which

He wrote all these signs of all creation, which the Lord created, and wrote three hundred and sixty-six books, and handed them over to his sons and remained on earth thirty days, and was again taken up to heaven on the sixth day of the month Tsivan, on the very day and hour when he was born.

THE Copy of the Testament of Reuben, even the commands which he gave his sons before he died in the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life.

And he arose and kissed them, and said unto them: Hear, my brethren, and do ye my children, give ear to Reuben your father, in the commands which I give unto you.

The first is the spirit of life, with which the constitution of man is created.

The second is the sense of sight, with which ariseth desire.

The third is the sense of hearing, with which cometh teaching.

The fourth is the sense of smell, with which tastes are given to draw air and breath.

The fifth is the power of speech, with which cometh knowledge.

The sixth is the sense of taste, with which cometh the eating of meats and drinks; and by it strength is produced, for in food is the foundation. of strength.

The seventh is the power of procreation and sexual intercourse, with which through love of pleasure sins enter in.

Besides all these there is an eighth spirit of sleep, with which is brought about the trance of nature and the of death.

The seventh is the spirit of injustice, with which are thefts and acts of rapacity, that a man may fulfil the desire of his heart; for injustice worketh together with the other spirits by the taking of gifts.

And with all these the spirit of sleep is joined which is that of error and fantasy. 32 And so perisheth every young man, darkening his mind from the truth, and not understanding the law of God, nor obeying the admonitions of his fathers, as befell me also in my youth.

THE copy of the words of Simeon, the things which he spake to his sons before he died, in the hundred and twentieth year of his life, at which time Joseph, his brother, died.

THE copy of the words of Simeon, the things which he spake to his sons before he died, in the hundred and twentieth year of his life, at which time Joseph, his brother, died.

THE copy of the words of Levi, the things which he ordained unto his sons, according to all that they should do, and what things should befall them until the day of judgement.

Hear, therefore, regarding the heavens which have been shown to thee.

And in the second are the hosts Of the armies which are ordained for the day of judgement, to work vengeance on the spirits of deceit and of Beliar.

And in the heaven next to this are thrones and dominions, in which always they offer praise to God.

AND when I was going to my father, I found a brazen shield; wherefore also the name of the mountain is Aspis, which is near Gebal, to the south of Abila.

And I kept these words in my heart. And after this I counselled my father, and Reuben my brother, to bid the sons of Hamor not to be circumcised; for I was zealous because of the abomination which they had wrought on my sister.

And my father's father blessed me according to all the words of the visions which I had seen. And he would not come with us to Bethel.

And behold I am clear from your ungodliness and transgression, which ye shall commit in the end of the ages against the Saviour of the world, Christ, acting godlessly, deceiving Israel, and stirring up against it great evils from the Lord.

For the house which the Lord shall choose shall be called Jerusalem, as is contained in the book of Enoch the righteous.

Therefore I called his name Kohath which is, beginning of majesty and instruction.

Yea, ye shall bring a curse upon our race, because the light of the law which was given for to lighten every man this ye desire to destroy by teaching commandments contrary to the ordinances of God.

Therefore the temple, which the Lord shall choose, shall be laid waste through your uncleanness, and ye shall be captives throughout all nations.

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 I called her, I heard also the secret words which I spoke when lying with her in my drunkenness; and I could not slay her, because it was from the Lord.

And from the king they take away his glory, and from the valiant man his might, and from the beggar even that little which is the stay of his poverty.

Moreover, wine revealeth the mysteries of God and men, even as I also revealed the commandments of God and the mysteries of Jacob my father to the Canaanitish woman Bathshua, which God bade me not to reveal.

For even wise men among my sons shall they mar, and shall cause the kingdom of Judah to be diminished, which the Lord gave me because of my obedience to my father.

And in the midst is the spirit of understanding of the mind, to which it belongeth to turn whithersoever it will.

And there is no time at which the works of men can be hid; for on the heart itself have they been written down before the Lord.

Now I have much grief, my children, because of your lewdness and witchcrafts, and idolatries which ye shall practise against the kingdom, following them that have familiar spirits, diviners, and demons of error.

For which things' sake the Lord shall bring upon you famine and pestilence, death and the sword, beleaguering by enemies, and revilings of friends, the slaughter of children, the rape of wives, the plundering of possessions, the burning of the temple of God, the laying waste of the land, the enslavement of yourselves among the Gentiles.

Now these mandrakes were sweet-smelling apples which were produced in the land of Haran below a ravine of water.

THE copy of the words of Zebulun, which he enjoined on his sons before he died in the hundred and fourteenth year of his life, two years after the death of Joseph.

Nor yet do I remember that I have done any iniquity, except the sin of ignorance which I committed against Joseph; for I covenanted with my brethren not to tell my father what had been done.

