De sancta Paula
A Noble Life Renounced
Paula, a noble Roman matron, turns from worldly status to the poverty and humility of Christ following the death of her husband.
A. Paula was a most noble Roman matron, whose life Blessed Jerome composed in these words: 'If all the members of my body were turned into tongues, and all the arts resonated with a human voice, I would say nothing worthy of the virtues of the holy and venerable Paula.' She was noble by birth, but even more noble by her holiness; she was once powerful in riches, but now she is more distinguished by the poverty of Christ. I call Jesus and His holy angels as my witnesses—along with her own guardian angel who accompanied this admirable woman—that I am not saying this to curry favor, nor am I speaking like those who flatter; what I am about to testify is actually less than what she deserves. If the reader wishes to know her virtues briefly: she dismissed all her own poor, being poorer herself. And just as the most precious gem shines among many gems, and just as the radiance of the sun overwhelms and obscures the small sparks of the stars, so she surpassed the virtues of all by her humility and was so small among all that she might be the greatest of all. And the more she humbled herself, the more she was lifted up by Christ. She was hidden, yet not hidden; by fleeing vainglory, she earned it, for it follows virtue like a shadow, and while it deserts those who seek it, it seeks those who despise it. After she had borne five children—Blaesilla, over whose death I comforted her in Rome; Paulina, whom she left as heir to the holy and admirable man Pammachius, both in his purpose and in her affairs, and for whom I published a small book upon her passing; Eustochium, who is now a most precious jewel of both virginity and the Church in the holy places; Rulina, who stunned her mother's pious heart by an untimely death; and Toxocius, after whom she ceased to bear children—you might understand that she did not wish to serve the duty of marriage for long. After her husband died, she mourned him so that she nearly died herself; she also turned herself to the service of God in such a way that she seemed to have wished for his death.
The Pilgrimage of Detachment
Paula leaves her homeland and children behind to follow Christ, choosing a life of pilgrimage and humble service in the Holy Land.
Why should I even mention that she gave away to the poor almost all the wealth of her vast and noble house, which was once so opulent? She was constantly thinking of leaving her homeland, fired by the virtues of Paulinus, the Bishop of Antioch, and Epiphanius, who had come to Rome. Why delay any longer? She went down to the harbor, followed by her brother, her relatives, her kin, and—what was harder than all these—her children, who were trying to win over their most loving mother. The sails were already being raised and the ship was being pulled out into the deep by the rowers; little Toxotius was stretching out his pleading hands on the shore, and Rufina, already of marriageable age, was silently begging her with tears to wait for her own wedding. Yet she kept her eyes dry and fixed on heaven, overcoming her love for her children with a greater love for God. She did not know she was a mother, so that she might prove herself a handmaid of Christ; her heart was torn, and she struggled with the pain as if she were being ripped from her own limbs. A full faith endured this against the laws of nature; indeed, her joyful spirit sought it, and despising the love of her children for a greater love of God, she found rest only in Eustochium, who was her companion in both her purpose and her voyage. Meanwhile, the ship plowed the sea, and while everyone else traveling with her looked back at the shore, she kept her eyes turned away so that she wouldn't see what she couldn't look upon without torment. When she arrived in the Holy Land, the proconsul of Palestine—who knew her family very well—sent his attendants ahead and ordered them to prepare a palace for her, but she chose a humble cell instead.
Devotion at the Holy Sites
Paula visits the sacred sites of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, experiencing the mysteries of Christ's life with profound tears and faith.
She traveled through every place where Christ had walked with such burning desire and devotion that, had she not been hurrying on to the next, she could not have been pulled away from the first. Prostrate before the cross, she worshiped as if she could see the Lord hanging there; entering the tomb of the Resurrection, she kissed the stone the angel had rolled away from the door of the monument, and with her mouth she kissed the very place where the Lord had lain, as if thirsting to drink the desired waters of faith. What tears she shed there, and how many! All of Jerusalem is witness to the sighs and the depth of the sorrow she poured out; the Lord himself, whom she was begging, is witness. Then she went on to Bethlehem and, entering the Savior's cave, she saw the holy resting place of the Virgin. With me listening, she swore that she could see with the eyes of faith the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes, crying in the manger, the Lord, the Magi worshiping, the star shining above, the Virgin Mother, the diligent foster-father, and the shepherds coming in the night to see the Word that had been made flesh—as if the Evangelist John were even then dedicating his words: 'In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was made flesh.' She saw the infants killed, Herod raging, and Joseph and Mary fleeing into Egypt. With tears mixed with joy, she said: 'Hail, Bethlehem, house of bread, in which was born that Bread which came down from heaven. Hail, Ephrathah, most fertile region, whose fertility is God. David speaks confidently: "We will go into his tabernacle; we will worship in the place where his feet have stood." And I, miserable and sinful, have been judged worthy to kiss the manger where the infant Lord cried, and to pray in the cave where the Virgin Mother brought forth the infant God. This is my rest, because it is the homeland of my Lord; here I will dwell, since the Savior chose it.'✦
Ascetic Discipline and Charity
Paula practices extreme self-denial and generous charity, leading her monastic communities with both severity toward herself and mercy toward others.
