www.cormacburke.or.ke

THE BOOK OF TOBIAS
Chapter 1
There was a man of Nephthali dwelling in the city of that name, which lies in the hill-country of Galilee, beyond Naasson, by the road leading westwards with Sephet on the left of it. His name was Tobias; and when he was carried off as a prisoner by the Assyrians under king Salmanasar, he would not make his exile an excuse for deserting true religion. Every day he would share whatever means he had with his fellow-captives, that were men of his own clan.
Even when he was a boy, and was of least regard among the men of Nephthali, no boyish levity did his acts display. While the rest had recourse to the golden calves Jeroboam had set up when he reigned in Israel, Tobias shunned their company and went his own way; went up to Jerusalem to the Lord's temple, and worshipped the Lord that was God of Israel. First-fruit and tithe he duly offered, and every third year he tithed his goods afresh, for the needs of wanderers and homeless folk. By such acts as these he shewed, even in boyhood, what loyalty he had for the law of God; when he grew up it was a maiden of his own tribe, called Anna, that he wedded, and their son, called by his father's name, was brought up to fear God and keep clear of every fault.
Such was he, when, like all his tribe, he was carried away, with his wife and his son, to Nineve. All the rest might share the food of the Gentiles, he would not lose his innocence, he would not defile himself by eating what the law forbade. And God, finding his heart so loyal to the divine commands, won him favour with king Salmanasar. From this king he had leave to go where he would, and spend his time as he would; so he made a round of all his fellow-exiles, giving them such good counsel as might avail them. Once he was at a Median city called Rages, and had with him ten talents of silver, a gift from the king's bounty. To what use should he put it? He found there a fellow-tribesman of his own, called Gabelus, who was in great need; to him, then, he lent the aforesaid silver under a bond.
Time passed; Salmanasar died, and the throne passed to his son Sennacherib, who was no friend to the Jews; and now it was Tobias daily task to visit his own clansmen, comforting them and providing for each of them as best he could, out of what store he had; it was for him to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to honour with careful burial men that had died of sickness, and men slain. When Sennacherib came home from Judaea, escaping while he might from the divine vengeance his blasphemies had brought upon him, he killed many an Israelite in his anger; and these too Tobias would bury. When this came to the king's ears, he gave orders that Tobias should be put to death, and seized all his property; but he escaped, with his wife and son, into safe hiding; destitute as he was, he had many friends. And then, forty-five days later, Sennacherib was murdered by his own sons, whereupon Tobias came back home, and had all his goods restored to him.
Chapter 2
Soon after this, one of the Lord's feast-days came round, and Tobias, his table richly spread, would have his son go out and invite fellow-tribesmen and fellow-worshippers of theirs, to share the banquet. Go out he did, but came back bearing ill news; he had found an Israelite lying murdered in the open street. His father, without more ado, sprang up from where he sat, leaving his dinner untasted; he would not break his fast till he had found the body, wrapped it about and carried it home with him, to bury it in secret when night fell. A sad and anxious meal was his, with such a guest hidden under his roof; he remembered those words the Lord had put into the mouth of Amos, Your feast-days shall end in lamentation and sad thoughts. Night fell at last, and the body was buried in safety; but his neighbours shook their heads over it, Here was sentence of death passed on you for such doings of yours; from that sentence you were barely reprieved, and are you back at your grave-digging? But still Tobias feared God much, and the king little; still the bodies of murdered men were stolen away, hidden in his house, and at dead of night buried.
But toil brought weariness, and one morning, when he came home, he threw himself down in the shadow of the wall, and quickly fell asleep. As he slept, warm droppings from a swallow's nest fell into his eyes, and he became blind. This was but a trial which the Lord allowed to befall him, so that he might leave to later ages, as God's servant Job did, a document of patience. Here was a man that had feared God and obeyed his commandments from infancy; he was smitten with blindness; did he thereupon complain, God was using him ill? No, he remained as stout-hearted a worshipper of God as before, and never a day passed but he returned thanks for the gift of life. Kinsman and clansman might taunt him, as Job was taunted by his fellow chieftains; might call him a fool for his pains, and ask whether this was the reward he had hoped for when he gave alms, and went a-burying; Tobias took them up short. Nay, said he, never talk thus; we come of holy stock, you and I, and God has life waiting for us if we will but keep faith with him. His wife Anna went every day to work at the loom, bringing home what earnings she could; and one day it was a kid that was given her for her wages. When she brought this home, and its bleating reached her husband's ears, he made great ado for fear it had been stolen; Nay, he said, this must be restored to its owner; never shall it be said that we ate stolen food, or soiled our hands with theft! Fine talk, said she, but the like hopes have played you false already; what have you to shew, now, for all your almsgiving? With such taunts as these even his wife assailed him.
Chapter 3
So at last Tobias fell a-sighing, and he prayed still, but wept as he prayed. Lord, he said, you have right on your side; no award of yours but is deserved, no act of yours but tells of mercy, of faithfulness, and of justice. Yet bethink you, Lord, of my case; leave my sins unpunished, my guilt, and the guilt of my parents, forgotten. If we are doomed to loss, to banishment and to death, if you have made us a by-word and a laughing-stock in all the countries to which you have banished us, it is because we have defied your commandments; it was fitting punishment, Lord, for the men who neglected your bidding, and were half-hearted followers of yours. And now, Lord, do with me as your will is, give the word, and take my spirit to yourself in peace; for me, death is more welcome than life.
Now turn we to Rages, a city in Media, and another soul that must undergo taunts on this same day, Sara, the daughter of Raguel. It was one of her father's maidservants that taunted her; and the ground of it was that she had been married seven times, but each of her husbands in turn had been killed, at the time of his bedding with her, by an evil spirit that was named Asmodaeus. This maid, then, upon being reproved for some fault, had answered, God send we never see son or daughter of yours brought to light! Murderess, where are those husbands of yours? Would to you make as short work with me as you did with those seven? At that, Sara withdrew to an upper room of the house, and for three days and nights would neither eat nor drink; all this time she spent in prayer, begging with tears that God would free her of the suspicion.
And at last on the third day, her time of prayer ended, she blessed the name of the Lord after this fashion: Blessed is your name, God of our fathers, who, though your anger be roused, shew mercy still, who do pardon the sinner that cries out to you in time of need! To you, Lord, I turn; on you my eyes are fixed; and, Lord, my prayer is that you would either rid me of this clogging suspicion, or else take me away from earth. You, Lord,can bear me witness that I lusted never after man; still have I guarded my soul from shameful desire, nor kept company with the wanton, nor cast in my lot with the lovers of dalliance. If I consented to take a husband, law of yours was my rule, not lust of mine. It seems I was unworthy of these men's love, or perhaps they of mine; it may be you were reserving me for another husband; your designs are beyond our human reach. But this at least all your true worshippers know; never was a life of trials but had its crown; never distress from which you could not save; never punishment but left a gateway to your mercy. Not yours to plot eagerly for our undoing; the storm passes, and you grant clear weather again; tears and sighs are over, and you fill the cup with rejoicing; blessed be your name, God of Israel, for ever!
Two prayers that day reached the bright presence of the most high God; and Raphael, one of the Lord's holy angels, was sent out, bearing common deliverance to the suppliants of a single hour.
Chapter 4
And now, thinking that his prayer for death was to be granted, the elder Tobias called his son to him and gave him a charge; Let these rules of mine, said he, be the frame-work of your life, my son. When God takes my soul to himself, give this body of mine burial, and give your mother her due while her life lasts; do not forget what hazard she underwent to bear you in her womb; and when she, too, has lived out her allotted span of years, bury her at my side. And do you, while you have life, think ever upon God, nor lend yourself to any sinful design, nor leave the commandments of the Lord our God unfulfilled. Use your wealth in giving of alms; never turn your back on any man who is in need, and the Lord, in your own need, will have eyes for you. Shew to others what kindness your means allow, giving much, if much is yours, if you have little, cheerfully sharing that little. To do this is but to lay up a store against the day of distress; alms-deeds were ever a sovereign way of escape from guilt and death, a bar against the soul's passage into darkness; none has less to fear when he stands before the most high God than he who does them.
Keep clear, my son, of fornication; save for your wife, never let woman's name be linked with yours. In thought and word of yours, pride must never bear rule; thence it was all our undoing came. There and then pay your workman his wages; do not let the hire he has earned remain in your keeping; never use another as you were loth yourself to be used. Share your bread with the hungry and the poor; in your garments let the naked go clad. Bestow your meat and your drink upon a just man's burying, never share them with sinners. Still take a wise man's counsel over your doings; but praise God all the while, and ask him to guide your paths aright; let all your designs repose in him.
This too I would have you know, my son, that long since, when you were but a child, I lent ten talents of silver to a citizen of Rages in Media, called Gabelus, and I have his bond still. Do you find means to reach his home, and so recover from him the sum I speak of, in return for his bond. Never lose heart, my son, though we lead, you and I, the life poor men lead. Fear we but God, shun guilt, and do the good we can, blessings shall be ours in abundance.
Chapter 5
Father, answered the young Tobias, I will do all your bidding; but as for recovering the money, I have little hope. Here is one who is a stranger to me, and I to him; what proof can I bring forward? Meanwhile, I must find my way to Rages, and of that I have no experience. Nay, said his father, I have the man's bond here; do but shew him that, and he will restore the money without more ado. Up then, and find some man of credit, that will go with you upon condition of a due reward; must I die before you bring the money back to me? With that, his son went out, and at the door stood a young man of noble mien, all girt about, as if he were ready for a journey. Little he knew that this was an angel of God, as he gave him welcome; Fair sir, he asked, from where come you? And on hearing that he had been among the men of Israel, Why then, said he, you know the road from here to Media? I know it well, he answered; no step of it but I have marched often enough, when I would visit a fellow-countryman of ours who lives there; one Gabelus. The city where he dwells, Rages, is in Media, in the hill-country about Ecbatana.
Wait for me here, Tobias asked of him, so while I give my father news of this. Then he went back, and told the story to his father, who was all astonishment, and would have the stranger brought in. So in he came, and wished him abiding happiness. Happiness! Tobias said; little happiness for me, that sit here in the dark, and see never the light of day! Take courage,the stranger said, God means your soon recovery. Then Tobias asked, will you take my son with you, and guide him to Media, to Rages, and so to the house of Gabelus? There shall be a reward awaiting you on your return. I will take him there, said the angel, and bring him home again besides. Then Tobias would know of what household or tribe he came. It was indeed no other than the angel Raphael that spoke to him; What, he answered, is it my lineage, not myself, you would have for your son's escort? But set your mind at rest; my name is Azarias, and a man of renown, Ananias, was my father. Forgive me, Tobias said, for doubting your lineage; you come of good stock indeed.
Raphael, then, promised to conduct the boy safely and bring him safely home, and Tobias bade them good speed; God be with you, said he, on your journey, and may his angel bear you company! Then, when his pack was ready, the young Tobias bade his father and mother farewell, and the travellers set out together. Now that the boy had gone, his mother fell a-weeping; Here was the only support of our old age, said she, why have you passed him on into other hands? Would to God the money you have sent him to claim had never been yours! We were content in our poverty; the very sight of the lad was riches enough. Dry your tears, Tobias answered; safe will he fare, this son of ours, and safe return; those eyes shall have sight of him again. I hold it for truth that some good angel of the Lord escorts him, to see that all goes well with him and grant him happy return. Thus comforted, the mother dried her tears and complained no more.
Chapter 6
Tobias, meanwhile, was on the march, with his dog at his heels; they did not make their first halt until they reached the river Tigris. And when he went down to wash the dust from his feet, up came a monstrous fish as if it would have devoured him. At this, he cried out in an extreme of fear, Help, sir; he means mischief. But the angel bade him catch it by the gill and pull it towards him; so catch it he did, and brought it out on to the dry land, where it lay struggling at his feet. This fish, the angel told him, is worth the bowelling; heart and gall and liver of it you must keep by you, sovereign remedies all. This done, he roasted part of the meat, which they ate on their journey, and salted the rest, to serve them for provisions till they should reach Rages in Media. And now Tobias had a question to ask of the angel; Tell me, good Azarias, said he, what healing virtue lies in those parts of the fish I must needs keep by me? Its heart, answered he, has this virtue, that if a morsel of it be laid on the coals, the smoke will rid man or woman of the fiend's harassing, and that for ever. As for the gall, it is a sovereign salve for healing eyes that have a white film binding them. And for our journey, said Tobias, what is the next stage of that? Our host's name is Raguel, the angel told him, a tribesman and a kinsman of your own. He has a daughter called Sara, and neither chick nor child besides. Of all he possesses you may be heir, if you will claim his daughter's hand in marriage; you have but to ask him, and she is yours.
