1 And an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph, and said to him, Arise, and take Jesus and his mother, and flees to Egypt, because Herod is looking for the child, to kill him. And, in fact, there was no shortage of people who went to inform the king about Jesus, declaring to him that he was still alive.
2 And Joseph, rising quickly, took the child and Mary, and set out as a fugitive to Ascogon, which was called Ashkelon. , a city located on the seashore, and from there to Hebron, where they resided in hiding for half a year. Jesus was one and three months old, and he was already walking on his feet. And he went with his toys to lie down in her mother’s bosom, and she, in a transport of tenderness, lifted him up in her arms, lavished him with her caresses, and praised God, thanking him.
3 But then some people from the city went to warn Herod in these terms: The child Jesus lives, and is currently located in Hebron. And Herod sent a courier to the leaders of the city, expressly ordering them to seize Jesus by cunning and kill him. When Joseph and Mary learned this, they prepared to leave Hebron and go to Egypt. And, secretly abandoning the city as fugitives, they continued on their route. And they traveled through numerous stages and, at the places where they stopped, Jesus took water from the fountains and gave them to drink. Finally, they entered Egyptian land, through the plain of Tanis, and went to a city called Polpai, where they lived for six months. And Jesus was already over two years old.
4 And leaving there, they came, near the borders of Egypt, to a city called Cairo, and they lived in a great castle of the royal residence, a building covered, in a vast space, by palaces and fortresses. It was a magnificent castle, very lofty, splendidly adorned and decorated with great variety, which Alexander of Macedon had once built, in the days of his greatest power. And they remained there for four months, until the time when the baby Jesus reached the age of two years and four months.
5 And Jesus went outside to walk with the children and toddlers, play with them and mix in their conversations. . And he took them to the high places of the castle, to the skylights and the windows, where the sun’s rays passed, and he asked them: Which of you could wrap his arms around a ray of light, and let himself slide from here below, without doing the slightest harm? And Jesus said: Look, all of you, and see. And, embracing the rays of the sun, formed by tiny dust, which, since dawn, passed through the windows, he descended to the ground, without suffering any harm. Seeing this, the children and the other people who were there went to the city to tell about the miracle performed by Jesus. And those who heard the story of such a spectacle were amazed with astonishment. But when Joseph and Mary heard about it, they were afraid and left the city because of the child, so that no one would know him. And they went out stealthily at night, taking Jesus with them, and fled from those places.
6 And they came to the city of Mesrin, where a multitude of people had gathered, and it was a very large population. and surrounded by high walls. In the poi neighborhood where they entered, magical statues had been erected. When one passed through the first gate, one saw on each side a magical statue, which the kings and philosophers had placed at each of the gates of the city, so that it would suspend in admiration all those who entered and left. And whenever the enemy threatened the country with danger or harm, all those statues let out the same cry, which echoed throughout the entire city. And those who heard the voice of the numerous statues recognized that cry and understood that something disastrous was going to happen in the country. At the first gate of the wall, two iron eagles were placed, with copper claws, a male on the right, and another female on the left. In the second door, animals of prey were seen carved in clay and baked earth, on one side a bear, on the other a lion, and other ferocious beasts, represented in stone and wood. At the third door, there was a copper horse and, above it, the copper statue of a king, who held an eagle also made of copper in his hand.
7 And, when Jesus crossed the door, suddenly all the statues began to shout loudly and in chorus. And all the other inanimate statues of the false gods shouted loudly and the idols of the temples screamed, as if the entire city were breaking at its foundations and as if, in the midst of terrors and fears, life became impossible for them. the men. And, at the same moment, while the eagles gave loud cries, the lion roared, the horse neighed, and the copper king cried with a loud voice: Listen, all you who are here, and be warned, because a monarch, son of the great king, approaches our city with a numerous army.
