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Probably nowhere can you find the range of actual examples and keen insights
offered by the spectrum of contributors to this landmark book. It is one to be
pondered and treasured, and, although it is not the last word on the subject,
it is certainly an impressive beginning. We are deeply indebted to both the con-
tributors and the editors for so stout and comprehensive a set of documents,
on so crucial and yet baffling a challenge. They are not interested in just any
kind of business. Their focus is on what they define as kingdom enterprises.
—RALPH D. WINTER
President, William Carey International University

Forthright, practical, and compelling! On Kingdom Business addresses the

tough questions surrounding profit making in the name of Christ, and con-
vincingly validates the fact that authentic ministry can indeed take place
within the context of authentic business. This book will bring welcomed con-
fidence to many Christian entrepreneurs, as they realize that God’s call to ful-
fill the Great Commission can be accomplished in and through business
itself—seamlessly and legitimately.
—CHRISTIAN OVERMAN
Executive Director, Worldview Matters, Inc.

Kingdom entrepreneurship has come of age as global Christian businessmen

and women unite to extol the virtues of investing in God’s kingdom. On
Kingdom Business is definitely recommended reading for discerning
Christians committed to the Great Commission ministry.
—JOHN VONG
Research Director, Geneva Global, Inc.

Businessmen and women are fulfilling the Great Commission by more than
giving money. On Kingdom Business tells their stories and reveals the
methodologies that work in today’s world. They are offering more pervasive
and comprehensive impact than traditional missions. People interested in
kingdom business will benefit by reading this remarkable book.
—JOHN H. WARTON, JR.
International Director, Business Professional Network
This book is going to make a good number of traditional missions support-
ers uncomfortable. Instead of upholding the model of the “full-time” mis-
sionary dependent on outside subsidy, these businesspeople with a heart for
missions are practicing a full-time calling of establishing businesses that com-
pete for capital and customers and create value. Business is not a necessary
evil or a cover for the “real work” but a way to create investments, jobs, eco-
nomic vitality, and a hearing for a credible gospel. It is hard work, but these
pages are filled with the examples and learnings of extraordinary men and
women—evangelistic entrepreneurs.
—FRED SMITH
President, The Gathering

Today’s mission context demands the mobilization of tens of thousands of

businessmen and women committed to spreading the gospel through genuine
business. On Kingdom Business reveals several best practice models and dis-
cusses key issues related to kingdom entrepreneurship. It trumpets a clarion
call for the church to recruit, train, and field its least utilized members and turn
them into its most powerful asset for missions in the coming decades.
—CHUCK MADINGER
Missions Pastor, Southland Christian Church
 ON
KINGDOM
BUSINESS
Transforming Missions Through
Entrepreneurial Strategies

Tetsunao Yamamori
Kenneth A. Eldred
EDITORS

C R O S S W AY B O O K S
A DIVISION OF
GOOD NEWS PUBLISHERS
WHEATON, ILLINOIS
On Kingdom Business: Transforming Missions Through Entrepreneurial Strategies
Copyright © 2003 by Tetsunao Yamamori and Kenneth A. Eldred
Published by Crossway Books
A division of Good News Publishers
1300 Crescent Street
Wheaton, Illinois 60187
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided
by USA copyright law.
Cover design: David LaPlaca
Cover photo: Getty Images
First printing 2003
Printed in the United States of America
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News
Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture references marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible® Copyright
© The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977,
1995. Used by permission.
Scripture references marked NIV are from the Holy Bible: New International Version.®
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of
Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
The “NIV” and “New International Version” trademarks are registered in the United
States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trade-
mark requires the permission of International Bible Society.
Scripture references marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible.
 CONTENTS
Preface Tetsunao Yamamori 7
Editors and Contributors 11
Introduction Kenneth A. Eldred 19

PART O NE : C ASE S TUDIES

1 Esther Hui and Infosail Kim-kwong Chan 31
2 AMI and Great Commission Companies 37
Clem Schultz with Sonia Chou
3 Galtronics: A Case Study in Israel Ken and Margie Crowell 45
4 Business in the Middle East Abiir William 49
5 Church Planting via Small Business in Zazaland Patrick Lai 55
6 Business in Cambodia Norman Teece 67
7 Business Among South Asian Refugees Daniel Batchelder 75
8 Business in Kyrgyzstan Juerg Opprecht 83
9 Business in Central Asia Byung Ho Choi 95
10 Business in South Asia Luke Watson 101
11 Business in India Joe Suozzo 109

PART T WO : E SSAYS
12 The Integration of Business and Ministry Peter Tsukahira 117
13 How Business in Itself Can Glorify God Wayne Grudem 127
14 Strategic Considerations in Business as Mission 153
Thomas Sudyk
15 The Business of Missions—The Missions of Business 169
John Cragin
16 Starting Kingdom Companies: A Biblical and 181
Historical Overview Heinz A. Suter
17 International Development Systems: A Case Study 195
Michael R. Baer
18 Kingdom-Based Investing Kenneth A. Eldred 203
19 Taking Faith to Work John D. Beckett 213
20 Preparing the Next Generation of Kingdom Entrepreneurs 225
Steven L. Rundle
 PART T HREE : C ONCLUSION
21 Review of the Case Studies from a Business Perspective 247
Thuan-seng Tan
22 Review of the Case Studies from a Ministry Perspective 253
Howard Norrish
23 Advantages, Disadvantages, and Lessons Learned 271
Randolph Case
24 Key Concepts and Lessons Learned Ralph A. Miller 281

A PPENDIXES
A. Case Study Guidelines 299
B. Devotionals C. René Padilla
B (1) The Stewardship of Creation 300
B (2) A Call to Faithfulness 305
B (3) Taking Hold of the Life That Is Truly Life 310
C. Dynamics of Faith Kenell J. Touryan 315
D. A Guide to Further Reading Steven L. Rundle and Patrick Lai 325
Notes 340
General Index 345
Scripture Index 351
 PREFACE

We have come to the end of a remarkable century in global missions.

Christians are present in every country on the face of the earth, and evangeli-
cal Christianity is the world’s fastest growing major religion. In addition,
Christians and missionaries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America outnumber
their counterparts from the West, who so sacrificially brought them the gospel.
And yet, if our goal remains obeying Jesus’ command to make disciples
of all nations, then we have no room for complacency. According to David
Barrett, about 1.6 billion of the world’s 6.2 billion people have not heard the
gospel and in fact have little or no opportunity to hear it. And despite all our
hard work in the evangelical missions movement in reaching the
“unreached,” adherents of the other major world religions—Muslims,
Hindus, and Buddhists—have been largely impervious to our evangelism. As
my colleague Ralph Winter so cogently put it at the second Global
Consultation on World Evangelization conference in Pretoria, South Africa,
“More of the same will not be enough.”
While many of these unreached people care little for Jesus Christ, they
spend a lot of time thinking about Adam Smith, who wrote the “capitalist
manifesto,” The Wealth of Nations. To reach such people, we need to not
only tell them about the gospel but also show it to them. How do we do this
in the context of today’s globalizing economy, in which people’s felt needs
center more on finding a job and attaining economic development than on
investigating the claims of Christ? In a word, the answer is “business,” or, to
be more precise, “kingdom business.” If the traditional Western missionary
movement had some flaws this last century, surely one of the most obvious,
in hindsight, was its failure to mobilize many Christian business profession-
als (beyond using their money) for the Great Commission. At the start of a
new century and millennium, we can no longer afford this oversight.
In recent decades, of course, we have seen the strong emergence of tent-
making—working at a secular job while also working as a missionary—as an
approach to gaining entry to so-called “restricted-access” nations. The
church’s interest in reaching the “10/40 Window”1 has underscored the need
for tentmaking of all types. In his book of world evangelization trends,
Missions in the Third Millennium, Stan Guthrie writes, “Some of the
8 ON KINGDOM BUSINESS

strongest interest in the strategy comes from churches looking to unleash their
laity for world missions in cost-effective and creative ways.”2 And indeed,
tentmaking in recent years has evolved from a novelty to a respected tool,
among churches and agencies. According to the Mission Handbook, the num-
ber of agency-supported tentmakers from the United States increased from
1,040 in 1992 to 3,220 in 1999. This dramatic jump occurred while the num-
ber of full-time traditional missionaries actually declined.
Tentmaking has borne some fruit, although there have been many fail-
ures along the way. Some tentmakers have been kicked out of the countries
they were attempting to reach. Why? Because they were not doing the work
their visa said they would do. Instead, their secular job was merely a cover
for the “real” work of evangelism they hoped to do. Others have failed
because they did not have access to spiritual support and fellowship in their
busy or hostile environments. Another problem: Because most tentmakers are
“job-takers,” the flexibility and team cohesion so necessary for effective min-
istry are difficult. I would like to suggest a new model—or perhaps a return
to the biblical paradigm: kingdom entrepreneurs.
In contrast to regular tentmakers, kingdom entrepreneurs are job mak-
ers, starting small to large for-profit businesses. These businesses are not
fronts to get into closed countries (with the attendant ethical problems), but
real enterprises that meet real human needs. As the former leader of a relief
and development agency, I know that many restricted-access countries are
seeking economic growth. They welcome entrepreneurs warmly, even when
they shut their doors tightly to others.
Moreover, in churches worldwide there are increasing numbers of tal-
ented entrepreneurs who sense God’s call to missions. These people want to
use their unique skills and backgrounds for the kingdom. More and more are
doing so, employing their business acumen as a means of ministry to the
nations. Their goal is to share the gospel and make disciples across cultural
divides while starting and maintaining for-profit businesses that produce tan-
gible goods and services.
In recent years, various people have used different expressions to describe
what I am calling “kingdom entrepreneurship”: “kingdom business,” “holis-
tic business,” “Great Commission companies,” “kingdom companies,”
“entrepreneurial tentmaking,” and “business as mission.” All these nomen-
clatures point to doing ministry through business ownership. Such a business
ministry can be carried out in a monocultural setting3 as well as in a cross-
cultural one. A cross-cultural setting requires additional training and added
cultural sensitivity. Kingdom entrepreneurs are those who are engaged in
kingdom entrepreneurship.
 Preface 9

Kingdom entrepreneurs are business owners, called by God, to do min-

istry through business. They are business owners rather than business
employees. They are entrepreneurs rather than salaried men and women.
They are engaged full-time in business. They are more like Aquila and
Priscilla than like Paul (Acts 18:1-5, 24-26).
If cross-cultural kingdom entrepreneurs wish to have a more precise self-
definition as they work in the so-called “closed countries,” I submit the fol-
lowing: Kingdom entrepreneurs are cross-cultural business owners, called by
God, to do ministry through business in restricted-access countries.
In my research on successful models of kingdom business, I have identi-
fied three basic types of kingdom entrepreneurship.

1. Cases of Strong Business and Weak Ministry. On the extreme left

of a continuum are Christian entrepreneurs who have successfully
built their businesses, but whose ministry, for various reasons, has
lagged behind. Building a business, especially in a cross-cultural
setting, demands concentration and focus. It is not easy to survive
and thrive in the business world. While a business may grow
strong, ministry often remains weak.
2. Cases of Strong Ministry and Weak Business. On the extreme
opposite end of the continuum are Christian entrepreneurs who
have entered a restricted-access country on a business visa. While
the ministry is well under way, the business does not receive much
attention. After all, business is a “front” to secure entry into the
country. Supporting churches and friends back home expect the
ministry to succeed. But, after a while, the non-Christian local peo-
ple who work in the company begin wondering where their salaries
come from when obviously their company is not making a profit.
They begin suspecting that something funny is going on. They may
think, “Is this a CIA operation?” Rumors spread and the ministry
is compromised. Some cases may be much less dramatic than this.
Nevertheless, business does not receive adequate attention.
3. Cases of Strong Business and Strong Ministry. In the middle of the
continuum are Christian entrepreneurs who do not lose sight of
their original calling to do ministry through business—making
disciples while making a profit through genuine business. Certain
cultures revere and readily accept successful businessmen and
women. However, businesses do not become successful overnight.
There will be hardships and trials before kingdom entrepreneurs
see any success. Integrating business and ministry is not an easy
10 ON KINGDOM BUSINESS

assignment, but, by the grace of God, some kingdom entrepreneurs

do succeed. While the cases in this volume come from this category,
they are not all the same. They vary in degrees of success and scope.

This book reproduces in edited form most of the presentations made at

the consultation on this topic held at Regent University (Virginia Beach,
Virginia) in October 2002. As at the consultation, the material is divided into
three main sections. The first, “Case Studies,” looks at examples of kingdom
business from around the world. These chapters provide many practical and
hard-won insights for those considering this kind of ministry. The authors
examine common barriers to such ministry, look at training issues, and share
their own successes and failures in the Muslim world, across Asia, and in the
Middle East. The second part of the book, “Essays,” provides more concep-
tual undergirding for this approach. The third, “Conclusion,” ties it all
together with lessons learned and questions for the future.
We will need many kinds of missionaries and Christian workers in the
coming decades. The task ahead of us is enormous. Christianity gained no
“market share” in the twentieth century, while Islam grew by more than 50
percent. If we want to make a difference in our efforts to fulfill the Great
Commission, we need to be willing to try new things. I believe kingdom busi-
ness will be a strategy of choice for the twenty-first century. This book will
help lay the conceptual groundwork.
I pray that this book will serve as a rallying point to further explore
kingdom entrepreneurship. We need to awaken and deploy the underutilized
army of Christian entrepreneurs around the world for the expansion of
God’s kingdom.
My coeditor Ken Eldred and I have many people to thank. Stan Guthrie
of Christianity Today provided expert editorial assistance. Dr. Lane Dennis,
president and CEO of Crossway Books, immediately agreed to publish this
book, even when the consultation was no more than an idea. Dean John
Mulford of the Regent University Graduate School of Business provided
prompting and inspiration that were critical to the consultation becoming a
reality. Rose Gilliana and Sarah Lane of Regent provided much-needed help
in the day-to-day oversight leading up to the consultation. Living Stones
Foundation, Fieldstead and Company, and Global HMR, Inc., provided the
financial contributions to make the consultation and the publication of this
book possible.

