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2 Samuel 18

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1 καὶ ἐπεσκέψατο Δαυιδ τὸν λαὸν τὸν με{T'} αὐτοῦ καὶ κατέστησεν ἐ{P'} αὐτῶν χιλιάρχους καὶ ἑκατοντάρχους 2 καὶ ἀπέστειλεν Δαυιδ τὸν λαόν τὸ τρίτον ἐν χειρὶ Ιωαβ καὶ τὸ τρίτον ἐν χειρὶ Αβεσσα υἱοῦ Σαρουιας ἀδελφοῦ Ιωαβ καὶ τὸ τρίτον ἐν χειρὶ Εθθι τοῦ Γεθθαίου καὶ εἶπεν Δαυιδ πρὸς τὸν λαόν ἐξελθὼν ἐξελεύσομαι καί γε ἐγὼ με{Q'} ὑμῶν 3 καὶ εἶπαν οὐκ ἐξελεύσῃ ὅτι ἐὰν φυγῇ φύγωμεν οὐ θήσουσιν ἐ{F'} ἡμᾶς καρδίαν καὶ ἐὰν ἀποθάνωμεν τὸ ἥμισυ ἡμῶν οὐ θήσουσιν ἐ{F'} ἡμᾶς καρδίαν ὅτι σὺ ὡς ἡμεῖς δέκα χιλιάδες καὶ νῦν ἀγαθὸν ὅτι ἔσῃ ἡμῖν ἐν τῇ πόλει βοήθεια τοῦ βοηθεῖν 4 καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτοὺς ὁ βασιλεύς ὃ ἐὰν ἀρέσῃ ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ὑμῶν ποιήσω καὶ ἔστη ὁ βασιλεὺς ἀνὰ χεῖρα τῆς πύλης καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἐξεπορεύετο εἰς ἑκατοντάδας καὶ εἰς χιλιάδας 5 καὶ ἐνετείλατο ὁ βασιλεὺς τῷ Ιωαβ καὶ τῷ Αβεσσα καὶ τῷ Εθθι λέγων φείσασθέ μοι τοῦ παιδαρίου τοῦ Αβεσσαλωμ καὶ πᾶς ὁ λαὸς ἤκουσεν ἐντελλομένου τοῦ βασιλέως πᾶσιν τοῖς ἄρχουσιν ὑπὲρ Αβεσσαλωμ

1 And now David passed the men who were with him under review, appointing commanders and captains over them; 2 one third he entrusted to Joab, one third to Joab’s brother Abisai, and the remainder to Ethai of Geth. He himself, he told his men, would go into battle with them, 3 but they would not have it. It makes no great matter to the enemy, they said, whether we are routed: even if half of us should fall, they would set little store by it; thy life is more to them than the lives of ten thousand others. Better that thou shouldst remain in the city and garrison it for us. 4 So the king told them he would abide by their judgement, and he stood watching at the gate while they marched out company by company, in their hundreds and thousands. 5 One charge the king laid upon Joab and Abisai and Ethai alike, Spare me my son Absalom; and this charge about Absalom was so given to each of them that the men in the ranks could hear it.

1 Igitur considerato David populo suo, constituit super eos tribunos et centuriones, 2 et dedit populi tertiam partem sub manu Joab, et tertiam partem sub manu Abisai filii Sarviæ fratris Joab, et tertiam partem sub manu Ethai, qui erat de Geth. Dixitque rex ad populum: Egrediar et ego vobiscum. 3 Et respondit populus: Non exibis: sive enim fugerimus, non magnopere ad eos de nobis pertinebit: sive media pars ceciderit e nobis, non satis curabunt, quia tu unus pro decem millibus computaris: melius est igitur ut sis nobis in urbe præsidio. 4 Ad quos rex ait: Quod vobis videtur rectum, hoc faciam. Stetit ergo rex juxta portam: egrediebaturque populus per turmas suas centeni et milleni. 5 Et præcepit rex Joab, et Abisai, et Ethai, dicens: Servate mihi puerum Absalom. Et omnis populus audiebat præcipientem regem cunctis principibus pro Absalom.

