had brought him.  Jesus answered in few words, the sense of which was:  ’It were better for thee that thou hadst never been born;’ however, I cannot remember the words exactly.  In the mean time, the soldiers had risen, and again approached Jesus, but they waited for the sign of the kiss, with which Judas had promised to salute his Master that they might recognise him.  Peter and the other disciples surrounded Judas, and reviled him in unmeasured terms, calling him thief and traitor; he tried to mollify their wrath by all kinds of lies, but his efforts were vain, for the soldiers came up and offered to defend him, which proceeding manifested the truth at once.

Jesus again asked, ‘Whom seek ye?’ They replied:  ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’  Jesus made answer, ‘I have told you that I am he,’ ’if therefore you seek me, let these go their way.’  At these words the soldiers fell for the second time to the ground, in convulsions similar to those of epilepsy, and the Apostles again surrounded Judas and expressed their indignation at his shameful treachery.  Jesus said to the soldiers, ‘Arise,’ and they arose, but at first quite speechless from terror.  They then told Judas to give them the signal agreed upon instantly, as their orders were to seize upon no one but him whom Judas kissed.  Judas therefore approached Jesus, and gave him a kiss, saying, ‘Hail Rabbi.’  Jesus replied, ’What, Judas, dost thou betray the Son of Man with a kiss?’ The soldiers immediately surrounded Jesus, and the archers laid hands upon him.  Judas wished to fly, but the Apostles would not allow it, they rushed at the soldiers and cried out, ‘Master, shall we strike with the sword?’ Peter, who was more impetuous than the rest, seized the sword, and struck Malchus, the servant of the high priest, who wished to drive away the Apostles, and cut off his right ear; Malchus fell to the ground, and a great tumult ensued.

The archers had seized upon Jesus, and wished to bind him; while Malchus and the rest of the soldiers stood around.  When Peter struck the former, the rest were occupied in repulsing those among the disciples who approached too near, and in pursuing those who ran away.  Four disciples made their appearance in the distance, and looked fearfully at the scene before them; but the soldiers were still too much alarmed at their late fall to trouble themselves much about them, and besides they did not wish to leave our Saviour without a certain number of men to guard him.  Judas fled as soon as he had given the traitorous kiss, but was met by some of the disciples, who overwhelmed him with reproaches.  Six Pharisees, however, came to his rescue, and he escaped whilst the archers were busily occupied in pinioning Jesus.