1   And the next began to speake, he that spake of the strength of a king.

2   O ye men doe not the men excel, which obteyne land and sea, and al thinges that are in them?

3   But a king excelleth aboue al thinges, and hath dominion ouer them: and euerie thing whatsoeuer he shal say to them, they doe.

4   And if he send them to warryers, they goe, and throw downe mountaines, and the walles, and towers.

5   They kil, and are killed: and the kinges word they transgresse not. For if they shal ouercome, they bring to the king al thinges whatsoeuer they haue taken for a praye.

6   In like maner also al others, for so many as are not souldiars, nor fight, but til the ground: when they shal reape, againe they bring tributes to the king.

7   And he being one onlie if he say: Kil ye, they kil: say he: forgeue, they forgeue. say he: strike: they strike: say he, destroy, they destroy:

8   say he build, they build.

9   say he, cut downe, they cut downe, say he plant, they plant:

10   and al the people, & potestates here him, and beside this he sitteth downe, and drinketh, and sleepeth.

11   And others gard him round about, and can not goe euerie one, and doe their owne workes, but at a word are obedient to him.

12   O ye men, how doth not a king excel that is so renowmed? And he held his peace.

13   The third that spake of wemen and truth, this is Zorobabel, began to speake.

14   O ye men, not the great king, & many men, neither is it wine that doth excel. Who is it then that hath the dominion of them?

15   Haue not wemen brought forth the king, and al the people, that ruleth ouer land & sea:

16   and were they not borne of them, and did not they bring vp them which planted the vineyardes, whereof wine is made?

17   And they make the garmentes of al men, & they doe honor to al men, and men can not be separed from wemen.

18   If they haue gathered gold and siluer, and euerie beautiful thing, & see a woman comlie and fayre,

19   leauing al these thinges they fixe their looke vpon her, & with open mouth beholde her, and allure her more then gold and siluer, and euerie precious thing.

20   Man forsaketh his father that brought him vp, and his countrie, and ioyneth

himself to a woman.

21   And with a woman he refresheth his soul: and neither doth he remember father, nor mother, nor countrie.

22   And hereby you must know that wemen rule ouer you. Are you not sorie?

23   And a man taketh his sword, & goeth into the way to commit theftes and murders, & to sayle seas & riuers,

24   and seeth a lyon, and goeth in darkenes: and when he hath committed theft, and fraude, and spoyles, he bringeth it to his beloued.

25   And againe, man loueth his wife more then father or mother.

26   And many haue become madde for their wiues: and haue bene made bondmen for them:

27   and many haue perished and bene slayne, and haue sinned for wemen.

28   And now beleue me, that the king is great in his powre: because al countries are afrayd to touch him.

29   Neuertheles I saw Apemes the daughter of Bezaces the concubine of a meruelous king, sitting by the king at his right hand,

30   and taking of the crowne from his head, and putting it vpon her self, and with the palme of her lefthand she stroke the king.

31   And beside these thinges he with open mouth beheld her: and if she smile he laugheth, and if she be angrie with him, he flattereth, til he be reconciled to her fauour.

32   O ye men, why are not wemen stronger? Great is the earth, and high is the heauen: who doeth these thinges?

33   And then the king and they that weare purple looked one vpon an other. And he began to speake of truth.

34   O ye men, are not wemen strong? The earth is great and heauen is high: & the swift course of the sunne turneth the heauen round into his place in one day.

35   Is not he magnifical that doth these thinges, and the truth great, and stronger aboue al thinges?

36   Al the earth calleth vpon the truth, heauen also blesseth it, and al workes are moued, and tremble at it, and there is not any thing with it vniust.

37   Wine is vniust, the king is vniust, wemen are vniust, al the sonnes of men are vniust, and al their workes are vniust, and in them is not truth, and they shal perish in their iniquitie:

38   and truth abydeth, and groweth strong for euer, and liueth, and preuayleth for euer and euer.

39   Neither is there with it acception of persons, nor differences: but the thinges that are iust it doth to al men, to the vniust and malignant, and al men are wel pleased in the workes thereof.

40   And there is no vniust thing in the iudgement therof, but strength, and reigne, and power, and maiestie of worldes. Blessed be the God of truth.

41   And he left speaking. And al the people cryed, and sayd: Great is truth and it preuaileth.

42   Then the king sayd to him: Aske, if thou wilt any

more, then the thinges that are written, and I wil geue it thee, according as thou art fouud wiser then thy neighbours, & thou shalt sitte next to me, and shalt be called my cosin.

43   Then sayd he to the king: Be mindful of thy vow, which thou hast vowed, to build Ierusalem in the day that thou didst receiue the kindom:

44   and to send backe al the vessels that were taken out of Ierusalem, which Cyrus separated, when he sacked Babylon, and would haue sent them backe thither.

45   And thou hast vowed to build the temple, which the Idumeians burnt, when Iurie was destroyed of the Chaldees.

46   And now this is that which I aske Lord, & which I desire, this is the maiestte which I desire of thee, that thou performe the vowe which thou hast vowed to the king of heauen by thy mouth.

47   Then Darius the king rising vp, kissed him: and wrote letters to al the officers, and ouerseers, and them that weare purple, that they should conduct him, and them that were with him, al going vp to build Ierusalem.

48   And to al the ouerseers that were in Syria, and Phœnice, and Libanus he wrote letters, that they should draw Ceder trees from Libanus into Ierusalem, to build the citie with them.

49   And he wrote to al the Iewes which went vp from the kindome into Iurie for libertie, euerie mightie man, & magistrate, & ouerseer not to come vpon them to their gates,

50   and al the countrie which they had obtayned to be free vnto them, & that the Idumeians leaue the castels which they possesse of the Iewes,

51   and to the building of the temple to geue euerie yeare twentie talentes vntil it were throughly built:

52   & vpon the altars to burne holocausts dayly, as they haue commandment: to offer other ten talentes euery yeare,

53   & to al that go forth from Babylon to build the citie, that there should be libertie aswel to them as to their children, and to al the priestes that goe before.

54   And he wrote a quantitie also, and commanded the sacred stole to be geuen, wherein they should serue;

55   and to the Leuites he wrote to geue preceptes, vntil the day wherein the house shalbe finished, and Ierusalem builded. And to al that kepe the citie, he wrote portions and wages to be geuen to them.

56   And he sent away al the vessels whatsoeuer Cyrus had separated from Babylon, and al thinges whatsoeuer Cyrus sayd, he also commanded to be donne, and to be sent to Ierusalem.

58   And when that yong man was gone forth, lyfting vp his face toward Ierusalem, he blessed the king of heauen,

59   and sayd: Of thee is victorie, and of thee is wisdome, and glorie. And I am thy seruant.

60   Blessed art thou which

hast geuen me wisedom, and I wil confesse to thee Lord God of our fathers.

61   And he toke the letters, and went into Babylon. And he came, and told al his brethren that were in Babylon:

62   and they blessed the God of their fathers, because he gaue them remission and refreshing,

63   that they should goe vp and build Ierusalem, and the temple wherein his name was renowmed, and they reioyced with musike and ioy seuen dayes.

Previous section

Next section