6 καὶ ἐξῆλθεν πᾶς ὁ λαὸς εἰς τὸν δρυμὸν ἐξ ἐναντίας Ισραηλ καὶ ἐγένετο ὁ πόλεμος ἐν τῷ δρυμῷ Εφραιμ 7 καὶ ἔπταισεν ἐκεῖ ὁ λαὸς Ισραηλ ἐνώπιον τῶν παίδων Δαυιδ καὶ ἐγένετο ἡ θραῦσις μεγάλη ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ εἴκοσι χιλιάδες ἀνδρῶν 8 καὶ ἐγένετο ἐκεῖ ὁ πόλεμος διεσπαρμένος ἐπὶ πρόσωπον πάσης τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐπλεόνασεν ὁ δρυμὸς τοῦ καταφαγεῖν ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ ὑπὲρ οὓς κατέφαγεν ἐν τῷ λαῷ ἡ μάχαιρα ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ 9 καὶ συνήντησεν Αβεσσαλωμ ἐνώπιον τῶν παίδων Δαυιδ καὶ Αβεσσαλωμ ἐπιβεβηκὼς ἐπὶ τοῦ ἡμιόνου αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰσῆλθεν ὁ ἡμίονος ὑπὸ τὸ δάσος τῆς δρυὸς τῆς μεγάλης καὶ ἐκρεμάσθη ἡ κεφαλὴ αὐτοῦ ἐν τῇ δρυί καὶ ἐκρεμάσθη ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τῆς γῆς καὶ ὁ ἡμίονος ὑποκάτω αὐτοῦ παρῆλθεν 10 καὶ εἶδεν ἀνὴρ εἷς καὶ ἀνήγγειλεν Ιωαβ καὶ εἶπεν ἰδοὺ ἑώρακα τὸν Αβεσσαλωμ κρεμάμενον ἐν τῇ δρυί 11 καὶ εἶπεν Ιωαβ τῷ ἀνδρὶ τῷ ἀπαγγέλλοντι καὶ ἰδοὺ ἑόρακας τί ὅτι οὐκ ἐπάταξας αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν γῆν καὶ ἐγὼ ἂν δεδώκειν σοι δέκα ἀργυρίου καὶ παραζώνην μίαν 12 εἶπεν δὲ ὁ ἀνὴρ πρὸς Ιωαβ καὶ ἐγώ εἰμι ἵστημι ἐπὶ τὰς χεῖράς μου χιλίους σίκλους ἀργυρίου οὐ μὴ ἐπιβάλω χεῖρά μου ἐπὶ τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ βασιλέως ὅτι ἐν τοῖς ὠσὶν ἡμῶν ἐνετείλατο ὁ βασιλεὺς σοὶ καὶ Αβεσσα καὶ τῷ Εθθι λέγων φυλάξατέ μοι τὸ παιδάριον τὸν Αβεσσαλωμ 13 μὴ ποιῆσαι ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ αὐτοῦ ἄδικον καὶ πᾶς ὁ λόγος οὐ λήσεται ἀπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ σὺ στήσῃ ἐξ ἐναντίας 14 καὶ εἶπεν Ιωαβ τοῦτο ἐγὼ ἄρξομαι οὐχ οὕτως μενῶ ἐνώπιόν σου καὶ ἔλαβεν Ιωαβ τρία βέλη ἐν τῇ χειρὶ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐνέπηξεν αὐτὰ ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ Αβεσσαλωμ ἔτι αὐτοῦ ζῶντος ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ τῆς δρυὸς 15 καὶ ἐκύκλωσαν δέκα παιδάρια αἴροντα τὰ σκεύη Ιωαβ καὶ ἐπάταξαν τὸν Αβεσσαλωμ καὶ ἐθανάτωσαν αὐτόν 16 καὶ ἐσάλπισεν Ιωαβ ἐν κερατίνῃ καὶ ἀπέστρεψεν ὁ λαὸς τοῦ μὴ διώκειν ὀπίσω Ισραηλ ὅτι ἐφείδετο Ιωαβ τοῦ λαοῦ 17 καὶ ἔλαβεν τὸν Αβεσσαλωμ καὶ ἔρριψεν αὐτὸν εἰς χάσμα μέγα ἐν τῷ δρυμῷ εἰς τὸν βόθυνον τὸν μέγαν καὶ ἐστήλωσεν ἐ{P'} αὐτὸν σωρὸν λίθων μέγαν σφόδρα καὶ πᾶς Ισραηλ ἔφυγεν ἀνὴρ εἰς τὸ σκήνωμα αὐτοῦ 18 καὶ Αβεσσαλωμ ἔτι ζῶν καὶ ἔστησεν ἑαυτῷ τὴν στήλην ἐν ᾗ ἐλήμφθη καὶ ἐστήλωσεν αὐτὴν λαβεῖν τὴν στήλην τὴν ἐν τῇ κοιλάδι τοῦ βασιλέως ὅτι εἶπεν οὐκ ἔστιν αὐτῷ υἱὸς ἕνεκεν τοῦ ἀναμνῆσαι τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκάλεσεν τὴν στήλην Χεὶρ Αβεσσαλωμ ἕως τῆς ἡμέρας ταύτης

