3 And the servants went and
brought them into the temple of
the Lord, and the high-priest said
unto them, Cast lots before me
now, who of you shall spin the
golden thread, who the blue, who
the scarlet, who the fine linen, and
who the true purple.

4 Then the high-priest knew
Mary; that she was of the tribe of
David; and he called her, and the
true purple fell to her lot to spin,
and she went away to her own
house.

5 But from that time Zacharias
the high-priest became dumb, and
Samuel was placed in his room till
Zacharias spoke again.

6 But Mary took the true purple;
and did spin it.

7 And she took a pot, and
went out to draw water, and heard
a voice saying unto her, Hail thou
who art full of grace, the Lord
is with thee; thou art blessed
among women.

8 And she looked round to the
right and to the left (to see) whence
that voice came, and then trembling
went into her house, and laying
down the water-pot, she took
the purple, and sat down in her
seat to work it.

9 And behold the angel of the
Lord stood by her, and said, Fear
not, Mary, for thou hast found
favour in the sight of God.

10 Which when she heard, she
reasoned with herself what that
sort of salutation meant.

11 And the angel said unto her,
The Lord is with thee, and thou
shalt conceive:

12 To which she replied, What!
shall I conceive by the living God
and bring forth as all other
women do?

13 But the angel returned
answer, Not so, O Mary, but the
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee,
and the power of the Most High
shall overshadow thee;

14 Wherefore that which shall
be born of thee shall be holy,
and shall be called the Son of the
Living God, and thou shalt call his
name Jesus; for he shall save his
people from their sins.

15 And behold thy cousin Elizabeth,
she also hath conceived a son in her
old age.

16 And this now is the sixth
month with her, who was called
barren: for nothing is impossible
with God.

17 And Mary said, Behold the
handmaid of the Lord; let it be
unto me according to thy word.

18 And when she had wrought
her purple, she carried it to the
high-priest, and the high-priest
blessed her, saying, Mary, the
Lord God hath magnified thy name,
and thou shalt be blessed in all the
ages of the world.

19 Then Mary, filled with joy,
went away to her cousin Elizabeth,
and knocked at the door.

20 Which when Elizabeth heard,
she ran and opened to her, and
blessed her, and said, Whence is
this to me, that the mother of my
Lord should come unto me?

21 For lo! as soon as the voice
of thy salutation reached my ears,
that which is in me leaped and
blessed thee.

22 But Mary, being ignorant of
all those mysterious things which
the archangel Gabriel had spoken
to her, lifted up her eyes to heaven,
and said, Lord! What am I, that
all the generations of the earth
should call me blessed?

23 But perceiving herself daily
to grow big, and being afraid, she
went home, and hid herself from
the children of Israel; and was
fourteen years old when all these
things happened.

CHAPTER X.

1 Joseph returns from building houses, finds the Virgin
grown big, being six months gone with child,
2 is jealous and troubled,
8 reproaches her,
10 she affirms her innocence,
13 he leaves her,
16 determines to dismiss her privately,
17 is warned in a dream that Mary is with child by the Holy Ghost,
20 and glorifies God who had shewn him such favour.

AND when her sixth month was
come, Joseph returned from
his building houses abroad, which
was his trade, and entering into the
house, found the Virgin grown big:

2 Then smiting upon his face,
he said, With what face can I look
up to the Lord my God? or, what
shall I say concerning this young
woman?

3 For I received her a Virgin
out of the temple of the Lord my
God, and have not preserved her
such!

4 Who has thus deceived me?
Who has committed this evil in
my house, and seducing the Virgin
from me, hath defiled her?

5 Is not the history of Adam exactly
accomplished in me?

6 For in the very instant of his
glory, the serpent came and found
Eve alone, and seduced her.

7 Just after the same manner it
has happened to me.

8 Then Joseph arising from the
ground, called her, and said, O
thou who hast been so much
favoured by God, why hast thou
done this?

9 Why hast thou thus debased
thy soul, who wast educated in the
Holy of Holies, and received thy
food from the hand of angels?

10 But she, with a flood of tears,
replied, I am innocent, and have
known no man.

11 Then said Joseph, How
comes it to pass you are with
child?

12 Mary answered, As the Lord
my God liveth, I know not by what
means.

13 Then Joseph was exceedingly afraid,
and went ay from her, considering
what he should do with her;
and he thus reasoned with himself:

14 If I conceal her crime, I shall
be found guilty by the law of the
Lord;

15 And if I discover her to the
children of Israel, I fear, lest
she being with child by an angel,
I shall be found to betray the life
of an innocent person.

