 
KARMA IN CHRISTIANITY

Charles Pradeep

Published by CinnamonTeal Publishing at Smashwords in 2011

First published in India in 2011 by CinnamonTeal Publishing

Copyright © 2011 Charles Pradeep

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ISBN 978–93-81542-12-5

Cover Illustration: 'Golden Serpent' Copyright © 2000 by Michael Parkes All rights reserved.

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Contents

Introduction

Chapter I - The Bible Story

\- The Old Testament

\- Author's Addendum

\- The Story of Job

\- The New Testament

Chapter II - The Biblical Life - In Perspective

Chapter III - A Travesty on Life

Chapter IV - The Gods, Angels & the Devils

Chapter V - The Prism \- Inverted

Chapter VI - Birth, Debt & Sudden Death

Chapter VII - In-Conclusion

About the author

Glossary

Preface & Acknowledgements

As I set out on this work during mid 2010, and during the course of discussion on the working title of this book 'Karma in Christianity', a good majority of my mates were rather bemused, confused, critical or neutral. They nevertheless understood the fact that it was a difficult concept to analyze. "What in the hell has karma got to do with Christianity?" was the most common retort and expectedly so. Karma along with the concept of reincarnation, for many, stands as a concept unique to India and Sanatana Dharma, or Hinduism. Therein lay the challenge for a credible message delivered with conviction, which could probably answer the above question.

Back in 2006, after taking a sabbatical from work with Accenture, I had set out on a different thesis on the 'Gods' in the bible. I, however, abandoned the work midway, as it had lost appeal even to my own self. It is my honest belief that any finished work has to be rendered in a living, breathing form which can be sensible and thought provoking to the reader. However, while doing my research, I studied the basic tenets of all major religions of the world and looked for similarities. This took me closer to the study of Sanatana Dharma or Vaidika Dharma or Hinduism as it is more prevalently called. Being the oldest known religious belief in the world, and based on the four Vedas and also on the Upanishads, the puranas and the great Indian epics, namely Mahabharatha and Ramayana, Sanatana Dharma greatly enlightened me on the aspects of the atman, the Brahman, Dharma, Shakti, maya, reincarnation and 'transmigration of the soul', fate, and needless to say, karma and many other aspects.

Armed with a reasonable level of understanding and with my thinking hat on, I thus ventured out again to seek for some semblance of similarities which may crop up in the other ancient religious beliefs of Christianity / Judaism / Islam, and then arose, this work. The direct references, narratives and comment for this work are drawn out of the Holy bible – The Authorized King James version (Zondervan Bible Publishers). For historical and geographical accuracy, I have referred to the second edition of 'The New Bible Dictionary' (Inter-Varsity Press, UK).

Any work, relating to any works or the words of God, is indeed to be done with the highest respect and reverence for all moral scriptures, which I hold in my mind. This is the work of a curious 'seeker' whose individual soul (atman) sought answers for some intriguing questions on faith and wished to share the findings with like-minded souls. 'Faith' is a very important ingredient even to believe in 'science', and essential to the belief of 'God' and religion. Though I have briefly dabbled on the scientific implications of evolution in the 'Introduction' and in Chapter III, I would rather leave the work of science in the hands of the scientists. For as much as 'science' has grown on to become 'rocket-science' in the last millennia, if work does not keep apace in the fields of theosophy and theology, moral malnutrition would abound and we may be struck with a famine for the soul. Let us therefore till some new ground on the old soil, and plant some new seeds on the moral high grounds and supplant old beliefs. Let us pray for the rain of wisdom and understanding, that the seeds of our thoughts may take root and nourish and enlighten us.

As I set out on this mission, I recount and wish to thank all the interesting and influential people whom I have come across (and can recollect), for all their contributions. In primacy, I thank the all pervading Almighty. My parents especially my mother Vimala - I thank for showing me the light of this world, and providing the platform to stage and shelter myself in. In high reverence and in prayers, I thank Mrs. Vasanthi Raghavan and Mr. T L Raghavan and their children Harini and Rajgopal, and also his wife Radha and their two children Prahlad and Sattvika. These are people who have helped and inspired me in keeping the light of my life alive, which my parents gave unto me.

I thank my friends, Akash, Gokul, Jai, Koshy, all the Manja's of Tumkur, Parameswaran, Prakash, Rajesh, Raj Prasad, Sharad, Srihari, Sudarshan, Late Sudhir, Vinod Nair, Vivek Rawat et al. Among the countless other folks, I would like to make a special mention of Amith Ghali, Deepak Sharma, Girish, Madhu Rao, Mukundan, Prathiba, Ramesh Krishnan, Ravi K, Rema P and her children, Sudhanshu Sharma, Sushreem Jadhav and to the many more who missed mention due to the lack of cranial RAM but are yet close to my heart.

A special word of thanks goes to Ms. Maria Sedoff and Mr. Michael Parkes for offering me the use of the work – 'Golden Serpent' for the cover of this book, and for their kind words of encouragement during our interactions.

Again, unto the most high and the 'One', I leave my forehead unto his toes for servitude and my humblest and most sincere prayers and pranams.

God bless us all.

Introduction

The laws of life and the laws of nature are universal and applicable to all life forms irrespective of faith, clan, caste, creed or colour and brand, breed or pedigree. All who are wounded physically bleed some form of blood, internally or externally. When a person is hurt physically or morally it causes pain. Pain has no form or humanly calculable value. Pleasure has no limits and usually has a price. Tomorrow is a perennial misnomer and a paradox because it never arrives. We do not know anything about time beyond 'now' as tangible and that 'present' is a slippery ground that we walk on, like on a treadmill. Now talk about corporate life, and life in the fast lane and you can see a picture emerging in your mind. But then, even in the slowest of lanes, we all have twenty-four hours in a day which passes by whether you like it or not and yet, logically no one can say, "I control time on my own terms".

When people of science talk of time and evolutionary history, a million years sounds like a mere speck of time. Distances of light years sound ridiculously simple, as the closest star apart from our sun is only about three or four light years away, with the farthest, going into hundreds of light years. Yet the same science is yet unable to explain how fuel and fire continue to burn in a controlled manner in a star or the sun, without incinerating itself like an atom bomb. Our own modest sun, a star in its own right has been burning bright for millions of years, and is expected to do so for the coming millions of years, with a near constant temperature. Mysteriously, all the constellations and the stars have stayed on in predictable orbits for millions of years. Ever wondered if the 'Big Bang' was a controlled explosion? Many a times, it feels that even as scientists search for needles in a haystack, they indeed are sitting on needles, to explain to us about a haystack. But the, we are not discussing science anyway!

Leaving science to answer specific scientific questions, and assuming that on God's command, the firmament of space and celestial bodies and the earth came to existence, it would yet have been eons ago. Science does come close to calculating those eons vide theories or practical proofs. Of course, science is centric to the 'Big bang' theory and on evolution of matter. Sanatana Dharma talks of Srishti (cycle of creation) or manuvantara (interim period between two Manu's – the progenitors of men), and the creation of the cosmos and other celestial beings, as well as all living entities. Christianity talks of God's creation of the firmaments of heaven and earth and the stars, thereby giving us a middle path to tread upon.

According to science, the basic form of life and even the evolution of apes to human life evolved a few million years ago. According to Sanatana Dharma, the time of human evolution is again calculable in millions of years (as mentioned by the highly evolved holy men called rishis), through the four various 'Yugas' or the four time spans, through an orally communicated, and a closely guarded learning system of the Vedas, which talk of the standards of life to be maintained by all classes of individuals. The timelines discussed in the Vedas do come close to hundreds of thousands of years in each Yuga, or a time period, thereby matching the timelines calculated by science. A recent work titled 'The Genesis Enigma' by Andrew Parker, a professor of science, attempts to prove the timelines of the Genesis era in the Bible, and does a commendable work on the timelines of evolution for the flora and fauna, starting even from the Cambrian explosion some five hundred and twenty million years back, but does little to prove the timelines of man's evolution. I would assume then that it would only be a question of time before somebody actually does.

A biblical man of the early Genesis period easily lived close to a thousand years. Adam supposedly lived for nine hundred and thirty years. Adam's son Seth, lived to be Nine hundred and twelve, and Methuselah lived to be nine hundred and sixty nine, recorded as one of the highest in longevity. However, the exception in that period was Methuselah's father Enoch; he saw no death, as at the age of three hundred and sixty five 'God took him'. A man that is born invariably has to give up his ghost and die, and that is the essential part of life, science and karma, and is indeed the tacit law of nature.

Ok, now what next after death? Is the body of the dead going to sleep in a grave / sepulchre, never to come back till the moon and the sun burn away until they are ash? What of the souls whose bodies are burnt, and they have nothing to wait with, till the end of world? Practically, the only things left of the dead would be the bones or ashes in either case. What good is the hope for man then? One could be stillborn or die at the age of six or sixty! Of what good is 'good and evil' then, or why should then one care for mere morals and morality or even mortality?

Christianity discusses the concept of the resurrection of the soul, and in a similar way, Sanatana Dharma discusses the concept of reincarnation of the atman. Soul and atman would definitely have to be translated in the same lines to essentially mean one and the same. That fundamentally means that there indeed is life after death, as recounted by both faiths, and the similarities seemingly end there. The Christian resurrection is supposed to happen only once, at the time of eventual judgment, and only the people who ever lived righteously attain Salvation, and the rest are supposedly cast into a perpetual hell fire, for eternity. However, in Sanatana Dharma the soul transmigrates endlessly, until it reaches or attains the state of Brahman, which indeed would roughly translate as Salvation or vice versa, if the translation does offend no one. For starters, these indeed are encouraging signs for a 'curiosity seeker'. As we proceed along, we will take a closer look to see if there is more to these concepts than meets the eye.

Karma, in its simplest form is explained as akin to Newton's third law of cause and effect: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. As you sow, so you reap. You sow wheat and shall reap nothing but wheat, you sow hatred and shall reap hatred, you do a good deed and good shall return to you. If you hurt someone or for that matter kill someone, either out of intent or out of ignorance / negligence, it is for the law of karma to see to that you to suffer so, in another instant. Or contrarily, you probably would have suffered so, at an earlier instant, and are / were merely repaying or encountering the fruits of that deed. Strangely, the bodies of many vegetarian Hindus get burnt by the wood of the trees, and conversely, most of the bodies of the consumers of flesh and meat, get eaten by maggots and worms when they are buried, and that then looks logically karmic! You eat off the tree and are consumed by the tree, and you eat off the flesh, and are consumed by another form of flesh.

Human life, if we are to take it at mere face value, springs forth a plethora of seemingly unanswerable questions, and life looks unequal to each individual. One comes across birth, death, suffering, pain, different ability and capability, anguish, sorrow, natural disasters, accidents, joy, happiness, money, power, sex, orientation, spiritualism etc. in unequal measures. Some are born rich, some are born in penury, some are lame, sick, healthy, or wealthy again in unequal measures. Science, nevertheless would not be able to answer the inequalities in the state of the 'human condition', and perhaps would not even be interested in attempting an answer, and hence religion seems a safe haven to shelter upon, to seek solace or Salvation. If however, different faiths talk of different concepts, and differ in the basic understanding of the human values of life and death, questions are indeed again bound to arise. The term 'blind faith' sounds like a misnomer, as seemingly and understandably so many seem to capitalize on keeping the faithful, blind! What of death and the human condition within the lifetime of a man, and the evident inequalities and iniquities and afflictions? Are they different for different religions? Are human beings caught in the crossfire between the lesser gods, and the greater gods, with Satan as the referee?

Sanatana Dharma answers many questions with relative simplicity vide the transmigration of the soul to another physical form, based on accumulated karmas. It also enumerates the many battles between the good and the evil, the many battles between the Sura's and the Asura's, and the eventual triumph of good over evil. But then, there are acres of ancient scripts on Sanatana Dharma, written by the highest of the sages and seers, and preserved for posterity. There had to be an answer somewhere within the confines of the Holy bible (all of around a thousand pages at best, considering the Authorized King James Version), as definitely there are many references in the bible, on the few occasions wherein, a handful of 'lucky' people were raised from the dead, by the prophets, Christ and his disciples. Jesus Christ himself rose from the dead on the third day. Lazarus, the brother of Mary Magdalene and Martha, seemed to be the most 'lucky' individual, in the fact that he was already 'dead' for four days before he was brought back to life. Also, there are scores of instances where the sick or the lame had been cured. Yet, all these miracles were performed with an instrument no less than 'faith'. Again, if a 'lucky' few had indeed had the chance to 'survive' death the first time, and then lived to tell their tales for a few more sunsets, till the time of their 'second' physical death, what of the other, 'not so lucky' majority? Are we missing something somewhere, or are the rest of us just plain 'unlucky'?

As we analyze a little more, the mysteries of the bible become all the more intriguing. As depicted or as often mentioned, is Satan / Devil really such a bad being as portrayed? Is he the only perpetrator of all ills and evils? And if he is so, would it not take a mere millisecond of a timeframe for the all powerful, all pervading God, to annihilate Satan and his band of 'bad' workers out of this universe, in order to wipe out all forms of 'evil' from the face of the earth? Coincidently, a good number of the major protagonists of the Old Testament seem to have held maleficent traits, and with questionable morals, as you would observe whilst reading the chapter on the bible story. What is the mystery behind such a portrayal? In the account of the Old Testament of the bible, God talked directly to the people of Israel from Mount Sinai, yet they did not believe him and made a golden calf for themselves to be god! And in the account of the New Testament how is it possible that despite the multitude of people witnessing the wonders and the miracles of Jesus Christ and his Apostles, not many believed in Jesus Christ and instead condemned him to die on the cross? How much more difficult is it going to get, two thousand years down the line and counting?

Or, is there really another layer to all the stories in the bible, and the scenes behind the portrayals? These are some of the questions behind this work, as we attempt to unravel this glorious text, and some of the secrets that lie deep within. As I travelled on this exploratory journey, I kept an open mind, and would implore the reader to try to do so as well, even as I try and narrate some of the answers which I came across, within the confines of the Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible. I wish and pray that, God may guide us closer to the ' Universal Truth', for according to the texts of Sanatana Dharma, in this last of the four Yugas which is this current Kaliyuga, 'truth' is the only precept left alive to guide us.

May God bless us all.

Chapter I - The Bible Story

For the uninitiated, The Holy Bible (The Old Testament and The New Testament), derived from the Latin word biblia meaning 'books' is held in deep reverence by the Christians as a part of their faith. The early parts of the texts are often shared and in common with the Abrahamic religions namely Judaism, Islam and Christianity. The first five chapters of the Bible namely Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, collectively called the Pentateuch is known as the Torah in Hebrew, and is also called the Samaritan Bible for the Jewish faith. The collective book of the Old Testament, in Hebrew is called the Jewish Bible. Much of the works and the words of the bible had been translated from the ancient texts, originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Syriac and Latin and translated to English and canonized in its current form, in the Authorized King James version, circa 1610.

The Old Testament

The text of the Bible starts with God's creation of the heaven and earth on the first day, and the earth was in darkness and without any form, and the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. God then created light and separated the light and darkness and called them day and night. On the second day God created the firmament of the heavens, and on the third day, he separated dry land from the waters and brought forth all vegetation of grass, herbs and the trees. God made the Sun, the moon and the stars on the fourth day, to rule the days and the nights. On the fifth day, he made the living creatures of the sea, great and small, and the birds that fly. And on the sixth day, he made the animals, the reptiles, and created man in his own image - both male and female - and blessed them to be fruitful and multiply, and to have dominion over the fishes, fowl and all living things. God saw everything he had created and it was very good. On the seventh day, he ended his work and rested.

Later, when God had not caused it to rain and when he saw that there was no man to till the ground, 'there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul'+. God then placed man in the Garden of Eden, to be maintained by him, wherein placed also were the 'tree of life' and the 'tree of knowledge of good and evil' among other flora and fauna. Man was permitted to eat freely of any tree, however, was forewarned of certain death if he so ate out of the tree of knowledge. However God's other creation – Eve, the woman, who was created out of Adam's rib: to be his companion, was beguiled into eating the fruit out of the 'tree of knowledge of good and evil' by the serpent stating that, 'your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil'*. Eve ate of the fruit, and shared it with her partner Adam, and they then realized their nudity and sewed aprons for themselves with fig leaves from the garden. Both did live on as the serpent had said, but were sent out of the garden, after being dressed in coats of skin by God himself, and sent away to the earth, albeit with a curse placed upon all women and men, as with the serpent. The woman was accursed to have a sorrowful life, even as she begets children. The man too was cursed likewise to have a sorrowful life, and return to dust upon death, as he was made out of the same dust. So, they were kept away from the Garden of Eden by Cherubims with flaming swords, lest they eat out of the tree of life.

(+Genesis 2:7); (*Genesis 3:5)

Cain and Abel were the children of Adam and Eve. Cain the first-born was the tiller of the land and made plantations, and Abel his brother was the keeper of sheep. In due time, both offered the first fruits of their produce to the Lord. Cain brought forth the fruit of the ground as offering, and Abel offered the firstling of his flock of sheep. However, the Lord respected Abel's offerings, and was not pleased with that of Cain, and warned him of sin and desire. Cain, consumed with jealousy, killed his brother and received the curse of the Lord whereby the earth was not to yield her fruits, and he was condemned to live as a fugitive and to roam the earth as a vagabond. Cain then protested to God, pleading that the punishment was too great for him to bear, saying, 'everyone that finds me shall slay me'+. Then, the Lord took pity upon Cain and put a mark on him, lest any man should kill him, and said, 'Whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold'*. Adam again had another son and called him Seth, to replace the loss of Abel, whom Cain had killed.

(+Genesis 4:14); (*Genesis 4:15)

Subsequently, Cain married and had a son and built a city and called it Enoch after his son's name. Cain's great grandson Lamech had two wives Adah and Zillah. Lamech called his two wives and told them, 'Hearken unto my speech: for I have slain a man to my wounding, and a younger man to my hurt. If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold'+. In the lineage of Adam's son Seth, was born Enoch who was the first person in the bible to have escaped death. At the age of three hundred and sixty five, and as noted, 'Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him'*. Lamech lived for seven hundred and seventy seven years, and the name of his first-born son was Noah. It was during that period, 'there were giants in the earth in those days: and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown'#. It is during that time that God decided to restrict the age for man to around a hundred and twenty years, and decided to purge the earth of all wicked men.

(+Genesis 4: 23, 24); (*Genesis 5:24); (#Genesis 6:4)

Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord and was a just man, and also as said, 'Noah walked with God'+. It was then that God instructed Noah to build an ark according to his specifications, and to carry seven pairs of animals and birds which were fit for consumption and sacrifice, (according to the Hebrew law of cleanliness) and a pair of each species of the remaining animals and reptiles, one of each gender, which shall stay alive with them, along with enough stock of food to sustain the life of all. Along with all the species of animals and the birds were Noah and his wife, his three sons Shem, Ham and Japheth, along with their respective wives, eight individuals in all. The remnant of all living, breathing animals and humans which were in the dry land, and they that were not in the ark were drowned when the great floods engulfed the earth, because of a forty day and forty night torrent of a rain which battered the earth. The only living, breathing beings and creatures to be found anywhere in the world were on the ark, and the rest were mercilessly annihilated. It took a hundred and fifty days for the waters to abate, when the ark rested on Mount Ararat.

(+Genesis 6:9)

When all the creatures were released forth that were to be free, Noah offered a sacrifice for the Lord. And the Lord was pleased and blessed Noah and his sons to multiply forth with much progeny. He also set a warning that 'whoso sheddeth man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed'+. Thereby, he also gave a promise to Noah that whenever it shall rain on the earth, there shall a rainbow appear as a covenant between man and God. After the floods came to pass, Noah settled himself to farming and planted himself a vineyard, and once when he was drunk with much wine, he was lying naked. At that time, his son Ham happened to see him in his nudity and told his two brothers, who out of reverence took a cloth on their shoulder and walking backwards to avoid sight of their naked father, covered Noah. When Noah woke up and realized the situation, he blessed his two sons Shem and Japheth, and cursed the son of Ham, named Canaan, to be in servitude and slavery to his brethren. Out of the lineage of Canaan, the grandson of Noah originated the tribe of Canaanites, albeit with the curse of Noah upon them.

(+Genesis 9:6)

As promised by God to Noah, his sons and subsequent generations multiplied greatly, and the entire world was of one language until unto many generations. During that time in a place called Shinar, (ancient Babylonia) the people decided to build a city and a tower, such as one which could reach the heaven. Then the Lord being concerned that the people spoke one language and were as one, said, 'Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech'+. The name of the tower they built was called the tower of Babel, because the language of men was confounded and the Lord scattered them abroad all over the face of the earth.

(+Genesis 11: 6, 7)

In the eleventh generation of Noah and out of the lineage of his son Shem, was born Abram later renamed as Abraham by the angel of God. Abraham married Sarai - later renamed as Sarah – who happened to be his half-sister born out of a different woman to his father, and not his mother. Sarah was unable to conceive for long and out concern for lack of progeny, suggested to Abraham that he take her handmaid named Hagar an Egyptian, to be his concubine. When Hagar was pregnant, it did not go down well with Sarah that her handmaid had indeed conceived, and she began ill-treating the maid. Realizing her troublesome and gravid condition, Hagar fled the scene wherein an angel of God appeared unto her. The angel told Hagar to reconcile with her mistress Sarah and promised her that her generations shall be in multitude, and to name her son as Ishmael. The angel further stated about Ishmael: 'He will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren'+. Hagar bore Abraham a son, whom he named Ishmael, and Abraham was eighty-six when his first son was born. The angel of God promised a son for Abraham through Sarah when he was ninety-nine years old, and asked Abraham to circumcise his own foreskin and for the circumcision of all male progeny thereof, on the eighth day of being born. When Sarah heard the angel of the Lord, she laughed to herself at the idea of being able to conceive, being ninety years old then and having lost her fertility. And that was when the angel of the Lord said to her, 'Is any thing too hard for the Lord?'

(+Genesis 16:12)

It was in those days, in the city of Sodom lived Abraham's nephew named Lot. Sodom was a place of much sin and forbidden revelry - the root word of sodomy being derived from this city. The angels of God who visited Abraham and Sarah wanted to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, (another equally qualified sin-city) and Lot and his family of wife and two daughters were forced to flee the city of Sodom with a warning as to not to turn back and see the destruction when it happened. But Lot's wife looked back from behind him, and she turned into a pillar of salt. After they fled, Lot and his two daughters came to live in a mountain cave, wherein the two sisters hatched a plan to have progeny out of their father, for lack of eligible bachelors. 'And they made their father drink wine that night: and the first-born went in, and lay with her father and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose'+. The same was repeated with the second of the sisters the next night, without the conscious knowledge of their father Lot. 'Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father'*. Moab and Ben-ammi, their sons with their father Lot, were legally also their grandsons, (Lot's daughter's sons) and the ancestors of the tribes of Moabites and Ammonites.

(+Genesis 19: 33); (*Genesis 19:36)

As promised by the angel of God, Sarah delivered a son, Isaac. And when Ishmael, the son of Abraham and Hagar mocked him during a feast of celebration for Isaac, Sarah got perturbed and had Hagar and her son cast out into the wilderness. Wherein, again an angel of God saved Hagar and showed her a well for water and promised her about making Ishmael's generation a great nation. Then there came a time of great trial for Abraham, wherein he was asked for the sacrifice of his son Isaac, by God. Abraham, with no second thoughts decided to follow the instruction of God, and took his son Isaac to the mountains, along with wood and a knife for the sacrifice. The curious son beckoned his father stating, we have wood for the fire, but no lamb for the sacrifice. Saying that 'God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering', Abraham appeased his son. Even as the boy was lain on the altar ready to be slain for an offering, the angel of God appeared again and blessed Abraham greatly, stating that the children of his children shall be multiplied as the sand on the seashore and as the stars of the heaven. The promise of the sacrifice was completed with a lost ram, which had his horns stuck in a bush nearby.

When Isaac grew up to be about forty and when Abraham was very old, Abraham set out his chief steward to find a suitable bride for his son Isaac. Abraham's servant located a fair and a comely maiden, never wed nor come upon, named Rebekah, near a well at a city called Nahor. Rebekah's brother was named Laban, and she was the daughter of Abraham's nephew Bethuel, a Syrian. After due diligence and much gifting of precious things by the servant of Abraham unto her family and after a ten day waiting period, Rebekah and her entourage along with Abraham's chief steward and company left for Caanan, the residence of Abraham and Isaac, to be betrothed and to be married. Sarah had departed her mortal confines subsequently and Abraham had many progenies up until his passing away, even out of his concubines, who too multiplied greatly.

It was a long wait for Rebekah to conceive. When she did, there was a great turmoil in her womb. Then it was prophesied by the angel of the Lord that 'two nations are in your womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from your bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger'+. In due course, upon the time of her delivery, out came her first son who was called Esau, a red coloured and a hairy individual. And holding on to his heel, out came another – his twin, who was named Jacob: the progenitor of the tribes of Judah and Israel. Esau grew up to be a vile hunter with not much love or support from his mother, for her heart was turned towards Jacob, but his father's love was upon him, for the meat of the hunt that he served him, filled his heart. Isaac was sixty years old then, at the time of his sons' birth.

(+Genesis 25:23)

Once, when Esau returned from a long day of toil with nothing on hand for a hunt and really faint, he came across his brother Jacob brewing stew, and pleaded food. Hence was derived his name Edom, for the red stew that he sought from his brother, for the sworn ransom of his birthright. And the tribe of the progenies of Esau thereof, was named as Edomites. Esau went on to marry Judith, a daughter out of the tribe of Hittites when he was forty years old. Subsequently, he took one of Ishmael's daughters named Mahalath, to be his wife, thus fulfilling the prophecy of the angel of God about a great nation to become, for both the men – Esau and Ishmael. War was perennial during the following years between the tribes of Judah / Israel and the Edomites, thereby fulfilling the other prophesy about the warring nations in Rebekah's womb.

Both Isaac and Rebekah were not too thrilled with the choice of Esau's first wife Judith. However, Isaac degenerating with age and with failing eyesight, sought to pass on his blessings to the eldest son, Esau at an appropriate time before his demise. So Isaac, wanting to be pleased by his food, sent Esau out for a hunt of meat. Rebekah, seizing the moment, sought out Jacob to fetch out the choicest kid lamb and made savoury meat and bread that Isaac loved, and adorned her son Jacob with Esau's best clothes, and the skin of the kid goat for a glove onto the hand, for the hairy feel of his brother's skin, and sent him unto his father. 'And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau your firstborn; I have done according to your bidding: arise I pray of you, sit and eat of my venison, that your soul may bless me'+. Isaac, unable to see, yet smelling something foul - first at the speed of the return of his eldest son from the hunt, and by the voice which was confusing, as it was Jacob's - put his son through the test for the feel of hairiness of the hands, which Jacob passed. Isaac then kissed Jacob, smelt his vestment and having thus been convinced, ate the meat and drank the wine and blessed him soulfully. When Esau returned from the hunt to serve upon his father, Isaac was stricken on realizing the deceit and said, 'your brother came with subtlety, and has taken away your blessing'*. Esau was bitter with Jacob, for he had been cheated twice - having been coerced to cede his birthright for a cup of stew and then to lose his father's blessings out of guile. Jacob feared wrath from his brother and was pleaded by Isaac and Rebekah to go away to Haran, the city of his uncle Laban, to live with him and take a wife from one of his daughters.

(+Genesis 27:19); (*Genesis 27:35)

En route, at a place called Luz, during a halt for the night, 'he dreamed and behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it'+. In the dream, the Lord appeared on top of the ladder blessing Isaac's generation to be of great multitude. Next morning, Jacob set a pillar of stone and anointed it with oil and named the place as Bethel, taking it to be the gate of heaven. 'And Jacob made a vow saying, if God be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and give me bread to eat , and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my father's house in peace; then shall the Lord be my God'*. He also pledged to the Lord, one tenth of all that he received from God. Upon reaching the place of his journey, Jacob met Rachel, the younger daughter of his uncle, his mother's brother Laban, while she was tending sheep. Laban, upon knowing the plight of Jacob, offered to employ him for wages. And as Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel, he offered his uncle seven years of service, for the marriage of Rachel to him. Laban agreed, stating that it was better that his daughter married Jacob, than any other man. At the end of the seventh year and as agreed, the marriage ceremony was arranged, and Leah, the eldest daughter of Laban was sent in. Jacob took her, and realized only in the morning that he had been duped, and confronted his uncle saying, 'what is it that you have done? Did I not serve you for Rachel, why have you cheated me?' Laban replied, 'it must not be done so in our country that the younger be married before the first born'. So, after fulfilling a week with Leah, Jacob married Rachel, for another seven years of service to his uncle. But Jacob's heart was with Rachel, as he loved her more, setting off a sibling rivalry among the two sisters.

(+Genesis 28:12); (*Genesis 28: 20, 21)

Leah bore four sons, Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah even as Rachel was barren, and had not conceived. This greatly grieved Rachel, and she had her handmaid named Bilhah, foster children off Jacob. Bilhah conceived two sons Dan and Napthali. Leah, on realizing that she could conceive no more, sent her handmaid Zilpah, to foster children off Jacob. Zilpah conceived two sons Gad and Asher, before Leah with the help of the magical properties of the mandrake plant, conceived two sons Issachar and Zebulun, and a daughter named Dinah. Rachel at long lost conceived a son, and named him Joseph.

After twenty years of service to his uncle, all was not well between Jacob and Laban, as they had many disputes over Jacob's wages, and they partitioned each his own flock of sheep and cattle, and Jacob held the healthier lot. And in a dream, the angel of God said to Jacob, 'I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed the pillar and made a vow, now arise and go to the land of your father Isaac'. Jacob and his wives and children left for Caanan with their camels and cattle and other possessions, without taking formal leave from Laban, who came to know of it after three days and was greatly displeased. Laban took along his brethren and overtook Jacob's entourage after seven days, near Mount Gilead. The angel of God had appeared in Laban's dream and said, 'Do not speak to Jacob - either good or bad'. When Laban confronted Jacob, he asked, 'What have you done, that you have stolen away unawares to me and carried away my daughters, as captives with the sword? Why did you flee away secretly and steal away from me and did not tell me? I might have sent you with songs and music, and kissed my daughters and sons? It is in my power to hurt you, but the God of your father spoke to me, telling not to speak either good or bad'+. Jacob countered Laban about his twenty-six years of service for his two daughters, the cattle and the sheep and cited the wage disputes. After a brief argument, the men decided to call for a truce and set a heap of stones for an entente, and called the place Galeed. Early next morning, Laban rose up and kissed his sons and daughters, and left for his place.

(+Genesis 31: 26-29)

Jacob was met by the angels of God on his way, and when he saw them, he said, 'this is God's host: and he called the name of the place Mahanaim'. Jacob in the meanwhile sent messengers to Esau, who returned to inform that his brother was coming half way to meet him, along with four hundred men. This worried Jacob much, as Esau might still be harbouring hatred and might want to slay him. Jacob then instructed his entourage to assemble a good number of cattle, sheep and camels as gifts for Esau, and asked them to move ahead on the journey. When Jacob was alone on a place called Peniel, an angel of God wrestled with Jacob in a deadlock, which lasted till daybreak, and Jacob's thigh was out of joint. The angel of God rechristened Jacob to be called as Israel from then on and when the sun rose, his thigh was set. Then, Jacob saw Esau and bowed himself to the ground seven times till he came near to his brother. And Esau ran across to meet him and they hugged and kissed each other and wept, and were reconciled.

When Esau left, Jacob travelled to a place called Shalem, where he bought a piece of land from Hamor, the father of Shechem, a prince in the of the tribe of Hivites. When Shechem saw Dinah, the daughter of Jacob and Leah, he fell madly in love with her and defiled her. He then wanted to marry Dinah with the consent of his father Hamor, and both men went to request of her marriage, to Jacob. The sons of Jacob meanwhile were quite agitated, and upon the condition that all the men of the Hivite clan be circumcised, agreed for the marriage. The Hivites communed within themselves, and all their men got circumcised. Yet, on the third day, two of Jacob's sons Simeon and Levi took the sword and killed all the Hivite men in the city, including Hamor and Shechem, and plundered and looted all the wealth and cattle, including taking captive all women and children and brought back their sister Dinah. These happenings troubled Jacob greatly for fear of attack from the Canaanites and the Perizzites to slay his clan, which were few in numbers, and was advised by God to journey to Bethel and make an altar for the God that appeared before him there, when he had fled from Esau+. After building the altar and on their journey from Bethel to a place called Ephrath, Rachel was heavy in labour and conceived her second son, and named him Ben-oni and she died and was buried in Bethlehem. From there they settled at a place called the tower of Edar, where Reuben, the eldest son of Leah took Bilhah, his father's concubine and his stepmother Rachel's handmaid. Ben-oni was later renamed as Benjamin, by his father, and was the twelfth and the last son of Jacob (Israel). Jacob came and met his father Isaac at Hebron, who at the age of one hundred and eighty died, and was buried by his sons Esau and Jacob.

(+Genesis 35:1)

Jacob, thereon being called Israel, loved his son Joseph more than his other children, because of which Joseph was hated by his brothers. Joseph had two dreams in which he appeared superior to his brothers in stature, and on hearing the narration of his dreams, they were even more envious of him and they secretly harboured hatred. Once, when the brethren sans Joseph were tending to their father's flock of sheep, Israel asked Joseph to look up his brothers and see if all was well. In a place called Dothan, when the sons of Israel saw Joseph approaching, they conspired to kill him. But Reuben would not let the rest of them kill Joseph, but yet, suggested that they throw him in a pit and leave him in the wilderness. When Joseph arrived, they stripped him of his 'coat of many colours' and threw him into an empty pit, and sat for their lunch. Then, Judah suggested that there was no profit in either leaving Joseph in the wild or in killing him. They therefore sold him to a bunch of Ishmaelite merchants travelling towards Egypt, for twenty pieces of silver. They then took Joseph's coat and soaked it with the blood of a slain kid goat and showed it to their father and asked him to identify if it was indeed Joseph's. And when Israel saw the coat, he wept and mourned for many days, thinking his son to be dead by a wild beast.

The Ishmaelite merchants brought Joseph down to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, an Egyptian, who was the captain of the guard for the Pharaoh. Joseph obtained the favour in the eyes of his new master and was made the overseer of the house. There came a time, when his master's wife wanted to sleep with him, but Joseph refused even after much coaxing by the woman. Once, when no one else was home, she caught him by his garment saying, 'lie with me': but he left his garment in her hand, and fled. When the master of the house came home, she complained about the Hebrew servant who had tried to molest her and on hearing her scream for help, ran away leaving his garment. Then, the Egyptian master of Joseph was furious and put him in a prison, where the Pharaoh's prisoners were kept. Joseph again found favour in the sight of the prison keeper and was made in-charge of his fellow prisoners, wherein one day the king's chief butler and the chief baker were charged for crime, and were brought to the prison and kept in custody under Joseph. Both men had a dream one night which none were able to interpret, and both were saddened. When Joseph inquired of the reason and was explained of the situation, he offered to interpret their dreams. After listening to their narration, Joseph said to the chief butler that he would be reinstated to his former position in three days time, and asked him to remember the incident and to talk to the Pharaoh at an appropriate time. The baker was informed that he would be hung in a tree in three days time and that the birds shall eat his flesh, and so it came to pass on the third day, for both the men.

Two years passed, and the chief butler had forgotten all about Joseph. It so happened that the Pharaoh had two similar dreams on two different occasions, and was greatly troubled. Neither all the magicians nor the wise men of Egypt were able to interpret the dreams, and then the butler remembered and spoke to the Pharaoh about his, and the baker's dream interpretation, and of Joseph. When Joseph was summoned unto the Pharaoh and was told of his dreams, he interpreted the coming of seven years of plentiful harvest and a subsequent severe famine for seven years. Joseph thereby gave wise counsel to the Pharaoh and advised him to appoint officers to manage the coming years. The Pharaoh thus pleased by Joseph's interpretation of his dreams, bedecked him with fine linen and ornaments, and set his ring on Joseph's hand and made him the governor over all of Egypt. He was given the Egyptian name of Zaphnath-paaneah, and was married to a priest's daughter, named Asenath. Joseph was all of thirty years old when he stood before the Pharaoh and interpreted his dreams.

In the first seven years after the interpretation of Pharaoh's dream, the land was abounding with food and corn, and Joseph had them well stocked to cover for the seven years of dearth. His wife Asenath had begat two sons unto him, Manasseh and Ephraim, before the years of the famine. At the end of seven years, a terrible famine struck all over the face of the earth, and all the Egyptians and the people from all countries came forth to Egypt to buy corn from Joseph. Jacob's ten sons, sans Benjamin, who stayed back with his father, came to Egypt to buy corn but did not recognize their brother Joseph. But Joseph recognized them and questioned them to be spies, and charged them for spying the land. They then pleaded to Joseph that they were twelve brothers in all, and one was with their father, and one was no more. Joseph nevertheless apprehended them, and had them placed in a ward for three days. Later, on the condition that Simeon stay back, he had the rest of their sacks filled with corn, and had each man's money put back along with and sent them to fetch their youngest brother for proof of their integrity. On return to Caanan, the men narrated their ordeal with the Egyptian man to their father. And when they emptied their sacks, they found each man his money along with the corn, and were sore afraid. Again, when they again ran out of their supplies, Israel blessed his sons and sent Benjamin along with his brothers again to Egypt, with double the money for rations and gifts of honey, spices and almonds to the 'Egyptian' man and they came and stood before Joseph the second time.