6 So his army took the field against Israel; it was in the forest of Ephraim that battle was joined. 7 And the Israelites were routed by David’s men, with great loss; twenty thousand men fell that day, 8 and more of them perished in the woods than in the fighting itself, so scattered was their flight over all the country-side. 9 Some of David’s men encountered Absalom himself, riding on a mule; and away the mule went, under the tangled branches of a great oak, which caught him by the head and kept him hanging there between earth and sky, while the beast that carried him pressed on. 10 A soldier, who witnessed it, went and told Joab that he had seen Absalom hanging from an oak. 11 Thou sawest him, Joab answered, and didst not smite him then and there to the ground? I would have given thee ten sicles of silver and a belt besides. 12 Nay, said he, thou mightest count out a thousand silver pieces into my purse, and still I would not lift a hand against the king’s son. We were all of us within hearing when the king bade thee and Abisai and Ethai spare his son Absalom. 13 It would have been at the risk of my life, and the thing would never have passed unnoticed by the king; why, thou wouldst thyself be laying information against me. 14 That will not serve, answered Joab; I will smite him myself, and thou shalt be there to witness it. So he took three javelins with him, and thrust Absalom right through with them; then, as he still hung there writhing on the oak, 15 ten squires who attended on Joab ran up and dispatched him. 16 With that, Joab sounded the trumpet, and would not let his men go further in pursuit of Israel, to spare the lives of the common folk. 17 As for Absalom, they threw his body into a deep pit, there in the forest, and piled a great heap of stones over him. Meanwhile, the men of Israel fled away to their tents. 18 (The monument which stands in the King’s Vale is one which Absalom erected for himself in his own life-time, thinking thus to perpetuate his name, since he had no son to follow him. And as he gave this monument his own name, it has been called Absalom’s Mark ever since.)

