Author: Daniel
This history of Susanna, in all the ancient Greek and Latin Bibles, was placed in the beginning of the book of Daniel: till St. Jerome, in his translation, detached it from thence; because he did not find it in the Hebrew: which is also the case of the history of Bel and the Dragon. But both the one and the other are received by the Catholic Church: and were from the very beginning a part of the Christian Bible. (Bishop Challoner)
Due to the fact that we don’t posses a Hebrew or Aramaic original of the book of Susanna, there has been many who assume that it was written originally in Greek. But due to the Semitic idioms found in the Greek texts of Susanna, and even more convincingly the two different Greek texts themselves [Theodotian and Septuagint] which use similar grammar and content but use different vocabulary, this shows that they are translations themselves from an original Hebrew or Aramaic text. At the bottom of this page is a comparison between the Vulgate and the Old Greek Septuagint translated into English.
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Joakim marries Susanna
1 Now there was a man that dwelt in Babylon, and his name was Joakim: 2 And he took a wife, whose name was Susanna, the daughter of Helcias, a very beautiful woman, and one that feared God. 3 For her parents being just, had instructed their daughter according to the law of Moses. 4 Now Joakim was very rich, and had an orchard near his house: and the Jews resorted to him, because he was the most honourable of them all.
Two evil elders lust after Susanna
5 And there were two of the ancients of the people appointed judges that year, of whom the Lord said: That iniquity came out from Babylon, from the ancient judges, that seemed to govern the people. 6 These men frequented the house of Joakim, and all that hand any matters of judgment came to them. 7 And when the people departed away at noon, Susanna went in, and walked in her husband's orchard. 8 And the old men saw her going in every day, and walking: and they were inflamed with lust towards her: 9 And they perverted their own mind, and turned away their eyes, that they might not look unto heaven, nor remember just judgments. 10 So they were both wounded with the love of her, yet they did not make known their grief one to the other. 11 For they were ashamed to declare to one another their lust, being desirous to have to do with her: 12 And they watched carefully every day to see her. And one said to the other: 13 Let us now go home, for it is dinner time. So going out, they departed one from another. 14 And turning back again, they came both to the same place: and asking one another the cause, they acknowledged their lust: and then they agreed together upon a time, when they might find her alone.
The elders threaten Susanna
15 And it fell out, as they watched a fit day, she went in on a time, as yesterday and the day before, with two maids only, and was desirous to wash herself in the orchard: for it was hot weather. 16 And there was nobody there, but the two old men that had hid themselves, and were beholding her. 17 So she said to the maids: Bring me oil, and washing balls, and shut the doors of the orchard, that I may wash me. 18 And they did as she bade them: and they shut the doors of the orchard, and went out by a back door to fetch what she had commanded them, and they knew not that the elders were hid within. 19 Now when the maids had gone forth, the two elders arose, and ran to her, and said: 20 Behold the doors of the orchard are shut, and nobody sees us, and we are in love with you: wherefore consent to us, and lie with us. 21 But if you will not, we will bear witness against you, that a young man was with you, and therefore you sent away your maids from you.
Susanna cries out for help
22 Susanna sighed, and said: I am straitened on every side: for if I do this thing, it is death to me: and if I do it not, I shall not escape your hands. 23 But it is better for me to fall into your hands without doing it, than to sin in the sight of the Lord. 24 With that Susanna cried out with a loud voice: and the elders also cried out against her. 25 And one of them ran to the door of the orchard, and opened it. 26 So when the servants of the house heard the cry in the orchard, they rushed in by the back door, to see what was the matter. 27 But after the old men had spoken, the servants were greatly ashamed: for never had there been any such word said of Susanna. And on the next day,
The elders publicly accuse her of adultery
28 when the people had come to Joakim, her husband, the two elders also came full of wicked device against Susanna, to put her to death. 29 And they said before the people: Send to Susanna, daughter of Helcias, the wife of Joakim. And presently they sent. 30 And she came with her parents, and children and all her kindred. 31 Now Susanna was exceeding delicate, and beautiful to behold. 32 But those wicked men commanded that her face should be uncovered, (for she was covered) that so at least they might be satisfied with her beauty. 33 Therefore her friends, and all her acquaintance wept. 34 But the two elders rising up in the midst of the people, laid their hands upon her head. 35 And she weeping, looked up to heaven, for her heart had confidence in the Lord. 36 And the elders said: As we walked in the orchard alone, this woman came in with two maids, and shut the doors of the orchard, and sent away the maids from her. 37 Then a young man that was there hid came to her, and lay with her. 38 But we that were in a corner of the orchard, seeing this wickedness, ran up to them, and we saw them lie together. 39 And him indeed we could not take, because he was stronger than us, and opening the doors, he leaped out: 40 But having taken this woman, we asked who the young man was, but she would not tell us: of this thing we are witnesses. 41 The multitude believed them, as being the elders, and the judges of the people, and they condemned her to death.
