Page:Legends of Old Testament Characters.djvu/161

XXIV.] steps which led to the throne, he exclaimed: "Woe to thee, accursed Nimrod, blasphemer of God! Acknowledge, O Nimrod, that the true God is without body, evelasting, never slumbering nor sleeping; acknowledge that He created the world, that all men may believe in Him likewise!" At the same moment all the idols in the palace fell, and the king rolled from his throne in convulsions, and remained in a fit for two hours.

When he came to himself again, he said to Abraham, "Was that thy voice, or was it the voice of God?" Abraham answered, "It was the voice of the meanest of His creatures." "Then your God must be great and mighty, and a King of kings."

Nimrod now suffered Abraham to depart, and as his anger was abated, the child remained in his father's house, and no attempts were made against his life. Here must be inserted a legend of the childhood of Abraham, which I have ventured to render into verse.

THE GIFT OF THE KING.