Add parallel Print Page Options

While I was still a youth in my own country, the land of Israel, the whole tribe of my ancestor Naphtali had forsaken the house of David and Jerusalem, even though this city had been designated out of all the tribes of Israel, so that all those tribes might offer their sacrifices in the place where the temple, the dwelling place of God, had been constructed and consecrated for the enduring use of all future generations. All my kindred and the entire house of my ancestor Naphtali used to offer sacrifice on all the mountains of Galilee to the calf that Jeroboam, king of Israel, had erected in Dan.

I alone would frequently make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the festivals, in accordance with the everlasting decree prescribed for all Israel. I would hasten to Jerusalem with the firstfruits of the fields and the firstborn of the flocks, the tithes of the cattle, and the first shearings of the sheep.

Read full chapter