This is what Caesar Augustus replied to Pontius Pilate, governor of the eastern province. Caesar himself added the sentence in his own handwriting and sent it to him by messenger Reab, to whom he also gave two thousand soldiers:
«Because you had the audacity to condemn Jesus of Nazareth to death in a violent and utterly wicked manner, and even before passing sentence of condemnation, you handed him over to the insatiable and furious Jews; because, furthermore, you had no compassion for this righteous man, but, after dyeing the reed and subjecting him to a horrible sentence and the torment of scourging, you handed him over, without any fault of his own, to the torment of crucifixion, not without first accepting gifts for his death; because, finally, you showed compassion with your lips, but with your heart you handed him over to lawless Jews—for all this, you yourself are going to be brought before me, loaded with chains, so that you may present your excuses and render an account of the life you have given up to death for no reason at all. But woe to your hardness and shamelessness! Since this has reached my ears, I have been in agony and feel as if my soul is being torn to pieces. For a woman has come to me who calls herself his disciple (she is Mary Magdalene, from whom, it is said, he cast out seven demons), and she testifies that Jesus performed miraculous cures, making the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, and cleansing lepers—and that he accomplished all these cures with his word alone. How could you consent to his being crucified for no reason at all? Because, if you were unwilling to accept him as God, you should at least have pitied him as a physician. Even the very crafty account that has reached me from you is demanding your punishment, since it affirms that he was superior to all the gods we worship. How could it be that he was handed over to death? For know that, just as you condemned him unjustly and ordered his death, in the same way I will execute you with justice; and not only you, but also all your advisors and accomplices, from whom you received the bribe of death.
The letter was then delivered to the messengers, and with it the decree in which Augustus had written that they should put the whole Jewish people to the sword, and that Pilate should be brought bound as a prisoner to Rome, and with him the chief Jews who were then governors: Archelaus the son of Herod, most hated, and his accomplice Philip; Caiaphas the high priest, and Annas his father-in-law; and all the chief Jews. So Rachaab went with the soldiers and did as she was commanded, putting all the Jewish males to the sword, but their unclean women were left to be raped by the Gentiles, and so abominable offspring sprang up, like the offspring of Satan. Then the messenger took charge of Pilate, Archelaus, Philip, Annas, Caiaphas, and all the leading Jews, and putting them in chains, he set out with them for Rome. Now it happened, as they passed by a certain island called Crete, that Caiaphas died a violent and miserable death. They took him up to bury him, but not even the earth would admit him to its bosom, but cast him out. When the many who were present saw this, they took stones in their hands and threw them on the body, thus burying him. The rest arrived at Rome.
There was a custom among ancient kings that if a man condemned to death looked upon the royal face, he was freed from his condemnation. Caesar, therefore, gave the necessary orders to hide himself from Pilate, so that he could not escape death. So they put him in a cave and left him there, in accordance with the emperor’s orders.
He also ordered Annas to be wrapped in an ox hide; and when the hide dried in the sun, he was oppressed by it, his entrails pouring out of his mouth, and he violently lost his miserable life. He executed the other Jewish prisoners by putting them to the sword. But Archelaus, the son of the most odious Herod, and his accomplice Philip he condemned to be impaled.
One day the emperor was out hunting and was pursuing a gazelle. As it passed through the mouth of the cave [where Pilate was], it stopped. Pilate was about to perish at the hands of Caesar, and he tried to fix his gaze on it; but, in order to bring about what was about to happen, the gazelle came and stood in front of him. Caesar then shot an arrow to bring down the animal, but the missile passed through the mouth of the cave and killed Pilate. [All who believe that Christ is the true God and our Savior, glorify him and magnify him, for to him belongs praise, honor, and worship with his Father without beginning and his consubstantial Spirit, now and forever and forever. Amen.]