She humbled herself so deeply that anyone who saw her—having been eager to see her because of her fame—would not have believed it was her, but rather the lowliest of her maids; even when surrounded by large choirs of virgins, she was the least of them all in her dress, her voice, her manner, and her walk. After her husband’s death, she never ate with any man until the day she died, even though she knew him to be a holy man who held a high position in the Church. She never went to the baths unless she was in danger, and she never slept on a soft bed unless she was suffering from a severe fever; instead, she rested on the hard ground on a simple haircloth mat—if you can even call it rest, since she spent her days and nights almost entirely in prayer. She mourned even her minor sins so deeply that you would have thought she was guilty of the gravest crimes. When we warned her repeatedly to spare her eyes and save them for reading the Gospels, she would say, 'My face is already ruined, for I often painted it with rouge, white lead, and antimony against God’s command. My body must be afflicted, for it once indulged in many pleasures. A long life of laughter must be paid for with perpetual weeping. Soft linens and expensive silks must be exchanged for the roughness of haircloth. I once pleased men and the world; now I desire to please Christ.' If I were to praise her chastity among such great virtues, I might seem redundant, for even when she was a laywoman, she was an example to all the matrons of Rome, conducting herself in such a way that no slanderer ever dared to invent a rumor about her. I confess my own error: I used to argue with her for being too generous in her giving, quoting the Apostle to her: 'Not that others may have relief and you distress, but that there may be equality at this time, so that your abundance may supply their need and their abundance may supply your need,' and that she should provide for the future so she wouldn't be unable to continue doing what she loved to do, and many other things of that kind. She would dismiss these arguments with a wonderful modesty and a very brief, yet highly skilled, response, calling the Lord as her witness that she did everything in His name and that her only wish was to die a beggar, leaving not a single coin to her daughter, and to be buried in a shroud that was not her own. In the end, she would say, 'If I ask, I will find many who will give to me; but if this beggar does not receive from me, what can I give him, even from what belongs to others? And if he dies, from whom will his soul be required?' She didn't want to spend her money on stones that would pass away with the earth and the world, but on the living stones that move upon the earth, of which it is written in the Apocalypse of John: 'The city of the great King is built.' Except on feast days, she barely touched oil in her food, so that from this alone one might judge what she thought of wine, fish sauce, fish, milk, honey, eggs, and other things that are pleasant to the taste—things in which some people consider themselves very abstinent, yet think their purity is safe even if they gorge their stomachs on them. I know a certain slanderer—a vile person—who, pretending to be well-meaning, reported that because of her excessive fervor for virtue, some thought she was insane and said her brain needed soothing. She replied: "We have been made a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men: we are fools for Christ's sake, but the foolishness of God is wiser than men." After the monastery for men, which she had handed over to men to govern, she divided the many virgins she had gathered from various provinces—noble, middle-class, and of the lowest rank alike—into three groups and monasteries, provided only that while they were separated in their work and food, they were united in psalms and prayer. She bound those who were arguing with one another with the gentlest speech, and she broke the wanton flesh of the young girls with frequent and doubled fasts, preferring that they suffer in their stomachs rather than in their minds; she said that cleanliness of body and clothes was actually uncleanness of the soul, and that what is considered light or nothing among people of the world, she called a most serious fault in monasteries; and though she provided everything for others who were weak and offered them meat if she herself happened to be sick, she did not indulge herself, and she seemed inconsistent in this: that she exchanged mercy for others with severity for herself. I will relate what I have experienced. In July, during the most intense heat, she fell into a burning fever. After she recovered through the mercy of God, the doctors suggested that to restore her body, she needed a little light wine, lest she develop dropsy from drinking water. When I secretly asked the blessed Bishop Epiphanius to advise her—or rather, to force her—to drink wine, he, being a prudent man of keen intellect, immediately sensed the trap and, smiling, told me that he knew the suggestion was mine. What more is there to say? When the blessed bishop came out after much urging, I asked him what he had accomplished. He replied: "I have achieved only this: she has almost persuaded me, an old man, not to drink wine."
