The Bronze Bow Quotes
"A proud race, the Galileans, violent and restless, unreconciled that Palestine was a conquered nation, refusing to acknowledge as their lord the Emperor Tiberius in far-off Rome."
"No one is free," said Daniel. "So long as the land is cursed by the Romans."
"It will be so again. God will send us another David."
"The Messiah is not imagination. It's the truth. It is promised."
"Do you mean your grandmother hasn't known where you were in all this time?"
"Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, Who bringeth forth bread from the earth."
"You must eat with me," he insisted, pushing the bowl toward his sister.
"It is pauper's share," his grandmother answered shortly.
"I have made ready your old place on the roof," she said.
"Peace be with you," he said. "You are welcome."
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor."
"We must not say we cannot endure what God in His judgment has visited upon us."
"Israel has one great strength, mightier than all the power of Rome. It is the Law, given to Moses and our fathers."
"Keep your oath to yourself," a man warned. "You Zealots cause nothing but trouble."
"I despise them!" cried Daniel. "I have taken an oath!"
"What difference does it make what Rosh is?" he demanded. "If he can rid us of the Romans the kingdom can take care of itself."
"All I know is I hate the Romans. I want their blood. That is what I live for."
"I vowed I would pay them back with my whole life. That I would hate them and fight them and kill them. That's all I live for."
"This is a man's vow! It's not for a pretty child!"
"The three of us together. For God's Victory."
"He trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze."
"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
"Yet in the same instant such a fierce resentment sprang up in him that he dared not look his friend in the face."
"Everything he loved the wind on the mountain top the irresponsible life the excitement of the raids rose up and fought off the shackles that Simon held out to him in kindness."
"If I can find someone to care for Leah while I work—"
"It's just good business," Simon said crisply. "I'm sure of your work. I know my reputation is in good hands."
"An outlaw may think he is accountable to no one. But in a village every man holds his neighbor's safety in his hands."
"A single insult could cost half the fives in the town in the end."
"There are Zealots in blacksmith shops too. Do what you will—the place is yours now. So long as no harm comes to my neighbors. Can I count on you for that?"
"She will never be hungry or cold again," he promised her.
"That's the way queens travel," he told her. "The way the Queen of Sheba came to visit King Solomon."
"This witless sister is more important than your country's freedom?"
"I will prove you are wrong," he said quietly. "I will work for the cause in the village. You will see."
"The work he turned out was true and light and strong. Word went round that the new smith was a good worker, for all his fierce, unapproachable scowl."
"I want you to be near me when I work. Wouldn't you like that, Leah?"
"It's not so bad as all that. After all, a horse deserves a comfortable bridle whether he belongs to a Roman or no."
"An oath can mean one thing to one and something altogether different to another," he argued.
"We will each take the oath," Joel reminded him.
"If we choose carefully we can trust each other. We will carry the sign of the bow in our minds."
"I must be away tonight," he told Leah. "There is food and water, and oil enough to burn all night."
"That soldier—the one who comes into your shop sometimes—the one who rides on the horse? Is he a Roman?"
"How could that huge figure fit into the narrow cage of his life at the smithy?"
"I like to go in the morning best," he told her. "When the fishermen are just coming in with their night's catch."
"The crowing of a cock somewhere in the town, and the first busy chirping of sparrows, and, abruptly, the swifts, coming from nowhere, filling the air, darting over the water."
"It was true, he did like best to go in the morning, not only because he loved the lake at dawn and the bustle of work beginning, but also because then, in the clear bright sunlight, nothing seemed impossible."
"The eyes of the ill and lame, which looked up with hope in the new morning, were glazed at night with a long day's suffering."
"His brilliant flashing eyes were dark with pity. Yet he never turned away, never refused to speak to them."
"He told us a story about a traveler who fell among thieves who beat him and left him half dead beside the road."
"He insists on talking to them, and finding out their names, and listening to their foolishness. It makes some of the men furious—as though he thought children were important."
"Jesus says that God sees into our hearts and loves us. If everyone understood that—every man and woman—"
"It is beautiful just to be alive in Galilee!"
"What is Rosh going to do?" they greeted Daniel, their faces sober.
"Nothing?" Nathan cried out, incredulous. "After Joel has—" His voice broke.
"What does it matter?" Kemuel suddenly lashed out with scorn. "We don't need your Rosh—your great leader! We'll do without him."
"We answer for each other!" Nathan spoke swiftly.
"Twenty," said Daniel, his hand on Joktan's shoulder.
"Take all the weapons you have," he ordered. "We'll start now and find our place."
"For God's Victory," they said together solemnly.
"They who live by the sword will perish by the sword."
"I would ask something much harder than that. Would you love for me to the end?"
"The kingdom is only bought at a great price," Jesus said.
"He did not give you vengeance. He gave you love. There is no greater love than that, that a man should lay down his life for his friend."
"It is hate that is the enemy? Not men. Hate does not die with killing. It only springs up a hundredfold."
"He fed us. Don't you see the bread? Pick some up for yourself. There's plenty."
"I believe he is the Messiah, sent from God," Simon said.
"He will never lead us against Rome, Daniel. I have given up all hope of that."