1 And, rising early in the morning, they went to conquer the country of Moab, against Mambré, and they traveled through many stages on your route. And they came to a city of the Arabs called Malla gpir mtín, which means “great city of God.” When Jesus passed through the territory of the city, altars were found there. Next to the road, there was a mountain of great elevation, and on its top a temple, splendidly decorated with all kinds of images and dedicated to the worship of demons. And these, gathered near the road, deliberated among themselves, and said: We are well here, in our dwelling, and we are at rest. But we have heard that a poor old man’s son has appeared in the world, that he knows and discerns all our practices, and that he is a persecutor and an enemy of our race. With him on earth, what will become of us from now on?
2 Some demons said: How have you managed to know and know what it is? A demon said: You do not know what it is, but I know it, and I know it beforehand. The other demons said: If you know him, instruct us. The demon said: He is the same one who cast us down from the top of the heavens, our pristine mansion, and reduced us to perdition. And now he has come to earth, to expel us from the human race. The demons said: And how could you know what he will do? The demon said: I was in Egypt, in the temple of Apollo, when he completely destroyed the sacred building, pulverized the statues of the gods, and ruined everything from top to bottom. The demons said: Woe to us! If he comes here, what will happen to us?
3 And while they were deliberating among themselves in this way, they suddenly saw the child Jesus advancing. And, uttering a cry, they exclaimed in fear: Behold, the child Jesus is coming to the city! Let us leave this place, lest we leave our lives in his hands. And other demons warned: Let us raise a cry of alarm to the city. Maybe they will seize the child and kill him, so we will be left alone in our shelter. And having thus spoken, they spread out to various sides, and uttered this cry: Look, all of you, and listen! The son of a great king arrives, and heads towards this city with a large army. And upon hearing this, all the inhabitants of the town armed themselves, and assembled in combat order, and went to patrol everywhere, but they found nothing.
4 And, as Jesus entered through the city gate, all the temple buildings suddenly collapsed, collapsing into ruins, and not a single one left standing. As for the priests and the ministers of the cult, they were invaded by the madness of a demonic fury. And they beat themselves and cried with a loud voice: Wretched and unfortunate us, who have been expelled from our temples! Who is the author of this catastrophe? And that fact and the destruction of the city could not be explained.
5 Joseph stayed there for several days. And Jesus was then four years old. And, at this age, he was no longer confined to his house, but he went out with other children and took part in their conversations and games. And they willingly came to meet him and lent themselves to his slightest desires. Through his affectionate amenity, he brought them all into agreement with him, and thanks to the charm of his word, he became the leader and leader of all the children. And whatever he ordered them to do, they did it with pleasure. He did not allow anyone to abandon themselves to idleness and, if it happened that some hit and mistreated each other, Jesus would pass his hand over them, heal them, and exhort them all in a friendly way. And he reconciled the discontented and made them regain their good humor. However, if any cause of dispute arose between them, they went to their parents’ house and told Jesus the cause of the faults they had committed. Then the parents went in search of Jesus, and they did not find him. And they asked, saying, Where is he? And the children answered: We don’t know, because he is the son of an old foreigner, who resides here as a transient. And, upon this report, the parents returned to their respective homes.
6 And it happened one day that Jesus went to join the children, in the place where they used to gather. And, having started to play, they had fun, talked and argued with each other. Jesus admired his innocence. And while they were talking and having fun, it happened that they began to hit each other. And one of them emerged from the fray with a busted eye. And the child, uttering a cry, began to cry bitterly. But Jesus said to him: Do not cry, and get up without fear. And he approached him and, at the same instant, the light returned to his eyes, and he regained his sight. As for the other children who were there, they hurried to the city and told what Jesus had done. And those who heard them went to the place where he was to see him. But they did not find him, because Jesus had fled and was hidden from his sight.
7 Later, Jesus went one day to the place where the children had gathered, which was located in the height of a house, whose elevation was no less than a stone’s throw. One of the children, who was three years and four months old, was sleeping on the balustrade of the wall, at the edge of the eaves, and fell headlong to the ground from that height, breaking his skull. And his blood sprang with his brains on the stone and, at the same instant, his soul separated from his body. Faced with such a spectacle, the children who were there fled, terrified. And the inhabitants of the city, gathering in different places and shouting, said: Who caused the death of that little one, by throwing him from such a height? The children responded: We ignore it. And the boy’s parents, warned of what was happening, arrived at the sinister place and made great displays of mourning over the corpse of his son. Afterwards, they began to investigate, and try to find out who was the author of such a bad blow. And the children repeated with an oath: We ignore it.
8 But the parents answered: We do not believe what you say. Then, they rounded up the children by force, and took them to the court where they began to interrogate them, saying: Tell us about the murderer of our son and about his fall from such a high place. The children, under the threat of death, said to each other: What to do? We all know, from our mutual testimony, that we are innocent, and that no one is the cause of this catastrophe. And our sincere word is credited. Will we consent to being sentenced to death even though we are not guilty? One of them said: We are not, in fact, but we have no witness of our guilt, and our statements are judged to be lies. Let us, then, blame Jesus, since he was with us. He is not one of us, but a foreigner, the son of an elderly passer-by. He will be sentenced to death and we will be acquitted. And his companions shouted in chorus: Bravo! Well said!
