 
 
 1 ' Saul slew his thousands, 
 And David his ten thousands? " 
 
 Then Achish called David, and said unto 
 him, As the Lord liveth, I have found thee 
 upright ; no evil have I seen in thee since 
 the day of thy coming unto this day. Nev- 
 ertheless the princes love thee not. Where- 
 fore now go back to thy place in peace that 
 thou displease not the princes. 
 
 David and His Men Return. 
 
 David answered,What evil hast thou found 
 in me that I may not go and fight against 
 the enemies of my lord the king. 
 
 Achish said, Thou art good in my sight 
 even as angel of God. Nevertheless the 
 princes of the Philistines have said, He shall 
 not go with us to the battle. Therefore rise 
 up early in the morning with thy men, and 
 so soon as ye have light, depart. 
 
 So David and his men returned to the 
 land of the Philistines, and on the third day 
 they came to Ziklag where they dwelt. And 
 the Amalekites had come up out of the south 
 country, and had smitten Ziklag, and had 
 burned it with fire. The women they had 
 carried away captives ; they had slain none, 
 but had taken all and gone their way. 
 
 And when David and his men came to the 
 city, lo, it was wasted with fire ; and their 
 wives and children had been carried away 
 captives. Then they wept till they had no 
 more power to weep. And the people were 
 •very angry with David because he had 
 
 provoked the Amalekites, and because he 
 had left the town without defence. And they 
 would have stoned him ; therefore was he 
 sorely distressed. So David inquired of the 
 Lord, Shall I pursue after these robbers ? 
 Shall I overtake them ? And he answered, 
 Pursue after them, for without doubt thou 
 shalt overtake them, and recover all. 
 
 Startling News. 
 
 So David pursued after them, he and his 
 six hundred men with him. But when they 
 came to the brook Besor, two hundred men 
 were so faint that they could go no farther, 
 and they abode by the brook. But David, 
 with the four hundred, pursued after the 
 Amalekites. 
 
 Two days did David abide in Ziklag after 
 he had returned from the slaughter of the 
 Amalekites. And on the third day there 
 came a man out of the camp of Saul ; for 
 Saul had encamped on Mount Gilboa, and 
 had done battle there with the Philistines. 
 And the man had his clothes rent, and earth 
 upon his head. 
 
 And when he came to David, he fell to 
 the earth and did obeisance. And David 
 asked him, Whence comest thou ? The man 
 said, Out of the camp of Israel have I 
 escaped. And David said, How went the 
 matter ? I pray thee tell me. He answered, 
 The people fled before the Philistines, and 
 many are dead ; Saul also is dead, and Jona 
 than his son. 
 
 Then David rent his clothes; and so also 
 did all the men that were with him. And 
 they mourned, and wept, and fasted until 
 evening, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, 
 and for all the people of the Lord, because 
 they were fallen by the sword, and had per- 
 ished out of the land. 
 
PEACE AND JOY. 
 
 219 
 
THE NAME OF THE LORD. 
 
 220 
 
CHAPTER XVII, 
 
 B. C. 1056. 
 
 The Reign of David — War with the Philistines — The Ark Brought to Jerusalem- 
 David and Uriah — Nathan's Rebuke — Parable of the Ewe Lamb — The Dead Child 
 - — Rebellion of Absalom — David's Flight — A Great Battle — Death of Absalom — 
 David's Grief — A Kiss and a Stab — Terrible Pestilence — David Yields his Throne 
 to Solomon. 
 
 AUL and his sons had fallen on 
 Mount Gilboa, and the army of 
 Israel was destroyed ; then those 
 who dwelt in the plains of Jez- 
 reel and by the borders of Jordan 
 fled from their cities, and the 
 Philistines came and dwelt in 
 them. Then the men, seeing that they 
 wanted a leader, arose and anointed David 
 to be their king ; and when David inquired 
 of the Lord in which of the cities of Judah he 
 should set up his kingdom, the Lord said 
 that he should set it up in Hebron. But 
 Abner, that was captain of Saul's host, took 
 Ishbosheth, the son of Saul, and made him 
 king over the rest of Israel ; and Ishbosheth 
 reigned in Manhanaim that is on the other 
 side of Jordan eastward. 
 
 After a while Abner went out with a 
 company of men from Manhanaim to Gibeon 
 in the land of Benjamin, for he would have 
 the son of Saul dwell in the midst of his 
 father's tribe ; and Joab, the son of Zeruiah, 
 wen*- out against him with the servants of 
 David. These two met by the pool in 
 Gibeon, and encamped, the one on the one 
 side of the pool and the other on the other 
 side of the pool. Then Abner said to Joab, 
 Let us choose champions from our com- 
 panies, and let them fight together before us. 
 So they chose champions from each company 
 
 — twelve of the tribe of Benjamin, which 
 followed Saul, and twelve of the servants of 
 David. And the twelve fought against the 
 twelve. They caught every one his fellow by 
 the head, and thrust his sword into his fellow's 
 side ; so they all died together. Wherefore 
 that place was called in after time, the Field 
 of the Sharp Swords, because the victory had 
 fallen neither to these champions nor to those. 
 After this, there was a very sore battle ; and 
 Abner and the men of Israel fled before the 
 servants of David. 
 
 Then came all the tribes of Israel to David 
 in Judah, saying, Behold, we are thy bone 
 and thy flesh. In time past, when Saul was 
 king over us, thou wast he that leddest out 
 Israel and broughtest them back. And the 
 Lord said to thee, Thou shalt feed my 
 people Israel, and be a captain over Israel. 
 
 Then David the king made a covenant 
 with them in Hebron before the Lord, and 
 they anointed him king over Israel. And 
 after he was anointed they abode with David 
 three days eating and drinking, for their 
 brethren that dwelt near to the city had 
 prepared a great store of good things for 
 them ; bringing food on asses and camels 
 and mules and oxen, even meal, and cakes of 
 figs, and bunches of raisins, and wine, and 
 oil, and oxen, and sheep abundantly ; for 
 there w r as joy in Israel. 
 
 221 
 
222 
 
 THE REIGN OF DAVID. 
 
 Thirty years old was David when he began 
 to reign. For seven years and six months 
 he reigned in Hebron over Judah, and in 
 Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years 
 over all Israel and Judah. 
 
 When David had been anointed king over 
 
 blind to man the walls. And David was 
 angry, and said, Whosoever smiteth the 
 Jebusites shall be captain of the host. Then 
 Joab, the son of Zeruiah, climbed up first and 
 smote the garrison, and David made him 
 captain of the host. 
 
 DAVID ANOINTED KING OVER ISRAEL. 
 
 all Israel, he went up to Jerusalem, he and 
 all the men of war with him, that he might 
 set up his throne therein, for Jerusalem 
 belonged as yet to the children of Jebus. 
 Now the citadel, which was called Mount 
 Zion,was so strong that the Jebusjtes laughed 
 David to scorn, putting the maimed and the 
 
 When Hiram, king of Tyre, heard how 
 David had taken the stronghold of the 
 children of Jebus, he sent an embassy to 
 him. Also he sent cedar trees from Lebanon, 
 and carpenters and masons, that they might 
 build a palace for the king. 
 
 Now the Philistines had heard that David 
 
THE REIGN OF DAVID. 
 
 223 
 
 had been anointed king over Israel, and they 
 came up against him with their whole host. 
 David therefore went down to the stronghold 
 that was by the cave of Adullam, and there 
 abode with his men of war ; and the Philis- 
 tines spread themselves in the valley of the 
 giants. 
 
 And David inquired of the Lord, Shall I 
 go up against the Philistines? And the 
 Lord said, Go up; for I will doubtless 
 deliver the Philistines into thy hand. So 
 David went up, and smote them ; and he 
 called the name of the place where he smote 
 them The Land of the Breaking-forth, 
 because the Lord, he said, has broken forth 
 upon mine enemies, even as waters break 
 forth. For so suddenly had they fled that 
 they left behind them the images of their 
 gods, and these David and his men burned 
 with fire. 
 
 When David had rest from his wars, he 
 went, and the chosen men of Israel with him, 
 to fetch the ark from Kirjath-jearim, where 
 it had been since the time when it was sent 
 back by the Philistines, and he brought it to 
 Jerusalem with great gladness. He and all 
 the house of Israel brought up the ark of 
 the Lord with shouting and with the sound 
 of a trumpet. 
 
 What Nathan Said. 
 
 After this he said to Nathan the prophet, 
 See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the 
 ark of God dwelleth in a tent. Shall I build 
 a house for it? And Nathan said, Go, do 
 all that is in thine heart, for the Lord is with 
 thee. 
 
 When David was at rest from his wars, he 
 said, Is there yet any that is left in the house 
 of Saul, that I may show him kindness for 
 Jonathan's sake? Now there was a servant 
 of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba, 
 and they brought him to David, and when 
 
 David asked him cone jrning the house of 
 Saul, he said, Jonatbar hath yet a son who 
 is lame in the feet So David sent and 
 fetched him. An', when he came unto 
 David, he fell c his face, and did him 
 reverence. 
 
 And David said, Mephibosheth. And he 
 answered, Behold thy servant. Then David 
 said, Fear not; I will surely show thee 
 kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and 
 will restore thee all the land of Saul thy 
 father's father ; and thou shalt eat bread at 
 my table continually. 
 
 Then Mephibosheth bowed himself before 
 the king, and said, What is thy servant, that 
 thou shouldest look on such a dead dog as 
 I am ? The king called Ziba and said, 
 I have given unto thy master's son all that 
 pertained to Saul. Now therefore thou and 
 thy sons and thy servants shall till the lands, 
 and shall pay of their produce to Mephi- 
 bosheth. And Ziba said, According to all 
 that my lord the king hath commanded, so 
 will thy servant do. 
 
 David's Great Sin. 
 
 After this Nahash, king of the children of 
 Ammon, died, and Hanun, his son, reigned 
 in his stead. Then said David, I will show 
 kindness unto Hanun, the son of Nahash, 
 even as his father showed kindness unto me. 
 So David sent messengers to comfort him. 
 
 In the next year, at the time when kings 
 go forth to battle, David sent Joab and the 
 host against the city of Rabbah, but he 
 himself tarried in Jerusalem. And being 
 there he sinned a great sin, for he took 
 Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, and 
 caused that Uriah, her husband, should be 
 slain. The way of his doing it was this. 
 
 He wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by 
 the hand of Uriah, for Uriah had come to 
 Jerusalem, saying, Set ye Uriah where the 
 
DAVID BRINGING THE ARK TO JERUSALEM WITH GREAT REJOICING- 
 
THE REIGN OF DAVID. 
 
 225, 
 
 battle is hottest, and retire from him, that he 
 may be smitten and die. Then Joab assigned 
 to Uriah a place where valiant men of the 
 city were. These made a sally from the city, 
 and the men of Israel fled before them, and 
 Uriah was left alone, and was slain. 
 
 Then Joab sent a messenger to David to 
 tell him of that which had happened ; and he 
 said to the messenger, If the king's wrath 
 arise, so that he say to thee, Why went ye 
 so near to the city ? Knew ye not that they 
 would shoot from the walls? Did not a 
 woman cast a piece of millstone from the 
 wall of Thebez upon Abimelech, so that he 
 died ? Then shalt thou say, Thy servant 
 Uriah, the Hittite, is dead also. The messen- 
 ger went and showed David all that Joab 
 had sent him for. And David said unto the 
 messenger, Say unto Joab, Let not this thing 
 trouble thee, for the sword devoureth one as 
 well as another; make thy battle strong 
 against the city, and overthrow it. 
 
 When Uriah's wife had mourned for her 
 husband seven days, David took her to be 
 his wife, and she bore him a son. But the 
 thing David had done displeased the Lord. 
 
 The Poor Man's Lamb. 
 
 Therefore the Lord sent Nathan the 
 prophet unto David. And he came and 
 said, Give me thy judgment in this matter. 
 There were two men in one city ; the one 
 rich and the other poor. The rich man had 
 very many flocks and herds ; but the poor 
 man had nothing, save one little ewe lamb, 
 which he had bought and nourished up ; and 
 it grew up in the house with him, and with 
 his children. It did eat of his own bread, 
 and drank of his own cup, and lay in his 
 bosom, and was unto him as a daughter. 
 
 And there came a traveller unto the rich 
 man, and he spared to take of his own flock 
 and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfar- 
 15 
 
 ing man that had come unto him ; but took 
 the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the 
 man that was come unto him. 
 
 And David's anger was greatly kindled 
 against the man ; and he said to Nathan, As 
 the Lord liveth, the man that hath done this 
 thing is worthy to die. He shall restore the 
 lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and 
 because he had no pity. 
 
 Then Nathan said to David, Thou art the 
 man. Thus saith the Lord, I anointed thee 
 to be king over Israel, and gave thee all that 
 was Saul's thy master's. And if this had 
 been too little, I would have given thee 
 more. Wherefore, then, hast thou despised 
 the commandment of the Lord, and taken the 
 wife of Uriah to be thy wife, and slain him 
 with the sword of the children of Amnon ? 
 Now therefore the sword shall never depart 
 from thy house. 
 
 The Child Must Die. 
 
 Then David said unto Nathan, I have 
 s'nned against the Lord. 
 
 And Nathan said to David, The Lord hath 
 put away thy sin ; thou shalt not die. 
 Nevertheless, because by this deed thou hast 
 given to the enemies of the Lord great 
 occasion to blaspheme, the child that has 
 been born unto thee shall surely die. And 
 Nathan departed to his house. 
 
 After this the child that Uriah's wife had 
 borne to David was very sick. And David 
 besought God for the child, and fasted, and 
 went to his chamber, and lay all night upon 
 the ground. And when the elders of his 
 house would have raised him up from the 
 earth, he refused; neither would he eat 
 bread. On the seventh day the child died. 
 The servants of David feared to tell him that 
 the child was dead ; for they said, Behold, 
 while the child was yet alive, we spoke unto 
 him, and he would not hearken unto our 
 
226 
 
 THE REIGN OF DAVID. 
 
 voice ; what hurt will he do to himself if we 
 tell him that the child is dead ? 
 
 But when David saw that his servants 
 whispered together, he perceived that the 
 child was dead. Then he said to his servants, 
 Is the child dead? And they said, He is 
 dead. 
 
 Thereupon David arose from the earth, 
 
 And he said, While the child was yet 
 alive, I fasted and wept: for I said, Who can 
 tell whether God will be gracious to me, that 
 the child may live ? But now he is dead f 
 wherefore should I fast ? Can I bring him 
 back again ? I shall go to him, but he shall 
 not return to me. 
 
 After this David's wife Bathsheba bore hin v 
 
 DAVID MOURNING THE DEATH OF II IS CHILD. 
 
 
 and washed, and anointed himself, and 
 changed his apparel, and came into the house 
 of the Lord, and worshipped. Then said his 
 servants unto him, What thing is this that 
 thcu hast done ? Thou didst fast and weep 
 for the child while it was alive ; but when 
 the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat 
 bread ? 
 
 another son ; and David called his name 
 Solomon ; and the Lord loved him, and sent 
 by Nathan the prophet that he should have 
 also the name Jedidiah, which is by interpre- 
 tation, Beloved of the Lord. 
 
 Meanwhile Joab fought against Rabbah, 
 and took it. And he sent to David, saying, 
 I have fought against Rabbah, and have 
 
THE REIGN OF DAVID. 
 
 227 
 
 taken the Lower City. Now gather the rest 
 of the people together, and encamp against 
 the Upper City, and take it; lest I take it, 
 and the glory of its taking be mine. 
 
 So David went up against Rabbah, and 
 took it. The crown that was upon the head 
 of Milcom their god he took and set on his 
 own head ; and the people he put to death 
 with fire and sword. 
 
 Every Man a Soldier. 
 
 Now the army of David was ordered in 
 this fashion. First, there was the band of 
 the Six Hundred that were called The 
 Mighty Men. These had been with him 
 when he wandered in the wilderness; and 
 when one died, another was chosen in his 
 place. The Six Hundred were in three 
 bands, and each band again was in ten com- 
 panies ; and for each band was there a chief 
 and for each company a leader. The chiefs 
 of the bands were the Three, and the leaders 
 of the companies the Thirty. But the 
 captain of the Six Hundred was Abishai, the 
 brother of Joab. 
 
 Second, there was the Body-guard, that 
 was called the Cherethites and Pelethites. 
 Their captain was Benaiah, the son of 
 Jehoiada. 
 
 Third, there was the Host, to which every 
 man of the children of Israel was called, 
 being grown to manhood, not yet disabled 
 by age. And this Host was divided into 
 twelve parts, for each month one, and the 
 number of a part was four and twenty 
 thousand. The leaders of the parts were 
 from the Body-guard or the Six Hundred ; 
 and the captain of the Host was Joab. 
 
 When David was growing old, there arose 
 a great quarrel between two of his sons, 
 namely, Amnon, his eldest born, and Absalom , 
 for Absalom hated Amnon, not without 
 cause. After a while Absalom had a shearing 
 
 of sheep in the land of Ephraim. Amnon 
 was there and was slain by the servants of 
 Absalom. 
 
 But Absalom fled to Geshur, to Talmai 
 his mother's father. 
 
 After a while David was comforted for the 
 death of his son Amnon; and he longed to 
 see Absalom again; and would have called 
 him back, but that all his household and his 
 servants were against him in this matter. 
 But when Joab perceived how the king's 
 heart was inclined, he devised means for 
 strengthening him in his purpose. 
 
 The king sent for Joab and said, Let the 
 young man come back to his house, but let 
 him not see my face. So Joab went, and 
 fetched Absalom from Geshur, and Absalom 
 returned to his house. 
 
 Now in all Israel there was not one to be 
 praised so much for his beauty as Absalom. 
 From the sole of his foot to the crown of his 
 head there was no blemish in him. His hair, 
 which he cut every year, was very thick and 
 heavy. 
 
 For two years Absalom dwelt in Jerusalem, 
 and saw not the king's face. Therefore he 
 sent for Joab, that Joab might bring him 
 unto the king. Twice he sent for him, but 
 Joab would not come. 
 
 Burning the Barley Field. 
 
 Then Absalom bade his servant set fire to 
 a field of barley that was Joab's, and near to 
 his own. And they set the field on fire. 
 Then Joab came to Absalom, and said, 
 Wherefore have thy servants set my field on 
 fire? Absalom said, Because thou wouldest 
 not come to me. Wherefore am I come 
 from Geshur ? It had been good for me to 
 abide there. Let me now therefore see the 
 king's face, and if I have done wrong, let him 
 kill me. 
 
 So Joab brought Absalom before the king, 
 
DAV*D PARDONING ABSALOM 
 
THE REIGN OF DAVID. 
 
 229 
 
 and Absalom bowed himself on his face to 
 the ground before the king, and the king 
 kissed him. - 4 
 
 After these things Absalom thought to 
 make himself king in the room of his father 
 David. First he prepared for himself chariots 
 and horses and fifty men to run before him. 
 Also he rose up early, and stood in the way 
 that led to the gate of the city ; and when 
 any man brought a cause to the king for 
 judgment, Absalom called him, and said, Of 
 what city art thou ? And the man would 
 answer, Thy servant is of such or such a 
 tribe. 
 
 Then Absalom said, Thy cause is good and 
 right ; but there is no man deputed of the 
 king to hear thee. Further he said, Oh that 
 I were made judge in the land, that every 
 man that had any suit or cause might come 
 unto me, and I would do him justice! 
 Furthermore, when any man came nigh to 
 him to do obeisance to him, he put forth his 
 hand, and took him, and kissed him. So 
 Absalom stole the hearts of the men of 
 Israel. 
 
 Calls Himself King. 
 
 After four years he sent to the king, I pray 
 thee, let me go and fulfill my vow which I 
 have vowed unto the Lord in Hebron. For 
 thy servant vowed a vow when I abode at 
 Geshur in Syria, saying, If the Lord shall 
 indeed bring me again to Jerusalem, then 
 will I serve the Lord. The king said, Go in 
 peace. 
 
 Now Absalom had sent men secretly 
 throughout all the tribes of Israel, who should 
 cry, when they heard the sound of the 
 trumpet, Absalom reigneth in Hebron. So 
 Absalom arose and went to Hebron, and two 
 hundred men with him, that went as guests 
 to his feast. They went in their simplicity, 
 and knew not anything of the matter. Also 
 
 he sent for Ahithophel, David's counsellor. 
 Now Ahithophel was grandfather to Bath- 
 sheba, that had been wife to Uriah the 
 Hittite, whom David had slain ; and he ore 
 ill-will to David for this matter. 
 
 Then came a messenger to David, saying, 
 The hearts of the men of Israel are gone 
 after Absalom. Then David said unto his 
 servants that were with him at Jerusalem, 
 Arise, let us flee ; for we shall not else escape 
 from Absalom ; make speed to depart, lest 
 he overtake us suddenly, and bring evil upon 
 us, and smite the city with the edge of the 
 sword. 
 
 The king's servants said unto him, Behold 
 thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my 
 lord the king shall appoint. 
 
 David's Flight. 
 
 So the king went forth, and all the people 
 after him ; and he abode that night in a 
 house that was called the Far House. The 
 Six Hundred also went with him under 
 Ittai the Gittite. Then said the king to 
 Ittai, Wherefore goest thou also with us ? 
 Return to thy place, and serve the new king. 
 Thou art but a stranger here, and earnest but 
 yesterday. Why then should I make thee 
 go with me when I am driven forth ? Return 
 thou, and take thy brethren with thee. 
 Mercy and truth be with thee ! 
 
 Ittai answered the king, and said, As the 
 Lord liveth, and as my lord the king liveth, 
 surely in what place my lord the king shall 
 be, whether in death or life, there shall thy 
 servant be. 
 
 Then David said to Ittai, Pass over Kidron, 
 and he passed over with his men. And all 
 the country wept with a loud voice, as the 
 king passed over the brook, going the way of 
 the wilderness. 
 
 And Zadok and Abiathar, and the Levites 
 that were with them, came bearing the ark of 
 
230 
 
 THE REIGN OF DAVID. 
 
 the covenant, But David said, Carry the ark 
 back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes 
 of the Lord he will bring me back again, and 
 I shall see both it and my own -house. But 
 if he say, I have no delight in thee, then lo ! 
 I am here. Let him do as it seemeth good 
 to him. 
 
 Then David went up to the Mount of 
 
 And when he was come to the high place 
 on the top of the mount, Hushai the Archite 
 came to him with his coat rent and dust upon 
 his head. David said unto him, If thou 
 passest on with me, thou wilt be a burden 
 unto me ; but if thou wilt return to the city, 
 and wilt say to Absalom, As I have been thy 
 father's servant hitherto, so will I be now thy 
 
 SHIMEI CASTING 
 
 Olives. Barefoot he was, and he had his 
 head covered ; and all the people that were 
 with him had their heads covered, and they 
 also wept sore. And it was told David, 
 Ahithophel is among them that are conspira- 
 tors with Absalom. And David said, O 
 Lord God, I pray thee, turn the counsel of 
 Ahithophel into foolishness. 
 
 STONES AT DAVID. 
 
 servant, then thou mayest defeat for me the 
 counsel of Ahithophel. Zadok and Abiathar 
 the priests are with thee there. Therefore 
 whatsoever thou shalt hear in the king's 
 house, tell it to the priests ; and they shall 
 send it unto me by their two sons, Ahimaaz 
 and Jonathan. So Hushai returned to Jeru- 
 salem ; and Absalom came into Jerusalem. 
 
THE REIGN OF DAVID. 
 
 231 
 
 As David went on by the border of 
 Benjamin, one Shimei, that was of the house 
 of Saul, came forth out of his house, cursing 
 as he came. And he cast stones at David, 
 and at his servants ; the people and the Six 
 Hundred being on his right hand and his 
 left. 
 
 And Shime 1 ' said, Get thee out, thou man 
 of blood, thou son of Belial ! The Lord hath 
 returned upon thee all the blood of the house 
 of Saul, in whose stead thou hast reigned ; 
 and hath delivered the kingdom into the 
 hands of Absalom, thy son. Behold, thou 
 art taken in thine own evil, because thou art 
 a man of blood. 
 
 Absalom Seeking Counsel. 
 
 Absalom asked Ahithophel for his counsel. 
 Now the counsel of Ahithophel in those days 
 was esteemed as the oracle of God ; by both 
 David and Absalom was it so esteemed. 
 Ahithophel therefore said, Let me choose out 
 now twelve thousand men, and I will arise 
 and pursue David this night ; and I will come 
 upon him when he is weary and weak, and 
 take him by surprise. All the people that 
 are with him will flee, and I will smite the 
 king only, and bring back the people to thee. 
 If we slay David, then wilt thou have thy 
 wish, and the people shall be in peace. 
 
 This counsel pleased Absalom well, and 
 all the elders of Israel. Nevertheless Absa- 
 lom said, Call now Hushai, and let us hear 
 likewise what he saith. 
 
 So Hushai came, and when Absalom told 
 him what Ahithophel had counselled, he 
 said, The counsel of Ahithophel is not good 
 at this time. Thou knowest that thy father 
 and his men are mighty men, and that they 
 are full of wrath, even as a bear that hath 
 been robbed of her whelps. Also tliy father 
 is a man of war from his youth. Therefore 
 >my counsel is this, Gather all Israel together 
 
 from Dan to Beer-sheba, till the host be as 
 the sand that is by the sea for multitude ; 
 and go also to battle in thine own person. 
 We shall come upon him in his hiding-place, 
 and overwhelm him, even as the dewcovereth 
 the ground ; and of him and of all that are 
 with him there shall not be left so much as 
 one. Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, 
 then shall Israel bring ropes unto that city, 
 and we will draw it into the river, until there 
 be not one small stone found there. 
 
 Then Absalom and all the elders said, The 
 counsel of Hushai is better than the counsel 
 of Ahithophel. For the Lord had com- 
 manded that the good counsel of Ahithophel 
 should be defeated, that he might bring evil 
 upon Absalom. 
 
 Hushai told the whole matter to Zadok 
 and Abiathar the priests, and said unto them, 
 Send now to David, and warn him that he 
 tarry not in the wilderness this night, but 
 pass speedily over Jordan, lest he and the 
 people that are with him be destroyed. For 
 he feared even yet that the counsel of 
 Ahithophel might be followed. 
 
 They Escape Beyond Jordan. 
 
 Then David and all the people that were 
 with him passed quickly over Jordan. By 
 the morning light there was not one that had 
 not passed over. 
 
 But when Ahithophel saw that his counse 5 
 was not followed, he saddled his ass, and 
 went to Giloh, his own city, and put his 
 household in order, and handed himself. 
 
 David came to Mahanaim, and pitched his 
 camp there ; and Absalom and the men of 
 Israel passed over Jordan, and pitched in 
 Gilead. 
 
 When David was come to Manhanaim, 
 friends brought beds, and basins, and earthen 
 vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and 
 parched corn, and beans, and lentils, and 
 
232 
 
 THE REIGN OF DAVID. 
 
 honey, and butter, and sheep, and kine, for 
 David and for the people that were with him 
 in the wilderness, for they said, The people 
 are hungry, and weary, and thirsty in the 
 wilderness. 
 
 Then David mustered the people that were 
 with him, and set over them captains of 
 thousands and captains of hundreds. A 
 third part he gave to Joab, and a third part 
 to Abishai, and a third part to Ittai. And he 
 said to the people, I will surely go forth with 
 you myself also. 
 
 But the people answered, Thou shalt not 
 go forth. If we flee, none will care ; no, nor 
 if the half of us be slain. There are ten 
 thousand like to us, but not one like thee. 
 Therefore let it be thy part to succor us out 
 of the city. 
 
 Then the king said, What seemeth to you 
 best that will I do. 
 
 Anxious for Absalom. 
 
 And he stood by the gate side, and all the 
 people went out by their hundreds and their 
 thousands. And the king commanded Joab 
 and Abishai and Ittai, Deal gently with the 
 young man Absalom for my sake. And all 
 the people heard him when he thus spoke. 
 So the people went out into the field against 
 the men of Israel, and the two hosts met in 
 a place that was called the wood of Ephraim. 
 And Israel fled before the servants of David, 
 and there was a great slaughter, for the battle 
 was scattered over all the face of the country, 
 and more were lost in the wood than fell by 
 the sword. 
 
 Absalom, as he fled, came upon the 
 servants of David. Now he was riding on 
 the king's mule, and as he rode he went under 
 the boughs of a great terebinth tree, and his 
 hair was caught in the boughs, so that he 
 hanged between heaven and earth ; and the 
 mule went away from under him. And a 
 
 certain man saw it, and went and told Joab, I 
 saw Absalom hanging in a terebinth tree. 
 
 Joab said unto the man, Didst thou see 
 him and not smite him there to the ground ? 
 I would have given thee ten shekels of silver 
 and a girdle. 
 
 The man said, Though I should receive a. 
 thousand shekels of silver, yet would I not 
 put forth my hand against the king's son ; 
 for in our hearing the king charged thee and 
 Abishai and Ittai, saying, Beware that none 
 touch the young man Absalom. Verily I 
 should have contrived mischief against myself; 
 for nothing is hid from the king, and thou, 
 thyself would have set thyself against me. 
 
 Thrust Through With Darts. 
 
 Joab answered, I may not lose time in- 
 talking with thee. And he took three darts 
 and thrust them into Absalom while he hung 
 yet alive in the tree; and the young men that 
 bore Joab's armor made an end of him. 
 
 After this Joab blew the trumpet, and- 
 called back the people from pursuing after 
 Israel. But Absalom they took, and cast 
 into a great pit in the wood, and piled a great- 
 heap of stones over him. 
 
 Now Absalom in his lifetime had reared a 
 pillar for himself in the King's Vale near to 
 Hebron ; for he said, I have no son to keep 
 my name alive; and he called the pillar after 
 his own name. 
 
 Then said Ahimaaz, the son of Zadok, Let 
 me now run, and bear tidings to the king, 
 how the Lord hath avenged him of his 
 enemies. Joab said, Thou shalt not bear 
 tidings this day, because the king's son is 
 dead. But he said to a slave that he had, 
 Run thou and tell the king what thou hast: 
 seen. So the man bowed himself and ran. 
 
 After which Ahimaaz said again to Joab, 
 Let me run after thy messenger. Joab- 
 answered,Why wouldst thou run, seeing that: 
 
THE REIGN OF DAVID. 
 
 23$ 
 
 thou hast nothing more to tell? Never- 
 theless, when he urged him, he let him run. 
 
 Now the slave ran by the way of the hills, 
 and Ahimaaz by the way of the valley of 
 Jordan ; and Ahimaaz outran the slave. 
 
 The king sat between the two gates ; and 
 the watchman that was on the roof above the 
 gates saw a man running, and told the king. 
 The king said, If he be alone, he bringeth 
 tidings. And he came apace, and drew near. 
 Then the watchman saw another man run- 
 ning, and he called the porter and said, 
 Behold another man running alone. And 
 the king said, He also bringeth tidings. 
 
 The watchman said, The running of the 
 first is as the running of Ahimaaz, the son of 
 Zadok. The king answered, He is a good 
 man, and cometh with good tidings. 
 
 Then Ahimaaz called unto the king, and 
 said, All is well. And he fell to the earth on 
 his face before the king, and said, Blessed be 
 the Lord thy God, which hath held them 
 back that lifted up their hand against my lord 
 the king ! 
 
 And the king said, Is the young man 
 Absalom safe ? Ahimaaz answered, When 
 Joab sent thy servant, I saw a great tumult, 
 but I knew not the cause. So the king said, 
 Turn aside and stand here. So he turned 
 aside and stood still. Then came the other 
 and said, Tidings, my lord the king ; for the 
 Lord hath avenged thee this day of all that 
 rose up against thee. 
 
 David's Grief for His Son. 
 
 And the king said to the man, Is the young 
 man Absalom safe? The man said, The 
 enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise 
 against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young 
 man is. 
 
 And the king was much moved, and went 
 up to the chamber over the gate and wept ; 
 and as he wept he said, O my son Absalom, 
 
 my son, my son Absalom ! would God I had 
 died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son ! 
 
 It was told Joab, saying, The king weep- 
 eth and mourneth for Absalom. And the 
 joy that day was turned into mourning for 
 all the people ; for the people heard how the 
 king was grieved for his son ; and the people 
 went by stealth that day into the city, as 
 people being ashamed steal away when they 
 flee in battle. But the king covered his face, 
 and cried with a loud voice, O my son 
 Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son ! 
 
 Now there was a certain evil man, whose 
 name was Sheba, a Benjamite. He blew a. 
 trumpet and said, We have no part in David, 
 neither have we inheritance in the son of 
 Jesse. Every man to his house, O Israel. 
 So the men of Israel left following David 
 and went after Sheba, but the men of Judah 
 clave unto their king. Then David said to 
 Amasa, Gather me the men of Judah within 
 three days, and be thou present thyself. 
 And Amasa went, but he tarried beyond the 
 time. 
 
 A Deadly Stab. 
 
 Then said David to Abishai, Now shall 
 Sheba do us mere harm than did Absalom. 
 Take thou my cervantc and pursue him, lest 
 he get into some fenced city, and escape us. 
 So Abishai went out with Joab's men, and 
 with the Six Hundred, to pursue after Sheba. 
 
 When they were by the great stone at 
 Gibeon, Amasa came to meet them. Now 
 Joab had on him his soldier's cloak, and 
 beneath it his sword hanging from the belt ; 
 and as he went to greet Amasa, the sword 
 chanced to fall from his sheath. Then Joab 
 picked it from the ground with his left hand, 
 and with his right hand he took hold of 
 Amasa's beard to kiss him, saying, Art thou 
 in health, my brother ? But Amasa took no- 
 heed to the sword that was in Joab's left hand. 
 
2d4 
 
 THE REIGN OF DAVID. 
 
 Then Joab smote him unawares with the 
 sword under the fifth rib, nor needed to smite 
 him again, for he fell dead. And Joab and 
 Abishai pursued after Sheba. Then one of 
 
 the field, and cast a cloth over him. After 
 this all the people followed Joab. 
 
 After these things David was moved in 
 the pride of his heart to number Israel ; and 
 
 DAVID INSTRUCTING JOAB TO NUMBER THE PEOPLE. 
 
 Joab's servants cried, He that is for David, 
 let him follow after Joab ; and when he saw 
 that all the people tarried where they saw 
 Amasa lying in his blood in the midst of the 
 highway, he took him from the highway into 
 
 he said to Joab, Go through all the tribes and 
 take the number of the people. 
 
 Joab said to the king, The Lord thy God 
 add to the people, how many soever they be, 
 an hundredfold, and that the eyes of my 
 
THE REIGN OF DAVID 
 
 235 
 
 lord the king may see it; but why doth my 
 lord the king delight in this thing? 
 
 Nevertheless the word of the king pre- 
 
 Jerusalem, and gave the number of the 
 people to the king. Of Israel there were 
 eight hundred thousand fighting men, and of 
 
 vailed against Joab. So he and the captains 
 of the host went through all the land num- 
 bering the people, and at the end of nine 
 months and twenty days they came again to 
 
 AN ANGEL GOES FORTH TO SMITE THE LAND. 
 
 Judah five hundred thousand. But David's 
 
 heart smote him that he had done this thing. 
 
 The numbering of the people by David 
 
 was an act of distrust in God. Instead of 
 
236 
 
 THE REIGN OF DAVID. 
 
 trusting the Lord to give success to his 
 army, he wished to know before he went 
 forth to any more battles that he had an 
 army able to prevail against his foes. If he 
 had felt perfect trust in the Lord of Hosts he 
 would not have stopped to ask whether his 
 army was great or small. 
 
 strait. Let me fall down into the hand of 
 the Lord, for his mercies are great, and let 
 me not fall into the hand of man. So the 
 Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel, and there 
 died of the people seventy thousand men. 
 
 And David saw the angel of the Lord by 
 the thrashing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite., 
 
 DAVID BUILDS 
 
 Then Gad, David's seer, came to him and 
 said, Thus saith the Lord, I offer thee three 
 things. Choose thee one of them that I may 
 do it unto thee. Shall seven years of famine 
 come unto thee in thy land ? Or wilt thou 
 flee three months before thine enemies? Or 
 shall there be three days ' pestilence in the land ? 
 
 David said unto Gad, I am in a great 
 
 A NEW ALTAR. 
 
 that was in the stronghold of Jerusalem, 
 And David said, I have sinned, and done 
 wickedly ; but these sheep, what have they 
 done ? Let thine hand, I pray thee, be 
 against me, and against my father's house. 
 
 That day came Gad, the seer, to David,, 
 and said, Go up, rear an altar to the Lord in 
 the thrashing-floor of Araunah. And David 
 
THE REIGN OF DAVID. 
 
 237 
 
 did as the Lord commanded. And Araunah 
 saw the king and his servants coming, and 
 tie went out, and bowed himself before the 
 king on his face to the ground. 
 
 Araunah said to the king, Wherefore is 
 my lord the king come to his servant? The 
 king answered, To buy the thrashing-floor of 
 •thee, to build an altar unto the Lord, that 
 •the plague may be stayed from the people. 
 
 Then Araunah said to David, Let my 
 ilord the king take and offer up what seemeth 
 good to him. Behold, here are oxen for 
 burnt sacrifice, and the thrashing instruments 
 and harness of the oxen for wood. All 
 these things did Araunah, as a king, give to 
 the king, saying, The Lord thy God accept 
 thine offering. 
 
 But the king said, Nay, but I will buy 
 these things of thee for a price ; neither will 
 I offer burnt-offerings to the Lord my God of 
 that which doth cost me nothing. 
 
 So David gave to Araunah for the thrash- 
 ing-floor and for the oxen and for the instru- 
 ments fifty shekels of gold, that is, about 
 five hundred dollars. And he built there an 
 altar, and offered sacrifice. And after this 
 the plague was stayed. 
 
 When David was old, Adonijah, his eldest 
 son, thought in his heart to be king. He 
 was a very goodly man, and younger than 
 Absalom ; and his father had never thwarted 
 him at any time. And he conferred with 
 Joak and Abiathar, and they followed him ; 
 but Zadok and Nathan, and the rest of the 
 Six Hundred were against him. 
 
 Adonijah made a great feast at the Fuller's 
 Fountain, and called all his brethren the 
 king's sons, and all the king's servants, but 
 Nathan and Benaiah and Solomon and the 
 Six Hundred he called not. 
 
 They Ask David About It. 
 
 Nathan said to Bathsheba, Hast thou not 
 heard that Adonijah is king, and David our 
 lord knoweth it not ? Let me, I pray thee 
 give thee wise counsel, that thou, mayest save 
 thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon. 
 Go, get thee in unto King David, and say, 
 Didst thou not swear unto thine handmaid 
 that Solomon, my son, should reign after 
 thee ? Why then doth Adonijah rei^n ? 
 Behold, while thou talkest there with the 
 king, I also will come in and confirm thy 
 words. 
 
 So Bathsheba went in unto the king, and 
 did obeisance, and spoke as Nathan had 
 bidden her ; and she told him what Adonijah 
 had done. While she yet talked with the 
 king Nathan came in and bowed himself to 
 the ground before the king, and he said, My 
 lord, O king, is it thy pleasure that Adonijah 
 should reign after thee ? Lo ! he hath made 
 a great feast, and called thereto the king's 
 sons and the captains of the host, and they 
 eat and drink before him, and shout, God 
 save King Adonijah. 
 
 Then the king said to Bathsheba, As the 
 Lord liveth that hath delivered me all my 
 life, even as I sware, saying, Solomon, thy 
 son, shall reign even so will I do this day. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 B. C. 1015. 
 
 The Story of Solomon — David's Choice of a King — The Anointing — Building the 
 Temple — The Ark Placed in the Holy of Holies — The Dedication of the Lord's 
 House — Solomon Punishes Wrong-Doers — Dispute About a Child — Visit from the 
 Queen of Sheba — A Magnificent Throne — Horses and Chariots — Sin of Idolatry 
 — Solomon's Proverbs — The Fool and Wise Man — The Virtuous Woman. 
 
 ATHSHEBA, who had been the 
 wife of Uriah the Hittite, became 
 the wife of King David, and had 
 a son, whom his father called 
 Solomon, which is by interpre- 
 tation "peaceful;" for having 
 been himself a man of war, he 
 desired that the days of his child should be 
 days of peace. And there came a message 
 from the Lord by the hand of Nathan the 
 prophet that the child should have also the 
 name of Jedidiah — that is to say, " Beloved 
 of Jehovah." And King David loved him 
 more than his other sons. 
 
 Now when David was old and feeble, 
 Adonijah the son of Haggith, and own 
 brother to Absalom, being now the eldest of 
 the princes, thought to make himself king in 
 his father's room. To this end he conferred 
 with Joab, the captain of the host, and 
 Abiathar the high priest, and they helped 
 him ; but Zadok the priest, and Nathan the 
 prophet, and the king's brother, and the rest 
 of the mighty men that had been with David 
 in the wilderness, were against him. 
 
 And when Adonijah made a great feast at 
 the Fuller's Fountain to Joab and the rest of 
 his followers, Nathan came to Bathsheba, 
 and said to her, Dost thou not know that 
 Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and 
 David our lord knoweth it not? Let me, I 1 
 238 
 
 pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayesl 
 save thine own life and the life of thy son 
 Solomon. Go, get thee in unto King David, 
 and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, 
 sware unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly 
 Solomon thy son shall reign after me > 
 Why then doth Adonijah reign? Behold, 
 while thou yet talkest there with the king, I 
 will come in and confirm thy words. 
 
 Who Was to be King. 
 
 And Bathsheba went in unto the king, and 
 spoke according to these words. She said 
 also, The eyes of all Israel are upon thee, O 
 king, for they wait till thou tell them who 
 shall be king after thee. Otherwise it shall 
 come to pass, when my lord the king shall 
 sleep with his fathers, that I and Solomon my- 
 son shall be counted offenders. 
 
 While she talked with the king, Nathan the 
 prophet came to the palace ; and it was told 
 the king, Behold, Nathan the prophet. 
 
 So the king sent for him, and Bathsheba 
 went out from David's presence. And when 
 Nathan was come in before the king, he 
 bowed himself before the king with his face 
 to the ground. And he said, My lord, O 
 king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign 
 and shall sit upon my throne after me ? Ano 
 he told him according to all that Bathsheba, 
 had said. 
 
THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 
 
 239 
 
 Then King David said, Call me Bathsheba. 
 And she came into the king's presence, and 
 stood before the king. 
 
 And the king said, As the Lord liveth, 
 that hath redeemed my soul out of all 
 distress, even as I sware unto thee by the 
 Lord God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solo- 
 mon thy son shall reign after me, and he 
 shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even 
 so will I certainly do this day. 
 
 Then Bathsheba bowed with her face to 
 the earth, and did reverence to the king, and 
 said, Let my lord King David live for ever. 
 
 And King David s:;i J, Call me Zadok the 
 priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah 
 the son of Jehoiada. Then these three came 
 and stood before the king. 
 
 The King's Mule. 
 
 The king said unto them, Take with you 
 the king's guards, and cause Solomon my 
 son to ride upon my own mule, and bring 
 him down to the valley of Siloam, and let 
 Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet 
 anoint him there to be king over Israel : and 
 blow ye with the trumpet, and say, God save 
 King Solomon. After that ye shall come up 
 after him, that he may sit upon my throne ; 
 for he shall be king in my stead, for I have 
 appointed him to be ruler over Israel and 
 over Judah. 
 
 Then Benaiah answered, So be it : may 
 God do so. As he has been with my lord 
 the king, even so may he be with Solomon, 
 and make his throne greater than the throne 
 of my lord David. 
 
 So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the 
 prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, 
 and the guard went down to Siloam, and 
 Solomon went with them, riding on the 
 king's mule, on which none but the king 
 might ride. And Zadok the priest took a 
 horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed 
 
 Solomon. And they blew the trumpet, and 
 the people shouted, God save King Solomon. 
 
 Now when Adonijah heard what had 
 happened he arose and fled to the tabernacle,, 
 and laid hold of the horns of the altar. 
 
 They told King Solomon, saying, Adonijah 
 feareth for his life: for he hath caught hold 
 of the horns of the altar, saying, Let King 
 Solomon swear unto me to-day that he will 
 not slay his servant with the sword. 
 
 And Solomon said, If he will show himself 
 a worthy man, there shall not a hair of his 
 head fall to the ground; but if wickedness- 
 be found in him, he shall die. 
 
 So they brought down Adonijah from the 
 altar; and he came and bowed himself to 
 King Solomon. And Solomon said to him,. 
 Go to thine house. 
 
 After these things David gathered all the 
 princes of Israel, and all the captains of the 
 army, and all the stewards of the king's 
 possessions to Jerusalem. 
 
 The Temple to be Built. 
 
 And he stood upon his feet before them, 
 and said, I had it in my heart to build a house 
 of rest for the ark of the covenant : but God 
 said unto me, Thou shalt not build an house 
 for my name, because thou hast been a man 
 of war, and hast shed blood. Solomon thy 
 son shall build my house and my courts : for 
 I have chosen him to be my son, and I will 
 be his father. Moreover, I will establish his 
 kingdom for ever, if he be constant to do my 
 commandments and my judgments, as at this 
 day. Do ye, therefore, keep all the command- 
 ments of the Lord your God : that ye may 
 possess this good land, and leave it for an 
 inheritance for your children after you for 
 ever. 
 
 And thou, Solomon my son, know thou 
 the Lord God of thy father, and serve him 
 with a perfect heart and with awiliing mind: 
 
340 
 
 for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and under- 
 standeth all the imaginations of the thoughts ; 
 if thou seek him, he will be found of thee ; 
 
 THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 
 
 courses of the priests and Levites, and all 
 the work of service of the house ; and gold 
 for all the things that should be of gold, and 
 
 SOLOMON IS CROWNED KING. 
 
 but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off 
 for ever. 
 
 Then David gave to Solomon the pattern 
 of the house that he should build ; and the 
 
 silver for all the things that should be of 
 silver ; and he said to him, Be strong and of 
 good courage, and do it ; and fear not, nor 
 be dismayed; for the Lord God, even my 
 
THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 
 
 241 
 
 God, will be with thee; he will not leave 
 thee, nor forsake thee, till thou hast finished 
 all the work for his house. 
 
 And yet again after this David gathered 
 all the congregation of Israel, and said to 
 them, Solomon my son, whom alone God 
 hath chosen, is young and tender, and the 
 work is gr^ a t : for the palace is not for man, 
 but for the Lord God. 
 
 And he told them what treasure he had 
 prepared for the building of the house, and 
 said, Who then is willing this day to conse- 
 crate his service unto the Lord ? 
 
 They Praise the Lord. 
 
 Then the chief of the fathers, and the 
 princes of the tribes, and all the people, 
 offered willingly of their substance. 
 
 Wherefore David blessed the Lord before 
 the congregation, and said, Blessed be thou, 
 Lord God of Israel our father, for ever and 
 ever. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and 
 the power, and the glory, and the victory, 
 and the majesty : for all that is in the heaven 
 and in the earth is thine ; thine is the king- 
 dom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head 
 above all. Both riches and honor come of 
 thee, and thou reignest over all ; and in 
 thine hand is power and might ; and in 
 thine hand it is to make great, and to give 
 strength unto all. 
 
 Th^n David said to all the congregation, 
 Now bless the Lord your God. So all the 
 congregation blessed the Lord God of their 
 fathers, and bowed down their heads and 
 worshipped. 
 
 On the morrow they offered sacrifices and 
 burnt-offerings unto the Lord— a thousand 
 bullocks, a thousand rams, and a thousand 
 lambs ; and they did eat and drink before the 
 Lord on that day with great gladness. So 
 they made Solomon the son of David king a 
 second time. 
 16 
 
 After these things the time came for David 
 to die ; and Solomon sat upon his throne, 
 and his kingdom was established greatly. 
 
 But Adonijah the son of Haggith was not 
 content that he should be passed over. 
 Therefore he went to Bathsheba, the queen- 
 mother. And Bathsheba said, Comest thou 
 peaceably ? 
 
 He answered, Peaceably ; and now I have 
 somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, 
 Say on, 
 
 Adonijah Seeks a Wife. 
 
 Then he said, Thou knowest that the 
 kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set 
 their faces on me, that I should reign : never- 
 theless the kingdom is become my brother's : 
 for it was his from the Lord. And now I 
 ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And 
 Bathsheba said, Say on. 
 
 And he said, Speak I pray thee, unto the 
 king, that he give me Abishag the Shunam- 
 mite to wife. 
 
 Now Abishag the Shunammite had been 
 one of the wives of King David ; and it was 
 the custom that when the king was dead his 
 wives should not be given to another, except 
 only to him that should reign in his 
 stead. Adonijah, therefore, did this thing in 
 subtlety, to the intent that he might seem to 
 Israel to be king after his father. 
 
 Bathsheba said, Well ; I will speak for 
 thee unto the king. So she went to King 
 Solomon, to speak for Adonijah. And the 
 king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself 
 unto her, and sat down on his throne, and 
 said to his servants, set a seat for the king's 
 mother. And she sat on his right hand. 
 
 Then she said, I desire one small petition of 
 thee ; say me not nay. And the king said, Ask 
 on, my mother : for I will not say thee nay. 
 Then she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite 
 be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife. 
 
242 
 
 THE STORY OF SOLOMON 
 
 King Solomon answered, And why dost 
 thou only ask Abishag the Shauammite for 
 my brother Adonijah ? Ask for him the 
 kingdom also ; for he is my elder brother, 
 yea, ask it for him, and for Abiathar the priest, 
 and for Joab the son of Zeruiah. 
 
 And he sware by the Lord, saying, God 
 do so to me, and more also, if Adonijah 
 have not spoken this word against his own 
 life. And he sent Benaiah, the captain of 
 the host, to slay him. 
 
 Then the king said to Abiathar the high 
 priest, Get thee to Anathoth, to thine own 
 fields ; for thou art worthy of death : yet I 
 will not put thee to death, because thou 
 barest the ark before David my father, and 
 because thou wast afflicted in all wherein my 
 father was afflicted. 
 
 The Fate of Joab. 
 
 So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from 
 being high priest. Thus was fulfilled the 
 word of the Lord which said to Eli, that 
 his house should be cast out from the priest- 
 hood. 
 
 When Joab heard that Adonijah had been 
 slain, and that Abiathar was banished, he 
 fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord, and 
 caught hold of the horns of the altar. It 
 was told King Solomon that Joab had fled 
 to the tabernacle of the Lord, and that he 
 was by the altar. Then Solomon said to 
 Benaiah, Go fall upon him. 
 
 Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the 
 Lord, and said to Joab, Come forth. And 
 he said, Nay ; but I will die here. Benaiah 
 brought word to the king what Joab had 
 answered him. 
 
 The king said, Do as he hath said, and 
 fall upon him there, and bury him ; that thou 
 mayest take away the innocent blood, which 
 Joab shed, from me, and from my father's 
 house. For he slew two men more righteous 
 
 and better than he David my father not 
 knowing, namely, Abne~, captain of the host 
 of Israel, and Amasa, captain of the host o! 
 Judah. 
 
 Then the king sent for Sh : mei, who had 
 cursed David when he fled before the face of 
 Absalom — for he was of the house of Saul 
 — and said to him, Build thee a house in 
 Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth 
 thence any whither ; for know that on the 
 day thou goest out, and passest over the 
 brook Kidron, thou shalt surely die: thy 
 blood shall be upon thine own head. 
 
 And Shimei said unto the king, The say- 
 ing is good : as my lord the king hath said,, 
 so will thy servant do. 
 
 And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many 
 days. But at the end of three years two of 
 his servants ran away to Achish son of 
 Maacah, king of Gath; and when Shimei 
 heard that his servants were in Gath, he went 
 to Achish at Gath to seek his servants ; and he 
 brought them back from Gath. 
 
 Evil-Doers Punished. 
 
 Then the king sent for Shimei, and said 
 unto him, Did not I make thee swear, pro- 
 testing unto thee, that on the day when thou 
 wentest forth any whither out of Jerusalem, 
 thou shouldest surely die ? And thou saids.t 
 unto me, The word is good. Why then hast 
 not thou kept the oath that thou swarest 
 before the Lord, and the commandment that 
 I charged thee with? Thou knowest all the 
 wickedness which thy heart is privy to, that 
 thou didst to David my father : now shall the 
 Lord requite it upon thine head. 
 
 Then the king commanded Benaiah that 
 he should slay Shimei. 
 
 Thus did King Solomon punish the evil- 
 doers, even as his father had commanded 
 him. But to Chimham the son of Barzillai, 
 who had nourished King David and his men 
 
THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 
 
 243 
 
 when they fled over Jordan from Absalom, 
 he showed great kindness. For Chimham 
 dwelt at Bethlehem, and did eat at the king's 
 table all the days of his life. 
 
 When King Solomon was now firmly 
 established on the throne of David his father, 
 he went to Gibeon, to the high place, to 
 sacrifice there, for the people still sacrificed 
 in the high places. A thousand burnt-offer- 
 ings did Solomon offer before the altar in 
 Gibeon. 
 
 Solomon Chooses Wisdom. 
 
 And the Lord appeared unto Solomon in 
 a dream by night : and God said, Ask what 
 I shall give thee. 
 
 Then Solomon said, Thou hast showed 
 unto thy servant David great bounty, accord- 
 ing as he walked before thee in truth, and in 
 righteousness, and in uprightness of heart ; 
 and thou hast continued to him this great 
 kindness, that thou hast given him a son to 
 sit upon his throne, as it is this day. And 
 now, O Lord my God, thou hast made thy 
 servant king in the room of David my father ; 
 and I am but a little child : I know not how 
 to go out or come in. 
 
 And thy servant is in the midst of the 
 people which thou hast chosen, a great 
 people, that cannot be counted for multitude. 
 Give therefore thy servant an understanding 
 heart, that I may discern between good and 
 bad: for who is able to judge this thy people 
 that is so great ? 
 
 And it pleased the Lord that Solomon had 
 asked this thing. 
 
 And God said unto him, Because thou hast 
 asked this thing, and hast not asked for 
 thyself long life, or riches, or the life of thine 
 enemies ; but hast asked for thyself under- 
 standing that thou mayest judge thy people 
 wisely : Behold, I have done according to thy 
 words: I have given thee a wise and an 
 
 understanding heart ; there hath been none 
 like thee before thee, neither after thee shall 
 arise any like unto thee. And I have also 
 given thee that which thou hast not asked, 
 both riches and honor : so that there shall 
 not be any among the kings like unto thee 
 all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my 
 ways, to keep my statutes and my judgments, 
 as thy father David did walk, then will I 
 lengthen thy days. 
 
 And Solomon awoke ; and, behold, it was 
 a dream. 
 
 The Two Women. 
 
 Solomon came to Jerusalem, and stood 
 before the ark of the covenant of the Lord, 
 and offered up burnt-offerings, and made a 
 feast to all his servants. And on a certain 
 day, as he sat, after his custom, to judge the 
 people, it happened that there came two 
 women before him. 
 
 One of the women said, O my lord, I and 
 this woman dwell in the same house. This 
 woman's child died; for she overlaid it 
 And she arose at midnight, and took my son 
 from beside me, while I slept, and laid it in 
 her bosom, and laid her dead child in my 
 bosom ; for there were but three days differ- 
 ence of age between them. In the morning, 
 it was dead ; but when I looked at it more 
 nearly in the light, I saw that the dead child 
 was not my own son. 
 
 The other woman said, Nay ; but the 
 living is my son, and the dead is thine. Then 
 the first answered again, No ; but the dead 
 is thy son, and the living is mine. Thus 
 they spoke before the king. 
 
 Then said the king, The one saith, This is 
 my son that liveth, and the dead is thine; 
 and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the 
 dead, and mine is the living. Bring me a 
 sword. 
 
 So they brought the king a sword. And 
 
244 
 
 THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 
 
 the king said, Divide the living child in two, 
 and give half to the one, and half to the other. 
 Then spoke the woman whose the living 
 child was unto the king, for her heart yearned 
 for her son, O my lord, give her the living 
 child, and in no wise slay it. But the other 
 said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but 
 divide it. 
 
 standing, and largeness of heart, so that he 
 knew things as much beyond all counting as 
 is the sand on the seashore. His wisdom 
 excelled all the wisdom of the Chaldasns, and 
 all the wisdom of Egypt. He spoke three 
 thousand proverbs ; and his songs were a 
 thousand and five. And he spoke of trees, 
 from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, to the 
 
 THE JUDGMENT 
 
 Then the king answered and said, Give 
 her the living child, and in no wise slay it : 
 for she is the mother thereof. And all Israel 
 heard of the judgment which the king had 
 judged ; and they knew that the wisdom 
 from God was in him to do judgment. 
 
 In other things also did God give to 
 Solomon wisdom, and very much under- 
 
 OF SOLOMON. 
 
 hyssop that springeth out of the wall : he 
 spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of 
 creeping things, and of fishes. And there 
 came men from all the kingdoms of the 
 earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon ; for 
 the fame of it had gone abroad. 
 
 Solomon was king over all Israel. He 
 reisrned also over all the kingdoms from the 
 
4±& 
 
246 
 
 THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 
 
 ford of Euphrates to Gath. All the kings of 
 the cities served him, and brought him 
 tribute. And he himself marched against 
 Hamath and took it. Also he made affinity 
 with Pharaoh king of Egypt, for he took 
 Pharaoh's daughter to wife. And Pharaoh 
 gave him Geshur with his daughter, having 
 taken it and slain the Canaanites that were 
 therein. 
 
 Peace and Plenty. 
 
 He had peace on all sides round about 
 him ; and Judah and Israel dwelt securely, 
 every man under his vine and under his fig- 
 tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the 
 days of Solomon. Very many were they, 
 even as the sand which is by the sea for mul- 
 titude, eating and drinking and making merry. 
 
 The day's provision for the king's court 
 was thirty measures of fine flour, and sixty 
 measures of meal, ten fat oxen fed in stalls, 
 and twenty oxen fed in the meadows, and an 
 hundred sheep, besides wild goats and 
 gazelles and wild oxen, and other choice 
 things, And the king had twelve officers 
 who made provision for these things, each 
 man for one month in the year. 
 
 Also Solomon had forty thousand stalls 
 for the horses of his chariots, and twelve 
 thousand horsemen. And the officers that 
 provided for the king's table provided also 
 his horses barley and straw, bringing them to 
 tiie places where the horses were, for the 
 king kept them in divers parts of his domin- 
 ions. 
 
 When Hiram king of Tyre heard that 
 Solomon was anointed king in the room of 
 his father David, he sent his servants to 
 greet him ; for Hiram had ever been a lover 
 of David. 
 
 And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, Thou 
 knowest how David my father could not 
 build a house for the Lord his God by reason 
 
 of the wars that were round about him. But 
 now the Lord hath given me rest ; neither 
 have I any adversary or trouble. Therefore 
 I propose to build a house unto the name of 
 the Lord, even as the Lord spoke unto David, 
 saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy 
 throne in thy room, he shall build a house 
 unto my name. Now therefore command 
 that they hew me cedar-trees out of Leba- 
 non ; and my servants shall be with thy ser- 
 vants. I will give hire unto thy servants as 
 thou shalt appoint ; for there are none among 
 us that are skillful to hew timber like unto 
 the Sidonians. 
 
 When Hiram heard these words he re- 
 joiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the Lord 
 who hath given unto David a wise son t< 
 rule over this great people. 
 
 Also he sent to Solomon, saying, I will do 
 all thy desire concerning timber of cedar and 
 fir. My servants shall bring it down from 
 Lebanon to the sea ; and I v/ill convey it by 
 sea in floats to the place that thou shalt 
 appoint. And do thou give me food for my 
 household. 
 
 Building the Temple. 
 
 So Hiram gave to Solomon cedar-trees 
 and fir-trees according as he desired. And 
 Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand meas- 
 ures of wheat and twenty measures of pure oil. 
 
 And Solomon raised a levy of thirty thou- 
 sand men out of all Israel to work in Leba- 
 non. Three courses he made of them, each 
 of ten thousand men. And each course was 
 for one month in Lebanon, and for two 
 months at home. Also he had seventy 
 thousand that bare burdens, and eighty 
 thousand that were hewers in the mountains 
 These were of the Canaanites that dwelt in 
 the land. 
 
 And the king commanded, and they 
 brought great hewed stones, very costly, 
 
THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 
 
 which his builders and the builders of Hiram 
 had hewed to lay the foundation of the house. 
 Much stone also and timber did the hewers 
 prepare for the building of the house. 
 
 247 
 
 of stone made ready before it was brought 
 thither ; so that there was neither hammer 
 nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the 
 house while it was in building-. 
 
 THE ARK BROUGHT INTO THE TEMPLE BY SOLOMON. 
 
 In the fourth year of his reign did Solo- 
 mon begin to build the house of the Lord ; 
 and in the eleventh year of his reign he fin- 
 ished it. So was he seven years and six 
 months in building it. The house was built 
 
 The length of the house was sixty cubits, 
 and the breadth twenty, and the height thirty; 
 and before it was a porch, that was built 
 along the whole breadth of the house, and 
 was ten cubits deep. And on each side of 
 
248 
 
 THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 
 
 the house, against the wall, were chambers, 
 in three stories ; each story was five cubits 
 high ; and the breadth of the lowest was 
 five cubits, of the next six, and of the third 
 seven. Above the topmost story were 
 windows in the walls of the house, to light 
 
 fathers that they might bring up the ark of 
 the covenant out of the city of David. 
 
 So the priests took up the ark of the Lord, 
 and the tabernacle that Moses had made in 
 the wilderness, and all the holy vessels that 
 were in the tabernacle, and brought them into 
 
 SOLOMON DEDICATING THE TEMPLE. 
 
 the Holy Place ; but in the oracle, that is, 
 the Holy of Holies, were no windows. 
 
 In the twelfth year of his reign, at the 
 time of the Feast of Tabernacles, King Solo- 
 mon dedicated the house which he had built. 
 He assembled all the elders of Israel, and 
 the heads of the tribes, and the chief of the 
 
 the house. And the priests brought the ark 
 into the Holy of Holies, and put it under the 
 wings of the cherubim. And they drew out 
 the staves by which the ark was carried, so 
 that the ends thereof could be seen in the 
 Holy Place. 
 
 There was nothing in the ark save the two 
 
THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 
 
 24^ 
 
 tables of stone which Moses put there in 
 Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant 
 with the children of Israel, when they came 
 out of the land of Egypt. 
 
 And when the priests were come out of 
 the Holy Place, the cloud of the presence of 
 the Lord filled the house of the Lord, so that 
 the priests could not stand to minister because 
 of the Lord, for the glory of the Lord had 
 filled the house of the Lord. 
 
 Then spoke Solomon, with his face towards 
 the oracle, O Lord, I have built thee a house 
 to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide 
 in forever. 
 
 And he turned his face to the outer court, 
 and blessed all the congregation of Israel ; 
 and all the congregation stood. 
 
 Prayer at the Dedication. 
 
 After this he stood before the brazen altar 
 in the court of the priests on a platform of 
 brass, that he might be seen of the people ; 
 and he knelt upon his knees, and spread 
 forth his hands and prayed to the Lord God 
 of Israel, saying : 
 
 Lord God of Israel, there is no God like 
 thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, 
 who keepest covenant and mercy with thy 
 servants that walk before thee with all their 
 heart; who hast kept with thy servant David 
 my father that thou didst promise him ; thou 
 spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled 
 it with thine hand, as it is this day, Now, 
 therefore, keep thy promise that thou 
 promisedst him, saying, There shall not fail 
 thee a man to sit on the throne of Israel ; 
 so that thy children take heed to their way, 
 that they walk before me, as thou hast 
 walked before me. 
 
 Will God indeed dwell on the earth? 
 Behold the heavens cannot contain thee ; how 
 much less this house that I have builded. 
 Yet have thou respect unto my prayer, that 
 
 thine eyes may be open towards this house 
 day and night, even towards the place ot 
 which thou hast said, my name shall be there. 
 Hearken thou to the supplication of thy ser- 
 vant, and of thy people Israel, when they 
 shall pray toward this place ; and hear thou 
 in heaven thy dwelling-place ; and when thou 
 nearest, forgive. 
 
 He Blesses the Congregation. 
 
 When Solomon had made an end of pray- 
 ing this prayer, he rose up from his knees, 
 and blessed all the congregation. A great 
 feast did Solomon, and all Israel with him, 
 hold unto the Lord, from Hamath in the 
 north to the river of Egypt. For seven days 
 they kept it, and for seven days also they 
 kept the Feast of Tabernacles. 
 
 And on the eighth day Solomon sent the 
 oeople away ; and they blessed the king, and 
 went unto their tents joyful and glad of 
 heart for all the goodness that the Lord had 
 done for David his servant, and for Israel his 
 people. 
 
 Solomon, when he had finished building 
 the house of the Lord, built a house for 
 himself. He built it on the hill of the temple ; 
 and it had three parts. 
 
 The first part was the House of the Forest 
 of Lebanon, which had pillars like to a forest 
 of cedar-trees. Three rows of pillars it had, 
 and fifteen pillars in each. There was also a 
 porch with pillars ; and the Porch of Judg- 
 ment for the throne, whereon he sat, judging 
 the people. The second part was the Palace 
 of Pharaoh's daughter, wherein were the 
 apartments of the women. The third part 
 was the king's own house, where he dwelt. 
 
 Thirteen years was King Solomon in build- 
 ing his house after he had finished building 
 the temple. And when he had finished them 
 both, he gave to Hiram king of Tyre twenty 
 cities in the land of Galilee ; for Hiram hcd 
 
250 
 
 THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 
 
 furnished Solomon with cedar-trees, and fir- 
 trees, and gold, according to all his desire. 
 And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the 
 cities which Solomon had given him ; and 
 they pleased him not. And he said, What 
 cities are these which thou hast given me, 
 my brother ? And he called them the land 
 of Cabul. The meaning of Cabul is dirty. 
 
 men, and pleasure places in Jerusalem and 
 in Lebanon. 
 
 Also he had a navy of ships in Ezion 
 gaber, whither he himself went to oversee 
 them. Hiram sent with the servants of 
 Solomon his own servants, shipmen that had 
 knowledge of the sea ; and they fetched gold 
 from Ophir and brought it to King Solomon . 
 
 THE ARK AND FURNITURE OF THE TEMPLE. 
 
 Solomon also built the fortress of Millo, 
 and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and 
 Megiddo, and Geshur (after Pharaoh king of 
 Egypt had taken it and burnt it with fire), 
 and Lower Beth-horon, and Baalath, and 
 Tadmor in the wilderness, which is also called 
 Palmyra. Cities of store, also, he built, and 
 cities for his chariots, and cities for his horse- 
 
 And another navy of ships sailed to Tar- 
 shish. 
 
 And when the Queen of Sheba heard of 
 the fame of Solomon, and how the Lord had 
 given him great wisdom, she came to prove 
 him with hard questions. With a very great 
 train did she come to Jerusalem, with camels 
 that bore spices, and very much gold, and 
 
THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 
 
 251 
 
 precious stones. And when she came to 
 Solomon, she communed with him of all 
 that was in her heart. And Solomon told 
 her all her questions : there was not any- 
 thing hid from the queen that he told her not. 
 
 state to the house of the Lord, there was nc 
 more spirit in her. 
 
 And she said to the king, It was a true 
 report that I heard in my own land of thy 
 acts and thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed 
 
 THE QUEEN OF SHEBA VISITING SOLOMON. 
 
 And when the Queen of Sheba had seen 
 all the wisdom of Solomon, and the house 
 chat he had built, and the meat of his table, 
 and the sitting of his servants, and the 
 attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, 
 and his cupbearers, and how he went in his 
 
 not the words till I came, and mine eyes had 
 seen it ; and, behold, the half was not told 
 me ; thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth 
 the fame which I heard. Happy are thy 
 men, happy are these thy servants, which 
 stand continually before thee, and hear thy 
 
252 
 
 THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 
 
 wisdom. Blessed be the Lord thy God, 
 which delighted in thee, to set thee on the 
 throne of Israel : because the Lord loved 
 Israel forever, therefore did he set thee on 
 the throne, to do judgment and justice. 
 
 And she gave the king one hundred and 
 twenty talents of gold, and of spices very 
 great store, and precious stones: there came 
 no more such abundance of spices as these 
 which the Queen of Sheba gave to Solomon. 
 
 King Solomon gave unto the queen 
 whatsoever she asked, besides what he gave 
 her of his royal bounty. And she departed 
 to her own country. 
 
 The weight of gold that came to King 
 Solomon in one year was six hundred and 
 sixty-six talents of gold, probably not less 
 than sixteen million dollars. Other gold he 
 had from the merchantmen, and from spice 
 merchants, and from the kings of Arabia, and 
 from the governors of the country. 
 
 King Solomon made of the gold which 
 came to him two hundred targets of beaten 
 gold, each target having six hundred shekels 
 of gold ; and three hundred shields, each 
 with three hundred shekels of gold ; and the 
 king put them in the house of the forest of 
 Lebanon. 
 
 A Throne of Ivory and Gold. 
 
 Moreover, the king made a great throne, 
 overlaid with ivory and gold. The throne 
 had six steps ; and on each step on either 
 side was a lion — twelve lions in all. The top 
 of the throne was round behind ; and there 
 were arms on either side of the seat, and 
 beside each arm a lion. There was not the 
 like made in any kingdom. 
 
 All Solomon's drinking vessels were of 
 gold ; none were of silver : for silver was 
 nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. 
 He made it as common in Jerusalem as 
 stones, and cedar to abound as the sycamore 
 
 in the plain of the sea. The king's ships 
 also brought him ivory, and apes, and 
 almug trees. 
 
 All the countries round about sought to 
 Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God put 
 in his heart ; and they brought every man his 
 present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, 
 and garments, and armor, and spices, and 
 horses, and mules. 
 
 But Solomon took to himself many wives 
 besides the daughter of Pharaoh, women of 
 the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidon- 
 ians, and Hittites; nations of which the Lord 
 had said to the children of Israel, Ye shall 
 not take to you wives from them, for surely 
 they [ ill turn away your heart after their 
 gods. And when Solomon was old his 
 wives turned away his heart after other gods, 
 so that he went after Ashtoreth the goddess 
 of the Zidonians, and Molech the abomina- 
 tion of the Ammonites. 
 
 Solomon's Idolatry. 
 
 He built an high place for Chemosh on the 
 Mount of Olives, and for Molech the abomi- 
 nation of the children of Ammon. And so 
 did he for all his strange wives, building high 
 places where they might burn incense and 
 sacrifice unto their gods. 
 
 And the Lord was angry with Solomon 
 because his heart was turned from the Lord 
 God of Israel, who had appeared unto 
 him twice, and had commanded him con- 
 cerning this very thing that he should not go 
 after other gods. Therefore the Lord said 
 to him, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, 
 and thou hast not kept my covenant and my 
 statutes, which I have commanded thee, I 
 will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and 
 will give it to thy servant. Nothwithstand- 
 ing I will not do it in thy days, for David 
 thy father's sake ; but I will do it in thy 
 son's days. Nor will I rend away all the 
 
THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 
 
 253 
 
 kingdom; but I will give one tribe to thy son, 
 for David my servant's sake, and for the sake 
 of Jerusalem which I have chosen. And the 
 Lord raised up adversaries against Solomon, 
 Hadad the Edomite, and Rezon of Zobah. 
 
 This Hadad was of the royal house in 
 Sdom ; and when the Edomites had been 
 defeated at the Valley of Salt, and Joab had 
 
 And when Hadad grew to be a man he 
 found great favor in the sight of Pharaoh, so 
 that he gave him to wife the sister of his own 
 wife, Tahpenes the queen. And when Hadad 
 heard that David slept with his fathers, and 
 that Joab was dead, he said to Pharaoh, Let 
 me depart that I may go to my own country. 
 Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast 
 
 KINGS BRINGING GIFTS TO SOLOMON. 
 
 been sent to slay all the males in Edom (for 
 six months did Joab stay in the land with the 
 host), certain of the royal servants fled with 
 this Hadad, being yet a child. From the 
 town of Midian they fled, and came to Paran, 
 which is desert, and lieth to the south of 
 Judah ; and from Paran they went down into 
 Egypt. 
 
 thou lacked with me, that thou seekest to 
 go to thine own country ? And Hadad 
 answered, Nothing ; yet let me go. So 
 Hadad returned to Edom, and was an adver- 
 sary to Solomon. 
 
 As for Rezon, he was a Syrian of Zobah, 
 and when David had smitten Hadad-ezer ■ 
 king of the Syrians, Rezon gathered to him-j 
 
254 
 
 THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 
 
 self a band of men, and made himself king 
 in Damascus. 
 
 These two were adversaries to Solomon ; 
 and the third was Jeroboam the son of Nebat. 
 
 Solomon reigned over Israel forty years; 
 and he slept with his fathers, and was buried 
 in the city of David his father ; and Reho- 
 boam his son reigned in his stead. 
 
 tained in the Book of Proverbs which form? 
 a part of the Old Testament. They are al'J 
 short sentences, each of which tells us son e 
 important truth. They show the wisdom of 
 the king, and are excellent rules to live by. 
 
 In one of the chapters the fool and the 
 wise man are described, and the following it 
 what Solomon says concerning them : 
 
 SOLOMONS PICTURE OF THE FOOL AND THE WISE MAN. 
 
 Much is said about Solomon in the 72d 
 Psalm. This was written by David. It gives 
 a beautiful picture of Solomon judging the 
 people with righteousness, and also describes 
 the kings of the earth bringing presents to 
 hxm. 
 
 We are told that Solomon sought out and 
 set in order many proverbs. These are con- 
 
 A soft answer turneth away wrath : but 
 grievous words stir up. anger. 
 
 The tongue of the wise useth knowledge 
 aright : but the mouth of fools poureth out 
 foolishness. 
 
 The eyes of the Lord are in every place ? 
 beholding the evil and the good. 
 
 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life i 
 
THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 
 
 255 
 
 out perverseness therein is a breach in the seeketh knowledge : but the mouth of fools 
 
 spirit. 
 
 A fool despiseth his father's instruction : 
 but he that regardeth reproof is prudent. 
 
 In the house of the righteous is much 
 treasure : but in the revenues of the wicked 
 is trouble. 
 
 feedeth on foolishness. 
 
 All the days of the afflicted are evil : but he 
 that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast. 
 
 Better is little with the fear of the Lord 
 than great treasure and trouble therewith. 
 
 Better is a dinner of herbs where love 
 
 The lips of the wise disperse knowledge : 
 but the heart of the foolish doeth not so. 
 
 A scorner loveth not one that reproveth 
 him : neither will he go unto the wise. 
 
 A merry heart maketh a cheerful coun- 
 tenance : but by sorrow of the heart the 
 spirit is broken. 
 
 THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN. 
 
 is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith 
 A wrathful man stirreth up strife : but he 
 
 that is slow to anger appeaseth strife. 
 
 The way of the slothful man is as ar. 
 
 hedge of thorns : but the way of the right 
 
 eous is made plain. 
 
 A wise son maketh a glad father : but a. 
 
 The heart of him that hath understanding ' foolish man despiseth his mother. 
 
256 
 
 THE STORY OF SOLOMON. 
 
 Folly is joy to him that is destitute of 
 wisdom : but a man of understanding walk- 
 eth uprightly. 
 
 Without counsel purposes are disappointed: 
 but in the multitude of counsellers they are 
 established. 
 
 A man hath joy by the answer of his 
 mouth : and a word spoken in due season, 
 how good is it ! 
 
 The thoughts of the wicked are an abomina- 
 tion to the Lord : but the words of the pure 
 are pleasant words. 
 
 He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own 
 house ; but he that hateth gifts shall live. 
 
 The heart of the righteous studieth to 
 answer : but the mouth of the wicked poureth 
 out evil things. 
 
 He that refuseth instruction despiseth his 
 own soul : but he that heareth reproof get- 
 teth understanding. 
 
 The fear of the Lord is the instruction of 
 wisdom ; and before honor is humility. 
 
 The Good Woman. 
 
 Solomon also gives us a beautiful picture 
 of the virtuous woman. She makes home 
 happy, and her children call her blessed. 
 Her works are works of gentleness and love, 
 and these praise her. She is thus described 
 by the wisest man that ever lived : 
 
 Who can find a virtuous woman? For 
 her price is far above rubies. 
 
 The heart of her husband doth safely trust 
 in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 
 
 She will do him good and not evil all the 
 days of her life. 
 
 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh 
 willingly with her hands. 
 
 She riseth also while it is yet night, and 
 giveth meat to her household, and a portion 
 to her maidens. 
 
 She considereth a field, and huyeth it: 
 with the fruit of her hands she planteth a 
 vineyard. 
 
 She girdeth her loins with strength, and 
 strengtheneth her arms. 
 
 She perceiveth that her merchandise is 
 good : her candle goeth not out by night. 
 
 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and 
 her hands hold the distaff. 
 
 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor ; 
 yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. 
 
 She is not afraid of the snow for her 
 household : for all her household are clothed 
 with scarlet. 
 
 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry: 
 her clothing is silk and purple. 
 
 Her husband is known in the gates, wheil 
 he sitteth among the elders of the land. 
 
 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and 
 delivereth girdles unto the merchant. 
 
 Strength and honor are her clothing; and 
 she shall rejoice in time to come. 
 
 She openeth her mouth with wisdom ; and 
 in her tongue is the law of kindness. 
 
 She looketh well to the ways of her house- 
 hold, and eateth not the bread of idleness. 
 
 Her children arise up, and call her blessed ; 
 her husband also, and he praiseth her. 
 
 Many daughters have done virtuously, but 
 thou excellest them all. 
 
 Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain : but 
 a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be 
 praised. 
 
 Give of her the fruit of her hands ; and let 
 her own works praise her in the gates. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 B. C. 910. 
 
 The Story of Elijah — Fed by Ravens — The Widow's Cruse of Oil and Barrel of 
 Meal — Story of the Dead Child — The Prophet on Carmel — Rain in Answer to 
 Prayer — Under the Juniper Tree — Elijah on Mount Horeb — Naboth and His 
 Vineyard — The Arrow that Smote Ahab — Ahaziah Comes to the Throne — Jehu 
 Anointed King — Death of Jezebel — Elijah Taken up into Heaven. 
 
 ING AHAB the son of Omri did 
 evil in the sight of the Lord 
 above all that were before him. 
 For, as if it had been a light 
 thing for him to walk in the sins 
 of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, 
 and to worship the golden calves 
 that were in Bethel and in Dan, he took to 
 wife Jezebel the daughter of Eth-baal, king 
 of the Sidonians, and went and served Baal, 
 and worshipped him. Baal was a god and 
 Ashtaroth was a goddess of the Sidonians, 
 who were the inhabitants of Sidon, a city of 
 Phoenicia, which was outside the borders of 
 Israel. 
 
 Ahab reared up an altar for Baal in the 
 house of Baal, which he had made in 
 Samaria. Also he made a grove; and he 
 did more to provoke the Lord to anger than 
 all the kings of Israel that were before him; 
 for he did after all the abominations of the 
 Amorites, whom the Lord cast out before the 
 children of Israel. In all these things, and 
 in persecuting the prophets of the Lord, 
 Jezebel his wife stirred him up. 
 
 Ahab's marriage with Jezebel was the 
 beginning of great evils. For whereas Jero- 
 boam and the kings that came after him had 
 caused Israel to sin against the Lord by 
 worshipping the calves that had been set up 
 in Bethel and Dan, Ahab constrained his 1 
 17 
 
 people to transgress far more grievously, 
 even by following Baal and Ashtaroth. 
 
 He worshipped these false gods with much 
 pomp and splendor; thus we hear of four 
 hundred and fifty priests of Baal that were 
 fed at Jezebel's table, and of four hundred 
 priests of the grove; but he persecuted them 
 that were still faithful to Jehovah. For the 
 armed messengers of the queen went through 
 the land, throwing down the altars of the 
 Lord, and slaying all such as would not bow 
 the knee to Baal. 
 
 Against the prophets of Jehovah did Ahab 
 and Jezebel, his wife, rage especially. Many 
 were killed with the sword, and they that 
 escaped were content to hide themselves in 
 caverns and dens of the earth. 
 
 He Hid Them in Caves. 
 
 Yet there were some that were found 
 faithful even in the king's court ; of such was 
 Obadiah, the king's steward, who took a 
 hundred of the Lord's prophets and hid them 
 in two caves, fifty in each, and fed them there. 
 
 Then the Lord sent Elijah of Tishbi, in the 
 land of Gilead, to King Ahab. He was a 
 dweller in the wilderness, and was clad in a 
 garment of skin, and wore a leathern girdle 
 about his loins. Elijah stood before Ahab 
 as he sat on his throne, and said. As the 
 Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I 
 
 257 
 
258 
 
 THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 
 
 stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these 
 years, but according to my word. And 
 when he had said this he turned away and 
 was seen no more. 
 
 But when there had been drought for a 
 long time, and the famine began to be sore in 
 the land, Ahab bethought him of the man 
 that had denounced this judgment against 
 him and his people. And he sent through- 
 out all the land of Israel, and to all the 
 
 So he went, and did according to the word 
 of the Lord; for he dwelt by the watercourse 
 of Cherith that floweth into Jordan. And the 
 ravens brought him bread and flesh in the 
 morning, and bread and flesh in the evening ; 
 and he drank from the watercourse. And 
 after a while the watercourse dried up,. 
 because there had been no rain in the land. 1 
 
 And the word of the Lord came to himj 
 saying, Arise get thee to Zarephath, which 
 
 ELIJAH FED BY RAVENS. 
 
 nations round about, seeking for him. To 
 whomsoever he sent he made him swear that 
 Elijah was not with him ; but still he could 
 not find him. 
 
 Elijah was concealed, for the word of the 
 Lord came to him, saying, Get thee hence, 
 and turn thee eastward, and hide thee by the 
 watercourse of Cherith, that floweth into 
 Jordan. And it shall be that thou shalt 
 drink of the brook ; and I have commanded 
 the ravens to feed thee there. 
 
 belongeth to Sidon, and dwell there : I have 
 commanded a widow woman there to sustain 
 thee. 
 
 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And 
 when he came to the gate of the city, a widow 
 woman was there gathering of sticks ; and 
 he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray 
 thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may 
 drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he 
 called to her and said, Bring me, I pray thee p 
 a morsel of bread in thine hand. 
 
THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 
 
 259 
 
 And she said, As Jehovah thy God liveth, 
 I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in 
 a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse : and I am 
 gathering sticks, that I may go in and dress 
 it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die. 
 
 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not ; go 
 and do as thou hast said : but make me 
 thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto 
 me, and after make for thee and thy son. 
 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The 
 barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall 
 the cruse of oil fail, until the day when the 
 Lord shall send rain upon the earth. 
 
 The Child Restored. 
 
 And she went and did according to the 
 word of Elijah ; and she, and he, and her 
 house, did eat many days. And the barrel 
 of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of 
 oil fail, according to the word of the Lord 
 which he spoke by Elijah. 
 
 After these things the son of the woman 
 of the house fell sick, and his sickness was 
 so sore that there was no breath left in him. 
 And the woman said to Elijah, What have I 
 to do with thee, thou man of God ? Didst 
 thou come hither to call my sins to remem- 
 brance. And Elijah said, Give me thy son. 
 
 Andhetook him out ofher bosom, and car- 
 ried him up into the upper chamber where he 
 abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And 
 he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my 
 God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come 
 into him again. And the Lord heard the 
 voice of Elijah ; and the soul of the child 
 came into him again, and he revived. 
 
 And Elijah took the child, and brought 
 him down out of the upper chamber into the 
 house, and delivered him to his mother ; and 
 Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. The woman 
 said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou 
 art a man of God, and that the word of the 
 Lord in thy mouth is truth. 
 
 At the end of the third year the Lord said 
 to Elijah, Go, show thyself to Ahab, and I 
 will send rain upon the earth. Now about 
 this time King Ahab said to Obadiah, his 
 steward, Go throughout the land to all 
 fountains of water and brooks. Peradventure 
 we may find grass to save such of the horses 
 and mules as are left. So they divided the 
 land between them — Ahab went one way 
 and Obadiah went another. 
 
 And as Obadiah was on his way, Elijah 
 met him ; and Obadiah knew him for the 
 prophet that had stood before Ahab, and he 
 fell on his face before him, and said, Art thou 
 that my lord Elijah ? And he answered, I 
 am ; go, tell thy lord, Elijah is here. 
 
 He Meets the King. 
 
 Then Obadiah said, How have I sinned, 
 that thou wouldst give Ahab occasion to slay 
 me ? There is no nation or kingdom whither 
 he hath not sent to seek thee ; and now thou 
 biddest me say, Elijah is here. But so soon 
 as I shall have gone from thee, the Spirit of 
 the Lord shall carry thee whither I know 
 not ; and when I shall have told Ahab, and 
 he cannot find thee, then he will slay me. 
 Truly I have served the Lord from my youth. 
 Doth not my lord know how I saved an 
 hundred men when Jezebel slew the prophets 
 of the Lord. Elijah answered, As the Lord 
 liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely 
 show myself to Ahab to-day. 
 
 So Obadiah told Ahab, and Ahab went to 
 meet Elijah. And when Ahab saw him he 
 said, Art thou he that troubleth Israel ? But 
 Elijah answered, I have not troubled Israel, 
 but thou and thy father's house. Now 
 gather to Mount Carmel all the prophets of 
 Baal, and the prophets of the groves ; I will 
 be there also. Let all the people also be 
 gathered to the same place, that they may 
 judge between us. 
 
260 
 
 THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 
 
 And Ahab did so ; and all the people 
 stood round on a level place on the top of 
 Mount Carmel. And Elijah and the prophets 
 of Baal stood in the midst — he by himself 
 and they by themselves. Then Elijah said 
 to the king and to the people, Let the 
 prophets of Baal furnish now two bullocks 
 * — for they are four hundred and fifty men, 
 
 bullock and put it on the altar which they 
 had built. And they called on Baal from 
 morning until noon, crying, O Baal, hear us ! 
 But there was no voice,nor any that answered; 
 and they leaped upon the altar. And when 
 it was noon Elijah mocked them, saying, Cry 
 aloud; for either he meditateth or is busy 
 with other things, and doth not hear you ; or 
 
 ELIJAH RAISING THE WIDOW S SON. 
 
 and I but one — and let them cut their bul- 
 lock in pieces, and put his flesh on their altar, 
 but put no fire under; and I will do the same 
 with my bullock. They shall call on the 
 name of their god, and I will call on the name 
 of mine; and the God that answereth by fire, 
 let him be God. And all the people said, It 
 is well spoken. 
 
 Then the prophets of Baal took their 
 
 he is on a journey ; or, perchance, he is 
 asleep, and must be awakened. 
 
 So they cried aloud, and cut themselves 
 after their manner with knives and lancets 
 till the blood gushed out upon them. Thus 
 they did till it was time of offering the even- 
 ing sacrifice, three o'clock in the afternoon ; 
 but there was no voice, nor any that answered 
 or regarded. 
 
THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 
 
 261 
 
 Then Elijah built again the altar of 
 Jehovah that was in the place, and had been 
 broken down. With twelve stones he built 
 it, according to the number of the twelve 
 tribes of Israel. Round about it he made a 
 trench as great as would contain two 
 measures of seed, or six gallons ; and he put 
 the wood in order on the altar, and laid the 
 pieces of the bullock on the altar, and com- 
 manded that water should be poured upon it 
 three times, till the whole was drenched 
 through and through, and even the trench 
 filled with water. 
 
 Fire from Heaven. 
 
 And at the time of the evening sacrifice 
 he prayed, and said, Jehovah, God of Abra- 
 ham, Isaac, and Jacob, hear me. Jehovah, 
 hear me this day in fire, and let all the people 
 know that thou art Jehovah, the God of 
 this Israel, and that I am thy servant, and 
 through thee have done all these things. 
 Hear me, O Jehovah ; hear me, and let this 
 people know that thou, Jehovah, art the God, 
 and that thou hast turned their hearts back 
 again. 
 
 And when he had done speaking, the fire 
 of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt 
 sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and 
 the dust, and licked up the water that was in 
 the trench. And when the people saw it 
 they fell on their faces, and said, Jehovah is 
 the God ; Jehovah is the God. 
 
 Then Elijah said to the people, Take the 
 prophets of Baal ; let not one of them 
 escape. So they took them, and Elijah slew 
 them by the brook Kishon. 
 
 Then Elijah said unto Ahab, for Ahab had 
 come down with him to the brook, Get thee 
 up to the hill again ; eat and drink ; for there 
 is a sound of abundance of rain. So Ahab 
 went up to eat and drink. 
 
 And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel ; 
 
 and he cast himself upon the ground, and 
 put his face between his knees. 
 
 And he said to his servant, Go up now, 
 look toward the sea. And the servant went 
 up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. 
 And Elijah said, Go again seven times. 
 
 At the seventh time the man said, Behold, 
 there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like 
 unto a man's hand. Then the prophet said, 
 Go up, tell Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get 
 thee down, that the rain stop thee not. And 
 in the meanwhile the heaven was black with 
 clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. 
 
 And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah ; 
 and he girded up his loins, and ran before 
 A. hab to the gate of Jezreel. 
 
 He Flees for His Life. 
 
 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, 
 and how he had slain all the prophets with 
 the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger 
 unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to 
 me, and more also, if I make not thy life as 
 the life of one of them by to-morrow about 
 this time. 
 
 And when he heard that he was greatly 
 afraid, and rose and fled for his life, till he 
 came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah. 
 And he left his servant at Beer-sheba, but he 
 himself went a day's journey into the wilder- 
 ness, and came and sat down under a tree of 
 broom : and he requested for himself that he 
 might die ; and said, It is enough ; now, O 
 Lord, take away my own life, for I am not 
 better than my fathers. 
 
 And as he lay and slept under the broom, 
 an angel touched him, and said, Arise, eat. 
 And he looked, and there was a cake baked 
 among the embers, and a cruse of water at 
 his head. And he did eat and drink, and 
 laid him again to sleep. 
 
 The angel of the Lord came again a 
 second time, and said, Arise, eat again ; foi 
 
262 
 
 otherwise the journey will be too great for 
 thee. So he arose, and did eat and drink, 
 and went in the strength of that food forty- 
 days and forty nights, till he came to Horeb, 
 the mount of God. And he came into the 
 
 THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 
 
 down thine altars, and slain thy prophets 
 with the sword ; and they seek my life to take 
 it away. 
 
 And the voice said, Go forth to-morrow, 
 and stand upon the mount before the Lord. 
 
 ELIJAH SLAYING THE 
 
 cave, and passed the night there. As he 
 slept the Lord said to him, What doest thou 
 here, Elijah ? 
 
 He said, I have been very jealous for the 
 Lord God of hosts : for the children of 
 Israel have forsaken thy covenant, broken 
 
 PROPHETS OF BAAL. 
 
 Elijah went forth ; and the Lord passed by. 
 A great and strong wind rent the moun- 
 tains, and broke the rocks in pieces before 
 the Lord ; but the Lord was not in the wind. 
 And after the wind was an earthquake ; but 
 the Lord was not in the earthquake. And 
 
THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 
 
 263 
 
 after the earthquake a fire ; but the Lord 
 was not in the fire. 
 
 And after the fire a still small voice. 
 When Elijah heard the voice, he wrapped 
 his face in his mantle, and went out and 
 stood in the mouth of the cave. And there 
 came a voice to him, and said, What doest 
 thou here, Elijah ? 
 
 Thou shalt go and anoint Hazael to be king 
 over Syria; and Jehu the son of Nimshi 
 shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel ; and 
 Elisha the son of Shaphat, of Abelmeholah, 
 shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. 
 And it shall come to pass that him that 
 escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu 
 slay ; and him that escapeth the sword of 
 
 ELIJAH AT THE MOUTH 
 
 And he said, I have been very jealous for 
 the Lord God of hosts : because the children 
 of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown 
 down thine altars, and slain the prophets 
 with the sword ; and I, even I only, am left ; 
 and they seek my life to take it away. 
 
 Then the Lord said unto him, Go, return 
 on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus. 
 
 OF THE CAVE. 
 
 Jehu shall Elisha slay. But know that I 
 will have seven thousand in Israel, all the 
 knees which have not bowed to Baal, and 
 all the mouths which have not kissed him. 
 
 So Elijah departed from Horeb, and he 
 journeyed to the wilderness of Damascus. 
 
 Now Ahab coveted a vineyard that was 
 hard by his palace in Jezreel, for he was 
 
264 
 
 THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 
 
 minded to make of it a garden of herbs ; 
 and he said to him whose vineyard it was, a 
 certain Naboth, Give me thy vineyard, and I 
 will give thee a better vineyard for it ; or else, 
 if thou wilt, I will give thee the worth of it 
 in money. 
 
 But Naboth said, God forbid that I should 
 give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee ! 
 And Ahab, when he heard this, was much 
 displeased, so that he lay down on his bed 
 and would eat nothing. 
 
 A Wicked Plot. 
 
 But Jezebel, his wife, when she had heard 
 what ailed him, said, Arise, eat and drink and 
 be merry ; I will give thee the vineyard of 
 Naboth. So she sent letters to the elders of 
 Jezreel, that they should suborn false 
 witnesses against Naboth, who should testify 
 against him that he had blasphemed God and 
 the king. And the elders did so. They 
 proclaimed a fast, and called an assembly, 
 and because Naboth was a great man in 
 Jezreel, they set him on high among the 
 people. And as he sat, the false witnesses 
 came, and testified against him. 
 
 Then sentence was pronounced, and he 
 was carried out of the city, and was stoned 
 with stones, he and his sons with him. 
 
 When Jezebel heard that Naboth was 
 dead, she said to Ahab, Arise, take possession 
 of the vineyard of Naboth, which he refused 
 to give thee for money ; for he is not alive, 
 but dead. 
 
 So Ahab went down to take possession, 
 with Jehu and Bidkar, his captains, riding 
 behind him. But when he was come to the 
 place, Elijah, the prophet of Tishbi, stood 
 before him, and said to him, Hast thou 
 killed, and also taken possession ? And 
 Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O 
 mine enemy ? 
 
 And Elijah answered, I have found thee, 
 
 because thou hast sold thyself to do evil in- 
 the sight of the Lord. Therefore hear the 
 word of the Lord. In the place where dogs 
 licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick 
 thy blood. And I will utterly destroy thy 
 house ; and Jezebel the dogs shall eat by the 
 wall of Jezreel. But Ahab, when he heard 
 these words, humbled himself, and the sen- 
 tence against him was delayed for a while. 
 
 Ahab Makes War. 
 
 Now Benhadad, the king of Syria, had 
 covenanted to restore the cities which his 
 father had taken from Omri, of which cities 
 Ramoth in the land of Gilead was one ; and 
 when three years had passed, and the king 
 of Syria delayed to do the thing which he 
 promised, it came into Ahab's heart to make 
 war upon him. 
 
 And when Jehoshaphat, king of Judah^ 
 came to Samaria — for Jehoshaphat's son 
 Jehoram had taken to wife Athaliah, the 
 daughter of Ahab — Ahab said to him, Wilt 
 thou go up with me to battle at Ramoth-in- 
 Gilead? Jehoshaphat answered, I am as 
 thou art ; my people as thy people ; nrv 
 horses as thy horses. Only he would have 
 the king inquire of the Lord whether they 
 should do well to go up. So Ahab called 
 together the prophets of Baal, about four 
 hundred men, and inquired of them, shall I 
 go up to Ramoth-in-Gilead, or shall I 
 forbear ? And they answered with one voice,. 
 Go up, and the Lord shall deliver it into the 
 hand of the king. 
 
 But one of the Lord's prophets foretold 
 evil to Ahab if he went into battle. Ahab 
 was greatly displeased and commanded that 
 he should be put in prison and fed with the 
 bread and water of affliction. 
 
 So Ahab went up to Ramoth-in-Gilead^ 
 and Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah,with him. 
 And Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, I will 
 
ELIJAH FED BY RAVENS AT THE BROOK CHERITH 
 
THE STORY OF ELIJAH, 
 
 265 
 
 disguise myself; and put thou on thy robes. 
 So he disguised himself and entered into the 
 battle. Now the king of Syria had com- 
 manded his captains that they should fight 
 neither small nor great, but only with the 
 king of Israel. 
 
 When therefore they saw Jehoshaphat in 
 his robes they turned aside to fight against 
 
 Then the battle waxed fiercer and fiercer 
 all that day; and the king, that his host 
 might make head against the Syrians, bade 
 his servants prop him up in his chariot. At 
 evening he died ; and about the going down 
 of the sun there went this proclamation 
 throughout the host, Every man to his city, 
 and every man to his own country. 
 
 THE DEATH OF KING AHAB. 
 
 him, and Jehoshaphat cried out. So they 
 knew he was not the king of Israel, and left 
 pursuing him. Nevertheless Ahab did not 
 escape the sentence that had been pronounced 
 against him ; for a certain man, shooting an 
 arrow from his bow at random, smote him 
 where the helmet is joined to the breastplate. 
 Therefore he said to the driver of his chariot, 
 Turn and carry me out of the battle. 
 
 They brought the body of the king to 
 Samaria, and buried him there. His chariot 
 and his armor they washed in the pool of 
 Samaria, and the dogs licked his blood. 
 
 And Ahaziah, the son of Ahab, was made 
 king in his place. He did wickedly, as his 
 father had done. And he fell down from an 
 upper chamber in his palace and was hurt, 
 and made sick. Then he sent messengers to 
 
266 
 
 THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 
 
 Baal-zebub, the idol of the Philistines, to ask 
 whether he would get well of his sickness. 
 And the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, 
 Go up to meet the messengers of Ahaziah, 
 and say to them, Is it because there is no 
 God in Israel that you are going to ask Baal- 
 zebub, the idol of the Philistines ? Now, 
 therefore, the Lord says that Ahaziah shall 
 not rise up from that bed on which he is laid, 
 but shall surely die. 
 
 Three Captains and Their Men. 
 
 And Elijah met the messengers, and spoke 
 to them the words that the Lord com- 
 manded. And they came to Ahaziah again, 
 and he said to them, Why are you comeback 
 so soon? They answered, There came a 
 man to meet us, who said, Go back to king 
 Ahaziah and tell him, that because he has 
 sent to ask of the idol Baal-zebub, he shall 
 not rise up from the bed on which he is laid, 
 but shall surely die. The king said to the 
 messengers, What sort of a man was he that 
 met you and told you these words ? They 
 answered, He was a hairy man, with a girdle 
 of leather about his loins. And Ahaziah 
 said, It is Elijah. 
 
 Then the king was displeased, and sent a 
 captain of his army, with fifty soldiers, to take 
 Elijah, and bring him to the king. And they 
 came, and found him sitting on the top of a 
 hill; and the captain called to him, and said, 
 Thou prophet, the king commands thee to 
 come down. Elijah answered, If I be a 
 prophet, let fire come down from heaven and 
 burn up thee and thy fifty men. And there 
 came down fire from heaven, and burned up 
 the captain and the fifty men who were with 
 him. 
 
 And Ahaziah sent another captain with 
 fifty men, and he came to Elijah and called 
 to him, saying, Thou prophet, the king com- 
 mands thee to come down quickly. Elijah 
 
 answered, If I be a prophet, let fire come 
 down from heaven and burn up thee and thy 
 fifty men. Then fire came down again from 
 heaven, and burned up the captain and his 
 fifty men. 
 
 And Ahaziah sent a third captain with 
 fifty men more. But when he came to the 
 place where Elijah was, he fell on his knees 
 before him, and said, O prophet, I pray thee, 
 save my life and the lives of these fifty men, 
 thy servants. Let not the fire come down 
 from heaven and burn us, as it burned the 
 two captains, with their men, who were here 
 before us. 
 
 Story of Jehu. 
 
 And the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, 
 Go with him, be not afraid. So Elijah went 
 with him to the king. And Elijah said to 
 the king, Thus saith the Lord, Because thou 
 hast sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub, 
 the idol of the Philistines, instead of sending 
 to me, the God of Israel, therefore thou shalt 
 not rise up from the bed on which thou art 
 laid, but shalt surely die. So Ahaziah died, 
 as Elijah told him, and Jehoram, his brother, 
 was made king over the ten tribes of Israel. 
 Another Ahaziah about this time was king 
 in Judah. 
 
 It happened that in the twelfth year of 
 Jehoram, Elisha the prophet called a ceitain 
 young man of the school of the prophets, and 
 said unto him, Gird up thy loins, and take 
 this box of oil in thine hand, and go to 
 Ramoth-in-Gilead ; and when thou comest 
 thither look out Jehu, the son of Nimshi, and 
 take him apart from his brethren into an inner 
 chamber. Then take the box of oil, and pour 
 it upon his head, and say, Thus saith the Lord, 
 I have anointed thee king over Israel. Then 
 open the door, and flee, and tarry not. 
 
 This Elisha did that he might fulfill the 
 commandment which the Lord gave to 
 
THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 
 
 267 
 
 Elijah, his master, in Horeb, the mount of 
 God, saying, Jehu, the son of Nimshi, shalt 
 thou anoint to be king over Israel. 
 
 Now there stood a watchman on the tower 
 in Jezreel, and the man said, I see a company. 
 Then said the king, Send a horseman to 
 meet them, and let him say, Is it peace? 
 So there rode a horseman to meet them. 
 
 came to them, but he cometh not again ; and 
 the driving is like the driving of Jehu, the 
 son of Nimshi ; for he driveth furiously. 
 
 Then said the king, Make ready my 
 chariot. So they made ready his chariot, 
 and he went forth to meet Jehu ; and Ahaz- 
 iah, king of Judah, went with him, for 
 Ahaziah had come down to see him, because 
 
 THE BODY OF JEZEBEL EATEN BY DOGS. 
 
 And when the man came to them he said, 
 Thus saith the king, Is it peace? Jehu 
 answered, What hast thou to do with peace ? 
 Turn thee behind me. The watchman said, 
 The messenger came to them, but he cometh 
 not again. So the king sent a second 
 messenger, and it happened to him as to the 
 first. The watchman said, The messenger 
 
 he had been sick. So the two kings went 
 forth, each in his own chariot. 
 
 Now the place of their meeting was near 
 to the vineyard of Naboth. And when 
 Jehoram met Jehu he said, Is it peace, Jehu ? 
 But Jehu answered, What peace can there be, 
 so long as the wickedness of thy mother 
 Jezebel is so great? — for Jezebel ruled the 
 
268 
 
 THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 
 
 king, her son. Then Jehoram turned his 
 chariot about, crying out, There is treachery, 
 O Ahaziah. 
 
 Then Jehu drew his bow with all his might, 
 and smote Jehoram between the shoulders ; 
 and the arrow pierced him to the heart, so 
 that he sank down dead in the chariot. Then 
 said Jehu to Bidkar, his captain, Take up his 
 body, and cast it into the portion of Naboth. 
 Dost thou not remember how, when thou 
 and I rode behind Ahab his father, the Lord 
 laid this sentence upon his house, Surely I 
 have seen the blood of Naboth and the blood 
 of his sons ; and I will requite thee in this 
 portion, saith the Lord ? 
 
 Death of Jezebel. 
 
 Then Jehu rode into Jezreel. And when 
 he was come thither Jezebel adorned herself, 
 and painted her face — for she knew that her 
 son was dead, and that she must herself die 
 — and as Jehu passed by, she looked out from 
 a window, and cried, Had Zimri peace, who 
 slew his master ? 
 
 Jehu lifted up his face to the window and 
 cried, Who is on my side? Who ? And there 
 looked out to him from one window two of 
 the servants of the women's chambers, and 
 from another three. He said to them, Throw 
 her down. And they threw her down ; and 
 her blood was sprinkled on the wall and on 
 the horses ; and he trampled her under the 
 feet of the horses. And when he was come 
 in, he sat down to eat and drink. Afterwards 
 he said, Go, see now this cursed woman, and 
 bury her; for she was a king's daughter. 
 
 But when they went to bury her, they found 
 no more of her than the skull and the feet 
 and the palms of the hands. When Jehu 
 heard this, he said, Now is fulfilled that 
 which the Lord spoke by the mouth of Elijah, 
 In the portion of Jezreel shall dogs eat the 
 flesh of Jezebel. 
 
 When the Lord would take Elijah up into 
 heaven, he went with Elisha, who ministered 
 unto him, from Gilgal in the land of Ephraim, 
 and he said to him, Tarry here, I pray thee ; 
 for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. But 
 Elisha answered, As the Lord liveth, and as 
 thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So 
 they went to Bethel. 
 
 The Prophet's Mantle. 
 
 And the young men of the school of the 
 prophets that was in Bethel said unto Elisha, 
 Knowest thou that the Lord will take away 
 thy master from thee to-day ? Elisha ans- 
 wered, Yea, I know it ; hold ye your peace. 
 
 Then Elijah said to him, Elisha, tarry here, 
 I pray thee ; for the Lord hath sent me to 
 Jericho. But Elisha said, As the Lord liveth, 
 and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. 
 So they went to Jericho. 
 
 And the young men that were of the 
 school of the prophets in Jericho said to 
 Elisha, Knowest thou that the Lord will take 
 awa> thy master from thee to-day? And Elisha 
 answered, Yea, I know it; hold ye your peace. 
 
 And Elijah said unto him, Tarry, I pray 
 thoe, here ; for the Lord hath sent me to 
 Jordan. But Elisha said, As the Lord liveth, 
 I will not leave thee. And they two went on. 
 
 And fifty men of the school of the 
 prophets went and stood to view afar off. 
 And they two stood by Jordan. 
 
 Then Elijah took his mantle, and rolled it 
 up till it was as a rod, and smote the waters 
 therewith ; and they were divided hither and 
 thither, so that they two went over on dry 
 ground. 
 
 And when they had gone over, Elijah said 
 to Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, when 
 I shall be taken away from thee. Elisha 
 said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy 
 spirit rest upon me. Elijah said, Thou hast 
 asked a hard thing : if thou see me taken 
 
THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 
 
 269 
 
 from thee, it shall be so unto thee ; but if 
 not, it shall not be so. 
 
 And as they still went on and talked, 
 behold there appeared a chariot of fire and 
 horses of fire, and parted them both asunder ; 
 and Elijah went up by a storm into the sky. 
 
 Now at this time the royal house of David 
 was brought very low; for, first, Jehoram 
 the father of Ahaziah had slain all his 
 brethren, the sons of King Jehoshaphat; 
 and, next, the Philistines having joined 
 themselves with the Arabians, had slain 
 
 ELIJAH TAKEN UP INTO HEAVEN. 
 
 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, 
 mv father, the chariot of Israel and the 
 horsemen thereof. 
 
 When Jehu the son of Nimshi slew Je- 
 horam the son of Ahab, and made an end of 
 all the house of Ahab, he slew also Ahaziah 
 king of Judah, and all his brethren. 
 
 others of the princes ; and, last, many had 
 perished by the hand of Jehu. 
 
 When, therefore, Athaliah, daughter of 
 Ahab and Jezebel, and mother to Ahaziah, 
 heard what Jehu had done, then she slew all 
 that remained of the blood royal, hoping to 
 gain the kingdom for herself. 
 
270 
 
 THE STORY OF ELIJAH. 
 
 But Jehosheba, that was sister to Ahaziah, 
 being wife to Jehoiada the high-priest, stole 
 one of the king's sons, Joash by name, from 
 the slaughter. First she hid him and his 
 nurse in a bed- chamber of the palace; but 
 afterwards she hid the boy in the house of 
 God. For six years was he hidden; and 
 Athaliah reigned over the land. 
 
 Builds a House for Baal. 
 
 Much evil did Athaliah do. She built a 
 house for Baal, taking for it the very stones 
 of the house of God, and putting therein 
 vessels from the Lord's sanctuary. 
 
 In the seventh year Jehoiada sent for the 
 captains of the mercenaries and of the body- 
 guard, and brought them into the house of 
 the Lord, and made a covenant with them, 
 and took an oath of them, and showed them 
 the king's son. Also he gathered the Levites 
 out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief of 
 the fathers of the land; and they all made a 
 covenant with him. And he said to them, 
 The king's son shall reign, as the Lord ha^h 
 said of the sons of David. 
 
 Further, he set one division at the south 
 gate of the temple, and one at the north ; 
 and two he brought into the court of the 
 temple, and set them on the right hand of 
 the king and on his left hand. The Levites, 
 he said, shall compass the king round about, 
 every man with his weapons in his hand, and 
 whosoever else cometh into the temple; but 
 be ye with the king when he goeth out and 
 
 when he cometh in. And he gave the cap- 
 tains spears, and bucklers, and shields, that 
 had been King David's, which were in the 
 Lord's house. 
 
 They put the young king on a platform, 
 so that he could be seen of all the people. 
 Then Jehoiada and his sons anointed him to 
 be king, and put the crown on his head, and 
 the book of the law also, and said, God save 
 the king ! And all the people clapped their 
 hands, and shouted. 
 
 Now when Athaliah heard the noise of 
 the people running about and praising the 
 king, she came into the temple of the Lord. 
 And the king stood, as was the custom, upon 
 the pillar, and the princes and the trumpeters 
 stood by the king; and all the people of the 
 land rejoiced at the sight, and blew with 
 trumpets. Then Athaliah rent her clothes,, 
 and cried, Conspiracy ! Conspiracy ! 
 
