city

And he took me into the midst of the city, by the twelve walls (to the twelfth wall, Copt. ). Now there was in that place an higher wall; and I asked and said: Is there in the city of Christ a wall more excellent in honour than this place? And the angel answered and said unto me: The second is better than the first, and likewise the third than the second; for one excelleth the other even unto the twelfth wall. And I said: Wherefore, Lord, doth one excel another in glory? show me. And the angel answered and said unto me: All they that have in them even a little slandering or envy or pride, somewhat is taken away from a glory, even if he be in the city of Christ. Look thou behind thee. And I turned myself and saw golden thrones set at the several gates, and upon them men having golden crowns and jewels: and I looked and saw within among the twelve men, thrones set in another order (row, fashion?), which appeared of much glory so that no man is able to declare the praise of them. And I asked the angel and said: Lord, who is upon the throne? And the angel answered and said unto me: These are the thrones of them that had goodness and understanding of heart and yet made themselves foolish for the Lord God’s sake, knowing neither the Scriptures nor many psalms, but keeping in mind one chapter of the precepts of God they performed it with great diligence, and had a right intent before the Lord God; and for these great wonder shall take hold upon all the saints before the Lord God, who shall speak one with another, saying: Stay and behold the unlearned that know nothing [more], how they have earned such and so fair raiment and so great glory because of their innocency. And I saw in the midst of the city an altar exceeding high. And there was one standing by the altar whose visage shone like the sun, and he held in his hands a psaltery and an harp and sang praises, saying: Alleluia. And his voice filled all the city. And when all that were upon the towers and the gates heard him, they answered: Alleluia, so that the foundations of the city were shaken. And I’ asked the angel and said: Who is this, Lord, that is of so great might? And the angel said unto me: This is David. This is the city of Jerusalem; and when Christ the king of eternity shall come in the fullness (confidence, freedom) of his kingdom, he shall again go before him to sing praises, and all the righteous together shall sing praises, answering: Alleluia. And I said: Lord, how is it that David only above the rest of the saints maketh (made) the beginning of singing praises? And the angel answered and said unto me: When ( or , because) Christ the Son of God sitteth on the right hand of his Father, this David shall sing praises before him in the seventh heaven: and as it is done in the heavens, so likewise is it below: for without David it is not lawful to offer a sacrifice unto God: but it must needs be that David sing praises at the hour of the offering of the body and blood of Christ: as it is performed in heaven, so also is it upon earth.

And he took me into the midst of the city, by the twelve walls (to the twelfth wall, Copt. ). Now there was in that place an higher wall; and I asked and said: Is there in the city of Christ a wall more excellent in honour than this place? And the angel answered and said unto me: The second is better than the first, and likewise the third than the second; for one excelleth the other even unto the twelfth wall. And I said: Wherefore, Lord, doth one excel another in glory? show me. And the angel answered and said unto me: All they that have in them even a little slandering or envy or pride, somewhat is taken away from a glory, even if he be in the city of Christ. Look thou behind thee. And I turned myself and saw golden thrones set at the several gates, and upon them men having golden crowns and jewels: and I looked and saw within among the twelve men, thrones set in another order (row, fashion?), which appeared of much glory so that no man is able to declare the praise of them. And I asked the angel and said: Lord, who is upon the throne? And the angel answered and said unto me: These are the thrones of them that had goodness and understanding of heart and yet made themselves foolish for the Lord God’s sake, knowing neither the Scriptures nor many psalms, but keeping in mind one chapter of the precepts of God they performed it with great diligence, and had a right intent before the Lord God; and for these great wonder shall take hold upon all the saints before the Lord God, who shall speak one with another, saying: Stay and behold the unlearned that know nothing [more], how they have earned such and so fair raiment and so great glory because of their innocency. And I saw in the midst of the city an altar exceeding high. And there was one standing by the altar whose visage shone like the sun, and he held in his hands a psaltery and an harp and sang praises, saying: Alleluia. And his voice filled all the city. And when all that were upon the towers and the gates heard him, they answered: Alleluia, so that the foundations of the city were shaken. And I’ asked the angel and said: Who is this, Lord, that is of so great might? And the angel said unto me: This is David. This is the city of Jerusalem; and when Christ the king of eternity shall come in the fullness (confidence, freedom) of his kingdom, he shall again go before him to sing praises, and all the righteous together shall sing praises, answering: Alleluia. And I said: Lord, how is it that David only above the rest of the saints maketh (made) the beginning of singing praises? And the angel answered and said unto me: When ( or , because) Christ the Son of God sitteth on the right hand of his Father, this David shall sing praises before him in the seventh heaven: and as it is done in the heavens, so likewise is it below: for without David it is not lawful to offer a sacrifice unto God: but it must needs be that David sing praises at the hour of the offering of the body and blood of Christ: as it is performed in heaven, so also is it upon earth.