When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, his heart was filled and ordered his steward to prepare fine lunch and had the brethren summoned to his house, even Simeon, who had been kept in the ward was with them. The men dined together, even as Joseph fought back tears of joy at the reunion. After the lunch, the steward was asked to fill each man's sack with his supplies along with the money, and in the sack of the youngest, his supplies and the corn money along with Joseph's silver cup. When they were sent home the next morning, Joseph ordered his steward to overtake them shortly and question them again on their integrity. When they were found with each man his money in their bags and the silver cup in Benjamin's sack, they were summoned back before Joseph and all fell to the ground before him. And Judah cried, 'What shall we say unto my Lord? What shall we speak? Or how shall we clear ourselves? God has found out the iniquity of your servants'+. Joseph replied saying, 'the man in whose hand the cup was found, let him be my servant'. Judah, who had pledged himself for his brother Benjamin's sake to his father, pleaded that lest his father die for not seeing Benjamin return he be held at ransom for his brother's release. Joseph could control himself no more, and wept aloud and revealed himself to his brethren and said, 'I am Joseph your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. Now therefore be not grieved, nor angry with yourselves, that you sold me hither: for God did send me before you to preserve life'*. It had only been two years of famine then, with yet five more years of dearth, and Joseph told his brethren, 'So it was not you that sent me here, but God'.

(+Genesis 44:16); (*Genesis 45:5)

When the Pharaoh heard of the news of Joseph and his brethren, he was pleased and told Joseph to bring Israel and his children to Egypt, with the promise of good land and the best of Egypt on offer. When Israel was told of the news that Joseph was alive, he said, 'It is enough; Joseph my son is yet alive. I will go and see him before I die'+. On the journey to Egypt with all that he had, at a place called Beer-sheba, Israel offered sacrifices to God, and God came in his dream and said, 'I am God, the God of your father: fear not to go down into Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation'*. A total of seventy souls out of Israel's clan descended upon Egypt including Joseph, his wife and two sons. And they were settled in a place called Goshen, at the behest of the Pharaoh, as shepherds: but then, being a shepherd was an abomination in Egypt then. Israel was a hundred and thirty years old when he met the Pharaoh. After seventeen years in Egypt, and at the age of one hundred and forty seven, Israel blessed Joseph's sons by giving precedence to the younger Ephraim over the elder Manasseh, and took an oath from Joseph that he be buried with his fathers, and out of Egypt. Israel then called forth his sons and blessed each man according to his merits or demerits and foretold the ways of their progenies, and then his soul departed. His remains were embalmed, and his death was mourned in Egypt for seventy days and at the end of the mourning period, his remains were taken and buried in the land of Canaan. After then, the brethren of Joseph fearing reproach, fell at his feet yet again and Joseph wept and said, 'As for you, you thought evil against me but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive'#, and comforted them. At the age of a hundred and ten, Joseph died with the oath from his brothers that his remains are taken out of Egypt when the time came, and his body was embalmed and buried in Egypt.

(+Genesis 45:28); (*Genesis 46:3); (#Genesis 50:20)

It came to pass when a new ruler arose in Egypt he neither knew Joseph nor all the good deeds of his in serving the land of Egypt. Realizing that the children of Israel had grown mighty and much in number, he ordered for them to be made to work in servitude, and amidst afflictions and hard bondage. Yet, as they grew in numbers and in might, outnumbering even the Egyptians, the new Pharaoh decreed that the firstborn sons begotten by all Israelites be thrown into the river Nile, even as the firstborn daughters were to be saved alive. That was the time, when from the house of Levi, a couple hid their son for three months alive, and when time was running out, the mother placed the child in a protected reed basket and let him downstream in the river, with the child's little sister watching with curiosity on what would transpire of the little one, albeit helplessly. It so happened, that the Pharaoh's daughter came by for a wash to the river and noticed the crying but a goodly looking child, and took compassion. The child's sister seized the opportunity, and offered to get a Hebrew nurse for the child. The Pharaoh's daughter gave wages unto the child's mother – the Hebrew nurse, for upkeep, and adopted the child and named him Moses 'One drawn out of the water'.

When Moses had grown, he noticed the plight of his fellow Israelites, and when he saw an Egyptian taskmaster ill-treating a Hebrew, he killed him and buried him. The next day, when he saw two of his Hebrew kinsmen fighting and when he questioned them, one of them retorted back, 'do you want to kill me as you did with the Egyptian?' Moses realized that the news of the dead Egyptian had spread, and that the Pharaoh was after his blood. He then fled to a place called Midian and rested near a well, where the seven daughters of a priest called Jethro (also called Reuel) came to water their flock of sheep. Moses delivered the women from a gang of obtrusive shepherds, and he watered their flock. He was then taken to their father and he dwelt with them and tended to their flock. Moses was given a wife out of one of Jethro's daughters, named Zipporah, who bore him a son called Gershom. By then the Pharaoh had died and the Israelites pleaded unto God for deliverance from bondage, 'and God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them'+.

(+Exodus 2:25)

When Moses was tending to the sheep of his father-in-law and came to the mountain of God, to a place called Horeb, an angel of God appeared to him in the midst of a flaming bush which was not consumed by the fire. Moses answered to the angel's call and said 'here am I'. The angel of God asked Moses to put his shoes aside, for the ground where he stood was holy. The angel stated that he had indeed come to deliver the Israelites out of their sufferings from Egypt, and to bring them out into a land flowing with milk and honey unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The angel of God ordered Moses, 'Come now therefore, and I will send you unto the Pharaoh, that you may bring forth my people, the children of Israel out of Egypt'. When Moses queried on how to placate even the Israelites on, 'who sent him?' Moses was ordained to tell the children of Israel, ' 'I AM THAT I AM'... I AM hath sent me unto you'+. He was further instructed, 'you and the elders of Israel go to the king of Egypt and say to him that the Lord God of the Hebrews has met with us, let us go for three days journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our god, and I am sure that the king of Egypt will not let you go, no, not by a mighty hand'*. Moses was given signs of miracles to be performed out of the rod which was in his hand. Yet, when Moses doubted his own eloquence, he was told, 'who has made the man's mouth? Or who makes the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing or the blind, is it not I the Lord?'# So he was promised that his brother Aaron would be sent along with him to be his spokesman. Moses then took leave from his father-in-law, and brought his family onto the land of Egypt, and he had his wooden rod with him, along with his wife and two sons.

(+Exodus 3:14); (*Exodus 3: 18, 19); (#Exodus 4:11)

Then the Lord appeared to Moses again and told him to do all the wonders that he had instructed Moses to do before the Pharaoh. The Lord added, 'but I will harden the heart of the Pharaoh, that he shall not let the people go'+. The Lord instructed Moses to speak saying, 'Thus says the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn: and I say unto you, let my son go, that he may serve me: and if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay your son, even your first-born'*. Immediately thereafter, on the way to the inn, the Lord tried to kill Moses' first-born son Gershom because he was uncircumcised, and Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of their son and accused Moses, calling him a 'bloody husband' and left for her father's place. Later Aaron joined his brother Moses, and when they recited the words of the Lord in front of the Israeli elders and demonstrated to them of the wonders as instructed, the people of Israel believed deliverance. Yet, on each and every instance, when Moses and Aaron stood in front of the Pharaoh and performed miracles or brought various kinds of plagues \-- water turning to blood, plague of frogs, locusts, hail and fire, etc. -- at the behest of the Lord, the Pharaoh, even after consenting to let the Israelites go each time, hardened his heart and let not the people go. And as decreed to Moses during the Passover, lambs were sacrificed and the blood of it was painted on the entrance post of each Israeli house. The firstborns in the houses, which had the blood of the lamb on the doorposts, were spared. All the Egyptians lost their firstborn sons as they had not the blood of a lamb on their doorposts, and many including the Pharaoh's firstborn son died. That was the last plague to afflict Egypt during that time, and finally the Pharaoh relented with a heavy heart, and let go of the people of Israel.

(+Exodus 4:21); (*Exodus 4: 22, 23)

The Lord travelled before the Israelites in pillars of cloud during the day and by fire during the nights, and led them out of Egypt. They were guided by God to avoid the land of the Philistines, although it was nearer, to avert war, lest the Israelites remonstrated and encouraged the thought of going back to Egypt. Hence, they were led through the wilderness of the Red sea and the Lord spoke to Moses saying, 'I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the Lord'+. Seeing the perusing Egyptians, the people of Israel were terrified and protested to Moses stating that they would have been better off in Egypt than being dead in the middle of nowhere. Then as instructed by God, Moses stretched forth the staff on his hand over the sea, and it parted as two walls, with dry land in between. And the Israelites crossed the sea even as the Egyptians with their chariots pursued them, and the walls of water collapsed on the pursuers when Moses lifted his hand again. During their sojourn for three days in the wilderness of Shur they found no water and at a place called Marah, the water they found was bitter to drink, the people murmured and complained to Moses and it was made sweet waters by the Lord. Then they journeyed to a place called Elim, where they found twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees and they camped there. En route to Sinai, the children of Israel complained about food and meat and they were provided with quail meat for dinner, and a heavenly sweetbread called manna that fell as the dew in the morning, during their travail.

(+Exodus 14:4)

In the wilderness of Sin, Moses made water to spring forth out of a rock with his staff, to quench the thirst of the people. At a place called Rephidim, Joshua, the son of Nun, led the fight with Amalekites who attacked, and the Israelites prevailed. Subsequently, Moses was reunited with his wife and two sons and Jethro, his father-in-law, as they joined him upon hearing Moses' successful journey out of Egypt. When Jethro saw that Moses was the only judge for all the people who waited all day, even morning until evening and tarried, he advised Moses to set judges and rulers upon the people by thousands, hundreds, and for fifties and by tens, to ease his burden and to settle all disputes, and after then, left for his dwelling place in Midian. In the third month since they came out of Egypt, the Lord called Moses to the Mount of Sinai, and instructed him to sanctify the people and to make them wait near the Mount, so that he could appear and speak before the congregation of all Israel on the third day. And Moses sanctified and brought forth the people out of the camp, to meet with God+. On the third day morning, there was thunder and lighting and a thick cloud with loud noise of trumpet, which terrified the people of Israel. Then the Lord spoke out of the cloud, and decreed the ten commandments: 'You shall serve no other gods before me; nor make any image in the likeness of anything, for I the Lord your God is a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy; honour your father and your mother; you shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness against your neighbour; you shall not covet, anything which is your neighbours'.

(+Exodus 19:17)

Hearing the Lord speak and seeing all the noise of the trumpets, smoke and thundering, the people told Moses, 'you speak with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us lest we die'+. So Moses made the people wait and went up the mountain and was given many edicts about how to treat servants, about murder, about the resolution of quarrel, and about all manner of laws about personal conduct, Sabbath, the feasts, and the offerings. And the people of Israel were offered the protection for all, with an angel to be a guide before them. Then the Lord sent Moses to assemble seventy elders, and for Aaron and his two sons to speak to the people about the edicts and to worship the Lord. Moses spoke of all the edicts, and the laws of judgment unto all the elders of Israel and they swore by it and agreed. After sacrifice and worship in an altar, Moses took Joshua along, and asked the elders to wait and appointed Aaron to be the judge during his absence. Six days Moses waited with Joshua, and on the seventh day, he went into the midst of the cloud that had covered Mount Sinai, and he was there forty days and forty nights.

(+Exodus 20:19)

When the people saw of the delay in Moses' return, they asked Aaron to make them gods to lead them thereon, as Moses had gone for too long and his plight was unknown. Then, Aaron told the people to get all the gold that they had and made them a golden calf, for god, and he declared a feast on the morrow for the gods. There were great feasting, dancing, singing and naked revelry when Moses met Joshua halfway coming down, and when he saw the golden calf and the festivities, Moses threw the two stones of testimony written by God, and broke them beneath the platform of the statue. He then took the golden calf, burnt it and powdered it and made the people drink it down, and chided Aaron for the folly. Moses stood near the gate of the camp and called out for all of them that were in the Lord's side, and the children of Levi came to his side. He then charged them to slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour, and on that day the children of Levi had felled three thousand men.

The anger of the Lord was kindled because the people had sinned and made themselves gods of gold. Yet, God promised the people about the promised land and said, 'I will send an angel before you; and I will drive out the Canaanite, the Amorite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite: Unto a land flowing with milk and honey: for I will not go up in the midst of you, for you are a stiffnecked people: lest I consume you in the way'+. Moses went up the Mount of Sinai for a second time with a set of stone tables, and the Lord descended on the Mount and proclaimed saying, 'The Lord God is merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon children, and upon the children's children unto the third and to the fourth generation'*. Moses bowed in reverence and pleaded yet again for God to continue leading them and pardon iniquity and sin. The Lord said, 'Behold, I will make a covenant: before all your people I will do marvels, such have not been done in all the earth, nor in any nation; and all the people among which you are shall see the work of the Lord; for it is a terrible thing that I will do with you'#. The Lord further warned Moses on idolatry, and made him write on the second set of the stone tablets for a covenant the 'Ten Commandments'. Yet again, Moses had spent forty days and forty nights on the Mount of Sinai and his face shone when he came down, along with the two tables of testimony and of the law. Moses taught all the people on the edicts and sacrifices and offerings to the Lord, and had them build a tabernacle and an Ark of Covenant for the Lord, as specified.

(+Exodus 33: 2, 3); (*Exodus 34: 6, 7); (#Exodus 34:10)

Later, the children of Israel were instructed by the Lord to be much organized, with two silver trumpets as signalling systems, manned by the sons of Aaron, and with captains of hosts for armies, captained by each tribe according to their numbers, and they journeyed with the Ark of the Covenant and with the fire and the cloud of God guiding them. Yet, even as the people had heavenly manna for food, which fell as dew in the morning, their hearts lusted for meat, fish and flesh, which they remembered from Egypt, and murmured. When the supplication came from Moses to the Lord, he was wroth and said, 'the Lord will give you flesh, and you shall eat. You shall not eat one day, nor two days, nor five days, neither ten days nor twenty days; but even a whole month until it come out of your nostrils'+. It came to pass that out of the sea wind quails flew in, which had no direction to fly, and fell upon the earth and were gathered by the people. The least among them that gathered, gathered ten donkey loads of quail. Many that lusted and gorged on the meat, died even as they ate, as plague set upon them. That place was given the name Kibroth-hattaavah: because there they buried the people that lusted of meat.

(+Numbers 11: 18-20)

From there they travelled to a place called Hazeroth, where Moses' sister Miriam and Aaron out of jealousy spoke against their brother, because of the Ethiopian woman that Moses had married. They murmured to themselves, 'has the Lord indeed spoken only to Moses, has he not spoken also by us?'\+ The Lord came down in the pillar of cloud and summoned them and said, 'if there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will myself make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all my house'. The anger of the Lord was kindled, and when the cloud of the tabernacle departed, Miriam became leprous and white as snow till Moses pleaded the Lord for cure, yet it was seven days before she was alright.

(+Numbers 12:2)

During much of their sojourn, the people of Israel won many battles with the various tribes, and yet, many times, they grumbled and plagues were set upon them by the Lord, and many were consumed by fire, the earth, and fiery serpents, and sometimes they lost battles and many died. Once when they were in a place called Kadesh on the border of Edom, Moses sent messengers to the king of Edom for a peaceful passage through their land, to the other side, stating, 'Your brother Israel had a travail in the land of Egypt and when we cried unto the Lord, he heard our voice, and sent an angel and has brought us forth out of Egypt, and let us pass peaceably'+. Edom refused to give them passage through their border and came against them [For it was said earlier that Esau (Edom) and Jacob would be warring nations]. So, the Israelites turned away from them and came to the Mount of Hor, where Aaron died, after being stripped of his priesthood for the earlier trespasses. Aaron's mantle was passed on to his son Eleazar, and all of Israel mourned for Aaron for thirty days.

(+Numbers 20:16)

Then, there was the time when the Israelites had many battle victories, and Balak, the king of Moabites and his people were troubled and sent his princes as messengers to a person called Balaam to have him put a curse on the Israelites. The angel of God meanwhile visited Balaam and instructed him not to go and curse the Israelites, and yet the Princes of Balak persisted with Balaam, with the promise of a great honour. Because of the vision shown to him, Balaam refused stating that he cannot do anything without the permission of the angel of God, but asked the messengers to stay with him in his place. That night, God appeared to Balaam and allowed him to go, but on the condition that he speak only what was instructed, and if the Princes came and called him for the purpose. The next morning, Balaam saddled his ass and set out with the Princes of Moab, and that angered God, who stood in the way with a sword drawn out and seeing the angel of God, the ass veered off into a field and was beaten by its master. Thrice it happened, and thrice the ass was beaten, and the mouth of the ass was opened by the angel and it spoke, "what did I do to you; you have beaten me three times?" and Balaam said, "You have mocked me, and if only I had a sword, I would kill you." The ass replied, "am I not yours and don't you ride me every day since I was with you. Have I ever done like this to you?" Then, the Lord opened Balaam's eyes and he saw the angel of God with a sword drawn out in hand. And the angel told him that because he had been perverse he was stopped, and then Balaam apologized and offered to turn back, but was allowed to go with the men, again on the condition that he spoke only what was told.

Balaam asked Balak, the Moabite king to make seven altars with bullock and ram for burnt offering, and asked him to wait there and went to a high place to have a view of the Israelites. Then the angel of God put the words in his mouth, and Balaam returned to Balak and blessed Israel in parables, and it happened that way on three occasions and Balak was angered. The fourth time, Balaam again blessed Israel of great battle victories, again in parables, and said to Balak that he can only speak what the angel of God said to him, and stated, 'alas who shall live when God does this!'\+ He then returned to his place and Balak went also his way.

(+Numbers 24:23)

It came to pass during their long sojourn, the angel of God asked Moses to go up Mount Abarim and see the Promised Land for the Israelites and said, 'when you have seen it, you shall be gathered unto your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered' and added, 'behold you shall sleep with your fathers; and this people will rise up, and go a-whoring after the gods of the strangers of the land, and will forsake me, and break my covenant which I have made with them'+. Then, Moses knew his time was at hand and asked the 'God of the spirits of all flesh', to set a man to lead the congregation and the angel of the Lord replied, 'take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit'. And Joshua was appointed to lead the people, and Moses blessed all of Israel and went up the Abarim Mountains unto Mount Nebo, and saw of all the land that the Lord had promised to Israel, and he died there at the age of a hundred and twenty years, in the land of Moab.

(+Deuteronomy 31:16)

After the death of Moses, Joshua led the Israelites near river Jordan and sent two spies into Jericho, where a prostitute named Rahab sheltered them, and protected them from the king's men. She requested the two men to save her and her family when the Israelites overcame Jericho, stating that they had heard great things about the work of the Lord. The men promised her of her request and she directed them the safe way out, and the men hid in the mountains for three days till their pursuers went back. When the men returned to the camp, they apprised Joshua about the land. Early next day, Joshua led the people to the bank of the river Jordan and commanded the priests to walk across the river, and as soon as their feet touched the river, the waters were cut off and the priests stood on dry land in the middle of the river and all the people of Israel crossed the river clean and dry, and the waters from upstream stood as a wall. They then raised a memorial there with twelve stones, one for each tribe taken from the Jordan River bed. An angel of the Lord met Joshua near Jericho, and introduced himself as the captain of the host of the Lord. And as advised by the angel, Joshua sent seven priests with rams' horns, followed by the Ark of Covenant of the Lord, for six days to compass about the city. On the seventh day, when they had finished circling the city and blew the horns loud and when all the people shouted out, Jericho was fallen. Only the family of Rahab was brought out alive and all living things, men, women, and the animals of Jericho died of the sword. The gold, silver and the vessels of brass and iron, they put them in a treasury for the Lord.

Then, Joshua sent men to spy on the country of Ai, who came back and reported that two or three thousand of the Israeli troops would suffice for the raid and three thousand men were sent for the attack. Even as the men neared the city gate, their hearts melted as water and they fled. The men of Ai had killed thirty-six of them and chased away the rest. Joshua was therefore vexed, and the angel of God told him that there had been a transgression on the covenant and that Israel had sinned and that the accused and all that of his family and belongings should be burnt. Early next day, when the tribes were assembled and questioned, a man called Achan from the tribe of Judah confessed of transgression and admitted that he had hid under his tent, a bar of gold, two hundred shekels of silver, and a goodly garment that he had taken from Jericho. Achan and all of his possessions, sons, daughters, oxen, sheep and asses were stoned and burnt with fire as ordained by the angel of the Lord. A pile of stones were heaped on the remains, and that place was named the valley of Achor. Shortly, Joshua took five thousand men and set siege on Ai and decimated and killed all twelve thousand men and women of the city and set the city on fire. The king of Ai was taken alive and they hung him on a tree till death.

Gibeon, a much greater and a royal city than Ai, made truce with Joshua and Israel by trickery, fearing death and conquest. Thus, the Gibeonites were cursed to work as woodcutters and drawers of water. When the king of Jerusalem, called Adoni-Zedec, heard of the fall of Jericho and Ai, and of the truce of the Gibeonites with Israel, he called for an alliance with the five kings of Amorites, to attack Gibeon. The men of Gibeon called for the help of Joshua, and his men descended upon the attackers and slaughtered them, even as many fled from before Israel. And the fleeing, were felled by great stones and hailstones cast from heaven. Then Joshua said unto the sun to stand still over Gibeon and the moon over the valley of Ajalon and so it was. 'And there was no day like that before it or after it that the Lord listened to the voice of a man: for the Lord fought for Israel'+. When Joshua was told that the five kings had hid themselves in a cave at Makkedah, he ordered the cave to be sealed with great stones. And when he came to the cave, he summoned it open and had his captains of war to put their foot on the necks of the kings and had them hung on trees and their bodies were buried in the cave where they hid.

(+Joshua 10:14)

Joshua led Israel to many more battle victories and even as much land was yet to be conquered, the angel of the Lord said to him, 'you have become old and stricken in years, and there remains yet very much land to be possessed'+, and suggested Joshua to allot all the conquered land so far between the nine tribes and half of the tribe of Manasseh. The tribe of Levites got no inheritance of land and they were distributed to the cities and suburbs of all the tribes, and the sacrifices made by fire to God were to be their inheritance. The angel of the Lord asked Joshua to appoint six cities of refuge wherein any person whoso killed anybody unawares or unintentionally or in self defence can take refuge in any of those cities by declaring his cause to the elders and shall not be delivered to the people who sought revenge of his blood*. And shortly Joshua addressed all of Israel and blessed them and died a hundred and ten years old.

(+Joshua 13:1); (*Joshua 20:3)

After the death of Joshua, Judah and Simeon defeated the Canaanites and Perizzites at a place called Bezek and killed ten thousand men. When Adoni-bezek, the king of Canaan fled, they pursued and captured him and cut off his thumbs and his great toes and brought him to Jerusalem, where he confessed to having cut off the thumbs and greater toes of seventy other kings, and said 'As I have done, so has God requited me'+, and died. The later generations after Joshua did not know of the works of the angel of Lord, and many served other gods and goddesses such as Baal and Ashtaroth, and took the daughters of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites for wives and daughters-in-law. The anger of the Lord was kindled and Israel was captured by Chushan-rishathaim, the king of Mesopotamia. After the eighth year of captivity, when the children of Israel cried unto the Lord, he raised Othniel, a Kenizzite as a Judge, who defeated Chushan-rishathaim and the land had peace for forty years till the death of Othniel. Again, when Israel transgressed they were captured by Eglon, the king of Moab and were held captive for eighteen years. Again, they pleaded to the Lord, who sent Ehud, a Benjaminite who presented Eglon with a double-edged dagger, about a foot and a half long, who girded it over his right thigh. When Ehud obtained a private audience with the king in his summer parlour, he being a left-handed man, drew the dagger from the king's right thigh and thrust it in his belly. The king being a rotund man, the dagger went in with the haft and was stuck. Ehud escaped and blew a trumpet and called out the Israelites, and in the melee that ensued, they slew ten thousand Moabites and Israel was free of oppression for the next eighty years.

(+Judges 1:7)

After the death of Ehud, Israel again transgressed and was captured by Jabin, the king of Canaan and they were oppressed for twenty years. Deborah, a prophetess, was the judge of Israel then and the children of Israel approached her for judgment. She summoned for Barak, who took ten thousand men of the tribes of Zebulun and Napthali and they along with Deborah went to Kedesh in Canaan. When Sisera, the captain of host of Jabin's army heard of Barak's approach and when they were near Mount Tabor, the Lord discomfited Sisera and his men and Sisera fled, but his men were pursued and were killed. Sisera fled to the tent of Heber, a Kenite and his wife Jael, at a place near Kedesh. Jael hid Sisera in his tent, gave him a bottle of milk to drink, and covered him, and he pleaded her to stand by the door and not betray him to anyone that asked of him. As Sisera slept, Jael took a nail and a hammer and drove the nail down his temples and he died. When Barak came and asked of Sisera, she showed him the dead man. Israel thereby prevailed over Jabin, the king of Canaan.

Israel was again captured by Midianites and they ruled for seven years. The land was ravaged and impoverished by them, when the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord. Again, upon Israel's plea, the angel of the Lord came to a man called Joash and his son Gideon, out of the tribe of Manasseh at Ophrah, and charged Gideon to save Israel out of the Midianites. Gideon said to the angel, 'we are a poor family and I am the last in my father's house'. The Lord assured him of his presence, and when Gideon offered him food of kid lamb, broth and unleavened bread, the angel asked him to set it on a rock and pour out the broth, and a fire came forth and consumed the offering. Gideon dedicated an altar there to the Lord, and called it Jehovah-shalom. Joash, the father of Gideon had built an altar for Baal, which did not please the Lord and asked Gideon to break it down. As instructed, Gideon took ten of his servants by night and threw down the altar of Baal, and cut the grove around it and built and altar for God. And with the wood they had cut from the grove, he offered a bullock, for a burnt offering. When the men of the city realized of what Gideon had done, they bayed for his blood and Gideon replied, 'why do you people plead for Baal; let him plead for himself' and hence he was named Jerubbaal. Gideon took a sign of assurance from the angel of the Lord twice, and summoned out of the tribes of Asher, Zebulun and Napthali, all of thirty-two thousand men. When the Lord said that the numbers were too many, the people who were fearful were offered to leave and many left, yet ten thousand men remained. The Lord said to Gideon again, that the numbers were too many, so he brought them by the waters, to try them, and whosoever drank of the water like as a dog lapping, he took them, and there remained three hundred men. All of three hundred men, and Gideon, delivered Israel from the Midianites. They killed Zebab and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian, and after then there were forty years of peace and quiet.

As soon as Gideon was dead, the children of Israel turned again and went a-whoring after Baalim, and made Baal-berith their god. Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal went to Shechem unto the house of his mother's brethren and said 'Listen, is it better for all of the seventy Jerubbaal's sons to rule over you, or one man to rule over you, for even I am of your flesh and blood?' They agreed with Abimelech and gave him seventy pieces of silver and he left for Ophrah, for his father's house and killed all seventy of Jerubbaal's sons, save for Jotham, the youngest, who had hid himself and fled to a place called Beer. And all the people of Shechem made Abimelech their king. After three years, 'God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the men of Shechem'+, and the Shechemites rebelled against Abimelech, but were overthrown, and many were killed in the tower of Shechem, when it was burnt down. Then, Abimelech went to Thebez and when he tried to capture the tower in that city, a woman threw a millstone, which almost broke his skull, and he was badly injured and asked his armour bearer to kill him, lest he die of a woman's hand. 'Thus God rendered the wickedness of Abimelech, which he did unto his father, in slaying seventy brethren'*.

(+Judges 9:23); (*Judges 9:56)

After the time of Abimelech, two other judges, Tola and Jair took rein and when Jair died, Israel again did evil in the eyes of the Lord and worshiped other gods, and they were vexed and oppressed for eighteen years by the Philistines and the Ammonites. During that time, there was a mighty man of valour called Jephthah, the son of Gilead, born to a prostitute. When Gilead's wife bore him sons and when they grew up, they chased Jephthah out of their house that he may have no inheritance of his father, and so he went and lived in a place called Tob. When the Ammonites threatened war on Israel on the other side of Jordan, the elders of Gilead approached Jephthah to be their Captain for the fight. He agreed, but on the condition that he be made the head of Gilead, even after the war. When he attempted diplomacy with the Ammonites and it failed, he took a vow that whosoever shall come to meet him from his house after the victory in the war he shall give as a sacrifice to the Lord. He then went and defeated all of twenty Ammonite cities, and the Ammonites were subdued. When he came back to his house after the victory, his virgin daughter - his only child - came out with a celebratory dance to meet him, and he was made low. His daughter told him to keep his word to the Lord, and took leave with her friends for two months, and when she returned, Jephthah kept his promise to the Lord and he died after he had judged Israel for six years.

After many years of peace and after the rule of a few judges, Israel once again wavered, and was delivered into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. There was a certain man called Manoah, out of the tribe of the Danites, whose wife was barren. And an angel of the Lord said unto her, 'Lo, you shall conceive and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head; for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines'+. The angel did appear once again, and Manoah implored him about a Nazarite, for he knew not what a Nazarite was, and the angel explained even unto his wife, that neither wine nor strong drink can be consumed, nor any unclean things be eaten. The angel refused to eat food when offered and Manoah dressed a kid lamb for meat offering on a rock and it was consumed in flames, and the angel ascended off the altar. Manoah then said to his wife, 'We shall surely die, because we have seen God'*. Manoah's wife delivered a son and they named him Samson, who grew up to be blessed. One day when he went down to Timnath, he saw a Philistine girl that he fell in love with, and asked his parents to seek her for his wife. His parents were not much pleased, for the girl was a Philistine's daughter. Yet, as they agreed to go with him to ask for the girl, a young lion attacked Samson and he slew it off his bare hands and his parents knew not about it, and they went to Timnath and talked of the betrothal and returned. When the time came to take her for marriage, Samson saw a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion, which he had slain, and he took and ate of the honey and gave his parents too, and they ate. When they were at the bride's place, Samson threw a feast and there were thirty men as his companions, and he put a riddle across to them for a bet of garments and for the puzzle to be solved within seven days. The riddle was: 'Out of the eater came forth meat, out of the strong came forth sweetness'. When the men were unable to crack the riddle, they coaxed Samson's bride to get it out from him, and she cried everyday, all seven days of the feast and he eventually relented. Before sunset on the seventh day, the men answered: 'what is sweeter than honey; what is stronger than a lion?' An enraged Samson killed all the thirty men at Ashkelon, and paid off his debt of the garments, and left to his father's house, but his bride was given off to his best man.

(+Judges 13:5); (*Judges 13:22)

After a while during the harvest time, Samson visited the girl of Timnath again, which was to be his bride, with the gift of a kid goat and wanted to take her. But her father explained that she was already taken by Samson's best man, and offered the girl's younger sister instead. A displeased man that he was, Samson caught three hundred foxes and set their tails on fire and let them loose on the cornfields, the vineyards and olives. The infuriated Philistines on finding that the damage was wrought by Samson, the son-in-law to be of the Timnite, burnt the girl and her father, and Samson took revenge on them that killed her and her father, at the rock at Etam. When the Philistines threatened the tribe of Judah at Lehi, seeking Samson, three thousand men of Judah went up to the rock Etam to take Samson and deliver him to the Philistines. They asked Samson, what was it that he had done, and he replied, 'As they did unto me, so have I done to them'+. When Samson was assured that his life was not at peril, the men bound Samson with new cords and handed them to the Philistines at Lehi, but the bands were loosened off his hands, and he took a jawbone off the remains of an ass and slew a thousand men. Samson left and went to Gaza, and slept with a prostitute that night and the Gazites laid wait for him, to kill him in the morning. But Samson got up by midnight, and took the city gate and the two posts and put them on his shoulder, and went away.

(+Judges 15:11)

Later Samson fell in love with Delilah, from the valley of Sorek, and the Philistines promised eleven hundred pieces of silver to Delilah to get a know on the secret of Samson's strength. After many failed attempts, Delilah managed to make Samson speak his heart out and made him lie on her, and had a man shave off his locks and Samson's strength was gone. Thereby, the Philistines captured Samson, put out his eyes, imprisoned him at Gaza, and bound him with brass fetters. After a while, all the Lords of the Philistines gathered for a feast for their god Dagon. All of three thousand men and women gathered on the roof of an arena, and they called Samson out of prison for sport and to make merry. Howbeit, Samson's hair had grown by then and his handler, a young lad, helped him feel the pillars for support and Samson prayed to the Lord one last time, and brought the house crashing down. So the dead, which he slew at his death, were more than they which he slew in his life. His brethren came and took his body, and buried him along his father. Samson had been the judge of Israel for twenty years.

There came a time in Israel when there was much lawlessness and idolatry, and in those days, there was no ruler in Israel. Every man did that which was right in his own eyes, and there was famine in the land. There was a man named Elimelech, an Ephrathite of Bethlehem-judah, who took his wife Naomi and his two sons Mahlon and Chilion to sojourn in the land of Moab. Shortly, Elimelech died and his sons were married to Moabite women named Orpah and Ruth, and after ten years, both his sons Mahlon and Chilion too died. Decidedly, Naomi asked her daughters-in-law to go and return to their respective parents' homes and herself, wanted to return to Judah. Orpah kissed Naomi and took leave, however Ruth chose to stay on with Naomi whither she went even till death, and they reached Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest. There in Bethlehem lived Boaz, a wealthy man and a near kin of Elimelech, unto whose land Ruth went to glean the field for barley. Ruth found favour in the eyes of Boaz, knowing that she had left her family to be with Naomi, and provided food and water for her and saw to it that his men even deliberately left enough for her to glean, to consume and to store, even until the wheat harvest. Naomi instructed Ruth that since Boaz was a near relative, she anoint herself and go upto Boaz in the night, and uncover his feet and lie down with him. When it came to pass that Ruth did so, Boaz refrained himself and blessed Ruth, and told her that there was yet a nearer kinsman for consideration, and sent her back to Naomi before sunrise and gave her six measures of barley. The next day, when the nearer kinsman came, Boaz gathered ten elders of the town and stated to all that Naomi offered a parcel of land belonging to her late husband Elimelech, to be redeemed along with her daughter-in-law, Ruth – by the nearest kinsman, and if the nearest kinsman were to refuse, Boaz offered to redeem it. The nearer kinsman refused, and with the witness of the elders, Boaz agreed to redeem all that belonged to Naomi and he married Ruth, who bore him a son called Obed, the same was the father of Jesse and the grandfather of David the king.

There lived at that time, a man called Elkanah, an Ephrathite who had two wives named Hannah and Peninnah. Elkanah loved Hannah more, but she was barren. However Peninnah had children, and every year during their pilgrimage to Shiloh for sacrifice to the Lord, Hannah was ridiculed by the other. So she wept sore and prayed and vowed to the Lord, that if he so blessed her with a son, she would dedicate him unto the Lord, all the days of his life. When Eli, the priest who initially mistook her for a drunken babbler heard of her story, he blessed her. When they returned from Shiloh, Elkanah took her again, and Hannah conceived a son and named him Samuel. When Samuel was weaned off his mother's milk, Hannah took him to Shiloh and made sacrifices and brought him to Eli the priest, and lent her son to God for the rest of the days of his life. Samuel ministered before the Lord and prospered, even as Eli's sons did evil. His mother brought him a new coat each year during their visits. Hannah was blessed with three more sons and two daughters.

Eli had grown old and his eyes could no longer see and was laid down at his place in the temple, where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. And Samuel also lay down to sleep and in the night, when the Lord called Samuel, he got up and went to Eli and said 'here I am', and it happened thrice. Each time Eli said, 'I called not', but perceived the call was of the Lord, and told Samuel to say, 'speak Lord for your servant listens'. The Lord spoke to Samuel that night concerning the house of Eli, for his sons had sinned and Eli had not restrained them, and said, 'I have sworn unto the house of Eli, that the iniquity of Eli's house shall not be purged with sacrifice nor offering for ever'+. When Eli asked in the morning of Samuel, he hid not anything and told of what the Lord had said, and Eli replied, 'it is the Lord: let him do what seems good to him'*. That was the time when Israel camped at Ebenezer and went to war with the Philistines, and Israel was smitten and lost about four thousand men. The elders of Israel said, 'let us bring the Ark of the Covenant from Shiloh among us, for God be with us', and the ark of God was brought to the camp and even Eli's two sons went along with, and the Philistines were sore afraid because of the Ark of God. However, they took courage and slaughtered all of thirty thousand Israeli footmen and captured the Ark of the Covenant and even Eli's two sons were killed. When a man from the clan of Benjamin ran and told Eli of the news, more than for his two sons, when he heard of the Ark of the Covenant being mentioned as taken, he fell off his seat and broke his neck and died. Eli was ninety-eight and had judged Israel for forty years.

(+I Samuel 3:14); (*I Samuel 3:18)

The Philistines captured the Ark of God from Ebenezer and took it to Ashdod, and brought it to the house of their god, Dagon and set it near him. Early next morning, the people of Ashdod saw that Dagon was fallen face down before the Ark of God and they set him back in place. The next day, Dagon was again fallen face down and with the palm of his hands cut off. And neither any of the priests of Dagon, nor any other man entered the threshold and the people of Ashdod and the nearby cities were stricken with various types of tumours. Wherever they took the Ark of God among the people, the great and the small were struck with tumours and the lords of the Philistines decided to send back the Ark of God to Israel. They made a trespass offering of five golden emerods (tumours) and five golden mice, and set the Ark of God on a brand new cart, and returned it back to Israel. The Ark of God had been with the Philistines for seven months.

Samuel called for the repentance of all Israel and asked them to gather at Mizpeh and sacrificed a young lamb for a burnt offering. Even as the Philistines attacked them again, they were discomfited, and the men of Israel pursued them and overcame them and captured back all the cities that the Philistines had taken earlier. As Samuel grew old, he set his two sons for judges, Joel and Abiah, but they perverted judgment and took bribes, and the elders of Israel asked Samuel to set a king from among them, like the other nations. Samuel prayed to the Lord, and the Lord replied, 'Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say unto you; for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them'+.

