Therefore know, my dear Christian, that next to the Devil you have no more bitter, more poisonous, more vehement an enemy than a real Jew who earnestly desires to be a Jew. There may be some among them who believe what the cow or the goose believes. But all of them are surrounded with their blood and circumcision. In history, therefore, they are often accused of poisoning wells, stealing children and mutilating them; as in Trent, Weiszensee, etc. Of course, they deny this. Be it so or not, however, I know full well that the full, ready will is not lacking with them if they could only transform it into deeds, in secret or openly. Know this for a certainty and act accordingly!

Should they at times do something good, however, know full well that it is not done out of love for you, nor for your good, In order to have space to live among us they must of necessity do something. But their heart is and remains as I have said. Do you not want to believe me? Then read Lyra, Burgen and others, honourable and truthful men. If they had not written it, Scripture reveals that the two seeds of the serpent and of the woman are at enmity, and there is no concord between God and the Devil. This in also found in gross form in their writings and prayerbooks.

A person who does not know the Devil, might wonder why they are so at enmity with the Christians above all others; for which they have no reason, since we only do good to them. They live among us in our homes, under our protection, use land and highways, market and streets. Princes and government sit by, snore and have their mugs (mouth) open, let the Jews take from their purse and chest, steal and rob what ever they will. That is, they permit themselves and their subjects to be abused and sucked dry and reduced to beggars with their own money, through the usury of the Jews. For the Jews, as foreigners, certainly should have nothing; and what they have certainly must be ours. They do not work, do not earn anything from us, neither do we donate or give it to them. Yet they have our money and goods and are lords in our land where they are in exile.

If a thief steals ten gulden he must hang; if he robs people on the highway, his head is gone. But a Jew, when he steals ten tons of gold through his usury, is dearer than God Himself.

And as a distinguishing mark, they strengthen their faith and bitter hatred against us by saying among themselves: "Keep on, see how God is with us and does not forsake His people in exile. We do not work, we enjoy good, lazy days; the cursed Goyim must work for us, we get their money; thereby we are their masters, they, however, our servants. Keep on, dear Children of Israel, it will be better still! Our Messiah will come if we thus continue and appropriate to ourselves, by usury, the "Hemdath" (Hebrew: desire, possessions) of the heathen!

Well, all this we accept from them while we are protecting them: yet they curse us, as said before. But of this later.

[After lengthy exegetical, historical dissertations there follows a highly interesting paragraph from which it may be seen that Luther was acquainted. with the Talmud and Schulchan-Aruch already at his time, which explains his changed attitude over against the Jew question.]

Do not their Talmud and Rabbis write that it is no sin to kill if a Jew kills a heathen, but it is sin it he kills a brother in Israel! It is no sin if he does not keep his oath to a heathen. Therefore, to steal and rob (as they do with their usury) from a heathen is a divine service. For they hold that they cannot be too hard on us nor sin against us, because they are the noble blood and circumcised saints; we however, cursed Goyim. And they are the masters of the world and we are their servants, yea, their cattle! In short, as the Rabbis have taught them, so also their Evangelists tell us (Matthew 15:6, "And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the Commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.") that they have abolished the Fifth Commandment about honouring father and mother; and Matthew 23:13 ("But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.") practiced more shameful doctrines, not to mention what Christ says, Matthew 5:28: "But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." How they cunningly preached and expounded the Ten Commandments! And into the temple they had placed money changers, merchants and all manner of avaricious trade, that our Lord Christ said they had made of God’s house a den of thieves. Now figure it out for yourself what a fine honor that was, how the house was full of glory that God had to call his own house a den of thieves! Because so many souls were murdered through avaricious, false doctrine; that is, through two- fold idolatry. To this day the Jews cling to such doctrines and do as their fathers did; pervert the Word of God, are avaricious, practice usury, steal, commit murder (wherever they can do so, and on and on teach their children to do such.

The heathen philosophers and, poets write much more honourably; not only about God’s government and future life, but also about temporal virtues. They write that man is by nature obligated to serve others, also to keep his word to enemies, and be true and helpful to them especially in need, as taught by Cicero and his like. Yea, I maintain that in three fables of Aesop there is more wisdom to be found than in all the books of the Talmudists and Rabbis and more than ever could come into the hearts of the Jews.

Should someone think I am saying too much - I am not saying too much, but much too little! For I see in writings how they curse us Goyim and wish us all evil in their schools and prayers. They rob us of our money through usury, and wherever they are able, they play us all manner of mean tricks; (what is worst of all) they mean to have right and well in this, that is, they think they have rendered God a service in this and teach that such should be done. No heathen has done such things and none would do so except the Devil himself and those whom he possesses, like he possesses the Jews.