I hear stories told of this maid, Tobias answered; how she has been betrothed seven times, and to every bridegroom it brought death; how it was a fiend, if the tale be true, that made away with them. If the like befall me too, it would go hard with those parents of mine; I am all the children they have, they are old now, and this were to give them a cheerless passage to the grave. Heed me well, answered Raphael, and you shall hear why the fiend has power to hurt some and not others. The fiend has power over such as go about their marrying with all thought of God shut out of their hearts and minds, wholly intent on their lust, as if they were horse or mule, brutes without reason. Not such be your mating, when you have won your bride. For three days deny yourself her favours, and the time you spend together, spend all in prayer. The first night, burn the liver of yonder fish, and therewith the fiend shall be driven away. On the second night, union you shall have, but with the company of the holy patriarchs. The third night, your prayer shall win you a blessing, of children safely born to you and to her. Then, when the third night is past, take the maid to yourself with the fear of the Lord upon you, moved rather by the hope of begetting children than by any lust of yours. So, in the true line of Abraham, you shall have joy of your fatherhood.
Chapter 7
To Raguel, then, they went, and right gladly he welcomed them; he no sooner caught sight of Tobias than he said to his wife Anna, Here is a young man has the very look of my cousin Tobias! Then he asked them, from where come you, fellow-countrymen? And, upon hearing that they were of Nephthali's tribe, exiles dwelling at Nineve, Do you know my cousin, Tobias? Yes, they said, we know him well. With that, Raguel fell to singing his cousin's praises, but the angel cut him short: you do well to ask about Tobias; this is his son. Thereupon Raguel threw his arms about him, and wept, and kissed him, and wept again; A blessing on you, my son, cried he; 'tis a good man, a good excellent man, you have for your father! And there stood his wife Anna, and their daughter Sara, in tears like himself.
When they had spent some time in talk, Raguel would have a ram killed, and a feast made. But it was in vain he urged them to fall to; Neither eat nor drink will I in this house, Tobias said, until you do grant a request of mine. And my request is for the hand of your daughter Sara in marriage. Upon hearing this, Raguel was much taken aback; he had not forgotten what befell those other seven men that went near her bed; and the fear assailed him, What if this one fares no better? But while he hummed and hawed over his answer, the angel said, Do not be afraid to give him your daughter's hand; for his pious care she was destined, that is why those other wooers could not gain their suit. Why then, answered Raguel, all those prayers and sighs of mine were not wasted; God has granted them audience; and I doubt not his design in bringing you here was to have my daughter matched with one of her own kin, as the law of Moses bade. Then he said to Tobias, Have no fear, she is yours. And so, taking his daughter's right hand and putting it into the right hand of Tobias, he gave them his blessing: May the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob be with you and himself join you in one, and fulfil his merciful purpose in you.
So they took paper, and signed a contract of marriage; then they sat down to their feasting, and gave thanks to God. Meanwhile Raguel called Anna aside, and bade her have a fresh room in readiness. Into this she brought her daughter Sara, weeping as she did so; then she said, Do not lose heart, daughter; you have had sadness enough; may the Lord of heaven give you gladness in exchange.
Chapter 8
When the feasting was over, bridegroom was led to bride-chamber. And now, remembering what the angel had said, he took out from his wallet a piece of the fish's liver, which he burnt on live coals. With that, the evil spirit fled; it was overtaken by the angel Raphael in the waste lands of Upper Egypt, and there held prisoner. Next, Tobias must plead with his bride; Leave your bed, Sara; today, and to-morrow, and the day after, let us pray God for mercy. These three nights are set apart for our union with God; when the third is over, we will be joined in one, you and I. We come of holy lineage; not for us to mate blindly, like the heathen that have no knowledge of God. Side by side they kept vigil, and prayed together that no plague should mar their mating. Lord God of our fathers, Tobias said, praise be to you from heaven and earth, from seas and fountains and rivers, and from all creatures of yours that make in these their homes! When Adam was made of earth's clay, it was by your hand; when Eve was sent to cheer him, it was of your gift. You, Lord, are my witness that I wed this sister of mine not from love of dalliance; only in the dear hope of leaving a race behind me, a race in whose destiny, Lord, may your name be ever blessed! And thus Sara prayed, Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us; safe from all harm grow we old together, he and I!
And now it was cock-crow, and Raguel had all his men out betimes to help him dig the grave; Like enough, thought he, this one will have fared no better than the other seven that took her to wife. Their digging done, he went back to his wife, and bade her send one of her maids to find out if Tobias were dead; it were best to have him in his grave before the sun was up. So the maid went on her errand, and ventured into the bride-chamber, where both lay asleep together, safe and sound. When she returned with that good news, Raguel and Anna fell to praising the Lord; God of Israel, said they, we thank you that our fears were vain! Great mercy have you shewn us, in ridding us of the fiend's pursuit; great mercy have you shewn on these two, Tobias' only child and ours. Ever may their hearts, Lord, swell with thankfulness, ever may these lives you have preserved be a sacrifice of praise to you, till all the Gentiles around them know you for the only God that rules on earth!
With that, Raguel bade his men fill up the newly dug grave before sunrise; bade his wife spread a feast, and prepare such food as the travellers needed. Two fat heifers and four rams must be slaughtered and a banquet made for all his neighbours and friends. And now he was urgent with Tobias to be his guest for two whole weeks; half of all his goods he bestowed upon him there and then, while the rest, as he declared in writing, should follow when he and Anna died.
Chapter 9
And now Tobias took the angel aside and, though he still did not guess this was more than man, spoke as follows: Pray bear with this request of mine, friend Azarias. No return could I make for all your watchful care of me, though I should dedicate myself to be your slave. Instead of that, I am still asking you for a favour; that you would journey on to Rages in Media, with what beasts, what retinue you will, and seek out Gabelus there. Give him back his bond, recover the debt, and bid him to my wedding-feast. You can guess how my father is counting the days till my return; no fresh day of my absence but brings with it a fresh sorrow; yet you see how earnestly Raguel pleads with me to stay on, and that plea I cannot bring myself to refuse.
So Raphael took with him four of Raguel's men, and two camels; went to Rages in Media and sought out Gabelus there; gave him the bond, and recovered the debt in full. Then he recounted to him the younger Tobias' history, and brought him back to take part in the wedding-feast. Tobias, who was sitting at table when Gabelus entered the house, sprang up to welcome him; and when they had embraced, Gabelus wept, and praised God for their meeting. The God of Israel bless you, he cried, for the son of an excellent honest man his true worshipper, and a great giver of alms! May the name of this your bride, the names of her parents and yours, be used for an example of blessedness! May you live to see sons of yours, and sons of theirs again, and a fourth generation to succeed the third! May your posterity win a blessing from the God of Israel, that reigns everlastingly! All said Amen to that, and so they fell to and feasted; yet was there no merry-making over this wedding but such as became God's worshippers.
Chapter 10
While the younger Tobias lingered thus over his marriage, his father fell into an extreme of anxiety. What means this long delay on my son's part? he asked. What has detained him? Can it be that Gabelus is dead, and there is no recovering the debt? Great lament he made and his wife Anna with him, and fast fell the tears of both, that the appointed day was over and their son not yet returned. The mother's grief there was no consoling; My son, my son, she cried, why did we ever let you go on your travels? The light of our eyes, the support of our old age, our comfort in life, our hope of posterity when we are gone; all this you were, and you alone; how could we let you leave our sight? All in vain did Tobias try to comfort her, with, Peace, woman; never disquiet yourself; there is nought amiss with our son; it was a trusty companion we sent with him. Comfort she would have none; no day passed but she would rise from her place and view the landscape all about, or roam the streets, hoping she might get some rumour, some distant glimpse of his return.
Meanwhile, Raguel was pressing his son-in-law to stay on; I will send a message to your father, said he, to assure him of your safety. But Tobias would have none of it; No question, said he, but my father and mother are counting the days, and tormenting their hearts over me. Still Raguel plied him with entreaties, and still could not win his consent. So at last he gave Sara into Tobias' keeping, and with her half his goods, men and maid servants, sheep and camels and cows, and of money a great sum, and let him go his way, safe and content. The Lord's holy angel, said he, go with you on your journey, and bring you home without scathe to find that all is well, Tobias and Anna both. And may my life be spared to see children born of you. So Raguel and Anna embraced their daughter, and kissed her, and set her on her way, full of good counsel to the last; how she was to give father-in-law and mother-in-law their due, love her husband, be mistress in her own house, order it well, and prove herself the perfection of a woman.
Chapter 11
On the eleventh day of their homeward journey, they halted in the middle of it at a place that looks out towards Nineve (called Charan). And here the angel said, Friend Tobias, remember how eagerly your father awaits you. How say you? Should not we two hurry on together, and leave your wife to follow at leisure with the servants and the beasts? When this was agreed upon he bade Tobias take some of the fish's gall with him, for he would need it; take it he did, and they set out together.
There sat Anna, where she sat every day, on the brow of the hill, from where she could scan the country far and wide. From that seat of hers she saw them coming, a long distance away, and knew at once it was her son that came. Back home she ran, and told her husband, your son! He is coming!
Your home once reached, Raphael said to Tobias, pay worship to the Lord your God first, and return thanks to him. Then go up to your father, and embrace him, and rub on his eyes, without more ado, some of the fish's gall you have with you. I promise you it will not be long before his eyes are opened; once more he will look on the light of day, and have a father's joy at the sight of you.
Yet he was not to reach the house first. The dog that had accompanied him on his travels ran on before him, heralding the good news with the caress of his wagging tail. Up sprang the father, blind though he were, and made for the door, running and stumbling as he ran. A servant must take him by the hand before he could go out to meet his son; but meet him he did, embraced and kissed him, and his wife too must embrace the boy and kiss him, and then they both wept over him; but they were tears of joy. So they paid God worship, and gave him thanks, and sat down together.
Then it was that Tobias took out the fish's gall, and rubbed it on his father's eyes. He waited, maybe for half an hour, and then a white film, like the white of an egg, began to separate itself from the eyes; he took hold of this and pulled it away, and immediately his father's sight was restored. How they praised God, he and his wife and all who knew them! I thank you, Lord God of Israel, the old man cried; from you my chastisement, from you my deliverance came; I thank you for eyes that see, and eyes that see Tobias, my son!
It was a week before his daughter-in-law Sara reached Nineve, with all her retinue safe and sound; the farm stock, too, she brought with her, and the camels, and all the money she was dowered with, besides the sum paid over by Gabelus. Meanwhile, her husband told his parents the whole story; all the mercies God had shewn him through the man that was his guide. Tobias' cousins, Achior and Nabath, came with glad hearts to congratulate him over the blessings he had received; and for a whole week they all kept high festival, and rejoiced together.
Chapter 12
And now Tobias took his son aside and asked him, What payment shall we make to this heaven-sent companion of yours? Payment? answered he; why, what reward can ever suffice for all the services he did me? He it was that escorted me safely, going and coming; recovered the debt from Gabelus; won me my bride; rid her of the fiend's attack; engaged the gratitude of her parents; rescued me from the fish's onslaught; and to you restored the light of day. Through him, we have been loaded with benefits; is it possible to make any return for all these? Do this, father, at least; ask him to accept half of all the wealth that has come to us.
So both of them, father and son, beckoned him aside, and would have prevailed on him to accept half of their new-found wealth. But he, with a finger on his lip, bade them give their thanks to the God of heaven. To him, he said, offer your praises for all men to hear; he it is that has shewn mercy to you. Kings have their counsel that must be kept secret; God's ways are open, and he honours them best who proclaims them openly.
Prayer, fasting, and alms, said he, here is better treasure to lay up than any store of gold. Almsgiving is death's avoiding, is guilt's atoning, is the winning of mercy and of life eternal; the sinners, the wrong-doers, are enemies to their own souls. Come, let me tell you the whole truth of the matter, bring the hidden purpose of it to light. When you, Tobias, were praying, and with tears, when you were burying the dead, leaving your dinner untasted, so as to hide them all day in your house, and at night give them funeral, I, all the while, was offering that prayer of yours to the Lord. Then, because you had won his favour, needs must that trials should come, and test your worth. And now, for your healing, for the deliverance of your son's wife Sara from the fiend's attack, he has chosen me for his messenger. Who am I? I am the angel Raphael, and my place is among those seven who stand in the presence of the Lord.
Upon hearing this, they were both mazed with terror, and fell down trembling, face to earth. Peace be with you, the angel said; do not be afraid. It was God's will, not mine, brought me to your side; to him pay the thanks and praise you owe. I was at your side, eating and drinking, but only in outward show; the food, the drink I live by, man's eyes cannot see. And now the time has come when I must go back to him who sent me; give thanks to God, and tell the story of his great deeds. With that, he was caught away from their eyes, and no more might they see of him. For three hours together, face to earth, they gave thanks to God; and when they rose up, it was to tell the story of all these marvels.