 But Jehoiada the priest commanded the 
 captains of the guard and the officers of the 
 host, saying, Take her out, keeping her 
 between your ranks ; and any man that 
 followeth her, slay with the sword. But 
 slay her not within the temple. 
 
 So they laid hands on her, and she went 
 by the way by which the horses came into 
 the king's palace. There was she slain. 
 Afterwards the people went into the house 
 of Baal, and broke it down, and slew Mattan 
 the priest of Baal before the altar. So Joash 
 reigned in his father's stead, being seven 
 years old. 
 
THANKSGIVING UNTO THE LORD. 
 
 271 
 
THE PATH OF WISDOM. 
 
 272 
 
CHAPTER XX, 
 
 B. C. 891, 
 
 The Story of Elisha — Salt in the Water — War Against Moab — The Prophet's 
 Chamber — The Woman of Shunem — Restoring a Dead Child — A Terrible Famine — > 
 Vessels of Oil — Iron Made to Swim — Story of Naaman — Sin of Gehazi — A Young 
 Man's Vision — Stoning of the High -Priest— What Happened in Syria — Elisha's 
 Last Words and Death — The Syrians Defeated — Parable of the Thistle and Cedar. 
 
 LISHA took up the mantle of 
 Elijah that fell from him, and 
 went back, and stood by the bank 
 of Jordan. And he wrapped 
 up the mantle as Elijah nad 
 wrapped it up, and smote the 
 waters, and said, Where is the 
 -Lord God of Elijah? And when he had 
 ■smitten them, they parted hither and thither ; 
 and Elisha went over. 
 
 And when the young men of the school of 
 the prophets which were at Jericho opposite 
 saw what he did, they said, The spirit of 
 Elijah doth rest on Elisha. And they came 
 to meet him, and bowed themselves to the 
 ground before him. 
 
 Then they said unto him, There are with 
 thy servants fifty strong men ; let them go, 
 we pray thee, and seek thy master : lest 
 peradventure the Spirit of the Lord hath 
 taken him up, and cast him upon some 
 mountain or in some valley. But he said, 
 "Ye shall not send. 
 
 And when they urged him till he was 
 ashamed, he said, Send. They sent, there- 
 fore, fifty men, who sought three days, but 
 found him not. 
 
 And when they came to him again, for he 
 
 tarried at Jericho, he said unto them, Did I 
 
 not say, Go not ? The men of the city said 
 
 unto Elisha, The situation of the city is 
 
 18 
 
 pleasant, as my lord seeth ; but the water is 
 bad, and the ground barren. Then he said, 
 Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. 
 And they brought it to him. 
 
 The Waters Made Sweet. 
 
 Then he went forth unto the spring of the 
 waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, 
 Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these 
 waters ; there shall not be from thence any 
 more death or barrenness. And he went 
 from Jericho to Bethel, and from Bethel to 
 Carmel, and from Carmel to Samaria. 
 
 Mesha the king of Moab paid year by 
 year to the king of Israel the wool of a 
 hundred thousand lambs and an hundred 
 thousand sheep. But when Ahab was dead 
 he rebelled. Then Jehoram king of Israel, 
 that reigned after Ahaziah his brother, sent 
 to Jehoshaphat king of Judah, saying, The 
 king of Moab hath rebelled against me ; wilt 
 thou go with me to battle against him ? 
 
 Jehoshaphat answered, I am as thou art, 
 my people as thy people, and my horses as 
 thy horses. And he said, Which way shall 
 we go up ? Jehoram said, By the way of 
 the wilderness of Edom. 
 
 So these two kings went; and they 
 marched by the south of the Salt Sea. And 
 when they had marched seven days, and the 
 king of Edom had joined himself to them, 
 
 273 
 
274 
 
 THE STORY OF ELISHA. 
 
 they found no water for the host or for the 
 beasts that carried the baggage. 
 
 Then Jehoram said, Alas ! that the Lord 
 hath called three kings together to deliver 
 them into the hand of Moab ! Jehoshaphat 
 said, Is there not a prophet of the Lord that 
 we may inquire of the Lord by him ? One 
 of the king of Israel's servants answered, 
 Elisha the son of Shaphat, that was servant 
 to Elijah, is here. And Jehoshaphat said, 
 The word of the Lord is with him. 
 
 Music by a Minstrel. 
 
 So the three kings went over to inquire of 
 him. And Elisha said unto the king of 
 Israel, What have I to do with thee ? Get 
 thee to the prophets of thy father, and the 
 prophets of thy mother. The king of Israel 
 said, Say not so ; for the Lord hath called 
 these three kings together to deliver them 
 into the hands of Moab. 
 
 But Elisha said, As the Lord of hoses 
 liveth, before whom I stand, were it not that 
 I regard the presence of Jehoshaphat the 
 king of Judah, I would not look toward thee, 
 nor see thee. But now bring me a minstrel. 
 
 And when the minstrel played, the Spirit 
 of the Lord came upon him, and he said, 
 Thus saith the Lord, Make this valley full of 
 pits. For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not 
 feel wind nor see rain, yet that valley shall be 
 filled with water, that ye may drink, and 
 your cattle, and your beasts of burden. And 
 this is but a light thing in the sight of the 
 Lord. He will also deliver the Moabites into 
 your hand. Ye shall smite every fenced city, 
 and every choice city, and fell every fruitful 
 tree, and stop all wells of water, and mar 
 every good piece of land with stones. 
 
 And in the morning, at sunrise, when the 
 sacrifice is offered, there came water from the 
 hill country of Edom, and the valley was 
 filled with water. 
 
 Now the Moabites, when they heard that 
 the three kings were come against them, had 
 gathered all that were able to wear armor, 
 and stood on the north side of the valley. 
 And in the morning early, when the sun 
 shone on the water, the Moabites saw that it 
 was red even as blood. And they said, This 
 is blood : the kings are surely slain ; they 
 have smitten one another ; now therefore, 
 Moab, to the spoil. 
 
 But when they came to the camp of Israel, 
 the Israelites rose up and smote them, so that 
 they fled ; and the Israelites went on smiting 
 them even in their own country. They beat 
 down the cities, and on every good piece of 
 land they cast stones, every man a stone ; 
 and they stopped all the wells of water, and 
 felled all the fruitful trees. Only Kir-haraseth 
 they could not take, but the slingers went 
 about it and smote it. And when the king 
 of Moab saw that his enemies were too strong 
 for him, he took seven hundred men that 
 drew the sword, to break through their lines 
 to where the king of Edom was encamped ; 
 but he could not. 
 
 Then he took his eldest son, that should 
 have reigned after him, and offered him up 
 for a burnt-offering to his god Chemosh on 
 the wall. And the Israelites were greatly 
 troubled that such a thing should have been 
 done ; and they returned to their own land. 
 
 The Woman of Shunem. 
 
 It fell on a day that Elisha went to Shunem, 
 where there was a rich woman, who would 
 have him eat bread in her house, and would 
 take no denial. 
 
 The woman said to her husband, I perceive 
 that this is a holy man of God which passeth 
 by us continually. Let us build a little 
 chamber out of the wall for him ; and put 
 therein a bed and a table and a chair and a 
 candlestick ; and it shall be, when he cometn 
 
THE STORY OF ELISHA. 
 
 275 
 
 to us, that he shall turn in thither. And it 
 was so that when he came thither again he 
 turned into the chamber, and lay there. And 
 he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shu- 
 nammite. 
 
 So Gehazi called her, and she stood before 
 him. He said to Gehazi, Say now unto her, 
 Behold now, thou hast been careful for us 
 with all this care ; what is to be done for 
 thee ? Wouldest thou be spoken for to the 
 king, or to the captain of the host ? 
 
 But the woman answered, I dwell among 
 mine own people. Then Elisha said, What 
 is then to be done for her ? Gehazi 
 answered, Verily she hath no child, and her 
 husband is old. And Elisha said, Call her. 
 So she came and stood in the door. 
 
 Elisha said to her, About this time next 
 year thou shalt embrace a son. And she 
 said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not 
 lie unto thine handmaid. 
 
 At that time in the year following she had 
 a son. 
 
 On a certain day, when the child was 
 grown, he went out to his father to the 
 reapers. And he said to his father, My 
 head, my head ! And his father said to the 
 lad that waited on him, Carry him to his 
 mother. 
 
 The Child Dies. 
 
 So the lad carried the child to his mother ; 
 and he sat on her knees till noon, and then 
 died. And she went up and laid him on Hi" 
 bed of the man of God, and shut the door 
 upon him. 
 
 Then she called unto her husband, and 
 said, Send me one of the young men, and one 
 of the asses, that I may go to the man of 
 God, and come again. And he said, Where- 
 fore wilt thou go to him to-day? It is neither 
 new moon nor sabbath. The beginning of 
 each month was to be kept holy and Elisha 
 
 held services on Mount Carmel. And she 
 said, Peace ; let me go. 
 
 Then she said to her servant that went with 
 her, Drive, and go forward ; delay me not in 
 my riding, except I bid thee. 
 
 So she went, and came to the man of God 
 at Mount Carmel. When Elisha saw her 
 afar off, he said to Gehazi his servant, That 
 is the Shunammite. Run now to meet her, 
 and say unto her, Is it well with thee? Is it 
 well with thy husband ? Is it well with the 
 child? She answered, Peace. 
 
 And when she came to the man of God at 
 the hill, she caught him by the feet; but 
 Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And 
 the man of God said, Let her alone ; for her 
 soul is vexed within her ; and the Lord hath 
 hid the matter from me, and hath not told 
 me. Then she said, Did I desire a son of 
 my lord ? Did I not say, Do not deceive 
 me? 
 
 His Eyes See Again. 
 
 Then Elisha said to Gehazi, Gird up thy 
 loins, and take my staff in thy hand, and go 
 thy way; if thou meet any man, salute him 
 not ; and if any man salute thee, answer him 
 not ; and lay my staff upon the face of the 
 child. 
 
 And the mother of the child said, As the 
 Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not 
 leave thee. Then Elisha arose and followed 
 her. 
 
 Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the 
 staff upon the face of the child ; but there 
 was neither voice nor hearing. Wherefore 
 he returned to meet the prophet, and told 
 him, saying, The child is not awaked. 
 
 And when Elisha was come into the house 
 the child was dead, and laid upon his bed in 
 the prophet's chamber. He went in, there- 
 fore, and shut the door upon them twain, and 
 prayed unto the Lord. And he lay upon the 
 
276 
 
 THE STORY OF ELISHA. 
 
 child, and put his mouth upon the child's 
 mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his 
 hands upon his hands ; so he stretched him- 
 self upon the child, and the flesh of the child 
 waxed warm. Then he came down from the 
 chamber, and walked to and fro in the house ; 
 and went up to the chamber again, and 
 stretched himself upon the child. And the 
 child sneezed seven times, and opened his 
 eyes. 
 
 Then Elisha called Gehazi, and said, Call 
 this Shunammite. So Gehazi called her. 
 And when she was come in unto him, he 
 said, Take up thy son. Then she went in 
 and fell at his feet, and bowed he* self to the 
 ground before him, and took up her son and 
 went out. 
 
 Seven Years of Famine. 
 
 After this Elisha said to the woman, Arise, 
 and go thou and thine h^nsehold, and 
 sojourn wheresoever thou canst; for the 
 Lord will send a famine on this land, and it 
 shall be for seven years. So the woman 
 arose, and did after the saying of the man of 
 God; and went with her household, and 
 sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven 
 years. 
 
 At the end of seven years, she returned out 
 of the land of the Philistines; and went forth 
 to cry to the king for her house and for her 
 land. Now it chanced that at this very time 
 the king was talking with Gehazi, the servant 
 of the man of God, saying, Tell me, I pray 
 thee, all the great things that Elisha hath 
 done. And as he was telling the king how 
 he had restored a dead body to life, the very 
 woman, whose son he had restored to life, 
 cried to the king for her house and for her 
 land. And Gehazi said, My lord, O king, 
 this is the woman, and this is her son, whom 
 Elisha restored to life. 
 
 And when the king asked the woman, she 
 
 told him. So the king appointed a certain 
 officer, and said, Restore all that was hers, 
 and all the fruits of the field since the day 
 when she left the land, even until now. 
 
 There cried a certain woman, that had 
 been wife to one of the prophets, saying, Thy 
 servant my husband is dead ; and thou 
 knowestthat he did fear the Lord; and now 
 the creditor is come to take unto him my two 
 sons to be bondmen. 
 
 Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for 
 thee ? Tell me, what hast thou in the house? 
 She said, Thine handmaid has nothing in the 
 house, save so much oil as one might anoint 
 himself with. 
 
 A Debt Paid with Oil. 
 
 Then he said, Go borrow thee vessels 
 from all thy neighbors round about ; borrow 
 • pty vessels ; borrow not a few. And 
 when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the 
 door upon thee and thy sons, and shalt pour 
 out into all the vessels that thou hast 
 borrowed; and when thou hast filled a vessel 
 thou shalt set it aside. 
 
 So she went back to her house, and 
 borrowed vessels as many as she could, and 
 shut the door upon herself and sons. They 
 brought the vessels to her, and she poured 
 out. And when all the vessels were full, she 
 said to her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And 
 he said, There is not a vessel more. And the 
 oil stayed. 
 
 Then she came and told the man of God. 
 He said, Go, sell the oil and pay thy debt ; 
 and live thou and thy children on the rest. 
 
 Again, there was a dearth, and Elisha 
 came to Gilgal ; and the young men of the 
 school of the prophets that were there were 
 sitting before him while he taught them. 
 He said unto his servant, Set on the great 
 pot, and seethe pottage for the sons of the 
 prophets. 
 
THE STORY OF ELISHA. 
 
 277 
 
 And one went out into the field to gather 
 herbs, and found a wild gourd, and gathered 
 of the fruit his garment full, and came and 
 shred them into the pottage ; for they knew 
 not that they were harmful. So they poured 
 out for the men to eat. 
 
 And as they were eating of the pottage, 
 one cried out, O man of God, there is death 
 
 man a beam, and let us make a place where 
 we may dwell. Elisha answered, Go ye. 
 
 One of the young men said, Consent to go 
 with thy servants. And he answered, I will 
 go. 
 
 So he went with them. And when they 
 came to Jordan they cut down the wood. 
 And as one was lopping a beam, the iron of 
 
 ELISHA CAUSING IRON TO SWIM. 
 
 in the pot And they could not eat thereof. 
 Then Elisha said, Bring- meal. 
 
 So they brought it, and he cast it into the 
 pot, and said, Pour out for the people that 
 they may eat. They ate and took no harm. 
 
 The young men of the school of the pro- 
 phets that was at Jericho said to Elisha, The 
 place where we dwell is too narrow for us. 
 Let us go unto Jordan, and take thence every 
 
 the axe fell into the water, and the man cried 
 out, Alas, master for it was borrowed. The 
 man of God said, Where fell it ? 
 
 And when the man showed him the place, 
 he cut down a stick and cast it in thither, and 
 the iron did swim. Then he said to the man, 
 Take it up to thee. And the man put out 
 his hand and took it. 
 
 Naaman, captain of the host of the king of 
 
278 
 
 THE STORY OF ELISHA. 
 
 Syria, was a great man with his master, and 
 honorable, because by him the Lord had 
 given deliverance unto Syria. He was also a 
 mighty man of valor ; but he was a leper. 
 
 The Little Maid. 
 
 Now the Syrians had gone out by com- 
 panies, and had brought away captives from 
 the land of Israel ; among these was a little 
 maid, who waited upon Naaman's wife. 
 
 The maid said unto her mistress, Would 
 God my lord were with the prophet that is 
 in Samaria ! for he would heal him of his 
 leprosy. And Naaman heard it, and told his 
 master the king what the maid from the land 
 of Israel had said. 
 
 Then said the king, Go, depart; and I 
 will send a letter unto the king of Israel. So 
 Naaman departed, taking with him ten 
 talents of silver, and six thousand shekels of 
 gold, and ten changes of raiment. And he 
 brought the letter to the king of Israel. 
 
 The letter was written in this fashion : 
 Behold, I have sent herewith Naaman my 
 servant that thou mayest heal him of his 
 leprosy. 
 
 And when the king of Israel had read the 
 letter, he rent his clothes, and said, Am I God, 
 to kill and make alive, that this man doth 
 send unto me to heal a man of his leprosy ? 
 Wherefore see how he seeketh a quarrel 
 against me. 
 
 But when Elisha the man of God heard 
 that the king of Israel had rent his clothes he 
 sent to the king, saying, Why hast thou rent 
 thy clothes ? Let him come now to me, and 
 he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel. 
 So Naaman came with his chariot and with 
 all his company, and halted at the door of 
 Elisha. And Elisha sent a messenger unto 
 him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven 
 times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, 
 and thou shalt be clean. 
 
 But Naaman was angry, and said, 1 
 thought that he would surely come out to 
 me, and stand and call on the name of 
 Jehovah his God, and pass his hand over the 
 place and heal the leper. Are not Abana 
 and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than 
 all the waters of Israel ? May I not wash 
 in them and be clean ? 
 
 So he turned and went away in a rage 
 His servants came near and spoke unto him, 
 saying, My father, if the prophet had bidden 
 thee to do some great thing, wouldest thou 
 not have done it ? How much rather, then, 
 shouldest thou do it when he saith, Wash, 
 and be clean ? 
 
 Then he went down and dipped himself 
 seven times in Jordan, and his flesh came 
 again as the flesh of a little child, and he was 
 clean. Then he returned to the man of God, 
 he and all his company, and came and stood 
 before him. And he said, Behold, now I 
 know that there is no God in all the earth 
 but in Israel. Now, therefore, I pray thee, 
 take a present from thy servant. 
 
 Gehazi Becomes a Leper. 
 
 But Elisha said, As the Lord liveth, before 
 whom I stand, I will receive none. And 
 Naaman urged him to take it, but he refused. 
 
 Then Naaman said, Wilt thou give to thy 
 servant two mules' burden of earth ? For 
 thy servant will henceforth offer neither burnt 
 offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but 
 only unto the Lord. In this thing the Lord 
 pardon thy servant, that when my master 
 goeth into the house of Rimmon to worship 
 there, and he leaneth on my arm, and I bow 
 myself in the house of Rimmon ; when I bow 
 myself in the house, the Lord pardon thy 
 servant. Elisha said unto him, Go in peace. 
 
 So he departed ; but when he had gone a 
 little way, Gehazi, the servant of Elisha, said 
 to himself, My master hath spared Naaman 
 
NAAMAN AT THE DOOR OF THE PROPHET ELISHA. 
 
 279 
 
280 
 
 THE STORY OF ELISHA. 
 
 this Syrian in not receiving at his hands the 
 present which he brought ; but, as the Lord 
 liveth, I will run after him and take somewhat 
 of him. 
 
 So Gehazi followed after Naaman. And 
 when Naaman saw him running after him, he 
 lighted down from his chariot to meet him, 
 and said, Is all peace ? Gehazi said, All is 
 peace. My master hath sent me, saying, 
 Behold, even now there be come to me from 
 Mount Ephraim two young men from the 
 school of prophets ; give them, I pray thee, 
 a talent of silver and two changes of raiment. 
 
 Naaman said to him, Be content ; take two 
 talents. And he urged him, and bound two 
 talents of silver in two bags with two changes 
 of raiment, and laid them upon two of his 
 servants ; and they bare them before Gehazi. 
 
 When he came to the hill he took the 
 gifts from the hands of the servants and hid 
 them in the house, and went in and stood 
 before his master. Elisha said to him, 
 Whence comest thou, Gehazi? Gehazi 
 answered, Thy servant went no whither. 
 
 Elisha said to him, Went not my heart 
 with thee, when the man turned again from 
 his chariot to meet thee ? Is this a time to 
 receive silver, and garments, and oliveyards, 
 and vineyards, and sheep, and oxen, and 
 men-servants, and maid-servants ? The lep- 
 rosy, therefore, of Naaman shall cleave to 
 thee and to thy race for ever. And the 
 man went out from his presence a leper as 
 white as snow. 
 
 Elisha and the Syrians. 
 
 The king of Syria warred against Israel, 
 and took counsel with his servants, saying, 
 In such and such a place we will pitch our 
 camp. And Elisha, the man of God, sent 
 unto the king of Israel, saying, Beware that 
 thou pass not such a place ; for thither the 
 Syrians are come down. 
 
 And the king of Israel avoided the place 
 concerning which the man of God had warned! 
 him. And this happened not once nor twice 
 only, but many times. 
 
 Therefore the heart of the king of Syriat 
 was sore troubled for this thing. And he 
 called his servants, and said unto them, Will 
 ye not show me which of us helpeth the king 
 of Israel ? 
 
 And one of his servants said, There is no* 
 one, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the 
 prophet that is in Israel, telleth the king of 
 Israel the words that thou speakest in the 
 secret place of thy bedchamber. The king 
 said, Go, spy out where he is, that I may 
 send and fetch him. It was told the king, 
 saying, Behold, he is in Dothan. So the 
 king sent thither horses and chariots and a 
 great host; and they came by night and 
 encompassed the city. 
 
 A Strange Sight. 
 
 And when the servant of the man of God 
 had risen early and gone forth from the 
 house, a host encompassed the city, having 
 with it horses and footmen. And the ser- 
 vant said unto him, A^-s, my master, what 
 shall we do? 
 
 Elisha answered him, Fear not ; for they 
 that are with us are more than they that are 
 with them. And Elisha prayed, and said, 
 Lord, I pray thee, open this young man's 
 eyes, that he may see. 
 
 And the Lord opened the eyes of the 
 young man ; and, behold, the mountain was 
 full of horses and chariots of fire round about 
 Elisha. When the Syrians came down from 
 the hills to besiege the city, Elisha prayed 
 again unto the Lord, saying, Smite this 
 people, I pray thee, with blindness. 
 
 So the Lord smote them with blindness, 
 according to the word of Elisha. And 
 Elisha said, This is not the way, neither is. 
 
ELISHA WITNESSING THE. TRANSLATIC N OF ELIJAH 
 
THE STORY OF ELISHA. 
 
 281 
 
 this the city. Come ye after me, and I will 
 bring you to the man whom ye seek. 
 
 But he led them to Samaria ; and when 
 they were come to Samaria he prayed again, 
 Lord open the eyes of these men that they 
 may see. And the Lord opened their eyes, 
 
 bow. Set bread and water before them that 
 they may eat and drink and go back to their 
 master. 
 
 So the king made a great feast for them ; 
 and when they had eaten and drunk he sent 
 them away, and they went to their master. 
 
 THE STONING OF ZECHARIAH, 
 
 and they saw ; and they were in the midst of 
 Samaria. 
 
 When the king of Israel saw them he said, 
 My father, shall I smite them till I destroy 
 them. Elisha answered, Thou shalt not 
 smite them. Smite those whom thou hast 
 taken captive with thy own sword and thy own 
 
 So the bands of Syria came no more into the 
 land of Israel. 
 
 In the days of Elisha, when Joash was. 
 king of Judah, Zechariah, a good man, was 
 high -priest. He saw the idolatry of the 
 people and prophesied against them, saying, 
 Why transgress ye the commandments of the 
 
282 
 
 THE 'STORY OF ELISHA. 
 
 Lord; that ye cannot prosper ? Because ye 
 have forsaken the Lord, he hath also for- 
 saken you. 
 
 This so displeased the king that he com- 
 manded Zechariah to be stoned to death. 
 The high-priest's father, Jehoiada, had shown 
 kindness to the king, but this did not prevent 
 the king from slaying the high-priest. 
 Afterward the king's servants conspired 
 against him for the blood he had shed, and 
 slew him on his bed. They buried him in 
 the city of David, but not in the sepulchres 
 of the kings. 
 
 Elisha went to Damascus. At that time 
 Ben-hadad king of Syria was sick ; and it 
 was told him, saying. The man of God is 
 come hither. Then Ben-hadad said to 
 Hazael, who was one of his officers, Take 
 a present in thy hand, and go, meet the man 
 of God, and inquire of the Lord by him 
 whether I shall recover of this disease. 
 
 Becomes King of Syria. 
 
 So Hazael went to meet the prophet, and 
 took a present with him, even of every good 
 thing of Damascus, forty camels' burden, 
 and came and stood before Elisha, and said, 
 Thy son Ben-hadad king of Syria hath sent, 
 saying, Shall I recover of this disease ? 
 
 And Elisha said unto him, Go, say to the 
 king, if thou wilt, that he shall certainly live; 
 nevertheless the Lord hath showed me that 
 he will certainly die. And when he had said 
 this, he looked steadfastly at Hazael, till the 
 man was ashamed. And Elisha wept. 
 
 Hazael said, Why weepest thou ? Elisha 
 answered, I weep, because I know the evil 
 that thou wilt do unto the children of Israel : 
 their strongholds thou shalt burn with fire, 
 and slay the people. 
 
 Hazael said, But what is thy servant, who 
 is but a dog, that he should do this great 
 thing? Elisha answered, The Lord hath 
 
 showed me that thou shalt be king over Syria. 
 
 So Hazael departed from Elisha, and came 
 to his master, who said to him, What said 
 Elisha to- thee? Hazael answered, He told 
 me that thou shouldest surely recover. 
 
 But on the morrow, Hazael took a thick 
 cloth, and dipped it in water, and spread it 
 on the sick man's face, so that he died. And 
 Hazael reigned in his stead. 
 
 Again Elisha called a certain young man 
 of the school of the prophets, and said to 
 him, Gird up thy loins, and take this box 
 of oil in thine hand, and go to Ramoth-in- 
 Gilead. And when thou comest thither, look 
 out there Jehu the son of Jehoshaphat, the 
 son of Nimshi, and go in, and make him rise 
 up from where he sitteth with the other cap- 
 tains, and take him to a private chamber; 
 then take the box of oil, and pour it on his 
 head, and say, Thus saith the Lord, I have 
 anointed thee king over Israel. Then open 
 the door and flee, and tarry not. And the 
 young man did so. 
 
 Thus Jehu rebelled against Jehoram the 
 son of Ahab, and rode to Jezreel; and when 
 Jehoram came out to meet him, he slew him, 
 and reigned over Israel in his stead. 
 
 Last Words of Elisha. 
 
 Elisha was fallen sick of the sickness 
 whereof he died. And Joash the king of 
 Israel came down unto him, and wept before 
 him, saying, O my father, my father! The 
 chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof! 
 
 Elisha said unto him, Take bow anc 
 arrows. So the king took unto him a bow 
 and arrows. 
 
 Then the prophet said, Put now thine hand 
 upon the bow. And the king did so. And 
 Elisha put his hands upon the king's hands. 
 And he said, Open the window eastward. 
 So the king opened it. Then Elisha said, 
 Shoot. And the king shot. 
 
284 
 
 THE STORY OF ELISHA. 
 
 And Elisha said The arrow of the Lord's 
 deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance 
 from Syria ; for thou shalt smite the Syrians 
 in Aphek till thou have consumed them. 
 
 Then Elisha said, Take the arrows. And 
 the king took them. And he said unto the 
 king of Israel, Smite upon the ground ; and 
 the king smote upon the ground thrice, and 
 stayed. 
 
 The man of God was angry with him, and 
 said, Thou shouldest have smitten upon the 
 ground five or six times. Then hadst thou 
 smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it ; 
 whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. 
 So Elisha died, being full of years. 
 
 Victory over the Syrians. 
 
 But Hazel king of Syria oppressed Israel 
 all the days of Jehoahaz. And the Lord was 
 gracious unto them, and had compassion on 
 them, and had respect unto them, because of 
 his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, 
 and would not destroy them, neither cast he 
 them from his presence as yet. 
 
 So Hazel king of Syria died; and Ben- 
 hadad his son reigned in his stead. And 
 Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again out 
 of the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazel 
 the cities, which he had taken out of the 
 hand of Jehoahaz his father by war. Three 
 times did Jehoash beat him, and recovered the 
 cities of Israel. 
 
 In the second year of Jehoash king of 
 Israel reigned Amaziah the son of Joash 
 king of Judah. He was twenty and five 
 years old when he began to reign, and 
 reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. 
 And he did that which was right in the sight 
 of the Lord, yet not like David his father : 
 he did according to all things as Joash his 
 father did. Howbeit the high places were 
 not taken away : as yet the people did sacri- 
 fice and burnt incense on the high places. 
 
 As soon as the kingdom was confirmed in 
 his hand, he slew his servants which had 
 slain the king his father. But the children 
 of the murderers he slew not: according 
 unto that which is written in the book of the 
 law of Moses, wherein the Lord commanded > 
 saying, The fathers shall not be put to death 
 for the children, nor the children be put to 
 death for the fathers ; but ev'ery man shall be 
 put to death for his own sin. 
 
 Parable of the Thistle and Cedar. 
 
 Then Amaziah sent messengers to Jehoash,, 
 king of Israel, saying, Come, let us look one 
 another in the face. And Jehoash the king 
 of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah > 
 saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent 
 to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, 
 Give thy daughter to my son to wife : and 
 there passed by a wild beast that was in Leba- 
 non, and trode down the thistle. Thou hast 
 indeed smitten Edom, and thine heart hath 
 lifted thee up : glory of this, and tarry at 
 home: for why shouldest thou meddle to 
 thy hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, 
 and Judah with thee ? 
 
 But Amaziah would not hear. Therefore 
 Jehoash king of Israel went up: and he and 
 Amaziah king of Judah looked one another 
 in the face at Beth-shemesh, which belongeth 
 to Judah. And Judah was put to the worse 
 before Israel ; and they fled every man to 
 their tents. 
 
 And Jehoash king of Israel took Amaziah 
 king of Judah, the son of Jehoash the son of 
 Ahaziah, at Beth-shemesh, and came to Jeru- 
 salem, and broke down the wall of Jerusalem 
 from the gate of Ephraim unto the corner 
 gate, four hundred cubits. 
 
 And he took all the gold and silver, and 
 all the vessels that were found in the house 
 of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king's 
 house, and hostages, and returned to Samaria^ 
 
CLEANSED FROM UNRIGHTEOUSNESS. 
 
 285 
 
THE SUN AND SHIELD. 
 
 286 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 B. C. 862-698. 
 
 Two Prophets and a King — Jonah sent to Nineveh — A Prophet Cast into the Sea — 
 The Great Fish — A Good King in Judah — The Temple Purified — A Royal Feast — 
 The Sickness of Hezekiah — Babylon and Assyria — Message from the Assyrian King 
 — Isaiah Gives Courage to the Jews — A Wonderful Vision. 
 
 FTER the death of Elisha, his 
 prophecy was fulfilled. Jehoash 
 was victorious over the Syrians 
 three times, but as the prophet 
 also said, he could not wholly 
 subdue them. Jehoash reigned 
 sixteen years, and he died and was buried in 
 Samaria ; and Jeroboam, his son, reigned in 
 his stead. The people of Israel had been 
 hard pressed by their enemies, and were in 
 great trouble, and in need of help. 
 
 So God was good to them, and gave 
 Jeroboam strength to overcome the Syrians, 
 and to take from them two of their cities, 
 Damascus and Hamah. Yet the people did 
 not thank God, or repent of their sins, but 
 kept on worshipping the two golden calves, 
 and increasing in wickedness. 
 
 Then the Lord sent a prophet named Amos 
 to warn them. And when Amos came he 
 told the children of Israel that there was no 
 other people on the earth whom God loved 
 as well as he did them. They were his 
 chosen ones. But they had loved evil and 
 not good. They had been cruel to the poor, 
 had robbed and cheated one another, and 
 been guilty of many crimes. God had 
 already punished them in the past with 
 plagues of all sorts, hoping they would turn 
 to him and repent, and he would forgive 
 them. 
 
 Then Amaziah, who was the chief priest 
 at Bethel in the temple of Baal, sent to Jero- 
 boam, saying Amos is speaking against thee 
 to the children of Israel. For he says, 
 Jeroboam shall be slain, and the people of 
 Israel taken captive. 
 
 What the Herdsman Said. 
 
 And Amaziah said to Amos, O thou seer, 
 go away into the land of Judah, and 
 prophesy there. But prophesy no more in 
 the place where King Jeroboam comes to 
 worship. 
 
 Then Amos said to Amaziah, I was no 
 prophet, neither was I a prophet's son, but I 
 was a herdsman and a gatherer of sycamore 
 fruit. And the Lord came to me and said, Go, 
 prophesy unto my people Israel. Therefore, 
 Amaziah, hear thou the word of the Lord. 
 Thou sayest, Prophesy not against the people 
 of Israel ; but thus saith the Lord, Thy wife 
 shall go away and leave thee ; thy sons and 
 thy daughters shall fall by the sword ; and 
 thou shalt die in a polluted land. 
 
 The prophets Hosea and Joel also spoke 
 to the people of Israel, in the days of King 
 Jeroboam, and told them of the punishment 
 in store for them, if they did not repent of 
 their sins and give their hearts to God. Yet 
 they would not listen to these good men, nor 
 give up the worship of the golden calves. 
 
 287 
 
288 
 
 TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 
 
 And Jeroboam reigned forty-one years, when 
 lie died, and Zachariah, his son, was made 
 king in his stead. 
 
 One of the prophets in the days of Jero- 
 t>oam, king of Israel, was Jonah. He was 
 sent by God with a message to the people of 
 Ninevah. Ninevah was the capital of Assyria; 
 it was a very large place, and its wickedness 
 was very great. 
 
 The errand upon which God sent Jonah 
 was to cry against this city because of its 
 sins, and to say to the people, Yet forty days, 
 and Nineveh shall be overthrown. 
 
 Now Jonah did not like to go on such an 
 errand. He may have thought that the 
 people would ill-treat him, perhaps kill him, 
 if he came with such evil tidings. At all 
 events, he made up his mind that he would 
 not go to Nineveh, but as there was a ship 
 just going to sail quite a different way, he 
 said he would go into that ship, and so get 
 away from the presence of the Lord. 
 
 A Furious Tempest. 
 
 Jonah found that he only ran into difficulty 
 when he ran away from God. The Lord 
 sent a great wind into the sea, and there was 
 a mighty tempest, so that the ship was like 
 to be broken. Then the sailors were afraid, 
 and every man cried to his idol god, for they 
 were heathens. Now they cast out the 
 wares that were in the ship into the sea, to 
 lighten it of them. Where was Jonah ? Fast 
 asleep in the cabin. The captain came to 
 him, and said, What do you mean by sleeping 
 now? Arise, call upon your God, perhaps 
 your God can save us. 
 
 The sailors thought that perhaps this 
 tempest came because of some hidden sin of 
 one of their number. So they cast lots to 
 try to find out the sinner. God directed the 
 lot, and it fell upon Jonah. 
 
 Then they said to him, Who are you ? Of 
 
 what land are you a native ? What have 
 you done to cause this storm ? 
 
 Jonah, in his fear of God's anger, was not 
 afraid of men now, but he boldly said, I am 
 a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord God of 
 heaven, who made both the sea and the dry 
 land. I am now running away from some 
 work that he gave me to do. 
 
 The men at this were more afraid ; they 
 knew that the storm was not a natural one 
 but sent by God for a special reason. Why 
 did you act so ? they said. What shall we 
 do to you to make the sea calmer ? for the 
 sea now was quite furious. 
 
 They Throw Him Overboard. 
 
 Throw me overboard, said Jonah ; then the 
 sea will be calm to you : for I know that for 
 my sake is this great tempest sent. The men 
 did not like to do this ; they rowed very hard 
 to bring the ship to land ; but they could not ; 
 the raging of the waves increased every 
 moment. 
 
 Then these heathen men were so awe- 
 struck with the greatness of the Lord God, 
 that they cried unto him, and said, O Lord, 
 thou knowest that it is not our wish to 
 destroy this man, so do not punish us for 
 casting him into the water ; the storm came 
 as it pleased thee. 
 
 Then they threw Jonah into the sea ; and 
 the sea was calm and still at once. We are 
 told that they feared the Lord exceedingly, 
 and offered a sacrifice unto him, and made 
 vows, or promises, to him. 
 
 But what became of Jonah? Now the 
 Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow 
 up Jonah : and he was in the belly of the fish 
 three days and three nights. He now began 
 to think how foolish and wicked he had been, 
 and he prayed to God even in that dreadful 
 place. God heard his prayer, and the Lord 
 ! spoke to the fish ; so it went to the shore, 
 
TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 
 
 2&> 
 
 and threw up Jonah in safety upon dry land. 
 
 Now Jonah again heard God bid him go 
 to Nineveh to deliver his message, and this 
 time he went. 
 
 Did the people ill-treat him when they 
 heard him say that their city would be 
 destroyed ? No ; they believed the message, 
 and said, Let every man fast, and wear sack- 
 cloth, and mourn; and let every man cry 
 
 him, so he said that now he would spare 
 their city. 
 
 Jonah should have been glad at this happy 
 ending of his painful errand. Instead of 
 that he complained to God, and said, People 
 will take me for a false prophet now that you 
 have not let my prophecy come true. I had 
 better die. God corrected this foolish, ill- 
 tempered man. 
 
 JONAH 
 
 earnestly to God to turn away his anger 
 from us, and let every man give up his evil 
 ways which have brought this anger upon 
 us. Who can tell if God will hear us and 
 forgive us, so that we do not perish ? 
 
 So every one mourned ; even the king on 
 the throne laid aside his robes, and covered 
 himself with sackcloth and sat in ashes. The 
 merciful God saw that they turned from their 
 •evil ways, and humbled themselves before 
 19 
 
 SHELTERED BY THE VINE. 
 
 While Jonah was watching the city, God 
 bade a gourd grow up quickly to shelter him, 
 and Jonah was very glad of its shade. But 
 God prepared a worm to destroy the gourd 
 in a night, so the next morning Jonah fainted 
 from the heat, and then he grumbled because 
 the gourd was gone. Then God said, You 
 had pity on the gourd which came up in a 
 night and perished in a night, why should I 
 not spare that great city, Nineveh, with its 
 
TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 
 
 290 
 
 large number of children and its innocent 
 cattle? You fret at the loss of a worthless 
 gourd, and you fret because I do not destroy 
 a great city. You should rejoice in my 
 
 mercy. 
 
 We now come to the story of Hezekiah 
 who reigned in Judah. He was the son of 
 Kino- Ahaz. Now Ahaz had done very 
 wickedly in the sight of the Lord. He 
 walked in the way of the kings of Israel, 
 according to the abominations of the heathen. 
 He made one of his 
 sons to pass through 
 the fire to Molech ; 
 and he sacrificed and 
 burnt incense in the 
 high places, and upon 
 the hills, and under 
 every green tree. And 
 in the great court of 
 the temple he set up 
 an altar after the pat- 
 tern of one that he had 
 seen in Damascus; 
 and the brazen altar 
 of sacrifice he put 
 down from its place; 
 and he cut off the 
 ornaments from the 
 bases of the laver 
 which Hiram had 
 made for Solomon; 
 
 and he took down the molten sea from the 
 brazen oxen whereon it stood, and put it on 
 a pavement of stone. 
 
 Also the covered seat of the king, whereon 
 he sat, when he came into the house of the 
 Lord, did he take, to give it to the king of 
 Assyria. And he broke in pieces the vessels 
 of the house, and shut the doors of the house, 
 so that the priests could not minister therein, 
 nor offer the sacrifice morning and evening 
 as the law commanded. 
 
 Then Micah the Morasthite stood up, and 
 prophesied against the land, saying to the 
 people, Zion for your sake shall be plowed as 
 a field, and Jerusalem shall become heaps, 
 and the mountain of the house as the high 
 places of the forest. 
 
 But Hezekiah did that which was right in 
 the sight of the Lord, according to all that 
 his father David did. 
 
 In the first year of his reign, in the first 
 month of the year, he opened the doors of 
 
 THE MOLTEN SEA. 
 
 the house of the Lord, which his father had 
 shut, and repaired them. And he brought 
 the priests and the Levites into the eastern 
 court, and said to them, Hear me, ye 
 Levites ; sanctify now yourselves, and sanc- 
 tify the house of the Lord God of your 
 fathers, and carry forth all the uncleanness 
 out of the Holy Place. For our fathers have 
 trespassed, and have done that which was 
 evil in the sight of the Lord our God, and 
 have forsaken him, and have turned away 
 
HEZEKIAH CLEANSING THE TEMPLE. 
 
 2V1 
 
292 
 
 TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 
 
 their faces from the house of the Lord, and 
 have shot up the doors, and put out the 
 lamps, and have not burned incense, nor 
 offered offerings therein. 
 
 Therefore is the Lord wroth with us. Our 
 fathers have fallen by the sword, and our 
 sons and our daughters and our wives are in 
 captivity for this. Now it is in mine heart to 
 make a covenant with the Lord God of 
 Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn from us. 
 My sons, be not negligent: for the Lord 
 hath chosen you to stand before him, and to 
 serve him. 
 
 Then the Levites cleansed the outer court, 
 and the priests the Holy Place; all ttrj 
 uncleanness that was therein they brought 
 out ; and the Levites carried it to the brook 
 Kidron. On the first day of the first month 
 they began to sanctify. Eight days were 
 they in purifying the courts, and eight days 
 in purifying the temple. On the sixteenth 
 dav of the first month they made an end. 
 
 They Sound the Trumpets. 
 
 Then they went to King Hezekiah, and 
 said, We have cleansed all the house of the 
 Lord, and the altar, and the table of the 
 shewbread, and all the vessels. 
 
 The next day they offered sacrifices; and 
 when the burnt offering began, then the 
 trumpets sounded, and all the instruments of 
 music which David had commanded. And 
 all the congregation worshipped, and the 
 singers sang, and the trumpets sounded, till 
 the burnt offering was finished. 
 
 Also King Hezekiah and the princes com- 
 manded the Levites to sing praises unto the 
 Lord, using the words of David, and of 
 Asaph the seer. 
 
 In the second month of the year Hezekiah 
 sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote 
 letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that 
 they should come to the house of the Lord 
 
 at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the 
 Lord God of Israel. For they could not 
 keep it at the due time, because the house 
 was not sanctified, neither had the people 
 gathered themselves together to Jerusalem. 
 This proclamation was made from Dan to 
 Beer-sheba, saying, Ye children of Israel, 
 turn again unto the Lord, the God of Abra- 
 ham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he will return 
 unto the remnant of you that are escaped out 
 of the hand of the kings of Assyria. Be not 
 stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield 
 yourselves unto the Lord, and enter into his 
 sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for ever ; 
 and serve the Lord your God, that the fierce- 
 ness of his wrath may turn from you. 
 
 Crowds at the Feast. 
 
 So the posts passed from city to city, 
 through the country of Ephraim and Manas- 
 seh even unto Zebulun ; but they laughed 
 them to scorn, and mocked them. Never- 
 theless divers of Asher and Manasseh and 
 Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to 
 Jerusalem. And in Judah the people were 
 of one heart to do the commandment of the 
 king and of the princes ; so that there 
 assembled much people in Jerusalem to keep 
 the feast of unleavened bread in the second 
 month. 
 
 When Hezekiah had been king in Jeru- 
 salem for fourteen years he was sick unto 
 death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of 
 Amoz, came to him, and said to him, Thus 
 saith the Lord, Set thine house in order, for 
 thou shalt die, and not live. 
 
 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall 
 and prayed unto the Lord, saying, I beseech 
 thee, O Lord, remember now how I have 
 walked before thee in truth and with a 
 perfect heart, and have done that which is 
 good in thy sight And Hezekiah wept. 
 
 And before Isaiah had gone out into the 
 
TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 
 
 293 
 
 middle court of the palace, the word of the 
 Lord came to him, saying, Turn again, and 
 tell Hezekiah, the captain of my people, Thus 
 saith the Lord, the God of David thy father, 
 I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy 
 tears : behold, I will heal thee : on the third 
 day thou shalt go up unto the house of the 
 Lord. And I will add unto thy days fifteen 
 years ; and I will deliver thee and this city 
 
 ure-house, the silver, and the gold, and the 
 precious ointments that he had, and his 
 armory, and all that was found in his treas- 
 ures ; there was nothing in his house, or in 
 all his dominion, that Hezekiah showed them 
 not. 
 
 Then came Isaiah the prophet and said to 
 Hezekiah, What said these men ? And 
 whence came they unto thee ? And Heze- 
 
 THE LIPS OF ISAIAH TOUCHED 
 
 out of the hand of the king of Assyria ; and 
 I will defend this city for mine own sake, and 
 for my servant David's sake. Isaiah said, 
 Take a lump of figs and lay it on the boil. 
 And he was soon well again. 
 
 Berodach-baladan, king of Babylon, sent 
 letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he had 
 heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 
 
 Hezekiah received the ambassadors of the 
 king of Babylon, and showed them his treas- 
 
 WITH A COAL FROM THE ALTAR. 
 
 kiah said, They are come from a far country, 
 e^en from Babylon. 
 
 Then Isaiah said, What have they seen in 
 thy house ? Hezekiah answered, All that is 
 in mine house have they seen ; there is 
 nothing in my treasures that I have not 
 shown them. 
 
 Then Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the 
 word of the Lord, Behold, the days come 
 when all that is in thy house, and that which 
 
294 
 
 TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 
 
 thy fathers have laid up in store unto this 
 day, shall be carried away unto Babylon \ 
 nothing shall be left, saith the Lord. And 
 some of thy posterity shall they take away, 
 and they shall serve in the palace of the king 
 of Babylon. 
 
 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, Good is the 
 word of the Lord which he hath spoken. Is 
 it not good if there be peace and prosperity 
 in the days ? 
 
 The Assyrians. 
 
 In the fourth year of Hezekiah king of 
 Judah, Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up 
 against Samaria, and besieged it. For three 
 years did the Assyrians besiege it; and in 
 the sixth year of Hezekiah they took it, 
 Sargon being then their king. 
 
 All the days of Sargon, Hezekiah paid 
 tribute to him, though the king of Babylon, 
 when he sent ambassadors to him after his 
 sickness, had well-nigh persuaded him to 
 rebel. But when Sargon was dead, having 
 been murdered in the royal city that he had 
 built for himself, and Sennacherib his son 
 reigned in his stead, then Hezekiah rebelled 
 against him, refusing to pay tribute any 
 1 longer. 
 
 Then Sennacherib came up against the 
 land Judah, and all the fenced cities, till 
 Jerusalem was left alone. Then Hezekiah 
 strengthened the walls, building it up where 
 it was broken, and made darts and shields in 
 abundance, and set captains over the people, 
 and encouraged them, bidding them to be 
 strong and courageous, For, said he, there 
 are more with us than with him : with him is 
 an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our 
 God to help us, and to fight our battles. 
 Also he took counsel with his princes and 
 f his mighty men, to stop the waters of the 
 fountains which were without the city. 
 
 Nevertheless, when the king of Assyria 
 
 threw up a mound against Jerusalem, and 
 shut it in on every side, Hezekiah repented 
 him of what he had done. His ministers 
 also counselled submission, though Isaiah the 
 prophet would have had him trust in the 
 Lord. Therefore he sent to the king of 
 Assyria at Lachish — for he had gone to 
 Lachish, leaving his army at Jerusalem — 
 saying, I have offended ; take away thy host 
 from before the city; that which thou puttest 
 on me I will bear. 
 
 Then the king of Assyria put upon Heze- 
 kiah a tribute of three hundred talents of 
 silver, and thirty talents of gold. And Heze- 
 kiah gave him all the silver that was found in 
 the house of the Lord, and in the treasures 
 of the king's house. At that time did he cut 
 off the gold from the doors of the temple of 
 the Lord, and from the pillars which he had 
 himself overlaid, that he might pay the 
 tribute which the king of Assyria had put 
 upon him. 
 
 Jerusalem Besieged. 
 
 When Sennacherib had taken Lachish, he 
 heard that Tirhakahthe Ethiopian was coming 
 up against him with a great army from 
 Egypt; therefore he sent to Hezekiah 
 demanding of him that he should give up 
 Jerusalem into his hands. The captain of 
 his host, and the chief chamberlain, and 
 another of the chief captains, did he send to 
 King Hezekiah, and a great company of 
 soldiers with them. 
 
 Then these three ambassadors of Senna- 
 cherib stood by the conduit of the upper 
 pool, which is in the highway of the fuller's 
 field, and called to Hezekiah to come out to 
 them. 
 
 The king sent Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, 
 who was over the household, and Shebna the 
 scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, 
 to hear the message which they brought. 
 
TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 
 
 295 
 
 Then the second of the captains spake thus 
 to them, Speak ye now to Hezekiah, Thus 
 saith the great king, the king of Assyria, 
 What confidence is this wherein thou trustest? 
 Thou sayest (but they are but vain words), 
 I have counsel and strength for the wor. 
 Now, on whom dost thou trust, that thou 
 rebellest against me ? Behold, thou trustest 
 on the staff of this bruised reed, even upon 
 Egypt, on which, if a man lean, it will go 
 into his hand, and pierce it : so is Pharaoh 
 king of Egypt to all that trust in him. 
 
 The King of Assyria. 
 
 Now, therefore, give hostages to my lord 
 the king of Assyria, and I will deliver thee 
 two thousand horses, if thou be able on thy 
 part to set riders upon them. But if thou 
 canst not, then how wilt thou drive away even 
 one captain of the least of my master's ser- 
 vants, and put thy trust on Egypt for chariots 
 and for horsemen ? 
 
 Am I now come up without the Lord 
 against this place to destroy it ? Nay ; but 
 the Lord said to me, Go up against this land, 
 and destroy it. 
 
 Then said Eliakim and his fellows to the 
 messenger of the king of Assyria, Speak to 
 thy servants in the Syrian language ; for we 
 understand it : and talk not with us in the 
 Jews' language, so that the people on the 
 wall can hear. 
 
 But he answered, Hath my master sent me 
 to thy master and to thee to speak these 
 words ? Hath he not sent me to the men 
 that sit on the wall, whom ye will cause to 
 die of hunger and of thirst with you. 
 
 Then he turned and cried to the people 
 with a loud voice in the Jews' language, 
 saying, Hear the words of the great king, 
 the king of Assyria : Thus saith the king, 
 Let not Hezekiah deceive you ; for he shall 
 not be able to deliver you out of my hand. 
 
 Neither let him make you trust in the Lord, 
 saying, The Lord will surely deliver us ; and 
 this city shall not be delivered into the hand 
 of the king of Assyria. 
 
 Hearken not to Hezekiah, but hearken to 
 the words of the great king : Make peace 
 with me, and come out to me from behind 
 your walls, and then eat every man of his 
 own vine and his own fig-tree, and drink the 
 waters of his own' cistern ; till I come and 
 take you away to a land like your own land, 
 a land of corn and wine, a land of bread and 
 vineyards, a land of oil olive and of honey, 
 that ye may live and not die ; and hearken 
 not to Hezekiah when he would persuade 
 you, saying, The Lord will deliver us. 
 
 But the people held their peace, and 
 answered him not a word: for the king's 
 commandment was, Answer him not. 
 
 Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah came 
 to Hezekiah, with their clothes rent, and told 
 him the words of the Assyrians. 
 
 "Be not Afraid." 
 
 And when Hezekiah heard them he rent 
 his clothes, and covered himself with sack- 
 cloth, and went into the house of the Lord. 
 And he sent Eliakim and Shebna and the 
 elders of the priests to Isaiah the prophet the 
 son of Amoz. And they said unto him, 
 Thus saith Hezekiah, This is a day of 
 trouble, and chastisement, and reproach : for 
 we are come to extremity, and there is none 
 to help. It may be that the Lord thy God 
 will hear all the words of the captain whom 
 the king of Assyria his master hath sent to 
 reproach the living God : and will punish 
 him for the words which the Lord thy God 
 hath heard : wherefore lift up thy prayer for 
 the remnant that are left. 
 
 Isaiah said to them, Thus shall ye say to 
 your master, Thus saith the Lord, Be not 
 afraid of the words which thou hast heard 
 
296 
 
 TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 
 
 with which the servants of the king of Assy- 
 ria have blasphemed me. Behold, I will put 
 a new spirit, even a spirit of fear, in him, and 
 he shall hear evil tidings, and he shall return 
 to his own land ; and I will cause him to fall 
 by the sword in his own land. 
 
 Then the messengers of Sennacherib 
 
 Behold, thou hast heard what the kings of 
 Assyria have done to all lands, by destroying 
 them utterly ; and shalt thou be delivered ? 
 These words did Sennacherib write in a 
 letter, and sent it by the hands of his 
 messengers to Hezekiah. And Hezekiah 
 received it from them, and read it ; and he 
 
 THE VISION OF THE 
 
 returned to their master, and found him war- 
 ring against Libnah. Then, because he 
 heard that Tirhakah was near at hand, he 
 sent messengers again to Hezekiah, saying, 
 Let not thy God in whom thou trustest 
 deceive thee, saying, Jerusalem shall not be 
 delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria. 
 
 PROPHET ISAIAH. 
 
 went up into the house of the Lord, and hfi 
 spread the letter before the Lord. 
 
 And he prayed before the Lord, and said, 
 O Lord God of Israel, that dwellest between 
 the cherubim, Thou art the God, even thou 
 alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; thou 
 hast made heaven and earth. Lord, bow 
 
TWO PROPHETS AND A KING. 
 
 297 
 
 down thine ear, and hear : open, Lord, thine 
 eyes, and see ; and hear the words wherewith 
 Sennacherib hath reproached the living God. 
 Of a truth, the kings have destroyed the 
 nations and their lands, and have cast their 
 gods into the fire ; for they were no gods, 
 but the work of men's hands, wood and stone ; 
 therefore have the kings of Assyria destroyed 
 them. Now therefore, O Lord our God, I 
 beseech thee, save thou us out of his hand, 
 that all the kingdoms of the earth may know 
 that thou art the Lord God, even thou only. 
 
 An Angel Smites the Assyrians. 
 
 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to 
 Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God 
 of Israel, That which thou hast prayed to 
 me against Sennacherib king of Assyria I 
 have heard. 
 
 And that night the Angel of the Lord 
 
 went out and smote in the camp of the 
 Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five 
 thousand ; and when they that were left 
 arose early in the morning, behold, all their 
 comrades were dead men. 
 
 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed, 
 and returned to Nineveh, and dwelt there. 
 
 And as he was worshipping in the house 
 of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and 
 Sharezer his sons smote him with the edge 
 of the sword ; and they escaped into the land 
 of Armenia. 
 
 And Isaiah had a vision of the Lord in his 
 glory. He saw the Child whose name was 
 Wonderful and the wise men of the East 
 bringing their gifts and bowing down before 
 him. He saw the Son of Man bearing his 
 cross, and then his triumph over his enemies. 
 The dragon of sin was slain, and on earth 
 there was peace and good will. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 B. C. 605. 
 
 The Story of Daniel — Captivity of the Jews — Three Hebrew Youths — The King's 
 Great Image — The Fiery Furnace — Handwriting on the Wall — Weighed and 
 Found Wanting — Daniel's Enemies — In the Den of Lions — A Remarkable Vision; 
 
 HE Israelites were divided into 
 two kingdoms. Those who 
 always had one of David's 
 family for their king were 
 called Jews, and only the 
 other part of the nation were 
 called Israelites. Both the 
 Jews and the Israelites were constantly dis- 
 obeying God and -turning away from him. 
 We must not write these histories otherwise 
 than as they are in the Bible, and after all 
 it would never do to suppose that there are 
 only good people in the world. Both the 
 Jews and the Israelites did many bad things. 
 Again and again they built altars to worship 
 false gods. 
 
 At last that thing happened to them which 
 Moses had long ago told them would happen 
 if they persisted in disobeying God. Their 
 enemies came and destroyed their towns, 
 and threw down their houses, and carried 
 the people away into a strange land. This 
 happened first to the Israelites, and they 
 have never yet come back again to their 
 own land. 
 
 Capture of Jerusalem. 
 
 Afterwards, Nebuchadnezzar, king of Baby- 
 lon, came to Jerusalem and surrounded it 
 with his soldiers. They broke down the 
 walls of Jerusalem, and took it, and killed 
 great numbers of the people. They also 
 pulled down the beautiful temple, and carried 
 298 
 
 off all the gold and the silver and the pre- 
 cious things that were found in it. 
 
 All the people who were not killed were 
 carried away captives to Babylon. The 
 wicked king who was then reigning in Jeru- 
 salem was also taken prisoner ; and Nebu- 
 chadnezzar chained him with iron chains, and 
 put him into a prison in Babylon. But the 
 costly vessels of gold and silver that he had 
 taken out of the temple, these Nebuchad- 
 nezzar brought into the house of his god. 
 
 The land that God had given to his people 
 was now waste and desolate, with its towns 
 all destroyed, and hardly any people left in 
 it. And the Jews were told by their prophets 
 that they must live in Babylon for seventy- 
 years. 
 
 When Nebuchadnezzar was come to Baby 
 Ion with all these captives, he desired one 
 of his officers to choose from among them a 
 certain number of youths who were hand- 
 some and clever, and who were already good 
 scholars, that they might be trained for three 
 years in the king's palace, and learn every- 
 thing that the wisest men in Babylon could 
 teach them. 
 
 At the end of the three years the king 
 meant to have these young men brought into 
 his presence, that they might be always near 
 him, to tell him anything he wanted to 
 know. 
 
 The king ordered that these youths should 
 be fed with the same food and wine that were 
 
THE STORY OF DANIEL. 
 
 served at his own table. This food and wine 
 were of the best and costliest kind, you may 
 be sure; but before being placed on the 
 king's table, a portion of the food was offered 
 
 299 
 
 who resolved that he would not sin against 
 God by eating the king's meat, for which 
 the idols had been thanked. This young 
 man's name was Daniel. He therefore asked 
 
 THE JEWS LED INTO CAPTIVITY. 
 
 to his false gods, and every one who ate of 
 it was considered to be thanking those gods 
 for his food and drink. 
 
 There was one of those Jewish youths 
 
 the officer who took care of them not to give 
 him and his three companions any of the 
 king's meat and wine. 
 
 This officer liked Daniel, and he wished 
 
300 
 
 THE STORY OF DANIEL. 
 
 to please him ; but he was afraid of the king. 
 He said that if the king saw the youths who 
 were under his care looking thin and poorly- 
 fed, he would be angry with him, and per- 
 haps order his head to be cut off; for those 
 kings of Babylon thought very little of cut- 
 ting off the heads of people who displeased 
 them. 
 
 Thrived on Pulse and Water. 
 
 Daniel said, Try us for ten days : during 
 that time give us nothing but pulse and 
 water; then judge if we look any worse than 
 those who have been eating the kng's meat 
 After that, do as you think best about it 
 
 The officer consented, and at the end of 
 the ten days these four young men were 
 fairer and fatter than those who had been 
 fed from the king's table. After that they 
 were not asked to eat any more of the king's 
 meat, but every day they got pulse and water. 
 
 Pulse means such things as dried beans 
 or peas — not a very nice kind of food, and 
 people would get very tired of it if they never 
 ate anything else, especially when there 
 were all sorts of dainties to be had for the 
 asking. 
 
 It is better, however, to eat coarse food 
 than to disobey God. These Jewish youths 
 knew that ; and God gave them better things 
 than the dainties they had refused for his 
 sake. He gave them wisdom and knowledge, 
 and great skill in learning those things 
 which they were taught. 
 
 At the end of the three years, when they 
 were brought before the king, he found them 
 wiser than all their teachers. Not only had 
 they learned all that the wise men of Babylon 
 could teach them, but God himself had 
 taught them. God made Daniel his prophet, 
 and showed him many things that were to 
 happen at a future time. 
 
 One night King Nebuchadnezzar had a 
 
 dream which troubled him. He felt sure 
 that it had a meaning, and he sent for the 
 wise men of Babylon to tell him what the 
 meaning of the dream was. They said, O 
 king, tell your servants the dream, and we 
 will tell you the meaning of it. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar answered, I have for- 
 gotten it; therefore you must tell me the 
 dream and the meaning too. If you tell 
 me what the dream was, then I shall believe 
 that you know the meaning, and I will give 
 you rewards and great honor. If you can- 
 not tell me the dream, I don't believe you 
 can tell the meaning of it ; you are only liars 
 who pretend to know what is going to 
 happen, and you shall be cut in pieces, and 
 your houses shall be thrown down. 
 
 The wise men answered, There is no one 
 in the world who could tell what you ask ; 
 only the gods could answer such a question. 
 No king ever before required his wise men 
 to tell him anything like that. Nebuchad- 
 nezzar was angry and very furious, and 
 commanded that all the wise men in Babylon, 
 should be put to death. 
 
 He Knew the Secret. 
 
 Some of the king's guards were sent to 
 take Daniel and his companions, that they 
 too might be put to death. But Daniel said 
 that if the king would give him a little time,, 
 he would tell him all he wanted to know. 
 The king consented to this ; and Daniel and 
 his three companions prayed to God to show 
 them this secret, so that they might not all 
 be destroyed. 
 
 That night God showed his prophet Daniel 
 the king's dream and the meaning of it. 
 Daniel thanked God and praised him. Then 
 he asked to be brought before the king. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar asked him, Are you able 
 to tell me the dream that I had, and the 
 meaning of it? Daniel answered, There is 
 
THE STORY OF DANIEL. 
 
 301 
 
 a God in heaven who knows everything, and 
 he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar by a 
 dream what is going to happen in the world. 
 
 Then he told the king what he had seen 
 in his dream. When he came to tell the 
 meaning of it, it was all about things that 
 should happen in the world years and years 
 after the people then living had passed away. 
 
 When Nebuchadnezzar had heard Daniel 
 tell the dream and its wonderful meaning, 
 he said, Truly your God is a God of gods, 
 and a Lord of kings, and One who knows 
 all secrets. He has shown you this secret. 
 The king gave Daniel great gifts, and made 
 him ruler over the affairs of Babylon, and 
 head of all the wise men. 
 
 Would Not Serve False Gods. 
 
 Daniel's three companions were also made 
 great men. Their names were Shadrach, 
 Meshach, and Abed-nego. You shall now 
 hear something that happened to them. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar made a great image of 
 gold, and set it up in a plain near Babylon. 
 He called together all the great men of his 
 kingdom to the place where the golden image 
 was set up. There a man read to them in a 
 loud voice the order that the king had given. 
 It was this : Unto you it is commanded, O 
 people, that as soon as you hear a band 
 playing upon all kinds of instruments of 
 music, you shall all at that moment fall 
 down and worship the golden image that 
 Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up. And 
 whoever does not fall down and worship it 
 shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery 
 furnace. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar's lords and great men, 
 when they heard the band of music, fell 
 down and worshipped, as the king had com- 
 -manded — all except those Jews who would 
 -worship God only. 
 
 Then some people came to Nebuchadnez- 
 
 zar and said, O king, there are certain Jews 
 whom you have made rulers over your 
 affairs — Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego ; 
 these men have not obeyed you. They do 
 not serve your gods, nor worship your 
 golden image. 
 
 Nebuchadnezzar, in a great rage, sent for 
 those men, and asked them if what he had 
 heard of them was true. And he said, If 
 you will not obey me, you shall be thrown 
 into a burning fiery furnace ; and what God 
 is there who can save you out of that? 
 
 They answered, O Nebuchadnezzar, our 
 God whom we serve is able to save us out 
 of the furnace, and he will deliver us out of 
 your hand, O king. But if not, yet we will 
 not serve your gods, nor worship your 
 golden image. 
 
 Cast into the Fiery Furnace. 
 
 Then Nebuchadnezzar was very furious, 
 for people rarely dared to speak to him in 
 this way. He commanded that the furnace 
 should be heated seven times hotter than 
 usual, and that those three men should be 
 cast into it. 
 
 The strongest soldiers in the king's army 
 bound Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, 
 and threw them into the midst of the burn- 
 ing fiery furnace. The flame was so fierce 
 that the soldiers were killed by the great 
 heat. But God's servants were not killed, 
 nor hurt at all, though they had been cast 
 into the midst of it. 
 
 After they had been thrown in, the king 
 rose up frightened and astonished, and he 
 said, Did we not cast three men bound into 
 the furnace? But now I see four men, loose 
 and unhurt, walking in the midst of the fur- 
 nace, and the fourth man is grand and beau- 
 tiful like a god. 
 
 Going to the door of the burning fiery 
 furnace, he cried out, Shadrach, Meshach. 
 
302 
 
 THE STORY OF DANIEL. 
 
 and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high 
 God, come forth, and come here ! 
 
 Then those three men came out from the 
 midst of the fire, and the king and all his 
 lords saw that they had not been hurt; there 
 was not a hair of their heads singed, and 
 dieir clothes were not scorched. 
 ' And Nebuchadnezzar said, Blessed be the 
 
 and his house shall be pulled down ; for there 
 is no other God that can save like this. 
 
 After this the king gave Shadrach, 
 Meshach, and Abed-nego greater honors 
 than they had before enjoyed. 
 
 Some time after Nebuchadnezzar was dead 
 his grandson Belshazzar was king of 
 Babylon. Though Nebuchadnezzar had 
 
 DANIEL REFUSING TO 
 
 God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego ; 
 for he has sent his angel, and saved his 
 servants who trusted in him, and who gave 
 their bodies to be burned, rather than wor- 
 ship any god except their own God. There- 
 fore I make a law, that if any one speak 
 against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and 
 Abed-nego, that man shall be cut in pieces, 
 
 WORSHIP THE IMAGE. 
 
 learned before he died that all the earth 
 belongs to God, and that there is nothing so 
 good as to serve and obey him, and all the 
 people in Babylon had heard how God had 
 taught him that lesson, yet Belshazzar cared 
 nothing at all about the matter. Indeed, he 
 cared very little for anything, except eating: 
 and drinking and making merry- 
 
THE STORY OF DANIEL. 
 
 SOS 
 
 He was not even a good soldier, as Nebu- 
 chadnezzar had been ; and when a great 
 army of his enemies- surrounded Babylon, 
 and were trying with all their might to get 
 into it, he went on feasting more than ever, 
 for he said no enemy could ever break into 
 the great city of Babylon, whose walls were 
 so high and strong. 
 
 Fire on the Wall. 
 
 One night, when he had made a feast for 
 his lords and his princes, he sent for those 
 vessels of gold and silver that had been holy 
 vessels in God's temple at Jerusalem. 
 
 When these had been brought, the wicked 
 Belshazzar and all his gay lords and ladies 
 drank wine out of them ; and as they drank 
 they praised their idols that were made of 
 gold and of silver, and of brass and wood 
 and stone. 
 
 In the midst of this wicked feasting Bel- 
 shazzar's face grew pale, and he trembled 
 with fear ; for on the wall opposite him he 
 saw fingers writing some strange mysterious 
 words of which he knew not the meaning. 
 
 Then he cried aloud to his lords to bring 
 in the wise men of Babylon, that they might 
 tell him what those terrible words meant. 
 Whoever reads them, said he, shall be dressed 
 in scarlet, and have a chain of gold about 
 his neck, and be made the third ruler in the 
 kingdom. The wise men came, but they could 
 not read the writing on the wall, nor tell at 
 all what it meant ; and the king and all his 
 lords were more terrified than ever, and 
 cared nothing now for their feasting. 
 
 Then the queen said, O king, let not this 
 trouble you. There is a man in your king- 
 dom who can read the words — a man in 
 whom was found such wisdom and know- 
 ledge that Nebuchadnezzar, your grand- 
 father, made him ruler over all the wise men 
 in Babylon. Let him be called. 
 
 Daniel was therefore brought in, and the 
 king told him that if he could read that writ- 
 ing, and tell the meaning of it, then he should 
 be clothed in scarlet, and have a gold chain 
 about his neck, and be the third ruler in 
 Babylon. 
 
 Daniel Tells the Meaning. 
 
 Daniel answered, Let your gifts remain 
 with you, and give your rewards to another. 
 Yet I will read what is written, and tell you 
 the meaning of it. 
 
 O king, the most high God made Nebu- 
 chadnezzar a very great king, and gave him 
 power over many people ; but he taught him 
 to know that God rules all kingdoms, and 
 sets whom he pleases over them. And you, 
 O Belshazzar, though you knew all that hap- 
 pened to your grandfather, and all that God 
 taught him, you have not humbled your 
 heart, but have lifted yourself up against the 
 Lord of heaven ; and they have brought the 
 vessels of his house to your feast, and you 
 have drunk wine out of them. And you 
 have praised your gods of silver and gold, 
 and brass and iron, and wood and stone, 
 which see not, nor hear, nor know ; and the 
 God in whose hand your life is you have not 
 worshipped. Therefore he sent this hand 
 which wrote the words that you have seen. 
 
 Daniel then read those strange and ter- 
 rible words, and said, The meaning of the 
 words is this : God has brought your kingdom 
 to an end. You are weighed in the balances, 
 and are found wanting. God has divided 
 your kingdom, and given it to your enemies. 
 
 When Daniel had said this the king made 
 his lords clothe him in scarlet and put a 
 golden chain on his neck, and declare that he 
 was the third greatest man in the kingdom. 
 
 That night the enemy's army got into the 
 strong proud city, and Belshazzar was killed, 
 and a king called Darius took the kingdom 
 
304 
 
 DANIEL INTERPRETING THE KINGS DREAM. 
 
THE STORY OF DANIEL. 
 
 305 
 
 of Babylon for his own. King Darius soon 
 found out that Daniel was the wisest and 
 best man in his kingdom, and he made much 
 of him accordingly. When he set princes 
 over the different parts of his great kingdom, 
 he gave Daniel authority over them all. 
 
 Those princes envied Daniel, and tried to 
 find some fault in him, that they might com- 
 plain of him to the king. But they could 
 find none; and they said to one another, We 
 shall not find anything to say against Daniel, 
 unless it be something about worshipping 
 his God. 
 
 They knew that Daniel prayed to God 
 three times every day. He used to kneel 
 down in his chamber with his face turned 
 towards Jerusalem; for though it was many, 
 many miles away, and he had not seen it since 
 he was very young, he knew that God had 
 promised to bring the Jews back again to 
 their old home at the end of seventy years, 
 and it comforted him to say his prayers 
 looking towards the place where God's 
 house had been. 
 
 A Plot Against Daniel. 
 
 Daniel's enemies therefore made this plan 
 to get him into trouble: they asked King 
 Darius to make a law that for thirty days 
 no one in the kingdom should make prayer 
 to any God or man except to the king; and 
 that if any one should ask anything from 
 any other god or man, he should be thrown 
 into the den of lions. 
 
 Darius was foolish enough to consent to 
 this law. When he had signed it and sealed 
 it he could not alter it for any one; for it 
 was a rule with these people that when the 
 king made a law it couid not be altered. 
 
 Daniel, however, prayed to God just the 
 
 same as before. As he did so his enemies 
 
 saw him kneeling in his chamber with the 
 
 windows open that looked towards Jerusa- 
 
 20 
 
 lem; and they told the king, and said, 
 Daniel, who is one of these captive Jews, 
 does not obey you, O king. He does not 
 mind the law that you have made. He 
 prays to his God three times every day. 
 
 When the king heard this he was very 
 sorry for having made that law. He loved 
 Daniel greatly; he was so wise and useful, 
 and so faithful to him. 
 
 Thrown to the Lions. 
 
 All that day he tried to find some way of 
 saving him; but the princes reminded him 
 that he could not alter a law which he had 
 made. Then he commanded that Daniel 
 should be thrown into the den of lions, and 
 he said to him, Your God whom you serve 
 continually will save you. 
 
 Daniel was therefore thrown in among the 
 fierce lions, and a great stone was laid on 
 the mouth of the den. The king sealed the 
 stone with his own seal, which might not be 
 broken without his leave. 
 
 Then King Darius returned to his palace. 
 But he ate no food that evening, neither 
 would he have any music played for him, 
 nor could he fall asleep all that night. 
 
 Early in the morning he went to the 
 mouth of the lions' den, and called to 
 Daniel; and his voice was sad as he called, 
 for he feared that Daniel was not alive to 
 answer. He said, O Daniel, servant of the 
 living God, is your God, whom you serve 
 continually, able to save you from the lions? 
 
 Daniel replied from within the den, O 
 king, live for ever. My God has sent his 
 angel, and has shut the lions' mouths, that 
 they have not hurt me; for he knows I have 
 not sinned, neither have I done any wrong 
 to you, O king. 
 
 Darius was glad, and commanded them to 
 take Daniel out of the den. No hurt was 
 found upon him, for God in whom he 
 
DANIEL TOUCHED BY THE ANGEL. 
 
 306 
 
THE STORY OF DANIEL. 
 
 30? 
 
 trusted had taken care of him. Then the 
 king commanded that the men who had 
 plotted against Daniel should be thrown 
 into the den. 
 
 Those kings of Babylon were fierce and 
 £ruel ; and though Darius was not so bad as 
 many, yet he was not satisfied to punish the 
 offenders only, as all kings should, but he 
 ordei ed their families also to be thrown to 
 the lions. The lions sprang upon them and 
 tore them in pieces, and devoured them, 
 before they reached the bottom of the den. 
 
 Then King Darius wrote a letter and sent 
 it to all the countries that he ruled over. 
 And this was in the letter that he wrote : 
 
 I make a law, That in every part of my 
 kingdom men shall tremble and fear before 
 the God of Daniel ; for he is the living God, 
 and remains for ever. His kingdom shall 
 not be destroyed, and he shall rule for ever. 
 He delivers and saves ; he works signs and 
 wonders in the earth ; and he has saved 
 Daniel from the strength of the lions. 
 
 After that Daniel prospered during all the 
 days of Darius, and also in the days of the 
 king who came after him. 
 
 Daniel's Vision. 
 
 The king who reigned after Darius sent 
 many of the Jews back to their own land, 
 and bade them build again the temple of 
 God at Jerusalem. He gave them back 
 those vessels of silver and gold that had 
 been taken out of the temple by Nebuchad- 
 nezzar. 
 
 After this Daniel had a vision. He was 
 by the side of the great river Hidde-kel, 
 when he lifted up his eyes and saw a certain 
 man clothed in linen whose loins were 
 girded with fine gold. His body was like 
 bery] ; and his face had the appearance of 
 lightning ; his eyes were as lamps of fire, 
 and his arms and feet like in color to polished 
 
 brass, and his voice was like the voice of a 
 multitude. 
 
 Daniel alone saw the vision, but a great 
 quaking came upon the men that were with 
 him, and they fled to hide themselves. Flis 
 strength forsook him, and his comeliness 
 was turned into corruption. At the sound 
 of the voice he fell into a deep sleep. 
 
 Theo a hand touched him. The voice 
 told him that he was greatly beloved, and he 
 was to stand upright and hear the message 
 that was brought to him. While he stood 
 trembling the voice told him to fear not 
 and that now he was to understand what 
 would befall his people in the latter day? 
 He set his face toward the ground and 
 became dumb. And one like the sons of 
 men touched his lips. Now he spoke and 
 said he had no strength remaining in him. 
 
 Then there came again and touched him 
 one like the appearance of a man, strength- 
 ened him and said, O man greatly beloved, 
 fear not : peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, 
 be strong. At this Daniel was strengthened 
 and said, Let my lord speak. Then said he^ 
 I will show thee that which is noted in the 
 scripture of truth. 
 
 What Shall Come to Pass. 
 
 Then said Daniel, I in the first year of 
 Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm 
 and to strengthen him. And now will I 
 shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall 
 stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the 
 fourth shall be far richer than they all : and 
 by his strength through his riches he shall 
 stir up all against the realm of Grecia. 
 
 And a mighty king shall stand up, that 
 shall rule with great dominion, and do 
 according to his will And when he shall 
 stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and 
 shall be divided toward the four winds of 
 heaven ; and not to his posterity, nor accord- 
 
808 
 
 THE STORY OF DANIEL. 
 
 ing to his dominion which he ruled : for his 
 kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others 
 beside those. 
 
 And the king of the south shall be strong, 
 and one of his princes; and he shall be 
 strong above him, and have dominion; his 
 dominion shall be a great dominion. And 
 in the end of years they shall join themselves 
 together: for the king's daughter of the 
 south shall come to the king of the north 
 to make an agreement: but she shall not 
 retain the power of the arm; neither shall 
 he stand, nor his arm: but she shall he 
 given up, and they that brought her, and hfe 
 that begat her, and he that strengthened her 
 in these times. 
 
 A Great Army. 
 
 But out of a branch of her roots shall one 
 stand up in his estate, which shall come with 
 an army, and shall enter into the fortress of 
 the king of the north, and shall deal against 
 them, and shall prevail : and shall also carry 
 captives into Egypt their gods, with their 
 princes, and with their precious vessels of 
 silver and of gold; and he shall continue 
 more years than the king of the north. So 
 the king of the south shall come into his 
 kingdom, and shall return into his own land. 
 
 But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall 
 assemble a multitude of great forces: and 
 one shall certainly come, and overflow, and 
 pass through : then shall he return, and be 
 stirred up, even to his fortress. 
 
 And the king of the south shall be moved 
 with choler, and shall come forth and fight 
 with him, even with the king of the north : 
 and he shall set forth a great multitude; but 
 the multitude shall be given into his hand. 
 
 And when he hath taken away the multi- 
 tude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he 
 shall cast down many ten thousands : but 
 he shall not be strengthened by it. For the 
 
 king of the north shall return, and shall set 
 forth a multitude greater than the former, and 
 shall certainly come after certain years with 
 a great army and with much riches. 
 
 And in those times there shall many stand 
 up against the king of the south ; also the 
 robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves 
 to establish the vision ; but they shall fall. 
 
 So the king of the north shall come, and 
 cast up a mount, and take the most fenced 
 cities ; and the arms of the south shall not 
 withstand, neither his chosen people, neither 
 shall there be any strength to withstand. 
 
 But he that cometh against him shall do 
 according to his own will, and none shall 
 stand before him : and he shall stand in the 
 glorious land, which by his hand shall be 
 consumed. He shall also set his face to 
 enter with the «* rength of his whole kingdom, 
 and upright ones with him; thus shall he 
 do: an J he shall give him the daughter of 
 womeft, corrupting her; but she shall not 
 stand on his side, neither be for him. 
 
 They Shall do Mischief. 
 
 After this shall he turn his face unto the 
 isles, and shall take many : but a prince for 
 his own behalf shall cause the reproach 
 offered by him to cease; without his own 
 reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him. 
 Then he shall turn his face toward the fort 
 of his own land : but he shall stumble and 
 fall, and not be found. 
 
 Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser 
 of taxes in the glory of the kingdom : but 
 within few days he shall be destroyed, 
 neither in anger, nor in battle. And in his 
 estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom 
 they shall not give the honor of the kingdom. 
 
 So Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius 
 and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. And 
 he died, being more than four score and ten 
 years old. 
 
THORNS IN THE FIELD OF THE SLOTHFUL, 
 
 309 
 
B 
 
 E GASTETH 
 FORTH 
 
 IS ICE 
 
 Like 
 
 ELS 
 
 PS. 1 47- 17. 
 
 OLD 2 
 
 " SUMMER AND WINTER SHALL NOT CEASE." 
 
 310 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 B. C. 536. 
 
 Return from the Captivity — Rebuilding the Temple — King Darius — Ezra Arrived 
 at Jerusalem — Too Much Wickedness — Wives Taken from the Heathen — Arrival 
 of Nehemiah — -The Walls Rebuilt — The Enemy Thwarted — Ezra Reads the Law — 
 Story of Queen Esther — A Great Feast — Queen Vashti — The Jews in Danger — 
 Haman's Wicked Plot — Esther Saves her People — Haman Hanged. 
 
 |YRUS, king of Persia, when he 
 had taken the city of Babylon, 
 made proclamation throughout 
 all his kingdom to this purpose: 
 The Lord God of heaven hath 
 given me all the kingdoms of 
 the earth, and hath commanded me to build 
 him a house at Jerusalem. Let all, therefore, 
 that are of his people go up to Jerusalem 
 and take their part in the building of this 
 house. I command also that their neighbors 
 help them with money and goods and beasts 
 for their journey, even as I myself have 
 made a freewill-offering for this house. 
 
 Then many of the Jews went up to Jeru- 
 salem, and Cyrus gave into their hands the 
 vessels of gold which Nebuchadnezzar the 
 king had brought forth out of Jerusalem, and 
 put into the house of his gods. They that 
 went up were forty-three thousand and 
 upwards, and they had of men-servants and 
 maid-servants seven thousand and nine, and 
 two hundred singing men and singing 
 women. On the first day of the seventh 
 month all the people came together as one 
 man to Jerusalem, and the priests and the 
 princes built an altar of sacrifice, and began 
 the daily sacrifice, morning and evening. 
 And on the fifteenth day of this month they 
 kept the Feast of Tabernacles, according to 
 the ordinance. 
 
 After this they began to prepare for the 
 building of the temple, hiring masons and 
 carpenters with money, and exchanging corn 
 and wine and oil for cedar-trees of Lebanon, 
 which the Tyrians and Sidonians brought by 
 sea to Joppa. In the second month of the 
 second year they laid the foundations of the 
 temple. 
 
 Trumpets and Cymbals. 
 
 And when they laid them, the priests 
 stood in in their robes with trumpets in their 
 hands, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, 
 with cymbals, praising God in the words of 
 King David, as they were sung on the day 
 when the ark was taken into the tent which 
 David had made for it. And all the people 
 shouted with a great shout when the priests 
 and the Levites praised the Lord, because 
 the foundation of the house of the Lord was 
 laid. Nevertheless, certain of the old men, 
 who had seen the former house that the 
 Chaldeans burnt with fire, wept aloud when 
 they saw the foundations laid, because they 
 were so small ; aud no man could distin- 
 guish the shout of joy from the noise of 
 weeping. 
 
 After this the people of Samaria came to 
 
 them that were building the temple, and 
 
 said, Let us build with you ; for we worship 
 
 your God even as ye do : and we have done 
 
 311 
 
312 
 
 RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 
 
 sacrifice unto him ever since the days of 
 Esarhaddon, king of Assyria, who brought 
 us hither. 
 
 Now these Samaritans were strangers 
 whom the kings of Assyria had brought 
 from Babylon and other cities of their 
 dominions, and had put in the country from 
 
 build a house to the Lord God of Israel, as 
 Cyrus, king of Persia, hath commanded us. 
 Then the Samaritans gave bribes to the 
 counsellors of the king that they should 
 hinder the work. This they did in the days 
 of Cyrus and of Cambyses his son, but the 
 work was not stopped. 
 
 THE RETURN OF THE 
 
 which the children of the Ten Tribes had 
 been carried away captive in the days of 
 Hoshea, king of Israel. But Zerubbabel 
 and Joshua and the other chief men said to 
 them, Ye have nothing to do with us, that 
 ye should join in building a house to our 
 God ; we ourselves, and none besides us, will 
 
 JEWS FROM CAPTIVITY. 
 
 And when Cambyses was dead, and 
 Gomates the Magian reigned in his stead, 
 giving out that he was Smerdis, son of 
 Cyrus — but, in truth, Smerdis had been slain 
 by his brother Cambyses — the governor of the 
 province of Samaria wrote a letter to this pur- 
 pose: Be it known unto the king that the 
 
RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 
 
 313 
 
 Jews which came up from thee to us are come 
 unto Jerusalem, to build again that bad and 
 rebellious city, building the walls and laying 
 the foundations. Be it known also unto the 
 king that if this city be built and the walls 
 set up again, this people will not pay toll, 
 tribute or custom, and so will his revenue 
 suffer loss. Now it is not meet that we who 
 have our livelihood from the king should see 
 him so dishonored, and therefore we send 
 this to the king that search may be made in 
 the records of the kings thy fathers con- 
 cerning this people. Of a truth thou shalt 
 find in the said record that this was ever a 
 rebellious city and hurtful to the king, and 
 that for this cause it was destroyed. 
 
 A Wicked Command. 
 
 Now to this letter the false Smerdis made 
 this answer : The letter which ye sent was 
 read to me. And I commanded that search 
 should be made, and it was found that this 
 city of old time hath made insurrection, and 
 that there have been great kings therein who 
 have ruled over all countries westward of the 
 river Euphrates, and that toll and tribute 
 hath been paid to them. Command there- 
 fore that these men cease from their building. 
 
 This letter the false Smerdis wrote, and all 
 the more willingly because, being a Magian, 
 he would not that any man should worship 
 in temples, and the religion of the Jews was 
 hateful to him. When the Samaritans 
 received this letter they went up to Jeru- 
 salem, and made the people cease from their 
 building by force. 
 
 But when the false Smerdis was dead, for 
 Darius, the son of Hystaspes, slew him and 
 reigned in his stead, Haggai and Zechariah, 
 who were prophets of the Lord, stirred up 
 the chief men of the Jews that they should 
 begin again to build the walls and the tem- 
 ple. So they began, and when their enemies 
 
 asked, Who hath bidden you to build this 
 house and this wall ? They would not cease 
 till they should receive a commandment 
 from King Darius. 
 
 And when the governor of the province 
 saw this he wrote to the king to this pur- 
 pose : Be it known unto the king that the 
 house of the mighty God in the province of 
 Judea is being built with great stones, and 
 that the work goeth on fast. And when we 
 asked the elders of the people, Who com- 
 manded you to do this ? They said, We are 
 the servants of the God of heaven and 
 earth, and build again his house. Long 
 ago a great king of the land built it; but 
 when our fathers provoked the God of 
 heaven, he gave us into the hand of Nebu- 
 chadnezzar, king of Babylon, who destroyed 
 this house and carried away the people cap- 
 tive. Then in the first year of Cyrus a 
 decree was made that we should build this 
 house again ; and Cyrus gave us also the 
 vessels of gold and silver which Nebuchad- 
 nezzar had taken out of the former house. 
 So the Jews answered us, Let the king there- 
 fore cause search to be made, that he may 
 know whether King Cyrus made such a 
 decree. 
 
 The Decree Is Found. 
 
 So Darius caused that they should make 
 a search for this decree, and they found it in 
 the house of the rolls at Egbatana. There- 
 upon Darius sent to the governor of the 
 province, saying, We have found that it is as 
 had been said by the Jews, that Cyrus gave 
 commandment that this house should be 
 built. Hinder it not therefore, but rather 
 help, giving the people that whereof they 
 are in need — money from the king's tribute, 
 and bullocks and rams for sacrifice, and 
 wheat and salt and oil and wine for the food 
 of the priests, that they may worship the- 
 
314 
 
 RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 
 
 God of heaven, and pray for the life of the 
 king and his sons. Whosoever shall seek 
 to alter this decree which I, Darius, have 
 made, let timber be taken out of his house, 
 and let him be hanged thereon ; and let his 
 
 year of Darius the king, the temple was 
 finished. And after this the people kept 
 the Feast of the Passover, according to the 
 ordinance, on the fourteenth day of the first 
 month. The whole time from the decree o'i 
 
 BUILDING A NEW TEMPLE. 
 
 house be made a dunghill. Thereupon the 
 adversaries of the Jews gave help to them 
 according to the king's commands, and 
 on the third day of the month Adar, 
 which is the twelfth month, in the sixth 
 
 King Cyrus, which he made in the year of 
 the taking of Babylon, down to the decree 01 
 King Darius was two and twenty years 
 During this time the house of the Lord wg/«* 
 built, and the people worshipped. 
 
RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 
 
 315 
 
 A long time after these things, in the 
 seventh year of Artaxerxes, king of Persia, 
 who was the grandson of King Darius, it 
 came into the heart of a certain Ezra to go 
 up to his brethren at Jerusalem. This Ezra 
 was of the house of Aaron, and he was also 
 learned in the law ; and he had found favor 
 in the eyes of King Artaxerxes, who gave 
 him commission to inquire how the people 
 fared at Jerusalem and in the land of the 
 Jews. 
 
 Also the king sent by the hand of Ezra 
 and his companions freewill-offerings of silver 
 and gold, six hundred and fifty talents of 
 silver, and a hundred talents of gold, and 
 silver vessels of which the value was a hun- 
 dred talents, and twenty basons of gold, and 
 two vessels of fine brass as precious as gold. 
 Also the king commanded that the treasures 
 that were beyond the river Euphrates should 
 furnish to Ezra a hundred talents of silver, 
 and of wheat one thousand bushels, and of 
 oil and of wine one hundred gallons of each, 
 and of salt as much as he would. 
 
 On the Banks of the River. 
 
 Further, all that were priests or Levites, 
 or porters or singers, or did any work what- 
 soever in the house of God were to be free of 
 tax and tribute. Ezra also was to judge his 
 people according to the law of his God, and 
 any one that would not obey the law of God 
 and of the king should suffer death or confis- 
 cation of goods or imprisonment. 
 
 On the first day of the first month Ezra 
 went out from Babylon, and in nine days he 
 -came to a river that is called Ahava. There 
 he abode three days, till the Levites should 
 come, for there were none with him. Also 
 because there were enemies lying in wait by 
 the way, he proclaimed a fast there by the 
 river, that they might pray for a safe journey, 
 for he was ashamed to require of the king a 
 
 band of soldiers and horsemen to protect 
 them against their enemies, seeing that they 
 had told the king that the hand of their God 
 was upon all that sought him for good, and 
 against all them that forsook him. After this, 
 on the twelfth day of the first month, they 
 departed from Ahava, and came safe to Jeru 
 salem on the first day of the fifth month. 
 
 But when Ezra was come to Jerusalem he 
 was told that many of the people had taken 
 wives for themselves and for their sons of the 
 people of the land, of the Canaanites, and of 
 the children of Ammon, and of Moab, and of 
 the Egyptians. And when he heard it he 
 rent his garment and his mantle, and plucked 
 out the hair of his head and his beard, and 
 sat down in sore distress. Thus he remained 
 till the time of the evening sacrifice, and all 
 the people saw him. 
 
 Ezra's Confession. 
 
 And at the time of the evening sacrifice he 
 rose up, and when he had again rent his gar- 
 ment and his mantle, he fell upon his knees 
 and prayed, saying, O my God, I am 
 ashamed to lift up my face to thee, for our 
 iniquities have gone over our head and our 
 trespass hath provoked thee. Our fathers 
 sinned against thee, and thou didst deliver 
 them into the hand of the kings of the nations 
 round about. And now thou hast showed 
 us mercy for a little space, and suffered a 
 remnant to escape, giving us favor, though 
 we were but bondmen in the eyes of the 
 kings of Persia, that we build again the house 
 of God and the walls of Jerusalem. And 
 now we have sinned yet again in thy sight, 
 taking to ourselves wives of the people of the 
 land, concerning whom thou didst command 
 us, saying, Give not your daughters to their 
 sons, neither take their daughters to your 
 sons, and seek not peace with them nor to be 
 enriched with their wealth ! Now, O Lord 
 
316 
 
 RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 
 
 we cannot stand before thee because of this 
 our sin. 
 
 And when Ezra had ended his confession 
 and his prayer he prostrated him upon the 
 ground, weeping, and a great multitude of 
 men and women had assembled before the 
 iemple, and they also wept 
 
 Then one of the princes who had taken 
 strange wives stood up, and said, We have 
 trespassed against our God in this matter ; 
 but yet there is hope, for the people repent 
 them of their sin. We will make a covenant 
 to put away these strange wives. The matter 
 is in thy hands. We will obey thy counsel. 
 
 Heathen "Wives. 
 
 Then Ezra and the princes made a procla- 
 mation that all the people should come 
 to Jerusalem within three days, and that if 
 any man failed so to come, his goods should 
 be confiscated. So the people came, and 
 Ezra said to them, Ye have transgressed 
 against the law of the Lord by taking to 
 yourselves wives of the heathen. Now 
 therefore separate yourselves from them. 
 
 And the people answered, It is so ; and as 
 thou hast said, so must we do. But the 
 people that have transgressed are many, and 
 this a time of much rain, and we cannot 
 remain out of doors ; neither is this a work 
 of one day or two. Let there be appointed, 
 therefore, a council of rulers and judges at 
 Jerusalem, who shall inquire into the matter, 
 and bring it to an end. 
 
 And this was done, for the council sat 
 from the first day of the tenth month till the 
 first of the year following, and so made an 
 end wfth all the men that had taken strange 
 wives. The number of those that had trans- 
 gressed was one hundred and eleven, of whom 
 seventeen were priests and ten were Levites. 
 
 But though Ezra and the princes were 
 zealous, nevertheless the work languished 
 
 till God raised up a new helper, Nehemiah, 
 the son of Hachaliah. This Nehemiah was 
 cupbearer to King Artaxerxes; and in the 
 twentieth year of the king, Hanani, who was 
 his brother, came up from Jerusalem to 
 Shushan, and Nehemiah asked him concern- 
 ing the Jews that had returned and con- 
 cerning Jerusalem. 
 
 A Broken Wall. 
 
 Hanani answered, They of the captivity 
 that went up to Jerusalem are in great 
 affliction and reproach ; and the wall is, 
 broken down, even as Nebuchadnezzar, king 
 of Babylon, broke it down, and the gates 
 are burned with fire. 
 
 Then Nehemiah fasted, and mourned cer- 
 tain days, confessing his sins and the sins of 
 his people, and praying to the Lord that he 
 would cause him to find mercy in the sight 
 of the king, for he was resolved that he 
 would speak to him and make a petition for 
 his people and his city. In the ninth month, 
 he heard the evil news concerning Jerusalem, 
 and in the first month, his turn came to serve 
 the king. 
 
 And when he took the wine to give it to 
 the king, the king saw that he was sad, and 
 he had not been before sad in his presence. 
 Then the king said, Why is thy countenance 
 sad, seeing thou art not sick ? This is 
 nothing else but sorrow of heart. Nehemiah 
 was sore afraid, for it was held that a Persian 
 could not but be glad when he was with the 
 king, and that to be sad in his presence was 
 a crime. And he said to the king, Let the 
 king live for ever! Why should not my 
 countenance be sad, when the city, the place 
 where my fathers are buried, lieth waste, 
 and the gates thereof are consumed with fire? 
 
 Then the king said, For what dost thou 
 make request? And Nehemiah answered, 
 If it please the king, and if I have found 
 
RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 
 
 317 
 
 iavor in his sight, send me to Judah, to the 
 city where my fathers are buried, that I may 
 build it. Then the king said — the queen 
 sitting by him — For how long shall thy 
 journey be? And when wilt thou return? 
 And Nehemiah set him a time. 
 
 Also he said, If it please the king, let 
 letters be given me to the governors beyond 
 the river Euphrates, thit they may convey 
 me till I come to the land of Judah ; and a 
 letter also to Asaph, the keeper of the king's 
 park, that he may give me timber for the 
 gates of the fortress of the temple, and for 
 the walls of the city, and for my own house. 
 All this the king granted to him, God inclin- 
 ing his heart to favor his people. 
 
 Nehemiah at Jerusalem. 
 
 Nehemiah set out from Shushan, having 
 ;an escort of horsemen with him, and, cross- 
 ing the Euphrates, showed the king's letter 
 to the governors of the province. But San- 
 ballat of Beth-horon, who was the chief man 
 among the Samaritans, and Tobiah his coun- 
 sellor, who was an Ammonite and a slave, 
 were grieved exceedingly that there was 
 come a man to seek the welfare of the 
 ■children of Israel. 
 
 So Nehemiah came to Jerusalem, but he 
 told no man why he had come. After three 
 days he went out by night, riding alone 
 upon a mule to see the city. He went out 
 by the gate that opens into the valley of 
 Hinnom, and turning eastward came to the 
 gate by which the refuse was carried forth 
 from the city ; and he saw as he went that 
 the walls were broken down and the gates 
 burnt with fire. 
 
 Thence he went on to the gate that is by 
 the pool of Siloam, that is called the King's 
 Pool ; but here the beast that he rode could 
 not pass. Therefore he went along the 
 channel of the brook Kidron, and so 
 
 returned to the gate of the valley of 
 Hinnom. But the rulers knew not whithei 
 he went, nor what he did, for he had not 
 told his errand to any man. 
 
 But the next day he said to them, Ye see 
 the distress that we are in, and how Jerusalem 
 lieth waste, and the gates are burned with 
 fire. Come, let us build up the walls, that 
 we be no more a reproach. Then he told 
 them how he had found favor with God and 
 with the king. 
 
 And they said, Let us rise up and build. 
 And they took courage for the work. But 
 Sanballat and Tobiah, and with them 
 Geshem the Arab — for there were Arabs 
 also in Samaria — laughed the Jews to scorn, 
 and said, What is this thing that ye do? 
 Will ye rebel against the king ? To them 
 the Jews answered, The God of heaven will 
 prosper us. Therefore we who are his 
 servants will arise and build. But ye have 
 no portion, nor right, nor memorial in 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 Guards with Spears and Swords. 
 
 Then Nehemiah, and the priests, and the 
 Levites, and all the people built the wall of 
 the city, both the outer wall and the inner — 
 that is to say, the wall of the city of David. 
 
 But when Sanballat heard of it he was 
 very angry; and he said to his companions, 
 What are these feeble Jews doing? Shall 
 we suffer them to build in this fashion? 
 And Tobiah the Ammonite mocked, saying, 
 As for this wall of theirs, if a fox go up on 
 it, he shall break it down. 
 
 Nevertheless the Jews persevered with 
 their building till the wall had reached to 
 the half of its proper height. But Sanballat 
 gathered together a company of his own 
 people, and of the Ammonites, and Arabs, 
 and Philistines, and prepared to come up to 
 Jerusalem and hinder the work; and there 
 
318 
 
 REBUILDING THE WALLS OF JERUSALEM. 
 
RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 
 
 319 
 
 was great discouragement and fear, for some 
 of the people of the city grew weary, and 
 the Jews that were in the country near to 
 the Samaritans would have taken away those 
 whom they had sent to help in the work ; 
 and all the while the enemy threatened that 
 they would come up, and slay the builders, 
 and cause the work to cease. 
 
 Then Nehemiah set guards, with spears 
 and swords and bows, on such parts of the 
 wall as were low and weak ; and he set 
 others where the ground gave them advan- 
 tage for defence : and to the nobles and rulers 
 and all the people he said, Be not ye afraid of 
 them : remember the Lord, for he is great 
 and terrible, and fight for your brethren, 
 your sons, and your daughters, your wives 
 and your houses. 
 
 Both Hands Full. 
 
 From that time forth half the people 
 worked at the building of the wall, and the 
 other half had spears and shields and bows 
 and coats of mail, the rulers standing behind 
 them, encouraging them in the work, or 
 ready, if there was need, to lead them 
 against the enemy. 
 
 Many, indeed, whether they carried the 
 stones or laid them in their places, with one 
 hand wrought the work, and with the other 
 carried his weapon. And the trumpeter 
 stood ever by Nehemiah's side, ready to 
 sound upon his trumpet; for Nehemiah had 
 said to the nobles and the rulers, and the 
 rest, of the people, The work is great and 
 large, and we are separated upon the wall, 
 one far from another. In what place there- 
 fore ye hear the sound of the trumpet, resort 
 ye thither unto us; our God shall fight for us. 
 
 So the people labored in the work from 
 the rising of the sun till the stars appeared. 
 And Nehemiah said, Let none return to his 
 own village or city at night ; but let every 
 
 man lodge within Jerusalem that they may 
 be a guard at night. And neither Nehemiah 
 nor his brethren, nor his servants, nor his 
 bodyguard put off their clothes save only 
 when they would wash themselves. 
 
 After this there was a murmuring of many 
 of the people against their brethren ; for 
 some said, We have pledged our children 
 that we may get food, and others, We have 
 mortgaged our lands, our vineyards, and our 
 houses for bread because of the famine, and 
 others again, We have borrowed money upon 
 our lands and vineyards to pay the king's 
 tribute. 
 
 And Nehemiah was very angry when he 
 heard these complainings, and he said to the 
 nobles, Ye exact usury, every one of his 
 brother. As for me, I have to the best of 
 my ability redeemed my brethren who had 
 been sold to the heathen ; and shall we, who 
 are saved, cause them to be sold? Now, 
 therefore, I pray you, give back to them 
 their lands and their vineyards and their 
 oliveyards, and the money that ye have 
 taken from them. 
 
 Shakes the Pocket of His Robe. 
 
 The nobles answered Nehemiah, We will 
 take nothing from them ; we will do as thou 
 sayest. And Nehemiah made them swear, 
 calling the priests that they might be wit- 
 nesses to the oath. And he shook out the 
 pocket of his robe, saying, So God shake out 
 every man from his house and from his labor 
 that performeth not this promise ; even thus 
 be he shaken out and emptied. And all 
 the congregation said, Amen. 
 
 And the rich men did as they had 
 promised. For twelve years was Nehemiah 
 governor of the land, and all that time he 
 received nothing ; but the governors that 
 were before him had received forty shekels 
 of silver day by day. Neither did he take 
 
820 
 
 RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 
 
 advantage because the people were poor to 
 buy land. But every day he fed at his table 
 one hundred and fifty of the principal men, 
 besides giving entertainment to such as came 
 from the countries round about. Every day 
 
 no breach left in them — only the doors were 
 not put into the gates — they sent to Nehe- 
 miah, saying, Come, let us meet in one of the 
 villages of the plain of Ono. This Ono is in 
 Benjamin; but they thought to do him a mis- 
 
 NEHEMIAH AND HIS WORKMEN. 
 
 were prepared an ox and six choice sheep 
 and fowls ; and once in every ten days his 
 cellar was stored with wine. 
 
 When Sanballat and his allies heard that 
 the walls were finished, and that there was 
 
 chief. But Nehemiah sent messengers to 
 them, saying, I am doing a great work, so 
 that I cannot come down ; why should the 
 work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down 
 to you ? Four times they sent to him, and 
 
RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 
 
 321 
 
 four times he answered in the same way. 
 
 Then Sanballat sent his servant a fifth time 
 with an open letter wherein was written, It 
 is reported among the heathen that thou and 
 the Jews think to rebel, and that thou 
 buildest the wall that thou mayest be their 
 king, and that thou hast appointed prophets 
 to declare, There is a king in Judah. Now 
 all this shall be reported to the king at Shus- 
 han. Come, therefore, let us take counsel 
 together. But Nehemiah said, There are no 
 such things done as thou sayest, but thou 
 feignest them out of thine own heart. 
 
 After this Shemaiah said to Nehemiah, 
 Come into the house of God, and let us shut 
 the doors of the temple, for thine enemies 
 will come to slay thee. Yea, in the night 
 will they come. 
 
 Now it was not lawful for any man to come 
 into the temple, save for the priests and the 
 Levites only. So Nehemiah answered, Should 
 such a man as I am flee ? Can I go into the 
 temple and live ? 
 
 The Wall Built. 
 
 So he perceived that Shemaiah had not 
 spoken this of the Lord, but that the enemies 
 had hired him to terrify him, and cause him 
 to sin, that they might bring an accusation 
 against him. And there were others, calling 
 themselves prophets, and one Noadiah, a 
 prophetess, that spoke in this matter seeking 
 to terrify Nehemiah. 
 
 But the wall was finished on the twenty- 
 fifth day of the sixth month — that is, in fifty- 
 six days from the beginning of the work. 
 The compass of the wall was four miles or 
 thereabouts, and all the people worked at it, 
 being divided into twenty-seven companies. 
 Then Nehemiah made Hanani his brother 
 governor over the city, and he commanded 
 that the gates should not be opened till the 
 sun was hot. The city was large ; but the 
 21 
 
 people were few, and the houses were not 
 built. 
 
 At this time Ezra the scribe came back to 
 Jerusalem — for he had been absent while the 
 wall was being built — and the people pressed 
 him that he would read the book of the 
 law. So Ezra stood upon a pulpit of wood 
 with the priests about him, and he opened 
 the book in the sight of all the people, for 
 he was above them all ; and when he opened 
 it all the people stood up. And Ezra blessed 
 the Lord, the great God ; and all the people 
 answered, Amen, Amen, lifting up their 
 hands ; and they bowed their heads, and 
 worshipped the Lord with their faces to the 
 ground. 
 
 Feast of Tabernacles. 
 
 Then the Levites explained the words of 
 the law to the people ; but these lamented 
 when they understood them, for they saw 
 how greatly they had transgressed. But 
 Nehemiah, and Ezra, and the priests, and 
 the Levites said unto them, This day is holy 
 to the Lord your God; mourn not, nor 
 weep, but go your way, eat the fat, and 
 drink the sweet, and send portions to them 
 for whom nothing is prepared. Be not ye 
 sorry, for the Lord your God is your 
 strength. Then the people did as they were 
 bid. 
 
 And on the second day the chief of the 
 fathers came to Ezra the scribe; and it was 
 found that the Lord had commanded Moses 
 that on the fifteenth day of the seventh 
 month the people should dwell in booths, 
 which they should make of branches of 
 olive and wild olive, and myrtle and palm, 
 and other trees of which the leaves are 
 thick. And this the people did, making 
 booths, each man for himself, on the roof of 
 his house, or in the courtyard, or in the 
 courts of the temple, or in the courts that 
 
322 
 
 RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 
 
 are over against the water-gate and the gate 
 of Ephraim. 
 
 Such a Feast of Tabernacles there had 
 not been in Israel since the days of Joshua, 
 the son of Nun. For seven days they kept 
 it, and on the eighth day there was a solemn 
 assembly as the Lord ordained. And on 
 the twenty-fourth day of this same month 
 was there a great fast held, and the children 
 of Israel assembled clothed in sackcloth, 
 
 temple ; and would bring the first-fruits of 
 their lands, and redeem also the first-born of 
 their children, and the first-born of their 
 cattle, and bring the tithes duly to the 
 Levites. And to this all the princes set 
 their seal. 
 
 When Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, 
 carried away from Jerusalem Jehoiachim, 
 king of Judah, and the principal men of the 
 people of the Jews, there was among the 
 
 TWO PAGES OF AN ANCIENT SCROLL OF SCRIPTURES. 
 
 with dust upon their heads. One-fourth part 
 of the day they read the law, and for one- 
 fourth part they confessed their sins, and 
 worshipped the Lord. 
 
 And they made a covenant that they 
 would serve him and obey his command- 
 ments, wherein they vowed that they would 
 not take wives from the people of the land, 
 nor buy or sell on the Sabbath day ; and 
 that they would pay each the third part of a 
 shekel year by year for the service of the 
 
 captives a certain Kish of the tribe of Benja- 
 min. This Kish had a son that was named 
 Shimei. In Shimei's time Cyrus, king of 
 Persia, came up against Babylon and took it, 
 and carried away to the land of Persia many 
 of the Jews, of whom Shimei was one. Tg 
 Shimei was born a son Jair, and to Jair again 
 a son Mordecai, who, growing to man's 
 estate, was made a doorkeeper in the king's 
 palace in Shushan, which the Greeks called 
 Susa, 
 
RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 
 
 323 
 
 With this Mordecai there lived a maiden, 
 the daughter of his father's brother, who 
 had been left an orphan in her childhood. 
 The maiden's name, in the language of her 
 own people, was Hadassah, which word 
 means Myrtle ; but in the Persian tongue it 
 was Esther, which is by interpretation a Star. 
 
 In those days Ahasuerus, whom the 
 Greeks called Xerxes, was king of Persia, a 
 very great and powerful prince, who reigned 
 over one hundred and twenty-seven prov- 
 inces. He ruled all Asia westward as far 
 as the Great Sea (which is the Mediterran- 
 ean) and eastward as far as the land of 
 India ; Egypt also was subject to him, and 
 Cyrene and Barca, cities of the Greeks which 
 lay westward of Egypt towards the Great 
 Desert; and the Ethiopians, who dwelt to 
 the south of Egypt paid tribute to him. 
 
 A Magnificent Feast. 
 
 Having so much, he desired to have yet 
 more, and to conquer the land of Greece. 
 To this end he called together to his palace 
 in Shushan the governors of all his prov- 
 inces, that he might consult with them, 
 and that each might know what preparation 
 he should make in men or horses or ships. 
 These councils were held for the space of a 
 hundred and eighty days, for some of the 
 governors came from very far away. 
 
 And when they were ended the king made 
 a great feast to all the people in Shushan. 
 In the garden of the palace he made it ; and 
 the guests sat under awnings of white and 
 green and blue, which were stretched from 
 pillars of marble on cords of fine white 
 linen and purple running through rings of 
 silver. The couches on which they lay at 
 meat were of silver and gold, and the pave- 
 ment of the banqueting-hall was stone of 
 many colors, green and pearl-colored and 
 white and black. 
 
 They drank out of cups of gold, and all 
 the cups were of different patterns ; every 
 man drank according to his own pleasure, 
 none compelling him to drink less or more, 
 for the king had commanded that it should 
 be so. And Vashti, the queen, at the same 
 time, made a great feast for the women of 
 Shushan in the chambers of the women in 
 the king's palace. 
 
 Thus they feasted for seven days ; and on 
 the seventh day the king, having drunk 
 deep, commanded his chamberlains to bring 
 Vashti the queen, with her crown upon her 
 head, before the princes and the people to 
 show them her beauty, for she was very fair 
 to look upon. 
 
 She Refuses to Come. 
 
 But the Queen Vashti, when the chamber- 
 lains brought her the king's commandment, 
 refused to come. Thereat Ahasuerus was 
 very angry ; and he called his counsellors, 
 the seven princes of Media and Persia, who 
 were the first in his kingdom, and who could 
 come freely into his presence, and said unto 
 them (for they were wise men, and knew the 
 laws and customs of the land), What shall 
 we do to Queen Vashti, according to the law 
 for that she has refused to obey the com- 
 mandment which the king sent her by his 
 chamberlains ? 
 
