Book of the Wars of the Lord

Matthew 5:33–39

You have heard what was said to the old ones: ³³You must not swear falsely by My name. (Leviticus 19:12) . . . 34 I say to you, do not swear at all; neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is a city of the King. ³⁶Nor must you swear by your head, because you cannot make the one hair white and the other black. ³⁷But let your communication be yes, yes and no, no; for whatever is more than these is evil. ³⁸You have heard it said “An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth” (Exodus 21:24); ³⁹but I say to you, do not be vexed by evil men.

From this one may deduce that at this point he [Jesus] adds something and takes something away: he takes away, because he says Do not swear at all, whereby he revokes something that Moses said—and swear only by His name (Deuteronomy 6:13); and he adds something by saying to them [Matthew 5:39–40] But if someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other to him too. And if any man wishes to sue you at law and take away your coat, let him have your cloak too. From this one may deduce that he [Jesus] gave you the doctrine of mercy, and negated the law which says an eye for an eye, etc.; and there is also another annulment, for he said to them You have heard what was said to the old ones [Matthew 5:21 —Ed.] (Leviticus 19:18). . . . you must love your fellow as yourself; but that is not a commandment except as regards those who are your fellows, and it is permitted to hate those who are implacable; But I say to you, love those who hate you, bless those who curse you, do good to your enemies [Matthew 5:44]. From this one may deduce that he rejects all the stipulations and regulations and laws, and that each of you who worships him observes neither the one nor the other. You will not observe the Mosaic Law, which is the doctrine of the law, because of the doctrine of mercy he has given you; but neither do you, for various reasons, wholly observe the doctrine of mercy, since you fight among yourselves and do violence to one another; and not only you, but also those who enter the monasteries and put on woollen clothing and do not eat meat or drink wine—for they too steal property and do the bulk of their business in those areas which he strictly forbade them. Therefore I have said that you have neither the new nor the old [doctrine], neither way nor path, but darkness and the shadow of death. [ . . . ]

But now put your thoughts back in the loom of your reason and deepen your knowledge in the depths of understanding, and your thought will perhaps be moved to understand your words, when you say that the Creator, blessed be He [just as] he is—in accordance with the way your thought and your mind can reflect upon Him—was completely enclosed in the dark of the womb and confined in the murk of the belly, and was as foetuses who see no light. And this thing [doctrine] is shameful to say and a terrible iniquity to listen to, and God forbid I should sin with my tongue and lift this doctrine to my lips and say such things in the face of Heaven regarding the Creator—may He be blessed and His name exalted eternally and ever.