Cæsar. Now when Pilate had heard these words, he brought Jesus forth; and sat down in the judgmentseat, in the place that is called Lithostrotos, and in Hebrew Gabbatha. And it was the parasceve of the pasch, about the sixth hour: and he saith to the Jews: Behold your king. But they cried out: Away with Him, away with Him; crucify Him. Pilate saith to them: Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered: We have no king but Cæsar. Then, therefore, he delivered

Him to them to be crucified.

Then Judas, who betrayed Him, seeing that He was condemned, repenting himself, brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the ancients, saying I have sinned in betraying innocent blood. But they said: What is that to us? Look thou to it. And casting down the pieces of silver in the temple, he departed; and went and hanged himself with a halter. But the chief priest having taken the pieces of silver, said: It is not lawful to put them into the corbona, because it is the price of blood. And having consulted together, they bought with them the potter's field, to be a burying-place for strangers. Wherefore that field was called Haceldama, that is, The field of blood, even to this day. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremias the prophet, saying: And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of Him that was valued, whom they prized of the children of Israel. And they gave them unto the potter's field, as the Lord appointed to

me.

And after they had mocked Him, they took off from Him the purple robe, and put His own raiment upon Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. And as they led Him away, they laid hold on one Simon of Cyrene, that was coming out of the country: and they laid the cross on him, to carry after Jesus. And there followed Him a great multitude of people and of women; who bewailed and lamented Him. But Jesus, turning to them, said: Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not over Me; but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

And they came to the place that is called Golgotha,

which is, the place of Calvary. And they gave Him wine to drink mingled with gall. And when He had tasted, He would not drink. And after they had crucified Him, they divided His garments, casting lots; that the word might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet, saying: They divided My garments among them; and upon My vesture they cast lots. And they sat down, and watched Him. And they put over His

head His cause written: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then were crucified with Him two thieves : one on the right hand, and the other on the left. And the soldiers took His garments (and made four parts of them, to every soldier a part), and also His coat. Now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said then one to another: Let us not cut it; but let us cast lots for it whose it shall be; that the Scripture might be fulfilled, saying: They have parted My garments among them; and upon My vesture they have cast lots. And Pilate wrote a title also and he put it upon the cross. : And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title, therefore, many of the Jews read: because the place where Jesus was crucified, was near to the city and it was written in Hebrew, in Greek, and in Latin. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate: Write not, the king of the Jews; but that He said, I am the king of the Jews. Pilate answered: What I have written, I have written.

:

And they that passed by, blasphemed Him, wagging their heads, and saying: Vah, Thou who destroyest the temple of God, and in three days buildest it up again, save Thy own Self: if Thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. In like manner also the chief priests with the Scribes and ancients mocking, said: He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He be the king of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God, let Him deliver Him now, if He will have Him; for He said: I am the Son of God. And one of the thieves who were crucified with Him, blasphemed Him, saying: If Thou

be Christ, save Thyself and us.

But the other, answer

And

ing, rebuked him, saying: Neither dost thou fear God, seeing thou art under the same condemnation? we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this Man hath done no evil. And he said to Jesus: Lord, remember me when Thou shalt come into Thy kingdom. And Jesus said to him: Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with Me in paradise.

Now there stood by the cross of Jesus, His mother, and His mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus, therefore, saw His mother and the disciple standing, whom He loved, He saith to His mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, He saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. And from that hour the disciple took her to his own.

Then from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the earth, until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying: Eli, Eli, lamma sabachthani? that is, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me? And some of them that stood there, and heard, said: This Man calleth for Elias. And immediately one of them running, took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar; and put it on a reed, and gave Him to drink. And the others said: Stay; let us see whether Elias will come to deliver Him. When Jesus had received the vinegar, He cried with a loud voice, and said: It is consummated. And He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost. And behold the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top even to the bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were rent. And the graves were opened: and many bodies of the saints that had slept, arose; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection, came into the holy city, and appeared to many. Now the centurion and they that were with him watching Jesus, having seen the earthquake, and the things that were done, were greatly afraid, saying: Indeed this was the Son of God. And there were there many women afar off, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering unto Him: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the

mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

CHAP. XLI. The Burial of our Lord.

THE Jews now having put Jesus to death, with that zeal for some of the customs of their time, which they united with the greatest crimes, were desirous of having the body of Jesus taken down from the cross before the Sabbath-day. They went, therefore, to Pilate, and besought him to allow the legs of those who had been crucified to be broken, that so their death might be hastened. The soldiers then broke the legs of the two thieves; but when they came to Jesus, and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs; but one of the soldiers opened His side with a spear: and immediately there came out blood and water. And he that saw it, gave testimony: and his testimony is true. And he knoweth that he saith true; that you also may believe. For these things were done, that the Scripture might be fulfilled: You shall not break a bone of Him. And again another Scripture saith: They shall look on Him whom they pierced. And after these things Joseph of Arimathea (because he was a disciple of Jesus, but in private, for fear of the Jews) besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted him. He came, therefore, and took away the body of Jesus. And Nicodemus also came: he who at first came to Jesus by night, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. They took, therefore, the body of Jesus, and bound it in linencloths with the spices, as it is the custom with the Jews to bury. And there was, in the place where He was crucified, a garden: and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein no man had yet been laid. There, therefore, by reason of the parasceve of the Jews, they laid Jesus, because the sepulchre was nigh at hand. And the women that were come with Him from Galilee, following after, saw the sepulchre, and how His body was

laid. And returning they prepared spices and ointments and on the sabbath-day they rested according to the commandment.

And the chief priests and the Pharisees came together to Pilate, saying: Sir, we have remembered, that that seducer said, while he was yet alive: After three days I will rise again. Command, therefore, the sepulchre to be guarded until the third day; lest His disciples come, and steal Him away, and say to the people: He is risen from the dead; so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said to them: You have a guard: go, guard it as you know. And they departing, made the sepulchre sure, setting guards.

CHAP. XLII. The Resurrection.

TOWARDS the end of the sabbath, when it began to dawn towards the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake. For an angel of the Lord descended from heaven; and coming, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. And his countenance was as lightning, and his raiment as snow. And for fear of him, the guards were struck with terror, and became as dead men. And the angel answering said to the women: Fear not you: for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come and see the place where the Lord was laid. And, going quickly, tell ye His disciples that He is risen: and, behold, He will go before you into Galilee: there you shall see Him. Lo, I have foretold it to you. And they went out quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy, running to tell His disciples. And, behold, Jesus met them saying: All hail. But they came up, and took hold of His feet, and worshipped Him. Then Jesus said to them: Be not afraid. Go, tell My brethren that they go into Galilee; there shall they see Me.

And they went and told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest; but they did not believe them. Peter,