was Universally Accepted

Kebra Nagast

it into the house of Azâryâs, and they went back into the house of God, and they set the pieces of wood on the place where Zion had been, and they covered them over with the covering of Zion’ and they shut the doors, and went back to their houses And they took lamps and set them in the place where [Zion] was hidden, and they sacrificed the sheep thereto, and burned offerings of incense thereto, and they spread purple cloths over it and set it in a secret place for seven days and seven nights.

49. How his Father Blessed his Son

And then the King of Ethiopia rose up to depart to his country, and he came to his father that he might pray on his behalf, and he said unto him, “Bless me, father”; and he made obeisance unto him. And the King raised him up, and blessed him, and embraced his head, and said, “Blessed be the Lord my God Who blessed my father David, and Who blessed our father Abraham. May He be with thee always, and bless thy seed even as He blessed Jacob, and made his seed to be as many as the stars of heaven and the sand of the sea. And as Abraham blessed Isaac my father even so shall thy blessing be—the dew of heaven and the spaciousness of the earth—and may all animals and all the birds of the heavens, and all the beasts of the field, and the fish of the sea, be in subjection unto thee. Be thou full, and not lacking in fullness; be thou perfect, and not lacking in perfection; be gracious, and not obstinate; be in good health, and not suffering; be generous, and not vindictive; be pure, and not defiled; be righteous, and not a sinner; be merciful, and not oppressive; be sincere, and not perverse; be longsuffering, and not prone to wrath. And the enemy shall be afraid of thee, and thine adversaries shall cast themselves under the sole of thy foot. And my Lady Zion, the holy and heavenly, the Tabernacle of the Law of God, shall be a guide unto thee at all times, a guide in respect of what thou shouldst think in thy heart and shouldst do with thy fingers, whether it be far or near to thee, whether it be low or high to thee, whether it be strong or weak to thee, whether it be outside or inside thee, whether it be to thee in the house or in the field, whether it be visible or invisible to thee, whether it be away from or near to thee, whether it be hidden from or revealed to

62

Kebra Nagast

thee, whether it be secret or published abroad to thee—unto thee our Lady Zion, the holy and heavenly, the pure Tabernacle of the Law of God, shall be a guide.” And David was blessed, and he made obeisance, and departed.

50. How they Bade Farewell to his Father and how the City Mourned

And they bade [the king] farewell and departed. And first of all they set Zion by night upon a wagon together with a mass of worthless stuff, and dirty clothes, and stores of every sort and kind. And [when] all the wagons were loaded, and the masters of the caravan rose up, and the horn was blown, and the city became excited, and the youths shouted loudly, awesomeness crowned it and grace surrounded it (i.e. Zion). And the old men wailed, and the children cried out, and the widows wept, and the virgins lamented, because the sons of their nobles, the mighty men of Israel, had risen up to depart. But the city did not weep for them alone, but because the majesty of the city had been carried off with them. And although they did not know actually that Zion had been taken from them, they made no mistake in their hearts and they wept bitterly; and they were then even as they were when God slew the firstborn of Egypt. There was not a house wherein there was not wailing, from man even to the beast; the dogs howled, and the asses screamed, and all those who were left there mingled their tears together. It was as though the generals of a mighty army had besieged the great city, and had captured it by assault, and looted it, and taken its people prisoners and slain them with the edge of the sword; even thus was that city of Zion—Jerusalem.

And King Solomon was dismayed at the weeping and outcry of the city, and he looked out from the roof of the palace, the fort of the king’s house, and saw the whole city weeping and following them. And as a child, whom his mother hath removed from her breast and left, followeth in her footsteps crying out and weeping, even so did the people cry out and weep; and they cast dust upon their heads, and they shed tears with their eyes. And when Solomon saw the majesty of those who had departed, he was deeply moved and he trembled, and his bowels quaked, and his tears

63

Kebra Nagast

fell drop by drop upon his apparel, and he said, “Woe is me! for my glory hath departed, and the crown of my splendour hath fallen, and my belly is burned up because this my son hath departed, and the majesty of my city and the freemen, the children of my might, are removed. From this moment our glory hath passed away, and our kingdom hath been carried off unto a strange people who know not God, even as the prophet saith, ‘The people who have not sought Me have found Me.’41 From this time forth the law, and wisdom, and understanding shall be given unto them. And my father prophesied concerning them, saying, ‘Ethiopia shall bow before Him, and His enemies shall eat the dust.’42 And in another [place] he saith, ‘Ethiopia shall stretch out her hands to God, and He shall receive her with honour, and the kings of the earth shall praise God.’43 And in a third [place] he saith, ‘Behold, the Philistines,44 and the Tyrians, and the people of Ethiopia, who were born without the Law. The Law shall be given unto them, and they shall say unto Zion, ‘our mother45 because of a man who shall be born.’ Will this man then be my son who is begotten of me?”

51. How he Said unto Zadok the Priest, “Go and Bring the Covering (or, Clothing) which is upon it (i.e. Zion) “

And he said unto Zadok the priest, “Go, bring that covering which is upon Zion, and take thee this covering which is better than that, and lay it over the two [cherubs] which are below it.” (Now this covering was made of threads of the finest gold wirework twisted together and hammered out into a pattern, and they were not woven like the threads of purple.) “And

41Isaiah lxv, 1. 42Psalm lxxii, 9, 10. 43Psalm lxviii, 31. 44Psalm lxxxiii, 7 45Compare Psalm lxxxvii, 2–4; Isaiah li, 16.

64