Chapter
It was thus, when he found utterance, that the elder Tobias sang praise to the Lord: Great is your name, Lord, for ever; your kingdom cannot fail. Yours to scourge, yours to pity; you do bring men to the grave and back from the grave; from your power there is no deliverance. Sons of Israel, make his name known, publish it for all the Gentiles to hear if he has dispersed you among heathen folk who know nothing of him, it was so that you might tell them the story of his great deeds, convince them that he, and no other, is deeds, all-powerful. He it is that has scourged us for our sins; he it is that will deliver us in his mercy. Look and see how he has dealt with us, and then give thanks to him, but with trembling awe in your hearts; let your own deeds acclaim him, king of all the ages. I, at least, in this land of exile, will be the spokesman of his praise, tell the story of his dread dealings with a sinful race. Come back, sinners, and do his will; doubt not that he will shew you mercy. Here at least, while I live, is a soul that finds content in him. Bless the Lord, souls whom the Lord has chosen; keep high festival in his honour.
Jerusalem, city of God, what divine punishments your own ill deeds have brought on you! Yet thank the Lord for the blessings that are yours, praise him, the eternal God. So may he rebuild your dwelling-place, recall your exiles, give you joy that shall last for ever. You shall yet shine with dazzling brightness, for all the ends of the world to worship you. From far away, nations shall come bringing their gifts, to worship the Lord within those walls of yours; shall reckon your soil holy ground, so great the name they shall invoke within you. Cursed shall they be that despise you, condemned shall they be that blaspheme you, blessed shall they be that build you again. What joy will you have of your children, a blessed race, gathered in the Lord's fold anew! A blessing on all that love you, on all that welcome your good news! Give thanks, my soul, to the Lord, the Lord our God who has delivered Jerusalem, his own city, from all the afflictions she endured; happy I count myself, if any posterity of mine is left to see Jerusalem in her splendour. Sapphire and emerald Jerusalem's gates shall be, of precious stones the wall that rings her round; shining white and clean the pavement of her streets; no quarter of her but shall echo the Alleluia-chant of praise. Blessed be the Lord, that has set her on the heights; may he reign there for ever, reign for ever as her king. Amen.
Chapter 14
Such was the song of Tobias. He lived forty-two years after recovering his sight, lived to see his great-grand-children; then, dying at the age of a hundred and two, he was buried with due honour in the town of Nineve. He lost his sight at the age of fifty-six, recovered it at the age of sixty, and lived out the rest of his life in great content, his course ever untroubled, his conscience ever more tender towards God.
On his death-bed, he called his seven grandsons to him, with their father Tobias, and spoke thus: The Lord's words must needs come true; it will not be long before Nineve is destroyed. After that, our exiled brethren will be able to return to the land of Israel; the deserted country-side will be populous once again, and its temple long since destroyed by fire, will be built anew, and all those who fear God will find their way back to it. Then the Gentiles, too, will forsake their false gods; will betake themselves to Jerusalem, and find a home there; all the kings of the earth will take pride in it, as they pay worship to the king who reigns in Israel.
This, then, my sons, is your father's testament: Keep true to the Lord's service, studying ever to carry out his will; and hand on this charge to your children, that they should do what the law enjoins and give alms freely, that they should keep God ever in mind, offering him faithful praise at all times, and with all their strength. And you, my sons, heed well this warning of mine; do not linger in this country, but leave it as soon as you have laid your mother to rest at my side, to share my grave; there is guilt at Nineve, I see well, that must needs bring it to ruin.
So, when his mother died, Tobias, with his wife, sons and grandsons left Nineve. He betook himself to his wife's parents instead, and found them thriving still, well content in their old age. Tenderly he cared for them, and when they died it was he that closed their eyes in death. Then he became heir to all Raguel possessed, and himself lived to see a fresh generation yet, descendants of his own. Ninety-nine years he lived in the fear of God, and with full hearts they buried him. No kith or kin of his but persevered in uprightness and holy living; God's favour they had and man's alike, well loved by all their neighbours.
THE BOOK OF JUDITH
Chapter 1
Arphaxad, king of Media, the conqueror of many nations, built a princely city, which he called Ecbatana. Of stones cut and squared he built it, with walls seventy cubits thick and thirty cubits high, and towers reaching the height of a hundred cubits. Each of these towers was twenty feet square, and at the foot of them he set gates to match their height. And he boasted much of his great army, of his fine chariots; till at last war was levied upon him by the Assyrian king Nabuchodonosor, then in the twelfth year of his reign, with his capital at Nineve. This Nabuchodonosor defeated him in the great plain called Ragua, where Euphrates flows, and Tigris, and Jadason, in the lowland country belonging to Erioch, king of the Elici.
Thus to Nabuchodonosor in his turn, came power and pride. To distant lands he had sent out his demand for aid; to Cilicia, Damascus, and the Lebanon, to Carmel, and Cedar, and Galilee about the wide Esdrelon plain, Samaria, and all the country beyond Jordan as far as Jerusalem, and the land of Gessen right up to the borders of Ethiopia. And of all the peoples to whom Nabuchodonosor, the Assyrian king, sent out his messengers, there was not one but had refused, and sent them away thwarted and despised. So now, in anger, Nabuchodonosor swore by his royal throne to avenge himself on these countries, one and all.
Chapter 2
It was on the twenty-second day of the first month, in the thirteenth year of his reign, that this resolve was taken at Nabuchodonosor's court. He summoned all his councillors, chieftains and commanders, and put before them his secret design; his thought, he told them, was to bring the whole world under his allegiance. With this, all agreed; whereupon he summoned Holofernes, that commanded his forces, and said, March out and make war on the western kingdoms, those especially that made light of my summons. Nowhere let pity melt your eye; no fortified town but must be brought under my dominion.
Thereupon Holofernes summoned all the chieftains and commanders of the Assyrian army, and mustered a force to march out and do the king's bidding, a hundred and twenty thousand that went on foot, and twelve thousand mounted archers. And his baggage-train he sent on beforehand, a long array of camels, well laden with all his army needed, herds of oxen, too, and flocks of sheep, past all counting. A supply of corn from the whole of Syria was to meet him as he passed, and he had great store of gold and silver from the royal treasury.
Then he himself set out at the head of his forces, chariots and horsemen and archers and the rest, that swarmed like locusts on the ground.
Leaving Assyria, he first reached the high mountains of Ange, on the left-hand side of Cilicia, scaling all their fastnesses and reducing all their garrisons. Then he broke into the city of Melothi, that resisted him stubbornly, and ravaged all the country which belonged to the sons of Tharsis, and to the Ismaelites, facing the desert, to the south of Cellon. Then he crossed Euphrates into Mesopotamia, and stormed every stronghold between the river Mambre and the sea. All the land of Mesopotamia he overran, from Cilicia on the north to the frontier of Japheth on the south, drove the Madianites from their homes and plundered their goods, putting all who resisted him to the sword. And at last he came down on to the plain of Damascus, in harvest time, burnt all the crops there and had all the trees and vine's yards cut down. And a great dread of him fell upon the whole country-side.
Chapter 3
And now from every city and province, from the Syrians of Mesopotamia and Sobal and from (Libya and) Cilicia, king and chieftain sent envoys to Holofernes. Spare us your further vengeance, they said; better we should live as slaves to the great king Nabuchodonosor, under your commands, than be reduced by slaughter, undergoing massacre and slavery both. Cities and lands, mountain and hill and plain, ox and sheep and goat and horse and camel, all that we have, and our own households too, lie at your mercy; dispose of them all as you will; we, and our children with us, are your slaves. Come to us as our master, so you come to us in peace, and make what use you will of our surrender.
Then, with his horsemen and all his armed strength, he came down from the hill-country and made city and citizen his own, levying from their townships all the bravest men, all the picked warriors, for his own service. Such dread of him lay on these provinces, that chiefs and nobles came out from every town, with the common sort at their heels, to meet him, welcoming him with crowns and processions by torch-light, dancing in his honour to the music of tambour and flute. Yet might they not, even so, win over that relentless heart; cities must be razed to the ground, and forest-shrines cut down; king Nabuchodonosor had bidden him destroy all traces of the countryside gods, so that the nations overpowered by Holofernes might acknowledge no other god but himself. Then, after traversing the Syrian country of Sobal, and Apamea, and Mesopotamia, he reached the Idumaeans that dwelt in the land of Gabaa. Their cities surrendered to him, and he made a halt of thirty days there, during which he bade all the forces under his command rally to his side.
Chapter 4
Consternation fell on all the Israelites that dwelt in Juda, at the news of his coming; fear struck deep at their anxious hearts, that Jerusalem and its temple might fare as other cities and temples had fared. So they sent the word round all the Samaritan country, and back again to Jericho, that all the mountain-heights were to be occupied; the villages on them were put in a state of defence, and corn stored up in readiness for the campaign. Nay, the high priest Eliachim sent letters even further afield; the hill-folk that lived facing Esdrelon across the wide plain around Dothain, controlling the passes to the south, must occupy all the hill-paths leading to Jerusalem, standing ever on guard where the defile was narrowest. Such orders from Eliachim, the Lord's high priest, the Israelites faithfully carried out.
Meanwhile, in good earnest, the whole nation made appeal to the Lord, doing penance, men and women alike, with fast and prayer. Garb of sackcloth the priests wore, and bade the very infants lie prostrate before the temple gates; in sackcloth they veiled the Lord's own altar; and so with one voice they made appeal to the Lord, the God of Israel. Were they to see their children slaves, their women-folk allotted as spoil, their cities razed, their sanctuary profaned? Were they to become the scorn of the Gentiles? And Eliachim, the Lord's high priest, went about everywhere among the Israelite folk with words of comfort. Be sure, said he, that the Lord will listen to your plea, if you pray on, fast on, in his presence. Remember how Amelec, long ago, boasted of their overwhelming strength, of their great army, shields and chariots and horsemen; and it was by the holy prayers he offered, not by the sword, that the Lord's servant Moses defeated them. So shall it be with all Israel's enemies, will you but persevere in your undertaking. Thus encouraged, they kept their posture of entreaty, there in the Lord's presence; the very priests who offered him sacrifice, did so in sackcloth, with ashes on their heads; and with all their hearts they prayed, every one of them, that God would bring deliverance to his people of Israel.
Chapter 5
When news reached Holofernes, the Assyrian commander, that the Israelites were for offering resistance, and had secured the mountain passes, he broke out into a great fury of indignation. He summoned all the chiefs of Moab and Ammon to his presence; What folk are these, he asked, that would hold the mountain-heights? Are their cities so prosperous or so well defended, are they so brave or so numerous, have they a commander so skilled in war, that they alone defy us, and will not come out to meet and welcome us, like the other nations around them?
It was Achior, chief paramount of the Ammonites, that answered him. My lord, said he, if you will hear me out, I will tell the whole truth to your face, about these mountain-folk; never a false word shall you hear from me. They come of Chaldaean stock, but they made their abode in Mesopotamia, because they had no mind to worship the old gods of Chaldaea; gods a many their fathers' worship owned, but they forsook it, to worship one God only, the God of heaven. He it was bade them remove thence, and dwell in Charan. At a time when famine overspread the world, they took refuge in Egypt; and there, when four hundred years had passed, they had grown so numerous that there was no counting the muster of them. The king of Egypt oppressed them, forcing them to make bricks of clay and build cities for him; so they cried out to this Lord of theirs, and he smote the whole land of Egypt with plagues of every sort, till at last the Egyptians were fain to be rid of them. But not for long; plagued no more, they tried to capture the men of Israel and make slaves of them anew. To these, as they fled, the God of heaven opened a path through the sea, whose waves stood firm as a wall to right and left while they marched across its floor dry-shod; and when a great army from Egypt sought to follow them, it was overwhelmed in those waters, so that never a man escaped to tell his children the story.
The Red Sea once passed, they took for their own the desert country about Sinai, that never yet gave man a home, gave wanderer a resting-place; there from brackish fountains fresh water sprang, there, for forty years, heaven itself sent them nourishment. Go where they would, without bow or arrow, shield or spear, God fought for them, and won the victory; there was no beating down such a people as this, save when they forsook the worship of the Lord their God; only when they worshipped some god other than himself, their own God, would he let them be plundered, and slaughtered, and treated with insult. Even then, did they but repent of their revolt from his allegiance, the God of heaven would give them strength to resist their assailants. So it was they overthrew kings a many, Chanaanite and Jebusite, Pherezite and Hethite and Hevite; the Amorrhite king too, and all the warrior chiefs of Hesebon; took possession of their lands, and garrisoned their cities.
