(2) And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David: my daughter is grievously vexed with an unclean spirit.

(16) So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me; shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee?

(32) But that, he did not, but reached back from the love into the wrath, and lusted after his dead or mortal mother, to eat of her, and to suck her breast, and to stand upon her stock.

(12) And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son.

(2) What trenches lying traverse or what chains Didst thou discover, that of passing onward Thou shouldst have thus despoiled thee of the hope? And what allurements or what vantages Upon the forehead of the others showed, That thou shouldst turn thy footsteps unto them?" After the heaving of a bitter sigh, Hardly had I the voice to make response, And with fatigue my lips did fashion it. Weeping I said: "The things that present were With their false pleasure turned aside my steps, Soon as your countenance concealed itself." And she: "Shouldst thou be silent, or deny What thou confessest, not less manifest Would be thy fault, by such a Judge 'tis known. But when from one's own cheeks comes bursting forth The accusal of the sin, in our tribunal Against the edge the wheel doth turn itself. But still, that thou mayst feel a greater shame For thy transgression, and another time Hearing the Sirens thou mayst be more strong, Cast down the seed of weeping and attend; So shalt thou hear, how in an opposite way My buried flesh should have directed thee.

Ayaz, in weighing the pros and cons in regard to pardoning the courtiers, remarks that professions of faith and penitence when contradicted by acts are worthless, according to the text, "If ye ask them who hath created the heavens and the earth, they will say 'God;' yet they devise lies." And in illustration of this he tells a story of a faithless husband who retired to a secret chamber ostensibly to say his prayers, but really to carry on an intrigue with a slave-girl, and the falsity of whose pretences was demonstrated by ocular proof of his condition. In like manner, on the day of resurrection man's hands and eyes and feet will bear witness against him of the evil actions done by him, thus confuting his pretences to piety. The test of a sincere repentance is abhorrence of past sins and utter abandonment of all pleasure in them, the old love for sin being superseded by the new love for holiness. Such a repentance was that of Nasuh. Nasuh in his youth disguised himself in female attire and obtained employment as attendant at the women's baths, where he used to carry on shameful intrigues with some of the women who frequented the bath. At last, however, his eyes were opened to the wickedness of his conduct, and be went to a holy man and besought him to pray for him. The holy man, imitating the long-suffering of the "Veiler of sins" did not so much as name his sin, but prayed, saying, "God give thee repentance of the sin thou knowest!" The prayer of that holy man was accepted, because the prayers of such an one are the same as God's own will, according to the tradition, "My servant draws nigh to me by pious works till I love him; and when I love him I am his ear, his eye, his tongue, his foot, his hand; and by me he hears, sees, talks, walks, and feels. "Nasuh then returned to the bath a truly repentant man; but soon afterwards one of the women frequenting the bath lost a valuable jewel, and the king gave order that all persons connected with the bath should be stripped and searched. When the officers came to the bath to execute this order Nasuh was overwhelmed with fear, for he knew that if his sex were discovered he would certainly be put to death. In his fear he called upon God for deliverance, and swooned with fear and became beside himself, so that his natural self was annihilated, and he became a new creature, even as a corpse rising from the grave. When he came to himself he found that the lost jewel had been found, and those who had suspected him came and begged his pardon. Shortly afterwards the king's daughter sent for him to come and wash her head; but, in spite of her imperative commands, he refused to place himself again in the way of temptation, lest he might fall again, and God might "make easy to him the path to destruction." Man's members will bear witness against him on the day of judgement, and confute his claims to piety.

(3) Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not. Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they repent of their deeds. And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

(5) It is alluded to in the next Chapter (fifth verse), “thou puttest on the pure garment, and thou divestest the apron, when thou stretchest thyself on the funereal bed.”

(25) So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

(14) Marriage to her was a calamity. To be subjected, then, to the passions, and to yield to them, is the extremest slavery; as to keep them in subjection is the only liberty. The divine Scripture accordingly says, that those who have transgressed the commandments are sold to strangers, that is, to sins alien to nature, till they return and repent. Marriage, then, as a sacred image, must be kept pure from those things which defile it. We are to rise from our slumbers with the Lord, and retire to sleep with thanksgiving and prayer,- "Both when you sleep, and when the holy light comes," confessing the Lord in our whole life; possessing piety in the soul, and extending self-control to the body. For it is pleasing to God to lead decorum from the tongue to our actions. Filthy speech is the way to effrontery; and the end of both is filthy conduct.

(5) ¶But, behold, the hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table. And truly the Son of man goeth, as it was determined: but woe unto that man by whom he is betrayed!

