Kebra Nagast

45. HOW THOSE WHO WERE SENT AWAY WEPT AND MADE A PLAN And the children of the nobles of Israel, who were commanded to depart with the son of the king, took " What shall we do ? For we counsel together, saying, have left our country and our birth-place, and our kinsfolk and the people of our city. Now, come ye, let us establish a covenant between us only, whereof our kinsfolk shall know nothing, that we will love each other in none shall hasten or tarry here, and we that country For God is will neither fear nor have any doubt. be done Will God's and is and God there, here, may Amen." And to Him be pmse for ever and ever And 'Azaryas and 'Elmiyas, sons of the priests, an" Let not the other matter that our kinsfolk swered, hate us cause us sorrow, but let us sorrow on account of our Lady Zion, because they are making us to leave For in her they have committed us to God, and her. we have served her to this day ; and let us be sorrowful because they have made us to leave her. It is because of her and because of this that they have specially made And the others answered and said unto us to weep." " them, Verily she is our Lady and our hope, and our of boasting, and we have grown up under her object : ! ! blessedness. And how is it possible for us to forsake Zion our mistress ? For we have been given to her. And what shall we do ? If we resist his command the king will kill us, and we are unable to transgress the word And what shall of our fathers or the king's command. " we do concerning Zion our Lady ? And 'Azaryas, the son of Zadok the priest, answered " But I will counsel you what we shall do. and said, make a covenant with me to the end of your lives and swear to me that ye will not repeat it whether we live or whether we die, or whether we be taken captive or whether we go forth [unhindered]." And they ; 66