our

Come, O ye councillors and officers, let us give [him] your firstborn children, and we shall have two kingdoms; I will rule here with you, and our children shall reign there.

Unto us belongeth the glory of sovereignty and we will praise our Creator.

And they shall see the ordering of royalty, and we will establish them according to our law, and we will direct them and give them commands and send them away to reign there."

And the priests, and the officers, and the councillors answered and said unto him, "Do thou send thy firstborn, and we will send our children also according to thy wish.

And they praised him and said unto him, "Now know we that God spake concerning thee to our father Abraham [when He said], `In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.'" And they made their faces to appear happy, and they jested before him, and they praised him exceedingly (i.e., fulsomely) because of his wisdom.

And when they said these things unto him, he understood them in [his] wisdom, and bore with them patiently; now God beareth with us patiently knowing well all our sins.

But believing Christian folk dwell in peace, without sickness and suffering, without hatred and offence, with our king who loveth God and who removeth not from his heart the thing of righteousness, and faith in the Churches and in the believers.

For we have left our country and our birth place, and our kinsfolk and the people of our city.

For we have left our country and our birth place, and our kinsfolk and the people of our city.

For we have left our country and our birth place, and our kinsfolk and the people of our city.

For we have left our country and our birth place, and our kinsfolk and the people of our city.

Now, come ye, let us establish a covenant between us only, whereof our kinsfolk shall know nothing, that we will love each other in that country: none shall hasten or tarry here, and we will neither fear nor have any doubt.

And `Azaryas and `Elmiyas, sons of the priests, answered, "Let not the other matter--that our kinsfolk hate us--cause us sorrow, but let us sorrow on account of our Lady Zion, because they are making us to leave her.

And `Azaryas and `Elmiyas, sons of the priests, answered, "Let not the other matter--that our kinsfolk hate us--cause us sorrow, but let us sorrow on account of our Lady Zion, because they are making us to leave her.

And the others answered and said unto them, "Verily she is our Lady and our hope, and our object of boasting, and we have grown up under her blessedness.

And the others answered and said unto them, "Verily she is our Lady and our hope, and our object of boasting, and we have grown up under her blessedness.

And the others answered and said unto them, "Verily she is our Lady and our hope, and our object of boasting, and we have grown up under her blessedness.

And how is it possible for us to forsake Zion our mistress?

If we resist his command the king will kill us, and we are unable to transgress the word of our fathers or the king's command.

And what shall we do concerning Zion our Lady?"

And when they had sworn thus to him, he answered and said unto them, "Come now, let us take [with us] our Lady Zion; but how are we to take her?

And carry ye out my plan and if God willeth we shall be able to take our Lady with us.

And if they should gain knowledge of our doings and slay us, that shall not trouble us, because we shall die for our Lady Zion."

And if they should gain knowledge of our doings and slay us, that shall not trouble us, because we shall die for our Lady Zion."

And they all rose up, and kissed his head, and his face, and his eyes, and they said unto him, "We will do everything that thou hast counselled us to do; whether we die or whether we live, we are with thee for the sake of our Lady Zion.

And we will depart with her as soon as she hath been committed to our care, and we shall have joy and our fathers sorrow when she arriveth with us in the country of Ethiopia."

And we will depart with her as soon as she hath been committed to our care, and we shall have joy and our fathers sorrow when she arriveth with us in the country of Ethiopia."

Give ye to me each of you ten didrachmas, and I will give them to a carpenter so that he will make haste to prepare for me good planks of wood--now because of his love of money he will fasten them together very quickly--of the height, and breadth, and length and size of our Lady [Zion].

And now come ye, and let us go and tell David our Lord so that he may say to his father, `I will offer up a sacrifice.'" And they went and told [David, the son of Solomon] and he rejoiced, and he sent to Yo'as (Benaiah), the son of Yodae, to come to him, that he might send him to his father, and he came.

And the King raised him up, and blessed him, and embraced his head, and said, "Blessed be the Lord my God Who blessed my father David, and Who blessed our father Abraham.

And my Lady Zion, the holy and heavenly, the Tabernacle of the Law of God, shall be a guide unto thee at all times, a guide in respect of what thou shouldst think in thy heart and shouldst do with thy fingers, whether it be far or near to thee, whether it be low or high to thee, whether it be strong or weak to thee, whether it be outside or inside thee, whether it be to thee in the house or in the field, whether it be visible or invisible to thee, whether it be away from or near to thee, whether it be hidden from or revealed to thee, whether it be secret or published abroad to thee--unto thee our Lady Zion, the holy and heavenly, the pure Tabernacle of the Law of God, shall be a guide."