 Then Memucan, who was one of the seven 
 princes, answered before the king and princes, 
 Vashti the queen has done wrong not to the 
 king only, but to all the princes and to all 
 the people that are in the provinces of the 
 king. For her deed will become known 
 to all the women of the land, and when 
 they shall hear how King Ahasuerus com- 
 manded Vashti the queen to be brought 
 before him, and she refused to come, they 
 will despise their husbands, and will speak to 
 the princes of Persia and Media as Vashti 
 
824 
 
 RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 
 
 has spoken to the king. Therefore, if it 
 please the king, let there go forth a royal 
 commandment that Vashti be no longer 
 queen, and let this be written among the laws 
 Df the Medes and Persians, so that it be not 
 changed ; and further let her royal estate be 
 given to another that shall be better than she. 
 This counsel pleased the king and his 
 
 end Esther, that was the cousin of Mordecal 
 the Jew, was chosen, and the royal crown 
 was set upon her head. And Ahasuerus 
 loved her greatly, and made a feast in her 
 honor to all his princes and servants, and 
 gave remission of taxes to the provinces, and 
 sent gifts to their governors. 
 
 About this time two of the chamberlains 
 
 princes, and he sent a decree into every 
 province of his dominion, written in the 
 language of its inhabitants, that every man 
 should be the master in his own house. 
 
 After this a search was made throughout 
 the kingdom for the maiden that should be 
 worthiest, for beauty and favor, to be put 
 into the place of Queen Vashti, and in the 
 
 QUEEN ESTHER CROWNED. 
 
 of Ahasuerus took offence, ana combined 
 against him, and would have slain him, for 
 they kept the door, and had access to the 
 king's person. But the thing came to the 
 knowledge of Mordecai, and Mordecai told it 
 to Esther the queen, and Esther told it to 
 the king. Thereupon inquiry was made, and 
 the plot was discovered, and the conspirators 
 
RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 
 
 325 
 
 put to death. All this was written in the 
 chronicles of Persia, how these men had 
 conspired against the king, and how the 
 matter had been discovered by Mordecai. 
 
 After these things the king promoted a 
 certain Haman to be his chief minister, and 
 set him above all the princes, and commanded 
 that all the king's servants should do him 
 reverence as he came in and out, prostrating 
 themselves on the ground before him. And 
 they all did so save Mordecai only, but he 
 refused. 
 
 All the Jews in Danger. 
 
 And when his fellows asked him, Why do 
 you not pay reverence to the Lord Haman 
 according to the king's commandment? He 
 answered, Because I am a Jew, and it is not 
 the custom of the Jews to do such honor to 
 men. When they heard this, they told it to 
 Haman, desiring to see whether he would 
 I hold Mordecai to be excused. But Haman 
 1 was full of wrath, and was minded not to slay 
 Mordecai only — for that seemed too small a 
 thing for him to do — but all the people of 
 Mordecai throughout the whole dominions of 
 the king, for he knew that he was a Jew. 
 
 When he had determined upon this he set 
 himself to find out a lucky day for the doing 
 of it. So his servants threw dice before him 
 every day from the beginning of the first 
 month to the end of the twelfth, and the day 
 on which the throws were highest throughout 
 the year was judged to be the most lucky. 
 On this day, therefore, Haman said to the 
 king, There is a people dispersed throughout 
 the king's dominions in all the provinces. 
 They have laws that are different from the 
 laws of all other nations, and they do not 
 obey the commandments of the king. There- 
 fore it is not to the king's profit to suffer 
 them. If it please the king, let a decree go 
 forth that this people be destroyed, and I will 
 
 pay ten thousand talents of silver into the 
 hands of the collectors of the king's revenues 
 that they may pay it into the treasuries of 
 the king. This was more than ten million 
 dollars. 
 
 The Day of Massacre Appointed. 
 
 The king thereupon gave his ring to 
 Haman, saying, The people are given to 
 you to do as you will with them, and their 
 goods also. Then the royal scribes were 
 brought in, who wrote letters to the gov- 
 ernors of all the provinces with the king's 
 command that on a certain day they should 
 cause all the Jews — men, women and chil- 
 dren — to be slain. 
 
 These letters were written on the thirteenth 
 day of the first month, and the same day 
 they were given to swift runners, who, having 
 carried them a day's journey, handed them 
 to other runners, and these again to others, 
 till they reached the appointed place. And 
 because to some of the provinces there was 
 a journey of many weeks, the day appointed 
 for the slaughter was the thirteenth day of 
 the twelfth month, being nearly the space of 
 a year. 
 
 This matter of the letters being finished, 
 the king and Haman sat down to drink, but 
 the whole city of Shushan was troubled when 
 it was known what the king had decreed. 
 Then Mordecai the Jew rent his clothes, and 
 put sackcloth on his skin, and sprinkled ashes 
 on his head, and sat down before the gate of 
 the king's palace, and cried as he sat with a 
 very loud and bitter cry. But beyond the 
 gate he could not go, for no man that had 
 any sign of mourning upon him might enter 
 the palace, lest he should give offence to the 
 eyes of the king. 
 
 Thereupon the maidens that waited upon 
 Queen Esther and her chamberlains told her, 
 Thy kinsman Mordecai sits before the gate 
 
326 
 
 RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 
 
 of the palace lamenting, with sackcloth and 
 ^shes on him. 
 
 Then the queen was exceedingly grieved, 
 and she sent raiment wherewith to clothe 
 Mordecai, and bade her people take away his 
 sackcloth from him. But he would not 
 receive the raiment or put off his sackcloth. 
 Then she sent her principal chamberlain, one 
 Hatach, whom the king himself had 
 appointed to wait upon her, and bade him 
 inquire of Mordecai what was the matter 
 that troubled him. 
 
 So Hatach went forth into the open space 
 that was before the king's palace and said to 
 Mordecai, What troubles you ? Then Mor- 
 decai said, The king has commanded that all 
 the Jews throughout his dominions should 
 be slain, and Haman has promised that if 
 this be done, he will pay into the king's 
 treasury ten thousand talents of silver. 
 
 And he gave him a copy of the decree to 
 show to the queen, and said, Bid her go 
 unto the king, and make supplication to him, 
 and pray him that he will spare her people, 
 And Hatach came and told Esther the 
 word of Mordecai. 
 
 Esther's Message. 
 
 Then Esther sent Hatach again to him 
 with this message : All the king's servants, 
 yea, and all his people even unto the border 
 of his dominions, know that there is a law 
 that any man or woman that shall come 
 unto the king into the inner court, being not 
 called so to come, shall die, except the king 
 shall hold out to him the golden sceptre. 
 But I have not been called to go in to the 
 king these thirty days past. Hatach told 
 these words to Mordecai. 
 
 Then Mordecai sent again to Esther, 
 saying, Think not that thou being in the 
 king's palace wilt escape more than the 
 rest of thy people. If thou wilt say nothing, 
 
 then deliverance shall come to the Jews from 
 some other place, but thou and thy father's 
 house shall perish. Dost thou not rather 
 think that thou hast been called to the place 
 of a queen in Persia that thou mayst work 
 deliverance for thy people in this time of 
 their peril ? 
 
 Then the queen sent to Mordecai this 
 answer : Go, gather together all the Jews 
 that are in Shushan, and fast for me, neither 
 eating or drinking for three days ; I also 
 and my maidens will fast, and so I will go in 
 unto the king. If I perish, I perish. And 
 Mordecai did as Esther had commanded him. 
 
 On the third day of her fasting Queen 
 Esther put on her royal apparel and went 
 into the inner court of the king's house; and 
 the king sat in his chamber, that was over 
 against the gate of the inner court, and when 
 he saw the queen standing in the court, she 
 found favor in his sight, and he held out to 
 her the golden sceptre. 
 
 Haman Summoned to the Banquet. 
 
 Then she drew near and touched the top 
 of the sceptre. The king said to her, What 
 ails thee, Queen Esther ? And what is thy 
 request? For it shall be given thee, even 
 unto the half of my kingdom. And Esther 
 answered, If it seem good to the king, let 
 the king and Haman come this day to the 
 banquet that I have prepared ; for she feared 
 to show at that time all that was in her 
 heart. The king sent to Haman, and bade 
 him make haste and come to the banquet 
 that the queen had prepared. So the king 
 and Haman came to the banquet. 
 
 And as they sat at the wine, the king said 
 to Esther, What is thy petition ? It shall 
 be granted to thee even unto the half of my 
 kingdom ; for he knew that she had some- 
 thing that she would ask of him. But Esther 
 yet feared to show the thing. Therefore 
 
RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 
 
 32? 
 
 she said, If I have found favor in the sight 
 of the king, and if it please the king to grant 
 my petition, then let the king and Haman 
 come again to-morrow to the banquet that 
 I shall prepare, and to-morrow I will make 
 known my request. 
 
 Haman went forth from the queen's pres- 
 ence that day with a joyful heart ; but as he 
 passed by the gate of the king's palace he 
 saw Mordecai; and Mordecai, as before, 
 refused to prostrate himself on the ground 
 before him ; nay, he did not stand up nor 
 move from his place. 
 
 Wants Mordecai Hanged. 
 
 And Haman was full of indignation ; 
 nevertheless he restrained himself, and went 
 to his house. And when he came thither he 
 called for Zeresh his wife, and for his friends, 
 and boasted to them of his greatness, of his 
 riches, and of the number of his children — 
 for he had ten sons, and the Persians greatly 
 honor those that have many sons — and how 
 the king had honored him, promoting him 
 above all his princes and servants. Yea, he 
 said, this day Esther the queen did let no 
 man save myself come in with the king to 
 the banquet which she had prepared ; and 
 to-morrow also I am invited with the king. 
 But all this avails me nothing, so long as I 
 see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's 
 gate. 
 
 Then Zeresh and his friends said to him, 
 Cause that a cross threescore and fifteen feet 
 high be set up, and to-morrow speak unto 
 the king that Mordecai may be hanged 
 thereon, and then go thou merrily with the 
 king into the banquet. And the thing 
 pleased Haman, and he caused the cross to 
 be made. 
 
 That night the king could not sleep ; so 
 he sent for the book of the records of the 
 kingdom, and bade his servants read to him 
 
 out of it, for it was not the custom among 
 the Persians that the king should read. 
 And it was found written therein that two 
 of the king's chamberlains that kept the 
 door of his chamber had conspired to slay 
 the king, and that Mordecai had told the 
 matter to the king. 
 
 Haman Before the King, 
 
 Then the king said, What honor and dig- 
 nity has been done to Mordecai for this ? 
 Then the king's servants answered, There 
 has been nothing done to him. Then the 
 king said, Who is in the court ? 
 
 Now Haman had come into the court of 
 the king's house to make request to the king 
 that Mordecai might be hanged on the cross 
 that he had made. So the king's servants 
 said, Haman standeth in the court. And 
 the king said, Let him come in. So Haman 
 came in. 
 
 And the king said, What shall be done to 
 the man whom the king delighteth to honor? 
 And Haman thought in his heart, To whom 
 will the king delight to do honor more than 
 to myself! And he answered, Let apparel 
 which the king is wont to wear be brought 
 for him, and the horse on which the king 
 rides, and the royal crown that is set upon 
 his head ; and let these things be delivered 
 to one of the most noble of the king's 
 princes, that he may array the man with 
 them, and cause him to ride on horseback 
 through the streets of the city, and proclaim 
 before him, Thus shall it be done unto the 
 man whom the king delighteth to honor. 
 
 Then the king said, Make haste, and take 
 the apparel and the horse, as thou hath said, 
 and do even so to Mordecai the Jew, that 
 sits at the king's gate. 
 
 And Haman took the apparel and the 
 horse, and arrayed Mordecai, and made him 
 ride through the great square, and pro- 
 
328 
 
 RETURN FROM THE CAPTIVITY. 
 
 claimed before him, Thus shall it be done to 
 the man whom the king delighteth to honor. 
 
 And Mordecai went back to his place at 
 the king's gate, but Haman returned to his 
 house mourning, and with his head covered; 
 and he told Zeresh his wife and his friends all 
 that had happened to him. And they said to 
 him, If Mordecai be of the race of the Jews, 
 thou shalt not prevail against him. And 
 while they were yet talking with him, came 
 the king's chamberlain, and bade him make 
 haste and come to the banquet that Esther 
 had prepared. 
 
 So the king and Haman came in unto the 
 banquet that the queen had prepared. And 
 the king said to Esther, for he knew that she 
 had something in her mind, What is thy 
 petition ? It shall be granted thee even unto 
 the half of my kingdom. 
 
 They Hanged Haman. 
 
 Then Esther the queen answered and said, 
 If I have found favor in thy sight, O king, 
 and if it please the king, let my life and the 
 life of my people be granted to me, for we 
 are sold to be slain. If we had been sold 
 for bondmen and bondwomen, then had I 
 said nothing. But what shall the king profit 
 if he gain ten thousand talents of silver and 
 lose so many of his people? 
 
 Then the king said, Who is this that has 
 dared to devise such a thing against thee ? 
 For he knew not that the queen was of the 
 race of the Jews ? 
 
 And the queen answered, My enemy is 
 that wicked Haman. Then the king in his 
 wrath rose from the banquet and went out 
 into the garden of the palace. And Haman 
 was sore afraid, and fell at the feet of the 
 queen to make supplication for his life. 
 
 And when the king saw it he said, Will 
 he dare to touch the queen ? And as the 
 word went out of the king's mouth, the 
 
 chamberlains covered Hainan's face. And 
 one of them said, There is a cross threescore 
 and fifteen feet high, which Haman caused 
 to be made for Mordecai. And the king 
 said, Hang him thereon. So they hanged 
 him upon it, and the king's wrath was paci- 
 fied. 
 
 That day the king gave to Esther the 
 queen all that Haman had possessed. And 
 when Esther told him that Mordecai was 
 her kinsman, the king gave him his ring, 
 and set him in the office which Haman had 
 had. 
 
 But the decree that had been sent out 
 against the Jews yet stood. Therefore 
 Esther went in again to the king, and when 
 he held out to her the golden sceptre, she 
 said, If it please the king, and if I have 
 found favor in his sight, and if I be pleasing 
 in his eyes, then let the decree which Haman 
 caused to be made against the Jews be 
 reversed, for how can I endure to see the 
 evil that shall come unto my own people, or 
 bear to see the destruction of my people ? 
 
 The Jews Are Delivered. 
 
 Then the king said, Haman have I hanged 
 because he laid his hand upon thy people, 
 and his house have I given to thee, but the 
 writing that is written in the king's name 
 and sealed with the king's ring no man may 
 reverse. Nevertheless ye may write what 
 ye will on behalf of the Jews in the king's 
 name, and seal it with the king's ring. 
 
 So Mordecai wrote in the king's name to 
 the governors of all the provinces through- 
 out the realm of Persia to this effect, that it 
 should be lawful for the Jews that were in 
 every city to gather themselves together 
 and to stand for their life, and to slay all 
 such as should assault them, and to take 
 their goods for a prey. This they did and 
 gained the victory over their enemies. 
 
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THE TREASURES OF WINTER. 
 
 329 
 
THOU WILT KEEP HIM IN PERFECT PEACE. 
 
 330 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 B. C. 1520. 
 
 The Story of Job — Sons, Daughters and Great Possessions — Satan Among the Sons 
 of God — Messengers Bring Startling News — Job Afflicted with Boils — A Visit 
 from Three Friends — Job's Grievous Complaint — Better Days at Last — Presents 
 and Congratulations — Increase of Riches. 
 
 OW patient Job was is told 
 us in the book that is called 
 by his name. He lived in 
 the land of Uz, and was 
 perfect and upright, and one 
 that feared God, and es- 
 chewed evil. And there 
 were born unto him seven sons and three 
 daughters. His substance also was seven 
 thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, 
 and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five 
 hundred she-asses, and a very great house- 
 hold; so that this man was the greatest of 
 all the men of the east. 
 
 And his sons went and feasted in their 
 houses, every one his day; and sent and 
 called for their three sisters to eat and to 
 drink with them. And it was so, when the 
 days of their feasting were gone, that Job 
 sent and sanctified them, and rose up early 
 in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings 
 according to the number of them all: for 
 Job said, It may be that my sons have 
 sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus 
 did Job continually. 
 
 Now there was a day when the sons of 
 God came to present themselves before the 
 Lord, and Satan came also among them. 
 And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence 
 comest thou? Then Satan, answered the 
 Lord, and said, From going to and fro in 
 the earth, and from walking up and down 
 
 in it. And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast 
 thou considered my servant Job, that there 
 is none like him in the earth, a perfect and 
 an upright man, one that feareth God, and 
 escheweth evil? 
 
 Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, 
 Doth Job fear God for naught? Hast thou 
 not made a hedge about him, and about 
 his house, and about all that he hath on 
 every side; thou hast blessed the work of 
 his hands, and his substance is increased in 
 the land. But put forth thine hand now, 
 and touch all that he hath, and he will curse 
 thee to thy face. And the Lord said untc 
 Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy 
 power; only upon himself put not forth thy 
 hand. So Satan went forth from the pres 
 ence of the Lord. 
 
 They Bring Evil News. 
 
 And there was a day when Job's sons and 
 his daughters were eating and drinking wine 
 in their eldest brother's house: and there 
 came a messenger unto Job, and said, The 
 oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding 
 beside them : and the Sabeans fell upon them, 
 and took them away; yea, they have slain 
 the servants with the edge of the sword; 
 and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 
 
 While he was yet speaking, there came 
 also another, and said, The fire of God is 
 fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the 
 
 331 
 
332 
 
 THE STORY OF JOB. 
 
 sheep, and the servants, and consumed them, 
 and I only have escaped to tell thee. 
 
 While he was yet speaking, there came 
 also another, and said, The Chaldeans made 
 out three bands, and fell upon the camels, 
 and have carried them away, yea, and slain 
 the servants with the edge of the sword ; 
 
 they are dead ; and I only am escaped alone 
 to tell thee. 
 
 Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and 
 shaved his head, and fell down upon the 
 ground, and worshipped, and said, The Lord 
 gave, and the Lord hath taken away; 
 blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this 
 
 THE MESSENGERS TELLING JOB OF HIS LOSSES. 
 
 and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. 
 While he was yet speaking, there came 
 also another, and said, Thy sons and thy 
 daughters were eating and drinking wine in 
 their eldest brother's house: and, behold, 
 there came a great wind from the wilder- 
 ness, and smote the four corners of the 
 house, and it fell upon the young men, and 
 
 Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly. 
 Again there was a day when the sons of 
 God came to present themselves before the 
 Lord, and Satan came also among them tx> 
 present himself before the Lord. And the 
 Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest 
 thou ? And Satan answered the Lord, and 
 said, From going to and fro in the earth, 
 
THE STORY OF JOB. 
 
 333 
 
 and from walking up and down in it. 
 
 And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou 
 considered my servant Job, that there is 
 none like him in the earth, a perfect and an 
 upright man, one that feareth God, and 
 escheweth evil? And still he holdeth fast 
 his integrity, although thou movedst me 
 against him, to destroy him without cause. 
 
 And Satan answered the Lord, and said, 
 Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will 
 he give for his life. But put forth thine 
 hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, 
 and he will curse thee to thy face. And the 
 Lord said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine 
 hand ; but save his life. 
 
 Smitten with Boils. 
 
 So went Satan forth from the presence of 
 the Lord, and smote Job with sore boils from 
 the sole of his foot unto his crown. And 
 he took him a potsherd to scrape himself 
 withal ; and he sat down among the ashes. 
 
 Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou 
 still retain thy integrity? Curse God, and 
 die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest 
 as one of the foolish women speaketh- 
 What ? Shall we receive good at the hand of 
 God, and shall we not receive evil ? In all 
 this did not Job sin with his lips. 
 
 Now when Job's three friends heard of all 
 this evil that was come upon him, they came 
 to mourn with him, and to comfort him. 
 And they sat down with him upon the 
 ground seven days and seven nights, and 
 none spoke a word unto him : for they saw 
 that his grief was very great. 
 
 After this opened Job his mouth, and 
 cursed the day wherein he was born, and 
 said, Why did I not give up the ghost in the 
 day wherein I was born, for then should I 
 have slept and been in quiet where the 
 wicked cease from troubling and the weary 
 are at rest. 
 
 And Job's three friends reasoned with him, 
 but he hearkened not unto them ; but 
 justified himself rather than God. 
 
 Job's Complaint. 
 
 He said, is there not an appointed time to 
 man upon earth ? Are not his days also like 
 the days of an hireling? As a servant 
 earnestly desireth the shadow, and as an hire- 
 ling looketh for the reward of his work : So am 
 I made to possess months of vanity, and 
 wearisome nights are appointed to me. 
 
 When I lie down, I say, When shall I 
 arise, and the night be gone? And I am 
 full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning 
 of the day. My flesh is clothed with worms 
 and clods of dust ; my skin is broken, and 
 become loathsome. My days are swifter 
 than a weaver's shuttle, and are spent with- 
 out hope. 
 
 remember that my life is wind : mine 
 eye shall no more see good. The eye of 
 him that hath seen me shall see me no 
 more: thine eyes are upon me, and I am 
 not. As the cloud is consumed and 
 vanisheth away : so he that goeth down to 
 the grave shall come up no more. He shall 
 return no more to his house, neither shall his 
 place know him any more. 
 
 Therefore I will not refrain my mouth ; I 
 will speak in the anguish of my spirit ; I 
 will complain in the bitterness of my soul. 
 When I say, My bed shall comfort me, my 
 couch shall ease my complaint; Then thou 
 scarest me with dreams, and terrifiest me 
 through visions : so that my soul chooseth 
 strangling, and death rather than my life. 
 
 1 loathe it ; I would not live alway : let 
 me alone ; for my days are vanity. What 
 is man, that thou shouldest magnify him? 
 And that thou shouldest set thine heart 
 upon him ? And that thou shouldest visit 
 him every morning, and try him every 
 
334 
 
 THE STORY OF JOB. 
 
 moment? How long wilt thou not depart 
 from me, nor let me alone till I swallow 
 down my spittle ? 
 
 I have sinned ; what shall I do unto thee, 
 O thou preserver of men ? Why hast thou 
 set me as a mark against thee, so that I am 
 a burden to myself? And why dost thou not 
 pardon my transgression, and take away mine 
 iniquity ? For now shall I sleep in the dust : 
 
 I will not answer : yea, twke ; but I will 
 proceed no farther. 
 
 Then answered the Lord unto Job out of 
 the whirlwind, and said, Gird up thy loins 
 
 now like a man: I will demand of thee, and? 
 
 I 
 declare thou unto me. Wilt thou aiso dis- 
 annul my judgment? Wilt thou condemn 
 me, that thou mayest be righteous ? Hast 
 thou an arm like God ? Or canst thou 
 
 JOB AND HIS THREE FRIENDS. 
 
 and thou shalt seek me in the morning, but 
 I shall not be. 
 
 Then the Lord answered Job, and said, 
 Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty 
 instruct him? He that reproveth God, let 
 him answer it. Then Job answered the 
 Lord, and said, Behold, I am vile ; what 
 shall I answer thee ? I will lay mine hand 
 upon my mouth. Once have I spoken; but 
 
 thunder with a voice like him? Deck 
 thyself now with majesty and excel- 
 lency; and array thyself with glory and 
 beauty. Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath ; 
 and behold every one that is proud, and 
 abase him. Look on every one that is 
 proud, and bring him low ; and tread down 
 the wicked in their place. Hide them in the 
 dust together ; and bind their faces in secret 
 
THE STORY OF JOB. 335 
 
 spoken these words ^nto job, the Lord 
 said to Eliphaz the Temanite, My wrath is 
 kindled against thee, and against thy two 
 friends : for ye have not spoken of me the 
 thing that is right, as my servant Job hath. 
 Therefore take unto you now seven bul 
 out knowledge ? Therefore have I uttered locks and seven rams, and go to my servant 
 
 Then will I also confess unto thee that thine 
 own right hand can save thee. 
 
 Then Job answered the Lord, and said, I 
 know that thou canst do every thing, and 
 that no thought can be withholden from 
 thee. Who is he that hideth counsel with- 
 
 JOB VISITED 
 
 that I understood not; things too wonderful 
 for me, which I knew not. Hear, I beseech 
 thee, and I will speak : I will demand of thee, 
 and declare thou unto me. I have heard of 
 thee by the hearing of the ear : but now 
 mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor 
 myself, and repent in dust and ashes. 
 
 And it was so, that after the Lord had 
 
 HIS RELATIVES. 
 
 Job, and offer up for yourselves a burnt, 
 offering ; and my servant Job shall pray for 
 you : for him will I accept ; lest I deal with 
 you after your folly, in that ye have not 
 spoken of me the thing which is right, like 
 my servant Job. 
 
 So they did according as the Lord com* 
 manded them : the Lord also accepted Job- 
 
336 
 
 THE STORY OF JOB. 
 
 And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, 
 when he prayed for his friends: also the 
 Lord gave Job twice as much as he had 
 before. Then came there unto him all his 
 brethren, and all his sisters, and all they that 
 had been of his acquaintance before, and did 
 eat bread with him in his house : and they 
 bemoaned him, and comiorted him over all 
 the evil that the Lord had brought upon 
 him : every man also gave him a piece of 
 money, and every one an earring of gold. 
 
 So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job 
 
 more than his beginning ; for he had four- 
 teen thousand sheep, and six thousand 
 camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and 
 a thousand she-asses. 
 
 He had also seven sons and three daugh- 
 ters. And in all the land were no women 
 found so fair as the daughters of job : and 
 their father gave th^m inheritance among 
 their brethren. After this lived Job an 
 hundred and forty years, and saw his son*, 
 and his sons' sons, even four generations. 
 So Job died, being old and full of days. 
 
THE ANGELS APPEARING TO THE SHEPHERDS 
 
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 CHRISTMAS CAROLS. 
 
 337 
 
jf4 YG ftatft, IfcOt. SGGU, 
 
 i^ot 8ar fieard 
 eitfier have entered 
 Jo tfie fyeart 
 
 t.Tiet.fting's 
 vtffucfi (?od 
 
 Aatfiprepared 
 for tfiem, 
 
 tftat 
 fove tGim, 
 
 THE JOYS THAT ARE UNSEEN. 
 
 338 
 
THE 
 
 Story of Ghriffc and the j&po$flef. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 The Story of Bethlehem — A Roman Emperor — Zacharias in the Temple — An Angel 
 Brings a Message — Birth of John Foretold — An Angel Appears to Mary — Elisa- 
 beth Visits her Cousin — The Child Named John — Joseph and Mary at Bethlehem — 
 Birth of the Child Jesus — The Angels and Shepherds — Scene in the Temple — 
 Happy Old Simeon — Good News for the World — The Anthem of Peace. 
 
 NE night at Bethlehem a child 
 was born, and because there 
 was no other place for him he 
 was laid in a manger. The 
 story of this child is the most 
 wonderful ever written. For 
 many centuries he had been 
 promised, and it was foretold that he would 
 be different from any other person that ever 
 lived. A great many of the people who lived 
 in Palestine were expecting him, and many 
 persons in other countries were also looking 
 for the coming of one who would bring some 
 great blessing to the world. God had said 
 that when he came he would be a Jew. 
 That means, one of Abraham's family. The 
 Jews were very proud about that. They 
 often talked about the coming of this re- 
 markable person, and when they spoke of 
 him they called him the Messiah. 
 
 The Jews were very unhappy just now. 
 The soldiers belonging to the great city of 
 Rome had been fighting with them, and the 
 Jews had been made servants of the great 
 Roman king. He was called the Emperor 
 or Augustus Caesar. Augustus Caesar gave 
 the Jews another king called Herod. They 
 did not like Herod at all, for he was wicked 
 and cruel. He actually killed some of his 
 
 own sons, for fear they would want to be king 
 instead of him. Herod killed his wife, and 
 her father and mother and brother, and he 
 killed his own uncle. 
 
 They Wanted a Better King. 
 
 The Jews longed to get rid of Herod, and 
 many of them thought, It will be all right 
 when the Messiah comes. The Messiah will 
 fight against the Romans ; he will drive them 
 away from our land ; and then he will be our 
 king- instead of that wicked Herod. 
 
 Palestine is a very hilly country, and in 
 Judaea, the southern part of the country, the 
 hills are very high and rugged. In a town 
 amongst those hills, just at the time when 
 people were expecting the Messiah to come 
 quickly, there lived a priest whose name 
 was Zacharias, with his wife, whose name 
 was Elisabeth. Zacharias and Elisabeth 
 were so good that nobody could find fault 
 with anything they did. They tried to 
 please God in everything. 
 
 But one thing often made them sad. 
 They had never had any children. Often 
 and often they had asked God to give them 
 a little boy. But no little son had ever been 
 sent to that home amongst the hills. 
 
 One day, most likely in the beginning of 
 
 339 
 
340 
 
 THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 
 
 October, when the grapes of Palestine are 
 ripe, it was the turn of Zacharias to go for 
 a week to the temple to help in the services 
 there. So he left his wife and his home, 
 and went over the hills to Jerusalem. Priests 
 were only allowed to offer incense once in 
 the whole of their lives. One morning or 
 evening, while Zacharias was in Jerusalem, 
 he was chosen to do it. 
 
 When he went into the Holy Place he 
 wore the same dress the priests always put 
 on when they were busy in the temple- 
 cap, coat, drawers and lofig sash, all made 
 of white, shining material. But he had no 
 shoes. In the East, people always take off 
 their shoes when they go into holy places, 
 instead of taking off their hats, as men do 
 in our own country. 
 
 And now the golden gates of the Holy 
 Place were shut, and Zacharias was left alone 
 inside the temple to burn the sweet-smelling 
 incense. A little bell was rung, and the 
 people in the courts outside fell down to the 
 ground and prayed; and we may be sure 
 that Zacharias, as he burned the incense, 
 prayed too with all his heart. Inside and 
 outside the temple there was a great silence. 
 
 Joyful News. 
 
 Just then, close to the place where the 
 incense was burning, Zacharias saw an angel 
 of the Lord. That angel's name was 
 Gabriel. When Zacharias saw the angel, he 
 was afraid ; but there was nothing to be 
 frightened about. The angel had only 
 come to bring him good news. God was 
 going first of all to send Zacharias and Elis- 
 abeth a son, and then — the Messiah was 
 coming ! The angel told Zacharias what 
 his son's name was to be called, John. 
 
 Gabriel told Zacharias what sort of child 
 John would be. He said that the little boy 
 would make his father and mother very 
 
 happy, and that a great many persons would 
 be glad when he was born. And, best of 
 all, he said that John would be God's serv- 
 ant always, even from the time he was a 
 baby ; and that when he grew up he would 
 prepare a people for the Lord. 
 
 What did " preparing a people for the 
 Lord " mean ? In the land where Zacharias 
 lived, the roads were very stony and rough. 
 When a great man was coming to any of the 
 towns, he used to send servants on before 
 him to make his way ready. These servants 
 used to pick up the rough stones from the 
 roads, and throw them away ; and they 
 mended the roads, and made them smooth 
 and straight. 
 
 Clearing the Road. 
 
 And then, as the great man came along, 
 they shouted to the poor men and women, 
 and the camels and donkeys that were any- 
 where near, Make haste, make haste, move 
 out of the road ! This was called preparing 
 the way. Preparing is the same as getting 
 ready. 
 
 And now that Jesus was coming, God was 
 sending John to make his way ready. John 
 was not to make the roads of Palestine 
 smooth for the feet of Jesus to walk upon. 
 He was to make the hearts of the Jews ready 
 for Jesus. The angel said that God would 
 give John his Holy Spirit to help him in this 
 work. 
 
 When Zacharias heard the news that the 
 angel had brought, he could not believe it. 
 He thought, It is too good to be true. The 
 angel told him that it was quite true, but 
 that, as he did not believe God's message, 
 he should be dumb until his little child was 
 born. 
 
 The people in the courts outside the temple 
 had finished praying now ; and they could 
 not understand what kept Zacharias so long 
 
THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 
 
 341 
 
 in the Holy Place. Presently the golden 
 gates were opened, and Zacharias came out 
 
 had happened, but he could not speak at all. 
 Then the lamb which had been killed as a 
 
 THE ANGEL APPEARING TO MARY. 
 
 to the top of the steps ; he kept on moving 
 his hands about, and trying to explain what 
 
 sacrifice was burned, and a psalm was sung, 
 and the silver trumpets were blown, and a 
 
342 
 
 THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 
 
 priest blessed the people, and the people 
 went home ; and Zacharias went back again 
 to his home amongst the hills of Judaea, and 
 told his wife Elisabeth what had happened. 
 Though he could not speak, yet he could 
 write down anything he wanted to say. 
 
 The Angel's Visit to Mary. 
 
 Elisabeth, who lived amongst the hills of 
 Judaea, had a cousin who lived in a little 
 town called Nazareth, among the hills of 
 Galilee. The name of Elisabeth's cousin 
 was Mary. Mary was going to be married 
 to a carpenter called Joseph, who lived, like 
 herself, in the town of Nazareth. But she 
 was not married yet. She was still living at 
 home. 
 
 One day God sent an angel to Mary with 
 a message. Mary was in-doors when the 
 angel came to her and he said, The Lord is 
 with thee. 
 
 Mary was very much surprised when she 
 saw and heard the angel, and she was a 
 little frightened too. But the ange 1 cold her 
 not to be frightened. He had some glad 
 news for her. The Son of God, the Mes- 
 siah/was coming into the world very soon, 
 and he was to come to earth in human 
 form as Mary's little child. And the angel 
 said that when he was born, Mary must call 
 him Jesus. The angel told Mary too the 
 good news about her cousin Elisabeth, that 
 God was going also to send her a son. 
 
 Elisabeth lived more than a hundred miles 
 away from Nazareth, but Mary longed so 
 much to talk about all these wonderful 
 things with her that she at once got ready 
 for a long journey, and went off into the 
 hill-country of Judaea to see her cousin. 
 Oh, what a happy meeting that was ! 
 
 God had told Elisabeth's secret to Mary, 
 and now when Mary got to the town where 
 her cousin lived, and went into her house, 
 
 and said, Peace be upon you (that is what 
 people always say in the East), God told 
 Mary's secret to Elisabeth. And Elisabeth 
 was filled with joy, and she called Mary the 
 Mother of my Lord, and blessed her. And 
 Mary's heart and lips said, My soul doth 
 magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath re- 
 joiced in God my Saviour. These words 
 are very often sung in church. 
 
 We do not know any more about Mary's 
 visit to Elisabeth, excepting that she stayed 
 at her cousin's house for about three 
 months, and that then she went back to her 
 home in Nazareth. 
 
 And now the time had come when God 
 had promised that he would send Elisabeth 
 a son. And when the baby was born, her 
 relatives and her friends were delighted, and 
 they came to see her, and to thank God with 
 her for his great kindness. 
 
 He Is Named John. 
 
 The little Jew babies have a name given 
 to them when they are eight days old. This 
 baby's father, Zacharias, was dumb, you 
 remember; he could not speak, but his 
 friends said that his little child ought to be 
 called Zacharias, like him. When Elisabeth 
 heard that, she said, Not so, but he shall be 
 called John. And they said to her, There 
 are none of thy relatives called by that 
 name ; and they made signs to Zacharias to 
 know what name he would choose (for 
 Zacharias was deaf as well as dumb, and he 
 could not hear what they were talking 
 about). 
 
 Then Zacharias asked for a tablet — a 
 piece of wood covered over with wax, and 
 he wrote on the wax with a pointed iron 
 pencil. This is what he wrote, His name is 
 John. The friends were surprised that 
 Zacharias too had chosen that name. They 
 did not know that God had told him to 
 
THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 
 
 343 
 
 choose it And how much more surprised 
 they must have been when the dumb man 
 opened his mouth and began to speak ! 
 
 Yes, Zacharias could speak now, and the 
 very first thing he did was to thank and 
 praise God for keeping his promise about 
 sending the Messiah. And then, turning to 
 
 when a boy ; but we know that he grew and 
 grew until he became a brave, strong man. 
 
 One night, very soon after Mary got back 
 from her cousin Elisabeth's house, the angei 
 of the Lord spoke to Joseph in a dream- 
 The angel told Joseph to marry Mary, and 
 he told him Mary's beautiful secret about the 
 
 ZACHARIAS WRITING A NAME FOR THE CHILD. 
 
 his new-born son, he said, And thou, child, 
 shalt go before the face of the Lord to pre- 
 pare his ways. That was just what the 
 angel had told Zacharias when he was in 
 the Holy Place. Zacharias did not believe 
 God's message then, but now he believed it 
 with all his heart. 
 
 We do not know much more about John 
 
 Son of God coming to earth as her little 
 child, and he said to Joseph, Thou shalt call 
 his name Jesus, for he shall save his people 
 from their sins. When Joseph woke up, his 
 first thought was to do what the angel had 
 told him. At once he took Mary to his own 
 home as his wife. 
 
 About this time Caesar Augustus sent 
 
344 
 
 THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 
 
 word to Herod that he was to take a census 
 of the Jews. A census is taken in this way : 
 Everybody's name is written down and his 
 age, and many other things about him. And 
 then when the list, or census, is finished we 
 know how many persons there are in the 
 country. Every one in Palestine excepting 
 old people and little children had to pay 
 money every year to Caesar Augustus, and 
 some of the Jews were obliged to be his 
 soldiers ; and every twenty years Augustus 
 had a census taken, so that he might know 
 exactly how much money the Jews ought to 
 pay him, and how many Jew soldiers he 
 ought to have. 
 
 There was a curious plan in Palestine at 
 census time. People had to go to the towns 
 where their fathers' fathers lived a long time 
 ago, and had to have their names put down 
 there, instead of having them put down in 
 their own homes. 
 
 No Room at the Inn. 
 
 No w, both Joseph and Mary belonged to 
 the family of the great King David, who was 
 born in Bethlehem. So Mary had to 
 prepare once more for a long journey, and 
 had to go with her husband to Bethlehem. 
 Bethlehem is six miles from Jerusalem. It 
 is on the top of a hill, and people have to 
 climb up a difficult, slippery road to get 
 into the town. But Mary could not rest 
 even yet after her long journey ; for the inn 
 where Joseph meant to stay was quite full. 
 
 The inns in Palestine have four walls, with 
 a door in the front, and with a great empty 
 space for camels and horses inside. In the 
 very middle of that empty space there is a 
 fountain ; and all around the walls, just a 
 little bit higher than the part where the 
 animals are, there are a number of places 
 like empty stone arbors. These empty 
 places are called leewans, and they are quite 
 
 open in front, so that everybody can see 
 what everybody else is doing. 
 
 The people of the East carry their own 
 beds, something like eider-down quilts, and 
 their own cooking pots and pans with them 
 when they are on a journey, and they cook, 
 and eat, and sleep in these leewans at night. 
 When they go away, they do not have to pay 
 anything. Yet Mary and Joseph, after all 
 their long journey from Nazareth, could not 
 find even an empty leewan to lie down in. 
 What were they to do ? 
 
 Near that inn there was another place, in 
 which asses and camels were kept. It must 
 have been a cave, a great hole in the side of 
 the hill. And because there was no room 
 for them in the inn, Mary and Joseph had to 
 go into that stable to sleep. And in that 
 stable Jesus was born. And Mary wrapped 
 him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in the 
 manger in the place where the animals food 
 was kept. 
 
 Swaddling clothes are cloths which are 
 wrapped round and round the babies in the 
 East. Their arms, and legs, and bodies are 
 wrapped up tightly in these cloths, and their 
 heads are fastened up with a little shawl. 
 They look almost like mummies, as only the 
 face can be seen. 
 
 Killed a Lion and Bear. 
 
 The great King David, who had ruled 
 over the land a thousand years before this 
 time, had been at first only a poor shepherd 
 boy. He lived in the city of Bethlehem, to 
 which Joseph and Mary had now come, and 
 took care of his father's sheep in the fields 
 beyond. 
 
 One day, when he was out with the flock, 
 a lion came rushing out of the forest near 
 by, and seized one of the lambs. He would 
 soon have devoured it, but David ran after 
 him, and though he had no weapon but his 
 
THE WISE MEN PRESENTING THEIR GIFTS. 
 
THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 
 
 345 
 
 shepherd's staff, he killed the lion, and deliv- 
 ered the lamb out of his power. Another 
 day, a bear came forth and attacked the 
 flock in like manner, and him also David 
 slew with his shepherd's staff. 
 
 That had happened a thousand years 
 before, but still the shepherds of Bethlehem 
 were obliged to watch their flocks by day 
 hnd by night, to guard them from wild beasts. 
 
 On the night when the little child was 
 born in the stable, the shepherds went as 
 usual to their work in the fields, little think- 
 ing of the wonderful things they were to 
 see and hear before the morning dawned. 
 Suddenly, as they were watching their flocks, 
 they saw a great light above the brightness 
 of the stars, and in the midst of the light an 
 angel. They were filled with fear. But the 
 angel said to them, Fear not : for behold, I 
 bring you good tidings of great joy, which 
 shall be to all people. For unto you is 
 born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour, 
 which is Christ the Lord. 
 
 Visit from the Shepherds. 
 
 Then the angel went on to tell them how 
 they should know the Saviour of the world 
 from all other children, and gave them a 
 sign by which to discover him. This, he 
 said, shall be a sign unto you ; ye shall find 
 the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 
 lying in a manger. 
 
 When the angel had finished speaking, 
 the whole sky became covered with shining 
 angels, and a multitude of the heavenly host 
 sang praise to God, saying, Glory to God in 
 the highest, and on earth peace, good will 
 toward men. 
 
 After this the vision disappeared, the 
 sound of voices ceased, the light faded from 
 the sky, and the shepherds were left alone as 
 before. When they had recovered from the 
 awe and astonishment that had seized them, 
 
 they said one to another, Let us now go 
 even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing 
 which is come to pass, which the Lord hath 
 made known unto us. 
 
 They set out at once, and came with haste 
 to Bethlehem ; and there, when they had 
 reached the stable, they found Mary and 
 Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 
 Then they remembered the sign which the 
 angel had given them, and knew that this 
 was the child of whom he had spoken, and 
 they hastened to tell their friends and neigh- 
 bors all that they had heard from the angel 
 concerning him. 
 
 They Go Back Praising God. 
 
 All were astonished at those things that 
 were told them by the shepherds, and the 
 shepherds themselves returned to their 
 flocks, glorifying and praising God for all 
 the wonders that they had heard and seen. 
 
 Eight days afterwards, the child was cir- 
 cumcised according to the Jewish custom, 
 and he received the name that had been 
 given to him by the angel before his birth — 
 the name of Jesus. 
 
 The Jewish law commanded that the first- 
 born son of every family should be solemnly 
 presented to the Lord as soon as he was six 
 weeks old ; and when the child Jesus had 
 reached this age, he was taken to Jerusalem 
 by Joseph and Mary, that this ceremony 
 might be performed in the temple, according 
 to the usual custom. 
 
 Jerusalem was the chief city of the land of 
 Israel. It had been taken long ago by King 
 David, who built a fort round it to defend it 
 from enemies, and made a palace for himself 
 to live in. He wished also to build a temple 
 to the Lord, and gathered together great 
 stores of gold and silver, brass and iron s 
 hewn stones and cedar-wood, wherewith to 
 make it beautiful. 
 
346 
 
 THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 
 
 He was not able, however, to do as he 
 desired with regard to the building, but he 
 charged his son Solomon to carry out his 
 purpose, and Solomon built a temple which 
 was the wonder of all lands for splendor and 
 magnificence. This temple had been destroyed 
 by Nebuchadnezzar, King of Assyria, who 
 had conquered Jerusalem and carried away 
 the Jews into captivity, but they had long 
 since returned from that captivity, which only 
 lasted for seventy years, and now another 
 temple stood in the place of the first. 
 
 The Child Brought to the Temple. 
 
 The new temple had been begun by King 
 Herod about nineteen years before this time, 
 and was still not quite finished. It had a 
 golden dome or rounded roof, which glistened 
 in the sunshine, and it was approached by 
 avenues of beautiful marble pillars. Inside, 
 it was divided into two parts, which were 
 surrounded by many outer courts. The 
 first of these was called the Holy Place, and 
 here the sacrifices were offered up to God, 
 when they had been slain by the priests upon 
 a huge altar of brass. Beyond this was the 
 Holy of Holies, which was hidden by a 
 curtain drawn before it, and never entered 
 except once a year by the High Priest alone. 
 
 To this beautiful temple Joseph and Mary 
 brought the child Jesus, to present him to 
 the Lord. It was usual, at the same time, 
 to present a lamb of a year old to be sacri- 
 ficed on the great altar ; but those who could 
 not afford so costly an offering, might bring 
 instead a pair of turtle doves, or two young 
 pigeons. As Joseph and Mary were poor 
 people, they offered the humbler gift of a pair 
 of birds, and when these had been laid upon 
 the altar, and had yielded up their life, the 
 priest took the child into his arms, and 
 solemnly blessed him. 
 
 Now there lived at this time in Jerusalem 
 
 a certain man named Simeon, who was 
 just and devout, and who was waiting for 
 the consolation of Israel. All the chil- 
 dren of Israel who really cared for their 
 country were grieved because their land was 
 under the yoke of the Romans, and were 
 looking and waiting for a deliverer who 
 should save them from their enemies. Long 
 ago, the prophets had spoken of a Messiah 
 who should come in the time of trouble to 
 comfort his people, to put an end to all evil, 
 and to reign in power and righteousness, 
 extending his kingdom over the whole world. 
 Simeon was a very old man. He had 
 lived a long life in obedience to the command- 
 ments of God, and the Holy Spirit of God 
 rested upon him and directed all his actions. 
 It had been revealed to him that he should 
 not taste of death until he had seen the Lord's 
 Christ, and day by day he was looking for 
 the Messiah to come. 
 
 A Happy Old Man. 
 
 On the day when Jesus was presented to 
 the Lord, the Spirit of God moved Simeon 
 to enter the temple just at the moment when 
 the priest had taken the child into his arms 
 to bless him, and as soon as he saw the 
 child, Simeon knew that this was he for 
 whose coming he had been waiting so long. 
 He took him up in his arms, and praised 
 God, saying, Lord, now lettest thou thy 
 servant depart in peace, according to thy 
 word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 
 which thou hast prepared before the face of 
 all people ; a light to lighten the Gentiles, 
 and the glory of thy people Israel. 
 
 Joseph and Mary were filled with wonder 
 at those things that Simeon had spoken con* 
 cerning the child, and Simeon blessed them 
 both, and told them again that this child 
 would be the Saviour of his people. 
 
 Just then there entered into the temple arv 
 
THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 
 
 347 
 
 aged prophetess called Anna. She was of a 
 great age, having been a widow for eighty- 
 four years, and she was continually in the 
 temple, serving God with fastings and prayers 
 night and day. When she heard the words 
 of Simeon, she also gave thanks to the Lord, 
 and to all those in Jerusalem who were 
 
 name of its own. In those days, people 
 believed that by such studies they could 
 foretell great events that were going to hap- 
 pen ; and especially when a great king or 
 hero was about to be born, they thought 
 it was sure to be signified by some unusual 
 appearance in the sky. 
 
 SIMEON TAKING THE 
 
 looking for the Messiah she told the good 
 news that the Saviour had come. 
 
 In a country east of the land of Israel, 
 there lived some wise men, who spent much 
 time in studying the stars. Every night they 
 observed the heavens ; and they knew all the 
 stars one from another, and gave to each a 
 
 CHILD IN HIS ARMS. 
 
 The wise men had watch-towers from 
 which to observe the movements of the stars 9 
 and one night, when as usual they were 
 looking attentively at the heavens, they 
 suddenly perceived the appearance of a star 
 that they had never seen before. It grew 
 brighter and brighter, and soon there could 
 
348 
 
 THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 
 
 be no doubt that it was indeed a new star. 
 They were very much astonished, and said 
 one to another that some wonderful event 
 must be going to take place. 
 
 Then one of the wise men remembered 
 what he had once read in an old book, and 
 he said, Long ago it was foretold by a 
 prophet of our race that a star should come 
 Out of Israel, and a king arise who should 
 smite down all the enemies of his people. 
 This star must be sent to tell us that the king 
 of whom that prophet spoke has now been 
 born in the land of the Jews. 
 
 Herod Greatly Troubled. 
 
 One of the others answered, This is no 
 doubt the meaning of the star. Let us go, 
 then, and pay our homage to the new-born 
 king, and offer him presents. 
 
 To this they all agreed, and immediately 
 they began to prepare for the journey. The 
 servants made ready their camels, their 
 mules, and their asses, and they took with 
 them rich presents, gold, and sweet-smelling 
 spices, and herbs that cure disease. As they 
 travelled across the desert at night, they could 
 see the star shining high above their heads. 
 On it went, in front of them, and following 
 the path it seemed to point out, they came at 
 last to Jerusalem, the chief city of the land of 
 Israel. 
 
 When they reached Jerusalem, they went 
 at once to the palace of the king, whose name 
 was Herod, and said to him, Where is he 
 that is born King of the Jews ? For we have 
 seen his star in the East, and are come to 
 worship him. 
 
 Now Herod was a wicked king. He had 
 been set on the throne by the Romans, and 
 as long as he had power and riches, it was 
 nothing to him that his country was under 
 the yoke of a foreign people. He was not 
 one of those who were looking for the 
 
 Redeemer of Israel, and he had heard 
 nothing of the birth of Jesus, or of what had 
 been said about him by Simeon and Anna, 
 The words of the wise men troubled him, fof 
 was not he himself the king ? He did not 
 want to hear of any other king. 
 
 Nevertheless he concealed his fear and 
 anger, and sent for all the most learned men 
 in Jerusalem, that they might search through 
 the old books to see what had been said 
 about the birthplace of the Messiah. They 
 found that he was to be born in Bethlehem, 
 for the prophet Micah had said, And thou 
 Bethlehem, though thou art but a small city, 
 yet out of thee shall he come forth that is to 
 be Ruler in Israel. 
 
 Then Herod told the wise men that they 
 had better go to Bethlehem to seek for the 
 newly-born King, and he said to them, When 
 ye have found him, bring me word again, 
 that I may come and worship him also. He 
 did not really mean to worship him ; his 
 mind was full of wicked thoughts, but for his 
 own purposes he wished to find out where, 
 the child was. 
 
 Found in a Strange Place. 
 
 The wise men journeyed on to Bethlehem 
 with their servants and their treasures, and 
 the star still went before them. When they 
 reached the city, they again inquired for the 
 child that had been born of the kingly family 
 of David, and were directed to the house 
 where Joseph and Mary were now living. 
 At last they had reached the end of their 
 long journey, and now they were told that 
 the King whom they had travelled so far to 
 see was to be found, not in a palace, but in 
 the house of a poor carpenter. 
 
 But they were not offended or turned 
 aside on this account. They made their 
 way to the house that had been pointed out 
 to them, and when they had come to it, they 
 
THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 
 
 34^ 
 
 looked up and saw the star, which seemed to 
 be shining right over it, and they rejoiced 
 with exceeding great joy. Then they entered 
 In, and found the young child and Mary his 
 mother, and they fell down and worshipped 
 hinic And when they had opened their 
 
 in gorgeous robes, and with crowns on then 
 heads, kneeling before the Infant Saviour, and 
 offering him their presents. 
 
 When they had made an end of offering 
 their worship and their treasures, the wise 
 men returned to their home in the far East 
 
 WISE MEN OF THE EAST PRESENTING THEIR GIFTS. 
 
 treasures, they presented unto him their gifts, 
 gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 
 
 Many beautiful pictures have been painted 
 to represent this scene, and in them the wise 
 men, or the Magi as they are sometimes 
 called, usually appear as three kings, clothed 
 
 They did not go back to Jerusalem, but 
 departed unto their own country another 
 way, for they were warned of God in a dream 
 that they should not return to tell Herod 
 where to find the child Jesus. 
 
 Herod was thus kept in ignorance for 
 
350 
 
 THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 
 
 a time, but when he found that the wise men 
 had failed to come back and tell him that 
 which he desired to know, he became very 
 an g 1 T> anc * thoughts more wicked than ever 
 took possession of his mind. He was 
 determined to kill the newly-born King of 
 the Jews, for he feared that otherwise, when 
 the child grew up, he would take away the 
 
 them to kill every little boy of two years oln 
 and under, both in Bethlehem itself and in 
 all the country round about. 
 
 All over Bethlehem there was loud weep- 
 ing and lamentation, for the soldiers of 
 Herod entered every house, and wherever 
 they foiled a little boy of two years old or 
 less, they pierced it with their spears, and 
 
 KILLING THE MALE CHILDREN UNDER TWO YEARS OLD. 
 
 kingly power from him ; and having made up 
 his mind to this wicked deed, he would not let 
 himself be baffled because he did not know 
 which child it was whose life he desired to 
 take. 
 
 He thought that if he killed all the 
 children of Bethlehem, the child Jesus could 
 not escape from perishing with the rest, and 
 so he sent his soldiers to the town, and told 
 
 killed it before its mother's eyes. In vain 
 the mothers cried for mercy ; the commands 
 of the wicked king were obeyed literally, and 
 they were left to mourn as those who could 
 not be comforted. 
 
 But Joseph and Mary were not among the 
 sorrowing parents ; Jesus was not one of the 
 children who were slain. All this massacre 
 of the innocent children had failed to secure 
 
THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 
 
 351 
 
 for Herod the end that he desired, for the 
 one child of whom he was afraid was already 
 far away in a place of safety. 
 
 Very soon after the wise men had left 
 Bethlehem Joseph had seen a vision one 
 night in his sleep. The angel of the Lord 
 had appeared to him in a dream and said, 
 Arise, and take the young child and his 
 mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou 
 there until I bring thee word, for Herod will 
 seek the young child to destroy him. 
 
 Immediately Joseph rose up, while it was 
 still night, and saddled an ass, and when he 
 had set the young child and his mother upon 
 it, he led it quickly away from the town. 
 Before the soldiers of Herod reached Bethle- 
 hem, he was already far away, and he led the 
 ass many weary miles across the desert till 
 he came to the land of Egypt. 
 
 They Return to Nazareth. 
 
 There he tarried until he again had a 
 dream. As before, the angel of the Lord 
 appeared to him by night and said, Arise, 
 and take the young child and his mother, 
 and go into the land of Israel, for they are 
 dead which sought the young child's life. 
 
 Again Joseph arose and saddled the ass, 
 and led Mary and the child back across the 
 desert to the land of Israel. At first he 
 intended to return to Bethlehem, for now 
 that Herod was dead, he thought there 
 would be no danger in going there; but 
 when he heard that Archelaus, the son of 
 Herod, who was nearly as wicked and cruel 
 as his father, was ruling over that part of the 
 country, he was afraid to go thither. He 
 changed his purpose, therefore, and turned 
 aside into the province of Galilee, to the town 
 of Nazareth, where he and Mary had lived 
 before the birth of Jesus. 
 
 For many years Joseph and Mary lived 
 a peaceful, happy life at Nazareth. The 
 
 town was built on the side of a hill, and 
 looked down upon waving fields of corn, 
 and meadows full of beautiful flowers. In 
 the spring-time every house was like a 
 bower, for the vines crept all over the walls 
 and covered them with garlands of green 
 leaves. 
 
 Joseph and Mary had returned to Naza- 
 reth richer than when they left it, for they 
 had brought with them the child who had 
 been born in the stable at Bethlehem, and 
 who had been worshipped by the wise men 
 from the East, and declared by Simeon tc 
 be the Redeemer of Israel. 
 
 How Children Were Taught. 
 
 Their house was only a poor working 
 man's cottage, but it was a happy home, for 
 love was there. The child who lived in 
 that poor house was a pattern for all chil- 
 dren, rich and poor. No unkind thoughts 
 were in his heart, no untruthful words ever 
 came from his lips ; in all things he was 
 obedient to his parents, and kind and gentle 
 to all around him. 
 
 When he was old enough, Jesus went to 
 school with the other children of the town, 
 and there he learnt to read and write, and 
 was taught the history of his country. 
 
 In those days children were not taught 
 in the same way as now. Printed books 
 were not yet in use, and each roll of manu- 
 script had to be copied out separately, so 
 that such books were very precious, and 
 there was only one for the whole school. 
 This was held up by the master in front of 
 the children, who sat on the floor in a half- 
 circle round him, and repeated the words 
 after him, as he pointed to them. When it 
 was time for the writing lesson, they sprinkled 
 the floor with smooth sand, and traced the 
 letters upon it, either with their forefinger or 
 with a pointed stick. 
 
352 
 
 THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 
 
 Jesus was also taught the history of the 
 Children of Israel. He learnt how his 
 countrymen had once been slaves in the land 
 of Egypt, and how God had delivered them 
 from their enemies, and led them through 
 the wilderness to the land of Canaan, which 
 had been their home ever since. He learnt, 
 too, about all the great men who had fought 
 for their country, and especially about his 
 own forefather, King David, who had con- 
 quered the city of Jerusalem, and his son, 
 King Solomon, who had built the temple 
 there. 
 
 Great Feast at Jerusalem. 
 
 He was taught, moreover, to study the 
 book of the Law of the Lord, as well as the 
 Psalms that had been written by King David 
 and other poets, and the books of the pro- 
 phets, all of whom spoke of a Messiah who 
 should come in the latter days to redeem 
 his people. 
 
 Thus the days and months passed hap- 
 pily by, until Jesus was twelve years old. 
 At school, as at home, he was always teach- 
 able and kind and obedient, and loved by 
 all who knew him. 
 
 It was the custom amongst the Jews for 
 all the grown-up people to make a journey 
 every year to Jerusalem to worship in the 
 temple of the Lord, and to hold a solemn 
 feast in remembrance of the time when their 
 forefathers had been delivered from the land 
 of Egypt. 
 
 Joseph and Mary went every year to 
 Jerusalem for this purpose, and when Jesus 
 was twelve years old, they took him with 
 them for the first time. It was a beautiful 
 spring morning when they set out from 
 'Nazareth, with a large number of their 
 friends and neighbors. The women rode on 
 mules or asses, while the men and boys 
 went on foot. The distance was about eighty 
 
 miles, and the journey lasted several days 
 Each night they made a little encampment 
 beside a well of water, and there rested until 
 the morning sun enabled them to continue 
 their way. Then they again started forth, 
 and as they went, they joined in singing 
 psalms of praise to God. 
 
 The mind of Jesus was full of happy 
 and solemn thoughts as he walked along the 
 pleasant country roads, and noticed the 
 bright green of the young shoots, and the 
 fruit trees full of blossom, and the flowers 
 springing up along his path. He thought of 
 the deliverance from Egypt, and thanked 
 God for having brought his fathers to such a 
 goodly land. He thought also of all that 
 he had learnt about Jerusalem, and about 
 David and Solomon and the other great 
 men who had lived there, and looked forward 
 eagerly to see it all with his own eyes. 
 
 His Parents Lose Him. 
 
 At last they reached a hill from the top 
 of which they could catch the first sight 01 
 Jerusalem, and a wonderful sight it was. 
 Jerusalem at that time was a magnificent city, 
 with towers and pinnacles of white marble, 
 which gleamed from among the trees, while 
 high above all shone the great golden roof of 
 the temple. 
 
 The city was crowded with strangers who 
 had come to take part in the feast, and it 
 was very difficult to find any shelter. Joseph 
 and Mary and their friends from Nazareth 
 were therefore obliged to encamp outside the 
 city, as they had done on the journey, anr* 
 they made for themselves temporary tents 
 with willow-stems twisted together. They 
 remained at Jerusalem for eight days until 
 the feast was ended, and then all departed 
 together to their own home. 
 
 But before they had gone very far, Joseph 
 and Mary discovered that the child Jesus was 
 
TESUS WORKING AT THE TRADE OF CARPENTER. 
 
 25 
 
 353 
 
354 
 
 THE STORY OF BETHLEHEM. 
 
 not with them, and they were filled with 
 alarm. They went round to all their friends 
 and kinsmen to inquire concerning him, but 
 could hear no tidings, and at last they turned 
 back to~ Jerusalem, to seek him there. It was 
 not until the third day that they found him 
 in the temple, sitting among the teachers of 
 the Law, both listening to their works and 
 asking questions when he did not understand 
 their meaning. All were astonished that so 
 young a boy should already know so much. 
 Mary was proud that her son should have 
 gained the approval of the teachers of the 
 Law, but she could not refrain from rebuking 
 him for having given her so much trouble. 
 She said to him, Son, why hast thou dealt 
 with us thus ? Behold, thy father and I have 
 sought thee sorrowing. But he said to her, 
 How was it that ye sought me? Did ye not 
 know that I must be about my Father's 
 business? 
 
 Neither Mary nor Joseph knew what he 
 meant by these words. They did not under- 
 
 stand his delight in the Law of the Lord, nor 
 his eagerness to make the most of every- 
 opportunity of learning, in order that some 
 day he might be able to teach, but they knew 
 that he would not willingly pain or distress 
 them. They took him back with them to 
 Nazareth, and, as before, Jesus was obedient 
 to them in all things. 
 
 Year by year as the boy grew older, he 
 became more loving and more lovable. As 
 he increased in stature, so he increased in 
 wisdom, and in favor with God and men. 
 When he was old enough, he chose, the same 
 trade as Joseph, and earned his living by 
 working in the carpenter's shop. Once every 
 year he want up to Jerusalem to keep the 
 feast, but he always returned to his quiet 
 home at Nazareth. There he lived until he 
 was thirty years old, doing every day his 
 daily duty, and preparing himself by thought 
 and prayer for the great work that lay before 
 him. He had shown in his youth what kind 
 of a man he would be when he grew up. 
 
THK SURE AND STEADFAST ANCHOR. 
 
 355 
 
BEAUTIFUL GARMENTS. 
 
 356 
 
CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 Story of John the Baptist — Jesus on the Banks of the Jordan — The Temptation in 
 the Wilderness — The Fishermen Become Disciples — The Miracle in Cana of 
 Galilee — Wine from Water — Jesus in Jerusalem — Buyers and Sellers Driven 
 from the Temple — Words of Jesus not Understood — The Man who Came by Night 
 — Discourse to Nicodemus. 
 
 OR many more years, eighteen 
 in all, till he grew up to be a 
 man, Jesus remained in Naza- 
 reth. He was thirty years old 
 now ; but he was living quietly 
 on in the old home. He had 
 not yet begun to preach, or to 
 do any miracle ; he was doing his Father's 
 will in the humble home in which he had 
 been brought up. 
 
 People had become very wicked in those 
 days. Every kind of iniquity, and wrong, 
 and cruelty was done in the land ; and those 
 people who still loved God, and grieved for 
 all the sin that was going on around them, 
 were looking and longing for a Saviour to 
 come, who should take away all the evil, and 
 make the nation better. 
 
 The Saviour had indeed come ; but they 
 did not know it. And if they had been told 
 that the carpenter of Nazareth was the Mes- 
 siah, promised in the Scriptures, the Son of 
 God, they would not have believed it. Now, 
 God wanted to prepare the people's hearts to 
 believe in his dear Son, and to receive him as 
 their Saviour. So he sent a messenger to 
 them. 
 
 This messenger was John the Baptist. He 
 was a great prophet, and a great preacher ; 
 and God's Holy Spirit was in him from the 
 day he was born. He was not dressed like 
 other people ; he wore a mantle of camel' 3 
 
 hair, and had a leather girdle or belt round 
 his waist. 
 
 He did not care what food he ate ; he 
 thought so much of the message God had 
 given him, that he did not care for his body; 
 so he ate the common food that only the 
 beggars of that country eat — this was locusts 
 (a kind of large grasshoppers) and wild 
 honey ; and he drank the water of the river. 
 
 Crowds of people went to hear this won- 
 derful preacher, who was so unlike other 
 men. And John spoke to them about their 
 many sins, and told them all to repent. 
 
 By the River Jordan. 
 
 As John the Baptist spoke to the people 
 of their wicked ways, and of God's anger, 
 mzsry of them began to see how wrong they 
 had been ; and they confessed their sins, and 
 were really sorry for all their wickedness. 
 
 Then John baptized them. He took them 
 down to the river and baptized them, as a 
 sign that they were willing to give up their 
 sins, and that God was willing to pardon 
 them, and to wash away their sins. 
 
 After that, John spoke to them about the 
 Messiah. He told them that the Lord who 
 was coming was very great and very holy— - 
 so holy that even John himself was not 
 worthy to stoop down and untie his shoe — .. 
 and that he would baptize people with the 
 Holy Spirit, thus cleansing their hearts. 
 
 357 
 
858 
 
 WHAT FOLLOWED THE BAPTISM. 
 
 But though John spoke to the people 
 about the Saviour, and told them that he 
 was near, he did not himself know that 
 Jesus was the Saviour. So God said to 
 him, When you see the Holy Spirit coming 
 down from heaven, and resting upon any one, 
 you will know that that one is the Son of 
 God. 
 
 Well, while John was teaching, preaching, 
 and baptizing at the river Jordan, Jesus him- 
 self came to be baptized. 
 
 John was distressed that Jesus, who he 
 felt was so much better than himself, should 
 come like a sinner to be baptized. So he 
 said, I have need to be baptized by you ; 
 why then do you come to me ? 
 
 Jesus answered, Suffer it to be so now ; 
 for it is right for us to do all that is com- 
 manded. When he said this, he went down 
 to the river, and John baptized him. 
 
 The Temptation. 
 
 As soon as this was done, Jesus went up 
 out of the water again, praying ; and at that 
 moment a wonderful thing happened. The 
 heavens were opened, and the Spirit of God 
 came down like a dove from heaven, and 
 rested upon Jesus. And a voice was heard, 
 which said, Thou art my beloved Son, in 
 thee I am well pleased. 
 
 John the Baptist saw the Holy Spirit, and 
 he heard the voice ; and so then he knew 
 that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. 
 
 Directly after Jesus had been baptized, the 
 Holy Spirit led him into the wilderness. 
 There were no houses there, nor pretty 
 fields, nor gardens ; and there were no people 
 there. For forty days and forty nights, 
 Jesus was in that dreadful wilderness ; and 
 all that long time he had nothing to eat. 
 
 He was not quite aJone there. Some one 
 else was in the wilderness — watching him, 
 fearing him, and hating him. It was Satan. 
 
 Satan knew quite well that Jesus was the 
 Son of God ; and he hated him because he 
 was good, and pure, and holy. But most 
 of all he hated him because he knew that 
 Jesus had come into the world to be the 
 Saviour of sinners. So Satan thought that 
 he would try and tempt Jesus to do wrong. 
 For if Jesus had sinned only once, he could 
 not have been our Saviour. 
 
 When the forty days were over, Jesus 
 was very hungry indeed. Satan knew that 
 he was hungry ; so now he came and spoke 
 to Jesus. He said, If you are God's Son, 
 make these stones into bread. He wanted 
 to tempt Jesus to doubt his Father's love, 
 and not to wait his Father's time to feed 
 him. 
 
 Jesus only replied to Satan out of the 
 Scriptures ; and this is what he said, It is 
 written, Man shall not live by bread alone, 
 but by the word of God. This means, that 
 bread cannot keep us alive if God wills us 
 to die ; and that God can keep us alive with- 
 out bread, if he wills us to live. 
 
 The Cunning Tempter. 
 
 How different Jesus was to Adam and 
 Eve ! They were in a beautiful garden, 
 where they had everything they wanted ; and 
 Satan made them sin by tempting them to 
 eat the one thing God had forbidden. They 
 were disobedient. Jesus was in a lonely 
 wilderness, wanting food, and Satan tempted 
 him to eat, to satisfy his hunger; but he 
 would not distrust or disobey his Father. 
 He was always obedient. 
 
 Then the devil tried another way to make 
 him sin. He took Jesus into the holy city, 
 Jerusalem, and set him upon a very high 
 part of the temple — so high that it would 
 make one dreadfully giddy to look down — 
 and he said to him, If you are the Son of 
 God, throw yourself down from here. Do 
 
WHAT FOLLOWED THE BAPTISM. 
 
 359 
 
 not be afraid. You trust your Father, and 
 God will take care of you, and send his 
 angels to keep you from being hurt. 
 
 Ah, God's promise is to take care of those 
 who walk in his ways and obey him. But 
 if Jesus had done as Satan told him, he 
 would have been doing the devil's will, and 
 not God's will. So Jesus answered that 
 wicked tempter again out of the Scriptures, 
 
 all these things, and they shall be yours, if 
 only you will fall down before me, and 
 worship me. 
 
 Jesus was very angry with the devil for 
 daring to say such things. Go away, Satan! 
 he said to him; for it is written, Thou shalt 
 worship the Lord thy God, and him only 
 shalt thou serve. 
 
 After this the devil left him. Weak though 
 
 THE TEMPTATION ON THE MOUNTAIN. 
 
 It is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord 
 thy God. 
 
 Once more the devil tried to make him 
 sin. He took Jesus to the top of a very 
 high mountain, and showed him all the 
 kingdoms of the world, and all the beautiful 
 things that are in them — all the thousands 
 and thousands of people, all the gold, and 
 all the treasures. 
 
 Then he said to Jesus, I will give you 
 
 he was in body, the Son of God was strong 
 in spirit, and could not be led into sin. And 
 now that the struggle was over, the angels 
 of God came to bring him comfort, and 
 rejoice with him over the victory. 
 
 When Jesus had thus overcome the 
 temptations of the devil, he returned to live 
 again amongst men ; and at first he went back 
 to the Jordan, where John had meanwhile 
 continued to preach, and to baptize the people 
 
360 
 
 WHAT FOLLOWED THE BAPTISM. 
 
 By this time the fame of John had reached 
 the ears of the priests and Levites who served 
 in the temple at Jerusalem, and they sent 
 certain of their number to ask him who he 
 was, and why he was thus preaching and 
 baptizing. They thought he might be the 
 Messiah who had come already, but John 
 answered, I am not the Messiah. But there 
 standeth one among you whom ye know not. 
 He it is, who coming after me is preferred 
 before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not 
 worthy to unloose. 
 
 What Was Said by John. 
 
 One day, as John the Baptist saw Jesus 
 walking along, he said to two men who were 
 with him, Look ! There is the Lamb of God. 
 
 When the men heard John say that, at 
 once they followed Jesus, walking quietly 
 behind him. Jesus knew that they were 
 following, and he turned round and asked, 
 Are you looking for any one? They 
 answered, Master, where do you live ? Jesus 
 replied kindly, Come and see. So Jesus took 
 them to the house where he was staying, and 
 the two men remained with him that day. 
 After that, they were almost always with him ; 
 for they knew that he was the Son of God. 
 
 One of these men, whose name was 
 Andrew, had a brother called Peter, and 
 wanted him to follow Christ. So he went 
 to find him and to tell him the wonderful 
 news. We have found the Messiah, he 
 said. And then he took Peter to Jesus. 
 From that moment he became a loving 
 disciple of Jesus. 
 
 All these disciples — Peter, and John, and 
 Andrew, and that other disciple — were fisher- 
 men. They were poor men, and had to 
 work hard for their daily bread. They were 
 obliged to go out in their ships, sometimes 
 all day, and often all night, to catch fish. 
 They were very fond of their ships ; but, at 
 
 a word from Jesus, they left them to follow 
 him. 
 
 Did they think that Jesus could make 
 them rich ? It was not for this they wanted 
 to be with him. They knew that Jesus was 
 very poor, even poorer than themselves. He 
 had no home of his own ; but the disciples 
 had homes where they might always live. 
 
 Yet they preferred to follow their Master ; 
 though by doing so they were often very 
 weary and hungry. For sometimes it hap- 
 pened that such crowds followed Jesus, that 
 they had not time to eat : and sometimes 
 they were far from any town or village, and 
 had a long way to go to buy bread. But 
 sometimes people invited them into their 
 own houses, and gave them food. 
 
 The day after Peter had joined the other 
 disciples, Jesus was walking further on, to 
 go to another p/ace, when he met a man 
 whose name was Philip. Come with me, 
 Jesus said. Without a question and without 
 a doubt, Philip followed him ; for he, too, 
 knew that Jesus was the Son of God. 
 
 "Come and See." 
 
 Philip had a friend called Nathanael, and 
 he wanted to bring him to Christ. So he 
 went to him, and said, We have found Jesus 
 of Nazareth, who the Scriptures tell us is 
 the Son of God. But Nathanael said, 
 Nazareth is a very bad wicked place ; can 
 anything good come from there? Come 
 and see, was Philip's answer. 
 
 So they went both together. And as 
 Jesus saw Nathanael coming, he said, Here 
 is one who is very truthful and honest. 
 
 Nathanael was surprised to hear Jesus say 
 this, and he asked in wonder, How is it that 
 you know me? 
 
 Jesus answered, Before Philip called you, 
 when you were under the fig-tree, I saw yoiu 
 Nathanael did not doubt any longer. He 
 
WHAT FOLLOWED THE BAPTISM. 
 
 361 
 
 exclaimed, Master, you are the Son of God, 
 you are the King of Israel ! 
 
 Jesus said to him, Do you believe just 
 because I said I saw you under the fig-tree ? 
 You shall see much greater wonders than 
 these. One day you shall see heaven open, 
 and the angels of God ascending and 
 descending upon the Son of Man. And so 
 Nathanael also became a disciple. 
 
 not return alone. Some men are with him ; 
 they are the five disciples of whom you have 
 already heard. Mary's heart must have 
 been full of joy when she found that at last 
 there were people who were beginning to 
 believe in Jesus, and to call him the Son of 
 God. 
 
 Now you are to read of the first miracle 
 that he ever did. A miracle is any won- 
 
 THE WATER TURNED INTO WINE AT CANA OF GALILEE. 
 
 Jesus as we have seen, had left his home in 
 Nazareth to be baptized by John in the river 
 Jordan. This had been done some weeks 
 ago, and he had never been home since. 
 But now he was going to return to Nazareth 
 once more. 
 
 Two months have passed away, and 
 once again he is in the little town where he 
 had lived for so many years. But he does 
 
 derful thing that is done that no man can 
 do, but only God. 
 
 In a house a few miles away from Naza- 
 reth there was a wedding, and the mother 
 of Jesus was there. In that country a grand 
 feast was always given at the time of a 
 marriage, and this feast often lasted several 
 days. Jesus was invited, and his disciples, 
 to the marriage feast, and they went. 
 
362 
 
 WHAT FOLLOWED THE BAPTISM. 
 
 The people who gave the feast were poor, 
 and they could not afford much wine ; so it 
 happened that after a little while it was all 
 gone. What were they to do to get more ? 
 
 The mother of Jesus knew that there was 
 one sitting at the table who could help 
 them, and so she just simply said to her 
 blessed Son, They have no wine. But Jesus 
 answered her, What have I to do with you 
 in this matter ? The proper time is not yet 
 come for me to work. 
 
 Jesus always waited his Father's time, and 
 not one moment before the right time would 
 he do anything. He was as patient in wait- 
 ing as he was patient in love and in suffering. 
 
 Mary felt quite sure that he was going to 
 help them, so she turned to the servants, and 
 said to them, Whatsoever he tells you to do, 
 do it at once. 
 
 There were some large stone jars in the 
 room, used for holding water. Jesus said 
 unto the servants, Fill those water-pots with 
 water. And they filled them quite full, up 
 to the very top. Then Jesus said, Now 
 pour out some in a cup, and take it to the 
 ruler of the feast. 
 
 More than Enough for the Guests. 
 
 The servants did as they were told ; and 
 when the ruler of the feast had tasted it he 
 tcund that it was no longer water, but wine 
 — the very best wine he had ever tasted. 
 
 But how could that be? Jesus had 
 changed into wine all the water that was in 
 those large stone jars. So now there was 
 enough, and more than enough, for all the 
 guests. 
 
 The ruler of the feast could not under- 
 stand where this wine, that was so much 
 better than what they had been drinking, 
 had come from. So he called the master of 
 the house, and said to him, Why did you not 
 ive us this good wine before ? 
 
 But the master of the house did not know 
 how it had come ; he only knew that all he 
 had was gone. But the servants knew all 
 about it, and now they told the whole story : 
 how Jesus had made them fill the great stone 
 jars with water, and how he had turned all 
 the water into wine. 
 
 The people were very much astonished at 
 the wonderful thing their Lord had done ; 
 and it made them believe all the more firmly 
 that he was the Son of God. And this is 
 why Jesus did miracles ; to show his power 
 and glory, and to show people that he was 
 the Christ. Yet in spite of the wonderful 
 things he did, many people would not 
 believe in him. 
 
 Jesus at the Passover. 
 
 Very soon after the first miracle, Jesus 
 went to Jerusalem to keep the Passover. 
 You remember what a veiy great number of 
 people used to flock to the holy city to keep 
 this yearly feast. They came from all parts ; 
 from places a long way off, and even from 
 other countries. 
 
 The city was crowded. Every street 
 every house was full; and hundreds o. 
 people had to make for themselves little 
 tents of mats and branches of trees, to 
 shelter them during the night because there 
 was no room for them in any house. 
 
 Then, besides all the many people, there 
 were hundreds and hundreds of cattle, sheep 
 and oxen, driven into the city for sacrifice, 
 and doves and pigeons too, were brought in 
 great numbers ; for these birds were what 
 the poor offered to God in sacrifice — those 
 who could not afford to offer a sheep or a 
 lamb. 
 
 You may imagine how bright, and busy, 
 and noisy it was in the streets of Jerusalem 
 at that time ; for it was a time of rejoicing, 
 and of thanking God for past mercies. 
 
WHAT FOLLOWED THE BAPTISM. 
 
 363 
 
 So Jesus went into the temple to join in 
 the solemn services there. The temple was 
 a most beautiful building, far grander than 
 anything you or I have ever seen. But what 
 a sight met his eye ! 
 
 The grand entrance-court of God's house 
 ts-as mil of cattle, and crowded with men who 
 
 in the inner part of the temple, where th£ 
 
 services were going on. 
 
 Four hundred years before, it had beet 
 prophesied — or foretold — in the Scriptures^ 
 that one day the Lord would suddenly come 
 into his temple, to cleanse and to purify it 
 That time had now come. 
 
 THE MONEY-CHANGERS DRIVEN FROM THE TEMPLE. 
 
 were buying and selling them ! Other men, 
 with cages full of pigeons and doves, offering 
 them for sale! There were other men 
 sitting before tables, on which were piled 
 up heaps of money ; these people were called 
 money-changers. And all the noise of the 
 men's voices, of the sheep bleating, and of 
 the oxen lowing, could be distinctly heard 
 
 Jesus was very angry at all he saw. He 
 could not bear that his Father's house should 
 be so dishonored ; and in his holy anger he 
 made a scourge, or whip, of small cords to 
 chase out all those who were so profaning it. 
 
 First he drove out all the sheep and the 
 oxen, and those who were selling them. 
 Next he went to where the money-changer* 
 
364 
 
 WHAT FOLLOWED THE BAPTISM. 
 
 were sitting, and he threw down all their 
 tables, and upset the money that was piled 
 up on each, leaving the men to grope about 
 on the floor for all the coin which had been 
 scattered, and was rolling about. 
 
 Then he said to those who sold the doves, 
 Take these things away ; do not make my 
 Father's house a place for buying and selling. 
 No one dared resist him. Though they 
 hated him for what he had done, yet they 
 felt in their hearts that he was right, and 
 they were afraid of him. 
 
 When the proud priests and Pharisees 
 heard what Jesus had done, they did not 
 dare complain ; for they, too, knew quite well 
 that they had done wickedly to allow such 
 deeds to take place in the holy temple. 
 
 They Call for His Authority. 
 
 Presently, however, when they had begun 
 to recover themselves a little, some of the 
 Jews came to him to ask by what authority he 
 did these things. The old prophets had 
 done many wonderful works, Samuel had 
 brought down a storm of thunder and rain, 
 Elijah had called fire from heaven to destroy 
 his enemies, and they demanded of Jesus, if 
 he was indeed the Messiah, that he would 
 work some miracle as a sign, that they might 
 see it and believe in him. 
 
 But Jesus would not do as they wished. 
 Often after this he was pressed by the people 
 to give them a sign, but he always made the 
 same answer, that they were to look at his 
 actions and see if they were the deeds of one 
 who had come from God. 
 
 Instead of working any miracle, he now 
 said to them, Destroy this temple, and in 
 three days I will raise it up. 
 
 The Jews answered, Forty and six years 
 was this temple in building, and wilt thou 
 raise it up in three days ? 
 
 They did not understand his words, but 
 
 afterwards, when he had risen again ifom the 
 dead, after lying in the grave for three days } 
 his disciples remembered what he had said, 
 and knew that he had been speaking, not of 
 the material temple of stone, but of his own 
 body. He meant to say that, even if that 
 beautiful temple, to which men came from all 
 parts of the world, were to be destroyed; it 
 would not really matter, for that he had 
 come to teach that each man might build in 
 his own heart a temple for the Holy Spirit 
 of God, which could not be destroyed even 
 by death itself. 
 
 Whilst Jesus was at Jerusalem, he received 
 one night a visit from a Pharisee named 
 Nicodemus. 
 
 The Pharisees were the most important 
 men amongst the Jews, for they were the 
 religious teachers of the people, and they 
 passed the greater part of their lives in 
 studying the Law of God, and in laying 
 down rules by which the more ignorant 
 might know how it was to be understood. 
 
 Wanted to Be Seen of Men. 
 
 They gained the esteem of the people by 
 making a great show of religion, but all their 
 good works were done to be seen of men, 
 and not from any true love to God. As was 
 the custom in the East, they said their 
 prayers standing, and this they did at the 
 corners of the streets, so that all the passers- 
 by could see them ; and when they gave 
 alms also, they took care to do it in such a 
 way as to draw the attention of everyone to 
 their generous action. 
 
 They were very strict about obedience to 
 the exact words of the Law, but they acted 
 for the most part in a manner that was 
 entirely contrary to the true spirit of religion. 
 
 One of the commandments of the Law 
 was that the tenth part of all possessions 
 was to be offered to God, and the Pharisees 
 
11l i! PP' T ' : !'■ -r^'-^^v^^B 
 
 CHRIST TALKING TO NICODtLMUS. 
 
 36/, 
 
366 
 
 WHAT FOLLOWED THE BAPTISM. 
 
 carried this out with such minuteness that 
 they would go into their gardens and dig up 
 some little plant, such as mint, in order that 
 they might divide it into ten portions and 
 offer the tenth to God; but the more import- 
 ant matters, such as justice, mercy, and 
 faith, they were apt to neglect altogether. 
 
 How They Treated Parents. 
 
 Many of the rules, too, that they laid 
 down for the guidance of the people were 
 such as could only lead them into error, and 
 they often explained the words of the Law 
 in a way that was by no means in accordance 
 with their true meaning. 
 
 For instance, it was written in the Law, 
 Honor thy father and thy mother, and the 
 Jews rightly held that no son who truly 
 honored his father and mother would allow 
 them to starve in their old age; but the 
 Pharisees taught that if the son chose to say 
 of his money, It is a gift — that is, if he 
 preferred to give it either towards beautifying 
 the temple, or for buying animals for sacri- 
 fice, or for building a synagogue, or for 
 anything else that was considered to be the 
 service of God — then he was not to be 
 expected to do anything more for his father 
 or his mother. 
 
 There were, however, some good and 
 sincere men amongst the Pharisees, and one 
 of those was the man who had come to visit 
 Jesus by night. He had waited till it was 
 dark, for he did not wish to be seen ; but he 
 had heard about Jesus, and desired to learn 
 from him, feeling sure that he was a teacher 
 come from God. 
 
 Jesus told him that he had indeed been 
 pent by God, and had come to establish the 
 
 kingdom of God upon earth, and he said 
 that no one could enter into that kingdom 
 except by beginning a new life. Twice over 
 he repeated the solemn words, Verily, verily, 
 I say unto thee, except a man be born again 
 he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 
 
 Sent to Teach the Truth. 
 
 Then he went on to say that God had sent 
 him into the world to teach the truth, and 
 that those who loved the truth would believe 
 in him and be saved, but that those who 
 loved rather to remain in darkness, doing 
 evil deeds, would perish. It would be as it 
 was with the Israelites in the wilderness, who 
 were saved by loo^'ng towards the brazen 
 serpent. 
 
 That had happened long ago, when the 
 Israelites were journeying through the 
 wilderness from Egypt to the land of 
 Canaan. They had murmured against the 
 Lord, and he punished them by sending 
 fiery serpents among them to destroy them. 
 Then they cried to the Lord to deliver them, 
 and the Lord told Moses, their leader, to 
 make a serpent of brass and set it on a pole, 
 that all the people might see it. If one of 
 the fiery serpents had bitten any man, when 
 he looked upon the serpent of brass he 
 became healed of the wound. And so there 
 was life for a look of faith. 
 
 So shall it be again, said Jesus, For as 
 Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 
 even so shall the Son of Man be lifted up, 
 that whosoever believeth in him should not 
 perish, but have eternal life. For God so 
 loved the world that he gave his only 
 begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
 him should not perish, but have eternal life. 
 
CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 The People of Samaria — The Woman at Jacob's Well — The Water of Life — In the 
 Synagogue at Nazareth — Hatred of the Jews — Healing the Son of a Nobleman — 
 Casting Out a Devil — Wonderful Cures — Jesus Calls Peter and Andrew — Dis- 
 courses upon the Law and Providence — A Lesson from Birds and Flowers — House 
 Built on the Rock — A Leper Healed — The Widow's Son Raised to Life. 
 
 ESUS returned to the banks of 
 the Jordan when the Feast of 
 the Passover was ended, and 
 there he continued for some 
 time with his disciples, calling 
 upon the people to repent of 
 their sins and prepare for the 
 kingdom of heaven. But before long there 
 came to him the sad news that John had 
 been seized by the soldiers of King Herod, 
 and cast into prison. This Herod was not 
 so wicked as his father, who had slain the 
 little boys of Bethlehem, but he was far 
 from being a good king, and when John 
 told him that he also needed to repent of 
 his sins, he was very angry, and shut him 
 up in a gloomy dungeon from which he 
 never came out alive. 
 
 The disciples of John went to Jesus and 
 told him that their master had been cast 
 into prison, and they said that unless he left 
 that part of the country the same fate would 
 doubtless overtake him also. Jesus yielded 
 therefore to their entreaties, and determined 
 to go and preach in the cities of Galilee, 
 beginning first of all with the town of Naza- 
 reth, where he had been brought up. 
 
 Between the province of Judaea, where 
 
 Jesus had been preaching, and the province 
 
 of Galilee, which was at the north of the land 
 
 of Israel, was a district called Samaria. 
 
 The people of Samaria were not of the 
 
 same race as the Israelites. Hundreds of 
 years before this time, the country had been 
 conquered by the king of Assyria, who made 
 the whole land desolate, and took away the 
 children of Israel into captivity. Then, be- 
 cause there was no one left to dwell in the 
 cities of Samaria, he brought some strange 
 people to occupy them, who worshipped 
 other gods, and when by-and-by the Israel- 
 ites returned to their own homes, they found 
 '"lese strangers settled in it. 
 
 They Could Not Agree. 
 
 This vexed them very much, and instead 
 of making friends with the strangers, they 
 regarded them as their deadly enemies. 
 They could not get rid of them, but they 
 did all they could to vex and annoy them, 
 and the Samaritans in their turn did every 
 thing in their power to annoy the Jews. 
 
 One of the things that the Samaritans did 
 was to build a temple of their own on Mount 
 Gerizim, one of the mountains of Samaria, 
 instead of going up to worship at the temple 
 of Jerusalem, and they often refused to give 
 any food or shelter to the men of Galilee 
 when they passed through their country. 
 
 In consequence of this, the men of Galilee 
 usually went far out of their way in order to 
 avoid passing through Samaria, and the 
 Jewish teachers taught that it was degrading 
 to accept any service or even to buy food 
 
 367 
 
JESUS AND THE WOMAN OF SAMARIA, 
 
 368 
 
JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 
 
 369 
 
 from a Samaritan. But Jesus would not 
 •carry on the quarrel. He loved all men, and 
 instead of going out of his way to avoid the 
 Samaritans he was glad to pass through their 
 country. 
 
 He travelled on foot, as he always did, 
 and it happened that one day at about noon 
 he reached the town of Sychar, near which 
 there was a well of water. The well had 
 seats all round it, and was shaded by a roof 
 which kept the water cool by protecting it 
 from the fierce rays of the eastern sun. 
 
 It was now summer, and Jesus, being 
 wearied with his journey, sat resting upon 
 the well, while his disciples went into the 
 town to buy food. He wished for some of 
 the fresh, cool water, but the well was deep, 
 and he had nothing to draw with. Presently 
 lie saw a Samaritan woman coming towards 
 him with a pitcher in her hand, and asked 
 her to give him to drink. 
 
 She was astonished that he should expect 
 any kindness from her, and said, How is it 
 that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, 
 who am a woman of Samaria ? 
 
 What He Answered. 
 
 Jesus answered, If thou knewest the gift 
 •of God, and who it is that saith unto thee, 
 Give me to drink, thou wouldest have asked 
 of him, and he would have given thee living 
 water. 
 
 She did not understand his meaning, but 
 she soon perceived that he was a great 
 prophet, and then she asked him to answer 
 a question that had often perplexed her. 
 There had long been a dispute between her 
 countrymen and the Jews as to whether God 
 could be worshipped in the temple on Mount 
 Gerizim, or only in the temple at Jerusalem, 
 and she wanted to know what party was 
 in the right. She said, Our fathers wor- 
 shipped in this mountain, but ye say that in 
 24 
 
 Jerusalem is the place where men ought to 
 worship. 
 
 Jesus answered her, Woman, believe me, 
 the hour cometh when ye shall neither on 
 this mountain, nor yet in Jerusalem, worship 
 the Father. God is a spirit, and they that 
 worship him must worship him in spirit and 
 in truth. It was the same thing that he had 
 said to the Jews at the feast, only a short 
 time before, that the true worship of God 
 does not consist in going to. this place or to 
 that, but in entering into communion with 
 the Spirit of God. 
 
 He Tells Who He Is. 
 
 The woman said, I know that the Messiah 
 is coming, who is called the Christ. When 
 he is come, he will tell us all things. 
 
 Then said Jesus, I that speak unto thee 
 am he. 
 
 At these unexpected words, the woman 
 put down her pitcher and ran back into the 
 city to call her friends and neighbors. 
 
 While the woman was telling her neigh- 
 bors to come to Jesus, the disciples tried to 
 make their master take some food. Master, 
 eat, they said to him. But Jesus was not 
 hungry now. 
 
 He had been both hungry, and thirsty, 
 and tired before ; but he cared so much for 
 the poor woman to whom he had been 
 speaking, and he wanted so much to make 
 her forsake her sins and love his Father, 
 that he forgot all about his food, and he did 
 not want any now. So when the disciples 
 begged him to eat, he said to them, I have 
 meat to eat that you do not know about. 
 
 Has any one brought him any food to 
 eat ? The disciples asked each other, wonder- 
 ing. Then Jesus explained to them what 
 he meant. My meat is to do my Father's 
 will, and to finish his work. More than his 
 food, more than his rest, more than his life, 
 
370 
 
 JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 
 
 he loved to finish his Father's will at all 
 times. 
 
 And now the Samaritans came flocking 
 to him out of the city ; and as Jesus sat on 
 the well he taught them. 
 
 As they listened to him they forgot he 
 was a Jew ; and, as they heard his gracious 
 words, they longed to have him always with 
 them, and they begged him to stay with 
 them. So Jesus remained two days in the 
 city. 
 
 As he preached, a great many people 
 believed in him. Some believed because of 
 what the woman had told them when she 
 said, he has told me all the things that I 
 have ever done. 
 
 And many more believed in him because 
 of what they heard him say ; and they said 
 to the woman, Now we believe, not because 
 of what you told us, but because we have 
 heard him ourselves, and know that he is 
 indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world. 
 
 After leaving the city of the Samaritans, 
 Jesus continued his journey to Nazareth, the 
 town where he had been brought up ; and 
 when the Sabbath day came round, he went 
 into the synagogue, according to his usual 
 custom. 
 
 Reading the Sacred Roll. 
 
 Besides the temple at Jerusalem, where 
 the Jews met together from time to time to 
 worship God, they had in most towns a 
 synagogue or meeting-place, where they 
 assembled every Sabbath day. 
 
 The sacred books of the Law and the 
 Prophets were written on long rolls of parch- 
 ment, and any one who chose might come 
 forward to read the portion appointed for 
 the day, and speak a few words to the people, 
 On this Sabbath, Jesus rose up, and taking 
 into his hands the roll of the prophet Isaiah, 
 he opened it, and read these words : The 
 
 Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he 
 hath annointed me to preach the gospel to 
 the poor. He hath sent me to heal the 
 broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the 
 captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, 
 to set at liberty them that are bruised, to 
 preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 
 
 He wound up the roll again, and sitting 
 down in the raised seat reserved for whoever 
 had something to say to the people, he be- 
 gan to tell them that these words, which 
 had been spoken so long ago, were now 
 about to be fulfilled. He said that the king- 
 dom of heaven was going to be established 
 upon earth, and that whoever would follow 
 him, might have a place in it. 
 
 All Fixed Their Eyes on Him. 
 
 He told them, too, that this kingdom was 
 not one in which the rich and the great and 
 the powerful would have all the advantages^ 
 but that those who were called to it were 
 especially the poor and the despised, the 
 weary and the heavy-laden. 
 
 As he spoke, the eyes of all the congrega- 
 tion were fastened upon him. They all knew 
 him, for till lately he had been living in their 
 midst ; and they said one to another, Is not 
 this Joseph's son? as they heard with wonder 
 the gracious words that proceeded out of his 
 mouth. 
 
 But as Jesus went on to tell them more 
 about the kingdom, they were not so well 
 pleased, for he said that all men might enter 
 into it — not only the Jews, but people of 
 other nations also, whom the Jews hated and 
 despised, calling them all alike by the name 
 of Gentiles or strangers. He reminded them, 
 moreover, of two stories from the history of 
 their own country, which showed that, even 
 in the time past, the Gentiles had sometimes 
 been more ready to accept the gifts of God 
 than the Jews themselves. 
 
JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 
 
 371 
 
 The first story was about the great prophet 
 Elijah. He lived in the reign of Ahab, a 
 wicked king, whose sins were so great that, 
 as a punishment, the heaven was dried up 
 and no rain fell for three years and six 
 months, so that there arose a mighty famine 
 in the land. 
 
 Elijah left the land of Israel, and journeyed 
 into Phenicia till he came to Zarephath, a 
 city of the Gentiles. As he drew near to 
 the gate of the city, he saw a poor widow 
 woman gathering sticks, and asked her to 
 give him something to eat. But even here 
 the famine was very severe, and she answered 
 him, I have but a handful of meal in a barrel 
 and a little oil in a cruse, and now I am 
 gathering a few sticks that I may make a 
 cake and cook it for me and my son, that 
 we may eat it and then die. 
 
 She Shared Her Last Meal. 
 
 But Elijah said, Verily, I say unto thee, 
 the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither 
 shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that 
 the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. 
 
 When the poor woman heard these words, 
 she received him gladly, and shared with 
 him the food of which she had expected to 
 make her last meal ; and behold, it was as 
 the prophet had said — the barrel of meal 
 wasted not, neither did the oil fail, until at 
 last the rain poured down again in torrents, 
 and the famine was at an end. 
 
 The other story was about Elisha, another 
 great prophet. It happened in his time that 
 the Israelites were at war with the Syrians, 
 who conquered them, and took away as one 
 of their prisoners a little Jewish girl, whom 
 they gave as a slave to the wife of Naaman, 
 their captain. 
 
 Now Naaman was a brave man and a 
 great general, but he was afflicted with a 
 terrible disease which no one could cure. 
 
 But when the little servant-girl heard of it 
 she said, If my master would go to the 
 prophet who is in Israel, he would recover 
 him of his disease. 
 
 So Naaman set out, with a number of his 
 servants, and came to the prophet Elisha. 
 who told him to go and bathe himself seven 
 times in the river Jordan. This he did, and 
 after the seventh time the disease left him 
 altogether, and he was quite well. 
 
 These two stories Jesus told to the people 
 of Nazareth to show them that many of the 
 Gentiles were ready to be taught, and to 
 listen gladly to the good news of the king- 
 dom of God. There were many widows in 
 Israel, he said, in the days of Elijah the 
 prophet, but unto none of them was Elijah 
 sent, save only to a woman of Zarephath, in 
 the land of the Gentiles. And there were 
 many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, 
 but none of them was cleansed save Naaman 
 the Syrian. 
 
 The Nobleman's Son. 
 
 The people of Nazareth had gradually 
 become more and more angry, and when 
 Jesus spoke as if the Gentiles were as near 
 to the kingdom of heaven as themselves, 
 they could no longer contain their indigna- 
 tion. With one accord they rose up, and 
 having thrust him out of the synagogue, 
 they dragged him to the brow of the hill 
 whereon their city was built, that they might 
 cast him down headlong. But Jesus avoided 
 their fury, and passing through the midst of 
 them, he went his way. 
 
 The people of Nazareth were too ignorant 
 and too selfish to receive the good news he 
 had to bring them. He therefore left them, 
 and went away to Capernaum. On the way 
 he halted at the little village of Cana, where 
 he had been present at the marriage feast, 
 and had changed the water into wine. 
 
372 
 
 JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 
 
 Now it happened that in the city of Caper- 
 naum, which was not many miles distant, 
 there was a certain nobleman, whose son 
 was sick and ready to die. It was in vain 
 that the sorrow-stricken father sent for all 
 the best physicians that could be obtained — 
 the boy only became worse and worse. 
 
 Then, in his distress, he remembered how 
 some little time ago there had come to the 
 town a stranger who had cured many that 
 were sick and afflicted, and who had also 
 wrought a wondrous miracle in the village 
 of Cana. He began to inquire where Jesus 
 could be found, and when he heard that he 
 was again at Cana, he determined to go and 
 ask for his help in this time of trouble. 
 
 An Anxious Father. 
 
 He set out without delay, and when he 
 had come to Jesus, he besought him with 
 many entreaties that he would return with 
 him to Capernaum and heal his son, for he 
 was at the point of death. 
 
 Jesus did not go with him, for that was 
 not needed, but by a single word he turned 
 the poor father's sorrow into joy. He said 
 to him, Thy son liveth, and the nobleman 
 believed his word, and went back calm and 
 happy, feeling sure that all was well. 
 
 Meanwhile, in his house at Capernaum, 
 there was great rejoicing, for at the very 
 moment when Jesus spoke the words, Thy 
 son liveth, the boy began to recover 
 
 The nobleman was one of the courtiers 
 of King Herod, and as he was a rich man 
 he had many slaves, for in those days it was 
 not thought wrong to buy and sell human 
 beings into slavery. He was a kind master, 
 and his slaves who loved him, and who had 
 sorrowed with him in his distress, were eager 
 to tell him the good news of his son's 
 recovery. 
 
 They set out to meet him the next morn- 
 
 ing, and ran towards him, as soon as he 
 came in sight, saying, Thy son liveth. 
 
 Then the father inquired at what hour he 
 began to amend, and they said, Yesterday, 
 at the seventh hour, the fever left him. 
 
 It was at the very hour at which Jesus 
 had spoken the words, Thy son liveth; and 
 when the father told his household how the 
 word of Jesus had been able to cure his son, 
 they also believed in the great Prophet that 
 had arisen in Israel. 
 
 The town of Capernaum was built upon the 
 shore of the beautiful Sea of Galilee, and all 
 round it was a country so rich and lovely that it 
 was sometimes called the garden of the Lord. 
 Flowers blossomed in the fields and gardens, 
 leafy trees gave a pleasant shelter from the 
 fierce heat, and the lake, whose waters were 
 clear as crystal, reflected back a thousand 
 colors as it sparkled and rippled in the sun- 
 light. 
 
 A Town on the Lake Shore. 
 
 Capernaum was the home of Peter and 
 Andrew and Philip; and now that he had 
 been rejected by the people of Nazareth, 
 Jesus resolved that he also would make it 
 his home, so far as he had one. From this 
 time he called Capernaum his own city, and 
 when he was there he lodged in the house 
 of Peter, who was a married man and had a 
 house of his own. 
 
 It was a busy place, for the lake was full 
 of fish, and a great number of the inhabitants 
 [ were occupied in catching the fish, and in 
 packing them up and sending them away 
 for sale. It was also near to the town of 
 Tiberias, where King Herod held his court, 
 and to four of the great roads that led from 
 one part of the country to another. These 
 all met near the Lake of Galilee, so that the 
 town was constantly full of strangers passing 
 through it. 
 
JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 
 
 373 
 
 On the first Sabbath after he had come to 
 Capernaum, Jesus entered into the synagogue 
 and taught the people. They listened with 
 astonishment as he told them the good news 
 of the kingdom of God ; but presently he was 
 interrupted by a voice which seemed to come 
 from among the people, and which cried out, 
 What have we to do with thee, thou Jesus 
 of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy 
 us? I know thee, who thou art, the Holy 
 One ot God. 
 
 In those days people were sometimes 
 ifflicted with a terrible disease. Unclean 
 "Spirits or devils took possession of their 
 bodies, and obliged them to do whatever 
 they required. When a man was possessed 
 with a devil, he had no longer control over 
 his own actions; sometimes the devil threw 
 him into the water and sometimes into the 
 fire, sometimes it made him blind and some- 
 times dumb, and often it spoke through his 
 mouth with words that were not his. 
 
 The Devil Went out of Him. 
 
 The voice that had interrupted Jesus, 
 proceeded from a man who was possessed 
 with an unclean spirit. Jesus paused in his 
 teaching, and fastening his eyes upon him, 
 he said to the devil, Hold thy peace, and 
 come out of him. 
 
 Then the poor man was convulsed with a 
 terrible struggle. For some minutes he lay 
 upon the ground, crying out and foaming 
 at the mouth, but presently all was still. 
 The devil had gone out of him, and when 
 Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him 
 up, he was quite well, and restored to his 
 right mind. 
 
 All the people marvelled greatly, and they 
 said, What is this ? With authority he com- 
 mandeth even the unclean spirits, and they 
 obey him. 
 
 When the service of the synagogue was 
 
 ended, Jesus went home with Simon Peter; 
 but on reaching the house, they found that 
 Peter's wife's mother was stricken with a 
 fever, and could not rise from her bed. 
 Jesus at once went to her, and taking her 
 by the hand, he raised her up. Immediately 
 her strength returned to her, and she rose 
 and set food before them. 
 
 The news of this wonderful cure, and of 
 the healing of the poor man possessed by the 
 devil soon spread through Capernaum, and 
 all who had friends that were sick or afflicted, 
 longed to bring them to Jesus, that he might 
 lay his hands upon them. 
 
 Wonderful Cures. 
 
 But it was the Sabbath day, and the Jews 
 were very particular about the keeping of 
 the Sabbath — no one was allowed to travel 
 more than a certain distance, and no burden 
 of any sort might be carried. They were 
 obliged therefore to wait until the setting of 
 the sun, by which time the Sabbath was 
 considered to be over. 
 
 Never before had the sun gone down upon 
 such a scene as was witnessed that summer 
 evening at Capernaum. All along the street 
 leading to the house of Peter were laid beds 
 occupied by poor sick people; and besides 
 these was a crowd of others, who were suf- 
 fering from all kinds of diseases and infirmi- 
 ties, some of them crying out with pain or 
 madness. 
 
 One alone amongst them all was calm 
 and well, even he ot whom the prophet said, 
 Himself took our infirmities and bare our 
 sicknesses. He passed up and down among 
 the sad crowd, and as he laid his hands first 
 on one and then on another, the poor man or 
 woman became perfectly well, and departed, 
 glorifying God. 
 
 It was late that night before Jesus could 
 go to rest, and even then he was unable to 
 
" FOLLOW ME AND I WILL MAKE YOU FISHERS OF MEN, 
 
 374 
 
JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 
 
 375 
 
 sleep. A great while before it was day, he 
 rose up and, leaving the city, departed co a 
 desert place that he might be alone with his 
 heavenly Father. 
 
 Jesus loved all men and all things. He 
 loved to look at the flowers in their beauty, 
 at the cornfields ripening for the harvest, at 
 the birds flying above his head. He loved, 
 too, to watch the occupations of men, to 
 look at the sower sowing his seed, at the 
 children playing their games in the streets, 
 at the fishermen unloading their boats, heaped 
 with silver-coated fish. But most of all he 
 loved to be quite alone in some solitary 
 place, that he might think about God, and 
 pray to the Father in heaven. 
 
 He was in a Desert Place. 
 
 When the day dawned in Capernaum, 
 and the city began to awake, many of those 
 who had not been healed on the previous 
 evening, came to the house of Peter to seek 
 for Jesus, but he was not there. 
 
 Then Peter and some of his friends went 
 to look for him, and at last they found him 
 in the desert place, and told him that all 
 men were seeking for him and were anxious 
 that he should remain amongst them. But 
 Jesus answered, I must preach the kingdom 
 of God to other cities also, for therefore am 
 I sent. 
 
 He agreed, however, to remain one day 
 longer in Capernaum, and returned thither 
 with Peter. When they had come to the 
 shore, Jesus saw John, the son of Zebedee, 
 whom he had brought back with him from 
 the banks of the Jordan. He was in a boat 
 with his father Zebedee and his brother 
 James and some hired servants, mending 
 their nets, for they were fishermen. 
 
 Jesus went up to them and told them that 
 he was going to preach in some of the other 
 cities of Galilee, and he said to the two 
 
 brothers, Follow me. They arose immedi- 
 ately, left the boat and their father, and 
 followed him. 
 
 Later on in the day, he saw Peter and 
 Andrew casting a net into the sea, for they 
 also were fishermen, and he said unto them, 
 Follow me. Then they in like manner 
 arose, left all, and followed him. 
 
 The next day, Jesus again went down to 
 the shore to teach the people, and as they 
 pressed round him to hear his words, he 
 entered into the boat of Simon, and begged 
 him to push it out a little from the shore, 
 that there might be some small space be- 
 tween himself and the multitude. Then he 
 sat down in the boat and began to teach, 
 and the people stood or sat upon the shore 
 and listened to his words. 
 
 When he had finished speaking, the mul- 
 titude went away to their own homes, and 
 Jesus said to Peter, Launch out now into 
 the deep sea, and let down your nets for a 
 draught. 
 
 Peter answered, Master, we have toiled all 
 night and have taken nothing; nevertheless, 
 at thy word, I will let down the net. 
 
 A Great Draught of Fishes. 
 
 This he did, and now all the fish in the 
 lake seemed eager to be caught. In a few 
 moments the net was filled so full that it 
 was in danger of breaking, and Peter had to 
 beckon to his brother and some friends who 
 were in another boat, to come and help 
 them. Both the boats were soon so heavily 
 laden with fish that they sank down quite 
 low in the water. 
 
 When Peter saw that wonderful sight, he 
 fell upon his knees at the feet of his Master, 
 and cried out, Depart from me, for I am a 
 sinful man, O Lord. 
 
 He was astonished and overcome at wit- 
 nessing the power of Jesus, and he felt that 
 
376 
 
 JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 
 
 he, a sinful man, was not worthy to be the 
 chosen friend of one who could do such 
 mighty works. But Jesus said to him, Fear 
 not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men. 
 
 After this, Jesus left Capernaum with his 
 disciples, and passed through many of the 
 cities of Galilee, healing the sick and afflicted, 
 and telling the people that the kingdom of 
 heaven was at hand. 
 
 Great multitudes followed him from place 
 to place, and when he saw the people gath- 
 ered round him, he felt that the time had 
 come when he must teach them what was 
 meant by the kingdom of heaven of which 
 he had been speaking so much. It was 
 something quite new that he had to tell them, 
 something grander and nobler and higher 
 than even the best thoughts of the best men 
 who had ever yet lived — so high indeed that 
 many would be incapable of appreciating its 
 grandeur and its beauty, and would turn 
 away and reject it. 
 
 What He Came For. 
 
 It was a very solemn moment in the life of 
 Jesus, and before speaking to the people he 
 went away alone to a mountain apart, that 
 he might pray and hold communion with 
 God. Not only to the multitude of Galilean 
 peasants was he going to speak, but to all 
 men who have since lived, or who will live 
 to the end of time. 
 
 He had told his disciples that after a cer- 
 tain interval they might bring the multitude 
 to join him on the mountain side, and at the 
 appointed time they gathered round him. 
 Then he opened his mouth and began to 
 teach them, and at the first words that he 
 uttered a hush of astonishment fell upon the 
 listening crowd. 
 
 Then he went on to tell them that they 
 were the children of God, the Father in 
 heaven, who is good and kind to all, even to 
 
 the wicked and the unthankful, and that they 
 must strive to become perfect as he is perfect,, 
 and to glorify their heavenly Father by let- 
 ting the light of their good works shine before 
 men on the earth. 
 
 He said that he had come, not to destroy 
 the Law of Moses and the words of the pro- 
 phets, which from their youth up they had 
 been taught to obey, but to fulfil them— to 
 teach men how to understand and obey them, 
 in a higher and truer sense than ever before. 
 Not only were they to refrain from doing 
 the wicked actions which the Law forbade,, 
 but even the very thoughts of their hearts.; 
 must be pure and free from sin. 
 
 How to Treat Our Enemies. 
 
 He told them, moreover, that if God was; 
 their Father and the Father of all, then all 
 men must be their brethren. The old Law 
 had said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and' 
 hate thine enemy, and Thou shalt take an 
 eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. 
 But now they were to love even their 
 enemies, to do good to those that hated 
 them, to bless those that cursed them, to* 
 pray for those that treated them badly. 
 
