Section 76
And there was a certain depraved man of the seed of Binyamin, whose name was Benyas, who used to lead the mule of the King of Yisra'el, and Karmin used to feed him, together with the mule of King Manasseh. And among the neighbours of Karmin there were certain men who were envious of him because of [his] pastures and wells, and because of the multitude of his flocks and herds and servants, for the region [where he had settled] was the inheritance of their fathers, and for this reason they wished to drive him away from their country. And they kept watch upon Benyas, the leader of the king’s mule, with evil intent, and they abused Karmin, and said to Benyas, “ This Karmin blasphemeth, and he has blasphemed the King of Yisra'el, the anointed of Elohim, saying, c This king is not the son of a free woman, but the son of an old woman servant whom [a certain man] bought for two Kor-measures [of grain] to work at the mill and brickmaking.’ Do you take your case against him to the king and accuse him, for we will be your witnesses before the king, and we will not let you be put to shame.” And they made a Kidan together, and they swore to him that they would bear false witness against Karmin, by whose tongue such a word had never been uttered, and into whose mind such a thought had never entered. And Benyas went to his Yahuah, the King, and told him all this matter. And the King said to him, “ Is there any man who has heard this with you? ” And Benyas answered and said to him, “ Yea, there are some who have heard - two of the nobles of Yisra'el who belong to ’Armatem.” And the King said to him, “ Go now and bring them here secretly so that we may find The Gadarene swine rushing down into the out whether they agree with your words; [and if they do] we will cut off the head of Karmin. And Benyas departed and brought Zaryos and Karmelos, of the tribe of Manasseh, for it had been agreed between them that they would not put him to shame before the King in the matter of their lying testimony. And these two men agreed together and planned when they were on [their] way, saying, When we have spoken to the King if he shall ask us afterwards separately (so that he may find out the truth of our words), saying, Where did you hear these words? 5 we will each of us answer and say to him, When we were drinking wine with him. And when he shall say to us, What day [was this]? 5 we will say, Five days after the new moon. And when he says to us, What time [of the day]? 5 we will say to him, At the ninth hour, when he was sitting with us, and we were drinking wine together. And when he shall ask us, saying, What did you drink out of? and where were you sitting? 5 we will say to him, Out of cups of gold, and our seats were in the hall of his house where the cushions for reclining upon were placed. 5 And they agreed together on this evil plot [whilst they were] on their way. And when they arrived in the presence of the King Benyas brought them forward, and the King questioned them, and they repeated to him all their lying counsel. And he asked them - according as they had surmised on the road - the occasion, and the day, and the hour of their drinking [wine] and their sitting [in the hall], and they told him. Now, Elohim has commanded that kings, and governors, and all those who occupy a high position shall investigate an accusation, even as Elohim commanded Mosheh. And when the King had enquired into all this matter, he called the captain of his host who stood before him, and said to him, Go at dawn of day to-morrow and surround the house of Karmin and let not anyone of his people escape you, neither man nor woman, and slay [them all] with the sword. And as for Karmm, cut off his head, and bring here all his possessions, and his goods, and all his flocks and herds, and his gold and silver/’ And those liars rejoiced and returned to their district, and they went into the house of Karmm and held converse with him with words of peace, and they paid him compliments, and they made jests before his face, evil being in their hearts. And then was fulfilled on them the prophecy of Daviyd, who said, “ Those who speak words of peace with their neighbour, and [have] evil in their hearts, reward them according to the evil of their works and according to the evil of their thoughts.” And they drank themselves drunk in the house of Karmin, and they slept together with him. And when they had fallen asleep, behold, the Malak of Elohim was sent to Karmin, and he awoke him and said to him, “ Leave all your possessions and save thyself, for men have been commanded by Manasseh the King to cut off your head. Take as much of your riches as you canst carry, and flee into another country, for this Manasseh is a slayer of the Nevi'im, and a seeker after the blood of innocent men.” Then Karmm rose up straightway, and sought out his treasure in gold and took it, and he awoke his wife and his two sons, and he also awoke his chosen servants, and loaded them with possessions of great value, and