at noon, Susanna went in, and walked ingin by the back door, to see what was the her husband's orchard. matter. 8 And the old men saw her going in 27 But after the old men had spoken, the every day, and walking: and they were in-servants were greatly ashamed: for never flamed with lust towards her : had there been any such word said of Susanna. And on the next day, 9 And they perverted their own mind, and turned away their eyes, that they might not look unto heaven, nor remember just judgments. 10 So they were both wounded with the love of her; yet they did not make known their grief one to the other: 11 For they were ashamed to declare to one another their lust, being desirous to have to do with her: 12 And they watched carefully every day to see her. And one said to the other: 13 Let us now go home, for it is dinner time. So going out they departed one from another. 14 And turning back again, they came both to the same place: and asking one another the cause, they acknowledged their lust and then they agreed upon a time, when they might find her alone. : 15 And it fell out, as they watched a fit day, she went in on a time, as yesterday and the day before, with two maids only; and was desirous to wash herself in the orchard; for it was hot weather. 16 And there was nobody there, but the two old men that had hid themselves, and were beholding her. 17 So she said to the maids: Bring me oil, and washing balls, and shut the doors of the orchard, that I may wash me. 18 And they did as she bade them and they shut the doors of the orchard, and went out by a back door to fetch what she had commanded them: and they knew not that the elders were hid within. 19 Now when the maids were gone forth,|| the two elders arose, and ran to her, and said: 20 Behold, the doors of the orchard are shut, and no body seeth us, and we are in love with thee: wherefore consent to us, and lie with us. 21 But if thou wilt not, we will bear witness against thee, that a young man was with thee, and therefore thou didst send away thy maids from thee. 22 Susanna sighed, and said: I am straitened on every side: for if I do this thing, it is death to me: and if I do it not, I shall not escape your hands. 23 But it is better for me to fall into your hands without doing it, than to sin in the sight of the Lord. 24 With that Susanna cried out with a loud voice and the elders also cried out against her. 25 And one of them ran to the door of the orchard and opened it. 28 When the people were come to Joakim her husband, the two elders also came full of wicked device against Susanna, to put her to death. 29 And they said before the people : Send to Susanna daughter of Helcias the wife of Joakim. And presently they sent. 30 And she came with her parents, and children, and all her kindred. 31 Now Susanna was exceeding delicate, and beautiful to behold. 32 But those wicked men commanded that her face should be uncovered (for she was covered) that so at least they might be satisfied with her beauty. 33 Therefore her friends and all her acquaintance wept. 34 But the two elders rising up in the midst of the people, laid their hands upon her head. 35 And she weeping looked up to heaven; for her heart had confidence in the Lord. 36 And the elders said: As we walked in the orchard alone, this woman came in with two maids, and shut the doors of the orchard, and sent away the maids from her. 37 Then a young man that was there hid came to her, and lay with her. 38 But we that were in a corner of the orchard, seeing this wickedness, ran up to them and we saw them lie together. : 39 And him indeed we could not take, because he was stronger than us: and opening the doors, he leaped out: 40 But having taken this woman, we asked who the young man was; but she would not tell us: of this thing we are witnesses. 41 The multitude believed them as being the elders and the judges of the people: and they condemned her to death. 42 Then Susanna cried out with a loud oice, and said: O eternal God, who knowest hidden things, who knowest all things before they come to pass, 43 Thou knowest that they have borne false witness against me; and behold, I must die; whereas I have done none of these things which these men have maliciously forged against me. 44 And the Lord heard her voice. 45 And when she was led to be put to death, the Lord raised up the holy spirit of a young boy, whose name was Daniel : I 46 And he cried out with a loud voice: am clear from the blood of this woman. 47 Then all the people turning themselves towards him, said: What meaneth heard the cry in the orchard, they rushed this word that thou hast spoken ? 26 So when the servants of the house 48 But he standing in the midst of them, of the people from that day and thenceforsaid: Are ye so foolish, ye children of 1s-ward. rael, that without exammination or know- 65 And king Astyages was gathered to ledge of the truth, you have condemned a his fathers: and Cyrus the Persian received daughter of Israel. his kingdom. 49 Return to judgment; for they have borne faise witness against her. 50 So all the people turned again in haste, and the old men said to him: Come, and sit thou down among us, and shew it us: seeing God hath given thee the honour of old age. 51 And Daniel said to the people : Separate these two far from one another; and I will examine them. 52 So when they were put asunder one from the other, he called one of them, and said to him: O thou that art grown old in evil days, now are thy sins come out which thou hast committed before: CHAP. XIV. The history of Bel; and of the great serpent worshipped by the Babylonians. AND Daniel was the king's guest, and was honoured above all his friends. 