—Tetsunao Yamamori
 EDITORS AND CONTRIBUTORS

Tetsunao Yamamori (book coeditor, preface) is president emeritus of Food for

the Hungry International. He recently served as distinguished visiting pro-
fessor at the Graduate School of Business, Regent University, and currently
is Lausanne senior associate for holistic mission. He holds a Ph.D. from Duke
University. He is author, coauthor, or editor of numerous books, including
Penetrating Missions’ Final Frontier (InterVarsity Press, 1993), Holistic
Entrepreneurs in China: A Handbook on the World Trade Organization and
New Opportunities for Christians (William Carey International University
Press, 2002), Exploring Religious Meaning, 6th edn. (Prentice-Hall/Simon &
Schuster, 2003), and Progressive Pentecostalism: A Global Perspective
(University of California Press, 2003). He served as convenor of the
Consultation for Holistic Entrepreneurs held at the Regent University
Graduate School of Business, October 3-5, 2002.

Kenneth A. Eldred (book coeditor, introduction, chapter 18) is currently an

investor and founder/CEO of Living Stones Foundation Charitable Trust. He
has founded numerous successful companies, including Ariba Technologies,
the leader in the Internet business-to-business industry, and Inmac, which
went public in 1987 and later merged with MicroWarehouse. Internationally,
he is cofounder and director of a call center based in India. He has also
founded other ventures in Europe and China. He was named “Retail
Entrepreneur of the Year” in 1988 by the Institute of American
Entrepreneurs. He also serves on the Board of Advisors for Crosspoint
Venture Partners. Crosspoint was named by Forbes as the most successful
venture investment firm for three years in a row. He is also chairman of
Parakletos Venture Capital. Eldred focuses his efforts primarily on charita-
ble projects. He is in much demand as a speaker and an advisor to various
ventures dedicated to kingdom entrepreneurship. He holds a B.A. and an
M.B.A. from Stanford University.

Kim-kwong Chan (chapter 1) is executive secretary for mission and pastoral

formation of the Hong Kong Christian Council. He holds a Ph.D. from the
University of Ottawa and a Th.D. from St. Paul University. He has authored
12 ON KINGDOM BUSINESS

or coauthored nine books, including Protestantism in Contemporary China

(Cambridge University Press, 1993), Witnesses to Power: Stories of God’s
Quiet Work in a Changing China (Paternoster, 2000), and Holistic
Entrepreneurs in China: A Handbook on the World Trade Organization and
New Opportunities for Christians (William Carey International University
Press, 2003). The Hong Kong government recently appointed Chan as a
Justice of the Peace.

Clem Schultz (chapter 2, with Sonia Chou) has twenty years’ experience in
doing business and missions simultaneously in East and Central Asia. He is
president of AMI, a manufacturing and consulting company specializing in
high-technology manufacturing and service start-ups. AMI starts an average
of one new company a year. AMI facilitates church planting in the 10/40
Window through strategic and contractual alliances with more than fifteen
mission agencies. Mr. Schultz was a divisional manager for two major multi-
national companies in East Asia. He has ten years of training in business and
law.

Ken and Margie Crowell (chapter 3) have been married for forty-eight years
and have three children and eight grandchildren. Ken served in the U.S. Army
during the Korean War. He attended California State University/Northridge,
Multnomah Bible College, and Western Seminary. He was an officer in the
Los Angeles Police Department and has been an engineer at Areojet General,
Tektronics, and Motorola in the United States and in Israel. Ken and Margie
have formed the following companies in Israel: Galtronics (antennae),
Galcom (radios), Galadon (communion products), Galilee Experience (mul-
timedia), Galilee of the Nations (music), and Megavoice (voice storage).

Abiir William (chapter 4) was born in the Far East and received most of her
education in the West. She then went to the Middle East to study Arabic. She
has been engaged in kingdom business in the Arab world for the past thir-
teen years.

Patrick Lai (chapter 5 and appendix D) has a degree in business-marketing

from the University of Oregon and an M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical
Divinity School. He is completing a D.Miss. at the Asian Theological
Seminary in Manila. Patrick has served in Asia for eighteen years: four in
Hong Kong as a traditional missionary among Chinese under Overseas
Missionary Fellowship, and the past fourteen as a tentmaker among Muslims
with Frontiers. He and his team planted two churches and one fellowship
 Editors and Contributors 13

group among Muslims while starting several businesses. He also is a consul-

tant to businesses and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Asia and
North Africa.

Norman Teece (chapter 6) was born in Bedfordshire, England, in 1947, and

worked for twenty-seven years as a mechanical engineer. Since 1993, he and
his wife Fi have lived in Phnom Penh where they work among the very poor
and disadvantaged in society, establishing business initiatives and community
development projects. They have two grown sons in addition to their adopted
son and family in Cambodia.

Daniel Batchelder (chapter 7) is the executive director of the International

Foundation of Hope (IFHope). He has worked extensively in South Asia for
the past five years. His work focuses on community and economic develop-
ment in education, health care, small business development, and agriculture.
Daniel is an entrepreneur who established a consulting firm that he directed
for twenty-two years in northern Vermont. He has two grown sons and lives
with his wife Anne in Colorado Springs.

Juerg Opprecht (chapter 8) is founder and president of Business Professional

Network (BPN). He is married, has four children, and lives in Faoug, Vaud
Canton, Switzerland. He finished his education in electrical engineering. He
also received training in executive development at IMD Lausanne. After
working in different management positions, he became the president of a
family business with 1,000 employees. He now owns a real estate company
and a five-star hotel in a well-known Swiss ski resort. He serves on the boards
of several companies, including some Christian institutions.

Byung Ho Choi (chapter 9) is a South Korean businessman working in

Central Asia. He is general director of Siroko and director of the Silk Road
Chamber Choir.

Luke Watson (chapter 10) left a career as a research scientist in the West and
began teaching at a university in South Asia as a means of evangelism. He
later shifted to business and found better opportunities to pursue his calling.
He holds a Ph.D. in a scientific field.

Joe Suozzo (chapter 11) and a Christar team established a network of house
churches among the Chamar people of North India from 1989 to 1999. He
completed a graduate thesis at Columbia International University on the char-
14 ON KINGDOM BUSINESS

acteristics of entrepreneurial tentmaking. He is currently serving as an interim

pastor in one of his supporting churches in New Jersey. Joe and his family
hope to return to Asia as tentmaking entrepreneurs to continue church plant-
ing among the unreached.

Peter Tsukahira (chapter 12) attended Bible school and seminary in the
United States, then moved with his wife Rita to Tokyo, where they led a grow-
ing international fellowship of Christians. Peter also worked in the Japanese
computer industry. In 1987, he was hired by an Israeli high-technology firm,
and the family moved to Haifa. After the Gulf War in 1991, they assisted in
the founding of Kehilat HaCarmel (Carmel Assembly) on Mount Carmel,
and Peter became one of the pastors. Now an Israeli citizen, he is the founder
of Carmel Communications, a ministry to Christians of many nations. Peter
is ordained by World Challenge International Ministers’ Fellowship, founded
by David Wilkerson, and serves on the Board of Directors of Church Growth
International, founded by David Yonggi Cho.

Wayne Grudem (chapter 13) is research professor of Bible and theology at

Phoenix Seminary in Scottsdale, Arizona. He taught for twenty years at
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois, where he was chair-
man of the Department of Biblical and Systematic Theology. He received a
B.A. from Harvard University, an M.Div. from Westminster Seminary, and a
Ph.D. in New Testament from Cambridge University. He has published eight
books, including Systematic Theology (IVP-U.K. and Zondervan). He is a
past president of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and a
member of the Translation Oversight Committee for the English Standard
Version of the Bible. He and his wife Margaret are members of the FamilyLife
speaker team (a division of Campus Crusade for Christ).

Thomas Sudyk (chapter 14) is founder and CEO of Evangelistic Commerce

(EC), which mobilizes professionals to start and operate for-profit companies
in restricted-access countries. Enterprises include medical transcription, com-
puter-aided design, software development, and exports to customers primar-
ily in the West. EC offers extensive training programs interfacing business
skills with mission purpose.

John Cragin (chapter 15) is professor of business at Oklahoma Baptist

University. Among his many business positions held, he was director of inter-
national operations and president and CEO of a large company. He has
started and run businesses and worked as a consultant to businesses and gov-
 Editors and Contributors 15

ernments while working closely with a dozen missions organizations. John

has lectured and supervised business-missions interns around the world. He
holds a Ph.D. in management from the University of Oklahoma.

Heinz Suter (chapter 16) is a graduate of the Swiss Mercantile School and
holds an M.A. in intercultural studies. He worked in banking before becom-
ing involved in international missions through Operation Mobilization in
Latin America. From 1984 to 1996 he lived with his family in Spain, where
he helped found PM International. He was involved in tentmaking business
projects in North Africa. Presently, he is promoting business involvement in
missions through the “SALT Foundation” and the kingdom company in
Basel, Switzerland, that he assists.

Michael R. Baer (chapter 17) is a pastor turned businessman. He is the

founder and president of a small business consulting company based in
Atlanta, Georgia. He is the executive director of IMED (International Micro
Enterprise Development, Inc.). He lives in North Carolina with his wife and
has two grown daughters.

John D. Beckett (chapter 19) is chairman and CEO of R. W. Beckett

Corporation. After graduating from MIT with a B.S. in economics and
mechanical engineering, he was an engineer in the aerospace industry. He
joined his father in a small family-owned manufacturing business and turned
it into a company with sales of nearly $100 million and more than 500
employees. He helped found Intercessors for America, is a founding board
member of the International Leadership University, and is on the boards of
Henry Blackaby Ministries and Concerts of Prayer International. His first
book, Loving Monday: Succeeding in Business Without Selling Your Soul,
was published in 1998 by InterVarsity Press. Spring Arbor University recently
conferred on him an honorary Doctor of Law degree.

Steven L. Rundle (chapter 20 and appendix D) is associate professor of eco-

nomics at Biola University, where he also teaches a “Business as Mission”
course. He is cofounder of the Strategic Capital Group, a venture capital fund
that assists companies bringing spiritual and economic blessing to the least-
evangelized and least-developed parts of the world. Rundle is also coauthor
of Business as Mission: Globalization and the Emerging Role of Great
Commission Companies (InterVarsity Press, 2003). He holds a Ph.D. from
Claremont Graduate University.
16 ON KINGDOM BUSINESS

Thuan-seng Tan (chapter 21), an accountant by training, spent twenty years

working with multinational corporations including Shell, British Petroleum,
and Norcros, rising to the position of regional CEO. After becoming a
Christian in 1982, he became a management consultant. In 1991 he set up
Bright Arrows as a business platform for World Horizons, a Welsh-based mis-
sions organization. Bright Arrows has evolved into a holistic mission agency
through kingdom business enterprise, with operations in six Asian countries.

Howard Norrish (chapter 22) was born in India to parents who were in the
British army. Howard’s early life was spent on the Indian subcontinent and
in South Africa. He joined Operation Mobilization in 1963 and is based in
London with OM’s International Coordinating Team. Howard earned B.Sc.
and M.Sc. degrees from the American University in Beirut, Lebanon, and a
Ph.D. in biochemistry from Cambridge University. He taught for seven years
in the medical school of King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Randolph Case (chapter 23) is an associate professor in the school of busi-

ness at Regent University. His teaching and research focus on entrepreneurial
strategy and the dynamics of personal change. He was the primary investi-
gator in two broad studies of entrepreneurial management funded by the
Pharmaceutical Education and Research Institute and Pricewaterhouse-
Coopers. Case holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of
Virginia, an M.B.A. from Columbia University, and a Ph.D. in management
from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Before earning
his Ph.D., Case was chief financial officer of IMG Ltd., an information ser-
vices company with subsidiaries in Europe and the United States.

Ralph A. Miller (chapter 24) is entrepreneur-in-residence at the Regent

University Graduate School of Business. He teaches entrepreneurship, inter-
national business, and Christian values in business. A former Navy fighter
pilot, Miller spent the past forty years in executive or board positions in
industries such as aviation, banking, electronics, and travel, as well as in non-
profit ministries. With a graduate degree in divinity, he focuses his teaching
and mentoring on integrating Christian faith and biblical wisdom into the
daily decision making process of Christian executives.

René Padilla (author of the three devotionals in appendix B) was born in

Quito, Ecuador, and was reared in Bogota, Colombia. Since 1967 he has lived
in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He received a Ph.D. in New Testament from the
University of Manchester and an honorary D.D. from Wheaton College. He
 Editors and Contributors 17

has served as a visiting professor at various universities, theological seminar-

ies, and missiological centers around the world. He is currently president of
the Kairos Foundation and editor-in-chief of Ediciones Kairos and of Iglesia
y Mision magazines. He is also the international president of Tear Fund,
United Kingdom and Ireland.