(+I Samuel 8:7)

There was a man called Kish, a Benjaminite, whose son was Saul, a goodly, tall and a broad shouldered lad who was asked to look out for some lost asses, by his father. Saul took a servant along, and even after three days of search they had not found the asses, and before returning and near the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant, 'I have heard of a man of God in the city; let us go meet him and then return'. Between them, they had quarter of a shekel of silver for a gift, and went in to the city to inquire. By then Samuel was informed of the Lord about Saul, the Benjaminite's arrival and when the men came and inquired of the seer, Samuel answered, 'I am the seer'. Samuel told Saul to eat and stay with him, and leave the next day, and said that his asses were found. Early next morning, Samuel asked Saul's servant to pass on ahead, and anointed Saul with a vial of oil and kissed him and said that the Lord had appointed him to be the captain over his inheritance, and asked him to wait at Gilgal for seven days. When Samuel came there, he called for all the tribes of Israel to assemble at Mizpeh and announced to the people, 'see him whom the Lord has chosen', and the people shouted 'God save the king'.

After then, it came to Saul's notice that the Ammonites had encamped to wage war against Israel. Hence, Saul assembled all of Israel at Bezek, and they numbered three hundred thousand, and all of Judah thirty thousand. The next morning, the people were split in three groups and they raided the Ammonites, and by noon, many were slain and they that were alive were scattered. After then, Samuel came and asked the people to assemble at Gilgal, and they offered sacrifices before the Lord, and blessed the king. Two years into his reign as the king, Saul and his son Jonathan raided and defeated the Philistines, however he made the error of performing the sacrifices of the burnt offering to the Lord himself, and had not waited for Samuel. It was then foretold by Samuel that Saul's sovereignty shall not last, and that the Lord had sought another man to lead Israel. Saul continued to lead Israel to victories against Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, and against the kings of Zobah and the Philistines. When Samuel came with the word of the Lord to Saul, instructing him to wage war against the Amalekites and slay all men, women and animals, he spared the Kenite clan out of the Amalekites, and smote all, but took Agag, the king of Amalekites as prisoner, and his people brought back the best of cattle and sheep along with them. When Samuel came to Saul and said, 'you have listened not to the Lord, for you have not destroyed all as instructed', but Saul tried to defend himself stating, 'all the goodly animals were brought to Gilgal for a burnt sacrifice to the Lord'. Samuel replied, 'to obey is better than sacrifice', and further added, 'For you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel'+. Samuel then summoned for the king of the Amalekites to be brought forth and said, 'As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal'*.

(+I Samuel 15:26); (*I Samuel 15:33)

After Samuel had left from Saul, the Lord said unto him to prepare a sacrifice at Bethlehem and to call for the sons of Jesse, for one among them was to be anointed. When seven of Jesse's sons were presented before Samuel, he said that the Lord had not chosen any of these and inquired if all the sons of Jesse were present. He was answered that the last one was indeed tending to the sheep, and so he was summoned. They brought in a ruddy, good-looking young lad, and Samuel anointed him, and the spirit of the Lord came upon David. At the same time, 'the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him'+. Then the servants of Saul suggested to him that if a skilled player of harp played before him, the evil spirit would depart, and they proposed David, the son of Jesse. Saul sent messengers to Jesse, asking for David, and David came to Saul with an ass laden with bread, wine and a kid lamb, and found favour in the eyes of Saul, who appointed him as his armour bearer. 'And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took a harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him'*.

(+I Samuel 16:14); (*I Samuel 16:23)

At that time, the Philistines had gathered their armies for battle at Shochoh, which belonged to Judah, and Saul's men were in battle array at the valley of Elah. And there present was the Philistine champion called Goliath, who was over ten feet tall, wearing a brass coat, a helmet and armed with a heavy spear of Iron who defied Saul's men for a one-on-one combat, and the armies of Saul's men were distraught. For forty days, there were none to challenge the Philistine. Then one day, Jesse sent David to take cheese and loaves for his three elder brothers who were with Saul's army, and when he reached his brethren at the battle front, there was Goliath again who still defied and mocked the Israelites. David inquired the men there, about what would be done for the man that killed Goliath, and they replied that the king had set a reward of great riches and for his daughter to be given in marriage to the man who prevailed in the challenge. Eliab, David's elder brother reproved him of pride and naughtiness and asked him to get back and tend to the sheep but David offered himself for the combat. When Saul heard of it, he said to David, 'you are but youth and the Philistine is a man of war from youth'. David replied that even as he tended to his father's sheep, a lion and a bear he had slain both with his bare hands, to save his flock, and that the uncircumcised Philistine could fare no better. So Saul girded David with a coat of mail, a brass helmet and a sword but David put them aside and took his staff, and selected five smooth stones into his bag, along with a sling and drew near Goliath. The Philistine, looking at the ruddy young lad asked, 'am I a dog that you come with a stick in your hand?' and abused David who replied, 'you have come with your sword and a spear, but I come to you in the name of the Lord', and when Goliath arose to attack, David put his hand in the bag and took a stone and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his forehead. When Goliath sunk down, David ran and stood upon the Philistine, and drew out his sword and cut off Goliath's head.

Upon the death of Goliath and after the Philistines had been chased away by the Israelites, Saul took David with him and set him over the men of war. Jonathan, the son of Saul endeared himself greatly with David and gave of him his garments, his sword, and his bow, and loved him as his own. David behaved well and in acceptable manner in front of all the people, and led his men wherever Saul ordered. Once, after his victory over the Philistines, the women sang, 'Saul had slain his thousands and David his ten thousands', and Saul was greatly displeased and became jealous and the evil spirit from God came upon Saul. Merab, the daughter of Saul, was to be married to David - he gave her away to another man, but Michal, Saul's other daughter loved David. Mindfully, Saul accepted David to be his son-in-law, but his heart was afraid of David and he wished him dead. So, Saul sent word through his servants to David that the king wished for no dowry, but asked for a hundred foreskins of the Philistines. David went forth with his men and killed two hundred Philistines and brought their foreskins to Saul, and he was married to Michal; however, the enmity grew between Saul and David, for he was afraid. Shortly after David's return from a war with the Philistines, Saul tried to kill David with his Javelin, but David escaped. That night, Michal asked David to escape out of town, for her father was determined to kill him and she let him down out of a window, and David fled and went to Samuel, at Ramah and narrated to him all that Saul had done. David then left from there and met with Jonathan, who tried to persuade his father against killing David, but Saul took offence even unto his own son for speaking so. David then took leave of Jonathan and came to Nob, a city of the priests, and met Ahimelech the priest and told him that he was on an errand for the king. He had bread with him, and took the sword of Goliath, which lay in the temple and left and dwelt in a cave at Adullam.

When his brethren and they of his father's house heard of David's plight, they went down to meet him. And all that were in distress or in debt or were discontent joined him there - all of four hundred men, and David became the captain over them. He led them to Mizpeh, in Moab and asked the king of Moab to shelter his parents there, and the band of men went towards the forest of Hareth, where he was met by Abiathar, the son of Ahimelech the priest. Abiathar stated that Saul had killed his father and eighty-five other priests at Nob, along with all that were there: the women, children, sheep, oxen and asses, for having had entertained David. David took Abiathar along with his men and went to Keilah, which was under attack from Philistines and delivered the city by defeating the attackers, and David and his six hundred men went and lived in the wilderness of Ziph. But the Ziphites conspired against David and informed Saul, and before they could escape, David and his men were surrounded. But word came to Saul that the Land was being invaded by the Philistines, so he left from there. Saul then returned back to the wilderness with three thousand men after repelling the Philistines, wherein, when he was dressing his feet in a cave, David cut off the fringe of Saul's skirt secretly, and implored Saul about what made him think that he wanted to hurt Saul (for David could have easily killed him). And Saul wept and seemingly repented saying, 'You are more righteous than I, for you have rewarded me good, whereas I have rewarded you evil'+. Furthermore, he added that David surely and deservedly shall become the king of Israel, and took an oath from him that his name and family shall not be destroyed, and he left. During that time, Samuel had died and was buried in his house at Ramah.

(+I Samuel 24:17)

David and his men had moved to the wilderness of Paran, where there was a man called Nabal, at Carmel, shearing sheep, for he had over three thousand, and his wife's name was Abigail. David sent ten of his men to Nabal to ask peaceably for gifts that he may offer in exchange for the protection of his herd. But Nabal, an evil man that he was, rudely sent them back. An enraged David girded four hundred of his men with sword, to attack Nabal. When Abigail, the good-looking wife of Nabal heard of her husband's reproof of David's men, she hastened her servants to go before her and to take along two hundred loaves of bread, wine, parched corn, raisins and five dressed sheep. When Abigail met with David en route, she bowed to him and apologized for her husband's folly, and pleaded with David not to shed blood, and presented them with the goods. David blessed Abigail for saving him from shedding blood, and took her offerings and sent her in peace. When Abigail returned, Nabal was feasting and was heavily drunk, and when she told him the next morning of her doing, Nabal's heart failed and he was paralyzed as stone and died about ten days later. When David heard of Nabal's death, he sent for Abigail to be his wife, after her mourning period was done. He also took another wife named Ahinoam of Jezreel, but by then Saul had given away Michal to another man.

Saul was relentless in his pursuit to kill David and yet again came to the wilderness with three thousand men seeking David. The spies of David learnt of where Saul had pitched tent and David came down by night, when Saul was deep asleep, and took away his spear and the cruse of water kept by his side and went a safe distance away and called for Saul and his men. Saul knew the voice of David, and realized he could yet have been killed by David, but was spared. Saul blessed David for showing mercy and promised him no more harm, and he left. But David was sore in his heart for Saul and left to the land of the Philistines with his six hundred men and met with Achish, the king of Gath, who gave him a parcel of land at Ziklag, and David lived there sixteen months. At that time, the Philistines gathered their men for war against Israel, and Saul was distressed and sought a woman that had familiar spirits, in the sly (for he had banished them in the country) and to summon the spirit of Samuel. When the woman sought Samuel and when she saw him, she wailed, and Saul asked her what she saw. And the woman said to Saul, 'I saw gods ascending out of the earth, and an old man covered in a mantle'. Saul perceived him to be Samuel, and bowed himself down. Then Samuel asked Saul, 'Why have you disquieted me to bring me up?' Saul said that the Lord had departed from him, and answered him no more and inquired on the fate of the war with the Philistines. Samuel said, 'Why then do you ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from you, and has become your enemy?' and added, 'The Lord will also deliver Israel with you into the hands of the Philistines, and tomorrow you and your sons shall be with me'+. Saul fell to the ground and was sore afraid for the words of Samuel and his strength left him, as he had not eaten all day, and yet refused food when offered. But the woman insisted and fed Saul and his servants, and they left.

(+I Samuel 28:19)

Even as the lords of the Philistines were arrayed for battle against Israel, David and his men were also present with Achish, which displeased the other Philistine lords about the presence of Israelites amidst them, who could perhaps change their allegiance, and they asked for David to be relieved. Achish, even as he praised David's integrity, relieved him for the sake of the other lords and when the men returned to Ziklag, they saw the town burnt down and all the women and children had been carried away by the Amalekites. Four hundred of David's men tracked the Amalekites with the help of an Egyptian and found them eating, drinking and dancing for joy, at the spoils that they had taken from the 'Philistines' at Ziklag, out of the land of Judah. David and his men descended on them in the twilight and slaughtered all but four hundred Amalekites, who had escaped in camels, and recovered everything including his two wives. The Philistines meanwhile decimated Saul's camp and his three sons including Jonathan were killed. Saul himself was struck by the archers and asked his armour bearer to kill him before the Philistines could get to him but his armour bearer refused. So Saul drew his sword and fell upon it, and seeing him, his armour bearer followed suit and killed himself.

On the third day at Ziklag, after the slaughter of the Amalekites, a young man came to David's camp with the news of the death of Saul and his sons, and David wanted to know how he knew. The young man answered saying that he had chanced to be upon Mount Gilboa at the time when Saul had fallen upon his spear and called for help, as he was not yet dead and that the chariots and horsemen of the Philistines were in pursuit. Realizing that Saul would not live, and upon his plea to be slain, the young man, an Amalekite, said that he slew Saul. David called forth a young man and had him kill the Amalekite, and said, 'Your blood be upon your head; for your mouth has testified against you saying, I have slain the Lord's anointed'+. David lamented for the dead, for Saul, and his sons. It came to pass and David and his entourage left for Hebron, where the men of Judah anointed him to be the King of Judah. But Abner, the captain of Saul's host, set Ish-bosheth, the son of Saul as the king of Israel.

(+II Samuel 1:16)

There was continuous warring and sparring between the house of Saul and the house of David, and David became stronger even as the house of Saul weakened. There happened a discord between Abner and Ish-bosheth over a concubine of Saul, and both fell out of favour with each other. Abner then sent messengers to David for a league, which David accepted in return for Michal, his estranged wife. David meanwhile also sent messengers to Ish-bosheth for Michal to be delivered to him, who had a weeping Phaltiel, Michal's husband, chased away. Later, Abner came to Hebron with twenty men, where David made them a feast and Abner left David in peace, with a mission to speak to the elders of Israel, to make him the king of Israel. When David's servant Joab returned from a campaign with great spoils, and heard of Abner's visit, he warned David of possible deceit by Abner. When Joab came out of David's place, he sent messengers to bring back Abner. David knew not the happenings, but when Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside and smote him there, under the fifth rib, that he died; for the blood of Asahel, his brother (for Abner had killed Joab's brother, Asahel in a similar manner). When David heard of it he said, 'I and my kingdom are guiltless before the Lord forever, from the blood of Abner, the son of Ner'+. Hearing the death of Abner, Saul's son Ish-bosheth was feeble, and all of Israel was troubled. Ish-bosheth had two men, who were captains of bands of men, named Baanah and Rechab, both brothers and the sons of Rimmon, a Beerothite. Rechab and Baanah entered the house of Ish-bosheth mid-day when he was asleep, and they smote him under the fifth rib, beheaded him, took his head and escaped. They then brought his head to David, who said, 'When one told me, saying, behold Saul is dead, thinking to have brought good tidings, I took hold of him, and slew him in Ziklag, who thought that I would have given him a reward for his tidings. How much more, when wicked men have slain a righteous person in his own house upon his bed? Shall I not therefore require his blood of your hand, and take you away from the earth?'* David had the men killed and their hands and feet cut off, and had them hung. Then came the tribes and elders of Israel to Hebron, and anointed David as the king of Israel and he was thirty years old then. David ruled over all of Judah and Israel for forty years.

(+II Samuel 3:28); (*II Samuel 4: 10, 11)

When the Philistines heard that David was made the king of Israel, they gathered an attack, but were thoroughly defeated. Israel had rest from all its enemies and when David wanted to build a temple for the Lord, his prophet Nathan prophesied that the name of David would be made great by the Lord, but only his son would build the temple thereof. When Nahash, the king of Ammon died and Hanun his son took reign, David sent forth messengers out of courtesy for Nahash. But Hanun took David's messengers and had half their beards shaved and their garments cut off in the middle till their buttocks, and the men were greatly ashamed. David sent Joab and the host of his armies over the Ammonites and even against the Syrians who came to assist Ammon, and defeated their armies. However, David stayed back in Jerusalem, and one evening he got up from his bed, and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself, and the woman was very beautiful to look upon. He inquired after the woman and found her name to be Bath-sheba; the wife of Uriah, the Hittite and he summoned for her and took her and lay with her, and the woman conceived. After then, David had Uriah summoned and fed and had him drunk and the next day, he sent a letter to Joab through Uriah, and he wrote in the letter saying, 'Set Uriah in the forefront of the hottest battle, and you retire from him, that he may be struck down and die'+. Joab set Uriah into the battlefront of the valiant men of Ammon, and himself took a city front, and some of the people were killed, even Uriah the Hittite. After the mourning period of Uriah, David married Bath-sheba, but the thing that David had done, displeased the Lord. Nathan, the prophet of God came to David saying, "you have despised the commandment of the Lord and slain Uriah and taken his wife and the Lord says, behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house, and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them unto your neighbour, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of the sun. For you did it secretly; but I will do this thing before all Israel and before the sun"*. When Bath-sheba bore him a son, the child was sick, and died on the seventh day. David had fasted and prayed all the seven days, but when he heard of the child's death, he rose up, washed, anointed himself, prayed to the Lord and ate, and said to all the people who were surprised, 'When the child lived I supplicated to the Lord, for who knows his grace. But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me'#. David comforted Bath-sheba and took her again and she bore him a son whom they named Solomon.

(+II Samuel 11:15) (*II Samuel 12: 9-12) (#II Samuel 12: 22,23)

David's son, Absalom had a fair sister called Tamar, a virgin, and David's another son, Amnon was madly in love with her. Amnon's cousin and close associate, Jonadab, a subtle man, advised Amnon to pretend sickness and to ask of Tamar to serve on him. When Tamar brought meat to serve on Amnon, he sent away all the men and forced himself and entered into her, and immediately asked her to leave, for by then, he hated her more than he ever loved her. She said, 'This evil in sending me away is greater than the other you did unto me'+. But then he would not listen, and had her sent away forcefully. Her brother Absalom consoled her, but Tamar was desolate and remained with him in his house. Two years had passed, and Absalom had sheep for shearing at Baal-hazor, and invited the king and all the kings' sons for the feast. David did not go, however Amnon and David's other sons went, and as earlier instructed by Absalom, his servants smote and killed Amnon when he was merry with wine, and all his other brothers fled. However, David received news, stating that all his sons had been killed by Absalom, and he rent his clothes and wept. But Jonadab, David's nephew consoled him that all were not killed, but Amnon, and for the sake of Tamar's defilement, had he been killed by Absalom. Absalom fearing reproach fled to Talmai, the king of Geshur in Syria, and was there for three years, whereby David missed him and sent for him through Joab. Absalom returned to his house, but saw not the king, even for two years. Later, after he met David and reconciled, he took upon himself the judgment of the people of Israel on the sly, stating that the king appointed no other counsel but him and behaved courteously with the people and stole their favour.

(+II Samuel 13:16)

Then Absalom left for Hebron and to Jerusalem and gathered two hundred men who knew not the happenings, but Absalom sent spies across Israel who spread the message that Absalom ruled Hebron. When David learnt that the hearts of the people of Israel were with Absalom he feared for his life, and left ten of his concubines behind to keep the house, and left for the wilderness. And all the strangers of the land (who were with him from Gath) joined him, six hundred of them, Cherethites, Pelethites and Gittites. On seeing David leave, Zadok the priest, Ahimaaz his son, and Abiathar with his son Jonathan and all the Levites carried the Ark of God and joined him. Nevertheless, David asked them to return to Jerusalem stating, 'if I find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he shall make me return'. David and all who were with him covered their heads and left for Mount Olivet. After reaching there, David was met by his friend Hushai, the Archite, and David asked him to go forth to Jerusalem and serve Absalom and to advise him, as to not listen to the counsel of Ahithophel (David's counsellor who conspired and joined Absalom), but to abide by the counsel of the priests Zadok and Abiathar. But when Hushai met Absalom with David's counsel, Absalom said to Ahithophel, 'give counsel as to what shall we do'. And as advised by Ahithophel, Absalom went into his father's house, 'and spread a tent on top of the house, and went into his father's ten concubines in the sight of all of Israel'+.

(+II Samuel 16:22)

Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, 'Let me take twelve thousand men and pursue David and kill him, and bring back them that are with him', and the saying pleased Absalom and all the elders of Israel. Absalom summoned for Hushai and asked of his opinion but was told that it was not advisable to seek a mighty and a valiant man of war, in the wilderness, for it would be easier to capture him in the city wherein the multitudes of people could descend upon him and the counsel pleased Absalom and the elders of Israel. Hushai thereby alerted Zadok and Abiathar the priests, who sent messages to David through their sons Jonathan and Ahimaaz, and alerted David to leave the plains. When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass and went home and set his house in order and hung himself and died. David took all with him and crossed Jordan, to a place called Mahanaim, and set a third part of the people to Joab and a third part to Abishai, Joab's brother and a third part to Ittai, the Gittite from Gath. He instructed his captains to deal gently with the young men and even Absalom. Meanwhile, Absalom and Amasa, the captain of his host and all of Israel set camp in the land of Gilead. The battle was set in the wood of Ephraim, and the dead numbered twenty thousand. More died by the wood than by the sword. Absalom's own mule went under the thick boughs of an oak tree and his head caught the oak, but the mule rode away, leaving him hanging perilously. When Joab heard of Absalom's plight, he took three darts and thrust it through his heart and ten of Joab's men killed Absalom. When Joab blew his trumpet, all the men of Israel fled, each man to his tent.

David mourned the death of Absalom greatly, even to the dismay of Joab, for if Absalom had lived, David and his wives, and those with him would have had to die. After he had returned to Jerusalem, the king took the ten concubines and set them in a ward and fed them, as was done with widows. Shortly, there was a revolt from a man called Sheba, a Benjaminite and the Israelites followed him but the men of Judah supported their king. David asked Amasa to assemble the men of Judah within three days to quell the rebellion, but he was taking longer, so David summoned Abishai to pursue Sheba before he got to the fenced cities and escaped as he could potentially cause more harm than Absalom. So there went Joab's men, the Cherethites and the Pelethites, and caught up with Amasa at Gibeon, who had been ahead at the pursuit. Joab asked Amasa, 'are you in health, my brother?' and took him by the beard and kissed him, but Amasa did not notice the sword in Joab's hand, which pierced him under the fifth rib, and all his bowels fell out and he died in the middle of the highway. And they laid him by the side, and cast a cloth upon him. By then, Sheba had reached the fenced city of Abel-Beth-maachah, where a wise woman knew of Joab, and heeded to his request for the traitor, and had the people of the city cut off the head of Sheba and thrown out of the city.

As David waxed old and was losing his body heat, his servants found a fair young virgin named Abishag, a Shunammite, to be his concubine, to nurse and to lay with the king. The king was yet flaccid, and did not realize her. Then Adonijah, the son of David and the brother of Absalom, prepared himself to become the king and sought the help of Joab and Abiathar the priest, who supported him. But Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and the mighty men of David were not with him. Adonijah set for himself a grand feast and called his brethren - the king's sons - but did not invite Nathan or Solomon. Nathan told Bath-sheba to speak with David and to remind him of the oath about making Solomon the king. Bath-sheba bowed herself to David, and reminded him of his oath, and apprised him of Adonijah and his feast of felicitation and Nathan also came and spoke to David. David reiterated his oath for Solomon to be the king, and called for Zadok the priest, Benaiah, the royal bodyguard and Nathan, and instructed them to instate Solomon to be the king. Solomon rode the king's mule to Gihon, where he was anointed, and they blew the trumpet and all the people said, 'God save King Solomon'.

When the news came to Adonijah that Solomon was anointed to be the king, all his guests were afraid and left quietly their way, and Adonijah feared for his life. On hearing his brother's plea, Solomon sent for him and Adonijah bowed himself to the king, and was sent home in peace. When David's time was nearing, he charged his Son Solomon to be wise and to follow all the commandments. He further warned Solomon about Joab, that he had killed Abner and Amasa and that he had shed the blood of war in peace, and said, 'Do therefore according to your wisdom, and let not his gray head go down to the grave in peace'+. And he spoke also of Shimei, the Benjaminite who cursed David at Mahanaim, who was not killed for an oath to be brought down to grave with blood. Later David died and was buried with his fathers', in the city of David.

(+I Kings 2:6)

After David's death, Adonijah went to Bath-sheba, Solomon's mother with a petition for Abishag, the Shunammite to be given to him as his wife. When the king's mother spoke these words to Solomon, he answered 'Why do you ask Abishag for Adonijah, ask for him the kingdom also, for he is my elder brother?' And Solomon swore upon the Lord and sent Benaiah, to have Adonijah killed. Solomon banished Abiathar from being a priest, for having supported Adonijah, however he spared his life, but as for Joab, who also had supported Adonijah, he sent Benaiah once again and had him killed by the sword. Solomon then appointed Zadok to be the priest, and set Benaiah to be the captain of his host. As for Shimei, the king set a house for him in Jerusalem and said, 'On the day that you go out and pass over the brook Kidron, you shall know for certain that you shall surely die. Your blood shall be on your own head'+. At the end of three years, two of Shimei's servants ran away to Achish, the king of Gath and Shimei went to seek them. When he returned, Solomon summoned for him and said, 'Did I not make you swear by the Lord that on the day that you walk out abroad, that you shall surely die? You surely know of the wickedness that you had done to my father: therefore the Lord shall return your wickedness upon your own head', and had Benaiah kill him.

(+I Kings 2:37)

Solomon had endeared himself to the Pharaoh the king of Egypt, and took his daughter to the city of David and built himself a new house and also built the house of the Lord and raised a wall around Jerusalem. The king went to Gibeon and held a great sacrificial ritual of a thousand burnt offerings for the Lord, and in the dream by the night, the Lord said to Solomon, 'ask what I shall give you'. Solomon thanked the Lord, and asked for an understanding heart to judge between good and bad. And the speech pleased the Lord that Solomon had not asked for a long life, or for riches, or for the life of his enemies, but asked for understanding and to discern judgment. And the Lord said, 'Behold I have done according to your words. I have given you a wise and an understanding heart, so that there was none like you before you, neither after you shall any arise like unto you. And I have also given you that which you had not asked, both riches and honour, so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto you all your days'+. Solomon awoke and behold it was a dream, and he returned back to Jerusalem and stood before the Ark of God and made burnt offerings and peace offerings and made a feast for all his servants.

(+I Kings 3: 12, 13)

One day, there came two prostitutes before the king for judgment and one said, 'Lord, both of us live in the same house with no other, and I delivered a child and on the third day the other woman delivered a child also, and this woman's child died as she lay on it and she arose at midnight and took my child and laid her dead child beside me. When I arose in the morning to give the child milk, behold it was dead and then I realized it was not my child'. The other woman said, 'the living is my son, and the dead is her son'. The king called for a sword and said, 'divide the living child in two and give one half to each other'. The mother of the living child's bowels churned, and she said, 'give her the living child and in no wise kill it' and the other woman said, 'let it be neither mine nor hers, but divide it'. The king gave the child to the mother who said don't kill it. When all of Israel heard of the judgment, they feared the king, for the wisdom of God was with him.

When Solomon built the temple of God, Hiram, the king of Tyre, sent him servants and gave him cedar and fir trees and gold as required, and in exchange, Solomon sent him wheat and oil and gave him twenty cities for they had a league together. When the temple was completed, Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and asked the heads of the tribes to bring up the Ark of Covenant of the Lord along with the tabernacle and all the holy vessels and the priests brought in the Ark of God unto its place, the most holy place under the wings of the cherubims. The entire congregation during the consecration of the temple could not be numbered for multitude. Solomon spoke to the congregation and blessed the people and reminded them of the covenant with the Lord, and offered a sacrifice of peace offering to the Lord - twenty two thousand oxen and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep. Because the brazen altar was too small, Solomon held the feast for all of Israel for fourteen days, and dedicated the temple to the Lord, and the people of Israel blessed their king and left.

When the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove him with hard questions, and came forth along with a long train of camels bearing spices, gold and precious stones. When she communed with Solomon with all that she had in her heart, he answered all her questions and hid nothing from her. When she saw Solomon's wisdom, the quality of his people and their service and their manners and the grandeur, there was no more spirit left in her. She said, 'it was a true report that I heard, but only half was told to me: your wisdom and prosperity exceeds the fame I heard'. She gave the king about three and a half tons of gold, vast amount of spices and precious stones of abundance, unheard of till then. The king gave her all that she desired and besides that, gave her his own royal bounty and she left.

The weight of gold that came to Solomon's kingdom each year was close to three and a half tons, besides the inflow of spices from merchants across Arabia. And Solomon had a navy at Tharshish, which brought in gold and silver, ivory, apes and peacocks. The king had made himself a throne of ivory overlaid with the best gold, and all the drinking vessels were of pure gold and none were of silver. So King Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth, for riches and for wisdom. But Solomon had a fetish for women. For besides the Pharaoh's daughter, he had women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians and Hittites. In all, he had seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, and he worshipped all forms of gods and sacrificed unto them.

Ahijah, the prophet met Jeroboam, the Ephrathite, who was a mighty man of valour and King Solomon's servant and overseer of the house of Joseph, on the way to Jerusalem. Therein, he prophesied to Jeroboam that the house of Israel would get divided during the reign of Solomon's son, and that ten of the tribes would rebel and seek Jeroboam because of the evil ways of Solomon. When Solomon came to know of it, he sought to kill Jeroboam, but he fled to Egypt and took asylum with Shishak, the king of Egypt till the death of Solomon. Solomon's reign over all of Israel was for forty years, and when he died, his remains were buried in the city of David.

Rehoboam, the son of Solomon was made the king of Israel, at Shechem when he was forty-one years old. Jeroboam heard of the death of Solomon and came out of asylum from Egypt and met the new king along with the people of Israel. Jeroboam said to the king, that Solomon his father had instrumented heavy labour upon the people, and asked for the burden to be alleviated. Rehoboam asked them to meet him again after three days and consulted with the elders, who were his father's advisers, and they advised to the king to listen to the people and to be of service to them. The king also consulted his younger friends who suggested to him to increase the workload of the people and as his father Solomon had chastised the people with whips, and thereon, for the king to chastise the people with scorpions and Rehoboam took the counsel of his friends. On the third day as appointed, Jeroboam and the people came to the king, who spoke to them roughly and ordained on them the counsel of his friends. Therefore the king did not listen unto the people for the cause was from the Lord. When the people of Israel rebelled against Rehoboam, he fled to Jerusalem on a chariot, and as prophesied by Ahijah, ten of the tribes of Israel established Jeroboam to be their king and only the tribes of Benjamin and Judah remained with Rehoboam. The Levites left their designated suburbs and their possessions and lived in Jerusalem because Jeroboam had cast them out of Israel. Rehoboam fortified and strengthened many cities of Judah during his reign. According to the word of God by Shemiah, the prophet, during the fifth year of Rehoboam's reign, Shishak, the king of Egypt attacked Jerusalem and took away all the treasures of the king's house and of the house of the Lord, which Solomon had made. Like his father, Rehoboam desired many women and had married eighteen wives and had sixty concubines, and had begotten twenty-eight sons and sixty daughters. He ruled Jerusalem for seventeen years and he died, and Abijah, his son was made the king of Judah.

Jeroboam ruled Israel out of Shechem, but for fear that the house of Israel might go to Jerusalem – to the house of the Lord for sacrifices and prayers, and being apprehensive that the people might pledge allegiance to Rehoboam, made two golden calves and said to the people, 'behold, your gods'. He installed one of them at Bethel and the other one at Dan and the people made feasts and sacrifices for their 'god' at Bethel and even in Dan, and that became a sin in the eyes of the Lord. There came a man of God from Judah to Bethel, wherein Jeroboam was burning incense by the altar, and the man prophesied that the altar would be rent and ash would pour out of it. Behold, when Jeroboam heard the man's word and put his hand on the altar, his hand was paralyzed and the altar was rent and ash poured out of it. Jeroboam then pleaded with the man for the Lord's forgiveness, and his hand was restored. When the king of Israel called the man of God home for a reward and refreshment, the man declined, for he had been forbidden by the Lord to eat or drink till he returned. There happened to be an old prophet in Bethel, who heard of the man of God, and hurried behind him and invited him home saying he too was a prophet and lied to him that the man of God was summoned at the behest of an angel of God. And the man of God did eat bread and drink in the prophet's house, but was killed by a lion on his way back.

Jeroboam continued in his evil ways and when his son, Abijah fell sick, he asked his wife to disguise herself and take gifts to the prophet Ahijah, at Shiloh. But Ahijah was foretold of her visit and when she came, he asked her, 'why do you feign yourself to be another?' and spoke of the Lord about Jeroboam, saying, 'I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam and he that dies of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and he that dies in the field shall the fowls of the air eat'+. He further added, 'Arise, you therefore go to your own house, and when your feet enter into the city, the child shall die'*. And when Jeroboam's wife came to the threshold of the door, her son died.

(+I Kings 14: 10, 11); (*I Kings 14:12)

In the eighteenth year of King Jeroboam of Israel, Abijah, the grandson of Solomon began reign over Judah. There was a war between Abijah and Jeroboam, and Abijah set the battle in array with four hundred thousand valiant men and Jeroboam arrayed against him, eight hundred thousand men of valour. Abijah rebuked at Jeroboam saying, 'you have gathered yourself vain men and made yourselves golden calves for gods, but for us the Lord is our God and behold, God himself is with us for our captain, you fight not against Lord God of your fathers; for you shall not prosper'. But Jeroboam caused an ambush from behind and Judah was at battle from before and from behind. The men of Judah shouted and charged, and the children of Israel fled before Judah, and five hundred thousand men of Israel were slain. Jeroboam never recovered strength again and died after ruling Israel for twenty-two years and Nadab his son took reign. But Nadab was conspired and killed by Baasha, from the house of Issachar, and he took reign. During that time, Judah grew in strength and Abijah married fourteen wives, and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters, and when he died, Asa, his son reigned in his stead.

Asa followed the commandments of the Lord and purged Judah of the altars of the strange gods and built fenced cities and set up watchtowers, and had an army of five hundred and eighty thousand men. There was peace for ten years and then Zerah, the Ethiopian arrayed an army of a million men and three hundred chariots and assembled for war at Mareshah. Asa prayed to God saying, 'let not men prevail against you', and so the Lord smote the Ethiopians and when they fled, the men of Judah pursued them into their cities and took away sheep and camel in abundance, and the Ethiopians never recovered since. The people of Judah offered great sacrifices of seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep to the Lord. But when Baasha, who had taken reign of Israel, tried to rebuild the post at Ramah with the intent to cut off Judah, Asa took gold and silver from the treasury of the Lord and sent it to Ben-hadad, the king of Syria in Damascus, for there existed a league between them and their fathers. So Ben-hadad sent his captains of the armies to attack Israel, and captured many cities. Hanani, the seer came to Asa and said, 'you have done foolishly and relied upon the king of Syria instead of the Lord and therefore you shall have much war'. Asa was enraged, and put the seer in a prison and behaved oppressively with the people and after forty-one years of reign, he died and Jehoshaphat, his son took reign over Judah.

There were many quick successions in Israel after the death of Baasha. His son, Elah took reign for two years and once, when Elah was drunk at the house of his steward Arza, he was assassinated by his chariot commander Zimri, who reigned seven days from Tirzah. When the Israelites who had encamped against the Philistines at Gibbethon heard of the assassination of Elah, they appointed their captain of host Omri, to be the king. Omri left Gibbethon along with the people of Israel and besieged Tirzah, and when Zimri saw that the town was taken, he took his own life. That was the time, when there was another claimant to be king, called Tibni, and the allegiance of the people were split between Omri and Tibni, till Tibni died, and Omri ruled for twelve years after then. But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord and did worse than all that were before him, and when he died, Ahab, his son reigned in his stead.

Ahab took Jezebel to be his wife, the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of Zidonians and worshipped Baal and built an altar and a house for Baal in Samaria. In the days of Ahab there lived the prophet called Elijah, a Tishbite, who prophesied to Ahab of a coming famine in the land and was asked by the Lord to go and abide by the brook Cherith, a tributary of the river Jordan. Elijah went and abode by the brook Cherith and on all the days he was fed bread and flesh by the ravens, mornings and evenings, and drank off the brook, till the brook dried up because of the lack of rain. Again, abiding by the word of God, Elijah left for Zarephath in Zidon, and when he reached the gates of the city, a widow woman was gathering sticks and he asked her for a drink of water. As she was leaving, he called her again and asked for a morsel of bread. She replied, 'as the Lord lives, I have no bread but a handful of grain and a little oil in a cruse; I am collecting sticks so that my son and I can have our last meal and die'. Elijah said, 'fear not, make me my bread first and then for yourself and your son, for the God says, the barrel of grain and the oil shall not fail until the day it rains in the land', and so it was that they did eat many days, according to the word of God spoken by Elijah. It came to pass that the woman's son fell sick, till there was no breath left in him, and she cried unto Elijah, 'What have I to do with you, O you man of God? Have you come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?'\+ So Elijah took her son to the loft and laid him on his bed where he abode and cried unto the Lord and stretched himself upon the child three times and said, ' "O Lord my God, I pray of you, let this child's soul come into him again". And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah and the soul of the child came into him again, and he lived'*. Elijah brought him down to his mother who thanked him and said, 'now by this I know that you are a man of God, and the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth'.

(+I Kings 17:18); (*I Kings 17: 21, 22)

In the third year of his sojourn at Zarephath, the word of God came to Elijah to meet with Ahab and speak of the forthcoming rain in the land. A man called Obadiah was the governor of Ahab's house, and he was a God fearing man. Even as the queen Jezebel had decreed against the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah had hid and sustained a hundred of them in two caves - fifty in each - and fed them with bread and water. Ahab had instructed Obadiah to go across one-half of the land and seek for water and grass for the mules and the horses and he went searching the other half, lest the beasts die. When Obadiah was on that mission, Elijah met him and Obadiah knowing him, paid his obeisance, and Elijah sought counsel with Ahab, out of Obadiah. However, Obadiah was scared because of Jezebel's decree against the prophets, lest he also be put to death for Elijah's sake. On Elijah's assurance of the Lord's favour, Obadiah met Ahab and told him of Elijah, and they met. And, when they met, Ahab asked Elijah, 'are you the one that troubles Israel?' and Elijah answered, 'I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father's house in serving Baalim'. He then challenged the king and all his prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel - all of four hundred and fifty in number. So, Ahab gathered all of Israel and his prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel, and Elijah said unto the people, 'how long does it take for you decide upon two options? If the Lord be God, follow him; if it be Baal, follow him', and no one answered. Elijah added, 'let us take two bullocks; let the prophets of Baal take one and cut it to pieces and lay it on wood and put no fire. I will dress the other bullock and lay it on wood and will put no fire; let them call upon their gods and I will call upon the Lord. And the God that answers by fire, let him be God'. The people said, 'it is well spoken' and the prophets of Baal started in the morning, 'O Baal, hear us', and went on even till noon and Elijah provoked them, 'call louder, he must be busy or may be sleeping or must be on a journey!' Past midday, they had cut themselves up bleeding and wailing, yet nothing happened. Elijah then called the people, 'come here', and he repaired the altar of God and took twelve stones for each tribe of Jacob and made a trench around the altar and set the wood in order and laid the pieces of the bullock on the wood. He then filled four barrels of water and poured it on the burnt offering and on the wood, three times over; and by even tide, he prayed to the Lord, and the fire of the Lord fell upon and consumed the burnt sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the water on the trench. Even as the people fell on their faces, Elijah said, 'take the prophets of Baal, let not one escape', and all were slain by the brook Kishon.

