Herod said, "No, I will not be guilty of the blood of so exalted a king; rather lead him forth before the people in this his proper apparel, that they may admire him to their heart's content."
Then said the first soldier to Jesus, "Come, thou miraculous king, and allow us to accompany thee!"
The second soldier said, "What good luck for me to walk by the side of so illustrious a lord!" And so saying, they led away Jesus, wearing the white robe which Herod had put on him.
Then said Caiaphas, "Thou hast convinced thyself that his alleged great works were nothing but lies and deceit, whereby the people were defrauded by him. Give, then, thy sentence!"
And all the priests cried, "Pronounce the sentence of death upon him, as the law demands!"
Herod replied, "My opinion is, he is a simple fellow and not capable of the crime of which you accuse him. If he has perchance done or spoken anything against the law it is to be attributed to his simplicity."
"O, King," said Caiaphas, "take care that thou dost not err!"
"I fear," said Annas, "thou wilt repent if thou allowest him to escape punishment."
"I fear nothing of the kind," said Herod. "A fool one must treat as a fool. He has already suffered by his follies and will avoid them in the future. With that the trial is at an end."
Then said the rabbi, "Then it is all over with our law, our religion, Moses and the prophets!"