9 Then the assembly of the people stopped the children, put the question to them, and said to them: Declare who is the author of such a bad blow and the cause of the premature death of this innocent child. And they answered, unanimously: He is a foreign boy, called Jesus and the son of a certain old man. And the judges ordered that he be summoned. But when they went in search of him, they did not find him, and, seizing Joseph, they brought him before the court, and said to him, Where is your son? Joseph replied: Why do you want it? And they answered together: Don’t you know what your son has done? He threw one of our children from the top of a house and killed him. Joseph said: By the life of the Lord, I know nothing of that.
10 And they brought Joseph before the judge, who asked him where he came from and what country he was from. To which Joseph replied: I come from Judea and am from the city of Jerusalem. The judge added: Tell us where your son is, who has cruelly killed one of our children. Joseph replied: Judge, do not incriminate me with such injustice, because I am not responsible for the blood of that creature. The judge said: If you are not responsible, why do you fear death? Joseph said: That child you are looking for is my son according to the spirit, not according to the flesh. If he wants, he has the power to answer you.
11 And Joseph had not yet finished speaking thus, when Jesus appeared before the people who had gone seek him and said to them: Whom are you looking for? They answered him: To the son of Joseph. Jesus said to them: I am. The judge then said to him: Tell me how you dealt such a bad blow. And Jesus replied: O judge, do not pronounce your judgment with such partiality, because it is a sin and an unreason that you do to your soul! But the judge answered him: I do not condemn you without reason, but with good right, since that boy’s companions, who were with you, have testified against you. Jesus replied: And who bears witness to them that they are sincere? The judge said: They have borne mutual testimony among themselves that they are innocent and you are worthy of death. Jesus said: If anyone else had borne witness in the matter, he would have merited faith. But the mutual testimony that they have given to each other does not count, because they have acted in this way out of fear of death, and you will pass sentence in a manner contrary to justice. The judge said: Who will bear witness on your behalf, since you are worthy of death? Jesus said: O judge, there is nothing what you think! They, and you too, as far as I can see, only consider that I am not your compatriot, but rather a foreigner and the son of a poor man. This is why they have cast upon me a testimony of mortal results. And you, to please them, assume that they are right, and you take it away from me.
12 The judge asked: What should I do then? Jesus answered: Do you want to act justly? Hears, from both sides, witnesses foreign to the matter and then the truth will be revealed, and the lie will appear exposed. The judge objected: I don’t understand what you’re talking about. I ask for testimony from you as well as from them. Jesus replied: If I testify of myself, will you believe me? The judge said: Whether you swear sincerely or deceitfully, I do not know. And the children cried out with a loud voice: We do know who he is, because he has exercised all kinds of humiliation and abuse on us and on the other children of the city. But we have done nothing. The judge said: You are noticing how many witnesses deny you, and you do not answer us. Jesus said: I have repeatedly answered your questions, and you have not believed my words. But now you are going to witness something that will plunge you into admiration and stupor. And the judge replied: Let’s see what you mean.
13 Then Jesus, coming to the dead man, cried with a loud voice, Abijah, son of Thamar, arise, open your eyes. , and tell us what was the cause of your death. And, at the same moment, the dead man sat up, as if coming out of a dream, and, sitting down, looked around him, recognized each one of those present, and called him by name. Whereupon, his parents took him in their arms, and pressed him against his chest, asking him: How are you feeling? What has happened to you? And the boy answered: Nothing. Jesus repeated: Tell us what was the cause of your death. And the child replied: Lord, you are not responsible for my blood, nor are the children who were with you. But these were afraid of death and they blamed you. In reality, I fell asleep, fell from the top of the house and killed myself.
14 The judge and the crowd of people, who saw this, exclaimed: Since such a small child has done such a prodigy , is not the son of a man, but is an incarnate god, who shows himself to the earth. And Jesus asked the judge: Do you already believe that I am innocent? But the judge, in his confusion, did not respond. And everyone marveled at the tender age of Jesus and the works he did. And those who heard about the miracles worked by him were filled with fear.
15 And the child remained alive for three hours, at the end of which Jesus said to him, Abijah, sleep. now, and rest until the day of. general resurrection. And as soon as he finished speaking like this, the boy bowed his head and fell asleep. At the sight of which the children, overcome with intense fear, began to tremble. And the judge and all the crowd fell at Jesus’ feet and begged him, saying, “Return that dead man to life.” But Jesus did not consent to this and replied to the judge: Unworthy magistrate and unfaithful interpreter of the laws, how do you intend to impose equity and justice on me, when you and this entire city, by common agreement, condemned me without reason, refused to give credit to my words, and did you consider the lies that they told you about me to be true? Since you have not listened to me, I will not heed your request either. And having said this, Jesus quickly left them and hid himself from their sight. And, no matter how hard they looked for him, they couldn’t find him. And, going to kneel before Joseph, they said to him: Where is Jesus, your son, that he may come to raise our dead? But José replied: I don’t know, because he circulates wherever he sees fit and without my permission.