2 Now the Babylonians had an idol called Bel: and there were spent upon him every day twelve great measures of fine flour, and forty sheep, and sixty vessels of wine. 3 The king also worshipped him, and went every day to adore him: But Daniel adored his God. And the king said to him: Why dost thou not adore Bel? 4 And he answered, and said to him: Because I do not worship idols made with 53 In judging unjust judgments, oppress- hands, but the living God, that created heaing the innocent, and letting the guilty to ven and earth, and hath power over all flesh. go free: whereas the Lord saith: The in- 5 And the king said to him: Doth not nocent and the just thou shalt not kill. Bel seem to thee to be a living God? Seest 54 Now then if thou sawest her, tell me thou not how much he eateth and drinketh under what tree thou sawest them convers-every day? ing together. He said: Under a mastic 6 Then Daniel smiled, and said: O king, be not deceived: for this is but clay within, tree. 55 And Daniel said: Well hast thou lied and brass without; neither hath he eaten against thy own head: for behold, the An- at any time. gel of God having received the sentence 7 And the king being angry, called for of him, shall cut thee in two. his priests, and said to them: If you tell 56 And having put him aside, he comme not who it is that eateth up these exmanded that the other should come; and penses you shall die. he said to him: O thou seed of Chanaan,|| 8 But if you can shew that Bel eateth and not of Juda, beauty hath deceived thee, these things, Daniel shall die, because he and lust hath perverted thy heart : hath blasphemed against Bel, And Daniel 57 Thus did you do to the daughters of said to the king: Be it done according to Israel, and they for fear conversed with thy word. you: but a daughter of Juda would not 9 Now the priests of Bel were seventy, abide your wickedness. besides their wives, and little ones, and 58 Now therefore tell me, under what children. And the king went with Daniel tree didst thou take them conversing to- into the temple of Bel. gether. And he answered: Under a holm 10 And the priest of Bel said: Behold, we go out and do thou, O King, set on the tree. 59 And Daniel said to him: Well hast meats, and make ready the wine, and shut thou also lied against thy own head: for the door fast, and seal it with thy own the Angel of the Lord waiteth with a sword ring: to cut thee in two, and to destroy you. 11 And when thou comest in the morn60 With that all the assembly cried out ing, if thou findest not that Bel hath eaten a loud voice and they blessed God, who up all, we will suffer death, or else Daniel saveth them that trust in him. that hath lied against us. 61 And they rose up against the two elders (for Daniel had convicted them of false witness by their own mouth) and they did to them as they had maliciously dealt against their neighbour, 12 And they little regarded it: because they had made under the table a secret entrance: and they always came in by it, and consumed those things. 13 So it came to pass after they were 62 To fulfil the law of Moses: and they and Daniel commanded his servants, and gone out, the king set the meats before Bel: put them to death: and innocent blood was they brought ashes; and he sifted them all saved in that day. 63 But Helcias and his wife praised God, The king's guest. It seems most profor their daughter Susanna, with Joakim bable, that the king here spoken of was her husband, and all her kindred, because Evilmerodach, the son and successor of Nathere was no dishonesty found in her. buchodonosor, and a great favourer of the 64 And Daniel became great in the sight||Jews. over the temple before the king: and going 30 And they cast him into the den of forth they shut the door: and having sealed lions: and he was there six days. it with the king's ring, they departed. 31 And in the den there were seven 14 But the priests went in by night ac-lions: and they had given to them two carcording to their custom, with their wives casses every day, and two sheep: but then and their children: and they ate and drank they were not given unto them that they up all. might devour Daniel. 15 And the king arose early in the morning, and Daniel with him. 32 Now there was in Judea a prophet called Habacuc:† and he had boiled pot16 And the king said: Are the seals tage and had broken bread in a bowl; and whole, Daniel? And he answered: They was going into the field to carry it to the are whole, O king. reapers. 17 And as soon as he had opened the 33 And the Angel of the Lord said to door, the king looked upon the table, and Habacuc: Carry the dinner which thou hast cried out with a loud voice: Great art thou, into Babylon to Daniel, who is in the lions' O Bel; and there is not any deceit with den. thee. 34 And Habacuc said: Lord, I never saw 18 And Daniel laughed: and he held the Babylon; nor do I know the den. king that he should not go in: and he said: Behold the pavement; mark whose footsteps these are. 19 And the king said: I see the footsteps of men, and women, and children. And the king was angry. 20 Then he took the priests, and their wives, and their children: and they shewed him the private doors by which they came in, and consumed the things that were on the table. 