All went well with them, so long as no sin of theirs offended his eye, the God that is an enemy to all wrong. But there was a time, these many years back, when they forsook the old paths God had given them to follow; then, in battle after battle, nation after nation defeated them, and a multitude of them were borne away as captives into an alien land; it was but lately that they turned to their God again, and he reunited the scattered remnants of them. So they returned to these hills, and took possession anew of Jerusalem, where their sanctuary is. Of this, then, my lord, assure yourself first; has any guilt of theirs lost them the favour of their God? Then indeed march we against them; none more ready than this God of theirs to hand them over to you, fit subjects for your overmastering yoke. If fault he has none to find with his own people, then meet them in battle we may not; he himself will be their defender, and ours will be a plight for all the world to mock at.
At these words of Achior's, Holofernes lords were full of indignation, and thought to make an end of him. What talk is this? they said to one another. Can the men of Israel, without arms, without valour, without skill in war, hold out against king Nabuchodonosor and his troops? Scale we yonder heights, to prove Achior a liar, and when we have mastered the defenders, let Achior be put to the sword with the rest. Let us prove to the whole world that Nabuchodonosor rules it, and other god there is none.
Chapter 6
When their talk had died down, Holofernes himself, in a transport of rage, said to Achior, This, then, is your prophecy, that the race of Israel will find protection in their God? You have a lesson still to learn; that Nabuchodonosor is god, and he only. So be it; when the Israelites fall like one man, you too shall feel the sword of Assyria, and share their utter ruin. Proof you shall have first, that Nabuchodonosor is the world's supreme lord; then, no more breathing-space given you, you shall perish with the rest, shall lie where Israel lies, with Assyrian steel between your ribs. What, does your face fall, sir Oracle? Why those pale cheeks, if you know all my threats are vain? Nay, be assured you shall learn the truth when the Israelites learn it, no sooner. Henceforth your lot shall be thrown in with theirs; only when my sword falls on them shalt you feel my vengeance.
With that, Holofernes bade his men lay hold of Achior and bear him off to Bethulia, and so hand him over to the men of Israel. Lay hold of him they did, and set out on their journey across the plain, but when they reached the mountain spurs, out came slingers to meet them. So they let the mountains alone, tied Achior hand and foot to a tree, and went back to their master, leaving Achior there with the ropes round him. But now the men of Israel ventured down from Bethulia, and came to his side; he was set free and taken back to the town with them. There he must stand up before the general assembly of the people and satisfy their questioning: what moved the Assyrians to leave him thus bound?
The chieftains there at this time were the Simeonite, Ozias son of Micha, and Charmi, who was also called Gothoniel. Before these and all the elders, in full view of the people, Achior told them what answer he had made to Holofernes' question; how the bystanders had been for killing him outright; in what angry fashion Holofernes had given orders for his surrender to Israel, only so that he too, in the hour of their defeat, might be doomed to execution; and of all the punishments he was threatened with, only for saying, They have the God of heaven to defend them. When Achior had finished his story, the people bowed down with one accord, face to earth, offering the Lord worship and entreaty; all was weeping and lament. Lord, they cried, God of heaven and earth, leave not this insolence unregarded, our distress unrelieved, the prayer of your chosen servants unheeded! Give proof, now, that those who trust in you are never forsaken, that the presumptuous, who boast of their own strength, are ever brought low! So they made an end of weeping; and now, their day of public prayer over, they offered Achior consolation. The God of our fathers, they told him, will give you your reward. You have been the herald of his great deeds, and you shall live to see the downfall of your enemies. Then, when the Lord our God has granted his servants deliverance, may he still be with you, your own God, here in our midst; you and yours shall be made free of our company.
And now Ozias, dismissing the assembly, bade Achior to his house and made a great feast for him; all the elders, too, were bidden, and together they refreshed themselves, now the fast was over. But afterwards all the people were summoned from their homes anew; and in solemn assembly, the whole night long, they prayed to the God of Israel, to win deliverance.
Chapter 7
Next day, Holofernes ordered his troops to march on Bethulia. He had a hundred and twenty thousand foot and twenty-two thousand horse under his command, besides forced levies from the manhood of all the regions and cities he had overrun. This whole army now prepared to attack the Israelites, advancing up the mountain-slopes to a height which commands the Dothain plain, all the way from Belma to Chelmon, near Esdrelon. Face to earth the men of Israel bowed down, and threw dust on their heads, as they saw the enemy's numbers, beseeching God with one accord to grant his people deliverance; then, taking up their arms, they mounted guard over the approaches of the narrow defile that leads between the mountains, where they kept watch day and night. Holofernes, looking for a devious path to circumvent them, came upon the springs which fed their aqueduct, south of the city and beyond its enclosure; so he gave orders that their supply of water should be cut off. A few springs remained, not far from the wall, from which they still drew water, enough to revive their spirits but scarce enough to quench their thirst. This they did by stealth, but not unobserved; and now the men of Ammon and Moab offered their advice to Holofernes. Not in bow or lance, said they, do the Israelites put their trust; it is the hill-country that befriends them; these mountains with their headlong slopes are all the defence they need. Would you defeat them without battle joined? Then set a guard over these springs of theirs, and let them draw water no longer. Either you will compass their deaths, and no blood shed, or, worn down at last, they will yield into your hands the city they think impregnable.
This advice commended itself to Holofernes and his lords, and he set a hundred men to guard each of the wells all about. When this watch had been kept for twenty days together, the people of Bethulia had no water left in tank or cistern, not a full supply for one day; for now a daily allowance was made to each. Thereupon all of them, husbands and wives, young men and children, gathered about Ozias, all uttering a single cry of complaint. God give judgement, they said, between us and you; an ill turn you have done us, in refusing to come to terms with the Assyrians. Now God has given them the mastery over us; none brings aid; we lie at their mercy, cruelly undone by thirst. Come, muster all the citizens, and let us all surrender at discretion to the army of Holofernes. Better we should be prisoners, still thanking the Lord for our lives spared, than ourselves be slaughtered, first winning the whole world's reproaches by letting our wives and little ones be slaughtered before our very eyes. We adjure you by heaven and earth, and by the God of our fathers, who now takes such vengeance on us for our sins, to surrender the town to Holofernes army. If we must die, let it be a swift death at the sword's point, not a lingering death from this parching thirst.
All this was said, and with that the whole throng fell to weeping and lamenting bitterly; and for many hours together they cried out to God as with a single voice: We have taken part in our fathers sins; we are guilty men, rebels against you. Do you, in your great love, take pity on us; or if punished we must be, let it be under your own rod; do not abandon us, that still acknowledge your name, to the mercy of men who never knew you! Would you have the heathen asking, What has become of their God? At last they grew weary of their clamour; they had wept enough; and when silence was restored, Ozias rose from his place, bathed in tears, and spoke to them. Brethren, said he, be calm and patient. These five next days, let us still look to the Lord for deliverance; perhaps his anger will relent, perhaps he means to win himself fresh renown. If at the end of those five days no help has reached us, rest assured we will act on the counsel you have given.
Chapter 8
Now turn we to one whom all this news concerned; a widow called Judith, that was descended (from Ruben) through Merari, Idox, Joseph, Ozias, Elai, Jamnor, Gedeon, Raphaim, Achitob, Melchias, Enan, Nathanias, Salathiel and Simeon. She had been married to one Manasses, but lost him when the barley was a-reaping; he must needs be hurrying his men on as they bound the sheaves on his farm, while the sun beat fierce on his head, and of that stroke he died, and was laid to rest with his fathers, there in his native town of Bethulia. Judith had now been left a widow these three years and six months past; ever she dwelt cloistered among her maid-servants, in a secret bower she had made for herself on the roof of her house, wearing sackcloth about her waist and keeping fast continually, save on the sabbath and the new moon and what other holidays were observed in Israel. She was a woman very fair to see, and her husband had left her great wealth, a full household, and lands well stocked with cattle and sheep; a woman of high repute everywhere, and the Lord's devout worshipper; no man had a word to say in her dispraise.
This Judith, then, when she heard how Ozias had promised to surrender the city in five days time, would have two of the elders, Chabri and Charmi, pay her a visit. And thus she greeted them, Is it true Ozias has promised he will hand the city over to the Assyrians, if in five days no rescue comes to you? By what right, sirs, do you put the Lord's goodness to such a test? This is no way to win it; rather, we shall earn his displeasure, add fuel to his vengeance. What, would you set a date to the Lord's mercies, bid him keep tryst with you on a day of your own appointing? Well for us that he, at least, is patient; repent we, and with flowing tears ask his pardon! He will not overwhelm us with reproaches, as men do; not his the human anger that bursts into flame. Abate we our pride, and wait on him with chastened spirits; entreat him with tears to grant us relief at a time of his own choosing. Then shall we, who stand aghast now at the pride of our enemies, triumph in the reward of our humility. It is something that we have not followed the evil example of our forefathers, who forsook their own God and worshipped alien gods instead, dooming themselves thus to massacre, to plunder, and to insult at the hands of their enemies. At least we acknowledge one God, and him only. Wait we humbly till he sends us relief; he will avenge our wrongs by bringing misfortune on our enemies; he, the Lord our God, will bring the invader low, and disappoint him of his prize.
You, brethren, are among the elders of the people; their lives are in your charge. Yours to hearten them, by reminding them what trials our fathers underwent, to shew whether they were God's worshippers indeed; how Abraham was put to the proof, tested by long endurance, before he became God's friend; how Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and all who won God's favour, must be loyal to him under great affliction first. And what of those others, who could not hold out, submitting to the divine will, under these trials; who bore themselves impatiently, and did the Lord despite by complaining against him? These were the men the destroying angel slew, the men who fell a prey to serpents. It is our turn to suffer now, and never a word said in remonstrance; think we the Lord's rod too light a punishment for our sins, believe we that he is punishing us as his servants, to chasten, not to destroy.
All you say is true, Ozias and the elders confessed, beyond cavil. Pray for us, holy woman as you are, and the Lord's true worshipper. Why then, said Judith, if you recognize the words I say as God's words, judge for yourselves whether the deed I mean to do is of God's ordaining; and pray him to bring my design to effect. Stand at the gate this night, while I pass beyond it with my handmaid for company, and pray that the Lord bring Israel relief within the five days you spoke of. But what my design is, never ask me; till I come back and give you news, I would have nothing of you but your prayers to the Lord our God. Go in peace, Ozias said, and the Lord be with you, to the confusion of our enemies. And with that they left her, and withdrew.
Chapter 9
When they had gone, Judith went to her place of prayer, sackcloth her garb, ashes sprinkled over her head, and thus, falling down before the Lord, she cried for mercy: Lord God of my father Simeon, you did put a sword in his hand to punish the alien for foul wrong done, for a virgin stripped and shamed; you did mark down their wives for spoil, their daughters for slavery, their goods as forfeit, to reward the men who had your honour at heart. Listen now, Lord my God, to a widow's prayer. Yours are the deeds of long ago; that this event should succeed that, was of your contriving; all your designs are long a-brewing, all your awards made in full foreknowledge.
Turn your eyes now to yonder Assyrian camp, as you did let them fall long ago on the Egyptians, the armed host that went in pursuit of your servants, boasting so proudly of its chariots and horsemen, its warrior strength. One glance from you, and on that camp darkness fell; their feet were sucked down into the depths, and the waters closed above them! So be it, Lord, with these others, that boast of their great array, now of chariots, now of pike and shield, of arrow and lance, and know not the name you bear, you, our God, crushing the invader still. Lift up your hand, as it was lifted up long ago; break power of theirs with power of yours! Helpless may they lie beneath your vengeance, who now think to profane your holy place, dishonour the very shrine of your name, violate, at the sword's point, the sanctity of your altar.
The sword of Holofernes! Lord, if it might be his own pride's undoing! Be eyes he casts on me a lure to catch himself, the professions of love I make, his death-blow! Too bold be my heart to fear, too resolute to spare him! Let him fall by a woman's hand, and all the glory of it will be ascribed to your name. Not in the mustering of great armies, Lord, your power is shewn; not on the well-horsed warrior your choice falls; never did boasting earn your favour. Still from a humble soul, an obedient will, the prayer must come that wins you. God of the heavens, maker of the floods, Lord of this universal frame, listen to the defenceless plea of one who trusts only in your mercy. Bethink you, Lord, of your covenant; grant my lips utterance, my heart firm resolve; so shall your temple ever remain inviolate, so shall all the Gentiles learn that you are God, and have none to rival you.
Chapter 10
Then, her plea for the divine succour ended, Judith rose from the ground where she lay prostrate in the Lord's presence, called her maidservant to her, and went downstairs into her house. Flung aside, now, the sackcloth, folded away her widow's weeds; she bathed herself, anointed herself with the finest myrrh, parted and tied her hair. The garments of happier days she donned anew, put on her sandals, took bracelet and anklet, ear-ring and finger-ring; decked herself with every ornament she had. The Lord himself lent grace to her mien; manly resolve, not woman's wantonness, was the occasion of her finery, and he would enhance her beauty till all beholders should vow there was never woman so fair. A bottle of wine she bade her serving-maid carry, and a phial of oil, parched corn and dry figs, and bread, and cheese, and so she went out on her journey. When they reached the gates, they found Ozias and the elders of the city awaiting them there; and no sooner did these catch sight of her, than they fell into a great wonderment of her beauty. Still they did not question her, but let her pass; May the God of our fathers, they said, grant you his favour, and his strength speed whatever design is in your heart. Cause may Jerusalem have to be proud of you; may your name live among the holy and the just! And all the bystanders, as with one voice, said Amen to that.