16 What therefore shall I do?
I will privately dismiss her.

17 Then the night was come
upon him, when behold an angel
of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream, and said,

18 Be not afraid to take that
young woman, for that which is
within her is of the Holy Ghost,

19 And she shall bring forth
a son, and thou shalt call his name
Jesus, for he shall save his people
from their sins.

20 Then Joseph arose from his
sleep, and glorified the God of
Israel, who had shewn him such
favour, and preserved the Virgin.

CHAPTER XI.

3 Annas visits Joseph, perceives the Virgin big with child,
4 informs the high priest that Joseph had privately married her.
8 Joseph and Mary brought to trial on the charge.
17 Joseph drinks the water of the Lord as an ordeal,
and receiving no harm, returns home.

THEN came Annas the scribe,
and said to Joseph, Wherefore
have we not seen you since
your return?

2 And Joseph replied, Because
I was weary after my journey, and
rested the first day.

3 But Annas turning about
perceived the Virgin big with child.

4 And went away to the priest,
and told him, Joseph in whom you
placed so much confidence, is
guilty of a notorious crime, in
that he hath defiled the Virgin
whom he received out of the temple
of the Lord, and hath privately
married her, not discovering it to
the children of Israel.

5 Then said the priest, Hath
Joseph done this?

6 Annas replied, If you send
any of your servants you will find
that she is with child.

7 And the servants went, and
found it as he said.

8 Upon this both she and Joseph
were brought to their trial, and
the priest said unto her, Mary,
what hast thou done?

9 Why hast thou debased thy
soul, and forgot thy God, seeing
thou wast brought up in the Holy
of Holies, and didst receive thy
food from the hands of angels, and
heardest their songs?

10 Why hast thou done this?

11 To which with a flood of
tears she answered, As the Lord
my God liveth, I am innocent in
his sight, seeing I know no man.

12 Then the priest said to Joseph,
Why hast thou done this?

13 And Joseph answered, As
the Lord my God liveth, I have
not been concerned with her.

14 But the priest said, Lie not,
but declare the truth; thou hast
privately married her, and not
discovered it to the children of
Israel, and humbled thyself under
the mighty hand (of God), that thy
seed might be blessed:

15 And Joseph was silent.

16 Then said the priest
(to Joseph), You must restore to
the temple of the Lord the Virgin
which you took thence.

17 But he wept bitterly, and the
priest added, I will cause you both
to drink the water of the Lord,
which is for trial, and so your
iniquity shall be laid open before
you.—[bitter water that causeth the curse]

18 Then the priest took the water,
and made Joseph drink, and sent him
to a mountainous place,

19 And he returned perfectly
well, and all the people wondered
that his guilt was not discovered.

20 So the priest said, Since the
Lord hath not made your sins
evident, neither do I condemn
you.

21 So he sent them away.

22 Then Joseph took Mary, and
went to his house, rejoicing and
praising the God of Israel.

CHAP. XII.

1 A decree from Augustus for taxing the Jews.
5 Joseph puts Mary on an ass, to return to Bethlehem,
6 she looks sorrowful,
7 she laughs,
8 Joseph inquires the cause of each,
9 she tells him she sees two persons,
one mourning and the other rejoicing.
10 The delivery being near, he takes her
from the ass, and places her in a cave.

AND it came to pass, that there
went forth a decree from
the Emperor Augustus, that all
the Jews should be taxed, who
were of Bethlehem in Judaea.

2 And Joseph said, I will take
care that my children be taxed;
but what shall I do with this young
woman?

3 To have her taxed as my wife
I am ashamed; and if I tax her as
my daughter, all Israel knows she
is not my daughter.

4 When the time of the Lord's
appointment shall come, let him do
as seems good to him.

5 And he saddled the ass, and
put her upon it, and Joseph and
Simon followed after her, and
arrived at Bethlehem within three
miles.

6 Then Joseph turning about
saw Mary sorrowful, and said
within himself, Perhaps she is in
pain through that which is within
her.

7 But when he turned about
again, he saw her laughing, and
said to her,

8 Mary, how happens it, that I
sometimes see sorrow, and sometimes
laughter and joy in thy countenance?

9 And Mary replied to him,
I see two people with mine eyes,
the one weeping and mourning,
the other laughing and rejoicing.

10 And he went again across
the way, and Mary said to Joseph,
Take me down from the ass, for
that which is in me presses to come
forth.

