James Baquet

Not all Christian Bibles are the same. Some denominations include books that others exclude, so the contents of a Bible depend on which group published it.

One such story, “Susanna and the Elders,” is usually found only in Bibles produced by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. It is part of “The Book of Daniel,” not included in Bibles made by the Protestant churches or in the original Jewish texts on which Christian Bibles are based.

It is a beautiful story, with a great twist at the end.

In Babylon there once was a beautiful woman of the Hebrews named Susanna, wife of Joachim. Everyone knew her to be a good wife and a holy woman. Her husband was a prominent man, and had a large house with a fine garden. And visitors often came to him on business. Two of these were elders of the people, but were not pure of heart.

In fact, they both secretly desired to sleep with Susanna. So one day after a meeting they parted, saying they were going home. Then each sneaked back into the garden to spy on Susanna. Running into each other, they agreed on a plot to achieve their goal. That day, Susanna had dismissed her maids and told them to shut the garden gates, so she could bathe in a pool in the garden. As soon as the maids were gone, the elders rushed out and told Susanna she must sleep with them.

When she refused, they said they would blackmail her. They had caught her with a handsome young man, they would say, who had escaped. Nevertheless, she would not sleep with them. So the elders lied to the council, and Susanna was put on trial. The elders swore before God that their story was true, and the poor woman was condemned to death.

But a young man of the people, Daniel, arose and said, “Wait! Let me question the two elders separately.” So the elders were separated, and Daniel asked each a simple question: “Under what kind of tree did you catch this woman and her lover?”

One elder said, “Under a mastic tree” (a small tree); the other when brought in said, “Under an evergreen oak” (which grows much taller). Their story was obviously a lie, and the council put them to death. Daniel was a hero.

Vocabulary:

Which word above means:

1. types of churches, divisions

2. important, leading

3. went different ways

4. pronounced guilty

5. told to leave

6. a religious leader

7. leave out

8. easily seen (to be)

9. force into an action (sometimes a payment) or there will be a penalty

10. came secretly