The people condemn Susanna to death
42 Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said: O eternal God, who know hidden things, who know all things before they come to pass, 43 you know that they have borne false witness against me: and behold I must die, whereas I have done none of these things, which these men have maliciously forged against me. 44 And the Lord heard her voice.
Daniel challenges Susanna's sentence
45 And when she was led to be put to death, the Lord raised up the holy spirit of a young boy, whose name was Daniel: 46 And he cried out with a loud voice: I am clear from the blood of this woman. 47 Then all the people turning themselves towards him, said: What means this word that you have spoken? 48 But he standing in the midst of them, said: Are you so foolish, you children of Israel, that without examination or knowledge of the truth, you have condemned a daughter of Israel? 49 Return to judgment, for they have borne false witness against her.
Daniel proves that the elders lied
50 So all the people turned again in haste, and the old men said to him: Come, and sit down among us, and show it us: seeing God has given you the honour of old age. 51 And Daniel said to the people: Separate these two far from one another, and I will examine them. 52 So when they were put asunder one from the other, he called one of them, and said to him: O you that have grown old in evil days, now are your sins come out, which you have committed before: 53 In judging unjust judgments, oppressing the innocent, and letting the guilty to go free, whereas the Lord says: The innocent and the just you shall not kill. 54 Now then if you saw her, tell me under what tree you saw them conversing together: He said: Under a mastic tree. 55 And Daniel said: Well have you lied against your own head: for behold the angel of God having received the sentence of him, shall cut you in two. 56 And having put him aside, he commanded that the other should come, and he said to him: O you seed of Chanaan, and not of Juda, beauty has deceived you, and lust has perverted your heart: 57 Thus did you do to the daughters of Israel, and they for fear conversed with you: but a daughter of Juda would not abide your wickedness. 58 Now, therefore, tell me, under what tree did you take them conversing together. And he answered: Under a holm tree. 59 And Daniel said to him: Well have you also lied against your own head: for the angel of the Lord waits with a sword to cut you in two, and to destroy you.
The evil elders are executed
60 With that all the assembly cried out with a loud voice, and they blessed God, who saves them that trust in him. 61 And they rose up against the two elders, (for Daniel had convicted them of false witness by their own mouth) and they did to them as they had maliciously dealt against their neighbour, 62 to fulfil the law of Moses: and they put them to death, and innocent blood was saved in that day.
Susanna is freed and Daniel is honored
63 But Helcias, and his wife, praised God, for their daughter, Susanna, with Joakim, her husband, and all her kindred, because there was no dishonesty found in her. 64 And Daniel became great in the sight of the people from that day, and thence forward. 65 And King Astyages was gathered to his fathers; and Cyrus, the Persian, received his kingdom.