21 The king therefore put them to death, and delivered Bel into the power of Daniel; who destroyed him, and his temple. 22 And there was a great dragon in that place; and the Babylonians worshipped him. 23 And the king said to Daniel: Behold, thou canst not say now, that this is not a living God: adore him therefore. 24 And Daniel said: I adore the Lord my God: for he is the living God: but that is no living God. 25 But give me leave, O king, and I will kill this dragon without sword or club. And the king said: I give thee leave. 26 Then Daniel took pitch, and fat, and hair, and boiled them together: and he made lumps, and put them into the dragon's mouth, and the dragon burst asunder. And he said: Behold him whom you worshipped. 35 And the Angel of the Lord took him by the top of his head, and carried him by the hair of his head, and set him in Babylon over the den in the force of his spirit. 36 And Habacuc cried, saying: 0 Daniel, thou servant of God, take the dinner that God hath sent thee. 37 And Daniel said: Thou hast remem-bered me, O God; and thou hast not forsaken them that love thee, 38 And Daniel arose, and ate. And the Angel of the Lord presently set Habacuc again in his own place. 39 And upon the seventh day the king came to bewail Daniel; and he came to the den, and looked in; and behold, Daniel was sitting in the midst of the lions. 40 And the king cried out with a loud voice, saying: Great art thou, O Lord the God of Daniel. And he drew him out of the lions' den. Daniel was twice 27 And when the Babylonians bad heard The den of lions. this, they took great indignation: and being cast into the den of hons; once under Dagathered together against the king, they rius the Mede, because he had transgressed said: The king is become a Jew. He hath the king's edict, by praying three times a destroyed Bel; he hath killed the dragon; and he hath put the priests to death. 28 And they came to the king, and said: Deliver us Daniel: or else we will destroy thee and thy house. 29 And the king saw that they pressed upon him violently and being constrained by necessity, he delivered Daniel to them. : day: and another time under Evilmerodach by a sedition of the people. This time he remained six days in the lions' den; the other time only one night. Habacuc. The same, as some think, whose prophecy is found among the lesser prophets; but others believe him to be different. 349 PROPHECY OF OSEE. Osee or Hosea, whose name signifies a sa- 10 And the numbers of the children of viour, was the first in the order of time Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, that is among those who are commonly called lesser without measure, and shall not be number. prophets, because their prophecies are short. ed. And it shall be in the place where it He prophesied in the kingdom of Israel, that shall be said to them: You are not my peo. is, of the ten tribes, about the same time ple: It shall be said to them: Ye are the that Isaias prophesied in the kingdom of sons of the living God. Juda. CHAP. I. 11 And the children of Juda, and the children of Israel shall be gathered togeth By marrying a harlot, and by the names of er: and they shall appoint themselves one his children, the prophet sets forth the head, and shall come up out of the land: crimes of Israel and their punishment. He for great is the day of Jezrahel. foretels their redemption by Christ. THE CHAP. II. HE word of the Lord that came to Osee Israel is justly punished for leaving God. the son of Beeri, in the days of Ozias, The abundance of grace in the church of Joathan, Achaz, and Ezechias, kings of Ju- Christ. da, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joas king of Israel. 2 The beginning of the Lord's speaking by Osee: and the Lord said to Osee: Go, take thee a wife of fornications, and have of her children of fornications: for the land by fornication shall depart from the Lord. 3 So he went, and took Gomer the daughter of Debelaim: and she conceived, and bore him a son. 4 And the Lord said to him: Call his name Jezrahel: for yet a little while, and will visit the blood of Jezrahel upon the house of Jehu; and I will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel. SAY AY ye to your brethren: You are my people and to your sister: Thou hast obtained mercy.¶ : 2 Judge your mother,** judge her: because she is not my wife, and I am not her husband. Let her put away her fornications from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts; 3 Lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born: and I will make her as a wilderness, and will set her as a land that none can pass through, and will kill her with drought. 4 And I will not have mercy on her children; for they are the children of fornica. 5 And in that day I will break in piecestions. the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezrahel. 5 For their mother hath committed for6 And she conceived again, and bore a nication: she that conceived them is coverdaughter and he said to him: Call her ed with shame : for she said: I will go after name, Without mercy :† for I will not add my lovers, that give me my bread, and my any more to have mercy on the house of water, my wool, and my flax, my oil, and Israel; but I will utterly forget them. my drink. 7 And I will have mercy on the house of 6 Wherefore, behold, I will hedge up thy Juda, and I will save them by the Lord their way with thorns; and I will stop it up with God and I will not save them by bow, nora wall; and she shall not find her paths. by sword, nor by battle, nor by horses, nor by horsemen. 