And when he had ceased speaking unto me, he led me out without the city through the midst of the trees and back from the place of the land of good things ( or , men) and set me at the river of milk and honey: and after that he led me unto the ocean that beareth the foundations of the heaven. The angel answered and said unto me: Perceivest thou that thou goest hence? And I said: Yea, Lord. And he said unto me: Come, follow me, and I will show thee the souls of the ungodly and the sinners, that thou mayest know what manner of place they have . And I went with the angel and he took me by the way of the sunsetting, and I saw the beginning of the heaven, founded upon a great river of water, and I asked: What is this river of water? And he said unto me: This is the ocean which compasseth the whole earth about. And when I was come beyond (to the outside of) the ocean, I looked and there was no light in that place, but darkness and sorrow and sadness: and I sighed. And I saw there a river of fire burning with heat, and in it was a multitude of men and women sunk up to the knees, and other men up to the navel; others also up to the lips and others up to the hair: and I asked the angel and said: Lord, who are these in the river of fire? And the angel answered and said unto me: They are neither hot nor cold, for they were not found either in the number of the righteous or in the number of the wicked; for they passed the time of their life upon the earth, spending some days in prayer, but other days in sins and fornications, until their death. And I asked and said: Who are these, Lord, that are sunk up to their knees in the fire? He answered and said unto me: These are they which when they are come out of the church occupy themselves in disputing with idle (alien) talk. But these that are sunk up to the navel are they who, when they have received the body and blood of Christ, go and commit fornication, and did not cease from their sins until they died; and they that are sunk up to their lips are they that slandered one another when they gathered in the church of God ; but they that are sunk up to the eyebrows are they that beckon one to another, and privily devise evil against their neighbours.

While he yet spake there came other twelve and saw me and said: Art thou Paul that is glorified in heaven and upon earth? And I answered and said: Who are ye? The first answered and said: I am Esaias whose head Manasses cut with a saw of wood. And the second said likewise: I am Jeremias who was stoned by the children of Israel, and slain. And the third said: I am Ezechiel whom the children of Israel dragged by the feet over the stones in the mountain until they scattered my brains abroad: and all of us endured these labours, desiring to save the children of Israel: and I say unto thee that after the toils which they laid upon me I would cast myself down upon my face before the Lord, praying for them and bowing my knees unto the second hour of the Lord’s day, even until Michael came and raised me up from the earth. Blessed art thou, Paul, and blessed is the people that hath believed through thee. And as they passed by, I saw another, fair of countenance, and asked: Who is this, Lord? [And when he saw me he was glad] and he said unto me: This is Lot, which was found righteous in Sodom. And he came near and greeted me and said: Blessed art thou, Paul, and blessed is the generation unto whom thou hast ministered. And I answered and said unto him: Art thou Lot, that wast found righteous in Sodom? And he said: I entertained angels in mine house as strangers, and when they of the city would have done them violence I offered them my two daughters, virgins, that had never known man, and gave them to them, saying: Use them as ye will, only do no ill unto these men, for therefore have they entered under the roof of mine house. Therefore ought we to have confidence, and know that whatsoever any man hath done, God recompenseth him manifold more when he cometh (they come) unto him. Blessed art thou, Paul, and blessed is the generation which hath believed thy word. When therefore he had ceased speaking unto me, I saw another coming from afar off, very beautiful in the face, and smiling, and his angels singing hymns, and I said unto the angel that was with me: Hath, then, every one of the righteous an angel for his fellow? And he saith to me: Every one of the saints hath his own, that standeth by him and singeth hymns, and the one departeth not from the other. And I said: Who is this, Lord? And he said: This is Job. And he drew near and greeted me and said: Brother Paul, thou hast great praise with God and men. Now I am Job, which suffered much for the season of thirty years by the issue of a plague; and in the beginning the blains that came forth of my body were as grains of wheat; but on the third day they became like an ass’s foot, and the worms that fell from them were four fingers long: and thrice the devil appeared unto me and saith to me: Speak a word against the Lord, and die. But I said unto him: If thus be the will of God that I continue in the plague all the time of my life until I die, I will not rest from blessing the Lord God, and I shall receive the greater reward. For I know that the sufferings of this world are nought compared with the refreshment that is thereafter: wherefore blessed art thou, Paul, and blessed is the people which hath believed by thy means.

