Truth Conquers All

Then the three young men of the bodyguard, who kept guard over the person of the king, said to one another,  “Let each of us state what one thing is strongest; and to him whose statement seems wisest, Darius the king will give rich gifts and great honours of victory.  (1 Esdras 3: 4-5)

These lines, in Lombardic letters, are written as a trial of wisdom by the youths who formed King Darius’s bodyguard and were placed under the king’s pillow as he slept. On awaking, King Darius invited the three men to justify their words. Zerubabbel’s observations about women and truth were judged to be the wisest and, as a reward, he was given permission by the king to lead the Jews back to Jerusalem in order to undertake the rebuilding of the temple.