XIII. It is not lawful for a man to be cruel and inexorable; he ought rather to be easily moved to reconciliation, and with difficulty moved to anger; so that when the man who offended him begs pardon of him, he should pardon him with a perfect heart and benevolent mind. Even though the other have oppressed or offended him very much, still he ought not to avenge himself, nor to bear a grudge; this (moderation) being the practice of the seed of Israel, who are kind-hearted; but with regard to the Cuthites who are of uncircumcised hearts, these are not so, but they keep their wrath for ever; and so it is said with regard to the Gibeonites, in consequence of their not having forgiven and of their having shown themselves unrelenting: Now the Gibeonites WERE NOT OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, (2 Sam. xxi. 2).

הנכון
ולבס

2 literally: and their right hearts.

3 See page 166, Note 5.

4 An expression made use of by Amos the prophet, when describing the uncharitableness of Edom, (Amos i. 11).

5 Wherefore David said unto the Gibeonites, What shall I do for you? and wherewith shall I make the atonement, that ye may bless the inheritance of the Lord?

And the Gibeonites said unto him, We will have no silver nor gold of Saul, nor of his house; neither for us shalt thou kill any man in Israel. And he said, What ye shall say, that will I do

for you.

And they answered the king, The man that consumed us, and that devised against us that we should be destroyed from remaining in any of the coasts of Israel,

Let seven men of his sons be delivered unto us, and we will

hang

XIV. If one offend another, and the other happen to die before he (the offender) has begged his pardon, he ought to take with him ten men, and place them over the other's grave, and say before them [these words]: I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and also against this man, having done unto him so and SO. Moreover if he owed the other money, he ought to restore it to his heirs; if, so far as he knows, the other have no heirs, he ought to deposit it in a court of justice, and also make his confession.

hang them up unto the Lord in Gibeah of Saul whom the Lord did choose. And the king said, I will give them.

PRECEPTS RELATING TO REPENTANCE.

CHAPTER III.

EVERY one of the sons of men has his good deeds, and also his wicked deeds1. He whose good deeds amount to more than his wicked deeds, is [said to be] a righteous man, and he whose wicked deeds amount to more than his good deeds, is [said to be] a wicked man; [again he whose deeds consist of] half [good ones] and half [wicked ones], is [said to be] an intermediate man. Also with regard to a [whole] country, if the good deeds of the whole of its inhabitants [when added together] were to amount to more than their wicked deeds, [then] behold! this would be a righteous [country]; but if the wicked deeds of the same were to be most, [then] behold! this would be a wicked [country]. And so it would be with regard to the whole world in general3.

II. The man whose wicked deeds amount to more than his good deeds, dies forthwith, in

literally and iniquities.

21 literally: altogether.

consequence of his wickedness; for it is said: 1For the multitude of thine iniquity, (Hos. ix. 7); also a country, the wicked deeds of which are most, perishes forthwith; for it is said: Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, &c. (Gen. xviii. 20).—And so it is with regard to the [inhabitants of the] whole world in general, [viz.] if their wicked deeds amount to more than their good deeds, they also perish forthwith; for it is said: And God saw that the wickedness of man was great, (Gen. vi. 5).

III.

2

However in this balancing [of the good deeds against the wicked ones], not the number of the good or wicked deeds, but the importance of the same, is taken into consideration; so that there may be one good deed which makes up for many wicked ones; for it is said: "Because in him there is found [some]

1 The days of visitation are come, the days of recompense are come, Israel shall know it; the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, FOR THE MULTITUDE OF THINE INIQUITY, and the great hatred.

2 And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination &c.: And it repented the Lord that He had made man on the earth &c.: And the Lord said, I WILL DESTROY MAN &c. (Gen. vi. 5, 6, 7).

5 And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him; for he

יען נמצא בו דבר,only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave טוב

good thing, (1 Kings xiv. 13.); and again there may be one wicked deed which makes up for many good ones; for it is said: But one sinner destroyeth much good, (Eccles. ix. 18). They (the deeds of a man) can [therefore] be balanced by the knowledge of the God of knowledge only, and it is He [alone] who knows how to estimate the good deeds against the wicked ones.

IV. He who regrets having fulfilled the commandments, and who is sorry for his good deeds, saying to himself": What profit have I in having fulfilled the same?-O that I never had fulfilled the same!-behold! this [man] has altogether undone [the good deeds which he once had done], and no good deed of his whatever will be recorded in his [favour]; for it is said: The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression, (Ezek. xxxiii. 12.); which [applies] to him only who is sorry for his former [good deeds'].

because in him there is found SOME good thing &c. It is

יען נמצא בו דבר טוב evident from the context in which

is quoted here, that our Author must have translated it thus: Because in him there is found A (or ONE) good thing. 61 literally in his heart.

רבי שמעון בן יוחאי אומר אפילו צדיק גמור כל 7

ימיו ומרד באחרונה איבד את הראשונות שנאמר צדקת אמר ריש לקיש בתוהא הצדיק לא תצילנו ביום פשעו על הראשונות

...

"Rabbi Simeon, the son of Jochi says: Though one be a perfectly righteous man all his days, yet if he rebel at the

end