6 Itaque egressus est populus in campum contra Israël, et factum est prælium in saltu Ephraim. 7 Et cæsus est ibi populus Israël ab exercitu David, factaque est plaga magna in die illa, viginti millium. 8 Fuit autem ibi prælium dispersum super faciem omnis terræ, et multo plures erant quos saltus consumpserat de populo, quam hi quos voraverat gladius in die illa. 9 Accidit autem ut occurreret Absalom servis David, sedens mulo: cumque ingressus fuisset mulus subter condensam quercum et magnam, adhæsit caput ejus quercui: et illo suspenso inter cælum et terram, mulus cui insederat, pertransivit. 10 Vidit autem hoc quispiam, et nuntiavit Joab, dicens: Vidi Absalom pendere de quercu. 11 Et ait Joab viro qui nuntiaverat ei: Si vidisti, quare non confodisti eum cum terra, et ego dedissem tibi decem argenti siclos, et unum balteum? 12 Qui dixit ad Joab: Si appenderes in manibus meis mille argenteos, nequaquam mitterem manum meam in filium regis: audientibus enim nobis præcepit rex tibi, et Abisai, et Ethai, dicens: Custodite mihi puerum Absalom. 13 Sed etsi fecissem contra animam meam audacter, nequaquam hoc regem latere potuisset, et tu stares ex adverso? 14 Et ait Joab: Non sicut tu vis, sed aggrediar eum coram te. Tulit ergo tres lanceas in manu sua, et infixit eas in corde Absalom: cumque adhuc palpitaret hærens in quercu, 15 cucurrerunt decem juvenes armigeri Joab, et percutientes interfecerunt eum. 16 Cecinit autem Joab buccina, et retinuit populum, ne persequeretur fugientem Israël, volens parcere multitudini. 17 Et tulerunt Absalom, et projecerunt eum in saltu, in foveam grandem, et comportaverunt super eum acervum lapidum magnum nimis: omnis autem Israël fugit in tabernacula sua. 18 Porro Absalom erexerat sibi, cum adhuc viveret, titulum qui est in Valle regis: dixerat enim: Non habeo filium, et hoc erit monimentum nominis mei. Vocavitque titulum nomine suo, et appellatur Manus Absalom, usque ad hanc diem.

19 καὶ Αχιμαας υἱὸς Σαδωκ εἶπεν δράμω δὴ καὶ εὐαγγελιῶ τῷ βασιλεῖ ὅτι ἔκρινεν αὐτῷ κύριος ἐκ χειρὸς τῶν ἐχθρῶν αὐτοῦ 20 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ιωαβ οὐκ ἀνὴρ εὐαγγελίας σὺ ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ καὶ εὐαγγελιῇ ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ἄλλῃ ἐν δὲ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ οὐκ εὐαγγελιῇ οὗ εἵνεκεν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ βασιλέως ἀπέθανεν 21 καὶ εἶπεν Ιωαβ τῷ Χουσι βαδίσας ἀνάγγειλον τῷ βασιλεῖ ὅσα εἶδες καὶ προσεκύνησεν Χουσι τῷ Ιωαβ καὶ ἐξῆλθεν 22 καὶ προσέθετο ἔτι Αχιμαας υἱὸς Σαδωκ καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς Ιωαβ καὶ ἔστω ὅτι δράμω καί γε ἐγὼ ὀπίσω τοῦ Χουσι καὶ εἶπεν Ιωαβ ἵνα τί τοῦτο τρέχεις υἱέ μου δεῦρο οὐκ ἔστιν σοι εὐαγγελία εἰς ὠφέλειαν πορευομένῳ 23 καὶ εἶπεν τί γὰρ ἐὰν δραμοῦμαι καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Ιωαβ δράμε καὶ ἔδραμεν Αχιμαας ὁδὸν τὴν τοῦ Κεχαρ καὶ ὑπερέβη τὸν Χουσι

19 And now Achimaas, son of Sadoc, asked leave to run and tell the king how God had punished his enemies, 20 but Joab told him, Better some other day than this for bearing the message; I would not have thee tell the news to-day; here is a king’s son dead. 21 Afterwards Joab bade Chusi go and tell the king what he had seen;[1] so Chusi did reverence to him, and ran. 22 And thereupon Sadoc’s son Achimaas asked whether he might not run after Chusi. No need for that, my son, Joab answered; it is not good news thou wilt carry. 23 But may I run? asked he. Run if thou wilt, said Joab. And Achimaas took a shorter way, and passed Chusi by.

19 Achimaas autem filius Sadoc, ait: Curram, et nuntiabo regi quia judicium fecerit ei Dominus de manu inimicorum ejus. 20 Ad quem Joab dixit: Non eris nuntius in hac die, sed nuntiabis in alia: hodie nolo te nuntiare: filius enim regis est mortuus. 21 Et ait Joab Chusi: Vade, et nuntia regi quæ vidisti. Adoravit Chusi Joab, et cucurrit. 22 Rursus autem Achimaas filius Sadoc dixit ad Joab: Quid impedit si etiam ego curram post Chusi? Dixitque ei Joab: Quid vis currere, fili mi? non eris boni nuntii bajulus. 23 Qui respondit: Quid enim si cucurrero? Et ait ei: Curre. Currens ergo Achimaas per viam compendii, transivit Chusi.

