and whilst they were sitting talking, a certain brother also came to Abbâ, and repeated the following:—There was a certain rich man in Jerusalem who had become rich by means of fraud, and avarice, and oppression, and wicked acts of various kinds; and when this man came to himself, and understood that there was judgement to come, he drew nigh to a certain teacher, and said unto him, “I beseech thee [to hearken unto me]. My mind is led captive by worldly care, and by anxieties which are of the earth; make me whole then, so that I may not perish.” And the teacher gave him to read the Book of the Wisdom of Solomon, and as he was reading [it], he found a verse which said, “He who hath compassion upon the poor, lendeth to God.” Then he shut the book, and gave it to the teacher, saying, “Who is there that is more sure and more to be trusted than God, Who if I shew compassion upon the poor, will give me back both principal and interest?” Then he went immediately, and sold everything which he possessed and divided it among the poor, and he left nothing whatsoever of it to himself except four dînârs, which were to be [spent] in burying him; and he fell into want, and became exceedingly poor, and he went about begging, but no man either shewed compassion upon him or gave him food. Finally he meditated within himself, and said, “I will go to the Lord my God, and will enter into judgement with Him because He led me astray and made me scatter all my possessions.” Now as he was returning to Jerusalem, he saw two men fighting with each other, and each was striving to take from his companion a certain stone of great excellence, which had fallen from the ephod which was on Aaron, the high priest; now the men did not know what the stone was. Then the man said unto them, “Why are ye fighting and contending with each other?” And they answered and said unto him, “We have found a stone, and we do not know what its value is”; and he said unto them, “Give it to me, and take four dînârs,” and they gave him the stone gladly. Then the man went into Jerusalem and shewed the stone to a goldsmith, who, as soon as he saw the stone, said unto him, “Where didst thou find this? For behold, because [of the loss] thereof all Jerusalem hath been in an uproar for the last three days. But go, and give it to the high priest, and he will make thee a rich man.” Now when he had gone into the temple, the angel of the Lord appeared unto the high priest, and said unto him, “Behold, a man hath come unto thee, and he hath with him the stone which was lost; give him, then, gold and silver, and precious stones according to his desire, and rebuke him and say unto him, ‘Have no doubt whatsoever in thy mind, and restrain