Burgensis, who was a very learned Rabbi among them and by the grace of God became a Christian (which seldom occurs), is much moved that in their schools they so horribly curse us Christians (as Lyra also writes) and from that draws the conclusion that they must not be the people of God. For if they were the people of God, they would act like the captive Jews did in Babylon, to whom Jeremiah writes thus: "Pray for the King of the city where you are captive; for their peace is also your peace." But our bastards and false Jews think they must curse us, hate and do us all manner of harm wherever they can do so; for which they have no reason whatsoever. Therefore they certainly are not God’s people. More about this later.

[Very interesting are the dissertations about the sophisticated manner of the Jews in hiding their hatred against Jesus under sham names. Here it says:]

Accordingly they treat His (Jesus’) Name. For Jhesus in Hebrew means " Healer " or " Helper. " The ancient Saxons used a. name: "Helprich" or `Hilprich," which sounds like the name Jhesus which we now would call "Helprich," that is, who may or should be able to help. Distortingly, however, the Jews call Him "Jesu," which in Hebrew is neither name nor word, but simply three letters or ciphers, or cipherletters, as if I were to take the letters CLU as ciphers and make the word CLU out of them, that is 155 (CLU, Roman ciphers: C-100, L-50, -V-5-155. V and U originally are the same). Thus they call Jesu, that is 316. Such a figure in said to bring about another word which means Nebel Borik. About this you may read more in Anton, Margaritham. What Devil’s work they practice with such numbers and words.

They treat us Christians in like manner. When we come to them and they receive us they pervert the word: god welcome you (German---seid Gott wilkommen) and say: "Shed wil kom," that is. "Devil, come! " or: "There comes a Devil." Since we do not understand the Hebrew, they secretly practice their hatred against us that we think they are friendly to us while they curse us with the fire of hell and all misfortune.

Thus they call Him (Jesus) the child of a whore and His mother, Mary, a whore, whom she had in adultery with a smith. Reluctantly I must speak so coarse in opposing the Devil. Now they well know that they speak such lies in plain hatred and wilfulness, solely to poison their poor youth and simple Jews against the Person of our Lord, to prevent them from accepting His doctrine (which they cannot deny). Sabastianus Muenster also points out in his Biblia, that there is said to be a poisonous Rabbi who does not call the dear mother "Maria," but "Haria" a heap of mud. And who knows what more they have among themselves of which we know nothing!

[Luther now shows in elaborate, scientific discussions about the Messiah and Bar-Kochab. his thorough knowledge of the Jewish character, the writings and hopes of Juda and finally arrives at the so-called "captivity" among the Christians.]

Now behold what a nice, thick, fat lie it is when they complain about being captives among us. Jerusalem was destroyed more than 1400 years ago and during that time we Christians have been tortured and persecuted by the Jews in all the world. For nearly 300 years (as stated above) we might well complain that during that time they captured and killed the Christians, which is the clear truth. On top of that, we do not know to this day which Devil brought them into our country. We did not fetch them from Jerusalem!

On top of all that, no one is holding them now. Land and highways are open to them; they may move to their country whenever they care to do so! We would like to add a present in order to get rid of them. They are a heavy burden to us in our country, like a plague, pestilence, and nothing but misfortune.

Do you call that being held captive when a person cannot stand one in his own house! Why, they hold us Christians in captivity in our own country, they let us work in the sweat of our noses, while they appropriate money and goods, sitting behind the stove, are lazy, gluttlers and guzzlers, live well and easy on goods for which we have worked, keep us and our goods in captivity through their cursed usury, mock us and spit on us, because we must labor and permit them to be noblemen at our expense; thus they are our lords and masters, we their servants with our own property, sweat and labor! And to thank us and reward us, they curse our Lord!

Should the Devil not laugh and dance, when in this manner he can have his paradise among us Christians, that through the Jews, his saints, he devours what is ours and to thank us fills our mugs (mouths) and noses, blasphemes and curses God and man!

They could not have enjoyed such good days in Jerusalem under David and Solomon in their own possessions as they now have in our property, which they daily steal and rob. Still they complain that we are holding them captive! Yes, we have and hold them captive, as I would like to keep my rheumatism, furuncles and all other diseases and misfortune, who must wait as a poor servant, with money and property and everything I have! I wish they were in Jerusalem with the Jews and whomsoever they would like to have with them!