Kenell J. Touryan (author of “Dynamics of Faith” in appendix C) is chief

technology analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the U.S.
Department of Energy. He uses his training and skills in science and technol-
ogy working as a tentmaker to advance God’s kingdom. He holds a Ph.D. in
nuclear science from Princeton University.
 INTRODUCTION

For several years now the Lord has shown me that business can be a pow-
erful tool in mission work. Four years ago, I had a conversation with General
Paul Cerjan, then president of Regent University, about the very subject. I
was unaware of most of what was going on for the gospel’s sake through
business. We felt that much could be done with business, but exactly who
was doing what, and where could we get a handle on what the Lord was
doing around the world through business? John Mulford, dean of the busi-
ness school at Regent University, and Ted Yamamori, distinguished visiting
professor of holistic entrepreneurship at the Graduate School of Business,
Regent University, picked up the challenge. Thanks to their energy and per-
sistence, the first Consultation for Holistic Entrepreneurs was convened
October 3-5, 2002.
The concept of business as a tool for spreading the gospel is not new.
Starting with the apostle Paul and going right through the centuries, busi-
ness has played a key role in missions. When Marco Polo first followed the
trade route to China, he reported back that the Silk Road was dotted with
Nestorian chapels. These chapels were a part of the business/mission out-
reach of these industrious people as early as the fifth century. They domi-
nated the silk trade routes for hundreds of years (chapter 16). But, over the
last century, we lost the concept of business and the gospel being partners in
preaching. The connection was lost and the responsibility for missions fell
to trained evangelists and missionaries. When business was rediscovered as
a potential tool, it was more often than not seen as a way to enter closed
access countries and even as a “front” for the true activity, which was build-
ing the kingdom.
When business is used as a front, the local people get suspicious. They
wonder what the real reason is for the business to be in the country. When
they don’t know the answer and they don’t see any visible means of support,
they naturally begin to ask questions. At first, people hear that the strangers
in their midst are students or tourists or even businessmen and women. This
works for a while, but these “fronts” become meaningless with time: A ten-
year “student” who has not yet received a degree but now has children? A
“tourist” who has stayed for ten years? A “businessperson” whose business
20 ON KINGDOM BUSINESS

has not grown and who does not have any business hours or apparent busi-
ness? Then they wonder: for whom do these people really work? Naturally,
human nature assumes the worst. These missionaries must either be spies for
the CIA, or drug dealers. What a poor basis for developing opportunities to
share the gospel (chapters 5 and 14).
While there has been some success for business as a mission tool, it is not
yet accepted as a mainstream option (chapter 14) and therefore is rarely pro-
vided for in our curriculum or thought process. Books are just now coming
out that attempt to legitimize business as having an important role in spread-
ing the gospel. In the fall of 2002, Ed Silvoso released his book Anointed for
Business (Gospel Light), recognizing and encouraging the role of business in
missions. There is a widespread feeling in the Christian world that business is
actually a second-class citizen to a higher calling of pure ministry (chapters 1
and 20). It is often said that we need to leave our business world and “enter
into the ministry.” Many aspects of business, including ownership, it was
argued, are not good. Years ago, I wrestled with this concept when I was strug-
gling with what I should do with my life: ministry or business. In the final anal-
ysis, God put me in a business where I could minister to my employees and
the business community in general. I was able to accomplish both. (Refer to
chapters 12, 13, and 20.) I learned that business and ministry are symbiotic.
Business can be and should be an integral part of missions. For the adven-
turous, business is viewed as a ministry. Businesspeople see their role as a way
to demonstrate their faith to those around them. Business also may be seen
as a way to help Christians who need to have a job and are in a market where
employment for Christians is almost impossible because of their faith (chap-
ter 18). For years, smuggling was a way to bring the Bible into closed coun-
tries. At that time it was the only way in some countries. This approach must
not be carried on into business for the gospel. We often hear how we must
hide our faith and attempt to manage or start business outside of government
approval. As a result, some people have gone to great lengths to obfuscate
their business activities. In one case, an individual smuggled out production
illegally for the cause of Christ and thereby nullified his testimony (chapter
2). Such are the efforts of some fledgling approaches to business as a mission.
Rarely do we have the confidence to do the outrageous, which is the
realm in which the Holy Spirit works best—since we ourselves cannot accom-
plish it alone without him. But for the outrageous among us, business may
be seen as an opportunity to win many to Christ, reach an entire city, and
possibly influence the thought process and views of those who lead the coun-
try! I think of the company that built a church on the factory grounds as an
integral part of the operations. Although the government was against it, those
 Introduction 21

in power let it stand because they wanted the company in their country. Or,
consider the first private government-sponsored Christian website in China
(chapter 1).
It appears that business as a mission tool fell into disuse over the last
eighty years or so because we entered into a period where capitalism was not
seen by the developing nations as useful to them. Many developing nations
were moving toward communism or certainly socialism as an economic
model. India, China, and the Eastern bloc nations are cases in point.
Certainly, in a socialist-leaning country, the idea of business and capitalism
is like a sore thumb. Who needs it? It became essentially irrelevant—and
worse, without nobility. Capitalism to the socialist mind is anathema. As a
mission tool it was no longer useful. Since both socialism and capitalism are
biblical concepts, there was no reason for the missionary to carry excess bag-
gage, and the business avenue to missions was summarily dropped.
With the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, a very
amazing but not surprising decision was made around the globe. One by one,
nations began to realize that socialism as an economic and philosophic basis
for self-development was a dead end. If it did not work in the Soviet Union,
more than likely it would not work anywhere else. All countries have not
reached this conclusion at the same time, but many around the globe are
beginning to rethink their economic and philosophic basis of development.
The decision to abandon socialism as a way to economic improvement in
developing nations has come without a clear demarcation of the end of an
era or the beginning of the next. Leaders of developing nations are realizing
more and more that the old philosophy of socialism as a means to self-devel-
opment has no future, and they are moving with faltering steps toward cap-
italism. Both India and China have shifted their thinking toward capitalism.
As you study these two countries, it is pretty obvious, from their actions,
which economic system won the economic battle and therefore the Cold War.
Clearly, the capitalists won.
For the Christian, the economic system is not a relevant issue. We see in
the Scriptures both capitalism and socialism at work. With Christ as our base,
either one can and will work. I contend that neither one will work without
the fundamental base of Christian principles in the equation. That is another
chapter. What is relevant to the Christian is that capitalism and therefore busi-
ness is back with a vengeance. For the last eighty years, the developing nations
were saying, “Send us teachers and doctors because they will have the great-
est effect on improving the conditions of our country.” And we have obliged
them. Yes, we did want to train and heal the people of developing nations,
but we also wanted to bring the gospel.
22 ON KINGDOM BUSINESS

Today, these nations are saying, “We are glad to have teachers and doc-
tors, but also send us people who can teach us the art of business.” Now, doc-
tors and teachers can come from many countries, but businesspeople are
preferred from those nations who have been successful as capitalists. The
door is open, and we must adapt our methods and bring to the party the peo-
ple and skills that these nations want. Imagine, developing nations are actu-
ally asking for Westerners, from all capitalist nations, to come and to develop
business in their countries!
When we sent them doctors and teachers, we did not send them fake doc-
tors or unknowledgeable teachers. We can do no less in this case. Here we
need to catch up with the developing nations, who may be ahead of us. We
can’t send folks who are gospel-trained but have only a smattering of busi-
ness knowledge (chapter 20) or we will find ourselves on the outside looking
in. We must have adequate preparation for the task at hand. We need to send
or provide practitioners who can honestly give these nations what they need,
but with a twist: I believe that we can make the case that capitalism does not
work without some cultural changes, including the open reception of some
basic business principles which also happen to be scriptural principles. In this
way, we lay the foundation for introducing the gospel. We must use tact in
introducing these principles, but nonetheless, they are an important part of
business.
We are on the edge of something really big, but we need to be wise in
delivering our help to a needy world or we could fail. How could such a thing
happen? We need to be appropriately prepared as professional missionaries
and businesspeople. Such a person or group must be just as well prepared for
the one as for the other. A strong suit in one and not the other will not be
enough. Case study after case study in this book will attest to this conclusion.
A number of deficiencies generally exist for people who have mission
skills but lack qualifications as businesspeople. These areas need to be rec-
ognized before they can be addressed. The missionary who wants to operate
or develop a business must know that taking on business is not something
one does lightly. The well-known and accepted data on business failure indi-
cates that the odds are stacked against the would-be businessperson, but this
failure rate can be mitigated significantly by being properly prepared.
It is like gravity. If one jumps off a fifty-story building and prays for the
Lord to save him, he will be saved and continue his life that very day—in
heaven! The Lord Jesus, tempted by that very prospect, answered Satan
thusly: “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test” (Matt. 4:7). In
Hosea, the Lord says: “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge”
(Hos. 4:6). Why do we think that we can do business in a foreign land and
 Introduction 23

not know the business rules that must and do apply? It is better to spend some
money on an education than spend a lot of money on a business idea only to
lose a lot of money while at best learning one or two business concepts from
our failure.
As you read this book, many areas will come to life with respect to suc-
cesses and failures in business as mission. Stories in the first part of this book
chronicle a number of successes but they also chronicle a number of mistakes
that would have been more obvious to the experienced businessperson. I
don’t want to dwell on the successes (they will take care of themselves), but
I would like to pull out some of the trends that I see in the failures so that we
can all learn from them.
Basic business techniques are critical to founding a successful kingdom
business. In many cases, a business plan was never developed. Many business
activities are started without clear goals, objectives, and market analysis.
Who would buy the product? What does the competition look like? How is
the product going to be distributed and sold? What is the government cli-
mate? How can these problems be resolved? Although our desire is to help
others, we must start with very clear-cut business objectives, a business model,
and a plan designed to anticipate the issues that will arise. Clearly not all of
the issues can be seen in advance, but the more the plan is thought through,
the better the chance the business has of success. Venture capitalists who are
at the front end of businesses are looking for one type of company: The Sure
Thing, Inc. Some of the brightest minds spend days or months analyzing a
business plan before they invest. Oftentimes the success or failure can be rec-
ognized long before we get to the money expenditure stage. But we need peo-
ple to help us who have experience in building a solid business plan. We need
to recruit the help and support of businesspeople from all areas of business
to guide us in developing business opportunities so that we can be successful
in presenting the gospel through successful businesses. Fortunately, such peo-
ple are out there. How to tap into them will be the question we must think
through.
To be successful, we also need to teach some basic business norms in cul-
tures where they do not exist. Capitalism by itself, which is based on self-
motivation, is not always enough. The good news is that basic business
principles and norms are also good scriptural principles. We can teach these
principles openly as we train people in the basic concepts of how business
works. Business will not be successful without such attributes as honesty, the
golden rule, quality, servant leadership, personal responsibility, respect for
others, and so forth. A properly developed curriculum based on biblical prin-
ciples is the key to training. We can openly proclaim these truths because they
24 ON KINGDOM BUSINESS

are the basis of successful business development, process, management, rela-

tions, and decision making. While capitalism is the system, scriptural truths
and moral values are the glue that holds it all together. As we provide such
knowledge, it is a shorter step to the gospel from there (chapter 14).
Successful business ventures require that people learn how to work
together for a common purpose. The Lone Ranger approach to doing busi-
ness is rarely effective. A single individual cannot ride into town, solve the
people’s problems, and go on from there. A business success has many fathers.
No one builds a business alone. It takes many partners to reach a successful
conclusion. Yet many have attempted to develop businesses in countries with-
out having found ready marketing partners (chapter 15), or developing the
appropriate technology partners or adequate process partners to bring a pro-
ject to completion in the open market. Fortunately, for almost every indus-
trial endeavor there are Christian businessmen and women around the world
who have or can obtain the answer and complete the development of a mis-
sion business. I have found them eager to help and open to providing often
simple but valuable advice and support. We need to be able to plug in to these
extremely valuable resources on a real-time basis. The issue once again is how
to find them and get them in the loop. This type of networking is a big chal-
lenge but is not insurmountable.
Many would-be venture developers view local governments as hin-
drances rather than as partners to the business development process. Indeed,
in many developing countries, the governments themselves, while attempting
to modernize their nations, have knee-jerk reactions to change that tend to
hinder rather than foster the growth of business. Too often, because we are
attempting to operate under the radar, we feel that we are unable to go to the
leaders of various countries let alone ask them to make changes. If and when
we do, they often are slow to react and leave us with frustration. In a small
business setting it is often difficult to get their attention or to go high enough
to get the results we need. Often, they don’t trust us because we have gone
so far in trying to develop our business without having involved them. We
need to work with the governments and involve them from the beginning
(chapter 8).
I know that many countries are not yet ready for business; however, more
are ready every day. The change is happening rapidly, and we need to be
aware of the telltale signs. We also need to know how to package our ven-
ture in such a way that the leaders can buy into the effort and not be embar-
rassed by local partisans with whom they must contend. Packaging is
everything. If we think through what the leaders’ problems are and whom
they have to sell on the idea, we may be able to get them to ignore our plans
 Introduction 25

to bring the gospel to them, or even to encourage our efforts. Many parts of
China are a case in point. After a recent three-month study trip to China,
David Aikman, former Time magazine foreign correspondent and senior fel-
low at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., reported on
the EPPC website that there is much more tolerance for foreigners, such as
the English Language in China group that brings in hundreds of teachers
every year. The authorities know that they are Christian but since they obey
the rules about evangelism in class, the authorities accept them. We need to
learn how to work with governments, recognizing their needs without com-
promising our responsibilities to the Lord.
We need to develop basic management skills in both missionary busi-
nesspeople and those who will work for them. We need to be able to manage
individuals above and within the organization to accomplish the objectives
as set out by the business plan. We need to learn how to accomplish and mon-
itor tasks that may involve people several layers removed from them in order
to keep all of the parts of the business operating properly and thus deliver the
results. Business is management; mission experience is often one-on-one.
Business requires folks to rally around a new and different set of objectives
for specific results under the overarching banner of Christ. The culture in the
company, different from the culture at church or in the community, must be
developed and nurtured. Multiple cultures must be managed at one time.
When the business is small, this may not appear difficult, but that is when
the seeds of the company culture are sown. What seeds get sown then will
continue to get stronger as the company grows. But the culture must reflect
the nature of the business. A high-service attitude must come up in a high-
service business, while a quality-oriented, cost-conscious, work culture must
grow up in a manufacturing operation. Ultimately, the quality of the com-
pany’s business culture and its ability to stand the test will only show up over
time.
We need to have the skill to assess risk in the marketplace and learn tech-
niques to “manage risk down,” to improve the odds of success. Some busi-
nesses have small risk and work well but can only reach a certain size, while
others can become larger players and demand work in advance to reduce risk
before additional capital can be brought in. Risk management comes with
training and experience. Often, we are slow in seeing the need to manage risk
and end up at a dead end because we cannot get the capital we need—because
we have not managed down the risk beforehand. It is always best to start with
small amounts of capital to get the business off the ground, and then learn
what is necessary to reduce risk and increase the probability of success.
So does this mean that the missionary-businessperson must start over
26 ON KINGDOM BUSINESS