But meanwhile Reuben arose and said: Come, my brethren, let us not slay him, but let us cast him into one of these dry pits, which our fathers digged and found no water.

And the brethren of Joseph wished not that their brother should live, and the Lord loosed from them the sandal which they wore against Joseph their brother.

Do you, therefore, my children, from that which God bestoweth upon you, show compassion and mercy without hesitation to all men, and give to every man with a good heart.

For in the degree in which a man hath compassion upon his neighbours, in the same degree hath the Lord also upon him.

So shall ye also be if ye be divided. Be not Ye, therefore, divided into two heads for everything which the Lord made .hath but one head, and two shoulders, two hands, two feet, and all the remaining members.

THE copy of the words of Dan, which he spake to his sons in his last days, in the hundred and twenty-fifth year of his life.

And though the wrathful man be weak, yet hath he a power twofold of that which is by nature; for wrath ever aideth such in lawlessness.

If ye fall into any loss or ruin, my children, be not afflicted; for this very spirit maketh a man desire that which is perishable, in order that he may be enraged through the affliction.

For he knoweth that upon the day on which Israel shall repent, the kingdom of the enemy shall be brought to an end.

And the things which ye have heard from your father, do ye also impart to your children that the Saviour of the Gentiles may receive you; for he is true and long-suffering, meek and lowly, and teacheth by his works the law of God.

THE copy of, the testament of Naphtali, which he ordained at the time of his death in the hundred and thirtieth year of his life.

And he was taken captive and was bought by Laban; and he gave him Euna his handmaid to wife, and she bore a daughter, and called her name Zilpah, after the name of the village in which he had been taken captive.

For there is no inclination or thought which the Lord knoweth not, for He created every man after His own image.

But ye shall not be so, my children, recognizing in the firmament, in the earth, and in the sea, and in all created things, the Lord who made all things, that ye become not as Sodom, which changed the order of nature.

If ye work that which is good, my children, both men and angels shall bless you; and God shall be glorified among the Gentiles through you, and the devil shall flee from you, and the wild beasts shall fear you, and the Lord shall love you, and the angels shall cleave to you.

But him that doeth not that which is good, both angels and men shall curse, and God shall be dishonoured among the Gentiles through him, and the devil shall make him as his own peculiar instrument, and every wild beast shall master him, and the Lord shall hate him.

Whatsoever a man doeth the hater abominateth him: and though a man worketh the law of the Lord, he praiseth him not; though a man feareth the Lord, and taketh pleasure in that which is righteous, he loveth him not.

These things, therefore, I say to you from experience, my children, that ye may drive forth hatred, which is of the devil, and cleave to the love of God.

And those things which it hath not learnt from man, it knoweth through repentance.

For many in killing the wicked do two works, of good and evil; but the whole is good, because he hath uprooted and destroyed that which is evil.

All these things, therefore, I proved in my life, and I wandered not from the truth of the Lord, and I searched out the commandments of the Most High, walking according to all my strength with singleness of face unto that which is good.

for when the soul departs troubled, it is tormented by the evil spirit which also it served in lusts and evil works. 36 But if he is peaceful with joy he meeteth the angel of peace, and he leadeth him into eternal life.

Become not, my children, as Sodom, which sinned against the angels of the Lord, and perished for ever.

Now when we came into Egypt they strove concerning me, which of them should buy me and take me.

And he said to her: It is not the custom of the Egyptians to take that which belongeth to others before proof is given.

And hear ye, my children, also the vision which I saw.

For His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, which shall not pass away; but my kingdom among you shall come to an end as a watcher's hammock, which after the summer disappeareth.

For His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, which shall not pass away; but my kingdom among you shall come to an end as a watcher's hammock, which after the summer disappeareth.

For I know that after my death the Egyptians will afflict you, but God will avenge you, and will bring you into that which He promised to your fathers.

THE copy of the words of Benjamin, which he commanded his sons to observe, after he had lived a hundred and twenty-five years.

Nor can he be ruled over by the device of men or beasts, for he is helped by the Lord through the love which he hath towards his neighbour.

It hath no double sight, nor double hearing; for in everything which he doeth, or speaketh, or seeth, he knoweth that the Lord looketh on his soul.

And through them he shall go to and fro as Jacob my father, saying: He shall fill up that which lacketh of thy tribe.

O my son! be not like the almond-tree, for it brings forth leaves before all the trees, and edible fruit after them all, but be like the mulberry-tree, which brings forth edible fruit before all the trees, and leaves after them all.

O my son! get thee a fat ox with a foreskin, and an ass great with its hoofs, and get not an ox with large horns, nor make friends with a tricky man, nor get a quarrelsome slave, nor a thievish handmaid, for everything which thou committest to them they will ruin.

