SECTION THE FIRST: AN ACCOUNT OF THE LORD AISIA (JESUS).—They say that the birth of the Lord Mesîah took place in the year 3199 of the creation of the world,* 2957 after the deluge of Noah,* 2015 years after the birth of Ibráhim,* and 1510 from the com­ing of Mosîah (Moses);* and when the children of Israél were in the 65th week, which the prophet Dáníel had announced, 752 years after the building of Rome,* in the 42nd year of the reign of Cæsar Tiberius. When Aísia appeared, the high priest said: “We charge thee, upon thy oath by the living God, say, art thou the son of God?” The blessed and holy Lord Aísîâ replied to him: “I am what thou hast said. Verily, we say unto you, you shall see the son of man seated at the right hand of God, and he shall descend in the clouds of heaven.” They said: “Thou utterest a blasphemy, because, according to the creed of the Yahuds, God never descends in the clouds of heaven.” Ishâîá the prophet has announced the birth of Aîsîá in words the translation of which is as follows: “A branch from the root of Ishaî shall spring up, and from this branch shall come forth a flower in which the spirit of God shall dwell: verily, a virgin shall be pregnant and bring forth a son.” Isháî is the name of the father of Dávid. When they had apprehended Aisîa, they spit upon his blessed face and smote him. Ishâa had predicted it: “I shall give up my body to the smiters, and my cheek to the diggers of wounds; I shall not turn my face from those who will use bad words, and throw spittle upon me.” When Aflátes (Pilatus), a judge of the Yahuds, scourged the Lord Aîsiâ in such a manner that his body from head to foot became but one wound, so was it as Ishâía had pre­dicted: “He was wounded for our transgressions; I struck him for his people.” When Pilatus saw that the Yahuds insisted upon the death and the crucifixion of Jesus, he said: “I take no part in the blood of this man; I wash my hands clean of this blood.” The Yahuds answered: “His blood be on us and on our children.” On that account, the Yahuds are oppressed and curbed down, in retribu­tion of their iniquities. When they had placed the cross upon the shoulder of Aísiá, and led him to die, a woman wiped with the border of her garment the face, full of blood, of the Lord Aîsîa; verily, she obtained three images of it, and carried them home: the one of these images exists still in Ispániah, in the royal town which is situated within the country of the king of Portugal; and is shown there twice every year:* the other is in the town of Milan, in the country of Italy, and the third in the city of Rome.