Holy Innocents, Martyrs

1:5And this is the declaration which we have heard from him, and declare unto you: That God is light, and in him there is no darkness. 6If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. 7But if we walk in the light, as he also is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all iniquity. 10If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

2:1My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. But if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the just: 2And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.

2If it had not been that the Lord was with us, When men rose up against us,

3Perhaps they had swallowed us up alive. When their fury was enkindled against us,

4Perhaps the waters had swallowed us up.

5Our soul hath passed through a torrent: perhaps our soul had passed through a water insupportable.

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7Our soul hath been delivered as a sparrow out of the snare of the followers. The snare is broken, and we are delivered.

8Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

13And after they were departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: Arise, and take the child and his mother, and fly into Egypt: and be there until I shall tell thee. For it will come to pass that Herod will seek the child to destroy him. 14Who arose, and took the child and his mother by night, and retired into Egypt: and he was there until the death of Herod: 15That it might be fulfilled which the Lord spoke by the prophet, saying: Out of Egypt have I called my son. 16Then Herod perceiving that he was deluded by the wise men, was exceeding angry; and sending killed all the men children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the borders thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men. 17Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremias the prophet, saying: 18A voice in Rama was heard, lamentation and great mourning; Rachel bewailing her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.