7 And she shall follow after her lovers, and shall not overtake them: and she shall seek them, and shall not find: and she shall 8 And she weaned her that was called Without mercy. And she conceived, and say: I will go, and return to my first husbore a son. band: because it was better with me then, than now. 9 And he said: Call his name, Not my people for you are not my people, and I will not be yours. 8 And she did not know that I gave her § The number, &c. viz. of the true IsraelA wife of fornications. That is, a wifeites, the children of the church of Christ. that hath been given to fornication. This One head, viz. Christ. Great is the day was to represent the Lord's proceedings of Jezrahel. That is, of the seed of God: with his people Israel, who, by spiritual for Jezrahel signifies the seed of God. fornication, were continually offending him. ¶ Say to your brethren, &c. or, Call your Children of fornications. So called from the character of their mother, if not also from their own wicked dispositions. t Without mercy. Lo-Ruhamah. Not my people. Lo-ammi. brethren, My people, and your sister, Her that hath obtained mercy. This is connected with the latter end of the foregoing chapter: and relates to the converts of Israel. ** Your mother. The synagogue. corn, and wine, and oil, and multiplied her 19 And I will espouse thees to me for silver, and gold, which they have used in ever: and I will espouse thee to me in justhe service of Baal. tice, and judgment, and in mercy, and in 9 Therefore will I return, and take away commiserations. my corn in its season, and my wine in its season and I will set at liberty my wool, and my flax, which covered her disgrace. 10 And now I will lay open her folly in the eyes of her lovers: and no man shall deliver her out of my hand: 20 And I will espouse thee to me in faith: and thou shalt know that I am the Lord. 21 And it shall come to pass in that day: will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens ; and they shall hear the earth. 22 And the earth shall hear the corn, I 11 And I will cause all her mirth to cease, and the wine, and the oil; and these shall her solemnities, her new-moons, her sab-hear Jezrahel. baths, and all her festival times. 12 And I will destroy her vines, and her fig-trees, of which she said: These are my rewards, which my lovers have given me : and I will make her as a forest; and the beasts of the field shall devour her. 13 And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, to whom she burnt incense, and decked herself out with her ear-rings, and with her jewels, and went after her lovers, and forgot me, saith the Lord. 14 Therefore, behold, I will allure her,*| and will lead her into the wilderness; and will speak to her heart. : 23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth and I will have mercy on her that was without mercy. 24 And I will say to that which was not my people: Thou art my people: And they shall say: Thou art my God. CHAP. III. The prophet is commanded again to love an adulteress; to signify God's love to the synagogue. The wretched state of the Jews for a long time, till at last they shall be converted. AND the Lord said to me. Go yet again, and love a woman beloved of her friend, 15 And I will give her vine-dressers out and an adulteress : as the Lord loveth the of the same place, and the valley of Achor children of Israel, and they look to strange for an opening of hope: and she shall sing||gods, and love the husks of the grapes. there according to the days of her youth, 2 And I bought her to me for fifteen and according to the days of her coming up pieces of silver, and for a core of barley, out of the land of Egypt. and for half a core of barley. 16 And it shall be in that day, saith the Lord: That she shall call me : My husband:† and she shall call me no more Baali. 17 And I will take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth: and she shall no more remember their name. 3 And I said to her: Thou shalt wait for me many days: thou shalt not play the harlot; and thou shalt be no man's; and I also will wait for thee. 4 For the children of Israel shall sit many days without king, and without prince, and 18 And in that day I will make a covenant without sacrifice, and without altar, and with them, with the beasts of the field, and without ephod, and without theraphim.** with the fowls of the air, and with the 5 And after this the children of Israel creeping things of the earth: and I will shall return, and shall seek the Lord their destroy the bow, and the sword, and war God, and David their king:†† and they shall out of the land and I will make them sleep fear the Lord, and his goodness in the last days. secure. I will allure her, &c. After all her dis- &c. and send her vine-dressers, viz. the CHAP. IV. God's judgment against the sins of Israel: Juda is warned not to follow their example. shall open to her the gates of hope: as here. EAR the word of the Lord, ye children of Israel; for the Lord shall enter into tofore at her coming into the land of pro-judgment with the inhabitants of the land: mise, she had all good success after she had satisfied the divine justice by the execution § I will espouse thee, &c. This relates to God was pleased to consider as his spouse, That which was not my people, &c. Baalim. It is the plural number of ** Theraphim. Images or representations. tt David their king. That is, Christ, who is of the house of David. |