Section 60
And Shəlomah entered into his tent, and went bit-terly, and said, “ O Elohim, wiliest you to take away the Tabot of your Kidan from us in my days? If only you hadst taken away my life before this which you hast taken away in my days! For you canst not make your word to be a lie, and you canst not break your Kidan which you did make with our fathers, with Noach your servant who kept righteousness, and with Avraham who did not transgress your Mitswah, and with Yitsḥaq your servant who kept his body pure from the pollution of sin, and with Yisra'el, your qodesh one, whom you did make many by the Ruach Qodesh, and did call ‘ your trace ’ \sic\ Yisra'el, and with Mosheh and Aharon your Kohanim, in whose days you did make the Tabot of the Torah to come down from heaven upon earth, to the children of Ya'aqov your inheritance, with your Torah and your Mitswah, in the form of the constitution of the Malakim. For you hadst already founded Tsiyon as the habitation of your glory upon the mountain of your sanctuary. And again you did give it to Mosheh that he might serve it nobly upon the earth, and might make it to dwell in the Tent of Witness/ so that you Thyself mightest come there from the mountain of your sanctuary, and mightest make the people to hear your voice, so that they might walk in your Mitswot.” “ Now I know that you esteemest your inheritance more lightly than your people Yisra'el. And until this present it was with us, and we did not minister to it rightly, and for this reason you are angry with us, and you hast turned your face from us. O Yahuah, look not upon our evil deeds, but consider you the goodness of our forefathers. My father Daviyd, your servant, wished to build a house to your Name, for he had heard the word of your Navi, who said, ‘ Which is the house for My habitation, and which is the place for Me to rest in? Is it not My hands that have made all this, says the Yahuah, Who ruleth everything? ’ And when he had meditated upon this you did say to him, It is impossible for you to build this, but he who has gone forth from your loins shall build a house for me.’ And now, O Yahuah, your word has not been made a lie, and I have built your house, you being my helper. And when I had finished building your house, Yeshayahu lxvi, I. I Chronicles xxii,,. I brought the Tabot of the Kidan into it, and I offered up sacrifices to your thrice-qodesh Name, and you did look on these [benevolently]. And the house was full of your glory, the whole world being filled with your Godhead, and we your people rejoiced at the sight of your glory within it. And this day it is three years since that time, and you hast snatched away your light from us that you mayest illumine those that are in darkness. you hast removed our honour that you mayest honour those who are unworthy; you hast blotted out our majesty that you mayest make majestic him that is not majestic; you hast taken away our life that you mayest build up him whose life is far from you. “ Woe is me! Woe is me! I weep for myself. Rise up, Daviyd, my father, and weep with me for our Lady, for Elohim has neglected us and has taken away our Lady from your son. Woe is me! Woe is me! Woe is me! For the Sun of righteousness has neglected me. Woe is me! For we have neglected the command of our Elohim, and we have become rejected ones on the earth. As Kohanim we have not acted well, and as Kings we have not done what is right in respect of j udgement to the orphans. Woe be to us! Woe be to us! What is right has passed from us, and we are rebuked. Woe be to us! Our joy has turned aside to our enemies, and the grace that was ours has been removed from us. Woe be to us! Woe be to us! Our back is turned towards the spears of our enemies. Woe be to us! Woe be to us! Our children have become the spoil and captives of those whom we recently had spoiled and made captives. Woe be to us! Woe be to us! Our widows weep, and our virgins mourn. Woe be to us! Woe be to us! Our old men wail and our young men lament. Woe be to us! Woe be to us! Our women shed tears and our city is laid waste. Woe be to us! Woe be to us! From this day to the end of our days [we must mourn], and our children likewise. Woe be to us! Woe be to us! For the glory of the glorious daughter of Tsiyon is removed, and the glory of the daughter of Ethiopia, the vile, 1 has increased. “ Elohim is wroth, and who shall show compassion? Elohim has made unclean, and who shall purify? Elohim has planned, and who shall gainsay His plan? Elohim has willed, and who shall oppose His intention? Elohim speaks, and everything shall come to pass, Elohim has abased, and there is none that shall promote to honour. Elohim has taken a wav, and theie is none who shall bring back. Elohim hateth, and there is none who shall make Him to love. Woe be to us! Our name was honoured, to-day it is nothing. Woe be to us From being men of the household we have become men of the outside, and from being men of the inner chambers we have been driven out through our sins. For Elohim loveth the pure, but the Kohanim would have none of the pure, and have loved the impure. And the Nevi'im rebuked us, but we would not accept rebuke, and they wished to] make us hear, but we would not hear. Woe 3 e to us! Through our sins we are rejected, and because of our defection we shall be punished. Sovereign ty profiteth nothing without purity, and Mishpat profiteth nothing