Dixit autem princeps sacerdotum: Si hæc ita se habent?

Then the high priest said: Are these things so?

Then the high priest asked, Are these charges true?

Qui ait: Viri fratres et patres, audite: Deus gloriæ apparuit patri nostro Abrahæ cum esset in Mesopotamia, priusquam moraretur in Charan,

Who said: Ye men, brethren, and fathers, hear. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he dwelt in Charan.

And he answered, Brethren and fathers, listen to me. When the God of glory appeared to our father Abraham, it was while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he took up his dwelling in Charan.

et dixit ad illum: Exi de terra tua, et de cognatione tua, et veni in terram quam monstravero tibi.

And said to him: Go forth out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew thee.

Leave thy country, he said, and thy kindred, and come to the land to which I direct thee.

Tunc exiit de terra Chaldæorum, et habitavit in Charan. Et inde, postquam mortuus est pater ejus, transtulit illum in terram istam, in qua nunc vos habitatis.

Then he went out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in Charan. And from thence, after his father was dead, he removed him into this land, wherein you now dwell.

So it was that he left the country of the Chaldaeans, and lived in Charan; it was only after his father’s death that he was bidden to remove thence into this land where you now dwell.

Et non dedit illi hæreditatem in ea, nec passum pedis: sed repromisit dare illi eam in possessionem, et semini ejus post ipsum, cum non haberet filium.

And he gave him no inheritance in it; no, not the pace of a foot: but he promised to give it him in possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child.

There, God gave him no inheritance, not so much as a foot’s space; he only promised the possession of it to him and to his posterity after him, although at this time he had no child.

Locutus est autem ei Deus: Quia erit semen ejus accola in terra aliena, et servituti eos subjicient, et male tractabunt eos annis quadringentis:

And God said to him: That his seed should sojourn in a strange country, and that they should bring them under bondage, and treat them evil four hundred years.

And this is what God told him, that his descendants would live as strangers in a foreign land, where they would be enslaved and ill-used for four hundred years.

et gentem cui servierint, judicabo ego, dixit Dominus: et post hæc exibunt, et servient mihi in loco isto.

And the nation which they shall serve will I judge, said the Lord; and after these things they shall go out, and shall serve me in this place.

But I will pass judgement, the Lord said, on the nation which enslaves them; and at last they will escape, and settle down to worship me here.

Et dedit illi testamentum circumcisionis: et sic genuit Isaac, et circumcidit eum die octavo: et Isaac, Jacob: et Jacob, duodecim patriarchas.

And he gave him the covenant of circumcision, and so he begot Isaac, and circumcised him the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob; and Jacob the twelve patriarchs.

Then he made a covenant with Abraham, the covenant that ordained circumcision. So it was that he became the father of Isaac, whom he circumcised seven days afterwards, and Isaac of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

Et patriarchæ æmulantes, Joseph vendiderunt in Ægyptum: et erat Deus cum eo,

And the patriarchs, through envy, sold Joseph into Egypt; and God was with him,

The patriarchs, out of jealousy, sold Joseph as a slave, to be taken to Egypt. In Egypt, God was with him;

et eripuit eum ex omnibus tribulationibus ejus, et dedit ei gratiam et sapientiam in conspectu pharaonis regis Ægypti: et constituit eum præpositum super Ægyptum, et super omnem domum suam.

And delivered him out of all his tribulations: and he gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharao, the king of Egypt; and he appointed him governor over Egypt, and over all his house.

he rescued him from all his afflictions, and won him favour and a name for wisdom with Pharao, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all the royal household.

Venit autem fames in universam Ægyptum et Chanaan, et tribulatio magna: et non inveniebant cibos patres nostri.

Now there came a famine upon all Egypt and Chanaan, and great tribulation; and our fathers found no food.

And now a famine came upon all Egypt and Chanaan, cruelly afflicting them, till our fathers could procure no food.

Cum audisset autem Jacob esse frumentum in Ægypto, misit patres nostros primum:

But when Jacob had heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent our fathers first:

So Jacob, hearing that there was corn in Egypt, sent out our fathers on their first journey;

et in secundo cognitus est Joseph a fratribus suis, et manifestatum est Pharaoni genus ejus.

And at the second time, Joseph was known by his brethren, and his kindred was made known to Pharao.

and on their second journey Joseph made himself known to them, and Pharao learned about Joseph’s kindred.

Mittens autem Joseph, accersivit Jacob patrem suum et omnem cognationem suam, in animabus septuaginta quinque.

And Joseph sending, called thither Jacob, his father, and all his kindred, seventy-five souls.

Then Joseph sent for his father Jacob, and for his family, seventy-five souls in all;

Et descendit Jacob in Ægyptum: et defunctus est ipse, et patres nostri.