Since it is certain that we do not hold them captive, how do we deserve that such great and noble saints are so angry with us? We do not call our wives whores as they call Maria, the Mother of Jesus; we do not call them bastards, as they call our Lord Christ. We do not curse them, but wish them all manner of bodily and spiritual good, permit them to lodge with us. We don’t steal and mutilate their children; do not poison their water; do not thirst after their blood. With what do we deserve such terrible wrath and envy and hatred of such holy children of God?

It is not otherwise than we have quoted from Moses, that God has struck them with insane blindness and a raving heart, thus it is our fault that we do not avenge the innocent blood which they shed on our Lord, and the Christians, for three hundred years after the destruction of Jerusalem, and from that time on children (which still shines from their eyes and skin). That we do not slay them, but for all their murder, cursing, blaspheming, and disgracing, permit them to dwell among us without charge, protect their schools, houses, body and goods, by which we make them lazy and secure and help them confidently to squeeze from us our money and goods, and in addition to mock us and spit on us, hoping finally to overcome us and slay all of us for such great sin and take away all of our goods, as they daily pray for.

Now tell me, do they not have great cause to hate us cursed Goyim, to curse us and seek our final, thorough and eternal ruin?

Now what are we going to do with these rejected, condemned, Jewish people?

We should not suffer it after they are among us and we know about such lying, blaspheming and cursing among them, lest we become partakers of their lies, cursing, and blaspheming. We cannot extinguish the unquenchable fire of God’s wrath (as the prophets say), nor convert the Jews. We must practice great mercy with prayer and godliness that we might rescue a few from the flame and violent heat

We are not permitted to take revenge. Revenge is around their neck a thousand times greater than we could wish them. I will give you my true counsel:

First, that we avoid their synagogues and schools and warn people against them. And such should be done to the glory of God and Christendom, that God may see that we are Christians and have not knowingly tolerated such lying, cursing and blaspheming of His Son and His Christians. For what we so far have tolerated in ignorance (I myself did not know it), God will forgive us. Now that we know it, however, and in spite should before our very noses tolerate such a building for the Jew in which they blaspheme, curse, spit upon and disgrace Christ and us, that would be simply too much, as if we did it ourselves and much worse, as you well know. Moses writes in Deuteronomy that where a city practiced idolatry, it should be entirely destroyed with fire and leave nothing. If he were living today he would be the first to put fire to the Jew schools and houses. [Followed by proofs from Scripture.)

Secondly, that you also refuse to let them own houses among us. For they practice the same thing in their houses as they do in their schools. Instead, you might place them under a roof, or stable, like the Gypsies, to let them know that they are not lords in our country as they boast, but in exile as captives; like without ceasing they howl bloody murder and complain about us before God.

Thirdly, that you take away from them all of their prayer books and Talmuds wherein such lying, cursing, and blaspheming is taught.

Fourthly, that you prohibit their Rabbis to teach. For they have forfeited the right to such an office, because they keep the poor Jews captive with the passage of Moses 7:11,12, who there commands them to obey their teachers under threat of losing body and soul. Moses clearly adds, "What they teach you according to the law of the Lord." This the profligates pass over, and use the obedience of the poor people for their own wilfulness against the law of the Lord, and pour out for them such poison and blasphemy.

Fifthly, that protection for Jews on highways be revoked. For they have no right to be in the land, because they are not lords, nor officials. They should stay at home. I am told that at this time a wealthy. Jew is riding with twelve horses in our country. He wants to become a Kochab. [Star Bar- Kochba, "Star Son," false Messiah, was leader of the last rebellion of the Jews against the Romans 132/5 after Christ.]

He practices his usury on princes and lords, land and people. High officials close an eye to it If you princes and masters do not forbid land and highways to such usurers, I would like to assemble a cavalry against you, because you will learn from this book what the Jews are and how they are to be treated and their activities not to he protected. For you should not and cannot protect them unless you want to be partners of their abominations. What good would be the result, you may well consider and perish.

Sixthly, that their usury be prohibited, which was prohibited by Moses, where they are not lords in their own country over strange lands, and take away all the currency and silver and gold and put it away for safe-keeping. For this reason, everything they have they have stolen from us (as said above) and robbed through their usury, since they have no other income. Such money should be used as follows: whenever a Jew is truly converted, he be given one, two, or three hundred flo (measure of money) according to his person, that he may begin to support his poor wife and child and/or support the aged and infirm. For such property which was obtained dishonestly is cursed where it is not turned to good use with God’s blessing.

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