Commentary on Susanna
1-2 Joakim being a stranger in Babylon, obtains Susannah in marriage. And she was the daughter of Chelcias the priest 2kgs 22:8, who found the book of the law in the house of the Lord, when Josiah the king commanded him to purify the holy of holies. His brother was Jeremiah the prophet, who was carried, with the remnant that was left after the deportation of the people to Babylon, into Egypt, and dwelt in Taphnæ; and, while prophesying there, he was stoned to death by the people. (St. Hippolytus) In the Church there are three models of chastity that everyone must imitate: Joseph, Susanna, and Mary. May men imitate Joseph, women, Susanna and the virgin Mary. (St. Chromatius)
4 For how could those who were captives, and had been made subject to the Babylonians, meet together in the same place, as if they were their own masters? In this matter, therefore, we should observe that Nebuchadnezzar, after their deportation, treated them kindly, and permitted them to meet together, and do all things according to the law. (St. Hippolytus)
5 appointed judges that year: It is no uncommon thing, when great nations become subject, that the king should allow the captives to use their own laws and courts of justice. Probably the Babylonians contented themselves with holding them in |
subjection, and conceded to them their own judicial processes. There was a Jew who used to allege that these men were Ahab and Zedekiah, of whom Jeremiah wrote: "The Lord do to thee as Ahab and Zedekiah, whom the king of Babylon roasted in the fire because of the iniquity they had wrought in Israel and because they had committed adultery with the wives of their citizens" Jer. 29. (Origen) Iniquity came out from Babylon: And so the wretched people carry out what the leaders initiate. (First commentary on Mark)
8-9 They recklessly banished from their minds the fear of God and all thought of their advanced and fading years. The flame of habitual sexual desire brought them back to the exciting ardor of former youth, and they set snares for the unfortunate woman's integrity. (Novatian)
14 Now the power of God had the power to prevent them from gaining the mastery over her, but He permitted them to engage in the contest, in order that the crafty designs which they had devised in secret might be revealed, for then would be made manifest both the chastity of Susanna and the incontinence of the elders, and in this way women might find through the fortitude of Susanna a house of instruction in that which was good. (St. John Chrysostom) |
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22 Susanna sighed: To be sure we might interpret her distress as arising not from the prospect of death but from the disgrace which would be heaped upon her by those accusers. death: She speaks of sin as death. For just as in the case of one who commits adultery, the adultery means death, so also every sin which results in death is to be equated with death. And we believe we die as often as we sin unto death. And therefore on the other hand we rise again and are made alive just as often as we perform deeds which are worthy of life.
(St. Jerome)
23 For it is better to die by the hand of wicked men and live with God, than, by consenting to them, to be delivered from them and fall into the hands of God. (St. Hippolytus)
27 Even the servants of Susanna believed what the elders said against her. It seemed to them that it would be against their
religion not to believe the elders, even though the innocent and stainless life Susanna had led up to this point seemed to offer valid testimony to her chastity. (St. Augustine)
28 It frequently happens that two and more testify for mischief, and with joint consent prefer a lie; as did the two elders against Susanna in Babylon. (Apostolic Constitutions) For it is a great question, my brethren, and to me it certainly appears to have been ordained in a mystery, where God said, In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand. Is truth sought by two witnesses? Clearly it is; so is the custom of mankind: but yet it may be that even two witnesses lie. The chaste Susanna was pressed by two false witnesses: were they not therefore false because they were two? Do we speak of two or of three? A whole people lied against Christ. Luke 23:1 If, then, a people, consisting of a great multitude of men, was found a false witness, how is it to be understood that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand, unless it be that |
in this manner the Trinity is mysteriously set forth to us, in which is perpetual stability of truth? Do you wish to have a good cause? Have two or three witnesses,— the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. In short, when Susanna, the chaste woman and faithful wife, was pressed by two false witnesses, the Trinity supported her in her conscience and in secret: that Trinity raised up from secrecy one witness, Daniel, and convicted the two. (St. Augustine)