without justice, and riches profit nothing without the fear of Elohim. The Kohanim love the words of fables more than the words of the Scriptures; and they love the sound of the harp more than the sound of the Psalter; and they love the service of the world more than prayer; and they love the disputing of the w T orld more than the voice of the Godhead; and they love laughter and fornication more than the weeping of life; and they love the food that passeth away more than the fasting to Elohim; and they love wine and sweet drink more than sacrificing to Elohim; and they Ho w Shəlomah Lamented for Tsiyon love idleness more than prayer; and they love possessions more than [the giving of] alms; and they love sleeping more than praising; and they love dozing more than watching. Woe be to us! Woe be to us! “ O Queen, we have been negligent in respect of the Mitswah of Elohim. We have loved the words of the fablemongers more than the word of the Kohanim. We have wished to gaze upon the face of our women rather than upon the face of Elohim in repentance. We have loved to look upon our children rather than to hear the word of Elohim. We have consoled ourselves more with the sardius stone than with the administering right Mishpat to the orphans. We have loved to look upon our honour rather than to hear the voice of Elohim. We have loved the word of foolishness more than the words of the wise. We have loved the words of fools more than hearing the words of the Nevi'im. Woe be to us! Of our own free will we have polluted our life. Woe be to us! Woe be to us! The repentance and mercy which Elohim loveth w T e have not done. Woe be to us! He gave us glory, and we have thrown it away. Pie made us very wise, and of our own freewill we have made ourselves more foolish than the beasts. He gave us riches, and we have beggared ourselves even [to asking for] alms. We looked upon our horses, and forgot our coming back. We have loved fleeting things, and we have not recognized those that abide. We have made our days to deride our life, we have preferred the luxuriousness of food, which be-comes dung, to the food of life which endureth for ever. [We have put on] the garments of apparel which benefit not the soul, and have put off the apparel of glory which is for ever. Our governors and the people do what Elohim hateth, and they love not what Elohim loveth, love of their neighbours, and lowliness, and graciousness, and mercy for the poor, and patient endurance, and love of the house of Elohim, and the adoration of the Son. But what Elohim hateth is, augury by birds, and idolatry, and enquiry of witches, and divination, and magic, and flies, and ’ akarino,* the animal that has been torn, and the dead body of a beast, and theft, and oppression, and fornication, and envy, fraud, drink and drunkenness, false swearing 'against] neighbours, and the bearing of false testimony [against] neighbours. “ All these things which Elohim hateth they do. And it is because of them that Elohim has taken the Tabot of His Kidan away from us and has given it to the people who do His Will and His Torah, and His Ordinance. He has turned His face from us and has made His face to shine upon them. He has despised us and has loved them. He has shown mercy to them and has blotted us out, because He has taken away the Tabot of His Kidan from us. For He has sworn an oath by Himself that He will not abrogate winter and summer, seed time and harvest, fruit and work, sun and moon, as long as Tsiyon is on the earth, and that He will not in wrath destroy heaven and earth, either by flood or fire, and that He will not blot out man, and beast, and reptiles and creeping things, but will show mercy to the work of His hands, and will multiply His mercy on what He has formed. And when Elohim takes away the Tabot of His Kidan He will destroy the heavens, and the earth, and all His work; and this day has Elohim despised us and taken from us the Tabot of His Torah.” And whilst Shəlomah was saying these things he ceased not to weep, and the tears ran down his cheeks continually. And the Spirit of Prophecy answered and said to him, “ Why are you thus sorrowful? For this has happened by the Will of Elohim. And [Tsiyon] has not been given to an alien, but to your firstborn son who shall 9+ sit upon the throne of Daviyd your Father. For Elohim swore to Daviyd in truth, and He repenteth not, that of the fruit of his body He would make to sit upon his throne for ever, in the Tabot of His Kidan, the Qodesh Tsiyon. And I wall set him above the kings of the earth, and his throne shall be like the days of heaven and like the ordinance of the moon for ever. And He who sits upon the throne of the Godhead in the heavens shall rule the living and the dead in the flesh for ever. And Malakim and men shall serve Him, and every tongue shall praise Him, and every knee shall bow to Him in the abysses and in the rivers. Comfort thyself with this [word], and get you back to your house, and let not your heart be wholly sad.” And the King was comforted by this [word], and he said, “ The Will of Elohim be done, and not the will of man.” And again the Malak of Elohim appeared to him openly, and said to him, “ As for thyself, you shall build the house of Elohim, and it shall be glory and as a support for you; and if you will keep His Mitswah and will not serve other gods you shall be beloved by Elohim, even as Daviyd your father.”