Chapter XXXI

  They make themselves more comfortable in the Cave of Treasures on the third day.

 

 

1 After these things God said to Adam, "You asked Me for something from the garden, to be comforted therewith, and I have given you these three tokens as a consolation¹ to you; that you trust in Me and in My covenant² with you.

 

2 For I will come and save you; and kings shall bring me when in the flesh, gold, incense³ and myrrh; gold as a token of My kingdom; incense as a token of My divinity; and myrrh as a token of My suffering and of My death.

 

3 But, O Adam, put these by you in the cave; the gold that it may shed light over you by night; the incense, that you smell its sweet savor⁴; and the myrrh, to comfort you in your sorrow."

 

4 When Adam heard these words from God, he worshipped before Him. He and Eve worshipped Him and gave Him thanks, because He had dealt mercifully with them.

 

5 Then God commanded the three angels, Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, each to bring what he had brought, and give it to Adam. And they did so, one by one.

 

6 And God commanded Suriyel and Salathiel to bear up Adam and Eve, and bring them down from the top of the high mountain, and to take them to the Cave of Treasures.

 

7 There they laid the gold on the south side of the cave, the incense on the eastern side, and the myrrh on the western side. For the mouth of the cave was on the north side.

 

8 The angels then comforted Adam and Eve, and departed.

 

9 The gold was seventy rods*; the incense, twelve pounds; and the myrrh, three pounds.

 

10 These remained by Adam in the Cave of Treasures**.

 

11 God gave these three things to Adam on the third day after he had come out of the garden, in token of the three days the Lord should remain in the heart of the earth.

 

12 And these three things, as they continued with Adam in the cave, gave him light by night; and by day they gave him a little relief from his sorrow.

 

 

* A rod is a unit of linear measure equivalent to 5.5 yards and also a unit of area measure equivalent to 30.25 square yards. In this case, the word rod simply means a kind of long, thin piece of gold of unspecified size and weight.

 

** This is the original text which appears to contain embedded⁵ editorial content: "These remained by Adam in the House of Treasures; therefore was it called 'of concealment⁶.' But other interpreters say it was called the 'Cave of Treasures,' by reason of the bodies of righteous men that were in it.

 

1 consolation   

n.安慰，慰问

参考例句：

• The children were a great consolation to me at that time.那时孩子们成了我的莫大安慰。
• This news was of little consolation to us.这个消息对我们来说没有什么安慰。

2 covenant   

n.盟约，契约；v.订盟约

参考例句：

• They refused to covenant with my father for the property.他们不愿与我父亲订立财产契约。
• The money was given to us by deed of covenant.这笔钱是根据契约书付给我们的。

3 incense   

v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气

参考例句：

• This proposal will incense conservation campaigners.这项提议会激怒环保人士。
• In summer,they usually burn some coil incense to keep away the mosquitoes.夏天他们通常点香驱蚊。

4 savor   

vt.品尝，欣赏；n.味道，风味；情趣，趣味

参考例句：

• The soup has a savor of onion.这汤有洋葱味。
• His humorous remarks added a savor to our conversation.他幽默的话语给谈话增添了风趣。

5 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

6 concealment   

n.隐藏, 掩盖，隐瞒

参考例句：

• the concealment of crime 对罪行的隐瞒
• Stay in concealment until the danger has passed. 把自己藏起来，待危险过去后再出来。