After then, Elijah said unto Ahab to eat and drink for there was the sound of abundance of rain. And Elijah went up to Mount Carmel with his servant and sat down, and asked his servant to look toward the sea. The servant came back and said there was nothing. Elijah asked him to look up seven times and on the seventh time the servant saw a little cloud, the size of a hand, arise out of the sea. Elijah then asked his servant to inform Ahab to mount his chariot and leave for Jezreel, lest the rain stop him. When Ahab recounted of what happened at Carmel to his wife Jezebel, she was furious and sent a message to Elijah swearing that by the next day, he shall be slain. When Elijah got the message, he fled to Beer-sheba in Judah and left his servant there, and journeyed a day into the wilderness and settled himself under a juniper tree. As he lay sleeping under the tree, an angel touched him and said, 'arise and eat'; and there was a baked cake and a cruse of water. He ate and lay down again and the angel of the Lord came and said, 'arise and eat, for the journey ahead is great'. He arose and ate and was strengthened and went to Mount Horeb, a journey of forty days and forty nights.

Elijah reached Mount Horeb and rested in a cave, where the word of the Lord came to him asking, 'what are you doing here Elijah?' and he replied, 'I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and slain your prophets with swords. And I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away'+. The Lord said, 'go and stand upon the mountain', and behold, the Lord passed by and there was a great and a strong wind, an earthquake and a fire. After the fire, a still small voice, and Elijah covered his face with a mantle, and a voice asked him, 'what are you doing here Elijah?', and he replied the same as before. And the Lord said to him, 'go to the wilderness of Damascus and anoint Hazael to be the king of Syria: and anoint Jehu, the son of Nimshi to be king of Israel: and anoint Elisha, the son of Shaphat to be prophet in your place, and it shall be so that, he that escapes the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and he that escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay'*, and the Lord further added that there were yet seven thousand people in Israel that had not prayed unto Baal. When Elijah departed from there he found Elisha, the son of Shaphat, ploughing the fields, and he cast his mantle upon him. Elisha therewith left the oxen and took leave of his parents, slew an ox and fed the people there and they ate, and he went forth along with Elijah.

(+I Kings 19:10); (*I Kings 19: 15-17)

During that time, Ben-hadad, the king of Syria gathered his entire host of army along with thirty-two other kings and besieged Samaria and sent message to Ahab, the king of Israel to surrender all his gold and silver, his wives and children, and all the good things of Israel unto him. The king of Israel gathered all his elders for counsel who advised him not to surrender. And, there came a prophet of God to Ahab stating that the Lord shall deliver the multitude of attackers unto him and asked Ahab to number all the young princes of the provinces and they numbered two hundred and thirty two and all the people, seven thousand. By noon, when the young princes of the provinces came out, their army of seven thousand followed, but Ben-hadad was drunk in his pavilion with the other kings. The men slew each and every one of the men and the animals; however Ben-hadad fled on his horse and escaped. The prophet of God came to the king of Israel and said, 'strengthen yourself, for at the turn of the year, the king of Syria shall return again'. Then the servants of Ben-hadad said unto him, 'the gods of Israel are the gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger, let us set captains over the army and fight them in the plains; for surely we are stronger'. At the turn of the year, the king of Syria arrayed himself for battle at Aphek and the Israelites pitched themselves, as two little flocks of lambs, against the multitude of the Syrians. The man of God came to Ahab again and said, 'because the Syrians had said that the Lord is a God of hills; but not of the valleys, the multitude of Syrians shall be delivered unto your hands'. They were pitched for battle: one against the other for six days and on the seventh day they battled and one hundred thousand Syrian footmen were slain. The rest fled to the city of Aphek, where the remaining twenty seven thousand were killed, when the city wall collapsed on them. Ben-hadad had fled and hid himself within the inner chambers of the city and his servants told him: 'we have heard of the kings of Israel to be merciful kings, so gird yourself with sackcloth and go the king, for he may save your life'. Ben-hadad likewise pleaded with Ahab and promised him of restoring all the Israeli cities, and Ahab took it as a covenant and sent him away.

There was a man called Naboth, who had a vineyard at Jezreel, beside the palace of King Ahab. Ahab spoke to Naboth stating, 'give me your vineyard for exchange for a bigger vineyard elsewhere, or sell it to me for its money's worth'. Naboth refused because it was his inheritance and the king was greatly displeased, for he could not eat or sleep that night. When Jezebel his wife heard thereof, she took light of the situation and said, 'do you not govern all of Israel? Arise, eat and be merry, for I shall deliver the vineyard to you'. She wrote letters to the elders and nobles of the city in Ahab's name and put his seal, stating that Naboth had blasphemed against the king and God and set two false witnesses against him and decreed for Naboth to be stoned till death. It was done so by the elders and the nobles, and Naboth was stoned to death. Jezebel thereby told Ahab to take possession of the vineyard. The word of God came to Elijah that the king had gone to possess the vineyard of Naboth, and to speak thus unto him, 'In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick your blood, even yours'+. Ahab said to Elijah, 'have you found me, O mine enemy?' And he answered, 'I have found you because you have sold yourself to work evil in the sight of the Lord', and of Jezebel the Lord also spoke saying, 'The dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. He that dies of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and he that dies in the field shall the fowls of the air eat'*. Ahab repented himself and fasted and seeing thus, the Lord said unto Elijah, 'Because he has humbled himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son's days will I bring the evil upon his house'#.

(+I Kings 21:19); (*I Kings 21: 23, 24); (#I Kings 21:29)

For three years there were no wars between Syria and Israel and in the third year, Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah, the son of Asa, came down to meet the king of Israel. And Ahab said to his servants, 'Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and should we not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?' He asked Jehoshaphat if he would support a battle for which Jehoshaphat consented to, albeit asked for a prayer of the Lord for his blessing. Hence the king of Israel gathered his prophets, all four hundred in number and yet Jehoshaphat asked, 'is there not a prophet of the Lord that we may inquire?' Ahab answered, 'there is one man Micaiah, the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he does not prophesy good, but evil against me'. They summoned for Micaiah, but Zedekiah and the prophets of Ahab prophesied victory for the king. When Micaiah came, Ahab asked for a counsel about Ramoth, and was answered: 'go forth and prosper, for the Lord shall deliver it onto you'. When the king entreated himself again for the truth, Micaiah read out the situation thus saying, 'I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, and all the host of heaven standing besides, and the Lord asked, who shall persuade Ahab that he may fall at Ramoth? And one spirit came forth and said, I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of his prophets and say, 'go forth, and prevail', and therefore, the Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of your prophets'+. Zedekiah took offence and slapped Micaiah on his cheek and asked, 'now which way did the lying spirit of the Lord go to speak to you?' Micaiah answered, 'you shall see on the day when you go into the inner chamber to hide yourself'. But the king of Israel had them put Micaiah in the prison till he returned back in peace and Micaiah said, 'if you return at all in peace'.

(+I Kings 22: 19 - 23)

So the king of Israel and the king of Judah went unto Ramoth, and Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, 'let me disguise myself and enter into the battle; but you be on your robes', and they went into the battle. But the king of Syria ordered his thirty-two captains of the chariots to keep charge over the king of Israel and to set aside the rest. And when his captains saw Jehoshaphat, they thought surely this must be the king of Israel and they turned to fight him, but when they realized he was not, they turned back. But when a certain archer drew a bow and smote him, Ahab asked his charioteer to carry him out of the battlefield, for he was wounded, and by that evening he died with his blood on the chariot. By sundown the battle dispersed, each man to his city, each man to his country, and the dead king was brought back to Samaria and was buried. But when his blood was washed off the chariot, the dogs licked up his blood as prophesied and Ahaziah, his son, reigned in his stead.

Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah returned home to Jerusalem in peace and established judges across the land, and fenced the cities of Judah. During that time, the Moabites and Ammonites came against Jehoshaphat for a battle and all of Judah fasted and prayed to the Lord, and Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, a Levite prophesied of the Lord about victory in the battle. Early next morning, Judah went into the wilderness of Tekoa and reached Mount Seir, where the Moabites and Ammonites had arrayed. When Judah came toward the watchtower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and behold, they were as dead bodies fallen to the earth and none escaped. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take the spoils, they found riches and precious jewels, which they took more than they could carry, and it took three days to gather the spoils. They named the place the valley of Berachah, and they returned to Jerusalem on the fourth day. Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah for twenty-five years and he died, and Jehoram, his son became king.

Jehoram, the eldest son of Jehoshaphat married Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab, the king of Israel. When he took over the kingdom of Judah he slew his brethren by the sword and reigned for eight years in Jerusalem. In his days there were revolts from the house of the Edomites, which he quelled, but the people of Judah were following the ways of Israel in worshipping strange gods, committing fornication and whoredom. Then came a writing to Jehoram from Elijah, the prophet saying, 'because you have not walked in the ways of your fathers' and followed the house of Israel and killed your brethren, there will be a great plague which will strike your children, your wives, and you shall have disease of the bowels, till they fall out'. Moreover, the Lord stirred up the spirit of the Philistines, the Arabians and the Ethiopians, and they came into Judah and carried away all that was in his house, including the substance, his wives and children, all but Ahaziah (alias Jehoahaz), the youngest son, and Jehoram was of struck with an incurable disease in his bowels for two years, till they fell out, and he died as foretold.

When Ahaziah took over as king of Israel from his father Ahab, in the second year of his reign, he fell down through a lattice in his upper chamber and was sick. He therefore sent messengers to inquire about his sickness unto Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron. The angel of Lord came to Elijah, the prophet and said, 'arise and meet the messengers of the king and ask them, 'is it because there is no God in Israel that you go to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron? Therefore you shall not come down off that bed on which you have gone up, but shalt surely die'+. When the king asked them, 'what manner of man said thus?' they replied that it was Elijah. So the king sent his captain of fifty and his men to capture Elijah, who went up to meet him on top of a hill and said, 'O man of God, the king has said, come down' and Elijah replied, 'if I be a man of God, then let fire from heaven consume you and your fifty', and so it happened. The king sent another captain of fifty with his fifty and the same happened. So there came a third captain of his fifty with his fifty, who said, 'O man of God, I pray to you, let my life and the life of these fifty, your servants be precious in your sight'. The angel of Lord said to Elijah, 'Go down with him and be not afraid', and Elijah went to the king and said that he shall surely die, because he inquired of Baal-zebub about his sickness, and not inquired of the word of God in Israel. So when Ahaziah died according to the word of the Lord, his brother Jehoram, (alias Joram) the son of Ahab, ruled in his stead because he had no son.

(+II Kings 1: 3, 4)

The time had come for the Lord to take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind and Elijah said to Elisha, 'stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Bethel'. But Elisha would not let go of Elijah and went with him to Bethel, where the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, 'do you know that the Lord will take away your master today?' He replied, 'I know; hold your peace'. Elijah again said to Elisha, 'stay here, for the Lord has sent me to Jericho'. Again Elisha would not let go of Elijah and went with him to Jericho, where again the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, 'do you know that the Lord will take away your master today?' And he replied 'I know; hold your peace'. There again Elijah said to Elisha, 'stay here for the Lord hath sent me to Jordan'. Yet again Elisha would not let go of Elijah and went with him to Jordan, and fifty men of the sons of the prophets went along and stood afar off by Jordan. Elijah took his mantle and wrapped it and smote the waters of Jordan and the river parted and the two men crossed the river over dry ground, and Elijah asked Elisha, 'ask what I shall do for you, before I be taken away from you'. And Elisha replied, 'I pray to you, let a double portion of your spirit be upon me'. And Elijah said 'you have asked a hard thing, nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken away from you, it shall be so unto you; but if not, it shall not be so'+. As they talked and walked on, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire with horses of fire and Elijah went by a whirlwind into heaven and Elisha saw it and took the mantle of Elijah which fell from him. When he came to the bank of Jordan, he took Elijah's mantle and smote the waters saying, 'where is the Lord God of Elijah?' and the river parted and he went across and the sons of the prophets who witnessed it said, 'the spirit of Elijah does rest on Elisha' and bowed themselves to him.

(+II Kings 2: 9, 10)

Elisha called one of the children of the prophets and said, 'take this box of oil and go to Ramoth-gilead and look for Jehu, the son of Nimshi, and take him to an inner chamber and anoint him king of Israel, and open the door and flee'. So the young man went to Ramoth and the captains of the host were there and he said, 'I have an errand to you, O captain'. Jehu asked, 'unto which of all of us?' The son of the prophet said, 'To you, O captain' and went into the house and poured the oil on his head and said, 'thus says the Lord, I have anointed you king over the people of the Lord, even over Israel. You shall smite the house of Ahab, that I may avenge the blood of my servants the prophets at the hand of Jezebel'+, and he opened the door and fled. When Jehu came forth, the other captains asked, 'is all well?' and Jehu said of the Lord's words which came through the man, and they all trumpeted saying, 'Jehu is king'.

(+II Kings 9: 6, 7)

The inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah, (alias Jehoahaz) the youngest son of Jehoram, the king of Judah. He did wicked things in the eyes of the Lord even akin to his mother, Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab who was also his counsellor. He took the counsel of his mother and went with Jehoram, (alias Joram) the son of Ahab, to war against Hazael, the king of Syria at Ramoth and the Syrians defeated Jehoram who was wounded in the war and went to recuperate at Jezreel. Ahaziah went to visit Jehoram, and it was during that time that Jehu also rode on a chariot and went to Jezreel, and was spotted by the watchman on the tower. Jehu was sent word by Jehoram asking, 'is it peace?' and Jehu replied back to the messenger, 'what have you to do with peace?' So when Jehu was not relenting, Jehoram, the king of Israel and Ahaziah, the king of Judah, each took their chariots and went against Jehu and met him near the land of Naboth, the Jezreelite. Jehoram asked again, 'is it peace, Jehu?' and Jehu answered, 'what peace, so long as the whoredoms of your mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?'\+ Jehoram turned to flee, and said to Ahaziah, 'there is treachery, O Ahaziah'; but by then Jehu had drawn a bow and hit him full strength and the arrow went straight into his heart, and he sank in his chariot and Jehu took over the rule of Israel. Ahaziah was caught and brought before Jehu, and was executed and buried. When Athaliah, the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she cut off and destroyed all royal seed, but for Joash, (alias Jehoash) the son of Ahaziah who was saved by his aunt, Jehoshabeath, the sister of Ahaziah, and her husband Jehoida, the priest. Joash was saved from among his other brethren who were killed, and he along with his nurse were placed in a bedchamber and kept hidden for six years from Athaliah, who ruled Judah.

(+II Kings 9:22)

When Jezebel heard that Jehu was in Jezreel, she bedecked herself and looked out of the window and when Jehu entered through the gates, she mocked at him saying, 'had Zimri peace, who slew his master?' Jehu asked aloud, 'who is on my side?' And there looked out three eunuchs, and Jehu said to them, 'throw her down', which they did, and Jezebel was trodden upon by the horses and her blood splattered on the walls and on the horses. Jehu went into her house and ate and drank and ordered the people to bury her, for Jezebel had been a king's daughter. They only found her skull, her feet and the palms of her hands to bury and so it was that the words of the prophet Elijah came to pass. Ahab had had seventy sons in Samaria, and Jehu wrote letters to the elders who brought up Ahab's sons challenging them to set one among them as king. The men were exceedingly afraid and sent message to Jehu saying, 'we are your servants, and we will do that which you bid us; we will not make any king'. Jehu sent message again stating, 'if you be mine, take the heads of your master's sons and meet me tomorrow this time'. It came to pass, that when they received the message, they killed all seventy of Ahab's sons and put their heads in a basket and sent it to Jehu, at Jezreel. Jehu had the heads piled as two heaps at the gates of the city till the next morning and slew all of them that remained in the house of Ahab including the priests and all his kinsmen. Towards the end of Jehu's life, Hazael, the king of Syria conquered much of Israel's land. When Jehu died, his son Jehoahaz took reign of Israel. There was much oppression by the Syrians during Jehoahaz's reign, both by Hazael and his son Ben-hadad, and Jehoahaz died after ruling seventeen years, and his son Joash (alias Jehoash) took reign of Israel.

When Jehoram (alias Joram), the son of Ahab began reign over Israel, he wrought evil in the eyes of the Lord. During that time, Mesha, the king of Moab, who had a league with Ahab and had rendered two hundred thousand sheep and ram with wool to Ahab, rebelled against the new king of Israel after the death of Ahab. Jehoram, numbered all of Israel and sought alliance with Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah to wage war with the Moabites, and he consented. When they walked through the wilderness of Edom, even the king of Edom joined them and they journeyed for seven days but they ran out of water for the host and for the cattle, which followed them. Therefore, the king of Israel brooded, 'alas the Lord has called three kings to be delivered into the hands of the Moabites'. Jehoshaphat, the king of Judah asked, 'is there not a prophet of the Lord that we may inquire?' and one of servants of the king of Israel answered about Elisha, and the three kings went down to meet with him. Elisha questioned Jehoram, 'What have I to do with you? Go to the prophets of your father and the prophets of your mother'. And the king of Israel said to him, 'nay: for the Lord has called these three kings together, to deliver them into the hand of Moab'. Elisha replied, 'but for the sake of the king of Judah, I would not care to see your face'+, and Elisha called for a minstrel, who spoke of the Lord and said, 'make the valley full of trenches, and there shall be no wind nor will you see rain, but the trenches shall be with water for all to drink, and this is a light thing for the Lord, and the Moabites shall be delivered into your hand'. In the morning when they had offered a meat offering to the Lord, the waters came by and filled the trenches in Edom. When the Moabites who had arrayed themselves at the border, saw the waters against the morning sun, they said among themselves, 'this is blood, for surely the kings have warred against themselves and killed one another'. When the Moabites came to the camp of Israel to take the spoils the Israelites slaughtered them and rampaged their cities. When the king of Moab saw the battle turn too sore, he took seven hundred of his swordsmen against the king of Edom, but could not prevail. But then, when the king of Moab took his eldest son, his heir, and made a burnt offering of him, the Israelites were distraught with anger and departed to their land.

(+II Kings 3: 13, 14)

After six years of Athalia's rule in Judah and in the seventh year, Jehoida, the priest sent message for the rulers of hundreds and the captains of the guard and brought them to the house of the Lord and took an oath from them and showed them Joash, (alias Jehoash) the erstwhile King Ahaziah's son, whom he and his wife had hid. Then he set them a task that on the Sabbath day, for a third part of the group to keep watch on the king's house, a third part to keep guard at the gates, and the remaining third part to stay behind and keep guard, and directed the Levites to surround Joash. Jehoida also handed out unto them all the weapons of King David, which were laid in the house of the Lord. So the Levites, the rulers of the hundreds, and the captains of the guard did accordingly, and they brought out Ahaziah's son, put the crown upon him and made Joash, the king. Then Jehoida and his sons anointed him and all said, 'God save the king'. When Athaliah heard the ongoing celebrations and came towards the people at the house of the Lord, and when she saw the young king by the pillar, she screamed, 'treason; treason'. Jehoida called out for the captains and said, 'take her out of range and slay her not in the house of the Lord'. So they dragged her forth and took her beside the king's house, and there she was slain. Joash was seven years old when he was made the king of Judah. He reigned for forty years, and restored the temple with public donations, but after the death of Jehoida, the people transgressed and worshipped other gods and served idols. When Zechariah, the son of Jehoida stood and preached of the Lord and advised the people to follow the commandments, he was stoned to death on the instructions of Joash, without any regard for what Jehoida had done for him. At the end of that year, Hazael, the king of Syria attacked Judah and took away all the gold. After the Syrians left, Joash was stricken with many diseases, 'and two of his servants conspired and killed him when he was asleep, for the blood of the sons of Jehoida'+. And Amaziah, his son took reign of Judah.

(+II Chronicles 24:25)

Elisha came to Damascus where Ben-hadad, the king of Syria was sick, and when it was told to the king that a man of God had come, the king sent Hazael, his emissary, along with gifts, to inquire of the Lord, if he indeed shall recover of the illness. So, Hazael took forty camel loads of all the good things of Damascus and came to Elisha, and asked him of the king's word: 'shall I recover of this disease?' Elisha replied, 'go and say unto the king: you may certainly recover; howbeit, the Lord has shown me that he shall surely die'. 'However, there were tears of sadness in Elisha's eyes, so Hazael inquired, "Why do you weep, my lord?" Elisha answered, "I see great evil befall Israel at your behest", and Hazael said, "Is your servant a dog, that he should do this great thing?" Elisha answered, "The Lord has shown me, that you shall be king over Syria"'+. Hazael left and met with his master, who inquired, 'what said Elisha to you?' Hazael replied, 'he told me that you should surely recover'. The next morning, the king of Syria was murdered by Hazael, who took reign of Syria, as ordained unto Elijah by the angel of the Lord.

(+II Kings 8: 12, 13)

During around that time, a woman cried unto Elisha saying that her husband - a son of the prophets - was dead, and that the creditors were threatening to take her two sons to be bondmen, for she had no money. And Elisha asked, 'what shall I do for you? Tell me, what have you in the house?' She replied, 'I have nothing, save a pot of oil'. Elisha asked her to borrow empty vessels from all her neighbours, not few, but all that she can find, and close herself within the house and pour the oil into all the vessels. She poured oil into the vessels, and all were full. So she asked for more vessels from her son, but there were no more empty vessels to be found in that town. She came and told Elisha, who said, 'go sell the oil, and pay your debt and live in peace'. There lived a generous woman in Shunem, who offered Elisha bread to eat at her house, every time he passed the town. She said to her husband, 'I perceive that this must be a man of God, who passes us by frequently, therefore let us make a small chamber for him to stay, with a bed and a table, so when he comes forth, he can stay there'. One day, when Elisha stayed there, he told his servant Gehazi to call the Shunammite woman and ask her: 'you have been kind to us; what is to be done for you?' Gehazi answered Elisha, 'surely she has no child and her husband is old', and Elisha asked him to call her, and when she came and stood by the door, Elisha told her that in due time she shall bear a son, and so it happened. When the child was grown, he went to his father's fields one day, and cried of pain in the head and had to be carried back to his mother by a helper, where he rested on her lap till noon, and died. So she laid the boy on Elisha's bed and went to her husband, took an ass, along with a helper and came to Elisha, at Mount Carmel and fell at his feet. Seeing her, Gehazi came to thrust her away, but Elisha said, 'let her alone, for her soul is vexed: and the Lord has hid it from me'. She implored, 'did I desire a son off my Lord? Did I not say, do not deceive me?' Elisha said to Gehazi, 'take my staff and go before me, salute nobody on the way, and lay the staff of the face of the child'. Gehazi left before them and laid the staff on the face of the child, but nothing happened, so he returned and met Elisha on the way, and informed him thus. When Elisha came to the house, behold the child was dead. He locked the door and stretched himself on the child, put mouth onto mouth, eyes onto eyes and hands upon his hands, and the body of the child became warm. Elisha paced up and down the room, and again stretched himself on the child. The child sneezed seven times, and then opened his eyes. Elisha called them in and said, 'take up your son' and the woman bowed herself to him and fell at his feet, and they left.

When Elisha came to Gilgal, he was joined by the sons of the prophets, so he asked his servant to make stew for all, but there was shortage of food in the country. One of them went to the field and gathered wild berries and wild gourd, and they made stew. As they were eating, the men cried out, 'O, you man of God, there is death in the pot' (for the berries and the gourds had been poisonous). Elisha asked his servant to put the meal in the stew and serve it to the people, and behold there was no harm, and all were well. Another time, a man came from Baal-shalisha and gifted Elisha with the first fruits of his harvest - twenty loaves of bread and a few ears of corn. But Elisha asked of it to be served to all the people, and the man asked, 'should I set this before a hundred men?' And so it was served to a hundred men, and yet it remained.

Naaman, the captain of host of the king of Syria was a great and an honourable man, a mighty man of valour, but unfortunately was a leper. Once, when the Syrians had attacked Israel and took captives, Naaman had taken a little girl to be the maid for his wife, who said unto her mistress about a man of God in Samaria who could cure leprosy, and so was it told to Naaman. And so was it told to the king of Syria, who gave permission for Naaman to go to Israel and sent a letter along with, to the king of Israel to the effect that: 'Naaman, my servant seeks you that you may help him cure of the leprosy'. The king also sent along gifts of three hundred Kilos of silver, six thousand pieces of gold and ten new garments. Aghast at the strange request, the king of Israel spoke, 'Am I God, to kill and make to make alive, that this man does send unto me, to recover a man of his leprosy?'\+ He wondered if the king of Syria was indeed seeking a quarrel. When Elisha heard of the king's plight, he sent message stating, 'why do you trouble yourself? Let the man come to me, and he shall know that there is a prophet in Israel'. So Naaman came to the door of Elisha's house, and a messenger came to him from Elisha and said, 'go and wash yourself in Jordan seven times, and your skin shall be clean again'. On hearing that, Naaman was discomfited and went away saying, 'behold, I thought a prophet will come and call on his God, and touch me and heal me! Are there not better rivers in Damascus? Can I not wash myself in any of them, to be cured?' Naaman's servants pacified his temper saying, 'master, if the prophet had bid you to do something great would you not have done? How much is it, when he says, wash and be clean?' So Naaman went down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, and his skin was like that of a little child, and he was clean. Naaman came back and praised God and offered Elisha the gifts that he brought but Elisha refused in the name of God, and so Naaman left. But Gehazi thought, 'behold my master has not received a thing, let me take even a portion of the gift', and followed Naaman. On seeing Gehazi follow them, Naaman stopped and asked, 'Gehazi, is all well?', and he replied, 'all is well. My master sent me saying, two of the sons of the prophets were coming, and for their sake give me thirty kilos of silver and two changes of garments'. Naaman replied, 'be content, take sixty kilos of silver and two changes of garments'. Gehazi set the gifts in his house, and when he came and stood before his master Elisha asked, 'from where you come, Gehazi?' and he answered, 'I went nowhere'. Elisa said, 'was not my heart with you, when the man's chariot turned to meet you?' So the leprosy that Naaman was cured of came unto Gehazi, and he left from there leprous and white as snow.

(+II Kings 5:7)

Elisha had grown old and had fallen sick when Joash (alias Jehoash), the king of Israel came to see him in the deathbed. Elisha told him to take his bow and arrows, and to lay his hands on the bow. Then Elisha put his hand on the king's hands, and told him to open the window to the east, and shoot. Elisha said, 'this is the arrow of deliverance from the Syrians; for you shall smite them in Aphek'. Elisha said again to the king to take his arrows and shoot on the ground and he shot thrice, and stayed. Elisha was wroth and said, 'You should have smitten five, six times; then would you have smitten Syria, till it was consumed, whereas now you shall smite Syria, but thrice'+. After then, Elisha died and they buried him in a sepulchre. In the next year, when the Moabites invaded the land, and when one of the dead was brought to be buried in the same sepulchre of Elisha and when the body was brought down and touched the bones of Elisha, the man revived and stood up on his feet. Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the king of Israel, defeated Ben-hadad, the son of Hazael, the king of Syria, three times, and captured back many Israeli cities as foretold.

(+II Kings 13:19)

Amaziah, the son of Joash was twenty-five years old when he took reign of Judah, and he followed the commandments of the Lord. As soon as he had the control over the kingdom, he slew his servants, who had slain his father, but the children of the murderers, he slew not. As according to the book of Law of Moses, the commandment of Lord says, 'The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, nor the children be put to death for the fathers; but every man shall be put to death for his own sin'+. He invaded Edom and slew ten thousand at the valley of Salt, and sent message to Joash, (alias Jehoash) the son of Jehoahaz, the king of Israel, challenging him for a meeting. And in a battle of egos, where they met at Beth-shemesh in Judah after his victory, the king of Israel came into Jerusalem and broke down the city walls and took away all the gold and the silver and the vessels from the house of the Lord, and also took away the king's treasures and returned to Samaria. When Joash, the king of Israel died, his son Jeroboam the second ruled Israel. Amaziah ruled Judah for fifteen years after the death of Joash, the king of Israel. When he died, his son Azariah (alias Uzziah) took reign of Judah. After Jeroboam II, his son Zachariah took reign of Israel and did much evil. And Shallum, the son of Jabesh conspired against Zachariah and killed him before the people of Israel, thus ending the rule of the lineage of Jehu in the fourth generation, as foretold. Shallum ruled all of one month, before he was executed by Menahem, the son of Gadi, who ruled Israel in his stead.

(+II Kings 14: 6, 7)

Azariah, (alias Uzziah) the king of Judah was sixteen years old when he was made king. He ruled Judah for fifty-two years, and captured cities out of the Philistines and the Arabians; however the Ammonites paid him tributes and sent him gifts. He fortified the walls of Jerusalem, and built watchtowers in the cities and in the desert. The strength of his army was three hundred and seventy thousand five hundred; and his men built smart engines which could throw huge boulders and shoot arrows, to man the towers. For all the glory that he had when he was strong, he transgressed and was stricken by leprosy and died in isolation. Later his son, Jotham reigned and judged Judah for sixteen years. Jotham strengthened Judah by building cities on the mountains, and built castles and towers. He defeated the Ammonites, who paid him tributes of silver, wheat and barley each year and he became mighty and kept the commandments of the Lord and when he died, Ahaz, his son, took rule of Judah.

Menahem, the son of Gadi, who took over as king of Israel after killing Zachariah, did all that was evil in the sight of the Lord. And when Pul, the king of Assyria came up against him, Menahem paid him thirty tons of silver as tributes to stay on as the ruler and the king of Assyria took away much wealth out of Israel. Menahem reigned ten years in Samaria and he died, and Pekahiah, his son ruled Israel for two years. Pekahiah was overthrown and killed in the palace by Pekah, the captain of his guard with the help of fifty Gileadites, and ruled Israel from Samaria for twenty years. In the days of Pekah, Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria wrought much damage to the kingdom, at the behest of Judah, and took many cities, and took captives of people. And Hoshea, the son of Elah assassinated Pekah and took reign of Israel. Hoshea did evil in the sight of the Lord, and Israel was under the mercy of Shalmanesar, the king of Assyria, by paying yearly tributes. When Hoshea sent messengers to the king of Egypt for support and stopped paying tributes to Assyria, Shalmanesar besieged Samaria for three years and imprisoned Hoshea. In the ninth year of Hoshea, all of Israel was captured by the Assyrians, thus ending the rule of Israel from Samaria, and the men from Babylon occupied the land.

Ahaz, the son of Jotham was twenty years old when he began his reign in Jerusalem as the king of Judah. He took to idolatry and worshipped other gods by offering sacrifices and rituals. The Syrians set siege upon Judah and killed many and took as captives thousands of men and women. After then, the Edomites and the Philistines also attacked Judah and took away many as captives. So, Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria to come and help him overthrow the attackers by sending tributes of gold and silver to the Assyrians. Tiglath-pileser, the king of Assyria took heed of Ahaz's request and attacked Damascus and took captives of people and killed Rezin, the king of Syria. Ahaz then went up to Damascus to meet Tiglath-pileser, the Assyrian king. He returned to Jerusalem and made altars in the proportions of the temples at Damascus, and offered sacrifices to the gods of Syria, and when he died, he was succeeded by his son Hezekiah.

When Hezekiah began his reign of Judah, he was twenty-five years old. He followed the covenant of the Lord and sanctified the house of the Lord, and also made a sin offering of seven bullocks, seven rams, seven lambs and seven goats. At the end of the sin offering, the king asked the people for a burnt offering of thanks unto the Lord. And the congregation brought in seventy bullocks, a hundred rams and two hundred lambs for the burnt offering. He removed all the places of idol worship, and even broke off the brass serpent, called Nehushtan (which Moses had made for the people for the cure of serpent bites, during their forty-year sojourn in the desert) which was in the house of the Lord, for the people had been burning incense and were worshipping it. Hezekiah defeated the Philistines and defied the Assyrians even as they had captured all of Israel in Samaria. Nevertheless, in the fourteenth year of his reign, Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, captured many fenced cities of Judah, and Hezekiah was forced to pay as tributes, nine tons of silver and a ton of gold out of all that were available in the house of the Lord. Yet, even as the king of Assyria continued his taunts of Judah and set siege at Lachish, Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, and Isaiah, the prophet came with the word of the Lord and of his assurance, 'and it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty five thousand. And when they arose early in the morning, behold they were all dead corpses'+. So Sennacherib, the king of Assyria departed and dwelt at Nineveh, where, when he was worshipping his god Nisroch, two of his sons murdered him and fled to Armenia, and his son Esar-haddon reigned Assyria.

(+II Kings 19:35)

After then, Hezekiah fell sore sick unto death and Isaiah the prophet came with the word of the Lord saying, 'set your house in order; for you shall die, and not live'. So Hezekiah prayed weeping, for he had kept the ways of the Lord. Isaiah then came again with the word, that the Lord had heard his cry, and yet added fifteen more years unto his days. During that time, Hezekiah fell sick and Berodach-baladan, the king of Babylon sent a gift along with his messenger because of his illness, and Hezekiah showed the messenger all the treasures that he had in his house. Isaiah came again with the word of the Lord saying, 'Behold, the days come, that all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have laid up in store unto this day shall be carried into Babylon. Nothing shall be left. And of your sons that which you shall beget; they shall take away and shall be as eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon'. Then Hezekiah said unto Isaiah, 'good is the word of the Lord which you have spoken'. And he said, 'is it not good, if peace and truth be in my days?'\+ After the death of Hezekiah, his son Manasseh ruled Judah.

(+II Kings 20: 17-19)

Manasseh was twelve years old when he took reign of Judah, and he undid all his father's work 'for he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab, the King of Israel. And worshipped all the hosts of heaven, and served them. He made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger'+. Manasseh did more evil than many before him and the word of the Lord came through the prophets, 'behold, I am bringing such evil upon Jerusalem and Judah, that whosoever hears of it, both his ears shall tingle. And I will stretch over Jerusalem the line of Samaria, and the plummet of the line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as a man wipes a dish, wiping it, and turning it upside down'*. Then the captains of the host of Assyria took Manasseh as a captive to Babylon and when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers. His prayers were answered, and he was released back to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Even after he had reformed himself, the people of Judah continued on their transgression and when Manasseh died, he was succeeded by his son Amon. Two years into his reign, the servants of Amon killed him in his house, and the people of the land made Josiah, his son the king in his stead.

(+II Kings 21: 3 & 6); (*II Kings 21: 12, 13)

Josiah was eight years old when he was made the king of Judah, and he followed the commandments of the Lord. In the eighteenth year of his rule, he set out to repair the house of the Lord and sent finances for the repairs through his scribe named Shapan, unto Hilkiah the high priest. During that time, Hilkiah found in the temple, a copy of book of the Law of the Lord, given by Moses, and handed it to Shapan. Shapan read it and brought it before the king, and read it for him. Then the king commanded Shapan and the high priest to inquire of the Lord for the sake of all of Judah stating, 'great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not listened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all that which is written concerning us'+. So the king's men went to Huldah, the prophetess, who spoke of the Lord's words to the king saying, 'there shall evil befall Judah and its inhabitants, but because the king of Judah has humbled himself, I will gather you unto your fathers, and you shall be gathered into your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place'*. When the word was brought to him, Josiah gathered all the elders of Jerusalem, the people of Judah, and the priests and went to the house of the Lord and read to them the commandments and renewed his covenant with the Lord. After then, Nechoh, the Pharaoh of Egypt passed through Judah to battle the Assyrians, however, Josiah arrayed his troops against the Pharaoh and was shot by an archer at the valley of Megiddo. He then asked his charioteer to turn back to Jerusalem, where he died, and the people made Jehoahaz, his son, the king.

(+II Kings 22:13); (*II Kings 22:20)

Jehoahaz reigned three months, when the Pharaoh, Nechoh had him arrested and placed on exile at Riblah, in the land of Hamath. The Pharaoh then placed Jehoahaz's brother Eliakim, as the king of Judah, and rechristened him as Jehoiakim. The pharaoh then took tributes of gold and silver and took Jehoahaz to Egypt, where he died. Jehoiakim ruled for eleven years, during which time the land was raided by the Chaldees, the Syrians, Moabites and the Ammonites. 'Surely at the commandment of the Lord came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he did, and also for the innocent blood that he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood which the Lord would not pardon'+. Shortly, Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon raided Jerusalem and plundered all the vessels from the house of the Lord, and bound Jehoiakim in fetters and took him to Babylon, where he died, and Jehoiachin, his son, took reign of Judah. Jehoiachin ruled for three months, when Nebuchadnezzar besieged the city and took him, his wives, his mother and all his servants as captives. The Babylonians carried away all of Jerusalem, the princes, ten thousand mighty men of valour, all the craftsmen, and the artisans, and only the poorest of the people remained in the land. The king of Babylon installed Mattaniah Jehoiachin's uncle (father's brother) and the son of Josiah, as the king, and rechristened his name as Zedekiah. Zedekiah did much evil in the sight of the Lord and listened not to the words of the prophet Jeremiah, and rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah's reign, a famine broke out in the land. And even as the Chaldees attacked them all his men of war fled and even the king ran to the plains. The Chaldees overtook Zedekiah and captured him and brought him before the king of Babylon, where the men slew Zedekiah's sons before his eyes, and then put out his eyes and shackled him in brass fetters. Jerusalem thus was fully captured, and all things of value were taken away to Babylon, and they burnt down the house of the Lord and all the palaces, and brought down the wall of Jerusalem. All that remained were taken captives, and Babylon ruled all of Judah.

