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they offered to him gifts, gold, and frank12 incense, and myrrh. And being divinely instructed in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

13

Now, they having departed, lo, an angel of the Lord appears in a dream to Joseph, saying: Arise, take to [thee] the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be there until I shall tell thee; for Herod will seek the young 14 child to destroy it. And, having arisen, he took to [him] the young child and his mother by night, and departed into 15 Egypt. And he was there until the death of Herod, that that might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: Out of Egypt have 16 I called my son. Then Herod, seeing that he had been mocked by the magi, was greatly enraged; and sent and slew all the boys which [were] in Bethlehem,

* This is a hellenistic use of the word; besides the sense of doing business, it signifies an answer after consultation, hence an oracular or divine answer, not merely warning, as see ver. 22.

and in all its coasts, from two years and under; according to the time which he had accurately enquired* from the magi. 17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken 1 by Jeremias the prophet, saying: A voice has been heard in Rama, wailing, and weeping, and great lamentation. Rachel weeping her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.

19

But Herod having died, lo, an angel of [the] Lord appears in a dream to Joseph 20 in Egypt, saying: Arise, take to [thee] the young child and its mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they who sought the life of the young child are 21 dead. And he arose and took to [him] the young child and its mother, and came into the land of Israel; but having heard that 'Archelaus reigns over Judea,

22

Or 'learned.'

† οἱ ζητουντες. This shows how thoroughly the pronoun and participle are used as a substantive, characterizing the person or thing. 'The seekers of'-this expression is awkward in English; and hence I have changed it into the verb; and then it must be in the past-sought,' not 'seek.'

instead of Herod his father,' he was afraid to go there; and having been divinely instructed in a dream, he went away into 23 the parts of Galilee, and came and dwelt in a town called Nazareth; so* that that should be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Naza

rean.

III. Now in those days comes John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of 2 Judea, and saying: Repent, for the king

dom of the heavens has drawn nigh. 2 For this is he who has been spoken of by Esaias the prophet, saying: Voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: Prepare the way of [the]† Lord, make straight

ye

'In order that it might be,' iva, (see i. 22,) 'so that it might be,' drws, as here, and, then, TOTE, (ii. 17,) was fulfilled, are never confounded in the quotations of the Old Testament. The first is the object of the prophecy; the second not simply its object, but an event which was within the scope and intention of the prophecy-the third is merely a case in point, where what happened was an illustration of what was said in the prophecy.

I have no doubt that often, as here, kupios is used as a name for Jehovah. Here it has no

his paths. And John himself had his garment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his nourishment was locusts and wild honey.

5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the country round • the Jordan, and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.

7.

But seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them: Offspring of vipers, who has forewarned you to flee from the coming $ wrath? Produce, therefore, fruits worthy ⚫ of repentance. And do not think to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father; for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up 10 children to Abraham. But already also the axe is applied to the root of the

article, which, if an appellative, after τηy ódŋy, it regularly would, but as a noun personal does not need.

* Pointed out, shown?

†Though I am not quite satisfied with 'applied to,' yet I so translate KETαι πроs. 'Laid to' has become actual execution-perhaps not meant so by the English translators, but merely as

trees; every tree, therefore, not producing good fruit is cut down and cast into the " fire. I indeed baptize you with water to repentance, but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals* I am not fit to bear, he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire. 12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he shall thoroughly purge his threshing-floor, and shall gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.

18 Then comes Jesus from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized of 14 him; but John urgently forbad him,

saying, I have need to be baptized† of 15 thee; and comest thou to me? But

Jesus answering said to him, Suffer it literal a translation of Keira as possible: but 'applied to' is more the moral way of actingsomething more than Keitai eis, 'appointed to.' (Luke ii. 34; Phil. i. 17; 1 Thess. iii. 1.) The reader may consult Klotz's Devarius I. under πpos, or Steph. Thes. under keiμai.

*

Υποδημα is hardly used here for the more luxurious ὑποδημα κοιλιον, or shoe.

† Aorist, 'to be in the state of'—its having been done.

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