The Deception of the Devil (Part 1)

In Isreal, in the time of sovereign ruling (ruling of a king), amongst the people of Isreal there lived three brothers and their sister.

By chance, all the three brothers were ordered by the king to go to battle. They were confused as to who would take care of their sister during the course of their absence.

They decided to entrust their sister to a pious man who was one of the most pious among the people of Israel. They requested him to allow their sister to stay in his house, till the time they return from the battle.

The pious man refused to entertain their request but on the insistence of the three brothers, the man showed acceptance and asked them to leave their sister in any house adjacent to his place of worship. The three brothers agreed to this arrangement.

In order to keep piety, the pious man used to bring meals for her and put it at the door of the temple. He then would close the door and would call the girl. The girl then would take the meals accordingly.

One day the Devil made him think that the girl comes out of the house during the daytime and feared of her molestation by someone and may fall prey to oppression. It is better to put the meal himself on her doorstep, and in this manner he would get more reward.

After some days the Devil again came to him and advised him to make conversation with the girl, as she was lonely and had no one to talk to. This would bring even greater virtuous. Therefore, the pious man started small conversations with her.

He started visiting her house and remained therein during the whole day and used to come back to his temple in the night. The Devil instigated him constantly and then they were entangled in the illegal act, from which the girl gave birth to a child.

The Devil came to him and asked “What would he do if her brothers came back. I feel your life will be at risk. It is better to kill and bury the child" he remarked. The man did as the Devil suggested.

The Devil then said to the man “If you let the girl live, she would tell the whole story to her brothers”. Pondering over this thought the man took the added step in killing the girl. After killing and burying them both, he went to the temple and started divine service.

When the three brothers returned home they went to the pious man to collect their sister.