(+II Kings 24: 3, 4)

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon spoke to Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to select from among the children of Israel, men without blemish, skilful in wisdom, cunning in knowledge and having an understanding in science, men who could learn the tongue of the Chaldeans, and men who could be of service to the king. The king set aside meat and wine from his provisions, for a three-year period unto them, before they were ready to stand in front of him. Among them, out of Judah, were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, whose names were given to be Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego respectively, by the prince of the eunuchs. Not wanting to defile himself with the king's meat and wine, Daniel asked for pulses and water for themselves, from Melzar their appointed keeper. Melzar had been given to understand that meat and wine were provided, to keep the men hale and hearty and to be of good cheer, and so he refused. However, Daniel asked for a ten-day period of trial, after which Melzar could compare the spirit of men who took the meat and wine, and that of them that took pulses and water. When the men that took pulses and water appeared fairer and healthier, Melzar was convinced to continue and serve the men, as per their wish. God gave the men knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams. After the end of the days, when the prince of the eunuchs brought them before the king, there were none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah in all matters of wisdom and understanding and the king found them ten times better than all the magicians and the astrologers in his kingdom.

In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had a dream one night, wherefore his spirit was troubled and he lost his sleep. So the king summoned all his magicians and the astrologers and the sorcerers to interpret the dream. He also sent a decree that whosoever shall interpret the dream shall be rewarded and whomsoever that did not to be cut to pieces and put to death. The Chaldeans were unable to interpret his dream and said, 'It is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh'+. And so it was that the furious king commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be annihilated. When Arioch, the captain of the king's guard came to Daniel and his fellows, Daniel asked him, 'why is the decree so hasty from the king?' He then sought the king's Counsel to interpret the dream, for the secret had been revealed to him in a night vision. Daniel explained the dream to the king, 'you, O king, saw a great and a terrible image. The image's head was fine gold, his breast and arms of silver, his belly and thighs of brass, his legs were iron and the feet were part iron and part clay. You also saw a handless stone, smite the image on his legs and they broke to pieces, and the rest broke away to pieces and fell like chaff on a threshing floor, and the stone became a mountain that filled the earth'. Daniel then interpreted the dream, 'you, O king, are a king of kings; God has given you power and glory, you are this head of gold. After you shall arise another inferior kingdom, and the third kingdom of brass shall bear rule over the earth, the fourth shall be strong as iron, but shall break as iron and bruise, and the feet that are part iron and part clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken. In the days of these kings shall a kingdom be set up, never to be destroyed; but shall break in pieces but shall stand forever. As of the handless stone, it is a sign for sure that God has made known that this shall surely come to pass'. The king was greatly impressed and humbled himself before Daniel and made great gifts, and made him the chief governor over all of Babylon. The king also granted Daniel's request for Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to be set over the affairs of the province of Babylon.

(+Daniel 2:11)

Nebuchadnezzar made an image of Gold, nearly ninety foot by height and nine foot by width and mounted it on the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon, and called upon all his princes and the chief officers for the dedication of the image. Therein, a herald decreed that when the music was played by the band, that all fall down to worship the image, and that any man failing to do so, shall be cast inside a fiery furnace. When the Chaldeans saw that certain Jews had not bowed down, they informed the king thereof, stating that the Jews that he had set charge over the affairs of the provinces had not bowed down to the image and thus disregarded the king. When the king inquired of them, they stated, 'we are not careful to answer you in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve, will deliver us out of the furnace, and out of your hand. If not, be it known, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image you have set up'+. Thereby, the king was seething in anger against Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, and commanded that the furnace be heated up seven times more than required, and called for the mightiest men of his army to bind them up, and to cast the men into the furnace. The fire was so hot that the men who took Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego to the furnace died, but the three men remained unharmed. An astonished Nebuchadnezzar asked his counsellors, 'did we not cast in three men? Lo, I see four men loose in the midst of the fire, and the fourth is like the Son of God'*. Nebuchadnezzar commanded the men out, and they stood in front of the king unharmed, and the king praised the Lord, who sent his angel to protect his servants. Then he made a decree that anyone speaking against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego, be cut to pieces and his house destroyed. And the king then promoted the men in the province of Babylon.

(+Daniel 3: 16 - 18); (*Daniel 3: 24, 25)

King Nebuchadnezzar narrated a dream to Daniel, which was predictive of the demise of his great Kingdom. Wherein, a great tree, which gave protection and fruits unto the beasts, was asked to be hewed down at the trunk and destroyed, by a holy one who descended from heaven. Then when it was done, the stump and the roots of the tree remained. When it came to pass, the king recounted, 'And at the end of the days, I Nebuchadnezzar lifted my eyes unto heaven, and my understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most high, and I praised and honoured him that lives forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing, and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can say unto him, what you do?'+

(+Daniel 4: 34, 35)

When Belshazzar became the king of Babylon, he made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and his wives and concubines were with him, all having wine. As they were having their wine, the king commanded for the gold and silver vessels from the temple of Lord to be brought to the table, which his father Nebuchadnezzar had brought out of Jerusalem, and they all drank out of it. They drank the wine and praised the gods of gold, the gods of silver, and of brass, of iron, of wood and of stone. Within the same hour, the fingers of a man's hand came forth and wrote on the plaster of the wall against a candlestick and the face of the king turned ashen and his knees shuddered, one against the other. He cried aloud calling for the astrologers and the soothsayers and said to them, 'whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom'+. When none could decipher the writing, the queen of the kingdom spoke to Belshazzar about Daniel and of his wisdom, and of him having been the chief among the magicians and soothsayers in his fathers' court and so he was summoned before the king. The writing on the wall read 'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSHIN'. Daniel interpreted it for the king: 'God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it. You are weighed in the balances and found wanting. Your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians'*. They then clothed Daniel with scarlet linen and put a chain of gold on his neck, and proclaimed him the third ruler in the kingdom. That night Belshazzar, the king of Babylon was slain, and Darius, the Median, took over the kingdom of Babylon.

(+Daniel 5:7); (*Daniel 5: 25-28)

Darius, the Median, set three presidents over the kingdom: Daniel being the first, to govern the whole kingdom, and a hundred and twenty princes to give account to them. Because Daniel was the most favoured in the eyes of the king, the other presidents and the princes sought to find an occasion to bring him down. The men assembled themselves before the king and asked him to set a decree that any man offering prayers to any other god, save the king, shall be cast inside the den of lions. King Darius signed the decree, and according to the law of the Medes and Persians, a decree once signed by the king, cannot be altered. However, when Daniel heard that the king had signed the decree, he went into his house, and knelt and prayed to the Lord, with the windows open facing Jerusalem, three times a day, as he always did. When the king was told of Daniel's disregard for the decree, he was sore displeased with himself for the sake of Daniel, and yet had to execute his own orders. He prayed and said to Daniel, 'your God whom you serve continually, he will deliver you'. And they cast Daniel into the den full of lions, and sealed the mouth of the den with the king's seal. The king went to his palace and spent a sleepless night, fasting. Early next morning, he hasted towards the den of lions and in a lamentable voice inquired, 'O Daniel; has your living God, able to deliver you from the lions?' Daniel replied, 'O king, live for ever. My God sent his angel and shut the lions' mouths, and they have not hurt me, forasmuch as my innocence'. Daniel was brought out and the king ordered the men who had accused Daniel, to be cast into the den, along with their wives and children, and the lions broke their bones, and they were killed. King Darius wrote unto to all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; 'I make a decree, that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear the God of Daniel, for he is a living God, and steadfast forever, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end'+. So Daniel prospered during the reigns of Darius, the Median and during Cyrus, the Persian.

(+Daniel 6: 25, 26)

Cyrus the king of Persia, during the first year of his reign, made a proclamation according to the word of the Lord and as prophesied by the prophet Jeremiah, that the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem be rebuilt. Wherefore, the chiefs of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests, and the Levites gathered gold, silver, goods, and beasts, and all the offerings of the people. There also went forth people, numbering about forty two thousand, from Babylon to Jerusalem. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah prophesied of the Lord that Zerubbabel and Jeshua rebuild the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem, with the help of the prophets of the Lord. It was during the rule of the Persians, and later the Syrians, that all the people of Israel and Judah were scattered amidst Assyria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Babylon and the islands of the sea. According to the prophet Isaiah, 'The lord himself shall give you a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call him Immanuel. And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath and from the islands of the sea'+.

(+Isaiah 7:14 & 11:1 & 11:11)

Author's Addendum

The narration of the Old Testament would be incomplete without the story of Job. The book of Job is an independent narrative, distinct in the content and the context of the Pentateuch, or of the books of the prophets, or of the historical narratives, and is cleverly sandwiched in the Holy Bible by the latter day compilers. The timelines of this story are not evident and can only be speculated upon, as well as the authorship of this book, which is unknown. The book provides a remarkable insight on the theory of 'cause and effect,' and on the introspections of life after death, and on the nature of inequalities in the 'human condition', as discussed by the protagonist and his three wise friends, and the younger man who interjects during the later part of the discussion. The perspectives on offer are interesting as well as contemplative, nevertheless enriching in the understanding that it provides, and in the message thereof.

The story of Job

There lived a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job, a man who was perfect, and upright, and feared God, and shunned evil. He had seven sons and three daughters, besides having seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred oxen, and five hundred asses, and a large household, making him the greatest of all the men in the east country. All his children had merry days of feasting in their houses, and called each other, even the three sisters, every one his day, to eat and drink with them. Job sanctified for their acts by rising early in the morning and offering burnt sacrifices, according to the number of all of them saying, 'it may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts'+, and this he did each day.

(+Job 1:5)

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came among them. And the Lord asked Satan, 'Where are you coming from?' Then Satan answered the Lord, 'from going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it'. And the Lord said unto Satan, 'have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God and shuns evil?'\+ Satan answered, 'does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not made a protection about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and increased the substance in his land. But, put your hand on him and touch all that he has, and he will curse you on your face'. And the Lord said to Satan, 'behold, all that he has is in your power; only put not your hand upon him'*. And Satan left from his presence.

(+Job 1: 6-8) (*Job 1:12)

There came a day, when Job's children were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house, a messenger came to Job and stated that the Sabeans had captured the oxen that were ploughing the fields along with the asses feeding beside them, and that all the servants were slain by the sword. Even as that person was speaking, there came another, and said that the fire of God came from heaven and consumed the sheep and the servants. As that person was speaking, another man came stating that the Chaldeans came in three bands, and took the camels away, slaying the servants by the sword. And even as he was speaking, came yet another saying, 'your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother's house, and behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it collapsed, and the young ones are dead, only I escaped to tell you'. Job arose and rent his clothes, and shaved his head, and fell on the ground, and worshipped saying, 'Naked I came out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return: the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of God'+.

(+Job 1:21)

Again, there was a day, when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came along with them, to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord asked Satan, 'Where are you coming from?' And Satan answered the Lord, 'from going to and fro in the earth and from walking up and down in it'. And the Lord asked again, 'Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears God and eschews evil? And still he holds fast his integrity, although you moved me against him, to destroy him without cause'+. Satan answered, 'Skin for skin, yea, all that a man has, he will give for his life. But put forth your hand now, and touch his bone and flesh, and he will curse you to your face'. And the Lord said to Satan,

'Behold, he is in your hand; but save his life'*
(+Job 2:3); (*Job 2: 4 - 6)

So, Satan left the presence of the Lord, and struck Job with boils from head to toe, and his wife said unto him, 'Do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die'. Job replied, 'You speak like a foolish woman. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?'\+ When Job's three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar, heard of his plight, they came to comfort him and when they saw him, they could not recognize him. They wept with him, and rent their clothes, and sprinkled ash on themselves, and sat with him seven days and seven nights, and none spoke a word. After then, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth and said, 'Why did I not die in my mother's womb? Why did I not give up my ghost when I came out of the belly? For by now, I would have been lain quiet at rest, along with the kings and counsellors of the earth; or with the princes that had gold and silver, as a stillborn which never saw light: where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest. There the prisoners rest together and hear not the voice of the oppressor. The small and the great are there and the servant is free from the master. Why is light given to him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul; which long for death, but it comes not; and rejoice when they can find the grave? The thing that I greatly feared has come upon me, and that which I was afraid of, has come unto me. I was not in safety, neither had I rest, neither was I quiet; yet trouble came'.

(+Job 2:10)

Eliphaz, his friend spoke, "If we analyze and debate with you, will you be distressed? But who can withhold himself from speaking? Behold, you have instructed many and strengthened the weak, your words have uplifted many. Now when it comes to you, you are faint and are troubled. Is not this your fear, your confidence, the hope and your morals? As I have seen, who ploughs sinfulness and sow wickedness, reap the same. By God they perish, and are consumed. In a vision during deep sleep, a spirit passed before me, and I stood still, and I heard a voice saying, 'shall mortal man, be more just than God? Shall a man be more pure, than the maker?' Man perishes, and does not the excellence which is in them go away? They die, even without wisdom. Call now, if there is any man who can answer you. To which saints will you now turn? For anger kills the foolish man and envy slays the silly one. Although affliction does not come of the dust, neither does trouble spring out of the ground; yet man is born unto trouble. Happy is the man whom God corrects: therefore do not despise his chastening, he shall put you through six troubles, in seven no evil will touch you. God is the protector and redeemer from all troubles. You shall come to the grave in a full age like a shock of corn in season, and know that for your good".

Job answered, 'If my grief and my calamity were weighed in balances, they would be heavier than the sands of the sea; therefore, my words are swallowed up. The arrows of the Almighty are within me, and the poison thereof, drinks my spirit, and the terrors of God are arrayed against me. I wish that God would grant me the one thing that I long for! Even if it would please God to destroy me, and cut me off! Then, should I have comfort. What is my strength, that I should hope, what is my end, that I should prolong my life? Is my strength, the strength of stones? Or, is my flesh of brass? To him that is afflicted, pity should be shown by his friend. My brothers have dealt deceitfully with me, they were confused, because they had hoped; they came here, and were ashamed. Did I say, bring to me or reward me with your substance? Or, save me from the enemy's hand, or from their might? Teach me, and I will hold my tongue: and make me understand where I have erred. What does your argument find fault in me? Do you imagine finding fault in the words and speech of one that is desperate? You overwhelm the weak, and dig a pit for your friend, so return. Is there not an appointed time to man upon earth? Are not his days like that of a hired hand? Like a servant desiring for shade, and looking for reward for the work: so, am I made to possess months of vanity, and wearisome nights are appointed to me. When I lie down, I say, when shall I arise and the night be gone? I toss and turn till the dawn of day. My flesh is clothed with worms and lumps of dust, and my skin is broken and repulsive. My days are swift, and spent without hope. As the cloud is consumed and vanishes away: he that goes to the grave shall come up no more. Therefore, I will not restrict my mouth and speak my anguish and complain in the bitterness of my soul. My soul chooses strangling and death rather than my life. I loathe it; I would not live always: let me alone; for my days are vanity. What is man, that you should magnify him, that you should visit him every morning, and test him every morning? How long before you depart from me and let me alone, even to swallow my spittle? I have sinned; what shall I do to you, O preserver of men? Why have you set a mark against me, so that I am a burden to myself? And why do you not pardon my transgression, and take away my iniquity? For now shall I sleep in the dust; and you shall seek me in the morning, but I shall not be.'

Bildad spoke, 'How long will you speak these things? How long shall the words of your mouth be like strong wind? Does God pervert judgment or justice? If your children have sinned against him, and he has cast them away for their transgression; and you would seek God and make a supplication; if you were pure and upright; surely, he would listen and make you prosperous. Though your beginning was small, your latter days should greatly increase. Inquire of the former times, shall they not teach you? The hope of the hypocrite and the path of all that forget God shall perish. God will not cast away a perfect man and neither will he help the evildoers. They that hate you shall be shamed, and the house of the wicked shall be destroyed'.

Job answered, 'How should a man be just with God? He is wise and mighty in strength: who has competed with him and prospered? God does great things, which cannot be fathomed and does wonders without number. Lo, he goes by me, and I see him not: he passes me by, and I perceive not. Behold, he takes away, who can stop him? Who will say to him, what do you do? If I had called, and he answered me; yet I would not believe he heard my voice, for he has broken me, and multiplied my wound without cause. He will not take my life, but has filled me with bitterness. If I judge myself, my own mouth shall condemn me: if I say I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse. Though I were perfect, yet, I would not know my soul: I would despise my life. There is one thing therefore, I said it; he destroys the perfect and the wicked. My days pass by swiftly and if I say, I will not complain and comfort myself: I am not afraid of my sorrows; you will not hold me innocent. If I be wicked, then why should I labour in vain? If I wash myself clean; yet you shall plunge me in the ditch, and my own clothes shall abhor me. For God is not a man as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. Let him give me rest, and let not his fear terrify me: then I would speak, and not fear him; but it is not so with me'.

Job continued, 'My soul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will speak in the bitterness of my soul. I will say to God, do not condemn me; show me why you contend with me. Is it good unto you that you should oppress and despise the work of your hands, and shine upon the counsel of the wicked? Have you eyes of flesh? Or, do you see as a man sees? Are your days as the days of man? Are your years as man's days that you inquire of my wickedness and search after my sin? You know that I am not wicked; your hands have made me; yet you do destroy me. Remember, I asked you that you have made me as the clay; and will you bring me into dust again? Have you not poured me out as milk, and curdled me like cheese? You have clothed me with skin and flesh, and have fenced me with bones and sinews. You have granted me life and favour, and your divine dispensation has preserved my spirit. And these, you have hid in your heart. If I sin, then you would mark me, and will not acquit me from my wickedness. If I be wicked, woe unto me; and if I be righteous, yet, I will not lift my head. I am full of confusion; therefore see my misery; for it increases. Why then, have you brought me forth out of the womb? I should not have been; I should have been carried from the womb to the grave. Are not my days few? Cease then, and let me alone that I may take comfort a little before I go to where I came from and not return, even to the land of darkness and death'.

Zophar answered, 'Should not your words be answered, and should not a man full of talk be justified? Should your lies make men hold their peace? And when you deride, shall no man make you ashamed? For you have said, my doctrine is pure, and I am clean in your eyes, and that, God would speak against you; and would show you the secrets of wisdom. Know therefore, that God demands of you less than your wickedness deserves. Can you by searching find out God? If he cut off, and shut up, or gather together, then who can stop him? For he knows vain men and sees wickedness also; will he not then consider it? If you prepare your heart, and stretch out your hands toward him; if wickedness is in your hand, put it far away. Then shall you lift your face spotless; and you shall be steadfast and not fear, and forget your misery and shall be secure; because, there is hope, and you shall rest in safety. But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, and they shall not escape, and their hope shall be as the death'.

Job answered, 'No doubt that you are the people, and wisdom shall die with you. I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you: yea, who does not know such things as these? I am as one ridiculed by his neighbour, who called upon God, and he answered him: and the upright man is laughed upon. The houses of robbers prosper, and they that provoke God are secure; into whose hands, God will give abundantly. Ask the beasts, and they shall teach you; the fish and the fowl will tell you; speak to the earth, and it shall teach you. Who knows not that in all these that the hand of God fashioned this, in whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all mankind. Does not the ear hear words, and the mouth taste his meat? With the ancient is wisdom; and in the length of days, understanding. With God is wisdom and strength, he has counsel and understanding. My eyes have seen all this, and my ears have heard, and understood it. What you know, the same do I know also: I am not inferior to you. Surely, I would speak to the Almighty and I desire to reason with God, but you are forgers of lies and physicians of no value. Your remembrances are like unto ashes, your bodies, to bodies of clay. Hold your peace and let me alone, that I may speak and let it come on me, what will. Though he slays me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain my own ways before him. He also shall be my salvation: for a hypocrite cannot come before him. Hear my speech, behold I have ordered my cause; I know that I shall be justified. Who is he that will plead with me? For now, I will hold my tongue and die. Only, do not do two things unto me, let not your terror make me afraid, lest we debate how many are my sins, and you hide your face, and hold me for your enemy? Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He comes like a flower, and is cut down and disappears like a shadow. Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? Not one. Seeing his days are numbered with you, you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass; turn from him, that he may rest, till he accomplish as a hireling, his day. There is hope of a tree, if it is cut down, it will sprout again, and the tender branch will not cease. Though the root and the stock become old, yet through the scent of water, it will bring forth branches like a plant. Man dies and shall waste away: yea, man gives up his ghost, and where is he? So man lies down and rises not: till heavens are no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of sleep. O, that you would hide me in the grave, that you would keep me secret, until your anger be past, that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man dies, shall he live again? All my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. You shall call, and I will answer you: you will have a desire to the work of your hands. For you numbered my steps: do you not watch over my sin? My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and you sew up my wickedness. Surely a falling mountain comes to nothing, and the rock is out of place. Waters wear out the stones; you wash away the things which grow out of the dust of the earth; and you destroy the hope of man. You prevail forever against him, and he passes. You change his countenance and send him away. His sons come to honour (him), and he knows not; and they are brought low, but he perceives them not. But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn'.

Eliphaz said, 'should a wise man utter vain knowledge, and fill his belly with the east wind? Should he reason with unprofitable talk and with speeches where he can do no good? Yea, you cast off fear, and restrained prayer before God. Your mouth utters your wickedness, and you choose the words of the crafty. Your own mouth condemns you, not I. Are you the first man that was born? Or, were you made before the hills? Have you heard the secret of God? And do you restrain wisdom to yourself? What do you know that we know not? What do you understand, which is not in us? With us are both grey-haired men and very aged men, much older than your father. Are these consolations of God small with you, or is there any secret thing with you? Why does your heart carry you away? And, what does your eyes blink at, that you turn your spirit against God, and utter such words? What is man that he should be clean? And which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous? He puts no trust in his saints; the heavens are not clean in his sight. How much more filthy is man, which drinks wickedness like water? That which I have seen and heard, I will declare; which wise men have told from their fathers: unto whom alone the earth was given, the wicked man toiled with pain all his days, and the number of years is hid to the oppressor. A dreadful sound is in his ears: in prosperity, the destroyer shall come upon him. He believes not that he shall return out of darkness, and a sword waits for him. He wanders for bread saying, where is it? And knows that the 'days of darkness' is at hand, and trouble and anguish shall make him afraid, and prevail over him. For he stretches his hand against God, and dwells in desolate cities and houses ready to become rubble. He shall not be rich, neither shall his substance continue, and by the breath of his mouth shall he go away, for vanity shall be his reward. For, the congregation of the hypocrites shall be desolate, and fire shall consume the houses of bribery'.

Job answered, 'I have heard many such things: miserable comforters you all are. Shall vain words have an end? Or, what emboldens you to answer? I also could speak as you do: if your soul were in my soul's place, I could heap up words against you and shake my head like you, but I would strengthen you with my words and assuage your grief. Though I speak, my grief is not assuaged. But now, God has made me tired, and you have deserted all my company. God has delivered me to the ungodly, and given me in the hands of the wicked. I was at ease, but he has broken me and taken me by the neck and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark. My face is foul with weeping, and on my eyelids is the shadow of death; not for any injustice in my hands: also my prayer is pure. Behold, my witness is in heaven, and my record is on high, my friends scorn me: but, my eyes pour tears to God. When a few years are come, then I shall go to where I came from, and not return, and the grave is ready for me. The righteous shall hold on his way, and he that has clean hands shall be stronger and stronger. As for you all, I cannot find one wise man among you. My days are past, my purpose and the thoughts of my heart are broken off. If I wait, the grave is my house: I have made my bed in the darkness. I have said to corruption, you are my father: to the worm, you are my mother and my sister. And where is now my hope, and who shall see it? They shall go down to the pit, when our rest together

is in the dust'.

Bildad replied, 'How long, before you make an end of words? Mark, and afterwards we will speak. Why are we counted as beasts, and reputed vile in your eyes? He tears himself in anger: shall the earth be forsaken for you, and the rock moved out of place? Yea, the light of the wicked shall be put out and the spark of his fire shall not shine, and his own counsel shall let him down. Death shall devour his strength, and terror shall strike his house. His root shall be dried up and his branch be cut off, and his remembrance shall perish from the earth and shall be chased out of the world. He shall neither have son nor nephew, nor shall any remain in his dwelling, and they that come after him shall be astonished and terrified'.

Job answered, 'How long will you vex my soul, and break me in pieces with words? Ten times, have you reproached me: you are not afraid, that you make yourselves strange to me. And, be it indeed that I have erred, and my error remains with myself. If indeed you will magnify yourselves against me, and plead against my disgrace: know now, that God has overthrown me and surrounded me with his net. He has fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and has set darkness in my path. He has destroyed me on every side, and my hope; he has uprooted like a tree. He has put my brethren far from me, and my acquaintances are estranged from me. My kinsfolk have failed, and my friends have forgotten me, and I am alien to my household. My breath is strange to my wife, though I entreated her for the children's sake of my own body. My bone cleaves to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped by the skin of my teeth. Have pity upon me, O my friends; for, the hand of God has touched me. Why do you persecute me as God, and are not satisfied with my flesh? Oh, that my words were now written and were printed in a book! That they were engraved with an iron pen on a rock, forever! For I know that my redeemer lives, and that, he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin, worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God for myself: and my eyes shall behold not another; though my reins be consumed within me. But you should say, why should we persecute him, for the root of the matter is found in me? Be afraid of the sword: for, wrath brings punishment of the sword that you may know there is a judgment'.

Zophar said, 'the spirit of my understanding causes me to answer. Since the time man was placed upon earth, the triumph of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment. Though his head reach unto the clouds; yet he shall perish forever, like his own dung, and they who have seen him shall ask, where is he? He shall fly away as a dream and not be found. His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in dust. Though wickedness be sweet in his mouth, and forsake it not: it is the gall of asps, within him. He swallowed down riches, and shall vomit them up again. God shall cast them out of his belly. That which he laboured for shall he restore, and according to his substance shall his restitution be, and he shall rejoice not therein. Because he has oppressed and forsaken the poor, surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, and shall not save of that which he desired. Every hand of the wicked shall come upon him, and the terrors be upon him, and the heaven shall reveal his wickedness, and the earth shall rise up against him. The increase of his house shall depart, and his goods shall flow away in the day of his wrath. This is the portion of a wicked man from God, and the heritage appointed upon him, by God'.

Job spoke, 'Hear diligently my speech, and let this be your consolations. Let me speak, and after I have spoken, mock on. Why do the wicked live, become old and mighty in power? Their seed is established in their sight, and their offspring before their eyes. Their houses are safe from fear, neither is the wrath of God upon them. They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave. Therefore they say to God, depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of your ways. God lays up his wickedness for his children: he rewards him, and he shall know it. His eyes shall see the destruction, and he shall drink the wrath of the Almighty. For what pleasure has he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the middle? One dies in his full strength, being wholly at ease and quiet. Another dies in the bitterness of his soul, and never eats with pleasure. They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them. Behold, I know your thoughts, and your wrongful imaginations against me. The wicked is reserved for the day of destruction, and they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath. Who shall declare his way to his face? And who shall repay, what he has done? Yet, shall he be brought to the grave, and shall remain in the tomb. The earth shall be sweet unto him, and every man shall draw after him, as there are innumerable before him. How then you comfort me in vain, seeing that in your answers, there is falsehood?'

Eliphaz answered, 'Can a man be profitable unto God, as a wise man is profitable unto himself? Is there any pleasure to the Almighty, that you are righteous, or is it gain to him, that your ways are perfect? Will he find fault with you, for fear of you? Will he enter with you into judgment? Is not your wickedness great, and infinite? For you have taken a pledge of your brother for nothing, and stripped the naked of their clothing, watered not the weary, and withheld bread from the hungry, sent widows away empty; therefore snares are round about you, and fear troubles you. Is not God in the high heaven, and you say, how does God know? Can he judge through dark cloud? Thick clouds are a covering that he sees not; and he walks in the circuit of heaven. Have you marked the old way, which wicked men have trodden: which said to God, depart from us: what can the Almighty do for them? Acquaint yourself with him, and be at peace: thereby, good shall come unto you. Receive the law from his mouth, and lay his words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you shall be built up; you shall put away wickedness from your house. The Almighty shall be your defence, and you shall have plenty of gold and silver. For then shall you have your delight, and shall lift your face unto God'.

Job answered and said, 'Wish that I knew where to find him, I would plead my cause before him, and fill my mouth with arguments. I know and understand what he would say to me. Will he plead against me with his great power? No; but he would put strength in me. He knows the way that I take: when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold. I have not departed from his way, neither have I gone back on his commandment; I have esteemed his words, more than my necessary food. He performs the thing that is appointed for me: and many such things are with him. Therefore I am afraid of him, for God makes my heart soft, and he troubles me. The deeds of the wicked wither away, for they think, no eyes shall see me: and disguise the face and know not the light, for the morning is to them, as the shadow of death. The womb shall forget him; and the worm shall feed sweetly on him; for he shall no more be remembered; and the wickedness shall be broken as a tree. They are exalted for a while, but are brought low; they are taken out of the way as all other, and are cut off as tops of the ear of corn. And if it is not so now, who will make me a liar and make my speech worth nothing?'

Bildad said, 'control and fear are with him, and he makes peace in high places. Is there any number of his armies, and upon whom his light does not arise? How then, can man be justified with God, or how can he be clean, that is born of a woman? Even the moon does not shine, and the stars are not pure in his sight. How much less man, that is a worm, and the son of man, which is a worm?'

Job replied, 'how have you helped him that is without power, and has no strength? Dead things are formed from under the waters, and the inhabitants thereof. Hell is naked before him, and destruction has no covering. He hangs the earth upon nothing, and binds up the waters in thick clouds. He has set bounds for the waters, until day and night come to an end. By his spirit he has garnished the heavens; his hand has formed the crooked serpent. These are just part of his ways: but how little a portion is heard of him? But the thunder of his power, who can understand? As God lives, he has taken away my judgment, and has vexed my soul; as long as I have my breath in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils; my lips shall not speak wickedness, nor my tongue utter deceit, and I will not remove my integrity from me. Let my enemy be as the wicked, and he that rise up against me, as the unrighteous. If the children of the wicked be multiplied, it is for the sword: and his offspring shall not be satisfied with bread. Those that remain of him shall be buried in death; and his widows shall not weep. Wisdom and understanding cannot be sought and discovered. The fear of the Lord is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. In the days of my youth, the secret of God was upon my house, I helped the poor and the fatherless; righteousness clothed me, I was eyes to the blind, and broke the jaws of the wicked. Then I said, I shall die in my nest, full of days, and my glory was fresh in me, and my strength was renewed in my hand. Men listened to me, and kept silence, and I had the last word, and dwelt as a king, and one that comforted the mourners. Now, my soul is poured out upon me; and the days of affliction have taken hold of me. Does he not see my ways, and count all my steps? If I have walked with vanity, if my foot ran towards deceit; let me be weighed in an even balance, that God may know my integrity. If my heart walked after my eyes, and if any stain clung to my hands, then let me sow, and let another eat; yea, let my offspring be rooted out. My desire is that the Almighty would answer me, and my adversary had written a book. Surely I would take it, and bind it as a crown, and I would declare unto him the number of my steps; and go near him as a prince'.

When the three men had done speaking, Elihu, the youngest of Job's friends, who had been a passive listener, was kindled with anger against the rest. More so, because Job was righteous in his own eyes, and justified himself rather than God and the other three men found no answer to Job's argument, yet had condemned Job. So Elihu, the son of Barachel spoke, 'I am young, and you are very old; thus I was afraid and dared not to voice my opinion, for multitude of years should teach wisdom. There is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding. Great men are not always wise: neither do the aged understand judgment. Therefore, listen to my opinion. My words shall be of the uprightness of my heart; and my lips shall utter knowledge clearly. The spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty has given me life, I am also formed out of the clay. I have heard the voice of your words, saying, I am clean without transgression, I am innocent; neither is there wickedness in me, behold, he has found occasions against me, and he counts me for his enemy. I will answer you, that God is greater than man. Why do you strive against him? For, he does not give account of any of his matters. When God speaks, men perceive not. In a dream, when men fall in deep slumber; then he opens the ears of men and seals their instruction, that he may withdraw man for his purpose, and hide pride from man. He keeps back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the sword. He is chastened also with pain, and all his bones with strong pain: so that his life abhors bread, and his soul delicate meat. His flesh is consumed away, and his bones stick out. Yea, his soul draws near unto the grave; and his life to the destroyers. If there be a messenger, or an interpreter, to show unto man his uprightness: then he is gracious to him, and says, deliver him from going to the pit: I have found a ransom. His flesh shall be fresher than a child's: he shall return to the days of his youth, and be favourable to God, and render unto man his righteousness. If any say, I have sinned and perverted that which was right, and it profited me not; he will deliver his soul from going to the pit, and his life shall see light. God works these things oftentimes with man, to bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living. Let us know among ourselves, what is good. Far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should do iniquity. For the work of man, shall he render unto him, and cause every man to find according to his ways. God will not do wickedly, and pervert judgment. If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself, his spirit and his breath; all flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again to dust. All, regardless of rich or poor, all are the works of his hands. In a moment shall they die, and the people shall be troubled at midnight, and pass away: and the mighty shall be taken away without hand. For his eyes are on the ways of man, and he sees all his goings. There is no darkness or shadow of death, where the workers of wickedness may hide. For he will not lay upon man more than that is right, that he should enter into judgment with God. He shall break mighty men, and set others in their stead. He strikes them as wicked, in the open sight of others; because they considered not his ways, and caused the cry of the poor to come to him, and he heard the cry of the afflicted. Surely, it is meet to be said unto God, I have borne chastisement and I will not offend anymore: that which I see not, you teach me: if I have done wickedness, I will do no more. Should it be according to your mind? He will recompense it, whether you refuse, or whether you choose'.

Elihu continued, 'Job has spoken without knowledge, and his words are without wisdom. He said, my righteousness is more than God's? If you sin, and your transgressions are multiplied, what are you doing against him? If you are righteous, what are you giving him or what does he receive of your hand? The wickedness may hurt a man as you are; and your righteousness may profit the son of man. By being oppressive, you make the oppressed cry: they cry, by reason of the arm of the mighty. But none says where is God, who teaches us more than the beasts, and makes us wiser than the birds. Surely God will not hear or regard vanity. Although you say, you shall not see him, judgment is before him; therefore you trust him. Now, because it is not so, he has visited in his anger; yet he knows it is not in great extremity: therefore, does Job open his mouth in vain, and talks without knowledge. God is mighty in strength and wisdom; he preserves not the life of the wicked: but gives right to the poor, and withdraws not his eyes from the righteous. He gives kings their counsel, he opens their ear to discipline, and commands them to return from wickedness. If they obey him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and if the obey not, they shall perish by the sword, and die without knowledge. Beware, lest he take you away with his stroke: then a great ransom cannot deliver you. Remember that you magnify his work, behold God is great, and we know him not, and the great things he does, we cannot comprehend. Men do therefore fear him: he respects not any that is wise of heart'.

Then, the Lord spoke to Job out of a whirlwind about the marvels of his creation and the wonders of the world, and exposed the limitations of mans thinking and understanding. Job then submitted himself to the wisdom of God, and said, 'I know that you can do everything, and no thought can be withheld from you. Who is he that hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore have I uttered, that which I understood not; things too wonderful for me, that I knew not', and repented for his error. The Lord then spoke to Eliphaz, and said that he and his two friends spoke not the right things as Job had spoken, and asked for a burnt offering of seven bullocks and seven rams, to be performed on their behalf by Job. After Job had done the prayers and performed the sacrifice for his friends, the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before, and Job again had seven sons and three daughters, and lived to be a hundred and forty years.

The New Testament

'In the beginning was the Word, and Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men'+.

(+John 1: 1 - 4)

In the fifth generation of Adam, was born Jared, whose son Enoch did not see death, for God took him. In the twentieth generation of Adam was born Abraham, the son of Terah, and in the thirty-third generation of Adam, was born David, the son of Jesse. And in the seventy-fifth generation of Adam, was born Jesus: 'When as his mother, Mary, was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Joseph, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public disgrace, had in mind to divorce her away quietly. When he was thinking thus, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, and spoke of the prophet Isaiah's prophesy, and asked Joseph to name his son, Jesus'+. When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel said and took Mary to be his wife, and she bore their firstborn son, Jesus.

(+Matthew 1: 18 - 25)

In the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, there lived a priest called Zachariah with his wife named Elisabeth, out of the lineage of Aaron. Elisabeth was barren and they had no child. Once when Zacharias was in the temple, an angel of the Lord appeared before him by the altar, and Zachariah was stricken with fear and was troubled. The angel said unto him, 'fear not, Zacharias: for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elisabeth shall bear you a son, and you shall call him John'+. Many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God; and he shall go before him, in the spirit and power of Elias (Elijah)'. Zacharias asked the angel, 'whereby shall I know this, for I am old and my wife is stricken in years?' The angel answered, 'I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak to you and show you these glad tidings'*. Then the angel made him dumb, that he spoke no more, till it shall come to pass. Shortly, when Elisabeth was conceived, she hid herself five months from the people, and in the sixth month, Gabriel appeared before Mary, and spoke about her forthcoming virgin birth by the Holy Ghost, and also spoke about her cousin Elisabeth who had conceived. So Mary went to the house of Zacharias and saluted Elisabeth and when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb, and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost. Mary stayed with her cousin for three months, and then returned to her house. When Elisabeth delivered a son, on the eight day of the circumcision, all her neighbours and cousins rejoiced and named the child Zacharias, after his father. But Elisabeth said, 'Not so. He shall be called John'. When they said there is no kinsman by that name and made a sign unto the child's father, he wrote, 'His name is John' and his mouth was opened and he spoke and praised God.

