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Now Jesus, who was the ruler, commanded that they should
exclude all that came with me, for he kept the door himself, and
suffered none but his friends to go in. And while we were engaged
in the duties of the day, and had betaken ourselves to our
prayers, Jesus got up, and inquired of me what was become of the
vessels that were taken out of the king's palace, when it was
burnt down [and] of that uncoined silver; and in whose possession
they now were? This he said, in order to drive away time till
John should come. I said that Capellus, and the ten principal men
of Tiberias, had them all; and I told him that they might ask
them whether I told a lie or not. And when they said they had
them, he asked me, What is become of those twenty pieces of gold
which thou didst receive upon the sale of a certain weight of
uncoined money? I replied, that I had given them to those
ambassadors of theirs, as a maintenance for them, when they were
sent by them to Jerusalem. So Jonathan and his colleagues said
that I had not done well to pay the ambassadors out of the public
money. And when the multitude were very angry at them for this,
for they perceived the wickednes of the men, I understood that a
tumult was going to arise; and being desirous to provoke the
people to a greater rage against the men, I said, "But if I have
not done well in paying our ambassadors out of the public stock,
leave off your anger at me, for I will repay the twenty pieces of
gold myself."
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