and go back to school? Not necessarily. In all the steps along the way, I
believe that such a person can get help and make a lot of progress without
a business background—if we can get the critical support of a board of advi-
sors and adequate consulting help. We need to raise up such people; every
year, extremely capable people are retiring from the business world who, if
tapped, could offer enormous help. But we also need to start training young
people as soon as possible to come into these marketplace opportunities and
ply their business and missions training. It means preparing them at our
schools (chapter 20).
Finally, we need to use our business opportunities to strengthen the
indigenous church and encourage the sending church. As we begin to pro-
vide meaningful jobs to local believers, we need to teach them the importance
of tithing and the significance of church financial development. The local
church must become a giving body that can share back and help those in
need. While this seems obvious, many in the Third World have never learned
the art of giving to the church financially because they have never had money.
I have spoken to a number of local pastors who believe that the money for
the church must come from outside the country. In part they are correct but
only because local members often have been under- or unemployed. As busi-
nesses develop and pay salaries and profits, the local members must feel the
importance of giving for advancing the gospel. Teaching the concept of giv-
ing is hard when the missionary from afar makes many times the income of
the local church members. It is hard to ask them to give. But the future of the
church is dependent upon giving. If this were not so, I am sure Jesus and cer-
tainly Paul would not have spent so much time on it in the New Testament.
The local church in the sending country must also be involved. We need
to bring the church along and encourage it to provide spiritual support and
direction to its members so that we can get help to those who are out in the
field bringing the business mission along (chapter 4). The church needs to see
that sending business missionaries can be both successful and effective finan-
cially (chapters 15 and 20) and spiritually (chapter 13). This will require all
who have an interest in business as a mission to help many pastors in the
sending nations to learn the value of such work by elevating the value of busi-
ness as a mission tool.
With the doors open, a new era is coming that can give missions an even
brighter future. Kingdom business can have a huge impact. Business can pro-
vide much-needed jobs to local Christians. It can provide profit for the sus-
tainability and growth of jobs in the country. It will then improve the income
and therefore the GDP of the entire country and provide desperately needed
hard currency through trade to Third World nations. With these results we
 Introduction 27

can say to the developing nations, as Ken Crowell did, that we want to bless
the entire nation in which we desire to work (chapter 3). With the successes
we have seen in many cases, we will influence the direction of country lead-
ers to open new and greater opportunities for the gospel. The impact for the
gospel can be enormous. Of course, we need to resolve many issues that block
our path, but as kingdom entrepreneurs we believe that all things are possi-
ble, above and beyond what we ask or think. The Lord has promised us the
nations, and business can and will be one of the effective tools for the work
as we prepare for the coming of the King.

—Kenneth A. Eldred
 PA RT O N E

CASE
STUDIES
 1

ESTHER HUI AND INFOSAIL

Kim-kwong Chan

Esther Hui is cofounder and president of Shenzhen Infosail Electronics Co.,

Ltd. Infosail provides support services in website management, e-commerce,
and Internet-related software development. Although Infosail is a small com-
pany, recently it outbid eight big-league players to win a major contract to
build and to maintain one of the most important official Chinese government
news websites—Dragon News (21dnn.com). Newspapers and magazines
have interviewed Esther because of her success as a businesswoman, and a
national television documentary about her is in the works. Her biography is
about much more than business, however. A native of Ningpo in Zhejiang
Province, Esther has been a choir member for the Shenzhen Church since the
mid-1980s.

THE CALL
Esther was born into a non-Christian family in Shanghai. Her grandfather
was a rather wealthy businessman who lost everything when the commu-
nists took power. Both her father and mother were senior government cadres
who divorced when Esther was a teenager. Her mother took Esther to
Ningpo, her mother’s hometown, where the family had run a business before
1949. Esther attended high school back in Shanghai in the early 1980s
because she still retained her residential registration there. In Shanghai, how-
ever, she had neither relatives nor friends. Students in school bullied this
rural girl.
One day, passing by a church, Esther heard the beautiful hymn-singing.
Soon she began attending the services. During this time, Esther’s mother
moved to a new area without telling her. Esther struck up a friendship with
an old man and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Chu, in the church. The friendship
quickly deepened, and this childless couple took Esther as their foster daugh-
ter. The man saw something in Esther—a special talent in business—even
32 ON KINGDOM BUSINESS

before Esther had a chance to demonstrate it. While Esther lived with the
Chus, they formed her in the strict disciplines of daily Bible reading and
prayer.
The man, Chu Chunen, came from an extremely wealthy background.
His father-in-law had been an oil magnate in the 1920s and 30s. At some
point the couple had experienced a miraculous healing, and they converted
to the Christian faith. Mr. Chu, using his family wealth, then built a success-
ful banking business. However, the Sino-Japanese war and later the Civil War
destroyed most of his wealth. In the late 1940s, Mr. Chu decided to fold his
business and study theology. Then the communists came, and the couple lost
all that they had managed to hold onto. Mr. Chu had to work as a teacher in
a factory school. Finally, they retired in the late 1970s. In a period of reform,
the government later compensated them for wealth it had confiscated from
them years before.
Her foster father told Esther, “If you have talent in a field, excel in it.”
She did. After high school, Esther got a job as a sales clerk at a government
retailer. This was in the early 1980s, when the government was taking its first
tentative steps in the transition from a planned to a market economy. In the
company training program, Esther scored the highest among 500 people.
Although the company sent her to study bookkeeping, she was soon trans-
ferred to the accounting department and given more responsibility. Within a
month, Esther made a suggestion to increase the sales volume fourfold. In
fact, her division’s weekly sales jumped from 40,000 to 160,000 RMB. Soon,
the salary of people in her division jumped even higher, from 40 to 200 RMB
per month, with overtime—rather attractive when the average worker’s
salary was around 60 RMB. Esther quickly became a rising star, attracting
both admiration and jealousy.
In 1985, Esther convinced her boss to start doing business in Shenzhen,
the newly designated Special Economic Zone next to Hong Kong. After a
couple of successful deals, the company promoted her to sales manager.
Within a year, she had netted 1 million RMB in profits for her division.
Esther’s monthly salary was now 1,500 RMB. Soon the company sent her to
Hong Kong to solicit more international trade. Before she left, Mr. Chu gave
her two biblical passages—Psalms 1 and 23—for comfort and inspiration.
Evidently, they provided both.
After a couple years of success in Hong Kong, Esther went to Shenzhen
to start her own business with just a couple thousand RMB in her pocket.
She saw an opportunity in commodity trading, taking advantage of price dif-
ferences between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and between Shenzhen and the
rest of China. Soon she made her first million and was well-known in busi-
 Esther Hui and Infosail 33

ness circles. Esther also became involved in trade, real estate, stock markets,
and even black market currency exchanges and currency remittances, in
which illegal private banks respond to market needs in place of the notori-
ously inefficient official banks.
Esther made enough money to enjoy a comfortable living from the
interest on her wealth. Flush with success, Esther thought she might show
her gratitude for God’s blessings by going into “full-time ministry.” Her fos-
ter father—who by then had started a church in his home village in Jiangsu
and had received his ordination as a pastor—told her, “Your talent is more
than just becoming a preacher. It is not realistic for you to become a pas-
tor. Your heart is not there. Do not make the decision in a rush. Your tal-
ent is in business, and your call is to be a good Christian entrepreneur to
witness to Christ in the business world.” (Mr. Chu himself had grown a
church from fewer than a dozen believers to several hundred people within
just a few years. The church had constructed a new building with seating
for 500 people.)

T H E E N T R E P R E N E U R I A L L AU N C H
Esther had never attended college, had never studied economics, business, or
management. Although Shenzhen is a very commercialized city, few, if any,
church members were businesspeople in the mid-1990s. She had virtually no
guidance from the church. Few in the church even knew her as a busi-
nessperson.
As Esther pondered her future, she began to formulate her business phi-
losophy. After much reflection, she came to three conclusions. First, people
need to strive for a meaningful existence in life with a higher goal than sim-
ply making money. Second, entrepreneurs do not only work for themselves,
but for all those who work under them; they have a moral obligation toward
their employees. Third, businesses can create jobs and provide livelihoods for
many people in society.
As she explored her options, in 1997 Esther took some courses in
Internet and information technology (IT) and encountered a Mr. Ma, a com-
puter engineer and brilliant IT instructor. Together seeing a future in Internet-
related businesses, they launched Infosail. They spent almost the entire first
year getting a feel for the market, facing competition from thousands of sim-
ilar enterprises. They had many cash flow problems and near collapses of the
business. However, during each crisis, Esther prayed and saw a series of unex-
pected eleventh-hour events that rescued Infosail. Esther took this as a sign
from God to continue.
34 ON KINGDOM BUSINESS

T H E BU S I N E S S P L A N
Infosail specializes in building and maintaining news websites in China. It has
a special competitive advantage by linking its human resources with several
regional universities. Infosail provides scholarships to students who take their
summer internships there and promise to work for the company for two years
after graduation with below-market salaries but high projected bonuses. In
this way, Infosail gets a constant supply of high quality graduates at a bar-
gain rate. These workers are full of ideas and are aware of the latest Internet
technology.
Infosail has secured several big projects. One of the most important
coups was its successful bid, in March 2001, to build and maintain a
major government news site (21dnn.com). The Propaganda Department
of the Chinese Communist Party sponsors this site, which will be the offi-
cial news site of the government (hence named 21dnn, to rival with CNN
in the twenty-first century). Infosail prevailed over eight larger compa-
nies, including Yahoo, to secure the contract. Remarkably, Infosail did
not pay a single cent in bribes or in entertainment expenses. Mr. Ma heads
the newly established Beijing office and Esther is stationed at company
headquarters in Shenzhen. Infosail has already produced a software pack-
age for provincial governments to establish their news websites. Some
provincial governments are already lining up to use Infosail’s products
and services.

G R OW T H O F B U S I N E S S
Most of Infosail’s thirty-five employees work in Shenzhen. Yet it needs to hire
five more staff and open a new office to respond to growing demands. It also
plans an internal restructuring with specialized divisions and teams to sustain
current projects. Infosail has some cash flow problems that can be alarming
at times, although probably not fatal.
Other than Esther, there is only one Christian in the company. Mr.
Ma shows some interest in Christianity but has not made a commitment.
However, Esther finds outlets for her ministry impulses in other ways.
She has created the only government-sanctioned private Christian web-
site in China (which is not related to the official sanctioned church)—
Chinachurch.com. After initial skepticism, both the Shenzhen municipal
and the Guangdong provincial governments welcomed this site. Esther
is now linking with Christian groups outside of China to improve it.
Chinachurch.com provides devotional, evangelistic, and pastoral train-
ing materials on the Web. Eventually, Esther wants to build the first vir-
 Esther Hui and Infosail 35

tual reality church in China, as well as an on-line pastoral training

school.
Esther upholds Christian principles of justice and compassion in her per-
sonal management. Admitting that some staffers have abused her Christian
charity, she often sets the example for the kinds of behavior required. After
sealing business agreements, Esther sends small gifts, making a distinction
between gift giving—an Eastern way of cultivating relationships—and
bribery. She expects nothing in return.
However, Esther will take business that may not be strictly legal. Some
laws in China are simply irrelevant, contradictory, or unreasonable. For
example, some prohibit freedom of worship or evangelizing others in public.
Others demand that you take the government exchange rate, which is far
lower than the real (or black) market rates. To follow these rules would make
tasks such as purchasing needed equipment nearly impossible. Still other laws
require you to get approval from twenty-seven ministries just to put up a
small factory—a task that takes several years if you follow the letter of the
law.
On the other hand, Esther stays out of businesses that may be profitable
and legal but which she believes are unethical. For example, she turned down
an opportunity to make huge profits exporting weapons to tyrannical regimes
in Southeast Asia. Esther holds Christian principles above the law of the
nation.

