[several lines lost][i] God of this [ ] and the inhabitants of the same [ ] and uncountable mercies, and [ ] and blessed, among others [ ] peace, prosperity, abundance, exceptional increase of the population and trade, and which above all, should be respected with the free and public maintenance of the true religion. But we, either ungratefully using, or scornfully abusing the same, have provoked God’s rigorous justice by the ungrateful use of the physical and scornful abuse of the spiritual blessings, provoking His Godly Majesty, never honored highly enough, to a justified wrath, of which He not only showed us the naked signs, but also made us feel the immediate evidences, visiting this and other places, villages and hamlets with hot fevers and dangerous diseases as a chastisement, if not punishment for the ungrateful use of the temporary blessings, allowing and reminding the spirit of deviation to sow its harmful venom regarding the spiritual here and there among us, by bringing up and raising the matter of a new, never heard of abominable heresy named Quakers, which seeks to seduce many, also, if possible, the orthodox themselves. [ These are ] all signs of God’s justified judgments and certain omens of more severe punishments, which, in order to fend these off from us and our people, and to [ procure ] God’s favors, generosity, and blessings, both in spiritual as well [ as in temporall matters, the Governor Generall & Councell of New Netherland have thought good & necessary to frame [and ] publish a day of a common fast, prayer & thanksgiving, which shall be kept on ye sec[ ond ] Wednesday of this present month of March being the thirteenth day of ye month & the fo[ llowing ] being the [ ] therefore, our subjects, on the said day in the morning and afternoon, shall be prepared to be in church, or wherever it is customary to proclaim God’s word, in order to, after listening to it, praise and thank the only good and merciful God for the favors, blessings, and generosity with which His Godly Majesty has pleased to bless us last year, yes, our entire lifetime; and further to invoke his holy name with humble and submissive hearts, to pray and beg that during the coming year His Godly Majesty will please continue this with us, in honor of his name, further propagation and spread of his Holy Word, to the well-being and salvation of all of us. In order that everything be practiced and observed with greater harmony, the director general and councilors prohibit all performance and exercise of caatsen, balslaan, hunting, fishing, boating, and all illegal games such as playing dice, drinking drunk and alike on the said day of prayer and thanksgiving during the religious service, on pain of arbitrary correction and punishment, ordained thereto before. Likewise, we also admonish and pray all servants of God’s Holy Word within our jurisdiction to [ frame ] their sermons [ to ye same purpose. ] Thus enacted in our assembly in fort New Amsterdam in New Netherland, January 29, 1658. The translation in English as it was sent to the English villages, follows.