The Final Journey
Paula faces her final illness with peace and prayer, leaving behind a legacy of devotion as she departs this life for the Lord.
In grief, she was gentle, and she was broken by the deaths of her own, especially her children; for she was often in danger from the passing of her husband and children, and when she would mark her mouth and stomach and try to soothe the pain of her womb with the sign of the cross, she was overcome by affection, and the heart of a parent would shake her credulous mind, and while she conquered by spirit, she was conquered by the fragility of the body. She knew the Holy Scriptures by heart, and while she loved the historical sense and called it the foundation of truth, she followed the spiritual understanding more, and she protected her soul with this peak of edification. I will share something else, which might seem unbelievable to her rivals. She wanted to learn the Hebrew language—which I have learned in part since my youth with much labor and sweat, and which I do not abandon through tireless meditation, lest it abandon me—and she succeeded so well that she would sing the psalms in Hebrew and speak without any trace of a Latin accent. We see this even today in her holy daughter, Eustochium. Up to this point, we’ve sailed with favorable winds, and our keel has glided over the rippling sea; now, however, the narrative hits the rocks, for who could tell of Paula dying with dry eyes? She fell into a very serious illness—or rather, she found what she was hoping for: to leave us and be more fully joined to the Lord. Why do I delay so long and prolong my grief by lingering on other things? This most prudent of women felt that death was near. While her body and limbs were already growing cold, only the warmth of her soul still pulsed in her sacred and holy breast. Yet, as if she were setting out to join her own and looking down on strangers, she whispered these verses: "Lord, I have loved the beauty of your house and the place where your glory dwells," and "How lovely are your tabernacles, O Lord; I have chosen to be an outcast in the house of my God."✦✦✦ When I asked why she was silent and wouldn't answer, and called out to ask if she was in any pain, she replied in Greek that she had no trouble at all, but saw everything as quiet and peaceful. After this she fell silent. With her eyes closed—as if she were looking down on human things—she kept repeating those same verses until her soul departed, so that we could barely hear what she was saying even with an ear pressed close: "The whole crowd of the cities of Palestine has gathered for her funeral." For any monk hidden away in the cell of his desert, or any virgin kept in the secrets of her room, would have thought it a sacrilege not to have paid this final duty to such a woman, until she was laid to rest beneath the church and near the Lord's cave. Her venerable daughter, the virgin Eustochium, could not be pulled away from her mother, as if she were still a nursing child. She kept kissing her eyes, clinging to her face, embracing her whole body, and wishing to be buried with her mother. Jesus is my witness that she left not a single coin to her daughter, but instead gave everything to the needy. And, what is harder for these people, she left behind an immense multitude of brothers and sisters, whom it is difficult to support and impious to abandon. Farewell, O Paula, and help the final years of your servant with your prayers.
Read the original Latin
A. Paula fuit nobilissima matrona Romanorum, cujus vitam beatus Hieronymus composuit in haec verba: si cuncta corporis mei membra verterentur in linguas et omnes artes hmmana voce resonarent, nihil dignum sanctae ac venerabilis Paulae virtutibus dicerem. Nobilis genere, sed multo nobilior sanctitate, potens quondam divitiis, sed nunc Christi paupertate insignior, testor et Jesum et sanctos angelos ejus ipsumque proprium angelum ejus, qui custos fuit et comes admirabilis feminae, me nihil in gratiam, nil dicere more laudantium, scilicet quod dicturus sum pro testimonio minus ejus esse meritis. Vult lector breviter ejus scire virtutes, omnes suos pauperes pauperior ipsa dimisit et sicut inter multas gemmas pretiosissima gemma micat et sicut jubar solis parvos ignionlos stellarum obruit et obscurat, ita cumctorum virtutes sua humilitate superavit minunaque fait inter omnes, ut omuium major esset, Et quanto plus se dejiciebat, tanto magis a Christo sublevabatur. Latebat et non latebat, fugiendo vanam gloriam merebatur, quae virtutem quasi umbra sequitur et appetitores suos deserens appetit contemtores, Haec cum quinque liberos edidisset, Blaesillam, super cujus mortem eam Romae consolatus sum, Panulinam, quae sanctum et admirabilem viram Pammachium et propositi et rerum suarum reliquit heredem , ad quem super ejus obitu paprum libellum edidimus, Eustochium, quae nunc in sanctis locis et virginitatis et ecclesiae monile pretiosissimum est, Rulinam, quae immaturo funere pium matris animum consternavit, et Toxocium, post quem parere desiit, ut intellireres eam non diu servire voluisse officio conjugali. Postquam vir ejus mortuus est, ita eum planxit, ut prope ipsa moreretur, ita etiam se convertit ad Dei servitutem, ut mortem ejus quasi videretur optasse.