30 The Old Greek Septuagint version says that there were 500 servants and maids who arrived with her.
35 What then? Ought we to be silent? Certainly not. For: there is a time to keep silence and a time to speak. Ecclesiastes 3:7 If, then, we are to give account for an idle word, let us take care that we do not have to give it also for an idle silence. For there is also an active silence, such as Susanna's was, who did more by keeping silence than if she had spoken. For in keeping silence before men she spoke to God, and found no greater proof of her chastity than silence. Her conscience spoke where no word was heard, and she sought no judgment for herself at the hands of men, for she had the witness of the Lord. She therefore desired to be acquitted by Him, Who she knew could not be deceived in any way. Yea, the Lord Himself in the Gospel worked out in silence the salvation of men. Matthew 26:63 David rightly therefore enjoined on himself not constant silence, but watchfulness. (St. Ambrose)
41 condemned her to death: Just as what happened with Abraham and Isaac, how God waited to the last moment before intervening, this was done this way so that each one of us, when temptation comes upon us, and when we draw near to death, we may not give up for the help of God, but may expect it until at length it shall come. (St. John Chrysostom) |
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42 Susanna cried out with a loud voice: not with the voice of the body, which is drawn out with the sound of the reverberation of the air; but with the voice of the heart, which to men speaks not, but with God sounds as a cry. By this voice Susanna was heard; and with this voice the Lord Himself commanded that prayer should be made in closets, Matthew 6:6 that is, in the recesses of the heart noiselessly. (St. Augustine)
42-44 Understand, then, the sacred and heavenly miracle of the Holy Spirit. She who preferred to be chaste in herself, rather than in the opinion of the people, she who preferred to hazard the reputation of her innocence, rather than her modesty, who when she was accused was silent, when she was condemned held her peace, content with the judgment of her own conscience, who preserved regard for her modesty even in peril, that they who were not able to force her chastity might not seem to have forced her to anger; when she called upon the Lord, she obtained the Spirit, Who made known the hidden consciousness of the elders. (St. Ambrose)
44-45 The Old Greek Septuagint version reads, "And behold, there was an angel of the Lord as she was being led to be put to death. And the angel, just as he was commanded, gave a spirit of understanding to a youth, being Daniel." Human knowledge manifests only certain general principles, which are known naturally, is of finite power; wherefore it can reach to a certain fixed point. But the spirit of understanding is a supernatural light that penetrates further still so as to know what it cannot know by its natural light. (St. Thomas Aquinas)
45 holy spirit: Unless Daniel had received the Spirit of God, he would never have been able to discover that lustful adultery, that fraudulent lie. And so according to the grace of the Holy Spirit received by him, he discovered the varying evidence of |
the treacherous, for it was none other than the operation of divine power, that his voice should make them whose inward feelings were concealed to be known. (St. Ambrose) young boy: Daniel, who was then twelve years old, demanded that she should be brought back to trial, and that her cause should be heard afresh. For the multitude of the Jews who were then present, thought that a boy of an age so little commanding respect, had not ventured to take such a bold step without a divine impulse, and, granting him the favor which was asked, returned anew to council. (Sulpitius Severus) In judging those ancients Daniel exercised an authority delegated to him by Divine instinct. This is indicated where it is said that "the Lord raised up the . . . spirit of a young boy." (St. Thomas Aquinas)
56 Chanaan: This is said to show what persons he had become similar to. (St. Augustine) The Old Greek Septuagint reads 'Sidon.' Sidon was a Chanaanite city, named after Chanaan's son Sidon.
55,59 shall cut you into: How, then, could the one be sawn asunder by an angel, and the other rent in pieces? The answer is, that these things were prophesied not of this world, but of the judgment of God, after the departure from this world. For as the master of that wicked servant who says, “My master delays his coming,” and so gives himself up to drunkenness, eating and drinking with drunkards, and smiting his fellow-servants, shall at his coming “cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers,” Lk 12:45-46 even so the angels appointed to punish will accomplish these things just as they will cut asunder the wicked steward of that passage on these men, who were called indeed elders, but who administered their stewardship wickedly. (Origen) |
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This portion of Susanna is from the Douay Rheims translation lined up with my translation of the Old Greek Version of the Septuagint. The Douay Rheims is a translation from the Latin Vulgate, and of Susanna it is a translation of Theodotians Greek version. In my translation of the Old Greek Version of the LXX I have kept the renderings of the Douay Rheims in which Theodotian and the LXX are identical, and then translated those places of the LXX that differ. I kept those renderings of the Douay Rheims because of the reliablity of the translation as well as to make it easier to compare the differences between the two texts.
