LUX VERITAS

Library of Sacred Texts

Apocrypha · Chapter 3 of 24

Protevangelium of James 3

Infancy of Mary

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And gazing towards the heaven, she saw a sparrow's nest in the laurel, and made a lamentation in herself, saying: Alas! who begot me? and what womb produced me? because I have become a curse in the presence of the sons of Israel, and I have been reproached, and they have driven me in derision out of the temple of the Lord.

2Alas! to what have I been likened?

3I am not like the fowls of the heaven, because even the fowls of the heaven are productive before Thee, O Lord.

4Alas! to what have I been likened?

5I am not like the beasts of the earth, because even the beasts of the earth are productive before Thee, O Lord.

6Alas! to what have I been likened?

7I am not like these waters, because even these waters are productive before Thee, O Lord.

8Alas! to what have I been likened?

9I am not like this earth, because even the earth bringeth forth its fruits in season, and blesseth Thee, O Lord.

About Protevangelium of James

The childhood of Mary, the choosing of Joseph and the birth in a cave. It is the source of nearly all later Marian devotion — including the names Anne and Joachim. English text: Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 8, The Protevangelium of James (Buffalo: Christian Literature Publishing Co.), Alexander Walker, 1886 (public domain). Portuguese and Spanish: Lux Veritas translations from this edition.

Source: Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 8, The Protevangelium of James (Buffalo: Christian Literature Publishing Co.), Alexander Walker (1886) · public domain