8 Upon hearing this, all the people, formed in battalions, ran headlong in arms toward the wall. And they looked everywhere and saw nothing. And, as they began to reflect, they said to themselves in amazement: What sonorous voice is that that has questioned us? Who has seen that a king’s son has entered our city? Then they scattered everywhere, and discovered nothing, except that, in a house, they found Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. And they stopped Joseph, placing him in the middle of the public square, and asked him: What nation are you from, old man, and where have you come from? Joseph answered: I am from the land of Judea, and I come from the city of Jerusalem. And they insisted: Tell us the truth. When did you get here?
9 José answered: I have arrived three days ago. And they asked: And, by the route you have followed, have you not seen a prince, the son of a king, advancing against this country with his troops? José replied: I haven’t seen it. They said to him: But how did you travel such a long road without water? Joseph said: Sometimes I went alone, and other times I followed the child and his mother. And the crowd said to him: We understand that you are a poor old stranger and a trustworthy and trustworthy man. We would only like to inform ourselves, and know the truth. Do not censure us, because we have witnessed a prodigy today, which has left us in the greatest stupor. And having thus spoken, they sent Joseph away and departed.
10 And it came to pass that Joseph, arriving in another city of Egypt, lodged near an idolatrous temple, consecrated to Apollo, and remained there several days. And one of them, Jesus, carefully considered the palace of idols, which, because of its height and length, was like a small city. And Jesus said to his mother: Answer me what I am going to ask you. Mary said to him: Speak, my son: What do you want? Jesus said: What is this construction so high and whose extension is so considerable? Mary said: It is the temple of idols, dedicated to the worship of illegitimate altars and to the image of the false god Apollo. Jesus said: I am going to see what it looks like and what it is like. Mary said: If you want to go to him, be careful, so that no harm will happen to you.
11 And Jesus went that way and entered the temple of the idols. And he looked at everything around him and considered the splendor of the building, full of drawings and reliefs of varied decoration. And he admired him very much, and he left quickly. Once again the magical statues of the city began to howl, like the first time, and exclaimed: Listen, everyone present! Behold, the son of the great king has entered the temple of Apollo. Upon hearing this, the entire population rushed towards the indicated place. And the people questioned each other, saying: What voice raised that cry that was addressed to us? And they went through the city, and found no one but only Jesus. And they asked him: Child, whose son are you? Jesus answered: I am the son of an old man with white hair, poor and a stranger in this country. What do you want from me? And they let him go, and passed on.
12 The citizens questioned each other, saying: What does this new prodigy that we are witnesses mean? We distinctly hear a voice shouting, and we do not understand what it announces. It is to be feared that a disaster will suddenly befall us where we least suspect. And when those people had spoken thus, the whole city was perplexed and filled with anxiety. As for Jesus, he marched silently to his shelter, and sang everything he had heard said in the street. And Mary and Joseph were greatly surprised and astonished.
13 And Jesus was then three years and four months. And, as the new year approached, a feast day of Apollo was celebrated. The entire crowd gathered at the doors of the temple of the idols with numerous gifts and presents to offer in sacrifice to the great animal gods and all kinds of quadrupeds. And they prepared a long table covered with belongings, to eat and drink. And all the multitude of the people who had arrived stood at the gates. And the false priests celebrated the festival, to honor the idol of Apollo. And Jesus, having come, entered secretly and sat down. All the priests were gathered and, with them, the temple servants.
14 And the eagles and the fierce beasts, that is, the statues of these animals, when they saw Jesus enter the temple of the idols, they began to shout again and cried: Look, everyone! Behold, the son of the great king has entered the temple of Apollo. Upon hearing these words, the entire crowd that was there was seized with confusion and anger. And rushing at each other, they wanted to stab each other. And they asked themselves: What will we do with that old man? Because all these wonders have occurred since he arrived in our city. And could the child be a king’s son, whom he stole, and with whom he fled to our country? Hey, let’s seize him and kill him.
15 And, while they gave themselves over to these homicidal thoughts, Jesus continued sitting in the temple of Apollo. And he carefully considered that image encrusted in gold and silver, above which it was written: This is Apollo, the god creator of heaven and earth, and the one who has given life to the entire human race. When Jesus saw this, his soul was indignant, and lifting up his eyes to heaven, he said, Father, glorify your son, that your son may glorify you. And behold, a voice came out of heaven, saying, I have glorified him, and I will glorify him again.