11 But Joseph replied, Whither
shall I take thee? for the place is
a desert.

12 Then said Mary again to Joseph,
take me down, for that which is
within me mightily presses me.

13 And Joseph took her down.

14 And he found there a cave,
and let her into it.

CHAPTER XIII.

1 Joseph seeks a Hebrew midwife,
2 perceives the owls stopping in their flight,
3 the working people at their food not moving,
8 the sheep standing still,
9 the shepherd fixed and immoveable,
10 and kids with their mouths touching
the water but not drinking.

AND leaving her and his sons
in the cave, Joseph went
forth to seek a Hebrew midwife in
the village of Bethlehem.

2 But as I was going (said Joseph),
I looked up into the air,
and I saw the clouds astonished,
and the fowls of the air stopping in
the midst of their flight.

3 And I looked down towards
the earth, and saw a table spread,
and working people sitting around
it, but their hands were upon the
table and they did not move to
eat.

4 They who had meat in their
mouths did not eat.

5 They who lifted their hands
up to their heads did not draw
them back,

6 And they who lifted them up
to their mouths did not put any
thing in;

7 But all their faces were fixed
upwards.

8 And I beheld the sheep dispersed,
and yet the sheep stood still.

9 And the shepherd lifted up
his hand to smite them, and his
hand continued up.

10 And I looked unto a river,
and saw the kids with their mouths
close to the water, and touching it,
but they did not drink.

CHAPTER XIV.

1 Joseph finds a midwife.
10 A bright cloud overshadows the cave.
11 A great light in the cave, gradually
increases until the infant is born.
13 The mid-wife goes out, and tells Salome
that she has seen a virgin bring forth.
17 Salome doubts it.
20 her hand withers,
22 she supplicates the Lord,
28 is cured,
30 but warned not to declare what she had seen.

THEN I beheld a woman coming
down from the mountains,
and she said to me, Where art thou
going, O man?

2 And I said to her, I go to
enquire for a Hebrew midwife.

3 She replied to me, Where is
the woman that is to be delivered?

4 And I answered, In the cave,
and she is betrothed to me.

5 Then said the midwife, Is she
not thy wife?

6 Joseph answered, It is Mary,
who was educated in the Holy of
Holies, in the house of the Lord,
and she fell to me by lot, and is
not my wife, but has conceived by
the Holy Ghost.

7 The midwife said, Is this true?

8 He answered, Come and see.

9 And the midwife went along
with him, and stood in the cave.

10 Then a bright cloud over-
shadowed the cave, and the mid-
wife said, This day my soul is
magnified, for mine eyes have seen
surprising things, and salvation is
brought forth to Israel.

11 But on a sudden the cloud
became a great light in the cave,
so that their eyes could not bear it.

12 But the light gradually
decreased, until the infant appeared,
and sucked the breast of his mother,
Mary.

13 Then the midwife cried out,
and said, How glorious a day is
this, wherein mine eyes have seen
this extraordinary sight!

14 And the midwife went out
from the cave, and Salome met
her.

15 And the midwife said to her,
Salome, Salome, I will tell you a
most surprising thing which I saw,

16 A virgin hath brought forth,
which is a thing contrary to
nature.

17 To which Salome replied, As
the Lord my God liveth unless I
receive particular proof of this
matter, I will not believe that a
virgin hath brought forth.

18 If Then Salome went in, and
the midwife said, Mary, shew thyself,
for a controversy is risen
concerning thee.

19 And Salome received satisfaction.

20 But her hand was withered,
and she groaned bitterly;

21 And said, Woe to me, because
of mine iniquity; for I have
tempted the living God, and my
hand is ready to drop off.

22 Then Salome made her
supplication to the Lord, and said,
O God of my Fathers, remember me,
for I am of the seed of Abraham,
and Isaac, and Jacob.

23 Make me not a reproach
among the children of Israel, but
restore me sound to my parents.

24 For thou well knowest,
O Lord, that I have performed many
offices of charity in thy name,
and have received my reward from
thee.

25 Upon this an angel of the
Lord stood by Salome, and said,
The Lord God hath heard thy
prayer, reach forth thy hand to
the child, and carry him, and by
that means thou shalt be restored.

26 Salome filled with exceeding
joy, went to the child, and said,
I will touch him.

27 And she purposed to worship
him, for she said, This is a great
king, which is born in Israel.

28 And straightway Salome was
cured.

29 Then the midwife went out
of the cave, being approved by God.

30 And lo! a voice came to Salome.
Declare not the strange things
which thou hast seen, till
the child shall come to Jerusalem.