No sooner did she stand before him, than Holofernes eyes made him her prisoner. Meanwhile, his lords were saying to one another, Who shall belittle the Hebrew folk, or doubt they are worth the attacking, when for prize there are such women as this? As for Judith, she saw only Holofernes, as he sat there with a canopy over him, a canopy of purple, with gold and emeralds and other precious stones worked into it. She looked him full in the face, then did reverence, bowing down to earth, until his servants raised her to her feet, at their master's bidding.
Chapter 11
Compose yourself, Holofernes said; no need your heart should misgive you. None ever yet came to harm through me, that would do homage to my lord Nabuchodonosor; never had lance of mine been raised against your own people, if they had not defied me. Tell me, what moved you to part from their company and betake yourself to us? My lord, said Judith, I have counsel for you; do but take the advice this handmaid of yours offers, and the Lord shall do great things with you. By the life of Nabuchodonosor I swear it, by the power of Nabuchodonosor, committed to you here and now for the punishment of rebellious spirits! All men, nay, the brute beasts themselves, you tame to his will; of your unwearied labours all nations know; a world acclaims you for the best and great of his subjects; no province but speaks of your wise government.
It is common knowledge among us what Achior said to you, and what doom you have pronounced in return. His words have come true; God is indeed angered by our sins, so angered that he has sent warning through his prophets, he means to put our guilty race in your power, and if the Israelites tremble at your coming, it is because they know they have lost their God's favour. And now, with famine threatening them doomed to perish from lack of water, they have taken a worse resolve. They mean to kill their cattle and drink the blood; they mean to satisfy their own needs with the hallowed corn, wine, and oil offered to the Lord their God, tasting what they are forbidden to touch. This done, it is certain they will involve themselves in ruin. Hearing such news, what marvel if I shun their fellowship? Your handmaid now; the Lord has sent me to tell you of all this. Your handmaid, but my own God I must still worship, though I be dwelling in your camp. Suffer me, my lord, to go beyond its bounds, and offer prayer to God; so he will make it known to me, when he means to punish their guilt, and I will come and tell you. Then I will take you into the heart of Jerusalem, and you will find the whole people of Israel defenceless as strayed sheep, not a dog to bark at you. It is God's providence has advised me of all this; his vengeance that has sent me to warn you of it.
This was welcome hearing for Holofernes and all that served under him; what prudence was hers! They told one another, Never was a woman such as this, so fair to look upon, so wise to listen to. And Holofernes said to her, God has been good indeed, sending you here in advance of your people, so as to give them up into our hands. These are fair promises you make; will he but bring them to fulfilment, your God shall be my God too, and you yourself, at Nabuchodonosor's court, shalt be held in high honour; wide as the world shall be your renown.
Chapter 12
And now Holofernes would have her repair to the tent where he kept his treasures, and lodge there; and he was for sending food to her there from his own table. But Judith told him, Eat I may not of the portion you would assign me; that were a grave fault; I have brought my own provisions with me. Ay, you have brought them, Holofernes said, but how if they should not suffice? How shall we fend for you? My lord, answered Judith, as you are a living man God will prosper your handmaid's undertaking before ever these are spent. So his servants shewed her to the tent he had designed for her; but as she entered it, she asked that she might be allowed to leave it each night, before day broke, and, praying, make her peace with the Lord. So he gave orders to his chamberlains, that for the next three days she should be allowed to come and go as she would, for the worship of her God; each night she went out to the vale of Bethulia, and washed herself in a fountain there, and prayed, as she came up out of the water, the God of Israel would speed her errand for his people's deliverance. Then she guarded herself against defilement by keeping her tent all day, till she made her meal at sun-down.
On the fourth day, Holofernes made a banquet for his own attendants, and sent his chamberlain Vagoa with an invitation to her. Prevail if you can, said he, on this Hebrew woman to grant me, of her own free will, her favours. (Great shame the Assyrians hold it in a man, if any woman fools him, and contrives to escape from his company unmolested.) So Vagoa waited on Judith, and said, Fair lady, make no scruple to appear as an honoured guest in my master's presence, to eat with him, and make merry over the wine. It is not for me, Judith answered, to gainsay my lord in this. Whim and will of his shall be whim and will of mine; I ask no better, all my life, than to obey his pleasure. With that, she rose up and threw her robe about her, and so made her way into Holofernes' presence; fast beat his heart within him such was his longing for her charms. Drink with me, he said; fall to, and make merry; you are right welcome. And Judith answered, Drink I will, my lord; never was a day in my life so proud as this. So she ate and drank with him, but only what her serving-maid had prepared for her. And Holofernes, basking in her smiles, drank ever deeper; never drank Holofernes as on that night.
Chapter 13
And now it was late; his attendants were fain to make for their beds, leaving Vagoa, the last of them, to shut the doors of the banqueting-room; the wine had made drowsy men of them. In the banqueting-room, Judith was now left alone, save for Holofernes, that lay full length on his couch by the table, in drunken sleep. Her maid she left at the door, to keep watch; she herself, standing by the couch, wept silently, and silently moved her lips in prayer. Lord God of Israel, she said, give me strength! Now guide these hands aright, and give Jerusalem the relief you have promised; now be the task performed, but for the hope of your aid, undreamed of! With that, she went to the head of the couch, and unfastened the scimitar that hung there; unsheathed it, and caught the sleeping man by the hair; Lord God, she said, strengthen me now! Twice the scimitar fell on his neck, and cut clean through it; down came the canopy from the pillars, down fell the headless body to the earth, and ere long she was at the doors, giving the severed head to her maid-servant and bidding her thrust it away into the wallet she carried. Then they went out, both of them, right through the camp, as if bound on their customary errand of prayer; but this time they took the winding path along the valley, right up to the city gates.
Far away rang the cry of Judith to the watchmen on the city walls, Open the gates! God is on our side. Open the gates! His power yet lives in Israel. These, upon hearing her voice, ran to tell the elders of the city, and all, high and low, went out to meet her; they had thought never to see her again. There, by torch-light, they gathered round her, and she, mounting on to higher ground, bade them keep silence. Silence was made, and thus Judith began, Praise the Lord our God; he does not forsake those who put their trust in him. Through me, his handmaid, deliverance has come to Israel's race, as he promised; through me, this night, the enemy of his people lies slain. With that, she took Holofernes' head out of the wallet where it lay hidden. Look upon, this head, she cried, and know that the Assyrian army has lost its general. Look upon this, the canopy he lay under, in drunken sleep, when the Lord our God smote him, and by the hand of a woman. And, as the Lord is a living God, well did his angel watch over me, thither going, there abiding, and thence returning. The Lord would not have his own handmaid stained with sin; he has brought me back to you inviolate, to glory in his triumph, my preservation, and your deliverance. One and all, then, give thanks to the Lord; the Lord is gracious, his mercy endures for ever!
Thereupon all of them offered the Lord worship; and to her they said, With his own power the Lord has blessed you, and by your means has brought our enemies to nothing! And Ozias, that was the Israelites commander, said to her, Blessing be yours, my daughter, from the Lord God, the most high, such as no other woman on earth can claim! Blessed be the Lord, maker of heaven and earth, for sending you out to wound the head of our arch-enemy. Such high renown he has given you this day, that the praise of you shall never die on men's lips, so long as they hold the Lord's power in remembrance. Your own life you would not prize, when your countrymen were in need and great affliction; you would avert our ruin, with our God to speed you. And to that all the people said Amen.
Then Achior was summoned, and thus Judith greeted him: No credit have you lost, by averring that the God of Israel did not spare his enemies; by my hand, this night, he has cut down the chief of those who gave you the lie. Was it not Holofernes that defied the God of Israel, in his proud insolence and threatened yourself with death? When Israel was conquered, you too, he said, should be put to the sword. To prove which was the truer prophet, here is his head. Upon seeing the head of Holofernes, Achior was in such a great taking of fear that he fell to earth in a swoon. Then, coming back to his senses and taking heart again, he did reverence, bowing low at her feet; Wherever the sons of Jacob dwell, said he, God has made your name a name of blessing; wherever your renown reaches through the world, the God of Israel shall be glorified in the telling of it.
Chapter 14
Hang we this head from the battlements, Judith said to the people; and now, brethren, here is my plan. At sunrise, arm all of you, and go out to the attack; but this attack of yours will be a feint, you will not go down into the plain. It will suffice to make the advance guards retreat, and rouse their general; and when their leaders hasten to the tent of Holofernes, to find his headless body lying in a pool of blood, they will be overcome by terror. Then, once assured that they are ready for flight, go out after them undismayed, and the Lord will beat them to dust under your feet.
(Meanwhile Achior, such visible proof before his eyes of what Israel's God could do, cast heathenry aside and learned to believe in God. He would be circumcised, and reckoned among Israel's folk, and so his posterity remain to this day.)
No sooner was day dawned, and Holofernes' head raised aloft on the battlements, than all took up their arms, and sallied out with a great stir and noise of shouting, whereupon the enemy's advance guard hastened back to Holofernes' tent. The guards there went to the door of the banqueting-room and bustled to and fro; rouse their lord they must, but they had rather make this show of commotion and disturb him with their din than wake him outright; never a man in the Assyrian army durst knock at the door or go in. But now chief and captain and commander in the Assyrian king's service were waiting there, and they said to Holofernes' attendants, Go in and rouse him; these Israelite rats have left their holes, and are boldly offering battle. Upon this, Vagoa went into the room where he lay, and stood behind the curtain clapping his hands; no doubt had he but Holofernes was there with Judith for his bed-fellow. Then, when his ears told him that the sleeper had not moved, he went closer to the curtain and lifted it. And when he saw the headless body of Holofernes lying there on the ground, weltering in its own blood, he gave a loud cry of lament, and tore his garments about him. Making his way to Judith's tent, and finding her gone, he ran out to where the others stood; here is great despite done, he cried, to the court of king Nabuchodonosor, and one Jewish woman its author! Holofernes lies there felled to the earth, and no head on his body!
At this news, all the Assyrian leaders tore their garments; a craven fear fell on them they could not master, and their spirits were cowed utterly; never was such a cry as went up then from the heart of the Assyrian camp.
Chapter 15
When word of this outrage upon Holofernes spread through the army, plan and purpose had they none; taking counsel only of the fear that shook their limbs, they sought refuge in flight. None might say a word to his neighbour, none might lift his head; they left all behind, and hastened to make good their escape from the rumoured onslaught of the Hebrews, some taking the roads across the plain, some the mountain tracks. The Israelites, when they saw their backs turned, went in pursuit, and swept down the hill-side with blowing of trumpets and a great shouting at their heels. The Assyrians, in their headlong flight, could not hold together, and their enemies, pursuing them in orderly array, need only catch them to overpower them; so Ozias sent out messengers to all Israel, city-dwellers and country-dwellers alike, and none but sent out the flower of their manhood, ready armed for the pursuit. At the sword's point they followed them, to the very frontiers of their domain. As for the folk who had been left behind in Bethulia, they made their way into the Assyrian camp, from where they carried off all the Assyrians had left behind when they fled, and it was no light load they brought home with them. When the victorious army returned, with the spoils taken from their enemies, there was no counting the cattle and the pack-beasts and the plunder of all sorts; none, high or low, but was enriched with the booty.
And now the high priest Joacim came to Bethulia, with all that were his fellow elders at Jerusalem, asking to see Judith; and when she answered his summons, all with one voice began to extol her; you are the boast of Jerusalem, the joy of Israel, the pride of our people; you have played a man's part, and kept your courage high. Not unrewarded your love of chastity, that would never take a second husband in your widowhood; the Lord gave you firmness of resolve, and your name shall be ever blessed. And to that all the people said Amen.
Scarce did thirty days suffice for the men of Israel to gather the Assyrian spoils. Among these, all that proved to be Holofernes' own went to Judith herself, gold and silver, clothes and jewels, and furniture of every sort; all these the people handed over to her, keeping high festival, while man and maid, wed and unwedded, played flute and harp together.