 If anyone did them an injury, they were 
 to bear it patiently, and return good for 
 evil; if anyone asked them for something,, 
 they were to give it gladly. Above all, they 
 were to judge mercifully, despairing of no 
 man, condemning no man, extending their 
 love and their kindness to all, even as their 
 heavenly Father, who maketh his sun to 
 shine upon the evil and the good, and send- 
 eth rain on the just and the unjust. 
 
 With regard to their worship of God, they 
 were to be very careful to avoid the sin of 
 the hypocrites, who made long prayers and 
 gave alms in public places that they might 
 have the praise of men. The prayer which 
 God approved, he told them, was the secret 
 
JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 
 
 377 
 
 and sincere prayer of the heart, and in order 
 that they might know how to approach God, 
 he taught them a prayer which from that 
 day to this has been used by men of all 
 nations and tongues. It is the first prayer 
 that little children learn, and the last that 
 old men say upon their dying beds. It is 
 called the Lord's prayer. 
 
 A Lesson from the Birds. 
 
 Then he went on to say that, when they 
 had prayed to God, and asked him to pro- 
 vide their daily food and enable them to do 
 their daily duty, they need have no anxious 
 thoughts concerning the future. Behold, he 
 said, the birds of the air. They sow not, 
 neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, 
 and your heavenly Father feedeth them. 
 Are ye not much better than they? 
 
 Consider the lilies of the field, how they 
 grow; they toil not, neither do they spin, 
 and yet I say unto you that even Solomon 
 in all his glory was not arrayed like one of 
 these. Be not, therefore, anxious, saying, 
 What shall we eat ? Or, What shall we drink ? 
 Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? But 
 seek ye first the kingdom of God and his 
 righteousness, and all these things shall be 
 added unto you. 
 
 Lastly, he told them that whatsoever things 
 they desired that men should do unto them, 
 even so must they do unto others, and that 
 this was the true obedience to the Law and 
 the Prophets. This, he said, was the only 
 path by which they could enter the kingdom 
 of heaven, and he bade them beware of false 
 prophets who would come and tell them 
 that they might walk thither upon a broader 
 and easier road. 
 
 Enter ye in, he said, by the narrow gate; 
 for wide is the gate and broad is the way 
 that leadeth to destruction, and many there 
 be that go in thereat. But narrow is the 
 
 gate and straitened the way that leadeth unto 
 life, and few there be that find it. Not every- 
 one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall 
 enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he 
 that doeth the will of my Father which is in 
 heaven. 
 
 And then, in order to impress it still fur 
 ther upon their minds, he told them a story 
 of two men who both desired to build a 
 house. One thought only of doing what 
 was easy and pleasant, and he built his 
 house on some soft sandy ground by the 
 sea-shore, where there was no difficulty 
 about making a foundation. The other 
 went farther away from the sea, and built 
 his house upon a piece of rocky ground, 
 where the foundations were hard to dig, but 
 when they were made they were strong. 
 
 The Sandy Foundation. 
 
 Everyone, therefore, said Jesus, that hear- 
 eth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, 
 shall be likened unto a wise man who built 
 his house upon the rock. And the rain 
 descended, and the floods came, and the 
 winds blew, and beat upon that house, and 
 it fell not, for it was founded upon the rock. 
 
 And everyone that heareth these sayings 
 of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened 
 unto a foolish man that built his house upon 
 the sand. And the rain descended, and the 
 floods came, and the winds blew, and smote 
 upon that house, and it fell, and great was 
 the fall thereof. 
 
 The multitude listened with astonishment 
 to the teaching of Jesus. He teacheth with 
 authority, they said one to another, and not 
 as do the Scribes. It was a new doctrine, 
 unlike anything they had ever heard before, 
 and it seemed to raise them into a higher 
 region of purity and holiness. They could 
 not bear to lose sight of the great Teacher, 
 who spoke as no man had ever yet spoken. 
 
FALL OF THE HOUSE BUILT ON SAND. 
 
 378 
 
JESUS RETURNS 
 
 and when he came down from the mountain, 
 they still followed after him. 
 
 It was soon after this, that as he was about 
 to enter into a certain city, behold, there 
 came a leper, and worshipped him, saying, 
 Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. 
 
 A leper was a man who was afflicted with 
 a very dreadful disease that affected his skin, 
 and made it horrible even to look at him. 
 The disease could, moreover, be easily con- 
 veyed from one person to another, and for 
 these reasons, those who were afflicted with 
 it were obliged to live apart, far away from 
 all other people. No on^ would touch 
 them, or even go near them, and if they had 
 occasion to enter a town, they were obliged 
 to cover their heads and faces, and cry out, 
 Unclean, unclean! So that everyone might 
 avoid them. 
 
 Sent Him to the Priest. 
 
 But Jesus was not afraid to touch the poor 
 leper who came and threw himself at his 
 feet. He took him by the hand and raised 
 him up, and in answer to his cry, Lord, if 
 thou wilt, thou canst make me clean, he 
 said, I will; be thou clean. 
 
 As he spoke the words, the whole appear- 
 ance of the man changed. The disease left 
 him, and his skin became like that of other 
 people. 
 
 The Jewish Law, which had been given 
 to the people by Moses, commanded that, 
 if ever a leper recovered from his disease, he 
 must go and show himself to the priest be- 
 fore he could be allowed to live again amongst 
 other men; and if the priest were satisfied 
 that it was a real recovery, then the man 
 was to offer a sacrifice of a pair of birds. 
 Jesus said to the man whom he had cured, 
 See thou tell no man, but go thy way, show 
 thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that 
 Moses commanded. 
 
 TO GALILEE. 
 
 379 
 
 He was now on his way back to Caper- 
 naum, and as he approached the city, there 
 met him a number of the chief men of the 
 place. They had come to him on behalf of 
 a certain centurion who lived in Capernaum v 
 and who was now in great trouble. One of 
 his slaves, whom he loved as dearly as his 
 own son, was at the point of death, and he 
 begged that some of the chief men of the 
 city would go to Jesus and beseech him to 
 cure the slave. 
 
 The centurion was an officer in command 
 of a hundred soldiers, a Roman, belonging 
 to the army of King Herod, and it was a 
 strange thing that the Jewish rulers should 
 trouble themselves about the illness of his 
 slave. As a rule, the Romans and the Jews 
 — the conquerors and the conquered — were 
 far from cherishing any kindly feelings one 
 towards the other, although they were com- 
 pelled to live side by side. 
 
 The Centurion's Servant. 
 
 But this centurion was a man of larger 
 heart than the rest, and as it was his lot to 
 live amongst the Jews, he had determined 
 to do his utmost to show them kindness, and 
 gain their good will. He had even built a 
 beautiful synagogue for them, and in many 
 other ways had tried to serve them. 
 
 The Jews were therefore concerned when 
 they heard of his distress, and hastened to 
 take his message to Jesus, who immediately 
 answered, I will go and heal him. 
 
 But before he could reach the house of 
 the centurion, he was met by the Roman 
 himself, who had come with some of his 
 friends to beg that he would not give himself 
 so much trouble. He had heard how Jesus 
 had cured the nobleman's son without see- 
 ing him, by merely speaking a word, and 
 he thought that sickness ana pain wert 
 spirits, vv'ho were obliged to obey the voice 
 
380 
 
 JESUS RETURNS TO GALILEE. 
 
 of Jesus, and to come or go as he desired. 
 He said, Lord, trouble not thyself, for I 
 am not worthy that thou shouldst enter 
 under my roof, neither thought I myself 
 worthy to come to thee; but speak the word 
 only, and my slave shall be healed. For I 
 also am a man under authority, having sol- 
 diers under me, and I say unto one, Go, and 
 he goeth, and to another, Come, and he 
 cometh, and to my slave, Do this, and he 
 doeth it. 
 
 The Man was Cured. 
 
 No one had ever yet addressed such words 
 to Jesus. The Roman centurion was the first 
 to perceive that he was the Lord of all, and 
 when Jesus heard these words fall from his 
 lips, he marvelled greatly, and turning to 
 the people who were following him, he said, 
 Verily, I say unto you, I have not found so 
 great faith, no, not in Israel. And I say 
 unto you, that many shall come from the 
 east and west, and shall sit down with Abra- 
 ham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of 
 heaven. But the children of the kingdom 
 shall be cast into outer darkness : there shall 
 be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 
 
 Then he said to the centurion, Go thy 
 way, and as thou hast believed, so be it 
 done unto thee. 
 
 So the centurion departed to his house, 
 and at the same moment his slave became 
 well. 
 
 Jesus again left Capernaum, early the next 
 day, for there were many other towns that 
 he desired to visit. 
 
 He sailed over the beautiful Sea of Galilee, 
 and landed again some way farther down 
 the coast. Then he left the shore, and made 
 towards the city of Nain, which was at some 
 little distance, followed by his disciples and 
 a great multitude of people. 
 
 It was a brilliant summer's day. The sun 
 
 was shining in the clear blue sky, the birds 
 were singing amongst the branches, the 
 waters of the Sea of Galilee were sparkling 
 and rippling, everything seemed to speak of 
 happiness and joy. 
 
 But presently, as they drew nearer towards 
 the city, a wail of sorrow smote upon their 
 ears, and soon they saw a sad procession ol 
 mourners coming forth from the gates. 
 
 In front was carried a bier, or open coffin, 
 on which lay the dead body of a young man. 
 Next came the mother weeping bitterly, and 
 behind there followed a number of other 
 persons, who were weeping and lamenting. 
 For them the beauty of the scene around 
 them had but little charm, their eyes were 
 blinded by their tears, for they were carrying 
 out the young man to bury him beyond the 
 gates of the city. 
 
 Jesus stopped the procession and asked 
 who it was that they were going to bury, 
 and they told him that the young man who 
 had died was the only son of his mother, 
 and she was a widow. 
 
 Restored to his Mother. 
 
 The heart of Jesus was filled with com- 
 passion, and turning to the poor mother, who 
 was weeping so bitterly, he said to her, 
 Weep not. 
 
 Then he went nearer, and touched the bier. 
 Those who were carrying it stood still, and 
 a hush fell upon all as he said, Young man, 
 I say unto thee, Arise. 
 
 The young man was dead, his spirit had 
 already left him, but at the call of the Lord 
 it came back. 
 
 He that was dead sat up and began to 
 speak, and Jesus gave him back to his 
 mother, who had thought that he was gone 
 from her for ever. 
 
 Then a great fear fell upon all those who 
 saw the wonderful sight. 
 
CHAPTER XXVIII 
 
 Jesus Dines in the House of a Pharisee — Mary Magdalene and her Box of Ointment 
 — Cure of the Man Sick of the Palsy — A Cluster of Parables — What the King- 
 dom of Heaven is Like — Story of the Prodigal — Publicans and Sinners — A 
 Woman Healed — The Daughter of Jairus — The Troubled Sea Calmed — The Man 
 Possessed of Devils — Followed by a Multitude — The Twelve Apostles. 
 
 REAT interest was awakened 
 by the wonderful works of 
 Christ Up to this time the 
 Pharisees had, for the most 
 part, taken very little notice 
 of him, but after the miracle 
 that had been wrought at 
 Nain, they began to pay more attention to 
 the new Teacher, and one of the Pharisees, 
 whose name was Simon, invited him to dine 
 at his house. 
 
 He was not, however, like Nicodemus,who 
 had honored Jesus and wished to learn from 
 him; and though he asked him to his house, 
 he did not receive him with any real kind- 
 ness of feeling. Even the most ordinary 
 courtesy was neglected, such as that of hav- 
 ing water poured over his hands and feet. 
 
 In the countries of the East, there is much 
 less privacy than amongst ourselves, and in 
 consequence of the heat, the feast in the 
 Pharisee's house was held in a room with 
 open doors, into which anyone might freely 
 enter from the street. It happened, there- 
 fore, that many of those who had been with 
 Jesus followed him into the house that they 
 might still be near him, and listen to his 
 words. 
 
 Amongst these was a woman called Mary, 
 who came from the town of Magdala. She 
 had led a wicked life, and as she stood in 
 the presence of Jesus, she became filled with 
 
 a sense of her own sinfulness, and of the 
 distance that separated her from his life of 
 purity and holiness. 
 
 She began to weep bitterly, and as she 
 wept, her tears fell down upon the feet of 
 Jesus, for in those days the guests at a feast 
 reclined upon couches with their feet away 
 from the table. 
 
 Seeing this, she bent down and began to 
 wipe the feet of Jesus, with her long hair, 
 while her whole heart was filled with a burn- 
 ing desire to turn away from her past sins, 
 and to lead a new and better life. She 
 longed to find some means of showing her 
 love and her reverence for him who had 
 wrought this change in her, and as she had 
 nothing else to offer him, she took a box of 
 fragrant ointment, and poured it out upon 
 his feet. 
 
 The Two Debtor*,, 
 
 The Pharisee saw what was done, and in 
 his heart he was much displeased, for he said 
 within himself, If this man were a prophet, 
 he would know what manner of woman this 
 is that toucheth him, for she is a sinner. 
 
 Jesus knew what was passing in his mind, 
 and in order to show him how wrong he was, 
 he began to tell him of a certain man who 
 had two debtors. The one owed him five 
 hundred pence, and the other fifty; and when 
 they had nothing to pay he frankly forgave 
 
 381 
 
MARY, ANOINTING THE FEET OF CHRIST IN THE HOUSE OF SIMON THE PHARISEE, 
 
JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 
 
 383 
 
 them both. Tell me, therefore, said Jesus, 
 which of them will love him most ? 
 
 The Pharisee answered, He, I suppose, to 
 whom he forgave most. 
 
 Then said Jesus, Thou hast rightly judged, 
 And, turning to the woman, he went on to 
 explain that she was like the first of the two 
 debtors to whom much had been forgiven. 
 
 Seest thou this woman ? he said, I entered 
 into thine house; thou givest me no water 
 for my feet, but she hath washed my feet 
 with tears and wiped them with the hairs of 
 her head. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this 
 woman since the time that I came in, hath 
 not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with 
 oil thou didst not anoint, but she hath 
 anointed my feet with ointment. Where- 
 fore, I say unto thee, her sins which are 
 many are forgiven, for she loved much; but 
 to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth 
 little. 
 
 And then to Mary herself he said, Thy 
 sins are forgiven. Go in peace. 
 
 In the House of Peter. 
 
 After having spent some time L* going 
 from one to another of the cities of Galilee, 
 teaching and working miracles, Jesus returned 
 once more to his own city of Capernaum. 
 
 He went as usual to the house of Peter, 
 but he was unable to obtain any rest, for the 
 people had heard of his return, and came 
 flocking to the house. Soon there was no 
 room left, even for standing, but still the 
 multitude crowded round the door. 
 
 Amongst those who had been unable to 
 obtain an entrance, was a poor man who was 
 sick of the palsy. This disease prevented 
 him from having any use of his limbs, and 
 he would have been unable to reach the 
 place, had it not been for the kindness of 
 four of his friends, who carried him, stretched 
 upon a mattress. 
 
 Their disappointment at being unable to 
 bring him into the presence of Jesus was very 
 great, but presently they thought of a means 
 by which they could accomplish their pur- 
 pose. 
 
 The roofs of eastern houses are usually 
 flat, and as the people like to walk upon 
 them in the cool of the evening, there are 
 steps outside the house, by which it is easy 
 to get to the top. They are, moreover, very 
 slightly built, and the four friends had no 
 great difficulty in removing some of the tiles 
 from the roof of Peter's house, and lowering 
 the mattress into the room in which Jesus 
 was teaching the people. 
 
 Instead of being annoyed at the interrup- 
 tion, Jesus was pleased at what they had 
 done, and he said to the sick man, Son, be 
 of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven thee. 
 
 Now it happened that there were certain 
 of the Scribes and Pharisees sitting there, 
 who began to reason in their hearts, and 
 say, This man speaketh blasphemies. Who 
 can forgive sins but God only ? 
 
 But Jesus knew their thoughts, and he 
 answered them, saying, Wherefore think ye 
 evil in your hearts ? Is it easier to say to 
 the sick of the palsy, Thy sins are forgiven 
 thee, or to say, Arise and walk ? 
 
 The Man Walked Away. 
 
 In other words, Is it easier to cure the 
 body or to cure the soul ? The cure of the 
 body could be seen by all, the cure of the 
 soul could only be known to God; but in 
 order that all might perceive that he had 
 power to heal the body, and might believe 
 that he was able also to heal the soul, Jesus, 
 said to the man sick of the palsy, I say unto 
 thee, Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy 
 way unto thine house. 
 
 As he spoke, a new life seemed to fill the 
 veins of the sick man. A moment before, 
 
384 
 
 JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 
 
 he had been stretched on his couch, unable 
 to move; now, at the command of Jesus, he 
 arose, took up his bed, and went away to 
 his house. 
 
 The crowd watched him with amazement, 
 and they departed glorifying God, who had 
 given such power unto men. 
 
 As soon as he was able, Jesus left the 
 house, for he liked far better to teach the 
 people out of doors, with the blue sky stretch- 
 ing far above his head, and the fresh breeze 
 rustling round him. He went down to the 
 sea-shore, and seeing a boat moored there, 
 he entered into it, and began to speak. 
 
 He said that he would tell them a story of 
 a sower, who once went forth in the spring- 
 time to sow his field. He scattered the seeds 
 over it, but it happened that some of them 
 fell upon the pathway, where they were left 
 exposed, and the birds of the air came and 
 pecked them up. 
 
 Other seeds fell upon rocky ground, where 
 there was but little depth of earth, and though 
 they soon sprang up, yet they had so little 
 root that they were quickly withered by the 
 heat of the sun. 
 
 The Good Ground. 
 
 Again, some of the seeds fell among thorn- 
 bushes, and the thorns grew up and occupied 
 all the gronnd, so that there was no room 
 for the seeds to grow. But some of them 
 fell on good ground, and they sprang up 
 and yielded fruit. Where one seed had been 
 cast into the ground, there grew an ear of 
 grain full of seeds, sometimes with thirty, 
 sometimes sixty, sometimes a hundred on 
 one stalk. 
 
 Afterwards the disciples asked Jesus what 
 was the meaning of the story, and he told 
 them that it was a picture, or a parable, of 
 the kingdom of God. Many different kinds 
 of people are called to enter that kingdom, 
 
 and the seed is the word which calls them 
 into it. But some hear the call without atten- 
 tion ; those are the people whose seeds were 
 sown upon the pathway. 
 
 Others listen gladly for a time, but after- 
 wards, when trouble or persecution comes, 
 they fall away, like the blades withered by 
 the heat of the sun. In the case of others, 
 again, the cares and riches and pleasures of 
 this world occupy, the heart, just as the 
 thorn-bushes filled the ground, and leave no 
 room for other thoughts. But some there 
 are, men of honest and good hearts, who 
 listen to the word and understand it, and 
 who bring forth fruit with patience. 
 
 Sowing Tares. 
 
 Jesus spoke another parable, saying : The 
 kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man 
 which sowed good seed in his field: but 
 while men slept his enemy came and sowed 
 tares among the wheat, and went his way. 
 But when the blade was sprung up, and 
 brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares 
 also. 
 
 So the servants of the householder came 
 and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow 
 good seed in thy field ? From whence then 
 hath it tares? He said unto them, An 
 enemy hath done this. 
 
 The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then 
 that we go and gather them up ? But he said, 
 Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye 
 root up also the wheat with them. Let both 
 grow together until the harvest : and in the 
 time of harvest I will say to the reapers, 
 Gather ye together first the tares, and bind 
 them in bundles to burn them : but gather 
 the wheat into my barn. 
 
 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, 
 as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 
 and should sleep, and rise night and day, and 
 the seed should spring and grow up, he 
 
JESlJb TEACHING AND HEALING. 
 
 385 
 
 knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth 
 forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then 
 the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. 
 But when the fruit is brought forth, imme- 
 diately he putteth in the sickle, because the 
 harvest is come. 
 
 Then Jesus spoke another parable, and 
 said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom 
 
 come and lodge in the branches thereof, 
 Still further he talked to them, and said. 
 The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, 
 which a woman took, and hid in three meas- 
 ures of meal, till the whole was leavened. 
 
 And with many such parables he spoke 
 the word unto them, as they were able to 
 hear it. But without a parable he did not 
 
 THE ENEMY SOWING TARES BY NIGHT. 
 
 of God? Or with what comparison shall we 
 compare it ? The kingdom of heaven is like 
 to a grain of mustard seed, which a man 
 took, and sowed in his field : which, when it 
 is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds 
 that be in the earth : but when it is sown, it 
 groweth up, and becometh greater than all 
 herbs, and shooteth out great branches, and 
 becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air 
 25 
 
 speak unto them : that it might be fulfilled 
 which was spoken by the prophet, sayings I 
 will open my mouth in parables ; I will utter 
 things which have been kept secret from the 
 foundation of the world. And when they 
 were alone, he expounded all things to his 
 disciples. 
 
 Again he said, The kingdom of heaven is 
 like unto treasure hid in a field ; the which 
 
FINDING THE HIDDEN TREASURE. 
 
 386 
 
JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 
 
 887 
 
 when a man hath found, he hideth, and for 
 joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, 
 and buyeth that field. 
 
 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto 
 a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls : who, 
 when he had found one pearl of great price, 
 went and sold all that he had, and bought it. 
 
 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto 
 a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered 
 of every kind : which, when it was full, they 
 drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered 
 the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. 
 So shall it be at the end of the world : the 
 angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked 
 from among the just, and shall cast them 
 into the furnace of fire : there shall be wail- 
 ing and gnashing of teeth. 
 
 Jesus saith unto them, Have ye under- 
 stood all these things ? 
 
 They say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then 
 said he unto them, Therefore, every scribe 
 which is instructed unto the kingdom of 
 heaven is like unto a man that is an house- 
 holder, which bringeth forth out of his treas- 
 ure things new and old. 
 
 The Hated Tax Collectors. 
 
 Amongst the Jews at this time, there was 
 a class of people who were more hated and 
 despised than any others These were the 
 publicans or tax-gatherers. The Jews were 
 obliged to pay taxes to their Roman con- 
 querors, and much as they hated the Romans, 
 they hated still more those of their country- 
 men who helped them by collecting the taxes 
 for them. 
 
 Besides this, the tax-gatherers deserved, in 
 many cases, to be looked down upon, for 
 they were in the habit of making an unfair 
 profit, by charging more than the right 
 amount of the tax, and keeping the remain- 
 der for themselves. 
 
 For these reasons, the Jews were accus- 
 
 tomed to speak of " publicans and sinners," 
 as if the two words meant the same thing, 
 and they considered that no one who had 
 any respect for his own character would 
 have any intercourse with such persons. 
 
 But Jesus knew that in all conditions of 
 life there were some who would gladly obey 
 his call, and he had observed one of the pub- 
 licans, a man named Matthew, who was, he 
 perceived, worthy to become his friend and 
 disciple. He passed by as Matthew was sit- 
 ting at his work, and said to him, Follow me. 
 And Matthew at once rose up, and left his 
 books and papers, and followed him. 
 
 He knew that Jesus would soon again be 
 leaving Capernaum, and he was willing to go 
 with him to the end of the world, if need be, 
 but he desired first to say farewell to his old 
 friends, and gathered them all together to a 
 feast at his house. 
 
 Jesus had promised to be present, and 
 when the time came, he went to the house 
 of Matthew with his disciples, where he 
 found himself in the midst of a number oi 
 publicans and others who had broken some 
 of the commandments of the Law, and who 
 were therefore called sinners. None but such 
 as these would come to a feast in the publi- 
 can's house. 
 
 The Foolish Prodigal. 
 
 When Jesus looked round upon these 
 poor, despised, and sinful people, his heart 
 was filled with compassion, and he longed 
 to convince them of the love of God for 
 even such poor outcasts as they were, and 
 to assure them, that if they would repent of 
 their sins, God would be willing to forgive 
 them, and receive them into his kingdom. 
 
 He told them a parable of a certain man 
 who had two sons. The younger son be- 
 came tired of his home, and asked his father 
 to give him the money that would come to 
 
388 
 
 JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 
 
 him at his death, that he might go away and 
 travel in foreign lands. 
 
 The father yielded to his wishes, and the 
 son went away to a far country, and had soon 
 spent all the money in riotous living. When 
 it was all gone, he began to be in want, for 
 there was a famine in that land, and he be- 
 
 This he did ; and while he was yet a great 
 way off, the father saw him, and had com- 
 passion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and 
 kissed him. And the son said, Father, I 
 have sinned against heaven and in thy sight, 
 and am no more worthy to be called thy son. 
 
 But the father said to his servants, Bring 
 
 THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON. 
 
 came so poor that he was obliged to hire 
 himself out as a swineherd. Even then he 
 was often so hungry that he would gladly 
 have eaten the swine's food, but no man gave 
 unto him. Then he thought to himself, How 
 many hired servants of my father have bread 
 enough and to spare, and I perish with hun- 
 ger. I will arise and go to my father. 
 
 forth the best robe and put it on him, and 
 put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet, 
 and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it, 
 and let us eat and be merry. For this my 
 son was dead, and is alive again ; he was 
 lost, and is found. 
 
 The publicans and sinners did not need to 
 ask what the p irable meant. They knew that 
 
THE BEGGAR LAZARUS AT THE RICH MAN'S GATE. 
 
 3S9 
 
390 
 
 JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 
 
 the prodigal son represented just such people 
 as themselves, and that God was the kind 
 father who was so willing to forgive his son 
 as soon as he repented of his evil ways. 
 
 The Rich Man and the Beggar. 
 
 Then Jesus told them the parable of the 
 rich man and Lazarus : There was a certain 
 rich man, who was clothed in purple and 
 fine linen, and who lived on the choicest food 
 every day. His home was a splendid resi- 
 dence, rich carpets covering its floors and 
 beautiful gems adorning its walls. The 
 princely occupant rode in his elegant chariots, 
 behind magnificent horses. It is not said 
 that he was a very bad man, but simply that 
 he lived a life of ease and self-indulgence and 
 forgetfulness of God. He did not care for 
 the sorrows and wants of a poor man such 
 as Lazarus, who sat at his gate and was glad 
 to make a meal on the pieces which were 
 taken from his table after he had indulged 
 his appetite. Lazarus was not only poor, 
 but very sick with a diseased body. 
 
 The dogs were his companions, and we 
 read that they licked the poor man's sores as 
 he sat at the gate. Perhaps he was unable 
 even to walk to the gate, but was carried 
 there every day by sympathizing friends. He 
 desired to be fed with the crumbs which fell 
 from the rich man's table, but it is not stated 
 that he received enough even of these to 
 supply his wants. 
 
 The condition of Lazarus in this life 
 formed a marked contrast to that of the rich 
 man. At last the beggar's sufferings were 
 ended, by death coming to his relief, and 
 Lazarus was carried by the angels to Abra- 
 ham's bosom. There was very little display 
 at his funeral; he filled only a pauper's 
 grave ; indeed, the Scripture makes no men- 
 tion of his funeral. The palaces of the new 
 Jerusalem, the raptures of heaven, and the 
 
 enjoyment of the celestial banquet formed a 
 marked contrast to his former sad experi- 
 ences of suffering and woe. 
 
 The rich man also died and had a grand 
 and costly funeral, for the Scripture states 
 that he was buried. But in the future state, 
 we are told that he lifted up his eyes, being 
 in torments, and, as he looked up, he saw 
 Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom, 
 and he cried and said, Father Abraham, have 
 mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he 
 may dip the tip of his finger in water and 
 cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this 
 flame. So great was the punishment for 
 which he suffered for his sins. 
 
 The Beggar is Made Happy. 
 
 But Abraham said, Son, remember that 
 you, in your lifetime, received your good 
 things. You had the riches, pleasures, and 
 honors of the world, while Lazarus received 
 evil things — poverty, suffering, sickness, 
 neglect and hunger. But now Lazarus, who 
 trusted in and served God, is comforted, and 
 you, who lived a life of ease, indulgence, 
 and forgetfulness of God, are tormented. 
 And besides all this, between us and you 
 there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who 
 would pass from us to you cannot, neither 
 can they pass to us who would come from 
 you. 
 
 His prayers for himself will not be heard, 
 so he desires that Lazarus may be sent to 
 his father's house, that he may warn his five 
 brethren to repent of their sins, lest they, 
 too, should come into that place of torment. 
 Abraham said, They have the writings of 
 Moses and the prophets, and in them, if they 
 read, they will find sufficient warnings, and 
 from them they can learn their duty if they 
 will. The rich man said, Nay, father Abra- 
 ham, but if one shall go to them from the 
 dead and warn them, they will repent. Abra- 
 
JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 
 
 391 
 
 ham replied, If they will not heed the teach- 
 ings of God in the Scripture, neither will 
 they be persuaded, though one rose from 
 the dead. 
 
 The Unjust Judge. 
 
 Jesus wanted to impress upon the minds 
 of the deciples the necessity of much prayer, 
 and for this reason he told them the follow- 
 ing parable : 
 
 There was in a city a judge, who feared 
 not God, neither regarded man. There were 
 many judges of this kind in eastern cities, 
 and their favor was often bought by the rich, 
 while the poor were left to suffer by their 
 verdict. In the same city where the unjust 
 judge lived was a widow who came unto him 
 very often, beseeching him to punish one 
 who was her enemy. 
 
 Suitors in the East, even at the present 
 time, will seat themselves day after day at 
 a rich man's door, till they exhaust his 
 patience, and he will grant their requests in 
 order to get rid of them. The unjust judge 
 to whom the widow applied said within him- 
 self, Though I fear not God nor regard man, 
 yet because this widow troubleth me, I will 
 avenge her, lest by her continual coming she 
 weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what 
 the unjust judge saith. 
 
 And if this man, who was unjust and 
 without mercy and compassion, was moved 
 by the perseverence and importunity of the 
 widow to grant her requests, will not God, 
 who judges righteously and who is full of 
 •compassion and mercy, give unto his children 
 what they pray for day and night, though 
 for a while he may seem not to hear them ? 
 I tell you, he will avenge them speedily. 
 
 As Jesus was leaving the house of Mat- 
 thew, there met him certain of the Pharisees, 
 who were displeased that he should have 
 taken part in such a feast, and they said to 
 
 his disciples, Why eateth your Master with 
 publicans and sinners ? 
 
 When Jesus heard that, he answered, They 
 that are whole have no need of the physician, 
 but they that are sick. I came not to call 
 the righteous, but sinners to repentance. He 
 meant to say that the publicans and sinners 
 needed him more than the Pharisees, who 
 made so great a profession of religion, and 
 that at the same time they were far more 
 ready to listen to his teaching. 
 
 Then he spoke a parable, saying, Which 
 of you, having a hundred sheep, if he lose 
 one of them, doth not leave the ninety and 
 nine in the wilderness, and go after that 
 which is lost until he find it ? And when 
 found, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoic- 
 ing. And when he cometh home, he calleth 
 together his friends, saying, Rejoice with me, 
 for I have found my sheep which was lost. 
 
 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be 
 in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, 
 more than over ninety and nine just persons 
 which need no repentance. 
 
 The Sheep that Went Astray. 
 
 The publicans and sinners were like the 
 lost sheep that had gone astray. It could 
 not be brought back to the fold without 
 painful toil and effort, and therefore, when at 
 last the effort had been crowned with success, 
 the angels of God rejoiced more over that 
 one lost sheep that had been brought back, 
 than over the ninety and nine in whose case 
 no such effort had been necessary. 
 
 Whilst Jesus was still speaking, there came 
 towards him a man named Jairus, who was 
 one of the rulers of the synagogue. He 
 was running in great haste, and falling at 
 the feet of Jesus, he besought him that he 
 would help him, for he was in great trouble. 
 
 My little daughter, he said, lieth at the 
 point of death. I pray thee, come and lay 
 
392 
 
 JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 
 
 thy hands upon her that she may be healed, 
 and she shall live. 
 
 Jesus went with him, and many of the 
 people also, who thronged and pressed 
 around him. Amongst these was a certain 
 woman, who had been ill for twelve years. 
 She had spent all her money in going from 
 one physician to another, but no one had 
 been able to heal her ; instead of getting 
 any better, she only grew worse. 
 
 Then she heard of Jesus, but she was 
 afraid to go and ask him to make her well, 
 and she thought that if she could but touch 
 his clothes, she would be healed without any 
 one knowing anything about it, so she came 
 behind him in the press, and touched the 
 hem of his garment. As she did so, she 
 felt herself suddenly become strong and 
 well, and knew that she was healed of her 
 disease. 
 
 But she had been mistaken in thinking 
 that she could escape from the knowledge of 
 Jesus. He knew at once that there had 
 passed from him the healing power to cure, 
 and he turned, and said, Who touched me? 
 
 A Happy Woman. 
 
 The disciples answered him, Master, the 
 multitude throng thee and press thee, and 
 sayest thou, Who touched me ? 
 
 But Jesus said, Somebody hath touched 
 me, for I perceive that virtue is gone out of 
 me. 
 
 Then the woman saw that she could not 
 be hid, and she came trembling, and falling 
 down before him, she declared unto him, 
 before all the people, for what cause she had 
 touched him, and how she was healed imme- 
 diately. 
 
 And Jesus said unto her, Daughter, be 
 of good comfort, thy faith hath made thee 
 whole ; go in peace. 
 
 He was still speaking to her when there 
 
 came some messengers 'rom the house of 
 Jairus, who said to him, Thy daughter is 
 dead ; trouble not the Master. 
 
 But when Jesus heard it, he said, Fear 
 not, believe only, and she shall be made 
 whole. And he went with them towards 
 the house. 
 
 When they reached it, they heard a great 
 sound of weeping and wailing ; for it is the 
 custom in the East, if any one dies, to hire 
 mourners to cry aloud and express the grief 
 of the friends by many tears and lamenta- 
 tions. 
 
 Jesus would not allow any one to enter 
 the house with him, except the father of the 
 child, and three of his disciples, Peter, and 
 James, and John. 
 
 Immediately She Arose. 
 
 Then Jesus went into the room in which 
 lay the dead body of the maiden. All 
 round her were the mourners, weeping and 
 lamenting, but Jesus told them that there 
 was no occasion for their sorrow, since he 
 had promised to make her well. Give place, 
 he said, for the maid is not dead but sleepeth. 
 
 They thought they knew better ; they 
 were sure that she was really dead, and 
 they laughed him to scorn. But he put 
 them all out of the room, and allowed no 
 one to remain but the father and mother of 
 the maiden. Then he went up to her, and 
 took her by the hand, saying some Hebrew 
 words which mean, Little maid, I say unto 
 thee, Arise. 
 
 And her spirit came again, and she arose 
 straightway, and he commanded that some- 
 thing should be given her to eat. 
 
 It was now evening, and on leaving the 
 house of Jairus, Jesus was followed all the 
 way back to the house of Peter by two blind 
 men, who cried out to him, saying, Have 
 mercy on us, thou Son of David ! 
 
JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 
 
 393 
 
 When they had reached the house, he his wishes, they went away and spread 
 
 asked them, Believe ye that I am able to do abroad his fame over all the country. They 
 
 this ? They answered, Yea, Lord. thought no doubt that in so doing, they were 
 
 Then he touched their eyes, saying, honoring him, but they forgot that the true 
 
 According to your faith be it unto you, and way of doing him honor was by obedience. 
 
 CHRIST RAISING THE 
 
 their eyes were opened. Jesus asked for 
 neither thanks nor reward, but he gave a 
 command to the two blind men whom he 
 had cured, that they should tell no one what 
 had been done to them. 
 
 But instead of being careful to carry out 
 
 DAUGHTER OF JAIRUS. 
 
 Of all those to whom the blind men told 
 their story, there were few who had not some 
 sick or afflicted friend whom they immedi- 
 ately determined to bring to Jesus, and the 
 crowds that gathered round him became 
 every day greater and greater. He was 
 
394 
 
 JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 
 
 unable to rest; he had not time so much as 
 to eat; he could not be alone for quiet 
 prayer. He was obliged therefore to leave 
 Capernaum again, and he went down to the 
 sea-shore to sail away in the ship with his 
 disciples. 
 
 As he went, some of those who had been 
 following him, wished to continue with him, 
 and said that they also would go in the ship ; 
 but Jesus told them that if they really desired 
 to be his disciples, they must be prepared 
 to sacrifice their homes, their friends, their 
 wealth, and to live a life of toil and hard- 
 ship. 
 
 Asleep in the Boat. 
 
 To one who said to him, Lord, I will 
 follow thee whithersoever thou goest, he 
 answered, The foxes have holes, and the 
 birds of the air have nests, but the Son of 
 Man hath not where to lay his head. 
 
 The ship was now ready, and Jesus en- 
 tered it with his disciples, while some of the 
 rest followed in other little ships. It was a 
 lovely evening, and at first all went well ; the 
 sea was calm and peaceful, and the ship sailed 
 smoothly over the waters. Jesus was wearied 
 out with his long days of teaching and heal- 
 ing, and he lay down upon a pillow and went 
 to sleep. 
 
 But by-and-by there arose a mighty tem- 
 pest in the sea. A sudden wind swept across 
 the lake, and covered it with great waves, 
 which beat over the ship and filled it with 
 water. It was a time of deadly danger. 
 
 Still Jesus slept on, overcome with weari- 
 ness, and still the storm became fiercer and 
 fiercer. At last the disciples could no longer 
 restrain themselves, and they came to him 
 and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us, we 
 perish. 
 
 They were filled with fear because of the 
 ■danger to which they were exposed. They 
 
 had not as yet the faith of the centurion, who 
 believed that Jesus was Lord of all, and he 
 said to them, Why are ye so fearful, O ye of 
 little faith ? 
 
 Then he arose and rebuked the wind, and 
 said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the 
 wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 
 
 And the men marvelled, saying, What 
 manner of man is this, that even the winds 
 and the sea obey him ? 
 
 Soon after this they reached the other side 
 of the lake, and landed on a desolate, rocky 
 shore, not far from the town of Gergesa. 
 
 They left the ship, and were walking to^ 
 wards the city, when there fell upon their 
 ears a sharp cry, as of a human being in 
 pain. Following the direction of the sound, 
 they came to a place where a number of 
 tombs had been hewn out in the rock, and 
 amongst the tombs they saw a man who was 
 crying and cutting himself with stones. 
 
 A Dangerous Man. 
 
 The man was possessed of devils, who 
 had driven him mad. He had left his friends, 
 cast off all his clothes, and now was in this 
 desolate place, living amongst the tombs, 
 night and day. His friends had tried to 
 keep him under restraint, and had bound him 
 with fetters and with chains ; but the fetters 
 he had broken in pieces, and the chains he 
 had cast asunder. It was impossible to tame 
 him, and he was so fierce that no one dared 
 to go near him. 
 
 When he saw Jesus coming towards him, 
 the devil within him cried out with a loud 
 voice, and said, What have we to do with 
 thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? 
 I adjure thee by God that thou torment me 
 not. 
 
 Jesus stood still, and asked him, What is 
 thy name ? The devil answered, My name 
 is Legion, for we are many. If thou cast us 
 
JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 
 
 395 
 
 out of this man, suffer us at least to enter 
 into the herd of swine yonder. A Legion 
 was the name given by the Romans to six 
 thousand soldiers. 
 
 Jesus answered, Go ! and when he had 
 said this, the devils left the man, and entered 
 into a large herd of swine, who were feeding 
 at some little distance. No sooner had this 
 taken place than the swine became greatly 
 agitated, and ran violently to and fro. 
 
 At last they came to a steep rock over- 
 hanging the sea, and, being unable to con- 
 trol themselves, they rushed over the edge 
 of the rock and perished in the waters. 
 
 The herdsmen who were in charge of 
 them fled away into the city, and told all 
 that had happened — how the man possessed 
 with devils had been cured, and how the 
 swine had perished. 
 
 The whole city came out to meet Jesus, 
 and when they had reached the place, they 
 saw the man who had been so fierce and so 
 wild, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and 
 in his right mind, and they were afraid. 
 
 He Sent the Man Home. 
 
 This stranger, who had so lately landed 
 on their shores, had already conquered the 
 fierce madman whom no one had ever yet 
 been able to tame, and had, moreover, de- 
 stroyed two thousand of their swine. They 
 feared greatly lest he should again exercise 
 his wonderful power in such a way as to 
 injure them; and thinking more of their own 
 loss in the destruction of the swine than of 
 the gain to the poor man, they besought 
 Jesus that he would depart out of their 
 coasts. 
 
 He turned and left them, for he could do 
 them no good against their will, and went 
 down to the shore to sail away again in the 
 ship by which he had come. The poor man 
 who had been cured went with him ; he 
 
 could not bear to leave the side of his deliv- 
 erer, and begged that he might be allowed 
 to go away with him in the ship. 
 
 But Jesus would not take him away. He 
 said, Go home to thy friends, and tell them 
 what great things the Lord hath done for 
 thee, and hath had compassion on thee. 
 
 The man obeyed his words, and pub- 
 lished abroad in all that country, and in the 
 coasts of Decapolis, what great things Jesus 
 had done unto him. 
 
 Followed by a Multitude. 
 
 This time the ship had a prosperous jour- 
 ney, and Jesus landed with his disciples on 
 another coast, where the people received him 
 gladly. As before, he went through the 
 cities and villages, teaching and curing those 
 who were sick and afflicted, followed by bis 
 disciples and by a great multitude of other 
 people. 
 
 Amongst those who followed Jesus were 
 several women, who also supplied his needs, 
 providing him with food, and with money 
 when it was required. One of these women 
 was the wife of Chuza, the steward of King 
 Herod, and her name was Susanna; another 
 was Mary Magdalene, who had washed the 
 feet of Jesus with her tears in the house of 
 the Pharisee; a third was Salome, the wife 
 of Zebedee, and the mother of the two disci- 
 ples, James and John. 
 
 All day long, Jesus ministered to the peo- 
 ple, and when night came, he either accepted 
 the hospitality of some of those who invited 
 him to rest in their houses, or else spent the 
 night in the open air with his disciples, 
 making his bed on the green grass, with the 
 stars shining far above over his head. 
 
 Often, too, he would leave his disciples to 
 take their rest, whilst he himself would go 
 away alone to a mountain apart, and spend 
 the whole night in prayer to God. 
 
396 
 
 JESUS TEACHING AND HEALING. 
 
 So the days went by, and the multitudes 
 that gathered round him became always 
 greater and greater. When he saw them he 
 was filled with compassion, and one day 
 he said to his disciples, The harvest truly is 
 plenteous, but the laborers are few. Pray 
 ye therefore the Lord of the harvest that he 
 send forth laborers into his harvest. After 
 this he went away, as he often did, and 
 passed the night in prayer. 
 
 The next day, he called the disciples 
 around him, and said that he was going to 
 set apart twelve of them for a special work. 
 They were to be his chosen friends, and 
 were usually to go with him wherever he 
 went, but just now he had something else 
 for them to do. 
 
 The Twelve Apostles. 
 
 Seven of these twelve disciples (who were 
 called the Twelve Apostles) had already 
 been chosen. Andrew, and John, the son 
 of Zebedee, were the two who had first come 
 to Jesus in Judaea, about a year before this 
 time, and they had been quickly followed by 
 Simon Peter, Philip, and Nathaniel (who was 
 also called Bartholomew) . Since then, James, 
 the brother of John, had been called from 
 his fishing, and Matthew the publican from 
 the place of toll. 
 
 Five others were chosen at this time. 
 There was a second James, who was the son 
 of Alphaeus, and a second Simon, called 
 also Zelotes; there was also Thomas, and 
 Thaddaeus, or Lebbaeus, and, last of all, 
 Judas Iscariot. 
 
 Jesus told them that he himself was going 
 up to Jerusalem for a time, but that he 
 wished them to remain in Galilee and carry 
 on his work. They were not to go into any 
 city of the Samaritans or of the Gentiles, 
 but to remain among the cities of Israel, 
 
 and preach the good news of the kingdom of 
 heaven. 
 
 They were to heal the sick, to cleanse the 
 lepers, and to cast out devils, as Jesus him- 
 self had done. Like him also, they were to 
 have neither gold nor silver, nor even a 
 change of clothing, but were to depend for 
 everything upon the kindness of those whom 
 they taught. 
 
 Those who were good to them, he said, 
 would be richly rewarded. If anyone gave 
 them even a cup of cold water in a spirit of 
 love, he would not fail to receive a blessing. 
 
 When they entered a city or a village, 
 they were to inquire who in it would be the 
 most likely to receive them kindly, and then 
 they were to go to the house to which they 
 had been directed, and as they entered, they 
 were to say, Peace be to this house. 
 
 If the people made them welcome, they 
 were to remain in the same house so long as 
 they continued in that city or village; but if 
 they refused to receive them, then they were 
 to leave that place and go to another. 
 
 How to Save Their Lives. 
 
 They must be prepared, he said, for toil 
 and hardships ; and must be ready to sacri- 
 fice themselves even to death, if need be, 
 for the truth they had to teach. But even 
 though they might suffer for a time, they 
 might feel sure that their Father in heaven 
 was watching over them and caring for them ; 
 and they would be called upon to make no 
 sacrifice of which their Master would not 
 first set them an example. 
 
 He that doth not take up his cross and 
 follow after me, said Jesus, is not worthy of 
 me. He that seeketh to save his life shall 
 lose it ; but he that loseth his life for my sake 
 shall find it. Thus he taught the great les- 
 son of self-sacrifice. 
 
GOOD TREES BRING FORTH GOOD FRUIT. 
 
 397 
 
JOY AFTER A NIGHT OF WEEPING. 
 
 398 
 
CHAPTER XXIX. 
 
 The Man at the Pool of Bethesda — Trouble with the Pharisees — Plucking Corn 
 on the Sabbath — David Eating the Shew-Bread — Death and Burial of John the 
 Baptist — Feeding a Multitude — Storm on the Sea — Jesus Walking on the Water 
 — Rescue of Peter — A Mother's Appeal for her Daughter — The Deaf and Dumb 
 Man— A Blind Man Healed — Peter Called a Rock — The Mount of Transfigura- 
 tion — A Lunatic Cured. 
 
 s<s&> ANY who had heard of Jesus 
 
 were anxious to learn more 
 /^y^k!?^U^ concerning him, and so 
 when he had made an end 
 of commanding his twelve 
 Apostles, he sent them out 
 by two and two to teach 
 in all the cities of Galilee, 
 whilst he himself made his journey to Jeru- 
 salem alone. 
 
 Now there was in Jerusalem a certain pool 
 of water called the pool of Bethesda. Into 
 this pool there came an angel at certain 
 seasons, who stirred the water ; and so it 
 was, that the first person who stepped into 
 the pool after the stirring of the water, was 
 made whole of whatsoever disease he had. 
 The Jews had built five porches round the 
 pool, and in these there lay constantly a 
 number of sick people, and of blind, lame, 
 and withered, waiting for the moving of the 
 water, each with the hope that he might be 
 the first to get in. 
 
 When Jesus came to Jerusalem, he went 
 to see the poor afflicted people at the pool of 
 Bethesda, and he found there a man who 
 had suffered from an infirmity for thirty-eight 
 years. He could not move quickly, and as 
 he had no friends to help him, he had never 
 in all that time been able to reach the pool 
 before anyone else. Jesus knew how long 
 
 he had suffered, and he went up to him and 
 said, Wilt thou be made whole ? 
 
 The man answered, Sir, I have no man, 
 when the water is stirred, to put me into the 
 pool, but while I am coming another steppeth 
 down before me. 
 
 Went Away with His Couch. 
 
 Jesus said unto him, Arise, and take up 
 thy bed and walk, and at ,:hese words, the 
 power which for thirty-eight years had for- 
 saken the limbs of the sick man was restored 
 to them, and he arose and departed. 
 
 Now it happened that the day on which 
 Jesus cured this man was the Sabbath day. 
 The Pharisees were exceedingly particular 
 about the observance of the Sabbath, and 
 many of the rules which they laid down for 
 the people were concerning the various things 
 that might or might not be done. One of 
 these rules was that no burden might be car- 
 ried on the Sabbath day, so that when some 
 of the Pharisees met the man carrying his 
 mattress, they stopped him and said, It is not 
 lawful for thee to carry thy bed. 
 
 The man answered, He that made me 
 whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy 
 bed and walk. 
 
 Then the Pharisees asked, What man is 
 he that said unto thee, Take. up thy bed and 
 walk ? 
 
 399 
 
400 
 
 MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 
 
 At first the man was unable to answer 
 their question, for he did not know who 
 Jesus was, and immediately after curing him, 
 he had disappeared among the crowd. But 
 soon afterwards it happened that Jesus found 
 the man in the temple, and said to him, 
 Thou art made whole. Sin no more, lest a 
 worse thing come unto thee. 
 
 The Pharisees Offended. 
 
 Then the man knew who it was, and he 
 went and told the Pharisees that it was Jesus 
 who had made him well. From this time, 
 the Pharisees began to persecute Jesus, be- 
 cause he did these things on the Sabbath 
 day. 
 
 But Jesus answered them, My Father 
 worketh hitherto, and I work. He meant to 
 say that the work of God goes on, no matter 
 what day of the week it is. The sun con- 
 tinues to shine, the heavens are held up high 
 above the earth, the trees and flowers are 
 nourished, the sea is kept within its bounds, 
 the children of men are preserved from 
 danger on the Sabbath just as much as on 
 any other day. And, therefore, Jesus said 
 that he would do likewise, and would not 
 cease from his works of love and kindness, 
 even though it might be the Sabbath day. 
 
 Jesus did not remain long in Jerusalem, 
 but returned to Galilee, where the twelve 
 Apostles again gathered round him. 
 
 They had been through the cities and vil- 
 lages of Galilee, teaching and healing, and 
 now the multitudes that followed Jesus were 
 greater than ever. But about this time the 
 Pharisees began to look upon him with dis- 
 pleasure, and two things that shortly hap- 
 pened, added to their indignation. 
 
 It was again the Sabbath day, and Jesus 
 
 was walking through the corn-fields with his 
 
 disciples. They were hungry, and as they 
 
 -went, they plucked some of the ears of corn 
 
 and began to eat them, rubbing them in 
 their hands to separate the chaff, which was 
 then blown away by the wind. 
 
 Presently they were met by some of the 
 Pharisees, who were angry with the disciples 
 when they saw what they were doing, and 
 said to Jesus, Behold, thy disciples do that 
 which it is not lawful to do upon the Sab- 
 bath. 
 
 It was not that there was any harm in 
 taking the corn, for anybody passing through 
 the corn-fields was allowed to help himself 
 to as much as he pleased ; but the Pharisees 
 had made a rule that no sort of threshing 
 was to be done on the Sabbath day, and 
 they said that to separate the chaff from the 
 ears of corn was really a kind of threshing, 
 and therefore, a breaking of the Sabbath. 
 
 In answer to their rebuke, Jesus reminded 
 them of what had been done by David, the 
 great king, who had been called the man 
 after God's own heart. 
 
 David Perishing With Hunger. 
 
 Once when David was in peril of his life, 
 he came to the city where the tabernacle of 
 God was resting (for it was before the build- 
 ing of the temple), and asked the priest to 
 give him some food. The priest answered 
 that he had nothing but the sacred bread, 
 which was placed each week before the 
 Lord, and which no one was allowed to eat 
 but the priests only. 
 
 But David was perishing with hunger, 
 and so were his followers, and he made the 
 priest give him the sacred bread, though it 
 would not have been right to take it at any 
 other time. 
 
 Jesus also reminded the Pharisees that in 
 the temple the priests did much necessary 
 work on the Sabbath day in preparing the 
 fires, and slaying the animals for sacrifice. 
 He said, moreover, that if the Pharisees had 
 
MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 
 
 401 
 
 understood what the prophets had so often 
 r-old them, namely, that what God requires is 
 the sincere worship of the heart and not any 
 mere observance of rules, they would not 
 have condemned the disciples, who in the 
 sight of God had done no wrong. 
 
 Later on the same day, he entered the 
 synagogue according to his custom, and 
 behold, there was a man there who had a 
 withered hand. 
 
 Doing Good on the Sabbath. 
 
 The Pharisees were now eager for some 
 opportunity of publicly accusing Jesus of 
 breaking the Sabbath, so when they saw the 
 man who had come into the synagogue with 
 the hope of being cured, the)' said to Jesus, 
 Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day? 
 
 Before answering them, he commanded 
 the man to stand forth in the midst, and then 
 he said, I will also ask you one thing. Is it 
 lawful on the Sabbath days to do good or to 
 •do evil, to save life or to destroy it ? What 
 man shall there be among you that shall have 
 one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the 
 Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it and 
 lift it out? How much then is a man better 
 than a sheep ? Wherefore it is lawful to do 
 well on the Sabbath days. 
 
 He longed to make them understand that 
 in their manner of explaining the law of God 
 about the Sabbath, they were not honoring, 
 but dishonoring him ; but they would not 
 learn. They would not even make any 
 answer, and Jesus looked round upon them 
 with anger, being grieved at the hardness of 
 their hearts. 
 
 Then, turning to the man with the with- 
 ered hand, he said, Stretch forth thy hand. 
 
 A moment before, the arm was lying at 
 the man's side, dead and useless, but he did 
 according to the word of Jesus, and behold 
 his hand was restored whole as the other. 
 26 
 
 But the Pharisees only hated Jesus the 
 more, and they went out and took counsel 
 how they might destroy him, so that he was 
 again obliged to withdraw himself from Ca- 
 pernaum. 
 
 All this time, John the Baptist was still 
 shut up in a gloomy dungeon in the fortress 
 of Macherus. 
 
 The weeks and months had passed wear 
 ily away, although he was allowed to see 
 his disciples from time to time, and to hear 
 from them of what was passing in the outer 
 world. 
 
 Once he had sent some of his disciples to 
 Jesus, and had received from him a message 
 of comfort and encouragement. He had 
 told them to ask Jesus if he was indeed the 
 Messiah for whom they had been looking, 
 and Jesus answered the messengers by telling 
 them to go back to John and tell him of all 
 that was going on. Tell him, he said, that 
 the blind receive their sight, and the lame 
 walk ; the 'lepers are cleansed, and the deaf 
 hear ; the dead are raised up, and the poor 
 have the gospel preached unto them. 
 
 A Wicked Queen. 
 
 John might perhaps have been released, but 
 he had an enemy in the queen, whose name 
 was Herodias. She was a very beautiful 
 woman, who had been the wife of Herod's 
 brother; but Herod had carried her off from 
 his brother's house, and had married her 
 himself. This was very wicked, and John 
 said to Herod, It is not lawful for thee to 
 have thy brother's wife. 
 
 It was for this reason that the queen hated 
 John. She would gladly have killed him if 
 she could, but she had not been able as yet 
 to accomplish her purpose, for Herod feared 
 John, knowing he was a just man and a holy, 
 and he often sent for him, and heard him 
 gladly. 
 
402 
 
 MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 
 
 But at last the opportunity came for which 
 the queen had heen waiting. It was the 
 birthday of King Herod, and he had made 
 a great supper to all his lords and high cap- 
 tains, and the chief men of Galilee. When 
 the feast was ended, the daughter of Hero- 
 dias came in and danced before them. She 
 
 me here at once the head of John the Bap- 
 tist in a dish. 
 
 When the king heard what it was that the 
 girl desired, he was exceeding sorry, but he 
 had promised by an oath, in the presence of 
 many witnesses, to give her whatsoever s - ve 
 should ask, and though he knew he should 
 
 THE BURIAL OF 
 
 pleased Herod so well that he said he would 
 give her whatever she should ask, and prom- 
 ised with an oath that she should have it, 
 even if it were the half of his kingdom. 
 
 The girl went out and said to her mother, 
 What shall I ask ? And then the queen 
 thought of her revenge, and told her to go 
 back quickly and say, I will that thou give 
 
 JOHN THE BAPTIST. 
 
 do a greater wrong by keeping his promise 
 than by breaking it, he had not the courage 
 to deny her. 
 
 He sent a messenger in all haste to the 
 prison to command that John should be put 
 to death immediately, and soon the bleeding 
 head of the prophet was brought to him 
 upon one of the golden dishes that had been 
 
MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 
 
 403 
 
 used at the feast. He gave the ghastly 
 present to the girl, and she took it and car- 
 ried it to her mother. 
 
 You may imagine how grieved and dis- 
 tressed the disciples of John were when they 
 heard that the king had killed their dear 
 master. They went to the prison, then lov- 
 ingly and sadly took up the headless body, 
 and laid it reverently in a tomb. 
 
 A Crowd Waiting for Him. 
 
 After this they went and told Jesus. Their 
 hearts were sore and full of sadness, and 
 they knew he would sympathize with them 
 — they knew he loved their master. 
 
 Did Jesus grieve ? Yes ; for no heart was 
 ever so loving or tender as his own. When 
 he heard what had happened, his heart was 
 wrung with grief, and he longed to be alone 
 for a time, until at least the first sad days of 
 mourning should have passed. He entered 
 the ship and went away with the disciples, 
 hoping to get to a desert place where he 
 would be at a distance from the multitude, 
 but it was in vain. 
 
 The people had seen him leave, and having 
 guessed where he was going, they had 
 hurried to the place by land, so that when 
 Jesus arrived in the ship, he found them 
 already there, waiting for him. 
 
 But much as he had longed for rest and 
 solitude, Jesus showed no signs of impa- 
 tience as he caught sight of the waiting 
 multitude. With infinite compassion he 
 looked round upon them, and all that day 
 he taught them and healed their sick. 
 
 When the evening drew near, the disciples 
 came to him, and reminded him that the 
 day was wearing away and they were in a 
 desert place; and they asked him to send 
 away the people quickly, that they might go 
 into the towns and villages near, and buy 
 themselves food before the night should set in. 
 
 But Jesus would not send the people away 
 hungry at that late hour, and he said to the 
 disciples, They need not depart — give ye 
 them to eat. 
 
 The disciples did not know how this was 
 to be accomplished, for they had but five 
 loaves and two fishes, and if they had 
 attempted to buy food for such a multitude, 
 two hundred pennyworth would not have 
 been sufficient. 
 
 They waited to see what Jesus would do, 
 and he said, Make the men sit down. 
 
 Now there was much grass in the place, 
 so the men sat down, in number about five 
 thousand. There were a hundred rows of 
 them, and fifty men in each row. 
 
 Then Jesus took into his hands the bread 
 and the fishes, and looking up to heaven, he 
 blessed the food. After this, he broke the 
 bread, and divided the fishes also, and gave 
 a portion to each of the twelve Apostles to 
 set before the people. 
 
 And so it was that they gave to each man 
 as much as he desired, and yet there was 
 always enough left for the next. Every one 
 of the five thousand ate and was satisfied, 
 and after that, when Jesus told the disciples 
 to take up the broken pieces that remained, 
 they filled twelve baskets with the fragments 
 of the five barley loaves that remained over 
 and above unto them that had eaten. 
 
 Many Believe on Him. 
 
 Then those men, when they had seen the 
 miracle that Jesus did, said, This is, of a truth, 
 that Prophet who should come into the world. 
 
 When the children of Israel thought of 
 the Messiah for whose coming their fathers 
 and their father's fathers had looked forward 
 with eager hope, they always pictured him 
 as a mighty king. 
 
 The miracle that Jesus had just wrought, 
 convinced the people that he was indeed the 
 
CHRIST FEEDING THE MULTITUDE. 
 
 404 
 
MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 
 
 405 
 
 Messiah, and they could not understand his 
 unwillingness to lead them against their 
 enemies. They tried to take him by force 
 and make him a king, but he would not 
 yield to their wishes. 
 
 All through his life, Jesus sought in vain 
 to make his followers understand that he had 
 come to found a kingdom, not of earth but 
 of heaven, and that the enemies against 
 whom he waged war were not human beings, 
 but wicked thoughts and evil deeds. It was 
 not till long afterwards that they knew what 
 he meant by the saying, My kingdom is not 
 of this world. 
 
 They Thought He Was a Spirit. 
 
 At last all the people were sent away to 
 their own homes. Night had now fallen, 
 and Jesus was able to obtain that quiet time 
 for communion with God which he had so 
 greatly desired. He told his disciples to go 
 back without him by ship to Capernaum, 
 saying that he himself would follow them 
 later, and they went down to the shore and 
 launched their ship, leaving him in prayer 
 upon the mountain side. 
 
 It ought to have taken two or three hours 
 only to sail to Capernaum, but the night 
 was stormy, and when midnight was already 
 passed, the disciples were still far away. The 
 sails were of no use, for the wind was con- 
 trary, and they had been obliged to take to 
 the oars, but even so they made little pro- 
 gress. The wind was blowing heavily 
 against them, and they were faint and weary 
 after the long day's labor. 
 
 By-and-by, in the fourth watch of the 
 night, in the thick darkness that comes 
 before the dawn, they saw the figure of a 
 man coming towards them, clothed in white 
 garments. 
 
 He was walking on the crests of the 
 waves, and they cried out for fear, supposing 
 
 that they had seen a spirit. But their fear 
 was soon dispelled, for they heard a well- 
 known voice which rose above the raging of 
 the wind, and said to them, Be of good 
 cheer, it is I. Be not afraid. 
 
 It was Jesus, who had seen their distress, 
 and had come to help them. They knew 
 his voice, and Peter cried out, Lord, if it be 
 thou, bid me come unto thee upon the 
 water. 
 
 Jesus answered, Come, and Peter left the 
 ship and walked upon the water to go to 
 Jesus. But when he saw the wind boister- 
 ous, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he 
 cried, Lord, save me ! 
 
 Then Jesus stretched out his hand, and 
 ) caught him, and said unto him, O thou of 
 little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt ? 
 
 After this, they both entered into the ship, 
 and immediately the wind ceased, so that 
 they soon touched the coast of Capernaum. 
 
 The next day, Jesus entered into the 
 synagogue, and taught. The people whom 
 he had fed on the previous evening had also 
 made their way to Capernaum, seeking for 
 Jesus, but they were astonished to find that 
 he had arrived before them, for they had seen 
 the disciples leave without him, and they 
 asked him, Master, when earnest thou 
 hither ? 
 
 The Bread of Heaven. 
 
 Jesus did not answer their question, but 
 he said, Ye seek me because ye did eat of 
 the loaves, and were filled. Labor not for 
 the meat which perisheth, but for that meat 
 which endureth unto everlasting life. 
 
 Then he went on to say to them, The 
 bread of God is he which cometh down 
 from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 
 I am the bread of life. I came down from 
 heaven, not to do mine own will, but the 
 will of him that sent me. 
 
406 
 
 MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 
 
 They did not understand his meaning, but 
 afterwards he made it more plain to his dis- 
 ciples. The words that I speak unto you, 
 he said, they are spirit and they are life. 
 
 In consequence of the enmity of the 
 Pharisees, Jesus again left Capernaum, and 
 this time he went away to a greater distance, 
 even as far as the land of Phenicia, to the 
 coasts of the Gentile cities of Tyre and Sidon. 
 
 He did not wish to do any mighty works 
 in these places, for he had left the land of 
 Israel because he desired rest, and time for 
 quiet thought and prayer ; but even here the 
 people had heard of him, and his fame could 
 not be hid. 
 
 As he was journeying in that country, 
 there came a Gentile woman, who cried unto 
 him, saying, Have mercy upon me, O Lord, 
 thou Son of David ; my daughter is griev- 
 ously vexed with a devil. 
 
 The Daughter Was Cured. 
 
 Jesus answered her not a word, but the 
 woman continued to follow him, and the dis- 
 ciples, who were vexed that she should be so 
 persistent, said to him, Send her away, for 
 she crieth after us. 
 
 This Jesus would not do ; but he said 
 aloud, so that the woman could hear it, I am 
 not sent but unto the lost sheep of the 
 house of Israel. 
 
 But though the woman heard this, she 
 did not even then give up hope. Her great 
 love for her daughter urged her on, and 
 coming nearer, she fell at the feet of Jesus, 
 and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 
 
 Jesus saw that she was most earnest in 
 her request, and in order to make a yet 
 further trial of her faith, he said, It is not 
 meet to take the children's bread, and to cast 
 it to dogs. Meekly she answered, Yea, 
 Lord, but even the dogs eat of the crumbs 
 that fall from their master's table. 
 
 Then Jesus felt that she need be tried no 
 longer, and he said unto her, O woman, 
 great is thy faith. Be it done unto thee even 
 as thou wilt. The devil is gone out of thy 
 daughter. 
 
 Once before, in the case of the Roman 
 centurion, Jesus had marvelled at the faith 
 of a Gentile. This poor woman, in like 
 manner, had shown greater faith than many 
 of the children of Israel. As soon as Jesus 
 had spoken the words that she had greatly 
 desired to hear, she turned away fully satis- 
 fied ; and when she came home, she found 
 her daughter cured, and lying peacefully 
 upon the bed. 
 
 After leaving the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, 
 Jesus returned into Galilee by a route which 
 led him through the region of Decapolis, or 
 the Ten Cities. 
 
 This country lies to the east of Galilee, 
 and it was here that Jesus had landed, some 
 time before, when he cured the man 
 possessed with devils. The people had then 
 been afraid of his power, and had besought 
 him to depart out of their coasts. But since 
 that time, the man who had been healed had 
 spread abroad the knowledge of what Jesus 
 had done for him, and now all the people 
 gathered round Jesus, bringing with them 
 those that were blind, lame, dumb, crippled, 
 and many others. They cast them down at 
 his feet, and he healed them. 
 
 He Both Heard and Spoke. 
 
 Among the rest was a man who was deaf, 
 and had an impediment in his speech, so that 
 it was impossible to understand what he said. 
 Jesus took him aside from the multitude, and 
 putting his fingers into his ears, he spit, and 
 touched his tongue. 
 
 Then he looked up to heaven and sighed, 
 for his spirit was oppressed by all the misery 
 and suffering around him ; but he knew that 
 
MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 
 
 407 
 
 through the help of the Father in heaven the 
 evil could be overcome. After this, he again 
 looked at the man, and pronounced a 
 Hebrew word, which means, Be opened. 
 Immediately his ears were opened, and the 
 •cord that had fastened down his tongue was 
 loosed, so that he could speak plainly. 
 
 Jesus charged the people that they should 
 not tell anyone of what had been done, but 
 the more he charged them, so much the 
 more a great deal they published it, for they 
 were beyond measure astonished ; and they 
 said, He hath done all things well. He 
 rnaketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb 
 to speak. 
 
 The consequence was that, as before, the 
 multitude gathered round Jesus more closely 
 than ever, and for three whole days after this, 
 he taught and healed them without ceasing. 
 
 They were now in a desert place, and the 
 food that the people had brought with them 
 was all gone. Then Jesus said to his 
 disciples, I have compassion on the multitude, 
 for they have now been with me three days, 
 and have nothing to eat ; and if I send them 
 away fasting to their own houses, they will 
 faint by the way, for divers of them came 
 from far. 
 
 Only a Few Loaves and Fishes. 
 
 The disciples thought, perhaps, of the 
 time, not so long ago, when he had formerly 
 fed the multitude, but all they said was, 
 From whence can a man satisfy these men 
 with bread, here in the wilderness ? 
 
 Jesus asked them, how many loaves have 
 ye ? They answered, Seven, and a few little 
 fishes. Then, as before, Jesus commanded 
 the people to sit down on the ground, and 
 he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and 
 gave thanks. After this, he divided them, 
 and gave the pieces to the disciples, and the 
 disciples gave them to the multitude. 
 
 And they did all eat and were filled, and 
 they took up of the broken pieces that re- 
 mained, seven baskets full. Now they that 
 had eaten were about four thousand men, 
 besides women and children. 
 
 After this, Jesus sent away the multitude, 
 and taking ship, he crossed over to the other 
 side of the lake, and returned to Caper- 
 naum. 
 
 He was, however, obliged to leave it again 
 almost immediately on account of the ill- 
 will of the Pharisees ; and this time he set 
 his face towards the north-east. 
 
 A Man's Sight Restored. 
 
 He had to pass near the cities of Beth- 
 saida and Caesarea Philippi, and when he 
 was in the neighborhood of Bethsaida, they 
 brought to him a blind man, beseeching him 
 that he would give him back his sight. 
 
 Jesus took him by the hand and led him 
 away from the town, and when he had laid 
 his hands upon him, he asked him if he saw 
 anything. The man looked up and said, I 
 see men as trees, walking. Then Jesus 
 again laid his hands upon his eyes, and now 
 his sight was altogether restored, and he 
 could see clearly. 
 
 Later on, when they had come near to the 
 town of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus one day 
 asked his disciples, Whom say the people 
 that I am. 
 
 They answered, Some say that thou art 
 John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and 
 others say that Jeremiah or one of the old 
 prophets is risen again. 
 
 He said unto them, But whom say ye that 
 I am ? Simon Peter answered, Thou art the 
 Christ, the Son of the living God. 
 
 Then Jesus said unto him, Blessed art 
 thou, Simon the son of Jonah, for flesh and 
 blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my 
 Father which is in heaven. And I say unto 
 
408 
 
 MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 
 
 thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this Rock 
 I will build my church, and the gates of hell 
 shall not prevail against it. And I will give 
 unto thee the keys of the kingdom of 
 heaven, and whatsoever thou shalt bind on 
 earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatso- 
 ever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed 
 in heaven. The word Peter means the 
 Rock. 
 
 After this, Jesus began to tell his disciples 
 that a great trouble was before them. Soon, 
 he said, they would go up to Jerusalem, and 
 then he would suffer many things of the 
 elders and chief priests and Scribes, and 
 would be killed, but on the third day he 
 would rise again. 
 
 Peter Sharply Rebuked. 
 
 They heard what he said, but they could 
 not believe it, or understand that he was 
 speaking, in truth, of suffering and death. 
 It was but now that Peter had declared him 
 to be the Messiah, and Jesus had approved 
 his words. How could it be that he was 
 going to be put to death ? Surely, when 
 they reached Jerusalem, the chief priests 
 would receive him with honor, and he would 
 reign gloriously! If otherwise, would it not 
 be better to refrain from going to Jerusalem 
 at all ? There were men in abundance in 
 Galilee who were ready to hail Jesus as their 
 king. 
 
 Peter even ventured to remonstrate with 
 him, and answered him, saying, This be far 
 from thee, Lord. This shall not be unto 
 thee. 
 
 But Jesus rebuked him sharply, and said, 
 Get thee behind me, Satan. Thou art an 
 offence unto me, for thou savorest not the 
 things that be of God, but those that be of 
 men. 
 
 He meant to teach his disciples, and 
 through them all mankind, that the worst 
 
 service a man can render to his friend, is that 
 of trying to dissuade him from the path of 
 duty, even though it may seem to be the 
 path of trial and of failure. 
 
 And then he added, in words like those 
 which he had used in sending out the twelve 
 Apostles, If any man will come after me, let 
 him deny himself, and take up his cross, and 
 follow me. For whosoever will save his life 
 shall lose it ; but whosoever will lose his life 
 for my sake, the same shall find it. For 
 what is a man profited, if he gain the whole 
 world and lose his own soul ? Or what shall 
 a man give in exchange for his soul ? For 
 the Son of Man shall come in the glory of 
 his Father with his angels, and then he shall 
 reward every man according to his works. 
 
 A Snow-Capped Mountain. 
 
 Passing on from the neighborhood of 
 Caesarea Philippi, Jesus continued to journey 
 northwards with his disciples. Before them 
 in the distance there shone the summit of a 
 noble mountain, covered with perpetual 
 snow. It was called Mount Hermon, and 
 its glistening crown could be seen for many 
 miles away, as it stood out, grand and beau- 
 tiful, against the evening sky. 
 
 It was towards this mountain that Jesus 
 was now journeying, and at last, on the 
 eighth day, he reached its foot. The night 
 was already coming on, but he would not 
 delay beginning to make the ascent, and, 
 leavkig the rest of the disciples below, he 
 went forward with only the three that he 
 loved the best, Peter and James and John. 
 
 But after a time, the three disciples, who 
 were tired after their day's journey, became 
 heavy with sleep, and Jesus left them to lie 
 down and rest, whilst he himself climbed 
 higher up the mountain, that he might 
 spend the time in prayer. His mind was 
 filled with the thought of all that was to- 
 
THE GOOD SHEPHERD 
 
MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 
 
 409 
 
 befall him at Jerusalem, and he desired to 
 gain strength from God to tread the throny 
 path that lay before him. 
 
 Meanwhile Peter and James and John 
 had fallen into a deep sleep, but suddenly 
 they awoke, and became aware that some- 
 thing very solemn and wonderful was taking 
 
 They were speaking of his death, which was 
 to take place at Jerusalem. 
 
 Never before had the disciples beheld so 
 glorious a vision, and as they gazed upon the 
 altered form of their Master, they were filled 
 with awe and solemn rapture. They longed 
 to continue looking forever on that wondrous 
 
 THE TRANSFIGURATION 
 
 place. Looking up towards that part of the 
 mountain where Jesus had been praying, 
 they beheld him transfigured before them. 
 His countenance did shine as the sun, and 
 his raiment was white as the light. 
 
 And behold there were two others — 
 Moses, the giver of the Law, and Elijah, the 
 great prophet, who were talking with Jesus. 
 
 sight, and Peter cried out, Lord, it is good 
 for us to be here ; and let us make three 
 tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, 
 and one for Elijah. 
 
 He hardly knew what he said, but he felt 
 that he would like to continue there forever, 
 living in tents made of branches upon the 
 mountain-side. 
 
410 
 
 MARVELLOUS WORKS AND WORDS. 
 
 But even as he spoke, there came a cloud 
 which overshadowed them, and the disciples 
 feared as they entered into it. Then they 
 heard a voice coming out of the cloud which 
 said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am 
 •well pleased. Hear ye him. And they fell 
 upon their faces to the earth, overpowered 
 with awe at the voice of God. 
 
 The Lunatic Child. 
 
 How long they remained thus they knew 
 not, but after a while they felt some one 
 touch them, and looking up, they perceived 
 that the vision was past, and that Jesus had 
 .descended from the height above, and was 
 •standing by their side. 
 
 From the majesty of the lonely mountain- 
 top, from the peace and the rapture of 
 communion with God, Jesus descended with 
 his three disciples into the plain. 
 
 As they approached the place where they 
 liad left the rest, they perceived a great 
 multitude gathered together, with the 
 disciples in the midst, and certain of the 
 Scribes and Pharisees, clamoring and dis- 
 puting. 
 
 The radiance which the disciples had 
 beheld, had not as yet entirely left the face 
 of Jesus, and as he came near, the multitude 
 gazed at him with astonishment, and running 
 towards him, saluted him. 
 
 He asked what was the cause of the 
 tumult, and one of them answered, Master, 
 I beseech thee to look upon my son, for he 
 vis mine only child. He is lunatic and sore 
 vexed, and, behold, a spirit taketh him, and 
 he suddenly crieth out, and it teareth him 
 that he foameth. And I brought him to 
 thy disciples that they should cast it out, and 
 they could not. 
 
 Jesus was grieved that his disciples should 
 have been unable to cast out the evil spirit, 
 ifor he had already given them this power, 
 
 and he cried out, O faithless and perverse 
 generation, how long shall I be with you ? 
 How long shall I suffer you ? Then, turn- 
 ing to the father he said, bring thy son 
 hither to me. 
 
 The boy was brought forward into the 
 midst, but as he was coming, the devil 
 dashed him down and tore him with griev 
 ous convulsions, and he fell upon the ground, 
 and wallowed, foaming. 
 
 Jesus asked the father, How long is it 
 since this hath come unto him ? 
 
 He said, From a child. And ofttimes it 
 hath cast him into the fire and into the 
 waters to destroy him ; but if thou canst do 
 anything, have compassion on us and help 
 us. 
 
 All things, answered Jesus, are possible to 
 him that believeth. 
 
 Then the father of the child cried out, 
 and said with tears, Lord, I believe — help 
 thou mine unbelief. 
 
 The Evil Spirit Came Out. 
 
 And he to whom no one ever appealed in 
 vain for help, had compassion on the poor 
 father, and turning again to the child, he 
 rebuked the devil within him, saying, Thou 
 dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come 
 out of him, and enter no more into him. 
 
 The spirit cried out and again convulsed 
 the boy, but at last it left him, and he lay on 
 the ground as one dead, insomuch that many 
 of the crowd said, He is dead. 
 
 But Jesus took him by the hand, and 
 lifted him up, and delivered him again to his 
 father, cured and in his right mind. 
 
 Afterwards, when they were alone, the 
 disciples asked Jesus why it was that they 
 had been unable to cast out the evil spirit, 
 for before, when Jesus had sent them out by 
 two and two, they had cast out many devils. 
 He answered, Because of your unbelief. 
 
CHAPTER XXX, 
 
 Lesson from a Little Child — The Unjust Steward — Money Found in a Strange 
 Place — Feast of Tabernacles — Pharisees Angry — The Man Blind from his Birth 
 
 . Ten Lepers Healed — Jesus Blessing Little Children — The Good Samaritan — 
 
 Jesus at Jerusalem and Bethany — The Raising of Lazarus — Two Blind Men 
 Receive their Sight. 
 
 ESUS now turned his back upon 
 the beautiful snow mountain, and 
 began his homeward journey 
 towards Capernaum. As they 
 went, he again spoke to his dis- 
 ciples of going up to Jerusalem, 
 and of how he would be deliv- 
 ered into the hands of wicked men, and be 
 killed, and after three days would rise again. 
 They listened to his words, but did not in 
 ;he least understand their meaning. The 
 one thing that filled their minds was the 
 thought of going up to Jerusalem. Jesus 
 had now told them plainly that he was the 
 Messiah, and they made sure that when he 
 next went there, he would be received with 
 honor by the chief priests and Scribes and 
 Pharisees. 
 
 So much, indeed, were they occupied with 
 these thoughts, that on the way to Caper- 
 naum, they began disputing with one another 
 as to which 3f them should be the greatest 
 h the kingdom of heaven, which they sup- 
 rosed their Master would now establish in 
 vi some outward form. 
 
 Jesus said nothing at the time, but in the 
 evening, after they had reached Capernaum, 
 and were sitting in the house at their evening 
 meal, he asked them what it was that they 
 had been disputing about on the way. 
 
 They were ashamed to tell him ; but Jesus 
 knew what it was, and he called a little child 
 
 to him, and said to the disciples, Verily, I 
 say unto you, except ye be converted, and 
 become as little children, ye shall not enter 
 into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever, 
 therefore, shall humble himself as this little 
 child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of 
 heaven. If any man desire to be first, the 
 same shall be last of all, and the servant of 
 all. This was the only way to become first. 
 
 The Little Child. 
 
 This was not the only time when the 
 question arose among the disciples as to 
 which of them should be the greatest, and 
 Jesus used to tell them that in the kingdom of 
 heaven it was not as in the kingdoms of this 
 world, where those who had the most power 
 are accounted the greatest. On the contrary, 
 he said, It shall not be so among you, but 
 whosoever will be great among you, let him 
 be your servant, and whosoever will be chief 
 among you, let him be a servant ; even as 
 the Son of Man came not to be served by 
 others, but himself to serve, and to give his 
 life a ransom for many. 
 
 Jesus went on to tell the disciples that 
 those who showed kindness to little children 
 were really doing a service to himself, and 
 that he would accept the kindness as if it 
 were actually done unto him. 
 
 He warned them also that a terrible pun- 
 ishment would overtake those who, by set 
 
 411 
 
412 
 
 LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 
 
 ting them a bad example, should do harm 
 to little children, or any that were young or 
 ignorant ; or who by carelessness or wicked- 
 ness should cause them to fall into sin. It 
 would be better for them, he said, that a 
 millstone should be cast about their necks, 
 and that they should be drowned in the 
 depths of the sea, 
 
 After this, Jesus spoke to them about the 
 
 he had, that payment might be made. 
 
 Then the servant fell down at his feet, and 
 besought him, saying, Lord, have patience 
 with me, and I will pay thee all. 
 
 And the lord of that servant was moved 
 with compassion, and he set him free, and 
 forgave him the whole debt. 
 
 But the same servant went out, and found 
 one of his fellow-servants who owed him a 
 
 JESUS TEACHING HUMILITY BY A 
 
 duty of forgiving those who had done them 
 some wrong, and he told them a parable of 
 a certain king, who had a servant that owed 
 him ten thousand talents. This was an enor- 
 mous sum — for a talent was worth about 
 twelve hundred dollars of our money — and 
 as the servant had not wherewith to pay, his 
 lord commanded him to be sold into slavery 
 with his wife and his children and all that 
 
 LITTLE CHILD. 
 
 small debt of a hundred pence, and instead 
 of remembering the mercy that had just been 
 shown to him, he laid hands on him, and 
 took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that 
 thou owest. 
 
 His fellow-servant fell down at his feet, 
 just as he had fallen at the feet of the king, 
 and said, in the very same words, Have 
 patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 
 
LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 
 
 418 
 
 But he would not; and he went and cast 
 him into prison until he should have paid 
 the debt. 
 
 His fellow-servants saw what was done, 
 and they were very sorry, and went and told 
 their lord all that was done. Then the king i 
 called that servant into his presence, and said 
 to him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave 
 thee all that great debt, because thou de- 
 siredst me. Shouldest not thou also have 
 compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I 
 had pity on thee ? 
 
 The Tribute-Money. 
 
 And the king was angry, and he delivered 
 him over unto the tormentors until he should 
 have paid all that was due unto him. 
 
 Even so, ended Jesus, shall my heavenly 
 Father do also unto you, if ye from your 
 hearts forgive not every one the trespasses 
 of his brother. 
 
 Whilst Jesus was at Capernaum, he stayed 
 as usual in the house of Peter, and hearing 
 that he had returned, the men who collected 
 the tribute-money came to Peter, and asked, 
 Doth not your Master pay tribute ? 
 
 This was not the tax paid to the Romans, 
 but another tax of half a silver shekel — about 
 eighteen cents of our money — which was 
 claimed for the expenses of the temple ser- 
 vices. It was paid by every Jew, in what- 
 ever part of the world he might live, and 
 when Peter was asked if his Master was wil- 
 ling to pay the tribute, he answered, Yes. 
 
 But when he returned to the house, and 
 told his Master of what he had said, there 
 was no money for paying the tax. Then 
 Jesus said to him, Go thou to the sea and 
 cast a hook, and take the fish that first 
 cometh up, and when thou hast opened his 
 mouth, thou shalt find a silver shekel. That 
 take, and give unto them for me and thee. 
 
 The brethren of Jesus now came to him, and 
 
 urged him to go up to Jerusalem, and make 
 himself known as the Messiah. The Feast 
 of Tabernacles was at hand, and this, they 
 said, would be a good opportunity, for 
 Jerusalem would then be crowded with 
 people. 
 
 Jesus at the Feast. 
 
 But Jesus thought otherwise. His time 
 was not yet come, and he said to his breth- 
 ren that if he went at all to the feast, it 
 would not be to proclaim himself the 
 Messiah, but as it were in secret. He told 
 them to journey on without him, and he 
 himself remained in Galilee for some days 
 after they had left. 
 
 Then he went to Jerusalem alone, and 
 reached the city after the feast had begun, 
 when all the people were wondering whether 
 he would come or not. His first act was to 
 go into the temple and teach, and the people 
 listened with astonishment, for they knew 
 that he had been brought up in no school of 
 learning ; but Jesus answered, My teaching 
 is not mine, but his that sent me. 
 
 As in Galilee he had taught the people 
 by parables, so now he drew lessons from 
 the things around him. While the Feast of 
 Tabernacles lasted, it was the custom each 
 morning to perform a great ceremony called 
 the Drawing of Water. 
 
 The people assembled at the temple, and 
 when the morning sacrifice had been laid 
 upon the altar, the priest took a golden jug 
 and carried it down to the Pool of Siloam, 
 which was at some little distance. There he 
 filled it with water, and then returned to the 
 temple ; and as he re-entered the gates, the 
 rest of the priests blew a joyful blast upon 
 the silver trumpets, and continued to blow 
 until the priest had carried the golden jug 
 up to the altar and poured out the water 
 into a silver basin. 
 
414 
 
 LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 
 
 Then all the people sang the six Psalms 
 from the 113th to 11 8th, and when they 
 came to the verse, For he is good, for his 
 mercy endureth for ever, they waved the 
 palm branches which they carried in their 
 hands, and rejoiced before the Lord. 
 
 On the last day of the feast, after the 
 people had witnessed this ceremony every 
 day for seven days, Jesus began to tell them 
 about the living water of which he had 
 spoken to the woman of Samaria, and he 
 cried aloud so that all could hear, If any 
 man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. 
 
 Again, on another day, Jesus pointed to 
 the two gigantic golden candlesticks which 
 stood in one of the temple courts. They 
 were fifty cubits high, that is to say, about 
 fourteen times the height of a man, and at 
 the top of each were five lamps which were 
 reached by a very long ladder. Every even- 
 ing while the feast lasted, these lamps were 
 lighted, and they lit up the whole city. 
 
 While the people were occupied in looking 
 at the lighting of the lamps, Jesus said unto 
 them, I am the Light of the world. He 
 that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, 
 but shall have the Light of Life. 
 
 Would not Arrest Him. 
 
 Many of the people would gladly have 
 listened to the words of Jesus, but the 
 Pharisees always interrupted him, and tried 
 to make it appear that he had said some- 
 thing wrong. They were afraid lest he 
 should gain an influence over the people and 
 lead them to think less of their own teaching. 
 
 They even went so far as to send officers 
 to seize him, but the officers returned with- 
 out their prisoner. Whilst they were wait- 
 ing for an opportunity to take him, they 
 heard the words that he was speaking to the 
 people, and they went back to the Pharisees 
 and said, Never man spake like this man. 
 
 The Pharisees were angry, but one of 
 them named Nicodemus, the same who had 
 once visited Jesus by night, asked the rest 
 if it was fair to condemn a man before he 
 had been tried and found guilty. They 
 knew that it was against their law to do so, 
 but they would not pay any attention, and 
 only mocked at Nicodemus, asking if he 
 also was a follower of the Prophet of Gali- 
 lee. 
 
 Jesus again told the people, on the day 
 after these things, that he was the Light of 
 the World, and the Pharisees, as usual, 
 began to contradict and to question him. 
 They said, Thou bearest witness of thyself, 
 thy witness is not true. 
 
 In answer to this, Jesus told them that he 
 had been sent by God his heavenly Father 
 to teach them things that he himself had 
 been taught by God ; and he said, Your 
 father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and 
 he saw it, and was glad. 
 
 They Wanted to Stone Him. 
 
 The Jews answered, Thou art not yet 
 fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abra- 
 ham ? 
 
 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, 
 I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. 
 
 At these words they were filled with hor- 
 ror, for it seemed to them that the most 
 awful blasphemy had been uttered. They 
 thought that Jesus, being a man, had made 
 himself equal with God ; and as the punish- 
 ment decreed in the Law for those who 
 should blaspheme the name of God was 
 death by stoning, they took up stones to cast 
 at him. But the hour for him to die was not 
 yet come, and he hid himself, and went out 
 of the temple. 
 
 Almost immediately afterwards, it hap- 
 pened that Jesus noticed a beggar, who was 
 well known in Jerusalem as having been 
 
"WHEREAS I WAS BLIND, NOW I SEE.' 
 
 415 
 
416 
 
 LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 
 
 blind from his birth. The disciples were 
 now again with their Master, and they asked 
 him saying, Who did sin, this man or his 
 parents, that he was born blind ? 
 
 The News Spread Quickly. 
 
 It was a common belief among the Jews 
 that afflictions were the direct consequence of 
 sin; but Jesus told the disciples that they 
 must not suppose that either the man himself 
 or his parents had sinned more than others, 
 but that they should presently see the works 
 of God manifested in him. I must work the 
 works of him that sent me while it is day, he 
 said ; the night cometh when no man can 
 work. 
 
 After this, he anointed the eyes of the 
 bKnd man, and told him to go and wash in 
 the Pool of Siloam. This he did, and pres- 
 ently came back, cured and able to see. 
 
 The news that the blind man had been 
 restored to sight was quickly spread abroad. 
 The neighbors could hardly believe that he, 
 whom they now saw with his eyes open, 
 was the blind beggar they had known so well. 
 Some said it is he ; others said, No, but it is 
 like him ; but the man himself said, I am he. 
 
 Then they asked him, How were thine 
 eyes opened ? He answered, The man that 
 is called Jesus made clay and anointed mine 
 eyes, and said to me, Go to Siloam and wash ; 
 so I went and washed, and I received my 
 sight. 
 
 The news soon reached the ears of the 
 Pharisees, and the man who had been blind 
 was brought before them, and made to re- 
 peat the whole story of how he had been 
 cured ; but as it happened that the day on 
 which this had taken place was the Sabbath, 
 the Pharisees said, This man is not from 
 God, because he keepeth not the Sabbath 
 day. 
 
 Some of them, however, disagreed, and 
 
 said, How can a man that is a sinner do 
 such miracles ? 
 
 There was thus a division among them, 
 and they turned again to the man, and asked, 
 what he thought of him. He answered, He 
 is a prophet. 
 
 But the Pharisees were not pleased with 
 this answer, and they tried next to persuade 
 themselves that the man had not been really 
 cured, so they sent for his parents, and 
 asked them, Is this your son who ye say 
 was born blind ? 
 
 The parents answered, We know that this 
 is our son, and that he was born blind, but 
 how he now seeth we know not, or who 
 hath opened his eyes, we know not. He is 
 o r age, ask him, he shall speak for himself. 
 
 Believed With all His Heart. 
 
 The parents were, in fact, afraid of the 
 Pharisees, for they had agreed already that 
 if any man should confess that Jesus was 
 the Christ, he should not be allowed to come 
 any more to the synagogue to join in the 
 worship of God. 
 
 Then the Pharisees called the man again, 
 and told him that Jesus was a sinner. But 
 the man answered, Whether he be a sinner 
 or no, I know not ; one thing I know, that 
 whereas I was blind, now I see. If this 
 man were not of God, he could do nothing. 
 
 They tried to convince him that they were 
 in the right, but when they could not make 
 him change his opinion of the man who had 
 cured him, they carried out their threat, and 
 cast him out of the synagogue. 
 
 Jesus heard what they had done, and 
 desired to comfort him, so he found him out, 
 and said, Dost thou believe in the Son of 
 God? 
 
 The man asked, Who is he, Lord, that I 
 should believe in him ? And when Jesus 
 answered, It is he that talketh with thee, he 
 
LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 
 
 417 
 
 cried out, Lord I believe, and fell down at 
 his feet, and worshipped him. 
 
 After these things, Jesus returned for a 
 short time to Galilee, and now it seemed to 
 the disciples that their dearest wish was about 
 to be fulfilled, for Jesus spoke of again going 
 up to Jerusalem, and did not discourage those 
 who expressed a wish to follow him thither. 
 
 The disciples desired above all things that 
 their Master should enter Jerusalem at the 
 head of a great band of followers, for then 
 they thought that all the people of the city 
 would also rise up and follow him, and that 
 the chief priests and Pharisees would be con- 
 vinced that he was the Messiah. 
 
 Jesus himself knew that it would be very 
 different from this, and that the people of 
 Jerusalem would reject him and put him to 
 death, and this he often told his disciples, but 
 they could not believe it, and were full of 
 high hopes and expectations. 
 
 Seventy Sent on Ahead. 
 
 Many preparations were made for the 
 march up to Jerusalem, for the number of 
 those who desired to accompany Jesus was 
 very great, and he chose out seventy of his 
 followers and sent them on in front by two 
 and two, to give notice of his coming to the 
 people of the towns and villages through 
 which he must pass, and prepare them to 
 receive so great a host. As before, when 
 the twelve were sent out, they were to heal 
 the sick, to cast out devils, and to proclaim 
 the kingdom of God. 
 
 The first part of the journey was by water 
 as far as the southern shore of the Lake of 
 Galilee, and looking back from the ship, 
 Jesus gazed for the last time on the country 
 he had loved so well. The clear, beautiful 
 waters of the lake were lit up with the rays 
 of the setting sun, which glowed upon the 
 red sails of the fishing boats ; all along its 
 
 27 
 
 shores nestled the towns and villages where 
 he had preached and labored ; his own city 
 of Capernaum lay before him in the distance 
 like a garden of trees and flowers. 
 
 It was indeed a lovely scene, but the 
 heart of Jesus was filled with grief. He had 
 come to bring these people a message from 
 God, to teach them a truth far nobler and 
 purer than anything they had ever before 
 known, and they had heard it with indif- 
 ference. 
 
 The Doomed Cities. 
 
 As an earthly deliverer they were indeed 
 willing to receive him, and for the miracles 
 which he did they would follow him from 
 place to place, but for the deliverance from 
 sin which he offered them, they cared nothing. 
 
 As he looked back and thought of all this, 
 tears filled his eyes, and words of terrible 
 warning burst from his lips. Woe unto thee, 
 Chorazin ! he said, Woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! 
 For if the mighty works which were done in 
 you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they 
 would have repented long ago in sackcloth 
 and ashes. 
 
 And thou, Capernaum, which are exalted 
 to heaven, shalt be brought down to hell, 
 for if the mighty works which have been 
 done in thee had been done in Sodom, it 
 would have remained until this day. I say 
 unto you that it shall be more tolerable for 
 the land of Sodom in the day of judgment 
 than for thee. 
 
 After leaving the lake of Galilee, Jesus 
 intended to pass through the country of 
 Samaria, but as he approached the first Sam- 
 aritan village, the messengers who had gone 
 before to prepare the people for his coming, 
 came back to say that they would not re- 
 ceive him, because he was going to Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 This was on account of the quarrel 
 
418 
 
 LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 
 
 between the Jews and the Samaritans, and 
 when the disciples heard of it, they were 
 very angry. James and John especially, 
 were filled with indignation at this insult to 
 their Master, and they said to him, Master, 
 wilt thou that we bid fire to come down 
 from heaven and consume them, even as 
 Elijah did ? 
 
 But Jesus rebuked them, saying, Ye know 
 not what manner of spirit ye are of. The 
 Son of Man is not come to destroy men's 
 lives, but to save them. And he turned 
 away to another village, crossing the Jordan, 
 and taking the other road to Jerusalem, 
 through the country of Persea. 
 
 The Lepers Healed. 
 
 As he was going through that district, it 
 happened one day that he was nearing a cer- 
 tain village, when he saw at a distance ten 
 men who were lepers. They stood afar off, 
 because of the law which obliged lepers to 
 keep away from all other men, but they 
 lifted up their voices and cried, Jesus, Master, 
 have mercy on us. 
 
 Jesus cried out to them in answer, Go and 
 show yourselves to the priest. 
 
 They knew well what this meant. It 
 meant that he had healed them, and that 
 they were to go and have their recovery cer- 
 tified by the priest according to the law of 
 Moses. They set out, therefore, and on the 
 way it became evident that the disease had 
 left them. 
 
 Then one of the ten, as soon as he per- 
 ceived this, turned back, and with a loud 
 voice glorified God, and fell down at the feet 
 of Jesus, giving him thanks, for now he was 
 free to come near him. 
 
 This man was a Samaritan, and Jesus 
 answering said, Were there not ten cleansed, 
 but where are the nine? There are not 
 found that returned to give glory to God 
 
 save this stranger. And he said unto him, 
 Arise, go thy way, thy faith hath made thee 
 whole. 
 
 On another day, Jesus was about to enter 
 a certain city towards evening, and the 
 women of the place, who had heard of his 
 coming from the messengers sent on in front, 
 assembled together and brought out their 
 young children that he should bless them. 
 
 Jesus was wearied with his journey, and 
 when the disciples saw the crowd of women 
 waiting for him, they rebuked them, and told 
 them that they must not trouble the Master. 
 
 But Jesus was angry with the disciples for 
 wishing to send them away, and he said, 
 Suffer the little children to come unto me, 
 and forbid them not, for of such is the king- 
 dom of God. Verily I say unto you, Who- 
 soever shall not receive the kingdom of 
 God as a little child, shall in no wise enter 
 therein. 
 
 And he took them up in his arms, laid his 
 hands upon them, and blessed them. 
 
 Help for a Poor Woman. 
 
 As he journeyed through the country of 
 Persea, Jesus entered into the synagogue on 
 the Sabbath days to teach the people, accord- 
 ing to his custom. 
 
 On one of these days, it happened that 
 there was a woman in the synagogue who 
 had been afflicted for eighteen years with an 
 infirmity that caused her to be bowed down 
 to the earth, so that she could not hold her- 
 self upright. 
 
 When Jesus saw her, he called her to 
 come near to him, and said, Woman, thou 
 art loosed from thine infirmity. Then he 
 laid his hands upon her and healed her, and 
 immediately she became straight, and glori- 
 fied God. 
 
 But when the ruler of the synagogue saw 
 what was done, he was filled with indigna- 
 
LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 
 
 419 
 
 tion, and said to the people, There are six 
 days in which men ought to work ; in them, 
 therefore, come and be healed, and not on 
 the Sabbath day. 
 
 He spoke in a spirit of tyranny and self- 
 ishness, and Jesus rebuked him, and asked 
 whether every one of the people who were 
 
 enemies were ashamed, and all the people 
 rejoiced for all the glorious things that were 
 done by him. 
 
 Not long after this, it happened that Jesus 
 was invited to dine at the house of a Pharisee 
 upon the Sabbath day. As usual, the doors 
 were open to the street, and while the feast 
 
 JESUS BLESSING LITTLE CHILDREN. 
 
 present, was not accustomed on the Sabbath 
 to take his ox or his ass from the stall, and 
 lead him away to watering? And if it was 
 right to show mercy to animals on the Sab- 
 bath, who could say that he had done wrong 
 in showing mercy to this poor woman ? 
 When he had said these things, all his 
 
 was going on, there entered a man who was 
 afflicted with a disease called the dropsy. 
 
 The Pharisees watched to see what Jesus 
 would do, and he, knowing that they objected 
 to his healing on the Sabbath day, gave them 
 an opportunity of saying why they thought 
 it wrong to do so. Is it lawful, he asked, to 
 
420 
 
 LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 
 
 heal on the Sabbath, or not? But they did 
 not answer, and he healed the man, and sent 
 him away. Then he said, Which of you, 
 having an ox or an ass that had fallen into a 
 pit, would not straightway pull him out on 
 the Sabbath day? 
 
 Still they kept silence, for they had no 
 answer to make, and turning away from that 
 subject, Jesus went on to speak a parable. 
 He had noticed how each of them > on ar- 
 riving, had tried to secure for himself the 
 seat intended for the most honored guest, 
 and he wished to teach them a lesson of 
 humility. 
 
 The Pharisee and Publican. 
 
 Two men, he said, went up into the tem- 
 ple to pray, the one a Pharisee and the other 
 a publican. 
 
 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with 
 himself, God, I thank thee that I am not as 
 other men are, extortioners, unjust, or even 
 as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I 
 give tithes of all that I possess. 
 
 But the publican, standing afar off, would 
 not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, 
 but smote upon his breast, saying, God be 
 merciful to me a sinner. 
 
 I tell you, this man went down to his 
 house justified rather than the other; for 
 every one that exalteth himself shall be 
 abased, but he that humbleth himself shall 
 be exalted. 
 
 After this, as they were still talking about 
 the giving of feasts, Jesus said to his host, 
 When thou makest a dinner or a supper, 
 call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither 
 thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors, lest 
 they also bid thee again and a recompense 
 be made thee. But when thou makest a 
 feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, 
 the blind, and thou shalt be blessed, for they 
 cannot recompense thee, but thou shalt be 
 
 recompensed at the resurrection of the just. 
 One of the guests then began to speak of 
 the future life, and of the blessedness of 
 those who should attain to the kingdom of 
 God, and Jesus told them that all men were 
 called upon to enter into this kingdom, 
 although but few cared to avail themselves 
 of the offer. 
 
 All Excused Themselves. 
 
 A certain man, he said, made a great sup- 
 per, and bade many, and sent out his ser- 
 vants at supper-time to say to them that 
 were bidden, Come, for all things are now 
 ready. 
 
 But they all with one consent began to 
 make excuse. The first said unto him, I 
 have bought a piece of ground, and must 
 needs go and see it. I pray thee, have me 
 excused. And another said, I have bought 
 five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them. 
 I pray thee, have me excused. And another 
 said, I have married a wife, and therefore 
 I cannot come. 
 
 So that servant came and showed his lord 
 these things. Then the master of the house, 
 being angry, said to his servant, Go out 
 quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, 
 and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, 
 and the halt, and the blind. 
 
 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as 
 thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. 
 
 And the lord said unto the servant, Go 
 out into the highways and hedges, and com- 
 pel them to come in, that my house may be 
 filled. For I say unto you, that none of 
 those men which were bidden, shall taste of 
 my supper. 
 
 The country of Persea, through which 
 Jesus was now passing, was a rich land, 
 where the people owned large flocks of 
 sheep, and great barns in which they stored 
 up the fruits of the earth. 
 
LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 
 
 Jesus often warned them that a man's true 
 life does not consist in the abundance of the 
 cnings that he possesses, and he spoke much 
 at this time of a certain gift of God which he 
 called eternal life, the best of all blessings. 
 
 421 
 
 Good Master, what shall I do that I may 
 
 inherit eternal life? 
 
 Jesus answered, Why callest thou me good? 
 There is none good but one, that is God, 
 But if thou wilt enter into life, keep the com- 
 
 ROBBERS LYING IN WAIT. 
 
 One day, as he was journeying, a young 
 man came running quickly towards him. 
 He was a ruler and belonged to the party 
 of the Pharisees, but he was not, like most 
 of them, too proud to be taught; and throw- 
 ing himself at the feet of Jesus, he asked him, 
 
 mandments. The young man asked which, 
 and when Jesus had repeated some of the 
 Ten Commandments, he said, All these I have 
 kept from my youth up. What lack I yet? 
 It had been an upright and a beautiful life, 
 and as Jesus looked upon the young man, 
 
422 
 
 LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 
 
 he felt his heart kindle with love to him. If 
 thou wilt be perfect, he said, go and sell that 
 thou hast and give to the poor, and thou 
 shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, 
 take up the cross, and follow me. 
 
 But when the young man heard that, he 
 went away sorrowful, for he had great pos- 
 sessions, and he could not make up his mind 
 
 Law. The man answered, Thou shalt love 
 the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with 
 all thy soul, and with all thy mind ; and thy 
 neighbor as thyself. 
 
 Thou hast answered right, said Jesus. 
 This do, and thou shalt live. 
 
 But the lawyer knew that he had not loved 
 his neighbor as himself, and so, pretending 
 
 THE PRIEST AND LEVITE PASSING BY THE WOUNDED MAN. 
 
 to give them all up, and begin a life of 
 poverty and toil. 
 
 Soon afterwards, as Jesus was teaching, a 
 certain lawyer stood up and asked him the 
 same question, Master, what shall I do to 
 inherit eternal life? 
 
 As in the case of the young ruler, Jesus 
 referred the man to the Commandments, and 
 asked him what he found in the book of the 
 
 not to understand the Commandment, he 
 said to Jesus, Who is my neighbor? 
 
 Jesus wanted to show him that he was not 
 so ignorant as he tried to appear, and so he 
 spoke a parable, and said, A certain man 
 went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and 
 fell among thieves, who stripped him of his 
 raiment, and wounded him, and departed, 
 leaving him half dead. 
 
•^rTT^v^g^^^^S^ 
 
 THE GOOD SAMARITAN. 
 
 423 
 
424 
 
 LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 
 
 And by chance there came down a certain 
 priest that way, but when he saw him, he 
 passed by on the other side. And likewise 
 a certain Levite, when he was at the place, 
 came and looked at him, and passed by on 
 the other side. 
 
 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, 
 came where he was, and when he saw him, 
 he had compassion on him, and went to him 
 and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and 
 wine, and set him on his own beast, and 
 brought him to an inn and took care of him. 
 
 And on the morrow, when he was depart- 
 ing from the inn, he took out two pence and 
 gave them to the host, and said unto him, 
 Take care of him, and whatsoever thou 
 spendest more, when I come again I will 
 repay thee. 
 
 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, 
 was neighbor to him that fell among the 
 thieves? The lawyer answered, He that 
 showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus 
 unto him, Go and do thou likewise. 
 
 On the Mount of Olives. 
 
 Some time had been spent in journeying 
 through the country of Persea, and winter 
 had now come on. The Feast of the Dedi- 
 cation of the temple, which was one of the 
 lesser feasts of the Jews, was at hand, and 
 as Jesus desired to go quietly once more to 
 Jerusalem before entering the city at the 
 head of the multitude, he determined to take 
 his disciples only up to the feast, leaving the 
 rest of the people behind. 
 
 He promised them that at the next Pass- 
 over, in the spring time, he would lead them 
 up to Jerusalem, and meanwhile they re- 
 mained in Peraea, or else returned to their 
 own homes. 
 
 The noise and bustle of crowded cities was 
 always distasteful to Jesus, who loved the 
 calm and the quiet of the country; and 
 
 when he came up to Jerusalem, he never 
 slept within the walls. When he had ended 
 his day's work of teaching the people, he 
 would leave the city in the evening with his 
 disciples, and spend the night either in the 
 open air on the neighboring Mount of Olives, 
 or else in a village called Bethany, which 
 was about two miles off. 
 
 The House at Bethany. 
 
 In this village of Bethany, there lived a 
 family of three persons, two sisters and a 
 brother, who loved and honored Jesus, and 
 always made him welcome at their house. 
 Their names were Martha, and Mary, and 
 Lazarus. Jesus was staying with them at 
 this time, for as it was now winter, it was too 
 cold for sleeping out of doors. 
 
 The two sisters were very unlike one 
 another. Martha was active and clever, and 
 she delighted in busying herself with prepa- 
 tions for doing honor to their Guest. Mary, 
 on the other hand, was of a quieter disposi- 
 tion, and to her there was no greater joy 
 than to sit at the feet of Jesus, and listen to 
 his words. 
 
 It seemed to Martha that her sister did 
 not take quite her full share of the necessary 
 work, and one day when Mary was sitting as 
 usual at the feet of Jesus, while she herself 
 was busy, she said to him, Master, dost thou 
 not care that my sister hath left me to serve 
 alone? Bid her therefore that she help me. 
 
 But Jesus answered her, Martha, Martha, 
 thou art careful and troubled about many 
 things; but one thing is needful, and Mary 
 hath chosen that good part which shall not 
 be taken away from her. 
 
 Each morning, Jesus left the peaceful 
 house at Bethany and made his way into 
 Jerusalem, where he spent the day in teach- 
 ing the people. As he was walking one day 
 in one of the corridors of the temple, the 
 
THE GOOD SHEPHERD DIVIDING THE SHEEP FROM THE GOATS. 
 
 425 
 
426 
 
 LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 
 
 Jews came round him, saying, How long dost 
 thou make us to doubt ? If thou be the 
 Christ, tell us plainly. 
 
 Jesus did not give them any direct answer, 
 for he knew that the one thought they had 
 about the Messiah was that he would lead 
 them against the Romans, but he told them 
 that the works he did would answer their 
 question, and then he went on to speak by a 
 parable, trying to make them understand 
 that he had a better gift to offer them than 
 victory over their enemies. 
 
 The Sheep Hear His Voice. 
 
 I am the Good Shepherd, he said. The 
 Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 
 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, 
 and they follow me, and I give unto them 
 eternal life, and they shall never perish and 
 no one shall pluck them out of my hand. 
 My Father who gave them to me is greater 
 than all, and no man is able to pluck them 
 out of my Father's hand. I and my Father 
 are one. 
 
 At these words the Jews interrupted him, 
 crying out that he had spoken blasphemy, 
 and as before, they took up stones to cast at 
 him, for they said that he, being a man, was 
 making himself God. 
 
 But Jesus reminded them of a passage in 
 the Psalms in which men had been spoken 
 of as gods, and as the children of the Most 
 High ; and he said, If he called them gods 
 unto whom the word of God came, say ye 
 of him whom the Father hath sanctified and 
 sent into the world, Thou blasphemest, 
 because I said, I am i he Son of God ? If I 
 do not the works of my Father, believe me 
 not ; but if I do, though ye believe not me, 
 believe the works, that ye may know and 
 believe that the Father is in me, and I in him. 
 
 But they only sought the more to kill 
 him, and Jesus was obliged to leave them. 
 
 He escaped out of their hands, and went 
 back again to the region of Peraea on the 
 other side of the Jordan, where he had left 
 the people a short time before. 
 
 For some time Jesus remained in Peraea, 
 and the people whom he had left there gath- 
 ered round him as before. Many also of 
 the men of the country believed on him, 
 remembering how John, who had baptized in 
 this region, had pointed him out as the Mes- 
 siah, and had told them to prepare for his 
 coming. 
 
 But a sad event took him back for a short 
 time to the neighborhood of Jerusalem. 
 Lazarus, who had so often received him at 
 his house at Bethany, was smitten down with 
 sickness, and one day, when Jesus was teach- 
 ing the people, he received a message from 
 the two sisters, saying, Lord, behold he 
 whom thou lovest is sick. 
 
 Jesus was grieved to hear of the trouble 
 of his friends, and determined to go to them, 
 but he said, This sickness is not unto death, 
 but for the glory of God, that the Son of 
 God may be glorified thereby. Moreover, 
 being much occupied with the people, he 
 remained for two days longer in the same 
 place where he was. 
 
 Death of Lazarus. 
 
 On the third day, he said to his disciples, 
 Let us go into Judaea again. Our friend 
 Lazarus is fallen asleep, but I go that I may 
 awake him out of sleep. 
 