31 So Salome also departed,
approved by God.

CHAPTER XV.

1 Wise men come from the east.
3 Herod alarmed;
8 desires them if they find the child to bring him word.
10 They visit the cave and offer the child their treasure,
11 and being warned in a dream, do not return to Herod,
but go home another way.

THEN Joseph was preparing to
go away, because there arose
a great disorder in Bethlehem by
the coming of some wise men
from the east,

2 Who said, Where is the King
of the Jews born? For we have
seen his star in the east, and are
come to worship him.

3 When Herod heard this, he
was exceedingly troubled, and sent
messengers to the wise men, and
to the priests, and enquired of
them in the town-hall,

4 And said unto them, Where
have you it written concerning
Christ the king, or where should
he be born?

5 Then they say unto him, In
Bethlehem of Judaea; for thus it
is written: And thou Bethlehem in
the land of Judah, art not the least
among the princes of Judah, for
out of thee shall come a ruler,
who shall rule my people Israel.

6 And having sent away the
chief priests, he enquired of the
wise men in the town-hall, and
said unto them, What sign was it
ye saw concerning the king that is
born?

7 They answered him, We saw
an extraordinary large star shining
among the stars of heaven, and so
out-shined all the other stars, as
that they became not visible, and
we knew thereby that a great king
was born in Israel, and therefore
we are come to worship him.

8 Then said Herod to them, Go
and make diligent inquiry; and if
ye find the child, bring me word
again, that I may come and worship
him also.

9 So the wise men went forth,
and behold, the star which they
saw in the east went before them,
till it came and stood over the cave
where the young child was with
Mary his mother.

10 Then they brought forth out
of their treasures, and offered unto
him gold and frankincense, and
myrrh.

11 And being warned in a dream
by an angel, that they should not
return to Herod through Judaea,
they departed into their own country
by another way.

CHAPTER XVI.

1 Herod enraged, orders the infants in Bethlehem to be slain.
2 Mary puts her infant in an ox-manger.
3 Elizabeth flees with her son John to the mountains.
6 A mountain miraculously divides and receives them.
9 Herod incensed at the escape of John, causes Zacharias
to be murdered at the altar.
23 The roofs of the temple rent, the body miraculously
conveyed, and the blood petrified.
25 Israel mourns for him.
27 Simeon chosen his successor by lot.

THEN Herod perceiving that
he was mocked by the wise
men, and being very angry,
commanded certain men to go and
to kill all the children that were
in Bethlehem, from two years old
and under.

2 But Mary hearing that the
children were to be killed, being
under much fear, took the child,
and wrapped him up in swaddling
clothes, and laid him in an ox-
manger, because there was no
room for them in the inn.

3 Elizabeth also, hearing that
her son John was about to be
searched for, took him and went
up unto the mountains, and looked
around for a place to hide him;

4 And there was no secret place
to be found.

5 Then she groaned within herself,
and said, O mountain of the Lord,
receive the mother with the child.

6 For Elizabeth could not climb up,

7 And instantly the mountain
was divided and received them.

8 And there appeared to them
an angel of the Lord to preserve
them.

9 But Herod made search after
John, and sent servants to Zacharias,
when he was (ministering) at the altar,
and said unto him, Where hast thou hid
thy son?

10 He replied, to them, I am a
minister of God, and a servant at
the altar: how should I know
where my son is?

11 So the servants went back,
and told Herod the whole; at
which he was incensed, and said,
Is not this son of his like to be
king of Israel?

12 He sent therefore again his
servants to Zacharias, saying, Tell
us the truth, where is thy son, for
you know that your life is in my
hand.

13 So the servants went and told
him all this:

14 But Zacharias replied to
them, I am a martyr for God, and
if ye shed my blood, the Lord will
receive my soul.

15 Besides know that ye shed
innocent blood.

16 However Zacharias was murdered
in the entrance of the temple
said altar, and about the partition;

17 But the children of Israel
knew not when he want killed.

18 Then at the hour of salutation
the priests went into the temple
but Zacharias did not according
to custom, meet them and bless them.

19 Yet they still continued
waiting for him to salute them;

20 And when they found he did
not in a long time come, one of
them ventured into the holy place
where the altar was, and he saw
blood lying upon the ground
congealed:

21 When, behold, a voice from
heaven said, Zacharias is murdered,
and his blood shall not be
wiped away, until the revenger
of his blood come.

22 But when he heard this, he
was afraid; and went forth and told
the priests what he had seen and
heard; and they all went in, and
saw the fact.