(+Luke 1:13); (*Luke 1: 16 - 19)

During those times, Augustus Caesar sent out a decree for his entire kingdom to be taxed and for each man to pay his taxes in his own city of birth. So, Joseph went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth onto Bethlehem in Judaea, where Mary delivered her first-born son. She wrapped him with a swaddling cloth and laid him in a manger, since there were no rooms in the inn. On the eighth day, the child was circumcised and named Jesus, and according to the Law of Moses they offered sacrifices to the Lord (a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons) at the temple of God, in Jerusalem. There, in Jerusalem, was a man called Simeon, to whom it was revealed that he shall not see death before he had seen the Christ. He came by the spirit into the temple and took the child Jesus in his arms and blessed them. Also, there in the temple lived Anna, the prophetess, a widow of eighty-four years, who likewise blessed the child and spoke about him for all who looked for redemption in Jerusalem. After performing all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Nazareth, in Galilee.

Jesus was born during the reign of Herod the king, and there came wise men from the east inquiring, 'where is he that is born; the king of the Jews?' When King Herod heard thereof about the 'king of the Jews', he and all of Jerusalem were troubled. So, he asked of the wise men secretly to show him the child when they find him, that he too may come and worship the child. The wise men followed the star, which went before them and stood where the child was. The men were joyful when they saw the child and his mother Mary and they worshipped him and presented them with gold, frankincense and myrrh. And being forewarned of God they left for their own country, without informing Herod. After then, the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and asked him to take the young child and his mother and flee to Egypt, for Herod sought to slay the young child. So they abode in Egypt till the time of Herod's death. When Herod realized that he had been fooled by the wise men, he sent out a decree across the entire kingdom for any child under the age of two, to be slain. After Herod's death, the angel of the Lord appeared again to Joseph in a dream, and told him to return to Israel. And they returned thence and dwelt in the city of Nazareth.

When Jesus was twelve years old, they went to Jerusalem for the customary annual Passover feast and till they had travelled on a day's journey back, both Joseph and Mary had not realized that Jesus was left behind in Jerusalem. When he was not found among their kinsfolk, they returned to Jerusalem and sought him, and after three days they found him in the temple amidst doctors, questioning and answering them, to the amazement of all present at his understanding and knowledge. When his mother asked him, 'Son, why have you done thus unto us?' He replied, 'how is that you sought me? Do you not know that I must be about my Father's business?'\+ But they understood not what he meant and he returned back with them to Nazareth.

(+Luke 2:49)

John the Baptist, the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth was a man sent from God who preached in the wilderness of Judaea. John spoke of Jesus, 'He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God'+. John bore witness of Jesus saying: 'He that comes after me, is preferred before me: for he was before me'*. John ministered in the wilderness, wearing a dress of camel hair and a leather girdle, and ate locusts and wild honey. He spoke of the words of the prophet Isaiah stating: 'all flesh shall see the salvation of God'# and baptized many who confessed to their sins, by the waters of the river Jordan. And when Jesus was thirty years old, he was baptized by John, and the Spirit of God descended upon Jesus, like a dove and a voice from heaven said, 'this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased'.

(+John 1: 11 - 13); (*John 1:15); (#Luke 3:6)

After then, Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After forty days and forty nights of fasting, Jesus was hungry and the devil came and said, 'if you be the Son of God, command the stones to be bread', and he answered, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God'. Then the devil took him to the holy city, and set Jesus atop the temple and said, 'cast yourself down, for it is written that he shall give angels charge over you, and they shall bear your fall' and Jesus replied, 'It is written again, you shalt not tempt the Lord your God'. Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory and said, 'All these things will I give you, if you fall down and worship me', and Jesus replied, 'Get off from here, Satan: for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve'. So the devil left him, and the angels came and ministered unto him.

Jesus returned to Galilee, and his fame grew in the nearby region, and he taught in the synagogues and was glorified by all. From there he went to Nazareth, where he grew up, and ministered on the prophet Isaiah's words at the synagogue on the Sabbath day and said, 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your ears.'\+ And they said, 'Is this not Joseph's son?' and he said, 'No prophet is accepted in his own country, there were many widows in Israel, but Elijah was sent to a widow in Zarephath# (latter day Sarepta) in Zidon# (latter day Sidon) during the famine; and many lepers were in Israel during the time of Elisha, none were cleansed save Naaman, the Syrian'*. When they heard this, all in the synagogue were angered and led him out of the city and cast him by the hillside, out of the city. Then he came to Capernaum, a city of Galilee and taught them on the Sabbath days, and the people were astonished by the power of his speech. There in the synagogue, was a man with an unclean spirit who cried out, 'I know you who you are; the Holy one of God', and Jesus said, 'hold your peace, and come out of him', and the evil spirit came out of him, and the man was unhurt, much to the amazement of the people around.

(+Luke 4:21); (*Luke 4:24-27); (#Old Testament name references)

There was a marriage in the town of Cana in Galilee, where Mary, the mother of Jesus was there, and Jesus and his brethren were also called. When the people wanted wine, Mary said to Jesus 'they have no wine', and Jesus replied, 'woman, why do you involve me? My hour is not yet come'+, and he asked for the six stone jars that were there to be filled with water, and asked them to serve it to the governor of the feast. When the man tasted the water that was made wine, he said, 'every man does serve the best wine at the beginning, but you have kept the good wine until now'.

(+John 2:4)

After that, Jesus came unto the lake Gennesaret (the Sea of Galilee) where a multitude had gathered to hear him speak. There were two fishing ships by the shore, and Jesus got on to one that belonged to Simon Peter, and spoke to the people out of the ship. Once he had finished speaking, he asked Simon to take the ship deeper, and to cast the nets. Simon answered, 'Master, we have toiled all night long, but have taken nothing: nevertheless, at your word I will let down the net'+. The catch of the fishes were too great and the net broke, and Simon summoned his partners in the other ship, and the fishes that they caught filled both the ships to the brim that they began to sink. Simon Peter fell on his knees and said unto Jesus, 'depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord', for he was astonished, as were his partners, James and John. Jesus said, 'fear not; from henceforth you shalt catch men'*, and when they reached land, they left everything and followed Jesus.

(+Luke 5:5); (*Luke 5: 10, 11)

Jesus went to Jerusalem nearing the time of the Jewish Passover and found in the temple, men that sold oxen, and sheep, and doves, and moneychangers sitting there. He was greatly annoyed and drove them out and said, 'take these things from here; make not my Father's house a house of merchandise'+. When the Jews that were there protested, he said, 'destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it up', and they replied, 'Forty six years was this temple in building, and will you rear it up in three days?' But then, Jesus was making mention of the temple of his body*.

(+John 2:16); (*John 2: 20, 21)

During then, Jesus was met by a man called Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews who said unto Jesus, 'Master, you are a teacher come from God, for no man can do miracles, except God be with him'. Jesus said, 'except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God' and Nicodemus asked, 'how can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?'\+ Jesus answered, 'except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said, you must be born again. The wind blows, and the sound of the wind is heard, but one cannot say where it comes from, and whither it goes, so is every one that is born of the spirit'*. Nicodemus asked him, 'how can these things be?' Jesus answered, 'we speak that we know and testify that we have seen, yet you receive not our witness. I have told you of earthly things, and you believe not, how shall you believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? No man has ascended the heaven, but the Son of man which is in heaven, and has come now. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so, must the son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. God did not send his Son to the world to condemn the world; but that, through him the world might be saved'.

(+John 3: 3, 4); (*John 3: 5 - 8)

Before John the Baptist was arrested by Herod, the tetrarch, there came up a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying and they asked John, 'Master, Jesus to whom you bear witness, behold he too baptizes, and all men come to him'. John answered and said, 'a man can receive nothing, except it be given to him from heaven. You bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, that I am sent before him.\+ He that came from above is above all; he that is of the earth is earthly and will speak of the earth; he that came from heaven is above all and what he has seen and heard and testifies; no man receives his testimony. He that receives this testimony believes that God is true. He that believes on the Son of God has everlasting life: he that believes not shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides in him'.

(+John 3: 26 - 28)

When Jesus left Judaea and journeyed to Galilee, he came to a city called Sychar, in Samaria and came to the well of Jacob and asked a woman of Samaria who came to draw water, 'give me to drink' (his disciples had gone to the city to buy meat). The woman asked, 'how is that, you being a Jew ask of water from a Samaritan woman?' (For Jews had no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is, that said, 'give me to drink', you would have asked of him and he would have given you living water". The woman said, 'Sir, you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep: from where then do you have that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank of it himself and his children and his cattle?' Jesus answered, 'whosoever drinks this water, shall thirst again: but who drinks of the water that I shall give, shall never thirst; but the water that I give shall be in him, a well of water springing up into everlasting life'. The woman said, 'Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not', and he said, 'go call your husband and come here', and she replied, 'I have no husband', and Jesus said, "you have well said, 'I have no husband': for you have had five husbands; and he whom you now have is not your husband: in that, you said truly"+. The woman said, 'Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and you say that Jerusalem is the place that men ought to worship', and Jesus said, 'woman, believe me, the time will come when you shall worship the Father neither in the temple, nor at Jerusalem. You worship that you know not. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the time comes, which is now, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth: for the Father looks for such, to worship him. God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth'. Then the woman said, 'I know that a Messiah named Christ is coming, when he comes, he will tell us all things'. Jesus said to her, 'I that speak unto you am he'*. Then the woman left and told about Jesus to the people of the city, 'Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?'# Then the people came and listened to him, and he was with them for two days and then left for Galilee.

(+John 4:18) (*John 4:26) (#John 4:29)

When Jesus came again to Cana, where he made the water wine, there came a nobleman whose son was sick at Capernaum. He asked of Jesus to come and heal his son, for he was sick unto death. Jesus said, 'except you see signs and wonders, you will not believe', and the man pleaded again, 'Sir, please come before my child dies'. Jesus replied, 'go your way; your son lives', and it so happened that when the man went home and inquired of his son, they said that his son had become well at the same time when Jesus had said, 'go your way; your son lives'.

After then, Jesus went to Jerusalem for the feast of the Jews. There in Jerusalem, near the sheep market was a pool called Bethesda, (in Hebrew) having five porches, wherein multitudes of sick and infirm thronged to get into the waters. It was a belief those days, that an angel stirred the waters a certain time, and whosoever did so and got into the waters were cured of their ailments. At the time when Jesus came, there lay an infirm man, striving for long to get close to the waters, and Jesus asked him, 'do you want to be made whole?' and the man answered, 'Sir, I have no man to take me to the waters when it is stirred. While I try, another goes before me', and Jesus said, 'rise, take up your bed and walk', and the man took his bed and walked. And the Jews that were there said to the man, 'it is Sabbath day: is it not lawful for you to carry your bed', and the man replied that Jesus had asked him to carry his bed and walk, and when they inquired him of 'who said so?', Jesus was not to be found at that place, as it was crowded with multitude of people. When Jesus saw the man again in the temple, he said to him, 'behold, you are made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto you'+. The man left and told the Jews, that it was Jesus who made him whole, and the Jews sought to kill Jesus, for he had done so on the Sabbath day, but he answered them, 'My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.'*, and this enraged the Jews even more, for not only did he break the Sabbath, but said, God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

(+John 5:14); (*John 5:17)

Then Jesus spoke to the Jews, 'I say to you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees of the Father. Whatsoever the Father does, so also the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the son, and shows all things that he does, he will show him greater things than these that you may marvel. For as the Father raises up the dead, and chastens them; even so, the son chastens whom he will. For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the son: that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the father. He that honours not the Son honours not the Father which has sent him. He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come to condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. The hour is coming, which is now, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father has life in himself; so has he given to the son to have life in himself; and has given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation'+. I can of my own self do nothing, as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which has sent me. If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. There is another that bears witness of me; I know the witness of John is true. But I receive not the testimony from man: but these things I say, that you might be saved. John was as a shining light, and you were willing for a season to rejoice in his light. But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father has given me to finish; the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father has sent me. And the Father himself which has sent me has borne witness of me. You have neither heard his voice at any time, nor seen his shape. And you do not have his word abiding in you: for whom he has sent, you believe not. Search the scriptures; for in them you think you have eternal life: and they testify of me. And you will not come to me that you might have life. I do not receive honour from men. But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. I come in my Father's name, and you receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe which receive honour one of the other, and not seek the honour, that comes from God only? Do not think I will accuse you to the Father: there is one that accuses you, even Moses, in whom you trust. For, had you believed Moses, you would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if you believe not his writing, how shall you believe my words?'*

(+John 5: 19 - 29); (*John 5: 30 - 47)

Jesus went about all of Galilee, teaching in the synagogues; preaching and healing all manners of illnesses, diseases, and driving out demons, and his fame spread. There followed a great multitude of people and seeing thus; he went onto a mountain and spoke, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven, blessed are the meek, which are hungry and thirst after righteousness; blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and they that are persecuted for righteousness' sake. Blessed are you, when men shall revile you, persecute you, and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. You are like the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world; as candle is set on a candlestick, let your light shine before men that they may see your good work and praise God. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets; I have come to fulfil them. Till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one iota, shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever shall break one of the least commandments, and shall teach others so, he shall be called the least in the Kingdom of heaven; but whoso shall keep the commandments and teach them, shall be called great. You have heard in the old time that whosoever shall kill shall be in the danger of judgment; but I say that whoso is angry with his brother without a cause, shall be in danger of the judgment, and he who says, 'scoundrel' or 'you fool' shall be in danger of hell fire. Before bringing a gift to the altar, reconcile with your brother and then offer your gift. It was said, do not commit adultery; but I say that whoso looks on a woman with lust, has committed adultery. Do not swear at all; not even on your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. You have heard it said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say, resist not evil: but if one strikes your right cheek, show him the other also. If any man sue you by law and take your coat, give him your cloak also. Turn not one away, one who comes to borrow from you. Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, and do good to them that hate you. That you may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he makes his sun to rise on the evil, and on the good, and sends rain on the just, and on the unjust. Be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect'.

Jesus continued on the sermon from the mount, 'when doing alms or prayers, let not the left hand know what your right hand does; when you do it in secret, your Father will reward you openly. Your Father knows what things you have need of, before you ask him. If you do not forgive men of their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Lay not your treasures upon earth, for they will corrupt, or thieves will steal; lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, which cannot be stolen or corrupted, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be. No man can serve two masters with an equal heart, so it is with God and wealth. Take no thought for your life; what to eat or drink and what to wear or put on. Is not life more than food; and the body anything more than a garment? The fowls do not sow, nor reap and gather food in barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add an inch to his stature? Why take thought of garments? Consider the lilies of the field and how they grow, they toil not; even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of those. If God so clothe the grass of the field; which today is, and gone tomorrow; shall he not much more clothe you? Seek the Kingdom of God and all his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take no thought for tomorrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day, is the evil thereof. Judge not, that you will not be judged, for with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged: and with what measure you give out, it shall be measured to you again'.

Jesus continued: 'Ask and it shall be given to you: seek, and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you: for every one that asks receives; he that seeks shall find; and to him that knocks, it shall be opened. What man is there among you who will give a stone, if his son were to ask for bread? Or if he were to ask for a fish, would he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your father in heaven give good things to them that ask him? Therefore, do all things to men that you would want men to do to you: for this is the law. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit; neither shall a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut and cast into fire'. When he was done speaking, the people were astonished at his doctrine, because he taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

After then, Jesus went over to the Sea of Galilee and a great multitude had followed him because of the miracles that he performed on the diseased. Wherefore Jesus asked one of his disciples, 'where shall we buy bread, so that all may eat?' this he asked to test him for he knew what he would do. And he was told, two hundred penny worth of bread would not be sufficient even if they all ate little. Another disciple, Andrew said to Jesus, 'there is a lad here, who has five loaves of barley bread and two small fishes'. Jesus said, 'make the men sit down', and they sat on the grass plain, numbering about five thousand. And Jesus took the loaves and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples and the disciples to the ones sitting down, and the fishes likewise. When they were filled, he said to the disciples to gather up the fragments that remained, that nothing be wasted, and they gathered twelve baskets, with the fragments which remained, over and above unto them that had eaten.

When Jesus came to Capernaum, there came to him a centurion saying, 'Lord, my servant is lying at home, sick of palsy and grievously tormented'. So Jesus said, 'I will come and heal him', and the centurion answered, 'Lord, I am not worthy, that you should come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed'. Jesus marvelled at him, and said to them that followed, 'I have not found so great a faith, no, not even in Israel. And I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven. But the children of the Kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth'+. Jesus said to the centurion, 'go your way; and as you have believed, so be it done unto you', and his servant was healed the same hour. When Jesus came to Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother lying down with fever, and he touched her hand, and the fever left her. The next day, he went to a city called Nain and many people and his disciples had followed him, and when he came near the gate of the city, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his widowed mother and many people of the city were with her. When Jesus saw her, he had compassion on her and said, 'weep not', and touched the bier: and the bearers stood still, and he said, 'young man, arise'. Then he, that was dead, sat up and began to speak. Consequently fear came upon the people and they glorified God, saying that 'a great prophet is risen up among us and God has visited his people'. Then the news about the incident spread throughout Judaea and the surrounding regions.

(+Matthew 8: 10 - 12)

The disciples of John spoke to him of the works and miracles of Jesus, and John called two of his disciples and sent them to Jesus saying, 'are you the one that should come, or do we look for another?'\+ When the men had come, Jesus cured many who were ill and infirm, and gave sight to the blind, and answered John's disciples and said, 'Go and tell John of what things you have seen and heard: how the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the dead are raised, and the doctrine preached to the poor. And blessed is he, who shall not be offended in me'*. When the messengers left, he spoke of John to the people saying, 'what did you go to see in the wilderness, a reed shaken in the wind? What did you go to see, a man clothed in soft garments? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately are in the king's courts. But what did you go to see, a prophet? Yea, he is much more than a prophet, of whom it is written, behold I send my messenger before you, which shall prepare your way before you. Among those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is the least in the Kingdom is greater than he'#. The people that heard him agreed, but the preachers and the lawyers, not baptized by John, rejected the counsel. So Jesus said, 'how then shall I liken the men of this generation, and to what are they like? They are like children sitting in a marketplace, calling one another and saying, we played music and you have not danced; we have mourned for you, and you have not wept. John the Baptist came, neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and you say he has a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking; and you say, behold a gluttonous man and a winebibber, a friend of the publicans and sinners! But wisdom is justified of all her children'.

(+Luke 7:20); (*Luke 7: 22, 23); (#Luke 7: 24 - 28)

At that time Herod, the tetrarch, had arrested John and kept him in prison, for the sake of his brother Philip's wife, named Herodias. For, John had said to him that it was unlawful for him to have her. Herod desisted putting John to death for fear of the multitude, which counted John to be a prophet. But on Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and Herod was pleased and told her on a solemn oath that he would give anything she would ask. And by the instruction of the mother, the girl asked for the head of John the Baptist in a charger. The tetrarch felt sorry, but nevertheless kept his oath and had John beheaded and his head was brought in on a charger and was given to the damsel which she handed it to her mother. The disciples of John came and took up his body and buried it.

Jesus went into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon and entered into a house, and would have no man know it, but he could not be hidden. A certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him and came and fell at his feet: the woman was a Greek, a Syrophenician by nation and she cried to him saying, 'have mercy on me, O Lord; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil'. But, he answered her not a word. Then his disciples came and besought him, saying 'send her away; for she cries after us'. But he answered and said, 'I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep of Israel'. Then she came and worshipped him, saying, 'Lord help me'. But he said, 'it is not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs'. The woman replied, 'truth Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters table'+. Then Jesus said, 'O woman, great is your faith, for this saying go your way; the devil is gone out of your daughter'. The woman left, and her daughter was healed the same hour.

(+Matthew 15: 22 - 27)

One of the Pharisees named Simon, desired to have a meal with Jesus and called him to his house. When they sat down, behold a woman from the city named Mary, brought an alabaster box of ointment and stood at his feet behind him weeping and began to wash Jesus' feet with tears and wiped them with her hair and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Seeing that, the Pharisee thought to himself, 'this man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is, that touches him: for she is a sinner'. Jesus, answering his thought said, 'Simon, there was a certain creditor, who had two debtors: one owed him five hundred pence, and the other owed him fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?' Simon answered, 'I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most', and Jesus answered, 'you have rightly judged' and he saw the woman, and said to Simon, 'do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet: but she has washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with her hair. You did not kiss me: but this woman since the time I came in has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil: but this woman has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I say to you, her sins which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little'. Then he said to the woman, 'your sins are forgiven, your faith has saved you; go in peace'+. And, they that were there thought to themselves, 'who is this that forgives sins also?'

(+Luke 7: 44 - 50)

Jesus spoke to the Pharisees, 'There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and ate sumptuously every day: and there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, who laid at his gate full of sores desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table, moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. Then it came to pass that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried. And in hell where he was tormented, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom, and he cried and said, 'father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame'. But Abraham said, 'son, remember that you in your lifetime, received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and you are tormented. And besides all this, there is a great divide between us that neither can any from here go to you, or from your side come here. Then he said, 'father, I pray to you therefore that you would send Lazarus to my father's house: for I have five brothers; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come to this place of torment'. Abraham said, 'they have Moses and the prophets; let them listen to them'. And he replied, 'no father Abraham, but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent'. Abraham replied, 'if they hear not Moses and the prophets; neither will they be persuaded through one that rose from the dead'.

When Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philipi, he asked his disciples, 'Who do they say that I, the son of man am?' and they said, 'Some say that you are John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say Jeremiah or one of the prophets'. Jesus asked, 'But who do you say I am?' and Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God'. Jesus answered and said to him, 'Blessed are you Simon Bar-jona, for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but my Father which is in heaven'+. Jesus continued, 'I say unto you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, and I will give unto you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever you shall bind on earth, shall be bound on heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven'. Then he charged his disciples that they should tell no man, that he was Jesus the Christ.

(+Matthew 16: 13 - 17)

From that time on, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer of the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then, Peter began to rebuke Jesus saying, 'be it far from you Lord, these shall not be unto you'. Jesus said to Peter, 'you get behind me Satan: you are an offence unto me: for you savour not the things that be of God, but those that be of men'+. Then he spoke to the disciples, 'if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whosoever shall save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake, shall find it. For what profit is it for man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and then, he shall reward every man according to his works. There are some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his Kingdom'.

(+Matthew 16: 21 - 23)

Six days after then, Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, and went to a high mountain and was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his garment was white as the light. And there appeared Moses and Elijah talking with him. Peter suggested to Jesus, 'Lord, it is good for us to be here: if you will, let us make here three tents; one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah'+. As he was speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them and a voice out of the cloud said, 'this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased: you listen to him'. When the disciples heard the voice, they fell on their face and were sore afraid and Jesus came to them, and touched them and said, 'arise, and be not afraid'. When they got up, they saw none, save Jesus, and as they were coming down the mountain, Jesus charged them saying, 'tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead'. His disciples asked, 'why do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?' Jesus answered, 'Elijah truly shall come first, and restore all things. But, I say unto you that Elijah has come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise, the Son of man also shall suffer of them'. Then, the disciples understood, that he spoke to them of John the Baptist*.

(+Matthew 17: 3, 4); (*Matthew 17: 10 - 13)

Jesus once spoke to his disciples, 'It is impossible but that offences will come: but misery unto him, through whom they come! It would be better that a millstone be hung upon his neck, and cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones'+. Then Peter asked him, 'how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him, seven times?' Jesus answered, 'Listen, if your brother trespass against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he trespasses against you seven times in a day, and turn again to you seven times and say, I repent; you should forgive him. I do not say until seven times: but until seventy times seven'*.

(+Luke 17: 1, 2); (*Matthew 18: 21, 22)

It came to pass, when he went through Jerusalem, he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a certain village, he was met with ten men who were lepers, and stood a far off and said, 'Master Jesus, have mercy on us'. He said to them, 'go and show yourselves to the priests'. Even as they went, they were cured and one of them, a Samaritan, when he saw he was healed, turned back and glorified God in a loud voice, and fell down on his face on Jesus' feet giving thanks. Jesus inquired, 'were there not ten that were cleansed, but where are the other nine? They have not returned to give glory to God, save this stranger', and said to the man, 'arise and go your way: your faith has made you whole'.

Once, when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the Kingdom of God should come? He answered them and said, 'the Kingdom of God does not come with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here, or Lo there! For behold, the Kingdom of God is within you'+. To his disciples he said, 'the days will come, when you shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and you shall not see it, but first he must suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of man. They ate, drank, married wives, until the flood destroyed them. Likewise also was it in the days of Lot, the same day Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all. Even so it shall be on the day, when the Son of man is revealed. I tell you, in the night there shall be two men in one bed; one shall be taken, and the other shall be left. Two women shall be grinding together; one shall be taken, and the other left. Two men shall be in the field; one shall be taken, and the other left'. Then they asked him, 'where Lord?' and he answered, 'wheresoever the body is, there will the eagles be gathered together'.

(+Luke 17: 20, 21)

Then certain Sadducees came to him, which deny that there is resurrection and they asked him, 'Master, Moses wrote to us that if any man's brother die; which has a wife, that his brother should take his wife and raise up the child of his brother. There were seven brethren, and the first one took a wife and died childless. The second took her to wife and he died childless, and the third, and in like manner, all seven took her and died childless. Lastly, the woman died also, and therefore in resurrection, whose wife of them is she, for all seven had her to wife?' Jesus answered them, 'The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage. But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead; neither marry, nor are given in marriage. Neither can they die any more, for they are equal unto the angels, and are the children of God, being the children of resurrection. Now that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he called the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living, for all have life unto him'+. Certain of the scribes asked, 'Master, you have said well, which is the first commandment of all?' Jesus answered, 'the first of all the commandments is, the Lord our God is one Lord: and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. And the second is, you shall love your neighbour as yourself. There is none other commandment than these'. After that, they dared not ask him any question at all.

(+Luke 20: 34 - 38)

Once, Jesus was told that his mother and brethren had come to see him, but were unable to, because of the multitude, and he answered, 'my mother and my brethren are these, which hear the word of God, and do it'. On a certain day, he went into a ship with his disciples and said to them, 'let us go to the other side of the lake' and as they sailed, he fell asleep. Then there came a storm and they were in jeopardy, and they came to him and woke him saying, 'master, master, save us for we perish' and he arose and said to them, 'why are you fearful, you of little faith', and calmed the wind and the sea. So they said to one another and wondered, 'what manner of man is this! For he commands and the wind and the waters obey him'.

Then they arrived at Gadara, and there out of the city they came across a man who was possessed by many devils for long, who wore no clothes and resided in tombs. When he saw Jesus, he fell down before him and said in a loud voice, 'what have I to do with you Jesus, you son of the most high? I beg you, do not torment me'. Jesus asked him his name and he replied that his name was Legion: because of the many devils that possessed him. Then the spirits requested Jesus not to command them to the deep, and implored him to drive them into the herd of swine feeding nearby, on the mountainside. When it was done, the herd of swine ran violently down the slope to the side of the lake and drowned. When the people of the city came out towards Jesus, they saw the man who was possessed by the devils, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed, and in the right frame of mind. So the Gadarenes were afraid and asked Jesus to return, for they were stricken with great fear. So he went back into the ship, and returned back again. When the man who was healed of the devils, sought to be with him, Jesus sent him back saying, 'return to your own house, and speak of the great things God has done to you'. So the man returned and spoke of the great things Jesus had done for him.

After these things, Jesus was in Galilee and did not follow Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. When the Jews' feast of the tabernacles was nearing, his brothers said to him, 'depart from here, and go to Judaea so that your disciples may also see the work that you do. For there is no man that does anything in secret, and he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world' (for his brethren did not believe in him). Jesus said, 'my time is not yet come, but your time is always ready. The world cannot hate you; but it hates me, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil. You go up unto the feast. I would not yet go unto this feast, for my time is not yet come'+. When his brethren had gone, then he also went to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Therein, the Jews sought for him at the feast and there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: some said, 'he a good man': others said 'no, he deceives people'. However, none spoke openly of him for the fear of the Jews.

(+John 7: 1 - 8)

During the feast, Jesus went into the temple and taught and the Jews marvelled, 'How does this man know letters, having never learned?' Jesus answered and said, 'My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man does his will, he shall know the doctrine, whether it is of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaks of himself seeks his own glory. He that seeks that who sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. Did not Moses give you the law, yet none of you keep the law? Why do you go about to kill me?'\+ Then the people answered, 'you have a devil: who goes about to kill you?' Jesus said, 'I have done one work, and you all marvel. Moses gave you circumcision, you therefore on a Sabbath, circumcise a man so that the Law of Moses should not be broken; are you angry at me because I healed a man on the Sabbath day? Judge not, according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment'*. Then, some from Jerusalem said, 'is this not he, whom they seek to kill? But he speaks boldly, and they say nothing to him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Christ? However we know this man where he is: but when Christ comes, no one knows from where he is'. Then Jesus cried in the temple as he taught, saying, 'you both know me, and you know from where I am: and I am not come for myself, but he that sent me is true, whom you know not. But I know him: for I am from him, and he has sent me'. So they sought to take him: but no man laid hands on him, for his time had not yet come. Then, the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take him, and he said to them, 'yet a little while am I with you, then I go unto him that sent me. You shall seek me, and shall not find me: and where I am, there you cannot come'. Then the Jews wondered among themselves, 'where will he go that we cannot find him? Will he go to the dispersed among the gentiles, and teach them?'

(+John 7: 15 - 19); (*John 7: 21 - 24)

On the last and the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and said, 'if any man thirst let him come to me, and drink. He that believes on me, as the scripture has said, out of his belly, shall rivers of living water flow'. Many of the people who were there, therefore said, 'this is the Prophet for sure', others said, 'this is the Christ', but some others questioned, 'shall Christ come out of Galilee? Has the scripture not said that Christ will come of the seed of David and out of Bethlehem, where David was?' Even as some of them would have taken him, yet no man laid hands on him. When the chief priests and Pharisees questioned the officers about why they had not brought Jesus, the officers answered, 'never did any man speak like this man'.

Early one morning, he came again into the temple and many gathered around him, and he sat and taught them. Then, the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman and made her stand in the midst of all and said to him, 'Master, this woman was taken in the very act of adultery. Moses in the law commanded us to stone such a person, but what do you say?' (This they had done, so as to accuse Jesus on any judgment that he passed). Then, Jesus stooped to the ground and wrote on the ground, as if he had not heard them. So when they continued asking him, he said, 'He that is without sin, let him first cast a stone at her'+, and again stooped to the ground and wrote on the ground. When they heard of what he said, being convicted by their own conscience, they went out one by one, starting from the eldest to the last, and Jesus was left alone, with the woman standing there. When he stood up and saw none but the woman, he asked her, 'woman, where are your accusers, has no man condemned you?' She replied, 'no man, Lord', and he said, 'neither do I condemn you: go and sin no more'.

(+John 8: 4 - 7)

Jesus again spoke to them in the treasury, saying, 'I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life'. The Pharisees therefore said, 'you bear record of yourself; your record is not true', and Jesus answered, 'though I bear record of myself, my record is true: for I know where I come from, and to where I go; but you cannot tell where I come from, and to where I go. You judge after the flesh; I judge no man, and yet I judge and my judgment is true: for I am not alone, I and my Father that sent me. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. I bear witness of myself, and the Father that sent me bears witness of me'. And they asked, 'where is your father?' and he replied, 'you neither know me nor my Father: if you had known me, you should have known my father also'+.

(+John 8: 12 - 20)

Jesus continued: 'I go my way and you shall seek me, and shall die in your sins: to where I go, you cannot come'. And the Jews wondered, 'will he kill himself, because he says, to where I go you cannot come?' and he said to them, 'you are from beneath; I am from above: you are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore, that you shall die in your sins: for if you do not believe that I am he, you shall die in your sins. Then they asked him, 'who he is'; and he replied, 'even the same, that I said to you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things that I heard of him'. (And they did not understand that he spoke of the Father). 'When you have lifted up the son of man, then you shall know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father has taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father has not left me alone; for I always do those things that please him'.

Then he said to those who believed him, 'If you continue in my word, then you are my disciples indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free'. They asked him, 'If we are Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man, how do you say, you shall be made free?' Jesus replied, 'Whosoever commits sin is the servant of sin. And the servant shall not reside in the house for ever: but the son resides ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham's seed; but you seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father: and you do that which you have seen with your father'. They answered, 'Abraham is our father'. Then Jesus said, 'if you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham. But you seek to kill me, a man that has told you the truth, which I have heard of God: Abraham did not. And you do the deeds of your father'. The people said, 'we have one father, even God'. Jesus replied, 'if God were your Father, you would love me: because I came from God; neither I came of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not understand my speech? Even because you cannot hear my word. You are of your father, the devil, and the lusts of your father, you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and lived not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, you believe me not. Which of you can convince me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me? He that is of God hears God's words: you therefore hear them not, because you are not of God'+. The Jews asked him, 'can we not well say that you are a Samaritan, and has a devil?' Jesus replied, 'I do not have a devil; I honour my father, and you do dishonour me. And I do not seek my own glory: there is one that seeks and judges. If a man keeps my saying, he shall never see death'. The Jews said to him, 'Now we know that you have a devil. Abraham and the prophets are dead and you say: if a man keeps my saying, he shall never see death. Are you greater than our father Abraham who is dead? And the prophets are dead; whom do you make of yourself?' Jesus replied, 'if I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honours me; of whom, you say that he is your God: yet you have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I do not know him, I shall be a liar like unto you: but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad'. The Jews asked him, 'you are not yet fifty years old, and you have seen Abraham?' He replied, 'Before Abraham was, I am'*. So they took up stones to hit him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, and mingled with the crowd and left.

(+John 8: 31 - 47); (*John 8: 48 - 58)

As Jesus passed by, he saw a man that was blind from birth, and his disciples asked him, 'Master, who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?' Jesus answered and said, 'neither has this man sinned, nor his parents: but the works of God must be manifest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night comes, when no man can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world'. Then he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, and said, 'go wash in the pool of Siloam'; and the man went and washed and had sight. The people who knew him wondered, 'is this not he that sat and begged?', and asked him, 'how were your eye opened?' he answered them saying, a man called Jesus anointed his eyes with clay and asked of him to wash it in the pool of Siloam. They asked him where Jesus was, and he said 'I know not'.

During the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem that winter, Jesus walked in the Solomon's porch at the temple, and the Jews surrounded him and asked him, 'how long do you make us to doubt, if you are the Christ, tell us plainly?' Jesus replied, 'I told you, and you believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness for me. You believe not, because you are not my sheep, my sheep hear my voice and they follow me: and I give to them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one'+. Then the Jews again took up stones to stone him and Jesus asked them, 'many good works have I shown you from my Father; for which of those works do you stone me?' The Jews answered and said, 'for a good work, we do not stone you; but for blasphemy and because that you being a man, make yourself God'. Jesus said to them, "is it not written in your law, I said, you are Gods? If he called them Gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; yet you say of him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'you blaspheme' because I said, I am the Son of God? If I do not do the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do, though you do not believe me, believe the works: that you may know and believe that the Father is in me, and I in him". Therefore, they again sought to take him: but he escaped out of their hands and went away beyond Jordan, to the place where John baptized him, and he abided there*. Many came and abode with him there and said, 'John did no miracle: but all things that John spoke of this man were true'.

(+John 10: 24 - 30); (*John 10: 31 - 40)

A man named Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha was sick at Bethany (it was Mary, who anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair). Therefore, his sisters sent word to Jesus saying: 'Lord, behold he whom you love, is sick', and Jesus replied to them saying, 'This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby'+. Jesus loved Mary and Martha and their brother Lazarus, and when he heard of the sickness of Lazarus, he stayed on for two days in the same place where he abode, and after then, said to his disciples, 'let us go into Judaea again'. His disciples asked him, 'Master, the Jews of late sought to stone you, and do you want to go there again?' Jesus answered, 'are there not twelve hours in a day? If any man walks in the day, he shall not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles because there is no light in him'. He further added, 'our friend Lazarus is sleeping, but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep'. Then his disciples said to him that if Lazarus was asleep then he must be well, thinking him to be taking rest. Then Jesus said to them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes, that I was not there, to the intent, you may believe; nevertheless, let us go to him'. Then Thomas said to his fellow disciples, 'let us also go, that we may die with him'.

(+John 11:4)

When Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had been laid in a grave for four days already. Bethany was a place near Jerusalem, about three kilometres away, and many Jews had come to comfort Mary and Martha concerning their brother. When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went forth and met him, and said to Jesus, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now, whatsoever you will ask of God, God will give it to you'. Jesus replied, 'your brother shall rise again', and Martha replied, 'I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection, in the last day'. Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live, and whoso believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?'\+ She replied, 'Yes Lord, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world,' and she left.

(+John 11: 24 - 26)

When Martha returned, she said to her sister Mary, 'The Master has come, and he calls for you'. When Mary left, the Jews that were in the house, seeing her leave hastily followed her saying that she was going to the grave to weep there. When Mary came to where Jesus was, she fell at his feet saying, 'Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died'. When Jesus saw her and the Jews that came with her, weeping, he was troubled and asked, 'Where have you laid him?' and Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, 'behold, how he loved him!' and some of them said, 'could not this man which cured the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?' Lazarus was laid in a grave, which was a cave covered with a stone, and when Jesus asked for the stone to be removed, Martha said, 'Lord, by this time he will stink; for he has been dead four days'. Jesus replied, 'did I not say that if you would believe, you will see the glory of God?'\+ and Jesus prayed and called in a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come forth', and he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes and napkin, and was asked to be loosened and let go, and the many Jews that were there, believed on Jesus.