 The disciples tried to dissuade him, 
 reminding him that only a few weeks before 
 the Jews had sought to kill him. Besides, 
 they said, if Lazarus could sleep, he would 
 recover without the presence of Jesus. 
 
 Then he told them plainly that Lazarus 
 was dead. He said also that it was right 
 for him to go to Bethany, and that when a 
 man follows the light which shows him the 
 
LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 
 
 427 
 
 path of duty, no real harm can come to him. 
 He set out, therefore, on the third day, but 
 paused when he came to the entrance of the 
 village. By this time, Lazarus had been 
 dead four days, and as is the custom in the 
 East, he had been put into the grave on the 
 very day of his death. Bethany was only 
 two miles from Jerusalem ; and Lazarus, 
 and Martha, and Mary, being well known in 
 the city, many of their friends from Jerusa- 
 lem had come out to comfort the two sisters 
 concerning the death of their brother. 
 
 The New Life. 
 
 Jesus did not care to go to the crowded 
 house, so he remained outside the village, 
 sending word to Martha and Mary that he 
 was there. Martha immediately hurried out 
 to meet him, and cried out in her anguish, 
 Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother 
 would not have died. 
 
 Jesus said unto her, Thy brother shall rise 
 again. 
 
 She answered, I know that he shall rise 
 again in the resurrection, at the last day. 
 
 Jesus said, I am the Resurrection and the 
 Life. He that believeth on me, though he 
 were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever 
 liveth and believeth in me, shall never die. 
 Believest thou this ? 
 
 She did not know exactly what his words 
 meant, but she knew that she loved and 
 trusted him, and was sure that anything he 
 told her must be true, and she answered, 
 Yea, Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, 
 the Son of God, which should come into the 
 world. 
 
 Then she thought of her sister, sorrowing 
 alone in the house, and she went back to 
 fetch her. Going up to the side of Mary, 
 she whispered in her ear, so that no one 
 else should hear it, The Master is come, and 
 calleth for thee. 
 
 As soon as Mary heard that, she rose 
 quickly, and went out to the place beyond 
 the village where Jesus still was. The friends 
 who had been trying to comfort her, saw her 
 leave the house, and followed her, thinking 
 she was going to the grave to weep there. 
 But Mary did not heed them. There was 
 only one friend who could give her any real 
 comfort, and her whole heart was set upon 
 seeing him. 
 
 She hurried forward until she reached 
 him, and then, with a fresh burst of tears, 
 she threw herself at his feet, saying, as 
 Martha had done, Lord, if thou hadst been 
 here, my brother had not died. That was 
 the one thought that had filled both their 
 minds during these four long days of mourn- 
 ing. 
 
 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister 
 and Lazarus, and when he saw Mary weep- 
 ing at his feet, and the Jews that came with 
 her, weeping also, he was overcome with 
 anguish, and groaned in his spirit. Presently 
 he said, Show me where ye have laid him. 
 
 They led the way, and he followed, weep- 
 ing, while the friends said one to another, 
 Behold, how he loved him ! Some of them, 
 however, were surprised that he who had 
 been one of the dearest friends of Jesus 
 should thus be cut off in the flower of 
 his age, and they said, Could not this man, 
 who opened the eyes of the blind, have 
 caused that Lazarus should not have died ? 
 
 " Lazarus, Come Forth ! " 
 
 By this time they had come to the grave, 
 which was a recess hewn out of a rock, with a 
 large stone slab in front, to cover it. Again 
 Jesus groaned in himself, and then he said, 
 Take ye away the stone. 
 
 Martha was at first unwilling to have this 
 done, but when Jesus repeated his wish, she 
 yielded. When it was accomplished, Jesus 
 
428 
 
 LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 
 
 lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father 
 I thank thee that thou heardest me. Then 
 with a loud voice, he cried out, Lazarus, 
 come forth ! 
 
 As before in Galilee, so here in Judaea, 
 that voice reached the ears of the dead man. 
 Those who were standing round the grave 
 saw a sight which to their dying day they 
 never forgot. From out of the tomb, which 
 
 was no more need for consolation. The 
 sorrow of the sisters had been turned into 
 joy, their brother was restored to them alive 
 and well, and the friends left them and went 
 back to Jerusalem, many of them believing 
 in Jesus. 
 
 The news of the miracle that had been 
 wrought, soon came to the ears of the 
 Pharisees, who heard it with much alarm. 
 
 THE RAISING OF LAZARUS. 
 
 for four days had been closed up, there 
 came a figure, bound round and round with 
 grave-clothes, his feet and his hands tied 
 together, and his face covered with a nap- 
 kin. It was Lazarus, and Jesus told them 
 to unfasten the grave-clothes that he might 
 move freely. 
 
 A great number of Jews had come to 
 comfort Martha and Mary, but now there 
 
 for they were afraid that soon all the people 
 would believe in Jesus. They summoned a 
 council, and having considered the matter, 
 they determined to put him to death. 
 
 He had done no wrong, but they were 
 afraid of him. They knew that great num- 
 bers of the people already looked upon him 
 as the Messiah, and they supposed that 
 sooner or later he would allow them to 
 
LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 
 
 429 
 
 crown him king. This they were deter- 
 mined to resist, for they did not believe in 
 him. They had hardened their hearts, and 
 persisted in thinking that the Messiah, when 
 he came, would be a mighty emperor, not 
 such a one as Jesus, who made himself the 
 least of all and the servant of all. 
 
 Moreover, he was their enemy, for he had 
 openly rebuked their pride and their hypo- 
 crisy. They hated him, and he must die. 
 It was better, they said, that one man should 
 perish, than that the whole nation should be 
 plunged into strife and discord. 
 
 The cowardly resolution was passed, and 
 before they separated, the Pharisees issued a 
 decree, that if any man knew where Jesus 
 was to be found, he was to come and tell 
 them, that they might take him prisoner. 
 
 In the Wilderness. 
 
 In consequence of this, Jesus was again 
 obliged to leave the neighborhood of Jeru- 
 salem. The village of Bethany was too 
 near for him to remain there in safety, and 
 he went away to a lonely part of the coun- 
 try, called the Wilderness of Ephraim. 
 
 Here he spent some time alone with his 
 disciples, but the spring-time was now 
 approaching, and with it the great Feast of 
 the Passover. Jesus had promised the mul- 
 titude who had followed him from Galilee, 
 that at this time he would return into Peraea 
 and lead them up from thence to Jerusalem; 
 and though he knew well that the chief 
 priests would put him to death, he did not 
 hesitate for a moment to do as he had said. 
 
 He left the wilderness of Ephraim, and 
 descended into the plain, near the city of 
 Jericho. There the people again gathered 
 round him, and he led them towards the 
 city. 
 
 Just round Jericho, the country was green 
 and fresh and beautiful, for it was watered by 
 
 unfailing springs, so that there was never any 
 drought. All manner of stately trees grew 
 around the city, many of them laden with 
 fruit, and the fields and gardens were so fair 
 and sweet, that the place was sometimes 
 called the Paradise of God. 
 
 But there was one poor man to whom the 
 lovely scene around him brought no delight, 
 for he was blind. His name was Bartimaeus, 
 and as he could not work for his bread, he 
 sat all day long by the wayside, begging. 
 
 Their Eyes Were Opened. 
 
 Sitting there as usual one day, he heard 
 the sound of a great multitude passing by, 
 and asked what it meant. They told him 
 that Jesus of Nazereth was drawing near, on 
 his way to Jerusalem, and then Bartimaeus 
 remembered how he had heard that Jesus 
 had cured many that were blind and lame 
 and otherwise afflicted. It was an oppor- 
 tonity not to be lost, and, lifting up his voice, 
 he cried aloud, Jesus, thou Son of David, 
 have mercy on me ! 
 
 The people who were in front rebuked 
 him, and told him to hold his peace and not 
 trouble the Master, but he only cried out so 
 much the more, Thou Son of David, have 
 mercy on me ! 
 
 When Jesus heard the cry, he stood still, 
 and commanded the man to be brought near, 
 and some of the multitude went forward to 
 fetch him. They told him that Jesus had 
 sent for him, and he rose with eager haste, 
 casting aside his long upper garment that he 
 might not be hindered in his movements. 
 Another blind man who had been sitting by 
 his side went with him, and they were 
 brought unto Jesus, who said to Bartimaeus, 
 What wilt thou that I should do unto thee ? 
 
 The blind man answered, Lord, that I may 
 receive my sight. 
 
 Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight, thy 
 
430 
 
 LAST VISIT OF JESUS TO GALILEE. 
 
 faith hath saved thee. Then he touched his 
 eyes and those of the other blind man, and 
 immediately their eyes were opened. 
 
 They were filled with joy and thankful- 
 ness, and joining in the crowd of people, they 
 also followed Jesus, glorifying God ; and all 
 the people, when they saw it, gave praise in 
 Hike manner unto God. 
 
 The road from Jericho to Jerusalem led 
 up a steep mountain pass, and as the journey 
 occupied about six hours, it was necessary 
 to rest and sleep at Jericho before beginning 
 to make the ascent. 
 
 Now there lived at Jericho a certain man 
 named Zacchseus, who had heard much of 
 Jesus, and longed to see him. He was a rich 
 man, but he did not dare to invite the great 
 Teacher to his house, on account of his 
 occupation, for he was a publican or tax- 
 gatherer, and was looked down upon in con- 
 sequence by the rest of the Jews. 
 
 Zacchseus In a Tree. 
 
 He went out into the streets and mingled 
 with the crowd who entered the city in 
 advance of Jesus, but being little of stature, 
 he found himself at a disadvantage, and so 
 he ran on before, and climbed up into a syca- 
 more tree. He knew that Jesus would have 
 to pass that way, and thought that he should 
 thus see him as he went by. 
 
 As Jesus passed under the tree, he looked 
 up, and called to Zacchseus by name. Zacc- 
 hseus, make haste and come down, he said, 
 for to-day I must abide at thy house. 
 
 It was a great honor to the despised publi- 
 can, and all the people murmured, for they 
 called the publicans sinners, and said that 
 
 | Jesus was going to be the guest of a man 
 that was a sinner. But Zacchseus cared 
 little for what they said. He was filled with 
 joy when he heard the words of Jesus, and 
 made haste to come down from the tree and 
 prepare a feast worthy of the great occasion. 
 
 A Son of Abraham, 
 
 While the feast was going on, many new 
 thoughts entered the mind of Zacchseus, and 
 as he looked ?.t the Guest who was seated 
 beside him, and listened to his words, he was 
 filled with a longing desire to prove himself 
 worthy of the honor that had been vouch- 
 safed to him, and to forsake his former sins, 
 and begin a new and better life. 
 
 As a publican he had often been guilty of 
 cheating and extortion, but now he would be 
 strictly honest in all his dealing, and instead 
 of taking from others, he would make 
 amends to those whom he had wronged, and 
 would give to those in need. 
 
 He was not ashamed to let others know of 
 his altered purpose, avid standing up before 
 all the assembled guests, he said, Behold, 
 Lord, the half of my goods I give to the 
 poor, and if I have taken anything from any 
 man by false accusation, I restore him fore- 
 fold. 
 
 Then Jesus was glad, for he saw that 
 Zacchseus had truly repented of his sins, and 
 was acting like a worthy descendant of his 
 great forefather Abraham. He said, This 
 day is salvation come to this house, forso- 
 much as he also is a son of Abraham. For 
 the Son of Man is come to seek and to save 
 that which was lost. Zacchseus was a, happy- 
 man that day. 
 
SUFFER THEM TO COME UNTO ME. 
 
 431 
 
THE BREAD THAT COMETH DOWN FROM HEAVEN. 
 
 432 
 
CHAPTER XXXI 
 
 Jesus at Bethany — Anointing in the House of Martha, Mary and Lazarus — Entry 
 into Jerusalem — Road Strewn with Palm-Branches — Children in the Temple — 
 The Man who had a Vineyard — Disputing with the Pharisees — The Tribute- 
 Money — The Fate of Hypocrites — The Poor Widow — Vivid Picture of the 
 Second Coming. 
 
 ROCEEDING on his journey, 
 Jesus, on the next morning, led 
 his followers up the steep and 
 rocky path that ascends from 
 Jericho to Jerusalem, and ends 
 upon the Mount of Olives. 
 Almost at the summit lies the little village 
 of Bethany, the home of Mary and Martha 
 and Lazarus. At this place Jesus halted, 
 for he was going to pass the night there 
 with his disciples, hut all the rest of the 
 people went on at once into Jerusalem. 
 
 The following day was the Sabbath, and 
 Jesus remained quietly at Bethany. In the 
 evening, his friends made a supper for him, 
 and amongst those who sat beside him at 
 the table was Lazarus, whom h$ had raised 
 from the dead. 
 
 Martha was busily engaged in serving her 
 guests, but Mary was unemplo) ed, and her 
 thoughts went back to the last time that 
 Jesus had been with them at Bev'hany. He 
 had come to them then at the time of their 
 greatest sorrow, and his presence had turned 
 their sorrow into joy. 
 
 Her eyes rested by turns upon the brother 
 who had been raised from the dead, and 
 upon the Friend who had restored him to 
 life, and her heart overflowed with love and 
 gratitude. She felt that it would be right 
 and fitting to offer him the best of all her 
 treasures ; and rising up from her place, she 
 28 
 
 fetched an alabaster box of very precious 
 ointment, and poured it over his head as he 
 sat at meat. 
 
 The Fragrant Ointment. 
 
 The whole house was filled with the 
 delicious fragrance of the ointment, and 
 thus the attention of all who were present, 
 was drawn to the act of Mary. 
 
 Many of the guests were astonished, some 
 were displeased, and one of them, Judas 
 Iscariot, the disciple who afterwards betrayed 
 his Master, even ventured to rebuke her, 
 saying, Why was this waste of ointment 
 made ? It might have been sold for three 
 hundred pence, and given to the poor. 
 
 This he said, not because he cared for the 
 poor, but because he cared a great deal for 
 money, and could not bear to see a chance 
 of making money thrown away. Any gifts 
 that were brought to Jesus, or any sums 
 that were gained by the disciples, were put 
 into a common purse, and this purse was 
 kept by Judas. He liked to know that it 
 was well filled, and he even went further 
 than this, for he was a thief, and out of the 
 purse that was intended to be drawn upon 
 only for the good of all, he did not hesitate 
 to take money when he needed it for his 
 own purposes, without telling anyone. 
 
 But Jesus would not allow him to rebuke 
 Mary, and he silenced the murmurs of those 
 
 433 
 
MARY OF BETHANY ANOINTING THE FEET OF JESUS, 
 
 434 
 
LAST DAYS IN THE TEMPLE. 
 
 435 
 
 who were blaming her in their hearts, by 
 giving her his blessing and approval. Why 
 trouble ye the woman ? He said. She hath 
 wrought a good work upon me. For ye 
 have the poor always with you, but me ye 
 have not always. 
 
 Anointing for Burial. 
 
 Then he again referred to that which he 
 had already so often told them, namely, that 
 soon he would be taken away from them, 
 and put to death. It was the custom among 
 the Jews to pour precious ointments and 
 spices upon the dead bodies of their friends, 
 and Jesus told them that they might look 
 upon him as already a dead man, and think 
 of Mary as anointing him for his burial. 
 
 It had been an act of noble generosity to 
 give him thus of her best without stint or 
 calculation, and he said, Verily I say unto 
 you, wheresoever the gospel shall be preached 
 throughout the world, there shall also this, 
 that this woman hath done, be told for a 
 memorial of her. 
 
 The day after the supper was the first day 
 of the week, answering to our Sunday, and 
 this was the day on which at last the triumph 
 of Jesus was to take place. He was to enter 
 mto Jerusalem accompanied by the multi- 
 tude who had followed him from Galilee, 
 and now, the disciples thought, the men of 
 Jerusalem would surely be convinced, and 
 be ready to acknowledge that Jesus was their 
 long-expected Messiah. 
 
 Early in the morning, Jesus sent forward 
 two of his disciples, and told them to go 
 into the next village, w T here, he said, they 
 would find an ass and a colt tied together. 
 These they were to unloose and bring to 
 him, and if any one saw them and asked 
 them why they were doing this, they were 
 to say, The Lord hath need of them. 
 
 The disciples did as they were commanded. 
 
 and brought back the ass and colt, that 
 Jesus might ride in state into the city. It 
 had been the custom in the East for kings 
 and great men to ride upon asses on grand 
 occasions, and the disciples remembered 
 how one of the old prophets had written, 
 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, 
 O daughter of Jerusalem; behold, thy King 
 cometh unto thee; he is just, and having 
 salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, 
 and upon a colt, the foal of an ass. 
 
 The followers of Jesus had come out from 
 the city to meet him, and when they saw 
 him riding towards them on the colt, they 
 shouted aloud for joy, saying, Hosanna to 
 the Son of David ! Blessed is he that cometh 
 in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the 
 highest! 
 
 Some of them tore off their upper gar- 
 ments and spread them out in front of the 
 ass that their King might have a carpet to 
 ride over, and others climbed up into the 
 trees beside the road, and cut down branches 
 of palm-leaves, which they strewed before 
 him. 
 
 The Beautiful City. 
 
 When they had reached the top o. Jie 
 Mount of Olives, and were come within 
 sight of Jerusalem, Jesus paused. There 
 before them lay the beautiful city with her 
 gorgeous temple, her golden roofs, her 
 towers, her palaces glittering in the sunshine 
 of the bright spring morning — Jerusalem, 
 " the joy of the whole earth." 
 
 But the sight brought no pleasure to the 
 eyes of Jesus, for as he gazed upon it, he 
 thought of the sins of the people and of 
 the terrible punishment that was awaiting 
 them. Looking forward into the future, he 
 saw a vision of a city besieged by enemies, 
 conquered, at last destroyed — her citizens 
 dying of hunger, her streets running with 
 
436 
 
 LAST DAYS IN THE TEMPLE. 
 
 blood, her beautiful temple in ruins. He 
 beheld the city and wept over it, say- 
 ing, If thou hadst known, even thou, at 
 least in this thy day, the things that belong 
 unto thy peace ; but now they are hid from 
 thine eyes ! For the days shall come upon 
 thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench 
 about thee, and compass thee round, and 
 
 lowed behind him, and as they went they 
 sang, Blessed be the King that cometh in 
 the name of the Lord ! Peace in heaven, 
 and glory in the highest ! 
 
 Thus they entered Jerusalem, and all the 
 city was moved, and came out to see what 
 was going on, asking, Who is this ? 
 
 The multitude answered, It is Jesus, the 
 
 keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee 
 even with the ground and thy children 
 within thee, and they shall not leave in thee 
 one stone upon another, because thou knew- 
 >st not the time of thy visitation. 
 
 After this, Jesus continued his triumph, 
 riding down the hill into the city. Some of 
 the multitude ran on before, and others fol- 
 
 CHRIST S ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM. 
 
 Prophet of Nazareth of Galilee. 
 
 And as 
 
 before, they waved their palms, and shouted, 
 Hosanna to the Son of David ! 
 
 But the people of Jerusalem merely 
 looked on ; they did not join in the posses- 
 sion as the disciples had expected, and some 
 of the Pharisees who were among the crowd, 
 even came to Jesus and said unto him, 
 
LAST DAYS IN THE TEMPLE. 
 
 437 
 
 Master, rebuke thy disciples. He would not 
 do this, but answered them, saying, I tell you 
 that if these should hold their peace, the 
 stones would immediately cry out. 
 
 On he rode, until he came to the very 
 gates of the temple itself, and there a num- 
 ber of boys, who were being trained to 
 become priests, caught up the words of the 
 multitude, and began to sing with them, 
 Hosanna to the Son of David. 
 
 Again the chief priests and Pharisees 
 tried to interfere, for they were much dis- 
 pleased, and they came up to Jesus and 
 asked him, Hearest thou what these say ? 
 
 But he answered, Yea. Have ye never 
 read, Out of the mouth of babes and suck- 
 lings, thou hast perfected praise ? 
 
 Driving Out the Money-Changers. 
 
 Once before, at the time of the Feast of 
 the Passover, Jesus had cleared away from 
 the temple the changers of money, and the 
 sellers of sheep and oxen and doves. Now 
 they had ventured to return, and finding that 
 this was so, he drove them out again, saying, 
 It is written, My house shall be called a 
 house of prayer, but ye have made it a den 
 of thieves. 
 
 Then he dismissed the people, and the 
 triumph of the day was over. It had been 
 as Jesus had foretold. The people of Jeru- 
 salem had not come forth to meet him — they 
 were not willing to acknowledge him as the 
 Messiah. The opportunity had been given 
 to them, but they had rejected it. Only 
 some blind and lame people came to Jesus 
 as he was teaching in the temple, and he 
 healed them. 
 
 In the evening, he left the city with his 
 disciples, and went out to spend the night 
 upon the Mount of Olives. 
 
 Jesus went again into the temple on the 
 next morning, and began to teach the people. 
 
 But while he was doing so, he was inter- 
 rupted by some of the chief priests and 
 Pharisees, who came up to him, and said, By 
 what authority doest thou these things, and 
 who gave thee this authority ? They were 
 referring to his triumphant entry into Jeru- 
 salem the day before, and to his cleansing of 
 the temple from the buyers and sellers. 
 
 A Puzzling Question. 
 
 It was by no means the first time that 
 they had asked Jesus a similar question, and 
 he always referred them to his works as a 
 sign that he had the authority of one who 
 was sent by God, but now he was willing to 
 remind them of what John the Baptist had 
 said about him. He began therefore by 
 asking if they were willing to admit the tes- 
 timony of John. The baptism of John, he 
 said, whence was it, from heaven, or of 
 men? 
 
 The question perplexed them, and they 
 did not know what to answer. If they 
 admitted that John had been sent by God, 
 Jesus would ask them why they did not 
 believe what John had said about him ; and 
 on the other hand, they did not dare to say 
 that John had not been sent by God, because 
 of the people, for all the people believed that 
 John was a true prophet. 
 
 They were obliged to say, We cannot tell, 
 and Jesus answered, Neither tell I you by 
 what authority I do these things. 
 
 Then he went on to tell them a parable of 
 a certain man who had two sons, and who 
 told them both to go and work in his vine- 
 yard. The first answered roughly, I will not, 
 but afterwards he repented of his disobedi- 
 ence, and went. The second met his father 
 with apparent respect, and answered, I go, 
 sir, but he went not. 
 
 Jesus asked the Pharisees which of those 
 two sons was he who did the will of his 
 
438 
 
 THE CHILDREN IN THE TEMPLE. 
 
LAST DAYS IN THE TEMPLE. 
 
 439 
 
 father, and they answered, The first. Then 
 he told them that they themselves were 
 like the second son, pretending to do 
 the will of God, but really disobeying it, and 
 that the publicans and sinners whom they 
 despised, were nearer to the kingdom of 
 heaven than themselves, because they were 
 ready to repent of their former sins. 
 
 The Vineyard of the Lord. 
 
 After this he told them another parable. 
 This time also it was a story of a man who 
 had a vineyard. He made a hedge round it 
 to protect it from thieves and wild beasts, 
 and he built a tower and a winepress, that 
 nothing should be wanting. Then he gave 
 it into the charge of some husbandmen whom 
 he employed to take care of it, and went 
 away into a far country. 
 
 When the time drew near for the fruit to 
 be ripe, he sent his servants to the husband- 
 men, that they might receive from them the 
 fruits of the vineyard. But instead of deliv- 
 ering over the fruit, the husbandmen ill- 
 treated his servants; they beat one, and 
 killed another, and stoned another. 
 
 Again he sent other servants, more than 
 the first, and they did unto them likewise. 
 
 Last of all, he sent unto them his son, 
 saying, They will reverence my son. But 
 when the husbandmen saw the son, they 
 said among themselves, This is the heir ; 
 come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his 
 inheritance. And they caught him, and cast 
 him out of the vineyard, and slew him. 
 
 Then Jesus asked the Pharisees what the 
 lord of the vineyard would do to those hus- 
 bandmen when he came back from his far 
 journey ; and they answered, He will miser- 
 ably destroy those wicked men, and will let 
 out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, 
 who shall render him the fruits in their sea- 
 sons. 
 
 They did not at first perceive that the 
 parable had been spoken against themselves, 
 but they might have known it, for a parable 
 very like it had long ago been spoken by the 
 prophet Isaiah, and this is the explanation 
 that he had given of it. The vineyard of 
 the Lord of Hosts, he said, is the house of 
 Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant 
 plant ; and he looked for judgment, but be- 
 hold oppression, and for righteousness, but 
 behold a cry. 
 
 When Jesus had ended his parable, he said 
 to the Pharisees, The kingdom of God shall 
 be taken from you, and given to a nation 
 bringing forth the fruits thereof; and then 
 they saw that by the answer they had given, 
 they had condemned themselves. They were 
 now more desirous than ever to put him to 
 death, but they were afraid as yet to lay 
 hands on him because of the people, for all 
 the people believed that Jesus was a prophet 
 of the Lord. 
 
 Trying to Entrap Him. 
 
 As before, Jesus spent the night on the 
 Mount of Olives with his disciples, and re- 
 turned the next morning to the temple. 
 
 Meanwhile, the chief priests and Pharisees 
 had made a plot with the followers of King 
 Herod to ask Jesus a question, by which 
 they hoped to lead him into saying some- 
 thing that would give offence either to the 
 people, or to their Roman conquerors. They 
 came, pretending that they wished for his 
 advice, and asked him, Is it lawful to give 
 tribute unto Caesar, or not ? 
 
 Caesar was the Roman Emperor, who had 
 conquered the Jews and compelled them to 
 pay him taxes, in return for which he kept 
 order in the country, protected them from 
 other enemies, and appointed a king to ad- 
 minister the laws. The question of the Phari- 
 sees was altogether insincere, and was only 
 
440 
 
 LAST DAYS IN THE TEMPLE. 
 
 asked in the hope that it would create a 
 difficulty for Jesus, from which he would 
 find it hard to escape. 
 
 If he were to say, It is not right to pay 
 the tribute, then he would be arrested as a 
 preacher of sedition. If, on the other hand, 
 he were to say, It is right to do so, then the 
 people would no longer believe in him, for 
 they still hoped that Jesus was going to lead 
 them against the Romans. 
 
 But Jesus knew the wickedness of the 
 Pharisees, and he answered, Why tempt ye 
 me, ye hypocrites? Show me the tribute 
 money. 
 
 Paying Tribute. 
 
 From out of the pouch of his robe, one of 
 them drew a silver penny, worth about thirty- 
 six cents of our money. On one side of the 
 coin was the beautiful proud face of Tiberius 
 Caesar, the Roman Emperor ; on the other 
 side was his superscription, Pontifex Maxi- 
 mus (Greatest High Priest). 
 
 Whose is this image and superscription ? 
 asked Jesus. They said unto him Caesars. 
 
 Render therefore to Caesar, was his answer 
 to their question, the things that are Caesar's, 
 and to God the things that are God's. 
 
 At these words they marvelled, and left 
 him, and went away. As long as they used 
 the coin of Caesar, and thus acknowledged 
 him as their rightful ruler, it was clearly 
 their duty to pay him the tribute he re- 
 quired ; and thus their plot to draw Jesus 
 into saying whether or not he was their 
 rightful lord had entirely broken down. 
 
 Later on in the day, another of the Phari- 
 sees asked him a further question : Master, 
 he said, which is the great commandment of 
 the Law? He asked this more from idle 
 curiosity to know what Jesus would say, than 
 from any desire to be taught, but the ques- 
 tion drew forth a never-to-be-forgotten answer 
 
 from the lips of him who spoke as never man 
 spake. 
 
 He said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
 God with all thy heart, and with all thy 
 soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first 
 and great commandment. And the second 
 is like unto it : Thou shalt love thy neigh- 
 bor as thyself. On these two command- 
 ments hang all the Law and the Prophets. 
 
 It was the same answer that he had given 
 to the young man who once asked what he 
 should do to inherit eternal life, and the 
 same lesson that he had taught in the Ser- 
 mon on the Mount — namely, that God looks 
 not only at the actions of men, but also at 
 the very thoughts of their hearts, and that 
 he only can hope to keep God's command- 
 ments whose heart is filled with love to him, 
 and also with love to his fellow-men. 
 
 All the rest of that day, Jesus continued 
 in the temple, teaching the people, but he 
 was constantly disturbed by some interrup- 
 tion from the Pharisees. The Sadducees 
 also, who formed another party of the chief 
 men, came to him with foolish questions, 
 hoping that he would say something that 
 would give them an excuse for placing him 
 under arrest. 
 
 But Jesus answered all their questions 
 with heavenly wisdom, and they could find 
 nothing of which to accuse him. 
 
 Strict Rules for Other People. 
 
 Towards the end of the day, which was 
 the last he ever spent in Jerusalem, Jesus 
 began to warn the people against the Phari- 
 sees. They were the teachers of the Law, 
 and the men who of all others were consid- 
 ered the most religious and most worthy of 
 respect, but they were hypocrites. 
 
 They made strict rules for other people, 
 which they did not attempt to observe them- 
 selves, and all their good works they did 
 
LAST DAYS IN THE TEMPLE. 
 
 441 
 
 only to be seen of men. They went about 
 with phylacteries — pieces of parchment on 
 which passages of the Law had been written 
 — bound round their heads or sewn upon the 
 borders of their garments, and they loved to 
 occupy the foremost seats in the synagogue 
 and the best places at all feasts, and to re- 
 ceive marks of deference from others ; but 
 they did nothing to deserve respect. 
 
 Jesus told the people that they were to 
 listen to the words of the Scribes and Phari- 
 sees, for they were the words of the Law of 
 God, but that they must avoid copying their 
 actions, for, he said, they say, and do not. 
 
 Woe Pronounced Against Hypocrites. 
 
 Then he pronounced upon them seven 
 awful curses. For their love of money, for 
 their false zeal, for their perversion of the 
 truth, for their attention to minor matters 
 and neglect of the more important duties, 
 for their obedience to the letter rather than 
 the spirit of the Law, for their outward show 
 of goodness and their inward rottenness, for 
 their display of deference for the memories 
 of the prophets whom their fathers had killed 
 whilst they themselves had in every respect 
 the spirit of those who killed the prophets, 
 he repeated seven times over these terrible 
 words, Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees, 
 hypocrites ! 
 
 And then, thinking of the people whom 
 they led astray, and of the beautiful city that 
 would be made desolate for their sins, he 
 cried out with infinite tenderness, O Jerusa- 
 lem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, 
 and stonest them which are sent unto thee ! 
 How often would I have gathered thy 
 children together, even as a hen gathereth her 
 chickens under her wings, and ye would 
 not ! Behold, your house is left unto you 
 desolate. These were almost the last words 
 that Jesus ever uttered in the temple. 
 
 When they were ended, he rose to leave 
 it for the last time, but on his way out, he 
 paused for a few moments in the court 
 called the Treasuiy. In this place there 
 stood thirteen great chests shaped like trum- 
 pets, which were placed there to receive the 
 offerings of the people. 
 
 The Widow's Mite. 
 
 Jesus sat down and watched the people as 
 they came to offer their gifts, and he saw 
 that many that were rich cast in much. 
 Presently there came also a poor widow who 
 had only two mites, which together make a 
 farthing, but this, as she had no more, she 
 was not ashamed to offer, and Jesus saw it 
 with approving eyes. He called his dis- 
 ciples unto him. and said, Verily I say 
 unto you, this poor widow hath cast in 
 more than they all. For all these have out 
 of their abundance cast in unto the offerings 
 of God, but she of her want hath cast in all 
 the living that she had. 
 
 Then he turned and left the temple, and 
 as they went, the disciples called his atten- 
 tion to the beautiful stones and marbles, for 
 which the collection in the Treasury was 
 made. But Jesus was too sad to take any 
 pleasure in them, and he only answered, 
 The days will come when there shall not be 
 left one stone upon another that shall not be 
 thrown down. 
 
 They were going as usual towards the 
 Mount of Olives, and as soon as they had 
 left the city behind them, the disciples asked 
 Jesus what he had meant by these words, 
 and when these things would come to pass. 
 
 He told them that many troubles were in 
 store for them, and for their whole nation. 
 They would see Jerusalem compassed about 
 with armies, and there would be great dis- 
 tress all over the land. There would be 
 wars, and rumors of wars, and earthquakes 
 
442 
 
 LAST DAYS IN THE TEMPLE. 
 
 in divers places, and famines and pestilences. 
 
 They themselves would suffer persecution, 
 and would be tormented and killed, but he 
 that should endure unto the end, the same 
 should be saved. They would not be for- 
 saken, and moreover, their Master would 
 return again in the clouds of heaven, and 
 then he would reward every man according 
 to his works. This was the thought that 
 was to comfort them in their troubles, and for 
 this second coming of the Son of Man they 
 were to watch earnestly and pray continually. 
 
 Lastly, he drew a picture of that second 
 coming. When the Son of Man, he said, 
 shall come in his glory, and all the holy 
 angels with him, then shall he sit upon the 
 throne of his glory. And before him shall 
 be gathered all nations, and he shall separate 
 them one from the other, as a shepherd 
 divideth his sheep from the goats. And he 
 shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the 
 goats on the left. 
 
 Then shall the King say unto them on 
 his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my 
 Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for 
 you from the foundation of the world. For 
 I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat ; I 
 was thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; I was a 
 stranger, and ye took me in ; naked, and ye 
 clothed me ; I was sick, and ye visited me ; 
 I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 
 
 Then shall the righteous answer him, 
 saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, 
 and fed thee, or thirsty, and gave the drink ? 
 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee 
 in, or naked, and clothed thee ? Or when 
 saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came 
 unto thee ? 
 
 And the King shall answer and say unto 
 them, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one 
 of the least of these my brethren, ye have 
 done it unto me. He taught that by doing 
 good to his followers they were doing good 
 to him. 
 
CHAPTER XXXII. 
 
 A Plot to Put Jesus to Death — Feast of the Passover — Preparations for the Last 
 Supper — Jesus Washing the Feet of his Disciples — In the Garden of Gethsemane — 
 A Prayer of Agony — The Traitor's Kiss — False Witnesses — Jesus Before the 
 High Priest — Denial of Peter — Sorrowful End of Judas — Jesus Before Pilate— 
 A Furious Mob — The Purple Robe and Crown of Thorns. 
 
 ESOLVED upon getting rid of 
 this new Teacher and Prophet, 
 the chief priests and Pharisees 
 held a meeting at the house of 
 Caiaphas, the High Priest, to 
 consult as to when and how 
 they should put him to death. At this time, 
 Jerusalem was full of strangers who had 
 assembled for the great Feast of the Pass- 
 over, and many of these were men from 
 Galilee, who believed in Jesus. The chief 
 priests decided therefore to wait until the 
 Passover should be over before they made 
 any attempt against him, and in any case 
 they agreed that it would be better to find 
 some opportunity of seizing him quietly, lest 
 there should be a tumult among the people. 
 Whilst they were plotting this wicked- 
 ness, they received a message that a certain 
 man wished to speak with them, and desired 
 that he should be admitted. It was Judas 
 Iscariot, a disciple of Jesus, he who had been 
 chosen to be one of the twelve Apostles, but 
 who was now secretly a thief, stealing out of 
 the purse common to all, the money he 
 needed for his own uses. 
 
 This man had made up his mind to sell 
 his Master, and he came to the chief priests 
 and said, What will ye give me, and I will 
 betray him unto you ? They agreed to give 
 him thirty pieces of silver, and in return for 
 •this, Judas promised that at some convenient 
 
 moment, when Jesus was alone, with only 
 his twelve disciples round him, he would 
 steal away from them, and would go to the 
 chief priests to tell them where he was, and 
 how they could best take him prisoner. 
 
 The Arch-Traitor. 
 
 Never since the world began, has a blacker 
 crime been committed; and from the day 
 on which the Apostle betrayed his Master, 
 the name of " the traitor Judas " has been 
 handed down with horror and loathing 
 through all the centuries. Good had it 
 been for that man if he had never been 
 born! 
 
 For the next two days — Wednesday and 
 Thursday in Passion Week, as we now call 
 them — Jesus remained quietly at Bethany, 
 without going to teach in the temple accord- 
 ing to his custom. 
 
 The great Feast of the Passover was at 
 hand, which was kept in remembrance of the 
 time when the children of Israel hcxd been 
 delivered out of the land of Egypt. 
 
 Long ago, the Israelites had been bond- 
 slaves in Egypt. They were obliged to 
 serve the king, who oppressed them, and 
 treated them very cruelly. He required 
 them to make bricks for him, and punished 
 them if they did not work fast enough ; and 
 he made a law that every little boy that was 
 born was to be killed immediately. 
 
 443 
 
444 
 
 JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 
 
 Then the children of Israel were in great 
 distress, and they cried unto the Lord to de- 
 liver them. And the Lord sent Moses and 
 Aaron, who went to the king, and desired 
 him to let the people go, that they might 
 lead them away to the land of Canaan. 
 
 The Plagues of Egypt. 
 
 But the king, whose name was Pharaoh, 
 would not let the people go, so Moses and 
 Aaron again cried unto the Lord, and the 
 Lord punished Pharaoh by sending great 
 plagues upon his land. The river was 
 turned into blood, the country was overrun 
 with frogs and flies and locusts, the cattle 
 died of disease, great storms of hail and 
 thunder and lightning swept over the land, 
 causing great destruction, and for three 
 whole days the earth was covered with d^k- 
 ness. 
 
 Still the king would not allow the people 
 to go, and the Lord told Moses that he 
 would visit him with a yet more terrible 
 plague, which would compel him to let them 
 depart. 
 
 The Lord said, moreover, that Moses was 
 to speak to the children of Israel, and tell 
 them that the head of every family was to 
 take a lamb a year old, and kill it on the 
 fourteenth day of the month. Then they 
 were to take the blood and smear it over the 
 doorposts of their houses ; and the lamb it- 
 self they were to roast, and eat in the even- 
 ing. 
 
 The whole family was to eat it together, 
 standing, with their shoes on their feet, their 
 staffs in their hands, and their outdoor gar- 
 ments upon them. For I, said the Lord, 
 will pass through the land of Egypt that 
 night, and will smite all the firstborn in the 
 land of Egypt, both man and beast. And 
 the blood shall be to you for a token upon 
 the houses where ye are, and when I see the 
 
 blood I will pass over you, and the plague 
 shall not be upon you to destroy you when 
 I smite the land of Egypt. And this day 
 shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye 
 shall keep it a feast to the Lord forever. 
 
 One Dead in Every House. 
 
 The children of Israel did as Moses com- 
 manded, and it came to pass that at mid- 
 night, the Lord smote all the first-born in 
 the land of Egypt, from the first-born of 
 Pharaoh that sat on his throne, unto the 
 first-born of the captive that was in the 
 dungeon, and all the first-born of cattle. 
 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he and 
 all his servants and all the Egyptians, and 
 there was a great cry in Egypt, for there 
 was not a house where there was not one 
 dead. 
 
 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron 
 in the night, and said, Rise up and get you 
 gone, and the Egyptians were urgent that 
 they should leave in haste, for they said, We 
 be all dead men. 
 
 Thus the children of Israel were delivered 
 from the land of Egypt, and ever afterwards 
 they met together once a year, in remem- 
 brance of the time when the Lord had 
 smitten the Egyptians, but had passed over 
 the houses on which the blood of the lamb 
 was sprinkled. As at that first Passover, 
 each family took a lamb and killed it, and. 
 ate it all together. 
 
 Little did the people think that this present 
 Passover would be remembered as long as 
 the world should last by the offering of a faf 
 nobler victim, even the Lamb of God, that 
 taketh away the sin of the world. 
 
 It was some time during the second of the 
 two days spent by Jesus at Bethany, that 
 one of his disciples asked him, Master, 
 where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to; 
 eat at the Passover ? 
 
JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 
 
 445 
 
 He told them that he would eat it in Jeru- 
 salem, and that Peter and John were to go 
 on before and make all things ready. Go 
 into the city, he said, and there shall meet 
 you a man bearing a pitcher of water ; follow 
 him. And where he shall go in, say ye to 
 the goodman of the house, The Master 
 
 all the other things that would be needed. 
 
 In the evening, when it was dark, Jesus 
 left Bethany and came to the house with his 
 disciples ; and there in an upper chamber, 
 they ate together the solemn meal. 
 
 It was the custom among the Jews to take 
 off their shoes on entering a room, and to 
 
 JESUS WASHING THE 
 
 saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I 
 shall eat the Passover with my disciples ? 
 And he will show you a large upper room, 
 furnished and prepared. There make ready 
 for us. 
 
 The two disciples did as they were com- 
 manded, and when they had reached the 
 house, they procured a lamb, and prepared 
 
 FEET OF HIS DISCIPLES. 
 
 wash their feet and hands before eating, but 
 on this occasion the washing had been left 
 undone, for the disciples had been occupied 
 in disputing as to which of them was the 
 greatest and had a right to the most honora- 
 ble place, and none of them had cared to 
 render this service to the rest. 
 
 Jesus therefore determined to teach them 
 
446 
 
 JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 
 
 by his action that which was the lesson of 
 his whole life, namely, that the greatest of 
 all, is he who most truly serves his fellow- 
 men. 
 
 He himself, though he knew that the 
 Father had given all things into his hands, 
 and that he had come from God and was 
 going to God, rose from supper, and laid 
 aside his upper garment, and took a towel 
 and wound it round him. After that, he 
 poured water into a basin, and, going to the 
 disciples, one by one, he began to wash their 
 feet, and to wipe them with the towel that 
 was round him. 
 
 An Example of Humility. 
 
 This was usually the work of the hum- 
 blest slave, and when Jesus came to Simon 
 Peter, the disciple could not bear that his 
 Master should render him this service. He 
 said, Lord, dost thou wash my feet ? Thou 
 shalt never wash my feet. But Jesus told 
 him that it was his will to do so, and then 
 Peter yielded. 
 
 When the feet of all had been washed, 
 Jesus put on his garment and sat down 
 again, and then he explained to them the 
 meaning of what he had done. 
 
 He said to them, Know ye what I have 
 done unto you ? Ye call me Master and 
 Lord, and ye say well, for so I am. If I 
 then, your Lord and Master, have washed 
 your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's 
 feet. For I have given an example, that ye 
 should do as I have done unto you. A new 
 commandment I give unto you, that ye love 
 one another; as I have loved you, that ye 
 also love one another. By this shall all men 
 know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love 
 one to another. 
 
 After this, the supper continued. All the 
 disciples were present, even Judas among the 
 rest, but Jesus knew the treachery that was 
 
 in his heart, and as they were eating, he 
 became very sorrowful, and said, Verily P 
 verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall 
 betray me. 
 
 At these words, the disciples were filled 
 with grief and astonishment, and they looked 
 from one to another, wondering which of 
 them it could be of whom he was speaking. 
 They hardly knew what he meant, but one 
 of them cried out with terror, Master, is it I ? 
 And then, one after another, they all said, Is 
 it I? Even Judas followed the rest, and 
 asked, Is it I? 
 
 Now it happened that he who was lying 
 upon the couch next to Jesus, was John, the 
 disciple whom Jesus loved above all the rest, 
 and near to him was Simon Peter. The 
 head of John was resting upon the breast of 
 his Master ; and Peter, who felt that it was 
 i intolerable not to know which of them it was 
 that should do this dreadful deed, beckoned 
 to him to ask Jesus. He did "so, and Jesus 
 answered, It is he to whom I shall give a sop, 
 when I have dipped it. 
 
 The Broken Bread. 
 
 Then he took a piece of bread, dipped it in 
 the dish that was in the middle of the table, 
 and gave it to Judas Iscariot. At the same 
 time, knowing that the devil had taken 
 possession of his heart, and that he had 
 hardened himself and would not repent of 
 his evil purpose, he said to him in a low 
 voice, That thou doest, do quickly. 
 
 Judas then rose up and went out; and 
 after he had left them, Jesus took bread, and 
 blessed it, and broke it, and gave it to the 
 disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my 
 body. And he took the cup, and gave 
 thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink 
 ye all of it; for this is my blood of the new 
 testament which is shed for many, for the 
 remission of sins. 
 
JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 
 
 447 
 
 Then he told them that he was going to 
 leave them, but that they were not to be 
 troubled. They believed in God, he said, 
 and must believe also in him. He was going 
 to prepare a place for them in heaven, and 
 
 the body, yet he would be very near them in 
 spirit, and would comfort them, and give 
 them peace in their hearts. 
 
 If ye keep my commandments, he said, ye 
 shall abide in my love, even as I have kept 
 
 CHRIST IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE 
 
 meanwhile he would send unto them a holy 
 
 Spirit of truth, who would be their comforter 
 and teacher. He said that it was better for 
 them that he should go away, in order that 
 the Spirit might come to them ; and he told 
 them that though he would not be present in 
 
 my Father's commandments, and abide in his 
 love. This is my commandment, that ye 
 love one another as I have loved you. 
 Greater love hath no man than this, that a 
 man lay down his life for his friend. 
 
 Lastly, he poured out his soul in prayer 
 
448 
 
 JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 
 
 to God, asking that the Father would glorify 
 him, and would enable the disciples to under- 
 stand those things that he had taught them, 
 and to keep themselves pure and free from 
 sin, though they lived in a sinful world. 
 Holy Father, he prayed, keep through thine 
 own name those whom thou hast given me, 
 that they may be one, as we are. I pray 
 not that thou shouldest take them out of the 
 world, but that thou shouldest keep them 
 from the evil. Sanctify them through thy 
 truth ; thy word is truth. 
 
 Neither pray I for these alone, but for 
 them also which shall believe on me through 
 their word, that they all may be one, as thou, 
 Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also 
 may be one in us, that the world may believe 
 that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them 
 as thou hast loved me. 
 
 Alter this they all rose up, and sang to- 
 gether some of the psalms appointed to be 
 used at the Passover ; and then they left the 
 house, and went away to pass the night, as 
 usual, on the Mount of Olives. 
 
 The Midnight Agony. 
 
 On the Mount of Olives there was a gar- 
 den, called the Garden of Gethsemane, to 
 which Jesus often went with his disciples. 
 It was to this place that he now led them, 
 and as they were going, he began to tell 
 them how, that night, the Shepherd would 
 be smitten, and the sheep of his flock would 
 be scattered abroad. He was going to be 
 betrayed, he said, into the hands of wicked 
 men, and his disciples would all forsake him 
 and flee away. 
 
 Peter could not believe that he should for- 
 sake his Master in the hour of danger, and 
 he said, Though all should be offended be- 
 cause of thee, yet will not I. I am ready 
 to follow thee both to prison and to death. 
 
 But Jesus answered, I tell thee, Peter, 
 
 that the cock shall not crow, until thou hast 
 thrice denied that thou knowest me. 
 
 When they had come to the garden, Jesus 
 left the rest of the disciples at a certain place, 
 saying to them, Sit ye here while I go and 
 pray yonder, and went on, with only the 
 three that he loved the most, Peter and 
 James and John. They were the three who 
 had gone with him to pray on Mount Her- 
 mon, when he was transfigured before them ; 
 and now that his soul was troubled, he 
 again desired that they only should be with 
 him. 
 
 He said to them, My soul is exceeding 
 sorrowful, even unto death ; tarry ye here 
 and watch with me. Then he went a little 
 farther, and fell on his face and prayed, say- 
 ing, O my Father, if it be possible, let this 
 cup pass from me ; nevertheless, not as I 
 will, but as thou wilt. 
 
 The Bitter Cup. 
 
 After a time he went back to his disciples, 
 but he did not find them watching. It was 
 now far on into the night ; they were weary 
 and heavy, and sleep had overtaken them. 
 He said to Peter, Could ye not watch with 
 me one hour? Watch and pray that ye 
 enter not into temptation. The spirit indeed 
 is willing, but the flesh is weak. 
 
 Then he went away a second time, and 
 prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup 
 may not pass away from me except I drink 
 it, thy will be done. 
 
 It was the most awful suffering the world 
 has ever seen, and to the disciples who were 
 at a little distance, it seemed as if great drops 
 of b T ood fell from him to the ground as he 
 prayed. All the sins of men were pressing 
 upon his soul, the wickedness of his enemies, 
 the treachery of one who had been his friend, 
 the want of understanding of those whom he 
 loved the most, this and much more that we 
 
JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 
 
 449 
 
 can but dimly understand. But as he prayed, 
 there came an angel from heaven to strengthen 
 him, and in the strength of that heavenly con- 
 solation he again rose, and returned to the 
 disciples. 
 
 They had watched for some time, but now 
 they had again fallen asleep, and he went 
 
 It was an armed band that now approached 
 the garden, some of the men being servants 
 of the High Priest, and others, Roman sol- 
 diers who were acting under his orders. At 
 their head was Judas, who went before to 
 show them the way. He had given a sign 
 to the soldiers, saying, Whomsoever I shall 
 
 JUDAS BETRAYING JESUS WITH A KISS. 
 
 back, without disturbing them, and prayed 
 again as before. When he came the third 
 time, he saw in the distance the gleam of 
 lanterns and heard the clash of swords, and 
 knew that Judas had betrayed his resting- 
 place, and that the soldiers of the chief priests 
 were come to take him. 
 29 
 
 kiss, that same is he ; take him, and lead him 
 away safely. When they reached the place, 
 he hurried forward, and going up to Jesus, 
 he said, Hail Master, and kissed him. 
 
 But Jesus said, Judas, betrayest thou the 
 Son of Man with a kiss ? Then he turned 
 toward the soldiers, and asked them, Whom 
 
450 
 
 JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 
 
 seek ye? They said, Jesus of Nazareth. He 
 answered, I am he ; and as he spoke these 
 words, they staggered backwards and fell to 
 the ground, overawed by the majesty of his 
 presence. 
 
 When they had recovered themselves, he 
 again asked them, Whom seek ye ? and 
 when they answered as before, Jesus of 
 Nazareth, he said, I have told you that I am 
 he ; if therefore ye seek me, let these go 
 their way. Even at that terrible moment he 
 did not forget to think of his disciples, and 
 make sure that they were not also taken 
 prisoners. 
 
 Meanwhile the disciples, who were now 
 fully awake, had made some little effort to 
 defend their Master, and Peter had drawn a 
 sword with which he was armed, and had 
 smitten one of the servants of the High 
 Priest, whose name was Malchus, and cut 
 off his right ear. But Jesus touched the 
 man's ear and healed it, and he said to Peter, 
 Put up thy sword into its sheath. The cup 
 which my Father hath given me, shall I not 
 drink it ? 
 
 The Disciples Fled. 
 
 Turning again to the soldiers, he said to 
 them, Are ye come out as against a thief, 
 with swords and with staves to take me ? I 
 was daily with you, teaching in the temple, 
 and ye laid no hands upon me. But this is 
 your hour, and the power of darkness. 
 
 Then all the disciples forsook him and 
 fled, and the soldiers bound Jesus, and led 
 him away to the palace of Annas, who was 
 the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the High 
 Priest, and one of the chief men among the 
 Jews. 
 
 Annas asked Jesus various questions 
 about his disciples and his doctrine, but he 
 refused to answer. He said, I spoke openly 
 to the world, I ever taught in the synagogue 
 
 and in the temple, whither the Jews always 
 resort, and in secret have I said nothing. 
 
 Annas had no legal power to try the; 
 prisoner, and therefore he sent on Jesus, still 
 bound to his son-in-law, Caiaphas, the High 
 Priest, at whose house, although it was the 
 middle of the night, the chief priests and the 
 elders and the Scribes were even now sitting: 
 in council. 
 
 Witnesses Do Not Agree. 
 
 The chief priests desired that Jesus should 
 be brought before them, in order that they 
 might try the prisoner whom they had 
 ordered to be arrested. 
 
 But though they had made up their minds 
 that he was to be condemned to death, they 
 could find no accusation to bring against 
 him. They sought for some one who 
 would bear witness against him — true or 
 false, they cared not — and many false wit- 
 nesses came forward; but according to the 
 Jewish law, it was necessary that two 
 witnesses should agree in their statements 
 before any man could be condemned, and 
 none of these agreed together. 
 
 At last there came two witnesses, who 
 said, We heard him say, I will destroy this 
 temple that is made with hands, and in three 
 days I will build another, made without 
 hands. But even so their statements did not 
 agree, for one of them testified that Jesus 
 had said, I am able to destroy this temple of 
 God, and the other testified that he had said, 
 I will destroy it. " 
 
 All this time, Jesus answered nothing. 
 He knew that it was of no use to tell them 
 what he had really said, or what he had 
 meant by saying it, and when the High 
 Priest arose and asked him, Answerest thou 
 nothing? What is it which these witness 
 against thee? He still remained perfectly- 
 silent. 
 
JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 
 
 451 
 
 This was displeasing to the High Priest, 
 who had hoped that, whatever Jesus might 
 say, he should be able in some way to turn 
 his words against him, and he was deter- 
 mined to break his silence. Standing up in 
 the midst of the assembly, he said to him, I 
 adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell 
 us whether thou art the Messiah, the Son of 
 God? 
 
 This solemn question required an answer, 
 and Jesus answered, I am. And ye shall 
 see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand 
 of power, and coming in the clouds of 
 heaven. 
 
 Accused of Blasphemy. 
 
 At these words, the High Priest rent his 
 clothes as a sign that something terrible had 
 occurred, and cried out, He has spoken 
 blasphemy. Then he said to the rest, 
 What further need have we of witnesses ? 
 Ye have heard the blasphemy ; what think 
 ye? They all answered, He is guilty of 
 death. 
 
 The great Council of the chief priests and 
 elders had now condemned Jesus to death, 
 but this was not enough, for as their country 
 was under the power of the Romans, the sen- 
 tence had to be confirmed by the Roman 
 Governor, Pontius Pilate. 
 
 It was still night, and they could not 
 disturb Pilate until the next morning, so they 
 departed for the temple, and meanwhile gave 
 over their prisoner into the hands of the band 
 of servants and soldiers who had arrested 
 him. 
 
 Then did these servants and soldiers spit 
 in his face, and buffet him, and did smite him 
 with their hands. The very men who, when 
 they first came to take Jesus prisoner, were 
 so overawed that they went backwards and 
 fell to the ground, now looked upon him 
 merely as a criminal condemned to death, 
 
 and amused themselves by smiting him and 
 mocking him. 
 
 But a harder blow than any that could be 
 smitten by Jewish servant or Roman soldier 
 was to be dealt to Jesus from the hand of a 
 friend that night. 
 
 When he was first taken prisoner, all the 
 disciples had forsaken him and fled; but 
 before long, two of them, Peter and John, 
 had in some measure recovered from their 
 terror, and had followed to the palace of the 
 High Priest, to see what would happen to 
 him. 
 
 John was known to the servants of the 
 High Priest, and he was able to gain 
 admission for Peter, who went and stood 
 among the servants in the courtyard. The 
 night was chilly, and they had lit a fire of 
 coals, and stood warming themselves, when 
 a certain maid looked steadfastly at Peter, 
 and said, Thou also wast with Jesus of 
 Nazareth. 
 
 The Sad Denial. 
 
 Peter was startled. He was among 
 strangers in a strange place ; his Master had 
 been taken prisoner and condemned to death 
 almost in a moment ; he did not know what 
 might happen to him if he were confess that 
 he was one of his followers. He was afraid 
 and his fear made him a liar and a coward. 
 He answered, I know not the man. 
 
 Then he changed his place, for fear of fur- 
 ther questions, but after a time another maid 
 observed him, and said, This man was also 
 with Jesus of Nazareth. But Peter denied 
 again, saying, I know him not. 
 
 A third time the attention of the servants 
 was called to him, for one of them said, 
 Surely thou also art one of them, for thou 
 art a Galilean ; thy speech betrayeth thee, 
 and a third time Peter denied. He even 
 began to curse and to swear, saying, I know 
 
452 
 
 JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 
 
 not this man of whom ye speak. At 
 this moment the cock crew, and at the 
 same instant some movement in the crowd 
 brought him within sight of Jesus, bound 
 and mocked and buffeted by the rough sol- 
 diers. The Lord turned and looked on 
 Peter, and across the memory of the disciple 
 there flashed the recollection of how Jesus 
 had said to him, Before the cock crow thou 
 
 man with bloodshot eyes and dishevelled 
 hair, and a look of despair upon his face. 
 It was Judas, the traitor. I have sinned, he 
 cried, with a hoarse, broken voice, in that 7 
 have betrayed the innocent blood. 
 
 He had heard how they had condemned 
 Jesus to death without an hour's delay, and 
 now the horror of what he had done, had 
 fallen upon him when it was too late. He 
 
 PETER DENYING 
 
 shalt deny me thrice. In a moment he real- 
 ized what it was that he had done, and he 
 went out and wept bitterly. 
 
 In the meantime, another terrible scene 
 was taking place not far off. The chief 
 priests and Pharisees had left the palace 
 after the trial of Jesus, but were still to- 
 gether in the temple, talking over the matter, 
 while they waited for the morning. 
 
 Presently there appeared before them a 
 
 CHRIST. 
 
 had come to implore the Pharisees to change 
 their purpose, but it was of no avail. What 
 is that to us ? they asked with looks of scorn. 
 See thou to that. 
 
 The last time that Judas had stood before 
 them, he had come to bargain for the sum of 
 money for which he should betray his 
 Master. Now the money which he had 
 coveted so greedily had become hateful to 
 him, and he could not bear the sight of it 
 
JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 
 
 453 
 
 He threw down the thirty pieces of silver in 
 front of the chief priests, and then he went 
 away and hanged himself. 
 
 When the morning was come, the chief 
 priests and elders returned to the house of 
 Caiaphas, and having again summoned Jesus 
 before them, and confirmed the sentence by 
 which they had pronounced him to be guilty 
 of death, they led him away, bound, to the 
 palace of Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor. 
 
 Jesus Before Pilate. 
 
 Jesus was taken into a gorgeous room, 
 called the Hall of Judgment ; but the chief 
 priests remained outside, for it was the time 
 of the Passover, and they considered that 
 they would be denied and unfit to eat it, if 
 they entered the palace of the heathen. 
 
 Pilate, therefore, went out to them in the 
 courtyard in front of the house, and asked, 
 What accusation bring ye against this man ? 
 
 They had no true accusation to bring, and 
 they knew that Pilate would not condemn 
 him to death upon the accusation of blas- 
 phemy, for which they had themselves de- 
 clared him to be guilty of death, so they 
 cried out, We have found him perverting our 
 nation, and forbidding to give tribute to 
 Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ, a 
 king. 
 
 Pilate went back into the Judgment Hall, 
 and said to Jesus, Art thou the King of the 
 Jews ? 
 
 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of 
 this world. But Pilate repeated his question, 
 and then he said, I am a king. To this end 
 was I born, and for this cause came I into 
 the world, that I should bear witness to the 
 truth. 
 
 Then Pilate asked him, What is truth ? 
 But without waiting for an answer, he went 
 out again to the chief priests, and said, I 
 find no fault in him. 
 
 At these words, they were more furious 
 than ever, and cried out, He stirreth up the 
 people, teaching throughout all Judaea, and 
 beginning from Galilee, even unto this place. 
 
 Pilate was much perplexed. \t appeared 
 to him that Jesus was an innocent man, and 
 he did not wish to shed his blood ; at the 
 same time, the Jews were fierce and violent, 
 and he was anxious not to displease them. 
 When he heard them speak of Galilee, and 
 found that Jesus came from that province, he 
 thought it would be a good way out of the 
 difficulty to send him to King Herod, the 
 ruler of Galilee, who happened to be in 
 Jerusalem at that time. 
 
 Pilate's Wife Has a Dream. 
 
 Jesus was therefore led to the palace of 
 Herod, who had long wished to see him, 
 because he had heard of his miracles, and 
 hoped that he might do some wonderful 
 work in his presence. But Jesus would not 
 work miracles to satisfy the curiosity of a 
 wicked man, neither wouM he answer the 
 questions of Herod, who therefore sent him 
 back to Pilate, when he had mocked him 
 and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe. 
 
 Again the prisoner was led through the 
 streets to the house of Pilate, and the 
 Governor came out into the courtyard, and 
 sat upon the judgement seat. He had 
 received a message from his wife that she 
 had dreamt a dream about the just man who 
 was standing bound before him, and begged 
 that he would have no hand in shedding his 
 blood. 
 
 He was therefore more anxious than ever 
 to release Jesus, but he had not the courage 
 openly to deny the Jews what they desired, 
 and again therefore he thought of a device 
 by which he hoped to accomplish his pur- 
 pose. 
 
 It was a custom among the Jews, that 
 
454 
 
 JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 
 
 every year at the Feast of the Passover, one 
 prisoner should be set free, and the people 
 had the right of choosing who it should be. 
 Pilate reminded them of this custom, and 
 
 not Jesus, but Barabbas, a murderer and a, 
 robber. 
 
 With one consent they clamored forth, 
 Not this man but Barabbas ! And when 
 
 THEY CRIED, "CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM! 
 
 asked if he should release the King of the 
 Jews. There was now a great crowd of 
 people in the courtyard, but the chief priests 
 and elders stirred up their minds to desire 
 that another prisoner should be released — 
 
 Pilate asked, What then will ye that I do 
 unto him whom ye call the King of the 
 Jews ? the horrible cry arose, Crucify him, 
 crucify him ! 
 
 As soon as he could obtain silence, Pilate 
 
JESUS BETRAYED AND ARRESTED. 
 
 455 
 
 asked, Why, what evil hath he done ? But 
 they only cried out the more exceedingly, 
 saying, Let him be crucified. 
 
 Pilate was unwilling' to condemn Jesus to 
 this terrible death, but it was now more diffi- 
 cult than ever to take the straightforward 
 course which he ought to have adopted at 
 the first, and he again gave way to cowardice, 
 and tried half measures. Hoping that if some 
 lesser punishment were inflicted upon Jesus, 
 the people would be satisfied, he told his sol- 
 diers to lead away the prisoner into the kill 
 called the Pretorium, and scourge him. 
 
 Arrayed in a Purple Robe. 
 
 This was a cruel punishment, and the sol- 
 diers did not hesitate to add unnecessary 
 cruelty, and cowardly insults. When the 
 scourging was over, they again arrayed 
 Jesus in the purple robe that Herod had 
 put on him, and they twisted together a 
 crown of thorns which they pressed upon his 
 forehead, while in his hand they placed a 
 reed instead of a sceptre. Then they all 
 passed before him, one by one, and made 
 a mock salute, calling out, Hail, King of the 
 Jews ! And as they did so, they spit upon 
 him and smote him with the reed. 
 
 After this, they brought him back into the 
 courtyard, faint and bleeding, and still wear- 
 ing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. 
 Pilate hoped that his enemies would now 
 have pity, and would be willing to release 
 
 him after this torture, but the chief priests 
 had no pity. As soon as they saw him, they 
 cried out again, Crucify him, crucify him! 
 And when Pilate still hesitated, they said, If 
 thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's 
 friend. Whosoever maketh himself a king 
 speaketh against Caesar. 
 
 "His Blood Be on Us." 
 
 Once before, the Jews had written a com- 
 plaint of Pilate to Tiberius Caesar, the Em- 
 peror under whom he held his office, and he 
 was afraid that if he refused to carry out 
 their wishes, they would again write and 
 accuse him of treachery towards the Em- 
 peror, and that then he would be disgraced, 
 and perhaps made prisoner himself. 
 
 The conflict between good and evil which 
 had been going on in his heart was now 
 ended. He was conquered by the fear of 
 man, and finding that the chief priests ^nd 
 the multitude whom they had excited were 
 becoming more and more tumultuous, he 
 delivered Jesus over into their hands to be 
 crucified. 
 
 But even now he tried to shake off the 
 responsibility of his action, for he knew that 
 he was doing wrong, and he sent for water, 
 and washed his hands before all the people, 
 saying, I am innocent of the blood of this 
 just person. See ye to it. 
 
 And the people answered him, His blood 
 be upon us and upon our children. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIII, 
 
 Story of the Crucifixion — Bearing the Cross — A Prayer for Enemies — The Earth- 
 quake and Darkening of the Sun— Veil of the Temple Rent — The Burial — The 
 Angel and Women at the Tomb — Surprise of the Disciples — Jesus at Emmaus — 
 Again in Galilee — The Great Draught of Fishes — Solemn Charge to Peter- 
 Jesus at Bethany — The Ascension — Awe-Struck Disciples Appear in the Temple. 
 
 HEN a man was condemned 
 by the Romans to the 
 cruel death of crucifixion* 
 it was the custom to make 
 him carry the cross on 
 which he was going to 
 suffer, to the place of 
 execution. As soon therefore as Pilate had 
 given his cowardly consent to the demand of 
 the chief priests, the soldiers stripped off 
 from Jesus the gorgeous robe with which 
 they had covered him in scorn, put his own 
 clothes upon him, and laid the cross upon 
 his shoulders. 
 
 The place of execution, which was called 
 Golgotha, or Calvary, was outside the city 
 walls, and Jesus went out towards it, bearing 
 his cross, with a great multitude following 
 after him. But he was weak and faint after 
 the sleepless night, the agony in the garden, 
 and all the pain he had already suffered, and 
 he could not carry the heavy cross, so the 
 soldiers seized upon a man named Simon the 
 Cyrenian, whom they chanced to meet, and 
 compelled him to carry the cross instead of 
 Jesus. 
 
 The crowd consisted chiefly of the priests 
 and Pharisees, and the people whom they 
 had stirred up to demand the life of Jesus, 
 but there followed also many of those who 
 had known and loved him. Amongst these 
 were a number of women, who wept aloud, 
 456 
 
 and filled the air with their cries of sorrow. 
 Of his enemies, who were hooting and 
 reviling him, Jesus took no notice, but when 
 he heard the lamentations of the women, he 
 turned towards them, and said, Daughters 
 of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for 
 yourselves and your children. The multi- 
 tude had cried, His blood be upon us and 
 on our children, and that innocent blood 
 was going to be avenged upon their nation 
 in rivers of blood, and in horrors of famine 
 and pestilence. 
 
 He Prays For His Enemies. 
 
 They had now come to the place called 
 Golgotha, or Calvary, and the soldiers took 
 Jesus and nailed his feet and hands to the 
 cross. But even at that moment of terrible 
 pain, no groan escaped from his lips, only a 
 prayer: Father, forgive them, for they 
 know not what they do. 
 
 Then the cross was raised up and set 
 between two other crosses, on each of which 
 there hung a thief. Over each cross was 
 written the crime for which he who was upon 
 it had been condemned to suffer, and over 
 that of Jesus, were the words, The King of 
 the Jews. He who above all men honored 
 God, had been condemned by the chief 
 priests for blasphemy; he who had made 
 himself the least of all and the servant of 
 all, was condemned by Pilate for claiming to 
 
THE ANGEL AND THE WOMEN AT THE SEPULCHRE 
 
CHRIST SINKING UNDER HIS "ROSS ON THE WAY TO GOLGOTHA. 
 
458 
 
 THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 
 
 be a king. A great crowd remained standing 
 round thefoot of the cross, and the chief priests, 
 whose hearts were as hard as iron, continued 
 to mock and revile Jesus. He saved others, 
 they said ; himself he cannot save. If he 
 be the Christ, the King of Israel, let him 
 
 his beloved disciple John, and his mother, 
 Mary, who was there with some of the other 
 women that had followed him from Galilee. 
 
 As always throughout his life, he thought 
 not of himself but of others ; and now that 
 he was leaving those whom he had loved the 
 
 SIMON COMPELLED TO HELP JESUS BEAR THE CROSS. 
 
 now come down from the cross, and we will 
 believe him. 
 
 Even the two thieves who were hanging 
 by his side, joined in these scoffings, but 
 Jesus heeded them not. His eye passed 
 over the crowd till it rested upon the faces of home 
 
 most, it was well that they should love one 
 another the more tenderly. He said to the 
 disciple, Behold thy mother, and to his 
 mother he said, Behold thy son. And from 
 that hour, that disciple took her to his own 
 
THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST. 
 
 459 
 
460 
 
 THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 
 
 Some time had now gone by, and one of 
 the thieves, who was touched by the patience 
 and the gentleness of Jesus, rebuked his 
 companion for railing at him, and said, We 
 indeed are justly punished, for we receive 
 the due reward of our deeds, but this man 
 hath done nothing amiss. Then, turning 
 towards Jesus, he said, Lord, remember me 
 when thou comest into thy kingdom. And 
 Jesus answered him, Verily, I say unto thee, 
 to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise. 
 
 It was now mid-day, but at the sight of 
 Jesus hanging upon the cross, the sun hid 
 his face, and there fell upon the land a dark- 
 ness which lasted for three hours. The 
 scoffing crowd was hushed and filled with 
 awe ; and in silence Jesus endured the agony 
 of those terrible hours in which he suffered 
 for the sins of men, until just at the end of 
 the time he uttered an exceeding bitter cry, 
 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken 
 me? 
 
 "It Is Finished." 
 
 But God had not forsaken him. Almost 
 immediately the darkness rolled away from 
 the face of the earth, and the cloud was re- 
 moved from the soul of Jesus. Father, he 
 said, into thy hands I commend my spirit ! 
 
 A few moments afterwards, he said, I 
 thirst, and one of the soldiers filled a sponge 
 with the sour wine or vinegar that they were 
 accustomed to drink, and put it to his lips. 
 He just tasted it, and then with a loud cry, 
 It is finished, he gave up the ghost. 
 
 Then was the veil of the temple — the gor- 
 geous curtain that separated the holy of 
 holies from the holy place — rent in twain 
 from the top to the bottom, and the earth 
 did quake, and the rocks rent, and the 
 graves were opened. And the Roman cen- 
 turion, and those who were with him, watch- 
 ing Jesus, when they saw the earthquake 
 
 and those things that were done, said, Truly 
 this was the Son of God. 
 
 And all the people who had came to- 
 gether to that sight, beholding the things 
 that were done, smote their breasts, and re- 
 turned into the city. 
 
 Among the Pharisees, there were two 
 men who had not consented to the death of 
 Jesus. One of these was Joseph of Arima- 
 thea, a good man and a just; the other was 
 Nicodemus. They had been unable to pre- 
 vent the murder, but they could at least give 
 the body an honorable burial ; and Joseph 
 went to Pilate, and asked to be allowed to 
 take it down from the cross. 
 
 Preparations for Burial. 
 
 Pilate gave him leave, and he hurried back 
 with a long piece of fine white linen, which 
 he bought to wrap round the body. The 
 soldiers had meanwhile pierced it with a 
 spear to satisfy themselves that life had left 
 it, thus making a hole in the side, from which 
 there had flowed out blood and water. 
 
 Joseph took down the body from the 
 cross, with the help of the women who loved 
 Jesus. They had been standing near it all 
 ftie time, and now they were anxious to see 
 what would be done. It was the day which 
 we call Friday, and at six o'clock that even- 
 ing the Jewish Sabbath would begin, on 
 which no one was allowed to do any work, 
 so that there was but little time for the 
 burial. 
 
 In accordance with the Jewish custom of 
 anointing the bodies of those whom they 
 desired to honor, Nicodemus had brought a 
 quantity of sweet-smelling spices and oint- 
 ments ; but all that could now be done was 
 to wind the fine linen round the body, cover 
 it with the spices, and lay it for the present 
 in a garden close by, that belonged to 
 Joseph. In the garden there was a new 
 
THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 
 
 461 
 
 tomb which had been hewn out of the rock ; 
 here they laid the body, and closed up the 
 entrance by rolling a great stone in front 
 of it. 
 
 Then the women hurried home, intending 
 to prepare more spices and ointments, and to 
 return very early on the day after the Sab- 
 
 It seemed to the disciples that everything 
 had been taken from them at once. They 
 had lost their Master and Teacher, him for 
 whose sake they had given up their homes 
 and their daily work, him whom they loved 
 and honored far above all others. Of all 
 that had passed since that terrible evening, 
 
 THE BURIAL 
 
 bath, to finish what had been left undone. 
 They worked till sunset, but as soon as the 
 Sabbath had begun, they paused and rested 
 from their labor, according to the command- 
 ment. 
 
 Never has there been so sad a day as that 
 Passover Sabbath in Jerusalem and Bethany, 
 on the dav after the death of Jesus. 
 
 OF CHRIST. 
 
 less than two days ago, when he was taken 
 from them, they could not bear to think. 
 
 Jesus had indeed told them beforehand 
 that he would be betrayed into the hands of 
 wicked men, and would suffer death upon 
 the cross, but they had listened without 
 attention, for they had been unable to believe 
 that he really meant what his words seemed 
 
462 
 
 THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 
 
 to imply. Now it had all happened, just as he 
 had said ; and besides their friend, they had, 
 as it seemed to them, lost their Messiah. 
 They had learnt to know that the thoughts 
 of Jesus were not as their thoughts, but still 
 they had always looked forward to the day 
 when he would allow them to proclaim him 
 king, and would come forward, as the Re- 
 deemer of Israel, to drive out the Romans, 
 and rule in righteousness. 
 
 The Tomb Guarded. 
 
 All these hopes were now forever ended, 
 and though Jesus had spoken of his rising 
 from the dead on the third day, they had 
 paid but little heed to his words, and hardly 
 dared to take any comfort from them. 
 
 The Pharisees, however, had a very clear 
 recollection of what Jesus had said , and 
 they went to Pilate and asked for a band of 
 soldiers to guard the sepulchre, lest the dis- 
 ciples should come by night and steal away 
 the body, and tell the people that he was 
 risen from the dead. 
 
 Pilate gave them leave to do as they 
 pleased about it, and they set a seal upon 
 the great stone that closed up the sepul- 
 chre, so that nobody could move it without 
 breaking the seal. They also placed a guard 
 of soldiers round the tomb, to prevent any- 
 one from coming near to it. 
 
 The Sabbath was over, and the sun was 
 beginning to dawn upon the first day of the 
 week. The women, who had risen very 
 early, while it was yet dark, were on their 
 way to the sepulchre, carrying with them the 
 spices and ointments that they had prepared. 
 They knew nothing of the guard that had 
 been set, but they remembered the great 
 stone at the entrance to the tomb, and as 
 they went, they said one to another, Who 
 shall roll us away the stone from the door 
 of the sepulchre ? 
 
 But when they had reached the place, 
 they found that the stone had already gone. 
 A great earthquake had shaken the garden, 
 and an angel of the Lord had descended 
 from heaven, and had rolled away the stone 
 from the door of the sepulchre, and sat 
 upon it. His countenance was like lightning,, 
 and his raiment white as snow, and for fear 
 of him the guard of soldiers did shake, and 
 became as dead men. 
 
 The women also were frightened when 
 they saw the angel, but he said unto them,. 
 Fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus 
 who was crucified. He is not here, for 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. 
 
 This was indeed a wonderful message, and 
 the hearts of the women beat high with fear 
 and great joy, as they departed quickly from 
 the sepulchre, and ran to take the good news 
 to the disciples. 
 
 The Sepulchre is Empty. 
 
 But one of them, Mary Magdalene, had 
 been too much overcome with grief at the 
 sight of the empty tomb, to pay any atten- 
 tion to the words of the angel. She had 
 come to seek the body of her Lord, and now 
 it was gone ! Sorrowfully she left the place, 
 and finding Peter and John, she said to them, 
 They have taken away the Lord out of the 
 sepulchre, and we know not where they have 
 laid him ! 
 
 When they heard this, Peter and John 
 were filled with astonishment, and ran both 
 together to the sepulchre, but when they 
 had reached it, they found that it was even 
 as Mary had said. They saw the long piece 
 of fine white linen, and the napkin that had 
 been wrapped about the head, but the body 
 itself was no longer there. Then they 
 remembered how Jesus had spoken of rising 
 
THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 
 
 463 
 
 from the dead on the third day, and believed 
 that his words had been fulfilled. 
 
 They went away to seek for some of the 
 other disciples, that they might tell them 
 of the wonder that had come to pass, but 
 Mary remained behind at the sepulchre, 
 weeping. Presently she stooped down, and 
 looking again into the tomb, she perceived 
 
 she saw a man standing there, who asked her 
 the same question, Woman, why weepest 
 thou? 
 
 It was Jesus, her risen Lord, but Mary did 
 not know him. Her eyes were blinded with 
 her tears, and taking it for granted that he 
 was a gardener, she cried out, Sir, if thou 
 hast borne him hence, tell me where thou 
 
 THE ANGEL AND WOMEN AT THE EMPTY TOMB. 
 
 that there were now two angels in it. One 
 of them was sitting at the head, and the 
 other at the feet, where the body of Jesus 
 had lain. They asked her, Woman, why 
 weepest thou ? And she answered, Because 
 they have taken away my Lord, and I know 
 not where they have laid him. 
 
 She did not wait to hear what they would 
 say, but, turning again towards the garden, 
 
 hast laid him, and I will take him away. 
 Jesus desired to comfort her, by convinc- 
 ing her that he was not dead, but alive, and 
 for this one single word was sufficient. He 
 called her by her name, Mary ! and in a 
 moment, her sorrow vanished, like a cloud 
 before the sun. She knew his voice, and 
 threw herself on the ground before him in 
 an ecstasy of joy. 
 
464 
 
 THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 
 
 Then Jesus told her that she must not think 
 too much of his visible presence, or suppose 
 that he would remain with her always ; he 
 was going to ascend to his Father in heaven, 
 and she was to remain on earth to comfort 
 others, as she herself had been comforted. 
 Go to my brethren, he told her, and say 
 unto them that I ascend to my Father and 
 your Father, and to my God and your God. 
 
 The first to see Jesus after he had risen 
 from the dead was Mary Magdalene; the 
 second person who saw him was Peter, who 
 had denied his Master, and had afterwards 
 wept so bitterly. Jesus also showed himself 
 to the women who had been at the sepul- 
 chre ; and on the same day, towards evening, 
 he appeared to two of the disciples as they 
 were journeying towards Emmaus. 
 
 The Walk to Emmaus. 
 
 The village of Emmaus is about seven and 
 a half miles distant from Jerusalem, and as 
 they walked towards it, the two disciples 
 talked together sorrowfully about the death 
 of their Master. Their hearts were not lifted 
 up with joy at the thought that he had risen 
 again, for although they had been told about 
 the empty tomb and the vision of angels, 
 they had not heard as yet that anyone had 
 actually seen the Lord, and could hardly 
 believe that he was alive. 
 
 Presently a stranger joined them. He 
 appeared to be going in the same direction, 
 and he began to talk to them, and ask why 
 they were so sad. Then they told him all 
 that was in their hearts, and how they were 
 broken down with sorrow for the loss of their 
 Master, whom they had believed to be the 
 Messiah, the Redeemer of Israel. 
 
 The stranger listened to them for some 
 time in silence, and then he began to talk to 
 them in a wonderful way. He reminded 
 them of all that had been written about the I 
 
 Messiah in the books of Moses and of the 
 prophets, and how they had long ago fore> 
 told that he would suffer and die for the sins 
 of his people, and that then he would be 
 exalted to the right hand of God, and clothed 
 with glory and honor. 
 
 By this time they had reached the village 
 of Emmaus. The two disciples did not 
 know who the stranger was, but they felt 
 strangely comforted by his presence, and 
 longed to continue in his company. They 
 pressed him therefore to remain with them, 
 and share their evening meal. Abide with 
 us, they said, for it is towards evening, and 
 the day is far spent. 
 
 Their Eyes Are Opened. 
 
 The stranger yielded to their wishes, and 
 agreed to share their meal. Presently, while 
 they were eating, he took bread, and blessed 
 it, and broke it, and gave to them ; and as 
 he did so, their eyes were opened, and they 
 knew that the stranger who had comforted 
 their hearts, was the Lord himself. At the 
 same moment he vanished out of their sight, 
 and they rose up in haste and returned to 
 Jerusalem, that they might tell the other dis- 
 ciples that Jesus was indeed risen from the 
 dead. 
 
 When they reached the city, they found 
 the eleven Apostles gathered together, and 
 many others with them. They also had 
 been assured in the meanwhile that their 
 Master was alive, and were repeating over 
 and over again the joyful news. The Lord 
 is risen indeed, they were saying, and hath 
 appeared to Simon Peter. 
 
 The disciples were still talking together on 
 the evening of the same day, when suddenly 
 their voices were hushed, for they perceived 
 that Jesus himself was standing in the midst 
 of them. 
 
 The doors of the room had been locked. 
 
THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 
 
 465 
 
 for fear of the Jews, but Jesus had not 
 entered by the door. The disciples did not 
 know how he had come ; all they knew was 
 that he was there, once more, in the midst of 
 them. 
 
 Jesus said, Peace be unto you, and then he 
 showed them his hands, which had been 
 pierced by the nails, and the hole in his side 
 which had been made by the spear of the 
 soldier. 
 
 Then he breathed upon them, and spoke 
 some solemn words — words similar to those 
 that he had once before spoken to Peter 
 when he had blessed him, and said that he 
 gave unto him the keys of the kingdom of 
 heaven. Now he said unto them all, Receive 
 ye the Holy Ghost. Whosoever sins ye 
 remit, they are remitted unto them, and 
 whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained. 
 
 It was a great privilege and a great re- 
 sponsibility, and though they did not under- 
 stand as yet all that it meant, they listened 
 in silence with bowed heads. When they 
 again raised them, Jesus had disappeared, 
 and they were left alone again as before 
 
 What Thomas Saido 
 
 But now they had seen the Lord for them- 
 selves, and their joy was still more full. 
 All the apostles had seen him but two — 
 Judas, the traitor, who before this had 
 hanged himself, and Thomas, who had not 
 been present with the rest when Jesus came. 
 
 When they again saw Thomas, the other 
 •disciples told him, We have seen the Lord. 
 But he would not believe them. He thought 
 they were mistaken, and he said, Except I 
 shall see in his hands the print of the nails, 
 and put my finger into the print of the nails, 
 and thrust my hand into his side, I will not 
 believe. 
 
 So it went on for eight days, and on the 
 eighth day, the disciples were again assem- 
 30 
 
 bled, and Thomas with them. As before, the 
 doors were shut, and as before, Jesus sud- 
 denly appeared in the midst of them, and 
 said, Peace be unto you. 
 
 Then he looked towards Thomas, for he 
 knew that Thomas doubted what he had 
 heard from the rest, and he said to him, 
 Reach hither thy finger and behold my 
 hands, and reach hither thy hand and thrust 
 it into my side, and be not faithless but be- 
 lieving. 
 
 In a moment the doubts of Thomas van- 
 ished, and, falling at the feet of Jesus, he 
 worshipped him, saying, My Lord and my 
 God! 
 
 Jesus answered him, Thomas, because 
 thou has seen me thou hast believed; 
 blessed are they that have not seen, and 
 yet have believed. 
 
 No Shepherd for the Sheep. 
 
 The disciples did not remain long in Jeru- 
 salem after these things, but returned to 
 Galilee, until they should receive some sign 
 from their Master as to their future course. 
 
 They were now as sheep without a shep- 
 herd, for though they knew that Jesus was 
 alive and had visions of his presence from 
 time to time, still he was no longer with 
 them constantly as before, leading them day 
 by day. 
 
 For the last three years they had left their 
 homes, and had followed him about from 
 place to place ; now they were uncertain as 
 to how they were to spend the rest of their 
 lives, and meanwhile they returned to their 
 homes, and to the daily duties in which they 
 had been engaged when Jesus first called 
 them. 
 
 It was on a fair calm evening, that Simon 
 Peter went down to the shore from his house 
 at Capernaum, and asked some of his friends 
 if they would go out with him, fishing. Six 
 
466 
 
THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 
 
 467 
 
 others all of them disciples of the Lord 
 Jesus, agreed to do so; and soon the boat was 
 launched, and the net let down into the sea. 
 All that night they remained out upon the 
 lake, but although this was usually the best 
 time for fishing, on that night they caught 
 nothing. 
 
 The Net Full of Fishes. 
 
 When the morning began to dawn, they 
 saw a man, who appeared to them a stranger, 
 standing upon the shore. He called out to 
 them, Children, have ye anything to eat? 
 And they answered, No. Then he said, 
 Cast the net upon the right side of the ship, 
 and ye shall find. 
 
 They did not know who the stranger was, 
 but they did as he said, and no sooner was 
 the net let down, than it began to sink with 
 the weight of the fishes that came crowding 
 into it. 
 
 Then John, the disciple whom Jesus 
 loved, called to mind the day when once 
 before Jesus had come to them after a night 
 of fruitless toil, and had called the fish to 
 their net. He said to Peter, It is the Lord ; 
 and with his usual eagerness, Peter threw 
 himself into the water, without waiting for 
 the rest, and swam ashore to cast himself at 
 the feet of Jesus. 
 
 The other disciples followed in the ship as 
 quickly as they could, dragging after them 
 the heavenly laden net ; and when they had 
 reached the shore, they drew it up on to 
 the beach, and sat down to count the fish. 
 On the former day, more than two years 
 ago, when Jesus had filled their net, it had 
 broken by reason of the great strain upon it, 
 but now it remained firm, although it was 
 full of great fishes, a hundred and fifty and 
 three. 
 
 On the beach they found a fire of coals 
 ready prepared, and fish laid upon it, and 
 
 bread. Jesus said to them, Bring now of the 
 fish that ye have caught, and when the food 
 was ready, he said, Come and eat. 
 
 It was a solemn meal that they ate to- 
 gether that morning in the early twilight 
 None of the disciples dared to ask the 
 stranger, Who art thou ? knowing that it 
 was the Lord, but in silence they watched 
 him, as he broke the bread, and distributed 
 the fish also among them. 
 
 When the meal was ended, Jesus turned 
 towards Simon Peter, and said to him, Simon, 
 son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than 
 these? 
 
 He meant to remind him of the time 
 when, after just such a meal, in the darkness, 
 not of the morning but of the evening, Petef 
 had said, Though all should be offended be- 
 cause of thee, yet will not I, and had been 
 warned that before cock-crow, he would 
 deny his Master thrice. 
 
 Peter was more humble now. He had 
 fallen, and had learnt his weakness, and he 
 said nothing about loving more than others. 
 But though he had sinned, he knew that he 
 had been forgiven, and he answered, Yea, 
 Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. 
 
 The Charge to Peter. 
 
 ^sus said to him, Feed my lambs. He, 
 the Good Shepherd, was going to leave his 
 flock on earth, and he desired that Peter 
 should carry on his work. 
 
 Again, a second time, he asked the solemn 
 question, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou 
 me ? And again Peter answered, Yea, Lord, 
 thou knowest that I love thee. 
 
 Jesus said unto him, Feed my sheep. 
 
 Still once more, he asked, for the third 
 time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me ? 
 And Peter, who was grieved that he should 
 think it necessary to ask the question three 
 times, answered, Yea, Lord, thou knowest 
 
468 
 
 THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST. 
 
THE STORY OF THE CRUCIFIXION. 
 
 469 
 
 all things, thou knowest that I love thee. 
 
 Jesus said to him, as before, Feed my 
 sheep ; and then he went on to tell him that 
 if indeed he loved him and was prepared to 
 carry on his work, he must give up his own 
 will, and obey the will of God in all 
 things, even though it should lead him at 
 last to a cruel death. This had been the 
 rule of the life of Jesus himself, and he 
 ended by saying to Peter, Follow me. 
 
 Three years ago, Peter had heard those 
 same words on the same seashore, and he 
 had risen up, and left all to obey the sum- 
 mons. Now again his whole heart answered 
 to the call of the Master, and all through 
 the rest of his life, he strove to follow in his 
 footsteps, until at last he also was called 
 upon to suffer the bitter death of the cross. 
 
 Again at Bethany. 
 
 It was now some weeks since the day 
 when Jesus had risen from the dead, and the 
 disciples had once more left Galilee and 
 returned to Jerusalem, for their Master had 
 told them that he would meet them there. 
 
 At the time appointed he came, and he 
 led them out from the city as far as to 
 Bethany, the village on the Mount of Olives 
 that he loved so well, the home of his 
 friends, Martha and Mary and Lazarus. 
 
 As they went, he told them that the time 
 had come when he must be parted from 
 them, and they would see him no more, but 
 that though he would no longer be with 
 them in bodily presence, he would always be 
 near them in spirit. He said, too, that he 
 did not wish them to return to their homes 
 or their fishing-boats, but rather to devote 
 the rest of their lives to the work that he 
 himself had begun, and to go about teach- 
 ing the good news of the kingdom of God, 
 
 healing the sick, and casting out devils. 
 He told them also, that he would prepare 
 them for this great work by pouring out 
 upon them his Spirit of truth and holiness, 
 and that after he had left them they were to 
 return to Jerusalem, and wait for this Spirit 
 to descend into their hearts. When they had 
 received it, they were to begin and teach, 
 first in Jerusalem, and then in all other coun- 
 tries. Go ye and teach all nations, he said, 
 baptizing them in the name of the Father, 
 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, 
 teaching them to observe all things, whatso- 
 ever I have commanded you. And, lo ! I 
 am with you always, even unto the end of 
 the world. 
 
 Carried into Heaven. 
 
 When Jesus had ended these sayings, he 
 lifted up his hands over his disciples, and 
 blessed them. And it came to pass, that 
 while he blessed them he was parted from 
 them and carried up into heaven, and a 
 cloud received him out of their sight. 
 
 The disciples knew that he would never 
 again appear to them in bodily form, either 
 at the breaking of bread, or by the sea- 
 shore, or as they talked by the way ; and 
 yet they were filled, not with sorrow, but 
 with great joy. 
 
 Their Lord had conquered death, and had 
 gone before them into the unseen world, 
 with the promise on his lips that he would 
 always be with them, and would send his 
 Spirit to guide and comfort them. Hence- 
 forward they feared neither life nor death ; 
 and when they had lifted up their prayers 
 and praises to their ascended Lord, they re- 
 turned to Jerusalem to wait for the promised 
 Spirit, and were continually in the temple, 
 praising and blessing God. 
 
CHAPTER XXXIV. 
 
 Casting Lots for Another Apostle — Choice of Matthias — Wonders on the Day of 
 Pentecost — The Tongues of Fire — Peter's Remarkable Sermon— Thousands of 
 Believers — The Lame Man Healed — Two Apostles in Prison — Story of Annanias 
 and Sapphira — Prison Doors Thrown Open — Choosing Seven Deacons — Story of 
 Stephen — The First Martyr — Simon the Sorcerer — Philip in Africa — A Man in a 
 Chariot — A Queen's Treasurer Baptized. 
 
 ERY soon after Christ left his 
 disciples they began the 
 great work which he ap- 
 pointed for them to do. We 
 know what they did, for a 
 history of it has been writ- 
 ten, called the Acts of the 
 Apostles. It was Luke who wrote that 
 history — the same Luke who wrote the 
 history of Jesus called the Gospel of Luke. 
 Luke was not one of the twelve apostles, 
 but he knew a great deal about Jesus and 
 his twelve apostles, and the Holy Spirit 
 taught him what to write. 
 
 You know there were eleven apostles who 
 saw Jesus caught up to heaven. Two angels 
 stood near and comforted them by saying, 
 This same Jesus, which is taken up from you 
 into heaven, shall so come in like manner as 
 ye have seen him go into heaven. 
 
 This sweet promise made them very joy- 
 ful. It was on Mount Olivet they were 
 standing when Jesus was taken up out of 
 their sight. They had only a mile to go to 
 Jerusalem. They went there and stayed 
 there. 
 
 Why did they stay there? There were 
 many in Jerusalem who hated them, and 
 who wished to kill them. The priests and 
 Pharisees were there who killed Jesus. Why, 
 then, did the apostles remain in that city? 
 470 
 
 Because Jesus had bid them wait in Jerusalem 
 till he should send down the Holy Ghost. 
 
 They used often to meet together in a large 
 room up stairs, and they used to pray very 
 earnestly for the Holy Ghost. There were 
 many more than the eleven apostles who met 
 together. Mary, the mother of Jesus, came 
 there, and other women who loved Jesus, 
 and who once went to his tomb. And there 
 were the brethren of Jesus, and many other 
 holy men, who met in this room. Altogether 
 there were one hundred and twenty people. 
 
 Choosing Another Apostle. 
 
 One day Peter stood up among the believ- 
 ers in this room and made a short speech. 
 What was it about? It was about choosing 
 another apostle in the place of Judas, so as 
 to make up the number of the twelve again. 
 Peter had read in the Psalms, Let another 
 take his office. He knew that verse was 
 about Judas. It was the office of Judas to 
 be an apostle, and God said that another 
 man should be an apostle instead, and so 
 take his office. 
 
 You know, said Peter, that a field was 
 bought with the money that Judas got for 
 selling his Lord; and you know that in this 
 field he fell down, and that his body burst in 
 the midst, so that the field is called "the 
 field of blood." God has said, Let another 
 
THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 
 
 471 
 
 take his office. Let us now fix on a man to 
 be in the place of Judas. Peter knew it 
 must be a man who had known Jesus well 
 when he was on earth, and could tell people 
 about his rising from the grave. 
 
 There were two men in the room who had 
 known Jesus a long while. Their names 
 were Joseph Justus and Matthias. Peter 
 thought either of them fit to be an apostle, 
 and he did not know which to choose. So 
 Peter and the rest of the apostles prayed to 
 God to let them know which he had chosen. 
 
 How did they expect God to answer their 
 prayer? Did God speak? Did an angel 
 come ? No. The apostles cast lots. 
 
 How Lots Were Cast. 
 
 There were many ways of casting lots. 
 Perhaps the apostles cast lots in this way : 
 perhaps they wrote the name of Joseph 
 Justus on one little piece of wood called a 
 tablet, and the name of Matthias on another, 
 and then shook these two tablets in the end 
 of a robe till one tablet fell out. The tablet 
 that fell out had the name of Matthais writ- 
 ten on it. It was a great honor to be one of 
 the twelve apostles. Yet we never hear 
 again of Matthias. 
 
 Ten days had now passed away since 
 Jesus had gone up to heaven. How long 
 did Jesus spend on earth after he had risen ? 
 Forty days. Ten more days make fifty days. 
 
 It was now fifty days since Jesus rose. 
 There was a feast of the Jews at that time, 
 called the feast of first-fruits, when the Jews 
 brought their first sheaves of wheat to pre- 
 sent to the Lord. Thousands of Jews came 
 up from all countries to keep this feast. One 
 name for the feast was Pentecost. 
 
 It was now just fifty days after the Pass- 
 over. It was the first day of the week. On 
 that day the believers in Jesus met together 
 in the large room to pray. 
 
 It was early in the morning — about eight 
 o'clock. Suddenly a great sound was heard. 
 It was like the sound of a very strong, high 
 wind. This great sound filled the place 
 where the believers were sitting, and shook 
 the whole house. There came also what 
 looked like fire — divided into many parts, 
 each part appearing to be a tongue of fire ; 
 and these came and sat on each of the be- 
 lievers — on the women as well as on the 
 men. 
 
 Spoke in all Sorts of Languages. 
 
 At the same time they all were able to 
 speak many strange languages which they 
 had never learned. Jesus had once told his 
 apostles to preach the Gospel to every crea- 
 ture, and they may have wondered how they 
 should be able to teach strange nations; 
 but now they were made able to speak to 
 every one in his own language. 
 
 The great noise which had shaken the 
 house had been heard in all Jerusalem, and 
 people came running towards the place. 
 They could not all get into the house, but 
 the people in the house could come out to 
 the people in the street. There were Jews 
 who lived in other countries, as well as Gen- 
 tiles, and they heard the believers speaking 
 in the languages they spoke in the countries 
 where they were born. They were very 
 much astonished, and said, How do these 
 men of Galilee speak all these languages ? 
 Some thought this was a miracle, and said to 
 each other, What is the meaning of it ? But 
 others only mocked, and said, These men 
 have been drinking wine. 
 
 Then Peter stood up, and all the other 
 apostles stood near him. He spoke in a 
 very loud voice, that all the multitude might 
 hear. 
 
 He began by saying, These men are not 
 drunken, as you suppose ; for men do not get 
 
TONGUES OF FIRE RESTING ON THE DISCIPLES. 
 
 4?2 
 
THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 
 
 473 
 
 drunk so early in the morning. But, said 
 he, God has sent down his Holy Spirit, as 
 he promised. Hear my words, cried out 
 Peter ; Jesus of Nazareth, who did so many 
 miracles among you, as you know, has been 
 crucified by your wicked hands. But he has 
 been raised from the dead and taken to 
 God's right hand, and now he hath shed 
 forth this which ye now see and hear. 
 
 Perhaps the multitude could see still the 
 
 Tightness of the Spirit. Many now believed 
 
 hat Jesus w r as the Son of God, and felt very 
 
 mhappy for having crucified him ; and they 
 
 were pricked in their hearts, and came to the 
 
 apostles, saying very sorrowfully, What 
 
 shall we do ? 
 
 Thousands are Baptized. 
 
 Then Peter answered, Repent and be 
 baptized every one of you in the name ot 
 Jesus, for the forgiveness of your sins, and 
 you shall receive the Holy Ghost. Three 
 thousand were baptized that day ! 
 
 Then w T as fulfilled what John the Baptist 
 once said : I indeed baptize you with water 
 unto repentance, but he that cometh after me 
 shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and 
 with fire. 
 
 The three thousand people who believed 
 lived very happily. They went often to see 
 each other, and they all loved one another, 
 and they prayed together. 
 
 Some were very poor and some were very 
 rich. Those who were rich sold their fine 
 houses and gardens, and with the money they 
 helped the poor people. 
 
 The Apostles did a great many miracles. 
 Let us hear the account of one of these 
 miracles. 
 
 Peter and John went up to the temple one 
 afternoon, about three o'clock, when the lamb 
 was sacrificed on the altar. As they passed 
 through a fine brass gate called Beautiful, 
 
 they saw a poor beggar lying there. He was 
 lame. He had been born with weak bones 
 in his ankles and feet, so that he could never 
 walk. He was now forty years old, and he 
 had no hope of ever being cured. Every day 
 his friends carried him to this gate, that he 
 might beg money of the people passing 
 through. In the evening his friends carried 
 him home. 
 
 Peter Lifted Him Up. 
 
 When he saw Peter and John coming 
 through, he begged them to give him some- 
 thing. Peter and John stopped, and said to 
 the beggar, Fix your eyes on us. So the 
 man looked, in great hopes of a little money. 
 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I 
 none, but such as I have give I thee : in the 
 name of Jesus of Nazareth, rise up and walk. 
 Then Peter took the beggar by his right 
 hand and helped him to get up. But the 
 man sprang from the ground with a leap, 
 though before he could not stand; his feet 
 and ankle-bones had been made strong in a 
 single moment. 
 
 The man followed Peter and John into the 
 temple, leaping as he went, and praising God. 
 There were a great many people in the courts 
 of the temple who had come up to pray, and 
 they saw the man leaping, and they knew 
 him well as the beggar who had sat at the 
 gate year after year. 
 
 The man was so fond of Peter and John, 
 that he held them fast, lest they should go 
 away. People in the streets heard what had 
 happened, and came in crowds to see the 
 man. They looked at Peter and John, ad- 
 miring them, and thinking they were very 
 great men to do such a wonder. 
 
 But Peter and John did not want to be 
 admired. They wanted everybody to praise 
 the Saviour. So Peter stood up to preach 
 in the temple courts. He said, Ye men of 
 
474 
 
THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 
 
 475 
 
 Israel, why do you look on us as though by 
 our own power and goodness we had made 
 this man walk ? It is through believing on 
 Jesus he was cured. You asked Pontius 
 Pilate to have Jesus killed, and to let go the 
 murderer Barabbas. But God raised him 
 from the dead, and took him up to heaven, 
 where he will stay till the happy time that 
 God has spoken of. Repent ye, therefore, 
 and be converted, that your sins may be 
 blotted out. 
 
 Peter and John Put in Prison. 
 
 Peter had just preached his second ser- 
 mon written in the Bible. He had preached 
 it in the temple. His first sermon was 
 preached in the street ; this, in the temple. 
 There were more enemies here in the temple 
 than there had been in the street, for the 
 priests were here who hated Jesus, and could 
 not bear to hear that he was still alive, hav- 
 ing risen from the grave. A whole troop of 
 them came, seized Peter and John, and put 
 them in a prison close by. They could not 
 judge them that evening, for it was getting 
 dark. 
 
 What a dreadful thing to spend a night in 
 prison, a close, unpleasant, dark dungeon ! 
 This was the first night that the Apostles 
 were imprisoned, but it was not the last. 
 
 The judges were called the Sanhedrim. 
 There were about seventy of them. Their 
 hall of judgment was close to the temple. 
 Early in the morning Peter and John were 
 taken out of prison and made to stand be- 
 fore the judges. These judges sat in a 
 half-circle round the wall. Among them 
 was Christ's great enemy — Caiaphas, the 
 high priest. 
 
 But Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea 
 were not there, though they belonged to the 
 Sanhedrim. Many of the relatives of Caia- 
 phas came to see the judgment. 
 
 But who is that man standing by Peter and 
 John, looking so loving and so brave ? He 
 is a very poor man, yet joy is in his looks. 
 It is the poor cripple who sat by the gate 
 yesterday begging. 
 
 The Wonderful Name. 
 
 Looking towards this man, the judges said 
 to Peter and John, By what name, or by what 
 power, have you done this ? That is to say, 
 How have you cured that lame man ? 
 
 Then Peter was filled with the Holy 
 Ghost, and answered boldly : By the name 
 of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye cruci- 
 fied, whom God raised from the dead, even 
 by him doth this man stand before you quite 
 well. 
 
 Then he added these words : There is 
 none other name under heaven given among 
 men, whereby we must be saved. It is not 
 only that this poor cripple is saved from his 
 lameness by Jesus, but that precious name 
 can save us all from sin and death, and no 
 other name can do it. 
 
 The judges were surprised to hear Peter 
 speak so boldly for his Master. 
 
 But though the judges saw that a great 
 miracle had been done, they were determined 
 not to believe in Jesus themselves and to pre- 
 vent other people believing. This was the 
 sin against the Holy Ghost. When you your- 
 self believe, and yet try to prevent others 
 believing, that is the sin against the Holy 
 Ghost ; as when the Pharisees saw the mira- 
 cles of Jesus, and said he did them through 
 Satan, to prevent others believing on him. 
 This is the sin that cannot be forgiven. The 
 priests did just the same now. They forbade 
 Peter and John to teach any more. 
 
 The judges would have liked to punish 
 Peter and John ; but as the people saw the 
 very man who had been cured standing 
 before their eyes, the judges were afraid to 
 
476 
 
 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 
 
 punish the apostles. All they could do was 
 to command them not to teach or to preach 
 in the name of Jesus any more. 
 
 But Peter and John boldly answered, Is it 
 right in the sight of God to obey you rather 
 than God? 
 
 God had told them to speak, and they 
 said they would speak. How gladly now 
 would the judges have killed them ! But 
 they were afraid of making the people 
 angry, and so they let them go. 
 
 Peter and John hastened home to their 
 own friends and told them all that happened 
 to them during the night and in the morn- 
 ing. And then they prayed together, and 
 thanked God for doing wonders in the name 
 of Jesus. 
 
 As soon as they had done praying, the 
 house was shaken by the Holy Ghost enter- 
 ing in once more and helping them to speak 
 boldly about Jesus. 
 
 What a Rich Man Did. 
 
 There were now a great many people who 
 believed in Jesus. Three thousand had 
 turned to him after Peter's first sermon on 
 the morning of Pentecost, and five thousand 
 more had turned after Peter's second sermon 
 in the temple one evening. Three thousand 
 and five thousand made eight thousand. 
 They lived very happily, sharing their things 
 with one another. The rich sold their lands 
 and gave the money to the poor. 
 
 One rich man, named Barnabas, sold his 
 land and brought the money to the apostles 
 and laid it at their feet, to do what they 
 would with it. You will often hear again of 
 this good Barnabas. 
 
 But were all the believers good ? No ; 
 there were some who did not believe with 
 their hearts. They wished to go to heaven, 
 but they did not love Jesus : they tried to 
 seem good and to get praised. 
 
 There was a rich man, named Ananias, 
 who wanted to be praised. He had a wife 
 named Sapphira. They thought they 
 would like to seem as good as Barnabas, 
 but they did not like to part with all their 
 money. One said to the other, Let us sell 
 our land and give the price to the apostles — - 
 but not quite all. Oh, then we shall not 
 seem so good as Barnabas. Cannot we pre- 
 tend to give it all ? The apostles will never 
 know what money we got for the land, and 
 we will let them think we have given them 
 the whole for the poor. 
 
 So Ananias took part of the money and 
 carried it to the apostles and laid it at their 
 feet, and hoped they would think he had 
 given all. 
 
 Did the apostles know ? You will see by 
 what Peter said : Why has Satan filled your 
 heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep 
 back part of the price of the land ? You 
 need not have sold the land at all ; and 
 when you have sold it, you need not have 
 brought us the money. Why have you 
 thought in your heart of doing this ? 
 
 A Sudden Death. 
 
 As soon as Ananias heard Peter's words 
 he fell down dead. Some young men took 
 up his body, wrapped round it linen cloths, 
 and took it out and buried it. Every one 
 who heard of this sudden death was filled 
 with fear. 
 
 But Sapphira did not hear of it, so she 
 was not frightened. About three hours after 
 her husband's death she came in, perhaps 
 expecting to be thanked and praised. Then 
 Peter tried her, to see whether she joined in 
 the lie. He said, How much did you sell 
 the land for ? She said they had sold it for 
 the sum that Ananais had brought to the 
 apostle c though they had really sold it for 
 more. 
 
THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 
 
 477 
 
 Peter replied, Why did you agree together 
 to tempt the Spirit of the Lord ? Behold, 
 the feet of those who have buried thy hus- 
 band shall carry thee out. 
 
 Immediately Sapphira fell down dead, and 
 the young men who just returned from 
 burying her husband buried her also. The 
 people who had been frightened at hearing 
 of Ananais' death were still more frightened 
 now. 
 
 After the sudden death of Ananias and 
 Sapphira, people honored the apostles more 
 than ever. They brought numbers of their 
 sick friends to be cured. They placed them 
 in the streets on their beds, that if Peter 
 should pass by, his shadow falling on them 
 might heal them. People came from all the 
 cities round about Jerusalem, and the sick 
 were healed and the devils cast out. What 
 did these miracles show ? They showed that 
 what the apostles said of Peter's Master was 
 all true, and that he was really the Son of 
 God. 
 
 The Prison Doors Unlocked. 
 
 The high priest and his friends could not 
 bear to hear the apostles praised, and they 
 sent men to seize them and take them to 
 prison. This prison was the place where 
 thieves and murderers were shut up. What 
 a place for holy men to spend the night ! 
 
 We do not know how many of the apostles 
 were shut up this time. But they did not 
 spend the whole night there, for an angel 
 came in the darkness, and by his great 
 strength unlocked the prison-doors, and yet 
 so quietly that the soldiers, watching all 
 around, never heard him come. The sol- 
 diers did not even see the apostles go out ; 
 therefore it seems certain that God had made 
 them all sleep soundly that night, though 
 they ought to have been awake. 
 
 The angel, after leading the apostles out, 
 
 said, in parting, Go speak in the temple all 
 the words of this life. 
 
 So, as soon as it was light, they went to 
 the temple, and began to preach as usual. 
 Perhaps they may have had time to go home 
 first to refresh their weary bodies and to see 
 their weeping friends. 
 
 But the high priest knew nothing about 
 what had happend that night, neither did 
 the other judges. 
 
 Could Not Find the Prisoners. 
 
 Early in the morning they all met together 
 in the great council called the Sanhedrim. A 
 great many judges were in the hall that day. 
 They were very anxious to see the apostles, 
 and they sent men to the prison to fetch 
 them. But the men came back, saying, We 
 cannot find the prisoners. We found the 
 prison all locked up, and the keepers stand- 
 ing before the gates, but when we opened the 
 doors we could not find any one. 
 
 The judges were very much astonished to 
 hear this, and they could not think what had 
 become of the apostles, till a man came in 
 and said, Behold, the men whom you put in 
 prison are standing in the temple, teaching 
 the people. Here was another surprise. 
 The priests had never thought that the apos- 
 tles would go on teaching after having been 
 put in prison. Of course, they felt very 
 angry; but the soldiers who fetched them 
 were obliged to bring the apostles gently, or 
 the people might have stoned the soldiers. 
 
 When they were brought, and standing 
 before their judges, the high priest asked 
 them, Did not we command you not to teach 
 in this name? And behold, you have taught 
 all the people in Jerusalem; and you want to 
 make us guilty of killing this man ! 
 
 He did not like to mention the name of 
 Jesus, so he called him " this man." 
 
 Peter and the other apostles answered, We 
 
478 
 
 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 
 
 ought to obey God rather than men. God 
 hath raised up Jesus, whom you killed and 
 hanged upon a tree. The judges grew more 
 angry than ever, and wanted to kill the apos- 
 tles. But there was a wise man among them, 
 named Gamaliel, who sent the apostles out 
 for a little while ; then he advised the other 
 judges not to punish the apostles, lest they 
 should really be God's people. So the rest 
 agreed to let them go, after they had beaten 
 them first. But the apostles did not mind 
 the beating, and went away rejoicing that 
 they were counted worthy to suffer shame 
 for his name. 
 
 There were now thousands and thousands 
 of believers in Jesus. Among them were 
 many poor widows. The apostles had a 
 great deal of money that rich people had 
 given them for the poor. They spent some 
 of this money in buying food for the poor 
 widows, and they gave them a portion every 
 day. 
 
 Seven Men Chosen. 
 