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Douay Rheims |
Old Greek Septuagint |
| 1 Now there was a man that dwelt in Babylon, and his name was Joakim: 2 And he took a wife, whose name was Susanna, the daughter of Helcias, a very beautiful woman, and one that feared God. 3 For her parents being just, had instructed their daughter according to the law of Moses. 4 Now Joakim was very rich, and had an orchard near his house: and the Jews resorted to him, because he was the most honourable of them all. 5 And there were two of the ancients of the people appointed judges that year, of whom the Lord said: That iniquity came out from Babylon, from the ancient judges, that seemed to govern the people. |
5....of whom the Lord said: That iniquity came out from Babylon, from the ancient judges, that seemed to govern the people. |
| 6 These men frequented the house of Joakim, and all that hand any matters of judgment came to them. |
6 And matters of judgment from other cities came to them. |
| 7 And when the people departed away at noon, Susanna went in, and walked in her husband's orchard. 8 And the old men saw her going in every day, and walking: and they were inflamed with lust towards her: |
7 These ones, when they saw the fair woman, wife of their brother, one of the sons of Israel, named Susanna daughter of Chelkias, wife of Joakim, walking in her husband’s orchard, 8 and since they lusted after her: |
| 9 And they perverted their own mind, and turned away their eyes, that they might not look unto heaven, nor remember just judgments. |
9 They perverted their mind, and turned away their eyes, that they might not look unto heaven, nor remember just judgments. |
| 10 So they were both wounded with the love of her, yet they did not make known their grief one to the other. 11 For they were ashamed to declare to one another their lust, being desirous to have to do with her: |
10 So they were both wounded with the love of her, and one to the other pretended the opposite to the evil that held them because of her, nor did the woman know of this matter. |
| 12 And they watched carefully every day to see her. And one said to the other: |
12 And as soon a dawn drew near, they would cheat one another, in a hurry to see who should appear to her first and should speak to her. |
| 13 Let us now go home, for it is dinner time. So going out, they departed one from another. 14 And turning back again, they came both to the same place: and asking one another the cause, they acknowledged their lust: and then they agreed together upon a time, when they might find her alone |
13 And behold, according to her custom she was walking around. And the one elder had already come, and behold, the other came, and one questioned the other saying, “Why did you come out so early in the morning and not take me?” 14 And they confessed to one another each his grief. |
| 15 And it fell out, as they watched a fit day, she went in on a time, as yesterday and the day before, with two maids only, and was desirous to wash herself in the orchard: for it was hot weather. 16 And there was nobody there, but the two old men that had hid themselves, and were beholding her. 17 So she said to the maids: Bring me oil, and washing balls, and shut the doors of the orchard, that I may wash me. 18 And they did as she bade them: and they shut the doors of the orchard, and went out by a back door to fetch what she had commanded them, and they knew not that the elders were hid within. |
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| 19 Now when the maids had gone forth, the two elders arose, and ran to her, and said: |
19 And one said to the other, “Let us go to her.” So having agreed, they approached her and tried to force her. |
| 20 Behold the doors of the orchard are shut, and nobody sees us, and we are in love with you: wherefore consent to us, and lie with us. 21 But if you will not, we will bear witness against you, that a young man was with you, and therefore you sent away your maids from you. |
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| 22 Susanna sighed, and said: I am straitened on every side: for if I do this thing, it is death to me: and if I do it not, I shall not escape your hands. |
22 And the Judean lady said to them, “I know that if I do it, it is death for me, and if I do it not, I will not escape your hands. |
| 23 But it is better for me to fall into your hands without doing it, than to sin in the sight of the Lord. |
But it would be very well for me to fall into your hands without doing it, than to sin in the sight of the Lord. |
| 24 With that Susanna cried out with a loud voice: and the elders also cried out against her. 25 And one of them ran to the door of the orchard, and opened it. 26 So when the servants of the house heard the cry in the orchard, they rushed in by the back door, to see what was the matter. 27 But after the old men had spoken, the servants were greatly ashamed: for never had there been any such word said of Susanna. And on the next day, |
