15.  I find in your letter yet another objection in these words:  “And add, that among all the many prophets who had been before, there is no one who has quoted from another word for word.  For they had no need to go a-begging for words, since their own were true.  But this one, in rebuking one of these men, quotes the words of the Lord, ‘The innocent and righteous shalt thou not slay.’”  I cannot understand how, with all your exercise in investigating and meditating on the Scriptures, you have not noticed that the prophets continually quote each other almost word for word.  For who of all believers does not know the words in Esaias?  “And in the last days the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, and the house of the Lord on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall come unto it.  And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, unto the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us His way, and we will walk in it:  for out of Zion shall go forth a law, and a word of the Lord from Jerusalem.  And He shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks:  nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more.”31    Isa. ii. 2–4.

But in Micah we find a parallel passage, which is almost word for word:  “And in the last days the mountain of the Lord shall be manifest, established on the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall hasten unto it.  And many nations shall come, and say, Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and they will teach us His way, and we will walk in His paths:  for a law shall go forth from Zion, and a word of the Lord from Jerusalem.  And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks:  nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”32    Mic. iv. 1–3.

Again, in First Chronicles, the psalm which is put in the hands of Asaph and his brethren to praise the Lord, beginning, “Give thanks unto the Lord, call upon His name,”33    1 Chron. xvi. 8. is in the beginning almost identical with Psalm cv., down to “and do my prophets no harm;” and after that it is the same as Psalm xcvi., from the beginning of that psalm, which is something like this, “Praise the Lord all the earth,” down to “For He cometh to judge the earth.”  (It would have taken up too much time to quote more fully; so I have given these short references, which are sufficient for the matter before us.)  And you will find the law about not bearing a burden on the Sabbath-day in Jeremias, as well as in Moses.34    Ex. xxxv. 2; Num. xv. 32; Jer. xvii. 21–24.  And the rules about the passover, and the rules for the priests, are not only in Moses, but also at the end of Ezekiel.35    In Levit. passim; Ezek. xliii.; xliv.; xlv.; xlvi.  I would have quoted these, and many more, had I not found that from the shortness of my stay in Nicomedia my time for writing you was already too much restricted.