23 Then the roofs of the temple
howled, and were rent from the
top to the bottom:

24 And they could not find the
body, but only blood made hard
like stone.

25 And they went away, and
told the people, that Zacharias
was murdered, and all the tribes
of Israel heard thereof, and mourned
for him, and lamented three days:

26 Then the priests took
council together concerning
a person to succeed him.

27 And Simeon and the other
priests cast lots, and the lot fell
upon Simeon.

28 For he had been assured by
the Holy Spirit, that he should not
die, till he had seen Christ come in
the flesh.

(I James wrote this History in Jerusalem: and when the disturbance
was I retired into a desert place, until the death of Herod, and the
disturbances ceased at Jerusalem. That which remains is, that I
glorify God that he hath given me such wisdom to write unto you who
are spiritual, and who love God: to whom (be ascribed) glory and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen.)

THE PROTEVANGELION.
Note on the death of Zacharias in Chap. 16.

There is a story both in the Jerusalem and Babylonish Talmud very similar
to this. It is cited by Dr. Lightfoot, Talmud, Hierosol, in Taanith, fol.
69; and Talmud. Babyl. in Sanhedr., fol. 96. "O Rabbi Jochanan said,
Eighty thousand priests were slain for the blood of Zacharias. Rabbi
Judas asked Rabbi Achan, Where did they kill Zacharias? Was it in the
woman's court, or in the court of Israel? He answered, Neither in the
court of Israel, nor in the court of women, but in the court of the
priests; and they did not treat his blood in the same manner as they were
wont to treat the blood of a ram or young goat. For of these it is
written, He shall pour out his blood, and cover it with dust. But it is
written here, The blood is in the midst of her: she set it upon the top
of a rock; she poured it not upon the ground. (Ezek. xxiv. 7.) But why
was this? That it might cause fury to come up to take vengeance: I have
set his blood upon the top of a rock, that it should not be covered.
They committed seven evils that day: they murdered a priest, a prophet,
and a king; they shed the blood of the innocent; they polluted the court:
that day was the Sabbath: and the day of expiation. When therefore
Nebuzaradan came there (viz. to Jerusalem,) he saw his blood bubbling,
and said to them, What meaneth this? They answered, It is the blood of
calves, lambs, and rams, which we have offered upon the altar. He
commanded then, that they should bring calves, and lambs, and rams, and
said I will try whether this be their blood: accordingly they brought
and slew them, but the blood of Zacharias still bubbled, but the blood of
these did not bubble. Then he said, Declare to me the truth of this
matter, or else I will comb your flesh with iron combs. Then said they to
him, He was a priest, prophet, and judge, who prophesied to Israel all
these calamities which we have suffered from you; but we arose against
him, and slew him. Then, said he, I will appease him; then he took the
rabbis and slew them upon his (viz. Zacharias's) blood, and he was not
yet appeased. Next he took the young boys from the schools, and slew them
upon his blood; and yet it bubbled. Then he brought the young priests and
slew them in the same place, and yet it still bubbled. So he slew at
length ninety-four thousand persons upon his blood, and it did not as yet
cease bubbling; then he drew near to it, and said, O Zacharias,
Zacharias, thou halt occasioned the death of the chief of thy
countrymen, shall I slay them all? then the blood ceased, and did bubble
no more."

REFERENCES TO THE PROTEVANGELION.

[This Gospel is ascribed to James. The allusions to it in the ancient
Fathers are frequent, and their expressions indicate that it had
obtained a very general credit in the Christian world. The controversies
founded upon it chiefly relate to the age of Joseph at the birth of
Christ, and to his being a widower with children, before his marriage
with the Virgin. It seems material to remark, that the legends of the
latter ages affirm the virginity of Joseph, notwithstanding Epiphanius,
Hilary, Chrysostom, Cyril, Euthymius, Thephylaet, Occumenius, and indeed
all the Latin Fathers till Ambrose, and the Greek Fathers afterwards,
maintain the opinions of Joseph's age and family, founded upon their
belief in the authenticity of this book. It is supposed to have been
originally composed in Hebrew. Postellus brought the MS. of this Gospel
from the Levant, translated it into Latin, and sent it to Oporimus,
a printer at Basil, where Bibliander, a Protestant Divine, and the
Professor of Divinity at Zurich, caused it to be printed in 1552.
Postellus asserts that it was publicly read as canonical in the eastern
churches they making no doubt that James was the author, of it. It is,
nevertheless considered apocryphal by some of the most learned divines in
the Protestant and Catholic churches.]