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| 28 when the people had come to Joakim, her husband, the two elders also came full of wicked device against Susanna, to put her to death. |
28 So the wicked men turned away, uttering threats among themselves and lurking so that they might have her put to death. And when they came to the city assembly, where they lived, all the sons of Israel who were there sat in council. |
| 29 And they said before the people: Send to Susanna, daughter of Helcias, the wife of Joakim. And presently they sent. |
29 And when the two elders and judges stood up they said: Send to Susanna, daughter of Chelkias, the wife of Joakim. So they immediately called her. |
| 30 And she came with her parents, and children and all her kindred. |
30 Now, when the woman arrived with her own father and mother, even her servants and maids, who numbered five hundred, came and Susanna’s four children. |
| 31 Now Susanna was exceeding delicate, and beautiful to behold. |
31 Now the woman was greatly delicate. |
| 32 But those wicked men commanded that her face should be uncovered, (for she was covered) that so at least they might be satisfied with her beauty. |
32 And the wicked men commanded to uncover her in order that they might be satisfied with lust for her beauty. |
| 33 Therefore her friends, and all her acquaintance wept. |
33 And all those who were with her and all who knew her wept. |
| 34 But the two elders rising up in the midst of the people, laid their hands upon her head. |
34 But the elders and the judges rising up, laid their hands upon her head. |
35 And she weeping, looked up to heaven, for her heart had confidence in the Lord.
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verse 42-43 of the Vulgate is found in verse 35 of the Old Greek Septuagint:
Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said: O eternal God, who know hidden things, who know all things before they come to pass, 43 you know that they have borne false witness against me: and behold I must die, whereas I have done none of these things, which these men have maliciously forged against me. |
35 But her heart had confidence in the Lord, her God, and when she lifted her head, she wept, saying to herself, O eternal God, who knows all things before they come to pass, you know that I have done none of these things, which these men have maliciously forged against me. And the Lord heeded her supplication.
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Note: part of verse 35 is found in the Vulgate verses 42-43 |
| 36 And the elders said: As we walked in the orchard alone, this woman came in with two maids, and shut the doors of the orchard, and sent away the maids from her. |
36 Then the two elders said: We were walking around in her husband’s orchard, |
| 37 Then a young man that was there hid came to her, and lay with her. |
37 And as we were going around the stade, we saw this woman resting with a man. And while we stood, we saw them meeting one another. |
| 38 But we that were in a corner of the orchard, seeing this wickedness, ran up to them, and we saw them lie together. |
38 And they did not know that we stood there. Then we agreed together, saying, Let’s find out who they are. |
| 39 And him indeed we could not take, because he was stronger than us, and opening the doors, he leaped out: |
39 And as we approached we recognized her, but the young man fled, covered over. |
| 40 But having taken this woman, we asked who the young man was, but she would not tell us: of this thing we are witnesses. |
40 But having taken this woman, we asked who is the man, but she would not tell us: of this thing we are witnesses. |
| 41 The multitude believed them, as being the elders, and the judges of the people, and they condemned her to death. |
41 And all the multitude believed them, who as being the elders, and the judges of the people. |
| 42 Then Susanna cried out with a loud voice, and said: O eternal God, who know hidden things, who know all things before they come to pass, 43 you know that they have borne false witness against me: and behold I must die, whereas I have done none of these things, which these men have maliciously forged against me. |
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| 44 And the Lord heard her voice. 45 And when she was led to be put to death, the Lord raised up the holy spirit of a young boy, whose name was Daniel: |
44-45 And behold, there was an angel of the Lord as she was being led to be put to death. And the angel, just as he was commanded, gave a spirit of understanding to a youth, being Daniel. |
| 46 And he cried out with a loud voice: I am clear from the blood of this woman. 47 Then all the people turning themselves towards him, said: What means this word that you have spoken? |
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| 48 But he standing in the midst of them, said: Are you so foolish, you children of Israel, that without examination or knowledge of the truth, you have condemned a daughter of Israel? |