Quid ergo referam amplae et nobilis domus et quondam opulentissimae omnes paene divitias in pauperes erogatas? Haec Paulini episcopi Antioceni et Epiphanii, qui Romam venerant, accensa virtutibus per momenta patriam deserere cogitabat. Quid ultra difero? Descendit ad portum fratre, cognatis, affinibus et, quod his majus est, liberis prosequentibus et clementissimam matrem: vincere cupientibus, jam carbasa tendebantur et remorum ductu navis in altum protrahebatur, parvus Toxocius supplices manus tendebat in littore, Rufina jam nubilis, ut suas exspectaret nuptias, tacens fletibus obsecrabat et tamen illa siccos oculos tendebat ad coelum, pietatem in filios pietate in Deum superans. Nesciebat se matrem, ut Christi se probaret ancillam; torquebantur viscera et quasi a suis membris disiraherentur, cum dolore pugnabat. Hoc contra jura naturae plena fides patiebatur, immo gaudens animus appetebat et amorem filiorum majore in Deum amore contemnens in sola Eustochio, quae et propositi et navigationis ejus comes erat, acquiescebat. Sulcabat interim navis mare et cunctis, qui cum ea vehebantur, littora respicientibus illa versos tenebat oculos, ne videret, quod sine tormento videre non poterat. Cumque ad loca terrae sanctae venisset et proconsul Palaestinae, qui familiam ejus optime noverat, praemissis apparitoribus jussisset ei parare praetorium, elegit humilem cellulam.
Quae cuncta loca Christi vestigiorum tanto ardore ac studio circuibat, ut nisi ad reliqua festinaret, a primis non posset abduci, prostrataque ante crucem quasi pendentem dominum cerneret, adorabat, ingressaque sepulchrum resurrectionis osculabatur lapidem, quem ab ostio monumenti amoverat angelusééet ipsum corporis locum, in quo dominus jacuerat, quasi sitiens desideratas aquas fidei ore lambebat. Quid ibi lacrimarum , quantum. gemituum, quid doloris effuderit, testis est cuncta Jherosolima, testis est ipse domimus, quem rogabat. Deinde perrexit Bethlehem atque in specum salvatoris ingrediens vidit sacrum virginis deversorium et me audiente jurabat se cernere fidei oculis infantem pannis involutum, vagientem in praesepio, dominum magos adorantes, stellam fulgentem desuper, matrem virginem, nutricium seduluni, pastores nocte venientes, ut viderent verbum, quod faetum erat, quasi etiam tunc Evangelistae Johannis dedicarent: in principio erat verbum et verbum erat apud Deum et verbum caro factum est, parvulos interfectos, Herodem saevientem, Joseph et Mariam fugientes in Aegyptum, mixtisque gaudio lacrimis loquebatur: salve Betlehem , domus panis, in qua natus est ille panis, qui de coelo descendit, salve Effrata regio uberrima, cujus fertilitas Deus est, David loquitur confidenter, intro ibimus in tabernaculum ejus, adorabimus in loco, ubi steterunt pedes ejus, et ego misera et peccatrix digna sum judicata deosculari praesepe, in quo dominus parvulus vagiit, orare in spelunca, in qua virgo puerpera Deum fudit infantem: haec requies mea, quia domini mei patria est, hie habitabo, quoniam salvator elegit eam,
Tanta se humilitate dejecit, ut qui eam vidisset et pro celebritate nominis videre gestiisset, ipsam esse non crederet, sed ancillarum ultimam, et cum frequentibus choris virginum eingeretur, ct veste et voce ac habitu et incessu minima omnium erat. Numquam post viri mortem usque ad diem dormitionis suae cum ullo comedit viro, quamvis eum sanctum et in pontificali culmine positum sciret. Balneas nisi periclitans non adiit, mollia etiam nisi in gravissima febre lectuli strata non habuit, sed super durissimum humum stratis ciliciolis quiescebat, si tamen illa quies dicenda est, quae jugibus paene orationibus dies noctesque jungebat. Ita levia peccata plangebat, ut illam gravissimorum criminum crederes esse ream, cumque a nobis crebrius moneretur, ut parceret oculis et eos