Chapter 5
(21).
And as Prince Satan and Hades were thus speaking
to each other in turn, suddenly there was a voice as of thunders, and a
shouting of spirits: Lift up your gates, ye princes; and be ye
lifted up, ye everlasting gates; and the King of glory shall come
in.1978
Hades hearing this, said to
Prince Satan: Retire from me, and go outside of my realms:
if thou art a
powerful warrior,
fight against the King of
glory.
But what hast thou to do with Him? And
Hades thrust
Satan outside
of his realms. And
Hades said to his impious officers: Shut
the cruel
gates of
brass, and put up the bars of
iron, and
resist
bravely, that we, holding
captivity, may not take
Him
captive.
1979
| 1979 Ps. lxviii. 18. Captivemus in the
text is probably a misprint for captivemur, may not be taken
captive. |
And all the multitude of the saints, hearing this,
said to Hades, with the voice of reproach: Open thy gates, that
the King of glory may come in. And David cried out, saying:
Did I not, when I was alive upon earth, prophesy to you: Let them
confess to the Lord His tender mercies and His wonderful works to the
children of men: for He has shattered the brazen gates, and burst
the iron bars; He has taken them up out of the way of their
iniquity?1980
And after
this, in like manner, Esaias said: Did not I, when I was alive
upon
earth, prophesy to you: The dead shall rise up, and those
who are in their
tombs shall rise again, and those who are upon
earth
shall exult; because the dew, which is from the
Lord, is their
health?
1981
And again
I said, Where, O
Death, is thy
sting? where, O
Hades, is thy
victory?
1982
And when all the saints heard this from Esaias,
they said to Hades: Open thy gates. Since thou art now
conquered, thou wilt be weak and powerless. And there was a great
voice, as of thunders, saying: Lift up your gates, ye princes;
and be ye lifted up, ye infernal gates; and the King of glory shall
come in. Hades, seeing that they had twice shouted out this,
says, as if not knowing: Who is the king of glory? David
says, in answer to Hades: I recognise those words of the shout,
since I prophesied the same by His Spirit. And now, what I have
said above I say to thee, The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty
in battle; He is the King of glory.1983
And the
Lord Himself hath looked down from
heaven upon
earth, to hear
the
groans of the
prisoners, and to
release the sons of the
slain.
1984
And now,
most
filthy and most foul
Hades, open thy
gates, that the King of
glory
may come in. While
David was thus speaking, there came to
Hades,
in the form of a man, the
Lord of
majesty, and lighted up the
eternal
darkness, and
burst asunder the indissoluble
chains; and the aid of
unconquered
power visited us, sitting in the profound
darkness of
transgressions, and in the shadow of death of sins.
1985
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