So Jacob went down into Egypt; and he died, and our fathers.

and Jacob went down into Egypt, where he and our fathers died.

Et translati sunt in Sichem, et positi sunt in sepulchro, quod emit Abraham pretio argenti a filiis Hemor filii Sichem.

And they were translated into Sichem, and were laid in the sepulchre, that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Hemor, the son of Sichem.

They were removed afterwards to Sichem; and it was in the grave which Abraham had bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hemor, the man of Sichem, that they were buried.

Cum autem appropinquaret tempus promissionis quam confessus erat Deus Abrahæ, crevit populus, et multiplicatus est in Ægypto,

And when the time of the promise drew near, which God had promised to Abraham, the people increased, and were multiplied in Egypt,

And when the time drew near for the fulfilment of the promise which God had made to Abraham, the people had increased and multiplied in Egypt.

quoadusque surrexit alius rex in Ægypto, qui non sciebat Joseph.

Till another king arose in Egypt, who knew not Joseph.

And now a new king arose in Egypt, one who knew nothing of Joseph;

Hic circumveniens genus nostrum, afflixit patres nostros ut exponerent infantes suos, ne vivificarentur.

This same dealing craftily with our race, afflicted our fathers, that they should expose their children, to the end they might not be kept alive.

this king dealt treacherously with our race, using them so ill that they exposed their children, instead of rearing them.

Eodem tempore natus est Moyses, et fuit gratus Deo: qui nutritus est tribus mensibus in domo patris sui.

At the same time was Moses born, and he was acceptable to God: who was nourished three months in his father’s house.

It was at this time that Moses was born, and, finding favour with God, was brought up in his father’s house for three months;

Exposito autem illo, sustulit eum filia Pharaonis, et nutrivit eum sibi in filium.

And when he was exposed, Pharao’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.

then, when he had been exposed, he was rescued by Pharao’s daughter, who adopted him as her son.

Et eruditus est Moyses omni sapientia Ægyptiorum, et erat potens in verbis et in operibus suis.

And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; and he was mighty in his words and in his deeds.

Thus Moses was well trained in all the learning of the Egyptians; he was vigorous, too, in speech and in act.

Cum autem impleretur ei quadraginta annorum tempus, ascendit in cor ejus ut visitaret fratres suos filios Israël.

And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.

And now, when he had reached forty years of age, it came into his mind to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.

Et cum vidisset quemdam injuriam patientem, vindicavit illum, et fecit ultionem ei qui injuriam sustinebat, percusso Ægyptio.

And when he had seen one of them suffer wrong, he defended him; and striking the Egyptian, he avenged him who suffered the injury.

When he saw one of them being unjustly used, he came to the rescue and avenged the man who was wronged, by killing the Egyptian.

Existimabat autem intelligere fratres, quoniam Deus per manum ipsius daret salutem illis: at illi non intellexerunt.

And he thought that his brethren understood that God by his hand would save them; but they understood it not.

He expected them to understand, but they could not understand, that he was the means by which God was to bring them deliverance.

Sequenti vero die apparuit illis litigantibus: et reconciliabat eos in pace, dicens: Viri, fratres estis: ut quid nocetis alterutrum?

And the day following, he shewed himself to them when they were at strife; and would have reconciled them in peace, saying: Men, ye are brethren; why hurt you one another?

Next day, he came in sight when two of them were quarrelling, and tried to restore peace between them; Sirs, he said, you are brethren; why do you inflict injury on one another?

Qui autem injuriam faciebat proximo, repulit eum, dicens: Quis te constituit principem et judicem super nos?

But he that did the injury to his neighbour thrust him away, saying: Who hath appointed thee prince and judge over us?

Whereupon the man who was doing his neighbour a wrong thrust him aside, asking, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us?

Numquid interficere me tu vis, quemadmodum interfecisti heri Ægyptium?

What, wilt thou kill me, as thou didst yesterday kill the Egyptian?

Art thou ready to kill me, as thou didst kill the Egyptian yesterday?

Fugit autem Moyses in verbo isto: et factus est advena in terra Madian, ubi generavit filios duos.

And Moses fled upon this word, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, where he begot two sons.

And at that Moses fled, and lived as an exile in the land of Madian; it was there that two sons were born to him.

Et expletis annis quadraginta, apparuit illi in deserto montis Sina angelus in igne flammæ rubi.

And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the desert of mount Sina, an angel in a flame of fire in a bush.

Forty years later, a vision came to him in the wilderness of mount Sinai; a bush had caught fire; and an angel was standing among the flames.