16 And, at the same moment that Jesus spoke, the ground shook, and the entire structure of the temple collapsed from up to down. And the idol of Apollo, the priests of the sanctuary and the pontiffs of the false gods, were buried inside the building, and perished. The rest of the population that was there fled from that place. All the idols and all the altars of demons that were in the city fell into ruins. And all the religious buildings and all the magical statues that surrounded the city, inanimate images of men, beasts and animals, fell to the ground with great destruction. Then the demons cried out, and said: Look, all of you, and have pity on us, because a very small child has destroyed us, being what we are, ruining our dwelling, exterminating our servants, and causing them to perish with a bad death. So seize him and kill him without mercy.
17 Hearing this complaint and lamentation of the demons, and at the sound of their cry, all the multitude of the The people of the city rushed together towards the site of the ruined temple and, with great demonstrations of mourning, each one mourned their dead. And Jesus went in silence to his house and sat down in a corner. And those people, having seized Joseph, brought him before the court, and asked him: What does this disaster mean, which has been brewing in us, since before you told us what you had seen and heard on your way? However, you have kept this quiet and hidden it from us. Let us, therefore, perish with a bad death, you, your son, and the woman who accompanies you, since, by your betrayal, you have caused the loss of this city. Tell us where your son is, and show him to us, so that we may see him who has destroyed our gods, overwhelmed the ministers of our cult, buried our priests under the rubble of the temple, and caused so many premature deaths. And you will not escape from our hands until you have returned us to our relatives and our neighbors.
18 And they uttered many other invectives of this kind against him. However, Mary fell at the feet of Jesus and, crying, she invoked him, and she said: Jesus, my son, listen to your servant. Do not be angry with us like this, and do not riot in this city, lest, out of hatred, they arrest us and make us perish with a bad death. Jesus replied: Oh my mother, you do not know what you are saying. All the troops of the heavenly army of the angelic spirits tremble and tremble with fear before the glorious power of my divinity, which has granted the gift of life to all animate beings. And he, Sadaiel, my enemy and that of my creatures, made in my image and likeness, dares, following my example, to take the name of God and receive the worship and adorations of the human race.
19 And Mary begged Jesus: My son, even if what you say is true, I beg you to listen to me and , through the intercession of your mother and servant, resurrect those dead, whose loss you have caused. And everyone who sees the miracle you do will believe in your name. Because you well know the numerous torments with which they afflict that old man, which they have stopped because of you. And Jesus answered: My mother, do not afflict me in such a way, because the time has not yet come for me to do that. But Mary insisted: Again I beg you to listen to me, my son. Consider our anguish and our situation, since, because of you, emigrants and exiles, we wander, as strangers in a foreign country. And Jesus said: In consideration of your prayer, I will do what you ask of me, so that these people may recognize that I am a son of God.
20 And after he had spoken thus. Jesus got up and went through the crowd of people. And when those present saw that child of such a tender age, for he was only three years and four months old, they said to one another: Is this the one who has torn down the temple of idols, and shattered the statue of Apollo? Some answered: this is it. And, upon hearing this, everyone admired, with astonishment, the prodigious work that he had accomplished. And they looked at him intently, wondering: What is he going to do? And Jesus, again indignant in his soul, advanced over the corpses and, taking dust from the ground, poured it on them, and cried with a loud voice: I command you all, priests, who lie here, mortally wounded by the disaster that has overwhelmed you, that you get up immediately and go outside.
21 And at the same moment that he pronounced these words, the place where the deceased were found suddenly shook. And the dust rose, causing the stones to swirl, and about one hundred and eighty-two people rose from the dead and stood on their feet. But other ministers and archpriests of Apollo, numbering one hundred and nine, did not rise. And fear and terror seized the whole world and, possessed of panic, they said: This, and not Apollo, is the God of heaven and earth, who gives life to the entire human race. And all the priests raised from the dead went to prostrate themselves before him, and confessed his faults, and said: Truly, this is the son of God and the savior of the world, who has come to give us life. And the noise of his miracles spread throughout the whole region, and those who heard about him came from afar in great numbers to see him. And, because of his very young age, they were even more amazed.
