city went in to give alms to the prisoners who were there, and he saw the woman and lusted for her, for she was beautiful. And he sent his servant to call her, and she came thinking that he wished to give her alms; but he took her aside, and said to her, “Why hast thou come here?” And she related unto him the whole matter. Then he said unto her, “If I pay one-third of thy husband’s debt wilt thou lie with me this night?” And that chaste, free woman said unto him, “I have heard that the holy Apostle said, ‘A woman hath no power over her body, but her husband.’ I will first ask my husband, and whatsoever he commandeth me that will I do.” And having come she told her husband, and he was grieved; and he wept, and said unto her, “Go, and say unto him, ‘I have told my husband, and it hath not pleased him, and I have hope in God that He will not forsake us.’ ” Now there was in the prison-house a certain thief who had been a highway robber, and he was shut up [in a room] inside beyond them, and at that moment he happened to be sitting at a window which faced them, and he heard everything which they were saying; and with tears he said unto himself, “Woe is me! For although these people are in such great trouble, they are not willing to deliver over their freedom, and accept money, and go forth from this place, but they hold their chastity to be more valuable than riches. What then shall I, the wretched one, do? For the thought that there is a God hath never entered my mind, and I never remember that my evil deeds will be judged, and I have committed many wickednesses, and many awful murders. And I know that when the judge cometh here he will kill me without asking a question, as is just.” And he answered and said unto the woman and her husband, “Because I see that ye preserve the purity of your bodies for Christ’s sake, and that ye have chosen to remain in great tribulation and not to destroy your chastity, God hath put it into my heart to do unto you an act of grace which ye deserve, and perhaps God will shew me mercy through you on the day of judgement. Go ye to the northern side of the city wall, and dig there in a certain place, and behold, ye shall find there a large earthen pot, beneath which is a vessel full of gold. Take it, and pay your debt, and may a great blessing abide with you so that you may live upon it; but I beseech you to pray for me continually, that I may find mercy before God in the day of judgement.”
And after three days the judge came to the city, and he ordered them to cut off the head of that thief without [asking any] questions, and after he had been slain, that noble woman said unto her husband, “Wilt thou command me to go and