From this moment our glory hath passed away, and our kingdom hath been carried off unto a strange people who know not God, even as the prophet saith, `The people who have not sought Me have found Me.'

From this moment our glory hath passed away, and our kingdom hath been carried off unto a strange people who know not God, even as the prophet saith, `The people who have not sought Me have found Me.'

The Law shall be given unto them, and they shall say unto Zion, `our mother because of a man who shall be born.'

For his mother said in [her] message by Tamrin her servant, `Give us some of the fringe of the covering of Zion, so that we may worship it, we and those who are in subjection unto us and all our kingdom.'

We wished, and God hath fulfilled [our wish]; we agreed concerning it, and God made it good; we held converse [concerning it], and God performed; we meditated [upon it], and God devised the plan; we spoke, and God was well pleased; we directed our gaze, and God directed it rightly; we meditated, and God hath justified.

We wished, and God hath fulfilled [our wish]; we agreed concerning it, and God made it good; we held converse [concerning it], and God performed; we meditated [upon it], and God devised the plan; we spoke, and God was well pleased; we directed our gaze, and God directed it rightly; we meditated, and God hath justified.

And behold, it is our Lady, our Mother and our salvation, our fortress and our place of refuge, our glory and the haven of our safety, to those who lean upon it."

And behold, it is our Lady, our Mother and our salvation, our fortress and our place of refuge, our glory and the haven of our safety, to those who lean upon it."

And behold, it is our Lady, our Mother and our salvation, our fortress and our place of refuge, our glory and the haven of our safety, to those who lean upon it."

And behold, it is our Lady, our Mother and our salvation, our fortress and our place of refuge, our glory and the haven of our safety, to those who lean upon it."

And behold, it is our Lady, our Mother and our salvation, our fortress and our place of refuge, our glory and the haven of our safety, to those who lean upon it."

And behold, it is our Lady, our Mother and our salvation, our fortress and our place of refuge, our glory and the haven of our safety, to those who lean upon it."

And behold, it is our Lady, our Mother and our salvation, our fortress and our place of refuge, our glory and the haven of our safety, to those who lean upon it."

And Azaryas made a sign to Elmeyas, and he said unto him, "Go, beautify, and dress our Lady, so that our King may see her."

And Azaryas made a sign to Elmeyas, and he said unto him, "Go, beautify, and dress our Lady, so that our King may see her."

As for us, our salvation shall go forth out of Zion, and He shall remove sin from His people, and goodness and mercy shall be poured out in all the world.

And as for thee, O Tabernacle of the Law of God, salvation be whither thou goest, and from the place whence thou goest forth; salvation be in the house and in the field, salvation be here and be there, salvation be in the palace and in the lowly place, salvation be on the sea and on the dry land, salvation be in the mountains and in the hills, salvation be in the heavens and on the earth, salvation be ill the firm grounds and in the abysses, salvation be in death and in life, salvation be in thy coming and in thy going forth, salvation be to our children and to the tribe of thy people, salvation be in thy countries and in thy cities, salvation be to the kings and to the nobles, salvation be to the plants and to the fruits, salvation be to men and to beasts, salvation be to the birds and to the creeping things of the earth; be salvation, be an intercessor, and a merciful one, and have regard for thy people.

And be not impatient, and mark not closely, and be not angry at the multitude of our sins, for we are a people who have not the Law, and who have not learned Thy praise.

Rise up, Zion, and put on thy strength, and conquer thine enemies, and give us strength, our queen, and put thou to shame those who hate thee, and make to rejoice those who love thee."

We will draw nigh unto thee, and do not thou withdraw far from us; we will support ourselves upon thee, and do not thou let us slip away; we will supplicate thee, and do not thou be deaf to us; we will cry out to thee; hear thou our cry in all that we ask of thee, and desire not to withdraw thyself from us, until thy Lord cometh and reigneth over thee; for thou art the habitation of the God of heaven."

Woe be unto us, if our sons have carried off our Lady, the holy, heavenly Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law of God!"

Woe be unto us, if our sons have carried off our Lady, the holy, heavenly Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law of God!"

And the King answered and said unto him, "Our wisdom is forgotten and our understanding is buried.

And the King answered and said unto him, "Our wisdom is forgotten and our understanding is buried.

And the King said unto Zadok, "Go quickly and look at our Lady and examine her closely."

Some of our companions have gone to seek for them at the Sea of Eritrea, but we came back that we might report this to thee.

And those who were in the cities and towns were witnesses that, when these men came into the land of Egypt, our gods and the gods of the King fell down, and were dashed in pieces, and the towers of the idols were likewise broken into fragments.