22 Afterwards, the entire assembled crowd fell at Jesus’ feet, and begged him to also rise from the dead to those who had been servants of the temple. But Jesus did not want to do it. And, bringing Joseph before the gathered multitude, they implored, and said: Forgive us the sins that we have committed against you, and pray your son to raise the dead that were in the temple. And Joseph said: Make me laugh at this, because I cannot violate it. But if he wants to act spontaneously, let the will of the Lord, who has power over everything, be done.
23 And there came a man of great family, who went and prostrated himself before Jesus and Joseph, saying, I beseech you, come to your servant’s house and, once you enter under my roof, stay there as long as you please. And he took them to his dwelling, and all the people of the city went to visit Jesus, and he served them from his estates with great sympathy. And those who were tormented by unclean spirits, by demons, or by their illnesses, knelt before Jesus, and he healed them. And there was great joy in that city, and the people of the surrounding country, knowing all this, glorified God with a loud voice.
24 And Joseph remained in that city for a long time, in the mansion of a prince, who was of the Hebrew race. Eleazar was named and had a son, named Lazarus, and two daughters, named Martha and Mary. And he welcomed Joseph and his people with great consideration and deference. And Joseph prolonged his stay there and sang to Eléazar of all the treatment that the children of Israel had subjected him to: oppression, persecution, humiliation, and to top it off, the exile in which they found themselves. And when Eléazar heard these things he was filled with sadness. Joseph said to him: Blessed are you, for having received us with good will, for having sustained us, and for having done us all the good possible, since we have been here. Eléazar said to Joseph: Venerable old man, establish your residence in this locality, and do not doubt that later you will find rest and the cessation of your anguish.
25 And, after having spoken thus, they both felt possessed of a serene and cordial joy. And the prince revealed to his guest: I also am from the land of Judea and the city of Jerusalem. And I have suffered many sorrows and many afflictions, because of my enemies. I have been plundered and deprived of all my possessions, and, for fear of the impious Herod, I have expatriated myself, and I have come to this place with my family and with my companions. I have been in this city for fifteen years, and I have not suffered any violence from its inhabitants, on the contrary, I have found sympathy, benevolence and respect. Do not fear anyone, and establish your stay in the place that seems best to you, until the moment when the Lord visits you, and takes into account your great age. Then you will return to the land of Judea, and your soul will live by hope in the Lord.
26 Having said these words, they remained silent. And the holy family remained three full months in that town. Joseph and Eléazar treated each other like two brothers, united by mutual affection and kindness. Martha and Mary received the Virgin and the child into their home, with perfect charity, as if they had only had one heart and one soul. Martha especially cared for her brother Lazarus, and Mary, who was the same age as Jesus, caressed him, as if he were her own brother.
27 And Jesus, seeing all that had happened, was indignant in his spirit, and said to his mother: My spirit is troubled by what I have done in this city. Because I did not want to reveal myself, so that no one would know me, and behold, I heard your supplications, and I fulfilled your will. And the Virgin replied: Why do you reproach me, my son? Truly, you have caused the ruin of idols, and you have freed us all from perdition and death, and this is what I had prayed to you. From now on, let your will be fulfilled, whatever you decide or decide to do.
28 And the next night the angel of the Lord said to Joseph in a vision: Arise, and take to Jesus and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, because those who sought the death of the child are dead. And Joseph, waking up from his dream, told Mary of the vision, and they both rejoiced greatly. But, a few days later, hearing that Archelaus reigned in Judea in place of his father Herod, she was afraid to go there. And getting up in the night, he took Jesus and his mother and set out south toward the foot of Mount Sinai, through the desert of Horeb, near the territory where the people of Israel had once settled and there was dwelled.