24 καὶ Δαυιδ ἐκάθητο ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν δύο πυλῶν καὶ ἐπορεύθη ὁ σκοπὸς εἰς τὸ δῶμα τῆς πύλης πρὸς τὸ τεῖχος καὶ ἐπῆρεν τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ εἶδεν καὶ ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ τρέχων μόνος ἐνώπιον αὐτοῦ 25 καὶ ἀνεβόησεν ὁ σκοπὸς καὶ ἀπήγγειλεν τῷ βασιλεῖ καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεύς εἰ μόνος ἐστίν εὐαγγελία ἐν τῷ στόματι αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐπορεύετο πορευόμενος καὶ ἐγγίζων 26 καὶ εἶδεν ὁ σκοπὸς ἄνδρα ἕτερον τρέχοντα καὶ ἐβόησεν ὁ σκοπὸς πρὸς τῇ πύλῃ καὶ εἶπεν ἰδοὺ ἀνὴρ ἕτερος τρέχων μόνος καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεύς καί γε οὗτος εὐαγγελιζόμενος 27 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ σκοπός ἐγὼ ὁρῶ τὸν δρόμον τοῦ πρώτου ὡς δρόμον Αχιμαας υἱοῦ Σαδωκ καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεύς ἀνὴρ ἀγαθὸς οὗτος καί γε εἰς εὐαγγελίαν ἀγαθὴν ἐλεύσεται 28 καὶ ἐβόησεν Αχιμαας καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα εἰρήνη καὶ προσεκύνησεν τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐπὶ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν καὶ εἶπεν εὐλογητὸς κύριος ὁ θεός σου ὃς ἀπέκλεισεν τοὺς ἄνδρας τοὺς μισοῦντας τὴν χεῖρα αὐτῶν ἐν τῷ κυρίῳ μου τῷ βασιλεῖ 29 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεύς εἰρήνη τῷ παιδαρίῳ τῷ Αβεσσαλωμ καὶ εἶπεν Αχιμαας εἶδον τὸ πλῆθος τὸ μέγα τοῦ ἀποστεῖλαι τὸν δοῦλον τοῦ βασιλέως Ιωαβ καὶ τὸν δοῦλόν σου καὶ οὐκ ἔγνων τί ἐκεῖ 30 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεύς ἐπίστρεψον στηλώθητι ὧδε καὶ ἐπεστράφη καὶ ἔστη 31 καὶ ἰδοὺ ὁ Χουσι παρεγένετο καὶ εἶπεν τῷ βασιλεῖ εὐαγγελισθήτω ὁ κύριός μου ὁ βασιλεύς ὅτι ἔκρινέν σοι κύριος σήμερον ἐκ χειρὸς πάντων τῶν ἐπεγειρομένων ἐπὶ σέ 32 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς τὸν Χουσι εἰ εἰρήνη τῷ παιδαρίῳ τῷ Αβεσσαλωμ καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Χουσι γένοιντο ὡς τὸ παιδάριον οἱ ἐχθροὶ τοῦ κυρίου μου τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ πάντες ὅσοι ἐπανέστησαν ἐ{P'} αὐτὸν εἰς κακά