And I turned myself and saw other righteous ones coming from afar off, and I asked the angel: Who are these, Lord? and he answered me: These are Elias and Eliseus. And they greeted me, and I said unto them: Who are ye? And one of them answered and said: I am Elias the prophet of God. I am Elias that prayed, and because of my word the heaven rained not for three years and six months, because of the iniquities of men. Righteous and true is God, who doeth the will of his servants; for oftentimes the angels besought the Lord for rain, and he said: Be patient until my servant Elias pray and entreat for this, and I will send rain upon the earth. [ Here the Greek, Latin, and Syriac texts end, save that the Syriac adds thus much : And he gave not, until I called upon him again; then he gave unto them. But blessed art thou, O Paul, that thy generation and those thou teachest are the sons of the kingdom. And know thou, O Paul, that every man who believes through thee hath a great blessing, and a blessing is reserved for him. Then he departed from me. And the angel who was with me led me forth, and said unto me: Lo, unto thee is given this mystery and revelation: as thou pleasest, make it known unto the sons of men. And I, Paul, returned unto myself, and I knew all that I had seen: and in life I had not rest that I might reveal this mystery, but I wrote it and deposited it under the ground and the foundations of the house of a certain faithful man with whom I used to be in Tarsus a city of Cilicia. And when I was released from this life of time, and stood before my Lord, thus said he unto me: Paul, have we shown all these things unto thee that thou shouldst deposit them under the foundations of a house? Then send and disclose concerning this revelation, that men may read it and turn to the way of truth, that they also may not come to these bitter torments. And thus was this revelation discovered. . . .

The Jewish copy has not 'unto the holy city' but 'in Jerusalem'.

Jesus said, "A city built and fortified on a high mountain can't fall, nor can it be hidden."

“After a few days there prevailed a report that we should be heard. And then my father came to me from the city, worn out with anxiety. He came up to me, that he might cast me down, saying, ‘Have pity my daughter, on my grey hairs. Have pity on your father, if I am worthy to be called a father by you. If with these hands I have brought you up to this flower of your age, if I have preferred you to all your brothers, do not deliver me up to the scorn of men. Have regard to your brothers, have regard to your mother and your aunt, have regard to your son, who will not be able to live after you. Lay aside your courage, and do not bring us all to destruction; for none of us will speak in freedom if you should suffer anything.’ These things said my father in his affection, kissing my hands, and throwing himself at my feet; and with tears he called me not Daughter, but Lady. And I grieved over the grey hairs of my father, that he alone of all my family would not rejoice over my passion. And I comforted him, saying, ‘On that scaffold whatever God wills shall happen. For know that we are not placed in our own power, but in that of God.’ And he departed from me in sorrow.

