Books Jesus Read

152

Books Jesus Read

children in the fiery furnace. Daniel is the common factor in all these, as the friend of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and the young man by whose wisdom and discernment Susanna is vindicated and the false gods are exposed.

Text Susanna (Daniel 13:1–12; 13:13–64, NABRE)

There once lived in Babylon a man named Joakim. He married Susanna, daughter of Hilkiah, a very beautiful and devout woman. Her parents, religious people, had raised their daughter according to the law of Moses. Joakim was very rich and his house had a fine garden adjoining it, which was a regular meeting place for the Jews, because he was a man of greatest distinction among them. Now two elders of the community were appointed that year as judges. It was of them that the Lord had said, “Wickedness came forth from Babylon from elders who were judges and were supposed to govern my people.” These men were constantly at Joakim’s house, and everyone who had a case to be tried came to them there. When the people went away at noon, Susanna used to go and walk in her husband’s garden. Every day the two elders saw her entering the garden and taking her walk, and they were obsessed with lust for her. They no longer prayed to God, but let their thoughts stray from him and forgot the claims of morality. They were both infatuated with her; but they did not tell each other what pangs they suffered, because they were ashamed to confess that they wanted to seduce her. Day after day they watched eagerly to see her.