Section 58
Thus spoke King Shəlomah. And the King rose up in wrath and set out to pursue [the men of Ethiopia]. And wdien the King, and his nobles, and his mighty men of war rose up (i.e. had set out), the elders of Yisra'el, and the widows, and the virgins gathered together in the house of Elohim, and they wept for Tsiyon, for the Tabot of the Torah of Elohim had been taken away from them. Now after Tsadoq had remained [senseless] for a season, his heart returned to him. And then the King commanded that the soldiers should go forth on the right hand and on the left, on the chance that some of the [fugitives] might turn aside through fear of the theft. And the King himself rose up and followed the track of the road of the men of Ethiopia, and he sent out mounted horsemen, so that they might [ride on before him and] find out where they were, and might return and bring him news [of them]. And the horsemen journeyed on and came to the country of Mesr (Mitsrayim), where the men of Ethiopia had encamped with their king, and where they had made peace with Tsiyon, and they rejoiced. And the soldiers of King Shəlomah questioned the people, and the men of the country of Mitsrayim said to them, “ Some days ago certain men of Ethiopia passed here; and they travelled swiftly in wagons, like the Malakim, and they were swifter than the eagles of the heavens.” And the King’s soldiers said to them, “ How many days ago is it since they left you? ” And the men of Mitsrayim said to them, “ This day is the ninth day since they left us.” And some of the King’s horsemen who returned said to King Shəlomah, “ Nine days have passed since they left Mitsrayim. 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 you. Bethink thyself, O King, I beseech you. On the second day they went forth from you, and they arrived on the third day at the river Takkazi [of] the land of Mesr (Mitsrayim). And we being sent forth by you from Yerushalayim, arrived on the day of the Sabbath. And we came back to you to-day [which is] the fourth day of the week. Consider in your wisdom the distance which those men traversed.” And the King was wroth and said, “ Seize the five of them, until we find out the truth of their words.” And the King and his soldiers marched quickly, and they came to Gaza. And the King asked the people, saying, “ When did my son leave you? ” And they answered and said to him, “ He left us three days ago. And having loaded their wagons none of them travelled on the ground, but in wagons that were suspended in the air; and they were swifter than the eagles that are in the sky, and all their baggage travelled with them in wagons above the winds. As for us, we thought that you hadst, in your wisdom, made them to travel in wagons above the winds.” And the King said to them, “ Was Tsiyon, the Tabot of the Torah of Elohim, with them? ” And they said to him, “ We did not see anything.”