Chapter 16
Then Judith herself sang to the Lord, and this was Judith's song: Strike up, tambour, and cymbals beat in the Lord's honour, sound a fresh song of praise; high enthrone him, call aloud upon his name! What power divine crushes the enemy, but the Lord's great name? Here in the midst of his people he lies encamped; come what enemy may, he grants deliverance. Came the Assyrian from the northern hills in his great strength, the valleys choked with his marching columns, the mountain glens black with his horses; to send fire through our country-side, put our warriors to the sword, mark down our children for slavery, our maidens for spoil. Great despite the Lord Almighty did him, that he should fall into a woman's power for his death-blow. Not by warriors' hands the tyrant fell; not giants smote him, not heroes of the old time barred his path; it was Judith, Merari's daughter, Judith's fair face that was his undoing. Laid aside, now, her widow's weeds; festal her array must be; a feast waits for the sons of Israel. Ointment, there, for her cheeks, a band for her straying locks, a robe new-wrought to ensnare him! Her very sandals thralled his eyes; he lay there, his heart beauty's prisoner, while the sharp steel pierced his neck through. Stood Persian, stood Mede aghast at the boldness of her resolve; loud rang the cry of the Assyrian camp, when the hard-pressed defenders sallied out against them, parched with thirst! Slaves, did they call us? But we gave them cold steel; cut them down where, like slaves, they ran; one glance from the Lord our God, and the battle was lost.
A hymn, a new hymn, sing we to the Lord our God. Great and glorious you are, Lord Adonai; there is no outmatching your wondrous power. Let all your creatures do you service; were they not made at your word, fashioned by a breath from you? When you command, none but must obey. Rain-swept, the mountains quake from their depths, the rocks melt like wax at your coming. Yet great, by your measure, are those that fear you, in all their doings great. Woe to the nations that levy war on my people; when the time comes for judgement, the Lord Almighty will execute vengeance on them; he will not spare. Their flesh the fire shall scorch, the worm shall devour; lament they must and bear their pain for ever.
And now, their victory won, all went to Jerusalem to worship the Lord there; once they were cleansed of defilement, burnt-sacrifice was done, vow and promise were paid by all alike. As for Judith, she kept none of Holofernes' spoil, that the people had given her, nor the canopy she had carried off from his banqueting-room, for herself; she offered them up as a thing forfeit. High festival the people kept, there before the sanctuary; for three whole months they solemnized their victory, and Judith among them. Then they dispersed to their homes, and Judith, back at Bethulia, was held in great renown; in all Israel, none so honoured as she. So well, in her, did chastity mate with valour; once her husband was dead, she never had knowledge of man again. When she left her house on festival days, great reverence was hers indeed. And for the serving-maid, Judith let her go free.
There, then, Judith lived on in her husband's dwelling-place, and a hundred and five years had passed before she was laid to rest at his side at Bethulia; and the whole people bewailed her for seven days together. All the while she lived, and long after her death, was never enemy that disturbed the peace of Israel. In the Hebrew calendar, a day of rejoicing commemorates her victory; in such honour have the Jews held it from that day to this.
THE BOOK OF ESTHER
Chapter 1
Now turn we to the days of Assuerus, that was lord of a hundred and twenty-seven provinces, from India on this side to Ethiopia on that, and was firmly established on the throne of his kingdom, with the city of Susan for his capital. It was now the third year of his reign, and he held high feast for all his lords and vassals; Persian warriors, Median notables, and the governor of every province, were his guests. All should have proof of his royal splendour, of the power and pride that were his; and long they kept holiday, for a hundred and eighty days together. And when the festivity drew to an end, he would entertain all the folk of Susan, high and low; for a whole week a banquet was spread for them at the gates of his garden, amid trees planted by art at the royal bidding. On every side, fastened by ivory rings to marble columns, hung canopies, some white, some flaxen, some violet, with cords of fine linen and purple thread; couches of gold and silver were set here and there on a floor of malachite and marble, wondrously patterned. From golden cups they drank, and the very trenchers on which the meat was served were ever of new design. Wine they had in plenty, and of rare vintage, as befitted a king's state; nor was any man compelled to drink; the king had set one of his nobles at the head of each table, bidding him see that each man drank as drink he would. For the women the queen, Vasthi, held a banquet too, in Assuerus own palace.
The seventh day had come; the king's heart was merry, warmed by long draughts of wine; and now he had an errand for the seven chamberlains that waited on him, Maumam, Bazatha, Harbona, Bagatha, Abgatha, Zethar and Charchas. They were to bring queen Vasthi into the king's presence, wearing the royal crown, so that he might display her person to the rabble as well as to his lords; hers was no common beauty. Vain was the royal summons the chamberlains brought her; she would not come. Whereupon the king broke out into a great passion of rage, and was fain to take counsel of the wise men that were ever about his person, after the fashion of courts; theirs was still the advice he followed, theirs the knowledge of ancient law and precedent. (The chief of them, and the nearest to his person, were Charsena, Sethar, Admatha, Tharsis, Mares, Marsana and Mamuchan; these seven princes of Persia and Media attended on him always, and had places next himself.) What sentence should he pass on queen Vasthi, to whom he, king Assuerus, had sent a summons through his chamberlains, and in vain?
Thereupon, in the hearing of the king and his nobles, Mamuchan thus spoke: Queen Vasthi has put a slight, not upon the king's grace only, but on all men, high and low, in his dominions. All our women-folk will hear what she has done, and all will set their husbands at defiance, reminding them how king Assuerus sent for queen Vasthi, and she would not come. Not a wife in Persia or Media but will disobey her husband more lightly for this example; the king has good reason to be angry. So please you, let an edict go out in your name, by the laws of Persia and Media irrevocable, forbidding Vasthi ever to come into the royal presence again. Let the crown pass to some head worthier than hers. In all the broad lands under your domain let this decree be published; so to all husbands, high and low, their wives shall pay due honour henceforward.
King and nobles liked the plan well, and the king did as Mamuchan had advised, sent a letter to each nation in the tongue it spoke, the characters it used, decreeing that a man should be lord and master in his own house, and the whole world must take note of it.
Chapter 2
With time, the rage of Assuerus cooled down, but he had not forgotten Vasthi's offence, or her dismissal. And now his courtiers and attendants offered him their counsel, It is time we made search for beauty and maidenhood, to console the king's grace. It would be well if commissioners were sent into all the provinces, to look out fair damsels that are maidens still, and bring them here to Susan. There let them be handed over to the chamberlain Egeus, that has charge of the women's quarters in the palace, and an allowance be made them for adding art to their beauty, and for all else they need. And she, who most of all wins the royal favour, shall be queen instead of Vasthi. The king liked this counsel well, and gave orders that it should be put into effect.
There was a Jew called Mardochaeus living at Susan, descended through Jair and Semei from Cis the Benjamite, who was carried off from Jerusalem by the Babylonian king Nabuchodonosor at the same time as king Jechonias of Juda. A ward this man had, a niece of his called Edissa, or Esther, that had lost both her parents. Beauty was hers of form and face, and when her parents died, Mardochaeus adopted her as his own daughter. In accordance with the king's bidding, Esther was carried off among many other fair maidens to Susan, and there handed over to the chamberlain Egeus, to be kept in waiting with the rest. Her charms won his favour, and he bade her attendant set about the anointing of her without more ado; choice foods should be allotted to her, and seven maids, the fairest in all the palace, to wait on her, adorning with all his art her person and theirs. Of her race and country she had told him nothing; concerning that, Mardochaeus had enjoined silence on her; and he himself walked to and fro, every day, before the lodging of those fair pensioners, so great was his care for Esther and of what would befall her.
It was a full twelvemonth before a maiden's turn came, to be the king's bride; first she must add art to her beauty, anointing herself for six months with oil, and for six with paints and powders. Ever the bride was given what adornment she would, and so, in finery of her own choosing, passed out from the maidens lodging to the royal bed-chamber. Each morning, the bride of yesternight was escorted to a new home, where the chamberlain Susagazi, master of the royal concubines, had charge of her, nor might she ever find her way back to the king, save at his will and on his express summons.
So the day came when it was the turn of Esther, Abihail's child, daughter now to his brother Mardochaeus, to be a king's bride. For her adorning, she had no request to make; let the chamberlain Egeus, since the maidens were under his charge, deck her as he would. But oh, she was fair; she had beauty past all belief, to win men's favour and their love. It was in Tebeth, the tenth month, in the seventh year of Assuerus' reign, that she was escorted to the royal bed-chamber. More than all those others she won the king's heart, more than all she enjoyed his loving favour; on her head he set the royal crown, and made her his queen in place of Vasthi. And he had a great feast prepared for all is his lords and vassals, Esther's bridal feast. To all his dominions he granted a public holiday, and made them gifts, with princely liberality, besides.
And now, the brides summoned and housed anew, Mardochaeus took up his post at the gates of the palace itself. Still faithful to his bidding, Esther had said no word about her race or her country; still, as in her nursery days, she remembered and did all he told her. And it was while Mardochaeus haunted the palace gates that two of the royal chamberlains, Bagathan and Thares, door-keepers both at the palace entry, grew disaffected, and would have made a murderous attack on the king's person. Mardochaeus came to hear of it, and told queen Esther; she, naming him as her informant, told her husband. The charge was investigated, and found true; the two conspirators were hanged, and the circumstance was put on record, being entered in the king's own archives.
Chapter 3
It was after this that king Assuerus bestowed high rank upon an Agagite, Aman the son of Amadathi, bidding him take precedence of all his other nobles. And all the royal attendants at the palace gates must bow the knee and do Aman reverence, such were their orders. But Mardochaeus went his own way, and would neither bow nor bend. Often the king's men asked him at the palace doors why he thus defied the royal bidding, but still he gave them no heed, till at last they told Aman of it. Would he still be so stiff in his opinions? They had learned from him by now that he was a Jew. Aman, when he heard their story, and proved the truth of it for himself, that Mardochaeus would neither bow nor bend, fell into a great passion of rage; and, hearing that he was a Jew, he would not be content with laying hands on Mardochaeus only; the whole race, throughout all Assuerus' dominions, should be brought to ruin for it. It was in the twelfth year of the reign, in Nisan, the first month of it, that the lot (which the Hebrews call Pur) was cast into the urn in Aman's presence, to determine the day and month when he would make an end of the Jews; and the month chosen was the twelfth month, Adar.
So now Aman said to king Assuerus, There is a race spread here and there throughout your domains that follows strange law and custom, in defiance of the royal decrees; judge whether it consorts with your royal dignity that licence should embolden them. Be it your pleasure to decree their destruction, and I promise you an increase of ten thousand talents to your revenue. There and then Assuerus took off the ring he wore on his hand, and gave it to the Agagite Aman, son of Amadathi, the Jews' enemy; Keep it for your own use, said he, the money you offer, and as for the people, do what you will with them. So, on the thirteenth day of that month, Nisan, the royal secretaries were summoned, and a decree was made in Aman's sense. Governor and chieftain must receive a letter, each in the language and the characters of his own province or tribe, sent in the name of king Assuerus and sealed with his royal seal. All through his dominions the couriers went out on their errand, bearing death and ruin to all the Jews, to young and old, to women and little children with the rest. The day fixed for their massacre and the seizing of their goods was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar. The tenour of the letter, sent out to warn all the provinces and have them in readiness for the stated day, was this... No time the couriers lost in following out the royal command; at Susan, the decree was posted up forthwith, and before the king and Aman had finished their wine, all the Jewish citizens were in tears.
Chapter 4
When the news reached Mardochaeus, he tore his garments about him; put on sackcloth, and sprinkled ashes on his head; and as he went through the open square in the heart of the city, loud lament betrayed the bitterness of his grief. Lamenting he made his way to the outer gates of the palace; further than that he might not go, into the royal court, with sackcloth for his wear. So it was everywhere; never a province, town or district the cruel edict reached but there was mourning and fasting, wailing and weeping among the Jewish folk, and of sackcloth and ashes many among them made their beds.
Esther heard, from her maidservants and from the chamberlains, what Mardochaeus did; she was bewildered at the news, and sent out clothes for him to wear instead of his sackcloth, but he would have none of it. Then she sent for Athach, the chamberlain whom the king had deputed for her needs, bidding him go and ask Mardochaeus what his doings meant. There in the public square, before the gate that led to the palace, Athach found him, and heard from him all the news; of the money Aman had promised to the royal treasury in return for the Jews destruction. Mardochaeus gave him a copy, too, of the edict which had been posted in Susan, bidding him shew it to the queen; go she must into the king's presence, and plead there the cause of her people. So Athach went back with his message. But she sent this answer: No subject of the king's grace, no province in his domains, but knows the inner court of the palace to be sacred. Man or woman entering it unbidden dies there and then; unless indeed the king should grant them life, by holding out his gold sceptre in token of pardon. These thirty days past I have not been summoned to the king's presence; how can I venture in?