(+John 11: 39, 40)

Six days before the feast of Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, even as the chief priests and the Pharisees had plotted to take him. There, they had made him a supper, and Martha served, and Lazarus was also at the table. Then, Mary took a pound of ointment made of spikenard, which was very expensive and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair, and the odour of the ointment filled the house. Then Judas, one of the disciples said, 'why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?' Jesus said, 'Why do you trouble the woman, for she has wrought a good work upon me? For, you have the poor always with you, but me, you will not have always. She has poured this ointment on my body; she did it for my burial. Wheresoever this gospel shall be preached in the whole world, there shall also this, what this woman has done be told for a memorial of her'+. Then, Judas went to the chief priests and bargained, 'what will you give me, if I will deliver him to you?' and they settled for thirty pieces of silver. Then from that time, Judas sought opportunity to betray Jesus.

(+Matthew 26: 10 - 13)

On the first day of the feast, Jesus sent Peter and John saying, 'Go and prepare us the Passover that we may eat', and directed them to the house of a certain man where they would have the Passover dinner. When the hour came, he sat down for the supper along with his twelve disciples and said to them, 'with desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you, before I suffer, for I will not eat any more thereof, until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God'+. After the supper, Jesus rose up, and set aside his garment and took a towel, poured water in a basin, and began washing the feet of his disciples, and wiped them with the towel that he carried. After he washed their feet, and had put on his garments, he asked them, 'Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet, for, I have given you an example that you should do, as I have done to you. The servant is not greater than his Lord; neither he who is sent, greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, happy are you, if you do them'*.

(+Luke 22: 15, 16); (*John 13: 12 - 17)

After he had spoken to the disciples, he was troubled in spirit and said, 'one of you shall betray me'. His disciples looked at one another, wondering about whom he spoke, and there was one leaning on Jesus' bosom, whom Jesus loved, who asked, 'Lord, who is it?' and Jesus answered, 'it is he, to whom I give a sop when I have dipped it'. Then when he had done so, he gave it to Judas, and Satan entered into him and then Jesus said, 'that you do, do quickly'. No man at the table understood the intent of his speech unto him. Judas received the sop, and went out immediately that night. After Judas had left, Jesus spoke to his disciples and said, 'A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you shall also love one another. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another'+.

(+John 13: 34, 35)

When Jesus had spoken to the disciples and prayed with them, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where he entered a garden that was there, and Judas knew of the place: for, Jesus resorted there many times with his disciples. Judas then came, and with him came a great multitude with swords and staves from the chief priests and the elders of the people. Then he betrayed Jesus with a sign saying, 'whomsoever I shall kiss, the same is he', and Judas came forth to Jesus and said, 'Hail Master' and kissed him. Jesus asked, 'friend, for what reason have you come?' and they came, laid hands on Jesus, and took him. Then Simon Peter drew out a sword, and struck Malchus, a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. Jesus said to Peter, 'put your sword in the sheath, for all they that take the sword, shall perish with the sword. You think that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But, how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?'\+ Then Jesus said to the multitude, 'are you come out as against a thief, with swords and staves to take me? I sat daily with you, teaching in the temple, and you laid no hold on me. But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled'. By then, all the disciples deserted him and had fled.

(+Matthew 26: 52 - 54)

Then, the band and the captain and the officers of the Jews bound Jesus and led him to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. Peter followed him from afar off into the high priest's palace, and went in and stood near the door. Then the damsel, the keeper of the door asked Peter, 'are you not one of this man's disciples? But he said that he was not. Then the officers made a fire of coal, for it was cold, and Peter stood with them and warmed himself. Then the high priest asked Jesus of his doctrine, and Jesus answered, 'I spoke openly to the world; I even taught in the synagogue and in the temple where the Jews always resort; and in secret I have said nothing. Why do you ask me? Ask them which heard me, and what I have said to them: behold, they know what I said'+. When he said so, one of the officers, who stood near Jesus, struck him with the palm of his hand, saying, 'do you answer the high priest so?' Jesus answered, 'if I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why do you hit me?' when they saw Peter, they asked him, 'are you not also one of his disciples?' Peter denied, and said he was not. Malchus, the servant and kinsman of the high priest, whose ear Peter cut off, asked, 'did not I see you in the garden with him?' Peter denied again, and then the cock crew, fulfilling the prophesy of Jesus about Peter: 'before the cock crows, you shall deny me thrice'. So Peter left and went out, and cried bitterly.

(+John 18: 20, 21)

The next morning, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death, and they bound him and led him away to Pontius Pilate, the Governor. Then Judas, who had betrayed Jesus repented himself when he saw Jesus was condemned, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders saying, 'I have sinned in that I have betrayed innocent blood'. They replied, 'what is that to us?' and Judas threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and went and hanged himself. The chief priests took the silver pieces and said, 'it is not lawful for us to put them in the treasury, because, it is the price of blood'. Then they took counsel and bought a parcel of land from the potter's field, to bury strangers in it. Therefore the field was called 'The field of blood' even to this day+.

(+Matthew 27: 3 - 8)

Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, the governor: and the governor asked the Jews, 'what accusation do you bring against this man?' They answered him saying, 'if he were not a malefactor, we would not have brought him up to you'. Then Pilate said, 'take him and judge according to your law', and the Jews said to him, 'it is not lawful for us to put a man to death'. So Pilate called Jesus and asked him, 'Are you the king of the Jews?' Jesus asked him, 'Do you say this of yourself, or did others tell this to you?' and Pilate asked him, 'Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have brought you to me. What have you done?' Jesus answered him, 'My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But my Kingdom is not from here'. Pilate asked, 'are you a King then?' and Jesus replied, 'you say that I am a King. To this end was I born, and for this cause, I came into this world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Every one that is of the truth hears my voice'+. And Pilate said to the Jews, 'I find in him no fault at all. But, you have a custom that I should release unto you one, during Passover: will you therefore, that I release unto you the king of the Jews?' Then they all cried in unison saying, 'not this man, but Barabbas', but then Barabbas was a robber. Pilate then asked them, 'what shall I do then with Jesus, who is called Christ?' But the people cried out saying, 'let him be crucified'. When Pilate saw that the situation cannot be prevailed, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, and said, 'I am innocent of the blood of this just person, you see to that', and the people answered, 'his blood be on us, and on our children'*. Then, he released Barabbas, and Jesus was scourged and he delivered him to be crucified.

(+John 18: 33 - 37); (*Matthew 27: 24, 25)

The soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall and the whole band of them gathered together and they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe on him. They braided a crown of thorns and set it on his head and placed a reed on his right hand, and bowed and mocked at him, saying, 'Hail, king of the Jews!' They spat on him and took the reed from his hand and hit him on his head. Then they took the robe off him and put on his own garments, and led him away to be crucified. Jesus was made to bear his cross and they came to a place called Golgotha, meaning 'the place of a skull' in Hebrew, where they crucified him and two other thieves on either side with Jesus in the middle. They set a writing of accusation over his head stating, 'This is Jesus, the king of the Jews'. Many made fun of him saying, 'if you be the Son of God, come down from the cross', and the chief priests said, 'he saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him'. From the sixth hour, darkness fell over the land until the ninth hour, around then Jesus cried in a loud voice, saying, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' which is, being interpreted, 'My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?' Some of them that stood there said, 'This man is calling for Elijah'+. One of them went and dipped a sponge with vinegar on a reed, and gave him to drink, while others said, 'let us see whether Elijah will come to save him'. When Jesus had cried again with a loud voice, he bowed his head, and yielded up the ghost. Behold, at that time the veil of the temple was rent into two, from top to bottom, and there was an earthquake and many graves opened and the bodies of the saints which slept, arose and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city and appeared to many*. The centurion, and the people with him, feared greatly and said that truly, this was the Son of God.

(+Mark 15: 33 - 35); (*Matthew 27: 52, 53)

After then, there came a rich man called Joseph of Arimathaea, a disciple of Jesus, who went to Pilate and begged for the body of Jesus, and Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. There also came Nicodemus, and brought with him spices, myrrh and aloes, and they wrapped the body in a clean linen cloth and laid his body in a new sepulchre, where no man was lain before, and rolled a great stone to the door, and departed. The next day, the chief of the priests and the Pharisees came to Pilate and said, "Sir, we remember that the deceiver said when he was alive, that after three days, 'I will rise again'. Command therefore, that the sepulchre be made sure till the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say to the people that he is risen from the dead. This last deception will be worse than the first."+. Pilate said to them, 'you have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as you can'. So they went and sealed the stone, and set a watch.

(+Matthew 27: 62 - 64)

At the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn, Mary Magdalene came to the sepulchre and saw the stone removed, and behold there was an earthquake, and an angel of God descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His face was bright like lightning, and his garment white as snow: and for fear of him, the keepers trembled and became as dead men. Then the angel said to Mary Magdalene, 'fear not, for I know that you seek Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen from the dead; and behold, he has gone before you to Galilee, and there you shall see him'. She ran to Simon Peter and the other disciples, and said to Peter about the angel of God and of what he spoke. And the words seemed to them as idle tales, and they did not believe her words. So, Peter arose and went to the sepulchre and saw the linen clothes that was laid there, and left wondering what had happened. Mary Magdalene was yet weeping by the sepulchre, and when she turned, she saw Jesus standing there and she did not recognize him. Jesus asked her, 'Woman, why do you weep, and whom do you seek?' She, supposing him to be a gardener, asked him, 'Sir, if you have taken him from here, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away'. Jesus said to her 'Mary' and she recognized him, and said 'Rabboni', which means "Master"+. Jesus said to her, 'touch me not, for I am yet to ascend to my Father: but go to my brethren and say to them, that I ascend unto my Father, and to your Father; and to my God and to your God'.

(+John 20: 14 - 16)

Then the same day evening, the disciples where gathered, and Jesus came and stood in their midst, and said, 'Peace be with you', and showed them his hands and his side. Then they were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus again said to them, 'Peace be with you. As my Father sent me, even so I send you', and he breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Ghost. Whosoever sins, you remit, and they are remitted unto them, and whosoever sins you retain, they are retained'+. But Thomas Didymus, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. The others told him that they have seen the Lord, but he said to them, 'except that I see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger in the print of the nails, and thrust my hands to his side, I will not believe'. After eight days again the disciples where within, and Thomas was with them, and Jesus stood in their midst, and said to Thomas, 'reach your finger and touch my hands; and reach your hands, and touch into my side: and be not faithless, but believing'. Thomas cried, 'My Lord and my God'. Jesus said to him, 'Thomas, because you have seen me, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed'.

(+John 20: 21 - 23)

After rising from the dead, Jesus appeared to them the third time by the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where Peter and few other disciples were catching fish, and asked them, 'children, have you any meat?' They had not recognized him, and they said 'no', he said, 'cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find'. They did therefore, and they were not able to draw it out, for the multitude of fishes. The disciple whom Jesus loved, said to Peter, 'it is the Lord', and when Peter heard thereof, he covered himself with the fisher's coat (for he was naked) and jumped into the sea+, and when they came to the shore, Jesus said to them, 'come and dine'. After they had eaten, Jesus asked Peter, 'Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me more than these?' and he answered, 'Lord, you know that I love you', and Jesus said, 'Feed my lambs' and again asked, 'Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me?' and again he replied, 'Lord, you know that I love you', Jesus again said, 'Feed my sheep'. Jesus again asked the third time, 'Simon, son of Jonas, do you love me?' Peter was in grief, because Jesus had asked him three times, 'do you love me?' and said, 'Lord you know all things; you know that I love you'. Jesus said to Peter, 'Feed my sheep, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself, and walked where you pleased; but when you shall be old, you shall stretch forth your hands, and another shall gird you, and carry you where you would not'. This he said, signifying by what death, he should glorify God. And after he spoke thus, Jesus said to him, 'Follow me'*.

(+John 21: 6, 7); (*John 21: 18, 19)

'When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep.' If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble." So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day'+.

(+Matthew 28: 12 - 15)

Chapter II - The Biblical Life - In perspective

The biblical way of life and the code of conduct of the early times were laid down as law, in the Pentateuch of the Bible, chiefly in the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, as ordained to Moses in Mount Sinai by the angel of the Lord. Judgments of the law and the settlement of disputes among people were taken up by the early protagonists in the capacity of leaders of men and as judges who were directly appointed or nominated by the angels of God or were ordained through the various prophets and seers. Later, upon the call by the people for kings to rule over them, the responsibility passed on to the various rulers of Israel and Judah to follow the law and judge the people. The latter day teachings, and the Christian way of life and the life leading to Salvation, were preached in the New Testament by Jesus Christ and his disciples.

The earliest and the simplest commandment for the biblical man came from God to Adam, his creation, to maintain and upkeep the Garden of Eden and eat freely of the fruits of the garden, but not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for if he so ate of it, he would surely die. Evidently, that commandment was not kept up by Adam and his partner Eve, at the behest of the serpent. Subsequently, they were clad in leather tunics by God and sent away from the garden with a curse on both of them to toil and suffer on the earth and die. Man thus was kept away from the Garden of Eden and away the tree of life, so that he may not live forever, as he was made from the dust and had to die and return to the same dust. This was an early ordinance from God that kept man away from eternal life, but then his eyes were 'opened' to judge between good and evil, unlike the other creatures on the earth.

For the killing of Abel by his brother Cain, Cain was banished and cursed to wander the earth as a nomad and as a fugitive, so that the earth would not yield its fruit. Cain then pleaded to the Lord that this punishment was too great for him to bear and any man who saw him would then kill him. So the Lord then put a mark upon him, that no one would kill him. However, he also put a curse on any man who killed Cain that vengeance would be taken on him seven times. Meaning, whoever happened to kill Cain would have to suffer the same fate seven times! Shortly, Lamech, after killing two men, declared to his two wives that he would have to face a similar plight seventy seven times as a punishment for that act! That indeed establishes the tone for karma to come into play straightaway, within the first few lines of the bible. If a person killed another man or an animal, knowingly or unknowingly, he or she invariably would have to be killed in a similar manner for seven lifetimes, as per the laws of karma in Sanatana Dharma.

The first seven to eight generations of Adam were neither subject to any written rules of the law, nor were they bound by any strict moral code of conduct. Hence there was much lawlessness and many acts of evil in the eyes of God. According to the sixth chapter of the book of Genesis, the sons of God, or the angels, or perhaps the demigods were indeed visible to the naked eyes of the common men and they mingled freely with them. They took the fair and beautiful daughters of the humans, to whom mighty men were born. There indeed are various theories among the scholars about the 'sons of God', to either represent 'fallen angels' or the devils or perhaps even the angels of God. Many others simply refer to them as 'children of God', and count them to be extraordinary men, albeit human beings. However, during the same time period in reference, there are many similar references to the princely progenies of the deities or the celestial beings called 'Suras', born out of human beings and of the mighty beings born to the 'Asuras' (demonic beings), who were either vanquished by men of valour or by the avatars of gods, in the texts of Sanatana Dharma. Nevertheless, the progenies born of the inter-mingling of the human beings and the God-like beings (sons of God), were mighty and more powerful than normal human beings. It was then that God decided to purge the earth of all terrestrial beings, except for the family of eight members of Noah, during the biblical flooding. 'After the floods, the Lord vowed that he will not curse the ground any more for man's sake and promised that as long as the earth remains, day and night shall not cease'+. That indeed raises a question on the various theories of 'doomsday', and the coming end of the days on earth, for God had taken six of his days to painstakingly create the heaven and the earth and found them very good in his eyes.

(+Genesis 8: 21, 22)

In Genesis chapter nine, God re-established the basic tenet of life that man shall be on top of the food chain, by reiterating man's dominion over all the animals and plants, and prohibited him from eating / drinking or killing another human being. The fifth and sixth verses of Genesis, chapter nine is affirmative of the law of cause and effect – for, according to the interpretation of the words of God, "the blood of your lives will be required at the hands of every beast; the blood of your lives will be required at the hand of man; at the hand of every man's brother, will I require the life of man". Blood feeds the life-giving elements of air (oxygen), water, fire, minerals (earth / dust) and ether (Prana or the life force) to the physical body and out of the five elements the body is made, and out of the body, life (the soul) is sustained. So it is imperative that by God's ordinance, whoever sheds a man's blood, his blood shall be shed by man (seven times): for nature (the gods / angels / devils) will surely ensure justice for all beings equally, as what goes around eventually comes around. The kings and the many men of valour are exemplified in the bible, as having been smitten under the fifth rib, or having had their greater toes and thumbs cut off, for the very acts that they committed.

After many subsequent generations of Noah, when men decided to build a mighty tower such as one which could reach up to heaven, the gods realized that the people were united and together as 'one', because of a single common language. They then said to themselves that if men begin to do acts such as this, nothing will be restrained from them which they imagine to do, and they came down to earth and confounded the language of men, so that none understood each another's speech. It is no wonder then, that the root words of many languages remain the same. For example, the Hebrew word for serpent is nahash or saraf and in Sanskrit, it is naga or sarpa. The Sanskrit word for fire is Agni; in Latin it is Ignis. The words 'eido', 'veda' and 'yada' mean 'to know' respectively in Greek, Sanskrit and Hebrew. What could be more similar and simpler than ma and pa in any language? Etymology aside, man's evolutionary pace must have been too rapid, as the tower of Babel, built out of baked bricks and slime based mortar could have hardly reached threatening proportions to worry the powerful gods, the angels, or even Satan, let alone the Almighty God. It is surprising then, that the good Lord did not like the unity of purpose in men and their commonality in language. Did he fear that the greater designs for the interplay of good and evil would be threatened?

The story of good versus evil in the bible perhaps started much earlier because of the killing of Abel, by Cain. Even as both the men offered the first fruits of their produce to God, yet the Lord respected Abel's offering, whilst not being pleased by Cain's offering. This set off a bout of jealousy and anger in the older sibling's mind, and he killed his younger brother. The trend of sibling rivalry continued with Abraham's two sons. Isaac the younger took precedence over his elder brother Ishmael, who was doomed to be a wild and a warring man even before his birth, as prophesied by an angel of God. Instances of treachery and guile are evidently displayed by the second of the twin brothers: Jacob, the son of Isaac. Jacob not only stole the birthright of his elder brother Esau for the ransom of a cup of stew, but also stole the blessings of the firstborn son, given by their ailing father, with the condescending aid of his mother, Rebekah. Esau for no apparent reason was banished to live by the sword, and serve his younger brother, even as evidenced by the prophet Malachi, that Esau was hated by the Lord+. But for that fact, Esau apparently comes off as a pleasant character, who later reconciled with his younger brother without a grudge! A fact that had even the apostle Paul bemused in questioning, 'What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid'*. Jacob (Israel) and the progenies of his twelve sons formed the root and the pillar of the tribes of Judah and Israel. Jacob in his own words spoken to the Pharaoh, talked of his hundred and thirty years of life, as a pilgrimage, and that his days of the years had been few, and evil#. David the king, who could have had all that he wanted, coveted upon and took Bathsheba and subsequently had her husband vainly killed! Their first-born son was dead in seven days for no fault of his and their second son Solomon was blessed, and became the wealthiest and wisest of the kings. Yet, for that transgression, David had to face the humiliation by his son Absalom, in taking his father's ten concubines out in the open, as was prophesied earlier. The stories of the kings' David and Saul are intriguing at times, because on no less than three occasions, the 'evil spirit' from the Lord possessed Saul, and he ended up trying to kill David, but then David retained his composure on all occasions. Both men were anointed of the Lord, and yet they lost and gained favour on various occasions, and what better example of a battle between good and evil?

(+Malachi 1:3); (*Romans 9: 14); (#Genesis 47:9)

Since their exodus from Egypt, the people of Israel had grown much in number, and the angel of the Lord gave them the Ten Commandments and the laws of personal and social conduct. The book of law written by Moses and set on two tablets of stone, was clearly more elaborate and detailed than the one decreed to Noah and his progenies, as detailed in the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Because man was made in the image of God, he was ordained to be holy, and to 'love the neighbour as oneself', as every person mirrors God's persona. However, the transgressions and the sinful acts were given immediate justice, or in other words the times gave way for instant karma, so to speak. Each man obtained the fruits of his deeds according to their actions, and on certain occasions, an angel of the Lord ensured the sufferings for men, or in instances, groups of people or even the whole nation, for the consequences of their or their king's actions. The rule of the thumb, therefore, was an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth, and blood for blood, and death for death, and also forgiveness for forgiveness, all in equal measures; as what you sow, so shall you reap. A person who committed a serious offence was ordained to immediate death, minor trespasses were atoned with a sacrifice of sin offering or trespass offering of either a bullock or a goat or a lamb. The offerings were to be without blemishes and consecrated with elaborate procedures, involving the sprinkling of blood and fat of the animal. Moses wrote in detail, all the various types of sacrifices and offerings that were needed to propitiate the Lord during peace times, and for forgiveness of sin and trespass, and the burnt offerings. The worships and the sacrifices to God are similar in the basic form in both Judaism and Sanatana Dharma. The day-to-day worships of God are in the context of the peace offering: prayers of thanksgiving with offerings of flowers, frankincense and fire. The burnt offering to propitiate God for favours asked of, or for favours granted, are similar in context to the 'Homa' or the ritualistic sacrifice by fire wherein the Hindus offer grains, clarified butter or ghee and sweetmeat in lieu of animals* as sacrifice. A sin or trespass offering in the bible is followed in a similar context among many Hindu sects, barring the Brahmans, wherein a goat or a hen is slain for the atonement and remission or washing away of the sin, by the sacrifice of the blood of the animal.

(*A cow or an ox is not sacrificed among any Hindu sects, as it is considered a holy animal.)

The strict edicts for the Jews however, were against the worship of any other gods or images or idols of god, or other gods, for the angel of the Lord was very candid about his jealousy over the other gods. The bible is replete with instances of the Jews transgressing the covenanted laws and following other gods, and the subsequent wrath that they faced each time. For example, if you were to ignore your boss or manager and instead shower adulation on another manager, would your manager not be jealous? Arguably, the Jews needed to propitiate the Lord God of the Hebrews and not follow the strange gods of the gentiles, as they did many a time and were punished. An angel of God foretold the demise of Judah and Israel in the hands of the Syrians stating, 'Have you offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel? But you have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which you made to yourselves. Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts'+. Interestingly, the prophet Amos who spoke of these words lived during the times of the King Uzziah, but the angel of God seems to refer to the people of the life and times of Moses, six hundred years since their departure from Egypt.

(+Amos 5: 25 - 27)

Through the times of the rule of the various judges and the kings of Israel and Judah, the various prophets and the seers acted as their guides through the words of the Lord and many battles were won or lost based on the counsel of the prophets. The kings sought their counsel for the appropriate time and place for waging wars, yet all things happened as preordained or as prophesied by the word of God. Much of the people of Israel and Judah lived by the sword and died by the sword, because of the many wars and the resultant slayings, so the wheels of karma were turning fast, for death begat more death for generations to come. The basic rules remained steadfast: to love the neighbour as oneself and to serve God. Yet the prophesies, and the words and the will of God, had to come true as written, for the people to become scattered in the land.

Failure to keep the tenets of the covenanted and ordained law by the latter day kings and the people of Israel and Judah, brought forth much oppression through the innumerable wars by the neighbouring kingdoms and the hostile nations, and subsequently ended in the territorial demise and capture of Israel and Judah, at the hands of the Babylonians, Medes and the Persians. As prophesied by the prophets, the people of Israel and Judah were scattered in the land, with the promise of eventual gathering of the Jews, by the Messiah to come. Even as Jerusalem was rebuilt through the years, the Roman legion took over much of the control of all the settlements of Israel and Judaea, (as Judah became to be called) during the birth and times of Jesus Christ and of John the Baptist before him. The mandate for Jesus was prophesied by Isaiah, that a messiah would come out of the branch of Jesse, to gather the scattered flock of the sheep of Israel. That he did, as evidenced by his fervent supplication for all the Jews to follow the words of God. Arguably then, Jesus compared the gentiles to the dogs and the Jews to the sheep and the children, and of his mission to gather the Jews that were many, as evidenced by the rebuff of the Greek woman, who sought Jesus to gain a cure for her child. It was not until after the death of Jesus, that Simon Peter fell into a trance and in his vision was decreed thrice to take the message of Jesus to the gentiles. In his dream, Simon Peter saw all the people of the world were depicted in the form of all classes of animals and birds+, and he along with the other disciples were asked to take the message to the whole world. At his appointed time, Jesus spoke of his message in simple terms on the sermon at the Mount and in parables, yet even as many believed him, a good majority of the Jews were bewildered by his message and on many occasions sought to stone him or take his life.

(+Acts 10: 11 - 16)

Jesus Christ came with the simplest message about Salvation and of the principles of cause and effect. He redefined the rules and the morals to suit the times, which had much evolved since the times of Adam, Moses and Abraham. The rules and edicts that were ordained to Moses were by the Lord of the hosts of the angels, and God's powerful angel, named Jehovah. After then, the Almighty, having decided that the time was ready for man to be addressed to and preached by a fellow man, sent his emissary named John the Baptist, a reincarnation of the Prophet Elijah\+ (the second person who had not seen physical death) to pave the way for Jesus Christ (who called himself the Son of man), who was his own select messiah, the reincarnation of Enoch (the first person who walked with God and had not seen death) to speak and preach to all humans as one of the humans, and to suffer the sufferings of men, and to teach one and all. In the words of Jesus to the Jews and in the book of John, his disciple, John the Baptist was stated to be the reincarnation of the prophet Elijah. In the words of John the Baptist: 'He that comes after me, is preferred before me: for he was before me', and Enoch was in the world much before the prophet Elijah. Jesus himself stated that he was in the world before the times of Abraham. Also, as evidenced by the gospels of Matthew and Luke and during the conversations of Jesus with his disciples, Jesus asked, 'Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?' and he was answered that some said he was John the Baptist, some said Elijah, and some said that he was the reincarnation of prophet Jeremiah. When Jesus asked them, 'but whom do you say that I am?' Simon Peter answered that he was Christ, the Son of the living God. Jesus answered, 'blessed are you Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but my Father which is in heaven'*. Then he charged his disciples, that they tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ! Evidently, multitudes knew who Jesus the Christ was. However, no one doubted that Jesus was the reincarnation of Enoch, for the flesh and blood had not revealed it, and he wanted it to remain that way!

(+Matthew 17: 11 - 13); (*Matthew 16:17)

Jesus' message was to teach the people the secret of prevailing upon death forever, to do good things and act in ways to eliminate the karmic effects and eventually attain the resurrection of life. The message of Jesus was carried forward by the Apostle Paul that they who continually do evil attain the resurrection of damnation or in other words, resurrection of the dead. Resurrection of life would mean the eventual Salvation of the soul, or 'Moksha'. Resurrection of the dead, in other words, would mean reincarnation and repeated damnation for the individual soul in this world. Jesus also said in the gospel of Luke, chapter seventeen, that the Kingdom of God is not to be found by searching here or there, but is to be found within an individual self, thereby putting the onus of attaining Salvation to the individual in question. The Jews and the Pharisees, who did not understand the message and the sayings of Jesus Christ, condemned him of blasphemy and plotted and eventually killed him on the cross. The same message of Jesus was then carried forward by his disciples and is evidently cited across various books in the New Testament.

In his veiled message on the interplay of good and evil Jesus said, 'Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household'+. It may sound rather perplexing as against the backdrop of the early commandment: 'Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God gives you'*. However, the message is straightforward in the context of man's need for the worldly connections to be severed, in order to attain the eventual Salvation and to reach heaven. As said in the texts of Sanatana Dharma and as per the gospel of Luke, 'all flesh shall see the salvation of God'#.

(+Matthew 10: 34 - 36); (*Exodus 20:12); (#Luke 3:6)

The message of reincarnation and resurrection as evidenced in the book of Job is in the context and conversations of the three wise men, along with their friends Job and Elihu. Their debates point singularly to fate or karma, and the discussion is centered on the state of the human condition and the reasons for an individual's misery or glory. Even as the three wise men, Bildad, Zophar and Eliphaz, who did not comprehend the speech of Job, but still condemned him for his miserable state, Job spoke of his righteous conduct and the life after death based on God's judgment. In the words of Job, if two men were to die, one wicked and another righteous, both shall be judged for their deeds and recompensed accordingly. Job further explained his own question, 'if a man die, shall he live again?' Upon his death, man shall lie in wait till the calling from God, for his change to come. His deeds and sins, and of the righteousness or of wickedness, are sewn up in a bag, and are known to God. God gives man a new appearance and sends him away, and neither he nor his sons neither perceive nor know it, but his flesh shall bear pain and his soul shall mourn. The words of Job are echoed by the younger man among them - Elihu - and in a similar context he spoke of resurrection and reincarnation, 'for the work of man, God shall render unto him and cause every man to find (judgment) according to his ways. God will not do wicked and perverse judgment. When a man dies, his flesh is consumed away, his soul draws near unto the grave and his life to the destroyers (worms). If there is a messenger, or an interpreter, to show unto man his uprightness: then God is gracious to him, and says, deliver him from going to the pit: I have found a ransom. His flesh shall be fresher than a child's: he shall return to the days of his youth, and be favourable to God, and render unto man his righteousness. If any (man) says, I have sinned, and it did not profit me, then he will deliver his soul from going to the pit, and his life shall see light. God works these things often with man, to bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the living'.

The concepts of rebirth and reincarnation are also noted by King David in his Psalms: David in his thirtieth Psalm notes: 'O Lord, you have brought up my soul from the grave: you have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit'. Against the backdrop of the thought that all children are born innocent and do not discern good or evil, in the fifty-eighth Psalms he quotes, 'the wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies'. During the times of Uzziah, the king of Judah and Jeroboam II, the king of Israel, the Prophet Amos spoke of the words of the Lord: 'I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet you have not returned to me, saith the Lord'+. A statement that would amount to God bringing the souls of men from hell's fire and giving them a new lease of life, but still remaining as one that has not received salvation yet!

(+Amos 4:11)

The message of reincarnation and resurrection is also discussed by the apostle Paul, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, chapter fifteen. Though the message often gets misinterpreted in the Christian belief that man shall die and wait forever, till time shall come to pass and then be judged, Paul's argument in support of reincarnation starts with the question: 'Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some of you that there is no resurrection of the dead?' He further states: 'If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. Since by man (Adam) came death, and by man also came the resurrection of the dead and the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death'. He communicates the true nature of the resurrection of the dead and the resurrection of life, by answering his own question, 'How are the dead raised up, and with what body they come? That which you sow is not quickened (chastened), except it die: That which you sow may be wheat or some other grain: but God gives it a body as it has pleased him, and to every seed his own body'. Paul conveys the message that by resurrection of the dead, the soul transmigrates after paying for the sins and must attain eventual Salvation through the resurrection of life by differentiating between the natural body and the spiritual body. Logically, the physical body of a man who is born on earth shall eventually die, and that effectively means that death cannot be conquered in one lifetime with this mortal body. If death needs to be conquered, the cycle of life and death should cease for an individual's spiritual body and after many lifetimes, death can be conquered finally, for the eventual Salvation of the soul! In the words of Paul: 'Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed'+.

(+I Corinthians 15: 51, 52)

Chapter III - A travesty on Life

Theism is defined broadly as the belief of a person, in the existence of God or gods, and monotheism, is defined as the belief of a person, that there is only one God, and polytheism as the belief of, or worship of more than one god. Contrarily, atheism would be defined as the disbelief of, or the denial of the existence of God, and an agnostic person would be defined as one, who would neither believe, nor deny the existence of God, or would rather be as one, who is simply undecided in the faith or belief of God. There are some who would tend to believe in the whole 'nature', or 'prakriti' as God. Any self-reliant or an independent mind, thus would hold some form of belief, or absence of belief, in the context of God, or in the existence of being on the whole.

Atheism, by definition would become a faith in 'nothing', thereby becoming a faith by itself. Atheists, would thus endear themselves greatly to the highest power, invariably or involuntarily or in any otherwise, during the course of time and age, as, 'nothing' and 'everything' belongs to the Almighty, even as zero and infinity belongs to the Almighty. Even though, physical science can claim usage and acceptance of both zero and Infinity, it would however, never be able to fathom both, without the aid of spiritual science. Atheism, would amount to belief of 'nothingness or void or shunya', which is the concept of zero. Hence, the state of mind, which is blank, is the perfect, recommended, meditative state for a person to get closer to the highest powers that be, wherein your mind is still, and unmoved. Zero or shunya has its origins in India and out of Sanatana Dharma and spiritually it is not indicative of, 'absence' of a material thing, but essentially, it is a state of the mind, which is 'devoid of anything'. The western concept, or more so, the scientific concept of zero essentially is the 'absence of anything', so as to say that 'I have no mangoes', or 'I have zero credit' or 'I have a nil balance' and theoretically, an 'absolute vacuum', and is practically improbable to achieve such a state. Whereas, the Indian spiritual concept of 'zero or shunya', is an absolute 'zero', which is equitable to a blank state in the conscious cognizance, and one that leads to 'mental bliss' or the state of mind, called 'Ananda' – which paradoxically translates as 'infinity' in Sanskrit.

That leaves us with the discussion about an agnostic person. When one is uncertain 'if or not' God exists, the case rests within the realms of the imagination of such a person's mind and is best left to be contemplated internally by the said person. No amount of rhyme or reason will convince such a person, by any external means of force, faith or religion. That is one of the reasons that the early texts of the spiritual sciences advocated for the search 'within' for all answers, questions and doubts which arise within ones mind. And for practicing or attaining meditative states of the mind, it is certainly not a prerequisite to have a belief in God or in God's existence. As said in the texts of Sanatana Dharma, and in the words of Jesus, to the Jews, in the book of John, 'you are gods', and gods are the self-realized souls and invariably one will realize God, within or without.

In the case of nature believers, nature by itself is certain to teach the ways and intricacies of life to the perceiver, as we all (all forms of life, plants, the ecosystem, rocks, outer space, the stellar systems, sand and dust) are interconnected by the cycle of life and death. In the course of nature, life feeds off life, as much as life feeds off death. The tiniest of seeds, produce the biggest of the trees, which in turn feed off the dust, the moisture and the nutrients of the earth. In effect, when one eats off the fruit of a tree, theoretically one is eating the minerals of the soil, which was nourished by the tree. Thus new matter is not produced. It is merely reprocessed and transposed into a different form, and this is a continual process which has been going on and will go on. So, what you see is 'actually' not what you see. It is merely the interplay of 'maya' or 'vanity' through the force of nature, and nature is a very great leveller. When the dead are burnt, they turn to ash, dust and water vapour. When they are buried, worms feed on the carcass, and eventually turn to dust. Just as a seed is planted on the ground, and grows on to become a tree, the seed of men – the sperm sown on fertile ground – the human body, only produces progenies of the dust, and is nourished off the dust. The sole survivor during this process is the soul, which lives forever. During the course of time and evolution, many species do become extinct, and new species evolve, which are remarkably adept in suiting themselves to the current environment, even as many readapt to survive. It would simply imply that the species' which went extinct were unable to cope with the changes in the environment, and nature invariably ensures that a suitable replacement evolves in its place to take over its function.

The lifespan of human beings, on an average ranges anywhere between forty and seventy plus years depending on the place, country of origin, lifestyle, food habits and various other factors. Our body is made up of five elements viz. air, water, earth, fire and ether. The four elements of air, water, earth and fire govern our body constitution and are always in a state of flux. New matter is consumed and the older wasteful matter is constantly ejected out, and it is postulated by science that the human body is completely recycled physically, on an average once every seven years. It simply means that, physically you are not what you were seven years back, or would not be the same, seven years hence. All animals and humans have five basic senses viz. sight, smell, hearing, touch and taste. The sixth sense of cognizance, the faculty available only to man, is the 'common sense', one that helps us perceive all the five senses together and analyze them and help us comprehend between good and bad (evil). The seventh sense of pre-cognizance or precognition, one that is not fully developed in all humans would be the highly evolved senses of intuition, clairvoyance, clairaudience, and increased levels of wisdom or jnana, and the perception of the paranormal. A human being of high spiritual evolution would thus perceive aural or ethereal beings, possess spiritual powers of healing and the like.

No two souls are in the same stage in development through the evolutionary cycles of life and death and life. If each and every person that is of this world were to be highly evolved as jnani's or as wise men and attain Salvation or Moksha, or attain the state of Brahman at the same time, then there would become neither a need for the world to exist, nor for the interplay of good and evil to take place, for the world that we know would cease to exist. On the other hand, if all humans were to be spiritually defunct and naïve and are basal in their instincts, they would in all likelihood be no better than animals, albeit clothed, nourished and sheltered, and all hell would break loose on the earth. What good would life then be that one would eat, excrete, work, procreate and sleep all the days of one's life, living to eat and eating to live, till death comes knocking on the door and one is no more, never to return? Or perhaps, keep returning to this life cycle again and again till the world comes to pass? Or that one knows not where they came from and where they go after death, only to get judged and to be thrown into an eternal fire of damnation for no apparent reason? Or is there even a reason, why one came into existence on this earth, or why should one have to be damned to eternal hell? God surely has his designs in place, which perhaps not many men or maybe even the angels would understand.