"Then, after a long time, the city in which the gold, the incense, and the myrrh are found with my body, shall be plundered. But when it is spoiled, the gold the incense, and the myrrh shall be taken care of with the spoil that is kept; and naught of them shall perish, until the Word of God, made man shall come; when kings shall take them, and shall offer to Him, gold in token of His being King; incense, in token of His being God of heaven and earth; and myrrh, in token of His passion.

And I slew Shechem first, and Simeon slew Hamor. And after this my brothers came and smote that city with the edge of the sword.

For from this day forward shall Shechem be called a city of imbeciles; for as a man mocketh a fool, so did we mock them.

And the next day we departed to Aretan, a city strong and walled and inaccessible, threatening us with death.

But I and Gad approached on the east side of the city, and Reuben and Levi on the west.

And so my brothers secretly climbed up the wall on both sides by stakes, and entered the city, while the men knew it not.

And when we came to their city their women rolled upon us stones from the brow of the hill on which the city stood.

And when we came to their city their women rolled upon us stones from the brow of the hill on which the city stood.

And I and Simeon had ourselves behind the town, and seized upon the heights, and destroyed this city also.

And the next day it was told us that the king of the city of Gaash with. a mighty host was coming against us.

I, therefore, and Dan feigned ourselves to be Amorites, and as allies went into their city.

Now they had a city with walls of iron and gates of brass; and we could not enter into it, and we encamped around, and besieged it.

And after these things, while Tamar was a widow, she heard after two years that I was going up, to shear my sheep, and adorned herself in bridal array, and sat in the city Enaim by the gate.

Moreover, they who were in the city said there was no harlot in the gate, because she came from another place, and sat for a while in the gate.

For, lo, it made me also to err, so that I was not ashamed of the multitude in the city, in that before the eyes of all I turned aside unto Tamar, and I wrought a great sin, and I uncovered the covering of my sons' shame.

And there will be the power of his miracles in every city and region.

And he will set up his image before him in every city.

And when the king saw this, he felt certain that the thing was from him, and he straightway arose and commanded them to kill Haiqar, and to strike his neck with the sword outside of the city.

And the story was reported and repeated and spread abroad in every place of how Haiqar the Sage had been slain and was dead, and all the people of that city mourned for him.

And the king prepared all that for him, and they went to a wide place; and Haiqar and his boys came to it, and he took the eagles and the young men with him; and the king and all his nobles went and the whole city assembled, that they might see what Haiqar would do.

This embassy then I undertook with enthusiasm, having first of all found an opportunity of pleading with the king on behalf of the Jewish captives who had been transported from Judea to Egypt by the king's father, when he first obtained possession of this city and conquered the land of Egypt.

The decree of the king ran as follows: 'All who served in the army of our father in the campaign against Syria and Phoenicia and in the attack upon the country of the Jews and became possessed of Jewish captives and brought them back to the city of Alexandria and the land of Egypt or sold them to others--and in the same way any captives who were in our land before that time or were brought hither afterwards--all who possess such captives are required to set them at liberty at once, receiving twenty drachmae per head as ransom money.

When we arrived in the land of the Jews we saw the city situated in the middle of the whole of Judea on the top of a mountain of considerable altitude.

They led me more than four furlongs outside the city and bade me peer down towards a certain spot and listen to the noise that was made by the meeting of the waters, so that the great size of the reservoirs became manifest to me, as has already been pointed out.

THE size of the city is of moderate dimensions.

For the ground ascends, since the city is built upon a mountain.

It was not without reason that the original founders of the city built it in due proportions, for they possessed clear insight with regard to what was required.

Country people by migrating from the rural districts and settling in the city brought agriculture into disrepute: and so to prevent them from settling in the city, the king issued orders that they should not stay in it for more than twenty days. [*2]

Country people by migrating from the rural districts and settling in the city brought agriculture into disrepute: and so to prevent them from settling in the city, the king issued orders that they should not stay in it for more than twenty days. [*2]

And since he considered the matter one of great importance, he appointed also legal officers for every district with their assistants, that the farmers and their advocates might not in the interests of business empty the granaries of the city, I mean, of the produce of husbandry.