Upon receiving this message, Mardochaeus answered, Do not flatter yourself that a royal court will shelter you in the general massacre of your countrymen. Keep silence, and the Jews will find some other means of deliverance; on you and yours destruction shall fall. Who knows, but you have reached the throne only to be ready for such an opportunity as this? Then Esther sent word, Go and muster all the Jews you can find in Susan, and pray for me. Spend three days and nights without food or drink, while I and my maidens fast too. Then I will break the law by appearing in the king's presence unsummoned, though I must die for it. And Mardochaeus went away, to do as Esther had bidden him.
Chapter 5
The third day came, and Esther put on her royal robes; and, so clad, made her appearance before the king's palace, within the royal (that is, the inner) court. There sat the king on his throne, in the palace council chamber, facing the main door; he saw Esther, his queen, standing there without, and the sight of her won his heart. Out went the golden sceptre he bore, and as she drew near to kiss the tip of it, Why, Esther, said he, what is your errand? Ask me for half my kingdom, and it is yours. My lord king, she answered, do me the honour of dining with me to-day; I have a feast prepared; and bring Aman with you. The king, without more ado, had Aman summoned to wait, there and then, on Esther's pleasure; and both of them went to the feast she had prepared. Deep drank the king that day, and said to Esther, What would you? Tell me what your desire is? Be it half my kingdom, it shall not be denied you. What would I have? said she. I ask no more than this; since the king's grace is ready to humour my whim, to grant me what I ask, do me the favour to dine with me to-morrow, and Aman with you; then I will make known to the royal ear what my request is.
A proud man was Aman that day, and he went home treading on air. But Mardochaeus still sat at the palace door; rise up he would not, nor stir from his post. And Aman, seeing it, fell into a rage. He gave no mark of it then, but when he reached home he called all his friends about him, and his wife Zares among them, and opened his mind. He recounted to them how great his wealth was, how many children were his, what honour the king had done him by promoting him to be the chief of all his nobles and courtiers. More, he said; it was but this day queen Esther gave the king a banquet, and would have me and none other for his fellow-guest; to-morrow I must dine with her again, with the king present. All this is mine, he said, and all this is nothing to me, while I yet see Mardochaeus sitting there at the palace gate.
But they had a remedy for this, his wife Zares and those friends of his. Have a gallows made, fifty cubits high, so that tomorrow you can bid the king have Mardochaeus hanged on it. Then you may go light-hearted enough, to feast with the king. This counsel Aman liked well, and he gave his men orders to have a high gallows in readiness.
Chapter 6
All that night the king could not sleep; so he would have the annals of his reign brought to him, the record of times past, and they began to read these out in his presence. In the reading of them, they came upon the story of the plot made by two chamberlains, Bagathan and Thares, to murder the king, and how Mardochaeus gave information of it. And for this loyalty, the king asked, what honours or rewards were given to Mardochaeus? But page and courtier were agreed, Mardochaeus was never the better for it. Who is out there in the court? the king asked. It was Aman, come into the inner court to find audience with the king, and have Mardochaeus hanged on his gallows; so when they told him it was Aman, Let him come in, the king said.
Aman, said Assuerus, when he came in, what should a king do, if his heart is set on raising one of his subjects to great honour? And Aman, casting about in his mind, could think of no other man that would be so marked out for the royal favour, but himself. Why, said he, if such a man is to be honoured indeed, he should be dressed in royal robes, mounted on the king's own horse, and crowned with the royal crown; and let him ride through the city streets, with the noblest of all the king's vassals crying out at his bridle-rein, So he rides, whom most the king would honour. Lose no time, then, the king answered; bring robe and horse, and do as much yourself for the Jew Mardochaeus, that sits there at the palace gates. And have a care that none of the ceremonies you speak of goes unobserved.
So Aman must bring robe and horse, must dress Mardochaeus and mount him, and then go through the city streets at his bridle-rein, crying out, So he rides, whom most the king would honour. That done, Mardochaeus went back to his post at the palace gates, while Aman made the best of his way home, weeping loud and hiding away his head. To his wife Zares and to all his friends he told the story of what befell; but from wife and counsellors he could get no comfort. If he is of the Jewish race, they said, this Mardochaeus who has begun to outmatch you, you will never get the better of him; yield to him you must. And even as they spoke, in came the royal chamberlains, and hurried him off to the feast the queen had prepared for him.
Chapter 7
So met they once again, the king and Aman, over the queen's wine. And once again, his heart warmed by drinking, Assuerus would know what Esther's mind might be; what was it she would have? Half of his kingdom should be hers for the asking. My lord king, she said, if this is indeed your gracious pleasure, one gift I would ask, my life; one boon, the preservation of my people. Must we be crushed to nothing, I and my people; must we perish by massacre? To that we are doomed. If we were only marked down for slaves and bondwomen, our lot should be bravely borne; I would have nursed my grief in silence. But here is an enemy whose cruel designs concern the king's grace. Who is this man? Assuerus asked. Where is the insolence to be found that would make such an attempt as this? One enemy we have, said Esther, one schemer's malice we fear, and he is here in your presence; Aman.
Upon hearing this, Aman was struck dumb, and could look neither king nor queen in the eyes. The king rose angrily from his place, left the banqueting-room, and went out to walk in the garden, among his trees. With that, Aman rose too, intent on winning his pardon from queen Esther; doubt he might not that the king was bent on his undoing. Thus minded, he fell sprawling across the couch on which Esther lay; and so the king found him, when he returned from garden to banqueting-room. What, cried he, will he ravish the queen before my eyes, and in my own house? And before the words were out of his mouth Aman was gagged and blindfold. And now Harbona, one of the chamberlains in attendance on the king's person, came forward; What of the gallows, said he, fifty cubits high, that stands there by Aman's house, ready for Mardochaeus, that saved the king's life? Let Aman himself hang on it, said the king. So Aman was hanged on the gallows he had raised for Mardochaeus; and with that, the king's angry mood was appeased.
Chapter 8
That same day, Assuerus made a present to Esther of Aman's house, that was the Jews' enemy, and gave audience to Mardochaeus; for now Esther had told him that this was her uncle. He took back, too, the ring he had bade Aman wear, and gave it to Mardochaeus instead; and Mardochaeus was given charge of Esther's house. Nor would Esther be content, till she had fallen weeping at the king's feet and prayed him to prevent the mischief Aman had thought to do by his false plotting against the Jews. The golden sceptre was held out, in sign of the royal favour, and she rose to her feet and stood fronting him. Please it the king's grace, she said, to look favourably on my suit, and find nothing in it to his disadvantage. I would have new dispatches sent out, to revoke the order made by Aman, our crafty enemy, for the slaying of the Jews in all your domains. How can I bear to see my own people exterminated by massacre? Nay, said the king to Esther and Mardochaeus; Aman's house I have granted to Esther, and Aman himself I have sent to the gallows, for daring to lift his hand against the Jews. But letters sent in the king's name and signed with his ring, by the custom of the realm, none must ever revoke. Write rather in my name, under the royal seal, orders for the Jewish people to obey, in whatever sense likes you best.
So, on the twenty-third day of the third month, Siban, they summoned notary and scribe of the royal household, and at Mardochaeus' bidding they issued orders to the Jewish people. Letters were sent to all the chieftains, governors and judges who ruled the hundred and twenty-seven provinces between India and Ethiopia, written to each province or tribe in the characters it used and in the language it spoke; to the Jews, in their own characters and their own language. And these letters, written under the royal seal in the king's name, were sent out by post-boys, that must carry them from province to province before the earlier decree could be executed. City by city the Jews must be brought together, so that they could muster their whole number and fight for their lives. They might slay their enemies till they made an end of them, with their wives and children and all their households, and divide their goods as plunder. The day fixed everywhere for this act of retribution was the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, Adar... A copy of the letter warning the Jews everywhere in Assuerus' empire, to be prepared for vengeance... Swiftly the post-boys went about their errand, and in Susan the royal edict was hung up for all to see.
When Mardochaeus came out from his audience with the king, resplendent in royal robes of violet and white, a gold crown on his head, his cloak of purple and lawn, the whole city welcomed him with rejoicing and applause; for the Jews, it was a dawn of new hope, a day of gladness and triumphant glory. As each tribe, city and province received the royal letter, there was feasting and carousal and holiday; and many there were, of alien race and alien creed, that submitted themselves to Jewish rite and observance; such terror the name of Jewry struck into their hearts.
Chapter 9
So Adar came, the last month of the year, and the thirteenth day of Adar. All preparations had been made, by bloodthirsty enemies, for a massacre of the Jews on that day, but instead, the Jews had the better of them, and could set about avenging themselves. City by city, town by town, region by region they banded themselves together, ready to strike the first blow against the men that hated and persecuted them. None dared withstand them, so widespread the fear their rise to power had engendered; judge and governor and chieftain, ruler and administrator everywhere had no praise too high for the Jewish people, for dread of Mardochaeus; did he not hold the first place at court, high in the royal favour? Every day his fame grew, and he was in all men's mouths. Great havoc the Jews wrought among their enemies that day, slaying the very men who had marked them down for slaughter; in Susan alone they put five hundred men to death, not counting the ten sons of Aman the Agagite. Ten sons he had, Pharsandatha, Delphon, Esphatha, Phoratha, Adalia, Aridatha, Phermestha, Arisai, Adirai and Jezatha; all these they slew, and would take nothing of theirs for plunder. And now, learning the number of those who had been killed at Susan, the king said to the queen, In Susan alone the Jews have slain five hundred men, and Aman's ten sons besides; here is massacre indeed, if in all my dominions they have done the like. Tell me, what more would you have me do for you? Please it the king's grace, she answered, let the Jews be free to continue this day's work tomorrow; and let the bodies of Aman's sons be hanged on gibbets. So the king gave orders as she asked. No sooner was the decree posted up, than gallows were made for the bodies of Aman's sons; and on the fourteenth day of Adar the Jews mustered afresh, killing three hundred citizens of Susan, but taking nothing of theirs for plunder.
All over the king's dominions, the Jews fought for their lives, and put to death the enemies that persecuted them, till seventy-five thousand of them lay slain, and no plunder taken. Everywhere it was on the thirteenth of Adar they began laying about them, and next day they slew no more; so it was this day, the fourteenth, they made into a holiday, to be observed thenceforward with feast, and rejoicing, and is carousal. In the city of Susan itself, the killing went on for two days; it was the fifteenth day, when their work was over, that they set apart for feasting and merry-making; but in the unwalled towns and villages round about, carouse and rejoicing and the sharing out of dainties began on the fourteenth. So Mardochaeus wrote to all the king's Jewish subjects, near and far, setting all this out and bidding them observe both the fourteenth and the fifteenth, year by year, as the days of Jewry's vengeance, when weeping and lament gave place to mirth and gladness. There was to be feasting on both days, and on both days rejoicing; dainties should be exchanged, and gifts made to the poor.
So the will they then had and the orders Mardochaeus sent became a yearly rite; to recall how Amadathi's son, Aman the Agagite, thought to vent his enmity against the Jews by murderously destroying them, and how he consulted Pur, the lot; how Esther sought audience with the king, praying for a royal decree that should thwart his design, and make his malice fall on his own head; and how Aman and his sons went to the gallows. This feast has ever been known as the feast of Purim, because of Aman's lot-taking. Here in this letter, nay, this book you have been reading, the whole story has been set out, deeds done, griefs borne, and strange vicissitudes. And the Jews pledged themselves and their children, with all who in after times should seek admission to their way of worship, to observe two days in each year, at the fixed time by this record determined. Never must the observance die out with the passing of years, where there are Jews living in any part of the world; in every city the feast of Lots must be kept by the Jews, and by all those on whom their ancestral customs are binding.
There was a second letter written by queen Esther, Abihail's daughter, and the Jew Mardochaeus, confirming this ordinance for ever; it went out to all the Jews in the hundred and twenty-seven provinces of Assuerus' realm, wishing them health and assuring them that they had her warrant for keeping Purim feast with yearly rejoicing. And they, at the bidding of Mardochaeus and Esther, bound themselves and their children to keep it in mind; the fasting, and the cries for aid, the casting of the lots, and all else that is recorded in this book, the book of Esther.
Chapter 10
This Assuerus received tribute from the whole mainland, and from the islands out at sea; how great his reign was, you may learn from the Annals of the Medes and Persians. There, too, you will read of the high honours to which he raised Mardochaeus; how Mardochaeus, a Jew, became next in rank to the king himself, a great name among Jewish names, a man well loved by his fellows, that sought his people's good and brought blessings on their race.
(So runs the Book of Esther in the Hebrew text, omitting certain passages which appear in the Septuagint Greek. In our Latin version, these additional passages have been collected at the end of the book, as in the translation given below. The remaining verses of this chapter, with verse 1 of chapter 11, occur at the end of the Septuagint Greek; they may, however, have been displaced, being an extract from some fuller narrative .The dream referred to is described in chapter 11.)