Darwin's theory of natural evolution, read as it is, sounds a tad out of sync and debatable, because if a single-celled organism were to evolve over eons of years and then develop into the higher classes of beings and if men indeed evolved out of apes, the theory of natural progression should then eliminate the need for the earlier states of existence as meaningless. Thus, after the evolution of the apes to the higher class of human beings, apes then would become redundant and along the same lines no single-cell organism needs to exist, simply because that species would have evolved. But then, Darwin was addressing the issue from a totalitarian point of view, to encompass evolution on the whole, of all beings over long periods of time. If one were to realign the view of Darwin and his theory to individual planes of existence, the view then assumes a different proposition. Darwin was probably correct in his theory of natural progression, and probably, many beings that live today, would have existed as a single celled organism eons ago and by subsequent transmigrations could have evolved to become complex multi-celled beings and eventually progressed to take on the human form. The individual 'you' or 'I', could in all probability have gone through the Darwinian natural progression during various points in time, and 'now', is where we are! Nature and the laws of karma would then govern the states of progression or regression, according the deeds of each individual. That would then put the onus on men, to evolve to higher states of existence, by following righteous behaviour, or devolve into lower classes of beings by exhibiting animalistic traits. The next logical question is, 'what would be the next stage of evolution for man?' By natural progression, 'is there a higher stage that man can evolve into?' The answer could perhaps be that invariably, scientifically, or spiritually, man eventually must attain Salvation or Moksha, which is the next step in evolutionary progression, one that can happen after many cycles of births and deaths!

The lives of all matter, men and animals and plants are indeed shared in various degrees, in the form of the air that we breathe, the water that we share and of the soil that we eat out of, thereby creating a karmic connection between one and all+. When two individuals are relatively close to one another and share a passionate personal space even for a fleeting moment, prana, or the life force is shared, thereby sharing a part of their lives and karmas, linking two souls. Sharing one lifetime together however, is different from sharing life, wherein one establishes a soulful connection to sustain and tolerate togetherness, sharing the good with the evil over one's lifetime with another. Else it would just be a material lust, which would invariably fail over a period of time and would lead one to a karmic debt cycle! Knowingly or unknowingly most of us create these karmic debt cycles, for which we end up paying or repaying or accruing the resultant manifestations of the various actions performed, thus keeping us within the entrapment of the cycles of life and death and life. This inevitably needs to be broken free of!

(+ Referenced from Ecclesiastes 3:19)

Chapter IV - The Gods, Angels & the Devils

In the Holy Bible and in the words of the John, the disciple of Jesus Christ, 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men'+. Combined with the Genesis beginning of the heaven and earth, out of the utterance of God's word the universe proceeded forth during the course of six of God's days and on the seventh day, God ended his work and rested on seeing that his creation was very good. Contrast it with the beginning of the universe according to Sanatana Dharma and a similarity emerges as written in the texts of Sanatana Dharma: 'THAT which all the Vedas declare, That which all austerities utter, That, desiring which they lead the life of brahmacarya, That WORD I tell you briefly: it is AUM. That word is even Brahman; that Word is even the Supreme'*. Before the manifest state, there was nothing, or absolute vacuum or shunya, and everything came forth out if it: all of infinity, hence zero and the unfathomable infinity are two incomprehensible facets of the Almighty. In effect, both factoids emanate out of, or lead to the same source or point of origin.

(+John 1: 1 - 4);

(*Sanatana Dharma - An advanced textbook of Hindu religion and ethics by Annie Besant and Bhagavan Das)

As with the creation of man in his own image from the dust and the creation of all other living beings, reference is not available in the bible about the creation of the angels or devils or Satan, or even to the serpent (in the Garden of Eden), which was said to have been more subtle among the beasts. The serpent was the one which beguiled Eve to eat of the fruit from the 'tree of the knowledge of good and evil'. God supposedly created all the living beings on the fifth and sixth of his days and found them to be good and blessed them. If the serpent was then created independent of the other beasts, and was then to be equated to represent Satan, then both good and evil indeed emanate from God. And the knowledge of both good and evil was meant for his other creations, the angels and the devils, and not for man (or the woman, as they were prohibited to eat the fruit of the tree of good and evil, yet were coerced, and their fallibility exposed). Hypothetically then, there is a divide between the legions of the angels representing the good, and the legions of the devils representing evil, and both were indeed a part of God's greater and grander design and representative of his grand play. That would be the exact equivalent of the sura's, or the demigods who are the representatives of the good (Sattvic – pure), and the asura's, or the demonic beings, who are the keepers of the evil (Tamasic – darkness, inertia), in the context of Sanatana Dharma. The serpent which 'spoke' to Eve, clearly was aware of good and evil, aware that 'the eyes shall open', and aware that men 'shall be as gods' if they ate of the fruit off the forbidden tree. Then, the 'gods or demigods and the devils or demons' including humans, in that broader sense should mean, 'creations' of the Almighty, with the ability to distinguish and discern between good and evil.

The many angels whom we come across in the bible, barring the most powerful angel of the Lord, or the Lord of the hosts, Jehovah, seemingly appear as no different from men, leaving the many protagonists confused, or even bemused at their sight. The angels are indeed equated to gods, and are called as gods many a time. According to the book of Genesis and later by the prophet Hosea+, Jacob (Israel) wrestled with an angel at a place called Peniel, who looked no different than a human and declared that he had seen god face to face. Jehovah appeared to Moses many times, but he never saw the face of the angel, for it was declared that any man who saw his face would die, and Moses only saw his back once. As mentioned in chapter six of the book of Exodus, the angel told Moses, that he is the Lord, and had appeared before Abraham, Isaac and Jacob at the behest of the Almighty, but his name was not told to them as Jehovah. Stephen, a later day apostle (in the book of the Acts of the Apostles) addressed Jehovah to be an angel, but he was unfortunately stoned to death for blasphemy. Joshua was met by a man with his sword drawn out outside the city of Jericho. The man introduced himself as the captain of the host of the Lord (Jehovah, was the Lord of all host), and the angel asked Joshua to remove his shoes, for the place where he stood was holy. It becomes evident that the powers vested in the angels differ from the most high, to the lower in rank who many a times were mistaken for humans, yet unmistakably more powerful than humans. Many of the angels in the bible do not give out their names, barring a few powerful ones like Jehovah, Gabriel, and Michael. Among the devils, apart from Satan and Beelzebub, only Abaddon or Apollyon get a mention, apart from death being personified once in the book of Revelation*, as sitting on a pale horse.

(+ Reference from Hosea 12:4); (*Revelation 6:8)

When Gideon (Jerubbaal) offered food to the angel, like unto regular guests, he was instructed to set the food onto a rock, and the food was consumed by fire. Similarly, Manoah and his wife - the parents of Samson - were confused about the 'man of God' who came to them with the news of Samson's forthcoming birth. When entreated to stay and eat with them, he replied about the manner in which food needs to be offered, and so it was consumed by fire. But Manoah feared that he would be killed, since he had seen god. The common theme, accordingly in Sanatana Dharma is that the deities and the demigods do not consume food physically when offered. They consume food with their eyes and by smell. 'Homa' or the sacrificial offering by fire and the burnt offering of the Hebrews play a similar role, in offering food and propitiating the Gods, or the demigods or the angels, all called by different names. But when there comes a distinction about 'who is the greater God?' the distinction of the gods by the religions of the humans becomes a play of individual egos. So the frailties and the fallibilities of the humans get exposed, irrespective of the fact that all things around us are for the interplay of the Gods and are a part of Almighty's grand design.

Inexplicably, when King David was asked to number the people of Judah and Israel, the versions of II Samuel, chapter twenty four, and I chronicles, chapter twenty one when narrating the same incident differ on account of 'who' ordered the numbering of the people. The second book of Samuel suggests that it was the Lord, and the Chroniclers version is that of Satan, when David was faced with the choice of seven years of famine or three days of plague over Israel. It has been debated by scholars that scribal errors do creep in during translation. We could indeed ascribe certain discrepancies to that, but orders from the Lord and orders from Satan are indeed too different not to be taken note of. But that only brings us to the point about Satan: is he the perpetrator of all evil? One cursory perusal of the first chapter of the book of Job, verses six to eight, could easily influence or question many perceptions about God and Satan. It appears that the Almighty, the demigods (Sons of God) and Satan are having a casual, friendly conversation about the happenings on the world at large, wherein the Almighty inquires of Satan if he had come across a righteous man named Job. God then permits Satan for Job to be proved of his righteousness. It becomes evident from the book of Job that the Almighty operates and controls both the good and the evil through his hosts of the angels and the legions of Satan, the devils or Beelzebub (the chief of the devils). Each of them are assigned their own tasks, fulfilling the interplay of good and evil, by fostering the righteous with the good, and evil doers with the powers of the evil, again, each man according to his deeds. Sometimes, as with Job, even the righteous are tested at the hands of Satan and his host, at the behest of the Lord!

The message, 'you shall be as gods' or 'you are gods' appears at least a half a dozen times in the bible, referring to human beings. Firstly, the serpent told Eve that on the day that the fruit of the tree of knowledge was eaten, 'the eyes shall be opened and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil'. Obviously, God created Adam and Eve with good physical eyesight and they were seeing things clearly. The reference of 'your eyes shall be open' coincides with the 'third eye' or the 'eye of jnana', situated in the forehead and between the brows, which gives the beholder divine vision or clairvoyance according to Sanatana Dharma. The second instance was when the Lord God says, 'behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil', indicating the status of man in equation with the gods. Prophet Isaiah and the book of Psalms note the words of God saying, 'I have said, you are gods; and all of you are children of the most High'+. Jesus then referred to the same verse of the Psalms to the Jews, but none of them understood it and sought to stone him. So as much as Jesus Christ was the son of God, all human beings are the children of God, the most High.

(+Psalms 82: 6, 7)

Therein if all humans are as gods, does one quietly die and not return at all to atone for, or pay for ones sins? It is indeed common knowledge that every one that is born commits sin in varying degrees, even in the words of King Solomon and the apostle Paul. If one were to assume that upon committing much sin (irrespective of the magnitude of the crime), man would indeed be put into hell's fire at the day of the judgment, the current population of nearly ten billion, and the countless zillions of souls that died before us, and the innumerable zillions that would eventually come to see the light, in the years to come+, would simply stagger any possible calculation about the size of hell and the intensity of the fire that waits us all! If one were of the imagination that we indeed are enjoying heavenly pleasures on this earth, here is a study in contrast: In Sanskrit, paramloka or paramaloka or heaven means the best loka (param – best or supreme in Sanskrit) or the best world and bhooloka or naraloka or man's world or earth means 'hell'. Man, who was originally created in the likeness of God and with a dominion equivalent to that of the angels, fell out of grace with God and was sent to the earth to strive and do good deeds and attain heaven or Moksha, by gaining credence to eat out of the 'tree of life' and live forever by conquering the earthly death, and eventually become accepted as one of the gods! And indeed, Jesus died and overcame death forever (as the apostle Paul says), only to show the way for the souls of men to claim a rightful dominion in heaven!

(+ Referenced from Ecclesiastes 4:16)

Chapter V - The Prism - Inverted

Religion, be it any and all, in general has a tendency to be of ritualistic reverence which tends to delineate itself by isolation from the other faiths even to the extent of nullifying the other beliefs. Each and every religion has its own deity or deities, prophets, priests, spiritual gurus or holy persons and men of higher powers and knowledge, who all proscribe sin and unlawful conduct and guide people to lead a life of fulfilment and to attain the ultimate Salvation of the soul. All forms of religion invariably have to lead to the one God, who, is called by various names according to the individual faiths. Thus said, to the individual, God becomes a unipolar source with many paths leading to the 'One'. Just as a shaft of white light, when passed through the medium of a glass prism disperses into the seven spectral colours, the singular truth of the One God gets attenuated into the various religious forms, when dispersed by the medium of faith. Each individual faith then colours the image of God and portrays the perceptions to the people according to the spectral band that they lay in. Collectively or singularly, people then hold forth to what they see and believe as the only truth. Just as the spectral bands of infrared or ultraviolet lights are not seen to the naked eye, even they originate off the singular shaft of the white light, the beholders or the keepers of good and evil, the angels or even the devils, naturally originate from the One God.

The oldest known religious system surviving till date, which defines the edicts for 'the way of life,' is Sanatana Dharma. It is a systemic collection of events and narrations, recited and recorded in the various texts that go back many hundred thousand years. As the religious faith of the Hindus, and also by being the root for the Buddhists, the Jains, the Sikhs among others, according to the texts of Sanatana Dharma, the Upanishads state of the Almighty as, 'One only, without a second'. All the Semitic religions, including Judaism, Christianity and Islam declare the One Supreme Almighty, albeit by differing names. All religions, apart from glorifying the Supreme Almighty, talk of the revered messengers from God, the angels, the Jinn, the Demigods, the Son of God, sons of God, children of God and other Holy beings all being the creations of the One Singular Almighty – including the human beings and all other beings, living or dead.

It is commonly perceived that the concepts of Karma and Reincarnation are unique to Sanatana Dharma. Yes, the word karma is certainly unique and originates from the root word 'kr_' in Sanskrit, which translates as 'to do'. The words, Karma and Kriya are similar in meaning and translate as 'deed or effort' and etymologically Kriya is the root word for 'creation'. Thus, all efforts and deeds indeed emanate from the Creator of the Cosmos and are followed by karmas and the deeds of the actions performed. The concept of karma indeed is prevalent and evident in many ways in the bible. Even as the many compilers of this 'book of books' have inadvertently or perhaps intentionally tried to mask or even completely tried to eliminate the message of Karma and Reincarnation.

In any religion which depicts the Creation process by the Almighty, there always existed a polar divide between the two opposing forces of good and evil. God created light as well as darkness, the heaven and the earth, the angels and the devils. He defined the good and the evil as well as sin and righteousness, even the two different sexes. Just as in Sanatana Dharma, the Sura's or the Deva's (the demigods) and the Asura's (the demonic beings) represent the good and the evil respectively. The simple beauty of the creation of animals, which breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, and the greenery which inhales carbon dioxide and gives out oxygen is an evidence of the polarity which sustains the very existence of all beings. If the first biblical man and woman - Adam and Eve - would not have eaten off the 'tree of knowledge of good and evil', there perhaps would have been no need for the Bible or the Quran or the Torah. The course of history would perhaps have been different, for man's 'eyes' never would have been opened, and all humans probably never would have been clothed like all the other animals, just because we would not have realized our nakedness! Sin and righteousness, probably would never have been defined, as there would have been no cognizance for man between good and evil.

The message of Jesus Christ at the sermon of the Mount, or that of Bhagwan Sri Krishna in Bhagavad Gita, essentially reads the same. Just as Jesus Christ had simplified the commandments to two: glorify God, and love your neighbour as yourself, Lord Sri Krishna's message was simple: follow your dharma and do your call of duty and leave the rest to God. The underlying message is not to resist the ebb and flow of the tides, but to just go with the flow and try to reach the shore. The essence of Christianity, Sanatana Dharma, Buddhism, Taoism, Jainism, or the Semitic religions of Judaism and Islam, all point to God as the singular point of Salvation. Just as a rose called by any other name, would still be a rose whatever be its colour, the all pervading Almighty would still be the same if called by any other name, irrespective of the religion, caste, creed or colour. It is only when the carriers of the message convey the message to the people, the message gets coloured by the hues and tones of the religion and the region and more often than not, the messenger of God gets deified and the message gets misplaced in the order of priority.

Religion, in essence, should form the core of the moral code of conduct for all human beings and emanate the truth and belief of God, and that it does often. Beyond that, the keepers of the various religious faiths have instituted rituals and rites, many of which are performed in blind faith by their followers. Over the years, many are indeed not aware of the reasons behind the rite or a ritual or perhaps even why a certain mantra or a chant is recited or a prayer is dedicated. It would be no surprise if many modern day Hindus probably would not be aware that a coconut is broken before god to signify the sacrifice of one's head, and the offering is for the mental and spiritual control of his or her five senses and that the coconut is representative of one's head. Those who can afford to spend money end up breaking tens or hundreds of coconuts with the belief that god loves to eat coconuts and this act will redeem the individual in question, with tens or hundred times the benefit! In the modern fast-paced world, many prayers and chanting of mantras end up as lip-service to propitiate god and often prayers are posers to the unseen god, as to why things happen a certain way and not as one intended. When Jesus Christ talked of the Church, he referred it to the human body and for the spirit (the soul) which occupied the body (the church) to be kept pure and holy. But then, how many people are content these days with going to a physical church and singing psalms and uttering prayers and hoping for miracles? What Jesus talked about the Holy Spirit and what the followers of Sanatana Dharma talk of Kundalini Shakti, are essentially the same. When the human spirit (the soul within) is purified by good deeds, one's spirit becomes Holy and closer to the realization of god within. Religion, many a times and unfortunately has come to mean a great money making opportunity for unscrupulous individuals and organizations and sadly is in fact losing credence and credibility in the eyes of many, even as many credulous people succumb to the fallacies thus created.

The many religious beliefs and the classifications among people and all the languages were indeed created by the gods who control good and evil to build upon and sustain the interplay of the sinful and the righteous behaviour of each individual, even as evidenced by the bible, whilst confounding the language of humans at the Tower of Babel. The dominion of the gods and the devils extend over all heaven and earth and it is expounded in a good majority of the religious texts that they indeed are more powerful than human beings. But then, there are also many instances and references to powerful or holy men overcoming the gods or the sons of god in the bible and in the texts of Sanatana Dharma. If mortal men then had the potential and power to prevail over the gods either through severe austerities and penances or after years of evolution to a higher state, would it then be any wonder that the gods did not encourage man's unity and singularity in language? If the seven spectral colours were to merge, would they not become closer to white? And in the same context, if all the religious faiths of the world were to collude and merge and if all humans, irrespective of the language, colour, race or religion were to pledge singularity and solidarity, would not they then reach the path of the Almighty and become more powerful than all the angels and the devils? That probably would never happen in the foreseeable future, for the world is being led by the higher powers to be, 'as is', and for the greater and the grander designs of God to come to pass.

Chapter VI - Birth, Debt & Sudden Death

The first child of King David and Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, died on the seventh day after birth, for the curse of his father's sin. After fasting and praying when the child was alive, David resigned to normalcy upon the death of the child, stating, 'I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me'. It would perhaps have been fortuitous for the child to have lived only seven days, for in those few days of infancy it would have been nigh impossible for the child to have committed any sin and that would have meant certain Salvation for that soul. Job, during his times of tribulation, wished very much that he were stillborn and been buried in a grave just after death so that he might have been able to avoid all the trials and tribulations that he had to face. Death in infancy would then have to be a furtive way to attain Salvation without having to undergo the rigmarole of this mundane existence and each discerning Christian should then pray for the shortest period of existence on this earth in order to circumvent and abstain from sin, for the cognizance of life inevitably leads one to succumbing to the carnal pleasures therein! In the words of James, the brother of Jesus Christ, 'Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither does he tempt he any man. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. And when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death'+.

(+James 1: 13 - 15)

Birth is not personified in any religion or text, and yet birth does not come in equal measures for all. It comes by the fruits of ones inherent nature and the accumulated characteristic traits and is bound to the individual soul. The ones that perpetrated evil, will be measured by the yardsticks of evil and given accordingly, and the ones that eschewed evil shall thereby rewarded accordingly, as repeated many a time in the bible. The Apostle Paul, when writing to the Romans, wondered aloud about the seeming inequalities of birth, citing the example of God's love for Jacob over Esau, questioned in chapter nine, 'What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid', he adds further, 'Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, why have you made me thus? Has not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?'\+ Clearly, no one individual ever has control over his or her own birth, and time, and place, and circumstance, much less the choice of parents or siblings! In the fifty-eighth Psalm, King David declares, 'the wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies'. It becomes evident then that the soul of the individual, even that of a new born, carries the wickedness or the righteousness, which then shapes the individual's course of life.

(+Romans 9: 20, 21)

Upon copulation between a man and a woman, the woman conceives and an embryo is formed, which develops into the foetus. Medically and traditionally (in many cultures), it is accepted that an abortion of the foetal development can take place safely within five months. The reason, apart from the medical ones, is that a soul would not have occupied the foetus before that period. It is between the fifth and the seventh months that a soul enters the foetus and awaits its avatar into the planet wherein when the expectant mothers start to recognize the signs of a new life within them. The moment the child is born, that soul loses its cognizance of the earlier lifetimes as it struggles to come to grips with the new surroundings. As reflected in the words of the Preacher, 'There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after'+. The Preacher - believed to be the King Solomon, was supposedly the wisest and there can be no questioning his short-term or long-term memory on forgetting former times.

(+Ecclesiastes 1:11)

When Mary visited her cousin Elisabeth during the sixth month of her pregnancy, the holy spirit of Elijah entered the foetus and the child was blessed to be born as John the Baptist as ordained. On a similar note, the holy spirit of Enoch was preordained to enter the foetus of the child to be born between Mary and Joseph, to be born as Jesus the Christ - out of the lineage of King David and Abraham. The concept of the Holy trinity evolved thus – of the Father (Enoch), and of the Son (Jesus Christ) and their singular Holy Spirit (the purified atman) – all denoting the same. Just as the Jews did not recognize their Messiah two thousand years back, when the Holy Spirit of Jesus / Enoch returns again to the earth, the whole world would not recognize the Messiah yet again, as he would be born in a different avatar.

The concept of asking for forgiveness of our karmic debts was promulgated by Jesus Christ in his sermon on the Mount and many times by the Apostle Paul in his various writings. In the words of Paul to the Romans, 'Brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if you live after the flesh, you shall die: but if you through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God'+. The debts which the Apostle Paul talked about are the spiritual debts and are the karmic debts that one accumulates and reaps the rewards of, in each lifetime. It is imperative that one is free of all karmic debts, as again in Paul's writing to the Romans he says, 'Recompense to no man evil for evil' and 'live peaceably with all men. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord'*. If an individual were to repay ones karmic debt by force or avenge sin, it mires the individual into a perpetual cycle of sin and debt, and hence God takes the responsibility of vengeance and nature or the forces of God will ensure eventual justice for all. Again with clarity he states, 'Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour. Owe no man anything, but to love one another: for he loveth another has fulfilled the law'#. In the words of Jesus Christ in the book of Revelation, chapter twenty-two: 'He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be'.

(+Romans 8: 12 - 14); (*Romans 12: 17 & 19); (#Romans 13: 7, 8)

Death personified is averred to be scary and can terrify anyone, for even the Son of Man, as Jesus called himself, cried at the time of death saying, 'my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' Death as a personification occurs only once in the bible, as explained in the sixth chapter of Revelation, akin to death being personified as Yama, in Sanatana Dharma. Death is a phenomenon which cannot be averted, nor postponed, nor predicted, yet it is the ultimate destination wherever one chooses to travel or decides to stay put. Even the gods that are born on the earth have to die to defeat death, be it the Lord Jesus Christ, Bhagwan Sri Krishna or any of the avatars of the Lord Vishnu. How many times then would it then take a mere mortal man to perfect that feat? One can be certain that death can come anytime for anyone, be it for a three-month old child, a four-year old kid, someone in his youth, or at sixty or seventy years when one has passed through the various stages of life. What then would be the fate of the ones that die young, and not have enough time to atone for any wrong done? How then are they going to be judged, if not by the law of karma and by transmigration of the soul?

As much advice as is given to the living on the ways to lead ones life and the morals that one needs to uphold, there are indeed many references by Jesus and by the Apostle Paul in his epistles, to death being the final frontier to be conquered. Paul, in his first epistle to Timothy, avers to the fact that 'We brought nothing to the world, and it is certain we carry nothing out'+. His message to the Hebrews was more candid, whilst stating 'Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection'*. 'A better resurrection' or the 'resurrection of the dead' would simply mean that upon death man has to ensure that the next life has to be more fruitful than the ones he or she ever lived. The message of life after life is vividly shown to the prophet Ezekiel in chapter thirty seven, wherein the Lord declared, 'You shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my spirit in you, and you shall live'#.

(+I Timothy 6:7); (*Hebrews 11:35); (#Ezekiel 37: 13, 14)

The book of Revelation, written around two thousand years ago by John, the disciple of Jesus Christ, is one of the most fascinating narrations in the bible and intriguing in its design and message. John was ordained to write his divine vision during his sojourn in a volcanic island belonging to Greece, called Patmos. The simplest understanding of the underlying message is the intent of God for the fate of man during the end of time and also of the battle between the good and the evil and the complex interplay of both, which emanate from his grand designs. In its physical form, though the message seems to be addressed to seven physical churches in Asia, the underlying message reads as universal and is to be fathomed by one and all. The seven churches to whom the book is addressed to, represent seven types of individuals, during their course of evolution and their traits and characteristic qualities, both of good and evil, and their subsequent rewards upon overcoming death. Christ declares that he lived and died and now lives for ever and holds the keys of hell and of death. Chapters two and three in the book of Revelation conveys the message of the need for man to overcome the perpetual cycle of birth and death and the subsequent rewards that wait for the individual. Chapter two, verse seven reads, 'to him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God'. All the seven angels of the seven churches, are addressed about their good qualities along with the areas that they need to work and strengthen upon, before they are eligible to overcome death and attain salvation as evidenced by the opening few verses of chapter three.

People who are familiar with the Hindu text of Garuda Purana, would be able to relate to the tenth verse of chapter two in the book of Revelation: 'fear none of those things which you shall suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried: and you shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give you a crown of life'. One may be tempted to implore, 'how can a person be faithful unto death, when the devil tries you for ten days? The message of hellish torture for the souls of the wicked for a few days in the hands of the devil's angels, for the sins committed in one's lifetime is masked in this message, even as there is hope for remorse and subsequent reward. In similitude, after the death of a sinful person, Garuda Purana narrates the travails of the soul in various hellish environs and the trauma that a departed soul is made to undergo for ten days by Yama, the god of death, and his servants before the soul can find solace and subsequent reincarnation. Prophet Amos spoke of the words of the Lord: 'I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet you have not returned to me, saith the Lord'+. Upon return from the hellish torture, the soul that reincarnates into a new physical form is expected to behave righteously and to shun wickedness. However, because of the loss of physical memory of any previous lives and lifetimes during and after birth, the human soul is surrounded by the new maya that it comes into and begins to sin and transgress all over again. David in his Psalm wrote, 'He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth. My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword'*. In the words of the Prophet Jeremiah: 'Behold, I will pluck them out of their land, and pluck out the house of Judah from among them. And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them out I will return, and have compassion on them, and will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land'#. After death, for the human souls to realize the value of their time on the earth, either the travails of hell or a peaceful rest in paradise is imperative and is an individual experience of the human soul depending on the accumulated balances of wickedness or righteous in the karmic bank accounts. After which, the journey of life begins all over again with a new birth, a new heaven and a new earth.

(+Amos 4:11); (*Psalm 57: 3, 4); (#Jeremiah 12: 14, 15)

By the prophesy of the book of Revelation, at the very end of the world, one hundred and forty four thousand souls of the tribes of Israel - twelve thousand of each tribe - receive the seal of God on their forehead, along with a great multitude of gentiles, one that cannot be numbered and attain the Salvation unto the Lord. If it so happens that out the few hundred million Jews that came before, and the hundreds of thousands that currently are living, and out the many millions that are yet to come, it would be a mathematic marvel, if only a hundred and forty four thousand Jewish souls receive the Salvation of God+! Arguably, this phenomenon can plausibly be explained only with the transmigration of the soul, as even if the numbers of the souls that transmigrate can be limited, the physical forms that they take over eons of time can indeed be countless.

(+ Referenced from Revelation 7:4)

Much of the remaining parts of the book of Revelation talk of the times of unveiling God's mysteries, and of the triumph of the angels of God over the legions of the devils and over the souls of the giant beings, which were banished from heaven after the great flood during the time of Noah. The end of the days of 'grace' or Kali Yuga and the nature of Rapture or Pralaya are narrated in the book of Revelation. Wherein at the end of Kali Yuga, (the fourth and the last of the yugas) there comes a time of the great judgment and the souls are separated based on the deeds of the past. Then the time of Satya Yuga starts all over again, wherein peace reigns and all the facets of Dharma are upheld (mercy, austerity, truth and charity). Equitable to the Satya Yuga, in the book of Revelation, Satan is bound and cast into a bottomless pit for a thousand God years before being loosened again. Then the next Yuga (Treta Yuga) commences with three facets of Dharma being upheld, and wickedness and sin enters the world again (as Satan gets freed out of his bottomless pit). Followed then by Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga, and the cycle goes on till God decides the end of time, which no man can discern!

Chapter VII - In-Conclusion

Are black and white to be deemed as colours just like red, green or blue or are they shades? Or, do they represent the presence of all colours or indeed the absence of them? The answer perhaps will depend on whom the question is addressed to – to a scientist, or to a layman, to a child, or maybe a printing technologist. Surely, there are bound to be differences in each opinion, just as the answer to 'what is grey? Is it a colour or a shade or a mix of black and white?' Seemingly simple questions can flummox the uninitiated in any subject, leave alone the subject of religion and personal belief and faith systems. Black or white will forever remain black and white respectively. Call it by any other name or distinction - that indeed is the truth for the beholder.

The word karma never appears in the Bible nor is it defined, but the concept of cause and effect, and of 'what you sow, so shall you reap', is abounding to say the least. The concern on personal debts, if not the karmic debts, is echoed by the leading voice of the apostle Paul in most of his epistles even as he tries to mask his confusion on the nature of God's perplexing behavioural traits! Death and life are debated much, both in the old and the new testaments of the bible, yet reincarnation is not a word to be found in the biblical lexicon. But the distinctions between resurrection and reincarnation are indeed inlaid ingeniously enough and brought to light subtly by none less than the prophets of God like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Amos and the like, along with Job and Elihu in the Old Testament. Later, it is deliberated upon much by the apostle Paul in his many epistles, in distinguishing between the resurrection of life and the resurrection of the dead, with hope for a 'better' resurrection. However, death as the final frontier to be conquered opens the door wide open for the debate on the transmigration of the soul within the Christian faith.

The eternal lake of fire, wherein all the sinning souls are to languish, might indeed be a sordid reality. But as the reality strikes, there is none that would not have sinned in a lifetime! So, mere lakes of fire may not suffice to hold the astronomical numbers that would have to await their turn, to take that eternal dip. Or, if all the pointers project right, hell and paradise would indeed be the transit points for the weary souls to contemplate on the giving's and the misgivings, only to return and trudge on the path again, seeking eternal salvation.

Any question on religion can be debated for long, with each individual holding forth their sacrosanct beliefs and opinions, but facts cannot be hidden like a melon in a plate of rice and ultimately truth will prevail in the end. As much as we can seek high and low for the answers to seemingly unfathomable questions, the perspectives of one's imagination need to be far reaching, as well as microscopic in vision, to perceive just a part of the whole picture and therein lies the paradox. Religion and spirituality aside, science can make giant strides if it were to shed the notion of the seeming exclusivity of existence of the physical matter and manifestations of the matter thereof. As long as science neglects the paranormal and the spiritual as abnormal, further progress would only be delayed. Newton, for all his glory, did not invent the law of cause and effect; he merely uncovered or rather discovered the truth, which happens to be the law of karma. Just as Adam and Eve, 'woke up' after eating the proverbial Apple, it took another apple to wake up Newton and realize the gravity of the situation! The laws of karma will manifest itself over time, time which sometimes is unfathomable for humans, for the effect to manifest itself, or for the cause to reveal itself or vice versa indeed. Man's inherent nature is that of progress, discovery and creation. In short, men of science or sport love to play god, or for that matter, any man worth his salt and respectful of his ego, loves to play god and be respected and treated like a god and strives for it! No wonder then, that Jesus said, 'you are gods', for all individuals are the children of God, and in spirit, are gods!

The seeming inequalities in life are indeed driven by the laws of karma, with the good and evil meted out to the individual according to their measure and governed by the gods (angels) and the devils, each performing their own set of tasks. Jesus himself took a paradoxical stance, according to the Apostle Matthew, when he stated: 'think not that I come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law'. Yet these are the words that emanate from the same person, whose commandment for life is simplified to: 'love your neighbour as oneself' – the seemingly simplest yet the most difficult edict to execute and follow. Like the Apostle Paul, one would then be tempted to ask, 'is God unrighteous?' Again the answer is, 'God forbid. No'.

The manifestations and cognizance of both good and evil entered into the world together and exists together as similar as night and day or for that matter black and white. The King James Version of the bible or perhaps any of the other versions of the bible too are respectful of Satan, by capitalizing his name akin to God or the Lord, and in the book of Job, it becomes evident that Satan, the Sons of God, and the Lord, have casual meetings to assess and discuss about the name and nature of the righteous or maybe even the wicked men. Jesus Christ, as much as is projected and perceived as good, does not become evil, when he said in the book of Revelation, 'I have the keys of hell and of death'. He also states, 'I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending'; just as Bhagwan Sri Krishna in Bhagavad Gita states, 'Among the dispensers of law, I am Yama, the lord of death' and also goes on to state, 'of all creations I am the beginning and the end and also the middle'+.

(+Bhagavat Gita, Chapter 10)

In the belief of Sanatana Dharma and as stated in the Mahabharata, the sins of the ancestors follow an individual for seven generations, much the same way as mentioned on a few occasions in the bible. The fact whether Cain had to face death for seven lifetimes is certainly debatable, but then in the apocryphal book of Adam and Eve, volume II, Cain is mentioned as being killed by a blind Lamech, mistaking him to be a wandering beast in his field, and also kills the young shepherd who tended to his flock, in terror, and both killings by error! Lamech then went on to aver to his two wives that if Cain had to face death seven times, he himself had to face a similar fate, seven and seventy times! Much of the bible's many mysteries will remain mysteries indeed, even as the answers to many questions are evident in the other apocryphal books, which is not within the scope of this thesis. However, they do need to see light of day for the various truths have held back for way too long and invariably will shed a vivid picture to any seeker of the 'truth'.

In perspective, and in the final comparison of the texts of Sanatana Dharma and of the Holy Bible: After the creation of all animals and humans on the sixth day, God took rest on his seventh day – deemed to be the Sabbath day. With the intent of having a keeper for the garden of Eden, the Gods then created Adam and his companion Eve, who live up to their task for untold number of years till they fell from grace, having been beguiled by the forces of evil. The timeline for their inglorious fall from glory coincides with the end times of the third of the Yugas of Sanatana Dharma, which was the 'Dvapara Yuga', or the Bronze age wherein, mankind went through a period of one half of virtue, and one half of sin, and men used to live for around a thousand years. It was during that period, wherein the giants born to the sons of god or the demigods were destroyed, even according to the texts of both the faiths. The subsequent transition after the period of the floods during the time of Noah, take us through to 'Kali Yuga', or the Iron Age, wherein the period consists of one quarter virtue, and three quarters sin and the maximum age of men is set around a hundred to a hundred and twenty and as concurred in the bible. The span of 'Kali Yuga' is said to extend for a period of four hundred and thirty two thousand human years, after which the human souls are to be judged during Pralaya or the equivalent – the Christian Rapture - and the cycles of the four yugas (Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga and Kali Yuga) begin all over again, starting with Satya Yuga, or the Golden age, wherein no sin exists (according to the bible, a time during which Satan is bound into a bottomless pit), and the same souls shall be reincarnated or resurrected again, for the cycle to continue!

May the GODS be blessed, and let TRUTH prevail.

Thank you!

About the author

Charles Pradeep is a freelance consultant and writes on theology and theophilsosphy since his sabbatical from the corporate scene since 2006. He completed his Mechanical Engineering from the Bangalore University and has worked in various capacities with companies like SSI Ltd., Hinduja Group and Accenture Services Pvt. Ltd.

Glossary

Agni \- Fire; The fire God

Ananda \- Joy; Beatitude

Asura \- Demon

Atman \- The individual soul; the spirit within

Aum \- Primordial word

Avatar \- Incarnation

Bhakti \- Religious devotion

Bhooloka \- The earth

Brahman \- Absolute of the Universe

Brahmin \- Member of the spiritual class; priestly class

Chakra \- Wheel; An energy vortex

Deva \- Demigod; Deity

Dharma \- Duty; Righteousness

Dvapara Yuga \- Third of the four ages, a period of 864,000 years; Bronze Age

Garuda \- A bird similar to the eagle; the celestial carrier of Lord Vishnu

Garuda Purana \- One of the ancient texts recited by Lord Vishnu to his carrier – Garuda

Ghee \- Clarified butter

Guna \- Trait or quality; any of the three Gunas (Sattva, Tamas or Rajas)

Homa \- Ritual offering consecrated by fire

Jnana \- Transcendental wisdom

Jnani \- One who has obtained spiritual wisdom

Kali Yuga \- Fourth of the four ages, a period of 432,000 years; Iron Age

Karma \- Action; deed

Kriya \- Completed action

Kundalini \- One's individual manifestation of the cosmic life force that manifests along the chakras of the human body

Loka \- World

Mahabharata \- One of great epic poems

Manu \- Progenitor of mankind according to Hindu traditions

Manuvantara \- Duration or a lifespan of a Manu; a time period of 4,320,000 years

Maya \- Illusion

Moksha \- Liberation

Naga \- Cobra; Serpent

Nara \- Man

Naraloka \- Man's World; earth

Parama / Param \- Best; Supreme; Most excellent

Prakriti \- Nature; Disposition

Pralaya \- Dissolution and recreation

Prana \- Life force; breath

Pranam \- Salute

Purana \- Of ancient times

Rajas \- Dynamic

Rishi \- Seer

Samadhi - State of one-pointed concentration and bliss

Sarpa \- Snake; Serpent

Sattva \- Purity

Satya Yuga \- First of the four ages, a period of 1,728000 years; Golden Age

Shakti - Primordial cosmic energy; wife of Lord Shiva

Shunya \- Void; Empty

Srishti \- Cycle of creation process

Sura \- Demigod; Celestial being

Tamas \- Darkness; Inertia

Treta Yuga \- Second of the four ages, a period of 1,296,000 years; Silver Age

Vayu \- Air; Wind

Veda \- To know

Yuga \- Any of the four ages