Moyses autem videns, admiratus est visum. Et accedente illo ut consideraret, facta est ad eum vox Domini, dicens:

And Moses seeing it, wondered at the sight. And as he drew near to view it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, saying:

Moses saw it, and was astonished at the sight; and as he drew near to look, the voice of the Lord came to him,

Ego sum Deus patrum tuorum, Deus Abraham, Deus Isaac, et Deus Jacob. Tremefactus autem Moyses, non audebat considerare.

I am the God of thy fathers; the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses being terrified, durst not behold.

I am the God of thy fathers, of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob. And Moses did not dare to look close; fear made him tremble.

Dixit autem illi Dominus: Solve calceamentum pedum tuorum: locus enim in quo stas, terra sancta est.

And the Lord said to him: Loose the shoes from thy feet, for the place wherein thou standest, is holy ground.

Then the Lord said to him, Take the shoes off thy feet; the place on which thou standest is holy ground.

Videns vidi afflictionem populi mei qui est in Ægypto, et gemitum eorum audivi, et descendi liberare eos. Et nunc veni, et mittam te in Ægyptum.

Seeing I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them. And now come, and I will send thee into Egypt.

The affliction of my people in Egypt is before my eyes continually; I have heard their lamenting, and have come down to deliver them. Come now, I have an errand for thee in Egypt.

Hunc Moysen, quem negaverunt, dicentes: Quis te constituit principem et judicem? hunc Deus principem et redemptorem misit, cum manu angeli qui apparuit illi in rubo.

This Moses, whom they refused, saying: Who hath appointed thee prince and judge? him God sent to be prince and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.

It was this same Moses, the man whom they had disowned, and asked him, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? that God sent to be their ruler and their deliverer, helped by the angel whom he saw there at the bush.

Hic eduxit illos faciens prodigia et signa in terra Ægypti, et in rubro mari, et in deserto annis quadraginta.

He brought them out, doing wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red Sea, and in the desert forty years.

He it was who led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt, and at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness, over a space of forty years.

Hic est Moyses, qui dixit filiis Israël: Prophetam suscitabit vobis Deus de fratribus vestris, tamquam me: ipsum audietis.

This is that Moses who said to the children of Israel: A prophet shall God raise up to you of your own brethren, as myself: him shall you hear.

It was this Moses who said to the children of Israel, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like myself, from among your own brethren; to him you must listen.

Hic est qui fuit in ecclesia in solitudine cum angelo, qui loquebatur ei in monte Sina, et cum patribus nostris: qui accepit verba vitæ dare nobis.

This is he that was in the church in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on mount Sina, and with our fathers; who received the words of life to give unto us.

He it was who took part with the angel that spoke to him on mount Sinai, and with our fathers, at the meeting in the desert. There he received words of life to hand on to us;

Cui noluerunt obedire patres nostri: sed repulerunt, et aversi sunt cordibus suis in Ægyptum,

Whom our fathers would not obey; but thrust him away, and in their hearts turned back into Egypt,

and yet our fathers would not give him obedience. They disowned him; they turned their thoughts towards Egypt,

dicentes ad Aaron: Fac nobis deos qui præcedant nos: Moyses enim hic, qui eduxit nos de terra Ægypti, nescimus quid factum sit ei.

Saying to Aaron: Make us gods to go before us. For as for this Moses, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we know not what is become of him.

and said to Aaron, Make us gods, to lead our march; as for this Moses, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, there is no saying what has become of him.

Et vitulum fecerunt in diebus illis, et obtulerunt hostiam simulacro, et lætabantur in operibus manuum suarum.

And they made a calf in those days, and offered sacrifices to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their own hands.

So they fashioned a calf at this time, making offerings to an idol, and keeping holiday over the works of their own hands.

Convertit autem Deus, et tradidit eos servire militiæ cæli, sicut scriptum est in libro prophetarum: Numquid victimas et hostias obtulistis mihi annis quadraginta in deserto, domus Israël?

And God turned, and gave them up to serve the host of heaven, as it is written in the books of the prophets: Did you offer victims and sacrifices to me for forty years, in the desert, O house of Israel?

Whereupon God turned away from them, and gave them over to the worship of all the host of heaven; so it is written in the book of the prophets, Is it true that you brought me victims and sacrifices, you sons of Israel, for forty years in the wilderness?

Et suscepistis tabernaculum Moloch, et sidus dei vestri Rempham, figuras quas fecistis adorare eas: et transferam vos trans Babylonem.

And you took unto you the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Rempham, figures which you made to adore them. And I will carry you away beyond Babylon.

You carried about the tent of Moloch, and the star of your god Rempham, and worshipped them, images of your own fashioning. And now I will send you into exile on the further side of Babylon.