(37) And here is fulfilled that which King David descants upon; Detraction, Shame, or Disgrace, Thou shalt rejoice to see how the Wicked are recompensed; how the wicked Driver, [Hunter or Oppressor,] and P Incendiary of Malice and Wickedness, is tormented in his Prison; for the Sins that are washed away shall not appear in Heaven (as in the Abyss of Hell) in the Form of Fire; but as Isaiah said, Though thy Sins were as red as Blood [or Scarlet,] (if thou turn) they shall be like Wool, white as Snow; they shall stand in a heavenly Figure, for Men to sing of in a Hymn of Praise, and a Psalm of Thanksgiving, for their Deliverance from the Driver.

(8) And repentance occurs in distress and sorrow. The father is good and loves humankind, and hears the soul that calls him and sends her the light of salvation. Through the spirit to the prophet he says,

(4) (And I beseech for Thine instruction), I who will abjure all disobedience (toward Thee, praying that others likewise may withhold it) from Thee; I who abjure the Evil Mind as well, the lordly kinsman's arrogance , and that lying sin which is (alas!) the next thing to the people (their most familiar fault), and the blaming ally's falsehood, and from the Kine the worst care of her meadows (the crime of stint in labour ),

(1) And Andrew came forward and said: "My Lord and Saviour, thy light-power hath prophesied aforetime through David concerning this repentance which Pistis Sophia hath uttered, and said in the one-hundred-and-eighth Psalm: "'1. God, keep not silent at my praise-singing. "'2. For the mouths of the sinner and crafty have opened their chops against me and with crafty deceitful tongue have talked behind me. "'3. And they have surrounded me with words of hate and have fought against me without a cause. "'4. Instead of loving me they have slandered me. But I prayed. "'5. They showed evil against me for good and hate for my love. "'6. Set a sinner over him, and let the slanderer stand at his right hand. "'7. When sentence is passed upon him, may he go forth condemned and his prayer become sin. "'8. May his days be shortened and another receive his overseership. "'9. May his children become orphans and his wife a widow. "'10. May his children be carried away and be driven forth and beg; may they be thrown out of their houses. "'11. May the money-lender sift out all that he hath, and may strangers plunder all his best efforts. "'12. Let there be no man to back him, and no one to take pity on his orphans. "'13. May his children be exterminated and his name blotted out in a single generation. "'14. Let the sin of his fathers be remembered before the Lord, and the sin of his mother be not blotted out. "'15. Let them be ever present to the Lord and his memory be rooted out from the earth; "'16. In that he hath not thought of using mercy and hath persecuted a poor and wretched man and hath persecuted a sorry creature to slay him. "'17. He loved cursing,--and it shall come unto him. He desired not blessing,--it shall stay far from him. "'18. He clothed himself with cursing as with a vesture, and it entered into his bowels as water, and it was as oil in his bones. "'19. May it be for him as a garment in which he shall be wrapped, and as a girdle with which he shall ever be girded. "'20. This is the work of them who slander [me] before the Lord, and speak unlawfully against my soul. "'21. But do thou, O Lord God, be gracious unto me; for thy name's sake save me. "'22. For I am poor and I am wretched; my heart is tumult within me. "'23. I am carried away in the midst as a shadow which hath sunk down, and I am shaken out as grass-hoppers. "'24. My knees have become weak from fasting, and my flesh is altered from [lack of] oil. "'25. But I have become a mock unto them; they saw me and wagged their heads. "'26. Help, O Lord God, and save me according to thy grace. "'27. May they know that this is thy hand, and that thou, O Lord, hast fashioned them.' "This is then the solution of the twelfth repentance which Pistis Sophia uttered, when she was in the chaos."

(5) "David too, of whom the Lord, testifying, says, 'I found a man after my own heart, David the son of Jesse. With my holy oil I anointed him.' But he also says to God, 'Pity me, O God, according to Thy mercy; and according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies, blot out my transgression. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgression, and my sin is ever before me.' " Then, alluding to sin which is not subject to the law, in the exercise of the moderation of true knowledge, he adds, "Against Thee only have I sinned, and done evil in Thy sight." For the Scripture somewhere says, "The Spirit of the Lord is a lamp, searching the recesses of the belly."

(15) And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment; and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.

(13) For from thenceforward they could not speak (with Him) nor lift up their eyes to heaven for shame of their sins for which they had been condemned.

(31) And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: Wherefore then gavest not thou my money into the bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own with usury?

(89) And after that I saw that when they forsook the house of the Lord and His tower they fell away entirely, and their eyes were blinded; and I saw the Lord of the sheep how He wrought much slaughter amongst them in their herds until those sheep invited that slaughter and betrayed His place.