Εὗρόν σου ἐν τῇ ἐπιστολῇ καὶ τοῦτο αὐταῖς λέξεσι τό: »Ἐπὶ δὲ πᾶσι, τοσούτων προωδοιπορηκότων προφητῶν, τῶν τε ἑξῆς οὐδεὶς ἕτερος ἑτέρου κέχρηται ῥητῷ νοήματι: οὐ γὰρ ἐπτώχευσεν ὁ λόγος αὐτῶν ἀληθὴς ὤν: οὑτοσὶ δὲ, ἐκείνων θατέρῳ ἐπαπειλῶν ὑπομιμνήσκει σε λέγοντος τοῦ Κυρίου: Ἀθῶον καὶ δίκαιον οὐκ ἀποκτενεῖς:« καὶ ἐθαύμασα, πῶς πολλὰς διατριβὰς ἔχων ἐν ταῖς ἐξετάσεσι καὶ μελέταις τῆς Γραφῆς, οὐ τετήρηκας συγχρωμένους προφήτας προφητῶν λόγοις σχεδὸν αὐταῖς λέξεσι. Τίς γὰρ οὐκ οἶδε καὶ τῶν πολλῶν πιστῶν κείμενον ἐν τῷ Ἡσαΐᾳ τό: »Ἔσται ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις ἐμφανὲς τὸ ὄρος Κυρίου: καὶ ὁ οἶκος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπ' ἄκρων τῶν ὀρέων, καὶ ὑψωθήσεται ὑπεράνω τῶν βουνῶν, καὶ ἥξουσιν ἐπ' αὐτὸ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη: καὶ πορεύσονται ἔθνη πολλὰ, καὶ ἐροῦσι: Δεῦτε, ἀναβῶμεν εἰς τὸ ὄρος τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἰακώβ: καὶ ἀναγγελεῖ ἡμῖν τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ, καὶ πορευσόμεθα ἐν αὐτῇ: ἐκ γὰρ Σιὼν ἐξελεύσεται νόμος, καὶ λόγος Κυρίου ἐν Ἱερουσαλήμ. Καὶ κρινεῖ ἀνὰ μέσον τῶν ἐθνῶν, καὶ κρινεῖ λαὸν πολύν: καὶ συγκόψουσι τὰς μαχαίρας αὐτῶν εἰς ἄροτρα, καὶ τὰς ζιβύνας αὐτῶν εἰς δρέπανα: καὶ οὐ λήψεται ἔθνος ἐπ' ἔθνος μάχαιραν: καὶ οὐ μὴ μάθωσιν ἔτι πολεμεῖν.« Τὸ δὲ παραπλήσιον τούτοις ὅλοις, καὶ τῇ αὐτῇ λέξει, ἐν τῷ Μιχαίᾳ οὕτως ἐστὶ γεγραμμένον: »Καὶ ἔσται ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν ἐμφανὲς τὸ ὄρος τοῦ Κυρίου, ἕτοιμον ἐπὶ τὰς κορυφὰς τῶν ὀρέων, καὶ μετεωρισθήσεται ὑπεράνω τῶν βουνῶν: καὶ σπεύσουσιν ἐπ' αὐτῷ λαοὶ, καὶ πορεύσονται ἔθνη πολλὰ, καὶ ἐροῦσι: Δεῦτε, ἀναβῶμεν εἰς τὸ ὄρος τοῦ Κυρίου, καὶ εἰς τὸν οἶκον τοῦ Θεοῦ Ἰακὼβ, καὶ δείξουσιν ἡμῖν τὴν ὁδὸν αὐτοῦ: καὶ πορευσόμεθα ἐν ταῖς τρίβοις αὐτοῦ: ὅτι ἐκ Σιὼν ἐξελεύσεται νόμος, καὶ λόγος Κυρίου ἐξ Ἱερουσαλήμ. Καὶ κρινεῖ ἀνὰ μέσον λαῶν πολλῶν, καὶ ἐλέγξει ἐπὶ ἔθνη ἰσχυρὰ ἕως εἰς μακρὰν, καὶ κατακόψουσι τὰς μαχαίρας αὐτῶν εἰς ἄροτρα, καὶ τὰς ζιβύνας αὐτῶν εἰς δρέπανα: καὶ οὐκέτι μὴ ἄρῃ ἔθνος ἐπ' ἔθνος ῥομφαίαν, καὶ οὐκέτι μὴ μάθωσι πολεμεῖν.« Ἔτι δὲ ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ τῶν Παραλειπομένων ὁ τεταγμένος ἐν χειρὶ Ἀσὰφ, καὶ τῶν ἀδελφῶν αὐτοῦ ψαλμὸς, τοῦ αἰνεῖν τὸ Κύριον, οὗ ἡ ἀρχή: »Ἐξομολογεῖσθε καὶ ἐπικαλεῖσθε αὐτὸν ἐν ὀνόματι αὐτοῦ,« ἐν μὲν τοῖς πλείστοις κατὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν ἰσοδυναμεῖ τῷ ρδʹ ψαλμῷ, ἕως τοῦ: »Καὶ ἐν τοῖς προφήταις μου μὴ πονηρεύεσθε:« μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο τῷ Ϟεʹ ἀπὸ τῆς ἀρχῆς αὐτοῦ ἐγγύς πως ἐχούσης τό: »Ἄ|σατε τῷ Κυρίῳ πᾶσα ἡ γῆ:« ἕως τοῦ: »Ὅτι ἔρχεται κρῖναι τὴν γῆν.« Ἐπεὶ δὲ ἦν τὸ παραθέσθαι αὐτὰς τὰς λέξεις πολὺ, διὰ βραχέων πρὸς τὸ προκείμενον ταῦτα εἰρήκαμεν. Εὑρήσεις δὲ καὶ περὶ τοῦ μὴ αἵρειν βάσταγμα ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῶν Σαββάτων οὐ μόνον παρὰ Μωϋσεῖ γεγραμμένον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐν Ἱερεμίᾳ. Καὶ περὶ τοῦ Πάσχα καὶ νόμων ἱερατικῶν εὑρήσεις παρά τε Μωϋσεῖ καὶ ἐν τοῖς τελευταίοις τοῦ Ἰεζεκιήλ. Καὶ αὐτὰς δ' ἂν παρεθέμην τὰς λέξεις, καὶ ἄλλας πλείονας, εἰ μὴ ἑώρων ὑπὸ τῆς ὀλιγότητος τῶν ἐν Νικομηδείᾳ ἡμερῶν ἡμῶν ἀποκλειόμενον τὸν χρόνον τῆς πρὸς σὲ γραφῆς.