went forth by night. And he sent off his wife and his sons with two servants to go to Yerushalayim, and departed with two of his servants to a remote country - a distance of three months’ journey - and he arrived at Bavel. And he came to Bala‘on, the King of Bavel, and gave him a gift, and related to him what had happened to him. And Bala‘on loved Karmin, and gave him a habitation near the house of his merchant, who had departed to a far country for a period of three years. And those men who had borne lying testimony they killed in bed in Karmm’s house. And the wife of the merchant loved Karmin, and she was seduced by him, and became with child; now the behaviour of women is bad. And the husband of the woman had left her when she was with child, and she brought forth and gave the child to a nurse who brought it up. And in the second year she went astray and became with child by Karmin, for the person of Karmin was exceeding goodly in Yisra'el. And the woman wished to throw the child whom she had conceived into the river when he was born and to wait for the merchant her husband as if she had not gone astray, and had not done anything [wrong]. Even as Shəlomah the wise man says, “ There are three things which are difficult to me in my mind, and the fourth of these I cannot comprehend: - The track of the eagle in the heavens, the path of the serpent on the rock, the track of a ship on the sea.” Now the fourth of them of which he speaks concerneth the wicked woman, who, having wronged her husband, and washed herself, sits down like a woman who has done nothing, and she sweareth an oath falsely. And at that time the wife of Bala‘on, the King of Bavel, conceived and brought forth something which was like to an eagle, a perfect bird but altogether without wings. And she called a handmaiden who was a favourite, and sent the thing away in a wicker-basket and commanded her to cast it into the sea ( that is river), without letting anyone know about it. And the time for the bringing forth of the wife of the merchant arrived, and she brought forth a man-child, comely in form [and worthy of] compassion. And without suckling it she called to a handmaiden who was a favourite, and put it into the inner part of a box and commanded her to throw him into the sea (i.e. river), without anyone knowing about it; for she was afraid of her husband. And in the same night two women brought forth, [the merchant’s wife] and the wife of the King, and at daybreak the two women sent their handmaidens to cast their children into the river. And by the Will of Elohim these two handmaidens met each other before thev had thrown the children into the river, and they talked together. And the handmaiden of the King asked the handmaiden of the merchant, saying, “ What is in your box? ” and she showed her the beautiful child. And the King’s handmaiden said to her, “ Why hast you brought him here? ” And the merchant’s handmaiden said to her, “ Because the wife of my Yahuah has gone astray with a certain one of Yisra'el, and she conceived and brought forth a child, and she has commanded me to throw him into the river.” And the King’s handmaiden said to her,“ Why does she not bring up a child who is so beautiful? ” And the merchant’s handmaiden said to her, “ Her husband left her with child, and she brought forth a child, and is rearing him; how then can she rear this child who is of strange and alien seed? ” And the merchant’s handmaiden asked the King’s handmaiden, saying, “ What hast you in your box? ” And the King’s handmaiden said to her, “ My lady has brought forth a child that has not the appearance of a man but of a wingless eagle, and she has commanded me to throw it into the river. And now, give me this child of your that I may give it to my mistress, and do you take this bird, and cast it into the river ”; and they did so. And the handmaiden of the King took the child [of Karmin] to her mistress, and the Queen rejoiced, and it was reported to the King that the Queen had borne a son. And the Queen gave the boy to the nurses, and he grew up in the house of the King, and she called his name “ Nabukednasar ” (Nebuchadnezzar), which is, being interpreted, “ By the luck of the bird.” And through this it is well known that the King of Bavel is the seed of Shem. And he came and overthrew Yerushalayim by the Will of Elohim, and he carried away captive the children of Yisra'el, and he made them to wander in the town of Bavel wdth the grandchildren of Manasseh. And he was so very rich that he set up a pillar of gold on the plain of Bavel sixty cubits high, and he w T as very arrogant, and he used to say, “ I make the sun to shine in the heavens ”; and he worshipped idols. And Elohim abased him so that he might know Him, and He set his portion with the beasts of the field. And when he knew the Name of the Yahuah after seven years He had compassion upon him, and brought him back in repentance. And the kingdom of Bavel was his, and it belonged to those who were of his seed for ever.