Wherefore they rightly recognise that the country districts need a large population, and the relations between the city and the villages are properly regulated.

For the country is well adapted not only for agriculture but also for commerce, and the city is rich in the arts and lacks none of the merchandise which is brought across the sea.

And when he had plundered the city he made a decree denouncing the penalty of death upon any who should be seen to live after the law of our fathers.

No city besieged with many and cunning engines ever defended itself so well as did that holy man when his sacred soul was attacked with scourge and rack and flame, and he moved them who were laying siege to his soul through his Reason that was the shield of sanctity.

And through them the nation obtained peace and restoring the observance of the Law in our country hath captured the city from the enemy.

For this reason, behold I bring evil upon this city, and upon its inhabitants, and it shall be removed from before Me for a time, and I will scatter this people among the Gentiles that they may do good to the Gentiles. And My people shall be chastened, and the time shall come when they will seek for the prosperity of their times.

For I have said these things to you that you may bid Jeremiah, and all those that are like you, to retire from this city.

For your works are to this city as a firm pillar, And your prayers as a strong wall.'

What, therefore, will there be after these things? for if you destroy Your city, and deliver up Your land to those that hate us, how shall the name of Israel be again remembered?

And the Lord said unto me: 'This city shall be delivered up for a time, And the people shall be chastened during a time, And the world will not be given over to oblivion.

[Dost you think that this is that city of which I said: "On the palms of My hands have I graven you"?

And it came to pass on the morrow that, lo! the army of the Chaldees surrounded the city, and at the time of the evening, I, Baruch, left the people, and I went forth and stood by the oak.

And I beheld, and lo! four angels standing at the four corners of the city, each of them holding a torch of fire in his hands.

And I, Baruch, came, and Jeremiah, whose heart was found pure from sins, who had not been captured in the seizure of the City.

And show to those who know not, that everything that has befallen us and our city until now has been according to the long-suffering of Your power, because on account of Your name you have called us a beloved people.

And the land [which] was then beloved by the Lord, And because its inhabitants sinned not, it was glorified beyond all lands, And the city Zion ruled then over all lands and regions.

And now, my brethren, I make known unto you that when the enemy had surrounded the city, the angels of the Most High were sent, and they overthrew the fortifications of the strong wall, and they destroyed the firm iron corners, which could not be rooted out.

A sound I hear (moving) towards Jerusalem, the holy city.

Gave to that city the name of Babylon);--

There is a city . . . on the earth,

And she shall tame fenced city Babylon,

With a city, men and all, of the Earth-shaker

Beautiful city of the Carians

Shall set around the city each his throne

Send now against this city yet again

Down shall the mighty city Croton fall.

But thou, a city firmly set, again

No more a city when around their spears

He shall come, wishing to destroy the city

The mighty city and the righteous people.

Thou evil city, womanish, unjust,

Thou city of the Latin land, unclean

The double city, be for ages silent,

because of the great city and just people

God's city in mid portions of the land,

Pleasant Judea, city beautiful,

Laodicea, city beautiful;

Alas, Corcyra, city beautiful,

Thou wicked city all-bewailed, possessed

That others the great city should destroy.

And he did make that city, which God loved,

And city of all cities, thou no more

So that even Salamis, great city, shall

"Thy mighty strength, O city, shall fall down,"

All these things, to the city afterwards

And then a city for the powerful Latins

Will he abuse the city Babylon,

But when a mighty city prosperous

Commanding and a noble city great

The high-gate city; and again shall come

The high-gate city near Eridanus

So many years shall the great noble city

To Caesar's city and harm Canaanites.

The Pyramus shall irrigate the city

Her holy city. But when he by flight

And thee a city they shall never call,

With city-wasting Ares and the Carpians

The city of the sun shall offer prayer;

Down every city and hut of the Latins.

A city new and beautiful and strong

In defense of the seven-hill city Rome,

And then a city of Molossian Phthia