E VA LUAT I O N
Esther’s business is rather ethical from a Christian standpoint. She success-
fully navigates through the gray seas of relationships and gifts. She maximizes
her strength to compete with other firms in the market. She cares for her staff
and sets a good example. Her integrity as an honest and trustworthy busi-
nessperson is well-known in the corporate circles of Shenzhen.
Infosail has established itself as a rising star in the field, with much poten-
tial in related areas such as e-commerce. Infosail is experiencing some healthy
growing pains. It is a lean and effective enterprise, flexible enough to com-
pete in the market.
Chinachurch.com may become a powerful tool to empower the tens of
millions of Chinese Christians who lack information to help them become
solid disciples of Christ. With a doubling in the number of Internet users every
six months in China, this site can be a powerful means to reach not only these
people but Web surfers as well.
However, Esther lacks relevant models integrating faith and business
36 ON KINGDOM BUSINESS

practices in China. She laments that the church in China not only fails to pro-
vide her with spiritual direction but at times openly condemns business prac-
tices as worldly. Yet given the right support, Esther can be a powerful witness
for Christian faith in the emerging business community in China. She knows
that businesses can be both profitable and ethical—for the advancement of
the kingdom of God in China.
 2

AMI AND GREAT COMMISSION

COMPANIES
Clem Schultz with Sonia Chou

I was called to be a missionary at age 11, but it was not until college that God
called me to work alongside East Asian Christians. In 1989 I left the multi-
national corporate world to focus on developing what are called Great
Commission companies. I wanted to do world-class business while facilitat-
ing church planting work in the 10/40 Window.1
In 1989, I joined and bought controlling interest in a company called
AMI, a consulting and manufacturing firm specializing in the technology sec-
tor. Business took off quickly. Initially, AMI did some small consulting jobs
with a sister Great Commission company with two offices in East Asia.
Within a few months, we had four employees plus our first management
intern. The following year, we landed a $3 million-plus lighting equipment
and technology deal, which allowed us to open additional offices in East and
Central Asia.
From 1991 to 1993, AMI averaged sales of over $10 million per year in
turnkey technologies in lighting and other high-automation manufacturing.
In the early 1990s, we made our first equity investment in East Asia. We have
helped start, and have an equity stake in, numerous factories in the region.
We currently have equity in nine operations in East Asia. They produce med-
ical devices, telecommunication parts, energy-efficient lamps and related
products, and so on.
We have also managed new factories in East Asia on behalf of publicly
traded American companies. One of them, a telecommunications start-up,
made a profit of more than $10 million during its first twelve months from
start of manufacturing. We also have had small manufacturing and repre-
sentative offices in the Middle East and North Africa since the early 1990s.
While the capitalization for each of these manufacturing ventures varies, in
38 ON KINGDOM BUSINESS

general it is somewhere in the range of the high six to the low eight figures.
AMI’s percentage normally falls somewhere between 15 and 100 percent.
Our large dollar and high-technology amounts of investment provide us
with strong political leverage with governments. East Asian governments gen-
erally welcome foreign manufacturers, especially those with fairly large cap-
italization. As long as a company makes money and provides jobs for the
local people, the governments will not interfere—unless it is rather openly
breaking the law.
From that position of strength, AMI has established strategic alliances
with more than fifteen nonprofit agencies to do education, development, and
church planting work among local East Asian and Muslim communities.
AMI does not directly receive any money from these organizations.
The following is a list of “best practices” for Great Commission compa-
nies which AMI has experientially learned working in the 10/40 Window.
Each guideline provides a negative and a positive example to illustrate it. A
commitment to “best practices” means that Great Commission companies
will do these things:

1. . . . have strategy coordinators. This person focuses on the specific

unreached city or group where the factory or company is located. He or she
needs to be on the local company’s board of directors to ensure the presence
of annual Great Commission plans that are ambitious but culturally achiev-
able. The strategy coordinator is a spiritual entrepreneur. He or she networks
with local church leaders and creates strategies or methods related to evan-
gelism, discipleship, and church planting so the business can do kingdom
entrepreneurship. This person also serves as a spiritual consultant to help the
business have maximum kingdom impact.

Negative Example: AMI assisted the Widget Company, a telecom-

munication components manufacturer, to establish a factory in East
Asia by completing a business plan and recruiting a general manager
and a manufacturing engineer. Although the factory was in a Hui
Muslim neighborhood, fewer than five of its first 4,500 employees
were Muslims. The company initially had a strategy coordinator on
its board, but it had no annual Great Commission plan to help the
general manager balance work and faith.
A family emergency forced the strategy coordinator to take a
leave of absence. Then the Widget company’s general manager failed
in his spiritual accountability. He neglected the integration of faith
in business. From a business perspective, the company was very suc-
 AMI and Great Commission Companies 39

cessful. It had a better than 40 percent return on investment.

However, without either a plan or a strategy coordinator, Widget
failed to plant a church among Hui Muslims.

Positive Example: When AMI set up a representative office in one

East Asian city, a strategy coordinator was on the board of directors
to ensure that there was an achievable Great Commission plan for
the company. This person has been integral in helping AMI capital-
ize spiritually on its business success.

2. . . . make sure that expatriates are spiritually accountable to a church or

mission agency. The company and the spiritual accountability groups should
have contracts specifically addressing each expatriate’s situation. Contracts
are essential because they describe and specify the employee’s job description
and working terms. They should be updated in accordance with changes in
employee duties.

Negative Example: In the early 1990s, AMI won a $1.5 million con-
tract to source and install East Asia’s first high-speed assembly
equipment for a certain consumer product. AMI subcontracted
installation of this equipment to a sister Great Commission com-
pany. This company in turn hired an engineer to oversee the instal-
lation. This engineer was on full support from nonprofit sources in
the United States. He had no written contract concerning his “tent-
making” role, so he saw an opportunity to simply do evangelism,
which distracted him from his engineering duties. He spent most of
his time outside of the factory, evangelizing non-Christians. He did
not understand the expectations of the company, which caused a dis-
junction between work and faith. This man became very frustrated
and while on the job site actually hit an East Asian employee and
knocked him out. Had there been a contract to specify his job
description, this disaster might have been avoided, and he might
have contributed greatly to the company.

Positive Example: AMI helped a high-technology electronics com-

pany to establish a factory in East Asia. At the start of the operation,
company people interviewed 120 applicants weekly and hired as
many as 20 or more each week. During this process, the leaders
learned to their sorrow that the marketing director, an expatriate,
had had a sexual encounter with another employee. They decided to
Exploring the Variety of Random
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The text on this page is estimated to be only 19.71%
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Cap. ii. i*. LIBER II. daiae filii, Colaiae filii, Maafeiae filii,
8Ithielisfilii; Efaiac filii: et poft j eum Gabbaifallais,nongenti viginti 1
9 o&o , quibus praefectus fuit loci Zechris fiiius, Iudas autem Senuae
filius fecundum in ciuifate locum 0 dignitatis obtinuit. Ex facerdotibus
Jedaias Ioiaribi filius, Iachin, 1 Sareias ab Achitobo deinceps per
patrcm fuum Helciam, Mofollamum.Sadocum, Mcraiothum genus 1 4
ducens : arditimus , eorumque cognati , qui opus in templo facerent,
oclingenti viginti duo: et Adaias Ierohami filius, Phalaliae nepos ,
Amfis pronepos , Zachariae abnepos,Phashuris atnepos, Melch3 iae
trinepos , et eius cognati fa' miliarura primarii ducenti quadraginta
duo : turn Amasfais, Azareelis < filius , Ahzais nepos , Mefillemothi 4
pronepos, Emmeris abnepos , et eorum cognati, homines militares
centum viginti o&o , praefe&oZad5bieleGedolimifilio. Ex Leuitis
Semaias Hasfubi filius, Azricami nepos, Hafabiae pronepos, Bunnis (J
abnepos. Exteriori fani opefi prxfuit Sabbethais et Iozabadus ex 7
Leuitarum principibus. Exordiendae precum celebrationis princeps
fuit Mathanias Michae filius, Zabdis Afapho prognati nepos: item
Bacbucias fecundae inter cognatos fuos dignitatis, et AbdaSammuae
filius, Galalis nepos, Ieduthu8 nis pronepos. Leuitae in vrbe fecra
fuerunt in furama ducenti 5> oSoginta quatuor. Ianitores Accubus ,
Talmon, et eorum confanguinei, cuftodias in portis agentes,
•Ocentumfeptuagintaduo. Reliqui Israelite facerdotes Leuitae in
omnibus oppidis Iudaeae fuaquique -I in hereditate manferunt.
Dedititii Ophel incoluerunt praefectis a Siha et Gifpa. Leuitarum
autem hierofolymitanorum praefe&us fu. it Ozis Banis filius, Hafabiae
nepos, Mathanias pronepos , Michae abnepos , ex prognatis Afapho
cant ori- i 4*^ bus, operi fani vacantibus. Nam 33 de eis ita
fiierataregeimperatum, vt cantoribus fuum quoque die munus
adfignaretur. Phathahias %* Mefezabelis filius, a Zara Iudx filio
genus ducens , regi erat ab omnibus popularibus negotiis. Apud %e
pagos in fuis agris incoluerunt a Iuda orti, Cariatharbam etDibonem ,
earumque colonias : Cabfeel eteius pagos : Iefuam, Moladam, %6
Bethphalet, Hafalfual, Berfabama7 eteius colonias : Siceleg, Mocho-
ag nam et eius colonias : Enremmo- 29 nem, Saraam, larmutham ,
Zano- 30 am , Odollamam , et earum pagos. Lachim et eius agros.
Azecam et eius colonias : occupaueruntque a Berfabavsqueadvallem
Hennomi. Beniamitx autem a Gabo Mach-3t mas, Aiam, Bethel et
eius colonias ; Anathota, Nobam, Ananiam, 3* Hafor, Ramam,
Gettaim, 33 Hadid, Seboim, Neballatum, 34 Lodam, Ononem, et
fabrorum3S vallem. Leuitarum autem clasfes 3C5 Iudaeorum erant
et Beniamitarum communes. CAPVT XII. Sacrrdotcs , Leuiuque cum
Zorobabe/e. Ltu'ttt in dtdicando vrbif fair* tnuro. lisfuum prifcorum
obferuntio. SAcerdotes autem et Leuitae, qui E cum Zorobabele
Salathielis fiU lio et Iefua venerunt , funt hi : Saraias, Ieremias,
Esdras , Amar. $ ias, Malluchus, Hattus, Sechen-» ias , Rehumus ,
Meremothus, Iddo, Genthon,Abias, ^ Miniamin, Maadias, Bclga, 5
Semeias, loiaribus, Iadaias, $ Sallus, Amocus, Helciaset Iadaias. 7 Hi
cum fuis confanguineis Iefuae tempore fuerunt principes
facerdotum. Leuitae autem , Iefua, Ben. g nuis , Cadmiel , Serebias ,
Iudas et Matthanias, eiusque cognati hymnis praeerant. Bacbucias
etVn-^ quibus attributi erant ipforum
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48* ESDRAE Cap. ii. rum cognati, cuftodias agebant. 10

Genuit autem Iefira Ioacinnim, Ioacimus Eliafibura, Eliafibus Ioia1 1
dam , Ioiada Ionathanem , Iona12 than Iaduam. Ac Ioacimi
temporibus fuere facerdotes familiarum primarii, Saraix filius Ma1 3
raias, Ieremix Ananias, Esdrae Mofollamus, Amarix Ioannes,
!4MiliconisIonathan, Sechcnix lo1 5 fcphus , Harimi Adna ,
Meraioi6thi Helcais, Iddonis Zacharias, 17 Genthonis Mofollamus , et
AbixZechris, MiniaminisMoadix fi1 8 Hi Piltai?, BclgT Sammua,
Sema19 ix Ionathan , loiaribi Mathanais, ao ladaix Ozis , Sallais
Callais, Aai moci Hcber , Hekix Hafabias, aa ladaix Kathanacl. Lcuitx
Elia fibi tempore, Ioiada, Ioannes et Iaddna, fcripti Hint familiannn
primarii , ct facerdotes fnb regno Da%l rii Pcrfx , qui Lcuitx
fannliarum primarii in annalibus defcripti fuerunt ad
tempusIoannisEliafibi fi%A, lii : quorum principes fuerunt Hafabias,
Serebias ct Iefua Cadmiclis filius, iisque attributi ipforum
confanguinci ad laudesexdiuini Dauidis difciplina celcbrana5 das ,
cuftodiis inter fcfe ita comparatis, vt Mathanias, Bacbucias, Abdias ,
Mofollamus , Talmon et Accubus portarum cuftodias age26 rent in
vcftibulis. Atque hxc quidctn temporibus Ioacimi Icfux filii, Iofedeci
nepotis, et Nehemix prxtoris, et Esdrx facerdotis proa7fesforis. Ad
dedicationem vero niuri Hierofolymx conquilltifunt fuis omnibus ex
locis Leuitx , qui Hierofolymam deducli, dedicationem cum Ixtitia et
carminum celebritate, cymbalis, nablis et cythaag ris agerent. Ita
congregato cantorum genere , turn ex planitie circum Hierofolymam
pofita , turn ex appagis netophatiis, exque
BethgalgaleetGabanisagris, Azmothanisque, (nam pagos fibi circum
Hierofolymam exftruxerant cantores,) purificati funt facerdotes 3» et
Leuitx, populumque et portas et muros purificauerunt. Et ego 31
Iudxorum principes murum iusfi confeenderc : ftatuique prolixos
ordines laudatorum duos , quorum vnus dextrorfum fuper nniro ad
fimariamportam procederet, fe-3! quentibus cum Ofaia cum dimidia
parte principum Iudxz, A-5j zaria, Esdra, Mofollamo, Iuda, 3'
lBeniamine, Semeia,.Icremia : et 3jjr ex facerdotum genere cum
tubis Zacharia, qui ab Afaphodeinctps per patrem fuum lonathancm ,
Semeiam, Mathaniam, Michxam, Zaccurem genus ducebat: eius-3<
que confanguineis Semeia , Azarele, Malalai, Maai, Nathanaele, Iuda
ct Hanani, cum diuini Dauidis muficis inftrumentis , prxcedente eos
Esdra profesfore. Atquc3* _. hiquidemperportamfontis, e regione
aliorum per gradus vrbil Dauidis adfeenderunt , per adfeenfum muri,
ftipra Dauidis domum, vsquc ad aqux portam oricntalem. Alter ordo
finiftrorfus ibat, fe-jj quente me et dimidia parte populi fuper muro ,
a turri furnorum , ad latum murum : et a porta Ephrai- 3j mitarum,
per portam antiquam, I et portam pifcium, turrimqueHananeelis, et
turrim Meam vsque ad portam balantum , ftatum eft ad portam
carceris. Ita conftitere4c. duo laudatorum ordines in templo, nee non
ego vna cum magiftratuum parte dimidia. Sacerdotes Eliacinnis ,
Maafeias , Miniamin , Michxas , Elioenais , Zacharias et Anar.ias
tubas habebant. Maafeias, Semeias, Eleazar, Ozis, Ioannes, Melchias,
Elamuset Azercantores perfonabant , prxfeclo Iezrahia. Eo die facta
funt magna facrificia,4j a£taque Ixtitia eft, quippe quam ingentem
esfent diuinitus confecuti : et a6ta etiam a mulieribus etpueris , ita vt
ea hierofolymitana procul exaudita fit Ixtitia, Eodem-44 que
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M Cap. 1 2.13. LIBER II. 481 pan ui 11 que die prapofiti