48 Then Daniel tore open the crowd, and after standing in the midst of them, said: Are you so foolish, you children of Israel, that without examination or knowledge of the truth, you have separated a daughter of Israel? |
| 49 Return to judgment, for they have borne false witness against her. 50 So all the people turned again in haste, and the old men said to him: Come, and sit down among us, and show it us: seeing God has given you the honour of old age. |
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| 51 And Daniel said to the people: Separate these two far from one another, and I will examine them. |
51 And now, separate these two far from one another for me so that I can test them. |
| 52 So when they were put asunder one from the other, he called one of them, and said to him: O you that have grown old in evil days, now are your sins come out, which you have committed before: |
52 So when they were put asunder one from the other, Daniel said to the assembly, Now, do not consider that they are elders, saying, They would surely not lie! But I will examine them according to what occurs to me. And he summoned one of them, and they brought the elder to the youth and Daniel to him, Hear! Hear! O you that have grown old in evil days, now are your sins come out, which you have committed before: |
| 53 In judging unjust judgments, oppressing the innocent, and letting the guilty to go free, whereas the Lord says: The innocent and the just you shall not kill. |
53 When you were entrusted to hear and judge matters of judgments carrying a death sentence and you condemned the innocent while you were acquitting the guilty, whereas the Lord says: The innocent and the just you shall not kill. |
| 54 Now then if you saw her, tell me under what tree you saw them conversing together: He said: Under a mastic tree. |
54 Now then under what tree and at what manner of place in the orchard did you see them being with eachother? And the ungodly one said: Under a mastic tree. |
| 55 And Daniel said: Well have you lied against your own head: for behold the angel of God having received the sentence of him, shall cut you in two. |
55 Then the youth said: Well have you lied against your own soul, for the angel of the Lord will split your soul this day. |
| 56 And having put him aside, he commanded that the other should come, and he said to him: O you seed of Chanaan, and not of Juda, beauty has deceived you, and lust has perverted your heart: |
56 And after he had this one put aside, he commanded them to bring the other to him. Then he also said to that one: Why is your seed twisted, like that of Sidon, and not like that of Judah? Beauty has deceived you or polluted lust. |
| 57 Thus did you do to the daughters of Israel, and they for fear conversed with you: but a daughter of Juda would not abide your wickedness. |
56 Thus did you do to the daughters of Israel, and they for fear conversed with you: but a daughter of Juda would not abide bearing your sickness in wickedness. |
| 58 Now, therefore, tell me, under what tree did you take them conversing together. And he answered: Under a holm tree. |
58 Now, therefore, tell me, under what tree and in what place of the garden did you take them conversing together. And he answered: Under a holm tree. |
| 59 And Daniel said to him: Well have you also lied against your own head: for the angel of the Lord waits with a sword to cut you in two, and to destroy you. |
59 And Daniel said: O Sinner! Now, the angel of the Lord stands with the sword until the people destroy you so that he may saw you in pieces. |
| 60 With that all the assembly cried out with a loud voice, and they blessed God, who saves them that trust in him. 61 And they rose up against the two elders, (for Daniel had convicted them of false witness by their own mouth) and they did to them as they had maliciously dealt against their neighbour, 62 to fulfil the law of Moses: and they put them to death, and innocent blood was saved in that day. |
60-63 With that all the assembly cried out for the youth, had convicted them both of false witness by their own mouth by their own admission. And as the law states clearly, they did to them as they had maliciously dealt against their sister. And they silenced them and took them away and threw them into a ravine. Then the angel of the Lord threw fire in their midst. And guiltless blood was saved that day. |
| 63 But Helcias, and his wife, praised God, for their daughter, Susanna, with Joakim, her husband, and all her kindred, because there was no dishonesty found in her. 64 And Daniel became great in the sight of the people from that day, and thence forward. |
63-64 For this reason youths are beloved by Jacob, because of their simplicity. And as for us, let us watch out for young able sons. For youths will be pious, and a spirit of knowledge and understanding shall be with them forever and ever. |
| 65 And King Astyages was gathered to his fathers; and Cyrus, the Persian, received his kingdom. |
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