ere afraid of my coming to them, and
tried, by putting me upon another action, to divert me, that they might
be freed from the terror they were in. Accordingly, they sent to Jesus,
the captain of those robbers who were in the confines of Ptolemais, and
promised to give him a great deal of money, if he would come with those
forces he had with him, which were in number eight hundred, and fight
with us. Accordingly, he complied with what they desired, upon the
promises they had made him, and was desirous to fall upon us when we
were unprepared for him, and knew nothing of his coming beforehand.
So he sent to me, and desired that I would give him leave to come and
salute me. When I had given him that leave, which I did without the
least knowledge of his treacherous intentions beforehand, he took his
band of robbers, and made haste to come to me. Yet did not this his
knavery succeed well at last; for as he was already nearly approaching,
one of those with him deserted him, and came to me, and told me what
he had undertaken to do. When I was informed of this, I went into the
market-place, and pretended to know nothing of his treacherous purpose.
I took with me many Galileans that were armed, as also some of those
of Tiberias; and, when I had given orders that all the roads should be
carefully guarded, I charged the keepers of the gates to give admittance
to none but Jesus, when he came, with the principal of his men, and to
exclude the rest; and in case they aimed to force themselves in, to use
stripes [in order to repel them]. Accordingly, those that had received
such a charge did as they were bidden, and Jesus came in with a few
others; and when I had ordered him to throw down his arms immediately,
and told him, that if he refused so to do, he was a dead man, he seeing
armed men standing all round about him, was terrified, and complied;
and as for those of his followers that were excluded, when they were
informed that he was seized, they ran away. I then called Jesus to me
by himself, and told him, "that I was not a stranger to that treacherous
design he had against me, nor was I ignorant by whom he was sent for;
that, however, I would forgive him what he had done already, if he
would repent of it, and be faithful to me hereafter." And thus, upon his
promise to do all that I desired, I let him go, and gave him leave
to get those whom he had formerly had with him together again. But I
threatened the inhabitants of Sepphoris, t