THE FIRST GOSPEL OF THE INFANCY OF JESUS CHRIST.

FORBIDDEN BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.

CHAPTER IV.

1 Herod intends to put Christ to death.
3 An angel warns Joseph to take the child
and his mother into Egypt.
6 Consternation on their arrival.
13 The idols fall down.
15 Mary washes Christ's swaddling clothes, hangs them to
dry on a post, and the son of a priest puts one on his head;
16 And being possessed of devils they leave him.

NOW Herod perceiving that the
wise men did delay and not return
to him, called together the priest
and wise men, and said, Tell me in
what place the Christ should be born.

2 And when they replied, in
Bethlehem,--a city of Judaea, he
began to contrive in his own mind
the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 But an angel of the Lord
appeared to Joseph in his sleep,
and said, Arise, take the child and
his mother, and go into Egypt as soon
as the cock crows. So he arose,
and went.

4 And as he was considering
with himself about his journey,
the morning came upon him.

5 In the length of the journey
the girts of the saddle broke.

6 And now he drew near to a great
city, in which there was an idol,
to which the priests of the other
idols and gods of Egypt brought
their offerings and vows.

7 And there was by this idol a
priest ministering to it, who, as
often as Satan spoke out of that
idol, related the things he said to
the inhabitants of Egypt, and those
countries.

8 This priest had a son three
years old, who was possessed with
a great multitude of devils, who
uttered many strange things and
when the devils seized him, walked
about naked with his clothes torn,
throwing stones at those whom
he saw.

9 Near to that idol was the inn
of the city, into which when Joseph
and St. Mary were come, and had
turned into that inn, all the
inhabitants of the city were
astonished.

10 And all the magistrates and
priests of the idols assembled
before that idol, and made inquiry
there, saying, What means all this
consternation, and dread, which
has fallen upon all our country?

11 The idol answered them,
The unknown God is come thither,
who is truly God; nor is there any
one besides him, who is worthy of
divine worship for he is truly the
Son of God.

12 At the fame of him this
country trembled, and at his
coming it is under the present
commotion and consternation, and
we ourselves are afrighted by the
greatness of his power.

13 And at the same instant this
idol fell down, and at his fall all
the inhabitants of Egypt, besides
others ran together.

14 But the son of the priest,
when his usual disorder came upon
him going into the inn, found
there Joseph and St. Mary, whom
all the rest had left behind and
forsook.

15 And when the Lady St. Mary
had washed the swaddling clothes
of the Lord Christ, and hanged
them out to dry upon a post, the
boy possessed with the devil took
down one of them, and put it upon
his head.

16 And presently the devils
began to come out of his mouth,
and fly away in the shape of crows
and serpents.

17 From that time the boy was
healed by the power of the Lord
Christ and he began to sing
praises, and give thanks to the
Lord who had healed him.

18 When his father saw him
restored to his former state of
health, he said, My son, what has
happened to thee, and by what
means wert thou cured?

19 The son answered, When the
devils seized me, I went into the
inn, and there found a very handsome
woman with a boy, whose swaddling
clothes she had just before washed,
and hanged out upon a post.

20 One of these I took, and put
it upon my head, and immediately
the devils left me, and fled away.

21 At this the father exceedingly
rejoiced, and said, My son,
perhaps this boy is the son of the
living God, who made the heavens
and the earth.

22 For as soon as he came
amongst us, the idol was broken,
and all the gods fell down, and
were destroyed by a greater power.

23 Then was fulfilled the prophecy
which saith, Out of Egypt I have
called my son.

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