Tabernaculum testimonii fuit cum patribus nostris in deserto, sicut disposuit illis Deus loquens ad Moysen, ut faceret illud secundum formam quam viderat.

The tabernacle of the testimony was with our fathers in the desert, as God ordained for them, speaking to Moses, that he should make it according to the form which he had seen.

In the wilderness, our fathers had the tabernacle with them, to remind them of God’s covenant; he who spoke to Moses bade him fashion it after the model which had been shewn him.

Quod et induxerunt, suscipientes patres nostri cum Jesu in possessionem gentium quas expulit Deus a facie patrum nostrorum, usque in diebus David,

Which also our fathers receiving, brought in with Jesus, into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God drove out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of David.

And when God dispossessed the Gentiles, to make room for our fathers’ coming, our fathers under Josue brought this tabernacle, as an heirloom, into the land which they conquered. So it was until the time of David.

qui invenit gratiam ante Deum, et petiit ut inveniret tabernaculum Deo Jacob.

Who found grace before God, and desired to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob.

David, who had won favour in God’s sight, longed to devise a resting-place for the God of Israel,

Salomon autem ædificavit illi domum.

But Solomon built him a house.

but in the end it was Solomon that built the house for him.

Sed non Excelsus in manufactis habitat, sicut propheta dicit:

Yet the most High dwelleth not in houses made by hands, as the prophet saith:

Yet we are not to think that the most High dwells in temples made by men’s hands; the prophet says:

Cælum mihi sedes est: terra autem scabellum pedum meorum. Quam domum ædificabitis mihi? dicit Dominus: aut quis locus requietionis meæ est?

Heaven is my throne, and the earth my footstool. What house will you build me? saith the Lord; or what is the place of my resting?

Heaven is my throne, and earth is the footstool under my feet. What home will you build for me, says the Lord, what place can be my resting-place?

Nonne manus mea fecit hæc omnia?

Hath not my hand made all these things?

Was it not my hands that made all this?

Dura cervice, et incircumcisis cordibus et auribus, vos semper Spiritui Sancto resistitis: sicut patres vestri, ita et vos.

You stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do you also.

Stiff-necked race, your heart and ears still uncircumcised, you are for ever resisting the Holy Spirit, just as your fathers did.

Quem prophetarum non sunt persecuti patres vestri? et occiderunt eos qui prænuntiabant de adventu Justi, cujus vos nunc proditores et homicidæ fuistis:

Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them who foretold of the coming of the Just One; of whom you have been now the betrayers and murderers:

There was not one of the prophets they did not persecute; it was death to foretell the coming of that just man, whom you in these times have betrayed and murdered;

qui accepistis legem in dispositione angelorum, et non custodistis.

Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.

you, who received the law dictated by angels, and did not keep it.

Audientes autem hæc, dissecabantur cordibus suis, et stridebant dentibus in eum.

Now hearing these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed with their teeth at him.

At hearing this, they were cut to the heart, and began to gnash their teeth at him.

Cum autem esset plenus Spiritu Sancto, intendens in cælum, vidit gloriam Dei, et Jesum stantem a dextris Dei. Et ait: Ecce video cælos apertos, et Filium hominis stantem a dextris Dei.

But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looking up steadfastly to heaven, saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And he said: Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.

But he, full of the Holy Spirit, fastened his eyes on heaven, and saw there the glory of God, and Jesus standing at God’s right hand; I see heaven opening, he said, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.

Exclamantes autem voce magna continuerunt aures suas, et impetum fecerunt unanimiter in eum.

And they crying out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and with one accord ran violently upon him.

Then they cried aloud, and put their fingers into their ears; with one accord they fell upon him,

Et ejicientes eum extra civitatem, lapidabant: et testes deposuerunt vestimenta sua secus pedes adolescentis qui vocabatur Saulus.

And casting him forth without the city, they stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man, whose name was Saul.

thrust him out of the city, and stoned him. And the witnesses put down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

Et lapidabant Stephanum invocantem, et dicentem: Domine Jesu, suscipe spiritum meum.

And they stoned Stephen, invoking, and saying: Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.

Thus they stoned Stephen; he, meanwhile, was praying; Lord Jesus, he said, receive my spirit;

Positis autem genibus, clamavit voce magna, dicens: Domine, ne statuas illis hoc peccatum. Et cum hoc dixisset, obdormivit in Domino. Saulus autem erat consentiens neci ejus.

And falling on his knees, he cried with a loud voice, saying: Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep in the Lord. And Saul was consenting to his death.

and then, kneeling down, he cried aloud, Lord, do not count this sin against them. And with that, he fell asleep in the Lord.Saul was one of those who gave their voices for his murder.