... All this has been God's doing, Mardochaeus said. I have not forgotten the dream I had, and all this was foretold in it; not a word but has come true. I dreamt of a little spring that grew into a river, spreading out into sun and sunlight, and so went rolling on in full tide. This was Esther, the king's bride that became his queen. I dreamt of two dragons; of these, I was one, and Aman the other. I dreamt of nations mustering for battle; these were the men that would have blotted out the Jewish name. And the single nation in my dream was Israel; did not Israel cry out to the Lord, and win his protection, win deliverance from its wrongs? Wondrous proof he gave of his power, for all the world so to see. Two dooms he ordained, one for God's people and one for the Gentiles, and either should take effect, all the world over, after an interval of time divinely decreed; then it was the Lord shewed he remembered his own people still, pitied his own servants still. With eager and glad hearts all must come together and observe that time, the fourteenth and fifteenth days of Adar, as long as Israel's race shall last.
Chapter 11
This document about the feast of Purim, said to have been translated by Lysimachus son of Ptolemy, a native of Jerusalem, was first made public in the fourth year of king Ptolemy and queen Cleopatra, by Dosithaeus, who claimed to be a priest of true Levite descent, and his son, who was also called Ptolemy.
(The remaining twelve verses of this chapter, and the whole of chapter 12, appear in the Septuagint Greek as the introduction to the whole book. In part, they are a duplicate of 2, 5, 6, 21-23, above.)
On the first day of the month Nisan, in the second year of the great Artaxerxes, a vision came in a dream to Mardochaeus the Benjamite, who was descended from Cis through Jairi and Semei. Although a Jew, he dwelt at Susan, and was a man of consequence in the royal court; he belonged to that band of exiles who were carried off from Jerusalem by Nabuchodonosor, king of Babylon, together with the king of Juda, Jechonias. His dream was this: Mutterings and uproar at first, thunder and earthquake, and commotion all over the world, and from these two dragons disengaged themselves, ready to join battle. Roused by their clamour, the whole world rose to levy war against one innocent nation; it was a time of darkness and of peril, of affliction and sore need, and great fear brooded over all the earth. Then this innocent nation, terrified by the misfortunes which threatened it, already marked down to die, cried out to the Lord. And at their so cry, a great river grew out of a little spring, and rolled on in full flood; the sun returned, and the sunlight, the weak triumphed now, and tyranny fell a prey to their onslaught. All this Mardochaeus saw, and rose from his bed still wondering what the divine purpose was; still the vision haunted his mind, and he longed to know what was the meaning of it.
Chapter 12
... At this time his days were passed at the king's palace, and two of the royal chamberlains, Bagatha and Thara, were much in his company. When he came to know their minds better, and read the secret of their ambitions, he became aware that they were plotting against the king's life, and warned the king of his danger. Both, upon examination, confessed their guilt, and were sent to execution; and the king had the story recorded in his archives; Mardochaeus himself has also left an account of it. The royal orders were, that he should be rewarded for the information given, and lodged at the palace; but already he had an enemy, Aman son of Amadathi, the Bugaean. This Aman was in high favour with the king, and owed both Mardochaeus and his nation a grudge for bringing the two chamberlains to their death.
(The following seven verses are found in the Septuagint Greek after above, with the rubric, Here is a copy of the letter.)
Chapter 13
The great king Artaxerxes, to the governors of the hundred and twenty-seven provinces between India and Ethiopia, and to all his vassal chiefs, sends greeting. Wide as I rule, the world's conqueror, I would not abuse this great power of mine; mild and indulgent my sway should be, and my subjects live in undisturbed tranquillity; peace is man's great boon. So I asked my counsellors how this end might best be achieved; and among them Aman, who ranks next to my person; no counsellor so wise or so trusty as he. He it was told me of a race scattered about the world that lives by strange laws and usages unknown to the rest of mankind; thinks lightly of the royal decrees, and by dissenting from them mars the concord of nations. Strange news that one people should revolt against the whole of mankind; should follow misguided customs, slight our edicts, and disturb the peaceful order of our empire! This Aman, next to the king in dignity, is one we reverence like a father; in all our provinces he is supreme. He will name the malefactors, who must be put to death with their wives and children, and no mercy shewn, on the fourteenth of Adar in this present year. In one day let them all be hurried to the grave, so that our realm may recover the peace they have denied it.
(The rest of this chapter, the whole of chapter 14 and chapter 15 verses 4-19 follow, in the Septuagint Greek, at the end of chapter 4 above.)
So Mardochaeus bethought him of all the Lord's great deeds in time past, and thus he prayed: Lord, you are the sovereign Lord and King of all things; nothing but is subject to your power; who then can withstand your will, if you are minded to deliver Israel? Heaven and earth and all that heaven's vault contains is your creation; your dominion is universal, your royalty unchallengeable. You know, who know all things, that if I refused proud Aman yonder my greeting, it was no pride of mine, no scorn, no ambition of mine that moved me. For Israel's sake, willingly enough would I kiss the dust his feet have trodden, did not fear withhold me from giving man that reverence which is God's due, from worshipping aught else than you my God. God of Abraham, our Lord and King, now as ever have mercy on your people, now when our enemies threaten to destroy us, and put an end to your ancient right. Will you make so little of the possession you did win for yourself in Egypt? Nay, listen to my prayer, have mercy on the people you claim for your own; turn our sadness, Lord, into rejoicing, and let us live to bless your name; do not silence the lips that sing your praise. Such was the mind, such was the prayer of all Israel, as they cried out to the Lord that day, with doom hanging over their heads.
Chapter 14
And what of queen Esther? She too had recourse to the Lord, in her fear of the danger that threatened. Laid aside were those royal robes of hers, her array must tell only of grief and lament; dust and dung should be all her anointing now. Her body she tamed with fasting; only her torn locks hung where once she had loved to adorn her beauty. In such guise she made her plea to the Lord, the God of Israel; Lord, our King, you reign alone; befriend a lonely heart that can find help nowhere but in you. The peril I must take upon me is plain to view. Lord, my childhood's lessons are still unforgotten; I know that Israel, for all time, is the people of your choice, chosen stock of a chosen race; I know that your warnings have come true, and if you have given our enemies the mastery, it is because we sinned against you, by worshipping the gods they worshipped; in all this, Lord, you are nothing to blame. But now they are not content with holding us down under a cruel yoke; strong in the fancied protection of these false gods, they would fain set all your promises aside, leave you no possession on earth at all. They would silence the voices that praise you, dim the glories of your temple and your altar; nothing must be heard but the chant of the Gentiles boasting of their false gods, offering their endless praises to a mortal king.
Lord, will you yield your sceptre to gods that are no gods? Must the heathen laugh over our downfall? Let their own scheming recoil on them; bring him to a swift end, the man who has loosed his fury on us! Lord, bethink you of our need, give proof of your power; Lord, that have no rival in heaven or earth, grant me confidence. Frame my utterance, as I speak with this fierce lord of mine, and embitter him against our enemy, bringing ruin on Aman and all that take Aman's part. So let your power deliver us; grant help where help save yours is none. Lord, you know all things; you know how I hate the splendours of a godless court, how unwillingly I mate with an alien lord, a lord uncircumcised. The sport of ill-chance, how little I love the proud emblem of royalty I must wear before the world! Loathsome to me as the rags we women cast aside, how gladly I tear it from my brow, in this cool hour! At Aman's board I would never sit; even the king's banquets have no taste for me, nor would I drink the wine from which he pours libation. Ever since they brought me here, comfort your handmaid had none, Lord God of Abraham, save in you! Lord, that have power over all men, listen to this cry of despair; save us all from the clutches of our enemies, and rid me of these fears that daunt me!
(The three verses which follow represent a section found by St Jerome as a detached fragment in the Latin version current before his time. But they correspond to the Septuagint Greek text of 4.8,where the Hebrew and Vulgate texts stop short after the words 'Go she must into the king's presence, and plead there the cause of her people'. This phrase, however, is verbally different in the Vulgate of 4. 8 and 15. 1. In our present context St Jerome has added the note, The speaker is evidently Mardochaeus.)
Chapter 15
... So he bade her claim audience with the king, and intercede for her people and for her country. Remember, said he, the days of your humbler fortunes, and how it was my care nurtured you. Now you are matched against Aman, that is next to the king's person; he pleads for our overthrow, and it is yours to plead for our preservation. Ask aid of the Lord, and seek the king's audience...
(The remaining verses of this chapter represent an alternative version, in the Septuagint Greek, of the opening of chapter 5, and resume the narrative from 14. 19 above, which is the end of chapter 4 in the Greek. The main phrases of 5. 1-2 can be distinguished here in 15. 4, 9, 15.)
When the third day came, she laid aside the garb of prayer, and put on all her fine array, queenly robes that dazzled the eye. One prayer she offered to the God who alone rules, alone can save; then bade two of her waiting-maids bear her company. On one she leant, as though her dainty form must needs be supported; the other followed her mistress as train-bearer. Alluring beauty of flushed cheek and shining eye hid a heart grief-stricken, a heart chilled with an overwhelming fear. Door after door she passed, till she reached the king's presence, where he sat on his royal throne, royally clad, amid a glitter of gold and jewels; terrible of mien. No sooner had he looked up, his fiery glance betraying his angry humour, than the queen swooned away; white went her cheeks, as she leaned her head, fainting, on the maid that stood by. And now God changed the king's mood all at once to mildness; he started from his throne in trembling haste, and was fain to hold her in his arms till she came to herself; and still with soothing words he reassured her: Esther, what is amiss with you? Were I your own brother, you had not less cause to fear. Your life is safe; to others the law forbids entry, never to you; you have but to come near, and touch my sceptre. And with that, for she was voiceless still, he raised his golden sceptre and touched her neck with it; then kissed her, and asked, What, have you no word for me? My lord, she said, the sight of you overawed me, as if I had seen one of God's angels; such reverence does your majesty inspire. For indeed, my lord, there is nothing about you but must be admired, nothing in your looks but is gracious. Even as she spoke, once again her strength failed her; and she was near to fainting; the king was all anxiety, and his courtiers must needs come about him, seeking to allay her fears.

(This chapter appears in the Septuagint Greek after 8. 12. The letter here given is addressed throughout to the king's Gentile subjects; which suggests that two separate missives are referred to in 8. 9.)
Chapter 16
The great king Artaxerxes, to the governors of the hundred and twenty-seven provinces between India and Ethiopia, and to all his vassal chiefs, sends greeting. The favour of princes has often bred insolence in those whom they advanced to high rank; they oppress their fellow-subjects, and are even prompted by their good fortune to plot against the authors of it; deaf to the claims of gratitude and of humanity, they think to escape the all-seeing scrutiny of God. A madness comes over them, and they assail with false charges the very men who win the praise of all by faithfulness to their duties; what easier, than to abuse with calumny the confidence of an unsuspecting ruler, who fancies all men to be as honest as himself? That men will so practise on the credulity of princes is evident both from history and from daily experience; no little foresight is needed, if the welfare of a great empire is to be preserved. The orders given yesterday must be reversed to-day; not from any caprice of ours, but because we have to consider the changing needs of the moment, in the best interests of the commonwealth.
But to our matter. We took under our protection, some time since, one Aman, son of Amadathi, a stranger; a Macedonian by race, with no share of our Persian blood, a Macedonian in his nature, whose cruel temper sorts ill with our Persian kindliness. He received from us nothing but friendly usage; we would have him called our father, we would have reverence paid to him as one that stood next to the king's person. And he? So was his heart swelled with pride, that he went about to deprive us of our royalty, and of life itself. First, with daring unheard-of, he would compass the death of two persons, through the general massacre of their race; Mardochaeus, to whose loyalty we owe life itself, and Esther, the queen-consort of our realm. Then, when their deaths had left us unbefriended, he would plot against our own empire and transfer it to the Macedonians. Meanwhile, the race this inhuman wretch had marked down for slaughter, the Jewish race, proves to have deserved no blame whatever. The laws they follow are just; they are the children of that most high, most powerful and ever-living God by whose favour my fathers won this realm, and I maintain it.
Take note, then, that the directions which were sent out by Aman under our name are to be left unheeded. He, the author of this plot, hangs now on a gibbet, here at the gates of Susan, with all his kindred; to God, not to us, thanks are due that he has received his deserts. The decree we are now sending you, giving the Jews liberty to follow their own laws, is to be posted up in every city of the realm; and you must furnish them with the means to make an end of all those who would have compassed their murder, on the thirteenth day of Adar, the last month of the year. Here is a day marked down for mourning and lament, turned by God Almighty into a day of triumph for them; you too must keep it as one of the year's holidays, and observe it with due rejoicing; so making it known to posterity that Persia's loyal subjects are well rewarded for their loyalty, and that all who plot against her sovereignty atone for their crime with death. Be there province or city that will not take its part in this observance, let it be laid waste with fire and sword; man nor beast shall tread its ways hereafter; to warn men what doom they suffer, that set edict of ours at defiance.