 This was a great deal of trouble, and took 
 up a great deal of time. Yet the apostles 
 could not satisfy all the widows. Some of 
 these widows belonged to Jerusalem, and 
 spoke Hebrew; others came from distant 
 lands, and these widows spoke Greek. It 
 was these Greek-speaking widows who grew 
 discontented. Some of their friends took 
 their part, and said they had not their right 
 share of food daily. 
 
 When the apostles heard what was said, 
 they called the brethren together to propose 
 a plan to them. 
 
 They said, We cannot look after giving 
 food to all these widows, because we must 
 continually pray and preach the Gospel. So 
 you had better choose seven good men to 
 give out the food. 
 
 The multitude of believers liked the plan, 
 
 and chose seven men who were known to be 
 very good. The chief of the seven was 
 named Stephen. He was indeed a holy 
 and a wise man, and you will hear much 
 about him. There was another named 
 Philip. You will hear something more of 
 him, but of the rest we are not told any- 
 thing more. 
 
 All these seven men were to be called 
 deacons, or servants, for they were to help 
 the apostles to serve. There was an apostle 
 named Philip, and now there was a deacon 
 Philip also. The apostles prayed over these 
 seven deacons, and laid their hands on them 
 to give them the power of doing miracles. 
 
 Stephen Before the Judges. 
 
 Soon afterwards a great many of the 
 priests believed on Jesus. To persuade the 
 priests to believe was a wonder indeed, 
 such as Christ had promised his apostles 
 they should do through faith in his name, 
 after he had gone up on high. 
 
 Stephen was the most remarkable of all 
 the seven deacons. He was full of faith, 
 and did great wonders among the people. 
 
 But the enemies of Jesus hated him the 
 more for being so wonderful. Learned Jews 
 went to him and disputed with him, but they 
 found that Stephen was wiser than they 
 were. 
 
 So they determined to bring him before 
 the great council, called the Sanhedrim, and 
 to bribe men to tell lies of him. And they 
 went about among the people, and tried to 
 set the people against him by saying false 
 things of him. 
 
 One day they came suddenly upon him 
 and caught him, and brought him to the 
 great hall of the Sanhedrim, close to the 
 temple, and set him before the judges. 
 
 False witnesses came in and said that 
 Stephen had declared that Jesus of Nazareth 
 
THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 
 
 479 
 
 would destroy the temple. Stephen had 
 never said this, for it would be the Romans 
 who would destroy the temple. 
 
 After Stephen had been so falsely accused, 
 the judges, who sat round, looked at him, 
 and were surprised to see his face like the 
 face of an angel, so bright, so glorious, so 
 holy. But this sight did not turn the hearts 
 of the wicked judges. They went on judg- 
 ing him. 
 
 The high priest was the chief among 
 them. (It was not Caiaphas now who was 
 high priest. He had been put out of his 
 place.) 
 
 This high priest, after hearing the wicked 
 men accuse him, said to Stephen, Are these 
 things so ? 
 
 Then Stephen began to defend himself 
 against what the false witnesses had said of 
 him. He made a very long speech ; at last 
 he told his judges that all of them had been 
 murderers of the Son of God. 
 
 An Angry Mob. 
 
 This made the judges very angry. 
 Stephen's words cut them to the heart, but 
 did not make them repent. They gnashed 
 upon him with their teeth. They were like 
 devils ; he was like an angel. 
 
 He lifted up his eyes towards heaven, and 
 saw there the glory of God and Jesus stand- 
 ing on his right hand. 
 
 Then he cried out, Behold, I see the 
 heavens opened, and Jesus standing on the 
 right hand of God. 
 
 Then they cried out with a loud voice, 
 and stopped their ears, that they might not 
 hear Stephen's blessed words, and they ran 
 upon him all together, as the men of 
 Nazareth had once hunted Jesus. They ran 
 beside the temple courts, along the street 
 that led to a gate of the city, near the brook 
 Kidron ; and when they had got Stephen 
 
 out, they took up great stones and threw 
 them at him. 
 
 In order to hurl the stones with more 
 force, they took off their outer garments, and 
 asked a young man named Saul to take care 
 of them. He was an unbelieving young 
 man, who was glad to see Stephen killed. 
 
 Stephen went on praying all the time the 
 stones were falling, calling out, Lord Jesus, 
 receive my spirit. At last, when bruised all 
 over and ready to die, he kneeled down and 
 said, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. 
 Thus with his last breath he asked God to 
 forgive his cruel murderers. 
 
 Death of the First Martyr. 
 
 As soon as he had offered this prayer he 
 fell asleep. 
 
 This was the death of the first martyr. 
 Thousands and thousands of martyrs have 
 died like him, praising God and praying for 
 their enemies, and they will all come with 
 Jesus to reign with him in glory. 
 
 The dead body of Stephen was not left to 
 be cast out by his enemies. It was buried 
 by holy men, and with tears and sighs. 
 
 The Jews went on ill-treating the believers 
 at Jerusalem ; so that many of them went to 
 other cities to get out of the reach of their 
 enemies. Saul, that young man, who kept 
 the clothes of the stoners, was the fiercest of 
 all. He went into any house he pleased, and 
 dragged the believers to prison — both men 
 and women. 
 
 But the apostles would not leave Jerusalem. 
 They went on preaching pardon to the mur- 
 derers of Jesus, if they would repent. 
 
 One of the deacons was named Philip. 
 He went down to Samaria to preach. He 
 did not go to Sychar, in Samaria, where 
 Jesus had once preached to the woman at 
 the well. He went to the finest city in 
 Samaria. Its name was the same as the 
 
480 
 
 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 
 
 name of the country — Samaria. It was 
 built on a beautiful hill, that rises up in 
 the midst of a sweet and fruitful valley. 
 This city was a very wicked place. There 
 were idol temples in it, and there were men 
 who worshipped Satan himself. 
 
 Here Philip preached about Jesus; and 
 he also did many great miracles, for the 
 
 do, they believed what he told them about 
 Jesus, and there was great joy in all the city. 
 Why? Because they knew Christ and his 
 salvation. 
 
 Among the men who believed there was 
 one more wicked than the rest. His name 
 was Simon. He had been a great deceiver 
 and had made people believe he was very 
 
 STEPHEN STONED TO DEATH BY HIS ENEMIES. 
 
 apostles had once laid their hands on him, 
 and given this power to him, as well as to 
 Stephen. Many unclean spirits and devils 
 came out of poor creatures when Philip 
 commanded them. Helpless creatures with 
 the palsy rose up and walked at Philip's 
 word, and lame people leaped like stags. 
 When men saw what wonders Philip could 
 
 great, so that everybody said, This man is 
 the great power of God. Little children 
 said so, and old men said so, too : rich and 
 poor — all admired and praised Simon. He 
 was called a sorcerer. What is that ? A 
 man who trusts in Satan, and pretends to 
 get help from him; a man who tells lies, and 
 plays all kinds of deceitful tricks. 
 
THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 
 
 481 
 
 But now this wicked Simon believed what 
 Philip said, and he asked to be baptized. 
 People no longer thought him wonderful. 
 
 Every one listened to Philip, and wondered 
 at his miracles. Philip thought that Simon 
 was turned from his wickedness, and that he 
 believed in Jesus with his heart. So he 
 baptized him. But Simon's heart was not 
 changed. 
 
 Good News from Samaria. 
 
 Though he believed that Jesus was the Son 
 of God, he did not love him. He stood by 
 Philip, wondering at his miracles and wishing 
 that he himself could do more wonderful 
 things than he had ever done when he was 
 a great sorcerer. He did not repent of his 
 past wickedness, nor pray to Christ for par- 
 don. 
 
 The apostles, you remember, remained at 
 Jerusalem. They were not afraid of the 
 cruel hatred of the Jews. They heard the 
 good news that the city of Samaria was full 
 of believers. They thought that they could 
 do them good by going to see them. 
 
 So the apostles sent Peter and John down 
 to Samaria. These two apostles were such 
 friends that they generally went together. 
 When they came to Samaria, they found a 
 great many men and women who had turned 
 to God, and who had been baptized by Philip. 
 But they found none who knew about the 
 Holy Ghost and were filled with his power. 
 
 So Peter and John laid their hands on the 
 heads of the believers, and prayed that God 
 would give them the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Philip had not laid his hands on the be- 
 lievers, for he was not an apostle ; he was 
 only a deacon, and he could not bestow the 
 gift of the Holy Ghost on other people. 
 None but the apostles could do this. 
 
 When Simon saw what the apostles did to 
 the believers, he thought he would like to be 
 31 
 
 able to do the same, that he might be ad- 
 mired, as he used to be, and that he might 
 get rich. So he took some money, and offered 
 it to Peter and John, and said, Do give me 
 this power, that when I lay my hands on any 
 one he may receive the Holy Ghost. 
 
 He Cared for Nothing but Money. 
 
 The apostles were much displeased at 
 Simon for thinking they would take money 
 for the gift of God. They were grieved at 
 his having such a wicked thought in his 
 heart. Peter said to him, Thy money perish 
 as we] as thou, because thou hast thought 
 that the gift of God may be bought with 
 money. Thy heart is not right in the sight 
 of God. Repent of thy wickedness, and pray 
 God, if perhaps the thought of thy heart may 
 be forgiven thee. I see that thou are in 
 chains of sin. 
 
 Simon seemed frightened by Peter's an- 
 swer, for he said, Pray to the Lord for me, 
 that nothing you have said may come to me. 
 You see he did not ask to be forgiven, but 
 only not to be punished. This was a sign 
 that his heart was not right. 
 
 He had never really turned to God. He 
 still wanted to get money, and to be praised 
 by men for his power. He was like the two 
 liars — Ananias and Sapphira — a hypocrite. 
 He was like Judas — of the devil; and he 
 had the curse of God upon him. His money 
 was to perish, and he was to perish. 
 
 The apostles Peter and John soon left 
 Samaria and returned to Jerusalem. They 
 preached in many villages by the way. Per- 
 haps they went to Sychar once more, and 
 saw that woman who once stood by the well 
 with Jesus. 
 
 Philip also aid not remain in Samaria, but 
 he did not return to Jerusalem. God had a 
 great work for Philip to do. He was to 
 bring the Gospel into Africa. There were 
 
482 
 
 THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 
 
 then three parts of the world : Asia, where 
 Jesus had preached ; Europe, where the 
 Gospel had not yet been preached ; and 
 Africa, where black people lived. To Africa 
 God determined to send the Gospel. 
 
 The angel told Philip to go down to the 
 Philistines' country, at the lower corner of 
 Canaan. Gaza was in that part, but Philip 
 did not go near the town ; he went to a 
 desert place near it, on the way to Africa. 
 
 It must have seemed strange to Philip to 
 hear he must go to a desert. He might 
 wonder whom he could preach to in a desert. 
 But he went. While he was walking among 
 the rocky hills he saw a very fine carriage 
 going along. It was coming from Jerusalem. 
 There were horses and servants. A great 
 lord was sitting in the carriage reading. This 
 great lord was the chief servant of a great 
 queen called Candace. She was the queen 
 of a hot country in Africa called Ethiopia, 
 where the people are almost black 
 
 This lord had charge of all the queen's 
 treasure, and he was called her treasurer. 
 But we do not know his name. 
 
 The Choicest Treasure. 
 
 The Spirit said to Philip, Go near to that 
 chariot ; and Philip went. He heard the 
 treasurer reading out loud. He had a book, 
 in the form of a scroll, in his hand. On 
 that scroll, or roll, were written the words of 
 the prophet Isaiah. Who would have 
 thought that a lord from a heathen country 
 would read the Word of God ? 
 
 But this man had been up to Jerusalem to 
 worship in the temple. He had not been 
 allowed to go farther than the outer court of 
 the Gentiles, but his prayers in that court 
 were heard, as much as the prayers of the 
 priests in the Holy Place. He had brought 
 back a greater treasure than all his gold and 
 silver, even the words that God once spoke 
 
 to Isaiah. Philip had the courage to speak 
 to this great lord. He said to him, Do you 
 understand what you are reading? 
 
 If the treasurer had been a proud man he 
 would have been affronted by that question 
 from a poor stranger ; but he was humble, 
 and he answered, How can I understand il 
 I have no one to teach me ? And then he 
 asked Philip to come and sit by him in hi* 
 chariot. When Philip was sitting in the 
 chariot, the rich man showed him what he 
 was reading. It was that sweet verse in the 
 fifty-third chapter : He is brought as a 
 lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before 
 her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his 
 mouth. 
 
 The Stranger is Baptized. 
 
 The treasurer, after having read this verse, 
 said to Philip, I do not know the meaning of 
 this. Does the prophet speak of himself, or 
 of some other man ? 
 
 Then Philip explained it all to him. He 
 told him that Jesus was the lamb, and that 
 he had lately been crucified in Jerusalem ; 
 and that he had been so meek to his enemies 
 as a sheep who makes no noise when he is 
 sheared. And he told him that Jesus had 
 risen from his grave, and that he had told 
 his disciples to go and teach people of all 
 countries, and to baptize them in his name. 
 
 The treasurer listened very attentively, 
 and wanted to know whether he might be 
 baptized. Just at this moment the chariot 
 passed by a stream. There are not many 
 streams in the desert, and the treasurer was 
 pleased to see water. He cried out, Here is 
 water ; may I not be baptized? 
 
 Philip said, You may, if you believe with 
 all your heart. 
 
 The treasurer replied, I believe that Jesus 
 Christ is the Son of God. 
 
 When Philip saw that he believed, he 
 
THE STORY OF THE APOSTLES. 
 
 48S 
 
 desired the driver to stop the horses ; and 
 Philip and the treasurer both got out and 
 went together into the water. There Philip 
 baptized this Gentile stranger. 
 
 As soon as they were come up out of the 
 water the Spirit caught up Philip, and took 
 him to a place by the seaside. The town 
 where the Spirit left him was once called 
 Ashdod. It was a place where they wor- 
 shipped idols, Philip went along by the 
 
 seaside, from place to place, preaching every- 
 where. At last he stopped at a fine city 
 called Csesarea, built by the Roman emperor, 
 Caesar, and named for him. 
 
 The treasurer must have been sorry to 
 lose his teacher ; yet he was so happy in his 
 Saviour that he went to his home full of joy, 
 ready to teach the Queen Candace and all 
 her people. So the Gospel came into Africa, 
 where many people turned to Jesus. 
 
 THE SANHEDRIM IN SESSION. 
 
CHAPTER XXXV 
 
 The Story of Saul — The Bright Light from Heaven — A Persecutor Changed to an 
 Apostle — Story of Barnabas— Jews Attempt to Kill Saul — Story of Peter and 
 Dorcas — Peter on the Housetop — A Remarkable Vision — Simon the Tanner and 
 Cornelius — Martyrdom of James — Peter's Escape from Prison — Herod's Speech — 
 A Beautiful City — A Notorious Wizzard — The Apostles Suffer Persecution — 
 Paul Stoned by a Mob — Success of the Gospel. 
 
 VERY wonderful event is now 
 to be related. You remember 
 there was a young man named 
 Saul, who treated cruelly the 
 disciples of Jesus. He took 
 care of the clothes of those 
 who stoned the holy Stephen. This young 
 man thought he did right in ill-treating be- 
 lievers in Christ, for he thought Christ was 
 ^, deceiver, and not really the Son of God. 
 After he had done much harm in Jerusalem, 
 he went to other cities to hurt the believers 
 who lived in them. 
 
 There was a great city, called Damascus, 
 more than a hundred miles from Jerusalem. 
 He wished to go there. First, he got letters 
 from the high priest at Jerusalem, giving him 
 leave to seize the believers in Damascus, and 
 to bring them in chains to Jerusalem. He 
 meant to show these letters to the chief Jews 
 in Damascus. But on the way such an event 
 happened! 
 
 Saul was travelling with several men as his 
 guard. They all arrived in sight of Damas- 
 cus about noonday, when the sun is the 
 brightest. Suddenly there appeared a light 
 from heaven, brighter than the sun. This 
 light was so dazzling that all the travellers 
 fell down with their faces to the ground, 
 quite unable to look up. 
 
 While thus lying prostrate, Saul heard a 
 484 
 
 voice from heaven, saying, Saul, Saul, why 
 dost thou persecute me? Saul answered, 
 Who art thou, Lord? The voice replied, I 
 am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. 
 
 Saul's Great Question. 
 
 Saul, still trembling and astonished, in- 
 quired, Lord, what wouldst thou have me to 
 do ? The voice replied, Arise, and go into 
 the city, and it shall be told thee what thou 
 must do. 
 
 All this time the other men did not speak 
 a word, but they could not hear what Jesus 
 said to Saul, only they heard a sound. After 
 being struck to the ground they got up, and 
 stood by Saul, but Saul himself did not get 
 up till Jesus said, Rise, and stand upon thy 
 feet. Then Saul arose, and opened his eyes, 
 but behold ! he could not see! the dazzling 
 light had blinded him! The men were not 
 blinded, and they led Saul by the hand into 
 the city. They took him to a lodging in 
 Straight street, at the house of a man named 
 Judas. There Saul sat down, quite blind, 
 and he refused to eat or drink for three 
 days. 
 
 As he sat in darkness he was thinking of 
 his sins against Jesus, and of his cruelty to 
 his people. He felt so grieved at all he had 
 done, that he could not eat. He thought of 
 the poor creatures he had sent to prison, of 
 
SAUL STRUCK TO THE EARTH ON HIS WAY TO DAMASCUS. 
 
 485 
 
486 
 
 THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 those he had beaten, and of Stephen, who 
 had been stoned before his eyes. Oh, how 
 could I be so wicked? I am the chief of 
 sinners. 
 
 While Saul was in this sad state of blind- 
 ness and misery, God sent him a dream. It 
 was a comforting dream. Saul saw a man in 
 his dream whose name was Ananias. He 
 came into the room, and put his hands on 
 Saul, and said, Receive thy sight. Till this 
 dream came, how could Saul know that he 
 should ever see again? He knew that he 
 well deserved to be always blind. But he 
 kept on praying to God for pardon. 
 
 A Remarkable Dream. 
 
 While Saul was praying, there was a man 
 m Damascus who had a dream. This man 
 was the same Ananias that Saul had seen in 
 his dream. He was a very good man, and 
 he had heard that Saul was coming from 
 Jerusalem to sieze God's people, and to bind 
 them in chains. He was much surprised 
 when God said to him in a dream, Get up, 
 and go into Straight street, and find the 
 house of a man called Judas, and ask for a 
 man called Saul : for Saul is now praying to 
 me ; and he had seen you in a dream coming 
 ift and putting your hand on him, that he 
 may be able to see. 
 
 Ananias answered the Lord : Many 
 people have told me of this man, and of how 
 much harm he has done to the holy people 
 in Jerusalem ; and how he has come here 
 with leave from the chief priests to bind all 
 that call on the Lord Jesus. 
 
 But the Lord answered Ananias : Go thy 
 way, for I have chosen him to tell many 
 people about me — Gentiles, and kings, and 
 the children of Israel — and I shall show 
 him that he must suffer a great deal for my 
 sake. 
 
 Then Ananias went to Straight street, and 
 
 entered into the house or Judas, and went 
 up into Saul's room, and put his hands on 
 Saul, and said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, 
 who appeared to you as you came to this 
 place, has sent me to you, that you may 
 receive your sight. As he said this, some- 
 thing like skin fell from Saul's eyes, and Saul 
 found he was able to see. Soon afterwards 
 he was baptized, and then he ate food, and 
 he grew strong again. 
 
 Saul stayed a good while in Damascus, 
 and he became great friends with all the 
 people of the Lord in that city. Those very 
 people that he once meant to send to prison 
 were now his dearest friends. He went to 
 the synagogues, and preached there about 
 Jesus Christ, that he was the Son of God. 
 
 After Saul had been preaching a little 
 while in Damascus, he left the city to go and 
 live in the desert. There was a desert place 
 very near Damascus, called Arabia. You 
 remember that Jesus himself went into a 
 desert, or wilderness, for forty days, at the 
 beginning of his preaching. Saul did the 
 same, though he did not go into the same 
 wilderness as Jesus did, for Jesus went into 
 the wilderness on the border of Judea. 
 
 The Jews Try to Kill Him. 
 
 Jesus in his desert was tempted of the 
 devil; but we believe that Saul in the desert 
 of Arabia was taught by Jesus. We think 
 he saw his face there, and heard his voice. 
 How happy Saul must have been in the 
 desert, if he met Jesus there ; and we think 
 he did, because he often tells us how he was 
 taught everything by Jesus Christ, and noth- 
 ing by man. 
 
 But Saul might not stay long in the 
 desert. He returned to Damascus, to preach 
 more boldly than ever about Jesus. The 
 Jews grew very angry at hearing him praise 
 Jesus so much, and declare he was alive. 
 
THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 487 
 
 They were so angry that they determined to 
 try and kill him. But how could they do it? 
 
 They knew that the governor of Damascus 
 was an enemy to Jesus. Aretas was the 
 king of Arabia, and Damascus belonged to 
 him. King Aretas lived far away from 
 Damascus, but he had placed a governor in 
 Damascus with many soldiers under him. 
 
 The Jews went to the governor and told 
 him they wanted to kill haul. They asked 
 him to lend them soldiers to help them to 
 seize Saul. They placed some soldiers at 
 one of the gates, and some more soldiers at 
 another of the gates, and they commanded 
 them to stay there night as well as day, and 
 to seize Saul if he came near. Saul heard 
 of these soldiers being at the gates, so he 
 did not try to go through the gates. 
 
 On His Way to Jerusalem. 
 
 The believers in Damascus loved Saul, 
 and they found out a way of saving him 
 from the unbelieving Jews. 
 
 They took him to a house built by the 
 wall, with a window looking out of the city 
 into the fields. To this house they took 
 Saul secretly. There were large baskets in 
 the city, used for holding rubbish before it 
 was thrown away. Into such a large basket 
 Saul got, and he was then let down by a 
 rope into the fields. It was in the night 
 when he was let down. 
 
 Saul got out of the basket and walked 
 away — a lonely traveller. 
 
 He set his face to go to Jerusalem. Whom 
 did he wish to see there? Peter. He 
 wanted to see Peter, who had preached the 
 first sermon after Christ's resurrection. 
 
 So he sat out on his journey, walking 
 over the same ground that he had gone over 
 three years ago. But how different he was 
 three years ago from what he is now. 
 
 Then he was proud — now he is very 
 
 humble ; then he had all the priests for his 
 friends — now he has them for his enemies ; 
 then he hated Jesus — now he loves him 
 more than his own life. How thankful he 
 feels to God as he walks along the road to 
 Jerusalem ! Though alone, he is not 
 unhappy — though poor, he feels rich- — ■ 
 though many want to kill him, he is not 
 afraid. 
 
 After a journey of many days through the 
 land of Israel, Saul arrived at Jerusalem. 
 When he had last been there, what harm he 
 had done in the city! But now he came to 
 do good, and to save sinners by his preach- 
 ing. 
 
 He wanted first to see Peter. But he did 
 not know Peter. So he went to the disciples, 
 or believers. There were so many of them 
 that it was easy to find them. Some of them 
 remembered his cruel conduct in old times 
 when he lived there, and how he helped at 
 the stoning of Stephen. 
 
 They Could Hardly Believe It. 
 
 When Saul told them that he had been 
 changed, the disciples did not believe him; 
 they thought he was deceiving them by pre- 
 tending to be a believer ; they thought he 
 wanted to find them out, and then to give 
 them up to the high priest. How much Saul 
 must have been grieved at the sheep taking 
 him for a wolf, when he was now a sheep 
 himself! 
 
 One of the disciples was of a very kind dis- 
 position, kinder than the rest, though all were 
 kind. His name was Barnabas. He had pity 
 on Saul, and he believed all he said. He said 
 to Saul, Do you want to see Peter ? I will 
 bring you to him. So Barnabas took him 
 by the hand and led him to Peter's house. 
 There was only one other apostle in Jeru- 
 salem — James (the brother of Jude) — -who 
 wrote the Epistle. 
 
488 
 
 THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 Barnabas brought Saul to Peter and 
 James, and told them of the light that once 
 shone near Damascus, and how Jesus was 
 seen in the heaven, and how he said to Saul, 
 Why persecutest thou me? He related the 
 whole of the wonderful history. Then Peter 
 believed that Saul was sincere, and he asked 
 Saul to stay at his house fifteen days. And 
 James, too, was kind to Saul. It was pleas- 
 ant to see the apostles giving their right hands 
 to Saul and Barnabas, and receiving them as 
 brothers. From this time they might all be 
 seen going about Jerusalem together. 
 
 There could not be a happier season than 
 was enjoyed by the four believing friends 
 going about Jerusalem. Peter and James, 
 Saul and Barnabas, were now most affec- 
 tionate friends. 
 
 Story of Barnabas. 
 
 I must tell you a little more of Barnabas. 
 His name had been Joses. It was changed 
 to Barnabas, or, rather, Barnabas was added 
 to Joses, so that his name now was Joses 
 Barnabas. Why ? Barnabas means " Son 
 of Consolation, or Comfort." This was his 
 character, as he showed in his behavior to- 
 wards Saul. He was a Jew, even a Levite. 
 He had fields, and sold them that the money 
 might be given to the poor. 
 
 He did not give it to the poor himself; he 
 laid it down at the apostles' feet, that the 
 apostles might give it to whom they chose. 
 A man might do all this, and yet have no 
 charity or love in his heart; then his gifts 
 would be worthless, for it is written, Though 
 I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and 
 have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. 
 But Barnabas was full of love in his heart. 
 How much Saul must have loved him for 
 bringing him to Peter ! 
 
 It was a great pleasure for Saul to get 
 acquainted with Peter, for Peter knew the 
 
 Lord well while that Lord was a man of 
 sorrows on earth, but Saul had only seen 
 him in glory. Of those four friends, two 
 had known him well on earth, and two had 
 believed on him after he was ascended; at 
 least we suppose that Barnabas had only 
 lately believed, and we know that Saul was 
 an enemy until lately. 
 
 Jews Offended at His Preaching. 
 
 And where was the loving John. He was 
 not in Jerusalem ; so Saul had not the pleas- 
 ure at this time of seeing him. Saul could 
 not spend all his time in talking with his dear 
 friends about Jesus. He desired to preach 
 to the unbelievers. 
 
 Saul preached boldly in Jerusalem, and he 
 made the Jews very angry by declaring that 
 Jesus was the Son of God They began, like 
 the Jews in Damascus, to make plans to kill 
 him secretly, but the Lord saved him from 
 being murdered. 
 
 One day Saul was in the temple praying, 
 when the Lord sent him a dream, and said 
 to him, Make haste, and go quickly out of 
 Jerusalem, for the Jews will not believe what 
 you say about me. Saul was surprised, and 
 he said, Do not they know how I once put 
 believers in prison, and beat them ; and how 
 I was standing by when the blood of the 
 martyr Stephen was shed, and how I kept 
 the clothes of those who killed him ? But 
 the Lord still said, Depart, for I will send 
 you far away to the Gentiles. 
 
 Then Saul told his friends that he must 
 leave Jerusalem, for the Lord had com- 
 manded him to go away, because the Jews 
 intended to kill him. 
 
 When the disciples heard this, they were 
 very anxious to send him away. They took 
 him down secretly to the seaside. There 
 was a fine town built in honor of the Roman 
 Emperor Caesar, and it was called Csesarea. 
 
THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 489 
 
 Saul had to go about a hundred miles to this 
 town. He must at first have travelled by 
 night to hide himself from the Jews. 
 
 What good man was living there who 
 would be glad to see Saul ? Philip the 
 deacon. Perhaps he had not seen Saul 
 .since the stoning of Stephen. How much 
 changed Saul was since that time! That 
 fierce, proud countenance was now gentle, 
 afflicted, and humble. 
 
 But perhaps Saul had no time to visit 
 Philip at Caesarea, for his friends were in 
 great haste to send him far away. There 
 were ships in the harbor of Caesarea. One 
 was setting sail for Tarsus. That was Saul's 
 native place, and there he wished now to go. 
 How far off was it ? Three hundred miles 
 over the seas. Saul got into the ship. At 
 last he came to land. He did not get out of 
 the ship there; he had to sail twelve miles 
 more up a river, till he came near to a great 
 mountain. Here was Tarsus. Here was his 
 home. Here he had played when a child in 
 his parents' sight. What would his old play- 
 fellows say when they heard he believed in 
 Jesus? 
 
 Peter at Lydda. 
 
 Now we must leave Saul at Tarsus, and 
 return to Peter. We heard last of his being 
 at Jerusalem when Saul paid his visit there. 
 But Peter was not always there, for the 
 apostles used to go on journeys to preach. 
 
 Once Peter went to a village among the 
 hills, just twenty miles from Jerusalem. It 
 was called Lydda. There were some of 
 Christ's holy people living there, and Peter 
 liked to visit them. One man was very ill 
 indeed. His name was ^Eneas. He had the 
 palsy, and he was so helpless that he had 
 kept his bed eight years. Peter went to 
 him, and said, ^Eneas, Jesus Christ maketh 
 thee well. Arise, ?nd make thy bed. 
 
 Immediately ^Eneas arose, and made his bed. 
 
 You observe that Peter did not say, I 
 make thee well ; for he knew he had no 
 power in himself. All the people round 
 about wished to see ^Eneas ; and when they 
 saw this poor paralytic become quite strong, 
 they turned to the Lord. 
 
 But Peter did another greater miracle. 
 About twelve miles from Lydda there was a 
 town by the seaside, called Joppa. Some 
 people from Lydda went to Joppa, and said 
 to the people there, The apostle Peter has 
 come to see us, and he has cured a poor man 
 who could not move a limb, and made him 
 quite strong, by the power of Jesus. 
 
 Grief at the Death of Dorcas. 
 
 When the people of Joppa heard this, 
 they wished much to see Peter, for a very 
 good woman had just died at Joppa. Her 
 name was Tabitha. She was so kind to poor 
 people that many mourned her death. Her 
 friends washed her dead body, and laid her 
 in an upper room — the best room in the 
 house. Oh, how they longed to bring her 
 to life ! Some one said, Oh, if Peter would 
 but come ! Oh, let us send to beg him to 
 come ! 
 
 So the disciples in Joppa sent two men to 
 beg Peter to come very quickly before Tabitha 
 was buried. 
 
 Peter came immediately with the two men. 
 He was led into the upper chamber. He 
 heard much weeping and sobbing as he was 
 coming in, and he found the room full of 
 poor widows and saints, the holy friends of 
 Tabitha. The widows showed Peter a great 
 many clothes that they held in their hands, 
 and told him that Tabitha had woven the 
 clothes while she was with them. The name 
 they gave her was Dorcas. They loved 
 Dorcas very much for spending her time in 
 weaving for them. 
 
490 
 
 THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 Peter would not let the widows or the 
 saints remain in the room. He wanted to 
 pray to God alone. So he put the widows 
 and saints out of the room, and when he was 
 quiet and alone he kneeled down and prayed 
 to God, and then he went up to Tabitha's bed, 
 and said, Tabitha, arise! She opened her 
 ■eyes, and she saw Peter. Then she sat up; 
 Peter gave her his hand to help her up. 
 
 As soon as she was standing up he called 
 the widows in, as well as the saints, and 
 showed them their friend. What must have 
 been the delight of all to see her alive ! No 
 doubt Dorcas made many more clothes for 
 poor widows before she died again. It was 
 sad for her to die twice, but then her being 
 made alive caused many sinners to turn to 
 the Lord. 
 
 Simon the Tanner. 
 
 Peter did not return to Jerusalem for a 
 long time afterwards, but he took a lodging 
 in Joppa. It was by the seaside, at the house 
 of a man called Simon. This Simon was a 
 tanner. His trade was to make skins into 
 leather. 
 
 While Peter was living at Joppa he lodged 
 with Simon the tanner. He went up one 
 day to the top of the house, which was flat. 
 He wanted to be alone. There was often a 
 little tent in the corner of the housetop, 
 where a man could be shaded from the sun 
 and hidden from all. 
 
 Peter went up about twelve o'clock to pray 
 to God. He had taken no breakfast that 
 morning, for he wished to fast as well as to 
 pray. After some time he became very 
 hungry, so he asked the servants to get his 
 dinner ready immediately. While they were 
 getting it ready, he fell into a sort of sleep 
 upon the housetop. 
 
 He had a very strange dream in his sleep. 
 He thought that the sky was opened, and 
 
 that there was let down out of it a great 
 sheet, with the four corners fastened, so that 
 the sheet could hold things. Inside there 
 were all kinds of fourfooted beasts, and some 
 of them were wild ; and all kinds of birds, 
 and all kinds of creeping things. What a 
 strange heap they must all have looked in 
 the sheet. 
 
 A Strange Command. 
 
 Then Peter heard a voice, saying, Rise, 
 Peter, kill and eat. Peter was surprised at 
 hearing this command, for God had given the 
 Jews very strict rules about eating. He had 
 forbidden them to eat of beasts called 
 unclean, such as pigs, hares, horses, and 
 asses. Among birds he had forbidden the 
 Jews to eat of eagles, owls, swans, storks, 
 and many others ; and also he had forbid- 
 den them to eat of creeping things, lizards, 
 snails, and moles. 
 
 So when Peter had looked well at these 
 unclean animals, he answered the voice, Not 
 so, Lord ; for I have never eaten anything 
 that is common or unclean. The voice from 
 heaven replied, Whatever God has made 
 clean, call not thou common. 
 
 Three times the voice spoke these words, 
 and then the great sheet of animals was 
 taken up again into heaven. 
 
 When the dream was over, Peter went on 
 thinking about it, and wondering what could 
 be the meaning of it. 
 
 At that time the Spirit spoke to his mind, 
 saying, Three men are come to your house, 
 and they want you to go with them. Go 
 with them, for I have sent them. 
 
 Then Peter went down the stairs from the 
 housetop, and he found three men waiting to 
 see him, just as the Spirit had told him. He 
 said to them, I am the person you want to 
 see. Why are you come for me ? 
 
 Then the three men replied : Cornelius, a 
 
THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 49l 
 
 very good man, was told by a holy angel to 
 send for you to come to his house, that you 
 might tell him how he may be saved. 
 
 Peter found that these three men were the 
 servants of Cornelius, and that Cornelius 
 was a great captain. The three men were 
 not Jews; and Cornelius, the master, was 
 not a Jew. They were all Romans. Now 
 
 they had slept on the way. Peter asked 
 them to stop that night and to sleep in the 
 house where he lodged, and he promised to 
 go with them next day. 
 
 He went and told his friends in Joppa what 
 had happened. He said to them, I wish you 
 would go with me to Caesarea to see Corne 
 lius, the Roman captain. 
 
 the Jews called all other nations Gentiles ; 
 and they despised them all as common or 
 unclean. Peter saw why the dream had 
 been sent to him ; he saw that God did not 
 call these men common or unclean. So 
 Peter promised to go with them. 
 
 The three men told Peter they came from 
 Csesarea, a town fifty miles off. They had 
 not been able to walk so far in one day; so 
 
 PETERS VISION ON THE HOUSETOP. 
 
 Six of them consented to go with him. 
 
 Next day the whole party set out on their 
 journey. There were Peter and the six Jews, 
 his friends; there were also the three ser- 
 vants of Cornelius — they were Gentiles. 
 
 The travellers walked about twenty miles 
 along the seacoast, and then they rested for 
 the night, though we know not where. Next 
 day they set out again, and they arrived at 
 
492 
 
 THE STORY OF SAUL 
 
 Caesarea in the afternoon. Caesarea was a 
 very grand town among the rocks of the 
 seashore. It was Herod who had made it 
 so grand, and he had built a palace there. 
 Peter did not go to that palace; he went 
 straight up to the house of Cornelius. 
 
 It was four days since Cornelius had seen 
 the angel in his house. Cornelius knew that 
 his servants would be two days going to 
 Joppa, and two days in coming back. So 
 he was expecting Peter to arrive that after- 
 noon, and he had invited all his relatives and 
 his dearest friends to come to his house that 
 day. 
 
 When he heard that Peter was at the gate, 
 he went out to meet him. When he saw him, 
 he did not shake hands (as we do with our 
 friends), nor did he embrace him, but he fell 
 at his feet and worshipped him. Peter did 
 not approve this. He gave him his hand, 
 saying, Stand up ; for I myself also am a man. 
 
 At the House of Cornelius. 
 
 Then Cornelius led him into a large room 
 filled with his friends and relatives. They 
 were all Gentiles. 
 
 Once Peter would not have gone into a 
 room with any Gentile ; but now he would 
 go to Gentiles, just the same as to Jews. He 
 told these Gentiles of his dream, and how the 
 angel had said, What God hath cleansed, that 
 call not thou common. 
 
 Then Peter asked Cornelius to tell him 
 tvhy he hcd sent for him. 
 
 Cornelius spoke to Peter before all the 
 company, saying, Four days ago I had taken 
 no food, and at three o'clock I prayed in my 
 house, and behold a man stood before me in 
 bright clothing, and he said, Cornelius, thy 
 prayer is heard, and thy charity to the poor 
 is remembered by God. Send to Joppa, and 
 ask for a man named Simon Peter. He 
 lodges in the house of Simon, a tanner, by 
 
 the seaside. Ask him to come here. When 
 he comes he will tell thee what thou must 
 do. So I sent immediately for thee; and thou 
 hast done right in coming. We are all assem- 
 bled here to listen to all that God has com- 
 manded thee to say to us. 
 
 Then Peter began to preach to these Gen- 
 tiles. He told them about Jesus — how the 
 Jews had killed him, and how God had 
 raised him from the dead. Peter ended his 
 sermon with these words : Whosoever be- 
 lieveth in him shall receive forgiveness of 
 sins. 
 
 A Praise Meeting. 
 
 As soon as Peter had spoken, the Holy 
 Ghost fell on all the Gentiles in the room, 
 just as once he had fallen on the Jews; and 
 these Gentiles began to praise God as the 
 Jewish Christians did. 
 
 The six Jews who had come with Peter 
 were very much astonished at seeing that 
 God gave the Holy Ghost to Gentiles. 
 
 Then Peter said, Can any man forbid us 
 to baptize these men with water, now they 
 have received the Holy Ghost as we did? 
 So he had them baptized. No doubt it was 
 the six Christian Jews from Joppa who bap- 
 tized them. 
 
 Ever since that time Gentiles have always 
 been baptized when they believed in Jesus. 
 
 Peter stayed a good while with Cornelius 
 and his friends at Caesarea. He had a great 
 deal to teach them, and they were anxious to 
 learn. After a while he went again to Jeru- 
 salem. He told the saints in Jerusalem all 
 about Cornelius, and these good men were 
 very much pleased, and praised God, saying, 
 God hath given repentance unto the Gentiles. 
 
 But very great troubles soon came upon 
 the saints in Jerusalem. Caesar at Rome 
 appointed Herod to be king of Jerusalem 
 and of all the land. 
 
THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 493 
 
 Who was this Herod ? He was not the 
 Herod who killed John the Baptist, and 
 mocked Jesus the Saviour. That Herod had 
 been sent far away by the Emperor Caesar. 
 This Herod was his nephew, and he was the 
 grandson of the Herod who killed, long ago, 
 the babes of Bethlehem. What a wicked 
 family these Herods were ! This Herod corn- 
 
 Herod saw that the Jews were pleased 
 with him for killing James, so he thought he 
 would kill Peter too ; and he sent soldiers to 
 seize him and to put him in prison ; but, as 
 he had heard of his once escaping from 
 prison, he ordered sixteen soldiers to guard 
 him night and day. 
 
 Herod fixed the day when Peter was to 
 
 PETER DELIVERED FROM PRISON BY AN ANGEL. 
 
 manded his soldiers to seize James, the brother 
 of John, and to cut off his head with a sword. 
 So now John lost his brother. Those two 
 brothers had been with Jesus on the mount 
 of glory and in the garden of agony. James 
 was one of the three favorites of the Lord, 
 though John was the most beloved of all. 
 He was the first of all the apostles to be 
 killed for the sake of Jesus. 
 
 be killed. The night before that terrible day 
 the saints met together to pray for him. The 
 other apostles had left Jerusalem, lest they 
 also should be killed ; but there were many 
 saints still there. They met together in the 
 house of a very good woman named Mary. 
 She was not one of the Marys we have 
 heard of before. She was the sister of that 
 g-ood Barnabas who had once been so kind 
 
494 
 
 THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 to Saul. Mary and her friends were sitting 
 up all the night. Peter was quietly sleeping 
 in prison. It was the beginning of summer, 
 and it was warm. Peter had taken off his 
 sandals and his upper garment, but he could 
 not take off a chain from each hand, which 
 vwas fastened to a soldier's hand on each side 
 of him. Suddenly an angel made the dark 
 prison brighter than the day. Yet Peter was 
 so sound asleep that he did not wake till the 
 angel touched him, saying, Arise up quickly. 
 And as Peter rose up the chains fell off his 
 hands. 
 
 Peter's Escape from Prison. 
 
 Then the angel bade him tighten his 
 clothes round his waist, put on his sandals, 
 and wrap himself in his loose upper garment. 
 All this time the soldiers slept. 
 
 The angel said, Follow me. Peter fol- 
 lowed, feeling as if he were dreaming. The 
 angel led him past many soldiers that had 
 been placed to watch outside, and brought 
 him to the great iron gate. Though it had 
 bolts and bars, it opened without key and 
 without hand, as if it had opened itself. 
 
 The angel brought him down one street, 
 and then departed. 
 
 When Peter found himself alone he stopped 
 to think of what had happened. He saw that 
 God had set him free and saved him from 
 death. He had heard that the saints were 
 sitting up at night to pray for him in Mary's 
 house. So he went there. He knocked at 
 the door of the porch, and Rhoda the maid 
 came to the door. You know the history — 
 how, when she heard Peter's voice outside, 
 saying, Let me in, her joy was so great that 
 she forgot to open the door, but ran into the 
 house to tell his friends that Peter was there, 
 and how they would not believe her, but 
 said it was some angel that took care of 
 Peter. 
 
 Peter, however, went on knocking, till 
 many friends rushed to the door and saw 
 his face. They were inclined to make much 
 noise in their joy, but Peter made a sign for 
 them to be quiet, as noise might have been 
 heard by their enemies. When they were 
 quiet Peter told them how the Lord had de- 
 livered him. He then said, Go and tell this 
 to James and the brethren. 
 
 It was James the brother of Jude that he 
 meant — the same James that Saul had seen. 
 Then Peter went away to some place that 
 Herod did not know of. 
 
 As soon as it was day the soldiers were 
 ready to lead out Peter to die, but they could 
 not find him. They could not think what 
 had become of him. 
 
 Herod heard that Peter was missing, just 
 as he was expecting to see him led forth in 
 chains. He sent for the soldiers who had 
 the charge of him, and asked them where he 
 was; and when they could not tell him, he 
 had them all put to death, instead of Peter. 
 
 Herod On His Throne. 
 
 Afterwards this cruel man made a journey 
 to Caesarea. That was the place where Cor- 
 nelius lived. It was a very grand city, and 
 there was a grand palace in it for King Herod. 
 There was another grand building in it, where 
 the multitude often came to see shows of men 
 wrestling and beasts fighting. 
 
 Herod's chief servant was named Blastus. 
 This Blastus told Herod that some men 
 were come from Tyre in a ship, and that these 
 men wanted to ask the king's pardon for 
 something they had done to affront him. 
 
 Herod agreed to see the men from Tyre, 
 and he fixed a day for their coming to the 
 grand building. A multitude assembled to 
 hear Herod speak to the men of Tyre. 
 There were stone seats for the multitude 
 from the floor to the ceiling, all round this 
 
THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 495 
 
 vast hall, and there was a great purple 
 throne for Herod in the midst. 
 
 Herod wished to look very splendid and 
 glorious that day. He was dressed in glit- 
 tering robes of silver, which when the sun 
 shone dazzled the eyes of the beholders. 
 Blastus brought in the men of Tyre to hear 
 the king's speech. 
 
 Then Herod made a speech to the people, 
 and he used such fine words that the people 
 shouted and cried out, It is the voice of a 
 god and not of a man ! This was a wicked 
 thing to say. I am sure if Cornelius was 
 there he did not join in the shout. Herod 
 felt pleased with thf words. He liked to be 
 thought a god. 
 
 Three Wicked Kings. 
 
 But God was so much displeased with 
 the words that he sent his angel to make 
 Herod ill that very moment. He felt such 
 horrible pain that he could not stay on his 
 throne, and he was carried by his servants 
 to his bed. Then his flesh was eaten by 
 worms while he was still alive. No doctor 
 could cure him, and in five days he died. 
 Thus every one saw how unlike he was to a 
 god. 
 
 God showed, by sending him this loath- 
 some disease, how much he hates pride — 
 even a proud thought. His sin was, liking 
 to be called a god, and not giving Jesus the 
 glory. 
 
 We have heard of three Herods, and all 
 were very wicked. 
 
 The first killed the babes of Bethlehem. 
 
 The second killed John the Baptist, and 
 mocked Jesus. 
 
 And the third killed James, and would 
 have killed Peter if he could. 
 
 They were all proud of being kings, and 
 they all hated the true King of the Jews. 
 
 Do you remember where Saul had gone 
 
 when he left Jerusalem ? He had gone to 
 his own country — his native city — Tarsus. 
 
 At Tarsus he had played when he was a 
 little boy ; at Tarsus he had sat on his 
 mother's knee; at Tarsus he had been 
 taught to repeat his first Jewish prayers. 
 
 Now he could tell his parents (if they 
 were alive) about Jesus ; now he could tell 
 his old playmates about him who was cruci- 
 fied at Jerusalem a little while ago. But he 
 knew he must not stay there always, for 
 God had chosen him to preach to all nations. 
 
 One day a man arrived in Tarsus, inquir- 
 ing for Saul. Who was this man ? Saul's 
 kindest friend. When the apostles had 
 turned away from Saul this man had taken 
 him by the hand, and begged them to 
 receive him as a brother. This man was 
 Barnabas. His name was Son of Consola- 
 tion, or Comfort. Was not Saul glad to see 
 him ? Oh yes ! glad indeed. 
 
 Barnabas had a great deal to tell him. He 
 told him that he had come from a heathen 
 city, where many people had turned unto the 
 Lord. Come with me, said he, to the city 
 of Antioch ; for we want you there to teach 
 the heathen who have just turned to the 
 Lord. 
 
 A Beautiful City. 
 
 Saul willingly went with Barnabas to the 
 city of Antioch, in Syria. It was a very 
 grand city, full of fine houses, and beautiful 
 gardens, and heathen temples ; but there 
 were quiet rooms in it, where many believers 
 met together to worship the Father and the 
 Son. In this city a new name was given to 
 believers in Christ. They were called Chris- 
 tians, and they have kept that name, even to 
 this day. 
 
 Saul and Barnabas spent a whole year in 
 Antioch, preaching to the new Christians. 
 Once only they took a journey to Jerusalem. 
 
496 
 
 THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 The Christians at Antioch sent them there 
 to give money to poor saints, as bread was 
 very scarce and dear. This was a proof of 
 their love for Jesus, as it was at Jerusalem 
 that Jesus died and rose again. 
 
 While Saul and Barnabas were living at 
 Antioch, in Syria, the Holy Gho^t said to the 
 Christian teachers, Let Barnabas and Saul go 
 to the work I have called them to do. So 
 the other Christian teachers prayed, and sent 
 them out to preach to the heathen. 
 
 And they took with them a young man, 
 named John Mark. He was the nephew of 
 Barnabas, and his uncle was fond of him, and 
 liked to have him with him. 
 
 They Went to Cyprus. 
 
 Where did they first go ? They went to 
 the native country of Barnabas. Saul had 
 once gone to his native place, Tarsus, and 
 now Barnabas wished to go to his. Barna- 
 bas had been born in a very large and beau- 
 tiful island, called Cyprus. 
 
 Saul and Barnabas sailed to Cyprus in a 
 ship. They could easily get there in a day. 
 When they landed at Salamis, the port, they 
 found themselves among orange groves and 
 apricot gardens. The hills were covered with 
 vines, and the green pastures were sprinkled 
 over with milk-white flocks. But this sweet 
 country was made hateful by the wicked ways 
 of its people. The two apostles preached 
 everywhere they could. They went all 
 through the island preaching. The island 
 is about one hundred miles long. 
 
 At the farther end, there was a city called 
 Paphos, where the governor lived. His name 
 was Sergius Paulus. He was a Roman, and 
 was king or governor under Caesar at Rome, 
 just as Pontius Pilate had been king in Jeru- 
 salem. 
 
 But he was a much wiser man than Pilate. 
 When he heard of the preaching of the won- 
 
 derful strangers, he wanted to hear them 
 preach, and so he sent for them, that he 
 might learn about the true God. 
 
 The two apostles went into the palace of 
 the governor, hoping to lead him to believe 
 in Jesus. 
 
 There was a very wicked man in the room, 
 His name was Bar-jesus. He was a Jew, and 
 had a Jewish name, meaning the Son of Jesus, 
 but he was really the son of Satan. He had 
 another name, Elymas, meaning Wise Man — 
 for he professed that he got wisdom from the 
 unseen world, and he pretended to do won- 
 ders. He was a wizzard, or one who knew 
 the wise art. He was a sorcerer and a con- 
 jurer. This wicked Jew could not bear to 
 hear of Jesus, and he tried to turn away the 
 governor from believing in him. We do not 
 know what he said, only that he spoke against 
 the Gospel. 
 
 Punished with Blindness. 
 
 Saul then turned towards him and fixed his 
 eyes upon him, saying, O full of all subtility 
 and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou 
 enemy of all righteousness! the hand of the 
 Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, 
 not seeing the sun for a season. 
 
 Immediately this wicked man found him- 
 self in darkness, and he spread out his hands, 
 hunting for some one to lead him by the 
 hand. 
 
 The governor, when he saw this miracle, 
 believed in the Lord. What a just punish- 
 ment this sorcerer had! He tried to keep 
 the governor in darkness of heart, that he 
 should not see the Light of the world. How 
 this punishment must have reminded Saul of 
 the time when he was made blind. 
 
 Saul hoped that this sorcerer might have 
 his sight returned one day, for he said to him, 
 Thou shalt not see the sun for a season. He 
 did not say he should never see it again ; but 
 
THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 497 
 
 no one knows whether Bar-jesus ever re- 
 pented, or whether he died a blind sinner. 
 
 After this visit to Cyprus you will never 
 hear Saul spoken of any more. From this 
 time his name is Paul. No one knows why 
 his name was changed; perhaps it was be- 
 cause Paul was a Roman name and suited 
 him, now he preached to the Romans and 
 other Gentiles. Saul was only a Jewish 
 name. 
 
 Paul and Barnabas soon left the island of 
 Cyprus. They wanted to go from land to 
 land to preach the Gospel. They set sail 
 from Paphos, crossed the sea in a ship, and 
 came to the great country called Asia. 
 They landed near a town called Perga, on 
 the banks of a river, under high and steep 
 rocks. Beyond they saw great mountains 
 with tops covered with snow. 
 
 It was at Perga that John Mark gave 
 great sorrow to his uncle and to Paul. He 
 said he would go back to Jerusalem, where 
 his mother Mary lived. 
 
 What was his reason? He was not ill. 
 Then he would have had a good reason for 
 going away. 
 
 Mark's Courage Fails. 
 
 It is possible he was afraid to go on. 
 Perhaps he did not like the thought of climb- 
 ing up those snowy mountains, nor creeping 
 along dark, rocky paths, where robbers lay 
 hid in the caves, ready to burst out upon 
 travellers. Perhaps he was afraid lest other 
 men as wicked as Bar-jesus should scoff at 
 him, and put him in prison or till him. We 
 cannot tell what were the feelings of John 
 Mark, but we think he had not courage to 
 bear the troubles of the way. 
 
 He found a ship going from Perga to the 
 
 coast near Jerusalem, and he sailed in it. 
 
 Did not his heart reproach him for leaving 
 
 the holy apostles in the midst of their 
 
 32 
 
 journey? We know not how soon he felt 
 sorry for what he had done ; but we know 
 that in the end he proved a brave and zealous 
 man, and wrote the Gospel called by his 
 name, Mark. This John Mark has the 
 honor of being one of the four evangelists. 
 
 Paul and Barnabas went on their journey 
 together. They travelled on foot over cold 
 mountains to a country called Pisidia. 
 
 A Strange Building. 
 
 They had left the mountains behind, and 
 they had reached a wilderness scattered over 
 with lakes and bogs. At last they came to 
 a large city on the top of a low hill. This 
 city was called Antioch. 
 
 That is a name we have heard before. 
 You have heard of Antioch in Syria; but 
 this city was Antioch in Pisidia. The other 
 Antioch was not far from the sea ; this 
 Antioch was on a flat land near the mountains. 
 
 On the Sabbath day the apostles go to the 
 synagogue. It is a strange building of a 
 round shape, with seats rising one above 
 another. In the middle is a high wooden 
 table, where an old man with a long beard 
 reads out of a scroll he holds in his hand; he 
 reads in Hebrew, and an interpreter trans- 
 lates into Greek : for all the people around 
 understand Greek. After the old man, or 
 the president, has done reading the scroll, he 
 has it carefully rolled up and put into a large 
 chest ; he then sends a message to Paul and 
 Barnabas, asking them to preach. 
 
 Paul rose up and began his sermon. He 
 told the history of the Saviour's death and 
 resurrection. He said near the end of the 
 sermon these words : Through this man 
 is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. 
 
 The Jews were very angry at the sermon, 
 and went out murmuring against Paul ; but 
 the Gentiles stayed behind to beg him to 
 preach the next Sabbath about Jesus. 
 
498 
 
 THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 These Gentiles were called proselytes; 
 they had already turned from idols to believe 
 in the true God, and now they would not 
 leave the apostles, but followed them about, 
 hoping to hear more about Jesus. Paul and 
 Barnabas during the whole week tried to 
 persuade those who believed to continue firm 
 and steadfast in the faith of Jesus. 
 
 The second Sabbath of Paul's visit there 
 was a great stir in the place ; almost the 
 whole city came to the synagogue to hear 
 the word of God. 
 
 The Jews were so angry to see such a large 
 congregation that they spoke against Jesus, 
 and contradicted all that Paul said. This 
 wicked conduct displeased the two holy 
 apostles. Before they left the synagogue 
 they said, As the Jews will not hear the 
 word of God, we return to the Gentiles. 
 The Gentiles were glad to hear this, and 
 many more believed. But the Jews grew 
 more and more angry, till at last they made 
 the preachers leave the city. 
 
 Persecuted at Iconium. 
 
 When the two apostles left Antioch in 
 Pisidia they went to another city. God gave 
 the name of apostles to both of them ; for 
 though they were not of the number of the 
 twelve, they were both sent forth by the Holy 
 Ghost, who is God. None are called apos- 
 tles but those whom God himself — Father, 
 Son, or Spirit — sent forth. 
 
 The apostles went on their way till they 
 came to a city sixty miles off. It was called 
 Iconium. The two apostles went again into 
 a synagogue, and preached again to the Jews 
 and also to those Gentiles who had turned to 
 the true God — the proselytes. But the un- 
 believing Jews set the Gentiles against the 
 apostles and all the Christians. 
 
 The apostles stayed a long while in Ico- 
 nium, and preached very boldly about Jesus, 
 
 and did many miracles to prove that their 
 word was true. There was so much strife 
 between the unbelievers and the believers, 
 that it was very hard for the apostles to bear 
 the treatment they met with ; but they were 
 ready to suffer persecution for the truth's 
 sake. 
 
 At last they heard that a plan was made 
 by their enemies to stone them. Then they 
 thought it was right for them to escape. 
 They left Iconium and passed through a 
 country where shepherds fed their flocks, 
 till they came to a town named Lystra. 
 The people of Lystra had taken Jupiter for 
 their god, and had built him a handsome 
 temple, and had placed in it an ivory image 
 of Jupiter — as a very fine, grand-looking man. 
 
 They were Called Gods. 
 
 In Lystra the apostles preached the Gos- 
 pel. A poor cripple, who had never walked, 
 sat at Paul's feet while he was preaching. 
 He believed in Jesus crucified for his sins. 
 Paul fixed his eyes on him, and seeing he 
 had faith, he said with a loud voice, Stand 
 upright on thy feet. Immediately the man 
 sprang up and began to walk. 
 
 When the people saw what Paul had done, 
 they cried out, The Gods have come down 
 to us, looking like men ! This was said in 
 the common language of the country, and not 
 in Greek. The apostles did not understand 
 what the people said, or they would have told 
 them at once that they were not gods. 
 
 So the apostles went to their home in the 
 city, while the people went to the idol priest 
 to ask him to bring oxen and garlands of 
 flowers to the gates. When Paul and Bar- 
 nabas heard that oxen were going to be sac- 
 rificed to them they were very much grieved. 
 
 The people thought Barnabas was Jupiter, 
 the king of heaven, because he was tall and 
 grand-looking ; and they thought Paul was 
 
THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 499 
 
 Mercury, because he spoke well — and Mer- 
 cury was the god of fine speaking. 
 
 The apostles were dreadfully hurt when 
 they knew that the oxen were to be sacrificed 
 in their honor, and they tore their clothes 
 and ran in among the people, saying, We 
 are men like yourselves, and we preach that 
 you may turn to the true God who made 
 heaven and earth. Yet the apostles could 
 hardly persuade the people to give up their 
 plan of sacrificing to them. 
 
 Stoned and Dragged Out of the City. 
 
 But they had not long to suffer from being 
 too much honored ; for those who would have 
 been their worshippers were easily changed 
 into their murderers. 
 
 And this is how it came to pass : Some 
 Jews came from Antioch, and some Jews 
 came from Iconium, full of hatred against 
 the apostles. They easily set the people 
 of Lystra against them. Nothing now would 
 satisfy these wicked men but killing the apos- 
 tles. They stoned Paul upon the spot. When 
 he seemed dead they dragged his body out 
 of the city. The believers would not leave 
 that dear body, but stood over it lamenting ; 
 suddenly the body moved, rose up, and walked 
 into the city. What joy for Barnabas and all 
 who loved Paul! 
 
 He stayed one night only among his mur- 
 derers. The next day he left for Lystra, 
 accompanied by Barnabas. Paul must have 
 felt great pain while he was being stoned. 
 Did he not then think of Stephen, whose 
 pain he once witnessed ? Then he rejoiced 
 at the sight; now he bitterly lamented the 
 sin. 
 
 What a terrible event was the stoning at 
 Lystra ! Did Paul go on his journey after 
 that? Yes, he did. He went to one city 
 more, called Derbe. There the apostles 
 preached the Gospel and taught many. 
 
 Then they determined to return by the 
 way they came. They saw again the be- 
 lievers in Lystra, in Iconium, and in Antioch 
 in Pisidia. Everywhere Paul and Barnabas 
 entreated the believers to continue trusting 
 in Jesus. They appointed elders to teach, 
 and they prayed with them and commended 
 them to the Lord. At last they came to 
 Perga, where John Mark had once left them. 
 From a port near Perga they set sail, and 
 came back to Antioch in Syria. 
 
 When they returned they asked all the 
 Christians to come together to hear them 
 give an account of their journey. They told 
 the Christians about Sergius Paulus, in the 
 island of Cyprus, and of many more Gen- 
 tiles turning to the Lord. 
 
 Paul and Barnabas lived in Antioch in 
 Syria for a long while, teaching the word of 
 the Lord. During the time they lived in 
 Antioch they once paid a visit to Jerusalem, 
 The reason they went there was to settle a 
 dispute. 
 
 Great Rejoicing. 
 
 This was the dispute : Some Jews came 
 down to Antioch, saying that Gentiles ought 
 to observe all the ceremonies that Moses 
 taught, such as sacrifices and circumcision. 
 Paul and Barnabas said that Gentiles need 
 not observe these laws of Moses. But the 
 other Jews would not agree to what they 
 said. So Paul and Barnabas, and some 
 other holy men, went to Jerusalem to con- 
 sult the apostles. As they went along they 
 preached at places by the way, and told the 
 history of the conversion of many Gentiles, 
 What they related caused great joy among 
 the brethren. 
 
 When Paul and Barnabas arrived at Jeru- 
 salem they saw many believers, and told 
 them the same history. Paul had seen 
 Peter and James before, but now he saw 
 
500 
 
 THE STORY OF SAUL. 
 
 John for the first time. What joy for Paul 
 to see him who had leaned on Jesus' bosom ! 
 All the apostles and elders agreed to meet 
 together to consider about the Gentiles keep- 
 ing the old laws of Moses. They were all of 
 one mind about not troubling the Gentiles 
 V : ^ the ceremonies of Moses. The breth- 
 
 ren in Jerusalem wrote a letter to the 
 brethren in Antioch saying what they 
 thought. Paul and Barnabas and other 
 brethren took this letter back to Antioch; 
 they read it at a meeting of the Christians 
 there, and all who heard this letter were 
 much comforted. 
 
 ANTIOCH. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVI. 
 
 Paul and Barnabas Separate — The Young Man Timothy — Paul and Silas at 
 Philippi — The House of Lydia — Casting Out an Evil Spirit — Locked up in 
 the Old Prison — An Earthquake — The Jailor's Fright — Leaving Thessalomca 
 by Night — At Berea — Arrival at Athens — Paul Preaching on Mars' Hill — 
 the City of Corinth — Story of Gallio — A New Preacher from Egypt — Aquila 
 and Priscilla — Apollos Preaching in Greece. 
 
 EAL in the new cause made the 
 disciples at Jerusalem ready for 
 any toil or sacrifice, and so 
 when Paul and Barnabas were 
 leaving, they took with them 
 several holy men. One of these 
 was a prophet called Silas. He became a 
 great friend of Paul's, and he liked to stay 
 with him at Antioch when the other brethren 
 went back to Jerusalem 
 
 At last Paul said to Barnabas, Let us go 
 again and see the people to whom we preached 
 in our journey. Barnabas was quite ready 
 to go. The next question was, Who shall 
 go with us ? Barnabas said. I will take my 
 nephew, John Mark. No, said Paul, he shall 
 not go with us. Why not? said Barnabas. 
 Because he left us on our journey. Barnabas 
 said that he would like to try him again. 
 But Paul would not try him again. 
 
 Neither Paul nor Barnabas would give up 
 to the other. At the end it was settled that 
 they must part from one another. Barnabas 
 took Mark with him and set sail for Cyprus, 
 his own country, where he had once preached 
 the Gospel. 
 
 Paul chose for his companion Silas, the 
 prophet, and he went to his own native place, 
 Tarsus, where he had once preached the 
 Gospel. 
 
 He went over some very high mountains, 
 
 called Tarsus (or the bull) — mountains with 
 caps of snow on their heads — and he soon 
 came to Lystra, where he had once been 
 stoned. He was not afraid of going there 
 again. This was his third visit. This time 
 the people neither stoned him, nor wanted to» 
 offer sacrifice to him. 
 
 Young Timothy. 
 
 Here }~ -* ' : jund a young man named Tim- 
 othy. He felt a great affection for this Tim- 
 othy. Timothy's mother v/as a Jewess. She 
 had taught Timothy to know the Scriptures 
 when he was quite a child. His grandmother 
 also had taught him. But he did not know 
 about Jesus till Paul preached at Lystra the 
 first time, just before he was stoned. Paul 
 heard a very good character of Timothy from 
 all the Christians at Lystra. He wished very 
 much to have him as a companion on his 
 journey. Timothy was quite ready to go. 
 These two were like father and son. Paul 
 had no son of his own, and he was glad to 
 have Timothy for his son. He called him 
 his dearly beloved son. 
 
 Now there were three travelling together — - 
 Paul, Silas, and young Timothy. On the first 
 journey there were three also, Paul, Barnabas, 
 and young Mark. - But Timothy was more 
 faithful than Mark had been. He was in- 
 deed a comfort to Paul. 
 
 501 
 
502 
 
 PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 
 
 Paul long afterwards reminded Timothy of 
 persecutions and afflictions which came unto 
 him at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what 
 persecutions he endured : but out of them all 
 the Lord delivered him. 
 
 A "Wonderful Dream. 
 
 These three friends travelled about Asia 
 together. I do not mean the great Asia, 
 but the little Asia that you will see on the 
 map just above Cyprus. One day they 
 came to the town called Troas. It was by 
 the seacoast. 
 
 One night Paul had a wonderful dream. 
 He saw a man standing and speaking very 
 earnestly to him, saying, Come over and 
 help us. He knew that the man came from 
 Macedonia. Perhaps the man in the dream 
 said where he came from, or perhaps Paul 
 knew by his dress and language to what 
 country he belonged. When Paul awoke he 
 told his dream to his companions. Luke 
 was one of them. 
 
 We do not know where he first saw Luke. 
 Paul must have been very glad to get 
 Luke for a companion. Luke was a very 
 learned, clover man, and he wrote this 
 history we are reading from the Bible ; yes, 
 it was Luke who wrote the Acts. 
 
 He wrote also one of the histories of our 
 Saviour, and for that reason he is called 
 Evangelist — for the four men who wrote the 
 four histories of Jesus are called the Evange- 
 lists. Luke was a physician and doctor.. 
 Paul called him the beloved Physician. 
 
 There were now four travellers. I need 
 not repeat their names. They must have 
 been happy together, praying and singing 
 hymns to Jesus. The four friends set sail 
 in a little ship. They were two days on the 
 voyage. The second day they arrived at the 
 seacoast of Macedonia, the country of the 
 <nan in the dream. 
 
 They went to a fine city called Phillippi. 
 It was built on a great plain close by a river. 
 Very few Jews lived in this city, so there 
 was no synagogue in it. But there was a 
 little house for prayer close by the river side. 
 
 On the Jewish Sabbath-day — which was 
 Saturday — the four ministers went to this 
 prayer house. They found a few women at 
 the prayer-meeting. The men, perhaps, 
 would not come. 
 
 All at the House of Lydia. 
 
 The ministers sat down and spoke to the 
 women. There was one woman there who 
 listened most attentively. Her name was 
 Lydia. Her trade was selling a purple dye 
 fit for the robes of kings. This woman came 
 from Asia to sell her purple dye, but she 
 discovered in that meeting a treasure more 
 precious than the purple of kings. She found 
 the Lord Jesus. While Paul was speaking 
 about his love, God opened Lydia's heart. 
 
 After the service she spoke to Paul and 
 told him that she believed in Jesus, and that 
 she wished to be baptized. Paul approved 
 of her so well that he had her baptized ; and 
 also her family and servants. Probably they 
 went down to the river close by. 
 
 Then Lydia asked the four ministers to do 
 her a great favor. It was, to come to her 
 house and live there as long as they stayed 
 in Philippi. 
 
 It would cost a great deal to get food for 
 four men, but Lydia loved them all for the 
 sake of Jesus. At first they refused; but 
 she pressed them so much that they con- 
 sented to go to her house. 
 
 How happy were Paul and his friends 
 when they first came to Philippi! You do 
 not forget their names, Silas, Timothy, and 
 Luke. Nobody ill-treated them, and Lydia 
 loaded them with kindness. But soon there 
 was a great change. 
 
PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 
 
 503 
 
 The four ministers went very often to the 
 house of prayer. There they used to preach 
 as well as pray. A young slave-girl once 
 met them as they were going, and she fol- 
 lowed them, crying out, These men are the 
 servants of God, who show unto us the way 
 of salvation. 
 
 How strange it was for a girl to cry Dut 
 in this way in the streets ! She was a poor, 
 miserable girl. The devil had come into 
 her, and made her say wonderful things. 
 Her masters were wicked men, who sent her 
 out to get money by saying what the devil 
 told her. She was called a sorceress. 
 
 The four ministers were grieved to hear 
 her words, but they said nothing at first. 
 
 Paul and Silas Arrested. 
 
 Another day the young girl met the min- 
 isters again. Another day she met them 
 again; and so she went on, following them, 
 and calling after them, day after day. 
 
 One day Paul knew that Jesus would give 
 him the power to cast out the spirit in the 
 girl, so he turned and said, I command thee 
 in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of 
 her. And immediately the spirit came out 
 of her. 
 
 Was it not a happy thing for this poor girl 
 to be delivered from the tormenting devil ? 
 For though what she had said of Paul was 
 true, she told many lies, by which she had 
 got money for her masters. 
 
 Those wicked men grew very angry. They 
 said, We shall get no more money by our 
 slave telling people what will happen. So 
 they went to meet the good men. They 
 caught hold of Paul and Silas, and dragged 
 them to the market-place. They complained 
 of them, to the judges, saying, These men 
 are Jews, and they are a great trouble to our 
 city, for they teach us new customs. 
 
 The multitudes joined in abusing them. 
 
 No doubt they did not like the girl's being 
 stopped from telling them what she fancied 
 was going to happen, so they were very 
 angry with Paul and Silas. 
 
 "Whipped with Rods. 
 
 The judges were ready to please the peo- 
 ple, and so instead of judging them, they 
 ordered their men to beat them. The clothes 
 of Paul and Silas were torn off their backs, 
 and they were beaten with rods. Every 
 stroke of the rod left a red stripe upon the 
 flesh of these holy men. I do not know 
 what number of stripes they had to bear, but 
 the number was more than forty. It was 
 only the Jews who gave no more than forty. 
 The Gentiles gave any number of stripes. 
 
 The cruel judges sent Paul and Silas to 
 prison with their stripes all bleeding, and 
 they ordered the keeper of the prison not to 
 let them escape. 
 
 The keeper, or jailer, was as cruel as the 
 judges. He gave them no food, nor did he 
 bind up their wounds; but he thrust them 
 into a dungeon under ground, and placed 
 their feet in the stocks. There they sat — 
 unable to move their legs or to draw their 
 feet out of the holes in the board — unable to 
 lie down or to stand up. 
 
 Where were Luke and Timothy? They 
 had not been seized by their enemies. How 
 much grieved they must have been when 
 they heard what had happened to their dear 
 friends ! What must Timothy have felt for 
 his father in the Lord. We were shamefully 
 entreated at Philippi, said Paul to the Thessa- 
 lonians. 
 
 Paul and Silas were sitting in the stocks at 
 night, when a sound was heard from their 
 dungeon. Was it the voice of weeping and 
 wailing? No, it was the voice of singing! 
 And what was the singing about? It was 
 the praises of God the prisoners were singing. 
 
504 
 
 PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 
 
 What could they praise God for? Did 
 they praise him for letting them be thrust 
 into a horrible dungeon? Yes! They praised 
 him for letting them suffer for the sake of 
 Jesus, because they knew they should rejoice 
 with him when he came again in his glory. 
 
 The other prisoners heard them sing. 
 They were most of them thieves or murder- 
 ers — wicked men, who deserved to be pun- 
 ished. But now we hope the singing turned 
 their hearts to God; for the apostles sang 
 about Christ. They sang such a song as, 
 Worthy is the Lamb, for he was slain for us. 
 
 Suddenly a dreadful sound was heard : it 
 was the earth moving up and down — God 
 had sent an earthquake. 
 
 He Fell Down Trembling. 
 
 So great was the earthquake that it shook 
 the dungeon, opened the doors, and undid 
 the chains. The apostles found their feet 
 were set free from the holes in the boards. 
 They could easily run away. But they did 
 not move, because they knew it was God's 
 will they should stay. Nor did any of the 
 prisoners escape, though they easily could. 
 
 The keeper was asleep, and was awakened 
 by the earthquake. When he saw the doors 
 standing open he felt sure the prisoners 
 must be gone. He knew he had been wrong 
 in sleeping, and he felt afraid that he should 
 be condemned to die by the rulers. 
 
 So he took out his sword, and was just 
 going to stab himself, when he heard a loud 
 voice from the dungeon calling out, Do thy- 
 self r no harm, for we are all here. Great was 
 his surprise. He called for a light, and 
 sprang into the dungeon, and fell down 
 trembling at the feet of Paul aud Silas — 
 those feet he had once cruelly thrust into the 
 stocks. 
 
 Immediately he brought them out of the 
 dungeon, and said to them, Sirs, what must 
 
 I do to be saved ? He wanted now to save 
 his soul. Paul and Silas answered, Believe 
 in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be 
 saved, and all thy family and servants. 
 
 The jailer had heard before that Jesus 
 had died to save him, and now he wished to 
 be baptized. But first he washed the prison- 
 ers' stripes, and then was baptized with all 
 his family. This must have been done with- 
 out any delay. 
 
 Afterwards the jailer took the prisoners 
 into his own house, and he brought them 
 food. While they were sitting at supper he 
 felt great joy at the thought of his Saviour, 
 and so did all his family. Though Paul was 
 very happy in the jailer's house, he wanted 
 to go and preach in other towns in Mace- 
 donia. Would God deliver him and set him 
 free? 
 
 The morning after the terrible earthquake, 
 some men came to the prison with a message. 
 They asked to see the jailer, and they said 
 to him, The judges desire you to let these 
 two men go. 
 
 The Judges Alarmed. 
 
 The jailer must have been surprised to 
 hear this message, for he remembered that 
 the judges had said to him the night before, 
 Keep these men safely. What caused this 
 change? Probably the judges had been 
 frightened in the night by the earthquake. 
 
 The heathen thought that earthquakes 
 showed the anger of their gods. These 
 judges remembered how unjustly they had 
 treated the apostles ; and they hoped, if they 
 set them free, they should not be punished 
 by their gods, nor by the emperor of Rome. 
 
 The jailer went and gave the message to 
 Paul. He said, The judges direct me to let 
 you go. So depart, and go in peace. 
 
 But Paul would not go. He said, I am a 
 Roman. What did Paul mean by that? 
 
PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 
 
 505 
 
 Was he not a Jew, born at Tarsus, not in 
 Rome? Yes; but there were other men 
 called Romans. It was a favor that the 
 great emperor at Rome gave to some men 
 as a reward ; for if a man was called a 
 Roman, no judge could condemn him, unless 
 he first proved him to be guilty, and unless 
 witnesses proved that he deserved punish- 
 ment. All our people enjoy this privilege, 
 but the heathen had no such privilege unless 
 they were Romans. 
 
 Out of Prison. 
 
 The judges had condemned Paul and Silas 
 without any trial, and the great Caesar at 
 Rome might have punished the judges for 
 their behavior. So Paul sent back this mes- 
 sage : Let the judges come themselves and 
 fetch us out. 
 
 So the messengers went back to the judges 
 and said, Those prisoners are Romans, and 
 they say that you have beaten them openly, 
 and that you must now come and fetch them 
 out yourselves. 
 
 Then the judges were frightened lest they 
 should get into disgrace at Rome. They 
 did not like going themselves to the prison, 
 but to avoid disgrace they went. 
 
 How strange it must have looked to see 
 these judges in their handsome dresses, beg- 
 ging the two prisoners in their poor garments 
 to come out of the prison ! They begged 
 them not only to come out of the prison, but 
 to leave the city as soon as they could. 
 
 The prisoners left the prison with marks 
 of cruel stripes on their backs, but with 
 hearts full of joy to think that the jailer had 
 turned to God. 
 
 Where did they first go? To the house 
 where they had been staying before their 
 beating and imprisonment. They went to 
 the house of Lydia. There they found 
 Luke and Timothy. How much grief all 
 
 those friends must have felt the whole night 
 long! But joy had come in the morning. 
 
 All the Christians in the town came to see 
 Paul and Silas, and to hear about their im- 
 prisonment. It was sad news for them to 
 hear that Paul and Silas must leave them ; 
 but then Luke and Timothy were to stay be- 
 hind, and this must have been a great com- 
 fort. 
 
 Paul and Silas set out on their journey 
 with the stripes still fresh upon their backs.. 
 In this state they travelled nearly a hundred 
 miles. 
 
 A good road led to the largest city in 
 Macedonia — Thessalonica. It was once built 
 by a great general, who called it after the 
 name of his wife, Thessalonica. The apos- 
 tles must have been three days on their way. 
 
 When they arrived they found themselves 
 in a grand city. It was close by the sea, and 
 ships from distant countries brought many 
 fine things to the shore. The shops were full 
 of gay clothing, handsome furniture, and pre- 
 cious jewels. 
 
 Paul Works at His Trade. 
 
 There was also a synagogue in the city. 
 Paul and Silas went there on the Sabbath, 
 and tried to show the Jews that all the 
 prophets had spoken of Jesus before he 
 came into the world. 
 
 A few of the Jews believed, and they were 
 very kind to Paul and Silas. A great many 
 Gentiles turned from idols, and became the 
 servants of God. Paul often went to the 
 houses of the Christians, and taught them 
 more about Jesus. 
 
 But he had hard work to get bread; for he 
 did not like to ask for anything, as it would 
 seem as if he preached for the sake of money. 
 But he had been taught a trade when he was 
 a boy. All young Jews were taught to make 
 something when they were young, even those 
 
506 
 
 PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 
 
 who had rich parents, for they could not tell 
 how soon they might become poor. 
 
 Paul knew how to weave goats' hair into 
 cloth fit for tents. In the evening Paul and 
 Silas would begin their work, and sit up very 
 late, that they might earn enough to buy food 
 for the next day. They worked in the day- 
 time also, when they had time. 
 
 But they could hardly earn enough, and 
 so they were very thankful when a kind 
 friend came from Philippi with a present for 
 them. Perhaps it was Lydia sent the present, 
 or it might be the jailer. Very likely it was 
 Timothy who brought it, for he soon came 
 after Paul, though Luke did not come yet. 
 
 There were many spiteful, envious Jews at 
 Thessalonica. They were so angry with Paul 
 and Silas that they got a great number of bad 
 men to come with them to seize the apostles. 
 They heard that Paul and Silas were in the 
 house of a good man named Jason. They 
 came to his house, making a great noise, and 
 they tried to break in. 
 
 They are Sent Away by Night. 
 
 Jason heard the noise, and he hid Paul and 
 Silas. So when the riotous mob rushed into 
 the house, Paul and Silas could not be found. 
 Then the fierce fellows seized Jason and his 
 friends, and brought them to the judges. 
 
 But this good Jason was not punished, for 
 the judges let him go. 
 
 When he went home, Jason and his friends 
 agreed together that it would be best to send 
 away Paul and Silas that night. They were 
 very sorry to part with them, but they feared 
 lest the wicked people would murder the apos- 
 tles if they stayed. 
 
 That very night Paul and Silas set out in 
 the dark, intending to go to a quiet little 
 town among the fruitful hills. We do not 
 know whether Timothy went with them, or 
 whether he followed them afterwards. The 
 
 apostles, as they walked, thought of the dear 
 Christians in Thessalonica, and prayed that 
 they might one day see them again. 
 
 Paul and Silas had to go nearly fifty miles 
 before they reached the quiet city among the 
 fruitful hills. They could not walk so far in 
 one night. 
 
 What the Books Said. 
 
 The name of the town was Berea. It was 
 a lovely place, built on the side of a hill, 
 among gardens, streams, and groves. It was 
 not a place often visited by travellers, nor 
 were there many rich people in it. 
 
 There was a synagogue in Berea. Paul 
 and Silas went to it on the Sabbath. They 
 must have expected to be scoffed at and con- 
 tradicted ; but these Jews were quite different 
 from the Jews at Thessalonica. They 
 listened to the preaching about Jesus, and 
 they looked in the books of the old prophets 
 to see what was written in them about Jesus. 
 
 They found all was true that the apostles 
 told them. In one of the books they saw it 
 was written that Jesus would be born in 
 Bethlehem ; in another book, that he was 
 led as a lamb to the slaughter. Then Paul 
 told them that such a lamb was Jesus, when 
 he was crucified for our sins. 
 
 Then many of the Jews of Berea believed 
 in Jesus. Many of the Gentiles also believed. 
 The apostles must have felt very happy 
 among these believers ; but they soon were 
 made sorrowful. 
 
 The wicked Jews of Thessalonica heard 
 that Paul was preaching at Berea. They 
 came over the hills to Berea, for they did 
 not care for a journey of fifty miles, if they 
 could only hurt Paul. When they reached 
 Berea, they tried to set the people against the 
 apostles. 
 
 The kind Christians of Berea were so 
 much afraid of these wicked men, that they 
 
PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY, 
 thought it best to send Paul quite away. 
 Silas and Timothy were to remain at Berea, 
 and Paul was to go away secretly, for fear 
 any other wicked Jews should seize him by 
 tlie way. 
 
 It was very sad for Paul to leave his two 
 dear companions behind, but it was better for 
 :he Bereans that Silas and Timothy should 
 
 507 
 
 vei 
 
 Silas and Timothy: Come to me 
 quickly. 
 
 Paul determined to wait at Athens til] 
 they came, for he did not like to be sepa- 
 rated long from his dear companions, though 
 he was glad to think they were teaching the 
 new believers at Berea. Timothy had him- 
 self been taught when a child to know the 
 Scriptures, and he could help the Bereans to 
 
 ANCIENT SHIPS. 
 
 Could Paul go quite alone upon his jour- 
 ney ? Oh no. The kind Bereans would not 
 let him go alone. Some of them went with 
 him to the seashore, about ten miles off. 
 There they found a ship ready to sail. His 
 kind friends went in the ship with him. They 
 all made a long voyage, and after many 
 days arrived at Athens, a very grand city. 
 Then Paul parted from his Berean friends, 
 and he gave them this message to deliver to 
 
 understand what the prophets had written 
 about Jesus. 
 
 Paul found himself alone at Athens. This 
 was the first time he had been alone since he 
 had begun this missionary journey. Athens 
 was in Greece. Paul had now left Macedonia, 
 and had entered Greece, often called Achaia! 
 
 There was a great deal to be seen in Athens. 
 It was the most famous city of Greece. There 
 never was a city with so many beautiful statues, 
 
60S 
 
 PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 
 
 pictures, temples and altars. Was Paul pleased 
 at beholding them? No; he was filled with 
 grief, for most of the statues were the images 
 of false gods, and all the temples were the 
 houses of idols. 
 
 There was indeed one synagogue where 
 the true God was worshipped, but no place 
 where Jesus was honored as the son of God. 
 Paul went to the synagogue on the Sabbath. 
 In the week he went to the grand market- 
 place. 
 
 Sermon on Mars' Hill. 
 
 There were many wise heathens in Athens, 
 who were always in the market-place, talking 
 and teaching, under the shade of trees and 
 marble colonnades. Paul went there to talk 
 with them and to teach them about Jesus. 
 These pretended wise men laughed at Paul, 
 and called him a babbler, or prating fool. 
 Some were offended, and said, He wants to 
 set up new gods. 
 
 But at last they proposed a plan which 
 pleased Paul very much. These Athenians 
 were fond of hearing new things, so they 
 thought they should like to hear Paul preach 
 about the new things he told them. They 
 led him up a hill in the city, where the 
 Judges often sat to give judgment. There 
 were stone seats for the judges. There was 
 a very fine temple on the hill, where Mars, 
 the god of war, was worshipped. 
 
 Paul stood up on Mars' Hill to speak of 
 the Prince of Peace. He spoke first of the 
 one true God, who made all things, and of 
 the sin of worshipping idols. He said God 
 commanded them to repent, and that he 
 would judge the world one day by the Man 
 whom he had raised from the dead. Christ 
 was the man that Paul meant. 
 
 This is what he said: Ye men of Athens, 
 X perceive that in all things ye are too super- 
 stitious. For as I passed by, and beheld 
 
 your devotions, I found an altar with thh 
 inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom 
 therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare 
 I unto you. 
 
 God that made the world and all things 
 therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and 
 earth, dwelleth not in temples made with 
 hands; neither is worshipped with men's 
 hands, as though he needed any thing, see- 
 ing he giveth to all life, and breath, and al" 
 things; and hath made of one blood alt 
 nations of men fcr to dwell on all the face 
 of the earth, and hath determined the times 
 before appointed, and the bounds of their 
 habitation; that they should seek the Lord, 
 if haply they might feel after him, and find 
 him, though he be not far from every one of 
 us : for in him we live, and move, and have 
 our being; as certain also of your own poets 
 have said, For we are also his offspring. 
 
 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of 
 God, we ought not to think that the God- 
 head is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, 
 graven by art and man's device. 
 
 And the times of this ignorance God 
 winked at; but now commandeth all men 
 every where to repent : because he hath ap- 
 pointed a day, in the which he will judge the 
 world in righteousness by that man whom he 
 hath ordained ; whereof he hath given assur- 
 ance unto all men, in that he hath raised him 
 from the dead. 
 
 Many Scoffers. 
 
 When the Athenians heard of the resur- 
 rection, some began to laugh. Others, whe 
 did not mock, said, We will hear about this 
 another day. But there were a few whe 
 really believed in Jesus. One of them was a 
 wise and great man, even a judge. Another 
 was a lady. 
 
 The Lord showed Paul when he ought 
 to leave a city and where he ought to go 
 
PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 
 
 503 
 
 Paul did not stay long among the scoffers of 
 Athens ; for he could do more good in other 
 cities. He set out on his journey, meaning 
 to go to a very large city about fifty miles off. 
 
 His way lay by the seacoast. There was 
 the great sea on each side of him, as he trav- 
 elled alone to Corinth. 
 
 Corinth was a far richer city than Athens. 
 
 In Corinth there were many gluttons and 
 drunkards, many disorderly people, and 
 many vain, foolish women ; but there were 
 not as many learned people, or as many 
 scoffers, as in Athens. 
 
 When Paul arrived there he looked out 
 for a lodging. He found two people who 
 were tent-makers, as he was. He thought 
 
 PAUL PREACHING ON MARS HILL. 
 
 It was now the capitol of Greece. The chief 
 pleasure in Athens was to talk about new 
 things; but the chief pleasure at Corinth was 
 to feast and dance and play at games. Once 
 in three years people came from far countries 
 to Corinth to see the games. At these games 
 men ran races, and wrestled together, and 
 
 and threw spears, 
 leaped over fences. 
 
 and hurled stones, and 
 
 it would be convenient to live with those ol 
 the same trade as himself. These two 
 people were travellers like Paul, and they 
 were also of the same nation. Aquila wa3 
 a Jew, and his wife Priscilla was a Jewess. 
 Paul sat with them and wove his goats' hair 
 into coarse cloth, close by their sides. As 
 they worked they talked. 
 
 Aquila and Priscilla had not believed in 
 
510 
 
 PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 
 
 Jesus crucified for their sins till Paul told 
 them the wonderful story. But when they 
 did hear about him they believed in him, 
 and they tried to please him in everything. 
 
 Every Sabbath Paul went to the syna- 
 gogue and showed that Jesus was the Christ 
 —the promised Saviour. Aquila and Pris- 
 cilla heard Paul preach in the synagogue, 
 and they listened very earnestly. 
 
 One day Paul had the delight of seeing 
 again his dearest friends, Silas and Timothy. 
 They were just come from Macedonia. Per- 
 haps you wonder they had not come to 
 Paul while he was at Athens. They did 
 come while Paul was at Athens, but he had 
 sent them back to Macedonia, and now they 
 came to Corinth. 
 
 Good News from Macedonia. 
 
 It was not their fault that they had not 
 come sooner. Paul had written to them to 
 bid them teach the new Christians at Thes- 
 salonica and other places, as he was afraid 
 the new Christians might turn back to Satan. 
 
 How glad he was to see his dear son 
 Timothy again ! He was more glad when 
 he heard good accounts of the believers in 
 Macedonia. He sat down one night, and 
 instead of working at his loom and weaving 
 the goats' hair, he took his pen and began 
 to write on parchment a letter to the believers 
 at Thessalonica. The letter is in the Bible, 
 and is called The First Epistle of Paul to the 
 Thessalonians. There were no postmen in 
 those days to take letters, and Paul sent it 
 by the hand of the first faithful messenger 
 he could find. 
 
 After this time Paul wrote a great many 
 letters, and some of them we can read in our 
 Bibles. He did not write all these letters 
 with his own hand ; for it is very likely that 
 his eyes were so weak that he asked his 
 friends to write for him. 
 
 At the time that Silas and Timothy 
 arrived the apostle was in want of food. 
 Though he worked so hard he could not 
 earn enough to support him, for there was a 
 famine in the land, and the price of food was 
 six times as much as usual. 
 
 Presents from Philippi. 
 
 But did not the Corinthians give him 
 anything ? Paul would not accept any pres- 
 ents from them, because he knew they would 
 be ready to say he preached in order to get 
 money, 
 
 Silas and Timothy brought in their hands 
 presents from Philippi — perhaps from Lydia 
 and the jailer. 
 
 The Philippians were the most generous 
 of all the people to whom Paul preached, 
 and they were the only people who sent him 
 presents in his distress. Paul was very 
 grateful for their kindness. 
 
 You have heard that Paul was much com- 
 forted by the arrival of Silas and Timothy^ 
 He was more earnest than ever to preach 
 Jesus in the synagogue. But he could only 
 persuade a few Jews to believe on him as the 
 Son of God. 
 
 Most of the Jews grew more and more 
 angry. At last Paul shook his clothes in 
 their sight, and said, that if they perished he 
 was clear of their blood. From this time he 
 would go to the Gentiles. So he went no more 
 to the synagogue, but he did not leave the 
 city. All that believed in Jesus came to 
 hear Paul in a house close by. This house 
 belonged to a good man named Justus. 
 
 Among the believers who came to this 
 house was the chief ruler of the synagogue, a 
 man named Crispus. Who would have ex- 
 pected that the chief ruler of the synagogue 
 should believe? All the family of Crispus 
 believed, as well as himself, and they were all 
 baptized by Paul. 
 
PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 
 
 511 
 
 A great many more people believed and 
 were baptized. Soon there was quite a large 
 congregation meeting in the house of Justus. 
 But the unbelieving Jews were enraged at 
 seeing so many believe, and Paul feared he 
 should be seized, and beaten and imprisoned. 
 
 However at night he had a dream that 
 cheered him much. The Lord appeared to 
 him, and said, Be not afraid, but speak, and 
 do not be silent ; for I am with thee, and no 
 man shall set on thee to hurt thee : for I 
 have much people in this city. 
 
 Now Paul knew that many people would 
 turn to the Lord, and that no one would hurt 
 him. He stayed in Corinth a year and a 
 half, and went on teaching the Gospel. 
 
 At this time a new governor came to Cor- 
 inth. His name was GalMo. The Jews seized 
 Paul and dragged him before the governor. 
 What has he done ? asked Gallio. The Jews 
 replied, he has been teaching us to worship 
 God in a wrong way. 
 
 Paul was just going to open his mouth to 
 defend himself, when Gallio cried out, If this 
 man had done anything wicked I would 
 have judged him, but as it is only about 
 what he says, I will not hear you. The Jews 
 did not like this answer, and wanted to speak 
 more. But Gallio drove them out. Go 
 away ! go away ! said he. So Paul was set 
 free. In this way God kept his promise 
 that no one should hurt him. 
 
 A Splendid City. 
 
 After a good while, Paul said he should 
 leave Corinth. He could not always stay in 
 one place, as he must preach the Gospel to 
 many heathen nations. Priscilla and Aquila 
 also wanted to go away. The five friends 
 agreed to sail in the ship. 
 
 The first place the ship stopped at was 
 Cenchrea. Paul landed there to have his 
 hair and beard shorn, for he had made the 
 
 Nazarite's vow a month before. That vow 
 was not to drink wine, nor to be shorn, for a 
 month. He made the vow when delivered 
 from the Jews at Gallio's judgement-seat 
 He wished to show the Jews that he kept 
 their customs, though he trusted in Jesus foi 
 salvation. 
 
 There was a good woman at Cenchrea, 
 named Phebe, who received him, and was 
 kind to him while at Cenchrea. She was 
 ready to help all the Christians she saw. 
 
 Then Paul returned to the ship and 
 crossed the sea, till he came to Asia. He 
 stopped near a fine city called Ephesus. It 
 was the grandest city in all Asia, with the 
 most splendid temple ever built in honor of 
 an idol. At this grand city Priscilla and 
 Aquila said they must stay and live. Paul 
 and his other companions just landed and 
 rested there for a few days. 
 
 He Promises to Return. 
 
 Paul preached in the . ■ nagogue. The 
 Jews liked what he said so much that they 
 begged him to stay, but Paul told them he 
 could not, as he was hastening to Jerusalem 
 to keep one of the holy feasts. But, said 
 Paul, I will return to you if God will. So, 
 bidding farewell to Priscilla and Aquila, and 
 the kind Ephesians, Paul and his companions 
 set sail again. 
 
 He landed at Caesarea, and went up to 
 Jerusalem. He saw his friends there, and 
 worshipped the Lord in his holy city. It 
 must have been delightful to relate his won- 
 derful history to any apostles who were 
 there. But he did not stay long; he 
 hastened back to Antioch in Syria, the 
 city from which he had set out several years 
 ago. 
 
 Thus ended his second missionary journey 
 It had been indeed a blessed journey, for 
 thousands of heathens had turned to God 
 
HALL OP PILLARS — RUINS OF KARNAK, EGYPT. 
 
PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY. 
 
 513 
 
 In this journey the Gospel was first preached 
 in Europe, for Macedonia and Greece ar~ in 
 Europe. 
 
 Story of Apollos. 
 
 Leaving Paul at Antioch in Syria, let us 
 go back to Ephesus in Asia. 
 
 Soon after Paul left Ephesus, a new 
 preacher appeared at the synagogue. He 
 was a Jew, born in Egypt, who travelled 
 about, and was just come from Rome. It 
 was remarkable that a man so strong in the 
 faith and so earnest in his preaching should 
 come from such a place. The people in 
 Egypt worshipped all sorts of idols. Some 
 of these were animals, and others were the 
 most disgusting reptiles. 
 
 At the same time Egypt had many beau- 
 tiful temples and other buildings. These 
 were very large, had tall and massive pillars, 
 and were covered with inscriptions and 
 figures, which told the story of events long 
 past, or described the idols that were wor- 
 shipped. One of the famous cities of 
 ancient Egypt was Thebes. On the site of 
 this city, which is now called Karnak, are 
 some of the most remarkable ruins in the 
 world. Here is the Hall of Pillars, which 
 consists of two rows of immense columns 
 standing side by side. 
 
 The new preacher who was making a stir 
 at Ephesus had heard of the Jewish religion 
 and believed it, although all around him 
 were people who were ignorant of the true 
 faith. Aquila and Priscilla listened to him, 
 and were much struck, for he was very 
 eloquent ; that is, he spoke in beautiful 
 language, and very earnestly. He knew the 
 Old Testament well ; he could refer to the 
 prophecies and explain their meaning. 
 
 He knew even more than this, (for many 
 Jews knew the Old Testament ;) he knew 
 the preaching of John the Baptist, what he 
 33 
 
 said about repentance, and about baptism, 
 and the coming of Jesus : but here he 
 stoppco. He knew not that Jesus had been 
 crucified, and risen again, and had sent down 
 the Holy Ghost upon believers. 
 
 Aquila and Priscilla listened attentively 
 and they were sorry to find Apollos did not 
 know about Christ; so they got him to come 
 to them, and they told him all about his sac- 
 rifice for our sins. How did they know about 
 these things ? Paul had instructed them while 
 they were sitting weaving together. 
 
 The Gospel in Greece. 
 
 This preacher's name was Apollos. You 
 see he was a very humble man, for he was 
 willing to listen, even to a woman, when he 
 found Priscilla could teach him about Christ. 
 
 He wished very much to go into Greece, 
 that he might preach in the synagogues, for 
 whenever he preached many came to hear 
 him on account of his eloquence. But he was 
 afraid the brethren in Greece would not know 
 he was a Christian, and would not receive him. 
 
 Aquila, Priscilla, and others, said they 
 would write letters to the Christians they 
 knew in Greece. In these letters they said 
 Apollos was a good man, and knew about 
 Christ ; and they said, Pray receive and listen 
 to him. 
 
 So Apollos took these letters and showed 
 them to the Christians in Greece, and then he 
 preached in the synagogues. The believers 
 were much comforted by all he said. When 
 he preached he showed the Jews what the 
 prophets had said about Jesus in the Scrip- 
 tures ; and he convinced a great many. 
 
 The chief cities in Greece or Achaia were 
 Corinth and Athens. The first city in Greece 
 where Apollos preached was Corinth. He 
 heard at Corinth a great deal about Paul, but 
 he had not yet seen him, for Paul was still at 
 Antioch in Syria. 
 
CHAPTER XXXVII. 
 
 Journey through Little Asia — At Ephesus and Corinth — Wizzards and Deceivers— 
 Diana's Gorgeous Temple — Wild Uproar at Ephesus — The Apostle Travels in 
 Greece — Story of Eutychus — A Sad Parting — The Gospel at Tyre — Paul at 
 Jerusalem — A Furious Mob — Paul Bound with Chains — Scene before the Council 
 — An Infamous Plot — Paul Finds Friends in His Danger. 
 
 UITE ready now was Paul for 
 another missionary journey, al- 
 though he had made two al- 
 ready — the first when he set 
 out with Barnabas and Mark, 
 and the second when he set 
 out with Silas. From both these journeys 
 he had returned safely, after suffering many 
 afflictions. He spent some time at Antioch 
 with the brethren, and then set out again. 
 Whom did he take with him on this third 
 journey ? 
 
 One of his companions was a young man 
 named Titus. He was a Greek. His native 
 city was Corinth, the Capital of Greece, or 
 Achaia. Paul loved Titus much, and called 
 him his son. It seems he loved Timothy 
 still more, for he called him his dearly-be- 
 loved son. We are not sure whether Timothy 
 set out on this journey with Paul. Silas was 
 left behind at Jerusalem, as we think. Some 
 Macedonians may have accompanied him, 
 but we are not sure of their names. 
 
 Where did Paul and Titus go ? They 
 went through Little Asia. This Little Asia 
 was divided into Provinces. One was called 
 Cilicia. Tarsus was in Cilicia. There Paul 
 was born ; his relations lived there. It is 
 probable Paul visited his native city. 
 
 He went afterwards into a province called 
 Galatia. It was a wild, but warm-hearted 
 people who lived in it. Paul had visited 
 514 
 
 Galatia some years before. The people were 
 very fond of Paul at first, till false teachers 
 came and set them against him for a time. 
 
 But they readily granted Paul's request. 
 What was it? He had promised the breth- 
 ren that he would collect money for the poor 
 saints in Jerusalem who were in great dis- 
 tress. You remember there was a famine in 
 most lands, and besides the famine there were 
 persecutions at Jerusalem ; so the poor saints 
 were often in great distress. 
 
 Meeting Old Friends. 
 
 When Paul left Galatia he went to other 
 parts of Asia, and visited Lystra, which was 
 dear to him as Timothy's birthplace. We 
 know not whether Timothy's pious mother, 
 Eunice, was still living. 
 
 Paul went through the province of Phrygia, 
 and then went down towards the great city of 
 Ephesus. When he had landed there on his 
 last journey he had promised to return soon, 
 and now he had come ; not by sea, as before, 
 but by land. He found there many believers, 
 and among them Aquila and Priscilla, his old 
 friends, whom he had left there at his last visit. 
 
 It was a great joy to meet them again : 
 Paul could sit with them as he used, and 
 weave goats' hair into cloth for tents. Thus 
 he earned bread for himself and his com- 
 panions, and he gave to the poor all he 
 could spare. 
 
PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY 
 
 515 
 
 Timothy was now with him, and Titus was 
 with him still, and the believers who had fol- 
 lowed him from Macedonia. Very happy 
 was this party of Christians. In the evening, 
 while they wove cloth, they would talk about 
 the labors of the day, and praise God for the 
 blessing he gave to their words. 
 
 Twelve Ignorant Men. 
 
 When Paul arrived at Ephesus, he did not 
 find Apollos there. That eloquent preacher 
 had gone to Corinth a long while before, and 
 was still there. It must have disappointed 
 Paul not to see him. 
 
 But there were twelve men at Ephesus, 
 very much like Apollos in not knowing about 
 Jesus, but they had not met with any such 
 teachers as Apollos had found. Why had 
 not Aquila and Priscilla taught them ? Per- 
 haps these twelve men had not preached, and 
 so their ignorance had not been seen. 
 
 Paul began to talk to these twelve men. 
 He found they believed in the true God, and 
 in the Old Testament, and in the preaching 
 of John the Baptist — but that was all. They 
 did not know about the resurrection of Jesus. 
 Paul said to them, Have ye received the 
 Holy Ghost since ye believed ? They re- 
 plied, We never heard of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Perhaps they meant that they had never 
 heard of the Holy Ghost being given at 
 Pentecost. Unto what, then, were you bap- 
 tized ? inquired Paul. We are baptized unto 
 John's baptism, answered the twelve. Paul 
 then said, John verily baptized with the 
 baptism of repentance, telling the people 
 they should believe on him who should 
 come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 
 When they heard this they were baptized in 
 the name of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 Thus these men were twice baptized. 
 Afterwards Paul laid his hands on them. 
 Then the Holy Ghost was given to them, 
 
 and they began to speak with other tongues 
 and to prophesy. You remember that none 
 but apostles could bestow these wonderful 
 gifts. 
 
 Then Paul appeared again in the syna- 
 gogue. Those who liked to hear Paul 
 preach, when he paid his first short visrt 5 
 must have been glad to see him enter the 
 synagogue again. But they liked him less 
 when they heard him boldly declare Jesus to 
 be the only Saviour. They contradicted 
 him, and made objections to all he said. 
 
 Paul went on preaching there for three 
 months. At last he could not go any more 
 to the synagogue, for the Jews tried to set 
 the people against the way of salvation by 
 Jesus. 
 
 When Paul departed from the synagogue, 
 a man, named Tyrannus, lent him a large 
 room, in which wise men used to give 
 lectures about worldly knowledge. Perhaps 
 this Tyrannus was converted, but we know 
 not his motive for lending this room. Pciul 
 invited people to come there every day to be 
 taught ; and many came. 
 
 A Wonderful Touch. 
 
 This teaching went on for two years, and 
 all that lived at Ephesus, and in other cities, 
 could hear the word of the Lord Jesus — 
 Jews as well as Greeks. 
 
 And God enabled Paul to do very great 
 miracles. Not only did he cure sick people 
 when he saw them, and touched them, and 
 spake to them, but he did still more. If 
 Paul touched a handkerchief or apron, and 
 it was brought to a sick person, he was 
 made well by touching it ; or, if he had an 
 evil spirit, the poor creature was delivered 
 from it. Just as people who had fevers and 
 plagues give their, diseases to others, if 
 healthy people touch clothes they hav^ 
 toucned ; so the body of this aaostle couki 
 
516 
 
 PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY. 
 
 give health to the sick and afflicted, by- 
 clothes he had touched being sent to them. 
 It was Christ's promise that his apostles 
 could do greater works than he had done. 
 
 At last Paul had the comfort and delight 
 of seeing Apollos. He had heard much of 
 him, and now he saw that eloquent man and 
 Messed preacher. Apollos came to Ephesus 
 while Paul was still there. He had just 
 .;ome from Corinth, the capital of Greece. 
 He had a great deal to tell Paul about the 
 Corinthians — some good, but more evil. 
 
 Paul was made so uneasy by hearing of 
 their sins, that he went over the sea that he 
 *night reprove the offenders. 
 
 Wicked People at Corinth. 
 
 He stayed at Corinth a very short time, 
 and was much grieved to find that Apollos' 
 account was only too true. There were 
 many there very fond of Apollos, who said, 
 T am of Apollos ; many others said, I am of 
 Paul ; yet they did not follow what Apollos 
 taught or what Paul taught. 
 
 Paul soon returned to Ephesus. He 
 thought it would be best to send some good 
 men to Corinth, that they might bring the 
 Corinthians to repentance. He fixed upon 
 Timothy as one messenger, and on Erastus 
 as another, a man born in Corinth. He told 
 them to go round by Macedonia, and to 
 collect money for the poor saints in Jeru- 
 salem as they passed through Philippi, 
 Thessalonica and Berea. 
 
 While the messengers were absent Paul 
 wrote a letter to the Corinthians. He wrote 
 it with many tears, flowing from the anguish 
 of his heart. This pain was worse to him 
 than all the labor of his hands to earn bread. 
 
 When he had finished his very long letter 
 he sent it by Titus, who was a native of 
 Corinth. Titus was afraid lest he should be 
 ill-received by the sinful Christians at Corinth. 
 
 But Titus obeyed Paul's wishes, and went 
 with a companion to Corinth. He took 
 Trophimus as his companion. 
 
 When Titus arrived at Corinth he was 
 received most affectionately. The Corinth- 
 ians were quite penitent, and ready to obey 
 Titus in everything. Paul's letter was read 
 to them, and it made a great impression ; for 
 the Corinthians attended more to what Paul 
 wrote than to what he spoke, for he was not 
 a fine speaker, nor was he grand-looking. 
 
 Titus did not soon come back to Ephesus. 
 Paul continued to feel great anxiety about 
 the Corinthians, and kept longing for Titus* 
 return. 
 
 As Athens was famous for learning, as 
 Corinth was famous for games, so Ephesus 
 was for sorcery. The city of Ephesus 
 was full of deceivers. The devil had great 
 power in Ephesus, and enabled people to 
 deceive others by their pretended wonders. 
 
 These deceivers were called sorcerers, or 
 conjurers, or wizzards, or magicians, or 
 charmers, or exorcists. These names all 
 mean nearly the same thing. 
 
 One Against Seven. 
 
 When these sorcerers heard of Paul's 
 miracles, they tried to do miracles of their 
 own. There was one old man named Sceva. 
 He was a Jew, and he was a chief priest. 
 He had seven sons, and he ought to have 
 brought them all up to serve the God of 
 Israel. 
 
 But these seven sons served the devil, 
 They wanted to do the same miracles thai 
 Paul did, without believing in Jesus. 
 
 There was a man who had a very fierce, 
 evil spirit. The seven brothers went to his 
 house to cast out the evil spirit. They stood 
 over him, and said, I command thee by Jesus 
 whom Paul preaches to come out of him. 
 The evil spirit, instead of coming out of the 
 
PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY. 
 
 517 
 
 man, made this terrible answer, Jesus I know, 
 and Paul I know; but who are you ? 
 
 Having said this, the man jumped up sud- 
 denly, seized hold of the brothers, struggled 
 with them all seven, tore their clothes and 
 bruised their bodies, and conquered them all; 
 so that the frightened brothers ran from the 
 house with hardly any clothes, and many 
 bleeding wounds. 
 
 This overthrow of the sorcerers was much 
 talked of by the people of Ephesus ; and it 
 made many praise the Lord Jesus by whom 
 Paul did such real wonders. 
 
 There were many other sorcerers in Ephe- 
 sus, who came to Paul and confessed the 
 wicked tricks they had played through 
 Satan ; and they brought their books about 
 their charms and burned them in the streets 
 before all the people. They would not sell 
 the books because they were wicked books. 
 They might have got fifty thousand pieces of 
 silver for them if they had sold them, but they 
 loved Jesus more than silver. 
 
 Many more people believed in Jesus when 
 they saw the burning of the books. 
 
 A Magnificent Temple. 
 
 In the city of Ephesus there was an im- 
 mense and beautiful temple, the finest idol 
 temple in the world. It was built of white 
 marble, and it was surrounded by green 
 marble pillars. But to whose honor was it 
 built? 
 
 To the honor of an ugly idol called Diana. 
 There were many beautiful statues called 
 Diana; but this idol was a mere block of 
 wood, with something like a head at the top, 
 and short arms at the sides, leaning on two 
 iron sticks to keep it from falling. This block 
 was adorned with a splendid crown and girdle, 
 and carefully preserved behind a rich curtain, 
 in a kind of little temple in the midst of the 
 great temple. The priests who waited on the 
 
 idol taught the people that it came down from 
 heaven . 
 
 People came from all countries to worship 
 Diana and to join in her riotous feasts, and 
 they used to carry little shrines to their chil- 
 dren at home as a remembrance of her. 
 These shrines were made of silver, anc. .vere 
 like little temples with the idol inside. 
 
 There was a man named Demetrius ; he 
 had grown rich by making these silver 
 shrines. He found that people did not buy 
 so many as they used. He knew that Paul 
 had turned multitudes from the worship of 
 idols. This made him very angry, for he 
 felt that he should not get much money by 
 his shrines. 
 
 The Uproar at Ephesus. 
 
 He wished to stop Paul from preaching. 
 The way he took was to call together all 
 the silversmiths in the place and to make 
 them a speech. In his speech he told them 
 that Paul was turning every one away from 
 their great goddess Diana, and that soon 
 they would have no more shrines to make. 
 
 The silversmiths were so much enraged 
 that they began to cry out with all their 
 might, Great is Diana of the Ephesians ! 
 
 The people in the city heard the cry, and 
 seized two of Paul's companions, called 
 Gaius and Aristarchus. The people then 
 dragged them into a large place called a 
 theatre. Paul heard the uproar, and wanted 
 to go into the theatre after his companions, 
 but the Christians in Ephesus would not let 
 him go in, lest he should be torn to pieces. 
 
 It was one of the amusements in this the~ 
 atre to see wild beasts tear each other to 
 pieces. Who could say what those fierce 
 men might do to Paul ? For two hours the 
 people continued to cry out, Great is Diana 
 of the Ephesians ! At last a chief man of 
 I the city rose up and spoke. 
 
518 DEMFTRIUS RAISING AN UPROAR AT EPHESUS AGAINST PAUL- 
 
PAUL'S THIRD juJRNEY. 
 
 51*> 
 
 The riotous bawlers stopped when they 
 saw him. He spoke to them very wisely, 
 and advised them to be quiet, and to go 
 home. 
 
