After the murder of the Bethlehem infants, and after the accursed Herod had died an evil death, the angel of the Lord again appeared in a dream to Joseph, commanding him to return from the land of Egypt to the land of Israel, "for (he said) those who sought the life of the child died." Joseph arose, took the Child and His Mother, and went to Judea, which was the best and largest part of the land of Israel. When he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in the place of Herod his father, he was afraid to go there. For Herod left behind him three sons: the first Archelaus, the second Herod Antipas, and the third, the youngest, Philip. All of them, after the death of their father, went to Rome, to Caesar, because of rivalry, since each of them wanted to receive the kingdom of his father. Caesar, not giving any of them royal honor, divided the kingdom into four parts, calling them tetrarchy. To his elder brother Archelaus he gave Judea, to Herod Antipas he gave Galilee, and to his younger brother Philip the land of Trachonite; And he gave Abilius to Lysanias, the youngest son of Lysanias the elder, who had once been a friend of Herod, and who was later killed by him out of envy. Dismissing them all from Rome, Caesar promised Archelaus royal honor, if only he would show good and careful management of his part. But Archelaus was no better than his cruel father, torturing and killing many, for when he came to Jerusalem, he immediately killed three thousand people in vain, and ordered many citizens to be tortured on the day of the feast, in the midst of the temple, before the whole assembly of the Jews. On account of his cruelty, he was, after several years, slandered, deprived of power, and exiled to prison.

To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

The Life of the Righteous King David [1]

The holy king and prophet David came from the tribe of Judah. His father Jesse was one of the elders of the city of Bethlehem and had eight sons, of whom David was the youngest. When David reached adolescence, his father entrusted him with the task of tending his flocks. The lad lived in solitude among the flocks, guarding his parental property, when a lion or a bear came and carried away a sheep from the flock, David chased after them and took away the prey; when the beast rushed at him, David took him by the braids, smote him and killed him. The Lord preserved the lad, for he was pious and did not like idleness, he made himself a musical instrument with strings, and in his leisure hours he practiced singing and playing this instrument. David turned the God-given ability for this art to the service of God, to the glorification of His holy name; constantly abiding in the contemplation of God, the lad, clanking on the strings, sang the wisdom and goodness of the Heavenly Father, manifested in all of God's creation and in human life.

At that time, Saul was the king of Israel. By some of his actions he showed disobedience to the commandments of the Lord and showed that he placed his own strength and desires above the will and mercy of the King of kings. Then the Lord commanded the prophet Samuel to declare to Saul:

- Because you rejected the word of the Lord, and He rejected you, so that you would not be a king.

Soon after this, the Lord sent Samuel to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for "among his sons I have provided myself with a king," said the Lord. Arriving in Bethlehem, the prophet ordered the elders of the city to prepare to offer sacrifice to the God of Israel, inviting Jesse and his sons to do so. When the children of Jesse came. Samuel, seeing the eldest of them, Elian, thought that he was the chosen one of God, but the Lord said to the prophet:

- Do not look at his appearance and at the height of his stature, I have rejected him. I do not look as a man looks: for a man looks at the face, but the Lord looks at the heart.

And Samuel did not receive a revelation about any of the seven sons who were with Jesse, so he asked Jesse if all his children were there. The elder replied that there was another son who tended sheep; The prophet ordered to send for the youth. When David came, the Lord said to Samuel,

- Встань, помажь его, ибо это он.

Пророк взял принесенный им с собою рог с елеем и помазал Давида среди его братьев. И почивал Дух Господень на Давиде с того дня и после. Затем Самуил ушел из Вифлеема, а отрок возвратился к прежнему своему делу.

А от Саула отступил Дух Господень, и он впал в болезнь беснования, мучительны были припадки этой болезни, и Саул постоянно находился в раздраженном состоянии, томимый мрачными думами. Тогда царедворцы посоветовали своему государю пригласить человека, хорошо играющего на гуслях, чтобы тот своею игрою успокаивал царя во время припадков болезни. Саул согласился, и тогда один из придворных указал на Давида. По приказанию царя, восемнадцатилетний юноша-пастырь был призван к царскому дворцу; когда Саул болезненно мучился, Давид играл на своих гуслях, благоугождая Богу, и отраднее и лучше становилось Саулу, и злой дух отступал от него. Давид очень понравился царю и сделался его оруженосцем, но служба его при дворе не была беспрерывной, и он имел возможность надолго уходить в свой родной город и продолжал заниматься своим пастушеским делом.

Вскоре произошло нашествие филистимлян [2] на землю Израильскую. Вступив в пределы колена Иудина, они расположились лагерем между Сокхофом и Азеком в Ефес-Даммиме [3]. Саул с израильским войском остановился верстах в двух южнее; между обоими лагерями находилась обширная долина. Филистимляне задумали покончить войну обычным в древности поединком, и из их стана выступил великан Голиаф, уроженец Гефа, из рода Энаков [4]. Он был ростом шести локтей и одной пяди [5], т. е. 4 аршин и 14 вершков, на нем было полное воинское вооружение из меди: чешуйчатая броня, весом пять тысяч сиклей [6], шлем, наколенники и щит; в руках он нес железное копье весом шестьдесят сиклей. Обращаясь к войску израильскому, Голиаф восклицал:

- Выберите из себя человека, и пусть сойдет ко мне; если он убьет меня, то мы будем вашими рабами; если же я одолею его, то вы будете нашими рабами и будете служить нам.