Christ, Church, princes and all of us without ceasing to threaten us and to wish us death and all misfortune. Just think, how do we poor Christians get that way that we enrich such idle people, such blaspheming enemies of God and receive nothing in return but their cursing, slandering and all misfortune that they can do and wish against us? In this respect we are blind dogs, such as the Jews are in their unbelief; that we suffer such tyranny from such merciless knaves, do not see and feel such, to let them be our lords, yea, our raving tyrants. We are, however, their captives and subjects; and still they lament that we are holding them as captives, mock us on top of all that as if we had to accept it from them! If the rulers, however, refuse to compel them nor restrain their devilish wantonness, that they be driven from the country, as said, and be told that they move to their own land and possessions in Jerusalem and there lie, curse, blaspheme, spit, murder, steal, rob, practice usury, mock, and engage in all such slanderous abominations as they do among us; and leave us our land, principality, body, goods, much more, our Lord Jesus, faith and church undisturbed and unbesmirched with such devilish tyrannies and wickedness. Of course, they could pretend that this would not help them. For no
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