funtcellis homines, quiineas exceptitia, primitias, et decumas ex
oppidorum agris comportari condique curarent, quae legitimae
facerdotibus esfent etLeuitis portiones. Laetabantur enim Iudaei ,
facerdotes et Leuitas adesfe, et Dei fui luftrationisque difciplinam
feruare , cantoresque et ianitoresin Dauidiset eius filii Solomonis
inftituto manere. Nam Dauidis et Afaphi faeculo cantorum magiftri,
laudumque et celebrationis Dei carmina fuerant antiquitus inftituta.
Itaque omnes Israelitae Zorobabelis et Nehemiae tempore
cantoribus et ianitoribus quotidianum demenfumconferebant, idque
ipfi Leuitis, et Leuitae porro Aharoniis confecrabant. -Hinfi ii ncfl :.,
vM Elai ,* m m ■:.ra fa as* B» ft 0 CAPVT XIII. Mojti lex in
Ammonitam , tic Moabitam. Abdicatio aitenigenarum . Celt arum
puriJicatie. Dtiumarum vjitt. /id louam Nehcmioi. Sabbati obferuatio.
Vxorum (ilienarum rtpudiatio. Mulieruinvit in Soiomonem
eff:min*tMn. Primitiarum inflitutio. Pro femct Nebemtat ad lwam.
y^V Vodam die quum Moils liber 1
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48* ESDRAE LIBER II. III. Cap. i ?.i • propter fimile

maiorum vcftrorum fa&um Deus noiter et nos et hanc vrbeni hisce
tot malis adfeipcit? Et V05 Israelitarum poenas violando fabbato
augetis? ltaquc quum primum Hierofolymorum portx ante fabbatum
imimbrat.x funt : iusfi eas occludi, ncc nifi poft fabbatum aperiri :
meorumque fa«nulorum quosdam adportascollocaui , ne quod onus
die labbati imaoportaretur. Qmimque mercatores et cuiusque rei
venditartf extra Hierofolymam femel atcue ileal rum pernoclasfent :
eos adiuonui, ne ad muros pcrr.octarent: quod fi iterarent, manum
eis adlauirum. Itaque ex co tempore in a2fabbato non venicbant.
Leuitis etiam prxcepi, vt luttrati portarum capesferent cuftodiain die
fabfati fan&e agendi gratia. Huius quoque rei gratia memento mei,
mi Deus , et mihi pro tua fingu*3iaii dementia ignofce. Turn quoque
videns, iudxos vxores azoticas, ammoniticas et moabiti»4CaSduxisfe
, corumque natosfcniiazotice loquentes, iudaice nefcire , fed
diuerforum fermone poa,puloruin vti: eos in iurgio deteftatus,
nonnullos eorum verberaui, vulfisque capiliis Deum iurarecoegi,
nequefliias fuas illorura filiis daturos, neque filias illorum fuis filiis aut
libi adfeituros. Ni-xj ' minim in eo ( inquiebam) oftendit Israelitarum
rex Solomo, cui quum par nullus in tot gentibus rex esfet , qui licet
ita Deo fuo earns esfet , vt regnum in omnes fit Israclitas diuinitus
adeptus, eura tamen ad peccandum mulieres perduxerunt extranet.
Et nos fci-l1; licet vobis in hoc tarn turpi committendo facinore
obtemperabi- }£ mus ? vt ducendis externis vxoribus contra Deum
noftrom crimen admittamus? Item vnus ex Io-l| i iad^. filiis , Eliafibi
maximi pontiff- •*"" cis filii, gener erat Sanaballati, quern ego a me
fugaui. Memen-aj " to eorum, mi Deus, qui (acerdotiuract
facerdotale leuiticumquefce- '?— dns inquinant. Igitnr poftquam3c '
cos ab omnibus extraneis purgaui, faccrdodbus et Leuitis fux cuique
procurationis opus adfignaui, et de aduehendis certis ttmporibus li-
'■ ' gnis, deque primitiis caui. Me- ?-'• mentomei, miDeus,
admeamytiticatem. ESDRAE LIBER HI, CAPVT I. Ps.fcha lofia
rcgnantt renoiutum. Eiiu eb Aegypti rege ntr in pur/to. Sttccesftr
Jonchnxu*. tiuitu abdtcatio. loacimi fratrit fuffectio%mpietiu, mors.
loacbin impiuA. Csptiww in Babyloncm. Sedeciut rex impi:ut ,
(udteorum depopulatio fin Ckaidtm , tladti mtfera , vrbs dent$,itio.
G. L. GIT autem Iofias Domino fuo pafcha Hierofolymis : id que
decimo quarto die primi roexifis iramolauit: "E quum quidem
facerdotes in Do-» mini facro velHtos in ordines redegisfet. Turn
Leuitis israeliti-^ corum fecrorum adminiftrisiusfit, vt fefe domino
Iuflrarent, ad facram domini arcam in templo,quod Solomo rex
Dauidis filius exftruxcrat , collocandam ; ne eis esfet humeris ferenda
; iamque Domino 4 Deo fuo et eius Israelitis vacarent ; et in familias
tribusque fuas ex Da- j uidis israelitarum regis, eiusque magnilb
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Cap. i. LIBER III. 483 magnifici filii Soloroonis praefcripto

reda&i , adesfent in facro , vt poftularet ipforum Leuitarum partitio
familiarum, confanguineis 5 fnis Israelitis miniftrantium ; et ordine
facra immolarcnt, facri ficiaque cognatis fuis pararent, et pafcha ex
doraini praecepto Mofi dato agerent. Largitus eft autem Iofias
populo, qui aderat , agnorum et haedorum triginta millia, et
vitulorum tria millia. Atquehaecexregiisfacultatibus populo ,
facerdotibus et Leuitisexproniisibdata funt. Helcias, Zacharias et
lehiel jeditui facerdotibus ad pafcha dederunt oues duo millia
fexcentas, viiulos trccentos. Iechonias, Semeias, Nathanael
frater,Sabias,Ochiel etloramus tribuni dedere Leuitis ad pafcha ouium
quinque millia , vitulosfe'ptingentos. His decenter eiie&is ftetere non
fermentatos panes habentes Leuitae, in patrias cognationes et curias
digefti,apud populum : vt Domino ad praefcriptum libri
ofislibarentjidquemane. Turn pafchalem vi&imam igni rite torent, et
hoftias in ahenis et lebetibus cum fuaui co&as odore , in otnnes
partiuntur populares. Dejide fibi dapes fuisque confanguileis
facerdotibus Aharone prognais parant Leuitae: et ideo pajrant, quod
facerdotes circa adipes :rant ad intempeftiuum vsque empus
occupati. Cantores facri Afapho prognati J iium munus obibant ,
quemadmolumfuerataDauide, Afapho, Zavt Mc pal cer bin I nan nd
haria etldythune regio inftitutum. jjj i anitores ad quodque
veftibulum dcrant , nullo eorum fuam vicem Intermittente ,
quandoquidem eoum confenguinei Leuitae vi&um is parabant. Ita
inftrudtis eo die ebus, ad domini facri ncium per tientibus, vt
ageretur pafcha ? et oftix ad diuinam immolarentur ranj; iusfu lofise
regis egcrunt Israelitae, qui peridtempusaderant, pafcha et azymalia
feptem dies, 19 quale pafcha nullum in Israelites actum erat a
tempore Samuelis vatis : nee vllum tale egerant vlli re- lo ges
Israelitarum, quale egerunt Iofias, facerdotes, Leuitae , et omnes,
quiaderant, Iudaeiet Israelitae, et Hierofolymae habitatores. Atqueai
hoc quidem pafcha adhim eft, octauum decimum annum regnante
Iofia. Ac Iofiae quidem res, mente z% pietatis plena prxditi , refte fe
per eius Dominum habuerunt. Ve- »3 rum de eius rebus fcriptum
fuperioribus temporibus eft , vbi de eis agitur,qui totpeccatis et
fceleribus, (quibus omnes nationes regnaque24 vicerunr,)Dominuni
fie offenderunt atque commouerunt, vt, quae minatus erat Israelitis,
euenerint. Poft »5 hanc omnino a Iofia aSam rem,accidit, vt Aegypti
rex Pharao in Carchamim , apud Euphratem fitam,
expeditionerafaceret. CuiquumzS obuiam proficifceretur Iofias : mifit
ad eum rex Aegypti in hunc modum : quid tibi mecum rei eft ,
Iudaeae rex ? Non ad te a Domino ify Deo mittor : nam mihi bellum
eft apud Euphratem. Itaque quuen mihi adfit Deus, et me fimul
vrgeat: omitte me , et noli Domino repugnare. Vemm Iofias ab illo
inua- x% dendonondeftitit, fed cum illo dimicare conatus eft ; nee
auditis 29 Ieremiae vatis a domino didteris verbis , prcelium cum eo
in campo Mageddone commifit : vbi iacula- go tis in eum fagittariis ,
iusfit famulis fuis, vt fe ex prcelio educerent : nam valde infirmum
esfe. Ita con- 3 1 tinuo fubdudhis a fuis famulis ex acie , et
confeenfo aitero fuo curr u Hierofolymam deportatus, vitam finiuit ,
et in patrio fepulcro condituseft, inque tota Iudaea defletus; eftque
Ieremias vates I0-3& fiam lamentatus , eumque lamentantur adhuc,
qui huic rei prxfunt, vnacummulieribus, quae res Hh z in
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4S4 ES D R A E Cap. i.a. I Cat intoto genere israditicc

inperpetuam confueiudinem vena eft. 33 Atque hxc fcripta funtin
libroearum rcnim , quxvde ludxx rcgibus rnemorixproditx funt.
Acdefmgidislofia rebus geftis gloria, donrinicx legis prudentia,
breuner et de ceteris, et de hischis rebus geftis , memorix traditum
eft in libro regura Israelitaruni et ludxorum. 34 In Iofix locum
adlectiu in regnum a populo eft loachazus cius filius , annum agetis
viccfimum tcr95tium. Qui poftquain Hicrofolynix inludxa menus tres
rcgnauit : abrogauit ei Hierofolymx regnum 36 Aegypti rex ,
gentemque argenti talentis centum, et ami talentov37nomultauit, et
loccimum illius fratrcm ludxx et Hierofolymx re38 gem creauit , \
mclosquc primatcs et eius fratrcm Ioachaium abduxitinAegyptum. 39
Ioacimus anno xtatis fux vicefimo quinto ludxx ct Hierofolymx
regnum adeptusDominum ofFertdit. 40Aduerfus turn expeditionem
fecit iVuylonix rex Nabuchodonofor; xneoque conftridhim vinculo
Ba41 byloncm duxit , ct partem facrorum Domini vafonun .ibstulit et
Baby lone in tcmplo fuo pofuit. 42 Sed dc eius rebus geftis ,
impuritatc ct infamia littens proditum eft In annalibus rcgum. 4; Li
fuccesfit in regnum Ioachin eiu» filius, annos turn natusoclo44 dtcun
: qui vbi menfes trcs ct dies decern Hierofolymis impius in
Do45minum rcgnauit: ineunte vere curauit eum Nabuch< idonofor
Babylonem , vna cam faens domiui 46 valis, transterendum ;
Sedeciamque ludxx etHkrofolymv regem tenitituic, annum agentem
vicefi47 mum pnmum. Rcgnauit is annos vndecim. Dominum often
dit, nee dictis Ieremix vatts a Domino di48 «Satis moms eft ,
qum,dato Nabuchodonofori regi per Domini nomen iureiurando,
periurus deficerct , Dominique Israelitaruni Dei iura et ceruice et
corde obftinato violaret. Populi quoque ct facer- 45 do turn principes
multa peccauerunt , et omnia omnium gentium flagitia fupcrgre>fi,
Domini fanum Hierofolymis confecra'um polluerurtf. Quumque
patriusipforumjo Deus eos misfo nuntio fuo reuocaret ; quod
etipfiset fuo parcebat tabernaculo: deridebant eius nuntios. Actum,
quum Dominus loqucrctur, eius vatcs ludirkabantur: donee ille , fuis
propter flagitia ira- _ tus , incitauit in eos Lhaldxorum reges, qui
eorum pubem ferro_ circum faemm eorum templura trucidanint,
nequeiuuenibus, ncquevirginibus, neque fenibus, ncque paruulis
pepercerunt , o- ^ mnibusquc potiti, omnia facra Domini vafa fiue
maiora, fine minora, diuinxquearcx inftrumentum, et
regiasopesdeprxdati, Babyloncm aspunarunt, Domini templum5;
ewnbnsferunt , Hierofolymx mania demoiiti funt, turres igni
cremaucrunt, omnibusque vrbil$i ornamentis in nihilum redadtis,
eos, qui fcrrum euaferant, Babyloncm abduxerunt, vbi rcgi eiusque $'
natis feruiucrunt, donee iccnura n obnnucre Perf e : vt id euenirct,
quod Dominus ore Ieremix mina- u tus eiat: hoc eft, vt fuis terra jl|.
fabbatisfrueretur, qux tamdiufcriataeft, quamdiudefertafuit, ad
perager.dos annos feptuaginta. mt - ■ B.I m m h CAPVT II. Cyt't lit -
return de tnuro Hitrofoljmg infta*tatuto. Ad regem Artaxtrxem altera
tomra inflaurttiiref. Hex nil innjuii } trfhapu. ANno primo regni fui a
Domi- 1 no inftinems Cyrus Perfarum rex, ( vt accideret id, quod
fuerat a Domino Ieremix voce prsdidum ) cdkit per totum impe- 1
riun
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accurate