O my son! caress not thy slave in the presence of his companion, for thou knowest not which of them shall be of most value to thee in the end.

O my child! the thigh of a frog in thy hand is better than a goose in the pot of thy neighbour; and a sheep near thee is better than an ox far away; and a sparrow in thy hand is better than a thousand sparrows flying; [*1] and poverty which gathers is better than the scattering of much provision; and a living fox is better than a dead lion; and a pound of wool is better than a pound of wealth, I mean of gold and silver; for the gold and the silver are hidden and covered up in the earth, and are not seen; but the wool stays in the markets and it is seen, and it is a beauty to him who wears it.

There are four things in which neither the king nor his army can be secure: oppression by the vizier, and bad government, and perversion of the will, and tyranny over the subject; and four things which cannot be hidden: the prudent, and the foolish, and the rich, and the poor.'

There are four things in which neither the king nor his army can be secure: oppression by the vizier, and bad government, and perversion of the will, and tyranny over the subject; and four things which cannot be hidden: the prudent, and the foolish, and the rich, and the poor.'

Then he sealed the letter and sent it to Haiqar by one of the king's servants. And he took the other letter which he had written and spread it before the king and read it to him and showed him the seal.

AND when the king of Egypt had made sure that Haiqar was slain, he arose straightway and wrote a letter to king Sennacherib, reminding him in it 'of the peace and the health and the might and the honour which we wish specially for thee, my beloved brother, king Sennacherib.

But, O my lord the king! what thou hast said in it about the taxes of Egypt for three years--now the stability of a kingdom is strict justice, and if thou winnest and my hand hath no skill in replying to thee, then my lord the king will send thee the taxes which thou hast mentioned.

Then Haiqar said to him, 'Truly this is a debt which thou owest to my lord the king.'

But the Lord knew that I was wronged, and He saved me from the ware which thou hadst set for me, for the Lord healeth the broken hearts and hindereth the envious and the haughty.

O my boy! thou hast been to me like the scorpion which when it strikes on brass, pierces it.

O my son! thou hast been to me like a trap which was set up on the dunghill, and there came a sparrow and found the trap set up. And the sparrow said to the trap, "What doest thou here?" Said the trap, "I am praying here to God."

And the lark asked it also, "What is the piece of wood that thou holdest?" Said the trap, "That is a young oak-tree on which I lean at the time of prayer."

Said the lark: "And what is that thing in thy mouth?" Said the trap: "That is bread and victuals which I carry for all the hungry and the poor who come near to me."

O my son! thou hast been to me like the goat which joined its comrades on their way to the sacrifice, and it was unable to save itself.

O my boy! the dog which is not fed from its hunting becomes food for flies.

O my son! the hand which does not labour and plough and (which) is greedy and cunning shall be cut away from its shoulder.

O my son! the hand which does not labour and plough and (which) is greedy and cunning shall be cut away from its shoulder.

O my son! the eye in which light is not seen, the ravens shall pick at it and pluck it out.

And the serpent said to the wolf, "The lambs and the goats and the sheep which thou hast eaten all thy life, wilt thou return them to their fathers and to their parents or no?"

And Haiqar said to him, 'O my boy! thou art like the tree which was fruitless beside the water, and its master was fain to cut it down, and it said to him, "Remove me to another place, and if I do not bear fruit, cut me down."

O my boy! the saying has been confirmed which runs: "If thou begettest a boy, call him thy son, and if thou rearest a boy, call him thy slave."

SINCE I have collected material for a memorable history of my visit to Eleazar the High Priest of the Jews, and because you, Philocrates, as you lose no opportunity of reminding me, have set great store upon receiving an account of the motives and object of my mission, I have attempted to draw up clear exposition of the matter for you, for I perceive that you possess a natural love of learning, a quality which is the highest possession of man--to be constantly attempting 'to add to his stock of knowledge and acquirements' whether through the study of history or by actually participating in the events themselves.

It is worth while that I should tell you this story, too, since I am convinced that you, with your disposition towards holiness and your sympathy with men who are living in accordance with the holy law, will all the more readily listen to the account which I purpose to set forth, since you yourself have lately come to us from the island and are anxious to hear everything that tends to build up the soul.

On a former occasion too, I sent you a record of the facts which I thought worth relating about the Jewish race,--the record which I had obtained from the most learned high priests of the most learned land of Egypt.

On a former occasion too, I sent you a record of the facts which I thought worth relating about the Jewish race,--the record which I had obtained from the most learned high priests of the most learned land of Egypt.

As you are so eager to acquire the knowledge of those things which can benefit the mind, I' feel it incumbent upon me to impart to you all the information in my power.