 What a comfort it was when this uproar 
 ceased ! Those two friends, Gaius and Aris- 
 tarchus, who had been dragged into the the- 
 atre, had not been torn to pieces by the 
 furious mob ! This was God's deliverance of 
 his own servants from men more cruel than 
 wild beasts. 
 
 I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, said 
 Paul to the Christians at Corinth. 
 
 Paul Takes His Departure. 
 
 After the uproar was over at Ephesus, 
 Paul prepared to leave the place, for it was 
 dangerous to remain. He called all the be- 
 lievers together, and took leave of them with 
 much affection. He had been much shaken 
 by the uproar, and had almost died from 
 fear and trembling. 
 
 Then he set out with his own campan- 
 ions. Their names are not mentioned in the 
 Scriptures. Timothy was not one of them, 
 for he was gone on before to the very coun- 
 try where Paul was now going. What was 
 that country? The country to which the 
 man in the dream had called him long ago 
 — Macedonia. 
 
 On the way to Macedonia, Paul went to 
 Troas, hoping there to meet Titus. Day 
 after day he waited there, but he was cast 
 down by Titus not arriving. Why was he 
 so anxious? He wanted to know whether 
 the Corinthians had minded the letter he had 
 sent by Titus. He feared lest they were go- 
 ing on in their sinful ways. 
 
 Weary of waiting for Titus at Troas, Paul 
 set out for Macedonia, hoping to meet him 
 there. He went to that city of Macedonia 
 where he had first preached the Gospel — 
 Philippi. There he saw friends who had 
 
 often sent him presents in his distress. 
 Lydia may have been one of those friends, 
 and the jailer another. 
 
 But he did not find Titus there. At last 
 the much-longed-for one came. After Paul 
 had been waiting some time, Titus arrived 
 with most joyful news. The Corinthians had 
 repented. So Paul wrote them a comforting 
 letter, and sent it by the hands of Titus. 
 That young minister's heart now burned 
 with affection for the Corinthians, and he 
 gladly went back to Corinth with Paul's 
 letter of forgiveness. 
 
 Paul now travelled about Greece, and to 
 other countries beyond, still collecting for 
 the saints at Jerusalem. He was accom- 
 panied by many brethren. At length he 
 determined to visit Jerusalem, and he set 
 sail, with many companions, and landed at 
 Troas, on the way to Jerusalem. 
 
 There were eight brethren now assembled 
 with Paul at Troas (among them were Luke 
 and Timothy). Paul spent a week at Troas, 
 
 The last day of his stay was the Sabbath. 
 
 On that evening all the Christians met 
 together in an upper chamber on the third 
 floor. There were many lights in it. A 
 young man, named Eutychus, sat near a 
 large window that was open. Paul preached 
 a great while, even till midnight, and the 
 young man fell asleep. In his sleep he fell 
 out of the window. 
 
 The Young Man is Alive. 
 
 The little congregation saw him fall, and 
 they rushed down the stairs outside, going 
 through the window. Paul stopped preach* 
 ing, and went down also. All the Christians 
 were much grieved to find the youth lying 
 dead upon the ground. 
 
 But Paul stretched himself over the body, 
 and held it in his arms, and said to the weep- 
 ing friends, Do not be grieved, for his life 
 
520 
 
 PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY. 
 
 is in him. The young man was indeed 
 alive, and his friends were comforted. They 
 all went up again with Paul. 
 
 It was now past midnight. During the 
 dark hours of the morning the happy 
 Christians broke bread, in remembrance of 
 their crucified Lord ; and they talked about 
 him a long while. When the beams of the 
 rising sun shone upon them, Paul and his 
 eight companions took leave of the fellow- 
 Christians, and left Troas. The eight com- 
 panions went down to the ship and set sail, 
 but Paul preferred walking alone. 
 
 Paul's companions got into a ship, while 
 Paul himself walked across the land about 
 twenty miles. The way was through groves 
 of oak-trees, which shaded the apostle from 
 the sun, while the little birds on this spring 
 day filled the air with their warblings. 
 
 He Sails Away in a Ship. 
 
 Why did Paul wish to go this days 
 journey all alone ? How gladly would 
 Luke, or Timothy, or any of the brethren, 
 have walked with him ! No doubt he 
 wished to speak as he went along to his 
 Father in heaven. Had not his God that 
 very night enabled him to revive the dead ? 
 
 He found the ship at the place he had 
 fixed upon. The place was Assos. He got 
 into the ship, and he sailed away in it. 
 
 As the ship did not belong to Paul he 
 could not make it stop where he pleased. 
 Though he would have liked to have the 
 ship stop at Ephesus, yet for some reasons 
 he was glad that it sailed past the great city, 
 and stopped at Miletus. 
 
 When Paul heard that the ship would 
 stay some time at that place, he sent a mes- 
 sage to Ephesus to ask the elders of the 
 church to come and see him. The messen- 
 gers had thirty miles to go. But these 
 Ephesians loved Paul so much that they 
 
 quickly came to him. They saw again 
 their beloved apostle, and they saw also 
 two of their own countrymen who had 
 travelled with him by sea and land, 
 named Tychicus and Trophimus. Paul 
 spoke to them in a most affectionate manner. 
 He told them he was going to Jerusalem, 
 and that he knew he should be put in 
 prison. But, said he, I am ready to give up 
 my life for Jesus. Then he said, I know that 
 you shall see my face no more. 
 
 A Sad Farewell. 
 
 He reminded them how he had taught 
 them night and day for three years, and how 
 with his own hands he had earned his bread. 
 Then he kneeled down ?jid prayed with 
 them all. They all wept very bitterly, and 
 fell on Paul's neck and kissed him. What 
 grieved them most was Paul's raying that 
 they should see his face no more. Their 
 love to him was very great. They would 
 not leave him, till they saw him get into the 
 ship and sail away. They had a long 
 journey home, and they must have shed 
 many tears by the way. 
 
 Neither count I my life dear unto myself, 
 so that I might finish my course with joy, 
 was one of the sayings of this remarkable 
 man. 
 
 Paul went sailing on, first in one ship and 
 then in another, till he came to the city of 
 Tyre. That city is just above the land of 
 Canaan, and from it a poor woman once 
 came to ask mercy of the Lord Jesus when 
 on earth. 
 
 The ship stopped here to unload, for it 
 was filled with good things for the people of 
 Tyre to buy. We do not know for certain 
 what they were; very likely sacks of whent 
 and barrels of wine, from the fruitful fields 
 of Asia. 
 
 Paul and his companions landed, and spent 
 
PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY. 
 
 521 
 
 seven days with the Christians of Tyre. 
 That woman who had so much faith in 
 Jesus must often have talked of her beloved 
 Lord, but perhaps she was dead now. 
 
 Among the Christians of Tyre there were 
 some prophets, and they told Paul that if he 
 went up to Jerusalem he would have much 
 sorrow ; but Paul would go, for he was ready 
 to suffer for Jesus' sake. 
 
 When the week was over, Paul and his 
 companions walked towards the seashore. 
 The Christians of Tyre walked with them, 
 and even their children. When they were 
 out of the city they all kneeled down on the 
 seashore and prayed. Would the children 
 ever forget seeing Paul go away? There 
 was an affectionate parting by the side of the 
 ship. The Christians from Tyre went home. 
 
 Soon the ship came to the end of its voy- 
 age, just at the foot of Mount Carmel— that 
 mount where long ago Elijah had prayed for 
 fire to consume the sacrifice. 
 
 A Good Old Man. 
 
 The ship went no farther. Paul and his 
 companions continued their journey on foot 
 along the seacoast. They went thirty-five 
 miles, and then came to the fine city of 
 Caesarea. At this place once lived Cornelius, 
 the Roman centurion — the first Gentile who 
 received the Holy Ghost from heaven. That 
 was more than twenty years ago. Probably 
 he was not there, for soldiers do not remain 
 long in one place. 
 
 But one old man was there whom Paul 
 had seen. Yes ! he had seen him once in 
 Jerusalem, when Stephen was stoned. This 
 old man was Philip the deacon. He was 
 one of the seven deacons, Stephen was an- 
 other. This deacon had once been sent to 
 talk to the rich Ethiopian in his chariot 
 some twenty years ago. 
 
 Philip was still at Caesarea. He was liv- 
 
 ing there with his four daughters. They 
 were all prophetesses. It was indeed a hoh- 
 family — such a father and such daughters ! 
 
 Paul liked to stay in the house of thh 
 good man. His companions stayed then 
 too. Some of them may have left him, but 
 of this we are sure, Luke was with him, and 
 the two Ephesians,Tychicus and Trophimus. 
 
 The Apostle's Girdle. 
 
 There came one day to Philip's house a 
 prophet named Agabus. He took off Paul's 
 long girdle and bound his own hands and 
 feet with it. What could he mean by this? 
 Paul must have wondered. He said, So 
 shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man 
 that weareth this girdle; and they shall 
 deliver him to the Gentiles. 
 
 When Paul's friends heard these words 
 they began to entreat him not to go to Jeru- 
 salem. Luke and Philip and all the rest 
 joined in the entreaty, while they shed many 
 tears. Paul answered, Why do you weep 
 and break my heart ? For I am ready not 
 only to be bound, but to die in Jerusalem for 
 the Lord Jesus. 
 
 When his friends could not persuade him 
 they left off begging him saying, The will of 
 the Lord be done. Then Paul and his com- 
 panions went on, walking to Jerusalem. 
 
 Paul left Caesarea with more companions 
 than he brought with him. Christians loved 
 Paul, and liked to be with him. They 
 wanted also to keep the Feast of Pentecost 
 at Jerusalem. 
 
 The distance was seventy-five miles, which 
 must have taken them three or four days tc 
 travel. They had to pack up their luggage to 
 send by some way to Jerusalem. They had 
 also much money to take to the poor saints 
 in that city. Their journey must have beer 
 tiresome, for it was now summer, and the 
 climate was hot. 
 
522 
 
 rAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY. 
 
 When they arrived at Jerusalem they went 
 to the house of a very good old man, who 
 had long believed in Jesus. Mnason was 
 living at that time somewhere in Jerusalem, 
 and the disciples led Paul and Luke, and 
 their companions, to the house of this good 
 old man. 
 
 The brethren in Jerusalem were very glad 
 to see this famous apostle Paul. Luke, also, 
 they must have been glad to see, for he had 
 already written his precious history of Jesus. 
 We do not know how many apostles there 
 were now at Jerusalem. One there certainly 
 was, James. He was the ruler of the Chris- 
 tians in Jerusalem. 
 
 Paul knew they wished to hear about his 
 travels, and he related how God had turned 
 the hearts of many Gentiles from idols to 
 Jesus. 
 
 The brethren were all delighted to hear 
 this account ; and they praised God for his 
 wonderful works. Paul gave them also the 
 money for the poor saints — the gift of the 
 Gentiles. This was a joyful beginning. But 
 soon all that the Holy Spirit had said by the 
 prophets came true. 
 
 A Thrilling Address. 
 
 The day after Paul's arrival a great meet- 
 ing was held in Jerusalem. The apostle 
 James was chief over the assembly ; many 
 elders were there. Christians brought large 
 sums of money, collected in distant countries, 
 for the poor saints in Jerusalem. 
 
 When they had presented these gifts, Paul 
 began to address the assembly. He told 
 them the history of his travels, and of the 
 conversions the Lord had wrought among 
 the Gentiles. What praises flowed from the 
 lips of the believers, when Paul had finished 
 his speech ! 
 
 Then some elders arose and began to give 
 the apostle their advice. What, did they 
 
 think that Paul needed their advice? Yes, 
 they did. They had met with Jews who bore 
 false witness of Paul, and who said he set 
 the people against the law of Moses. Was 
 this true ? 
 
 Then they gave this advice: Brother, 
 show that you honor the law of Moses by 
 doing what we desire. We have here four 
 men who have made a vow, probably the 
 vow of the Nazarite; see that they shave 
 their heads, and let them purify themselves 
 with you, and do you pay the expenses. 
 Thus you will show thousands of Jews that 
 you keep the law, and teach the Jews to 
 keep it. 
 
 Uproar in the Temple. 
 
 Paul followed this advice. He took the 
 men into the temple, for they were Jews. 
 Did this satisfy the fierce Jews ? No, it only 
 made Paul's accusers more violent. 
 
 The men were purified during seven days. 
 When the seven days were almost over, 
 some Jews from Asia (probably from the 
 city of Ephesus), seeing Paul in the temple, 
 stirred up the people against him, and seized 
 him, saying, This Paul is the man who goes 
 about speaking against the temple; and he 
 has now taken Gentiles into the temple. 
 
 Paul had never done this. These wicked 
 Jews had seen him walking in the streets 
 with Trophimus the Ephesian; but Paul had 
 never taken him into the temple. 
 
 But most people believed what the Jews 
 from Asia said; and they all ran together 
 into the temple. They found Paul in the 
 court of Israel, near the altar, where he had 
 a right to be. They seized hold of him, and 
 dragged him out of the court, down the 
 steps. The Levites shut the great brass 
 doors behind him. His enemies hurried him 
 into the streets, and would soon have stoned 
 him — as they had stoned Stephen more than 
 
PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY 
 
 523 
 
 twenty years before — had they not been 
 suddenly stopped in their wickedness. 
 
 There was a great tower just above the 
 temple, where a thousand Roman soldiers 
 lodged. The captain heard that there was 
 an uproar in the city, and he ran down in 
 haste, with many soldiers, to the place where 
 
 come true. Here is Paul in chains. Wii 
 he not soon be in prison? May he not 
 soon be led forth to die? This was one 
 reason why he said, The Holy Ghost 
 witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds 
 and afflictions abide me. 
 
 When the captain had bound Paul, he 
 
 PAUL BOUND WITH CHAINS. 
 
 Paul was. He found the Jews beating him, 
 but when these men saw the captain they 
 left off beating Paul; for they knew they 
 had no right to do so. 
 
 The chief captain came near, and ordered 
 his soldiers to bind Paul between two, with 
 two chains, as Peter had once been bound. 
 
 Now the prophecies about Paul began to 
 
 inquired what he had done to make the 
 people so angry with him. 
 
 The people gave so many answers to this 
 question that the captain did not know what 
 to believe. Some cried out one thing and 
 some another, and there was such confusion 
 that the captain ordered the soldiers to take 
 him into the tower or castle. 
 
524 
 
 PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY. 
 
 The soldiers led him along till they came 
 to the stairs up to the castle. As they 
 went up those stairs the people pushed the 
 soldiers so much that Paul was lifted off his 
 feet and carried up the stairs in the soldiers' 
 arms. All the time the people, who were 
 pressing up the stairs kept on crying out, 
 Away with him ! These people were 
 ferocious as hounds ready to seize upon a 
 harmless deer. 
 
 Allowed to Speak. 
 
 The captain had gone up the stairs first, 
 for as Paul was on his way he saw the cap- 
 tain, and respectfully said to him, May I 
 speak unto the people ? 
 
 The captain wanted to know who he was, 
 Paul answered, I am a Jew of Tarsus, and I 
 beseech thee suffer me to speak unto the 
 people. There was something so pleasant 
 and honest in Paul's manner, that the cap- 
 tain gave leave for his prisoner to speak. 
 
 Then Paul stood on the stairs, rather near 
 the top, and made a sign to the people below 
 that he was going to speak. The fierce mul- 
 titude wanted to hear him speak, wondering 
 what he would say ; and so they suddenly 
 became quite silent. 
 
 Then Paul spoke. He told the multitude 
 his history — how he once cruelly treated the 
 Christians — and how he saw a light from 
 heaven, and heard Jesus speak—and how he 
 was made blind — and how Ananais restored 
 his sight — and how he preached about Jesus 
 in Jerusalem, till God said, Depart I will 
 send thee far away to the Gentiles. 
 
 As soon as Paul had uttered these words, 
 there arose such cries and shouts from the 
 people beneath as you never heard. Amid 
 their yells they screamed, Away with such 
 a fellow from the earth ; for it is not fit that 
 he should live ! As they cried out, they 
 took off their upper garments to prepare for 
 
 stoning him, and they threw dust in the ah, 
 in their rage. 
 
 The captain began to think that Paul must 
 have committed some very dreadful crime to 
 make the Jews so angry with him. So he 
 ordered a centurion to take him into the cas- 
 tle, and to have him scourged till he would 
 confess what he had done. What a horrible 
 command this was ! For what crime could 
 Paul confess ? He might have died under 
 the scourge before he could confess. But 
 Paul remembered that he was a Roman; 
 that is, he had the privileges of a Roman 
 citizen, though he was a Jew. 
 
 That privilege was, not to be punished 
 without being tried first and found guilty. 
 What was thought so great a privilege in 
 those countries, is now enjoyed by every 
 American. No one can be punished unless 
 found guilty. 
 
 The Captain Frightened. 
 
 The soldiers were binding Paul with straps 
 of leather to the whipping-post before they 
 beat him with rods, and the centurion was 
 standing near, when Paul said to the centurion, 
 Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is 
 a Roman, and who has not been condemned? 
 
 When the centurion heard this, he told the 
 soldiers not to go on with their work, and he 
 went to the captain and said, You must take 
 care what you do, for this man is a Roman. 
 
 Then the captain was quite frightened at 
 having bound him with straps or thongs, and 
 he went quickly to Paul, and said, Tell me, 
 art thou a Roman ? Paul said, Yes. The 
 captain said, I paid a great deal of money to 
 be made a Roman. 
 
 But I, said Paul, was free-born. He meant 
 that his father had the privilege, and so he, 
 his son, inherited it from him. The captain 
 then sent away the soldiers, and made therp 
 put away their straps and their rods. 
 
PAUL CONVEYED INTO THE CASTLE. 
 
 525 
 
526 
 
 PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY. 
 
 But he thought it best to let Paul sleep in 
 the castle that night, for had he sent him 
 back the Jews might have torn him in pieces. 
 So Paul slept that night in the castle; but he 
 was not treated as a common prisoner, because 
 he was a Roman. Yet he still wore his chains, 
 for even a Roman might wear chains. 
 
 Now Paul knew that his enemies would not 
 be able to kill him, and that he would go to 
 the great city Rome, the grandest city in all 
 the world, where Caesar, the emperor of the 
 world, reigned. 
 
 Paul had long wished to go to Rome, that 
 he might speak for Jesus there and turn many 
 to the Lord. But he did not yet know how 
 he was to get there. 
 
 Visit from Paul's Nephew. 
 
 The next morning a young man went up 
 the stairs leading to the castle. The place 
 was well guarded by soldiers. The young 
 man asked the centurion at the door whether 
 he might see Paul. The centurion gave him 
 leave. 
 
 Who was this young man ? Was it Tim- 
 othy ? No ; it was none of Paul's fellow- 
 travellers, but it was a young man who loved 
 him, and a young man well known at Jeru- 
 salem as a gentleman and a Christian. 
 
 When this young man entered Paul's 
 prison-room, he said, Uncle, I have some- 
 thing very important to tell you. You see 
 this young man was Paul's nephew. He was 
 his sister's son, but we do not know his name. 
 
 Paul wanted to know what he had to tell 
 him so important. It is a dreadful plan that 
 has been made by forty Jews to kill you, my 
 
 uncle. These forty have made a vow, or 
 promise, that they will not eat or drink till 
 they have killed you. But how can they 
 get at you ? They have been to the chief 
 priests, and have begged them to ask the 
 captain to bring you to the council to be 
 judged by the Sanhedrim. Then they intend 
 to hide themselves on the way, and suddenly 
 to burst forth from their hiding-place and to 
 kill you on the spot. 
 
 The Young Man Tells His Story. 
 
 Paul thought that he ought to try to pre- 
 vent this wickedness, though he well knew 
 he should not be killed, for God had told 
 him he should see Rome. He called a 
 centurion who was close by, and said to him, 
 Will you take this young man to the captain ? 
 For he has something to tell him. 
 
 So the centurion brought him to the 
 captain. The captain took the young man 
 by the hand and led him into a room where 
 he could be alone with him. Now, said he, 
 what have you to tell me ? 
 
 The young man told him all. He ended 
 by saying, When the chief priests send to 
 ask you to let Paul come down to the coun- 
 cil, do not consent. The captain answered, 
 You may now go. Do not mention to any 
 one that you have told what the Jews intend 
 to do. 
 
 The young man readily promised this ; for 
 if the Jews had known that he had told the 
 captain, they would surely have torn the 
 nephew in pieces instead of his uncle. This 
 nephew had acted faithfully to his uncle and 
 had saved his life. 
 
THE SOLITARY PLACES MADE GLAD. 
 
 527 
 
THE GLORY OF THE NEW JERUSALEM. 
 
 528 
 
CHAPTER XXXVIII, 
 
 Paul Sent by night to Caesarea — The Roman Governor Felix — Wicked Drusilla— 
 A New Governor — Paul before King Agrippa — A Pointed Sermon — Two Years iH 
 Prison — Plot to Take the Life of Paul — The Voyage to Rome — Furious Storm— 
 The Ship Wrecked — Escape of All on Board — A Deadly Viper — Astonishment of 
 the Heathen — Miracles of Healing — Paul's Arrival at Rome — A Noble Martin — 
 The Apostle John — Wonderful Visions. 
 
 EARS before this, Paul had per- 
 secuted Christians ; now he is 
 persecuted in like manner, yet 
 his friends do not forsake him. 
 The captain had a great deal to 
 do before evening. His plan 
 for saving Paul's life was to send 
 hi in away secretly to another city. There 
 was a city called Caesarea, seventy miles from 
 Jerusalem. At that time the Roman gov- 
 ernor was living there. The captain thought 
 of sending Paul to be judged by that Roman 
 governor ; for that was a privilege that Paul 
 enjoyed as a Roman citizen. 
 
 But if the Jews knew that Paul was going 
 to leave the city they would waylay him. 
 Therefore the captain meant to send Paul by 
 night, and to have him well guarded by sol- 
 diers. 
 
 The captain called two centurions and said 
 to them secretly, Get ready immediately two 
 hundred soldiers. Each centurion had a hun- 
 dred under his command. But that will not 
 be enough, thought the captain. Get ready 
 besides seventy horsemen and two hundred 
 men, with speprs and pikes. Be ready at 
 nine o'clock, said the captain. Take care 
 that there are horses for Paul to ride on, 
 and take him safe to the governor Felix at 
 Caesarea. 
 
 Having given these orders the captain sat 
 34 
 
 down to write a letter to the governor. He 
 began his letter thus : Claudius Lysias unto 
 the most excellent governor Felix sendeth 
 greeting. 
 
 He went on to say that Paul had done 
 nothing deserving of death, or even of im- 
 prisonment, but that the Jews had accused 
 him of disobeying their law. He ended his 
 letter nearly in these words : When it was 
 told me that the Jews meant to lie in wait for 
 the man, I sent him to thee; and I com- 
 manded the Jews to go down to tell thee 
 what he had done. Farewell. 
 
 This letter the captain gave to the centu- 
 rions to take to the governor. 
 
 Chained to a Man on Each Side. 
 
 At nine o'clock that evening, when it was 
 dark, Paul mounted a horse, and a man 
 chained to him rode on each side of him. 
 Thus Paul left Jerusalem, accompanied by 
 four hundred and seventy soldiers. This 
 was a little army, and this army was to 
 guard one weak man. But that weak man 
 had so many enemies that it was necessary 
 to guard him well. 
 
 Softly and silently the little army departed 
 from Jerusalem, and took the road to Caesarea. 
 During that night they went forty miles, and 
 then they came to a town that lay on the 
 way, where to rest. After resting during 
 
 529 
 
530 
 
 PAUL AT CESAREA AND ROME. 
 
 the day the four hundred foot-soldiers re- 
 turned to Jerusalem, leaving only the seventy 
 horsemen to guard Paul. 
 
 The next day Paul set out again on horse- 
 back, and in due time arrived at Caesarea, by 
 the seacoast. He was taken by a centurion 
 to the governor's palace — a magnificent 
 palace, built of white marble. 
 
 Governor Felix. 
 
 Paul was led into the grand room, where 
 the governor, Felix, was sitting. This Felix 
 was indeed a wicked old man. He was once 
 a slave, but had been set free and made great. 
 Why? Because he was ready to do any 
 wicked thing that great men asked him to 
 do. This old man was clothed in purple, 
 and seated on a throne. Before him stood 
 the holy prisoner, with chains on his hands. 
 
 The centurion presented the captain's letter 
 to Felix. When the governor had read it, 
 he asked where Paul came from. When he 
 was told it was from Tarsus in Cilicia he 
 looked towards Paul, and said, I will hear 
 thee when thine accusers come down. 
 
 Then he command d him to be kept in 
 the judgment-hall. He did not put him in 
 a prison, but in a fine room close to the 
 palace. In that room Paul slept that night. 
 
 Paul was again in Caesarea. He had 
 stayed there a little while ago in the house 
 of Philip the deacon, with his four holy 
 daughters ; and he had seen Agabus the 
 prophet. Did Paul now remember how 
 Agabus had tied the girdle round his hands 
 and feet, and shown that Paul would be 
 chained in the same manner ? Oh yes ! 
 Paul remembered it well ; for it was only ten 
 days ago, since Agabus had done this. 
 
 Now Paul found himself with the real 
 chains around his wrists and his ankles. But 
 though he was in chains, he was in a pleas- 
 ant prison — for it was a fine, handsome, airy 
 
 room — and kept cool by the sea-breezes. 
 He waited there three days before his enemies 
 arrived. In the text five days are mentioned, 
 but they are counted from Paul's leaving 
 Jerusalem, not from his arriving at Caesarea. 
 
 Ananias, the high priest, came, znd the 
 elders of the Sanhedrim. There must have 
 been a grand train of horses and servants, 
 when such honorable men travelled. 
 
 One morning Paul in his chains was called 
 to appear before Felix, to be judged. A 
 whole host of enemies was assembled in the 
 place. How full of malice they felt when 
 they saw the poor prisoner, who had escaped 
 out of their hands a few days before ! 
 
 They had brought with them a man who 
 could speak well ; he was called an orator, 
 or speaker. His name was Tertullus. The 
 Jews promised to pay him well for making a 
 fine speech against Paul. 
 
 Tertullus began his speech by praising 
 Felix. He continued it by abusing Paul. 
 He pretended that Paul had gone about the 
 world trying to make the Jews rebel ; and 
 that he had come to Jerusalem to profane the 
 temple. 
 
 Felix Afraid of the Jews. 
 
 When Tertullus had finished his speech, 
 Felix made a sign for Paul to speak. The 
 prisoner declared that he had done nothing 
 wrong, and that no one could prove any- 
 thing against him, except this one thing, that 
 he had said : There will be a resurrection 
 of the dead ! 
 
 When Felix had heard Paul's answer, he 
 did not know what to say. He thought 
 that Paul was innocent. Why, then, did he 
 not let him go ? For the same reason that 
 Pontius Pilate would not let Jesus go. He 
 feared to displease the Jews. Still he was 
 afraid to condemn a Roman citizen such as 
 Paul. So he said to the Jews, I will wait till 
 
PAUL AT C/ESAREA AND ROME 
 
 531 
 
 I know more of this matter ; perhaps the 
 captain may come down and tell me more. 
 
 The Jews were very much disappointed by 
 this answer ; for they wanted to get Paul 
 down to Jerusalem. But they were obliged 
 to go home without him. 
 
 Felix liked Paul better than before, since 
 he had heard his speech. He directed a 
 centurion to take care of him, and to be kind 
 to him, and to make him comfortable. He 
 told him that Paul might be allowed to see 
 his friends, and to have them stay with him. 
 
 Allowed to See His Friends. 
 
 This was a great delight to Paul. His 
 friends were very dear to him. He might 
 see Philip, who lived in Caesarea. His 
 daughters might come and bring him any 
 food or clothes that he might want. His 
 friends at Jerusalem could easily come down 
 and see him. Seventy miles are not a very 
 long journey. Perhaps the apostle James 
 came down — perhaps Peter — perhaps John. 
 
 It is certain that Luke was often with 
 Paul. Some think that he wrote his history 
 of Jesus while sitting by taiil's side. 
 Timothy was sure to come ; he was like a 
 son to Paul, and was his greatest earthly 
 comfort. There were many more who loved 
 to be with the apostle. Would not Silas 
 come and sing psalms with him, as he once 
 did in a worse prison, a long while ago ? 
 
 Very likely Paul was thinking of the 
 chains he wore at this time when he wrote 
 to the Hebrews, saying, Remember them 
 that are in bonds, as bound with them ; and 
 them which suffer adversity, as being your- 
 selves also in the body. Day after day 
 passed away, and Paul continued in his 
 pleasant prison. Sometimes Felix went 
 away for a while. Once he returned, bring- 
 ing with him a beautiful young lady, whom 
 he had just married. Her name was 
 
 Drusilla. She was a Jewess. She was a 
 daughter of that Herod who put Peter in 
 prison, and who was eaten by worms. 
 
 Yet, though a Jewess, she had just 
 married a heathen, and she had committed 
 many crimes ; for though so young, she had 
 been married before, and she had left her 
 husband to be the wife of Felix. The 
 husband she had left was a king. 
 
 It is reported that Simon Magus, whom 
 Peter rebuked, had managed by his arts to 
 set her against her right husband, and to 
 turn her to like Felix. 
 
 When Felix brought Drusilla to Caesarea, 
 he told her of the wonderful prisoner he was 
 keeping there. He told her how well Paul 
 spoke about Jesus Christ, and his power tc 
 save those who believed in him. Felix 
 thought that Drusilla would like to see this 
 Jew, as she was a Jewess. So he told the 
 centurion to bring Paul out of prison into 
 his room. 
 
 Paul was glad to speak of his Saviour to 
 very great sinners. He knew that he stood 
 before a wicked Gentile governor, and a 
 false, faithless Jewess. He spoke not only 
 of Jesus as the Saviour, but also of Jesus as 
 the Judge. He declared how terrible it 
 would be for a sinner to stand before that 
 Judge at the last day. 
 
 What Felix Did. 
 
 While the prisoner spoke of his heavenly 
 Judge, his earthly judge was seen to trem- 
 ble. This was a good sign. It might be 
 that he would not only tremble, but fall 
 down and implore mercy, as Paul himself 
 had once done. Oh, how he had trembled 
 when he had said, Lord, what wilt thou 
 have me to do ? 
 
 But this aged sinner, Felix, when he 
 trembled, commanded the preacher to de- 
 part Go thy way for this time. When T 
 
532 
 
 PAUL AT C.ESAREA AND ROME 
 
 have a convenient season I will call for thee. 
 Paul was obliged to leave him, though he 
 
 Felix often sent for Paul again and talked 
 to him, but I do not hear that he ever trem- 
 
 THE STRONG SUPPORTING THE WEAK. 
 
 wonld gladly have stayed to persuade him I bled again. His heart was set upon getting* 
 to repent, and join the band of Christians. | money, and so he sent often for Paul, in 
 
PAUL AT C^SAREA AND ROME. 
 
 533 
 
 hopes that Paul would offer him money to 
 set him free. But Paul would not offer a 
 bribe to a judge, even if he had the money, 
 for it is wicked to offer bribes. 
 
 No doubt Paul's friends would have given 
 him the money, if he had asked for it. 
 
 A New Governor. 
 
 Felix went on in his covetousness for two 
 years, and then another governor was sent 
 by Caesar at Rome to take his place. 
 
 Felix might have released Paul before he 
 went away, but he thought it would please 
 the Jews more if he left Paul in prison, and 
 so he did. Thus he went on adding sin to 
 sin, getting more and more hardened. We 
 do not know he perished in this world, but 
 we know that his wife Drusilla, with her son, 
 perished in an earthquake. When Felix 
 went away, a new governor came in his 
 place. His name was Festus. He stayed 
 only three days at Caesarea on his way to 
 Jerusalem. During that short time he did 
 not see Paul. But when he came to Jeru- 
 salem he heard a great deal about him. The 
 chief priests and his friends came to Festus, 
 and told him about a very bad man who lay 
 in prison at Caesarea. 
 
 Oh, he has done so much harm ! they 
 said. When he was free, he went from 
 place to place, setting people against Caesar ; 
 he wants us all to rebel, and only to mind the 
 laws of a man whe once was crucified, Jesus 
 of Nazareth, who, he says, is the true King. 
 What do you want me to do, said Festus. 
 
 We want you to send soldiers to fetch this 
 wicked man, that you may judge him at 
 Jerusalem. Do grant us this great favor, we 
 entreat you — do let him come to Jerusalem. 
 
 What made them so very anxious that 
 Paul should come down to Jerusalem ? They 
 wanted to hide themselves in the road, and 
 to burst forth upon him and kill him. 
 
 Those forty Jews, who lately made the 
 same kind of plan, were among his accusers 
 now, with Ananias at their head. Festus did 
 not know the real motive of the Jews in 
 wanting Paul to come to Jerusalem, but he 
 did not grant their request, for he saw no use 
 in bringing Paul back to Jerusalem. 
 
 Festus answered : I am going down to 
 Caesarea very soon, and when I go you can 
 come with me, and you can accuse him 
 before the judgment-seat, there, of all the 
 wicked things you say he has done. The 
 Jews were much disappointed at this answer, 
 but they were obliged to submit. 
 
 Festus stayed ten days at Jerusalem, and 
 then he returned to Caesarea. There went 
 with him the chief priest, and a troop of 
 Paul's enemies. The next day Festus sat 
 on his judgment-seat in the palace, and the 
 prisoner was brought forth to stand before 
 him. 
 
 Would Not Go to Jerusalem. 
 
 That prisoner saw once more his deadly 
 enemies, who were panting for his blood. 
 They had brought no great speaker with 
 them this time, but they stood round about, 
 pouring out of their spiteful lips, loud and 
 bitter complaints against Paul. 
 
 When Paul was allowed to speak, he said 
 plainly, I have done nothing at all against 
 any of them, nor against Caesar. All I have 
 done is to declare that Jesus, whom they 
 crucified, is risen again from the dead. 
 
 Festus saw that Paul had done nothing 
 really wicked ; but he was anxious to please 
 the Jews, so he said to Paul, Will you go up 
 to Jerusalem, and there be judged before me? 
 This was just what the Jews wanted. They 
 must have been pleased when they heard 
 Festus say this. 
 
 No, said Paul: I will be judged before 
 Caesar. 
 
534 
 
PAUL AT C/ESAREA AND ROME. 
 
 53o 
 
 Paul was wise to refuse to go to Jerusalem. 
 He chose to go to Rome instead, and God 
 had told him (as you know) in a dream that 
 he should go to Rome. 
 
 Festus could not refuse Paul's request, 
 and he replied, As you wish to go to Caesar, 
 to Caesar you shall go. 
 
 Ordered Back to Prison. 
 
 Then Festus ordered the centurion to 
 take Paul back to his prison, and to keep 
 him there, till he could send him in a ship 
 to Rome. Paul had long been anxious to 
 visit the great city that ruled the world. We 
 do not know exactly how the Gospel 
 reached Rome, but there were Christians 
 there even before Paul was blinded by the 
 bright light near Damascus. 
 
 Perhaps some of those persons who were 
 in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost were 
 from Rome, and returned with the wonderful 
 story of Christ. Perhaps some of the 
 disciples who were scattered abroad after the 
 martyrdom of Stephen went there, at any 
 rate there were Christians in Rome, and 
 Paul had written them a letter and had sent 
 it by Phebe who belonged to the church at 
 Cenchrea. 
 
 The Jews went back to Jerusalem from 
 Caesarea more disappointed than ever. They 
 had lost their prey, they would never be able 
 to stone him or to crucify him. He was to 
 be taken far away. Paul remained in prison 
 while Festus, the governor, waited for a ship 
 to carry the prisoner to Rome. While 
 Festus waited, a king came to see him. It 
 was the son of that Herod who was eaten 
 with worms. His name was Herod Agrippa, 
 but he is generally called Agrippa only. 
 
 He was a very great man — greater than 
 Festus, for he was a king who could do what 
 he would, while Festus was only a governor 
 under Caesar. 
 
 Agrippa brought with him his sister. 
 Bermce. Do you remember he had another 
 sister, called Drusilla? But she was gone 
 away with Felix. The whole family were 
 very wicked. As Agrippa was a Jew, he 
 knew more about the Jew's religion than 
 Festus, who was a Roman. Agrippa paid a 
 very long visit to Festus. 
 
 One day Festus said to him, I should like 
 you to see a man I have here in prison named 
 Paul. The Jews hate him very much, and 
 yet I cannot find out that he ' has done any- 
 thing wrong. They chiefly quarrel with him 
 about one Jesus, who, the Jews say, is dead, 
 and who Paul says is alive. I would have 
 taken him to Jerusalem to be judged, but he 
 wishes to go to Rome, to be judged by 
 Caesar. 
 
 Agrippa said he would like to hear the 
 man speak. To-morrow, said Festus, you 
 shall hear him. The next day King Agrippa 
 came into the great court, accompanied by 
 the princess Bernice, dressed in a very grand 
 manner. All the chief men came also. 
 
 Then Festus commanded that Paul should 
 be brought forth. He came with his chains 
 on his hands, a poor prisoner, mean and low 
 in his appearance, but with Christ in his 
 heart. 
 
 Before King Agrippa. 
 
 There were no accusers this time to speak 
 first, so Agrippa commanded Paul to begin. 
 
 The prisoner stretched forth his chained 
 hand, and spoke respectfully, saying, King 
 Agrippa. Then he told his history to the 
 king, declaring how he had seen Jesus, as a 
 light brighter than the sun, and how he had 
 heard his voice. Therefore, said he, I tell 
 every one that Jesus died and rose again. 
 
 When Festus heard him speak of rising 
 from the dead, he cried out in a loud voice 
 that Paul was mad. Paul replied, I am not 
 
530 
 
 PAUL AT OESAREA AND ROME. 
 
 mad, most noble Festus ! but speak forth 
 the words of truth ; and the king has heard 
 about these things. 
 
 Then Agrippa said, You almost persuade 
 me to be a Christian. 
 
 Paul gave him the most beautiful, loving 
 answer, I would that you were not only 
 almost but altogether such as I am, except 
 these chains. These were the chains upon 
 his hands. 
 
 Then the king and the great people rose 
 from their seats, and went into another room. 
 They said to one another, This man has done 
 nothing to deserve death, or even chains. 
 
 Paul Sets Sail for Rome. 
 
 Agrippa said to Festus, If he had not 
 asked to be judged by Caesar, he might have 
 been set free. 
 
 But was Agrippa ever quite persuaded to 
 be a Christian ? No, never. He heard the 
 truth, but he did not follow it at the moment 
 he heard it. He was not like the jailer at Phil- 
 ippi, who said, What must I do to be saved ? 
 and who believed that moment and was saved. 
 
 At last a ship came to Caesarea in which 
 Paul could sail towards Rome. The ship 
 was only going part of the way, but another 
 ship might be found for the rest of the voyage. 
 
 Paul was given into the charge of a centu- 
 rion named Julius. Was Paul to sail with 
 none but strangers ? Oh no ; he had two 
 loving friends to accompany him, two friends 
 who had travelled with him before, and who 
 had probably been much with him in his 
 prison. These were Aristarchus, a man of 
 Macedonia, and Luke, the writer of Paul's 
 history. What a comfort for Paul to have 
 such friends, especially Luke ! 
 
 The people who sailed in the ship were the 
 captain and his sailors, who worked the ship ; 
 the centurion and his soldiers, who guarded 
 the prisoners ; Paul and his two friends. 
 
 Besides Paul there were other prisoners, 
 who may have committed great crimes. The 
 prisoners were all to be judged at Rome. 
 
 ihe ship sailed along the coast of Caesa- 
 rea till it came to Sidon, just above Caesarea. 
 Here the ship stopped. Paul had Christian 
 friends in Sidon. He longed much to see 
 them and to bid them farewell. 
 
 Julius, the centurion, was very kind to 
 Paul, and he readily allowed him to go on 
 shore and see his friends and to get any com- 
 forts for the voyage that he needed. His 
 friends would be sure to remember to give 
 him some good food to take with him. 
 
 A cheering walk it was for Paul to go 
 with Luke and Aristarchus to see those 
 friends ; it was so long since he had paid a 
 visit to any one ; but there went with him a 
 soldier, fastened to him by a chain, to see 
 that he did not escape. The way was among 
 hills covered with fig-trees, orange-trees, and 
 vineyards. Paul returned to the ship and 
 set sail again. 
 
 After going a long while by the shore of 
 Asia, the ship met another that was going to 
 Rome. The centurion made all on board 
 get into the other ship. 
 
 Danger Ahead. 
 
 And now the ship sailed very slowly for 
 many days, for the wind was against it. The 
 ship sailed south of the great island of Crete, 
 and took shelter in a large harbor there, 
 where it was sheltered from the high wind. 
 This harbor was called The Fair Havens. 
 
 The summer was now ended, and it had 
 become rather dangerous to sail. The chief 
 men on board consulted together about the 
 voyage. Shall we stay here, or go on ? 
 
 This is a good haven where we are, said 
 one ; shall we pass the winter here ? 
 
 Oh no, said another ; there is a much bet- 
 ter haven a little farther on. 
 
PAUL AT CiESAREA AND ROME. 
 
 537 
 
 Let us start and try to reach it, said another. 
 Then Paul, though a prisoner, gave his 
 advice. He said, Sirs, I perceive that in this 
 voyage there will be danger to the goods in 
 the ship, and to the ship itself, and to our 
 lives. 
 
 But the centurion would not follow his ad- 
 vice, for he thought that the captain and the 
 owner of the ship knew better than Paul. 
 Most of the sailors and soldiers on board 
 wished to go on. Surely we can go forty 
 miles more to the good port, said they. 
 
 Ah, they knew not that Paul was a pro- 
 phet, and that he would not have given his 
 advice except by the will of God. 
 
 A Storm Comes On. 
 
 Just at this time the wind blew very soitly. 
 The crew set sail, aud they went along so 
 pleasantly that they must have been glad that 
 they did not follow Paul's advice. In a few 
 hours they hoped to reach the well-sheltered 
 haven at the farther end of the island of 
 Crete. 
 
 The soft south wind was soon changed for 
 a very high and terrible northeast wind. 
 And now the ship was tossed up and down 
 like a mad thing. 
 
 In all haste the sailors got her under the 
 shelter of a little island named Clauda, and 
 then tried to get up the boat which floated 
 after them tied by a rope. It was hard work 
 to get this boat on board. When they had 
 got it up, they wound a rope round the ship 
 to keep it together, for they were afraid the 
 boards would split and the ship go to pieces. 
 What straining of arms, what pulling, what 
 dragging, were seen that day on deck, as the 
 wretched crew bound the ropes around their 
 battered vessel ! 
 
 The tossing of the waves continued till 
 the sailors thought they must make the ship 
 lighter by casting away all heavy things ; so 
 
 beds and boards, chains and poles, were 
 thrown into the sea. But the ship seemed 
 nothing the better for it all, as the wind was 
 as furious as ever. 
 
 And now the men on board began to give 
 up all hope of being saved. But Paul knew 
 that he himself could not be lost, because 
 God had declared to him long ago that he 
 should see Rome. But this was not enough 
 for Paul ; his loving heart desired that all in 
 the ship might be saved, and . he made con- 
 tinual prayer to God for every one. 
 
 And God answered him by sending an 
 angel in the night to comfort him. 
 
 For some time past the sun had never 
 been seen in the sky through the dark clouds 
 overhead, nor had the moon or stars ap- 
 peared. No one could sit down to take a. 
 meal ; all were too wretched and too ill. 
 Even Paul did not eat, for his heart was full 
 of care for the rest. 
 
 What the Angel Said. 
 
 One day he stood up on deck in the midst 
 of the trembling troop of sailors and soldiers, 
 and spoke. Amid the howling of the winds 
 and roaring of waves he spoke, and all now 
 listened to every word : Sirs, you should 
 have listened to me, and not have left that 
 haven in Crete. But now be of good cheer ; 
 there shall be no loss of any man's life 
 among you, but only of the ship ; for there 
 stood by me this night the angel of God, 
 whose I am and whom I serve, and said, 
 Fear not, Paul ; thou must be brought be- 
 fore Caesar : and lo, God hath given thee all 
 those who sail with thee. So, sirs, be of 
 good cheer, for I believe God that it shall be 
 as it was told me, only we must be ship- 
 wrecked upon an island. 
 
 Paul knew not the name of that island. 
 All the ship's company now saw that Paul 
 was a prophet. We may be sure that he 
 
538 
 
 PAUL AT OESAREA AND ROME. 
 
 told them of Jesus, who died for them and 
 rose again ; for Paul never forgot that he was 
 God's servant, as he said, Whose I am and 
 whom I serve. 
 
 Day after day the ship continued to be 
 tossed about by the waves. Fourteen days 
 had now passed away since the ship had left 
 the Fair Havens in Crete. All this time it 
 had been rolling upon the stormy sea, the 
 crew not knowing when it would reach land. 
 
 The sailors often let down the plummet to 
 measure the depth of the ocean. This plum- 
 met was a cord, with a stone or some weight 
 at the end. The sailors knew that if land 
 was near, the sea would be less deep. 
 
 One night when the plummet was let down, 
 the sailors found that the sea was not very 
 deep. When let down again, they found the 
 sea was still less deep. 
 
 They now hoped that land was near. 
 They were glad, yet they were frightened, 
 for there are often rocks near the shore. 
 They dreaded lest the ship should be dashed 
 against rocks and broken to pieces. So they 
 thought it best to make it stop its course. 
 They let down four anchors to hook it fast 
 to the bottom of the sea ; for one anchor 
 would not have been strong enough in such 
 a rough sea. 
 
 The Ropes are Cut. 
 
 After this was done the people in the ship 
 longed very earnestly for the sun to rise. 
 The sailors did very wrong this night. They 
 made a plan of escaping in the little boat. 
 Yet they knew that the other people in the 
 ship could not do without them, as none but 
 sailors can manage a ship. 
 
 Though it was dark, Paul knew what those 
 selfish sailors were going to do, and he told 
 the centurion. He said to him and to the 
 soldiers, Except those sailors stay in the 
 ship, you [soldiers] cannot be saved. 
 
 Then the soldiers cut the ropes that fast- 
 ened the boat to the ship, and soon the boat 
 was tossed to a distance. Now the sailors 
 could not get in it. The darkness was not 
 yet gone. All on board were watching for 
 the light with anxious hearts, and the light 
 was beginning to come. 
 
 Then Paul spoke to them all. He said 
 they had now been fourteen days without 
 eating a meal, and that they needed food. 
 No doubt every one had taken a morsel now 
 and then, but not a meal. 
 
 Paul Cheers Those on Board. 
 
 Then Paul begged them to eat. For, said 
 he, there shall not a hair fall from the head 
 of any of you. It was his God who told 
 him this. 
 
 Then Paul took some bread, and gave 
 thanks to God in the presence of all on 
 board. The heathen men heard Paul give 
 thanks to the God of heaven, the father of 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. After grace Paul 
 broke the bread, and began to eat. Then 
 all on board felt cheerful and happy, and 
 they also ate bread. 
 
 There was a great number to eat bread- 
 two hundred and seventy-six — and many 
 loaves must have been eaten in that night- 
 breakfast. 
 
 Afterwards they were strong enough to 
 throw some more things into the sea, especi- 
 ally a quantity of wheat. They were in 
 hopes of keeping the ship from sinking, but 
 Paul had told them some time ago that it 
 must be lost. Oh, how they longed to know 
 where they were ! 
 
 But it was now November, near winter, 
 and the sun did not rise till half-past six. 
 At last the day dawned. The ship's com- 
 pany looked up and saw land at a short 
 distance. 
 
 The shore was rocky and dangerous. In 
 
PAUL AT C.ESAREA AND ROME. 
 
 539 
 
 the midst of it was an opening, called a creek . 
 At the entrance to the creek — a heap of mud 
 and clay was concealed. The sailors tried to 
 -drive the ship into this creek. First they lifted 
 up the anchors, to set the ship free, and then 
 they unfurled the chief sail to get forward. 
 
 They did not know there was a mass of 
 -day and mud under the water, till the ship 
 stuck fast in it, and so they could get no far- 
 ther. Very soon the violence of the waves 
 broke the hinder part of the ship, and quite 
 ■destroyed it. 
 
 All Are Saved. 
 
 The soldiers then made a very wicked pro- 
 posal. They said to the centurion, Is there 
 not a risk of the prisoners escaping into the 
 sea, and running away? Will not the judges 
 of Rome be very angry? Had we not better 
 kill the prisoners? For if we tell the judges 
 at Rome that we killed them, they will not 
 punish us, but they will if we say the prisoners 
 got away. 
 
 This plan was very selfish and cruel. Shall 
 Paul be killed ? There were other prisoners 
 besides Paul. They may have been wicked 
 men, but still they ought not to be killed be- 
 fore they were tried. 
 
 The centurion did not agree to the soldiers' 
 plan, for he loved Paul and wished to save 
 him. Well he might, for had not Paul saved 
 all their lives ? For it was he who hindered 
 the sailors from getting off in the boat, as 
 tiey meant slyly to do. 
 
 No, answered the centurion to the ungrate- 
 ful soldiers ; none of the prisoners shall be 
 killed. Let them swim to land if they can. 
 
 So they did swim to land. I believe Paul 
 •could swim, for he had once — a long while 
 ^go — been a night and a day in the deep. 
 Those who could not swim caught hold of 
 boards and broken pieces of the ship, and 
 got safe to land. 
 
 Not one of the two hundred and seventy- 
 six was lost in the wreck. No, not a hair of 
 their heads was hurt. They were wet and 
 cold, but they had not a limb bruised or a 
 bone broken. Only the ship was lost. 
 
 Thus all that Paul said came true. Per* 
 haps Julius, the kind centurion, may now 
 have believed, but the deceitful sailors and 
 the cruel soldiers had not believed. 
 
 When all the shipwrecked men came to 
 land they saw people on the shore. They 
 found that the place was an island, called 
 Melita. Its name now is Malta. 
 
 The inhabitants were rather wild. They 
 were neither Greeks nor Romans ; so they 
 were called barbarians by those proud nations. 
 They were ignorant of books, and they wore 
 rough clothes, but they were kind-hearted. 
 When they saw the poor, shivering, dripping 
 strangers on the shore, they quickly lighted 
 a large fire, and gave to all whatever they 
 needed. It was now raining, and the poor 
 creatures must have wanted dry clothes. 
 
 A Deadly Viper. 
 
 Paul, instead of warming himself by the 
 fire, went about gathering sticks to keep it 
 up. He did not think that a great apostle 
 ought not to help, but let others gather 
 sticks. No ; he was ready to do anything, 
 he was so humble. He brought a bundle 
 of sticks and laid it on the fire, when sud- 
 denly out of the flame sprang a viper, and 
 lo, it fastened on Paul's hand! 
 
 That viper had been coiled around some 
 sticks that Paul had gathered, and perhaps 
 it was then asleep, or half frozen ; but the 
 heat had revived it and made it spring out 
 of the fire. There it was, with its fangs on 
 the apestle's flesh, hanging down from his 
 hand. 
 
 The barbarians looked at it, and knew it 
 to be a viper whose bite would kill. They 
 
THE SHIPWRECK OF ST. PAUL ON HIS WAY TO ROME 
 
PAUL AT C^SAREA AND ROME. 
 
 541 
 
 said to each other, No doubt that man is a 
 murderer who has escaped drowning in the 
 sea, but justice will not allow him to live. 
 They thought that their gods were angry 
 with him, and were going to punish him. 
 
 But Paul shook off the viper from his 
 hand into the fire, and he felt no harm at all 
 from the bite. 
 
 The barbarians kept on looking at Paul, 
 expecting to see him swell and fall down 
 dead suddenly; but they looked a great 
 while and saw no harm come to him. Then 
 they changed their minds, and said that he 
 was a god. 
 
 We are sure that Paul would not let them 
 worship him. You remember how he for- 
 bade the men of Lystra to worship him and 
 Barnabas ; and he had the same feelings 
 still. He desired nothing but to bring the 
 barbarians to worship the true God, the 
 Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 A very rich man lived close by the place 
 where Paul was shipwrecked. His name 
 was Publius. We believe he was the 
 governor of the island. Thisislandbelonged 
 to the Romans, and had a governor from 
 Rome. 
 
 But though Publius was a Roman and a 
 heathen, he was very kind to the apostle, and 
 invited him and his friends to stay three days 
 in his house. 
 
 The Sick Are Healed. 
 
 What a change it was for Paul, after being 
 so long in prison, to come to a fine house, 
 and to be treated with honor ! Luke and 
 Aristarchus, of course, came with him, and 
 probably Julius, the kind centurion. It is 
 certain that he praised Paul, and that he told 
 Publius that he did not deserve to be a 
 prisoner. 
 
 It was a good thing for Publius that he 
 invited Paul to his house, for the poor old 
 
 ! father of Publius lived there, and he now h^ 
 I ill of a very bad fever. When Paul heard 
 | it he went into the old man's room and 
 1 prayed, and laid his hands on him and healed 
 | him. 
 
 The news of this miracle soon spread wide, 
 and a number of sick people flocked around 
 Paul to be healed ; and they were healed. 
 When Paul left the house of Publius there 
 were many doer.; open to him. Every one 
 wanted to have such a wonderful man in his 
 house. 
 
 Paul stayed in the island three months. 
 During all that time he preached and prayed, 
 and he showed many poor barbarians the 
 way of salvation. At the end of three 
 months the spring was come and the sea was 
 smooth. The centurion hired a ship to take 
 his whole company to the shores of Rome. 
 
 They Reach a Harbor. 
 
 Paul now parted from his new friends in 
 Malta. He found them very grateful. They 
 loaded Paul and his friends, Luke and Aris- 
 tarchus, with many presents. 
 
 Paul and his friends were much in need of 
 clothing, for they had lost all at sea. But 
 everything they wanted, whether clothing or 
 nice food, was supplied to them. 
 
 There are many dried fruits, such as figs 
 and raisins, in hot countries ; and there is 
 abundance of oranges. Everything refresh- 
 ing was put into the ship by the generous 
 barbarians. We may be sure that a blessing 
 rested upon them for all this kindness to 
 God's people. 
 
 The ship sailed with a fair wind to the 
 shores of Italy till it came to a fine harbor, 
 called Pu-te-o-li, more than a hundred miles 
 from Rome. 
 
 This harbor was a grand place. Ships 
 from all parts rode on its smooth waters. 
 The shore was beautiful, for its hills were 
 
542 
 
 PAUL AT C^SAREA AND ROME. 
 
 planted with gardens. Here Paul landed, 
 still chained to a soldier, accompanied by his 
 friends. Great was his joy to find Christians 
 ready to receive him. The kind Julius al- 
 lowed him to spend seven days with his 
 friends. 
 
 had come from from Rome on purpose to 
 welcome him. Seeing them pleased his 
 heart so much that he thanked God and took 
 courage. At last he arrived at Rome, with 
 a troop of loving friends around him, as well 
 as the soldier to whom he was chained. 
 
 ST. PAUL S ARRIVAL AT ROME IN CHAINS. 
 
 The day came for the centurion to lead his 
 prisoner to Rome. He took him along a 
 well-paved road, very near the seacoast. 
 Every twenty miles there was a kind of inn 
 for the travellers to rest. 
 
 On the road Paul met some friends who 
 
 When Paul was arrived in Rome, where 
 did he go ? As he was a prisoner, he ought 
 to have been taken to the place where the 
 soldiers lived. It was a great square with 
 buildings on every side, and a great ditch 
 outside. But he was not taken to that noisy 
 
PAUL AT OESAREA AND ROME. 
 
 543 
 
 crowded place, like the other prisoners. 
 Paul was allowed to live in a lodging of 
 his own, though he was always to be chained 
 to a soldier. 
 
 Do you ask why he was allowed this great 
 privilege of living in a lodging ? I suppose 
 it was through the kindness of Julius, the 
 centurion. 
 
 Do you ask how it was that Paul could 
 pay for a lodging ? I suppose it was through 
 the kindness of his friends in Rome. There 
 were a great many in Rome who loved Paul 
 much. When Paul had stayed three days 
 in Rome, he sent a message to the chief 
 Jews in the city. The message was — to ask 
 them to come to see him in his lodging. 
 
 The chief Jews were soon on the way to 
 see Paul. They had often heard of him, but 
 very few had ever seen him; and they must 
 have longed to see such a wonderful man. 
 They found him weak and worn, bowed 
 down with age and sorrow, but full of love 
 and kindness. The soldier was chained to 
 his arm. 
 
 Paul thought these Jews might have heard 
 from other Jews that he had done something 
 wicked. Paul assured them that he had done 
 nothing at all to deserve being in chains. All 
 he had done to offend the Jews was to preach 
 about the resurrection. 
 
 The Jews told Paul that they should like 
 to know what he preached about. Then 
 Paul fixed a day for them to come again to 
 hear him. 
 
 The Jews Have a Dispute. 
 
 Early in the morning they came. Paul 
 then began to explain to them out of the 
 prophets all about Jesus. He showed them 
 how Isaiah called him a lamb brought to the 
 slaughter; how David said his hands and 
 feet should be pierced, and many other such 
 things. 
 
 All day long Paul spoke about Jesus. 
 When the evening came the Jews talked 
 together. One said : Paul speaks the truth. 
 I believe that Jesus died and rose again 
 Another Jew said: But I do not believe 
 what Paul says. 
 
 In this way they disputed together. Be- 
 fore they went away, Paul told the unbeliev- 
 ing Jews that the Gentiles would hear of the 
 Saviour, and would believe in him. The 
 Jews went home, talking all the way about 
 what Paul had said. 
 
 For two whole years Paul dwelt in his own 
 lodging. Any one, who wished to be taught, 
 might come to him. Though Paul could not 
 preach in the synagogues, or in the streets, or 
 on the hills, he could preach in his house. 
 No one forbade him to preach, and many 
 people came to him. This is the last thing 
 said of him in the Bible. 
 
 The Noble Martyr. 
 
 Luke did not write any more of Paul's 
 history. Still we learn from other books 
 that Paul was at last beheaded at Rome. 
 We know that he wished to die for Jesus, 
 and he had his wish. We read nothing 
 more in the Bible about any of the apostles, 
 except John. The last book in the Bible 
 gives an account of the wonderful things he 
 saw in his old age. 
 
 After Nero Caesar was dead, another 
 wicked Caesar reigned, named Domitian. He 
 sent John to a little rocky island near Greece. 
 It was named Patmos, and there wicked men, 
 who had committed great crimes, were often 
 sent to work hard at digging up stones. 
 
 The island is only a quarter the size of 
 Malta. Any one could walk round it in a 
 day. It is full of mountains. There are 
 caves among the mountains. 
 
 In this rugged island John was made to 
 live. But on the Lord's day he heard a 
 
544 
 
 PAUL AT CjESAREA AND ROME. 
 
 voice behind him as of a trumpet, and 
 looking back he saw his Saviour, the Lord 
 Jesus. He wore now a glorious body, quite 
 different from that suffering body on which 
 John once leaned his head. Now John was 
 so filled with fear that he fell at his feet as 
 dead. Then Jesus laid his hand upon him 
 and said, I am he that liveth and was dead, 
 and behold, I am alive for evermore. Then 
 he told John to write seven letters to Chris- 
 tians who lived in seven places in Asia. 
 
 The first letter was to Ephesus, where 
 Paul had preached, and where John had 
 lived a long while. It was a short letter, 
 praising the Christians for some things, and 
 blaming them for not loving Jesus as much 
 as they once did. 
 
 After John had written the seven letters in 
 the words of Jesus, he looked and saw a 
 door opened in heaven, and he heard a voice 
 saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee 
 things which shall happen hereafter. 
 
 The Rainbow Round the Throne, 
 
 So John was in the Spirit, and saw a 
 throne in heaven, and one shining on the 
 throne; a rainbow round about the throne; 
 and a Lamb, as it had been slain in the midst 
 of the throne ; and many glorious saints and 
 angels round the throne, singing the praises 
 of the Father and the Son. 
 
 They praised the Father — because he 
 created all things ; and they praised the 
 Lamb — because he had redeemed his people 
 by his blood. 
 
 John saw many terrible sights. He saw 
 
 hail, and fire, and blood, and smoke, and 
 brimstone, and plagues, and devils, and 
 earthquakes. 
 
 At last he saw Jesus come like a great 
 warrior, on a white horse; followed by 
 armies on white horses, clothed in linen white 
 and clean. 
 
 He saw the old serpent shut up in a pit, 
 so deep that it had no bottom, for a thousand 
 years. 
 
 He saw the righteous dead reign with 
 Christ for a thousand years. 
 
 The Beautiful City. 
 
 He saw Satan let loose for a little while, 
 and in the end he saw him cast into the lake 
 of fire and brimstone, to be tormented for 
 ever and ever. 
 
 He saw the great white throne, and all 
 men stand before God to be judged. He 
 saw the dead rise from their graves, and he 
 saw some cast into the lake of fire. 
 
 He saw a city come down from heaven to 
 the earth, shining like precious stones. He 
 heard that all whose names were written in 
 the Lamb's book of life shall live in this 
 city. 
 
 An angel showed him all thesr things, and 
 told him about them. 
 
 But Jesus spoke to him also and said, All 
 liars shall have their part in the lake which 
 burneth with fire and brimstone. 
 
 Jesus ended by saying, Surely I come 
 quickly. 
 
 And John answered, Even so, come, Lord 
 Jesus. 
 
a©ped /fllegopie§. 
 
 By Rev. William Adams. 
 
 rHE Kiisra's messenoees. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 HE city of Metecia lay to the 
 west of the dominions of a 
 Great King. It was an ancient 
 city, and had gradually be- 
 come very large and popu- 
 lous. But the original set- 
 tlers had been placed there in 
 consequence of a rebellion against the King's 
 authority; and a remarkable law continued 
 to prevail among their descendants as a 
 memorial of their crime. No one was 
 allowed to remain in it above a certain 
 number of years, and no one, when he left 
 it, was permitted to take any portion of his 
 property with him. This was called the law 
 of Exile. The Great King himself had 
 enacted it, and the citizens had no resource 
 but submission. 
 
 There was not even a fixed and definite 
 period allotted for their stay. They were 
 liable at any moment to receive the Royal 
 Mandate. It came to them also one by one. 
 As each was summoned to depart, his dear- 
 est friends could only accompany him as far 
 as the gates of the city. And he was the a 
 stripped of all his possessions, and sent forth 
 as an exile on his solitary journey. 
 
 Mow, as the inhabitants of Metecia were 
 35 
 
 one would have 
 aw must have proved 
 
 principally merchants, 
 imagined that such a ' 
 a source of perpetual disquietude and alarm. 
 Yet this was not the case. Occasionally, 
 indeed, when it was enforced against a very 
 rich man, it would awaken sad thoughts in 
 his companions, and cause them to mourn 
 over the uncertainty ot their wealth. 
 
 But, for the most part, they all lived on in 
 a false security. Every one fancied his pos- 
 sessions to be as really his own as though he 
 had been able to retain them at will. Such 
 a delusion may appear unaccountable ; but 
 we must remember that they had gradually 
 become accustomed to the law, and for that 
 reason it was lightly regarded by them or 
 altogether forgotten. 
 
 Pity for the Poor Exiles. 
 
 The Great King, however, was full of com- 
 passion, and took much thought for the poor 
 exiles, who were thus careless of themselves. 
 He knew how dark and dreary was the wil- 
 derness that surrounded the city, and was 
 unwilling that any should be left there to 
 perish. He did not, indeed, reverse his 
 original decree, but he did far more than 
 this. He changed it from a punishment 
 
 545 
 
546 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 into a blessing. He offered to receive the 
 exiles into a better and more glorious city 
 than that from which he took them. 
 
 If they rejected this offer the fault was 
 their own. All the conditions on which it 
 was made was very easy, and the King him- 
 self had promised to enable the citizens to 
 perform them. But we need not dwell upon 
 them all, for one alone, which applied more 
 especially to the wealthier merchants, is 
 brought before us by the present story. 
 
 A Gorgeous Room. 
 
 In the city of Metecia dwelt four brothers, 
 Philargyr, Megacles, Euprepes, and Sophron. 
 At the period at which I commence their 
 history, the sentence of exile had lately been 
 pronounced against their father. He had 
 been a merchant of enormous wealth, and 
 as, in accordance with the law, he was 
 allowed to take nothing for his own wants, 
 the whole of his vast possessions had fallen 
 into the hands of his children. They had 
 met in order to divide them. 
 
 The room in which they assembled for this 
 purpose was filled with the most costly furni- 
 ture. The floor was covered with cloth of 
 gold, which was now partially concealed by 
 bales of yet more valuable merchandise, and 
 heaps of precious stones, which had been 
 placed there to await the choice of the 
 brothers. 
 
 Two sides of the apartment were hung 
 with the most gorgeous tapestry, on the 
 third was a window commanding an exten- 
 sive view towards the west, while the wall 
 opposite to the window was entirely covered 
 by a spacious mirror, which reflected the 
 various objects in the room itself and the 
 street beyond. 
 
 But, in the midst of all this external 
 splendor, a cloud sat on the countenance of 
 each of the brothers. The departure of their 
 
 father was too recent to allow them to forget 
 the transitory character of the treasures 
 which they were about to share. Let a few 
 years pass, and each in his turn would be 
 compelled to leave them, and go forth with- 
 out money, without home, and without 
 friends, into the dreary desert that lay around 
 the city. 
 
 It was these thoughts which rendered 
 them sad. They had never before felt the 
 full burthen of the law of Exile; they had 
 been aware of its existence, for no citizen 
 could be ignorant of it; but hitherto they 
 had seen it, as it were, in the distance. 
 
 It now seemed to meet them directly in 
 their own path, and to force itself on their 
 attention ; so that the eldest brother did but 
 echo the feelings of the rest when he said, 
 " Of what profit is this enormous wealth ? 
 In the day of our banishment it will not pur- 
 chase for us. the delay of a single hour. 
 How gladly would I barter the whole of it 
 for some quiet dwelling-place where we 
 might remain in security for ever !" 
 
 A Strange Image in the Mirror. 
 
 He had not yet finished speaking, when 
 his eyes were attracted by the mirror, which 
 I have described as covering one side of the 
 room. Some image appeared to be moving 
 across it, which was not visible in the apart- 
 ment itself. He pointed it out to his broth- 
 ers, and it was clear from their anxious looks 
 that they beheld it also. It was as the form 
 of an old man. 
 
 There was nothing in his appearance to 
 excite terror, but every object as seen in the 
 mirror was changed by his presence. His 
 foot trod on the cloth of gold, and it became 
 mouldering and worm-eaten : the hem of his 
 garment swept against a table of solid ivory, 
 and it fell crumbling into dust : while the 
 bales of merchandise and precious stones 
 
A BULKY PILE, AND YET OF WHAT AVAIL? 
 
 ONE BOOK OF GREATER WORTH BRINGS DOWN THE SCALE. 
 
 547 
 
548 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 lost their richness and splendor, as his cold 
 eye rested upon them. 
 
 The brothers watched these signs with a 
 sensation of chilling fear, and the eldest al- 
 ready repented his hasty words. For, in 
 truth, in his inmost heart, he deeply loved 
 the glittering wealth, and he was afraid, lest 
 the mysterious stranger might take it away, 
 and give him in its stead the quiet dwelling 
 for which he had asked. 
 
 At length it seemed to them that the im- 
 age of the old man thus addressed them : 
 " Children, your wish is in vain. You must 
 not speak of bartering these treasures for a 
 lasting home. They are not really yours ; 
 they belong to the Great King, whose sub- 
 jects you are. Restore them to him now, 
 and he will keep them for you, and in the 
 day of your exile give them to you again. 
 In this city they are worthless. See how 
 even my slightest touch here causes them to 
 decay. But in the King's Palace they be- 
 come incorruptible. I have no power over 
 them there." 
 
 The Old Man's Reply. 
 
 The brothers were yet more troubled at 
 his words. They knew well that all the 
 riches of Metecia belonged to the Great 
 King; but they were disquieted at the 
 thought of restoring them to him again. A 
 vague fear arose that the sentence of exile 
 was about to be passed against themselves ; 
 and all, in some degree, shared the appre- 
 hensions of Philargyr. 
 
 The old man appeared to read their 
 thoughts, and thus replied to them : 
 
 " Fear not ; I am not now come to de- 
 prive you of your wealth. Hereafter, indeed, 
 I shall return with the Royal Mandate, but 
 in that hour you will both see and feel that 
 I am near. To-day my voice comes to you 
 from a distance, and it is but my reflected 
 
 image that you behold. Yet I bear you a 
 message from the Great King. You have 
 wished to purchase for yourselves a lasting 
 home ; I have said that you cannot purchase 
 it, because your riches are not your own ; 
 they belong to the Great King. You must 
 trust them freely to his Messengers, without 
 asking for a return ; and he will store them 
 up for you in his own palace, and when you 
 are driven from hence, will suffer you to 
 dwell with his children in a Glorious City 
 where the law of Exile is unknown. 
 
 " But beware lest you neglect this warning, 
 and defraud the Great King of the riches 
 committed to your trust ; for if you refuse 
 to give them to his Messengers, and either 
 hoard them up or spend them on yourselves, 
 you will have no treasure laid up for you in 
 the Royal Palace, and the gates of the 
 Glorious City will be closed against you for- 
 ever." 
 
 Now, there was nothing really new to the 
 merchants in the old man's warning. The 
 royal offers of pardon, and the dangers of 
 the neglect of them, were well known in the 
 city. But die inhabitants seldom spoke of 
 them to one another, because they loved 
 their riches, and were unwilling to render 
 obedience to the King's commands. 
 
 How the Treasures Were to be Sent. 
 
 The brothers had hitherto shared in the 
 general feeling; and it was, perhaps, only 
 because the remembrance of their father's 
 departure was weighing heavily upon them 
 that they had so long listened to the voice 
 which now addressed them. It did not, 
 indeed, seem to pass through their ears at 
 all, but to fall at once inwardly on their 
 hearts, and for the present they could not 
 help regarding it. Yet all shrank from ask- 
 ing in what way they were to send their 
 treasures to the Royal Palace. 
 
THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 549 
 
 They were not, however, left in doubt, i 
 The reflection of the street in which their 
 house stood was, as I have said, visible in the 
 mirror. The figure of the old man now 
 pointed towards it ; and as he did so the 
 young merchants heard distinctly the words : 
 " Behold the Messengers of the Great 
 King ! " 
 
 They followed the direction of his finger, j 
 and it seemed to them that the approach to | 
 their luxurious dwelling was now crowded 
 with every form of disease and want. The 
 poor, the maimed, and the blind were there. 
 Men who seemed stimulated to madness by 
 famine, and little infants who could scarce 
 crawl upon the ground, formed part of the 
 same vast concourse. 
 
 Still, as the old man pointed, their num- 
 bers went on increasing, in every direction, 
 until, as far as the eye could reach, every 
 sign of wealth and luxury had disappeared, 
 and in their stead was one universal scene 
 of misery. Presently the shrieks of the 
 dying, the cries of orphans, and the wailing 
 of widows, rose in the air; and then, out of 
 the tumult, the low solemn voice of the old 
 man fell once more on the hearts of the 
 brothers. 
 
 As Beautiful as Ever. 
 
 " These," he said, " and such as these, are 
 the Messengers of the Great King. Num- 
 erous as they are, they will come to you in 
 secret and one by one. Trust them with 
 your treasure, and it will be safe; they will 
 bear it for you to the Royal Palace. The 
 journey thither is long and dangerous ; but 
 if you are sincere in your wish to send it, the 
 Great King will not suffer it to be lost. 
 Only do not cause them to linger needlessly 
 within the city walls; and let their departure j 
 be secret, lest the King's enemies should ! 
 impede them on their way." 
 
 The form of the old man gradually disap- 
 peared as he ceased speaking, and the signs 
 of his presence passed away; the ivory 
 table, the cloth of gold, and the heaps of 
 precious stones, resumed the beauty and 
 splendor which they had lost. The brothers 
 once more breathed freely. Hitherto their 
 eyes had been riveted by a kind of fascina- 
 tion on the mirror. They now looked 
 anxiously around the apartment itself; but 
 it had undergone no change. If the old 
 man had trodden upon it, not one trace of 
 his footsteps had been left. 
 
 A Crowd of Beggars. 
 
 They then turned their eyes towards the 
 window. The street presented its usual 
 appearance; there was the busy throng 
 hurrying hither and thither, and splendid 
 equipages and wagons laden with merchan- 
 dise. But they saw nothing to remind them 
 of the view presented by the mirror, save 
 some few beggars who chanced to linger at 
 their door. 
 
 As Philargyr threw open the sash to inhale 
 the fresh air, they eagerly asked the young 
 merchants for alms ; and there was not one 
 who at that moment could refuse to give 
 them ; for the words of the stranger were 
 fresh in their memory, and they felt every 
 poor man to be a Messenger from the Great 
 King. 
 
 The brothers were too deeply affected by 
 the warning of the old man to proceed to 
 the immediate division of their wealth. At 
 one time, they even contemplated holding it 
 in common, and consulted together on the 
 best means of restoring it to the Great 
 King. But, from the first, their views 
 differed so greatly, that they could agree on 
 no settled plan : and during the interval con- 
 sumed in their discussions, their feelings 
 underwent a partial change. The words of 
 
550 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 the stranger seemed to lose their distinct- 
 ness. Their riches recovered, in some 
 degree, the value they had lost ; and at 
 Vmgth they reverted to their original plan of 
 dividing them into four parts, so that each 
 might take his own share, and do with it as 
 he pleased. 
 
 The Brothers Divide the Property. 
 
 Philargyr was entrusted with the division. 
 Many months elapsed while he was absorbed 
 in his calculations, and settling how large a 
 portion he might appropriate to himself. 
 During this time he was more than once in- 
 terrupted by Messengers from the Great 
 King. But their applications were in vain. 
 He always returned the same answer, that, 
 until the property was divided, no portion of 
 it could be transmitted to the Royal Palace. 
 
 At length the division was made. The 
 younger brothers were satisfied, though none 
 were able to follow the calculations of Phil- 
 argyr. Each had a share assigned to him, 
 which, considering the shortness of their 
 probable sojourn in the city, seemed inex- 
 haustible, and each was left to follow his 
 own course. 
 
 I proceed to give a brief sketch of their 
 history. 
 
 The remarkable point in that of Philagyr, 
 the eldest, was his utter forgetfulness, not only 
 of the old man's warning, but of the law of 
 the city in which he dwelt. Every act of his 
 life appeared to set them at defiance. His 
 one great object was to accumulate wealth. 
 He neither trusted it to the King's Messen- 
 gers, nor spent it in procuring the good-will 
 of his fellow-citizens, but hoarded it up 
 within the walls of his own house. 
 
 There was no present gratification that he 
 would not sacrifice in the hope of adding to 
 his possessions for future years. And this 
 he did with the sentence of exile hanging 
 
 over his head, and the positive certainty l 
 that, when he left the city, he would not be 
 allowed to take the smallest portion of them 
 away. 
 
 A Startling Legend. 
 
 I have already said, that the inhabitants of 
 Metecia lived, for the most part, in forgetful- 
 ness of the law of Exile. But the conduct 
 of Philargyr appeared unaccountable even to 
 the most thoughtless among them. He was 
 supposed to be under the influence of a spell; 
 and the following legend was commonly re- 
 ported through the city : 
 
 There had been, it was rumored, a mine of 
 gold communicating with the house of the 
 departed merchant. Philargyr had taken 
 possession of it, unknown to his brothers. 
 This mine was haunted by an evil spirit, who 
 had beguiled him by specious offers of assist- 
 ance. For a time they had labored to- 
 gether ; but the evil spirit, while pretending 
 to work out the precious ore, had changed 
 the mine into a dungeon, and bound Phil- 
 argyr hand and foot with chains of gold. 
 After he had thus made him captive, he re- 
 fused to allow him to return to the upper 
 air, unless he would become his slave, and 
 labor incessantly in bringing new treasures to 
 the mine. 
 
 It was further said that the golden bonds 
 had never from that hour been removed : 
 and that, though they were invisible to the 
 naked eye, the signs of their presence might 
 be detected in every look and gesture of the 
 unhappy merchant. Thus his head was con- 
 tinually bent downwards, and his very walk 
 constrained and embarrassed, because the 
 chains and fetters that he wore weighed 
 heavily upon him and impeded his steps. 
 
 Strange as this legend seems, it was, in the 
 main, true. One part alone was incorrect. 
 The spirit of the gold mine had not used 
 
+&2^**^/ 
 
 LOUDLY THE LEAN AND HUNGRY POOR COMPLAIN, 
 YET TO THE MISER THEY APPEAL IN VAIN. 
 
 551 
 
552 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 threats or violence ; he had, throughout, ac- 
 complished his purpose by treachery; and 
 Philargyr had sunk, imperceptibly, into a 
 state of servitude. His chains had been 
 light and flexible when they were first twined 
 around his limbs. It was while he wore 
 them that, by little and little, they had in- 
 creased in size and strength. 
 
 Bound in Chains. 
 
 For such was the nature of those bonds, 
 that, when newly wrought, they were most 
 easily broken. For this reason, he was not 
 suffered to feel their pressure until they had 
 been hardened by time ; and even then, the 
 change was so gradual, that Philargyr was 
 not aware of it. The signs of his bondage, 
 which seemed so clear to others, passed un- 
 noticed by himself. 
 
 Still, however, he was a slave, and by little 
 and little incurred the full misery of servi- 
 tude, though to the last unconscious of its 
 cause. Morning, noon and evening he 
 labored for an insatiable master, who allowed 
 him no share in the profits of his toil. Every 
 day was passed in drudgery and weariness ; 
 every night in anxiety and care. Not an 
 hour was given him to share the amusements 
 of his fellow-citizens; not an hour for the 
 duties of hospitality; not an hour for the 
 quiet enjoyment of home. His whole time 
 was claimed by the spirit of the gold-mine ; 
 and very heavy and monotonous was the 
 task imposed upon him. 
 
 If a child were forced to go on hour after 
 hour casting up a sum, the figures of which 
 were innumerable, he might form some idea 
 of the employment of Philargyr. His wealth 
 was to him but as an endless sum, and his 
 most successful enterprises did but add some 
 new figure to the account. 
 
 Yet even this would give no just notion of 
 his misery. He could not help believing the 
 
 old man's warning, though his whole life 
 was at variance with his belief. He knew 
 that his buried treasure would be worse than 
 useless when the day of his exile arrived. 
 The gates of the Glorious City would be 
 closed against him, and endless wanderings 
 in the dreary wilderness were certain to suc- 
 ceed the present season of anxiety and toiL 
 His heart often shrank within him, as he 
 witnessed the averted looks of the Messen- 
 gers of the Great King. They did not even 
 offer to carry his treasures to the Royal 
 Palace, for long experience had taught them 
 that it was a waste of words to seek employ- 
 ment from Philargyr. 
 
 Again and again had he resolved to 
 entrust them with some portion of his wealth, 
 but the subtle chains of gold withheld his 
 hand, and while he was struggling against 
 them, the opportunity passed by, and he- 
 deferred till the morrow his intended gift. 
 
 aperb Dwellings and Towers. 
 
 While the eldest of the four brothers thus 
 labored incessantly for the spirit of the 
 mine, the second was following a very differ- 
 ent path. He was unfettered by any chain 
 of gold, and his bearing was high and 
 noble ; his step firm and free. He looked 
 down on his very riches with disdain, and 
 they won him the envy and admiration of 
 his fellow-citizens instead of their pity and 
 contempt. But while in every other respect 
 his conduct afforded a marked contrast to 
 that of Philargyr, there was one important 
 point in which he resembled him. He 
 neglected altogether the old man's warning. 
 
 There was a district in Metecia, far 
 removed from the stir and traffic of the 
 crowded streets, and farther still from the 
 dwellings of the King's Messengers. It 
 was remarkable for the beauty and costliness 
 of its buildines. The erection of these 
 
THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 553 
 
 ormed a favorite occupation of the more 
 wealthy merchants. Their appearance was 
 very irregular, for the size and form of each 
 varied with the taste and resources of the 
 individual who raised it. 
 
 But all might be comprehended under two 
 great classes. Some were frail and unsub- 
 stantial, and intended to please the eye for 
 one short summer, and then make way for 
 others not less perishable than themselves, 
 while some were built of firm and durable 
 materials, in the hope that they might stand 
 for centuries as memorials of their architects. 
 The one class were for the most part called 
 villas of Pleasure — the other towers of Fame. 
 
 Story of a Great Building. 
 
 It was to the erection of one of these lat- 
 ter that Megacles devoted his vast wealth. 
 The whole energy of his mind was given to 
 this single object, and its gradual accom- 
 plishment was watched by his fellow-citizens 
 with the most eager interest. The raising of 
 the tower formed quite an epoch in the his- 
 tory of Metecia. Wonderful stories were 
 told of the depth of its foundations and the 
 thickness of its walls. 
 
 Each of the vast stones seemed to have 
 its own legend annexed to it, while the 
 quarry from which they came, and the names 
 of the workmen, and every detail connected 
 with the building, were carefully preserved 
 in the annals of the city. But all this I 
 must pass over very briefly, for the King's 
 Messengers had no share in the work; and 
 from this cause the whole narrative of the 
 tower, which appeared so eventful to Mega- 
 cles and his brother merchants, has but little 
 interest in the present story. 
 
 The whole soul of Megacles was absorbed 
 in the erection of the building ; and these 
 few words comprise his history. He did not 
 keep aloof from hn fellow-citizen^, but he 
 
 made his intercourse with them subservient 
 to this one object. If he visited the crowded 
 streets, it was in order to select workmen of 
 skill and strength. If he went into the 
 market-place, it was to change his gold and 
 jewels for blocks of marble and granite. 
 
 His perseverance was rewarded, and his 
 work prospered. Day after day the tower 
 increased in size and beauty. It was to no 
 purpose that the wind and storm beat against 
 it ; the firm foundations defied their power. 
 The wreck of the surrounding buildings was 
 made to assist its growth. Some of these 
 had been left as fragments, in consequence of 
 the sudden exile of the architects. Some 
 were mouldering away with the lapse of 
 time ; and some were purposely undermined 
 by the workmen of Megacles. He selected 
 from the ruins of each such stones as seemed 
 suited for the accomplishment of his design ; 
 until at length his tower arose so far above 
 every other in the city, that it appeared to 
 stand by itself in solitary grandeur. 
 
 He Feared Earthquakes. 
 
 The more it grew, the more was the mind 
 of Megacles absorbed in its growth. It 
 seemed to exercise a fascination over him, 
 and from the day in which it became visible 
 from every part of the city, his eye was sel- 
 dom withdrawn from it. This may in part 
 account for his neglect of the King's Mes- 
 sengers. His look was raised above them 
 while he watched his tower. Even if they 
 ventured to speak to him, their voices failed 
 to arrest his attention ; for his ear had been 
 so long filled with the din and tumult of 
 building, that it had been rendered deaf to 
 any gentler sound. 
 
 Yet, notwithstanding his success, Mega- 
 cles was not happy. He was perpetually 
 changing or adding to his tower. It never 
 seemed to have attained the perfection that 
 
554 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 he designed. He remembered also how the 
 city of Metecia was liable to the shock of 
 earthquakes, so that at any moment the vast 
 fabric might be shaken from the foundation, 
 and reduced to a heap of ruins. 
 
 Neither was this all. Even at those times 
 in which he was able to view with unmingled 
 satisfaction the tower itself, there was still 
 a cloud upon his vision of glory. It had 
 arisen, in the first instance, from the simple 
 question of a poor wayfaring man. Mega- 
 cles had observed him gaze earnestly at the 
 building, and then turn aside, as though to 
 conceal his tears. He could not help in- 
 quiring what train of thoughts it had called 
 forth to lead to such an expression of sorrow. 
 
 There was a strange sadness in the way- 
 farer's reply. " I was thinking," he said, 
 " how long this tower was calculated to 
 last." — " How long ! " exclaimed Megacles, 
 with indignant pride ; " centuries on centu- 
 ries will elapse, and there shall be no 
 symptoms of decay." — "And I was also 
 thinking," he continued, in the same melan- 
 choly tone, " how long its possessor will 
 remain within its walls ! " 
 
 Remembers the Old Man's Warning. 
 
 The wayfarer had disappeared before 
 Megacles could reply, but the unwelcome 
 words kept recurring to his mind in spite of 
 every effort to suppress them. It was true 
 that only half the period usually allotted to 
 the merchants for their sojourn in Metecia 
 had as yet passed by ; but he knew that, at 
 any moment, his sentence of exile might be 
 pronounced, and that the strength of his 
 tower would not delay its enforcement for a 
 single hour. 
 
 The warning of the old man now came back 
 to his remembrance, and brought with it new 
 feelings of disquietude and alarm. Where 
 were the immense riches that had been en- 
 
 trusted to his care? Had any portion of them 
 been laid up in the Royal Palace? Alas! he 
 shrank from the reply. He had not, indeed, 
 buried them in the earth like Philargyr. 
 
 On the contrary, he had often lavished them 
 with an unsparing hand. But, while he had 
 seldom failed to examine those who came 
 for them on their health, their strength, and 
 their skill in building, he had forgotten the 
 one only important question, — he had never 
 asked, whether they were Messengers of the 
 Great King. 
 
 Fear of Ridicule. 
 
 There was a time when, as these thoughts 
 passed through the mind of Megacles, he 
 half formed the resolution of pulling down, 
 stone by stone, the tower which he had 
 raised, and giving the materials to the King's 
 Messengers. But the dread of ridicule and 
 pride of heart prevailed. He felt that he 
 should incur the mockery of his brother 
 merchants, if, after years of incessant labor, 
 his own hand were to destroy the sole pro- 
 duce of his toil. 
 
 He once more fixed his gaze steadfastly on 
 the lofty building, and resolved to suppress 
 every doubt and alarm. His efforts were at 
 length successful. Not only did his former 
 triumphant feeling return, but a yet more 
 fatal delusion seized him. He fancied the 
 story of the King's Messengers, and the 
 Royal Palace, and the Glorious City, to be a 
 mere invention ; and maintained that, not- 
 withstanding the law of Exile, the only sure 
 and lasting resting-place was to be found in 
 the tower of Fame. 
 
 Alas ! even while he was giving vent to 
 these boastful words, his own sentence of 
 exile had gone forth, and the bearer of the 
 Royal Mandate was at hand. But we must 
 leave him awhile, to follow the history of the 
 two remaining brothers. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 HE story of Euprepes, the 
 third brother, differs greatly 
 from the two that have pre- 
 ceded it. The warning of 
 the old man did not merely 
 leave a transient impression 
 upon his mind, but gave a 
 coloring to his whole course of action. He 
 talked of it loudly and frequently to his 
 fellow-citizens, and described, in affecting 
 language, the wonderful vision which the 
 mirror had disclosed. As soon as he re- 
 ceived his share of his father's wealth, he 
 resolved to spend no portion on the 
 pleasures of the city, but to transmit the 
 whole to the King's Palace. 
 
 He did not fail to make public his inten- 
 tion; and there was no lack of Messengers. 
 First one, then another came, each with his 
 own tale of poverty or distress, and each 
 promising to carry safely the treasure com- 
 mitted to his trust. Euprepes gave to all 
 alike with an unsparing hand; but he soon 
 grew weary of the monotony of the employ- 
 ment. All went on quietly day after day. 
 There was no interest or excitement. His 
 proceedings were either unobserved or dis- 
 regarded by the greater part of the inhabi- 
 tants of the city. He fancied that this was, 
 in part, the fault of his Messengers. As soon 
 as they received his gifts, they used studiously 
 to conceal them and shrink from the observa- 
 tion of those who met them in the streets. 
 
 In order to prevent this, he directed that 
 they should carry the bags of money openly 
 in their hands, and from time to time give 
 public notice of the object of their journey. 
 Some few refused compliance, and were im- 
 
 mediately dismissed his service. This expe- 
 dient, in part, succeeded. The Messengers 
 were often seen and questioned, and more than 
 one friend congratulated Euprepes on the store 
 he was laying up in the Royal Palace. Still, 
 however, he was dissatisfied. He required 
 something more than this. The way of send- 
 ing the money seemed to him out of keeping 
 both with the vastness of his wealth and with 
 the important object for which it was sent. 
 Bright visions would cross his mind of long 
 triumphal processions through the streets of 
 the city, and of shouts and acclamations 
 attending their progress. 
 
 A Herald with a Golden Trumpet. 
 
 Now, while he was indulging these 
 thoughts, a man in the garb of a herald 
 stood before him. His form, at first, was 
 dim and uncertain; but as the young mer- 
 chant gazed upon it, it gradually increased 
 in distinctness. He wore a gorgeous livery, 
 and had a golden trumpet in his hand. 
 
 He thus addressed himself to Euprepes : 
 " Your noble purpose has been long known 
 to me ; neither have you been remiss in 
 carrying it into effect. But there is one 
 thing which you have forgotten. Such 
 wealth as yours should not be trusted to a 
 few scattered Messengers, who wander some 
 here and some there, and hide themselves in 
 the obscure corners of the city. You. 
 require the assistance of a herald to summon 
 them all at a stated period, and then to 
 marshal them in their ranks and arrange the 
 order of their procession. Let, then, that 
 office be mine." 
 
 The whole complexion of the life of 
 
 555 
 
556 
 
 THE KINGS MESSENGERS. 
 
 Euprepes was changed by this proposal. 
 He at once adopted the herald's suggestion, 
 and the monotony of which he had com- 
 plained passed away. From henceforth his 
 embassies to the Royal Palace excited no 
 less interest in the city than the tower of 
 Megacles, while they proved to himself a 
 source of perpetual triumph. 
 
 It will be sufficient to describe one of 
 them ; for, though they seemed to his 
 brother merchants to present an endless 
 variety of appearance, the principal features 
 in all are in reality alike, and the first 
 embassy that he sent will give a true view of 
 his history. 
 
 Shouts from the Multitude. 
 
 When the day for the grand procession 
 had been fixed, the herald sounded his 
 trumpet, and proclaimed it far and wide 
 through the streets of the city. In the 
 meanwhile the young merchant collected 
 many costly bales of merchandise, and ex- 
 changed a large quantity of jewels for silver 
 and gold. As all this was done publicly 
 in the market-place, it tended greatly to 
 increase the general interest. The doors of 
 his own mansion were closed, and the few 
 solitary Messengers who came to them from 
 time to time were dismissed with orders to 
 return together on the day announced by the 
 herald. 
 
 On the appointed morning the windows of 
 the neighboring houses were thronged with 
 spectators. Presently the crowd thickened 
 in the street, until the whole of it was 
 blocked up by persons professing to be 
 King's Messengers. So vast was the con- 
 course that many a poor widow and orphan 
 struggled in vain to pass through it, and 
 returned sadly to their own homes, without 
 once obtaining a sight of the dwelling of 
 Euprepes. 
 
 At mid-day the young merchant appeared. 
 He was attended by a splendid retinue of 
 friends ; near him were the bales of goods, 
 and the gold and silver which he was about 
 to distribute, but nearer still was the herald, 
 who never failed to keep closely to his side. 
 The sun shone fully upon them ; and as its 
 rays were reflected back by their bright 
 apparel and the golden trumpet and the 
 precious metals that lay scattered upon the 
 ground, the air was rent with the acclama- 
 tions of the assembled multitudes. 
 
 After the shouts had continued some 
 minutes, the herald proclaimed silence ; and 
 Euprepes, taking coins of various sizes from 
 the heaps at his side, scattered them indis- 
 criminately among the people. 
 
 A Long Procession. 
 
 A scene of fearful confusion followed, 
 while each Messenger struggled for his 
 share. Many of the most weak and sickly 
 were crushed and trodden under foot. The 
 young merchant could see but a small 
 portion of their sufferings, yet even that gave 
 rise to painful thoughts ; but the whisperings 
 from within were quickly suppressed by the 
 loud voice of the herald, as he proclaimed, 
 " Hasten, hasten, ye Messengers ; gather up 
 the treasures of Euprepes the merchant, 
 which he bids you bear to the distant Palace 
 of the Great King." 
 
 It was not until the vast stores which 
 Euprepes had provided for the occasion 
 were exhausted that the tumult ceased. 
 And then the herald arranged the Messen- 
 gers in a long procession, that they might 
 march publicly through the city. 
 
 It was a strange sight to see that troop cf 
 miserable objects, moving along to the sound 
 of a trumpet, with all the external signs of 
 triumph and joy. The misery of their 
 general appearance formed, for th~ most 
 
THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 557 
 
 part, a singular contrast to the costly 
 burdens which they bore. Many of them 
 seemed conscious of this, and shrank instinc- 
 tively from the observation of their fellows ; 
 but none were permitted to desert the order 
 of march ; and ever as they advanced 
 onward the voice of the herald proclaimed 
 louder and louder, " Behold, ye citizens, 
 behold the riches of Euprepes, which he 
 sends before him to the distant Palace of the 
 Great King." 
 
 The Treasures They Carried. 
 
 The procession was so arranged as to be 
 kept continually within view of the young 
 merchant. He watched its course through 
 the market-place, and up and down the prin- 
 cipal streets of the city. 
 
 From the point at which he stood he 
 could hear distinctly the shouts of the 
 populace and the proclamation of the herald; 
 and there he remained, watching and lis- 
 tening, until the shades of evening closed 
 in, and the reality was lost in a bright and 
 beautiful dream. For in the visions of the 
 night procession after procession continued to 
 pass before him ; they were all laden with 
 •costly offerings for the Royal Palace, — some 
 of silver and gold, some of bales of mer- 
 chandise, some of glorious apparel, — but 
 they kept moving round and round the city, 
 and with the inconsistency of a dream it did 
 not seem strange to Euprepes that, though 
 bound on a distant journey, they never 
 passed beyond its walls. 
 
 Such was the general aspect of the pro- 
 cessions of Euprepes. Some exceeded 
 others in pomp and magnificence ; but each 
 was proclaimed by the same trumpet, and 
 set in order by the same herald ; so that, as 
 I before said, one description will suffice for 
 them all. 
 
 Meanwhile, his resources seemed inex- 
 
 haustible. It was as though his treasure 
 kept returning to himself, and the more he 
 gave the more he had to bestow. Of all 
 | the brothers he was by far the most popu- 
 lar ; his sojourn in the city was cheered 
 alike by the praises of the rich and the 
 blessings of the poor. 
 
 There were, indeed, some who murmured 
 and repined, but their complaints were 
 drowned by the trumpet of the herald, and 
 never reached the ears of Euprepes. He 
 believed himself to be idolized by all within 
 the city, at the same time that he was laying 
 up for himself an inexhaustible store of 
 wealth beyond its walls. Sometimes his 
 feelings were those of quiet self-compla- 
 cency, sometimes of joyous triumph; but 
 they were rarely overclouded by the slightest 
 shadow of doubtfulness or alarm. 
 
 Boasted of His Riches. 
 
 The pursuits of his elder brothers were 
 regarded by him with a kind of contemptu- 
 ous compassion. He would often stand in 
 the bright sunshine on the rising ground 
 where his house was built, and point in 
 derision to the tower of Megacles, or 
 describe with bitterness the yet sadder 
 slavery of Philargyr; and then following 
 with his eye the long train of his own 
 Messengers he would conclude by saying, 
 " I, too, have my tower, but it is built on a 
 surer foundation ; " I, too, have my treasures, 
 but I have sent them to a safer home ! " 
 
 The story of the fourth brother I cannot 
 tell, for but little is known of his history. 
 He did not resemble either Philargyr or 
 Megacles, far he neither toiled and labored 
 for the spirit of the gold-mine, nor built for 
 himself a tower of Fame ; and yet he was 
 also unlike Euprepes, for no herald attended 
 him on his walks, and there was no array 
 of Messengers to be seen continually at his 
 
558 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 door. Much of his time was passed in 
 seclusion. His occupations were unknown ; 
 and he sojourned in the city of Metecia as 
 one who scarcely belonged to it. 
 
 Those who watched with the greatest in- 
 terest the different pursuits of the three elder 
 brothers, were gradually led to forget the 
 very existence of Sophron. There was no 
 great event to mark it or force it upon their 
 attention. At one time, indeed, he did ex- 
 cite a momentary sensation. He left the 
 quarter of the city inhabited by the wealthy 
 merchants and made a choice of a more 
 lowly mansion, surrounded by the dwellings 
 of the poor. His motives even for this 
 change were never discovered. Some 
 ascribed it to avarice, some to want. But it 
 soon ceased to be a topic of conversation ; 
 and he was consigned to greater obscurity 
 than before. 
 
 He Was Happier Every Day. 
 
 To the few friends who continued to visit 
 him in his retirement he was always kind 
 and hospitable ; but there was a mystery 
 about his way of life which they were un- 
 able to penetrate. As time went on, he still 
 seemed to grow poorer and poorer. Some 
 secret drain appeared to exhaust his wealth. 
 No sign of luxury was seen in his abode ; 
 his dress was changed for one of less costly 
 materials ; and his diet was of the simplest 
 kind. 
 
 All this was of itself strange ; but there 
 was something yet more unaccountable in 
 the effect that it had upon Sophron himself. 
 Every day his step grew lighter, and his 
 countenance more full of joy. The look of 
 depression and anxiety which during the 
 days of his abundance he had at times 
 worn, was now never seen upon his brow. 
 One would have imagined that it was not 
 his wealth, but some heavy burthen that had 
 
 been taken away from him ; he became so 
 light and cheerful under its removal. 
 
 When questioned as to the cause of this, 
 he would sometimes answer by a smile, 
 sometimes by a tear ; and there were those 
 who said that, though the smile of Sophron 
 never failed to make the heart rejoice, his 
 tear was yet more full of gladness than his 
 smile. 
 
 The young merchant was really poor. 
 The cause of his poverty, like the rest of 
 his history, was buried in obscurity ; but, 
 whatever became of his money, it did not, 
 like that of Euprepes, keep returning to him 
 again. The praise of men never gilded his 
 deeds of self-sacrifice, neither did earthly 
 glory shed its brightness upon his path. 
 
 All Go Through the Eastern Gate. 
 
 And yet, after all, his lowly dwelling was 
 not without its beautiful legend. There were 
 some who could tell how, in the dim twi- 
 light, or in the still hour of night, they had 
 seen the train of Royal Messengers moving 
 steathily from his door. They were not ar- 
 ranged in ranks, like those sent by Euprepes. 
 Every individual walked alone. And yet it 
 was clear that all formed part of the same 
 long procession, for each had his left hand 
 muffled closely in his garments, while with 
 the right he pointed to the East to mark 
 the direction of his journey. Slowly and 
 silently, one by one, they moved onward 
 through the least frequented streets of the 
 city. Not a footfall was heard as they 
 passed along. 
 
 At length they reached the Eastern gate. 
 It was closed against them, but, like a long 
 line of shadows, the procession still contin- 
 ued its unswerving course, and, passing 
 straight through the opposing barrier, were 
 lost in the darkness beyond. 
 
 These things were not, indeed, reported 
 
FAITH, HOPE AND CHARITY, OF HEAVENLY BIRTH, 
 BESTOW THE RICHEST BLESSINGS KNOWN TO EARTH. 
 
 550 
 
560 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 publicly in the city. Few of the wealthy 
 merchants had heard them at all, and fewer 
 still believed them. Those who witnessed 
 them felt their voices hushed by the solem- 
 nity of the scene. Its silence seemed, as it 
 were, to rest upon them ; and they could 
 only whisper of it from ear to ear, or medi- 
 tate upon it quietly in their own homes. 
 
 And when they asked themselves with a 
 thrill of eager interest, whither that long 
 procession had gone, a voice within them 
 would reply, " It is gone far, far beyond the 
 boundaries of the city, — the barriers were 
 unable to arrest its progress, — and it now 
 bears the treasures of Sophron tc the distant 
 Palace of the Great King." 
 
 Enchanting Music. 
 
 Such was the legend : but there is one 
 part of it which yet remains to be told. It 
 was said that when the few who had 
 witnessed the secret procession, returned to 
 the street in which the merchant lived, they 
 perceived his doorway to be strewed with 
 pearls, while an amber light shone around 
 his dwelling, and strains of gentle music were 
 heard from within its walls. So soft was 
 that light, that it seemed but to shed its 
 coloring on the surrounding darkness — so 
 quiet that music, that the stillness of the 
 night was unbroken by the sound. 
 
 They stood gazing at a distance. They 
 were afraid to venture near, lest, like a scene 
 of enchantment, it should vanish from their 
 view ; and there was a fascination in it, which 
 would not suffer them to depart. The eye 
 never grew weary of watching that lovely 
 radiance, nor the ear of listening to that 
 celestial melody. 
 
 At length the sun arose, and then the 
 vision passed away ; or rather, though the 
 soft light and quiet music never ceased to 
 bless the house of Sophron, they could not 
 
 be seen and heard in the glare and turmoil 
 of the day. The pearls also were no longer 
 visible. There were some, indeed, who 
 fancied they could still perceive them ; but 
 when they stooped to gather them, they 
 found only the drops of morning dew which 
 lay upon the ground. 
 
 Days, months and years rolled on in the 
 same unvaried course. Philargyr continued 
 to toil and labor, and every hour gathered in 
 fresh riches for his insatiable master. Meg- 
 acles received early the sentence of Exile, 
 but his tower remained as his memorial in 
 the city. Euprepes still dazzled the eyes of 
 the multitudes by his costly gifts and gor- 
 geous processions. Sophron alone lived a 
 life of obscurity. 
 
 The Burden Grows Heavier. 
 
 The wealth, the fame and the liberality of 
 the three elder brothers had severally passed 
 into a proverb. Many were the discussions 
 concerning their conduct and character ; for 
 in spite of the contempt in which Philargyr 
 was generally held, even he had his tribe of 
 flatterers and partisans, and it was remarked 
 that their number increased as the time of 
 his banishment drew near. 
 
 But no allusion was made to the law of 
 Exile in any of the conversations concern- 
 ing the brothers. I have already accounted 
 for this silence. Notwithstanding the King's 
 warnings, the citizens for the most part were 
 accustomed to regard Metecia as their last 
 dwelling-place. It seemed as though some 
 heavy mist were resting upon them : and 
 their low range of thought was bounded by 
 the narrow circuit of their own walls. 
 
 A protracted sojourn in the city fell to the 
 portion of Philargyr, though the progress of 
 time served only to increase the burthen of 
 his servitude. He was carrying a heavy 
 load of gold to the secret mine, and toiling 
 
THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 561 
 
 and groaning beneath its weight, when the 
 old man met him on his way. For a mo- 
 ment he gazed steadfastly on the weary mer- 
 chant, and then with a smile of bitter irony 
 offered to relieve him. Philargyr trembled. 
 
 He endeavored at first to persuade himself 
 that it was but a re-appearance of the same 
 image which he had seen in the mirror ; but 
 his limbs tottered, and his cheek grew pale, 
 and there was a numbness at his heart, 
 which convinced him that the actual form of 
 the old man now stood before him, and he 
 could not doubt the nature of the message 
 which he bore. 
 
 At length, in much terror and perplexity, 
 and scarcely conscious of the meaning of his 
 own words, he thus addressed him : " Stran- 
 ger," he cried, " if, indeed, thou art charged 
 with the sentence of Exile, leave me yet a lit- 
 tle while. I have great treasure in this city. 
 Wait till my camels and asses are laden, and 
 my slaves with their bags of gold are ready 
 to accompany us, and then we will hasten on 
 •our journey." 
 
 He Loses All His Wealth. 
 
 But the stranger replied — and the cold, 
 stern accents fell as ice on the heart of 
 Philargyr : " O merchant, what vain words 
 are these ! You know well that whoever 
 travels with me travels alone. Your camels 
 and asses, your slaves, your silver, and your 
 gold cannot accompany us. The wealth 
 that you have sent beforehand to the Royal 
 Palace is now your own ; but all that re- 
 mains in the city is lost to you forever." 
 
 Then did the vision in the mirror rise in 
 distinct and fearful remembrance to the mind 
 of Philargyr. It was but mockery to speak 
 to him of treasure sent beforehand to the 
 Royal Palace. The accumulated gains of 
 his many years of labor were all stored up 
 in the fatal mine. He had counted them 
 36 
 
 over but yesterday ; not a single coin vvas 
 missing — all were there. 
 
 Now, as he thought of this, he turned his 
 eyes imploringly to the old man ; but in a 
 moment he again averted his gaze, for he 
 perceived him to be no longer alone. A 
 dark and terrible crowd of attendants were 
 ranged around. They were armed with 
 scourges of iron, which they raised on high, 
 as though ready at any moment to drive 
 him forth into the dreary wilderness that lay 
 beyond the city. 
 
 A Plea for Pity. 
 
 At length he cried out, in accents of 
 mingled fear and remorse, " Alas ! O 
 stranger, hitherto I have neglected your 
 warning. The whole of my wealth is still 
 within the city. But, surely, you yourself 
 are a King's Messenger ! Have compassion, 
 then, upon me, and even now bear it quickly 
 to the Royal Palace." 
 
 But the old man replied, " You ask what 
 cannot be. I am indeed a King's Messen- 
 ger, but I bear no treasure with me to the 
 Royal Palace ; for all things change at my 
 touch, and crumble into decay. Those 
 charged with that office have been with you 
 long ago, — the poor, the afflicted, and the 
 infirm ; — they would have conveyed your 
 riches thither, if you had not driven them 
 empty-handed from your door." 
 
 Darker and more terrible grew the train 
 of the old man's followers, as Philargyr 
 listened to these fearful words. Once more the 
 iron scourges were raised on high ; but the 
 unhappy merchant, in a voice of the deepest 
 misery, implored the respite of a single day. 
 
 "To-morrow," he said, "to-morrow all 
 shall be in readiness. I will even now 
 summon the King's Messengers, and send 
 the whole of my wealth beyond the walls of 
 the city. Spare me, if it be but for a few 
 
562 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 hours. Your coming was unlooked for, and 
 therefore it has found me unprepared." 
 
 " It is false," replied the old man, sternly. 
 " My coming has been very slow and gradual. 
 During the still hours of the night, you 
 heard, one by one, the sound of my footsteps, 
 while I was yet at a distance from the city. 
 Your limbs grew feeble, and your hair gray, 
 and your heart dull and cold ; and you knew 
 well that these signs preceded the approach 
 of the last Messenger of the Great King. 
 Each warning made you struggle for a little 
 while, to separate yourself from your gold. 
 But it held you in bonds ; and you could 
 not set yourself free. If I were to leave you 
 now, the result would be the same. You 
 would go on clinging to your riches, or 
 rather they would go on clinging to you, 
 even if you were suffered to remain whole 
 centuries in the city." 
 
 A Chain of Gold Around His Hands. 
 
 Philargyr felt that the old man's words 
 were but too fearfully true. He had for 
 many years been expecting the bearer of the 
 Royal Mandate. So slow had been his 
 approach, that days, weeks, and months 
 seemed to mark the interval of each succeed- 
 ing step. Time had been thus allowed for 
 the gradual removal of all his wealth. The 
 appointed Messengers had repeatedly called 
 for it ; but after a faint effort to give it them, 
 he had sent them away till the morrow. 
 
 And the cause of this was, as I have said, 
 the chain of gold which had been twined 
 round his hands by the spirit of the mine. 
 It had been light and fragile once, but it was 
 a magic chain, which grew more firm and 
 massive with the lapse of years. The time 
 had been, when the captive, by one vigorous 
 struggle, might have set himself free. But 
 each weak and unsuccessful effort served 
 only to increase its strength ; and the links 
 
 had become so firmly riveted, that his own 
 hand was all too feeble to dissolve them now. 
 The unhappy merchant had, as we have 
 seen, long bent beneath the weight of this 
 chain ; but he now perceived it for the first 
 time as it was wrenched asunder by the iron 
 grasp of the stranger's hand, and in a 
 moment he was parted for ever from his vast 
 wealth, and, while the scourges fell heavily 
 upon him, driven forth as an exile beyond 
 the walls of the city. 
 
 The Day of Exile Arrives. 
 
 We will now leave Philargyr, and bring to 
 a close the story of Megacles. A no less 
 sad and fearful picture awaits us there. He 
 was, as I have said, summoned early, and 
 the day of his exile followed close on the 
 warning of the wayfaring man. But I have 
 thought it better to make no change in the 
 order of his history. 
 
 The old man found him in all the fulness 
 of his strength. He was arrayed in purple 
 and costly apparel, and stood gazing with an 
 eye of pride on the tower which he had 
 raised. A crowd of eager partisans were 
 gathered around. The bearer of the Royal 
 Mandate passed through the midst of them, 
 with a slow and silent step ; and his finger 
 had long pointed to Megacles, before he 
 himself became aware of his approach. It 
 was the looks of those who stood around 
 which first warned him that the day of his 
 exile had arrived. 
 
 No sooner, however, did he become con- 
 scious of the old man's presence, than he 
 endeavored to face him with an undaunted 
 air. "Stranger," he said boldly, "your 
 summons to me is vain. I ask no dwelling- 
 place in the Glorious City. Here, in Mete- 
 cia, have I built myself a tower ; and here> 
 in Metecia, shall be my lasting home." 
 
 There was a shout of applause from the 
 
NOT FOR A CROWN WILL THIS POOR WORLDING PAUSE, 
 BUT WASTES HIS LIFE IN GATHERING STICKS AND STRAWS. 
 