Cap. i. liber nr. 485 riumfuum, idque fcripto in nunc

modum: h-tc dicit Perfarum rex 3 Cyrus: orbis regem mecreauit
Dominus Israelitarum, Dominus fupremus: mihique mandauit , vt
templum fibi Hierofolymis in Iu4dxa conftruerem. Si qui ftint jgitur
veftrmn ex illius gente , proffcifcantur fane , illo fuo Domino fecundo,
Hierofolymaia , qua; eft 5 in ludxa , ad aedificanduna Domini
Israelitarum templum, qui Dominus Hierofolymis habitat. 6 Ac
quicumque eorum conterranei funt,.quetncumque locum incolant ;
uiueot eos auro, argento, donis, 7equis, iumentis, pr ftaurandum :
quos omnibus rebus adiuuere vicini, argento, auro, equis, iumentis,
et phirimis muitortim rebus votiuis , qui ad id oimpulfi funt, Practerea
rex Cyrusfacra Domini vafa protulit, quae
Nabuchodanofor,Hierofolymis ablata , in fuo deaftrorum templo poI
fuerat. Haec depromta Cyrus Perfarum rex Mithridati quaeftori
ifuotradidit, per quern Abasfaro 3 ludaes praetori tradita funt. Eorum
numerus erat hic.aurea pocula mille : argentea totidem : mcrtaria
argentea vndetriginta : phialve aureve triginta, argenteae duomillia
quadringentae decern, et alia vafa 4 mille. Omnium vaforum turn
aureorum turn argenteorum , quae relata funt, fummaeft quinque
millia quadringenta fexaginta nouem, 5 quae a Sannabasfaro vna
cum captiuis Babylone Hierofolymam de 6portata funt. Temporibus
autem Artaxerxis Perfarum regis fcripferunt ad eum contra ludaese
et Hierofolymx incolas, Belsajus, Mithridates, Tabellius, Rathymus,
BeeltethniusetSemellius fcriba, reliquique eiusdem ordinis in Samaria
aliisque locis habitantes, infra fcriptam epiftolam : regi i^ Artaxerxi
dcmino, homines qui in eius poteftate funt, Rathymus
commentarienfis, Semellius fcriba, reliquique eorum confilii , et
prae» fides in Ccelefyria et Phcenicia. Scito, rex, ludaeoahuc
iftincpro-gg fe£tos , venisfe Hierofolymam, vrbem rebellem «t
improbam, eamqueinftaurare: fora et muros reficere , et templi
fundamenta iacere. Quod fi haec vrbs inftau- to rata, eiusque mcenia
exxdificata fvierint: non folum tributum pea, dere non fustinebunt,
venuBvthsa regibusrefiftenr. Et quia templiao fit opus : vifhm eft
nobis hanc rem non negli?;ere, fed te, domineai nofterrex,
fubmonere, vt, (Gtibi ita videatur, ) maiorum tuorim;libri infpkiantur.
inuenies hiai commentariis proditum Htteris de his rebus:
cognofcesque , cinitatem illam fuisfe rebellem , regibus. que et
ciuitatibus incommodam: Iudaeosque eius incolas rebeliesj4a et
defeftionum iam olim auctores ; propter qiam etiam causfam ea
vaftata vrbs eft Quamobrem hocj* tibij, dominerex, demonftramus,
fieavrbs inftaura?a, eiusque muri fuerint refefcH, fowe, vt tihi
deinceps in Ccelefyriam et Phceniciam reditus non pateat. Turn %$
refcripfit rex Rathymocommentarienfi, et Beeltethmo, etSemellio
fcrib.e , ceterisque eiusdem ordinis SamariamSyriamqueet
Phcsnicem incotentibus ea , quae infra pofita funt, Legi epiftolam ,
quam mi- %$ hi miftftis. Itaque infpici iusfi , et inuentumeft,
ciuiratemiiiam antiquitus esfe regibus contrariam,
hominesquedefeclionmnet bello *7 rum ia ea auclores , et reges po.
tentes atque acres fuisfe HierofolyEus , qui Ccclsfyris et Phcenicia:
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48« ESDRAE Cap. 1.3. 4. imperarent, tributaque legerent.

28 Quapropter itnperO , homines illos ab vrbis aedificatione impediri:
*9 ac, ne quid praterea fiat, prouideri : ne malum longitis ad regum
5° detrimentum procedat. Turn le<5Hs , quae ab Artaxerxe rege
fcribebantur, Rathymus et Semellius fcriba, eorumque gregales,
Hierofolymam ccleriter cum equitatu et agmine fumultnario profecli,
cccperunt aedificatores impedire: 3»iacuitque hierofolymifani templi
conftruclio, vsque ad fecnndum annum regni Darii Perfarum regis.
CAPVT III. Darii conuiuium. Trium de tribin vim ingrr.tcm habcntibm
disputatio. Vint vires. i TS Darius regnum adeptus , maI gno conuiuio
accepit fuos oranes -■-fubditos, etvernas, omnesque a Mediae et
Perfix magnates , omnes fatrapas , duces et prxtores, fibi ab India
ad Aethiopiam vsque in centum viginti feptem fatrapiis fubditos. 3
Poftquam epulatum abunde , et discesfumeft: Darius rex in fuum
cubiculmn fe recipit, et fomno cor4 reptus dormit. Hie ties iuuenes
ftipatores , regis corpus cuftodientes, 5 cccperunt inter fe cohortari ,
vt fuara quisque fententiam diccrent, ea lege, vt qui vicisfet,
cuiusque dictum, quam aliorum, fapientius vifum fuisfet, huic Darius
rex tanta munera et victorix ornamentacon6 ferret, vt purpura
veftiretur, auro biberet , in auro dormiret , aureis frenis currum,
bysfinamque cidarim, et torquemcircum collum 7 haberet , et
fecundus a Dario propter fuam fapientiam federet,Darii% que
familiaris diceretur. * Igitur fuam quisque fententiam fcribunt, et
obfignatas regis Darii puluino 0 fubiiciunt , eo confilio , vt
expergefaclo regi fcriptum dent, et cuius fententiam rex et Perfix
fummates fapientisfimam iudicauerint, huic vi&orix prxniium detur ex
fcripto. Vnus fcripfit ; prxpo- 10 tens eft vinum. Alter: prxpo- 11 tens
eft rex. Tertius: prxpoten-12 tes funt mulieres : fed vincit omnia
Veritas. Deinde experreclo regi 13 fcripta tradunt : quibus ille le- 14
6ris ; curat euocandos omnes Perfidis et Media? fummates ,
fatrapas, duces, prxtores et confules: et 15 in tribunali fedens,
fchedulam apud illos recitart iusfit : deinde 1$ iuuenes euocari, qui
fuas declararent fententias : eisque arces- 17 fitis et ingresfis , iubet,
vtipfifcri. ptorum rationem reddant. Turn primus, qui de vini viribus
13 dixerat , fie orationem exorditur : quantum pollet vinum ? o viri.
Omnes, a quibus bibitur,homines decipit : eadem vt fit regis ac
ptipilli, 19 ferui ac liberi, pauperis ac diuitis mens, efficit : omnium
animos ad 20 Ixtitiam et hilaritatem conucrtit: omnium dolorum et
debitorum memoriara eximit: omnium ani- 21 mos dinites reddit :
regum aut fatraparum meminisfe non patitur: omnia vt per talenta
dicantur efficit : vtque poti homines , et 22 amicitiae et fraternx
necesfitudinis memoriam deponant : et non multo poft gladios
ftringant : neque 23 poftea, vbi a vino refipuerint, quid feccvint,
recordentur. Non- 24 ne igitur multum pollet vinum, o viri , quod
hare fieri cogat ? CAPVT IIII. Regis vires. Mulieris vit. Veritat'u
virtue. Zorol/iibet Darium exorans de fan» inflaurando. Exoratus rex.
Eim de fano litter*. HAec poftquam ille Iocutus fu ( luit: ccepit alter,
qui de regis viribus dixerat, loqui in hunc niodmn ; o viri , nonne
perma- 4 gnam V
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Cap. 4. LfBER irr. 48r gnam habent vim homines, qui I

terras etmaria, et omnia, quae in 9 eis infunt , teneant ? Atqui rex I
his omnibus antecellit et iroperar, I, atque ita dominatur , vt ,
quidquid I. iusferit, faciant. Si iubet infer 1 fefe bellum gerere ;
faciunt : fi in I hoftes mittit ; vadunt , et montes, I muros, furres
demoliuntur, occiI dunt et occiduntur, neque regis ■ didum excedunt.
Quod fi vi1 cerint , turn quae praedati funt , turn I cetera referunt ad
regem omhia. I Rurfum qui a militia etbelio absI tjnentes terram
colunt : vbi fa'a I mesfuerunt , ad regem referunt ; 1,
cogentesquealii alios , tributa regi fcadferunt. Is vnus fi iubet inter■
ficere, interficiunt: fi dimittere; I; dimittunt : iusferit verberare,
Bverberant: iusferit vaftare, vaI ftant : aedificare, aedificant :
eueritere, euertunt: ferere, ferunt: lii cundtusque eius vel populus vcl
l! magiftratus vni obediunt. Praei terea accumbentem, cibum capienI
tern , dormientem circum vndique It euftodiunt, neque cuiquam disli
cedere et fua curare negotia licet, j\ neque ei non obediunt. Quocirj
ca viri, nonne praepotens rex eft, I cui fie obtemperetur ? His i!le diIj
£tis tacuit. Tertius autem , qui I, de mulieribus et veritate dtxerat, li
fcilicet Zorobabel , fie orationem j. incipit. Magnus fane rex eft , vi) ri
, et homines multi , et vinum I muttum poteft. Quid qui his
dominatur > quis autem his impeV rat i nonne mulieres ? Mulieres
regem genuerunt, et omne hominum genus, maris terraeque domi!
num , ab his-ortum eft. Hae ipfos educauere vincarum fatores, ex
rquibus vinum gignitur. Hx hominum veftes faciunt : hae
hominibusgtoriamconciliant: nee posfunt absque mulieribus homines
! esfe. Quod fi aurum , argentum» autquidnis paulio elegantius
comparauerint: noane cuiuspiatn forma et pulchritudine praeftantis
mulled s amore capti , ill i s omnibus 1 9 omislis, in hanc oculos
defigunt ? hanc hianti ore intuentur? hanc onmes auro , argento ,
omni rerum pulchritudini anteponunt ? Relinquit homo fuum ipfius
pa-ao trem, a quo educatus ,eft, et patriam, et fua» vxori
adhaerefcit: cumque vxore, et patrisetmatrisij et patriae immemor,
vitam finit. Atque vt cognofcatis , mulieres in 2 % vos imperium
tenere : nonne quae multo labore paratis , omnia feminisdatis, atque
adfertis ? Sumitj^ homo gladium, et foras adlatrccinandum et
furandum profec~his, maria tranat et flumina. Leones %* videre
fustinet , et per tenebras ingreditur: atque vbi furatus, prxdatus,
grasfatus eft, ad amicam reportat: plusque diligit homo 2$ fuam
coningem, quam parentes: multique propter mulieres mente x6
alienati funt , multi ferui facti, 17 multi perierunt, multi propter
feniinas lapfi peecauerunt. Qiud'xg an mihi non creditis ? nonne
ingens regis poteftas eft ? nonne omnes eumnationes vel tangere
formidant? Et tamen videbam viri 29 prseclarisfimi Bartaci filiam
Apamen, regis concubinam , regidextram adfidentem, ei de capites©
diadema auferre , fibique imponere: turn regis malam finiftra manu
ferire- : quum rex interea earn ore 3 1 hianti intueretur, et arridenti
arrideret, et fuccenfenti blandiretur, quo earn fibi reconciliaret.
Annon 3 1 multum pollent mulieres , o viri, quae haec faciant i Hie
quum rex 33 et proceres inter fefe con' uerentur : ille verba de
veritate fie facere inftitit : multum fane , o viri , mu- 34 lieres
pollent, et ingens terra eft, et excelfum caelum, et fol curfu velox,
qui vno die cxlum circunuectus, eodemr currat, vndeprofeSus eft :
nonne magnus eft, qui 3 $ haecfaciat? Sed maxima Veritas eft Hh4
et
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1 488 ESDRAE Cap. 4. «get omnium potentisfima.