24 David was sitting between the two gates; and now the watchman that stood above the roof over the gate, high up on the wall, looked up and saw a man running, all alone, 25 and cried out to let the king know of it. If he is alone, the king said, he has good news to tell. Then, as the runner came nearer, 26 the watchman saw a second courier on his way, and cried out from the roof, I see a second man running all alone. He too, the king said, is a welcome messenger. 27 And the watchman told him, I have marked how the first messenger runs; he runs like Achimaas, son of Sadoc. A good man, the king said; his will be good news. 28 And now Achimaas cried out, Hail, my lord king! Then he bowed down with his face to the earth, to do the king reverence, and said, Blessed be the Lord thy God; he has not suffered them to escape, the men who took up arms against the king’s grace. 29 Is all well, the king asked, with my son Absalom? And Achimaas answered, There was a great stir round about Joab when he sent me, thy servant, on my errand; I can tell thee no more. 30 Stand aside here, the king said; and as he did so, 31 Chusi came up after him; Good news, said he, for my lord the king! The Lord has maintained thy cause against the rebels. 32 Then the king asked Chusi, Is all well with my son Absalom? My lord king, Chusi answered, may all thy enemies, and all that conspire to thy hurt, fare as the prince has fared!

24 David autem sedebat inter duas portas: speculator vero, qui erat in fastigio portæ super murum, elevans oculos, vidit hominem currentem solum. 25 Et exclamans indicavit regi: dixitque rex: Si solus est, bonus est nuntius in ore ejus. Properante autem illo, et accedente propius, 26 vidit speculator hominem alterum currentem, et vociferans in culmine, ait: Apparet mihi alter homo currens solus. Dixitque rex: Et iste bonus est nuntius. 27 Speculator autem: Contemplor, ait, cursum prioris, quasi cursum Achimaas filii Sadoc. Et ait rex: Vir bonus est, et nuntium portans bonum venit. 28 Clamans autem Achimaas, dixit ad regem: Salve rex. Et adorans regem coram eo pronus in terram, ait: Benedictus Dominus Deus tuus, qui conclusit homines qui levaverunt manus suas contra dominum meum regem. 29 Et ait rex: Estne pax puero Absalom? Dixitque Achimaas: Vidi tumultum magnum cum mitteret Joab servus tuus, o rex, me servum tuum: nescio aliud. 30 Ad quem rex: Transi, ait, et sta hic. Cumque ille transisset, et staret, 31 apparuit Chusi: et veniens ait: Bonum apporto nuntium, domine mi rex: judicavit enim pro te Dominus hodie de manu omnium qui surrexerunt contra te. 32 Dixit autem rex ad Chusi: Estne pax puero Absalom? Cui respondens Chusi: Fiant, inquit, sicut puer, inimici domini mei regis, et universi qui consurgunt adversus eum in malum.

33 καὶ ἐταράχθη ὁ βασιλεὺς καὶ ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὑπερῷον τῆς πύλης καὶ ἔκλαυσεν καὶ οὕτως εἶπεν ἐν τῷ πορεύεσθαι αὐτόν υἱέ μου Αβεσσαλωμ υἱέ μου υἱέ μου Αβεσσαλωμ τίς δῴη τὸν θάνατόν μου ἀντὶ σοῦ ἐγὼ ἀντὶ σοῦ Αβεσσαλωμ υἱέ μου υἱέ μου

33 And with that, the king went up to the room over the gate in bitter sorrow, and wept there. O, my son Absalom, he said as he went, my son, my son Absalom! Would to God I had died instead of thee, Absalom, my son, my son!

33 Contristatus itaque rex, ascendit cœnaculum portæ, et flevit. Et sic loquebatur, vadens: Fili mi Absalom, Absalom fili mi: quis mihi tribuat ut ego moriar pro te, Absalom fili mi, fili mi Absalom?

[1] It is not clear why Joab preferred to send Chusi as a messenger; it may be he wished to spare Achimaas the fate of the Amalecite in 1.15 above. Of Chusi (wrongly confused by the older English versions with Chusai the Arachite) nothing is known, and some think it is only a description of his race, ‘the Cushite’ (or Ethiopian). But verse 14 above suggests that it may be the soldier there mentioned.

Knox Translation Copyright © 2013 Westminster Diocese
Nihil Obstat. Father Anton Cowan, Censor.
Imprimatur. +Most Rev. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster. 8th January 2012.
Re-typeset and published in 2012 by Baronius Press Ltd