 563 
 
564 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 surrounding multitude ; but the old man 
 neither spoke nor moved. Coldly and 
 steadfastly he gazed upon the merchant, 
 until the proud spirit of Megacles quailed 
 beneath his look, and the boastful words 
 seemed to wither on his lips, while every 
 limb was shaken with convulsive terror. 
 
 He turned away his face from the unwel- 
 come Messenger, and endeavored to gather 
 new courage from the contemplation of his 
 tower of Fame. But there was a haze which 
 now encircled it ; it appeared to be already 
 fading in the distance ; and he could hardly 
 distinguish the building itself from its long 
 dark shadow which rested upon the ground. 
 
 At length the old man broke the silence : 
 — " It is ever thus, O merchant ! — the objects 
 in this city become, for the most part, the 
 same with their shadows, when I approach 
 them. But take my glass, and you will 
 once more behold distinctly the building that 
 you have raised." 
 
 The Moth and Worm. 
 
 As he said this, he held out a glass to 
 Megacles. The merchant took it, almost 
 unconsciously. For a moment he looked 
 through it, and then, with a cold shudder, 
 suffered it to fall from his hand. His lofty 
 tower had dwindled into a sepulchre, when 
 seen through the glass which the stranger 
 had given him. But diminutive as it now 
 appeared, there was an inscription engraved 
 distinctly upon it ; and he had read only too 
 plainly these fatal words : — " Here lie the 
 garments which Megacles once wore." 
 
 "Yes," said the old man, with a smile of 
 scorn, "it is not for yourself that you have 
 raised this lofty tower, but for the garments 
 which you wear ! They shall remain in the 
 city, and rest beneath it, until the moth and 
 worm have eaten them away. But for your- 
 self you have prepared no dwelling-place, 
 
 and you will be driven forth a homele^rs 
 wanderer in the wilderness." 
 
 The last feeling of self-confidence now 
 died away from the heart of Megacles. In- 
 stead of the crowd of eager partisans, he 
 saw only the same gloomy attendants which 
 afterwards appeared to Philargyr. He felt 
 that his tower would avail him nothing ; and 
 that, if the gates of the Royal City were 
 closed against him, no hope of safety could 
 remain. 
 
 The past rose in bitter remembrance be- 
 fore him ; and, as he thought over the num- 
 erous workmen that he had employed on 
 his building, he tried to recollect some one 
 among the number who might prove to have 
 been a Messenger of the Great King. 
 
 The effort, however, was vain; and the 
 secret feeling of his heart belied his words, 
 as he advanced a claim to treasure in the 
 Royal Palace. " Stranger," he said, " I 
 have not altogether neglected the warning 
 which you gave. My riches are not buried 
 in a mine ; I have dispersed them far and 
 near, and know not whither they are gone. 
 Some perhaps may have remained within the 
 city, but surely some portion must have 
 escaped beyond its walls. If the King's 
 Messengers came to me they received their 
 share with the rest : I never wilfully drove 
 them away. Oh, tell me, then, that there is 
 some treasure prepared for me in the Royal 
 Palace, and that the gates of the Glorious 
 City will not be closed against me for ever!" 
 
 What the Old Man Said. 
 
 But the old man pointed to the tower as 
 he replied, " Behold, Megacles, the one only 
 monument of your wealth ; it is there, and 
 there alone, that all who received your, 
 wages or your gifts deposited their burthens. 
 You yourself never failed to point it out to 
 them as the object of their journey." 
 
THE KING'S MESSENGERS, 
 
 565 
 
 " But neither is this all ; the King's Mes- 
 sengers, though you knew them not, did in- 
 deed come to you among the rest. They 
 were weak and helpless,' and you loaded 
 them with vast blocks of marble and granite 
 which they were unable to bear. Many sank 
 beneath their burthens ; others were crushed 
 and maimed by stones failing from the build- 
 ing. It is true that their groans and lamen- 
 tations never reached you. They were 
 drowned by the noise and tumult which ac- 
 companied the erection of your tower. But 
 the cries of the King's Messengers are car- 
 ried by each passing wind to the Royal 
 Palace, and are heard and remembered 
 there." 
 
 A Strange Darkness. 
 
 Megacles would fain have replied, but no 
 time was allowed him for further words. The 
 stranger touched him with his icy hand, and 
 in an instant the dark attendants had strip- 
 ped him of his raiment, and driven him with 
 their scourges from the city. There were 
 few who wept for his sudden departure, for 
 Megacles was not loved ; but his admirers 
 and partisans gathered up his purple gar- 
 ments, and deposited them carefully beneath 
 the tower. In a little while the moth and 
 the worm had consumed them there ; while 
 the tower itself continued to stand for many 
 years, — a vain memorial of the spot where 
 they had been laid. 
 
 Euprepes saw the sentence of exile passed 
 on both his elder brothers, and spoke with 
 much eloquence of the misery of their fate: 
 For himself, he said that he had long since 
 been fully prepared to depart ; all his treas- 
 ures had been sent before him to the Royal 
 Palace; and he was only anxious for the 
 time when they would be restored to him 
 again. Sometimes he would complain to his 
 friends of the long delay of the bearer of 
 
 the Royal Mandate, and declare that he was 
 even then listening for his footstep, and would 
 advance to welcome him at the first warning 
 of his approach. 
 
 The stranger tarried long ; but when he 
 did come, the reality proved very different 
 from the anticipations of Euprepes. In 
 spite of himself, he was conscious of a sensa- 
 tion of fear. First a strange darkness seemed 
 to fall on the objects around him. Then 
 doubts and misgivings flitted like shadows 
 across his mind ; and the vision of the future 
 as well as of the past and present was. 
 arrayed in less bright coloring than before. 
 
 He advanced to meet the old man, but it 
 was with the unsteady step of one walking 
 in a mist ; he addressed him in bold words 
 of welcome, but it was with a faltering voice, 
 as though he felt doubtful of the reply. 
 
 "At length," he said, "thou hast arrived! 
 But wherefore didst thou tarry so long? 
 Was it that thy journey was delayed by* 
 the frequent train of Messengers that met 
 thee on thy way? They were bearing my 
 silver and my gold, my jewels and my mer- 
 chandise, to the Great Monarch whom thou 
 servest. I have much wealth laid up for me 
 in his Palace. Come, then, let us hasten 
 thither." 
 
 A Question and a Reply. 
 
 But the old man offered no reply; he 
 merely fixed his cold, searching gaze upon 
 the merchant ; and while he did so, it seemed 
 as though some terrible object rose up 
 between them ; and the shadow fell yet more 
 darkly on the mind of Euprepes. He tried 
 in vain to suppress his feelings of anxiety 
 and alarm ; they kept following one another 
 like the waves of a troubled sea. At length 
 he was forced to give way to them, and once 
 more spoke to the old man, but with words 
 of less confidence than before. 
 
566 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 " Stranger," he said, "from whence is this 
 sensation of secret terror? I had looked to 
 your coming as a time of sunshine and joy. 
 Where are the good tidings that you have in 
 store for me? Do not imagine that, like 
 Megacles and Philargyr, I have neglected 
 your warning. My wealth has been distri- 
 buted among the King's Messengers. Week 
 after week, in long procession, they left my 
 door. Surely, surely, you must have seen 
 many bags of gold and bales of merchandise 
 in the Royal Palace, with the name of 
 Euprepes written upon them ! " 
 
 The old man replied, or rather, perhaps, 
 though the words seemed to come from him, 
 it was the thoughts of Euprepes which made 
 answer to themselves : 
 
 " O merchant ! from the city in which you 
 dwell to the land inhabited by the Great 
 King is a long and dangerous journey. It 
 is true that many a Messenger has of late 
 trodden it in safety, and rich and precious 
 were the burthens which they bore. But a 
 simple cross was the only mark either on the 
 bags of gold or the bales of merchandise. 
 If, therefore, the name of Euprepes was 
 written upon yours, the whole of them must 
 have been lost." 
 
 The Riches Did Not Arrive. 
 
 "Lost! lost!" exclaimed the unhappy 
 man, in a voice of agony ; " nay, it cannot 
 be. The embassies were so frequent and 
 numerous that some, at least, must have 
 arrived : and even if it be otherwise, the 
 whole city is a witness that I sent them. The 
 air was rent with acclamations as they passed 
 along ; and far and near you could hear the 
 voices of those who cried, ' This is the wealth 
 of Euprepes, which he sends before him to 
 the distant Palace of the Great King.' " 
 
 " It is not such sounds as those," replied 
 the old man, " which ever reach the Roya 1 
 
 Palace ; they are lost in the din and tumult 
 of the city, or heard only by the enemies of 
 the King. But tell me, Euprepes, are you a 
 merchant, and do you not know that those 
 riches are moved most securely which are 
 sent in secrecy and silence ? If you had 
 wished merely to transfer your posses- 
 sions to a house in a neighboring street, 
 should you, in the first instance, have 
 paraded them before your door, and told the 
 bearers to display them openly to all who 
 met them on their way ? Surely, if you had 
 done this, and they had been intercepted by 
 thieves and robbers, the fault would have 
 been your own." 
 
 Euprepes could make no reply ; and yet 
 he murmured something of a hope that the 
 soldiers of the Great King would not have 
 suffered the Messengers to be plundered on 
 their journey. 
 
 The Enchanter Pride. 
 
 But the old man, in a sterner voice, thus 
 continued to address him : 
 
 " I will tell you, Euprepes, what has 
 become of your wealth. There is an 
 enchanter that dwells in this city ; his name 
 is Pride, and he is an enemy of the Great 
 King. He it was who sent the herald to 
 summon the Messengers to your door. The 
 sound of his trumpet never fails to change 
 the purest gold and silver into brass and 
 glittering tinsel. These were the offerings 
 that you really sent ; but even these did not 
 reach the destination for which you intended 
 them. The enchanter wove his magic 
 circles round the feet of your Messengers, so 
 that they followed one another in the same 
 endless track, without ever advancing one 
 step upon their journey." 
 
 A new and fearful light now burst upon 
 the mind of Euprepes. He remembered 
 how, in the visions of the night, he had con- 
 
PRIDE DECKS ITSELF, BUT SOON THE CHARMS ARE PAST, 
 AND TO A SKELETON IT COMES AT LAST. 
 
 567 
 
568 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 tinually seen the long processions moving 
 round and round. Never for a moment had 
 he lost sight of them in the distance, or formed 
 a wish to trace their course beyond the city. 
 
 Alas ! in these dreams he had seen but the 
 image of his actual Messengers, though it 
 was the enchanter who placed before his 
 eyes the glass in which they appeared. His 
 head grew dizzy, and his heart sick, as they 
 rose to his remembrance ; but he still made 
 one last effort to lay claim to a recompense 
 from the Great King. 
 
 "It was gold," he said, — "it was pure 
 gold that I gave ; and though it may have 
 been changed and rendered worthless, to me 
 at least it was of real value. If it failed to 
 purchase for me an inheritance in the Royal 
 Palace, it surely ought to have been restored 
 to me again. Philargyr hoarded his vast 
 wealth ; Megacles built with his a tower of 
 Fame ; mine alone has been unprofltably 
 spent, and brought me no recompense within 
 the city, and yet none beyond its walls." 
 
 He Had His Reward. 
 
 "Merchant," replied the old man, "you 
 know well that you have long since had 
 your reward. . The applause of your fellow- 
 citizens fell like a golden shower upon your 
 path ; and their goodwill and gratitude 
 have been to you as bales of costly 
 merchandise. 
 
 " It was thus that the wealth which you 
 professed to give never ceased to come back 
 to you again. Like Philargyr, you did but 
 traffic with your possessions, and they 
 brought you in a full and abundant return. 
 Your tower, also, like that of Megacles, is 
 built within the city. It is true that your 
 own hands have not labored in its erection, 
 but day by day you have stood watching it 
 in secret, and listened to the shouts and 
 acclamations which marked its growth. 
 
 " It may, perhaps, have seemed to you to 
 be rising afar off in the territory of the Great 
 King ; but this delusion was caused by the 
 same enchanter who sent you the herald. He 
 spread a mist before your eyes, which made 
 an object appear to be in the distance which 
 was really near at hand. Your range of 
 sight has never passed beyond the bounda- 
 ries of the city ; every hope and wish of your 
 heart has been confined within it, and there 
 also was your treasure and your home." 
 
 Then did the attendants with the iron 
 scourges seize upon Euprepes, and strip him 
 of his garments ; and he, too, was driven 
 forth into the dreary wilderness. But the 
 scourgers were unseen by those who wit- 
 nessed his departure, neither could they hear 
 the fearful words in which the sentence ol 
 exile was conveyed. 
 
 And so it was, that, after he was gone, the 
 long train of his Messengers continued to 
 parade the streets ; while the false herald 
 with the golden trumpet proclaimed far and 
 near that the happy exile had been received 
 within the gates of the Glorious City, and 
 that all his treasures had been restored to 
 him there. 
 
 Story of the Fourth Brother. 
 
 Such was the fearful history of the three 
 elder brothers. It is a relief to turn aside 
 from it, and seek a resting-place in Sophron's 
 lowly dwelling. He had wept bitterly for 
 their exile, but he did not, like Euprepes, 
 make a display of his compassion, or boast 
 of his own readiness to depart. His tears 
 had flowed in secret, and his hopes also 
 were cherished in the solitude of his own 
 bosom. 
 
 Every day he put his little room in readi- 
 ness for the stranger's coming, and was so 
 constantly preparing for it that he may be 
 almost said to have lived in his immediate 
 
THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 56! 
 
 presence. Yet he, like the rest, was con- 
 scious of some change of feeling when his 
 actual summons arrived. 
 
 He was at the time enjoying the quiet 
 beauty of the evening hour. It mattered not 
 that a vase with a few autumnal flowers was 
 the only ornament of his humble abode ; 
 and that the flame burnt faint and feebly in 
 the solitary lamp which was standing at their 
 side. 
 
 Sophron could not really be in darkness, 
 poverty, or alone ; for, as the shades of night 
 closed in, the pearls appeared upon the thresh- 
 old, the soft music spoke to him as a com- 
 panion, and the amber light shed its radi- 
 ance around. His heart was full of grati- 
 tude for these blessings, when a mingled 
 feeling of awe and sadness stole upon him, 
 and it seemed as though some shadow were 
 moving along the wall. 
 
 The Royal Palace and City. 
 
 Every object changed as the dark outline 
 fell upon it ; — the flame of the solitary lamp 
 burned even more dimly than before, and 
 the autumnal flowers began to wither and 
 decay. It needed not these signs to warn 
 Sophron that it was the same figure that had 
 appeared in the mirror. For a while he 
 watched it with a calm and steadfast gaze : 
 presently a sensation of weariness stole upon 
 him, his thoughts grew confused and indis- 
 tinct, and at length he sank in a state of 
 partial unconsciousness upon the ground. 
 
 When he again opened his eyes, the old 
 man was standing at his side. No gloomy 
 attendants were near, but he held a mirror in 
 his hand. Beneath it were the words : 
 " This is the image of the Past." The scene 
 which it reflected was one that had been 
 long familiar to Sophron, and he did not 
 shrink from beholding it now. 
 
 From time to time soft shadowy forms 
 
 moved across the glass ; they were, doubt- 
 less, the images of the King's Messengers ; 
 but the eye of Sophron did not for a moment 
 rest upon them, for ever as they appeared 
 his thoughts wandered to the Royal Palace 
 and Glorious City. 
 
 At length the old man addressed him, 
 " Oh, merchant," he said, " how is this ? All 
 signs of wealth and luxury are wont to 
 vanish at my presence, but it is not so with 
 thy abode. Even as I crossed the threshold 
 of thy door, pearls of inestimable value 
 were scattered upon the ground. They can 
 be no part of the treasure of this city ; for, 
 when I trod silently upon them, they were 
 not sullied by my step, but only shone 
 with a purer brightness than before ! " 
 
 " Stranger," replied Sophron, " I cannot 
 tell You say truly that they are no part of 
 the treasure of the city. The whole of my 
 father's vast wealth could not have purchased 
 one of them. They are as pearls of the far 
 East, and I have looked upon them as gifts 
 from the Great King ; but I know not what 
 hand has scattered them thus plenteously at 
 the threshold of my door." 
 
 The Poor Widow. 
 
 He had hardly finished speaking, when a 
 shadowy form moved across the mirror, and 
 there was a voice from thence which said, 
 " I was a widow, poor and destitute, but a 
 Messenger of the Great King. I went to 
 Philargyr for relief, and he told me that his 
 money was his own. I came to Sophron, 
 and he spoke soft words of comfort, and 
 ministered to my wants, and bade me take 
 freely of his treasures, for it was for my sake 
 that the Great King had placed them in his 
 hands. I wept with joy and gratitude when 
 I left him ; and each tear has been changed 
 by the Great King into a pearl, and remained 
 to this hour on the threshold of his abode." 
 
670 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 And the old man said, "Oh, merchant, 
 from whence is this wonderful melody that I 
 hear? Sure I am that none of the musicians 
 in this city could produce such strains. 
 Their harps lose their tunefulness, and their 
 sweetest notes become harsh and discordant, 
 when I am standing near. But this music 
 has some magic power. My presence only 
 renders it more distinct and perfect than 
 before, and even my own voice is moved into 
 harmony by the sound." 
 
 Music From a Distant Land. 
 
 "Stranger," replied Sophron, " I cannot 
 tell. You say truly that the music has a 
 magic power, for it lends its own tunefulness 
 to all around. To me it has long since 
 breathed a spirit of harmony over the din and 
 discord of this crowded city ; every care and 
 anxiety has been changed and modulated by 
 its soothing influence : and the events of day 
 after day have seemed to flow on in perpetual 
 melody. But though the music has thus 
 dwelt in my own home, and I have loved it, 
 and listened to it with gladness, I believe it 
 to be but the echo of a yet sweeter strain 
 which is played afar off in some distant 
 land." 
 
 Again there was a voice from the mirror ; 
 its accents were low and tremulous, like 
 those of a little child, and it said, " I was an 
 orphan, weak and friendless, but a Messenger 
 of the Great King. I went to Megacles for 
 succor, and he pointed to a block of marble, 
 and bade me raise it on high : but my hands 
 were too feeble for the task ; and then his 
 attendants drove me away, and said there was 
 no place for little children in the tower of 
 *Fame. 
 
 " I came to Sophron ; and he fed me and 
 clothed me, and told me that the house in 
 which he lived had been lent to him as a 
 .shelter for the orphan child. Every morn- 
 
 ing and evening I went in secret to the Great 
 King, and carried with me each precious gift 
 that I received from Sophron ; and he bade 
 me take back to him in return the offering of 
 a simple heart overflowing with gratitude and 
 love. So it was that my looks and words 
 became to his home as a perpetual song; 
 and this is the soft music which you hear 
 within its walls." 
 
 And the old man said, " Tell me, Sophron, 
 from whence is this light that sheds its 
 radiance on all around? Sure I am that it 
 belongs not to this city; for night has 
 thrown her dark mantle over its streets, and, 
 even if it were otherwise, mists and chilling 
 darkness are the signs of my approach. The 
 flame of your own lamp grew more faint and 
 feeble when my shadow first fell upon it, and 
 is fast expiring now. Whence, then, is it 
 that in thy dwelling there seems to be 
 perpetual day? " 
 
 The Strange Light. 
 
 A soft slumber was stealing upon Sophron ; 
 his eyes were already closed ; his voice was 
 indistinct, and yet it sounded like happy 
 music as for the last time he replied, 
 "Stranger, I cannot tell. The light has 
 indeed shone upon me ; nay, is shining upon 
 me now. My eyes are closed, and I see it 
 not ; but it is as the sunshine of the heart, 
 and I feel it to be here. Whether it be a 
 reality or a beautiful dream, I am conscious 
 of its psesence, though I know not from 
 whence it comes." 
 
 Then, for the third time, a voice proceeded 
 from the mirror, as a shadowy form moved 
 across it, and it said, " I had been rich and 
 prosperous, but a long sickness brought me 
 into poverty and distress. I heard the pro- 
 clamation of Euprepes, and made a feeble 
 effort to reach his door ; but the crowd, and 
 the glare, and the noise of the trumpet, over- 
 
ONE BEARS THE CROSS, THE OTHER LAYS IT DOWN 
 
 WHICH OF THE TWAIN WILL WIN THE GOLDEN CROWN? 
 
 571 
 
572 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 whelmed me with fear and shame. I shrank 
 back in silence", and hid myself in the 
 obscurity of my own solitary dwelling. 
 
 "Sophron sought me out and found me 
 there. He tended me in my sickness and 
 ministered to my wants, and bade me be of 
 good cheer, for I had a secret store of 
 wealth, even the prayers and blessings of a 
 poor man ; and, when I spoke to him of 
 gratitude, he asked me to give him some 
 portion of my treasure. 
 
 " Then did I remember that poverty and 
 distress had made me a Messenger of the 
 Great King, and I hastened to the Royal 
 Palace, and took with me thither my blessings 
 and my prayers. The Great King received 
 them from me, and shed them as rays of 
 unchanging sunshine on the abode of 
 Sophron, and from thence comes the amber 
 light that yet lives within its walls." 
 
 A Good Bargain. 
 
 There was a pause of a few secwds ; 
 while Sophron appeared to be yielding more 
 and more to the soothing influence of sleep. 
 
 And then the old man breathed softly 
 upon him, and said, "Thrice happy mer- 
 chant! Well, indeed, hast thou traded with 
 thy wealth ! Thou has bartered thy perish- 
 able silver and gold for the widow's grati- 
 tude, the orphan's love, and the poor man's 
 prayer. Now that thou art going hence, 
 these riches will follow thee. The costly 
 pearls, the gentle music, and the amber light 
 shall attend thee on thy journey even to the 
 gates of the Glorious City. But a more 
 
 abundant treasure, a more perfect harmony, 
 and a light of brilliance unutterable, await 
 thee there." 
 
 A Smile of Gladness. 
 
 As he thus spoke, he placed a second 
 mirror before the eyes of Sophron ; and 
 though they now seemed to be sealed in 
 slumber, a smile of joy and gladness played 
 across his countenance. I cannot tell how 
 bright and glorious was the vision that he 
 saw. This alone I know, that the image of 
 the Future was reflected in that glass, and 
 that, as the old man held it, his own form 
 faded away. For a moment there was a 
 sound as of the rustling of many wings in 
 the air, and then all was stillness in the 
 dwelling of Sophron. 
 
 On the morrow, the sun shone brightly 
 upon the city ; — there was the usual hum of 
 traffic and moving to and fro of the busy 
 multitude in the streets, though the lamp had 
 been extinguished in Sophron's abode, and 
 the aged merchant was gone. 
 
 Very few of the passers-by noticed the 
 deserted dwelling ; but the King's Messen- 
 gers wept as they beheld it at a distance, and 
 there was a strain of sadness in the gentle 
 music of the orphan child. They mourned, 
 because their own office was at an end ; but 
 when they thought of Sophron, their sorrow 
 was turned into joy. They knew that his treas- 
 ures had been marked with the Cross, and 
 were stored up for him in the Royal Palace, 
 and that he himself was dwelling in the happy- 
 city where the law of Exile was unknown. 
 
CHAPTER III, 
 
 T was Mr. Mertoun who related 
 the foregoing Allegory, and 
 the occasion of it was what 
 happened one day after he had 
 been doing some missionary 
 work. " Has any one called 
 during my absence?" inquired 
 Mr. Mertoun of his nephew, 
 Leonard, on returning home after his usual 
 round of visits to the poor. 
 
 " No one," replied the boy ; " I have been 
 with Mary in the garden, and if they had, I 
 could not have helped seeing them/' 
 
 ' ' It is strange," said Mr. Mertoun ; " are 
 you quite sure there has been no one?" 
 
 " Quite sure," he answered, but presently 
 added, correcting himself, " at least, no one 
 of any consequence — only some poor man." 
 The tone in which the last words were 
 uttered, no less than the answer itself, grated 
 harshly on Mr. Mertoun's ear. " Only some 
 poor man ! " he repeated : " why, Leonard, 
 do you say only? Might not his visit be of 
 consequence ? " 
 
 The boy looked confused, but endeavored 
 to justify his former reply by saying, " Of 
 consequence to himself, uncle, but I meant 
 of no consequence to you." 
 
 " Nay, my dear boy ; " replied Mr. Mer- 
 toun, " you now speak even more thought- 
 lessly than before. It could not have been 
 the one without being the other also. 
 Remember, that it can never be of more 
 importance for the poor man to declare his 
 wants that it is for those who have the 
 means to relieve them. Do you think you 
 understand me?" 
 
 ■• T believe, uncle, I do," he replied 
 
 thoughtfully. " You mean, as you told us 
 on Sunday, that ' it is more blessed to give 
 than to receive.' " 
 
 Mr. Mertoun perceived from the reply, 
 that he had awakened the train of reflection 
 which he wished, and did not, at the time, 
 pursue the conversation. But the words, 
 " only some poor man" kept recurring pain- 
 fully to his own mind. His nephew and 
 niece had been with him but a few days, yet 
 it was not the first time he had observed in 
 them a want of sympathy for the poor. 
 This was, perhaps, an almost necessary 
 result of their having been brought up in a 
 great city. 
 
 The Claims of Poor People. 
 
 No opportunities had been there afforded 
 them of visiting the poor in their own 
 homes. They had learned to look upon all 
 beggars as imposters, and drew no distinc- 
 tion between real and pretended cases of 
 distress. Thus, though in other respects 
 they were loving and obedient children,, imd 
 well grounded in the principles of the Chris- 
 tian faith, the numerous warnings in the 
 Gospel concerning the danger of wealth, and 
 its only safeguard, remained to them almost 
 a dead letter. 
 
 It was with a view of remedying this 
 defect, and bringing distinctly before them 
 the important office assigned to the poor by 
 our Blessed Lord, that on the evening of the 
 above conversation their uncle told them the 
 foregoing story. 
 
 The young people were much interested 
 and listened very attentively. A silence of 
 some minutes succeeded the story. Both the 
 
 573 
 
574 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 children were grave aud thoughtful. Leon- 
 ard looked anxious to say something, but 
 seemed to want courage to begin the conver- 
 sation. To relieve him from his embarrass- 
 ment, Mr. Mertoun addressed himself in the 
 first instance to Mary." 
 
 " Tell me, Mary," he said, " do you sup- 
 pose there ever was a city with the same 
 singular law as that of Metecia?" 
 
 " Oh yes, uncle," she replied readily ; " I 
 guessed at once what you intended by it ; 
 the story is an allegory, and the law of 
 Exile is the law of Death." 
 
 "It is so," said Mr. Mertoun. "The 
 whole world is but our city of Metecia. We 
 are liable, at any moment, to be called upon 
 to depart from it ; and, when our summons 
 comes, we go forth alone, and no part of 
 our possessions follow us. If we live in 
 forgetfulness of this law, our conduct is, to 
 say the least, as unaccountable as that of the 
 merchants in the story. But what do you 
 understand by the vision in the mirror ?" 
 
 Blessings of Bereavement. 
 
 Mary hesitated, and Leonard answered for 
 her, " I suppose, uncle, the thoughts awak- 
 ened by the death of friends." 
 
 "You are right," said Mr. Mertoun; 
 " our seasons of bereavement are those in 
 which we feel most distinctly the nothingness 
 of worldly treasures, and are led to take a 
 true view of our position as pilgrims and so- 
 journers upon the earth. The warnings of 
 Holy Scripture, which we may have often 
 heard and disregarded, are then so forced 
 upon our minds, that we cannot set them 
 aside. But tell me, Leonard, what particu- 
 lar duty connected with the instability of 
 riches is the story designed to illustrate?" 
 
 The boy colored as he replied, " The duty 
 of giving to the poor ; — and I know why you 
 told it us. But," he added, with some 
 
 slight hesitation, " I hope you do not think I 
 am like Philargyr?" 
 
 "I have seen but little of either you or 
 Mary," answered Mr. Mertoun, " and cannot 
 even tell to which of the three dangerous 
 paths pointed out in the allegory your 
 natural dispositions may incline. But my 
 design in telling it was to bring distinctly 
 before you the important office assigned to 
 the poor in the Gospel. I was afraid that 
 you were unmindful of it when a few days 
 since you used the words, ' Only some poor 
 
 man. 
 
 Misuse of Money. 
 
 " I was, indeed," he answered; "and for 
 the future, I will try to look upon the poor 
 as Messengers of the Great King. But, 
 uncle," he continued, after a pause, "do you 
 mean that all who neglect almsgiving are 
 like some one or other of the merchants in 
 the story?" 
 
 " I think," replied Mr. Mertoun, "that all 
 who abuse their riches, may be comprehended 
 under the three great classes that I have de- 
 scribed. First, we have those like Philargyr, 
 who do not spend them at all : next, those 
 like Megacles, who spend them, but not on 
 proper objects : and lastly, those like Eu- 
 prepes, who spend them, and on proper ob- 
 jects, but not with a proper motive." 
 
 " It was not quite that which I intended 
 to ask," said Leonard. " Is it not possible 
 to be partly like one and partly like an- 
 other?" 
 
 "Undoubtedly," replied Mr. Mertoun ; " I 
 have in the story purposely kept the lines 
 clear and distinct, in order to trace the course 
 of each separately. But in actual life they 
 often seem to cross one another, and without 
 careful self-examination we cannot tell to 
 which path even we ourselves may be in- 
 clining. There is, however, a yet more 
 
WHO CARRY LUGGAGE WILL BE SURE TO FIND 
 THAT IN THE RACE THEY'RE SADLY LEFT BEHIND. 
 
 375 
 
576 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 important difference between actual life and 
 the allegory. The merchants are represented 
 only as the possessors of great wealth, and 
 with the single duty of almsgiving. Is that a 
 complete view of our positions as Christians ? " 
 
 How to Bestow Charity. 
 
 "Oh no," replied Mary ; "you said, when 
 you explained to us the Parable of the 
 Talents, that our health, our time, our affec- 
 tions, and the events of our daily life, all 
 form part of the Talents for which we shall 
 have to account." 
 
 "They do," said Mr. Mertoun ; "and the 
 Talent of Wealth, though distinct from the 
 rest, never in actual life stands apart from 
 them. The exercise of it must be kept in 
 harmony with the discharge of our other 
 duties. The amount and manner of our 
 alms should depend, not merely on our 
 means, but on the circumstances in which 
 we are placed. It may be laid down as a 
 general rule, that the wish to give, and to 
 give without ostentation, should be a mov- 
 ing principle with all alike ; but in each par- 
 ticular instance it will be controlled and 
 limited by a variety of events that it is impos- 
 sible to define. There is yet another omis- 
 sion in the allegory." 
 
 "Do you mean," asked Leonard, "that 
 the merchants only received a single warn- 
 ing, and went on in the same course to the 
 end of their career ? " 
 
 " It was not that to which I referred," 
 answered Mr. Mertoun, "though certainly, 
 in that respect also, their supposed case is 
 but an imperfect representation of our own. 
 Each line in the story is brought almost un- 
 interruptedly to an end. In actual life, they 
 may be broken off by God's mercy, and 
 Philargyr, or Megacles, become as Sophron. 
 Still, however, the allegory is a true repre- 
 sentation of the course of unrepented sin. 
 
 The omission of which I speak occurs rather 
 in the history of the youngest brother." 
 
 "You mean," said Mary, "that we cannot 
 really lay up for ourselves riches in Heaven, 
 and that all we do is accepted for the sake of 
 our Saviour. But was not that intended by 
 the mark of the cross which was seen on the 
 merchandise ? " 
 
 " It is implied in it," replied Mr. Mertoun, 
 "but it does not form, so to speak, any dis- 
 tinct feature in the allegory." 
 
 " But ought there to be so many omissions 
 in the story?" asked Mary. 
 
 He Shows a Picture. 
 
 Mr. Mertoun replied, by taking up a draw- 
 ing which happened to be lying on the table : 
 " Tell me," he said, " do you know of what 
 this is a picture ? " 
 
 "Of the church," she replied, in some 
 surprise at the question. 
 
 " Indeed," said her uncle. " But I do not 
 see the east window, or the north transept, 
 and but very little of the west end of the 
 building. It seems to me that three sides of 
 the church are wanting." 
 
 " Of course," answered Mary, as she 
 partly guessed his meaning, " it must be so, 
 for the view is taken from the south." 
 
 "So, Mary," said Mr. Mertoun, "the 
 view of life in the story is necessarily taken 
 from one particular point. It looks upon 
 it, as it were, towards the side of wealth. 
 There are other sides no less important to 
 the symmetry of the building, but they can- 
 not all be introduced into the same picture. 
 I have yet another question to ask : — Do 
 you suppose that the person who sketched 
 this drawing drew a plan of the foundation 
 of the church before he began it ? " 
 
 " Nay," replied Mary ; " you cannot be 
 serious in asking." 
 
 "Well, then," continued Mr. Mertoun 
 
THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 577 
 
 *' in this respect also it is an imperfect picture. 
 The real walls undoubtedly have a founda- 
 tion, and the building could not stand an 
 instant if it were not there. Do you see 
 my meaning, Leonard? " 
 
 "I do," he answered; "you mean, that 
 the death of our Saviour is the foundation on 
 which the walls of our actual life rest ; and 
 that, though it be not represented in the 
 story, it is, of course, assumed to be there." 
 
 " Exactly so," said Mr. Mertoun ; "and 
 I wish you to mark clearly the distinction 
 between this illustration and the former. 
 The several duties of life are like the differ- 
 ent walls of the building, which may be 
 brought out in greater or less distinctness, 
 according to the point from which we view 
 it. The doctrine of the atonement is to the 
 Christian as the one foundation on which 
 they rest, and without it the picture could 
 not be really faithful, for the building itself 
 would cease to exist. But to return to the 
 duty of almsgiving. Can you tell me any 
 passage in Holy Scripture in which it is 
 insisted upon to the apparent exclusion of 
 others? You were mentioning, Mary, the 
 Parable of the Talents. Do you remember 
 the description of the Day of Judgment 
 which follows it?" 1 
 
 The Reward of the Merciful. 
 
 Mary reflected a moment, and then 
 answered, " Those on the King's right hand 
 were rewarded, because they had fed the 
 hungry, given drink to the thirsty, and 
 received the stranger." 
 
 " They were so," said Mr. Mertoun ; " and 
 our Blessed Lord assured them, that inas- 
 much as they had done this unto one of the 
 least of His brethren, they had done it unto 
 Himself. In like manner, those on the 
 King's left hand are represented as being 
 
 1 St. Matthew xxv. 34, 35. 
 37 
 
 punished simply for neglect of the poor. 
 There are also two parables concerning rich 
 men, in which the same view is brought no 
 less distinctly before us." 
 
 " One of them," said Leonard, " is that of 
 the Rich Man and Lazarus." 1 
 
 " It is so," answered his uncle; " no other 
 sin of the rich man is there pointed out to 
 us but that of neglecting the poor beggar 
 who lay at his door. The other parable to 
 which I referred is that of the Rich Man, 
 who, when his ground brought forth plen- 
 tifully, determined to hoard the produce. 2 
 God punished him with the immediate sen- 
 tence of death. And our Saviour Himself 
 has annexed to it the warning, ' So is he 
 that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not 
 rich towards God.' " 
 
 Farthing More Than Riches. 
 
 " Children," observed Leonard, " are 
 never very rich." 
 
 The words were spoken in a low tone, as 
 though in answer to his own thoughts. His 
 uncle, however, did not let them pass un- 
 noticed. " They are not," he replied, 
 " according to the ordinary meaning of 
 the word wealth. 
 
 " But recollect how the mite of the poor 
 widow was pronounced by our Blessed Lord 
 to be more than all the costly gifts which 
 were cast into the treasury by the rich. Now 
 the youngest child may either give a like of- 
 fering to that of the widow, or he may 
 hoard it up, or spend it on himself." 
 
 "And if he does hoard it up," asked Leon- 
 ard, " will he be like Philargyr? " 
 
 " Not, I trust," answered Mr. Mertoun, 
 u such as he was in the end of his career. 
 But his bonds were, at first, light and flexi- 
 ble ; it was time that added to them their 
 weight and strength ; and such bonds are 
 
 1 St. Luke xvi, 19-31. 2 St. Luke xii. 16 21. 
 
578 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 often worn in secret by children. They are 
 by no means free from the temptation to 
 avarice. The apparently slight opportuni- 
 ties they have for its indulgence render it less 
 perceptible, but not less dangerous. There 
 is no need of a gold mine to foster it. 
 
 " The first trifling coin a child receives is 
 often formed into the first link of the chain 
 that binds him in after years. If it be followed 
 by the love of money for its own sake, and 
 the wish for more, he is already beginning to 
 share the servitude of Philargyr." 
 
 The Remedy for faults. 
 
 The children were silent. The words 
 awakened no painful thoughts in Mary, for 
 avarice was not one of her failings. But 
 Leonard felt the full force of his application 
 of the story. The gift which he had received 
 from his uncle the preceding Christmas had 
 been hoarded up in secret, and was loved 
 because it was gold. At length he asked in 
 what way the fault of avarice might be 
 cured. 
 
 Mr. Mertoun guessed the motive of the 
 question, and replied, " The best remedy for 
 all our faults, my dear boy, is to make them 
 the subject of continual prayer. But this, 
 perhaps, more than any other, requires the 
 resistance of an immediate effort. The con- 
 quering it is really like the breaking of a 
 chain. Once summon resolution to give, 
 nnd it seems as though some spell were dis- 
 solved, and the disposition to give more 
 abundantly will follow. 
 
 " I do not mean that the temptation to 
 save will not again come back ; but it will 
 return after each defeat with less violence 
 than before, until at length it will be sub- 
 dued altogether by the habit of giving. You 
 must not, however, forget that the hoarding 
 up our money is not the only abuse of the 
 talent of wealth ; the spending it on im- 
 
 proper oojects is one no less dangerous ; and 
 I believe that children in general are more 
 frequently tempted to follow the path of 
 Megacles than that of Philargyr." 
 
 "Of Megacles, uncle!" said Mary, in 
 some surprise ; " I had fancied that his sin 
 was ambition, and not extravagance." 
 
 "It was so," said Mr. Mertoun, "but he 
 may be taken as representing a yet larger 
 class. His history brings especially before 
 us the folly of wasting on some mere earthly 
 object those riches which might be laid up 
 in the treasury of Heaven. To do this is, 
 in reality, extravagance. It matters not, to 
 use the language of the story, whether we 
 build with them mere villas of Pleasure or 
 towers of Fame. Children, who spend what 
 they have on self-gratification to the neglect 
 of the poor, are beginning to follow the 
 course of Megacles." 
 
 Love of Finery. 
 
 "But can they be also like him in his 
 ambition?" asked Mary. 
 
 " Undoubtedly," answered her uncle ; "but 
 the ways in which they can purchase this 
 species of self-gratification are so apparently 
 trivial, that you may have some difficulty in 
 tracing the resemblance. Perhaps the spend- 
 ing money on finery or anything else in- 
 tended to excite the admiration of their com- 
 panions, is their nearest approach to the par- 
 ticular sin of Megacles. But is it not said at 
 the conclusion of the story, that Euprepes, 
 also, had in secret been raising a tower ? " 
 
 "It is," answered Mary; "and it means p 
 that while professing to relieve the poor, he 
 was, like Megacles, merely seeking the 
 applause of his fellow-citizens." 
 
 "This, then," continued Mr. Mertoun, "is 
 a kind of ambition to which children are 
 peculiarly exposed. There is no way in 
 which they can purchase applause so readily 
 
FALL BACK, THOU MIGHTY FOE, AND BITE THE DUST, 
 SLAIN BY THE SPIRIT'S SHARP AND DEADLY THRUST. 
 
 i 
 
 579 
 
580 
 
 THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 as by giving to the poor. Each act of 
 benevolence is sure to be accompanied by a 
 certain amount of praise. And yet if they 
 make that the prevailing motive for their gift, 
 they have their recompense upon earth, and 
 will forfeit it in Heaven. Do you remember 
 the warning which our Saviour gave His dis- 
 ciples on this subject?" 
 
 "He told them," answered Mary, "that if 
 they did their alms before men, to be seen of 
 them, they would have no reward of their 
 Father in Heaven." 
 
 Giving to be Seen of Men. 
 
 "Yes," continued Mr. Mertoun, "and He 
 added the precept — ' When thou doest alms, 
 let not thy left hand know what thy right 
 hand doeth : that thine alms may be in 
 secret : and thy Father which seeth in secret, 
 himself shall reward thee openly.' 1 Is there 
 any difficulty suggested to you by these 
 words ? " 
 
 "T was wishing to ask," said Leonard, 
 "whether they mean that we are to make a 
 secret of everything that we give." 
 
 "They cannot mean that," answered Mr. 
 Mertoun, " for our Lord has also told us to 
 let our light so shine before men that they 
 may see our good works, and glorify our 
 Father Which is in Heaven. 2 By the com- 
 mand, ' not to let our left hand know what 
 our right hand doeth,' we must understand, 
 that we ought to shrink even from any feel- 
 ing of self-satisfaction at our own good 
 deeds, and, of course, yet more to avoid the 
 applause of the world. But we cannot help 
 actually knowing what we ourselves give, 
 and at times it is our duty to let others know 
 it also." 
 
 "And yet," observed Mary, "if we do this 
 are we not really giving our alms before 
 men?" 
 
 1 St. Matthew vi. 3, 4. 2 St. Matthew v. 16. 
 
 "Yes," replied Mr. Mertoun, "but not 
 necessarily in order to be seen of them. It 
 is the giving with this object that is forbid- 
 den by our Blessed Lord. Almsgiving is no 
 easy duty, and children especially require the 
 advice of others in the manner of its perform- 
 ance. They cannot even find out for them- 
 selves proper objects of benevolence. They 
 may, therefore, ask to be taught how to give> 
 and place their offerings in the hands of their 
 friends, and yet look for no other recom- 
 pense than that which is promised to them 
 in Heaven. 
 
 " Do you remember, Mary, how, when you 
 were a little child, your mother would come to 
 hear you say your prayers, and yet you did 
 not say them in order to be heard of her : she 
 taught you to pray, but the words were ad- 
 dressed to God. Do you understand me? " 
 
 Our Motives Are Known. 
 
 " I think so," she replied ; " but will there 
 be no difference at all between children who 
 give merely that their friends may praise them 
 and those who give from right motives ?" 
 
 " Perhaps, at times, there may be no visi- 
 ble difference," answered Mr. Mertoun, "but 
 there must always be a real one. Recollect, 
 that when it is said, ' Which seeth in secret/ 
 it does not mean only that God sees into the 
 secret chamber, but into the secret thoughts 
 of the heart. He can read clearly and 
 distinctly the exact motive of every gift; 
 and as those which profess to be studiously 
 concealed, may in their very concealment- 
 proceed from ostentation, so also those 
 which are openly given, may, in his sight 
 be as the silent offerings of Sophron." 
 
 But Mary was not yet quite satisfied. " I 
 know, uncle," she said, " that we must try 
 to be like Sophron in the motive of our 
 alms ; but cannot children be in any way like- 
 him in the manner of giving them ?" 
 
THE KING'S MESSENGERS. 
 
 581 
 
 "Yes," answered Mr. Mertoun, ''they 
 may be like him in this also, though the re- 
 semblance is an imperfect one. They may 
 avoid all unnecessary display ; or again, they 
 may conceal what they have already given, 
 or the inward struggle by which the gift is 
 accompanied, or the self-denial which it costs 
 them. All this is as a secret store, which 
 adds to the value of our offerings in the sight 
 of God, if we look for our recompense to 
 him alone. 
 
 The Poor Are Sent to Us. 
 
 "But it is difficult to lay down any exact 
 rule. The line which, as I have said, is pur- 
 posely kept distinct and separate in the 
 story, often seems perplexed and difficult, 
 when we try to trace it through the conflict- 
 ing circumstances of life. I think, however, 
 that you will seldom find any practical dif- 
 ficulty. While we walk along our appointed 
 path, though we cannot see far into the dis- 
 tance, each separate step is for the most part 
 sufficiently clear. 
 
 " Only keep distinctly in your remem- 
 brance that the poor are sent to you by God 
 — that it cannot be right to hoard up your 
 money, or spend it on your own gratifica- 
 tions, while you do nothing to relieve their 
 wants — and that your offerings must be 
 made for Christ's sake, and without the hope 
 of any earthly recompense — and the story 
 of the King's Messengers will not have been 
 
 told you in vain. The events of your own 
 daily life will best enable you to apply it to 
 yourselves." 
 
 Leonard's Costly Gift. 
 
 With the exception of a single question, 
 Leonard had been a silent listener to the 
 close of the conversation. He did not 
 seem to participate in the difficulties of his 
 sister. When, however, the usual time came 
 for the children to retire to rest, he appeared 
 anxious to remain behind ; but Mary called 
 him, and he accompanied her. 
 
 Mr. Mertoun was left alone. He had seen 
 that the child was impressed by the story, 
 but his joy at this circumstance was checked 
 by the remembrance that in a little while the 
 feelings awakened by it would pass away. 
 His thoughts were interrupted by a light 
 footstep at the door ; the handle was softly 
 turned, and Leonard entered alone. There 
 was something in his hand which glittered, 
 and this he gave his uncle, with a few whis- 
 pered words. 
 
 The tear rose to Mr. Mertoun's eyes, as 
 he replied, " God bless you, my dear nephew; 
 you have indeed found out the true moral to 
 my story. Go on as you have begun, and 
 your path will be clear." The offering 
 which the boy gave was the long-hoarded 
 gold ; and the whispered words were, " For 
 the Messenger of the Great King who came 
 this morning to your door." 
 
THE OLD MA.IESr 5 S HOME. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 N THE coast of the Isle of 
 Wight there is a scene with 
 which I have long since 
 become familiar, but which 
 never fails to exercise a 
 soothing influence on my 
 mind. It is at the eastern 
 extremity of the landslip. 
 Large portions of the cliff have fallen away, 
 and formed a dell so broken and irregular, 
 that the ground has the appearance of 
 having at one time been agitated by an 
 earthquake. 
 
 But Nature has only suffered the convul- 
 sion to take place, in order that afterwards 
 she might bestow her gifts upon this favored 
 spot with a more unsparing hand. The 
 wild and picturesque character of the land- 
 scape is now almost lost sight of in its rich- 
 ness and repose. The new soil is protected 
 from the storms of winter by the cliff from 
 which it has fallen, and, sloping towards the 
 south, is open to the full warmth and radiance 
 of the sun. 
 
 In consequence of this, the landslip has, 
 as it were, a climate of its own ; and often, 
 when the more exposed parts of the country 
 still look dreary and desolate, is in the enjoy- 
 ment of the blessings of an early spring. 
 Such was the season at which I first visited 
 it. The gray fragments of rock which lay 
 scattered on the ground were almost hid by 
 the luxuriance of the underwood, and count- 
 less wild flowers were growing beneath their 
 shade. 
 
 Below, the eye rested upon a little bay, 
 582 
 
 formed by the gradual advance of the sea ; 
 and all was so calm and peaceful, that as I 
 watched the gentle undulation of the waters, 
 I could fancy them to be moving to and fro 
 with a stealthy step, lest they should disturb 
 the tranquillity of the scene. 
 
 I have said that a visit to this favored spot 
 never fails with me to have a soothing 
 influence. I feel as though I were treading 
 on enchanted ground, and the whole scene 
 were allegorical : for it reminds me that, in 
 like manner, the wreck of all our earthly 
 hopes and plans may but lay open our 
 hearts to the influence of a warmer sunshine, 
 and enrich them with flowers which the 
 storms of life have no longer power to 
 destroy. But I cannot now tell whethe** 
 these thoughts have their origin in the scene 
 itself, or in an incident that occurred the 
 first time I visited it. 
 
 The Old Man. 
 
 It was on the evening of the 1 8th of April. 
 I had been long gazing upon it, and had 
 imagined that I was alone, when my attention 
 was arrested by a sigh from some one near 
 me. I turned round and saw a venerable old 
 man seated upon a fragment of the fallen cliff, 
 beneath which the violets were very thickly 
 clustering. His hair was white as silver ; his 
 face deeply furrowed, and yet pervaded by a 
 general expression of childish simplicity, 
 which formed a strong contrast to the lines 
 which must have been indented upon it by 
 care and suffering, no less than by the lapse 
 of years. 
 
VAIN EFFORTS THEIRS WHO TRY TO OVERTAKE 
 THE BUBBLES WHICH, IF CAUGHT, WOULD BREAK. 
 
 583 
 
584 
 
 THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 I cannot recall the words of the chance 
 observation which I addressed to him : but 
 it related to the lateness and inclemency of 
 the season, and I was at once struck by the 
 singularity of his reply. "Yes, yes," he 
 said musingly, " the winter has indeed been 
 very long and dreary : and yet it haj been 
 pladdened, from time to time, by glimpses of 
 the coming spring." 
 
 I now observed him more closely. There 
 was a strangeness in his dress which first 
 excited my suspicion, and I fancied that I 
 could detect a restlessness in his light blue 
 eye which spoke of a mind that had gone 
 astray. " Old man," I said, " you seem tired ; 
 have you come from far ? " 
 
 His Long Journey. 
 
 "Ah, woe is me," he replied, in the same 
 melancholy tone as before ; " I have indeed 
 travelled a long and solitary journey; and 
 at times I am weary, very weary; but my 
 resting-place now must be near at hand." 
 
 "And whither, then," I asked, " are you 
 going ? " 
 
 "Home, sir, home," he replied: and 
 while his voice lost its sadness, his face 
 seemed to brighten and his eye grow steady 
 at the thought; " I hope and believe that I 
 am going home." 
 
 I now imagined that I had judged him 
 hastily, and that the answers which I had 
 ascribed to a wandering intellect proceeded 
 in truth from depth of religious feeling. In 
 order to ascertain this, I asked : " Have 
 you been long a traveller ? " 
 
 " Fourscore and thirteen years," he replied; 
 and observing my look of assumed wonder, 
 he repeated a second time, more slowly and 
 sadly than before, " Fourscore and thirteen 
 years." 
 
 "The home," I said, "must be very far 
 off that requires so long a journey." 
 
 " Nay, nay, kind sir, do not speak thus," 
 he answered : "our home is never far off; 
 and I might perhaps have arrived at it years 
 ago. But often during early spring I 
 stopped to gather the flowers that grew 
 beneath my feet ; and once I laid me down 
 and fell asleep upon the way. And so more 
 than fourscore and thirteen years have been 
 wanted to bring me to the home which many 
 reach in a few days. Alas ! all whom I love 
 most dearly have long since passed me on 
 the road, and I am now left to finish my 
 journey alone." 
 
 His Wife and Children. 
 
 During this reply, I had become altogether 
 ashamed of my former suspicion, and I now 
 looked into the old man's face with a feeling 
 of reverence and love. The features were 
 unchanged ; but instead of the childish 
 expression which I had before observed, I 
 believed them to be brightened with the 
 heavenliness of the second childhood, while 
 the restlessness of the light blue eye only 
 spoke to me of an imagination which loved 
 to wander amid the treasures of the unseen 
 world. 
 
 I purposely, however, continued the con- 
 versation under the same metaphor as before. 
 " You have not then," I said, " been always 
 a solitary traveller ? " 
 
 "Ah, no," he replied: "for a few years a 
 dear wife was walking step by step at my 
 side ; and there were little children, too, 
 who were just beginning to follow us. And 
 I was so happy then, that I sometimes forgot 
 we were but travellers, and fancied that I 
 had found a home. But my wife, sir, never 
 forgot it. She would again and again 
 remind me that ' we must so live together in 
 this life, that in the world to come we might 
 have life everlasting.' They are words that 
 I scarcely regarded at the time, but I love 
 
THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 585 
 
 to repeat them now. They speak to me of 
 meeting her again at the end of our 
 journey." 
 
 "And have ail your children left you ?" I 
 asked. 
 
 "All, all," he replied. " My wife took 
 hem with her when she went away. She 
 stayed with me-, sir, but seven years, and left 
 me on the very day on which she came. It 
 seems strange now that I could have lived 
 with them day after day without a thought 
 that they were so near their journey's end, 
 while J should travel onward so many 
 Vfinters ^lone. It is now sixty years since 
 they all went home, and have been waiting 
 for me there. But, sir, I often think that the 
 time, which has seemed so long and dreary to 
 me, has passed away like a few short hours 
 to them." 
 
 The Beautiful Home. 
 
 "And are you sure, then," I said " that 
 they are all gone home ? " It was a thought- 
 less question, and I repented the words 
 almost before they were spoken. The tears 
 rose quickly in the old man's eyes, and his 
 voice trembled with emotion, as he replied: 
 *' Oh, sir ! do not bid me doubt it. Surely, 
 every one of them is gone home ; one, at 
 least, of the number is undoubtedly there, 
 and they all went away together, as though 
 they were travelling to the same place ; 
 besides, sir, my wife was constantly speaking 
 to them of their home ; and would not their 
 journey as well as my own have been pro- 
 longed, if their home had not been ready for 
 them ? And when 1 think of them I 
 always think of home; am I not, then, 
 right in believing that all of them are 
 there?" 
 
 There were allusions in this answer which 
 I did not at the time understand ; but the old 
 man's grief was too sacred for me to intrude 
 
 further upon it. I felt, also, that any words 
 of my own would be too feeble to calm the 
 agitation which my thoughtless observation 
 had caused. I merely repeated a passage 
 from Holy Scripture in reply : " Blessed 
 are the dead that die in the Lord ; even so, 
 saith the Spirit, for they rest from their 
 labors." 
 
 The old man's face again brightened, and 
 as he wiped away the tears, he added, "And 
 ' Blessed,' also, ' are they that mourn, for 
 they shall be comforted.' There is not only 
 a blessing for those who have been taken to 
 their rest, but there is the image of that 
 blessing to cheer the old man who is left to 
 pursue his solitary journey." 
 
 A Golden Pathway. 
 
 At this moment, the sun, which had been 
 obscured by a passing cloud, suddenly shone 
 forth, and its rays were reflected by a path 
 of gold in the silent waters. The old man 
 pointed to it with a quiet smile : the change 
 was in such harmony with his own thoughts, 
 that I do not wonder at the metaphor it sug- 
 gested to him. " There," said he, " is the 
 blessing of the mourner ! See how it shines 
 down from the Heaven above, and gilds with 
 its radiance the dreary sea of life ! " 
 
 " True," I replied ; " and the sea of life 
 would be no longer dreary, if it were not for 
 the passing clouds which at times keep back 
 from it the light of Heaven." His immedi- 
 ate answer to this observation proved the 
 image, which he had employed, to be one 
 long familiar to his own mind. " There are 
 indeed clouds," he said, " but they are never 
 in heaven ; they hover very near the earth ; 
 and it is only because our sight is so dim 
 and indistinct that they seem to be in the 
 sky." 
 
 A silence of some minutes followed this 
 remark. I was, in truth, anxious that the 
 
PRESUMPTION OFTEN VENTURES QUITE TOO NEAR, 
 WHERE DANGER SHOULD AWAKEN WHOLESOME FEA& 
 
 586 
 
THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 587 
 
 old man should pursue the metaphor farther. 
 But the gleam of light passed away as the 
 sun sank behind the western hills. His feel- 
 ings appeared to undergo a corresponding 
 change, and he exclaimed, hastily, " The 
 day is fast drawing to a close, and the night 
 must be near at hand : I must hasten on- 
 ward on my journey. Come, kind sir, and 
 I will show you where my friends are wait- 
 ing for me." 
 
 Marks of Chains on His Wrists. 
 
 I was wondering whether he now spoke 
 metaphorically or not, when my thoughts 
 were suddenly turned into a new channel, 
 and my former painful suspicions returned. 
 As the old man leant upon his staff, his 
 wrists became exposed to view, and I saw 
 that they were marked with deep blue lines, 
 which could only have been caused by the 
 galling of a chain in former years. 
 
 The poor wanderer observed the look I 
 gave them. A sudden flush of shame over- 
 spread his countenance, and he hurriedly 
 drew down his garment to conceal them. 
 It w r as, however, but a momentary impulse ; 
 he again exposed them to my view, and he 
 himself gazed sadly upon them as he said, 
 " Why should I try to hide them, when they 
 are left there to remind me constantly cf my 
 true condition? For in times past I have 
 borne the pressure of more wearing bonds 
 than those ; and though I have been re- 
 leased from them now, no one can tell how 
 dark and deep is the stain that they have 
 left upon the soul." Something more he 
 added, but his eye was turned meekly to- 
 wards heaven, and it was only from the 
 movement of his lips that I fancied I could 
 trace the words of the prayer, " Though we 
 be tied and bound with the chain of our sins, 
 yet let the pitifulness of thy great mercy 
 loose us." 
 
 He now began to move slowly forward 
 The ground was rough and uneven, and his 
 step so very feeble, that I expected every in- 
 stant to see him fall. He struck his foot 
 against a stone, and I sprang forward to his 
 assistance. " Thank you, kind sir," he said, 
 in his quiet way ; " but do not fear for me : 
 my own frail limbs could not support me for 
 an instant ; but I have a staff on which I 
 lean ; and though I may stumble at times, I 
 cannot fall." 
 
 Again I was in doubt whether to interpret 
 his words literally or not; but my belief 
 now was that the old man almost uncon- 
 sciously used the language of allegory. 
 Long habit had so taught him to blend to- 
 gether the seen and the unseen world, that 
 he could not separate them. Life was to him 
 a mirror, and in the passing objects of sight 
 and sense he never failed to recognize the 
 images of spiritual things. 
 
 Not Used to a Smooth Road. 
 
 I thus give the opinion that I formed of 
 the old man from the brief conversation I 
 myself had with him. The following inci- 
 dent cast, as it were, a shadow upon it, and 
 robbed it of its brightness, but did not really 
 alter it. My intercourse with him was 
 brought to a sudden and painful conclusion. 
 It was at my persuasion that he crossed a 
 stile w r hich separated the wild scenery of the 
 landslip from the public road leading to the 
 
 little village of B . I thought it would 
 
 be easier for him to walk along the morr 
 beaten track. 
 
 He had yielded with apparent reluctant • 
 to my request. His unwillingness appeared 
 to proceed from instinct rather than reason. 
 It may in part have arisen from a kind of 
 natural sympathy which attracted him to that 
 wild luxuriant spot ; in part from an uncon- 
 scious dread of the danger to which he 
 
588 
 
 THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 actually became exposed. He simply said, 
 " This smooth way was not made for the 
 like of me, kind sir ; but, under your protec- 
 tion, I will venture along it." 
 
 Alas! I little thought of the kind of 
 protection he required. We had advanced 
 but a few hundred yards, and had just 
 reached the summit of the hill which com- 
 manded the first view of the village church. 
 
 He Was Called Crazy. 
 
 The old man had paused for a little while, 
 and appeared to gaze upon it with a feeling 
 of the most intense interest ; I was afraid 
 even by a passing question to interrupt the 
 quiet current of his thoughts ; when the sil- 
 ence was suddenly broken by the creaking of 
 a cart-wheel, which grated harshly on my 
 ear ; and almost before I could look round, 
 I heard a voice of rude triumph behind me, 
 crying out, " There he is — there he is — 
 there goes the old boy! Stop him, stop 
 him, sir ! he is mad." 
 
 I have no heart to describe the scene that 
 followed : the poor wanderer shuffled for- 
 ward with a nervous hurried step ; but in a 
 few seconds the cart was at his side; the 
 driver immediately jumped out, and seizing 
 him by the collar, with many a rude word 
 and coarse jest, tried to force him to enter it. 
 
 For a moment, surprise and indignation 
 deprived me of speech, for I had begun to 
 regard the old man with such a feeling of 
 reverent love, that it almost seemed to me 
 like a profanation of holy ground. When, 
 however, he turned his eyes towards me 
 with an imploring look, I recovered myself 
 sufficiently to demand by what authority he 
 dared thus molest an inoffensive traveller on 
 his journey. In my inmost heart I dreaded 
 the answer I should probably receive ; 
 neither was my foreboding wrong : the man 
 laughed rudely as he replied, " He has been 
 
 mad, quite mad, for more than fifty years 
 he escaped this morning from the asylum, 
 and one of the keepers has been with me all 
 day long scouring the country in search of 
 him." 
 
 It was in vain that I sought a pretext for 
 disbelieving the truth of the story. I could 
 not help feeling that it did but confirm a sus- 
 picion which, in spite of myself, had kept 
 crossing my own mind : for the bright color- 
 ing which was shed by faith on the thoughts 
 and words of the old man was not alone a 
 sufficient evidence that they were under the 
 guidance of reason. Yet, of one thing at 
 least I felt sure, that, whatever were the 
 state of his intellect, it could be no imagin- 
 ary cause that now so strongly moved him. 
 
 My heart bled for him as I listened to the 
 pathetic earnestness with which he implored 
 the protection that I was unable to afford. 
 He even forgot to use the language of 
 metaphor in the agony of his grief. 
 
 " Indeed, indeed, sir," he said, " they call 
 me mad, but do not believe them, for I am 
 not mad now. There, there," he added, 
 pointing towards the church, " my wife and 
 children are waiting for me. It was on this 
 very day that they went away, and we 
 have now been parted sixty years. I have 
 travelled very far to join them once again 
 before I die. Oh, have pity upon me ! I 
 only ask for one little half-hour, that I may 
 go on in peace to the end of my journey." 
 
 Arrival of the Keeper. 
 
 Large drops of moisture trembled on his 
 forehead as he uttered these words; his 
 whole face became convulsed with emotion, 
 and he clung with such intensity to my gar- 
 ment, that his rude assailant tried in vain to 
 unloosen his grasp. The man himself was 
 evidently frightened by the agitation which 
 his own violence had caused, and appeared 
 
THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 589 
 
 doubtful how to proceed, when the scene was 
 fortunately interrupted by the arrival of his 
 companion. 
 
 He was the keeper who had been sent 
 from the asylum with the cart, but had left 
 it in order to search the pathway which led 
 through the landslip. His look and man- 
 ner afforded a striking contrast to those of 
 the first comer, who proved to be merely 
 the owner of the vehicle, which had been 
 hired for the occasion. Immediately on his 
 arrival, he reprimanded him for his rude 
 treatment of the old man, and insisted on 
 his returning to the cart, and desisting from 
 all further interference. 
 
 My hopes were greatly raised by this, and 
 I flattered myself I should now have little 
 difficulty in obtaining for the poor wanderer 
 the indulgence which he sought. But I soon 
 found my mistake, and, under the irritated 
 feelings of the moment, almost preferred the 
 rude conduct of the first comer to the quiet 
 determination with which his companion 
 listened to my request. 
 
 Poor Old Robin. 
 
 He merely smiled at the account I gave 
 of my own interview with the old man ; and 
 when I suggested that it contained no evi- 
 dence of insanity, shook his head, and re- 
 plied, " You do not know poor Robin. His 
 notions about home are the peculiar feature 
 of his madness ; but you are not the first 
 person that has been deceived by them." 
 
 He spoke in a low tone, as though he was 
 anxious not to be overheard. But the pre- 
 caution seemed unnecessary : for, though the 
 old man had mechanically retained his grasp 
 on my garments, he was now looking eagerly 
 towards the village church, and I could see, 
 from the expression of his countenance, that 
 his thoughts had passed away from the scene 
 around him. 
 
 When I found my arguments of no avail, 
 I changed my ground, and besought as a 
 favor that he would make the trial of letting 
 the old man proceed to the end of his jour- 
 ney, and trust to his promise to return 
 quietly from thence. 
 
 " Sir," he replied, in a louder voice, " ] 
 should have no more hesitation in trusting 
 the word of poor Robin than your own. He 
 never deceived me ; and, under ordinary cir- 
 cumstances, I would at once grant his request; 
 but the hour is late, and as it is, the night 
 will close in upon us before we can get back 
 
 to the town of N . The responsibility 
 
 will rest upon me if mischief should arise 
 from any additional delay. I am sure Robin 
 himself would not desire it." 
 
 Treated the Old Man Kindly. 
 
 As he said this he turned towards the old 
 man ; but his countenance was unchanged, 
 his eye still fixed upon the church, and he 
 either had not heard the words at all, or 
 they had failed to convey any distinct im- 
 pression to his mind. 
 
 After a pause, I again renewed my en- 
 treaties, urging that it would at least be a 
 better plan than having recourse to violence, 
 which must eventually produce a far more 
 serious delay. 
 
 " Of course," said the attendant, " any- 
 thing is better than having recourse to vio- 
 lence." " Then," said I, " you accede to 
 my request?" "Only," replied he, with a 
 provoking smile, " in case all other methods 
 fail ; but as the delay would be a real incon 
 venience to us, you must permit me first to try 
 my powers of persuasion. Let me now beg oi 
 you, whatever surprise you may feel, to be 
 careful to express none." He again lowered 
 his voice as lie said these words, and in spite 
 of the dislike inspired by the self-confi- 
 dence of his manner, and of other stronger 
 
690 
 
 BASE ERROR SHRINKS AND TREMBLES WITH AFFRIGHT, 
 WHEN TRUTH DESCENDS, ARRAYED IN HEAVENLY LIGHT. 
 
THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 591 
 
 emotions, my curiosity was excited to know 
 how he would proceed. 
 
 He placed himself opposite to the old 
 man, so as to intercept his view of the vil- 
 lage, and then, having fixed his eye calmly 
 and steadfastly upon him, with an appearance 
 of real interest, thus soothingly addressed him: 
 " I would gladly go on with you, Robin ; 
 but am sure you are under some mistake. 
 Your wife and children cannot be in yonder 
 village — they are not there, they are at 
 home. Come quietly with me now, and per- 
 haps this evening you may go home also." 
 
 "They Are at Home." 
 
 These simple words touched some hidden 
 chord in the old man's heart, and their effect 
 was almost magical. All other feelings 
 passed away, and I forgot the presence of 
 his companions, as I watched the change 
 which they produced. His features became 
 composed, his hand relaxed its hold, and 
 his voice resumed its former tranquil tone as 
 he slowly repeated : " They are not there, 
 they are at home : they are not there, they 
 are at home. True, very true ; they are not 
 there, they are at home." 
 
 Presently he raised his eyes to heaven, and 
 the attendants, no less than myself, were 
 overawed by the solemnity of his manner. 
 There was a silence of a few seconds, during 
 which he seemed to listen intently ; and then, 
 as though he had some echo from above, 
 which confirmed the hope that had been 
 held out to him, he confidently added : 
 "And I also shall go home, — and this very 
 evening I shall be there." 
 
 While I was still pondering on these 
 words, the old man had of his own accord 
 quietly placed himself in the cart, and his 
 companions had seated themselves by his 
 side. They were en the point of driving off 
 before the thought occurred to me of offering 
 
 him money. I drew out my purse, half 
 expecting him to refuse the proffered gift; 
 and it was with a strong feeling of disap- 
 pointment that I observed the look of satis- 
 faction, almost amounting to eagerness, with 
 which he took the silver from my hand. 
 
 I said within myself, " Can it be, then, that 
 the taint of covetousness is to be found in a 
 mind from which every earthly affection 
 seems so entirely to have been withdrawn ? " 
 
 The Money Kept For Him. 
 
 But I wronged him by the thought. The 
 money was immediately taken from him. 
 and he resigned it to another no less gladly 
 than he had received it from me. " It will 
 not do," said the keeper, " to let him have it 
 himself: he will merely give it away to the 
 first beggar he meets. He has not the slight- 
 est notion of the real value of money. It 
 shall be laid out for his benefit ; and till then 
 it will be safe in my keeping." 
 
 My countenance may have expressed dis- 
 satisfaction at the change, though in truth I 
 had no objection to make to it. But the old 
 man himself interrupted me before I could 
 reply, and said, " Do not be afraid, kind sir; 
 whether it remain with me or him, your 
 treasure will be safe, quite safe ; it matters 
 not now whether it remain with me or him ;" 
 and then added, in a more solemn tone, 
 "safe 'where neither rust nor moth doth 
 corrupt, and where thieves do not break 
 through nor steal.' I will take it home with 
 me; and when you also go home, you will 
 find it there." 
 
 And I now understood how it was for my 
 sake that he had so gladly welcomed the 
 gift ; and I thought, too, that if in truth 
 money had a real value at all, it must be the 
 one which was assigned to it by him. 
 
 The men were in a hurry to depart, and T 
 was now forced to bid adieu to the old mari. 
 
592 
 
 THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 He appeared so sorry to leave me, that I 
 promised on the morrow to come and see 
 him. I did not like to use the word asylum, 
 so I said at his dwelling-place. The expres- 
 sion at once caught his ear, and re-awakened 
 the train of thought which my gift had inter- 
 rupted for a time. 
 
 " Not in my dwelling-place," he said, "for 
 to-morrow I shall not be there. If you see 
 me again, kind stranger, it must be at home. 
 May God bless you, and guide you on your 
 way ! " The cart was already in motion, but 
 he looked back once more, and waved his 
 hand as he said, " Good-bye, sir. Remem- 
 ber that we all are going home." 
 
 A Parting Warning. 
 
 They were the last words I heard him 
 speak, and it is perhaps from that cause that 
 they made so strong an impression on my 
 mind ; for often since then, when I have been 
 tempted to wander from the right path, or to 
 murmur as I walked along it, I have thought 
 upon the old man's parting warning, and 
 asked myself the question, "Am I not going 
 home?" 
 
 Very early on the following morning I 
 
 proceeded on foot to the town of N . 
 
 The sceneiy through which I passed was 
 rich and beautiful, but it was lost upon me 
 at the time : for there were busy thoughts 
 within, which would not suffer my eye to 
 rest on any external object. I was on my 
 way to visit the old man, and had a presenti- 
 ment, almost amounting to conviction, that I 
 should not find him alive. The words, " I 
 also shall go home, and this very evening I 
 shsll be there," in spite of myself, kept 
 recurring to my mind. 
 
 It was to no purpose that I endeavored to 
 set them aside, as part of the wanderings of 
 a disordered intellect : there was a solemnity 
 in the look and manner of the poor wan- 
 
 derer, which gave a reality to their meaning; 
 and I believed the shadow of the future to 
 have been resting on his spirit at the time he 
 spoke them. 
 
 These fears gradually increased as I 
 appioached the Asylum. At the entrance 
 there stood a little girl, weeping as though 
 her heart would break. A woman, who 
 appeared to be her mother, was trying in 
 vain to comfort her. Her only reply to 
 every caress was a fresh burst of sobs and 
 tears. The scene was so in harmony with 
 my own thoughts, that the very instant I 
 saw her, I guessed the cause of her sorrow. 
 Nor was my conjecture wrong : the child 
 had dearly loved the old man, and wept 
 because he was no more. 
 
 The father of this girl was the superin- 
 tendent of the Asylum. He also was stand- 
 ing by, and offered to accompany me through 
 the building. On the way, he proved very 
 willing to gratify my curiosity concerning 
 the stranger who had excited in me so singu- 
 lar an interest. 
 
 A Peculiar Delusion. 
 
 I soon found him to be an intelligent, 
 kind-hearted man, who had entered instinc- 
 tively into the thoughts and wishes of poor 
 Robin, and yet had failed to appreciate what 
 I may call the religion of his character. 
 His daily familiarity with the varied forms of 
 insanity may in part have been the cause. 
 He had at once regarded him as a patient 
 laboring under a peculiar kind of mental 
 delusion, without looking beyond. In con- 
 sequence of this, there was much in our 
 conversation which grated harshly on my 
 own feelings. I loved better to think of the 
 old man, as I had first seen him, sitting in the 
 midst of the picturesque scenery of the 
 landslip, than confined within the gloomy 
 walls of a pauper asylum. 
 
THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 593 
 
 The close rooms through which we passed, 
 the dull tones of the superintendent's voice, 
 his conviction of poor Robin's insanity, and 
 even the compassionate interest with which 
 he spoke of him, all interfered with the 
 brightness of the image which my own 
 mind had previously formed. It would have 
 been more in harmony with my thoughts, to 
 have heard from the child who was weeping 
 for him, the simple narrative of the old man's 
 life : but, perhaps, the contrast in the color- 
 ing of the picture only brings out the more 
 strongly its intrinsic beauty ; and for this 
 reason I will still endeavor to trace it as it 
 was first presented to my own view. 
 
 A Long Time in .he Asylum. 
 
 The outline is soon drawn. Poor Robin 
 had, for more than half a century, been an 
 inmate of the asylum. No one could tell 
 from whence he had been brought there, or 
 say anything with certainty of his previous 
 history. 
 
 It was, however, generally believed that 
 he had known better days, but that some 
 very heavy affliction had brought on mental 
 derangement: and that, in consequence of 
 this, his property had gradually gone to 
 ruin, until at length he was consigned to a 
 pauper asylum. He had been placed there 
 under a very different system of treatment 
 from that which now prevails. 
 
 It had even been thought necessary in the 
 first instance to confine him with handcuffs 
 and chains : and he would often struggle, in 
 a paroxysm of passion, to set himself free. 
 But after a few years, all the more violent 
 symptoms of his disorder had entirely dis- 
 appeared, and he became so quiet and re- 
 signed, that the physician had considered it 
 safe to release him from his bonds, and suf- 
 fer him to wander at large within the pre- 
 cincts of the asylum. 
 38 
 
 " There can be no doubt of the facts, sir," 
 continued my guide, " for the marks on poor 
 Robin's wrists prove him to have, at one 
 time, undergone a very vigorous confine- 
 ment ; and yet, when I came here, I found 
 that he had been long in the enjoyment of 
 comparative freedom. But it is a case that 
 always perplexes me, when I think of it ; for 
 the general effect of harsh treatment is to 
 render the patient more violent and intracta- 
 ble than before; and I cannot understand from 
 what cause the change in poor Robin's con- 
 duct could in the first instance have arisen." 
 
 Resigned to His Bondage. 
 
 " Do you not think," I asked, " that it 
 may have been a sign of returning reason ?" 
 He smiled at the question, as he replied, 
 " So far from it, sir, that it was accompanied 
 by a new and extraordinary delusion, which 
 never afterwards entirely left him. He fancied 
 that the bonds which he felt and saw were 
 merely imaginary, and that there were other 
 invisible chains which were the real cause of 
 his confinement. They say, that from the 
 time this idea once gained possession of his 
 mind, he made no further effort to recover 
 his freedom, but even thanked the attendants 
 for the care they were taking of him, and 
 became as gentle and submissive as a child." 
 Then I remembered the metaphor which the 
 old man had employed when the marks on 
 his wrist had attracted my attention ; and I 
 said within myself, that it was not indeed the 
 return of reason, but a brighter and a far 
 holier light, which had thus shone on the 
 poor captive, and brought peace and resigna- 
 tion to his soul. 
 
 After his partial release, the manners and 
 language of Robin had soon excited observ- 
 ation, and strengthened the belief that he 
 must at one time have known better days. It 
 was not, however, till the milder system ol 
 
594 
 
 THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 treatment was introduced generally into the 
 asylum, that the full beauty of his character 
 had developed itself. Since that time, he 
 had gradually won the affection of many of 
 the patients, and had become an object of 
 deep interest to all visitors. They had often 
 come for the express purpose of talking 
 itfith him. 
 
 What was Thought of Him. 
 
 " And," continued my conductor, " I often 
 listened with wonder to the various interpre- 
 tations they put upon his answers. Some 
 would discover in them poetry ; some, philo- 
 sophy ; some, religion ; some, I know not what, 
 according to the previous bias of their own 
 minds/' I inquired in what light he himself 
 was disposed to view them ? " As the wan- 
 derings of insanity," he replied ; " for poor 
 Robin was, undoubtedly, mad :" but pre- 
 sently added more thoughtfully, " yet there 
 was something in his peculiar kind of mad- 
 ness which I could never exactly fathom." 
 
 I asked, whether no friend or relative had 
 come to inquire after the old man, during 
 the long period of his confinement ? " No 
 one," answered my conductor ; " and so far 
 it was a mercy that he had been deprived of 
 his reason, since his madness prevented his 
 being aware of his own solitary condition." 
 
 "How do you mean?" I said; "surely he 
 could not help feeling that he was alone?" 
 
 " On the contrary," he replied, " he fully 
 believed that he had a wife and children and 
 home, and would speak, from day to day, of 
 going to join them. Poor fellow! at one 
 time, those who had the care of him would 
 argue with him, and endeavor to explain to 
 him that he was under a delusion. And the 
 old man would soon get confused in his rea- 
 soning, and end by wringing his hands in an 
 agony of grief. 
 
 '• But, since I have come here, I have 
 
 thought it best to humor him in the belief; 
 and not only forbidden all contradiction on 
 this subject, but encouraged the attendants 
 to talk to him about his home, and promise, 
 that if he behaved well, he should go there 
 very soon. You will hardly believe that I 
 have seen tears of joy run down his cheeks 
 at these simple words. Yet some have said 
 that it was almost cruel to encourage a hope 
 which must end in disappointment at last." 
 
 " But did it end in disappointment ? " I 
 said, following my own thoughts, rather than 
 addressing my companion. 
 
 His Hope Grew Stronger. 
 
 He seemed struck by the remark, and, 
 after a pause, replied, " Why, sir, one can 
 hardly say that it did ; for the hope seemed 
 to grow stronger instead of weaker, as year 
 after year passed by : and he continued in 
 the same happy delusion to the very hour of 
 his death. I have often thought that this 
 imaginary home was a source of greater joy 
 and comfort to him than the possession of 
 any actual home could have been. When 
 anything vexed or disturbed him he would 
 say, that when at home he should feel it no 
 more. When he felt dull and depressed, he 
 would rouse himself by the thought, that he 
 was going home. I myself have, at times, 
 felt disposed to envy him his belief: and 
 there was something very wonderful in the 
 influence it gave him over his companions." 
 
 I inquired how this belief could influence 
 others. " Because," said he, " Robin was 
 unable to separate the present from the 
 future ; and so it was part of his confusion 
 of ideas to believe that those with whom he 
 lived here would live with him in his home 
 also. It is the only instance I have known 
 of a person under the influence of insanity 
 being able to impart his own views to his 
 companions. 
 
%^ /7.O.R. 
 
 VAIN TASK TO MERELY CLIP THE OUTER SHOOTS, 
 
 LET THE HUQS R***-'"" BF SEVERED FROM THE ROOTS. 
 
 595 
 
596 
 
 THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 " But there seemed to be a kind of infec- 
 tion in the old man's madness ; and more 
 than one patient, who had previously been 
 plunged in hopeless despondency, was gradu- 
 ally led to take interest in Robin's home. 
 The effect has been so salutary with us, that 
 I have often wished the same happy delusion 
 could be introduced generally into other 
 asylums." 
 
 Did Not Know His Poverty. 
 
 I was following the deep train of reflection 
 awakened by this remark, and wondering 
 how far it might indeed be possible to graft 
 religion on the imagination, and so to soothe 
 and cheer the dreams of insanity with the 
 hope of heaven, when my conductor again 
 resumed the conversation. 
 
 "There was, sir," he said, " another delu- 
 sion of the old man's, scarcely less happy in 
 its consequences than his belief about his 
 home. You might have fancied that, from 
 having once known better days, he would 
 have felt bitterly the degradation of his new 
 condition ; but the whole time that he was 
 in the Asylum he seemed utterly uncon- 
 scious that he was dependent on the parish 
 for support" 
 
 "Do you mean," I asked, "that he 
 imagined something had been preserved 
 from the wreck of his own property?" 
 
 " Not in the least," he replied ; " he was 
 fully aware that his own property was gone; 
 but he believed his daily wants to be sup- 
 plied by a kind of miracle, and would often 
 observe that he had gone on for more than 
 fifty years without making provision for the 
 morrow, and yet had never known what it 
 was to be without clothing or food. Of 
 course, sir, I did everything in my power to 
 encourage him in the belief; but one day I 
 was greatly annoyed to find a visitor, who 
 was not aware of the old man's peculiarities, 
 
 endeavoring to explain to him that the parish 
 was bound to find him support." 
 
 "And did he," I asked, " appear much 
 hurt at the discovery ?" 
 
 " Fortunately not, sir," he replied; "and 
 this, I own, quite took me by surprise ; for I 
 greatly feared lest the consciousness of his 
 dependence might destroy that feeling of 
 self-respect, which, in all cases of insanity, it 
 is so important to preserve. But Robin was 
 rathei pleased than vexed at the idea of the 
 parish providing for him. 
 
 A Contented Spirit. 
 
 " Presently, however, he grew bewildered, 
 and shook his head, and said that, after all, 
 the parish could not provide for him beyond 
 a single day, and that perhaps to-morrow he 
 might be at home. The visitor was begin- 
 ning to say something in reply : but Robin's 
 home was with me sacred ground, and I would 
 not suffer the argument to proceed farther." 
 
 Another pause of some minutes followed, 
 until I broke it by inquiring whether the 
 child whom I had observed at the entrance 
 was related to the old man. 
 
 " Oh no, sir," he replied; "little Annie is 
 my own daughter, and many persons have 
 wondered that I suffered her to be so ca 
 stantly with him. But I consider the soci^ 
 of children to be very beneficial to the insane , 
 there is something in their ways and lan- 
 guage which they can understand far better 
 than our own ; and this was peculiarly the 
 case with poor Robin." 
 
 "And do you suppose," I said, " that the 
 child liked to be with him ? " 
 
 " Undoubtedly," he replied ; " for the 
 choice was her own. I merely encouraged 
 it. But Robin had an inexhaustible stock of 
 fairy tales, which made him a great favorite 
 with children ; and Annie would sit and 
 listen to them for hours together." 
 
THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 597 
 
 " Do you really mean," I asked in some 
 surprise, " that they were fairy tales ? " 
 
 " Why, sir, for that matter," he answered, 
 " poor Robin himself believed them to be 
 true, and it was that which gave a peculiar 
 interest to his manner of telling them. 
 Some visitors have fancied them to be a kind 
 of allegory : and I have often traced in the 
 words a double meaning, of which the old 
 man himself could hardly have been con- 
 scious. But, however this may have been, 
 it is clear that they were connected with his 
 particular mental delusion, from the way in 
 which his imaginary home formed the promi- 
 nent feature of every story." 
 
 Story of Annie. 
 
 I expressed a wish to hear one of them, 
 and yet was hardly sorry when he confessed 
 himself to be unable to comply with my 
 request. He told me that he had only 
 heard them in detached portions, for the 
 patients in the Asylum were too numerous 
 to allow him to devote as much time to poor 
 Robin as he might otherwise have done. 
 
 " But, sir," he continued, " little Annie 
 knows them all by heart, though I am afraid 
 to-day she is feeling too deeply the loss of 
 her companion to be able to repeat one. 
 There certainly was something very singular 
 in her fondness for the old man, and I have 
 often been perplexed at the kind of influence 
 he had over her. She herself was some- 
 times a sufferer from his delusions, and yet 
 always fancied poor Robin must be in the 
 right, and would submit to his wishes with- 
 out a murmur or complaint. On one 
 occasion, I myself felt called upon to inter- 
 fere." 
 
 I begged him to relate the circumstance to 
 which he referred. 
 
 " It was, sir," he said, " on Annie's ninth 
 birthday, in November last. I had given 
 
 j her in the morning a new Victoria half-crown, 
 and she went immediately to exhibit her 
 treasure to her friend. She looked grave 
 and thoughtful on her return ; and, when I 
 asked what purchases she had made with 
 her present, she confessed that the old man 
 had begged it of her, and she had given it 
 him. The next day I told Robin how wrong 
 he had been to take the poor child's money. 
 But he answered, with his usual strangeness, 
 that he did not in the least want it, and had 
 asked for it because he loved little Annie, 
 and wished to do her a kindness. Now, 
 most people would have thought that this 
 was rather a reason for giving her a present 
 than for taking one away. And yet the old 
 man spoke the truth, for he knew no better. 
 It was one of his peculiarities to imagine that 
 he was conferring a favor when he received 
 one." 
 
 Loaned All His Possessions. 
 
 There was a passage from Holy Scripture 
 which this answer suggested to my mind. I 
 remembered " the words of the Lord Jesus, 
 how he said, It is more blessed to give than 
 to receive," 1 and I repeated it, rather to my- 
 self than to my companion. The words, 
 however, caught his ear, and he observed 
 that it was very likely I had hit upon the 
 truth ; for the understanding texts of Scrip- 
 ture in their literal meaning was one feature 
 of poor Robin's insanity. 
 
 With a view to pursuing the subject fur- 
 ther, I inquired whether the old man had 
 restored the money. 
 
 "No, sir," replied my guide; "and this is 
 the most provoking part of the story. I 
 should not so much have minded if he had 
 wished for it as a keepsake from the child ; 
 but he said he had lent it to some compan- 
 ion who had more need of it than himself." 
 
 1 Aete xx. 35. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 HAVE reserved for a separate 
 chapter that part of my conver- 
 sation within the walls of the 
 Asylum which led to a descrip- 
 tion of the closing scene in the 
 old man's life. I was still 
 reluctant to admit his insanity, 
 for it seemed to me that he had 
 only so fully realized the presence of the 
 unseen world, as to have forgotten altogether 
 the things of sight in the things of faith. 
 
 I inquired, therefore, of my companion, 
 whether any more decided symptoms of 
 madness had ever exhibited themselves than 
 those which he had already mentioned. He 
 appeared surprised at the question, but 
 replied that, though the old man was always 
 more or less under the influence of the 
 disorder, there undoubtedly were certain 
 periodic returns of it, and that these 
 uniformly occurred at the commencement of 
 spring. 
 
 "And did these," I asked, "render him for 
 the time violent and intractable? " 
 
 " Oh no, sir," he answered ; " ever since I 
 have known him he has been the same quiet 
 and inoffensive creature, and his madness 
 used rather to assume a melancholy form. 
 He became sad and dejected, and refused to 
 eat, and would pass whole days together in 
 his own solitary cell. On one occasion, my 
 wife sent little Annie, in the hope that she 
 might cheer him ; but he would not even 
 admit the child ; he told her that his father 
 was then with him, and that he would not 
 talk to her. I went myself when I heard 
 this ; but, on opening the door, I found, as I 
 expected, that he was alone." 
 -^98 
 
 "Perhaps," said I, "he may have meam 
 that he was praying to his Father in Heaven ' 
 
 "It is not unlikely," he replied; " fo 
 prayer was one way in which at these 
 seasons his madness most frequently exhibited 
 itself. I mean," he added, observing my 
 look of surprise, "that he did not then pray 
 like other people, but would often remain 
 whole hours together upon his knees." 
 
 And I remembered how the prophetess 
 Anna was said to have served God with 
 fastings and prayers night and day, and how 
 our blessed Lord Himself had continued a 
 whole night in prayer to God ; but I made 
 no further reply. 
 
 "The doctor," resumed my conductor, 
 "considered the long solitude to be so bad 
 for him, that for the last few days he had not 
 suffered him to remain in his cell. It was, 
 perhaps, this circumstance which turned the 
 current of his thoughts into another channel v 
 and led to his wandering from the Asylum. " 
 
 He Started for Home. 
 
 I was not sorry to change the conversation, 
 by inquiring how he had contrived his escape. 
 
 "Nay," he replied, " it is hardly fair to 
 speak of it as an escape. We were never 
 very strict with the old man, and often 
 suffered him to go beyond the boundaries. 
 On the present occasion, he had made no 
 secret of his intention, and told one of the 
 attendants that he was anxious to pay his 
 wife and children a visit, and should soon be 
 back. I have no doubt myself that he 
 intended to keep his word ; but he probably 
 started, in the first instance, in a wrong 
 direction, and so lost his way." 
 
THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 699 
 
 "What do you mean," I asked, "by his 
 starting in a wrong direction ? I thought 
 you were ignorant from what part of the 
 island he had been brought here." 
 
 " True, sir," he replied; "but Robin him- 
 self always fancied that his home lay toward 
 the east: the little window of the cell he 
 occupied looked in that direction; and though 
 it was too cold for him in the winter months, 
 we never could persuade him to change it 
 for one with a southern aspect. He always 
 said that he did not feel the cold, as long as 
 he could see his home. Now, there is 
 nothing but a small hamlet visible from the 
 window, and, of course, when the old man 
 did not return, I sent to it to inquire after 
 him." 
 
 A Stream of Light. 
 
 "And had he been there? " I saiu. 
 
 "No, sir," he replied; " and, after \. Listing 
 many hours in the search, we at length 
 heard that he had been seen walking along 
 the road which led direct to the UnderclifT. 
 It was this circumstance which enabled him 
 to get so many miles from the Asylum before 
 he was overtaken. But, as I said, I do not 
 think that he intentionally misled us, but 
 only missed his way." 
 
 Now I knew full well that the village of 
 
 B was not the home of which the old 
 
 man had spoken ; but, when I remembered 
 the agony with which he had implored to be 
 allowed to proceed thither, I could not 
 believe that mere accident was the cause of 
 his journey. I resolved to return thither to 
 prosecute my inquiries; but, before I left the 
 Asylum, asked to see the room which poor 
 Robin had occupied. 
 
 "This is it, sir," said my conductor, as he 
 threw open the door of a low narrow cell. 
 "You will find it smaller and more comfort- 
 less than many others, but it is the one in 
 
 | which he was placed when he was first 
 brought here ; and he had become so fond 
 of his little window, and the view towards 
 the east, that it would have been a mistaken 
 kindness to force him to change it." 
 
 I scarcely heard the words of apology, for 
 I felt a sudden thrill as I found myseli 
 ushered thus unexpectedly into the chamber 
 of death. The old man was lying upon his 
 narrow bed, and a stream of light through 
 the open window fell upon his tranquil 
 countenance. A single glance was sufficient 
 to tell me not only that he was indeed dead, 
 but that his end had been full of peace. 
 There was no convulsion of the features, and 
 the first symptoms of decay had not yet 
 appeared. His eyes had been left unclosed, 
 but the wandering light was no longer there, 
 and the smile which from time to time had 
 been wont to play across his lips, rested 
 quietly upon them now. The one idea that 
 his look and posture alike conveyed to the 
 mind was that of perfect tranquillity and 
 repose. I felt that his long journey had at 
 length been finished, and that the old man 
 was at rest in his home. 
 
 The Last Sleep. 
 
 My companion also seemed for a while 
 absorbed in thought. He advanced softly to 
 the bedside, and it was not until, with a 
 gentle hand, he had closed the old man's 
 eyes, that he broke the silence by observing, 
 "Ah, sir, morning after morning I have found 
 him lying thus, and gazing through the open 
 window. His sight was gradually becoming 
 very weak from the glare of light, but he was 
 unconscious of it himself. And it was but 
 yesterday he told me that in a little while he 
 should be no longer dazzled by the bright- 
 ness of his home. Poor fellow ! when I 
 came into the room a few hours since, ar-i 
 saw his eyes so calm and motionless, though 
 
600 
 
 THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 the full rays of the sun were falling upon 
 them, I knew that he must be dead, and 
 could not help thinking how singularly his 
 words had come true." 
 
 There was something in the tone of voice 
 in which this description was given, that 
 proved the speaker to have some secret feel- 
 ing of its allegorical meaning, though he 
 himself would probably have been unable to 
 define it. 
 
 A Bible and Prayer-Book were lying on 
 the table by the bedside. I turned to the 
 fly-leaf of the former, in the hope *"hat I might 
 at least gather from it the poor wanderer's 
 name. There was written in it, "Susan 
 Wakeling." I conjectured that the sacred 
 volume must formerly have been his own 
 wedding present to his bride. I replaced it 
 on the table, and it opened of its own accord 
 at the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the 
 Hebrews. The page was much worn, as 
 though it had not only been often read, but 
 many tears had fallen upon it. 
 
 Seeking a Country. 
 
 My eye quickly rested on the passage, 
 " These all died in faith ; .... and confessed 
 that they were strangers and pilgrims on the 
 earth. For they that say such things declare 
 plainly that they seek a country. And, 
 truly, if they had been mindful of that 
 country from whence they came out, they 
 might have had opportunity to have returned. 
 But now they desire a better country, that is, 
 an heavenly." 1 And while I read, it seemed 
 as though I had found the text to the old 
 man's history. 
 
 Another smaller volume was near them. 
 My conductor told me that it was the gift 
 of the chaplain. I inquired whether the 
 chaplain used to come often to see him. 
 •Very frequently," was the reply. "He 
 
 1 Hebrews xi. 13-15. 
 
 took great interest in poor Robin, and the 
 old man was grateful for it. It certainly was 
 singular," he added, thoughtfully, "that on 
 his return yesterday evening, he should have 
 expressed so earnest a wish that the chaplain 
 should be sent for." 
 
 "And did you refuse?" I asked. 
 
 " Fortunately not, sir," he replied. " I 
 hesitated at first, for it was very late, and 
 poor Robin was evidently much exhausted 
 with the fatigue and excitement of the day. 
 But he became so anxious about it, that my 
 wife interceded for him, and told me she 
 thought he would go to sleep more quietly 
 after he had been here. I well remember 
 now the peculiar emphasis with which the 
 old man repeated her words, and said, ' Yes, 
 yes, I shall doubtless go to sleep more 
 quietly after he has been here.' It almost 
 seemed as though he felt his end to be near 
 at hand." 
 
 I begged to know what passed at his inter- 
 view with the chaplain. My companion, 
 however, could give me no information as to 
 the first part of it, for the old man had 
 desired to be left alone with him, and his 
 wish had been at once indulged. 
 
 The Burden Gone. 
 
 " But," he continued, " on our return to 
 the room, we found him looking more light 
 and cheerful than we had ever before seen 
 him; and when I congratulated him, he said 
 that it was no wonder, for a very heavy 
 burthen had been taken away. 
 
 " My wife stayed for some time watching by 
 his bedside. He remained perfectly still and 
 silent, though his eyes were open. At length 
 she asked him whether he did not feel tired, 
 and wished to go to sleep ? And she tells 
 me, that he smiled like a little infant, as he 
 replied, ' O no, not at all tired ; for all that 
 wearied me has been taken away.' And 
 

 THE SLAVE OF HABIT BREAKS HIS GALLING CHAINS, 
 4ND THROUGH ALL-CONQUERING GRACE HIS FREEDOM GAINS. 
 
 60! 
 
602 
 
 THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 then, after a pause, he added, ' But you may 
 wish me good-night now for I shall be asleep 
 very soon ; — and tell dear Annie I am 
 going home.' He spoke in so cheerful a 
 tone that my wife little thought they were 
 his last words, and she left him, as she fancied, 
 to repose. But it was a sleep from which he 
 never woke again." 
 
 "Ah, sir," he continued, "it seems a sad 
 thing to die thus forsaken and alone ; and 
 yet, after all, many who have kind friends 
 and relatives round their sick-beds might 
 envy poor Robin his peaceful end. He 
 went off so quietly at last, that those who 
 slept in the room adjoining were not dis- 
 turbed during the night by the slightest 
 sound. But early this morning, when I came 
 to inquire after him, he was lying just as 
 you now see him, quite dead ! " 
 
 Released from Prison. 
 
 The deep feeling with which these words 
 were pronounced, convinced me that he was 
 ,no less touched than myself by the contem- 
 plation of the outward tranquility of the old 
 man's death. But who can realize the 
 inward peace that must have been there, 
 when the body fell asleep, and the soul was 
 released from its long imprisonment, and 
 carried by angels on its homeward journey ! 
 
 As we left the old man's room, I inquired 
 whether there were many besides little Annie 
 who mourned his loss. A smile again 
 crossed the features of my companion, as he 
 replied : 
 
 "There were many of the patients who 
 loved him almost as dearly as the child her- 
 self, but I can scarcely speak of them as 
 mourners now. A report spread among 
 them this morning that Robin was going 
 home; I cannot tell from what quarter it 
 arose, but when I came to them, they crowded 
 round me to know if it were true." 
 
 "And did you," I asked, "then tell them 
 that he was dead ? " 
 
 "Not in so many words," he replied. "I 
 merely said that he was already gone home, 
 and that they must not expect to see him 
 here again. And more than one voice 
 exclaimed in reply, 'Happy, happy Robin 
 to be taken home ! ' " 
 
 Still I observed that I had remarked on 
 the countenance of many of the patients an 
 expression of sadness. 
 
 "True," he answered, "for with them the 
 transition of feeling from joy to grief is very 
 rapid. They are not, however, sorrowing 
 for poor Robin, but for themselves, because 
 they have not been allowed to accompany 
 him. There were some, in the first instance, 
 who were very loud in their complaints ; but 
 I soothed them by saying that it was right 
 the old man should go first, because he had 
 been here so long." 
 
 Mourning for Robin. 
 
 After a pause, he continued : " It is my 
 own wish, as well as the chaplain's, that 
 many of them should attend the funeral, for 
 I would gladly pay this tribute of respect to 
 Robin's memory. And yet I am half 
 reluctant to give way to it : the remembrance 
 of the scene might afterwards throw some 
 gloom over the bright and happy notions 
 which they have now formed of his home." 
 
 I replied that it might be so ; and as I said 
 this, I could not help feeling that the scene 
 after the old man's death had been in perfect 
 harmony with his life, and that poor Robin 
 was rightly rejoiced over and rightly 
 mourned. 
 
 My account of my visit to the Asylum has 
 already far exceeded the limits which I had 
 assigned it. And yet, at the risk of being 
 wearisome, I cannot refrain from adding one 
 more fragment from my conversation within 
 
THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 603 
 
 its walls, before I proceed to the more pleas- 
 ant task that lies beyond. With a view to 
 prosecuting my inquiries in the village of 
 
 B , I asked my companion whether 
 
 Robin had ever dropped a hint of his former 
 calling. 
 
 " Oh yes, sir," was the reply ; " he used to 
 say that he had enlisted as a soldier very 
 early in life, and had at one time been made 
 a prisoner. I have seen the tears run down 
 little Annie's cheeks at the piteous tale he 
 would tell of the way in which his enemies 
 had bound him hand and foot, and cast him 
 into a dark and terrible dungeon, from which 
 he had hardly escaped with his life. But I 
 believe the whole story to be imaginary, and 
 it is one that I have little difficulty in 
 accounting for. He doubtless referred to .he 
 hardships he endured at the period of his 
 first imprisonment in the Asylum. No one 
 can wonder that they should have taken so 
 strong a hold on his imagination." 
 
 Feared a Secret Enemy. 
 
 "Did he, then," I asked, "believe that his 
 warfare had long been at an end? " 
 
 " No, sir," he replied. "And perhaps it 
 would be more correct to say that the treat- 
 ment to which he had been exposed was the 
 origin of his delusion, than that it accounted 
 for it. The idea that he was liable to the 
 attacks of some secret enemy seems from 
 that time to have taken a fixed possession of 
 his brain ; and if any one assured him that 
 he never could be subjected to the same ill- 
 usage again, his invariable answer was, that 
 there was no safety for him except at home. 
 And then he would maintain that having 
 once enlisted, he could never cease to be a 
 soldier, and talk of treacherous foes and long 
 watchings and doubtful conflicts. You 
 would have imagined him, from his conver- 
 sation to have been one who was fighting 
 
 and struggling all day long, instead of the 
 quiet, inoffensive character that he really was. 
 But this, sir, was not all ; he would fancy 
 that every one else was a soldier also. He 
 almost persuaded little Annie that she had 
 enlisted in the same army with himself; and 
 often made her sad by talking of the enemies 
 who surrounded her, and the service she was 
 required to perform." 
 
 The Valiant Soldier. 
 
 I here interrupted him by asking whether 
 the child had not been baptized. He at once 
 perceived the drift of the question, and 
 replied, "I know what you mean, sir, — she 
 was then made the soldier and servant of 
 Christ." 
 
 "Yes," I added, "and entered into a 
 solemn engagement to fight manfully under 
 his banner, against sin, the world, and the 
 devil." 
 
 "True," he answered ; " and it is very 
 curious that it was the old man himself who 
 first pcinted out that passage to me. I 
 remember it struck me at the time that his 
 peculiar notions about soldiers might, in 
 some way, be connected with it. And I 
 think it far from improbable; for Robin's 
 madness seemed principally to consist in his 
 regarding metaphors as realities, and realities 
 as metaphors. The difference between him 
 and ourselves would be, that he believed 
 little Annie to be really a soldier, and not 
 merely to be called one in the Bible." 
 
 I made no further reply, for my own 
 thoughts grew perplexed, as I tried to deter- 
 mine with myself what were truth and 
 realities, and what merely shadows and 
 metaphors, of the things pertaining to our 
 present existence. 
 
 The recollection of little Annie has made 
 me wander from my story, and I must now 
 hasten to bring it to a conclusion. I left the 
 
604 
 
 THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 Asylum, pondering deeply on the things I 
 had heard and seen. My heart was sad 
 within me ; for I could not help giving way 
 to a feeling of compassionate sorrow as I 
 thought of the old man's solitary lot. 
 
 His past history seemed, indeed, to be lost 
 in almost hopeless oblivion. But I knew 
 that he must have been crushed and broken 
 down by some terrible calamity in early 
 youth ; that he had been awakened from the 
 stupor which it produced to the stern reality 
 of bonds and chains, and then been doomed 
 to a dull unvaried captivity, not for days, 
 weeks, or months, but for a long period of 
 more than fifty years. 
 
 A Gloomy Picture. 
 
 Thus Reason kept drawing a melancholy 
 picture of one without home, without friends, 
 dependent on charity for his daily bread, 
 whose whole existence was a dreary void, 
 with no employment to beguile his thoughts, 
 no hope to cheer him on his way. It needed 
 only the recollection of that peculiar solitude 
 of mind, which is almost the certain offspring 
 of insanity, to complete its gloom. 
 
 And yet, after all, it was my own infirmity 
 which made me sad ; for, when I had strength 
 to gaze on the same picture with the eye of 
 faith, bright and beautiful were the images 
 that I saw. 
 
 I then perceived that he was not without 
 home, for his home was in the land of spirits 
 beyond the grave ; he was not without 
 friends, for his wife and children were wait- 
 ing for him there ; while he remained upon 
 earth, he was not dependent, for he felt his 
 daily wants to be supplied by a Father's care; 
 he never, for a single instant, was without 
 occupation, for he had a long warfare to 
 accomplish, a distant journey to perform ; 
 and still less was he uncheered by the bless- 
 ing of hope, for he was able to rest in humble 
 
 trust on his Saviour's promise, and go on, 
 day after day, laying up treasures for himself, 
 which neither moth nor rust could corrupt, 
 nor thieves break through and steal. 
 
 Out of the loneliness caused by his afflic- 
 tion he had created a new world for himself, 
 or rather, he had been drawn by it to live in 
 that world which, though unseen, God has 
 really created for us all. And surely to him 
 life could never have been dull and unvaried, 
 while he was able to trace the types and 
 emblems of spiritual things alike in the pass- 
 ing gleams of sunshine and in the dark 
 shadows that rested upon his path ! 
 
 Was he Insane? 
 
 Mingled with these conflicting emotions, 
 the question from time to time arose in my 
 mind, "And was poor Robin really mad? " 
 And again it was only my own infirmity which 
 caused me to shrink from the reply. It is 
 hard indeed to define madness ; and the state 
 of his intellect probably varied from time to 
 time. Thus it may have been almost with- 
 out a cloud when little Annie was his 
 companion. 
 
 So also, during my brief interview with 
 him, the stillness of the evening, and the 
 unison of his own thoughts with the sur- 
 rounding scene, may have breathed a sooth- 
 ing influence upon his mind. And yet when 
 I reflected calmly on that very interview, I 
 felt that they were right in not suffering the 
 old man to travel alone along the journey of 
 life. 
 
 His was the second childhood ; simple, 
 pure, and holy as the first, and yet, in his 
 case, no less than the first, requiring a pro- 
 tector's care. He spoke and thought as a 
 child, and children could understand him; 
 but the calm mirror of his mind quickly grew 
 troubled in his intercourse with men, and he 
 then lost fhe power of explaining his 
 
FRESH FLOWERS BLOOM AND LIMPID FOUNTAINS PLAY 
 TO CHEER THE TRAVELLERS ON THEIR UPWARD WAY. 
 
 a.D.R 
 
 605 
 
606 
 
 THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 thoughts, or perhaps of himself distinguishing 
 between the shadow and the substance, the 
 things of sight and the things of faith. 
 Reason had resigned her sway during the 
 mental conflict which had been caused by 
 his calamities ; and though peace and quiet- 
 .ess had been restored, she never had attained 
 iufficient vigor to resume it again. 
 
 Weakness and Strength. 
 
 Nay, more ; it may be that her lamp was 
 ^he more dim and uncertain, on account of 
 the brighter and clearer light which from that 
 flme burned unceasingly in his soul. It is 
 possible that he was slow in observing the 
 different shades of color that passed across 
 earthly objects, because to his eye one unfad- 
 ing color was resting upon them all ; and 
 that his mere intellectual faculties remained 
 weak and palsied, because out of this very 
 weakness he had been made strong, and he 
 was at all times conscious of the presence of 
 a surer support and safer guide. 
 
 And what matters it, if it were so ? Why 
 may we not revere poor Robin, and love 
 him, and learn from him, and yet not shrink 
 from acknowledging that his reason had 
 gone astray? Surely, there is no one who 
 would not gladly leave the hard dull road of 
 life, if only they could wander with him 
 along the same bright and happy paths ! 
 There is no one who would not give the 
 choicest gifts of reason twice told, if only 
 they could purchase for them the childlike 
 faith of a simple-hearted man. 
 
 I was half sorry when my arrival at the 
 
 tillage of B made me change these 
 
 silent meditations for the attempt to investi- 
 gate the old man's connections and history. 
 It was not, however, mere curiosity that 
 prompted me to do so. I was anxious, if it 
 were possible, to save him from a pauper's 
 grave. 
 
 For a long time my inquiries were in vain. 
 Some few, indeed, had heard of poor Robin ; 
 for his fame, as I have said, had spread 
 beyond the walls of the asylum; but the 
 name of Wakeling was unknown to them ; 
 and they did not believe he had ever been 
 connected with the parish of B — - — . They 
 referred me, however, to the cottage of the 
 oldest inhabitant of the village. She was a 
 widow, of very great age, having lived to 
 see four generations around her. A few 
 years since, they said she was able to speak 
 distinctly of events that had happened more 
 than half a century ago, but latterly her 
 memory had become impaired. 
 
 When I mentioned to her the name of 
 Wakeling, the word at once awakened some 
 recollection of the past. She twice repeated 
 it, and added, almost mechanically, " Good 
 and excellent people, sir, and very kind to 
 the poor." But when I questioned her as to 
 their occupation and history, and asked what 
 had become of them, she shook her head, as 
 though the thread of memory had been 
 broken off, and she was unable to unite it 
 again. 
 
 As a last hope, I referred directly to the 
 spring of 1 8 — and inquired whether it had 
 been marked by any particular occurrence. 
 "Ah, sir," she replied, " much of the past is 
 now like a dream to me, but that is a period 
 which I never can forget." 
 
 Death by the Plague. 
 
 The tone of sadness in which these words 
 were uttered, proved some deep sorrow to be 
 connected with the remembrance of it ; and 
 on further questioning, I learnt that it was a 
 season in which an infectious fever had raged 
 in the village, and that whole families had 
 been carried off by its ravages ; she herself 
 had been left an orphan. But though her 
 recollection of the illness itself seemed as 
 
THE OLD MAN'S HOME. 
 
 607 
 
 vivid as though it had occurred but yester- 
 day, of the Wakelings she could say nothing 
 with distinctness. It may be that her mind 
 was too absorbed with the remembrance of 
 her own grief to allow her to recur to that of 
 others ; or it may be that, even at the time, 
 in the general affliction the loss of an indi- 
 vidual, however grievous, had been scarcely 
 noticed, and soon forgotten. At length she 
 seemed to grow weary of my importunity, 
 and said, " I cannot tell who may have lived, 
 and who may have died; you must go, sir, 
 to the churchyard, and there you will find 
 the only certain history of that fatal spring." 
 
 A new thought was suggested by these 
 words, and I repaired thither in the hope 
 that I might find that information, which I 
 had sought in vain from the living, among 
 the silent records of the dead. 
 
 The evening was now drawing on, and it 
 was in truth the very hour at which but yes- 
 terday I had parted from the old man. I 
 was alone ; and as I trod, with a cautious 
 reverence, upon the green sod, there was no 
 sound to break the tranquility of the scene, 
 save the ripple of the waters at the edge of 
 the cliff on which the churchyard stood. 
 
 Their restless motion only made me feel 
 
 the more deeply the stillness of the hallowed 
 ground itself; and I thought, that if the old 
 man had been with me, he might have found 
 in it an apt emblem of the quiet resting-place 
 of the dead, lying on the very borders of the 
 sea of life, and yet untroubled by its mur- 
 muring, and sheltered from its storms. 
 
 I was not long in discovering the object 
 which I sought. The rays of the setting sun 
 at once directed me to a stone at the eastern 
 extremity of the churchyard. It was 
 distinguished from those around by a simple 
 cross ; but in spite of the soft light that was 
 now shed upon it, it was with difficulty that 
 I deciphered the inscription which it bore. 
 For not only was the tomb itself thickly 
 covered with moss and weeds, but my own 
 eye grew dim with tears, as one by one the 
 few sad words revealed to me the secret of 
 the old man's history. His restlessness 
 during the spring, the object of his last 
 solitary journey, and parts of his conversation 
 with myself, which before had seemed 
 obscure, was now fully explained. The 
 inscription was a simple record that the old 
 man was indeed united at last, in body as well 
 as spirit, to those whom he had so dearly 
 loved and mourned so long;. 
 
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