servaret evangelicae lectioni, ajebat: turpanda est facies, quam contra Dei praeceptum purpurisso et cerussa et stibio saepe depinxi, alffligendum est corpus, quod multis vacavit deliciis, longus risus perpetuo compensandus est fletu, mollia linteamina et serica prefiosissima asperitate cilicii commutanda sunt, quae viro et saeculo placui, nune Christo placere desidero. Si inter tales tantasque virtuteg castitatem in illa volnero praedicare, superfluus videar, in qua etiam, cum saecularis esset, omnium Romae matronarum exemplum fait, quae se ita gessit, ut nunquam de illa eliam maledicorum quisquam auderet famam confingere, Fateor errorem meum, cur in largiendo esset profusior, arguebam, illud proferens de apostolo: mon ut aliis refrigerium sit, vobis autem tribulatio, sed ex aequalitate in hoc tempore, ut vestra abundantia sit ad illorum inopiam et illorum abundantia sit ad vestram inopiam, et providendum esse, ne, quod libenter faceret, semper facere non posset, multaque hujusmodi. Quae illa mira verecundia et sermone parcissimo peritissimoque dissolvebat, testem invocans dominum, se pro illius nomine cuncta facere et hoc habere voti, ut mendicans ipsa moreretur, ut unum nummum filiae non dimitteret et in funere suo aliena sindone involveretur. Ad extremum inferebat: ego si petiero, multos inveniam, qui mihi tribnant, iste mendicans si a me non acceperit, quid ej possum etiam de alieno tribuere, si mortuus fuerit, a quo ejus anima requireretur? Nolebat in his lapidibus effundere pecuniam, qui cum terra et saeculo transituri sunt, sed in vivis lapidibus, qui volvuntur snper terram, de quibus in Apocalipsi Johannis: civitas magni regis exstruitur.
Exceptis festis diebus vix oleum in cibo accipiebat, ut ex hoc uno aestimaretur, quid de vino et de liquamine et piscibus et lacte et melle et ovis et reliquis, quae gustui suavia sint, judicarit, in quibus sumendis quidam se abstinentissimos putant et, si his ventrem ingurgitaverint, tutam pudicitiam suspicantur. Novi susurronem quendam, quod genus hominum vile est, quasi benevolum nuntiasse quod prae nimio fervore virtutum quibusdam videretur insana et cerebrum illius diceret confovendnm, cni illa respondit: theatrum facti sumus mundo et angelis et hominibus: nos stulti propter Ghristum, sed stultum Dei sapientius est hominibus. Post virorum monasterium, quod viris tradiderat gubernandum, plures virgines, quas ex diversis provinciis congregavefat, tam nobilis quam mediocris et infimi generis in tres turmas et monasteria divisit, ita dumtaxat, ut opere et cibo separatae psalmis et oratione jungerentur. Jurgantes inter se sermone lenissimo foederabat, lascivientem adolescentularum carnem crebris et duplicatis frangebat jejuniis, malens eas stomachum dolere quam mentem, dicens munditiam corporis atque vestium animae esse immunditiam et, quod inter saeculi homines vel leve putatur vel nihil, hoc in monasteriis gravissimum esse delictum dicebat, eumque aliis languentibusidarge praeberet omnia et esum exhiberet carnium, si quando- ipsa aegrotaret, sibi non indulgebat et in eo inaequalis videbatur, quod in aliis clementiam in se duritiam commutabat. Referam quod expertus sum. Mense Julio ferventissimis aestibus incidit in ardorem febris et post desperationem cum Dei misericordia respirasset ct medici suaderent ob refectionem corporis vino esse opus tenui et parvo, ne aquam bibens in idropisim verteretur, et ego clam beatum episcopum Epiphanium rogarem, ut eam moneret, immo corpelleret vinum bibere, ut erat prudens et sollertis ingenii, statim sensit insidias et subridens meum esse, quod ille diceret, intimavit. Quid plura? Cum beatus pontifex post multa horamenta exisset foras, quaerenti mihi quid egisset, respondit: tantum profeci, ut ipsa mihi seni homini paene persuaserit, ut vinum non bibam.