Veritatem omnis terrarum orbis vocat : huic caelum ipfum fauet :
hanc res omnes reformidant et tremifcunt, nee in ea quidquam
vitiofum eft. 37Vitiofum vinumeft, vitiofus rex, vitiofae mulieres ,
vitiofum omne hominum genus, eteiusdemvitiofitatis funt eorum
opera omnia, in qua vitiofitate ventatis expertes 38 pcreunt. At
Veritas aeterna pollet, viuit, vigetque in omnem per30 petuif atem :
nee ea eft , quae perfonarum habeat rationem aut discrimen, fed
xquum facit, ab oninibusque iniquiset prauis rebus abs4°tinet:
eiusque facia probant omnes, nee ineft in eius iudicio quidquam
iniquum. Ceterum et ab hac , et a regia lnagnificentia, ctapotentia,
et a faeculorum omnium maieftate laudetur Deus veri41 tatis. Haec
vbi locutus finem fecit: omnes exclamarunt, maximamesfeveritatem,
et prxpollere. 44 Turn rex : pete quiduis, ( inquit ilium adloquens,)
etiam fupra ca,qux fcripta funt , et nos id tibi dabimus : quoniam
fapientisfimus inuentus es , et mihi proximus fedebis , me43 usque
vocabere familiaris. Et ille regi : memento voti , quo te Hierofolymam
inftauraturum esfe pollicitus es , tuni , quutn regnum 44adeptuses.
Omniaque vafaHierofolymis exportata eo remisfurum , quae fepofuit
Cyrus , quum de euertenda Babylone votum fecit, 45 et fe illo
misfurum vouit. Tu quoque te vouifti inftauraturum esfe fanum ,
quod incenderunt Idumaei , turn quum a Chaldxis vaftata 46 Iudxa
eft. Et nunc hoc eft , quod a te ego poftulo , rex domine, atque
flagito : haec eft, quam a te exfpe&o, magnificentia. Oro igitur,
vtidpraeftes, quod, fa&urum te , caelefti regi tuo ipfius ore vouifti. ifi
Turn Darius rex furrexit , eumque deosculatus, fcriptit ej epj. ftolas
ad omnes di^penfdtores, praefides , duces et fatrapa:? , vt cum
0mnesque eius comites ad inftaurandam Hierofolymam proficifcentes
dcdpcerent. Deinde omnibus 4: Ccelefyrix, Phcenicix et Libani
praefidibus per epiftolas mandauit, vt cedrina ligna ex Libano
Hierofolymam transferrent , cumque illovrbem exftruerent.
Prxterea4j Iudaeis omnibus , Iudxam ex regno petentibus , fcripto
de libertate cauitf ne quis poteftate prxditus, praetor, fatrapa, aut
gubernator, eorum habitationes adgrcderetur : et vt omnis , quam
tenerent, regio 5c ipfis esfet immunis : vtque Idumaei, quos tenerent
Iudxorum vicos , dimitterent. Item ad templi ftru-51 cluram vt
quotannis viginti talenta darentur, donee exaedificatum foret.
Itemque ad hoftias in arajs adolendas quotidie, (quas feptenasdenos
immolare ex prxcepto haberent ) alia talenta decern in fingulos
annos. Ad haec , vt omnes qui ex 53 Babylonia ad vrbem
exftruendam pergerent, omnesque facerdotesf qui eodem irent , in
libertate esfent , tarn ipfi quam eorum pofteri : defcriplit etiam
facrum veftitum,54 quo in re diuina vtendum foret} et fumtura , qui
Leuitis vsque ad 55 abfolutum templum et xdificatam Hierofolymam
fuppeditaretur. Infuper omnibus vrbis cuftodibus 56 penfiones et
ftipendia adfignauit, et omnia a Cyro feparata vafa Baby- 57
loncmifit: et , quxcumque Cyrus fieri iusfcrat , ipfe quoque fieri , et
Hierofolymam mitti imperauit. Igitur illinc digresfus ille iuuenis 58
fublato in caelum vultu verfus Hierofolymam, caelefti regi gratias egit
, ita dicens : a te victoria, 5 ate fapientia eft, tua eft gloria, et ego
tuns tibi gratias ago , qui mihi fapientiam dedcris : quam tibi, 60 o
maioruni noftrorum Domine, tribuo. Deinde acceptis epiftolistfl Baby
Iouem profeclus , omnibus fuis • ,.
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Cap. 4.*. LIBER III. 4*9 fuis confanguineis negotium

mmtiauir. Atque hi Deo fno patrio gratias egerunt, qui ipfis
misfionem dedisfct , et remisfionem ad proficifcenduni , et
Hierofolymam templumque jpfius infignitum nomine conftruendum :
cumque muficis inftnimentis et laetitia feptem dies exfukarunt . •r-
— — — — CAPVT V. Pamitiarttm duces regres/: < Hierofolymam
cum Zorobabele. Ata rtuua. Sacrificia. FahifmidHmcnea locata.
Aducvfarii Israelii* improbi , infefli. POftea generatim delecli funt ad
profecltionem famUiarum principes cum fuis vxoribus, Uberis, feruis,
anciflis et pecudibus. Cum his mifit Darius equites miile, quibus
imperauit , vt cum iilis proficifcerentur : eosque Hierofolymam vsque
cum muficis tympanis et tibiis incolumes perducerent, omnibus
illorum confanguineis ludentibus. Atque hxc funt eorum nomina, qui
profeclifunt, generatim per clasfes in familias defcriptorum.
Sacerdotes PhineeAharonis filio prognati , Iefua Iofedeci filius
,Saraiae filii: et Ioacimus, Zorobabelis filius , Salathielis filii, de flirpe
dauidica , ex Pharis profenie tribus iudaicae , qui Zoroabel fub Dario
Perfarum rcgefapientem fermonem habuit, anno regni illius fecundo ,
menfe Nifan, qui menfis primus eft. Hi funt autem Iud«?i , qui ex
capfiuitate, ( in quam a Nabuchodonofore Babyloniae rege
Babylonem deportati fuerant, ) Hierofolymani, inque reliquam
Iudxam redierunt, et in fua quique oppida disccsferunt : qui quidein
venerunt cum Zorobabele, kfua, Nehemia, Zacjiayia, Reefaia, Enenio,
Mardochseo, Beelfaro , Afpharafo, Reelia, Roimo et Baana, fuis d
udoribus: horum inquam tam piebciomaij quam ducum Humerus hie
eft : a Phoro orti duo millia centum feptuaginta duo. A Saphato
quadrin- to genti feptuaginta duo. Ab Arefo feptingenti quinquaginta
fex All Phaathmoabo duo millia oclingenti duodecim. Ab Elamo mftle
ducenti quinquaginta quatuor. A Zathui i% «ongenti quadraginta
quinque. A Cbrbe feptingenti quinque. A 13 Bani fexcenti
quadraginta octo. A Bibai fexcenti viginti tres. A 14 Sada tria millia
ducenti viginti duo. Ad Adonicane fexcenti fexaginta feptem. A Bagoi
duo millia fexcenti fex. Ab Adino quadiingenti 1 5 quinquaginta
quatuor. Ab Aterezecia nohaginta duo. A Cilane et 1 6 Azeta
fexaginta feptem. Ab Azurane quadringenti triginta duo. Ab Anania
101. Ab Aromo ex 17 Basfa 323. ?Ab Arfiphurito 102. 18 AMetero
5005. Ab Ecbethlomone 123. Ab Ecnetopha 5?. Abto Exanabotho
158. Ab Ecbethfamo quadraginta duo. A Cariathiario ao a?. A
Caphira et Berotho 743. Pirani 700. Chadiani et Ammi- 21 dii 422.
Ecciramani et Gabdenfes 621. Macalonii 122. Betoli-a» ones 52, A
Nephi genus ducentes 15$. A Calamolalo et Ono 725. Ab Hierichone
345, AbAnnaa 3330. 23 Sacerdotes a Ieddo lofuae filio pro- 24 gnati
ex ftirpe Sanafibi 972, Aaj Merutho 1501. A Phasfarone 1047.
ACanne mille feptemdecim. Le-25 uitx autem a IesfueCadmiele
Banna et Sauia genus ducentes 74. Can- 27 tores facri Afapho
prognati 148. Ianitores a Salumo, latale, Tolma- 2g ne, Dacobi, Teta,
Sami prognati in fimima 139. Sacri miniltri ortisy* ab Efao , Afipha,
Tabaotho, Cera, Sudo.j, Phaleo, Labana, Agraba, Acua, Vta, Cetabo,
Agaba , Sybai, 30 Anane,Cathua,Geddure, Airo, Daifane , Noiba ,
Chafeba , Gazera, 3 1 Azia, Phi nee, Afarane, Bafthai, Afana,
MeaniaNaphifijAccubOjAcipha, Afure, Pharacirao, Baialotho,^2 H h s
Mee 
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accurate

45>o ESDRAE Cap.-*. Meeda, Chutha , Chorea, Charco,

Afcrare, Thomoi, Nafitho, Atipha. 33 Item Soloraoniis prognati
Afapphione, Pharira, Ieili, Lofone, Isdaele, 34Sapheto, Agia,
Phachthretho, Sabie, Sarothie, Mafia, Gare , Addo, Suba, Apherra,
Barodi, Sabatho, 35 Aliomo : omnium inquam, facrorumminiftrorum,
et Solomoniis prognatorum, fuuima fuit 372. 36 (Nam qui
Thermelotho et Thelerfa duce , Charaathalare et Aalare venerunt,
fuas familias et genus, an ex Israelitis esfent, ostendere 37 non
potuerunt. ) A Ladane Bani9 38 filio, ex Necodane orti 652. Ex
faccrdotibus autem Obdia et Accofo prognati, et Addo, ( qui vna de
Bcrzell.ei filiabus in matrimoniiim ducla, inilliusnotueh conccsferat)
quum fibi facerdotium vindicarent, nee quxfita eorum ftiips in tabulis
fcriptis inuenta foret : ab35>dhati funt facerdotio, eisque
iusiitNehemiaset Attarios, nc flu era participarent , donee claritate et
integritate inftrucius cxlifteret 4c pontifex. Omnium Israele
prognatovum,qui dwodecimum annum fupcrarent, fumma fuit
quadraginta m.llia, prater feruos et ancillas 41 z;6o. Horum fern; et
ancille 7347, cantoreset pfaltriae 245, cainch 435, equi73^, muli
245, afi41 ni 5525. Ex famifianim primarm, vbiad
hierofolyniitauumDei templum ventum efr,fuere,qui ternplum in
integrum reftituere pro 43 virili ftatuerent, et in facrum operis
thefaurum conferrent auri minas mille,argenti quinque millia,
44vei'ks facerdotales centum. Confederunt autem facerdotes et
Leuitae atque plebeii Hierofolymis , et in finitiiaa regionc : facriquc
cantores etianitores, omnesque Israc45 litae in fuis oppidis. Deinde
inftante menfe feptimo, Israelite, qui fua quique poslidebant ,
conuenere flrauJ in aieam primx ports, quae * cundo menfe
Zorobabel Salathielis, et Iefua Iofedeci filius , eorumque cognati et
facerdotes et Leuitar, omnesque, qui Hicrofolymam ex captiuitate
venerant, adgresfijS negotium , fundamenta iecere templi , noua
luna fecundi menfis, anno ab eorum in ludxam et Hierofolymam
aduentu fecundo : Leuitasque viginti annis maiores 5? in Domini
operibus conftituerunt, fueruntquciefua,natjque et confan- 58 guinei,
et Cadmiel frater, et Madia buqis filii , nccnonlodx Heliadunts filii cum
filiis et cognatis , pariter m vrgendo terapli opereoccupati, Ac,
exftruendo ab ardinVa- 59 toribui
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accurate

Cap. 5. 6. LIBER in. 45 1 toribus templo Domini, ftetere

facerdotes veftiti , cum muficis et tubis, et Leuitae Afapho prognati
>habentes cymbala, Dominum laudantes et concelebrantes ad
Dauidis Israeiitarum regis prxfcriptum, hyrnntsque pcrfonantes
Domimim celebrabant, cuius bonitas esfet et gloria apud omnes
Israelitas sterna. Populiis autem vniuerfuscum tubarum cantu
magnum edebat fonitum , Dominum in exlhuQione eius templi
laudans. 5 Sed facerdotum et Leuitarum principumque familiarum
feniores, qui fupcrius templum viderant , quum in huius adesfent
aedificatione, 1 magnum cum fietu clamorera ede4bant: rurfumque
multi tubis magnum cum laetitia fonitum edebant, ita vt homines
tubarum fonitum , propter hominum ploraturn, non exaudirent :
quum hominum vuigus tanto tubarum fonitu perftreperet , vt procul
audiretur. Quod vbi audiuerunt iudaicae et beniamiticac tribus
aduerfarii : accesferunt , vt causfam fonitus tuba5rum cognofcerent.
Ac poftquam inteliexerun t, Dominolsraelitar urn Deo templum a
captiuis aedificari : Zorobabelem, Iefuam et faroilia7 rum principes
conueniunt , et ad sedificandi focietatem operam fuam offerunt :
fefe enim eidem cumiilts g Domino obedire , eique iam ab
Afcafarethi Asfyriorum regis tern. pore , a quo eo translati fuisfent,
pfacrificare. Quibus illi refpondent, non esfe Domino Deo fuo
templum a fe fimul et ab illi» conoftruendum ; fed vnos fe Domino
Israeiitarum rite esfe aedifiraturos, vt eis fuisfet a Cyro Perfarum
rege 1 praeceptum. Itaque incolae eos, qui erant in Iudxa ,
remorando et oppugnando, ab aedificatione auer^tebant: iniidiisque
etconcionibus confpirationibusque faciendis, impediuerunt operis
exaedificationeiu toto tempore vitae regis Cyri, prohibitique ftint illi
aedificatione 73 duos annos,vsque ad regnum Darii, CAPVT VI.
Zacharias , et Hagg^M vates. Templi *dificatio. Prttores Syri* sd
Darium dt fano. liegit codex prtj fani rejiauratione. Darin* fani
reflaurationem prebant decreto. SEd anno regni Darii fecundo, t
quum Haggaeus et Zacharias Addonis filius vates ad Iudxos,
eteosquivelinIudaea,velHierofolymis erant, Domini Israeiitarum
nomine, quo erant praediti, vaticinarentur : ccepere Zorobabel Sa- 2
lathielis, et Iefua Iofedeci filius hierofolymitanum Domini templum
conftruere, quum quidem adesfent Domini vates, eteosadiuuarent.
Per id tempus ad eos venere 3 Sifinnes Syriae et Phoenicia: praetor,
et Sathrabuzanes , eiusque collegae, qui ex eis quaefiuerunt: cuius 4
iusfu id templum conftruerent, teclumque et alia omnia perficerent,
et cjuinam ftructores esfent, qui ea efheerent ? Sed Domini > erga
feniores Iudaeqs gratia, et erga captiuoscuraeffe&umeft, vt
aedificatione prohibiti nor. fint , donee Dariodeeisfignificatum , et
abeo foret refponfum. Mifit autem ille fcriptam ad^ Darium
epiftolam, cuius exemplar eft hoc : Sifinnes Syriae j Phceniciaeque
praetor et Sathrabuzanes atque collegae in Syria et Fhoenicia
praefides, regt Dario falutcm, Scito , nofter domine g rex, nos in
Iudaeae regionem, etin vrbem Hierofolymam venisfe, et offeudisfe
captiuorum Iudaeorum fenatores in vibe Hierofolyma, ingens Domino
templum nouum coaftruentes , faxis politis et ma- 9 gni pretii , et
Iignis ad parietes adhibendis , easque res ftudiofe jo fieri, et opus eis
procedere, fummoque fplendoreet diligertfia perficL Nos
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