And they asked the priests of the gods, the diviners of Egypt, the reason why our gods had fallen down, and they said unto us, `The Tabernacle of the God of Israel, which came down from heaven, is with them, and will abide in their country for ever.'

And it was because of this that, when they came into the land of Egypt, our gods were broken into fragments.

And Solomon answered in wisdom and said, "How was he (i.e. David) able to carry away our Lady, for she is with us?"

For Thou canst not make Thy word to be a lie, and Thou canst not break Thy Covenant which Thou didst make with our fathers, with Noah Thy servant who kept righteousness, and with Abraham who did not transgress Thy commandment, and with Isaac Thy servant who kept his body pure from the pollution of sin, and with Israel, Thy holy one, whom Thou didst make many by the Holy Spirit, and didst call `Thy trace' [sic], Israel, and with Moses and Aaron Thy priests, in whose days Thou didst make the Tabernacle of the Law to come down from heaven upon earth, to the children of Jacob Thine inheritance, with Thy Law and Thy Commandment, in the form of the constitution of the angels.

O Lord, look not upon our evil deeds, but consider Thou the goodness of our forefathers.

O Lord, look not upon our evil deeds, but consider Thou the goodness of our forefathers.

Thou hast removed our honour that Thou mayest honour those who are unworthy; Thou hast blotted out our majesty that Thou mayest make majestic him that is not majestic; Thou hast taken away our life that Thou mayest build up him whose life is far from Thee.

Thou hast removed our honour that Thou mayest honour those who are unworthy; Thou hast blotted out our majesty that Thou mayest make majestic him that is not majestic; Thou hast taken away our life that Thou mayest build up him whose life is far from Thee.

Thou hast removed our honour that Thou mayest honour those who are unworthy; Thou hast blotted out our majesty that Thou mayest make majestic him that is not majestic; Thou hast taken away our life that Thou mayest build up him whose life is far from Thee.

Rise up, David, my father, and weep with me for our Lady, for God hath neglected us and hath taken away our Lady from thy son.

Rise up, David, my father, and weep with me for our Lady, for God hath neglected us and hath taken away our Lady from thy son.

For we have neglected the command of our God, and we have become rejected ones on the earth.

Our joy hath turned aside to our enemies, and the grace that was ours hath been removed from us.

Our joy hath turned aside to our enemies, and the grace that was ours hath been removed from us.

Our back is turned towards the spears of our enemies.

Our back is turned towards the spears of our enemies.

Our children have become the spoil and captives of those whom we recently had spoiled and made captives.

Our widows weep, and our virgins mourn.

Our widows weep, and our virgins mourn.

Our old men wail and our young men lament.

Our old men wail and our young men lament.

Our women shed tears and our city is laid waste.

Our women shed tears and our city is laid waste.

From this day to the end of our days [we must mourn], and our children likewise.

From this day to the end of our days [we must mourn], and our children likewise.

Our name was honoured, to-day it is nothing.

From being men of the household we have become men of the outside, and from being men of the inner chambers we have been driven out through our sins.

Through our sins we are rejected, and because of our defection we shall be punished.

Through our sins we are rejected, and because of our defection we shall be punished.

We have wished to gaze upon the face of our women rather than upon the face of God in repentance.

We have loved to look upon our children rather than to hear the word of God.

We have loved to look upon our honour rather than to hear the voice of God.

Of our own free will we have polluted our life.

Of our own free will we have polluted our life.

He made us very wise, and of our own freewill we have made ourselves more foolish than the beasts.

We looked upon our horses, and forgot our coming back.

We looked upon our horses, and forgot our coming back.

We have made our days to deride our life, we have preferred the luxuriousness of food, which becometh dung, to the food of life which endureth for ever. [We have put on] the garments of apparel which benefit not the soul, and have put off the apparel of glory which is for ever.

We have made our days to deride our life, we have preferred the luxuriousness of food, which becometh dung, to the food of life which endureth for ever. [We have put on] the garments of apparel which benefit not the soul, and have put off the apparel of glory which is for ever.

Our governors and the people do what God hateth, and they love not what God loveth, love of their neighbours, and lowliness, and graciousness, and mercy for the poor, and patient endurance, and love of the house of God, and the adoration of the Son.

And the elders rose up and spake unto the King, saying, "Be not thou sorrowful concerning this thing, O our Lord, for we know, from first to last, that without the Will of God Zion will not dwell [in any place], and that nothing happeneth without the Will of God.

And as concerning Zion in olden time, in the days of Eli the priest, before our fathers had asked for a king, the Philistines carried Zion away captive into [their] camp--God having neglected Israel in the battle, and its priests `Afni (Hophni) and Pinahas (Phinehas) having fallen by the edge of the sword.