Jn luctu mitis erat et suorum mortibus frangebatur maxime liberorum, nam et viri et filiorum dormitione saepe periclitata est, et cum os stomachumque signaret et matricis dolorem crucis niteretur impressione lenire, superabatur affectu et credulam mentem parentis viscera consternebant animoque vincens fragilitate corporis vincebatur. Scripturas sanctas tenebat memoriter et cum amaret historiam et illam veritatis diceret fundamentum, magis sequebatur intelligentiam spiritualem et hoc culmine aedificationis animae protegebat. Loquar et aliud, quod fortasse aemulis videtur incredulum. Hebraeam linguam, quam ego ab adolescentia multo labore et sudore ex parte didici et infatigabili meditatione non desero, ne ipsa ab ea deseratur, discere voluit et consecuta est ita, nt psalmos hebraice caneret et sermonem absque ulla latinae linguae proprietate personaret. Quod quidem usque hodie in sancta filia ejus Eustochio cernimus. Hucusque navigavimus prosperis ventis et crispantia maris aequora labens carina sulcavit, nuuc in scopulos incurrit oratio, quis enim posset siccis oculis Paulam narrare morientem ? — Incidit in gravissimam valetudinem, immo quod optabat, invenit, ut nos desereret et domino plenius jungeretur. Quid diu differo et dolorem meum in aliis immorando facio longiorem?
Sentiebat prudentissima feminarum adesse mortem et frigescente jam parte corporis atque membrorum solum animae teporem in sacro et sancto pectore palpitare, et nihilominus, quasi ad suos pergeret alienosque despiceret, illos versiculos susurrabat: domine dilexi decorem domus tuae et locum habitationis gloriae tuae et quam dilecta tabernacula tua domine elegi abjecta esse in domo Dei mei. Cumque a me interrogaretur, cur taceret, cur nollet respondere, inclamanti, an doleret aliquid, graeco sermone respondit, nihil se habere molestiae, sed omnia quieta et tranquilla perspicere. Post hoc obmutuit et clausis oculis, quasi humana despiceret, usque ad exspirationem animae eosdem repetebat versiculos, vix ut aure apposita, quod dicebat, audire possemus, Tota ad funus ejus Palaestinarum urbium turba convenit. Quem enim monachorum latentium in eremo cellula sua tenuit, quam virginum cubiculorum tenuerunt secreta, sacrilegium putabat, qui non tali feminae ultimum reddidisset officium, donec subter ecclesiam et juxta specum domini conderetur. Venerabilis filia ejus virgo Eustochium quasi ablactata super matrem suam abstrahi a parente non poterat, deosculari oculos, haerere vultui, totum corpus amplexari et se cum matre velle sepelire. Testis est Jesus nec unum quidem nummum ab ea filiae derelictum, sed magis tribuens egenis et quod his difficilius est, fratrum et sororum immensam multitudinem, quam et sustentare arduum est et abjicere impium est. Vale o Paula et cultoris tui ultimam senectutem orationibus juva.
Scripture echoes
- ↩John.1.1-John.1.14 — In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John.1.2 — He was in the beginning with God. John.1.3 — All things came into being through him, and apart from him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. John.1.4 — In him was life, and the life was the light of men. John.1.5 — And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John.1.6 — There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. John.1.7 — He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. John.1.8 — He himself was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light. John.1.9 — The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. John.1.10 — He was in the world, and the world came into being through him, yet the world did not know him. John.1.11 — He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. John.1.12 — But to all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God—to those who believed in his name. John.1.13 — who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. John.1.14 — And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- ↩Ps.25.8 — Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
- ↩Ps.83.2-Ps.83.3 — God, do not keep silent; do not be still, do not be quiet, O God. Ps.83.3 — For behold, your enemies make an uproar, and those who hate you have raised their heads.
- ↩Ps.83.11 — Let them be destroyed at En-dor; let them become dung for the ground.
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